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THE
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
A HISTORY
OP THE
COI^GREGATIONAIISTS IN NEW ENGLAND
TO THE REVIVALS OF 1740
/
BY H. F. 'UHDEN.
WITH
A PREFACE BY THE LATE DR. NEANDER.
Sranslate^ from tje Seconti ©erman 3STjftfon
B T
H. C. CONANT,
AUTHOK OF "THE ENGLISH BIBLE," ETC. ETC.
BOSTON:
GOULD AND LINCOLN,
59 W A 8 HI N G T 0 N STREET.
NEW YORK: SHELDON, BLAKEMAN & CO.
CINCINNATI : GEORGE S. BLANCHARD.
185 9.
(Xfc
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by
GOULD AND LINCOLN,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
EI^CmOTYyKD AND PRINTBC BY
W. r, DBAPEB, AKDOVBB, MASS.
'^^
V- NOV 9 ]0C5
/^< ^- .<
2i!^^.'c?3is?2^
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
It is a singular fact, that the New England Theocracy
has foiuid no historian on onr own shores. A subject
so rich in interest, so intimately connected with our
history as a people, it would seem should long since
have busied some master-hand among ourselves. The
record of this great experiment of our Puritan fathers,
among the most unique and instructive in ecclesiastical
history, is here for the first time presented for our
study, as a connected whole, by a foreign scholar. Tliis
circumstance is, however, a ground rather of con-
gratulation than regret ; for the conflicting interests,
germinated in the stormy infancy of New England,
have still too much vitality, and have spread their roots
IV translator's preface.
too widely, to allow a native historian, of whatever
creed, to escape the suspicion of partiality.
In the influences which originated and directed the
present Avork, we have special cause of satisfaction.
From the Preface by the late Dr. Neander, we learn
that it was prepared under his own eye, by one whom
he had selected as peculiarly fitted for the task ; and
that he gave his unqualified approval to its publication,
— thus pledging his own name for its thoroughness,
ability, and candor.
The work itself fully justifies this endorsement.
From the list of authorities, at the end of the volume,
it will be seen that the author had access to the origi-
nal sources necessary for forming an independent and
comprehensive judgment. The materials, thus obtained
from a wide range of works, have been so thoroughly
sifted and arranged as to present, within these moderate
limits, a philosophical-religious sketch of the Congre-
gationalist Tlieocracy, in which all the determining
features of its character and career are clearly exhibited,
in their inward relation to the system, and in their
translator's preface. V
bearings on the final result. Thus viewed as a whole,
the subject offers a study so instructive to all who are
concerned for the progress of true religion and of human
rights, that it seems strange that Uhden's work was not
long since translated into English. This delay is the
less to be regretted, as recent indications of change, in
the policy of some of the religious bodies interested in
tlie working of the principles here exhibited, will give
it a fresh practical significance for the present time.
The closing chapter has a two-fold value. From Dr.
Xcander's Preface we learn, that the deep interest felt
by that great man in the Revivals, which form so
striking a feature in the religioiis life of this country,
gave occasion to the present volume. The delineation
and analysis of their peculiar characteristics, as exhib-
ited in that earliest and purest type, the Awakening at
Northampton under Jonathan Edwards, occupies the
last forty pages ; and the manner leaves us no room to
doiibt, that Uhden has here faithfully mirrored the
views of his illustrious teacher and friend. His philo-
sophic genius, and all-embracing christian heart, glow
1*
VI translator's preface.
through every page. At the present moment, when our
land is the scene of one of the most extensive and
striking of these religious movements ever witnessed,
the suggestions of a man like Neander cannot but have
a deep interest for all thoughtful Christians. For
those to whom, as preachers and pastors, is committed
the guidance of these crises in the life of a great chris-
tian community, they possess a special value.
The translator has carefully verified the author's
dates and statements of fact, and has given the extracts
in their original English form. The liberty which has
been taken of breaking the long chapters into sections,
aciording to the subjects, will render the work more
clear and convenient to the reader. The leading title,
" Tlie New England Theocracy," has been prefixed by
the translator, as being the term constantly applied by
the author himself to the peculiar politico-religious in-
stitution of which he treats, and as suggesting at the
first glance the precise subject of the work.
H. C. C.
September, 1858.
DR. MEANDER'S PREFACE
FIRST EDITION
The investigations, of which the results are
here given to the public, received their first im-
pulse from myself. Having been deeply inter-
ested, through a volume on the subject by the
Hev. Dr. Spi'ague of Albany, in the Revivals of
religion in North America, I solicited my highly
valued young fi'iend Uhden, (already honorably
known by his biography of the great AVilber-
force) to present in German these instructive
details of occurrences so important, both in a
VIII PREFACE.
psychological view, and in their relation to the
history of the christian life. He acceded to my
wish ; but soon became convinced that a true
understanding and correct judgment of these
j)henomena requu-ed a more thorough research
into the ecclesiastical and religious condition of
a country whose entire social state differs so
widely from our own. Thus there grew up in
his mind the plan of a more comprehensive his-
torical development. From what he communi-
cated to me of the j)lan and progress of his work,
I was led to encourage him to complete it, and to
give to the world the fruits of his extensive orig-
inal investigations in this field. In this way
arose the present work, as a necessary j)relim-
inary to the history of those religious awaken-
ings, the delineation of which was at first his
sole object.
The present can, indeed, in no case, be rightly
PREFACE. IX
apprehended except in connection with what
preceded and contributed to produce it. Hence,
this Monograph will serve as preparatory to a
correct view of the present ecclesiastical and
religious state of that interesting land, so im-
portant in the world's commerce, and conse-
quently in the world's history. It will show
how the reaction from the one-sided principle
of a Church-Theocracy, derived rather from the
Old than ffom the New Testament, helped to
bring about the subsequent total separation of
Church and State. The more we suffer from
the evils most strongly in contrast with the state
of things in North America, — those, namely,
proceeding from an intermingling of the Ecclesi-
astical and the Political, — the more all among
us, to whom the highest interests of humanity
are dear, long for an emancipation of the Church
from the State, (not, however, that this abso-
X PREFACE.
lutely requires that total separation of the two
witnessed in North America) ; so much the
greater interest, with reference to the present
time, will attach to the development-course here
portrayed by my fiiend. To desire and to labor
for this, viz., that all the interests of humanity
be allowed each its rights, and a free develop-
ment according to its own peculiar laws ; that
no one of them be sacrificed to another, — this
is the genuine, this is Christian Liberalism.
*******
DR. NEANDER.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
RISE OF THE INDEPENDENTS IN ENGLAND.— EMIGRATION TO HOL-
LAND.
Reformation in England under Henry VIII. — Progress under Edward
VI.; first development of the Puritan element. — Mary the Catholic. —
TheExiles; their dissensions. — Elizabeth; the Prelatists and the Puri-
tans (Cartwright). — More distinct organization of the Puritan party
through Brown ; separatistic elements ; these discarded by Robinson, the
Father of the Independents. — The Leyden Congregation. — Robinson's
views. — Desire of the congregationto emigrate 15
CHAPTER II.
EMIGRATION TO AMERICA. — FORMATION OF THE THEOCRATIC
STATE IN NEW ENGLAND. — A GLANCE AT THE POLITICAL HIS-
TORY, MISSIONARY EFFORTS, AND FIRST UNIVERSITY OF NEW
ENGLAND.
Earlier attempts to colonize the North American Continent from Eng-
land.— Emigration of the Leyden Congregation (farewell address of
Robinson) and founding of New Plymouth. — Massachusetts Bay Com-
pany; expedition of 1629; settling of Salem and Charlestown; emigra-
tion of the Governor of this company, and founding of Boston. — The
two great principles of Congregationalism. — The CongregationaHst
Theocracy. — Political divisions and history of New England. — Mission-
ary eflForts among the Indians. — Harvard College 51
XII CONTENTS.
CHAPTER III.
EXPULSION OF EOGEE "WILLIAMS AND OF THE ANTINOMIANS. —
EHODE ISLAND.
Pirst opposition to the established Theocracy, by Roger "Williams ; he
is banished, and founds Providence, on Narraganset Bay. — Antinomian
agitations, occasioned by Mrs. Hutchinson and Wheelwright. — The
FIRST SYNOD, 1637; suppresses these divisions. — Expulsion of the
Antinomians, who found a colony in Rhode Island; in 1643 this colony
unites itself to Providence. — Decided opposition there manifested against
every form of Theocracy 86
CHAPTER lY.
EXCLUSION AND PERSECUTION OF BAPTISTS AND QUAKERS.
Alarm at the Anabaptists connected with the history of the Re-baptizers
of Germany. — Treatment of Obadiah Holmes and John Clarke. — Cot-
ton's defence of this proceeding. — First fanatical Quakers ; their arrival
in Boston; laws against them. — Repeated return of the Quakers, and in-
creased severity of penalties. — Capital punishment introduced. — Perse-
cutions cease after the accession of Chai-les II 108
CHAPTER Y.
SUPPRESSION OF THE INTERNAL OPPOSITION TO THE THEOCRATIC
GOVERNMENT. — THE MEASURE SUSTAINED BY THE SYNOD OF
1648.
Gradual change in the original views, produced by later immigrations.
— Petition for civil rights without regard to church membership rejected
by the Government. — Popular agitations. — The Government convokes
a -Synod; Platfonn of church discipline drawn up, 1648, and the Theo-
cratic relation confirmed. — The Cambridge Platform; remarks on
certain important points in it 135
CONTENTS. XIII
CHAPTER VI,
DISSOLUTION OF THE TIIEOCKATIC RELATION, FROM THE ECCLE-
SIASTICAL AND THE rOLITlCAL SIDE.
Subsequent to the political opposition, many non-churchraembers desire
baptism for their children; (Dunster rejects Infant Baptism). — Contest
in Connecticut, between a rigid and a laxer party, on the terms of admis-
sion to baptism and church-membership; Synod of 1657; expedient of a
two-fold membersliip, — the Half-way Covenant. — This action con-
firmed by the Synod of 1662; opposition to the same. — Connecticut and
New Haven united after the accession of Charles II.; opposition there
existing to the two-fold membership declines; church-membership no
longer a required preliminary of civil rights. — In 1662, the same abroga-
tion of tiie Theocracy demanded of Massachusetts by the King ; effected
by the Royal Commission in 1664 162
CHAPTER YII.
REACTIONARY INFLUENCES PROCEEDING FROM TIIE THEOCRAC\
AFTER ITS ABROGATION.
Formation of a new church in Boston, resulting from the adherence of
the First Church to the principles of strict Congregationalism. — Attempts
in Connecticut to introduce a more Presbyterian organization. — Division
in Hartford. — Persecution of the Anabaptists in Boston and Charles-
towTi, in 1665, and some years following. — Incipient Declension in
church-life ; causes of the change ; reaction, in the Reforming Synod of
1679; its doings and results 190
CHAPTER VIII.
DECLINE OF CONGREGATIONALISM.
Relation of the Colonies to the mother country, from the repeal of the
old charter by Charles II., to the grant of the new one by William HI. —
2
XIV CONTENTS.
Effects of the Reforming Synod but temporary. — Witch trials. — New
churches formed in Haitford and Boston, without the requisition of a par-
ticular account of the religious state. — The decline lamented ; conscious-
ness of its connection with abandonment of the primitive principles,
(Mitchell, Oakes, Increase Mather, Willard) ; Stoddard's views in respect
to the Lord's Supper. — Gradual approximation to the Presbyterian disci-
pline; decided expression of the same in Connecticut (Gov. Saltonstall),
in the Satbeook Platform, 1708; (Yale College). — Progressive de-
cline of the ministry in Massachusetts the subject of complaint to Gov-
ernment, 1 725 ; petition for a Synod coldly received ; prohibition of the
same, from England. — Ciianges in doctrine, out of which, notwithstand-
ing the revivals, Unitarianism was subsequently developed. . . . 218
CHAPTER IX.
THE EEVIVALS.
Of Eevivals in general, and those of North America in particular. —
The Revivals about the year 1740 a reaction from IndifFerentism. — The
Revival in Northampton about the year 1735. — Account of the same;
state of the congregation at its commencement. — Exhibition of the
work in its various stages ; its results and termination. — Great religious
awakenings throughout New England. — Advent of Whitefield. — Re-
newal of the religious spirit. — Disturbing and hostile Influences. —
Final issues. — Conclusion 239
THE
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
CHAPTER I.
RISE OF THE IXDEPEXDEXTS IX ENGLAND— THEIR EMIGRATION
TO HOLLJTND.
REFORMATION IX ENGLAND UNDER HENRY VIII.
The Independents, or Congregationalists, came forlfh
from the bosom of the English Church \mder the reign of
Queen Elizabeth. But to comprehend the distinctive
form of these communities requires not only a considera-
tion of the state of the English Church at that period, but
a general survey of the circumstances which marked the
origin and progress of the Reformation in England.
Henry Eighth had not commenced his struggle against
the Papacy from a feeling of inadequacy in the existing
condition of things to meet the religious wants of himself,
or of the EngUsh people. It was solely from personal
aims that he espoused a cause which, in the beginning of
his reign, he had opposed with vehement denunciation and
bloody persecution.
After a union of almost twenty years with Katherine of
Arragon, he had become desirous of a divorce. His dis-
16 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
quieted conscience, so he declared, was not appeased by
the dispensation granted in 1503 by Pope Juhus II.; such
a union being contrary to the word of God, whicli forbids
marriage with a deceased brotlier's wife.' These scruples
of the king, which he began to express as early as 1526,
were listened to Avith favor by Clement VII., and compli-
ance was promised with his wishes. But through fear of
the Emperor Charles V., nephew of the queen, this was
deferred on one pretext after another, through a long
course of years. By the advice of Cranmer, afterwards
Archbishop of Canterbury, Henry at length solicited the
opinions of the chief universities of Europe. Their answer
was the same as had already been given at a convocation
of the English clergy, viz., that it was neither according to
the law of God that one should marry his brother's wife,
nor had the pope power to grant a dispensation from the
law of God. The pope, however, declared Katherine's
appeal to the See of Rome valid, and cited the king to
answer before him in person. Henry now resolved not
only to break oif connection with Rome, but to abolish the
pope's authority altogether. This authority he transferred
to his own hands. But a large portion of the clergy were
at first disinclined to recognize the king as "sole and
supreme head of the Church of England." Hence the
clause Avas added, " so for as may be agreeable to the laws
of Christ ; " which Avas acceded to by the king ; but on the
subsequent confirmation of that title by Parliament and by
another convocation of the clergy, it was stricken out. On
tlie 23d of May, 1533, the king's marriage Avas declared
void. The folloAving year, an act of Parliament deprived
■ the pope of all his revenues from England, and prohibited
appeals to Rome, as also the papal confirmation of bishops.
iLevit. 18: IG. Comp. 20:21.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 17
The severe laAvs against heretics, enacted in former reigns,
•were noAV repealed, and license was granted for the transla-
tion of the Bible, which had hitherto been opposed with
bloody persecution. Parliament, by the Act of 1534, in
connection Avitli tlie above-named title, conferred on the
king, in express terms, the right of final decision in mat-
ters of doctrine. Thereupon followed a visitation of the
monasteries, occasioned, in part, by the oi)en resistance of
the monks to the king's proceedings. This business was
committed to Thomas, Lord Cromwell, vicar-general to
the king in spiritual affairs, who as secretary to Wolsey,
had already been made acquainted with a similar plan, and
initiated into tlie methods for carrying it into effect. The
cause of cliurch reform was, moreover, one which lay near
his own heart. Anne Boleyn, who had shown herself a
zealous 2:)romoter of the Reformation, had, indeed, fallen
not long after under the displeasure of the king, and was
executed on the 19th of May 1536. But the Reformation
was not thereby arrested ; on the contrary, there now
appeared the first indications that it was something more
than a mere external work which was in progress, and the
influence of those who were using Henry VIII. as an instru-
ment for the attainment of higher objects, became clearly
manifest. About Michaelmas, 1536, were set forth the
first Articles of Faith ; these having been apjD roved by
the king, Avere confirmed by the convocation of the clergy
and by both houses of Parliament. The doctrine of Tran-
substantiation was taught in these articles ; auricular con-
fession and the worship of saints and images were retained,
and the doctrine of purgatory Avas left doubtful. But Avith
all this, they recognized the Holy Scriptures and the prim-
itive confessions of the church as the standard of a])peal,
Avithout reference to tradition or the papal decrees; and
2*
18 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
even admitted, though under somewhat vague terms, the
doctrine of Justification by Faith.
These measures found a hearty response in England,
Not indeed that tlae assent of Parliament is to be taken in
proof; that body being always ready, not merely to
gratify, but even to anticipate every arbitrary caprice of
the king. But hardly would the pope's bull of excommu-
nication have proved so impotent, hardly would the dis-
turbances it created have been so easily quelled, had there
not existed among the people themselves a disafiection
towards their former relations to the Romish See. That
direction of the popular mind, which owed its first impulse
to the labors of Wickhffe, had not yet expended its force.
Not merely had attention been turned to the crying abuses
in the lives of the clergy and in the condition of the mon-
asteries, but to that which was the source of all these evils,
departure from the Holy Scriptures and from the funda-
mental doctrines of the Church. The movement thus
originated within England itself had been still farther
developed by the influence of the Reformation in Ger-
many, whose traces we see in the martyi's of the earlier
part of Henry's reign, and in Tyndale's English translation
of the New Testament, (printed in Antwerp, so early as
1527.^) This connection manifested itself most decidedly
in Cranmer. The king's Avish for a divorce he had used
for promoting reforms in the constitution and doctrines of
the church ; and in respect to the former, so much of a
change had indeed been effected, as to transfer to the king
' the power hitherto exercised by the pope.
But because just this was effected and no more, the work
came to a stand. True, the Holy Scriptures were trans-
1 In 1525, as shown by Anderson in his " Annals of the English
Bible."— Tr.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 19
latcd into English, the monasteries were curtailed, visita-
tions "svere instituted ; but no farther steps could the king
be induced to take. True, he liad rejected the reconcilia-
tion proffered by the pope after the execution of Anne
Boleyn ; true, also, that her successor, Jane Seymour, was
zealously devoted to the Reformation. But the death of
the latter, in 1537, and the sundering of the king's subse-
quent m^arriage with Anne of Cleves, were followed by the
fall of Cromwell, that active and skilful promoter of the
Itcformation. The influence of a powerful catholic party
at court, to whose secret intrigues the faA^orite had fallen a
victim during Henry's temporary displeasure, Cranmer was
in no condition to counteract. Scarcely did the reverence
with which his upright and irreproachable character had
inspired the king suffice for securing his personal safety.
The Six Articles, promulgated in June 1539, retained the
doctrine of Transubstantiation, declared communion in
both kinds to be unnecessary, the marriage of priests unlaw-
ful, vows of chastity of binding obligation, and required
the continuance of private masses and auricular confession.
In no Catholic country has been witnessed greater rigor
against heretics than marked the treatment of such as dis-
sented from this royal Confession of Faith. In vain did
JMelancthon and the German princes urge the correction
of abuses and false doctrines.^ The king's answer was dic-
tated wholly by the counsels of Bishop Gardiner,^ whose
sentiments came fully to light at a later period, under the
reign of Mary the Catholic. It was of no avail, that one
1 Burnet's Historj' of the Reformation contains, in the Appendix to tlie
Collections of Ecconls, a letter from Melancthon, of April 1st, I'j-irj, one
from the German Ambassadors of Aug. 5, 153S, and an answer to the lat-
ter from the»king.
2 Burnet, I., p. 367, Addenda to the Hist, of the Reformation,
20 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
bishopric after another became occujDied by men at heart
devoted to the Keformation ; Henry and his advisers
Avould hear of no farther progress. So far from this, stejis
"were taken in a retrograde direction. Not only was all
opposition to the Six Articles punished with the utmost
rigor ; not only were the writings of the Reformers and
Tyndale's translation of the Bible prohibited; but in 1543
even the reading of the version, once approved and earn-
estly recommended by the king himself, was forbidden to
the common people.^
Thus had the English Church assumed a new form, by
acquiring, through the influence of personal interest and
self-will, a diiferent head. How much the Spirit of God,
through the agency of His word, had contributed to this
change, and what part He would hereafter take in it could
not be seen till, on the death of Henry, January 28th,
1547, the reins of government passed into other hands.
PROGRESS or" THE REFORMATION UNDER EDWAKD VI. FIRST DEVEL-
OPMENT OF THE PURITAN ELEMENT.
The accession of Edward VI., in his tenth year, under a
regency, was adapted to awaken the most cheering hopes.
The young king and his advisers were disjDOsed to carry
forward the work already begun ; or rather, of that which
originated in self-will, to make a genuine reformation.
With the existing church constitution, of the highest
moment must have been the Parliament Act of 1539,^
empowering the councillors of the king's successor, during
his minority, to issue proclamations in his name, which
were to be obeyed in the same manner Avith those set
forth by the king himself. Numbers of the clergy, who,
1 Biu-nct, I., p. 321. 2 Buniet, Part I., Book III.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 21
during the former reign, liad been driven nway by the
harsh enforcement of the Six Articles, now returned to
England. With them came many foreign reformers of
distinction. Parliament repealed tlie rigorous enactments
against heretics. Private masses, denial of the cuj), and
celibacy wore done away with, "With these abuses ceased
also the hostile attitude which the German princes liad
been constrained to take during the preceding reign. The
visitation of the cloisters no longer had for its object the
plunder of their property for the benefit of the Head of
the Church, but the diffusion of the word of God, and of
the knowledge of its doctrines among both clergy and
laity.
We must here mention a controversy, afterwards re-
newed with the first secession of the Independents, which
if not the immediate occasion of the subsequent resistance
to the Episcopal church under Elizabeth, at least deter-
mined its form. Hooper, an English clergyman, who dur-
ing the closing years of Henry's life resided in Zurich,
had now returned to his native land. His preaching of
the divine word was so favorably received, and produced
so marked an impression, that he was at first commissioned
to preach through certain counties, as a means of influ-
encing the public mind in favor of the Reformation, and
in July, 1550, he was nominated to the vacant bishopric of
Gloucester. This he declined on two grounds. The clause
" with the Saints," in the formida of the oath of oflice,
seemed to him objectionable, since, as he explained, the
appeal should be made to God alone, as the only searcher
of hearts. Thereupon, the young king struck out the
clause with his own hand. Hooper's scruples in regard to
the Romish vestments it was not so easy to relieve. Yet,
assuredly, this could not be reckoned a question of sec-
22 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
ondary importance ; these vestments not only being re-
garded as a kind of symbol of that worship which had
departed from the simplicity of the Scrij^tures and of the
primitive church, but being associated in the j^opular mind
with a multitude of superstitious notions. The king and
his council seem to have been inclined to yield the point.
But, in sjiite of the judgment expressed by distinguished
foreign reformers in favor of HoojDer's views, a majority of
the Bishoj^s were decidedly for retaining the vestments.
Cranmer regarded the matter as an adiaphoron,} Hoop-
er's resignation was declined, and every method, even that
of sending him to j^rison for a time, was used to induce
comjDliance. It was not till after nine months of such
disci2:)line that he yielded so far as to be consecrated in
the robes ; on the condition, however, of being dispensed
from the farther use of them. Subsequent ordinations
showed the increasing influence of his views. The spirit
of genuine toleration was manifested, moreover, in the
following ordinance respecting the German church, formed
in London, under the superintendence of John a Lasco :
" We command the Lord Mayor, the aldermen and mag-
istrates of the city of London, that they j^ermit the said
superintendent and ministers to enjoy and exercise their
own i)roper rites and ceremonies, and their proper and
peculiar ecclesiastical discipline, without hindrance, let,
or molestation, albeit they difier from the usages and
ceremonies of our realm, any law, proclamation or ordi-
nance, which may have been set forth, to the contrary
notwithstanding:,"
1 So likewise Calvin, who in a letter to Bullinger, March 10th, 1551,
sympathizes indeed with Hooper in the<)'ejection of the vestments, but
adds, nevertheless : maluissem non usque adeo ipsum pugnare, idque
nupcr suadeham.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 23
Still, with all their good intentions, their sngacity an<l
zeal, the English Reformers had to contend against great
difficulties. Among these, none is more worthy of notice
than the one mentioned by Calvin, in a letter to Farel, in
the year 1551 ; for it has reference to the inner condition
of the church. lie says : " The nobility, having seized on
the revenues of the church, during the king's minority,
caused the offices of the clergy to be exercised, or their
places to be occupied by mercenary hircHngs. The church
is robbed of its faithful servants." In this we see the
fruits of the policy by which the Reformation was urged
forward under Henry VIII. Cranmer's efforts were zeal-
ously seconded by the Lord Protector, the Duke of Somer-
set, to whose own heart the interests of the Reformation
lay very near, as appears from a letter addi'essed to him by
Calvin ; Avho also bears witness to what the Duke had to
contend -with. The bishops who made oj^cn resistance
were indeed dej^osed; but the in-esolution manifest in
dealing Avith those Avho held themselves uncommitted,
gives evidence that the former were strengthened in
their position by members of the regency (for instance.
Lord Chancellor Wriothsley), who Avere favorably in-
clined to the papacy, as well as by the prospect that a
Catholic of the most rigid sort might be Edward's suc-
cessor. At length, the king's priA'y council resolved to
comply AA'ith the apj^eals made to them from A'arious quar-
ters,^ by proceeding to a refoi-mation of the church doc-
trines. Cranmer, and Ridley, bishoi^ of Rochester, A^ere
charged AAath this undertaking. They drcAV up forty-tAvo
articles on the leading points of the Christian faith, copies
of which were sent to the rest of the bishops, and other
learned clergpnen, for their suggestions ; these being
1 See also Calvin, in a letter to Cranmer, in the year 1551.
24 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
added, and the whole thoroughly revised by Cranraer,
they were submitted to the Privy Council, and received
the confirmation of the king. It is a noticeable circum-
stance, that the ai'ticles were neither laid before the clergy
in Parliament, nor in the houses of convocation, although
reference is made to the latter, in the title under which
they appear. This omission is to be attributed, not merely
to the jDurpose of establishing the king's ecclesiastical
supremacy, but, in part, no doubt, to the fear of an opposi-
tion, which it would not have been easy to override.
Cranmer had it in mind, moreover, to bring about a better
representation of the clergy^ in these assemblies. Soon
after the publication of the Articles of Faith, the revision
of the service was taken in hand, and a far simpler form
of divine worship was set forth in the Book of Common
Prayer, and most of the popish ceremonies were abro-
gated. While, however, it was merely reforms in existing
usages and institutions, Avliich were attempted in these pro-
ceedings, it was with the manifest design of extending
them, step by step, into a thorough reformation. The
Confession of Faith was the Augustine ; through the for-
eign advisers, whose agency in the new measures is not to
be mistaken, the English Reformation was placed in inti-
mate connection with that of the Swiss Church. It was
certain that, so soon as Edward VI. should come into the
exercise of supreme power, all influences would be made to
concur for the furtherance of the work thus begun. The
brilliant qualities of the young king were acknowledged
by the unanimous voice of his time, and Calvin extols in
him the union of superior gifts with rare piety. But he
1 In the year 1558 an ordinance was passed making the Houses of Con-
vocation entirely independent of the cmv^n.—NeaVs History of (he Puri-
tans, I. p. 132.
NEW ENGLAND TIIEOCRACY. 25
died ill 1ju3, not having yet completed his sixteenth year.
Calvin thus writes to Farel, in August of the same year :
" "What you say is true ; that country has been deprived of
an incomparable jewel, of Avhich it was not worthy. I
maintain that, in the death of this minor, the whole nation
has lost its best father."
KEIGN OF CATHOLIC MAKT THE PROTESTANT EXILES.
3Iary, daughter of Henry YIII. and of Katherine of
Arragon, now ascended the throne. Iler devotion to the
papacy finds its solution in the sufferings endured by her-
self, as well as by her inotlu'r, in consequence of her
father's rupture with the Romish See. At first, indeed,
she promised to make no change in the religion, and sub-
sequently declared her resolution to constrain no one,
except through the teachings of the Word. But, ere long,
it became manifest that she was determined to use the
ecclesiastical supremacy, now attached to the crown, for
the complete restoration of the former relations to Rome.
Her first step Avas, to release from prison the adherents of
the papacy, and to put in their place the " leaders of the
Refoiination." The foreigners who had favored this work
w^ere notified to leave the kingdom. These exiles were
accomiianied by many English fugitives ; among them, five
bishops, as many deans, four archdeacons, and about fifty
doctors of theology and distinguished preachers. By the
beginning of November, 1553, all the ordinances issued
under Edward YI., for the regulation of religion, were
abolished. The bishops and ministers known to be hostile
to the papacy were then dejiosed by a visitation ; some on
the ground that they were married, some simply "by the '
royal pleasure," that being, indeed, the sole tenure on
3
26 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
which their offices were held. The number thus deposed
is estimated at three thousand. At the same time, mass
was everywhere reestablished. A disputation with the
leaders of the suppressed party, appointed to be held at
Oxford, in April, foiled of the desired result, through their
steadfast confession of the truth, so far as they had at-
tained it. In the summons for a 2")arliament, in Xovember
of the same year, the title, " Supreme Head of the Church,"
■«'as omitted. The sentence pronounced under Henry
VIII. against Cardinal Pole, a kinsman of the royal
family, for intriguing, from Italy, in favor of the Pope,
was annulled. He then made his api^earance, as legate of
the Pomish See ; and Parliament, after having first re-
ceived pardon for past offences, again subjected the king-
dom to the dominion of the Poj^e. In January, 1555,
Parliament repealed the laws, all and several, issued
against the papal chair since the twentieth year of
Henry's reign, and restored the former ordinances respect-
ing the burning of heretics. The execution of the ordi-
nances, in which Bishop Gardiner (the same who has been
already mentioned) made himself especially conspicuous,
gave character to Mary's reign. Two hundred and seventy-
seven j^ersons, of all ranks and ages, among them Cran-
mer, Ridley, and Hooper, sealed their faith with their
blood : while not a less number, who Avere ajjpointed to
the same fate, were released from prison by Mary's suc-
cessor. It must, by no means, be overlooked, that here,
also, the blood of the martyrs became the seed of a spir-
itual Christianity; for a faith so sealed was a kind of
preaching for more impressive and efficacious than any
governmental statutes and ordinances.
* Another result of the persecution, not less im2)ortant,
was the close and endearing connection into which the
NEW EXGLAXD THEOCRACY. 27
English Reformation Avas bvouglit, tlirougli tlic nnmcvons
body of exiles, Avith those foreign churches in Avhicli the
great change had begun more M'ithin and beloAF, and
thence had worked outwards and upwards. In many
places in Switzerland and western Gennany, where the
Calvinistic doctrines prevailed, there were formed English
churches.
But now a question came up, which hitherto had been
kept out of sight or glossed over, aIz. : whether it were
lawful, or, if so, whether it were expedient, for the exiles
to extend the Reformation beyond the limits determined
under Edward VI. The EnoUsh theolo2:ians of Strasburc:
and Basle adA'ocated a strict adherence to the liturgy pre-
scribed in the Book of Common Prayer. The church in
Frankfort, on the contrary, omitted in their jiublic wor-
ship certain customary usages, as the litany and responses.
To this it was objected, at Strasburg, that, "by deviating
at this crisis from King Edward's Book, they seemed to
cast reproach on those who were now sealing it with their
blood, and gave occasion to their opposers to accuse them
of instability." The Frankfort brethren replied, December
2(1, 1554, that "they had set aside as few ceremonies as
Avas possible, and. were therefore in no danger of being
charged with instability. They suj)posed the martyrs in
England did not die in defence of changeable ceremonies ;
in reference to doctrine, there existed no difference."
Agreement on the disputed, point not being secured, the
Frankfort chui'ch solicited, the advice of Calvin. In a
letter dated January 18th, 1555, the Refonner expresses
his deep regret, that, under the present circumstances, dis-
sensions should haA'e arisen from such causes. He adds :
" In the English liturgy there are, I perceive, many Aveak-
nesses to be borne Avith. In these tAvo Avords I Avould say,
28 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
that while all the jDurity has not indeed been attained that
could be desired, yet, since the defects cannot be remedied
all in a moment, and contain nothing openly unscriptural,
they should be borne with for a time. On this basis, there
might be an accommodation. Still it were advisable that
learned, upright, and zealous servants of Christ should
make it an object to j^erfect the work into something more
pure and edifying. If triie religion is again to flourish
in England, some things in it must be amended, and much
done away with." He concedes to them the right to insti-
tute such changes, and very plainly charges those who op-
pose it with narrowness and obstinacy ; whUe at the same
time, he warns the Frankfort brethren not to be too rigid.
Confirmed by this decision of Calvin, the Frankfort church
adhered to the order which they had adopted, under the
guidance of their pastor, John Knox, afterwards the cele-
brated Scotch Reformer. Not long after, Cox, former
tutor to Edward VI., arrived in Frankfort with others of
the same views, and attempted to introduce the liturgy
unchanged. Being admitted, with his friends, to a voice
in the church, he managed to secure a majority; and by
an accusation agamic Knox before the magistrate, on the
ground of a former .vriting in Avhich the Reformer had
indulged in some hard thrusts at the Emperor, obtained
his removal. Neither the consciousnesss of their de-
pressed state, nor the counsels of the Frankfort govern-
ment, with all the confidence it had inspired by its protec-
tion of the church, could reestablish peace. Equally
unavailing Avas a letter from Calvin to Cox and his ad-
herents, who had sought his countenance to their pro-
ceedings. He expressed his disapprobation of " burdening
the church with corrupting and useless ceremonies, when
liberty was enjoyed for introducing a pure and simple
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 29
order. The measures against Knox were neither pious
nor brotherly. It was their duty to make any sacrifice for
apijoasing the strife; but if it shoukl be impossible to
remain in the same place with their opponents, yet let
Tuiity in spirit be still maintained." The old church, how-
e\-er, was obliged to abandon Frankfort. Some of them
went to Basle ; but the greater part, of whom Knox was
one, repaired to Geneva, where they adopted the cliurch
order there established. They publislied a liturgy on this
model, and several distinguished ministers among them
occupied themselves with a revision of Tyndale's trans-
lation of the Bible. The new church at Frankfort subse-
quently experienced still another division, which, though
of less importance than the former, again teniiinated in
the secession of a minority, in December, 1557. But soon
after this, a total change of relations was brought about by
the death of Queen ]\[ary. She died on the 17th of Xo-
vember, 1558 ; and Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Bolejni,
who had been subjected to harsh treatment, and even
exposed to great danger under her sister's reign, ascended
the English throne.
ELIZABETH — THE PRELATISTS AND PURITANS CAETWRIGHT.
At the beginning of tlic year 1559, a Parliament as-
sembled which was decidedly flivorable to a reformation.
After the repeal of certain laws passed during the previous
reign, the ecclesiastical supremacy of the crown was rees-
tablished by an Act, whereby the queen was likewise
authorized to constitute a High Commission Court, for the
examination and punishment of all errors, heresies, divi-
sions, abuses and contempts. These decisions respecting
the supremacy, though not void of offence to some, and
so NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
tliougli a disappointment to many who had looked for
progress in this respect, were nevertheless acceded to.
But the Act, thereupon resolved on in Parliament, for
uniformity in divine service, aAvakened the opposition of
those who, on account of their eiiorts for the purifica-
tion of divine service, were termed Puritans. It is wor-
thy of note that the words: "From the tyranny of tlie
Bishop of Rome and his abominable cruelties, deliver us,"
were struck out of the new Litany. Another deviation
from the liturgy of Edward, was the omission of the
words : " By the kneeling at the sacrament, no worship of
a bodily j^resence of Christ is signified." Both these
changes were manifestly made in favor of the Catholic
party, which, however, refused to be propitiated. T]ie
papal bishops agreed on five Articles, which they sub-
mitted to Parliament, maintaining the bodily presence of
Christ in the sacrament of the altar, transubstantiation,
mass, and the supremacy of the Romish See ; and that no
authority in matters of faith and discipline is to be con-
ceded to the laity. They were thereupon dismissed in
a body. Towards the end of the year 1559, the arch-
bishoi^ric of Canterbury, having remained a year^ va-
cant, Avas conferred on Matthew Parker. By his influence,
the queen, who was naturally a lover of pomp, was insti-
gated to such severities against the Puritans as could not
fail to produce a breach. Still, Elizabeth might have con-
sented to a simplification of the ceremonies, as she subse-
quently yielded her early prejudice against the marriage
of the clergy, had not the question presented itself to her
as an infringement of her ecclesiastical supremacy. In the
year 1562, the former Confession of Faith under Edward,
1 Cardinal Pole, the successor of Cranmcr, had died on the same day
with Queen Maiy.
NEW EXGLAND THEOCRACY, 31
the Thirty-nine Artick'S, so called, was rcestahlished.
The clianges were unessential as for as the supplementary
clause of the twentieth article : " The Church has ]»ower
to institute rites and ceremonies, and authority in religious
controversies." It is indeed doubtful whether these words
"were added at that time ; hut ineontestably they stand in
the Confession of Faith as confirmed by Parliament. But,
general as was the subscription of the English clergy to
these Articles, an antijiathy to tlie prescribed ceremonies
manifested itself on every side, which found support in
the views of many bishops and distinguished clergymen of
England, as well as in those of the most esteemed foreign
theologians. The nation at large, also, and the leading
statesmen, gave open signs of dissatisfaction with a cere-
monial which reminded them of the preceding unhappy
reign. But the queen, under date of 25th January, 15G4,
wrote to the archbishops of Canterbury and York that
"they should take cftectual means for bringing about
an exact order and uniformity in all outward rites and
ceremonies, established by law and good usage; and hence-
forth only such should be admitted to any spiritual office
as were disposed to follow common order, and should for-
mally promise to act in accordance thereto." As the
result of this letter, a series of advertisements were issued
by the commission in spiritual matters, consisting of the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Bishops of London
and Rochester, requiring that on the 1st of March, 15G4,
all licenses to clerical offices should be renewed, and the
former canonical vestments be universally resumed. To
these advertisements it was owing that the Puritan views,
which had hitherto been merely a denial of, and an oppo-
sition to, the dominant views, now assumed a positive
foiTU. The requisitions were boldly and firmly protested
32 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
against, botli as the occasion of great offence to the jDeo-
])lc, and as an infringement of the christian liberty projier
in such matters. Thirty-seven London ministers, at a
conference on the 26th March, 1565, nnited in sucli a
protest. Their deprivation, in consequence of this step,
left many churches desolate ; but this made as little im-
pression as did an appeal to the queen and the commis-
sion. The dissenting clergymen then set forth a defence
of their proceedings, through the j^ress ; but on the 29tli
June, 1566, a law forbade the printing and sale of all
writings of this kind. During this time the deprived min-
isters liad held assemblies in London, to which resorted
great numbers of the laity, unintimidated by the severe
penalties incurred by those who did not attend their
parish churches. But on the 19th of June, 1567, one of
these assemblies was discovered and broken up. Of those
who were apprehended on this occasion, seven or eight
were tried on the following day. On the charge of having
" contemned the royal authority for settling things indif-
ferent in respect to divine serA'ice," they were, after a bold
and candid defence of their conduct, condemned to impris-
onment, Avliich they suffered for about a year.
Still, the proceedings against Puritans were as }'et
restrained within certain limits, since, in some of the
remote districts of England, they found protectors even in
the bishops themselves.
It was during this very period that the attention of the
queen was especially directed towards the Catholics. Tlie
Catholic princes had concluded a league among themselves,
against the Reformation ; in the north, insurrections had
broken out under distinguished leaders ; and, in 1509, the
l^ope excommunicated the queen and kingdom.
But, in spite of all this, the breach continually widened.
KEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY. 33
The vestments, though they gave the first impulse to the
controversy, formed but one among many points, in wliich
the Puritans dissented from the State Church. In 1570,
these points, wliieh had previously come singly under con-
sideration, were exhibited in connection by Thomas Cart-
wright, the same who has been called the father of the
Puritans, though his labor was rather that of apologist
than founder. Cartwright was a Professor at Cambridge,
and, in Beza's opinion, there was no more learned man
under the sun. His main positions were these : " E] very-
thing in the church must be brought back to the apostolic
form; hence the only offices should be those of bishop
and deacon ; not only the archbishops and archdeacons,
but the bishops, chancellors and officials should be dis-
pensed Avith ; the sign of the cross at baptism, the fasts,
and festivals, should be abrogated, and, on the other hand,
an exact observance of the Sabbath be introduced. Bish-
ops should not be appointed by civil authority, but be
chosen by the church, and each congregation should have
its own pastor. He protested also against the requirement
of the liturgy, ordained by special command of the queen,
that every person must kneel at the reception of the sac-
rament." For maintaining these opinions, Cartwright was
expelled from the University. Leaving England, he
officiated for two years as preacher to the English mer-
chants in Holland. On his return to England, he was sub-
jected to severe persecutions ; but at length the favor of
the Earl of Leicester obtained for him a quiet retreat.
In Parliament, the Puritans seem to have found a pow-
eiful support, voices of weight being there repeatedly
raised in their favor. When, in 1571, an act was j^asscd
confirming the thirty-nine Articles, and requu'ing sub-
scription to the same, the clause "which concerns only
34 NEW ENGLAND TnEOCRACY.
tlie confession of the true faith, and the doctrines of the
saci-ament," was added, to prevent the differences in ref-
erence to disciphne and ceremonies being made a ground
of removal from office. To this, however, the ecclesiastical
commission paid no attention ; while the queen sent to
the tower those members who had ventured to sj^eak their
minds freely. On a subsequent occasion of this kind, she
even Avent so tar as to tell Parliament that " they might
busy themselves with what was out of the way in their
respective shires ; but affairs of State they were to leave
to herself and her privy council; and, in like manner,
those of the Church to herself and the bishops." The
persecutions were also continued against such of the laity
as neglected their parish churches. Yet in 1572 there
arose, in the immediate neighborhood of London, a pres-
bytery wherein elders were elected whose members were
so fortunate as to remain for a time undiscovered. The
Puritans were not permitted to connect themselves Avith
the foreign churches existing in London; nor were they
allowed ])ublic disputations, whose results, or rather want
of result, it was to be sure easy to foresee.
In the year 1575 Archbishop Parker died. Soon after, two
Anabaptists perished at the stake, the first martyrs to their
opinions under this reign. Grindal, Archbishop of York,
having succeeded to the See of Canterburj^, pushed on at
first the persecution of the Puritans ; but when the queen
peremptorily required the cessation of those assemblies, in
which clergymen had been accustomed to meet for their
own edification and improvement, Grindal took these exer-
cises under his protection. Nay, he even admonished the
queen, "That she should not pronounce so absolutely
and peremptorily in matters of faith and religion, wliere
the will of God, and not of any earthly creature, is to take
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. OO
place." But the queen immediately deprived him of his
archiepiscopal functions, in Avliieh he Avas not reinstated
till the ycav before his death, Avhich happened in 1.383.
Still the persecutions did not cease. In 1582, two clergy-
men Avere executed for circulating anti-prelatical writings,
though the author himself, Robert Brown, of whom Ave
shall hear more jjarticularly by and by, Avas released from
prison.
On the accession of Whitgift, the personal enemy of
CartAvright, to the See of Canterbury, the measures for the
suppression of the Puritans became yet more rigorous.
He j^etitioned the queen for the new organization of a
High Commission, which should be clothed Avitli the
poAver of the former vicar general of the kingdom,^ for
applying all ways and means for the detection and punish-
ment of dissent. Among these is particularly mentioned
the oath, by which the accused Avas compelled to testify
all he kneAv concerning himself and others.
HoAv the articles of this Commission Avere regarded may
be seen by a letter from Lord Treasurer Burleigh to the
Archbishop, dated loth July, 1584. After explaining that
he had been solicited, not alone by sundry ministers, but
by councillors and statesmen, to oppose the hard dealing
of the archbishop, as affording encouragement to j^apists,
and exposing the queen to great danger, he proceeds :
"I find the articles so full of branches and circumstances,
as I think the Inquisitors of Sjiain use not so many ques-
tions to comprehend and to trap their preys This
sifting of poor ministers is not to edify or reform. I Avrite
Avith the testimony of a good conscience. I desire the
peace of the church. I desire concord and unity in the
1 Thomas Cromwell, under Henry VIII. See p. 23.
36 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
exercise of our religion. I favor no sensual and Avilful
recusants. But I conclude that, according to my sim])le
judgment, this kind of proceeding is too much savoring of
the Romish Inquisition, and is rather a device to seek for
offenders than to reform any."
But this letter had as little effect as the opinion expressed
this same year by the whole Privy Council, to the High
Commission, "that the people ought not to be robbed of
their faithful, learned and godly ministers on account of
certain points respecting ceremonies, by which their con-
sciences were disquieted." The clergy Avere depri\'ed in
great numbers, so that comp! ints of the Avant of ministers
l^oured in from every quartar ; and imprisonments of the
severest kind were inflicted on both clergy and laity. It
should not indeed be omitted that, in many cases, the
demeanor of the Puritans in courts of justice, and the tone
of their satirical writings, were not such as tended to pro-
mote a reconciliation. But in general they seem to have
been constrained to resistance by the force of conscience.
Nor had they as yet relinquished the hope of some modi-
fication of these rigorous positions, on the part of the
Church leaders; for their dissent thus far had reference
chiefly to single jioints, and no clearly defined princii>le,
embracing all these, had distinctly confronted the teach-
insrs of the Church.
ORGANIZATION OF THE PURITAN TARTY THROUGH BROWN;
SEPARATISTIC ELEMENTS.
A firmer organization was at length given to Puritanic
dissent by a man Avhose headstrong and self-seeking tem-
per certainly did not qualify him to be the founder of a
NEW E^TGLAXD THEOCRACY. 37
new church-party, and who served in his kibors merely as
a transition to the Independents of a later period. It -was
in the year 1586, that Robert Brown, from whom his adhe-
rents derived the name of Brownists, propounded a more
complete theory in reference to church government.
Brown, who was born in 1549, was descended from a dis-
tinguished family, and was a relative of Lord Treasurer
Burleigh. As early as 1517, when a preacher in London,
he had been cited before Archbishop Parker for some
departures fi'om the prescribed ceremonies ; but his position
as chaplain to the Duke of Xorfolk had then saved Jiini
from punishment. Subsequently, he assailed the discipline
and cex-emonies of the Church with great violence, and
counselled his hearers on no conditions to submit to them.
Having been thrown into prison on this account at Nor-
wich, in 1580, and then brought to London at the instance
of the Lord Treasurer, he confessed that he had en-ed, re-
tracted, and was dismissed. Two years after appeared his
book: "The Life and Manners of true Christians." Again
cited to answer for the charges therein contained against
the bishops, he confessed himself the author of the book,
but declared that it had been published against his will.
Again his powerful friends stepped in and saved him;
though, as has been already mentioned, in 1583 two minis-
ters were executed for circulating this very book. Brown
now kept himself quiet for several years. But in the year
1586, he began to itinerate through the country, preaching
against bishops, ceremonies, spiritual courts, and the forms
used in ordaining the clergy. He afterwards boasted of
having lain in thirty-two prisons. At length he succeeded
in organizing'a church on his own principles; but so vigi-
lant Avas the persecution against him, that he saw himself
comj^elled to leave England. Several of his friends accom-
4
38 NEW ENGLAXD THEOCKACY.
panied him to Holland, wliere they obtained leave of the
government to worship God after their own manner, and
founded a church in Middleburg. Divisions soon suc-
ceeded which disclosed the arbiti'ary and imperious temper
of Brown. In 1589, he returned to England, recanted his
former opinions, and became rector of a church in North-
amjDtonshire. At a later period, he neither exhibited the
strictness of the Puritans in his domestic life, nor con-
ceraed himself about the duties of his office ; Avhile the
rigor with which he enforced his personal claim to the
tithes was in glaring contrast with the j^i'iiiciples he had
formerly expressed.
These principles, which were for a time adhered to by
his followers in England, were, in respect to their negative
as well as their positive side, sej^aratistic in character.
Though not dissenting from the Articles of Faith held by
the English church, the Brownists declared it " to be no
true church, and the ordination of the clergy in the same
to be null ; since its discipline was popish and antichristian,
. and it bore the sign of a false church in its persecution for
matters of conscience," Hence all association Avith it in
prayer, in attendance on preaching, or in any part of i:)ublic
worship Avhatever, was foi-bidden to their communities.
Nay, they were not only to abstain from all fellowship with
the church of England, but with all other reformed
churches not modelled after their own pattern. Their
docti-ine was, that each church is to be bounded by the
limits of the single congregation, and must be purely dem-
ocratic in its government. At the formation of such a
congregation or church, the members, all being j^resent,
agreed on a Confession of Faith, and siibscribed a cove-
nant by which they bound themselves to walk according
to the ordinances of the gospel, and expressed their assent
NEW EXGLAXD THEOCRACY. 39
to cortnin stated laws and regulations. In respect to tlie
admission or exclusion of members, and all matters of
debate, the decision Avas in the hands of the collective
body. The church ofiicers both for preaching the word
and caring for the jioor, "were chosen by themselves, and
Avere set apart to their several offices by flisting, prayer,
and the laying on of hands by certain of the brethren.
The priests were neither to form a distinct class, nor,
necessarily, to remain priests in peii^ctuity. As it Avas the
voice of the body which gave to each his office, and per-
mission to exercise it among them by preaching and the
administration of the sacraments, so might the same poAver
dismiss him from office, and reduce him again to the posi-
tion of a common church member. In case the number of
members became too great for one and the same ])lace of
assembly, they Avere to divide ; fonning, by the choice of
ncAV officers, sister churches in fellowship Avith each other.
Xo church might exercise any judicial right or authority
OA'cr another; but merely counsel and admonish, if it
Avalked disorderly, or renounced the fundamental truths of
religion ; but if the offiinding church did not receive the
admonition, the rest were to AvithdraAv themselves from it,
and publicly disown it as no true church of Christ. The
exercise of the church offices Avas restricted Avithin the nar-
roAv limits of the single society ; a pastor being alloAvod to
administer baptism and the Lord's Supper, only to the
members of his OAvn charge or to their immediate children.
The Bi'OAvnists Avere opposed to every prescribed form of
prayer, and permitted the lay members to take part in
preaching and exhortation in the congregations.
This rigid opposition to the state church, expressed not
unfrequently Avith unbecoming heat and violence, as Avell
as this more determinate form of the churches of the
40 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
Brownists, drew upon them the special attention of the bish-
ops. Their number, in spite of tlie recantation of their
leader, was now greatly multiplied in England. Several
among them were executed ; many of them lay long years in
prison ; some were banished, and others fled voluntarily to
their brethren in Holland. Yet in 1592 their number was
stated, by Sir Walter Raleigh in Parliament, to be about
tAventy thousand. Among tlie communities which they
formed in Holland, that spirit of rigid exclusiveness in
respect to other churches seems to have been soon mod-
erated; in England it was still kept up by persecution.
This sufiered no interruption by the death of Elizabeth in
1G03. James I, who had grown up in Scotland under
Presbyterian influences, deceived the hopes of tlie Puri-
tans. At the Conference at Hampton Court, in 1604, he
himself took decided ground against them; and as the
result of renewed ordinances, about three hundred minis-
ters were, the same year, deprived, thrown into j^rison, or
banished from the country. By these persecutions, that
man also was driven from England -who is to be regarded
as the Father of the Independents ; that is, of the Brown-
ists, as purified from separatistic elements.
ROBINSON, THE FATHER OF THE INDEPENDENTS.
As early as 1602, a number of Brownists living in the
north of England had subscribed a Confession of Faith, in
which they renounced connection with the estabUshed
church. Their residences being remote from each other,
and being obhged therefore to assemble for woi'ship in
two diflerent houses, they formed two churches, which
chose for their Pastors John Smith and John Robinson,
The former soon left England, however, and went to Am-
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 41
sterdam, Avlicrc he found Brownists already settled. Divis-
ions had arisen among- them, whose eftect had been to
moderate their pastor, Ains\vorth, in his oi)position to other
cliurches. But Smith', a man wlio had not hesitated to
say that his present views must be looked for only in his
last writings, could not unite with these Brownists, He
connected himself with the Anabaptists, 14ft Amsterdam,
and settled in Ley, (perhaps Leeum, in Brabant), where,
being unable to find any qualified administrator of the sac-
rament of baptism, he first baptized liimself, whence he
received the name Se-Baptist, and then performed the rite
for others. Subsequently, he professed himself of the doc-
trine of Arminius, in whose defence he came out openly in
IGll. At his death, soon after, the church itself became
extinct. Robinson, in connection with Elder "William
Brewster, presided several years longer o^•er the chuix-h in
the north of England. In 1G08'- the continued persecu-
tions, by the bishops and the spiritual courts, obliged them
to leave England and follow their brethren in the faith to
Holland. Finding, on his arrival in Amsterdam, that the
controversies among them were still kept up, Robinson re-
moved with his congregation, and settled in Leyden. Here
they obtained from the magistracy pei'mission to rent a
house for their meetings, and established a form of public
worship in accordance with their own piinciples.
At first, the views of Robinson in resj^ect to other
churches were strictly those of the Brownists. But after
some interchange of opinions with the ministers of the
churches previously established in Leyden, it seemed to him,
that though right and necessary still to remain separated from
the reformed churches among which he lived, yet this
1 Neal's Histoiy of the Puritans 11. p. -lO.
2 Neal's History of New England, I. p. 76.
4*
42 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
should not be in the spirit of harsh antagonism. " We
acknowledge, " says he, in liis Apology for the Brownists,
" before God and man, that we liarmonize so perfectly with
the reformed cliurches of the Netlierlands in matters of
religion, as to be I'eady to subscribe their Articles of Faith,
and every one of them, as they are set forth in their Con-
fession. We recognize these reformed churches as true
and genuine ; we hold fellowship with them as far as Ave
can ; those among us who understand Dutch, attend their
preaching ; we offer the Supper to such of their members
as are known to us, and may occasionally desire it." But, at
the same time, he steadfastly maintained that each single
church, or society of Christians, possesses within itself full
ecclesiastical aiithority for choosing officers, for administer-
ing all tlis ordinances of the gospel, and for all exercise of
authoiity and disci])line over its members; that, conse-
quently, it was independent of all synods, convocations, and
councils. He granted that synods and councils might be
useful for healing divisions between the churches, and im-
parting to them friendly advice ; but not for exercising any
judical right or authority whatever over them, or for impos-
ing on them any canon, or any article of faith without the
free assent of the church itself He rejected, as national,
the constitution of the church of England, her liturgy, her
prescribed prayers and unrestricted communion. He held it
necessary to exclude imworthy communicants, and that those
who desired the privilege of christian fellowship should be
able to give proofs of the operation of the grace of God in
their hearts. Tiiis latter principle, opposition to unrestricted
communion, was of the greatest moment in the develop-
ment of the Independent churches, especially in America.
While in a single congregation, isolated among a foreign
people, it could be carried out without any special difficulty,
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 43
it gave rise, Avben applied to a groat community, to those
disputes and conflicts amidst ■svliicli the Xew England
church unfolded into its peculiar form.
Before passing to the emigration of the Independents
from Holland to America, we will mention some farther
opinions and views of Robinson, which serve to indicate
the stand-point of this remarkable man. Especially char-
acteristic is his language respecting the Reformation, in his
" Justification of separation from the Church of England,"
a work published in 1610 as an answer to the objections of
an Episcoi)al clergyman. He says •}
"You speak much of the reformation of your church
after popery. There was, indeed, a great reformation of
things in your church, but very little of the church, to
speak truly and properly. The people are the church ; and
to make a reformed church, there must first be a reformed
people ; and so they should have been with you, by the
preaching of repentance from dead works, and faith in
Christ ; that the people, as the Lord should have vouch-
safed grace, being first fitted for, and made cajiable of the
sacraments and other ordinances, might afterwards ha\'e
communicated in the pure use of them ; for want of which,
instead of a pure use, there hath been, and is at this day, a
most profane abuse of them, to the great dishonor of
Christ and his gospel, and to the hardening of thousands in
their imponitency. Others also endeavoring yet a further
reformation, have sued and do sue to kings, and to queens,
and parliaments, for the rooting out of the prelacy, and
with, it of such other evil fruits as grow from that bitter
root ; and, on the contrary, to have the ministry, govern-
ment, and discipline of Christ set over the parishes as they
stand; the first fruit of which reformation, if it were
1 Backus's History of New England, Boston, 1777. Vol. I. p. 25.
44 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
obtained, would be the i^rofanation of the more of God's
ordinances upon such as to whom they appertained not ;
and so to the further provocation of his majesty unto anger
against all such as so practised, or consented thereunto. Is
it not strange that men, in the reforming of a church,
should almost, or altogether, forget the church, which is the
l^eople, or should labor to crown Christ a king over a peo-
ple whose i:»rophct he hath not first been ? Or to set him
to rule, by his laws and officers, over the professed subjects
of antichrist and the devil ? Is it possible that they should
ever submit to the discipline of Christ, which have not been
first prepared, in some measure, by his holy doctrine, and
taught with meekness to stoop luider his yoke ? "
The following passage discusses one peculiarity in the
working of the English Reformation, and points out the
connection of the kingdom of Christ Avith the priest-
hood:^
" What sway authority hath in the Church of England,
appeareth in the laws of the land, which make the gov-
ernment of the church alterable at the magistrate's
pleasure ; and so the clergy, in their submission to King
Henry VIII., do derive, as they pretend, their ecclesiastical
authority from him, and so execute it. Indeed many of
the late bishops and their proctors, seeing hoAV monstrous
the ministration is of divine things by an human au-
thority and calling, and growing bold ujion the jiresent
disjiosition of the magistrate, have disclaimed that former
title, and do professedly hold their ecclesiastical power de
j}fre dimno, and so, consequently, by God's law lui alter-
able. Of whom I would demand this one question:
' What if the king should discharge and expel the present
ecclesiastical government, and plant instead of it the jDres-
1 Backus, I. p. 29.
NEW EXGLAND THEOCRACY. 45
bytcry or cldorsliip, Avoukl they submit unto llic gov-
ernment of tlie ciders, yea, or no?' If yea, then Avere
tliey traitors to the Lord Jesus, submitting to a govern-
ment ovci'throwing his government, as doth the Presby-
terian government that which is Episcopal. If no, then
how could they free themselves from such imputations of
disloyalty to princes, and disturbance of states, as where-
■\vith they load us and others opposing them. But to the
question itself: as the kingdom of Christ is not of this
Avorld but spiritixal, and he a s])iritual king (John 18 : 3G),
so must the government of this spiritual kingdom under
this spiritual king needs be spiritual, and all the laws of
it. And as Christ Jesus hath, by the merits of his priest-
hood, redeemed as well the body as the soul (1 Cor.,
6 : 20), so is he also by the sceptre of his kingdom to rule
and reign over both. Unto which, christian magistrates,
as well as meaner persons, ought to submit themselves,
and the more christian they are, the more meekly to take
the yoke of Christ iipon them ; and the greater authority
they haA-e, the more effectually to advance his sceptre over
themselves and their people, by all good means. Neither
can there be any reason given Avhy the merits of saints
may not as well be mingled with the merits of Christ, for
the saving of the church, as the laws of men with his laws,
for the ruling and guiding of it. lie is as absolute and
entire a king as he is a priest, and his people must be as
careful to preserve the dignity of the one, as to enjoy the
benefits of the other."
To these extracts we add some remarks of Robinson on
the power of the keys, which exhibit also his style of
interpreting Scripture :
" It is gi-anted by all sides that Christ gaA'C unto Peter
the keys of the kingdom, that is, the power to remit and
46 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
retain sins declaratively, as they speak; as also, that in
what respect this jjower was given to Peter, in the same
respect it was and is given to such as succeed Peter. But
the question is, in what respect or consideration this power
spoken of was delegated to him ? The papist affirms it
was given to Peter as the prince of the apostles, and so to
the bishops of Kome, as Peter's successors, and thus they
stablish the pope's primacy. The prelates say nay, but
unto Peter, an apostle, that is, a chief officer of the church,
and so to us, as chief officers succeeding him. Others af-
lirni it to belong to Peter here as a minister of the word
and sacraments, and the like, and so, consequently, to all
ministers of the gospel equally, which succeed Peter in
those and the like administrations. But we, for our parts,
do believe and profess that this promise is not made to
Peter in any of these respects, nor to any office, order,
estate, dignity or degree in the church or world, but to the
confession of faith which Peter made by way of answer to
Christ's question : " Thou art Christ, the Son of the living
God.' To this Christ replies : ' Blessed art thou ; thou art
Peter, and ujjon this rock will I build my church ; I will
give unto thee the keys,' etc. So that the building of the
chu.rch is upon the rock of Peter's confession, that is,
Christ whom he confessed. This faith is the foundation
of the church ; this faith hath the keys of the kingdom of
heaven ; what this faith shall bind or loose on earth is
bound and loosed in heaven. Thus the Protestant di-
vines, when they deal against the pope's supremacy, do
generally expound this Scripture. Now it followeth, that
whatsoever person hath received the same precious faith
Avith Peter, as all the faithful have (2 Pet. 1:1), that person
hath a part in this gift of Christ. Whosoever doth con-
fess, publish, manifest, or make known Jesus to be the
NEW ENGLAND XnEOCRACY. 47
Christ, the Son of the living God, and Saviour of the world,
that person opens heaven's gates, looseth sin, and partakes
■svith Peter in the use of the keys ; and hereupon it fol-
loweth necessarily, that one faithful man, yea, or Avoman
either, may as truly and effectually bind, both in heaven
and earth, as all the ministers in the v\'orld. But here, I
know, the lordly clergy, like the bulls of Bashan, will roar
loud upon me, as speaking things intolerably derogatory to
the dignity of the priesthood ; and it may be some others
also, either through ignorance or superstition, will take
offence at this speech, as confoimding all things ; but there
is no such cause of exception. For howsoever the keys
be one and the same in nature and efficacy, in what faith-
ful man or men's hands soever, as not dei^ending either on
the number or excellency of any persons, but upon Christ
alone ; yet it is ever to be remembered that the order and
manner of using them is very different. The keys, in
doctrine, may be turned as well upon them which are
without the church, as upon them which are within, and
their sins either loosed or bound (Matt. 28: 19); but in
discipline not so, but only i;pon them which are within
(1 Cor. 12:13). Again, the apostles by their office had
these keys to use in all churches, yea, in all nations
upon earth; ordinary elders for their particular flocks,
(Acts 14:23, and 20:28). Lastly, there is a use of the
keys publicly to be had, and a use jDnvately ; a use of iherw
by one person severally, and a use of them by the whole
church jointly and togethe^; a use of them ministerially
or in office, and a use of them out of office. But the
})ower of the gospel is still one and the same, notAvith-
stauding the diverse manner of using it."
Having shown by these statements how the doctrine of
the independence of each church was understood, supported.
48 XEW ENGLAND THEOCPtACY.
and explained by Robinson, vre will noAv add his defence
of the opposition to unrestricted communion. In refer-
ence to this point, the parable of the tares among the
Avheat had been urged upon Robinson. Pie answers :
" Since the Lord Jesus, who best knew his own meaning,
calls the field the world and makes the harvest, which is
the end of the field, the end of the world and not of the
church, why should we admit of any other interpretation ?
Neither is it likely that Christ, in the ex2:)oiinding of one
jDarable, would speak another, as he should have done, if in
calling the field the world he had meant the church. As
God there in the beginning made man good, and placed
him in the field of the world, there to groAV ; whereby the
envy of the serpent he was soon corrupted, so ever
since hath the seed of the sei-pent, stirred up by their fatlier
the devil, snarled at the heel of the woman's seed, and
like noisome tares vexed and ]3estered the good and holy
seed ; which, though the children of God both see and feel
to their pain, yet must they not therefore, forgetting Avhat
spirit they are of, presently call for fire from heaA-en, nor
prevent the Lord's hand, but Avait his leisure, either for the
converting of these tares into Avheat, Avhich in many is
daily seen (and then how great j^ity had it been they should
so untimely have been plucked up), or for their final per-
dition in the day of the Lord, when the church shall be no
more offended by them. And that the Lord Jesus no Avay
speaks of the toleration of profiine persons in the church,
doth appear by these reasons: 1. Because he doth not
contradict himself, by forbidding the use of the keys in
one place, Avhich in another he hath turned upon impeni-
tent oftenders. Matt. 18. 2. In the excommunication of
sinners apparently obstinate, Avith due circumspection, and
in the spirit of Avisdom, meekness, and long-suffering, Avith
NEW EJfGLAND TUEOCRACY. 49
sucli other general christian virtues as Mith which nil our
special sacrifices ought to be seasoned, what danger can
there be of any such disorder, as the plucking up of the
Avheat Avith the tares, which the husbandman fcareth?
3. The Lord Jesus speaks of the utter ruinating and de-
struction of the tares — the plucking them up by the roots.
But excommunication rightly administered is not for the
ruin and destruction of any, but for the salvation of the
party thereby humbled, 1 Cor. 5 : 5. The Lord's field is
sown only with good seed — his church, saints beloved of
God, all and every one of them, though by the malice
of Satan and negligence of such as should keep this field,
Aineyard, and house of God, adulterated seed and abomin-
able persons may be foisted in, yea, and suffered also."
In the year 1613,^ Robinson Avas drawn by the solicita-
tions of Polydorus, the op^ionent of Episcopius, into active
participation in the Arminian controA'ersy ; for he Avas
then regarded in Holland as a no less gifted than zealous
defender of the fundamental truths of the gosj^el. It is
worthy of note, that the Indiiferentisra in matters of faith,
which was promoted by the adherents of Arminius, univer-
sally repelled the Puritans, who, neA'ertheless, claimed
freedom in regard to discipline and rites ; Avhile on the
contrary, it soon spread A'eiy generally through the Episco-
pal Church.
The Independents- continued to live in Leyden AA'ithout
any disturbance on the part of the Holland government,
as Avithout any dissensions among themselves. Under the
care of their teacher, they remained free from those divi-
sions to Avhich their brethren had been exposed who came
prcA-iously to Holland. But after some years, the ajjprc-
1 Backus, I. 37. Mather's Slagnalia Dei Americana I, II. p. 1.
- Ncal's History of New England.
5
60 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
hcnsion awoke among them of becoming gradually ex-
tinct. Their older members were dying out ; the acces-
sions from England, which were at first numerous,^ soon
ceased, and so far from having a prospect of spreading
their views among a people who did not understand their
language, their younger members frequently married into
Holland families. So vital, and so deeply stamped into
their being, was the feeling of their church relations, that
although left undisturbed to worship God according to
their own convictions, that extinction, and the prospective
disappearance of their distinctive church characteristics,
seemed to them an evil, escape from which demanded the
greatest personal sacrifices. A return to their native coun-
try was not to be thought of, if they wished still to main-
tain the free exercise of their religion. They now di-
rected their eyes towards a newly discovered land.
1 Backus, I. p. 32.
CHAPTEE II.
THE OnCRATION TO AMERICA — FORMATION OF THE THEOCRATIC
STATE IN NEW ENGLAND — A GLANCE AT THE POLITICAL HIS-
TORY, THE MISSIONARY EFFORTS, AND FIRST L'NIVERSITY OF
NEW ENGLAND.
EARLY ATTEMPTS TO COLOXIZE THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT
FROM ENGLAND. EMIGRATION OF THE LEYDEN CHURCH. NEW
PLY3IOUTH.
The first discovery of the continent of ISTorth America,
after the visits of the Normans several hundred years pre-
vious, was made by Sebastian Cabot, during the reign of
Henry VII. of Enghind, Yet ahnost a century liad passed
away, before the plan was formed of a settlement in the
country. In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh obtained a patent
for that jDurpose ; and in connection with certain merchants
and other men of wealth, fitted out an expedition, which
landed in what is now the State of North Carolina. In
honor of Queen Elizabeth, the new territory, including
the whole eastern coast of the present North American
republics, was named Virginia. That first attempt had,
however, as little permanence as those wliich followed.
Most of the colonists perished either in expeditions against
the Indians, or from excessive toils and privations ; the
remainder returned to England in ships Avliich liad been
sent out for their assistance. In the year 1G02, Captain
Gosnold, by a direct course towards the more northerly
regions of North America, reached Avhat is now called
62 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
Massachusetts Bay, He entered into traffic with the
natives, and on his return to Enghnnd gave a very favor-
able description of the excellent harbors, the capacity of
the soil, and of the natural facilities both for commerce
and fisheries. This revived the desire for establishing set-
tlements in the country, and in 1G06, two companies re-
ceived from James I. a i^atent for this purpose. Tliey
were destined for South and North Virginia, by whicli
latter designation was understood the region north of the
jDresent State of Maryland. Both companies fitted out ex-
peditions ; the former founded Jamestown, in the State of
Virginia; the latter, in 1608, effected a settlement on the
river Sagadehoc in Maine, which, however, shared the fate
of the earlier attempts, and was soon abandoned. A
farther attemj^t was made in 1614, by Captain John
Smith,^ W'ho gave the name of New England to the region
around Massachusetts Bay, and brought a chart of the
same to England. Still the Company for North Virginia,
(called also Pljauouth Company, on account of its mem-
bers being mostly from the county of Devonshire), did not
succeed in forming a permanent settlement till, after the
lapse of several years, they connected themselves with the
Independent churches in Leyden.
In the year 1617, the latter concluded decisively on emi-
gration, and sent agents to the Virginia Company, to
negotiate respecting an extensive tract in the northern
part of the new continent. The proposition was favorably
1 John Smith, one of the boldest adventurers of that age, had been of
great sei-vicc also in the colonization and permanent settlement of South
Virginia, where he was for a time governor. A description of his eventful
life is found in The Library of American Biographj^ by Jared Sparks : Bos-
ton, 1834. He himself wrote a history of the colonies : The general history
of Virginia and New England, by Capitaine John Smith, sometimes gov-
emour in those countrys, and Amirall of New England. London, 1627.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCIIACY. 53
entertained, the more so, from tlic encouragement tlicy
hail for believing that this settlement j^ossessed the neces-
sary elements of permanence.^ The emigrants were suffi-
ciently numerous ; inured, by long sej)aration from their
native land, to privations ; industrious and temperate ;
their peculiar organization tended to internal unity and
firm mutual adherence ; and as their object "was simj)ly the
promotion of pure religion, so they doubted not of the
blessing of Almighty God upon their undertaking. Ajipli-
cation was made in their behalf to the Privy Council, set-
ting forth the advantages to be derived by the crown of
England from such a settlement, in regard to the promo-
tion of commerce. But the King's hostility to the Puritans
gave rise to serious difficulties. lie promised not to molest
them there, so long as they demeaned themselves peace-
ably, but refused them the warrant of his signature, as
tolerated and recognized. They hesitated, without some
such security, to emigrate to a land which was yet to be
reduced to tillage. The negotiations were consequently
broken off; but, two years after, the wishes of the church
being seconded by the encouraging assurances of the
company, they were again resumed. By unremitted efforts,
a jiatent was at length obtained fi'om government, under
the seal of the Virginia Comj^any, and they now resolved
to put their plan in execution without delay. As all of
their number were not fully prepared for the emigration, it
was concluded that a part should go first, under the guid-
ance of their Elder, William Brewster, while Robinson
should, for a while, remain behind with the others ; both
divisions, however, still constituting one church, neither of
them formally dismissing members to the other, nor requir-
ing of them new evidence before admission. They 2:)ur-
1 Backus, I. 34.
54 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
chased, in England, two ships, in the hirger of which, tlie
"Mayflower," of one linndred and eighty tons, tlie emi-
grants embarked from liolhmd. All being now in readi-
ness, Kobinson and his church held, on the 2d of July,
1G20, a day of solemn fasting and jorayer, for supplicating
the divine blessing on this bold adventure. We subjoin
the closing part of Robinson's address to them on this
occasion, as showing that tlie Independents regarded their
organization as a necessary step in the progress of the
Reformation ; while, on the other hand, they exj^ressly
disclaimed the separatistic element, jji'oi^erly so called,
which had proceeded from Brown :
" Brethren : we are now quickly to part from one
another, and whether I may ever live to see your faces on
earth any more, the God of heaven only knows ; but,
whether the Lord has apjDointed that or no, I charge you,
before God and his blessed angels, that you follow me no
fiTrtlier than you liave seen me follow the Lord Jesus
Christ. If God reveal anytliing to you, by any other
instrument of his, be as ready to receive it as ever you
were to receive any truth by my ministry ; for I am A^crily
persuaded the Lord has more ti'uth yet to break forth out
of his holy word. For my j)art, I cannot sufficiently be-
wail tlie condition of the Reformed churches, who are
come to a period in religion, and will go, at present, no
farther than the instruments of their reformation. The
Lutherans cannot be drawn to go beyond what Luther
saw ; whatever part of his will our God has revealed to
Calvin, they will rather die than embrace it ; and the Cal-
vinists, you see, stick fast where they were left by that
great man of God, who yet saw not all things. Tliis is a
misery miich to be lamented, for though tliey were burn-
ing and shining lights in their times, yet they jienetrated
NEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY. 55
not into the whole counsel of God ; but, were they now
living, "svould be as willing to embrace farther light, as
that which they first received. I beseech you remember —
it is an article of your church covenant — that ye be ready
to receive whatever truth shall be made known to you
from the wi-itten word of God. Kemember that, and
every other article of your sacred covenant. But I must
here, withal, exhort you to take heed what you receive as
trxxth, — examine it, consider it, and comjiai-e it with other
scriptures of truth bcfpre you receive it ; for it is not ])os-
sible the christian world should come so lately out of
such thick, antichristian darkness, and that jicrfection of
knowledge should break forth at once. I must also advise
you to abandon, avoid, and shake oflE* the name of Brown-
ists ; it is a mere nickname, and a brand for making re-
ligion and the professors of it odious to the christian
world. Unto this end, I should be extremely glad if
some godly minister would go with you, or come to you,
before you can have any company ; for there will be no
difference between the unconformable ministers of Eng-
land and you, when you come to the practice of evangeli-
cal ordinances out of the kingdom. And I would wish
you, by all means, to close with the godly people of Eng-
land; study union with them in all things wherein you
can have it without sin, rather than in the least measure to
effect a di\'ision or separation from them, Neither would
I have you loth to take another pastor besides myself; in-
asmuch as a flock that hath two shepherds is not tliereby
endangered, but secured."
The emigrants left Leyden soon after, accompanied, as
far as Delfthaven, by Robinson and the greater part of
those who remained behind. On taking leave, they were
commended by their pastor to the protection of Pleaven,
56 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
and amidst heartfelt demonstrations of mutual attach-
ment the travellers dejDarted, in order to set sail from
SouthamjDton in the county of Hampshire. Here they
received a letter from Robinson,^ in which he exhorted
them to make sure their own peace with God, to avoid all
offences among themselves, mutually to forbear each other,
to subordinate their private interests to the common good,
and after choosing their civil governors with wisdom,
to submit to their authority as an ordinance established by
God.
On the 5th of August, 1620, they set sail in their two
ships from Southampton. Soon after their departure, the
captain of the smaller vessel declared it unseaworthy.
Although it was repaired in Dartmouth harbor, yet, after
running out a second time, he repeated his apprehensions,
and both ships were compelled to return again to Plymouth.
The smaller one remained behind, and with it some of the
voyagers ; the remainder embarked in the Mayflower,
which on the 6th of September again put out to sea, "with
one hundred and twenty jjassengers. After a very diflicult
voyage, they arrived on the 9th of November at Cajie
Cod, 42° north latitude, and between 52° and 53° west
longitude. Their destination was not this region, but the
mouth of the Hudson. But on again weighing anchor,
the captain ran the ship among dangerous cliffs and break-
ers, and a storm drove them back to the Cape; and they
now resolved, on account of the advanced season, to
attempt a settlement where they were. It has been
asserted that the captain was bribed by the Dutch, wlio
wished tliemselves to take possession of the mouth of
the Hudson. They did, indeed, found there the colony
of New Amsterdam soon after, but subsequently Avere
1 Backus, I., p. 35, flf. Appendix I.
NEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY. 57
obliged to rclinquisli it to the English. Of our settlers,
forty-one men, making with their families in all one hun-
dred and one jiersons, reached America. On their arrival,
they organized themselves by the following act :
"In the name of God, Amen. "We whose names are
iinderwrittcn, loyal subjects of our dread sovereign lord,
King James, by the grace of God of Great Britain, France
and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, etc. Having
undertaken, for the glory of God and advancement of the
christian faith and honor of our king and country, a voy-
age to jjlant the first colony in the northern parts of Vir-
ginia, by these presents do solemnly and mutually, in the
presence of God and of one another, covenant and combine
ourselves into a civil body politic for our better ordering
and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid,
and by virtvie hereof to enact, constitute and frame such
just and equal laws and ordinances, acts, constitutions and
offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet
and convenient for the general good of the colony, unto
which we promise all due subjection and obedience.
Cape Cod, the 11th November, 1620."
Their next object was to select a landing-j^lace suitable
for a settlement, a task the more difficult and wearisome
on account of the ice Avith which the sea had already cov-
ered the shore. From their place of anchorage, they sent
out several little expeditions for the exjoloration of the
coast ; and at length, after five weeks, they again weighed
anchor on the loth of December, to run into the harbor of
Cape Cod. On the 20th they left the ship, and chose a
hill Avhich commanded the surrounding country and over-
looked the Bay, as their place of settlement. Hei-e, on the
23d of December, they laid the foundations of a town to
which they gave the name of New Plymouth. The con-
68 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
stancy and firmness of the settlers would, however, hardly
have saved them from the fate of their predecessors, had
not a contagious sickness shortly before swept away nine-
tenths of the Indians in this region. A few months after,
a treaty of peace was concluded with the remainder, which,
with unimportant interruptions, (as for instance the war
carried on in 1637, particularly in Connecticut, against the
Pequots,) secured quiet to the colony, for more than half a
century, that is, down to the great Indian war with King
Philip, in the year 1675. These friendly relations were
maintained by strict attention to justice in dealing with
the Indians. The land needed for the settlement "was jiur-
chased of them; a court of justice was established for j^ro-
tecting them against frauds by private j)ersons ; and in all
their relations with them the English were subjected to
the full rigor of the law. It was, moreover, regarded as
a holy duty to communicate to the Indians the imperisha-
ble blessings of Christianity ; and in truth, it was in New
England that the first successful missionary efibrts of the
evangelical church had their birth.
On the other side, the settlers had to contend witli diffi-
culties and calamities, whose severity, especially during
the first winter, threatened the very existence of the col-
ony. The hardshijis incident to their voyage and settle-
ment, the Avant of houses to j^rotect them against the
inclemency of the season, as well as of many necessities
of life, and in addition, the unusual severity of the winter,
had given rise to diseases which carried off, within the first
four or five months, one half of their number. For several
years they Avere obliged to dej^end for their subsistence
chiefly ui^on hunting and fishing. Often, through the fail-
ure of their crojDS, they had scarcely corn enough for seed,
and the sujijilies from England relieved only their most
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 59
pressing necessities. But there was another M\ant which
they felt still more painfully. The greater part of their
brethren who had remained in Leyden now shrunk from
following them, and by this means, Kobinson was pre-
vented from coming to New England. He died on the
19th of Febniary 1025, lamented not only by his own con-
gregation, but by the Hollanders also, who testified at his
funeral their appreciation and esteem for his character.
For several succeeding years they were obliged to depend
for their instruction and guidance on their Elder, Mr.
Brewster, or on other gifted laymen. Among those who
subsequently joined them from England, was a minister by
the name of Ralph Smith, who in 1629 was chosen to be
their preacher. As their circumstances improved, they
dissolved connection with the Company of Merchant
Adventurers, after refunding the money advanced by it for
their assistance. Under Charles I the colony obtained a
patent, which had been drawn in favor of Governor \Yil-
ham Bradford, but was made over by hini to the General
Court of New Plymouth.
MASSACHUSETTS BAY COMPANY — SETTLEMENT OF SALEM AND
CUAKLESTOAVN.
Soon after the founding of New Pl}Tnouth, several
attempts were made to colonize the more northerly regions
of Massachusetts Bay; but these undertakings, which orig-
inated solely in worldly aims, remained without any per-
manent result. This, howcA^ er, did not discourage similar
enterprises. When it became kno^vn that the colony of
New Pl}Tiiouth was beginning to prosper, the wish, stimu-
lated by the continued j^ersecution of the Puritans, of find-
ing an asylum for religious freedom, became active in Eng-
land. At this same time a Company for the establishment
60 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
of larger settlements Avas formed, which soon extentled
its operations, as such attemj)ts at new settlements began
to prove more successful. On the 4th of March, 1629,
this association was, by a royal charter, incorporated as
a political body, under the name of " the Governor and
Company of Massachusetts Bay in New England." Its
members were empowered to choose yearly their gov-
ernor, lieut. governor, and eighteen assistants or magis-
trates,^ from the free citizens- of the aforenamed company.
They were to hold quarterly a general assembly, or
supreme court ; they could admit freemen, choose officers,
apjjortion land, and as it seemed to them desirable for
the Avelfare of the settlement, could make laws, these being
not in contravention of the laws of England ; while to
all who might settle in this region, the right was guaran-
teed of worshipping God according to their own con-
sciences. The provisions of this charter foi'med the basis
of the subsequent constitution of the colany. Immedi-
ately after the choice of a governor, agents were sent over
partly to aid the present settlers, partly to obtain more
exact information. Two Nonconformist ministers, Hig-
ginson^ and Skelton by name, Avere then persuaded to
accompany the expedition of six ships which was about
being sent out. With them Avent also the aboA-e-men-
tioned Ralph Smith, and thirty-five families from the Ley-
den church, which had been dissolved after Robinson's
death. They landed on the 24th of June, 1629, and
founded the toAvns of Salem and NeAvton, afterwards
called Cambridge.
1 These constituted the governor's council.
2 The documents respecting these transactions are contained in a col-
lection of original papers relative to the history of the colony of Massachu-
setts Bay. Boston, 1760. Here also is Higginson's diaiy of his journey.
NEW EXGLAND TnEOCRACY. 61
With tlicsc nc^\- comers also, religion had hocn the mov-
ing cause of emigration. Tliey immediately aj.plicl, there-
fore, to their Plymouth brethren for information respecting
the churdi order and disci])line here established, which had
been derived from Robinson; and after several conferences
on the subject, resolved to form a church after the same
model. Higginson thereupon drew up the following
covenant, as an expression of the sentiments of these cof-
onists : —
" We covenant with our Lord and one with another ; and
we do bind ourselves in the presence of God, to 'walk
together in all his ways, according as he is pleased to reveal
himself unto us in his blessed word of truth ; and do explic-
itly, in the name and fear of God, profess and protest to
walk as followeth, through the power and grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
" We avouch the Lord to be our God, and ourselves to
be bis people, in the truth and simplicity of our spirits.
" We give ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ and the
word of his grace for the teaching, ruling, and sanctifving
us in matters of worship and conversation, resolving to
cleave unto him alone for life and glory, and to reject all
contrary ways, canons and constitutions of men in his wor-
ship.
"We promise to walk with our brethren with all watch-
fulness and tenderness, avoiding jealousies and suspicions,
backbitings, censurings, provokings, secret risings of spirit
against them; but in all offences to follow the rule of our
Lord Jesus, and to bear and forbear, give and forgive, as
he hath taught us.
"In public or private, we will willingly do nothing to the
offence of the church ; but will be willing to take advice for
ourselves and ours, as occasion shall be presented.
G
62 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
" "We Avill not in the congregation be forward either to
show our own gifts in speaking or scrupling, or there dis-
cover the weakness or failings of our brethren ; but attend
an orderly call thereunto, knowing how much the Lord
may be dishonored, and his gospel and the profession of it
slighted by our distempers "and weaknesses in public.
" We bind ourselves to study the advancement of the
gospel in all truth and peace ; both in regard of those that
are within or without ; no way slighting our sistei'-churches,
but using their counsel, as need shall be ; not laying a
stumbling-block before any, no, not the Indians, whose good
we desire to promote ; and so to converse, as we may avoid
the very appearance of evil.
" We do hereby promise to carry ourselves in all lawful
obedience to those that are over us, in church or common-
wealth, knowing how well-pleasing it will be to the Lord
that they should have encouragement in their places by our
not grieving their spirits through our irregularities.
" We resolve to api^rove ourselves to the Lord in our
particular callings, shunning idleness as the bane of any
state; nor will we deal hardly or oppressively with any
wherein we are the Lord's stewards.
" Promising, also, imto our best ability to teach our
children and servants the knowledge of God, and of his
will, that they may serve him also ; and all this not by any
strength of our own, but by the Lord Christ ; whose blood
we desire may sprinkle this our covenant made in his
name."
In presence of the delegates from the church of New
Plymouth, the persons assembled thereupon declared sol-
emnly and each one for himself, their agreement with this
Confession of Faith. They then proceeded to choose Hig-
ginson and Skelton as their pastors, and ordained them to
NEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY. 63
the office through the layiiio; on of hands by certain breth-
ren appointed by tlie cluirch for that i)urpo.se. The church
being tluis constituted, a number more "were accepted as
members; some, on a decharation of their agreement Avith
the covenant ; others, on a written statement of their faitli
and hope ; and others, again, on an oral relation before the
church in regard to their sjiiritual state ; but no one was
admitted without satisfactory evidence of a blameless life
and conversation. A sufficient warrant in regard to faith
and life was the only condition of fellowship ; in what form,
was left to the discretion of the elders. They furthermore
agreed with the Pl^-mouth church in regarding the children
of believers as chm-eh-mcmbers with their parents, and bap-
tism as a seal of this membership. Only it was required
that, before admission to the Lord's Supper, each one
should be examined by the church-officers ; if found to be
sufficiently instructed in the essential doctrines of religion,
free from open scandal, and willing to confess publicly to
the covenant, he was then admitted.
It is obvious that the regulations here adopted were lia-
ble to fluctuation ; for in matters of conscience, everything
cannot be foreseen and a complete system formed at once.
It appears, too, by com23aring the Avords of Iligginson when
leaving England with the course pursued by his church
towards members of the Episcopal communion, that such
opposition resulted from no settled plan, but was more or
less forced upon them. Mather^ relates that Iligginson, on
setting sail from the Isle of Wight, looked back on his
native land and exclaimed : " We will not say as the Sepa-
ratists were wont to say at their leaving of England, Fare-
well Babylon ! farewell Rome ! but we Avill say. Farewell,
1 Magnalia, Book III. p. 74. In the diarj- and letters of Iligginson (col-
lection of original papers,) nothing is found in relation to this point.
64" NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
dear England ! farewell, the church of God in England, and
all the christian friends there ! We do not go to New
England as separatists from the Church of England; though
Ave cannot but separate from the corruptions in it ; but we
go to practise the positive part of H;hurcli reformation, and
propagate the gospel in America." But they wished, nev-
ertheless, to be free from that which had so agitated the
Church of England, and hindered the full development of
the Reformation. Soon after the formation of the cluirch
in Salem, some among the settlers opposed the establish-
ment of public worship, because the Liturgy of the Church
of England had been discarded. They charged the minis-
ters with favoring separatism, out of which Avould soon
grow anabaptism ; and they declared that they would, for
their part, adhere to the order of the English Church. But
the ministers replied that "they were neither Separatists
nor Anabaptists; that they did not separate from the
Church of England, nor from the ordinances of God there,
but only from the corruptions and disorders of that clmrch ;
that they came away from the common prayer and cere-
monies, and had suffered much for their non-conformity in
their native land ; and therefore, being in a place where
they might have their liberty, they neither could nor would
use them; inasmuch as they judged the imposition of these
things to be a sinful violation of the worship of God." The
leaders of the opposite party, two brothers by the name of
Brown, attempted to set up a church of their own ; but, by
authority of the magistrates, in which the clergy unreseiw-
edly concurred, they were immediately sent back to Eng-
land. Perhaps some civil offence was connected with this
disagreement;^ perhaps, also, men who had fled from per-
1 Neal, in his History of New England, I. p. 145, cliarges tlienx with
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. ' 65
secution, mli^ht find cause of apprehension in the estahUsli-
mcnt of a church which attached so liigli a vahio to the
very things on account of which they liad been persecuted
and exiled. The government regarded the measure as one
of self-defence.
GOVEUNMEXT OF THE COLOXY TRANSFERRED TO NEW ENGLAND
FOUNDING OF BOSTON.
The Massachusetts Bay Company, Avhich had been char-
tered by royal authority, on being informed of the pros-
perous condition of the settlements made in 1G20, wished
to adopt some special measures for their advancement. It
was resolved to transfer the government of the colony to
Xew England itself; and accordingly John Winthrop, who
with many other distinguislied and wealthy men was
desirous of settling in New England, was chosen Gov-
ernor. Harmonizing with the cohmists in religious views,
lie had also had opportunity for showing, under very diffi-
cult circumstances, his capacity for this office, to which,
with brief interruptions, he was reelected for twenty suc-
cessive years. A few days after the departure of the
expedition (consisting of ten ships) a little writing was
published,^ entitled "The humble request of his Majesty's
loyal subjects, the Governor and Company lately gone for
New England, to the rest of their brethren in and of the
Church of England ; for the obtaining of their prayers,
and the removal of suspicions and misconstructions of
their intentions." "We desire," — such is its language —
"you would be pleased to take notice of the jiriucipals
and body of our company, as those who esteem it our
" endeavoring to raise a mutiny;" but this assertion is not sustained by
evidence, and Mather says nothing of the kind.
1 Hutchinson's Historj' of Massachusetts, Vol. I., Appendix.
6*
66 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
honor to call the Church of EngL^nd, from whence we
arise, our dear mother, and cannot part from our native
country where she specially resideth, without much sad-
ness of heart, and many tears in our eyes ; ever acknowl-
edging that such hoi)e and part as we have obtained in
the common salvation, we have received it in her bosom,
and sucked it from her breasts. We leave it not, there-
fore, as loathing that milk wherewith we were nourished
there, but, blessing God for the parentage and education
as members of the same body, shall always rejoice in her
good, and unfeignedly grieve for any sorrow that shall
ever betide her ; and, while we have breath, sincerely de-
sire and endeavor the continuance and abundance of her
welfare, with the enlargement of her bounds in the king-
dom of Christ Jesus. You are not ignorant that the spirit
of God stirred up the ajjostle Paul to make a continual
mention of the church at Philippi, which was a colony
from Rome ; let the same spirit, we beseech you, put you
in mind that are the Lord's remembrancers, to pray for us
without ceasing, who are the weak colony from your-
selves. — What goodness you shall extend unto us, in this
or any other christian kindness, we your brethren in Christ
Jesus shall labor to repay, in Avhat duty we are or shall be
able to perform ; promising so far as God shall enable us,
to give him no rest on your behalfs ; wishing our heads
and hearts may be fountains of tears for your everlasting
welfare, when we shall be in our poor cottages in the wil-
derness overshadowed with the spirit of supplication,
through the manifold necessities and tribulations which
may, not altogether unexpectedly, nor we hope unprofit-
ably, befall us."
The exiles who in this manner bade fai-ewell to their
native land, landed in Salem, July, 1630. From this place
NEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY. 67
they settled CharlestOAvn and Dorchester, and to-svards the
end of the same year founded the town of Boston, wliich,
as the seat of government, and through its superior com-
mercial position, soon rose into great importance. In the
years following, under the oppressive administration of
Archbishop Laud, emigration became a still more pressing
necessity ; so that settlements were speedily formed, not only
on the coast of Massachusetts Bay, but farther west, as at the
mouth and on the shores of the Connecticut. These later
colonics did not, however, rise into the rank of Massachu-
setts, which at the very outset had left the older settle-
ment of Xew Plymouth far behind. But in tracing the
historical development which the church-system of the
Indejiendents exhibited in New England, Massachusetts
will preeminently demand consideration, not alone on
account of her extent of territory, but because here the
principles of the Independents Avere most distinctly cx-
]iound(jd, and most powerfully defended ; and it was from
this chief theatre of outward assault and inward conflict,
that the consequences of the struggle passed OA'cr to the
rest of Xew England. But before attempting to portray
these conflicts, we must now consider what appears as
characteristic of this new church-party in America ; and
we must also, in connection with a retrospect of the orig-
inal character of the Independents, particularly exhibit the
change wrought in this respect by the emigration.
THJE TWO FUXDAMliXTAL PRIXCIPLES OF COXGREGATIOXALISM.
Ix separating from the Episcopal Church, the Church
party of tlie Independents, as we have seen, not merely
took ground against certain specific abuses, but assumed a
peculiar character, through the two following positions,
viz:
68 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACT.
1. The several churches are altogether mdei^endent of
one another.
2. Evidence of the requisite qualifications is required by
the church, before admission to the Lord's Supper.
These principles, first announced in Holland, and
brought thence to New Plymouth, found almost universal
acceptance among such of the New England settlers as
had forsaken their native land on account of religion.
From the very outset their institutions were regulated,
and the conflicts which arose were conducted, by these
fundamental principles. The most exj^licit and decided
expression of them is found in the platform of church dis-
cipline, projDosed in a synod held at Cambridge, in Massa-
chusetts, 1648, which was generally adopted. This
Confession of Faith belongs, indeed, to a later period, and
we shall have occasion to recur to it farther on;^ but, as
it expresses throughout, as we shall see, the principles of
the early colonists unchanged,^ we may here borrow from
1 See Chapter V.
2 In the Collection of original papers is found a document called An Ab-
stract of the Laws of Neiu England, probably from the year 1G37. This
abstract was printed in London in 1635, and is mentioned by the editor,
William Aspinwell, as a work of Cotton, who will claim our notice farther
on. Those of the enactments which relate to the Church, contain the germ
of the Synodial-conclusions of 1648. Thus, among the duties of the gov-
ernor is reckoned the preservation of religion, and the general court is to
support him in maintaining the purity and the unity of religion. Civil
rights belong alone to members of the churches which have been regularly
formed with the concun-ence of the churches already established; as such
members those are designated who are admitted to the Lord's Supper.
We here subjoin the following characteristic laws : According to Ch. 3.
§ 4. no one is to build his house above half a mile, at most a mile, from
the place where the church assembles. Ch. 8. k 5- declares that heresy is
the stubborn maintenance of a destructive error which subverts the foun-
dations of the christian religion; if connected with attempts to seduce
others, it shall be punished with death, such a heretic being no less than
NEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY. 69
it the official declarations of the same. In the socontl
chapter, after making the distinction between the cliurcli
militant and the churcli triumphant, as Avell as between
tlie visible and the invisible church, it thus proceeds, in
reference to fellowship in the church :
"5. The state of the members of the militant visible
church, Avalking in order, was either, before the law (Gen.
18 : 10, Ex. 19 : 6), economical, that is, in families ; or, under
tlie law, national: or, since the coming of Christ, only-
congregational,^ — therefore neither national, provincial,
nor classical."'
" 6. A congregational church is, by the institution of
Christ, a part of the militant visible church, consisting of
a company of saints by calling, united into one body by a
holy covenant, for the public worship of God, and the
mutual edification of one another in the fellowship of tlie
Lord Jesus."
By the term "saints by calling" is to be understood,
according to chaj^ter 3, 5 2 : "1. Such as have not only
attained the knowledge of the i)rinciples of religion, an<J
are free from open and gross scandals, but also do, together
with the profession of their faith and repentance.^ walk in
Nameless obedience to the icord. 2. The children of such,
who are also holy." The more particular determinations,
an idolater, h 6. Such members of the church as obstinately, after due
admonition and conviction, refuse to submit to the will of the well grounded
churches, and to their christian reproof and discipline, shall be cut off by
banishment, or be punished according to the judgment of the court.
1 Here occurs in parentheses the words : " tlie term Independent we ap-
prove not." This change of names, Brownists, Independents, Congrega-
tionalists, is certainly not without significance.
2 The last term has reference to the synodical, classical, and congrega-
tional assemblies of Presbyterianism. The classes embrace several con-
gregations and are subject to the synods.
70 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
in respect to the requisites for church membership, which
are contained in the twelfth chapter of this platform, and
have reference to a certain contrary view, previously men-
tioned, will be given in full presently. Respecting the
other i^oint, the limits of church government, we hei"e
notice the princi2:>le, laid down in chapter 3, § 4, that the
bounds of a church shall not overgo such limits as that all
the members may not conveniently meet together in one
place. On a gi'eater increase of the jDopulation they should,
as indeed happened continually, form two churches. So
also, through the choice of ministers, elders, and, deacons,
was maintained the direct partici23ation of the whole body
in church government. In regard to this, a distinction is
made between the power exercised by the officers of the
church, as such, and that belonging to all the members.
Thus, chaj)ter 5, § 2, it is said : " The latter is in the breth-
ren, formally and immediately from Christ ; that is, so as it
may be acted and exercised immediately by themselves ;
the former is not in them fonnally or immediately, and
therefore cannot be acted or exercised immediately by
them, but is said to be in them, in that they design the
persons unto office, who only are to act or to exercise this
power." Even though it is said, chapter 10, that these two
powers are supplementary to each other, yet has the church
the right to dismiss her officers ; not only because she has
herself chosen them, but because in her resides the power
of church government. This constitution, which is, in the
proper sense of the word, democratic (so, indeed, it is ex-
i:)ressly designated), essentially conti'ibuted to maintain, in
the relations of the churches thus existing side by side, the
principles of independency. It is true, several synods
were soon called, and even empowered to " debate and-
determine controversies of faith and cases of conscience,"
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRA.CY. 71
to issue admonitions in reference to single churches, and
even to exclude from fellowship such churches as departed
from the right way. Still it is declared, in chapter 16, ^ 4,
that the synods " cannot exercise church censures^ in way
of disciplitie, nor any other act of church authority or
jurisdiction^
THE COXGREGATIONALIST THEOCRACY.
The two principles here mentioned, which are still held
by the Congregationalists of the present day, were cher-
ished as of vital imj^ort by our colonists, to whom the
affairs of religion, the exercise of their o"\vn form of Avor-
ship, and the enjoyment of the divinely instituted means
of grace, appeared the goal of all their efforts. Tliey
regarded themselves, moreover, not as single fugitives, but
as a body politic — an idea brought out in the Instru-
ment, siibseribed at Cape Cod in 1620,^ with a clearness
"wiiicli excites astonishment. What they wished was a
State, Avhich they could enjoy in common as an ordinance
of God. But the State was to unfold within the church.
As they regarded the government as God's servant, so
likewise all citizens, as such, were to serve God. Thus " it
was resolved in the General Court, at Boston, May 18,"
1631, that "for the future no one shall be admitted to
the freedom of this body politic, unless he be a member of
some church within the limits of the same." Thus Avas
here dcA'cloped a State church. One CAidence of this is
fui'nished by this fact, among others, that the clergy Avere
to be supported, not merely by the contributions of actual
church members, but " all who are instructed in the Word
must contribute for those by Avhom they are taught in all
good things." [Platform, chap. 1 1, ^ 4.] The views then
1 See p. 57.
72 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
entertained of the relation between the civil and the eccle-
siastical government, serve to exj)lain the measures pur-
sued in the controversies, as well as in the develoj^ment of
the Congregationalist church in general. We here quote
fi'om the articles of the jilatform, thus giving the views, in
their very words, of those who professed them. The 17tli
chapter treats oi '■'• the power of the civil authority in church
matters^'' and maintains :
" 1. That it is lawful, lirofitable, and necessary for Chris-
tians to gather themselves together into church estate, and
therein to exercise all the ordinances of Christ, according
unto the Word, although the consent of the magistrate could
not be had thereunto ; because the apostles, and Christians
iup their time, did frequently thus practise when the magis-
trates being all of them Jewish and j^agan, and most per-
secuting enemies, would give no countenance or consent
to such matters.
" 2. Church-government stands in no oiiposition to civil
government of commonwealths, nor any way intrencheth
uj^on the authority of civil magistrates in their jurisdic-
tions ; nor any whit weakeneth their hands in governing,
but rather strengtheneth them, and furthereth the people
in yielding more ready and conscionable obedience to
them, whatsoever some ill-affected jiersons to the ways of
Christ have suggested, to alienate the affections of kings
and princes from the ordinances of Christ ; as if the king-
dom of Christ in his church could not rise or stand with-
out the falling and weakening of their government, which
is also of Christ (Isa. 40 : 23) ; whereas the contrary is
most true, that they may both stand together and flourish,
the one being helpfid unto the other, in their distinct and
due discriminations.
"3. The power and authority of magistrates is not for
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 73
the restraining of churches (Rom. 10: 4., 1 Tim. 2 : 2), or
any other good works, but for helping in and furthering
thereof; and therefore the consent and countenance of
magistrates, when it may be liad, is not to be slighted
or lightly esteemed ; but, on the contrary, it is a jjart of
that honor due to christian magistrates, to desire and crave
their consent and approbation therein ; which being ob-
tained, the churches may then proceed in their way, with
much more encouragement and comfort.
"4. It is not in the power of magistrates to compel
their subjects to become cluirch-members, and to partake
of the Lord's supper (Ezek. 44 : 7, 9) ; for the jiriests are
reproved, that brought unworthy ones into the sanctuary
(1 Cor. 5 : 11) ; then it was unlawful for the priests, so is
it as unlawful to be done by civil magistrates ; those whom
the church is to cast out if they were in, the magistrate
ought not to thrust them into the church, nor to hold them
therein.
" 0. As it is unlawful for church-officers to meddle with
the sword of the magistrate, so it is unlawful for the ma-
gistrate to meddle with the work proper to church-officers.
The acts of Moses and David, who were not only princes
but prophets, were extraordinary, therefore not imitable.
Against such usurpation the Lord witnessed, by smiting
Uzziah wdth leprosy for presuming to offer incense.
"6. It is the duty of the magistrate to take care of mat-
ters of religion, and to improve his civil authority for the
observing of the duties commanded in the first, as well as
for observing of the duties commanded in the second
table.i They are called gods (Ps. 88 : 8.) The end of
the magistrate's office is not only the quiet and peaceable
life of the subject in matters of righteousness and honesty,
1 In other words, duties towards God as well as towards man.
7
74 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
but also in matters of godliness, yea, of all godliness (1
Tim, 2:2). Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, Asa, Jehosa-
phat, Ilezekiali, Josiah, are much commended by the Holy
Gh'ost, for the putting forth their authority in matters of
religion ; on the contrary, such kings as have been failing
this way are frequently taxed and reproved of the Lord.
And not only the kings of Judah, but also Job (chap. 29 -.
25), Nehemiah (chap. 13.), the king of Nineveh (Jonah
3 : 7), Darius, Artaxerxes (Ezra 7), Nebuchadnezzar (Dan.
3 : 29), whom none looked at as types of Christ (though
were it so, there were no place for any just objection) are
commended in the books of God, for exercising their
authority in this way.
"7. The objects of the power of the magistrate are not
things merely in^yard, and so not subject to his cognizance
and view, as unbelief, hardness of heart, erroneous opinions
not vented, but only such things as are acted by the outer
man ; neither is their power to be exercised in commanding
such acts of the outward man, and punishing the neglect
thereof, as are but mere inventions and devices of men,
but about such acts as are commanded and forbidden in
the Word ; yea, such as the Word doth clearly determine,
though not always clearly to the judgment of the magis-
trate or others, yet clearly in itself In these he, of right,
ought to put forth his authority, though ofttimes actually
he doth it not.^
"8. Idolatry, blasphemy, heresy, venting corrupt and
pernicious opinions that destroy the foundation, open con-
tempt of the word preached, profanation of the Lord's
day, disturbing the peaceable administration and exercise
1 This provision, as M'ell as many others in these laws, is exceedingly in-
definite. The application to single cases could only be determined by tlie
spirit of the code, which is indeed sufficiently manifest.
♦ NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 75
of the worship and holy things of God, are to be restrained
and punished by civil authority.
" 9. If any church, one or more, shall grow schismatical,
rending itself from the communion of other churches, or
shall walk incorrigibly and obstinately in any corru]>t AV'ay
of their own, contrary to the rule of the Word ; in such
case the magistrate is to put forth his coercive power, as
the matter shall require. The tribes on this side Jordan
intended to make war against the other tribes, for building
the altar of witness, (Josh. 22), whom they suspected to
have turned away therein from following of the Lord."
From these declarations it is manifest that the govern-
ment was THEOCRATIC. The settlers, whose aim it was to
derive all their institutions from the word of God, here
also universally appealed to the Jewish code.^ It is from
this point of view that we must contemplate those jier-
emptory measures for the expulsion of every oj^j^osite
tendency, which threatened to disturb the unity of the
Church and the State governments, or but to cripple the
efficiency of the latter. But here we must especially call
attention to that peculiarity of this theocratic constitution,
by which no one was permitted to exercise a civil office, or
even to enjoy full civil rights, unless he were a member of
some regular church, established and ordered in accord-
ance Avith the principles of the Independents. In the case
of State Churches elsewhere, whether of past or j^resent
1 Collection of original papers, p. 161, where occurs the following quo-
tation from a manuscript biograpliy of John Davenport (p. 108,) by Cot-
ton : " Tlie Theocracy, that is, God's government, is to be established as
the best form of government. Here the people, who chooses its civil
rulers, is God's people, and, equally with those they choose, in covenant
with him; they are members of the churches; God's laws and God's ser-
vants are enquired of for counsel."
76 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. *
time, membership is conferred by birth, and no one, while
conforming to existing usages, and to the preponderating
influence of the older members, is excluded except for
some explicitly avowed contrariety of opinion. But in
New England, one could not thus silently pass into the
membership of the church. He was only admitted on
the development in the individual of a definite conscious
need for fellowship with the church, and when, after being
examined by the minister and elders, he had publicly made
confession of his faith before the church, and had given
evidence of his religious state as that of a regenerate man.
Thus, was the State also, as well as the Church, to be a
COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS.
It is the object of the following chapters to depict, first
the conflict which arose with, and also within, this the-
ocratic constitution ; secondly, the dissolution of the
same ; and finally, the condition which resulted from its
abrogation. But before proceeding to this development,
we will preface it by some information in regard to the
political relations of the Colonies during the first half of
the period now under consideration, and briefly refer to
their missionary undertakings, and to the founding of the
theological Institution at Cambridge. The two latter do
not indeed stand in the same immediate connection with
the historical development now to be presented ; but so
far deserve special attention, as contributing to the more
exact characterization of the New England Church.
POLITICAL DIVISION AND HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND.
In its political character also, the government was purely
democratic. In accordance with the charter before men-
tioned, the whole body of free citizens elected the Gov-
ernor, the members of the Court of Assistants, and Gen-
NEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY. 77
eral Court,^ which combined in itself tlio legislative
and highest judicial poAver. AYhat might have appeared
■wholly inadmissible in a commercial company in England,
assumed a diiFerent aspect, when, by transplantation to the
other side of the ocean, and by the growth of all the ele-
ments of a state, the peopeii eights of sovereignty had
attached themselves almost unnoticed to the delegated pri-
vileges. These rights had fi-om the first been exercised
with steady firmness by the government in Boston, in the
full conviction of proceeding in accordance Avith the laws
of God, and in harmony with the letter and spirit of their
charter. When, in the year 1630, the government of Ply-
mouth put the question in Boston,^ whether it possessed
the competency to execute sentence of death on a con-
victed murderer, the answer was, that undoubtedly it had
that right, though the warrant lay solely in the analogy of
2:)rocedure by the Massachusetts govei"nmcnt. Agreement
with the laws of England was, it is true, expressly recog-
nized as the rule in legislation ; but more in theory than
practice. An appeal to England was only resorted to
exceptionally and by necessity. It may appear singular
that this should not have been opposed at the very first,
by the mother country. But before the consequences
could be foreseen by Charles I,, his jDOwer to carry even
tlie most unimportant measure was entirely gone. The
RepubUcans in England favored the development of this
1 More distinctive are the designations afterwards in use : Council and
General Assembly. According to the laws of 1637, (see p. 68,) all govern-
mental power is vested in and proceeds from the Supreme Court. When
subsequently, in accordance with the charter of \Yilliam III., the govemors
wore appointed by the crown, the governor, council, and general as-
sembly were often compared to the king, lords, and commons.
2 Baylies, I. p. 203.
7*
78 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
free government, and thus it had become firmly established
when, at a later period, it was. assailed by Charles II.
The great distinction enjoyed by Massachusetts is strik-
ingly illustrated by the fact, that many of the colonies
which by degrees came into existence held, for a longer or
shorter period, a dependent relation to her, more or less
clearly defined. Thus New Hampshire, where single
settlements had been formed soon after the founding of
New Plymouth, and where in 1G31 the town of Ports-
mouth was settled, subjected itself in 1640 to the jurisdic-
tion of the General Court of Massachusetts. The de-
tached settlements in Maine were longer held back from
the same measure by private individuals; but in 1651 this
colony also became attached to Massachusetts. Remaining
thinly peopled down to recent times, it was not till 1820
that Maine was admitted as a proper state into the con-
federacy of the United States. Although both colonies
were for a time again withdrawn from Massachusetts by
royal decree, yet she understood hoAv to maintain her
authority over them, so long as she retained j^ossession of
her charter.
From the settlements first established, persons went
fiirther westward to the river Connecticut, and in 1636,
planted Hartford. In this they proceeded on a sort of
warrant from the General Court at Boston ; but soon find-
ing that they were beyond the jurisdiction embraced in
the charter of Massachusetts, they established a political
organization after the model of that colony, made laws, and
chose magistrates. Not long after, a company arrived
from England with a patent for this same region ; but as
it did not answer their expectations, they sold their charter
to the previous settlers. Still more destitute of legal
authority Avas the colony of New Haven, which lay farther
I
NEW EXIJLAXD TIIEOCllACY. 79
Avcstward, boixleriug on the possessions tlieu lickT by the
Dutch. Hither, in 1637, had come a party of emigrants
with tlieir minister, John Davenport, under the guidance
of Tlieophilus Eaton, afterwards their Governor, and had
purchased of the Indians on this part of the mainhmd, as
well as on the opposite island of Long Island.^ Here they
adoj^ted as their model the government of Massachusetts,
adhering to it still more strictly than the founders of Con-
necticut, who had at once ordained that civil rights should
be enjoyed without reference to church membership.
Surrounded by the above-named colonics, lay Pkovi-
DEXCE and Rhode Island, whose settlement will be
treated of in the next chapter. Founded, so early as
1634 and 1637, by fugitives and exiles from Massachusetts,
they had thus long sustained themselves in direct opposi-
tion to the other colonies, who refused all connection with
them. They Avere denied admission to a proposed confed-
eracy, which went into effect in 1643, when the four colo-
nies of Xew Plymouth, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and
Xew Haven combined themselves in a league, offensive
and defensive, as the United States of 'New England.
In this compact also, having for its object mutual pro-
tection, as well against the attacks of the Indians as
against their northern neighbors the French and their
western neighbors the Dutch, Massachusetts held a marked
preponderance. During the changes in the government
of England at the period of the first English revolution,
the colonies submitted to the ruling authority, whatever it
might be ; and strong as must have been their sympathy
with the Independent party, they greeted the accession of
Charles II., in 1661, with a loyal address of congratulation.
1 A part of the island was colonized from Xew Amsterdam; later it
belonged wiiolly to New York.
80 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
Shortly after, cliarters were granted by the king to Rhode
Island, Connecticut and New Haven, the two latter of
which were in 1664 united into one colony. The same
year New Amsterdam was captured by the English and
named New York. In 16G8 Holland relinquished her col-
onies at the peace of Breda, recajstured them indeed in
1674, but in the following year lost possession of them for-
ever. But while the Avestern frontier of New England
was thus secured, within its borders raged a bloody war
Avitli the Indians, fTvored by the French and by the lead-
crsliip of the enterprising Philip, king of the Wampanoags.
With the death of the latter, in 1676, the power of the
Inttians within the territory itself was broken, and lience-
forth they only attempted war on the borders in connec-
tion with the French.
The later political relations of New England, so far as
they serve for the illustration of its church-history, wdll be
glanced at farther on.^ About the year 1680, a year of
great changes in many resjiects. New England consisted
of the three united colonies of New Plymouth, Massachu-
setts Avith Maine and New Hampshire, and Connecticut
with New Haven. The settlements of Rhode Island and
Providence had also been united into one, since the year
1643.
MISSIONAEY AND EDUCATIONAL EPFOBTS.
Within every Christian communion, so soon at least as
its interior organization has acquired a certain degree of
solidity, and a fresh vigorous life, a tendency is developed
to spread the gospel beyond its own limits. But this ten-
dency takes different outward forms, not only according to
the fields offered or sought for its opei'ations, but also
1 Sec Chap. VIII.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 81
according to the cliaractcr and relations of the chnrches
themselves. The truth of this may be shown through the
entire history of the christian cliurcli. The christianiza-
tiun of classical antiquity owed its peculiar form no loss to
tlie character of the apostolic age, as a period of preemi-
nent personalities, than did the conversion of the Germanic
world to the inflexibly rigid oi'ganism of the Romish
church. In regard to the missionary activity of New
England, it is to be noted as a peculiar characteristic, th:it
it manifested itself at a very early period; only a few
decades after the first formation of Indej^endent churches,
only a few years after the establishment of the larger
churches in New England. In regard to the ])rogress
of this activity, it is especially worthy of note that the
missionaries had to do with a foreign race, who lived
beside and among Europeans, yet in respect to civil-
ization standing most decidedly below them. The names
of Eliot and of the Mayhew family have become generally
known, as the most eminent preachers of the gospel among
the Indians. These men, besides the gifts of religious
heroism and unconquerable endurance, possessed also the
ability to make Avhat they taught intelligible and accepta-
ble, and to form churches out of those whom they had
gained as friends of the word of God. In this Avork, which
was very early crowned with great success, they were sus-
tained by many other distinguished men. In spite of the
opposition of the former priests, who feared to lose the
gains of tlieir sorceries ; in si)ite of their chiefs who feared
to lose that unlimited power which they possessed over
their projjcrty, various churches, some of them very large
in numbers, were formed from the converted, or, as they
were called, "praying Indians." It was not long before
preachers were raised u]! from among the Indians them-
82 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
selves, who souglit to make known the gospel to their
countrymen. But it must here be remarked, that these
missions were not merely the undertakings of individuals ;
the mother-country did not fail to encourage and sustain
them. In the Massachusetts Charter, it was expressly
made the duty of the settlers "to win and incite the
natives of that country, to the knowledge and obedience
of the only true God and Saviour of mankind." An associ-
ation was formed in England, confirmed in the year 1G47,
under the name of the "Society for the spread of the Gos-
pel in foreign lands," which contributed money for pur-
chasing articles of various kinds, necessary to the support
of English and Indian missionaries, and especially for pro-
curing a translation of the Bible into the Indian tongue.
The Congregational chvirches of New England made a sim-
ilar expression of their sympathy, by tlie establishment of
an Indian College for the education of native preachers.
The later results did not indeed correspond to this noble
beginning; for not only was the education of native mis-
sionaries given up and the Indian College abolished, but
the Indian churches themselves fell into decay. In place
of the original confidence reposed in the English, there
sprung up gradually an enmity towards them, to which the
border wars with the French and Dutcli h^^d greatly con-
tributed. After King Philip's war, the former relation
was not reestablished, as indeed, from that time, the colo-
nists no longer observed so strictly in their dealings with
the natives those earlier jjrincijDles of integrity, of which
we have before spoken. Tlie government Avas imable,
cither by prohibitions or punishments, to hinder the sale
of brandy, wliich was furnislied to the natiN'es not only by
the French, but at a later period by the j^eople of Ncav
England also ; and to such a degree did the Indians aban-
NEW EXGLAND THEOCRACY. 83
don tliomsclvcs to intoxication, that it may be regarded as
one of the chief causes of their gradual decay and ruin. In
connection Avith that aversion to civilization, natural to
tribes which have grown up in the forest, the Indians in
general have been stigmatized as an idle race, — as Mather
says, "they kept the command : Thou shalt sanctify the sev-
enth day ; but not the otlier : Six days shalt thou labor."
An unconquerable pride, moreover, forbade their engaging
in regular occupation, or the pursuits of agriculture. They
were unfitted for admittance into the Ne^v England con-
federacy on terms of equality with the other members.
Even for a special alliance, wliich, Avith increasing culture,
might have developed itself into something farther, they
were not sufficiently protected against hostile interference ;
not sufficiently isolated from the peaceful progress of Euro-
pean civilization. Yet, in contemplating the fate of this
unhappy people, in general, as Avell as the inconsiderable
results of m.issionary effiart among them, Ave must not leave
out of view the subsequent decay of Christianity among
those to Avhose care they Avere committed. It is a striking
fact that the fifth decade of the eighteenth century, Avhich
Avas distinguished by a special reviA'al of the religious life
in XcAV England, produced also in Brainerd^ a missionary
Avho labored among the Indians Avith the gifts, the actiA'e
zeal, and to a certain extent Avith the success of those ear-
lier jireachers of the word.
An index no less characteristic of the Congregationalists
than tlieir missionary activity, but in another direction,
is seen in the early establishment of a scientific institution.
So early as September 1630, that is, immediately after the
founding of Boston, four hundred pounds sterling Avere
1 The diary of liis labors and experiences is contained in tiie biography
published by Jonathan Edwards, which we shall mention further on.
84 NEAV ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
appropriated at an assembly of the General Court for the
establisliment of a college. But as this sum was insuffi-
cient for the i^urpose, and it could not then be increased,
the execution of the plan was delayed some yeai-s. But in
1637, John Harvard, a minister who had shortly before
arriveil from England, bequeathed to this object seven
hundred and eighty jjounds ; a committee was then formed,
and contributions being added both by the colonial gov-
ernment and by private individuals, the Avork was now set
forward without delay. Newtown, a I3lace settled in 1629,
was selected as the location, and was called Cambridge, in
honor of the English University-town ; the Seminary
itself, in memory of the above-mentioned legacy as the
main constituent of the first fund, received the name of
Harvard College. A building was erected expressly for
the purpose, where the pupils liA'cd together as in the
English universities. Even in its first years, this institu-
tion became a schola illustris, where polite learning and
jihilosophy formed the substance of the course of instruc-
tion. The first charter of 1642 mentions a president and
six ministers from the neighboring towns of Cambridge,
Watertown, Boston, Charlestown, TJoxbury and Dorches-
ter, who in connection with the Boston Government were
to have the oversight of the college. Thus the college
received at once a theological character, a peculiarity
which became yet more manifest on the confirmation and
extension of the original charter in ] GoO and ]G72, after
the Indian College above-mentioned was incorporated with
it. At a still later period it received a yet farther enlarge-
ment in its general design and character. The i-ight Avas
granted it of conferring academic degrees, that of master
being reached in order after a residence of seven years.
The terms of admission were, ability to translate Cicero
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 85
ofl-hanJ, and a knowledge of the elements of Greek gram-
mar. This institution had been for many years the only
school for the education of the clergy in New England,
when Yale College, in New Haven,' Avas founded with a
similar design, at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
In all the vicissitudes experienced by the Congregational-
ists, Harvard College has had a living participation. The
unbelief which, in the eighteenth century, extended itself
over New England, obtained a footing here also, and
increased to such a degree that gradually all the teachers
and directors, indicated in the charter, became Unitarians.
In their hands this university remains to the present day ;
Avhile other colleges and seminaries have been established
by the Congregationalists of the present time.
AVe now proceed to the development of the ecclesiasti-
cal polity of New England. We shall describe, in chajjter
third, such forms of opposition as separated from the con-
nection, and iu chajiter fourth such as Avere repidsed from
it; chapter fifth will treat of the suppression of the resist-
ance to the theocratic relation; chapter sixth of the disso-
lution of this relation.
1 See Chap. VIII. As early as 16.'')1 very earnest efforts were made for
tlie establishment of such an institution in New Haven, especially by the
minister of that place, John Davenport. But the resources of this colony
were insufficient for the purpose, and even after its union with Connecti-
cut it could do no more than to establish a grammar school. — Trumbull's
History of Connecticut, Vol. I. Ch. 13.
8
CHAPTER III.
EXPULSION OF KOGER WILLIAMS AND THE ANTINOMIANS —
RHODE ISLAND.
THE ESTABLISHED THEOCRACY FIRST CONTESTED BY KOGER WIL-
LIAMS ; HE IS BANISHED, AND FOUNDS FROVIDENCE ON NARRAGAN-
SET BAY.
The controversies of the dominant church "svith Roger
Williams and the Antinomians gave occasion to the settle-
ments on Narraganset Bay, which subsequently united
themselves to the colony of Khode Island, The latter Avas
based on principles, in regard to the relation of church and
state, Avholly different from those just exhibited ; but the
hostility and exclusive j^olicy of the other colonies towards
Rhode Island had an earlier source, viz., the circumstances
in which this settlement originated. This will appear from
the following explanation.
Roger Williams^ was born in Wales in the year 1599.
He devoted himself at first to the study of jurisprudence,
but soon relinquished it for that of theology. He became a
clergyman in the Episcopal church, but his puritanic prin-
ciples constrained him, like so many others, to forsake his
native land. On the 5th of February 1631, he landed in
New England, and for a while resided in Boston. A few
weeks after his arrival, the church of Salem invited him to
1 Memoir of Roger Williams, by James D. Knowles. Boston: 1834.
This biography is enriched with many documents.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 87
become the assistant of tlieir miuistcv Mr. Skelton, Mr.
Iligo-inson/ the other pastor of the church, having died
soon after its formation. As soon as this became known,
the Boston Court was called together by Governor AVin-
throp, April 12th, and the following statement was made
by its order to the church : " That whereas Mr. Williams
had refused to join with the congregation at Boston,
because they would not make a j^ublic d(!claration of their
repentance for having communion with the churches of
England while they lived there ; and, beside, had declared
his opinion that the magistrate might not punish a breach
of the Sabbath, nor any other offence, as it was a breach
of the first table ; therefore they marvelled they would
choose him without advising with the council ; and, withal,
desiring they would forbear to proceed till they had con-
ferred about it."
The first of these charges we do not find to have been
again brought forward in the subsequent proceedings with
"Williams. As Ave have before had occasion to observe in
the measures and declarations of the first Massachusetts
settlers, the views of the colonists in relation to fellowship
with the Church of England were vague and unsettled;
nor does it appear how far this expression of repentance
which he desired was to extend. While at Plymouth, dui--
ing the following years, he maintained intercourse and fel-
lowship with members of the Boston church ; but the
demand itself is in keeping with that decision of character
which is generally attributed to him, and which seems to
have been connected with a certain vehemence of temper,
at least in his early years. The other point in the accusa-
tion, that relating to the commands of the first table, is of
more importance ; and this we shall have another opportu-
1 See p, tiO.
05 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY,
iiity for discussing, as it comes up again in connection with
a subsequent action against "Williams. The church at Sa-
lem, though informed of the step intended by the General
Court, on that same 12th of April chose "Williams as their
pastor. It is a noticeable fact that it was on the 18th of
May that he took his oath as citizen, exactly the time when
the law was passed requiring every citizen to be a member
of some regular church.^ This act is of importance, in
view of the principles with which he was afterwards
charged; but it shows also that the Boston government
took a course in this j^rocceding which, if not inconsistent,
was at least wanting in decision. But scarcely had "Wil-
liams been a few months in Salem, when he was obliged to
leave that town and go to Plymouth. Manifestly this step
was neither voluntary on his part, nor from the wish of the
Salem church, as appears from their subsequent recall and
continued attachment to him. The Boston government
used their influence to carry out, in practice, the pi-incii)les
laid down in the Cambridge Platform, (Chaj:). 17, § 9)
respecting schismatical churches.-^ But certainly those
principles were at first yet more indefinite, in respect to the
interference of the civil power, than after the passage of the
above cited law ; hence, nothing can be made out in regard
to their customary api^lication, there being no direct infor-
mation even in respect to the present case.
"Williams was well received in Plymouth, and acted as
assistant to their minister, Mr. Ralph Smith.'' Governor
Bradford* said of him , " He was freely entertained among
us, acording to our poor ability, exercised his gifts among
■ us, and after some time was admitted a member of the
church, and his teaching well ajiproved ; for the benefit
whereof I shall bless God, and am thankful to him ever for
1 See p. 71. 2 P. 75, f. 3 p. 59. 4 p. 59.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 89
liis sharpest admonitions and reproofs, so far as they agreed
Avith trutli." Wliile Williams was still residing at PInmi-
outh, the town was visited by Governor Winthrop/ Mr,
AVilson the Boston minister, and other distinguished men.
At this time no trace aj^peared of hostility or coldness. On
a certain Sunday, when they celebrated the Lord's Supper
together, tlic church Avas addressed both by the ministers
above mentioned, and by the Governors of Boston and
Plymouth. Williams remained two years at Plymouth, but
the first fixvorable disposition towards him did not continue ;
the effect, probably, of the open expression of his views in
regard to the relations of the civil magistrao}'. JMr. Brew-
ster, the ruling elder, foreboded the flirther spreading of
these opinions, and expressed his fears " that Williams would
run the same course of rigid separation and anabai)tisti-y
Avhioh Mr. John Smith, the Se-baptist^ at Amstei-dam, had
done." A large part of the church now abandoned Wil-
liams, Avho, in August 1G33, willingly accepted a call from
the Salem church to assist their now infirm pastor, Mr.
Skelton ; this he did without being at first formally inducted
into the office. Meanwhile, the Salem church continued to
stand, to a certain degree, in an attitude of estrangement
towards the other churches. When, in this same year, a
number of ministers of Massachusetts Bay agreed to meet
together once a fortnight for conference on the interests of
the church, Skelton and Williams held aloof from it, out of
fear that it might grow into a presbytery or ecclesiastical
tribunal. Yet the othei's declared that they were all, decid-
edly and unanimously, of the opinion that no church or per-
son can have any power over another cliurch ; nor did they,
1 Winthrop's Journal. This diary extends to the year 164-1, and con-
tains very interesting particuhirs in regard to the history of this period.
2 See p. 36.
8*
GO NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
in these meetings, attempt the slightest exercise of such
jurisdiction. Shortly after, Williams was cited before the
General Court at Boston, on account of a treatise addressed
hy him to the Governor and Council of Plymouth, In this
he had maintained that the royal charter was invalid, and
consequently also the colonists' title to possession, which
could be based alone on an agreement with the natives. In
the first patent, reference was indeed made to " the great
sickness by which the country was depopulated, and thus
deserted, as it were, of its natural inhabitants ; " but the
l^revailing view was also therein expressed, that the colony
had passed into the possession of the King of England, as
that christian sovereign whose subjects had first visited
the country. But, as already stated, the settlers had pro-
ceeded wholly in accordance Avith the principle now laid
down by Williams,^ On this point, therefore, they came
to an understanding. He explained his irreverent expres-
sions in regard to the king in a less offensive sense, or
retracted them ; he stated, moreover, that he had regarded
the treatise as merely a private thing, not intended for pub-
licity, and even expressed his willingness to burn it. Thus
Avas this difficulty settled.
For a time he remained wholly undisturbed in his labors,
and gained for himself the warmest affection of his hear-
ers. On the death of Mr. Skelton, in August, 1634, the
church chose him for their pastor. The government at
Boston requested the church not to ordain him ; but it
remained unmoved, and Williams was installed in the
usual manner. Soon after he was cited before the
General Court, and this was repeated scA^ernl times. In
the charge instituted against him on the 8th of July, 1635,
is contained a summary of the opinions advanced by him,
1 See p. 58.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 91
in which we find the four folloAving points : 1. That the
magistrate ought not to punish the breach of the first tabic,
otherwise tlian in such cases as did disturb the civil peace;
2. That he ouijht not to tender an oath to an unrejrencrate
man ; 3. That a man ought not to pray with such, though
a member of his own family ; 4. That it Avas not necessary
to give thanks after the sacrament, nor in general after
meat.
The first of these points is the most important, as it is
also the most significant of the views and principles held
on both sides. Those of the dominant party are contained
in the Cambridge Platform^ and it cannc t be questioned,
that to impugn this right of the magistracy was to assail
the existing theocratic goverRment. Roger Williams, on
the otherhand, as appears from liis later writings as well
as in the founding of his new settlement, regarded the
entire separation of church and state as the necessary
condition of complete religious liberty. Hence, they could
come to no agreement in this respect ; though the Congre-
gationalists were compelled gradually to adopt these same
principles, Avhicli now" prevail in all church-parties through-
out the United States.
The second point holds a certain relation to the third ;
but it seems also to have had reference to a s])ccial exi-
gency, viz., an attempt made by the govei'nmcnt, just at
this time, to procure a change in the freeman's oath
hitherto iu use. Information having come to the General
Court of the intrigues of certain partisans of the Episco-
pal church, or other malcontents, against the country, it
was resolved as a measure of safety, to tender to each man
a new oath of fidelity, in which was promised, in place of
obedience to all legal ordinances, obedience to all Avhole-
1 See p. 68, ff.
92 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
some ordinances of the existing government. No j^ublic
office was to be entrusted to one who refused this oath.
This plan was opposed by Williams, and his influence so
prevailed with members of the General Court, that it could
not be carried through. Its origin is probably to be found
in a commission granted by Charles I. to Archbishop Laud
and others, conferring on them plcnij^otentiary authority
over the colonies ; but the mode by which they sought to
defend themselves was as much at war with their original
principles, as it was in accordance with the measures which
had once made the Independents fugitives.
The positions charged upon Williams in reference to
the unregenerate are worthy of note. They plainly ap-
Y>ear like expressions originating in unwarrantable de-
duction from certain principles. That fundamental rule,
by which the unregenerate were refused admission to the
membership of the Congregationalist churches, Williams
extended to every form of divine worship and religious
service ; for as such he regarded the oath. This confound-
ing of that which constitutes qualification for church-fel-
lowshij) with that which renders a religious reference
possible in any case whatever, gained no footing,^ and was
discarded even by the late adherents of Williams.
1 We take occasion here to quote an extraordinary specimen of argu-
mentation, which was made use of against Williams. He complained in
court of having been wronged by a slanderous report, as if he had said it
was unlawful for a father to call upon his child to eat his meat. Mr.
Hooker, a minister who was present, replied : " Why, you will say as much
again if you stand to your own principles, or be driven to say nothing at
all." Mr. Williams protesting the contrary, Mr. Hooker proceeded to rea-
son thus : " If it be unlawful to call on an unregenerate person to pray, since
it is an action of God's worship, then it is unlawful for your unregenerate
child to pray for a blessing on his own meat. If it be unlawful for him to
pray for a blessing upon his meat, it is unlawful for him to eat it, for it is
sanctified by prayer, and without prayer, unsanctified (1 Tim. 4: 4, 5). If
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACYr 93
Tlic fourtli point probably grew out of opposition to an
cflbrt for uniformity. In May, 1G35, an act was passed by
the General Court at Boston, "intreating the brethren and
elders of every church within this jurisdiction, that they
will consult and advise of one uniform order of discipline
in the churches, agi-eeable to the Scriptures, and then to
consider how far the magistrates are bound to interpose
for the preservation of that uniformity and peace of the
churches,"
Notwithstanding the ultimate success of "Williams's prin-
ciples, it is certainly not to be denied that in his own time
he was not in a condition to secure currency for opinions
which were not entirely systematized and clear in his own
mind, and which, to some extent, led him to pernicious
conclusions. His personal qualities preserved the attach-
ment of the church at Salem unimpaired. It so happened
that during the above-mentioned transactions, this tOMTi
applied for the assignment of a parcel of land belonging
to it ; but the Court answered, that their choice of Mr.
Williams, and their perseverance in the same, showed such
contempt of authority, that the petition could not be
gi-anted ; nor in truth was their claim admitted till after
the settlement of this affair. The Salem church now ad-
dressed letters to the other churches, calling their at-
tention to this invasion of their rights and liberties, and
urging them to admonish the magistrates, as church-mem-
bers, for such a course of proceeding. Williams vras still
it be unlawful for him to eat it, it is unlawful for you to call upon him to
eat it; for it is unlawful for you to call upon him to sin." Mather, Book
YII. Chap. II. § 6. Mather waxes indignant over the behavior of "Wil-
liams, who chose to hold his peace, rather than make any answer. The
ministers of Boston who were present at the trial, agreed uncouditionaUy
with the government.
94 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
more vehement. Being at that time confined by sickness,
he wrote to his church, "that he could not communicate
longer with the churches in the Bay, neither would he
Avith themselves except they would refuse communion
with the rest." Therefore, in October, he Avas again called
before the Court, and there, in presence of the assembled
ministers of the vicinity, was required to retract the opin-
ions expressed in his two letters. This he refused, as also
the ojffer of a respite with a view to a subsequent disputa-
tion. After an unavailing attemjDt, by a public conference,
to bring him to submission, the Court, with the concur-
rence of all the ministers present, one alone excepted,
passed sentence on him as follows : " Whereas, Mr. Roger
Williams, one of the elders of the church of Salem, hath
broached and divulged divers new and dangerous opinions,
against the authority of magistrates ; as also writ letters
of defamation, both of the magistrates and churches here ;
and that before any conviction ; and yet maintaineth the
same without any retraction ; it is therefore ordered, that
the said Mr. Williams shall depart out of this jurisdiction
Avithin six weeks now next ensuing, which if he neglect to
perform, it shall be laAvful for the governor and two of the
magistrates to send him to some place out of this juris-
diction, not to return any more Avithout license from the
Court."
The church at Salem retracted their foimer expressions,
and submitted to the decision against their minister, though
not Avithout great jDrcA'ious excitement and agitation. Wil-
liams liaA'ing requested permission to remain in Salem till
sj)ring, was allowed to do so, on condition of refraining
from all expression of his views ; but in January 1636, be-
ing charged Avith holding assemblies in his OAvn house for
the i^ropagation of the offensive doctrines, it was resolved
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 95
by the Coiirt that he should be sent forthwith to England,
During this interval, he had brought more than twenty
persons to the determination of following him to Narra-
ganset Bay, southward from the Plymouth colony, for the
pui^pose of founding a settlement. As he did not answer
to a warrant for his appearance in Boston, a pinnace was
sent to Salem under a commission for his apprehension.
But before its arrival he had left the town ; a measure ad-
vised by Governor Winthrop himself, as the one most
conducive to the public peace and to his own j^ersonal
interests.
Proceeding thro\;gh the yet uncultivated regions of
Massachusetts in a southerly direction, he succeeded in
establishing, on Narraganset Bay, the colony of Provi-
dence, which was soon joined by a considerable number of
persons from the older colonies. With the same conscien-
tioiisness which he had required from others, he purchased
lands from the Indians, and so entirely w^on their confi-
dence, as to be able at a later period to render most impor-
tant services to the other colonies in the minor wars with
the Indians. We shall return to the subject of his personal
opinions, and his relation to the other settlements, after
having first described another controversy in Boston,
which led to a second settlement on Narraganset Bay.
ANTINOMIAN AGITATIONS ANNE HUTCHINSON.
Soon after the expulsion of Williams from Massachu-
setts, there arrived among the numerous emigrants to New
England a young man of distinguished family, whose
name often appears in the subsequent history of England.
Henry Vane abhorred the oppressions of Episcopal domi-
nation, and resolved to found a settlement in Connecticut.
His father, who was a partisan of the king, was induced
96 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
by him to consent to tlie undertaking ; for at tliat time
Charles I. seems to have favored the removal of his
opposers from England.^ Yane landed at Boston, in 1636,
and although still a young man, was immediately chosen
Governor of Massachusetts. Though not himself an ad-
herent of the Antinomian doctrines, which were at this
time spreading in Boston, these made great j)rogress under
his government. It appears also, from a correspondence
between him and Williams, with whom he was on terms
of close friendship, that he took the same ground with him
in regard to unconditional freedom of religious worship
and of church discipline. His high rank secured him
many adherents among the members of the General Court,
who used their most strenuous efforts to secure his reelec-
tion as governor the following year (May, 1627) ; but
after considerable agitation, John Winthrop, the well-tried
founder of this colony, succeeded to the office.^ Under
him the Antinomian controversy reached its crisis and
termination.
These views had become associated with the preaching
of the most eminent and respected minister of Boston.
John Cotton had been some years settled as a clergyman
at Boston, in England,'^ when he embraced, and ai^plied in
public worship, the nonconformist view resj^ecting certain
ceremonies in the Episco2:)al church. He, nevertheless, re-
mained several years undisturbed in his office, beloved and
esteemed by his congregation, and much valued by Wil-
1 Subsequently the king threw hindrances in the waj' of such emigra-
tion. In 1639, as is well known, he obliged Cromwell to relinquish his in-
tended voyage to New England.
2 Vane soon after returned to England, and as a member of the Long
Parliament, took very decided ground against the royal government. Af-
ter the Restoration, he was executed, June 11th, 1662, although he had not
been one of the judges of Charles L
3 In Lincolnshire.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 07
lianis, the Bishop of his diocese, who was himself inclined
to Puritanism.^ But at length, a person against whom
the magistrates of Boston had instituted some proceeding,
swore before the High Commission in London, that the
clergymen and magistrates of Boston did not kneel at the
sacrament, and, in other respects, departed from uniformity
in ceremonies. Before a warrant could arrive, Mr. Cotton
fled disguised to London ; but was there told by his friends,
among whom were some very distinguished men, that " if
he had been charged Avith crime, they could have obtained
his pardon ; but the sin of being a Puritan was unpardon-
able." Following the counsel of these friends, he em-
barked for America in the year 1636, having then exercised
the office of a clergyman almost twenty years. Soon after
his arrival in Boston, he began to act as assistant to Mr.
Wilson, then minister of the church. The reputation of
great learning, which Cotton brought Avith him from
England, secured him high distinction : while he won the
love and confidence of his flock, by activity in his ofiice,
and by his preaching, which was admired for its freedom
from Latin phrases, and displays of scholastic learning then
in vogue, thus being intelligible to every class of hearers.^
It was the custom in Boston for members of the church
to hold weekly meetings for conversation on the subjects
Avhich had been brought before them in public worship.
This practice was particularly observed in connection Avith
]Mr. Cotton's preaching, even among the female members
\inder the guidance of one Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, Avho
1 AVilliams was afterwards himself called to account, and was heavily
fined and thrown into prison ; being set at liberty by the Long Parliament,
lie became, in 1641, archbishop of York.
2 His name was so well known in England, that after the Revolution
broke out, he was requested by many distinguished men to return; but he
never again left his adopted countrv. lie died in Boston in 16.')2.
9
98 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
had arrived In the country in 1636, She was in the habit
of praying before assemblies of sixty to eighty persons,
and of relocating Mr. Cotton's discourses, to Avhich she then
added exphmations and reflections of her own. Plere
Antinomian tendencies soon develojDcd themselves ^ in the
doctrines, "that the person of the Holy Ghost dwells in a
justified person; that the command to Avork out our salva-
tion with fear and trembling refers to such only as stand
under the law of works ; that sanctification is no sufiicient
evidence of a justified state." With these teachings was
connected a fanatical tendency, exhibited in the claim to
special revelations. While Vane was governor, these
views, which were joropagated under the honored name of
Cotton, found fi^vor in many quarters ; the party which
cherished them branded the rest as "legalists, Avho were
acquainted" neither with the spirit of the Gospel, nor with
Christ himself." " People under a covenant of works "
were distinguished from "people under a covenant of
grace." The dispute having soon spread through the
whole town and even among members of the government,
Cotton found it necessary to express his opinion in re-
gard to it. He rejected the new doctrines as eiToneous;
but as he had at first formed a very favorable judgment
of Mrs. Hutchinson and her followers, and as she pro-
fessed, when admonished by him, to acquiesce in his
views, he expressed himself with great moderation. In
the crisis to which the controversy had now come, his
explanation satisfied neither party ; though it would
seem, from his being sent from Boston to New Haven,
for the purpose of procuring a change in the measure
there adopted at this time, that the personal estimation
which be had enjoyed remained unabated.
1 Hutch. II. p. 46.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 99
The Antinomian doctrines had just then found an advo-
cate in a minister by the name of Wheelwright, brother-
in-law of Mrs. Hutchinson. He maintained in a sermon,
tliat "the magistrates and ministers of tlie country walked
in such a way of salvation, as Avas no better than a cove-
nant of works." He compared them to the Jews, to
Herod, to the Philistines, and exhorted all who stood in
the covenant of grace to contend against them as against
their greatest enemies. Thereupon he was summoned by
the magistracy before the General Court at its next session,
and his defence having been heard, his sermon was pro-
nounced " seditious and tending to the disturbance of the
public peace." All attempts to bring him to a sense of his
error were unavailing; still he was allowed the time to
the next session for considering whether he would give in
his submission, or expect the sentence of the Court. The
adherents of the Antinomian party were so excited by this
attack on their minister, that they assembled the same
evening and drew up a petition or rather a protest against
the proceedings of the Court, wherein they expressed their
opinion that " Wheelwright had neither been guilty of any
seditious act whatever, nor did his doctrine contain any-
thing seditious, being no other than the word of Scripture;
it had, moreover, had no seditious consequences, for none
of his followers had drawn the sword, or attempted to set
free their innocent brother. They therefore besought the
Court to consider how great was the danger attending such
an intermeddling in the affairs of the prophets of God, an<l
to remember that even the apostle Paul was called a pesti-
lent fellow, a mover of sedition, and the ringleader of a
sect." This petition was presented to the Court a day or
two after the censure had been passed on Wheelwright's
sermon; but though signed by above sixty names, and
100 NLW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
even by some members of the Comt, it was rejected by the
majority.
FIRST NEW ENGLAND SYNOD EXPULSION OF THE ANTINOMIANS.
But the government was itself aware, that a division
wliicli had gone so far could not be settled or sui:)presscd
by ordinary means. It was resolved, therefore, to call a
synod of ministers and lay-delegates of the chm-ches, from
which they might secure the necessary support for a vigor-
ous course of jDroceeding. This first synod of the Inde-
pendents met at Newtown,^ on the 30th of August 1637.
To this assembly, besides the regular membei'S, the magis-
trates also were admitted for the purpose of maintaining
quiet and order ; and they were not only allowed to hear,
but as occasion ofiered, to express their views. A particu-
lar space was reserved for the adherents of the new o^^in-
ions, and free entrance was granted to all who wished to
be i^resent. On the first day, Thomas Hooker, minister of
Hartford in Connecticut, and Peter Bulkley of Concord,
Massachusetts, were chosen moderators, and a list of
eighty-two erroneous opinions then jDrevailing in different
parts of the country was read before the synod. On the
following morning, a committee employed itself in draw-
ing up the grounds of refutation, and in the afternoon pre-
sented their arguments to the synod. The next day, the
other 2^ai'ty gave in their reply, and to this followed a
rejoinder to the reasons thus alleged by the Antinomians.
Thereupon the final action was taken by a unanimous con-
demnation of all the new opinions, to which the Avhole
body of ministers present gave their subscription. Only
Mr. Cotton declared, that while he " disrelished the greater
part of the new oj)inions, some of which were heretical,
1 Called Cambridge in the following year. Sec p. &4.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 101
some blasphemous, some erroneous, and all of them incon-
gruous," j-ct he could not condemn them in toto and with-
out qualification. In reference to the doctrine of justifica-
tion, he maintained, in contrariety to the general opinion,
that "there may be a imion of man Avith God, before faith."
It was felt that the dissent of a man like Cotton had a
momentous bearing on the decision of the controversy,
which could thus be prosecuted by the disaffected under
liis name even more successfully than before. But by
repeated conference on the contested points, Mr. Cotton
Avas brought to an agreement with the rest in the follow-
ing declaration : " That Ave are not united and married to
the Lord Jesus Christ without faith, giving an actual con-
sent of soul unto it; that God's effectual calling of the
soul unto the Lord Jesus Christ, and the soul's apprehend-
ing by an act of faith the offered righteousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ is in order of nature before God's act of justi-
fication upon the soul; that in the testimony of the Holy
Sj)irit, Avhich is the evidence of our good estate before
God, the qualifications of inherent graces, and the fruits
thereof, ])roving the sincerity of our foith, must ever be
coexistent, concurrent, coiipparent, or else the conceived
testimony of the Spirit is either a delusion or doubtful."
Having thus yielded his assent to the general conviction,
INIr. Cotton promised also to unite his testimony with that
of his brethren against the erroneous opinions. The synod
had been three weeks in session. On the last day, Mr.
Davenport, minister of New Haven, preached a discourse
from Phil. 3: 16., "Nevertheless, whereunto we have
already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind
the same thing." He then read aloud the decisions of the
synod, which Avere so draAvn up that after the statement of
each jiarticular error, the judgment folloAved: "We find
0*
102 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
this contrary to such and such a text of Scripture."
Finally, he exhorted the ministers and lay-delegates to
labor in their respective churches for a uniformity "vvith the
views of the synod, and then dismissed the assembly.
Now, whatever a synod lacked in legislative power,
according to the fundamental principles of the Independ-
ents, it gained in this case through the unanimity of its
members. But neither did AVheelwright change the char-
acter of his 2ii"eaching, nor Mrs. Hutchinson discontinue
her meetings, especially as both of them still found no
inconsiderable support in Boston. On this account, the
General Court assembled on the 2d of October in New-
town. Their first step was to exclude three members from
Boston, by one of whom the petition above mentioned, had
been drawn up and signed, and by both the others pub-
licly defended. After some resistance, the people of Bos-
ton were induced to supply the places thus made vacant
by a new election. Wheelwright was now required to
give a categorical answer to the interrogatory previously
l)ut, whether he would acknowledge his error in respect to
that seditious sermon, or expect the judgment of the
Court. He replied, that " he was guilty neither of sedition
nor insubordination ; he had preached nothing but chris-
tian truth ; as to the application, that was made by others,
not by himself" He was then required, for the sake of the
public peace, to leave the colony voluntarily. This being
refused, sentence was passed, declaring his forfeiture of
civil rights, his banishment from the commonwealth, and
his immediate imjirisonment in failure of furnishing secur-
ity that he would depart before the end of March. From
this decision he appealed to the King of England, but it
was replied that his case was not of a character admitting*
of aj^peal. He then declined giving the required security,
NEW ENGLAND THEOCIIACY. lOo
and was accordingly lodged in prison ; but on tlic follow-
ing day he yielded, recalled his appeal, and declared him-
self ready to submit to simple banishment. The Court
dismissed him on the promise, that if he did not leave the
commonwealth within fourteen days, he woidd himself
return to prison, and there await the decision of his case.
lie chose to go into banishment.^
This matter being disposed of, the petitioners were called
before the Court ; after a part had made their submission,
the rest were punished, some by dismissal from their offices,
some by fines, some by banishment. Mrs. Hutchinson had
not been concerned in the petition ; but it could no longer
be overlooked that she still continued her weekly meetings.
She was accordingly called up and charged with being the
cause, through the jireaching of her errors and her slander of
all the ministers of the country, of the late disturbances and
disorders in church and state. In her defence, so far from re-
tracting anything or promising to remain quiet in future, she
indulged freely in bitter reflections against the Court. She
thus compared her case with that of the prophet Daniel:^
" When the princes and presidents could find nothing
against him, because he was faithful, they sought matter
against him concerning the law of his God, to cast him into
the lions' den." Then she assumed the prophetic tone:
" Take heed how you proceed against me ; for I know that
for this you go about to do to me, God will ruin you and
your posterity, and this whole state." The Court ordered
her to be silent, and as there appeared to be no hope of lier
recantation, required her to depart from that jurisdiction
1 Seven years after, on his apologizing for remarks made against tho
Government, his sentence was revoked ; and he returned and continued
' to live many years as minister of the Church in Hampton and afterward
in Salisbury.
3 Dan. 6 : 4, 5.
104 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
Avithin six months. At the same time, the church at Bos-
ton, of which she was a member, declared licr guilty of
heresy, as having maintained twenty-six of tlie doctrines
condemned by the synod. She drew up, indeed, a recanta-
tion, but added to it the protestation " that she was never
really of any opinion contrary to the declaration she had
now made." Being convicted of the contrary by witnesses,
her recantation was rejected, and she was excommunicated
as a public liar, with the full consent of the church. Other
members of the church shared the same fate, not so much
on account of erroneous opinions, as of offences in conduct.
These exiles betook themselves, some to Connecticut,
some to New Hampshire, but the greater part repaired to
Roger Williams, in Providence. Here they resolved to set-
tle on an island in Narraganset Bay hitherto called Aquat-
neck, ^ to which they gave the name of Rhode Island. Af-
ter having purchased it from the Indians by the help of
Roger Williams, they founded here a colony, which, though
holding the most friendly relations to that of Providence,
was, at first, wholly distinct from it. It was, however, the
wish of both colonies to be united. In 1643, Williams went
to England, and through his acquaintance with Sir Henry
Vane obtained from parliament a charter for the colony of
Rhode Island, under Avhich name were included all the set-
tlements in Narraganset Bay. This charter Avas confirmed
by Charles II., in 1662, and although annulled in 1684, was
restored after the accession of William III. Their consti-
tution, which is thoroughly democratic, has maintained
1 Mrs. Hutchinson, for some reason not known, removed from Rhode
Island in 1642, after the death of her husband, to the Dutch settlements,
and took up her abode in the neighborhood of Now York. The following
3^ear, she was murdered, with her whole family, by the Indians, one daugh-
ter excepted, who was carried into captivity.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 105
itself unchanged till near the present time, Avliich is the
case with no other state of the North American Union.
RELATION" or RHODE ISLAND TO THE OTHER COLOXIES.
"We have already noticed the antagonism in which Rhode
Island found itself continually placed in respect to the other
colonies. The declaration of a total separation of church
and state, and of unconditional liberty in religious wor.sliii',
seemed like an unlieard of novelty. The speedy dissolution
of the new settlement was confidently anticipated in Boston,
and it was judged necessary to keep rigidly aloof from all
connection with them, in order not to be involved in the
same ruin. The General Court of Massachusetts expressed
itself on this point in a resolution adopted May 12th, 1638.
One of the exiles, John Green by name, who had settled in
Providence, wrote from this place to the government at
Boston, charging them " with arrogating to themselves the
power of Christ over the churches and the consciences of
men." Thereupon it was ordered, that " the said John
Green shall not come into this jurisdiction upon paui of im-
prisonment and further censure ; and because it appears
to this Court that some others of tlie same place are confi-
dent in the same corrupt judgment and })ractice, it is
ordered, that if any other of the inhabitants of the said
plantation of Providence shall come within this jurisdiction,
they shall be apprehended and brought before some of the
magistrates ; and if they will not disclaim the said corrupt
opinions aud censure, they shall be commanded presently to
depart ; and if such persons shall after be found within this
jurisdiction, they shall be imprisoned and punished as the
Court shall see cause."
The following chapter will show the application of this
enactment on the appearance of another party opposed to
106 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
the Congregationalist Theocracy, which, judging from
Roger Williams's course, it was supposed might justly be
associated with his name. It seems probable that during
the first years of his residence in Providence, Williams liad
established no separate church,^ the number of inhabitants
being perhaps too small, or too diverse in their views, or too
much occupied at first in providing for the absohite neces-
saries of life. Religious meetings were held, however,
imder the guidance of Mr. Williams. As the settlers in-
creased in number, as well by emigration from England as
from the other colonies, several opposers of infant baptism
were found among them, and Williams now declared him-
self of their way of thinking. That he had previously
advocated the doctrines of the Anabaptists is not probable,
the above-mentioned charge of Brewster notwithstanding;
for, in that case, it would certainly have been made to bear
more decidedly against him. It was resolved to organize a
new church ; and as there Avas no minister among them, one
of the lay brethren first administered the rite of baptism to
Mr. Williams, who then did the same for the rest. This
was in May, 1609. Scarcely was this done, when scru-
ples arose in his mind respecting the validity of his bap-
tism, which induced him two or three months after to with-
draw from the new church ; and though not differing on
essential points of faith from the Christians around him, he
never again entered into the church relation. The grovuids
of this course are to be found in his writiniijs. Thus he
1 "We may at least draw the conclusion that those residents of Provi-
dence, who had previously been members of the Salem church, were not
excluded till after Williams went over to the Baptists. The older narra-
tors, for the most part, only take notice of the affairs of Rhode Island
in connection with the other colonies; and even Knowlcs, the biographer
of Williams, has not been able to settle this point with certainty.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 107
maintained, tliat the jiroper ministration of tlie word of
Christ was interrupted for many centuries by the reii^n of
antichrist ; the prodamation of the Gospel might still he
continued and lead souls truly to heaven ; but never a^^ain
will there exist a true and genuine churcli, till after a new
special revelation from God. This fanatical opinion seems,
however, to liave exercised no material influence either on
his private or his public life. He maintained a regular cor-
respondence with distinguished individuals in the other col-
onies, particularly with the governor of Connecticut, a son
of Governor Winthrop of Boston, and received from him
many tokens of regard. He exhibited great wisdom in
composing the disorders and contentions which were rife in
the new state; and at his death, early in the year 1683, he
left the settlement Avhich he had planted in a flourishinsr
condition.
The j^rejudice excited in Boston against everything
which proceeded from Rhode Island, as shown in the fore-
going narration, exercised no little influence on th' meas-
ures of the government in the controversies which form
the subject of our next chapter. We shall now pass im-
mediately to the conflicts with the Anabaptists and Qua-
kers ; though in the order of time, they follow the events
and measures which mark the first firm organization and
subsequent change of the theocratic constitution. But
for the sake of presenting, in an uninterrupted view,
the progressive inw^ard development of that which be-
longed to the organism of the church itself, we must
first dispose of an assault from without, which it success-
fully repelled. "Whatever in its constitution serves for the
illustration of the measures adopted for this purpose, has
been already exhibited in the exti-acts from the platform
of church discipline contained in chapter second.
CHAPTER IV.
EXCLUSION AND PERSECUTION OF ANABAPTISTS AND QUAKERS.
DREAD OF THE ANABAPTISTS CONNECTED AVITII THE HISTORY OF
THE KE-BAPTIZERS OF GERMANY ; MEASURES FOR THEIR SUP-
PRESSION.
The Anabaj^tist church, formed by Williams in Provi-
dence,^ continued to exist after his withdrawal from it ;
and in consequence of the banishment of the Antinomians
from Boston, still another arose in Newport, the principal
place in the island of Rhode Island. This Avas under the
care of John Clarke, formerly a physician, who had been a
resident of Boston during the two years jDrevious to the
rupture which has been described. The exact date of its
origin cannot be determined, but it was not far from the
year 1644, and may have been even earlier. In the settle-
ments on Narraganset Bay, the principle there dominant,
of a total separation between church and state, had devel-
oped in the Anabaptists no hostile tendency towards civil
government in general.
But when, during the same period, this party began to in-
crease and extend itself in Massachusetts, the government,
1 The adherents of adult baptism have successfully appropriated to
themselves the name of Baptists, and repudiated that of Anabaptists :
on the grounds, 1st, that it is not their design to re-baptize ; and 2d, that
the name Anabaptist was associated ■with certain practical rcsidts, or
with doctrines and acts of the German rc-baptizers. The truth of this will
appear from the ensuing narration.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 109
remembering what liad Imppencd in Germany, niipreliemleil
not merely an antagonism to the existing theocratic rela-
tion, but an overthrow of civil order and government.
We see a manifestation of this fear in the following law
passed by the General Court in 1 644 : —
"Forasmuch as experience hath plentifully and often
proved, that since the first rising of the Anabaptists, about
one hundred years since, they have been the incendiaries
of the commonwealths, and the infectors of persons in main
matters of religion, and the troublers of churches in all
places where they have been, and that they who have held
the baptizing of infonts unlawful, ha^e usually held other
errors or heresies together therewith, though they have
(as other heretics use to do) concealed the same till they
spied out a fit advantage and opportunity to vent them, by
way of question and scruple ; and whereas, divers of this
kind have, since our coming into New England, appeared
amongst ourselves, some whereof (as others before them)
denied the ordinance of magistracy, and the lawfulness of
making war, and others the lawfulness of magistrates and
their inspection into any breach of the first table ; which
opinions, if they should be connived at by us, are like to
be increased amongst us, and so must necessarily bring
guilt upon us, infection and trouble to the churches, and
hazard to the whole commonwealth ; it is ordered and
agreed, that if any person or persons, Avithin this jurisdic-
tion, shall either openly condemn or oppose the baptizing
of infants, or go about secretly to seduce others from the
approbation or use thereof, or shall purposely depart the
cono-reoration at the ministration of the ordinance, or shall
deny the ordinance of magistracy, or their lawful right
and authority to make war, or to punish the outward
breaches of the first table, and shall appear to the Court
10
110 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
wilfully and obstinately to continue therein after due
time and means of conviction, every such jDcrson or
l^ersons shall be sentenced to banishment."
In the year 1646, the government, in replying to the
complaints of certain disaffected persons whose petition
will be mentioned in the following chapter, thus vindicates
this law :^ "The great trouble we have been put unto and
hazard also, by familistical and anabaptistical spirits, whose
conscience and religion hath been only to set forth them-
selves and raise contentions in the country, did provoke
us to jDrovide for our safety by a law, that all such should
take notice how unwelcome they should be ixnto us, either
coming or staying. But for such as differ from us only in
judgment, in point of baptism or some other points of less
consequence, and live peaceably amongst us, without occa-
sioning disturbance, etc., such have no cause to complain ;
for it hath never yet been put in execixtion against any of
them, although such are known to live amongst us."
To this explanation of the law in words, we now add
the actual application of it.
The Anabaptists first came into collision with the gov-
ernment in Plymouth colony. Obadiah Holmes,^ once a
student in Oxford University, had experienced, while still
a youth, that inward conflict through which he attained to
the consciousness of sin and of salvation. On his landing
in New England he became a member of the Salem church.
Here he remained six or seven years, and then removed,
1 645, to Rehoboth, a newly-settled town of New Plymouth,
on the border of Rhode Island. Here also he lived some
1 Collection of original papers relative to the history of the colony of
Massachusetts Bay, Boston, 1769, p. 216.
2 Backus, I., 208 ff., gives some account of his life by himself, preserved
in the family in his own handwriting.
KEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY. HI
four years in connection with the church umlcr the care
of Mr. Newman ; but at length, Hohnes, in connection
with other members of the church, cliarged this minister
with having, by the aid of a few others, proceeded in an
unjustifiable manner in tlie name of the church. Bein"-
outvoted in tliis attempt, they resolved on forming a sepa-
rate church, a measure certainly not at variance with tlie
l)nnciples of the Congregationalists. But general scandal
was excited when the seceding members submitted to im-
mersion (probably at the hands of John Clarke), and pro-
ceeded to form an Anabaptist church. Holmes was
excommunicated by the Congregationalist chmx-h, and on
the 4th of June, 1650, was presented, with two others,
before the General Court of Xew Plymouth. Four peti-
tions had been addressed to that body, urging the speedy
suppression of the existing schism ; one from the town of
Itelioboth, one from the neighboring church in Taunton,
one from the collective ministers of New Plymouth, two
excepted, and one finally from the General Court at Bos-
ton. Still Holmes and his followers were mildly dealt
with ; only they were obliged to leave the colony. They
took refuge in New^iort, and connected themselves with
the church there, under the care of Mr. Clarke.
There lived at Lynn, a place eight or ten miles north of
Boston, an Anabaptist, by the name of "William Witter,
who wished to connect himself with a church of his own
persuasion, but, on account of his advanced age, could not
undertake the journey to Newj)ort. At his request, Clarke
and Holmes, in company with a third by the name of
Crandall, made him a visit on the 19th of July, 1651, and
the day afler, being Sunday, held divine service in his
house ; but, while Clarke was preaching, two constables
made their appearance, who, after producing their warrant
112 NEW ENGLAND TIIEOCRACT.
from the local magistrate, apprehended the three men, and
took them as prisoners to the ale-house.^ Here they
were required to attend the afternoon service, and were
obliged to do so, although Clarke declared that he would
make known his dissent in the meeting, "by word and
gesture." He did both. When they had been shown into
the seat appointed for them, Clarke put on his hat again, -
which was then struck off by a constable. Prayer, sing-
ing, and sermon being ended, he desired leave to address a
few words to the congregation. On being answered that
no objectioils could be heard against what had been deliv-
ered, he replied that this was not his purpose ; but, as he
had already signified his dissent from them " by gesture,"
he now wished to declare the grounds of the same by
words. He then proceeded : " First, from the considera-
tion we are strangers to each other, and so strangers to
each other's inward standing, in respect to God, and so
cannot conjoin and act in faith ; and what is not of faitli is
sin. And, in the second place, I could not judge that you
are gathered together and walk according to the visible
order of our Lord." At this point, the magistrate informed
him that he could say no more, and commanded silence.
Two days after, he sent them to Boston, with a mittimus,
wherein were the foregoing incidents. Here, on the 31st of
July, they received sentence, Clarke to pay twenty pounds.
Holmes thirty, and Crandall five ; or, in default of i:)ay-
ment, to be "well whipped," The acts recited in the mit-
timus are set forth as the grounds of this sentence, to
which is added : " That the said John Clarke, on the fol-
lowing day, at the house of Witters, and in contempt of
1 It is clear that the town was provided with no prison, and thus it was
that the pilsoners were able to hold another meeting.
2 These statements are taken from an account by Clarke himself.
NEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY. 113
authority, being then in custody of tlie Lnv, did there
adnnnister the sacrament of the Lord's Suj)per to one
excommunicated person (Ilohnes), to another under ail-
nionition (Crandall), and to a third, that was an inhabitant
of Lynn and not in fellowship with any church ; and yet,
upon answer in open Court, did affirm, that he never re-
l)aj)tized any, although he confessed that he did baptize
such as were baptized before, and thereby did necessarily
deny the baptism that was before to be baptism, the
churches no churches, and also all other ordinances and min-
isters, as if all were a nullity ; and also did, in the court,
deny the lawfulness of baptizing of infants ; all this tends
to the dishonor of God, the despising of the ordinances of
God among us, the peace of the churches, and seducing
the subjects of the commonwealth from the truth of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, and perverting the straight ways
of the Lord."
According to Clarke's report, Governor Endicott added,
in an excited manner : " You have deserved death ; we
will not have such trash brought into our jurisdiction.
You go up and down, and secretly insinuate into those
that are weak ; but you cannot maintain it before our min-
isters. You may try and dispute with them." Accord-
ingly, on the following day, Clarke wrote to the Court,
desiring the official appointment of the time and place of
disputation ; but to this they demurred. After a consulta-
tion on the matter, Clarke was again called up, and ques-
tioned whether he wished to dis])ute upon the specifications
in his sentence, and defend what he had done; "for," it
was added, "the Court sentenced you, not for your judg-
ment and conscience, but for matter of fact and practice."
Clarke reiilicd, that matter of fact and i)racticc was but
the manifestation of his judgment and conscience ; and he
10*
114 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
I^roposed to draw up a M'rittcn statement of the main
points of his belief, which might sei've as a basis of the
disputation. He then returned to prison, and thence sent
to the Court four conclusions. The first of these was
directed against encroachments on the oifices of Christ,
especially on his office as king; the second declared ba})-
tism by immersion, which was to be administered to true
believers only, to be a command of Christ; the third main-
tained that each believer, after the measure of his gifts,
might, yea, was bound to preach the word, both in and out
of the church; the fourth protested against all outward
penalties in matters of religion and conscience. lie re-
ceived, for answcK, a dismission from prison, some of his
friends having paid his fine without asking his consent.
He now made known his intention of leaving Boston and
returning to his flimily, but expressed his readiness and
desire to defend his cavise in the manner proposed, either
now or at a later period. It was replied that the proffers
made him merely had reference to private conferences, for
his instruction and conviction. A willingness Av^as ex-
pressed, however, to grant him a public disputation ; but
so hampered as to the way in which it should be con-
ducted, and with such restrictions in regard to rigid
adherence to the questions in debate, that Clarke felt him-
self obliged to decline it. Crandall was likewise dismissed,
under promise of appearing before the next court, and
both returned to Rhode Island. But Obadiah Holmes
would neither pay his fine, nor allow others to do it for
him, and consequently remained in prison till the next sit-
ting of the Court. The threatened sentence of corporeal
punishment was then jiublicly executed on him ; ^ nay,
1 The detailed account of his sufferings is given in a letter addressed to
the brethren of his own faith in England.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 115
even two of the spectators, wlio i)raisc(l God for the con-
stancy of his faith, were arrested, and only escaped similar
dealing through the payment, hy friends, of forty shillings
fine. Thereupon, the adherents of tliese doctrines were
banished in a body from Massachusetts, and Avent to
Rhode Island.
In November, IGol, Clarke accompanied AVilliams to
England, for the purpose of settling certain disputes
respecting the boundaries of Rhode Island, and there pub-
lished a book, entitled "111 News from New England; or,
a Nan-ative of New England's Persecutions." What im-
pression these accounts made on the English Congrega-
tionalists, may be seen fi"om the following letter, addressed
by Sir Richard Saltonstall, formerly first magistrate of
Massachusetts, to the Boston ministers, Cotton and Wil-
son:
" Revered and dear friends, whom I unfeignedly love
and respect, —
" It doth not a little grieve my sjiirit to hear what sad
things are reported daily of your tyranny and j^ersecutions
in Xew England, as that you fine, whip, and imprison men
for their consciences. First, you compel such to come
into your assemblies as you know will not join you in your
worship ; and when they show their dislike thereof, or
witness against it, then you stir up your magistrates to
punish them for such (as you conceive) their j)ublic affronts.
Truly, friends, this your practice of compelling any in
matters of worship, to do that whereof they are not fully
persuaded, is to make them sin, for so the apostle (Rom.
14: 23) tells us, and many are made hypocrites thereby,
conforming in their outward man for fear of punishment.
We pray for you and wish you prosperity in every Avay ;
hoped the Lord would have given you so much light and
116 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
love there, that you might have been eyes to God's people
here, and not to practise those courses in a wilderness
whicli you went so far to prevent. These rigid ways have
laid you very low in the hearts of the saints. I do assure
you I have heard them pray in the public assemblies, that
the Lord would give you such meek and humble spirits,
not to strive so much for uniformity as to keep the unity
of the spirit in the bond of peace."
The reply of Cotton to this letter is striking and charac-
teristic :
" Honored and dear sir, —
"My brother Wilson and self do both of us acknow-
ledge your love, as otherwise formerly, so now in the late
lines we received from you, that you grieve in spirit to
hear daily complaints against us. Be pleased to under-
stand we look at such complaints as altogether injurious
in respect to ourselves, who had no hand or tongue at all
to jDromote either the coming of the persons you aim at
into our assemblies, or their punishment for their carriage
there. Righteous judgment will not take up reports,
much less reproaches against the innocent. The cry of
the sinners of Sodom was great and loud, and reached up
to heaven ; yet the righteous God (giving us an example
what to do in like case), he would first go down to see
whether their crime were altogether according to the cry,
befoi-e he proceed to judgment. And when he did find
the truth of the cry, he did not wrap up all alike promis-
cuously in the judgment, but spared such as he found inno-
cent. We are amongst those whom, if you knew us better,
you would account i^eaceable in Israel. Yet neither are
we so vast in our indulgence or toleration, as to think the
men you speak of suffered an unjust censure. For one of
them (Obadiah Holmes) being an excommimicate person
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 117
himself, out of a church in riymoutli Patent, came into
this jurisdiction, and took upon him to baptize, wliieh I
tliink liimself will not say he was compelled here to per-
form. And he was not ignorant that the re-baptizing of
an elder person, and that by a private person, and under
excommunication, are all of them manifest contestations
against the order and government of our churches, estab-
lished (we know) by God's law, and (he knoweth) by the
laws of the country. As for his whipping, it Avas more
voluntarily chosen by him than inflicted on him. His
censure by the^Court, was to liave j3aid, as I know, thirty
pounds, or else be whipt ; in which case, if his suficring
of stripes was any worship of God at all, it could be
accounted no better than will-worship. The other (Mr.
Clarke) was wiser in that point, and his offence was less,
so was his fine less, and himself (as I hoar) was contented
to have it paid for him, whereupon' he was released. The
imprisonment of either of them was no detriment. I
believe they fared, neither of them, better at home, and I
am sure Holmes had not been so well clad of many years
before.
" But be pleased to consider this point a little further.
You think to compel men in matter of worship is to make
them sin. If the worship be lawful in itself, the magis-
trate compelling him to come to it compelleth him not to
sin ; but the sin is in his will that needs to be compelled
to a christian duty. If it do make men hypocrites, yet
better be hypocrites than profane persons. Hypocrites give
God part of his due, the outward man ; but the profone
j^erson giveth God neither outward nor inward man. You
know lis not if you think Ave came into this wilderness to
practise those courses here which we fled from in England,
"SVe believe there is a vast diflTerence between men's inven-
118 KEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
tions and God's institutions ; we fled from men's inventions,
to which we should else have been compelled ; we compel
none to men's inventions. If oui- ways (rigid ways, as
you call them) have laid us low in the hearts of God's
people, yea, and of the saints, (as you style them), we do
not believe it is any i^art of their saintship. Nevertheless,
I tell you the truth, we have tolerated in our churches
some Anabaj^tists, some Antinomians, and some Seekers,
and do so still at this day. We are far from arrogating
infallibility of judgment to ourselves, or affecting uniform-
ity ; uniformity God never required, infallibility he never
granted us."
Into such expressions did an unyielding polemic zeal be-
tray even such a man as Cotton ; a man of whom Williams,
though his earnest opponent, and exchanging with him
controversial writings on their respective principles, has
si^oken with the highest estimation.^ It is the clearest
exponent of that generally prevailing opinion, which a few
years later expressed itself, Avith reference to a new form
of oj)position, in measures of even yet greater severity.
It is noticeable, that Cotton Mather's history of New
England, ordinarily so diffiise in narrating the most unhn-
portant particulars, i^asses OA'er the foregoing story in total
silence. The same, according to Backus, was the case with
the earlier historians of Massachusetts, with Captain John-
son, who wrote in 1654, and with Morton, in 1669, although
his object was the refutation of charges made against New
England. Hubbard, in 1680, only makes a distant allusion
to it ; Governor Hutchinson, in his history of Massachu-
setts, mentions the year 1665 as the date of the first perse-
cution of the Anabaptists. Yet, in a third volume, he
gives, among other legal documents, some which have re-
1 Backus, I. p. 472. 2 lb. II. p. 253.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCBACY. 119
ferencc to tlic occuiTcnces of 1G51. Xeal alone, in liis
history, has taken particidar notice of Charke's account.
In the following chapter Ave shall, moreover, have occasion
to show that hostility to Anabaptism was not without in-
fluence on the decisions of the Congregationalists in regard
to Infant Baj)tism, when this became from an entirely
different point of view the subject of discussions and pro-
ceedings.
PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS.
We pass now to the last persecution in Ncav England,
properly so called, the most violent, and the longest in
duration. But in order to understand the constantly in-
creasing severity of the measures against the Quakers, we
must not only give a full exhibition of what occurred in New
England, but must glance briefly at tlie origin and growth
of this sect in the mother-country. Just at the period when
insurrection and civil war had brought the political rela-
tions of England to the verge of anarchy and dissolution,
George Fox, a Lancashire shoemaker, began to publish his
claim to an inward revelation, and travelled through the
country to spread his doctrines. Of these the central
point was, the inward enlightening of man by the Spirit
of God as the proper source of divine knowledge, rather
than the Scriptures ; as also, that our salvation is rather
through the Christ loitJdn^ than the Christ Avithout, From
this followed a depreciation of the historical Christ, as Avell
as of everything stated and prescribed in divine service, of
the sacraments, of appointed times and places for public
religious Avorship. With the denial of the proper ground-
truths of Christianity in regard to the redemption of man,
connected itself a fanatical opj^osition to all civil order
and to all prevailing customs. The word of Scripture
120 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
they called a dead letter ; yet in tlieir own apj^eals to it,
they could use the letter, that is, the words, violently
wrested from tlieir connection. The preaching of the
first Quakers is not indeed to be made a reproach, to the
later " Friends," as remoulded both in respect to doctrine
and 2^ractice by Barclay and Penn ; but in the period with
which we are concerned, their advent can only be regarded
as a movement of Avild fanaticism.^ Some of their number
appeared in parliament, and announced before the Protec-
tor the downfall of the State, to which they were called by
the Spirit to contribute. In order to give public offence,
they opened shops on Sunday, and one woman even ap-
l^eared in church wholly destitute of clothing. In the year
1565, they acknowledged one James Naylor,^ a former
soldier of CromAvell's army, as the manifested Son of God.
Being called before the cotirt, he declared that every honor
offered to him as a created being, he declined ; but if the
hearts of others were moved by the Father thus to honor
him, it was not in his power to refuse it ; it had been com-
manded him, through the power of the Lord, to allow this
homage to be paid him. He was required to recant,
was j)ut in the stocks, placed backAvards on a horse and
led through London, his tongue was bored, his forehead
1 The conflict of Roger Williams with these people is significant In re-
spect to both parties. He too maintained, from the word of God, the
worship of that time to be unchristian, and thus placed himself in opposi-
tion to every existing church-organization; and in connection with this,
he advocated freedom of conscience to the extremest limit. Yet he subsc-
qncntl}' took most decided ground against the Quakers, both in oral dis-
putations and in his writings against George Fox, who, in 16GS, had vis-
ited Rhode Island. It is here to be remarked that the founder of a settle-
ment and body politic can be no friend of disorder and contempt of civil
government; and also that Roger Williams, while separating from all
churches, held fast to the fundamentals of Christianity, and did not neg-
lect to support them by his testimony.
2 Neal's History of the Puritans, IV. 154.
NEW EXGLAXD THEOCRACY. 121
branded, lie "was whipt through Bristol ; but nothing
could move him. He was then condemned to imprison-
ment with hard labor, being allowed nothing for his sus-
tenance except what he earned himself. After two years,
however, he acknowledged that the honor which had been
paid him was wrong and sinful, and professed his shame
for having encouraged it. He was then dismissed from
prison, but died soon after.
The restless spirit of this sect had already carried its
adherents to the colonies in America, and it happened that
their first appearance was in Rhode Island, whence they
sought to push their way into the jurisdiction of Ply-
mouth. At the same time they appeared also in Barbadocs
in the West Indies; and in 1656, two Avomen, Maria
Fisher and Anna Austin by name, came in a ship from
this island to Boston, and there, by books and tracts, dis-
seminated the doctrines of the Quakers. This coming to
light, the Governor ordered their arrest, and also that the
books, about one hundred in number, should be burned.
Then calling his Council, it was resolved that the prisoners
should remain in confinement till a good opportunity
offered for sending them away ; and the ship-captain who
had brought them was to give bonds for their departure in
one hundi-ed pounds. But before this could be effected,
four men and four women of the same principles had made
their Avay to Boston from Rhode Island, Avho as soon as
discovered, were put in prison, and then sent out of the
country. The government designed by these measures to
keep the Quakers at a distance, and not supposing any of
the inhabitants themselves to be infected with their opin-
ions, believed that by sufiicient rigor they could reach
their end. Accordingly, on the 14th of October 1656, they
passed a law which was in substance as follows : —
11
122 NEW ENGLA^'D THEOCRACY.
"Every master of a vessel bringing in Quakers, shall
pay a fine of one hundred pounds. Every Quaker, imme-
diately on his arrival shall be lodged in the House of Cor-
rection, to be severely Avhipped on his entrance, and to be
kept close at hard labor; no one to be allowed to speak or
hold any intercourse with him. Whoever knowingly
brings in, spreads, or conceals Quaker writings shall be
fined five pounds. Whoever undertakes to defend the
doctrines of the Quakers, shall for the first offence be fined
ten shillings, and for the second, four pounds ; for the
third, he shall be committed to prison, till a suitable oppor-
tunity is found of transporting him out of the country,
which is then to be done forthwith."
When this law Avas proclaimed with beat of drum
through the streets of Boston, Nicholas Upshall, a man
some sixty years of age, came forth from his house, and
protested openly to the officei's "that the execution of this
law would be the forerunner of judgments on the land;
wherefore he besought them to beware what they did, lest
they might be found among those who were fighting
against God." This was regarded as an attack upon the
government ; Upshall was called before the court, and as
he would neither acknowledge his ofience nor beg forgive-
ness, he was fined twenty pounds, and ordered to leave the
jurisdiction within one month.
The following year, the above-cited law was put in prac-
tice. A tailor's wife named Maria Clarke, who had aban-
doned her husband and six children in London, in order,
as she said, to deliver a message from the Lord, w^as put in
prison, whipped, and banished. The same punishment
was soon after inflicted upon two men, Holden and Cope-
land, who belonged to the Rhode Island Quakers, and had
been already once banished. They made their appearance
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 123
at Salem, where they even took it upon themselves to
speak in a public religious meeting. It now became evi-
dent, from the numbers who frequented their meetings,
that their opinions had found favor among the residents.
These private gatherings Avere immediately interrupted;
each person present Avas fined five shillings for absenting
liimself from public worship ; every one Avho liad taken
part in them was sent to tlic House of Correction at Bos-
ton.
But all the attempts of the government for the suppres-
sion of this sect, were frustrated by the persistency of the
Quakers in returning from banishment. Hence, in Octo-
ber, 1G57, a law was passed that: "whoever brings a Qua-
ker into this jurisdiction shall pay one hundred pounds,
and be kept in prison till the penalty is discharged ; who-
ever harbors or conceals a known Quaker shall jiay forty
shillings for every hour's entertainment, and remain in pri-
son until pa\Tnont of the same. Every Quaker, who shall
become such in the colony, is to be treated in like manner
Avith those who come in. For the first and second offences,
when the criminal has been punished according to the
laAvs previously enacted, if a man, he shall lose first one,
and then the other ear; if a Avoman, she shall be severely
Avhipped ; the third time, man or- woman, shall have the
tongue bored through Avith a hot iron. In all cases, they
shall be kept in prison till such time as they can be sent
away at their OAvn cost."
But neither had this law the expected efiect of ten-ifying
the Quakers; for on the IGth of September 1G58, three
men, tAvo of Avhom were Ilolden and Copeland, being iden-
tified as having been previously banished, had their right
ears cut off. The same disturbances continued. In the
year 1658 two Avomen attempted to hold forth publicly
124 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
during divine service. The same was done by a Quaker
from Barbadoes, by the name of Harris. When lodged in
prison and required to labor, he could not be induced by
any means whatever to comply, and neither he nor his
friends would pay their fines, or the costs of their removal
from the country, when freedom was offered them under
these conditions. Their contumacious behavior being
reported by the jailer to the magistrate, he gave order
that such jDrisoners as would not labor should be whipped
twice a week, the number of strokes to be increased each
time. But this treatment also was without influence on
Harris, Avho would probably have allowed himself to be
whipped to death, had not some of his acquaintances j)aid
the fine, and thus procured his release. It was customary
Avith the Quakers, while steadfastly refusing to pay their
fines, to allow the penalty to be discharged for them. But
on the inquiry being made by magistrates of smaller
towns, what they should do, in cases where there were no
friends at hand to give this aid, they were empowered to
sell the offenders to the English settlements in Virginia
and Barbadoes. This, however, only served as a bugbear,
and was not carried into execution.
During this time, meetings were again held here and
there in the country, and, in consequence, the laws above
mentioned were put in execution particularly against the
residents, and in some respects with increased rigor. Thus
the fines were made so exorbitant, that numbers were
thereby reduced to j^overty. But nothing could check
the continual return of these desperate people, nor put a
stop to their illegal and offensive conduct. At the tribu-
nals, they derided and scoffed at the magistrates ; wo-
men api^eared naked in the streets, and in one case, at
Newbury, Massachusetts, even in the church. Nor were
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 125
these disturbances confined to that colony. The matter
had been ah-eady discussed in a meeting of commission-
ers from the four united colonics, held in 1656, and a
demand made upon Rhode Island, in the name of peace
and for the Avelfore of the whole country, to take i)art with
them in some common measures against the Quakers. To
this the General Assembly which met at Portsmouth on
the 13th of March, 1657, returned answer as follows :^ —
" AYhereas, freedom of difiercnt consciences to be pro-
tected from inforcements was the principal ground of our
charter, both with respect to our humble suit for it, as also
,to the true intent of the honorable and renowned parlia-
ment in England, in granting of the same to us, which
freedom we still prize as the greatest happiness that man
can possess in this world ; therefore, we shall, for the pre-
servation of our civil peace and order, the more especially
take notice that those people, and any others that are here,
or shall come among us, be impartially received, and to
our utmost, constrained to perform all civil duties requi-
site. And in case they refuse it, we resolve to make use
of the first opportunity to infoi-m our agent residing in
Eno-land.""^ On a second demand from the commissioners
of the four colonies, they again replied, on the 13th of
October 1057:—^
" As concerning these Quakers (so called) which are now
among us, we have no law among us whereby to punish
any for only declaring by words, etc., their minds and un-
derstandings concerning the things and ways of God, as to
salvation and an eternal condition. And we find, more-
1 Backus, I., 312.
2 Clarke, who in 1C52 had gone with Williams to Englanel, remained
there after the return of the latter, as agent of the Rhode Island colony,
till 16.>4.
3 Knowles, Memoir of Williams, p. 294.
11*
128 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
over, that in those places where these people, aforesaid, in
the colony, are most of all suffered to declare themselves
freely, and are only opposed by arguments in discourse,
there they least of all desire to come ; and we are informed
that they begin to loathe this place, for that they are not
opposed by the civil authority, but with all patience and
meekness, are suffered to say over their pretended re-
velations and admonitions, nor are they like or able to
gain many here to their way. And surely we find, that
they delight to be persecuted by the civil powers, and
when they are so, they are like to gain more by the con-
ceit of their patient sufferings, than by consent to their
pernicious sayings."
The Rhode Island government conceded that the doc-
trines of the Quakers tended to the j^rejudice of the civil
authority, and promised to take the matter into consider-
ation at the next General Assembly, and to adopt suitable
measures for preventing any " bad effects from their doc-
trines and endeavors." But, notwithstanding the threat
of exclusion from all commercial intercourse with the rest
of New England, they adhered inflexibly to their former
policy. Though Rhode Island, with her principles of tol-
eration, had actually suffered less than the other colonies,
the latter had now gone so far in the j^ath on which they
had entei-ed, that it was difficult to turn back ; to them
it seemed impossible to stand still. As all four colonies
were disquieted by the Quakers, though Connecticut and
New Haven suffered less than the others, the commission-
ers closed their proceedings at a conference held in Boston,
September, 1658, with the following resolution :^ —
"Whereas, there is an accursed and peraicious set of
heretics lately risen up in the world, who are commonly
1 Backus, I, 317.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 127
called Quakers, who take xipon them to be immediately
sent of God, and infallibly assisted, who do speak and
write blasphemous things, despising government, and the
order of God in churcli and commonwealth ; speaking evil
of dignities, reproaching and reviling magistrates and the
ministers of the gospel, seeking to turn the people from
the faith, and to gain proselytes to their pernicious ways :
And whereas, the several jurisdictions have made divers
laws to prohibit their coming among them ; (but they re-
fusing obedience and still making disturbance) it- is there-
fore propounded, and seriously commended to the several
General Courts to make a law, that all Quakers formerly
convicted and punished as such, shall, if they return again,
be imprisoned, and forthwith banished or expelled out of
the said jurisdiction, under pain of death," This was signed
by seven of the commissioners ; but John Winthrop, a son
of the above-named governor of Massachusetts, and the
only commissioner from the colony of Connecticut added :
" Looking at the last as a query and not as an act, I sub-
scribe, John Winthrop." Connecticut and New Haven
failed to carry out this resolution ; but in 1658 it became
law in Massachusetts. The government designed to com-
mit the application and execution of this law to the acting
magistracy, and an ordinance to that efleet did in fact pass
the Court of Deputies by thirteen voices against twelve ;
but when the minority declared they would protest against
the bill, it was agreed that the accused, in cases occuiTing
under this law, should be brought before a court specially
sworn for the purpose. Pl}Tnouth also persevered in per-
secuting the Quakers. Captain James Cudworth, a magis-
trate of that colony, thus laments over it in a letter to a
friend Avho was absent on a jf)urney to England : "I enter-
tained two Quakers in my house, in order to become
128 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
better acquainted with'tlieir principles; for this I was
called before the cour^. My declaration that I was no
Quaker and my behavior not unlawful, since, accoi'ding to
the existing ordinances only such could be punished as re-
ceived Quakers and kept them in their houses after warn-
ing by the magistrates, they indeed allowed. But when I
spoke against the persecutions, they increased all the laws
against Quakers, imposing for each attempt of the same to
teach, and for each communication with them, the hardest
imprisonment and most exorbitant fines, and yet without
hindering or lessening the evil. In the Massachusetts, after
they have whipped them and cut off their ears, they have now
gone the farthest step they can, they have banished them,
upon pain of death if they ever come there again ; we expect
we must do the like ; we must dance after their pipe, for it
is well if in some there be not a desire to be their apes and
imitators, in all their proceedings of this nature. They
have banished six on pain of death, and I wish that blood
be not shed." The first of these apprehensions was not
realized ; the second i^roved itself but too well founded,
as will appear from the narration of the last occurrences of
this persecution in Boston.
Among the persons banished from Massachusetts by the
late statute, were William Robinson, a merchant from Lon-
don, Marmaduke Stevenson, from Yorkshire, and a woman
named Mary Dyar,^ from Khode Island. All three re-
turned, however, and when questioned as to the reason,
replied that "they came in obedience to the Lord." Gov-
ernor Endicott said to them: "We have made divers laws,
•and sought manifold ways to keep }'0U at a distance from
us ; but I find that neither whippings, nor dungeons, nor
1 She belonged to the Antinorahuis who were b:xnishcd in 1637. Hutch,
I. 184.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 129
cutting off ears, nor banishment on pnin of death, helps ;
I Avisli not your death." No farther defence could be
drawn from them ; only Stevenson declared, in writing,
that, "in a vision, as he was following tlie plough, he
heard a secret voice within liim. Thereupon, he had for-
saken his family and calling, and gone, in the year 1G58, to
Barbadoes, and thence to Rhode Island, where, as lie was
tilling the ground, the word of the Lord came unto him,
saying: 'Go to Boston, with thy brother, William Robin-
son;' for obedience to which, contrary to the commands
of men, he now suffers bonds nigh unto death." This
paper was subscribed: "Prison, at Boston, October, 1659,
Marmaduke Stevenson ; but a new name has been given
unto me, which the world knoweth not, and is written in
the Book of Life."
All three were thereupon condemned to death. The
two men were executed on the 27th of October, lGo9.
The woman, when at the foot of the gallows, Avas par-
doned, at the intercession of her relatives, from Newport,
in Rhode Island, whither she was then sent. But she
came back the next spring, and suffered the penalty of
death on the 1st of June, 1660.
The general surprise and indignation, occasioned by this
first application of the new law, obliged the Massachusetts
government to publish the following declaration :
" Though the justice of our proceedings against William
Robinson, Marmaduke Stevenson, and Mary Dyar, sup-
ported by the authority of this Court, the laws of this
country, and the laws of God, may rather persuade us to
expect encouragement and commendation from all prudent
and pious men, than convince us of any necessity to apol-
ogize for the same ; yet, forasmuch as men of weaker parts,
out of pity and commiseration (a commendable and chris-
130 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
tian virtue, yet easily abused, and susceptible of sinister
and dangerous impressions), for want of a full information,
may be less satisfied, and men of perverser principles to
calumniate us, and render us as bloody persecutors ; to sat-
isfy the one, and to stop the mouths of the other, we have
thought fit to declare, that, about three years since, divers
persons, professing themselves Quakers (of Avhose jier-
nicious oj^inions and practices we had received intelligence
from good hands), both from Barbadoes and England, ai--
rived at Boston, whose persons were only secured, to be
sent away by the first opportunity, without censure or pun-
ishment, although their professed tenets, turbulent and
contemptuous behavior to authority, would have justified
a severer animadversion ; yet the prudence of this Court
was exercised only in making pi'ovision to secure the ]>eace
and order here established, against their attempts, whose
design (we were well assured by our own experience, as
well as by the example of their i:)redecessors in Munster),
was to undermine and ruin the same ; and, accordingly, a
law was made and published, prohibiting all masters of
ships to bring any Quaker into this jurisdiction, and them-
selves from coming in, on penalty of the House of Correc-
tion till they could be sent away. NotMdthstanding which,
by a back door they found entrance ; and the penalty in-
flicted on them proving insufiicient to restrain their impu-
dent and insolent obtrusions, Avas increased, — which also,
being too weak a defence against their impetuous and
fanatic fury, necessitated us to endeavor our security; and
upon serious consideration, a law Avas made that such per-
sons should be banished on pain of death, according to the
example of England, in their provision against the Jesuits;
which sentence being regularly pronounced at the last
Court of Assistants against these parties, and they either
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 131
returning, or continuing presumptuously in this jurisdiction
after the time Umited, Avere aj^prehended, and owning
themselves to be the persons banished, were sentenced by
the Court to death, — which hath been executed upon two
of them. Mary Dyar, upon intercession of a son, througli
the grace and mildness of this Court, had liberty to depart
within two days, and accepted of it. The consideration of
our gradual proceedings, will vindicate us from the clam-
orous accusation of severity. Our own just and necessary
defence calling upon us (other means failing) to offer the
point, which these persons have violently and wilfully
rushed upon, and thereby become fdones de se, as well as
the sparing of one upon an inconsiderable intercession, will
manifestly evince we desire their Hves absent, rather than
their deaths present.'*
The weakness of this declaration, both in respect to the
relations of crime and punishment, and to the appeal to a
law in England, appears from the following judicial pro-
ceeding: At the beginning of the year 1661, William
Leddra, a Quaker who had been already several times pun-
ished and banished from the commonwealth, returned to
Boston. Being seized and brought before the Court, he
was asked by Governor Bradstreet " whether he were will-
ing to go to England." He ansAvered that "he had noth-
ing to do there." Upon the offer of being set at liberty,
if he would promise not to return again, he replied : " I
stand not in my own will, but the will of the Lord. If I
am set at liberty, I will go, but such a promise I cannot
make." Bradstreet then told him " that if he would neither
go to England, nor remain out of the jurisdiction, he would
fall i;nder the full rigor of the law." Leddra appealed to
the laws of England in respect to his judicial examination,
but the appeal was not allowed. Much time Avas spent in
132 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
endeavoring to persuade him either to recant his errors, or
submit to the laws of the land, or to promise not again to
return ; but he remained obstinate. " What," said he,
"join myself with such murderers as ye are! Then let
each one who meets me say: Lo, tliis is the man who for-
sook the God of his salvation." Finally, sentence of death
was pronounced upon him, and on the 14th of March, 1661,
he was executed ; declaring under the gallows that it was
"for confessing the Lord, against liars and deceivers, that
he was brought hither to death." While Leddra was still
under examination, another Quaker, Wheelock Christison
by name, came boldly before the Court with his hat on his
head, and warned the magistrates to shed no more inno-
cent blood. He refused to take off his hat, and on being
questioned if his name Avas not Christison, and whether he
had not been banished on pain of death, he replied to both
in the affirmative, and was committed to prison. Being
required to state in defence of himself any reasons why he
should not suffer the j^enalty of the law, he asked them by
what law they would condemn him to death. When the
Court appealed to the recent law enacted against the Qua-
kers, he desired to know how they were empowered to
make such a law, and Avhether the law itself were not in
contrariety to the laws of England. The Governor re-
plied that there was a similar law in England, according to
which Jesuits were hanged. "But," said Christison, "ye
condemn me, not as a Jesuit, but as a Quaker ; I appeal to
the laws of my country." The Court offered him a lawful
trial by court and jury, but he persisted in apijealing to the
laws of England, and rej^eating that he had never heard or
read of a law in England for hanging Quakers. The
Court, however, oveiTuled his objection, and the jury de-
clared him guilty. When the sentence of death was
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 133
announced to him, be urged upon them the consequences
of this measure against the Quakers. " For the hist man
that was put to death," said he, "here are five come in his
room ; if ye have power to take my life from me, God can
raise up the same principle of life in ten of his servants,
and send them among you in my room, that ye may have
tonuent upon torment."
Tlie 13th of June, 1G61, was appointed as the day of his
execution ; but before it arrived, Christison, Avith twenty-
seven other Quakers then lying in prison, was set at liberty
and carried beyond the limits of the jurisdiction. The
government seems to have become convinced, by this time,
that their measures were as odious as they were ineffec-
tual ; they resolved to deal with the Quakers henceforth as
* vagabonds, to whip them through the toAvns of the colony,
and then drive them out of its bounds. The above-men-
tioned executions occasioned great dissatisfaction in Eng-
land ; and Charles II., who had recently acceded to the
throne, interposed his authority by a letter, dated the 9th
of September, 1661, to the Governors and Magistrates of
New England collectively : " Having received information
of the imprisonment and execution of Quakers, his majesty
hereby commands, as well in respect to any who may be
already condemned as to those still in prison, that all pro-
ceedings Avith them be stopped, and that the above-named
persons be sent, together with the accusations made
against them, to England, in order there to receive their
sentence." The general cessation of i)ersecution, properly
so called, forestalled the execution of this order; but the
government, in its congratidatory address to Charles TI.,
justified the measures which had been adopted. In our
judgment of these occurrences, in addition to all which
may be said with truth against the Quakers, we must bear
12,
134 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
in mind the utter perplexity of the government in regard
to means for protecting themselves against these obstinate
and impracticable fanatics.
We shall have occasion further on (Chap. VII.), to men-
tion the subsequent persecutions and oppressive measures
of the government against the Anabaptists. First, how-
ever, after having thus exhibited the secessions and expul-
sions from the theocratic government, we must consider
the opposition developed in its own bosom, which led the
way to an essential change of its constitution.
CHAPTER V.
SUPPRESSION OF THE INTERNAL OPPOSITION TO THE THEOCRATIC
GOVERNMENT; SUSTAINED BY THE SYNOD OF 1648.
CHANGE IX THE ORIGINAL IDEAS, RESULTING FROM LATER IMMIGRA-
TION'S; GOVERNMENTAL MEASURES FOR COUNTERACTING IT.
Two things in the founders of New England particularly
strike the observer; their devotion to the common weal
as citizens, and to the interests of the church as Christians.
They regarded themselves, not as individual fugitives from
oppression and persecution, but rather as confederates in a
political association and members of a religious commun-
ity. In both respects they were favored Avitli the guid-
ance of men equally upright and gifted, by wliose influence
this feeling, alike of their political and their ecclesiastical
responsibilities, was maintained and developed in living
power. This twofold relation had given birth to the The-
ocratic constitution. In exhibiting the characteristics of this
constitution, we have already made use of the decisions of
a synod held in 1648, as the clearest manifestation of the
peculiarity of the civil government. But it is evident, not
only from expressions in contemporary correspondence, but
from the laws of Massachusetts, that this same view had
prevailed universally from the very first. Indeed, we find
it acted on, so early as the first controvei-sy with Roger
"Williams.
Another point in this platform of church-discipline, the
136 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
question respecting church-membership, must now be jiar-
ticularly considered ; as the decision in regard to it was
expressly intended to counteract an attempt, peculiar in its
character, to subvert the theocratic relation.
As every theocracy is exposed to the resistance of cer-
tain members of its connection, so was it the case here.
But we must not lose sight of the fact, that the character-
istic feature of the New England Theocracy, by which it
was distinguished from every other, formed also the fun-
damental principle of the Congregationalists, and was
regarded by them as a necessary step in the progress of
the reformation. The requirement, that only such shall be
admitted to the visible church as are members of that
which is invisible, can be carried out in its full strictness
no where on earth. But if, in addition, only these same
church-members are allowed the enjoyment of civil rights,
it can be maintained no longer than a controlling religious
interest in the church-relation continues to penetrate all
the individuals of the community. As we have already
seen, the members of the Leyden church and the first set-
tlers of Massachusetts Bay felt themselves called to such
an attempt, and they were men fitted to accomplish it.
But the subsequent immigrations from England did not
originate solely in devotion to religious interests ; nay,
even in the second generation in America, the view had
begun to lose ground, that connection with the church was
man's first and only necessity. It was inevitable, there-
fore, that from that class of persons who could not claim
to be church-members, must proceed a reaction, founded
on the natural and necessary desire to be citizens of the
State in which they lived.
But besides this anti-theocratic i:)arty, j^roperly so called,
another, an anti-Congregationalist party, might espouse
KEW EXGLAND THEOCRACY. 137
ami (Ic'fond tlie opposition, on other grounds. It coukl
not hut liappen, in a social state so decidedly Christian,
that the wish should be felt by many, even among those
who had little personal interest in religion, to hold a cer-
tain connection with the church, whose requisitions for
actual membership they were, nevertheless, unable or
unwilling to meet. So also, the desire must be felt,
among those who were not church-members, that their
children should be admitted to the privilege of baptism ;
while, on the other hand, the church might well refuse the
rite, as being unable to regard those as future members,
who Avere to be trained under the influence of i>ersons
themselves standing aloof from her. This question: 'Who
are the ju-oper subjects of baptism?' we shall see more
particularly discussed at a later period. It was the answer
to this question which caused the subversion of the ori"-.
inal connection between church and state.
Before depicting the assault made on the theocracy from
the political side, we will liere mention a single instance
of opposition, which, though Avithout results, is of a note-
Avorthy character. In 1G37, a minister at Weymouth,
Massachusetts, by the name of Lenthal, broached the doc-
trine that baptism constitutes the door of entrance to the
visible church. Hubbard reports ^ that this vicAv Avas im-
mediately embraced by several others, and the i)lan Avas in
agitation of forming a church, into Avhich all baptized per-
sons were to be admitted to communion, Avithout any addi-
tional test. But when Lenthal was applied to for farther
counsel in the matter, it was found that he had been con-
1 According to Backus, I., 114. Here it is also remarked tliat Lenthal
AN-ent in lOlO to Rhode Island, and from thence soon after to ICnj^dand.
llis views were in direct contrariety also with those of most of the Xorth
American church parties of the time.
12*
138 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
ferred with by several magistrates and ministers, and had
retracted his oi^inions. Having read his recantation^ pub-
licly before his congregation, he was exempted from, fur-
ther censure. This doctrine was in too decided contra-
riety to the prevailing view to have spread extensively,
although strictly sjjeaking, it was not directed against the
theocracy as such.
How thoroughly the ruling powers were impressed with
the idea, that church and state must constitute an undi-
vided unity, appears from the two following laws passed in
Boston, Sept. 1638 : 1. "Whereas it is found by sad expe-
rience, that divers persons, who have been justly cast out
of some of the churches, do profanely contemn the same
sacred and dreadful ordinance, by presenting themselves
over-boldly in other assemblies, and speaking lightly of
their censures, to the great offence and grief of God's peo-
ple, and encouragement of evil-minded persons to contemn
the same ordinance ; it is therefore ordered, that whoso-
ever shall stand excommunicated for the space of six
months, without laboring Avhat in him or her licth to be
restored, such person shall be jji-esented to the Court of
Assistants, and there proceeded with by fine, imprison-
ment, banishment, or further, for their good behavior, as
their contemjDt and obstinacy upon full hearing shall de-
serve." This law was indeed soon after abrogated. Not
so the second, which long survived the real dissolution of
the theocracy, and formed, in subsequent times, the chief
occasion for the renewal of internal divisions. By this
statute, all the inhabitants of a town, whether freemen or
members of the church or not, were required to contribute
equally to all necessary expenditures for church and state.
In close connection with the passage of this latter Act,
1 So related in Neal's History of New England, I., p. 196.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 139
stands a movement which threatened the overthrow of the
tlieocratic relation, but became the occasion of. its formal
and explicit confirmation. In the colony of Plymouth
nlso, as well as in Massachusetts, there had been always
some, though not a large number. Mho took exceptions to
the theocratic relation on the above-mentioned grounds ;
and the disaffected of the two colonics were in understand-
ino- with each other.^ Individual complaints had already
become loud, when, in 1646, the matter came before the
notice of the General Court at Boston. A petition was
sent in by certain inhabitants of Ilingham, in jMassacliu-
setts, near the bordei's of Ncav Plymouth,^ which, after
some preliminary compliments, in general terms, on the
administration of the government, proceeded to designate
the present condition of affairs as one of manifold griev-
ances, alleging three specific causes for the same, and pray-
ing for the repeal and change of the following relations
and ordinances. First, there exists great uncertainty in
all respects, ai'ising from neglect to recognize the laws of
England as the basis of government, or to act on them as
such; hence a want of that security and confidence in the
enjoyment of life, freedom, and property, which is the right
of every free-born Englishman, and a constant apprehen-
sion of illegal burdens and unjust punishments. Second,
there are in these settlements many thousands of free-
born, quiet, peaceable Englishmen, who though upright in
their dealings, and disposed to promote the public weal,
see themselves debarred from all civil employments ; nay,
are not permitted to occupy the lowest oflSce, nor to have
a voice in the election of magistrates, of captains, or other
1 HutohinFon, I., 136.
2 Collection of original papers relative to the History of Mass. Bay,
Boston. 17G9, p. 188 fiF.
140 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
civil and military functionaries. The jietitioners pray, there-
fore, tliat civil freedom and civil right be granted to ' all
truly English,' without the imposition of any oath or cove-
nant, which does not appear to accord with the Patent and
the original oath of allegiance; such oath and covenant
they were ready to assume, as should express their desire
for the furtherance of the honor of God and the prosperity
of the settlement, their loyalty to England, their love to
their country. In the ordinances referred to, they foresee
disruption from England ; and they pray, in case their
])etition is rejected, that they may be regarded as foreign-
ers, and be exempted from all charges. Third, there are
divers good people, rich in knowledge and no way blam-
able in life and conversation, who as members of the
church of England are in agreement with the last and best
reformation in England and Scotland, but are yet excluded
from the Supper on the pretence that they do not assent
to the church-covenant, for which they see no foimdation
in the Avord of God, and moreover, this very covenant dif-
fers in diflerent churches. Not only so, but they are con-
strained by penalties to attend public Avorship ; and par-
ticular pains are used that they shall be present at times
when baptism is administered, although their own children
cannot be baptized. In some places they are obliged to
contribute to the maintenance of the minister, in order to
be regarded as brethren. With a brief reference to the
necessary tendency of such a course to promote Anabaj)-
tism, they pray, therefore, to be received into the churches,
and allowed a participation in all the privileges and ordi-
nances which Christ has purchased for them and in whose
name they have been baptized, that the Lord may be one
and his name one in this place, and that so the seals of the
covenant (the sacraments) may be enjoyed by them and
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 141
tlieir posterity. If this may not be, they request peniiis-
sion to form churches after tlieir own manner. They con-
chule Avith the remark, that if repulsed here, they shall feel
themselves constrained to apply to the honorable Houses
of Parliament, who will, without doubt, take their unhappy
state into consideration.
Among the seven petitioners, one possessed the rights
of a free citizen Avithout being a church-member, having
become a freeman previous to the law before cited ;^ but
the remainder seem to have been by no means the only
ones in the colony, who were opposed to the established
relations. This is clear from the popular excitement
which, after this matter was decided, manifested itself in
Boston against Governor John Winthrop, the most i)OAver-
fal and distinguished defender of the existing constitution.
A letter addressed to him by a magistrate in Ipswich,^
proves by its lamentations over the disorders thus occa-
sioned, that the number of the malcontents was not small.
A preponderating majority of the government, as well as
among the citizens generally, Avere decidedly averse to the
principles set forth in this petition, and were indignant at
its charges, for which it was believed no occasion had been
given. We recognize the simplicity of the time in the cir-
cumstance, that the General Court felt itself called on to
refute the petitioners and justify their own conduct by a
lengthy public explanation. This document^ gives a
reflection at once of the prevailing views of the period,
and of its peculiar style of argumentation. It begins with
a reference to the complimentary expressions of the peti-
tioners, which hoAvever, are declined, as being shoAvn by
Avhat foUoAvs to be merely an unAvorthy captatio henevo-
letitiae. Thus in regard to the first point, the laAVs of
1 See p. 68. * Collection of orig. papers, p. 218. 3 ib. p. 196, ff.
142 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
England are held up in opposition to the ordinances pre-
vailing here, esijecially in relation to the declaration of
personal freedom. A verbal agreement in this respect
is out of the question; but the legislators of New England
were firmly persuaded that they had met the spirit of the
English constitution in their enactments, and their addi-
tional enactments in reference to ecclesiastical relations
they regarded as resulting necessarily from their religious
principles. They claim it as their due, that the manifold
misfortunes of the last year may not be laid to their
charge ; and while acknowledging that grievances may
still exist, remind their readers that as Rome was not built
in a day, it would not be strange if within sixteen years
from the foundation of the colony, much yet remained to
be done. The objections of the petitioners, they say, are
stated in terms so general that a pro2:)er refutation of them
becomes impossible. The demand for universal right of
suffrage, the government regards as an attempt to gain
favor Avith the populace, and directs attention to the fact,
that it lies with the petitioners themselves whether they
shall be furnished with the requisite qualifications. The
third point is most largely discussed. In accordance with
the prevailing view of the time, it is assumed that by
answering complaints in reference to the terms of church-
membership, all objections in reference to the denial of
political rights are also disposed of The alleged title of
many to the jDrivileges of the church, is rebutted by the
assertion that " some are hypocritical in their walk, others
are notoriously corrupt in their opinions, other still, grossly
ignorant of the fundamental doctrines of religion, and that,
fourthly, if some did possess such knowledge and such
gifts, they did not make the same known by a public pro-
fession before the church or elders, and consequently, their
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 143
qualifications Avere unknown. "Our churches," it pro-
ceeds, " cannot blindly or upon the testimony of others,
receive persons who refuse to give that account of their
faith or repentance, which is so expressly required. 1 Pet.
3:15. Matt. 3 : 6. Acts 8 : 37. Matt. 16 : 16-18."
But it was not the manner of the leaders of New Eng-
land to stop with such a vindication, and the petitioners were
summoned before the Court. When they appealed to the
right of petition, it was answered that they were not com-
plained of for having presented a petition, but on account
of their contemptuous and seditious expressions ; and secu-
rity was demanded for their good behavior. But while
under indictment for a criminal offence, pardon was offered
them if they would make full and frank confession of their
ilxult. Declining to do this, they were fined, some in
smaller, some in larger sums. Their appeal to the commis-
sion, appointed by the English government for all colonies,
was not admitted, A number of them then resolved to
carry their complaints to England ; but their papers were
seized by the government. Among them was a memoran-
dum which contained, besides a complaint in reference to the
late proceeding, a recapitulation of the points above men-
tioned ; nay, they had gone so far as to propose changes in-
volving the entire subversion of the present form of gov-
ernment. The supreme power of the General Court at Bos-
ton was represented as unauthorized, since even the charter
of Massachusetts had not been confirmed by Parliament ;
and it was therefore requested that a Governor might be
appointed from England. A copy of this memorandum,
subscribed by some twenty-five non-freemen (such is the
term they use), in behalf of themselves and many thou-
sands, found its way to London. But the Massachusetts
agent there resident was provided from Boston with argu-
144 NEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY.
ments to meet it; and his skilful management, together
M'ith his influence with many members of parliament and
other distinguished men, jjrevented all prejudicial conse-
quences to the colony. The public mind was, moreover,
too much occupied with the pojDular disturbances in Eng-
land itself to bestow much attention on these petitioners.
But in Boston these proceedings were met by the loud
expression of dissatisfaction, even among the members of
the government ; and this directed itself against a man so
generally esteemed and honored as Winthrop, ^^'ho was that
year deputy-governor. In open assembly, he was charged
with an attempt upon the liberties of the people, and Avas
required, against all order, to exonerate himself by an ex-
planation on the spot. Winthrop yielded to the demand,
after having showed them that he might properly have
refused. The result of his vindication was his public acquit-
tal. ^ On resuming his seat as deputy-governor, Winthrop
felt himself called on to make the following address :
" I shall not now speak anything about the past proceed-
ings of this Court, or the persons therein concerned, only I
bless God that I see an issue of this troublesome affair. I
am well satisfied that I was jDublicly accused, and that I
am now publicly acquitted. But though I am justified be-
fore man, yet it may be the Lord hath seen so much amiss
in my administrations, as calls me to be humbled ; and,
indeed, for me to have been thus charged by men, is of
itself a matter of humiliation, whereof I desire to make a
right use before the Lord. If Miriam's father spit in her
face, she is to be ashamed. But give me leave before you
go, to say something that may rectify the opinions of many
1 " Notwithstanding, the touchy jealousy of the people about their liber-
ties lay at the bottom of this prosecution," says Mather, Magn. Book II.
Ch. IV. § 9.
KEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 146
people from whence the distempers have arisen, that Iiave
lately prevailed upon the body of this people. It is you
who have called us unto this office ; but, being thus called,
we have our authority from God ; it is the ordinance of
God, and it hath the image of God stamped up(;n it ; and
the contempt of it hasbeeu vindicated by God with terrible
examples of his vengeance. I entreat you to consider, that
when you choose magistrates, you take them from among
yourselves, men subject unto like passions with yourselves.
If ye see our infirmities, reflect upon your own, and you
Avill not be so severe censurei'S of ours. We count him a
good servant who breaks not his covenant ; the covenant
between us and you is the oath you have taken of us, which
is to this purpose, that Ave shall govern you and judge your
causes according to God's laws and our own, according to
our best skill. As for ovtr skill, you must run the hazard
of it ; and if there be an error, not in the will but only in
the skill, it becomes you to bear it. Nor would I have you
to mistake in the point of your own liberty. There is a
liberty of corrupt nature which is affected both by men and
beasts, to do what they list ; and this liberty is inconsistent
with authority, impatient of all restraint ; by this liberty
sinnus omnes deteriores • 't is the grand enemy of truth and
peace, and all the ordinances of God are bent against it.
But there is a civil, a moral, a federal liberty, which is the
proper end and object of authority ; it is a liberty for that
only which is just and good ; for this liberty you are to
stand with the hazard of your very lives, and whatsoever
ci-osses it is not authority, but a distemper thereof. This
liberty is maintained in the way of subjection to authority;
and the authority set over you will, in all administrations
for your good, be quietly submitted unto by all but such as
have a disposition to shake off the yoke, and lose their true
13
146 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
liberty by their murmuring at the honor and power of au-
thority.-' From this time to his death in 1647, Winthrop
was yearly chosen governor.
SYNOD CALLED, MAY 1646.
These agitations now called forth decisions on the part of
the church, sustaining the prevailing views. Reference has
already been made to an act passed by the Court in March,
1635, "entreating the brethren and elders of every chuich
within this jurisdiction, that they will consult and advise
of one uniform order of discipline in the churches, agreea-
ble to the Scriptures, and then to consider how far the mag-
istrates are bound to interpose for the preservation of that
uniformity and the peace of the churches." This measure
has a manifest connection with the controversies occasioned
by Roger Williams,^ which, however, had been allayed
without firther intervention on the part of the churches. It
is not unlikely, indeed, that an avowed movement towards
the establishment of a uniformity may have been met with
disfavor ; at all events, the act did not then go into effect.
Much as it might be for the interests of the church, as con-
nected Avith the existing theocracy, the interference of the
civil magistrate in her internal affairs Avas never welcome,
even with the prospect of her own increase in distinction
and power. The same spirit now manifested itself in 1646.
"When the government, on occasion of the disturbances
caused by the above-mentioned j^etition, issued an order for
a synod, some of the deputies objected, on the ground that
to concede such a power to the magistracy might be open-
ing the way for them at any time to establish new ordinan-
ces respecting ecclesiastical matters, an office for which the
civil government was not appointed by Christ, and thus
1 See Knowles Memoir of Roger Williams p, 70; and the present work p.
92.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 147
miglit bo imposed on tlio cliurch a uniformity in thinrrs
Avliich Christ has left undetermined. After a debate oft tliis
exception, the Court agreed to convene the Synod, ' by way
of a motion merely,' and not in the form of an order. This
motion, ]M;iy lo, 1G46, began witli these words:
"The right form of church government and discipline
being agreed part of the kiugdom of Christ on earth,
therefore the establishmg and settling thereof by the joint
and public agreement and consent of churches, and by the
sanction of civil authority, must needs greatly conduce to
the honor and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the
settling and safety of church and commonwealth, where
such a duty is diligently attended and performed." For
■want of such a form, — thus it proceeds — great differences
in opinion and in practice appear in the churches, and
still greater are to be expected ; and that not merely in
respect to unimportant matters, but in points of weightiest
moment and grave significance ; as, preeminently, in the
question respecting admission to the ordinance of bap-
tism. Some baptized those Avhose grandparents were
actual members of the church, though the immediate
parents were not so; or held the opinion that under cer-
tain terms and conditions the children of those might be
baptized, who had indeed been members of a congregation
in England, but here wore not found qualified for partici-
pation in the Lord's Supper. On the other side, it Avas
maintained by some that whatever might be the state of
the parents, baptism ought not to be dispensed to any
infants whatever. The Synod was therefore called upon
to " discuss, dispute, and clear up by the word of God, such
questions of church government and discij^linc, in the
things aforementioned, or any other as they shall think
needful and meet, and to continue so doing, till they, or
148 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
the major part of them, shall have agreed upon one form
of government and discipline, for the main and substantial
parts thereof,, as that which they judge agreeable to the
Holy Scriptures." At the conclusion of such conference,
the result was to be laid before the General Court, in order
to receive from it, as agreeable to the word of Uod, such
approval as is meet : " that the Lord being thus acknowl-
edged by church and state, to be our judge, our laAvgiver
and king, he may be graciously pleased still to save us, as
hitherto he has done."
The same call was sent to the churches in the other
colonies, and was there followed by the same result. One
of the three ministers who afterwards drew up for the
Synod the model of church government as the basis of its
action, was from the town of Duxbury in New Plymouth.^
But though the government had sent out this summons
merely in the form of an invitation, it was met by no in-
considerable opposition in Boston. Indeed, the church at
first declined to choose delegates for the Synod. But John
Norton,^ a distinguished minister, who had come over from
England in 1634 and received an official call from the
church in Ipswich, preached with such effect before a very
numerous assembly in Boston, on the nature of synods,
that delegates were elected. Accordingly, at the begin-
ning of the winter of lG46,the Synod assembled; but after
a session of fourteen days it adjourned to the 18th of
June, 1647; and the summer proving sickly on accoimt of
the great heat, they then adjourned again. But in Sep-
tember, 1648, they met once more, and jjrosecuted the
1 John Cartridge; Mather Mag. Book III. Part 11. Ch. XI.
2 Ibid. Book II. Part I. Ch. II. §16. He was called, after Cotton's death
in 1G52, to the church in Boston, where he lived ten years, an esteemed
and helovcd preacher of the Gospel.
NE'.v exglaivD theocracy. 149
business with wiiidi they were charged till its completion
in October.
The first steji was, to take into consideration the confes-
sion of faith adopted by the assembly of divines at "West-
minster.' Each article was read aloud by itself, and the
unanimous concurrence of all present was expressed in
the following resolution: "This Synod having perused and
1 This assembly was called by order of parliament in 1G43. It consisted
of ten peers, twenty members of tlie lower House, and one hundred and
twenty cler:?ymen ; but the number of the latter was soon diminished by
the secession of those inclined to episcopacy. At the very beginning, they
took in hand a revision of the Thirty -nine Articles, but without completing
it. Later, the Assembly was joined by the Scotch. The predominance thus
gained by the Presbyterians was contested by the iutlueuce of the Inde-
pendents, which was constantly strengthening under the countenance of
Cromwell ; who, however, were not able to carry through their principle
of the independence of the single churches. On the contrary, both in the
decisions respecting the ordination of ministers and public worship, the
principles of the Presbyterians were adopted, according to which the as-
sembly of the ministers and elders of one church wei-e subjected to the
presbyteries of several churches, and these again to a synod. Before the
close of the assembly (in February 1G48), the Independents, being out-
voted, had withdrawn. So also did the Erastians, who allowed to the
clergy only the office of preaching the word and administering the sacra-
ments, but wished all ehureh-govcrnment to be transferred to the state.
The Confession of Faith laid before parliament in 1646, which was assented
to by the Presbyterians and Independents, takes very decided ground
against Arminianism, and exalts the doctrine of predestination in opposi-
tion to the views then current in the Episcopal Church. But with this
concord, we see on both sides a tenacious adherence to tlieir different doc-
trines in regard to church-government; as in all English church-parties,
the constitution has ever been the main question. The Independents of
England complained at that time of persecution ; in the year of Cromwell's
death, 16-58, they held an assembly at London, and adopted the Savoy
Confession, which agrees in all essential points with that of Westminster.
The stand it takes against open communion seems to hold a certain con-
nection with the opposition to Arminianism; making an unconscious ap-
plication of the doctrine of predestination, by seeking to exclude all but
the elect from membership in the visible church.
150 NEAV ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
considered (with much gladness of heart and thankfuhiess
to God) the confession of fiitla, published by the late rev-
erend assembly in England, do judge it to be very holy,
orthodox and judicious, in all matters of faith, and do
therefore freely and fully consent thereunto for the sub-
stance thereof. Only in those things which have respect
to church-government and discipline, we refer ourselves to
the platform of church-discipline agreed upon by this
present assembly ; and Ave do therefore think it meet, that
this confession of faith should be commended to the
churches of Christ among us, and to the honored Court, as
worthy of their due consideration and acceptance,"
The Synod then applied itself to the completion of the
work for which it had especially been called together.
Besides the above mentioned Partridge, John Cotton
and Richard Mather^ were appointed to draw up, each
by himself, an outline of Church-Discipline agreeable to
the Holy Scriptures. The Synod compared these three
models Avith one another, and thus arose the platform of
Church -Discipline Avhich, in October 1648, Avas presented
to the General Court for consideration and acceptance.
Its conclusions receiA'ed indeed no such unanimous ap-
]iroA^al, in reference to each particular point, as the Articles
of Faith ; but, on the other hand, no decided opposition
arose from any quarter, and when laid before the churches,
it was accepted by all.'^
PLATFORM OF CHURCH DISCIPLINE (tHE CAMBRIDGE PLATFORM),
ADOPTED IN 1648.
We haA'c already had occasion to bring forward those
points of this Platform, Avhich contain an exhibition of the
1 Grandfather of the church historian, Cotton Mather.
2 Neal's History of New Engiand, I., 292.
NEW EXGLAXD THEOCRACY. l,".l
theocratic relation,^ Our first object must no^v be to
show liow the question was answered, wliich, according to
the declaration of the General Court, occasioned the prep-
aration of the Platform, viz., the question respecting quali-
fications for church-membership. The answer is found in
the fourth and twelfth chapters of the Platform ; the one
treating of the fomi of the visible church; the other, of the
admission of members into the church. The fourth chap-
ter thus speaks ;
1. Saints by calling must have a visible political union
among themselves, or else they are not yet a particular
church, (1 Cor. 12 : 27. 1 Tim. 3 : 15. Eph. 2 : 22. 1 Cor. 12 :
15, 16, 17.) as those similitudes hold forth which the scrijD-
ture makes use of to show the nature of particular
churches ; as a hody^ a building, house, hands, eyes, feet,
and other members, must be united, or else (remaining
separate) are not a body. Stones, timber, though squared,
hewn and polished, are not a house, imtil they are com-
pacted, and united: (Rev. ii.) so saints or believers in
judgment of charity, are not a church, unless orderly knit
together.
2. Particular churches cannot be distinguished one from
another, but by their forms. JUphesus is not Smyrna, nor
Pergamos Thyatira, but each one a distinct society of it-
self, having ofiicers of their own, which had not the charge
of others : A'irtues of their own, for which others are not
praised : corruptions of their own, for which others are not
blamed.
3. This fonn is the visible covenant, agreement or con-
sent, Avhereby they give ixp themselves unto the Lord, to
the observing of the ordinances of Christ together in the
same society, which is usually called the church-covenant :
1 See p. 68, ff.
152 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
(Ex. 19 : 5, 8. Deut. 29 : 12, 13. Zee. 11 : 14, and 9 : 11,) for
^ye see not otherwise how members can have church-power
over one another mutually. The comparing of each par-
ticular church to a cit^, and unto a spouse, (Eph. 2; 19. 2
Cor. 11 : 2,) seemeth to conclude not only a form, but that
that form is by way of covenant. The covenant, as it was
that wliich made the family of Abraham and children of
Israel to be a church and jDCople unto God, (Gen. 17 : 7.
Eph. 2: 12, 18,) so it is that which now makes the several
societies of Gentile believers to be churches in these days.
4. This voluntary agreement, consent or covenant, (for
all these are here taken for the same) although the more
express and plain it is, the more fully puts us in mind of
our mutual duty ; and stirreth us up to it, and leaveth
less room for the questioning of the truth of the church-
estate of a company of professors, and the truth of
membership of particular persons ; yet we conceive the
substance of it is kept, where there is real agreement
and consent of a company of faithful persons to meet
constantly together in one congregation, for the jiublic
worship of God, and their mutual edification : which real
agreement and consent they do express by their constant
practice in coming together for the public worship of God,
and by their religious subjection unto the oi'dinances of
God there : (Exod. 19:5, and 20 : 8, and 24 : 3, 17. Josh. 24 :
18 — 24. Psal. 50: 5. Neh. 9 : 88, and 10 : 1. Gen. xvii. Deut.
xxix.) the rather, if we do consider how scripture-covenants
have been entered into, not only expressly by word of
mouth, but by sacrifice, by hand-writing and seal ; and also
sometimes by silent consent, without any wiiting or ex-
pression of words at all.
5. This form being by mutual covenant, it followeth, it
is not faith in the heart, nor the profession of that fiiitli,
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 153
nor cohabitation, nor baptism. 1. Not faith i7i the heart,
because that is invisible. 2. Not a bare profession, be-
cause that declareth them no more to be members of one
* church than another. 3. Xot cohabitation, atheists or infi-
dels may dwell together with believers. 4. Not baptism,
because it presupposeth a church-estate as circumcision in
the Old Testament, which gave no being to the church, the
church being before it, and in the wilderness without it.
Seals presuppose a covenant already in being. One person
is a complete subject of baptism, but one person is inca-
pable of being a church.
6. All believers ought, as God giveth them opportunity
thereunto, to endeavor to join themselves unto a particular
church, and that in respect of the honor of Jesus Christ, in
his example and institution, by the professed acknowledg-
ment of, and subjection unto the order and ordinances of
the gospel : (Acts 2 : 47, and 9 : 26. Mat. 3 : 13, 14, 15, and
28: 19, 20. Psa. 133: 23, and 87: 7. Mat. 18: 20. 1 John,
1, 3.) as also in respect of their good communion founded
upon their visible union, and contained in the promises of
Christ's special presence in the church ; Avhence they have
fellowship with him, and in him, one with another : also in
the keeping of them in the way of God's commandments,
and recovering of them in case of wandering, (which all
Christ's sheep are subject to in this life) being unable to
return of themselves ; together with the benefit of their
mutual edification, and of their posterity, that they may
not be cut off from the privilege of the covenant. (Psa.
119: 176. iPct. 2: 25. Eph. 4: 16. Job 22: 24, 25. Matt. 18 :
15, 16, 17.) Otherwise, if a believer offends, he remains
destitute of the remedy provided in that behalf And
should all believers neglect this duty of joining to all par-
ticular congregations, it might follow therefrom, that Christ
should have no visible, political churches u2)on earth."
154 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
Still more decided is the view of the Synod, on the
points in question, expressed in the twelfth chapter of tlio
Platform. As it is through these decisions that the sub-
sequent controversies are seen in their proper light, we
will here give this chapter at length.
1. The doors of the church of Christ upon earth do not,
by God's appointment, stand so wide open that all sorts of
people, good and bad, may freely enter therein at their
pleasure, (2 Chr. 29 : 19. Matt. 13 : 25, and 22 : 12.) but such
as are admitted thereto, as members, ought to be examined
and tried first, whether they be fit and meet to be received
into church-society or not. The Eunuch of EtJdopia
before his admission, was examined by Philip, (Acts 8:
37.) whether he did believe on Jesus Christ with all his
heart. The angel of the church at Ephesas, (Rev. 2 : 2.
Acts 9 : 26.) is commended for trying such as said they
were apostles and were not. There is like reason for try-
ing of them that profess themselves to be believers. Tlie
officers are charged Avith the keeping of the doors of the
church, and therefore are in a special manner to make trial
of the fitness of such, who enter. Twelve angels are set
at the gates of the temple, (Rev. 21 : 12. 2 Chr. 23 : 19.) lest
such as were ceremonially unclean shoukl enter thereinto.
2. The things which are requisite to be found in all
church-members, are repentance from sin, and faith in
Jesus Christ : (Acts 2 : 38 — 42, and 8 : 37.) and therefore,
these are the things wliereof men are to be examined, at
their admission into the church, and which then they must
profess and hold forth in such sort, as may satisfy rational
charity that the things are indeed. John Paptist admit-
ted men to baptism confessing and bewailing their sms:
(Matt. 3 : 6. Acts 19 : 18.) and of otliers it is said that they
came and confessed.) and showed their deeds.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 155
3. The ■weakest measure of fliith is to be accepted in
those that desire to be admitted into tlie clmrch (Iloni.
14: 1.); if s/«oc/-e, they have the substance of that fiith,
repentance and lioliness, Avhicli is required in cliurch-niem-
bers ; and such liave most need of the ordinances for their
confirmation, and growtli in grace. The Lord Jesus "wouhl
not quench the smoking flax, nor break the bruised reed,
(Matt. 12 : 20. Isa. 40 : 11.) but gather the tender lambs in
his arms and carry them gently in his bosom. Such char-
ity and tenderness is to be used, as the weakest Christian,
if sincere, may not be excluded nor discouraged. Severity
of examination is to be avoided.
4. In case any through excessive fear, or other infirmity,
be i;nable to make their personal relation of their spiritual
estate in pul)lie, it is sufticicnt, that the elders having
received private satisfaction, make relation thereof in pub-
lic before the church, they testifying their assents there-
imto : this being the way that tendeth most to edification.
Bnt where persons are of greater abilities, there it is
most ex])edient that they make their relations and confes-
sions personally with their own mouth, as David j^rofess-
eth of himself (Psal. G6 : 6.)
5. A jiersonal and public confession, and declaring of
God's manner of working upon the soul, is both lawful,
expedient and useful, in sundry respects and upon sundry
grounds. Those three thousand, (Acts 2 : 37, 41.) before
they were admitted by the apostles, did manifest that they
were pricked at the heart by Peter's sermon, together with
eai'nest desire to be delivered from their sins which even
wounded their consciences, and their ready receiving of
the word of promise and exhortation. We are to be ready
to render a reason of the hope that is in i(s, to every one
that asJceth iis ; (1 Pet. 3 : 15. Ileb. 11:1. Eph. 1 : 18.) there-
156 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
fore we must be able and ready upon any occasion to
declare and show our repentance for ^xw^ faith unfeigned,
and effectual calling^ because those are the reason of a Avell
grounded Iwpe. I have not hidden tJiy righteousness from
the great co)igrcgation. (Psalm 40: 10.)
6. This i^rofession of faith and repentance, as it must be
made by such at their admission, that were never in
church society before ; so nothing hindereth but the same
may also be performed by such as have formerly been
members of some other church, (Matt. 3 : 5, 6. Gal. 2 : 4. 1
Tim, 5 : 24.) and the church to which they now join them-
selves as members, may lawfully require the same. Those
three thousand, (Acts ii.) "which made their confession, were
members of the church of the Jews before ; so were those
that were baptized by John. Churches may err in their
admission ; and persons regularly admitted may fall into
offence. Otherwise, if churches might obtrude their mem-
bers, or if church-members might obtrude themselves ujion
other churches without elite trial, the matter so requiring,
both the liberty of the churches would thereby be infringed
in that tliey might not examine those, concerning whose
fitness for communion they were unsatisfied : and besides
the infringing of their liberty, the churches themselves
would unavoidably be corrupted, and th*e ordinances
defiled, whilst they might not refuse, but must receive the
unworthy : Avhich is contrary unto the scripture, teaching
that all churches are sisters, and therefore equal. (Cant.
8: 8.)
7. The like trial is to be required from such members of
the church as were born in the same, or received their
membership, or were baptized in their infimcy or minority
by virtue of the covenant of their j^^irents, when being
grown up into years of discretion, they shall desire to be
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 157
made partakers of tlie Lord's Supper: unto Avliieh, because
holy things must not be given to the unworthy, therefore
it is requisite (Matt. 7 : 6. 1 Cor. 11: 27.), that these as
■well as others should come to their trial and examination,
and manifest their faith and repentance by an open profes-
sion thereof, before they are received to tlie Lord's Supper,
and otherwise not to be admitted thereunto. Yet these
church-members that were so born, or received in their
childhood, before they are capable of being made partakers
of full communion, have many privileges which others, not
church-members, have not; they are in covenant with
God, having the seal thereof upon them, viz., baptism ; and
so, if not regenerated, yet are in a more hopeful way of
attaining regenerating grace, and all the spiritual blessings
both of the covenant and the seal : they are also under
church-watch, and consequently subject to the reprehen-
sions, admonitions, and censures thereof, for their healing
and amendment, as need shall require."
If now Ave sum up the results of this S}'nod, we shall
find in the Platform the confirmation, as avcU of the theo-
cratic vicAvs Avhich had all along been recognized in prac-
tice, as of the undisputed Congregationalist principles
respecting the self-competency and independence of the
churches, in regard to the exercise of the fullest and high-
est ecclesiastical authority. But the Platform also decides,
as Ave see from the tAvo chapters just quoted, the question
respecting the qualifications for church-membership. We
see here as little deviation from the conditions laid down
by Robinson, as from those Avhich still prevail among Con-
gregationalists at the present day. The great value and
blessing of baptism is indeed acknowledged ; but the bap-
tized are nevertheless put essentially on a level Avith others,
14
158 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
Avho stand outside tlie church-communion and are obliged
to submit to the same tests.
Before passing to the consideration of the repeated
counter-movements against this decision, and to the deter-
minations of the following synod, we will attempt to draw
from the Platform a view of certain other ecclesiastical
relations, which did not so essentially affect the progressive
development of the church. The gradual and partial change
experienced here, was, indeed, not so much expressed in
siDecial decisions, as introduced, step after step, by usage.
In regard to officers in the church, four of these are
mentioned in the Platform. The sixth chapter treats of
pastors and teachers, who (§ 5) are distinct from each
other in this respect, that upon the former lies the duty of
exhortation, administering therein of the word of wisdom;
upon the latter, the care of doctrine, administering therein
of the w^ord of knowledge : both participate in the admin-
istration of the sacraments, and the execution of church
censures, that being only an application of the Avord
preached. Still, it is expressly declared (§ 6) that the
office of teacher is not limited to the schools; but both
belong alike to the church. Two such servants of the
word would, however, be found only in the larger churches;
and since these, as before mentioned, were accustomed to
divide, a ready explanation may be found, in the indepen-
dency of each church, for the gradual disappearance of one
of these offices. The third office in the church was that of
ruling elder. The two servants of the church already
mentioned were, it is true, also called elders, and took part
in the government of the church ; but this was the espe-
cial duty of the ruling elder, to whom it did not pertain
to teach or to preach. What belonged to all three in
common, found in the ruling elder its chief executor, or
KiiW ENGLAND THEOCRACY, 159
at least its principal organ of communication. His duly
is stated to be (chap. 7, § 2) that of admitting and ex-
cluding members; of calling together and dismissing the
church ; of })repariug business for the public meetings and
maintaining quiet and order in the same ; of representing
the church; taking the oversight of its members in respect
to life and doctrine ; visiting and comforting the sick ; ad-
monishing, as occasion shall offer, out of the word of God.
The ruling elders stood as agents between the church and
the individual members. This office at first existed in
most of the churches ; but at the end of a half century
it had fallen into almost total desuetude. The cause of
this Avas, in part, the gradual transfer of its duties to the
other church servants ; in part, the unpleasant nature of
some branches of the office ; for instance, that of oversight
of the members, which became more and more repulsive
during the signal decay of the church life at a later period.
The fourth office, that of deacons, had for its object the
purely external relations of the church, especially the man-
agement of its property.
While the above named offices are declared to be those
alone which are agreeable to Scripture, all others, as popes,
cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, lordbishops, archdea-
cons, officials, commissaries, and the like, are described as
mere inventions and ordinances, which tend to the great
dishonor of Jesus Christ, the Lord and King of his church.
The appointment of deaconesses is, however, recommended
where it is practicable. The election of church officers,
according to the eighth chapter, naturally j)ertains to the
church ; neither the government, diocesan bishops, or pat-
rons can claim it on the ground of Scripture. Ordination
is to be performed by the elders ; if these are wanting, by
brethren, orderly chosen by the church for the purpose.
160 NEW ENGLAND TlIEOCllACY.
In the latter case, however, the end is reached, if the impo-
sition of hands and prayer are performed by tlie elders of
other churches. But it gradually became established usage,
to commit ordination to the ministers of neighboring
churches. The articles respecting the communion of dif-
ferent churches with each other are in conformity with the
principles thus laid down and explained. They are bound
to mutual care, consultation, admonition, and sympathy,
as becomes christian brethren. If a member of any church
has occasion to leave it in a regular manner, he shall be
dismissed with a letter of recommendation, that he may
be received into the church to which he g'bes ; although
the latter, as we have seen, is not unconditionally bound
to accept him.
We will here add the articles res2:)ecting excommunica-
tion. It may be pronounced against one who sins against
his brother, if refusing to hear him, the witnesses, and the
church (Matt. 18: 15 — 17); as also for public scandals.
But it must proceed from the spirit of judgment and
meekness. All intercourse with the excommunicated shall
be withheld, exce^^t so far as is indispensably necessary.
Still he is not thereby deprived of his civil rights, and,
being regarded as a heathen and publican, he may be pres-
ent at the preaching of the word. In the hope of his
recovery, he shall not be accounted as an enemy, but ad-
monished as a brother ; and on the manifestation of re-
pentance, he shall be reinstated in his former relations. It
is added, that the scandalous walk of persons in the church
is not sufficient ground for separation from it, nor for
withdrawal from participation in the sacraments therein
administered.
Thus have we endeavored to give a reflection of the
spirit which rules in this platform. Its most important
NEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY. ICl
decision, however, that which respects the quaUfications
for cliurcli-menibership, found and continued to find many
ojiposers. The succeeding chapters will show the triumph
of another view, in reference to the relation of baptized
persons, and the consequences of this change.
14*
CHAPTER VI.
DISSOLUTION OF THE THEOCKATIC RELATION, FROM THE ECCLE-
SIASTICAL AND THE POLITICAL SIDE.
ECCLESIASTICAL AGITATIONS WITHIN THE COLONIES.
The Cambridge Synod of 1648 had, as we liave seen,
triumphed over the opposition which threatened to subvert
the theocratic relation. That opposition was essentially po-
litical in its nature, being directed against a political advan-
tage enjoyed by church-members, against the theocracy in
general.
But there now appeared opposers of the existing rela-
tions from a properly ecclesiastical stand-point, directly
affecting the specific form of the theocratic constitution, as
developed from the ground-ideas of Congregationalism.
This conflict, waged with other Aveapons, and as it were in
another territory, had also a different issue from the one
just narrated.
It ai^pears, from contemporary accounts, that the piinci-
ples of the theocracy were carried out in practice, however
much it might seem, in the single cases, to be at war Avith
the spirit in wdiich the Independents had their origin.
About the year 1651, the church at Maiden was fined in a
heavy sum, for having chosen a minister without the agree-
ment and consent of the neighboring churches, and with-
out permission from the government. It was therefore or-
NEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY. 163
dained by la^v, tliat no minister could be called to the office
in any church without the approbation both of some mem-
bers of the magistracy, and of the neighboring churches.
On the strength of this decision, the General Court ^ refused
to allow the North Churcli in Boston to choose for their
pastor, a well-gifted thougli unlearned man by the name
of Powell, and they were obliged to content themselves
Avith making him ruling elder. Not only so, but the gov-
ernment took upon itself to nominate another from New
Plymouth, thus exercising a direct influence on the election.
In reference to this occurrence, Hubbard,^ one of the ear-
liest historians of New England says : " Let the experi-
ence of all reformed chiu-ches be asked, and it will apj)ear,
that disorder and confusion in the church can be avoided by
no decisions, councils and assemblies of synods, or of other
deputies of the churches, if that which is determined be not
somewhat set forward by the civil authority. All men are
naturally so prejudiced by their own notions, that the order
and rule of the gospel is not obeyed, unless there is a neces-
sary power of restraint."
At this same time, when the connection between church
and state was thus steadfastly maintained, commenced the
discussion of the question respecting qualification for mem-
bership in the church itself It cannot but strike one with
surprise, that the progress of so few years had sufficed to
produce, in a large majority of the people, a change in re-
spect to the orgardc principles which lay at the basis of
Congregationalism. This de])arture from the original strict-
ness, Avhich we shall see as the result of the ecclesiastical
agitations of this period, finds its explanation in the form
and character of the opposition here developed. In accord-
1 Backus, I., 267. Hutchinson, I., 174.
2 A liiston- of Massachusetts from his hand appeared so early as 1G80.
164 NEW ENGLAND THEOCKACT.
ance with her fundamental principles, the church could ad-
mit to baptism only the children of her actual members, and
no one Avas entitled by this sacrament to full fellowship.
But, as before remarked, in j^rocess of time not only had
many emigrants come from England without that religious
impulse ; but there was a decay of that predominating
church-feeling, even in the second generation in America.
It was, nevei'theless, not so extinguished that there was not
a desire among such for a certain personal connection with
the church, partly for their own sakes, and partly to secure
for their children a participation in the privileges of the
christian body. The church, however, could not regard
these children as members through their parents, or expect
that they would subsequently fulfil the obligations requisite
for the other sacrament. But though she might feel her-
self strong enough, especially in her connection with the
state, to resist the claims and wishes of those who were di-
rectly interested in these questions, yet another considera-
tion here presented itself in respect to the immediate conse-
quences of a consistent denial of baptism. It was especi-
ally to be feared lest Anabaptism, that bugbear of ISTew
England, would quickly extend itself, being strengthened
by members, who saw themselves as it were thus compelled
by the church to postpone their baptism. The danger ap-
peared the more imminent from the fact, that it now began
to show itself in a form which gave no occasion to the re-
proach of fanaticism, or of a tendency to disorder. Henry
Dunster, the first president of Harvard College, who liad
been a teacher in that institution from the year 1640, was,
by the testimony of his contemporaries, a very learned man,^
1 He was especially celebrated for his knowledge of Hebrew. A metri-
cal version of the Psalms, prepared by him, came into use in public wor-
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 165
and liatl at first, as it seems, pcribnued the duties of his
oilice to general satisfaction. But at a later period, he re-
jected infant baptism, manifestly for the sake of carrying
out consistently the Congregationalist principle ; for the
sacraments being in his view of equal rank, he held the same
pre-reqnisites necessary for both. Although he seems to
have expressed this change of opinion with great modera-
tion, the most injurious and corrupting influence was appre-
liended from it in his position ; and in the year 1654, he Avas
required to resign his office. lie yielded a ready assent,
and withdrew to Scituate, a town in Massachusetts on the
borders of Plymouth colony. Here he lived to the year
1675 undisturbed, and without giving occasion to any far-
ther excitement.
Just about the time when the opposition thus developed
in Massachusetts had been quelled, there sprang uj) a con-
troversy in Hartford, the caj)ital of Connecticut, Avhose
progress led to conclusions which revolutionized the hith-
erto existing relation. In the year 1047, their minister,
Mr. Hooker, one of the founders of this colony, and "the
father and pillar of the Connecticut churches," had died.
Some years after, a dissension arose between his successor
Samuel Stone, and Goodwin a ruling elder in the church,
which seems in its beginning to have had reference merely
to unessential points, in regard to the reception of new
members. The subsequent grounds of conflict were as yet
undeveloped ; hence also, its proper immediate occasion
did not come to light.^ Goodwin complained that the
ship, even after another had been attempted 1639. Mather, Book III., II.,
Ch. 12; and Book IV., ^ 3 and 5. Backus, I., p. 182.
1 Mather, (Magn. B. III., Chap. XVI., § 8,) says: "The}- were both of
them godly men; and the true original of tlie misunderstanding between
men of so good an understanding has been rendered almost as obscure as
166 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
rights of the brethren were neglected in the admission of
members, and the true principles of Congregationalism
treated with contempt.^ The case or cases, in which the
primitive strictness seemed to Stone to have been neg-
lected, are not known. But the controversy itself spread
through the neighboring churches, and in all of them with
scarcely an* exception, . both the Hartford parties found
zealous adherents and advocates. The whole colony and
even the General Court took part in it. To avert a formal
division in the church, synods of the neighboring churches
and elders were repeatedly called in the years 1654 and
1655; but the excitement at Hartford had risen to such a
height, that both sides suspected all the elders and churches
in Connecticut and New Haven of being in some way pre-
judiced in favor of their opponents. It was therefore
thought expedient to call a council from the other colo-
nies. Accordingly, in the year 1656, a number of minis-
ters and elders from Massachusetts repaired to Plartford, to
give their opinion and advice. This seems to have been
favorable to the stricter party, but did not effect any per-
manent result. Hubbard says, moreover, of Massachusetts
in the year 1656: "Baptism had to this time been imparted
to those children only, whose immediate parents were
admitted to full fellowship in the j^lace where they lived."
the rise of Connecticut river." Trumljull, (Hist, of Connecticut, Vol. I.,
p. 322,) says that it does not indeed fullj^ appear, what particular act or
sentiment in Mr. Stone or the church gave elder Goodwin disgust and be-
gan the dissension; but that it is evident that it had reference to church
membership and the rights of the brotherhood. P. 311, Trumbull sug-
gests that perhaps Goodwin "imagined himself not to have been properly
consulted and regarded."
1 Stone's definition of Congregational church-government was, " A
speaking aristocracy in the face of a silent democracy." Mather III.,
XVI. 9.— Tr.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 1G7
Their advice was conformed rather to tliis existing usao-e
than to the views recently broached. But the mutual ani-
mosity continued to increase; and indeed very distin-
guished men, among them even Webster, the governor of
Connecticut, ranged themselves on tlie side of the stricter
party.
Meanwhile, in Connecticut as well as in the other colo-
nies, there was growing up a strong party, who desired
tliat all persons of regular and blameless life might be
admitted to full communion in the churches, on profession
of their belief in the christian religion, without further
^examination in respect to a change of heart; and more-
over that all baptized persons should be treated as mem-
bers of the church. Some went still farther, and insisted
that all persons who had been members of churches in
England, or had been members of regular ecclesiastical
l)arishes there, and contributed to the support of public
worship, should be allowed the privileges of church-mem-
bers in full communion. They demanded also, that all
baptized persons, upon " owning the covenant," as it was
called, should have their children baptized, although they
did not come to the Lord's table. A list of grievances,
having reference to this subject, was introduced into the
Assembly. The choice of a minister furnished the occa-
sion for these views to take a decisive form. It was uro-ed
that the church alone Avas not competent to make this
choice ; but as all the inhabitants had, both in respect to
themselves and their children, an equal interest with the
church-members in the qualifications of the minister, and
were obliged to contribute their proportion to his support,
they had also the right to a voice in his election. On the
other hand, it was maintained that the call of pastors by
any other than church-members was contrary to Scripture j
168 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
they were ordained over the churches only, and were
termed angels of the churches. These points were dis-
cussed with the greatest warmth, in ordinary intercourse as
well as in public debate. The wish of unproved persons
to participate in the rights and honors of church-members,
and to have their children baptized, seemed to those who
beheld in these innovations the corruption and profana-
tion, of the churches, to call for counteractive measures of
the most decided character.
The General Court of Connecticut held itself equally
bound to take into serious consideration the division at
Hartford, and these new controversies in the colony. At
their session in May 1656, a committee of four distin-
guished citizens of Hartford was nominated, to consult
with the elders of the colony respecting the alleged griev-
ances, and with their help draw up a statement of the
principal points. This was to be presented to the General
Courts of the United Colonies for their advice, which was
solicited to be given Avith the least possible delay. The
greater haste was thought necessary in settling these dis-
putes, on account of the Quakers, who as already men-
tioned, had just at this time begun to disturb the colonies,
and against whom Connecticut and New Haven had like-
wise enacted severe laws. The General Court of Massa-
chusetts, in reply to the heads of grievance Avhich had
been laid before them, advised a general council and sent
letters to the other courts to this effect. New Haven sent
answers to the several questions proposed, and considered
this sufficient. In Connecticut, February 26th, 1657, the
proposal of Massachusetts was agreed to. Four ministers,
Warham, Stone, Blyeman, and Russel, were appointed to
meet the delegates of the other colonies the following year
at Boston, for deliberation on the proposed questions or
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 160
othere that might come before tlicm, and to reiiort tlie con-
clusions of the synod to the General Court of Connecticut.
But especially were the delegates instructed to confer
respecting the Hartford affiiir with the Massachusetts min-
isters, from whom a visit was to be requested for the pur-
pose of assisting in a council at Hartford. The agitated
church was, moreover, desired to take part in the synod at
Boston, with the assurance that in case its decision was
not satisfactory, the attempt should be rei)eated to heal
the breach in Hartford itself. Yet even in the meeting of
the General Court, several distinguished men avowed their
dissatisfaction with the proposed measures, as neither
grounded on the divine word, nor adapted to restore peace
and quiet. Doubtless, in so doing, they intended not only
to set themselves against what they esteemed an interfer-
ence of the legislative authority in ecclesiastical affairs, but
against a dangerous tendency to innovation. The General
Court at New Haven was also most decidedly opposed to
such a council. Here was felt the poweifid influence of
Mr. Davenport, whose firm adherence to the original prin-
ciples of Congregationalism will come under our considera-
tion farther on. The request on the part of Massachusetts,
that elders might be sent to the synod at Boston, was
therefore declined, in a long letter explanatory of their
views on the petitions presented to the General Court of
Connecticut. " They had heard the petitioners confidently
hojied to obtain great changes, according to Avhich the
privileges of membership should be extended to all mem-
bers of church-parishes, Tvithout any requirement of con-
version." The fear was expressed « that a general council
held at that time, would greatly endanger the peace and
purity of the churches." The General Court of New
Haven stated, moreover, "that they had sent an answer to
15
170 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
all the questions proposed to the Court of Connecticut,
but held, nevertheless, that the legislature and elders of
that colony were sufficient to determine all those j^oints
Avithout any assistance from abroad ; they themselves could
not si:)are any of their elders, on account of the recent
removal of some of their ministers by death." "With their
letter, they sent the answers which they had prepared, and
entreated for them a serious consideration. They urged,
also, that the principles grounded on the Scriptures, which
had been thus far received, should be jireserved inviolate ;
since a departure from them would, it was feared, be fol-
lowed by most unhappy consequences to the church,
SYNOD OF 1657; the half-wat covenant.
Connecticut and Massachusetts, however, persisted in
calling a general cou^ncil. Seventeen questions^ were laid
before this body, to which others were added during the
discussion. They all had reference, either dii-ectly or indi-
rectly to the qualifications for church membership, and to
the privileges resulting from it. This synod convened at
Boston on the 4th of June, 1657, and after a session of
little more than a fortnight, gave an elaborate answer to
twenty-one questions. The Connecticut delegates brought
back an authentic copy of the i-esult and presented it to
the General Court, at its session on the 12th of August.
The Court ordered copies to be sent forthwith to all the
churches in the colony; if any one of them had objections
to make to these answers, they were to be transmitted to
the General Court at its session in October.
The answers were soon after printed in London, under
1 Given in Tnimbull's Hist, of Conn., I., 316, and 317.— Te.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 171
the significant title: "A disputation concerning church
members and their chiklren." The result of the discus-
sions is expressed in the following words : "It is the duty
of infants, who confederated in their parents, Avhen grown
up unto years of discretion, though not fit for the Lord's
Supper, to own the covenant they made with their parents,
by entering thereunto in their own persons ; and it is the
duty of the churches to call upon them for the perform-
ance thereof, and if being called upon, they shall refuse
the performance of this great duty, or otherwise continue
scandalous, they are liable to be censured for the same by
the church. And in case they understand the grounds of
reUgion, and are not scandalous, and solemnly own the
covenant in their own persons, wherein they give up them-
selves and their children unto the Lord, and desire baptism
for them, we see not^ sufficient cause to deny baptism unto
their children." "We see then, that all baptized persons
were to be regarded as members of the church, and as
subject to its discipline. Of the privileges attached to
this relation, partici2)ation in the Supper is alone withheld
from them in express words. But the claim to a share in
the choice of ministers, put forth by the disalFeeted, re-
ceived an answer in general terms, more favorable to this
party than a decision which was made at a later period.
It was to this effect : " That though it was the right of the
brotherhood to choose their pastor, and though it was
among the arts of Antichrist to deprive them of that
power, yet they ought to have a special regard to the
baptized, by the covenant of God under their watch."
Thus had the Synod struck out a middle course for the
removal of the difficulties which had arisen. The wishes
1 In Backus, I., 332, we here find, in parenthesis, the words: "with due
reference to any godly learned that may dissent."
172 NEV/ ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
of those who feared or disliked the strictness of Congre-
gatioualism, had prevailed, Witliout examination on the
jiart of the clmrch, and "without any statement in regard
to their spiritual condition, they were church-members;
civil rights could no longer be withheld from them, and
their children were allowed the privilege of baptism. On
the other hand, a distinction was made between such per-
sons and members in full fellowship,^ for which, as also for
admission to the Supper, the earlier requisitions remained
in force. But although a large number of persons, indeed
the great majority of the peo2:»le of New England at that
time, might be extremely j^leased with this conclusion, it
encountered a powerful opposition. Not only many min-
isters, but, more particularly, the churches saw in such a
modification of their hitherto elementary articles, an inno-
vation which, as being irreconcilable with the principles of
Congregationalism, must lead to its destruction. But
before we trace the farther consequences of this conflict in
general, we will j^resent the result of the above-mentioned
decision on the special case M'hich had occasioned tlie
calling of the Synod.
So far were the conclusions of the council from pro-
ducing peace and quiet in the Hartford church, that the
strife assumed a still more decided form. The stricter
party now separated wholly from the Hartford church, and
from its minister Mr. Stone, and connected themselves
with the church in the neighboring town of Wethersfield.
On the other side, Stone and the Hartford church thought
themselves justified in the exercise of church discipline,
and proceeded to the infliction of ecclesiastical penalties.
The whole colony being in a state of excitement which
threatened to rise still higher, the General Court, March
* In distinction from members of tlie half-way covenant.
NEW ENGLAJxD THEOCRACY. 173
lull, 1G58, interi)ose(l by an Act, forLidJing all farther
action by the church at Hartford against those who had
withdrawn; as also the completion by the latter of con-
nection with any other church, till the existing difficulty
should be settled in some way appointed by the Court.
As the first step, the elders of the colony were desired to
come together ; if this "svas done, which seems not how-
ever to have been tlie case, it was without effect. As httle
success attended another effort of the Court for reconcilintr
the disaffected, by conferences -with influential and distin-
guished men. With equal tenacity, Stone and the church
adhered to their opinion, and in May 1658 presented
to the General Court a complaint against the seceders.
The Court did not favor this step, but proposed a mutual
conference, in which each side should be represented by
three ministers "vvho had taken no part in the contro"\'ersy ;
if either party refused to choose elders for this purpose,
the Court would choose for them. This was in fact done
for Mr. Stone and the church, while the aggrieved breth-
ren chose for themselves ; but this refusal of the (♦hurch to
concur prevented the meeting of the council. Thereupon
the General Court resolved, March 1G59, to return to their
earlier plan, and invited ministers and elders from six
churches in Massachusetts, to visit Hartford the following
June. They comj)lied Avith the request, and exerted them-
selves in the most earnest manner, to allay the animosity.
Although they did not effect a reconciliation, yet they
succeeded in ])roducing a better state of feeling than had
existed for years. This good result being perceived by
the General Court, they invited the same ministers to
come again to Hartford in August, and at the same time,
ordered that the points of complaint against the seceding
brethren should be drawn up for their consideration and
1.5*
174 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
answer; and that both parties shoxilcT submit to their judg-
ment, Avliich was to be the final decision on the case. This
council did indeed so far succeed in adjusting differences,
that a separation of the church -was prevented for the
i:)resent. Some of the most influential members had, it is
true, died or removed from the place ; but others viewed
the new decisions as a departure from the original princi-
ples of Congregationnlism, and at a later period, we see a
separation in the church on nearly the same grounds. The
rise, progress, and settlement of these controversies exhibit
the peculiar characteristics of the NeAV England Church.
Especially noticeable is the universal interest which they
excited. Not only did the churches of Massachusetts,
Connecticut, and New Haven use their most zealous efforts
to effect a reconciliation, but the Commissioners of the
United Colonies testified their heart-felt sorrow over these
differences, and sought by friendly persuasion to 2:)romote
peace and heal division. The final result was solemnized,
in November 1659, by a day of public thanksgiving.
THE STNOB OF 16G2 RE-AFFIRMS THE DECISION OF THAT OF 1657.
But while these things had been progressing, the agita-
tions produced by the decision of the Synod of 1657 still
continued. In New Haven, little was felt of their influ-
ence, since here the original principles were adhered to in
their full integrity, and that decision was ignored by the
stricter party. But in Connecticut, and especially in Mas-
sachusetts, the opposition Avas openly expressed; for the
commissioners of both colonies had taken part in the
Synod, and those who opposed the neAV determinations
were numerous, especially among the laity. The General
Court at Boston, alarmed at the symptoms of a general
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. IT-J
riTpture, now summoned 1GG2, a synod of all the ministers
of that colony,^ whicli resulted in most important conse-
quences for the other colonies also. Two questions were
here proposed, of Avhich the latter, the least imi)ortant for
the time, had reference to the connection of churches
among themselves. It was answered in conformity witli
the platform of church discipline of 1648; the i)riuciplc
of the independence of single churches in respect to the
exercise of church government was strictly adhered to,
though the connection and union of churches was declared
to be of beneficial influence. The first question : " Who
are the subjects of baptism?" was answered at length, as
follows: "The answer may be given in the following
propositions, briefly confirmed from the Scriptures.
1. Tliev that, according to Scripture, are members of
the visible church, are subjects of baptism.
2. The members of the visible church, according to
Scripture, are confederate visible believers, in particular
churches, and their infant seed ; i. e. children in minority,
whose next parents, one or both, are in covenant.
3. The infont seed of confederate visible believers, are
members of the same church with their parents, and when
grown up are personally under the watch, discipline, and
government of that church.
4. These adult persons are not therefore to be admitted
to full communion, merely because they are and continue
members, without such further qualifications as the word
of God requireth thereunto.
5. Church members who were admitted in minority,
understanding the doctrine of fiiith, and publicly professing
their assent thereto, not scandalous in life, and solemnly
owning the covenant before the church, wherein they
1 Mather, Look. p. G2 ff.
176 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
give up themselves and their cliildren to the Lord, and
subject themselves to the government of Christ in tlie
churcli, their children are to be baptized.
6. Such church members who, either by death or some
other extraordinary providence, haxo been inevitably Iiin-
dered from public acting as aforesaid, yet have given the
church cause in the judgment of charity, to look at them
as so qualified, and such as had they been called thereunto,
would have so acted, their children are to be baptized.
7, The members of orthodox churches, being sound in the
faith and not scandalous in life, and presenting due testi-
mony thereof, these occasionally coming from one church to
another, may have their children baptized in the church
whither they come, by virtue of communion of churches;
but if they remove their habitation, they ought orderly to
covenant and subject themselves to tlie government of
Christ in the church where they settle their abode, and so
their childi'en to be baptized ; it being the church's duty to
receive such into communion, so far as they are regularly
fit for the same." This answer is based on fellowship in the
church according to the primitive principles. The children
of sucli members are entitled to baptism, and remain under
the discipline of the church, only they cannot (§ 5) partici-
pate in the Lord's Supper ; none the less, however, are their
posterity (§ 5, 6) to enjoy the same privilege as themselves.
There follows, as indicated at the beginning of this an-
swer, the confirmation of the several articles from the Holy
Scriptures. After showing, with special reference to the
covenant of circumcision and the promises of the Old Tes-
tament, that all children in a visible churcli on earth are b}'
the Lord's appointment to be members of the same ; it is
added by way of limitation to the second article, that th(?
piety of ancestors docs not suffice, unless the next j^arents
continue in covenant. The trrounds arc as follows:
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 177
" 1. rJocausc if the next parent be cut or broken off (Rom.
11: 17, 19, 20), the following seed are broken off also
(Ex. 20:5) ;^ as the Gentile believing parents and children
■were taken in ; so the Jews, i:)arents and children, M'erc
broken off,
2. One of the parents must be a believer, or else the chil-
dren are unclean (1 Cor. 7: 14),
3. If children may be accounted members and baptized,
though the next parents be not in covenant, then the church
should bo bound to baptize those, whoni she can have no
power over and no hope concerning, to see them brought
np in the true christian religion, and under the ordinances ;
for the next parents being wicked and not in covenant, may
carry away and bring up their children to serve other gods,
4. If we stop not at the next parent, but grant that ances-
tors may, notwithstanding the apostasy of the next parents,
convey membership unto children, then we should want a
ground where to stop, and tlien all the children on the earth
should liave right to membership and baptism."
In the following proposition are enumerated the blessings
accruing to children through bajitism, among which, that of
education within the church is particularly mentioned. But
most clearly does the change aj^pear in the exposition of the
fourth proposition, which treats of the exclusion of such
members from the Lord's Supper. " The truth of this de-
cision" it is said, "is plain from 1 Cor, 11 : 28, 29, where it
is required that such as come to the Lord's Supper, be able
to examine themselves, and to discern the Lord's body ; else
they will eat and drink unworthily, and eat and drink dam-
nation, or judgment to themselves, Avhen they partake of
this ordinance ; but mere membership is separable from such
1 "A jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the child-
ren,"
178 NEAy ENGLAND TnEOCRACY.
ability to examine one's self and discern the Lord's body ; as
in the cliildren of the covenant that grow np to years is too
often- seen. 2, In the Old Testament, though men did con-
tinue members of tlie church, yet for ceremonial uncleanness
they were to be kept from full communion in the holy things,
(Levit. 7: 20, 21; Numb. 9: 6, 7, and 19: 13, 20). Yea,
and the priests and porters in the Old Testament had spe-
cial charge committed to them, that men should not jiartake
in all the holy things, unless duly qualified for the same, not-
withstanding their membership, (2 Chron. 23: 19; Ezek.
22: 26; and 44: 7, 8, 9, 23), and therefore much more in
these times, where moral fitness and spiritual qualifications
are M-anting membership alone is not sufficient for full
communion. More was required to adult persons eating
the Passover, than mere membership ; therefore so there is
now to the Lord's Supper. For they were to eat to the
Lord (Ex. 12: 14), v\'hich is expounded in 2 Chr. 30, where
keeping the Passover to the Lord (v. 5), imports and re-
quires exercising repentance (v. 7), their actual giving them-
selves up to the Lord (v. 8), heart preparation for it (v. 19),
and holy rejoicing before the Lord (vv. 21, 22). See the
like in Ezra G : 21, 22. 3. Though all members of the cliurch
are subjects of baptism, they and their children, yet all
members may not partake of the Lord's Supper, as is fur-
ther manifest from the difi:erent nature of baptism and the
Lord's Supper. Baptism first and properly seals covenant-
holiness, as circumcision did (Gen. 17) church membershijj
(Rom. 15 : 8), planting hito Christ (Rom. 6) ; and so mem-
bers, as such, are the subjects of baptism (Matt. 28 : 19),
But the Lord's Supper is the sacrament of growth in Christ,
and of special communion with him (1 Cor. 10 : 16), which
supposeth a special renewing and exercise of faith and re-
jDentance, in those that partake of that ordinance. Now if
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 179
persons even -when adult may be and continue members, and
yet be debarred from the Lord's Supper, until meet qualifica-
tions for the same do appear in iheni ; then may they also
(until like qualifications) be debarred from that power of
voting in the church, which pertains to males iu full com-
munion. It seems not rational that those ■\vho are not
themselves fit for all ordinances, should have such an influ-
ence referring to all ordinances, as voting in election of ofii-
cers, admission and censures of members doth import. For
how can they, that arc not able to examine and judge
themselves, be thought able and fit to discern and judge in
the weighty affiiirs of the house of God (1 Cor. 11 : 28, 31,
with 1 Cor, 5: 12)."
In settling the political and ecclesiastical relations of Xew
England, the relations and ordinances of the Old Testament
had often been appealed to as authority. In the present
case also, in the explanations to § 5, Mdiich treats of the
right to baptism, the Synod appeals to the manner in which
persons acquired membership under the old covenant. Here
it is especially noteworthy, how entirely was overlooked
the radical diflference between the Jewish and the Congre-
gational church-constitution ; for the main condition of the
latter, evidence of the actual exix,'rienee of conversion, was,
filid in the nature of the case must be, wholly foreign to
Judaism. In place of taking for the starting point their
own doctrine respecting the Lord's Supper, though lying at
the very basis of what was peculiar in Congregationalism,
they compared baptism with Jewish circumcision. The
church-membership of parents constituted the claim in both
cases; hence, as little in the one case as iu the other, should
children when grown up cease to be church-members. The
qualification thus ac(juired for personal admission to chui-ch
privileges secured the same, moreover, (§ G) to their pos-
terity.
180 NEW ENGLAND THEOCKACT.
This answer to the questions tlius proposed totheSj-nod
was honored with the approbation of more than seven-
eighths of the assembled ministers. But, beside the prevail-
ing opposition to it in the churches themselves, there were
found, among the few ministers who dissented, men of
great influence, who raised their voices powerfully against
these innovations. Charles Chauncey, president of Har-
vard College, in a treatise which he published on the sub-
ject, took ground against the Synod. Of the same mind
were Eleazer Mather, minister at Xorthampton, and In-
crease Mather,^ (afterwards the first Doctor of Theology
in New England, and ambassador of the colony in London),
sons of Richard Mather,^ minister at Dorchester, who Avas
himself, however, among the defenders of the council. By
them and some others, the remonstrance of John Daven-
port and Street of New Haven, against the articles adopted,
was' zealously supported in the Synod. This being without
effect, Davenport also came out with a treatise, under the
title "Another essay for investigation of the truth," to
which Increase Mather furnished a preface. From the
extracts given by Cotton Mather, it appears that the point
of view from which the decisions of the Synod must be
judged, according to the principles of Congregationalism,
was exhibited with great clearness by its opponents. While
conceding a distinction between "mere and qualified mem-
bership," the conditions for the latter are required no less of
those who are to be baptized than of those who desire ad-
mission to the Lord's Supper. A reply followed in defence
of the conclusions of the Synod, which however, cannot be
acquitted of the same inconsistency and departure from
original jDrinciples, before mentioned. But it is a notice-
1 Father of the author of the Magnalia Christi Amei'icana.
2 Emigrated from En<^hind in 1G35.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 181
able index of tlio essential cliange wliith liad taken place in
New England, that the large majority of the ministers sus-
tained the new opinions, which indeed soon obtained a
fresh accession of adherents. Even Increase Mather changed
his views, and subsequently published two essays in defence
of the conclusions of the Synod, declaring thera to be the
primitive doctrine of the church of New England, although
being a church then but newly founded, its earlier practice
had been otherwise.
POLITICAL INFLUENCES UNFAVORABLE TO THE THEOCRACY.
Through peculiar circumstances, the General Court of
Connecticut "was prevented from adojjting at once the
conclusions set forth by the Synod, though from the stand
it had previously taken, it appears to have been decidedly
inclined to a change of the early Congregationalist princi-
ples. Soon afler the accession of Charles Second, this
colony had sent TVinthrop, its Governor, to London for the
purpose of obtaining a definite royal charter, their Consti-
tution having hitherto had, in fact, a very insecure basis.^
Through the skill and activity of this ambassador the king
was induced to declare the colony, April 20, 1662, an in-
corporated body politic, under the title : The Governor and
Company of the English Colony of Connecticut in New
England in America. This charter exj^ressly confirmed
to the Government the rights of sovereignty hitherto exer-
cised ; the magistracy was to be annually elected by the
free citizens, whose privileges were to be enjoyed by every
free bom Englishman. But, at the same time, it was
directed that New Haven should be united to Connecti-
cut. This colony had incurred the royal displeasure, by
1 Sec p. 78.
16
182 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
harboring certain of the judges of Charles First con-
demned to death by parhament ; and the more so, since
even the magistracy, if they had not oj^enly opposed the
search for the regicides, had drawn npon themselves, not
without reason, the suspicion of having favored their
escape. The accused colony was, moreover, so poor as
not to be able at this time to defray the ex:penses of its
officers, and hence, also, was unable to send an agent of
its awn to represent its interests in England. But it was
none the less disposed, on that account, to maintain its
former independence at whatever cost. A mere protest
was not deemed sufficient. As Connecticut, encouraged
by individuals in the colony of New Haven friendly to
such a union, had taken decided steps towards carrying
out the provisions of the charter, it was resolved to rej)el
every act of aggression by force. At the same time,
application was made by New Haven to the commissioners
of the four united colonies, and she found here the most
unequivocal recognition of her rights. But besides the
wish to retain the indejiendence so long enjoyed, there
was an ecclesiastical interest for which the ruling party in
New Haven were deeply concerned. Here was still exist-
ing the theocratic relation, which allowed only to mem-
bers of the church, and indeed only to those in full com-
munion, the exercise of civil rights. The exasperation
incx'cased with the embarrassments in which New Haven
found herself involved, alike by want of money, and by
the influence of a not inconsiderable party who favored
the union ; and it was resolved to break off all direct
negotiations with Connecticut. But in the year 1664,
there arrived in New England royal commissioners, whose
object was, in part, to examine into the state of the colo-
nies; in part, to secure the subjection of New Amsterdam
KEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 183
to the crown of England; and it was feared that they
were armed witli instructions of tlie most dangerous
character, in reference to the hitlierto free constitutions.
Massachusetts lierself now counselled coni])liance, and
i;rged the ruinous consequences and at the same time the
uselessness of farther resistance, at a time Avhen the colo-
nies so much needed unity. As the commissioners of
the united colonies likcAvise recommended a friendly and
peaceful union, and the royal commissioners insisted jDosi-
tively on the provisions of the charter, New Haven at
length submitted. On the 13th of December 1GG4, the
union was assented to by the General Court, not, however
without a solemn protest against the invasion of their
rights, and the proceedings of Connecticut. These are
indeed, not to be justified; yet the end being gained,
nothing was left undone to eifect a thorough reconciliation.
The most influential citizens of New Haven' were elected
to the highest offices, and every Act which had reference
to the quarrel was consigned to everlasting forgetfulness.
These transactions furnish the exjilanation of the fact,
that Connecticut did nothing in reference to the result of
the Synod, but left to the churches and elders the adoption
of whatever steps might be necessary. The very general
opposition of New Haven to the Synod being known,
it was held to be in the highest degree impolitic to
strengthen the disagreement by a declaration on eccle-
siastical matters. It Avas not till the union might be
confidently regarded as near its consummation, tliat the
General Court, under date of October 13th 1GG4, published
the following Act :
"This Court understanding, by a writing presented to
them from several persons of this colony, that they are
aggrieved that they are not entertained in church fellow-
184 NEW ENGLAND TEEOCRACY.
sliip, this Court having duly considered the same, desiring
that the rules of Christ may he attended, do commend it
to the ministers and churches in this colony, to consider
whether it be not their duty to entertain all such persons,
who are of an honest and godly conversation, having a
competency of knowledge in the jDrinciples of religion,
and shall desire to join with them in church -fellowship, by
an explicit covenant." After reciting the conclusions of
the Synod, with which we are already acquainted, the Act
concludes : " The Court desireth the several officers of the
respective churches would be pleased to consider, whether
it be not the duty of the "Court to order the churches to
practise according to the premises if they do not practise
without such order. If tliey dissent from the contents of
this writing, they are desired to help the Court with such
light as is with them, the next session of this assembly,''
Here also the new principles, though not formally adopted,
yet received a public exj)ression ; at the same time the
established theocratic relation in New Haven gave way
under the i^ressure of political circumstances.
In this same period, the Theocracy was abolished by
law in Massachusetts. Already dejjrived by those ecclesiasti-
cal decisions of its proper significance, thei'e came decrees
from another quarter, which severed the existing connec-
tion between Church and State. Massachusetts, after
receiving information of the accession of Charles Second,
had delayed proclaiming him king. But, in November,
16G0, having ascertained from reliable sources that the
political relations of England were settled, and that no
firthcr change in its government was to be expected, the
General Court resolved on a highly loyal address to the
king. To this a very gracious answer was returned on
the loth of Febi'uary 16C1. Very soon after, however, it
KEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 185
"Was nnnounccd in Boston that the existing rehitlons of the
colony Avere in danger, partly through the suspicions ex-
cited in the royal party by its previous policy; j)artly
through claims instituted by private persons on the ground
of earlier patents. The proclamation Avas now no longer
delayed. This being accomj^lished in August IGGl, it was
resolved to send two deleorates to London to take in charcre
the interests of the colony. Simon Bradstreet^ and the
Rev. John Nox'ton, who were chosen for this purpose,
found a more favorable reception in England than they
had anticipated. The answer of the king, communicated
to them on the 28th of June 1662, contained a confirma-
tion of the privileges of their charter, and an amnesty for
all the past. But though these general jirovisions occa-
sioned great joy in the colony, there were others at which
oiFence was taken. Even the very natural recpiircmcnt,
that all governmental power should be exercised and justice
administered in the name of the king, being something to
Avhich they were not accustomed, seemed strange and
alarming. True, the Boston government complied thus
far; but they could not bring themselves to yield to the
demand, that " freedom and liberty should be given to all
such as desired to use the book of Common Prayer, and
perform their devotions in the manner established in Eng-
land, and that they might not undergo any prejudice
thereby; that all persons of good and honest lives and
conversations should be admitted to the sacrament of the
Lord's Supper, accoi'ding to the Book of Common Prajer,
and their children to baptism ; that in the choice of gov-
ernor and assistants, the only consideration should be of
the wisdom, virtue and integrity of the persons to be
chosen, and not of any faction with reference to opinions
1 See p. 131.
16*
186 NEW ENGLAND THEOCKACY.
and outward profession; that all freeholders of competent
estates, not A'icioixs etc., though of different persuasions con-
cerning church government, should have their votes in the
election of all officers, civil and military,"
Indeed a general dissatisfoction with the result of the
embassy soon began to manifest itself The benefits secured
were forgotten, and the manifold difficulties with which the
delegates had to contend were overlooked ; and in such a
manner did the discontent express itself, that Norton, soon
after his return from England, died of grief The oj^position
towards the mother country was still more increased, when
the deprivation of the nonconforming clergy of the Episco-
pal Church, on the 26th of August 16G2, drove many of
these to New England, and awakened here the apprehen-
sion of restraints on freedom of conscience. The alarm
rose to the highest i^itch on the intelligence, received in the
spring of 1664, that sliiiDS of war were on their way with
commissioners from the king. It w^as resolved to put in
order all the means of defence, a measure which was of
course merely intended to prevent the disorders apprehend-
ed from the troops ; and a day of general fasting and prayer
was appointed.* On the 23dof July the squadron appearq^T
before Boston, bringing four royal commissioners, viz.
Colonel Richard Nicholas, George Cartwright, Esq., Sir
Robert Carr, and Samuel Maverick, Esq., son of one of the
petitioners of the year 1646.^ After laying their creden-
tials before the government, they made known a part of
their instructions in respect to the attack on New Amster-
dam, and desired a reinforcement of troops. The General
Court being convened on the 3d of August, the commis-
sioners, about to take their departure, gave notice that on
their return from Manhadoes they should have many ad-
1 See p. 139.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 187
ditional communications to make, and nrgcd a farther con-
sideration of the royal epistle of June 28th 1GG2. The
General Court granted two hundred men at the expense
of the colony ; but the march was forestalled by the capi-
tulation of New Amsterdam on the 27th of August 1664.
In accordance with the king's letter, the law respecting
admission to citizenship was abrogated and another passed,
whereby "English subjects, being freeholders, reliable to a
certain value, certified by the ministers of the i)lace to be
orthodox and not vicious in their lives, were allowed to be
made freemen, although not members of the churcli." Thus
was the dissolution of the Theocracy declared by law, and
this relation was abolished for all New England. "When the
royal commission «nade a similar demand of New Plym-
outh, the General Court of that colony replied, "we do con-
sent, it having been our constant jDractice to admit men of
competent estates and civil conversation, though of diftercnt
judgments, to be freemen, and to have liberty to choose
and be chosen officers both civil and military."
Before we proceed to describe the consequences to the
church, of this alteration of the principles of Congregation-
alism, and of the Theocracy, something farther will be
mentioned of the transactions of the royal commissioners
with the General Court of Boston. The Court was obliged
to defend the privileges of its charter against claims of the
most diverse character. Its firmness was esi")ecially mani-
fested, when the commissionei'S attempted to constitute
themselves a court of appeal in certain criminal cases, and
even cited the government to answer before them. So
likewise it was maintained Avith unyielding determination,
tliat the demand to admit to the Lord's Supper such as
had not been tested, must be committed to the decision of
the church. New Plymouth took the same ground on this
188 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
point, though in othci- respects this colony showed itself
more compliant. The eastern provinces of New Hamp-
shire and Maine were A'isited by all the commissioners,
excei^t Nichols, whose greater moderation in all respects
secm'ed the popiilar regard, and who subsequently main-
tained, as Governor of New York, a friendly intercourse
with Massachusetts. On their return to Boston, the Gen-
eral Court declared, that the exercise of the rights of sover-
eignty in those eastern provinces tended to the disturbance
of the public peace, and they desired a conference on this
account with the commissioners. To this Can* replied,
that the king's pardon for what had passed during the last
rebellion was only conditional, and rested on the future
good conduct of the colony ; even adding the threat, that
the leaders and originators of all those acts of resistance,
were exposed to the same penalties which had fillen upon
so many in England who had shared in the rebellion. The
General Court thereupon broke off all negotiations. In
accordance with the reports of the commissioners, both
Plymouth^ and Connecticut^ received royal letters of com-
mendation, in which their loyal behavior was extolled as
being set off with special lustre by the contrary deport-
ment of Massachusetts. The king, in a letter, charged the
latter colony with suspicious and contumacious proceed-
ings ; his final decision, however, he proposed to suspend,
and desired that Massachusetts should send five delegates
to London to defend her cause, two of whom were desig-
nated by name. But the General Court thought the affair
had been ali*eady so clearly explained, that it could not be
done better. The interference on the part of the king,
which was to have been expected, did not follow at this
1 Baylies' Memoir of New Plymouth. 2 Trumljull'sHist. of Conn. App.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 189
time ; and the colony sought in vnvious ways, by the trans-
mission of a hirge amount of provision to tlie royal fleet, as
•well as of money to London after the great fire, and by a
cargo of masts, sixteen hundred pounds sterling in value,
to regain his favor. But an unmistakable alienation had
commenced, which led the king subsequently to adopt de-
cisive measures. It had lasted, though with many inter-
ruptions, through an entire century, when a more impor-
tant interest thrust into the background all the jealousies
between the mother country and the colonies ; but at
length, it manifested itself fully developed, and resulted in
a total separation. To the church, this state of things was
of no small importance, since it involved the sjinpathies
and interests of the inhabitants to such a degree, as to con-
tribute essentially to jiromote the change in belief and life
which followed the change in church-discipline.
The ecclesiastical events of the succeeding period are
neither of so general importance, nor so characteristic in
themselves. Its earlier portion still exhibits manifold reac-
tionary influences from the preceding peiiod; the latter
portion shows an almost universal declension. The former
will form the subject of the seventh, the latter, of the
eighth chapter.
CHAPTER VII.
EEACTIONARY INFLUENCES PROCEEDING FROM THE CONGREGA-
TIONALIST THEOCRACY, AFTER ITS ABROGATION.
OPPOSITION TO THE ESTABLISHJIENT OP THE THIRD CHURCH IN BOS-
TON ON THE NEW PRINCIPLE OF CHURCH-MEMBERSHIP.
So deeply rooted in New England, from the beginning,
was the original principle of Congregationalism in refer-
ence to church-membership, that it could still boast its
decided adherents, even after the determinations of the
synods. These, although desired and sought for by the
m.ajority of the inhabitants, as well as favored and defended
by the greater part of the clergy, found in many churches
a vigorous resistance. Nor did it stop with the adoption
and expression of the dissenting opinions by individuals.
Controversies arose, which in both the chief towns of the
colonies, Boston and Hartford, led to division, and the for-
mation of separate churches.
There were in Boston a considerable number of church-
members, who, in opposition to the synodial decisions, held
that only members in full fellowship should be admitted to
the church. But their minister, John Wilson, who came
to New England so early as the year 1630, and had exer-
cised his office in Boston from the time of its settlement,
took ground, as member of the Synod of 1662, in favor of
the innovations there determined on ; and the weight of
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 191
his influence had repressed the expression of opposition.
At his death, in 1667, the church seemed indisposed to
repLace liim by a young man ; but desired one ■who had
received his training in England, and who had developed,
through a long ministry, special gifts for the office. There
were few who could meet these requirements. The choice
fell on John Davenport of New Haven. Evidently this
measure originated with the party avIio adhered to the
practice of former times ; but in selecting a man so hon-
ored and distinguished throughout New England, they had
also in view an easier victory over the opposition Avhich
was to be expected. This did not fail to show itself
Thu'ty members of the church declared themselves against
the choice in terms as follows : ^ " We should walk con-
trary to Rev. 3 : 3, not holding fist what we have re-
ceived ; nor should we, as we have received Christ Jesus
the Lord, so walk in him. It (the doctrine of the synod)
having been a received and a professed truth by the whole
body of the church, Avho have voted it in the affirmative,
and that after much patience with and candor towards those
that were otherwise minded; divers days having been
spent about this great generation-trutfi, which since hath
been confirmed by the synod. Full liberty hath also been
granted, unto those who scrupled, to propose their ques-
tions; and they were answered with such public satisfac-
tion, that those few who remained unsatisfied, promised to
sit down and leave the body to act, excepting one or two.
Accordingly, thei'e was an entrance upon the work ; but
the Lord lay it not to the charge of those that hindered
progress therein, "which, Avith great blessing and success,
has been and is practised in neighbor churches."
The others persevered, however, and carried the resolu-
1 Mather, Book V. p. 82.
192 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
tion to call Mr. Davenport, by a considerable majority.
He was now in his seventieth year. Thirty years had he
labored in his church, and had gained for himself iiniversal
esteem and affection. It is not strange, therefore, tliat
opposition Avas made to his dismissal. There was indeed
good ground for lamenting the separation ; for there was
not a minister now left in New Haven except Mr, Street,
the co-pastor of Mr. Davenport ; and after his death in
1674, it was eleven years before the town succeeded in
choosing another. Davenport having come to Boston,
twenty-eight members of his church requested to be dis-
missed from the connection, in order to constitute a ncAV
church. This was unanimously refused by the officers.
The dissenting brethren hereupon called a council of tlie
neighboring churches, and in accordance with their advice
proceeded, after two meetings held for the purpose in
Charlestown on the 12th and 16th of May 1669, to organ-
ize themselves into a separate church, under tlie name of
the " Third Church in Boston." In their covenant tliey
thus speak : " And for the furtherance of this blessed fel-
lowship, we do likewise j^romise to endeavor to establish
among ourselves and convey down to our posterity, all the
holy truths and ordinances of the gospel committed to the
churches in faith and observance, opposing to the utmost
of our church j^ower whatsoever is diverse therefrom, or
contrary thereunto."
About the same time, seventeen ministers,^ probably the
members of the above-mentioned council, publicly declared
their dissatisfaction with the conduct of the majority of the
old church. This step had reference to the manner of
Davenport's dismission from New Haven, which being
expressed in somewhat vague terms, had not been fully
1 Among the number was Increase Mather.
XKW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 193
communicated to the cliurcli Ly the ruling elder. The
church published a defence against this charge, ^vhic]l,
however, soon ceased to excite attention ; the disagree-
ment in reference to the synodial conclusions being the
true point of controversy. This Avas not settled by the
death of Davenport Avhich soon followed. Measures being
taken by the Third Church to erect a meeting-house, loud
opposition was made to it on the side of the magistracy.
Governor Bellingham, who was a member of the First
Church, called together the council of the colony, " fear-
ing," as he declared in the order, " a sudden tumult, some
persons attempting to set up an edifice for public worship,
which was apprehended by authority to be detrimental to
the public ])eace." But tlie council resolved not to inter-
fere ; but " if any had offended against the laws, they
advised to proceed against them in a due course of law.
Those who were about to erect a new meeting-house, must
observe the laws and orders of the General Court." On
application of the new church to the selectmen of the
town, it was voted July 2()th 1G69, that there was certainly
need of a new meeting-house. But the opposers of the
synodial conclusions had this year a majority in the Gen-
eral Court. At the May session, 1670, a committee was
apitointed "to enquire into the prevailing evils which had
been the cause of the displeasure of God against the land."
In the report brought in by this committee, they refer to
" declension from the primitive foundation Avork, innova-
tion in doctrine and worship, oinnion and practice, an
invasion of the rights, liberties, and privileges of the
churches, an usurpation of lordly and prelatical power over
God's heritage, a subversion of gospel order; and all
this with a dangerous tendency to the utter devastation
of these churches, turning the pleasant gardens of Christ
17
194 NE^V ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
into a "wilderness, and tlie inevitable and total extirpation
of the principles and j^illars of the Congregational Avay."
That, in alleging this as the peculiar evil of the time,
they intended to designate the new church and those min-
isters who had given their assent to its organization, is
clear from the conclusion cf the report, which mentions by
name " the late transaction of churches and elders in con-
stituthig the Third Church in Boston, as irregular, illegal,
and disorderly." The adoption of the rei^ort by the Court
increased the general public agitation. But at the next
election, thirty out of the fifty members of the House of
Deputies, Avere not reelected; a change unprecedented
hitherto, but in consequence of which, a wholly different
view must necessarily predominate in the assembly of these
popular representatives, especially as some of the reelected
Avcre prob:djly adherents of the synodial determinations.
Fifteen ministers now presented an address complaining of
the imjiutations cast upon them in that report, and which,
they maintained, were the Avork of a party Avho Avished to
hinder the formation of the Third Church. After calling
attention to the injurious influence of such a course upon
the public mind and upon the labors of the ministry, they
desired the Court to grant them redress, by requiring either
a public vindication or a general synod. In its reply, the
Court asserted its exemption from question by any person,
for acts passed by its authority, as Avell as its indubitable
right to freedom of debate ; but acknoAvledged that in an
hour of temi^tation an act might pass in one Court Avhich,
" according to principles of religion, prudence and state-
interest, might be rcAucAved and upon mature deliberation
be rectified by another. In respect to the case under con-
sideration, the Court hold it its duty to declare, that sev-
eral expressions in the A'otes referred to in the petition
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 195
appeared exceptionable." It was therefore ordered tliat
all papers relating to these matters should be regarded as
cancelled, and not be used against the reverend elders as
having been the cause of God's displeasure against the
country. The Court furthermore declared their adherence
to the original objects of their emigration, and to the sober
principles of Congregationalism and the practice of their
churches, " in their purest and most athletic constitution."
But in spite of these last words, it is manifest from their
decision that the new principles had achieved no doubtful
victory. The Third Church soon after erected its i)lace of
■worship, and was favored witli an unusual degree of pros-
perity. Its request for recognition and fellowship by the
Fu-st Church was, indeed, many times refused. But in the
year 1682, the latter, alarmed by the increasing danger of
encroachments on the civil liberties of New England, and
by the efforts of the governor to procure the erection of an
English church, itself proposed to the sister-church to for-
give and forget the past ; and a solemn reconciliation took
place.^ The First Church remained, nevertheless, stead-
fast in its principles; and it was not till 1730, that it
resolved to " conform to the general practice, that is to say,
of admitting members on the half-way covenant," Avhich
had been the usage of the second church in Boston since
the year 1675.
rNSCCCESSFUL ATTEMPT IN CONNECTICUT TO INTRODUCE THE PRES-
BYTERIAN CUURCn-CONSTITCTION.
In Connecticut also, the new princij)le had to contend
with much oi)position, althougli here the proper issue had
1 These occurrences are given at large b)' Hutcliinson, I., 247 ff. ; sep-
arately narrated, with very important additions, by Benjamin Wisner in
his History of the Old South Church in Boston, 1S30.
196 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
given place to another, and been lost siglit of. Even
before these controversies had broken out in Hartford and
other places, an attempt on the part of the government had
been witnessed, which endangered the other original prin-
ciple of Congregationalism. The complete indcpendejice
of each single chnrch, in res^^ect to ])roperty and the
exei'cise of church-government, remained unquestioned in
Massachusetts. We see from the preceding narration, that
the opinions and acts of synods were iuAMriably interme-
diatory in their character, and obtained recognition only
as such. In Connecticut also, the conduct and settlement
of all controversies were governed by the idea, that subor-
dinacy to a higher ecclesiastical tribunal was a thing not
to be admitted. Hence such a doctrine could not be
openly and explicitly asserted. Still, the following may
be regarded as tlie first step to the measures subsequently
adopted for this object.
Scarcely was the first excitement consequent upon the
union with New Haven allayed, than the General Court
took into serious consideration the final termination of
the still existing church dissensions. It was resolved,
therefore, on the 11th of October 1666, to call a synod,
wherein the qiiestions to be laid before the ministers
should be publicly discussed, and that under such rules and
regulations as the synod should judge suitable to the or-
derly conclusion of the debates. It was accordingly voted,
that the whole body of ministers in the colony should
ajspear as members, and four from Massachusetts be invited
to assist; a majority of the ministers of the colony being
assembled, they should proceed as a synod ; the questions
to be submitted by the government were to form the sub-
ject of discussion. The third Wednesday in May 1667 was
appointed as the day for assembling. But the ministers
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 107
took ofR'noe at tliis order, regarding it as an assumption
on the part of government, of conferring synodial power.
The Couit, to escape tlie ditficulty, clianged the name,
May 9th, 1G67, and called it an Assembly of the ministers
of Connecticut ; and the meeting took i)lace at the ap-
pointed time. It Avas here resolved, after consideration
of the questions submitted, not to discuss them publicly.
They then adjourned to the autumn, with the purpose of
then reassembling and preparing a report, if such should
be the Avish of the government. The adherents of the
synodial decisions here i)laced themselves directly in ojipo-
sition to this demand for new decisions, fearinsx a foreio-n
influence, Avhether from the civil power or from Massa-
chusetts. The churches made it knoAvn through their
delegates, that they would maintain the right which gave
to actual cliurch-members alone the election of ministers,
uncontrolled by any action ©f toAvns or jjarishes. The
original principles of Congregationalism, moreover, still
prevailed so generally in usage, that up to this time no
case had occurred of admission to baptism Avliere neither
father nor mother were actual church-members. It Avas
for the A'ery object of bringing the ncAV doctrines into
practice, that the government had invited the Massachu-
setts ministers to take part in the SA'nod. But although
favored Avith a A'cry skilful advocate of the less rigid view,
in Mr. Mltchel minister at Cambridge, the goA^eniment
still thought they had cause to apprehend a want of cor-
respondence to their Avishes on the part of the synod ; and
accordingly formed the puqiose of forestalling its proba-
ble action at the appointed meeting. In September, the
commissioners of the united colonies met at Hartford and
adopted the foUoAving resolution: "That when questions
of public concernment, about matters of faith and order,
17*
198 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
clo arise in any colony, the decision thereof shonhl be re-
ferred to a synod, or council of messengers of churches,
indifferently called out of the united colonies by an orderly
agreement of all the General Courts ; and that the j)lace of
meeting shall be at or near Boston."
Now, the opposition to the synodial conclusions seems to
have so fallen into the background, that this party joined
with the government. Certain ministers of Connecticut,
and indeed those who had been most strict in regard to the
admission of members, presented a paper to the General
Court, requesting that a general synod might be called, and
setting forth that they had wished for a public disputation
at the last asseml)ly in May, but had been overruled by the
majority. The latter, who evidently had feared an influ-
ence from without, in opposition to this wish expressed to
the General Court their opinion, that such publicity would _
not be serviceable to the peace and edification of the
churches, or to the gener.al interests of religion ; a decision
among themselves, as had been the usage hitherto, was
much to be preferred. They could not but wonder, more-
over, that certain ministers had demanded a general
council, when the Assembly by its own resolution was
to meet again in October; and, moreover, many new
opponents of such a proposition would be added to the
former large number. At the same time, they assured the
Court of their readiness to obey all lawful commands, and
desired information whether the Assembly should meet
again or not. The Government, in return, expressed the
wish that the varioixs churches of the colony might send
their ministers to a council, to be held in common with
the ministers of Massachusetts and Plymouth. This,
probably, was a pretext adopted to liinder the reassem-
bling of the Connecticut synod. The object was effected,
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. ITO
althougli the general council was not calletl. The Con-
necticut ministers feared the influence from Massachusetts;
while, on the other hand, the goA'crnment might not
account that influence sufliciently powerful and effective
to justify them in urging this concert of measures, at the
risk, which was always impending, of a Avider di-\ision and
a yet more decided resistance.
But although the attempt to bring about a greater
xmity by this means was relinquished, the Connecticut gov-
ernment seems to haA'e been very earnestly engaged for se-
curing such a result. The design was formed of a general
l)lan for unity of discipline also, by which they should be
guided notwithstanding dissimilar views on points of minor
importance. To this end, four ministers were authorized
to meet together in Saybrook, and give their advice in re-
lation to the way in which this desirable end could be at-
tained. But even this preliminary and introductory measure
failed for the present. It Avas not till many years after,
that the government of Connecticut succeeded, through the
Saybrook Platform,^ in producing a change in the relations
of the churches to one another, which approximated to the
principles of Presbyterian subordination. It was the ap-
prehension of this which had now called forth the decided
opposition of both ministers and churches. The relaxed
principle in reference to the admission of church members,
however, found much favor ; in many congregations, the
other party seceded and formed a separate church. Thus
also the controversies which had been formerly settled in
Hartford again revived, and soon assumed so decided a form,
that the assembly of ministers, convened on this account,
advised a separation ; which the government also then
pronounced admissible. The second church now formed
1 Sec Ch. Ylir.
200 NEAV ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
ill Hartford declared, 1670, in a solemn covenant, tliclr
xinAvaA^ering adherence to primitive Congregationalism.
About the same time, similar movements occnrred in other
jilaces in Connecticut. But, gradually, the new principle
obtained universal currency, as indeed it favored the in-
terests of the majority of the inhabitants, those at least of
the later immigrants, Avho had entered Xew England with
fir other than religious aims.
PERSECUTIOX OF AXABAPTISTS IX MASSACHUSETTS IN 1665 AND THE
FOLLOWING YEARS.
But this result is also to be ascribed in great part to the
fear of Anabaptism, Avliose spread could not but be pro-
moted by the denial of infant baptism. Although the
Baptists living in Khode Island had manifested in practice
none of that hostility to all civil order which had been
charged upon them, yet the early prejudice against them
still continued in the other colonies. The Anabaptists now
made their appearance again, and founded churches both
in iSTcAV Plymouth and Massachusetts; but the two colonies
differed in the policy observed toAvards them. At Keho-
bothi in Plymoath, in the year 16G3, a number of Baptists
separated themselves from the church there establislied,
and for several years maintained themselves, undisturbed,
as a separate society. But in 1GG7, they were summoned
before the General Court, and were fined for " establishing
public meetings Avithout the knowledge and approbation
of the Court, to the disturbance of the peace of the place."
They were required to discontinue these meetings Avithin
one month's time, as their continuance in Rehoboth, being
very prejudicial to the ^jeace of the church and the tOAvn,
1 Backus, I., pp. 3.j0 ff. Tlic place Avas also called Scawdv. See Neal,
ir., 232.
NEW EXGLAXD THEOCRACY. 201
could iKit bo alloM'CMl. "Yet," tlms concluflcs this Act of
the General Court of Plymouth, "in case they shall remove
their meeting into some other place, where they may not
prejudice any other church, and shall give us reasonable
satisfaction respecting their j)rinciples, we know not but
that they may be permitted by this goverament to do so."
As the result of this permission, these Baptists founded a
church in Swansea on the borders of the colony of Rhode
Island, and lived Avithout farther molestation by the gov-
ernment, under the ministry of Mr. Miles, who had fled
from Swansea in Wales after the Uniformity-Act of 16G2.
Not by so easy a process did the Baptists in Massachusetts
attain to a secure position and permanent form. On the con-
trary, they were here obliged to maintain through a course
of years a conflict with the government, which, in spite
even of the laws and of sj)ecific ordinances, sustained itself
by the force of public opinion. Thei-e had always been in-
dividuals who held to the doctrine that only adults should
be baptized. But when the royal commissioners^ j)ro-
claimed entire freedom to all parties and sects, the Baptists
in and around Boston^ availed themselves of their presence
and constituted a church. It is mentioned in their church
records, as follows: — "On the 27th of the third month^
1G65, the church of Christ in CharlestoAvn, Massachusetts,
commonly ( although falsely ) called Anabaptists, assembled
and entered into brotherly communion and fellowship with
one another, binding themselves to walk together in all the
1 See p. 187.
2 The account which follows is contained in full, with the documentary
evidence, in Backus, Vol. I., Chap. VI. It h also alluded to by Hutchin-
son, and is briefly presented in Caleb Snow's History of Boston, 2d edition,
18-28.
3 The 28th of May.
202 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
appointments of their Lord and Master, so as it shall have
pleased him to make known to them his mind and Avill
through his "word and his Spirit." Four members, Gould,
Osbui-ne, Drinker, and George by name, were thereupon
baptized, five others uniting with them Avho had belonged
to the same i:)arty in England. Shortly after the departure
of the commission, on the 20th of August 16G5, an order
was issued by the Government to the Charlestown consta-
ble, that he shoiild endeavor to discover where these i~>eo-
ple assembled, and require them to be present at the estab-
lished worship. On their refusal to comply Avith this de-
mand, they Avere brought in September before the Court
of Assistants or Governor's Council, where they exhibited
a confession of their faith, and explained the jJoints of their
dissent. But, not submitting to the requirement to desist
from their schismatical practices, they were cited before the
General Court in October, Avhich, after a rehearsal of their
A'icAvs declared that "the said Gould and company are
no orderly church assembly; that they stand justly conA-ic-
ted of high presumjition against the- Lord and his holy
ap]3ointment, as also the peace of this goA'crnment, against
AAdiich this Court doth account themselves bound to God,
his trust and his churches here planted, to bear their testi-
mony, and do therefore sentence the said Thomas Gould,
William Turner, Thomas Osburne, EdAvard Drinker, and
John Geoi;ge, such of them as are freemen, to be disfran-
chized, and all of them, upon conviction before any one
magistrate or Court of their further proceeding herein, to
be committed to j^rison, until the General Court shall take
further order Avith tliem." One of the spectators having
remarked openly: "The Court has not to do in matters of
religion," he Avas arrested, and it Avas only upon his con-
fession that he saAV his fault and was sorry for it," that he
n::^7 exglaxd theocracy. 203
was dismisscJ, with an ndinonltion by the Governor. In
April 1666, tlie accnsed persons were again called np on
the charge of absenting themseh'es from public worship.
AVlien they alleged in defence their attendance at their
own assemblies, it was construed as open contempt of the
Court, and tliey were fined four pounds each. As they
Avould neither pay, nor bind themselves to ajipear at the
next Court, they were committed to prison. After some
time, they Avere again dismissed ; but several times during
the next two years, they were recommitted for the non-
payment of fines and for the repetition of their oifence.
In March 1668, Gould, the pastor of the church, appealed
from a ■sentence of the county Court in Charlestown to
the General Court in Boston, It is a singular fact, that
the jury sworn in this case at first decided for the rever-
sion of the former judgment, but when it was recommitted
for their farther consideration, they confirmed it, tliough
xmder certain conditions ; however, the Court could now de-
cide against Gould. At the same time a public disputation,
Avnth several ministers selected for the jiurpose, was granted
the Baptists. The General Court, it was said, held itself
bound by the law of God and of this commonwealth, to
protect the churches of Christ here planted, from the intru-
sion thereby made upon their peace in the ways of godliness ;
yet was willing, by all christian candor, to endeavor the
reducing of the said persons from the error of their way,
and their return to the Lord and the communion of his
people from whence they are fallen. This disputation re-
sulted as usual, and as was to have been expected, without
having effected any change of views. But in May of the
same year, three of the Baptists, Gould, Turner and Far-
num, were sentenced to quit the jurisdiction on the 20th
of July ; if found therein after that time, no bail was to
204 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
be accepted, but they were to be forthwitb committed to
prison. Gould, -who "svas in confinement at the time, Avas
discharged in order that he niiglit fulfil the first part of
this order.
But these measures had not the effect of lessening the
number of their adherents, nor even of disi)Osing the Bap-
tists to remove voluntarily. Turner was actually put in
prison, and Gould was searched for, but in vain. The
Baptist church then proceeded to assemble upon Noddle's
Island, in the vicinity of Boston. Whether they remained
really unnoticed, or were jjurposely overlooked, is uncer-
tain. Gould also lived on this island, as pastor of the
church. Various distinguished j^ersons interceded for
them ; among them, Lieut-Governor Leverett did not scru-
ple to ex^^ress his dissent from the rigid views of Governor
Bellingham. Thirteen Congregationalist ministers of Lon-
don also exj^ostulated against the persecution in a letter,^
from which we learn, moreover, the relation in which the
churches on both sides of the ocean stood to each other.
"We shall not undertake in the least," — so runs the
letter, — "to make any apology for the persons, opinions,
and practices of those Avho are censured among you. You
know our judgment and practice to be contrary unto theirs,
even as yours ; Avherein, God assisting, we shall continue
to the end. Neither shall we return any answer to the
reason of the reverend elders, for the justification of your
proceedings, as not being "willing to engage in the manage-
ment of any the least difference with persons whom we so
much love and honor in the Lord. But the sum of all
which at pi-csent we shall offer to you, is, that though the
Court might apprehend, that they had grounds in general,
1 Mather, Book VII. Ch. 4, § 5.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 205
Avarranting tlicir procedure, in sucli cases, in tlic Avr.y
wherein they have proceeded ; yet tliat they have any rule
or command rendering tlieir so jjroceeding indispensahly
necessary, under all circumstances of times or places, Ave are
altogether unsatisfied ; and we need not represent to you
how the case stands with ourselves, and all your brethren
and companions in the sei'vices of these latter days in these
nations. "We are sure you Avould he unwilling to put an
advantage into the hands of some, Avho seek pretences and
occasions against our liberty, and to reinforce the former
rigor. NoAV Ave cannot deny but this hath already in some
measure been done, in that it hath been A'ogued that per-
sons of our Avay, principles, and spirit, cannot bear A^•ith
dissenters from them. And as this greatly reflects on us,
so some of us haA^e obserA-ed hoAv already it has turned
unto your OA\'n disadA'antage. "We leave it to your Avisdom
to determine, Avhether under all these circumstances, and
sundry others of the like nature that might be added, it be
not adA-isable at present to jiut an end unto the sufferings
and confinements of the persons censured, and to restore
them to their former liberty. You haA^e the adA^antage of
truth and order; you have the gifts and learning of :\n
able ministry to defend them ; you have the care and vigi-
lancy of a A'ery Avorthy magistracy to countenance and j)ro-
tect them, and to preserve the peace ; and, above all, you
have a blessed Lord and Master, Avho hath the keys of
David, Avho openeth and no man shutteth, living forcA'er to
take care of his OAvn concernments among his saints; and
assuredly you need not be disquieted, though some fcAV
persons, through their OAvn infirmity and weakness, or
through their ignorance, darkness and prejudices, should
to their disadA'antage, turn out of the Avay in some lesser
matters, into by-paths of their own. "We only make it our
18
206 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
hearty request to you, that you wouhl trust God "with his
truths and ways so far, as to suspend all rigorous ])roceed-
ings in corporal restraints or punishments on persons that
dissent from you, and practise the princijile of their dis-
sent Avithout danger or disturbance to the civil peace of
the place. Dated March 25th 1669."
This letter had not, however, the results which were to
be hoped for. On the contrary, several Baptists were
imprisoned in the following year. But in December 1672,
Governor Bellingham, their decided opposer, died; his
successor, Leverett, was successful in introducing a milder
policy, so that in 1674 a Baj^tist recorded that they were
enjoying their freedom in i^eace. Gould died in October
1675. Encouraged by the lenient exercise of power under
Governor Leverett, they resolved in January 1678, to erect
a place of worship in Boston. The building was carried
forward so prudently, that no one knew its object till it
was completed. On the 15th of February 1679, they first
met for the celebration of divine worship. But they were
not long undisturbed. The leaders of the church were
called before the Court in May, and admonished ; and an
order was given that no assemblies should be held in a
house which had been erected without consent of the town
wherein it stands, on penalty that the same shall be for-
feited to the use of the public treasury, or shall be torn
down. The Baptists refrained from their assemblies, till
the king interposed by a letter, written July 24th, 1679,
forbidding that any of his subjects, papists excepted, should
be subjected to punishments of any kind for serving God
in their own manner. When, upon this, the Baptists
again ventured to come together, they were again called
before the Court and required to desist. In March, 1680,
the Court ordered their meeting-house to be nailed up, and
NEW ENGLAXD TIIEOCllACY. 207
affixed to the doors n, placard Avith the following words :
"All persons are to take notice, that by order of the Court,
the doors of this house are shut up, and that they are in-
hibited to hold any meeting therein, or to oj^en the doors
thereof, till the General Court take further order, as they
will answer the contrary at their peril." On the following
Sunday, the members of the church assembled in the meet-
ing-house yard ; but the next time they found the doors
open, and proceeded to make use of the house. At the
session of the next General Court, they were again admon-
ished, and required to abstain from their assemblies. But
this was, in fact, the end of all persecution ; for as the Bap-
tists suffiired this order to pass wholly unnoticed, so was it
with them henceforth, on the part of the government.
It Avas during the very time when these efforts Avere
made to suppress the Baptists, that the former opposition
to the Quakers reappeared, a laAV being passed in the A'ear
1676* against their, meetings. Since the prohibition of
King Charles, they could not indeed be persecuted as
heretics and schismatics ; but they were punished, im]u-is-
oned, and banished as Aagabonds. But the opportunity
and the pretext for this mode of treatment, to A\^hich, it
must be conceded, their own conducf at their first appear-
ance gaA'e occasion, Avere taken aAvay when this religious
party assumed the peaceful form of the Society of Friends.
By degrees, interests of a Avholly different character arose
to claim the attention of the Xcav England governments,
Avhich threw into the back-ground persecutions of every
kind.
1 Hutchinson, I., p. 2S9.
208 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
POLITICAL CAUSES OF THE DECAY OF THE EARLIER CHtTRCH-LIFE ;
MEASURES FOR COUNTERACTING IT ; SYNOD OF 1G79, CALLED
THE REFORMING SYNOD.
Thus have we seen, that it was a religious necessity which
gave occasion to the founding of the Congregationahst
churches; and farther, that it was an absorbing sjinpathj'
for Gospel and Church, which led those pilgrims to found a
Theocracy in New England. It is not to be denied, that in
the attempt to erect a State which should contain only
church-members, — properly, indeed, only members of the
invisible church, — lay an inward cause for that dissolution
of the relation which soon followed. But if we review the
Theocracy in its course of development and abrogation,
we cannot regard it as a natural progression in the path
which this church-party was, by virtue of its principles,
bound to traverse. It was not the consciousness that dis-
tinct spheres of human development, or to speak in their
own peculiar style, that diverse ordinances of God, were
here arbitrarily intermixed and entangled together in
their organization, in a way only apparently conformed
to Scrijiture, which led to re-consideration and discussion.
It Avas through an impulse from without; through inter-
ests, in part wholly distinct from the church, in part only
externally connected with it, that this structure, standing
unique and alone in church-history, received its overthrow.
Half measures took the place of consistent principles ; and
when extending political relations gradually absorbed the
whole attention of the inhabitants of New England, there
could not but follow a total transfonnation of that origi-
nal condition, which, sustained as it was by remarkable
individualities, and stamped in noble institutions, presents
a subject of contemplation to the attentive observer, in
manifold respects equally instructive and delightful.
XEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 200
The great Indian war under King Philiji (1675 and
1676), is to be regarded as the specific juncture from wliich
this decay became apparent. The favorable termination
of that war was purchased by fearful losses. In Massa-
chusetts and New Plymouth, as also in Rhode Island, one
eleventh of the men capable of bearing arms M'cre dead ;
and, according to a moderate estimate, one eleventh of all
the liabitations were burnt down. Added to this, the
colonies, including also Connecticut, which, directly, had
suiFered less from the war, and had contributed but a dis-
proportionate amount of troops, had incurred an almost
overwhelming load of debt. This war, moreover, had
quashed the early attempts to introduce Christianity
among the Indians, and had caused an alienation whose
results are seen in the subsequent fate of that unhappy
race. During the time when the colonies were seeking to
recover from these disasters, they were all in constant
apprehension of measures, on the part of England, which
threatened the continuance of their political constitution.
Especially was this the case with Massachusetts. The
withdrawal of the settlements in New Ilamjishire from
her jurisdiction in 1679, contrary to their own Avishes,
could not but be regarded as the herald of steps which
were to follow. If we take into view the conflicting sen-
timents of the later immigrants, the alteration in the
essential principles of the church, the desolation of the
country, and a constant solicitude in reference to its most
important interests, we find a sufiicient explanation of the
changed condition W'ithin the church. "We introduce into
the present chapter some notice of this decline, on account
of a reaction which attended its commencement.
Although the first generation had died out even in its
younger members, yet the earlier manner of judging of the
18*
210 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
relations and events of life had not gone with them. It
is related that the period following the Indian war was
visited with scarcity, losses at sea, and diseases of an ex-
traordinary character. With the observation of these
facts was connected a consciousness of a decline in morals ;
the two being viewed in reference to each other, those
misfortunes were regarded as tokens of the anger of God.
Hutchinson,^ indeed, remarks on the matter, that there
was no evidence of any extraordinary degeneracy; but
he judged also of this mode of thinking from a remote
period and from a different point of view. Meantime, aU
the governments adojited measures for the removal of
these evils. Thus the government of Connecticut,- imme-
diately after the close of the war in October 1676, recom-
mended it to the ministers of the colony, to take sjiecial
pains to instruct the people in the duties of religion, and
to stir up and awaken them to repentance, and a general
reformation of manners. They also appointed a day of
solemn fasting and prayer, to supplicate the di^dne aid,
that they might be enabled to repent and sincerely amend
their Avays. The same measures were recommended anew
in May of the following year, and the people were admon-
ished, under a deep sense of the abounding of sin and the
dark aspects of Providence, to humble themselves before
God and to call upon his name. The laws enacted in
New Plymouth,^ after the war, testify that here was felt
a similar consciousness of decline, the remedy for which
was sought in the same manner.
But more distinctly did the whole mental and practical
1 Hutch., I. 292. 2 Tiiimbull, I., p. 493.
3 Francis Baylies's historical memoir of the colony of New Pl}-mouth,
Boston : 1830, Part 4, p. 23 ff. This work contains a complete history for
the period when this colony was independent.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 211
peculiarity of the earlier times manifest itself in the meas-
ures adopted in Massachusetts. After a reformation had
heen hero attempted by individuals and single churclies,
hut without any general success, the General Court, in tlic
year 1679, called a synod' for the discussion of the two fol-
loA\-ing questions : "What are the evils that have provoked
the Lord to bring his judgments on New England? And
what is to be done, that so these evils may be reformed ? "
The synod met on the 10th of September, 1679, in Boston.^
After a conference in reference to the two questions, a
committee was chosen to draw up an answer, which was
again reconsidered and then unanimously voted. Thirteen
points are alleged in answer to the first question, wherein
the external providences are discussed M'ith reference to
the general apostasy of heart from God. From pride and
arrogance of heart has arisen dislike to the proper subordi-
nation appointed by God, as well as a general disposition
to contention ; the same crime displays itself also in out-
ward apparel. The altered relations of the church are
then particularly discussed. The neglect of church-fellow-
ship is lamented, as also that the baptized children do not
strive to qualify themselves for full membership. On the
other hand, men incline to human iuA^entions, — the meet-
ings of the Quakers and Anabaptists being thus designated.
The name of God is profaned by the common use of oaths;
while the Sabbath is desecrated by worldly employments
and recreations, as well as by irreverent behavior and inat-
tention in the house of God during public worship.^ Esi)e-
1 Called the Reforming S.vnod. The acts of that body are found in tho
Magnalia, Book Y, Part IV.
2 On this occasion, some churches sent only tlicir ministers to tliis as-
sembly, and not, as these wished, lay-delegates with them ; but the synod
resolved that the latter were also to be sent by the churches.
3 On this point it is remarked ; " We read of but one man in Seripturo
212 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
cinlly In the family is seen an undue and unlawful indul-
gence towards children, and this is a fountain-head of the
existing evils. The want of fiimily discij^line has made
many Christians like to the Indians; on Avhich account,
perhaps, these have been chosen by the Lord as an instru-
ment of punishment and correction. Inordinate jiassions
manifest themselves by intemperance in bodily enjoyments,
the frequenting of taverns, immodest apjiarel, increase of
law-suits, promise-breaking, strivings after worldly gain
through unreasonable profits in trade, and covetousness.
Furthermore it charged an oj^position to the work of refor-
mation, a preference of personal interests over public good,
and a contempt *of the divine means of grace, which latter
show themselves fruitless in a special manner on account
of neglect of repentance, notwithstanding a manifest call
of the Lord. " Finally," in answer to the first question it
is said, "there are several considerations Avhich seem to
evidence that the evils mentioned are the matters of the
Lord's controversy. 1. In that (though not as to all,) as to
most of them, they are sins which many are guilty of 2.
Sins which have been acknowledged before the Lord on
days of humiliation appointed by authority, and not yet
reformed. 3. Many of them not punished, (and some of
them not punishable,) by men, and therefore the Lord him-
self doth punish for them."
In answer to the second question, the following means
are suggested, for checking the encroachments of coriuj)-
tion. First, those who are, in any way, in authority, are
exhorted to furnish a good examjole in themselves and
their families. As the older generation has died out, " a
declaration of adherence to the laith and order of the jios-
that slept at a sermon, and that sin had like to have cost him his life.
Acts 20: 9."
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 213
pel, ficcorcling to what is in Scripture expressed in the plat-
form of discipline, may likewise be a good means both to
recover those that have erred from the truth, and to pre-
vent apostasy for the future." Watchful circumspection
must be used, that no one without personal and public pro-
fession of faith and repentance be admitted to the comnn;-
nion in the Lord's Supper. Church-discipline is to be ex-
ercised, especially towards the rising generation, a matter
to which the founders of these churches attached so pecu-
liar an importance. As a farther means of promoting refor-
mation, care shoidd be taken for a full supply of officers in
the churches; in the larger ones should be appointed
teachei-s^ besides the pastor, but in all cases, there should
be ruling elders, and provision should be made for the sup-
port of the ministry, as well as for schools and the promo-
tion of every kind of knowledge. " When Kew England
was poor," it is said, " and we were but few in number
comparatively, there was a spirit to encourage learning,
and the college was full of students, whom God hath made
blessings, not only in this, biit in other lands ;2 and it is
deeply to be lamented that now, when we are become
many, and more able than at our beginnings, that society
and other inferior schools are in such a low and languish-
ing state. AYherefore, as we desire that reformation and
religion should flourish, it concerns us to endeavor that
both the college and all other schools of learning in every
place be duly inspected and encouraged." Solemn and
explicit renewal of the covenant is also proposed as an
appropriate means, to be performed Avith special reference
to the sins of the times, the reforaaation of which should
1 See p. 158.
2 This refers not merely to the other colonies; some of those who had
been educated at Cambridge went to England.
214 NEAV ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
be promised before the Lord, in the name and by the help
of Christ ; and with the expression of unity in all things
generally acknowledged. We add the conclusion of this
answer : " Inasmuch as a thorough and hearty reformation
is necessary, in order to obtain peace with God (Jer. 3 :
10.), and all outward means will be ineffectual to that end,
except the Lord jDour down his Spirit from on high ; it doth
therefore concern us to cry mightily unto God, both in ord-
inary and extraordinary manner, that he would be pleased
to rain down righteousness upon us, (Hos. 10: 12.) Amen."
In the preface which accompanied the transmission of
these answers to the General Court, it is said : " The things
insisted on, have, at least many of them, been often men-
tioned and inculcated by those, Avhom the Lord hath set as
watchmen to the house of Israel ; though alas ! not with
that success which their souls have desired. It is not a
small matter, nor ought it to seem little in our eyes, that
the churches have in this way confessed and declared the
truth, which, coming from a synod, as their joint concur-
ring testimony, will carry more authority with it than if
one man only, or many in their single capacities, should
speak the same things. And, undoubtedly the issue of this
undertaking will be most signal, either as to mercy or mis-
ery. If New England remember whence she has fallen
and do the first works, there is reason to hope that it shall
be better with us than at our beginnings. But if this, after
all other means in and by which the Lord hath been striv-
ing to reclaim us, shall be despised or become ineffectual,
we may dread what is like to follow. 'Tis a solemn
thought that the Jewish Church had, as the churches in
New England have this day, an opportunity to reform if
they would, in Josiah's time ; but because they had no
heart unto it, the Lord quickly removed them out of his
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 215
siglit. What God out of liis sovereignty may do for us, no
man can say ; but according to his Avonted dispensations,
we are a perishing people if now we reform not." The
conchisions of the synod having been presented to the
General Court, this body, by a resolution of October 15th,
1679, commended it to the earnest consideration of all the
churches and peoi)le of the jurisdiction ; desiring of all per-
sons, in their respective stations, a careful and diligent
reformation of all the great evils herein named, according
to the true intent of the words, that so the anger and dis-
pleasure of God, so many ways manifested, may be averted,
and his favor and blessing obtained.
That this measure was not without effect, and that too
in the majority of the churches, was seen not only by an
increased fervency of religious life among the older full
membei-s, but by accessions to their number. In some
churches, it is true, the renewal of the covenant which had
been recommended was rejected as an innovation ; but it
was almost universally complied with, and in a very solemn
manner. After the way had been prepared in a church by
various religious meetings and days of fasting and prayer,
one day was set apart for the special solemnity, which,
being on diiferent days in the several churches, Avas at-
tended by great numbei's from the vicinity. In the fore-
noon, the minister of the phlce, after praying and preach-
ing with reference to the occasion, proceeded to read the
covenant, to which the members of the church then ex-
pressed their assent, the men by lifting their hands, the
women by merely rising. In some places, only the com-
municants took part in the transaction ; in others, " the
children of the church" also participated.
In the afternoon, it was usual for another minister to
preach and inculcate the obligations of the covenant. The
216 NEW ENGLAND TirEOCRACY.
form of the covenant corresponded, in general, Avith that
in earlier use ; in reference to the special occasion, it was
added: "That we will (Christ helping) endeavor every-
one of us to reform our heart and life, by seeking to mor-
tify all our sins and laboring to walk more closely with
God, than ever yet we have done ; and will continue to
worship God in public, private and secret, and this without
formality or hypocrisy; and more faithfully and fully than
heretofore, to discharge all covenant duties one to another,
in church communion. Secondly, to walk before God in
our houses with a perfect heart, and that we will uphold
the worship of God therein continually, according as he in
his word doth require, both in respect to prayer and read-
ing the Scriptures, that so the word of God may dwell
richly in us : and we will do what in us lies to bring up
our children for Christ, that they may be such as they,
that have the Lord's name put upon them by a solemn
dedication to God in Christ, ought to be. And Avill there-
fore, as need be, catechise, exhort, and charge them to the
fear of the Lord; and endeavor to set a holy examj^le
before them, and to be much in prayer for their conversion
and salvation. Thirdly, to endeavor to be pure from the
sins of the times, especially those sills which have been by
the late synod solemnly declared and evidenced to be
the evils that have brought the judgments of God upon
New England ; and in our places to endeavor the suppres-
sion thereof, and be careful so to walk, as that we may not
give occasion to others to sin, or speak evil of our holy
profession. — Now that we may observe and keep this
sacred covenant and all the branches of it inviolable for-
ever, we desire to deny ourselves, and to dej^end wliolly
on the power of the eternal Spirit of grace, and on the
free mercy of God, and merit of Christ Jesus ; and where
NEW ENGLAND TIIEOCRACY. 217
"we shall fail, there to wait upon the Lord Jesus for pardon,
acceptance and healing, for his name's sake."
But this reaction, though proceeding from the one only
ground, and availing itself, for the most part, of genuine
ecclesiastical and spiritual means, did not reach the root
of the evU. The decline of the church, jjroperly so called,
in life and doctrine, will form the subject of the folloAving
chapter.
19
CHAPTER VIII.
DECLINE OF CONGREGATIONALISM.
EFFECTS OF'THE REFORMING SYNOD BUT TEMPORARY.
In the transactions of the synod related at the close of
the foregoing chapter, there Avas still manifest something
of the spirit in which the settlers of Massachusetts had
sought New England, fifty years before. But, though it
cannot be admitted that the religious interest and the
church spirit had wholly disappeared or fallen into the
background, yet it must be allowed that the condition of
the settlements had become, in this respect, wholly dif-
ferent. The evils complained of, which it was the object
and endeavor of that synod to correct, continued to in-
crease, till at length, in the revivals, they suffered a char-
acteristic reaction.
The political history of New England, during the earlier
period, almost loses itself, as to its most important features,
in the ecclesiastical. Of the period immediately follow-
ing it might be said, that the ecclesiastical interests were
merged in the political relations. The latter demand,
nevertheless, special consideration, as a means of eluci-
dating the condition of the church.
The apprehensions of an invasion of the constitution,
long entertained by Massachusetts, were at length real-
ized. In the year 1684, the charters of all the colonies
were repealed by Charles II. Immediately on his death.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 219
■n'liich occurred on the loth of Fehruary, 1685, James II.
■\vas ])iochume(l in Boston. But tlie expectation of any
cliange in tlie measures of his predecessor, proved vain.
Xor, general as was the popuhir discontent, could the
explicit declaration of the royal will be resisted. Connecti-
cut, being allowed to attach itself either to New York or
Massachusetts, chose the latter colony, to which were uni-
ted also, Rhode Island and Plymouth. Towards the end of
the year 1686, Sir Edmund Andros landed in Boston, as
governor, by royal appointment, of all XeAV England.
Under these circumstances, he must, of necessity, stand
in direct opposition to a population which had grown up
under an independent magistracy, chosen by themselves.
This relation Avas still more embittered by the establish-
ment through the influence of Andros, of a church in
Boston with the ritual of the Episcopal Church. Agents
were dispatched to England, among them Increase Mather
as chief advocate, for procuring from the king a restora-
tion of the earlier constitution; but this was without
effect. But when tidings arxived in Boston of the vic-
tory of "William of Orange over James II. a revolution
broke out, in consequence of which Andros and his ad-
herents were imjtrisoned, and a provisional government
"was formed, chiefly from the members of the earlier mag-
istracy. The repeal of the charter having been executed
in legal form, it was necessary to api:)ly to William III. for
its renewal. This was granted in 1691, accompanied with
the expression of approval for the steps which had been
taken ; but with this essential alteration, that henceforth
the govenior was to be nominated by the crown. Ply-
mouth remained united to ]\Iassachusetts ; Connecticut, on
the contrary, whose constitution had been abrogated with-
out the observance of legal forms, again adopted it when
220 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
Andros was deposed, and continued, as was also the case
with Rhode Island, under the administration of governors
chosen by herself. The new constitution was at first re-
ceived in Boston with exultation, but complaijits soon
followed in reo'ard to the alteration. And althouo-h some
of the succeeding governors had the ability to make
themselves influential and beloved, there commenced an
estrangement which spread through all the relations to the
mother coiintry, and yielded only to the pressure of tem-
porary danger. On the one side, the govei'nment strove
to increase the distinction and prerogatives of the gov-
ernor; on the other, the General Court^ of Massachu-
setts sought to maintain a certain independence. Thus,
the eflEbrts of the English crown, persevei-ed in year after
year, could not break uj) the practice of voting the support
of their Governor yearly. In this period lay the gerais of
those disputes which afterwaixls led to a disruption from
England. Covered up by the last war against Canada,
they again started into sight when, on the removal of the
rival who had been so many years the object of dread, the
urgent occasion of unity between the colonies and the
mother country was taken away. Such a state of things
was exceedingly unfavorable to a revival of the religious
and church interests, and could not but tend to counteract
the spirit which had manifested itself at the last synod,
in 1679.
That this attempt to revive the condition of the earlier
time was productive of no general improvement, is mani-
fest from a publication by the government of March 13th
1G90,^ a time when a painful uncertainty prevailed in res-
pect to the political relations of the colony. " Corruption
1 CoiTCsponding to tlie former General Court.
2 Mather, Book V. p. 97.
NEW" EN ti LAND THEOCRACY. 221
of manners, attendi'il A\itli inexcusable degeneracies and
apostasies in too many of this people," are alleged as the
cause of God's anger, wliicli sliows itself "by manifold
judgments in such a time of probation." These remarks
close with a call for reformalion ; in compliance Avilli ^\•hic]l
assemblies of ministers Avere held, and in various places
the covenant was renewed. But as aj)])ears from the fre-
quent lamentations of the New England writers of the
time, these efforts were fruitless.
WITCII-TRIALS.
Shortly before the arrival of Sir AVilliam Phipps the first
royal Governor in Massachusetts, this province became the
scene of an infatuation, no less remarkable than it was
lamentable, by which the ])ublic mind was wound up to the
highest j)itch of excitement. New England had now to
suffer the conseipiences of a delusion which at that very
period was dying out in Europe. In the years previous,
witches had occasionally been tried and executed ; but in
1692, processes of this kind commenced, especially in Salem,
on such a scale that by degrees towards one lumdred per-
sons were brought to trial. The accusers rejjresented them-
selves as tormented by these persons in a very singular
manner, and as having seen and watched their secret con-
claves with evil spirits. Under the promise of pardon,
some were persuaded to acknowledge a covenant with the
devil. Counsel being asked of the ministers in reference to
the course proper to be pursued, they allowed, in their an-
swer, the possibility of such a covenant ; but insisted at the
same time on the greatest caution in the examination. But
this advice was unavailing; by ansv\ers forced into the
mouths of the accused through ensnaring questions, and by
10*
222 KEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
the .admission of incompetent Avitnesscs, sometimes even of
cliiUlren, matters came to such a pass, tliat during the
montlis of Juue, July and August 1G92, twenty ])ersons
were executed, among tlicm a former minister, wlio Avas
noAV accused as a Avizard. But not one of tlie number con-
i'essed himself guilty. It Avas not till the accusers had gone
to the length of impeaching numerous persons of wholly
blameless life, church members and peo2)le of distinction,
that people came to their senses. Public ojjinion then
turned against the acciisers, Avho, though they escaped due
ininisliment, could not evade the reproach of having sacri-
iiced the lives and property of their felloAV citizens, and
disturbed the public peace, not only with culjiable reckless-
ness, but also Avitli most Avicked and self-conscious fraud.
The credulity of the judges Avas first acknoAvledged Avlien,
many years after, those Avho had been stripped of their
property by these trials, sought restitution at the j^ublic
cost. If it is pleaded that these occurrences reflect no pe-
culiar blame on tliose among Avhom they happened, yet it
may Avell be maintained, that the sound sense and tlie living
religious sentiment of the earlier time Avould haxe arrayed
themselves decidedly against such an infatuation.
FARTHER RESULTS OF THE CHANGE IN CHURCH-PRINCIPLES.
"VVe pass noAV to the still farther consequences of the
change in church principles, which has been explained
in the preceding chapter. It might have been expect
ed, as the result of that separation of church-members
into those in full communion, and those on the halfway
coA'enant, that, on the one hand, the former would con-
tinue to be regarded as those Avho jiroperly constituted
the church; on the other, that a still more rigid practice
NEW LXGLANB TJIEOCUACY. 223
would be obscrveil in respect to their admission. But tliis
was not the case, in eitlier resi)ect. The ])riiici])le of io(|uir-
iiig evidence of conversion went gradually more an<l more
into disuse; and so early as the year 1G9G, a churcWi was
formed' in Hartford "without reference in any Avay to such
a requisition. In like manner, at the formation of a churck
in Boston about the year 1G99, it was declared to be un-
necessary. Even when the principle was still adhered to,
the practice declined. The custom of making a public
confession of faith, and a relation of christian experience
was gradually lost. It Avas left wholly to the clergy to
judge of the qualifications for admission and to report
thereon to the church ; and at the same time, the church
ofiice of ruling elder fell into oblivion. So far at length,
did this go, that even candidates for full communion^
scarcely did more than express their assent to the confes-
sion of faith. It is noticeable that the consciousness in the
church of this decline was accompanied by the expressed
conviction of its connection with these aberrations. This
was the case even prior to the time when by a conclusion
hereafter to be mentioned, the opposition to the earlier
views was carried to its extremest point. Jonathan Mitchel,
minister at Cambridge and teacher in Harvard College,
had been one of the chief advocates of the middle course
at the Synod of 1GG2; but in the admission of full meni-
1 This was done by " owning (he covenant," as it was called. This church
at its formation in February 1696, under the lead of Jlr. AVoodbrid.ure, con-
sisted of 6v) persons. To these Si more Joined themselves on the 8th of
March, and in the course of another month, they numbered 1".)2 members.
Trumb. Hist, of Conn., Ch. XIX.
2 The oldest church in the country, the Old Church of Plymouth,
changed its method of admitting members in November, 170-^, introdu-
cing Avritten relations in place of oral. Backus, II., p. 2'.).
224 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
bers, he was still most earnest for the maintenance of the
original strictness in all its force.
Cotton Mather^ gives from a manuscript of Mitchel's of
the year 1664, a refutation by his hand of the opinion that
a public declaration of faith in Christ or of sincere rei)ent-
<ince for sin suffices for admission to the Lord's Supper.
Mitchel sujDposes that he who can " groundedly " make such
a confession can specify something more ; and he who can-
not do it groundedly, ought not to be admitted ; nay, he
sees in this laxness the fountain of formality and irreligion.
Among other things he says: "The power of godliness
will soon be lost, if only doctrinal knowledge and outward
blaraelessness be accounted sufficient for all church privi-
leges, and practical confessions (or examinations of men's
spiritual estate) be laid aside. For that which people see
to be publicly required and held in reputation, that will
tliey look after and usually no more, but content themselves
with that. " The Reverend Urian Oakes, who had presided
over Harvard College from the year 1675, thus expressed
himself in the discourse after his election : ^ " Consider what
will be the end of the departures or apostasies from the
church government settled among ns. I profess I look
upon the settlement of the Congregational way as the boon,
the gratuity, the largeness of divine bounty which the Lord
graciously bestowed upon his people that follo^red him into
tliis wilderness ; and a great part of the blessing ujjon the
head of Joseph, and of tliem that -were separated from
their brethren. Those good people that came over here
showed more love and zeal, and affectionate desire of com-
munion with God in pure worship and ordinances, and did
more in order to it than others, and the Lord did more for
them than for any peojjle in the world, in showing them the
1 Book IV., p. 179. - JIatlicr, B. IV., p. 165.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 225
pattern of his lionse and tlio true scriptural yvaj of church
government and adniuiistrations. God "svas certainly in a
more than ordinary May present with his servants in laying
of our foundation and in settling the way of church-order
according to the will and appointment of Christ. Consider
what would be the sad issue of revolting from the Avay
f.xed upon, to one extreme or to another, whether it be to
Presbyterianism or Brownism. As for the Presbyterians,
it must be acknowledged that there are among them as
pious, learned, sober, orthodox men as the Avorld affords ;
r.nd that there is as much of the power of godliness among
tliat party and of the spirit of the good old Puritans as
among any people in the world. As for their way of
church-government, it must be confessed that, in the day
of it, it was a very considerable step to reformation. The
reformation in King Edward's days was then a blessed
work. And the reformation of Geneva and Scotland was
tlien a larger step, and in many respects purer than the
other. And for my part I fully believe that the Congre-
gational way for exceeds both, and is the highest step that
has been taken towards reformation, and for the substance
of it, it is the very same way that Avas established and prac-
tised in the primitive times, according to the institution of
Jesus Christ. I must needs say that I should look upon it
as a sad degeneracy, if we should leave the good old Avay
so far as to turn councils and synods into classes and provin-
cial assemblies, and there should be such a laxness in admis-
sion of members to communion, as is pleaded for and prac-
tised by many Presbyterians."
The first of the apprehensions here expressed, of a chnrch-
governni,ent similar to the Presbyterian, will be discussed
hereafter.
In reference to the other principle of Congregationalism,
226 NEW ENGLAND THEOCKACT.
we will here intvoduce two witnesses in AA'liose testimony
the charges, expressed in general terras in earlier times,
appear in an increasingly specific form. Increase Mather,
so often mentioned already, "who was also president of Ilar-
Aard College, published in 1700 a book entitled: "Vindi-
cation of the order of the gospel in New England." In
this he says: "The Congregational church discipline is not
suited for a worldly interest, or a formal generation of pro-
fessors. Tt will stand or fall, as godliness, in the power of
it, does prevail or otherwise. That there is a great decay
of the power of religion throughout all New England is
lamentably true ; if that revive, there will be no fear of
departing from the holy discipline of the churches of
Christ. If the begun apostasy should proceed as fast the
next thirty years, as it has done these last surely it will
come to that in New England (except the gospel itself
depart with the order of it), that the most conscientious
people therein will think themselves concerned to gather
churches out of churches. " ^ He complains especially of
a lamentably superficial and formal manner in the relation
of experiences for admission to communion. "There are
reports, as if in some churches, pei'sons have brought writ-
ten relations, first to the minister and then to the church,
which were not of their own dictating, but devised by oth-
ers for them. I hope these reports have nothing of truth
in them ; but if they have, I am sure that such liars to the
Holy Ghost have exceedingly provoked the Lord." Harsh
as this judgment may seem, and little perhaps as it could
be applied directly to individual cases which liad actually
occurred, yet it is not to be denied that such an innovation
Avas a complete subversion of the Congregationalist princi-
ples. Let it go so far that, in i>lace of what these had
1 Backus, II., p. 24.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 227
required, a move outward, nay even a counterfeit profession
would suffice, and that Avas repudiated which liad ori<;i-
nated, and had formed the sum and substance of tliis par-
ticuhir denomination. The tree would be severed from tlie
root whence it had received life, and the inner sap must
dry up of itself.
About the same time, a distinguished minister in Boston,
by the name of Willard, one of the advocates of that
Third Church, whose formation resulted from the synod-
ial determinations of 16G2, but Avho, in other respects,
adhered to primitive principles, thus expressed his views
in a discourse entitled "The perils of the times dis-
played : " 1 " That there is a form of godliness among us is
manifest ; but the great inquiry is, whether there be not
too much of a general denying of the poAver of it.
Whence else is it, that there be such things as these that
follow to be observed ; that there is such a prevalency of so
many immoralities among professors ? that there is so little
success of the gospel ? how few thorough conversions to
be observed, how scarce and seldom ! — It hath been a
frequent observation, that if one generation begins to de-
cline, the next that follows usually grows worse, and so
on, until God pours out his spirit again upon them. Tlie
decays which we already languish under are sad ; and
what tokens are on our children, that it is like to be better
hereafter? God be thanked that there are some among
them that promise well ; but alas ! how doth vanity
abound among them! IIow do young professors grow
weary of the strict profession of their fathers, and become
disputants for the things which their progenitors forsook a
pleasant land for the avoidance of! "
But there was not merely a continually growing laxity
1 Backus, II. p. 25.
228 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
in practice, with regard to the admission of new nieniLcrs.
Views respecting admission to the Lord's Sujijjer were
publicly advocated which not only contravened the funda-
mental principles of the Congregationalists at their rise,
but even went beyond those of the church whicli they
had abandoned. Solomon Stoddard,^ a minister in North-
ampton, Massachusetts, carried ovit the parallel with tlie
Jewish church so often used, in a very peculiar manner.
As all who were under the covenant of circumcision were
obliged to keep the Passover, so all that are baptized
should come to the table of the Lord ; nay, he added
" though they know themselves to be in a natural condi-
tion." Increase Mather came out in ojjposition to him.
But in his reply, Stoddard went still farther ; maintaining
not merely that " sanctification is not a necessary qualifi-
cation to partaking of the Lord's Supper," but even calling
this "a converting ordinance." And this view, which
might jnstly be styled the exact opposite of the original
principles, gradually gained more and more currency.
This aberration from that which formed the characteristic
feature, the central point of Congregationalism, was now
accompanied by a change in doctrine which completed the
decline. But before we pass to the portrayal of these
innovations, we must relate the execution of an earlier
plan which in the year 1667 had been frustrated by a
powerful opposition.
FURTHER ATTEMPT AT APPROXIMATION TO THE PRESBYTERIAN DIS-
CIPLINE IN MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT.
We have already spoken of the attempt made by the
government of Connecticut^ to secure a firmer organiza-
tion of the Congregationalist church-party, through an
1 Backus, II. pp. 26 and 33. Wisncr pp. 41, 58. 2 p. 195.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 229
ai)proxiiu;ition to tlic Presbyterian form of government.
But tlie independence of the several churches was at the
same time a princi])le too strongly rooted in the public
mind to allow this effort to succeed. Now, hoAvever, to
the causes of the gradual change in this respect brought
to light by the foregoing development, Avas added the
arrival of individuals of the Presbyterian persuasion from
Europe, who attached themselves to the established
churches of New England. It was not strange if their
view of the subordination of the churches under synods
and assemblies should have found favor even with those
who had at heart the Avelfare of their fellow-citizens in
respect to religion and church ; nay, this more compact
outward form might appear to them the A'cry means for
arresting the ever-extending ravages of decline. Even if
nothing more than an external prop, yet at least it Avas
from the church itself the prop Avas to be taken which
should sustain the tottering fabric. It Avas Avhile In-
crease Mather was residing in London as Agent for Mas-
sachusetts, that the Presbyterian and Congregationalist
ministers of Connecticut had formed a union, and drawn
up the ' heads of agreement,' haA^ng declared the points
in Avhich they differed unessential. But the tei-ms in
which they are expressed are very general ; and pass OAcr
in silence both the subject of special examination of can-
didates for admission, and that of a laAvful poAver of
synods. With this indefiniteness, however, there Avas
unanimity in regard to doctrinal belief; as in Boston also,
at a synod held in 1680, the Westminster confession Avas
adopted in all its essential points. These Heads of Agree-
ment noAv found favor CAcn in Ncav England.
But the matter Avas not allowed to stop Avith the deci-
sion, that the single churches should have a respectful
20
230 NEAV ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
regard to the judgment of the assemblies of ministers,
and should not act in contrariety thereto without manifest
reasons out of the word of God. On the 5th of Novem-
ber 1705, several ministers in Massachusetts subscribed to
certain propositions for the foraiation of associations in
each county, to which should be committed the licensing
of candidates for the ministerial office ; and to this should
be added a standing council whose sentence should be re-
garded as final and decisive, yet not ■without the assent of
a majority of the pastors present. But so decided an
opposition to the proposals arose in Massachusetts as to
render the execution of the measure imj)racticable ; al-
though the vieAvs which had thus found expression became,
in a milder acceptation, predominant. The occasional
meetings of neighboring ministers, which had early been
felt as a necessity, and as an advisory and admonitory
resort had been constantly recommended, still continued,
and sought, by personal influence to supply the want, a
want which at that time Increase Mather lamented in
strong terms. But they carried the matter farther in Con-
necticut. Here, in 1707, died Governor Fitz-John Win-
throp, who for ten successive years, had been reelected
to the office previously occupied by his father. A law
then existed that the Governor should be taken from
among the magistrates in nomination ;^ but in contrariety
to this rule, Gurdon Saltonstall,^ a minister of New Lon-
1 In January 1708, this law was repealed, and all freemen of Connecti-
cut were declared eligible to the office.
2 He was one of the Connecticut delegates appointed in the year 1697 to
congratulate the Earl de Bellamont, Governor of New York and Massa-
chusetts, who remarked that Saltonstall appeared most like a nobleman
of any person he had seen in America. Trumb. I. 417. Backus says of
him (II. 35) : " He Avas a great politician, and he exerted all his influence
to raise the ministerial power as high as possible."
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 231
flon, was nominated, and being dismissed from liis church
in January 1708, entered on his new office. He soon pre-
sented to the Legislature the above-named proposals of
1705, But notice being taken of the omission in them of
reasons from Scripture, Saltonstall fearing they would be
rejected withdrew them. But, on the other hand, the
General Assembly at Hartford, May 13th 1708, passed an
act which was in substance as follows: This Assembly,
from its own observation and the complaint of many
others, being made sensible of the defects in church disci-
pline, arising from the want of a more explicit assertion of
the rules given for that end in the Holy Scriptures, from
which would arise a permanent establishment among our-
selves, a good and regular issue in cases subject to ecclesi-
astical discipline, glory to Christ our head, and edificatio'ti
to his members; do hence ordain and require that the
, ministers of the several counties in this government, and
other delegates of the churches, shall meet together at
their respective county towns, there to deliberate on meth-
ods and rules for the same, and to elect members for an
assembly to be held in Saybrook, at the charge of the
public treasury of the colony, when the results of those
deliberations should be compared, and a form of ecclesias-
tical discipline drawn up.
THE SAYBROOK PLATFORM, 1708.
In accordance with this requisition, twelve ministers and
four lay delegates from the four counties, came together in
Saybrook, on the 9th of September 1708. After an expres-
sion of concurrence with the Confession of Faith of 1G80,
and with the Heads of Agreement, fifteen Articles in res-
pect to church discipline were adopted (no mention being
232 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
made of the Cambridge Platform) declaring an ecclesias-
tical subordination in accordance ■\vlth the principles of
the Presbyterians. Articles 1st to 11th treat of the assem-
LHes of ministers and lay delegates; the last four of those
"wliich consisted of ministers only ; the former were called
consociations, the latter, associations. In each county were
to be formed one or more of both kinds. All difficult cases
of offence which are the subject of church censure, are to
come before the consociations and to be decided by tlie
Aote of the mnjority of those present. In connection with
this, it is expressly stated that the omission of any church
to send delegates shall be no bar to the proceedings of the
council, or invalidate their action. Any case brought be-
fore a council in an orderly manner, is to be here deter-
mined, and the parties concerned are to be satisfied with
the same ; the consociation seeing to it, that their deter-
mination or judgment is duly executed and obeyed, in such
a way as shall in their judgment be most suitable and
agreeable to the word of God. The pastors and churches
who do not submit themselves to such decisions, are to be
excluded from fellowship. In diflicult cases, a neighboring
consociation is to be taken into council. In difficulties
between a church and one of its members, the former is
to have the privilege, if so desiring, of calling together a
consociation ; but the right to do this is denied to the lat-
ter. The delegates shall hold their office till the occurrence
of a new election, that a council may at any time be called
together. Tliis is to meet at least once yearly ; the mod-
erator at one session to remain in office till the next, in
order to be able to summon a council during the time of
adjournment. All jiersons, not appearing after due sum-
mons or notification, and Avithout satisfying reasons to
offi3r tlierefor, shall be judged guilty of scandalous con-
NEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY. 233"
tempt. The associations, which are to meet at least twice
yearly for consultation on the duties of their ollicc and on
the common interests of the churches, are to consider and
decide cases of importance which shall be presented to
them by any of their own number or by other ministers ;
they shall also have the right of examining and recom-
mending candidates for the ministerial Avork. The min-
isters thus associated are to take cognizance of any among
themselves who are accused of open scandal or heresy, to
examine the matter carefully, and if they find just occa-
sion, to direct the calling of the consociation, where such
oifenders shall be duly proceeded against. Tiie fourteenth
article commits to the associations the care of any churches
which may be bereaved of their pastors ; the fifteenth and
last recommends the formation of a general association to
consist of delegates from the several county associations,
which should meet annually.
These articles were adopted unanimously by the Synod,
and in October 1708, Avere, in connection with the Confes-
sion of Faith and Heads of Agreement, declared by the
Legislature established bylaw; with the provision, how-
ever, " that no society or church allowed by tlie laws,
which dissented from the united churches here established,
should be hindered from the exercise of worship and disci-
pline in their own way, according to their consciences."
It may well excite sm-prise that this change, expressed
in terms so unequivocal, should have encoimtered no con-
siderable resistance. In the following year, there were
fonned in the four counties, five consociations and the same
number of associations ; ^ the General Associations un-
doubtedly exercised from this time a certain superintend-
ence over ministers and churches. The favorable recej)-
1 Two for the county of Hartford.
20*
234 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
tion of the conclusions of tlie Saybrook Synod is cliiefly to
be ex})lained from the circumstance tliat they appeared in
connection with the Heads of Agreement ; and that tlie
required deference to synods was not at variance with the
spirit of the Congregationalists. The articles, expressed in
terms so exj^licit, received indeed a modified application in
practice. Still it may be said in general, that from this
period, the more intimate and settled connection of the
Congregationalist chiu-ches led to a certain subordinancy,
though the strict forms of the Presbyterians did not obtain
in full. The associations directed their chief efforts to the
oversight of candidates for the ministry. From this it is
manifest that the approximation to Presbyterianism was
not the result merely of a wish for clerical domination, but
was in part dictated by the desire to make secure pro\ision
for the wants of the church. Of the interest felt for this
object in Connecticut, we have proof in another way. So
early as 1698, the inconveniences incident to so great a dis-
tance from Cambridge, had suggested the plan of founding
a new college. In 1701, the Legislature granted a charter
and voted a yearly allowance for its support. Its manage-
ment, instruction, and religious influence were to have for
their object "to promote, in the education of the students,
the power and purity of religion, and the- best edification
of the New England churches." Saybrook was fixed on
as the seat of the College ; but owing to the continuance
of their first chosen Rector with his church at Killingworth
in the vicinity of Saybrook, the College was not removed
thither till after his death in 1704. Here it remained till
1717; from Avhich time it has existed in New Haven, as
Yale College, so called from Elihu Yale, a Director of tlie
East luilia Company in London, who had bequeathed to it
large legacies.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 235
This approximation to tiie Presbyterians, as it lias ex-
isted from that time in a continued friendly relation of the
two religious })arties, received an additional inij)ulse in the
beginning of the last century, from the growing activity of
the Baptists and Episcopalians in founding new churches.
But, though the hostility towards these denominations as
also against the Quakers, still continued, it was now be-
come a mere external strife ; though complaints were not
wanting respecting the oppressive action of the laws, by
which the whole body of the inhabitants of a parish, and not
merely the actual church-members, were held accountable
for the support of the clergy. We notice various contro-
versies of no special moment, and Avithout features of indi-
vidual interest. The principle above-mentioned, that every
parishioner must bear his j)art in the su])port of the minis-
ter, and, if there was none of his own sect in the place, to
that of the prevailing party, was even adopted into the
constitution of the State of Massachusetts after the revolu-
tion, and was rei)ealed not many years since.^ In this
state also, were maintained yearly assemblies of the clergy,
though without the j^rerogatives conferred by the,Saybrook
Platfonn on the Associations in Connecticut.
PROGRESSIVE DECLINE OF PIETY.
In the year 1725, a voice awoke once more in Massachu-
setts which reminds us of the expressions and the sj)irit of
earlier times. A petition was i)rescnted to the Legislature
by Cotton Mather, in the name of the assembled General
Convention of ministers, praying that, in view of the great
1 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Mass. in the Revised Statutes
of the Commonwealth of Mass. Boston : 1836. Part I. Art. 3. and Articles
of Amendincnt, Art. III.
236 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
and visible decline of piety in the country, of the landahle
examj^le of our predecessors who sought to establish the
faith and order of the gospel in the churches by synods,
and that now a period of forty-five years has passed since
the last convention of this kind, a synod might be called
for the remedy of the existing unhappy condition. During
the proceedings on the matter in the House of Re2:)rcscnta-
tives, the Episcopalians residing in Boston made report of
the same in London ; whence an order was received to put
an immediate end to the aflair, as the calling of synods
pertained to the king alone. This decision was received
by the Representatives, though otherwise still extremely
jealous of their rights, without a word of complaint. This
silence marks a characteristic of the time.
As the antagonisms in the English church parties had
reference chiefly to the constitution of the church, differ-
ences in respect to doctrine, were less definitely expressed,
and were of a subordinate character ; so in the decline of
Congregationalism, in New England, we have for a long
period, no sign of alteration in the latter respect. Un-
doubtedly, a declension could not but soon manifest itself
even among the clergy. In a constitution like that of the
Congregationalists, the reciprocal action of ministers and
churches on each other is too immediate, to allow the one
to be in a state discordant to that of the other. At first,
however, the difference between the present clergy and
their predecessors manifested itself, for the most part, only
in formality and coldness in the duties of their office. But
with the lively intercourse constantly maintained with
England, influences from the latter soon made themselves
apjDarent, and Arminianism, which, in the preceding cen-
tury, had spread from the High Church into the ranks of
the Dissenters, now visited North America also. Hei-e, it
NEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY. 237
\ras precisely from the standpoint of Indifferentism, tliat it
made its n])pcarance. It manifested itself particularly in
the view now current, that observance of outward religious
ordinances joined with a moral and sober life is all that is
needed for Christians. These opinions, in the condition
of the church which has been described, found quick and
easy entrance ; and the spread of unbelief was, in general,
much earlier than its decided open manifestation.
In opposition to this state of things, a peculiar phenome-
non now presented itself in the religious revivals. They
will form the subject of the next and closing chapter of
our work. This reaction, it is true, did not wholly coun-
teract the declension ; partly, on account of the spurious
elements mingled Avith it ; partly, because a period of war
and agitation followed, in which the inhabitants of New
England believed their very existence at stake. To this
Avas added financial embarrassments, the consequence of
excessive emissions of j^aper-money, from which the colo-
nies were suffering even before the French colonial war
and especially during its continuance. From the war itself
it seemed that no other result could follow than the subju-
gation and expulsion of the conquered party; it ended in
1762 with the seizure of all Canada. Scarcely was the
foreign foe thus removed out of the way, Avhen the vari-
ance^ with the mother-country rose to such a height as
to occasion the war of the Revolution and the separation of
the colonies. During the Avar of Independence, Ncav Eng-
land itself was for a long period occupied by the enemy.
The English, in whose minds rebellion against the govern-
ment stood in close connection Avith separation from the
State Church, demolished places of AA'orshij) and destroyed
the church-jiroiierty of Dissenters.^ Nor must Ave overlook
1 Wisner reliitos (p. 108, ) that the churches were used as prisons and
238 NEW ENGLAND THEOCUACY.
the influence of the French who came to North America
and were tliere taken into the rehition of friends and kins-
men ; those especially who had an active participation in
the war were subjected to an influence inimical to positive
Christianity. MeanAvhile, unbelief expressed itself in a
decided form as Unitarianism, and overspread all New
England. "When a christian life began to reiiwaken,
churches, church-proi^erty, and even the ancient Univer-
sity of Cambridge, were found to be in the hands of Uni-
tarians. A reaction in the present century has again
changed the relation ; in connection with which the Half-
way Covenant has been done away ; and the church, now
separated wholly from the state, consists only of members
received on the original principle of the Congregationalists.
The newly awakened life has quickly remoulded public sen-
timent into enthusiastic sympathy with the Congregation-
alists, while the influence of the Unitarians has suffered a
constant decline.
These relations, as they do not properly belong as yet to
the province of history, are not within the scope of our
present design. It only remains to exhibit such of their
features as constituted, in reference to the church, essen-
tially the closing boundary of the first j^eriod.
riding schools, or were torn down for fuel, though there was an abundant
sui)ply in the town. Of the nineteen places of worship in New York when
the war began, there were but nine fit for use when the British troops left
it.
CHAPTER. IX.
THE REVIVALS.
REVIVALS IN GENERAL, AND THOSE OF NORTH AMERICA IN PAR-
TICULAR.
The reaction, which now developed itself in opposi-
tion to the ever growing declension of the Xew England
Church, constitutes a peculiar phenomenon. The Revivals
did not, it is true, realize the expectations then cherished;
indifference to the institutions and the faith of the fathers
being predominant in the church, as far down as the be-
ginning of the present century. But the representation of
these occurrences is, notwithstanding, a matter of very-
special interest. They have been repeated in North Amer-
ica in a very striking manner in recent times. They there
form one of the main subjects of reports on the state of
religion, in the periodical press ; and they occupy a very
important jilace in the discussions of theological literature.
Different views are indeed entertained in North Amer-
ica, in reference to the methods for developing and con-
ducting revivals. But all the principal parties of the
evangelical church are of one mind in regard to their impor-
tance ; though by some a higher value is attached to them
than by others. But with the theologians of North Amer-
ica, these awakenings of a previous century justly rank as,
in a certain sense, the type of such manifestations ; having
been free, in great measure, from the present intermix-
240 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
ture of foreign elements. They are, moreovei-, the better
adaj)ted to representation, both as being historically com-
l^leted, and as having their origin and their explanation in
that i^rogressive development of Congregationalism, which
we have here traced.
A REVIVAL, that is a simultaneous renewal and advance
of the religious life in one or more congregations, is indeed
not an unknown occurrence in the cis-atlantic cliurchcs.
But the form in which it here meets us, appears but rarely
in churches which grew, to a greater extent, out of insti-
tutions already existing, and whose development has taken
a more uniform course. It therefore seems appropriate, in
entering on a delineation of these Revivals, to consider tlie
analogy presented in the universal development of cliris-
tianity, and consequently, among ourselves. A reference
to such isolated cases in Europe, would rather itself need
this explanation and illustration, than be adapted to fur-
nish it. Revivals in the churches find their nearest parallel
in the conversion of individuals. For understanding the
latter is needed, on the one side, knowledge of the man's
peculiar characteristics, position in life, and pre^dous course
of training ; but also, on the other side, the perception
that something new has here taken j^lace, which cannot be
fully explained from the sum of the man's earthly rela-
tions. As viewed from this side, the causal condition of
conversion lies outside the sphere of his earthly life. Those
who would comprehend the enti'ance of divine grace into
the heart of an individual, can only do it by ascertaining
the iuAvard state with which this grace connects itself.
In this manner Ave come to a knowledge of the begin-
ning of faith in ourselves and in those around us. Just so,
likewise, can we trace the causes of subsequent manifesta-
tions, whether they are signs of farther advancement, or of
NEW EXGLAXD THEOCRACY. 241
n partial lialt, or of retrogression. In the intcrcliangc of
siu-h knowledge .and such experiences lies the importance
•ind the blessing of christian intercourse. But there are
cases where these communications are not limited to a
narrow circle ; where the development of a cliristian life
presents a form adapted to general exhibition. This is the
case Avhen it constitutes, either by the attainment of some
life-aim inspired by fuith, or through the consummation of
the earthly life in the Lord, a separate, and, in a certain
sense, a perfected whole; when it is manifest that the
unity of the single active labors was no other than per-
sonal union with the Lord. From the difficulties experi-
enced in preparing such a christian biography, especially
in respect to that which, in the proper sense, constitutes
its analogy with Revivals, may be seen what Ave have to
contend with in the delineation of the latter. Rare indeed
are the cases where all the requisites of such a biogra^^hy
are at command and the sources for the several component
features within reach ; those single traits which disclose the
inner impulse of the life-development, and present it to
view as a connected whole. The external relations, — how
far social connections, position, and calling in life, account
for its prosperous or retarded growth, — these, it is true,
are more accessible to the inquirer. But not so easily can
it be ascertained, how far the earliest development of char-
acter indicated a state susceptible to the Lord's call, or
how far it contained adverse and disturbing elements, in
which subsequent occasional declensions, or periods of su-
pineness, might find their explanation. Not so easily can
w^e ascertain, whether in the outward activity in the ser-
vice of the Lord, in that which the eye of man cannot but
regard as the fruit of faith, is not concealed something
false and selfish ; or whether that Av^hich to us seems to be
21
242 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
self-complacency, carelessness, indifference, is not the ex-
pression of eternal peace. Tlie reports of acquaintances
and friends are, for such purposes, but an insecure reliance ;
since it is not acts or words, as such, wliich are here in
question, but the connection of these with the moral sen-
timent, with the Christianity of the heart. Even the ]ior-
traiture sketched, jierhaps at a much later period, by the
favored individual himself, though made with rigorous self-
examination in simplicity and humility, is yet subject to
the abatement of presenting the particulars of early life
from the stand-point of a maturer stage. Very seldom
does the strictly private diary or genuine confidential cor-
respondence meet the public eye. This deficiency meets
us in a very special manner, at the initial j^eriod of chris-
tian development. Even with those whose awakening to
a new life has occurred in a more striking and less gradual
manner, there is certainly no disposition in this excitement
of their inner being to institute rigid investigations and
nice analyses of the change, or to impart such information
to others.
When, however, the same i^henomena extend over sev-
eral individuals, we are able to trace farther the causes
of the subsequent career; the inward occurrence takes more
readily an outward manifestation. Something claiming to
be the starting-point of a new life-development, manifest-
ing itself, moreover, in each individual at a point of time
fixed with more or less certainty, and under a form to be
recognized with more or less distinctness, is a ]>henome-
non witnessed in the christian church, simultaneously
extending over numbers of j^ersons. The Holy Spirit
indeed lives and works in christian communities and in
the Christian Church uninterruptedly to the end of the
world. But thei-e are times in which their members with-
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 243
draw tlicmselvcs from the influence ; times when, ensnr-.rcd
and governed by worldly interests, they have their liearts
elsewhere ; when they rend the earthly life-development
fi-om its connection Mith the fountain of life. Such times
stand before us in harsh lineaments on the page of history.
But where the seed-corn has not been killed, but has only
died that it may bring forth fruit, there an awakening
comes from the Lord through means which affect not only
individuals, but churches and denominations. Every epoch
of christian Church-history is to be regarded, in a certain
sense, as a Revival ; since, whether it be in the sphere of
the practical or the theoretical, a new state is the result.
These awakenings, however, differ among themselves, with
the differences of time, of place, culture, manners, the
character of churches and denominations; just as the con-
version of individuals in respect to their personal traits
and rehitions in life. Where all these relations have
developed themselves in the world, in a greater or less
estrangement from Christianity, the new life assumes the
form of an isolated phenomenon. Such are the awak-
enings which occur in connection with missions. "When,
on the contrary, the relations of life, having been to a
greater or less degree produced and penetrated by the
christian spirit, bear even, as is too often the case, its un-
recognized stamp, the quickening manifests itself more as
a progressive development from elements already present.
As such, we may regard the Reformation, so far as it had
for its starting-point the longing already existing in the
church for the kingdom of God.
The Revivals in North America, both those which form
the subject of our narrative and those of recent date, are re-
vivals of the religious spirit in a practical respect. They are
occurrences Avithin the christian congregation, and belong
244 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
properly to its relation to the Pastor or spiritual guide,
In their nature they are limited to such a congregation ;
although contemporaneous phenomena may have been pro-
duced by similar circumstances in neighboring places. We
have reports also of such revivals in Colleges and Theolog-
ical Seminaries, but always in connection witli the relation
held by the teachers to the students, as sjjiritual guides.
The preceding chaj^ter exhibits the hostile influence to
which these Revivals form a reaction. It was not prima-
rily error in doctrine, or superstition in practice, or gToss
transgression of law, but lukewarmness and indifierence
towards the religious institutions that had constituted tlie
palladium of the pilgrim fathers. But the peculiar char-
acter of this reaction stands, it is evident, in close connec-
tion with the church-constitution of the Congregationalists,
and with the course of their development. It was within
the congregation, not in the Church as an organized whole,
that it took place. The clergy indeed gave the impulse ;
but they were not, in the proper sense, the depositaries
of these movements. If in their first period, the Con-
gregation alists, in spite of their principles, in many re-
spects constituted an ecclesiastical unity (as indeed the
events before narrated are connected with the recognition
of such a unity) this, since the separation from the State
was consummated, had now ceased. The attempt made
by means of the Saybrook Platform for securing such a
unity and influence of the clergy, had not eflected the
object. But although, in the cases to come before us, the
Revivals had their chief seat in a particular congregation ;
yet that limitation of the bounds of the congi-egations
which existed in connexion with their independence, sug-
gests also a closer union of the individual members among
themselves, forming a circle through which such a religious
NE^7 ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 245
interest could be more readily propagated and extended.
The result of these occurrences was indeed but temporary ;
their force being cripi)led by circumstances hereafter to be
detailed in particular. But it may perhajts be maintained,
in general, that the want of a Church in the proper sense,
accounts for the failure of the salutary influence to es-
tablish itself on a more solid basis, and to secure a fiimer
hold.
REVIVAL AT NOETIIAMPTOX.
"We are now concerned particularly with two events
which gave expression to tlie reaction against the decay
of the religious life of New England. The more general
one, extending over nearly the whole country and particu-
larly over Massachusetts, occurred about the year 1740. It
was preceded by a revival, inconsidei-able in respect to
local extent, in the church at Northampton about the year
173o, which is to be regarded not merely as its precursor,
but in some respects, as its immediate cause. This oc-
curred under the guidance of Jonathan Edwards, Pastor
of the church, one of the most distinguished theologians
of North America, from whose hand we have a detailed
narrative of its incidents, with special reference to what
was peculiar in these occurrences. Occurrences and narra-
tive still rank as models in North America. Standing
thus by itself, in respect both to time and 2:)lace, this Re-
vival invites the attempt to portray, in clear shai-p outline,
its characteristic features. For this reason, we shall pre-
sent a copious detail of its phenomena, concluding Avitli
the account of the more extended and general Revivals.
The following sketch is taken from an account published
in the year 1737, entitled : "A faithful narrative of the sur-
prising work of God in the conversion of many hundred
21*
246 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
souls in Northampton (Massachusetts) in the year 1735,
by Jonathan Edwards." It was again published in New
York, 1832, together with his "Thoughts on the Revival
of religion in New England in 1742 and the way in which
it ought to be acknowledged and promoted." The pi-esent
editor has jorefixed testimonials from several North Ameri-
can Theologians from different religious denominations;
among them the following from the President and Profes-
sors of the Princeton College, Ncav Jersey: "We know of
no works on the subject of Revivals of Religion, at once
so scriptural, discriminating, and instructive, as those of
the late illustrious President Edwards. At the present
day, when this subject so justly engages a large share of
the attention of the religious public, we should be glad if a
copy of the volume proposed to be republished could be
l^laced in every dwelling in the United States. It exhibits
the nature of genuine revivals of religion, the best means
of promoting them, the abuses and dangers to which they
are liable, and the duty of guarding against these abuses
and dangers, with a degree of spiritual discernment and
practical wisdom, which have commanded the approbation
of the friends of Zion for the greater part of a century."
The " Faithful Narrative " is in the form of a letter to Dr.
Colman, a minister in Boston, dated November 6th 1736.
From the beginning of this letter we learn what had given
occasion to it. Tidings of these occurrences had reached
London, where they had made a great impression. "Watts
and Guyse, two Congregationalist ministers, as well as the
church of the latter, wishing to receive information respect-
ing them from an eye-witness, applied to the above-named
Colman, who requested Edwards to furnish the account.
The latter had at first hesitated to give the lacts publicity,
through fear that they might seem incredible; but he
NEW EXGLAXD THEOCRACY. 247
now felt himself, as be says, especially called on to under-
take what had been desired. His narrative was then pub-
lished by ^Vatts and Guyse, accompanied by a preface from
themselves as well as from ministers of Boston ; it was con-
firmed, also, by the express testimony of the ministers in the
neighborhood of Xorthampton, as a narrative of what had
passed before their own eyes. Watts and Guyse say of it
in their Preface ; " We are fully convinced of the truth of
this narrative, not only from the character of the authoi-,
but from the concurrent testimony of many other persons
in Xew England ; for this thing Avas not done in a corner."
"It is, we are informed, a tract of country with twelve or
fourteen townships, lying chiefly within the county of Hamp-
shire on the Connecticut river, wherein it has pleased God
two years ago to display his free and sovereign grace in the
conversion of a great multitude of souls in a short space of
time, turning them from a formal, cold and careless profes-
sion of Christianity to the lively exercise of every christian
grace, and to the powerful practice of our holy religion."
The narrative is divided into five chajiters. First, after a
brief reference to previous circumstances, is given a general
sketch of the revival in Northampton. The second chapter
contains a detailed description, with very copious reflections,
of the particular manner in which the religious quickening
developed itself in individual cases. Here is shown, in con-
nection with an exact acquaintance with the state of the
church, a deep knowledge of the wants of the hmnan hpart
universally, and of the manner in which the seed sown
springs up in the plant which brings forth fruit ; only the
ditlerent stages of the course of development are not always
sufficiently distinguished, nor the transitions made perfectly
clear and obvious. To the attempt to present a connected
x'mw of the contents of these first two chapters we shall add
248 KE^y exgland theocracy.
a brief summary of the three others, which consist of apolo-
getic reflections, the narrative of two particular cases, and
an account of the causes which led to a decline.
The town of Northampton, in the county of Hampshire
in Massachusetts, lies in the interior of the country remote
from connection with the sea. It had, as Edwards tells us,
comparatively little intercourse Avith other parts of the pro-
vince, which at that time was, in general, spai'sely j^eopled,
and without the present means of communication. Founded
about the year 1654, it numbered in 1736 some two hun-
dred families, who dwelt more compactly together than was
usual in places of its size. To this, perhaps, in connection
its greater isolation in other respects, it was owing that
impressions of Avhatever kind spread among them with
greater rapidity than elsewhere. Their first minister, Elea-
zer Mather, a brother of the celebrated Increase Mather,
was ordained there in 1669, and died two years after. Mr.
Stoddard, his successor, who was the grandfather of our
narrator, exercised his office as preacher in Northampton
from 1672 to 1729, and was the immediate predecessor of
Edwards. With the peculiar views of Stoddard and their
disagreement with the pi'inciples of Congregationalism, we
have already become acquainted. His grandson, who on
those questions took ground entirely opposite, testifies to
the great zeal with which he discharged his ministerial
duties ; and Mr. Stoddard himself, in relating the repeated
instances of extraordinary religious interest, which crowned
his labors, was accustomed to say that he had had five har-
vests. Towards the end of his life, however, a worldliness
of spirit prevailed in the town, which maintained its pre-
dominance likewise through the first years of Edwards's
ministry. In single cases, indeed, there was still manifested
an interest in the word of God ; but the younger members
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 249
of the congregation held themselves almost entirely aloof
from it, as well as from the restraints of family influence.
Thus, in utter contrariety to the custom of the country and
of their forefathers, they turned the Sunday into a day of
amusement, to great public scandal and the disturbance of
flimily order.
Towards the end of the year 1733, a change commenced
in the congregation. Through the admonitions of the pas-
tor, joined with the efforts of heads of families, these scan-
dalous evils were removed and a more lively interest awak-
ened in the worship of God. Things were thus progressing,
■when there occurred two cases of death, which excited gen-
eral attention. In April 1734, a young man in the bloom
of youth sickened with a violent pleurisy, became immedi-
ately delirious and died within two days. Shortly after,
followed the death of a young "woman. She had been much
occupied about the state of her soul, previous to her seiz-
ure ; but now found herself, at first, in great disquietude.
At length she was filled with the consciousness of the sav-
ing mercy of God, and died in joyful hope, counselling and
exhorting others in a very earnest and afiectiug manner.
The excitement thus produced received an added impulse
through the opposition then rising in New England against
the doctrine of justification by faith. The spread of such a
tendency might easily have had the effect of lulling, or of
satisfying, to outward appearance, the germhiating religious
interest ; but, as things now were, it contributed rather to
engage the public mind to a still greater degree in the mat-
ters of religion, and thereby to counteract the prevailing
evil of indifference. Scarcely had a few begun to think
earnestly upon their state, than the excitement spread ; ex-
hibiting in its manifestations, though with varieties of
^ form in different individuals, an essential general corre-
spondence.
250 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
Thus, ns was natural, a knowledge of their sinful state
was its first result ; but to this they were led in a variety
of ways. Some who had hitherto been secure and uncon-
cerned in regard to their spii'itual condition, M'ere suddenly
seized with a sense of their corruption ; their consciences
were smitten "as if they were pierced through with a
dart. " In others, these first impressions were more grad-
ual. They began at first to be somewhat more thoughtful
and considerate, so as to come to the conclusion that it was
best and wisest to delay no longer, but to improve the
present opportunity ; awakening themselves still farther by
earnest reflection, they came at length to a firm and clear
conviction of their sinfulness. Others still, who previously
had been, to a certain degree, religiously inclined and con-
cerned for the salvation of their souls, were now awakened
in a new manner; becoming sensible that their dull and
negligent endeavors were not likely to attain their purpose,
they were roused to new efforts to enter the kingdom of
heaven. This knowledge of one's own state, though indeed
it is but the beginning of a new life, and a preparation for
passing into it, manifested itself in most cases, at the very
outset, as no dead conviction. The immediate effect was
twofold. On the one hand, evil practices and sinful habits
of life were seen to be forsaken ; long-standing quarrels and
slanders, mischievous intermeddling with the affairs of oth-
ers, and the various manifestations of levity ceased ; and
while new sacredness was attached to the Sabbath, each
day was regarded as a day of the Lord. On the other
hand, w^as witnessed an application to the means through
which deliverance from the former state might be hoped
for, reading of the Bible, prayer, reflection, the ordinances
of the church, and conferences for mutual benefit. Their
cry was : What must I do to be saved ?
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 251
Progress, in such times of religious excitement, is identi-
cal with practical earnestness in the settlement of this ques-
tion. One may indeed become conscious that he has com-
mitted sin and is a sinner ; but this concern may be soon
quieted or may pass away, if the conviction is not added
that men's sins are their destruction. Assent to this truth
is indispensable ; but its utterance from the whole heart,
free from all reserve and qualification, is at the price of
bitter humiliation. Submission to this conviction is hard
to the proud heart ; progress in it and deliverance from it
difficult for the despairing heart. The conflicts and hin-
drances experienced in connection with the revival at
Northampton arose chiefly from the latter source. Thus,
it soon became general (though under various forms of
expression), for individuals to declare themselves sensible
that while in sin they were on the way to destruction.
This was accompanied by a state of extraordinary anxiety
and disquiet. Some expressed themselves as so afibctcd by
the consciousness of their sin and guilt that they were una-
ble to sleep at night ; others, that on lying down, the
thought of sleeping in this condition was so frightful, that
they were scarcely free from terror even when asleep, and
on awakening, fear, heaviness and distress were still abiding
on their spirits. Yet sometimes these persons supposed
themselves to be wholly without feeling, forsaken by the
Spirit of God, and given over to hardness of heart. Thus
with a well-grounded anxiety, arising from the conscious-
ness of sin, was mingled an unnecessary distress and melan-
choly, which, as Edwards remarks, exposed those who were
thus affected, to dangerous temptation, and hindered their
progress in the good way. " One knows not, " he adds,
" how to deal with such ; they turn everything that is said to
them the wrong way, and to their own disadvantage ; next
252 NEW ENGLAND THEOCKACY.
to the actual corruption of the human heart, there seems to
be nothing so dangerous to men in the way of temptation,
as a melancholy humor." This was particularly manifest in
connection with their inward conflicts. The feeling of their
ruined state rose in some individuals to such a height, that
soul and body could scarcely endure it, nay, they were near
sinking under their misery ; yet still declaring themselves
amazed at their own insensibility and sottishness in such an
extraordinary time. It was evident that this feeling, if not
in some way relieved, must lead to utter despair. It was a
frequent expression of some, under the conviction of their
sinfulness, that they seemed to themselves to differ from all
others, and being the w'orst and vilest of all, could never
hope to obtain mercy. Many, indeed, whose convictions
had taken this melancholy turn, were seized with a strong
feeling of envy towards those among their associates and
acquaintances who had been truly converted; at other
times, their hearts rose against God in their despair, and
murmured at his dealings with others, and jjarticularly with
themselves.
When conviction of the need of redemption has taken
possession of the heart with such completeness and power,
there could supervene no pause ; it would be fatal. But
the efforts put forth for help, would first lead one to try his
own strength. The attempts made to reach, through this,
the goal so desired and longed for, are, it is true, con-
nected with a still defective knowledge of one's own sinful-
ness; and Edwards indeed speaks of the tendency still
often manifested to fix the attention exclusively on single
and outward transgressions. Self-confidence is, moreover,
properly a temptation whose source is pride of heart ; but it
always mingles itself also in a certain manner, though per-
haps in a slighter degree, with the feeling of despair. The
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 253
poonliar way in which these legal eflorts appeared, at Xortli-
ampton, as the transition-struggle into true conviction of
personal inability, shows that also in this stage of devel-
opment such temptations predominated. Edwards depicts
these efforts, as they presented themselves in general, in a
form more or less painful, longer or shorter in duration,
in the following words :
" Yery often under first awakenings, Avhen they are
brought to reflect on the sin of their past lives, and have
something of a terrifying sense of God's anger, they set
themselves to walk more strictly, and confess their sins,
and perform many religious duties, with a secret hope of
appeasing God's anger, and making up for the sins they
have committed ; and oftentimes, at first setting out, their
affections are moved, and they are full of tears in their
confessions and prayers, which they are ready to make
much of, as though they were some atonement, and had
power to move correspondent affections in God too ; and
hence they are for a while big Avith expectation of what
God will do for them, and conceive that they grow better
apace, and shall soon be thoroughly converted. But these
affections are but short-lived, they quickly find that they
fail, and then they think themselves to be grown worse
again ; they do not find such a prospect of being converted
as they thought ; instead of being nearer, they seem to be
farther off; their hearts they think are grown harder, and
by this means, their fears of perishing greatly increase.
But though they are disappointed, they renew their at-
tempts again and again ; and still as their attempts are
multiplied, so are their disappointments ; all fail, they see
no token of having inclined God's heart to them, they do
not see that he hears their prayers at all, as they expected
he would ; and sometimes there have been great tempta-
22
254 NEW ENGLAND THEOCEACY.
tions arising hence to leave off seeking, and to yield up the
case. But as they are still more terrified with the fears of
perishing, and their former hopes of prevailing on God to
be merciful to them in a great measure fxil, sometimes
their religious affections have turned into heart-risings
against God, because that he would not pity them, and
seems to have little regard to their distress and piteous
cries, and to all the pains they take. They think of the
ra.ercy that God has shown to others, how soon, and how
easily others have obtained comfort, and those too that
were worse than they, and have not labored so much as
they have done, and sometimes they have even had dread-
ful blasphemous thoughts in these circumstances.
" But when they reflect on these wicked workings of
heart against God, if their convictions are continued and the
Spirit of God is not provoked utterly to forsake them, they
have more distressing apprehensions of the anger of God
towards those whose hearts work after such a sinful man-
ner about him ; and it may be have great fears that they
have committed the unpardonable sin, or that God will
surely never show mercy to them that are such vipers, and
are often tempted to leave off in despair.
" But then perhaps, by something they read or hear of the
infinite mercy of God and all-sufficiency of Christ for the
chief of sinners, they have some encouragement and hope
renewed ; but they think that as yet they are not fit to
come to Christ, they are so wicked that Christ will never
accej^t them; and then it may be, they set themselves
upon a new course of fruitless endeavors in their own
strength to make themselves better, and still meet with
new disappointments; they are earnest to inquire what
they shall do. They do not know but there is something
else to be done, in order to their obtaining converting
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 255
grace, that tlicy liave iR'vor done yet. It may be they
hope they are something better tliaii tliey were; but then
the pleasing dream all vanishes again. If they are told
that they trust too much to their own strength and right-
eousness, they cannot unlearn this practice all at once, and
find not yet the appearance of any good, but all looks as
dark as midniglit to them. Thus they wander about from
mountain to hill, seeking rest and finding none ; when they
are beat out of one refuge, they fly to another, till they
are, as it were, broken, debilitated, and subdued with legal
humblings ; in which God gives them a conviction of their
own utter helplessness and insufficiency, and discovers the
true remedy in a clearer knowledge of Christ and his gos-
pel."
Thus have we portrayed in the author's own words, the
process by Avhich conviction of sinfulness, and of the destruc-
tive nature of sin, was developed into the sense of personal
insufiiciency and heli^lessness. It would naturally be ex-
pected, that now the eye would be turned in quest of the
promises of God's mercy. But our narrator liere adds a
detailed exhibition of the generally prevailing views re-
specting God's holiness and justice; thus assigning the
turning-point in the conflict to the time when the real
enemy began to reign. It was from tlie very stand-jioint
of legal effort, that the inquiring spirit now gave itself up
in a singular manner to s])ecidation on the penal justice of
God. So entirely did this occupy the soul as to leave no
room for any other mental operation. The belief of being
given over to eternal destruction, and the grounds of this
conviction, were stated under a variety of forms. Echvards
says: "Some viewed God as sovereign, and that he miglit
receive others and reject them ; some expressed themselves
as convinced that God might justly bestow mercy on every
256 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
person in the town, and on every person in the world, and
damn themselves to all eternity; some, that God may
justly have no regard to all the pains they have taken, and
all the prayers they have made ; some that they see, if they
should seek, and take tiie utmost j^ains all their lives, God
might justly cast them into hell at last, because all their
labors, prayers and tears, cannot make an atonement for
the least sin, nor merit any blessing at the hands of God.
Some have declared themselves to be in the hands of God,
that he can and may dispose of them just as he pleases;
some that God may glorify himself in their damnation, and
they wonder that God has suffered them to live so long,
and has not cast them into hell long ago."
Even if we separate the meaning of these words from
their peculiar phraseology, there yet seems to be here the
intermingling of some foreign and disturbing element ; at
least, they are not the expression of pi'Ogress, but still
belong wholly to the legal stand-point. It is only from
this stand-point that one, truly conscious of deserving the
jienalty of destruction for his own guilt, can, on a compari-
son of himself with others, recognize the divine justice in
their exemption from it. He who has found by experi-
ence, tliat the goal is not to be reached by the most stren-
uous efforts of his own, looks away, in the feeling of his
helplessness, towards the mercy of God, and where he sees
this shown to others, he rejoices in the token that here tlie
very thing has happened for which he himself hopes. In a
christian community, experience of the insufficiency of
means, employed in dependence on one's own strength,
cannot be conceived of as unaccompanied by a reasonable
liope in the heli) of God ; and this help must present itself
to the mind, as that wherein it is God's will to glorify
himself.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 257
XoM" Edwards maintains tliat " every minister, in such
circumstances, Avill find himself under a necessity greatly
to insist upon it that God is under no manner of obligation
to show any mercy to any natural man whose heart is not
turned to God; and that a man can challenge nothing,
either in absolute justice or by free ])roniise, from anything
he does before he has believed in Jesus Christ, or lias true
repentance begun in him." If indeed no doctrine of Scrip-
ture can be alleged in opposition to these grounds of fear,
so presented, it may yet well be doubted whether the
application of them made in the following passage could be
really salutary : " I h<x^rQ found," says Edwards, " that no
discourses were more remarkably blessed, than tliose in
which the doctrine of God's absolute sovereignty Avith re-
gard to the salvation of sinners, and his just liberty with
regard to answering the prayers or succeeding the pains of
mere natural men, continuing such, have been insisted on.
I have never found so much immediate saving fruit, in any
measure, of any discourses I have offered to my congrega-
tion, as some from those words, Rom. 3: 19, 'That every
mouth may be stopped ; ' endeavoring to show from thence
that it would be just with God forever to reject and cast
off mere natural men." But the persons thus addressed,
although they had not, in their spiritual conflict, wholly
risen above the stand-point of legal endeavors, Avere no
longer to be designated as mere natural men ; yet, since they
had not already experienced in their hearts the word of for-
giveness, they must, each in particular, account themselves
among the rejected. Hence such expressions as the fol-
lowing, which Edwards, however, contemplates as the fruit
of a high exercise of grace, in saving repentance, and evan-
gelical humiliation : " They found a sort of complacency of
soul in the attribute of God's justice, as displayed in Iiis
22*
258 ^EW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
threatenings of eternal damnation to sinnei'S. Sometimes
at the discovery of it, they can hardly forbear crying out,
*'Tis just! "T is just!' Some express themselves that
they see the glory of God would shine bright in their oAvn
condemnation ; and they are ready to think that if they
are damned, they could take part with God against them-
selves, and would glorify his justice therein." Some ex-
pressed to our narrator " a feeling of willingness to be
damned." To this he adds, however, that " these persons
had, it must be owned, no clear and distinct ideas of dam-
nation, nor does any word of the Bible require such a self-
denial as this." Could we even regard it as an exalted sense
of their un worthiness to be partakers of God's grace ; yet in
this tendency of the feelings there ever lies, in connection
with the essential contradiction in the mode of exjiression,
great danger, if not of absolute despair, yet of abandon-
ment to the severest assaults of despondency. Still, at
this time, chiefly through tlie labors of a pastor well ac-
quainted with the condition and wants of the human soul,
progress of the most important character succeeded to
these legal apprehensions and strivings. We shall now,
having thus far shown the process in which old things
passed away, proceed to exhibit that, in which all became
new.
As there is but one ground for real disquietude of soul,
sin ; so also there is but one ground of peace, namely, the
grace of God in Christ. This it was, which after all these
conflicts manifested itself in Northampton, and herein was
the change thus effected also one and the same. But
varied were the forms in which the Lord revealed himself
to the perturbed spirits, varied their accounts of what they
had experienced. To both these points we will now give
our consideration.
NEVr EXOLA^TD THEOCRACY. 2-')0
In exact accordance with the indivnclnal character, tliis
or that particular attribute of God, of Christ, rose up be-
fore the soul which had been penetrated with the sense of
its own lioli)lessness. Now it Avas the thought of God's
grace and mercy in general, now of his infinite power to
save men and lead them in the Avay of salvation, now of
the divine truth and faithfulness in reference to particular
promises. With some, the divinity of Christ as the Son
of God, cliiefly engaged the thoughts ; Avith others, his
reconciling death. Many dwelt chiefly on the obedience
or the love of the Saviour, or on the excellence of the way
of salvation by Christ, and its correspondence to all tlii'ir
Avants. This change was,for the most part, placed in explicit
connection Avith the Holy Scriptures, in some cases Avith
entire passages and a succession of j^romises, in some, like-
Avise, AA^th a particular Avord or a single promise ; Avhile in
othei's the calm began without direct connection, by read-
ing or meditation, with any particular portion or expres-
sion of Scripture.
In respect to the accounts giA'cn by the persons so af-
fected,— it Avas, in most cases, the specific thought of
Christ, Avliich in this transition gaA'e joy to tlie soul. With
some, hoAvever, he Avas the object of the mind in a more
implied manner, and they sjjoke particularly of their sense
of the sufficiency of God's grace for them and for tlie
Avhole AA'orld. From a careful AA'eighing of their expres-
sions and after searching interrogation, it became clear
that the revelation of God's grace in the Gospel formed
the ground of their encouragement and hope ; that it was
indeed the mercy of God through Christ which had been
discovered to them, and that it Avas this on which they
relied, not upon anything in themselves. Although they
had felt the divine call Avithout thinking explicitly of
2G0 NEAY ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
Christ, yet aftenvarcls, they were taught by their own ex-
periences that it was, nevertheless, the call made by God
to sinners through his Son. One peculiarity is especially
noticeable. Very many, after such an eiFectual working of
the Lord uj^on them, had no idea that such a thing had
occurred, but still remained in expectation of something
forther, of which they could themselves give no account.
In their view, the customary expressions used to describe
conversion, and the gracious operations of the Ploly Spirit,
were not appropriate to their state. Such terms as spirit-
ual sight of Chi'ist, faith in Christ, poverty of spirit, trust
in God, submission to God, seemed not to produce in them
corresponding ideas. Edwards remarks that this imperfect
conception of their own state had an essential connection
with their former false conceptions of the operations of
God's grace, which, indeed, cannot be pei'ceived or under-
stood by the natural man. But to this our narrator justly
adds, that they were too much filled with the superabun-
dance of these new and joyful emotions to institute such
examinations in regard to themselves. The fact that re-
flection in respect to their state did not j^redominate in the
accounts given by the converts of their first steps of pro-
gress in the way of j^eace, afibrds indeed a striking pi'oof
that these phenomena belonged to their own living expe-
rience, and were no deception. And, as the new life had
not manifested itself to the awakened precisely according
to their preconceived notions, so they were, in general,
still less able to fix the time when the first tokens appeared
that the gracious impressions had become efiectual. With
many, the enlightening was of a more gradual character,
and by such, as Edwards very beautifully remarks, the first
dawning which precedes the full light was often wholly
overlooked.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 2G1
The path, from tlie starting point of tlie christian life to
its final goal, is not here on earth an entirely smooth one.
Even where the consciousness of divine assistance has been
added to the experience of its poAver, there intervenes a
time of conflict and temptation. Thus also in Northamp-
ton, there appeared in individual cases a resistance, more
or less strong, to a progi-essive development of the awak-
enings, manifesting itself partly in renewed disquietude,
partly in a returning indifierence. The distress occasioned
by this new interruption of a steady course of progress
must needs be more severe than that previously felt, in
proportion as it was connected with the remembrance of
what had been already experienced. Here now Edwards
beheved liimself called on to assist the work by directing
attention to what had been already attained. Where, for
instance, the declarations and the Avhole temjier, of one
thus suflering from renewed doubts, justified the firm con-
viction of his converted state, Edwards did not hesitate to
express such a conviction. He compares persons in this
condition, to "seed in the sjiring suppressed imder a hard
clod of earth ;" as this is quickened by the warm beams of
the sun, so has the hope presented to the doubting chased
aAvay that despondency which enveloped and concealed the
inner s])iritual life. The indifference, which manifested
itself here and there, was counteracted by turning the eye
towards those who were hastening onward in the new
state. In a certain condition of mind, knowledge of the
progress of others in the kingdom of God, may, as we have
already seen, awaken a spirit of wicked envy, and lead to
sullen obduracy ; for the present stage reference to what
had been attained by some, was held by Edwards, certainly
on just grounds, to be an efficient means of quickening
others. But he adds the cautious remark : " I have often
262 ■ NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
signified to my people how unable man is to know an-
other's heart, and liow unsafe it is depending on the judg-
ment of ministers or others ; and I have abundantly in-
sisted on it with tliem, that a manifestation of sincerity in
works brought forth, is better than any manifestation they
can make of it in words alone, and that, without this, all
j^retences to spiritual experiences are vain,"
The pi'incipal means for counteracting these interrup-
tions, as well as of forwarding the work begun, were found
in the study of the Scriptures and the truths of the Gos-
pel. At this point we will add some remarks of our nar-
rator, before proceeding to a descri2:)tion of the final stage
of these religious awakenings. As did the commencement,
so the progress of this change stood in a connection more
or less explicit, with sentences of Scripture. Comforting
and instructive passages presented themselves to the minds
of the anxious, often in a manner which was wholly inex-
plicable. For the most part, indeed, it was while led by
God into such states of feeling and to such reflections as
were in harmony with the texts of Scripture, that they
came, as it "were on a sudden, to their remembrance. But
often, as Edwards thinks, an immediate influence of the
Spirit of God must be presupposed, in order to explain the
recollection of passages so remarkably adapted to the
special case; though the use of the memory as the medium
is, indeed, not to be excluded.
The effect of this comfort and instruction from the word
of God, as well as of that derived from preaching, was a
living conviction of the truth of what was taught in the
Gospel. Here too was manifested a difference in the mode
of experience, particularly in a twofold direction. In some,
it was more like an instantaneous conviction, seizing joosses-
sion of the entire man. " They were, " so they declared,
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 263
*' as fiir from doubting the divinity of the Gospel, as they
■were from doubting wliether there be a sun, when their eyes
are open in tlie midst of a clear hemisphere and the strong
blaze of his light overcomes all objections against his be-
ing." On being questioned, they were able to assign no
other reason for their convictions than that " they saw them
to be true ; " but from more particular inquiry it became
evident that these truths had indeed been the object of in-
tuitive perception and immediate experience. They were
not able indeed to retain such a clear discovery of them at
all times in equal meqsure. "When, for a season, their living
spiritual feeling suffered a decrease, the medium of convic-
tion seemed to them to have withdrawn itself; but, if their
assurance had been genuine, it again revived " like fire that
lay hid in ashes." In others, on the contrary, it was more
through attention to some single prominent doctrines of the
Scriptures, whose grounds of evidence became clear to them
partly from the teachings of the pulpit, partly from their
own meditations, that full conviction was attained. These
were indeed already known to them ; but they now came
with a new and before unexperienced power. "Before,
they had heard it was so, and they allowed it to be so ; but
now they see it to be so indeed. Things now look exceed-
ing plain to them, and they wonder that they did not see
them before. They are so greatly taken with their new dis-
covery, and things appear so plain and rational to them,
that they are at first ready to think they can convince oth-
ers, and are apt to engage in talk with almost every one
they meet, to this end ; and when they are disappointed,
are ready to wonder that their reasonings make no more
impression." But these persons also, who had attained to
conviction by a more gradual process, were still liable, oft-
entimes, to be again disturbed by doubt. Some of this
264 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
class were disquieted in respect to the nature of the work
in them, on account of its having taken place in so natural
a manner ; erroneously supposing that the divine purpose
cannot be attained by a method which seems purely human.
It is worthy of notice that the truths which had been so
often heard and read, now presented themselves to the
mind as something entirely new. Some found, they said,
in the familiar jjages of the Bible, "new chapters, new
psalms, new histories." It was they who were changed;
within themselves all had become new.
In the state of calmness which succeeded those agonies
and terrors, Christ became the object towards which the
the soul was turned, and the inward work was subjected,
by those who had experienced it, to the strictest scrutiny
by the word of God. This alike guarded them against er-
rors and secured their progress in the right way. Nor was
the peace now withheld which the Lord promises to his own.
They hardly knew how to j^aint the joy which had taken
up its abode in their hearts. They described themselves as
swallowed up in longing after God and Christ, as ravished
with the delightful contemplation of the glory and Avonder-
ful grace of God, and of the excellency and dying love of
Jesus Christ. Even younger members of the congregation
expressed themselves in the same manner, and declared
their willingness to forsake father and mother and all things
in the world, in order to be with Christ. In some, the
bodily strength could hardly sustain the inward experience ;
nay, it seemed as if the body must dissolve, if that fulness
of manifestation should be any more increased.
Certainly, one would not venture to measure the lan-
guage of christian exaltation in such circumstances, by the
standard of expression belonging to a quiet and ordinary
tone of feeling ; it is by other signs that the product of
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 265
God's Spirit is to be distinguislicd from self-seeking fmati-
cism. Free from the airs of assumption, self-deception, and
self-conceit, tliese persons were characterized by a spirit of
meekness, and unassuming humility, mingled with distrust
of their own power, and a lowly estimate of their own
capacities. Xone Avere so deeply convinced of their need
of being taught, none so ready and eager to receive in-
struction. Free from self-exaltation in respect to men,
they bowed witli continual and unfeigned humility before
Gol, ascribing that which was done in them in no way to
their own strength and righteousness, but solely to the
quickening power dei'ivod from Christ. They declared,
also, that what they sometimes experienced in especially
fovored moments, it was beyond their power to express in
words ; that all the pains and trouble they had taken in
seeking salvation was not to be once compared with their
present joy and satisfaction ; and that in contrast with
these all earthly pleasures seem mean and Avorthless. Yet
they did not feel themselves disturbed or troubled by a
look towards earth ; on the contrary, all around them re-
ceived a new charm through their inward joy. "All
things abroad, the sun, moon and stars, the clouds and sky,
tlie heavens and earth, appeared, as it were, with a cast of
divine glory and sweetness upon them." And as the con-
templation of outward nature hamionized mth and ex-
alted their affections, even so was it with the thought
of redemption. Here, the former conflict in their souls,
if it had not terminated, had as it were receded into the
background. The chief object of their joy was not so
iiiuch the consciousness of being saved fi-om sin and \n\n-
isliment, as that of being partakers of divine grace, confi-
dence in Clirist as their guide to future glory. There
seemed to be in tlieir hearts but one complaint ; the com-
23
266 NEW EXGLAND THEOCRACY.
plaint that with all their desire, all their longing to praise
God, they could not do it worthily, even when, in contem-
plation of the creation around them and the redemption
within them, they were filled with j^eace and joy and per-
fect satisfaction.
Besides these effects, which, being more or less wrought
within, hardly reveal themselves in their peculiar and en-
tire significance to the eye of the beholder, there were not
wanting visible good fruits brought forth by the good tree.
Mutual affection united those Avho had become sharers in
such glorious manifestations, and many expressed the love
they felt towards all mankind, even tOAvards those Avho
had hitherto been least friendly to themselves. "Never
was so much done in confessing injuries and making up
differences, as in this year." This love was mingled also
with a heartfelt desire for the salvation of others. But
Avith a liA'ing activity for this end, on the part of those so
highly favored, they yet recognized the distinction betAA'ceu
that Avliich was essential and common to all, salA\ation in
Christ, and that which was si^ecial and A^aried, the Avay
thither and the outward expression. Keeping their hearts
open, moreover, to the truth that the leadings of God in
this respect are manifold, they Avere not disjoosed to make
their OAvn experiences a standard for others, but refrained
from censoriousness and strove to increase in charity, as in
the manifestation of fiiith. At the same time, there greAV
up also a very endearing relation betAveen the church and
its pastor ; diligent attendance at the house of God, living
sympathy for the preaching of the gospel, and strict obser-
vance of the Sabbath were united Avith eager study of the
Bible, particularly of the New Testament, the Psalms, and
the Prophecy of Isaiah. And this use of the means of
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 207
/
grace, tliis occupation in religious things, seemed not like a
duty and a task, but a satisfaction and a joy.
"We liave yet to add, in resjiect to the outward spread
and extension of these phenomena, that the influence was
shared by tlie immediate vicinity at an early period. The
accounts of what was occurring iu Northampton drew
thither many strangers, and in such cases, as well as in
that of accidental visitors, the feeling of astonishment
often ended in personal j^articipation. These pei'sons,
returning to their own congregations, awakened there the
same excitement, though perhajjs in a lower degree. But,
as a general thing, its spread was limited to the immediate
neighborhood of Northampton, or at farthest, to the county
of Hampshire. Nor does there seem to have been any
very close connection among these movements, except that
the report of similar occurrences in other places heightened
and promoted the progress of the work in Northampton
itself. Here the change extended itself to all ranks, condi-
tions and ages ; while not only those who had passed the
term of middle life, but even little children gave the most
striking proofs of a vitalizing religious influence. A large
part of the inhabitants of Northampton had never become
members of the church in full fellowship. Edwards reports,
that before one celebration of the sacrament ^ about one
hundred were admitted, eighty of them at one time, on the
open, exjilicit profession of Christianity. From subsequent
events it indeed appears, that it was not a i^rofession in
the strict sense of the covenant of the first Congregation-
alists, although, certainly, Edwards was already unfavora-
ble to the peculiar views of his grandfather.
After quiet mature reflection and careful severe discrim-
ination, it was Edwards's opinion that the number of those
1 It was celebrated in this church once in eight weeks.
268 NEW ENGLAND TIIEOCllACY.
wlio bad been savingly converted tbrongb tbe influence of
tliis awakening was not far from tbrce bundred. Tbe
number of communicants embraced nearly tbe entire body
of adults, being six bundred and twenty persons, out of
two bundred families.
Before proceeding to a representation of tbe decline of
tbis religious interest, and tbe transition to a state of quiet,
Edwards communicates, in tbe third and fourth divisions
of bis letter, some apologetic observations together with a
narrative of two individual cases. The relations given by
some church-members, of what they had seen in moments
of exaltation, seemed to furnish ground for tbe oft-repeated
imputation of enthusiasm. Edwards says : " There have
indeed been some few instances of impressions on persons'
imaginations, that haA'e been something mysterious to me,
and I have been at a loss about them ; for though it has
l>een exceeding evident to me, by many things that a]>-
peared in them, both then (when they related them) and
afterwards, that they had indeed a great sense of tbe spir-
itual excellency of divine things accompanying them ; yi't
I have not been able well to satisfy myself, wlietber their
imaginary ideas have been more than could naturally arise
from their spiritual sense of things. However, I have used
tbe utmost caution in siich cases; great care has been
taken both in jiublic and in private, to teach persons the
difference between what is spiritual and what is merely
imaginary. I have often warned persons not to lay tbe
stress of their hope on any ideas of any outward glory, or
any external thing whatsoever; and have met with no
opposition in such instructions." It happened that some
persons associated what was passing with such living real-
ity in their minds, with corresponding images; as for cx-
ami)le, Avith tbe inward sense of what they had attained
NEA7 ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 2G9
through Christ, they received the imjiression of an imacrc
of tlie crucitiod Saviour. But tliis, as Edwards justly
remarks, is no cause of wonder to tliose who have observed
how strong excitement, in regard even to temporal matters,
will excite lively ideas and manifold j^ictures in the mind.
In regard to a second objection, that these religious exj^e-
rienccs formed so exclusively the subject of conversation
in Northampton at this time, nothing more is to be said
than that it lay in the very nature of the circumstances.
An excitement like this, interesting at the same time all
the inhabitants of a place alike, would make itself the sub-
ject of discourse when they met. It is indeed not to be"
expected that the communications will in all cases be made
in an equally discreet manner, or will always produce good
results ; but in general, Edwards saw the most beneficird
results from these narrations of personal experience.
There is something peculiar in the choice of examples
given in the fourth chapter; it seems to have been guided
by the desire, certainly a commendable one, that the pub-
lished account of what had been experienced in an indi-
vidual case should not, by any chance, fall into the hands
of the person himself. A young woman, Abigail Hutchin-
son by name, having had her attention awakened by the
first of the deaths before-mentioned, was exceedingly dis-
turbed in mind; but after a violent inward conflict soon
attained to the consciousness of inward peace. During an
agonizing sickness, she manifested a spirit of entire submis-
sion. A few months after this change, she died of actual
starvation, her neck being so swollen that she could take
no nourishment ; yet as long as she could speak, she ex-
pressed by words her joyful state of mind, and by signs
and gestures manifested the same through her long pro-
tracted death-struggles to the very end. The second ex-
23*
270 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
ample was designed to exhibit tlie participation of chil-
dren, even of the tenderest age, in the general religious
interest. Edwards presents the case of a child of four
years, concerning "which the London editor justly remarks,
tlint the language of children loses its peculiar charm for
one who does not himself see and hear. In this case, even
the language seems to have undergone a certain change
and remoulding, so that her thoughts on the salvation of
the soul, and the feeling of anxiety for others, in this re-
spect seem rather like expressions belonging to a mature
age. It cannot be denied that the very earliest age is sus-
■ ceptible of a religious influence, and that this may also be
communicated, as it were involuntarily, from the childish
stand-point. But favorable as a time like that under con-
sideration might be to such a development, it is precisely
at such a time that it is most difficult, if not impossible, to
distinguish what has really been Wrought in the soul from
the effect of mere outAvard imitation.
To that time of spiritual excitement succeeded of neces-
sity a period of greater calm, which, on the Avhole, Avas
not without tokens of the richest fruit. Nevertheless, a
growing coldness made itself apparent, in part under the
form of opposition to the phenomena here described. The
exciting cause is worthy of notice, being attributable to
that tendency to melancholy humor, or morbid self-inspec-
tion before adverted to. The solicitude to j^enetrate into
the depths of one's own spirit does indeed impress on the
individual the conviction of his own state, and break down
the proud heart; but it obstructs his access to the only
true help, and furnishes a nourishment to the dejected
heart which leads to tlespair. In the midst of the time of
most A'ivid religious interest, a person under overwhelming
distress of mind made the attemj)t to commit suicide. It
NEW ENGLAND TUEOCRACY. 271
was without effect, and lie afterwards sincerely repented
for having yiekled so far to tlie temptations of his own
heart. But about a year after the first tokens of the awak-
ening made their appearance, anotlier person succeeded in
the terrible design. He Avas a man of more than ordinary
intellectual gifts, strictly moral in his course of life, out-
wardly religious, skilful in business, and very highly re-
spected in the towm ; but partaking of a strong family ten-
dency to melancholy, by Avhich his mother also had lost
her life. During the whole year he had been earnestly
concerned about the state of his soul, and although there
was in his experience nmch of a hopeful and cheering
character, he did not venture to entertain any such hope
for himself He consequently grew disheartened, and his
melancholy gained such power over him that he became
incapable of receiving counsel or listening to reason.
Whole nights he remained awake meditating terrors, so
that he scarcely slept at all for a long time together. At
length it was noticed that he was scarcely capable of man-
aging his ordinary business ; and at the coroner's inquest,
he was judged to have been in a state of delirium. After
this occurrence, many complained of being affected with
similar temptations. Just at this time certain fanatics
made their appearance, who busied themselves, in part, with
persuading persons in that melancholy and anxious condi-
tion that they could be helped by repeating over certain
consolatory forms of prayer ; in part, with preaching that
the last times promised in the Scriptures had now come.
One man who had made himself especially conspicuous in
this way, afterwards confessed the en-or into which he had
fallen, and lamented the injury done thereby; but the
legitimate consequences of egotistic fanaticism followed, in
a growing spirit of worldliness and coldness. To this was
272 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
superadded the dissipating influence of AMrious matters,
which just at that time occupied in a special manner the
attention of the j^eople of Northampton ; among others, a
visit from the governor of the colony, the public meetings
lield in reference to the treaty of j^eace with the Indians,
and the controversy in a neighboring town respecting the
choice of a minister. Still, however, the blessed influence
of these manifestations had not disappeared; as it still
lived for individuals, so also did it reveal itself in the sus-
ceptibility of the neighboring region and of all Xew Eng-
land for a similar quickening.
THE GREAT REVIVAL.
Although the revival of the year 1735 extended only to
the immediate vicinity of Northampton, and again de-
clined in the town itself, it had awakened the utmost at-
tention through all New England, as already seen in the
interest which it excited in London and in the notices of
it by Watts and Guyse. It recalled the times of the first
settlement of the colonies ; the degeneracy of the present
state was clearly seen and deeply felt. This manifested
itself most conspicuously in Boston, the scene of labor to
so many remarkable men. In the year 1739, George
Whitefield, the celebrated founder of Methodism, made
his second visit to America. The colony of Georgia, which
had been settled a few years before, principally engaged
his energies ; but his powerful and efiective preaching was
heard also on his traA'els through Carolina, Virginia, Mary-
land, Philadelphia and New York, The report of his dis-
tinguished gifts and wonderful success, procured him an
invitation to Boston. On the 14th of September 1740, he
landed at Newport in Rhode Island, where he remained
KEW EXULAND TIIOCRACY. 273
three days. The invitation liinl not proceeded merely from
private citizens ; as lie approaclied Boston, he was received
by the son of the Governor, Avith several clergymen and
many of the principal inhabitants, who conducted him to
a dwelling exjn-essly prepared for his reception. During
his two months stay, he not only preached in Boston, but
travelled through New England, and made a visit to Ed-
wards. He then returned to Boston, and directed his
course through Hartford and New Haven to the more
southern colonies. The result of this visit surpassed all ex-
pectation. The same spirit which had been -witnessed in
Northampton spread through the whole country, and its
manifestations were characterized no less by the active
zeal of the ministers than by the sjTupathy of the churches.
Voices from every quarter of New England extolled the
new work, as the revival of the ^jriniitive religious spirit.
Out of a multitude of testimonials to the eloquence of
Whitefield, and to his zeal in the cause of the Lord, Ave se-
lect the following Avords from a clergyman's letter: "^\mong
the good eflects of his preaching on the churches, it is es-
pecially Avorthy of remark, that the Avord preached by us
noAv seems more precious and acts Avith gi-eater power."
An aged preacher, the successor of John Eliot, exclaimed :
" The old days of Ncav England are revived ! " White-
field, who had preached his farcAvell discourse in Boston to
an audience of tAventy thousand persons, and Avho could
not but Avish to contribute all in his poAver to the continu-
ance and promotion of the Avork, on his return to Ncav
Jersey persuaded Gilbert Tennant, a distinguished minister
in that colony, to go to Ncav Englajid. He Avas received
Avith joy, and the blessing Avliich attended his preaching in
the year 1741 was generally acknoAAdedged.
This labc)r of itinerant i)reachers Avas evidently some-
274 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACT.
thing out of the ordinary course, but seems justified by the
manifest coldness and indifference of many ministers at
tiiat time, and by the general recognition of the call to
such a work. Especially was this true ofWhitefield; of
whom also it is recorded, that his aim in preaching was not
a display of his personal gifts of eloquence, but simply and
above all things, to show forth the truth of the gospel itself.
It was on this that thoughtful men grounded their hope of
a safe and permanent imjDression. In consequence of the
continued religious interest, and of the destitution made
known in various directions, perhaps encouraged also by
Whitefield's appeal to Tennant and the successful labors
of the latter, many clergymen now thought they found in
the revival of their own religious feelings the proi)er call
and the comj^lete qualification for traversing New England
as evangelists. Although successful in awakening a living
interest in single localities, although it was in the exercise
of true zeal in the cause of God, free from s^Diritual pride,
that they felt themselves impelled to this course ; yet in
the misconcej)tion of their position lay from the first an
occasion for the abuses and disorders which followed, as
well as for the development of an o})posing party. Many,
for instance, took it upon themselves to 2:)reach among the
churches without waiting for any outward call, and thus
the most favorable result might be nothing more than i')er-
sonal attachment to themselves. But these revivals among
the Congregationalists of Ncav England, which are to be
contemplated as religious movements on ground already
occupied by vital Christianity, must strengthen to the
utmost the relation of pastor and ijeoi^le, if they would
remain tioie to their 2:>eculiar character, and be attended by
enduring results. The experimental knowledge of Christ
by faith is indeed a call to j^reach the gosi^el; but the
XEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 275
example of another instrument of the Lord, differently
gifted and differently called from ourselves, is not a reason
for forsaking our appropriate and appointed sphere.
DISTURBING AND HOSTILE IXFLUEXCES.
Tlie ajipearance of itinerant preachers Avas indeed liailed
in many places with great joy, and was regarded as a token
of God's special favor to these awakenings. Opposition to
it first manifested itself in Connecticut, where a rigid or-
ganization and method had obtained since the adoption of
the Saybrook Platform. So early as November 1741, a
general consociation, assembled at Guilford, declared it
disorderly for any minister to enter the parish of another,
for the purpose of preaching and administering the sacra-
ments, without or against the consent of the latter. In
the year 1742, specific regulations in regard to this matter
were drafted and laid before the Legislature, by whom
they Avere made legal enactments. According to these,
any i)reacher who should enter uninvited a parish not
uiider his charge, or sliould take part in an association
wliicli intrudes on the limits of another by the licensing or
ordination of a candidate, shall be excluded from the ben-
efit of any laws made for the support of the ministry. And
every laj-man, under like circumstances, should pay a fine
of one hundred pounds and give security for his good be-
havior. And any foreigner, whether minister or not,
should be dealt with as a vagrant, and be sent from con-
stable to constable, out of the bounds of tlie colony.^ At
the ground of these proceedings there was, unfortunately
for tlie interests of this work, not merely a prejudice against
1 UmliT this l;nv, no less a person than Samuel Finley, aftenvanls Pres-
ident of Princeton College, was arrested and carried out of the colony as
a vagrant, — Tr.
276 NEW ENGLAXD TlIEOCllACY.
the special phase, but a decided aversion to everything
wliich might disturb tlie quiet course of established forms.
If in Massachusetts tlie religious decline manifested itself
more as indifference, in Connecticut it was rather the rig-
idity of torpor. The opposition, proceeding from this quar-
ter, which refused to recognize what was true and A'ital in
these manifestations, produced its natural result, excess on
the other side. Many ministers felt themselves justified,
by the extraordinary interest in hearing the word which
still continued among the people, to abandon their churches
in order to preach in various jilaces; and tlie same Avas
done by many laymen. The prospect of becoming martyrs
to the cause seems not to have been Avithout its charm in
these cases. Among those who espoused this side, James
Davenport, a highly gifted minister, a grandson of the cel-
ebrated John Davenport, took the most decided ground
and exerted the most pernicious influence. Leaving his
church on Long Island, he repaii*ed to Connecticut, where
he felt it his special duty to bear testimony against uncon-
verted ministers. After experiencing some persecutions
here, he came to Boston ; but his preacliing and expres-
sions were of such a character that most of the ministers
united, July 1st 1742, in signing the following declaration :
" He appeal's to us to be truly pious, and we hope God has
used him as an instrument of good to many souls ; yet we
judge it our duty to bear testimony against the following
particulars. 1. His being acted much by sudden impulses.
2. Ilis judging some ministers in Long Island and New
England to be unconverted ; and thinking himself called
of God to demand of his brethren, from place to place, an
account of their regenerate state, Avhen, or in Avhat manner
tlie Holy Spirit Avruuglit upon and renewed them. 3. His
Sfoiiio; with his friends, sinsiui; tlirouirh the streets and
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 277
highways, to and from the houses of worship, on Lord's
days and other days. 4. His encouraging private brethren
to pray and exhort in assemblies gathered for that purpose.
"We judge it therefore our present duty not to invite hini
into our places of worship, as otherwise we might readily
have done." This, however, did not hinder Davenport,
while in Boston, from undertaking to examine each of the
ministers in private and then report i)ublicly against them,
denouncing some as unconverted and calliitg on the people
to separate from them. In this manner he traversed the
country; but, on his return to Boston in August 1742, he
was imprisoned and brought to court for trial on a charge
of slandering the ministers. The jury, however, judged
him to be non compos mentis, and on that ground acquitted
him. Thence he returned to Long Island, but again came
to Xew London in Connecticut, where, in connection with
some others, he ran into extremes^ still more surprising.
Through these proceedings, especially through the preach-
ing of laymen wholly uncalled to the work, great scandal
came upon the cause. The ministers of Massachusetts, Avho
' had experienced in their congregations the manifold bless-
ings of the time, recorded their testimony against these
errors at their annual meeting on the 25th of May 1743.
But in order to give more effect to their action, all the
. brethren who were favorably inclined to the work itself
were requested either to appear personally at a meeting to
be held in July, there to express their minds on the subject,
or to send in their thoughts in writing. Sixty-eight minis-
1 Having first burnt a considerable number of bool<s which they consid-
crcd erroneous, they were about to destroy a quantity of fine clothing and
ornaments, under the pretence of putting an end to idolatrj-; but this
was stopped by a man who remarked to Davenport : " If all my idols are
to be burnt, you will be the first."
24
278 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
ters met and signed a letter testifying, as a matter of their
own knowledge, that an incredible number of persons had
been awakened, after a true acquaintance with their state as
sinners, to a new life through faith in Christ ; and they ex-
pressed their decided disapproval of the charge made by
some, that all these phenomena were nothing but enthusi-
asm, delusion, and disoi'der. At the same time, they
lamented the tares Avhich had been sown among the wheat ;
specifying as such the tendenc}', manifested here and there,
to make inward impressions the criterion of conduct with-
out due regard to the written word, but more especially the
invasion of the regular ministerial office, and the distrust
awakened between ministers and people. Similar declara-
tions were sent in by forty-three other preachers. But this
expression, though so generally approved, and discriminat-
ing so clearly between tlie nature of the thing and its
abuses, was not followed by the expected results. Decided
opposers took the field, and the revivals themselves began
to decline. Edwards had shortly before published his cele-
brated " Thoughts on Revivals." To counteract this work,
the Rev. Dr. Chauncey, who was generally regarded as the
chief promoter of the Arminian and Unitarian tendency,
now made a journey through the colonies of New England,
New York, and New Jersey, collecting materials for a vir-
ulent reply to Edwards, which he published in 1743. It
found special favor with the higher classes. It seems also not
to have been without influence on the proceedings in Con-
necticut, Avhere the above-mentioned acts Avere now act-
ually put in practice, in the persecution of those who were
striving to rekindle the spirit which was already on the
wane. On the one side, the adventitious element had
gained too wide a hold ; while on the other, in the assault
thus made on the fundamental doctrines of Scripture, indif-
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 279
feronce found tlie opiate and the cloak for wliicli it asl:od.
Davenport came to a just sense of liis conduct, and having
drawn up a confession of his errors, lamenting -what he had
said and done, sent his retraction to a minister in Boston
for publication. But it was too late for the removal of the
prejudices which had been imbibed. Enemies had too well
used the opportunity for bringing the work itself into sus-
picion, to allow of its now being retrieved by its friends.
How greatly all had changed is most clearly seen in the
cool, nay, to some extent, the hostile reception experienced
by Whitefield on his renewed visit in the year 1745. Not
only was he assailed by individual ministers and associa-
tions ; but the colleges of Cambridge and New Haven, the
former of which had extolled the blessed influence of his
labors at his first coming, now entered the lists against him,
with special animosity. With the declining fellowship for
the revivals vanished also the revived interest in religion.
It is indeed a i>eculiar indication of the state of disunion
which followed, that when Edwards, some years after,
declared himself decidedly against regarding the Lord's
Supper as a converting ordinance, be encountered such
opposition in his church as obliged him to quit the place
where he had been so favored an instrument of the Lord ;
and the consociation before which the controversy with the
church was tried, declared their adhesion to Stoddard's
view. To what a degree political interest swallowed up all
others in New England during the succeeding period, and
the desolating ravages of unbelief within the church kept
pace with those of the war without, we have already men-
tioned.
The genuine religious element, out of which had grown
the colonization and primitive constitution of New England,
280 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
has again presented itself to view, in recent times. The
professed disciples of the Lord in tliat land, now look back
with joy upon the labors and tlie influence of their progeni-
tors. Tlie most recent revival of the religious spirit has
been connected with phenomena similar to those described
in this chapter ; but they have not been confined to one
church-party merely, and on that very account vary in form
and sijxnificance amona; themselves. For exhibiting them,
a characterization of the evangelical churches of North
America is needed, as well as an exposition of the relation,
now fully established, of a total separation of Church and
State. Such being the case, they belong to the depart-
ment of ecclesiastical statistics, and are foreign to the object
of this work, whose aim it was to exhibit the progressive
development of the New England church-constitution, and
the phenomena with which the change in that constitution
was accomi^anied.
APPENDIXES.
24*
APPENDIX I.
ROBINSON'S LETTER TO THE LEYDEN EMIGEANTS,
JULY 27, 1620.
Loving Ciiristiax Friends,
I do heartily and in the Lord salute you, as being those "with
whom I am present in my best afTections, and most earnest longings
after you, though I be constrained for a while to be bodily absent
from you: I say constrained; God knowing how willingly, and
much rather than otherwise, I would have borne my part with you
in the first brunt, were I not by strong necessity held back for the
jiresent. Make account of me in the meantime as a man divided iu
myself, with great pain (and as natural bonds set aside) having my
better part with you ; and although I doubt not, but in your godly
wisdoms you both foresee and resolve upon that which concerneth
your present state and condition, both severally and jointly, yet
have I thought it but my duty to add some further spur of provoca-
tion unto them who run already, if not because you need it, yet
because I owe it in love and duty.
And first, as we are daily to renew our repentance with our God,
especially for our sins known, and generally for our unknown tres-
passes ; so doth the Lord call us in a singular manner, upon occasions
of such difficulty and danger as lieth upon you, to both a narrow search
r.nd careful reformation in his sight, lest he calling to remembrance
our sins forgotten by us, or unrepented of, take advantage against
us, and in judgment leave us to be swallowed up in one danger or
another ; whereas, on the contrary, sin being taken away by earnest
repentance, and the pardon thereof from the Lord sealed up to a
man's conscience by his sjiirit, great shall be his security and peace
in all dangers, sweet his comforts in all distresses, -with happy deliv-
284 KEW ENGLAND TUEOGKACY.
erance from all evil, whether in life or death. Now next after this
heavenly peace with God and our own consciences, we are carefully
to provide for peace with all men, what in us lieth, especially with
our associates ; and for that, watchfulness must be >had, that we nei-
ther at all ourselves do give, no, nor easily take offence being given
by others. Wo be to the world for offences, for although it be neces-
sary, considering the malice of Satan and man's corruption, that of-
fences come, yet wo unto the man, or woman either, hy lohom the
offence cometh, saith Christ, Matt, xviii. 7. And if offences in the
unseasonable use of things, in themselves indifferent, be more to be
feared than death itself, as the apostle teacheth, 1 Coi\ ix. 15, how
much more in things simply evil, in which neither the honor of God
nor love of man is thought worthy to be regarded ? Neither yet is
it suflicient that we keep ourselves, by the grace of God, from giving
offences, except withal we be armed against the taking of them,
when they are given by others ; for how imperfect and lame is the
work of grace in that person, who wants charity to cover a multitude
of offences ? as the scripture speaks. Neither are you to be exhorted
to this grace only upon the common grounds of Christianity, which
are, that persons ready to take offence, either want charity to cover
offences, or duly to weigh human frailties; or, lastly, are gross
though close hypocrites, as Christ our Lord teacheth. Matt. vii. 1-3 ;
as indeed in my own experience, few or none have been found
which sooner give offence, than such as easily take it ; neither have
they ever proved sound and profitable members in societies, who
have nourished this touchy humor. But besides these, there are
divers motives provoking you above others to great care and con-
science in this way ; as first, there are many of you strangers to the
persons, so to the infirmities of one another, and so stand in need of
more watchfulness this way, lest when such things fall out in men
and women as you expected not, you be inordinately affected with
them, which doth require at your hands much wisdom and charity
for the covering and preventing of incident offences that way. And
lastly, your intended course of civil community will minister contin-
ual occasion of offence, and will be as fuel for that fire, except you
diligently watch it with brotherly forbearance. And if taking offence
NEW ENGLAND TUKOCKACY. 285
causelessly or easily of nicu'.-i doinjrs be so carefully to be avoided ;
liow inu(.-li more heed is to be taken that we take not ofTeiiee at God
himself? Wliieli yet we certainly do, so oft as we do murmur at his
pi-ovidences in our crosses, or bear impatiently such afllictions where-
with he is pleased to visit us. Store up therefore patience against
tlic evil day ; without which we take offence at the Lord himself in
his just Avorks. A fourth thing there is carefully to be provided for,
viz., that with your common employments, you join common affec-
tions, truly bent upon the general good, avoiding as a deadly plague
of your both common and special comforts, all retiredncss of mind
for proper advantage ; and all singularly affected every manner of
way, let every man repress in himself, and the whole body in each
person, as so many rebels against the common good, all private re-
specl.-f of men's seh-es, not sorting with the general convenience. And
as men are careful not to have a new iiouse shaken with any vio-
lence, before it be well settled, and the parts firmly knit ; so be you,
I beseech you, my brethren, much more careful that the house of
God, which you are and are to be, be shaken with unnecessary nov-
elties, or other oppositions, at the first settling thereof.
Lastly, whereas you are to become a body politic, using amongst
yourselves civil government, and are not furnished with special emi-
nency above the rest, to be chosen by you into office of government,
let your wisdom and godliness appear, not only in choosing such
persons as do entirehj love, and will promote the common good ; but
also in yielding unto them all due honor and obedience in their law-
ful administrations, not beholding in them the ordinariness of their
persons, but God's ordinance for your good; not being like the fool-
ish multitude, who more honor the gay coat, than cither the virtuous
mind of the man, or the glorious ordinance of the Lord ; but you
know better things, and that the image of the Lord's power and
authority, which the magistrate beareth, is honorable, in how mean
person soever ; and this duty you may the more willingly, and ought
the more conscionably to perfonn, because you are, at least for the
present, to have them for your ordinary governors, which yourselves
shall make choice of for that work. Sundry other things of impor-
tance I could put you in mind of, and of those before-mentioned, in
286 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
more words ; but I will not so far wrong your godly minds, as to
think you heedless of these things, there being also divers among you
so well able both to admonish themselves and others of what concern-
eth them. These few things therefore, and the same in few words, I
do earnestly commend to your care and conscience, joining therein
with my daily incessant prayers unto the Lord, that he who has
made the heavens and the earth, and sea, and all rivers of waters,
and whose providence is over all his works, especially over all his
dear children for good, would so guide and guard you in your ways,
as inwardly by his spirit, so outwardly by the hand of his power, as
that both you, and we also for and with you, may have after matter
of praising his name all the daj's of your and our lives. Fare you
well in him in whom you trust, and in whom I rest, an unfeigned
well-wisher to your happy success in this hopeful voyage.
JOHN ROBINSON.
APPENDIX II.
THE AUTHORITIES USED IN THIS WOKK.
As already mentioned, (p. 118), New England found historians at
a very early period. Cotton Mather has treated this subject most at
length, and with careful use of his predecessors.
Magnalia Ciiristi Americana, or the Ecclesiastical History
of New England, from its first planting in the year 1G20 unto the
year of our Lord 1608, by Cotton Mather, Past, of the North Cliurch
in Boston. London 1702. Fol. (republished at Hartford 1820. 2
vols. 8vo.)
The author, whose family on the paternal side has often been
mentioned in the foregoing work, was a descendant of the Pilgrims
on the mother's side also ; being the great grandson of John Cotton,
minister at Boston. His work shows great learning and extensive
acquaintance with books, but is arranged in the oddest method ;
abounds with the most unexpected and irrelevant episodes, and his
apologetic stand-point is not maintained without prejudice and par-
tiality. What with citations from writers ancient and modern, he
often can scarcely make his way to the subject itself; whole pages
have frecjuently no more matter, strictly speaking, than could be
expressed in as many lines. Still, the courage of the wearied reader
is sustained by the wit and humor, which are displayed even in the
titles and superscriptions. The work is divided into seven books.
First Book; Antiquities, (reporting: The design where-on, the
manner where-/n, and people where-6y, the several Colonies of New
England were planted,) in seven chapters. Chap. 1. J'enisti tan-
dem ? The early discoveries of America. Chap. 2. Primordia. The
288 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
settlement of New Plymouth. Chap. 3. Conamur Tenues Grandia.
Farther history of New Plymouth. Chap. 4. Paulo Majora ! The
settlement of Massachusetts. Chap. 5. Peregrini Deo Curae. Pro-
gress of the new colony. Chap. 6. Qui trans mare currunt. Settle-
ments in Connecticut, New Haven, Hampshire, Maine. Chap. ?•
Hecatompolis, or a field which the Lord hath blessed. A catalogue
of the ministers. With a Supplement: '■'■ The Boslonian Ebenezer ;
some Historical Remarks on the state of Boston ; " and a map, show-
ing the earlier division of New England. The Second Book is en-
titled : EcCLESiARUM Clypei ; and contains biographical sketches
of the most distinguished early Governors, as well as a catalogue of
the Assistants, whom he calls in one place Patres Conscripti, in an-
other, "r?.: -Vy^ id est Yiri Animati. Third Book; Polybius, or
the Lives of forty-seven Divines. Fourtli Book: Sal Gentium, or
the History of Harvard College, and biographies of eleven eminent
persons, who were educated in the University. Fifth Book : Acts
AND Monuments. This is the most important portion of the work,
containing the conclusions in full of the JNIassachusetts Synods, with
very interesting extracts from controversial writings. Sixth Book :
Thaumaturgus. The narration of wonderful deliverances at sea
(ch. 1. Christus supra aquas), and in tempests (ch. 3. Cerauiilus), Is
followed by accounts of conversions, of criminal trials, of Missions
among the Indians, and finally by stories of demons and witches.
Seventh Book: Ecclesiarum prcelia. (Ch. 1. Mille nocendi
artes. Of the trials of the New England churches in general. Ch.
2. Little Foxes. "Roger Williams, and political enemies. Ch. 3.
Hijdra decapitata. The Antinomians and the first Synod of 1637.
Cli. 4. Ignes fatui. The Quakers, and, very briefly, the Anabaptists.
Ch. 5. Wolves in sheep's clothing. Imposters, who pretended to be
ministers. Ch. 6. Anna rirosque cano. Wars with the Indians.) —
In the numerous biographical sketches, the author's materials often
run short, and the deficiency is supjilied in a very peculiar fashion.
Thus, he knows nothing of Adam Blackman, except that he exer-
cised his ministry in two places, and was very simple and intelligible
in his mode of preaching. He begins therefore with a reference to
Niger, the teacher at Antioch (Acts 13 : 1), expresses the opinion
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 289
lli.it it could not be said of our Blackman : hie nit/er esf, Jiitnc hi Ro-
mane caveto; he being rather a Nazarite, purer than snow, whiter
than milk. Thereupon he passes to Melancthon, and closes with
Beza's epitaph upon him. No one is dismissed without his epitajjh,
sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. Avolavil! suffices for the
Rev. ;Mr. Partridge.
We subjoin the following words of the Abbot Steinmctz in refer-
ence to the Magnalia, which oc;cur in his Preface to tlie Faithful
Narrative of the glorious work of God in Nortliampton ; Magdeburg
and Leipzig 1 738. " It is only to be lamented, that the book is made
too prolix by the exuberance of ornaments, which the fertile genius
and immense reading of the author threw into his hands. I have
therefore readily embraced the proposal to extract the substance of
the work, and, if the Lord should accept it as useful for his kingdom,
to give it to the press in our language." (This plan has not been as
yet carried into execution.) But whatever exceptions may be taken
to Mather's exhibition of historical facts, and however much he may
have been used by his successors, the numerous legal documents
as well as the synodical decisions in full, which are found no where
but in his work, render it one of the highest importance.
The foregoing work forms the basis of:
The lIisTOUY of New England to the year of our Lord
1700, by Daniel Neal. 2 vols. 2 ed. London 1747 (1st ed. 1719)
8vo,
Neal, also the author of the History of the Puritans, was an Eng-
lish Dissenter. His chief source was Mather's Magnalia; but he
made use of many other works and fugitive writings, and has fur-
nished a very full statistical representation, as well as a statement in
alphabetical order of the laws in force in New England. The his-
torical narration is chronologically arranged, and is on the whole
unprejudiced and impartial. AVith a s\nnpathy for the Congre'^a-
tionalists natural in a Dissenter, he has nevertheless examined and
used the accounts of those opposed to them. (See above, p. 118.)
From an entirely different stand-point, we have :
A History of New England, with particular reference
25
290 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
TO THE DENOMINATION OF CHRISTIANS CALLED BAPTISTS ; by
Isaac Backus, Past, of the First Baptist Church in Middleburgli. 2
vols. Boston and Providence 1777 and 1781.
The first volume extends to the year 1G90, and is enriched -vvitli
numerous extracts from the writings of distinguished men, as Piobin-
son. Cotton, Williams. In his account of the treatment of the Bap-
tists, the author takes strong polemic ground against the ruling
party and the theocratic constitution in New England; thus supple-
menting Mather and even Neal. In the second part (down to 1784)
are contained many documents relative to the declension in the relig-
ious and church life ; in this connection is expressed, as might be
expected, decided disapproval of the proceedings in Connecticut in
1708.
Owing to the connection of Church and State, much in the repre-
sentation we have given, especially for the first period, is touched by
the political historians. Thus in :
Hutchinson's History op Massachusetts to the year
1750. 2 vols. 3 ed. Salem 1765. 8vo. (1st ed. 1764).
The author was Governor of Massachusetts at the breaking out of
the Revolution, and was in possession of a very rich collection of
oi'iginal legal documents, which, however, were in great part destroyed
during a riot in Boston. The style of representation is very plain ;
as is also that of the following work, by a clergyman :
Benjamin Trumbull's complete History of Connecticut.
2 vols. Hartford 1797. 8 vo.
The first volume, the one used in the foregoing work, extends to
the year 1713. It contains also the history of New Haven, and
devotes two chapters paj'ticularly to the history of the Church.
Among other documents we find here the Saybrook Platform, com-
jjlete.
Francis Baylies' Historical Memoir of New Plymouth.
1830. 4 vols. 8vo.
This work extends to the union of New Plymouth with Massachu-
setts, and is very particular in its details.
NE^y ENGLAND THEOCRACY. 291
Calkh II. Sxow's History of Boston from its origin to
THE PRESENT PERIOD. 2 ed. Bostonl828.
More in the form of annals; full for a later period.
A Collection of original papers relative to the His-
tory OF the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. Boston 17C9.
Very interesting letters, and important legal documents from the
earliest period, chronologically arranged. In the copy in the Berlin
Library, a portion is wanting at the end; it extends to Kovember
1C55.
For the same period :
J. Winthrop's Journal. Hartford 1790.
This diary of the distinguished first Governor of Massachusetts
furnishes a very graphic view of the earlier relations. It extends,
however, only to 1644.
The following works have for their stand-point the total separation
of Church and State now prevailing in North America.
Memoir of Roger Williams, the Founder of the State
of Rhode Island. By James D. Knowles. Boston 1834.
The author, who is a Baptist, regards Williams as the father of
those principles, in reference to the relation of Church and State,
now established in North xVmerica. He is decidedly unfavorable to
the Theocracy. ^lany of his investigations indicate the careful study
of richly instructive sources ; still we cannot reckon on an impartial
judgment, from one who remarks in reference to the occurrences at
!Munster in 1535 : " It seems to have been a just revolt, and a strug-
gle for liberty ; but it failed, and the leaders have been stigmatized
as fanatics, and as guilty of every species of crime. The story has
been told by their oppressors and enemies, and is entitled to very
little credit."
The results of very thorough investigation are embodied in :
The History of the Old South Church in Boston, in four
sermons by Benjamin B. Wisner, Pastor of the Church. Boston
1830.
292 NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
This work has been particularly used in Chapter VII. of our his-
tory ; it has reference chiefly to the relations of the early period.
The author exhibits a very clear conception of the essential nature
of the Congregationalist Theocracy, though regarding the total sep-
aration of Church and State as the salvation of the church.
From the same point of view, still more strongly taken, we have :
L' UNION DE l' EGLISE ET DE L' ETAT DANS LA NOUVELLE An-
GLETERRE, CONSIDEREE DANS SES EFFETS SUR LA RELIGION AUX
Etats-Unis. Par un Americain. Paris 1837.
From want of access to the sources, the author's data are insuffi-
cient, and indeed incorrect. Much as he extols the Puritans for
their piety and morality, the greatness of soul in which they under-
took to found their theocracy seems not to be recognized ; and the
most recent revival of evangelical Christianity is treated as a wholly
negative result of the completed separation between Church and
State*
APPENDIX III.
CHRONOLOGICAL YIEW.
1602
England.
lExpeditions— Settle,
ments — Charters.
The Independ- Capt Gosnold in
ents in the north^Massachusetts Bay
of Eni'land,
160.3 James L
1606
1608
1614
1620
1623
1625
1629
1630
1633
1634
1636
Charles L
Patents for North
and South Vir^nnia.
Settlement on the
Sagadahoc, Maine.
Capt. John Smith.
New Enghind.
Patent for the Plym-
outh Colony; New
Plymouth.
Bradford's Patent;
transfen-ed bv him
to the Gen'l Court.
Domestic Events. I Indiana.
Patent for Massa-
chusetts Bay.
Salem and Charles-
town.
Expedition under
John Winthrop.
Boston.
Newtown (later,
Cambridge).
Providence on Nar-
raganset Bay; Hart-
ford, and oth. places
on the Connecticut.
1637 Emigration for-INew Haven. Sct-
j bidden. Itlem'ts in N. Hamp-
' Isliire and Maine.
25*
The Colony of New
Plymouth separates:
from the Company.]
Ralph Smith i'nj
JNewPlvmouth.
The Saiem Church.)
I The broth's Brown. I
Transfer of the
Gov't for Massa-
chusetts Bay.
Controversies with
Roger Williams.
Sir Henry Vane in
Boston.
Antinomian Con-'Pcquot
troversies; the first J War.
Svnod.
294
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY.
1G38
England.
Expeditions —Settle-
ments — Charters.
Domestic Events.
Indians.
Harvard College
founded.
1640
New Hampshire
united with Massa-
chusetts.
1641
Civil War.
Mayhew.
1043
Patent for Rhode
Island and Provi-
dence Plantations.
Confederation of
the four United
Colonies of N. Eng-
land.
1646
Eliot.
1047
Agitations in Mas-
sachusetts.
1648
Westmins'rCon-
fession.
Cambridge Synod.
(Platform).
1649
Charles I. exe-
cuted.
1651
The Anabaptists in
Massachusetts.
1053
Oliver Crom-
well.
1656
The first Quakers
in Boston.
1657
Religious Agita-
tions ; Synods in
Connecticut.
1658
Savoy Confes-
sion ; Richard
Cromwell.
1660
Charles II.
Excut'nof Quakers.
1662
Act of Uniform-
ity.
Boston Synod in
ref. to Baptism.
1663
Confirmation of the
Charter of Rhode
Island.
1664
Connecticut and N.
Haven Charter.
Royal Commission-
ers in N. England.
Attempt of the
Baptists to found a
Church in Boston.
1608
•
Third Church in
Boston.
1076
K.Philip's
War.
1079
*
K Hamp. separated
from Massachus'ts.
Refokming Syn-
od.
1684
Colonies deprived
of their Charters.
1685
James II.
Increase Mather in
England.
NEW ENGLAND THEOCRACY
295
1688
England. 1 Expeditions-Settle-
«*"""• mentB — Ckartcia.
Domestio Events.
Indians.
Will, ami Mary.
1689
Revolution in Bos-
ton.
1692
TT
He.\ds of A- ^'cw Charter.
Witch Trials.
Border
1702
GREEMENT.
Aune.
Wars.
1704
College at 8.17-
brook (afterwards
Yale College).
1708
Saybrook Platform
1714
George I.
1725
Proposal for a Sy-
nod in Boston.
1727
George II.
1735
Awakenings in
Northampton.
1/40
The Great Awak-
enings.
I I^ D E X.
PAGE
Admission to the church, 154^ 170, O-^S
Ainsworth, minister in Amsterdam, 41
Anabaptists, burnt under Elizabeth, ...... 31
in Rliodc Island, 10(3
in New Pl3-mouth, HO 200
in Massachusetts (1051), 110 ff.
historical notices of the 118
in Charlestown and Boston (1C64 ff.) 200
Andros, Sir Edmund, Governor of New England, . . . 219
Antinomians, 98 ff.
Acquatneck, Island, later Rhode Island, 104
Anninians, 4g
Articles, the Six ; the Fort\--two ; the Thirtj'-nine, . . 19, 23, 30
Austin, Anna, a Quakeress, 12i
Associations, 23'>
Baptism, its proper subjects, . . . , . . , . 104 ff.
Barbadoes, 121
Basle, exiles in, 29
Beliamont, Earl of, Governor of New York and New England, 230
Bellingham, Governor of Massachusetts, . . . 193, 204, 206
Blj-cnian, minister in Connecticut, 1(38
Boleyn, Anne 17 19
Boston in Massachusetts, its founding, 67
Third Church, 192 ff.
in England, qq
Bradford, Governor of Xcw Plymouth, 59, 88
Bradstreet, Governor of Massachusetts, . . . . 131, 185
Brainerd, missionaiy among the Indians, 83
Brewster, elder of the churches in Lcyden and Xew Plym-
outh, 41, 5:3, 59^ gO, lOG
Brown, Richard, founder of the Brownists, 35 ff.
the brothers, 64
Brownists, gg
Bulklcy, minister in Massachusetts, 100
Burleigh, William Cecil,Lord 35, 37
298
INDEX.
PAGE
Cabot, Sebastian, 51
Calvin, on tlic Eng. Reformation and the exiles under Mary, . 22, 27
Cambridge, in Massachusetts, earlier Newtown, . 60, &4, 100, 102
Platform of Church Discipline, . . . G8 ff. 150 ff.
Cape Cod,
Carr, Sir Robert, royal Commissioner,
Cartwright, George, royal commissioner,
Thomas, father of the Puritans,
Catherine of Arragon, ....
Charles I.,
" II.,
Charlestown In Massachusetts,
Chauncey, Charles, President of Harvard College,
minister in Boston, .
Christison, Wheelock, a Quaker,
. 56
186
. 186
33
. 15
77, 92, 96
181, 184,218
67, 201
. 180
278
. 132
Church-constitution of the Independents, its two principles :
Independence of each church, 38, 70
Opposition to free communion, 42, 154
Clarke, John, Baptist, 108 ff.
Maria, a Quakeress, 122
Commission, the High, 29
Common Prayer-Book, 24, 27
Congregationalists, name of the 69
Connecticut, settlements in, 78
Quakers in, 126
religious agitations and sjmods, 165 ff.
Charter of Charles II. ; union with New Haven, . . . ISl ff.
synods for the decision of ecclesiastical controversies, . 106 ff.
lamentations over the Declension 210
Charter withdrawn and re-assumed, 219
synods for the change of the church constitution, . . . 228 ff.
opposition to the revivals, 275
Copeland, a Quaker, 123 ff.
Cotton, John, minister in Boston, . . . . 68,96,100,11.5,116
Covenant of the Salem church, 61
of the Third church in Boston, 192
renewal of the, 215
Half-way, 172, 238
Crandall, an Anabaptist, Ill ff.
Conso(i:;tions, 232
Cromwell, Thomas, Lord 17, 19
Cudworth, Capt. James, of New Plymouth, .... 127
Davenport, John, minister in New Haven and Bos-
ton, 75, 79, 8-5, 101, 169, ISO, 191
James, great-grandson of John, 276
INDEX.
299
Drinker, an Anabaptist,
Dunster, Ilcnry, President of Harvard College,
Dutch settlements in Xonh America, .
Dj'ar, Man,-, a Quakeress, executed, .
Eaton, Tlicophilus, first Governor of New Haven
Edward YI.,
Edwards, Jonathan, minister in Northampton,
Eliot, John, among the Indians,
Elizabeth, Queen,
Endicott, Governor of Massachusetts,
Episcopalians in New England,
Excommunication, articles of, .
Farnum, an Anabaptist, . , , .
Fisher, ilaria, a Quakeress, ....
Fox, George, founder of the Quakers, .
Frankfort-on-thc-Main, exiles in, . . .
Geneva, exiles in,
George, an Anabaptist,
German church in I^tidon, ....
Reformation, its influence on the English,
Goodwin, elder in Hartford, ....
Gould, Anabaptist,
Green, John, bunished from Boston,
Grindal, archbishop of Canterbury, .
Hampton Court Conference, ....
HaiTis, a Quaker,
H.artford, capital of Connecticut, settlement of,
controversies in the church at,
new church at, without the fonner tests,
Harvard College,
Heads of Agreement,
HemyVnr., . . . . •
Higginson, minister at Salem,
Hingham in Massachusetts,
Holdcn, a Quaker,
Holland, Puritan fugitives to,
Holmes, an Anabaptist, ....
Hooker, Thomas, minister in Hartford,
Hooper, Bishop,
Hubbard, the historian,
Hutchinson, Abigail, in Northampton, .
Ann, in Boston,
Govemor of Massachusetts, and historian,
Indians, first tivaty of peace with them, .
titatment of the same.
PAOE
202
. 104
5(3, 79, 18-', 18i3
. rj8
79
. 20
244 if.
. 81
2.0
. 113, 128
04, 219, 2.3.J
. ICO
203
121
119
27
29
202
22
18
165
202
105
34
40
124
78
172, 199
223
81 fr.
1G5,
118,
229
. 15
60,87
. 139
123
38, 40
110
. 100
21,26
163, 166
269
. 98
118.210
58, 62
300 INDEX.
PAGE
Indians, missions among them, 81
King Philip's war, 209
Indian College, . . S2
James I., 40, 52
" 11., proclaimed in Boston, 219
Johnson, Capt., historian, 118
Knox, in Frankfort and Geneva, 28
Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, 67, 92
Leddra, William, a Quaker, executed, 131
Leyden, church at, 41, 49, 52, 59, 60
Lenthal, minister at Weymouth, Massachusetts, .... 137
Leverett, Governor of IMassachusetts, 204, 206
London, letter of certain Congi-egationalist ministers from, . . 204
Long Island, settlements on, 79
Lynn, in Massachusetts, meeting of Anabaptists at, ... Ill
Maine, settlements in, 52, 78
Maiden, in Massachusetts, . . ,^ 162
Mary, the Catholic, 25
Massachusetts Bay, expeditions to, settlements on, . 52, 60, 65
Colony, the most important in New England, . . 67, 78, 79
Roger Williams in, ■ ... 86
Antinomians in, 98
Quakers in, 121, 207 ff.
religious-political agitations, . . , . , . 139 fF.
calling of the Synod of 1662, 174
relation to Charles IL, 184 ff.
lamentations over the church declension, . . . 210, 220
abrogation of the old and grant of a new charter, . . 219
attempt to form Associations, 230
desire for a Synod, 1725, . . . . . . .230
Revivals, 272
Mather, Richard, minister in Dorchester, .... 150, 180
Eleazer, minister in Northampton, son of Richard, . ISO, 248
Increase, son of Richard, .... 180, 192, 219, 228
Cotton, son of Increase, 118, 2.35
Maverick, ro.yal commissioner, 186
Majiiew, family of, among the Indians, 81
Miles, Baptist at Swansea in New Plymouth, .... 201
Jlissions among the Indians, 81
Mitchel, minister at Cambridge, Massachusetts, . . 197, 223, 224
Morton, author of the iVew ^??{77a«d J!fi?;;iori'nZ, . . . .118
Narragansett Bay, settlements on, 95
Naylor, James, English Quaker, 120
New Amsterdam, 182, 186
New England, 79
INDEX.
'301
New IlampshiiT, settlement of, 78, SO
separated from Jlassathusetts, 20^
New Haven, settlements, 78
College in, 85
Quakers in, 1120
on the eontroversies in Connecticut of 1G57, . , . 1C9 fT.
union with Connecticut, 181 If.
New Plymouth, settlement of, 57
sovereignty of the General Court of, 77
Williams in, 88
Anabaptists in, 110,200
Quakers in, 121, 127
royal commissioners in, 187
lamentations over the Declension, 210
union with Massachusetts, 219
change in terms of admission to the church, . . . 223
Newpoi-t, in Rhode Island, 108
Newtown, see Cambridge.
Nichols, Colonel, 186
Noddle's Island, in Massachusetts Bay, 201
Northampton, in Massachusetts, the church and
Norton, John, minister at Ipswich and Boston,
Oakes, Urian, on the church declension, .
Officers in the Congregationalist churches, .
Osburne, an Anabaptist,
Parker, archbishop of Canterbury,
Partridge, minister in Duxbury, New Pl3'mouth,
Philip, king of the Wampanoags,
Phipps, Governor of New England, .
Presbyterians,
Providence,
Puritans in England,
Quakers in England,
in America,
defence of the measures against them, .
Rehoboth in New Plymouth, ....
Revivals, nature of,
in Northampton
general, in Xew England,
Revolution in Boston,
Rhode Island, settlements and charter,
Quakers in,
withdrawal of the charter
Ridley, bishop of Rochester, ....
Robinson, John, father of the Independents, 40
2G
revivals in, . . 2 15
148, 185
. 221
1.58
. 202
. 30, 34
. l.'O
. SO, 2oy
. 221
149
79, 95
. 30, 33
. 119
121 ff. 207
. 129
110, 200
. 21 1 ff.
2 15 ff.
. 272 ff.
219
79, 86, 104
121, 125
. 219
23, 26
302 INDEX.
PAOB
Eobinson, his view of the Ecformation, 43
" " " " power of the keys, 45
opposition to free cominunion, 48
farewell address to the emigrants, 54
letter to the same, 56, 283
"William, a Quaker, executed, 128
Salem, in Massachusetts, ... 60, 64, 86, 94, 110, 122, 221
Saltonstall, Sir Richard, on the persecution of the Anabaptists, . 115
Gurdon, Governor of Connecticut, 230
Savoy Confession, 149
Saybrook Platform, 231
Skclton, minister in Salem, 60, 87, 89
Smith, John, the Se-Baptist, 41, 8D
Ralph, minister in New Plymouth, 59, 88
Somerset, Duke of, Lord Protector, 23
Southampton, England, depai-ture from, 56
Sovereignty of the New England governments, .... 77
Stevenson, Marraaduke, a Quaker, executed, 128
Stoddard, minister at Northampton, 228, 248
Stone, minister at Hartford, 165, 168, 172
Strasljurg, exiles in, 27
Street, minister in New Haven, ISO, 192
Swansea, in New Plymouth, 201
Synod of 1637 against the Antinomians, 100
1646-1648, (Platform of Church -discipline,) . . . 148 ff.
1657, 168 ff.
1659, in Connecticut, 173 ff.
1662, on the subjects of baptism, 174 ff.
Reforming synod of 1679, 211 ff.
1708, at Saybrook, 231 ff.
1725, attempt for a, 235
Tennant, Gilbert, of New Jersey, 272
Theocracy, Congrcgationalist, 75 ff.
dissolution of, 162
Turner, "William, an Anabaptist, 202
Unitarians, 238
"United Colonies of New England, 125, 198
Upsal, 122
Vane, Sir Henry, 95, 104
Virginia, Company for North and South, 52
"Westminster, Assembly and Confession of, 149
"Wheelwright, minister in Boston, 99, 102
"Whiteficld, in New England, 272, 279
"Whitgift, archbishop of Canterbury, 35
William HI., 219
INDEX. 303
TAOE
Williams, Ro-cr, 8*3 ff. 10 1, lOfi, 1 15, 120
Willard, minister in Boston, 227
Wilson, " . " 80,115,190
"Wiuthrop, John, Governor of M;issachusctts, 65, 87, 89, 9(3, 111, 144
John, Governor of Connecticut, son of John, . . 127, 181
Fitz-Tohn, Governor of Connecticut, son of the preceding, 230
Witch-trials 221
Witter, William, an Anabaptist, HI
Yale College, 85
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Lectures on the Lord's Prayer — Re-
ligious Progress — Miscellanies.
C3~ Dr. ■Williams is a profound scholar and
a brilliant ■writer. — J^'ew York Evangelist.
Modern Atlieism. considered under its
forms of Pantheism, IMatciialism, Secular-
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J\5n:s Hi ( iiAXAX, D. D., LL. D. limo.
Cloth, .f l.L'5.
The Uallig : or the Sheepfold in the
Waters, a" Tale of Humble Life on the
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Mrs. Gkouge 1'. MAIiSii. V'mo. C\.,^\.
The SnfFerinji; Savionr. By Dr. keum-
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Cliristian's Daily Treasury. Religious
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Entertaining and Instmctive Works
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The American Stotcsnion. Life and Char-
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or Turning over a New Leaf. — Whistler;
or The Manly Boy. — Marcus; or the Boy
Tamer.
Works by Rev. IIarvet Newcomb.
JIoiv to lie a Lady. — How to he a Man. —
Anecdotes/or Pays. — Anecdotes for Girls.
Banvaed's Series of American His-
tories. I'hfiiiiiiith and the I'dyrims. —
Pomanceof Aim riran J/,sl,jr>i.— .Xorelticsof
theXcw World, and Ti-agir Scenes in the His
tory of Maryland and the old French War.
God Revealed in IVatnre and in
Christ. Bv Rev. James B. W u.ker.
Author of" tlie I'hilo.scphv ot the Plan oi
Salvation." l-ino. Cloth, $1.
Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation.
New enlarged edition. 12mo. Cloth, 75 c.
Christian Life; social akdIndividual.
By Peter Bayne. Lmo. Cloth, $1.-5.
All agree in pronouncing it one of the most
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Vahvell Christ ; or the Memorial Name.
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D., in "Yale Theol. Sem. 16mo. Cloth, BOc.
The Signet Ring, and its heavenlt
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The Marriage Ring ; or How to Make
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Mothers of the Wise and Good. By
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B3~ A sketch of the mothers of many of tte
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My Mother; or Recollections of Matemal
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The Excellent Woman, with an intro-
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Splendid Illustrations. 12mo. Cloth, |1.
The Progress of Baptist Principles
IN TiiH Last HrNDREu Years. By T. F.
Curtis, Piuf. nt Tlieolo^ry in the Lewisburg
University. Lmo. Cloth, ifl.25.
Dr. Harris' Works.
The Great Teacher. — The Great
Commisiiiou. — The Pre-Adamite
Earth. — Man Primeval. — Patri-
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volumes.
The Better Lsind ; or the believer's
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Sitto's History of Palestine, from the
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aiU Illustrations, l.mo. Cloth, ^l.L'5.
An admirable work for the Family, the Sab-
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The Priest and (lie Hagnenot; or,
Persecution ix the Age of Louis XA'.
From tlie French of L. F. BUNGENEB.
Two vols., li'mo. Clotli, »-'.L'5.
This is not only a work of thrilling interest,
but is a masterly" Protestant production.
The Psalmist, a collection of Hymns for
the Use of Baptist Churches. By Baron
Stow and S. F. Smith. With a Suwle-
MENT, containing an Additional Selection
of Hymns, by Richard Fuller, D. D.,
and J. B. Jeter, D. D. Published in vari-,
ous sizes, and styles of binding.
This is unquestionably the best collection
of Hymns in the English language.
tsy In addition to works published by themselves, they keep an extensive assortment of
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RECENT PUBLICATIONS.
THE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY, as exhibited in the writings of
its rpologists, down to Augustine, by \V. J. Bolton, of Gonvillo and Caiui
College, Cambridge. 12uio, cloth. 80 cents.
The essay contained In this volume received the ITulsean prize Cabout ?500) in Kiigland.
The author Is a professor In GonviUe and Caius College, Cambridge, and evidently a very
learned student of the patristic writings and the whole circle of ecclesiastical history. lie has
presented to the world In this essay an adndral)le compendium of the arguments for the truth
of Christianity advanced in the works of the Apologetic Fathers during the third, fourth, and
flfth centuries of the Christian era. These argtnneuts are classified as being deduced from
antecedent probability, from antiquity, from prophecy, from miracles, fToni the reasonableness
of doctrine, from superior morality, and from the success of the Gospei. — ..V. T. Commercial.
This 'is a worlc of deep research, and.of great value to the theological student. — Transcript.
We had occasion, some time since, to notice this work, when we expressed i high estimate
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The work bears the marks of great research, and must command the attention and confidence
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THE BETTER LAND ; or. Thoughts on Heaven. By A. C. Thompson,
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THE mSSION OF THE COMFORTER ; with copious Notes. By Jdlius
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We hardly remember any treatise which Is so well calculated to be useful in general circula-
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and affluent In learning. — Congregationalist.
We have seldom read a book with greater interest. — JVl T. Evangelist.
The volume is one of rare value, and will be welcomed as an eloquent and Scriptural exposi-
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THE VICTORY OF FAITH. By Julius Charles Haee, author of " The
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'i'lRST LINES OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY. In the form of a Syllabus,
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By Rev. Jonx Pye S.mith. Edited from the author's manuscript;', with
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JKS" A most important work for ministers and theological students.
''HE RELIGIONS OF THE AVORLD, and their relations to Christianity.
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Tlie effort we deem masterly, and. In any event, must prove highly Interesting by the com
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GUIDO AND JULIUS. The Doctrine of Sin and the Propitiator ; or,
the Trae Consecration of the Doubter. E.thibited in the Correspondence of
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WORKS JUST PUBLISHED.
THE BETTER LAND ; or, The Believer's Journey and Futurk Home. Bj
Rev. a. C. Thompson. 12mo, cloth. 85 cents.
Contents. — The Pilgrimage — Clusters of Eschol — Waymarks — Glimpses of tie Land —
Ihe Passage — The RecDRiiition of Friends — The Heavenly Banquet — Children in Heaven —
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-Holiness of Heaven— Activity in Heaven — Resurrection Body— Perpetuity of Bliss in Heaven.
A most charming and instructive book for all now Journeying to the " Better Land."
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MEMORIES OF A GRANDMOTHER. By a Lady of Massachasetts. 16mo
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" My path lies in a valley which I have sought to adorn with flowers. Shadows from the hlU
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HOURS WITH EUROPEAN CELEBRITIES. By the Rev. William B.
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The author of this wi rk visited Europe in 1828 and in 1836, under circumstances which
aflbrded him an opportunity of making the acquaintance, by personal interviews, of a large
number of the most distinguished men and women of that continent ; and in his preface he
Bays, " It was my uniform custom, after every such Interview, to take copious memoranda of
the conversation, including an account of the individual's appearance and manners ; in short,
defining, as well as I could, the whole Impression which his physical, intellectual and moral
man had made upon me." From the memoranda thus made, the material for the present
Instructive and exceedingly Interesting volume is derived. Besides these " pen and ink "
sketches, the work contains the novel attraction of a fac-slmile of the signatture of each of the
persons Introduced.
THE AIMWELL STORIES.
A series of volumes Illustrative of youthful character, and combining Instruction with amuse
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£LLA ; or. Turning over a New Leaf. 16mo, cloth, gilt. 63 cents.
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THE PLURALITY OF WORLDS. A New Edition. With a Supplementary
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This masterly production, which has excited so much interest in this country and in Europe,
«pi!l now have an Increased attraction in the addition of the Supplement, in which the authcr'i
evlewers are triumphantly reviewed.
Mf" The Supplement will be furnished separate to those who have the original work.
INFLUENCE OF THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE UPON INTELLECTUAL
EDUCATION. By William Whewell, D.D., of Trinity College, Cambridge
Eng., and the alleged author of " Plurality of Worlds." 16mo, cloth. 25 eta
THE LANDING AT CAPE ANNE , or. The Charter of the First Pehma-
KENT Colony on the Territory op the Massachusetts Company. Now
discovered and first published from the original manuscript, with an in
quiry into its authority, and a History of the Colony, 1624-1628. Eoge:
Conant Governor. By Jona Wingate Thornton. 8vo, cloth. $1.50.
This is a curious and exceedingly valuable historical document.
A. volmne of great 'nterest and importa'^ce — Evening Traveller. (h)
IMPORTAIST NEW WORKS.
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE : Social and Individual. By Petek Bayne, A. U
12uio. Cloth. fl.2o.
Conients. — i'ART I. STATEMENT. I. The Individual Life. II. The Social I.ilfe.
Part II. Exposition and Illubtration. Book I. Christianity the Basis oj
Social Li/f I. First Principles. II. Howard; and the rise of Philantliropy. III.
Wilberlbrce; and the development of Philanthropy. IV. Budgett; the Christian
Freeman. V . The social problem of the age, and one or two hints towards its solution.
Boo/c IT. Christianity the Basis of Individual Character. I. Introductory : a few
Word* on Modern Doubt. II. John Foster. III. Thomas Arnold. IV. Thomaa
Chalmers. Part III. Outlook. I. The Positive Philosophy. II. Pantheistic
Spiritualism. III. General Conclusion.
Pa rticular attention is invited to this work. In Scotland, its publication, durin|
the la.-it winter, produced a great sensation. Uugh Miller made it the subject of at
elaborate review in his paper, the Edinburgh Witness, and gave his readers to under-
stand that it was an extraordinary work. The " News of the Churches," the monthly
organ of the Scottish Free Church, was equally emphatic in its praise, pronouncing
it " the religious book of the season." Strikingly original in plan and brilliant in
execution, it far surpasses the expectations raised by the somewhat familiar title. It
is, ill truth, a bold onslaught (and the tirst of the kind) upon the Pantheism of Carlyle,
Ficlite, etc., by an ardent admirer of Carlyle; and at the same time an exhibition of
the Christian Life, in its inner principle, and as illustrated in the lives of iloward
VV iibLMlorce, iiaU.'-'tt, Jb oster. CLialmers. etc. The brilliancy and vigor of the author s
etyle are remarkable
PATRIARCHY; or, the Family, its Constitution and Proba By Johs
Harris, D. D., President of " New College," London, and author of " The
Great Teacher " " Mammon." " Pre- Adamite Earth," " Man Primeval," etc.
12mo. Cloth. $1.25. CC?^ A new work of great interest.
This is the third and last of a series, by the same author, entitled " Contributions
to Tl'.eologieal Science."' The plan of this scries is liijrbly ori;,'iiiaI, and has been
most successfully executed. Of the two lirst in the series, '" Pre-Adamite Earth" and
" Man Primeval," we have already issued four and five editions, and the demand
still continues. The immense sale of all Dr. Harris's works attest their intrinsic
■worth. This vohmie contains most important information and instruction touching
the family — its nature and order, parental instruction, parental authority and gov
erununt, parental responsibility, &c. It contains, in fact, such a fund of valuabl»
information as no pastor, or head of a family, can afford to dispense with.
GOD REVEALED IN NATURE AND IN CHRIST: Including a Refutation
of the Development Theory contained in the " Vestiges of the Natural History
of Creation." By the Author of " The Philosophy of the Plan of Sai^
VATiON." 12mo. Cloth. $1.00.
Thk author of that remarkable book, "The Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation,''
ha devoted several years of incessant labor to the preparation of this work. Without
being specifically controversial, its aim is to overthrow several of the popular errors
of the day, by establishing the antagonist truth upon an impregnable basis of reaao.^
and logic. In opposition to the doctrine of a mere subjective revelation, now so
plausibly inculcated by certain eminent writers, it demonstrates the necessity of aii
external, objective revelation. Especially, it furnishes a new, and as it is conceived,
a conclusive argument against the " development theory " so ingeniously maintamed
in the " Vestiges of the Katural History of Creation." As this author does not pub-
lish except when he has something to say, there is good reason to anticipate that the
work will be one of unusual interest and value. His former book has met with the
most signal success in both hemispheres, having passed through numerous editions
in England and Scotlana, and been translated into four of the European language*
brieided It ts also about to be translated into tbe lliudoostauee toojiue. Un)
GOULD AND LINCOLN,
69 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON,
Would call particular attention to the following valuable worKS described
in their Catalogue of Publications, viz. :
Hugh. Miller's Works.
Bayne'S Works. Walker's Works. Miall's W^orks. Bungener's Work-
Aannal of Scientific Discovery. Knight's Knowledge is Power.
Krummacher's Suffering Saviour,
Banvard's American Histories. The Aimwell Stories.
?JewcOj^b's Works. Tweedie's Works. Chambers's Works. Harris' Works.
Kitto's Cyclopoedii of Biblical Literature.
aers. Knignfs Life of Montgomery. Kitto's History of Palestra
Wheewell's Work. Wayland's Works. Agassiz's Works.
ArfSAvrMsa.
William's Works. Guyot's Works.
Chompson's Better Land. Kimball's Heaven. Valuable Works on Missions.
Haven's Mental Philosophy. Buchanan's Modern Atheism.
Cruden's Condensed Concordance. Eadie's Analytical Concordance.
The Psalmist : a Collection of Hymns.
Valuable School Books. Works for Sabbath Schools.
Memoir of Amos Lawrence,
Poetical Works of Milton, Cowper, Scott. Elegant Miniature Volumes.
Arvine's Cyclopsedia of Anecdotes.
Ripley's Notes on Gospels, Acts, and Komans.
Sprague'o European Celebrities. Marsh's Camel and the Hallig.
Roget's Thesaurus of English W^ords.
Hacketfs Notes on Acts. M'Whorter's Tahveh Christ.
Biebold and Staunius's Comparative Anatomy. Marco's Geological Map, IT. S.
Religious and Miscellaneous Works.
Works in the various Department? pf Literature, Science and Art.
Date Due
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