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 ORIGIN AND FORMATION 
 
 
 A 
 
 or THB 
 
 BAPTIST CHURCH, 
 
 GnANVILLE-BTHEET, HALIFAX, NOVA-SCOTIA, 
 CONSTITUTED ON THE 30th OF SEPTEMBER, A. D. 182T, 
 
 IN WHICH SOME NOTICE IS TAKEN 
 OF THB 
 
 » » 
 
 zwrZiVBKOii or bvawobziZoaxi tbutb, 
 
 AirO OF THE 
 
 MOTIVES WHICH INDUCED A RECENT SEPARATION 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Prone all things ; hold fast that which is good. — 1 Thess. v. 21. 
 
 HALIFAX : 
 
 PRINTED AT THE NOVA-SCOTIAN OFFICE. 
 
 Hoston : 
 
 REPRINTED BY LINCOLN & EDMANDS, 59 WASHINQTON-S 
 
 1828. 
 
 
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 ) !• -■' 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 ..Vi.- lii^,-^ 
 
 :^;5S^ifeiii3LiLlli:.;:v 
 
'■.^■'■-•y^ ■■ 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Influence of Evangelical Truth. — Prcvnknt Error in Rdiginn — 
 Separation from the Estnbli.ihmnnt. — C'lurrh Discipline. — Bap- 
 tism.— 'Correspondence to obtain a Mlnist er. 
 
 A? 
 
 
 
 
 IF the histories of nations and the biography of distincfuished in- 
 dividuals merit the place thny occupy ip the studious attonti )n of 
 mankind ; the dealings of God in his Providence must, certainly, 
 present a theme of no less interest and importance. This, perhaps, 
 is generally felt to be true, with refciunce to the varied course of 
 human events, as leading merely to temporary results ; but how 
 vastly magnified is the claim made on our earnest consideration, 
 when the effects of those events are not limited to the narrow con- 
 fines of time, but swell the spreading circles of their influence 
 through the boundless extent of an infinite existence. 
 
 In this view the attention of the Public is invited to the follow- 
 ing Sketch, the object of which is, briefly and with simplicity, to 
 take a review of some of the most striking particulars connected 
 with the recent establishment of a Baptist Church in Halifax. The 
 friends of tliia little Society will not be unwilling to receive a more 
 detailed and correct narrative of its formation than common rumour 
 is likely to convey ; and, if any important instruction should fail 
 to be communicated, yet, as a portion of tbe Religious History of 
 this rising Colony, and of the Community of Halifax, a memoir of 
 this sort may be not altogether devoid of general interest. 
 
 Some years have now elapsed since several instances occurred, 
 among the members of the Ciiurch o'" f'ngland in these Colonies, 
 of the influence of those views of u.'- SiO Truth which have, in 
 modern times, been sometimes designated by the epithet " Evan- 
 gelical." These views may be portrayed in a few words. They 
 comprise a conviction of the mind and heart, that, as sinners in 
 the sight of God, we, by nature,' lie under a just sentence of eter- 
 nal wrath ; that salvation from this state is to be found only in the 
 righteousness and deatli of Jesus Christ, by faith in him; that this 
 faith is the " gift of God," who, by the iuflueuce of his Spirit, 
 
 
 111 
 
 ■•*'"^t*"£j 
 
produces i\ in fhc soul, nn«! thorehy rrgpnrrates the sii])j(!Ct of this 
 inlluorico, uiid rfiirwH him in llic f<\ur[t ol'liirt iniiul, excites in liiin 
 an nverHion tVoni sin, and ciriMes liim to resist, iind overcniiu* its 
 power in proportion to the dej^reo of IiIh t'aitli in the Word ol'tiod. 
 
 Such, briefly, may ho received as the distiiiuiuishinK features of 
 these views; and, if no more were M)ii;,'lit than an abstract state- 
 ment of them, tlu; present memoir might scen> to demand no fur- 
 tht.T enlargement on this subject ; but when the minds of any who 
 trust they have been, in however small a measure, made partakers 
 of the " un»peakai)le gift" (d(iod, are thus led to retrace a path of 
 unutterable mercy, once more to Tin;ditato upon the steps of a de- 
 liverance which no mortal ton;.'iie can fully declare, and thus, as it 
 were, to act over again scenes fraught with an interest and a sig- 
 niticancy which eternity alone can measure, it ia difficult for such 
 to confine their rennrks to a bare and succinct specification of tlio 
 doctrines which wrought in thwi that marvellous change at which 
 angels rejoice (I) ; the memory of the past recalls many an aflisct- 
 ing passage in their refigious experience, when their hearts have 
 yearned over those to whom the story of what they had heard, and 
 8cen, and felt, was, as it were, " a certain strange thing," or a " cun« 
 ningly devised fable." Such feeling is naturally rekindled by the 
 recollection ; and it may plead their apology, if, through the means 
 of this memoir, they beseech the attention of their friends, and of 
 all under whoso notice these hundilc pages may lall, to a plain and 
 unaflbctcd relation of that great thing which, they trust, the Lord 
 has done for their souls. 
 
 There was a time when they were ignorant of the s])iritual- 
 ity and extent, the length and breadth, of the divine law, which 
 regards not merely outward actions, but takes cognizance of 
 the thoughts, intents and motives of the heart — a time when 
 they "drank iniquity like water ;"(2) or, if education, or con- 
 venience, fear, or the love of reputation, preserved them in that 
 course of moral conduct which is consistent with the good order 
 of decent society ; yet were they destitute of genuine religion ; 
 they lived, in reality,. without God in the world; they sought not 
 his glory ; they delighted not in his service ; prayer and praise, 
 instead of being sweet privileges, were irksome and barren duties; 
 they sought their own way, and were " lov(!rs of pleasure more 
 than lovers of God ;"(!$) and tlm^, (however specious their e.\ter- 
 
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 (1) Luke XV. 10. 
 
 (2) Job XV. 16. 
 
 (3) 2 Tim. iii. 1. 
 
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mil )(Brb of morality or religion,) continuing in cfn.ct to lintfl tho 
 wiiVH niid the prcnnncR of liini in wIiobd fuvoiir uluno in lifu and 
 peuci*, tlicy inuHt iiniilly havo 8iuik down into tlio uwi'ul |tl;ic(i 
 whrnco ]\\h biinHfiil prosenc*! hIiiiII Imi fonivnr witlidruwri, mid 
 whcru tliu lire of eternal wratli ahull dry u(> every fouiituiii ut' 
 joy. 
 
 But the (J()flp«'l of JcBUs Christ is well dcHcrihod in his word, as 
 •'the power olCJod uiito salvation fo ev(,<ry tuui that heliovtith ;"(l) 
 and this (lusprl it was which aroust-d tJKMn from their Hlutnbnr. It 
 had long been neghscted; or pftriised, eitluir with a earclcss and list- 
 less inattention, or with utter ignorance of its spirituid import. But 
 now its truths came "aanrrows of the Almighty;" now its declar- 
 ations shone forth as traced in charirters of celestial bright- 
 ness ; the condemning law of (iod uttuntd its denunciations as 
 with the trump of an archangel ; and !:ow should those who 
 heard tin; accents of Eternal Truth pronouncing that the heart of 
 man is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked ;"('j) 
 that "th(! carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to 
 the law of God, neither indeed can bo ;"(:)) — how should they 
 any longer cherish the delusive hope that any goodness or righte- 
 ousness subsisted in them ? or, how should those whoso ears were 
 opened to the divine denunciation, " The soul that sinneth it 
 shall die," (4) and "cursed is every one that continuelh not in all 
 the things which are written in the book of thclawtodo tliein,"(5) 
 fail to [)erceive that the most entire corruption and inability or set- 
 tled indisposition to do good, is accompa lied with an awful sen- 
 tence of just and eternal indignation? 
 
 Thus far, then, was tlio Word of Truth already experienced to 
 be the power of God, producing a thorough conviction of sin, in 
 its condemning and its polluting character, and tearing away that 
 cloak of self righteousness which cleaves so closely to the huinuit 
 mind, unawakened by the Spirit of God. 
 
 A ruinous and wide spreading error on this subject is abroad 
 in the world, coeval with the fall of Adam, and deeply rooted in 
 the heart of every natural man ; until taught " y the Spirit of Truth, 
 he ivili not admit his utter helplessness and depravity ; but the 
 Gospel is addressed to none other than the depraved and helpless , 
 Jesus Christ came "to seek and to save that which was lost :"(6) 
 
 ( 
 
 
 (1) Rom. i. 16. 
 (J; Ezek. xviii. 20. 
 
 (2) Jrr. xvii. !). 
 (5) Gal. ui. 10. 
 
 (3) Rom. viii. 7. 
 (tj) Luke \i\. 10. 
 
 'dj 
 
 ..^::S.: 
 
 ■ ijf-t^r^- 
 
6 
 
 Evry riixht rrcrption of troth must, thrroforc, coramoneo with 
 tlio ktiowloil^n and conviction that wo aru lout flinuorM ; without it 
 wo cnnnot believe in Clirint Joitiiri for nulvation. Proud man rejects 
 thin hiirnblin? view of human nature ; he cannot connont to abandon 
 the flattering idea that, arnidnt the moral ruin that his heart exhibits, 
 still, there may remain Nome inherent ^oodiioss which only netids 
 to b« excited atid i^nproved, some wirtliy disponitlon which, if not 
 alto({ether, yet in part may win his way to heaven ; and thus, if ho 
 do not venture so far as entirely to rob tlw; Saviour of the glory of 
 salvation, he at least will dare to divide it with him, and to claim 
 a participation in the merits of him, concerning whom an apOHtIo 
 has naid, " there in none other name under heaven, given among 
 men, whereby wo must bo saved. "(I) This is a most pernicious 
 and destructivo sentiment, utterly hostile to the whole tenor and 
 spirit of the Word of God, who has revealed himself " a jualouH 
 Ood," and one that " will not give his glory to another." Here, it 
 is conceived, consists the grand distinguishing peculiarity, at the 
 present day, between the doctrine of those teachers who ex- 
 hibit Jesus Christ as ho is revealed in Scripture, and those who, 
 with whatever plausibility of argument, with whatgvcr elwiuence of 
 language, they may adorn their subject, and obscure their real mean- 
 ing, are yet preaching altogether another Gospel than that preached 
 by our Lord and his Apostles. In contending against this error it 
 was that the martyrs and heroes of the Reformation laboured, and 
 wrote, ind died : and, for a time, the influence which survived 
 them quelled this anti-Christian spirit in the Reformed Churches. 
 But error is vigorous and buoyant. The same views against which 
 their most strenuous efl()rts had been directed, gradually usurped 
 the pulpits once filled with the brightest ornaments of Protestant- 
 ism ; the sun of that Gospel Era again set in clouds ; and hence, 
 there are at this day to be found, throughout the Protestant World, 
 innumerable teachers who make no clear distinction in addressing 
 their audiences, between believers and unbelievers — between the 
 regenerate and the unregenerate — between the righteous and the 
 wicked : they appear to regard it as a conceded point, that all who 
 hear them, except open and avowed infidels, ate, of course, be- 
 lievers in Christ. Hence it is, that men continue blind to the 
 truth, that, il ever they come to participate in the blessings of re- 
 
 (1) Acts iv. 12. 
 
 .^^ti^ 
 
 ^**.^ ^•.^.*S^*'«^5^ 
 
(iemption, it munt bo through a conviction of thoir individual noeii 
 of redemption, of thoir utler inahihty, citlior in whole or in piirt, 
 to help or rcdoom their own nouIh ; and thus, through this igno- 
 rance of the utterly depraved character of human nature in God's 
 flight, a templing bait is otftirnd to the natural pridu of man, and a 
 league is formed with the willing traitor in liia heart ; ho is Huduc- 
 od off the only ground whuro safety is to bo obtaincMl, and beguiled 
 to' certain ruin. Thus it is that men cry " Peace, peace, when 
 there is no peace ;"(l) that they remain pleonud with theniselvea, 
 and know not that they are " wretched, and miserable, and poor, 
 and blind, and naked."(3) I'be plain meaning of the Scripture 
 which testifies, " they that arc whole need not a physician, but they 
 that are sick,"(3) is disregarded ; and while in their ignorance of 
 the deep root of their spiritual disease, they are ready to conceive 
 it possible, yea, secretly believe that there really may bo righteous 
 men who need not the Gospel remedy ; and they fail to perceive 
 that they place tliomselves on the same ground on which stood the 
 proud Pharisees to whom those words of our Saviour are applied, 
 and forget that he has declared that if our righteousness exceed 
 not theirs, we cannot enter into the kingdom of God.(4) 
 
 This too prevalent ignorance of the awful evil f sin, and of its 
 universal dominion over human nature, has naturally led to a pro- 
 portionate neglect or perversion of the doctrine of regeneration. 
 The necessity of an entire change of heart by the operation of 
 God's Holy Spirit has been well nigh lost sight of. Pride appears 
 to be, as it were, the groundwork of the whole character of man. 
 Until, therefore, he is utterly separated from any refuge in himself, 
 liis pride will make him cling to the fond though faithless vision of 
 his native righteousness. Ilcncc the completeness of that change 
 which is necessary, is marked in striking language in the Scriptures. 
 "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again he cannot 
 seethe kingdom of God," was the declaration of Jesus Christ, solemn* 
 ly announced to the amiable but ignorant Nicodemus. For " thai 
 which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the 
 spirit is spirit." Again, " Verily, I say unto you, except ye be 
 converted and become as little . iildren, ye shall not enter into 
 the kingdom of heaveD.(5) In conformity with their divine Mas- 
 
 
 /•i<i 
 
 
 I 
 
 1) Jer. vl 14. 
 4) Matt. V. 20. 
 
 (2) Rev. iii 17. 
 (5) Man. xvui. 3. 
 
 (3) Luke V. 31, 
 
 -.-..•Lk 
 
 
ter, do we find the apostles testifying that "he that is in Christ is 
 a new creature ;"(!) that "if any man have not the spirit of 
 Christ he is none of iiis ;"(2) and designating tlie subjects of this 
 divine transformation as " born not of blood, nor of the will of the 
 flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. "(3) 
 
 Clearly as these truths are revealed in the Sacred Volume, the 
 pride of human wisdom rejects them with derision, and thus ex- 
 emplifies the apostolic declaration that " the natural man reccivet'h 
 not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness ur.to him, 
 neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned." (4) 
 And yet these mysterious truths are by no means inconsist- 
 ent with the soundest philosophy. Why should the doctrine of 
 regeneration be regarded as absurd ? We might with propriety 
 adopt, in this case, the language of the apostle in another ; " why 
 should it seem strange to you that God should raise the dead?' 
 Why should it appear more extraordinary that he should raise the 
 spiritually dead? Is it not, on the contrary, evident, that if men 
 are dead in trespasses and sins, they must be thus raised to neW" 
 ness of life by a supernatural power ? — that if they are entirely 
 corrupt, they must have a new spirit given them, before they can 
 have any sincere desire to do good ? — that if their hearts are by 
 nature "enmity against God," a Creative Power of suiHcient en- 
 ergy must remodel them, before love can reign instead of hatred ? 
 He that is in Christ, as has been shewn, is a new creature, or new 
 creation; (5) and what ^jower is adequate to the task of renovating 
 the whole constitution of a spiritual existence, but the mighty one 
 " whose path is in the great waters, and whose footsteps are not 
 known ?" The truth respecting his state in the sight of God, is in- 
 deed unwelcome to blind man. He is wont to call those his 
 enemies who declare it plainly. But how absurd and unrea- 
 sonable, how awfully dangerous is this ! Let reason exercise 
 herself, unrestrained by prejudice, and we might appeal to the 
 common sense of all : To whom, we would ask, is the grati- 
 tude of mankind nivist justly due ; to those who deny the grand 
 truths which have been stated; the entire depravity of the 
 heart, in respect to holiness; the deep malignity and universal 
 prevalence of sin ; the necessity of regeneration by the power of 
 
 * 8 
 
 (1) 2 Cor. v. 17. (2) Rom. viii. 9. (3) John i. 13. (4) 1 Cor. ii. 14. 
 (5) 2 Cor. v. 17. K«(»ij uTi'nf. 
 
 i^L. . 
 
9 
 
 I * 
 
 
 God's Spirit ; and justification by faith alone, that is, gratuitotu. 
 salvation to the believer in Christ Jesus ; and, denying these, ef- 
 'fectually conceal from their own view, and from that of their 
 pej'ishing fellow mortals — the friend from his friend — the parent, 
 perhaps, from his own child — the pastor from his flock — that dis- 
 closure of their real situation in the sight of God, which might 
 lead them to seek deliverance ? — To those who, by this means, be- 
 come participators and accessaries in the univeisal ruin of man- 
 kind, and render the solemn and mysterious scene acted on Calva- 
 ry a matter of comparatively small moment ? Or ought not rather 
 this tribute to be cheerfully rendered to those more faithful disci- 
 ples of the cross, who, beholding in the sufferings of him that died 
 *'the Just for the unjust," the most emphails evidence of these im- 
 portant doctrines, are ready, with benevolent courage, to rush into 
 the desolation that er or has diffused through the world, and though 
 they meet with hatred, opposition, and contumely, yet, knowing 
 truth to be the only means of overcoming this very hostility and 
 reproach, the only remedy for the universal and ruinous disease, 
 fearlessly proclaim to maa his real state, and direct him to his only 
 jrefuge ? 
 
 But that Gospel which is " the power of God" had yet to com- 
 plete its office in the hearts of the Christian friends whose history 
 %ve trace. While the Scriptures of Truth discover the carnal 
 heart to be enmity against God, deceitful above all things and des- 
 perately wicked, tne benevolent Saviour has also declared that he 
 came " to proclaim liberty to the captives ;" " to bind up the 
 broken hearted ;" " to seek and to save the lost." What intelli- 
 gence more joyous and suitable to those who, now, *ith broken- 
 ness of spirit, mourned over their depraved and captive state! 
 With wonder they beheld the condescension of God ; with joy they 
 reflected, that this was the message not of feeble and erring man, 
 but of Jehovah, " who cannot lie." They heard! — They believ- 
 ed ! — and thus, through faith, did the Gospel become to them " the 
 power of God." Now was sin for the first time perceived in some- 
 what of its real deformity, in some degree of its native malignity. 
 On account of sin Jesiis was crucified — on account of that ac- 
 cursed tiling, he died, that they might live. Thus, with the eye 
 of faith, perceiving the Son of God in his gospel character, they 
 
 (1 
 
10 
 
 *^\ 
 
 
 .t, . 
 
 'tis 
 
 realized in him that wonderful personage, of whom the brazen .^ 
 serpent in the wilderness was a feeble, indeed, but apt illustration ; Jl^^^-t 
 and, as the Israelites, bitten by the fiery serpents, looked on that* 'yij^ 
 mysterious image and were healed, by the simple operation of faith v \,^ 
 in the promise of God ; so did these sinners, made sensible of the * ^fj". 
 hatefulness and burthen of their sins, by faith in the Word of 
 Truth, look to the crucified Saviour, and find him to be their only 
 rest. And henceforward, knowing that they are not their own, 
 but are " bought with a price," no less a price than the precious 
 blood of Christ, they desire no longer to live to themselves, but to 
 him that died for them, and rose again, and " ever liveth" to in- 
 tercede for his believing and obedient people. Henceforward, has 
 the world lost much of its captivating charms ; that has ceased to 
 be a grievous command which directs them, " Love not the world, -^l-, 
 nor the things of the world ;"(!) and it no longer alarms them to'*j[M', 
 know that " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride ;'"^% ,< 
 of life, are not of the Father, but of the world," (2) and that he-;v.-^ 
 who loves the world loves not God;(3) for now they grieve at ^, ji^ 
 nothing more than the prevalence of worldly desires in their souls; 'j>\, 
 they desire nothing more earnestly than that the love of God may 
 reign in their- without a rival. And henceforward, in proportion 
 as faith dwells on that mysterious sight which first wrought this 
 mighty change, in equal proportion sin is subdued, and holy dis- 
 positions are created. Some of the individuals alluded to might, 
 perhaps, be ready to shrink from this description, as representing 
 a measure far beyond their poor attainments in the divine life : but, 
 however tremblingly faith may take hold on the promises of God, 
 still, true faith, while it may differ much in the degree in which it 
 is exercised, is in all real believers essentially the same. We believe 
 the above description to contain, in substance, the experience of the 
 children of God in every age and every clime. Thus are they carri- 
 ed on " from faith to faith" by the powerful operation of his Spirit; 
 and beholding the Image of God in the person of Jesus Christ, they 
 pursue the heavenly road from "glory to glory;" and though they 
 sustain many a conflict with the remaining corruption of their own 
 nature, the deceitfulness of the world, and the devices of Satan ; 
 and, struggling in this conflict, often, with the Apostle, are com- 
 pelled to "groan, being burthened," yet do they find that "greater 
 
 i ■ 
 
 . it ' 
 
 
 , -i 
 
 (1) 1 John ii. 15. 
 
 (2) 1 John ii. 15. 
 
 (3) 1 John ii. 15. 
 
 ^^- 
 

 ^>»il» 
 
 
 
 brazen 
 
 
 jtration ; ^^^j 
 on that « 
 
 •f^ 
 
 
 1^ 
 
 f . 
 
 I of faith 
 
 e of the 
 
 Vord of 
 
 leir only 
 
 eir own, 
 
 precious 
 
 ), but to 
 
 i" to in- 
 
 ard, has 
 
 eased to 
 
 5 world, '■''t£ 
 
 them to ■ ; "^'.^ 
 
 le pride ''v,4» * 
 
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 rieveatv ^^ 
 
 r souls; ; • »1 
 
 od may 
 
 )portion 
 
 ght this 
 
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 senting 
 
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 15. 
 
 ♦f 
 
 
 
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 11 
 
 is he that is for them than he that is against them" — yet, from time 
 "to time, through faith in that mighty Conqueror, do they experience 
 a glorious deliverance ; and at last, made " more than conquerors" 
 through " Him that loved them," they fall asleep in peaceful de- 
 pendence on that beloved and Divine Character, to resemble whom 
 in a perfect and sinless image, had been, in this world, the unfail- 
 ing desire of their souls. 
 
 Of the individuals whose religious experience we have attempted 
 "briefly to recount, those who were first awakened to the reality and 
 importance of these truths enjoyed, for a time, the opportunity of 
 hearing the gospel proclaimed in the Church of England ; and, 
 when at length circumstances which they could not control, de- 
 prived them of a blessing so essential to the welfare of their souls, 
 they could not withstand the necessity of seeking it elsewhere. 
 They could not give their sanction, however insignificant, to doc- 
 trines which they ronscientiously believed to be suljversive of the 
 Gospel of Jesus Christ — nor " bid God speed" to those who, 
 however estimable in other respects, in their view, continued in 
 that carnal state which is enmity against God, and naturally oppos- 
 ed to the only way whereby sinners can be saved. In this state of 
 mind they were led to seek that food which the simple truth of God'a 
 Word is alone able to bestow, in the small Baptist Church which 
 had been for a number of years cstablislicd in Halifax. 
 
 The human mind in a state of quiet can form but a very inadequate 
 conception of what will be its feelings when assailed by unknown 
 temptation. Our readers may, therefore, not be prepared to learn 
 that any degree of mental trial accompanied the step we are now 
 relating. It was not, however, void of difficulty. A stated attend- 
 ance on a Baptist ministration for religious instruction was a meas- 
 ure calculated to attract observation and censure ; and our friends 
 were, perhaps, lor the first time in any forcible degree, awakened 
 to a sense of the very small amount of public favour which this de- 
 nomination enjoyed, especially in Halifax, and to perceive that they 
 were regarded as occupying the lowest rank in religious estimation 
 — were in fact despised as an ignorant and deluded sect. The in- 
 controvertible evidence, however, which had been afforded to our 
 religious friends, of the piety, good sense, and sound scriptural in- 
 formation, of several teachers of this persuasion, counterbalunced 
 the prejudice which they had imbibed, in conmion with the public, 
 and they soon came to be struck with the unaffected scriptural situ- 
 
 
n 
 
 
 •« ♦ 
 
 plicity which pervaded the whole system of worship adopted by 
 this denomination, and which forcibly brought to view, as it werd^ 
 the humble companies of Jewish shepherds, or Galileean fishermen, 
 who, in accordance with the Sctipture narrative, may be supposed 
 to have poured forth their artless but heartlelt devotion in the days 
 immediately succeeding the time when the King of Heaven stood 
 in human form upon the earth. Every sentiment of degradation, if 
 such had at any time been perceived, in associating with theso 
 humble and despised followers of the Lamb, was soon obliterated, 
 and was succeeded by a sweet tranquillity that seemed naturally to 
 belong to a situation so remote from the glare and pomp of the 
 world. - >« 
 
 Here they had opportunities of hearing several of the teachers of 
 this denomination, from whose lips they received a plain but forci* 
 ble declaration of the truth, as it is in Jesus ; and, it is but due to 
 the modesty and liberality of these good men, to take this opportu- 
 nity of entirely exonerating them from any cljarge of proselytism so 
 frequently alleged against religious denominations. Tliey appear- 
 ed too deeply engaged hi the sublime employment of preaching 
 "Christ and him crucified," to descend to the less essential,, 
 though not unnecessary investigation of the scripture doctrine of 
 baptism. The acquaintance thus formed had, however, a natural 
 effect, without controversy on the subject, to lead the minds of our 
 religious friends to an inquiry into the distinguishing peculiarity of 
 the Baptist denomination. They knew, however, the necessity of 
 resorting to the Scriptures as the only unerring guide. Human 
 authority was of ever varying complexion — an inextricable maze of 
 almost immeasurable extent ; exhibiting a range that spread from 
 the extravagancies of the wildest enthusiasm, on the one side — 
 through all the absurdities of the grossest superstition — all the per- 
 plexities of scholastic ingenuity — until it reached the very verge of 
 atheistical indifference > n the other. On the Bible, they knew, 
 the reformers had taken their strong and only impregnable position ; 
 and here these inquirers were convinced, and here only, was satis-t 
 factory evidence to be gathered, on any point of faith or practice. 
 These persons were sincere members of the Church of England. 
 The earliest recollections of their infant years, the respectable an- 
 tiquity of that church, the history of the Ijrilliant piety which has 
 so often adorned her members, and the nature of their whole re'!- 
 gious connectioQS— all had combined to attach them to her impos- 
 
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 ing form of worship yfith an affection of no' ordinary strength. A 
 liberal mind will readily believe that sentiments thus generated, 
 interwoven with the strongest ties of a<)cial love, and possessing so 
 much to heighten and confirm them, are not to be abandoned 
 without many a painful struggle ; and the individuals now alluded 
 to, experienced this mental conflict in all its force. In the course 
 of their investigation, suspicions of the unsouudness of the system 
 to which they were so warmly attached, flushed, from time to 
 time, upon their minds, and it was with no common anxiety that 
 they prospectively, as. it were, beheld the destruction of the many 
 soothing prejudices on this subject, which were nurtured in tliem 
 by early education, and confirmed by the iiabits of riper years. 
 At times indeed, the influence of those prejudices w^mld resume ^■ 
 its force and quiet their apprehensions. But tiiis state of mind 
 could not continue. When once a serious dou^'t has assailed re- 
 ceived opinions, and an inquiry into reii<rious truth has begun to 
 be awakened, it is not easy, in such a case, to satisfy a sincere 
 conscience without a full investigation. 
 
 A consideration, however, ivhich first engaged their attention, was 
 one with respect to which the sentiments of the Baptist ilennmiiiation 
 are not peculiar, being the same mainly us are held in common 
 with them by a very numerous and respectable body of Protes- 
 tants. This was the question of Church Discipline and Govern^ 
 ment. 
 
 These persons found that they had never, until now, sought to 
 entertain a specific understandrng of the nature of a Christian 
 Church. The Scriptures, when examined on this subject, repre- 
 sent the Church as a society cf real and practical believers associa- 
 ted for the worship and service of God in the use of his appointed or- 
 dinances, and carefully excluding from their communion those whose 
 conduct should dishonor, or whose doctrines might endanger their 
 faith. In the sacred page they fouijd themselves commanded to 
 ** withdraw from every brother that vvalketh disorderly ;"(1) to turn 
 away from such as have " a form of godliness, but deny the power 
 thereof," (2) and not to " bid God speed" to tliose who " bring not 
 this doctrine" of Christ ; (3) while at the same time it was distinctly 
 apparent that these precepts pointed at the discipline of the church, 
 s^ud not ordinary intercourse with the world. (4) They felt that 
 
 (l)2Thcs3. iii. ft (2) 2 Tim. iii. 5. (3) 2 John x, (4) 1 Cor. v. 10. 
 
 *t' 
 
 \ 
 
 t 
 
•f.v. 
 
 ■^ ? T^"!if » 
 
 tf * T ^ 
 
 *■'/ 
 
 with these plain scriptural directions they could not remain in church 
 communion with such as virtually \lenied the gospel, nor by their 
 countenance continue to sanction the errot- and, swell the influence ^ ' 
 of those who, while they deny the necessity of irfegjeneration by the 
 operation of the Holy Spirit, and the important doctrine of justifi- 
 cation by faith alone, subvert the foundation of a sinner's hope, and 
 destroy the only pure fountain of acceptable obedience. Immoral 
 conduct in nominal christians may ruin their own souls, and spread 
 the baneful savour of evil example j but perverted and corrupt doc- 
 trine saps the vitals of true religion, and as it were intercepts and.j 
 cuts off, as far as mortal arm can do it, the oply way of communi-| 
 cation between a lost world and an Almighty Saviour. 
 , The sentimnnt now entertained by our friends on the subject of ,^'^^^ 
 * Church Discipline may be well illustrated; by the following passage .^^.^i 
 from the celebrated Hooker : — " There are wicked whom the^ 
 Church may judge, and there are wicked* whom God judgeth; 
 wicked within and wicked without the walls of the Cb rch. If 
 within the Church, particular persons be apparently such as cannot' » >' 
 otherwise be reformed, the rule of the apostolical judgment is this/ * f. 
 separate them from among you ; if whole assemblies, thus, separate 
 yourselves from among them ; for what society hath light with dark- 
 ness."(l) To those who deny the spiritual and tranforming life of 
 that religTon which we desire to honor by these humble pages, the 
 justification here offered for separation from the Church of England, 
 may seem insufficient; but from those whose hearts rejoice in its 
 power, we do claim, with some confidence, christian forbearance, , 
 if not entire acquiescence. To their candor we appeal, when we 
 assert the utter destitution of all Church Discipline in the Estab- 
 lishment, as a body ; when we assert, that if it were possible to ex- 
 ert discipline when the great majority of its members are wholly 
 opposed to its exercise, and to the principles that require it, it 
 must necessarily result in the exclusion of that majority, or, as Hook- 
 er contemplates, in the separation of the few. . ^f. 
 
 The mind, long habituated to idolize, in religion as in all other 
 things, those usages and opinions which the lapse of ages has 
 clothed with a sort of sanctity, may shrink with an involuntary 
 terror from this thought : and the alarmed imagination may paint 
 to itself a fearful vision of the threatened ruin. And yet the 
 
 ■^ 
 
 
 (1) Sermou on Justification. 
 
 mm'' 
 
 i.>*'i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 .4 •! 
 
 « 
 
 
 M ' s 
 
 
 isi:. 
 
IX* 
 
 principle was rei 
 
 
 ffV, 
 
 
 ^v 
 
 * I 
 
 iiit|ea Wheh'the necessity of carry nig it in- ' 
 to effect was deemed &t a distance; and in fact the exercise of the 
 principle has, in a limite^ measure, been repeatedly exemplified. 
 It is not in Halifa^'fiivt that the necessity of separation from the 
 world, of discipline ir the Church, of setting Zion as a city on a 
 hill, that her light Might not be hid, has compelled the disciples of 
 the cross, with painful effort, to tear away from the prejudices of 
 education and hereditary religion, and establish themselves alone 
 as a church of Jesus Christ. Many in the earlier ages, perhaps, . 
 whose real history lies enveloped in the darkness of antiquity, thus '. 
 stood aloof from the torrent of prevailing error and irreligion, and 
 led their names to be transmitted lo posterity, through the distort- . 
 -ing representations of their opponents, as schismatics and heretics. 
 The vallies of Piedmontlor^ afibrded a frail shelter to such separa- •' 
 tists from Romish ^rrors. And if their history, too, is clouded by |he ~ 
 \ obscurity of time, at least the sixteenth century saw the seeds of 
 : Reformation which had long been preparing through the labors of 
 a Wickliife, a Jerome, or a HUss, burst forth with a splendor and a 
 power which we trust no lapse of ages shall ever utterly obscure. ' , 
 But as, in the days of the Apostles themselves, error and confusion 
 stalked boldly among the churches of Christ, so, in the very morn- 
 ing of the Reformation, the enemy of souls possessed the power 
 of destroying many a promising flower in the bud. With what 
 *pain did Luther, Calvin, and other worthies, struggle to the attain- 
 ment of the light they gained ! Is it unreasonable, then, to suppose 
 that there yet remained things to be understood, which, with the 
 mighty aid of what their labors had effected, succeeding Christians, 
 although vastly inferior to those great originals, might yet attain ? 
 Doubtless such has been the case ; and that is a bigotted view of 
 the subject which would regard any doctrine or practice inviola- 
 ble, merely because thus the Reformers held. But the tyranny 
 which hereditary religion often will exercise over the mind is, per- 
 haps, fully known only by those who have escaped from its bond- 
 age : and this may account for the fact, that really good men, emi- 
 nent for evangelical religion, have been, in many particulars, hem-- 
 med in and restricted in the exercise of gospel liberty. Such men 
 have been seen in the national church who trembled at the prospect 
 of the free enjoyment of Christian privileges, because they observ- 
 ed that there was danger of their abuse, and they wielded no arm 
 of discipline strong enough to check it. Other churches, whose 
 
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 •" >. 
 
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 16 
 
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 inteTnal discipline in other respects thoy would gladly have imitat* 
 ed, had long been free to obey the A})OHtoUc precept that "\en 
 shAuld be ready always to pray, " every whore litbngup holy . i Is 
 without wrath or doubting ;" and in the exercise of their privilege * 
 had often enjoyed a rich blessing in the incrpaae of humility, of ".-^ 
 spirituality, and of numbers ; and yet these good men, seeing not ^ 
 how to guard against the admisaion of extravagance and misguided *' ■,'. 
 enthusiasm, have almost resolved to abandon the privilege. 
 
 In like manner, while the prayers of all true Christians fervently ^l 
 seek the powerful presence of God, in the increase of the kingdon> 
 of Jesus Christ ; there have been among them those, who were un* .^''jr 
 prepared to receive the answer to their petitions;; and who, when 
 an abundant measure of grace has been poured out into the hcartf 
 of the people, have felt an unreasohabl^ alarm at the exhibition of 
 that work taking place in many souls at once, which they would 
 rejoice to see in individuals ; and this, alro, because their minds 
 had been fettered by the prejudices of early education ; and per* . .^ ,. 
 haps, because they have felt their churches to be destitute of that l^f"*^ 
 power of gospel order, which would guard against a perversion of 
 the grace of God. 
 
 •*;'*■ 
 
 ^■>i 
 
 'K'-" 
 
 But we return to the progress of religious illumination as expert-^ 
 enced by the subjects of this history. The question which next press- . 
 ed itself upon their attention was that of Baptism. Nursed, as they 
 had been, in unsuspecting confidence, that in so important a point 
 as this, tlioir mother Church could not be guilty of a mistake, it 
 was with no inconsiderable surprise that they searched the Scrip- 
 tures in vain for authority for the practice of sprinkling infants ; 
 that in the accounts given of the administration of the ordinance, 
 they found them uniformly connecting with the reception of Bap- 
 tism, faith, or some other exercise of the mind of a conscious 
 moral agent that necessarily implies believing. 
 
 As an act of personal obedience to a divine command, and such 
 the Scriptures represent Baptism to be, they could not but feel that 
 it seemed fairly to claim a capability for obedience in the recipient 
 of the ordinance. When they contemplated its objects and uses, 
 there seemed a singular propriety in a believer, by this public act 
 making " a good profession before many witnesses." And in the 
 manner of it by immersion, there appeared to shine forth a beauti- 
 ful signiiicancy, emblematical of " the death unto sin," and " new 
 
 i 
 
 
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 c 
 
 u 
 s 
 
 tl 
 f 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 f 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 t 
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 lavG imitat* * %' 
 that "nen ' '"*' 
 holy t Is 
 
 ■'I 
 
 ir priviioge 
 
 ■.:k 
 
 umility, of j^a" 
 seeing not 
 misguided '^ 
 jc. 
 
 18 fervently 
 e kingdom 
 lo were un- 
 ivho, when 
 the heart* 
 ihibition of 
 :hcy would 
 leir minds 
 ; and per- 
 lite of that 
 ■version of 
 
 
 
 aa experi-^ 
 next press- . 
 pd, as they 
 nt a point 
 listake, it 
 the Scrip- 
 infants ; 
 rdinance, 
 of Bap- 
 conscious 
 
 and such 
 feel that 
 recipient 
 and uses, 
 tublic act 
 iid in the 
 a beauti- 
 " new 
 
 17 
 
 1)irth unto righteousness" experienced by all true believers in 
 Christ. (I) 
 
 The covenant of circumcision seemed to be the strong hold to 
 whicii some of the a<lvocatns of Pcdobaptism, when driven from 
 all direct evidence, eii<lcavor to make good their retreat, although 
 many amonfj tliemsilvcs rejected tliia method ; and indeed the 
 great di8cro|)ancy amonj,' the supporters of that system, in their 
 way of maintaining it, seemed no small indication of its weakness. 
 In vain, however, was any just argument attempted to be drawn 
 from tills source. It involved monstrous consequences. An anal- 
 ogy eniloavorod to be made between the two rites of Circumcision 
 and Baptism imi$t fail in ;dtnost every particular As well might 
 any other ceremony of the Musaic Ritual be adopted into the prac- 
 tice of a Christian church. The worshippers of God are spiritual 
 worshippers ; and such only are suitable members of his church, 
 as is well stated in the nineteenth Article of the Church of Eng- 
 land : but infant Baptism, founded on the covenant of circumcis- 
 ion, strikes at the very root of the spirituality of Christ's kingdom, 
 and ingrafts at once a nation into tlie church, without the smallest 
 regard to religious ({ualifications. 
 
 On referring to the testimony respecting early practice, histori- 
 cal records were found to contain no mention of intant Baptism for 
 a considerable period after the Apostles ; which silence gave no 
 small evidence that the practice had not then crept in ; while at 
 the same time the first notice of it was scanty, vague, and imper- 
 fect, and, on the whole, more favorable to believers' Baptism than 
 to that of infants ; and it was easy to perceive that in two centuries, 
 upwards of which period had elapsed before the latter practice is 
 found in general use, there was abundant time for the corruption of 
 primitive usage in this particular, and accordingly the Christian 
 world is found at that time to teem with errors both of doctrine and 
 practice. 
 
 It may be well, however, here to notice that the most ample tes- 
 timony is dorived from the writings of the Fathers, that im- 
 mersion was tho primitive mode of Baptism. This, together with 
 the primary meaning of the Greek word rendered "Baptize," 
 which is undoubtedly to " immerse ;" and the direct testimony of 
 
 (1) 1 Pet. ii. 24. Rom. vi. 2, 8, 11. 
 
 c 
 
r 
 
 18 
 
 a great majority of the most learned Podobaptists, (1) both as to th*) 
 iiiciiiiiiig lit' the word, uiul us to Ihr itrimitivo priictice, leiivon it a 
 iiiiiltci of HOiiic surprisf that, in tho prcscril chiy of lij,Mit and 
 kiiowit'dj^e, candor tiiiouid not Hilcncc uiiy fiirtiier disputo us to 
 tiiosc particulars. In the altsenco, thru, of nil adeqniilo evidence 
 or argument in favor of the practice, the fxampln of Christ him- 
 self, as well as that presented by i-very instance of Raptism record- 
 ed in the New Testament, togetlu'r with the various passages which 
 represent faith as a prerecjuisito to its reception, remained the oidy 
 source, at last, as it was indeed the oidy genuine source in the first 
 instance, to which these iiKpiirers could resort for instruction as to 
 the nature of Christian Baptism. 
 
 After long and serious examination, luiited with earnest prayer, 
 and, it must be confessed, not without much pain at the pro.spectof 
 being compelled to differ from many beloved and highly esteemed 
 followers of Jesus, and to wound the feelings ol many of their re- 
 lations and friends, this iiKiuiry resulted in a belief that the im- 
 mersion of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, according to the 
 pattern e.xhibited in the instance of Philip and the Kunuch,(y) ia 
 the oidy Baptism enjoined by Jesus Christ or practised by his 
 Apostles. 
 
 fn the quiet retirement which our friends now enjoyed in their 
 religious worship, and with the unatfected simplicity of that minis- 
 tration of the gospel of which they were partakers, they had prob- 
 ably remained contented to this day, had they limited their views 
 solely to their own spiritual edification. But it is a characteristic of 
 the religion of Jesus Christ, that it awakens in the soul a principle 
 of benevolent concern for the everlasting welfare of our fellow-men. 
 Of this, surely, no douijt can be entertained when the character of 
 the Saviour is contemplated, lie went al)out doing good, and 
 preaching " the gospel of the grace of God.' lie mourned over 
 the impenitence of sinners, and thus exeiiiplilied in himself the 
 spirit of that solemn asseveration and pathetic remonstrance of the 
 Holy Spirii, by the mouth of the Proj)hut, " As I live, saith the 
 Lord, 1 have no pleasure in the death of the wicked ; turn ye, turn 
 ye; why will ye die, O house of Israel ?"(:{) If, then, the same 
 
 (1/ Such as Luther, Bcza, Calvin, !Sivliiuisiu<!, Ca.*aubon, Venema, Dr. Wall, 
 in his History of Infant Bapti'^iii, Dr. Ilaniniond, Bishoi) Taylor, Dr. Doildridije, 
 Dr. Canipbi'll, and many others. 
 
 (2) A.cts viii. 26—40. (3) Ezck. xxxiii. 11. 
 
 '^ 
 
 , ,^)|y.' JMfr.i»<75i,H>- -A^lltS -^ 
 
 ,... ;i* 
 
* 
 
 in 
 
 otii an to th4 
 c, IciivoH it a 
 >t' li^Mit und 
 lispiitu a.s tu 
 iilo I'vidciico 
 ' Christ liiin- 
 )tisiii rccord- 
 Hsujics wliicli 
 led tlie only 
 'A! ill tiiu firnt 
 ruction as to 
 
 •nest prayer, 
 u prospect of 
 ly esteemed 
 of their re- 
 Ihat the im- 
 irding to the 
 inuch,(y) IB 
 iscd by his 
 
 fed in their 
 
 that niinis- 
 
 y had prob- 
 
 thcir views 
 
 icteristic of 
 
 a principle 
 
 llow-ineii. 
 
 laractcr of 
 
 good, and 
 
 rnod oi'er 
 
 inseif the 
 
 lice of the 
 
 saith the 
 
 rn yo, turn 
 
 tlic same 
 
 1, Dr. Wall, 
 Doddridije, 
 
 • 
 
 niind wn« in any measure pojisesscd by tiieso individuals, *' whicli 
 was alsu in Christ .lesus," could they altogetlicr fail in lin-ir rc- 
 soinbancc to their divinr- Master in this particular? Could they 
 hiiNc bmi inad»; partakers of his ffracc, and not ardently desirt! 
 that others Mhould participate with them in that inesliuiai)l(! treas- 
 ure ? Could they hav«! " freely received" without beiny solicitouM 
 also freely to bestow? Could they, in short, see many of their re- 
 lations, (heir frit.nds, their countrymen, " [u'rishin;,' for laclc of 
 knowledoc," and not hold thcMiscivcs in readiness to seize every 
 providential means of i^'ivinij them acce'ss to those truths, wliicii, 
 in their own case, they liad found "able to save their souls?" 
 
 This lanpuni^c may, perhajts, to some appear to contain too bold 
 a censure of all whose sentiments in reli'^ion dillir from those hero 
 attempted to lie described ; mid, if tli(! dillerence merely rested on 
 some of those minor points which distin<^uish the various dcjiiomi- 
 nalions into which ("luistians are separated, such lanjjuase were 
 utterly inexcusable : but the ground on whicli we desire to stand 
 IS tlitit of real, heartfelt religion. Here true charity demands tho 
 plainest speech ; and if, therefore, in any part oi'this short nicinoir 
 we tiiid ourselves constrained to use langnago consistent with our 
 own sentiments, and tliose of tho individuals of whom we write; 
 we now, once for all, beg to assiiro our frieinls and brethren of ev- 
 ery denomination, and of whatever religious sentiments, that we 
 intend no disrespect, and arc inlluenced by no unkindly feelings, 
 but are compelled by our view of the nature of true religion, to cm- 
 ploy that i'orm of expression which acconls with our belief Wo 
 are heartily willing to be tried by the word of God ; and sincerely 
 should we rejoice in having received a correct understanding of the 
 Sacred Volume, should it prove the means of leading any to search 
 the Scriptures, to see if these things are so. 
 
 But to continue our narrative. An afl'ectiunate solicitude for 
 their friends and neighliors had often filled the souls of these Chris- 
 tians, and it is believed frefiueiilly carried tliein to the footstool of 
 that throne, where the voice of su[>plication is not poured forth in 
 vain. The small Baptist meeting which they then frequented, 
 alforded no accommodation equal to that proportion of the popula- 
 tion of this town that appeared willing to listen to the word of 
 God ; still less to the number of those to whom our friends wished 
 tliat word might find access. Their ardent desire was that the 
 .same message of incrcy, wliicii, they trusted, had been applied with 
 

 
 30 
 
 jtnmo [tower to thnir own noiiN, ini^lit not bo limited (n tliomnclvfli*, 
 FiUrly ill tlin H|)riii;{ of IH'J'!, thcrtiloro, tho roiniiuMlioii.i liuiMiiig 
 now occupied liy tlin Chiircli in (jranvilli'-Mriirt wiih piirchuHod. 
 Till' (>n;.jroht*in(; olijcci in tlirir view iit that tiuH", was simply lo rn- 
 tahlish in it tlm Hlatod prcacliin;; of "the word of life." TIh- dn- 
 noiniiuition to which the preachtr mitfht belong appiMircd unini|K)r- 
 tant, provided he had indeed experienced in his uwn Hoiil the cfH- 
 cacy of the trnth he Hlumid teach. 
 
 Ill I lie course! of the Huinnier, lif>»ovcr, r'pveral of tho individu« 
 niH whose progress we are tracinp, jrrivod at so salisl'actory a con- 
 viction of the necp-isity of Haptisni by innuerHion, on n profeMsion 
 of faith in Jenns Christ, as ii dniy rttsting on tho coniinand of our 
 h'nioiir, that thoy beratnn earnestly solicitotis that the Chapel 
 (ihould he completed, and that its ()|)enin)r rni^ht be uccon<pai>iud 
 with their admission into it, as a chnrcli of baptized bcli' ' "rw ia 
 Christ, and thus ud vantage be takfin of this opportuiiiiy '<■ •• let 
 their liL'l.t shine before men," to the glory of (lod t'l' Fatbor. 
 
 Ibit liie same concern for the spiritual wclfarn 'n t' ' i. feljow- 
 Hinn(>rd which had inlhunced these frietida ii tie purchase of the 
 Chapel, soon brought tit their notice another senuus consideration. 
 This was the general character, in po'nt of inlbrmation i.iid nnder- 
 etanding, of the congregation which it might be hoped would, from 
 time to time, attend this place ol worship ; and the necessity ot" 
 adapting, as far as was consistent with " the truth of God," the 
 ministration that should bo sought, so as to meet tho state and 
 character of this congregation. They had indeed witntissed the 
 grace of God manifested in raising up useful and acceptable teach- 
 ers, who had borrowed little aid from those sources of erudition on 
 whii'li the wisdom of man lavishes so profound a veneration ; and 
 luid seen that in this manner it often pleases the great Head of the 
 Cliurrh to testify his own sovereignly. But they also recollected 
 that God had not omitted to inculcate the exercise of wisdom in 
 its utmost extent. They were therefore led to perceive that their 
 duty required them to mingle the utmost prudence, as men, with 
 entire submission to the divine will and guidance, as Christians, 
 and thus to attempt the selection of a minister for their Chapel 
 whose attainments, in every point of view, might be adapted to 
 the character and habits of the people whom he would hive to ad- 
 dress; and the means of v'lat is ge-ierally termed a liber tl educa- 
 tion, within the compass of iJ. '■' » ' luiisters . .is country, being 
 
 « 
 
21 
 
 »i.s l)uil<lirig 
 I fiiircliuMfd. 
 'imply to fiu 
 ." Th.. dc. 
 •«'d imim|»or- 
 soiil llif flli- 
 
 ho individu- 
 ctory a con- 
 a proli'Hsion 
 iiaiid (»r our 
 the Chijpel 
 ccoti'i'anied 
 be); "riD in 
 liy ■, «' Ifl 
 ''aOior. 
 h' i.- felJow- 
 husc of the 
 Hfideriition. 
 •' lid iindor- 
 V'oidd, from 
 iccessity of 
 «od," the 
 ^ state and 
 iK.'sst'd the 
 iiblo teach- 
 idition ou 
 lion ; and 
 ead of the 
 ccollected 
 /isdoni in 
 that their 
 1011, with 
 hiistians, 
 ir Chapel 
 lapted to 
 ve to ad- 
 ediica- 
 ry, being 
 
 i 
 
 • orv liniif^d, thoy jiidKod it proper to Irtok abroad for a supply ; and, 
 ron^(H|ii<'iilly, soni^iit a r.drrt^tpondence un this Huhjert bolii in Kiig- 
 lnM<l and the L'nitiid StatfH. 
 
 |)isu|ii>oi(itin«nt, however, ancined for a time almut to be tlieir 
 port 1011. 'I'heir correspondence had been enjjerly puritued in the 
 quarlrrH lo which it had been directed, but it had been uustirrt'TfS- 
 ful. Tii'^v indeed (Miiitd friendM riiot^t kuidly fiinpoHcd (o Inid ihem 
 cverv nul, hjt bo great t» the dcinund, «'«<pe»ially iti 'lie I niti'd 
 Sliitt s, 'or niiniiiteri '' exertions, that a dark rioud !<eenied to hang 
 over the proHpect of supply in^f the (JranviiU'Btreet (Muipel. 
 
 But He who " leads the bluid b) ) way which tiiey have not 
 known," was prr|iiirin^ a happy dawn tu \lhuiilnat(; the darkened 
 hopes of thes(! friends of Zion ; and providing, temp<warily at least, 
 Hucb pastoral help us they sought, and such as thry trust may be- 
 come a means of siilvution to many soids in Malitax. 
 
 In this .stntfe of our narrati\r , it may not \m' improper, in refer- 
 ence eH|>ecially to such (d' our readers ;is may have a particular 
 knowled>re of the parties interested in it, to take a parting notice of 
 the mistakes and disappointmonts in estimating reli;;ious cliaraeM'r 
 which have accompan.ed them during various pitriods of tl "ir 
 progress. Tenderness to private feelin^f- has forbidden a particu- 
 lar mention of these. But without vcnlurni.'f to puss a judgmt;iit ou 
 any individual, we would wish to remark hat such mistakes and 
 disappointments can furnish no fair argiiniiut against the doctrineti 
 here held as the truth of God, but, if of an force, may tend rath- 
 er to confirm them. At all periods of the listory of the Church, 
 there liavc been those who have, for a tinn s«!emed to run well, 
 but w hom, at length, sin, and Satan, and the world, prevailed " lo 
 hinder that tiiey should not obey the truth." At all periods has 
 some seed fallen on stony ground ; and there conscciuently liavp^ 
 been those, who " anon with joy received tiie wore ," itut who, " when 
 persecution arose, by and by were oflended." The Saviour him- 
 self was ollen surrounded by men, who, for a time, appeared zeal- 
 ous followers ; but when brought up to tlie pla;M truth of God's 
 word, deemed it "a hard saying," and thence i)rth, walked no 
 more with him. The great Apostle of the <Jentil' s also was tried 
 by '* perils among fal.se brethren;" was called to mourn the defec- 
 tion of a Demas, who, though onci; high in the est 'nation even of 
 ihc discerning Paul, as a fellow laborer in the G( -pel, at length 
 forsook him, " having loved this present world ' and to en- 
 
i)Cf 
 
 dure the nialifTnity of otliors wlio " proachod Clirist out of conten- 
 tion, supposing to add alTlictioii to his lurnds." 
 
 Tiie mdanclioly recurrence of similar instances at the present 
 day, much as they are to be deplored, tend nevertheless to the con- 
 firmation of the truth, when it is seen to be accompanied with the 
 bame striking and peculiar circumstances that characterized it in 
 the very first rise of the Church. And if the individiuils interest- 
 ed in this narrative have in iiny measure been subjected to the like 
 trials, let not their jealousy for the truth pass unnoticed, nor unob- 
 served the impartiiility with which, at whatever sacrifice of their 
 personal feelings, they have endeavored to clear themselves from 
 the charge of sanctioning any aberration from rectitude, or cover- 
 ing any hollow or insincere profession. 
 
 To one other additional remark we crave indulgence in this 
 place. The preceding statements of religious doctrine and expe- 
 rience, necessarily, in our judgments, involve that truth so hostile 
 to the unrenewed heart, s'o often abused by unworthy professors of 
 Christianity, and yet so effectual in producing holiness, so abound- 
 ing in consolation to the humble disciple of the cross, — the elect- 
 ing love or distinguishing grace of God. And while in the dec- 
 laration of " all the counsel of God" we should desire to seo 
 this doctrine, as well as all others, hold only that relation and that 
 degree of prominency in the general picture, which it is found to 
 occupy on a just examination of tlie Sacred Records, we at the 
 same time, on the one hand, see it to contain the only power which 
 can cleave asunder the sinner's hold on sclf-depondence, that 
 quicksand where ruin certainly awaits him; on the other, we dis- 
 cover in it the glorious foundation on which alone has ever been 
 built the assured confidence, the joyful hope, of saints and martyrs. 
 Here is that anchor of the soul both sure; and steadfast, and wliich 
 cntereth into that within the vai].(l ) Here are the " two immuta- 
 ble things," the promise and oath of (iod, whereby they " might 
 have a strong consolation who have lied for ri'fuge to lay hold upon 
 the hope set before them. "(2) Here;, to a sinner who has lenrnod 
 his own natural weakness and dej)ravity, is tiie only pledge of hope, 
 that amidst the trials and temptations of his future life — amidst the 
 snan.'s of the world, the deceitfulness of sin, the malignant power 
 of the " roaring lion," he shall finally be made " more than a coii- 
 
 
 (I) Heb. vi, 19. 
 
 (2) Ileb. vi. IS. 
 
 #i 
 
 - 4l">V 
 
•ut of conton- 
 
 tlio present 
 f^« to tilt' con- 
 lied with the 
 terizcd it in 
 •als interest- 
 ■<1 to tJio like 
 'I, nor iinob- 
 ife of their 
 iselves froir 
 'c, or cover- 
 
 ncc in (his 
 iiiid cxpc- 
 h HO lio.stiJe 
 roCessors of 
 so abouud- 
 -the elect- 
 1 tlic dec- 
 ire to SCO 
 
 n and that 
 s found to 
 Hc at tlie 
 ver which 
 , that 
 ^vo dis- 
 r been 
 lartyrs. 
 I wliich 
 iimuta- 
 ' niio-ht 
 d ii|)()a 
 c.'rnod 
 " hope, 
 1st the 
 power 
 a cou- 
 
 nce 
 r 
 
 111 
 
 23 
 
 queror" over all these " through him that loved him." lie is "tho 
 workmanship of God, created in (^lirist Jesus unto good works, 
 irliich (iod Imth before ordidncd I kut he should walk in them."{l) 
 (lis conti<lence is in hiin wlio is " tho same yesterday, and to-day, 
 and fortner." And when enjoying an humble assurance that he has 
 indeed been enabled to take refuge in Christ,, he is able to join witli 
 th(! Apo.stie in his elo<iuent and sublime climax, aiid say, " We know 
 tliat all things work together for good to them that love God, to 
 them who arc; the called according to his purpo.se. Tor whom he 
 did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image 
 of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many breth- 
 ren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called ; 
 and whom he called, them he also justified ; and whom he justifi- 
 ed, them he also glorified :"{'l) and with the Apostle, too, he joy- 
 fully unites in crying, "What shall we then say to these things? 
 If God be fur us, who can be against us?"(3) 
 
 We cannot but commiserate the case of those tempted .souls, that 
 fear the eternal counsel and purpose of God to be a bar to their 
 approach to Christ ; deeming, as we do, the want of a cordial as- 
 .sent the Divine will to b(> the only bar. We would fain ask them, 
 helpl . .-<, and .sinful, and corrupt, as they have tbuiid themselves to 
 be, wlKlher tlieir salvation would appear safer in their own hands 
 than in those of the everlasting Jehovah ? Would it alford them 
 more comfort to resort to soiik^ hidden, unknown, imaginary re- 
 source ill themselves, than to approach the Most High God, and 
 commit their cause to him ? Or can they conceive the suppo.sed 
 ability of their own hearts to will their own regeneration a better 
 foundation for the hope of heaven, a greater encouragement to them 
 in their pursuit of eternal life, than the invitation of the benevolent 
 Saviour, " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, 
 and J will give you rest, "(4) and " him that cometh unto me i will 
 in no wi.se cast out !"(.j) 
 
 Having now conducted our readers through the first part of tlii.s 
 sketch, and exhibited to them a brief view of the somewhat re- 
 markable progress, wiiioh a number of persons, without any pro- 
 meditated plan, were led gradually to make, in the investigation of 
 truth, and towards the establishment among them of the stated 
 
 (1) Eph. ii. 10. (2) Rom. viii, 28, 2l>, 30. (.S) Rom. viii. 31. 
 
 (i) Mutt. Xi. 28, (.5) John vi. 37, 
 
 Wfc 
 
 '^ 
 
 M 
 
:.TFS •-"^'^ 
 
 24 
 
 preaching of the pure "gospel of the grace of God;" we introduce 
 them with pleasure to the second part of this Memoir, where will 
 be found a statement of the interesting facts more directly connect- 
 ed with the formation of the Church in Granville-street. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Arrival of Professor Chase — The first Baptism — Dedication of 
 the Chapel, and Recognition of the Church — Articles — Cove- 
 nnnt — Ordination of the Rev. A. Caswell — of two Deacons — 
 Second Baptism, and the Lords Supper — Conclusion. 
 
 On Thursday, the 27th of September, the Rev. Irah Chase, 
 Professor of Biblical Theology in the Newton Theological Institu- 
 tion, near Boston, (Mass.) arrived at Haliflix, with a friend who 
 will hereafter be more particularly mentioned. They were cor- 
 dially received ; and they entered immediately on the work of pro- 
 moting the spiritual interests «i'the people, and of taking the req- 
 uisite steps previous to the anticipated Baptism, and the constitu- 
 tion of a Church. Six believers who had nut truly been baptized, 
 were in readiness before the Lord's-day ; and much attention was 
 excited in expectation of their baptism. 
 
 THE BAPTISM. 
 
 The place selected for the administration of the ordinance, was 
 a quiet and delightful spot on that inlet of the sea above Halifax 
 called Bedford Basin. A convenient house was near , and the 
 proprietor kindly opened it for the accommodation of the candidates 
 and others. 
 
 The Lord's-day morning came. The weather was fine, and a 
 large assembly stood on the bank. Professor Chase addressed them 
 thus : 
 
 You arc aware, my friends, of the purpose for which we are here 
 assembled. We have conic to obey one of the commands of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Your countenances tell me that 
 you have not come hither to interrupt nor to mock. I rejoice in 
 
 W 
 
 '..i:-^ 
 
 ^ ^>--^B..^ 
 
26 
 
 'e introduce 
 
 where will 
 
 tly connect- 
 
 edicatton of 
 
 'cles — Cov€' 
 
 Deacons — 
 
 [rah Chase, 
 ical Institu- 
 friend who 
 { were cor- 
 vork of pro- 
 ng the req- 
 lie constitu- 
 n baptized, 
 ention was 
 
 lanco, was 
 |ve Halifax 
 and the 
 andidatcs 
 
 fne, and a 
 tssed them 
 
 le are here 
 
 Ids of our 
 
 me tliat 
 
 rejoice in 
 
 Ike confidence that you have come to listen, and to beiiold with re- 
 spectful attention. I need not detain you with preliminary re- 
 marks. Let us, with becoming reverence, enter upon the devotion- 
 al aervicea that are before us. 
 
 HYMN 314, c. M. (Winchcll's Selection.) 
 
 How great, how solemn is the work 
 
 Which we attend to-day ! 
 Now for a holy, solemn frame, 
 
 O God, to thee we pray. 
 
 O may we feel as once we felt. 
 
 When mourning, grieved, and faint, 
 
 Thy kind, forgiving, melting look. 
 Relieved our sad complaint. 
 
 Awake, our love, our fear, our hope. 
 
 Wake, fortitude and joy ; 
 Vain world, begone ; let things above 
 
 Our happy thoughts employ. 
 
 Whilst thee, our Saviour and our God, 
 
 To all around we own, 
 Drive each rebellious, rival lust, 
 
 Each traitor from the throne. 
 
 Instruct our minds, our wills subdue. 
 
 To heaven our passions raise, 
 That hence our lives, our all may be 
 
 Devoted to thy praise. 
 
 After the singing of this hymn, a prayer adapted to the occasion 
 was offered. A solemn impression seemed to be on the minds of 
 all ; and the heart-felt Amen was responded by many at the close. 
 The administrator then addressed a few words to the assembly : 
 
 On this occasion, my respected hearers, it may be supposed that 
 I should vindicate the ordinance we have come to observe. But 
 there is a sul)|ect whicli ought to be previously settled. When I 
 cast my eye over this multitude, my mind is borne onward to that 
 day, vvlien, amidst the innumerable multitude of all nations, we 
 shall meet before the bar of God. I fear, I greatly fear, that many 
 (if you arc unprepared for that meeting. O let me speak freely to 
 
 D 
 
'1 ^ 
 
 it 
 
 rU 
 
 jour consciences. Aro you prepared to meet your God ? Hafc 
 you repented of your sins ? Have you, with all the heart, believed 
 on the Lord Jesus Christ, and become his willing and devoted dis- 
 ciples, each saying, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" 
 
 If you are not thus prepared, you are not prepared to enter prof- 
 itably upon the discussion of the subject of Baptism. You are 
 neglecting a previous subject, a subject of overwhelming impor- 
 tance. Your souls aro in danger of everlasting perdition. And 
 God forbid that I, or any of my brethren, should call away your 
 attention from your first and immediate duty to any controversy 
 respecting any external rite or observance which Christ has enjoin- 
 ed on his disciples. Let me entreat you in the fear and love of God, 
 to settle the previous subject, — to become in heart and in deed 
 disciples of Christ. Then you will be better prepared than you 
 can be at present to consider the subject of Baptism ; and then, 
 while your bosoms are glowing with gratitude to him who loved us, 
 and died for us, I would refer you for information concerning Bap- 
 tism, and most confidently I would refer you, to the Holy Scrip- 
 tures. Let them lead you ; let them, with the love of God shed a- 
 broad in the heart, be your guide. 
 
 To you, my dear fellow disciples, who arc about to be baptized 
 in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, 
 it becomes me to address a few words. I have spoken of the Holy 
 Scriptures as our guide. Let me now call your attention to one pas- 
 sage. From the many that occur in that blessed volume, let mo 
 select a lesson for your present meditation : — 
 
 ^ 
 
 Rom. vi. 1 — 13. 
 
 1. Uliat shall wc saij, then? Shall wc continue in sin that grace 
 
 2. may abound ? God forbid: How shall wc that are dead to sin 
 
 3. live any longer therein ? Know ye not that so many of us as 
 were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death ? 
 
 "Baptized into his death" — We, by our baptism, the Apostle 
 would say to his Roman brethren, we, by our baptism, have ex- 
 pressed our view of the death of Christ, and the effect wliich that 
 view has had on ourselves. Wc have viewed him dying for sin ; 
 and that view has made us dead to sin. " Our old man," our sin- 
 ful propensities, have been slain : they have been, as it were, cruci- 
 fied with Christ. We have known and felt that we ought to be as 
 
27 
 
 jod T ITaTG 
 art, believed 
 devoted dis- 
 do?" 
 
 :o enter prof- 
 n. You are 
 ming impor- 
 lition. And 
 II away your 
 controversy 
 t has enjoin- 
 love of God, 
 nd in deed 
 id than you 
 ; and then, 
 ho loved us, 
 erning Bap- 
 Eloly Scrip- 
 God shed a- 
 
 be baptized 
 Eloly Ghost, 
 of the Holy 
 1 to one pas- 
 ime, let mc 
 
 that grace, 
 deod to sin 
 1/ of us as 
 s death ? 
 
 10 Apostle 
 1, have cx- 
 vhich that 
 ig for sin ; 
 our bin- 
 ere, cruci- 
 U to be as 
 
 insensible to the allurements of sin as if we were really dead, and 
 were become so many corpses ready to be laid in the grave. At the 
 same time, we have, as we humbly trust, become alive to holiness. 
 
 We have then experienced a death, a dcadness to sin, as Christ 
 died to deliver from sin. And we have been made alive to holiness, 
 by the divine Spirit, and been disposed to begin a new and never- 
 ending life to God, as Christ rose from the dead. 
 
 By being " baptized into Jesus Ciirist," or as his disciples, the 
 Apostle would say tiiat we solemnly and most impressively inti- 
 mated the deatli of Christ, and our dcadness to sin ; the resurrec- 
 tion of Christ, and our rising to a new life. As dead to sin we 
 were burieil by baptism ; and as alive to holiness and to God, we 
 rose again from the watery grave. 
 
 4. Therefore wc are. htiricd with him, hy baptism, into death, that, 
 like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the 
 
 6. Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if 
 we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, toe 
 shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. 
 
 In other words, if we have been made similar to him, or have 
 been associated with him in the likeness of his death ; if, in view of 
 his death, we have come so to sympathize with him as to be dead 
 to sin, wo shall be associated with him also in the likeness of his 
 resurrection. We shall be quickened and raised up as it were from 
 the dead ; we shall become alive to God ; we shall enter on a new 
 life, a life of holiness, a life that shall never end. 
 
 C. Knoiring this, that our old matt is crucified with him, that the 
 body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not 
 
 7. serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if wc 
 
 8. be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live loith him: 
 
 9. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more ; 
 
 10. death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he 
 died unto sin once; but in. that he liveth, he livcth unto God. 
 
 11. Likewise reckon yc also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, 
 ri, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not 
 
 sin, therefore, reign in your mortal body, that yc should obey 
 13. it in the lusts thereof: Neither yield ye your members as in- 
 stnimcnts of unrighteousness unto sin ; but yield yourselves un- 
 to God us those thai arc alive from the dead, and your mem- 
 bers as instruments of righteousness unto God, 
 
 I .3 
 
 ,1' 
 
 \P\ 
 
28 
 
 I I 
 
 Dear brethren andflisters in Christ! you see the obligations that 
 rest on the baptized. And, blessed be God, you do not wish them 
 to be lighter nor weaker. If you have found the burden of sin to 
 be intolerable, and if Christ has given you rest, you will find that 
 his yoke is easy, and his burden is light Think of the floods of 
 sufferings that rolled over his righteous soul. Think of his death ; 
 think of his grave ; think of his resurrection. And never, never 
 forget that being " buried by baptism," and raised up as from 
 the grave, you will be specially obligated henceforth to lead a 
 new and holy life. 
 
 Think of the power of the Saviour who rose from the dead. 
 lie had power to lay down his life, and he had power to take it 
 again. All power in heaven and in earth belongs to him. To him 
 then commit yourselves without reserve. Obey his voice. Trust 
 his grace. Here, in his strength, resolve anew to strive against ev- 
 ery sinful propensity, till you pass through the waters of death ; for 
 he is " able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless 
 before the presence of his glory,, with exceeding joy." 
 
 The candidates, after this address, were led successively down 
 into the water, and baptized. 
 
 Silence and decorum pervaded the assembly, and some were af- 
 fected to tears. In some of the intervals occupied in coming up 
 out of the water, and in descending, a verse of an appropriate hymn 
 ivas sung upon the shore. Then all was stillness, but the voice of 
 the administrator, and the gentle moving of the water. The ser- 
 vices were closed with a very brief and pertinent prayer, and a 
 benediction. 
 
 4 
 
 t 
 
 DEDICATION OF THE CHAPEL, AND RECOGNITION OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 In the afternoon, the stone Chapel was opened the first time for 
 public worship ; and appropriate praises and prayers were offered to 
 God. Prof Chase then read the articles of belief and cove- 
 nant,(l) which had been adopted by the newly constituted Church 
 as follows : 
 
 As God has been pleased to put it into the hearts of a number of 
 persons to complete in this place a new house for his worship, and 
 
 (1) The same in substance with those of the Nova-Scotia Baptist Association, 
 but preferred for ordinary use, as being more brief and simple. 
 
29 
 
 ligations that 
 Jt wish them 
 len of sin to 
 vill find that 
 he floods of 
 >f his death ; 
 lever, never 
 up as from 
 h ta lead a 
 
 I tlie dead, 
 to take it 
 1. To him 
 ice. Trust 
 against ev- 
 death; far 
 }u faiiltlcs« 
 
 ivoly down 
 
 e were af- 
 oming up 
 iate hymn 
 e voice of 
 The ser- 
 er, and a 
 
 CHURCH. 
 
 time for 
 )frered to 
 id cove- 
 Church 
 
 imberof 
 hip, and 
 
 sociation. 
 
 the work having thus far been accomplished in circumstances pc- 
 culiarly interesting, and with evident tokens of the mnivs of the 
 great Head of the Church, we feel it an incumbent duty, with a view 
 to the glory of the rich grace of our Lord and Saviour, whicii wc 
 trust wc have experienced, and to the extension of his kingdom 
 among men, to associate and covenant together in the bonds of fel- 
 lowship as members of a church of Christ ; and knowing that, as 
 " with the heart man belicveth unto righteousness," so " witli the 
 mouth conlession is made unto salvation," and that it may be useful 
 and gratifying to others to be correctly informed concerning our be- 
 lief, we deem it suitable to make the following declaration of 
 
 Our Views of Christian Doctrine. 
 
 We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely in- 
 spired ; that it is a perfect rule of faith and practice ; and that, 
 among others, it teaches the following important truths : 
 
 I. That there is one only living and true God, infinite in every 
 natural and moral excellence. 
 
 II. That he has revealed him.self as the Father, and the Son, 
 (or ihe Word,) and the Holy Ghost, the same in essence and equal 
 in divine qualities. 
 
 III. That man was created holy ; but that by wilfully violating 
 the law of his Maker, he fell from that state ; so that by nature 
 there is in us no holiness ; but we are all inclined to evil, and, " in 
 that all have sinned," all are children of wrath, justly exposed to 
 death, and other miseries temporal, spiritual, and eternal. 
 
 IV. That the only way of salvation from this state of guilt and 
 condemnation is through the righteousness and atonement of Jesus 
 Christ, the Word, who miraculously assumed our nature without 
 sin, or became incarnate, for the suifering of death, and " whom 
 God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood ;" 
 having " so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, 
 that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have ever- 
 lasting life." 
 
 V. That all who are brought to repentance and faith, were 
 chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world ; and that, in 
 consequence, not of their own merit, but of God's own purpose and 
 grace, the Holy Ghost, (without whose influence none would ever 
 repent and believe,) performs the work of regeneration in theii 
 hearts. 
 
 I 
 
 ^ 
 
71 
 
 r'l 
 
 ¥ 
 
 I 
 
 
 'r 
 
 30 
 
 VI. That notliing can separate true believers from the love of 
 God, but they will be " kept by the power of God through faith 
 unto salvation," the sure and final proof of their being true be* 
 licvers, consisting in the continuance of their attachment and obe- 
 dience to Christ till the close of life. 
 
 VII. That the only proper subjects of the ordinance of Baptism 
 and the Lord's Supper, are professed believers ; and that baptism is 
 properly adminiat(;red only by immersion, and is, by scriptural e.\- 
 ample, a pre-requisite to communion at the Lord's table. 
 
 VIII. That according to the example of the Apostles, and earli- 
 est disciples, sanctioned by the repeated presence of Christ himself, 
 after his resurrection, the first day of the week is to be observed as 
 the Lord's-day, or Christian Sabbath. 
 
 IX. That there will be a resurrection of the just and the unjust, 
 and that the Lord Jesus Christ will come to judge both the living 
 and the dead ; when those who have contiimcd or died impenitent 
 and unreconciled to God, will be sentenced to endless punishment, 
 according to the desert of their sins ; and those who have truly re- 
 pented and turned to God, relying solely on the merits of him who 
 died, the just for the unjust, will be completely delivered from 
 the dominion of sin, and be admitted into the holy and heavenly Je- 
 rusalem with Bongs and everlastmg joy : so shall they be ever with 
 
 the Lord. 
 
 Church Covenant. 
 
 As we trust that we have been brought by divine grace to receive 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the influences of his Spirit to give 
 ourselves up to him, so we do row solemnly covenant with each 
 other, as God shall enable us, to walk together in brotherly love ; 
 that we will exercise a Christian care and watchfulness over each 
 other, and faithfully admonish and entreat one another, as occa- 
 sion may require ; that we will not forsake the assembling of 
 ourselvca together, nor neglect the great duty of prayer for our- 
 selves and for others, that we will endeavor to bring up such as 
 may at any time be under our care, in the nurture and admonition 
 of the Lord, and, by a pure and lovely example, to win our kin- 
 dred and acquaintances to the Saviour, to holiness, and to eternal 
 life; that we will participate in each other's joys, and endeavor 
 with tenderness and sympathy to bear each other's burdens and 
 sorrows ; that we will seek divine aid to enable us to live circum- 
 spectly and watchfully in the world, " denying ungodliness and 
 
 W 
 
31 
 
 the love of 
 """Ugh faith 
 "/? true be 
 It and obc- 
 
 of Baptism 
 '>ii|)tisin is 
 'I'luraJ ex- 
 
 and earli- 
 St liiinseJf, 
 bacrved as 
 
 he unjust, 
 tlie living 
 iiipcnitent 
 iiislitnent, 
 2 truJy re- 
 liim who 
 rod from 
 ivenly Je- 
 ever with 
 
 o receive 
 t to give 
 itii each 
 rJy love ; 
 'er each 
 IS occa- 
 ^iing of 
 for our- 
 'uch as 
 ion it ion 
 iir kin- 
 eternal 
 d«»avor 
 IS and 
 irciim- 
 is and 
 
 worldly lusts," and remembering that, as wo have voluntarily been 
 buried by baptism, and have been raised up from tlio emblematicaJ 
 grave, so there is on us a s])ecial obligation henceforth lo load a 
 new and holy life; that we will strive together for the support of a 
 faithful, evangelical ministry among us ; and, through life, amidst 
 evil report and good report, seek to live to the -y of him who 
 hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light. 
 
 After the reading of this paper, he proceeded to the public re- 
 cognition of the Church, by presenting the hand of fellowship to one 
 of the members who had been appointed to receive it for the whole, 
 Baying : 
 
 My dear Brother, — I cannot express the emotions of my heart 
 on this occasion. It is a day of holy jv^y ; it is a day that t/ie Lord 
 hath made. 
 
 What though till within the last week, wo were foreigners and 
 strangers to each other '? The spirit of the Cliristian religion re- 
 gards not the lines that mark otT the world into separate, and, alas! 
 too often hostile empires. And what are all the worldly interests 
 of the mightiest empires, compared with the interests of that 
 kingdom which is not of this world t 
 
 We will be thankful for the blessings of civil government, so 
 I'ichly enjoyed in our respective countries. We will pray for all 
 that are in authority. Wo will render to Cesar the things that are 
 Cesar's, and to God the things that are God's. Yes, wliile we are 
 attached respectively to our countries, and cheerfully perform our 
 respective duties to tiicm, it is tlu' kingdom, the spiritual kingdom 
 of Christ of which it is our highest joy and glory to be subjects. 
 As such we here meet each other. The events of this day prove 
 that the members of the Ch\irch whose articles of belief and cov- 
 enant we have been reading, understand the nature of a Christian 
 Churcii, and desire above all tilings to serve and please the Lord. 
 You would receive his doctrine and obey his commands. You 
 would help each other forward in all that is lovely and of good re- 
 port. You would show forth his praise by your own lives ; and you 
 would use the means which he has appointed for promoting his 
 glory in the prevalance of the truth as it is in Jesus, and the salva- 
 tion of souls. 
 
 There is a general bond that unites the regenerate, of whatever 
 name, and wherever they may be discovered. And from the na- 
 
 ."^ 
 

 turc of the cose, there it, there must be, and ought to be, a 9pc< 
 ciai tic binding together those whose views of religious doctriuo 
 und dulius enable them to act in closer concert. 
 
 Receive then, my brother, the hand of fellowship. It is a token, 
 not only of christian love, but also of our christian union in main- 
 taining the trutli and the commands of our Lord. It is the pledge 
 of the deep and thrilling interest that shall continue to bo felt in the 
 welfare of this Church. When far away from you, I shall call to 
 mind the events of this day, my heart shall not cease to pray for tho 
 wclfurc of this church, and tor your being a blessing to all this peo- 
 ple. We are one ; wo have one Lord, one faith, one baptism. In 
 behalf of my brethren, and of all the churches in the bosom of 
 which my lot has been cast, I give to you most heartily, this hand 
 of fellowship, and through you to every member of this Church, 
 und to all the churches and ministers of the same faith and 
 order, throughout this Province, and throughout the whole British 
 Empire. 
 
 An appropriate discourse was then delivered, evincing the tenden- 
 cy of Christian principles and experioncc to promo'.e, in the profes- 
 sors of religion, Humility with regard to (ii>d, and to one another, and 
 to the unregenerate ; and the Church wub urged by every moving 
 consideration in the present posture of it-^ affairs to continue to cher- 
 ish this amiable temper, and thus to hope for the blessing of God. 
 
 pro! 
 diul 
 whJ 
 pel. 
 perl 
 
 To 
 
 
 THE ORDINATION. 
 
 Professor Alexis Caswo)!, from the college near tho city of Wash- 
 ington in the United State;., being on a visit in Newton and Bos- 
 ton at the time of Professor Chase's embarking, yielded to his earn- 
 est solicitation to accompany hiui to Halifax. He was a licensed 
 preacher, and he yielded to the solicitation with a view of assisting 
 Prof. Chase, (whose health, impaired by a recent attack of fever, had 
 not been completely restored,) and of returning soon after him to 
 the States. But in consideration of the peculiarly interesting stale 
 of the people, and of the prospect of there being repeated calls for 
 the administration of baptism and the Lord's supper. Prof. Chase, 
 (to whom he had long been intimately known,) and the whole 
 church were deeply impressed with the propriety and the impor- 
 tance of his being ordained to the ministry of the gospel, and of his 
 
 >'H, 
 
33 
 
 \ 
 
 it- 
 
 protracting bis stay at TTalifux. In tliia meaiiif they had tli rof 
 diul ciicouru^tMiii'iit of tlin beloved and venrr " Rider R ton, 
 whose life has been almost worn out here in the service of the gos- 
 pel. If the ordination was to occur, it was requisite to have it 
 performed the succeeding Lord's-day. 
 
 The request was in a very improNsive manner presented to Prof. 
 Caswell, at a nieetinj; held in tlu' house of one of tlic bretlircn. 
 He desired that special prayer be made in his behalf lor divine di- 
 rection. 
 
 A day or two after, the following note was received : 
 
 Ilalifat, Oct. 3, 1827. 
 
 To Prof. Chase. 
 
 Dear Sir, I have been revolving in my mind the subject which 
 was proposed yesterday. 1 have cndeiivored to divest myself, as 
 far as possible, of all selfish motives and feelings, and to say, Itordy 
 what wilt thou have me to iln ? 
 
 I have not omitted to imagine myself in the presence of the Sav- 
 iour, and to be asked, What hast thou (hue ? I have feared to de- 
 cline the invitation of tlie brethren, lest I should have hereafter 
 deeply to feel that I have been unfaithful, have shrunk from the 
 performance of obvious duty. J feel, as I have before told you, 
 that my strength is perfect weakness ; but at the same time I dare 
 not doubt that God is able to make my weakness the instrument 
 and occasion of infmite good. I put my trust in him. 
 
 You will make the arrangements, in concert with the brethren, 
 for the services of Lord's-day ; and God grant that his gracious 
 presence may be with us. 
 
 I wish the subject of Deacons may not be omitted in your de- 
 liberations. 
 
 Yours sincerely, A. CASWELL. 
 
 This subject was not omitted ; and two of the brethren were 
 accordingly appointed to the office of Deacons. 
 
 The preliminary steps having been taken, the public services 
 of the ordination wore performed in the chapel, on the Lord's-day 
 morning, the 7th of October. Prof Chase officiated as the pre- 
 siding minister. The sermon by him, from Rom. xv. 29, was 
 adapted to impress the mind with the unutterable worth of the gos- 
 pel as the richest blessing that Heaven can bestow upon a people. 
 The impressive circumstances of the occasion were adverted to ; 
 
 E 
 
 I 
 
 /] 
 
34 
 
 II 
 
 If 
 
 ami ilifl following qiiostionR solemnly propouiulcd to tlio candidate 
 Tlio replios wore pivon in effect as hero annexed. 
 
 Ill times past, my hrother, you have proieHurd t<» repent, and be- 
 lieve on the liOrd .lexiiM Christ with nil your heart. Yon have |)ro- 
 fe.s.sed to renonnce all de|»endunce on your own merits, unil to rely 
 for MaJviuion solely on th>: niuritH and atonement of C'hiist and him 
 crucified. And yon have profes.sed your willinjKne.sa to receive as 
 his di.iciple all that he has taught, and to oltey all that he has com- 
 manded. — Do you denire this day to liold (axt your profession? 
 
 Ans. I desire to lay a.-^ide every weijjht and sin, which doth so 
 cnsiily bc.set me, and to run with patience the race that is set before 
 inc.(I) 
 
 Qiics. And to look still to (^hrist for your salvation? 
 
 Ahs. For arceptiiiire with (iod f run look to no other ; " fiir 
 he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might 
 be made the right(>ousness of God in him."('i) Salvation, as I es- 
 teem it, is all of grace ; " not of v»orks, lest any man should boast." 
 
 Qiieii. And do you desir*; to fjivo all the glory of it to the Fa- 
 ther, and the Son, and the Jloly Ghost? 
 
 Ana. 1 i\o. 
 
 Qitfs. Do yon trust tliat you have been inwardly moved and 
 constrained by the Holy .Spirit, according to the will of our Lord 
 Jesu3 Christ, to enter on the ministry of the gospel ? 
 
 Ans. I do. 
 
 Qiirs. What are some of the objects in view of which you have 
 felt yourself thus constrained ? 
 
 Alls. The object in view of which T fir.«it felt constrained to 
 preach the gospel was the exceeding greatness u\' the love of God 
 manifesterl in the gift of his Son to die for sinners. 
 
 When it pleased him, as I trust it did, to show nic the sinfulness 
 of my own heart, the just condemnation in which sin had involved 
 myself and the whole human family, and the abundant riches of 
 his grace in the new covenant, I felt an ardent desire to preach 
 Christ and him crucified to every creature. 
 
 These ardent feelings, however, which are probably in a greater 
 or le • degree common to all christians, 1 did- not regard as a crite- 
 rion of duty. On more mature experience, and after the lapse of 
 « few years, during which I had an opportunity to ibservc the 
 
 (1) Heb.xii I 
 
 (2) 2 Cor. V. 21. 
 
35 
 
 Vrogr(>«8 of my nxcrcmes on iIiIh Hubjoct, as w«;ll us the pointinjis 
 «)t rroviik-iui', I Hit it my duty tn devolu tliu tiiknta wlutli God 
 had gi' ju ino to the ^o^pcl iniiuNtry. 
 
 Otiicr walks of life \ver« ofit-n lieforo nic ; Imt when I rcincrii- 
 bcred the price of our ii'ilcinptiori, tlic procioiis Idortd of Christ ; 
 when I ItKikcd I'orw.inl to d(;iith :ui>l to a liitiiri- judgment ; w lien I 
 paw sinners livinj,' and dyinir wilhoul tJod ami wiiiioiit hope — (ho 
 harvest plenteous, and the lahorors few, I felt constrained to isay, 
 Ijun/, /hi; am I ; w/mf iri/f thou Inirr mr to do .' 1 d«;.sir«! to i,'lorify 
 thee in my liody and my spirit, which uro thine, and to tef-tiiy tho 
 gortpel of the jj;race of (iod. 
 
 1 have; not been without many trials on this su!)j«ct, trials whicli 
 1 need not now recount. 
 
 i trenjhie in view of the responsiljiiitins of a minister of Christ. 
 Consetpicwices of eternal moment, 1 am convinced, hani? upon hi<< 
 every act. And y<'t, awful as these respoiisihilitii's are, I oannot, 
 without doing violence to my convictions of duty, nay, I dare not 
 turn my back u|x>n them. 
 
 Qhis. Do you rccciive the Holy Scriptures as your rule of faith 
 and pract'cc, and as tho word of Uod wljicli you are to e.\i)ound 
 and enforce ? 
 
 Ann. 1 do. 
 
 Qu.es. And do you receive as a summary statement of scriptural 
 doctrine, the articles of belief which are received in this Church? 
 
 Ans. 1 do. 
 
 Qiirs. On what do you rely for strength and for success in your 
 labours us a minister of the gospel f 
 
 Ans. I rely on the promise of .lesus Christ, after his resurrec- 
 tion from tl\e dead, lo his tdcveu disciples and to their successors 
 in tile ministerial i.llice, Lo, I am with you ulwai/, coca untotliv end 
 of the world. 
 
 h is the cause of God, and must prevail. The entire work of 
 producing in the hearts of men, rept-iitance, love, faith, and every 
 graejoiiH exercise, is of the «)p(;ratioii of his S[)irit. But in the pro- 
 duction of tiicse elFects, ho uses moans; and among them, as hold- 
 ing an eminent place,, is the *' ministry of reconciliation,"' which is 
 committed unto us. This treasure we liave in earthen vessels?, 
 that the excelleiuy of the power may he of God, and not of us. 
 In iiiiii do I pill my trust. If it siiall please him to miikc use of 
 one so utterly unwonhy of his notice, as 1 feel myself to be, for the 
 
■■^-.» 
 
 36 
 
 advancement of his kingdom on the earth, to his great name wil! I 
 forever ascribe the glory. 
 
 These replies having been made, the ordaining prayer was of- 
 fered, with the laying on of hands, after which the ministers present 
 gave the hand of fellowship with appropriate remarks. Prof 
 Chase observed : — 
 
 The solemn transactions of this day, my brother, cannot but re- 
 mind you of similar services performed in the primitive church at 
 Antioch, when Paul and Barnabas were separated to the work to 
 which God had called them.(l) You see there a few ministers of 
 our Lord engaged in fasting and prayer, and laying on of hands, and 
 while they send forth their brethren, giving them the right hand of 
 fellowship. What a faith, and what a fellowship, dear brother, must 
 that little band of disciples have had ! They stood almost alone in the 
 world. Here and there only was to be found a Church of the Lord 
 Jesus. They were surrounded with superstition and idolatry. Their 
 sect was every where spoken against. They were persecuted, and 
 driven from city to city. The powers of earth and iicll, they knew 
 would be arrayed against them. The strong holds of Satan yet re- 
 mained, for the most part, in proud security. Not a single nation 
 nor tribe could in any sense of the word, be called Christian. The 
 whole world was sunk either in Jewish bigotry or in heathenism. 
 And yet this little ban*' was not appalled. They bound to their 
 hearts the command of their ascended Lord. They relied on his 
 promise. They moved directly forward in the prosecution of his 
 plans of mercy. They meditated a work as great as the command 
 of their Saviour, — the preaching of the gospel to every creature, — 
 the watching for souls as they that must give account, — the be- 
 seeching of men to be reconciled to God, — and, in a word, the con- 
 version of the world. 
 
 Embarking in this enterprise, so big with difficulties and dan- 
 gers, they freely gave to each other the right hand of fellowship— a 
 token of love and union— of fellowship in the Christian faith, of 
 fellowship in the labors of the ministry, of fellowship in success, 
 of fellowship in sufferings, and of fellowship in consolation. 
 
 By this, too, it was declared that while Paul and Barnabas were 
 sent abroad, and others continued at home, the cause which they 
 abored to promote was tlic same. 
 
 ou 
 in 
 re 
 to 
 to 
 b 
 
 m 
 
 (I) Acts xiii. 2, 3. Gal. ii. 9. 
 
37 
 
 le will I 
 
 was of- 
 rs present 
 Is. Prof. 
 
 lot but re- 
 liurch at 
 work to 
 inislcrs of 
 amis, and 
 |it hand of 
 licr, must 
 ne in the 
 the Lord 
 ry. Their 
 uted, and 
 hey knew 
 tan yet re- 
 ?le nation 
 an. The 
 athenism. 
 d to their 
 ^<i on his 
 on of his 
 command 
 eature, — 
 —the be- 
 , the con- 
 
 nd dan- 
 i^ship — a 
 faith, of 
 success, 
 I. 
 
 'fis were 
 ;h they 
 
 They acted their part nobly. They fell each at his post ; and 
 our religious enjoyments this day, are, under God, some of the 
 fruits of their victories. But the conflict is not yet over. Much 
 remains to be done. And, as we are called in Divine Providence 
 to the places of those wno have gone before us in this service, \vc 
 too will give the right hand of fellowship; we too will welcome our 
 brother to our trials, and labors, and joys. 
 
 Accept then, my brother, this right hand, the token of our 
 Christian love, and of our confidence in you as a minister of the 
 gospel. By this we declare our disposition to sympathize in your 
 sorrows, and to rejoice in your joys. We welcome you to all tin; 
 duties and privileges of the ministry, and to all its trials too ; for 
 trials it still has. But through Christ who strengtheneth us, we 
 can do all things. 
 
 The hand of Providence has been signally manifest in bringing 
 us to stand on the high and holy ground where we do now. May 
 the hand of Providence still be our guide and support. We have 
 toiled together at a seat of science and literature, endeared to us by 
 a thousand tender and interesting recollections. We have toiled 
 together in circumstances peculiarly adapted to make lasting im- 
 pressions on the mind ; and, thanks be to God ! we have toiled to- 
 gether in love. Here, in the presence of this assembly and of 
 Heaven, we renew the pledges of continued attachment. Our 
 grand object is still the same ; and while we live, let us live lik(; 
 brethren. What is our life ! " It is even a vapor that appeareth for 
 a little time, and then vanisheth away." Ten years have just com- 
 pleted their course since the day of my own ordination. And the 
 hand of that dear man of God,* which was then extended in 
 behalf of all his brethren, and which clasped my own in token of 
 fellowship, has long since mouldered into dust ; and the voice which 
 cheered me on that day, has long since been hushed in the silence of 
 the irrave. But the recollection is sweet to the soul ; and it endears 
 the hope of heaven. By the love we bear to the cause of our Lord 
 and to the souls of men, by the shortness of our lives, by the memory 
 of departed brethren, while we live, let us live like brethren. At 
 the same time, let us put our hope, not in each other, but in God. 
 And wherever, or whatever, this frail hand may be when ten more 
 
 i: 
 
 1 i 
 
 ' Mr. Winchell, thtn Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Boston. 
 
-m^_^ 
 
 68 
 
 years shall have passed away, you will not be discouraged. There 
 is an Almighty Hand that will not fail you. 
 
 After this part of the service was ended, passages from the Epis- 
 tles of Paul, addressed to a junior minister of Christ were read, 
 (ITini. vi. 1— 14; 2 Tim. ii. '^4, 25; iv. 1,2,5; Titus ii.; iii.1,2; 
 1 Tim. iv. 10,) and Prof Chase proceeded in substance as follows: 
 
 "Take heed unto thyself," my brother. You are surrounded with 
 dangers and temptations, and you can be guarded against them on- 
 ly by being yourself deeply imbued with the spirit of your holy 
 calling. If you wish to have unction and energy given to your 
 preaching ; if you wish to be a good minister of Jesus Clirist, aim 
 constantly at high attainments in personal piety, and let your daily 
 jife be your most eloquent sermon. 
 
 " Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine." See to it, in 
 every case, that the doctrine which you preach is indeed the doc- 
 trine of the Scriptures, and that you present it in the same practi- 
 cal manner in which it is presented in the Scriptures. 
 
 Continue in these efforts, " for in doing this thou shalt both save 
 thyself and them that hear thee." You will be found at last to 
 have been faithful ; and on the day of final account, you will hear 
 the voice of our Master, " Well done, good and faithful servant : 
 enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." 
 
 ' Thou shalt both save thyself mid them that hear thee" 
 What an endearing relation, my brother, in which to stand to them 
 that hear us ! What a motive to exertion ! A due impression of 
 this will awaken r.nd direct all your energies. It will help you in 
 the selection of your subjects for the pulpit. It uill lead you to 
 treat them in a proper manner, and to exhibit them ni a proper style. 
 You will employ such language in shall be intelligible to the plain- 
 est individual that hears you, ai"' as shall at the same time not of- 
 fend the taste, unless it be a vitiated one, of the most literary and cul- 
 tivated. Your object will be to commend the gospel of the grace of 
 God to the consci(;nces of ah — of the poor as well as of the rich, and 
 of the wealthy and refined as well as of the poor and unlettered. B^or 
 you know that they all alike need the gospel, and that without it they 
 all alike must perish. Now as the gospel is adapted to the wants and 
 the woes of men of every rank and condition, so it is the signal privi- 
 lege of the minister of the gospel to be a mrui of all ranks and of 
 no rank. You will tliou pass readily and cheerfully from one class 
 of persons to another — from the mansions of the wealthy to the 
 
 col 
 anl 
 aij 
 tol 
 
 yi 
 
 ill 
 
 fc#-. 
 
TJjcro 
 
 Epis- 
 read, 
 |ii.I,2; 
 
 pd with 
 
 em on- 
 
 ir iioly 
 
 your 
 
 ff> aim 
 
 tluiJy 
 
 39 
 
 cotlages of the poor ; and wherever you go, you will lot it be seen 
 and fell liat you watch for souls as they that must give account, 
 and that the great object ever present to your mind is to win souls 
 to Christ and eternal life. Thus you will, as far as possible, make 
 your visits pastoral visits. And you will not forget the abodes of 
 the mourning, nor the chambers of the sick and the dying. You 
 will remember the grand commission given by our Lord : " Go ye 
 into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He 
 that bclieveth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth 
 not shall be damned. "( 1 ) "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, 
 baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
 the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things wliatsoever I 
 have commanded you : and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the 
 end of the world."(2) 
 
 " Teach all nations :" teach all as far as possible that are capa- 
 ble of being taught, in whatever nation they may be found. Teach 
 them the first lesson of Christianity, the lesson which if any one 
 does not receive, he is not a disciple. Teach them that they are 
 guilty before God, and utterly ruined in themselves : but that the 
 blood of Jesus Christ his Sou cleanseth from all sin. Point them 
 to the Lamb of God as their only hope. Urge on their consciences 
 repentance toward God, and faith toward our Loid Jesus Christ. 
 And when, by the accompanying energy of the Holy Spirit, they 
 have been effectually tauglit ; when, penitent and contrite, they 
 look humbly to the cross of Christ, and cordially rely on him as 
 presented in the gospel, and are disposed to sit as disciples at his 
 feet, and learn of him, administer baptism to them ; " baptizing 
 them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost." Then you are to lead them onward in the Christian course, 
 " teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have command- 
 ed you." One of the things which our Saviorr has commanded 
 for the observance of his disciples is to cornm<'morate his death by 
 partaking of certain significant emblems. To such, then, as have 
 exhibited the first profession and the divinely appointed pledge of 
 discipleship, by being baptized according to the command of Christ, 
 and as have " continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and 
 fellowship,"(!i) you are to administer the Lord's Supper. But your 
 work is not yet done. You are still to lead them onward, " teach- 
 
 i h 
 
 (1) Mark xvi, 15, 16. (2) Mutt, x.\viii. 19. 20. (3) Acts ii. 11. 12 
 
I 
 
 V 
 
 
 40 
 
 ing them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded." 
 You will lead them with correct views of religious truth, to tho 
 wliole circle of Christian duties, maintaining a pure and faithful 
 discipline in the Church of Christ, and adorning the doctrine of 
 God our Saviour in all things. 
 
 " Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them be- 
 fore the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to 
 the subverting of the hearers. Study to show thyself approved un- 
 to God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly divid- 
 ing the word of truth. "(1) 
 
 Give to every one, whether he be a believer or an unbeliever, a 
 portion in due season. Beware of that kind of preaching which 
 leaves a whole audience to imagine they are regenerated when they 
 are not Address them, dear brother, though it may sometimes be 
 painful to you, address them in such a manner as shall discriminate 
 their respective characters, and lay open their hearts to themselves. 
 Then, by motives drawn from the cross of Christ, and from the 
 judgment-seat of Christ ; by motives drawn not only from the ter- 
 rors of the Lord, but also from the love of God in Christ Jesus, urge 
 on every one the duties which the Apostle urged ; and, standing as 
 it were in sight of the cross of Christ, and of the judgment-seat of 
 Christ, warn every man, and beseech every man. 
 
 Thus, my dear brother, toiling in the name and in the strength 
 of him whose we are, and whom we serve, you will, as you have 
 already intimated, be cheered by his voice, Lo, I am with you al' 
 
 wo I/. 
 
 Connected with these services a hymn was sung ; (247. I« 
 Watts, 119, B. L) 
 
 Christ and his cross are all our theme. 
 
 After the ordination of Mr. Caswell, followed that of the Deacons. 
 It was introduced with remarks like these : 
 
 In a Church of Christ, every member has a part to perform. 
 Every member is to be active and useful in his place. And every 
 one, whether male or female, may do much, and ought to do much 
 to promote the cause of Christ. 
 
 At the same time, it is an obvious dictate of wisdom to have 
 some particular individuals specially intrusted with the care of the 
 Church, With this view, the Apostle Paul gave directions to Ti- 
 tus that Elders be ordained in every city. 
 
 (1) 2 Tim. ii. 14, 1.'? 
 
41 
 
 idcd." 
 to the 
 lithfu] 
 ne of 
 
 In 
 
 The general term Elders, as used in the New Testament, often 
 included the loading men or officers of a Christian Church, whatev- 
 er might be the particular term by which they were severally desig- 
 nated, whether Bishop, or Overseer, or Pastor, or Minister of the 
 word, or Deacon. Thus Paul sent for the Elders of Ephesus , and 
 lie proceeded to address them as Overseers or Bishops. And thus, 
 too, there were Elders who preached, or labored in word and doc- 
 trine ; and there were Elders who did not ; as when the Apostle says, 
 "Let the Elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, 
 especially they who labor in word and doctrine."(l) From what 
 immediately precedes this passage, it appears that the Elders who 
 did not labor in word and doctrine were Deacons. They were 
 associated with the Ministers of the word, as helpers in the care, 
 and government, and service of the Church. 
 
 The same fact appears also from the account which, in the sixth 
 chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we have of the first appoint- 
 ment of Deacons. The Apostles were overburdened with the du- 
 ties connected with the care of the Church. They sought and ob- 
 tained help. They wished to give themselves to the higher and 
 more public and difficult services ; while the Deacons might aid 
 them by attending to the more private and pecuniary affairs con- 
 nected with the well-being of tlie Church. 
 
 From the object of their appointment, and from the character 
 required of the men, as well as from subsequent allusions in the 
 New Testament, it is obvious that the Deacons were to lighten the 
 burden of the Ministers of the word by taking upon themselves, as 
 occasion might require, the subordinate and less prominent duties 
 connected with promoting the interests of a Church They would 
 of course attend to the pecuniary concerns, and see that the duty 
 of the Church in regard to these concerns was performed. They 
 would naturally become the counsellors of the widow, and the or- 
 phan, and the poor. Being men of honest report, full of the Holy 
 Ghost and of wisdom, it would naturally devolve on them to help 
 in arranging the bus-iness of the Clmrch, and prepare it for being 
 properly laid before the body ; to assist the Pastor in adjusting diffi- 
 culties that might occasionally arise ; to encourage his heart and 
 strengthen his hands in efforts to give religious instruction to the 
 young, and especially to the poor; and, in a word, to counsel 
 
 / 
 
 (1) I Tim. v. 17. 
 
 F 
 

 42 
 
 and co-o]>pratn with liitn, and in thoir sphere be diligent and faith- 
 ful herviints of the Cliurch for Christ's sake. 
 
 You percoivo, my brf-thren, the nature of the office of Deacons; 
 and corresponding with it is the character required. They must 
 be " men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom. 
 Likewise must the Deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not giv- 
 en to iriiirh wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; holding the mystery 
 of thi faitii in a pure conscience. Let the Deacons be the hus- 
 bands of one will , ruling their children and their own houses well. 
 For they that have used the office of a Deacon well, purchase to 
 themselves a good degree and great boldness in the faith which is 
 in Christ Jesus."(l) 
 
 Let now the men be presented whom you have appointed to this 
 office. 
 
 One of the members of the Church then presented to the Minis- 
 ters of the word the brethren who had been appointed Deacons, ex- 
 pressing briefly, in the name of the Church, the motives which had 
 led to the appointment, the confidence cherished in the brethren 
 selected, and tlie hope of the blessing of God upon them and upon 
 the whole body. « 
 
 Prayer was then offijred ; and the ministers laid their hands up- 
 on them, thus publicly designating them to their office, and fer- 
 vently commending them to the grace of God. 
 
 A hymn was sung, and the services vvere concluded by the pro- 
 nouncing of a benediction. 
 
 anco 
 ing 1 
 
 i 
 
 On the Lord's-day, Oct. 14th, Baptism was again administered, 
 ft was ol the same impressive character as on the former occasion, 
 and attended with similar circumstances. In the afternoon, eight 
 persons, (those who were baptized in the morning, and others who 
 had hern exemplary members of a Baptist Church,) solemnly as- 
 sentiiJtS before a large assembly in the chapeK to the articles of be- 
 lief and covenant, received the hand of fellowship that was j^re- 
 sented in the name of the Church, and were affi'ctionatcly wel- 
 comed to their phices as members. The Lord's Supper was then 
 admmislcred. The congregation remained, witnessuig the observ* 
 
 h 
 
 SI 
 
 (1) 1 Tim. iii. S—Vi 
 
 ^i^jljti. 
 
ind faith' 
 
 Deacons ; 
 hey must 
 
 wisdom. 
 , not giv- 
 e mystery 
 
 the hus- 
 uses well, 
 irchase to 
 
 which is 
 
 ted to this 
 
 ho Minis- 
 
 lacons, ex- 
 
 which had 
 
 brethren 
 
 and upon 
 
 hands up- 
 3, and fcr- 
 
 >y the pra^ 
 
 linistered. 
 occasion, 
 i>on, c'iglit 
 thers who 
 emnly as- 
 ;les of bc- 
 : was pre- 
 itely vvel- 
 was then 
 le observ- 
 
 43 
 
 ancc with the most respectful attention. At the close the follow- 
 ing hymn was sung: (5'2l. lu Watts, 13, B. HI.) 
 
 How sweet and awful is the jjlace. 
 
 With Christ witliin the doors ; 
 While Everlasting Love displays 
 
 The choicest of her stores ! 
 
 Love mov'd the pity of our God — 
 
 Downward his chariot rolls ; 
 Here peace and pardon bought with blood 
 
 Is food for dying souls. 
 
 While all our hearts and all our songs 
 
 Join to admire the least, 
 Each of us cries, with thankful tongues, 
 
 " Lord, why was I a guest ? 
 
 Why was I made to hear thy voice. 
 
 And enter while there's room, 
 While thousands make a wretched choice, 
 
 And rather starve than come ?" 
 
 "Twas the same love that spread the feast. 
 
 That sweetly forced us in ; 
 Else we had still refused to taste, 
 
 And perish'd in our sin. 
 
 Pity the nations, O our God ? 
 
 Constrain the earth to come ; 
 Send thy victorious word abroad, 
 
 And bring the strangers home. 
 
 We long to see thy churches full, 
 
 That all the chosen race 
 May, with one voice, and heart, and sou!, 
 
 Sing thy redeeming grace. 
 
 When the hymn was finished. Prof Chase uttered, from a full 
 heart, the Apostle's most ardent desire : The ^race of our Lord Je- 
 sus Christ, the love nf God, and the commiinion of the Holy Ghost 
 he toith you all. Amen, 
 
44 
 
 / 
 
 Having now brought to a termination our narrative of the rise 
 and formation of the Baptist Church in Qranville-strcet, we have 
 only in conclusion to offer a few brief remaiks. 
 
 In the preceding pages are exhibited some views respecting the 
 externul matters of religion, not universally received. These 
 though ct minor consequence when compared with the work of re- 
 ligion in i.ie heart, are nevertheless derived as we conceive from 
 the purest source of truth. They are, therefore, not unimportant. 
 And as light dawns, on patient inquiry, they will, we trust, spread 
 through the Christian world, until the day shall arrive when there 
 shall be universally among all the redeemed on earth, "one Lord, 
 one faith, one baptism." 
 
 But if in external matters Christians have been suffered to fall 
 into various practices, and to arrive at different judgments, there 
 yet remains the gratifying reflection that in the more important and 
 vital things of salvation, they are not left to differ. Wherever the 
 standard of the cross has been raised, in the eastern or the west- 
 ern world, — in the frozen regions of the north, or the parched 
 deserts of the torrid zone, — amidst the polished and scientific cir- 
 cles of civilized society, or the rude and wandering tribes of un- 
 taught savages, — every where, and in all ages, have the saving doc- 
 trines of the Gospel beamed on the awakened conscience with the 
 same hallowed and unvarying light. Simple but powerful is the 
 truth which finds its way equally into the hearts of men of the 
 meanest as well as the highest order of mental power. 
 
 Christ dying for the ungodly, and the fruits of that death, " Re- 
 pentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ," con- 
 vey to the mind which the Holy Spirit illuminates no obscure or am- 
 biguous idea, and in those simple expressions are contained the gos- 
 pel of the grace of God, 
 
 1.1 presenting, then, this narrative to the public we offer no new 
 religion, but that which has received the sanction of the best and 
 the wisest of every denomination among professuig Christians. If, 
 therefore, ihe preceding account of Divine truth and religious 
 experience comes to the minds of any with the aspect of nov- 
 elty, we would earnestly, as in the sight of God, and in view 
 
 ^>nS&' 
 
of the risf 
 ;et, we have 
 
 id. 
 
 meeting the 
 These 
 
 work of re- 
 tnceive from 
 inimportant. 
 rest, sprearl 
 
 when there 
 " one Lord, 
 
 bred to fall 
 nents, there 
 jportant and 
 ''herever the 
 or the west- 
 he parched 
 sientific cir- 
 ■ibes of un- 
 saving doc- 
 nce with tlje 
 k'erful is the 
 men of the 
 
 eath, " Re- 
 hrist," con- 
 cure or am- 
 aed the gos- 
 
 45 
 
 uf llic value of their immortal souIb, b^nnech them to exKmino 
 whether the doctrines of the Bible are not still to them a novelty 
 We beseech them seriously to consider whether they have not 
 hitherto been contented to pursue the easy course of the world, 
 both in faith and practice, buried under the weight of custom, be- 
 wildered with the dreams of prejudice, and taking as their portion 
 the perishable inheritance of earthly things. 
 
 The indivitJ'als whose experience of Divine truth has been here 
 exhibited, stand before them as witnesses to testify with all godly 
 sincerity, with all soberness of mind and judgment, that this expe- 
 rience is no fable — no wild dream — no hasty notion, rashly and in- 
 considerately adopted. But with all humility, and at the same time 
 with all firmness, they declare that they speak that which they do 
 know, and testify that which they have seen ; that there is indeed 
 a Divine and Holy Spirit, the promise of the Saviour, who still 
 works powerfully in the hearts of believers, regenerating their 
 souls, and leading them in the way of everlasting life. And while 
 as faithful witnesses they affirm this truth, as affectionate friends 
 they earnestly pray that all who hear their testimony, may, under 
 the influence of the living God, learn experimentally the reality of 
 this truth, and thus be brought to the knowledge and the love of 
 Him who is "the way, and the truth, and the life " 
 
 tTer no new 
 le best and 
 stians. If, 
 i religious 
 3ct of nov- 
 id in view 
 
' lif -— -<U«" - - -aP-s/ 
 
 m^^ 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Wc avail ourselves of the opportunity furnished by the unex- 
 pected delay in |)ul)lisliin}r tin; prccudiiijf iiccount, to i\|>|H rui ii few 
 reuiiirks relative to the imitfrnss of the (irnnvilh; Street Church to 
 the present period, June, 1828. For this addition we deem no 
 apology necessary. They who have watched over the vine in its 
 incipient state, will rejoico to sec it spreading with a healthful 
 growth. 
 
 From the opening of our spacious chapel, large numbers, and 
 especially on the evening of the Christian Suhbath, have attended 
 the preaching of the gospel. The deep attention and solemnity 
 which we have often witncss(;(l, seem to be pledges that the messa- 
 ges of evangelical triUh and grace will not have been delivered in 
 vain. During the winter and spring, several persons from other 
 Churches of the same faith and order united with us. Others 
 who had obtained like precious faith, came I'orward at different 
 times, and stated before the Church tiie reason of the hope that 
 was in them, and were received as candidates for 7*..;)tism. The 
 Lord's-day, June 1st, was appointed for the administration of the 
 ordinance. The spot selected for the purpose was on bedford Ba- 
 sin, near the place where it had before been administered. The 
 day was cloudy, with occasional mists, but not uncomlbrtable. 
 By the time appointed for the exercises to commence, notwith- 
 standing the slight unpleasantness of the weather, a large con- 
 course of respectable persons of both sexes had assembled at the 
 water side to witness the ceremony. The attending circumstan- 
 ces — the water before us — the e.\i)andcd heavens — the multitude 
 on shore, and the vicinity of numerous boats, could scarce fail to 
 remind one of ancient times, v'l>f>n the Author of our faith taught 
 the listening nmltitudes on the sliores of the sea of Galilee. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Caswell, who still continues to labor among us, 
 commenced the e.\ercises bv calling the attention of the audience 
 
 
1 
 
 V 
 
 48 
 
 tu tlic Nacrcdncss of thn day, and of tho occasion ; anci invited 
 tlicin to ciiKngn with becoming reverence in tiie worship of llini 
 wlio " duelleth nut in icnipioH made with hands." A hymn wa> 
 then sung ;— 
 
 Jesus, and shall it ever bo — 
 A mortal man ushain'd of tlico ' 
 
 After prayer, tlic congregation were addressed at Homo lengtl. 
 from Matt, xxviii. ID. " Go ye, tlierclbre, and tmch all niition.'<, 
 bupti/ing them in the name of the Futiier, and uf the Son, and of 
 the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Tlie candidates, fifteen in number, wore then successively led 
 " down into the water," and " were bapti^e(l, both men and wo- 
 men," according to the example of the first Cliristiuns, exhibited in 
 the eighth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. 
 
 During the whole service, it was pleosiiig to witness, on the 
 part of the audience, that decorum and seriousness which all consid- 
 erate persons will ever bring to tlie solemiiilies of divine worship. 
 In the aflfrnoon, when the persons bupti/ed were received into 
 the Church, (whose number of members has now increased from 
 seven to forty,) the right hand of fellowship, accompanied with u 
 suitable address, was given by the Pastor in the presence of a nu- 
 oicrouti and deeply interested assembly. 
 
 N. 
 
N. 
 
 . 
 
 Af