nected with what are considered the favorable results of the meeting; and they appear to me to be well adapted to multiply false converts.

Love-self. Why should not the church make a public confession, if they have been negligent in duty, as most churches are in a cold time?

Ard. It is not the confession of sin that I object to, but the way in which it is done. If a church has been in a state of backsliding, I think it highly proper that they should humble themselves before God, and return to their duty. And if their unfaithfulness has been a public matter, it may be proper that their confession should be public also. But, in that case, the church ought to make it a matter of serious deliberation among themselves, and their confession should be written and adopted by the church, and then read by their pastor in the presence of the congregation. Such a step might be occasionally taken with good effect. But other things should correspond. The individual members should make confession of such sins as they have committed, by which the honor of religion is suffering. And they should be written, and read in like manner.

L. S. That is too formal and antiquated. I like to have the members who have been cold and backslidden, confess, each for himself, and the church as a body come out into the broad aisle at a protracted meeting, and confess their sins, and consecrate themselves anew to the service of Christ.

Th. I do not like confessions that mean nothing. I have often heard individuals make a sort of general confession, which might mean any thing or nothing as they please, and expect to have the credit of great humility for it, when they would be greatly displeased if any one should charge them with specific acts of transgression. I cannot see how such confessions are adapted to honor religion. If a member has been guilty of specific acts of transgression, which call for discipline, let him confess them; and let his confession be written, that there may be no mistake about it. And so, if the church have neglected their duty, if they have lived in contention, or neglected to discipline their disorderly members, or have done any thing which the world knows to be dishonorable to religion, let them confess it as a church; and let the confession be definite, and contain the very things which the world know they ought to confess, and no others. Let that be written, and read, and put upon their records, that there may be no mistake nor uncertainty on the subject. But I would not have that done at a protracted meeting.

L. S. Why not? That seems to be the very time.

Th. Because a protracted meeting usually collects many

strangers who may not be acquainted with the facts confessed by the church; and it is contrary to the spirit of Gospel discipline to spread the knowledge of offences, any further than it becomes necessary to carry out the discipline which Christ has appointed. Those who spread scandal, when there is no need of it, are dishonoring religion, and acting wrong.

L. S. At least, you will allow that that is a good time for the church to renew covenant.

Th. No; I think not. Renewing covenant is virtually done every time they celebrate the communion. If they read their confession before the congregation, previous to the communion, that seems to be the proper time; and then the celebration of the communion is a virtual renewal of their covenant.

L. S. But what objection is there to its being done in the early part of a protracted meeting? It seems to me that then is a good time, by such a solemn act, to produce an effect upon the audience.

Th. To produce an effect; yes. That I suppose is what it is done for. And it looks to me like what our Lord forbids. Doing things to be seen of men, is not what he encourages. We are not to make ostentation of our religion. We are not to say to the spectators, come and see how humble we are. If we wish to please God, we must humble ourselves in his sight; and do it in reality. We may then hope to be accepted of him; but not when we take pains to assume the appearance of humiliation before men, to be seen of them.

Ard. There are other objections to the common practice. It is often the case for a stranger from abroad to be invited to conduct the meeting. He calls upon the church, just when and how he thinks proper, to come out and confess. And sometimes he calls them to come out and confess to him, as if he were authorized to take the place of God. When they have come out, no confession is read; no one knows what they are to confess; the leader confesses for them what he pleases. And this confession is either so general as to amount to nothing; or, if it goes into particulars at all, I would prefer to confess for myself, and not have a stranger do it for me. confession as the stranger chooses to put into the mouth of the church, and to which it is probable many of them have never agreed, they are called upon to make certain promises, also at his dictation, and about which they have not been consulted. In this situation they must either rise to signify their promise, or keep their seats in dissent. I have always seen some, and they have usually been among the best members of the church too, who kept their seats in dissent. And I have usually witnessed a tirade of abuse thundered forth upon those who did not rise at

After such a

the word of command. They thought the measure improper; or they thought the stranger not authorized to adopt such manœuvres, and they did not choose to assist in them; and for this they were denounced.

Th. Yes. I have seen an account by a minister of an instance in his own case. His church had voted a three days' meeting. A minister from abroad called the church to rise to make some promise. The pastor kept his seat in the pulpit, because he disapproved of the measure, and did not choose to sanction it. Several of the best members of the church kept their seats. And the preacher represented those that did not rise as being unwilling to be prayed for, and practically saying they did not believe there is a God, nor a heaven or hell.

L. S. They ought not to have been present if they did not intend to join in what was done.

Th. How could they know what was to be done? How could they know what they were to be called upon to sanction at the dictation of a stranger? And then as to their staying away, they would be denounced for that if they did. Nor can I think it was their duty in general to stay away. They needed to know what was done in their church which was to affect its welfare, and perhaps revolutionize it. They must either withdraw from it altogether, or they must continue their watch over their brethren, and do what they could to lead them in the right way.

Ard. It is indeed a very trying situation in which the members of a church are placed under such circumstances; when a vote is passed by the church to hold a protracted meeting, and a large minority disapprove of the measures with which it is designed to be connected. If they attend and take part, they are considered as approving and sanctioning what they think wrong. If they attend and express their disapprobation, they are charged with opposing the work. If they stay away, they are condemned for absenting themselves from the meetings of the church. If the new-measure men would have any regard to the conscientious scruples of their brethren; and if they think them in a mistake, treat them kindly, and endeavor to win them by argument and persuasion, the case would be different. But they uniformly, so far as I know, denounce, in unsparing terms, all who do not join them.

Th. Yes. At one of the meetings before mentioned, a pledge had been given that all were at liberty to pursue that course which duty should appear to them to dictate, without exposure to censure or abuse. "The members of the church generally, who attended the first four days of the meeting, were greatly dissatisfied with the preaching and the measures.

a

and were deeply distressed. The church was convened by the pastor on Monday, to determine whether the meeting should be continued. Many of the members expressed their dissatisfaction. But, after some consultation, many of the members agreed to support the conductors of the meeting, 'asking no questions.' Those who refused to commit themselves in the dark, by giving this pledge, were told, that by this act they "turned their backs upon their Saviour.' And though every effort was made to draw them in, yet those who felt it to be their duty to decline co-operation, were severely denounced as cold and heartless in their religion, destitute of feeling for sinners, and of love to the cause of Christ; standing at the head of the ranks of infidels, scoffers, and men of the world, who were taking refuge behind them, and as leading them down to hell." One of the conductors of the meeting "denounced, in the anxious room to those under his instructions, one of the deacons of the church, as an old hypocrite, who ought to be excommunicated. Another told an intelligent and pious female, who could not fall in with the measures, 'If I had done what you have during this meeting, I should think I had committed the unpardonable sin.' These things are but a specimen of what daily took place during the meeting." And such is the usual course, so far as I have had opportunity to witness it.

L. S. The conductors want to know whether Christians will pray for sinners, so that they may conduct their operations accordingly. And there surely can be no objection to ask them to signify this by rising up.

Th. If they are Christians, let them be exhorted to pray for sinners, and I think they will. I could not think them Christians, if they were not willing to pray. But I can easily suppose that they are unwilling to give any pledge to do that, by rising before the public assembly, on the ground that it is one of the items of what they consider an unwarrantable course of machinery. And especially, when we consider that they are commonly called on to pray in faith, and required to pray in faith, for the conversion of these sinners. The great design, I suppose, is to have an effect upon the impenitent, to lead them to expect that now Christians are about to pray for them, and to make such prayers as will certainly issue in their conversion. I suppose this is designed; for, on one occasion, after Christians had been called upon to rise, in token of such a promise, and not anxious sinners merely, but all sinners who were willing to be prayed for, were called upon to rise to express that willingness, I heard the preacher tell those sinners that rose, Now, if these Christians do as they have promised, you will be converted." And the next day, I heard him tell other

66

sinners, by way of persuading them to rise also, that those who rose the night before had found salvation before morning. As might be expected, several rose as soon as they were told this, expecting, I conclude, that they should be converted also. And that the design is to excite such an expectation, I have been led to conclude, by the statements frequently made, of sinners in other places being converted in consequence of their thus coming forward, and of those who would not thus come forward having been passed by, and not converted."

Ard. If sinners can be induced to expect to be converted, that expectation will be likely to produce some effect upon their nervous system, and they will feel, or imagine they feel, some change. And the whole course of measures now adopted by new-measure men, so far as I have witnessed it, seems to be designed and adapted to excite this expectation. Sinners are urged to rise, to take certain seats, to kneel, to go to certain places, and the like, with an earnestness which indicates that by so doing they are almost sure of being converted, and by refusing, almost sure of being lost. And, on a late occasion, after a preacher had been some time urging the impenitent to resort to the anxious room to be conversed with, he closed by saying, as I took it down at the time," Go, and the Holy Spirit will seal you unto the day of redemption." Now, this appears entirely consistent with the idea that conversion is the work of man; but does not appear to me to be at all according to what the Bible teaches of the character of unregenerate doings, and of the true state of the sinner. And it appears to me to be extremely well adapted to flatter the sinner into a false hope, and to strengthen and encourage that hope when once imbibed, and thus lead to a whole life of false religion.

CHAPTER XLVIII.

66

Thoughtful. The promises which sinners are called upon to make, and the encouragement of unregenerate doings generally, is one of the most alarming features of the present times. The divine requirement is: My son, give me thy heart." The divine requirement is now. The license to wait a day, or an hour, or an instant, is without any Scripture warrant. give the heart to God, is our first duty; and before that is done, no duty is done. Certainly, those who believe in a

Το