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feparation, confidering the paft conduct and prefent temper of the people. And fome of that part of the council that were active, expreffed themselves furprifed at the uncommon zeal and engagednefs of fpirit publicly manifefted by the people in their voting for a difmiffion which evidenced to them, and all observing fpectators, that they were far from a temper of mind becoming fuch a folemn and awful transaction, confide ered in all its circumftances. ^

Being thus difmiffed, he preached his farewell for mon on the firft of July, from 2 Cor. 1. 14. The doca trine he observed from the words was this, "Minifters "and the people that have been under their care, muft "meet one another before Chrift's tribunal, at the day "of judgment." It was a remarkably folemn and af. fecting difcourfe, and was published at the defire of fome of the hearers.

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After Mr Edwards was difmiffed from Northampton, he preached there fometimes occafionally when they had no other preacher to fupply the pulpit; till at length a great uneafinefs was manifefted by many of the people, at his preaching there at all. Upon which, the committee for fupplying the pulpit, called the town together, to know their minds with refpect to that matter when they voted that it was not agreeable to their minds, that he fhould preach among them. Accordingly, when Mr Edwards was in town, and they had no other minifter to preach to them, they carried on pubs lic worship among themselves, and without any preach ing, rather than to invite Mr Edwards!

Every one must be fenfible that this was a great trial to Mr Edwards. He had heen near twenty-four years among that people; and his labours had been, to all ap pearance, from time to time greatly bleffed among them: and a great number looked on him as their fpiritual father, who had been the happy inftrument of turning them from darknefs to light, and plucking them as brands out of the burning. And they had, from time to time, profeffed, that they looked upon it as one of

their greateft privileges to have fuch a minifter, and manifefted their great love and efteem of him, to fuch a degree, that, (as St. Paul fays of the Galatians,) if it had been poffible, they would have plucked out their own eyes, and given them to him. And they had a great intereft in his heart: he had borne them on his heart and carried them in his bofom for many years; exercising a tender concern and love for them: for their good he was always writing, contriving, labouring; for them he had poured out ten thousand fervent prayers; in their good he had rejoiced as one that findeth great fpoil; and they were dear to him above any oth-er people under heaven.

Now to have this people turn against him, and thruft him out from among them, in a great tumult and heat, with hafte, and a great degree of violence; like the Jews of old, ftopping their ears and running upon him with furious zeal, not allowing him to defend himself by giving him a fair hearing; and even refusing so much as to hear him preach; many of them furmifing and publicly fpeaking many ill things as to his ends and defigns! To have the tables turned fo fuddenly, and the voice fo general and loud against him. This furely must come very near to him, and try his fpirit. The words of the Pfalmift feem applicable to this cafe; "It was not an enemy that reproached me, then I could "have borne it; neither was it he that hated me, that "did magnify himself against me, then I would have "hid myself from him. But it was THOU-my guide "and mine acquaintance. We took fweet counfel together, and walked unto the house of God in com66 pany."

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Let us therefore now behold the man!

The calm and fedateness of his mind; his meekness and humility in great and violent oppofition, and inju... rious treatment; his refolution and fteady. conduct through all this dark and terrible ftorm, were truly wonderful, and cannot be set in fo beautiful and affecting a light by any defcription, as they appeared in to his friends, who were eye witnesses.

Mr.

Mr Edwards had a numerous and chargeable family and little or no income, exclusive of his falary; and confidering how far he was advanced in years; the general difpofition of people, who want a minifter, to prefer a young man who has never been fettled, to one who has been difmiffed from his people; and what mifreprefentations were made of his principles through the country, it looked to him not at all probable that he fhould ever have opportunity to be fettled again in the work of the miniftry, if he was difmiffed from Northampton: and he was not inclined, or able to take any other course, or go into any other bufinefs to get a living; fo that beggary as well as difgrace ftared him full in the face, if he perfifted in his principles. To be fure, he viewed himself as taking the most direct way to thefe, according to the natural courfe of things, by difcovering and adhering to his principles in the fitua tion he then was. For he forefaw all this, before it came upon him; and therefore had the opportunity & the temptation to efcape it, by concealing his principles. When he was fixed in his principles, and before they were publicly known, he told fome of his friends, that if he discovered and perfifted in them, it, wouldmost likely iffue in his difmiffion and difgrace, and the ruin of himself and family, as to their temporal interefts. He therefore first fat down and counted the coft, and deliberately took up the crefs, when it was fet before him in its full weight and magnitude, and in direct oppofition to all worldly views and motives. And therefore his conduct in thefe circumftances was a remarkable exercife and difcovery of his confcientioufnefs, and his readiness to deny himself, and forsake alt that he had to follow Chrift.

A man must have a confiderable degree of the spirit of a martyr, not to flinch in fuch a cafe as this, but go on with the ftedfaftness and refolution with which he did. He, as it were, put his life in his hand, and ventured on where truth and duty appeared to lead him, unmoved at the threatening dangers on evry fiide.

However,

However, God did not forfake him. As he gave him thofe inward fupports by which he was able in patience to poffefs his foul, and calmly and courageoufly row on in the storm, as it were in the face of boisterous winds, beating hard upon him, and in the midst of gaping waves threatening to fwallow him up; fo he foon appeared for him, in his providence, even beyond all his expectations. His correfpondents and other friends in Scotland, hearing of his difmiffion, and fearing it might be the means of bringing him into worldly ftraits, generoufly contributed a handfome, fum, and fent it over to him.

And God did not leave him without tender, valuable friends at Northampton; for a final number of his people who oppofed his difmiffion from the beginning, and fome, who acted on neither fide, who joined with him after his dismission, and adhered to him, under the influence of their great esteem and love of Mr Edwards, were willing and thought themfelves able to maintain. him; and insisted upon it, that it was his duty to ftay anong them, as a diftinct and feparate congregation from the body of the town, who had rejected him.

Mr Edwards could not fee it to be his duty to ftay among them as circumftances were, as this would pro bably be a means of perpetuating an unhappy divifion in the town; and there was to him no profpect of doing the good there, which would counterbalance the evil. However, that he might do all he could to fatisfy his tender and afflicted friends; and because in the multitude of counsellors there is fafety, he confented to afk the advice of an ecclefiaftical council. Accordingly a council was called, and convened at Northampton on the 15th of May 1751.

The town on this occafion was put into a great tumult and fire. They, who were active in Mr Edwards's difmiffion, fuppofed, though without any ground, and contrary to truth, that he was contriving and attempting with his friends, again to introduce himself at Northampton. They drew up a remonftrance against

their proceedings, and laid it before the council, (though they would not acknowledge them to be an ecclefiafti. cal council,) containing many heavy, though ground.. lefs infinuations and charges against Mr Edwards, and bitter accufations of the party who had adhered to him; but refufed to appear and fupport any of their charges, or fo much as to give the gentlemen of the council any opportunity to confer with them about the affair depending, though it was diligently fought.

The council having heard what Mr Edwards, and they who adhered to him, and any others who defired to be heard, had to fay, advifed, agreeable to Mr Edwards's judgment and expectation, that he should leave Northampton, and accept of the miffion to which he was invited at Stockbridge, of which a more particular account will be given prefently.

Many other facts relative to this forrowful, strange, furprifing affair, (the most so doubtlefs of any of the kind that ever happened in New-England; and, perhaps, in any part of the Chriftian world,) might be related; but as this more general hiftory of it may be fufficient to answer the ends propofed, viz. to rectify fome grofs mifreprefetations that have been made of the matter, and discover the great trial Mr Edwards had herein, it is thought beft to fuppress other particulars. As a proper close to this melancholy ftory, and to confirm and further illuftrate what has been related, the following letter from Jofeph Hawley, Efq; (a gentleman who was well acquainted with, and very active in the tranfactions of this whole affair, and very much. head and leader in it,) to the Rev. Mr-Hall of Sutton, published in a weekly news-paper in Bolton, May 19. 1760, is here inferted.

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To the Rev. Mr HALL of SUTTON.

Rev. SIR, Northampton, May 9. 1760. HAVE often wished that every member of the two ecclefiaftical councils, (that formerly fat in Northampton upon the unhappy differences between our former moft worthy and Rev. paftor Mr. Jonathan Edwards

and

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