as having fallen into irregularities; and who are set down by these historians as "heretics" or "schismatics;" were really among the "Witnesses of the Truth;" who connected with their testimony, some wildness in opinion, or disorder in practice, which tarnished their profession, and virtually threw their influence into the scale of the enemy. The fact is, we seldom read of the minds of men being roused and excited, even by a good Spirit, without some testimony that pride, vanity, enthusiasm and fanaticism, in various degrees and forms, mingled with the good work, and produced effects which grieved the hearts of intelligent and solid Christians. It seems to have been the lot of "the sons of God," in all ages, that whenever they assembled in greater numbers, and with greater zeal than usual, to "present themselves before the Lord," "Satan came also among them."

The glorious revival of religion which we are wont to designate by the emphatic title of THE REFORMATION, can never be too highly estimated, or too gratefully acknowledged by those who love the purity and prosperity of the Redeemer's kingdom. That wonderful impulse from the Spirit of God, which electrified western Christendom, and which, at once, convulsed and purified so large a portion of the church; was made productive of blessings in which we yet rejoice, and which will be matter of fervent thankfulness to the end of time. But even the lustre of that scene was tarnished by various disorders, which deeply grieved intelligent and judicious Christians, and, in some places, for a time, greatly hindered the progress of the good cause. When I see Carolostadt, the friend, and, for a time, the affectionate coadjutor of Luther; a man of reasonable talents and learning; who had exposed the tyranny and superstition of the Pope with great effect; and who had been pronounced to have deserved well of the Protestant cause :-when I see such a man acting the unwise and turbulent part which history reports of him-I could almost sit down and weep over poor, frail human nature. When I see him entering the Churches of the Romanists, breaking in pieces their images, throwing down their altars, and trampling their crucifixes under his feet-when I find him denouncing human learning, as useless, if not injurious to the student of the holy Scriptures; going into the shops of the lowest mechanics, and consulting them about the meaning of difficult passages of Scripture; ostentatiously renouncing the title of "doctor," and all names of ecclesiastical distinction; insisting that ministers ought not to study, but to support themselves by the labor of their own hands; filling the minds of young men with his eccentric and mis

chievous opinions; persuading the students of the University of Wit temberg, to abandon their studies, and even the boys, in the lower schools, to throw aside their books, and enter immediately on the business of religious teaching;—and when I find him, in addition to these irregularities, declaring that he had not the least regard for the authority of any human being, but must pursue his own course; and that no man could be a real Christian who disapproved of that course: I say, when I find him acting thus, amidst the entreaties and the tears of far wiser and more pious men than himself;—I cannot help exclaiming—“ Lord, what is man!" These proceedings, it is unnecessary to say, were matter of great grief to Luther, and all his judicious friends, and evidently injured the cause of the Reformation. But, in spite of all the remonstrances and entreaties which could be presented to Carolostadt, he persevered in his unhappy course for several years. And although he afterwards came, in a great measure, to his senses, acknowledging his fault, and professed to mourn over it; still the cause of truth had been dishonored, and incalculable mischief done which it was impossible to recall.

The revival of religion which took place in the former part of the eighteenth century, in this country, is generally considered, I believe, and with great justice, as the most extensive and powerful that American Christians ever witnessed. The labors of the Apostolic Whitfield, and his coadjutors, the Tennents, &c., and also of the venerable Stoddard, President Edwards, and others, in New-England, were connected with triumphs of gospel truth, which the friends of vital piety love to remember, and which they can never call to mind without gratitude and praise to Him who has "the residue of the Spirit." Many thousands of souls, there is reason to believe, were brought into the kingdom of Christ, during that revival, and a new impulse and aspect given to the Church in the American colonies.

Yet, here again, some of the managers in this heart-elevating scene, -to recur to the expressive language of Baxter,-" left upon it the prints of their fingers," and thus created unsightly spots in a "blaze of glory." He who will take the trouble to consult the fourth part of the venerable Edward's treatise on that revival, as well as some other contemporaneous publications, will find evidence of this fact as painful as it is unquestionable. He will find, that, amidst the most gratifying evidence that good seed, and good fruits predominated, the enemy was permitted to "sow tares," which sprung up with the wheat, and, in some cases, almost "choked it." The disorders of lay-preaching well nigh brought the ministry, in many places, into contempt.

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The outcries, the praying and exhorting by females in public, grieved the hearts of judicious Christians. The language of harsh censure, and of uncharitable denunciation, as "unconverted" persons,"blind leaders of the blind,”—as " devout leaders to hell"-was directed towards some of the best ministers of Christ in the community, because they disapproved of these irregularities. Public confessions of secret sins were warmly urged, and actually made, and crimes altogether unsuspected brought to light, to the disgrace of Christian character, and the destruction of domestic peace. Thus scenes which were no doubt intended to make a deep and salutary impression, were made the subjects of unhallowed speculation, and the themes of a thousand tongues. All these things were urged with the confidence of oracular wisdom; and whoever ventured to lisp any thing like doubt or opposition, was publicly stigmatized as an enemy to revivals, and an opposer of vital piety.

Among those who took the lead in this fanatical and disorderly conduct, one individual obtained such an unhappy eminence, that his case ought to be kept before the public mind as a salutary warning. I need not tell you, that I refer to the Rev. Mr. James Davenport, greatgrandson of the venerable and excellent John Davenport, the first minister of New-Haven, and at that time pastor of a church at Southhold, on Long-Island. Mr. Davenport was then a young man, and had been for some time esteemed a pious and faithful minister. Hearing of the signal effusions of the Holy Spirit with which God had been pleased to favor many parts of New-England, he about the year 1741, made a visit to Connecticut, and shortly afterwards to Massachusetts ; and every where preached abundantly, and entered with warmth into the spirit of the prevailing revivals. Soon, however, becoming animated by a furious zeal, and imagining that he was called to take a special lead in the work, he began to set at nought all the rules of Christian prudence and order, and to give the most unrestrained liberty to his fanatical feelings. He raised his voice to the highest pitch in public services, and accompanied his unnatural vehemence, and cantatory bawling, with the most violent agitations of body., He encouraged his hearers to give the most unrestrained vent both to their distress and joy, by violent outcries, in the midst of public assemblies. He pronounced those who were thus violently agitated, and who made these public outcries to be undoubtedly converted persons. He openly encouraged his new converts to speak in public, and brought forward many ignorant and unqualified persons, young and old, to address large assemblies, in his own vehement and magisterial manner.

He led

his followers in procession through the streets, singing psalms and hymns. He claimed a kind of prescriptive right to sit in judgment on the character of Ministers of the Gospel. He went from place to place, undertaking to examine ministers, as to their spiritual state, and to decide with confidence whether they were converted or not; and when his judgment was unfavorable, he would often in his public prayers, denounce them as graceless persons, and call upon the people to pray for their conversion. Those who refused to be examined by him, he, of course, placed on the reprobated list. He made his public prayers the medium of harsh, and often indecent attack on those ministers and others whom he felt disposed, on any account, to censure. He taught his followers to govern themselves by impulses and impressions, rather than by the word of God; and represented all public services in which there was not some visible agitation, or some audible outcry, as of no value. He warned the people against hearing unconverted Ministers, representing it as a dreadful sin to do so; and on more than one occasion publicly refused to receive the sacramental symbols in particular churches, when he had an opportunity of doing it, because he doubted the piety of the pastors.

Mr. Davenport's elder and more judicious brethren, who trembled for the interests of religion, and who were especially anxious that no dishonor might be cast on the revivals which were going on around them, remonstrated against these proceedings; warned him of their consequences; and begged him to examine whether he was not under the influence of a wrong spirit. But he was deaf to all their remonstrances and entreaties; encouraged bodies of people, in a number of places, to withdraw from their pastors, and establish separate societies, in which all his peculiarities and extravagances might be freely indulged; scattered division and strife in every direction; increased the number of the enemies of the revival; discouraged and disgusted not a few of its friends; and, in a word, created disorders, alienation, bitterness, and division, the consequences of which remain in many parts of that country, to the present day.

In this deplorable state of things, some of the most eminently wise and pious ministers in the land raised a warning voice against extravagancies which seemed likely to bear down all before them. They were heard by some, and their preaching and writings did much good. But they were denounced by many as enemies of the revival; and, in spite of every thing they could say or do, the infatuation of Davenport and his followers could not be arrested. Like other diseases, it ran its course, until the virulent matter which gave it aliment

was in a measure expended. The Holy Spirit, in the mean time, was grieved, and took his departure; and a spirit of discord, contention, and animosity, took the place of his hallowed influence.

It is true, Mr. Davenport, in 1744, became sensible of his folly and sin, and published an humble confession and recantation, in which he acknowledged that he had been actuated by a wrong spirit; lamented many parts of his conduct; and was in some measure restored to the fellowship of his injured brethren. But to repair the mischief which he had done was beyond his power. The friends of Zion had been clad in mourning. Her enemies had triumphed. Truth lay bleeding in the streets. Congregations had been torn in pieces and scattered. New societies had been established upon fanatical principles, and could not be reclaimed. Immortal souls had been disgusted with what claimed to be religion, driven from the house of God, and probably lost for ever. The enemies of real revivals of religion, who were many and powerful, had become confirmed and hardened in their hostility. And many personal and ecclesiastical desolations had been produced, over which their author might mourn and weep, but which he could not remedy.*

Scenes in some measure similar have been repeatedly exhibited since that time. Of these, I have neither time nor inclination to speak of more than one. The case to which I refer is that of the remarkable revivals which took place in the years 1800, 1801, and 1802, in the western country, and more particularly within the bounds of the Synod of Kentucky. My impression is, that the most enlightened and sincere friends of vital piety, who had the best opportunity of being intimately acquainted with the revivals referred to, believe them to have been a real work of the Holy Spirit, or at least to have been productive of a number of genuine conversions. But that this work of grace was attended, and finally overshadowed, disgraced, and terminated by fanaticism and disorders of the most distressing character, will not, probably, now be questioned by any competent judges. This excitement began in Logan county, in Kentucky, but soon spread over all the state, and into the neighboring states. Besides increased attention to the usual seasons, and the ordinary means of religious worship, there were, during the summers of the years just mentioned, large camp meetings held, and a number of days and nights in succession spent in almost unceasing religious exercises. At these

*See Prince's Christian History, Nos. 82, 83, 103, &c. Trumbull's History of Connecticut, Book ii. Chapter 8.