"Shipton, May 11th, 1813."Dear Parents,—I assure you it is with pleasure I once more attempt to write you. I arrived on May the6th, very much fatigued. I walked twenty-one miles without refreshment, which was too much for my nature. I was unable to preach for some days. My greatest pain was to see the inroads made by the enemy into our little church whilst I was absent, and the spirit of persecution that rankles in many hearts. As I view souls united to eternity, and see that some are hewing out to themselves 'broken cisterns,' and giving way to 'seducing spirits,' in the doctrine, 'Ye shall not surely die,' I am led to mourn.""It is surprising to view the beauties of creation, in which we see how everything is formed for the use and comfort of man. Yet how sadly they abuse the great profusion of His blessing. 'What more could He have done for His vineyard than He hath done for it?'—Isaiah 5: 4. Whilst I meditate on the extent of His goodness and long suffering, on the cross of Him who died for all, and then think of the wickedness that abounds, I am obliged to mourn. Oh my loving parents, may we be wise for both worlds, for time and for eternity! I have had serious thoughts of late why it was that my father did not write to me. As I am here in the wilderness without any relatives or connections, I thought that love for me would have led him to seek my enlightenment if I am in darkness, he being acquainted with the Scriptures; and if I am right, I thought he would wish to give me encouragement. My love to all for their kindness."Your prayerful servant,J. Badger."
"Shipton, May 11th, 1813.
"Dear Parents,—I assure you it is with pleasure I once more attempt to write you. I arrived on May the6th, very much fatigued. I walked twenty-one miles without refreshment, which was too much for my nature. I was unable to preach for some days. My greatest pain was to see the inroads made by the enemy into our little church whilst I was absent, and the spirit of persecution that rankles in many hearts. As I view souls united to eternity, and see that some are hewing out to themselves 'broken cisterns,' and giving way to 'seducing spirits,' in the doctrine, 'Ye shall not surely die,' I am led to mourn."
"It is surprising to view the beauties of creation, in which we see how everything is formed for the use and comfort of man. Yet how sadly they abuse the great profusion of His blessing. 'What more could He have done for His vineyard than He hath done for it?'—Isaiah 5: 4. Whilst I meditate on the extent of His goodness and long suffering, on the cross of Him who died for all, and then think of the wickedness that abounds, I am obliged to mourn. Oh my loving parents, may we be wise for both worlds, for time and for eternity! I have had serious thoughts of late why it was that my father did not write to me. As I am here in the wilderness without any relatives or connections, I thought that love for me would have led him to seek my enlightenment if I am in darkness, he being acquainted with the Scriptures; and if I am right, I thought he would wish to give me encouragement. My love to all for their kindness.
"Your prayerful servant,J. Badger."
"Stanstead, July 16, 1814."Dear Father,—According to my expectation when at your house, I started on my journey to the southward, preaching on my way; Friday at Derby, Saturday at Holland, Sunday at Major Stewart's, in Morgan, where Imet a large concourse of people, among whom were eleven young persons from Derby, who were deeply awakened to a sense of their danger whilst out of Christ. To their ardent solicitation for me to return to Derby, I have yielded, which makes it expedient for me to tarry one week more. I do not enjoy very good health, but my mind is happy. I feel that at most a few more rolling suns will bring me to the fair city of Rest. Each beating pulse but leaves the number less. Had I time I would gladly ride to Compton to see you. But it is wholly uncertain when we again shall meet. I ofttimes think of you all. My love to relatives and inquiring friends."'From all that's mortal, all that's vain,And from this earthly clod,Arise, my soul, and strive to gainSweet fellowship with God.'"I subscribe myself a Disciple of Christ, or a Friend to Mankind."J. Badger."
"Stanstead, July 16, 1814.
"Dear Father,—According to my expectation when at your house, I started on my journey to the southward, preaching on my way; Friday at Derby, Saturday at Holland, Sunday at Major Stewart's, in Morgan, where Imet a large concourse of people, among whom were eleven young persons from Derby, who were deeply awakened to a sense of their danger whilst out of Christ. To their ardent solicitation for me to return to Derby, I have yielded, which makes it expedient for me to tarry one week more. I do not enjoy very good health, but my mind is happy. I feel that at most a few more rolling suns will bring me to the fair city of Rest. Each beating pulse but leaves the number less. Had I time I would gladly ride to Compton to see you. But it is wholly uncertain when we again shall meet. I ofttimes think of you all. My love to relatives and inquiring friends.
"'From all that's mortal, all that's vain,And from this earthly clod,Arise, my soul, and strive to gainSweet fellowship with God.'
"'From all that's mortal, all that's vain,And from this earthly clod,Arise, my soul, and strive to gainSweet fellowship with God.'
"I subscribe myself a Disciple of Christ, or a Friend to Mankind.
"J. Badger."
"Ascott, July 27, 1813. (In haste.)"Dear Brother,[14]—Since I have seen you I have preached in Compton, Ascott, Westbury, Oxford, Brompton, Ringsey, Shipton. I am in great haste on my return. I have been comfortable as to health, though much fatigued. I have felt the waters of salvation to flow sweetly through my soul. Give yourself no trouble if you hear I am taken up. You know the animosities that war engenders. The God who delivered Daniel, and who protected our fathers, has promised to shield me whilst in the way of my duty. Keep free from all strife, deny self, live in peace with all men. I still feel it my duty to employ allmy abilities in holding up Christ to a dying world. My love to parents and brethren."
"Ascott, July 27, 1813. (In haste.)
"Dear Brother,[14]—Since I have seen you I have preached in Compton, Ascott, Westbury, Oxford, Brompton, Ringsey, Shipton. I am in great haste on my return. I have been comfortable as to health, though much fatigued. I have felt the waters of salvation to flow sweetly through my soul. Give yourself no trouble if you hear I am taken up. You know the animosities that war engenders. The God who delivered Daniel, and who protected our fathers, has promised to shield me whilst in the way of my duty. Keep free from all strife, deny self, live in peace with all men. I still feel it my duty to employ allmy abilities in holding up Christ to a dying world. My love to parents and brethren."
These extracts show the spirit with which his whole early life was imbued, and they accord well with the journal he wrote a few years later. One vital life pervades them all. Whilst the war was desolating the country, filling the minds of men with anger, jealousy, and irreverence to humanity, he, the heroic young soldier of the Cross, was successfully pouring into their hearts the great lessons of Reformation, Unity, and Peace. Such a ministry at such a time appears to the eye of history as a rainbow arching the black region of cloud and storm, or as life-clad rivers that flow along through the desert regions of the earth.
With good recommendations, and with the fruits of a not very ordinary experience for one so young, he starts for his native land. What sect does the young preacher hail from? From no sect. He hails from the church of experienced believers, whose test is religion, not theology. Love to God and peace with men are the cardinals of his platform, and such was the persuasion of his eye and presence, that his credentialsare very seldom disputed. Nothing in the form of sectarianism hedges up his way or impedes his success. If difficulties at any time thicken in his path, he knows what to do with them.
Let us pause a moment to look at the theological latitudes and longitudes of the self-taught young man at this time, before he leaves to carry his message towards the regions of sunrise in the more intelligent east. In theology he has acknowledged no human master, has sat at the feet of no Edwards, Channing, or Wesley, nor read in musty dogmatical lore what he shall publish as the essential doctrine. The following views, however, may be gathered from the various utterance of his mind, expressed as occasion called, without the intention of making a system. 1. That man bears a living relation to God; that he may now as of old come to him confidingly, and seek effectually for wisdom and salvation. 2. That the being of God is One; that his influences are constantly felt in the moral world, promoting the joy and life of his people, and subjecting the sinful to the solemn conviction of their sin and danger. 3. That Regeneration is the want of all men; thatallmay, like the prodigal of Scripture memory, return to their Sovereign Father. 4. That the Scriptures are the great storehouse of sacred wisdom; that through them the will of God is infallibly revealed. 5. That Jesus is "the sinner's friend," the Son of God, the centre of Christianity, and that his Gospel is of celestial birth and mission; "the power of God unto salvation to all that believe." 6. That experience is the basis of religion; that the only authorized test of fellowship for the church isChristian character. 7. That no sect in Christendom, as such, isthechurch of God; thatthechurch is everywhere composed of such only as have passed from death unto life. 8. That sectarian names do not fit the catholicity of the institution; that the names "disciples," "brethren," "friends," "Christians," are the better designations. 9. That human creeds, traditions, "doctrines and commandments of men," are abolished in the light and authority of the Gospel. 10. That sons of God are freemen, owing no allegiance to Pope, Bishop, Prelate, or Council. These views all fairly reside in the writings which unfold this early period of his life; and when we consider the exceeding scarcity of liberal thought in the religious world at so early a day, and the isolation of his position from the most active and enlightened minds on the continent, his stand in the church and the world becomes a wonder, only to be solved by the recognition of the original and superior intellect that gave him intuitive insight into the right and wrong of whatever problems may have won his earnest attention. The liberality of many is but a mere scepticism of thought. His liberality was a part of the most devoted labor and unabated zeal. It was one with prayer and tears. Now, in this last day, (1854,) with all that learning and comprehensive thinking have done for us, where and what are the heights of liberality occupied by the theological reformers whose names have gone abroad as being wider than their denominational platform? As we glance along the sparse population of these plateaux, we observe among others, the names of Bushnell and Beecher, the former with certain acute philosophical powers, thelatter with a bold dramatic energy of speech, each exposing himself in a degree to the censure of that large class who dread all innovation made upon the time-honored landmarks of the Fathers, who are alarmed at new roads, even though they are more direct, convenient, and comely. But neither of these gentlemen has gone so far as did this youth in the wilderness of his adopted country. Neither has altogetherpracticallyforgotten the claims of sect and of creed; and the view that holiness of life and purpose is the indisputable claim to fraternity independent of dogma, which is their highestidea, was his constantlypractisedprinciple long before the world had heard of new and old school in the contentions of orthodox sects. Open now his first letters of commendation and you will see that the fraternities that authorized them ignored sectarian names, simply styling themselves "The Church of God in this place." In liberality, I do not see that the best part of the Christian world now are, either in theory or practice, at all in advance of his position in 1813. That his peace principles did not allow him to pray for bloody victories, or to strengthen the king's arms by his influence over the people, there is pretty good evidence. He and his brethren drank too deeply at the wells of religion to engage in the destruction of their fellows.
To return. The young man, now nearly twenty-two years of age, intent on the duties and trials of a missionary life, starts for his native New Hampshire, improving every opportunity on the way, where circumstances united with his own impressions in producing the conviction that good might be done. Withoutabating his own labor, he depends continually on divine assistance, believing that he enjoys the advantage of the real presence of the One who said, "Lo! I am with you alway;" and before undertaking any important cause, or plan of action, he seeks illumination in secret prayer, then follows the leading impressions of his mind. He diligently studies the Scriptures, observes nature, and discriminates the strong points and peculiarities of the different characters he meets, for which he seemed to possess an intuitive power that received no assistance from the later inductions of phrenology, or the didactic lessons of physiognomy. He could, without rules admitting of statement, readily discern the character of an audience, the kind of discourse fitted to their capacity and wants, and most easily did he arrive at this kind of knowledge by a brief social contact with individuals. No nature perhaps ever had a greater power of adaptability to the many-phased character of mankind and surrounding circumstances, than his. But for the present, indeed for the several years of his early ministry, the central element of his life, the one that ruled all others, was his earnest, hearty, prayerful devotion to the holy mission of saving human beings from sin, and of bringing them into living union with God and with Christ. Along the meanderings of this current let us therefore follow the course of his narrative, which at this time unfolds itself in a series of letters, hastily and unelaborately written to some friend whose name does not appear; perhaps to Z. Adams, or to some other young minister interested in his welfare.
"Dear Friend,—I rode from Stanstead, where I had enjoyed several good meetings, across the line into the State of Vermont, where I had several more in Derby, Holland, and Morgan, but soon returned to a little village on the line, and on Stanstead Plain, where there were prospects of good being done. It was here that I met Mr. Roswell Bates, who became my company, as he was going to the town of Woodstock. Leaving the line about July the 16th, we passed through Rigah, Browning, and Wheelock, holding several meetings at the last named town, in which the spirits of many appeared to gather new courage and joy. I then rode to Danville, and remained several days, in which time I had the pleasure of seeing some who had been for months cold in their affections, quickened and newly determined in the cause of life. We then rode to Peacham, then to Newbury, Bradford, and Corinth, where we separated, Mr. B. going to Hafford and I to Strafford. Here I was greeted by a happy band of brethren, with whom I held several meetings, and remained several days. Crossing the Connecticut river over into Lyme, thence through Dorchester to Hebron, thence to Bridgewater, I arrived next morning, which was Sunday, at New Hampton, and was kindly received by Wm. B. Kelley, Esq., a distant relative, by whom I was politely introduced to the clergyman of the place. With him I passed a half hour very pleasantly; we repaired to the church together, as the people began to assemble. I occupied with him a seat in the desk, and listened with a degree of satisfaction to what he communicated. When we returned to his house, he insisted on my speaking in the afternoon, and in vain did I urge the excuses of a long journey and much fatigue. He gave me a Bible and a Concordance, saying that I had three quarters of an hour in which to prepare,and left the room. We again repaired to the church, and contrary to the order of the morning, I was assigned the right-hand place in the pulpit. I spoke to these strangers in the same freedom to which I had ever been accustomed, and reserved nothing of the divine counsel made known unto me; the word seemed to have some direct effect; the people appeared to hang with solicitude on the truths advanced, and many wept under the exhibition of the love and pardoning grace of Jesus Christ. The next day I heard a young man, Mr. John Swett, who, much to my joy, was wholly engaged in the work of the Lord—a work already commenced under his labors. At the request of my friends, I gave out an appointment, at which there were three ministers, Mr. Hillard, the aged priest to whom I had been at first introduced, Mr. Daney, whom I had never before seen, and Mr. Swett, my new acquaintance. I scarcely ever found greater liberty in speaking. Priest Hillard at the close arose and gave me his approbation, inviting me again to call on him; others also spoke on the goodness of God, as experienced by them. Bidding them an affectionate farewell, I was, in about four hours, at my native Gilmanton, whose citizens and scenes I had not known for the space of four years."Here I had great joy, mingled with sorrow—joy to meet my sister, Mrs. Cogswell, and other relatives; sorrow to learn that in their plans of happiness, religion and reconciliation to God were not the essential part. Capt. C., who did not usually go to the Free Church, wished me to permit him to make an appointment in that place, to which I gave consent. Accordingly, on the next Lord's day, at half-past ten o'clock, I met a large congregation at the Free Church; and at five o'clock, P. M., spoke to a full assembly at the house of Capt. Cogswell, each audience being probably attracted in part by curiosity.At the former meeting, my mind was constrained to weep over the people, who also wept under the message I delivered them. Many serious exhortations were given; many expressed the fulness of their joy in Christ. Wishing to see men and women stand upon some positive decisions in regard to their salvation, and knowing the good influence which a public expression of secret resolves has upon the subsequent action of man, I proposed that such of the assembly as felt the worth of religion, and desired to enjoy its heavenly light and consolation, would signify the state of their minds by rising up. Very few kept their seats; and I have reason to think that many were strengthened for life. Many invitations were given me for new appointments. At 5 o'clock at Capt. C.'s, there were many Calvinists present, who with the rest, seemed to mingle with their critical aspect considerable true religious feeling. Perhaps my preaching called out more criticism than it would otherwise have done, on account of my manner being wholly extemporaneous, and my sentiments not being formed from Calvin or any sectarian creed. My grandmother[15]was present; she seemed much pleased, and after meeting said to me, 'It is a wonder and a mystery to me how you talk as you do without having any of it written. Two of my family have got to be preachers, William C. and yourself. He learned to preach at the institution, but who in the world ever learned you up there in Canada?' I believe I told her that the Being who needed ministers had much to do in making them, which seemed to be a new idea in these parts."I then went to New Durham to visit my relatives, but spoke frequently before my return. On my wayback, at a very good meeting about two miles from the place of my other appointments in the town, a young lady whom I baptized in February of the next year, was there permanently and effectually impressed with the need of salvation through Christ. She continued from that time to be drawn into nearness and union with Jesus, whose power over the heart no one can measure. After this meeting I returned to Gilmanton. As my sister was somewhat out of health, and travelling was recommended as her best restorative, I favored her desires to visit her parents in Canada, whom she had not seen for six years: and taking a carriage suited to the journey, conveyed her to my father's house in Compton. Our parents were overjoyed to see us. The next morning early I returned to the States, rode to Glover, Greensborough, and Montpelier, attended a quarterly meeting, with several other appointments, and returned to the Province in about seven days. Meeting my sister at Stanstead, where my elder brother according to agreement had brought her, I again set out for Gilmanton, where I arrived after an absence of about four weeks. On my way east I passed through Cabot and Danville, where I held several meetings; but when passing through New Hampton I met Rev. Mr. Hillard, who informed me that he intended to go to Toronto to preach, and should be happy to have me supply at his church during his absence. I accordingly left an appointment."Here, my dear friend, you have a brief account of my journeyings for the space of two months and a few days, in which time I have travelled 770 miles. Here in good old New England scenes, I at times revive the lights and shades of my early days, but the work of salvation is one that overlays in interest all reverie of the mind, and I shall hasten to give you a further account of thework of God in my next, hoping that from former friendship, my hasty letters will be interesting to your delicate and studious mind."Yours, in the truth,J. Badger."Sept., 1814."
"Dear Friend,—I rode from Stanstead, where I had enjoyed several good meetings, across the line into the State of Vermont, where I had several more in Derby, Holland, and Morgan, but soon returned to a little village on the line, and on Stanstead Plain, where there were prospects of good being done. It was here that I met Mr. Roswell Bates, who became my company, as he was going to the town of Woodstock. Leaving the line about July the 16th, we passed through Rigah, Browning, and Wheelock, holding several meetings at the last named town, in which the spirits of many appeared to gather new courage and joy. I then rode to Danville, and remained several days, in which time I had the pleasure of seeing some who had been for months cold in their affections, quickened and newly determined in the cause of life. We then rode to Peacham, then to Newbury, Bradford, and Corinth, where we separated, Mr. B. going to Hafford and I to Strafford. Here I was greeted by a happy band of brethren, with whom I held several meetings, and remained several days. Crossing the Connecticut river over into Lyme, thence through Dorchester to Hebron, thence to Bridgewater, I arrived next morning, which was Sunday, at New Hampton, and was kindly received by Wm. B. Kelley, Esq., a distant relative, by whom I was politely introduced to the clergyman of the place. With him I passed a half hour very pleasantly; we repaired to the church together, as the people began to assemble. I occupied with him a seat in the desk, and listened with a degree of satisfaction to what he communicated. When we returned to his house, he insisted on my speaking in the afternoon, and in vain did I urge the excuses of a long journey and much fatigue. He gave me a Bible and a Concordance, saying that I had three quarters of an hour in which to prepare,and left the room. We again repaired to the church, and contrary to the order of the morning, I was assigned the right-hand place in the pulpit. I spoke to these strangers in the same freedom to which I had ever been accustomed, and reserved nothing of the divine counsel made known unto me; the word seemed to have some direct effect; the people appeared to hang with solicitude on the truths advanced, and many wept under the exhibition of the love and pardoning grace of Jesus Christ. The next day I heard a young man, Mr. John Swett, who, much to my joy, was wholly engaged in the work of the Lord—a work already commenced under his labors. At the request of my friends, I gave out an appointment, at which there were three ministers, Mr. Hillard, the aged priest to whom I had been at first introduced, Mr. Daney, whom I had never before seen, and Mr. Swett, my new acquaintance. I scarcely ever found greater liberty in speaking. Priest Hillard at the close arose and gave me his approbation, inviting me again to call on him; others also spoke on the goodness of God, as experienced by them. Bidding them an affectionate farewell, I was, in about four hours, at my native Gilmanton, whose citizens and scenes I had not known for the space of four years.
"Here I had great joy, mingled with sorrow—joy to meet my sister, Mrs. Cogswell, and other relatives; sorrow to learn that in their plans of happiness, religion and reconciliation to God were not the essential part. Capt. C., who did not usually go to the Free Church, wished me to permit him to make an appointment in that place, to which I gave consent. Accordingly, on the next Lord's day, at half-past ten o'clock, I met a large congregation at the Free Church; and at five o'clock, P. M., spoke to a full assembly at the house of Capt. Cogswell, each audience being probably attracted in part by curiosity.At the former meeting, my mind was constrained to weep over the people, who also wept under the message I delivered them. Many serious exhortations were given; many expressed the fulness of their joy in Christ. Wishing to see men and women stand upon some positive decisions in regard to their salvation, and knowing the good influence which a public expression of secret resolves has upon the subsequent action of man, I proposed that such of the assembly as felt the worth of religion, and desired to enjoy its heavenly light and consolation, would signify the state of their minds by rising up. Very few kept their seats; and I have reason to think that many were strengthened for life. Many invitations were given me for new appointments. At 5 o'clock at Capt. C.'s, there were many Calvinists present, who with the rest, seemed to mingle with their critical aspect considerable true religious feeling. Perhaps my preaching called out more criticism than it would otherwise have done, on account of my manner being wholly extemporaneous, and my sentiments not being formed from Calvin or any sectarian creed. My grandmother[15]was present; she seemed much pleased, and after meeting said to me, 'It is a wonder and a mystery to me how you talk as you do without having any of it written. Two of my family have got to be preachers, William C. and yourself. He learned to preach at the institution, but who in the world ever learned you up there in Canada?' I believe I told her that the Being who needed ministers had much to do in making them, which seemed to be a new idea in these parts.
"I then went to New Durham to visit my relatives, but spoke frequently before my return. On my wayback, at a very good meeting about two miles from the place of my other appointments in the town, a young lady whom I baptized in February of the next year, was there permanently and effectually impressed with the need of salvation through Christ. She continued from that time to be drawn into nearness and union with Jesus, whose power over the heart no one can measure. After this meeting I returned to Gilmanton. As my sister was somewhat out of health, and travelling was recommended as her best restorative, I favored her desires to visit her parents in Canada, whom she had not seen for six years: and taking a carriage suited to the journey, conveyed her to my father's house in Compton. Our parents were overjoyed to see us. The next morning early I returned to the States, rode to Glover, Greensborough, and Montpelier, attended a quarterly meeting, with several other appointments, and returned to the Province in about seven days. Meeting my sister at Stanstead, where my elder brother according to agreement had brought her, I again set out for Gilmanton, where I arrived after an absence of about four weeks. On my way east I passed through Cabot and Danville, where I held several meetings; but when passing through New Hampton I met Rev. Mr. Hillard, who informed me that he intended to go to Toronto to preach, and should be happy to have me supply at his church during his absence. I accordingly left an appointment.
"Here, my dear friend, you have a brief account of my journeyings for the space of two months and a few days, in which time I have travelled 770 miles. Here in good old New England scenes, I at times revive the lights and shades of my early days, but the work of salvation is one that overlays in interest all reverie of the mind, and I shall hasten to give you a further account of thework of God in my next, hoping that from former friendship, my hasty letters will be interesting to your delicate and studious mind.
"Yours, in the truth,J. Badger."Sept., 1814."
Here I would observe, that the manuscript from which the events of these several months are chiefly known appears to be copies of letters, several of which were addressed to one person, whose name may have been upon the outer leaf of the scroll at first, but which I do not find in the letters themselves. As his present history is reflected in these, I offer them, with all the variety of incident which a man of his peculiar cast of character would very naturally call out. These "scratches," as he labelled them, appear to have been kept as a means of reënlivening past scenes, should he ever wish to write their history.
"After attending several meetings in Gilmanton, I went on to my appointment at Newhampton, and met a very large congregation who had come out to hear the new preacher. The people thinking me a missionary direct from college, readily swallowed the doctrine of a free, universal salvation, designed for and offered unto all men, and many rejoiced in the liberal view I presented. I felt at this time, very much the weight of the cause, and spoke with great freedom on the true mission of the Gospel to our lost world. It may be thought by some that courtesy should have dictated an acquiescence in the formality and doctrine that reigned about me. But I felt constrained to speak from my own soul and the word that burned in my own heart. I did so. Many of the silent kindledanew with ardor, their tongues were unloosed, and some praised God aloud. In the afternoon I had a glorious time, concluding my sermon with the most earnest warning to the people. This change in their accustomed routine for Sunday called out many remarks, some saying one thing and some another. One said, 'He preaches just like a damned Freewiller, and if Mr. Hillard lets him preach there again, I will neither hear nor payhimin future.' Nevertheless, I had several invitations to preach again. In the evening I spoke at Mr. Kelley's, to about 200 hearers, on Monday, P. M., at Lieut. Sinkter's school-house, to an audience of entire strangers. In that vicinity were many Freewill Baptists, few of whom, however, saw fit to attend. Priest Hillard's deacon came to me at the close of meeting, with considerable emotion, and said, 'I know the joyful sound of which you have spoken. I am satisfied God has called you to preach the Gospel. I want you to preach at my house this evening,' and accordingly gave out the appointment. There are always some discerning spirits among the people, who, sooner than others, look into the nature and meaning of things. One of the Freewill members, a lady, remarked when she got home on the character of the meeting, saying, 'The deacon will get joked this time with his missionary or I am deceived.' At evening the house was crowded, the Freewill brotherhood having waked up to an interest in what was occurring. At the time I did not know as there was one anti-Calvinistic mind in the house, but resolved, as a dying man, to do my duty without shrinking. I arose to speak from Mal. 4: 2: 'Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings,' and felt, as I progressed, the love of God in my soul. Many of the young people wept aloud, the Freewill brethren began to assist, and before the meetingbroke up the power of God was so strikingly displayed that the deacon, unexpectedly to all, fell prostrate on the floor. A haughty young woman, whose hair was wrought into a profusion of curls, came forward and kneeled down, bathing her curls with tears as she cried for mercy. The argument on this occasion, though no doctrine was discussed, was one that the deacon was unable to resist, for he fell as many as five times under the power of God. The house seemed filled with divine glory. The congregation broke up about one o'clock at night. The next day I went from house to house praying and conversing with the people. I found that many were seeking Christ, and that a thoughtful solemnity was resting even on the minds of children."The next evening our meeting was no less powerful. Not less than twice did the deacon fall to the floor; one man who had fallen away from the Christian profession, lay for some time speechless, and the young lady spoken of before, came out bright and clear in the expression of her change. She then walked through the assembly, taking her mates by the hand, and warning and inviting them to flee to Christ, made a deep impression on the assembly. One other made profession of being translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. In this state of affairs I left Newhampton to attend other appointments, which required some eight or nine days, and from the good attention paid to the word and its effect on the people, I began to think that my mission to New England was not in vain."
"After attending several meetings in Gilmanton, I went on to my appointment at Newhampton, and met a very large congregation who had come out to hear the new preacher. The people thinking me a missionary direct from college, readily swallowed the doctrine of a free, universal salvation, designed for and offered unto all men, and many rejoiced in the liberal view I presented. I felt at this time, very much the weight of the cause, and spoke with great freedom on the true mission of the Gospel to our lost world. It may be thought by some that courtesy should have dictated an acquiescence in the formality and doctrine that reigned about me. But I felt constrained to speak from my own soul and the word that burned in my own heart. I did so. Many of the silent kindledanew with ardor, their tongues were unloosed, and some praised God aloud. In the afternoon I had a glorious time, concluding my sermon with the most earnest warning to the people. This change in their accustomed routine for Sunday called out many remarks, some saying one thing and some another. One said, 'He preaches just like a damned Freewiller, and if Mr. Hillard lets him preach there again, I will neither hear nor payhimin future.' Nevertheless, I had several invitations to preach again. In the evening I spoke at Mr. Kelley's, to about 200 hearers, on Monday, P. M., at Lieut. Sinkter's school-house, to an audience of entire strangers. In that vicinity were many Freewill Baptists, few of whom, however, saw fit to attend. Priest Hillard's deacon came to me at the close of meeting, with considerable emotion, and said, 'I know the joyful sound of which you have spoken. I am satisfied God has called you to preach the Gospel. I want you to preach at my house this evening,' and accordingly gave out the appointment. There are always some discerning spirits among the people, who, sooner than others, look into the nature and meaning of things. One of the Freewill members, a lady, remarked when she got home on the character of the meeting, saying, 'The deacon will get joked this time with his missionary or I am deceived.' At evening the house was crowded, the Freewill brotherhood having waked up to an interest in what was occurring. At the time I did not know as there was one anti-Calvinistic mind in the house, but resolved, as a dying man, to do my duty without shrinking. I arose to speak from Mal. 4: 2: 'Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings,' and felt, as I progressed, the love of God in my soul. Many of the young people wept aloud, the Freewill brethren began to assist, and before the meetingbroke up the power of God was so strikingly displayed that the deacon, unexpectedly to all, fell prostrate on the floor. A haughty young woman, whose hair was wrought into a profusion of curls, came forward and kneeled down, bathing her curls with tears as she cried for mercy. The argument on this occasion, though no doctrine was discussed, was one that the deacon was unable to resist, for he fell as many as five times under the power of God. The house seemed filled with divine glory. The congregation broke up about one o'clock at night. The next day I went from house to house praying and conversing with the people. I found that many were seeking Christ, and that a thoughtful solemnity was resting even on the minds of children.
"The next evening our meeting was no less powerful. Not less than twice did the deacon fall to the floor; one man who had fallen away from the Christian profession, lay for some time speechless, and the young lady spoken of before, came out bright and clear in the expression of her change. She then walked through the assembly, taking her mates by the hand, and warning and inviting them to flee to Christ, made a deep impression on the assembly. One other made profession of being translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. In this state of affairs I left Newhampton to attend other appointments, which required some eight or nine days, and from the good attention paid to the word and its effect on the people, I began to think that my mission to New England was not in vain."
Passages like these will doubtless meet with a variety of tastes, and be subjected to different constructions. The effects of a great immediate power that followed the preaching of Abbot, Whitfield, andothers, seeming for a time to irresistibly sway the subject, has been variously explained, or, perhaps, more properly, has never been explained to the full satisfaction of the thoughtful. There is something certainly in the nature of thetheme; for who was ever struck speechless and nerveless by a political appeal, or a literary, philosophical, or financial address? To make the least of it, these phenomena show a wild, mighty vigor in the darkly oppressed religious element within, or the same amount of zeal on finance or the election of candidates would produce equal results. Whether the Holy Ghost be present or absent, the man whose word and personal presence palsies a beastly sinner or formal deacon, so that he can neither move nor speak, is himself no weak formalist; no wavering, half-and-half man, who lives on plausibility and apology. This much is certain, that he carries a conquering force, if the effect beof him; if not of him, if he is right in the declaration "not unto us" be the glory, a similar conclusion follows the admission of his instrumentality. We love harmony; and in the great harmony that the soul should enjoy genuine thunder will prove no essential discord. We enjoy quietness; but of the two, we say by all means give us the preaching that knocks men off their seats, to that which never moves them. But how comes on Newhampton?
"I continued my visits to Newhampton for the space of three months. Some twenty of the youth were hopefully converted; I think I never saw converts of greater strength. But oh! what trials awaited some of this number! The first that came forward in this reformationhad much persuasion to resist. Her father was an open enemy to religion, her mother was very pious, but wholly bound up in Calvinism, and the young woman was determined to be free and not be entangled with any yoke of bondage. A number of times was she threatened to be turned out of doors. She wished baptism; but being unordained I could not administer; and, as she was unable to join Mr. H.'s church, out of preference to the church of the first-born, she had to go against the current, which is never abadsign, as dead fish invariably move along with the stream. Many wished to be baptized, and Mr. H., thinking it a good opportunity to gather additions to himself, began to raise all his forces against me, spreading defamatory reports to sour the minds of the people, intending to drive me out of the place. I was reminded of the stanza:'They hate the Gospel preacher,And cry out, afalseteacher!A wolf! an active creature,Will pull our churches down.'He found fault on several points of doctrine. We held together several conferences, public and private. He indeed stirred up the devout women and all his party to opposition, and not a little to my grief we had to say—Farewell to the reformation. He proselyted five young converts, whose happy condition, I fear, became like that of the fish which glide pleasantly down the river Jordan into the Dead Sea, which is called immediate death; for they soon grew formal and lifeless in the atmosphere of the church. 'How is the fine gold become dim!' But what of our deacon? you will say. Why this, that after falling beneath the power of God so many times, after giving me a letter of commendation extolling my character, and thepower and usefulness of my ministry, after I had labored night and day, and God had visited his family in the conversion of three of his children,he'lifted up his heel against me.' In whom then shall the Gospel minister trust? In God, and in Truth. At this declension I sorrowed with a bleeding heart. You can judge of my feelings. I gave out an appointment, administered as good advice as I knew how to the converts, preached on Sunday, took a letter of commendation signed by Elder Heart,[16]in behalf of the church, and bade them adieu. December 2, 1814."
"I continued my visits to Newhampton for the space of three months. Some twenty of the youth were hopefully converted; I think I never saw converts of greater strength. But oh! what trials awaited some of this number! The first that came forward in this reformationhad much persuasion to resist. Her father was an open enemy to religion, her mother was very pious, but wholly bound up in Calvinism, and the young woman was determined to be free and not be entangled with any yoke of bondage. A number of times was she threatened to be turned out of doors. She wished baptism; but being unordained I could not administer; and, as she was unable to join Mr. H.'s church, out of preference to the church of the first-born, she had to go against the current, which is never abadsign, as dead fish invariably move along with the stream. Many wished to be baptized, and Mr. H., thinking it a good opportunity to gather additions to himself, began to raise all his forces against me, spreading defamatory reports to sour the minds of the people, intending to drive me out of the place. I was reminded of the stanza:
'They hate the Gospel preacher,And cry out, afalseteacher!A wolf! an active creature,Will pull our churches down.'
'They hate the Gospel preacher,And cry out, afalseteacher!A wolf! an active creature,Will pull our churches down.'
He found fault on several points of doctrine. We held together several conferences, public and private. He indeed stirred up the devout women and all his party to opposition, and not a little to my grief we had to say—Farewell to the reformation. He proselyted five young converts, whose happy condition, I fear, became like that of the fish which glide pleasantly down the river Jordan into the Dead Sea, which is called immediate death; for they soon grew formal and lifeless in the atmosphere of the church. 'How is the fine gold become dim!' But what of our deacon? you will say. Why this, that after falling beneath the power of God so many times, after giving me a letter of commendation extolling my character, and thepower and usefulness of my ministry, after I had labored night and day, and God had visited his family in the conversion of three of his children,he'lifted up his heel against me.' In whom then shall the Gospel minister trust? In God, and in Truth. At this declension I sorrowed with a bleeding heart. You can judge of my feelings. I gave out an appointment, administered as good advice as I knew how to the converts, preached on Sunday, took a letter of commendation signed by Elder Heart,[16]in behalf of the church, and bade them adieu. December 2, 1814."
It would seem that young Mr. Badger was not exactly a safe hand to trust with the direction of church machinery, where doctrine, devotion and preaching were respectably stereotyped, where all things were smoothly continued. His steam and individuality were rather hazardous elements in the temple of forms. "Priest Log" had been a safer priest.
He also narrates his success in Gilmanton, where several young persons and some of his own relations "bowed to the mild sceptre of mercy." His cousin, who came out in this revival, he says was the first of his relatives with whom he had felt a union in the Gospel, that as he had been educated under the theology of Calvin, he was besieged with entreaty to join them. "But," says Mr. B., "he still walks in Gospel liberty; I pray that he may be preserved blameless, and prove a thorn to the clergy whilst he lives." He compares the policy of his opponents towards his cousin to thebarbarian usage of slaying prisoners when the prospect of being overcome grows certain. Extracts of other letters here follow.
"After I left Newhampton, December 2, I went to Meredith, and attended the ordination of Mr. John Swett.
"After I left Newhampton, December 2, I went to Meredith, and attended the ordination of Mr. John Swett.
Here I find a page erased, but as it is legible and very characteristic, I venture to transcribe.
"Here I was introduced by some of the brethren present for ordination. The ministers with whom I was acquainted seemed willing to ordain me, provided I would 'consent to walk on two legs,' taking the church of God for the one and the Freewill society for the other. This statement, substantially, was from Rev. E. Knowlton, of Pittsfield. This saying of Solomon immediately came to my mind, 'The legs of the lame are not equal;'[17]and considering the Freewill society as inadequate to the church of God, I concluded that, carrying out the figure, one had better go through the world hopping than limping, and I asked wherein one could be the loser, provided he went as fast on one limb as others did on two. I said to them, that if I could not have their approbation on the ground that I belonged to the church of God, without the addition of their wooden staff, I would much prefer to stand alone. They accused me of being on the common. I answered that I was born there; that I much preferred it to a barren pasture, or a pit wherein is no water; that I meant, through divine grace, to stand where I had received the Lord Jesus, and that if the church of God, unsectarianized, is the common, I would be content with it till the arrival of the time when there shall be 'one fold and one shepherd.'"Here I had to stand alone, whilst my heart bled to see the superstition and bigotry of those who profess to be free; and, I say it reluctantly and with sorrow, I have seen as much bondage, and have met as bad treatment from those who claim to be Freewillers, as ever I did from the more stiff-necked and stoical of the sects. To have the clearest proofs of belonging to the body of Christ, of having the sanction of Him who calls men to his ministry, and to have undisputed standing among good men is not enough. Party must be worshipped. This more and more convinces me that it is well to abandon the doctrines of men and all unscriptural names, to be disciples not only in name but in practice. I am also sorry to say that I have discovered the same spirit among those who are called Christians. But I will leave this subject, praying that God will help us so to run that we may obtain."
"Here I was introduced by some of the brethren present for ordination. The ministers with whom I was acquainted seemed willing to ordain me, provided I would 'consent to walk on two legs,' taking the church of God for the one and the Freewill society for the other. This statement, substantially, was from Rev. E. Knowlton, of Pittsfield. This saying of Solomon immediately came to my mind, 'The legs of the lame are not equal;'[17]and considering the Freewill society as inadequate to the church of God, I concluded that, carrying out the figure, one had better go through the world hopping than limping, and I asked wherein one could be the loser, provided he went as fast on one limb as others did on two. I said to them, that if I could not have their approbation on the ground that I belonged to the church of God, without the addition of their wooden staff, I would much prefer to stand alone. They accused me of being on the common. I answered that I was born there; that I much preferred it to a barren pasture, or a pit wherein is no water; that I meant, through divine grace, to stand where I had received the Lord Jesus, and that if the church of God, unsectarianized, is the common, I would be content with it till the arrival of the time when there shall be 'one fold and one shepherd.'
"Here I had to stand alone, whilst my heart bled to see the superstition and bigotry of those who profess to be free; and, I say it reluctantly and with sorrow, I have seen as much bondage, and have met as bad treatment from those who claim to be Freewillers, as ever I did from the more stiff-necked and stoical of the sects. To have the clearest proofs of belonging to the body of Christ, of having the sanction of Him who calls men to his ministry, and to have undisputed standing among good men is not enough. Party must be worshipped. This more and more convinces me that it is well to abandon the doctrines of men and all unscriptural names, to be disciples not only in name but in practice. I am also sorry to say that I have discovered the same spirit among those who are called Christians. But I will leave this subject, praying that God will help us so to run that we may obtain."
Rather difficult, was it not, to get this young man into a net? He stands yet erect upon his mission, prays, weeps, preaches by night and by day; and old men and young, mothers and maidens, acknowledge his right to lead them in the "new and the living way" by falling into his line of march, and finding words of life in his speech. This refusal to pledge himself to creed and sect, grew out of nothing unsocial, for his whole being was social and brotherly. Interest could not so have dictated. An innate greatness of mind it was that gave him this high position for a young man as early as 1814, aided no doubt by the free and generous impulses of the religion of Jesus, which, in his experience and in his Testament, alike declared the oneness of the body of Christ, and of whatever isessential and saving. This position seems not to have hindered him; the faithful still rally under the banner he bears. Mr. Badger was a man of great facility for carrying his points, having a persuasive eye, will, and speech; nor is it at all surprising that among his early commendatory letters, there should be some from clergymen of different denominations; one I remember signed by threeclass leaders, in the Province of Canada, and others from those who had obeyed his call to the new life, and to whom he became as an apostle and father.
At Gilmanton, Barnstead, Stratham, Portsmouth, Rye, Northampton, he held forth in the name of the victorious Christ; and though there is no record of dogmatic speculation and "disputations of science," the fires of reformation were kindled, the young convert and the steadfast believer rejoiced together, bringing forward their golden treasures, not from the cold chambers of the intellect, but from the mines of the soul, as wrought by experience and refined by the agencies of the Holy Spirit. One more touching paragraph from this letter, we cannot withhold. Those who recollect the calmness and the pensive music of the pine-grove, its unison with the deeper feelings, will vividly realize the passage which refers to the lonely and dependent spirit which there sought relief in prayerful utterance.
"How many trials I have passed through during these four months! I well remember the sad feelings of my heart as I was riding from Rye to Portsmouth, across a pine plain, whilst I meditated on my mission and presentlot in the world. Leaving my horse, I retired into this still grove, where none but the heavenly powers could hear the expression of my burdened soul. As I considered my situation, a feeble youth, hundreds of miles from home, among entire strangers, and bound by solemn duty to the world of dying sinners, I was constrained to weep before my God in this wilderness. Here I sought his aid. How oft, on that journey, did I weep for miles, as I rode the streets. Angels! ye are witnesses to the sleepless nights that passed away as I thought of the unreconciled state of mankind, and of my duty to them. Here, my loving friend, you have a brief account of what I have seen the last four months. I have reason to praise my Redeemer. Like Mr. Dow, I can say, 'What I have seen I know, what is to come I know not.' O my friend, strive to make a good improvement of these memories, and if we never meet again in time, may the Lord prepare us to meet in His kingdom of glory. Yours in the Truth, as it is in God's dear Son,"Jan., 1815.Joseph Badger."
"How many trials I have passed through during these four months! I well remember the sad feelings of my heart as I was riding from Rye to Portsmouth, across a pine plain, whilst I meditated on my mission and presentlot in the world. Leaving my horse, I retired into this still grove, where none but the heavenly powers could hear the expression of my burdened soul. As I considered my situation, a feeble youth, hundreds of miles from home, among entire strangers, and bound by solemn duty to the world of dying sinners, I was constrained to weep before my God in this wilderness. Here I sought his aid. How oft, on that journey, did I weep for miles, as I rode the streets. Angels! ye are witnesses to the sleepless nights that passed away as I thought of the unreconciled state of mankind, and of my duty to them. Here, my loving friend, you have a brief account of what I have seen the last four months. I have reason to praise my Redeemer. Like Mr. Dow, I can say, 'What I have seen I know, what is to come I know not.' O my friend, strive to make a good improvement of these memories, and if we never meet again in time, may the Lord prepare us to meet in His kingdom of glory. Yours in the Truth, as it is in God's dear Son,
"Jan., 1815.
Joseph Badger."
Rightly did the poet say,—
"Who never ate his bread in sorrow,Who never spent the darksome hours,Weeping and watching for the morrow;He knows ye not, ye heavenly Powers."
"Who never ate his bread in sorrow,Who never spent the darksome hours,Weeping and watching for the morrow;He knows ye not, ye heavenly Powers."
The prophet, in all ages, to whom God gives the tongue of flame, must at some time have known the holy baptism of inward sorrow.
The churches and communities in which he had given proofs of his ministry, began to call for the ordination of Mr. Badger. Before me this moment is the call of the church in Gilmanton, dated Dec. 4, 1814, which reads as follows:
"This certifies that Joseph Badger has been preaching several months past in this and adjacent towns with much success, and in this place souls have been converted to God. He has the approbation of the church in this place, as a Christian and a Preacher of the Gospel, and we believe it would be for the glory of God for him to receive Ordination."Signed, in behalf of the Church,"Jasper Elkins,"Frederick Cogswell,"Daniel Elkins."
"This certifies that Joseph Badger has been preaching several months past in this and adjacent towns with much success, and in this place souls have been converted to God. He has the approbation of the church in this place, as a Christian and a Preacher of the Gospel, and we believe it would be for the glory of God for him to receive Ordination.
"Signed, in behalf of the Church,"Jasper Elkins,"Frederick Cogswell,"Daniel Elkins."
Rev. N. Wilson, of Barnstead, after making strict inquiry and satisfactory examination, in answer to the requests from the people, wrote to brethren in the ministry all about, to attend on the occasion at his residence, Jan. 19. The call was obeyed by the presence of seven ministers and a multitude of people. Rev. Wm. Blaisdel delivered the discourse, from 2d Tim. 4: 2, who, with W. Young, J. Boody, J. Shepherd, N. Wilson, J. Knowles, N. Piper, were the persons bywhom the different parts of the services were performed. It will be understood by the reader that this ordination demanded no sectarian acknowledgments; that it left the tree unbent. "I was considered by them," says Mr. B., "as free indeed. No discipline was urged upon me but the Scriptures, and no master or leader but Christ. This, to me, was a solemn day, and long to be remembered." He was now relieved of many embarrassments under which he had formerly labored in not being able to administer the ordinances.
He still persevered in his labors through towns adjacent to Gilmanton, and "many of the youth," he tells us, "fled to the Shiloh for salvation and rest." On Jan. 29, he delivered a sermon on Baptism, in the Free Meeting-house, Gilmanton, and in the extreme cold, "under the keen eye of the north-west, which surveyed them critically," he baptized two persons, Mr. F. Cogswell and Miss Lydia Levy. Satan, he thinks, began about this time to exhibit himself as a persecutor, having an interest now, as of old, in the assemblies of the saints. Feb. 4th, he baptized two others in Alton, three others on the 10th at Gilmanton, and large congregations waited upon his ministry. By the regular clergy and their united influence, his movements were often opposed. Among the reports that clerical policy caused to arise, he records the following chapter:
"Badger is going about making and baptizing converts, and leaves them on the common. He has no discipline nor articles of faith. He throws away the holy Sabbath,alleging that it is done away in Christ. He says that he is not called to preach law, but gospel; therefore he casts the law of God away. He says there is no divine authority for infant sprinkling; that if we take it from circumcision, it can have, like its prototype, but a partial application to human beings. He also teaches that it is right for sinners to pray; and has said that the clergy are the greatest evil that ever happened to New England, because they keep the people in gross ignorance, because they do not admit to their pulpits many Gospel ministers, and because they are always the first to cry out against Reformation."'And when a soul engaged,Exhorts the young or aged,The clergy cry, enraged,They'll pull our churches down.'"How many such things the devil enables blind men to throw into the way of truth! but such is the power of Jesus' name, that no soldier of his cross is ever slain so long as he battles for the right.""What always grieved me most, was the deceitfulness of men, not their frank opposition, nor even honest violence. When I was present, nothing adverse would be said; but soon as I was absent, all these things would be heaped on the tender converts. Some, in sarcastic restlessness, said that if the people loved the Lord as well as they did Badger, heaven would be their surest inheritance. Others cried, 'a wolf in sheep's clothing;' but as crossing and mortifying as such things were, they did not move me, for I comprehended their origin, and had counted the cost before I entered the Gospel field. My hands were also upborne by the humble prayers of faithful ones. In defiance of all these things, Zion progressed, children within her gates were born, calls for preaching were continual, and doors of usefulness were daily opening.""My sister at this time, wife of Capt. P. Cogswell, was dangerously ill, and her thoughts turned upon her everlasting welfare. She conversed with me about dying, wept often when speaking of pure religion, and asked my prayers. She wondered often why I tarried so brief a time with her; but could she have seen my work before me as it was, and known the feelings of my heart, wonder could have had no place in her mind. My eldest brother, who came from Vermont to visit my sister, and another brother from Boston, whom I had not met for two years, who was on his way to Canada, met me at Gilmanton. In parting with them, the most vivid picture of past associations, my parents, youthful mates and sister, whom I had not seen for eight months, came before my mind; and after our separation, a sad and lonely feeling, which words cannot describe, lingered like a cloud upon my way as I contrasted my wandering condition among strangers, and my constant exposure to persecution, with the quiet homes my relatives enjoyed. I said to myself, Here I am, a poor child, wandering about the world among strangers, spending what little property I have, my bodily strength almost worn out in preaching, between two and three hundred miles from home; and whilst I am thus, they are crowned with the honors of this life, and no shaft of sectarian malice is ever hurled at them. In these meditations, though I profusely wept, my spirit gathered up its energies and found solace in the following stanzas:"But cease, my heart, no more complain,For Christ has said 'tis his command;Those who from pleasures here refrain,'I'm with them till the world shall end.'"Then shall I say to friends, Farewell!Whilst they may heap their golden toys,Christ's beauties to the world I'll tell,And seek for heaven's substantial joys."And when the sun and moon shall fall,And Nature's beauties each decay,Christ's merits I will then extol,When all my tears are wiped away."Transporting thought of joy sublime,This prompts my soul to spread His fame;Oh, come, my friends, unite in time,And love the glorious Saviour's name.""At Alton I preached Sunday, the 12th inst., baptized one young man; on the 17th inst. (Feb.), I baptized two others in the same place. Our meeting, we thought, was glorious, and as we repaired to the bank and beheld the pleasant stream gently pursuing its native channels, the streams of life did sweetly flow to cheer our drooping souls. The 22d, on a pleasant moonlit evening, I baptized another young man, after making a few remarks on the ready submission to this ordinance, as illustrated in the instances of the eunuch and the jailer."March the 3d, 6th, 25th, and 27th, were seasons of baptism. I then returned to Alton, found the saints steadfast, again preached, and on April 4, baptized two others. I then returned to Gilmanton, baptized brother John Page,[18]Jr., on the 6th, and Joseph Cogswell on the 16th. The glory of God seemed to shine around us. Then returning to Alton, we again had happy seasons from the refreshing Fountain of Life. Two more were here baptized. Oh, what happy, what blissful seasons my soul has known in these earthly regions!—seasons that cannot be otherwise than had in everlasting remembrance by many. The trials, though great, are past; but the hope of meeting the loved ones in God's holy realms, fills my heart with lively joy."
"Badger is going about making and baptizing converts, and leaves them on the common. He has no discipline nor articles of faith. He throws away the holy Sabbath,alleging that it is done away in Christ. He says that he is not called to preach law, but gospel; therefore he casts the law of God away. He says there is no divine authority for infant sprinkling; that if we take it from circumcision, it can have, like its prototype, but a partial application to human beings. He also teaches that it is right for sinners to pray; and has said that the clergy are the greatest evil that ever happened to New England, because they keep the people in gross ignorance, because they do not admit to their pulpits many Gospel ministers, and because they are always the first to cry out against Reformation.
"'And when a soul engaged,Exhorts the young or aged,The clergy cry, enraged,They'll pull our churches down.'"
"'And when a soul engaged,Exhorts the young or aged,The clergy cry, enraged,They'll pull our churches down.'"
How many such things the devil enables blind men to throw into the way of truth! but such is the power of Jesus' name, that no soldier of his cross is ever slain so long as he battles for the right."
"What always grieved me most, was the deceitfulness of men, not their frank opposition, nor even honest violence. When I was present, nothing adverse would be said; but soon as I was absent, all these things would be heaped on the tender converts. Some, in sarcastic restlessness, said that if the people loved the Lord as well as they did Badger, heaven would be their surest inheritance. Others cried, 'a wolf in sheep's clothing;' but as crossing and mortifying as such things were, they did not move me, for I comprehended their origin, and had counted the cost before I entered the Gospel field. My hands were also upborne by the humble prayers of faithful ones. In defiance of all these things, Zion progressed, children within her gates were born, calls for preaching were continual, and doors of usefulness were daily opening."
"My sister at this time, wife of Capt. P. Cogswell, was dangerously ill, and her thoughts turned upon her everlasting welfare. She conversed with me about dying, wept often when speaking of pure religion, and asked my prayers. She wondered often why I tarried so brief a time with her; but could she have seen my work before me as it was, and known the feelings of my heart, wonder could have had no place in her mind. My eldest brother, who came from Vermont to visit my sister, and another brother from Boston, whom I had not met for two years, who was on his way to Canada, met me at Gilmanton. In parting with them, the most vivid picture of past associations, my parents, youthful mates and sister, whom I had not seen for eight months, came before my mind; and after our separation, a sad and lonely feeling, which words cannot describe, lingered like a cloud upon my way as I contrasted my wandering condition among strangers, and my constant exposure to persecution, with the quiet homes my relatives enjoyed. I said to myself, Here I am, a poor child, wandering about the world among strangers, spending what little property I have, my bodily strength almost worn out in preaching, between two and three hundred miles from home; and whilst I am thus, they are crowned with the honors of this life, and no shaft of sectarian malice is ever hurled at them. In these meditations, though I profusely wept, my spirit gathered up its energies and found solace in the following stanzas:
"But cease, my heart, no more complain,For Christ has said 'tis his command;Those who from pleasures here refrain,'I'm with them till the world shall end.'"Then shall I say to friends, Farewell!Whilst they may heap their golden toys,Christ's beauties to the world I'll tell,And seek for heaven's substantial joys."And when the sun and moon shall fall,And Nature's beauties each decay,Christ's merits I will then extol,When all my tears are wiped away."Transporting thought of joy sublime,This prompts my soul to spread His fame;Oh, come, my friends, unite in time,And love the glorious Saviour's name."
"But cease, my heart, no more complain,For Christ has said 'tis his command;Those who from pleasures here refrain,'I'm with them till the world shall end.'
"Then shall I say to friends, Farewell!Whilst they may heap their golden toys,Christ's beauties to the world I'll tell,And seek for heaven's substantial joys.
"And when the sun and moon shall fall,And Nature's beauties each decay,Christ's merits I will then extol,When all my tears are wiped away.
"Transporting thought of joy sublime,This prompts my soul to spread His fame;Oh, come, my friends, unite in time,And love the glorious Saviour's name."
"At Alton I preached Sunday, the 12th inst., baptized one young man; on the 17th inst. (Feb.), I baptized two others in the same place. Our meeting, we thought, was glorious, and as we repaired to the bank and beheld the pleasant stream gently pursuing its native channels, the streams of life did sweetly flow to cheer our drooping souls. The 22d, on a pleasant moonlit evening, I baptized another young man, after making a few remarks on the ready submission to this ordinance, as illustrated in the instances of the eunuch and the jailer.
"March the 3d, 6th, 25th, and 27th, were seasons of baptism. I then returned to Alton, found the saints steadfast, again preached, and on April 4, baptized two others. I then returned to Gilmanton, baptized brother John Page,[18]Jr., on the 6th, and Joseph Cogswell on the 16th. The glory of God seemed to shine around us. Then returning to Alton, we again had happy seasons from the refreshing Fountain of Life. Two more were here baptized. Oh, what happy, what blissful seasons my soul has known in these earthly regions!—seasons that cannot be otherwise than had in everlasting remembrance by many. The trials, though great, are past; but the hope of meeting the loved ones in God's holy realms, fills my heart with lively joy."
About this time, letters from him appeared in the Herald of Gospel Liberty, the first religious newspaper published on the continent of America, and it is believed to have been the first in the world that was exclusively devoted to religious ends. It was published in Portsmouth, N. H., by Rev. E. Smith. It was ably edited, and was devoted to Religious Liberty, and to the independent discussion of Religious Truth.
In Vol. VII, No. 12, he says:
"With great pleasure I inform you that the God of love is reviving his work in Alton. I have been laboring there for several weeks past, in which time many of the backsliders in heart have returned to the stronghold; also several of the youth have become lovers of Jesus."
"With great pleasure I inform you that the God of love is reviving his work in Alton. I have been laboring there for several weeks past, in which time many of the backsliders in heart have returned to the stronghold; also several of the youth have become lovers of Jesus."
After speaking in detail of various conversions and baptisms, he says: