about their Christian experience, notwithstanding a late canon of this synod
broken, and that they feel not their need of Christ as a prophet. 2. Opposition to God's servants and work; insisting much upon the real or supposed imprudences of God's servants, but passing over in silence their valuable qualifications and worthy actions. This looks pharisee-and-devil like, notwithstanding all the colourings of crafty men. 3. That there is no knowing of people's states. Though there is no infallible knowledge of the estates of some attainable, yet there is a satisfactory knowledge to be attained. Ministers crying out against this, is an evidence of their unfaithfulness in neglecting to use the properest means to convince sinners of their damnable state. It shows also their ignorance of divine things; or manifests their consciousness of their own hypocrisy and fear of discovery. 4. Letting men out into the ministry without so much as examining them about their Christian experience, notwithstanding a late canon of this synod enjoining the same. How contrary is this practice to the Scriptures, and to our Directory, and of how dangerous a tendency to the church of God! Is it probable that truly gracious persons would thus slight the precious souls of men? 5. More zeal for outward order than for the main points of practical religion. Witness the committee's slighting and shuffling the late debate about the glory of God, and their present contention about the committeeact. This is too much like the zeal of the old pharisees in tithing mint, anise, and cummin, while they neglected the weightier matters of the law.
"These things, my brethren, I mention in the fear and love of God, without personal prejudice against any. That God who knows my heart is witness, that I heartily desire the conviction of those ministers whom I suspect, and that they may be as burning and shining lights in the church of God. But I am obliged in faithfulness to God and the souls of men, to make mention of these things, which are distressing to my heart, as some of the reasons why I protest against all restraints in preaching the everlasting gospel in this degenerate state of the church. Rules which are serviceable in ordinary cases, when the church is stocked with a faithful ministry, are notoriously prejudicial when the church is oppressed with a carnal ministry. Besides the
remarkable success that God has given of late to Mr. Whitefield's travelling labours, and several others in this country, makes me abhor the slavish schemes of bigots, as to confinement in preaching the blessed gospel of Christ. I am, reverend gentlemen, your well wisher and humble servant, Gilbert Tennent."
The paper read by Mr. Blair contained the same general complaints. Though milder in its language, it probably gave quite as much offence, as he was at that time comparatively a young man, and addressed himself to men, some of whom were in the ministry before he was born, and who hath hitherto enjoyed the confidence of the church, and led lives of great labour and selfdenial in her service.
This whole proceeding, though doubtless well intended, was in every point of view exceptionable. The charges were in general so vague, that they could neither be proved nor disproved; they rested on hearsay evidence, for it is not to be supposed that Mr. Tennent or Mr. Blair had many opportunities of hearing how all their brethren preached; and worst of all they were addressed indiscriminately against the body in general; thus the innocent and guilty were made to suffer alike. The synod and the large audience which crowded the house, were made to know that Mr. Tennent thought that many, or most of his brethren were in "a carnal state;" but who were intended no one could tell. Some of his charges referred specifically to many of the best men in the synod; others might be applied to any or every one, just as the hearers pleased. The other members of the synod of course expostulated with these brethren on the impropriety of this course, and "earnestly pressed and entreated them to spare no man in the synod whom they could prove to be unsound in doctrine or immoral in practice, but prayed them only to take Christ's methods with all such, and not to condemn the innocent with the guilty." To this Mr. Tennent replies, "we did then offer to prove the matters of charge against particular members, if the synod required it, but this was waved."2 This is not a very fair statement.
The synod very properly waved taking up Mr. Tennent's vague charges, and themselves instituting process on the ground of them. They urged him, however, to proceed properly, "by tabling charges in a regular way, against particular persons, and not to blacken all." Mr. Tennent and Mr. Blair "frankly owned," that they had not "spoken with the persons intended in the said libels," and that they had not "made any regular inquiries into the truth of said reports." The synod then declined proceeding with the matter until the persons aimed at had been apprised of the charges, and until they "had been regularly tried in their respective presbyteries."4 And this trial these brethren were urged to institute at once. This course was urged upon them on another occasion not long afterwards. For it is stated, that "Messrs. Gilbert Tennent, Samuel Blair, and Charles Tennent were most earnestly pressed by the presbytery of Newcastle to spare none of their number, but to table their complaints against them, if they could convict any of them of any thing unbecoming a minister of the gospel. Nay, Mr. Gillespie entreated them in open presbytery, for the Lord's sake to do so; but all to no purpose." Mr. Tennent's answer to this was, "That the said proposal was matter of suprise to him; that he had no thought about any such thing before it was mentioned in the face of the judicatory; that his meeting with the presbytery was merely accidental; and that his entering on a judicial process was inconsistent with his design and appointments of itinerary preaching."2 He certainly then ought not to have made the charges, unless he could stop to prove them. Besides, the presbytery told him they would wait his leisure; or he might "leave them an account of the matter in writing, if he could not attend their meeting; and that they would take it any way."
The conduct of Mr. Tennent and his friends in thus condemning his brethren unheard, seems to have produced a deep and general feeling of disapprobation. Before the New York brethren would consent to join with these New Brunswick brethren, in the formation of a new synod, it was expressly stipulated, that "if any member of their body supposes that he hath any thing to object against any of his brethren, with respect to error in
doctrine, immorality in life, or negligence in his ministry, he shall on no account propagate the scandal, until the person objected against is dealt with according to the rules of the gospel, and the known methods of their discipline." And it has already been mentioned that Mr. Tennent himself, as soon as the excitement of the revival had subsided, condemned with unsparing severity the "God-provoking sin" of rashly judging men to be graceless who were sound in essential doctrines, and regular in their lives. At this time, however, as he says himself, he abhorred all confinement in preaching the gospel, and would keep no terms with any man who did not come up to the standard of his own ardent zeal.
It was in this year he preached his famous Nottingham sermon on the danger of an unconverted ministry. As this sermon may be regarded as one of the principal causes of the schism, it demands particular attention. His text was Mark 6:34. "Jesus, when he came out, saw much people and was moved with compassion towards them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd;" from which he deduces the following proposition. "The case of such is much to be pitied who have no other but pharisee-shepherds or unconverted teachers." Under the first head of his sermon, he describes the character of the ancient pharisees, which he unfolds under the heads of pride, policy, malice, ignorance, covetousness, and bigotry to human inventions in religious matters. "Although," he says, "some of the old pharisee shepherds had a very fair and strict outside, yet were they ignorant of the new birth. Witness Rabbi Nicodemus, who talked like a fool about it. Hear how our Lord cursed those plastered hypocrites. Matthew 23:27, 28. Ay, if they had but a little of the learning then in fashion, and a fair outside, they were presently put into the priest's office, though they had no experience of the new birth. O sad! The old pharisees, for all their prayers and other pious pretences, had their eyes with Judas fixed on the bag. Why, they came into the priest's office for a piece of bread; they took it up as a trade, and therefore endeavoured to make the best market of it they could. O shame!"
Under his second head, he shows why those who have no other than pharisee teachers are to be pitied. His reasons are, 1. Because natural men have no call of God to the ministry, under the gospel dispensation. 2. Because the ministry of natural men is uncomfortable to gracious souls. 3. The ministry of natural men is for the most part unprofitable. "What if some instances could be shown of unconverted ministers being instrumental of convincing sinners of their lost state? The thing is very rare and extraordinary. And for what I know, as many instances may be given of Satan's convincing persons by his temptations. Indeed it is a kind of chancemedley, both in respect of the father and his children, when any such event happens. And is not this the reason why a work of conviction and conversion has been so rarely heard of for a long time in the churches till of late, viz: That the bulk of her spiritual guides are stone blind and stone dead." 4. The ministry of natural men is dangerous, both in respect to the doctrines and practice of piety. "The doctrines of original sin, justification by faith alone, and the other points of Calvinism, are very cross to the grain of unrenewed nature. And though men, by the influence of a good education, and hopes of preferment, may have the edge of their natural enmity against them blunted, yet it is far from being broken or removed. It is only the saving grace of God that can give us a true relish for those nature-humbling doctrines, and so effectually secure us from being infected by the contrary."
In answer to the objection to what he had said about the ministry of natural men, that Judas was sent by Christ, he answers, 1. That the ministry of Judas was partly legal. 2. That it was extraordinarily necessary in order to fulfil some ancient prophecies concerning him. "I fear that the abuse of this instance, has brought many Judases into the ministry, whose chief desire, like their great grandfather, is to finger the pence and carry the bag. But let such hireling murderous hypocrites take care that they dont feel the force of a halter in this world, and an aggravated damnation in the next."
Under the third head he shows "how pity should be expressed on this mournful occasion." 1. We should mourn over those who are destitute of a faithful ministry, and sympathize with them. 2. We should pray for them, and especially pray the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth faithful labourers into his harvest. 3. We should join our endeavours to our prayers. "The most likely method to stock the church with a faithful ministry, in the present state of things, the public academies being so much corrupted and abused generally, is to encourage private schools or seminaries of learning, which are under the care of skilful and experienced Christians, into which those only should be admitted, who, upon a strict examination have, in the judgment of charity, the plain evidences of experimental religion."
His first inference from his subject is, "If it be so, that the case of those who have no other and no better than pharisee teachers is to be pitied, then what a scroll and scene of mourning, lamentation, and woe is opened, because of the swarms of locusts, the crowds of pharisees, that have as covetously as cruelly crept into the ministry, in this adulterous generation! who as nearly resemble the character given of the old pharisees, in the doctrinal part of this discourse, as one crow's egg does another. It is true some of the modern pharisees have learned to prate a little more orthodoxly about the new birth, than their predecessor Nicodemus, who are, in the meantime, as great strangers to the feeling experience of it as he. They are blind who see not this to be the case of the body of the clergy of this generation."
2. "From what has been said, we may learn that such who are contented under a dead ministry, have not in them the temper of that Saviour they profess. It is an awful sign, that they are as blind as moles, and as dead as stones, without any spiritual taste and relish. And alas! is not this the case of multitudes? If they can get one that has the name of a minister, with a band, and a black coat or gown, to carry on a sabbath-day among them, although never so coldly and unsuccessfully, if he is free from gross crimes in practice, and takes care to keep at a due distance from their consciences,