the Lord, we are secure in his participation of our pious reverence for their memory, and in the accordance of sentiment and feeling which pervades the breast of him who is worthy to be a descendant of some one of those "Pilgrim Fathers."

"The Pilgrim Fathers!-where are they?

The waves that brought them o'er,
Still roll in the bay, and scatter their spray,
As they break along the shore;

Still roll in the bay, as they rolled that day,
When the Mayflower moored below,

When the sea around was black with storms,
And white the shore with snow.

The mists that wrapped the Pilgrim's sleep,
Still brood upon the tide ;

And his rocks yet keep their watch by the deep,
To repel its waves of pride.

But the snow-white sail that he gave that gale,
When the heavens looked dark, is gone;—

As an angel's wing, in a riven cloud

Is seen and then withdrawn.

The Pilgrim Exile-sainted name!
The hill whose icy brow

Rejoiced, when he came, in the morning's flame,
In the morning's flame burns now;

And the moon's cold light, as it lay that night,
On the hill-side and the sea,

Still lies where he laid his houseless head :

The Pilgrim!-where is he?

The Pilgrim Fathers are at rest :—

When summer's throned on high,

And the world's warm breast is in verdure dressed,
Mount ye the hill where they lie:

The earliest ray of the golden day,

On that hallowed spot is cast;

And the evening sun, as he leaves the world,
Looks bright o'er that spot last.

The Pilgrim spirit has not fled :—

It walks in noon's broad light,

And watches the bed of the glorious dead,

With the holy stars, by night:

It watches the bed of the brave that bled;

And shall guard the ice-bound shore,

Till the waves and spray, where the Mayflower lay,

Shall foam and freeze no more!" a

Our enthusiasm in the success of these adventurers, who have transmitted to admiring posterity a name and spirit alike imperishable, and who devolved on that posterity the hallowed office of—

impels us to avail ourselves of another effusion, from a pen guided by another hand, which reminds us that the name of "Pilgrims" was, "by emphasis, given, by their descendants in New England, to recognise, a John Pierpont. Varied, slightly, from "Selections from the American Poets. Dublin. 1834." 16mo. p. 151. b Ibid. p. 155. Other particulars will be found in a subsequent chapter.

in a word, the injuries which drove them out from their homes, the character which they demonstrated, the enterprise which they undertook, and the achievements which they attained."-"He who is inquiring after moral causes must look higher than the philosophy of paganism; he must come up to the philosophy of Christianity: and he who is bestowing his thoughts on that experiment of human society which has been in progress in North America for two centuries past, would run wide of truth in his conclusions of the influences operating there, if he did not take into his account the more than human agencies which Christianity brings in aid of its faithful adherents. The Pilgrims' are not to be judged by common rules; they were above the common order, as if born and trained for more than common purposes; which indeed was the fact. God raised them up for the special exigency, which they occupied and filled out, namely, to lay the foundation of a new social edifice, to assort and throw into form the elements of a new empire. And the religious care and faith with which they undertook and carried on, and achieved their work, have been alike a subject of ridicule among the profane, and of approving admiration among those who knew how to appreciate their character. And they did actually erect, not only a Civil but a Religious Empire, guarantying equally the rights of man in relation to man, and the duties of conscience in the relations of man to God. The spirit of religion was infused throughout, pervaded and characterised, all their institutions. Not that religion was imposed; but tolerated, patronised, recommended, exemplified: made the chief ingredient of the moral structure; the leaven of the mass; welcomed cordially, cultivated assiduously.

"By consequence, that structure of society, framed by these men, having retained its original stamp and the same grand features, the same constitutional elements exercising a controlling power, has always proved favourable to the operation of religious influence. There has always been a religious pulse in the community, that could be found, and easily susceptible of being quickened by the application of the proper means... And to this day there are no barriers of caste in the United States; no impaled, insulated conditions of society, of a character to limit the common circulation of good and healthful moral influences, or to prevent a reformation begun in one place from reaching every other place. The messenger of God, who bears his commission to the heart and conscience of the most secluded individual in the land, may carry it also with equal boldness, if not with equal success, to the most exalted personage. No man can conveniently insulate himself from the approach of those influences, which pervade a body that is one, and of which he is a member.

"It is more especially of society in New England that I make * "The remarkable private morality of the New England States is worth attention; especially when taken in connexion with the very moral character of the poorer people in Scotland, Holland, and Switzerland. It is rather singular, that all these countries, which are more moral than any others, are precisely those in which Calvinism is predominant." Minutes of a Conversation with Sir James Mackintosh, in 1817; by an American. See the North American Review, Oct. 1832. p. 447.

these remarks, although they are more or less applicable to the whole community of the United States. And the origin of such a state of things is more especially to be traced to that spirit which planted the colony of Plymouth. It was a sublime spirit of truly Christian enterprise ! .. It is a general and an exact truth, that the Pilgrim Fathers of New England laid the foundations of their civil and social edifice, and of their religious institutions, in tears and prayers, and in much faith. And the experiment of two hundred years has proved that God has regarded those tears, and remembered those prayers, and plenteously rewarded those works of faith."*

CHAP. XXIII.

AINSWORTH'S CENSURE.

WE are come to the consideration of a Tract slightly noticed already as printed in 1623, but which was republished in 1644, under the title of "A Seasonable Discourse; Or, A Censure upon a Dialogue of the Anabaptists, intituled A Description of what God hath Predestinated concerning Man.'-Wherein these seven points are handled and answered, viz. 1. Of Predestination. 2. Of Election. 3. Of Reprobation. 4. Of Falling-away. 5. Of Free-will. 6. Of Original Sin. 7. Of Baptizing Infants. By Henry Ainsworth. Rom. ix. 11." 4to. pp. 74.

The production which occasioned this, bears the title of "A Discourse Of what God hath Predestinated concerning Man:' as also, An Answer to Mr. John Robinson. By the Servants of Christ falsely called The Anabaptists.' 1620." 8vo.-Not being able to describe its contents, we are left only to conjecture that it emanated from among the successors of Smyth.

The editor of Ainsworth's " Censure" tells the Reader, that "howbeit the continued infirmity of this Author's body, wherewith it pleased God to exercise him, might justly have excused him, .. yet did he labour to his power; yea, and, as I may say, beyond his power; to enforce himself even in his decayed health, together with his other necessary labours, to discover the fraud and falsehood of the adversaries. Amongst others, he judged these Anabaptists not the least, which occasioned this ensuing Censure.' .. Some were assaulted that yet would give no way or entertainment to those errors; yet other some, that had stood in the truth a long time, were perverted. The knowledge of these things coming to this reverend and judicious man, Mr. Henry Ainsworth, he soon drew out this Answer, and sent it by a friend into England, to reclaim, if God saw it good, such as had erred herein, and gone astray by rash and inconsiderate zeal beyond knowledge; and

"History and Character of American Revivals of Religion. By the Rev. Calvin Colton, A. M. of America. 1832" Lond. edit. 2.-Chap. v p. 38-42. See back, p. 352; and, Dr. Stuart's Life of Ainsworth, p. xiii.

through the grace of God, to preserve such from falling as yet stood. This, he sent for the present; purposing, if the Lord continued some competent health and strength, to revise, and so to make more perfect, this, which then shortness of time, in respect of the messenger's great haste, could not be afforded,-and so, to make it public this spring. But the Lord having prevented this his purpose, by taking him to Himself, he now resteth from his labours. Yet finding the matter may, through the blessing of God, be profitable to his people, it is thought fit not to keep these, his last labours of this nature, in silence."

This work excited the particular notice of Dr. Stuart, who states, in his "Account of the Life and Writings of the Author,”—“ It will not be thought necessary that I should give an analysis of this work. Suffice it to say, that he has argued the matter with as much ingenuity as any one who, with the further reasonings of more than a century and a half, has since appeared in the same cause."a What the reverend antipædobaptist declined as inexpedient for him, falls peculiarly within our province; and we present, therefore, in accordance with the method pursued on other occasions, such a view of the substance of this Tract as comports with our general design.

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The author commences thus, 66 Being requested, by some whose minds the Anabaptists would cumber with their errors, to show my judgment on their foresaid Book, I have set down these few observations." He presently charges those, whom our readers should keep in remembrance were Smyth and his followers, and whom Dr. Stuart tells us Ainsworth" has proved successfully against," concerning "Salvation," with abusing and calumniating "the doctrine of those whom they call Calvinists." And he concludes the first section with these words, "When the judge' delivereth an evil-doer to the officer, and the officer casts him into prison,' the judge doth this by the officer. So God is the Judge, he delivereth' evil-doers to Satan to be their deluder, their tormentor, their gaoler; He giveth them up to blindness, hardness, reprobate minds; and these are works of his justice, which Satan and evil men execute most sinfully. Christ saith, he came into this world for judgment; that they which see not, might see; and that they which see, might be made blind.' Now, in what manner God blindeth and hardeneth sinners, it is not in man to declare; for his judgments are unsearchable,' and his ways past finding out.' But they that, for his judgments, would make God the author of sin, err on the one hand; and they that ascribe unto Him herein but a bare permission,' err on the other. Godliness will teach us to believe and rest in that which the Scriptures teach: though it pass our reach and capacity how God, in his wisdom, doth these things.— Hitherto of Predestination.'"

Under the second section, he writes, "No Scripture' telleth them, that our Election to life dependeth on this condition,'-of our faith and obedience.' Faith and obedience are the effect, not the cause, of our Election; and are conditions following election, not going before it; as it is written, As many as were ordained to eternal life, a P. xliv. b Luke xii. 58. e John ix. 39. d Rom. xi. 33.

believed.' a Teaching, that God's ordaining to life, that is, his election, went before their believing. But these men invert the order of God, and would teach that so many as believed beforehand,' were ordained to life!-The apostle teacheth us, that whom God⚫ foreknew,' he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,'b So that our conformity to the image' of Christ, our faith, obedience, bearing his cross, &c. is that whereunto,—not, that wherefore,-God predestinated, or chose us. This is most apparent by the words following,' Whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified.' So then, glorifying cometh after justifying; justifying, after calling; calling, after predestinating, or choosing unto life: and these graces are not before Predestination, or causes of it, as these adversaries would persuade.-It is written, that God hath chosen us' in Christ, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy;' and, he predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ.'d So that our holiness, and our adoption, are things that we are chosen unto, and do follow Election; but are not the things going before, and which we are chosen for, because God findeth' them in us!-Paul teacheth us, that God 'justifieth the ungodly' that believe in him.e Now, those whom He justifieth,' he did choose and predestinate before. Therefore he chose the ungodly,'-the unrighteous, that they may be made godly, righteous, and holy, through his grace. But these men say, God chooseth a righteous man;' whenas the Scripture saith, There is none that doeth good; no, not one:' there is none that understandeth; none that seeketh after God.'s So that if God should choose the righteous' only, none at all should be chosen... Moses teacheth Israel, that God gave them not inheritance in the earthly Canaan,―much less in the kingdom of Christ,-for their righteousness,' or uprightness' of their hearts." He telleth them, Because' God 'loved' their fathers, therefore' he chose their seed after them.i But these men would persuade, that because men deny themselves, take up the cross and follow Christ,- that is, because they are righteous and holy,-therefore God chooseth them to inherit heaven!..

"They proceed in their error, and say, 'All men to whom the Gospel is preached, were elected to salvation in Christ; not actually, for they could not be actually chosen before they had actually any being, but in the eternal purpose of God upon the condition afore spoken. Their first assertion is against truth; against reason. It is not true,.. by Acts xiii. 46, 48; for, as many as were ordained,'— that is, elected, to eternal life, believed:' but all believed not; therefore all were not ordained, or elected, to life. Against reason, it is to say, all' are elected; for Election implieth a leaving or refusing some; where all' are taken, no choice is made! Their second saying is, All were elected not actually,' because they had no being,' but in God's eternal purpose.' The action is in God, not in man; and,

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a Acts xiii. 48.

Eph. i. 4, 5.
Rom. iii. 12, 11.

b Rom. viii. 29.

e Rom. iv. 5.

h Deut. ix. 4-6.

e Ver. 30.
f Rom. viii. 30.

Deut. iv. 37.