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OF THE

LIFE AND WRITINGS

OF

REV. JONATHAN MAYHEW, D. D.,

PASTOR OF THE WEST CHURCH AND SOCIETY IN BOSTON,

FROM JUNE, 1747, TO JULY, 1766.

BY ALDEN BRADFORD, LL. D.,

HONORARY MEMBER OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW-YORK AND OF PENNSYLVANIA,
AUTHOR OF HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS, EDITOR OF MASSACHUSETTS
STATE PAPERS, &c.

"I am, indeed, a 'poor man,' as this gentleman calls me; but, through the goodness of
God, and the generosity of his people, I have a comfortable subsistence and contentment;
which, if attended with integrity and godliness, is all the gain my soul aspires after in this
world. In this respect, I have been publicly upbraided-in another sense, as I suppose.
Nor has the irreproachable memory of my father escaped insult from some of my opponents.
But I had rather be the poor son of a good man, who spent a long life in the laborious and
apostolic employment of preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ to poor Indians, than
the rich son and heir of one who, by temporizing in religion and tampering with politics, by
flattering the great, and prostituting his conscience, has made his way to a bishoprick and
the worldly dignity of a peer."—[Remarks on an anonymous writer, supposed to be the arch-
bishop of Canterbury.]

"I must, once for all, declare, that I will not be even religiously scolded, nor pitied, nor
wept or lamented, out of any opinions which I believe, on the authority of scripture, in the
exercise of that small share of reason which God has given me; nor will I postpone this au-
thority to that of all the good fathers of the church, with that of the good mothers added to
it."-[Preface to sermons on hearing the word and receiving it with meekness.]

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BX 9869 145 B8 cop. 2

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1838,

BY ALDEN BRADFORD,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.

gift of James Walker

6-19-1875

PRESS OF JOHN PUTNAM.

(21

ΤΟ

REV. CHARLES LOWELL, D. D.,

SENIOR PASTOR OF THE WEST CHURCH AND SOCIETY IN BOSTON.

It is not merely because you are a successor of the distinguished divine and patriot, a Memoir of whose life and writings I have here attempted to give, that I am induced to prefix your name to this volume. Nor is it to secure a more favorable reception for the work with the community; though I am fully sensible that it will thus obtain a far greater share of public notice. But my principal inducement arises from the consideration of the similarity of character, which you so justly sustain, to that of your eminent predecessor, whose moral courage was equalled by very few persons in New-England; and because the same catholic and independent spirit, which animated him, has ever been manifested by you. Like him, you have declined to call any one master, in religious matters, save JESUS CHRIST, 'whom God sanctified and sent into the world,' and made our spiritual Teacher and Lord; and have practically adhered to the distinguishing principle of protestants, in making the BIBLE your only oracle and rule. Like him, also, you have ever discovered a true spirit of patriotism, superior alike to the pretences of modern innovators and ultra reformers, and to those-if there are any such in our republic—

who would disparage the rights, or seek to abridge the comforts of the common class of citizens; and, like him, your great purpose and labor have been to impart religious knowledge to your people, and to assist them in forming a christian character, that they might be useful in the world and prepared for heaven; knowing that godliness has the promise of the life which now is, as well as of that which is to come.'

There is another consideration-if any other need be suggested—that I undertook this Memoir with your particular approbation, and am indebted to your kindness for several facts and anecdotes, which cannot fail to be interesting.*

I could also speak of a long period of personal acquaintance and friendship, which it has been my favored lot to enjoy, and of the frequent co-operation of efforts, in public societies,† for the moral improvement of our fellow-men: but it might be thought unsuitable; and I will only refer to these acts of christian fellowship, in which I have often witnessed your zeal, your prudence, and singleness of purpose, as furnishing an apology for this expression of the sentiments of great regard and esteem, with which

I am, dear Sir,

Most sincerely, your friend,

Boston, Chesnut Street, April 10, 1838.

ALDEN BRADFORD.

*To my old and respected friends, Rev. Dr. Harris and Rev. Dr. Peirce, I am also obliged for some valuable hints relating to this Memoir.

†The Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Indians and others in North America; the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Piety, and Charity; the Evangelical Missionary Society; the Society for the Suppression of Intemperance; and the Peace Society.

PREFACE.

Ar a very early age, I imbibed sentiments of great respect for the fathers of New-England; and was induced to study their character and history with some care. And a similar taste led me to study the character of our immediate predecessors, who possessed much of the spirit of the three first generations, and from whose conduct and principles one may learn what were the peculiar 'features of that age.' Many of the contemporaries of Dr. Mayhew survived him, by twentyfive years; and with several of them I had a personal acquaintance-as Gay, Chauncy, Cooper, Shute, Turner, West, Tucker, Hemmenway, Webster, &c.

Fifty years ago, some of the most eminent men in Massachusetts expressed a wish to have the works of Dr. Mayhew re-published, with a memoir of his life and literary labors. They considered this to be justly due to his memory, as well as extending a knowledge of his writings, which they deemed important, as furnishing an able defence both for rational religion and republican freedom. It seems due also to the NewEngland character for talent and learning, particularly theological knowledge, that such a ripe and liberal scholar as Mayhew, should be honorably noticed, and his useful writings preserved and recollected. By the influence of his elevated theological views, a new era commenced in the Christian church, among the descendants of the puritans. And from his day, men have been no longer obliged to discard reason, to be religious, either as to their belief or practice.

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