SIR: Some time since, being under the disagreeable necessity of replying to a dull repetition of your abusive slanders; and being persuaded, right or wrong, you would have the last word, I assured the public I would write no more in newspapers; so did you; but your brilliant example shall never influence me to undertake the vindication of my veracity, by convincing the world I can lie. But as, in the close of your last performance, you informed me and the public, that, if I thought myself wronged, what had been asserted should be proved to my face, before as large an auditory as I pleased; I now, sir, take leave to say, I do think myself most cruelly wronged, and I should rejoice in an opportunity of vindicating myself at the bar of the impartial public; yes, I should rejoice to see a very large audience collected: but, as I suppose we shall not be able to procure any place but the meeting-house in School-Street, I shall expect, if you be an honest man, to meet you there. You commend a certain gentleman, who recently spoke to me in that house--so do I. He did not, like Solomon's fool, cast about firebrands, arrows, and death, and say, Am I not in sport? he spake above-board, fair and openly. I should be glad you would come and do likewise-only I request you will let me know in writing, by the bearer, when you will do this piece of common justice, to the cruelly, and most unwarrantably treated, JOHN MURRAY. This letter enraged him, and he sent it back declaring he would have nothing to do with me. But on the following Sunday evening, when I repaired, as usual, to the meeting-house to preach, Mr. Croswell was upon the stairs of the pulpit, with a number of his violent adherents, for the purpose of barring me out. Making no resistance, I requested the gentleman might be heard with patient attention; and silence being obtained, Mr. Croswell entered the pulpit, and declaimed for a long time, with great bitterness; accusing me of preaching damnable doctrines, though he had never heard me preach; but so he had been informed, asserting, that I was one of Relly's followers, and Relly believed all mankind would be saved; and Relly was a blasphemer, and denied the atonement; and I was a Deist, and it was dangerous to allow me to speak; for I said once, in his hearing, that God loved the devil's children: and then, raising his voice he vociferated, 'It is a lie, a lie, a lie ; it is a damnable lie.' Thus he went on alternately crying out against me, and against Mr. Relly, damning my preaching, and his writings, and exhorting the people to avoid me, &c. &c. When he had concluded, he quitted the pulpit, and was passing out of the house as speedily as possible. I requested him to stop; but, observing he was rapidly departing, I urged the people to give me an opportunity of having justice done ine, by detaining my accusing adversary that I might defend myself in his presence; and Mr. Croswell was accordingly led into a pew. I informed the audience that I did in deed labor under great difficulty. The person, to whom 1 was about to reply, was an old gentleman, and a clergyman, both of which characters were indubitably entitled to respect. Yet truth was, in my opinion, abundantly superior to every other consideration; it was beyond all price; a gem, with which its possessor should never part. I should therefore take leave to say, Mr. Croswell was very right, and very wrong. Right in condemning damnable doctrines; wrong in charging me with preaching those doctrines. Mr. Croswell, I said, reminded me of Nero, who, to be revenged upon the Christians, caught the city of Rome on fire, and charged the Christians with that atrocious deed. Mr. Croswell had dressed me in a bear's skin, and then set the dogs at me. He affirms, that I preach damnable doctrines! Suffer me to ask, What are the damnable doctrines? Peter says, There shall arise false teachers among you, as there were false prophets among the people, who shall privily bring in damnable doctrines, even denying the Lord, who bought them. I appeal to this audience. Did I ever deny the Lord, who bought you? On the contrary, have I not borne constant testimony to this purchase? Did you ever hear me say, It made no difference, whether a man lived a good or a bad life; was a believer, or an unbeliever? Surely, it is highly inconsistent to rank me with the Deist, who utterly dis owns the Redeemer, when I am arraigned at this bar for believing there is no God out of Christ, and that He, who is God, our Saviour, is all, and in all. Mr. Relly, is three thousand miles *As this is the last notice the reader will find of the Rev. James Relly, it is proper to say he died in the full faith of the doctrine he had preached, somewhere we believe about 1783. Mr. Murray was sensibly affected with the intelligence of his death. The sad account of the departure of my inestimable friend, Mr. Relly, had reached me previous to the particulars relative to that melancholy event, with which you have so condescendingly indulged me. From the moment of my leaving England until the arrival of this heartaffecting intelligence, I experienced much innate satisfaction from the prospect of meeting once more, in the present state, my spiritual pa rent, my guide, my father, my brother, my friend. I pleased myself with the expectation of communicating to him the discoveries I had made in this new world; and I anticipated the ineffable delight we should derive from the glowing devotion of our hearts, while we talked together of these things. But, alas! all these high-raised expectations are now blasted, forever buried in his grave; and I have only to look forward to the period when we shall assuredly meet again, and with the additional satisfaction of knowing we shall never more be separated. 'I am obliged by the account you have transmitted me respecting the last stages of my lamented friend. I never expected any failure in his faith; yet, although he had staggered at the promises, I have the happiness to assure you, this circumstance would have originated no doubts in my mind; for, however great my opinion of, and affection for, so distinguished a member of that body of which the Redeemer is the head, from this metropolis, Mr. Croswell has neither seen nor heard him. Blasphemy, of which Mr. Croswell accuses him, is no where to be found, in his writings. These writings, give me leave to say, will live, and be held in admiration, when ten thousand such characters as Mr. Croswell's and mine, will be consigned to oblivion. Thus I went on. Mr. Croswell again advanced to the pulpit; reiterated what he had before asserted, without regarding a syllable which I had uttered, until at length he interrogated: Does God love all the people in the world as well as Peter and Paul?' Suffer me, sir, first to ask you one question, which, if you will answer, then I will reply to yours. Did God love Peter and Paul as well before they believed as afterwards? God loved Peter and Paul from the foundation of the world.' Again, and again, I repeated my question, but could not obtain a direct answer. The people from the galleries called out, 'Why do you not say yes, or no?'-but he refused thus to commit himself, and of course I dropped the inquiry. Again he returned to the charge. Does God love all the people in the world, as well as Peter and Paul?' Yes, sir, I believe He does, as well as He loved those Apostles before they believed. Do you believe God loves all the people in the world?' Yes, sir, I do. Then, again, he proceeded most violently, and, that the heresy might be confirmed, he once more questioned: Do you believe, that God loves the devil's children, as well as his own beloved ones?' No, indeed; I do not think God loves any of the devil's children. There, there, now he is 6 my faith was never founded on him. I should not have profited under his ministry if I had thus rested my hope upon any mere man. But, although through the favor of Heaven I am separated from that adulterous generation which is ever asking after a sign, it nevertheless gives me pleasure, inexpressible pleasure, to hear of any of the redeemed finishing their course with joy, and triumphantly laying hold of eternal life. "Had James Relly departed under a cloud, it would, no doubt, have had a tendency to have made blind eyes blinder, and hard hearts harder; but, blessed be God, you have assured me that his views of his Redeemer and his finished righteousness, still brightened upon him, until, escaping from the body, he, no doubt, attained the regions of interminable day. Yes, indeed, Mr. Relly was, during his life, and his memory will continue while I have life, right precious to my soul. My reasons for attachment, for homage, were similar to those which actuated Timothy in his devotion to the apostle Paul; and my loss is indeed irreparable. You observe he died greatly lamented, no doubt; it was impossible to know Mr. Relly and not regret his departure out of time; and the many who experienced a religious joy at this event knew no more of my honored friend than their brethren of old did of our blessed Master. Yes, yes, he was truly a Christian, and it could not happen but that he should endure his sufferings with patience for the joy that was set before him.' T. W. deed labor under great difficulty. The person, to whom 1 was about to reply, was an old gentleman, and a clergyman, both of which characters were indubitably entitled to respect. Yet truth was, in my opinion, abundantly superior to every other consideration; it was beyond all price; a gem, with which its possessor should never part. I should therefore take leave to say, Mr. Croswell was very right, and very wrong. Right in condemning damnable doctrines; wrong in charging me with preaching those doctrines. Mr. Croswell, I said, reminded me of Nero, who, to be revenged upon the Christians, caught the city of Rome on fire, and charged the Christians with that atrocious deed. Mr. Croswell had dressed me in a bear's skin, and then set the dogs at me. He affirms, that I preach damnable doctrines! Suffer me to ask, What are the damnable doctrines? Peter says, There shall arise false teachers among you, as there were false prophets among the people, who shall privily bring in damnable doctrines, even denying the Lord, who bought them. I appeal to this audience. Did I ever deny the Lord, who bought you? On the contrary, have I not borne constant testimony to this purchase? Did you ever hear me say, It made no difference, whether a man lived a good or a bad life; was a believer, or an unbeliever? Surely, it is highly inconsistent to rank me with the Deist, who utterly dis owns the Redeemer, when I am arraigned at this bar for believing there is no God out of Christ, and that He, who is God, our Saviour, is all, and in all. Mr. Relly, is three thousand miles * As this is the last notice the reader will find of the Rev. James Relly, it is proper to say he died in the full faith of the doctrine he had preached, somewhere we believe about 1783. Mr. Murray was sensibly affected with the intelligence of his death. The sad account of the departure of my inestimable friend, Mr. Relly, had reached me previous to the particulars relative to that melancholy event, with which you have so condescendingly indulged me. From the moment of my leaving England until the arrival of this heartaffecting intelligence, I experienced much innate satisfaction from the prospect of meeting once more, in the present state, my spiritual parent, my guide, my father, my brother, my friend. I pleased myself with the expectation of communicating to him the discoveries I had made in this new world; and I anticipated the ineffable delight we should derive from the glowing devotion of our hearts, while we talked together of these things. But, alas! all these high-raised expectations are now blasted, forever buried in his grave; and I have only to look forward to the period when we shall assuredly meet again, and with the additional satisfaction of knowing we shall never more be separated. 'I am obliged by the account you have transmitted me respecting the last stages of my lamented friend. I never expected any failure in his faith; yet, although he had staggered at the promises, I have the happiness to assure you, this circumstance would have originated no doubts in my mind; for, however great my opinion of, and affection for, so distinguished a member of that body of which the Redeemer is the head, from this metropolis, Mr. Croswell has neither seen nor heard him. Blasphemy, of which Mr. Croswell accuses him, is no where to be found, in his writings. These writings, give me leave to say, will live, and be held in admiration, when ten thousand such characters as Mr. Croswell's and mine, will be consigned to oblivion. Thus I went on. Mr. Croswell again advanced to the pulpit; reiterated what he had before asserted, without regarding a syllable which I had uttered, until at length he interrogated: 'Does God love all the people in the world as well as Peter and Paul?' Suffer me, sir, first to ask you one question, which, if you will answer, then I will reply to yours. Did God love Peter and Paul as well before they believed as afterwards? 'God loved Peter and Paul from the foundation of the world. Again, and again, I repeated my question, but could not obtain a direct answer. The people from the galleries called out, 'Why do you not say yes, or no?'-but he refused thus to commit himself, and of course I dropped the inquiry. Again he returned to the charge. Does God love all the people in the world, as well as Peter and Paul?' Yes, sir, I believe He does, as well as He loved those Apostles before they believed. Do you believe God loves all the people in the world?' Yes, sir, I do. Then, again, he proceeded most violently, and, that the heresy might be confirmed, he once more questioned: Do you believe, that God loves the devil's children, as well as his own beloved ones?' No, indeed; I do not think God loves any of the devil's children. There, there, now he is my faith was never founded on him. I should not have profited under his ministry if I had thus rested my hope upon any mere man. But, although through the favor of Heaven 1 am separated from that adulterous generation which is ever asking after a sign, it nevertheless gives me pleasure, inexpressible pleasure, to hear of any of the redeemed finishing their course with joy, and triumphantly laying hold of eternal life. Had James Relly departed under a cloud, it would, no doubt, have had a tendency to have made blind eyes blinder, and hard hearts harder; but, blessed be God, you have assured me that his views of his Redeemer and his finished righteousness, still brightened upon him, until, escaping from the body, he, no doubt, attained the regions of interminable day. 'Yes, indeed, Mr. Relly was, during his life, and his memory will continue while I have life, right precious to my soul. My reasons for attachment, for homage, were similar to those which actuated Timothy in his devotion to the apostle Paul; and my loss is indeed irreparable. You observe he died greatly lamented, no doubt; it was impossible to know Mr. Relly and not regret his departure out of time; and the many who experienced a religious joy at this event knew no more of my honored friend than their brethren of old did of our blessed Master. Yes, yes, he was truly a Christian, and it could not happen but that he should endure his sufferings with patience for the joy that was set before him.' T. W. |
