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 Memoir of the life and character of Rev. 
 
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HIW M f> T D 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 DOCTRINAL TRACT AND BOOK SOCIETT. 
 
 1850. 
 
MEMOIR 
 
 LIFE AND CHARACTER 
 
 REV. ASAHEL NETTLETON, D. D. 
 
 BY BENNET TYLER, D. D., 
 
 President and Professor or Chriuliau Theology in the Theological Institute of Connecticut. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 DOCTRINAL TRACT AND BOOK SOCIETY. 
 
 1850. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844, by 
 
 ROBINS AND SMITH, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Connecticut. 
 
 STEREOTYPED BY 
 
 R.ICHARD H. HOflBS, 
 
 Hartford, Conn. 
 
PEEEACE, 
 
 It has been well said, that " mere human greatness is an unenvi- 
 able distinction. But the man, with whose greatness is combined 
 moral excellence to direct and adorn it, is allied to Jesus Christ. 
 God has from time to time, given to his church, men, not only of 
 extraordinary intellectual powers, but with minds so pre-eminently 
 sanctified, as to render them suitable agents for the accomplishment 
 of his purposes on earth.'' That some account of the lives of such 
 men should be preserved, and handed down to posterity, few will 
 deny. This should be done, not for the purpose of glorifying men, 
 who, however useful they may have been, are only instruments by 
 which God accomplishes his purposes; but to magnify the grace of 
 God, and to promote the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom. The 
 influence of example in forming the human character, is confessedly 
 great. Hence the utility of contemplating the examples of the wise 
 and good. " If" as one observes, " religion appears lovely when 
 portrayed merely in the simplicity and amiableness of her principles, 
 how much more lovely when exhibited m the purity and benevolence 
 of her conduct. When we see something more than right views and 
 dispositions ; when we behold not the portrait, but the living features 
 of her excellence, her image sinks deep into the soul." 
 
 Much of the instruction of the sacred scriptures, is communicated 
 under the form of example. Besides the perfect pattern set by 
 Christ for our imitation, we are pointed to the example of the an- 
 cient saints, " who through faith and patience inherited the prom- 
 ises.'' We are reminded of the trials through which they were called 
 to pass — of the temptations by which they were assailed — of the 
 persecutions which they endured. We see them making their way 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 to heaven "through much tribulation,'' and at length coming off 
 " conquerors and more than conquerors through him that had loved 
 them." That the contemplation of these examples is suited to stim- 
 ulate and encourage believers in the christian race, there can be no 
 doubt. Why, then, should not the biography of good men of a later 
 period have a similar effect ■? Who can doubt, that the perusal of 
 the memoirs of Doddridge, of Edwards, of Brainerd, of Martyn, of 
 Hallock, of Payson, and of others, has been the means of quicken- 
 ing, and encouraging thousands of the people of God, and of pro- 
 moting the work of sanctification in their hearts ? 
 
 Among those who were at all acquainted with the subject of this 
 memoir, or who have heard of the extensive good of which he was 
 made the instrument, there will be but one opinion as to the import- 
 ance of preserving some memorial of his life and character. He 
 was no ordinary man : nor was he raised up for an ordinary purpose. 
 Very few men have ever lived, who have been the honored instru- 
 ments of turning so many souls " from darkness to light and from 
 the power of satan unto God." Thousands have acknowledged him 
 as their spiritual father, who it is believed, will be his joy and crown 
 in the day of the Lord. Of these, many were called before him to 
 their heavenly rest, and have doubtless welcomed him to their bliss- 
 ful society. A great number still remain, to pray and labor for Zion. 
 Of his spiritual children, many are ministers of the gospel ; each 
 one of whom is ready to exclaim in the language of Elisha, when 
 witnessing the ascension of Elijah, " My father, my father, the 
 chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof." And many ministers 
 who were not his spiritual children, received an impulse from his 
 preaching and example, either before or after they entered the minis- 
 try, which had a most salutary influence upon their character. The 
 following statement of one who occupies a post of great responsibil- 
 ity in the church, I have no doubt, expresses the views and feelings 
 of many others. " In my preparation for college, and in my first 
 year in college, I had the happiness to hear him preach in two very 
 powerful revivals ; and I shall ever regard the influence which his 
 preaching and his personal intercourse with me, exerted upon my 
 character and views of ministerial duty, as of inestimable value.". 
 
 The days in which he had health and strength to engage in ardu- 
 ous labor, were emphatically days of the right hand of the Most 
 High. They will long be remembered on earth, and never be for- 
 gotten in heaven. 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 A letter written by the Rev. Dr. Beecher in 1827, contains the 
 following testimony. 
 
 " Mr. Nettleton has served God and his generation with more self- 
 denial, and constancy, and wisdom, and success, than any man living. 
 I witnessed his commencement, and knew his progress, and the rel- 
 ative state of things in Connecticut, especially ; and what (but for his 
 influence in promoting revivals, and exciting and teaching by example 
 others to promote them,) might have been the condition of the 
 churches in those days of revolution through which they have pass- 
 ed. Considering the extent of his influence, I regard him as beyond 
 comparison, the greatest benefactor which God has given to this 
 nation ; and through his influence in promoting pure and powerful 
 revivals of religion, as destined to be one of the greatest benefactors 
 of the world, and among the most efficient instruments of introduc- 
 ing the glory of the latter day." This was the testimony of one who 
 had known the history of his labors for fifteen years, and who had 
 witnessed their great and salutary influence. 
 
 " His holy zeal," says another minister, in a letter written soon 
 after his death, " his tenderness and love, his prudence and judgment, 
 and his admirable skill in presenting divine truth, and dealing with 
 souls, made him at once, one of the most inspiring, and one of the 
 safest examples to be presented before christians, and especially be- 
 fore ministers.'' 
 
 Another minister, in a letter to the writer, says, " I am gratified to 
 learn, that you intend to publish as soon as practicable a biographi- 
 cal sketch of our much esteemed and beloved friend, the late Dr. 
 Nettleton. This I regard as due to the memory of the deceased, to 
 his numerous friends in different parts of the land, and to the cause 
 of truth and vital godliness, which he advocated so ably and success- 
 fully, through the different periods of his ministry. It would be mat- 
 ter of unfeigned regret, if the wisdom, zeal, stability, spirit of kind- 
 ness, and unconquerable perseverance in the work of the Lord which 
 were such prominent characteristics of that man, should not be per- 
 mitted to benefit others after he is silent in the grave. 
 
 " That he uniformly regarded himself as an accountable steward 
 of God, and studied to show himself approved — that he was a de- 
 voted servant of the church, in laboring for its enlargement and 
 growth in grace — that he wielded the sword of the spirit most dex- 
 terously for the conversion of men to God — that he was a vigilant 
 and judicious guide and counsellor— that he strove to build up those 
 who were spiritually begotten by him in the most holy faith — and 
 1* 
 
VI PRKPACE. 
 
 that he was a timely and efficient helper of his ministerial brethren, 
 are facts too obvious to need proof, to those who have been convers- 
 ant with him for the last twenty-five years." 
 
 Dr. Nettleton kept no journal of his religious exercises ; nor until 
 1818 did he keep any journal of his labors. In the spring of that 
 year, while laboring in Rocky Hill, he began to keep a memoran- 
 dum, in which he noted down the times and places of preaching, and 
 the texts from which he preached, together with occasional brief 
 remarks. Many of the facts recorded in this memoir, were obtained 
 from him in personal interviews, and committed to writing at the 
 time. The reader may be assured, that nothing is stated as fact, of 
 which the writer has not either personal knowledge, or the most sat- 
 isfactory evidence. 
 
 Should the imperfect sketch which is here given of the life and 
 character of this distinguished servant of God, be the means of in- 
 citing others to imitate his example, so far as he followed Christ, the 
 labor of preparing it will be abundantly compensated. 
 
 East Windsor, Aug. 1st, 1844. 
 
PREFACE 
 TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 In presenting a new edition of this work to the public, the author 
 feels constrained to say, that he is no less surprised than gratified, 
 by the unexpected favor with which the first edition was received. 
 He hopes the present edition will be thought not less worthy of public 
 favor. It has been carefully revised and corrected. Some altera- 
 tions have been made : and although the number of pages has not 
 been increased, considerable additional matter has been inserted. 
 The page has been somewhat enlarged, and the appearance of the 
 book, it is believed, not a little improved. 
 
 The author would express his obligations to those friends who have 
 favored him with their remarks on the first edition, (at whose sug- 
 gestions some alterations have been made,) and especially to those 
 who have furnished additional facts, with which to enrich the present 
 edition. 
 
 That all who shall read these pages may possess, in a high degree, 
 that religion which rendered the subject of this memoir so eminently 
 useful while he lived, and which sustained him in the hour of death, 
 is the prayer of the 
 
 Biographer. 
 
 East Windsor, Jan. 1st, 1845. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 His birth. Childhood and youth. Conversion. 11 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 His desire to preach the Gospel, and to become a missionary to the heathen. 
 Difficulties in the way of obtaining an education, The manner in which 
 he overcame them. College life. Acquaintance with Samuel J. Mills. 
 Appointment as Butler in College. Theological education at Milford 
 under the instruction of the Rev. Mr. Pinneo. License to preach the 
 Gospel. The reason why he did not become a Missionary. . . 25 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 His labors in the eastern part of Connecticut, where he obtains a knowledge 
 of the measures which were adopted by Davenport and others, in the great 
 revival of 1740, and of their results in producing a moral desolation. His 
 acquaintance with certain evangelists. His opinion of the expediency 
 of employing evangelists as assistants of settled pastors. ... 45 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 His labors in Derby, South Britain, South Salem, Danbury, Monroe, North 
 Lyme, Hadlyme, Bloomneld, Milton, South Farms, Chester, East Granby, 
 Bolton, Manchester, and West Granby 55 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 His labors in New Haven, Salisbury, Bridgewater, Torrington, Waterbury, 
 Upper Middletown, Rocky Hill, Ashford, Eastford, Bolton. . . 71 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 His labors in Saratoga county, and Nassau. 94 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 His labors in New Haven, North Killingworth, North Madison, Wethers- 
 field, Newington, and Farmington 112 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 His labors in Pittsfield, Lenox, Lee, Litchfield, New Haven, Somers, 
 Tc_and, and South Wilbraham. . 131 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Sickness at Bolton. Compilation of Hymn Book. Labors in Bethlem, 
 Brooklyn, Taunton, Jamaica, Albany, Durham, Lexington, Virginia, 
 Monson, North Carolina, Newark, New York. Voyage to England. 
 Labors in Enfield. Formation of the Pastoral Union. Establishment of 
 the Theological Institute of Connecticut. Appointment as Professor. 
 The degree of D. D. conferred upon him 148 
 
 CHAPTER X . 
 His method of laboring in revivals of religion 198 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Character of the Revivals under his preaching 226 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 His opposition to New Measures. 236 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 His Doctrinal Views, and interest in the recent Theological Controversy. 273 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 His last Sickness and Death. 302 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 His General Character. . ... 313 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 His birth.— Childhood and Youth.— Conversion. 
 
 It is a striking fact, that a large proportion of those whom 
 God has raised up to be distinguished instruments of promo- 
 ting the interests of his church, have sprung from a humble 
 origin. " The Reformer Zwingle, emerged from a shepherd's 
 hut among the Alps ; Melancthon, the great theologian of the 
 Reformation, from an armorer's work shop ; and Luther from 
 the cottage of a poor miner." It has been so in every age. 
 Moses, Samuel, David, and the Apostles of our Lord, were 
 from the humble walks of life. And why should it not be so 
 since our Lord himself, when he assumed our nature, was 
 born in a low condition ? God has in this way, poured conr% 
 tempt upon those earthly distinctions in which mankind are 
 prone to glory. 
 
 Asahel Nettleton was born in North Killingworth, Con- 
 necticut, April 21, 1783, the same day on which the birth of 
 Samuel J. Mills occurred. He was the eldest son, and second 
 child, of a family of six children, consisting of three sons, and 
 three daughters. His parents, though but little known to the 
 world, were esteemed and respected by their neighbors. His 
 father was a farmer, in moderate, but comfortable circumstan- 
 ces ; and in this employment Asahel was mostly engaged, 
 until he entered college, in 1805. 
 
 His childhood and youth, so far as is known to the writer, 
 
12 MEMOIR OF 
 
 were characterized by nothing very peculiar. His early ad- 
 vantages of education were such only, as are furnished by the 
 common district school. That he made a good use of these 
 advantages, we may infer from the thirst for knowledge which 
 he evinced at a later period, and from the fact, that while a 
 young man, he was employed several winters in the capacity 
 of a school-teacher. 
 
 His parents, according to the custom which prevailed at 
 that period in some parts of New England, were professors 
 of religion, on what was called the half way covenant plan ; — 
 that is, they were not admitted to full communion, but having 
 publicly assented to the covenant of the church, they were 
 permitted to offer their children in baptism.* Asahel was of 
 course baptized in his infancy, and while a child, received 
 some religious instruction from his parents. He was, in par- 
 ticular, required to commit to memory the Assembly's Cate- 
 chism, which, as he has often remarked, was of great use to 
 him when his attention was awakened to the concerns of his 
 soul. His morals were also strictly guarded by his parents, 
 and they had the satisfaction to know, that during the period 
 of youth, he was not addicted to any vicious habits, but sus- 
 
 C'ned, in the eyes of the world, an unblemished moral 
 aracter. 
 
 While a child, he was occasionally the subject of religious 
 impressions. At one time in particular, while alone in the 
 field, and looking at the setting sun, he was powerfully im- 
 pressed with the thought that he and all men must die. He 
 was so affected by this thought, that he stood for some time 
 
 * This custom, according to Dr. Bellamy, was first introduced by the recom- 
 mendation of a synod which met in Boston, 1 G62. Many ministers and churches 
 zealously opposed it at the time, and although it gained extensive prevalence, 
 it was never universally adopted. It began to be discontinued in the days of 
 Edwards and Bellamy ; for the latter remarks, " Of late a considerable number 
 of churches which had adopted the practice, have laid it aside." _, The revivals, 
 at the beginning of the present century, put a period to it in most of the churches 
 and at present, it is scarcely known in any part of New England. 
 
DIt. NETTLETON. 13 
 
 and wept aloud. But these feelings were transitory, and he 
 seems to have had no permanent religious impressions, till 
 the fall of 1800, when he was in the eighteenth year of his 
 age. This was at the period so memorable in the history of 
 our American Zion, as a time of refreshing from the presence 
 of the Lord. For half a century the influences of the divine 
 Spirit had been, in a great measure, withdrawn from the 
 churches. Revivals, " like angel's visits, were few and far 
 between." But during a period of four or five years, com- 
 mencing with 1798, not less than one hundred and fifty 
 churches in New England, were favored with the special 
 effusions of the Holy Spirit ; and thousands of souls, in the 
 judgment of charity, were translated from the kingdom of 
 Satan into the kingdom of God's dear Son. 
 
 In the blessings of this general out-pouring of the Spirit, 
 North Killingworth shared. A narrative of the revival of 
 religion in this town, was published in the fourth and fifth 
 volumes of the Connecticut Evangelical Magazine.* A few 
 individuals whose conversion was considered particularly 
 interesting, were requested by their pastor to give him, in 
 writing, an account of their religious exercises. Mr. Nettle- 
 ton was one of the number ; and his account, with that of two 
 or three others, is incorporated in the printed narrative, and 
 is as follows : 
 
 " Knowing by experience the deplorable state of a sinner, 
 that he is by nature totally destitute of love and conformity to 
 God, and that he cannot be saved but by a special act of sove- 
 reign grace, induceth me to ask for further instruction upon 
 this all-important subject, and to communicate, in a summary 
 manner, the state of my mind, and the feelings with which 
 it has been exercised. 
 
 " From my earliest age, I endeavored to lead a moral life, 
 being often taught that God would punish sinners ; but I did 
 
 * In this narrative, the place is called the Second Society in Killingworth. 
 2 
 
14 MEMOIR or 
 
 not believe that I should suffer for the few offences of which 
 I had been guilty. Having avoided many sins which I saw 
 in others, I imagined all was well with me, till I was about 
 eighteen years old, when I heard a sermon preached upon the 
 necessity of regeneration, which put me upon thinking of the 
 need of a change of heart in myself. I did not, however, well 
 receive the discourse at the time, for I was sensible I knew 
 nothing about such a change, neither did I wish to know, for 
 I believed myself as good as others without it, and to be equal 
 with them, I thought would be sufficient. However, the 
 thought troubled me considerably from day to day, and caused 
 me to think of praying, which I had never done, except re- 
 peating some form as a little child, and doing it to remove the 
 stings of a guilty conscience, when I considered myself in 
 imminent danger. Sometime after this, I heard another ser- 
 mon that convinced me I had quenched the spirit, which oc- 
 casioned me the most alarming fears that I should forever be 
 left to eat the fruit of my own ways. Supposing I was alone 
 in the thoughts of eternity, I separated myself from all com- 
 pany, and determined to seek an interest in Christ. I cou.- 
 cluded something must be done to appease God's anger. I 
 read and prayed, and strove in every possible way to prepare 
 myself to go to God, that I might be saved from his wrath. 
 The more I strove in this selfish way, the more anxious I was, 
 and no hope was given. Soon I began to murmur and repine, 
 and accused God of the greatest injustice in requiring me to 
 return to him ; and while I was striving with all my might, 
 as I supposed, he appeared not to regard me. I considered 
 God obligated to love me, because I had done so much for 
 him, and finding no relief, I wished that he might not be, and 
 began really to doubt the truths of his holy word, and to dis- 
 believe his existence ; for if there was a God, I perfectly 
 hated him. I searched the scriptures daily, hoping to find 
 inconsistencies in them, to condemn the Bible because it was 
 against me ; and while I was diligently pursuing my purpose, 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 15 
 
 every thing I read, and every sermon I heard, condemned 
 me. Christian conversation gave me the most painful sensa- 
 tions. I tried to repent, but I could not feel the least sorrow 
 for, my innumerable sins. By endeavoring to repent, I saw 
 my heart still remained impenitent. Although I knew I hated 
 every thing serious, yet I determined to habituate myself to 
 the duties which God required, and see if I could not by that 
 means be made to love him, and I continued in this state some 
 months. The fear of having committed the unpardonable sin, 
 now began to rise in my mind, and 1 could find no rest day 
 nor night. When my weary limbs demanded sleep, the fear 
 of awaking in a miserable eternity prevented the closing of 
 my eyes, and nothing gave me ease. No voice of mirth, or 
 sound whatever was heard, but what reminded me of the 
 awful day when God shall bring every work into judgment. 
 All self-righteousness failed me ; and having no confidence 
 in God, I was left in deep despondency. After a while, a 
 surprising tremor seized all my limbs, and death appeared to 
 have taken hold upon me. Eternity, the word eternity, sound- 
 ed louder than any voice I ever heard, and every moment of 
 time seemed more valuable than all the wealth of the world. 
 Not long after this, an unusual calmness pervaded my soul, 
 which I thought little of at first, except that I was freed from 
 my awful convictions, and this sometimes grieved me, fearing 
 I had lost all conviction. Soon after, hearing the feelings of 
 a christian described, I took courage, and thought I knew by 
 experience what they were. The character of God, and the 
 doctrines of the Bible which I could not meditate upon before 
 without hatred, especially those of election and free grace, 
 now appear delightful, and the only means by which, through 
 grace, dead sinners can be made the living sons of God. My 
 heart feels its sinfulness. To confess my sins to God, gives 
 me that peace which before I knew nothing of. To sorrow 
 for it, affords that joy which my tongue cannot express. Were 
 I sensible that at death, my hope would perish, yet it seem- 
 
16 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 eth to me now, that I could not willingly quit the service of 
 God, nor the company of christians ; but my unfaithfulness 
 often makes me fear my sincerity ; and should I at last be 
 raised to glory, all the praise will be to God for the exhibition 
 of his sovereign grace." 
 
 This account was written not far from the time when he 
 made a profession of religion ; and interesting as it is, it con- 
 tains but an imperfect sketch of the exercises of his mind, 
 during the ten months in which the Spirit of God was striving 
 with him. I add a few facts which are copied from a mem- 
 orandum made immediately after hearing from his own lips, a 
 more minute and particular account of his conversion. 
 
 In giving this account, he remarked that the foregoing 
 printed statement, is not exactly as he wrote it. Some verbal 
 alterations were made in it, which, although they were not 
 intended to affect the sense, do affect it in some degree ; par- 
 ticularly in the sentence in which these words occur : " When 
 I heard a sermon preached upon the necessity of regeneration, 
 which put me upon thinking of the need of a change of heart 
 in myself." This, as it now reads, seems to convey the idea, 
 that his attention was first awakened to the concerns of jhis 
 soul, by a particular sermon. But this was not true, nor was 
 such an idea expressed in the original manuscript. His first 
 permanent religious impressions occurred in the following 
 manner : 
 
 On the night of the annual Thanksgiving, in the fall of 1800, 
 he attended a ball. The next morning, while alone, and 
 thinking with pleasure on the scenes of the preceding night, 
 and of the manner in .which he had proposed to spend the day, 
 in company with some of his young companions, the thought 
 suddenly rushed upon his mind, we must all die, and go to the 
 judgment, and with what feelings shall we then reflect upon 
 these scenes ! This thought was, for the moment, overwhel- 
 ming ; and it left an impression on his mind, which he could 
 not efface. His pleasing reflections on the past, and antici- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 17 
 
 pations of the future, vanished at once, and gave place to 
 feelings of a very different kind. These feelings he conceal- 
 ed ; but he could not entirely banish them from his mind. 
 The world had lost its charms. All those amusements in 
 which he had taken delight, were overcast with gloom. His 
 thoughts dwelt much on the scenes of death, judgment and 
 eternity. He knew that he had an immortal soul that must be 
 happy or miserable in the future world ; and although he had 
 consoled himself with the thought that he was as good as others 
 around him, and that his condition was, of course, as safe as 
 theirs ; yet he now felt conscious that he was unprepared to 
 meet his God. He at the same time perceived that he was 
 liable every moment to be cut down by the stroke of death, 
 and summoned to his last account. He had no peace of mind 
 by day or by night. Although, at this time, he had no very 
 just conceptions of the divine law, or of the depravity of his 
 heart ; yet he was sensible that he was a sinner, and that his 
 sins must be pardoned, or he could not be saved. The duty 
 of prayer was now forcibly impressed upon his mind, a duty 
 which he had almost entirely neglected ; and it was not with- 
 out a great struggle in his feelings, that he was brought to 
 bend the knee to Jehovah. At the same time, he gave him- 
 self much to the reading of the Scriptures and other religious 
 books, and separated himself as much as possible from thought- 
 less companions. So far as he knew, and so far as is now 
 known, there was, at that time, no other person in the town 
 under serious impressions.* The young people with whom 
 he had been most intimate, were exceedingly thoughtless, and 
 given to vain and sinful amusements. They were, at this 
 time, making arrangements for the establishment of a dancing 
 school, and they expected his aid and co-operation in the 
 measure. But to their astonishment, he utterly refused to 
 
 * This was in the Autumn of 1800. The revival did not become visible till 
 the following spring. 
 
 2* 
 
18 MEMOIR OF 
 
 have anything to do with it. He had made up his mind to 
 quit forever all such amusements, and to seek the salvation of 
 his soul. But as he did not reveal his feelings to any of his 
 associates, they knew not how to account for this sudden 
 change in his appearance and conduct. Some, perhaps sus- 
 pected the true cause ; while others supposed that for some 
 reason, unknown to them, his affections had become alienated 
 from his former friends. Thus, for months, he mourned in 
 secret, and did not communicate his feelings to a single indi- 
 vidual. During this period, he had a strong desire that some 
 of his young companions would set out with him in pursuit of 
 religion : and although his proud heart would not permit him 
 to make known to them the state of his mind, yet he occasion- 
 ally ventured to expostulate with them on the folly and sinful- 
 ness of their conduct ; and to some few individuals, he 
 addressed short letters on the same subject. These warnings 
 were treated by some, with ridicule and contempt. On the 
 minds of others, they made an impression, which, as he after- 
 wards learned, was never effaced. This was particularly the 
 case with Philander Parmele, who was afterwards his class- 
 mate in college, and intimate friend through life.* 
 
 When Mr. Nettleton first became anxious respecting the 
 salvation of his soul, he had not, as has been remarked, any 
 very just conceptions of the depravity of his heart. He was 
 sensible that he was not in a safe condition. He knew that 
 he needed something which he did not possess, to prepare 
 him for heaven. He had a general vague idea that he was a 
 sinner, but he saw not the fountain of iniquity within him. 
 As is common with persons when awakened to a sense of 
 their danger, he went about to establish his own righteousness. 
 He vainly presumed, that by diligent and persevering efforts, 
 he should recommend himself to the favor of God. He was 
 
 * Mr. Parmele became pastor of the church in Bolton, Conn. At his house 
 Mr. Nettleton was sick with the typhus fever in 1822. Mr. Parmele took the 
 fever of him and died. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 19 
 
 accordingly very abundant in his religious services. He not 
 only abandoned those amusements in which he had delighted, 
 and forsook in a great measure the society of those who took 
 no interest in the subject of religion ; but he spent much 
 time in retirement, earnestly crying to God for mercy. He 
 would often repair to the fields and forests for this purpose, 
 and he sometimes spent a large part of the night in prayer. 
 In this way, he expected to obtain the forgiveness of his sins, 
 and the peace and consolation which God has promised to his 
 people. But after laboring for some time in this manner, he 
 became alarmed at his want of success. God seemed to pay 
 no regard to his iprayers : and how to account for this facthe 
 knew not. At this crisis, he was assailed by infidel doubts. 
 The question arose in his mind, whether he had not proved 
 the Bible to be false. It is written, Ask and ye shall receive, 
 Seek and ye shall find. He said to himself, I have asked, but 
 I have not received — I have sought biit I have not found. 
 How then can these promises be true 1 And how can the 
 book which contains them, be the word of God ? He found 
 himself disposed to cherish these doubts, and to seek for fur- 
 ther proof that the Bible is not true. He searched the Scrip- 
 tures on purpose to find contradictions in them, and he even 
 went so far as to begin to doubt the existence of a God. 
 Like the fool, he said in his heart there is no God ; that is, 
 he wished there were none ; for he was sensible that if there 
 was a God, he was not reconciled to his character ; and he 
 wished the Bible to be false, because he saw that it condemned 
 him. But his efforts to satisfy himself that religion is not 
 a reality, did not succeed. The thought would sometimes 
 arise, what if the Bible should prove to be true 1 Then I am 
 lost forever. This would fill him with inconceivable horror. 
 These struggles in his mind, led him to a more just knowl- 
 edge of his character and condition. He began to see the 
 plague of his own heart. His doubts respecting the truth of 
 the promises which God has made to those who ask, and 
 
20 MEMOIR OP 
 
 seek, were dispelled by the painful conviction that he never 
 had asked and sought as God requires. The commandment 
 came, sin revived, and he died. He saw that God looks on 
 the heart, and that he requires holy and spiritual service of 
 his creatures ; that he seeketh such to worship him, as worship 
 him in spirit and in truth. He saw at the same time, that in 
 all his religious services, he had been prompted by selfish 
 motives. He saw that in all which he had done, he had had 
 no love to God, and no regard to his glory ; but that he had 
 been influenced solely by a desire to promote his own person- 
 al interest and happiness. He saw that in all the distress 
 which he had experienced on account of his sin, there was 
 no godly sorrow — no true contrition. He had not hated sin 
 because it was committed against God, but had merely dread- 
 ed its consequences. He had taken great pains to cleanse 
 the outside of the cup and the platter, but he now perceived 
 that the inside was full of all uncleanness. And he was 
 thoroughly convinced, that 
 
 " No outward forms could make him clean, 
 The leprosy lay deep within." 
 
 He had prayed, and wept and promised, but he now saw, 
 that 
 
 " His prayers and tears and vows were vile, 
 His duties black with guilt." 
 
 During this period he read President Edwards' narrative 
 of the revival of religion in Northampton, and the memoir of 
 Brainerd. These served very much to deepen the conviction 
 of his utterly lost condition. The preaching which he heard 
 from time to time, also greatly distressed him. As he says in 
 his narrative, every sermon condemned him. Nothing gave 
 him any relief. He seemed to be sinking daily deeper and 
 deeper in guilt and wretchedness. One day, while alone in 
 the field, engaged in prayer, his heart rose against God, be- 
 cause he did not hear and answer his prayers. Then the 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 21 
 
 words of the Apostle, the carnal mind is enmity against God, 
 came to his mind with such overwhelming power, as to de- 
 prive him of strength, and he fell prostrate on the earth. The 
 doctrines of the Gospel, particularly the doctrines of divine 
 sovereignty and election, were sources of great distress to 
 him. There was much talk respecting these doctrines, at 
 that time, in North Killingworth. Some disbelieved and 
 openly opposed them. He searched the Scriptures with great 
 diligence to ascertain whether they are there taught ; and 
 although his heart was unreconciled to them, he dared not 
 deny them, for he was convinced that they were taught in the 
 Bible. He would sometimes say to himself, if I am not 
 elected, I shall not be saved, even if I do repent — then the 
 thought would arise, if I am not elected, I never shall repent. 
 This would cut him to the heart, and dash to the ground all 
 his self-righteous hopes. For a long time he endured these 
 conflicts in his mind. Meanwhile he became fully convinced, 
 that the commands of God are perfectly just, that it was his 
 immediate duty to repent, and that he had no excuse for con- 
 tinuing another moment a rebel against God. At the same 
 time he saw that such was the wickedness of his heart, that 
 he never should repent, unless God should subdue his heart 
 by an act of sovereign grace. With these views of his con- 
 dition, his distress was sometimes almost insupportable. At 
 one time he really supposed himself to be dying, and sinking 
 into hell. This was the time of which he speaks in his nar- 
 rative, when he says, " an unusual tremor seized all my limbs, 
 and death appeared to have taken hold upon me." For several 
 hours, his horror of mind was inexpressible. Not long after 
 this, there was a change in his feelings. He felt a calmness 
 for which he knew not how to account. He thought, at first, 
 that he had lost his convictions, and was going back to stu- 
 pidity. This alarmed him, but still he could not recall his 
 former feelings. A sweet peace pervaded his soul. The 
 objects which had given him so much distress, he now con- 
 
22 MEMOIR OF 
 
 templated with delight. He did not, however, for several 
 days suppose that he had experienced a change of heart ; bat 
 finding at length that his views and feelings accorded with 
 those expressed by others whom he regarded as the friends of 
 Christ, he began to think it possible that he might have pass- 
 ed from death unto life. The more he examined himself, 
 the more evidence he found that a great change had been 
 wrought in his views and feelings respecting divine things. 
 Old things had passed away — all things had become new. 
 The character of God now appeared lovely. The Saviour 
 was exceedingly precious ; and the doctrines of grace, to- 
 wards which he had felt such bitter opposition, he contem- 
 plated with delight. He had now no doubt of their truth. 
 He saw clearly that if there was any good thing in him to- 
 wards the Lord God of Israel, it was not the result of any 
 effort of his own, but of the sovereign and distinguished will 
 of God. He was ready to say with the Apostle, by the 
 grace of God, I am what 1 am. He knew that if God had 
 left him to himself, he should have persisted in the road to 
 ruin. It was no longer a question with him, whether the 
 natural heart is destitute of holiness, and opposed to God — 
 or whether it is necessary that the sinner should be born 
 again by the special operations of the H°ly Spirit. What 
 the Scriptures teach on these points, was confirmed by his 
 experience. He had the witness in himself of the truth of 
 these doctrines. And so firmly was he established in the be- 
 lief of them, that his faith never wavered during his life. He 
 iow felt a peculiar love for the people of God, and a delight 
 m the, duties of religion, to which before, he was a total 
 stranger. 
 
 If the reader would know the state of his mind at this 
 period, let him read three or four of the Village Hymns, be- 
 ginning with the 372, which were intended to describe, the 
 feelings of a young convert. He has been heard to say, that 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 23 
 
 in arranging those hymns, he put those first which described 
 his own feelings at the time of his conversion. 
 
 But although he enjoyed great peace of mind, he never 
 expressed a very high degree of confidence that he was a 
 child of God. He had such a deep and abiding sense of the 
 deceitfulness of the human heart, and of the danger of self- 
 deception, that not only at this period, but ever afterwards, he 
 was exceedingly cautious in expressing his belief that he was 
 accepted of God. At one time, being asked whether he had 
 any doubts respecting his interest in the promises, he replied, 
 " I have no doubt that I have religious enjoyment ; but the 
 question is, whether it is of the right kind." At another time 
 he said, " the most that I have ventured to say respecting my- 
 self, is, that I think it possible I may get to heaven." It was 
 always painful to him to hear persons express great confi- 
 dence of their interest in the divine favor, unless they were 
 persons of eminent piety. He feared they did not realize 
 how deceitful the human heart is. 
 
 It was about ten months, as has been already intimated, 
 from the time when Mr. Nettleton's attention was first seri- 
 ously turned to the subject of religion, before he obtained 
 peace in believing. With him, what the old divines termed 
 the law-work, was deep and thorough. This protracted sea- 
 son of conviction gave him a knowledge of the human heart 
 which few possess ; and which was doubtless intended by 
 God to prepare him for that pre-eminent success which at- 
 tended his labors as a minister of Christ. As one observes, 
 " God prepares for himself the souls which he destines to 
 some important work. We must prepare the vessel before we 
 launch it on the mighty deep. If education is necessary for 
 every man, then is a particular education necessary for those 
 who are to influence the generations in which they live." 
 
 The following remark of President Edwards in relation to 
 the conversion of David Brainerd, will apply equally to the 
 conversion of Mr. Nettleton. " His convictions of sin pre- 
 
24 
 
 MEMOIK. OF 
 
 ceding his first consolations in Christ, were exceedingly deep 
 and thorough. His trouble and sorrow arising from a sense 
 of guilt and misery were very great, and long continued, but 
 yet sound and rational, consisting in no unsteady, violent, and 
 unaccountable frights and perturbations of the mind ; bu 
 arising from the most serious considerations, and a clear illu- 
 mination of the conscience to discern and consider the true 
 state of things. The light let into his mind at conversion, 
 and the influences and exercises to which his mind was sub- 
 ject at that time, appear very agreeable to reason, and to the 
 gospel of Jesus Christ. The change was very great and re- 
 markable, yet without any appearance of strong impressions 
 on the imagination, or sudden flights of the affections, or 
 vehement emotions of the animal nature. It was attended 
 with just views of the supreme glory of the divine being, 
 consisting in the infinite dignity and beauty of the perfection 
 of his nature, and of the transcendent excellency of the way 
 of salvation by Christ." 
 
 The preceding is from a sermon at the funeral of Brainerd. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 His desire to preach the Gospel, and to become a missionary to the heathen. — 
 Difficulties in the way of obtaining an education. — The manner in which he 
 overcame them. — College life. — Acquaintance with Samuel J. Mills. — Appointment 
 as Butler in College. — Theological education at Milford, under the instruction of 
 the Rev. Mr. Pinneo. — License to preach the Gospel. — The reason why he did not 
 become a Missionary. 
 
 In the year 1801, the father of Mr. Nettleton died. As 
 he was the oldest son, the care of the family, and the man- 
 agement of the farm devolved upon him. It had been his ex- 
 pectation to spend his days in agricultural pursuits ; but God 
 had designed him for a different course of life. After the 
 change in his feelings, described in the preceding chapter, his 
 mind dwelt much on the worth of the soul, and the deplorable 
 condition of those who have no interest in Christ ; and he 
 had the most intense desires to be instrumental in the salvation 
 of his fellow men. While laboring in the field, he would often 
 say to himself, " if I might be the means of saving one soul, 
 I should prefer it to all the riches and honors of this world." 
 He would frequently look forward to eternity, and put to him- 
 self the question, " what shall I wish I had done, thousands 
 and millions of years hence ?" About this time, he became 
 exceedingly interested in the short accounts which were pub- 
 lished in the Connecticut Evangelical Magazine, of the -ope- 
 rations of the London Missionary Society, and of the Baptist 
 Missionary Society in England. These awakened in his 
 breast a strong desire to become a missionary to the heathen ; 
 and he decided to devote his life to the missionary service, if 
 
26 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 God, in his Providence, should prepare the way. This pur- 
 pose was afterwards greatly strengthened by the perusal of 
 Home's Letters on Missions. The feelings which Samuel 
 J. Mills expressed to his father soon after his conversion, 
 were precisely the feelings of young Nettleton at this period, 
 viz : " That he could not conceive of any course of life in which 
 to pass the rest of his days, (hat would, prove so pleasant, as to 
 go and communicate the gospel salvation to the poor heathen" 
 
 It has been already remarked, that Samuel J. Mills and 
 Asahel Nettleton were born on the same day. It is a remark- 
 able fact, that their new and spiritual birth occurred very nearly 
 at the same time* — that the conversion of both was signally 
 marked — and that from the commencement of their christian 
 course, they seem to have been imbued with the same spirit, 
 and to have devoted themselves to the same employment. 
 And here I cannot refrain from quoting a few sentences from 
 the memoir of Mills. " Thus early did a sovereign God who 
 has pity on the heathen, set apart Samuel J. Mills for a mis- 
 sionary. Though a youth of but sixteen,! he discovered a zeal 
 in the missionary cause, an eagerness in the pursuit of mis- 
 sionary intelligence, and an enlargement of thought in his plans 
 to become acquainted with the unevangelized world, which left 
 little doubt that he was chained to his purpose by a superior 
 power. It was heart yearning over the miseries of perish- 
 ing millions, that first led him to think of acquiring an educa- 
 tion with a view to the gospel ministry. The spirit of God 
 came over him like Elisha in the field. While toiling at the 
 plough, was his heart touched with compassion for the heath- 
 on world, and he bid adieu to his farm to obtain an education, 
 on purpose to carry the gospel to millions who were perish- 
 
 * The conversion of Mills occurred in November, 1 801. That of Nettleton, 
 about two months earlier. 
 
 f This is a mistake. It ought to be eighteen. It appears from a statement 
 on a preceding page of the memoir, that his conversion took place in Novem- 
 ber, 1801, when he was eighteen years old. 
 
DK. NETTLETON. 27 
 
 lng for lack of knowledge. Thus in a retired field in Litch- 
 field county, was the king of Zion beginning that grand course 
 of operations, which have produced such a revolution in the 
 American churches, and which bear so intimate a relation to 
 the progressive glories of his kingdom !" All this, excepting 
 the name of the county, was as true of Nettleton as of Mills, 
 and very nearly at the same time. 
 
 It is a striking fact, that while these two individuals seem 
 to have been the first in this country (in these latter days,) to 
 devote themselves to the missionary work, neither of them 
 was permitted to enter upon it. It happened to them as to 
 David, in relation to the building of the temple. They did 
 well that it was in their hearts to go to the heathen ; but the 
 honor of actually going, was reserved for others. The rea- 
 sons which prevented Mills from becoming a missionary to the 
 heathen, are already before the public. Those which pre- 
 vented Nettleton, will be given in the sequel. 
 
 In acquiring a collegiate education, he had many difficulties 
 and discouragements to encounter. His pecuniary means 
 were entirely inadequate ; and in those days, there were no 
 Education societies, and no fundB for the support of indigent 
 students. Such also, were the circumstances of the family, 
 recently deprived of its head, as to render his presence and 
 labor at home, apparently indispensable. So strong however, 
 was his desire to become a minister of the gospel, and a mis- 
 sionary to the heathen, that he resolved to make the attempt to 
 obtain an education. He procured some books, and while 
 laboring on the farm, dovoted his leisure moments to study. 
 In the winter he taught school, and spent his evenings in 
 study, occasionally reciting to his pastor. Thus, in the course 
 of two or three years, with very little instruction, and while 
 laboring most of the time on the farm, except when engaged 
 in school-keeping, he mastered the preparatory studies, and 
 entered the Freshman class in Yale College, about the middle of 
 the first term, in the fall of 1805. 
 
28 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 When Mr. Nettleton entered college, he was the only pro- 
 fessor of religion in his class. Some others, however, en- 
 tered before the close of the year, one of whom was his 
 friend and fellow townsman, Philander Parmele. Some part 
 of the time while a member of college, he taught a school in 
 New Haven, to procure the means of defraying his expenses. 
 He felt a deep interest in the spiritual welfare of the children 
 committed to his care, and he had the happiness to know, that 
 many of them became the hopeful subjects of divine grace, 
 under his preaching, in the revival of 1815. 
 
 The following account of Mr Nettleton's college life, is 
 from the Rev. Jonathan Lee. 
 
 " I was classmate with Mr. Nettleton during the two last 
 years of our college life, and roomed with him through the 
 junior year. Having entered one year before him, and thus 
 belonging to the next preceding class, till the expiration of my 
 Sophomore and his Freshman year ; and then being kept out 
 of college amf broken off from my studies by a severe malady, 
 for one whole year, I formed but little acquaintance with him, 
 till I returned again to college, and joined his class at the 
 beginning of their junior year, in October, 1807. My pre- 
 vious observation of him in his class, had left the impression 
 that he was a modest and inoffensive youth, of unpolished 
 manners, but unexceptionable in moral deportment, and bear- 
 ing the marks of a peculiar interest, solemnity and devoted- 
 ness in the religious worship, and at the communion sea- 
 sons in the chapel. Providence brought us in contact, now, 
 in new and unanticipated circumstances. I was standing in 
 melancholy mood, in the south door of the then middle or old 
 college, disheartened at the loss of a year in standing, a 
 stranger to the class, and with no room or room-mate engaged, 
 reluctant to make application to any one, supposing their ar- 
 rangements in this respect, had been already made. Nettle- 
 ton passing by, seemed attracted by my sombre attitude, and 
 down-cast aspect, and approaching, kindly inquired whether I 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 29 
 
 had obtained a room-mate, and learning by my reply that I 
 had not, offered himself to room with me. The circumstan- 
 ces of this proffer, and the manner of its being made, gave a 
 new and peculiar impression to my mind in regard to him, as 
 it showed a readiness to relinquish his previous designs on the 
 subject, to relieve my anxiety, and show me a kindness. It 
 was an expression of unsought, but timely and generous 
 friendship, (as various facts connected with his offer convinc- 
 ed me,) which is not often met with, in the intercourse of 
 youth at college. I thankfully accepted his overture, which 
 removed a heavy burden from my spirit and carried convic- 
 tion to my heart, that I had found a friend in whom it was 
 safe to confide. From that day to this, greatly as I was 
 grieved to leave my former class, to which I felt strongly at- 
 tached, I have regarded the hand of Providence in bringing 
 me into intimacy with that godly young man, as claiming my 
 liveliest gratitude. It was the good hand of God upon me ; 
 it was the sovereignty of his love, that chastened the aspira- 
 tions for literary distinction, and after calling in the day of 
 adversity to consider, led me to daily converse with one who 
 showed the nature and superlative value of unostentatious, 
 consistent piety, and this at the most solemn crisis in my in- 
 dividual history. 
 
 " On becoming more particularly acquainted with Nettleton, 
 I perceived that he was one who feared God. Ever kind, 
 courteous, conscientious and exemplary, unassuming and un- 
 ostentatious ; his words and actions bore the most powerful 
 testimony in my conscience, to the genuineness of his reli- 
 gious principles. He evidently had a taste for the spiritual 
 themes and exercises pertaining to religion, so predominant 
 and controlling, as to leave small space for merely literary 
 ambition. His best loved place was the chapel, listening with 
 devout solemnity, to the prayers and preaching of the vene- 
 rated D wight. His best loved book was the Bible. His best 
 loved day was the Sabbath — and his best loved friends, were 
 
30 MEMOIR OF 
 
 those who knew the joys and sorrows of a pious heart. He 
 was intimate with only a few select companions, of congenial 
 spirit, and who felt most interested in communing together 
 upon the topics of doctrinal and experimental religion. 
 
 " In regard to his standing as a scholar, it is true, he was 
 not, in this respect, distinguished, as he never rose above the 
 ordinary rank in the common course of classical studies. 
 This I attribute, not to a defect of native talent, but to the 
 following causes. 
 
 "1. He was remarkably diffident of his own powers, so far 
 as to be restrained and embarrassed in his recitations and 
 literary performances before the class ; and the same state of 
 feeling prevented that resolute, persevering application neces- 
 sary for eminence. 
 
 " 2. The state of his health through a part of the year, 
 when he roomed with me, was much impaired, and in con- 
 nection with this, he passed through a protracted season of 
 deep mental anxiety and depression in the spring of 1808, in 
 which he greatly questioned the genuineness of his christian 
 experience. So severe were his mental trials of this nature, 
 as to unfit him for study, for some time, and he was excused 
 and permitted to return home, on account of the state of his 
 health. Before returning home, he was wont to repair to the 
 President for instruction and counsel, and he directed him 
 to the perusal of Edwards on Religious Affections, and loan- 
 ed him also, his manuscript sermons on the Evidences of Re- 
 generation. With them he went into the most intensely ear- 
 nest and sifting self-examination that I ever witnessed, and in 
 the course of it, he passed through such agony of spirit, as 
 was suited to awaken the liveliest sympathy in those who 
 could best understand and appreciate the nature of his dis- 
 tress. The all-absorbing question resting on his mind by day 
 and by night, mingled with many sighs, tears and groans, 
 was, am I a child of God ? Before the next term he gained 
 peace, and enjoyed a better state of health ; but it is evident. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 31 
 
 that this interruption of his progress in regular study, had 
 a retarding effect upon his scholarship, though it may have 
 had a momentous influence in giving him uncommon spiritual 
 discernment, and in fitting him for that sphere of distinguish- 
 ed usefulness on which he afterwards entered. 
 
 " 3. The peculiar taste and tendencies of Nettleton's mind, 
 led him to bestow his intellectual energies, not upon physical 
 sciences, and elegant literature, but upon those subjects in 
 mental and moral philosophy, which stood most closely con- 
 nected with the truths of theology. In topics of this nature, 
 he ever manifested an uncommon interest, and quickness of 
 thought, with clearness of perception and power of discrim- 
 ination. It was evidently a favorite employment to engage in 
 friendly discussions upon such themes, with those who were 
 disposed to investigate them ; particularly with students in 
 theology then residing at Yale College. At such times, his 
 countenance, though not specially expressive in ordinary cir- 
 cumstances, would light up with animation, and his eye 
 sparkle with brilliance, plainly indicating that then his mind 
 was in its chosen element. In whatever enlisted his feelings, 
 he was manifestly capable of close and successful investiga- 
 tion. But aiming at a higher mark than mere literary or 
 scientific distinction, he sought to furnish his mind with that 
 knowledge which relates directly to the great ends of human 
 existence, the present and immortal interests of the soul. 
 During his last year in college, he roomed with his beloved 
 christian brother, Philander Parmele, and it is my impres- 
 sion, that with him, he devoted what time could be spared 
 from customary classical studies, to the study of theology. 
 In the exercises of the class he took a higher rank than in 
 the preceding year, and acquitted himself with respectability. 
 With these statements, however, truth compels me to admit, 
 that I had not then discovered in him any such traits of intel- 
 lectual character as led to anticipations in any measure corres- 
 
32 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 pondent with the well known facts of his subsequent his- 
 tory.* 
 
 " Nettleton was held in respect by all in college, but pecu- 
 liarly loved, and highly esteemed by christian professors. 
 His spirit was excellent, and his example unexceptionable. 
 If any affected to look superciliously upon him, on account of 
 the plainness and simplicity of his manners, they knew and 
 felt his superior moral worth. He was a vigilant observer of 
 the indications of religious seriousness and anxiety among the 
 students, and took the earliest and liveliest interest in all such 
 cases. Burdened as I myself was, with the danger and mis- 
 ery of my impenitent state, in the forepart of the year, when 
 I roomed with him, he was not slow to discover the fact, 
 though not officious to insist upon a disclosure of my feelings. 
 As he was a professor of religion, I proposed, soon after he 
 became my room-mate, to unite with him in prayer, after the 
 close of the studies of each evening, expecting only to read 
 the scriptures as my part of the exercise. He agreed to pray, 
 if I also would. Fearing to decline, though trembling at the 
 solemnity of such an engagement, I felt necessitated by my 
 conscience to comply with the condition, and take my turn in 
 prayer, and it was thus that I was first led to utter the words 
 of supplication in the audience of any human being. It was 
 a mighty effort, and made with faltering tongue and aching 
 heart. He found that I had gone farther than he expected, 
 and afterwards once asked me, if I considered myself a 
 Christian, and upon my replying no, he inquired, why then do 
 you pray ? His object I have supposed, was to deepen my 
 conviction of guilt, and it had that effect. To my answer, I 
 feel it my duty to pray, he added no remark, discovering prob- 
 ably, that my wretched prayers gave me no comfort, but in- 
 creased the heavy burden pressing upon my heart. More 
 
 * President Dwight is reported to have said of Nettleton, while a member of 
 College, " He will make one of the most useful men this country has ever 
 seen." This is one among many instances of the sagacity of that great man. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 33 
 
 than once, after these seasons, when I have been weeping 
 over my lost condition, that kind friend has approached my 
 pillow upon retiring to his own bed, and has gently endeavor- 
 ed to elicit an expression of my feelings. When seeing me 
 afraid to disclose my state of mind, he has withdrawn, some- 
 times as I have reason to believe, to unite with some chris- 
 tian brother in prayer, on my behalf, and thus committed my 
 case and that of others, to that God who had taken me in 
 hand, and who alone could renew my heart. 
 
 " At this time, in the winter of 1 807-8, a revival of religion 
 began in New Haven, and in Yale College. The first subjects 
 of it among the students were in the Freshman class. Net- 
 tleton was no indifferent spectator, but among the first to dis- 
 cover indications of special religious impressions, and to seek 
 out persons in a state of religious anxiety. Then, contrary to 
 what I had before witnessed of intimacy between the upper 
 and lower classes, often did I see him with one or two heart- 
 burdened youth of the youngest class, walking arm in arm in 
 the college yard, before evening prayers, conversing upon the 
 great interests of the soul. I observed that so soon as he 
 became acquainted with a student under religious impressions, 
 his company and counsel were sought and greatly prized ; 
 and it was manifest that his conversation with such individ- 
 uals, his silent and unostentatious labors, in connection with 
 his christian brethren in their meeting for prayer and confer- 
 ence, held a very prominent and important place in that mem- 
 orable and joyful season. His feelings were most deeply 
 interested in the whole progress of the revival, and it seemed 
 almost to absorb his mind by day and by night." 
 
 In addition to the foregoing statement, a few other facts 
 connected with the history of his college life, will now be 
 mentioned. 
 
 In the American Quarterly Register for February, 1838 
 there is a history of revivals in Yale College. On page 299, 
 
34 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 in the account of the revival in 1808, is the following 
 statement. 
 
 " There was one case in this revival, which awakened very 
 general sympathy, and to which I shall advert for a moment, 
 because it shows how God sometimes makes use of the suffer- 
 ings of one, to subdue the obstinacy of another. A member 
 of one of the lower classes, became deeply anxious for his 
 spiritual welfare, at the commencement of the seriousness. 
 He was, indeed, the first person in college, probably, who 
 was under conviction of sin. As the work went on, others 
 who were awakened at a much later period, were apparently 
 brought into the kingdom, and were rejoicing in hope, while 
 he was left in the bitterness of despair, with the arrows of the 
 Almighty drinking up his spirit. His health rapidly declined 
 under his sufferings. He was confined in a great measure 
 to his bed ; and it was feared that, with a feeble constitution, 
 he must soon sink under the weight of his distress, unless 
 relief should be obtained. In an adjoining room there lived 
 an avowed disbeliever in spiritual religion, who denied the 
 reality of a divine influence in revivals, and from the com- 
 mencement of the present work, had regarded those who were 
 concerned in it with scorn. A christian friend, who knew 
 his sentiments, asked him to visit the sufferer, and led him 
 toward the bed-side. He stood for a moment looking at the 
 emaciated form before him, he listened to the exclamations 
 which told the distress and horror of an awakened conscience, 
 and then turning, went back to his room, to weep there under 
 a sense of his own sin. Not long after, to the wonder of all 
 his companions, it was said of him, as of Saul of Tarsus, 
 ' Behold he prayeth.' He became at once, a decided and ex- 
 emplary christian. He afterwards entered into the ministry, 
 and devoted himself to the cause of missions ; and has been 
 for more than twenty years, an active and successful laborer 
 upon heathen ground." 
 
 The reader may be interested to learn the issue of those 
 
DR. NETT1EION. 35 
 
 sufferings which led to this happy result. I shall give the 
 relation in the words of one who is best able to speak on this 
 subject. It was just at the close of the term and late at night. 
 " A few christian friends lingered about the bed of the agoni- 
 zed and despairing sinner ; and many were the prayers 
 offered, that the balm of Gilead might be applied to his woun- 
 ded spirit. At length a messenger was dispatched to summon 
 the President, as it seemed to those in attendance, that unless 
 relief were had, death must close the scene. The hour was 
 late— but he promptly attended the call, and came emphati- 
 cally, as one sent of God, as the bearer of good tidings of 
 great joy. For a short time he seemed overwhelmed ; so 
 deeply did he share in the agony of the agonized. At length, 
 however, taking a seat by the bed-side, he gradually directed 
 the anxious inquirer unto the divine sufficiency, the infinite 
 fullness of the Lord Jesus — recited the invitations of the gos- 
 pel, and then followed his paternal counsel by prayer to God. 
 That prayer, it is believed, was heard, and the words which 
 he spake were a healing balm from on high. A sweet seren- 
 ity seemed to steal over the agitated sinner's mind — a serenity 
 which was the harbinger of a joy that came in a short time 
 after, and was ' unspeakable and full of glory.' " 
 
 In a letter from the individual whose case is described in 
 the foregoing statement, he says, " the christian friend" there 
 
 mentioned, " was Mr. Nettleton. The infidel was Mr, , 
 
 [now a missionary of the American Board.] The messen- 
 ger who went for President Dwight, was Mr. Nettleton. He 
 remained with me all night. He was besieging the throne 
 of grace. His whole soul seemed bent on my deliverance. 
 Man never pleaded with more fervency, and I cannot doubt 
 that I was more indebted to him for my relief than to any 
 other person. He took such an interest in my salvation, as 
 evinced the deepest love for my soul. I think he was a pro- 
 fessor of religion before he entered college. What was the 
 character of his piety up to the spring of 1808, of course, I 
 
36 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 know not. But I well recollect that soon after I was brought 
 under conviction, he found me out, and became one of my 
 spiritual guides. I am not quite certain, whether his exer- 
 cises which I am about to mention, existed in the earlier part 
 of the revival, or a little later. My impression is, that the 
 revival found him, in common with other professors, compar- 
 atively asleep. But he was soon enlisted, and evinced great 
 interest in the work. In a little time, however, he fell into a 
 melancholy and desponding state, which at length bordered 
 upon despair. He gave up his hope and to me appeared to 
 be a most miserable man. I have known him to weep, I may 
 say, by the hour, under an overwhelming sense of his vile- 
 ness. He would often say, ' I seem to love christians, but I 
 am so unworthy — I hope they will not cast me off — do you 
 
 tnirilr tTidxr wrill Qllnisr enf»n a nnnT Ginnar ac T om +r» lr*>nr* jir»m_ 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 37 
 
 of religion, and theological students in college, respecting the 
 means of grace. This was occasioned by the sermons which 
 were preached at that time by President Dwight on that sub- 
 ject, and which are published in the fourth volume of his 
 theological discourses. In these sermons, the idea is advan- 
 ced, that the prayers and strivings of awakened sinners, 
 although they possess no moral goodness, are not to be regard- 
 ed, in all cases, as positively sinful.* 
 
 Mr. Nettleton entertained a high respect for Dr. Dwight. 
 On almost all subjects, he received his views without hesita- 
 tion, and considered it a great privilege to sit under his in- 
 structive preaching. But on this point he differed from him, 
 as did also a large part of the pious students in college. He 
 believed with Hopkins, and the New England divines gen- 
 erally, that sinners, properly speaking, never use, but always 
 abuse the means of grace — that in all their efforts to escape 
 future misery, and secure future happiness, they are influenced 
 by unholy motives, and that their religious services are mer- 
 cenary and sinful. In this opinion, which appeared to him 
 to be clearly taught in the scriptures, he was greatly confirmed 
 by his own religious experience. While under conviction of 
 
 * The following is an extract from one of these sermons. 
 
 "To ask of God for happiness and final safety, is not necessarily insincere, 
 nor guilty, even in sinners. When sinners ask for mere mercy, or mere hap- 
 piness, or mere safety, they may desire either e(s truly as saints ; although their 
 desires are not virtuous. So far as their desires are merely natural, insepara- 
 ble from their nature, and sincere, they are not morally wrong ; nor are they 
 exhibited in the scriptures, as objects of divine anger. Accordingly the prayer 
 of the publican, who was, I think, plainly a sinner, was not regarded with mere 
 anger by God ; and was exactly such a prayer as 1 have mentioned ; a prayer 
 for mere mercy and safety. He went down to his house justified rather than the 
 Pharisee, because he had in some important respects, a just sense of his char- 
 acter, and a sincere desire to be delivered from the dangers of it, while the 
 Pharisee had neither." 
 
 [Few orthodox men would probably agree with Dr. Dwight in supposing the 
 publican to represent an unrenewed sinner. He has been generally regarded 
 as a striking example of genuine repentance.] 
 
38 M B M O I R O F 
 
 sin, lie had such discoveries of his own heart, as to impress 
 indelibly upon his mind, a conviction of the entire sinfulness 
 of the religious services of unrenewed men. There was no 
 one point in theology, on which his mind was more fully es- 
 tablished than this"; or on which he more strenuously insisted, 
 during his life, both in the pulpit, and in his conversation with 
 awakened sinners. He considered it a point of great practical 
 importance, and particularly useful in destroying the self- 
 righteous hopes of sinners, and in showing them their utterly 
 lost condition, and entire dependence on the grace of God. 
 This was a weapon which he wielded with great power,, and 
 which seemed to be in his hands, pre-eminently the Sword of 
 the Spirit. 
 
 The following extract of a letter written to his friend Par- 
 mele, soon after he graduated, will show, not only what were 
 his views on this subject at that period, but also how capable 
 he was of defending them. 
 
 " With respect to the works of the unregenerate — of those 
 especially who think they understand the way of salvation by 
 Christ, I would answer a few things. My friend, you know 
 there are various ways (if I may so speak,) of painting truth 
 to the understanding. The actions of the body in the first 
 place, are neither good nor bad in themselves, any more than 
 the rustling of a leaf or the motions of any other matter. 
 What then 1 Why the motions or operations of the heart are 
 the only good or bad actions in the sight of God. God looks 
 on the heart. And it is impossible that any thing should be 
 morally good or bad in any other sense than as God regards 
 it. True, men may call all manner of wickedness, good ; but 
 does giving it the name, by any wonderful process infuse into 
 it the nature of good 1 If not, then let us inquire what God 
 calls good, and what evil. Now I can conceive of only three 
 states in which it is possible for the mind to be, in respect to 
 any object — Love, Hatred or Indifference. Now these are 
 not nice distinctions — finely spun out — they are distinctions 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 39 
 
 which we must understand, or we cannot know what is good, 
 or what is evil in a moral sense. Love, hatred, or indiffer- 
 ence to God as the object, either direetly or indirectly, in 
 ways unaumbered, are the only possible ways of sinning, or 
 doing moral good. 
 
 " 1. Do unregenerate men love God ? If so, then reason 
 says there is no regeneration. ' Everyone that loveth is born 
 of God.' ' God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwell- 
 eth in God and God in him.' It is intuitively evident, then, 
 that if all who love God are regenerated, or born of God, all 
 who are not born of God, do not love him. Besides, all who 
 are not born of God, the scriptures say, are in the flesh. 
 * That which is born of the flesh, is flesh, and that which is 
 born of the spirit, is spirit' ' They that are in the flesh,' or 
 are not born of the spirit, the Apostle says ' cannot please 
 God.' I would ask then, for an answer to this plain question, 
 can he who cannot please God, do anything acceptable to him ? 
 Or does God require him to do what is not acceptable to him 1 
 Should it be said, it may be accepted on account of the merits 
 of Christ ; I would answer, what have those to do with the 
 merits of Christ, or even the name of Christ, who reject him, 
 and who * will not come unto kirn ? ' — who are, the very mo- 
 ment when they pray, in heart his betrayers and murderers ! 
 But it will be said, although they are not regenerate, yet they 
 are well-wishers, — they are seeking earnestly to become chris- 
 tians — they know that without Christ they must forever perish; 
 it would therefore, not only be cruel, but very unjust to'give 
 them the lie, by telling them they reject Christ and are his 
 enemies. Let Christ answer. ' He that is not with me, is 
 against me.' And besides, that they are not regarded for 
 their own doings, nor their doings on account of the merits of 
 Christ, is evident; for it would be as much inconsistent with 
 the moral perfections of God, to regard the doings of the un- 
 regenerate, as it would be if Christ had never died. It is the 
 
40 MEMOIR OF 
 
 same thing with regard to the unregenerate, while they re- 
 main thus, as if Christ had never died. 
 
 " If then, nothing is done acceptable to God where love is 
 absent, it needs no proof to show that what is done in the 
 exercise of hatred, or in indifference, is neither acceptable 
 nor required. But to leave this mode of reasoning, whence 
 is it that those who have good evidence that they are born 
 again, and enjoy the consolations of the divine spirit, renounce 
 the opinion against which I am now contending, and begin to 
 adopt the very language of the blind man when restored to 
 sight, ' now we know that God heareth not sinners V 
 
 " But the reason why the genuine gospel is not received by 
 the unrenewed is as plain as the sun in the heavens. You 
 remember what it is, that ' is not subject to the law of God, 
 neither indeed can be.' The genuine gospel has ever been 
 considered an insult to the public taste. I care not for cor- 
 rectness of sentiment — for natural amiableness or suavity of 
 disposition, and for the whole host of natural affections — 
 wherever the true gospel comes — wherever it is explained 
 and understood, if it be not cordially received and embraced, 
 it will assuredly awaken disgust and provoke abhorrence. 
 Nor can it be otherwise ; for its principal design is to mortify 
 the pride of man, and to display the glory of sovereign 
 grace — to level all human excellence in the dust, and to ele- 
 vate even to thrones of glory, the needy and the wretched — 
 to reject the proud and give grace to the humble. The true 
 gospel pays no respect to the academic, because of his pro- 
 found learning, nor to the moralist, on account of his upright 
 cchrouct. It pays not the least regard to the courtier, because 
 of his pompous honors, nor to the devotee on account of his 
 zeal or his righteousness. No, the potent" prince and the ab- 
 ject slave, the wise philosopher, and the ignorant rustic, the 
 virtuous lady and the infamous prostitute, all stand on the same 
 level in its comprehensive sight. Its business is with the 
 worthless and miserable wherever it finds them. If these be 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 41 
 
 relieved, its end is accomplished — its work is done. To re- 
 ward these is its supreme delight. But the self-sufficient of 
 every rank, are treated by it with the utmost reserve, and be- 
 hold by it with a constant and most steady contempt. The 
 hungry it filleth with good things, but the rich it sendeth emp- 
 ty away. In short, all the fine words which are spoken — 
 the sociability and extreme politeness with which she is 
 treated, and the high commendations [' good master,' ' Lord, 
 Lord,'] with which she is loaded from the good-hearted, well- 
 wishing world, can never provoke her stern and angry counte- 
 nance into a smile, or a single look of complacency. But on 
 the truly contrite, she looks with a cheering smile and a heav- 
 enly countenance, to revive and cheer the drooping heart of 
 the contrite ones. O, glorious gospel, heavenly messenger of 
 good tidings ! Welcome sweet messenger of peace ! Friend, 
 I believe that the Christian who sees his own heart in the 
 light of the gospel, is really and heartily ashamed of his very 
 best performances. Grace hath laid the foundation of the 
 sinner's hope. Grace erects the building, and the head stone 
 thereof shall be brought forth with shoutings, crying grace, 
 grace unto it." 
 
 During his junior year in college, he became acquainted 
 with Samuel J. Mills. This was brought about in the follow- 
 ing manner. Simeon Woodruff, a classmate and intimate 
 friend of Nettleton, happened one vacation to fall in company 
 with Mills, and heard him converse on the subject of missions, 
 and his plans of life. " You talk," said Woodruff, "just like 
 one of my classmates. He says, he intends never to be set- 
 tled, but to be a missionary to the heathen." Mills waS so 
 much interested in this intelligence, that he took a journey to 
 New Haven, on purpose to become acquainted with Nettleton. 
 They spent much time in consultation, and were happy to find 
 a perfect coincidence of views on the subject of missions. 
 Mills informed him of Hall, and others of his acquaintance, 
 who entertained similar views. The next year, Mills having 
 4* 
 
42 
 
 MEMOIR OP 
 
 graduated at Williams' College, spent a few months as a resi- 
 dent graduate at Yale. " His ostensible object," says bis 
 biographer, " was the study of theology; but his real object 
 was to ascertain whether there were not some kindred spirits 
 in this Institution, who could be excited and encouraged in 
 this glorious enterprise." It was not, perhaps, known to his 
 biographer, that there was one kindred spirit in that Institu- 
 tion, with whom he had already become acquainted, and with 
 whom he wished to hold further intercourse. He and Nettle- 
 ton conferred much on the subject, and entered into an agree- 
 ment to avoid all entangling alliances, and to hold themselves 
 in readiness to go to the heathen, whenever God, in his Prov- 
 idence should prepare the way. They also formed the pur- 
 pose of meeting the next year at Andover, and while pursuing 
 their theological studies, to mature their plans of future ac- 
 tion. This purpose, Mr. Nettleton found himself under the 
 painful necessity of abandoning, on account of a debt which 
 he had contracted while obtaining his education ; and which 
 he wished to discharge, as soon as possible. Both he and 
 Mills, felt the disappointment deeply. Mills advised him to 
 make application to some friends to liquidate the debt for 
 him ; but this he was unwilling to do ; and soon after he grad- 
 uated, at the earnest solicitation of Dr. D wight, he accepted 
 the office of Butler in college. This office he held nearly a 
 year, devoting what leisure time he could command, to theo- 
 logical studies. He then repaired to Milford, and put himself 
 under the instruction of the Rev. Bezaleel Pinneo, with 
 whom he remained until he received license to preach the 
 gospel. 
 
 Mr. Pinneo, in a letter to the writer, thus speaks of him. 
 
 " I have no recollection of noticing any thing extraordinary 
 in respect to his piety. I had been acquainted with him be- 
 fore. He was, indeed, while a member of College, consider- 
 ably distinguished for his piety, and strict orthodoxy. He 
 very much disliked Dr. Dwight's idea of the prayers and 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 43 
 
 doings of the unregenerate, being in certain cases without sin, 
 and of a mere neutral character. Doctrinal theology was the 
 great subject of his meditation, study and delight, to which he 
 gave his strength from the first. Nor was it with him a mat- 
 ter of dry speculation. His christian experience grew out of 
 a cordial belief and reception of these doctrines, and was 
 modified by them ; so that his christian character was uncom- 
 monly mature at this period, for one of his years ; or rather 
 I may say, for one who had been no longer in the vineyard. 
 He was not born a sickly puny child, but of uncommon health 
 and vigor, as appears by his not conferring with flesh and 
 blood, but devoting himself to the service of God, in its most 
 self-denying forms ; resolving by the will of God, to preach 
 the gospel to the heathen ; a duty, which at that time, had but 
 just begun to be thought of." 
 
 Mr. Nettleton was licensed to preach, by the West Associ- 
 ation of New Haven county, at the house of the Rev. Dr. 
 Trumbull, in North Haven, May 28th, 1811.* - 
 
 In June, 1810, Messrs. Judson, Nott, Mills and Newell, at 
 that time, members of the Theological Seminary at Andover, 
 presented themselves before the General Association of Mas- 
 sachusetts, in Bradford, and made known their convictions of 
 the duty and importance of personally attempting a mission 
 to the heathen, and requested the advice of the Association. 
 This movement, it is well known, led to the organization of 
 the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. 
 Mr. Nettleton was at this time Butler in Yale College. Had 
 he gone to Andover after he graduated, as he intended, he 
 would doubtless have been one of the company. When he 
 heard what had been done, he lamented with tears, that he 
 could not have been there. He feared that it was an indica- 
 tion of Providence, that he was not to be permitted to become 
 a missionary. His purpose, however, remained steadfast 
 
 * He was ordained as an evangelist, by the South Consociation of Litchfield 
 county, in the summer of 1817. 
 
44 
 
 MEMOIR OF feC. 
 
 The reader is doubtless anxious, by this time, to know why 
 Mr Nettleton did not become a missionary, as he intended. 
 The reasons can be stated in few words. Soon after he be- 
 gan to preach, his labors were crowned with signal success. 
 Wherever he went, the Spirit of God seemed to accompany 
 his preaching. His brethren in the ministry, witnessing the 
 success of his labors, were of opinion that he ought, at least, 
 to delay the execution of his purpose to leave the country. 
 In deference to their opinion, he consented to delay ; and as 
 his labors became increasingly successful, his brethren were 
 more and more convinced that God had called him to labor as 
 an evangelist at home. Still, he never entirely abandoned the 
 idea of a foreign mission, until his health failed in 1822. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 His labors in the eastern part of Connecticut, where he obtains a knowledge of the 
 measures which were adopted by Davenport, and others, in the great revival of 
 1740, and of their results in producing a moral desolation.— His acquaintance with 
 certain evangelists. — His opinion of the expediency of employing evangelises as 
 assistants of settled pastors. 
 
 After receiving license to preach; Mr. Nettleton refused 
 to consider himself a candidate for settlement, because he 
 intended and expected to engage in the missionary service as 
 soon as the Providence of God should prepare the way. 
 He chose therefore to commence his labors in waste places, 
 and in some the most desolate parts of the Lord's vineyard. 
 He accordingly went to the eastern part of Connecticut, on 
 the borders of Rhode Island. Here he preached for a few 
 months, in several places which had long been destitute of 
 settled pastors, and which had been overrun by fanatical sects 
 of various descriptions. In some of these places, there had 
 once been flourishing churches, with excellent pastors ; but 
 they had been made desolate more than half a century before, 
 by the measures which Davenport and other evangelists of 
 that period, introduced. He became acquainted with some 
 aged people, who gave him an account of the proceedings of 
 that day, and of their results as they had been developed in 
 the course of half a century. He also found some pamphlets 
 and books from which he obtained much important informa- 
 tion respecting the disorders which prevailed after the revival 
 of 1740.* He has often spoken with deep interest of this 
 
 * There is a very good account of these disorders in an old pamphlet, con- 
 taining nine sermons by the Rev. Joseph Fish, pastor of a church in Stonington. 
 
46 MEMOIR OF 
 
 period of his labors, and of the use which the information he 
 at that time obtained, was to him in after life. He learned 
 that those who labor as evangelists, even if they have the 
 
 preached in 1763. He seems to have been a sound and faithful minister of the 
 gospel. He was the pastor of a large and nourishing church, which had shared 
 richly in the revival of 1740. But his parish was one of the theatres of Daven- 
 port's operations, the result of which was, as he informs us in his preface, that 
 not less than two-thirds of his congregation withdrew from his ministry, and 
 formed themselves into separate societies. The sermons were preached twenty 
 years after these separations took place, and their object was to make the youth 
 of his flock acquainted with the scenes through which their church and society 
 had passed. As this pamphlet is but little known at the present day, and as 
 the facts which it contains, are well worthy to be preserved, I have thought it 
 might be useful to make a few extracts. 
 
 " About twenty-three or twenty-four years go, there was the most wonderful 
 work of God that ever was known in this part of the world, both for the extent, 
 and visible appearance of it. It seems there was a general thoughtfulness 
 about religion prevailing in the minds of the people, before they made it manifest 
 by word. The ministers of Christ were stirred up to preach with uncommon 
 zeal and solemnity, and the people were as ready to hear with unusual attention, 
 while the things of eternity were charged home to the conscience. 
 
 " The work went on gloriously. The standing ministers, (there being no 
 other then in the land,) became more abundant and fervent in their labors, as 
 they saw their people were attentive to hear. Nor did they labor in vain. 
 Scarce a sermon could be preached, but the hearts of the people, more or less, 
 would be touched, and some deeply affected. While we were thus engaged in 
 religion, a new and surprising scene opened upon us ; even such religious opear- 
 tions and appearances as engaged both the careless, and the serious, to come and 
 see and hear for themselves, In these strange operations, there was a marvellous 
 mixture of almost every thing good and bad — truth and error, chaff and wheat. 
 For while the spirit of God wrought powerfully, Satan raged maliciously, and 
 acted his old subtle part to deceive. This happened, or at least was carried to 
 the highest pitch, under the preaching and ministrations of a wonderful, strange, 
 good man, (the Rev. James Davenport of Long Island,) who visited these parts 
 in the time of our religious concern and awakening; a young man of undoubted 
 real piety, fervent zeal for God, love to souls, and ardent desire to advance the 
 Redeemer' s kingdom. But, (thus it was permitted,) a man, while with us, 
 under the powerful influence of a false spirit, in a great part of his conduct, as 
 many then told him, and as he himself did afterwards acknowledge with deep 
 abasement. Satan taking the advantage of his zeal in religion, transformed 
 himself into an angel of light, and hurried him into extremes ; yea, artfully 
 carried him beside the truth and duty, and beyond the bounds of decency. * 
 * * " The things promoted by him that were evidently and dreadfully wrong, 
 are such as these. He not only gave an unrestrained liberty to noise and outcry 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 47 
 
 best intentions, are in peculiar danger of mistaking false for 
 true zeal ; and of being betrayed into great indiscretions. He 
 learned also, that the imprudences of one evangelist may 
 
 both of distress and joy in time of divine service, but promoted both with all his 
 might." * * * " Those persons that passed immediately from great dis- 
 tress to great joy and delight, (which 'tis true, have their place in religion,) 
 after asking them a few questions, were instantly proclaimed converts, or said 
 to have come to Christ, and upon it the assembly were told that a number, it may 
 be ten or fifteen have come to Christ already, wl» will come next? When (I 
 desire to speak it with sorrow) numbers of such converts, in a little time, returned 
 to their old way of living — were as carnal, wicked, and void of christian expe- 
 rience as ever they were. Again — He was a great favorer of visions, trances f 
 imaginations and powerful impressions upon the mind in others, and made such 
 inward feelings the rule of his conduct in many respects ; especially if the impres- 
 sion came with a text of scripture, which he looked upon to be opened to him at 
 such a time and in such cases, pointing out his duty which he would accordingly 
 pursue. Upon such powerful impressions and openings of scripture, he went 
 to Boston, strongly persuaded that multitudes in that great city, (to use his own 
 expressions,) would be converted by his preaching there. But as Mr. Edwards 
 rightly observes, such circumstances attending religious affections are no sure 
 sign that they are gracious or truly religious. He was a great encourager, if not 
 the first setter up of public exkorters ; not restricting them to the gospel rule or 
 order of brotherly exhortations ; but encouraging any lively zealous christians, (so 
 reputed) to exhort publicly, in full assemblies, with all the air and assurance of 
 ministerial authoritative exhorting ; although they were exceeding raw and 
 unskillful in the word of righteousness, and altogether unequal to the solemn 
 undertaking. However, they being very warm and zealous, spake boldly and 
 freely, [which qualities of speech, by the way, Mr. Edwards judiciously observes, 
 are no sure signs of gracious, religious affections,] and so were highly esteemed 
 — had in admiration, and preferred before the letter learned rabbis, scribes, and 
 Pharisees, and unconverted ministers ; which phrases the good man would frequently 
 use in his sermons, with such peculiar marks, not only of odium, but of indica- 
 tion, as served to beget a jealousy in many of the people's minds, that their 
 ministers were the letter-learned, unconverted teachers which he aimed at. 
 And thus the exhorters came into credit among multitudes of people, who 
 chose rather to hear them than their old teachers, which served directly to puff 
 them up with spiritual pride, and fitted them for the daring undertaking which 
 followed. By these means the standing ministers began to fall in their credit 
 and esteem among the people ; especially among such as were reckoned the 
 foremost christians ; many of whom with the bloated exhorters, began to treat 
 their ministers with such assurance, haughtiness and contempt as plainly spoke 
 their sentiments that they knew more and better how to teach, than they ; espe- 
 cially if the ministers opposed them, or only questioned whether they were 
 right. And thus the seeds of discord and disunion were sown, and a founda- 
 
48 MEMOIR OF 
 
 produce incalculable evils ; evils which will extend through 
 many generations. While surveying these fields of moral 
 desolation, he became deeply impressed with the importance 
 
 tion laid for after separations. But what tended more effectually than all that 
 has been said, to prepare the way for separation was this that followed : This 
 zealous good man, from a sense hopefully at first, of the eminent danger of an 
 unconverted ministry, both to themselves and the people, was betrayed by the 
 false spirit, into that bold, daring enterprise, of going through the country to 
 examine all the •ministers in p*ate, and then publicly to declare his judgment of 
 their spiritual state. And this he did, whenever he could be admitted to examine 
 them. Some that he examined, [though for aught that appeared,] as godly as 
 himself, were pronounced in his public prayers immediately after examination, 
 to be unconverted. And they who declared this design and practice of his to be 
 unscriptural, and so refused to be examined by him, were sure to suffer the same 
 fate ; they were condemned by him as Christless ; or [which amounted to as 
 much with the populace,] he would declare that he had reason to fear they were 
 unconverted ; in which cases, he could ordinarily have no other ground or reason 
 for his fear, than that of their refusing submission to his tribunal. Many good 
 people thinking highly of Mr. Davenport, as though he was authorized from 
 heaven to proceed in this manner, and at the same time, having great regard for 
 their own ministers, seemed even as much concerned lest they should not stand 
 the trial, [when examined,] as if they were going before the judge of all the earth. 
 * * * " Now the counsel of this strange man, which he counselled in those 
 days, was, [like the counsel of Ahithophel,] as if a man had inquired at the oracle 
 of God. Multitudes of honest good people believed every thing that he said, 
 and had such a veneration for all that he did, that if they could quote the word and 
 example of Mr. Davenport, 'twas enough with them to justify any of the wild, 
 unscriptural notions and ways which they through weakness had run into. So 
 that a minister could not gainsay or correct them, under the price of his repu- 
 tation. The things which I have mentioned, [to which many more might doubt- 
 less be added,] were such manifest errors, that even the carnal and ungodly 
 world, could not but see and know they were wrong. And so herein they 
 agreed with some judicious good people and discerning ministers, who opposed 
 them as such. And for this reason, the good and the bad were ranked together, 
 and frequently run upon by those who were zealous for these things, and declared 
 to be opposers of the work of God, and on the enemy's side. He that speaks to 
 you, being an eye and ear witness to all, or the substance of what has been 
 related, is the more free in declaring these things unto you. * * * " Hav- 
 ing gone on a year, or more, [if I mistake not,] in the practices above stated, he 
 was, by the gentle treatment and earnest expostulation of some pious and judi- 
 cious ministers, put upon serious reflection and close examination of his strange 
 conduct in the things which have been related, and others similar to them. 
 And after some months' deliberation, and earnest seeking to the Father of lights, 
 he was deliberately, clearly and fully convinced df his errors. The mask was 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 49 
 
 of a settled ministry. He saw that where there is no settled 
 ministry, the minds of the people become unsettled in regard 
 to religious truth, and they are easily carried about by " every 
 wind of doctrine ;" that errorists of every description come 
 
 thrown aside — the delusions of satan appeared to him in their own horrid light ; 
 and the dreadful consequences of his awful mistakes, filled him with deep 
 concern. He was made sensible of the injury he had done to ministers and 
 churches ; how he had broke the order of the gospel by causing divisions and 
 offences ; and on the whole, that he had brought reproach on the glorious work 
 of God, and endangered the souls of men. For these things he was deeply 
 abased ; humbled himself before the Lord, and lay in the dust. Hereupon he 
 returned and visited many of the places where he had so grievously erred 
 and offended, to see if he might by any means repair the damage he had done. 
 When he came to this town, it was with such a mild, pleasant, meek and humble 
 spirit, broken and contrite, as I scarce ever saw exceeded or even equalled. 
 He not only owned his fault in private, and in a most christian manner asked 
 forgiveness of some ministers whom he had before treated amiss, but in a large 
 assembly, made a public recantation of his errors and mistakes, and particularly 
 mentioned and declared against some, if not all that I have exposed in this nar- 
 rative, as well as others that I have not mentioned. He gave a full and solemn 
 testimony to the work of God that was carried on in the land, by the outpouring 
 of his blessed Spirit, in those things that were really and properly God's work ; 
 and said that he doubted not but that he, though [as he added] most unworthy, 
 had been made an instrument for the saving good of many souls ; but he declared 
 with all humility and openness of heart, that in many things, such as above, he 
 had grievously erred. He told us how the Lord had led him to a sight of his 
 errors, and convinced him fully that he had been under the powerful influence 
 of the false spirit; though in the time of its operation, he verily thought 'twas 
 the spirit of God in a high degree. Thus the good man, [no longer the noisy, 
 boisterous, rash and censorious Davenport, but the meek, humble, and yet the 
 fervent man of God,] confessed, bewailed, and warned against the errors which 
 he had unhappily spread and promoted. How great and how happy the change ! 
 But how is he now received and hearkened to by those zealous people, who, in 
 the time of his wildness and false zeal, were ready to adore him? Why, verily, 
 they that were not convinced of their own, and his former mistakes, were far 
 from being pleased by his present conduct. They saw that he was turned 
 against them, that is, against some of their darling principles and ways, and 
 thought that he was now become their enemy, in those things wherein he only told 
 them the truth. They now looked upon him to be cold, dead and lifeless — that 
 he had got away from God, and joined in a great measure with the world of 
 opposers, and carnal ministers. In a word, they were sadly disappointed, sorely 
 vexed, or disquieted in their spirits, grievously offended, [that is, numbers of 
 them] and on the whole, they all rejected his message." pp. 1]4 — 128. 
 5 
 
50 
 
 MEMOIR O F 
 
 in and occupy the ground, and that when there is any religious 
 excitement among them, it is peculiarly liable to run into the 
 wildest fanaticism. In the minds of a people thus situated, 
 religion and fanaticism become identified. They know of no 
 other kind of religion, and of course, they seek and expect 
 no other. He found that the churches which had been made 
 desolate by the labors of Davenport and his coadjutors half a 
 century before, had remained desolate until that time — that 
 there still existed among the people, the most violent preju- 
 dices against settled pastors, and all regular ecclesiastical 
 organizations. He saw that the same self-righteous and 
 denunciatory spirit which first rent and scattered the churches, 
 was still prevalent, and that those measures which accompany 
 and promote fanaticism ; such as calling persons to the anx- 
 ious seat, requesting them to rise to be prayed for, or to signify 
 that they had given their hearts to God ; encouraging females 
 to exhort and pray in promiscuous assemblies, &c, were still 
 rife among them. These measures were adopted in these 
 waste places, not only by Methodists, Freewill Baptists and 
 Christ-ians, but by Congregationalists. 
 
 It is proper here to state, that there were, at that period, 
 some evangelists of our own denomination, (not unlike some 
 more modern evangelists,) who were in the habit of visiting 
 these waste places, and who imbibed and encouraged the 
 spirit above described. Some of these evangelists appeared 
 to be good men ; but they were greatly deficient in prudence, 
 and were often impelled by a false zeal. They were usually 
 found arrayed against settled pastors, and their influence went 
 to promote the interests of the fanatical sects, with which 
 they were in the habit of co-operating in their religious meet- 
 ings. These evangelists, and those with whom they associa- 
 ted, perceiving that Mr. Nettleton was a young man of zeal, 
 took great pains to draw him into their views, and to infuse 
 into his mind prejudices against settled pastors, by insinuating 
 that they were enemies to revivals, and thus to secure his co- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 5l 
 
 operation in their radical movements. But he at once per- 
 ceived, that they were actuated by a wrong spirit, and that the 
 course which they were pursuing, was adapted not to pro- 
 mote, but to injure the cause of religion. He saw that the 
 whole weight of their influence was employed to increase and 
 perpetuate the prejudices of the people against sound doc- 
 trine, and ecclesiastical order ; and that so far from repair- 
 ing the wastes of Zion, they were only making them more 
 desolate. 
 
 The knowledge which he obtained while laboring in this 
 region, led him to entertain great respect for the pastoral 
 office. He was convinced that without a settled ministry, 
 there could be no rational prospect of building up churches, 
 or of enjoying genuine revivals of religion ; that flocks scat- 
 tered upon the mountains with no faithful shepherd to watch 
 and feed them, would become the prey of " ravening wolves." 
 He became also convinced that a tremendous responsibility 
 rests upon those who labor as evangelists ; and that it is their 
 duty not to weaken the hands of settled pastors, but to do all 
 in their power to strengthen them. This lesson was of im- 
 mense importance to him, in preparing him for that course of 
 labor to which he was destined ; and it is doubtless one reason 
 why he was enabled to shun those indiscretions into which 
 most evangelists have fallen. 
 
 We have seen how Mr. Nettleton came to be an evangel- 
 ist. His brethren persuaded him to relinquish for a season 
 his favorite and long cherished purpose of becoming a mis- 
 sionary to the heathen ; and the time never came, while he 
 had health and strength to labor as an evangelist, when they 
 thought it would be right for him to relinquish an employ- 
 ment in which God was favoring him with such signal suc- 
 cess. While engaged in this employment, it was his desire 
 to confine his labors to waste places, and destitute congrega- 
 tions ; and it was not without great reluctance, and much 
 solicitation, that he consented to labor as an assistant to set- 
 
52 MEMOIR OF 
 
 tied pastors. He was never complained of for thrusting him- 
 self into parishes where his assistance was not desired ; but 
 the complaint continually was, that it was so difficult to obtain 
 him. The late Dr. Porter of Andover, thus speaks of him in 
 his letters on revivals. 
 
 " About the close of the period which I attempted to de- 
 scribe in former letters, the Rev. Asahel Nettleton devoted 
 himself to the work of an evangelist. With his eminent 
 qualifications for this work, and usefulness in it, I presume 
 you are well acquainted. The fact, however, which it is 
 especially to my present purpose to mention, and which prob- 
 ably many of you do not know, is, that this distinguished itin- 
 erant found no difficulty to labor with stated pastors without 
 making himself their rival. If, in any instance, he could not 
 conscientiously coincide in the views, or co-operate in the 
 measures of a pastor, among whose charge he was invited to 
 labor, he did not sow dissension in that church, nor seek to 
 detach their affections from their minister, but quietly with- 
 drew to another place. The consequence was, that the visits 
 of this devoted servant of Christ, were always sought, and never 
 dreaded, nor regretted by ministers or churches." 
 
 An instance, probably, cannot be mentioned, in which the 
 influence of Mr. Nettleton led to the dismission of a pastor , 
 but many instances might be mentioned, in which he was 
 instrumental in strengthening the hands of pastors. He would 
 tr«at ministers with such kindness, and speak of them with 
 such respect, as to make the impression on the minds of their 
 people, that they were worthy of their confidence ; and thus 
 not a few, who had almost lost their influence, were firmly 
 reinstated in the affections of their people. In this way he 
 exhibited great wisdom ; and when in connection with this 
 fact, we take into consideration the success of his labors, it is 
 not surprising that his visits were so highly prized by minis- 
 ters and churches. 
 
 Having already somewhat anticipated the course of events, 
 
DR. NETTLET0N. 53 
 
 it may not, perhaps, be improper to mention in this place, that 
 although the labors of Mr. Nettleton, as an evangelist, were 
 instrumental of such abounding good, unmingled, so far as 
 could be seen, with any evil ; yet he himself became convin- 
 ced that it would be unwise for the churches to adopt the 
 system of supporting an order of evangelists, as assistants to 
 settled pastors. He remembered what he had learned re- 
 specting the operations of Davenport and their results ; also 
 the false zeal, and improper spirit manifested by certain itin- 
 erants with whom he became acquainted when he began to 
 preach ; and in addition to these things, he found that certain 
 zealous young men were coming forward every year as evan- 
 gelists, who by rashness and imprudence, were doing injury 
 to the cause of religion. These things convinced him that 
 if this description of laborers were systematically employed, 
 more evil than good might confidently be expected as the 
 result. 
 
 He has often been heard to say, that a few men might be 
 very usefully employed as evangelists, if we could be sure of 
 obtaining men of the right character — men of discretion, who 
 would co-operate with settled pastors, and aid them in putting 
 down irregularities, and promoting order. But believing that 
 most who engage in this service, would be men of a different 
 character, he discouraged the idea of bringing forward and 
 supporting an order of such laborers. This accounts for the 
 stand which he took on this subject in 1820. In that year 
 the General Association of Connecticut appointed. a commit- 
 tee to take into consideration the subject of increasing minis- 
 terial labor in the several congregations in our connection. 
 When that committee met they invited Mr. Nettleton to meet 
 with them, and requested his opinion as to the expediency of 
 introducing and supporting an order of evangelists. He was 
 told that if he would consent to act as an evangelist for the 
 State, and locate himself in New Haven, in that capacity, the 
 churches would undoubtedly give him an ample support. He 
 
54 MEMOIR or 
 
 remarked that he had never yet received a dollar from any be- 
 nevolent society, or public association, and that he did not 
 choose to labor in this way. He moreover gave it as his 
 opinion, that it would be inexpedient to introduce and support 
 an order of evangelists. He foresaw the evils that would be 
 likely to grow out of the system, if it were made permanent ; 
 and they were the very evils which were afterwards so stri- 
 kingly realized in some parts of the country. Through his 
 influence the project was abandoned. 
 
 In a letter to the Rev. Lavius Hyde, dated Aug. 24, 1829, 
 he thus alludes to the facts above stated. 
 
 '• The course which I have pursued as an evangelist, is one 
 that 1 never dreamed of, as I suppose you know ; having de- 
 signed to be a foreign missionary, from the time I first thought 
 of entering the ministry. I feel grieved and sick, when I 
 think of some who wish to be evangelists, because they are 
 unfit for settled pastors. I have long seen and deplored the 
 evil. Did I inform you that at a meeting of a committee of 
 the General Association of Connecticut, in 1820, a proposition 
 was made to send out a number of evangelists, as the best 
 means of promoting revivals of religion, and that I objected 1 — 
 that they proposed to give me a salary of $1000, annually, 
 and that I declined receiving any thing in that line ? " 
 
CHAPTER IV- 
 
 His labors in Derby, South Britain, South Salem, Danbury, Monroe, North Lyme, 
 Hadlyme, Bloomfield, Milton, South Farms, Chester, East Granby, Bolton, Man- 
 chester, West Granby. 
 
 Of the effects of Mr. Nettleton's labors, during the few- 
 months which he spent in the eastern part of Connecticut, I 
 am not able to speak particularly. I have understood, gener- 
 ally, that they were not altogether in vain ; that some souls 
 were awakened and hopefully converted to Christ. But for 
 reasons stated in the preceding chapter, he found it to be an 
 unpromising field of labor. 
 
 He afterwards preached several Sabbaths in Derby, with 
 some success. A few individuals received impressions which 
 issued, as was believed, in a saving conversion to God. 
 
 In the fall of 1812, having received an invitation to preach 
 in South Salem, New York, he stopped on his way thither, 
 at South Britain, Conn., where the author of this memoir then 
 resided. This was the commencement of their acquaintance ; 
 an acquaintance, which soon ripened into an endeared friend- 
 ship that lasted through life. There was at that time, a very 
 interesting revival of religion in South Britain. This induced 
 him to prolong his visit for one week. He preached on the 
 Sabbath, and attended several other religious meetings, besides 
 visiting with the pastor from house to house, and conversing 
 with those who were anxious for their souls. His labors 
 were very acceptable to the people, and there is reason to ' 
 believe that they were blessed to the saving good of some souls. 
 
56 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 His manner at this time, was somewhat peculiar, but not 
 so much so, as to injure his usefulness. His address at the 
 first meeting which he attended, will not soon be forgotten by 
 those who heard it. It was in a school house, crowded with 
 people, not a few of whom were under deep conviction of 
 sin. As he arose, being an entire stranger, every eye was 
 fixed upon him, and a breathless silence pervaded the assem- 
 bly. With great solemnity he looked upon the congregation, 
 and thus began. " What is that murmur which I hear ? — 1 
 wish I had a new heart. What shall I do ? — They tell rae to 
 repent — I can't repent — I wish they would give me some other 
 direction." He thus went on for a short time, personating the 
 awakened sinner, and bringing out the feelings of his heart. 
 He then changed the form of his address, and in a solemn 
 and affectionate manner, appealed to the consciences of his 
 hearers, and showed them that they must repent or perish, 
 that it was their reasonable duty to repent immediately, and 
 that ministers could not direct them to any thing short of 
 repentance, without being unfaithful to their souls. The ad- 
 dress produced a thrilling effect, and served greatly to deepen 
 the convictions of those who were anxious. 
 
 During the week that he remained in South Britain, he 
 took a lively interest in the revival which was in progress, 
 and he left the place with his heart glowing with love to 
 souls, and with ardent desires that God would give him grace 
 to be faithful to the people among whom he was going to 
 labor. From that time, for ten years, it was his happy lot, 
 to be employed almost constantly in revivals of religion. 
 
 He went to South Salem. The church was destitute of a 
 pastor, and was in a cold and backslidden state. Great spir- 
 itual apathy existed in the congregation. He preached on the 
 Sabbath, and appointed one or two evening meetings in the 
 course of the week. His preaching produced an immediate 
 solemnity on the minds of the people ; and in the course of a 
 fortnight, there was a development of feeling, which made 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 57 
 
 it apparent that the Spirit of God was operating on many 
 minds. At the close of one of his evening meetings, several 
 youths repaired to his lodgings in deep distress, to inquire 
 what they must do to be saved. He pointed them to Christ, 
 and with affectionate earnestness, urged them immediately to 
 repent and believe the gospel. The next day, in visiting 
 from house to house, he found others under deep religious 
 impressions. The seriousness soon spread through the place, 
 and the subject of religion became the engrossing topic of 
 conversation. In the course of one or two weeks from this 
 time, several were found rejoicing in hope. He was exceed- 
 ingly anxious lest they should take up with a false and spuri- 
 ous hope. He warned them of the danger of self-deception, 
 reminded them of the deceitfulness of the human heart, and 
 pointed out the various ways in which persons are liable to 
 deceive themselves. He also exhibited with great plainness 
 the distinguishing marks of genuine conversion. The work 
 became powerful, and increased wzth rapidity, and in the 
 course of a few weeks, a large number gave pleasing evi- 
 dence of having passed from death unto life. 
 
 After about two months, he left the place. He did this, 
 partly, because the people began to take measures to give him 
 a call to settle with them as their pastor. Having devoted 
 himself to a missionary life, he was determined to listen to 
 no such call. Another reason which induced him to leave, 
 was, the presumption that the work after having made such 
 progress, might be expected to continue, as well without his 
 labors, as with them. In this respect, he committed an error, 
 as he was afterwards convinced. In the early part of his 
 ministry, he thought that he might accomplish the most good 
 by laboring only a short time in a place — that when a revival 
 had commenced, he might safely commit it to the care of 
 others, and retire to a new field. But experience taughfehim 
 that this was not the way to be most useful. He found it 
 
58 
 
 MEMO IB OF 
 
 important to prolong his labors, when God was rendering 
 them effectual to the salvation of souls. 
 
 After he left South Salem, he preached a few Sabbaths in 
 Danbury, a town in the western part of Connecticut. Here 
 a work of grace immediately commenced, and several inter- 
 esting cases of conversion occurred. Here, too, the people 
 began to adopt measures to obtain him for their pastor, which 
 induced him to leave sooner than he otherwise would have 
 done. He afterwards expressed his regret that he did not re- 
 main longer in Danbury, as there was every appearance of 
 the commencement of a great and glorious revival. The 
 work made but little progress after his departure. 
 
 From Danbury, he went to Monroe. Here, also, success 
 attended his labors. To what extent, I am not able to state — 
 nor have I been able to learn how long he labored in this 
 place. It was, however, but a short time. He preached 
 there occasionally, afterwards, and often spoke with interest 
 of the young converts, and particularly of one, whose tri- 
 umphant death he was called to witness. 
 
 In the spring of 1813, he visited North Lyme, a parish 
 near the mouth of the Connecticut river. The church was 
 destitute of a pastor. There was no special seriousness 
 when he commenced his labors. But a deep solemnity soon 
 pervaded the congregation, and in three or four weeks, a large 
 number were anxiously enquiring what they must do to be 
 saved. He remained in this place longer than in any of the 
 places in which he had previously resided ; and " much peo- 
 ple," in the judgment of charity, were " added unto the Lord." 
 
 While in North Lyme, he spent considerable time in assist- 
 ing the Rev.-«Mr. Vail, pastor of the church in Hadlyme 
 Here too, his 'labors were greatly blessed to the quickening 
 of Grid's people, and to the awakening and conversion of 
 sinnfirs. 
 
 In the summer of 1813, he preached four Sabbaths in 
 Bloomfield. In this place, as in others, the Spirit of God 
 
DR.. NETTLETON. 59 
 
 accompanied his labors, and several interesting cases of 
 hopeful conversion occurred. 
 
 In the autumn of 1813, he commenced his labors in 
 Milton, a parish in the west part of the town of Litchfield. 
 This was a waste place. The people were not only without 
 a pastor, but had become so weakened by divisions, and by 
 the loss of their parish fund, that they almost despaired of 
 ever enjoying again, the privilege of a preached gospel. Dr. 
 Beecher, who was at that time pastor of the church in Litch- 
 field, and another neighboring minister, agreed to solicit funds 
 in their respective congregations, to support a preacher, for a 
 season, in Milton. Having entered into this arrangement, 
 they made application to Mr. Nettleton. In the mean time, 
 the churches in the vicinity were requested to remember that 
 people particularly in their prayers. In conformity with the 
 arrangement, Mr. Nettleton came, and called on Dr. Beecher. 
 It was the first time that they had met. " Thou hast well 
 done," said Dr. Beecher, " that thou art come." " I ask,"said 
 Mr. Nettleton, " for what intent ye have sent for me ?" " To 
 hear all things that are commanded thee of God," said Dr. 
 Beecher. On Friday, by the direction of Dr. Beecher, Mr. 
 Nettleton took lodgings at the house of one of the members 
 of his church, who lived on the borders of Milton. The 
 next day, notice was sent to the people that they might ex- 
 pect preaching on the Sabbath. This was entirely unexpect- 
 ed by the people, as they were ignorant of the efforts which 
 had been made in their behalf. On Sabbath morning, Mr. 
 Nettleton repaired to the place, and preached to a very small 
 congregation. There were but few professors of religion in 
 the place, and they were in a lukewarm state, and very great 
 indifference to the subject of religion prevailed among the 
 people at large. At the close of public worship, one of the 
 people, very reluctantly, as he afterwards confessed, invited 
 Mr. Nettleton to his house, because there was no other indi- 
 vidual who was disposed to do it. In this house, he found a 
 
60 MEMOIR o; 
 
 pleasant home.; and it proved to be like the house of Obede- 
 dora, which God blessed. Salvation came indeed to this 
 house, and the family were much more unwilling to part with 
 their guest, than they had been to receive him. 
 
 The curiosity of the people was soon excited, and they 
 flocked together to hear the stranger who had come so unex- 
 pectedly among them. At the close of one of his evening 
 meetings, he informed them, that he had been requested to 
 come and labor with them for a season, and he wished them 
 to pray for a revival of religion, adding, " whether you do or 
 not, it is possible there may be one, for christians in other 
 places have agreed to pray for you." This produced great 
 solemnity. Several went from that meeting in deep distress. 
 It was soon manifest, that God was in the place, of a truth. 
 The work increased rapidly and became very powerful. It 
 was characterized by remarkably clear and distressing convic- 
 tions of sin. The subjects had a vivid sense of the opposi- 
 tion of their hearts to God, and in some instances, their dis- 
 tress was overwhelming. On one evening, two or three indi- 
 viduals were in such horror of mind, that it became necessary 
 to remove them from the meeting, to a neighboring house. 
 This, for the moment, created some confusion, but order was 
 soon restored, when Mr. N. addressed the people in the fol- 
 lowing manner. " It may, perhaps, be new to some of you, 
 that there should be such distress for sin. But there was 
 great distress on the day of Pentecost, when thousands were 
 pricked in the heart, and cried out, ' men and brethren, what 
 shall we do.' Some of you may, perhaps, be ready to say, 
 if this is religion, we wish to have nothing to do with it. My 
 friends, this is not religion. Religion does not cause its sub- 
 jects to feel and act thus. These individuals are thus dis- 
 tressed, not because they have religion, but because they have 
 no religion, and have found it out. It was so od the day of 
 Pentecost. The thousands who were pricked in their heart, 
 had found that they had no religion, and were unprepared to 
 
DE. NETTLETON. t> 
 
 meet their God. They had made the discovery that they 
 were lost sinners, and that their souls were in jeopardy every 
 hour." These may not be the precise words, but such was 
 the substance of his address. It produced a salutary effect. 
 It served to check what would be the natural result of mere 
 sympathy on such an occasion, and also to stop the mouths of 
 those who might be disposed to cavil". I would here remark, 
 that in most of the revivals under Mr. Nettleton's preaching, 
 there were cases of overwhelming distress. But this distress 
 was not the result of mere sympathy, but of clear conviction 
 of sin ; and in almost all cases, it soon terminated in a peace- 
 ful and joyful hope of salvation. 
 
 Mr. Nettleton labored in Milton three or four months, dur- 
 ing which time a large number became hopefully subjects of 
 renewing grace. The wastes of Zion were repaired. The 
 things which were ready to die, were strengthened, and there 
 was great joy in that place. 
 
 It has been mentioned that Dr. Beecher and another neigh- 
 boring minister, agreed to collect funds for the support of Mr. 
 N. while preaching in Milton. Some money was collected 
 for this purpose, but he refused to receive it. The people had 
 made him some presents in clothing, and with this he was 
 satisfied. " Having food and raiment," he was " therewith 
 content. "* 
 
 While he was at Milton, some young people from South 
 Farms, (a parish in the south part of Litchfield,) attended his 
 meetings, and were awakened by his preaching. This pre- 
 pared the way for him to visit that place, which he did in the 
 latter part of the winter. He continued there, laboring with 
 great success, for several months. 
 
 * It may be proper here to remark, that during the ten years that Mr. N. was 
 laboring in revivals, he received as a compensation for his services, barely suf- 
 ficient to defray his expenses. When he was taken sick in 1822, he was found 
 to be entirely destitute, and money was collected by his friends in different 
 places, to defray the expenses of his sickness. 
 6 
 
62 MEMOIR OF 
 
 An account of this revival was written by James Morris, 
 Esq., an intelligent and pious gentleman, who resided in that 
 place, and who for many years sustained a high reputation as 
 a teacher of youth. The account was never published, but 
 the manuscript has been carefully preserved, and has been 
 kindly submitted to my inspection. The narrative is very 
 particular. It gives the names and age of eighty individuals, 
 the time of each one's hopeful conversion, and some account 
 of the religious exercises of almost all of them. 
 
 A few extracts will be interesting to the reader. 
 
 " The revival of religion began in South Farms in February 
 or March, 1814. Praised be God for his glorious work of 
 redeeming love in the ingathering of his elect. The follow- 
 ing persons are hopefully brought out of darkness into God's 
 marvelous light, and are made heirs of God and joint heirs of 
 Jesus Christ, the dear Redeemer. How astonishing is the 
 work of the Divine Spirit, the Sanctifier and Comforter, in 
 bringing God's chosen from the bondage of sin and Satan, 
 and prostrating them at the foot of the cross. Some have 
 been called from among the most dissipated, thoughtless and 
 gay ; and from seventy years of age, down to school children. 
 Some from the haunts of sensuality, profaneness and intem- 
 perance, now apparently sing with understanding the songs 
 of redeeming love. 
 
 The first was A S , a young female eighteen 
 
 years of age. She had her first impressions in Milton in the 
 month of January or February. She continued in a state of 
 anxious inquiry until the last of February, when she enter- 
 tained a hope that she had met with a change of heart. She 
 professes to enjoy religion. This was the first instance of 
 awakening in this place." 
 
 " R H , aged nineteen years, after a conflict of 
 
 serious impressions and opposition of heart, for about six 
 weeks, was, apparently, on the 20th of April, renewed in 
 heart. The first evangelical exercise that she had any know- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 63 
 
 'edge of, according to her own acconnt, was benevolence to 
 her fellow men. She would that all men might be saved, 
 even if she was lost. The divine law appeared to her holy, 
 just and good. She felt submissive to the divine will — a dis- 
 position to resign herself into the hands of God, feeling that 
 the judge of all the earth would do right. She thus continued 
 till Friday, the 22d, when returning from a religious meeting, 
 she felt a love to God on account of the excellency of his 
 character. She loved holiness for holiness' sake. She then 
 hated sin, because in its own nature, it is odious. This was 
 the first time that she had those consolations that the world 
 cannot give nor take away. Here she dates her hope, and 
 rejoices in God her Saviour." 
 
 " B C , aged 20 years, having had frequent chi- 
 
 dings of conscience at times for more than a year past, hopes 
 that on the 1 4th of April she was born of the Spirit, and that 
 she is now reconciled to God. Christ appears to her alto- 
 gether lovely, and the chiefest among ten thousand. Her first 
 gracious exercises appeared to be, love to the brethren, love 
 to God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. She hates sin 
 because it is exceeding sinful. She appears to have clear 
 views of her own native depravity, and of the obstinacy of 
 her will. She wonders at and adores the patience and long- 
 suffering of God, that she had not been long ago consigned to 
 everlasting despair." 
 
 " N L , aged 14 years, after sundry weeks of op- 
 position of heart to all moral good, and hating the truth, and 
 avoiding all good people, was made to yield up her willful per- 
 verseness of heart to God, and to submit to the terms of the 
 gospel. The first exercise of her mind was that of love to 
 all good people.'' 
 
 " R C , aged 20, having experienced distressing 
 
 convictions of sin, with an uncommon load on her heart, and 
 with a high sense of the malignant nature of sin, experienced, 
 as she believed, divine consolations, on the evening of the 
 
64 MEMOIR OF 
 
 15th of April. It was while returning home from a confer- 
 ence, that the burden of sin was removed, as she hoped, and 
 the love of God was shed abroad in her soul. She retired to 
 her chamber, and took her Bible, and opened it at the 103d 
 Psalm, and read, ' Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is 
 within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, 
 and forget not all his benefits, <S/-c.' She poured out her soul 
 to God, in gratitude and praise. She perseveres in her 
 grateful remembrance of the goodness of God, and hopes 
 that she shall live to his honor and glory the remainder of 
 her life.'' 
 
 " J S , aged 37 years, was naturally a passionate 
 
 man. He lived in open sin and profaneness, from his youth. 
 He hated to read the Bible, and to attend meeting on the Sab- 
 bath. He hated to hear religious conversation, and avoided 
 religious instruction. He was of an independent spirit, and 
 impiously heaven-daring. Yet the religious instruction he 
 had received from his mother, could not be wholly effaced 
 from his memory. He often had chidings of conscience, and 
 was often filled with remorse ; but to drive all this from his 
 mind, he would throw himself into vain, sensual and dissipated 
 company. He never offered a prayer in his family. His 
 mouth was often filled with profane oaths, and the most im- 
 pious imprecations on himself. His torments of mind increas- 
 ing upon him, he resolved to put an end to his dreadfully 
 profane and wicked life. He accordingly procured a large 
 dose of arsenic, and laid it up for that purpose. In the mean 
 time, he had a dreadful struggle in his mind. His purpose, he 
 thought, must be put in execution, and it seemed to him that 
 the torments of a future world for sin, could not exceed the 
 pain of mind which he felt. In this dreadful struggle, the pride 
 of his heart was subdued, and he was made to bow at the 
 footstool of sovereign grace on the 10th day of March. Traits 
 of humility, self-abasement, and abhorrence of sin, in no man 
 appear more conspicuous. He admires, and adores, that such 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 65 
 
 an awful, heaven-daring, and heaven-despising wretch, should 
 be plucked as a brand out of the fire. He is altogether sub- 
 missive, and his life is a life of prayer." 
 
 " L O W , aged 12 years, on the 10th day 
 
 of May was hopefully delivered from the thraldom -of sin and 
 satan. She experienced a singular conflict and conviction of 
 sin for about a week. Her distress was seemingly too great 
 to be long endured. Her cry was, ' Oh, what a dreadful hard 
 heart.' ' Oh, it seems as if I was in hell.' Her conflict wore 
 upon her bodily frame like a violent attack of fever. In this 
 youth it was clearly manifested, that when the Holy Ghost, 
 the comforter, is come, he will convince the world of sin, of 
 righteousness, and of judgment. A person who had experien- 
 ced a change of heart, and who had seen this child through all 
 her trials and conflicts, would be led to conclude that the 
 change in her is a real one. She possessed less guile than 
 those of maturer years. There was no dissembling. And 
 when grace was planted in her soul, she did not seem to know 
 it. The first effect that it produced, was a calm serenity of 
 mind. She did not know why she felt so. She continued so 
 for some hours, not knowing but her dreadful distress would 
 return upon her. She took her Bible and perused it, which 
 the day before she perfectly hated, because looking into it 
 increased her torments. This calm serenity appeared in the 
 morning when she arose. She thus continued till towards 
 noon, when she informed me that she loved God — that the 
 Bible was a new book to her — that she loved to read it — that 
 the world did not appear to her as it did before — that all was 
 new. She took me by the hand, and said, she loved me, and 
 loved all God's creatures because God made them. She said 
 she knew that she was a great sinner. She wondered how 
 she could so willfully oppose God so long. God was right and 
 reasonable, and she was altogether wrong in being so stubborn 
 and perverse. She said she was willing to submit herself 
 into the hands of God, for God would do right with her. She 
 
66 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 knew that it would be just if God should send her to hell. 
 Here, submission seemed to be her first evangelical exercise, 
 and then, love to the brethren." 
 
 " Widow A C , aged 50, fixes on the 3rd day of 
 
 May as the time when she hopes that her heart was renewed 
 by the spirit of grace. She had long before entertained a 
 hope, founded on her good works. She had never before be- 
 lieved in total depravity. She believed that to live uprightly, 
 and deal fairly and honestly with mankind, was sufficient to 
 entitle her to salvation. But at this time, she found that her 
 former hopes were nothing, and that Jbier righteousness was 
 but filthy rags. She now feels that all her hope is in Christ. 
 She is full in her belief of all the great doctrines of grace. 
 She places her confidence in God through Christ, relying on 
 the promises." 
 
 " Widow S H , aged 70 years, after having lived to 
 
 the common age of man, without the fear of God before her 
 eyes, was at this period of life, hopefully brought out of dark- 
 ness into God's marvelous light. She was of French de- 
 scent, and came into this State at the age of 12 years. She 
 never was taught to read or write. She married at the age 
 of 20 years, a man of the world, a stranger to common mo- 
 rality. She is the mother of four children, who grew up 
 without any religious instruction. But this aged woman now 
 gives evidence of a change of heart, even at the last part of 
 the eleventh hour. She appears to rejoice exceedingly in the 
 wonderful display of God's benevolence in the ingathering of 
 his elect. Her last days appear to be emphatically her best 
 days, and her last comforts, the sweetest comforts of her 
 life." 
 
 " F E , aged 20 years, after quarreling with the 
 
 doctrines of grace, and having heart-risings against the divine 
 sovereignty and the doctrine of God's electing grace, hopes, 
 that sometime in the latter part of June, his stubborn heart 
 was subdued. He still continues resigned and submissive. 
 
DR. NJGTTLETON. 67 
 
 and appears to enjoy the consolations of religion. Buthe-re- 
 joices with fear and trembling, lest his heart should deceive 
 him." 
 
 " S W , aged 26 years, hopes that he is reconciled 
 
 to God and his law. His heart has been much opposed to 
 the great doctrines of grace ; but now, he says, things appear 
 right and reasonable. These views of divine things, have 
 happened to him since the revival commenced, in March, but 
 he cannot tell the time, when the change took place. But he 
 can say, ' whereas I was once blind, now I see.' " 
 
 " J B , son of E B , aged nearly 13 years. 
 
 On the last Sabbath in May, or the first Sabbath in June, 
 his mother went to meeting, and charged him and her other 
 child to be good children, and not to play, but read their books. 
 His father went to a distant field to see about his cattle. Be- 
 fore noon, this / was smitten with deep conviction of 
 
 sin. He continued in a distressed state about 24 hours, with- 
 out food or sleep. His mind seemed to be overwhelmed with 
 a sense of the dreadful nature of sin, as committed against 
 God. Something happened to him at the end of 24 hours, 
 which caused him to wipe away his tears, to wash himself, 
 and cheerfully to partake of some food. ' It is now about two 
 months since this happened. He has been, from that time to 
 this, remarkably calm and serene in his mind. He answers 
 questions rationally — says that he loves God and hates sin. 
 He fails not of his daily devotions and reading the Bible, and 
 has altogether a change of deportment. He appears to have 
 a sense of the evil nature of sin. The duties of the Sabbath 
 and the sanctuary, appear to be his delight. It is apparent 
 to all who know this youth, that a great change has taken 
 place in him. From being passionate, petulant, perverse, and 
 stubborn, he is now humble, meek, patient, forbearing, and 
 forgiving." 
 
 These few instances, taken from many similar to them, re- 
 corded in this narrative, will serve to give the reader some 
 
68 MEMOIR OF 
 
 idea of the character, not only of this revival, but of the re- 
 vivals generally, thirty years ago. The subjects of this revi- 
 val so far as I have been able to learn, with few exceptions, 
 continued to adorn the christian profession. 
 
 Sometime in the spring of 1814, Mr. Nettleton left South 
 Farms, and repaired to North Killingworth, greatly exhausted 
 by his labors, and intending to rest for a season. At this time 
 the people of Chester, a neighboring parish, were destitute 
 of a minister ; their pastor, the Rev. Mr. Mills, having died a 
 short time before. It being known in Chester, that Mr. Net- 
 tleton was at home, application was made to him to attend a 
 funeral in that place. He at first declined, assigning as the 
 reason, that he was greatly exhausted by his labors and needed 
 rest. The man who came after him, as he turned to go away, 
 burst into tears. This so affected Mr. Nettleton, that he con- 
 cluded to go. He attended the funeral, and at the close of 
 it, he gave notice that he would meet the young people in the 
 evening, at the house of their late pastor. A large number 
 assembled, and the meeting was very solemn. Such were 
 the indications of the special presence of God among the 
 people, that he was induced, notwithstanding the state of his 
 health, to continue with them a considerable time, and had 
 the satisfaction to witness a very interesting work of divine 
 grace. 
 
 In the autumn of 1814, Mr. Nettleton commenced his 
 labors in East Granby. This was a waste place. The 
 moral condition of the people was exceedingly deplorable. 
 But God saw fit to turn again the captivity of Zion. Under 
 Mr. Nettleton's preaching, there was a very interesting revival 
 of religion. He preached here till some time in the winter, 
 when he was obliged to suspend his labors for several months, 
 by hemorrhage from the lungs. The Rev. J. B. Clark, the 
 present pastor of the church in East Granby, in a letter dated 
 Nov. 17, 1843, thus speaks of the effects of Mr. Nettleton's 
 labors in that place. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 69 
 
 " Most of these who were connected with the church, as 
 the result of that revival, have worn remarkably well, so far 
 as is or can be known. Many of them have been, and are 
 still, bright and shining lights in the church of Christ. One 
 of the subjects, Miss C. Thrall, died as a missionary among 
 the western Indians. 
 
 " The effect of that revival upon the church, and upon the 
 community, was most happy and lasting. 
 
 " The interest of Christ's kingdom had suffered much from 
 an erroneous ministry . The church lost all spirituality and 
 fervency. The community were buried in sinful indifference. 
 When Mr. Nettleton came among them, stupidity and sloth- 
 fulness prevailed among all classes and all ages. The effect 
 of his entrance to the place, was electric. The schoolhouse, 
 and private rooms, were filled with trembling worshipers. 
 A solemnity and seriousness pervaded the community, which 
 had not been experienced for years before. There was no 
 bustle — no array of means. All was orderly, quiet, and scrip- 
 tural. There seems to have been an increasing solemnity, 
 while the work continued. 
 
 " I am told that his sermons were in a high degree, practi- 
 cal. Doctrinal sermons were frequent, but these had a prac- 
 tical turn. They were eminently scriptural, and plain, and 
 made men feel that they were the men addressed, and not 
 their neighbors. He sometimes preached on the severer doc- 
 trines with great power and apparent good effect. At this 
 day we can hardly imagine the effect which his visit had upon 
 this waste place. This seems to have been Satan's chief 
 seat. Infidelity had been infused into the very bosom of the 
 church. Of course sin in every form abounded. 
 
 " There were no spiritual hymn-books in use, till Mr. Net- 
 tleton labored here ; and then those hymns, in his hands, be- 
 came most solemn sermons. 
 
 Mr. Nettleton is remembered with much interest, and pecu- 
 liar affection by most of those advanced in life. When I 
 
70 MEMOIR OF 
 
 have been speaking of him in my pastoral visits, the most in 
 tense interest is excited. From many expressions used as the 
 old people speak of him, one may know that his labors are 
 still remembered with affection." 
 
 Early in the spring of 1815, Mr. Nettleton having so far 
 recovered from his illness as to be able to preach, labored for 
 a season in Bolton, with signal success. Here the people 
 gave him a call to settle as their pastor, which he immediately 
 declined, and recommended to them his friend and classmate, 
 the Rev. Philander Parmele. Mr. Parmele was installed 
 Nov. 8, 1815. 
 
 From Bolton, he went to Manchester, to assist the Rev. 
 Mr. Cook, whose people were enjoying a time of " refreshing 
 from the presence of the Lord." By a divine blessing on his 
 labors, the work was greatly promoted and extended. 
 
 After this, he spent a few weeks in Granby, (west parish,) 
 where his preaching was crowned with very signal suecess. 
 Peculiar circumstances prevented him from continuing long 
 with this people ; but there is reason to believe that many 
 souls were savingly benefited by his labors. There were but 
 few places in which he labored, where so much apparent 
 good was effected in so short a time. 
 
 Of the revivals mentioned in this chapter, excepting the 
 one in South Britain, no account was published at the time ; 
 and with the exception of that and the one in South Farms, 
 so far as is now known, no particular account was ever writ- 
 ten. As Mr. Nettleton kept no journal of his labors 1 at that 
 period, it is impossible at this late day, to give any more than 
 a very general account of most of these revivals. Some ot 
 the facts which I have mentioned, fell under my own observa- 
 tion, and some of them were obtained in private conversation 
 from Mr. Nettleton himself. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 His labors in New Haven, Salisbury, Bridgewater, Torrington, Waterbury, Upper 
 Middletown, Rocky Hill, Ashford, Eastford and Bolton. 
 
 In the spring of 1815, at the request of the pastors of the 
 Congregational churches in New Haven, Mr. Nettleton re- 
 paired to that city. Soon after his arrival, he was invited to 
 visit the school of young ladies, taught by the Rev. Mr. Her- 
 rick. He gave them some account of the revivals in Litchfield 
 county, and particularly, of the revival in Mrs. Pierce's school 
 in Litchfield. Many of the scholars were deeply affected by 
 this account, and in the course of a few days a large propor- 
 tion of the members of the school, were anxiously enquiring 
 what they must do to be saved. The seriousness spread, and 
 a great and glorious work of divine grace was witnessed in 
 the city, and to some extent in Yale College. Mr. Nettleton 
 continued to labor in New Haven two or three months to the 
 great satisfaction of his brethren there, and with the same 
 success which had crowned his labors in country parishes. 
 
 In the summer of 1815, he visited Salisbury, a town in the 
 north part of Litchfield county. In this town was one of the 
 most remarkable revivals which ever occurred under his 
 preaching. No account of it was ever published. In a letter 
 written by him in 1827, to the Rev. John Frost, there is the 
 following brief notice of it. 
 
 "In 1815, in the town of Salisbury, Conn., after laboring 
 awhile under great discouragement, there were some favor- 
 able appearances. A number were anxious, and a few in 
 
72 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 awful distress of soul, in one village. It was taken hold of 
 by some ignorant, officious hands ; and they were set to groan- 
 ing and screaming, and alarmed all the village in my absence. 
 Having heard the tidings, 1 hastened to the spot, and with 
 kind, but decided severity called them to order. My attempts, 
 by those who had given the work that turn, were considered 
 as very obtrusive and daring. It was reported all over town, 
 that a revival had begun in Salisbury, and that I had put a stop 
 to it. They seemed to be very much grieved and shocked at 
 my conduct. It took a number of days to restore order, but 
 when it was done, the work of God advanced silently and 
 powerfully, until all classes, old and young, were moved all 
 over town. The language was, ' the fountains of the great 
 deep are broken up.' Not far from three hundred were num- 
 bered as the hopeful subjects of divine grace in that revival." 
 
 The Rev. Jonathan Lee, who is a native of Salisbury, and 
 who at present resides there, has furnished the following brief 
 account of this revival. 
 
 " The first and greatest revival of religion which has taken 
 place in Salisbury, Conn., stood connected with the labors of 
 Mr. Nettleton, and began in the summer of 1815, and exten- 
 ded through the autumn and winter following. The church 
 was destitute of a pastor, and reduced to a small number, 
 there being but seventeen male members. Having been unsuc- 
 cessful in their efforts to obtain a pastor, and seeing no acces- 
 sions, the few members remaining, felt a deep conviction of 
 the necessity of the effusions of the Spirit, to strengthen the 
 things that were ready to die ; and an unusual spirit of prayer 
 was felt, as they sought the blessing at the throne of grace. 
 In these circumstances, they applied to Mr. Nettleton to come 
 and labor among them. After they had waited with doubt and 
 solicitude for sometime, he at length came, without previously 
 having sent any promise, 6r notice ; and, as was ascertained, 
 without informing the friends with whom he had been, what 
 was his place of destination. He arrived at the house of one 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 73 
 
 of the deacons of the church and lodged. He made such 
 inquiries, as were designed to ascertain whether his coming 
 had been much looked for and relied upon, in order to a revival 
 of religion. For some cause his fears were excited, perhaps 
 from the fact, that deacon S. had that day been riding in 
 unsuccessful pursuit of him ; and he at once declined staying 
 or making any effort, saying, ' I can do no good here.' En- 
 deavors were made to convince him, that he had not been the 
 object of reliance, and to persuade him to stay till the follow- 
 ing Sabbath, and preach and take opportunity to get acquaint- 
 ed with the state of christian feeling. Yielding for the 
 present to the importunity, he prayed and conversed with the 
 family, the laborers being called in for the purpose from the 
 field, and offered to meet at the same place, at a particular 
 hour, on the next day, any young people, who, when invited 
 by the deacon, should be disposed to come in. He next visited 
 the other deacon and pursued the same course and at his 
 second visit, met with a company of young persons at each 
 place. He began talking to them in the most simple and 
 solemn manner, with the view to fix upon their minds some 
 plain important truth, suited to awaken and impress the con- 
 science. There was no dilation of thought but one weighty 
 idea, such as the worth of the soul, or the necessity of true 
 religion, dwelt upon and reiterated, and left in its naked reality 
 and solemnity on each individual's mind. This noiseless 
 commencement of his labors, was followed by visiting the 
 families of christian professors, and by stated religious meet 
 ings in connection with the labors of the Sabbath. A primary 
 object was to find the state of feeling in christians, and to 
 promote a humble, praying spirit. At an early date, after being 
 convinced of his duty to stay and labor, he called together the 
 church, and with great earnestness, besought them to lay aside 
 all expectations from him, and pray with humility and fervency, 
 that the work of the Lord might be revived. At the same 
 time, he gave such counsels and cautions, particularly with 
 7 
 
74 MEMOIR OF 
 
 regard to the instruction and treatment of persons under con- 
 viction, as he judged necessary to guard against unhappy 
 results. 
 
 " This favored servant of Christ, came with no trumpci 
 sounded before him, but in the meekness of his master, and 
 the Lord was with him in very deed. Meetings became 
 crowded and deeply solemn, and many obtained hope in Christ. 
 He conversed individually with the anxious, and met at certain 
 times at his boarding place, all who were disposed to be con- 
 versed with, on the state of the heart, and the salvation of the 
 soul. In addressing meetings, he was wont to seize on some 
 point of interest, bearing directly upon the state of mind in 
 which his hearers were, and then press it with a rare degree 
 of directness, plainness and force. 
 
 " Without attempting further details, I feel assured, (though 
 absent, and closely occupied in a revival among the people of 
 my charge,) that this revival was distinguished for its stillness 
 and solemnity, for deep conviction of conscience, for discrim- 
 inating views of divine truth, for humility and subsequent sta- 
 bility of christian character. The subjects were of different 
 ages, but generally youth. As fruits of the revival about two 
 hundred were admitted into the Congregational church, besides 
 several who united with other churches. Many of these 
 young professors intermarried, and became heads of families, 
 and have lived to train up many children for Christ. Not a 
 few, in the twenty-seven years since elapsed, have died in the 
 Lord. Those remaining, still constitute the strength of the 
 church ; for although some other favored seasons of ingath- 
 ering have been enjoyed, none have borne comparison with 
 this, for permanent influence upon the state of the community, 
 for enlightened piety, and steadfastness of christian principle 
 and character. Many still look back to that date with the 
 deepest interest, and liveliest gratitude, as the blest period of 
 their espousal to Christ — as the memorable year of the right 
 hand of the Lord. The name of Asahel Nettleton t the humble, 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 75 
 
 skillful laborer in this field, at that season, employed in direct- 
 ing so many to Christ, is embalmed in many a heart. It stands 
 associated with their dearest hopes, and purest joys, and will 
 call forth praises never ending to the chief shepherd, who 
 employed him in leading so many of this flock into his spiritual 
 fold, to stand at his right hand at the great decisive day, to the 
 praise of his own unfathomable grace." 
 
 I will add a few facts, which were learned directly from Mr. 
 Nettleton. 
 
 In the commencement of this revival, much opposition was 
 manifested on the part of the enemies of religion. But God 
 overruled it to the furtherance of the gospel. As the people 
 assembled one evening at a large school-house in which they 
 had been accustomed to meet, it was found that all the seats 
 had been removed from the house and concealed. A large 
 congregation having assembled in and around the house, Mr. 
 Nettleton observed to them, that he had believed that the Spirit 
 of God was operating on the minds of the people, and that he 
 was now confirmed in the belief. The people then repaired to 
 the meeting-house, where the religious services were conducted 
 with most evident tokens of the divine presence. The work, 
 though still, was very deep and powerful, and it spread into 
 every part of the town. It at first prevailed mostly among the 
 youth, but it soon began to appear among heads of families, 
 and some who were quite advanced in life, were numbered 
 among the subjects. The conversion of a man from fifty to 
 sixty years of age, who had been a violent opposer, seemed to 
 be the means of arresting the attention of many. This indi- 
 vidual was a man of considerable influence, and like Paul, 
 before his conversion, was exceedingly mad against the church. 
 But God, as there is reason to believe, subdued his heart, and 
 he became as ardent in his attachment to the cause of Christ, 
 as he had been violent in his opposition. " What a glorious 
 work of grace is this in Salisbury," said he one morning, to 
 Mr. Nettleton ; " I hope that all my family, and all the people 
 
76 MEMOIR OP 
 
 of ihe town wiirbecome interested in it, even if I am cast off 
 forever." This was the first manifestation of a change in his 
 feelings. The change in him was so striking, that many who 
 had been skeptical were convinced that it must be the work of 
 God. He took every opportunity to converse with his acquain- 
 tance, and to recommend to them the religion, which he had 
 formerly despised, and God made him the instrument in awak- 
 ening many to a sense of their lost condition as sinners. 
 
 The interest became so intense in every part of the town, 
 that whenever Mr. Nettleton was seen to enter a house, almost 
 the whole neighborhood would immediately assemble to hear 
 from his lips the word of life. Husbandmen would leave their 
 fields, mechanics their shops, and females their domestic con- 
 cerns, to inquire the way to eternal life. Religion was the 
 great and all-absorbing theme in almost all companies, and on 
 almost all occasions. Mr. Nettleton labored in Salisbury 
 through the winter. 
 
 In the springof 1816, he commenced his labors in Bridge- 
 water. This is a parish in the town of New Milford, in the 
 south-western part of Litchfield county. Here was a small 
 church destitute of a pastor. The state of religion was very 
 low. Unhappy dissensions existed in the church, and great 
 stupidity prevailed among the people at large. Soon after he 
 commenced his labors, there seemed to be a solemn attention 
 to the word preached, but no cases of deep conviction of sin. 
 He soon became convinced that there could be but little hope 
 of a revival of religion, until a better state of feeling prevailed 
 in the church. He endeavored to impress upon the minds ol 
 the brethren, the importance of settling their difficulties, and 
 of uniting their prayers and their efforts for the promotion ot 
 Christ's kingdom. But his exhortations seemed to have but 
 little effect, and perceiving that they had no proper sense ot 
 their dependence on God, but were placing undue reliance on 
 him, he thought it best to withdraw. Accordingly, without 
 the knowledge of any but the family in which he boarded, he 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 77 
 
 suddenly left the place. The next day was the annual State 
 Fast. The people assembled, expecting to hear him preach ; 
 when to their astonishment, they found the pulpit vacant. 
 The disappointment was great, but it produced the intended 
 effect. The members of the church were deeply affected. 
 They spent the day in prayer and mutual confession of sin. 
 All their difficulties were healed, and brotherly love was re- 
 stored. It was with them a day of deep repentance and humil- 
 iation before God. Numbers of the youth, whose minds had 
 been somewhat impressed by Mr. Nettleton's preaching, when 
 they found that he had left them, were brought into great dis- 
 tress of mind. Meanwhile he was spending the day, with a 
 brother in the ministry in a neighboring town. On the Sat- 
 urday following, he proposed to this brother, to go and spend 
 the Sabbath in Bridgewater, and permit him to supply his 
 pulpit. The arrangement was accordingly made. This 
 brother found a most interesting state of things. A deep sol- 
 emnity pervaded the congregation, and quite a number were 
 found anxiously inquiring what they must do to be saved. 
 When Mr. Nettleton learned the state of things, he returned 
 to Bridgewater, and labored there with great success for sev- 
 eral months. 
 
 In this revival there was one case of peculiar interest, Mr. 
 C. was a most violent opposer of religion. He had not been 
 seen in the house of God for many years. He went one 
 evening to hear Mr. Nettleton in a school-house, but being 
 ashamed to be seen, he stopped at the door. While standing 
 in this situation, an arrow from the Almighty's quiver pierced 
 his heart. He went away with a troubled spirit. He was 
 convinced that he was a sinner, and exposed to the wrath of 
 heaven. But he resisted the conviction, and endeavored to 
 banish the subject from his mind. It was however impossi- 
 ble. The thought was impressed upon his mind, as he after? 
 wards confessed, " You must repent — you must pray, or you 
 will perish.'' His heart replied, " / pray ! — no, never. I'll 
 7* 
 
78 MEMOIR OF 
 
 perish first." Thus he struggled till his distress became intol- 
 erable. He was one night in such horror of mind, that it 
 seemed to him that he could not live till morning. The scene 
 was awfully solemn. To see this bold blasphemer, bewailing 
 his sinfulness and crying for mercy, in distress and anguish 
 which seemed too great for human nature to sustain, was a 
 most affecting sight. The next day he obtained peace, and 
 seemed to be in a new world. This man became a preacher 
 of righteousness to his former associates. On the next Sab- 
 bath morning he was seen on the steps of the church conver- 
 sing with deep interest on the subject of religion, and recom- 
 mending to his fellow sinners that Saviour, whom he had 
 found so precious to his soul. Such was the change in this 
 individual, that it extorted the confession from the mouths of 
 gainsayers, that it must be the finger of God. He could say 
 with truth, 
 
 " Great is the work, my neighbors cried, 
 And owned thy power divine , 
 Great is the work, my heart replied. 
 And be the glory thine." 
 
 This striking display of divine grace was made instrumental 
 of promoting and extending the work. 
 
 Since the publication of the first edition of this work, the 
 following facts have been communicated by the Rev. Fosdic 
 Harrison, of Bethlem, who was, at the time, pastor of the 
 church in Roxbury, a town adjoining Bridgewater. 
 
 " In the spring of 1816, when Mr. Nettleton was laboring 
 at Bridgewater, he was frequently at my house. On one oc- 
 casion, having been with me a day or two, I was expecting his 
 assistance at an evening meeting ; but a short time before the 
 hour of meeting, he manifested his intention to return to Bridge- 
 water. I urged him to stay and attend the meeting, but he 
 still declined. We went together from the study into Mrs. 
 Harrison's room. She was then in feeble health. On learn- 
 ing his determination to leave, she most earnestly entreated 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 79 
 
 him to remain. Among other things she said, 'Do stay, Mr. 
 Nettleton, I am unable to attend the meeting myself, but if you 
 will stay, I will pray for you all the time.' We went out 
 together, and he left, but her earnest entreaties went with him, 
 and troubled him. Soon after this, he heard she was danger- 
 ously ill. He came directly over and said, ' Brother, learning 
 that you was in deep affliction, I have come to pray with you. 
 We retired and bowed down together before God. Some of 
 lis earnest petitions I still remember, commencing thus — 'Oh, 
 Lord Jesus, she, whom thou lovest, is sick.' Soon after this, 
 he came to attend her funeral. He remembered his refusal 
 to yield to her importunate solicitations to attend the meeting ; 
 and that he might comply with her entreaties as far as he then 
 could, he requested that a meeting might be appointed for that 
 evening at the house where she died. While the other breth- 
 ren went from the funeral to a monthly meeting of ministers 
 in New Milford, and urged him to go with them, he remained 
 and attended the meeting in Roxbury. The last conversation 
 he had with Mrs. Harrison, the solicitude she manifested in 
 the spiritual welfare of the people, her promise to pray for 
 him and them, were the theme of his discourse. He remind- 
 ed the people that her prayers for them were ended. His 
 appeals were powerful. Impressions were made, which, I 
 trust, resulted in the saving conversion of some souls. He 
 remained with me a day or two, and his counsels and prayers 
 were truly refreshing." 
 
 In the summer of 1816, Mr. Nettleton spent some time in 
 Torrington, assisting the Rev. Mr. Gillet. There was some 
 special seriousness among the people, previous to his arrival : 
 but it greatly increased afterwards. He remained in Tor- 
 rington about three months. His labors were highly appre- 
 ciated by the pastor and members of the church, and were 
 manifestly attended by a divine blessing. The Rev. John A. 
 McKinstry, present pastor of the church, in a letter dated June 
 12,1844, says, "How long the revival continued, I cannot 
 
80 MEMOIR OP 
 
 definitely state. At the communion in November, the first 
 fruits were gathered into the church ; and in the January fol- 
 lowing, several more were added. The number that joined 
 at these seasons, was about fifty. Others were added at sub- 
 sequent seasons, but the precise number I cannot state. It is 
 reported, however, by those acquainted, that the number of 
 hopeful conversions was about seventy. 
 
 " In regard to the revival, I may say, it extended through 
 the parish, and was quite powerful. Even at this period, 
 when first impressions have gone, the revival of 181 6 is called 
 the revival in Torrington, there having been none since of 
 equal extent and power. The subjects of that work, with few 
 exceptions, have adorned their profession, and some of them 
 have been, and still are, pillars in the church. The influence 
 of this revival upon the church, and upon the community, was 
 in a high degree salutary. 
 
 " The work was solemn, and the truths presented plain and 
 searching. The true character and condition of the sinner 
 was clearly set before him, and he was shown that his only 
 hope was in the sovereign mercy of God through a crucified 
 Saviour. 
 
 " The measures adopted, were such as were common in 
 this region at that time ; such as the ministry of the word on 
 the Sabbath — frequent visitation, connected with personal 
 conversation on the subject of religion ; and more or less 
 prayer meetings during the week. In personal conversation, 
 Mr. Nettleton is said to have abounded, and many attributed 
 their religious impressions to the truth presented at such 
 times." 
 
 From Torrington Mr. Nettleton went to Waterbury, a town 
 in the north part of New Haven county. Here a revival had 
 already commenced. There is an account of this revival in 
 the second volume of the Religious Intelligencer, from which 
 I make the following extract. 
 
 " Towards the close of the summer ,( 1,816) it was the will 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 81 
 
 of God that our pastor should be laid on abed of sickness, and 
 for some time, little hopes were entertained of his recovery 
 He was however spared, and his health so far restored, as to 
 enable him to commence preaching towards the close of the 
 succeeding winter ; and though still feeble, we enjoyed his 
 labors with some interruption, till sometime in June follow- 
 ing, when he was obliged to desist, from returning and increas- 
 ing debility. 
 
 " Thus it pleased the Great Head of the church, to deprive 
 us of the services of our teacher, at a time when, to human 
 appearance, they seemed to be most needed. In the mean 
 time, whatever impressions were made by former meetings, 
 or whatever serious effects might be expected to arise from 
 the heavy judgments with which we, as a people had been 
 visited,* they appeared to be lost upon us. 
 
 " Vice, immorality and irreligion, appeared to gain additional 
 strength, and the cloud that overshadowed us in a moral point 
 of view, appeared fraught with tenfold darkness. 
 
 " But in the midst of all these scenes of discouragement, 
 this day of trouble, rebuke and blasphemy, God's children did 
 not despair. They stayed themselves on the God of Jacob ; 
 and while waiting for an answer to their prayers, knew that he 
 had also said, ' fear not little flock, it is your Father's good 
 pleasure to give you the kingdom.' 
 
 " He was about to appear to build up the waste places of 
 Zion, and in such a way as to convince us, that the work was 
 His, and that the glory alone was due to him. He hath said, 
 ' mine honor is mine own, and my glory I will not give to 
 another.' ' I will work, and who shall let it ? ' 
 
 " In the month of February, a small society of young ladies 
 commenced a weekly meeting for the purpose of reading the 
 scriptures and religious conversation, and one or two soon 
 became hopefully pious. 
 
 * A mortal sickness in the spring and summer of 1815. 
 
82 memoir or 
 
 " On the 7th of April, 1816, our hearts were cheered by 
 seeing four young persons come out from the world, unite with 
 the church, own Christ before men, and covenant to walk with 
 him in newness of spirit. 
 
 " About the forepart of May, one general spirit of zeal ap- 
 peared to actuate a great proportion of the church. The spirit 
 of grace and supplication appeared to be poured upon them. 
 A concert of prayer for the revival of God's work in this place 
 was agreed on, in which all the members were to be engaged 
 in secret between the hours of eight and nine o'clock on- Sat- 
 urday evening. The monthly prayer meetings for the success 
 of missions, began to be more generally attended, and became 
 more deeply interesting. 
 
 " A serious and solemn attention on the Sabbath, now ap- 
 peared to pervade the whole assembly ; and though sometimes 
 deprived of the regular administration of the word, our meet- 
 ings were interesting and instructive. 
 
 Sometime in the latter part of June, it had been stated to the 
 
 writer of this, that a Mr. , (who had formerly been an 
 
 open opposer of vital religion,) and some few others, had man- 
 ifested a desire to commence a weekly meeting for religious 
 conversation and prayer. He accordingly called on one or 
 two of the persons named, and a meeting consisting of four 
 only was held on Sabbath evening. 
 
 " In this meeting, the person alluded to above, declared what 
 God had done for his soul — mourned over his past conduct, 
 and expressed his determination to devote himself to the ser- 
 vice of God in future. 
 
 " The meeting was opened and closed with prayer. A 
 stated meeting was agreed on. The next evening, about 
 twelve attended. Information began now to get abroad, and 
 on the third evening about sixty were present. On the fourth 
 evening, so great was the crowd that attended, they could not 
 all be accommodated, though the house was large and conve- 
 
DR.. NETTLETON. 83 
 
 nient ; and it became necessary after this, to hold them at the 
 meeting house. 
 
 " This, I think, may be fairly stated as the first visible com- 
 mencement of the work. 
 
 " Numbers now appeared to be under deep conviction in 
 almost every part of the society. The Rev. Mr. Beecher, of 
 Litchfield, and the Rev. Mr. Nettleton, (at that time preaching 
 at Torrington,) were present on the next Lord's day ; and at 
 a meeting appointed for the purpose on Monday morning, a 
 considerable number appeared to ask the all-important ques- 
 tion, ' what must I do to be saved 1 ' Mr. Nettleton was with 
 some difficulty prevailed upon to come and assist us in our 
 then destitute situation, and returned here on the Saturday 
 following. 
 
 " From this time his labors became incessant, and his dil- 
 igence unwearied. When not attending a public conference, 
 the house was generally thronged by numbers who were anx- 
 iously inquiring the way to Zion, and to whom he was ever 
 ready to impart instruction. 
 
 " Our worthy pastor, though unable to attend on public 
 duties, had the cheering prospect of seeing the work of the 
 Lord prospering among the people of his charge, and the fields 
 ripening for a rich harvest of souls to be gathered into Christ's 
 spiritual kingdom. The work had now become very exten- 
 sive and powerful ; and one remarkable characteristic feature 
 was, it seemed to attack and subdue the very champions of 
 infidelity the first, and to operate in such a way as to silence 
 the most daring opposers. 
 
 " In some instances, one or two of a family seemed to be 
 taken, and the others left. But in many, almost whole fam- 
 ilies, (or at least, all who had arrived at years of discretion,) 
 were under deep conviction, and have since subscribed with 
 their own right hands to be the Lord's, and surnamed them- 
 selves by the God of Jacob." 
 
 This work, in its general features, has been similar to what 
 
84 MEMOIR. OF 
 
 has been in other places. It has embraced all the variety of 
 operations, from the still small voice, to the most powerful 
 threatenings of a broken law, and the vindictive justice of a 
 justly offended God ; and has embraced all ages, from youth 
 to grey hairs ; though of the youth and middle aged, by far 
 the greatest number have been brought to see their need of 
 an interest in Christ, and led to embrace him as their only 
 Saviour. 
 
 " In the month of August, some of the first fruits of the 
 revival, (together with some few who had entertained a hope 
 before,) were gathered into the church. On this occasion, 
 seventeen were added ; nine more in the month of October ; 
 and on the first Sabbath in February, 1817, seventy -one pub- 
 licly professed their faith in Christ, and took the vows of God 
 upon them ; and seventeen received the ordinance of baptism. 
 Twenty-one have united themselves with the church at differ- 
 ent times since, making one hundred and eighteen since the 
 first of August, 1816; about one hundred and ten of whom 
 may be considered as fruits of the revival. Many more re- 
 main yet to be gathered in ; and so far as the writer of this 
 has been able to discover, no instance of apostacy has yet 
 appeared.* 
 
 " The doctrines taught are those considered as the grand 
 leading truths of the gospel, viz.: the strict spirituality of the 
 moral law — the total depravity of the natural heart — its enmity 
 to God — the necessity of regeneration by the spirit of his 
 grace — an entire dependence on the merits of Jesus. Christ 
 for justification, pardon and acceptance — our obligations to 
 own him before men, and to manifest our faith in him by a 
 holy walk and conversation — the divine sovereignty — the 
 electing love of God — and the final perseverance of the saints, 
 as the only ground of the sinner's hope, and the anchor of 
 the christian's soul." 
 
 * This account was written in July, 1817. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 85 
 
 Mr. Nettleton continued his labors in Waterbury, amid 
 scenes of thrilling interest, for several months. 
 
 After he left Waterbury, he spent some time in Bolton, 
 taking care of his friend, the Rev. Mr. Parmele, who was 
 laboring under mental derangement, and supplying his pulpit. 
 In the fall of 1817, he was requested to preach at Upper 
 Middletown, for the Rev. Mr. Williams who was sick. There 
 was no special seriousness in this place. On the contrary 
 great spiritual apathy prevailed. The youth were exceedingly 
 thoughtless, and addicted to vain amusements. Soon after he 
 commenced his labors here, he became acquainted with a very 
 intelligent young lady, who had long been seriously inclined, 
 and who was thought by many to be truly pious. She handed 
 him Marshall on sanctification, and said, " if I dared believe 
 that book, I should think I was a christian." " I am glad," 
 said Mr. Nettleton, " you dare not believe it." These words 
 went to her heart. She immediately became exceedingly 
 anxious, and was soon brought to rejoice in hope of the glory 
 of God. 
 
 ' After he had preached in this place two or three Sabbaths, 
 there were some cases of special seriousness ; but under- 
 standing that the young people had appointed a ball on the day 
 after the annual Thanksgiving, he expressed the purpose of 
 leaving the place. The young people, hearing of his purpose, 
 concluded to give up their ball, and sent a committee to invite 
 him to preach to them on that evening. He very readily accept- 
 ed the invitation. The meeting was appointed in the Acad- 
 emy. A large congregation of youth assembled. Some came 
 from other towns. This meeting was one of thrilling interest. 
 Some who had been previously awakened were brought to 
 rejoice in hope, and great numbers were brought under deep 
 and powerful conviction. God made the word " quick and 
 powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to 
 the dividing asunder of the soul and the spirit, the joints and 
 the marrow." The scenes of that evening will be remem- 
 8 
 
86 MEMOIR OF 
 
 bered by not a few, while immortality endures. Several in 
 deep distress followed Mr. Nettleton to his lodgings. He 
 prayed with them, and with great difficulty persuaded them to 
 retire to their homes. Many spent the night in crying for 
 mercy, and several found peace before morning. From this 
 time, the work became very powerful. Meetings of inquiry 
 were held at the house of the pastor, but the place became 
 too strait, and God provided one of greater convenience. A 
 man who owned a large ball-room, and who had been a bitter 
 enemy to religion, was awakened and hopefully brought to 
 repentance. He opened his ball-room for meetings of inquiry. 
 
 Mr. Nettleton labored in this place a number of months, 
 and was made instrumental, as there is reason to believe, of 
 the conversion of many souls. 
 
 The Rev. Zebulon Crocker, the present pastor of the church, 
 in a letter dated December 15th, 1843, speaking of the converts 
 in this revival, says : 
 
 " Among the males who are members of this church, there 
 are several who have borne the burden and heat of the day, 
 and borne it well. They have been pillars in the temple' of 
 our God, and are so still. There are others who have gone 
 from us and united with churches abroad, whose names appear 
 connected with the public charities of the day, and who are 
 known to be bright and shining lights in the world. Similar 
 remarks apply to the female members. Several have died in 
 the faith. As a whole, I think I have evidence on which to 
 affirm, that they have run well, and have received a good re- 
 port." Speaking of the results of that revival, he says : 
 
 "In the fall of 1817, the church was in a 'cold state' as 
 some have expressed it. Religion, I am inclined to think, was 
 at a low ebb. The blessed work of the Spirit which imme- 
 diately succeeded, it is to me evident, changed very much the 
 aspect of affairs for the better, as a permanent result. It gave 
 moral courage and strength to the church. Some who had 
 become members without piety, were hopefully converted. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 87 
 
 Faith in regard to the efficacy of the gospel, was encouraged. 
 Christians desired a renewal of the work, and were prepared 
 to labor and pray for another season of refreshing from the 
 presence of the Lord. The way was prepared for the more 
 frequent revivals with which the church has been blessed." 
 
 During the revival in Upper Middletown, a few individuals 
 from Rocky Hill, an adjoining parish,, attended some of Mr. 
 Nettleton's meetings, and became anxious for their souls. 
 The seriousness spread, and at the earnest solicitation of the 
 pastor, the Rev. Dr. Chapin, Mr. Nettleton visited that place. 
 He arrived on Saturday, April 4th, 1818. 
 
 " When he arrived," says Dr. Chapin, " there was a meet- 
 ing in the house of the pastor. At the same place, in the 
 evening, there was another — whieh brother Nettleton atten- 
 ded. His acquaintance with the state of the public mind 
 among us, began that evening. From that time, during the 
 greater part of several months,, he was indefatigable, laboring 
 in season, and out of season, to the full extent of his health 
 and strength. In connection with impressions and experience 
 realized in 1818, eighty-four persons became members of 
 Christ's visible church. How many of them were brought to 
 this performance of external duty by brother Nettleton's labors, 
 we shall know hereafter. How many of their names, or 
 whether all, will be found written in the Lamb's Book of Life, 
 we shall see at, the opening of that perfect book. During the 
 almost twenty-six years that have fled, since the delightful 
 and interesting events above mentioned, it appears that twenty- 
 five of the eighty-four have gone the way of all the earth. 
 Their departure was either while resident here, or in some 
 distant location. Fifteen also of the same fourscore and four, ; 
 have removed from us, and so far as we know v are yet living. 
 So far as man can judge, those eighty-four have adorned the 
 doctrine of God our Saviour, in a manner equal, at least, to 
 the fruits of those other revivals^ which Christ has permitted 
 us to enjov. 
 
88 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " In an important sense, brother Nettleton's talent was one. 
 In the cultivation and improvement of that one, he was unwea- 
 ried. By the concentration of study, always directed to the 
 most useful point, which is practical piety, that talent had risen 
 to the first order. Hence the depth and exactness of his 
 knowledge in true experience, and the things which are essen- 
 tial to salvation. Hence too, the quickness of discernment 
 relative to the specific instruction, and the manner of impart- 
 ing instruction, that every mind needed with which he came 
 in contact. 
 
 " He had a quick and precise perception of the sources 
 whence objectors and cavilers draw their difficulties. In re- 
 plies, showing the true answer, and the only remedy, he was 
 ready, appropriate, generally silencing, and not rarely con- 
 vincing. 
 
 " In the whole of his intercourse, he was exemplary. He 
 was remarkably cautious of appearances. He would not 
 expose himself or his cause to reproach, by giving so much as 
 the least occasion for the surmises of evil. If Satan's follow- 
 ers attempted the propagation of injurious reports, they were 
 obliged to go far away from us for their foundation. The 
 rumors thus procured, and put in motion, always, if investi- 
 gated, proved to be false, and infernally malicious. Even the 
 subtile vigilance of the evil Spirit, could find, in his conduct 
 here, no foundation for its eagerly coveted slanders." 
 
 In October, 1818, Mr. Nettleton commenced preaching in 
 Ashford, a town in the eastern part of Connecticut. His 
 labors soon began to be crowned with success. In his journal 
 under date of Nov. 4, he mentions " One rejoicing." Nov. 
 6, "• Five or six rejoicing." Nov. 8, " Very full. Such a 
 Sabbath is rarely seen." The work now became powerful, 
 and made rapid progress. Mr. Nettleton labored in Ashford 
 without intermission about two months, and preached there 
 occasionally afterwards. Of the results of his labors, the 
 reader will be able to form some opinion from the following 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 89 
 
 extract of a letter from the Rev. Charles Hyde, the present 
 pastor of the church, dated May 30th, 1844. 
 
 " With respeet to our departed brother's labors in this place, 
 I know but little, except what I learn from the; records of the 
 church, and the recollections of some who were then living 
 here. That he was remarkably wise, fervent, skillful, and 
 successful, all hear testimony ; and all, especially those who 
 were brought into the kingdom through his labors, cherish a 
 most affectionate and grateful remembrance of him. His 
 influence here was permanently good. It is felt at the pres- 
 ent day. He commenced his labors here, in Oct., 1818. The 
 first additions to the church were in March, when fifty-six 
 were received. In May following, twelve, and in July ten, 
 and in November four ; making in all eighty-two, of whom, I 
 suppose, the greater part, if not all, were subjects of that re- 
 vival. This is a very large number for so small a society. 
 
 " Of the character of these converts, I cannot speak partic- 
 ularly, except of those who are now here. Twenty-two have 
 died. Twenty-seven have removed from the place. Three 
 only have been excommunicated. The remainder, .are, with 
 hardly an exception, now consistent members — some of them 
 pillars in the Church. Many of those who have left us, I am 
 informed, continue to adorn their profession. Upon the whole, 
 I think it must be admitted that the revival here under Dr. 
 Nettleton's labors, was a remarkably pure one ; and happy is 
 the church that receives such a blessing. Its, influence goes 
 down to succeeding generations." 
 
 In the month of December, 1818, Mr. Nettleton commenced 
 his labors in Eastford. Here was a small church, destitute of 
 a pastor, and in a very depressed condition. The influence 
 of their last minister, who became a universalist, was very 
 disastrous to the cause of religion. He had been dismissed 
 about four years, when Mr. Nettleton visited the place. 
 
 " During this interval," says their present pastor, the Rev. 
 Francis Williams, " they were supplied some part, of the. time 
 8* 
 
90 MEMOIR OF 
 
 by such preachers as they could obtain ; some part of the 
 time, the deacons conducted meetings on the Sabbath, and a 
 considerable portion of the time, they had no public worship. 
 
 " During this state of things, the interests of religion greatly 
 declined, and the light of the church was well nigh extin- 
 guished. According to the most correct information which I 
 can obtain, there were but about twenty members in the church, 
 and only six male members. Most of these were persons 
 advanced in life. At this critical period, Mr. Nettleton came 
 among the people. A powerful work of grace immediately 
 commenced, such as neither they, nor their fathers had seen. 
 He preached the distinguishing doctrines of grace so point- 
 edly, that persons have often informed me, they felt themselves 
 in the hands and at the disposal of God. They felt that if 
 they were ever saved from their dreadful depravity and wretch- 
 edness, it must be by sovereign grace. He made practical 
 application of these doctrines to the heart and conscience in 
 such a plain and forcible manner, that they felt that if they 
 were lost, they should be without excuse. 
 
 " The work was characterized by such stillness and power, 
 that every one felt that the finger of God was in it. To re- 
 peat a remark made by an observer at the time, ' it was so 
 evidently the work of God that not a dog dared move his 
 tongue.' I am not able to ascertain the number who indulged 
 hope. I find by the church records that forty-eight united 
 with the church by profession, March 28th, 1819, and in June 
 following eleven more, making in all, fifiy-nine by profession. 
 Several were also added by letter. This in the then existing 
 state of the church, was life from the dead. The church was 
 soon after supplied with a faithful pastor, who labored here for 
 more than twenty years ; and the church has been on the 
 whole, prosperous. 
 
 " Of those admitted to the church as fruits of this revival, 
 fifteen have left this world, while the rest continue unto this 
 present. Most of them have given pleasing evidence of piety. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 91 
 
 No one acquainted with the facts, can doubt that the cause of 
 Christ was greatly promoted by the labors of Mr. Nettleton. 
 And perhaps so few evils seldom follow a great revival in any 
 place. 
 
 " You ask, how is Mr. Nettleton regarded by the good peo- 
 ple in Eastford ? They look up to him with the most ardent 
 affection as a spiritual father. This may be ascertained by 
 any one who will mention his name in their hearing. He 
 will see indisputable proof of affectionate regard." 
 
 In the month of April, 1819, Mr. Nettleton went to Bolton, 
 where he remained two or three months, laboring with his 
 friend, the Rev. Mr. Parmele. It appears from an account 
 published by Mr. Parmele, in the Religious Intelligencer for 
 November, 1820, that sometime previous to Mr. Nettleton's 
 arrival, there had been an unusual spirit of prayer among the 
 people of God. But God saw fit to try their faith. 
 
 " While," says Mr. Parmele, " christians were thus daily 
 wrestling in prayer, for the salvation of sinners, and were 
 committing the cause of religion into the hands of God, their 
 faith and patience were brought to the test. Satan, as though 
 aware that his kingdom was soon to receive an attack, rallied 
 his forces, and marshaled his bands to make resistance. In- 
 iquity rushed in like a flood. The youth who, we expected, 
 would be awakened, if our prayers were answered, were 
 generally never more dissolute. Their minds were supremely 
 occupied with scenes of mirth and parties of pleasure. If 
 they received any impressions on the Sabbath, or at a reli- 
 gious meeting during the week, they were soon banished 
 through the influence of worldly companions and vain amuse- 
 ments. 
 
 " To counteract the influence of these things, in the month 
 of April (about the time Mr. Nettleton commenced his labors 
 n Bolton,) meetings were appointed for religious conver- 
 sation with the youth, which were generally well attended, 
 and soon became interesting. At one of these meetings, 
 
92 MEMO IB. OF 
 
 eight or ten of the youth were alarmed with a sense of their 
 sins. Their convictions deepened, until they became over- 
 whelming ; and within a few days they were brought to re- 
 joice in hope. This spread conviction like an electric shock, 
 through the society of young people, until it was evident that 
 the Lord had appeared iu his glory to build up Zion. The 
 volatile youth could, no longer resist the influences of the 
 Holy Spirit; but in deep soleimnity, were daily inquiring 
 what they should do to be saved. Vain amusements were 
 entirely suspended. Scenes of pleasure were forsaken ; and 
 the trifles of time were lost in the awful concerns of eternity. 
 No object could divert the, anxious mind from inquiring the 
 way to life. 
 
 " The convictions of the subjects of this work, were deep, 
 increased rapidly, and were of short continuance. Uncon- 
 ditional submission was urged, as the only ground of accept- 
 ance with God. And as soon as this was exercised, in most 
 instances, the sinner was filled with joy. One expressed 
 herself thus, ' I attempted to pray for mercy, while in my 
 sins, but my conscience flashed conviction in my face. 
 What ! will such a sinner as you attempt to pray ! You are 
 so vile, your prayers will not be heard. I then felt the rea- 
 sonableness of my condemnation so forcibly, that I took up on 
 the side of justice, and pleaded the cause of God against 
 myself. In this condition, I soon found relief.' 
 
 " May and June, with us, were interesting months. Most 
 of the subjects of this revival, became reconciled to God, 
 during this period. On the first Sabbath in July, thirty-five 
 united with the church, nine of whom received the ordinance 
 of baptism. This was a day so interesting, that the solemn 
 scenes which transpired can never be forgotten. The youth, 
 the middle aged, and the aged, composed this number. On 
 the first Sabbath in September, twenty-one united with the 
 church, and two have been added since, making in the whole, 
 fifty-nine. Five living in families not connected with my 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 93 
 
 society, have united with the Baptist church. The subjects 
 of this revival are of all ages, from twelve years old, to up- 
 wards of sixty ; but by far the greater portion are youth. 
 
 " We would express our gratitude to those brethren in the 
 ministry, who occasionally preached for us, during this revi- 
 val ; and especially to Mr. Nettleton, whose labors were sig- 
 nally blessed. We trust the Lord will reward them for their 
 labors of love. But we desire to look beyond all instruments, 
 to the great first cause, and as a church and people, to ex- 
 press our unfeigned gratitude to the Father of all mercies, for 
 this work of his grace. This is the Lord's work, and it is 
 marvelous in our eyes ; and to his great name be ascribed the 
 kingdom, the power, and the glory forever." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Labors in Saratoga county and Nassaq. 
 
 In July, 1819, being very much exhausted by his labors in 
 Connecticut, Mr. Nettleton repaired to Saratoga Springs for 
 rest. He did not expect to preach in that region, as his sole 
 object was to recruit his strength. After he had been there 
 a short time, the Rev. Mr. Tucker, of Stillwater, (now the 
 Rev. Dr. Tucker, of Providence, R. I.,) called to see him. 
 In the course of their conversation, something was said re- 
 specting waste places. This led Mr. Tucker to give him 
 some account of Malta, a town in that vicinity, which had 
 long been a waste place, and in which there was no Presby- 
 terian or Congregational church. This account awakened in 
 Mr. Nettleton a desire to visit that place. Mr. Tucker kindly 
 offered to accompany him, and introduce him to a Mr. Hunter, 
 a professor of religion, and a very respectable and worthy 
 man. They spent a night at his house, and attended a prayer 
 meeting with a few neighbors who were invited in. Mr. 
 Nettleton agreed to come again and pass a Sabbath with them, 
 and accordingly, on the first day of August, 181 9, he preached 
 in their meeting house to a congregation of about fifty souls. 
 
 On Monday, he returned to Saratoga, and at the request of 
 the Rev. Mr. Griswold, attended the monthly concert in the 
 evening. He shortly after, attended some other meetings, 
 when it became apparent that the Spirit of God was operating 
 upon the minds of the people. Mr. Nettleton confined his 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 95 
 
 labors principally to Saratoga, occasionally preaching at 
 Malta, till November. He then labored most of the time in 
 Malta, occasionally preaching in the neighboring towns, until 
 the beginning of March, when he went to Schenectady, 
 where he continued till near the close of April. The revival 
 which began at Saratoga, spread into Malta, and thence into 
 all the surrounding region, and into Union College. 
 
 While Mr. Nettleton was at Schenectady, he wrote to a 
 friend in Connecticut, and an extract of the letter was pub- 
 lished in the fourth volume of the Religious Intelligencer, 
 which I here insert. 
 
 " I can at present, give you nothing more than the outlines 
 of what the Lord is doing for this section of his church. 
 This region, and especially the county of Saratoga, has here- 
 tofore been as destitute of revivals of religion, as any part of 
 this State. The commencement of this work was at Sara- 
 toga Springs last summer. At that place, about forty have 
 made a profession of teligion. These include some of the 
 most respectable characters in the village. Directly south, is 
 the town of Malta. For a number of years, there has been 
 no Presbyterian church in that place. But the year past, 
 there has been a very interesting revival among that people. 
 Our meetings have been crowded, and solemn as the house 
 of death. A church has been recently organized, which now 
 consists of one hundred and five members. You can hardly 
 imagine the interest which this revival excited in the surround- 
 ing region. Although the inhabitants are scattered over a large 
 extent, yet I verily believe, I have seen more than fourteen 
 hundred people assembled at once, to hear the gospel. On 
 the east of Malta, is the town of Stillwater. Here, also, 
 there has been a very powerful revival. Although there has 
 been some excitement to serious things in this place in years 
 past, yet this revival exceeds any they have ever before wit- 
 nessed. On the 27th of February last, one hundred and 
 three publicly presented themselves a living sacrifice unto the 
 
96 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Lord ; and about one hundred more are rejoicing in hope, and 
 expect soon to follow their example. The work is still ad- 
 vancing ; numbers are under conviction. In Ballston, adjoin- 
 ing Malta on the west, the work has been very powerful. At 
 their two last communions, they admitted one hundred and 
 eighteen as the fruit of this revival, and the work is yet in- 
 creasing. Directly north is the town of Milton. I visited 
 that people Sabbath before last, and preached three times to 
 a crowded and solemn assembly. In this place, a revival has 
 just commenced. Twelve are rejoicing in hope, and a num- 
 ber more are anxious for their souls. Eight miles to the 
 northwest, adjoining Milton, is the town of Galway. Here 
 the work is overwhelming. In less than two months past 
 more than one hundred and fifty have been brought to rejoice 
 in hope. Dr. Nott, from this college, visited them last Sab- 
 bath, and admitted ninety-five to the church, and the work is 
 still progressing. On the south of this, is Amsterdam. Here 
 fifty have recently been led to rejoice in hope. Adjoining 
 this, is a place called Tripe's Hill. Here thirty are rejoic- 
 ing, and the work in both these places is increasing. South 
 from Malta, about twelve miles, is the city of Schenectady, 
 and Union College, where I now reside with Dr. McAuley. 
 He takes a lively interest in this good work. I first became 
 acquainted with him last summer at the Springs, and more 
 particularly at Malta, where he frequently visited us, and 
 preached, and conversed, and attended the meetings appoint- 
 ed for those anxious for their souls. On a Sabbath, when a 
 number were to be admitted to the church in Malta, he brought 
 with him a number of students from the college. Some of 
 them became anxious. About this time, one of the students 
 was called into the eternal world. He was laid out in Dr. 
 McAuley's study. The Dr. was anxious to improve this 
 solemn providence to the best advantage. He assembled the 
 students around the lifeless remains of their departed friend, 
 and conversed and prayed with them in the most solemn man- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. ' 97 
 
 ner. A number of them engaged to attend to the subject of 
 religion in earnest. From that time, many of the students 
 became deeply impressed with a sense of their lost condition. 
 For them were appointed meetings of inquiry. And in this 
 very room where they lately beheld the breathless corpse of 
 their young companion, and where I am now writing, was 
 witnessed a scene of deep and awful distress. About thirty 
 of the students are brought to rejoice in hope. The revival 
 is now very powerful in the city. Such a scene they never 
 before witnessed. More than one hundred have been brought 
 to rejoice in hope. Besides these, we had more than two 
 hundred in our meeting of inquiry, anxious for their souls. 
 We met in a large upper room called the Masonic Hall. The 
 room was so crowded, that we were obliged to request all who 
 had recently found relief, to retire below, and spend their time 
 in prayer for those above. This evening will never be for- 
 gotten. The- scene is beyond description. Did you ever 
 witness two hundred sinners, with one accord in one place, 
 weeping for their sins. Until you have seen this, you can 
 have no adequate conceptions of the solemn scene. I felt as 
 though I was standing on the verge of the eternal world ; 
 while the floor under my feet was shaken by the trembling of 
 anxious souls in view of a judgment to come. The solemnity 
 was still heightened, when every knee was bent at the throne 
 of grace, and the intervening silence of the voice of prayer, 
 was interrupted only by the sighs and sobs of anxious souls. 
 I have no time to relate interesting particulars. I only add, 
 that some of the most stout, hard-hearted, heaven-daring 
 rebels have been in the most awful distress. Within a circle 
 whose diameter would be twenty-four miles, not less than 
 eight hundred souls have been hopefully born into the king- 
 dom of Christ, since last September. The same glorious 
 work is fast spreading into other towns and congregations. 
 " This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel." 
 9 
 
98 MEMOIR. OF 
 
 The above letter was dated Union College, April 28th, 
 1820. 
 
 In the same volume of the Religious Intelligencer, there is 
 a letter from a student in Union College, dated March 6th, 
 1820, giving a very similar account of this revival, except that 
 it had made greater progress at the date of Mr. Nettleton s 
 letter. I quote one short paragraph from this letter, to show 
 the character of the revival in Malta. After having given 
 some account of the revival at Saratoga Springs, the writer 
 says — " It commenced then in Malta, about ten miles from 
 this place, under, the labors of a Mr. Nettleton, a missionary 
 from Connecticut. It commenced, I said in Malta ; and with 
 such displays of the power of God's Spirit in crushing the 
 opposition of the natural heart to every thing holy, as are very 
 seldom seen. The Deist and Universalist, the Drunkard, 
 the Gambler, and the Swearer, were alike made the subjects 
 of this heart-breaking work. Four months ago, Christ had 
 no church there. It was a place of great spiritual dearth — 
 and like the top of Gilboa had never been wet by rain or dew. 
 But the Lord has now converted that wilderness into a fruitful 
 field. They have an organized church of eighty-five mem- 
 bers, and the work of conviction is going on." 
 
 This revival, which commenced at Saratoga Springs, and 
 spread into the surrounding region, resulted in the hopeful 
 conversion of not less than two thousand souls. 
 
 In the month of April, 1820, Mr. Nettleton commenced his 
 labors in Nassau, a village a few miles east of Albany. 
 Among his papers, has been found the following sketch of the 
 revival in this place. Had he kept a similar journal of his 
 labors in all the places in which he preached, it would have 
 contained a vast amount of interesting intelligence. But this 
 is the only thing of the kind to be found among his papers. 
 It is here given as presenting a specimen of the revivals which 
 occurred under his preaching. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 99 
 
 " A sketch of a revival of religion in Nassau, which cotn- 
 mrnced April, 1820. 
 
 " The state of religion in this village and its vicinity, has 
 for years been deplorable. The village contains a house for 
 public worship, held in common by two denominations, the 
 Dutch Reformed and the Presbyterians. The former, during 
 the winter past, have had one sermon every other Sabbath, 
 and the latter have had no settled minister, and no regular 
 preaching for years. Indeed, their little church had become 
 nearly extinct. The revival of religion in this place com- 
 menced as follows : 
 
 " In the month of February, a number of persons from this 
 village visited Malta, during the revival there. One of this 
 number was left at Malta, became a hopeful subject of divine 
 grace, and shortly after returned to this village. The sacred 
 flame began to kindle in the hearts of a few old professors. 
 The news of distant revivals began to excite inquiry, and 
 some few sinners became more solemn. One, after a season 
 of distress, became joyful. For a moment, hope was cher- 
 ished, that a glorious day had dawned ; but the surrounding 
 darkness prevailed, and hope at length expired. For a few 
 weeks, I had been absent from Malta. On my return, I re- 
 ceived repeated and pressing invitations to visit Nassau. 
 Prompted by this state of things, instead of returning to Sche- 
 nectady, as was expected, I concluded to defer it for oue 
 week, and visit Nassau. 
 
 " April 1 9. Arrived at Nassau. Attended a meeting in the 
 school-house. About fifty assembled, and nothing particular 
 occurred. 
 
 " April 20. This evening attended a meeting in a large 
 dining hall in a public house. The room was crowded. A 
 number stood around the doors arid windows, and listened 
 with respectful silence and much solemnity. It afterwards 
 appeared that not less than twelve or fifteen dated their first 
 serious impressions from that meeting. A Mr. P subse- 
 
100 MEMOIR OP 
 
 quently observed, ' I went to that meeting full of prejudice. 
 You began to tell me the feelings of my heart, and I began to 
 be vexed and angry at one or two of my neighbors for in- 
 forming you what I had said. I thought you was a man of 
 
 great brass. On returning from meeting, I asked Mrs. P 
 
 how she liked it ? She burst into tears, and we both wept.' 
 
 " Another whose mind was impressed at this meeting, was 
 a young woman who had passed through a revival in the town 
 of Salisbury, Conn., five years before. She had been some- 
 what anxious and lost her concern, and as I have since learn- 
 ed, had made light of the subject. She entered the room this 
 evening in company with others, without suspecting that the 
 preacher was a man whom she had ever seen before. She 
 remarked afterwards, ' as soon as I saw the preacher, I felt 
 distressed. I observed it was the same man that preached in 
 Salisbury. I was expecting a revival. From this time her 
 former feelings returned ; and in addition, she was over- 
 whelmed with a sense of her guilt in having dropped the 
 subject. 
 
 " April 21. This evening met those that were anxious, at 
 
 Dr. M 's. About thirty were present. As I commenced 
 
 speaking to them in general, all were very still and solemn. 
 Suddenly a youth sitting near the window, as if pricked in the 
 heart, cried out in distress. This produced no diversion of 
 attention, but increased the solemnity ; for the cause was per- 
 fectly understood. After conversing with each one, we bowed 
 the knee together at the throne of grace, and then in solemn 
 stillness retired at an early hour. A number of these anxious 
 souls belonged to one family. They reached home weeping. 
 The father of the family had retired to rest. As the carriage 
 came up to the door, he heard the cry of distress, and started 
 from his bed to learn the cause. His daughter-in-law, on 
 entering the house, threw her arms around his neck and ex- 
 claimed, ' My father, what shall I do 1 what shall I do ? ' She 
 
DE. NETTLETON. 101 
 
 continued for some time in great distress, but before morning, 
 was rejoicing in hope. 
 
 " April 22. Saturday — Was in some doubt what course 
 to pursue, as the meeting house on the next Sabbath was en- 
 gaged. Rode to Greenbush, and negotiated an exchange with 
 the Rev. Mr. Marselus of the Dutch Reformed Church. 
 
 " April 23. Sabbath — Mr. Marselus preached at Nassau 
 with power and effect, and at the close of the services, at my 
 request, read a letter from Dr. McAuley, containing an account 
 of the revival in Union College and Schenectady. This in- 
 creased the solemnity. I preached at Greenbush in the fore- 
 noon, and at 3 o'clock, P. M., preached again in a ball-room 
 at a public house, on the road about two miles from this village. 
 When I arrived, I found the ball-room crowded to overflow- 
 ing. At the close of the services, a number assembled around 
 me. Some from curiosity, but many in deep distress, weep- 
 ing aloud. I requested them to suppress their cries, and be 
 as still as possible. At this meeting a number were awa- 
 kened. This evening, preached in the meeting-house in this 
 village for the first time, to a crowded and solemn audience. 
 
 " April 24. This evening met about sixty in a meeting for 
 anxious inquirers. Among them were many in deep distress. 
 This I expected would be my last meeting in this place. But 
 I found so many in distress for their souls, and the number 
 increasing, that I announced the appointment of one public 
 meeting more in the meeting-house, on the following evening. 
 
 " April 25. Met in the meeting-house. More crowded 
 than ever, and solemn as eternity. Preached on the nature 
 and reasonableness of gospel repentance, and urged the duty 
 of immediate compliance, and the danger of delay. Never 
 more expecting to meet my anxious hearers in this world, I 
 urged them by all the solemnities of the judgment, not to pass 
 the threshold of the meeting-house that night, with impenitent 
 hearts. They seemed to hear as for their lives. One from 
 deep distress, found relief in the midst of the discourse, and 
 
102 MEMOIR OF 
 
 lifted up a joyful countenance. No sooner had I closed and 
 stepped from the stage, than she came near, and taking her 
 husband by the hand, urged him to come to Christ. It was 
 like a two edged sword. It pierced him to the heart. At 
 this moment the anxious ones assembled around me, and took 
 me some by the hand, some by the arm, and some by the coat, 
 exclaiming, ' Don't leave us. What shall I do ? What shall 
 I do 1 ' Nearly the whole congregation tarried. Those who 
 could not come near, stood, some on the seats, and some on 
 the sides of the pews, to hear and see. From the midst of 
 this scene of distress, I addressed the whole congregation for 
 about five minutes. Among other things I said, 
 
 " My hearers, I now no longer hesitate to tell you what I 
 have hitherto been afraid to speak, that a revival of religion is 
 begun in Nassau. Yes, from what I have seen, I can no lon- 
 ger doubt the fact. I believe you are about to witness a solemn 
 and trying time in this place ; and now you must prepare 
 either to be taken or to be left. I then told them, I would 
 meet them in the morning at sunrise, in the school-house, 
 and pray with them before I left, if they chose. I advised 
 them to depart as still as possible, and to be retired through 
 the night. 
 
 " April 26. Met them in the morning before sunrise. Two 
 of those who went away in distress last night, came to me 
 rejoicing this morning. They found relief before they slept. 
 I prayed and conversed with them a few moments, and started 
 for Schenectady before breakfast. Heard of one more rejoi- 
 cing this morning. I called and found it so, and found others 
 in distress. The distress in one house led me to another, and 
 that to another, until I visited nine families before I left the 
 place. It was truly affecting to witness these strangers cry- 
 ing for mercy. In this state I left them, and went to Sche- 
 nectady. During my absence, I felt a deep interest for them 
 in Nassau. The scenes that I had there witnessed, were con- 
 tinually before me. It rained, and I tarried two nights. 
 
DR. NEIIIKTON. 103 
 
 " April 28. Started from Schenectady for Nassau. Arri- 
 ved at Mr. B 's within three miles of the village, late in 
 
 the evening. In this house, some whom I had left in great 
 distress met me with joyful countenances. Here I was in- 
 formed that the Baptists had a meeting at the meeting-house 
 this evening. Wishing to embrace the opportunity to make 
 an appointment, I drove on to the meeting-house, and found 
 the house nearly full. All were standing, and about to retire, 
 as the meeting had just closed. I made my way through the 
 crowd, as I suppose, unobserved, stepped upon the stage, and 
 announced an appointment for the next Sabbath. The effect 
 of this little circumstance, was almost incredible. I could 
 hardly say which was most prominent, the burst of joy or of 
 grief. A number came to me with joyful countenances, while 
 others were borne down with grief. It is this night just 
 one week since the first instance of hopeful conversion oc- 
 curred, and now about thirty appear to be subjects of grace. 
 Many of these, it was afterwards found, obtained relief on the 
 day, and some a few moments after 1 left them. This was a 
 memorable day. For when they afterwards came together 
 to give a relation of their christian experience, we found that 
 some on that day retired into the groves and fields, and some 
 into their chambers and closets, to cry for mercy. I have 
 since thought that the effect of my leaving them as I did, in 
 the advanced stages of their conviction, was evidently benefi- 
 cial. It drove them from all human dependence. Distress- 
 ing as it is, and cruel as it may seem, it is necessary for them 
 to feel that no arm but God's can help them. Similar effects 
 from like circumstances, have heretofore been witnessed. 
 
 " April 30. Sabbath — The congregation was crowded and 
 solemn. This day an event took place, unknown to me at the 
 time, which was designed by the enemy to check and put a 
 stop to the work, but which in the hand of God was made 
 subservient to its advancement. 
 
 " May 1. Met about eighty-five in the meeting of inquiry. 
 
104 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " May 2. This evening held a meeting in the meeting- 
 house, and took up the common sayings of christians, which 
 are calculated to check a revival by lessening the sinner's 
 sense of obligation, and quieting him in his sins. 
 
 " May 4. At this date, we find about forty rejoicing in hope 
 From this date to the 14th, preached nine times, and held one 
 meeting for inquirers. 
 
 "May 15. This evening attended a meeting of inquiry, 
 and found the number and distress of anxious souls, rapidly 
 increasing. The distress of W. is greatly augmented. This 
 is the person who had been a little anxious during the revival 
 in Salisbury, and whose attention had again been excited, on 
 entering our meeting the second evening in this village. From 
 this time, her distress continued about three days and nights. 
 Providentially she was in a family a number of whom were 
 thoughtless and far from religion. This was loud preaching. 
 So great was her distress, that she was unable to attend meet- 
 ings, and was confined to the house. Many called to witness 
 her distress. She had concluded that the day of grace was 
 over ; and she was now past the fear of mortals. She con- 
 tinued crying, ' Lord, have mercy on my soul. I am lost — Oh, 
 forever lost.' In this situation, she sent for me to call and see 
 her, that she might beg my pardon for what she had said, be- 
 fore she died. I called, and such was her agitation, that it 
 was difficult to keep her in one position. Sometimes sitting 
 and then kneeling, in a piteous tone she would cry out, ' young 
 people, take warning from me ! young people, take warning from 
 me P The house was constantly visited by curious specta- 
 tors, often till late at night. Many thought that she could not 
 live long. One physician asked my opinion, whether I 
 thought she would die. From past facts, I have noticed that 
 this extreme distress does not generally continue long, espe- 
 cially in seasons of revival — sometimes but a few moments — 
 commonly a few hours, and rarely over three days. And when 
 this extreme distress exceeds this time, I begin to fear that it 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 105 
 
 may subside, as it has sometimes done without a change of 
 heart. Ob the third day, she was rejoicing in hope. 
 
 " The question is often asked, why is it that the convic- 
 tions of some sinners are so much greater than those of 
 others ? I answer, I do not know. The sinner's distress 
 does not always appear to be in exact proportion to his crimes. 
 But one thing I have learned from observation, and that is, 
 that when persons of a particular description have been 
 brought under conviction, they have been exercised with 
 severe distress. Those who have once been anxious for 
 their souls, and have been laughed out of it, and returned to 
 the thoughtless world, if again awakened, are more distress- 
 ed than ever. Those who once made it a business to retire 
 and pray, and have long since dropped the subject, are usually, 
 if their attention is again excited, greatly distressed. Those 
 who have labored hard to stifle and throw off their convic- 
 tions, or those who have formerly resisted the strivings of 
 God's Spirit, are usually the subjects of keen distress, if con- 
 vinced of sin, a second time. Those who have scoffed at 
 the subject of religion, and have mocked the messengers of 
 Christ, and ridiculed the worship of God, are usually filled 
 with great consternation and agony, when brought to a just 
 sense of their character and state. Those who have made 
 light of revivals of religion, by calling them enthusiasm, 
 fanaticism, and the work of the devil — especially those who 
 have taken an active part in ridiculing the conviction and con- 
 version of sinners, in the season of a revival — those who 
 have called revivals by the hardest names, who have express- 
 ed the greatest contempt of them, and who have done the 
 most to bring them into disrepute — persons of this description, 
 have been the most frightful monuments of distress, that I 
 have ever witnessed. They despair of ever becoming the 
 subjects of that work which they have treated with so much 
 contempt. We have sometimes heard the champion of infi- 
 delity expressing his horror for fear of having committed the 
 
106 MEMOIR OF 
 
 unpardonable sin. lam acquainted with the names of per- 
 sons, who have become perfectly deranged in consequence of 
 their own opposition to the progress of revivals. Conscience, 
 without any other accuser, has driven the enemy of revivals 
 out of his reason into a state of settled delirium. The con- 
 fession and fate of Judas, show the power of conscience, and 
 stand recorded as a warning to the opposers of religion to 
 beware. 
 
 "May 17. This evening we met in the school house. 
 The room was crowded, and the meeting was exceedingly 
 joyful. Every word that was spoken, seemed to find a place 
 in some heart. Such a season of rejoicing is rarely witness- 
 ed. ' Old things are passed away, and all things are become 
 new.' It is not yet quite one month since the work com- 
 menced, and about sixty are supposed to be the subjects of 
 grace. 
 
 "May 19. This evening we met in a private house, and 
 at the close of the exercises, one of the young converts spoke 
 to a stout-hearted sinner who had been struggling against his 
 conscience, and he dropped upon his knees in distress of soul. 
 Another followed me nearly home, inquiring what he must do 
 to be saved ! In this situation, I left him ; but before we re- 
 tired to rest, he came in with a new song in his mouth. The 
 other went home in great distress, but found relief before 
 morning. 
 
 " May 20. This was a solemn day throughout this village. 
 Mr. L., a young lawyer, who had been anxious for a few days, 
 and who had retired to rest in my chamber, came to my bed- 
 side early this morning in distress. He sat down to breakfast 
 with us, and while at the table, heard the tidings that another 
 of his mates had found the Saviour the last night. He in- 
 stantly left the table and retired to my chamber. Sometime 
 after, I entered the chamber and found him prostrate on the 
 floor, crying for mercy. While he thus continued, waxing 
 worse and worse, a number came up to see him ; but he 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 107 
 
 seemed to take no notice of them, and continued pleading for 
 mercy.. About 10 o'clock, A. M., whether with a new heart, 
 I cannot say, I only record the fact, he came down stairs, 
 expressing his joy that he had found the Saviour. At the same 
 time, his fellow student M., in a house a few rods distant, lay 
 prostrate in his chamber. I called and found a number as- 
 sembled around him, while he lay crying for mercy. The 
 burden of his prayer was, that God would pardon his self- 
 righteousness. The fact was this. A few days previous, he 
 and his brother lawyer, had shut themselves in a chamber, 
 seeking, and striving and piaying together for a long time, 
 thinking without doubt, they should ere long succeed in be- 
 coming christians. Here they continued, until both had 
 become exceedingly self-righteous. They could see it in 
 each other, and each was alarmed at it, and asked my opinion 
 if they had not better separate. By all means, I told them. 
 This sight of his heart was doubtless what most distressed 
 him. About three o'clock P. M., he arose in like manner, 
 rejoicing that he had found the Saviour. 
 
 May 21. Sabbath — Held a meeting at a public house, 
 ( Mr. B's,) four or five miles from this village. When I arrived, 
 the rooms were filled — doors and windows thronged. Those 
 who seemed the most anxious, had placed themselves near 
 the seat of the speaker. When I named the psalm, all was 
 silence, except the sighs and sobs of anxious souls. The 
 moment I began to speak, 1 felt that God was there. I ad- 
 dressed them from Gen. vii. 1. ' Come thou and all thy house 
 into the Ark.' I felt unusual freedom and satisfaction in 
 speaking. The solemnity of the scene will long be remem- 
 bered. When I had pronounced the benediction, I know not 
 that a foot moved. All were standing, and still anxious to 
 hear. I gave them an account of what I had witnessed up in 
 the village the week past. Many had assembled from the 
 surrounding regions of desolation, doubtless from motives of 
 curiosity, having heard something of the wonderful movement 
 
108 MEMOIR OF 
 
 in the village. While giving a relation of these wonderful 
 things, every ear was attentive. Some were sighing, and 
 some were gazing in wild amazement. The langnage of. 
 every look seemed to be, we never heard such things before. 
 In one large room which was crowded entirely full, nearly all 
 were in deep distress, besides many crowding round the 
 doors and windows, all apparently equally anxious, except 
 here and there a joyful convert. They were crowded so 
 closely together, that I could not pass among them to converse. 
 So I spoke to one and another here and there at a distance, 
 as I could catch their eyes as they lifted them streaming with 
 tears. All were utter strangers whom I addressed, and not a 
 name could I call. My only method of designation was, by 
 pointing and saying, I mean you, and you, or this sinner, and 
 that sinner. Never did I feel a deeper compassion for sinners, 
 than for these poor strangers. A number, I know not how 
 many, were awakened this day. 
 
 " Preached in the village in the afternoon and evening. 
 At this time, we concluded that the crisis of solemnity was 
 past in the village. 
 
 " May 22. This evening attended the meeting for inquir- 
 ers, and all things considered, it was the most distressing and 
 painful scene hitherto witnessed in this revival. Unexpect- 
 edly, a number who had never before attended, came from the 
 region of solemnity above described. Some came four or 
 five miles, and crowded the meeting, and threw it into a scene 
 of awful distress. The distress was so great, and the sup- 
 pressed sighs and sobs became so loud, that I could scarcely 
 hear my own voice. One or two found relief on the spot ; 
 and some lost their strength, so that we were obliged to help 
 them out of the chamber. It was with the utmost difficulty 
 that I could prevail on them to separate. Some would start 
 to retire, but the cry of distress would call them back again, 
 and in this state, we were long detained. After leaving the 
 chamber, the distress was so great, it was almost impossible 
 
DR. HEtTLETON. 109 
 
 to prevail on them to retire. At length, all retired but one» 
 who in great agony, tarried through the night. But many 
 ■who came from a distance, remained over night in the neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 " May 24. This evening attended a meeting at Mr. G's. 
 A number sobbed and wept. 
 
 " May 25. This evening met again at the same place. 
 One who formerly thought he had obtained a hope and lost it, 
 was again awakened, and at the close of the meeting cried 
 aloud. He professes to have found relief, but I think without 
 any good evidence of a change of heart. I fear he has again 
 deceived himself. 
 
 "May 26. This evening met the young converts in a social 
 meeting, and began to hear a relation of their christian ex- 
 perience. 
 
 " May 27. This afternoon held a general meeting of the 
 young converts, and of all others who chose to attend ; the ob- 
 ject of which was, to address the subjects of this work on the 
 nature of a public profession of religion. Spoke of the 
 duty — the qualifications requisite — and stated and answered 
 objections. The duty ; 1 . To God. 2. To yourself. 3. To 
 the church. 4. To the world, &c. 
 
 " May 28. Sabbath. Preached thrice to a crowded, at- 
 tentive, solemn and yet joyful audience. 
 
 " May 29. This evening met nearly 200 in a meeting for 
 inquirers. This meeting was anticipated by many with secret 
 dread. Some christians, doubtless, among the rest, who were 
 present and witnessed the scene of distress at the last inquiry 
 meeting were heard to say, that they dreaded to attend this 
 evening. They could hardly endure the thought of passing 
 through such a scene of distress a second time. And I can 
 truly say, that for the first time, I felt the same reluctance. 
 But to the astonishment of all, instead of an anxious, we had 
 a joyful meeting. Most of those in such distress at our last 
 meeting for inquirers, had found relief, and were exceeding 
 10 
 
110 MEMOIR OF 
 
 joyful. What an astonishing change iu one week ! I felt 
 that it could hardly be possible. We had lost our anxiety, 
 and had little else to do, but to render united thanks to God 
 for what he had done. But before we parted, 1 went round 
 and collected into a circle, a number who were without hope, 
 conversed with each one, addressed the whole and prayed 
 with and for them, as those professing no hope. This was 
 evidently the means of deepening their impressions. 
 
 " May 30. This evening met in the school house. The 
 room was crowded, and the audience were still, solemn, ani- 
 mated and joyful. The same was the general character of 
 our meetings after this date. 
 
 " From this time, we spent a number of half days and 
 evenings in hearing a relation of their christian experience, 
 preparatory to a public profession. These were interesting 
 and animating seasons, affording the best opportunity of 
 learning the human heart in all its foldings of depravity and 
 opposition ; and the astonishing change wrought by the power 
 of God's grace. 
 
 " June 25. Sabbath — This day sixty-eight made a public 
 profession of religion, thirty-two of whom were baptized. 
 At this time, more than a hundred had, to appearance, become 
 the subjects of divine grace. A number more have since, 
 publicly professed Christ ; and of these, five young men are 
 preparing for the gospel ministry." 
 
 This sketch was drawn up by Mr. Nettleton, a few months 
 after he left Nassau, from brief memoranda which he kept at 
 the time. This, as I have said, is a specimen of the revivals 
 which occurred under his preaching. In not less than forty 
 or fifty places there were revivals in connection with his 
 labors, quite as interesting as this ; and in some of them, the 
 hopeful converts were twice or thrice as numerous. 
 
 While I speak of this as a specimen of the effects of Mr. 
 Nettleton's preaching, I ought, perhaps, to make one or two 
 slight exceptions. When he first went to Nassau, he expect- 
 
DC. NETTLETON. Ill 
 
 ed to remain there but a short time. This circumstance in- 
 duced him to hold meetings more frequently than he did in 
 ordinary cases ; and as he was obliged to close his labors 
 there in about two months from the time the revival began, 
 and as the church was destitute of a pastor, he admitted some 
 of the converts to the church, sooner than he was wont to do. 
 With these slight exceptions, the foregoing sketch will give 
 the reader a very good view of his ordinary course of pro- 
 ceeding, and of the effects which accompanied his labors. 
 
CHAPTER Til. 
 
 Labors in New Haven, North Killingworth, North Madison, Wethersfield, New- 
 ington, and Farmington. 
 
 In the summer of 1820, there was some unusual serious- 
 ness in New Haven, and in Yale College ; and at the earnest 
 solicitation of the pastors, Mr. Nettleton again visited that 
 city. He arrived August 5, and as appears from his journal, 
 continued his labors there, with some occasional absences, 
 until the December following. 
 
 The Religious Intelligencer of September 2d, contains the 
 following notice of the state of religious feeling in New 
 Haven at that date. 
 
 " Reports have doubtless gone abroad, that a revival of reli- 
 gion has commenced in this city. We have felt desirous to 
 communicate this good news to our readers, that they might 
 rejoice with us ; but believing that ill effects are sometimes 
 produced by a premature disclosure, when a revival has but 
 partially commenced in the hearts of individuals or in a com- 
 munity, we have heretofore observed a silence on this sub- 
 ject, waiting to see what the Lord was about to do for us. A 
 revival of religion has been felt in the hearts of some chris- 
 tians in this place, for some time past, and they have had a 
 holy confidence, that a shower of divine grace was about to 
 be poured out in answer to their prayers, on this dry and 
 thirsty place. We have seen the cloud like a man's hand, 
 and we now hear the sound of abundance of rain ; verily the 
 Lord is among us, convincing of sin, of righteousness and of 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 113 
 
 judgment — many are pricked in the heart, some are rejoicing 
 in the Lord, and convictions and conversions are daily multi- 
 plying. The power and the mercy of God are extensively 
 felt in college, and many of the dear youth have been brought 
 to submit to the sceptre of Immanuel ; and many others are 
 bowed down under a sense of sin, and are anxiously inquiring 
 what they must do to be saved. We cannot be more particu- 
 lar at present. Christians, pray for us. Forget not that there 
 are nearly three hundred young men of talents in this college, 
 and their hearts are in the hands of that God who hears your 
 prayers, if you are christians. May we be humble and re- 
 joice in the Lord, and wait for his salvation." 
 
 The following letter to the young converts at Nassau, was 
 written by Mr. Nettleton, five days after the above statement 
 was published. 
 
 "New Haven, Sept 7, 1820. 
 '' My dear Friends: 
 
 " The moment I take my pen to address you, I im- 
 agine myself seated in the midst of that same dear circle. 
 Every name and every countenance appears familiar. The 
 inquiry meeting, the crowded assembly, the heaving sigh, the 
 solemn stillness, and the joyful countenances awaken all the 
 tender sensibilities of my heart. My dear friends, no friend- 
 ship, no attachment in this world, is equal to that created in a 
 revival of religion. 
 
 ;l The fellowship of kindred minds 
 Is like to that above." 
 
 " What is felt at such a season, is in anticipation of the 
 joys of the heavenly world. I doubt not your hearts retain 
 the sweet recollection of what Paul hints to the Ephesian 
 converts. ' Who hath raised us up together, and made us sit 
 together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.' But, my dear 
 friends, after all, the milk and the honey lie beyond this wilder- 
 10* 
 
114 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ness world. A voice from heaven is heard, ' Arise ye, and 
 depart, for this is not your rest.' 
 
 " By this time some of you begin to learn, that you are on 
 the field of battle. The world, the flesh and the devil, are 
 potent enemies. You will have need to buckle on the whole 
 armor of God. But whatever may betide, never, no never 
 think of dropping the subject. True, the conflict may be 
 sharp, and the pathway to heaven steep and difficult, but, 
 brethren, the time is short. The conflict will soon be over. 
 Think not so much about present enjoyment, as about present 
 duty. 
 
 " I must give you a short account of the revival in this place. 
 Meetings are held every evening in the week, crowded, still, 
 and solemn as eternity. Every Monday evening, we meet 
 the anxious ones in a large ball-room. We hare had from 
 sixty to about three hundred assembled at these meetings, all 
 solemn, and many in deep distress of soul. The cloud of 
 divine influence, has gone rapidly over our heads, and covered 
 us with awful solemnity. And there is the sound of abun- 
 dance of rain. The fields have whitened every where, and 
 we are in danger of losing much of the harvest, because we 
 cannot reap every where at once. 
 
 " We visit by appointment, and make a number of visits in 
 a day at a given hour. We sometimes meet ten or fifteen, and 
 sometimes thirty at once. We converse a little with each 
 one, speak a word to all in general, pray and pass on to ano- 
 ther circle, and so we spend our time. Our visits are gen- 
 erally short, except one which will never be forgotten. This 
 was August 25, at 2 o'clock, P. M., at the house of Mr. B. 
 We entered the house at the time appointed, and found about 
 twenty persons sitting around the room in pensive silence. 
 All had been more or less anxious for a number of days, and 
 one was in awful distress. This one I addressed more partic- 
 ularly, and urged the duty of immediate repentance, not with- 
 out some hope that relief would be obtained on the spot ; for 
 
DR. NETT1ETON. 115 
 
 I felt sure that this state of feeling, could not loag he sustained. 
 While pressing the conscience of this sinner, I found that this 
 distress had spread nearly throughout the circle. I detained 
 them the usual time, and advised them all to retire home to 
 their closets. Some started and went out of the door, and 
 others sat still with heavy hearts,. Very soon, Emily return- 
 ed, exclaiming, '0, I cannot go home, I dare not go. I shall 
 lose my concern. What shall I do ? ' and threw herself down 
 in a chair, and her head on the table, in the deepest agony. 
 All at once she became silent, and gently raised her head with 
 a placid countenance, and was heard to say in a mild tone of 
 voice, ' 0, 1 can submit, I can love Christ, How easy it is ; 
 why did I not. do it before,' We sat in silent amazement. 
 Every word sunk deep into our hearts. We felt the convic- 
 tion that God was there. She seized her next companion by 
 the hand, and with al} the tenderness becoming » fellow sinner, 
 began to press those very truths, which had so distressed her 
 own heart, the duty of immediate repentance and submission 
 to God. Every word became an arrow. I felt that the work 
 was taken out of my hands, for 1 perceived that God had made 
 her the most powerful preacher. All at once, A. became 
 silent, and lifted her head with a countenance beaming with 
 joy. ' The Saviour has come— -0 how happy.' This sent 
 fresh alarm through every heart. And now A. and E. unite 
 heart and hand, and begin with H. who had been in deep dis- 
 tress for some time. They urge with all the tenderness and 
 firm decision of those who had felt the conviction, the neces- 
 sity, and reasonableness of immediate repentance, and sub- 
 mission to God. The subject pressed harder and harder and 
 harder still, when all at once, H. was brought out of darkness 
 into marvelous light. These three now unite heart and hand, 
 and with one voice bear testimony to the same heart-rending 
 truth that God is right and the sinner wrong. The time would 
 fail me to finish the story of this visit. We met at 2 o'clock, 
 P. M., and were detained more than three hours. Suffice it 
 
116 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 to say, I never saw or heard of such an afternoon visit before, 
 for the one half has not been told. At the close, we began 
 to look about us to see, and inquire, what hath God wrought ! 
 We brought them into one circle. I said, is it possible ! This 
 is too much ! Had I not seen it, I could not have believed it. 
 For nine of those who entered the room in deep distress, were 
 now rejoicing in hope. The anxious ones had retired, and 
 we were left in a circle of young converts, if they are not de- 
 ceived. Not a hint had been given that one soul had experien- 
 ced religion, or had any reason to hope. This was the feeling, 
 '-It is right I should love and serve God, and this I intend to 
 do, whether saved or lost.' Oh, it was a delightful circle, 
 humble, tender, affectionate and joyful. They appeared like 
 children of the same great family. 
 
 " About eighty have been brought to rejoice in hope in this 
 city during five weeks past. Besides these, about twenty-five 
 students in Yale College, have become hopeful subjects of 
 divine grace. But we much fear the bustle of commence- 
 ment. It would be nothing strange, if all our prospects of a 
 future harvest should be blighted, before another week shall 
 end. Pray for us. My love to all my dear friends in Nassau, 
 and tell them how I long to see them. Live near to God. 
 Live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you. 
 In short, ' Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gos- 
 pel of Christ, that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, 
 I may hear of your affairs, that ye standfast in one spirit, with 
 one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.' 
 
 Yours as ever." 
 
 The reader will observe that in describing the scene of 
 thrilling interest which occurred at the house of Mr. B., Mr. 
 Nettleton says, "Not a hint had been given that one soul had expe- 
 rienced religion, or had any reason to hope." This accords with 
 his uniform practice. He never told persons that they had 
 reason to hope. He would set before them with great plain- 
 
DR. NETTLBTON. 117 
 
 ness, the distinguishing evidences of regeneration, and enjoin 
 it upon them to be faithful and honest in the application of 
 these evidences to themselves. 
 
 The reader may be curious to know what became of these 
 nine individuals, who were thus suddenly, and almost simul- 
 taneously, brought to rejoice in hope ; and the suspicion may 
 perhaps have crossed his mind, that with most of them the 
 change was the effect of sympathy, and was only temporary. 
 This, however, appears not to have been the case. I have 
 understood that they all gave very satisfactory evidence of 
 piety. Five of them have departed this life, all of whom died 
 peacefully, and some of them very triumphantly. Those who 
 survive, it is believed, continue to adorn their christian pro- 
 fession. Of two that are dead, viz. Susan B. Marble, and 
 Adeline Marble, interesting memoirs were published. Susan 
 B. Marble was the youngest of the nine, being in the four- 
 teenth year of her age. She died Feb. 4th, 1821, the day on 
 which she, with one hundred other individuals was to have 
 been received into the church. She appears to have been a 
 youth of remarkably amiable disposition. Her biographer, 
 speaking of her state of mind while under conviction, says, 
 " It was peculiarly interesting to converse with her at this 
 time. A person ignorant of the natural character of man, as 
 delineated in the scriptures, would think that one so young 
 and amiable could need nothing new ; yet according to the 
 estimate of the Saviour of sinners, she still lacked one thing. 
 This she felt and deplored. What chiefly distressed her, 
 was, the sinfulness and hardness of her heart, and its opposi- 
 tion to God." 
 
 I quote this remark, for the purpose of turning the attention 
 of the reader to the fact,that those who were converted under Mr. 
 Nettleton's preaching, however young and however amiable, 
 were brought to see the sinfulness and hardness of their hearts, 
 and their opposition to Gad. 
 
 In a letter from Mr. Nettleton to Mrs. Parmele, of Bolton, 
 
118 MEMOIR OF 
 
 dated May 15th, 1822, there is a touching allusion to the 
 scenes above described. 
 
 " You recollect reading an account of the death of Susan B. 
 Marble, in New Haven. She was one of the nine who were 
 brought out rejoicing in an afternoon's visit. When I was in 
 New Haven last, Betsey Bishop, another of that number died. 
 She was an interesting youth. I had then so far recovered 
 my health, that I went to the conference room, and addressed 
 the people on the subject of her death, and alluded to that 
 interesting afternoon. A number of ;that same circle called 
 to see me one evening, and to talk over the interesting 
 event. They used to meet frequently by themselves, and con- 
 verse and pray together. It was a little band of love. Adeline 
 Marble, Susan's sister, was one of this happy number. She 
 was present at that evening visit — still clad in mourning. 
 Last evening, I saw from the paper, that she too has gone to 
 her long home. I retired, and could not but weep — ' Child of 
 mortality.' Thus three of these blooming youth, have found 
 an early grave. Had you seen them as I have, you too would 
 weep, as well as rejoice." 
 
 The Religious Intelligencer for Oct. 7th, contains the fol- 
 lowing statement in relation to the progress of this revival. 
 
 " We mentioned not long since, that a revival had commen- 
 ced in this city. Since that time God has done great things 
 for us, which has given joy on earth, and we believe great joy 
 in heaven. Since the commencement of this glorious work 
 of grace, there have been within the bounds of charity, about 
 two hundred souls, belonging to the two Congregational soci 
 eties, including about thirty in college before its recess, who 
 have been called out of darkness into marvelous light. This, 
 when compared with the five preceding years of dearth, will 
 be considered as the commencement, at least, of a glorious har- 
 vest. And we still hope for greater things than these. Truly, 
 this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. He 
 works like himself, and none can hinder. The Mil dest infidel 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 119 
 
 must see and acknowledge that it is the work of God. And 
 could he witness our assemblies, where three or four hundred 
 are convened for the purpose of inquiry, and behold the solem- 
 nity and the distress for sin, we think he would feel that the 
 Lord was there. And could he behold the same company of 
 convicted, trembling sinners, in smiling crowds, rejoicing in 
 the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, he would be equally con- 
 vinced that the same Holy Spirit, who convinced them of sin, 
 -is, when the sinner has submitted, the blessed comforter which 
 Christ promised to send. 
 
 " The work is still in progress. It is the still, small voice 
 that convinces of sin. ' The wind bloweth where it listeth ; 
 we hear^the sound thereof, but cannot tell whence it cometh 
 or whither it goeth.' We have no new gospel, no other terms 
 of salvation than those that have always been held out, for 
 acceptance. The sinner has been taught invariably, that he 
 must not look for comfort without submission. And such has 
 been the faithfulness of our spiritual teachers, that in most 
 cases, those who have been slain by the law, and brought to 
 despair of climbing up some other way, have been led directly 
 to the Saviour, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life ; and 
 who has always been ready and willing to receive them." 
 
 This revival continued for many months, and spread into 
 all the surrounding region. In the Religious Intelligencer for 
 June 9th, 1821, is the following statement: 
 
 " On the last Sabbath, twenty-six were added to the church 
 under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr, Merwin, making in 
 all, about three hundred added to the congregational churches 
 in this city, as fruits of the revival. We trust a goodly num- 
 ber more will still come over from the ranks of the enemy, 
 and publicly avow their friendship for Him who has said, 
 ' whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess 
 also before my Father, which is in heaven.' 
 
 " Since the revival commenced in this city, it has extended 
 to most of our neighboring towns. Out of thirty-one congre- 
 
120 MEMOIR OF 
 
 gations in the county of New-HaVen, at least twenty-five have 
 been visited, during the past winter and spring, with the 
 special presence of the Lord ; and it is estimated that within 
 these limits, between fifteen hundred and two thousand souls 
 have been called by his grace, out of nature's darkness into 
 marvelous light." 
 
 Mr. Nettleton confined his labors to New Haven and Yale 
 Ctfllege, until the 1 8th of September, when he repaired to 
 North Killingworth, his native place. He returned to New- 
 Haven, October 10th, and continued there about a week, 
 preaching several times. He labored there also for a season 
 in the month of December. 
 
 His labors were greatly blessed in North Killingworth. 
 He went there from New Haven, September 18. He men-> 
 tions in his journal that on the 25th of that month he attended 
 an inquiry meeting at which sixty-two were present. From 
 this time, the work became very powerful and rapid in its 
 progress. On the 29th, thirty were rejoicing in hope ; and on 
 the 23d of October, there were ninety rejoicing. 
 
 The Rev. Asa King, who was at that time pastor of the 
 church in North Killingworth, in a letter dated July 16th, 1'844, 
 says, " That ever-to j be-remembered revival commenced about 
 the last of August, in a Bible claSs, which for some months, I 
 had weekly attended ; and it had been in pleasing progress ' 
 for some time before brother Nettleton's arrival ; when under 
 his labors it received a fresh impulse, and went forward with 
 unusual power. As he used occasionally to visit his native 
 place, to rest awhile from the exhausting labors of a revival, I 
 had the privilege of gathering many useful hints from his com- 
 munications, and I am free to say, that to him, under God, I 
 am very much indebted for the measures I adopted, and for 
 the course Which, with a good degree of success, I pursued, 
 before he came to my assistance. After spending several 
 weeks at North Killingworth, he was called to New Haven, 
 and then to Wethersfield, and visited us only occasionally. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 12. 
 
 " The hopeful converts were one hundred and sixty-two • 
 one hundred and seven of whom united with the church at the 
 communion season in January, and soon after twenty-five more 
 — making in all one hundred and thirty-two. So far as I have 
 known, with very few exceptions, they have been careful to 
 maintain good works. 
 
 " The influence of that revival upon the church, was very 
 happy. It produced unanimity of sentiment on doctrinal points 
 about which they had long contended, and cordiality of feel- 
 ing where there had been prejudices of long standing. Though 
 brother Nettleton was a prophet in his own country ; yet I 
 doubt whether in any place, his labors were more highly ap- 
 preciated than they were by those who had known him from 
 his childhood." 
 
 In the months of October and November, he preached a few 
 times in North Madison, where was a very interesting revival 
 of religion, which was greatly promoted by his labors. 
 
 At the earnest solicitation of the Rev. Dr. Tenney, on the 
 23d of December, 1820, he came from New Haven to Weth- 
 ersfield, where a work of grace had already commenced. He 
 labored here with great success for three or four months, occa- 
 sionally visiting other places in the vicinity^ 
 
 The Religious Intelligencer, for April 1 3th, 1822, contains 
 an account of this revival, written by Dr. Tenney, from which 
 I make the following extract : 
 
 " Previous to the revival, our church consisted of about two 
 hundred and sixty members. As its fruits, precisely two 
 hundred more have been added. Of this addition seventy- 
 nine are heads of families. Sixty-two are males, and thirty- 
 two are young unmarried men, who with ten previously in the 
 church, make forty-two. A number of others have indulged 
 hope, who have not professed religion. Generally, the sub- 
 jects of the work still appear well. Some instances of con- 
 version have been strongly marked. The awakening of some 
 has been sudden and powerful, and has soon issued in tri- 
 11 
 
122 MEMOIR OF 
 
 umphant peace. In others, it has been as the still, small voice 
 One individual, who had been a total disbeliever in revelation, 
 began and continued to examine the subject of religion with all 
 the coolness of a mathematician ; until in the course of a few 
 weeks, the great truths of scripture, bore upon his conscience 
 with insupportable power, and had almost that ' keen vibra- 
 tion' through his soul, which makes hell ; and his heart yielded 
 to God. One aged man said, ' If I have ever been born of 
 God, it was on the day I was 76 years old.' Another said 
 respecting himself, ' it was the day when I was 68.' In one 
 family, a mother of eleven children, who had long gone to the 
 table of Christ, mourning that of her great family there was 
 not one to accompany her, now hopes that eight of her chil- 
 dren, and two children-in-law, are the children of God. In 
 another family, consisting of parents and seven children, all 
 have indulged hope excepting one son who was absent at sea. 
 Two of these are united to a different denomination. A 
 widow, the mother of seven children, some of them pious 
 years ago, now has hope of all the others ; the whole family 
 belong to the church. Nearly at the very time that a woman 
 experienced religion at home, her husband experienced it at 
 sea. Of the nature and joy of their next meeting, let chris- 
 tians judge. 
 
 " Greatly are we indebted to a number of neighboring min- 
 isters, whose labors here were of great use. Peculiar are 
 our obligations to the Rev. Asahel Nettleton, who was 
 much with us, and whose labors were blessed eminently and 
 extensively. To us and the churches in this region, he has 
 been of as great use, as were to ancient Israel, their chariots 
 and horsemen. Though in this work, there has been the 
 strongest coincidence between the means used and the success, 
 and between the prayerfulness of christians, and the convic- 
 tion and conversion of sinners, yet God has displayed his 
 glorious sovereignty as well as faithfulness. Here, and in 
 this section of the country. God has illustriously displayed 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 123 
 
 his perfections in the work which is emphatically His. To 
 Him all the glory is due. To Him let it be given now and 
 evermore.'' 
 
 While in Wethersfield, Mr. Nettleton labored a part of the 
 time in Newington, a parish in the town of Wethersfield, 
 under the pastoral care of the Rev. Joab Brace. Here, as 
 in other places, his labors were accompanied by the outpour- 
 ing of the Spirit of God. There is an account of the revival 
 in this place, published by Mr. Brace, in the Religious Intel- 
 ligencer for May 11th, 1832. The following is an extract 
 from this account. 
 
 " In the summer of 1 820, an uncommon emotion was felt. 
 There was a sound in the top of the mulberry trees, and 
 although the indication was not distinctly understood at the 
 time, yet the result has proved, that God had then actually 
 gone forth. A number of serious persons were under dis- 
 tressing apprehension of ruin as coming on this place, and 
 they cried unto the Lord for help. Several women of the 
 church, privately instituted a weekly concert in the closet, to 
 implore the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. A few sinners 
 were uneasy, and yet without very definite impressions ; and 
 there was no awakening of a decisive character, until three 
 or four months after this period. 
 
 " This religious concern may be traced to Wethersfield, and 
 thence to New Haven, where the present series of revivals 
 appear to have commenced in the summer of 1820. In 
 Wethersfield, the work appeared with some distinctness in 
 October ; and in November, it began to be spoken of abroad ; 
 but there was no visible effect in this place. I thought it 
 would be a local work, as revivals in this vicinity, had gener- 
 ally been in former times ; and did not suppose that any 
 measures were to be taken for extending it among our people ; 
 but it is of great benefit, that neighboring ministers and peo- 
 ple visit frequently, a place favored with the energy of the 
 Spirit of God. The people heard with awe, of what God 
 
124 MEMOIR OF 
 
 was doing in the first parish in this town ; some persons went 
 over to their meetings, and were distressed at the thought of 
 this place being still passed by. Above all other means, what 
 raised the general attention, was the coming of the Rev. 
 Asahel Nettle ton, on the last of December, 1820, as unex- 
 pectedly as a messenger from heaven, apparently commission- 
 ed from the Almighty Head of the Church, and accompanied 
 by the Holy Spirit. Next morning, he preached on being 
 ashamed of Christ. This fixed a listening ear. In the after- 
 noon, he dwelt upon the causes of alarm to awakened sinners. 
 In the evening the assembly was crowded, and the attention 
 profound. His text was, Behold I stand at the door and knock. 
 The discourse was closed with surprising effect, by repeating 
 the hymn, ' Behold a stranger at the door.' "When prayer 
 was ended, while the people were standing, he made a very 
 close application of the subject to their hearts, in a short ad- 
 dress, which was very silently and solemnly heard. He re- 
 quested them to retire without making a noise. ' I love to 
 talk to you, you are so still. It looks as though the Spirit of 
 God were here. Go away as still as possible. Do not talk 
 by the way, lest you forget your own hearts. Do not ask 
 how you like the preacher ; but retire to your closets, bow 
 before God ; and give yourselves to him this night.' After 
 the benediction, he inquired of many persons individually, 
 ' have you made your peace with God ? Do you calculate to 
 attend to this subject V Many promised that they would try 
 to make their peace with God immediately — that they would 
 repent that night — and a permanent impression was made. 
 From this, the flame spread over the parish ; the current of 
 feeling was turned ; the people gathered around their minister 
 with peculiar attachment ; meetings were crowded and sol- 
 emn ; the things of eternity filled the people with awe. The 
 work of God seemed to be in almost every house. Mr. Net- 
 tleton continued his visits from the last of December to the 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 125 
 
 first of April, with a beneficial influence, which it is hoped 
 will be felt in the world of glory. 
 
 " Friday, Jan. 26, 1821, was observed by the church as a 
 special fast, in which they were joined by almost the whole 
 congregation. It was a solemn season, and as we hope, a 
 day of new life to some souls. In the evening, at sunset, a 
 meeting for inquirers was held at my house, under the direc- 
 tion and management of Mr. Nettleton, while I met the church 
 at another house for prayer. In the mean time, a great con- 
 gregation had assembled at the meeting-house, many from the 
 neighboring parishes ; and there Mr. Nettleton discoursed 
 with great effect, upon the story of the woman that washed 
 the Saviour's feet with her tears ; Luke viii. 37 : to the end 
 of the chapter. At this time, experimental religion had be- 
 come the great theme of reflection and conversation, and it 
 seemed as though all my people were pressing into the king- 
 dom of heaven — numbers were every week embracing the 
 hope that they had passed from death unto life. * * * 
 The characteristics of the work may be thus stated. There 
 were some instances of deep distress ; but none of that over- 
 whelming kind, in which subjects faint, or fall to the ground, 
 or are unable to leave their seats. In some cases, convictions 
 were long continued ; in others, the heart was speedily bow- 
 ed. Some, after long distress, rose almost imperceptibly to 
 a faint hope ; in others, the hope was bright and satisfying. 
 No instances of extravagant joy occurred, though several 
 were much elevated. In convictions, the subjects were much 
 affected with their guiltiness before God, as with fear of 
 everlasting destruction. When the sinner was humbled, he 
 acknowledged his great depravity, his desert of eternal con- 
 demnation, and his entire dependence on sovereign grace in 
 the sight of God, and was pleased with the idea of uncon- 
 ditional submission to the will and glory of God. One prom- 
 inent feature in the converts, was, a fear of deception. Much 
 was said on the danger of false hopes, which probably had 
 11* 
 
126 MEMOIR OF 
 
 an influence to check flights of joy ; for they were much and 
 anxiously inquiring how far the adversary might possibly be- 
 guile. **»*****» 
 On the whole, it has been a serious and delightful season. 
 Many souls, we hope, have been truly brought home to Christ ; 
 but also, many we fear have quenched the Holy Spirit, and 
 taken up their portion in this world ; still prayer is made 
 without ceasing for them. During Mr. Nettleton's stay with 
 us, this place was a common center of divine entertainment, 
 in comparison with which, all the pleasures of this world are 
 faint and feeble. The multitudes who flocked in from the 
 neighboring congregations, appeared to feel themselves richly 
 repaid for their pains ; and some of them carried home the 
 spirit, where it spread and operated powerfully, until the 
 region appeared like the garden of God." 
 
 Feb. 18th, 1821, Mr. Nettleton commenced his labors in 
 Farmington. The results which ensued, may be learned 
 from the following account, written by the Rev. Dr. Porter, 
 pastor of the church in that place, and published in the ap- 
 pendix to Dr. Sprague's Lectures on Revivals. 
 
 "The year 1821 was eminently, in Connecticut, a year of 
 revivals. Between eighty and a hundred congregations were 
 signally blessed. From the commencement of the year, a 
 new state of feeling began to appear in this town. On the 
 first Sabbath in February, I stated to the assembly, the tokens 
 of the gracious presence of God in several places of the 
 vicinity, and urged the duties peculiarly incumbent on us at 
 such a season. This I had often done before, but not with the 
 same effect. Professors of religion now began evidently to 
 awake. They had an anxiety for themselves and for the peo- 
 ple, that would allow them no rest. In their communications 
 with each other and with the world, they were led spontane- 
 ously to confess their unfaithfulness, and a few without the 
 church, about the same time, were pungently convicted. In 
 this state of things, Rev. Mr. Nettleton made us his first visit. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 127 
 
 His preaching on the evening of a Lord's day in this month, 
 from Acts ii. 37, was sent home by the power of the Spirit 
 upon the hearts of many ; and his discourse on the Wednes- 
 day evening following, from Gen. vi. 3, was blessed to the 
 conviction of a still greater number. As many as fifty per- 
 sons, it was afterwards ascertained, dated their first decided 
 purpose of immediately seeking their salvation from that 
 evening ; and it is worthy of remark, that the same sermon 
 was preached on the following week to two other large and 
 solemn assemblies, in the adjoining parishes, with no special 
 effect that could afterwards be traced. The fact probably 
 was, that here it convinced numbers that the Spirit was 
 already striving with them, and that then was their day. ' A 
 word spoken in due season, how good is it !' At a meeting of 
 the anxious, on the evening of February 26, there were present, 
 about a hundred and seventy. Here were persons of almost 
 every age and class — some who a few weeks before, had put 
 the subject of serious piety at a scornful distance, and others 
 who had drowned every thought of religion in giddy mirth, 
 now bending their knees together in supplication, or waiting 
 in silent reflection, for a minister of the gospel to pass along, 
 and tell them individually, what they must do. Twelve were 
 found to have lately become peaceful in hope, and a great 
 number to be powerfully convicted of sin. From this time, 
 so rapid was the progress of the work, that at the next simi- 
 lar meeting, March 12th, there were present a hundred and 
 eighty, (the room would hold no more,) of whom, fifty sup- 
 posed, that since the commencement of the revival, they had 
 become reconciled to God ; and a week afterwards, I had the 
 names of more than ninety, who indulged the same persuasion 
 concerning themselves. 
 
 " The state of feeling which, at this time pervaded the 
 town, was interesting beyond description. There was no 
 commotion, but a stillness in our very streets ; a serenity in 
 the aspect of the pious ; and a solemnity apparent in almost 
 
128 MEMOIR OF 
 
 all, which forcibly impressed us with the conviction, that in 
 very deed, God was in this place. Public meetings,, however, 
 were not very frequent. They were so appointed, as to 
 afford opportunity for the same individual to hear preaching 
 twice a week, beside on the Sabbath. Occasionally there 
 were also meetings of an hour in the morning or at noon, at 
 private dwellings, at which the serious in the neighborhood 
 were convened, on short notice, for prayer and conference. 
 The members of the church also met weekly, in convenient 
 sections, for prayer, and commonly on the evenings selected 
 for the meetings of the anxious. From these various meet- 
 ings, the people were accustomed to retire directly, and with 
 little communication together, to their respective homes. 
 They were disposed to be much alone, and were spontane- 
 ously led to take the Word of God for their guide. The Bible 
 was preferred to all other books, and was searched daily with 
 eager inquiry. 
 
 " Mr. Nettleton continued with us, except during a few 
 short intervals, till about the middle of April. To his labors, 
 so far as human instrumentality was directly concerned, the 
 progress of the revival must be chiefly ascribed. The topics 
 on which he principally dwelt, were the unchangeable obli- 
 gations of the divine law, the deceitful and entirely depraved 
 character of the natural heart, the free, indiscriminate offers 
 of the gospel ; the reasonableness and necessity of immedi- 
 ate repentance ; the vanity of those excuses to which awa- 
 kened sinners are accustomed to resort; and the manner, 
 guilt, and danger of slighting, resisting, and opposing the op- 
 erations of the Holy Spirit. His addresses were not formal 
 discussions, first of one, and then of another of these sub 
 jects, but a free declaration of the truth of God concerning 
 them all, just as they lie in the course of spiritual experience, 
 and would best subserve the particular end which he was 
 laboring at the time to gain. They were too plain to be mis- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 129 
 
 understood, too fervent to be unheeded, and too searching and 
 convincing to be treated with indifference. 
 
 " It was a favorable circumstance, that among the first sub- 
 jects of the work, there was a large proportion of the more 
 wealthy and intelligent class. A considerable number of 
 youths, belonging chiefly to this class, had just finished a 
 course of biblical instruction, for which I had met them 
 weekly, for more than a year. These, with scarcely an ex- 
 ception, at the very commencement of the revival, embraced 
 the gospel which they had learned ; and by their experience 
 of its power, commended it to the families where they be- 
 longed. Within about three months, I suppose there were 
 about two hundred and fifty members of the congregation, 
 who supposed that they had passed from death unto life. On 
 the first Sabbath in June, a hundred and fifteen were added to 
 the church, and at subsequent periods, a hundred and twenty 
 besides. Of these, a few have since been rejected, and others 
 have declined from their first love. But I have not perceived 
 that a greater proportion of hopeful conversions in this revival, 
 than in others, previous or subsequent to it, have proved un- 
 sound. Many have died, and many have removed from our 
 immediate connexion, but those who remain, now constitute 
 the chief strength of the church.'' 
 
 This account was written in 1832, eleven years after the 
 revival. 
 
 The Religious Intelligencer for Sept. 1st, 1821, contains an 
 extract of a letter dated July 16th, of the same year, giving 
 the following brief notice of this revival. 
 
 " Of all the revivals that I have ever witnessed, none have 
 so deeply interested my heart, none appear so strikingly to 
 manifest the power of God, or the excellence of the christian 
 character, as that with which Farmington has been blessed. 
 Oh, I have often thought, while residing among this people, 
 what glorious work a revival of religion would make in this 
 town. The blessed effect of such a work I have now wit- 
 
130 MEMOIR OP 
 
 nessed ; and it is beyond any thing I could have had faith to 
 pray for. The change in the moral aspect of things is aston- 
 ishing. Many who have been very far from God and right- 
 eousness, have as we humbly hope, recently been brought 
 nigh by the blood of his Son. Some, whose moral condition 
 once appeared hopeless, are now in their right minds, at the 
 feet of Jesus. Many of the professed devotees of Mammon, 
 have recently parted with all for Christ. A large class of 
 this community have been eagerly engaged in the pursuit of 
 riches ; and their clashing interests, combined with these 
 feelings of selfishness and pride — which avarice fosters, have 
 produced, as might be expected, quarrels among neighbors, 
 and much hostility of feeling. The quelling of this hostile 
 spirit, was among the first visible effects of the Spirit of God. 
 Of many, who have formerly been not even on speaking terms, 
 it may now be said, as it was of the early disciples, ' See 
 how these christians love one another.' Let any person wit- 
 ness the glorious effects which this work of grace has produc- 
 ed in Farmington, and still disapprove of a revival of religion ; 
 and it would not be difficult, I think, to decide to whose king- 
 dom that person belongs." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Labors in Pittsfield, Lenox, Leo, Litchfield, New Haven, Somers, Tolland, and 
 South Wilbraham. 
 
 In the year 1820, there was a revival of religion in Pitts- 
 field, Mass. The Rev. Dr. Humphrey, late President of 
 Amherst College, was pastor of the church in that town. The 
 religious attention had subsided, and the revival was supposed 
 to be at an end, when in the spring of 1821, under the preach- 
 ing of Mr. Nettleton, God again appeared in his glory to build 
 up Zion. There is an account of this revival from the pen of 
 Dr. Humphrey, in the sixth' volume of the Religious Intelligen- 
 cer, from which I make the following extract. 
 
 " Early in the month of May, the Rev. Asahel Nettleton, 
 whose name is so familiar both to the friends and enemies of 
 revivals, came to this town to ' rest awhile,' and to await the 
 future calls of Providence. But he was not to remain long 
 inactive ; and the three or four weeks which he thought of 
 spending in retirement here, were prolonged through as many 
 months of unceasing labor. By the middle of May, there was 
 some excitement ; but whether it was the effect of mere curi- 
 osity, or of the Spirit beginning to move on the hearts of the 
 people, it was at first impossible to determine. For a fort- 
 night or more, nothing very decisive took place. Which way 
 the scale would turn, was to us altogether uncertain. Every 
 thing appeared to be hushed into silent and anxious expecta- 
 tion. It was the stillness that precedes an earthquake — 
 though the subsequent shock was neither sudden nor violent. 
 
132 MEMOIR OP 
 
 " In the latter part of May, we ventured, though with con- 
 siderable solicitude, to appoint a meeting for the inquiring, if 
 there should be any such in the congregation. Nearly twenty 
 attended, and some of them were found to be under very seri- 
 ous impressions. No professor of religion was invited or 
 expected to attend. It was a meeting exclusively for those 
 who were beginning to realize their exposure and their guilt. 
 The next meeting was better attended, and it was found that a 
 few were sinking in the deep waters of conviction. 
 
 " From this time, the work solemnly and steadily advanced, 
 particularly in the heart of the town, where the strong man 
 armed, had for a long time kept his palace. He lifted up his 
 voice to summon the mighty to his standard, but it was in vain, 
 for the God of Jacob was with us. So far was the enemy 
 from making any impression upon the camp of the faithful, 
 that his own ranks were thinned and disheartened, by the de- 
 sertion of many on whom he had placed great reliance, and of 
 whose unshaken allegiance, he had confidently boasted. 
 
 " During the whole month of June, the revival grew more 
 interesting and decisive every day. Many were rejoicing in 
 hope, and more were alarmed at their own stupidity and dan- 
 ger. The voice of prayer was heard for the first time in 
 several of our principal families. Not less than five domestic 
 altars were erected in one day. In this state of things, and 
 when religion was the principal topic of conversation in all 
 circles, whether large or small, it was natural for those who 
 felt a new and deep interest in the subject, to wish for an 
 appropriate celebration of the fourth' of July, and arrangements 
 were accordingly made for a prayer meeting at sunrise, and a 
 public religious service in the afternoon. The prayer meeting 
 was well attended. At two o'clock, our large house of wor- 
 ship was rilled, and we had the pleasure of meeting there 
 many of our christian friends from different and even remote 
 parts of the county. The audience was solemn, notwith- 
 standing ***** But here let me 
 
D R. NETTLETON . 133 
 
 draw a veil over the painful interruptions which we experien- 
 ced. Charity hopeth all things, endureth all things ; and he 
 is but a poor soldier, who can be frightened by mere powder. 
 It is due to justice to state, that all the respectable people in 
 the town, (whatever some of them might think of the expe- 
 diency of such a celebration,) strongly disapproved of what- 
 ever tended to disturb us in our worship. But God meant it 
 for good. Through the riches of his grace, an impulse was 
 that day given to the revival, which was long and happily felt, 
 and which we shall have reason to remember with no ordi- 
 nary emotions of wonder and gratitude, for a great while to 
 come. Instances of conviction and conversion became more 
 frequent than they had been ; and from this time, the work 
 continued with little abatement, though never so rapid in its 
 progress, as some revivals, till the month of October. 
 
 " The third Sabbath in September will not be forgotten by 
 the present generation in Pittsfield ; for ' that Sabbath day was 
 an high day.' 
 
 " To see more than eighty persons, and one half of them 
 heads of families, rising up to enter into covenant with God 
 and his people — to look round and see who they were, and 
 think where some of them had been — to behold them coming 
 forward, high and low, rich and poor together, and kneeling to 
 receive the baptismal seal — to hear their song — to witness 
 their emotions, and to welcome them for the first time to the 
 table of the Lord — Oh it was a scene which I shall not at- 
 tempt to describe. We had-our. aged Simeons and Elizabeths 
 there ; and, we doubt not, there was joy in heaven. A sol- 
 emn awe and stillness pervaded the great congregation, and 
 some sinners were that day awakened by what they saw and 
 heard in the sanctuary." 
 
 In the foregoing account, there is allusion to what took 
 
 place on the fourth of July. A description of that scene was 
 
 given, by a person who was present, in a letter to the editor 
 
 of the Charleston (S. C.) Intelligencer. It was afterwards 
 
 12 
 
134 MEMOIK OF 
 
 copied into the Religious Intelligencer. I would gladly insert 
 the whole letter would ray limits permit. 
 
 The facts were these. The opposers of religion, finding 
 that a religious celebration of our National Independence was 
 agreed on, resolved to have a political celebration. They 
 occupied the church in the morning. 
 
 " At 2 o'clock," says the above-mentioned writer, " they 
 who loved the Lord, and respected his ordinances, began to 
 assemble in the same place. The church was crowded. 
 While the people were assembling, and as they passed near 
 the rioters, crackers were repeatedly exploded, in order to 
 intimidate them. The service began. It went calmly and 
 sweetly forward. The Rev. Mr. Humphrey, the pastor, took 
 his text from John viii : 36. ' If the Son, therefore, shall 
 make you free, ye shall be free indeed' 
 
 " He had not proceeded far, when the word — -fire — was 
 given, and our ears were suddenly stunned, and the congrega- 
 tion startled, by the report of cannon. It was the attack of 
 the adversary, and it was well kept up. But unfortunately 
 for him and his agents, every shot preached louder than ten 
 thousand thunders. Meanwhile the drums beat, and the fifes 
 played, and the soldiers marched back and forth before the 
 church door, animated moreover by the music of the cannon, 
 and the prospect of a glorious triumph over the cause of God. 
 But alas ! they were laboring hard to defeat themselves. 
 Some few christians, indeed, of delicate frame, and quick 
 sensibilities, were agitated and alarmed ; and others, though 
 not intimidated, dreaded the consequences of this violent at- 
 tack ; but generally, there were high hopes that this tumult 
 would be overruled for good. And so it was. So skillfully 
 did the preacher allude to, and apply his discourse to the con- 
 duct of the opposition out of doors ; such advantage did he 
 take of every blast of the cannon and every play of the drum, 
 by some well pointed remark, that it all went like a two-edged 
 sword to the hearts of listening sinners. Indeed, Mr. H. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 135 
 
 afterwards informed me, that had he showed the heads of his 
 sermon to his opposers previously, and earnestly requested 
 them, when he had reached such a point in his sermon, to 
 fire, and when he reached another point fire, they could not 
 more effectually have subserved the purpose of his discourse, 
 than they did. Those gentlemen who had walked in the op- 
 posers' procession, hung their heads, were disgusted, and in 
 some instances were convicted deeply of sin. One gentle- 
 man, who had been previously somewhat serious, declared to 
 me that every shot of the cannon pierced his soul, filled him 
 with a kind of indescribable horror, and brought him, through 
 the blessing of God, to such a hatred and detestation of sin 
 in himself and others, as constrained him quickly to fly to 
 Christ. 
 
 " I confess I trembled for the ark of God. Indeed I was so 
 uneasy, that after the sermon was concluded, I went and ex- 
 postulated with the ringleader, whose companion in wicked- 
 ness I once had been, and over whom 1 thought I might have 
 some influence. But I had reason to believe that in general 
 the spirits of the children of God were perfectly unruffled. I 
 sat near the Rev. Mr. Nettleton, and so delighted was he with 
 the discourse, and so accurately prescient too was he of the 
 result, that whenever an apt allusion dropped from the lips of 
 the preacher, he would turn round with a holy smile, and 
 whenever a shot from the cannon pierced our ears, he would 
 say — it would involuntarily escape from him — ' that is good — 
 that is good.' Speaking afterwards of the events of this day, 
 he observed to me, * Did you not feel calm. I thought there 
 was a deep and majestic calmness overspreading the minds of 
 christians' I found that very many did indeed feel so. 
 Nothing could be more appropriate, or more naturally arise 
 out of his text, than Mr. H's. description of the miserable 
 bondage in which those out of doors were faithfully serving 
 their master. 
 
 " The ministers looked forward with an alternation of hope 
 
136 MEMOIR OP 
 
 and fear to the meeting of inquiry, as that meeting was gen- 
 erally esteemed a kind of spiritual thermometer, by which the 
 degree of warmth and feeling in the society could be meas- 
 ured. This was held for an hour" previously to the evening 
 service. The time arrived. It was crowded — never so full 
 before. The daring and outrageous attack in the day had 
 driven many to the place in which he that appeared was 
 always supposed to be asking, ' What must I do to be saved ! ' 
 This question was emphatically asked in the meeting. It was 
 found that a most powerful impulse had been given to the 
 revival. Nor was this impulse at all weakened by the even- 
 ing service. 
 
 " The house was overflowing. You was there. You 
 marked the progress of things. Mr. Nettleton that evening 
 put forth his mightiest efforts. His discourse was one con- 
 tinued flash of conviction. He spoke from that part of Gen- 
 esis xix, which treats of the destruction of Sodom. - Up, get 
 ye out of this place,' was closely and powerfully applied, and 
 when he had given a full account of the nature and circum- 
 stances of Lot's expostulations with his sons-in-law, he came 
 to speak of the awful stillness which remained over Sodom, 
 while Lot was taking his leave. Oh, then, when all his warn- 
 ings were despised, and they would not believe a word he 
 said, then — then when Lot was safely out of Sodom — what a 
 terrible storm of fire ensued ! You remember, he turned the 
 heads of the audience completely towards the windows. They 
 involuntarily looked round to see the conflagration — to see 
 Sodom in flames. It was quite overpowering. 
 
 " This was an eventful and glorious day for Pittsfield. 
 From that time forward Emmanuel spread his trophies among 
 great and small. They who thought to crush the work ol 
 God were bitterly disappointed, and retired with shame. The 
 fruits of this revival are one hundred and forty converts. 
 Praise the Lord." 
 
 While Mr. Nettleton was laboring in Pittsfield, he preached 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 137 
 
 frequently in Lenox. With what success will appear from 
 the following statement of the Rev. Dr. Shepard, pastor of 
 the church in that place. 
 
 " In the spring of 1821, Dr. Nettleton came to Pittsfield, in 
 consequence of an invitation from Dr. Humphrey. Dr. Net- 
 tleton was in poor health, and Dr. Humphrey invited him to 
 his house, with the hope, that by being relieved from pressing 
 calls, he might recover his health. When Dr. Nettleton first 
 came to Pittsfield, he took no part, I believe, in religious 
 meetings. After a while, he preached once or twice in the 
 course of a week. His preaching was soon attended with a 
 divine blessing, and was undoubtedly instrumental of a revival 
 of religion in Pittsfield, and several other towns in the vicin- 
 ity. When I was from home on a journey, Dr. Nettleton 
 preached in Lenox on the Sabbath, and two or three times in 
 the course of the week after ; and on my return, I found a 
 revival begun, and progressing in the town. Many were 
 awakened, and some were rejoicing in hope. He afterwards 
 preached occasionally in my parish, as his engagements else- 
 where permitted. The number of hopeful converts who were 
 received into the church as the fruits of that revival, was ninety- 
 one. Almost all of them continued to adorn the doctrine of 
 God their Saviour, by the virtues of a sober, righteous, and 
 godly life. ' These,' as I find stated in my church record, 
 ' These are the fruits of a revival of religion in this town last 
 summer. Rev. Asahel Nettleton, was apparently instrumental 
 of great good in that season of refreshing from the presence of 
 the Lord. May the Lord reward him for his labors of love ; 
 and may we as a church, be more humble and prayerful ; and 
 may God in his sovereign mercy continue to shed down his 
 divine influence here.' 
 
 " You ask, ' what were the characteristics of his preaching, 
 
 and in what did its chief excellencies consist ? ' I answer. 
 
 He held no protracted meetings ; nor did he adopt any new 
 
 measures apparently for effect. His labors consisted princi- 
 
 12* 
 
138 MEMOIR OF 
 
 pally in preaching the Word. He sometimes appointed what 
 was called an inquiry meeting. At such meetings, he man- 
 ifested an almost instinctive discernment of character ; and 
 his remarks, in accordance with it, were sometimes attended 
 with a powerful effect. In his preaching, his humility was 
 apparent to all. He was, I believe, eminently a man of prayer. 
 That he entered the pulpit, or the inquiring meeting directly 
 from the ' mount of communion' with his Maker, no one would 
 readily doubt, who was witness of the holy calm, the indescrib- 
 able, the almost unearthly solemnity and earnestness of his 
 manner. His countenance was peculiarly expressive, his 
 demeanor was dignified, and his voice was at times very me- 
 lodious. The joy with which his heart seemed to be filled 
 by a contemplation of the love of Jesus, in giving his life a 
 ransom for sinners, marked his preaching, and imparted an 
 unction and uncommnn energy to his eloquence. When he 
 spake of the glories of heaven, it was, almost, as if he had 
 been there himself. When he made his appeals to the sinner, 
 he made them with a directness, which placed before him, as 
 in a mirror, his utterly lost state. It seemed at times, as if he 
 was about to uncover the bottomless pit, and to invite the un- 
 godly to come and listen to the groans of the damned ; and 
 then, drinking deeply of the spirit of his master when he wept 
 over Jerusalem, to urge them to flee from the wrath to come, 
 with an expression of countenance, which it is not in my 
 power to describe. Many who came with a skeptical and 
 cavilling spirit to hear him, had their attention arrested at 
 once to the great truths communicated by him, and at the close 
 of the meeting, were anxiously inquiring what they should do 
 to be saved. The success attending his preaching, seemed, 
 in short, to be a plain and clear illustration of all the distin- 
 guishing doctrines of the gospel, by a humble, devout, pray- 
 ing, unpretending man, constrained to his duty by the love of 
 Christ. 
 
 " The influence of the revival upon the interests of the 
 
DE. NETTLETON. 139 
 
 church in this and other places, was very happy, and is 
 plainly to be seen, especially in regard to the faith once deliv- 
 ered to the saints, up to this time. The tendency of Dr. Net- 
 tleton's preaching, and indeed of all his labors here and else- 
 where, as far as I have learned in regard to them, has been to 
 establish the churches in the faith and order of the gospel, 
 and to strengthen the hands of every clergyman with whom 
 he labored. I never heard that any minister, among whose 
 people Dr. Nettleton labored, ever expressed any regret that 
 he had been with them. On the contrary, when I at any time 
 meet with a minister who formerly had assistance from Dr. 
 Nettleton, especially in a season of revival, he never fails to 
 express great respect for him, and unfeigned gratitude for the 
 benefit derived to him and his people horn his labors." 
 
 In the month of August he spent a few days in Lee. In the 
 letter of Dr. Hyde, published in the appendix to Dr. Sprague's 
 Lectures on Revivals, there is a brief notice of his labors in 
 that town. Dr. Hyde says, " In the summer of 1821, there 
 was an evident increase of solemnity in the church and con- 
 gregation, and some individuals were known to be anxious for 
 their souls. This appearance continued for several weeks, 
 under the same means of grace which the people had long 
 enjoyed, but none were found who rejoiced in hope. The 
 church often assembled for prayer, and in the month of August, 
 we observed a day of fasting and prayer. The meeting house 
 was well filled, and a deep solemnity pervaded the congrega- 
 tion. The hearts of many seemed to ' burn within them,' and 
 there were increasing indications in the rising cloud, ' of abun- 
 dance of rain.' We began to hear from one and another a 
 new language, the language of submission to God. 
 
 " At this interesting crisis, the Rev. Asahel Nettleton spent 
 a few days with us. He preached five sermons to overflow- 
 ing assemblies, and his labors were remarkably blessed. The 
 Spirit of God came down upon us, ' like a rushing mighty 
 wind.' Conversions were frequent, sometimes several in a 
 
140 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 day, and the change in the views and feelings of the subjects 
 was wonderful. At the suggestion of Mr. Nettleton, 1 now 
 instituted what are called inquiry meetings. More than a hun- 
 dred persons attended the first. These meetings, as I found 
 them to be convenient, were continued through this revival ; 
 and I have ever since made use of them, as occasion required, 
 sometimes weekly for many months in succession." 
 
 Mr. Nettleton continued his labors in Berkshire county, 
 making Pittsfield the principal theatre of his operations, until 
 about the middle of August, when he returned to Farmington, 
 where he spent a few days in delightful intercourse with his 
 christian friends, and then in the early part of September, 
 repaired to Litchfield. He had labored much in Litchfield at 
 different times previously, in connection with the Rev. Dr. 
 Beecher ; but as it was before he began to keep a journal, I 
 am unable to fix the dates. His labors at these different 
 periods were highly appreciated both by Dr. Beecher and his 
 people, and were evidently blessed to the salvation of many 
 souls. In the autumn of 1821, Dr. Beecher was obliged to 
 suspend his labors, and travel for his health. At this time 
 Mr. Nettleton supplied his pulpit from the beginning of Sep- 
 tember, till the middle of January, 1822. When he commen- 
 ced his labors, he found things in a very unpromising state. 
 A bad state of feeling existed in the church, and great spiritual 
 apathy pervaded the congregation. But it was not long before 
 things began to assume a new aspect. The church seemed 
 to awake out of sleep, and to mourn over their backslidings. 
 A spirit of prayer was poured out upon the people of God ; 
 and sinners began to inquire what they must do to be saved. 
 
 Soon after the revival commenced, some events occurred 
 which he feared would divert the attention of the people from 
 the great concerns of the soul. One was a cattle show, and 
 another a military review. But this unhappy result was pre- 
 vented by the blessing of God on his prudent management. 
 He particularly feared the effect of the military review on 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 141 
 
 certain young men who were military officers, and whose 
 minds were seriously impressed. He requested those indi- 
 viduals to meet him on the morning of that day, at the early 
 dawn. They came. He told them that he was convinced 
 that the Spirit of God was striving with them, hut he feared 
 that their impressions might he dissipated by the bustle of 
 that day. He warned them to be on their guard — to refrain 
 from all vain and trifling conversation, and especially to avoid 
 tasting a drop of ardent spirits. He then affectionately and 
 earnestly commended them to God in prayer. This timely 
 warning had the desired effect. 
 
 The following extract of a letter of his, dated Litchfield, 
 Oct. 15, 1821, shows the state of the revival at that date. 
 
 " I have attended many meetings of late, and some of them 
 crowded and awfully solemn. More attend meetings than 
 can crowd into the lower part of the meeting house — more it 
 is said, than usually meet on the Sabbath. I think I may say, 
 there is great solemnity throughout this place. A number are 
 in deep distress of soul — some of them men of influence. 
 About fourteen are rejoicing in hope. I have ventured to 
 appoint one meeting of inquiry. About one hundred attended, 
 but they were not all under conviction. We are truly in an 
 interesting state, trembling between hope and fear. I wish 
 I had time to tell you a number of anecdotes about us in 
 Litchfield. 
 
 In another letter written by him at New Haven, in March, 
 1822, he thus speaks of the revival at Litchfield. 
 
 " The number of hopeful converts is about seventy, of whom 
 thirty-eight have made a profession of religion. There is 
 much christian feeling in that place, and the work is gradually 
 advancing, as a joint letter from a number of the young con- 
 verts has recently informed me." 
 
 Jan. 17, 1822, Mr. Nettleton again visited New Haven, 
 and labored with great success in the city and college, be- 
 
142 MEMOIR OF 
 
 tween two and three months. The following is an extract of 
 a letter written by him at New Haven, March 20, 1822. 
 
 " After more than a year's absence, I have come again to 
 New Haven. In the first place, I made an appointment ex- 
 clusively for young converts, in a spacious, ball-room, where 
 we used to hold meetings of inquiry. Though the evening 
 was dark and muddy, about three hundred assembled. Here 
 we called to mind, the sighs, and sobs, and songs, and joys 
 that are past — scenes never to be forgotten. And when I 
 spoke of three of their number, who used to mingle their tears 
 and joys with theirs on that floor, but whose faces we should 
 see no more, for they had gone triumphantly to rest, it was 
 truly melting. We knelt, and wept, and prayed together. 
 
 " I did not intend to tarry long in this place ; but I have 
 preached more than twenty times, and attended a number of 
 inquiry meetings — at one, one hundred and sixty attended. 
 There are seventeen recently rejoicing in hope, and five of 
 them are students in college." 
 
 On May 12, 1822, Mr. Nettleton commenced his labors in 
 Somers. He labored in this town and South Wilbraham, 
 alternately, occasionally preaching at Tolland and some other 
 towns in the vicinity, until the following October, when his 
 labors were suddenly arrested by a dangerous sickness. A 
 powerful revival of religion commenced under his preaching 
 at Somers, which spread into the surrounding region. The 
 Rev. William L. Strong, was pastor of the church in Somers. 
 In a letter to the editor of the Religious Intelligencer, dated 
 August 1st, 1822, he gives the following account of the state 
 of things among his people, and the people of South Wilbra- 
 ham, an adjoining town. 
 
 " Dear Sir — I am prompted by my own feelings, and by a 
 knowledge of your solicitude to communicate to the public, 
 such information as relates to the enlargement of Christ's 
 kingdom, to announce the fact that God is in the midst of us, 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 143 
 
 displaying the wonders of his grace. About eight weeks 
 since, it began to be manifest that the Spirit was moving upon 
 the hearts of God's people, and that sinners were no longer 
 indifferent to the momentous question of the trembling jailor. 
 Soon the voice of distress was heard ; and soon too it was 
 mingled with that of rejoicing and praise. The work has 
 been still and powerful. Between ninety and a hundred are 
 rejoicing in hope. At our last meeting of anxious inquiry, 
 about one hundred and seventy were present, including sixty 
 who hope that they have recently passed from death unto life. 
 The work is still spreading and has, perhaps, never been 
 more interesting than at the present moment. 
 
 " In South Wilbraham, adjoining this place on the north, 
 God is also doing a great work. Nearly forty have, within a 
 few weeks, taken up hopes, and the revival is extending itself 
 with singular power. These are the Lord's doings, and they 
 are marvelous in our eyes. To him be all the glory. 
 Yours very respectfully, 
 
 Wm. L. Strong." 
 
 There is a somewhat detailed account of the revival in 
 South Wilbraham, published in the seventh volume of the 
 Religious Intelligencer, from which I extract the following. 
 
 " In the early part of May last, the Rev. A. Nettleton, 
 (who, under the providence of God, has been the great in- 
 strument in this work,) retired from New Haven to Somers, 
 the town adjoining this on the South, for the purpose of recov- 
 ering his strength, which was much impaired by sickness. A 
 few weeks after he arrived, a report reached this people, that 
 there was some religious excitement at Somers ; and that a 
 Mr. Nettleton was there attending one or two evening meet- 
 tings during the week. Indeed, it was shortly announced, 
 that there were several persons anxious for their souls. 
 Awakened by principles of curiosity, some of the young peo- 
 ple of this place, concluded to go down and test tho /erity of 
 
144 MEMOIR OF 
 
 these reports. The evening fixed upon was Friday, June 21 ; 
 and a number, at an early hour, repaired to the house of wor- 
 ship in Somers. To their astonishment, they found a crowd- 
 ed audience, and awful solemnity pervading it. The subject 
 of humble submission to Christ, was effectually enforced. To 
 some of these visitors, it proved to be a word in season. One 
 young person was in such deep anxiety, as to be unable to 
 return, and therefore, tarried in one of the families in the 
 neighborhood. The next day she expressed a hope of hav- 
 ing passed from death to life. This, together with other cir- 
 cumstances, awakened with Mr. Nettleton an interest in the 
 people of South Wilbraham, which I may safely add, was by 
 many, heartily reciprocated. Express invitations were, at this 
 time, as well as previously, forwarded by the minister and 
 individuals of this people, urging Mr. Nettleton to visit South 
 Wilbraham. 
 
 " Tuesday, 25. Mr. Nettleton this afternoon, for the first 
 time, consented to have an appointment made for him in the 
 village hall at South Wilbraham, at sun-set. 
 
 " This appointment, though of few hours previous notice, 
 like an electric shock, reached every extremity of the society. 
 At the set time, the hall was literally crowded, and multitudes 
 yet assembling. Mr. Nettleton took his station, from which, 
 in the hall, little else was to be seen than a dense surface of 
 expressive countenances ; and at the same time, from the 
 windows might be seen trees and roofs of adjacent buildings, 
 occupied by anxious hearers. Subject — Ground of alarm to 
 awakened sinners. Many were awakened to anxiety this 
 evening. During this and several succeeding weeks he 
 labored alternately in South Wilbraham and Somers. 
 
 " July 9. At the close of public services this evening, 
 severat of our most interesting youth were deeply affected 
 with a sense of their situation as sinners. One young female, 
 who had sacrificed many of the evenings of the winter past 
 in the ball-room, and who highly valued her excellency in 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 145 
 
 that amusement, was this evening overwhelmed with a sense 
 of her guilt. As she dwelt some distance from the village, 
 she was invited by one of her companions residing near, to 
 spend the night with her. At the midnight hour, a request 
 was sent to Mr. Nettleton to repair to this house. It was 
 thronged with spectators to the scene of distress there ex- 
 hibited, lie found this young female sustained in the arms 
 of her friends, and in a piteous and doleful tone, repeatedly 
 exclaiming, ' Lord Jesus, have mercy on my soul.' The 
 next day, while in a circle of young persons with whom Mr. 
 Nettleton was conversing, she with one or two others, ex- 
 pressed joy and peace in believing. 
 
 " Thursday, 11. This afternoon Mr. Nettleton met sixty 
 or eighty in an anxious meeting — an awful scene of distress. 
 From this we repaired to the church, where he addressed us 
 on the danger of grieving the Spirit of God. It was indeed 
 a heart-searching subject. The sighs and sobs of anxious 
 sinners were to be heard from every part of the house. 
 When the speaker dismissed his audience, a large number 
 rushed toward him, as if expecting assistance from an arm of 
 flesh. In this situation, Mr. Nettleton addressed them about 
 five minutes, and requested them to retire as silently as possi- 
 ble. Some individuals were so overwhelmed with a sense of 
 eternal realities, that it became necessary to urge, and even 
 assist them home. 
 
 " The whole number expressing hope at this time, is about 
 one hundred.* Sixty-five are propounded as candidates for 
 admission to the church on the first Sabbath of October next. 
 
 " This revival has extended its influence to many of the 
 adjacent towns. In Somers and Tolland, there are two hun- 
 dred and fifty subjects, hopefully." 
 
 At the close of the foregoing account, mention is made of 
 Tolland. Here Mr. Nettleton labored considerably and with 
 great success, in the months of August and September. 
 
 * This account is dated Sept. 25, 1 822. 
 13 
 
146 MEMOIR or 
 
 The following extract of a letter written by him, November 
 27, 1823, shows that this revival became very extensive in 
 the eastern part of Connecticut. 
 
 " The revival of religion in the eastern part of the State of 
 Connecticut, has, perhaps, never been more interesting, than 
 within a few weeks past. I propose to give you the outlines 
 of this work, from the commencement, down to the present. 
 It has heretofore been a common remark among christians, 
 that revivals have been much less frequent, and less powerful 
 in the eastern, than in the western part of this state. Most of 
 these churches, in years past, have been favored with seasons 
 more or less reviving, but never with such a general and pow- 
 erful refreshing from the presence of the Lord. This work 
 commenced in Somers, June, 1822 ; and has continued in- 
 creasing and spreading like fire, from house to house, and 
 from heart to heart, with more or less power and rapidity, 
 until the present moment. The following towns are contigu- 
 ous, and have shared in one extensive revival. 
 
 " In Somers, one hundred and fifty have hopefully been 
 made the subjects of divine grace. In South Wilbraham, one 
 hundred. In Tolland, one hundred and thirty. In North 
 Coventy, one hundred and twenty. In South Coventry, North 
 Mansfield, and South Mansfield, about one hundred in each. 
 In Columbia, forty. In Lebanon, ninety. In Goshen, thirty. 
 In Bozrah, between sixty and seventy. In Montville, ninety. 
 In Chaplin, fifty. The work has recently commenced, and 
 is advancing with power in Hampton, and within a few weeks, 
 fifty or more are rejoicing in hope. Within a few weeks 
 past, the Spirit of God has descended with overwhelming 
 power in Millington, and Colchester. In the former place, 
 about seventy, and in the latter, sixty are already rejoicing in 
 hope. They have never before witnessed the like, in rapid- 
 ity, power, and extent. In the above cluster of towns, all 
 contiguous, more than thirteen hundred souls have hopefully 
 experienced a saving change, in the Congregational churches, 
 
D E. NETTLETON. 147 
 
 since the commencement of this revival; and of these more 
 than eight hundred have already made a profession of religion. 
 
 "In Chatham, also, the work is interesting ; about seventy 
 are rejoicing in hope, and fifty or more have made a public 
 profession. In Hampton, Colchester and Millington, many 
 are now anxious for their souls, and inquiring, what must we 
 do to be saved ? 
 
 " New instances of conviction, and of hopeful conversion, 
 are daily occurring in these towns. The prospect of the 
 continuance and spread of this work, is as favorable now, as at 
 any period, if not more so. The Lord hath done groat things 
 for Zion, whereof we are glad, and let all her friends humbly 
 rejoice, and bow and give thanks and exalt his name to- 
 gether.'' 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Sickness at Bolton— Compilation of Hymn Book — Labors in" Bethlehem, Brooklyn, 
 Taunton, Jamaica. Albany, Durham, Lexington, Virginia, Monson, North Carolina, 
 Newark, New York — Voyage to England — Labors in Enfield— Formation of the 
 Pastoral Union — Establishment of the Theological Institute of Connecticut— Ap- 
 pointment as professor — The degree of D. D. conferred upon him. 
 
 For ten or eleven years, Mr. Nettleton had been laboring 
 almost constantly in revivals of religion. During this time, 
 he preached, generally, three sermons on the Sabbath, and 
 several during the week, besides spending much time in visit- 
 ing from house to house, and conversing with individuals on 
 the concerns of their souls. How he could endure such accu- 
 mulated labors, was a mystery to many. Undoubtedly his 
 constitution was so impaired by these labors, as to render it 
 impossible to recover from the shock of disease by which he 
 was attacked in 1822. It pleased God in the fall of that year, 
 to arrest his labors, and to lay him on a bed of sickness. 
 
 It appears from a memorandum among his papers, that on 
 Oct. 5th, 1822, he visited a sick person, in South Wilbraham, 
 before breakfast, and took the typhus fever. He was sick at 
 Bolton, at the house of his friend, Mr. Parmele. He was 
 brought so low that his life was despaired of, both by himself 
 and by his friends. His mind was composed and peaceful. 
 As he afterwards remarked, the scenes of the revivals in which 
 he had been engaged, and the countenances of the young 
 converts, were constantly before him ; and the hymns and 
 tunes in which he had been greatly interested, were running 
 in his mind ; particularly those words : 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 149 
 
 " Soon shall I pass the gloomy vale, 
 Soon all my mortal powers must fail, 
 O, may my last expiring breath, 
 His loving-kindness sing in death." 
 
 From this sickness, he never entirely recovered. He was 
 never after able to engage in arduous labor. 
 
 While in a very feeble state at Bolton, he received many 
 letters from brethren at a distance, containing urgent requests 
 that he would come and assist them. This induced the Rev. 
 Mr. Calhoun, of Coventry, to publish the following note in 
 the Religious Intelligencer, for April 5th, 1823. 
 
 " Mr. Whiting — I am requested, through the medium of 
 your paper, to state to the religious public, that the Rev. Asahel 
 Nettleton remains at Bolton, laboring under those bodily infir- 
 mities, which render him incapable of engaging in the active 
 duties of his profession. The prospect of his speedy recov- 
 ery is not favorable. And it is satisfactorily ascertained that 
 he experiences essential injury from the numerous and press- 
 ing requests for his assistance, which he receives from differ- 
 ent places. The christian friends of Mr. Nettleton, it is 
 believed, would confer a favor on him, and would consult the 
 best interests of the church, to suspend their communications 
 for the present, and suffer him to remain undisturbed in his 
 retired situation. Yours, 
 
 George A. Calhoun." 
 
 While Mr. Nettleton was sick at Bolton, his friend Mr. 
 Parmele took the fever of him and died. Mrs. Parmele was 
 also very sick. An interesting obituary notice of Mr. Par- 
 mele, written by Mr. Nettleton, was published in the 7th 
 volume of the Religious Intelligencer. 
 
 The following letter, written by Mr. Nettleton to a number 
 of young converts in Wilbraham, will be read with interest. 
 
 " Bolton, March 4th, 1823. 
 
 " My very dear Friends. — Some time in December last, I 
 
 received a very affectionate letter, signed by fourteen names, 
 13* 
 
150 MEMOIR OF 
 
 never to be forgotten. It contained a friendly invitation to me 
 to go to Wilbraham, as soon as able, and there receive the 
 kind offices of christian friendship. As I read the letter, and 
 dwelt with delight on each name, the interesting scenes 
 through which we had passed together, rushed full on my 
 view. Had it been possible, most gladly would I have ac- 
 cepted your invitation ; and I should almost esteem it a priv- 
 ilege to be sick, if surrounded by such a circle of friends. 
 
 " A few days since, I received another token of friendship, 
 enclosed in a letter from one of the number of that same circle. 
 You will please to accept my sincere thanks for this, and all 
 your former acts of kindness. 
 
 " I need not inform you, my dear friends, of the trying 
 scenes through which I have been called to pass since my last 
 visit in Wilbraham. But our mercies are greater than our 
 afflictions. Never did I experience so much kindness from 
 friends as during my late sickness. I have often thought that 
 their kindness has contributed much towards my restoration. 
 It certainly contributed much to the health of my mind, by its 
 cheering consolation. My spirits were better than they have 
 formerly been, while in usual health. I have somewhere seen 
 an expression like this — ' The sympathy of friends in afflic- 
 tion, charms away half the wo.' This I have found to be 
 true by experience. But the most trying of all, was my part- 
 ing with our friend, Mr. Parmele. Born the same year — in 
 the same town — anxious for his soul, and having made a pro- 
 fession of religion at the same time with myself, he was my 
 nearest friend. Often have we met, and prayed, and wept, 
 and rejoiced together in revivals of religion. 
 
 " I hope you will not forget the interesting scenes of last 
 summer. I think I shall not. Revivals appear the most im- 
 portant on a sick and dying bed. And thither we are rapidly 
 hastening. I wish I had strength to tell you my views and 
 feelings since I read your last. During my deepest distress, 
 I was in the midst of revivals. The tune, ' Loving Kindness,* 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 151 
 
 ran sweetly through my mind again and again, thousands of 
 times, connected with the two last verses of the eighth hymn. 
 This I often mentioned to my friends, as also the 324th hymn.* 
 I do not recover my health as fast as my friends have been 
 expecting. I have not strength to answer all the kind letters 
 I receive from my friends. It is with difficulty that I have 
 written this. My love to all my dear friends, and tell them 
 how much I long to see them. 
 
 " Mr S is now preaching in Coventry. He calls fre- 
 quently to see me, and we talk over the scenes of last summer 
 with peculiar delight. The revival which commenced in your 
 region last summer, is still spreading, and advancing with 
 power in Coventry, both societies. Let us not forget to pray 
 that it may continue. And now I entreat you all to live near 
 to God. Love one another. Live in peace, and the God of 
 love and peace shall be vrith you. 
 
 " 1 am ever yours in the best bonds." 
 
 For two years, Mr. Nettleton very rarely preached. Dur- 
 ing this period, he took a voyage to Machias, Me., and a 
 journey to Montreal. The following letter was written to 
 Mrs. Parmele, soon after his return from Canada. It is dated 
 Greenwich, Conn., Aug. 27th, 1824. 
 
 " My Dear Friend — Yours of the 17th inst. I found at New 
 York, on my return from my long journey. I accept of the 
 kindness, but my conscience will not allow me to retain the en- 
 closed. I have nothing special to communicate. I suppose 
 brother King informed you of my journey to Montreal. It is 
 more than 400 miles from New York. I went in company 
 with Dr. McAuley and others. On our return we came by 
 Saratoga Springs. I was quite sick, and by the advice ot 
 friends, I was persuaded to remain there a fortnight, during 
 which time I recruited in some measure. I came to New 
 York in the steamboat last Saturday. I am now thirty miles 
 
 He probably here refers to the Hartford Collection of Hymns. 
 
152 MEMOIR OF 
 
 this side of the city, at the house of the Rev. Mr. Lewis, 
 where I have been two nights. I may tarry here two or three 
 days longer, and then hope to go to Hartford. I do not preach. 
 You must pardon me for the brevity and poverty of this letter, 
 for it still pains me to write. There is an interesting revival 
 in Salem, Ms.; but nothing special in this region. I attended 
 the funeral of brother Whelpley while in New York. The 
 time is short. 1 exceedingly regret the loss of so much pre- 
 cious time. If your health will permit, I trust you will be 
 diligently employed in doing good. If I were not so idle 
 myself, I would tell you that it is good to be busily employed 
 about something. 
 
 '' In haste — Yours as ever." 
 
 Before he was taken sick, Mr. Nettleton had formed the 
 purpose of compiling a hymn book ; and had done something 
 towards collecting the materials. As soon as he had so far 
 recovered from his sickness, as to be able to read and write 
 a little, he entered on this work. He finished it in the early 
 part of 1824. 
 
 The reasons which induced him to undertake this work, are 
 thus stated in his preface : 
 
 " With great satisfaction and pleasure have I often heard 
 the friends of the Redeemer express their unqualified attach- 
 ment to the sacred poetry of Dr. Watts. Most cordially do I 
 unite with them in the hope, that no selection of hymns which 
 has ever yet appeared, may be suffered to take the place of 
 his inimitable productions. 
 
 " Deficiencies, however, he unquestionably has. Numer- 
 ous have been the attempts to supply them ; but hitherto, the 
 judicious have been constrained to regret that these attempts 
 have succeeded only in part. Whether the book, here pub- 
 lished, will add something to that supply, is submitted to the 
 decision of the religious community. 
 
 " The compiler does not overlook the valuable labors of 
 those who have preceded him in this department ; while he 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 153 
 
 concurs in the opinion, very generally adopted by his brethren 
 in the ministry, that the various benevolent operations, and 
 especially the prevalence of revivals, which are so character- 
 istic of the present day, demand a new selection of Hymns. 
 
 " In the year 1820, the General Association of Connecticut 
 appointed a committee to devise measures for the prosperity 
 of religion within their limits. I well remember that at a 
 meeting of that committee, the first item proposed was a new 
 selection of Hymns. Four years, nearly, have elapsed, and 
 nothing has been done pursuant to their appointment. 
 
 " When in the providence of God, I had the happiness of 
 spending a short season, as a laborer for Christ, within the 
 limits of the Albany Presbytery, the call for such a work in 
 that region, and, as I learned from the most respectable 
 sources, very extensively in the west and south, was not less 
 imperious and pressing, than in the districts where I had been 
 more particularly conversant. In personal experience, and 
 discoveries of this description, originated the resolution to un- 
 dertake the work. The compilation here presented is the 
 result. The task has occupied my attention much of the time 
 for nearly two years. Especially has it cheered and com- 
 forted me, during the long continued retirement to which a 
 severe sickness subjected me. 
 
 " The book, whatever may be its defects, is now most 
 affectionately presented 
 
 4 To Zion's friends, and mine.* " 
 
 The Village Hymns have had a very extensive circulation, 
 and have, it is believed, been instrumental of great good. 
 
 Mr. Nettleton, as has already been observed, was never 
 able, after his sickness, to engage in arduous labor. For tho 
 first two years he rarely preached at all. After that, he was 
 not able to preach constantly — sometimes only once on the 
 Sabbath — sometimes twice, without attending many extra 
 meetings, or devoting much time to visiting from house to 
 
154 MEMOIR OP 
 
 house. Still he was able to do something for the church, and 
 his labors, in not a few instances, were accompanied with a 
 divine blessing. 
 
 In the autumn of 1824, an interesting revival commenced 
 under his preaching in Bethlem. He continued in this place, 
 assisting the pastor, the Rev. Mr Langdon, who was sick, 
 until his strength failed, and he was obliged to suspend his 
 labors. 
 
 In a letter to Mrs. Parmele, of Bolton, dated New York, 
 April 18th, 1825, he says, " The occasion of my first visit to 
 Bethlem, was to see brother Langdon who was sick, and who 
 had not preached for six months. He was thinking about 
 asking a dismission when I arrived ; but he postponed it. I 
 preached for him two or three months. As many as eighty 
 persons assembled at his house occasionally, at a meeting of 
 inquiry, of whom about forty are rejoicing in hope. The bur- 
 den of anxiety on my mind became so great that I could en- 
 dure it no longer, and so 1 left them. Having some business 
 which could be done in this city better than any where else, I 
 accepted an invitation to spend the winter and spring here in 
 retirement. I am so much retired, that my friends here say, 
 I will not visit, nor be visited ; and yet I have spent three- 
 fourths of my time and strength in receiving visits." 
 
 In the spring of 1825, he preached considerably and with 
 success, in Brooklyn, L. I. 
 
 In the summer of 1825, he preached in Taunton, Ms. Here 
 his labors were made effectual to the conviction and conver- 
 sion of sinners. The parish in which he preached, was at 
 that time destitute of a pastor. 
 
 In the fall of the same year, he commenced laboring with 
 the Rev. Mr. Cobb, in another parish in Taunton. In a letter 
 to a friend, dated Taunton, Dec. 26th, 1825, he says : 
 
 " The state of things in this society has become quite in- 
 teresting of late. Meetings are crowded and solemn as eter- 
 nity. A number have called to see us in deep distress of 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 155 
 
 soul. Some of them told us that they received their first im- 
 pressions down at the green last summer. The fire was 
 already kindled, and has recently burst into a flame in this part 
 of the town. The number of inhabitants in this society, is 
 comparatively small ; and yet, last Saturday evening, we met 
 about sixty in the meeting of inquiry. About thirty are re- 
 joicing in hope. Of these, some are youth of the first respect- 
 ability, and four or five men of influence. Old professors of 
 religion tell us they never saw such a time before." • 
 
 The following statement of Mr. Cobb will be read with in- 
 terest : 
 
 " Brother Nettleton came to Taunton in the summer of 1825, 
 and the Trinitarian church in this town being destitute, by the 
 decease of their beloved pastor, the Rev. Chester Isharn, he 
 labored two months and a half in that congregation. The 
 prospect of a general and powerful revival of religion was 
 very fair. About thirty converts were the fruit of his labors 
 among that people. In this state of things, a candidate for 
 settlement was procured, who subsequently became their pas- 
 tor. Brother Nettleton retired, and came to live in my fami- 
 ly the first of October, and continued with me till the middle 
 of January, 1826. 
 
 " There had for weeks previous been a solemn stillness in 
 my congregation, and many had been specially awakened, 
 though they had kept their impressions to themselves. When 
 brother Nettleton commenced his labors, the revival immedi- 
 ately became manifest, and converts were multiplied almost 
 daily during his stay. 
 
 " His sermons were clear, sound, able, full of thought, 
 direct and simple, with unity of design. ' He seemed to be 
 destined to be understood.' He enlisted the hearts and hands 
 of all the church, and especially the aged members — our 
 fathers who were well informed, and who had borne the burden 
 and heat of the day. It was surprising to see what overpow- 
 ering influence his kindness, devotion and. faithfulness had 
 
156 MEMOIR OF 
 
 upon all, old and young, saints and sinners. In this state of 
 things, there seemed to be a very bright prospect of a glorious 
 harvest. It was manifest that brother Nettleton had ready 
 access to every conscience. As the revival progressed, he 
 preached more and more closely and doctrinally. ' The great 
 truths of the gospel,' were the weapons of his warfare, and 
 were wielded with a spirit and an energy, which the people 
 were unable to gainsay or resist. He was remarkably clear 
 and forcible in his illustrations of the sinner's total depravity, 
 and his utter inability to procure salvation by unregenerate 
 works, or any desperate efforts. He showed the sinner that 
 his unregenerate prayers for a new heart, his impenitent seek- 
 ing, striving and knocking would be of no avail ; and that ab- 
 solute, unconditional submission to a sovereign God, was the 
 first thing to be done. To this duty the sinner was urged 
 immediately with great power and conclusiveness of argu- 
 ment. 
 
 " His visits among the people were frequent, but short and 
 profitable. He entered immediately on the subject of the sal- 
 vation of the soul, and the great importance of attending to it 
 without delay. He did not customarily propound questions, 
 and require answers, lest by this means he should turn the 
 attention of sinners from their own wretched state, by leading 
 them to think ' how they should reply to the minister.' He 
 was so well acquainted with the human heart, that he seemed 
 to have an intuitive perception of what was passing in the 
 minds of those whom he was addressing. Thus he could so 
 direct his conversation as to produce silence and self-condem- 
 nation, and confine their thoughts to their own lost and ruined 
 state, sometimes remarking, ' You have no time to spend in 
 conversation, before the salvation of the soul is secured.' 
 
 " When any indulged a hope which was not satisfactory, 
 he would say, ' you had better give it up, and seek your sal- 
 vation in earnest.' Well versed in all the doctrinal and ex- 
 perimental parts of the gospel ; feeling deeply in his own 
 
DR. NETTLETON,. 157 
 
 heart the power of divine truth, he was qualified, beyond most, 
 to judge of the character of others' experience ; and though 
 mild and conciliatory in his manner, he was faithful in his 
 warnings against false hopes and spurious conversions. All 
 selfish considerations in the concerns of the soul he discard- 
 ed ; and he never used any art or cunning to entrap, or pro- 
 duce commitment on the part of sinners. In the anxious 
 circle he was short, direct in his remarks, concluding with a 
 short and fervent prayer ; directing his petitions solely to God, 
 and not displaying eloquence, or seeking to fascinate the con- 
 gregation. He seemed to lose sight of man, and to be absorb- 
 ed in a sense of the divine presence. 
 
 " In his intercourse with the people, he invariably produced 
 favorable impressions on their minds in regard to their own 
 pastor. He was not the leader, but only an assistant in the 
 work. My people never before entertained and cherished so 
 high, and so affectionate a regard for their pastor, as in this 
 revival ; and when he left us in the midst of it, such was the 
 effect of his course in this respect, there was scarcely a word 
 of inquiry respecting brother Nettleton, and the work went on 
 as though he were with us. 
 
 " In his daily habits in my family, he was constantly em- 
 ployed in searching the scriptures, or in conversation on re- 
 ligious topics — discussing doctrinal points, or matters relating 
 to christian experience. He was in this way very social, and 
 an exceedingly agreeable companion. 
 
 " In his sermons, of which I heard sixty, he was, in man- 
 ner, simple. He spoke with a clear voice — rather slow and 
 hesitating at first, but gradually rising, tilt before the close, it 
 was like a mighty torrent bearing down all before it. His 
 eloquence was peculiar to himself, and consisted in conveying 
 his own views and feelings to the minds of others. He 
 never failed to impress his own ideas upon his hearers. 
 As the revival became more interesting and powerful, he 
 preached more doctrinally. He brought from his treasure the 
 14 
 
158 MEMOIR or 
 
 doctrines of total depravity, personal election, reprobation, the 
 sovereignty of divine grace, and the universal government of 
 God in working all things after the counsel of his own will. 
 And these great doctrines did not paralyze, but greatly pro- 
 moted the good work. Never had brother Nettleton such 
 power over my congregation, as when he poured forth, in 
 torrents, these awful truths. And at no time were converts 
 multiplied so rapidly, and convictions and distress so deep, as 
 when these doctrines were pressed home to the conscience. 
 One evening, while our house of worship was filled to over- 
 flowing, he preached on the doctrine of election, and the peo- 
 ple were so held by the power of truth, that when in the midst 
 of the sermon, an intoxicated Universalist stepped within the 
 door, and cried out with a stentorian voice, and with a horrid 
 oath, ' that's a lie,' scarcely an eye was turned from the speak- 
 er towards the door. 
 
 " The above remarks will serve to give a general idea of 
 the character of this revival. The work was still, and after 
 the lapse of nineteen years, we are satisfied that the converts 
 were generally, truly renewed in the spirit of their minds. 
 They appear still to believe and love the doctrines of grace 
 by which they were begotten to the hope of the gospel ; and 
 they have walked in newness of life. 
 
 " The influence which that precious revival exerted upon 
 the church and society, has been good ; and men who were 
 not subjects of it, have been confirmed in their belief of the 
 truth ; and their convictions that revivals may be evidently 
 the work of God, have been deep and lasting ; and they speak 
 of that season as a day of divine power and grace." 
 
 The following letter to Mr. Cobb, written by Mr. Nettleton 
 soon after he left Taunton, will show how deeply his own 
 feelings were enlisted in the work of grace, above described. 
 It is dated New York, Feb. 6, 1826. 
 
 "My dear brother: — Yours of the 30th ult. was received 
 last Friday. It was truly refreshing to me, and to many of 
 
DR. NETTLETQN. 159 
 
 my friends, I cannot express the joy I felt on hearing the 
 number and the names of some who entertained hope since 
 you wrote last. The young converts and the anxious ones 
 have scarcely been out of my mind since I left Taunton. 
 Your letter contains more than I had reason to expect, but my 
 mind will not rest satisfied without possessing the names of 
 all who have found the Saviour. When I left, you, brother 
 Cobb, I did not feel confident the work would continue ; but 
 I did not think it would be so rapid. The family where I 
 reside, have become so interested in the state of things with 
 you, that they occasionally mention you and your people ia 
 their prayers. I think you will do well to note facts and 
 dates as you pass along. You will find them useful hereafter. 
 You will prepare an account for the Connecticut Observer, or 
 some other paper, ere long. My heart has been with you 
 ever since I left, and I was really in hopes of making you a 
 short visit, at least. But I am sorry to say, I have been very 
 sick with a fever, and for twelve hours, considered dangerous. 
 I am surrounded with kind friends, and have every thing I 
 could wish. I feel much better to-day, or I should not be 
 able to write. The physician says, it will take some time 
 for me to recover. I do hope you will give me some account 
 from week to week of the state of things with you. I fear I 
 shall not be able to labor any where during the two following 
 months of inclement weather. If you cannot obtain help, 
 and are unwell yourself, get together, if you only say Jive 
 words, and pray five minutes. Meet the anxious once a week, 
 if you can only pray with them. Give my love to all the 
 young converts, and to all the anxious. Tell the latter, that I 
 have not forgotten them — that they have scarcely been out of 
 my mind since 1 saw them in the circle. They must never 
 drop the subject. They will never have another such op- 
 portunity." 
 
 On the 17th of March, a little more than a month after the 
 
160 MEMOIR OF 
 
 date of the foregoing letter, he wrote again to Mr. Cobb, as 
 follows : 
 
 " My dear brother — The lapse of time does by no means 
 lessen the interest which I have felt in forming an acquaint- 
 ance with yourself, and family, and the people of your charge. 
 Not a day, or a night has passed, since 1 parted with you, 
 when those interesting scenes in which we mutually shared, 
 of sorrows and joys that are past, have not been fresh in my 
 mind. Brother, these are scenes never to be forgotten. 
 Other trifles may occupy our time and absorb the thought, and 
 feelings of our heart for a season, and be forgotten, or re- 
 membered only with regret. But oh, the scenes through 
 which you are now passing, will follow you down through 
 the track of time, and are forgotten never. I sympathize with 
 you in all the sorrows and joys inseparable from the duties of 
 a faithful pastor, at such a season. Now, more than ever, 
 will be realized the weight of your responsibility. 
 
 ' 'T is not a cause of small import, 
 
 The pastor's care demands ; 
 But what might fill an angel's heart, 
 
 It fill'd a Saviour's hands.' 
 
 " I was pleased with the solemn stillness, the readiness to 
 act, the apparent interest, and the decision of the members of 
 your church. Were I present, I would affectionately say to 
 
 them — be humble be thankful for what God has already 
 
 done — ' keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace' — 
 pray much and fervently for the continued outpouring of the 
 Spirit — do not feel satisfied with what has already been done. 
 Brethren, pray for us — for your pastor, that the word of God 
 may continue to have free course and be glorified. 
 
 "I cannot forget that interesting circle which used to meet 
 to consult on the great concerns of the soul. Often have I 
 fancied myself seated in the midst of that same circle — some 
 weeping — and some rejoicing in hope. Their countenances 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 161 
 
 are all familiar to my mind. With what feelings of affection 
 and solemnity, and compassion, have I bowed together with 
 you, my friends, around the throne of grace. While thus 
 employed, often have I thought, shall we ever meet in heaven, 
 around the throne of God and the Lamb 1 Shall we be com- 
 panions forever, in that world of unclouded glory? The 
 thoughts of such a meeting seem almost too much for such 
 sinners as ourselves. But I know it is possible ; and the 
 vilest of sinners are invited. Some of the chief of sinners 
 will repent, and be pardoned and saved ; and why not such 
 sinners as ourselves 1 Ah, none but sinners are saved, and 
 some of the chief of sinners have already been saved. And 
 I cannot but indulge the pleasing hope, that some — that many 
 of your circle will meet in that world, where pilgrims meet to 
 part no more. Let all those who indulge this heavenly hope 
 themselves, come out from the world, and by their conduct 
 and conversation, declare plainly that they seek a better coun- 
 try. You have yet to encounter the dangers of the wilder- 
 ness, and you will need the whole armor of God. You who 
 have long been companions in sin, will now become compan- 
 ions, helping one another on your way to the heavenly Zion. 
 
 ' Invite the strangers all around, 
 
 Your pious march to join ; 
 And spread the sentiments you feel, 
 
 Of faith and love divine.' 
 
 " 1 cannot forget those anxious souls, who are still out of 
 Christ. With joy have I heard the tidings of many, whom I 
 left anxious for their souls. But I have the names of a num- 
 ber now before me, of whom no such tidings have been told. 
 Where are they ? Have they gone back to the world 1 My 
 dear friends, if you have not already given your hearts to 
 Christ, once more, from this far distant region, would I lift up 
 my voice, and warn you by the worth of your souls, to flee 
 from the wrath to come. I entreat you not to rest till you. 
 
 14* 
 
162 MEMOIR OP 
 
 find rest in Christ. I have not forgotten you. I shall still 
 remember you at the throne of grace, till the joyful tidings of 
 your repentance have reached my ears ; or the sorrowful 
 tidings that you have dropped the subject of religion, and 
 gone back to the world. 
 
 " Ever yours, in the best of bonds." 
 
 In 1 826, although in very feeble health, God made him the 
 instrument of a great work of divine grace in Jamaica, L. I. 
 He commenced his labors in that town, on the 24th of Febru- 
 ary, and continued to labor there until November. The peo- 
 ple, when he first came among them, were very much divided ; 
 but under his judicious management, their divisions were 
 healed. He preached on Sabbath morning, and in the even- 
 ing ; omitting the usual afternoon exercise. And although 
 he could not attend many extra meetings, or spend much time 
 in visiting the people ; yet there is reason to believe that God 
 made him instrumental in the salvation of many souls. 
 
 In his journal, under date of May 8th, he speaks of fifty 
 rejoicing in hope. 
 
 In a letter to his friend Mr. Cobb, of Taunton, dated July 
 13th, he says, "My head, heart and hands are so full, and 
 health so feeble, that I have dispensed with every business, 
 except what was absolutely indispensable. Since you left 
 us, we have been much employed in listening to the relation 
 of christian experience by the young converts, preparatory to 
 a public profession of religion. For a few weeks past, we 
 have attended to little else. Had you been present, you 
 would have been interested, if not delighted. On the 2nd of 
 July, we held our communion, and seventy-two were added 
 by profession, and three by letter. The assembly was full, 
 and very solemn. Eighteen were baptized. Since that day, 
 the revival has received a new impulse. Many were awak- 
 ened, who have since come out joyful. It has often been 
 observed, that it seemed like the judgment day. We have 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 163 
 
 had but few meetings of inquiry since yon left us. At our 
 last, including young converts, there were about one hundred 
 and forty. The work was never more interesting than at this 
 time. A number of strangers from other towns have visited 
 us, and have gone home rejoicing in hope, and others are in 
 deep distress. If I continue long in this place, I think of 
 appropriating one evening in the week to visiting a circle of 
 strangers. You would be delighted with our assembly. We 
 have long since been crowded out of our session house. Our 
 meetings are now generally held in the church. Many pro- 
 fessors, as well as young converts, say, we never knew what 
 there was in religion before. ' Old things are passed away, 
 and all things are become new.' Although a great proportion 
 of this population are still strangers to the power of religion, 
 yet there is little or no apparent opposition. Many who are 
 left, are struck with solemn awe, and for their own credit, 
 are constrained to plead the cause of God. ' Then said they 
 among the heathen, the Lord hath done great things for them.' 
 " I have by no means forgotten the young disciples in 
 Taunton, nor those I left anxious for their souls. How 1 do 
 long to see you, and all my friends in Taunton once more. I 
 can only say, ' Let your conversation be as becometh the gospel 
 of Christ, that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I 
 may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with 
 one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.' 
 
 " Yours in the bonds of the Gospel." 
 
 The following statement has appeared in the New York 
 Observer, since the publication of the first edition of the me- 
 moir. As it strikingly illustrates Dr. Nettkton's manner of 
 dealing with sinners in different states of mind, it is deemed 
 worthy of being preserved. 
 
 " In perusing the life of Mr. Nettleton, I have had brought 
 vividly to my recollection, scenes and circumstances con- 
 nected with the revival of religion in Jamaica in 1826, of 
 
164 
 
 MEMOIK. OP 
 
 deep interest to me, and although more than eighteen years 
 have passed, their interest is as deep as ever, and I think, 
 strikingly illustrates the wisdom and the prudence of that 
 truly wonderful man in dealing with awakened sinners. 
 
 " The first time I ever saw Mr. Nettleton was on a com- 
 munion Sabbath in the early part of the winter of 1826. 
 Two strangers entered the church, and, walking slowly up 
 the aisle, seated themselves in the front pew. Many eyes 
 were fastened upon them ; and after service, as is common in 
 the country, many inquiries were made as to who they were, 
 for they were evidently clergymen. It was some time, before 
 I learned that one of them was the ' Rev. Mr. Nettleton, the 
 great revival preacher.' The church in Jamaica, as is men- 
 tioned in the memoir, had been greatly divided. We were 
 literally two bands hostile to each other, and bitter in feeling. 
 The Apostle might have said of us, we were hateful, and 
 hating one another ; and there seemed but little prospect of 
 our ever being any better. It was but a sad spectacle on that 
 day presented to this man of God. 
 
 When, a few days after, I heard that Mr. Nettleton, the 
 revival preacher, was soon going to preach for us, I never 
 shall forget my feelings. I determined I would not hear him, 
 and especially so, when an old disciple, long since in glory, 
 Mr. Othniel Smith, who had listened with rapture to George 
 Whitefield seventy years before, when he preached in Jamai- 
 ca, said to me — ' This Mr. Nettleton that is going to preach 
 for us is a most wonderful man ; he is said to be the greatest 
 preacher that has been among us since the days of George 
 Whitefield.' He said further, that, from what he had heard 
 of him, he believed he could almost read a man's heart, so 
 wonderful was his knowledge of human nature. I well re- 
 member I secretly said, ' He shall not see my heart, for I will 
 not let him see me, so bitterly did I dread any thing like close, 
 experimental preaching. 
 
 ' I had long been a professor of religion, having united with 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 165 
 
 the Rutgers street church in 1812, while Dr. Milledollar was 
 the pastor, and notwithstanding I had always been out- 
 wardly consistent, (regularly observing secret and family 
 prayer, constant in my attendance upon all the meetings of the 
 church, as well the public services of the Sabbath, as the 
 weekly lecture, and the social circle for prayer, and active in 
 all the benevolent operations of the day,) notwithstanding all 
 this seeming consistency of character, there was always a 
 fearful whisper from the faithful monitor within, that all was 
 not right. There was a secret dread of self-examination, an 
 unwillingness to know the worst respecting my case, and the 
 idea of coming in contact with a man who would be likely to 
 expose my shallowness, if not hypocrisy, I could not endure. 
 And accordingly I resolved that something should detain me 
 from church when Mr. Nettleton preached. But although I 
 sought diligently for any excuse, one even the least plausible, 
 yet I could not find one ; and, contrary to my secret deter- 
 mination, I went to church at the appropriate time with my 
 family. 
 
 " After the Sabbath, numbers of the church members called 
 upon Mr. Nettleton at his lodgings, to welcome him among us ; 
 and I was repeatedly requested to do so with the rest : but 
 day after day I contrived to excuse myself, although I knew 
 it was a civility that was expected of me. At length a brother, 
 who had often urged me to go, called upon me to know if I 
 would not take Mr. Nettleton a little ride in my gig, as he was 
 in feeble health, having but just recovered from a protracted 
 illness, adding that he found riding not only beneficial, but 
 necessary, and he knew I could do it just as well as not. 
 
 " I never shall forget my feelings at this proposition. I at 
 first refused outright, and was vexed that the proposition should 
 have been made. I treated the brother rudely. He however 
 continued to urge, and said he had gone so far as to tell Mr. 
 Nettleton he knew I would do it cheerfully. But it was all to 
 no purpose. I did not do it that day, but consented to call 
 
16fi MEMOIR OF 
 
 upon him the next morning, with my gig, at ten o'clock, if he 
 would be ready. The next morning accordingly I called at 
 the appointed time, and was introduced to him on the side- 
 walk ; and never did culprit dread the face of his judge more 
 than I dreaded to be brought face to face with a man who, it 
 was said could almost read the heart. 
 
 " I received him politely, and we soon entered into a pleas- 
 ant conversation, about almost any thing and every thing except 
 personal religion. This I scrupulously avoided. I found he 
 was in feeble health, and somewhat given to hypochondria; 
 therefore I felt assured I could entertain him by talking about 
 his own ailments. In less than one hour all my unpleasant 
 feelings had vanished, and I felt as free and easy with him, 
 as if I was riding with some long tried friend ; and that which 
 I so much dreaded became to me at once a source of great 
 pleasure and of much profit. 
 
 " The first day he rode with me about six miles ; and after 
 that, for seven months, very few pleasant days passed, that we 
 did not ride together from five to twenty-five miles. I became 
 deeply interested in him as a man and as a preacher. Why 
 I at first liked his preaching I cannot exactly say ; but I was 
 unwilling to be absent from a single meeting. The class of 
 subjects he chose as his theme of discourse was new. The 
 distracted state of the congregation led those clergymen who 
 supplied our pulpit to select some subject connected with chris- 
 tian duty. Brotherly love, if I remember right, was the sub- 
 ject of discourse seven times in about three months. On the 
 contrary, Mr. Nettleton presented the claims of God and the 
 duty of sinners, and here I remember we had no opportunity 
 of scrutinizing the sermon, to endeavor to ascertain on which 
 side of the division the preacher was. This I considered a 
 master stroke of policy. 
 
 " Thus smoothly and pleasantly, comparatively speaking, it 
 passed along with me for about two weeks, when one evening 
 he announced from the desk that he felt some encouragement 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 167 
 
 to believe that the Lord was about to grant us a blessing. He 
 said he had seen several individuals who were anxious for 
 their souls, and two or three who indulged hope. How it 
 would end with them he could not say, but he wanted the 
 church to walk softly before the Lord, to be much in prayer, 
 &c, &c. I felt then that my own case required looking into 
 at once, or I was lost ; and I resolved soon to attend to it, nor 
 to let the present opportunity pass. Mr. Neitleton had never 
 yet said one word to me on the subject of experimental reli- 
 gion, although I had been with him a great deal. 
 
 " The next day, as usual, I called for him to ride. I was 
 obliged to go to Flushing that day, distant about five miles. 
 Just as we were ascending the hill, a little out of the village, 
 and before any subject of conversation had been introduced, 
 and the horse on a slow walk, he gently placed his hand upon 
 my knee and said — ' Well, my dear friend, how is it with you ? 
 I hope it is all peace within.' I could not speak for some 
 minutes. He said no more, and there was no occasion, for 
 an arrow had pierced my inmost soul. My emotion was over- 
 whelming. At length, after recovering a little self-possession, 
 1 broke the silence by telling him frankly I was not happy — 
 there was no peace within — all was war ! war ! ! war ! ! ! His 
 manner was so kind, he instantly won my confidence, and I 
 unburdened my soul to him. I told him how I had felt for 
 years past, and how very unhappy at times I had been. 
 
 " He did not seem inclined to talk. All he said was occa- 
 sionally ' Well — well — well' — with his peculiar cadence. At 
 length he said he did not feel very well, and he wanted to be 
 still. This was a request he often made, and I thought noth- 
 ing of it. I have rode miles and miles with him, and not a 
 word has passed between us after such a request. 
 
 " I continued to ride with him once and twice a day ; but 
 although I was anxious to converse, he said but little to me, 
 except occasionally he would drop a remark calculated to 
 make me feel worse instead of better — at times greatly deep- 
 
168 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ening my distress. Some months afterwards, I spoke to him 
 about this part of our intercourse. He said he did it inten- 
 tionally, for he had reason to believe many an awakened sin- 
 ner had his convictions all talked away, and he talked into a 
 false hope. 
 
 " Two or three days after he -first spoke to me on the sub- 
 ject of religion, he called at my house, and requested me to 
 go and see a particular individual, whom he named and who 
 was under distress of mind, and pray with her. I told him 
 that I could not do such a thing as that, for I was not a chris- 
 tian, myself. He replied — ' But you do not mean that your 
 not being a christian releases you from christian obligations ? 
 If you do you are greatly in error. Good morning ! ' and he 
 left me rather abruptly. In the afternoon, when I rode with 
 him, he did not ask me if I attended to his request, for he 
 knew I had not. He only made the request, as he afterwards 
 told me, to thrust deeper the arrow of conviction ; and it had 
 the desired effect. My distress became very great, and I was 
 unfitted for my ordinary duties. I felt as if there was but 
 little hope for such a hardened sinner as I was. 
 
 " About this time he appointed a meeting of inquiry. I 
 told him I should be there for one. He said I must not attend 
 on any account — it was only intended for anxious sinners. I 
 told him I certainly should be there, unless he absolutely for- 
 bade it. ' I do,' said he, with more than ordinary earnestness. 
 Then,' said I, ' you must promise me that you will appoint 
 a meeting for anxious professors.' He made no reply. This 
 anxious meeting was the first he appointed in Jamaica. It 
 was to be held at the house of a dear friend of mine, and one 
 who knew something of the state of my mind. I went there 
 in the afternoon, and made arrangements to be concealed in 
 an adjoining bed-room, the door of which could not be shut, 
 the bed being placed against it. I was on the ground an hour 
 before the time appointed. Mr. Nettleton came soon after, to 
 arrange the seats ; about this he was very particular. He 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 169 
 
 came into the bed-room where I was concealed two or threo 
 times ; he wanted the door closed, but he found it could not 
 be without disarranging the fumiturei and he gave it up. He 
 did not know I was there until some weeks afterwards. The 
 temptation to be present at that meeting I could not resist. 
 Some how I had received an impression that my salvation de- 
 pended upon it. I had heard so often about persons being 
 converted in an anxious meeting, that I thought if I could only 
 be present at such a meeting, that was all that was necessary, 
 and therefore I was willing not only to run the risk of offend- 
 ing Mr. Nettleton, but willing to submit to almost any humil- 
 iating circumstance, to accomplish my object. I thought it 
 was altogether a piece of cruelty in Mr. Nettleton to forbid my 
 being present, and I determined to carry my point privately, if 
 I could not openly. 
 
 " Situated as I was, I could hear next to nothing as to what 
 was transpiring in the anxious room. Mr. Nettleton addressed 
 those present individually, and in a very low tone of voice, 
 bordering upon a whisper. As he approached the open door, 
 I could occasionally catch a sentence, and hear a deep and 
 anxious sob — but these words, and broken sentences, and 
 sobs, were loud and pointed sermons to me. I wanted to get 
 out from my hiding place, that I might give vent to my pent 
 up feelings ; and my anxiety to be released, appeared to be 
 greater than it was to be present. At times, it seemed as if 
 I must cry out in bitterness of spirit, so agonizing were my 
 feelings ; especially so as I heard him say to one individual, 
 ' Is it possible 1 Well, I am afraid you will lose your im- 
 pressions, and if you should what will become of you 1 If 
 the Spirit is grieved to return no more, you will lose your 
 soul.' After going around the room, and conversing with 
 each individual, he made a few general remarks applicable 
 to all respecting the danger of grieving God's Holy Spirit, and 
 then dismissed the meeting after a short prayer. 
 
 " Instead of feeling any better after this meeting, as I ex- 
 15 
 
170 MEMOIR OF 
 
 pected to do, I felt worse and worse. Sleep was now taken 
 from me, and I felt that death was better than life. Either 
 that night or the next, I forget which, but remember it was the 
 27th April, I got out of bed about 12 o'clock, and went out 
 into the woods. It was exceedingly dark. I fell down at the 
 foot of a tree, and cried aloud for mercy in agony of soul. I 
 felt that God was just in punishing me. I felt that the longest 
 and the severest punishment he could inflict was no more than 
 I deserved ; my sins, my aggravated sins, appeared so great. 
 I remained put of doors the most of the night. In the morn- 
 ing, early, before I went home, I called at Mr. Nettleton's 
 lodgings. He sent word that he could not see me at that 
 hour. I went away, and returned in an hour or so ; he told 
 the servant to request me to be seated, and he would be with 
 me in a few minutes. 
 
 " Every minute now seemed an hour, and a long one too. 
 For nearly thirty minutes he kept me in this state of horrible 
 suspense, during which I was constantly pacing the floor with 
 my watch in my hand. When at length he entered the room, 
 I threw my arms round his neck, told him I was in perfect 
 agony, and that I should die if he did not in some way com- 
 fort me. I told him it seemed as if I could not live another 
 hour in such distress. 
 
 " / can't help you, my dear friend, you must not look to 
 me ;'' and he burst into a flood of tears. 
 
 " What shall I do 1 what shall I do V I repeated over and 
 over again, in a loud voice. 
 
 " You must yield your heart to Christ, or you are lost ! " 
 said he ; and adding, ' I do certainly think your situation a 
 very alarming and dangerous one.' 
 
 " After a few minutes, he said, ' Come, let us kneel down.' 
 This was contrary to his usual practice. He made a very 
 short prayer, not more than a minute in length, rose from his 
 knees, advised me to go home and remain in my room, and 
 abruptly left me, almost overcome with emotion. Had there 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 171 
 
 been any means of self-destruction within my reach, I believe 
 I should have employed it, so agonizing were my feelings. 
 He sent word to me by a young friend, that he did not wish 
 to ride that day. I passed the most of the day in my room 
 on my knees. Occasionally, I walked for a few minutes in 
 my garden, and then returned to my room. It was the just 
 and the eternal displeasure of an angry God that seemed to 
 crush me to the earth. About the middle of the afternoon, 
 one of the elders came to see me. He expressed surprise at 
 my distress, said there was no necessity for my feeling so bad, 
 he knew there was not. He tried to persuade me it would all 
 be well with me soon. I told him that if he could satisfy me 
 that it would ever be well with me, I would gladly and cheer- 
 fully endure my sufferings thousands of years. This feeling 
 I distinctly remember. The justice of God and the eternity of 
 his anger distressed me most. I sent for Mr. Nettleton, but 
 he excused himself, and did not come. 
 
 " Thus every refuge failed me, 
 And all my hopes were cross'd." 
 
 " It was past the middle of the afternoon, and approaching 
 sundown, and I had not yet broken my fast. After a short 
 walk in the garden, I again entered my room, locked the door, 
 and threw myself prostrate on my settee, as near a state of 
 hopeless despair as I can conceive a mortal to be on this side 
 the bottomless pit. I cried aloud, ' O my God ! how long — 
 how long, O my God, my God.' After repeating this and 
 similar language several times, I seemed to sink away into a 
 state of insensibility. When I came to myself 1 was upon my 
 knees, praying not for myself but for others. I felt submission 
 to the will of God, willing that he should do with me as should 
 seem good in his sight. My concern for myself seemed all 
 lost in concern for others. Terror seemed all exchanged for 
 love, and despair for hope. God was glorious, and Christ un- 
 speakably precious. I was an overwhelming wonder to 
 
172 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 myself. The cry of ' Blessed Jesus — blessed Jesus ! ' took 
 tke place of ' Lord have mercy.' 
 
 " After remaining in my room half an hour or thereabouts, I 
 came down stairs, and met my dear wife, who had deeply sym- 
 pathised with me in my distress. I exclaimed, ' I have found 
 Him, I have found Him, and He is a precious Saviour ! ' She 
 was very much overcome. She persuaded me to take some 
 food, but I was so happy and so anxious to go to meeting, the 
 bell having rung, that 1 could eat but little. I went over to 
 the session house ; it was crowded — benches in the aisle were 
 filled. I obtained a seat near the door. Mr. Nettleton was 
 reading the 211th hymn of the village collection — 
 
 " Of all the joys we mortals know, 
 Jesus, thy love exceeds the rest," &c. 
 
 I thought I never heard so sweet a hymn, nor so delightful 
 music. I sung it at the top of my voice, of which however I 
 was not aware, until I saw I had attracted the observation of 
 all near me. My eyes were streaming with tears, while my 
 countenance was beaming with delight, as a friend afterwards 
 told me. I wanted to tell to all around what a Saviour I had 
 found. 
 
 After service, I walked home with Mr. Nettleton, and re- 
 mained with him a few minutes. ' I knew this morning,' said 
 he, ' that the turning point was not far off.' He cautioned me 
 again and again, against giving way to my feelings ; urged 
 me to keep humble and prayerful, and not say much to any 
 one. That night 1 could not sleep for joy. I do not think I 
 closed my eyes. I found myself singing several times in the 
 night. In the morning all nature seemed in a new dress, and 
 vocal with the praises of a God all glorious. Every thing 
 seemed changed, and I could scarcely realize that one, only 
 yesterday so wretcned, was now so happy. I ifelt it perfectly 
 reasonable that he who had had much forgiven should love 
 much. I think I sincerely inquired, ' Lord, what wilt thou 
 
UR. NETTI-ETON. 
 
 173 
 
 have me to do ? ' and though eighteen years have passed, God 
 is still glorious, and Christ still precious to ray soul ; and 
 unless I am greatly deceived, I still pray for a knowledge of 
 my duty, and for grace to do it. I know that I still love to do 
 good and make others happy ; and of all anticipated delights 
 which I can place before my mind, that of the enjoyment of 
 sinless perfection in heaven is the greatest. But never was 
 a sense of my unworthiness greater than it is at present. 
 
 What was there in me that could merit esteem 
 
 Or give the Creator delight ? 
 'Twas ' even so, Father,' I ever must sing, 
 
 ' Because it seem'd good in thy sight.' 
 Then give all the glory to his holy name, 
 
 To him all the glory belongs, 
 Be mine the high joy still to sound forth his fame, 
 
 And crown him in each of my songs." 
 
 T. W. B. 
 
 In November, 1 826, he visited Albany, and remained there 
 through most of the winter. While here, though very feeble, 
 God made him the instrument of the hopeful conversion of not 
 a few souls. He speaks in one of his letters of eighty rejoic- 
 ing in hope. In a letter to the Rev. Mr. Aikin, of Utica, 
 extracts from which will be inserted in a future chapter, he 
 says, <; Would that I had time and strength to give you partic- 
 ulars on the state of religion in this region, and elsewhere. 
 In Albany it is interesting. I have met a number of circles 
 of different kinds. Some are rejoicing in hope, and a number 
 are anxious for their souls." 
 
 In the spring of 1 827, he repaired to Durham, N. Y. While 
 here, his bodily weakness was so great, as to lead him to ap- 
 prehend that he was drawing near the close of life. The fol- 
 lowing letter, addressed to the Rev. Mr. Williston, the pastor 
 of the church in Durham, will show the state of his mind at 
 that time. As this letter is found among Mr. Nettleton's own 
 papers, it may never have been delivered. It is dated Dur- 
 ham, April 21st, 1827. 
 15* 
 
174 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " Brother Williston — This day I am 44 years old. I feel 
 thankful that a kind providence has led me to this place, and 
 that I have had the satisfaction of a short acquaintance with 
 you. I cannot express my feelings now. But in view of the 
 uncertainty of life, I would say, that I am happy in the thought 
 of laying my bones in your burying ground. I cannot tell 
 how it may be in the solemn hour of death — and a willingness 
 to die, I do not think, is, in itself, any evidence of grace. 
 But the thought of leaving the world, appears rather pleasant; 
 and above all, the thought of never sinning. I feel it to be a 
 great thing to be a christian. Such words as these appear 
 sweet. ' I am now ready to be offered,' &c. 
 
 ' O glorious hour ! — O blest abode ! 
 I shall be near and like my God ; 
 And flesh and sin no more control 
 The sacred pleasures of the soul.' 
 
 " I feel a peculiar love to ministers — especially to those 
 with whom I have labored in seasons of revival. Remember 
 me affectionately to them all. They will find my feelings in 
 the twentieth chapter of Acts. I feel a peculiar interest in 
 theological students, and I have been wishing to leave some- 
 thing that would be useful — something which has been learn- 
 ed by experience. I would say to young men, it is a good 
 symptom when they secure the confidence of aged and expe- 
 rienced ministers. The younger should submit themselves to 
 the elder, and always speak kindly of them. 
 
 " My mind ranges over all the towns and places where I 
 have labored in seasons of revival with peculiar delight. I 
 have feelings of inexpressible tenderness and compassion, for 
 all the young converts. They will find much of them in 1st 
 and 2d Thessalonians. My affectionate regards to all my rela- 
 tives in North Killingworth. Tell them to prepnre to follow me. 
 I die among kind friends. Tell your congregation, and especial- 
 ly the young people, to seek an interest in Christ without de- 
 lay. When I am buried on yonder hill, tell them to remem- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 175 
 
 ber the evening when I preached to them from these words, 
 ' Seek first the kingdom of God.'' Whenever they pass my 
 grave, tell them, they will each one remember, ' there lies the 
 man who talked to me about my soul.' I die in peace with 
 all mankind. In great weakness, 
 
 Your affectionate friend and brother, 
 
 A. N." 
 
 Notwithstanding his great weakness, while at Durham, his 
 labors were attended by a divine blessing. God poured out 
 his Spirit, and numbers were hopefully made the subjects of 
 renewing grace. 
 
 In the summer of the same year, there was an interesting 
 revival under his preaching at Lexington Heights, on the 
 Catskill mountains. Between thirty and forty were, in the 
 judgment of charity, called out of darkness into marvelous 
 light. 
 
 While at Lexington, Mr. Nettleton wrote the fallowing 
 letter to Mr. Charles E. Furman, a member of the Theologi- 
 cal Seminary at Auburn, now pastor of the church in Victor, 
 N.Y. 
 
 " My Dear Friend : — When I saw that the captivity of 
 Zion was turned, I retired out of the region of news and 
 noise, among these mountains. The bear and the panther, 
 the wolf and the wild-cat, it is said, are occasionally seen or 
 heard ranging the forests which surround the village and the 
 mansion where I now reside. The deer I have seen leaping 
 the fence and the mound, with a hound close to his heels. I 
 have often been reminded of these words, ' And he was with 
 the wild beasts ; and the angels ministered unto him.' When 
 the apostles returned to Christ, and gave an account of their 
 mission, he said unto them, ' come ye yourselves apart into a 
 desert place, and rest awhile.' Every itinerant preacher, 
 especially if he has been engaged in a revival of religion, 
 must feel the need of this last direction ; or suffer greatly, if 
 
176 MEMOIB 1IF 
 
 he long neglect it. I could not advise any one to be employed 
 in a powerful revival more than three months, without retiring 
 into solitude for a short time, to review the past, and to attend 
 to his own heart. He will find much to lament, and much to 
 correct ; and it is by deep and solemn reflection upon the 
 past, and by this only, that he can reap the advantages of past 
 experience. It is not by passing through many revivals of 
 religion, that we can gain any valuable experience on the 
 subject. Many former, as well as some recent examples, 
 prove the truth of this remark. 
 
 " The people where I reside, are destitute of a settled pastor. 
 I have preached a number of times to a very crowded, silent, 
 and solemn assembly. I have met a number in deep distress 
 of soul : and recently some are rejoicing in hope, and begin 
 to sing ' Redeeming Love.' We have a most excellent choir 
 of youthful singers, some of whom are among the young con- 
 verts. Last evening, I saw two of the most gay and thought- 
 less of them, who I feared were going to be left, and found 
 them in awful distress. I had noticed that they did not sing 
 in the choir on the Sabbath ; though they are favored with 
 the sweetest voices. On my visit, I found the reason might 
 be given in the following beautiful lines : 
 
 * How can my soul exult for joy, 
 
 "Which feels this load of sin; 
 And how can praise my tongue employ, 
 
 While darkness reigns within? 
 My soul forgets to use her wings, 
 
 My harp neglected lies, 
 For sin has broken all its strings, 
 
 And guilt shuts out my joys !' ' 
 
 " I have thought very seriously of requesting you to make 
 us a visit, for I needed your help to write off tunes, and to aid 
 in learning them. But my time here is so short that I could 
 not request it. My health is feeble, though better than it was 
 last summer. I have been advised by physicians to spend 
 the winter at the South ; and it is time to make my arrange- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 177 
 
 taents. I wish to hear from you soon. What is the state of 
 things in Auburn ? My best regards to Dr. Richards and to 
 all my friends. 
 
 Yours truly." 
 
 In the fall of 1827, he went to the South for the benefit of 
 his health. He spent the winter in Virginia, and was made 
 the instrument of a great work of divine grace. Dr. John H. 
 Rice, in a letter to Dr. Alexander, thus speaks of his labors : 
 
 *' When Mr. Nettleton had strength to labor, he soon was 
 made instrumental in producing a considerable excitement. 
 This has extended, and now the state of things is deeply 
 interesting. Five lawyers, all of very considerable standing, 
 have embraced religion. This has produced a mighty sensa- 
 tion in Charlotte, Mecklenburg, Nottaway, Cumberland, Pow- 
 hattan, Buckingham, and Albemarle. The minds of men 
 seem to stand a tiptoe, and they seem to be looking for some 
 great thing." " Mr. Nettleton is a remarkable man, and chief- 
 ly, I think, remarkable for his power of producing a great ex- 
 citement, without much appearance of feeling. The people 
 do not either weep or talk away their impressions. The 
 preaeher chi«fly addresses Bible truth to their consciences. I 
 have not heard him utter, as yet, a single sentiment opposed 
 to what you and I call orthodoxy. He preaches the Bible. 
 He-derives his illustrations from the Bible." 
 
 Mr. Nettleton remained in Virginia, laboring in different 
 parts of that State, as his health and strength would permit, 
 and with no inconsiderable success, until the spring of 1829. 
 
 The following letter to his friend Mr. Cobb, will give some 
 idea of his labors in Virginia, and their results : 
 
 " New York, Feb. 17, 1831. 
 
 " My Dear Brother : — Your very welcome letter of the 
 
 15th is just received. It awakened in my mind the most 
 
 tender recollections of scenes that are past — the years of the 
 
 right hand of the most High, never to be forgotten. I rejoice 
 
178 MEMOIK OF 
 
 to hear that the subjects of the last revival in your society 
 so generally run well. My most affectionate regards to everi 
 one of them, and tell them how I should rejoice to see thek 
 faces once more in this world. 
 
 " Many things have transpired in my own history since ] 
 saw you last, and some deeply interesting. My turns oi 
 faintness increased until 1827, when the physicians despaired 
 of my life ; and as the last resort, I was advised to go to a 
 Southern climate. For three winters I have been in the 
 Southern States, and my health has wonderfully improved, so 
 that I have been able to labor almost incessantly. The scene 
 of the deepest interest was in the county of Prince Edward, 
 Virginia, in the vicinity of the Union Theological Seminary, 
 and Hampden Sydney College. Our first meeting of inquiry 
 was at the house of Dr. Rice — the very mansion containing 
 the Theological students. More than a hundred were pres- 
 ent, inquiring ' What must we do to be saved V Among the 
 subjects of divine grace, were a number of lawyers, six or 
 seven, and some of them among the leading advocates at the 
 bar. Some were men of finished education, who are soon to 
 become heralds of salvation. 
 
 " During my residence in Virginia, I took a tour across the 
 Alleghany Mountains, about two hundred miles, to spend a 
 short time during the warm season. On my way, I spent a 
 few weeks at a place called Staunton, where I left a pleasant 
 little circle of young converts. On a certain Sabbath, as we 
 were almost destitute of singers, I noticed a female voice, 
 which from its fullness, and sweetness, and wildness, all 
 combined, attracted my attention. On arriving at my lodgings 
 I inquired of a young lady whose voice it could be, and wheth- 
 er we could not catch and tame it, and enlist it in our service ? 
 The name, I was informed, was S L. Will you not in- 
 vite her to call and see us ? ' O, she is a very gay and 
 thoughtless young lady ; was never at our house, and we have 
 no acquaintance with her.' Tell her from me that I wish to 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 179 
 
 see her — that. I want the aid of her voice. N went out, 
 
 and in a few moments returned with the interesting stranger, 
 who sat down with a pleasing, pensive countenance, which 
 seemed to say, now is my time to seek an interest in Christ. 
 And so it was, that she and her sister, and fifteen or twenty 
 others became deeply impressed, and soon became joyful in 
 Christ. This little circle would call on me daily, linking 
 hand in hand, and smiling through their tears, would sing Re- 
 deeming Love. I bade thein farewell — and now for the 
 sequel. I have received a letter from Dr. Wardell, the wor- 
 thy physician of that place, at whose house I resided, from 
 which I will give an extract. ' We have had several instan- 
 ces of death from typhus fever since you left us. The only 
 individual whom you know, included in this number, was one 
 
 of your little circle — S L. It will be no less gratifying to 
 
 you than it is to her friends here, to learn that she gave abun- 
 dant evidence of the genuineness of the Christian profession. 
 To go a little into detail. She had been complaining for sev- 
 eral days, before she would consent to lie by ; and did not 
 call in medical aid for some days after her confinement. I 
 first saw her six days from her first attack, when she was en- 
 tirely prostrate. She said she believed she should not recov- 
 er, nor had she any desire to live longer. So far from being 
 dismayed at death, she seemed to view it as one of the most 
 joyful events. I was in some perplexity to ascertain whether 
 these were the feelings of a sound mind, and the vigorous 
 exercise of faith ; and closely watched for some incoherences 
 which might settle the inquiry ; but there was nothing of the 
 kind. She was too weak to converse much, but had her 
 friends summoned around her, to give them a word of exhort- 
 ation ; expressing a strong desire to be the means of leading 
 one soul to heaven. She took great delight in gazing on 
 those whom she had been accustomed to meet in your little 
 religious circle, because she expected to meet them in heaven. 
 She often spoke of you, and your little social meetings, prayed 
 
180 MEMOIR or 
 
 for you, and said she should meet you in a larger circle in 
 heaven than she had ever done in Staunton. In order to test 
 the correctness of her apprehension, I asked her if she would 
 feel no diffidence in being admitted into the presence of a holy- 
 God, and the holy beings who surround his throne 1 She had 
 strength only to reply — But I am washed — I am washed ! 
 She lived fourteen days after I saw her first. I have been 
 thus particular, because she requested that some one would 
 inform you of her death.' 
 
 " You will pardon me for sending you this little story. It 
 cannot touch your feelings as it does my own. You may read 
 it to your young people as a- token of affectionate remem- 
 brance from 
 
 " Their unworthy friend." 
 
 While Mr. Nettleton was in Virginia, he wrote the follow- 
 ing letter to the Rev. Lavius Hyde ; and although it contains 
 but little respecting his labors, it will on other accounts, be 
 read with interest. It will give the reader some idea of Mr. 
 Nettleton's exquisite sensibility to the beauties of poetry. 
 
 " Staunton, Va., March 4, 1829. 
 " My Dear Brother — So many things have transpired since 
 I left the North, that I am really at a loss how to begin my 
 letter, or what to say. Indeed, I should not probably have 
 sent you even this, had not the biography of our departed 
 friend, Carlos Wilcox,* to my surprise, found its way over 
 these mountains, into the interior of Virginia. I have read 
 it with no common interest alone — also in company with a 
 number of ministers and Christians, who were greatly de- 
 lighted. Some part of it, I mean the poetic part, I have read 
 frequently in a circle of young converts in this place. ' The 
 Religion of Taste' has set them all weeping — especially from 
 the 79th to the 91st verse inclusive. A few Sabbaths since, 
 seventeen persons made a public profession of religion in this 
 
 * Mr. Hyde was the author of this biography. 
 
DR. NEIILKTON. 181 
 
 place : and as they all stood in a single row, side by side, in 
 front of the pulpit, while the minister was addressing them, 
 they affectionately grasped each other by the hand. With 
 wonderful adroitness, the minister seized this circumstance, 
 and observed that he considered it as a signal of the union of 
 ' their hearts. A few days after, while sitting in a circle, link- 
 ing hand in hand, I read to them for the first time, ' The Reli- 
 gion of Taste.' When I came to the 87th verse, the effect I 
 cannot describe. Others were present who were without 
 hope, and anxious for their souls. And oh, you cannot im- 
 agine how solemn it was, when I came to these words : 
 
 ' I only wandered on, with none to meet 
 
 And call me dear, while pointing to the past, 
 
 And forward to the joys that never reach their last, 
 
 I had not bound myself by any ties 
 
 To that blest land.' 
 
 " I do think this piece contains specimens of exquisite 
 painting. The fourth verse I have often read to my friends 
 as specimens. The 98th and 101st are favorites. How I 
 should like to read and enjoy the whole of this, and Pollok 
 with you and Mrs. Hyde. While reading the latter, how 
 often has the thought crossed my mind, what would friend 
 Carlos have said, had it made its appearance in his life time ? 
 
 " I have no time to give you an outline of my own sorrows 
 or joys. 
 
 * What matter whether pain or pleasure fill 
 The swelling heart, one little moment here.' 
 
 " Providence permitting, I start for Prince Edward within 
 a few days, and hope to visit New England in the Spring. 
 My best regards to all your family. 
 
 " Yours truly.'' 
 
 The following letter from a highly respectable clergyman 
 in Virginia, was received too late to be inserted in the first 
 edition of this memoir. 
 
 16 
 
182 
 
 M E M O 1 K. OP 
 
 "Cumberland Co. Va. July 17, 1844. 
 
 "Rev. and Dear Sir — I am pleased to learn by a notice in 
 the papers, that you are engaged in preparing a biographical 
 sketch of the late Rev. Dr. Nettleton. I received, a few days 
 ago, a request from our friend, Rev. Michael Osborne, that I 
 would furnish you with such information as I could, in refer- 
 ence to Dr. Nettleton's labors in Virginia, and the estimation 
 in which those labors were held by christians here. 
 
 " It was my privilege while a young man in the ministry 
 of the gospel, to share his confidence and his friendship, 
 during his first visit to Virginia in 1828, and the beginning of 
 '29, and I had on two occasions afterwards, an opportunity 
 for intimate and most delightful intercourse with him. Du- 
 ring the winter of 1828, he spent two weeks in my study at 
 Buckingham C. H., to which place I had just been called as 
 the pastor of the small Presbyterian church there, and which 
 had enjoyed the privilege of his ministry for a few weeks 
 during the summer of that year, with the manifest blessing of 
 the Head of the church on his labors. He was then resting 
 from the severe and exhausting labors which he had under- 
 gone during the summer and fall, at Hampden Sydney, Prince 
 Edward Co., at Buckingham C. H., and in the valley of Vir- 
 ginia ; and during those two weeks, I had the highly prized 
 opportunity of full conversation with him about his views in 
 theology, with the doctrinal history of which, he was uncom- 
 monly well acquainted ; about the whole subject of revivals 
 of religion ; the proper manner of presenting divine truth to 
 the understandings and consciences of men, in connection 
 with a spirit of prayer, and a feeling and entire dependence 
 on the Spirit and grace of God, to make the truth effectual ; 
 and plans for building up the kingdom of Christ. On all 
 these subjects he was the most interesting and instructive in- 
 dividual with whom I have ever had intercourse ; and on the 
 subject of revivals of religion, incomparably the wisest man I 
 ever saw. It was a subject which he had thoroughly studierl 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 183 
 
 in the light of revelation and ecclesiastical history, and on 
 which he had an amount of experience and observation 
 probably beyond any man living. You will render most im- 
 portant service to the cause of Christy if you succeed, as I 
 trust yon may, in getting before the public mind, a full exhi- 
 bition of his views on this subject. 
 
 " He was introduced into Virginia by the Rev. Dr. John 
 H. Rice, then Professor of Christian Theology in Union 
 Theological Seminary, Prince Edward Co., and very soon 
 began his labors with the Presbyterian church in the imme- 
 diate vicinity of the Seminary, and Hampden Sydney College. 
 The Spirit of God accompanied his exhibitions of divine 
 truth, and soon a most interesting and 'precious revival of 
 religion was enjoyed with the church there. He was deeply 
 interested in this revival of religion, and so were many others, 
 because of the number of educated gentlemen, especially 
 lawyers of high standing and extensive influence, who were 
 hopefully converted during this blessed season of divine in- 
 fluence. Not many gentlemen of this profession, had, up to 
 this time, been members of any church in this section of 
 country. Those referred to, were from several adjoining 
 counties ; and this circumstance attracted no little attention, 
 and sent out an extensive and most salutary influence on the 
 surrounding country; especially the county of Buckingham. 
 This county, in execution of his ordinary plan of making the 
 scene of a revival a center of influence for the surrounding 
 country, he took an early opportunity to visit. He preached 
 at the Court House for a few Sabbaths, to a small church 
 which had been organized a few years before ; and here his 
 ministry excited great attention, and was accompanied with 
 the special blessing of heaven. The revival at this place 
 was not extensive, but it laid the foundation, as I had occa- 
 sion to know, for building up quite a flourishing Presbyterian 
 church in that region. I had on the ground an interesting 
 opportunity to observe the practical effects of a genuine re- 
 
184 MEMOIR OF 
 
 vival of religion, conducted on true scriptural principles, as I 
 began to minister to that community in the beginning of the 
 winter of that year. The views of religion which he pre- 
 sented, were so scriptural, and rational, commending them- 
 selves to every man's conscience ; and the sympathies of the 
 community, in the midst of deep interest and intense feeling, 
 were so wisely managed, avoiding every thing like extrava- 
 gance and fanaticism, that the sober and well-balanced minds 
 of those without, could find no occasiou to object to any thing 
 that was said or done. When Dr. Nettleton went away, the 
 consciences of the people were left on the side of rational 
 and intelligent piety. The young people, too, grew up under 
 the impression that revivals of religion are blessed seasons ; 
 so that when another revival came, the obstacles in the way 
 seemed to be small. That church has been emphatically 
 one of revivals ever since, and has been mainly built up by 
 them. The same impression, as I have had opportunity to 
 know, was left on the public mind by the revival in Prince 
 Edward Co., as indeed, it always will be, when a genuine 
 revival of religion, properly conducted, is enjoyed. 
 
 " Towards the close of the summer of that year, Dr. Nettle- 
 ton's health, which was quite feeble when he came to Vir- 
 ginia, rendered it proper as he thought, that he should visit 
 the mountains, and the mineral springs located among them. 
 He could not, however, during his excursion, debar himself 
 the privilege of preaching the gospel. He labored for a few 
 weeks, with the blessing of God, but not to the same extent 
 as at Prince Edward, and Buckingham C. H., at Lewisburg, 
 Greenbrier Co., and at Staunton, Augusta Co. 
 
 " These trips gave him an opportunity for extending his 
 acquaintance and his influence with the clergy of Virginia, 
 by whom he was every where received with the utmost cor- 
 diality and christian affection. The report of the blessing of 
 God on his labors for Christ, which preceded him, opened 
 the hearts of all our ministers and people towards him. You 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 185 
 
 doubtless had an opportunity to know how the cordiality and 
 christian affection of his Virginia brethren affected him. On 
 their part, I had many occasions to know, they regarded his 
 visit to Virginia as a great blessing to our churches. I have 
 always thought, that Dr. Nettleton's sojourn among us was 
 worth more to the cause of Christ, from the influence which 
 he exerted on the minds of ministers, than in any other point 
 of view. He certainly exerted no little influence on the man- 
 ner of preaching the gospel in this part of the state ; but 
 probably, yet greater good resulted from the interest which 
 he excited on the subject of genuine revivals of religion. 
 Our churches had been blessed with such seasons of refresh- 
 ing before ; but the subject had not been any thing like so 
 well understood. The views which followed his visit, have 
 powerfully influenced the minds of ministers and christians 
 generally ever since ; and their hallowed influence, we may 
 reasonably hope, will go down upon the church for many 
 years to come. He felt great interest in the students of our 
 seminary, who were soon to be in the field of ministerial 
 labor, and cqrdially co-operated with good Dr. Rice, in efforts 
 to imbue them with the right spirit for the great work of 
 preaching the gospel. I well knew how high a value Dr. 
 Rice placed on his visit to the seminary, and on the opportu- 
 nity which his young men enjoyed for witnessing his manner 
 of presenting divine truth, and conducting things in a revival 
 of religion. His interest on the subject of revivals was in- 
 tense ; and as he regarded them as the great means, in con- 
 nexion with the pastoral office, in building up the kingdom of 
 Christ and saving a lost world, he was most deeply solicitous 
 that correct views on the subject should prevail. He took 
 great pains in explaining his views to those whom he regard- 
 ed as being judicious and trusty ; and guarded with extreme 
 caution against every thing wild and fanatical. He had 
 abundant reason to be deeply solicitous on this subject, as in- 
 dividuals at the North, and especially in western New York, 
 16* 
 
186 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 had run revivals into extravagance, and then, as he said, 
 attempted to plead the authority of his name and example for 
 their ultra and extravagant proceedings. I never saw him so 
 deeply excited on any subject, as in conversation about these 
 abuses. His measures — if it be proper thus to characterize 
 the means which he used in connexion with revivals of reli- 
 gion, were new in this region, and excited great interest. 
 The fact, however, was, that there was nothing new about 
 his plans, except that he brought people together who were 
 concerned about their soul and had made up their minds to 
 attend at once to the subject of religion, into a general inquiry 
 meeting, and sometimes into smaller meetings of the same 
 kind in private houses, in the more distant parts of a congre- 
 gation — for the purpose of personal conversation and instruc- 
 tion adapted to the peculiar cases of individuals. At these 
 meetings, young converts were kept with those who were 
 anxious. These plans were suggested by common sense and 
 the necessity of the case, and were approved by the most 
 judicious ministers amongst us. Some, however, were dis- 
 posed, as had been done elsewhere, to try to improve on his 
 simple plans, and as he knew that imitations were likely to 
 rise up here, as in other places, and plead his authority for 
 measures which he could not approve, he was reserved in 
 communicating his views, unless to persons who he was con- 
 vinced were opposed to running revivals into extravagance 
 and contempt. This, in some instances, brought against him 
 the charge of being reserved and quere — often because he 
 would not sit down, when his time was directly needed for 
 the Lord's work, to explain all his views and plans to every 
 individual who chose to visit him — or because he could not go 
 to preach at several places, at the same time, to which he 
 was invited. It is enough to say, that he had the cordial ap- 
 probation of the most judicious ministers and intelligent lay- 
 men in the region, and that his visit was regarded with spe- 
 cial gratitude to the great Head of the church. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 187 
 
 " It was not to be expected that the devil would be still 
 when he saw so much done to make his strong holds in this 
 part of the country tremble from turret to foundation stone. 
 Accordingly one of his agents at Cartersville, in the lower 
 part of this county, when I was there preaching as a licen- 
 tiate, imported some stale slanders from Connecticut, about 
 
 Mr. Nettleton. The name of this man was O. G. W , 
 
 from Connecticut, and he attempted to gain currency for his 
 stories by the aid of a letter from R. S. H , also of Con- 
 necticut. All these slanders were silenced by an overwhelm- 
 ing mass of testimony from a number of the first men in New 
 England. 
 
 " Dr. Nettleton paid several other visits to Virginia in later 
 years, but generally in such poor health, that he attempted 
 very little in the way of preaching the gospel. To the last, 
 he retained the confidence and affection of those- who had 
 known him in the days of his greater vigor to labor for 
 Christ, and the salvation of souls. 
 
 " With christian regard, 
 
 " Your brother in the gospel, 
 
 Jesse S. Armistead.'' 
 
 During the summer of 1829, he preached in several differ- 
 ent places in New England, in all of which, I believe, he 
 was instrumental of the conversion of some souls. I know 
 not that there were extensive revivals in any of these places 
 except in Monson, Mass.. where he labored a short time 
 amid scenes of great interest. The following is an extract 
 of a letter from the Rev. Dr. Ely, pastor of the church in 
 Monson, written June 4, 1844. 
 
 " Dr. Nettleton was among the few whose memory will be 
 long cherished by the churches, as an eminent instrument, in 
 the hands of God, of reviving his work, and of bringing mul- 
 titudes to embrace the Saviour for righteousness and life. He 
 seems to have been raised up by the great Head of the church, 
 
188 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 to accomplish his purposes of mercy in the revival of pure 
 religion, and in the conversion of sinners. His influence 
 upon the ministry, and upon the churches where he labored, 
 was peculiarly happy. He always left behind him a sweet 
 savor of Christ. Harmony and christian affection, between 
 pastors and people, were the result of his labors, even where 
 they had been most successful in the conversion of souls. 
 His zeal and earnestness in preaching the gospel, where 
 Christ was named, were so tempered with practical wisdom 
 and singular prudence, that he was received, and loved, and 
 remembered as a messenger from God, sent to bless the 
 people. 
 
 "His labors among us in the year 1829, are recollected 
 with affection and gratitude. The revival .with which we 
 were favored that year, commenced about the middle of July. 
 It was unusually powerful and still, and rapid in its progress. 
 There was less animal excitement — convictions of sin were 
 more thorough, and conversions were more clear and decided, 
 than in some other seasons of revival which we have enjoyed. 
 We had but little to do, but to stand still and see the salvation 
 of God. Mr. Nettleton, if I mistake not, was then preach- 
 ing at Enfield, Mass. By my request, he came and spent a 
 week with us about the first of September, and preached fre- 
 quently to the most solemn and attentive assemblies I ever 
 witnessed. He then left us, and returned again in about ten 
 days, and spent another week. He preached on one Sabbath 
 only. On that day, I supplied his place at Enfield. He 
 preached and held inquiry meetings in the evenings of the 
 week, and visited the families with me in the day time. His 
 labors were very acceptable, and eminently useful, and I 
 bless God for his aid. Many were awakened under his 
 preaching, and some hopefully converted ; and those who 
 entertained hope, were greatly enlightened and strengthened. 
 He is remembered to this day with much affection. 
 
 " The chief excellence of his preaching, seemed to consist 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 189 
 
 in great plainness, and simplicity, and discrimination — in much 
 solemnity and affectionate earnestness of manner — in the ap- 
 plication of the truth to the heart and conscience— in taking 
 away the excuses of sinners, and leaving them without help 
 and hope, except in the sovereign mercy of God. In short, 
 it was conformed to the work for which the Spirit was sent 
 into the world, viz., to reprove or convince the world of sin, of 
 righteousness, and of judgment. This characteristic was most 
 striking. His manner of dealing with awakened sinners, was 
 peculiar. While it served to deepen their convictions, and 
 lead them to Christ, it gained their confidence, and secured 
 their belief of the truth. He knew, too, how to search those 
 who expressed hope. And while he detected the hypocrite 
 and encouraged the desponding, he was regarded by all with 
 affection and reverence. A large number of the subjects of 
 this revival, were young people, belonging to the first families 
 in the place. Of about one hundred who expressed hope at 
 that time, more than sixty belonged to the center district. 
 Numbers of them have removed to other places, and others 
 have died in the joyful hope of glory. Frequently have I 
 heard them express their remembrance of Dr. Nettleton's 
 labors, and of their obligations to him as the instrument of 
 leading them to Christ. Some on examination for church fel- 
 lowship, dated their awakening and conversion to his labors. 
 Of the number admitted to the church that year, only four have 
 apostatized. They have generally maintained the christian 
 character, and some of them are eminently useful in the church. 
 His labors, though short with us, were greatly blessed ; and 
 I shall ever remember them with gratitude to the great Head 
 of the Church, who disposed him to come and help us." 
 
 In the fall of 1 829, he went again to the south for the benefit 
 of his health. He spent some time in Charleston, S. C. He 
 then repaired to North Carolina, and preached considerably, 
 during the months of February and March, at Chapel Hill, 
 New Hope, and Hillsborough. In all these places, I have 
 
190 MEMOIR OF 
 
 understood, his labors were crowned with success ; but to 
 what extent I have not been able to learn. 
 
 The summer of 1830 he spent in New England, preaching 
 occasionally in different places, as his strength would permit. 
 
 During the winter of 1830-31, he preached in Newark, 
 N. J., and in the city of New York, assisting the Rev. Baxter 
 Dickinson, and the Rev. Drs. Snodgrass and Spring, while 
 God was pouring out his Spirit on their congregations. 
 
 In the spring of 1831, he took a voyage to England, for the 
 benefit of his health. In a letter to a friend, just before he 
 sailed, he says : 
 
 " 1 have but a few moments to write, and I never wrote with 
 such fullness of heart. Drs. H. and G. and others you know, 
 contemplate a voyage to England. My friends have arranged 
 for me to go with them, without any agency of my own. But 
 if I go, it is not to labor, and entirely at my own expense. 
 If you hear that I am on the great waters, do rememher me. 
 I never loved my friends so ardently, as since I have been 
 thinking of this voyage. I cannot tell you on paper the 
 ten thousand tender recollections that have crowded on my 
 mind." 
 
 He remained in England, including his visits to Scotland 
 and Ireland, more than a year : and although he went not to 
 labor, but to rest, he was not idle, nor were his labors altogether 
 in vain. 
 
 During this period, he kept a very brief journal, in which 
 he noted down the places which he visited, the texts from 
 which he preached, together with a very few occasional 
 remarks. From this journal it appears that he traveled exten- 
 sively on the Island of Great Britain, and preached in many 
 different places. He also attended several meetings of minis- 
 ters, convened for the purpose of hearing from him some 
 account of American revivals. 
 
 He found that much prejudice had been excited among 
 pious people in England, by information which they had re- 
 
DR. NETTLETOt 
 
 191 
 
 ceived respecting certain modes of proceeding in revivals, in 
 some parts of the country. While he was in Sheffield, he saw 
 a letter which was written by an English clergyman, who was 
 traveling in America, and who had attended several pro- 
 tracted meetings. He makes from this letter the following 
 extract : 
 
 " Terrific sermons and other means are artfully contrived 
 to stimulate the feelings of ignorant people. In compliance 
 with the call given at the period of the highest excitement, 
 they repair to the anxious seat by scores. As their fears are 
 soon aroused, they are generally as soon calmed ; and in a 
 few days, many profess to entertain hope. Many such con- 
 verts soon lose all appearance of religion ; but they become 
 conceited, secure, and gospel proof ; so that while living in 
 the open and habitual neglect of their duty, they talk very 
 freely of the time when they experienced religion." 
 After giving this extract, he remarks : 
 " This man is said to be an excellent man, about fifty years 
 old, having the confidence of christians and ministers wherever 
 he is known in this kingdom. I find they are losing con- 
 fidence in our American revivals. And so the imprudence of 
 a few zealous individuals is doing more mischief to the cause 
 of Christ in this kingdom, than all the opposition of open 
 enemies could ever effect. I am almost exhausted in my 
 attempts to vindicate our revivals. I can only tell the good 
 ministers here, that I do not, and never did, approve of the 
 practice mentioned in the above letter, and those who adopt • 
 it must alone answer for the consequences." 
 
 At Glasgow, in Scotland, he makes the following note in 
 his journal. 
 
 " Breakfasted at Mrs. Smith's, in company with the Rev. 
 Mr. Russell, of Dundee, and many others. I was questioned 
 about American revivals — ' anxious seats,' — as related by Mr. 
 Colton and Mrs. Trollope. They said, they supposed that 
 the practice of calling out the anxious, was universal in Amer- 
 
192 - MEMOIR OF 
 
 ican revivals. A long talk ensued about the propriety of the 
 measure. The subject of anxious seats has evidently depre- 
 ciated American revivals a hundred per cent, in this country. 
 The practice of calling persons to the anxious seat, they said, 
 existed in England, only among the Methodists and Ranters. 
 They seemed greatly surprised when I informed them, that 
 this was not practiced, nor approved of, by the best ministers 
 in New England, and they wished me to hold a meeting to 
 disabuse the public mind on that subject." 
 
 The following brief notice of a meeting of Episcopal cler- 
 gymen, will be read with deep interest. 
 
 " Attended a meeting of clergymen of the established 
 church — principally evangelical — at the house of the Rev. 
 Daniel Wilson, Islington. More than forty were present. I 
 was called upon to give some account of American revivals. 
 Commencing with the onein Yale College, in 1820, 1 was led 
 to inquire if any one present could inform me of a young min- 
 ister from America, who came to this country the last year, 
 for his health, and who, as I had been informed, died some- 
 where in the vicinity of London. I had often inquired for the 
 house where he died, but as yet had found no one who could 
 give me information. His name was Sutherland Douglass. 
 Mr. Wilson, the moderator, whom I was addressing, lifted up 
 his hands, and exclaimed, ' I knew him. I received a note 
 informing me that a young minister from America, a stranger, 
 dangerously sick, desired to see me. I visited him twice, and 
 prayed with him. He died on the third day after I first saw 
 him. I brought his remains and buried them in my church- 
 yard.' My reply was, he was one of the subjects of that 
 revival in Yale College, of which I was speaking. (Much 
 weeping.)" 
 
 Among his papers, are numerous letters written by persons 
 in England and Scotland, from which it appears that he had 
 warm friends in those countries. The writers of many of 
 these letters express great obligations to him for the pleasure 
 
Bit. NETTLETON. 193 
 
 and profit which they had derived from his preaching and 
 conversation ; and several of them allude to cases which had 
 come to their knowledge, of the awakening and hopeful con- 
 version of sinners under his labors. Although he was not 
 permitted to witness in England, such scenes as he had fre- 
 quently witnessed in this country, he had reason to believe, 
 that God gave him some souls even there. 
 
 After his return from England, which was in August, 1832, 
 he preached in a number of different places in New England 
 and in the middle ^tates ; with what success I am unable to 
 state. In the autumn of 1833, there was an interesting revi- 
 val under his preaching, in Enfield, Conn. 
 
 The following is an extract of a letter from the Rev. Francis 
 L. Robbins, pastor of the church in that town. 
 
 " I have not known the man, who in my deliberate judg- 
 ment, has been the honored instrument of heaven in turning 
 so many sinners to the knowledge of the truth, and saving 
 souls from death, as the Rev. Mr. Nettleton. As he was him- 
 self ' mighty in the scriptures,' and ' fervent in the spirit,' he 
 spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, and was 
 not satisfied unless men exhibited scriptural evidence of true 
 religion. When he went into a place, remembering what was 
 said of his master, ' he shall not strive nor cry, neither shall 
 any man hear his voice in the streets,' he labored as far as 
 practicable without observation, striving to turn the eyes of 
 his hearers in upon themselves while they listened diligently 
 to the word. His meetings, therefore, whether on the Sab- 
 bath, or at other seasons, were singularly marked with still- 
 ness, order, fixed and solemn attention. 
 
 " My people were sensibly struck with the correctness of 
 this statement in relation to his labors here. For in this place 
 he had ' seals of his ministry,' in a goodly number of hopeful 
 converts who regarded him as their spiritual father, and re- 
 membered him with high respect and gratitude. I refer to 
 the revival of religion here in 1833, when several of the 
 17 
 
194 MEMOIR OF 
 
 choice, active and exemplary members of this flock, received 
 deep impressions, and became, as we believe, in heart and 
 spirit, the people of the living God. 
 
 " Mr. Nettleton came here in September of that year, at my 
 solicitation, when my health was, and had been, for several 
 months, in a very feeble and precarious state ; and when some 
 of our good people were fearful of the result, not only to my- 
 self, but to the interests of religion. When Mr. Netileton 
 came, it was like the coming of Titus, especially to myself. 
 Many of God's professed people had lefMJieir first love, and 
 were engaged in matters of ' doubtful disputation,' which 
 tended more to alienate and distract their feelings, than to 
 quicken them in the work of the Lord. 
 
 " Mr. Nettleton continued with us nearly three months. 
 Under his lucid and frequent exhibitions of divine truth, and 
 by solemn addresses to the church, together with instruction 
 given in the inquiry meeting, and by direct personal conver- 
 sation, deep impressions were made on the minds of a num- 
 ber, which resulted in a disposition to renounce themselves, 
 and humbly accept the salvation of the gospel. As he labored 
 to instruct the people in the things of the kingdom of God, and 
 establish them in the faith and order of the gospel, he very 
 generally secured their esteem and confidence, and left a 
 salutary influence behind him. 
 
 Not long after he left us, nearly twenty, mostly youth, who 
 ascribed their conversion to the abounding grace of God, 
 through his instrumentality, came forward, and made a public 
 profession of religion. Several others, who entertained a 
 hope at that time, clouded with many fears, have been revived 
 and quickened, and prepared to profess Christ since that time ; 
 while others who were brought to serious consideration, under 
 the religious exercises conducted by Mr. Nettleton, never, I 
 believe, lost their impressions, until as objects of God's special 
 remembrance, they were hopefully gathered in, in a subsequent 
 revival. All of those who were brought hopefully from<dark- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 195 
 
 ness to light as the fruits of that revival, so far as I have 
 knowledge, (for a few have removed to other places,) have 
 walked worthy of their vocation, bearing the fruits of right- 
 eousness unto the praise and glory of God." 
 
 Many other places might be mentioned in which he preach 
 ed occasionally, and in which there were some fruits of his 
 labors, that will, 1 trust, abide, when all earthly scenes shall 
 have passed away. But my object has been to mention only 
 those places in which his labors are known to have been 
 attended with verjjponsiderable success. 
 
 In 1833, the Pastoral Union of Connecticut was formed, 
 and the Theological Institute was established. These meas- 
 ures did not originate with him, as some have supposed ; but 
 they were measures which he cordially approved, and in 
 which he felt a deep and lively interest. 
 
 When the Seminary was organized, he was appointed Pro- 
 fessor of Pastoral Duty. He was at the time absent at the 
 south. In reply to a letter informing him of his appointment, 
 he says — 
 
 " I hardly know what to say. I need not tell you how 
 entirely I am interested in the whole concern. If it can be of 
 any service to the Seminary for me to sustain some official 
 relation to it, I should be sorry to decline. But it has from 
 the beginning seemed to me, that on many accounts, I could 
 plead its cause with more freedom and effect, without sustain- 
 ing that relation to it. My reasons I cannot fully state on 
 paper. At any rate, I must see you, and the Trustees, before 
 I can give an affirmative answer. I have, too, some doubts 
 whether my habits and the state of my health, will permit me 
 to sit down to close study, and to all the requisite preparation 
 for that department. I have been wishing for some time past, 
 to shun public observation, and to retire more into solitude." 
 He 'did not accept. But although he chose to sustain no offi- 
 cial (relation to the Seminary, he took u" his abode at East 
 Windsor, and cohlShted to deliver some niliar lectures to 
 
196 
 
 MEMOIR OP 
 
 the students. His instruction was highly prized by the classes 
 who enjoyed it. 
 
 During the last ten years of his life, although East Windsor 
 was his home, he spent several winters at the south, and 
 preached in several different places in New England, not 
 without some success. But such was the state of his health 
 as to render him unable to endure much excitement or fatigue. 
 In a letter to Mrs. Parmele, dated Sept. 21, 1839, he says, 
 " Your note came to hand this morning. Accept my best 
 thanks for your kind invitation. It woijjd, indeed, be very 
 pleasant to spend a little season among my old friends in the 
 still and retired town of Bolton, and once more talk over 
 scenes that are past — ' pleasant and mournful to the soul.' 
 And possibly, if life be spared, that time may come. But I 
 have journeyed so long and so far in this wilderness world, 
 and have passed through so many scenes of alternate storm 
 and sun-shine, that I am worn out with languor and fatigue, 
 and have long since concluded to retire, and journey as little 
 as possible, except so far as duty and the state of my health 
 seem to demand." 
 
 In the year 1839, he received from two literary institutions,* 
 the degree of D. D. This was an honor which he did not 
 covet, as appears from the fact that it would have been confer- 
 red several years before, by one of the New England Colleges, 
 had not his own remonstrances prevented. When he first 
 received the intelligence, he was quite disturbed ; and he 
 asked one of his brethren what he should do. All the advice 
 which he received from that brother was contained in the fol- 
 lowing anecdote. " A man once said to an aged clergyman, 
 my neighbors are slandering me, and what shall I do ? Do 
 your duty, said the clergyman, and think nothing about it. If 
 
 they are disposed to throw mud, let them throw mud ; but do 
 
 - — ■ £ 
 
 * Hampden Sydney College, in Virginia, and Jefferson College, in Pennsyl- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 197 
 
 not attempt to wipe it off, lest you should wipe it all over 
 you." 
 
 On reflection he seems to have come to the conclusion to 
 which his friend, the late Dr. Porter, of Andover came, under 
 similar circumstances, viz : " What shall a sober man do ? If 
 he refuses this title on general principles, because it is incon- 
 sistent with the spirit of the gospel, he charges a long list of 
 such worthies as Watts, &c. with wearing a public mark of 
 pride or folly. If he refuses it on principles that respect him- 
 self only, he is liable to be charged with the ostentation of 
 humility, and really needs much prayer and heart-searching, 
 to be certain that cursed pride is not at the bottom. Too much 
 noise to get rid of this contemptible honor, ' resembles ocean 
 into tempest wrought, to waft a feather, or to drown a fly.' A 
 wise man would not kill a gnat, by a blow that might fracture 
 his leg." 
 
 17» 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 His method of laboring in revivals of religion. 
 
 The question has often been asked, what was the secret of 
 Dr. Nettleton's success 1 In answering this question, we must 
 not overlook the fact, that God acts as a sovereign, and pours 
 out his Spirit, when and where, and in what measure he 
 pleases. No man ever more firmly believed this fact, or acted 
 more habitually under the influence of this belief, than Dr. 
 Nettleton. He was perfectly aware that all human means 
 are utterly powerless, unless made effectual by the agency of 
 the Holy Spirit. He did not rely on his own strength. He 
 knew that he was an earthen vessel, and that when any suc- 
 cess attended his labors, the excellency of the power was of 
 God and not of him. It was his firm belief of this truth, pow- 
 erfully operating on his mind, and leading him to place no 
 dependence on his own efforts, but to look to God in humble, 
 earnest, persevering, and confiding prayer ; which constituted 
 one principal reason of his signal success. If the question 
 then be asked, why Dr. Nettleton was so much more suc- 
 cessful iii winning souls to Christ, than most other ministers, 
 the great comprehensive answer is, " Even so, Father, for so 
 it seemed good in thy sight." This is the only answer which 
 he was disposed to give. He attributed none of the glory to 
 himself. Nor did any of it belong to him. He did not pos- 
 sess any power over the human heart which other men do not 
 possess — he was only an instrument by which God accom- 
 plished his purposes. Nor was he selected as the instrument 
 
DR. NET T-L ETON. 199 
 
 of such good to mankind, because he was more worthy than 
 others, or because he had done any thing to entitle him to this 
 honorable distinction; for although he may have possessed 
 qualifications for his work, which others did not possess ; yet 
 for all these qualifications, whether intellectual or moral, he 
 was indebted to the Grace of God ; and to that grace let the 
 glory be ascribed. 
 
 But God in accomplishing his purposes, not only makes use 
 of means, but adapts means to ends. He raises up instru- 
 ments, and fits them for the work which they are destined to 
 perform. Although no labor of the husbandman will insure to 
 him a harvest, yet he has no reason to expect a harvest with- 
 out labor : nor has he a right to conclude that it is a matter of 
 indifference what kind of labor he employs. He knows it to 
 be important to till his ground, and to sow in it good seed 
 So in the moral world, means must be adapted to the end to be 
 accomplished. Although Paul plant, and Apollos water, God 
 must give the increase ; yet we are not to suppose that it is 
 of no consequence what seed is planted, or how it is planted, 
 and watered. Although God might bring to pass different 
 results, when the same means are used, and in the same man- 
 ner ; yet ordinarily when the results are different, there is 
 some difference in the means or in the manner of employing 
 them. Whitefield was not only a more successful preacher 
 than others who were his cotemporeries ; he was also a dif- 
 ferent preacher — not that he preached different doctrines ; but 
 he preached them in a different manner. 
 
 That Dr. Nettleton possessed peculiar skill in presenting 
 truth to the minds of men, and laboring in revivals of religion, 
 will be admitted by most who are at all acquainted with his 
 histor3 r . During that protracted period of conviction, through 
 which he passed before his reconciliation to God, he obtained 
 a knowledge of the human heart which few possess. He 
 could trace the secret windings of human depravity. He un- 
 derstood the refuges of lies to which sinners are prone to 
 
200 MEMOIR OP 
 
 resort, and he knew how to meet and to answer the various 
 excuses by which they attempted to shield themselves from 
 blame. He had an experimental acquaintance with the great 
 truths of the gospel, which enabled him not only to present 
 them with clearness to the minds of others, but to press them 
 home upon their consciences as matters of everlasting moment. 
 His deep religious experience enabled him to ascertain the 
 precise state of mind of different individuals, and to adapt his 
 instructions to their particular circumstances. When an 
 impression was made upon the mind, he was careful to follow 
 it up ; well knowing the various ways in which religious 
 impressions are liable to be effaced, and what is best adapted 
 to deepen and perpetuate them. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Pinneo, who was his theological instructor, 
 and who was somewhat intimately acquainted with him after 
 he became a preacher, says : 
 
 " If attending religious meetings together for a considerable 
 season, and at different times in after years, when he was in 
 full strength, may fee considered as affording me the opportu- 
 nity to judge, I would say, that brother Nettleton appeared to 
 me to be uncommonly discerning and skillful in handling the 
 doctrines of grace, and to have an uncommon insight into the 
 human character ; and to be able better than most, to place the 
 naked truth upon the conscience, and to demolish with a few 
 heavy strokes, all the vain excuses and refuges of lies to which 
 sinners resort to screen themselves from the force of truth. 
 And then he would follow up the impression, with great 
 industry, skill and perseverance. Thus the Holy Spirit fitted 
 him for the work, and employed him as an instrument of the 
 conversion of sinners. But God acts as a sovereign ; for 
 neither he, nor other successful preachers, have been uni- 
 formly blest in their labors." 
 
 The following extract of a letter written to one of his 
 brethren in the ministry, in 1823, shows his own views of the 
 importance of following up an impression when made, and of 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 201 
 
 making special efforts when there is evidence that the Spirit 
 of God is operating upon the minds of the people. 
 
 " It becomes every friend of Zion to prepare the way of the 
 Lord through all the towns in this region. The fields are 
 whitening all around us ; and though God can create and 
 gather the harvest without human instrumentality, yet we do 
 not expect it. A reviral begun, is likely to subside, without 
 the constant pressure of gospel motives on the consciences of 
 the awakened. It is obvious from experience, that God gen- 
 erally blesses, far more extensively, the means for extending 
 his work, than he does for commencing it in the midst of sur- 
 rounding darkness. As the conversion of one sinner is often 
 the means of awakening every member of the family, and the 
 impulse is again felt through every kindred branch, and through 
 the village and town ; so one town may be the means of a 
 revival in another, and that in another. Though some minis- 
 ters feel the truth of this remark, yet few if any realize its full 
 force. There is as really a season of harvest in the moral as 
 in the natural world. Now every hand that can hold a sickle, 
 needs all its strength. The harvest fully ripe, neglected a 
 few days, is forever lost. Other fields may whiten, and the 
 same field a second time, but the former neglected harvest is 
 lost forever. There is a crisis in the feelings of a people, 
 which, if not improved, the souls of that generation will not 
 be gathered. In the season of a revival, more may be done — 
 more is often done to secure the salvation of souls, in a few 
 days, or weeks, than in years spent in preaching at other times. 
 One sermon, in a revival, often does more execution, than a 
 hundred equally good, out of it. And I verily believe, that 
 more good may be lost for the want of that one, than can be 
 done with it, and with a thousand like it, when the crisis is 
 
 past. ' Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then' 
 
 it is now, or never. And ' he that reapeth receiveth wages.' " 
 
 The success of Dr. Nettleton was not in every respect like 
 that of Whitefield. Whitefield's power was chiefly in the pulpit. 
 
202 MEMOIR OF 
 
 His eloquence was overpowering, and great multitudes were 
 sometimes awakened by a single sermon. Dr. Nettleton did 
 not expect such effects from a single effort in the pulpit. His 
 success was the combined effect of preaching in the church, 
 and in the lecture room, and of private conversation. His 
 preaching was alwa)rs solemn and impressive, and sometimes 
 in a high degree eloquent. It was more instructive, and ad- 
 dressed more to the conscience, and less to the passions than 
 that of Whitefield. As a natural consequence, the revivals 
 which occurred under his preaching were more pure — at- 
 tended with less fanaticism, and a smaller proportion of tem- 
 porary converts. 
 
 When he commenced his labors in any place, one of the 
 first things which he attempted was, to make the impression 
 on the minds of the people, that their help must come from 
 above, and that they must place no dependence on an arm of 
 flesh. When he found that they were placing undue depend- 
 ence on him, he often suddenly disappeared, at least for a 
 season. Until this state of feeling was destroyed he had no 
 expectation of accomplishing any good. 
 
 It was a prime object with him, when he went into a place 
 where there was no special seriousness, to awaken a proper 
 state of feeling among the people of God. Knowing that 
 when God pours out his Spirit, he usually first revives his 
 work in-ihe hearts of his own people, and that he awakens 
 and converts sinners in answer to their prayers, he endeavored 
 to impress upon their minds a sense of their responsibility.* 
 Among his first sermons, he would sometimes preach from 
 Rom. xiii. 11. " And that knowing the time, that now it is 
 high time to awake out of sleep." And sometimes from Ps. 
 
 * While the Rev. Fosdic Harrison -was preaching in Roxbury, in 1813, just 
 previous to his settlement there, Dr. Nettleton made him a visit. " There was, at 
 the time," says Mr. Harrison, " more than usual attention to the means of grace. 
 One evening he attended a meeting with me in a remote part of the town, where 
 there were tokens of the special presence of the Holy Spirit ; and yet, to his 
 mind, indications that something was wanting. After many inquiries, he asked, 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 203 
 
 h. 12, 13 " Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and 
 uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgres- 
 sors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee." But 
 while he called on christians with great plainness and fidelity 
 to awake out of sleep, he never addressed them in a harsh 
 and denunciatory manner. With kindness and affection he 
 would remind them of their obligations and their sins, and 
 present to them such considerations as were suited to humble 
 them, and to excite them to a faithful discharge of their duty. 
 He loved to see christians deeply sensible of their sinfulness, 
 and at the same time deeply affected with the condition of 
 sinners who were perishing around them. When things 
 began to assume a favorable appearance, he did not like to see 
 professors of religion elated, and disposed to talk about it with 
 an air of exultation. He knew that flattering appearances often 
 suddenly vanish, and he had learned that it is apt to be so, 
 when christians begin to rejoice prematurely. He frowned 
 upon every thing like ostentation, and discouraged the dispo- 
 sition which too often prevails, to proclaim a revival upon the 
 first indication of unusual seriousness. His views on the 
 subject are expressed, as he has been heard to say, in the fol- 
 lowing remarks of the Rev. Mr. Brace, in his account of the 
 revival in Newington. 
 
 " It is no favorable thing to see professors, at such a time, 
 full of glee, busy in proclaiming a revival. A true work of 
 grace needs no proclamation. Is there not reason to fear that 
 revivals are often checked in this way 1 If, when a little 
 seriousness appears, in a few individuals in a place, it is im- 
 mediately noised abroad, and perhaps printed, that a great 
 work is going on, is it not overrating the attention, and tempt- 
 ing christians to cease their mourning, to lift up their eyes to 
 
 ( have you established a prayer-meeting and urged the church to pray for a 
 revival?' I replied, no, not yet. ' O,' said he, ' that is the difficulty. If I had 
 known that, I would not have gone to the meeting. It is of no use to preach, if 
 the church does not pray.' From that hint I immediately established a weekly 
 prayer-meeting, after which, we soon had cases of hopeful conversion." 
 
204 
 
 MEMOIR OP 
 
 see what is not to be seen, to say — ah, we have found it, 
 henceforth we may rejoice, and be satisfied. I have heard 
 many such introductions and confident predictions, when the 
 result proved to be feeble. Such a course, not only exposes 
 religion to reproach among the enemies of revivals, but pre- 
 vents the very thing which it was designed to promote." 
 
 His views on this subject are also expressed by himself in 
 a letter to the Rev. Mr. Aikin, of Utica, dated Albany, January 
 13, 1827. Speaking of the interesting state of religious feel- 
 ing which existed in Albany, he says : 
 
 " But I have great fears that the disposition of some zealous 
 christians round about us, to proclaim it abroad, and to run 
 before their own hearts, and the real state of things, will run 
 it out into noise. I have already felt the evil. I find that 
 many are disposed to make ten times as much of the same 
 state of things, as I have been in the habit of doing, though 
 they know but a small part of what I have seen in this place. 
 Various reports have gone out concerning a revival in Albany, 
 which have done us much mischief. If they would let us 
 alone I should expect a great work in this city. But amid so 
 much noise and bluster of christians, it promises fair to end in 
 smoke. But after all, the good people here are astonished at 
 our stillness. My opinion is, that had they been ten times as 
 still, they would have witnessed ten times as much. Seven 
 years ago about two thousand souls were hopefully born into 
 the kingdom in this vicinity, in our own denomination with 
 comparative stillness. But the times have altered. The 
 kingdom of God now cometh with great observation." 
 
 Dr. Nettleton never held out the idea to churches that they 
 could " get up a revival," or that they could have a revival at 
 any time. It is true that he set before them the encourage- 
 ment which God has given to humble and fervent prayer. 
 But he always maintained that a revival of true religion 
 depends on the sovereign interposition of God. Nor did he 
 believe in the modern notion of the prayer of faith, viz : that 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 205 
 
 God will always grant the particular things for which we pray, 
 if we only believe that he will do it. 
 
 His mode of preaching, both to saints and to sinners, was 
 solemn, affectionate, and remarkably plain. His style was 
 simple, perspicuous and energetic. His illustrations were 
 familiar and striking : such as rendered his discourses intelli- 
 gible to persons of the weakest capacity, and at the same 
 time interesting to persons of the most cultivated intellect. He 
 always commanded the attention of his audience. Every eye 
 was fixed, and a solemn stillness pervaded the assembly. 
 There was an earnestness in his manner, which carried con- 
 viction to the minds of his hearers, that he believed what he 
 spoke, and that he believed it to be truth of everlasting moment. 
 There was also a directness in his preaching, which made the 
 hearers feel that they were the persons addressed ; and such 
 was his knowledge of the human heart, and of the feelings 
 which divine truth excites when presented to the minds of 
 unsanctified men, that he was able to anticipate objections, 
 and to follow the sinner through his various refuges of lies, 
 and strip him of all his excuses. So great was his skill in 
 this respect, that it often seemed to individuals while listening 
 to his preaching, that he must know their thoughts. And in 
 a certain sense it was true. By knowing his own heart he 
 knew the hearts of others : because " as in water face answer- 
 eth to face, so the heart of man to man." He understood from 
 his own experience, what thoughts and feelings would be 
 excited in the minds of sinners by the contemplation of par- , 
 ticular doctrines. When, therefore, he exhibited these doc- 
 trines in his preaching, and perceived that the attention of his 
 hearers was fixed upon them, he did know, to some extent, 
 what were their thoughts and feelings ; and this enabled him 
 to adapt his instructions to their circumstances, and to give to 
 each one a portion in due season. 
 
 This was particularly true of his preaching in the lecture 
 
 room. Here "he was at home, and enjoyed the greatest free- 
 18 
 
206 MEMOIR OF 
 
 dom. Here he seemed to come in direct contact with the 
 minds of his hearers. He watched every countenance, and 
 in this way he was assisted in judging of the effect of his 
 preaching on the minds of different individuals. In establish- 
 ing his positions, his reasoning was so clear and forcible, as 
 to be irresistible ; and conviction came upon the mind like 
 flash of lightning. And the truth was urged home upon th 
 conscience, as a matter of personal and infinite interest. Here 
 it was that those scenes of deep distress, occasioned by a 
 vivid sense of guilt and the apprehension of the wrath of 
 God, so frequently occurred. It often happened in the lec- 
 ture room, that sinners were so overwhelmed with a sens.e of 
 their lost condition, that it became necessary to remove them 
 to a neighboring house. 
 
 It was never the object of Dr. Nettleton to produce mere 
 excitement, by working upon the imagination and sympathy 
 of his hearers. The Rev. Dr. Rice, speaking of his labors 
 in Virginia, in 1828, says, " Mr. Nettleton is a remarkable 
 man, and chiefly, I think, remarkable for his power of pro- 
 ducing a great excitement without much appearance of feeling. 
 The people do not either weep or talk away their impressions. 
 The preacher chiefly addresses Bible truth to their con- 
 sciences." This was a striking characteristic of his preach- 
 ing. He commended himself to every man's conscience in 
 the sight of God. His object was to lead his hearers to see 
 their real character and condition. All excitement which 
 was not the result of clear apprehensions of divine truth, he 
 considered not merely useless, but positively injurious. The 
 cases of deep distress which occurred under his preaching, 
 were not the effect of mere symyathy, but of clear conviction 
 of sin. 
 
 One thing which contributed greatly to Dr. Nettleton's suc- 
 cess, was his faithful private conversation. Many were by 
 this means awakened from their stupidity, and excited to 
 attend to the concerns of their souls. He had a talent which 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 
 
 207 
 
 few possess, of introducing religious conversation with indi- 
 viduals of every description. He was rarely abrupt, never 
 harsh, but always kind and affectionate. His first object was 
 to secure the confidence of the individual with whom he was 
 conversing, and to lead him on gradually to a consideration of 
 the importance of religion in general, and then to a more par- 
 ticular consideration of his own spiritual state. When he 
 perceived that an impression had been made, he would fol- 
 low it up and watch its progress with intense assiduity. He 
 could easily introduce religious conversation with persons of 
 every grade in society from the highest to the lowest. To a 
 lawyer he once said, " I have often thought that persons in 
 your situation — persons of liberal education and high stand- 
 ing in society, are in peculiar danger of losing their souls ; 
 and for this among other reasons, that every body is afraid 
 to converse with them." This remark opened the way for a 
 perfectly free conversation, in which he was as faithful as he 
 would have been to any individual in the humblest walks of 
 life. 
 
 In conversing with awakened sinners, he exhibited great 
 wisdom. There was no part of the ministerial work in which 
 he excelled more than in this. For this, he was pre- 
 eminently fitted, as has been already intimated, by his own 
 religious experience. He was generally able, with but little 
 difficulty, to ascertain the exact state of the sinner's mind, 
 and he knew what instruction was suited to his case. 
 
 It was not his custom to converse much with awakened sin- 
 ners. He has often remarked, that a great deal of conversa- 
 tion has a tendency to confuse the mind, and to dissipate, 
 rather than to deepen, religious impressions. He would con- 
 verse with them enough to keep the subject before their minds, 
 and to correct any false notions which they might have im- 
 bibed. More than this, he considered not only unnecessary, 
 but prejudicial. He did not like to have awakened sinners 
 spend most of their time in running from one individual to 
 
/ 
 
 2J0& MEMOIR OF 
 
 another, to seek sympathy and instruction, lest, to use the 
 language of Dr. Rice, they should " weep and talk away 
 their impressions." He was desirous that they should be 
 much alone, engaged in reading the scriptures, serious medi- 
 tation and prayer. Mr. Brace, in his account of the revival 
 in Newington, after describing the solemnity which pervaded 
 the assembly at the close of one of Dr. Nettleton's meetings, 
 says, " He requested them to retire without making a noise. 
 ' I love to talk to you, you are so still. It looks as though the 
 Spirit of God was here. Go away as still as possible. Do 
 not talk by the way, lest you forget your own hearts. Do not 
 ask how you like the preacher ; but retire to your closets- 
 bow before God and give yourselves to him this night.' " He 
 frequently gave such advice. 
 
 In his conversation with awakened sinners, he was careful 
 never to flatter them, or to say any thing suited to allay their 
 fears. He never expressed to them, the opinion that their 
 condition was hopeful. On the contrary, he gave them to 
 understand, that while they remained impenitent, there was 
 an awful uncertainty whether they would be saved. He 
 urged the duty of immediate repentance, and showed them 
 that they could do nothing short of repentance, which would 
 in the least degree, improve their condition. He endeavored 
 to destroy all their dependence on their own works — to show 
 them that all their religious services were selfish and sinful, 
 and that God has made no promise of pardon to any thing 
 short of faith and repentance. 
 
 Sometimes, instead of entering into particular conversation 
 with individuals who were under concern of mind, he would 
 drop a single remark suited to awaken in their minds, profita- 
 ble trains of thought — such as the following : 
 
 " If your heart is so hard that you cannot repent now, 
 what will you do, when it becomes a great deal harder 1" 
 
 " What reason can you assign why you should not love 
 God?" 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 209 
 
 " Oh, what a hard heart you have." 
 
 " What reason have you to think that you ever shall re- 
 pent?" 
 
 It was not uncommon for awakened sinners to feel that 
 he could give them relief ; but when he found that they were 
 relying on him to save them, he would treat them with neg- 
 lect. This often called into exercise, the enmity of their 
 hearts, and thus served to deepen their conviction, by show- 
 ing them their utterly lost condition. 
 
 His feelings were often severely tried, by the injudicious 
 directions which some professors of religion, were in the 
 habit of giving to awakened sinners. He has been heard to 
 say, that he apprehended more evil from this source, than 
 from all the opposition of the avowed enemies of religion. 
 He usually occupied one meeting in considering these injudi- 
 cious directions. A sketch of the address delivered on these 
 occasions, is found among his papers, from which I make the 
 following extract : 
 
 1 . " Wait at the Pool. You must not be discouraged, for 
 we read of one who waited thirty and eight years. 
 
 " This text is used by way of accommodation. The im- 
 potent man was waiting at the pool, not for the pardon of his 
 sins, but to be healed of a bodily disease. We may accom- 
 modate passages of scripture, for the purpose of illustrating 
 acknowledged truth ; but we must not trace analogies too far. 
 In many respects there is a striking analogy between a de- 
 praved heart, and a diseased body ; but there is one import- 
 ant point in which the analogy does not hold — the one is 
 criminal ; the other is merely calamitous. 
 
 " This use of the passage contradicts many plain declara- 
 tions of the Bible — particularly all those which enjoin the 
 duty of immediate repentance. Suppose a person should 
 address sinners in this manner — Behold now is the accepted 
 time ; — behold now is the day of salvation — But wait at the 
 18* 
 
210 MEMOIR OF 
 
 pool. Choose ye this day whom ye will serve — But wait at 
 the pool. 
 
 " God now commandeth all men every where, to repent 
 But wait at the pool. 
 
 " The effect of this direction is, to make the impression 
 on the sinner's mind, that he is not under obligation to obey 
 God immediately ; — and of course, it counteracts the influence 
 of every command of God on the sinner's conscience. 
 
 " The sinner is told that he must not be discouraged, for 
 the impotent man waited thirty-eight years. This however is 
 not said. It is said that he had an infirmity thirty-eight 
 years ; but it is not said that he had waited a day. Be this, 
 however, as it may, he was not healed by the pool, after all ; 
 nor is there any evidence that he would have been, if he had 
 waited all his life. 
 
 2. " Be patient and wait God's time. 
 
 " What is the meaning of this direction, when given to an 
 awakened sinner 1 
 
 " Be patient ! Is the sinner to understand that he is too 
 anxious for the salvation of his soul, and that he ought to 
 wait patiently in his sins till God shall see fit to change his 
 heart ? To tell the anxious sinner to be patient without a 
 new heart, is the same as to tell him to dismiss all his anxiety, 
 and to go back to a state of stupidity. Patient in his sins ! 
 Rather let him be more and more impatient with himself and 
 with his deplorable condition. Let him tremble in view of a 
 judgment to come, and weep and howl for the miseries that 
 are coming upon him. 
 
 " What is meant, when the sinner is directed to wait God's 
 time 1 Is it meant that God is not now ready to receive the 
 sinner 1 Is it meant that the sinner is willing to do his part, 
 and that he must wait for God to do his ? If so, why not 
 speak plainly, and tell the sinner, I know you are ready and 
 willing to be a christian ; but God is not yet ready and will- 
 
UR. NETTLETON. 211 
 
 ing to receive you. But if God is not now ready to receive 
 the returning sinner, what evidence is there, that he ever will 
 be ready? 
 
 " But when is God's time ? Do those who direct sinners 
 to wait God's time, mean that it is not their duty to repent 
 and believe, till God grants them repentance and faith ? Then 
 it never was the duty of those sinners to repent, who have 
 gone to destruction, and it never will be. They waited all 
 their lives, and are waiting still, and will wait to all eternity. 
 And it has never yet been the duty of any sinner, who is now 
 impenitent, to repent, and if God should not grant him 
 repentance, it never will be. But this directly contradicts 
 the scriptures. 
 
 " The sinner under conviction is distressed with a sense of 
 his obligation to comply with the terms of salvation without 
 delay. And there is no way to relieve him from his. distress 
 while impenitent, but to release him from his sense of obliga- 
 tion to repent. To direct him to wait God's time is directly 
 calculated to produce this effect, and to counteract the opera- 
 tions of the Divine Spirit. It is to plead the sinner's cause 
 against God. 
 
 " But is it not hard to distress the sinner by pressing him 
 with his obligations 1 It is painful, but it is necessary. It is 
 painful to the surgeon to probe to the bottom a dangerous 
 wound ; but it must be done, or the patient will die. If through 
 false pity we console the sinner under these circumstances, 
 there is reason to fear that his blood will be required at our 
 hands. If we direct the sinner to wait, we direct him to run 
 the awful hazard of losing his soul. 
 
 " It is sometimes said to the sinner, under deep distress, 
 don't despair.. 
 
 " This expression not unfrequently produces a bad effect 
 upon the sinner's mind. 
 
 " It is sometimes the case that sinners speak of the great- 
 ness of their sins and the hopelessness of their condition, on 
 
212 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 purpose to be flattered and consoled. And when they do not,, 
 it is always best to admit that their case is quite as bad as 
 they represent it. It is proper to hold up the fullness of the 
 atonement, and the readiness of God to forgive all who repent. 
 But this the sinner generally does not doubt. The thing that 
 distresses the convicted sinner, is the fear that he never shall 
 repent. From his own experience he has full conviction that 
 it will never be easier to repent than now. His sins are in- 
 creasing, and his heart is becoming more and more perverse. 
 God has said, ' Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.' 
 He believes it. He despairs of obtaining salvation without 
 repentance ; and of this he ought to despair. 
 
 " In every case of clear conviction, there is in the mind of 
 the sinner a painful sense of obligation to repent, and a fearful 
 apprehension that he never shall repent. In this state, he 
 sometimes inquires, do you think there is any hope in my case 1 
 Do you think I ever shall become a christian ? This is a 
 most interesting crisis ; and a little flattery here may ruin the 
 soul. The proper answer to these inquiries is, ' I do not 
 know. It is altogether uncertain. One thing is certain, how- 
 ever great your sins may be, if you will repent, they shall be 
 pardoned ; but whether you ever will repent, is altogether 
 uncertain. Sinners as anxious as you, and perhaps more so, 
 have returned to stupidity, and their last state has become 
 worse than the first.' When sinners are in this state of mind, 
 their friends are exceedingly prone to flatter them. ' Oh don't 
 despair — Be patient — Wait God's time — You will doubtless 
 find relief.' Such language is exceedingly dangerous. Every 
 word takes it for granted that the sinner's concern for his soul 
 is without foundation. One of two things is true— either such 
 diiections are wrong, or the sinner is not under conviction ; 
 for if he is under real conviction, the Spirit of God is show- 
 ing him his true condition. His apprehensions are well 
 founded, and if we attempt to remove these apprehensions, we 
 directly counteract the operations of the Holy Spirit. " 
 
DR. NETTLETO-N. 213 
 
 The foregoiag extract will give the reader some idea of 
 the manner in which Dr. Nettleton was in the habit of deal- 
 ing with awakened sinners. He did not heal the heart of 
 sinners slightly, nor cry peace, peace, when God had not 
 spoken peace. 
 
 Dr. Nettleton discouraged every thing like eonfusion and 
 disorder in religious meetings. Whenever he saw any ten- 
 dency to wild enthusiasm and extravagance, he exerted all his 
 influence to check it. This is evident from the extract of a 
 letter to the Rev. John Frost, inserted in a former chapter, in 
 which he gives some account of the commencement of the 
 revival in Salisbury, Conn. 
 
 In the same letter he quotes, as expressive of his own views, 
 the following remark of President Edwards. " It has been a 
 common device of the devil to overset a revival of religion, 
 when he finds he ean keep men quiet and secure no longer, 
 by driving them to excesses and extravagances. He holds 
 them back as long as he can, but when he can do it no longer, 
 then he will push them on, and if possible, run them upon 
 their heads. And itf has been by this means chiefly, that he 
 has been successful, in several instances, to overthrow most 
 hopeful and promising appearances." 
 
 Dr. Nettleton never adopted the anxious seat, nor any of its 
 kindred measures. He never requested persons to rise in the 
 assembly to be prayed for, or to signify that they had given 
 their hearts to God, or that they had made up their minds to 
 attend to the subject of religion. He never encouraged 
 females to pray and exhort in promiscuous assemblies. He 
 never held his meetings to a late hour in the night ; nor did 
 he encourage loud praying and exhorting. He did not encour- 
 age young converts, and others who had more zeal than dis- 
 cretion, to take the charge of religious meetings, or to go forth 
 as public exhorters. He was never personal in his prayers 
 and exhortations, nor did he countenance it in others. He 
 did not allow himself to denounce ministers and professors of 
 
214 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 religion, as cold and dead, and as the enemies of revivals. 
 He entirely disapproved of all such measures, and considered 
 them as suited to mar the purity of revivals, and to promote 
 fanaticism and delusion. It was against such measures as 
 these, introduced in the western revivals, that he set his face 
 in 1826, as we shall see in the sequel.* His meetings were 
 regular and orderly ; characterized by great stillness and 
 solemnity. They were, it is true, sometimes interrupted by 
 the overwhelming distress of a convicted sinner. But when 
 this was the case, the individual was immediately removed to 
 a neighboring house, and means were adopted to check the 
 effect of mere sympathy on the occasion — as in the case which 
 occurred at Milton, already mentioned. I will mention 
 another case which occurred at Waterbury. At an evening 
 meeting, a man was so overcome with distress, that it became 
 necessary to remove him from the house. For a moment the 
 congregation was greatly agitated. Dr. Nettleton requested a 
 physician who was present, to attend to the case, and then 
 desired the congregation to be seated and to attend to the dis- 
 course. Immediately the assembly was as still as if nothing 
 special had occurred. 
 
 Dr. Nettleton was in the habit of appointing meetings of 
 inquiry for those who were under religious concern ; and 
 these meetings, under his management, were eminently useful. 
 They were usually conducted in the following manner. After 
 a short address, suited to produce solemnity, and to make all 
 who were present feel that they were in the presence of a 
 holy and heart searching God, he would offer prayer. Then, 
 he would speak to each individual present in a low voice, 
 unless the number was so large as to render it impossible. 
 
 * He says in a letter to a friend, written in 1835, " I did not oppose these 
 measures because they were new, but because of the mischief which they had 
 done in bringing the very name of a revival into disgrace. And up to this day, 
 1 have in 710 instance called on sinners to takg a separate or anxious seat. Nor 
 was I ever present to witness the scene as practiced by others." 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 215 
 
 When that was the case, he would sometimes have one or 
 two brethren in the ministry to assist him. He would con- 
 verse with each one but a short time. The particular object 
 of this conversation was to ascertain the state of each one's 
 mind. He would then make a solemn address, giving them 
 such counsel as he perceived to be suited to their condition ; 
 after which he closed the meeting with prayer. He usually 
 advised them to retire with stillness, and to go directly to their 
 closets. 
 
 He was very particular to warn those who were anxious, 
 and those who were indulging hope, against the danger of 
 self-deception. He reminded them of the deceitfulness of the 
 human heart, and of the unremitted efforts of the great-adver- 
 sary to delude unwary souls. On entering a house one morn- 
 ing, in New Haven, in the revival of 1815, a person said to 
 him, " here are three more rejoicing." He replied, " if I 
 knew as well as the angels whether they have truly repented, 
 I should know whether to rejoice with them." He was very 
 cautious not to encourage premature hope. He never told a 
 person that he thought he had experienced religion ; but he 
 often advised persons to give up their hopes. 
 
 He took great pains to instruct young converts in the fun- 
 damental principles of the christian religion. He would often 
 appoint meetings for their special benefit. In these meetings 
 he was wont to explain and enforce in a familiar manner, the 
 doctrines of the gospel. Hence the young converts became 
 rooted and grounded in the truth, and continued steadfast in 
 the faith. In this way also, they became acquainted with one 
 another, and receiving the same doctrines and drinking into 
 the same spirit, they became united as a band of brethren. 
 
 He felt it to be of the first importance to preach the doc- 
 trines of grace with great plainness, in revivals of religion. 
 He had no confidence in those revivals, in which these doc- 
 trines could not be preached. His opinion was that while the 
 preaching of divine sovereignty and election, with their kin- 
 
216 MEMOIR or 
 
 dred doctrines, was eminently fitted to check fanaticism, and 
 put a period to a spurious religious excitement, it was equally 
 adapted to promote a genuine revival of religion. In Dr. 
 Porter's lectures on Homiletics, I find the following reference 
 to Dr. Nettleton's opinion and practice in relation to this 
 subject. 
 
 " The minister of Christ, whose experience and success in 
 such seasons have been greater than those of any other man 
 in modern times, observed to me, ' I have seen churches run 
 down by repeated excitements in which there was emotion 
 merely, without instruction.' ' In the first stage of a revival,' 
 said he, ' while depravity is yet ascendant, and conscience 
 asleep, I would preach the Law, with its awful sanctions and 
 solemn claims on sinners to be holy and that immediately. 
 But when the first moments of a revival are past, and sinners 
 are settling down on presumptuous confidences, 1 would preach 
 Election. Conscience is then roused enough to make a cord' 
 which sinners cannot break. Their own convictions are on 
 my side, so that they cannot escape ; and I would hold them 
 fast, and repeat my strokes Under the fire and hammer of 
 divine truth.' " 
 
 He was cautious in admitting persons to the church. He 
 would not encourage any to make a profession of religion till 
 they gave satisfactory evidence of a change of heart. His 
 fidelity in this respect, is illustrated by the following fact. 
 In the town of W ■- . , where there had been an extensive 
 revival under his preaching, a meeting was appointed for the 
 examination of those who were desirous of making a profes- 
 sion of religion. A man and his wife attended this meeting, 
 who had, till a short time before, belonged to another religious 
 denomination. They were persons of great respectability, 
 and of a blameless life ; but they gave no satisfactory evi- 
 dence of having experienced a change of heart. The deacons 
 and committee of the church were in favor of admitting them. 
 They knew not how to reject persons of their character and 
 
D R . NETTLETON. 217 
 
 standing in society. But Dr. Nettleton would not consent. 
 The next day, he called on these individuals, and in a kind 
 and affectionate manner informed them of his fears respecting 
 their religious experience, and pointed out to them the danger 
 of making a profession of religion without the requisite qual- 
 ifications. They immediately withdrew their application. 
 Soon after this, Dr. Nettleton left the town ; but within a 
 short time, he was informed by letter, that these individuals 
 had both become the hopeful subjects of divine grace. Some 
 months afterwards, on a visit to the place, he called on this 
 family. The man and his wife both met him at the door, and 
 with tears in their eyes they seized him by the hand, and 
 broke out in strains of the most unfeigned gratitude. " Oh," 
 said they, " if it had not been for your faithfulness, we should 
 have lost our souls." Let this example stimulate all ministers 
 to faithfulness and caution in admitting members to the com- 
 munion of the church. 
 
 Dr. Nettleton had but little confidence in the conversion of 
 persons who had been in the habit of using spirituous liquors, 
 unless they entirely abandoned the habit, and he was very 
 unwilling to admit such persons to the church. His views on 
 this subject are expressed in a letter which was written to 
 Dr. Beecher, in May, 1822, and which was afterwards pr 
 lished in the Spirit of the Pilgrims. This letter is so valuu 
 on many accounts, that I shall insert it entire. 
 
 " My dear brother : — I hear frequently from many places 
 where God has, of late, poured out his Spirit and revived his 
 work. My friends residing in these places, far and near, 
 either visit me or write to me, and tell me all their joys and sor- 
 rows. For a number of years I have kept a list of the names 
 of those who have hopefully experienced religion, and made a 
 profession of it, in these revivals. When far from them, in 
 my retired moments, I have often read over their names, and 
 pondered on them, and on the scenes they have awakened, 
 with emotions too big for utterance. I have watched them 
 19 
 
218 MEMOIR OF 
 
 with anxious solicitude, and have made particular inquiry 
 about the spiritual welfare of each one, as opportunity pre- 
 sented. My heart has often been refreshed, when some 
 Timothy has brought me good tidings of the faith and charity 
 of the young converts. No tidings have been more refreshing. 
 I have often had occasion to adopt the language of Paul on 
 this very subject, ' What thanks can we render to God again, 
 for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God.' 
 
 " During the leisure occasioned by my late illness, I have 
 been looking over the regions where God has revived his work 
 for the two years past. The thousands who have professed 
 Christ in this time, in general, appear to run well. Hitherto 
 I think they have exhibited more of the christian temper, and 
 a better example than the same number who have professed 
 religion when there was no revival. With hundreds of these 
 I conversed when anxious for their souls, and afterwards, 
 when rejoicing in hope. Some of them I have followed through 
 life, and down to the grave. If genuine religion is not found 
 in revivals, I have no evidence that it exists in our world. Some 
 few, indeed, have dishonored their profession, have opened 
 afresh the wounds of the Saviour, and caused the hearts of his 
 friends to bleed. Bunyan says, ' If at any time I heard of such 
 instances of apostacy among those who had been hopefully 
 benefited by my ministry, I feel worse than if I had followed 
 one of my own natural children to the grave.' I have lost 
 near and dear relations, but the tidings of which Bunyan 
 speaks, have sometimes struck me with deeper sadness. Of 
 the few who have finally apostatized, you may wish to know 
 the cause. I have made particular inquiry, and find that the 
 declension of some has commenced with an undue conformity 
 to the world ; but the sin of intemperance has caused more 
 trouble, and done more dishonor to the cause of Christ, than 
 any other that can be named. 
 
 " Though some have confessed, and doubtless repented of 
 other crimes, yet few if any excommunications have hitherto 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 219 
 
 taken place, for any crime except intemperance. I have heard 
 from S county, that of the hundreds who professed reli- 
 gion there two years ago, a few only have been called to a 
 public confession, and these have been restored. 
 
 " 1 have heard of one excommunication. He was an ac- 
 quaintance of mine, a man about thirty-five years of age, in the 
 town of M . He had been a little inclined to intemper- 
 ance. He was anxious with others ; his conversion was con- 
 sidered interesting ; and at the time he professed religion, it 
 was thought that his habit was broken. But before I left that 
 place he ventured to drink a little. On a public occasion he 
 became boisterous, and charged one man with lying, and that 
 led on to an angry dispute, in which all present considered 
 him the aggressor. This was soon noised through the place. 
 
 "It gave a general shoek to all the young converts. 1 well 
 remember the effect. Each one began to tremble lest he too 
 should wound the cause which was dearer to him than life. I 
 shall not forget what tenderness of conscience the young 
 converts manifested. Each one seemed to tremble most of 
 
 all for himself. The next morning Mr. H became sober, 
 
 and now he felt exceedingly chagrined on remembering what 
 he had said and done. He told me that his first thought in 
 the morning was, that he had dishonored religion, and he 
 could not bear to be seen. He was almost tempted to leave 
 his family and friends, and abscond. He however confessed 
 his fault and appeared penitent. But, sad to relate, he drank 
 again ; and, as I have been informed, is now cut off and 
 utterly abandoned. 
 
 " A Mr. T , in the town of B , was under conviction, 
 
 hopefully experienced religion, and made a public profession, 
 with about sixty others. He appeared well, with the excep- 
 tion of this circumstance, that previous to his convictions, he 
 had been a little inclined to intemperance. In the judgment 
 of charity, he had reformed and become a new man. He for- 
 sook his wicked companions, prayed in his family, and 
 
220 MEMOIR OP 
 
 appeared to be much engaged in religion, and continued for a 
 number of months to adorn his profession. But he began by- 
 slow and cautious steps (as he thotight) to sip a little only for 
 his health. Though not drunk he became foolish, and this led 
 on to other things, until he dishonored the cause of religion. 
 He made a public confession of his fault, and for a while 
 appeared penitent. But he drank again, and this led to other 
 unchristian conduct, which demanded christian satisfaction. 
 His brethren began, a few days since, their endeavors to 
 reclaim him. But he removed in the night, with all his family, 
 and has left the State to avoid another confession. We con- 
 sider him a ruined man. 
 
 " In the town of K , a promising young man, hopefully 
 
 experienced religion, during the recent powerful revival there, 
 and made a public profession, on the same day with a hundred 
 and six others. I believe he was never considered at all 
 
 inclined to intemperance. He left K and labored in 
 
 company with others, who made free use of ardent spirits. 
 He soon contracted a taste for it, and we have heard of the 
 public disgrace which he has brought on the cause of religion. 
 With taunting voice, the enemies have been heard to say 
 
 around him, ' There is one of Mr. K 's converts.' Brother 
 
 K went after him to a neighboring place, and the young 
 
 man has just made a public confession of his fault, and appears 
 penitent. I find that all are flattering themselves that he will 
 never offend again. I should think and rejoice with them, if 
 I had not so often been disappointed. Of the whole number 
 who professed religion in that revival, this, I think, is the only 
 instance of an offence demanding a public confession. 
 
 " When I look back on revivals which took place ten or 
 fifteen years ago, I have been agreeably surprised to find so 
 many of the subjects of them continuing to adorn their profes- 
 sion. Take the whole number who professed religion as the 
 fruit of these revivals, and take the same number who professed 
 religion when there was no general revival, and I do not think 
 
Da. NETTLETON. 221 
 
 the former have ont-shined the latter. I have not made a par- 
 ticular estimate, but from what 1 have seen, I do believe the 
 number of excommunications from the latter is more than 
 double, in proportion to the former. And I find, all along, that 
 more excommunications have taken place in consequence of 
 intemperance, than for any other crime. 
 
 " A Mr. H , a member of Brother T 's church, was 
 
 thought to have experienced religion in L , in the days of 
 
 your predecessor. He was a promising, active young man, 
 much beloved and highly esteemed by christians, and never 
 suspected of intemperance until about a year since. The 
 disclosure of this fact not only grieved christians, but surprised 
 and astonished every body. Though he was not suspected of 
 intemperance, it was afterwards ascertained that he had been 
 in the habit of drinking a little in private. This is one method 
 of covering sin. Whoever does it is privately working out the 
 
 ruin of his soul. But Mr. H made a public confession, 
 
 appeared penitent, and all rejoiced in his reformation. This 
 
 I said, was about a year ago. When I was last in N 
 
 he called at brother T 's on an evening visit. It was 
 
 evident he had been drinking. The next day brother T • 
 
 warned him in the most solemn manner, but all to no purpose. 
 He was past fear, and past shame, and all have given him up 
 as lost. He had accomplished his ruin by drinking in private, 
 before his friends had any chance to prevent it. I could name 
 a number of individuals, in different towns in this State, whose 
 case is similar to this. 
 
 " Now, my brother, what shall be done ? I do not ask what 
 shall be done to reclaim those who have so grievously offended- 
 For these nothing, ordinarily, can be done. Their case is 
 hopeless. My inquiry is, what shall be done to prevent the 
 future disgrace of the cause of Christ ? As for those who 
 have confessed their fault, and have been restored to fellow- 
 ship, they must remain where they are, until the next offence 
 cuts them off. But a public confession for intemperance I 
 19* 
 
222 MEMOIR OP 
 
 think is about nothing, and ought to go for nothing. The only 
 evidence of repentance in such cases, is a continued course 
 
 OF ENTIRE ABSTINENCE FROM ARDENT SPIRITS OF EVERY KIND. 
 
 " As for those who think they have experienced a change, 
 if their habits are bordering on intemperance, we ought to be 
 cautious how we admit them to a public profession. If they 
 have been in the habit of drinking freely, though not to intoxi- 
 cation, however clear in other respects, this circumstance alone 
 renders the evidence of their conversion very doubtful. From 
 what I have seen, I do believe no class of persons are more 
 likely to be deceived with false hopes than the intemperate. 
 If, while under conviction, a person allows himself to sip a 
 little, or raises his sinking spirits in the least, he is sure to 
 grieve away the Spirit of God. ' 
 
 " During the revival at S two years ago, I witnessed 
 
 an instance, which if you please, I will relate. Mr. A 
 
 was one of the most respectable men in that village, about 
 thirty-five years of age, who kept a large boarding-house. 
 His wife was under deep conviction, and soon was rejoicing 
 in hope, and prayed with and for her husband. This was the 
 means of his conviction ; though at the time it was not known. 
 Report said that he was confined to his bed, and was danger- 
 ously ill. Hints were privately circulated that he was anx- 
 ious for his soul, and was ashamed to have it known. It was 
 
 late in the evening when brother G went to his house, 
 
 and found him in a bed-room, in a remote corner, in the 
 
 greatest agony. ' What is the matter V said brother G . 
 
 ' Oh, I am sick ; I am in such distress.' ' But your pulse is 
 regular, where is your pain V He made no reply, but with 
 violence smote upon his breast. He asked, ' Is it there V 
 ' It is,' he replied. The next evening, I called and found 
 him in the same distress. His convictions appeared to be 
 
 deep. But when I returned, I suggested to brother G a 
 
 suspicion of the smell of ardent spirits. I then related a 
 number of anecdotes of false conversions, connected with his 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 223 
 
 suspicious scent. ' Mr. A. is a very moral man,' said he, ' and 
 far from suspicion on that point.' But for fear, he sent me 
 back to give him a solemn caution. I returned, and with 
 
 much delicacy, warned him not to taste, lest He seemed 
 
 startled at my suggestion, and assured me he was far from the 
 habit. I requested his wife to watch him, and learned from 
 her, that through his distress his strength had greatly failed, 
 and that he had taken a very little only, to prevent his sinking 
 
 entirely. I returned and observed to brother G that I 
 
 feared Mr. A. was a ruined man. His concern continued for 
 a few days, when he became exceedingly joyful. His con- 
 version was considered wonderful. But my joy was check- 
 ed. I could not forget the smell of ardent spirits. I called 
 and found him much elated with joy. But when I cautioned 
 him, he seemed surprized, and somewhat offended, and 
 observed, ' I think I have been distressed enough to experi- 
 ence religion !' ' Ah,' said 1 ' now I doubt more than ever 
 whether your heart has ever been changed. Do you think 
 there is any merit in the distress of an awakened sinner ? 
 Suppose you had been to hell, and endured the torments of 
 the damned ; what then ! It is not distress, but love to God, 
 and a change of heart, which alone can fit the sinner for 
 heaven.' 
 
 " After a little conversation, his heart rose in such oppo- 
 sition, that he relinquished his hope ; his distress returned in 
 a moment ; and he cried out, ' What shall I do V His heart 
 was evidently unrenewed, and quarreling with the justice of 
 God. From some expressions, I caught a glimpse of his 
 heart, and that, if he should ever experience religion, it was 
 his secret purpose never to make a public profession of it. 
 He was evidently unhumbled — like a hillock unaccustomed to 
 the yoke. I put into his hands, Edwards on the justice of 
 God in the damnation of sinners. Shortly he again found 
 relief. He wished to profess religion with others, but prudence 
 led us to wait ; and the result was, that in process of time, 
 
224 MEMOIR OF 
 
 . he became a sot. I know not of a more hopeless being on 
 earth. He does no business ; has drunk himself out of his 
 
 property, and almost out of his reason ; and as brother G 
 
 says, he has become a brute. 
 
 " I could fill sheets with the relation of facts of a similar 
 character ; all of which lead to the conclusion, that persons 
 of intemperate habits, though deeply convicted, are far more 
 likely to rest in a false hope than others. However distressed 
 a person of this character may have been, or however joyful 
 in hope, I think we may set it down as a probable sign of a 
 false conversion, if he allows himself to taste a single drop. 
 If he does not give evidence that he intends to abstain wholly 
 and forever, I feel decided that he ought not to profess reli- 
 gion. If he cannot be willing to do this, he can have no 
 sufficient evidence of his own repentance or conversion, and 
 
 his hope is a spider's web. Brother T preached an 
 
 excellent sermon, not long since from these words ; ' Cleanse 
 thou me from secret faults ; keep back thy servant also from 
 presumptuous sins.' In the class of presumptuous sinners he 
 placed the person of intemperate habits. ' The person who 
 has drunk to excess, and has been warned, cannot venture to 
 drink again, at all, without sinning presumptuously. He sins 
 deliberately and with his eyes open. Let him remember that 
 he drinks damnation.' I felt the justice of this last sentence. 
 It was attended with a thrill of horror. I am satisfied that 
 he who cannot break off entirely, and at once, can never do 
 it. And without it, we can have no evidence of his piety. 
 Every time he tastes, he is putting fire to tinder and powder. 
 If he really thinks he can drink a little, and yet not become a 
 drunkard, his danger is so much more the greater. This con- 
 fidence evinces his consummate ignorance of his own heart. 
 This confidence, if not destroyed, will damn him. ' He that 
 trusteth in his own heart is a fool.' 
 
 " I wish that all the young converts who make a profession 
 of religion, would make it a point of conscience not to taste 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 225 
 
 of ardent spirits. This is the way in which many have 
 dishonored the cause of Christ on public occasions. In this 
 way, thousands have become drunkards. I scarcely expect 
 that any drunkard will be reformed, by any measures that 
 can be adopted. The only successful method of preventing 
 this kind of disgrace to religion in future, is, to begin with the 
 temperate. Though the plague cannot be cured, it may be 
 shunned. Had all young converts seen what I have, they 
 would need no other motives to induce them to adopt the 
 resolution to abandon the use of ardent spirits forever. Could 
 I learn that all the young converts in your parish had jointly 
 adopted this resolution, it would be to themselves, to you, and 
 to me, a most delightful evidence of the sincerity of their 
 christian profession, as well as of genuine conversion. 
 ' Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, 
 abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.' 
 
 " Yours as ever.'' 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Character of the Revivals under his preaching; 
 
 There was a striking resemblance between the revivals 
 which occurred under Dr. Nettleton's preaching, and those 
 which occurred at the close of the last, and at the beginning 
 of the present century. Let any one read with attention the 
 narratives published in the first three or four volumes of the 
 Connecticut Evangelical Magazine, and he will obtain a very 
 correct idea of the revivals of which I am speaking. If 
 there was any difference, it was this ; that the latter were 
 more powerful and more extensive ; that is, they were char- 
 acterized by more clear and distressing conviction of sin, and 
 in some instances, embraced a larger number of subjects. As 
 to the doctrines which were preached, the means employed, 
 and the character of the religious exercises both of awakened 
 sinners and hopeful converts, there was a marked coinci- 
 dence. The same may be said as to the permanency of their 
 fruits. A large proportion of the hopeful converts in all 
 these revivals, continued to adorn the christian profession. 
 
 These revivals ^re characterized by great solemnity. 
 Christians were solemn. They were not merely excited and 
 filled with great animation for a season ; but they were deeply 
 humbled in view of their past neglects of duty. They 
 mourned over their backslidings, and returned to God with 
 deep contrition. Sensible of their great sinfulness, and of 
 the alarming condition of sinners around them, they felt deeply 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 227 
 
 solemn, and walked humbly with God. Their minds, it is 
 true, were sometimes filled with great joy, but it was a joy 
 mingled with reverence. They felt that they were in. the 
 presence of God, and had no disposition to indulge in vain 
 mirth. They carefully abstained in their conversation, from 
 every thing suited to produce levity or to banish serious 
 thoughts from the minds of the impenitent. The things of 
 eternity lay with great weight on their minds, and had a com- 
 manding influence upon all their conduct. When they looked 
 around them, and saw. so many of their fellow men perishing 
 in sin, their eyes affected their hearts. They felt in some 
 measure, as did the weeping prophet when he said, " Oh 
 that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears ; 
 that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter 
 of my people." With these feelings, they could not but be 
 solemn. 
 
 Sinners were solemn. Those who were under conviction 
 were bowed down with distress. They felt like criminals 
 under sentence of death. In some cases, as we have seen, 
 their distress was exceedingly great. And when a revival 
 had become somewhat extensive in a parish the whole com- 
 munity was more or less solemn. The Rev. Dr. Porter of 
 Farmington, speaking of the revival in that town says, " The 
 state of feeling which at this time pervaded the town, was 
 interesting beyond description. There was no commotion, 
 but a stillness in our very streets ; a serenity in the aspect of 
 the pious, and a solemnity apparent in almost all, which forci- 
 bly impressed us with the conviction that in very deed God 
 was in this place." What is here stated, might be stated with 
 truth in reference to most of the places where revivals be- 
 came extensive under Dr. Nettleton's labors. 
 
 These revivals were characterized by deep and clear con- 
 victions of sin. Dr. Nettleton had no confidence in those 
 revivals which dispense with the " law-work." He did not 
 suppose that the work of conviction need be of long continu- 
 
228 MEMOIR OP 
 
 ance. Although in his own case it was protracted through 
 many months, he did not suppose it was always so in cases 
 of genuine conversion; nor ordinarily, when the doctrines of 
 the gospel are fully and plainly preached, and when the obli- 
 gations of sinners are faithfully pressed upon their consciences. 
 Under his preaching convictions were generally of short con- 
 tinuance ; but they were clear, and frequently exceedingly 
 distressing. Sinners were not brought to entertain the hope 
 of salvation, without being awakened to a sense of their lost 
 condition by nature, — nor were they merely alarmed by some 
 vague sense of danger ; but they were convinced of sin. They 
 saw themselves in the light of divine truth. Like Peter's 
 hearers on the day of Pentecost, " they were pricked in the 
 heart." "The commandment came, sin revived, and (they) 
 died." They saw what the law of God required. They saw, 
 also, that they never had obeyed it in a single instance, and 
 that their hearts were at enmity against God and not subject 
 to his law. There was, it is true, a difference in the dealings 
 of God with different individuals, in respect to the degree and 
 continuance of their convictions, and the strength and bitter- 
 ness of their opposition. But in general the convictions of 
 awakened sinners were distinctly marked. In the first stages 
 of their concern, they were usually filled with alarm on account 
 of their past lives. Seeing themselves in danger, they went 
 about to establish their own righteousness ; hoping by their 
 abundant religious services to appease the anger of God, and 
 to secure an interest in his favor. But they were soon con- 
 vinced of the futility of these efforts. The more they strove 
 to make themselves better, the more they saw the worthless- 
 ness of their own works. They were brought to see that they 
 were actuated in all that they did by unholy motives ; and that 
 so far from growing better, they were adding sin to sin, and 
 sinking deeper and deeper in guilt and wretchedness. Thus 
 they were convinced of their utterly lost condition, and of their 
 entire dependance for salvation on the sovereign mercy of 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 229 
 
 God. While in this state they were frequently sensible of the 
 most dreadful heart-risings against God. 
 
 Although they were convinced of the exceeding sinfulness 
 of such feelings, yet they found themselves disposed to accuse 
 their Maker of injustice in his commands and threatenings, and 
 of partiality in the dispensation of his grace ; and when they 
 saw others brought to rejoice in hope, while they were left, it 
 sometimes filled them with the bitterest opposition. These 
 discoveries of the desperate wickedness of their hearts occa- 
 sioned the most acute distress. In some inJtances the mental 
 agony was overwhelming. Such extreme distress was gene- 
 rally of short continuance, and in most cases it was succeeded 
 by joy and peace in believing. 
 
 In proof of the deep feeling which occurred under Dr. Net- 
 tleton's preaching, the reader is referred to the sketch of the 
 revival in Nassau, inserted in a former chapter. 
 
 But while Dr. Nettleton considered conviction of sin essential 
 to genuine conversion, and while his preaching and conversa- 
 tion were adapted to give sinners a clear and distressing view 
 of their true character and condition, yet he endeavored to 
 check all violent manifestations of feeling, by showing that they 
 had in them nothing of the nature of religion ; and when he 
 discovered any tendency to such manifestations in a religious 
 meeting, he would generally dismiss the assembly, and advise 
 the people to retire in silence to their homes. 
 
 The converts in these revivals were led in a way they 
 knew not. Darkness was made light before them. Previous 
 to their conversion, their duty had been clearly and faithfully 
 urged upon them. They had been told that God required 
 them immediately to repent, to believe in Christ, and to be 
 holy in heart and life ; and that he would be pleased with 
 nothing short of holy obedience. But they were blind to the 
 beauty of holiness. They received not the things of the Spirit 
 of God, for they were foolishness unto them, neither could 
 they know them, because they were spiritually discerned. 
 20 
 
230 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Their hearts were opposed to all the spiritual duties which 
 God required. The more they saw of God, of themselves, 
 and of the terms of salvation, the more hopeless their condition 
 appeared ; and thus their prospects became darker and darker, 
 until light broke in from above. They did not feel that they 
 had made themselves to differ from others by any efforts of 
 their own. They did not suppose that they had gone through 
 a process of means while unrenewed, by which they had made 
 themselves new hearts. On the contrary, they knew that 
 they had resisted every overture of mercy, and that all their 
 feelings and moral actions were sinful, to the very moment 
 when their hearts were renewed by the power of the Holy 
 Ghost. Consequently they took none of the glory to them- 
 selves. They had no doubt that if they were the children of 
 God, it was owing wholly to his distinguishing grace. 
 
 As might be supposed from what has just been stated, the 
 converts in these revivals cordially embraced the doctrines of 
 grace, and were steadfast in their belief of them. They 
 received them, both because they appeared to be clearly 
 taught in the scriptures, and because they were in perfect 
 harmony with their own experience. " They were born into 
 the truth." The knowledge which they had obtained of their 
 own hearts while under conviction, and the wonderful change 
 which had taken place in their views and feelings in relation 
 to divine objects, were all in accordance with the evangelical 
 system, and entirely at variance with the views of those who 
 deny the doctrines of grace. It was no matter of doubt with 
 them whether the natural heart is totally depraved, and unre- 
 conciled to God. They knew it to be true in reference to 
 themselves, for it had been matter of painful consciousness. 
 They were of course convinced that salvation must be by 
 grace through the redemption of Christ. They trusted alone 
 in his righteousness for justification, and counted all things 
 but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, 
 their Lord. They were fully convinced of the necessity of 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 231 
 
 regeneration by the special agency of the Holy Ghost ; for 
 they knew that if they had passed from death unto life, they 
 had " been born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor 
 of the will of man, but of God." They were also convinced 
 that unless God had from all eternity determined to make 
 some of mankind the trophies of grace, not an individual of 
 the human race would obtain salvation. The doctrine of 
 eternal and particular election, therefore, appeared to them to 
 lie at the foundation of all hope in regard to the salvation of 
 man ; and they rejoiced in the assurance that God hath from 
 the beginning chosen some to salvation through sanctification 
 of the spirit and belief of the truth — and in the promise that 
 all true believers shall be kept by the power of God through 
 faith unto salvation. The converts were generally so stead- 
 fast in their belief of these doctrines, that their faith could not 
 be shaken. They possessed, in an unusual degree, stability 
 of character. They were not carried about by every wind of 
 doctrine, nor often led astray by those who lie in wait to de- 
 ceive. The religious exercises of the subjects of these revi- 
 vals, so far as they could be known, were generally such as 
 indicated a radical change of character. The whole current 
 of their moral feelings seemed to be changed. What they 
 had hated now they seemed to love. Those objects which 
 had awakened in their bosoms feelings of enmity, were now 
 contemplated with supreme delight. Their affections were 
 not such as could be traced to the operation of any natural 
 principle of the human mind ; such as self-love or natural 
 gratitude. They did not love God merely on account of his 
 kindness to them ; but on account of the supreme excellency 
 of his character. Their first consolation did not arise from 
 the belief that God had pardoned their sins, and received them 
 to favor, for in most instances when they first found peace 
 they had no apprehensions that their sins were pardoned. 
 When divine objects appeared to them in a new and pleasing 
 light, they scarcely thought of their personal safety, or whether 
 
232 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 they were or were not converted. They discovered a relish 
 for divine objects to which they had been total strangers, and 
 the truths of the gospel with which they had been contending 
 were now objects of complacency. It was no uncommon 
 thing for persons whose chief distress had arisen from the 
 thought that they were in the hands of God, to find themselves 
 unexpectedly rejoicing in that very thought, contemplating 
 the glory of God as an object of higher importance than their 
 own salvation ; and all this, while as yet they had no idea of 
 having experienced a change of heart. It thus appeared that 
 " the first objective ground" of their religious affections, was 
 " the transcendently excellent and amiable nature of divine 
 things, as they are in themselves, and not any conceivable 
 relation they bear to self, or self-interest." 
 
 What Edwards says of the converts in Northampton, was 
 equally true of those of whom I am speaking. " It has more 
 frequently been so among us, that persons have had the gospel 
 ground of relief for lost sinners discovered to them, and have 
 been entertaining their minds with the sweet prospect, while 
 they have thought nothing at that time of their being converted. 
 There is wrought in them a holy repose of soul in God 
 through Christ, and a sweet disposition to fear and love him, 
 and to hope for blessings from him in this way, and yet they 
 have no imagination that they are now converted ; it does not, 
 so much as come into their minds." 
 
 There are religious affections, and they sometimes rise to 
 a high degree, which are founded in self-love. Persons may 
 think they love God, when their love arises entirely from the 
 belief that God loves them, and that he has pardoned their 
 sins, and given them a title to heaven. But such love is natu- 
 ral to the human heart, and affords no evidence of a super- 
 natural change. " Sinners also love those that love them." 
 Persons may be filled with joy because they have persuaded 
 themselves, without any good reason, that their immortal in- 
 terests are secured ; but such joy is selfish, and partakes not 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 233 
 
 of the nature of holiness. Sinners may be convinced that in 
 order to be happy they must become the servants of God ; and 
 they may resolve, for the sole purpose of securing their happi- 
 ness to devote themselves to the service of God ; and having 
 adopted the opinion that such a resolution is a change of heart, 
 they may experience pleasurable emotions in the thought that 
 they are interested in the divine favor. But such conversions 
 imply no radical change of character, and will not endure the 
 test of the judgment day. 
 
 The conversions, in the revivals of which I am speaking^ 
 appeared to be widely different from these. If any cases 
 occurred which appeared to be of this description, they were 
 treated as spurious. If any persons professed to have expe- 
 rienced a change of heart, and gave no other evidence than 
 what is afforded by such religious affections as, to use the lan- 
 guage of Brainerd, " have self-love for their beginning, centre 
 and end," they were advised to abandon their hopes without 
 delay. 
 
 The converts in these revivals were not bold, forward, self- 
 sufficient and censorious ; but humble, meek, gentle, and 
 docile. When we see those, who profess to have entered 
 recently upon the christian life, lifted up with pride, wiser in 
 their own estimation than their teachers — disposed to put 
 themselves forward as leaders — abundant in their censures of 
 old professors — full of self-complacency, and self-commenda- 
 tion, there is reason to fear that they know not what manner 
 of spirit they are of. Such is not the spirit of the gospel. 
 " The wisdom which is from above is first pure, then peace- 
 able, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good 
 fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy." Our Sav- 
 iour said, " except ye be converted, and become as little chil- 
 dren, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." The 
 little child is meek, humble, docile, confiding — and such is the 
 spirit of the real children of God. When those who profess 
 to have become subjects of divine grace, exhibit this spirit, 
 20* 
 
234 MEMOIR OF 
 
 they give evidence of being what they profess to be. And 
 such appear to have been the converts generally in the revivals 
 of which I am speaking. 
 
 These revivals exerted a most benign influence upon the 
 churches. They did not divide churches, and dissolve the 
 relation between pastors and their flocks. On the contrary, 
 they built up churches — healed divisions, where they had 
 previously existed — promoted union and brotherly love among 
 the members, and greatly strengthened the hands of pastors. 
 
 One striking effect of these revivals, was to elevate the 
 standard of orthodoxy. Dr. Nettleton preached with great 
 plainness the doctrines of Calvinism. Under his preaching, 
 these doctrines were seen to be the power of God unto salva- 
 tion. It was in vain to object that they tend to paralyze effort 
 and to harden men in stupidity. They were seen to produce 
 the opposite effect. Sinners were pricked in the heart and 
 brought to repentance. Saints were quickened and comforted, 
 and incited to fidelity in their master's service. The converts, 
 as we have seen, cordially embraced these doctrines, and were 
 confirmed in their belief by their own religious experience. 
 If creeds were altered, it was for the purpose of making them 
 more Calvinistic. In many instances, where violent prejudices 
 had existed against the Calvinistic system, they were over- 
 come ; and some churches, which had been very lax in doc- 
 trine, became sound in the faith. 
 
 These revivals exerted a salutary influence upon society at 
 large. They checked the prevalence of vice, raised the tone 
 of moral sentiment, and elevated the standard of morals. So 
 striking was the evidence that they were not the result of mere 
 human agency, that few could resist the conviction that they 
 were the work of God. In those days, such was the state of 
 the public conscience, that the very name of a revival had 
 wonderful power. Announce to a congregation that a revival 
 had commenced in a neighboring town, and it would produce 
 great solemnity on the whole assembly. The general feeling 
 
DB. NETTLETON. 235 
 
 seemed to be, God has come nigh to us, and is calling upon 
 us in solemn accents to prepare to meet him. This state of 
 the public mind was the result of a careful observation of the 
 effects of these revivals. They were seen to be good. This 
 leads me to observe once more, 
 
 The salutary fruits of these revivals were permanent. They 
 were not temporary excitements which were soon over, and 
 followed by a melancholy reaction ; but the good effects were 
 abiding. The converts generally continued to adorn their 
 profession. There were but few apostacies. 
 
 Dr. Nettleton, in his letter to Dr. Beecher, inserted in the 
 last chapter, says, " For a number of years I have kept a list 
 of the names of those who have hopefully experienced religion, 
 and made a profession of it in these revivals. 1 have watched 
 them with anxious solicitude, and have made particular inquiry 
 about the spiritual welfare of each one as opportunity pre- 
 sented. The thousands who have professed Christ, in this 
 time, in general, appear to run well. Hitherto I think they 
 have exhibited more of the christian temper, and a better 
 example, than the same number who have professed religion 
 when there was no revival." 
 
 If the reader will recur to the accounts given by ministers 
 of the revivals among their own people, under Dr. Nettleton's 
 preaching, inserted in the preceding chapters, he will perceive 
 that they all bear testimony to the permanent good effects of 
 his labors ; and such testimonials might be multiplied to a 
 great extent. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 His Apposition to New Measures. 
 
 In the year 1826, there was a great religious excitement in 
 the central and western parts of the State of New York, occa- 
 sioned principally by the labors of the Rev. Charles G. Finney, 
 an evangelist of great zeal, and of considerable native elo- 
 quence. He had been a lawyer, and having, as he hoped, 
 been converted to Christ, he entered the ministry, with but 
 little preparatory study. ' He was bold, ardent, and denuncia- 
 tory in his manner. He rebuked with harshness and great 
 severity, not only open transgressors, and impenitent sinners 
 of every description, but professors of religion and ministers 
 of the gospel ; and was not unfrequently very pointed and 
 personal in his prayers. The consequence was, that he not 
 only met with violent opposition from the open enemies of 
 religion, but many of the most judicious ministers and private 
 christians, felt unwilling to sanction his proceedings. Others 
 became his warm friends and adherents, and imbibing the 
 same spirit, denounced their brethren as " cold and dead, and 
 enemies to revivals." Some young evangelists, in particular, 
 attempting to imitate Mr. Finney, became much more extrav- 
 agant than their leader. But a great excitement attended the 
 preaching of Mr. Finney and his coadjutors, and multitudes 
 were reported as the subjects of renewing grace. That very 
 many of the reputed converts were like the stony ground 
 hearers, who endured only for a time, few, 1 presume, will at 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 237 
 
 this day be disposed to deny. Yet, it is believed, that some 
 were truly converted to Christ. 
 
 Connected with this excitement, various measures were 
 introduced, similar to those which in former times had been 
 the great instruments of marring the purity of revivals, and 
 promoting fanaticism — such as praying for persons by name — 
 using great familiarity in prayer — encouraging females to 
 pray and exhort in promiscuous assemblies — calling upon per- 
 sons to come to the anxious seat, or to rise up in the public 
 assembly to signify that they had given their hearts to God, 
 or had made up their mind to attend to religion. The result 
 was, that where this spirit prevailed, and these measures were 
 introduced, there was division in the churches. Those who 
 adopted these measures, often appealed to the example of Dr. 
 Nettleton, and made use of his name to sanction their pro- 
 ceedings. Those, however, who were acquainted with him 
 and his labors in revivals, knew that these representations 
 were not true. They knew that he never had introduced such 
 measures, nor countenanced such a spirit as was connected 
 with them. 
 
 While these things were passing in the central and western 
 parts o^the State of New York, Dr. Nettleton, in very feeble 
 health, was laboring in Jamaica, on Long Island. He was 
 from time to time made acquainted with what was transpiring 
 at the west, and was not without great solicitude as to the 
 ultimate results. The lesson which he learned while labor- 
 ing on the borders of Rhode Island, in those places which 
 had been made desolate by the operations of Davenport and his 
 coadjutors a century ago, had prepared him to resist every 
 thing which tended to corrupt revivals and promote fanat- 
 icism. 
 
 He heard with inexpressible pain, that his own example 
 was appealed to at the West, to sanction measures which he 
 had always reprobated ; still, although constantly urged by 
 some of his friends to come out with a public testimony, he 
 
238 MEMOIR OF 
 
 was very reluctant to do it, nor could he be persuaded to pub- 
 lish his views, till he was fully convinced that a regard to the 
 interests of Christ's kingdom required it. 
 
 In the winter of 1826-7, at the earnest request of some of 
 his brethren, he visited Albany, while Mr. Finney was preach- 
 ing at Troy. He had two interviews with Mr. Finney, hop- 
 ing that by a free consultation, their views might be brought 
 to harmonize, so far at least, that they might co-operate in 
 promoting the interests of Christ's kingdom. But in this he 
 was painfully disappointed. He found that Mr. Finney was 
 unwilling to abandon certain measures which he had " ever 
 regarded as exceedingly calamitous to the cause of revivals," 
 and which, of course, he could not sanction. He perceived 
 also that there could be no hope of convincing Mr. Finney 
 of his errors, so long as he was upheld and encouraged by 
 ministers of high respectability. After his second interview 
 with Mr. Finney, he addressed a letter to the Rev. Mr. Aikin 
 of Utica, a part of which is here inserted. It is dated, 
 Albany, January 13, 1827. 
 
 " Seven years ago, about two thousand souls were hopefully 
 born into the kingdom, in this vicinity, in our own denomina- 
 tion, with comparative stillness. But the times have altered. 
 The kingdom of God now cometh with great observation. 
 Opposition from the world is always to be expected. It is 
 idle for any minister to expect a revival without it. But 
 when it enters the church of God, the friends of Zion cannot 
 but take the alarm. 
 
 " There is doubtless a work of grace in Troy. Many sin- 
 ners have hopefully been born into the kingdom ; but it has 
 been at an awful expense. Many of our first ministers have 
 visited the place, to witness for themselves. Such men as 
 Dr. Griffin, Dr. Porter of Catskill, Dr. Nott, Mr. Tucker, Mr. 
 Cornelius, and many more. Some of them have heard a 
 number of sermons. After giving credit for preaching much 
 truth, they uniformly say ' I never heard the. names of God 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 23') 
 
 used with such irreverence.' Dr. Griffin gave me a number 
 of specimens. I do not wish to retail them. The church in 
 Troy is greatly divided. Some have taken a dismission ; 
 others are consulting neighboring ministers about the path of 
 duty ; and others are beginning to attend worship by them- 
 selves. 
 
 " But the worst is not told. The spirit of denunciation 
 which has grown out of the mode of conducting the revivals 
 at the West, is truly alarming. We do not call in question 
 the genuineness of those revivals, or the purity of the motives 
 of those who have been the most active in them. You, doubt- 
 less, are reaping and rejoicing in their happy fruits. But the 
 evils to which I allude, are felt by the churches abroad ; 
 members of which have gone out to catch the spirit, and have 
 returned, some grieved, others soured, and denouncing minis- 
 ters, colleges, theological seminaries, and have set whole 
 churches by the ears, and kept them in turmoil for months 
 together. Some students in divinity have done more mischief 
 in this way then they can ever repair. I could mention 
 names, but for exposing them. Some ministers and profes- 
 sors of religion have been to Troy, from the surrounding 
 region, on purpose to catch the flame, and have returned 
 home, saying, ' We do not want such a revival as they have 
 in Troy.' *«***#*# 
 
 " The evil is running in all directions. A number of 
 churches have experienced a revival of anger, wrath, malice, 
 envy, and evil-speaking, without the knowledge of a single 
 conversion — merely in consequence of a desperate attempt 
 to introduce these new measures. Those ministers and 
 christians who have heretofore been most and longest ac- 
 quainted with revivals, are most alarmed at the spirit which 
 has grown out of the revivals of the West. This spirit has, 
 no doubt, greatly deteriorated by transportation. As we now 
 have it, the great contest is among professors of religion — 
 a civil war in Zion — a domestic broil in the household of faith. 
 
240 MEMOIR OF 
 
 The friends of brother Finney are certainly doing him and 
 the cause of Christ great mischief. They seem more anxious 
 to convert ministers and christians to their peculiarities, than 
 to convert souls to Christ. 
 
 " It is just such a contest as I have sometimes seen, in its 
 incipient stages, in New -England, between some young 
 revival ministers on the one side, and whole associations of 
 ministers on the other. The young revival ministers, wishing 
 to extend the work into all the churches, in their zeal would 
 enter the limits of settled pastors, and commence their opera- 
 tions, and plead my own example for all their movements ; 
 and so the war would begin. And all those ministers who 
 would not yield the reins and sanction their imprudences, 
 would be sure to be proclaimed as enemies to revivals. Being 
 thus defeated, these young ministers would come to me to 
 make their complaints, and to work on my mind the convic- 
 tion that all those ministers were enemies to myself; whereas 
 the whole evil lay in a violation of all the rules of ministerial 
 order and christian meekness, or in the inexperience, igno- 
 rance, and imprudence of these young ministers. I am sorry 
 to speak thus of my best friends ; but it is due to my brethren 
 to say, that those very ministers, who had been thus slandered 
 by my young brethren, have since come to me with tears, 
 urging me to visit their flocks. There is not one of them but 
 would bid me a welcome, and would rejoice in a revival ; but 
 they would not invite these young ministers to preach for 
 them, who had been so rash in their proceedings, and guilty 
 of slandering them as stupid, and dead, and enemies of revi- 
 vals. In this manner, some of the most promising young 
 revival ministers have run themselves out, and lost the con- 
 fidence of settled pastors and christians in general. 
 
 " The spirit of denunciation which has grown out of these 
 western revivals, seems to be owing to the implicit confidence 
 which has been placed in the proceedings of just such young 
 ministers as leaders. They dared not attempt to correct any 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 241 
 
 of their irregularities, for fear of doing mischief, or of being 
 denounced as enemies to revivals. This I know to be the 
 fact. Brother Finney himself has been scarcely three years 
 in the ministry, and has had no time to look at consequences. 
 He has gone, with all the zeal of a young convert, without a 
 friend to check or guide him. And I have no doubt that he 
 begins with astonishment to look at the evils which are run- 
 ning before him. 
 
 " The account which his particular friends give of his pro- 
 ceedings, is, in substance, as follows : He has got ministers 
 to agree with him only by ' crushing,' or ' breaking them 
 down.' The method by which he does it, is by creating a 
 necessity, by getting a few individuals in a church to join 
 him, and then all those who will not go all lengths with him, 
 are denounced as enemies to revivals ; and rather than have 
 such a bad name, one and another falls in to defend him ; and 
 then they proclaim what ministers, elders, and men of influ- 
 ence, have been ' crushed' or ' broken down.' This moral 
 influence being increased, others are denounced, in a similar 
 manner, as standing out, and leading sinners to hell. And to 
 get rid of the noise, and save himself, another will ' break 
 down.' And so they wax hotter and hotter, until the church 
 is fairly split in twain. And now, as for those elders and 
 christians, who have thus been converted to these measures ; 
 some of them are sending out private word to their christian 
 friends abroad, as follows ; ' I have been fairly skinned by the 
 denunciations of these men, and have ceased to oppose them, 
 to get rid of their noise. But 1 warn you not to introduce 
 this spirit into your church and society.' And so, brother 
 Finney's supposed friends, men of influence, are sending out 
 word to warn others to beware of the evils which they have 
 experienced. I heartily pity brother Finney, for I believe him 
 to be a good man, and wishing to do good. But nobody dares 
 tell him that a train of causes is set in operation, and urged 
 on by his own friends, which is likely to ruin his usefulness. 
 21 
 
242 
 
 MEMOIR OP 
 
 " Whoever has made himself acquainted with the state of 
 things in New England, near the close of the revival in the 
 days of Whitefield and Edwards, cannot but weep over its 
 likeness to the present. It is affecting, that the warm friends 
 of Zion should unwittingly betray her best interests. But so 
 was it then. The young itinerants, in their zeal to extend 
 the work, began to denounce all those settled ministers who 
 would not go all lengths with them. And then those mem- 
 bers of churches who loved their pastors would assemble 
 around to defend them ; while those who favored the itine- 
 rants assembled around them, and imbibing their spirit, of 
 course lost all confidence in a settled ministry : and so the 
 churches were split in twain. The Spirit of God took its 
 flight, and darkness and discord reigned for half a century. 
 And those preachers who had taken the lead, having cultiva- 
 ted such a spirit, began to fall into awful darkness themselves, 
 when they saw the ruin that followed their labors. Some of 
 them made and published their recantations to the world, 
 which are now extant. But it was too late. A retribution 
 followed. Some few of the young converts were called to 
 order by David Brainerd, who passed through Connecticut at 
 that time. But after their recantations, these leaders were 
 generally denounced by their own followers. Could White- 
 field, and Edwards, and Brainerd, and Davenport, now arise 
 from the dead, I have no doubt they would exclaim, ' young 
 men, beware ! beware !' ***** 
 
 " Some of brother Finney's younger brethren and friends 
 may attempt to work on his mind the conviction that most of 
 our ministers and churches are enemies to revivals, and un- 
 friendly to himself. I feel it my duty to speak in their behalf. 
 I know it to be a mistake. The best friends of revivals, as 
 they have heretofore witnessed them, are certainly the most 
 afraid to invite him into their churches, and are the most 
 alarmed 'at the evils that are rising. And, I must say, that 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 243 
 
 his friends are certainly laboring to introduce those very 
 measures, which I have ever regarded as ultimately working 
 ruin to our churches ; and against which I have always 
 guarded as ruinous to the character of revivals, as well as to 
 my own usefulness. 
 
 " For example : whoever introduces the practice of females 
 praying in promiscuous assemblies, let the practice once be- 
 come general, will ere long find, to his sorrow, that he has 
 made an inlet to other denominations, and entailed an ever- 
 lasting quarrel on those churches generally. If settled pas- 
 tors choose to do it on their own responsibility, so be it. 
 For one, I dare not assume so great a responsibility. In this 
 way churches were once laid waste. And it is by keeping 
 out, and carefully avoiding every thing of this kind, that some 
 of them have again been built* others kept orderly, and the 
 character of revivals, for thirty years past, has been guarded. 
 If the evil be not soon prevented, a generation will arise, 
 inheriting all the obliquities of their leaders, not knowing that 
 a revival ever did or can exist, without all those evils. And 
 these evils are destined to be propagated from generation to 
 generation, waxing worse and worse. 
 
 " The friends of brother Finney are afraid to interfere to 
 correct any thing, lest they should do mischief, or be de- 
 nounced as enemies of revivals. ' Brother Nettleton, do 
 come into this region and help us ; for many things are 
 becoming current among us which I cannot approve. And I 
 can do nothing to correct them, but I am immediately shamed 
 out of it, by being denounced as an enemy to revivals.' Thus 
 my ministerial brethren from the West, whose views accord 
 with my own,- have been calling to me, in their letters during 
 the summer past. ' There is religion in it, arid I dare not 
 touch it. I see the evil, and tremble at the consequences ; 
 but what can I do V This is the language of many of his 
 warmest friends. And so the bad must all be defended with 
 the good. This sentiment adopted, will certainly ruin revivals. 
 
244 MEMOIR. OP 
 
 It is the language of a novice : it is just as the devil would 
 have it. If the friends of revivals dare not correct their own 
 faults, who will do it for them ? I know no such policy. I 
 would no more dare defend in the gross, than condemn in the 
 gross. And those who adopt the former practice, will soon 
 be compelled by prevailing corruptions, to take along with it 
 the latter. The character of revivals is to be sustained on 
 the same principles as that of churches, or individual chris- 
 tians. If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 
 It is not by covering, but by confessing and forsaking, that 
 pure revivals are to prosper. In this manner their character 
 has long been sustained. Things have not been left to run 
 to such lengths in our day. A strong hand has been laid on 
 young converts, old professors, and especially on zealous 
 young ministers, as many of them now living can testify. I 
 have been afraid to kindle fires where there was not some 
 spiritual watchman near, to guard and watch against wildness, 
 for which I might become responsible. Some students in 
 divinity have caught and carried the flame into neighboring 
 towns and villages, and no doubt have been the means of the 
 salvation of some souls. But I am sorry to say, that some of 
 them have run before me into the most populous places, and 
 have carried their measures so far, and have become so dicta- 
 torial and assuming, that, in the opinion of the most judicious 
 and influential ministers of my acquaintance, they have done 
 far more mischief than good. They have pleaded my exam- 
 ple for many measures, which, as to time and circumstances, 
 I utterly condemn. Some of the means which I have never 
 dared to employ except in the most interesting crisis of a 
 powerful revival, they have caricatured in such a manner, 
 and raised such prejudices against myself among strangers, 
 that they have caused me much trouble. My plans have 
 been laid to visit many towns and cities, and have been 
 wholly defeated by these students in divinity thus running 
 before me. I have been much grieved, and exceedingly per- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 245 
 
 plexed on this subject. They assume an authority, unwit- 
 tingly I allow, audi adopt measures, which no ordained minis- 
 ter could do, without ruining his usefulness. Evils arising 
 hence, have uniformly been arrested in their progress, by my 
 taking the part of settled pastors among their nocks ; at a 
 great expense of feeling, on the, part of my young friends, no 
 doubt ; but the cause of revivals evidently required it. 
 
 " I have been anxiously looking and waiting, all summer 
 long, for such men as yourself and Mr. Lansing, and others 
 most intimately acquainted with brother Finney, to, take hold, 
 with a kind severity, and restore order ; but in vain. It is not 
 expected that a. powerful revival can exist among imperfect 
 beings, without more or less irregularity and opposition ; but 
 it is expected that these things will generally subside, and 
 leave the churches in a more peaceful, happy, and flourishing 
 state than ever. This has uniformly been the case, where 
 revivals have prevailed. But irregularities are prevailing so 
 fast, and assuming such a character, in our churches, as infi- 
 nitely to overbalance the good that is left. These evils, 
 sooner or later, must be corrected. Somebody must speak, or 
 silence will prove our ruin. Fire is an excellent thing in its 
 place, and I am not afraid to see it blaze among briers and 
 thorns ; but when I see it kindling where it will ruin fences, 
 and gardens, and houses, and burn up my friends, I cannot be 
 silent. 
 
 " Had the evil been checked in the commencement, it would 
 have been an act of kindness to brother Finney, and great 
 gain to the cause of revivals^ He would have found ministers 
 every where bidding him welcome. His help is every where 
 greatly needed. For a settled pastor, the entire confidence 
 of other ministers would not be so important. But, whoever 
 undertakes to promote revivals, by running through the world, 
 in this age of revivals, must have the entire confidence of set- 
 tled ministers generally ; otherwise he will unsettle ministers, 
 and desolate churches, wherever he goes. Without their 
 21* 
 
246 memoir or 
 
 hearty co-operation, he will certainly labor at great disadvan- 
 tage : as if a mariner, steering his ship in a storm at sea, 
 in his zeal should quit the helm, and ply his strength at the 
 mast. 
 
 " The practice of praying for people by name, in the closet, 
 and the social circle, has no doubt had a beneficial effect. 
 But, as it now exists in many places, it has become, in the 
 eye of the christian community at large, an engine of public 
 slander in its worst form. I should not dare, in this solemn 
 manner, to arraign a fellow-sinner before a public assembly, 
 without his own particular request, unless my expressions 
 were of the most conciliatory kind. And no christian minis- 
 ter, whatever his character may be, can adopt the practice, 
 without awakening the indignation of the world at large, and 
 of christians generally, against him. Much less can it be 
 done by any body, and every body, who takes it into his head 
 positively to decide the question, and to tell God and the 
 world, that such and such persons are unconverted. I do not 
 believe, whatever may be the effect upon the individual thus 
 named, that God will regard such a prayer in any other light 
 than as that of a proud, self-righteous Pharisee. 
 
 " There is another interesting topic that lies near my heart ; 
 but the time would fail me to express my views and feelings 
 on the subject. That holy, humble, meek, modest, retiring 
 form, sometimes called the Spirit of Prayer, and which I have 
 ever regarded as the unfailing precursor of a revival of reli- 
 gion, has been dragged from her closet, and so rudely handled 
 by some of her professed friends, that she has not only lost all 
 her wonted loveliness, but is now stalking the streets in some 
 places stark mad. \ 
 
 " Some, in their zeal on the subject of the prayer of faith, 
 are tormenting others with their peculiar sentiments, which, if 
 correct, every body sees must equally condemn themselves ; 
 thus rendering themselves and their sentiments perfectly 
 ridiculous. 
 
DR. NETTLETON 247 
 
 " I have given you but an imperfect sketch of my own and 
 the views of our brethren abroad on this subject ; but I assure 
 you, as a whole, it is not overdrawn. How to correct these 
 growing evils I cannot tell. Our brethren, far and near, some 
 of brother Finney's best friends at the West not excepted, by 
 letter and otherwise, have long been urging me to lay the sub- 
 ject fully before him. The evils which have existed abroad 
 have certainly been very much concealed from him and his 
 friends. It is -certainly right that he should know something 
 of the evils which have run from under him ; and the feelings 
 of the friends of Zion at large. 1 have nothing to say to him 
 in the style of crimination or controversy. I have been too 
 long on the field of battle to be frightened about little things, 
 or to make a man an offender for a word. For Zion's sake, I 
 wish to save brother Finney from a course which I am con- 
 fident will greatly retard his usefulness before he knows it. 
 It is no reflection on his talents or piety, that, in his zeal to 
 save souls, he should adopt every measure which promises 
 present success, regardless of consequences ; nor, after a fair 
 experiment in so noble a cause, to say, I have pushed some 
 things beyond what they will bear. The most useful lessons 
 are learned by experience. 
 
 " I wish I had health and strength to show brother Finney 
 my whole heart on this subject. I have long been wishing to 
 correct some of his peculiarities, that I might invite him into 
 my own field and introduce him to my friends. Aside from 
 feeble health, one consideration only has prevented me from 
 making the attempt. Some of his particular friends are urg- 
 ing him on to the very things which I wish him to drop. I 
 fear that their flattering representations will overrule all that 
 I can say. And having dropped these peculiarities, his labors 
 for a while might be less successful ; and then he would 
 resort again to the same experiment. But I can inform him, 
 that the same measures which he has adopted, have been vig- 
 orously and obstinately pursued in New England, against the 
 
248 MEMOIR OP 
 
 repeated advice of settled pastors, and that too, by one of the 
 most powerful and successful ministers that I have ever 
 known, until confident of his own strength, he quit them all, 
 with this expression, ' We will see who will answer by fire' — 
 a most unhappy expression, as he afterwards told me with 
 tears. The result was, he lost his usefulness in our denom- 
 ination. Some of his spiritual children, now excellent men in 
 the ministry, have never dared to adopt his measures, but have 
 uniformly opposed them. Others, some ministers and laymen, 
 who followed him, became disorganizers ; and the leader 
 himself turned Baptist, and soon after died. 
 
 There is another method of conducting revivals, which 
 may avoid these difficulties. Settled pastors occupy nearly 
 the whole field of operation. They have, and ought to have, 
 the entire management in their own congregation. Each one 
 has a right to pursue his own measures, within his own limits ; 
 and no itinerant has any business to interfere or dictate. It 
 will ever be regarded as intermeddling in other men's matters. 
 If they do not choose to invite me into their field, my business 
 is meekly and silently to retire. And I have no right to com- 
 plain. But many young men are continually violating the 
 rules of ministerial order and christian propriety in these 
 respects. Impatient to see the temple rise, they are now 
 doing that, which, it appears to me, will tend ultimately, more 
 than any thing else, to defeat the end which they wish to ac- 
 complish. They are now pulling down, in many places, the 
 very things which I have been helping ministers to build up ; 
 and for which I have often received their warmest thanks. 
 It is a sentiment which I have had frequent occasion to repeat 
 to my young brethren in the ministry, ' Better forego the pros- 
 pect of much present good, in your own opinion, than to lose 
 the confidence of settled ministers, without which you cannot 
 be long and extensively useful.' 
 
 " There is, certainly, another and a lawful point of attack 
 on the kingdom of darkness, which, when you have taken, and 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 249 
 
 it is seen, possesses wonderful advantages. It will give no 
 offence to the church of God. It will be sure to rally around 
 you every faithful soldier of the cross. Though it may seem 
 too slow and silent in its operation, yet, being the lawful 
 method of conducting this warfare, it will secure the confidence 
 of ministers and christians, the consciences of the wicked, and 
 a crown of glory. 
 
 " And now, brother, I have ventured to lay before you the 
 subject of my prayers and tears, and I may add, the subject 
 which brought me back to a region which I never expected to 
 visit again. If you discover any thing in this communication 
 unchristian or unkind, you will pardon it. If, in your opin- 
 ion, it can do no mischief, or will do any possible good, you 
 are at full liberty to show it to brother Finney, or any of 
 the friends of Zion whom it may concern. We will lay the 
 subject at the feet of our Divine Master, and there will we 
 leave it 
 
 Yours, in the best of bonds. 1 ' 
 
 The letter from which the foregoing extracts are taken, with 
 some other documents, was published in a pamphlet in 1828. 
 In a note appended to it, Dr. Nettleton says — 
 
 " The above letter was written sometime last December, 
 immediately after a second interview with Mr. Finney. From 
 personal conversation with himself, but more particularly with 
 his friends, I learned that they had adopted and defended 
 measures which I have ever regarded as exceedingly calam- 
 itous to the cause of revivals. 
 
 " This letter was written originally as an expression of my 
 own views, and the views of my brethren generally, on this 
 subject, without intending to send it to any one. As my opin- 
 ion was repeatedly solicited on this subject, by the friends of 
 Mr. F., I thought it best to give it in writing. Accordingly, 
 this letter was read at different times, to not less than twenty 
 ministers, and to some who had adopted the measures in ques- 
 tion. In this silent manner, I labored for a number of weeks 
 
250 memoir or 
 
 hoping to persuade the latter to drop them ; but to my surprise 
 I found that my own name was continually employed to give 
 them sanction ; nor was it in my power to prevent this perver- 
 sion, without publishing my views to the world. 
 
 " As preparatory to publishing, and to cut off occasion for 
 after complaints, it was thought best that I should delay no 
 longer sending a communication to some one or more of our 
 brethren in the Oneida Presbytery. The above * document' 
 is one, and only a small part of what I have written to the 
 members of that body. What I have done in laying the sub- 
 ject before them, was not done without the knowledge and " 
 approbation of the watchmen of Israel, the long, the tried, the 
 acknowledged friends of Zion." 
 
 The letter, although addressed to Mr. Aikin, was intended 
 for the perusal of Mr. Finney and his friends. Soon after it 
 was received, Mr. Finney prepared and preached at Utica, a 
 sermon on the text, " How can two walk together except they 
 be agreed." This sermon was understood to be a vindication 
 of the things complained of in Dr. Nettleton's letter. It was 
 afterwards preached in Troy and published. Dr. Nettleton 
 made some remarks on this sermon, in a letter addressed to 
 the Rev. Dr. Spring, of New York, which was first published 
 in the New York Observer, and afterwards in the above-men- 
 tioned pamphlet. I make the following extracts. 
 
 " Durham, N. Y., May 4th, 1827. 
 " My Dear Brother, 
 
 " I have read brother Finney's sermon, from the words, 
 ' How can two walk together except they be agreed ' ' The 
 principle, on which it rests, is contained in the following 
 sentences : 
 
 " ' If any thing even< upon the same subject, that is far above 
 or below our tone of feeling, is presented ; and if our affec- 
 tions remain the same, and refuse to be enlisted and brought 
 to that point, we must feel uninterested, and perhaps grieved 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 251 
 
 and offended. If the subject be exhibited in a light that is 
 below our present tone of feelings, we cannot be interested 
 till it come up to our feelings. If this does not take place, we 
 necessarily remain uninterested. If the subject be presented 
 in a manner that is far above our tone of feeling, and our affec- 
 tions grovel, and refuse to rise, it does not fall in with, and 
 feed our affections ; therefore we cannot be interested ; it is 
 enthusiasm to us, we are displeased with the warmth in which 
 our affections refuse to participate ; and the farther it is above 
 our temperature, the more are we disgusted. These are 
 truths to which the experience of every man will testify, as 
 they hold good upon every subject, and under all circumstan- 
 ces, and are founded upon principles that are incorporated 
 with the very nature of man.' 
 
 " Now all this, so far as christians and true religion are con- 
 cerned, I take to be false in theory, contrary to fact, and dan- 
 gerous in its consequences. Present to the mind of the 
 christian, whose holiness and flaming zeal shall equal that of 
 Paul, the least degree of holiness in any saint, and he will not 
 be offended, but interested. He would be greatly delighted 
 with even ' babes in Christ.' And the higher the tone of his 
 piety and holy feeling, the greater will be his delight, even 
 ' upon the same subject.' Now, raise the tone of pious feeling 
 up to that of the spirits of just men made perfect, and holy 
 angels, and still they will not lose their interest, ' even upon 
 the same subject.' They will rejoice even over one sinner 
 that repenteth, far more than will those whose feelings fall to 
 the level of the penitent himself. 
 
 " Nor is it true that christians are always better pleased 
 with those, whose tone of feeling is on a level with their own. 
 The least saint on earth loves holiness in others, and rejoices 
 in their growth in grace. And he loves those most, whose 
 tone of holy feeling is raised farthest above him ; and for the 
 same reason, he loves the Saviour more than all. Every child 
 of God, who reads his bible, is better pleased with the high 
 
252 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 toned piety of Job, and Daniel, and David, and Isaiah, and 
 Paul, than he is with that of other saints, whose piety falls 
 below theirs, or to the level of his own. What christian can 
 read the memoirs of Edwards and Brainerd, without deep 
 interest? I know of no christian that does not read them 
 with far greater interest than he would have done, had they 
 exhibited far less of the spirit of Christianity. And though 
 christians feel condemned, by their high-toned piety, yet for 
 this very reason, they are not ' offended and grieved,' but love 
 them the more. Though christians are not up to the tone of 
 piety exhibited by David and Paul, Edwards and Brainerd, 
 yet they are highly delighted, and could walk, together with 
 them. 
 
 " Again, take the example of our Saviour. No christian 
 on earth is better pleased with any other. Though many of 
 his friends have died and gone to heaven, whom he still loves, 
 yet the Christian can say, ' whom have I in heaven but thee, 
 and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.' The 
 tone of the Saviour's pious and holy feeling is raised far above 
 that of all his followers. Hence, according to the sentiment 
 of the sermon, he could have had no followers on earth, and 
 can have none now. All his disciples must have been ' dis- 
 pleased with his warmth.' And the higher it rose ' above their 
 temperature, the more they must have been disgusted.' 
 
 " Present to the mind of the christian the holy character of 
 God. Is not this subject far above the tone of the feelings of 
 any man ? Now according to the sentiment of the sermon, if 
 our affections are not brought to that point, we must feel ' un- 
 interested, grieved and offended.' According to the principle 
 of his own sermon, brother Finney and his friends cannot 
 walk with God, for they are not agreed. It must be ac- 
 knowledged, that God has an infinitely higher tone and degree 
 of holy feeling than brother Finney. He is not ' up to it.' 
 Consequently, on his own principles, they cannot be agreed. 
 God is displeased with him, and he with God. Brother Fin- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 253 
 
 ney must ' necessarily' be displeased with high and holy zeal 
 in his Maker, which so infinitely transcends his own ; and the 
 ' farther it is above his temperature, the more he will be dis- 
 gusted.' ' These are truths,' he observes, ' to which the 
 experience of every man will testify, as they hold good upon 
 every subject, and under all circumstances, and are founded 
 upon principles that are incorporated with the very nature of 
 man.' *#***#*#* 
 
 " The sermon in question entirely overlooks the nature of 
 true religion. It says not one word by which we can distin- 
 guish between true and false zeal, true and false religion. If 
 the tone of feeling can only be raised to a certain pitch, then 
 all is well. The self-righteous, the hypocrite, and all who are 
 inflated with pride, will certainly be flattered and pleased with 
 such an exhibition ; especially if they are very self-righteous 
 and very proud. False affections often rise far higher than 
 those that are genuine ; and this every preacher, in seasons 
 of revival, has had occasion to observe and correct. And the 
 reason of their great height is obvious. There are no salutary 
 checks of conscience, no holy, humble exercises to counter- 
 act them in their flight. And they court observation. ' A 
 pharisee's trumpet shall be heard to the town's end, when 
 simplicity walks through the town unseen.' If the preacher 
 is not extremely careful to distinguish between true and false 
 affections, the devil will certainly come in and overset the 
 work, and bring it into disgrace. False zeal and overgrown 
 spiritual pride, will rise up and take the management, and con- 
 demn meekness and humility, and trample upon all the christian 
 graces, because they are not ' up to it.' 
 
 " Matters of fact which have passed under my own obser- 
 vation, might serve as illustration. I have often seen it ; and 
 the preacher who has not been tried with this subject, and 
 learned to correct it, has not got his first lesson. 
 
 " Leaving out of the question the nature of true religion, as 
 brother Finney has done out of his sermon, there is a sense in 
 22 
 
254 MEMOIR OF 
 
 which his theory perfectly accords with experience and mat- 
 ters of fact. So far as false zeal and false affections are con- 
 cerned, the principle of the sermon is correct. A and B are 
 very zealous, and extremely self-righteous ; and being equally 
 so, they can walk together, for they are agreed. Both having 
 come up to the same tone of feeling with brother Finney in 
 his sermon ; — now they are all agreed, and all pleased, having 
 done all that the preacher required. Now the zeal of A 
 ' strikes far above the tone of feeling ' in his fellow, and both 
 are ' displeased, grieved, and offended.' B does not come to 
 the tone of A and ' therefore he cannot be interested ; it is en- 
 thusiasm — he is displeased with the warmth in which his 
 affections refuse to participate ; and the farther it is above his 
 temperature, the more he is disgusted.' The christian and the 
 hypocrite may come up to the same tone of feeling ; and yet 
 they cannot walk together, for other reasons. The character 
 of their affections differs as widely as light and darkness. 
 And the higher their affections rise, the wider the distance 
 between them. And no tone or degree of feeling can possibly 
 bring them together. Every effort of the preacher to unite 
 them by raising the tone of feeling, will only increase the 
 difficulty. This, too, accords with experience and matters of 
 fact. Hence, those who adopt the same creed, and belong to 
 the same communion, can have no fellowship. Though they 
 are up to the same tone of feeling, and feel deeply, yet they 
 cannot walk together, for they do not feel alike. Feelings 
 which are not founded on correct theology cannot be right 
 They must necessarily be spurious, or merely animal. 
 
 " Without great care and close discrimination, the preacher 
 will unwittingly justify all the quarrels and divisions in our 
 churches. The church at Corinth valued themselves on their 
 great spirituality, and high attainments in religion. Now on 
 the principle of the sermon in question, their divisions and 
 quarrels could be no evidence to the contrary, but much in 
 their favor. Each one esteeming others worse than himself, 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 255 
 
 would conclude that the whole difficulty lay in their not com- 
 ing up to the tone of his own feelings. And this sermon 
 would have confirmed them all in their good opinion of them- 
 selves. But Paul told them that the very contrary was true. 
 ' For whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and 
 divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men.' Without the 
 same care, the preacher will condemn others for keeping the 
 unity of the spirit in the bond of peace ,• and for ' being of one 
 accord and of one mind.' That peace, and harmony, and order, 
 in which Paul so much rejoiced, will be disturbed, and broken, 
 and trampled upon, by disorganizing spiritual pride, under a 
 pretence that all are ' cold, and carnal, and stupid, and dead, 
 and not up to the spirit of the times.' All who are thus infla- 
 ted, will take the advantage of this sermon, and be sure to con- 
 strue all opposition to their own disorganizing movements and 
 measures, into an evidence of superior piety in themselves. 
 And all false converts, and others inflated with spiritual pride, 
 will join them, if great care be not taken to discriminate be- 
 tween true and false zeal, and to give the distinguishing marks 
 of both. Spiritual pride will often court opposition, and glory 
 in it, and sometimes adopt the sentiment, ' The more opposi- 
 tion the better.' ***#«** 
 
 " All who are acquainted with the history of facts on the 
 subject, know that it was on the principles of the sermon in 
 question, that the revival was run out in the time of Edwards, 
 and in Kentucky and Tennessee, rising of twenty years since. 
 And all those ministers who do not discriminate between true 
 and false zeal, true and false affections, in their preaching and 
 conversation, and make that difference, and hold it up to the 
 view of the world, if possible, clear as the sun, heartily 
 approving of the one, and as heartily and publicly condemning 
 the other, will turn out to be the greatest traitors to the cause 
 of revivals. They become responsible not only for the senti- 
 ment in question, but also for all the corruptions which prevail 
 in consequence of this neglect. The neglect of ministers to 
 
256 MEMoin. of 
 
 correct these evils for fear of doing mischief, or of being 
 denounced as carnal and cold-hearted, or as enemies to revi- 
 vals, is extremely puerile and wicked. On the same principle 
 they must not attempt to correct intemperance and profane 
 swearing in church members, lest they should be ranked 
 among the' wicked, as infidels and enemies to Christianity. 
 The sentiment in question would, if carried out into all its 
 consequences, defend every abomination in religion that could 
 be named. It would soon come to this : that the only evidence 
 that ministers are cold, and carnal, and stupid, and dead, is, 
 that they cannot approve of every art, and trick, and abomina- 
 ble practice in laymen, women, and children, in their attempts 
 to promote a revival. And their approbation of all these 
 abominations would be taken as a good sign, and as an evi- 
 dence that they are awake. Whereas none but carnal and 
 cold-hearted ministers would be influenced by such mean 
 motives. It is only a trick of the devil, to frighten the watch- 
 man of Israel from his post, that he may get possession of it 
 himself ; or, what he would like still better, by such base 
 motives to entoil and enlist him in his service, by compelling 
 him to adopt his own measures. So did not Paul. His two 
 epistles to the Corinthians contain little else than a humbling 
 disclosure of abominable practices and quarrels about men 
 and measures in promoting a revival. So did not Edwards. 
 Though he was denounced at first, he could not be frightened ; 
 but frightened his denouncers, some of them at least, into a 
 public recantation. A denouncing spirit is that with which 
 real christians have no fellowship, and are bound to shun. 
 
 " Without regard to the admonition, ' take heed to thyself,' 
 the preacher will be in danger of trampling upon the divine 
 direction, ' In meekness instructing those that oppose them- 
 selves.' 
 
 " ' The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle 
 unto all men.' ' Be kindly affectioned, be pitiful, be cour- 
 teous.' He will be in great danger of condemning the ' meek- 
 
DR. NETTLETON 257 
 
 ness and gentleness of Christ,' under the names of ' carnal 
 policy' and ' hypocritical suavity of manner.' The preacher 
 should be extremely cautious what he says against ' wisdom 
 and prudence,' as a mark of ' puffing up' in his brethren ; lest 
 he trample upon the authority of his Divine Master, in the 
 precept given him upon the same point : — ' Behold I send 
 you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves : be ye therefore 
 wise as serpents and harmless as doves.' His precept is 
 founded on the fact that wicked men may become more 
 offended with what is wrong in manner, than with what is right 
 in matter. Hence the preacher may lose their consciences, 
 and the devil has gained the victory. If the wicked will 
 oppose, it becomes us to be careful how we furnish them with 
 successful weapons against us. If we regard the direction of 
 Christ, even though they rage, we may still keep our hold 
 upon their consciences ; and so long as we can do this, we 
 need not despair of the victory. But when the preacher has 
 lost the wisdom of the serpent and the harmlessness of the 
 dove, the contest will end in a sham-fight, and the sooner he 
 quits the field the better. 
 
 " Paul would allow none to be teachers but those of ' full 
 age, who by reason of use have their senses exercised to dis- 
 cern both good and evil.' Hence he would not license young 
 converts to preach. ' Not a novice, lest being lifted up with 
 pride he fall into condemnation, reproach, and the snare of 
 the devil.' So far as his message was concerned, the apostle 
 himself went forth, ' saluting no man by the way' — ' not as 
 pleasing men.' Aside from the simple truth of that message, 
 no man was ever more yielding and flexible in manner and 
 measures. ' Give no offence, neither to the Jews, neither to 
 the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.' ' Even as I please 
 all men in all things — that they may be saved.' ' I am made 
 all things to all men, that I might by a,\\ means save some.' 
 Was this ' carnal policy V and was Paul ' in a very cold state 
 when he wrote that V 
 22* 
 
258 MEMOIR OP 
 
 " The wisdom of the measures adopted and recommended 
 by Paul, appear from the fact that sinners may be more 
 offended with what is wrong in manner than with what is right 
 in matter. If the preacher does not hold a balance between 
 conscience and depravity, he can do nothing. The very fact 
 that the unrenewed heart is so opposed to God and the gospel, 
 has by some been assigned as a reason for stirring up all its 
 opposition. Whereas, aside from the simple exhibition of 
 divine truth, Paul adopted a method directly the opposite. If 
 the vigilance of human depravity should exceed the vigilance 
 of the preacher in his manner and measures, by this very 
 means he will quiet the consciences of his hearers. Regard- 
 less of his manner, Paul would have lost his hold on the 
 consciences of sinners, and needlessly and wickedly have 
 sent his hearers to a returnless distance from the gospel. This 
 made him exceedingly careful ' lest he should hinder the 
 gospel of Christ.' Since mankind will oppose, we should be 
 careful not to put weapons of successful defense into their 
 hands. While they oppose, we should be careful to keep 
 their consciences on our side. 
 
 " A powerful religious excitement badly conducted, has ever 
 been considered by the most experienced ministers and best 
 friends of revivals, to be a great calamity. Without close 
 discrimination, an attempt to raise the tone of religious feeling 
 will do infinite mischief. This was the manner of false 
 teachers. ' They zealously affect you, but not well.' It will 
 be like that of Paul before his conversion, and like that of 
 the Jews who were never converted, ' a zeal of God but not 
 according to knowledge.' The driving will become like the 
 driving of Jehu, ' Come, see my zeal for the Lord.' The 
 storm, and earthquake, and fire, are dreadful : but God is 
 not there. 
 
 " The design of these remarks is to show the infinite im- 
 portance of distinguishing between true and false zeal, — true 
 and false affections. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 259 
 
 " On reading the sermon in question, I was reminded of the 
 repeated complaints which for some time past I have heard 
 from the most judicious, experienced and best revival ministers 
 in the West ; the substance of which is as follows : ' There 
 are various errors in the mode of conducting revivals in this 
 region, which ought to be distinctly pointed out. That on the 
 prayer of faith. This talking to God as a man talks to his 
 neighbor, is truly shocking — telling the Lord a long story 
 about A or B, and apparently with no other intent than to 
 produce a kind of stage effect upon the individual in question, 
 or upon the audience generally. This mouthing of words ; 
 those deep and hollow tones, all indicative that the person is 
 speaking into the ears of man, and not to God. I say nothing 
 of the nature of the petitions often presented ; but the awful 
 irreverence of the manner ! How strange that good men 
 should so far forget themselves, as evidently to play tricks in 
 the presence of the great God.' 
 
 " ' I have, often been struck with this circumstance in the 
 mode of preaching, that nothing was heard of the danger of 
 a spurious conversion. For months together, the thought 
 never seemed to be glanced at, that there was any such thing 
 as a satanic influence in the form of religion, but only as 
 openly waging war against all religion. Such a character as 
 an enthusiastic hypocrite, or a self-deceived person, seemed 
 never to be once dreamed of. The only danger in the way 
 of salvation was coldness, deadness and rank opposition. On 
 no occasion did the eye ever seem to be turned to another 
 quarter in the heavens.' 
 
 " The last paragraph contains the thought to which I allude. 
 The sermon in question bears striking marks of the same char- 
 acter. It is an important part of a preacher's duty in a season 
 of powerful revival, to discriminate between true and false 
 conversion. Without this, every discerning christian knows 
 that the work will rapidly degenerate. The most flaming 
 
260 MEMOIR OF 
 
 spiritual pride will be taken for the highest moral excellence, 
 and will rise up and take the lead. 
 
 " Preachers who have not guarded well this avenue in 
 seasons of powerful excitement, have always done more to 
 arrest, and disgrace, and run out revivals, than all the cold- 
 hearted professors and open enemies of religion together. It 
 was this neglect in some zealous preachers, that run out the 
 revival in the days of Edwards, and which led him to write 
 his Treatise on the Religious Affections. 
 
 " It is of the highest importance that the preacher present 
 to his hearers the distinguishing marks of true religion, the 
 graces of the Spirit, in all their native loveliness ; and at the 
 same time, that he detect and expose every counterfeit. 
 Having done this, he may labor with all his might to bring 
 them up to the highest possible tone. He may exhort them 
 to the exercise of ' Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentle- 
 ness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance ; and to be kind- 
 ly affectioned one to another, with brotherly love, in honor 
 preferring one another. That they walk with all lowliness 
 and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in 
 love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond 
 of peace. That they let nothing be done through strife, or 
 vain glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others 
 better than themselves. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and 
 anger, and clamor, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, 
 with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tender-heart- 
 ed, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath 
 forgiven you. Likewise ye younger, submit yourselves unto 
 the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be 
 clothed with humility.' He may exhort them ' to put on, as 
 the elect of God, — and be covered all over with these shining 
 graces, — bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, 
 meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another: even as 
 Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all things, put 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 261 
 
 on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.' He may set 
 their hearts all on fire with that heavenly Form — ' so pure, 
 so peaceable, so gentle and easy to be entreated, full of 
 mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypoc- 
 risy :' — that is so ' long-suffering, so kind, envieth not, is not 
 puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her 
 own, is not easily provoked ; thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not 
 in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth ; beareth all things, be- 
 lieveth all things, hopeth all things, and never faileth.' These 
 are the prevailing characteristics of a revival of religion. 
 Their absence cannot be compensated by flaming zeal. 
 
 " Nor is it sufficient that these and all other Christian 
 graces be exhibited, and their counterfeit exposed in theory 
 alone. For so hypocrites will claim them all as their own. 
 Profession is not principle. ' By their fruits ye shall know 
 them.' ' Who is a wise man 1 Let him show out of a good 
 conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.' 
 
 ' Easy indeed it were to reach 
 A mansion in the courts above, 
 If watery floods and fluent speech, 
 Might serve instead of faith and love.' 
 
 " The most important part of the preacher's duty is, to ex- 
 hibit the evidence of their existence in the heart, by corres- 
 ponding actions in the life. And this, too, by being ' ensam- 
 ples to the flock ;' and by carefully copying the example of 
 his Divine Master, ' beseeching them by the meekness and 
 gentleness of Christ.' 
 
 " As the time would fail me to complete the subject, Ed- 
 wards may, in part, supply this deficiency in brother Finney's 
 sermon. I would therefore take this opportunity to recom- 
 mend to all young converts a careful perusal of his account 
 of the revival in New England, fourth part, and what he says 
 on the marks of true humility and spiritual pride, of which the 
 following is a brief abstract : 
 
262 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " Spiritual pride disposes one to speak much of the faults 
 of others, and with bitterness, or with levity, and an air of 
 contempt. Pure christian humility rather disposes a person 
 to be silent about them, or to speak of them with grief and 
 pity. Spiritual pride is very apt to suspect others ; an hum- 
 ble saint is most jealous of himself. The spiritually proud 
 person is apt to find fault with others that are low in grace, 
 and to be much in observing how cold and dead they be, and 
 crying out of them and sharply reproving them for it. The 
 humble christian has so much to do at home,' with his own 
 heart, that he is not apt to be very busy with the hearts of 
 others, and is apt to esteem others better than himself, and to 
 take most notice of what is good in them, while he takes most 
 notice of what is wrong in himself. In his clearest discove- 
 ries of God's glory, and in his most rapturous frames, he is 
 most overwhelmed with a sense of his own vileness, and feels 
 the deepest self-abasement. 
 
 " It is a mark of spiritual pride, when any are disposed to 
 speak of what they see amiss in others, in the most harsh, 
 severe, and terrible language ; saying of their opinions, or 
 conduct, or advice, of their coldness, their silence, their cau- 
 tion, their moderation, and their prudence, that they are from 
 the devil, or from hell ; that such a thing is devilish, or hellish, 
 or cursed, and the like ; so that the words devil and hell are 
 almost' continually in their mouths. And especially, when 
 such language is used towards ministers of the gospel, and 
 others whose age or station entitles them to particular respect. 
 Humility leads the christian to treat others that are in fault, 
 with meekness and gentleness, as Christ did his disciples, and 
 particularly Peter, when he had shamefully denied him. 
 
 " Spiritual pride disposes to affect singularity in manner 
 and appearance, for the purpose of attracting observation. 
 Humility disposes the christian to avoid every thing which is 
 likely to draw upon him the observation of others, and to be 
 singular only where he cannot be otherwise without the neg- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 263 
 
 lect of a plain and positive duty. Spiritual pride commonly 
 occasions a certain stiffness and inflexibility in persons, in 
 their own judgment and their own ways. Humility inclines 
 to a yielding, pliable disposition. The humble christian is 
 disposed to yield to others, and conform to them, and please 
 them, in every thing but sin. 
 
 " Spiritual pride disposes persons to stand at a distance from 
 others, as better than they. The humble christian is ready 
 to look upon himself as more unworthy than others, yet he 
 does not love the appearance of an open separation from vis- 
 ible christians ; and will carefully shun every thing that looks 
 like distinguishing himself as more humble, or in any respect 
 better than others. 
 
 " The eminently humble christian is clothed with lowliness, 
 mildness, meekness, gentleness of spirit and behavior, and 
 with a soft, sweet, condescending, winning air and deport- 
 ment. Humility has no such thing as roughness, or contempt, 
 or fierceness, or bitterness, in its nature, which things are 
 marks of spiritual pride ; as are also invectives and censo- 
 rious talk concerning particular persons for their opposition, 
 hypocrisy, delusion, pharisaism, and the like. 
 
 " Spiritual pride takes great notice of opposition and inju- 
 ries that are received, and is often speaking of them. Hu- 
 mility disposes a person rather to be, like his blessed Lord 
 when reviled, dumb, not opening his mouth. The more 
 clamorous and furious the world is against him, the more silent 
 and still will he be. i 
 
 " Spiritual pride leads those who are reproached, to be 
 more bold and confident, and to go greater lengths in that for 
 which they are blamed. Humility leads to improve the 
 reproaches of enemies as an occasion of serious self-exam- 
 ination. 
 
 " Spiritual pride leads to a certain unsuitable and self-con- 
 fident boldness before God and man. Humility leads to the 
 opposite. 
 
264 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " Assuming is a mark of spiritual pride : putting on the airs 
 of a master, to whom it belongs to dictate. Humility leads 
 the christian to take the place of a learner, to be ' swift to 
 hear, slow to speak.' The eminently humble christian thinks 
 he wants help from every body, whereas he that is spiritually 
 proud, thinks every body wants his help. Christian humility, 
 under a sense of others' misery, entreats and beseeches ; 
 spiritual pride affects to command and warn with authority. 
 
 " If young ministers had great humility, it would dispose 
 them especially to treat aged ministers with respect and 
 reverence, as their fathers, notwithstanding that a sovereign 
 God may have given them greater success than they have 
 had. 
 
 " It is a mark of spiritual pride to refuse to enter into dis- 
 course or reasoning with such as are considered carnal men, 
 when they make objections and inquiries. Humility would 
 lead ministers to condescend to carnal men, as Christ has 
 condescended to us, to bear iwith our unteachableness and 
 stupidity, and still follow us with instructions, line upon line, 
 precept upon precept, saying, ' come, let us reason together ; ' 
 it would lead to a compliance with the precept, ' Be ready 
 always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a 
 reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.' 
 
 " Such are some of the marks of spiritual pride and true 
 humility pointed out by President Edwards. The abstract 
 is given as much as possible in his own words. The whole 
 of what he says on the subject deserves the most serious 
 consideration. 
 
 " The friends of religion have been so much gratified with 
 that beautiful hymn by Newton, that I shall venture to insert 
 it in my letter : 
 
 TRUE AND FALSE ZEAL. 
 
 " Zeal is that pure and heavenly flame 
 The fire of love supplies ; 
 "While that which often bears the name, 
 Is self in a disguise. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 265 
 
 True zeal is merciful and mild, 
 
 Can pity and forbear ; 
 The false is headstrong, fierce and wild, 
 
 And breathes revenge and war. 
 
 While zeal for truth the Christian warms, 
 
 He knows the worth of peace ; 
 But self contends for names and forms, 
 
 Its party to increase. 
 
 Zeal has attained its highest aim, 
 
 Its end is satisfied, 
 If sinners love the Saviour's name, 
 
 Nor seeks it aught beside. 
 
 But self however well employed, 
 
 Has its own ends in view ; 
 And says, as boasting Jehu cried, 
 
 1 Come, see what I can do.' 
 
 Dear Lord, the idol self dethrone, 
 
 And from our hearts remove ; 
 And let no zeal by us be shown, 
 
 But that which springs from love." 
 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
 ASAHEL NETTLETON." 
 "Rev. Dr. Spring." 
 
 The publication of the foregoing letters subjected Dr. Net- 
 tleton to great reproach. Many, however, who were at that 
 time disposed to blame him, have long since been convinced, 
 not only that he was actuated by a conscientious regard to the 
 honor of God, and the good of Zion, but that he evinced great 
 wisdom and foresight. 
 
 There were those at that period, whose views accorded 
 with his own, and who entirely approved of his course. The 
 following testimonial appeared in the New York Observer. 
 
 " Boston, Nov. 8, 1827. 
 " It having been represented to some of the subscribers, 
 that we disapproved of the proceedings of the Rev. Mr. Net- 
 tleton, in reviewing a sermon preached at Troy, March 4, 
 23 
 
266 MEMOIR OF 
 
 1827, and in opposing the sentiments and practices which it 
 seemed intended to vindicate and extend ; we regard ourselves 
 as called upon by a sense of duty to say, that the proceedings 
 of Mr. Nettleton, appear to us to have been characterized by 
 uncommon intellectual vigor, correct and comprehensive views 
 of the interests of the church, and by distinguished wisdom, 
 fidelity, firmness, and benevolence, well adapted to promote 
 the interests of pure religion throughout the land." 
 Signed, 
 Lyman Bebcher, Justin Edwards, 
 
 A. S. Norton, Heman Humphrey, 
 
 William R. Weeks, C. J. Tenney, 
 
 H. R. Weed, J. Hawes. 
 
 The views expressed in the foregoing testimonial were the 
 views entertained by the Congregational ministers generally 
 in New England, and by a large proportion of the Presbyte- 
 rian ministers in the United States. 
 
 I have before me several letters written by the late Rev. Dr. 
 Richards, Professor of Divinity in the Theological Seminary 
 at Auburn, from which it appears that he sympathized deeply 
 with Dr. Nettleton on the subject of new measures. The fol- 
 lowing was written, after having read in manuscript the letter 
 to Mr. Aiken, from which some extracts are inserted at the 
 beginning of this chapter. 
 
 " Auburn, Feb. 22d, 1827. 
 " My Dear Brother — 
 " At what a solemn crisis have we at length arrived, and 
 how strange it is, that some who appear to be among the best 
 friends of God, should adopt opinions and practices, which are 
 likely to be of such deleterious consequence. Surely this 
 should carry us to the throne of the Great King, and excite us 
 to the most humble and earnest supplication. But is this all? 
 It appears to me that it is time for the sober friends of revivals, 
 to lift up their voice, and to declare distinctly, their views ol 
 
BE. NETTLETON. 267 
 
 the present state of things, and of the causes which have led 
 to it. I perfectly concur with Dr. Beecher, and yourself, on 
 this subject. 
 
 _" As to the novel measures, which have been adopted in 
 relation to revivals, my opinion has all along been precisely 
 what it is now, except that I supposed at first, they were the 
 offspring of extraordinary excitement, and would probably be 
 relinquished as the excitement should subside. But presently, 
 however, I began to think there was ground to fear that the 
 abettors of them were acting from erroneous speculations on 
 the subject, and that their operations were matter of deliberate 
 contrivance, and would probably be pursued as part of a sys- 
 tem. At every step of their progress, I became more convin- 
 ced that they had a plan, the result of new and extraordinary 
 light, and that their object was, to revolutionize the churches. 
 Of late, I have had no doubt that my apprehensions were well 
 founded ; and I shall be disappointed if any private reasoning 
 or remonstrance shall produce any important effect upon the 
 minds of those good brethren, who have, in my judgment, 
 become erratic in this matter. ***** 
 
 My opinion is, that your letter to the Rev. Mr. Aiken, ought 
 to be immediately published. Your long acquaintance with 
 revivals, and the success which has attended your efforts, will 
 give weight to your opinions ; and if the public will not hear 
 your voice, they will hear nobody. But they will hear it, and 
 you must speak, though others should rejoin. 
 
 " My brethren, the professors, all unite in the most cordial 
 salutations. 
 
 Respectfully and affectionately yours, 
 
 James Richards." 
 " Rev. A. Nettleton." 
 
 In another letter dated June 23d, 1827, Dr. Richards says, 
 " Your review of Mr. Finney's sermon, has gone to the very 
 core of the business, and will surely be effective in dissipating 
 
268 MEMOIR OF 
 
 much of the illusion which is connected with these mournful 
 innovations. They call it severe, but I call it just, and as 
 timely as it is just. I think you may greatly felicitate your- 
 self, for having written just such a thing. In my judgment 
 the cause of truth demanded it. The sermon was founded 
 upon a principle, which, if admitted, would sanction every 
 species of wildness and enthusiasm ; — or if it did not directly 
 sanction, it would furnish a defense for the greatest extrav- 
 agance that ever disgraced the religious world." 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Porter, of Catskill, in a letter dated June 14th, 
 1827, and published in the pamphlet which contains Dr. Net- 
 tleton's letters to Mr. Aiken, and Dr. Spring, says, " Whatever 
 might have been Mr. Finney's design, it is perfectly clear to 
 my understanding, that the principle laid down and advocated 
 in his sermon, opens the door for the introduction of all those 
 extravagances, so often witnessed in religious conferences and 
 prayer meetings, and that Mr. Nettleton's remarks on said 
 sermon are in point ; and that they have no severity beyond 
 the demands of sober truth. Mr. Nettleton has done what a 
 faithful minister of the gospel, and a friend to revivals of reli- 
 gion, and one who has had so much experience in them, was 
 in duty bound to do." In the same letter he says, " In re- 
 spect to Mr. Nettleton's remarks on Mr. Finney's sermon, Dr. 
 Griffin is willing to have it said and published, that he consid- 
 ers the remarks ' just what they should be.' He also mentions 
 the names of a number of other distinguished ministers, whose 
 views he knew to agree with his own, as Drs. Hyde, Shepard, 
 Spring, Blatchford, McAuley, and Messrs. Tomb, Prime, 
 Lyman, Rogers," &c. 
 
 In the note appended to the letter addressed to Mr. Aiken, 
 Dr. Nettleton speaks of that letter as being one of several 
 which were written by him to members of the Oneida Pres- 
 bytery. I have before me, imperfect copies of three long let- 
 ters which were never published, two of which were addressed 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 269 
 
 to the Kev. John Frost, of Whitesborough, and one to the 
 Rev. Messrs. Frost and Coe. There is much in these letters 
 that is interesting, and would my limits permit, I should be 
 glad to make copious extracts. The following is from a letter 
 to Mr. Frost, dated Durham, N. Y. March 28, 1827. 
 
 " You think that the ministers in our region erred in not 
 doing as you did, ' receive brother Finney with open arms.' 
 To tell you the truth, brother, the ministers and other chris- 
 tians, from this region, and from New England, who visited 
 Oneida county last summer, saw with their own eyes, so 
 many things which they deplored, that it was the universal 
 opinion far and near, that irregularities were prevailing to such 
 an alarming extent, that the character of revivals had gone back 
 half a century. And this I knew to be the sentiment of our 
 best ministers more than three months before I visited Albany. 
 They were all deploring the introduction of these new meas- 
 ures into our churches, knowing that they were the same 
 which ran out the revivals in the days of Edwards ; and so 
 they were watching and guarding against the introduction of 
 them into their own churches, long before I came to Albany. 
 It was the universal sentiment of ministers, while I was 
 laboring in Jamaica last summer, that they should not dare 
 employ a preacher in their churches who adopted these meas- 
 ures. This I knew to be the fact from personal conversation 
 with scores of ministers and private christians who visited 
 me in Jamaica. I repeat the idea for the sake of impressing 
 it on your memory — that ministers do not complain so much 
 of irregularities existing at the West : for probably they are 
 not so great within your own limits, as they are in the 
 churches into which they have been transferred abroad. And 
 even had these evils been a thousand fold greater at the West, 
 you would not have heard the mournful complaints of your 
 brethren at a distance, had it been in your power to confine 
 the whole evil within the limits of your own churches and 
 
270 MEMOIR. OF 
 
 congregations. Your brethren know that you have the right, 
 and are willing that you should exercise it, of pursuing your 
 own measures, when you can take all the responsibility. But 
 when tidings came that these new measures had been intro- 
 duced into Troy, Lansingburg, and Albany, by brethren from 
 the West, and that all the ministers and christians in those 
 places, and all who visited those places and could not ap- 
 prove of these measures, were denounced as ' cold and 
 stupid, and dead, and enemies to revivals, and leading sinners 
 down to hell' — which things in this region were generally 
 known to be facts long before I came to Albany ; the alarm 
 was greatly increased. And now, under these circumstances, 
 how can you think it so strange that ministers did not receive 
 their brethren from the West ' with open arms V Why, 
 brother, this was the very evil which they dreaded, and against 
 which they had been guarding for months. For, the moment 
 one of these brethren was received with open arms, the name 
 of that minister who received him, was made use of all over 
 the country, to sanction these men, and all their calamitous 
 measures. It was this very thing, and nothing else, which 
 placed brother B. in a situation where he must fall out with 
 brother F. and his measures, or all those ministers and chris- 
 tians who could not be converted to these measures. There 
 was no alternative. Brother B. could not serve two masters, 
 and so a shameful war was commenced in our Zion, merely 
 in consequence of the introduction of these new measures. 
 Now place yourself in the situation of settled ministers in 
 this region, and then say whether you would be willing to 
 receive with open arms men, whose measures had done so 
 much mischief in the opinion of all your brethren, and so 
 lend the influence of your respected name to give these meas- 
 ures your sanction. 
 
 " Again — It was well known that there were ministers 
 within your own limits, and those too who had the confidence 
 of the christian public, who would not receive brother F. into 
 
MB.. NETTLETON. 271 
 
 their pulpit, so long as they could avoid it without losing the 
 confidence of their own people. And it was further known 
 that some who did receive him, did it with trembling anxiety 
 for the consequences. And can you think it strange, that 
 ministers who knew, and who had talked over all these things, 
 should not receive him with open arms 1 
 
 " And besides ; — It is believed by many that even now, 
 your Presbytery would not care to employ brother F. within 
 your own limits, long in one place. If this be a fact, there 
 must be something wrong somewhere ; either in brother F., 
 or in the hearts of your Presbytery. For, the minister, 
 whose preaching on the whole, exerts a healthful influence, 
 will establish himself, not only in the affections, but in the 
 confidence of ministers and people ; and in such a manner 
 as will render his return, and his labors on the same field, far 
 more desirable than ever. ***** 
 
 " On other subjects, mankind, and even ministers, exer- 
 cise far more wisdom and common sense, than on the subject 
 of religion. Nobody ever thought of making a skillful phy- 
 sician, politician, or warrior, at once — but most of our young 
 men, warm hearted christians, and even old ministers them- 
 selves, do take it for granted that a skillful minister can be 
 made out of a ' novice,' at once. And ministers of influence 
 must be to blame, if they do not accomplish the task. 
 
 " In estimating the talents requisite for an itinerant preacher, 
 other considerations are no less important than intellect, or 
 piety itself And these qualifications cannot be known a 
 priori. Nothing but actual experiment can develope the pow- 
 ers of a man to do good in revivals, and at the same time to 
 secure the confidence of christians and ministers wherever 
 he goes. I could tell you of facts to illustrate my remarks. 
 I could tell you of some excellent young men, who could not 
 fail to do good, where they were well known, and under the 
 eye of settled ministers to control their movements ; but who, 
 on going into different parts of New England and elsewhere, 
 
272 
 
 MEMOIR OP 
 
 would do some good for a while, but ultimately, far more 
 mischief, and would certainly have lost their own character, 
 had they not been privately called away from that field. In 
 this way, I think I have saved some of our own young minis- 
 ters from losing all their influence, and so from leaving our 
 own denomination. When they have fallen out with settled 
 pastors, I never thought of disputing the point, who was to 
 blame. Evangelists have no more right to intermeddle with 
 ministers and their flocks, than they have with their families, 
 wives, children, and domestic concerns ; and any murmuring 
 complaints on this point, go on the supposition, that an evan- 
 gelist may lord it over all the pastors and their flocks." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 His Doctrinal Views and interest in the recent Theological Controversy. 
 
 Dr. Nettleton was a New England Calvinist. Although 
 he called no man master, but took the Bible as his only rule 
 of faith ; yet the system of doctrines maintained by Edwards, 
 Bellamy, Dwight, and other standard theological writers of 
 New England, he believed to be the system taught in the 
 Scriptures. 
 
 The peculiar doctrines of the Calvinistic system, such as — 
 The Decrees of God — The Total Depravity of Man by Na- 
 ture — Regeneration, by the special agency of the Holy 
 Spirit — Particular Election to Eternal Life — Justification by 
 Faith alone — and the Perseverance of the Saints, as they 
 were maintained by the divines above mentioned, he not only 
 believed, but fearlessly avowed and defended. 
 
 A few extracts from his sermons, presenting his theologi- 
 cal views, on some of these points, may be interesting to the 
 reader. 
 
 The following is from a sermon on the Decrees of God, 
 founded on Ephes. i. 11. 
 
 " God never acts without design or determination. Thus 
 to act, would be to act without wisdom. He has a perfect 
 plan, defined exactly according to his own will, as asserted 
 in the text. This counsel denotes his design, purpose, or 
 decree respecting all events." * * * * 
 
 " If God has not decreed the existence of future events, 
 
274 MEMOIR OF 
 
 neither the existence, nor time, nor manner of such events, 
 could possibly be foreknown. The Omniscient God views 
 all things as eternally present. Yet, as he existed before all 
 things, his knowledge of all things must have consisted in the 
 knowledge of all future events. Or thus — He must have had 
 a present and perfect knowledge of all things, while as yet, 
 there was no actual existence but himself. He alone has 
 existed from eternity ; yet he is eternally Omniscient. The 
 actual existence of all things must have been future and 
 known to be future, by the self-existent and Omniscient 
 Jehovah. 
 
 " But future events must become certain of existence before 
 their existence can be certainly known. Though what is fore- 
 known is equally certain of existence ; yet mere knowledge 
 cannot be the ground of this certainty. On the contrary, in 
 the order of nature, absolute certainty is the ground of all 
 knowledge. Now what could be the ground of the certain 
 existence of all events, in their time, order, and perfect har- 
 mony ; and what could make them eternally the objects of 
 present, certain, intuitive knowledge in the Infinite Mind, 
 while as yet there were none of them in actual existence ? 
 ' What but the eternal purpose of him who worketh all things 
 after the counsel of his own will ?' If the world, or any event, 
 could be certainly future, with the time and circumstances of 
 its existence, without being made so by the decree of God, 
 then it can actually exist without him. On this supposition, 
 we are left without any proof of the existence of God." 
 ********* 
 
 " Infinite wisdom is a complex attribute. It implies not 
 only infinite knowledge, but infinite benevolence, and com- 
 prehends the whole moral character of God. I observe, then, 
 that leaving out the eternal counsel or decree of God, no just 
 conceptions can possibly be formed of his moral perfections. 
 Infinite wisdom consists in discerning and proposing the high- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 275 
 
 est and best possible end, and in determining to pursue the 
 best means to accomplish it.'' * * 
 
 " If God has not eternally determined to accomplish all that 
 which Omniscience sees to be best, he is neither infinitely 
 wise nor infinitely good ; unless infinite wisdom and goodness 
 imply perfect indifference to the existence of the greatest pos- 
 sible good. Would we ascribe the perfection of infinite wis- 
 dom to God 1 It consists essentially in his fixed and immuta- 
 ble determination to accomplish all that which Omniscience 
 sees to be best. An infinitely wise plan is infinitely holy, 
 just and good. This plan, the Omniscient God views not 
 with indifference. But in a fixed and immutable determina- 
 tion to accomplish this plan consists essentially the infinite 
 wisdom, holiness, justice, and goodness of God." 
 
 "But it will be asked, if God has decreed the actions of 
 men, how can they be free ? That man is free, and that God 
 has decreed his actions, are plain matters of fact. Both are 
 clearly taught in the Scriptures. That we are free in our 
 actions we have as clear and certain evidence, as we have of 
 our own existence. That the decrees of God are accomplish- 
 ed by the free and voluntary actions of men, we have the 
 plain and direct testimony of the Bible, ' And truly the son of 
 man goeth, as it was determined ; but wo unto that man by whom 
 he is betrayed? — Luke xxii. 22. ' Him being delivered by the 
 determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken 
 and with wicked hands have crucified and slain? — Acts ii. 23. 
 ' For of a truth, against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast 
 anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and 
 the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever 
 thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.' — Acts 
 iv. 27, 28. ' And when they had fulfilled all that was written 
 of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid Mm in the 
 sepulchre.' ' Without the shedding of blood there is no remis- 
 sion.' 
 
276 MEMOIR OP 
 
 " Has God offered his Son a sacrifice for sin ; — or has he 
 not 1 Did Christ lay down his life for his sheep 1 and did he 
 make his soul an offering for sin, when the Jews put him to 
 death ; or did he not ? When they wounded, and bruised, and 
 crucified him, was he wounded for our transgressions, and 
 bruised for our iniquities ; or was he not 1 If the hand and 
 counsel of God was not in it, who will dare to say with the 
 prophet — ' The Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all V 
 
 The following is taken from a sermon on Ps. xcvii. 1, the 
 object of which is to show, that it is a matter of rejoicing that 
 God governs the universe. 
 
 " All the objections which I have ever heard against the 
 doctrine of decrees, or election, may be reduced to this one : 
 If God operates on the hearts of sinners, and causes them to 
 act, how can they be free 1 My hearers, am I bound to ob- 
 viate this objection ? Does it lie against none but those who 
 hold the doctrine of God's decrees 1 We will drop the doc- 
 trine of decrees. How is it then ? Does God operate on the 
 hearts of men, or does he not 1 If not, then we must not pray 
 that he would do it. * * No person can pray for him- 
 self, without admitting that God may operate on his own heart, 
 and yet he be free. ' Turn thou me, and I shall be turned' — 
 • Turn us, O God of our salvation' — ' Draw us and we will run 
 after thee' — ' Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a 
 right spirit within me.' These prayers are found in the Bible. 
 But persons ought not to have prayed in this manner, if God 
 could not answer their prayers without destroying their free 
 agency." * * * "No person can pray for others without 
 admitting that God may operate on their hearts, and yet they 
 be free. However wicked mankind may be, we cannot pray 
 that he would stop them in their career of sin, because he 
 cannot do it without destroying their freedom." " Christ de- 
 clared, ' Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.' Sin- 
 ners are then in an awful condition. They will not come to 
 Christ ; and God cannot make them willing, without destroy- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 
 
 277 
 
 ing their freedom. What shall be done 1 It will be of no 
 use to pray for them. * * The grand objection, therefore, 
 which is so often urged against the doctrine of decrees, lies 
 with equal force against the duty of prayer." * * " Let the 
 inquiry now be made, does God govern all his creatures, and 
 all their actions 1 Does he govern the actions of wicked 
 men and devils ? No, says one ; — he cannot do it without 
 destroying their freedom. No, says another ; he cannot do it, 
 without becoming the author of sin. My object is not now to 
 prove the doctrine that God does reign over wicked men and 
 devils ; but simply to show that this is a desirable thing ; and 
 that if he can thus reign over wicked men and devils, it is in- 
 deed matter of great rejoicing." * * * "If God cannot 
 govern wicked beings, without destroying their freedom, or 
 becoming the author of sin, and therefore must resign his 
 dominion over them, or let them alone, the universe is truly 
 in an awful condition. Let us for a moment contemplate the 
 condition we are in. Cast your eyes abroad and see how the 
 wickedness of men prevails. The adversary of souls goeth 
 about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. What 
 then shall be done 1 God cannot govern these beings, it is 
 said, without becoming the author of sin. The Church of 
 Christ is truly in a lamentable condition. What will become 
 of the church, we know not ; for the devil has come down with 
 great wrath. He will do all he can to destroy the kingdom 
 of Christ on earth. He will do all he can to destroy heav- 
 en itself. What shall be done ? We live under a government 
 which can afford us no protection. Wicked men and devils 
 are let loose upon us. They have entered the dominions of 
 Jehovah, and are now fast subverting his kingdom. * * * 
 Nothing can be done. The work of desolation must go on 
 through all eternity ; for God cannot govern their actions 
 without destroying their freedom, or becoming the author of 
 sin. Thus, my hearers, you see the condition we are in. 
 It is gloomy and awful beyond expression." 
 24 
 
278 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 In a sermon from Eph. ii. 1, he traces the analogy between 
 natural and spiritual death, and thus illustrates the doctrine of 
 total depravity. 
 
 " In natural death, there are no remains of life. It cannot 
 be said of a man that he is dead, as long as there is the least 
 glimmering of life remaining. 
 
 " So of the sinner spiritually dead. There is no spiritual 
 life, or holiness in him. If there was, it would not be true 
 that he is dead. The apostle does not say that they were half 
 dead, or almost dead, but he asserts that they were dead. If 
 this is not entire depravity, my hearers, then those bodies in 
 yonder graveyard, are not dead. 
 
 " Men, naturally dead, will never raise themselves to life. 
 Never was it heard since the world began, that a body once 
 dead, ever reanimated itself. So it is with sinners. Though 
 as it respects blame, the cases are not parallel, yet as it 
 respects the certainty of the event, they are exactly parallel. 
 Left to himself, the. sinner will as cfe'rtainly remain in his sins, 
 as the dead will continue to sleep in their graves. 
 
 " With respect to those naturally dead, no means can effect 
 their resurrection to life. No skill, no attachment of surviving 
 friends, no exertions, no tears can do it. So with sinners ; no 
 means that can be used, can raise them to spiritual life. Pa- 
 rents may be anxious for the souls of their children. They 
 may labor, and weep over them ; but they cannot help them. 
 The faithful minister of the gospel may love the souls of his 
 hearers — he may labor and exert himself in every possible 
 way to awaken and promote the conversion of sinners, and 
 his soul may weep in secret places for them ; but he cannot 
 awaken a single soul. Aside from divine influence, he might 
 sound an alarm over the graves of the departed, with equal 
 propriety, and equal success." 
 
 The following is from a sermon on the doctrine of regene- 
 ration, founded on John i : 12, 13. 
 
 " That the Holy Spirit makes use of the word, and many 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 279 
 
 instruments, to bring sinners to Christ, I have no doubt. But 
 that men are naturally inclined to approve of, and obey the 
 precepts of the gospel, is contradicted by the whole tenor of 
 the scriptures. It is a fundamental principle of the gospel, 
 that by nature we are children of wrath, and that we are at 
 enmity with God, blinded to the light of his truth, and dead 
 in trespasses and sins. To suppose that the Holy Spirit is 
 communicated to all in a sufficient manner to save them, is 
 entirely inconsistent with the idea of any special grace, and 
 makes one man as much born of God, as another. Our text 
 says, as many as received Christ, g.ni believed on his name, 
 were born of God ; and the doctrine of the undistinguishing 
 influences of the Spirit, cannot be maintained. It is a stum- 
 bling-block in the way of many, that God should give more of 
 his Spirit to one, than to another. To remove this subject of 
 prejudice, Pelagius, and multitudes more, have maintained, 
 that all men receive gifts alike, and are alike furnished to the 
 work of their salvation. This entirely dispenses with the 
 new birth, or makes it alike common to every man. On this 
 scheme, Judas had as much grace as Paul ; and Ahab, who 
 sold himself to work wickedness, as David, the man after 
 God's own heart. All the difference between them was 
 owing to the different manner in which they improved their 
 privileges. I do not deny that the Spirit of God strives with 
 all men who are not reprobates. I fully admit it. I admit 
 that the promises and threatenings of the gospel, would be 
 sufficient to persuade us to a holy life, if our understandings 
 were not darkened, and our affectiops depraved. But as it is, 
 I deny that common gra'ce makes us sons of God, or that we 
 are persuaded to be christians without a special divine influ- 
 ence, or that all men receive the same, measure of the Spirit. 
 After all preparatory means — all the promises and threaj&s- 
 ings of the gospel — all the operations of common grace — |ni 
 all exertions of unregenerate sinners, they must be born-oP 
 God in order to become his children. There must be a new 
 
280 memoir or 
 
 creation — a work accomplished by Almighty power — a sove- 
 reign, special, supernatural work, like making a world, or 
 raising the dead, (as to the power exerted ;) and without such 
 a work, no one can ever see the kingdom of God. Persuasion 
 is not sufficient to make men new creatures. If the Holy 
 Spirit operates on the minds of men, only by setting motives 
 before them, be the kinds ever so diverse, or well adapted to 
 this purpose, yet after all, it depends on the will of man, 
 whether he shall be regenerated or not. On this scheme, the 
 glory of regeneration belongs to ourselves. No new taste — 
 no new spiritual discernment, springs from persuasion. If 
 regeneration comes thus, then a man begets himself — he is 
 born of himself — he makes himself to differ from others. On 
 this plan, the Holy Spirit has no more to do than Paul, or 
 Apollos. Besides — this is not what we pray for. We pray 
 not that motives may be set before us to persuade us to regen- 
 erate ourselves ; but that God would change us — create us 
 anew. *#*##*## 
 
 " There is, then, only one way left, for a creature dead in 
 trespasses and sins, to rise to life. This is by the power of 
 God which quickens him. The same energy which brought 
 Christ from the dead, the exceeding great power of the living 
 God, must perform the work. Such a work being proved, the 
 whole system of evangelical truth — the doctrines of grace — of 
 divine sovereignty — of election — of redemption by Christ — 
 of human depravity — and others connected with them, all 
 flow from it. There is one grand, harmonious, and perfect 
 system — and God is the sum, the substance, and the glory 
 of all." 
 
 In a sermon from Acts xviii. 10, he undertakes to show 
 that " the doctrine of election furnishes the only ground of 
 encouragement to the use of means.'' This position he estab- 
 lishes by showing the utter inefficacy of all means, when not 
 accompanied by the blessing of God. The following is the 
 close of the sermon. " From this subject we may infer the 
 
DR. NETTLET0 N . 
 
 281 
 
 mistake of those who consider the doctrine of election a dis- 
 couraging doctrine. Are there not many present, who are 
 still without God and without hope in the world 1 They have 
 spent the best of their days in sin. All means have hitherto 
 proved ineffectual.* So many years of their probation have 
 gone, and they are still enemies of God. They have heard 
 the gospel, and have rejected it. Permit me to summon these 
 individuals to the bar of their own consciences. 
 
 " I would ask you, what reason have you to believe that 
 the gospel which you have heard in vain for so many years, 
 will take effect when your hearts are still more hard ? I 
 would that you might feel the difficulty. We have no more 
 powerful means than those which have already been used. 
 Now, if you deny the doctrine of election, where is your hope? 
 We will suppose that the doctrine is not true — that God will 
 leave you to do as you have done, and leave the means to 
 operate as they have done. Is this encouraging ? Deny the 
 doctrine of election, and there is not a sinner in this assembly 
 who has the least reason to conclude that he shall ever be 
 saved. 
 
 " Perhaps some of my hearers are displeased with this 
 doctrine, and hope that it is not true. Then let me address 
 you on your own ground. Whether this doctrine be true or 
 false, it is an eternal truth acknowledged by all, that ' except 
 ye repent, ye shall all likemse perish.' Strike out the doctrine 
 of election ; yet the doctrine of regeneration is true. ' Verily, 
 verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot sec 
 the kingdom of God.' Strike out the doctrine of election, and 
 let the means operate just as they have done, yet the doctrine 
 of faith is true. ' He that believeth not shall be damned.' Here 
 is a given character which all the heirs of salvation must pos- 
 sess. Now you are at liberty to become christians on the 
 easiest plan you can. If you will repent, and believe, and be 
 born again, you shall be saved, whatever may become of the 
 doctrine of election. 
 
 24* 
 
282 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " But why have you not repented, and believed, and become 
 christians already ? Why do you stand disputing about this 
 doctrine; when you know that you must repent, and believe, 
 and -he' born again, or be lost? What will your disputing 
 j&out this doctrine accomplish ? If it be true, disputing will 
 not alter it. Is it necessary for you to prove the doctrine to 
 be false, before you can repent? If you will repent, the 
 doctrine of election will not hurt you if it be true. But if it 
 be not true, then you have got to repent, and believe, and be 
 born again, without it ; and it is high time that you were in 
 earnest on the subject. 
 
 " If you say, you cannot repent, unless God grant you 
 repentance ; — that is the same as to say, you cannot repent 
 unless the doctrine of election is 1 true. For if the doctrine of 
 election is not true, it is certain that God has not determined 
 to grant repentance to one of the human race. If this doctrine 
 is not true, it is certain that God has not determined to grant 
 you repentance. 
 
 " Instead of troubling yourselves about the doctrine of elec- 
 tion, I will show you a more excellent way. Begin to trouble 
 yourselves about your own wicked hearts. The day of sal- 
 vation is drawing to a close ; — and what have you done 1 
 and where are you now ? Hitherto you have rejected all the 
 melting invitations of a bleeding Saviour ; and where are you 
 now? Hitherto you have resisted the Holy Ghost ; and 
 where are you now ? 
 
 " In spite of the offers of heaven — the calls of a bleeding 
 Saviour — the invitations, commands and threatenings of Al- 
 mighty God, you have hitherto resisted ; and will you con- 
 tinue to force your way down to hell ? There is but a gleam 
 of hope. ' Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die V 
 
 " Come, thou Spirit of the Lord, and breathe upon these 
 slain, that they may live." 
 
 A sermon from Phil. i. 6, contains a very able discussion 
 
DK.. NETTL.ETON. 283 
 
 of the doctrine of the saints' perseverance. The following 
 is one of his inferences. 
 
 " We see a. reason why angels rejoice at the repentance of 
 one sinner. If angels did not believe this doctrine, they could 
 have no ground on which to rejoice. They must wait till the 
 sinner gets to heaven. 
 
 " The true penitent will certainly arrive safe at the man- 
 sions of the blessed. A firm belief of this doctrine, lays the 
 only foundation for joy in heaven over his repentance. If 
 angels did not firmly believe this doctrine, their joy would be 
 unfounded. Their language would be, that sinner has truly 
 repented. He is now a child of God — an heir of heaven. 
 But whether he will ever reach this happy place — whether he 
 will ever sing with us in glory, is a matter of great uncer- 
 tainty. He may yet become a child of the devil, and an heir 
 of hell. Could we know that he would certainly arrive safe 
 at heaven, we might now tune our harps, and sing glory to God 
 in the highest. But since we have already been disappointed, 
 and devils and damned spirits are now triumphing over some 
 at whose repentance we once rejoiced, it is best to wait and 
 see how they hold out. Hear them triumph in the regions of 
 despair. ' Ye angels,' say they, ' Ye may suspend your songs, 
 and hang up your harps. Let your joy be turned into mourn- 
 ing. Victory is ours.' 
 
 " What think ye, my hearers ? Has there been joy in 
 heaven over some who are now in hell ? If they so rejoiced 
 at the news of the sinner's repentance, what messenger shall 
 carry back the mournful tidings that he is lost V 
 
 Another inference is, 
 
 " That there may be such a thing as the full assurance of 
 hope in this life. If the doctrine is not true, the best christian 
 on earth must be altogether uncertain of heaven. But it being 
 true, we learn on what the full assurance of hope is founded. 
 So far as the christian can be certain that the good work has 
 
284 MEMOIE. OP 
 
 been begun in his soul, so far he can be certain of arriving at 
 heaven. 
 
 " It is surprising that some who deny this doctrine, will yet 
 say that they are certain of heaven. This is plainly absurd. 
 If one christian may fall away and finally perish, then another, 
 and another may ; and so all may be lost. Not one can have 
 assurance of salvation. 
 
 " I remember a short conversation on this subject, of the 
 following import. 
 
 " A person who denied this doctrine, was expressing his 
 joy in believing. He was interrogated on this subject. ' Why 
 do you rejoice, my friend 1 Do you think there is any certain 
 connection between your believing now, and your final salva- 
 tion V He perceived that if he answered in the affirmative, 
 he must admit the doctrine, and so he replied in the negative. 
 The question was then put to him, ' if there is no certain con- 
 nection between your present belief, and your final salvation, 
 why do you rejoice V He replied, ' because my sins are for- 
 given.' ' But why rejoice because your sins are forgiven ? 
 You say, you have no evidence that you are not to suffer in 
 hell for your sins after all. Why rejoice because your sins are 
 forgiven V ' Why, if I am faithful, if I persevere to the end, 
 I shall be saved.' ' Very true — unless you persevere, you 
 cannot be saved. But what reason have you to conclude that 
 you shall persevere ? What makes you so confident that you 
 shall be saved ? Show us the ground of your confidence. 
 Do you trust in your own resolutions V ' No.' ' Well, what 
 then 1. Do you trust in the stability of your own will ? Do 
 you feel superior to the power of temptation 1 Do you think 
 you are a person of such decision, such stability and firmness, 
 that when you undertake the work, you shall certainly go 
 through with it 1 Is this the reason you have to think that 
 you shall persevere and be saved V ' No.' ' Well, what then ? 
 What reason have you to think you should be faithful — that 
 you shall persevere and be saved ? If God is not first faithful 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 285 
 
 to you, you will not be faithful to him.' And, my hearers, he 
 could see no reason why he should rejoice. He could find 
 no rest for the sole of his foot, until he was driven back on 
 the ground of our text. Being confident of this nery thing, 
 that he which hath begun, a good work in you, will perform it 
 until the day of Jesus Christ. And, my hearers, what evidence 
 have you that you shall persevere 1 Do you trust ia-ryour- 
 selves ? You lean on a broken reed. You build on the sand. 
 There is depravity enough in your hearts to sink you to hell, 
 if left to yourselves. If you have never seen and felt this 
 awful truth, you have never yet seen your own hearts, nor 
 been thoroughly awakened. If you have not felt this awful 
 truth, you have not yet been driven out of yourselves — not 
 yet left the strong hold of self-righteous deception — not yet 
 fled for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set before you" 
 
 Although Dr. Nettleton dwelt much, in his preaching, on 
 the doctrines of grace, and exhibited with great plainness the 
 lost condition of the sinner, and his entire dependence on the 
 sovereign mercy of God ; yet no man ever held up more fully 
 and more clearly the obligations of men ; or pressed more 
 forcibly on the consciences of sinners the duty of immediate 
 repentance. It was a prominent object with him to show that 
 sinners labor under no inability to obey the divine commands 
 ■which furnishes them with the least excuse. Hence he felt 
 no embarrassment in urging upon them by every solemn and 
 affecting consideration, an immediate compliance with the 
 terms of the gospel. 
 
 The following is from a sermon on 2 Cor. vi. 20. " Do 
 you ask what God requires of you ? The answer is plain. 
 ' Be ye reconciled to God? This is what God claims. And 
 from this we cannot depart, without entering on forbidden 
 ground. He claims the heart. And from this we cannot 
 depart without disloyalty to God. Individuals may negotiate 
 a treaty of peace, though the heart be not engaged. An out- 
 ward reconciliation may be effected, while the heart remains 
 
286 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the same. But not so with God. He looketh on the heart. 
 If that be withheld, to what purpose is the multitude of your 
 sacrifices unto me, saith the Lord? If the heart be not 
 engaged, however sinners may treat about a reconciliation, 
 their-insolence is met with the repulsive demand — who hath 
 required this at your hand? Without this not a step can be 
 taken towards settling your peace with God. 
 
 " And now all things are ready ; and God is inviting and 
 beseeching you to accept his message. What is the reply of 
 your heart 1 Do you not like the terms of this treaty ? You 
 are required only to be reconciled to God. What can be more 
 reasonable than this 1 Is it hard that you should be required 
 to love God ? to feel sorrow for sin ? to confess and forsake 
 it I Is this hard ? Or is sin so lovely and so desirable that 
 it appears hard and unreasonable that you should be required 
 to hate and oppose it with all your heart ? Why then, will 
 you not renounce it 1 Is sin so noble a thing in itself, and so 
 desirable in its consequences, that you cannot part with it — 
 that you will lay down your life — your eternal life — for its 
 sake ? Your love of sin is all the excuse you have, or can 
 have. Or will you plead your inability ? What ? cannot be 
 reconciled to God ! Cannot feel sorrow for sin ? Cannot 
 cease to rebel against the King of heaven ! What an ac- 
 knowledgment is this ! Out of thine own mouth, wilt thou 
 be condemned. If indeed, you are so opposed to God, that 
 you cannot feel sorrow for sin, this is the very reason why 
 you ought to be condemned. The harder it is for you to 
 repent and love God, the more wicked you are, and the 
 greater will be your condemnation. 
 
 " God himself is beseeching you to be reconciled. And 
 why do you not obey ? Has your pride and stubbornness 
 arisen to such a pitch that you will not do the most reasona- 
 ble things, though God beseech you 1" * * * 
 
 " In his name I plead. You may now disregard the voice 
 of a dying fellow mortal. Let him be forgotten. But will 
 
DR.NETTLETON. 287 
 
 you not hear the voice of God ? Hear, heavens, and give 
 ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken ! His commanding 
 voice to every sinner present, is, ' Be ye reconciled to God.' 
 Have you not continued long enough in your rebellion ? 
 Have you not long enough resisted his call 1 And will you 
 now again turn away from him that speaketh from heaven ? 
 Will you not hearken to the voice of the heavenly charmer — 
 your bleeding Saviour 1 Have you no repentance — not a 
 tear to shed for the sins which nailed him to the cross. 
 
 " Sinners, must I leave you where I found you, unrecon- 
 ciled to God ? Your business is not with a fellow mortal. I 
 have done ; and the whole remains to be settled between God 
 and your own souls. However hard you may think this mes- 
 sage, it is not mine. God beseeches — God commands your 
 compliance now. And will you raise your feeble arm to 
 oppose 1 God is on the throne ; and have you an arm like 
 God ? However opposed you may be, yet God is on the 
 throne, and what can you do ? God is on the throne, and 
 will dash his enemies in pieces like a potter's vessel. 
 
 " Before I close, I must remind you that with some of you, 
 this may be the last call — the last offer of peace which God 
 will ever send you. But a different message will soon arrive. 
 You will shortly hear again from your offended Sovereign. 
 Before the setting of the sun, the messenger of death may be 
 despatched with a commission to drag some guilty soul to his 
 dread tribunal. He may now be even at the door. 
 
 " By the mercies of God, and by the terrors of his wrath — 
 by the joys of heaven, and by the pains of hell — by the merits 
 of a Saviour's blood, and by the worth of your immortal souls, 
 I beseech you, lay down the arms of your rebellion ; bow, 
 and submit to your rightful Sovereign. Oppose, and still he 
 will reign. For God hath set his king upon his holy hill of 
 Zion, and hath sworn by himself that unto him every knee 
 shall bow. 
 
288 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " Once he has descended with a message of peace and 
 good will to men. But shortly he will be 'revealed from 
 heaven with his mighty angels, inflaming fire, taking vengeance 
 on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting 
 destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory 
 of his power.' " 
 
 In addition to the foregoing, some extracts of letters to his 
 friends, illustrating his doctrinal views, will now be intro- 
 duced. 
 
 The following is from a letter addressed to the Rev. Dr. 
 Woods, of Andover, dated May 6, 1829. 
 
 " You have doubtless read Erskine on the ' Unconditional 
 freeness of the gospel.' The writer doubtless wishes to pro- 
 mote the cause of religion. But the tendency of the work, I 
 do think, is directly to defeat that object. 
 
 " In the early part of my ministry, the sentiments of Her- 
 vey and Marshall I found, in many places, meeting and 
 checking the progress of conviction in some sinners, and giv- 
 ing false peace to others. I have found some studying Mar- 
 shall's ' Gospel Mystery of Sanctification,' and trying to 
 believe it ; but conscience, awakened by the Spirit of God, 
 would not suffer them to rest in a belief that their sins were 
 pardoned while ,they had no evidence of a change of heart. 
 I was invited to a house to converse with an interesting young 
 lady who had been long anxious for her soul. Many efforts 
 had been made to give her consolation ; but in vain. ' What 
 do you think of this book V said she. ' It is Marshall on 
 
 Sanctification, and was recommended to me by , and if I 
 
 dared believe it I should think I was a christian.' ' I am glad 
 you dare not believe it. There is some part of it, at least, 
 which you ought not to believe,' was my answer. I per- 
 ceived that her conscience was more orthodox than the 
 author. She gave it up. Her convictions increased and soon 
 
DE. NETTLETON. 289 
 
 terminated in hopeful conversion. The faith which Marshall 
 required, did not commend itself to her conscience. Believ- 
 ing that her sins were pardoned, against the dictates of con- 
 science and the Bible, seemed to her like believing a lie, to 
 make it true. How to reconcile this, I suppose Marshall 
 found to be a ' mystery.' Hence the title of his book. 
 Hence, too, the more the conscience is awakened to perform 
 its office, the more difficult divines of this description find it 
 to deal with sinners. The great object, they think, is to give 
 sinners peace. And all their efforts are directed to this sin- 
 gle object. When the sinner begins to see his character and 
 condition in some measure as it really is : — when the word 
 of God begins to take effect, and conscience to perform its 
 office, every effort is made to counteract the very means 
 which the Spirit of God employs to bring the sinner to a 
 reconciliation. Erskine agrees substantially with Marshall in 
 his views of faith. It consists in believing that our sins are 
 pardoned. He has built his system upon Hervey and Mar- 
 shall, with this wonderful improvement, that we are not re- 
 quired to believe a lie to make it true ; for the sins of all man- 
 kind are pardoned, whether they believe it or not. Pardon is 
 universal and unconditional. The atonement is itself the par- 
 don, and is unaffected by man's belief or unbelief. While in 
 all their rebellion and infidelity, it is lavished upon the ?nass of 
 the guilty without discrimination. The use of faith is not to 
 remove the penalty, or to make the pardon better ; for the pen- 
 alty is removed, and the pardon is proclaimed, whether we believe 
 it or not ; but to give the pardon a moral influence, by which it 
 may heal the spirituul disease of the soul. Mankind are sanc- 
 tified by their belief of the pardon. 
 
 " I cannot but notice how one error grows out of another. 
 The definition of Atonement is ' the actual removal of 
 sin.' If so, then it must include pardon irrespective of char- 
 acter, antecedent to faith, or repentance, or conversion, and of 
 course, limited to the elect. And faith consists in believing 
 25 
 
290 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 that our sins are pardoned, and that we are of the elect. But 
 to avoid this difficulty, limited atonement becomes unlimited ; 
 and so the atonement is made for all mankind. Therefore, 
 pardon is lavished upon all mankind. This is the most plau- 
 sible scheme of universalism that I have ever seen. If man- 
 kind can only be made to believe that their sins are pardoned, 
 this will make them love God — restore tJie key-stone of the 
 arch — sanctify them — give peace of conscience and justify them. 
 Now all this being taken for granted, without one text to 
 prove it, and with the whole Bible against him, (' He that 
 believeth not is condemned already, and the wrath of God 
 abideth on him,' &c.) he adopts every method in his power, to 
 make all his readers believe that their sins are pardoned. To 
 doubt this, must be a great crime. Unbelief is the greatest 
 sin, and the more conscience awakes to perform its office of 
 conviction, the more guilty and criminal is the sinner for 
 listening to its admonitions. When the Spirit of God is con- 
 vincing of sin, and the commandment comes and sin revives ; 
 and when the sinner sees and feels that he is lost and needs 
 pardon — he tries to take it off by convincing him that it 
 is all false alarm. If he does not believe that his sins are 
 pardoned before he has one thought of repentance, or of ask- 
 ing it, the poor man makes God a liar. ' He that believeth 
 not,' i. e. that his sins are pardoned, ' hath made him a liar.' 
 
 " The evil produced by such a book, from the pen of one 
 who has already acquired a reputation as a writer, and a 
 christian, cannot be calculated in this world. Here are false 
 views of faith, of the atonement, of pardon, and of justifica- 
 tion, which he makes to consist in a sense of pardon. There 
 is no such thing as evidence of a change of heart. But 
 believing that our sins are pardoned, will produce that 
 change — make us love God, and thus give peace and confidence, 
 and restore the key-stone of the arch. 
 
 " I cannot but express my full conviction that the senti- 
 ments contained in that book, are more directly calculated to 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 291 
 
 prevent conviction of sin, and to put a stop to genuine 
 revivals of religion, than any thing which has ever been 
 published." 
 
 The following is also from a letter addressed to Dr. Woods, 
 and dated June 18th, 1834. Speaking of a certain class of 
 divines, he says ; " They admit that there is a tendency, or 
 propensity to sin, in the very constitution of the human mind ;" 
 but they deny that this tendency is sinful. They also admit 
 that " every effect must have a cause, and that this cause must 
 foe prior to the effect.'* 
 
 " Now I observe that the objections which they alledge 
 against the views of their opponents, lie equally against their 
 own. It will be no easier for the sinner to repent and believe 
 against this propensity to sin, than it was while it was called 
 a ' sinful propensity. 1 Changing the name of a lion into 
 that of a lamb, will not alter'its nature. This propensity to 
 sin, they admit, does all the mischief ; and will it do any the 
 less, in consequence of being called an ' innocent or harmless 
 propensity.' Or will the sinner be any more likely to be on 
 his guard, and to watch and fight against it ? Directly the 
 reverse. But why object to calling an * infallible tendency or 
 propensity to sin, a sinful propensity.' ' Then,' say they, 
 * regeneration must consist in removing it.' But suppose you 
 give it any other name, e. g. evil, bad, vile, vicious, pernicious, 
 or dangerous, then, also, regeneration must consist in remov- 
 ing it. Go one step farther, and call it calamitous, we should 
 still think that regeneration consisted in removing this calami- 
 tous propensity to sin. Venture one step further, and allay 
 the fears of sinners entirely. Call it an innocent propensity, 
 and then it need not be removed by regeneration. And yet 
 one would be at a loss to see how their scheme can be made 
 consistent with itself. One would think that an infallible 
 tendency to sin would need to be removed in regeneration, or 
 that regeneration could never take place. If ' every effect 
 must have a cause, and this cause must be prior to the effect,' 
 
292 MEMOIR OF 
 
 then no sinner ever did, or ever will put forth a holy choice 
 until this infallible tendency to sin be removed, and succeeded 
 by an infallible tendency to holiness ; unless an infallible ten- 
 dency to sin can be the cause of a holy choice. This latter 
 opinion they seem to have adopted. They discard the prin- 
 ciple that ' like produces like,' and assume another, viz. that 
 a ' fountain can,' and actually doth, ' send forth at the same 
 place, sweet water and bitter.' ' Men do gather grapes of 
 thorns and figs of thistles.' We have heard the new philos- 
 ophy, that all trees are by nature alike, neither good nor bad, 
 until they bear fruit. And then, the fruit is not good, but the 
 tree is good only because the fruit is good, and vice versa. 
 ' Make the tree good and the fruit will b£ good,' said our 
 Saviour, ' for the tree is known by the fruit.' Make the fruit 
 good, and the fruit will be good, says the new philosophy ; for 
 the fruit is known by the fruit. Nothing is good or bad but 
 fruit. There can be nothing in the tree itself back of the 
 fruit but whaf is common to all trees — ' pura naturalia.' 
 
 " But how do they dispose of this ' propensity to sin, in 
 pressing the obligations of sinners ? 
 
 1 . " They give this propensity a soft name — deny its sinful- 
 ness altogether, and do not even call it bad, or dangerous. 
 
 2. " They put into the mouth of the sinner an excuse for 
 retaining his propensity to sin in all its strength. 
 
 3. " They call upon him to exercise no other repentance or 
 faith than that which is consistent with the existence of this 
 infallible tendency or propensity to sin in all its strength. 
 
 4. " They adopt, for his accommodation, a new theory of 
 regeneration. ' It has been said by some, that regeneration 
 consists in removing this sinful bias which is anterior to actual 
 volition.' This they deny. But whether we call this propen- 
 sity sinful, or not, all orthodox divines, who have admitted its 
 existence, have, I believe, united in the opinion that regenera- 
 tion does consist in removing it. This, certainly, was the 
 opinion of Edwards ; and it constituted the principal differ- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 293 
 
 ence between him and Dr. John Taylor. It was, also, the 
 very quintessence of his treatise on Religious Affections. 
 Until this tendency to sin be removed, it is absolutely certain 
 that true repentance never can begin. It is turning from the 
 love, to the loathing of sin. ' The heart,' says Edwards, ' can 
 have no tendency to make itself better, until it first has a bet- 
 ter tendency.' No sinner ever did, or ever will make a holy 
 choice prior to an inclination, bias, or tendency to holiness. 
 On the whole, their views of depravity, of regeneration, and of 
 the mode of preaching to sinners, I think cannot fail of doing 
 very great mischief. This exhibition overlooks the most 
 alarming features of human depravity, and the very essence 
 of experimental religion. It is directly calculated to prevent 
 sinners from coming under conviction of sin, and to make 
 them think well of themselves while in an unregenerate state. 
 It flatters others with the delusion that they ma}' give, or have 
 given, their hearts to God, while their propensity to sin 
 remains in all its strength. Entertaining this delusion, they 
 cannot be converted. Every sinner under deep conviction of 
 sin, knows this statement to be false, so far as his own expe- 
 rience is concerned. The progress of conviction is ordinarily 
 as follows : — Trouble and alarm. 1 . On account of outward 
 sins. 2. On account of sinful thoughts. 3, On account of 
 hardness of heart, deadness and insensibility to divine things ; 
 tendency, bias, proneness, or propensity to sin, both inferred 
 and felt. And this the convicted sinner always regards not 
 merely as calamitous, but as awfully criminal in the sight of 
 God. And the sinner utterly despairs of salvation without a 
 change in this propensity to sin. And while he feels this 
 propensity to be thus criminal, he is fully aware that if God by 
 a sovereign act of his grace, does not interpose to remove or 
 change it, he shall never give his heart to God, nor make 
 one holy choice. If the sinner has not felt this, he has 
 not yet been under conviction of sin, or felt his need of 
 regeneration. 
 
 25* 
 
294 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " Those who adopt the views I am considering, exhort the 
 sinner to do that only which leaves his propensity to sin in 
 all its strength. Hence conversions are made as easy as you 
 can turn your hand. It is only to resolve and the work is 
 done. They do in effect tell their hearers, and their readers, 
 what the most godly christians certainly find it the most diffi- 
 cult to believe, that their propensity to sin, however strong it 
 may be, is not criminal, but only calamitous — that they need 
 not be alarmed at this awful propensity to sin — that they need 
 not, for God does not, regard it with displeasure — that they 
 can neither change it themselves, nor are required to do it — 
 and that they need not ask or even expect God to do it for 
 them. Such a sentiment, however abhorrent to the ear and 
 to the heart of piety, is, nevertheless, perfectly congenial with 
 the feelings of all the most hardened in sin ; and unless their 
 consciences are more orthodox than such preaching, they will 
 never be converted. Every step in the progress of conviction 
 and conversion is in direct opposition to these sentiments. I 
 know that converts may be made by hundreds and by thou- 
 sands on these principles, with perfect ease ; for so it has 
 Seen in former times among the Christ-ians and others in 
 New England, as I have had full opportunity to know. But 
 piety never did, and never will descend far in the line of such 
 sentiments. Were I to preach in this manner, I do solemnly 
 believe that I should be the means of healing the heart of 
 awakened sinners slightly, of crying peace, peace, when there 
 is no peace, and of throwing the whole weight of my minis- 
 terial influence on the side of human rebellion against God. " 
 
 The following extracts are taken from letters written at 
 different times, and to different individuals. 
 
 Speaking of the character of infants, he says, " For one I 
 do solemnly believe that God views and treats them in all 
 respects, just as he would do if they were sinners. To say 
 that animals die, and therefore that death can be no proof of 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 295 
 
 sin in infants, is to take infidel ground. The infidel has just 
 as good a right to say, because animals die without being sin- 
 ners, therefore adults may. If death may reign to such an 
 alarming extent over the human race, and be no proof of sin ; 
 then it may reign to any extent in the universe and be no proof 
 of sin. Consequently what Paul says, ' Death by sin, and so 
 death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned,' cannot 
 be true.' 7 
 
 In another letter, speaking of the consequences of denying 
 the depravity of infants, he says, " It is to deny that they need 
 redemption by Christ, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit, 
 or if they do need redemption, it must be redemption from 
 something which is not sin in any sense ; and if they need 
 regeneration, it must be a change of something which is not 
 sinful in any sense. If the soul be innocent, it can be re- 
 deemed from nothing, and can never join the song of the 
 redeemed, ' unto him that loved us and washed us from our 
 sins in his own blood.' If the soul be innocent, it can be 
 regenerated only for the worse." 
 
 Speaking of the theory which accounts for the fact that sin- 
 ners do not love God, by supposing that his character is not 
 clearly seen — that divine things are too remote and unreal to 
 call forth the affections of their hearts, he says, " when brought 
 near and real, they will draw forth the opposition of the heart. 
 You may destroy the sinner's earthly plans, break up all his 
 interest in the concerns of time — fill bis mind with all the 
 solemn realities of death, judgment and eternity — bring him 
 under the most powerful convictions of sin ; and the selfish 
 principle may be more active this very moment than ever, in 
 building up a righteousness, or in quarreling with God about 
 the terms of salvation. It is sometimes taken for granted that 
 if the sinner had clear views of the character of God, he 
 would love him. But facts prove the contrary. Sinners in 
 the last stages of conviction, who have lost all interest in the 
 concerns of time — sinners too on a dying bed, who care 
 
296 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 nothing for the world, feel more opposition than ever. At this 
 very crisis, when time with all its concerns has dwindled 
 into nothing, the sinner for the first time, discovers the appal- 
 ling truth, that the carnal mind is enmity against God. The 
 selfish principle, the carnal mind, with all its enmity against 
 God, remains in full strength, until slain, or taken away by 
 the act of the Holy Spirit. ' Even when we were dead, hath 
 quickened us together with Christ.' " 
 
 In another letter, speaking of the theory that " God prefers, 
 all things considered, holiness to sin in all instances in which 
 the latter takes place," he says, " If this be so, the question 
 arises, why does not God place holiness in the lieu of sin in 
 a given case ? The answer is, ' God cannot sustain the great- 
 est amount of holiness in the universe, without that influence 
 which results from the existence of sin and its punishment.' 
 He needs therefore the influence which will result from the 
 punishment of this sin. This is God's reason for not placing 
 holiness in the lieu of this sin, though he desires it, in itself 
 considered, and all things considered. He cannot do it with- 
 out putting it out of .his power to sustain the greatest amount 
 of holiness. And yet he sincerely desires that the sinner 
 would do it without divine influence. Now suppose the sin- 
 ner should do it. According to this theory, he would put it 
 out of God's power to sustain the greatest amount of holiness. 
 Consequently, if the theory be true, God sincerely desires that 
 sinners would put it out of his power to sustain the greatest 
 amount of holiness. 
 
 " It is supposed that if this theory is not true, sin must be 
 excellent in itself. Is there no other alternative 1 If God 
 brings light out of darkness, order out of confusion, and good 
 out of evil, are darkness, confusion and evil, good in them- 
 selves I May they not, by contrast, show light, order and 
 good, to better advantage 1 So • our unrighteousness may com- 
 mend the righteousness of God.' " 
 
 The foregoing extracts, which might be greatly extended, 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 297 
 
 will serve to give the reader some idea of Dr. Nettleton's 
 theological views. 
 
 It is well known that within the last quarter of a century, 
 there has been considerable controversy in New England 
 respecting the best mode of stating and defending the doc- 
 trines of Calvinism. On the one hand, it has been maintained 
 that these doctrines, in the sense in which they have been 
 commonly received, are inconsistent with sound philosophy, 
 and that they ought to give place to more rational views. On 
 the other hand, it has been maintained, that the explanations 
 proposed, in some instances at least, amount to a virtual 
 denial of the doctrines themselves, and to the adoption of dan- 
 gerous errors. 
 
 The points of controversy relate principally to the decrees 
 and government of God — the mora! agency of man — the 
 nature of holiness — and the doctrines of native depravity, 
 regeneration and election. 
 
 The reader, who wishes to make himself acquainted with 
 the manner in which these points have been discussed, is 
 referred to the periodicals and pamphlets which contain the 
 discussion, and which have been extensively circulated in the 
 christian community. 
 
 In this controversy Dr. Nettleton took no public part. But 
 he did not regard it with indifference. On the contrary he 
 watched its progress with the deepest interest, and with an 
 eye fixed on its bearings upon christian experience, and revi- 
 vals of religion. 
 
 It is evident from the foregoing extracts from his sermons 
 and letters, that his views of the Calvinistic doctrines were 
 such as were maintained by the orthodox ministers of New 
 England, at the beginning of the present century. The new 
 views, therefore, which were put forth as improvements, he 
 did not receive. They did not appear to him to be improve- 
 ments. On the contrary, he believed them to be erroneous, 
 and of dangerous tendency. From the first promulgation of 
 
298 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 them, he was grieved and alarmed ; and his sorrow was ren- 
 dered the more intense by the fact, that some of the advocates 
 of these views, were brethren with whom he had labored in 
 revivals, and been on terms of the most endearing intimacy. 
 The pain of Whitefield was not greater, when his friend and 
 brother, John Wesley, avowed his hostility to Calvinism, than 
 was that of Dr. Nettleton when these brethren whom he ten- 
 derly loved, began to maintain and propagate opinions which 
 seemed to him to be unscriptural, and to be adapted to injure 
 the cause of revivals. 
 
 His strength had been spent in revivals ; and it had been 
 his constant aim to elevate their character by sedulously 
 guarding against every thing which was suited to mar their 
 purity, or weaken their power over the consciences of men. 
 And it was his settled conviction, that the purity of revivals 
 depends greatly on the faithfulness with which the doctrines 
 of the cross are preached. He had observed that when the 
 standard of orthodoxy is lowered, the danger of delusion is 
 increased, and the character of revivals is injured. He was 
 " well aware that popular excitements, without doctrinal 
 instruction," (or with false doctrinal instruction,) " may be 
 called revivals ; and that zeal without knowledge may glory 
 in the multiplication of its converts. But such excitements 
 are no blessing to the church." 
 
 It was the full conviction of Dr. Nettleton that all genuine 
 religious experience is based on -correct views of the doctrines 
 of grace, and consequently, that the religious experience of 
 those whose views of these doctrines are defective, or essen- 
 tially erroneous, will be in like degree defective or spurious. 
 He felt, as we have seen, the great importance of exhibiting 
 clearly the doctrines of the cross in revivals of religion ; and 
 hence he regarded those theological speculations which 
 seemed to him to obscure, or utterly to subvert these doctrines, 
 as directly tending to corrupt revivals, and in this way, to 
 destroy the souls of men. The opinions above referred to, 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 299 
 
 seemed to him to have, some of them in a greater, and some 
 in a less degree, this dangerous tendency. 
 
 Whether his apprehensions were well founded, is a ques- 
 tion which will be differently decided by different individuals, 
 according to the views which they entertain of the contro- 
 verted points. The controversy is to be settled by an appeal, 
 not to the opinions of fallible men, but to the decisions of the 
 word of God. The views of Dr. Nettleton are introduced, 
 not for the purpose of proving that those with whom he sym- 
 pathized in this controversy were right ; but simply for the 
 purpose of giving a correct history of his life. That he felt 
 deeply in relation to this controversy, and that he considered 
 some of the views which were maintained and defended, to 
 be errors, dangerous to the souls of men, is well known by all 
 who had any intercourse with him. Such being his convic- 
 tions, he could not hold his peace. It was, indeed, painful 
 to him to disagree with his brethren ; but he felt himself laid 
 under solemn obligations to maintain what he believed to be 
 the truth, and to bear testimony against what seemed to him 
 to be dangerous error, whatever sacrifice it might cost him. 
 Accordingly he said to one of his brethren, "such is my con- 
 viction of the tendency of these views to corrupt revivals, and 
 produce spurious conversions, that if all New England should 
 go over, I should prefer to stand alone." 
 
 But while he was thus decided in the maintenance of his 
 own religious opinions, he entertained the kindest feelings 
 towards those of his brethren from whom he felt compelled 
 to differ. He was, as has been already remarked, grieved 
 that their influence should be exerted to promote, what he 
 considered the cause of error ; and he felt it to be his duty to 
 expostulate with them. With some of them he maintained 
 repeated and long discussions. But he never engaged in 
 bitter and angry controversy. He always treated his brethren 
 with kindness. He never impeached their motives, nor 
 depreciated their talents, nor aspersed their characters by 
 
300 
 
 MEMOIR OP 
 
 loading them with reproachful epithets. And his brethren, I 
 trust, never doubted the sincerity of his heart, however much 
 they may have been grieved by the alarm which he felt, and 
 expressed, at their supposed errors. 
 
 One of these brethren made him a visit, at a period during 
 his last sickness, when in his own view, and that of his 
 friends, he was near the close of life. The interview was 
 tender and affectionate. It revived the recollection of many 
 past scenes of thrilling interest. Nothing was said in regard 
 to theological differences. Two days after this interview, Dr. 
 Nettleton wrote to this brother the following letter. 
 
 " My Dear Brother : 
 
 " I thank you for your visit, and the sympathy which you 
 manifested in my affliction. The sight of your face revived 
 many tender recollections. There were many things which 
 I wished to say to you, but my strength would not permit. 
 How long I am to linger on these mortal shores, I know not. 
 But as you are aware, I consider myself near to the eternal 
 world ; and I wish to say, that my views of the great doctrines 
 which I preached twenty-five years ago, have not altered. 
 They appear to me more precious than ever. I wish also to 
 say, that 1 have the same views of some of your published 
 writings, which I have often expressed to you in years past. 
 I need not tell you that I love you. You know that I have 
 ever loved you. You know also that 1 have been grieved and 
 distressed that you should have adopted and publicly main- 
 tained sentiments which I cannot but regard as eminently dan- 
 gerous to the souls of men. I impeach not your motives. I 
 judge not your heart. I would cherish the hope that your 
 own religious experience is at variance with some things 
 which you have published ; particularly on the subject of self- 
 love, and the great doctrine of regeneration. It does seem 
 to me, I experienced all which you make essential to regene- 
 ration, while, as I now fully believe, my heart was unrecon- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 301 
 
 ciled to God. And this is the reason which leads me to fear 
 that what you have written, will be the means of deceiving 
 and destroying souls. I say this with the kindest feelings, 
 and with eternity in view. Receive it as my dying testimony, 
 and as an expression of my sincere love. Farewell, my 
 brother. We shall soon meet at the judgment seat of Christ. 
 God grant that we may meet in heaven. 
 
 " Your affectionate friend and brother, 
 
 " ASAHEL NBTTLETON.'' 
 
 East-Windsor, Jan. 19, 1843. 
 
 This letter is inserted here, not to prove that Dr. Nettleton 
 was right in his theological views, and his brethren wrong ; 
 but to correct two false impressions which have been made, 
 to some extent, on. the public mind. One is, that Dr. Nettle- 
 ton felt a bitter hostility towards those brethren from whom 
 he differed. The other is, that in the near prospect of death, 
 his views underwent an important change in respect to the 
 tendency of those speculations which had caused him so 
 much solicitude. Neither of these impressions is correct, as 
 this letter fully evinces. He never entertained unkind feel- 
 ings towards his brethren ; and his views of christian doctrine 
 remained unaltered to the last. The great truths which he 
 maintained through life, were his stay and solace amid the 
 pangs of dissolving nature, and in the near prospect of an 
 eternal retribution. He doubtless now knows what is truth 
 on those points, respecting which he and his brethren differed. 
 They also will soon know. They and he will soon meet at 
 the judgment seat of Christ ; and let every reader unite in 
 the prayer that they may meet in heaven. 
 
 26 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 His last Sickness and Death. 
 
 The sickness of Dr. Nettleton in 1822, gave a shock to his 
 constitution from which it never recovered. For a consid- 
 erable part of the time during the remainder of his life, he 
 was exceedingly feeble ; and at no time was' he able to engage 
 in arduous labor. Still he was not entirely laid aside. He 
 preached, as we have seen, in many places, and in some with 
 great success. Finding the climate of New England too 
 severe for his enfeebled constitution during the winter months, 
 he usually, for a number of years, spent them at the South ; 
 and by great care in avoiding excitement and excessive 
 fatigue, he was able to enjoy a comfortable degree of health, 
 for most of the time, until the summer of 1 84 1 , when he began 
 to be afflicted -with urinary calculi, which soon confined him 
 to the house, and subjected him to great bodily suffering. 
 Finding no relief from medical prescriptions, and being redu- 
 ced to that state in which it was evident he could live but a 
 short time, on the 14th of February, 1 843, he submitted to the 
 operation of lithotomy, by which he obtained partial relief, 
 and hopes were entertained, for a season, of his entire recov- 
 ery. But after a few months, it became manifest, that the dis- 
 ease was returning upon him. His sufferings again became 
 exceedingly great, till on the 8th of December, 1843, he sub- 
 mitted to a second operation. For some time, he appeared to 
 be doing well, and hopes were again entertained of his recov- 
 
DK. NETTLETON. 303 
 
 ery. But these hopes were not realized. He continued in 
 a feeble state until the 16th of May, 1844, when the powers 
 of nature failed, and he resigned his spirit into the hand of 
 God who gave it. 
 
 During his protracted and severe sufferings, his piety was 
 subjected to a new test. We have seen its efficacy in prompt- 
 ing him, while in health, to the most arduous and unremitted 
 labors in the cause of Christ ; and it was no less efficacious 
 in sustaining him in the day of trial. For many months 
 together, his bodily pain was almost without intermission, and 
 exceedingly great — at times, indeed, excruciating. But he 
 was strengthened to endure it with patience and resignation. 
 During the whole of his sickness, he was never heard to 
 utter a murmuring word. He was often heard to say, " My 
 sufferings are great, but they are nothing in comparison with 
 what I deserve." A large part of the time during his sick- 
 ness, his mind was vigorous and active. He read many 
 books during this period, particularly D'Aubigne's History of 
 the Reformation, with which he was much delighted, Gaus- 
 sen on Inspiration, Tracy's History of the Great Awakening 
 the entire works of the younger Edwards, much of the works 
 of Emmons, a large part of the works of Andrew Fuller, be- 
 sides many smaller works. What he read, he read with great 
 attention, and he would often make criticisms and comments 
 on the things which he had read. But the Bible was the man 
 of his counsel. He would often say, " there are many good 
 books, but after all, there is nothing like the Bible." And it 
 never was so precious to him as at this period. Although he 
 had made it his study for more than forty years, and had 
 acquired a knowledge of it to which few attain, yet he found 
 it an inexhaustible fund of rich instruction. He could adopt 
 the language of the Psalmist, " How sweet are thy words unto 
 my taste; yea, svieeter than honey to my mouth. Thy tes- 
 timonies have I taken as a heritage forever ; for they are the 
 
304 MEMOIR OP 
 
 rejoicing of my heart. Thy Statutes have been my songs in 
 the house of my pilgrimage.'' # * 
 
 He not only read some portion of the scriptures every day, 
 but he devoted much time, to a close and critical study of them. 
 He usually kept his Greek Testament, and his Greek Con- 
 cordance by him, and diligently compared different parts of 
 scripture with each other in the original language, that he 
 might be sure to get the precise meaning. I found him one 
 morning with the Greek Testament in his hand. He said, 
 " you will perhaps wonder that I should be reading this. You 
 may suppose that a person in my situation, would prefer to 
 read the translation. But I seem to get nearer to the fountain 
 when I read the original. It is like drinking water at the 
 spring, rather than from a vessel in which it has been carried 
 away. By reading the Greek, I get shades of meaning, which 
 cannot be expressed in any translation." It was common for 
 him to entertain his friends with comments and remarks on 
 portions of scripture ; and these comments were exceedingly 
 interesting and instructive. Many an individual has gone 
 away from his bed side, with a more lively sense of the worth 
 of the Bible, than he ever felt before. 
 
 He was not in the habit, during his sickness, of speaking 
 very often of his own religious feelings ; but it was manifest 
 from the whole strain of his conversation, and particularly 
 from the lively interest which he took in the truths of the 
 Bible, that he generally enjoyed great peace of mind. 
 
 On one occasion, having expressed to me his apprehension 
 that his disease was incurable, I inquired of him the state of 
 his mind. He expressed entire submission to the will of 
 God — a willingness to be in his hands, and to be disposed of 
 according to his pleasure. He spoke of the great deceitful- 
 ness of the human heart, and the danger of self-deception ; but 
 intimated that he "had no distressing doubts and fears. He 
 manifested an ardent attachment to the doctrines which he 
 had prpached, and seemed to derive from them great support 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 305 
 
 in the near prospect of eternity ; and he expressed a peculiar 
 love for those of his brethren, who had been decided in their 
 adherence to the truth, and in their opposition to prevailing 
 errors. 
 
 On another occasion, he conversed very freely concerning 
 his own spiritual state. He gave me a more particular ac- 
 count of his conversion than he had ever done before.* It 
 brought to his recollection so many tender scenes, that he was 
 greatly affected and wept abundantly. He spake of the doc- 
 trines of grace, and said with great emotion, " I do not need 
 any body to tell me that they are true. I am fully convinced 
 of their truth, by my own experience." 
 
 One morning, as I entered the room, he said to me, that 
 these words had been running in his mind : 
 
 '■ Death will invade us by the means appointed, 
 Nor am I anxious, if I am prepared, 
 What shape he comes in. 
 
 In the course of the conversation, he said, " more of my life 
 is written in Bunyan's Grace abounding to the chief of sin- 
 ners, than any where else.'' He was a great admirer of the 
 writings of Bunyan, and often referred to them in illustration 
 of his own opinions. 
 
 On being asked whether he still entertained the same views 
 of the errors, on account of which he had manifested so much 
 solicitude — he spake with great emotion, saying, " It is the 
 bearing which these errors have upon the eternal interests of 
 men, which gives them all their importance in my estimation. 
 It is in view of death, judgment, and eternity, that I have 
 looked at them. If I had not regarded them as dangerous to 
 the souls of men, I should have felt no solicitude respecting 
 them." 
 
 At another time, he wished me to read to him the following 
 hymn, in Wardlaw's collection. 
 
 The same that is inserted in Chapter I 
 26* 
 
306 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 1 1. Come let us join our friends above 
 That have obtained the prize , 
 And on the eagle wings of love, 
 To joy celestial rise. 
 
 2. Let saints below in conceit sing, 
 "With those to glory gone ; 
 
 For all the servants of our king, 
 In heaven and earth are one. 
 
 3. One family, we dwell in him, 
 
 One church, above, beneath, 
 Though'now divided by the stream, 
 The narrow stream of death. 
 
 4. One army of the living (rod, 
 To his command we bow, 
 
 Part of the host have crossed the flood, 
 And part are crossing now. 
 
 5. Each moment, to their endless home, 
 Some parting spirits fly ; 
 
 And we are to the margin come, 
 And soon expect to die. 
 
 6. Dear Saviour, be our constant guide, 
 Then, when the word is given, 
 
 Bid death's cold stream and flood divide, 
 And land us safe in heaven." 
 
 He alluded to this hymn, several times, with great interest, 
 during his sickness. 
 
 On one occasion he spoke with great feeling of those who 
 were hopefully converted in the revivals under his preaching, 
 and said, the thought of meeting them in the future world, was 
 often exceedingly interesting. " But/' said he, " I have never 
 allowed myself to be very confident of arriving at heaven, lest 
 the disappointment should be the greater. I know that the 
 heart is exceedingly deceitful, and that many will be deceived. 
 And why am not I as liable to be deceived as others ?" He 
 spoke of the opinion maintained by some, that none are ever 
 actuated by any other principle than self-love, and said, " I 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 307 
 
 should have no hope of being saved, if I believed myself never 
 to have been actuated by a higher principle," 
 
 He one day referred to the words of the apostle, " Despise 
 not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebu- 
 ked of him." He observed that there are two ways in which 
 divine chastisements are improperly received. One is, despi- 
 sing them, that is, making light of them — disregarding them, 
 as a stubborn, disobedient child sometimes sets at defiance 
 and treats with contempt the chastisement of his father. The 
 other is, fainting under them, that is, making too much of 
 them, feeling as though they were too heavy to be borne, and 
 greater than we deserve. " We ought," said he, " to feel that 
 all our sufferings, however great, are light afflictions, infinitely 
 less than we deserve." 
 
 When asked at one time, if he did not sometimes get weary 
 of life, he said, " It is wearisome. But I have sometimes 
 heard persons express a desire to die, when it was painful to 
 me. I desire to have no will on the subject." He felt that 
 it was as much our duty to be willing to live and suffer, if 
 such be the will of God, as to be willing to die. Asking for 
 the hymn-book, he read the following stanza : 
 
 " Be this my one great business here, 
 With holy trembling, holy fear, 
 
 To make my calling sure ; 
 Thine utmost counsel to fulfill, 
 And suffer all thy righteous will, 
 
 And to the end endure." 
 
 It was very common for him, when inquired of respecting 
 the state of his mind, instead of giving a direct answer, to point 
 to some hymn, or some passage of scripture as indicative of 
 his feelings. 
 
 On one occasion, finding him in very great pain, I said to 
 him, " I hope the Lord will give you patience." He replied, 
 " I have need of patience." I remarked that when suffering 
 severe pain, it was profitable to think of the sufferings of 
 
303 MEMOIR OP 
 
 Christ. He said that the words of the 228th Village Hymn 
 had been running in his mind all night. 
 
 1. "Begone unbelief! 
 
 My Saviour is near, 
 And for my relief 
 
 Will surely appear. 
 By prayer let me wrestle, 
 
 And he will perform, 
 With Christ in the vessel, 
 
 I smile at the storm. 
 
 2. Determined to save, 
 
 He watched o'er my path, 
 When, Satan's blind slave, 
 
 I sported with death : 
 And can he have taught me 
 
 Tp trust in his name, 
 And thus far have brought me, 
 
 To put me to shame 1 
 
 3. Why should I complain 
 
 Of want or distress, 
 Temptation or pain ? 
 
 He told me no less ; 
 The heirs of salvation 
 
 I know from his word, 
 Through much tribulation, 
 
 Must follow their Lord. 
 
 4. Though dark be my way, 
 
 Since he is my guide, 
 *T is mine to obey, 
 
 *T is his to provide ; 
 His way was much rougher, 
 
 And darker than mine ; 
 Did Jesus thus suffer, 
 
 And shall I repine 1 
 
 5. His love in time past, 
 
 Forbids me to think 
 He'll leave me at last 
 
 In trouble to sink : 
 Though painful at present, 
 
 'T will cease before long, 
 And then, O how pleasant 
 The conqueror's song." 
 
UK. NETTLETON. 309 
 
 Being one day in very great pain, he said to me, " I ought 
 not to complain ; but all that I have ever suffered in the course 
 of my life, is nothing in comparison with this. But it is noth- 
 ing in comparison with what I deserve." " No," said I, " nor 
 is it worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be 
 revealed." He requested me to take from the shelf and hand 
 to him the Remains of Carlos Wilcox ; and with great interest 
 he read the following lines : 
 
 " But wherefore will not God 
 E'en now, from ills on others brought, exempt 
 The offspring of regenerating grace, 
 The children of his love ? Imperfect yet, 
 They need the chastenings of eternal care, 
 To save them from the wily blandishments 
 Of error, and to win their hearts away 
 From the polluting, ruining joys of earth!" 
 
 Speaking at one time of his disease, as that which for many 
 years he had dreaded more than any other, he pointed me to 
 the following passage in the Life of Samuel Pearce, as expres- 
 sive of his own feelings. 
 
 " It was never, till to-day, that I got any personal instruc- 
 tion from our Lord's telling Peter by what death he should^ 
 glorify God. Oh, what a satisfying thought, that God appoints 
 those means of dissolution, whereby he gets most glory to 
 himself. It was the very thing I needed ; for, of all the ways 
 of dying, that which I most dreaded was by consumption, (in 
 which it is now most probable my disorder will issue. But 
 O, my dear Lord, if by this death I can most glorify thee, I 
 prefer it to all others, and thank thee that by this means thou 
 art hastening my fuller enjoyment of thee in a purer world." 
 
 During his sickness, he greatly enjoyed the society of his 
 brethren in the ministry, and other christian friends ; and was 
 often heard to say that he never loved his friends so well 
 before. Every little favor shown him seemed deeply to affect 
 him and awaken emotions of gratitude. He would say, " 0, 
 how kind this is." 
 
310 MEMOIR OF 
 
 On the first day of January, 1843, which was the sabbath, 
 he sent the following note to the Seminary church, with a 
 request that it should be read at the communion. 
 
 " The Rev. Mr. Nettleton sends his very affectionate regards 
 to the members of this church, requesting an interest in their 
 prayers, that God would sanctify him wholly in spirit, in soul, 
 and in body, and prepare him for the solemn hour of exchang- 
 ing worlds, whenever it shall come." 
 
 The next morning I called to see him, and found him in an 
 unusually happy frame of mind. After inquiring whether his 
 note was received, he remarked with great animation, his eyes 
 sparkling through the tears, that he loved the church more 
 and more. He expressed a peculiar affection for the students 
 of the Seminary, and an ardent desire that they might become 
 faithful ministers of the gospel. He mentioned the great sat- 
 isfaction which it had given him to hear of the prosperity and 
 usefulness of those who had gone out from the Seminary. 
 He then went on to expatiate on the importance of a high 
 standard of ministerial character, on account of its great influ- 
 ence on the interests of the church. He deprecated particu- 
 larly, in the ministers of Christ, every thing which savors of 
 pride and self-sufHcieney — every thing which looks like osten- 
 tation, or a desire to attract notice to themselves. He loved 
 to see ministers humble, meek, unassuming, steadily devoted 
 to their work, and more anxious to glorify God, and save the 
 souls of men, than to acquire popularity. 
 
 He often remarked that a time of health was the time to 
 prepare for death, and the time to give evidence of an interest 
 in Christ. He said he had seen persons who, when in health, 
 were very much devoted to the world ; but who, when brought 
 upon a sick bed, were very religious ; agreeably to the repre- 
 sentation in Jer. xxii. 20, 23. " Go up to Lebanon and cry, 
 and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages, for 
 all thy lovers are destroyed. I spake unto thee in thy 
 
 PROSPERITY, BUT THOU SAIDST, I WILL NOT HEAR. THIS HATH 
 
DR..NETTLETON. 311 
 
 BEEN THY MANNER FROM THY YOUTH, THAT THOU OBEYEDST 
 
 not my voice. The wind shall eat up all thy pastures, and 
 thy lovers shall go into captivity ; surely then shall thou be 
 ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. 0, inhabitant 
 of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious 
 
 SHALT THOU BE WHEN THY PANGS COME UPON THEE." 
 
 A short time before his death, when he was very ill, and 
 when he thought it probable that he had but a short time to 
 live, I said to him, you are in good hands. " Certainly," he 
 replied. Are you willing to be there ? " I am. I know not," 
 said he, " that I have any advice to give my friends. My 
 whole preaching expresses my views. If I could see the 
 pilgrims, scattered abroad, who thought they experienced reli- 
 gion under my preaching, I should like to address them. I 
 would tell them that the great truths of the gospel appear 
 more precious than ever ; and that they are the truths which 
 now sustain my soul." He said, " you know I have never 
 placed much dependence on the manner in which persons 
 die." He spake of a farewell sermon which he preached 
 in Virginia, from these words : While ye have the light, walk 
 in the light. He told the people, that he wished to say some 
 things to them, that he should not be able to say to them on a 
 dying bed. And he would now say to all his friends, " While 
 ye have the light, walk in the light.'' While making these 
 remarks, there was a peculiar lustre on his countenance. I 
 said to him, I trust you feel no solicitude respecting the issue 
 of your present sickness. He replied with emphasis. t: No, 
 none at all. I am glad that it is not for me to say. It is 
 sweet to trust in the Lord." 
 
 During the last twenty-four hours of his life, he said but 
 little. In the evening of the day before his death, I informed 
 him that we considered him near the close of life, and said to 
 him, I hope you enjoy peace of mind. By the motion of his 
 head, he gave me an affirmative answer. He continued to fail 
 through the night, and at 8 o'clock in the morning, he calmly 
 
312 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 fell asleep, as we trust, in the arms of his Saviour. May all 
 his friends remember his dying counsel, " While ye have 
 
 THE LIGHT, WALK IN THE LIGHT." 
 
 " Farewell, dear brother, may thy mantle rest 
 
 Upon the youthful prophets of our God. 
 Farewell. — Now rest, amid the blessed band, 
 
 With whom thou once didst worship here below, 
 And oft didst take sweet counsel. There are seals 
 
 Thy ministry attesting, and the crowns 
 Of thy rejoicing through eternal days. 
 
 There numbers beyond number of the sav'd 
 Together sing Redemption's endless song." 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 His general character. 
 INTELLECTUAL CHARACTER. 
 
 Dr. Nettleton possessed a clear, vigorous and discrim- 
 inating mind — a mind adapted to investigation, and well dis- 
 ciplined by study. The course of his life, particularly in the 
 first years of his ministry, was such as to prevent him from 
 cultivating a very extensive acquaintance with books. But 
 his mind was ever active, and constantly engaged in search 
 of truth. Amid his abundant labors, he found some time for 
 reading ; and the books which he read, were well selected, 
 and thoroughly studied. He made no pretensions to great 
 scientific attainments, nor to any very extensive acquaintance 
 with general literature ; but his mind was well stored with 
 biblical and theological knowledge. Few men ever possess- 
 ed a more thorough acquaintance with the Bible, or were 
 capable of expounding it in a more interesting manner. 
 During his last protracted illness, it was a feast to sit by his* 
 bed-side and hear him open the scriptures. His expositions 
 were so clear and natural, and were enlivened by such vivid 
 and striking illustrations, and interspersed with such weighty 
 practical remarks, as to render them not only exceedingly 
 entertaining, but in a high degree edifying. 
 
 Dr. Nettleton was a profound divine ; and in every species 
 of theological discussion he was perfectly at home. With 
 27 
 
314 MEMOIR OP 
 
 the common objections and cavils against the doctrines of the 
 gospel, he was very familiar ; and for skill in stopping the 
 mouths of gainsayers, and in speaking a word in season to 
 persons of every description, he was highly distinguished. 
 
 A few anecdotes in illustration of this remark, will be here 
 inserted. 
 
 Being accosted by a Universalist, who wished to engage in 
 a discussion on the doctrine of future punishment, he said to 
 him, " I will not enter into any dispute with you at present ; 
 but I should be pleased to have you state to me your views, 
 that I may have them to think of." The man accordingly 
 informed him, that in his opinion mankind received all their 
 punishment in this life, and that all would be happy after death. 
 Dr. Nettleton then asked him to explain certain passages of 
 scripture, such as the account of a future judgment in the xxv. 
 chapter of Matthew, and some others ; merely suggesting dif- 
 ficulties for him to solve, without calling in question any of 
 his positions. After taxing his ingenuity for some time in 
 this way, and thus giving him opportunity to perceive the 
 difficulty of reconciling his doctrine with the language of 
 inspiration ; he said to him, " you believe, I presume, the 
 account given by Moses of the deluge, and of the destruction 
 of Sodom and Gomorrah." " Certainly," he replied. 
 
 "It seems, then," said Dr. Nettleton, "that the world became 
 exceeding corrupt, and God determined to destroy it by a 
 deluge of water. He revealed his purpose to Noah, and 
 directed him to prepare an ark in which he and his family 
 might be saved. Noah believed God, and prepared the ark. 
 Meanwhile he was a preacher of righteousness. He warned 
 the wicked around him of their danger, and exhorted them to 
 prepare to meet their God. But his warnings were disre- 
 garded. They doubtless flattered themselves that God was 
 too good a being thus to destroy his creatures. But notwith- 
 standing their unbelief, the flood came, and if your doctrine is 
 true, swept them all up to heaven. And what became of Noah, 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 315 
 
 that faithful servant of God? He was tossed to and frc 
 on the waters, and was doomed to trials and sufferings for 
 three hundred and fifty years longer, in this evil world ; 
 whereas, if he had been wicked enough, he might have gone 
 to heaven with the rest. 
 
 " And there were the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which 
 had become so corrupt, that God determined to destroy them 
 by a tempest of fire. He revealed his purpose to Lot, and 
 directed him and his family to make their escape. ' And Lot 
 went out and spake to his sons-in-law, saying, Up ! get ye out 
 of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city. But he 
 seemed as one that mocked to his sons-in-law.' They did 
 not believe that any such doom was impending. They doubt- 
 less flattered themselves that God was too good a being to 
 burn up his creatures. But no sooner had Lot made his escape, 
 than it rained fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heaven, 
 and they all, it seems, ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire ; 
 while pious Lot was left to wander in the mountains, and to 
 suffer many grievous afflictions in this vale of tears ; whereas, 
 if he had been wicked enough, he might have gone to heaven 
 with the rest." After making this statement, he requested 
 the man to reflect on these things, and bade him an affection- 
 ate adieu. 
 
 A Restorationist once attacked him, and quoted these words 
 of the Apostle Peter in support of his doctrine. " By which 
 also he went and preached to the spirits in prison." Dr. 
 Nettleton observed to him, that the time was specified in the 
 next verse, when Christ preached to these spirits in prison. 
 It was, " when once the long suffering of God waited in the 
 days of Noah. It was by his spirit which dwelt in Noah, 
 that he preached to those who are now spirits in prison." 
 " No," said the man, " that cannot be the meaning of the pas- 
 sage. The meaning is, that Christ, after his crucifixion, went 
 down to hell and preached to the spirits in prison." " Be it 
 so," said Dr. Nettleton, " what did he preach ?" " I do not 
 
316 MEMOIR OF 
 
 know," he replied, " but I suppose He preached the gospel." 
 " Do you think, said Dr. Nettleton that he preached to them 
 any thing different from what he preached on earth V " Cer- 
 tainly not," said he. " Well," said Dr. Nettleton, " when 
 Christ was on the earth he told sinners, that if they should be 
 cast into prison, they should not come out thence, till they 
 had paid the uttermost farthing. If he went down to hell to 
 preach to the lost spirits there, he doubtless told them, you 
 must remain here, till you have suffered all that your sins 
 leserve. What influence, then, would his preaching have 
 towards releasing them from the place of torment V 
 
 An Antinomian complained to him, that ministers dwelt so 
 much, in their preaching, on the demands of the law. 
 
 Etlievers," said he, " are not under law, but under grace." 
 
 Is it not the duty of believers," said Dr. Nettleton, " to 
 repent ?" " Certainly," he replied. " Of what is it their duty 
 to repent 1" said Dr. Nettleton. The man saw at once the 
 precipice before him. If he said, of sin, he perceived that 
 the next question would be, what is sin but a transgression of 
 the law ? and if believers are not under obligations to obey the 
 law, what can there be for them to repent of ? 
 
 This is a specimen of the manner in which he often demol- 
 ished, at a stroke, the errors of men, and caused the light of 
 truth to flash instant conviction on their minds. 
 
 Falling in company with a violent opposer of religion, who 
 professed to be a Universalist, and who also denied the inspi- 
 ration of the scriptures, he said to him, " I will not dispute 
 with you ; but I presume I can tell you how you came to 
 adopt your present sentiments. I suspect you have seen the 
 time when the Spirit of God was striving with you — when vou 
 felt that you was a sinner, and that you must repent or perish. 
 But your wicked heart resisted these convictions. You loved 
 your sins, and was unwilling to renounce them. Your con- 
 science told you that you must pray, or you would be lost ; but 
 vour heart replied, I will not pray, nor will I be lost. Hence 
 
DE. NETTLETON. 317 
 
 you undertook to convince yourself that God will not punish 
 the wicked. But I do not think you have yet quite silenced 
 your conscience. You still have some forebodings of future 
 misery. You are sometimes afraid, at least, that the Bible is 
 true, and that there is a day of judgment, and a world of wo. 
 But if you wish entirely to silence your conscience, you are 
 in a fair way to do it. Continue to flatter yourself, and to 
 resist the truth, and God will help you to succeed. Thus it 
 is written, ' For this cause God shall send them strong delu- 
 sion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be 
 damned, who received not the love of the truth, but had 
 pleasure in unrighteousness.' " 
 
 This address proved an arrow in the man's heart. He saw 
 himself to be a lost sinner, and soon became a hopeful subject 
 of renewing grace. 
 
 A caviler once said to him, " how came I by my wicked 
 heart ?" " That is a question," said he, " which does not so 
 much concern you as another, viz : how you shall get rid of 
 your wicked heart. You have a wicked heart, which renders 
 you entirely unfit for the kingdom of God, and you must have 
 a new heart, or you cannot be saved ; and the question which 
 now most deeply concerns you, is, how you shall obtain it." 
 " But," said the man, " I wish you to tell me how I came by 
 my wicked heart." " I shall not undertake to do that at pres- 
 ent," said Dr. Nettleton ; " for if I could do it to your entire 
 satisfaction, it would not help you in the least towards obtaining 
 a new heart. The great thing for which I am solicitous, is, 
 that you should become a new creature and be prepared for 
 heaven." As the man manifested no wish to hear any thing 
 on that subject, but still pressed the question how he came by 
 his wicked heart, Dr. Nettleton told him that his condition 
 resembled that of a man who is drowning, while his friends 
 are attempting to save his life. As he rises to the surface" of 
 the water, he exclaims, " how came I here 1" " That ques- 
 tion," says one of his friends, " does not concern you now. 
 27* 
 
318 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Take hold of this rope." " But how came I here V he 
 exclaims again. " I shall not stop to answer that question 
 now,'' says his friend. " Then I'll drown," replies the infat- 
 uated man, and spurning all proffered aid, sinks to the bottom. 
 
 A stupid, worldly man once said to him, " you know, Mr. 
 Nettleton, that when we would do good, evil is present with 
 us.'' " Yes," he replied, " and that is a bad case ; but it is 
 worse, when we would not do good, and evil is present 
 with us." 
 
 A man once asked him, " how shall I get a disposition to 
 pray 1" " I wish to know, in the first place," he replied, 
 " whether you are sincere in asking the question ; for if you 
 are not, it will be of no use for me to answer it, because you 
 will not follow my directions." " I am sincere," said the man ; 
 " I really wish to know how I can get a disposition to pray." 
 " It seems, then," said Dr. Nettleton, " that you have already 
 got a disposition to get a disposition to pray. How did you 
 get that. And why is it not just as easy to have a disposition 
 to pray, as to have a disposition to get a disposition to pray !" 
 In this way he showed the man that he deceived himself in 
 supposing that he was sincere in asking the question. 
 
 A young female, who had been for some time in a state of 
 religious anxiety, said to him, "what do you think of the doc- 
 trine of election 1 Some say it is true, and some say it is not 
 true, and I do not know what to think of it." " And what do 
 you wish to think of it?" said Dr. Nettleton. " I wish," said 
 she, " to think that it is not true." " Suppose then," said Dr. 
 Nettleton, " that it is not true. The doctrine of repentance is 
 true. You must repent or perish. Now if the doctrine of 
 election is not true, what reason have you to believe you ever 
 shall repent 1" After a moment's reflection, she replied, " if 
 the doctrine of election is not true, I never shall repent." 
 Her eyes were then opened upon her true condition. Every 
 refuge failed her. She saw that she was entirely dependent 
 on the sovereign grace of God ; and there is reason to believe 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 319 
 
 she was soon brought out of darkness into God's marvelous 
 light. 
 
 A certain individual said to him, " I cannot get along with 
 the doctrine of election." " Then," said he, " get along with- 
 out it. You are at liberty to get to heaven the easiest way 
 you can. Whether the doctrine of election is true or not, it 
 is true that you must repent and believe, and love God. Now 
 what we tell you, is, that such is the wickedness of your 
 heart, that you never will do these things, unless God has 
 determined to renew your heart. If you do not believe that 
 your heart is so wicked, make it manifest by complying with 
 the terms of salvation. Why do you stand caviling with the 
 doctrine of election 1 Suppose you should prove it to be 
 false ; what have you gained 1 You must repent and believe 
 in Christ after all. Why do you not immediately comply with 
 these terms of the gospel 1 When you have done this, with- 
 out the aids of divine grace, it will be soon enough to oppose 
 the doctrine of election. Until you shall have done this, we 
 shall still believe that the doctrine of election lies at the foun- 
 dation of all hope in your case." 
 
 A woman, who was known to be a great opposer of the 
 doctrine of election, said to him one day, "you talked to me 
 yesterday, as if you thought I could repent." " And can you 
 not?" said he. " No, I cannot, unless God shall change my 
 heart." " Do you really believe," said he, " that you cannot 
 repent, unless God has determined to change your heart V 
 " I do," said she. " Why madam," said he, " you hold to 
 the doctrine of election in a stricter sense than I do. I 
 should prefer to say, not that you cannot, but that you never 
 viill repent, unless God has determined to change your heart." 
 
 To a young woman who had long been thoughtful, but not 
 deeply impressed, and who seemed to continue from week to 
 week in the same state of mind, he said one day, " there are 
 some who never will become true believers. Christ said unto 
 the Jews, ' ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep.' 
 
320 MEMOIR OP 
 
 Perhaps this is your case : and I tell you now, that if you are 
 not one of Christ's sheep, you never will believe on him, and 
 I hope it will ring in your eats." And it did ring in her ears. 
 From that moment, she found no peace, till, as she hoped, her 
 peace was made with God. 
 
 A young female, who had been for some time under dis- 
 tress of mind, said to him one day, " I know not what to do 
 next." " Next !" he replied, " Next to what !" She instant- 
 ly saw the worthlessness of all her prayers and strivings, and 
 replied, " Next to nothing." 
 
 To a man, who manifested great opposition to the doctrine 
 of election, he once said, " If 1 should go to heaven, I feel as 
 if I should wish to say in the language of the apostle, ' who 
 hath saved us and called us with an holy calling ; not accord- 
 ing to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, 
 which were given us in Christ Jesus, before the world began.' 
 Now, if we should meet in heaven, and I should make use of 
 this language, will you quarrel with me there V 
 
 " Do you believe," said an Arminian to him one day, " that 
 God influences the will 1" " I do," he replied. " How do 
 you projip' it ?" " I prove it by this passage of scripture. 
 ' For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do.' " 
 " But that does not mean," said the Arminian, " that God 
 influences the will, and now how do you prove it ?" " I prove 
 it," said Dr. Nettleton, " by this passage, ' For it is God that 
 worketh in you both to will and to do.' " " But that, I say, 
 does not mean that God influences the will." " And what 
 does it mean?" said Dr. Nettleton. "It means," said the Ar- 
 minian, " that God gives us a gracious power to will and to 
 do." " Then it does not mean," said Dr. Nettleton, " thai 
 God works in us to will and to do !" 
 
 In one place, where he was laboring in an interesting revi- 
 val of religion, there was a man of considerable influence, who 
 was a member of the church ; but whose principles and prac- 
 tice were a great reproach to religion. He opposed all 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 321 
 
 religious meetings, except on the Sabbath. At the same time, 
 he made no objection to bails and parties of pleasure, but 
 encouraged his children to attend them. Two of his daugh- 
 ters, one evening, without his knowledge, went to hear Dr. 
 Nettleton preach. Finding that they had gone, he repaired to 
 the place, and interrupted the meeting by ordering his daugh- 
 ters to return immediately home. Then addressing the preach- 
 er, he said, " Mr. Nettleton, will you call and see me to-mor- 
 row morning at 9 o'clock V " I will, sir," he replied. Ac- 
 cordingly at the time proposed, he was at the house. " Mr. 
 Nettleton," said the man, " 1 do not approve of night meetings.'* 
 " Neither do I approve of balls," said Dr. Nettleton, " I think 
 their influence upon young people is bad." " I do not approve 
 of such meetings as yours," said he. " Oh !" said Dr. Net- 
 tleton, " it is to religious meetings that you object, when people 
 meet together to worship God. If I understand you, you feel 
 no opposition to meetings of young people for amusement, if 
 they are held in the night, and continue all night. Did you 
 ever take your children from the ball-room ?" " The com- 
 mand," said he, " is six days shalt thou labor." " Did you 
 ever quote that command," said Dr. Nettleton, " to prove that 
 it is wrong to attend balls, and parties of pleasure ?" 
 
 Then assuming a solemn and affectionate mode of address, 
 he said to the man, " my dear sir, you are a member of the 
 church, but you must not wonder if you are regarded by vour 
 acquaintance, as in heart, the enemy of religion, unless you 
 pursue a more consistent course of conduct. While you up- 
 hold balls, and oppose meetings for religious worship, you 
 will find it difficult to make any body believe that you have 
 the least regard for the religion which you profess." This 
 address brought tears into the man's eyes, and whatever may 
 have been his feelings, there was after this, a decided change 
 in his outward deportment. He suffered his children to 
 attend religious meetings ; nor do I know that he ever after- 
 wards openly opposed them. 
 
322 MEMOIR Of 
 
 He once fell in company with two men who were disputing 
 on the doctrine of the saints' perseverance. As he came into 
 their presence, one of them said, " I believe this doctrine has 
 been the means of filling hell with christians." " Sir," said 
 Dr. Nettleton, " do you believe that God knows all things V 
 " Certainly I do," said he. " How, then, do you interpret 
 this text ? ' I never knew you,' " said Dr. Nettleton. After 
 reflecting a moment, he replied, " the meaning must be, I 
 never knew you as christians." " Is that the meaning?" said 
 Dr. Nettleton. " Yes, it must be," he replied, " for certainly 
 God knows all things." " Well," said Dr. Nettleton, " I pre- 
 sume you are right. Now this is what our Saviour will say 
 to those, who at the last day, shall say to him, Lord, Lord, 
 have we not eaten and drunken in thy presence, &c. Now, 
 when Saul, and Judas, and Hymeneus, and Philetus, and De- 
 mas, and all who, you suppose, have fallen from grace, shall 
 say to Christ, Lord, Lord ; he will say to them, I never knew 
 you — I never knew you as christians. Where then are the 
 christians that are going to hell V 
 
 Said an individual to him, " do you believe in the doctrine 
 of the saints' perseverance V " It is my opinion," he replied, 
 "that that doctrine is taught in the Bible." "I should like 
 then," said the individual, " to have you explain this passage, 
 Ezek. xviii. 24. ' When the righteous turneth away from his 
 righteousness and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to 
 all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live ? 
 All the righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentionad ; 
 in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he 
 hath sinned, in them shall he die.' " 
 
 Said Dr. Nettleton, " you have imposed upon me a hard 
 task. That is a difficult text to explain ; and what renders it 
 the more difficult, is, that the commentators are not agreed as 
 to its meaning. Some have supposed, that by a righteous 
 man, in this passage, is meant a self-righteous man." " I do 
 not believe that," said the individual. " Neither do I, " said 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 323 
 
 Nettleton, " for in that case, it would seem to teach that if a 
 self-righteous man should persevere in his self-righteousness, 
 he would be saved. Some have supposed, that by a righteous 
 man is meant one who is apparently righteous." " I do not 
 believe that," said the individual. " Neither do I," said Dr. 
 Nettleton, " for in that case, the text would seem to teach, 
 that if a hypocrite should persevere in his hypocrisy, he 
 would be saved. You suppose, do you not, that by a right- 
 eous man in this passage, is meant a true saint I" " Certain- 
 ly, I do." " And you suppose that by a righteous man's turn- 
 ing away from his righteousness, is meant falling away, as 
 David did, and as Peter did ?" " Certainly." " And you be- 
 lieve that David and Peter are now in hell ?" " No, by no 
 means. David and Peter repented and were restored to the 
 favor of God." " But," said Dr. Nettleton, " when the right- 
 eous turneth from his righteousness — in his trespass that he 
 hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them 
 shall he die — in them shall he die. Now if David and 
 Peter did turn from their righteousness in the sense of this 
 passage, how can we possibly believe that they were saved V 
 The individual now found the laboring oar in his own hands ; 
 and after attempting for some time unsuccessfully to explain 
 the difficulty in which he found his own doctrine involved, 
 Dr. Nettleton said to him, " if there is any difficulty in ex- 
 plaining this text of scripture, I do not see but you are quite 
 as much troubled with it as I am." 
 
 A man once said to him, " I sincerely desire to be a chris- 
 tian. I have often gone to the house of God, hoping that 
 something which should be said, might be set home upon my 
 mind by the spirit of God, and be blessed to my salvation." 
 " You are willing, then, are you not," said Dr. Nettleton, 
 " that I should converse with you, hoping that my conversa- 
 tion may be the means of your conversion V " I am,'' he 
 replied. "If you are willing to be a christian," said Dr. Net- 
 tleton, " you are willing to perform the duties of religion ; for 
 
324 MEMOIR OF 
 
 this is what is implied in being a christian. .Are you willing 
 to perform these duties 1" " I do not know but I am." " You 
 are the head of a family. One of the duties of religion is 
 family prayer. Are you willing to pray in your family 1" " I 
 should be," he replied, " if I were a christian. But it canno 
 be the duty of such a man as I am, to pray. The prayers o 
 the wicked are an abomination unto the Lord." "And is i 
 not," said Dr. Nettleton, " an abomination unto the Lord, to 
 live without prayer 1 But just let me show you how you de- 
 ceive yourself. You think you really desire to be converted. 
 But you are not willing even to be convicted. Just as soon 
 as I mention a duty which you are neglecting, you begin to 
 excuse and justify yourself, on purpose to keep your sin out 
 of sight. You are not willing to see that it is a heinous sin to 
 live in the neglect of family prayer. How can you expect to 
 be brought to repentance, until you are willing to see your 
 sinfulness 1 And how can you flatter yourself that you really 
 desire to be a, christian, while you thus close your eyes 
 against the truth V 
 
 A young lady, who was under concern of mind, said to him, 
 " I certainly do desire to be a christian. I desire to be holy. 
 I would give all the world for an interest in Christ.'' He 
 replied, " what you say, will not bear examination. If you 
 really desire religion for what it is, there is nothing to hinder 
 you from possessing it. I can make a representation which 
 will show you your heart, if you are willing to see it." " I 
 am," said she. " It will look very bad," said he, " but if you 
 are willing to see it, I will make the representation. Suppose 
 you were a young lady of fortune ; — and suppose a certain 
 young man should desire to obtain your fortune, and should 
 for that reason, conclude to pay his addresses to you. But he 
 does not happen to be pleased with your person. He does 
 not love you, but hates you. And suppose he should come 
 to you, and say, I really wish I could love you, but I do not. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 325 
 
 I would give all the world if I could love you, but I cannot. 
 What would you think of that young man ? " 
 
 A person once said in his presence, that to inculcate upon 
 sinners their dependence on God for a new heart, is suited to 
 discourage effort, and to lead them to sit down in despair. He 
 replied, " the very reverse of this is true. Suppose a number 
 of men are locked up in a room, playing cards. Some person 
 informs them that the roof of the building is on fire, and that 
 they must make their escape, or they will perish in the flames. 
 Says one of them, ' we need not be in haste, we shall have 
 time to finish the game.' ' But,' says the person who gave 
 the alarm, ' your door is locked.' ' No matter for that,' he 
 replies ; ' I have the key in my pocket, and can open it at 
 any moment,' ' But I tell you, that key will not open the 
 door.' ' Won't it V he exclaims ; and rising from the table, 
 flies to the door, and exerts himself to the utmost to open it. 
 So sinners, while they believe that there is no difficulty in 
 securing their salvation at any moment, quiet their conscien- 
 ces, and silence their fears. But when they are taught that 
 such is the wickedness of their hearts, that they never will 
 repent, unless God interposes by his regenerating grace ; they 
 are alarmed, and begin to inquire, in deep distress, what they 
 shall do to be saved." 
 
 A young man of liberal education, and of a clear and vig- 
 orous mind, having just read Edwards' Treatise on the Will, 
 said to him, " the reasoning is conclusive. It is impossible 
 to controvert it. It amounts to absolute demonstration." To 
 which he assented. " Then," said the young man, " I am not 
 a free agent, and am not accountable for my conduct." " That 
 does not follow," said Dr. Nettleton. " I admit your prem- 
 ises, but I deny your conclusions ; and moreover, you do not 
 believe it yourself. If you did, you would not fear to blas- 
 pheme your Maker. But you dare not do it. You know you 
 are a free and accountable agent." 
 
 To a young man, who professed to be an atheist, he said, 
 28 
 
326 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " you are not so sure as you pretend to be, that there is no 
 God. You dare not go alone, and kneel down, and in a sol- 
 emn manner offer a prayer. If there is no God, you will 
 incur no danger by so doing ; and yet you dare not do it. This 
 shows that you are afraid that there is a God, who cannot be 
 deceived, and who will not be mocked." 
 
 In conversing with opposers of religion, while he was very 
 plain and faithful, he was never harsh in his manner ; but 
 always kind and affectionate, in obedience to the divine injunc- 
 tion, "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves ; 
 if peradventure, God will give them repentance to the ac- 
 knowledging of the truth.'' And not a few of the open enemies 
 of religion, were through his instrumentality hopefully con- 
 verted to Christ. 
 
 CHARACTER AS A PREACHER. 
 
 The preaching of Dr. Nettleton was, for the most part, 
 extemporaneous. He rarely had any manuscript before him, 
 unless it were a very brief outline of his discourse. He was 
 compelled to adopt this course, from the circumstances in 
 which he was placed. Laboring almost constantly in revivals 
 of religion, his time was so much occupied in attending reli- 
 gious meetings, and in conversing with individuals in private, 
 that he found it impossible to write his sermons. After he 
 had preached a short time, his mind was exceedingly tried on 
 this subject ; and he seriously deliberated on the question, 
 whether it was not his duty to remit some of his other labors, 
 that he might devote more of his time to study, and partic- 
 ularly to writing. But after having prayerfully considered the 
 subject, and taken counsel of his brethren in the ministry, he 
 came to the conclusion, that it was his duty to persevere in 
 that course, which God was crowning with such signal 
 success. 
 
 But notwithstanding these disadvantages, he was an instruc- 
 tive preacher. Although he preached principally without wri- 
 
DR. NETTLETON, 327 
 
 ting, he did not preach without study. He bestowed much 
 thought on his sermons. They were rich in matter ; and 
 although they were so plain as to be easily understood by the 
 most illiterate, they were interesting and instructive to persons 
 of the most cultivated intellect. He investigated subjects 
 thoroughly, and exhibited the result of his investigations with 
 a clearness and force rarely, if ever, equaled. The remark 
 of a plain man, after having listened to one of his discourses, 
 will give some idea of the character of his preaching. " While 
 he was speaking,'' said he, " a stream of light went right 
 through me.'' 
 
 He was a doctrinal preacher. — It was his opinion that a 
 belief of the fundamental doctrines of the gospel, is the basis 
 of all genuine religious experience. He was aware that there 
 might be religious excitement, and much religious zeal, where 
 these doctrines are discarded, and even opposed ; but he had 
 no confidence in such excitements. He had learned from his 
 own observation and experience, that the preaching of these 
 doctrines is suited to promote genuine revivals of religion ; 
 and that revivals, where they are not faithfully preached, are 
 apt to run into the wildest fanaticism. He believed that faith- 
 ful, judicious doctrinal preaching, is adapted to humble saints, 
 and excite them to fervent prayer, and the diligent discharge 
 of their various duties ; and at the same time, to produce con- 
 viction in the consciences of sinners, to destroy their self- 
 righteous hopes, and to bring them to the foot of the cross. 
 He had no fears that the doctrines of grace, when clearly ex- 
 plained, and properly exhibited, would paralyze effort, and 
 encourage sloth and spiritual apathy. He had abundant proof 
 continually before his eyes, of a directly contrary effect. These 
 doctrines, in his hands, were the sword of the spirit, and the 
 power of God unto salvation. 
 
 But while he was pre-eminently a doctrinal preacher, he 
 was at the same time, 
 
 A practical preacher. — He preached the doctrines practi- 
 
328 
 
 MEMOIR O F 
 
 cally. While he explained them and rescued them from the 
 misrepresentations of cavilers and errorists, and enforced them 
 by irresistible arguments, he never preached them as matters 
 of mere speculation ; but always, as truths of everlasting mo- 
 ment. He applied them to the hearts and consciences of his 
 hearers, as subjects in which they had a personal and infinite 
 interest. He set no value upon a mere speculative faith. Ho 
 was aware that men may hold the truth in unrighteousness ; 
 and while 'he strenuously insisted on the great Protestant 
 doctrine of justification by faith, he as strenuously insisted on 
 the necessity of a living faith, which worketh by love, and 
 purifieth the heart, and manifests itself in a life of holy 
 obedience. 
 
 He was a wise preacher. — Wise in the selection of his topics, 
 and in his mode of discussing them ; but especially in adapt- 
 ing his discourses to the state and circumstances of his hear- 
 ers. In this respect, he was particularly distinguished. When 
 he commenced laboring in a place, he very soon ascertained 
 the state of the people, and what kind of instruction was suited 
 to their condition. If they had previously had an undue pro- 
 portion of doctrinal preaching, and were beginning to pervert 
 the doctrines by contemplating them in such a light as to fur- 
 nish them with an excuse for the neglect of duty ; he found it 
 necessary to press upon the consciences of sinners their obli- 
 gations, and to urge the duty of immediate repentance. Where 
 the previous instruction had been of an opposite character, he 
 found it necessary to dwell much on the doctrine of regen- 
 eration, and other kindred topics. This is what, in familiar 
 language, he called " cross-ploughing ;" and he uniformly 
 found it to produce the desired effect. During the progress of 
 a revival, he always seemed to know what was needed at 
 every particular crisis, and all his discourses were admirably 
 timed. 
 
 He was a plain preacher. — By this I mean, that he exhibited 
 the truth with remarkable clearness, so that every body could 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 329 
 
 understand it, ; and with such force of reasoning, that it could 
 not easily be resisted. Although ho possessed a strong and 
 discriminating mind, and was somewhat fond of metaphysical 
 discussion ; yet he rarely introduced abstract and metaphys- 
 ical reasoning into the pulpit. His reasoning was of the 
 rhetorical kind, which, often at a stroke, carried overpower- 
 ing conviction to the mind. It was said by one who was well 
 acquainted with his mode of illustrating and enforcing divine 
 truth, " He is always unanswerable." And it was even so. 
 What he undertook to establish, seemed to be settled beyond 
 controversy. And it was done in so simple and easy a man- 
 ner, as to cause the hearer to wonder that he had never seen 
 it thus before. 
 
 He was a solemn preacher. — He carefully avoided in the 
 pulpit, witticisms, ludicrous comparisons, and every thing 
 suited to produce levity. He felt that he was standing in the 
 presence of God, and addressing immortal beings on subjects 
 of infinite moment. He had a higher object than to amuse his 
 hearers, who were slumbering on the brink of eternal perdition. 
 His heart yearned with compassion for them, and his object 
 was to impress upon their minds a sense of their lost condi- 
 tion. The great realities of eternity were before his mind. 
 He of course felt solemn. It was not affectation, but a reality. 
 He had no sanctimonious tone. His manner was simple and 
 unaffected. His articulation and emphasis were natural, and 
 the deep bass tones of his voice were sometimes peculiarly 
 solemn and impressive. Under his preaching, an awful so- 
 lemnity usually pervaded the assembly. No one, unless it 
 were some bold blasphemer, was disposed to trifle. Such 
 were the manifest tokens of the presence of God, that the 
 minds of the people were filled with awe, and the breathless 
 silence was broken only by the occasional sighs and sobs of 
 anxious souls. 
 
 He was a faithful preacher.— Few men ever had a more 
 vivid sense of the responsibility connected with the sacred 
 28* 
 
330 MEMOIR OF 
 
 office ; or were enabled more successfully to resist the various 
 temptations to unfaithfulness. He was, in an unusual degree, 
 raised above the fear of man. He made it his object 'o 
 please, not men, but God, who trieth our hearts ; and no 
 earthly consideration could induce him to keep back what he 
 believed it to be his duty to preach. Still, he was never harsh 
 and denunciatory; but always kind and affectionate. He 
 never made it his object to give offence, but always to com- 
 mend himself to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 
 His heart glowed with love to souls, and it was his grea* 
 desire to be instrumental in their salvation. And for this pur- 
 pose, he set before them with great plainness their sin and 
 danger, and solemnly and affectionately warned them to flee 
 from the wrath to come. 
 
 The following conclusion of a sermon on the divine law, 
 may serve as a specimen of his faithfulness in applying divine 
 truth to the consciences of his hearers. 
 
 " But what must be the state of every sinner out of Christ ? 
 Sinner, in what court will you plead 1 At the tribunal of jus- 
 tice, or of mercy 1 It is with the kindest intention that you 
 are now called upon to hear, that the sentence of eternal death 
 is pronounced upon you, and that this sentence is holy, just, 
 and good. Let the miseries of this life — let the messenger 
 of death, and the dark world of wo, rise up to your view and 
 testify how awful is that law which condemns you. To vin- 
 dicate the honor of this broken law, everlasting fire is pre- 
 pared for the devil and his angels. Here they dwell in endless 
 torments. These, O, sinner, were once angels of light, and 
 dwelt in the presence of God. But how are they fallen, no 
 more to rise ! They sinned against that God, whose law now 
 condemns you. ' The inhabitants of the old world, and of 
 Sodom, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance 
 of eternal fire.' 
 
 " Out of Christ, you are condemned already, and the wrath 
 of God abideth on you. Out of Christ, all your actions hith- 
 
Dll. NETTLETON. 331 
 
 erto, are scanned by this perfect law, and not one sin is par- 
 doned. Out of Christ, you stand this moment in awful hazard 
 of losing your immortal soul, and suffering for every failure 
 of perfect obedience to this holy law. Out of Christ, nothing 
 but the mere mercy of that God, in whose hand is your life — 
 the mercy of Him, whom you are continually provoking by 
 your sins, this moment holds you from dropping into the flames 
 of hell. What then must be the weight of your guilt? If 
 one sin must send an angel of light into the bottomless pit — if 
 in consequence of Adam's sin, he too, with all his posterity, 
 might have been reserved in everlasting chains, under dark- 
 ness, without one offer of pardoning mercy ; what must be 
 your guilt, when every action is laid in the balance, and found 
 wanting ? Oh, that you might hear, and tremble ! When 
 God in awful majesty pronounced this law from Mount Sinai, 
 his voice then shook the earth, and they that heard entreated 
 that the word should not be spoken to them any more, for the 
 guilty world could not endure that 'which was commanded. 
 But this law still speaks, however deaf, and however careless 
 the sinner may be — this law still speaks, and proclaims ap- 
 proaching vengeance near. 
 
 " But stop. The uplifted arm of vengeance is yet stayed. 
 The collected wrath yet waits a moment. A voice from the 
 mercy-seat — a warning voice is heard. The Saviour calls. 
 Haste then, O sinner, haste to Christ, the only refuge from 
 the storm, and covert from the gathering tempest. Then safe 
 from the fear of evil, at a distance, you shall only hear the 
 thunders roll ; while pardon, peace, and eternal life are 
 yours."* 
 
 He was an animated preacher. — This would naturally be 
 inferred from the foregoing extract. He felt deeply the truths 
 
 * The following fact has been communicated to the biographer, since the 
 the publication of the first edition of this work. The sermon from which the 
 above extract is taken, was preached by Dr. Nettleton, in Edinburgh, while on 
 his visit to Scotland. It made a very powerful impression on the congregation. 
 
332 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 which he uttered, and aimed to impress them strongly on the 
 minds of his hearers. He was not boisterous or vehement ; 
 but there was an earnestness in his manner, which produced 
 the conviction in all who heard him, that what he said came 
 from the heart. He spake as a dying man to dying men. He 
 felt that he stood on the verge of eternity, and that he was 
 addressing immortal beings, to whom he must be a savor, 
 either of life unto life, or of death unto death. This charac- 
 teristic of his preaching is well described by Dr. Shepard, in 
 the extract given from his letter in a former chapter. 
 
 He was an eloquent preacher. — His, however, was not the 
 eloquence which dazzles by splendid diction, and graceful 
 delivery ; and which fills the hearers with admiration of the 
 brilliant talents of the preacher. It was the eloquence of 
 thought and feeling — eloquence which made the hearers forget 
 the preacher, in the all-absorbing interest which they felt in 
 the subject of his discourse. " If we were compelled," say 
 the Edinburgh Reviewers, " to give a brief definition of elo 
 quence, we should say, it was practical reasoning, animated 
 by strong emotion." It would be difficult to give a bettei 
 description of Dr. Nettleton's preaching, than that contained 
 in this definition. 
 
 His sermons, being mostly extemporaneous, were not, of 
 course, characterized by elegance of style. But they exhibited 
 a clearness, and force, and vivacity, which are seldom found 
 in the written discourses of the most celebrated preachers. 
 He was, it is true, generally diffuse, and sometimes repetitious. 
 He would frequently dwell upon a thought, and present it in 
 different aspects, for the purpose of impressing it more deeply 
 
 While he was speaking, a pious woman who sat in a remote part of the house, 
 was so affected that, leaving her seat and walking up in front of the pulpit, she 
 thus addressed the preacher. " Dear Sir, don't forget, that ' God so loved the 
 world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him might 
 not perish, but have everlasting life.' " 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 333 
 
 on the mind, and fixing it in the memory.* But he was never 
 tedious. He kept the attention of the audience riveted to the 
 subject. Every eye was fastened upon him, and the whole 
 assembly listened in breathless silence. 
 
 His elocution, though not the most graceful, was natural 
 and forcible. His voice was clear, and melodious, and under 
 complete command. His enunciation was distinct, and his 
 emphasis, as I have already remarked, was natural, and some- 
 times remarkably impressive. He was rather moderate and 
 slow in the commencement of his discourse ; but as he advan- 
 ced, he increased in fervor, till he reached, sometimes, the 
 highest pitch of eloquence. Not a few educated men, of 
 extensive acquaintance, and good taste, have pronounced his 
 preaching the best specimen of genuine eloquence which they 
 ever witnessed. If power to arrest and chain the attention of 
 large auditories for hours together, and to stir up the fountains 
 of deep feeling in the soul, is proof of eloquence, then surely 
 Dr. Nettleton was eloquent. 
 
 He was a successful preacher. — Soon after he began to 
 preach, his labors were crowned with signal success, and for 
 ten or eleven years he was almost constantly employed in 
 guiding inquiring souls to Christ. Few men have ever been 
 instrumental in the conversion of so many souls. Thousands 
 have acknowledged him as their spiritual father, who will, I 
 doubt not, be his joy and crown in the day of the Lord. 
 
 SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 Dr. Nettleton was never married. We cannot, of course, 
 contemplate him in the conjugal and parental relations. He 
 did not choose a life of celibacy, on account of disappoint- 
 
 * It was a remark of one who had often heard him preach, " He had the art of 
 repeating some short and striking sentence in a manner, and with an effect, 
 which no man could successfully imitate. It was like the repeated strokes of 
 the beetle, in the hand of a giant, upon the head of the wedge, driving it to the 
 very heart of the knotty oak." 
 
334 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ment, as some have supposed, or because lie had not a soul 
 formed for friendship ; but having devoted himself to a mis- 
 sionary life, soon after his conversion, he supposed it would 
 be necessary for him to remain single. Both he and Mills 
 entertained the opinion, that it would be inexpedient, if not 
 impracticable, to take wives with them on a foreign mission ; 
 and they entered into an agreement on their first acquaintance, 
 to hold themselves free from all matrimonial engagements. 
 Afterwards, the course of life pursued by Dr. Nettleton, was 
 such as to render it inconvenient, to say the least, to enter into 
 the family state. 
 
 But as I have said, he had a soul formed for friendship. He 
 possessed a mild and amiable disposition, and rendered him- 
 self exceedingly agreeable in the society of his friends. No 
 one could be long in his company without discovering the 
 kindness of his heart. He never put on a morose, austere, or 
 sanctimonious air. He was uniformly cheerful; but never 
 suffered his cheerfulness to degenerate into levity. His con- 
 versational powers were good, and were agreeably and use- 
 fully employed. He was very successful in his attempts to 
 interest young persons, and to secure their confidence and 
 esteem. He would address them with such kindness and 
 tenderness, and make his conversation so entertaining, as well 
 as instructive, that it could not fail to win their affection, and 
 cause them to take pleasure in his society. He was very 
 much in the habit of introducing poetry to enliven conversa- 
 tion, and give it a useful direction. In a circle of young per- 
 sons, he would often read some striking passage from Cowper, 
 or Milton, or Pollok, or Carlos Wilcox ; and after commenting 
 on the beauties of the poetry, he would in a natural and easy 
 way, lead their minds to the contemplation of some important 
 truth suggested by the passage. Many a, youth has in this 
 way had his attention first arrested to the great concerns of 
 eternity. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 335 
 
 HIS DISCRETION. 
 
 Dr. Nettleton was preeminently a wise man. This, I pre- 
 sume, no one will deny, who is intimately acquainted with his 
 history. In the whole course of his life, in matters of a public 
 or private nature, he exhibited an uncommon degree of discre- 
 tion. He took comprehensive views of things, and was able 
 beyond most men to discern their relations and tendencies, 
 and to trace actions into their ultimate results. Hence he 
 was able to see, at all times, what was required by the circum- 
 stances in which he was placed. He knew how to adapt 
 means to ends, and so judicious was he in the selection of his 
 means, that he seldom failed of accomplishing the ends which 
 he had in view. He engaged in no visionary projects. He 
 was not deficient in zeal ; but his was not the blind zeal 
 which leads to rash and headlong measures ; but it was a zeal 
 which is according to knowledge. A distinguished clergyman 
 who had been intimately acquainted with his history for seve- 
 ral years, and who had noticed with admiration the skill with 
 which he formed and executed his plans for doing good, 
 exclaimed, " he is the wisest man I ever knew." 
 
 Good is sometimes done at great expense. The indiscre- 
 tions of good men not unfrequently so mar their works of 
 benevolence, as to render it doubtful whether more good is 
 done than evil. As one remarks, " There are men in the 
 sacred office, so constitutionally indiscreet, that in whatever 
 they undertake, they will choose the wrong way, if there is 
 one. There always have been individuals rushing into the 
 office, who are lamentably deficient, both in native and acquired 
 powers, for the discharge of its duties. An illiterate man, if 
 he have good sense, and true humility, may do good in revi- 
 vals ; but if he is proud, and rash, and censorious, as well as 
 ignorant, he will probably do much more hurt than good ; 
 especially by revolting the sensibilities of intelligent men, who 
 
336 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 think that religion should promote sobriety, decorum, and an 
 amiable temper in its subjects." * 
 
 Many of the religious excitements which have occurred in 
 our country within the last twenty years, although they have 
 doubtless been the means of the salvation of some souls ; have 
 through injudicious management, resulted in incalculable evil. 
 Desolation has followed in their track. Churches have been 
 rent asunder. Pastors have been driven from their flocks. 
 Souls, in great numbers, there is reason to fear, have been 
 deluded with false and hypocritical hopes. Sinners have been 
 hardened in impenitence. Not a few have been confirmed in 
 infidelity ; and the very name of a revival has become a hiss- 
 ing and a by-word. But it was not so under the labors of Dr. 
 Nettleton. The good accomplished by his labors had no such 
 drawbacks. The revivals, under his preaching, as we have 
 seen, were remarkably pure. Those who were admitted to 
 the churches, for the most part, adorned their profession. In 
 those revivals, churches were built up, beautified, and strength- 
 ened. Pastors were more firmly seated in the affections of 
 their flocks ; and a benign influence was shed upon the sur- 
 rounding community. 
 
 When we consider the great evils which have been con- 
 nected with the labors of many modern evangelists, and con- 
 trast them with the immense, and almost unmingled good 
 accomplished by his labors, we are forcibly struck with the 
 wisdom of the man. 
 
 Dr. Nettleton was a wise counsellor. Many of his breth- 
 ren have felt and acknowledged their obligations to him for 
 salutary advice in difficult and trying circumstances ; and 
 have ascribed their own usefulness, in no small degree, to the 
 aid derived from his counsels. And while he was himself 
 an eminent example of discretion, he considered this a prime 
 qualification in a minister of Christ. When the Rev. Dr. Cor- 
 
 Dr. Porter's Letters on Revivals. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 337 
 
 nelius was Secretary of the American Education Society, he 
 submitted to Dr. Nettleton a list of qualifications to be pos- 
 sessed by those who should be encouraged to enter the min- 
 istry. It read thus. "1. Piety. 2. Talents. 3. Scholar- 
 ship. 4. Discretion," " Change the order,'' said he. "Put 
 discretion next to piety." 
 
 The following is an extract of a letter written to a theolo- 
 gical student in 1826. "It is very important to a young 
 preacher that he avoid a censorious spirit, and that he always 
 speak kindly to those who are held in reputation among 
 christians. If he labor among such, he had better forego the 
 prospect of doing present good, than to lose the confidence of 
 these men. I can think of times in the early part of my 
 ministry, when I had no doubt that a given course would be 
 blessed to the conversion of many souls. I might have been 
 mistaken. At any rate, acquiescence in the judgment of my 
 brethren would secure their confidence — and I have been 
 astonished to find them so generally willing to allow me to 
 adopt my own course. The truth is, all christians are im- 
 perfect ; and all our exertions to do good, are attended with 
 more or less imperfection. Good measures will be often 
 innocently opposed, for the want of experience only. The same 
 measures may be very good, or very bad in different places, 
 and under different circumstances. The question has often 
 been proposed in the public prints, ' What is the best mode of 
 dealing with anxious souls V Much may be said and written 
 to profit ; but after all, we might as well ask and answer the 
 question, ' What is the best method of treating all manner of 
 sicknesses and all manner of diseases among the people ?' 
 We may talk about the best means of doing good ; but after 
 all, the greatest difficulty lies in doing it with a proper spirit. 
 Speaking the truth in love. In meekness instructing those that 
 oppose themselves. With the meekness and gentleness of Christ. 
 I have known anxious sinners drop the subject of religion in 
 consequence of a preacher addressing them in an angry tone. 
 29 
 
338 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Mankind, it is true, will be sure to find fault with every thing 
 that awakens their fears ; but we should endeavor so to con- 
 duct, as to keep their consciences on our side in spite of all 
 their opposition. Take care and not give them just cause to 
 complain." 
 
 In a letter to the same individual, written in 1827, speaking 
 of the measures introduced in the western revivals, he says, 
 " It is said that God has blessed these measures to the con- 
 version of sinners. The same may be said of female preach- 
 ing ; and it may be asked in reference to that, ' How can that 
 be wrong which God has blessed to the conversion of a soul V 
 I answer, it is an acknowledged fact, that profane swearing, 
 opposition to revivals, mock conferences have all been over- 
 ruled to the conviction and conversion of sinners. And shall 
 we not encourage and defend these things ? The man who 
 defends the principle in question appears bad in argument and 
 worse in practice. 
 
 " There is, no doubt, a kind of prudence which has ruined 
 thousands forever. But the preacher who condemns prudence 
 in toto, will soon be forsaken by her inmate. Prov. viii. 12. 
 He may drive at the understandings and consciences of his 
 hearers with all his might, but there is a point of prudence 
 beyond which he cannot pass without losing his entire hold 
 on both. Zeal without prudence will defeat its own end. 
 Zeal untempered with love and compassion for souls,' will soon 
 degenerate into harshness and cruelty of manner and expres- 
 sion, which will have no other effect on an audience than 
 ranting and scolding, and even profane swearing. The result 
 in morals will be, what the children of this world denominate 
 ' penny- wise,' and ' pound-foolish.' It is like cutting off the 
 heads of hundreds, to save the life of one man." 
 
 HIS DISINTERESTEDNESS. 
 
 It has already been remarked, that during the ten years in 
 which he was laboring almost constantly in revivals, he 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 339 
 
 received as compensation, barely sufficient to defray his ex 
 penses. But he manifested no solicitude on that subject. At 
 a meeting of ministers on one occasion, when he was present 
 an allusion was made by some one to the scanty support which 
 he received — he replied, by simply repeating the following 
 passage of Scripture, Luke xxii. 35 — " When I sent you 
 without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing 1 
 And they said, nothing." 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Chapin, in a letter from which an extract has 
 been made in a former chapter, says, '' View him, likewise, 
 in relation to money. It is certainly difficult, probably impos- 
 sible, to find an active person more entirely free from an ava- 
 ricious craving after worldly property, than brother Nettleton 
 was while with us, and must indeed have previously been. 
 Rather, he manifested the most generous feelings. On find- 
 ing a serious person, though indigent, destitute of a Bible, or 
 psalm-book, or hymn-book, he would find means of supplying 
 the deficiency. He seemed not even to think of accumula- 
 ting property. It is believed that while among us, he did not 
 volunteer to mention such a subject. When questioned 
 touching bis property, as he was once, or perhaps, twice — 
 his answer was brief, that he was worth little or nothing. 
 The inquiry was immediately dropped. Not a particle of 
 solicitude or care on such a subject was manifested." 
 
 * * "In due time the book (his hymn-book) was 
 published. Here again, may be seen his pious indifference 
 to worldly wealth. Though he continued indigent, and 
 though he knew not whether the work would be acceptable 
 and find a demand in the market ; yet, supposing it possible 
 that the book might be worth somethimg beyond the cost of 
 publication, he made a donation of all the profits of the # first 
 edition to the A. B. C. F. M." The hymn-book had an exten- 
 sive sale, and became the source of a large income. " But," 
 adds Dr. Chapin, " who ever saw brother Nettleton elated by 
 this unexpected result. On the contrary, his disregard of 
 
340 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 worldly accumulation appears to have been in proportion to 
 his worldly success. His donations were now, like his 
 income, enlarged. With his habitual generosity, he remem- 
 bered those whom he pleasantly called his poets. Those, too, 
 were not forgotten, whom he accounted assistants in the pre- 
 paration of his book. While in Europe, he made another 
 handsome donation to the A. B. C. F. M.* 
 
 " Be it now added, as the crowning proof of brother Net- 
 tleton's comparative indifference for money, that he gave a 
 noble portion of the income derived from his book, to a The- 
 ological Institution. Beyond question, this finishing act of 
 his refined benevolence, enlarged, and expansive in the ratio 
 of his augmented means, emanated from the same disinterest- 
 ed love of souls, and Christ, and salvation by grace, which 
 moved him to study and labor so untiringly for the promotion 
 of pure revivals." 
 
 RELIGIOUS CHARACTER. 
 
 That Dr. Nettleton was a man of more than ordinary piety, 
 will be evident to all who have attentively perused the fore- 
 going account of his life. His piety was deep, steady, ope- 
 rative, and consistent. " It was not a flame that dazzled for 
 a moment, and then flickered and died away." Nor was it 
 subject to those alternations of feeling, which are sometimes 
 witnessed in emimently good men. Some seem to be always 
 in the possession of great spiritual enjoyment, or ki the hor- 
 rors of thick darkness. Dr. Nettleton's feelings were more 
 uniform. He seems never to have been greatly elated, nor 
 deeply depressed ; but to have maintained generally a calm 
 and peaceful frame of mind. 
 
 " His piety was consistent. There was a beautiful sym- 
 metry in his christian character. The various graces of the 
 Spirit were harmoniously blended, and exhibited, each in its 
 
 *$500. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 341 
 
 proper place, and in its due proportion. It is the nature of 
 false religion to be deformed ; and characteristic of all hypo- 
 crites, that they strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. But 
 the christian character of Dr. Nettleton was formed on prin- 
 ciples which enter into all the minutiee of a man's life. He 
 was not a stickler for some things, while negligent of others 
 equally important. He did not expend all his zeal in oppos- 
 ing certain sins, and manifest no opposition to others equally 
 heinous. He did not contend earnestly for the faith once 
 delivered to the saints, and neglect the practical duties of reli- 
 gion. He inculcated alike the doctrines and duties of Chris- 
 tianity, and bore testimony against all those sins by which 
 God is dishonored, and the souls of men are endangered. 
 
 He was a man of fixed religious principle, and great decision 
 of character. By this, is meant, not that he was self-willed, 
 and bigoted ; but that he conscientiously and steadily adhered 
 to what he believed to be right. His opinions were not form- 
 ed hastily, nor taken up upon credit, but were the result of 
 deliberate and prayerful examination ; and when formed, they 
 were rarely changed. He acted, not from passion, or any 
 sudden impulse of the moment, but from principle ; and could 
 not be induced to swerve from the path of duty, either by 
 flattery, or frowns, or any worldly motive. When entreated 
 by one in whom he had reposed great confidence, and whose 
 friendship he highly prized, to give up his opposition to certain 
 doctrines, which he believed to be erroneous, and of dangerous 
 tendency, he replied, " You might as well ask me to cut off my 
 conscience and throw it away." He was not influenced by 
 the principles and practices of others, any farther than he was 
 satisfied that they were conformed to the word of God. He 
 thought for himself, and formed his purposes in the fear of 
 God, and with reference to the final judgment. As was said 
 of another, " It was not enough for him, that others believed, 
 and allowed, and practiced ; — L i was not content till he saw 
 
 the reason, and his hands, as it were, handled the evidence 
 29* 
 
342 MEMOIR OF 
 
 This, with his love of truth, his reverence of the divine au- 
 thority, and his sense of obligation, guarded him against rash 
 conclusions, and led him cheerfully to renounce whatever he 
 found to be erroneous, and to adopt what he found to be in 
 accordance with the law and the testimony." 
 
 Humility — was a striking trait in the character of Dr. 
 Nettleton. When a young man, he read in an old book this 
 maxim : " Do all the good you can in the world, and make 
 as little noise about it as possible" This maxim had great 
 influence in the formation of his character. He treasured it 
 up in his memory, and believing it to be in accordance with 
 the precepts of the gospel, he made it a rule of conduct. 
 Hence every thing like ostentation, he abhorred. Few men 
 ever had greater temptations to the indulgence of pride. His 
 great popularity as a preacher, and the almost unparalleled 
 success which attended his labors, even while he was but a 
 youth, constituted a source of great danger. Many of his 
 fathers and brethren in the ministry trembled for him, lest he 
 should be lifted up with pride. But he seems to have been 
 remarkably delivered from the power of this temptation. Not- 
 withstanding his great popularity, he seems not to have been 
 elated. He was modest and unassuming, and always sensi- 
 ble that the success which attended his labors, was not owing 
 to any goodness in himself, but to the sovereign grace of 
 God. 
 
 He was well acquainted with the deceitfulness and wick- 
 edness of the human heart. He knew, of course, how to form 
 a just estimate of his own character. He knew that in the 
 sight of God he was vile, and like Job, he abhorred himself. 
 He was also sensible of his entire dependence on God, for 
 any measure of faithfulness which he might have exhibited 
 in his service, and for all the success which had attended his 
 labors. This truth he endeavored to keep constantly before 
 his mind — when speaking of the revivals, which occurred 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 343 
 
 under his preaching, he was careful to take no credit to him- 
 self, but to give the glory to God, to whom all glory is due. 
 He was aware of his danger ; and with much prayer and 
 watchfulness guarded against it. When once asked, what 
 he considered the best safeguard against spiritual pride, he 
 replied, " I know of nothing better than to keep my eye on my 
 great sinfulness." 
 
 Dr. Shepard, of Lenox, says, " He would not suffer any 
 one to commend his sermons, or any of his public performan- 
 ces, or to speak of the success of his labors, if he could pre- 
 vent it; and when any one attempted to praise him in view 
 of the good he had done, it seemed directly to fill his heart 
 with grief." 
 
 Mr. Cobb, of Taunton, also says, " He was remarkably free 
 from the love of applause. When any one spoke'to him of the 
 good he was doing, he would sometimes reply, ' we have no 
 time to talk about that.' And frequently I have known him to 
 turn pale and retire from the company, and prostrate himself 
 before God, as a great and unworthy sinner." 
 
 Dr. Nettleton was never forward to speak of his own reli- 
 gious experience. To his intimate friends, he would some- 
 times open his heart freely. But he was not in the habit of 
 referring to himself in his preaching, nor in his ordinary con- 
 versation. And it was always painful to him to see others 
 disposed on all occasions to talk about themselves. Such a 
 practice seemed to him to be adapted to fan the flame of spir- 
 itual pride, and to excite and cherish the prejudices of the 
 ungodly, rather than to recommend religion to the world. 
 
 Love to the souls of men — was another striking trait 
 in the character of Dr. Nettleton. It has been remarked that 
 " the mind sometimes receives a bias in conversion, or the 
 period of first love, which gives a particular direction to the 
 whole course of future life." It may have been so in this case. 
 In the period of his espousals to Christ, the worth of the soul 
 and the affecting condition of all unrenewed men, were pow- 
 
344 
 
 MEMO IE. OF 
 
 erfully impressed upon his mind, and awakened most intense 
 desires for their salvation. He used to say to himself, " If I 
 might be the means of the salvation of one soul, I should pre- 
 fer it to all the riches and honors of this world." It was this 
 which prompted him to seek the christian ministry, and to 
 persevere amid so many discouragements in his efforts to ob- 
 tain a liberal education. It was this which kindled in his 
 heart such zeal in the cause of his master, and stimulated him 
 to such arduous and unremitted labors. And when through 
 loss of health, he was compelled to desist in a great measure 
 from active labor, it was still his heart's desire and prayer to 
 God for sinners, that they might be saved. He could still say 
 with the Psalmist, " If I forget thee, O, Jerusalem, let my 
 right hand forget her cunning ; if I do not remember thee, let 
 my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not 
 Jerusalem above my chief joy." It was the deep interest 
 which he felt in the cause of Zion and the salvation of souls, 
 which filled him with such concern in view of the prevalence 
 of those errors in doctrine and practice, which he felt it his 
 duty to oppose. It was his solemn conviction, that these 
 things were introducing a spurious religion, and destroying 
 the souls of men, which led him to take a stand against them. 
 The following passage in the life of Brainerd exactly expressed 
 the feelings which he often manifested. 
 
 " These things I saw with great clearness, when I was 
 thought to be dying, and God gave me great concern for his 
 church and interest in the world at this time. Not so much 
 because the late remarkable influence upon the minds of the 
 people was abated, and almost wholly gone, as because the 
 false religion, the heats of imagination, and wild and selfish 
 commotions of the animal affections which attended the work 
 of grace, had prevailed so far. This was what my mind dwelt 
 upon day and night ; and this to me was the darkest appear- 
 ance respecting religion in the land. For it was this chiefly 
 that had prejudiced the world against inward religion. This 
 
DR.NETTLETON. 345 
 
 I saw was the greatest misery of all, that so few saw any 
 manner of difference between those exercises which are spir- 
 itual and holy, and those which have self-love for their 
 
 BEGINNING, CENTRE, AND END."* 
 
 The deep interest which Dr. Nettleton felt in the cause of 
 Zion, and the salvation of souls, is strikingly manifest in his 
 letter to Dr. Beecher, written in 1822, and inserted in a former 
 chapter. He says, 
 
 " I hear frequently from many places where God has, of 
 late, poured out his spirit and revived his work. My friends 
 residing in these places, far and near, either visit me, or write 
 to me, and tell me all their joys and sorrows. For a number 
 of years, I have kept a list of the names of those who have 
 hopefully experienced religion, and made a public profession 
 of it, in these revivals. When far from them, in my retired 
 moments, I have often read over their names, and pondered 
 on them, and on the scenes they have awakened, with emo- 
 tions too big for utterance. I have watched them with anx- 
 ious solicitude, and have made particular inquiry about the 
 spiritual welfare of each one, as opportunity presented. My 
 heart has often been refreshed when some Timothy has 
 brought me good tidings of the faith and charity of these young 
 converts. No tidings have been more refreshing. I have 
 often had occasion to adopt the language of Paul on this very 
 subject ; " What thanks can we render to God again for all the 
 joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before God." Some few 
 indeed have dishonored their profession, have opened afresh 
 the wounds of the Saviour, and caused the hearts of his friends 
 to bleed. Bunyan says, ' If at any time I heard of such in- 
 stances of apostacy among those that have been hopefully 
 benefited by my ministry, I feel worse than if I had followed 
 one of my natural children to the grave.' I have lost near and 
 dear relatives, but the things of which Bunyan speaks, have 
 
 * Brainerd's Life. p. 498. 
 
346 
 
 MEMOIR OP 
 
 sometimes struck me with a deeper sadness." Who can read 
 this, and doubt that the writer felt a deep interest in the wel- 
 fare of Zion and the salvation of souls ? 
 
 Meekness — was another trait in the character of Dr. Net- 
 tleton. The success of his labors greatly exasperated the 
 enemies of religion, and awakened in their breasts the most 
 malignant hostility. False reports, intended to destroy his 
 character, were invented and industriously circulated ; and 
 in other ways, he frequently met with personal abuse. But 
 the malice of his enemies awakened only his pity. So far as 
 1 have been able to learn, he was never known to manifest the 
 least resentment towards those who slandered and abused 
 him. When reviled, he reviled not again. When he suffered 
 he threatened not, but committed himself to him who judgeth 
 righteously. He felt himself laid under special obligations 
 to pray for his persecutors ; and to the honor of divine grace, 
 let it be recorded, not a few of them were hopefully brought 
 to repentance, and became some of his most ardent friends* 
 
 He never allowed himself to talk about the ill treatment 
 which he received from his enemies, lest it should awaken 
 wrong feelings in his heart. He was in the habit of inculca- 
 ting upon young converts a spirit of meekness : and for this 
 purpose, he often brought before their minds the words of the 
 Apostle, 1 Pet. ii. 20, 21, " For what glory is it, if, when ye 
 be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently 1 but if 
 when ye do well and suffer for it ye take it patiently, this is 
 acceptable with God ; for even hereunto were ye called ; 
 because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that 
 ye should follow his steps." He also frequently referred to 
 this passage. Prov. xxiv. 17, 18, " Rejoice not when thine 
 enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stum- 
 bleth, lest the Lord see it, and it displease him." He evi- 
 dently possessed in an uncommon degree, that charity which 
 suffereth long and is kind, which envieth not, which vaunteth 
 not itself and is not puffed up, which doth not behave itself 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 347 
 
 unseemly, which seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, 
 thinketh no evil, which beareth all things, believeth all things, 
 hopeth all things, endureth all things. 
 
 An unwavering attachment to the doctrines of 
 grace — was a striking trait in the character of Dr. Nettleton. 
 He not only embraced these doctrines in all their fullness, 
 and practical application, but " he may be said to have kept 
 the faith with undeviating constancy." Like the thousands 
 who were converted on the day of Pentecost, he continued 
 steadfast in the Apostles' doctrine. He was not carried about 
 by divers and strange doctrines, but his heart was established 
 with grace. His belief in the great doctrine* of the cross 
 was so interwoven with his religious experience, and so iden- 
 tified with all his hopes of future happiness, that his faith 
 never wavered. 
 
 He died in the full and firm belief of the doctrines which he 
 maintained and defended while he lived. 
 
 But he was not a perfect man. He had his failings. .He 
 was ready to acknowledge that he was a miserable sinner, 
 and that his proper place was at the foot of the cross. But 
 his faults were better known to himself and his God, than to 
 his fellow-men. 
 
 It is true, he did not escape reproach. His great success 
 as a minister of Christ, brought upon him the maledictions of 
 infidels and scoffers, and stimulated them to the most unremit- 
 ted efforts to destroy his character ; and many a time might he 
 have said, " If it had not been the Lord who was on my side 
 when men rose up against me, then they had swallowed me up 
 quick, when their wrath was kindled against me." But he 
 trusted in God, and through his merciful interposition, he esca- 
 ped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler.* 
 
 * When Dr. Nettleton was in Virginia, in 1828, a man from Connecticut, who 
 was residing there, put in circulation some slanderous reports, which induced 
 the Rev. Dr. John H. Rice to write to several distinguished individuals at the 
 North, for the purpose of ascertaining how Dr. Nettleton's character was re 
 
34S 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 On account of his opposition to certain doctrines and cer- 
 tain measures, he was severely censured by some of his 
 brethren in the ministry, and other professed followers of 
 Christ. Whether justly or unjustly, the reader will judge, 
 after attentively considering what has been said in the prece- 
 ding chapters. One thing is certain ; the things for which 
 
 garded by those who had been well acquainted with his history . In reply to his 
 letters, many testimonials were forwarded, among which were the following : 
 
 "Yale College, Aug. 23, 1826. 
 
 " Rev. and Dear Sir : 
 
 " I have most cheerfully obtained the testimonials which you have requested 
 in your letter of the 9th. Perhaps this is all which the occasion requires. The 
 injurious reports to which you refer, I do not recollect to have heard of before. I 
 am now told that they were some years since put in circulation here, examined 
 into, and found to be groundless. ■ That they were mere fabrications appears 
 evident from this, that up to the present time, Mr. Nettleton's christian charac- 
 ter stands as fair as ever in the estimation of the people of Connecticut, to whom 
 he has been so intimately known. Most affectionately yours, 
 
 "Jeremiah Day. 
 
 " Rev. John H. Rice, D. D." 
 
 " The Rev. Asahel Nettleton has been long and extensively known and ac 
 knowledged in this State, as a faithful and devoted minister of Christ ; as a man 
 of exemplary piety, of rare self-denial, and of uncommon power and success, in 
 his labors as an evangelist. Though occasionally assailed by calumny, his chris- 
 tian character is above suspicion, in the view of the ministers and churches in 
 this State, to whom he is intimately known, and who have cause for abundant 
 gratitude that the blessing of heaven has descended in copious measures upon 
 his public ministrations. 
 
 Jeremiah Day, President ofYale College ; 
 
 Leonard Bacon, Pastor of the First Church inNew Haven; 
 
 Nathaniel W. Taylor, Prof, of Didactic Theology; 
 
 Chaoncey A. Goodrich, Prof, of Rhetoric ; 
 
 Eleazer T. Fitch, Prof, of Divinity ; 
 
 Samuel Merwin, Pastor of the United Society in the City 
 of New Haven." 
 
 " Boston, Aug. 22, 1828. 
 " Dear Brother : 
 
 " It is, I should think, about ten years since those stories, imported into Virgin 
 ia, by Mr. O. W., have been dead and buried in Connecticut, having served the 
 generation of infidels and scoffers, and all haters of evangelical doctrine and of 
 revivals, as long as they were able. 
 
 " Never, for a moment, were they believed by the ministers and churches of 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 349 
 
 he was censured, were things in which he conscientiously 
 believed he was doing his duty — things to which he was 
 prompted by a supreme regard to the glory of God, and the 
 interests of Zion. It is to be hoped, therefore, that those who 
 believe him to have erred, will do justice to his motives. 
 
 Connecticut, nor did they do him the least injury, only as they were sent after 
 him, or sent for to the places where his preaching was blessed ; nor even then 
 only till the friends of religion had opportunity to obtain correct information on 
 the subject. It would be difficult for a Virginian to conceive the virulence with 
 which some persons in New England oppose revivals of religion, without under- 
 standing that in many places where the truth has been preached too faithfully 
 to be endured in a state of disobedience, there is often a club of infidels or noth- 
 ingarians, whose enmity is always made rampant by a revival of religion, and 
 whose ridicule and misrepresentation are sure to be propagated by the irrelig- 
 ious and immoral. Such, in my opinion, is the origin of all the stories against 
 brother Nettleton in Connecticut. His friends debated the question once, 
 whether it might not be his duty to sue, not doubting that he possessed the 
 entire power of bringing his accusers to punishment. But the conclusion was, 
 with the religious and respectable part of the community, they do him no harm, 
 and it will be better for the cause of religion that he hold his peace, and live then* 
 down. This he has done ; and it is out of the power of such men as W. and R. 
 S. H. to injure Mr. Nettleton in Connecticut. H., I suppose I know, W. I do 
 not. But I know that in S. there was probably a larger club of infidels, or per- 
 sons reputed such, than in almost any town in the State. *■*•** The 
 alleged dissatisfaction with Mr. Nettleton at New Haven is, in my opinion, 
 utterly false. I have been often in that city, and am more familiarly acquaint- 
 ed there than in any other place in Connecticut, it being the place of my nativity, 
 and of my fathers' sepulchres. I do know that Mr. Nettleton possesses emi- 
 nently the affection and confidence of the ministers and churches, and most 
 respectable laymen in the city. 
 
 " As further evidence of the perfect impotency of all such rumors against Mr. 
 Nettleton in Connecticut, I would state that about six years ago, on the failure 
 of my health, I left my church and congregation in the care of Mr. Nettleton,* 
 under whose preaching, before my return, a revival of religion commenced, 
 during which he secured eminently the confidence and affection of my people, 
 which to this day remains undiminished. In short, there is not a minister in 
 New England whose character for piety and purity stands higher than does that 
 of Mr. Nettleton. 
 
 " You will receive further communications in due time, for you may rest as- 
 sured that we possess the means, and shall not fail to use them, of putting down 
 such impudent falsehoods, and of vindicating the well-earned reputation of Mr 
 Nettleton. Affectionately yours, 
 
 " Lyman Beecher." 
 30 
 
350 MEMOIR OF 
 
 In Conclusion, it may be said of him as was said of anoth- 
 er, " By the grace of God, he was what he was,'' and to the 
 honor of grace, and not for the glory of a sinful worm, be it 
 recorded. Like all other men, he was depraved. He felt it, 
 and lamented it, and longed to be free from sin, but certainly 
 taking him altogether, we have seldom seen a character whose 
 excellencies were so many and so uniform, and whose imper 
 lections were so few. We have seen men rise high in con 
 templation, who have abounded but little in action. We have 
 seen zeal mingled with bitterness, and candor degenerate 
 into indifference j — experimental religion mixed with a large 
 
 To this letter is appended the following, from the Rev. Dr. Taylor : 
 
 " Dear Brother : 
 
 " Dr. Beecher has sent this to me unsealed, and 1 take the liberty to add a 
 word. What he has said is as it should be — exactly my views of the matter. I 
 should only object to further means of putting down these ( impudent false- 
 hoods.' I think I know brother Nettleton too well to suppose he would wish it. 
 If such testimonials as this of Dr. Beecher and others are not sufficient to give 
 brother Nettleton a character in Virginia, in defiance of the obloquy of his ene- 
 mies and his-Master's, he had better come back to Connecticut. The ministers 
 and churches would be glad to receive him, and highly appreciate his labors. 
 These slanders are simply the 'homage vice pays to virtue.' 'Wo unto you, 
 when all men shall speak well of you.' Brother Nettleton is safe from this de- 
 nunciation. I am affectionately yours, 
 
 " N. W. Taylok." 
 
 " New Haven, Sept. 17, 1S28. 
 " We, the undersigned, having been for many years acquainted with the chai 
 acter of the Rev. Asahel Nettleton, do hereby certify that we consider him as a 
 man of unblemished purity'of life ; that we believe this to be the estimation in 
 which he is universally held in this town, and in this State ; and that no fact has 
 ever come to our knowledge, which ought to impair the confidence of the public 
 in his character as a christian and a man. 
 
 David Daggett, Benjamin Silliman, 
 
 Simeon Baldwin, J. Knight, 
 
 Noah Webstee, Eli Ives, 
 
 Elizoe Goodrich, J. L. Kingslet. 
 
 Similar testimonials were forwarded by other distinguished gentlemen, both 
 m New England and New York ; particularly by the Hon. John Cotton Smith, 
 of Connecticut ; and by the Rev. Drs. Spring, Mc Auley, and Proudfit, and bv 
 the Hon. Jonas Piatt, of New York. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 351 
 
 portion of enthusiasm, and what is called rational religion, 
 void of every thing that interests the heart of man. We have 
 seen splendid talents tarnished with insufferable pride, serious- 
 ness with melancholy, cheerfulness with levity, and great at- 
 tainments in religion with uncharitable censoriousness towards 
 men of low degree ; but we have not seen these things in 
 [Nettleton.] 
 
 " There have been but few men in whom have been united 
 a greater proportion of the contemplative and active ; holy 
 zeal and genuine candor ; spirituality and rationality ; talents 
 that attracted almost universal applause, and the most unaf- 
 fected modesty ; faithfulness in bearing testimony against evil, 
 with the tenderest compassion to the soul of the evil doer ; 
 fortitude that would encounter any difficulty in the way of 
 duty, without any thing boisterous, noisy, or overbearing ; deep 
 seriousness with habitual cheerfulness ; and a constant aim to 
 promote the highest degrees of piety in himself and others, 
 with a readiness to hope the best of the lowest, not breaking 
 the bruised reed, nor quenching the smoking flax."* 
 
 Since the foregoing was written, the following letters have 
 been received. The first is from the Rev. Dr. Tenney, late 
 pastor of the church in Wethersfield, Conn.; and the other 
 from the Rev. Dr. Humphrey, late President of Amherst Col- 
 lege. They were both intimately acquainted with Dr. Net- 
 tleton ; and I am happy to find such a coincidence of vieAvs 
 between them and myself, in regard to the character of this 
 distinguished servant of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Dr. Tenney says, " My particular acquaintance with Dr. 
 Nettleton commenced in 1818, while he was laboring in a revi- 
 val in Rocky Hill, a parish in Wethersfield. My acquaintance 
 became intimate during nearly three months of his labors with 
 me in a great revival, in the winter of 1820-21. I have felt 
 that he was a remarkable man — fitted to draw forth the often 
 
 * Fuller's Memoir of Pearce. 
 
352 MEMOIR OF 
 
 repeated saying of a venerable President of a distinguished 
 College, respecting him—' a wonderfully wise man ! ' He was 
 distinguished for a ready, clear, correct, and far-reaching per- 
 ception, or discernment. Almost as by intuition, he discerned 
 individual characters, and seemed to see the precise truth 
 fitted to reprove, or benefit them. At once, he seemed to learn 
 the state of a church and people ; and to see doctrines and 
 errors, and all their bearings and tendencies, and to bring 
 them instantly to what he regarded as the supreme test, the 
 word of God. In the scriptures, he was mighty. He had 
 evidently studied the word of God much, and deeply, and 
 seemed to perceive the exact purport and design of a verse, a 
 paragraph, or larger portion, and to see its precise application 
 and force. He entered so much into the very meaning and 
 spirit of the word of God, that on almost any passage he 
 would so naturally and strikingly present the meaning, as to 
 appear singularly original. Conversing at one time in my 
 study, with a number who had for a considerable period 
 indulged hope, but who were disposed to hesitate and delay in 
 professing religion, he turned to Luke viii. 45, 48, and briefly 
 stated, that the diseased woman feared and trembled (after she 
 had been healed by touching Christ in the crowd,) when she 
 perceived that Christ would bring her and the miracle to pub- 
 lic view. And well she might tremble, said he, for she had 
 been stealing a cure, and meant to conceal herself in the mul- 
 titude ; and now she expected reproof from Christ ; but when 
 she confessed the whole, before all the people, he said to her, 
 ' Daughter, be of good cheer, thy faith hath made thee whole, 
 go in peace.' He then guarded the converts against conceal- 
 ing among the multitude, what Christ had done for them, or 
 fearing his rebuke, if they confessed him before all the people. 
 " To a man of education, and of a very proud spirit, who 
 under some seriousness of mind, had a private interview with 
 Dr. Nettleton, who said at its close, ' Mr. Nettleton, I Will 
 thank you not to speak of my case to any one, for it is doubt- 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 353 
 
 ful yet what the result will be,' he at once replied, * I agree 
 with you perfectly, that it is best your case should not be 
 known ; and I engage to keep it entirely to myself, and if you 
 will do the same, it will not be known. It is as you say, very 
 doubtful how the case will turn. You may soon give up the 
 subject, and lose your soul.' Under this remark, the man was 
 soon so deeply distressed that he cared not if the whole world 
 knew it ; and very soon he found peace. 
 
 " When a person once asked me with a supercilious air, 
 ' Do you, according to the Assembly's Catechism, believe that 
 God has foreordained whatsover comes to pass V Dr. Nettle- 
 ton, coming up at that, moment, said to him in reply, ' Mr. 
 
 P do you believe that God worketh all things after the 
 
 counsel of his own will ?' Perpetually did his ready and clear 
 discernment of men and things exhibit itself. This gave him 
 power in conversation, in the room for inquiry, and in the 
 pulpit. Clear minds always present truth in a clear, simple, 
 and convincing style. He did so eminently. The word of 
 God, in his hands, was indeed a sharp two edged sword that 
 pierced, and was a discerner of the thoughts and intents of 
 the heart. His preaching was emphatically ' in demonstration 
 of the spirit and with power.' There was not the least attempt 
 at display. He was always hidden behind his subject, and 
 he would present that so clearly, and naturally, and justly, and 
 strikingly, that his hearers were filled with the light of truth, 
 rather than admiration of the man. He addressed the reason 
 and consciences of men in a way not to excite their animal 
 passions, or any outbreak of feeling ; but to reach, and search, 
 and move the deepest sensibilities of their souls. This did. 
 under him, as it does in every case, secure the utmost still- 
 ness, the most fixed, and almost breathless attention, and the 
 most profound solemnity. His was the eloquence of thought, of 
 truth, of living, burning truth from the living God. In such 
 eloquence I have never known him surpassed — seldom equaled. 
 The Spirit of God was in it. His preaching seemed in perfect 
 30* 
 
354 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 harmony with the word of God, and with the influences of 
 the Spirit upon the minds of men. 
 
 " In revivals of religion, he appeared- to be peculiarly at 
 home. He had evidently been, in his own conviction and 
 conversion, very thoroughly taught of God, and had also made 
 the work of the Spirit a subject of deep study. If he laid 
 stress on what some regarded as little things, it was because 
 he clearly saw the important bearings of little, as well as great 
 things. Some of his movements in going from one place to 
 another, sometimes appeared strange, because others saw not, 
 and he was not wont to expose, all the reasons which gov- 
 erned his conduct. It was his constant aim to keep a church 
 humble, sensible of their dependence, and prayerful. He 
 seemed perfectly to understand the circumstances, and agents 
 opposed to revivals, and how to counteract them. He 
 preached the great evangelical doctrines which exalt God and 
 abase man. He preached the sovereignty of God, in all its 
 extent and bearings, and equally the infinite obligations of man. 
 He had the most wonderful talent of waking up the conscience, 
 and bringing it in to the utmost activity. He drove sinners with 
 masterly skill from one excuse and refuge after another, till 
 he drove them, through the aids of the Spirit, to total' despair, 
 except in the mercy of God through a Redeemer. He preached 
 and labored in revivals in so wise a manner, as to render reli- 
 gion and revivals real and respectable, in the view of intelli- 
 gent men, and many of the best cultivated minds, and in the 
 highest walks of life, were drawn over to the cross, instead 
 of being driven off by low, or extravagant measures to a 
 returnless distance from their own denomination and religion. 
 He had no sympathy with ' anxious seats' — with the plan of 
 calling upon thoughtful sinners in an assembly to bow their 
 heads, and follow him in a form of consecrating themselves to 
 God — nor of urging anxious sinners to speak and pray in a 
 meeting for inquiry — nor of urging converts at once to exhort 
 and pray, or tell their experience in public meetings. He 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 355 
 
 never raised among converts a company of exhorters and lay 
 preachers, much more ready, whenever they could get an 
 opportunity, to speak than to hear, to exhort than to receive 
 instruction, to edify others by their own prayers, than to be 
 edified by the prayers of older and more experienced chris- 
 tian's. Converts under his labors were humble and teachable, 
 and felt that, at most, they were babes in Christ, and needed 
 the sincere milk of the word. Their disposition was the very 
 opposite of self-confidence, arrogance, and denunciation of 
 others less engaged than themselves. Still they were ready 
 to every good work in their proper sphere, and with all 
 becoming meekness and humility. He led them to hold 
 prayer meetings among themselves, and they became united 
 together in bands of love that could not be easily broken. 
 
 " The converts, with very few exceptions, were eminently 
 intelligent and sound ; and proved by their subsequent lives 
 that they possessed the power as well as the form of godliness. 
 The revivals in which he labored were emphatically pure, 
 genuine revivals of true religion, as much so as any I have 
 ever known. The churches were greatly humbled, refreshed 
 and strengthened by them. The addition of converts to them, 
 was an addition, with very few exceptions, not merely of 
 numbers, but of light, strength, life, and influence. Congre- 
 gations were increased by those who became, if not pious, 
 constant attendants on public worship. Parishes were greatly 
 strengthened, and pastors were more firmly established in the 
 affection and confidence of their people. This was the inva- 
 riable result where he labored in connection with a pastor. 
 Invariably, pastors found themselves greatly improved and 
 benefited by intercourse with him, and by his labors. Dr. 
 Nettleton was very careful never to get into the pastor's place, 
 but to keep him prominently before the people, as their regu- 
 lar spiritual guide. He delighted to strengthen the hands of 
 the regular shepherd, and frowned on the slightest insinuation 
 against him. 
 
356 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " On the whole, revivals under his preaching were blessings 
 to the churches, to the parishes, to the pastors, and to multi- 
 tudes of souls who were born into the kingdom of Christ ; and 
 most devout gratitude is due to the Great Head of the church 
 for raising up a man so remarkable for doing great good and 
 no hurt, in such delightful, as well as perilous times. 
 " Most truly yours, 
 
 " C. J. Tenney." 
 
 Dr. Humphrey says, " It having pleased God to call our 
 beloved brother Nettleton home to his everlasting rest, I rejoice 
 to learn that you have consented to prepare a memoir of his 
 eminently useful and devoted life, and that the volume is ready 
 for the press. 
 
 " As it was one of the highest privileges of my life, to enjoy 
 his acquaintance and friendship for more than thirty years, and 
 as you have been pleased to ask me for my impressions of the 
 man, of the characteristics of his preaching, of his manner of 
 laboring in revivals, and of their permanent influence upon the 
 churches and congregations where he labored, I do not feel at 
 liberty altogether to decline. When such a man as Dr. Net- 
 tleton dies, who can refrain from ' magnifying the grace of God 
 that was in him V I only regret my inability to do it worthily, 
 under the most favorable circumstances ; and that my pressing 
 engagements will not allow me time for any thing more than a 
 hasty outline. 
 
 " Not, having seen a word of your memoir, I cannot tell 
 how far your judgment and my own may coincide, and I am 
 glad of it. What you want, are my impressions and not those 
 of yourself, or any other man ; and you shall have them un- 
 borrowed and unmodified. 
 
 " In my estimation, Dr. Nettleton was a great man — not 
 great, merely as he was good, but great, in the common mean- 
 ing of the term. He was not a learned man. His Master 
 never gave him time to distinguish himself as a scholar. He 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 357 
 
 had too much woTk for him to do in his vineyard, to allow it. 
 Though he had a good substantial public education, Dr. Net- 
 tleton made no pretentions to high attainments in classical 
 literature, or in any of the abstruse sciences. In the latter, 
 he might have excelled, had not his soul been fired with 
 higher and holier aims. 
 
 " In his theology, Dr. Nettleton was neither a ' high nor a 
 low' Calvinist. While he admired the illustrious Genevan 
 Reformer, and subscribed, ex animo, to all the leading doc- 
 trines of his immortal institutes, he called neither Calvin, nor 
 any other man master. He was an Edwardean, rather than 
 a high Calvinist ; and yet profound as his veneration was for 
 that ' greatest of theologians,' as Dr. Chalmers styles Pres- 
 ident Edwards, he thought it his duty to investigate every sub- 
 ject for himself. With his little duodecimo Bible, or his 
 Greek Testament always in his hands, he was one of the 
 most independent thinkers that I have ever known. He was, 
 I might almost say, the last man to be captivated with vision- 
 ary theories, or fanciful analogies and interpretations. Upon 
 the ' foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ 
 himself being the chief corner stone,' he stood like a pillar 
 upon the everlasting rock. Nothing could shake him. 
 Whether he ever drew out his system on paper, I do not 
 know ; but if he did, it will be found eminently scriptural, 
 lucid and symmetrical — nothing more and nothing less, than 
 sound, well digested and well guarded New England ortho- 
 doxy. 
 
 " As a preacher, Dr. Nettleton had many superiors, in what 
 commonly goes under the name of pulpit eloquence. There 
 was nothing particularly captivating in his voice, in his style, 
 or his delivery — nothing to make you admire the man, or his 
 writing, or his speaking ; or in any way to divert your atten- 
 tion from the truths which he uttered. His prayers were 
 generally short, and always fervent, scriptural and appropriate. 
 
 When he rose to speak, there was a benignant solemnity in 
 
358 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 his countenance, which awed the most thoughtless into seri- 
 ousness, while at the same time it exerted an unwonted desire 
 to hear what he had to say. He had a voice of more than 
 ordinary compass and power ; and though there was nothing 
 harsh or repulsive in its modulations, you sometimes regretted 
 that he had not enjoyed better early advantages for training it. 
 He always commenced on a low key, enunciating every word 
 and syllable so distinctly, however, as to be heard without 
 difficulty, in the remotest parts of the house. So simple were 
 his sentences, so plain and unadorned was his style, and so 
 calm was his delivery, that for a few moments, you might 
 have thought him dull and sometimes even common place, but 
 for the glance of his piercing eye, and an undefinable some- 
 thing in his whole manner, which insensibly gained and riv- 
 eted your attention. As he advanced, and his heart grew 
 warm, and his conceptions vivid, his voice caught the inspi- 
 ration ; his lips seemed to be ' touched with a live coal from 
 off the altar ;' his face shone ; "every muscle and feature 
 spoke ; his tones were deep and awfully solemn ; his gestures, 
 though he never flourished off a prettiness in his life, were 
 natural, and at times exceedingly forcible. But his eye, after 
 all, was the master power in his delivery. Full and clear and 
 sharp, its glances, in the most animated parts of his dis- 
 courses were quick and penetrating, beyond almost any thing 
 I recollect ever to have witnessed. He seemed to look every 
 hearer in the face, or rather to look into his soul, almost at 
 one and the same moment. You felt that you was in the 
 hands of a master, and never stopped to inquire whether he 
 was a good or a bad pulpil orator. Whatever the critics 
 might say, in one thing you could not be mistaken. He 
 arrested your attention, and made you feel, for the time at 
 least, that religion is indeed ' the one thing needful.' 
 
 Dr. Nettleton's delivery was always solemn, always earn- 
 est, and not seldom even vehement. This was particularly 
 the case in the height of those numerous and powerful revi- 
 
DH..NETTLET0N. 359 
 
 vals in the midst of which he labored for so many years. 
 The action of his mind was intense. The yearnings of his 
 soul over the impenitent were irrepressible. His counte- 
 nance, his voice, every thing showed it. And yet, incredible 
 as it may seem, in his most, impassioned appeals, there was 
 not a particle of enthusiasm. By this I mean, that he was 
 never hurried away into any extravagance of language, or 
 emotion. He never, for one moment, lost the balance of his 
 mind. He was always perfectly self-possessed. I have seen 
 him in circumstances of overpowering interest, when the 
 movements of the Spirit were ' like a mighty rushing wind,' 
 and could never perceive any wavering in his judgment or his 
 prudence. He was ever the same in the pulpit, in the lec- 
 ture-room, and in the inquiry meeting — always earnest and 
 solemn, but never carried away by his feelings, beyond the 
 bounds of propriety. 
 
 " Dr. Nettleton's sermons were plain, solid, evangelical, 
 instructive and directly to the purpose. He always knew 
 what he aimed at, and he seldom, if ever, missed his mark. 
 Dodging was of no avail. His style was perfectly unadorn- 
 ed. Tropes and metaphors he never sought for ; and I am 
 not aware that they ever obtruded themselves upon his ima- 
 gination. What he aimed at was to present the truth, the 
 whole truth, and nothing but the truth, to his hearers, in the 
 plainest and most forcible language he could command. 
 
 " The great power of his preaching consisted in its perspi- 
 cuity, its directness, its fearless exhibition of the most un- 
 welcomed truths of the Bible, and its earnest, solemn, and 
 often terrific appeals to the conscience. No preacher that I 
 ever heard, could make the law thunder louder in the sinner's 
 ear. The sword of the spirit was his only weapon ; and he 
 wielded it with extraordinary dexterity and effect. Few 
 ministers, I believe, have ever studied the windings of the 
 natural heart, with more diligence and success, than he did. 
 Hence, those masterly analyses, which used so often to star- 
 
360 MEMOIR OF 
 
 tie his hearers, as if all their thoughts had been suddenly laid 
 open to the public gaze. In reviewing the history of Dr. ■ 
 Nettleton's life and labors, it is as clear to ine that God raised 
 him up to spend his best days in promoting revivals of reli- 
 gion, as that he raised up Whitefield for the same service on 
 a wider theatre. They were as unlike in many respects, as 
 any two great revival preachers could be, but they had ' one 
 Lord and one faith' — the same love for souls, and the same 
 irrepressible desire to win as many of them as possible, to 
 Christ. Each was fitted for the age in which he lived, and 
 for the work to which he was called — Whitefield to blow the 
 trumpet over the dead and buried formalism of the churches, 
 both in Great Britain and America; Nettleton, to 'strengthen 
 the things that remained and were ready to die' in destitute 
 churches of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and 
 Virginia ; and to help the brethren in gathering their spiritual 
 harvests. 
 
 " Having no pastoral charge to confine him, and no family 
 to provide for, and living, I may say for years, in the midst of 
 these ' mighty works,' he was under better advantages for 
 observing all the ' diversities of operations by the Spirit,' 
 which are disclosed in ' times of refreshing,' than any of his 
 immediate predecessors, or early contemporaries ; and his 
 Master had endowed him with the requisite gifts, both intel- 
 lectual and moral, to make the most of these advantages. 
 Shrewd, (pardon the epithet, as no other would so exactly 
 express it,) observing, cautious, discriminating, and at the 
 same time, ' fervent in spirit,' and mightily ' constrained by 
 the love of Christ,' he was most happily guarded against 
 feverish impulses on the one hand, and antinomian presump- 
 tion on the other. Enjoying, as he did, for so many years, 
 the best possible opportunity for studying the theory of revi- 
 vals, his benevolent, inquisitive and ardent mind would not 
 allow him to rest satisfied, without putting it to the most rigid 
 test of scripture, experience and observation. Herein he 
 
DR. KETTLETON. 361 
 
 was in the truest sense a christian philosopher, and his phi- 
 losophy was strictly Baconian. It consisted in observing 
 phenomena and recording facts. I have long thought, and it 
 is still my deliberate conviction, that he understood the whole 
 subject of revivals, better than any man with whom I ever 
 conversed or labored. He had studied it more profoundly. 
 Indeed no man could well be a more perfect master of his 
 business or profession. Neither Caesar nor Napoleon ever 
 studied the art of war with greater assiduity, than he did the 
 heavenly art of winning souls to Christ. This may seem 
 extravagant — I presume it will to some readers ; but why 
 should it t. Had he not far higher motives for bending all the 
 energies of his mind to learn how to save men, than they 
 could have had for learning how to destroy them ? 
 
 " But you wish me to say something of his manner of 
 laboring in revivals, and of their general character under his 
 preaching and management. This I am the more ready to 
 do, from having had the best opportunities to observe and 
 judge in one of them, which I have often since heard him 
 speak of as among the most powerful he ever witnessed. 
 He was with me three months, day and night, during which 
 I saw and heard every thing. I was anxious to learn all I 
 could from one whose labors had been so eminently owned 
 and blessed by the Divine Head of the church, and not being, 
 if I may say it, of an enthusiastical temperament myself, I 
 think I was enabled to form a pretty correct judgment of his 
 preaching, of his daily intercourse with sinners in every stage 
 of awakening and conversion, and of the effect of those 
 measures which he had been testing in scores of other revi- 
 vals. 
 
 " It has been said, that in such seasons, we ought to look 
 to God continually in fervent believing prayer, just as if he 
 was the sole agent in carrying on the work, and at the same 
 time, to labor with all our might, just as if we had it all to do 
 ourselves. This was Dr. Nettletpn's view of the matter, and 
 31 
 
362 MEMOIR OF 
 
 no man, perhaps, ever more fully carried it out in practice 
 than he did. In his creed, the whole process of awakening, 
 conviction and regeneration, was by the sovereign and special 
 agency of the Holy Spirit. For this he prayed, and exhort- 
 ed others to pray without ceasing, while at the same time, he 
 labored with as much assiduity for the conversion of sinners, 
 as if his Master had devolved the whole responsibility upon 
 him. His theory was, that while ' the excellency of the 
 power is all of God,' he works by means, no less in the moral 
 than in the natural world. This led him to study the econo- 
 my of grace in revivals, with the deepest interest ; and as the 
 result of it, to adopt the measures and use the means which 
 seemed to him best adapted to the end. 
 
 " I do not say that his manner of conducting revivals, was 
 in all respects the best that could have been adopted ; much 
 less that it would be best for every minister ; but I have yet 
 to learn, that a better and safer system of measures has been 
 devised. Taken as a whole, it commends itself, to my judg- 
 ment and observation, as eminently wise and guarded and 
 scriptural. It was characterized by a deep and profound 
 knowledge of human nature, as I think might easily be shown, 
 did my limits permit. Let those who come after, improve 
 upon it, or devise a better if they can. While I am far from 
 believing that nothing remains to be learned in the heavenly 
 art of winning souls to Christ, quite sure I am, that few if any 
 of those professed revivalists who have succeeded Dr. Nettle- 
 ton, and made the most noise in the churches, are the men to 
 ' show us a more excellent way.' They have done what they 
 could with strong lungs, startling appeals, new measures, and 
 sweeping denunciations, and the blighting effects are truly 
 mournful. In some wide districts which they have overrun, 
 it is to be feared the churches will not recover from the des- 
 olating irruption for half a century. Most unwarrantable is 
 the appeal which they sometimes make to Dr. Nettleton, as 
 their fore-runner and exemplar. Nothing gave him so much 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 363 
 
 concern, during the latter years of his life, as the manner in 
 which revivals were corrupted and brought into discredit and 
 run down, by noisy, rash and impetuous evangelists. It 
 grieved him to the heart, that so many churches in the land 
 were ready to countenance them, and he earnestly protested 
 against their errors and extravagances, to the day of his death. 
 Though he would not deny, that there might be some real 
 conversions in the great excitements which attended their 
 preaching, it was his solemn and painful conviction, that mul- 
 titudes were deceived with false hopes, who, under different 
 instruction and measures, might have been brought to a saving 
 knowledge of the truth. 
 
 " In his own management in times of revivals, by preaching 
 and personal intercourse, nothing was more deserving of being 
 studied and imitated, than his thoroughness, caution and dis- 
 crimination. In these respects, there was a heaven-wide dif- 
 ference between Dr. Nettleton and some of the most noted 
 of his professed imitators. Being thoroughly ' rooted and 
 grounded in the truth' himself, his presentations of it were 
 clear, pungent and searching. His revival topics were sys- 
 tematically and admirably arranged. In his discourses he 
 began at the beginning. A full believer in the total depravity 
 of the human heart, he arraigned sinners, whether young or 
 old, as rebels against God, and made the threatenings of the 
 law thunder in their ears, as but few preachers have power to 
 do. With him, acting as an ambassador of Christ, there was 
 no such thing as compromise. The rebels must ' throw down 
 their arms,' and submit unconditionally, or he would give them 
 no hope of pardon. Hundreds, if not thousands, can witness, 
 what a terrible dissecter he was of the 'joints and the mar- 
 row.' At the same time that he showed the impenitent they 
 were lost, he made them feel that they had ' destroyed them- 
 selves.' It was difficult to say which he made plainest, their 
 danger or their guilt ; their immediate duty to repent, or the 
 certainty that without being drawn and renewed by the Spirit 
 
364 
 
 MEMOIR OP 
 
 of God, they never would repent. It was in vain for them to 
 retreat from one refuge to another. He was sure to strip 
 them of all their vain excuses, and deliver them over to their 
 consciences, to be dealt with according to law and justice. 
 He preached what are called the hard doctrines, such as 
 divine sovereignty, election, and regeneration, with great 
 plainness, discrimination and power. His grand aim was to 
 instruct, convince and persuade ; to this end, his appeals were 
 constantly made to the understanding, the conscience and the 
 heart. The passions he never addressed, nor were his dis- 
 courses at all calculated to excite them. Any outbreak of 
 mere animal feeling, he was always afraid of, as tending to 
 warp the judgment, and beget false hopes. His grand aim 
 was to instruct his hearers as thoroughly, and point out the 
 difference between true and spurious conversion so clearly, 
 as to make it difficult for them to get hopes at all, without ood 
 spiritual evidence on which to found them. Knowing how 
 apt persons are to cling to their hopes, whether good or bad, 
 he depended much more upon holding them back, till they 
 had good evidence, than upon shaking them from their false 
 foundations. 
 
 " As might have been expected under such a course of 
 instruction, the great majority of those who came out and pro- 
 fessed religion, so far as I have had opportunity to observe, 
 have ' worn well.' They have proved intelligent, stable and 
 consistent christians. The revivals under Dr. Nettleton's 
 preaching, always strengthened the churches, and strength- 
 ened the pastors where they had them. I do not believe that 
 an instance to the contrary can be adduced from the whole 
 wide field of his labors, nor that a single church can be pointed 
 out, which does not to this day feel their blessed influence. 
 How different from the sad experience of hundreds of churches, 
 congregations, and ministers, under the sway of bold, and 
 reckless, and disorganizing revivalists. How many once 
 united and flourishing churches, have been divided or broken 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 365 
 
 up, and how many worthy pastors have been undermined and 
 driven away by them. ' By their fruits ye shall know them.' 
 ' The fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is.' 
 Brought to these tests, all the great revivals under Dr. Net- 
 tleton's labors, will stand on the records of the church, in stri- 
 king contrast, as so many bright evidences of his wisdom, 
 fidelity, and eminent usefulness. 
 
 " Thus, my dear brother, have I complied with your 
 request, as fully as time and limits would allow. 1 might 
 have said much more, and should have been glad to have put 
 down many striking facts and incidents, which fell under mj r 
 own observation in the revival at Pittsfield, as illustrative of 
 Dr. Nettleton's eminent qualifications for the great work to 
 which his Master called him. But the foregoing hasty and 
 very imperfect outline must suffice. ' His record is on high,' 
 and his 'name will be had in everlasting remembrance.' I 
 have no doubt, that amid the glories of the millenial day, and 
 the brighter glories of heaven, he will stand conspicuous on 
 the catalogue of those, who, ' having turned many to righteous- 
 ness, will shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the 
 stars forever and ever.' 
 
 '' I am very sincerely and affectionately 
 
 Yours, H. Humphrey. 
 
 " Amherst College, August 5, 1844." 
 
 The following letter from a distinguished layman, has been 
 received since the publication of the first edition of this work. 
 
 " Augusta, Me., Jan. 1, 1845. 
 " Respected Sir, 
 " While employing the evening of life in reading such of the 
 various publications of this enlightened age as come within my 
 reach, your Memoir of Dr. Nettleton has been put into my 
 hands, which has so absorbed my attention, that I could not 
 dismiss it until I had reached the last page. Surely the char- 
 acter of this excellent man deserves a place in our religious 
 31* 
 
366 MEMOIR OP 
 
 annals ; and I am happy to find it so ably and minutely execu- 
 ted and laid before the public for the benefit of future genera- 
 tions. Here is abundant proof that the uncorrupted doctrines 
 of Calvin, drawn from the scriptures of truth, are the weapons 
 which the Holy Spirit chooses to employ in the conviction and 
 conversion of sinners ; and a complete practical refutation of 
 all attempts to change or modify those doctrines, in order to 
 render them palatable to the views of the carnal mind. And 
 it must be a source of high satisfaction to you, sir, to witness 
 in the ministerial career of Dr. Nettleton, such ample proof 
 that the doctrines you have contended for, have been so con- 
 spicuously owned and acknowledged by the Holy Spirit. And 
 we have the attestation of an inspired Apostle, that the weap- 
 ons of the gospel ministry ' are not carnal, but mighty through 
 God to the pulling down of strong holds, casting down imagin- 
 ations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the 
 knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought 
 to the obedience of Christ.' 
 
 " The character of this sainted hero may be further illustra- 
 ted by a quotation from Pollok, one of his favorite authors, with 
 which I conclude. 
 
 ' High in the temple of the living God 
 He stood amidst the people, and declared 
 Aloud the truth, the whole revealed truth, 
 Ready to seal it with his blood. Divine 
 Resemblance most complete ; with mercy now 
 And love, his face illumed, shone gloriously : 
 And frowning now indignantly, it seemed 
 As if offended Justice, from his eye, 
 Streamed forth vindictive wrath ! Man heard, 
 Th' uncircumcised infidel believed ; 
 Light-thoughted mirth grew serious and wept ; 
 The laugh profane sunk in a sigh of deep 
 Repentance ; the blasphemer, kneeling, prayed, 
 And prostrate in the dust, for mercy called. 
 Such was his calling, his commission such. 
 Yet he was humble, kind, forgiving, meek, 
 Easy to be entreated, gracious, mild ; 
 And with All patience and affection, taught. 
 
DR. NETTLETON. 367 
 
 Rebuked, persuaded, solaced, counseled, warned, 
 In fervent style and manner. 
 
 A skillful workman he 
 In God's great moral vinej'ard , what to prune 
 With cautious hand he knew, what to uproot ; 
 What were mere weeds, and what celestial plants 
 Which had immortal vigor in them, knew ; 
 Nor knew alone, but watched them night and day, 
 
 ind reared and nourished them, till fit to be 
 
 Transplanted to the paradise above. 
 
 Oh, who can speak his praise ! great humble man ! 
 
 *Ie in the current of destruction stood, 
 
 tnd warned the sinner of his wo ; led on 
 
 ImmanueFs soldiers in the evil day, 
 
 Ind with the everlasting arms embraced 
 
 limself around, stood in the dreadful front 
 
 ■)f battle high, and warred victoriously 
 
 With death and hell. And now is come his rest, 
 His triumph day. 1 [Course of Time pp. 200, 201 
 
 " With respect and esteem, I am, dear Sir, 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 " H. Sewall. 
 
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