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.Znprat-fd fy J^reaman. /hnn an ari^ndl Jtamlinff by Jtedley

MEMOIRS

t;fie Uitt antr Wiviiim^

REV. ANDREW FULLER,
LATE PASTOR OF THE BAPTIST CHURCH AT KETTERING, AND
SECRETARY TO THE BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

BY J. W. MORRIS.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR,
.AND
SOLD BV T. HAMILTON, 33, PATERNOSTER ROW ; AND OLIPHANT,
WAUGH, AND INNES, EDINBURGH.
1816. ^,...
i€nta^ at ©tatiowrisf' l^aU j *

MU5 Ml

CONTENTS.

PAGE.
Preface  . . v
CHAP. I.
Mr. Fuller's parentage — early life — conversion — call
to the ministry — and labours at Soham ... 1
CHAP. II.
His removal to Kettering — exercises of mind under
various aflflictive dispensations — Narrative con
tinued  S5
CHAP. III.
His ministerial talents — pastoral labours — and use
fulness  6Q
CHAP. IV.
Brief sketch of his Missionary labours  85
CHAP. V
Journal of a tour tlirough Scotland in July 1805, to
collect for the printing of the Scriptures in the
Eastern languages : — ^his missionary labours
continued  129
CHAP. VI.
Review of his Doctrinal and Practical writings . 159
CHAP. VII.
Review of his Doctrinal and Practical writings con
tinued  .... 217

CONTENTS,
CHAP. VIII,
Review ofthe Controversy on Faith, with brief no
tices of his several opponents  263
CHAP. IX,
The Socinian— Universalist— 'Deistical — and Mis
sionary Controversies  3?5
CHAP, X.
Controversy with Mr. Booth — miscellaneous pieces
on Particular Redemption — the Substitution
and Merits of Christ — on Faith and Justifica
tion — lay Ordination, and the administration of
the Lord's Supper  378
CHAP. XI.
His last illness and death  441
I CHAP. XII.
Brief review of his character ....... 470

ERRATA.
P. 23, li. 3, from the bottom, /or the probation, rfad a probation
49, li. 2f , far being, read though Dot more than
86, Ii. Note, for Ekctic read Eclectic
93, li. 23, Jot witholds read withholds
143, li. 5, /orLamask«ad Lanark
164, li. 3, for their danger nad tlie danj;er
161, h, 7, for *Ae succeeding read a succeeding
a62, Ji. 5, iw snbjjBet8iwa4 subject
10, for as truth jead a truth
258, li. 25, for gusting read quoting ,
260, li. 20, far Arenagedden read A'lmageddoii
305, li. 2, for that is read tiiat it is
402, lik 10, ^frttora, read .4pp*ndix"

Preface*
TiiE frailty of human nature, the lapse of
lime, and the incessant recurrence of other ob
jects, possess a most fatal tendency to deface
the remembrance of those once dear to us, or
whose virtues and achievements require to be
perpetuated for the benefit of posterity. Ere
many years have fled, the minuter parts and finer
traits of character are obliterated ; nothing re
mains but the rude projecting outline, which
affords but little to gratify the taste, or encrease
the aggregate of public information. There
have been numerous instances in which the
lives of eminent persons have died away from
the page of history, and of whom, little more
has been recorded than that they once were,
but are not.
* Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear f
The world Has thus lost some of its most
valuable treasures, and history some of its
brightest ornaments. A remote successor may
attempt to retrace and complete the portrait ;
but ofthe correctness ofthe execution, who
shall judge? In this view, cotemporary Bio
graphy has important advantages, which subse-

VI PREFACE.
quent compositions do not possess; it must,
at least, furnish the ore, by which the latter
are to be enriched. The history of persons who
have lived in the same age and nation with our
selves, excites also an interest which we do
not feel respecting others who have flourished
at a distant period.
It is not every cotemporary, however, nor
every one acquainted with departed worth,
who is qualified for the requisite delineation of
it. There is an identity of character, as real
and as certain as the identity of person ; but it
is .such as can only be distinguished and de
scribed by the most perfect kind of familiarity.
Great men are generally known ; and yet, from
an obvious necessity, they must to the gene
rality be unknown. Only one man could write
the Life of Johnson ; and only one, the Life of
Cowper; not because Boswell and Hayley
were the best of all writers, but because they
happened to be best acquainted with their
subject. The author of the following sheets pretends
to no other qualification than this, except that
he also claims an inflexible fidelity. He pro
fesses to have enjoyed a long and intimate ac
quaintance with the distinguished individual
whose Memoirs he now snbmits to the public 
an acquaintance more intimate and unreserved

PREFACE. VU
than was enjoyed by any other person. He
has seen him in every shape and attitude,
amidst incessant labours, and in the moments
of relaxation ; has known him in every diffi
culty, and shared with him all the pains and
pleasures of life. How such intimacies origi
nate, is not easily accounted for; the most ge
nuine and the most gratifying are generally un
studied and unsought, and are both the cause
and the effect of an unremitted intercourse.
Such was the case in the present instance. The
interchange of thought and feeling, by conver
sation, by letter, by preaching, by every mode
of expression, was continued almost daily for a
number of years, during the most active and en
terprising period of life ; and accompanied with
a freedom, a colUsion, and a confidence that
knew no bounds. Had the author employed
the vigilance of a Lauterbach or a Boswell,
amidst the innumerable opportunities which
occurred, greater intellectual treasures might
have been added to the pre.sent compilation;
but they are now * like water spilled upon the
ground, which cannot be gathered up.' He can
only present to the candid notice of the reader,
the little which he happened to preserve, or
-which his recollection has been able to supply.
The suspension of that intimacy, once the
source of so much enjoyment, gave, it cannot

viii l»REFACfi.
be doubted, occasion for mutual regret. But
in the present life, and amidst the imperfections
of our nature, regrets are innumerable and un
availing ; ' that which is crooked cannot be
made straight, and that which is lacking cannot
be numbered ! ' Misunderstandings existing
with general friendships, are oftentimes easily
adjusted ; but when blended with those feelings
and sentiments which previous intimacies and
equalities have established, and requhing a sur
render of the right of judging as well as being
judged, experience has too often proved that it
is far otherwise. ' A brother offfended is harder
to be won than a strong city ; and theiT conten
tions are like the bars of a castle.' Deeply how
ever as the writer laments what he accounts, and
must ever account, the misjudging and mis
guided conduct of his departed friend, and the
irreparable injury which that conduct (ended to
inflict, he is anxious to acquit him of every dis
honourable motive, and cordially subscribes tO
the unimpeachable integrity of his character*.
The great and excellent man is, he doubts not,
gone to that world of truth and love, where every
error will be banished, every passion purified^
and where every virtuous and spiritual union
shall be revived and perpetuated, to be dissolved
no more. •
October 2.1, 181.3.

MEMOIRS

LIFE, &c.

CHAPTER I.
Mr. Fuller's parentage — early life — conversion
— call to the ministry-^and labours at Soham.

Like many Other great and original charac*
ters, Mr.,ANDREw Fuller arose out of obscuri
ty, without any flattering prospect of future emi
nence. When he first made his appearance on
the theatre of public life, there was little about
him calculated to attract the notice, or excite
the esteem of his cotemporaries. Regardless
however of adventitious circumstances, he was
propelled by the force of his own native genius,
and owed as little to artificial culture, as he did
to the smiles of opulence, or the honours of
descent. He was born at Wickeu, a small village in
Cambridgeshire, about seven miles from Ely,
on the 6th of February 1754 ; and in his youth
B

2 MEMOIRS OF
received only the common rudiments of au
English education, at the free school of Soham.
His father, Robert Fuller, at the period of
his son Andrew's birth, occupied a small farm
at Wicken, and was the parent of three sons,
of whom the subject of this memoir was the
youngest. His brothers were, Robert Fuller,
a farmer still residing at Isleham, born in 1747 ;
and John Fuller, born in 1748, who also rents
a farm at Little Bentiey in Essex, both of them
deacons of baptist churches. Mr. John Fuller
had a son named Joseph, who was early called
to the knowledge of the truth under the minis
try of his uncle at Kettering. This amiable
youth, evincing considerable talents for useful
ness, was invited to the work of the ministry
by the church at Kettering, of which he had be
come a member, and was sent to the Baptist
Academy at Bristol to prosecute his studies
under the superintendance of Dr. Ryland. His
gentle manners and growing abilities excited
the expectation that he would be able to suc
ceed his uncle in the ministry, and in the
management ofthe mission ; but to the grief and
disappointment of his friends, he was removed
from the stage of life, by a consumptive com
plaint when only about twenty years of age.
Eminent as Mr. Andrew Fuller afterwards
became for piety and usefulness, his youthfyl

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 3
days were spent in sin and vanity ; and the his
tory of this period affords a lamentable proof
of the depravity of human nature, while it il
lustrates the sovereign efficacy of renewing
grace, and its richness and freeness to the chief
of sinners. It will be seen in the following
narrative, drawn up by Mr. Fuller himself about
seventeen years ago, and communicated in a
letter to a friend, how deeply he felt himself
indebted to the grace of God, and what were
the grounds of his attachment to that doctrine
which became the theme of his future ministry.
" My parents," says he, " were Dissenters,
of the Calvinistic persuasion. They were en
gaged in husbandry, which occupation I follow
ed till the twentieth year of my age. — At this
distance of time it is not easy to recollect all
that happened ; but I remember many of the
sins of my childhood : among which were ly
ing, cursing, and swearing. It is true, as to
the latter, it never became habitual., I had a
dread upon my spirits to such a degree, that
when I uttered an oath, or any imprecation, it
was by .a kind of force put upon my feelings,
and merely to appear manly, like other boys
with whom I associated. This being the case,
when I was about ten years old- 1 entirely left
it off, except that I sometimes dealt in a sort
of minced oaths and imprecations^ when my
passions were inflamed.

4 MEMOIRS OF
" In the practice of telling lies 1 continuedr
some years longer ; at length, however, I began
lo think this a mean vice, and accordingly left
it off, except in cases where I was under some
pressing temptation.
" I think I must have been nearly fourteen
years old before I began to have any serious
thoughts about futurity. The preaching which
I attended was not adapted to awaken my con
science, as the minister had seldom any thing
to say except to believers ; and what believing
was I neither knew, nor greatly cared to know.
I remember, however, about this time as I was
walking alone, I put the question to myself,
what is faith ? There is much made of it,-"
what is it? I could not tell ; but satisfied my
self in thinking, it was not of immediate con^
cern, and I should understand it as I grew
older. " Sometimes conviction laid fast hold of me,
and rendered me extremely unhappy. One
winter evening in particular, I went to a smith's
shop, where a number of other boys sat round
the fire. Presently they began to sing vain
songs. This appeared to me so much like re
velling, that I felt something within that would
not suffer me to join them ; and while I sat si
lent, in rather an unpleasant muse, these words
sunk deep into my mind, * What doest thou
here, Elijah ?' They had such an effect upon

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 5
Bie, that I immediately left the company ; yet,
shocking to reflect upon, I walked away mur
muring in my heart against God, that I could
not be let alone, and suffered to take my plea
sure like other youth.
' " At other times I was greatly affected by
reading or thinking of the doctrines of Chris
tianity. One day in particular I took up Mr.
R. Erskine's ' Gospel Sonnets,' and opening
upon a piece called ' A Gospel Catechism for
young christians, or Christ all in all in our com
plete redemption,' I read ; and as I read, I
wept. Indeed I was almost overcome with
weeping, so interesting did the doctrine of eter
nal salvation appear to me : yet, there being no
radical change in my heart, these thoughts pas
sed away, and I was equally intent on the pur
suit of folly as heretofore.
" Sometimes I felt a strange kind of regard
towards good people, such of them especially
as were familiar in their behaviour to young
persons, and would occasionally talk with me
about religion. I used to wish I had many
thousand pounds, that I might give some of it
to those of them who were poor in their world
ly circumstances.
" I was sometimes the subject of such con^
victidns and affections, that I really thought
myself a converted person, and lived under

0* MEMOIRS OF
that delusion for some years. The ground oa
which I rested this opinion was as follows : —
One day as I was walking alone, I began to
think seriously what would become of ray soul \
I felt myself the slave of sin. Till now, I did
not know but that I could repent at any time;
but now I perceived that my heart was wick
ed, and that it was not in me to turn to God,
or to break off my sins by righteousness. I
saw that if God would forgive me all the past,
and offer me the kingdom of heaven on the con
dition of giving up my wicked pursuits, I
should not accept it. This conviction vvas ac
companied with great depression of heart. 1
walked sorrowfully along, repeating these
words, — Iniquity will be my ruin ! Iniquity
will be my ruin !
" While poring over my unhappy case, those
words of the Apostle suddenly occurred to my
mind : ' Sin shall not have dominion over you ;
for ye are not under the law, but under grace.'
Now the suggestion of a text of scripture to the
mind, and especially if it came with power,
tvas generally considered by religious people,
with whom I occasionally associated, as a pro
mise coming immediately from God. I there
fore so understood it, and thought that God
had thus revealed to me that I was in a state
of salvation ; and that therefore iniquity should

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 7
HOt, as I had feared, be my ruin. The effect
was, I was overcome with joy and transport.
I shed, I suppose, thousands of tears as I walk
ed along, and seemed to feel myself as it were
in a new world. It appeared to me that I hat
ed my sins, and was resolved to forsake them.
Thinking on my wicked courses, I remember
using those words of Paul : * Shall I continue
in sin that grace may abound ? God forbid!'
I felt, or seemed to feel, the strongest indigna
tion at the thought. But strange as it may ap
pear, though my face was that morning swel
led with weeping, yet before night all was gone
and forgotten, and I returned to my former vices
with as eager a gust as ever; nor do I re
member that for more than half a year after it,
I had any serious thoughts about the salvation
of my soul.
" About a 'year afterwards, however, I was
again walking by myself, and began to reflect
upon my course of life, particularly upon my for
mer hopes and affections, and how I had since
forgotten them all, and returned to all my wick
ed ways. Instead of sin having no more domi
nion over me, I perceived that its dominion had
been encreased. For some minutes I was
greatly dejected, but was instantly relieved by
what I accounted another promise from God.
These words were suggested to my mind ; ' I

^ MEMOIRS OP
have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgres-'
sions, and as a cloud thy sins.' By this, as by
the former, I was overcome with what I con
sidered to be God's great love to me, and shed a
multitude of tears, not of sorrow, but of joy
and gratitude. I now considered myself as
having been in a backsliding state, and that
God had graciously restored me; though in
truth I have every reason to think that the great
deep of my heart's depravity had not yet been
broken up, and that all my religion was mere
transient impression, without any abiding prin
ciple. Amidst it all, I had lived without
prayer, and was never, that I recollect, induced
to deny myself of one sin when temptations
¦were presented. I now however thought, surely
I shall be better for the time to come. But alas !
in a few days this also was forgotten, and I re
turned to my evil courses with as much eager
ness as ever.
" I now began to draw towards sixteen
years of age ; and as my powers atid passions
strengthened, I was more and more addicted to
evil. Nor was I merely prompted by my own
propensities; for having formed connections
with other wicked youths, my progress in the
way to death was thereby greatly accelerated.
Being of an athletic frame, and of a daring
spirit, I was often engaged in such exercises

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 9
and exploits as might have issued in death, if
the good hand of God had not preserved me.
I also frequently engaged in games of hazard,
which, though not one to any great amount, yet
were very bewitching to me, and tended greatly
to corrupt my mind. These, with various
other evil courses, had so hardened my heart
that I seldom thought of religion. Nay, I re-»
collect that on a Lord's day evening about this
time, when my parents were reading in the
family, I was shamefully engaged with one
of the servants, playing idle tricks, though I
took care not to be seen in them. These
things were nothing to me at that time; for
my conscience, by reiterated acts of wicked
ness, had become ' seared as with a hot iron :'
they were heavy burdens however to me after
wards. " Having persisted in this course for a time,
I began to be very uneasy, particularly in a
morning when I first awoke. It was almost as
common for me to be seized with keen remorse
at this hour, as it was to go into bad company
in the evening. At first I began to make vows
of reformation, and this for the moment would
afford a little ease ; but as the temptations re
turned, my vows were of no account. It was
an enlightened conscience only that was on the
side of God : my heart was still averse to every
c

10 MEMOIRS OF
thing spiritual or holy. For several weeks I
went on in this way; vowing, and breaking
my vows; reflecting on myself for my evil
conduct, and yet continually repeating it.
" It was not now as heretofore : my convic
tions followed me up closely. I could not, as
formerly, forget these things, and was therefore
a poor miserable creature, like a drunkard who
carouses in the evening, but mopes about the
next day like one half dead. One morning, as
I was walking alone, I felt an uncommon load
upon my heart. The remembrance of my sin,
not only on the past evening, but for a long
time back, — the breach of my vows, and the
shocking termination of my former hopes and
affections, all uniting together, formed a burden
which I knew not how to bear. The gnawings
of a guilty conscience, seemed to be a kind of
hell within me. Nay, I really thought at the
time, that this was the fire and brimstone of
the bottomless pit, and that in me it was already
kindled. I do not write in the language of
exaggeration. I now know that the sense
which I then had of the evil of my sin, and the
dreadfulness of God's righteous displeasure
against me on account of it, came very far
short of truth, though they seemed more than
I was able to sustain. When I thought of my
broken vows, they served to convince me that

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 1 1
there was no truth in me, and that I was alto
gether wicked. I subscribed to the justice of
my doom, if I were sent to hell ; and plainly
saw that to hell I must go, unless I were saved
of mere grace, and as it were in spite of my
self. I sensibly perceived that if God were to
forgive me all the past, I should again destroy
my soul, and that in a very little time : I never
before felt myself such an odious and helpless
sinner. I seemed to have nothing about me
that ought to excite the pity of God, or that
I could reasonably expect should do so; but
every thing disgusting to him, and provoking
to the eyes of his glory.
" And now the question would turn in my
inipd, six or seven times over, what must I do ?
What shall I do ? Indeed, I felt utterly at a
loss what to do. To think of amendment, and
much more to make vows concerniijg it as
heretofore, were but a mockery of God and my
own soul ; and to hope for forgiveness in the
course that I was in, was the height of pre
sumption. So I had no refuge. For a moment,
despair took hold upon me, and I even thought
of returning and taking my fill of sin, let the
consequences be what they might ; but then
again the thoughts of being lost, and lost for
ever, sunk into my soul like lead into the
waters. While thinking on this, my past hopes
c 2

12 MEMOIRS OF
also recurred to mind, and aggravated the idea
of eternal punishment. What thought I, shall
I at once bid adieu to Christ, and hope, and
heaven — and plunge my soul into endless ruin?
At this my heart revolted. What shall 1 do?
What vMi I do ? This was all I could say.
" It is difficult at this distance of time to re
collect with precision the minute workings of
my mind ; but as near as I can remember, I was
like a man drowning, looking every way for
Kelp, or rather catching for something by
which he might save his life. I tried to find
out whether there were any hope in divine
mercy — any in the Saviour of sinners; but felt
repulsed in the thoughts of mercy having been
so basely abused already. la this state of
mind, as I was moving slowly o», I thought of
the resolution of Job : ' Though he slay me,
yet vrill I trust in him.' And forasmuch as it
yielded me a faint ray of hope, I repeated the
words many times over ; and at each repetition,
I seemed to g-ather a little strength. It excited
a sort of peradventure the Saviour of sinners
may save my life, mixed with a determination,
if I might, to cast my perishing soul upon
him for salvation, to be both pardoned, and
purified, for I felt that 1 needed the one as
much as the other.
" I M as not then aware tliat any poor sinner

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 1 3
had a warrant to believe in Christ for the sal
vation of his soul ; but supposed there must be
some kind of qualification to entitle him to do
it ; yet I was aware that I had no qualifications.
On a review of my resolution at that time, it
seems to resemble that of Esther, who went into
the -king's presence contrary to the law, and
at the hazard of her life. Like her, I seemed
reduced to extremities; impelled by dire ne
cessity to run all hazards, even though I should
perish in the attempt. Yet it was not altoge
ther from a dread of wrath that I fled to this
refuge ; for I well remember that I perceived
something attracting in the Saviour. I must
— I will — yes I will trust ray soul — my sinful
lost soul— in his hands. If I perish, I perishi
Such in substance were my resolutions. In this
state of mind I continued nearly an hour,
weeping and supplicating mercy for the Savi
our's sake ; (my soul hath it still in remem
brances and is humbled in me!) j^nd as the eye
of ray mind was more and more fixed on him,
my guilt and fears were gradually and insensi
bly removed. <r. :
" I now found rest for ray troubled soul, and
I reckon that I should have found it sooner, if
I had not entertained the notion of my having
no warrant to come to Christ, without some
previous qualification. This notion was a bar

14 MEMOIRS OF
that kept me back for a time, though, through
divine drawings, I was enabled to overleap it.
As near as I can remember, in the early part
of these exercises, when I subscribed to the
justice of God in my condemnation, and thought
of the Saviour of sinners, I had then relinquish
ed every false confidence, believed my help to
be only in him, and approved of salvation by
grace alone, through his death : and, if at that
time I had known that any poor sinner might
warrantably have trusted in him for salvation,
I conceive I should have done so, and have
found rest to my soul sooner than I did. I
mention this because it may be the case with
others, who may be kept in darkness and de
spondency by erroneous views of the gospel,
much longer than I was,
" I think also I did repent of my sin in the
early part of these exercises, and before I
thought that Christ would accept and save my
soul. I conceive that, justifying God in my
condemnation, and approving the way of sal
vation by Jesus Christ, necessarily included
it ; but yet I did not think at the time that this
was repentance, or any thing truly good. In
deed I thought nothing about the exercises of
my own mind, but mefely of my guilty and
lost condition, and whether there were any
hope of escape for me. But having found rest

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 10
would say,) " he learned to do so by bitter ex
perience." Nothing now was looked for, but
the dissolution of the church. For several
weeks, he went to another place. Those mem
bers, however, who kept together, appointed
a day for fasting and prayer, and invited all
who were scattered to unite in this. He ac
cepted the invitation, and from that time con
tinued with them.
The church at Soham having become desti
tute, and being scarcely in a condition to obtain
or support another minister, it was found ex
pedient to supply this lack of service, by en
gaging the assistance of some one of their own
members. One of the deacons of the church,
a Mr. Joseph Diver, generally took the lead,
at the time, in conducting their public wor
ship. He was a man of some ability, had an ex
tensive acquaintance with the Word, and pos
sessed considerable piety and prudence. His
practice was to read some portion of the scrip
tures, and attempt a short illustration of what
he had read, for the edification and instruction
of his brethren. It seems, however, that this
was not to the entire satisfaction of young-
Fuller, who longed for the privilege of having
the pastoral office once more filled up araong
them. - A proposition was, about this time, made to

20 MEMOIRS OF
him to be apprenticed to some business, to
which he had formerly been inclined; and his
mother, judging " the candlestick to have been
removed " from Soham, mentioned to him a
vacancy of which she had heard, and which if
he chused to accept, would afford him the
opportunity of hearing the gospel preached
every Lord's day. But, slender as were the
advantages to be derived from his religious con
nections at Soham, he felt reluctant to leave
them. Compassion for their destitute circum
stances and a wish like that which Lot ex
perienced, " to see what would become of the
city," induced him to continue where he was.
In this state of things, a singular occur
rence in providence paved the way for his being
himself introduced into that important station.
Having occasion, on a Saturday in the month
of November 1771, to go to one of the neigh
bouring villages, his thoughts became fixed,
during the journey, on the words of the Psalm
ist; "Weeping may endure for a night, but
joy coraeth in the morning." Psalm xxx. 5.
His mind was led out into a pleasing medita
tion on the passage, and a thought suggested
itself to him that he could possibly say some
thing upon it that might be instructive to others.
On the following morning, when he met his
brethren for public worship, it was found that

•MR. ANDREW FULLER. 21
the deacon who usually presided, and engaged
in reading and exhortation, was unable to at
tend, having spraiped his leg ; in consequence
of which Mr. Fuller was solicited by the other
deacon, to read the scriptures and say a few
words to the congregation. The request, as
we may naturally suppose, not a little surprised
him, and occasioned some hesitation ; but he
at length yielded to their importunity, and de
livered a discourse of about half an hour, on
the words which had occupied his thoughts
the preceding day. He was invited on a sub
sequent occasion, again to deliver an (exhorta
tion ; but as volubility of speech, rather than
any other qualification is generally con.sidered
as the principal requisite for a pulpit orator,
Mr. Fuller's strong sense and sterling piety, ac
companied as they were with a rough and heavy
manner of address, were scarcely sufficient to
secure his acceptance.
From this time to the end of 1772, Mr,
Fuller does not appear to have been called upon
to occupy his talent in the way of public leach
ing. Mr. Diver is said to have (too hastily) re
marked, that it was needless to encourage him,
for that he would never make a preacher!
Happily, for the world at large, however, about
the beginning ofthe year 1773, an opportunity

22 MEMOIRS OF
was again afforded him, by the absense of Mr.
Diver, to address his brethren, vvhich he did
from Luke xix. 10. " The Son of man is come
to seek and to save that which was lost." He
spoke at this time with great freedom, arrested
the attention of his audience, and was the hap
py means of reaching conviction to the minds
of several young persons who afterwards united
with the church.
In the course of the following year, he bap
tized two persons, and was invited by his bre
thren to accept the pastoral office. The invi
tation was several times repeated, and on his
part declined, from a sense of unfitness and
incompetency. His mind, however, was in
tensely occupied in the pursuit of truth, and
in viewing the progress of a controversy which
was going on in his neighbourhood. Mr. Ro
binson, of Cambridge, and some other Baptist
ministers, were writing in favour of open Com
munion; and though Mr. Fuller did not ven
ture to publish any thing in reply, he compos-
ed a few pages in defence of strict Communi
on, in which he met the objections of the op
ponent party. The manuscript, written in his
twentieth year, and not intended for general
inspection, bears evident marks of acuteness,
and contained the germ of his future intellec-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 23
tual greatness. The reader, however, shall be
gratified with a sight of its contents, before the
close of the present volume.
In January 1774, one of the members died,
and it was requested by the surviving relatives
that, if not disorderly, Mr. Fuller should
preach a funeral sermon, which he did ; and
on the 26th of the same month, the church,
having previously held a day of fasting and
prayer, gave him an unanimous invitation to
become their pastor. But, notwithstanding
his disadvantageous circumstances ; situated
among a poor people who possessed but a
moderate acquaintance with divine truth, and
tossed to and fro by books of religious specu
lation of not the best tendency, which circula
ted among them, he felt the weight of the work
to which he had been called. He was much
engaged in prayer to Him who has received
gifts to bestow upon men, that he might be
qualified for it. He confided with great re
lief and delight in that promise, " In ali thy
ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct
thy paths." And this indeed never ceased to
be his refuge in every renewed difficulty of his
future life.
In the spring of 1776, after the probation of
more than twelve months he accepted the call
of the church, and was ordained on the 3d of

24 MEMOIRS OF
May in that year. Mr. Robert Hall of Arns-
by, father to the present Mr. Hall of Lei
cester, delivered the charge from Acts xx. 28.
Mr. Pilley ofLuton; and Mr. Emery of Little
Stoughton, near Kimbolton, were also present,
and took part in the ordination. They were
led to inquire into the difference of sentiment
which had occasioned the division from their
former pastor, and requested Mr. F. to state
this. Mr. Hall, whom Mr. F. always regard
ed as a superior man, both as a christian and
a divine, expressed his satisfaction with this
statement ; and recommended it to him to read
carefully Edwards on the Will, as the most
able work on the power of fallen men to obey
God. So little acquainted was he with authors,
that though this book had been much read for
several years, and reprinted in England, he eon-
founded it wit^ a work of Dr. Edwards of Cam
bridge, entitled, "Veritas Redux." He read this
work, and approved of it, but it did not seem
to bear on the object of Mr. Hall's recommen
dation. Nor did he, till 1777, discover his
mistake. He got now into a different and far
less profitable course of reading, though his
mind continued much exercised, respecting
the objects of the christian ministry. — Bunyan,
Gill, and Brine, were the authors he principal
ly perused, and though he received instruction

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 25
from them all, and most from Dr. Gill, he
could not fail to observe, that their views on
some subjects did not accord. Bunyan, while
maintaining that individuals are chosen, and
predestinated to eternal life before the world
began, solely in consequence of the sovereign
grace of God, presents the invitations of the
gospel to sinners without distinction, and dwells
on the Father of mercy, stretching out his hands
to the disobedient and gainsaying, having no
pleasure in their death.
He could not reconcile these things ; but
judged the honest tinker inconsistent with him
self, and with the scriptures, and thought the
other writers clearer in their views. Becoming
better acquainted, however, with the elder Pu
ritans, as well as with some of Bunyan's co-
temporaries, particularly Dr. Owen, he found
them harmonize much more with him, than with
Dr, Gill, or Mr. Brine. He was not a stranger
to those passages of the word of God which
contain pathetic invitations to sinners ; nor with
many of those addressed to them by Jesus,
during his personal ministry, inviting and be
seeching the guilty to come to Him — setting
forth the suitableness and freeness of Divine
mercy; — and the exceeding great and precious
promises to every one who repents, and be
lieves the gospel. But such were the prejudices
D.

26 MEMOIRS OF
of his mind, that he supposed there must be
two kinds of duties : one binding on man in in
nocence, and on all his posterity : the other de
rived from Christ, and obligatory only on his
people. He was not aware that the language
ofthe scriptm-es concerning the inabihty of man
to perform the latter is just what men use in
common discourse, to express resolute obsti
nacy and aversion to do any thing desired of
them ; nor had he observed that it is always
employed in scripture, not to palliate or excuse
disobedience, but to describe the depth of hu
man depravity.
In the autumn of 1775 he was in London,
•where he met with some writings on what was
called "The Modern Question;" which had
been agitated many years before, by Mr. Mau
rice of Rowell and Mr. Wayman of Kimbolton.
The former of these writers, being struck with
the boldness of the innovation that could call in
question the obligations of men to repent and
believe the gospel, gave to the controversy this
name, and pleaded with considerable success the
sentiments afterwards adopted by Mr. Fuller.
This was the first time in which he knew that
these views had been the subject of debate.
The proofs he there met with, that the addresses
of John the Baptist, of Christ and the Apostles,
to many who heard them, were directed to the

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 27
impenitent and the ungodly, and that the ob
ject of their address was to excite th«m to flee
from the wrath to come — ^to repent and live —
to believe and be saved — ^very much impressed
his mind. He set about examining the subject
afresh, and the more he read, the greater doubts
he entertained of the opinions he had been
holding. He now perceived himself unsettled,
on subjects which affected both his personal
religion, and his ministry. He became very
unhappy ; but his distress produced close medi
tation, diligent searching of the scriptures, and
earnest prayer.
Those acquainted with his works need not
be informed, that he soon became rooted and
established in views opposite to those with
which he set out ; and they will here learn in
what school the first edition of " The Gospel
worthy of all acceptation " written in 1781, was
taught, when he was only twenty-six years of
age. This work, though he judged it after
wards inconclusive in some parts, and improved
it, as he thought, in a subsequent edition, con
tains most important reasonings, and undoubt
edly displays talents which were afterwards
generally acknowledged on subjects that ob
tained greater and more universal attention.
On the 28th of May 1776, when the annual
association of ministers and members of sixteen
P 2

28 MEMOIRS OF
contiguous churches was held (now consisting
of about twice that number) of which that at
Soham was one, he first saw Mr. John Sutcliffe,
who, in the preceding July, had come to preach
at Olney, the place where they assembled.
From that day to the very last, an endearing
and reciprocal friendship existed between them,
the bonds of which have been divided but a
short time, now re-united, and drawn more
close for ever. It was then too that his ac
quaintance commenced with the present Dr.
Ryland of Bristol, who at that time had entered
on his ministry at Northampton.
These young associates had lately drunk
deep in the writings of President Edwards,
and introduced that excellent author, and others
of the New England School, to the acquaint
ance of their new friend. His works, their con
versation and enquiries, and the instructions of
his venerable friend, Mr. Hall, who in a supple
ment to his Association Letter of that year, on
the doctrine of the Trinity, added some thoughts
on the causes of salvation and damnation, close
ly connected with those subjects, served to
enlarge and establish Mr. Fuller's mind, and
to give a direction to his sentiments and preach
ing, discernible in all his future discourses and
works.

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 29
In December 1776, Mr. Fuller married Miss
Gardiner, who was a member of the church at
Soham, and whose father resided chiefly at
Newmarket. She was an amiable woman, sin
gularly meek and retired in her deportment,
and greatly beloved by her connections. By
this first marriage, he had a numerous family :
in the first four years they had four children,
wkh others afterwards. And though several
died in infancy; some survive to lament, his
loss. That he might give himself more unreserved
ly to the duties of his office, Mr. Fuller relin
quished his business, the prosecution of which
lie found, as every one will find who has scrip
tural views of the pastoral office, inconsistent
with, or at least very unfavourable to, entire
¦devotedness to its duties, and to their improve
ment in qualifications for them. The support
he received from the church, not through par
simony, but from their slender circumstances,
became inadequate to provide for the expences
of a rising family. He set up a school in aid
of his usefulness and his income ; but after try
ing this for a year, he did not succeed, and re
linquished it in April 1 780. Discouraged by
these things, though a man of a disinterested
mind, and inexpensive habits, but far more dis»

30 MEMOIRS OF
couraged by the dissatisfaction which some ex
pressed with his change of views, by the luke-
warmness of many, and the little appearance of
edification, and it is said, by unkindness on the
part of a few, he was greatly depressed, and
nearly brought down by sorrow and sickness to
the grave.
He had preached occasionally at Kettering,
where the church had been destitute of a pas
tor for a considerable time, and was heard by
them with great profit and acceptance. It was
soon discovered that they were desirous of his
removal, and suggestions to that effect were
conveyed to him through Mr. Wallis, who was
an excellent man, and of whom some further
notice will be taken.
In fact, though his connections at Soham
were endeared to him by first impressions
and early attachments, it was not to be expected
that a situation so unsuitable to his talents should
be eventually preferred. The exalted Head
of the church had great effects to be produced
by his instrumentality ; and by a series of disap
pointments and discouragements was gradually
paving the way for his removal to a more elevated
station, in which his great and varied talents
might be exerted with more effect, to the glory
of his divine Master, and the benefit of his fellow

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 3 1
creatures. Mr. Fuller had indeed. the oppor
tunity of leaving his situation much sooner
than he did ; but his attachment to the place
where he had spent his early days, to the
people with whom he was first united in chris
tian love, his disinterested regard for their wel
fare, the deep sense he entertained of his obliga
tions, and of his own unfitness for a more im
portant station, prevented his listening to the
invitations of other churches, till he was in a
measure compelled by accumulated difficulties
to think of tendering his resignation.
The first intimation of this was given to the
church at Soham, in July 1781, which oc
casioned great sorrow of heart, and various
consultations with ministers and others, till at
length, being overcome by the prayers, the
tears, and entreaties of the people, Mr. Fuller
consented to stay with them another year.
When the period for his departure was draw
ing nigh, the scene became still more painful,
and his courage failed him. The most unfeign
ed sorrow prevailed in almost every heart. " For
my own part," said Mr. Fuller, '* I found it ex
ceedingly difficult to go on in preaching, and
to keep from weeping quite out. I hastened, as
soon as worship was over, to get alone, and
there to give full vent to all my sorrows.

32 MEMOIRS OF
We had a private evening meeting, Aug. tlth,
1782, which was more trying to me than the
pubhc services of the day. I saw a spirit in
the church in general, which had I seen half a
year ago, I could never have left them, come
what would, whatever I do now. I went home
to my house with a heart full of distress, and
my strength nearly exhausted "with the work
and weeping ofthe day,"
" The next day, August 12, I devoted to fast
ing and prayer ; and I scarcely remember such
a day in my life, for tenderness and importunity
in prayer. Two days after, I felt my spirits
all the morning exceedingly depressed ; but I
got alone, and found a heart to pray with great
er fervency than I had done before. It seemed
as if I must have my petition granted, or I could
not live. Nothing but the thoughts of an open
door for greater usefiilness in Christ's cause,
and my having been so much engaged to pray for
the coming of Christ's kingdom, could have
kept me from dropping all opposition, and
yielding to the desire of the church." He after
wards added, " I do hope the hand of God is
in all this. I feel a secret longing to have my
time, my soul, my all, devoted to Christ's inte
rest, in some respects different from what I can
here."

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 33
Mr, Fuller's delicate, prudent, christian
conduct, on this occasion, was very con
spicuous. It is evident that his mind was
greatly distracted with suspense and uncer
tainty; the apprehensions of committing sin
on the one hand, and of neglecting a call to
greater usefulness on the other, threw him
into perplexity and agitation. Unexpected
considerations would start suddenly on him ;
he found he had been an instrument of doing
more good, and that there was more attach
ment towards him in the church than had
hitherto been discovered. About thirty per
sons had joined the church, nearly as many
were awakened under his ministry, and the
last year was still more promising of useful
ness and comfort, A conflict of contending pas
sions bred thus as great a tumult within him,
as perhaps the revolutions of empires ever
worked in an ambitious breast. In this di
lemma he had recourse to counsel from friends,
and from meetings of ministers ; the question,
whether he should leave the first scene of his
usefulness, or occupy a larger and in some
respects a more comfortable sphere was refer
red by the church and by him, to arbitration ;
he corresponded with those whom he thought
likely to give him good advice ; but above all,

34 MEMOIRS OF
he resorted on this occasion, io fasting, and
prayer to the Father of lights. He did not
obtain such certainty, however, as made him
clear to remove, and thus for a year still con
tinued at Soham ; at this period, however, he
came to the conclusion, and all parties agreed
that he should accept the invitation of the
church at Kettering. On this decision, the
church at Soham wept much, but said " The
will ofthe Lord be done."

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 35

CHAPTER II.
His removal to Kettering — exercises of mind
under various ajfflictive dispensations — Narra
tive continued.
Amongst dissenting churches, where the right
of choosing and retaining their own ministers
is tenaceously regarded, there is always some
danger of sacrificing the general good to the
supposed claims of a particular society. And
though Mr. Fuller was influenced by the purest
motives, in prolonging his connection with the
church at Soham, seeing he had no objectjs of
ambition to gratify; yet it is pretty evident
that a considerable part of his usefulness would
have been lost, by complying with the wishes
of the people and acknowledging their exclu
sive right to his services, had not providence
removed those scruples by imposing a neces
sity from which there could be no appeal.
In the early part of Mr. Fuller's pubhc life,
he had the happiness to become acquainted
with the venerable Mr. Hall of Arnsby, whose
peculiar delight it was to encourage any pro-

36 MEMOIRS OF
raising talents which he discovered amongst his
junior brethren in the ministry. Mr. Hall had
long fixed his eye on Mr. Fuller, as likely to
render important services to the cause of Chris
tianity at some future period, and anxiously
waited to introduce him to a situation more
adapted to the range of his abilities. Amidst
the difficulties attending his early labours, both
from the pulpit and the press, and those which
arose out of his religious connections, Mr. Hall
was his counsellor and friend ; and to the latest
hour of his life, Mr. Fuller cherished the me
mory of that eminent man with filial affection
and reverence.
It has been already stated that the Bap-
list church at Kettering was destitute of
a pastor during the greater part of the
time Mr. Fuller was exercising his ministry
at Soham; and having been strongly recom
mended by Mr. Hall, they waited several
years in the hope of obtaining him. In the
mean time Mr. Fuller occasionally visited and
preached at Kettering, where his character
and talents where held in the highest estima
tion, and where a more extensive field of use
fulness invited his attention. The interval
however was equally painful to himself and to
his friends. The church at Soham was dis
tressed by the fear of losing him, and the
church at Kettering for the want of him, while

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 37
he himself was equally distressed by the influ
ence of contending motives. " Oh that it had
never been my lot," said he, " to undergo the
trial of a remove ! Such things not only kin
dle my affections, but my fears. I am not
without my fears, that if I do remove, I shall
sin against the Lord ; and rather than do that,
I would go softly all my years in the bitter
ness of my soul. Truly his favour to me is
better than life. On the other hand, I am not
without hope that I should not offend the Lord
in so doing. Yet if I go, I shall take upon
me a greater charge than I have hitherto had ;
and that greater charge is attended with great
er obligations to iSiligence and faithfulness.
When greater opportunities of doing good are
put into our hands, it is but having more ta
lents to improve, and more souls to be account
able for. These things make me fear and
tremble." This painful conflict ended in October 1782,
when Mr. Fuller removed with his family to
Kettering. He became pastor over that church
on the 7th of October in the following year,
when Mr. Hall, Mr. Booth, Mr. Martin, JMr.
Ryland, and several other ministers, assisted on
the occasion. Mr. Hall delivered the charge
from the last words of Paul to Timothy ; " The
Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit." •

38 MEMOIRS OF
On coming to this new situation, it was Mr.
Fuller's good fortune to find in the senior dea
con of his church, the late Beeby Wallis, Esq.,
a man who duly appreciated his worth ; and
Avho, by his superior discernment and the trans-
cendant excellency of his character, acquired
and employed the most extensive influence in
conducting the concerns of the society for the
mutual honour and benefit of the pastor and
the flock. The connection from first to last,
allowing for those incidents inseparable from
the present imperfect state of human society,
was a source of great comfort and satisfaction
to both parties. And though the eminence of
Mr. Fuller's pulpit talents could not fail to at
tract the attention of more numerous and more
opulent congregations than that over which he
presided ; yet he never felt any temptation to
leave a people to whom he was so much at
tached, and from whom he received so many
proofs of affection and esteem, in order to grati
fy the pride of popularity or the love of filthy
lucre. Alluding sometimes to what are called the
more 'respectable' churches in the connection,
and observing the very humble situation of
some of their ministers, whose influence and
authority are absorbed in the more dignified
office ofthe lay elders, he used to say, " I love

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 39
to be where I can have plenty of elbow room ;"
and certainly he was inspired with sufficient
terror of that worst of all animals, " a lord bro
ther." Referring once to the salary he re
ceived for his ministerial labours, which was at
no time fully adequate to his support, he re
marked, " If I Wad consulted my temporal in
terest, I might have doubled what I have had
for the last twenty years ; yet I might not have
been better off than I am now." He was there
fore contented and happy in the situation which
providence had assigned him.
Mr. Fuller's removal to Kettering, seems to
have been the commencement of a distinct era
in his public life. Here he was brought into
closer union with a circle of ministers to whom
he was greatly attached, and who were equally
ardent with himself in the investigation of truth,
if not alike successful in its propagation. Here
also his labours took a wider range, and were
determined towards a more definitive object.
Whether it be owing to a congeniality of
mind, produced by frequent intercourse ; to
the collision of sentiment; to the influence
which insensibly pervades the same society ;
to a spirit of emulation excited by comparison,
or to any other assignable cause; it seems
pretty evident that no great man ever existed
alone in any age or country; and if others

40 MEMOIRS OF
equally eminent with himself be not produced
by his impulse, he is the means somehow or
other of elevating from the common level of
mankind many around him, and of imparting
an energy of mind and character which other
wise they had not possessed. The social in
fluence was never more sensibly felt, nor ever
more visible than in the present instance;
where the prophet's mantle seems to have de
scended successively, and to have endued each
with a considerable portion of the same spirit,
the same gifts and talents for usefulness.
The late venerable Mr. Hall, the senior Mr.
Ryland of Northampton, (to whose memory,
justice is still in long arrears), the late Mr. Sut
cliffe, and Mr. Fuller, to say nothing of Dr.
Carey and other surviving cotemporaries, were
men of no ordinary standard, and they seem
to have been planted together for no ordinary
purpose. Each shone in his turn with unusual
brightness; and that part of the religious he
misphere more especially in which they moved,
has been long and succesively irradiated with
the splendour of their talents and the eminence
of their piety. ' .
The first two or three years after MrT Ful
ler's removal to Kettering, were passed in
great comfort and tranquillity. He was much
occupied, during this period, in revising and

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 41
publishing his Treatise on Faith, written chief
ly while he was at Soham, and in defending it
against various opponents. It was an employ
ment in which he much delighted, and he en
tered upon it in the confidence of ultimate
success. Trials and afflictions, common to all, awaited
him ; and the first of a domestic kind that se
riously affected him, was the death of a beloved
daughter, at the age of six years and a half, on
the 30th of May, 1786. He had buried several
children in their infancy, but this was a heavier
stroke, and it made a deep impression on his
heart. The following lines, written on this
occasion, are exceedingly pathetic, and afford
abundant evidence of the acuteness of his pa
ternal feehngs,
" The Child is not !— and I, whither shall I go i
My pensive soul thought thus to urge its grief:
To what retreat betake me, high or low.
Where burdened hearts might find some short relief.
Shall I betake me to the grove, or field.
Or walk, or hill, or dale, or grassy plain ?
Alas, what joy can all creation yield I
Creation mourns where death and sorrow reign.
So far from easing, prospects aggravate ;
Ah, here she walked — there r*n— fA^re plucked the
opening flower : E

42 MEMOIRS OF
Turn, turn away my eyes, nov jrrjtate
The wound that's now too deep for earth to cure.
But stop ,-. , the Child is not . , . hence will I go.
To God, who though he frowns, is still the same.
She was not mine, though fond I called her so ;
He gave, He took away — I'll bless his Name.
Look neither inward, on thy griefs to pore,
Nor outward, for relief in creature joys ;
Look upward to thy God, thence help implore.
And help will come, and good from ill arise.
Nor mourn t' excess her loss, but say " 'tis well ;"
What matter when she died, if but to God.
If reared for Him, though young or old she fell.
His bosom is her last and blest abode.
Here oft she read of infant piety ;
She read, and loved, and paused at every breath,
Till dire affliction wore h?r strength away.
And quenphed her powers, and sealed her lips in death.
What tb^O ! her powers we tru3t do now e^cpaod;
Our views- compared with her's are childish now.
She needs not liule toys t' amuse her niind;
Christ, whoqi ah? sQwght, will be her aU to know.
Surely her sorrows no\Y to joy are turned,
Yes, sure her infant cries were heard and sped.
Her tender hopes, to blest fruition changed,
And all her fears in disappointment fled.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 43
But must we part ?— and, can I bid farewel .'
We must — I can — I have — I kissed her dust—
I kissed the clay-cold corpse, and bid farewel.
Until the resurrection of the just.
Return, my soul, the works of life attend,
A little while to labour here is given ;
Meanwhile a new attractive thou shalt find,
To draw thee hence, and fix thine heart in heaven."
To prevent misapprehension, it may not be
improper to observe that these lines do not find
a place in this memoir, on account of any su
perior poetic excellency which they are sup
posed to possess. That is a point on which
different readers will entertain different opi
nions. They are introduced because they
serve, in an eminent degree, to develope the
paternal character of their Author; to show
how tenderly he could feel for his offspriji^,
and to evince the strength of his sensibilities,
notwithstanding the sternness of his general
aspect. '• Natural affection," says Melancthon,
" is peculiarly forcible in minds of a superior
order;" and he himself was an instance ofthe
justness of the remark. When an eminent li
terary character called one day at his house to
see him, instead of finding him as he expected,
remote from his family, and secluded in his
study, he was introduced to him, rocking his
E 2

44 MEMOIRS OF
child's cradle with one hand and holding a
book in the other ! It is also somewhere re
marked of that illustrious statestaan, the late
Mr. Fox, that after having held the British
Senate four hours together during the night, in
delightful astonishment, charmed by the
splendour of his talents and the blaze of his
overpowering eloquence, he might be seen the
following morning at trap ball with a little boy
on the lawn, before his parlour window, and
entering eagerly with him into all his little
amusements. It is by the facility with which
superior minds descend from their elevation,
and mingle with us in the ordinary occurrences
of life, that under one view we estimate their
greatness. And when we contemplate the Soa
of God himself, taking little children up in his
arms and blessing them, we have before us a
pattern of grace and condescension which may
well put the highest mortal to the blush.
But Providence soon prepared for Mr. Ful
ler a still greater trial of heart and intellect.
On August 23, 1790, he lost his amiable wife,
under very afflictive circumstances ; and though
he bore it with becoming fortitude, he was
deeply affected.
Fond of nature and the woodland scenery,
he would sometimes take his companion with
him for a day, in the nutting season, to enjoy

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 45
the luxury of wandering among the bushes to
gather nuts. Riding alone through Corby
Woods, a year after his bereavement, he com
memorated the afflictive event by dictating the
following lines on the occasion ; which are not
less affecting by their artless simplicity, than
by the air of solemnity which they impart to
the surrounding scene.
" I who erewhile was blessed with social joys.
With joys that sweetened all the ills of life,
And shed a cheerful light on all things round— ^
¦ Now mourn my days in pensive solitude.
There once did live a heart that cared for me ;
I loved, and was again beloved in turn ;
Her tender soul would soothe my rising griefs.
And wipe my tears, and mix them with her own.
But she is not — and I forlorn am left.
To weep \inheeded, and to serve alone !
I roam amidst the dreary woods. Here once
I walked with her who walks no more with me.
The fragrant forest then with pleasure smiled j
Why wears it now a melancholy hue ?
Ah me ! nor woods, nor fields, nor aught besides,
Can grateful prove where grief corrodes the heart.
God of my life, and guide of all my years I
To Thee may lagain my soul commend.
And in Thee find a friend to share my griefs,

46 MEMOIRS OF
To ^ive me counsel in each doubtful path.
And lead me on through every maze of life,
TiU I arrive where sighs are heard no more!"
To relieve his mind under this adversity,
Mr. Fuller devoted himself closely to writing;
and the intenseness of his application brought
on a spasmodic affliction in his face and head,
which created considerable alarm among his
friends. It was during this period that he
composed his Dialogues and Letters on the
Fundamental Principles of the Gospel, and
his celebrated work on the Calvinistic and So-
cinian Systems, examined and compared, as to
their moral tendency.
In March 1791, he lost his friend and coun
sellor, the Rev. Robert Hall of Arnsby; to
whose memory he paid the last tribute of re
spect, by delivering the funeral oration at his
grave. The death of this great man was se
verely felt, especially by the churches in his
immediate connection, which afterwards looked
up to Mr. Fuller as his successor in wisdom
and ability.
Requiring a little more relaxation than he had
been accustomed to allow himself, Mr. Fuller
rode over to Everton in the autumn of this
year, in company with his friend Mr. Sutcliffe,
on a visit to the venerable Mr. Berridge. The

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 47
interview was highly gratifying on all sides ;
and the good old man having given his two
friends a brief history of his life, they requested
him to pray a few minutes before they parted.
He however desired Mr, Fuller to engage in
that exercise; and, afterwards, without rising
from his knees, he took up the petitions which
had been offered, with great fervour and en
largement, and dismissed his brethren with the
most cordial benedictions. Mr. Fuller returned
home much refreshed by the interview, and
ever after mentioned it as one of the happiest
circumstances of his life.
But as all our mercies are intermixed with
trials, which are appointed for the exercise of
faith, we must expect to see them in the history
of others, and to feel them ourselves, in quick
succession. Soon after the loss of one or two
of his dearest friends, both in the ties of nature
and the gospel, another is called away by
death, whose cordial co-operation had afforded
to Mr. Fuller the greatest encouragement in
discharging the duties of the pastoral office.
Mr. Beeby Wallis, who had been a deacon of
the church during four and twenty years, died
on April 2, 1792. The family of this gentle
man had been celebrated for their piety,
throughout several generations. His father,
Mr. William Wallis, was a respectable member

48 MEMOIRS OF
of the same community. His grandfather, Mr.
Thomas Wallis, was pastor at the time the
learned Dr. Gill and Mr. Brine were mem
bers of the church, and were called to the mi
nistry during his presidency. His great grand
father, Mr. William Wallis, was the first minis
ter and founder of the church at Kettering,
in the year 1696. Mr. Beeby Wallis died
without issue, and only collateral branches of
his family exist. In commemoration of so
excellent a character, and the tender care with
which he watched over the interests of religion
in that society, which had been founded and
prospered by the labours of his pious ances
tors, Mr. Fuller composed the following epi
taph, which was afterwards inscribed upon his
tomb. " Kind sycamore, preserve, beneath thy shade,
The precious dust of Him who cherished thee .-
Nor theie alone ; a plant to him more dear.
He cherished, and with fost'ring hand upreared.
Active and generous in Virtue's caused
With solid wisdom, strict integrity.
And unaffected piety, he lived
Beloved amongst us, and beloved he died.
Beneath an Allon-Bachuth, Jacob wept :
Beneath thy shade we mourn a heavier loss."

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 49
About six months after the death of this ami
able man, the Baptist Missionary Society was
formed under the roof of his hospitable man
sion. This important event excited the most
lively interest, and called forth all the energies
of their able Secretary. Here he found an ob
ject commensurate with the magnitude of his
powers; and with the most unwearied assi
duity he devoted the remainder of his life to the
advancement of its interests. Fuller lived
AND DIED A MARTYR TO THE MISSION.
Having been upwards of four years a widow
er, though at all times the advocate of conjugal
society, he now married Miss Coles, Dec. 30,
1794, the only daughter of the Rev. Wm. Coles,
pastor of the baptist church at Maiden, in Bed
fordshire. Averse to the usual manner of comr
memorating such events, and desirous of ac
knowledging God in all his ways, he invited
only one or two pious and intimate friends, to
unite with him in prayer and supplication for
a blessing on the important connection which
had been formed. , By this second marriage,
Mr. Fuller had several children, most of whom
survive, with their afflicted mother, to mourn
their irreparable bereavement.
Mr. Fuller's ministeri-al labours, being usu
ally successful, were highly esteemed, and
procured him an encreasing degree of re-

50 MEMOIRS OF
putation and influence. Hitherto there had
been another Baptist congregation at Ketter
ing, over which the late Mr. Satchel for many
years presided ; but towards the close of 1795,
he and his friends requested to be incorporated
with the church under Mr. Fuller's care ; and
the union became a source of mutual satisfac
tion. Mr. Satchel was the author of an inge
nious work, afterwards published by his Son ;
and, from respect to his memory, Mr. Fuller
added a recommendatory preface.*
Mr. Fuller began to acquire considerable
celebrity as an author, and some of his works
were reprinted and circulated beyond the At
lantic, The American writers especially,
having entered pretty deeply into Theological
controversy, considered him as a very able
writer, and set a high value on his publications.
Desirous of expressing their esteem for his ta
lents and character, they conferred on him the
honorary title of Doctor in Divinity. Mr.
Fuller had no relish for such sort of distinc
tions ; and though he would not perhaps have
said with Robinson, " I vronder any man
should be so silly as to call me Reverend;" or
with Booth, that it was a species of profaneness
• Thornton Abbey: consisting of a Series of Letters
on Religious Subjects, 3 vols. i2aio ; price 16s.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. , 51
to be so denominated ; yet even that was a title
which he did not fully approve, but rather
wished to decline. But as to a D.D., having
no pretensions whatever to classical learning,
farther than being able to use a Hebrew or
Greek lexicon with tolerable readiness, he con
sidered such an appendage as little short of
ridiqulous, when attached to men whose utmost
acquirements did not go beyond the rudiments
of general literature. He also entertained ob
jections on higher grounds, deeming it incom
patible with that religious equality which Christ
established amongst his disciples in calling
them brethren.
Accordingly, in a letter to Dr. Hopkins of
New England, dated March 17, 1798, Mr.
Fuller expressed himself in the following man
ner. " One of our ministers has told the world
that a diploma was conferred on me by the
College of New Jersey,* I do not know that
it was so, as I have received no direct account
of it. If I had, I should have written them a
respectful letter, expressive of my gratitude for
their having offered such a token of respect,
and acknowledging what is the truth, that I
should esteem it as coming from that quarter
which, beyond any other in the world, J most
• Tlie iuformatiou was given to the public in the Baptist
Segisttr.

52 MEMOIRS OF
approved ; but, declining to accept it, partly be--
cause I have not those qualifications which are
expected to accompany such titles, and partly
because 1 believe all such titles in religion to
be contrary to our Lord's command. Matt.
xxiii. 8." The diploma was, nevertheless, at
length received, after it had been taken by the
French on its passage from America, and sent
over from the Continent to England, but it was
never appropriated. Mr, Fuller once exhibited
it to a learned friend, and amused himself
while its pompous contents were read over ;
but he was one ofthe last men in the world to
value himself on the possession of a " blue rib
band," Early in 1798, the country was much alarm
ed by the prospect of a threatened invasion,
and Mr. Fuller very feelingly participated in
the general concern. Much as he disapproved
of many of the measures of government, he was
a most decided friend to his country, not mere
ly on the common principles of political pa
triotism, but from higher motives. And with
Cowper, he could truly siy, ' England, with
all thy faults, I love thee still.' At this period,
in particular, he was under " strong apprehen
sions that a time of sore trial was at hand, and
that the meditated attack would prove an avv-
ful test to great multitudes of professed Chria-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 53
tians." I pray God (says he) " that it may be
averted, and that this cup may pass from us.
If however such a calamity be permitted, it
may be for the sake of destroying our antichris-
tian corruptions : but who shall live when God
doth this ! Oh that we might all forget every
character but that of the Christian, and be only
attentive to our immediate duty ! ' Seek the
peace of the city wherein ye dwell,' said the
Lord to the captives in Babylon ; ' and pray to
the Lord for it.' Yes, even of that city which
oppressed them, and oppressed the world.
However advantageous it might be to the Jew
ish captives, that Babylon should be overturn
ed, they were to do nothing to promote the
design of Cyrus ; but attend to duty in their
own little circle, and leave God to manage
things on the larger scale."
Mr. Fuller accordingly entered into a volun
tary subscription for the defence ofthe country;
he afterwards preached and printed a sermon
in support of the measure, and encouraged the
young men of his congregation to enter the
volunteer corps. Some of his brethren thought
this latter proceeding a little too militaire for a
minister of the gospel, and it proved for a time
somewhat unfavourable to his general popu
larity. Towards the close of this year, he was visit-

54 MEMOIRS OF
ed with a domestic calamity, which perJiaps af
fected hiin more deeply than any other event
in the course of his whole life. His nerves
were naturally firm and unshaken ; he seldom
gave way to the paroxisms of grief, scarcely
indeed in any case where religious principle
had not a deep concern ; and when this was
blended with other interests, the affliction be
came too poignant to be long endured.
Writing to an intimate friend on this trying
occasion, he says, " My heart is almost broken.
Let nothing that I said, grieve you ; but make
allowance for your afflicted and distressed
friend. When I lie down, a load almost in
supportable depresses me. Mine eyes are kept
waking ; or if I get a little sleep, it is disturb
ed ; and as soon as lawake, my load returns up
on me. Oh Lord ! I know not what to do ;
but mine eyes are up unto thee. Keep me, oh
my God, from sinful despondency ! Thou hast
promised that all things shall work together
for good to them that love thee : fulfil thy pro-
raise, on which thou hast caused thy servant
to hope. Oh Lord, I ara oppressed ; under
take for rae !"
About ten days afterwards, when the scene
began to brighten, he .sings of mercy and judg
ment. " I found much relief," says he, " in
prayer, and was persuaded that God would

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 65
bear rae and bring it to pass. I have now much
cause to be thankful, though my chief concern
is not accoinpli.shed. I must go at last to
Leicester and Nottingham to collect for the
mission ; but my strength and spirits are so
broken with what I have suffered this last week
that I feel almost unable to undertake any
thing. How soon the stoutest heart is appal
led by trouble ! I never before perceived the
force of those words in Isai. Ixv. 23, 24. which
seem to be a prophecy of the latter day glory.
As ministers and as parents, we appear to la
bour almost in vain : we bring forth children
for trouble, and our prayers are not answered
on their behalf. But then the labours of the
Lord's servants shall be successful; children
shall be converted in early life, and prayer bear
a quick return of blessings in variety."
Preaching in the villages within a convenient
distance, was an employraent in which Mr.
Fuller greatly delighted, and the solicitations
of his friends afforded frequent opportunities.
In the spring of 1800, a reputable grazier at
B .... in Northaraptonshire, who has since
emigrated to America, lost a son, and requested
Mr. Fuller to preach a, funeral sermon. When
the service was about to commence, the little
meeting-house in the village was found by far
too small to contain the congregation: the

56" MEMOIRS OF
weather also was too cold to admit of preach
ing in the open air, and no convenient place
was at hand. An urgent request was im
mediately presented to the aged vicar for the
use of the parish church, presuming that the
solemnity of the occasion, and the want of ac-
comm<^dation for the crowds which were flock
ing from all parts ofthe neighbourhood, would
be admitted as some excuse for the violation of
the episcopal sanctuary, and that the canon
law would for once relax a little of its severity
in favour of the superior interests of religion
and morality. The parent of the deceased
youth was willing to engage for any pecuniary
consequences that might ensue, while the
preacher promised to make his best apologies
to the bishop; if they should be demanded.
At length the aged and infirm vicar actually
introduced the nonconformist to his pulpit,
and himself became a hearer, while Mr. Ful
ler delivered a most impressive discourse to a
numerous and deeply affected audience.
It is but justice to add, that no unpleasant
notice was taken of this singular circumstance
by the diocesan, and neither the preacher nor
his friend were called upon for any indemnities.
Should the time come when episcopalians and
dissenters shall behave towards each other as
brethren, forgetting the differences and dis-

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 57
tinctions which subsi,st between them, in cases
demanding the sacrifice of minor interests, a
most important advantage would be gained to
the cause of their common Christianity.
Mr. Fuller's multiplied and arduous engage
ments, which would have been too much for
almost any other man, did not often produce
discouragement ; yet there were times in which
his ardent mind felt oppressed by the accumu
lated load. In March 1800, when engaged in
controversy, and also in compiling his Meraoirs
of Mr. Pearce, he was solicited to give his as
sistance to a new periodical work ; but being
obliged to decline it, he tenderly expressed him
self in the following manner:
" My labours will will increase, without any
consent on my part. As to Magazines, there
are several to which I contribute, for the sake
of the mission and other public interests ; and
through such a number of objects as press
upon me daily, my own vineyard, my own soul,
my family, and my congregation are neglected.
Every journey I take, only makes way for two
or three more; and every book I write, only
occasions ine to write others, to explain or de
fend it. All is vanity and vexation of spirit!
I gave my heart to know wisdom : I perceived
that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much
wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth
F

58 MEMOIRS OF
knowledge, increaseth sorrow. — Some are pres
sing me to write more largely on the mediation
of Christ, and others, to review the second edi
tion of Mr. Booth's Glad Tidings. Controver
sies perplex me; and I am already engaged
with a gross and subtle sophist. My northern
correspondents are ever raising objections
against my views of faith, &c. ; all of which I
could answer, but cannot get time. I have
sent your remarks to my friend at Edinburgh;
they will serve as a tub for the whale to play
with, and perhaps for a time he will let me alone.
" Pearce's Memoirs are now loudly called
for — I sit down almost in despair, and say.
That which is crooked cannot be made straight,
and that which is lacking cannot be numbered !
My wife looks at me, with a tear ready to drop,
and says, ' My dear, you have hardly time to
speak to me.' My friends at home are kind,
but they also say, ' You have no time to see or
know us, and you will soon be worn out,' —
Amidst all this, there is, ' Come again to Scot
land — come to Portsmouth — come to Plymouth
— come to Bristol —
" Excuse this effusion of melancholy. My
heart is willing to do every thing you desire,
that I can do; but my hands fail me. Dear
brother Ryland complains of old age coming
upon him, and I expect old age will come on
me, before I am really old. — Under this com-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 59
plicated load, my hearl; ^loftei^ ^^^^ groan
ed for rest, longing to fitaT mt ds^Pin com
parative retirement." ajm^"^
.^r. Fuller was frequ^^ly subject to a com
plaint of the lungs, especis&ly from exposure to
easterly winds,, which never failed to produce
some degree of inflammation. In August 1801,
he had a severe attack of this kind, of which
he gave the following account in -a letter to a
friend, and of the state of his mind under the
affliction :
" I suppose you will feel aqxious to know
how I am, and so will many more whom I can
not gratify. Indeed I can hardly inform you
of my present state : but many have whispered
that I am just in the situation of poor Pearce,
when he had been at Harborough. The raeans
used to remove the cough and fever, have
brought me well nigh to the grave ; and the
cause is not removed. I can just walk from
one room to another, and creep up and down
stairs ; but my strength and spirits are gone.
" In reviewing my hfe, I feel much cause for
jshame and self abasement. I have been an
unprofitable servant; and if the Lord discharge
me from his work, he is righteous. Yet while
I fell abased, my hope, as a poor perishing
sinner, is fixed upon the rock of ages. Into-
F 2

ifiO MEMOIRS OF
his hands I hai^e caj[|mitted my spirit ; willing
to Kve of (He, ^ ir^pseth him. Pray for me^
that I may beifite^r whatever is before me."
His ardent affection for the memory of. the
excellent Mr. Peafce of Birmingham, express
ed itself on every occasion; and being still
heavily afilicted, he repeats On the 5th of Sep
tember following, similar sentittieuts and feel
ings. " I am (says he) exceedingly feeble :
the cough is not removed, and the fever re
mains, with loss of appetite, strength, and spi
rits. I am teased with blisters about the sto
mach ; biit perhaps they are necessary. They
still^say, I am going after Pearce. Well, if it
shduld be so, I hope to go whither he is gone.
I feel at present calm, and resigned to the will
of -God. I remember at the tinie when- that
dear man was wasting avvay at Plymouth, I
was riding outside the coach from Loudon ;
and turning my back on the company, I wept
for several miles, and put up this prayer : Let
the God of Samuel Pearce be my God I "
Mr. Fuller's sickness at this time, though
heairly foiirtefen years ago, bore so strong a re
semblance in some respects to his last dying
illness, that it seemed like a foretaste of that
event. The tidings having reached Scotland,
produced general alarm amongst his friends in

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 61
that quarter ; and to relieve their anxiety, one
of them in particular was deputed to pay a vi^
at Kettering. On first receiving the intelligettce,
this distinguished friend expressed hiiWself as
follows : " With what feelings I perused your
letter this morning. He only knows who knows
my heart! I had some painful anticipatibn
from a letter which our afflicted friend wrote to
me of August 5. I heard no more, and remain
ed anxious ever since. Previous to your letter,
I had just perused the Periodical Accounts at
one sitting, with such emotions as I scarcely
ever felt ; my heart drawn forth, I know not
whether with greater and more tender affec
tion to the author of the Preface, or to the cho
sen and devoted band in B^gah Alafe ! thus
prepared, how deeply am I cut, even to the
quick, by your intelligence! Well— see him I
must, , I cannot resist the impulse of my soul,
to obtain the melancholy satisfaction of behold
ing his face, and of knowing what is done."
He did so 5 and Mr. Fuller was taken by sur
prise, not expecting to see a friend from Such a
distance. The complaint continuing for sometime, Mr.
Fuller's pulpit was supplied by other minis
ters. During this painful interval, he contem
plated the total suspension of his labours with

62 MEMOIRS OF
aU that anxiety which shewed that the work
of the Lord was his delight, and that he had
never entered upon it in the spirit of a hire
ling, " I seldom now hear a sennon,'' says he,
" without beibg somewhat sensibly affected
with my present affliction; not so much from
what I feel in the body, as from having my
mouth shut from speaking the things that per
tain to the kingdom of God. I feel a kind of
earnest of what it would be, if I should be
wholly laid aside. These sensations are gene
rally accompanied with desires to return to the
work of the Lord . Two things of late have been
the object of private prayer; fii-st, that I might
be restored to the work of the ministry ; and
secondly, that I might resume it with a double
portion of God's Holy Spirit, in the fulness of
the blessing of the gospel of Christ."
Recovering slowly from his iUness for several
months, and incapacitated for public services,
his pen was almost incessantly employ^ed ; and
whether in sickness or in health, he must de
light himself in the pleasm-es of contemplation.
Corresponding with his friends, writing pieces
for various periodical pubUcations and prepar
ing works for the press, left him scarcely an
hour for relaxation, or opportunities for any of
those attentions which his personal comfort

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 63
might require. In one week during his con
finement, he wrote three essays for the maga
zines, dispatched twenty letters by the post,
and prepared about fifty other pages for the
press. " Pretty well," as he remarked, " for a
sick man."
Applications like these, especially in time of
health, were with him no other than the ordi
nary routine of business. His faculties were al
ways on the stretch, never thinking of repose
or rest, while there was any thing within the
compass of his ability to accomplish. Dec.
30. 1801, the disorder had so far abated as to
enable him in part to resume his public labours ;
and on sending a quantity of inanuscript to a
.friend, he says, " Though far from being well
in health, yet you see, my heart, and head, and
hands never lie still. I sometimes think I shall
not be long with you : but while I am here, I
must be doing as long as I can . I do not know
that my exertions do me any harm. Next Lord's
day I preach the annual sermon to our young
people, from 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. These sermons
have been more blessed than any others I have
preached." So desirous was he of giving religious instruc
tion to the rising generation, that the magni
tude of his other engagements did not prevent

64 MEMOIRS OF
his adopting the most simple expedient; and
while he possessed the tongue of the learned,
to speak a word unto him tbat is weary, he at
the same time condescended to bec<Mae a
teacher of babes. The following, among
others, is a striking instance of this sort of humble
piety, which does honour to the memory of
this great man :
" I have been thinking of a plan," says he, in
the letter above quoted, " for disseminating
truth among our little lacemakers. A quan
tity of white wrapping-paper is used in the sale
of small parcels of lace thread ; so I will draw
up a number of Uttle hynms, the most impres
sive that I can either find or make, and get them
printed on one side of the paper. Then every
child that comes for a Utde thread, will find it
wrapped up in a paper containing a little impres
sive hymn addressed to its heart."
Sickness and death were frequent visitors in
Mr. Fuller's family ; and not long after he
hims^ was recovered, he was called to endure
another bereavement. Th^e repeated strokes
were severely felt ; and as on former occa^ons,
so on this, he pours out his soul in the mdting
strains of poetry. Observing his dear little
girl, the day before she died, looking stedfastiy
on her par^ife, he exclaims-^

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 65
" Sweet Babe ! Why fix thy wishful eyes on us ?
We feel thy load — ^but cannot give thee aid !
Didst thou know aught, we would direct thine eyes
To Him, from whom alone thy help must eome.
But, what shall we do ? — We will convfey
Thy looks expressive, up to Heaven's high throne ;
And plead on thy behalf with Him, who gave
A blessing, when on earth, to babes in arms.
On babes in arms, our Jesus laid his hands ;
And at the instance too of others' prayers.
Were they not Parents ? Be it so, or not ;
If others' suit prevailed, why should not ours ?
A mother pleaded once a daughter's cause,
And, " Be it to thee even as thou wilt,"
Was Jesus' answer ! 
Oh our Redeemer, and our God, our help
In tribulation — hear our fervent prayer!
To Thee we now resign the sacred trust.
Which thou ere while didst unto us commend.
Soon we must quit our hold, and let her fall :
Thine everlasting arms be then beneath !
In Thee a refuge may she find in death.
And in thy bosom dwell when torn from ours !
Into thy hands her spirit we commit.
In hope ere long to meet, and part no more ! "

66 MEMOIRS OF
Attentive to the claims of friendship, and to
the voice of affliction, Mr. Fufler would always
find a little time, amidst his most arduous pur
suits, to bind up the broken-hearted, and give
suitable advice in seasons of distress. An in
timate friend having lost his companion, one
whom Mr, Fuller much respected, he wrote
the following affectionate letter; which, while
it was adapted to comfort others with the same
consolation wherewith he himself had been
comforted of God, shews at the same time? his
weanedness from the world, and gi-owing meet-
ness for the inheritance of the saints in light,

Sept. 19. 1805.
" My very deae Brother,
I have just now received a line informing me
that Mrs. — — is no more ! I feel much for you
and your family. There are few events of this
kind that occur to ray brethren, but they recal
to ray reraembrance the w ords of Aaron : Such
things have befallen me. The most intimate
earthly unions are dissoluble, and formed to be
dissolved. We k now these things at other times,
and repeat them for the reconciling of others :
but God will cause us all, sooner or later to feel
them. How often have you and I accompanied

MR, ANDREW FULLER, 63
the mourners to the grave, as a matter of course,
and conciliated their minds with the consolations
of the gospel. And in our turn we are glad of
the same consolations ourselves. Things which
otherwise would be deemed mere common place,
shall thus become raeat and drink to us.
Oh my brother! though it may have been
said a thousand times over, it will bear being
said ten thousand times over again. Blessed are
the dead that die in the Lord. What a blessed
thing it is to g-ive up our dearest relations to
Christ, inste-ad of burying them without hope !
When I have seen a pious young man marry
an irreligious woman, it has occurred to me,
how will you be able to bury her? You may
lay your bones, or have them laid some day by
her side, or even mingle dust with her ; but you
will be parted at the resurrection. But when
I see two who have been fellow-heirs of the grace
of life, walking together in the fear of the Lord,
though one must expect to be taken first, yet
how cheering the hope of meeting again to part
no morei
We have several friends near the mouth of
the grave, and it will soon be our turn to follow.
And soon let it be, if we may but be found ready.
1 seem of late to have the end of my life more
constantly in view than formerly. The words

64 MEMOIRS OF
of Paul have been sweet to me : For ipe to live
is Christ, and to die is gain.
When I lost my late dear Mrs. F- I found
it good to keep near to God, and to employ my
mind constantly in my work. In this way I
enjoyed a calmness and peace of mind which
issued in comfort. We cannot come to see you ;
but we will pray for you, and sympathize with
you. The Lord Jesus Christ be with you, and
your affectionate brother, A. F."

Once in the course of his ministry, Mr, Ful
ler met with an outrage, not a little disgraceful
to the parties concerned, nor less unexpected
on such an occasion, and in the centre of such
an enlightened neighbourhood. It was in Ja
nuary 1806, after a residence there of twenty
four years, that a number of unruly persons
crowded into his place of worship, while he
was delivering a funeral sermon for a highly
respectable raeraber of his church, and greatly
alarmed the worshippers by their riotous beha
viour. The punishment which Mr. Fuller in
flicted upon them, after having brought thjeiu
before the magistrates, was to make them all

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 65
stand up in the midst of the congregation on
the following sabbath, and ask pardon for the
offence, while he read their confession to the
people.

N, B, The editor acknowleges his obligations to
one or two of the Monthly Journals, for some valu
able information which they have communicated on
the subject of these Memoirs ; and at the same time
thinks it proper to notice, that the articles which ap
peared in the New Evangelical Magazine, for July
and August, were extracted from his manuscript, at
the particular request of a friend.

66 MEMOIRS OF

CHAPTER III.
His 3Iinisterial talents— Pastoral labours—
and usefulness.
This excellent and valuable man entered on
the ministry in early life with few advantages ;
his mind had received but little culture, and his
unpolished appearance made no great impres
sion .in his favour. He had to encounter every
difficulty by an effort of his own, and to pro
duce those results which his strong native sense
would lead him to anticipate. His beginning
was small, but his latter end greatly increased.
His mental and moral improvements were ra
pid and extensive ; and without waiting for the
ordinary process, by which men attain to high
degrees of eminence, he marched forward, and
reached the goal in haste.
As a preacher he soon became popular, with
out any of the common aids of popularity. He
had none of that easy elocution, none of that
graceful fluency, which melts upon the ear,
and captivates the attention of an auditor. His
enunciation was laborious and slow ; his voice

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 67
strong and heavy ; occasionally plaintive, and
capable of an agreeable modulation. He had
Tione of that eloquence which consists in a fe
licitous selection of terras, or in the harmoni
ous construction of periods; he had a boldness
in his manner, a masculine delivery, and great
force of expression. His style was often much
deformed by colloquialisms, and coarse pro
vincials ; but in the roughest of his composi
tions, ' the bones of a giant might be seen.'
In entering the pulpit, he studied very little
decorum, and often bundled out of it with an
appearance of precipitation ; but while there,
he seldom failed to acquit himself with honour
and fidelity. His attitude too was sufficiently
negligent. Not aw^are of its awkwardness, in
the course of his dehvery, he would insensibly
place one hand upon his breast or behind
him, and gradually twist off a button from
his coat, which some of his domestics had fre
quent occasion to replace. This habit was
in process of time much corrected, and many
other protuberances were smoothed away by
the improvement of his taste,, and the collisions
of society ; but certainly in these respects he
was not the exact model of an orator.
His presence in the pulpit was imposing,
grave, and manly; tending to inspire awe, ra
ther than conciliate esteem. His general aspect

68 MEMOIRS OP
was louring and cloudy, giving indications of a
storm, rathef than affording hopes of serenity.
Yet there was nothing boisterous, loud, of de
clamatory ; no intemperate Warmth, or sallies
of the passions; all was calm, pathetic, and
argumentative, overcast with a kind of negli
gent grandeur. He was deeply impressed
with his subject, and anxious to produce a si
milar impression on his hearers.
To an accufe and vigouroUs understanding
were united, a rich and fertile imagination, an
even flow of feeling, seldom rising to an extacy,
and an awful sense of eternal realities ; these,
accompanied with an energetic manner of
speaking, supplied every other defect, and gave
to his ministry an unusual degree of interest.
He could never be heard but with satisfaction :
if the heart were not at all times affected, yet the
judgment would be informed, and the taste gra
tified, by an unexpected display of some im
portant truth, ingeniously stated, and power
fully applied. His own id^is were strong
and lucid, and he had the faculty of placing
them in the clearest light : if he failed to pro-
•duce conviction, he was rarely deficient in evi
dence. Though his writings enter deeply into con
troversy, in his ministry it was far otherwise.
There he took the high places of the field ;

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 69
here he tarried at home, and divided the spoil.
The least disputable points of religion, which
are at all times the most essential, were the
leading theme of his ministry. The Cross of
Christ was the doctrine that lay nearest his
heart; this, in all its tendencies and bearings,
in all its relations to the government of God
and the salvation of the soul, he delighted to
eliicidate in every diversity of form, and on this
he dwelt with growing zeal and ardour to the
close of life. It was a subject that met him in
every direction, that beautified and adorned
every other topic, that lived and breathed in all
his preaching, and that laid the foundation of
all his hopes.
As there are many who must have observed
the concentrated, effect of Mr. Fuller's sermons,
it may not be amiss briefly to notice the prin
ciple oh which they were avowedly construct
ed : if it do not excite to general emulation, it
may afford to some, at least, a hint of instruc
tion. One of the first books that Mr. Fuller
read, after entering on the ministry, and vvhicb
he frequently recommended to others, was
Claude's Essay on the composition of a Ser
mon ; and to that work he acknowledged hina-
self indebted, foi- any just ideas which he en
tertained upon the subject. ' Unity of design*
was apparent in all his discourses ; there were

TO MliMOIRS OF
no vagrant sentiments, nothing foreign or irre
levant; and, though his preaching exhibited a
rich variety of remark, all was made to bear
upon the point, and to facilitate the end he had
in view. His sermons were never destitute of
what Aristotle requires in every discourse, — a
beginning, a middle, and an end.
Every intelligent hearer must also have
noticed, with what admirable dexterity the
preacher would avail himself of the attributes
of his text, — time, places, persons, and other
adventitious circumstances ; with what care he
would investigate its terms, ascertain its mean
ing, explore its recesses, mark its gradations,
trace its connections, and poize its different
parts; and how, when he had provided the re
past, he would make a distribution like the
master of a feast. The simplicity of his ideas,
their correspondence with truth and nature,
and the luminous order in which they were ar
ranged, produced the effect of enchantment;
every one beheld the beauties contained iu
scripture, and were surprised that he did not
discover them before.
The composition of a sermon seldom cost
Mr. Fuller much trouble ; it was generally the
easiest part of his labours. An hour or two at
the close of the week would commonly be suf
ficient ; and, when much pressed for time, as

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 71
he often was, his preparations would be made
on the sabbath, during the intervals of preach
ing; yet it required more than common
strength of mind to digest such, discourses as
he was in the habit of delivering. Those who
heard him only occasionally, or but seldom,
did not hear him to the best advantage; for,,
though he would often excel on great occa
sions, he was generally most happy at home
with his own people. Having but little relish
for a stale subject, it was seldom pleasant to
him to deliver the same discourse twice over;
he would rather come directly from his closet,
and bring out of his treasury things new as
well as old. His mind retained a verdant
freshness, capable of new productions ; and his
daily converse with the scriptures rendered it
an agreeable task, to combine the varieties of
thought which they suggested. Several of his
discourses on particular occasions were printed
at the request of those who heard them; and
had he listened to the solicitations of his
friends, their number would have been greatly
multiplied. To expound the scriptures wa,s an employ-;
ment in which Mr. Fuller delighted, and in
which he eminently excelled. He did not
however undertake any thing like a critical
exposition, nor did he profess himself a critic

72 MEMOIRS OF
on any subject. Indeed he had no great liking
to the generality of critical commentators;
and he sometimes expressed an opinion, that
the practice of attempting to illustrate the
scriptures on the principles of philosophy, or
by frequent allusions to natural history and to
eastern customs, in which coincidences were
imagined that never existed, tended to darken
counsel by words without knowledge, and to
betray, rather than support, the true interests
of revelation.
The application of sound criticism, to obviate
the difficulty and elucidate the meaning of some
obscure passages, he approved as much as any
one; but he had no idea that a right under
standing of the scriptures in general was to be
attained in that way, any more than that the
principal facts in English history were to be
judged of by the help of a dictionary. It was
not words so much as things to which he at
tended ; and for a just conception of these he
trusted more to common sense, well applied to
the subject, and guided by moral feeling in a
highly cultivated state, than to mere literary
acquirements. He greatly deprecated the learned trifling of
some good men, who are said to have taken up
more time in their addresses to a country con
gregation, in ascertaining the form and dimen-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 73
sions of an oriental tea-kettle, than in shewing
to men the way of salvation. His contempt
of such kind of learning might in some in
stances carry him too far ; but no man had a
quicker discernment of its misapplication, or
could judge more worthily of the proper ob
jects ofthe christian ministry. Instead of em
ploying his time, or engaging the attention of
his hearers, on the superficies of a text, or its
imaginary rfeferences, he was all intent on
searching out its riches, sounding its depth,
comparing it with the analogy of faith, pointing
out its application, and deducing consequences,
seldom obvious to the hearer, but meeting his
judgment in all their force, and carrying con
viction to the heart.
In this way he went over a great part of the
scriptures, in a course of morning lectures for
a number of years, taking first one book and
then another, without any regard to chro-
nologic-al order; and had his life been continu
ed, he would in all probability have completed
his exposition of the sacred volume. These
lectures, as they were delivered from the pul
pit, exhibited great variety and extent of obser
vation ; but as they were not composed with
a view to publication, and were often delivered
without any preparatory notes whatever, the
greater proportion of them are lost beyond
G

74 MEMOIRS OF
recovery; and little remains but a few gene
ral outlines, which cannot be filled up to ad
vantage by any other hand. All that is saved of
this valuable store, consists of the Expository
Discourses on the Book of Genesis, published in
1805 ; and which, though little more than a mi
niature ofthe living lectures, are likely to per
petuate the usefulness of their invaluable
Author. The rest are buried in oblivion, except
his Expository Lectures on the Book of Re
velation, announced for publication since his
decease, and which, it is hoped, will shortly
make their appearance.
' In discharging the duties ofthe pastoral office,
Mr. Fuller was not equally successful, nor in
this did he excel the rest of his brethren. There
was no want of diligence or fidelity ; but his
numerous and, perhaps, still more important
engagements, did not afford him sufficient op
portunity ; nor was his turn of mind adapted
to that easy and gracious kind of intercourse
which these duties would require. He was not
backward in spiritual and edifying conversation;
not unmindful ofthe poor, the sick, or the afflict
ed ; nor inattentive to the welfare of individuals ;
but his element was in deep waters, and he
seemed to demand a wider range for his faculties
than the limits of an individual society. Those
who wished for more of his pa-storal advice, were

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 75
fearful of breaking in upon his retirements, or of
interrupting the career of his labours ; while he
himself often felt and lamented the necessity
which required the suspension of several of the
humbler duties of the christian minister. It
might truly be said of him in measure, as of
Paul ; The Lord sent him not to baptize, but
to preach the gospel.
He was severely circumspect, however, in the
execution of Church Discipline ; a subject he
had studied from the scriptures, and on which
he had published his thoughts in a widely-cir
culated pamphlet. His manner of administer
ing the ordinances of the gospel was peculiarly
solemn and impressive. At the Lord's table
he generally spake but little; that little was
appropriate and affecting ; and he ranch object
ed to the practice of engaging the whole of the-
time in addressing the comraunicantsi instead
of devoting some part of it to silent and so
lemn meditation.
Tenacious as he had always been ofthe inde
pendent rights of a christian society, and the
popular election of its officers, he observed much
evil to arise out of the exercise of those rights,
which he wished, if possible, to correct. Deacons
in particular are often appointed to office by the
people, not for their superior wisdom or spiri
tuality, but on account of their rank in society,
g2

76 MEMOIRS OF
or the influence and property which they pos
sess ; and by this means the hands of the minis
ter are weakened, and the interests of religion
suffer. Mr, Fuller therefore preferred that the
nomination of new deacons should proceed
from the pastor and other deacons already in
office, having previously obtained a vote for
that purpose ; and that out of several thus re
commended, the church should make its own
election. — The following is the outline of an
address which Mr. Fuller once delivered to his
own church, in order to direct their choice of
suitable persons to the secular office.
Much of the purity of the chlirch, he ob
serves, depended on the conduct of its dea
cons, seeing it is impossible for a pastor to
maintain proper discipline without their con
currence ; much of the pastor's comfort also
was involved, as it would be necessary for him
to act in concert with his brethren in office,
and therefore they should be careful to choose
such men as are mentioned in Ezra x. 4 ; and,
as the comfort of the poor was also concerned,
such characters should be appointed as would
be ready to discover and relieve thpir wants.
After these preliminary remarks, he proceeds
to consider the qualifications for the office.
"These," says he " you will find in Acts vi. 3,
and 1 Tim. iii. 8. — They must be men of ' ho-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 77
nest report,' in their general character ; men of
integrity and honour — * Full ofthe Holy Ghost,'
spiritually minded men — ' And of wisdom ; '
men of solidity and discretion, who are well
skilled in counsel, and have a turn of mind for
the composing of differences.
" Such is the account given in the first of
these passages. One cannot but observe here,
that no mention is made of opulence, as a qua
lification. A man certainly is not the worse
for this, but neither is he the better ; nor is he
on that account to be esteemed more eligible
than another. This is a very common practice,
but it is highly injurious.
"But what says Paul? He enumerates the
qualifications of a deacon, in I Tim. iii. 8,
Here are gravity, sincerity, sobriety, genero
sity, soundness in the faith, purity of manners,
a good conscience, men of some standing,
whose fidelity has been proved.
" Alas! I hear you say, where are such cha
racters to be found ? True ; and I am afraid
this is a melancholy proof, how short we come
of the primitive churches. But still we must
choose those who, in our judgment, approach
the nearest to this model. Perhaps even they
had not men in whom all these qualifications
were united ; some excel in one thing, and some
in another ; and as I would not wish the church

78 MEMOIRS OF
to be discouraged, nor those who may be cho*
sen to office, let every one be willing to be
what his brethren wish him to be. We should
neither aspire to be what We are not called to,
nor refuse to occupy that post to which we
are called. Only let us be of the spirit ofthe
good woman, of whom our Lord said, ' She
l^ath done what she could.' "
This address affords one instance amongst
many others, of the inflexible integrity of
Mr. Fuller's mind, of his desire to do nothing
by partiality, and that in what related to the
glory of God, he knew no man after the flesh.
If he erred in any thing, it was in his honest
zeal to do what was right: no one can doubt
his incorruptness, though his infallibility may be
fairly questioned.
Considering the piety and the talents of such
a man, his ministry might be expected to pro
duce important effects ; and certainly, such ef
fects were really produced. The number of
persons converted in Mr. Fuller's own congre*
gation, and by his occasional labours, was
not, however, greata* than in ordinary cases,
and only bore a common proportion to the
multiplicity and extent of bis engagements.
During the two and thirty years he preached
9.t Kettering, the members of his church never

MR, ANDREW FULLER, 79
amounted to two hundred ; and though the
place of worship was once enlarged, and after
wards rebuilt in 1805, the number of stated
hearers did not exceed a thousand.
Many of his brethren, of very inferior talents
in other respects, have been equally if not more
successful, in turning men from darkness to
light, and from the power of Satan unto God ;
and though at times it seemed impossible to re
sist the wisdom and spirit by which he spake^
the human heart was often impenetrable to his
attack, and his weapons fell pointless to the
ground. If strong mental powers, exerted in
all their force ; if unusual fidelity and zeal, ac
companied with consummate skill, in directing
appeals to the understanding, and pungent ad
dresses to the conscience, could have insured a
large portion of success, it might have been ex
pected in the present instance ; but in reviewing
the hves and labours of the most distinguished
characters, we are constantly reminded of that
affecting truth ; " Paul may plant and Apollos
water, but it is God that giveth the increase,"
" It is not by might, nor by power," that the tem
ple shall be built; " but by my Spirit, saith the
Lord of hosts,"
There is, however, no need to resolve these
things into religious phenomena ; while there
is any rational way left of accounting for them.

80 MEMOIRS OF
If Mr. Fuller possessed superior talents, his
preaching did not display greater love and
compassion, than that of many of his brethren,
nor was it attended with any remarkable unc
tion ; and to this perhaps might be ascribed,
the want of adequate success.
Among the faithful departed, few were more
successful in converting sinners unto God, than
the late excellent Mr. Pearce of Birrainghara ;
and considering the shortness of his ministerial
career, his usefulness in this respect was rather
extraordinary. In what consistent way is this
to be accounted for ? " The governing principle
in Mr. Pearce, beyond all doubt," says his
biographer, " was holy love. To mention this
is sufficient to prove it to all who knew him.
His friends have often compared him to that
disciple whom Jesus loved. His religion was
that of the heart. Almosjt every thing he saw,
or heard, or read, or studied, was converted to
the feeding of this divine flame. Every subject
that passed through his hands, seemed to have
been cast into this mould. His sermons were
generally the effusions of his heart, and invaria
bly aimed at the hearts of his hearers," It is
no wonder therefore, if under the influence of
such holy fervour, when the preacher " could
scarcely speak for weeping, nor the peoplfe
bear for interruptinp- sighs and sobs," great

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 81
moral effects should be produced. The gospel
can only be imparted by that Spirit which is of
God; no zeal, no talents can supply its place;
and the enmity of the human heart can only be
overcome by the omnipotence of love.
There were seasons in which Mr. Fuller
deeply participated in these feelings, though the
general cast of his ministry was more masculine
and less fervid, less tender, than that of his
amiable friend. The judgment was often in ex
ercise, when the affections were not; and, per
haps, in the minister, the man was sometimes as
visible as the christian. This no doubt is a defect,
to which men of strong powers are more particu
larly liable. Towards the latter part of life, how
ever, when afflictions and trials had imparted
greater sensibilities, and given a mellowness
to his general habit, he would serve the Lord
w ith many tears, and put on bowels of mercies,
kindness, and longsuffering, while beseeching
sinners to be reconciled to God. It is of the
utmost importance, however, that more of this
spirit be imbibed, in order to any real or exten
sive usefulness. Those who can impart not the
gospel of God only, but their own souls also,
because the salvation of men is dear to them,
will generally find that their labour is not in
vain in the Lord.
" It may be laid down as a rule," said Mr.

82 MEMOIRS OF
Fuller on one occasion, " that eminent spiri
tuality in a minister is usually attended with
eminent usefulness. It is true, our usefulness
does not depend on our spirituality, as an ef
fect depends upon its cause, nor is it always in
proportion to it. God is a Sovereign, and fre
quently sees it proper to convince us of it, in
variously bestowing his blessing on the means
of grace : yet he is not wanting in giving en
couragement to what he approves, wherever
it is found. Our want of usefulness is often
to be ascribed to our want of spirituality,
much oftener than to our want of natural abi
lity. God has frequently been known to suc
ceed men of but rough parts and abilities,
where they have been eminently holy, while he
has blasted others of much superior talents,
where that was wanting,"
Mr, Fuller's ministry was, however,. attended
with considerable usefulness, though not alto
gether in the way that has been mentioned.
There were others who could lay the founda
tion, and teach what are the first principles of
the oracles of God ; it was his to rear the su
perstructure, and to build up the saints on
their most holy faith ; and in this he performed
the work of a wise master-builder. His preach
ing was distinguished for depth of thought,
a fulness of scriptural truth, and great perspi-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 83
cuity and force in stating and defending it.
It was like a blazing torch in the midst of the
churches ; and by the incessant intercourse
which he maintained, its light was diffused in
every direction. Its effects were also power
fully felt, in keeping alive the interests of vital
and practical religion, in strengthening the
weak hands and confirming the feeble knees,
and in exciting and encouraging the exertions
of all his brethren. He had a bishopric, with
out any of its titles or emoluments ; and the
care of all the churches, within the immediate
sphere of his acquaintance, came upon him
daily. In their formation, in the ordination of
their pastors, and in every case of difficulty,
his assistance was required, and in these im
portant services he excelled. The interest he
felt in the peace and prosperity of the societies
around him, was deep and lasting ; and when
any of them were left destitute, or in low cir
cumstances, he would ardently exclaim, " Oh
Lord, what wilt thou do for thy great name !"
Abundant as were his labours in disseminat
ing the gospel among the villages in his imme
diate vicinity, and among the churches of his
own connection, their effect was not to be es
timated by his personal exertions. His in
fluence was seen operating on the general mass
of that religious community to which he be--

84 MEMOIRS OF
longed, purging out the old leaven, infusing
principles of truth, and fermenting it with holy
zeal and ardour. It was seen operating in
various parts of England, amongst different
denominations ; in Scotland, in Ireland, across
the Atlantic, beyond the boundaries ofthe In
dian Ocean, and the Mountains of Tibet. The
wilderness and the solitary place were made
glad for him, and the desert began to rejoice
and blossom as the rose.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 85

CHAPTER IV.
Srief sketch of his Missionary labours.
To Mr. Fuller was reserved the distinguish
ed honour of becoming one of the first in his
own denomination, who opened the door of
faith to the modern idolatrous gentiles, and
prepared the way for a Mission to the East.
Here a scene presented itself, of sufficient ex
tent to afford the most ample scope for his abi
lities, and setting before him an object com
mensurate with the boundless desires of his
heart. This was the commencement of a new
era in the life of this great man. Henceforth
his labours took a new direction ; his preach
ing, his prayers, and his correspondence, all
bore a reference to this great subject, and his
character began to unfold itself in a still more
interesting and magnificent form.
The Baptist Mission in India has been des
cribed by persons who had no immediate con
cern whatever in the undertaking, to have been
•' as disinterested in design, and as strenuous

86 flIEMOIRS OF
in exertion, as any that the Christian world
ever did or ever can employ for the illumina
tion and conversion of idolaters ; and surpass
ing, beyond comparison, all former missions,
and all other undertakings, in the grand arti
cle of translating the bible into the languages
ofthe heathen." It has also been said, " that
it may be doubted whether there ever was an
undertaking of the same magnitude and con
tinuance, and in which so many persons were
concerned, that suppUed by its conduct so
little to gratify the malice of its bitterist ene
mies."* The justice and propriety of this encomium
may be appreciated by the results which are
already before the public. Twenty mission
ary stations have been formed in various parts
of India, in the course of as many years ; some
of them more than three thousand miles apart ;
upwards of forty missionaries, Europeans and
natives, are constantly employed ; more than
five hundred persons of different nations have
been baptized, and formed into distinct churches;
the scriptures have been, or are in a course of
being, translated and printed in more than
thirty of the oriental languages, and are circu
lating, in connection with the itinerant labours
of the missionaries, amongst an immense popu-
* Electic Reviewi vol. v. p, 94.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 87
lation, and over an extent of country equal
to that of the whole of Europe.*
Such are the present fruits of this mission :
its future consequences, who can calculate !
But the origin of this mighty work, in which
the hand of God has been so visibly displayed,
has never yet been distinctly traced ; nor would
the unostentatious character of its principal
agent admit of the disclosure.
The Baptist Missionary Society is stated to
have been formed at Kettering in 1792, and it,s
formation to have been occasioned by the sug
gestions and frequent solicitations ofthe present
Dr, Carey ; to whose indefatigable zeal and
unparalleled exertions, the mission, and the.
church of God, will doubtless be under perpe
tual obligations. There was, however, a princi
ple operating which led to this result, though
its effects were not immediately discovered ;
and the fire which Carey kindled, was taken
from a coal which had been burning upon
another altar.
On a subject of such general importance,
even its minutest circumstances become inter-
resting ; and viewed in connection with an ef
ficient cause, they tend to show by what gradu
al and humble means it pleases God frequent-
* Brief View ofthe Baptist Missions and Translations, drawn
up gratuitously in 1815, by a member of another denomination,
Price Is,

88 MEMOIRS OF
ly to accomplish his great designs. The Icing'
dom of heaven cometh not with observation ; its
coming is generally unobserved, and the lowly
form which it assumes, gives but little notice of
its approach. Its first appearance is as imper
ceptible as a " grain of mustard seed, which in
deed is the least of all seeds ; but when it is
grown it is the greatest among herbs, and be-
cometh a tree ; so that the fowls of the air come
and lodge in the branches thereof."
Several years previous to the existence of the
Baptist Mission, and before any ideas were
entertained of a missionary undertaking, the
low state of religion in general, and ofthe bap
tist churches in particular, had become a sub
ject of deep lamentation among many of the
ministers. At an Association held at Notting
ham in 1 784, it was resolved to set apart an
hour on the first monday evening in every month,
for extraordinary prayer for the revival of re
ligion, and for extending the kingdom of Christ
in the world. Mr. Fuller at the same time de
livered his sermon on " The nature and im
portance of Walking by Faith," which he after
wards published ; and to this were added, A few
Persuasives to a General Union in Prayer for
the Revival of Religion. This address, though
unaccompanied with any design beyond what
it immediately specifies, contained in reality the

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 89
germ of the future mission, and was the prelude
to that event.
The lapse of time, and a succession of other
interesting occurrences, have, in a great mea
sure, defaced the recohection of the origin and
progress of this vast achievement ; for the sake
of many readers it will therefore be necessary
to recapitulate the leading topics.
After considering Christ's readiness to hear
prayer, especially in what relates to the en
largement of his kingdom, the writer of these
" Persuasives" adverts to the existing declen
sions in religion, and urges the consideration
of what the Lord had done in ages past, as an
incitement to united and fervent prayer.
" When Israel was in Egypt, and things looked very
dark indeed, they cried, and the Lord heard, and came
down to deliver them. Their deliverance was the ex
tending of Christ's kingdom ; and God overthrew Pha
raoh and all his host for setting themselves against it.
The church in after ages, when in her low estate at
Babylon, is represented as making use of this as a plea
with God. Thus they say to him: 'Awake, awake,
put on strength, oh arm of the Lord — awake as in an
cient days, in the generations of old. Ai-t thou not it
that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon f Art
thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the
great deep ; and hath made the depths of the sea a way
for the ransomed to pass over ?' — And was their prayer
answered ? Yes, the Lord presently replied, I am tlie
U

90 MEMOIRS OF
Lord thy God that divided the sea, whose waves roar
ed ; the Lord of hosts is his namfe.' Yea, as a kind of
echo to their request, he adds, ' Awake, awake, stand
up, oh Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the
Lord the cup of his fury. Thus saith thy Lord Jeho
vah, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people ;
behold I have taken out of thy hand the cup of trem
bling, the dregs of the cup of my fury, and thou shalt
no more drink it again.'
" While Judah groaned beneath Babel's yoke,
Daniel set his face three times a day towards Jerusa
lem. At length his prayers and supplications are heard,
and an angel is sent to comfort him ; yea, and to in
form him that at the beginning of his supplications the
commandment in favour of Judah came forth. And
now, God's conduct towards Pharaoh and his host
shall be acted over again, towards Belshazzer and his.
Yes, he not only gave Egypt and Ethiopia, but Ba
bylon also for their ransom.
" The church of God was reduced exceedingly low,
just before the coming of Christ ; but what was the
conduct of those who were on God's side ? Some of them
are distinguished by the character of those who ' looked
for' redemption in Jerusalem ; and others are said to
have continued in prayer night and day. At length,
through the tender mercy of God, their prayers were
answered, and the day-spring from on high visited them.
" Just before that great out pouring of the Spirit on
the day of Pentecost, the church was in a low and dis
consolate condition, having lost Christ's personal pre
sence : however, they united with one accord in ardent
prayer, in an upper room, to the number of about a
hundred and twenty. Presently, and their light brake

MR. ANDREW FULLER. gi
forth as the morning — a little one becomes a thousand,
and a small one a strong nation. Thousands are con
verted by a single sermon, and Satan falls before the
gospel of Christ like lightning from heaven."
The writer then applies these apposite cases
in the following impressive manner:
" May we not make the same use of these glorious
works of God, with some others in that day, that Ju
dah did in Babylon of what God had done for them in
Egypt ? May we not plead now with Christ, — 'Awake,^
awake, put on strength, oh arm of the Lord ! awake, as
in the ancient days 1 Art thou not it that didst cut the
foe, when hanging on the cross ; that didst wound his
interest on the day of pentecost r' And may we not
plead, that as God destroyed Babylon and delivered
his church ; so he would destroy the power and princi
ples of mystical Babylon ? He preserved a people,
namely, the Waldenses, who in the worst of times bow
ed not the knee to the image of this idol ; and when
they were nearly exterminated by persecution, he raised
up a host of men at the reformation, who gave it a
deadly wound, — a wound from which it has never re
covered to this day. Let iis then pray to the Lord
Jesus, that the work may be carried on ; that antichrist
may be consumed with the spirit of his mouth, and
destroyed by the brightness of his coming; that the
kingdoms of his world may become the kingdoms of
our Lord and of his Christ, and that he may reign for
ever and ever I
" Christianity has not yet made its way, even in
name, over one fifth part of the world. Out of seven
hundred and thirty millions who are supposed to inhabit
our globe, not above one hundred and twenty two mil-
H 2

92 MEMOIRS OF
lions profess the Christian name. All the rest arc
Heathens, Jews, or Mahometans ; and of those who do
profess it, the far greater part are either of the apostate
church of Rome, or ofthe Greek church, which is nearly
as corrupt. Add to this, what great numbers of real
heathens abound in Christian lands, and unbelievers even
in the congregations of the faithful. Surely it is high
time for us to awake out of sleep, and to send our united
cries to heaven in behalf of our fellow creatures !"
Having' considered the melancholy state of
the world, the general aspect of providence, and
the promises of God concerning his church in
times to come, as affording additional motives
for prayer, the address concludes with assur
ances that it would not be in vain, whatever
might be the imraediate or apparent issue.
" Could we but heartily unite to make a real earnest
effort," said this laborious man, " there is reason to hope
that great good might follow. Whenever those glori
ous outpourings of God's Spirit shall come over the
whole world, no doubt it will be in answer to the pray
ers of his people. But suppose we should never live
to see those days, still our labour shall not be in vain
in the Lord, To say the least of it, God would be glo
rified, and that would be no small matter. It would
at least convey this piece of intelligence to the world,
— that God had yet some hearty friends in it, who con
tinue to pray to him in the darkest times. And if, as
in the case of David!s building the house, he is not
, pleased to grant our requests, yet he will take it well
at our hands : and who can be said to have lost his la
bour, who obtains the approbation of his God i"

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 93
" But this is not all: our petitions may prove like
seed in the earth, that shall not perish, though it may
not spring up in our days. The prophets laboured,
and the apostles entered into their labours ; and what if
we should be the sowers, and our posterity the reapers ;
shall we think much at this .' Perhaps as great an
honour at the last day may attend Isaiah, who hardly
knew who had believed his report, as Peter, by whose
sermon thousands were converted in an hour.— Neither
is this all : there are different degrees of prosperity be
stowed upon different parts of Zion, and these favours
arc often granted to those particular communities
where ardent prayer, love, and holiness most prevail.
— Add to this, the prosperity of our own souls, is
generally connected with an earnest pursuit of God's
glory and Chris'ts kingdom. Consolation, like reputa
tion, will not do to be sought directly for its own sake.
Jn that case it will flee from us. But let us seek first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all
these things will be added unto us. One great reason
perhapswhy so many christians go destitute of divine
comfort is, because they care so little about any thing
else; God therefore justly witholds it from them.
If they were more to seek his glory, and the extend
ing of his kingdom in the world, they would find con
solation come of its own accord. He that cannot lie,
when speaking of his church, hath said. They shall
prosper that love thee,"
These sentiments, sufficiently important at
all times, derive additional interest from the
circumstances in which they were delivered,

94 MEMOIRS OF
and the great results to which they ultimately
tended. They had their influence on the
churches and individuals to whom they were
more immediately addressed. Monthly prayer
meetings, which were simultaneous, were now
attended to with renewed zeal and importunity,
till the example was followed by other deno
minations, and continued to the present day.
In less than two years, another event follow
ed, in close, though undiscerned, connection
with the preceding, tending still farther to pre
pare the way for the eventual designs of Provi
dence. Early in 1786, Mr. Fuller published
his treatise, which he had written four or five
years before, entitled, " The Gospel worthy of
all Acceptation;" in which he undertook to
explain the nature of saving faith, and to prove
the obligations of men to believe in Christ,
wherever he was made known. This perform
ance made a considerable impression on the
churches and ministers in immediate connec
tion with the Author, and occasioned discus
sion in other parts of the same denomination.
In some quarters it excited great opposition
and alarm, and brought on a long and anima
ted controversy. It was the means however of
awakening the attention of several of his bre
thren to the important duties of their office, of
giving a more practical turn to their preaching.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 95
and a new face to their religious interests ; and
in connection with the monthly prayer meetings,
it produced the first impulse which led to mis
sionary undertakings.
Mr. Carey was born into the religious world
about the time that these things were going on,
and soon became an interested spectator. He
was baptized in 1783, was called to the minis
try two or three years afterwards, and ordain
ed pastor of the church at Moulton, near Nor
thampton, in 1787. At his first setting out, he
was much perplexed between the statements
of the Arminians, on some theological points,
and the crude representations of some Calvin-
ists ; but having adopted a satisfactory medium
between these two extremes, his mind was ful
ly prepared for the doctrine so successfully
pleaded by Mr. Fuller.
From his entering on the work of the minis
try, if not from an early period, Mr, Carey ap
pears to have been deeply impressed with the
state of the heathen world. In reference to this
object, he made himself acquainted with the
geography, population, and rehgion of the vari
ous nations of the earth ; and with the labours
of christians, both of early and later ages, in pro
pagating the gospel. He also acquired consi
derable knowledge of various languages, parti
cularly Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, by his own

96 JIEMOIRS OF
personal application; and all seemed tO be di-^
rected to the same end.
Hitherto, however, his thoughts had brooded
over the subject, without assuming any specific
form, or digesting any future plan of operation.
The appearance of Mr. Fuller's work, just men
tioned, came directly in aid of his enquiries,
and fixed his attention more deeply on the sub
ject. The point of contact may be thus describ
ed. Mr. Carey, who cordially admitted his
friend's position, deduced from it an unavoidable
inference: — " If it be the duty of all men where
the gospel comes, to believe unto salvation ; then
it is the duty of those who are entrusted with
the gospel, to endeavour to make it known
among all nations for the obedience of faith."
Before the end of 1 786, Mr. Carey, accom
panied by another minister of the same age and
standing with himself, went to a ministers' meet
ing at Northampton. Towards the close of the
evening, when the public services were ended,
and the company engaged in a desultory con
versation, Mr. Rylartd senior entered the room;
and with his accustomed freedom demanded,
that the two junior ministers, Mr. Carey and
his friend, should each propose a question for
general discussion. Mr. Carey pleaded several
excuses — but a question was imperiously de
manded. At length he submitted, " Whetherthe

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 97
command given to the apostles to ' teach all
nations,' was not obligatory on all succeed
ing ministers to the end of the world, seeing
that the accompanying promise was of equal
extent," The querist was soon told by his interrogator,
without waiting for the judgment ofthe compa
ny, that Certainly nothing could be done before
another Pentecost, when an effusion of miracu
lous gifts, including the gift of tongues, would
give effect to the Commission of Christas at first;
and that he was a most miserable enthusiast
for asking such a question! This was the first
time Mr. Carey had mentioned the subject
Openly, and he was greatly abashed and morti
fied ; but he still pondered these things in his
heart. Mr. Fuller at the same time sympathi
sed with him, offered several encouraging re
marks, and recommended it to him to pursue
his enquiries.
Mr. Carey never lost sight of his object ; it
was always uppermost in his thoughts. When
ever he met with his brethren in the ministi-j^ he
never failed to converse with them on the im
portance and practicabihty of missions. These
conversations, together with the monthly prayer
meetings, considerably impressed the minds of
the ministers. It seemed scarcely reconcile-
able with sincerity to pray month after month.

98 MEMOIRS OF
and year after year, for the enlargement of Christ's
kingdom, and use no means for enlarging it.
About the year 1 790, Mr, Carey visited Bir
mingham, and became acquainted with Mr.
Pearce, whose kindred soul entered with ardour
into all his views. Some of the leading mem
bers of Mr. Pearce's church were also much in
terested in his proposals, and promised to assist
him. But in all this he was encouraged by Mr.
Fuller, who advised with him in every step of
the undertaking.
In the spring of the year 1791, a meeting of
ministers was held at Clipstone, which brought
the matter to a crisis. Two sermons were
preached on that occasion, and afterwards
printed. The first was by Mr. Sutcliffe, from
1 Kings xix. 10 ; on "Jealousy for the Lord of
hosts." The other was delivered by Mr. Fuller
from Haggai i. 2, ; on " The Pernicious Influ
ence of delay in matters of religion." The
latter of these sermons made such an impres
sion on the minds of the ministers present, and
the audience in general, as will not easily be
forgotten. Every heart was penetrated with
the subject ; and the ministers retired, scarcely
able to speak to one another. A scene of such
deep solemnity has seldom been witnessed. Mr,
Carey, perceiving the impression on all around
him, could not suffer the company to separate,

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 99
until they had come to some resolution on the
fbnning of a missionary society ; and a society
would then have been formed, but for the well-
known deliberative prudence of Mr. SutcUffe.
The resolution made at that time was, that as Mr.
Carey was known to have a manuscript by him
on the subject, he should be requested to pub
lish it at an early opportunity.
The annual association was held at Notting
ham, in the spring of 1792, and Mr, Carey was
appointed to preach. His sermon was founded
on Isaiah liv. 2, 3. Having observed that the
church of God is there addressed as a desolate
widow, dvvelling alone in a httle cottage ; that
the command to enlarge her tent contained an
intimation, that there should be an enlargement
in her family ; and that to account for so unex
pected a change, she was told, that her " Maker
was her husband," who should be " called the
God of the whole earth ;" — he took up what he
conceived to be the spirit of the passage in two
exhortations; namely, Expect great things
— Attempt great things. The effect of this
discourse was considerable. A resolution was
passed, * That against the next meeting of mi
nisters at Kettering a plan should be prepared for
the purpose of forming a society for propagating
the gospel among the heathen. ' Mr. Carey at
the same time generbusly proposed to devote

100 MEMOIRS OF
the profits which might aiise from his late publi
cation on the subject, to the use of such a society.
The ministers accordingly assembled at Ket
tering, Oct. 2, 1792. After the pubhc services
were over, they retired for prayer, and pledged
themselves most solemnly to God and to one
another, that they would make an attempt to
introduce the gospel amongst the heathen.
Hitherto there were no openings for a mission
in any particular direction, no missionaries pro-
A ided, nor any funds to meet the expence. The
sum of thirteen pounds only was subscribed,
and soon after, seventy pounds were collected
by iNIr Pearce at Birmingham ; but until a more
specific .object were proposed, no appeal could,
with any propriety, be made to the public. At
two subsequent meetings, in October and No
vember, Mr. Carey offered himself as a missiou-
arv% and was accepted.
While things were thvis proceeding, providence
was preparing the way to India, by the most
unexpected means. Mr. John Thomas, who
had formerly been a sui^eon in London, and
who was totaUy unknown to the society, had
been several years in Bengal, preaching the gos
pel to the natives. On his return to London,,
he endeavoured to establish a fund for a mission
tathat country, and called on Mr. Abraham
Booth for his advice, who immediately commuivi-.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 101
cated the information. The Society invited Mr.
Thomas to their meeting, on Jan. 10, 1793, after
having received a satisfactory answer to their
inquiries ; and late in the evening, wdiile they
were m full deliberation, his arrival was announ
ced. Impatient to behold his colleague, he
entered the room in haste ; and Mr, Carey rising
from his seat, they fell on each others necks and
wept. The committee, then assembled at Ketter
ing, accepted their joint services, and engaged
to do all in their power to provide the means of
sending them to India,
" From Mr. Thomas's accounts we saw,"
said Mr, Fuller to a friend, " there was a gold
mine in India, but it seemed almost as deep as
the centre of the earth. Who will venture to
explore it? I will venture to go down, said
Carey, but remember that you (addressing Ful
ler, Sutcliffe, and Ryland) must hold the ropes.
We solemnly engaged to him to do so, nor while
we live shall we desert him."
On the 20th of March 1793, previous to the
departure of the missionaries, a day of holy con
vocation was held at Leicester. The former
part of it was devoted solely to the exercise of
prayer. In the afternoon, Mr. Thomas preached
from Ps. xvi. 4. Their sorrows shall be multi
plied that hasten after another God: and a pub
lic collection was made for the mission. In the

lOa MEMOIRS OF
evening, Mr, Hogg of Thrapstone delivered a
suitable discourse on the solemn occasion from
Acts xxi. 14. And when he would not be per
suaded, tve ceased, saying, Tlie will of the Lord
be done; after which, Mr. Fuller addressed
the missionaries from John xx. 21. Peace be
unto you ; as my Father hath sent me, even so
send I you. " Every part of the solemnities
of this day," said he, " must be affecting ; but
if there be one part which is more so than the
rest, it is that which is allotted to me, delivering
to you a solemn parting address. But the hope
of your undertaking being crowned with success,
swallows up all my sorrow. I could myself go
¦without a tear, (so at least I think) and leave-
all my friends and connections in such a glori
ous cause." After a striking illustration of the
words of his text, in which he adverted to the
ends of Christ's own mission, " to offer himself
a sacrifice for sin, and by his blood to obtain
eternal redemption for poor lost sinners," he
called the attention of the missionaries to — the
objects they must keep in view — the directions
they must observe — the difficulties they would
have to encounter — and the reward which they
might expect, " Go, then," said he, in closing
the address, " my dear brethren, stimulated
by these prospects. We shall meet again.
Crowns of glory await you and us. Each, I

.MR, ANDREW FULLER. 103
trust, will be addressed in the last day, ' Come
ye blessed of my Father — enter ye into the joy
of your Lord,'"
This affectionate address was printed before
the raissionaries left England, and Mr, Carey
has the following reference to it in his diary
under the date of Jan, 28, 1794. " This even
ing after a day of dejection, 1 had much relief m
reading over Mr. Fuller's charge to us at Leices
ter : the affection there manifested almost over
came my spirits,''*
It was doubtless an affecting stroke to both
Mr. Carey and tbe church at Leicester, to se
parate never more to see each other in the flesh.
They esteemed him highly for his work's sake ;
but though greatly affected at the thought of
losing a faithful pastor, they offered no objection
to his going. " We have been praying," said
one of them, " for the spread of Christ's king
dom amongst the heathen ; and now God re
quires us to make the first sacrifice to accom
plish it." And when persons who were hostile
to the mission presumed to censure Mr, Carey's
conduct, the members of the chm-ch at Leices
ter, individuaUy vindicated his conduct, thou:gh
to lose him severely tried their feelings.
On the 13th of June 1793, the missionaries
set sail, from Copenhagen, on board the Kron
Princesse Maria?, Captain Christinas, a Danish
* Periodical Accounts, vol, i, p, i66.

104 MEMOIRS OF
East Indiaman, and on the 1 7th of October fol
lowing, the vessel anived in the Bay of Bengal.
But any further detail is unnecessary, as the sul>
sequent proceedings are already extant in the
Periodical Accounts of the Society. A few un
published, and otherwise unimportant, anecdotes
find their place here, in order to fill up a small
interstice in the mission history, and to show
the co-operation of two great minds, and their
different bearings on the same subject.
The Baptist Mission having thus arisen out
of the labours and writings of Mr. Fuller, power
fully seconded and applied by his coadjutor, he
immedialely became the life and soul of the
undertaking ; replenishing its resources, and di
recting all its movements. The labours of these
eminent men had a reciprocal influence on each
other; the successful and zealous Missionary
imparted to the Secretary fresh energies, while
the latter provided for the former, the means
and the hopes of .success. Never were two
minds more congenial, more powerfully direct
ed towards one object, or less ambitious of the
honour arising from its attainment.
It was with great propriety, therefore, that
Mr. Hinton, in his late sermon at the Spa Fields
Chapel, compared the mission to a chain, of
which Fuller and Carey constituted the two

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 105
end links, one fixed in the east, and the other
in the western world.*
Those who knew Mr, Fuller will not be sur
prised that so much must be said of this Mis
sion in the shortest memoir of him that can be
written. It was inseparable firom his mind and
depended under God chiefly on his exertions.
For several years though these were unremitted,
they seemed unavailing, so far as respected its
great and ultimate object. No success attend
ed the labours ofthe Missionaries. Both parties,
however, at home and abroad, cultivated the
field, and waited patiently for the influences of
heaven to give increase to the seed sown. Friend
less and often pennyless, in a strange land,
surrounded by those, and by scarcely any others
but those who were engrossed with the pursuit of
wealth and ambition, and who lived in luxury and
vain shew, Carey unseduced and undismayed, la
boured in the acquisition of the native languages
— in addressing the Hindoos and Mussulmans,
not neglecting his own countrymen, and in trans
lating the scriptures into Bengalee, the language
which three fourths of the natives best under
stand. But for seven long years he was not
gladdened by the existence of one consistent
convert, though often disappointed by the most
promising appearances. We shall fom^ an im-
• Anniversary Meeting, June Slat. 1815.
I

106 MEMOIRS OF
proper estimate of the importance of these mea
sures, great as they are in themselves, if we limit
our view to their own direct and intrinsic value.
They, in fact, first suggestj^d and gave the im
pulse to the public mind, in producing those
movements which have issued in the erection
of Missionary Societies on a much greater scale —
in itinerancies at home — in societies for the dis
tribution of rehgious tracts — an/l in the mighty
engine of the British and Foreign Bible
Society, with its many auxiliaries, of which
chain of admirable undertakings they were the
first link.
So far from arrogating to himself any pre
eminent distinction, or of attaching to his own
services any peculiar importance, Mr. Fuller
not only admitted his brethren to an equal par
ticipation, but ascribed the success of tho whole
undertaking, under God, to their exertions,
Pearce's activities in the first instance, and Sut-
cliffe's abiding counsels, were considered by him
as the pillars of the temple. It is ti-ue, they
were to him like Aaron and Hur ; but he him
self was Moses, the leader of the host. If
others assisted in forming plans, or in giving
their advice, he was the agent in every bold
exertion ; and to his energies they were indebt
ed for the performance of an enterprise.
Tbe labours which the barren years of this

MK, ANDREW FULLER. 107
mission, as well as its future periods of success
and extension, occasioned to Mr, Fuller
it is not easy to enumerate. They were wit
nessed by others, and heard of from them,
though he dwelt little upon themin his own con
versation. But the consultations which he
held — the correspondence he maintained — the
personal solicitations which he employed— the
contributions he collected,— -the management of
these and other funds — the selection, probation
and improvement of intending missionaries —
the works which he composed and compiled
on these subjects, — the discourses he delivered,
— and the journeys he accomplished to extend
the knowledge and to promote the welfare Of
the mission, required energy almost unequalled.
Or if we retract this word, it is only on account
ofthe next to supernatural talents and applica
tion discovered by a native of England, under
30 years of age, in the torrid zone, without li
beral education, patronage or friends, unfur
nished with money, and scarcely supplied with
the necessaries of life ; often involved in do
mestic affliction and ill health ; who acquired
the knowledge of numerous, and these the most
difficult, oriental languages, dissimilar in struc
ture and genius to those of Europe ; who trans
lated the scriptures in whole or in part into all
of these; who printed, published, and ciirulated
I 2

108 MEMOIRS 01
them ; who composed and printed large and vol-
urainous grammars of these languages in Eng
lish ; who has translated some of the principal
works into English, from these languages, not
one word of which he knew 22 years before he
began these tasks ; all which acquisitions and
employments were carried on without any view
to emolument, receiving only bare support from
the funds of the mission, while throwing into
these his own salary of ^1500 per annum aspro-
fessor of Sungskrit, Bengalee and Mahratta in
the College of Fort William, and while engaged
in cares, undertakings and personal labours of
themselves more than sufficient for most other
raen, living in their native country, and in the
most favourable circumstances ! But to return :
The pecuniary concerns of the mission in
volved considerable expense and difficulty ; all
would depend on a successful appeal to the re
ligious public, and the means must be provided
by their voluntary contributions, Mr. Fuller,
however, said, at the commencement of the un
dertaking, " Only let us have faith, and we shall
not want money ;" and his indefatigable labours
verified the truth of the remark.^ The sum of
five hundred pounds was required to be raised
in the space of three or four months, for the
equipment of the first two missionaries; and
more than twice the amount was readily provid-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 109
ed. Encouraged by such an auspicious intro
duction, Mr. Fuller travelled and preached in
almost all parts of the kingdom, collecting for
the mission, and rousing attention to its concerns.
During the whole of his career, he kept up a con
tinual intercourse, presented the subject before
the public in every variety of form, circulated
intelligence with the utmost celerity, conducted
all the correspondence between the missionaries
and the society, generally made the annual col
lections in the city, superintended all the consign
ments, and was in fact the minister both for the
foreign and home department.
Mr. Fuller's invitation to visit Scotland arose
from the interest which the mission there created
among christians of all denominations. He had
indeed been previously known to, and was
highly esteemed by, the late Dr. Erskine, and
some other persons ; and a correspondence con
nected with the subject of the first edition of
" The Gospel worthy of all Acceptation," had
been kept up for some time. His volume, also,
on the moral tendency of Socinianism, had been
very generally read, and was much admired and
recommended by the friends of vital and prac
tical religion, particularly by Dr. Erskine, the
late Dr. Hunter, Professor of Divinity, Mr.
M'Lean, and many others ; but for between two
and three years the attention of christians iu

110 MEMOIRS OP
Scotland, was Uttle attracted to this mission.
Nor did it obtain any support until the subse
quent societies and undertakings were set on
foot, which brought it into notice and consider
ation. The late Mr. Archibald M'Lean, one of
the pastors of the oldest Baptist church in
Edinburgh, may be considered as the first per
son in Scotland who took any particular inte-
est in the Baptist Mission ; but his labours in
various ways tended much to engage the atten
tion of the people of that country towards it*
About the close of the year 1795, he preached
a Sermon to his own congregation on the doc
trine of the subjection of all nations to Christ,
from Ps. xxii, 27, 28. and urged upon his bre
thren the duty of using means for its accomplish
ment. The subject was at this time in a great
measure new to the Baptist churches in Scot
land, among whom the sentiment of Christ's
personal reign upon the earth, during the Mil-
lenial period, had hitherto been almost univer
sally prevalent. But the publication of that
discourse, which the author followed up by a
Narrative of the. proceedings of the Baptist So
ciety in England for propagating the gospel
among the heathen, and which was accompanied
by an earnest address to the people of God in
Scotland, to use means for the universal spread

MR. ANDREW iFULLER. 1 1 1
of the gospel, all tended eminently to engage
the attention of the religious piiblic to the sub
ject. Shortly afterwards, Mr. M'Lean preach
ed a sermon at the Circus, and dollefcted more
than .£"100, which he remitted to the Baptist
Missionary Society, The church of Which he
Was the pastor, with several Others, now madte
collections also, and remitted jointly about
^150 more ; a display 6f christian liberality
Which called forth the gratitude of Mr. Carey
and his missionary brethren. The subject was
soon taken up generally throughout Scotland,
l)Oth among the dissenting classes, and the mem
bers of the established churCh.
The concerns of the mission beginning to
expand upon a wider scale, and demanding
Isirgier supplies than British benevolence could
conveniently furnish, Mr. Fuller made his first
tour into Scotland in 1 799 ; and intimidated by
the prospect of meeting these sons of the north,
for whose intellectual abilities he always enter
tained a very high opinion, he took with him his
fiffehd, the late Mr. Sutcliffe of Olney, in whose
Wisdbm and prudence he placed the utmost
confidence. Their first idea of visiting Scotland was sug
gested to Mr. Fuller by a gentleman who at the
sanie time remitted .£100 for the service of tlie
mission. When its funds were in a low state.
He accepted the invitation, and arrived at Edin-

112 MEMOfRS OF
burgh in company with Mr. Sutchffe, Oct,
11th. 1799, Here he met with a reception due
to his talents, his character, and the magni
tude of the object in which he was engaged.
To no class of christians is the mission more
indebted, than to our Scottish brethren, whose
liberality not only essentially contributed to its
prosperity, and gave a powerful stimulus to the
activities of its principal agent, but whose mul
tiplied kindnesses made a deep and lasting im
pression on the heart of the Secretary.
But our raercies come not without our trials.
During this journey, the mournful tidings of
Mr, Pearce's death overtook Mr. Fuller at Glas
gow ; and it was chiefly in contemplation of that
event, that he engaged to supply this lack of
service on the part of that eminently pious and
active man. And in a letter from that place,
dated Oct, 19, 1799, Mr, Fuller expressed his
first feelings of the irreparable loss, in the fol
lowing abrupt exclamations, — " Pearce is
dead ! Oh Jonathan, thou wast slain upon thy
high places ! I am distressed for thee, my
brother Jonathan ! Oh that we may all emu
late him. Try while your mind is warm to draw
his character. Write all yoii can remember of
him. Memoirs of his life must be published :
he is another Brainerd." The Memoirs were
published ; and the religious world has long had
nn opportunity of judging of their merits,

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 113
Writing frora Liverpool, on his return from
the north, Mr. Fuller says, " I have now been
out nearly thirty days; have travelled about
eight hundred miles, and have collected as
many pounds. I never saw such numerous
congregations as at Edinburgh and Glasgow.
My heart was dismayed at the sight, especially
on a Lord's day evening. Nearly five thousand
people attended; and some thousands it was
supposed went away, unable to get in. — To
morrow I preach here three times, administer
the Lord's supper, and make a collection for the
mission. Considering my constant labours,
preaching almost every evening in the week dur
ing my journey, my health is singularly good."
After his return home, he found that he had
travelled nine hundred miles, and collected full
nine hundred pounds.
Agreeable intelligence having arrived from
• India, a day of public thanksgiving was held at
Leicester, August 19. 1801. The warm and
lively feelings which this event excited in the
mind of Mr. Fuller, may be seen in the follow
ing extracts of a letter, which was dictated by
him on that occasion, and sent from the Society
to the Missionaries.
'^ DeAELY beloved in OUE LOED !
All your communications are grateful;
but the last, up to Feb. 14, 1801, arepecuharly

114 MEMOIRS OF
reviving to our hearts. And we are met this
day to give thanks unto the Lord because he is
good, for his mercy towards Israel endureth for
ever, and because the foundation of the Lord's
house is laid.
The friendship of Messrs. Brown and
Buchanan, and of people in general — ^the kind
ness of Governor Bie, and the Danish magistrates
— the recovery of such of you as were afflicted
— the finishing of the New Testament — the in
stances of mercy towards Europeans who have
visited you — the gracious change in Felix and
William Carey — the effectual work among the
Hindoos — in short, the prosperity and harmony
of the church and family — are events for which
we as well as you, brethren, are constrained to
say, * The Lord hath done great things for us,
whereof we are glad.'
We can easily conceive how a sense of your
unworthiness and unfitness for the work, should
render the grace which as appeared to you
overwhelming. We feel the same. It is tnily
astonishing, that God should work at all by such
unworthy instruments as we are. But his
mercy endureth for ever. He worketh for his
great name's sake. T9 him be the glory for
ever and ever !
Under God, we feel the mOst perfect confi
dence in you all. Your fidelity, your prudence.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 1 15
your zeal, and unwearied diligence, refresh our
spirits. Though absent from you in the flesh,
yet we are with you in the spirit, joying and
beholding your order, and the steadfastness
of your faith in Christ. Your sorrows and
your joys are ours. It affords us great satis
faction, that after having waited so long in the
choice of raissionaries, those who were last sent
out have proved so acceptable.* God seems to
be binding us all to one another, by new and
endearing ties. To those who first encounter
ed the work, the brethren that followed looked
up, as their guides and directors, rejoicing in
the day that enabled them to take their stand
by their side ; — while on the other hand, to
those who followed after, the brethren that
first arrived, have now to look, as the instru
ments by which they have been blessed. To
theu- going may be attributed, your present
comfortable settlement, the printing of the
New Testament, &c. How precious are God's
thoughts, thus to interweave our interests, and
sweetly compel us to love one another!
Be assured that we will do our utmost to
meet your pecuniary wants ; and such is the
confidence which the religious public in Britain
have in you, that we are persuaded they will
never suffer you to fail for want of support.
* Dr, Marshmaii and Mr. Ward.

Il5 MEMOIRS OF
Many hundreds esteem it a privilege to give
their annual token of love, and would feel sor
ry to be deprived of it.
Present our grateful acknowledgements to
Governor Bie for all his kmdness. The Lord
gi-ant that he may partake ofthe blessings of that
' gospel, over the publishers of which he has ex
tended his protection. Also to Messrs. Browne
and Buchanan, May the richest of blessings
rest on them, in their respective labours for
Christ ! Present also our brotherly love to Mr.
Forsyth, for the kindness he has shown in the
days of affliction : also to Mr. Cunninghame,
and Mr. Udney, for "their manifold expres
sions of love towards the cause of Christ in
Hindostan. — We could wish to come ourselves
and give the right hand of fellowship to all the
brethren. Accept our tenderest regards. The
Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits!"
After such an effusion of gratitude and love,
after so much zeal expended in so good a cause,
we should hardly have expected that an enemy,
under the christian name, would presume to
show his face, or attempt to damp the ardour
by which the Baptist Missionary Society was
animated. But the great exertions, of their Se
cretary moved the envy of some masked indi
vidual, who addressed the following letter to

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 1 17
him in the beginning of 1801, in which he en
deavoured to press some objections, too fre
quently entertained by the doubtful friends of
Christianity. "Rev. Sir, .
Various and costly have been the ex
ertions made for the propagation of the gospel
among foreign nations. However laudable this
labour of love may be, yet very considerable
blame is attached to it ; since the probability of
greater success was in favour of a region far
less distant, and more deserving, if charity be
gins at home. The wilful neglect of so large a
part of our own land, is certainly unpardonable.
It is true, that many an expensive and fatiguing
journey has been undertaken, from south to
north Britain, which has been well repaid by that
which has taken, and is hkely to take place.
Yetyou, sir, have rode post down to the Scotch
metropolis, for the purpose of witnessing the
state of that country, with a view to aid in con
certing the best means, by which good might
be done : but neither yourself, nor others, who
at least ought to have had more consideration,
did condescend to halt by the way, either to
preach, or enquire into the truly deplorable
state of ignorance and irreligion, of that large
and populous tract of country situated between

] 18 MEMOIRS OF
York and Newcastle-upon-Tyne; or, in your
flight back again, to give one thought towards
the reformation of Cumberland, or heathenish
Westmoreland. " If we may judge ofthe success which at
tended the labours of Paulinus, the first mis
sionary sent into these parts from Rome, the
most pleasing benefits would be the conse
quence, upon the application of proper means.
iPaulinus is said to have, in one day, baptized
ten thousand persons in the river Swale, near
Richmond in Yorkshire. The fair Otaheitan,
the filthy Hottentot, and cruel East Indian,
have each been sharers in missionary boon, at
the expence of raany thousands of pounds, many
valuable lives, and the earnest labours of pious
and zealous characters: and after all this, it
cannot be said that one convert has been made ;
when in all probability, if a tenth part had been
done in favour of our own nation, some scores,
perhaps hundreds, would have been praising
God and thanking you, which they might have
done to all eternity. — That the time for tbe call
ing of the gentiles may be fast approaching,
is the earnest prayer of one who is no director
in these matters, but only an Observer."
Mr. Fuller in reply stated, that he should
not have thought it necessary to notice this
letter, had it not afforded him an opportu-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 1 19
nity of answering an objection to foreign mis
sions, which had been more than once advanc
ed ; — ^namely, that it interferes with exertions in
favour of our own counti'ymen. — It is on this
account that the above letter finds a place in
these pages, and with a view of preserving
Mr. Fuller's valuable remarks on this subject.
" I shall say but little," says he, " of the
gross inistatement in the letter, as that ray
going to Scotland in 1799, was to ' witness the
state of that country,' and to ' concert mea
sures for doing good; that I did not conde
scend' to halt, and preach, between York and
Newcastle ; and that ' it cannot be said that one
convert has been made' in foreign missions.
Such assertions must have arisen from the want
of information. My journey was merely owing
to a kind invitation given me to go and receive
the donations of a number of my fellow chris
tians, who were willing to contribute to the
giving of the holy scriptures to a great nation
which had them not, as all the country between
York and Newcastle have. My excursion
was not a preaching one, though I did preach,
and that to the utmost extent of my power.
If I had taken half a year, I might have stop
ped much oftener than I did : but then it is
possible my own congregation would have re
minded me, that ' charity begins at home.'

IgO MEMOIRS OF
Whether success has, or has not, attended fo
reign missions, the accounts which have, been
printed of them, so far as human judgment can
go in such matters, will enable us to decide.
The only question that requires attention is.
Whether the spirit ivhich, within the last ten years,
has prompted christians of different denomina
tions to engage in foreign missions, has been fa
vourable or unfavourable to the propagation of
the gospel at home ?
It is a fact which cannot be disputed, that
within the above period there have been far great
er exertions to communicate the principles of reli
gion to the heathenised parts of England and
Scotland, than at any former period within the
remembrance, at least, of the present gene
ration. If I were to say, they have been five
times greater than before, I think I should not
exceed the truth. Nor has that part of the
kingdom, to which the writer of the letter al
ludes, been overlooked.
And how is this fact to be accounted for?
Will this friend to village preaching unite with
Bishop Horsley, and say, it is the effect of po
litical motives ; and merely a new direction of
the democratic current, which was interrupted
by the treason and sedition bills in 1795? If so,
we might ask, How came it to commence two
years before those bills were passed? How is

MR, ANDREiW FULLfiR. Igl
it, that it should have prevailed not So much
amongst those dissenters who took an eager
share in political contention, as those who had
scarcely ever concerned themselves in any thing
ofthe kind? And, finally, How is it, thatitshould
have extended to other nations as well as Britam,
and other quarters of the world as well as
Europe? But I suppose the writer of this letter would
not attribute it to this cause. How then will he
account for it? The truth most manifestly is,
that the very practice of which he complains
has been more conducive to that which he re
commends, than all other causes put together.
It is natural that it should be so. A longing
desire after the spread of the gospel, when once
kindled, extends itself in all directions. The
same principle which induces some to leave
their native land, to impart the heavenly light,
induces others to contribute, and pray for their
success. And while they are doing this, it is
next to impossible to forget their own country
men ; who, though they have access to the
written word, yet live without God in the world.
It is very singular that the example of ' Pauli
nus,' who came to Britain as a missionary from
Rome, about the year 596, and is said to have
baptized ten thousand people in the river Swale,
should be alleged against foreign missions. Al-
K

122 MEMOIRS OF
lowing his converts to have been real christians,
(which however is very doubtful,) according to
the jDfeserver, there was much blame attached
to his labours of love, since the probabihty of
greater success was in favour of Italy ; a country
far less distant than Britain, and more deserving
of his charity, which ' should have begun at
home.' Unfortunately for this proverb, I do not re
collect ever hearing it alleged but for a selfish
purpose. Go and ask relief for some distressed
object, of a wealthy man. His answer is,
* Charity begins at home.' True, and it seems
to end there. And by the reasoning of this
Observer, his would do the same. So long as
there are any simiers in Britain, we must con
fine our attention to them. A person of a con
tracted mind, once objected to the exportation
of our manufactures. We have many poor
people in England, said he, who are half naked,
and would be glad of them ; and ' charity begins
at home.' He was informed, however, by a mer
chant, that to send our commodities abroad is
not the way to impoverish, but to enrich our
selves, and even to furnish the poor with cloth
ing, by providing them with plenty of good
employment."* In the beginning of June 1804, Mr. Fuller era-
* Biblical Magazine, vol. ii. pp. 165—168.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 123
barked for Ireland, to visit the Baptist churches
in that part of the kingdom, and collect for
the mission. Two of his children being dange
rously ill at the time, he left home under great
depression, and took an affectionate leave of
his people. In a letter written at the close of
the sabbath, he says, " I have baptized five per
sons to day, and preached my farewel sermon
to the church, from John xvii. 21 . I considered,
(1) The object prayed for— union— ' that they
all may be one.' (2) The model of it — the
union between the Father and the Son, or be
tween the Lawgiver and the Saviour, in the
work of human redemption-—' as thou Father
art in me, and I in thee,' (3) Its influence on
mankind — ' that the world may believe that thou
hast sent me.' "
Arriving in Dublin, he found himself in a new
state of society, and was much struck with the
appearance of the lower classes, who seemed
to be immersed in poverty and superstition.
On the first sabbath, his heart was dismayed at
seeing only a few genteel people, not more than
forty or fifty, scattered about in a place of wor
ship that would hold four hundred ; in the after
noon, not two hundred, in a place that would con
tain nearly two thousand ; and in the evening,
about forty more. These congregations were so
different from what he had seen in Scotland,
K 2

lit .MEMOIRS OF
that he said, having nobody of common pedpleJ
mixed with them, they appeared to him " like
the heads at Temple Bar." Afterwards, how
ever, his hearers encreased to between fifteen
hundred, and two thousand.
During his stay in Dublin, some of the Saii-
demanians wanted to dispute with him ; and
others represented that he did not preach ' the
gospel.' But their cold speculations by no
means suited the genial warmth of his own sys
tem, nor comported with the object he had in
view ; he therefore avoided controversy, and
laboured to cultivate the religion of the heart.
He acknowledged that they were very cahill
conversant with the scriptures, and adroit in ar-
gwnient ; but says he,
'Tis Athens owl, and not mount Sion's dove.
The bird of knowledge, not the bird of love.
One of the most distinguishing traits in the
Irish Sandemanians, he observed was, the mark
ed separation made in public worship, between
those whom they reckon believers and unbeliev
ers ; not merely in their doctrine, which ought
to be discriminative, but in the very seats
they occupy. Unbelievers must not sit with
believers, nor will they engage in public prayer
where they are mixed. " I asked one of them,"
said Mr. Fuller, " whether he would engage iu

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 125
family prayer, if his wife being present, were in
his account an vmbeliever ? He answered. No:
and I find that family worship is nearly, if not
wholly, neglected amongst them. A respectable
minister from Edinburgh, who had much inter
course with these professors, afterwards con
firmed to me this statement. He also told them
and me, that Sandemanianism as a system was
in his opinion the most destructive of pure reli
gion of any thing in any sect ; acknowledging at
the same time that their children were brought
up without discipline, and in habits of dissipa
tion."* Having collected about a hundred and fifty
pounds for the mission, and preached in several
parts ofthe country, Mr. Fuller returned home
the first week in July, and found his family in
very painful circumstances ; one child died dur
ing his absence, and another was not likely to
survive. Reflecting on his late excursion, he
says, " I have enjoyed but little pleasure in my
* It may be proper to remark, that the persons here
denominated ' Sandemanians ' are rather a distinct
branch , of that description, who are otherwise called
Separatists, and are chiefly the followers of Mr. John
Walker, late fellow of Trinity college, Dublin ; and
perhaps, should not be confounded with the general
body of Sandemanians in other parts of the united
kinafdom.

126 MEMOIRS OF
visit to Ireland. The state of my family at
home, the contentions of the Sandemanians at
Dublin, the disorders among the Baptists — all
together, overwhelmed my spirits. Yet I hope
I have derived some profit. The doctrine of
the Cross is more sweet to me than ever, and
some of my best times in preaching have been
from such texts as relate to that subject. Oh
that for me to live may be Christ !"
This visit also produced some good effects on
tlie general interests of religion in that pai't ofthe
kingdom. Mr Fuller attempted a reformation
among the Baptists ; and not succeeding in this,
he assisted in forming a new society, founded
on better principles. He afterwards published
some " Remarks on the state of the Baptist
churches in Ireland ; alleging that several of
their members disowned some of tbe most
important doctrines of the gospel, and by their
want of discipline, had become extremely defi
cient in point of christian character. The Irish
churches admitted in reply, that there was a
great deficiency among them, both in regard to
vital godliness and church discipline, which
they lamented ; but conceived that in some in
stances their avowed principles had been mis
represented. Since then, a partial reformation
has been effected, true religion has in some mea
sure been revived, and fresh efforts are making

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 127
by an Itinerant Society in England, to dissemi
nate the gospel in various parts of the sister
kingdom. To detail the numerous missionary engage
ments which followed, during the last ten years
of Mr. Fuller's life, would be extremely difficult:
they admitted of but little intermission, and the
same unwearied course was pursued till he finish
ed it with joy. It was not usual with him to
make any Journal of these occun-ences. Once
however he did so, at the request of a fi-iend ;
and the substance of it, given in the follow
ing pages, will furnish a specimen of his general
labours in the missionary cause.
It will be seen that wherever he went, he
was always endeavouring to disseminate the
knowledge ofthe truth, by conversation as well
as preaching ; exciting a spirit of enquiry, and
rousing the attention of all around him. Va
rious instances of this kind are here exhibited,
in connection with his missionary pursuits ; and
the mind is regaled with the detail of several
interviews with persons of different sentiments,
the wisdom and prudence with which they were
conducted, and the strong sensation which his
presence and his labours every where produced.
From the time that he left horae on this occa
sion, till his return, scarcely an hour seems to
have elapsed, without finding full employment

1S8 MEMOIRS OF
for his faculties, and putting all his energies to
the test. The Journal also presents us with
much interesting information on the general
state of religion in the north.

MR, ANDREW FULLER, l£9

CHAPTER V.
Journal of a tour through Scotland, in July
1805, to collect for the printing ofthe Scrip
tures in the Eastern languages: written by
Mr, Fuller — his missionary labours continued.
Having made collections at Lincoln, Hull,
Scarborough, and Alnwick, I arrived at Edin
burgh, on Saturday night at eleven o'clock,
June, 29.; where I was very kindly received by
my respected friend and his family.
Lord's day morning, June 30, I received an
invitation from the httle Baptist church, meet
ing at Cordiners Hall, to preach to them in
the afternoon, and administer the Lord's supper;
and to continue these services during my stay
at Edinburgh. — In the forenoon I preached at
Mr. Aikman's Tabernacle, where a second
church of the new Independents asserables. In
the afternoon I went to Cordiners Hall, where
we had about two hundred hearers; but the
church members were not more than twelve or
fourteen. They were baptized by Mr. Page,
while a studait in Edinburgh. I hope their

130 MEMOIRS OF
study is to cultivate christian love, and to avoid
contention. One of the Tabernacle preachers
lately joined them : but their thoughts are turn
ed towards a young man as their pastor, who
is now with brother Sutcliffe at Olney. I
preached this afternoon from 1 John iv. 10, and
enjoyed more solemn pleasure than at any other
time while I was in Scotland. In the evening
I preached at Mr. Haldane's Tabernacle to
about three thousand people, and had an inte
resting opportunity.
In the week I travelled in company with my
friend, and preached at Dalkeith and Hadding
ton. On the former of these excursions, we had
an interestmg conversation on some points lately
in dispute between myself and Mr. Abraham
Booth.* During my week's stay at Edinburgh, I per
ceived that son>e who had been highly service
able in carrying on the work of God, were
verging fast towards Sandemanianism, and I
tremble for the consequences. The wai-mth
with which they contend that there is no dif
ference between the faith of devils and that of
Christians, as to the nature of it, will render faith
a mere bone of contention, and their zeal will
all be consumed in the tithing of mint and cum-
• A few partionlars of this conf ersafion, and of some otters
[in the course ofthe Journal, will appear iu a subsequent Chap
ter.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 1 3 1
min. Perhaps also this will be the last time
that I shall be admitted into their pulpits.
One afternoon we had the company of six or
seven of the leading men of this connection,
and they all beset me on these topics, but in
perfect good humour. They contended for
what they call ' The exhortations ofthe brethren ;'
that is, that in the public worship of the Lord's
day, some part of the time should be taken
up by one, two, or more of the private bre
thren, standingup one by one, and speaking from
a text of scripture. The officiating pastor for
the time, stands up and says, ' If any of the
brethren have a word of exhortation, we shall
be glad to hear him.' Then one rises, and
speaks a few minutes ; then another; and some
times a third. After this, the pastor preaches.
I asked the company what scriptural autho
rity there was for this practice. They referred
me to Heb. x. 25, " Not forsaking the assem
bling of ourselves together, as the manner of
some is ; but exhorting one another ; and so
much the more, as ye see the day approaching."
— I said, I always thought that this was meant
of exhorting one another to assemble, and not
when assembled, I might also have added,
that according to the preceding verse, there is
the same reason for appropriating a part of pub
lic worship to " considering one another," and

132 " MEMOIRS OF
so of having a silent meeting, as for appropri
ating another part to exhorting one another,"
and the former might as weU be made a chris
tian ordinance as the latter.
It is true, mention is made in the new testa
ment of " exhortation." But it was not com
mon to the brethren : it was the work of persons
in office. " He that exhorted was to attend to
exhortation," as well as he that teacheth, on
teaching. It is a branch of the pastoral office,
which was " to teach, and to exhort, and to
reprove, with all longsuffering and doctrine."
There was a practice indeed, in the primitive
churches, called " prophesying," which they
might all engage in, one by one : but this, if it
contained nothing extraordinary, was neverthe
less a gift which every one did not possess.
See 1 Cor. xiv. 1 . And the words, " ye may
all prophesy, one by one," means only those who
had the gift of doing so to edification : yet such
was the design of primitive prophesying. 1 Cor.
xiv. 24. To leave it to every one who chooses
to stand up, and engage in public worship, is
neither to edify the church, nor tending to the
conviction of unbelievei-s.
Another evening, when in company, I was
asked by a warm Sandemanian, Whether God
was to be known, or a sinner convinced of ^n,
by any other medium than the cross pf Christ.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 133
1 answered, God is not to be known fully,
through any other medium; but he has made
himself known in part, by the works of creation
and providence; so much so, as to leave the
heathen " without excuse." The moral law is
also a medium, through which is " the know
ledge of sin."
One of the company denied, that the law
alone could convince men of sin. But as he
acknowledged a few days afterwards that he
was betrayed into some extremes in that con
versation, I do not know^ that I ought to con
sider it as his settled opinion. Yet I have been
since informed, that it is almost a fixed principle
amongst them, that there is no conviction of sin
but by the gospel. — I have no doubt indeed but
that all hope of mercy arises from the gospel,
and that the death of Christ is adapted to con
vince of sih ; but then it is as honouring the law.
Nothing can be more self-evident than what is
expressly asserted in the scriptures ; that " by
the law is the knowledge of sin." Disown the
law, and there is nothing in the death of Christ,
or in the gospel, which has any such tendency.
During the week, I called on Mr; M'Lean,
and talked over our controversy. He was very
iriendly, and thanked me for calling on him.
I told him I was not sure that I should never
take any notice of his performance: but my

134 MEMOIRS OF
hands had hitherto been too full, and perhaps
miffht continue to be so, I mentioned to him some
things which I thought were far from brotherly.
He replied. If it were to do again, there were
some things which I should omit.*
On Lord's day evening, July 6, 1 made a col
lection at Mr, Haldane's Tabernacle, where
nearly four thousand people attended. J was
given to expect but a small collection, as the
Tabernacle churches were then sending out two
missionaries to Tranquebar, There were how
ever a great many Kirk people present, who were
very cordial, and helped much, as was suppos
ed, to augment the sum, which amounted to
one hundred and twenty six pounds. One
of the Kirk ministers at Edinburgh did all in
his power to promote the object.
On Tuesday, July 8, I set off, in company
with my friend, on a tour of three weeks ; preach
ing and collecting every night except Saturday's,
and commonly three times on a Lord's day, —
On Tuesday we reached Dunfermline, where
I preached in the pulpit of the celebrated Ralph
Erskine, and collected about thirty pounds.
* The Editor does not understand this of the general
sentiments in dispute between these eminent men, but,
of those insinuations which Mr, Fuller thought " were
far from brotherly ;" several of which were afterwavdn
alluded to in his Strictures on Sandemanianism.

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 135
Wednesday, we went to Kirkaldy, where I met
with extraordinary kindness, both from the Kirk
ministers and the Seceders, who seeraed to vie
with each other in goodness. I named this
place Kind Kirhaldy. We collected about
forty pounds, and after preaching went a stage.
Thursday, the 10th, travelling through Fife
shire, we breakfasted at Cupar, where my com
panion had a friend, who called upon us at the
inn. I suppose I was unknown to the stranger,
who was a warm Sandemanian, and I enipyed
the treat of their conversation incognito. After
it was over, I said to my friend. Verily, the
faith of a Sandemanian ought not to be charged
with being dead or inoperative : it operates like
fire under a cauldron, causing his blood to boil
against all who do not think with him ! — About
noon we crossed the Tay, and soon arrived at
Dundee; where we presently found ourselves
in the midst of a circle of friends, who had
come to meet us. During the interview, I was
asked to give my ideas of the atonement and
.substitution of Christ, and a long conversation
ensued. — After the sermon, at which twenty-
three pounds were collected, a large company
came to spend the evening. I found they had
laid their accounts with a conversation on va
rious subjects till midnight ; but I was entirely
worn out with labour, and obliged to go abrupt
ly to bed.

136 MEMOIRS OF
Friday, the 11th, we proceeded to Montrdse,
where we were treated very kindly ; and after
the sermon, about fourteen pounds were collec
ted. Saturday, the 12th, reached Aberdeen at
about six in the evening. Paid my respects to
several of the ministers, and adjusted the work
ofthe sabbath. I agreed to spend the forenoon
with a few Baptists, who meet in an upper room ;
the afternoon, to preach and collect at the Inde-
pend^its, ill Mr. Haldane's connection ; and in
the evening at the Independents place, called
the Lock Chapel.
Lord's day. At the morning meeting I found
eight or ten baptists, residing in Aberdeen.
They were not in a state of fellowship ; and
whether they were sufficiently united to be for
med into a church, appeared rather doubtful.
At the same time, three persons applied to me
for baptism. The first was a young man who
had been a Socinian, but professed of late to be
convinced of the way of salvation through the
atonement of Christ, and of all the other cor
responding doctrines. The next was a simple
hearted man, with whose religious profession I
was well satisfied. The third was a woman,
and her's was a singular case.
As I was going to the morning meeting, I
was called aside by a respectable minister, and

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 137
told to this effect— 'You will be requested to
baptize a woman before you leave Aberdeen.
I have no prejudice against her on account of
her being a baptist; but I think it my duty to tell
you that she was a member of one of our
churches in this neighbourhood, and was ex
cluded for bad conduct. What conduct? * Dis
honesty towards her creditors,' Very well ; I
thank you for the information, and will make
a proper use of it.
Though I was applied to at the morning meet
ing to baptize these persons, I did nft hear
their personal professions till after the evening
sermon. They then came to my inn, where I
conversed with each one apart. When the wo
man was introduced, the following is the sub
stance of what passed between us. — Well Mar
garet, you have lived in the world about forty
years ; how long do you think you have known
Christ? ' A little more than a year?' What,
no longer? ' I think not.' And have you never
professed to know him before that time? ' Yes,
and was a member of an independent church,
for several years,' A member of a church, and
did not know Christ! How was that? ' I was
brought up to be religious, and deceived myr
self and others in professing to be so.' And how
came you to leave that church ? ' I was cut off.'
What, because you were a baptist? ' No^ be-
L

138 MEMOIRS OF
cause of my bad conduct.' Of what then had
you been guilty ? ' My heart was lifted up with
vanity — I got in debt for clothes aiid other things ;
and then prevaricated, and did many bad things.'
And it was for these things they cut you off ?
* Yes.' And do you think they did right ? ' Oh
yes.' And how came you to the knowledge of
Christ at last? ' When I was cut off from the
church, I sunk into the deepest despondency —
I felt as an outcast from God and man — I wan
dered about, speaking as it were to nobody, and
nobo<% speaking to me. My burden seemed
heavier than I could bear. At that time a pas
sage or two of scripture came to my mind, and
-I was led to see that through the cross of Christ
there was mercy for the chief of sinners. I wept
much, and my sin was very bitter. But I saw
there was no reason to despair; for that the blood
of Jesus Christ, cleanseth from all sin. It is from
thence I date my conversion,' And do the
minister, and the church of which you were
a member, know of all this ? ' Yes.' Why did
you not go and confess it before them, and be
restored ? ' Partly because I have reirioved my
situation, some miles from them ; and partly be
cause I felt in my conscience that I was a baptist.'
After the conversation, I saw the minister
who had told me of her, and informed him of
the whole ; adding, that the church in his con-

MR, ANDREW FULLER. • 139
nection had done well in excluding Margaret,
and the Lord I hoped had blessed it to her sal
vation. He could not object to the propriety
of my conduct in baptizing her, on my own
principles. Next morning I rose at five o'clock,
and baptized the three persons at a mill-dam,
about five miles from the city ; whither we went
in a post chaise, and returned about eight
o'clock. There were upwards of a hundred
people present.
At nine we set off on our return from the
north ; and after travelling about forty miles, I
stopped and preached at the Methodist chapel
in Brechin.
Tuesday morning July 1 5, set off for Perth ;
where I preached and collected for the mission,
The clergyman of the parish, a venerable old
man, was very kind to us. Here also I received
a donation of twenty pounds fro^n a gentleman
in the neighboiirhood.
Wednesday, set off for Stirling, about forty
miles. Ipreached and collected at the Burgher
meeting house ; but it seemed to them a strangi^
thing for a baptist to be in their pulpit. The
minister was not present; but he afterwards
appeared at my lodgings, and supped with
us. Thursday, by dinner time, we reached Glas
gow, where we met with an affectionate fecep-
L 2

140' MEMOIRS OF
tion. Soon after dinner I received an invitation
from the baptists, to be present at their church
meeting that afternoon, and to give them a word
of exhortation. With this I cheerfully complied ;
and at the conclusion, requested to commune
with them on the following Lords day, which
was as cheerfully granted.
Friday, the 18th, I preached at the Tabernacle
in the evening, for Mr. Ewing. Spent the next
day partly in retirement.
Lord's day, the 20th. In the forenoon I
preached at Albion chapel, the second Inde-
pendant church, and collected nearly eighty
pounds. In the afternoon I preached for the
baptists, and communed with them. They are
a poor people, and but few in number; yet
they collected about eight pounds. This little
church also supports amission, in the highlands
of Scotland, where anew society has lately been
formed. I have since had a letter from their
missionary, in which he writes as follows.
'Bellanock by Inverarj-, Argyleshire. — We
have raised a little church here ; the number of
our members is only twelve : but I hope they are
fully convinced of the insufficency of any thing
to save them but the righteousness of Christ.
There is one case rather remarkable; namely,
that of a notorious swearer and drinker, who
prided hiraself in excelling every other person

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 141
in these practices. He heard me occasionally
for three years, without any effect. At length
it pleased God to show him the evil of his way,
and also the way of escape through Jesus
Christ. He was added to our church in May
1804. The concern of this man was observed
by all around him : his change of character was
very manifest. He had the courage to set up
the worship of God in his master's family, where
he had so often profaned his holy name. This
had a happy effect in the end : it led his master,
who had hitherto lived as careless and ignorant
as himself, to consider his way, to search the
scriptures, and to attend more closely to the
preaching of the gospel. The issue is, I trust,
that it has been blessed to his soul. He now
not only worships God in his family, but recora-
raends Jesus to his friends as the only Saviour,
urging them to flee to him for refiige from the
wrath to come. I hope he will be shortly added
to our number.'
In the evening at Glasgow, I preached at the
Tabernacle, to nearly four thousand people.
They had lately collected for the Bible Society,
yet their collection for the mission amounted to
a hundred pounds.
Monday, July 21, I went to the country seat
of Mr. David Dale,* who added fifty pounds
* Of this truly eminent character, the author cannot

142 MEMOIRS OF
to the collection. I preached with much interest
that evening at Cambuslang, were many ofthe
deny himself the pleasure of here recording a few par
ticulars. Mr, Dale was one of those extraordinary men, who
at distant intervals, start up in society, evidently des
tined of Providence to confer distinguished lustre on
the age and country which had the honour to give
them birth. Descended from parents who ranked no
higher than shopkeepers, he received that education
only which is usually given in the small towns in Scot
land, and his first employment was the herding of cat
tle ; after which he was sent to Paisley to learn the
weaving business. From Paisley he removed to Ha
milton in the capacity of a journeyman weaver. He
afterwards settled at Glasgow, where he for some time
at first acted as clerk to a silk mercer. Industry fidel
ity, and honour, however, were conspicuous in all his
conduct, in the various stages through which he passed^
and they advanced him to the distinguished station in
which he lived and died.
Assisted by some few friends, he began and for se
veral years carriedjon business in the linen yarn branch,
importing French yarn from' Flanders which he sold i
with great advantage to the manufacturers. This sug
gested to him the ide£j|of erecting cotton mills in th«
neighbourhood of Glasgow, and led to a connection
between Mr. Dale and Sir Richard Arkwright, that
ended in the erection of various works on the Clyde,
adapted to the spinning of cotton, and to forward his'
plan, several persons were sent into England to be in
structed in the business. Thus briginated the well-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 143
Glasgow friends were present : but ray strength
began to fail me.
Tuesday, after dinner, I took leave of Glas
gow, and went and preached that night to about
known Lamask mills. Dissolving the partnership with
Sir Richard, Mr. Dale now conducted the same business
on his own account, and in process of time greatly ex
tended it by the erection of other mills. And notwith
standing the first of these establishments was destroyed
by fire he persevered till a cluster of these works adorn
ed a romantic situation, and furnished employment
to thousands of industrious artificers. But it was not
sufficient for Mr. Dale to have provided them employ
ment and the means of subsistence; he established
schools at all his factories with suitable teachers, so
that neither old nor young were left without the means
of instruction. Knowing the very wretched state in
which the Highland poor were placed, he gave them
every; possible encouragement to come and settle at
his mills, and made various attempts also to introduce
the cotton manufactures in the Highlands. Thus he
became eminently a benefactor to his country. His
public benevolence, pattriotic exeAions, and private
charities have embalmed his memory, and the recol
lection of his virtues is engraved on the hearts of his
cotemporaries who will not fail'to transmit his memo
rial to ages yet unborn.
If the world in general considered Mr, Dale entitled
to distinguished honour on account of the riches
which he possessed, true christians will think him still
more so because of the noble uses to which he delight-
(ed to apply them, " God has given me money by

144 MEMOIRS OF
sixteen hundred people at Paisley. The collec
tion amounted to nearly forty pounds. I here
met with another Tabernacle minister, who
had become a baptist, and about half his church
with him ; but them I saw not, I could not
get alone that night; but rose early in the
morning, and walked the fields with him before
breakfast. He wished me to write to him after
ray return; but I was afi-aid to proraise, for
want of time,
Wednesday the 23rd, set off for Greenoch,
I was pressed to call and preach, and collect at
Port Glasgow, and that by the clergyman ofthe
shovels full," he used to say " and I like to deal it out
by the same measure." His charities were princely,
yet they had no tendency to impoverish him ; for at
his death he left property to the amount of a hundred
thousand pounds ! Fuller used to be delighted with honest
David Dale ; and as a proof ofthe humility of this emi
nent man, remarked, that so far from wishing to conceal
the meanness of his origin, as is too common with men
in elevated stations, he would often delight in telling
the tale of his being a poor friendless boy, without a
penny in his pocket, when he first came to Glasgow.
It ought not to be omitted in this sketch of his history
that notwithstanding his extensive temporal concerns,
he was a magistrate of the town, and the pastor of a
christian church which consisted of some hundred
members. Mr. Dale was bom at Stewarton in Ayr
shire, June 6th 1739, and died March 17th 1806, in
the 67th year of his age.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 1 45
place, who wrote to me at Paisley ; but I could
not accomplish it. At Greenoch we had a
good auditory and collection ; but after preach
ing, all my strength was dried up as a potsherd.
I here found three or four young i)eople who
were baptists, and of whom the Tabernacle
Independents of the place, where we lodged,
spoke in the liighest terms. Understanding that
I was to spend the next Lord's day at Kilwinn
ing in Ayrshire, with another baptist minister
from the Tabernacle connection, they resolved
to walk over and join with us at the Lord's
table, though it was above thirt,y miles distant.
Thursday, July 24, travelled neai-ly forty
miles to day along the western coast, bearing
southward. About six o'clock we reached
Saltcoats. Here I found that the parish minister,
on heai'ing that I was to collect at the Burgher
meeting-house, Msolved to have a sennon at
the same hour iii^e church, and a collection
for the Bible Society. He said, however, that
if I chose to preach the sermon in the church,
and let the collection be applied to the Bible
Society, I was welcome to do so. As soon as
this was mentioned to rae by another person, I
immediately sent to the clergyman, oflering to
relinquish ray own object, and, if he was agree
able, to preach the sermon in the church ; in
favour of the Bible Society. This he acceded

146 MEMOIRS OF
to, and I called on him before worship. I then
observed, that he must be aware of what he
had proposed being contrary to the rules of
the Assembly of the Church of Scotland ; and
that I should be sorry, if any ill consequences
were to follow on my account. He replied,
that his presbyters were well disposed, and he
had no fears on that head. I then preached
the sermon, and pleaded with all the energy I
could for the Bible Society, After Avorship, I
went to my inn; then called to sup and lodge
with the clergyman. (Such is the custom in
Scotland.) While sitting in his house, I told
him I felt happy in the opportunity of expressing
my regard for the Bible Society, and requested
him to add my guinea to the collection. But
during my call at the inn, after worship, he had
consulted with his friends, on the subject of my
having been deprived of a coUj^ion. He there
fore answered me by sayin||p^I cannot accept
your guinea ; and moreover, I must insist on
your accepting half the collection for your ob
ject; and you must make no objection whatever
to it. Such is the conclusion of our Session.'
Finding him quite resolute, I yielded, and took
half the collection ; . which however did not
araount to six pounds.
At Saltcoats, I met with one of the baptist
ministers from the Tabernacle connection, of

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 147
whom there are nine or ten, who have lately
been baptized. They have formed new churches,
which are the only ones in Scotland with whom
either myself or any other English baptist would
be admitted to communion. The New Baptists
from the Taberiiacle connection do not unite
with the Old Scotch Baptists : indeed many
have come off from the old connection to join
them. I trust they are not striving to make
baptists, but to make christians ; and God is
^eatly blessing them in several places.
In the course of my journey, I made enquiry
of several persons amongst them, why they did
not unite with tl»et|)ld baptists ? Some answer
ed, because many of them disbelieve the vica-*
rious nature of Christ's active obedience, con
sidering all that Christ did in obeying the law,
as only qualifying him for making an atone
ment ; and that the w^ole of that for the sake
of which we are ju|Pied, is his sacrifice. Be
sides this, they alleged, there was little or no
thing of the hfe of religion amongst them.
Meeting with an intelligent man, who had
separated firom the old baptists, I asked him
why he had left them. He answered, ' partly
because there was scarcely any zeal amongst
them for the promotion of Christ's kingdom, or
tbe conversion of sinners ; and partly because
the principle on which their members were re-

148 MEMOIRS OF
ceived into fellowship was such, that the great
body of thera must needs be raen of no reli
gion.' What principle is that ? ' To become a
member with them, it is only necessary to de
clare your creed, and conform to their rules.
They disclaim all enquiry at that time, as to
the effects which their faith has had upon them.'
I understood by this, thatthey disclaimed what
we in England call a relation of experience, as
necessary to church communion.
Whether these accounts be accurate, I can
not say ; but they agree with what struck me on
my former visit to Scotland, in 1799. Being
then requested to baptize a pedobaptist minis
ter, and several of his people, I asked them
individually for some account of their personal
Christianity. They all, if I recollect right, be
gan by telling me their creed ; or what they
believed about the fall of ^ Adam, and the way
of salvation; and, if I h^^Jjieen content, they
would have gone on and ended in things of that
nature. In conversing with two or three others of the
Tabernacle Baptists, I also found there were
many amongst the baptists of the old connec
tion, who paid no regard to family worship, nor
family government ; nor to the sanctification o.
the Lord's day ; judging that when the worship
was over, it was as lawful to talk or deal in

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 149
worldly matters as on another day. Indeed I
met with one of them who was of that opinion,
and who demanded proof from the New Testa
ment, of the obligation of christians to refrain
from labour on the first day.
I answered — (1) It appeared to me to be a
moral duty to keep a sabbath, or it would not
have made a part of the ten commandments :
and that which is moral is of perpetual obliga
tion. — (2) I asked, whether he did not consider
what in the new testament is called " the Lord's
day," as meaning the first day of the week ? He
said he did. I then observed, its being called
the Lord's day, implies that it should be devot
ed to the Lord. The same phraseology is used
of the ordinance of breaking bread. And, as
Paul argued from its being the Lord's supper,
that they ought not, while attending to that, to
eat their own supper ; so on the same principle
we may argue from its being the Lord's day,
that we ought not, during that day, to pursue
our own affairs.
Friday, July 25, we went to Kilmarnock,
where we met with much friendly treatment. I
preached at the Burgher meeting-house, and
collected about 'eleven guineas.
We had a good deal of conversation at the
inn, between a baptist minister of the new con
nection, ray fellow travellers, and myself. As

150 MEMOIRS OF
we sat at supper, the minister addressed himself
to my Sandemanian companion, and said, ' I
should like to hear some fair meaning given to
such passages of scripture as these : — " Repent
and believe the gospel — They repented not,
that they might believe — If God peradventure
wdl give them repentance, to the acknowledg
ing of the truth." — How does this language
comport with the notion of repentance being the
effect of faith ? I know there must be faith in
God, and in his law, 'ere we can repent of hav
ing sinned against him. I know also that faith
in Christ as a Saviour, is followed by continued
repentance : but I do not see how the above
passages can be explained, consistently with no
repentance preceding it.'
I had no idea till then, that this minister en
tertained views on this subject so congenial with
my own. My companion, however, seemed
desirous of evading the conversation, or to turn
it into another channel. Nay, said I, answer
him. This he did not attempt; but merely al
leged some consequences which he supposed
would follow from the statement just given.
Finding his mind a little ruffled, we dropped
the subject.
Saturday, we returned to Irvine, where we
slept.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 1 5 1
Lord's day, July 27, went to Kilwinning, and
heard preaching in the morning at the baptist
place of worship, which consisted of an upper
room, and was much crowded. I preached in
the afternoon, and the pastor administered the
Lord's supper: our travelling company joined
as occasional communicants. In the evening, I
turned out, and preached to seven or eight
hundred people on the green. We afterwards
called on the parish minister,* and were treated
with kindness and respect.
Monday morning, we visited several of the
members of the baptist church, who resided at
Irvine. After dinner we took leave of them,
and proceeded to Ayr, where I was to preach
that evening. At Ayr, we met with great kind
ness fi-om the Burgher minister. As "soon as
the service was ended, I took an affectionate
leave of my fellow travellers, who, after journey
ing with me three weeks, and rendering me
every accommodation in their power, now re
turned home; and i was obliged, in order to
reach Liverpool in time, to travel nearly two
hundred and fifty miles by Thursday night.
Tuesday forenoon, having travelled all night
from Ayr, I reached Dumfries ; preached, and
collected there that evening. The Tabernacle
minister treated me with much brotherly kind-
• R?v. Mr. Steven, late of Crown Court, London.

152 MEMOIRS OF
ness. Twenty-five pounds from his friends
were added to our collection; and, as soon as
the preaching was over, and we had taken a
little refreshment, he travelled post with me all
night to Carhsle.
Arriving at Carlisle on Wednesday morning,
July 30th, I there took the stage for Lancaster,
where I stopped for the night. Reached Liver
pool on Thursday, where I met with kind
attentions. But as my remarks were meant
only for the tour of Scotland, I here conclude
them, only with observing that I travelled nearly
thirteen hundred miles, and collected about as
many pounds.
One thing struck my mind in Scotland more
especially, which I must just mention. The
Scottish Independents are raore rigid than the
English ; so much so that they have generally
excluded the Baptists from their commimion.
Yet when expelled from their churches, they
seem to retain no bitterness, nor contempt
towards them ; but on the contrary appear to
respect them for acting up to their convictions.
At many places in England, if I had gone among
a few baptists, meeting in an upper room, and
communed with them, at the same time that I
was to preach and collect among the indepen
dents on the other parts ofthe day, it would have
given offence ; and they would have been ready

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 153
to say, especially if those baptists had lately
gone off from them, ' If you go among the bap
tists, and encourage them, have your collections
there also.' But neither at Edinburgh, Aber
deen, Glasgow, nor Greenock, was this the
case. They seemed to consider me as acting
the part of an honest man, by encouraging those
whom I thought to be in the right ; and when
Hedged with independent ministers, they would
invite the baptist friends to visit me at their
houses. I have indeed seen something of the
same spirit in England ; but not so much of it
as in Scotland. The latter seems generally to
act more from the principle, and less from
temper than we do."
After having made collections in various parts
of England, Scotland, and Ireland, for several
years, and the mission had met with the most
liberal support from christians of all denomina
tions, both among churchmen and dissenters,
and from several of the nobility and gentry, an
event occurred which involved the Society, and
its Secretary in particular, in great' trouble and
perplexity. Two missionaries having arrived
in India in 1806, they were not allowed to join
their brethren at Serampore ; and for the first
time, the Governraent seemed disposed to act
an hostile part towards them. When the news
arrived in England, Mr. Fuller drew up a " State-
ji

154 MEMOIRS OF
ment" of all the proceedings, in the name of the
Society ; and went to London in June 1807, " to
sound the depth of their danger," and if possi
ble to counteract it. On this occasion he waited
on some of the Board of Controul, and some of
the Directors of the East India Company ; he
also had his memorial presented to some of the
members of Administration, and to certain
branches of the Royal Family. With unweari
ed anxiety he watched over this business, and
kept his station at the helra, till the storm ap
parently died away.
Soon another storm arose, which filled the
friends ofthe mission with great dismay, and fiir
nished its adversaries with a momentary triumph.
Through the pressure of business, the mission
aries had inadvertently printed a religious tract,
in which the blessed Mahomet was unfortunately
called " a tyrant !" The infidels of India seized
on this circumstance, to show how the religion
ofthe country was abused ; and by infusing fear
ful apprehensions into the Government, they en
deavoured to overwhelm the mission. The in
fidels at home re-echoed the song, made their
appeal to the Court of Proprietors, in order to
render their enmity more effective ; and thus cut
out fresh work for the indefatigable Secretary of
the Baptist Society. In the sprhig of 1 808, he
went again to London, " to sound the depth of

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 15 J
the danger," and to take his moorings accord
ingly. He got access to the powerful, he en
gaged their influence, he wrote pamphlets,
brought the question before the public, and re
mitted none of his exertions till the machinations
of the enemy were defeated. In the issue, the
Govemor General of Bengal acknowledged to
the missionaries, " that nothing more was ne
cessary than a proper examination of the sub
ject, to place every thing in a clear and favour
able light;" and the Governraent at home did
itself the honour to become the patron and pro
tector of Christianity in India.
Mr. Fuller's visits to Scotland were always
very pleasant to him ; and as long as his strength
permitted, he renewed his journeys to the north.
He usually went once in two or three years, af
ter his first visit ; but was assured that " he
might reap more than a triennial harvest, if he
would but go and put in his sickle." In no
part of the empire were his services more highly
esteemed, or rendered more generally useful ;
and he used to say of the Scottish christians,
that their liberality was unbounded. On retur
ning frora another of these visits, he says, " I
have been enabled to collect as ranch as two
thousand pounds in the course of six weeks,
after a journey of twelve hundred miles, God
be praised for all his goodness, and for the abun-
M 2

156 MEMOIRS OF
dant kuidness shown towards me, and towards
the mission !"
Up to the last year of his life, his labours
were continued with very little intermission.
In a letter, dated May 11, 1814, he says, "I
have much journeying before me ; first, to Olney
and Bedford next week ; then to the Association
at Leicester, in Whitsun-week ; then into Essex,
on June 6th, where I must be at a missionary
meeting of that county, at Bocking, on June
8th ; and collect what I can between that and
our London annual meeting, which I suppose
is on June 22. I must then return and be at
Kettering by the 26th, which is our Lord's sup
per day. Then I must set off and be out all
July in the north of England ; — the first sabbath
at Liverpool, the second at Manchester, third
at Leeds, fourth at Newcastle, and fifth at
Hull. May the Lord strengthen me for these
labours!" in short, the history of Mr. Fuller's life for
the last three and twenty -years, was so com
pletely identified with that of the mission, that
all its principal transactions must be referred to
his agency. He was of himself a host, and no
one man can ever supply his place. The mis
sion to India was in a great measure his own
production ; he formed and raolilded it with
with exquisite skill, watched over and directed

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 157
all its movements, and seemed to be present in
every place wherever its effects were visible. It
grew up with him, and was inwrought into the
very elements and constitution of his mind ; he
seemed to have no thoughts, no cares, but what
related to its interests. In serving the mission,
he had no idea of spai-ing himself; but while his
health was constantly impaired by the greatness
of his exertions, he persevered in thein with
unabating ardour to the very last. He appears
indeed to have expected that these labours
would cost him his life, but it affected him not;
and had it not been for the unusual strength and
vigour of his constitution, he Avould have fallen
a sacrifice ranch sooner than he did. The sen
timents which he delivereil in his Sennon at
Bedford, May 6, 1801, exactiy fourteen years
before his death, were highly characteristic, and
pn monitory of that event.
" It is not impossible," said he, " that we
may live to see things of which at present we
ha^ e scarcely any conception : but whether we
do or not, Jesus hves, and his kingdom must
encrease. And what, if while we are scahng
the walls of the enemy, we should a few of us
lose our lives ? We must die some way ; and
can we desire to die in a better cause ? Pro
bably many of the Israelites, who went up witii
Joshua to possess the land, perished in the

158 MEMOIRS OF
attempt : yet this was no objection to a perseve
rance in the cause. In carrying the glad tidings
of eternal life to jews and gentiles, Stephen and
James, with many others, fell sacrifices at an
early period : yet no one was discouraged on
this account, but rather stimulated to follow
the example."

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 159

CHAPTER VI.
Review of Mr. Fullers Doctrinal and Prac
tical Writings.
The universal interest and importance at
tached to religious subjects have called into ex
istence a greater number of writers in this de
partment than in almost any other, and there
fore might naturally be expected to furnish a
larger proportion of an inferior description. To
write on other subjects, learning, genius, taste,
or science of some sort, is generally thought re
quisite ; but on Theological theses, piety alone
is too often' deemed a sufficient qualification.
Here -also every man Avho becomes the leader of
a party, however insignificant; or the abettor of
a creed, however inconsistent or absurd, thinks
himself called upon at some time or other to
appear as an advocate, if he can but manage to
hold a pen; besides innumerable others, who
from less suspicious motives, and with much
better pretensions, are induced to offer them
selves to public notice.
Amidst such a crowd of disputants, theolp-

160 MEMOIRS OF
gians, and retailers of divinity, a writer of real
merit would not easily be distinguished ; and
for such a writer as Mr. Fuller, especially, more
than competent ability would be demanded.
For though he possessed a deep and penetrating
judgment, and a mind capable of a mighty
grasp, there was a certain negligence and coarse
ness in his style, a grotesque familiarity and
quaintness of expression, especially in his earlier
publications, which was far from being inviting
even to readers of moderate taste. There was
also an inflexibility in his religious system which
could never coalesce with any other, or adapt
itself to the size and dimension of human preju
dices. With him all was inexorable truth and
justice; he had no idea whatever of religious
accommodation, and but cautiously admitted
even that of forbearance.
Buttoned up and laced in a plain puritanic
garb, he makes his appearance as an Author.,
and is soon recognized as one of former times ;
as a man who lived with Owen, thought with
Bunyan, and wrote with the pointed pen of
Baxter. His earlier performances met with a
cordial reception from the general class of se^
rious and devotional readers, who preferred
plain solid truth to the ornaments of style, and
the wholesome words of sound doctrine to the •
soothing language of a deceitful and worldly re- :

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 16 1
ligion. With readers of this description, the
works of this able and faithful writer will long be
held in deserved estimation.
The present chapter is devoted entirely to the
Doctrinal and Practical writings of Mr. Fuller;
those on Controversial subjects being reserved
for the succeeding one. — Without regard to size
or merit, these are placed as nearly as possible
in the order in which they were written, and
accompanied with brief notices of their con
tents, for the information of those who have not
had the opportunity of consulting his vari
ous works, several of which are now entirely
out of print. In giving an opinion of their
respective merits, the author could do no other
than follow his own judgment; and this he
offers with becoming deference to the decision
ofthe reader.

I.— The Nature and Importance of Walking bif Faith;
A Sermon delivered at Nottingham, June 2, 1784. \
12mo.
This was Mr. Fuller's first performance and
there is in it much of sound thinking, on a sub
ject which was afterwards to form the basis of a
lengthened controversy; but in this Sermon
the points of discussion are wholly restricted to
practical and experimental purposes, and with

162 MEMOIRS OF
a view of ascertaining the nature, as well as
promoting the objects of true religion.
In the introductory part of this discourse,
the preacher confutes several erroneous senti
ments on the subjects of believing, and exposes
that delusive confidence which has been sub
stituted in its stead.
" All trae faith," he observes, " must have truth for
its foundation ; and if faith is the belief of the truth,
then whatever I believe ought to be as truth, and a truth
supported by evidence, prior to and independent of my
believing it. This is certainly the case respecting the
excellency and all-sufficiency of Christ. He is what he
is, whether I believe it or not. However I may disallow
of him, he is chosen of God and precious. Whatever
real excellence I may at any time discern or believe to
be in him, I only believe the truth, and what would have
been the truth if I had never believed it. Faith there
fore draws aside the vail, and discovers things in some
measure as they are. So, if the persuasion I have of
my interest in Christ, have any right to the name of
faith, it must be a truth, and a truth capable of being
proved by scriptural evidence at the time."
This discourse also contains some interesting
remarks on the nature of direct applications to
Christ; on the best means of obtaining satis
factory evidence of an interest in him ; and on
the use to be made of past experience.
Mr. Fuller then considers ' walking by faith,'
as denoting religious progiession, under the
influence of those invisible objects, ofthe reality

MR. ANDREW FULLER, l63
of which we have no evidence but the testimony
of God. This is first opposed to the idea of
walking by corporeal sight, and illustrated in
the case of Noah and Abraham ; it is after-
wardsdistinguished from the discoveries of un
assisted reason, whose province in matters of
religion is clearly defined ; and from ultimate
vision, where faith in full fruition dies.
After a careful exposition of terms, the sub
ject is more fully illustrated, by its application
to various periods of the christian life ; such as
— those dark seasons in providence, when we
can perceive no way of escape, nor find any
source of comfort, but what arises from the di
vine testimony — those approaches to Christ,
and that fellowship with him, which depend on
the record that God hath given of his Son — the
numerous sacrifices we are required to make of
present enjoyments, where we have no prospect
of future recompence, but what is set before us
in the gospel — the various low and distressing
seasons to which the church of Christ is sub
ject, in which there is scarcely any ground of
encourageraent, but what is revealed in the pro
mises—the hope of a better state, which is
founded solely on the testimony of God — he
shews that in each of these the christian is re
quired to live and ' walk by faith,' and not by
sight.

164 MEMOIRS OF
The importance of such a life is represented
as consisting in its tendency to glorify God — ^to
advance the good of man — and heighten the
bliss and glory of the world to come.
The " Persuasives to a General Union in ex
traordinary Prayer, for the Revival of Reli
gion," appended to this Sermon, have been
noticed in a former part of these Memoirs, See
Chap. iv.

2.. — The Qualif cations and Encouragement of afaitiijul
Minister : An Ordination Sermon, delivered at Thoi'ne,.
Bedfordshire, Oct. 31, 1787. 12mo.
From the fear of assuming too much, or of
undertaking a work of supererogation, that
which here forms the leading theme of discus
sion, and which of all others is of the greatest
importance, is but sparingly introduced into
the generality of ordination sermons ; on which
account, they possess but little comparative in
terest. In the discourse before us, the man of God is
pourtrayed in lively colours, as forming the only
proper character for the christian ministry, and
a large portion of personal religion is with in
finite propriety inculcated as constituting the
most essential qualification for the pastoral
office.

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 165
Taking for an example, Barnabas, who was
¦' a good man, full of the Holy Ghost, and of
faith,' the preacher insists on the necessity of
piety in domestic life, in the duties of retire
ment, in the exercises of public worship, and
in general behaviour, as indispensable in the
character of ' a good man,' and a faithful minis
ter. Next to this, the cherishing of spiritual -
affections, being * full of the Holy Ghost,' or
abounding in the fruits of the Spirit, is shown
to be the best preparative for the duties of the
sacred office ; for imbibing the genuine doctrines
of the gospel, giving a savour to the ministry of
the word, preserving a consistency between pre
cept and example, disjjosing- the mind to a
spiritual and edifying conversation, and regulat
ing every part of the exterior deportment. The
necessity of being also ' full of faith,' having the
mind deeply imbued with rehgious sentiment,
being fiiUy persuaded of the truth of what is
proposed to others, and of living upon that
truth, is enforced with considerable energy.
The connection between piety and usefulness
is well accounted for; and on this part of the
subject, which is intended to afford encourage
raent to the faithful discharge of the ministerial
office, several important remarks are exhibited
towards the close of the address, and which de
serves the serious attention of all who are en-

166 MEMOIRS OF
gaged in testifying the gospel of the grace of
God. Eminent spirituality, rather than talents,
is shewn to have the greatest influence on minis
terial success.
" In almost all the great Works which God hath
wrought in any period of time, he has honoured men
of this character, by making them his instruments. In,
the midst of a sore calamity upon the murmuring Is
raelites, when God was inclined to show mercy, it was
by means of his servant Aaron, running with a censer
of fire in his hand, and standing between the living and
the dead. The great reformation that was brought
about in the days of Hezekiah, was by the instrumen
tality of a man who ' wrought that which was good,
and right, and true before the Lord his God;' and then
it follows — ' And in every work that he began in the
service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the
commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his
heart, and prospered.'*
" There was another great reformation in the Jewish
church, about the time of their return from Babylon,
One of the chief instruments in this work was Ezra, ' a
ready scribe in the law of his God ; ' a man who had
' prepared his heart to seek the law' of the Lord, and to
do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments ;'
— a man who * fasted and prayed at the river Ahava,'
previous to his great undertaking; — a man who was
afterwards ' sorely astonished, and in heaviness, and
would eat no meat, nor drink water, but fell upon his
knees, and spread out his hands unto the Lord his God,
on account of the transgression of the people, 'f Ano-
• 2 Chron. xxxi, 20, 21. t Ezra vii, lO.viii, 10, ix. 5, x. 6. ,

MR. ANDREW FULLER. l67
ther great instrument in this work was Nehemiah, a
man that wholly devoted himself to the service of God
and his people, labouring night and day ; a man who
was not to be seduced by the intrigues of God's adver
saries, nor intimidated by their threatenings ; but who
persevered in his work till it was finished, closing his
labours with this solemn prayer and appeal : ' Think
upon me, oh my God, for good, according to ail that I
have done for this people,' " *
Barnabas also was ' a good man, full of the Holy
Ghost, and of faith ; and much people was added to the
Lord.'f ' *

3. — The Blessedness of the dead who die in the Lord :
A Sermon delivered at the Funeral of Mr. Beeby WalliL
1792. 8vo-
The preaching- and publishing of funeral ser
mons is a practice so very common, and the
comraendations bestowed on the pious dead
have generally been so indiscriminate, that men
of reflecting minds have been led to suspect
whether these orations be not the effect of re
ligious complaisance, rather than of wisdom
and discretion ; and whether by reducing the
standard of moral excellence so as to give to
the generality of modern christians a kind of
• Neh. iii— vi. t Acts xi. 24.

163 MEMOIRS OF
gigantic stature, sufficient to entitle them to pub
lic notice and distinction, be not adapted to in
jure rather than promote the interests of true
religion. Mr. Fuller seemed aware of this objection ;
he therefore states and obviates it in a manner
that sufficiently justified his own procedure.
His words are ; " I have commonly declined
saying much of deceased friends, and still think,
tiiat generally speaking, it is right to do so, be
cause the generality of chai-acters, teven of good
men, have nothing in tiiem very remarkable, or
worthy of being held up for our imitation. But
for this very reason, I think, in so?ne cases it
would be wi-ong to omit it. Perhaps no human
writings have had a better effect, than the Lires
of eminently holy men. When therefore any
such characters appear amongst us, I think it is
right to collect as much as we can, the remem
brance of which may be of general use." And
certainly, the little that is here said ofthe good
man whose funeral solemnities occasioned this
apology, was fully demanded by the eminence
of his character.
One thing is noticed of him in this discourse,
which Mr. Fuller frequently repeated in con
versation with peculiar pleasure, as affording
singular evidence of that sincerity and upright
ness which had marked his general conduct, and

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 169
it is worthy of being recorded for general instruc
tion. About a week before Mr. Wallis died,
he requested a few christian friends to visit
him, and to pray with him.
" Five of us went to see him", says Mr, Fuller.
" When there, he told us that he did not wish us to pray
for his life; he considered it as the will of God that he
should die ; and added, ' his will be done !' ' But pray,
said he, that if there be any sins of which I have been
guilty, and have not yet repented ; any sins for which
God hath any controversy with me, that he would give
me a proper senSe of them before I die ; or if not,
that 1 might enjoy the light of his countenance in
death.' — We were all exceedingly affected. After
praying with him for about an hour, he gathered up
what little strength he had and addressed himself to us
with a kind of solemn farewel."
Brief notices of this truly christian deacon,
and of his venerable ancestors, have been given
in the second chapter of these Memoirs.
The Sermon itself, founded on Rev. xiv. 13,
is far from being one of Mr. Fuller's best, and
will scarcely bear a comparison with his later
productions. It is plain and serious, very well
adapted to the occasion; but possesses very
little pathos, or originahty of thought.

N

170 MEMOIRS OF

4. — The Importance of a deep and intimale Knowledge of
Divine Truth : A Sermon delivered at au Associatiort
of Baptist Ministers and Churches, at St. Alhans,
June 1, 1796. 12mo.
This masterly discourse is fc^unded on the
Apostle's reproof of those professors, who, when
for the time they ought to be teachers, have need
that one teach them again, what are the first
principles of the oracles of God. Heb. v. 12.
—14. For the better elucidation of his text, the
preacher observes, that it supposes all divine
knowledge is to be derived fVom the oracles of
God ; that they include a complete system of
divine truth ; and that believers should not be
satisfied with the attainment of the first princi
ples of the doctrine of Christ, which require
little or no investigation in order to their being
understood, but search into the meaning of those
deep things of God, which lie beyond the reach
of superficial observation.
He then deduces, as the leading sentiment of
the passage, " The importance of a deep and inti
mate knowledge of divine truth ;" previously en
quiring wherein it consists. Here he introduces
a necessary caution to persons, in the present
imperfect state to beware how they presuniptu-

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 171
ously attempt to explore such subjects as are in
their own nature 'unsearchable,' and which the
highest order of intelligences are described as ' de-^
siring to look into' for their farther improvement.
He neither uses the terms absolutely, to express
the real conformity of our ideas to the full ex
tent ofthe things themselves ; nor comparatively,
as respecting saints on earth and saints in hea
ven ; but merely in reference to the degrees of
knowledge among good raen in this life ; the
acquirements of some, being so superficial, that
others, compared with them, may be said to have
a deep and intimate acquaintance with divine
truth. To attain this, though we are not to stop at
first principles, we must be well grounded in
them, since in religion, as in every other science,
they are the foundation on which the whole
structure rests,— We are not to content our
selves with knowing what is truth, but must
acquaint ourselves with its evidence, and trace
its wisdom and harmony; for nothing tends
more to establish the mind, and interest the
heart in it, than a perception of its being adapted
at once to express the gloi-y of the divine cha
racter and meet the necessities' of guilty crea
tures. — We are to learn it immediately- from the
oracles of God, and not to be content with see
ing it in tbe light in which some great and good
N 2

172 MEMOIRS OF
men place it; for though their writings and
preaching are not to be despised, they must not
be considered as oracular. — We must view it in
its various connections, in the great system of
redemption, and not renounce the study of
systematical divinity because it has of late years
been derided ; since to be without system is
nearly the same thing as to be without principle;
for even principles, while they continue in a
disorganized state, will answer no valuable pur
pose in the religious life.
Having considered the means of attaining the
knowledge which he recommends, he powerfully
evinces its importance, by showing that a neg
lect of God's word is represented as a heinous
sin ; tiiat the word itself is a mean of sanctifica
tion, and the great source of christian enjoyment,
but that no effect of this kind can be produced
any farther than the truth is imbibed by us;
that as a great object in the religious life is (o
diffuse the gospel around us, according to our
capacities and opportunities, we cannot dis
charge our duties as parents, masters, and
neighbours, to our children or servants, the
church, or the world; unless we ourselves ac
quire the knowledge we ai-e bound to communi
cate ; that the pernicious doctrines propagated
by some, the infidelity avowed by others, and
the apostacy of many from the truth, render a

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 173
deep acquaintance with the scriptures necessary,
if we would stand fast in the faith, and be the
means of preserving others from falhng, es
pecially the rising generation, for whose souls,
in this age of peculiar trial, we ought to express
the most benevolent concern.

5. — The Christian Doctrine of Rewards : A Sermon, de
livered at the Circus, Edinburgh, on Lord's day even
ing, Oct. 13th, 1799. By A. Fuller. Published by
Request. 8vo.
This Sermon is justly entitled to rank among
the ablest productions of Mr. Fuller's pen.
The text is Gal. vi. 7, 8.
" Perhaps there is nothing," says our author, " to
which depraved creatures are more addicted, though
nothing be more dangerous, than self deception. It is
from this predilection in favour of some thing that
shall prophecy good concerning them, that the truth
is disrelished, and those doctrines and systems of reli
gion which flatter their pride and cherish their security,
are so eagerly imbibed. The human heart loves to be
soothed. The pleasing sounds of Peace, Peace, though
there be no peace, will be gratefully received. But let
us not be our own enemies. To impose upon ourselves
is all tlvat we can do ; God is not mocked. When al]

174 MEMOIRS OF
is said and done, Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he
also reap''
Adverting to various refuges of lies, by means
of which sinners build up themselves in a state
of carnal security, he particularizes some of the
most prevalent. Some men venture to hope
that there is no hereafter : no harvest to follow :
or that though they sow to the flesh, yet that
they shall not of the flesh reap corruption —
others admit a future state, yet hope to escape
the j ust reward of their evil deeds from an idea
of the general mercy of God — while a third class,
as in popish countries, derive a hope from the
performance of certain superstitious rites, or the
bestoivment of a portion of their wealth on some
religious object. He sifts each of these pleas to
the bottom, exposes their vanity, and, in refe
rence to the last of them, thus strikingly ad
dressed his hearers —
" We shall have a collection this evening for the
printing of the New Testament in the Bengalee lan
guage. If I only wished for your money, I might say.
Give, whatever be your motive! No, I am not so
concerned for the salvation of the heathen as to be re
gardless of that of my own countrymen ! I ask not a
penny from such a motive ; and moreover, I solemnly
warn you that if you give all your substance in this
way, it will avail you nothing. Be not deceived: God
is not mocked : for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall
he also reap.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 175
The preacher then lays down the following-
general position, as comprising the doctrine of
his text, namely, " that all which is done in this
life is preparatory to another ; or that the sor
rows and joys of a future world bear a similar
relation to what is wrought in this, as the har
vest bears to the seed sown." This general
doctrine he then proceeds to illustrate at large,
beginning with the subject of sowing to the
flesh, and marking the relation which the future
punishment ofthe wicked will bear to it.
" Corruption," says he, " does iiot consist in tlie de
struction of being, but of well-being : in the blasting
of peace, joy, and hope; and, consequently in the en
during of tribulation, anguish, and everlasting despair.
This dreadful harvest will originate in the sin which has
been committed in the present life. Even here We see
enough of its destructive tendency. We s'ee intempe
rance followed with disease ; idleness with rags ; pride
with scorn ; and indifference to evangelic truth with
tJhe belief of a lie. We see nations desolated by wars,
neighbourhoods and families rendered miserable by
contentions, and the minds of individuals sinking under
the various loads of guilt, remorse, and despair. Great
is the misery of man upon him ; yet this is but the
blade proceeding from this deadly seed ; or, at most,
the eat : the full corn in the ear, is reserved for another
state." Mr. Fuller remarks, that future -misery will
greatly consist in reflection. Abraham said to
the rich man, Son remember ! If the memory

176 MEMOIRS OF
could be obliterated, there is reason to think
hell would be extinguished: but it must re
main ; and he instances four things in particu
lar, pertaining to sin, which will continue to be
the objects of reflection, and consequently prove
the source of future misery. These are — the
character of the Being against whom it has been
committed — the folly of it — the aggravating cir
cumstances which attend it — and its effects on
others with whom we have stood connected.
Under the third of these particulars, he justly
observes, that the same actions committed
under different circumstances possess very 'dif
ferent degrees of guilt. The heathens in tpur-
suing their immoralities are without excuse ;
but those who are guilty of the same things
amidst the blaze of gospel light are much
more so.
" A large proportion of the sin committed amongst
us is of this description, it is against light and against
love. Wisdom cryeth in- our streets, and understand
ing putteth forth her voice. The melting invitations,
and solemn warnings of God, are frequently sounded
in our ears. If therefore we should perish, ours will
not be the lot of common sinners. Our reflections
will be similar to those of Chorazin and Bethsaida,
whose inhabitants are represented as more guilty than
those of Sodom ahd Goihorrha. To reject the gospel,
whether it be by a preference of gross indulgences, a
fondness .for refined speculations, or an attachment to

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 177
our own righteousness, is to incur the wrath of the
Lamb ; which is held up to us as the most dreadful of
all wrath ; as that from which unbelievers would glad
ly be hid, though it were by being crushed beneath
falling rocks, or buried in oblivion at the bottom 9f
the mountains,"
Again, in reference to the effects which the
sins of an individual may have upon others, the
preacher adds,
" It is a very affecting consideration that we are so
linked together in society, that we almost necessarily
communicate our dispositions, one to another. We
draw and are drawn, in both good and evil. If we go
to heaven, we are commonly instrumental in drawing
some others along with us ; and, it is the same if we go
to hell. If a sinner, wlijn he has destroyed his own
soul, could say, ' I have,i(j^ured only myself,' his reflec
tions would be very different from what they will be.
The influence of an evil word or action in the way of
example may surpass all calculation. It may occupy
the attention of the sinner only for the moment ; but
being communicated to another, it may take root in
him, and bring forth fruit an "hundred fold. He also
may communicate it to his connections, and they to
theirs, and thus it may go on to encrease from genera^
tion to generation. In this world no competent idea
can be formed of those effects : but they will be mani
fest in the next, and must needs prove a source of bit
ter reflection."
Having thus strikingly illustrated the conse
quences of sowing to the flesh, Mr. Fuller next
offers some remarks on sowing to the Spirit, in

178 MEMOIRS OF
which he points out the relation that subsists
between what is done for Christ in this life, and
the joys of the life to come. With great pro
priety, however, he guards his hearers against
supposing that the connection which exists
between sowing to the Spirit, and reaping ever
lasting life, is of the nature of d^le desert, or that
it bears a strict analogy to that which subsists
between sin and its penal sanction. No ; the
wages of sin is death ; but eternal life is the gift
of God, through Jesus Christ our Lordi This
point, on which so many mistakes abound in
the world, is very satisfactorily illustrated by an
induction of particulars, in which it is .shown —
that nothing performed by a creature, however
pure, can properly merit everlasting life — but
that God, having designs of mercy towards bis
rebellious creatures, sent forth his Son to obey
and suffer in their place, resolving to bestow
eternal life on all that believe in him, as the re
ward of his undertalcing— that he now accepts
believing sinners for the sake of his beloved
Son, and not only blesses them with all spiritual
blessings in him, through him, and ybr his sake,
but also rewards their services in his kingdom,
through the same medium — their services be
come impregnated with his worthiness, their
petitions also being offered up with the niu^h
incense of his intercession. Thus God in ap-

MR, ANDREW FULLER. I79
proving the services of believers, approves of
the obedience and sacrifice of his Son, of which
they are the fruits, and in rewarding them, con
tinues to reward him, or to express his good
pleasure in his mediation.
Thus the apparent difficulty is removed, and
the way paved for establishing the position
" that the joys of futurity will bear a relation
to what is done for Christ in the present life,
similar to that between the seed and the har
vest," And here the preacher expatiates as in
a boundless ocean of infinite delight-— a subject
to which his own powers, gigantic as they were,
appear to have been felt inadequate. He takes a
rapid glance at the labours of prophets, apos
tles, and the first ministers of the word, and,
witnessing their effects upon the general cause,
finds ample encouragement for himself and his
brethren to tread in their sacred steps. " We
can form no competent ideas, " says he, " at pre
sent of the effects of good, any more than of
evil. What we do of either is merely the
kindling- of a tire ; how far it may burn we can
not tell, and, generaUy speaking, our minds are
but little occupied about it. Who can calculate
the effects of a modest testimony borne to truth ;
of an important prayer for its success ; of a dis
interested act of self-denial ; of a wiUing contri
bution ; of a seasonable reproof; of a whole-

IgO MEMOIRS OF
some counsel ; of even a sigh of pity, or a tear
of sympathy ? Each, or any of these exercises,
may be the means, in the Lord's hand, of pro
ducing that in the bosoms of individuals which
maybe communicated to their connections, and
from them to theirs, to the end of time."

6. — 3Iemoirs of the Rev. Samuel Pearce, Pastor of the
Baptist Church, Cannon Street, Birmingham; with Ex
tracts from some of his most interesting Letters. 8vo.
We have sometimes read and sometimes
heard of a few such men as Mr. Pearce ; but
it is so rare a thing to see so much real excel
lence embodied in a living character, that some
have even doubted whether these Memoirs ex
hibit a correct and impartial delineation. Those,
however, Avho were best acquainted with Mr.
Pearce, and his able Biographer, have the most
ample assurance that a truer description was
never given of any man, than is to be found in
the pages of this interesting Avork. Partiality
did nothing ; it added no flattery to the portrait,
gave no colouring to a faded countenance, nor
concealed any of its defects ; the charms of
moral goodness drew the writer to his subject,
fixed his admiration, and difiused themsehes
over every page.

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 181
Mr. Fuller, nevertheless, corapiled these Me
moirs under several advantages. He had in
deed a personal and intimate acquaintance with
the subject, who lived long enough to unveil
the splendour of his character, and died before
a cloud had intervened ; he was able therefore
to give a full view of the interior, and to lay
open the richest treasures of the heart. He was
also araply provided with such resources as are
rarely obtained, though very desirable in every
similar undertaking ; he had access to a variety
of interesting letters, as well as the private jour
nals written by Mr. Pearce. But one thing
which eminently contributed to the acceptabi
lity of these Memoirs, and which has gained
for them so high a place in the public estima
tion, is the judicious selection which the writer
made of his materials : not suffering any thing
to appear that was trite or uninteresting, or that
tended to lessen the general effect. He had no
idea that every thing which could be said of
a good man ought to be obtruded on the pub
lic, and was not a littie disgusted with the nau
seous manner in which certain editors continued
from time to time, to retail " the offals" ofthe
celebrated Mr. Romaine. He therefore threw
aside,, as he afterwards acknowledged, a great
number of uniraportant anecdotes, while com-
f>iling the Memoirs of Mr. Pearce, and retained

182 MEMOIRS OF
nothing but What was worthy of general regard.
To this just discrimination we are indebted for
one of the best specimens of christian biogra
phy, and, perhaps, for the most useful of all Mr.
Fuller's writings.
In forming an estimate ofthe character of his
amiable friend, he fixes on what he calls the
governing principle, which was holy love ;
and from thence to trace its various operations,
in the tenor of his life. No one can properly
view^ this picture, without discovering in it the
hand of a master, nor without desiring an equal
assimilation to the divine likeness.
" It is not enough to say of this afiectionate spirit, that
it formed a prominent feature in his character : it was
rather the life blood that animated the whole system.
He seemed, as one of his friends observed, to be bap
tized in it. It was holy love that gave the tone to his
general deportment : as a son, a subject, a neighbour,
a christian, a minister, a pastor, a friend, a husband,
and a father, he was manifestly governed by this prin
ciple; and this it was that produced in him that lovely
uniformity of character, which constitutes the true
beauty of holiness.
" By the grace of God he was what he was ; and to
the honour of grace, and not for the glpry of a sinful
worm, be it recorded. Like all other men, he was the
subject of a depraved nature. He felt it, and lament
ed it, and longed to depart that he might be freed
from it : but certainly we have seldom seen a charac
ter, taking him altogether, whose excellencies were s^

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 183
many and so uniform, and whose imperfections were
so few. We have seen men rise high in contemplation,
who have abounded but little in action. We have
seen zeal mingled with bitterness, and candour degene
rate into indifference; experimental religion mixed
with a large portion of enthusiasm ; and what is cal
led rational religion, void of every thing that interests
the heart of man. We have seen splendid talents tar
nished with insufferable pride ; seriousness with melan
choly ; cheerfulness witb levity ; and great attainments
in religion with uncharitable censoriousness towards
men of low degree : — but we have not seen th^se
things in our brother Pearce.
" Finally : In him we see that the way to true excel
lence is not to aftect eccentricit}', nor to aspire after
the performance of a few splendid actions ; but to fill
up our lives with a sober, modest, sincere, affectionate,
assiduous, and uniform conduct. Real greatness at
taches io character ; and character arises from a course
of action. The solid reputation, of a merchant arises
not from lug having made his fortune by a few suc
cessful adventures ; but from a course of wise econo
my, and honouiaWe industry, which grq,dually accu
mulating, advances by pence to shillings, and by shil
lings to pounds. It is much the same in religion. Wc
do not esteem a. maa for one, or two, or three good-
deeds, any farther than, as these deeds are inxlications
of the real state of his mind. We do wot estimate
tlifi character of Christ himself so much from his having
given sight to the blind, or restored Lazarus from the
grave, as from his going about continually doing good."

184 MEMOIRS OF

7. — God's approbation of our labours necessary to the hope
of success: A Sermon delivered at the annual meetiiig of
the Bedford Union, May 6, 1801. 12mo.
The te.xt chosen as the foundation of this dis
course is Numbers xiv. 8, and its discussion is
well suited to the occasion,
, " Considering the object of the present meeting,"
says the preacher, " you will probably suppose that
my thoughts have been employed in drawing a paral
lel between tbe undertaking of Israel to subdue the
Canaanites, and take possession of their land in the
name of Jehovah, and our undertaking to subdue to
the obedience of Christ the hearts of his enemies both
at home and abroad, and in this manner take possession
of the world for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
It is true, they have : and in discoursing upon the sub
ject, I shall first attempt to justify the application by
tracing the analogy between the two cases, and then
consider the proviso on which we are given to expect
success." Under the former proposition, disclaiming all
fanciful accommodations, Mr. Fuller considers
the gift of Canaan to the Israelites as designed
to prefigure the dominion promised to the Mes
siah, as well as preparatory to that glorious ob
ject. In both dispensations, the service of the
true God was to supersede the kingdom of Sa
tan ; both undertakings were authorized by a

MR, ANDREW I'ULLER, ] 85
divine command, and encouraged by a divme
promise ; both were to be accomplished gra
dually; and by means of ardent, deadly, and
persevering struggles.
" All that Israel gained was by dint of sword. It was
at the expense of many lives, yea many thousands of
livps, that they at last came to the full possession of the
land, and that the promises of God were fulfilled to
wards them. The same may be said ofthe establishment
of Christ's kingdom. It was by ardent and persevering
struggles that the gospel was introduced into va
rious nations, cities, and towns, where it now is ; and
in many instances at the expense of life. But we have
been so long inured to act under the shadow of civil
protection, and without any serious inconvenience to
our temporal interests, that we are startled at difficul
ties which the ancient christians would have met with
fortitude. They put their lives in their hands, ' stand*
ing in jeopardy every hour,' and though we cannot be
sufficiently thankful for the protection we enjoy, yet
we must not make this the condition of our activity
for Christ. ' He that observeth the wind, shall not
sow ; and he that regardeth the clouds, shall not reap.'
If ever God prosper us in any great degree, it will be
in the exercise of that spirit by which the martyrs ob
tained a good report."
The proviso on which we are warranted to
hope for success is this — If the Lord delight
1 N us, then will he bring us into the land ; and
by this is understood, " a complacency in our
character and labours." It requires, that the
object we pursue must be simply the cause of
0

186 MEMOIRS OF
God, unmixed with worldly policy, or party-
interest; that the doctrine we teach must be
that of Christ and him crucified ; that the motive
of our undertakings must be pure, not sordid
nor vain ; that in promoting them we must be sen
sible of our own insufliciency, and depend only
upon God ; that we must persevere in them to
the end, and maintain the exercise of a lively
faith in the power and promise of God.
In applying these several topics to the exer
tions made to spread the gospel, both among
our ignorant countrymen around us, (which is
the leading object of the Union formed at Bed
ford,) and in heathen nations, the same perspe-
cuity, simpUcity, and force of argument, are dis
played, which have so strongly recommended
Mr. Fuller's larger publications.
Prefixed to this animating discourse, is a brief
account of the religious association to which it
was addressed, and at whose request it was
printed.

8. — The Backslider : or an Enquiry into the Nature,
Symptoms, and Effects of Religious Declension, with
the Means of Recovery. 8vo.
Though Mr. Fuller was much engaged in
theological controversy, it seems to have been

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 187
a duty imposed upon him by the circumstances
of the times, and occasioned by the strong rea
soning powers with which he was endowed,
rather than any preference he entertained for
polemical divinity. Had he been left to his
own choice, he would have produced several
other Essays, like the present, of great practi
cal importance ; but there was an almost inces
sant demand upon his time and attention for
other discussions, which left him but little op
portunity to pursue his favourite design.
Like many others of some standing in the mi
nistry, he had observed " that several persons,
of whom he once entertained a favourable opi
nion, and with whom he formerly walked iu
christian fellowship, had fallen, either from the
doctrine or the practice of pure religion ;" and
this it was that furnished an occasion for the
present performance. He had also noticed,
that the efforts which were making to spread
the knowledge ofthe gospel, tended both to en
crease the number of persons who profess to
beheve its doctrines, and to call into activity
raany who make that profsseion, without be
lieving with the heart unto righteousness.
Perhaps it is not possible, that zeal and ac
tivity should be generally excited among real
christians, without being exposed to the intru
sion of some who are destitute of inward reii-
o 2

188 MEMOIRS OF
gion ; and of otiiers who are very iniperfectiy
acquainted with its power. The former will
gladly cloke their hypocrisy with a show of
zeal ; and the latter, through ignorance of them
selves, will aspire to the honour of teaching
others what they need themselves to be taught.
Hence, at such a period, instances of backslid
ing are likely to be not only more frequent, but
more notorious, and more awful in proportion
as means are used for the advancement of the
gospel. Hence also those professors, whose
lukewarmness and contractedness of mind are
proof against all example and argument for ex
ertion, are likely to avail themselves of the
apostacy or declensions of some who have ap
peared zealous for a time, to harden their owai
hearts, and to settle the more complacently upon
their lees. These dangers, which are but too
strongly corroborated by lamentable facts, were
sufficient to evince the necessity of " an enquiry
into the nature, symptoms, and effects of reli
gious declension, with the means of recovery."
Mr. Fuller distinguishes between the total
backsliding of a hypocrite, and the partialhack-
sliding of an unstable believer. He, however,
adds the very needful caution, " that it will be
difficult, if not impossible, for the party himself,
at the time, to perceive the difference :" — " The
scriptures know nothing of that kind of confi-

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 189
dence which renders raen easy in their sins,"
He defines as various species of backsliding —
a relinquishment of evangelical doctrine — fall
ing into some gross immorality — love of the
world — conformity to it — and an eager and deep
interest in political disputes.
The description given of the symptoms of this
spiritual disease, is of the utmost importance in
discovering its different stages ; and perhaps
there are few christians who will not find their
state, at one time or other, deeply implicated
in some of those gradations which the Author
has marked. Those, however, who are happily
growing in grace and in the knowledge of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, will do well to
observe thej^r.s^ signs of declension, that they
may be constantly on their guard. Many who
are least aw^are of a decline, may have made
considerable progress in a departure from God ;
and it is often very difficult for a backslider to
make himself sensible of his dangerous condition.
In pointing out the raeans of recovery, the
Author dwells on the injurious and dangerous
effects of sin lying upon the conscience unla-
inented ; urges several considerations tending
to excite repentance, and to awaken the mind
to watchfulness and prayer. No one can atten
tively read these pungent remarks wiithout deriv
ing some spiritual benefit, and many have eX'

190 MEMOIRS OF
pressed their thankfulness to God for them.
In an age when so little has been written on
casuistical or experimental subjects, or written
to so little purpose, this pamphlet is peculiarly
acceptable; and though several large editions
have already been disposed of, there can be no
doubt but so long as the religion of the heart is
cultivated, more will still be demanded.

9. — The Obedience qf Churches to their Pastors: a Ser
mon delivered al the Ordination of the Rev. T. Morgan,
Birmingham. 1802. 8vo.
Amongst protestant dissenters in general, and
amongst some denominations of them more
especially, the doctrine of 'obedience' and ' sub
mission' to pastoral authority is as little under
stood or inculcated, as is that of religious equality
in an ecclesiastical heirarchy. Between these
wide extremes there is certainly a wholesome
medium ; but such is the depraved state of hu
man nature that it does not seem to be consti
tuted for any medium. If we reject the domi
nation of an antichristian priesthood, we are also
required to reject with it every idea of subor-
duiation amongst the members of a christian
church, and to level down all distinctions

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 19 1
between the functions of an office and the
common privileges of private individuals. This
is an error which requires to be corrected,
though Mr, Fuller, from the practical system
which he generally adopted in reference to other
churches and ministers, was not the most likely
person to apply the remedy.
On the present occasion, however, he under
takes from Heb. xiii. 17, to explain the nature
of that "obedience and submission which is
required of a people towards their pastor;"
and having premised, that his being freely
chosen by the church, his ruling agreeably to
the laws of Christ, and his walking hiraself
according to the same rule, are essential to
legitimatize his authority; he finds the obedience
of the people to consist in a cordial reception of
his doctrine, a respect for his conversational ad
vice, a deference to his judgment in the assemblies
of the church, and a submission to his reproofs.
All this sounds very well, and accords with
the dictates of reason and revelation : how it is
reduced to practice, is quite another question.
If the power of religion were duly felt, no doubt
these principles would freely operate ; but there
is a tendency in the present state of the dis
senting discipline to render all such principles
nugatory, and ministers are expected to yield
obedience rather than receive it.

192 MEMOIRS OF
The motives urged by the apostie, however,
and which are well illustrated in this sermon,
are such as demand the most serious attention.
Ministers are required to watch, with the most
assiduous care, over the flock committed to
their charge ; to watch for them, with the ten
der solicitude of a father, while Satan, the
world, and innumerable enemies, are watching
against them, and waiting to take an advan
tage. Others may be entrusted with their pro
perty, their health, or their life ; but ministers
watch for the souls of their people, a charge of
higher importance than that of kingdoms and
empires. They do it also as those that must
give account, not only of the manner in which
they have discharged their trust, but likewise of
the people committed to their care. Under
this head are the following pungent interroga
tions —
" And what will be the account of your pastor ? Will
he be able to say to the chief Shepherd, ' Here am I,
and the children whom the Lord hath .given me ?'
Oh that he might ! But it is much to be feared that
some of you who are this day committed to his charge,
will in that day be missing ; and what account will he
then have to give ? Will he not have to say, ' Lord,
some of them neglected thy word ; some have resisted
it ; some have reproached me for preaching it ; some
have deserted it, and turned aside after lying vanities ;
some who have continued, have not received the love

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 193
of the truth that they might be saved ; — hearing, they
have heard, and not understood ; seeing, they have
seen, and not perceived ; their heart is waxed gross,
and^their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they
have closed ?' And how if, when interrogated, he
should not be able to acquit himself? How if it should
prove, that he did not warn you, nor seek after you,
nor care for you .'' Ah, then you will perish, and your
blood will be required at his hand ! Who, alas, who is
sufficient for these things ? At all events, for your own
sake, and for his sake do not hinder him in his work.
Woe unto him, if he preach not the gospel ; and woe
unto you if you oppose him in it. In short, if you have
any regard to your own souls or the souls of others,
obey the counsels of heaven, which are communicated
to you through his ministry, and submit yourselves."
This is one of the Author's best sermons ; it is
remarkably condensed, and full of interesting
sentiraent.

10. — Expository Remarks on the Discipline qf the Pri
mitive Churches. 12mo.
This small but valuable tract, originally writ
ten at the request of the Baptist Churches and
Ministers ofthe Northaraptonshire Association,
was afterwards printed in another form, and
passed through several large editions. At the
time of composing it, the Author went through

194 MEMOIRS OF
the whole of the New Testament, in order to
collect all the passages which bore upon the
subject ; and hence he entitled his perforinanee;
" Expository Remarks." UndeT the term " Pis^-
cipline," however, he did not intend to include
the whole of the order of a christian church ;
but that part of it only which consists in the
members having a mutual care over one another,
and the conduct we are directed to pursue in
cases of offence.
The points of forbearance in a religious com
munity, he restricts to such as may ex:ist without
being an occasion of dispute and wrangling;
such as do not enter into the essence of Christ's
kingdom ; do not supersede his authority, sub
vert the gospel, or destroy the work of God.
In dealing with offenders, he points out the mo
tives which ought to guide the conduct of the
society, guards against the extremes of false
tenderness and unchristian severity, and dis
tinguishes between faults which arise from sud
den temptation and such as are the effect of
habit. The duties of church members indivi
dually, one towards another, and of the pastor
hi bis official capacity, are next explained. On
this pomt some important sentiments occur,
not more remarkable for their justness, than
for the undeserved manner in which they are
too generally neglected.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 195
" In all our admonitions, regard should be had to
the age and character of tbe party. An elder, as well
as other men, may be in fault, and a fault that may
require to be noticed ; but let him be told of it in a
tender and respectful manner. While you expostulate
with younger men on a footing of equality, pay a de
ference to age and office. ' Rebuke not an Elder, but
entreat him as a Father, and the younger men as bre
thren."* — "In cases of evil report, where things are
said of a brother, which if true must affect his charac
ter, and the purity of the cViurch, it cannot be right
to go on to report it. Love will not lead to this.
Many reports we know are unfounded; or if true in
the main, they may have been aggravated ; or there
may be circumstances attending the case, "which if ful
ly understood, would make things appear very differ
ent from the manner in which they have been repre
sented. Now it is almost impossible that any one but
the party himself should be acquainted with all these cir
cumstances, or able to give a full account of them. No
time therefore should be lost, ere we enquire at the hand
of our brother."
Better counsel than this could not be given :
it is founded in the truest equity. But it might
be asked, where is the practical example ? In
stead of " enquiring immediately at the hand of
an accused brother," he is often the last person
of whom any such enquiry is made ; and there
were instances in which the Author himself was
lamentably deficient in this piece of necessary
justice. It is miuch to be regretted, however.

196 MEMOIRS OF
that the present state of church discipline is far
degenerated from its primitive purity. Not-
¦withstanding, we have reason to hope that the
glory which has long departed is gradually re
turning. The objects of direct and unqualified censure
are considered by our author to be — a depar
ture from the faith of the gospel, or any of its
leading doctrines — and cases of notorious and
comphcated wickedness. Much excellent ad
vice is offered on the manner of conducting the
censures of the church, the treatment proper to
be observed in cases of excommunication, and
on several other topics connected with primitive
discipline. Certamly nothing is more a\ anted
towards the improvement of the general state
of christian fellowship, than a practical exhibi
tion of these Expository Remarks.

1 1 . — Christian Patriotism ; or the duty of Religious
people toTcards their Country. A Discourse delivered
at Kettering, Aug. 14, 1S03. 8vo.
The spirit of Christianitj', which breathes
nothmg but peace and good will towards men,
is so repugnant to the profession of arms, that
it required something like scriptural ai^uments

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 197
to satisfy the consciences of " religious people,'"
that it was their duty to enrol themselves in the
volunteer corps, which at that time began to
make so formidable an appearance throughout
the counti-y, and which the dread of invasion
had called into existence.
To accomplish this purpose, the preacher
chose the words of Jeremiah to the Jews in cap
tivity : Seek the peace ofthe city, tchither I have
caused y mi to be carried away captives, aiidpray
unto the Lord for it ; for in the peace thereof ye
shall have peace. Having observed that the
Jews were at that time enslaved, abused, and
insulted by their enemies, he asks ; "If such
was the duty of men in their circumstances,
can there be any doubt with respect to ours?" —
" The invader was to them a deliverer : but to
us, beyond all doubt, he would be a destroyer."
The duty of christians is then first consider
ed, and afterwards the motive by which it is
enforced. In explangition of the former, it is observed,
that our duty consists in • seeking the peace of
the city,' and ' praying to the Lord for it.'
Those who do this, will not disturb the public
peace by inflammatory speeches, by spreading
discontent, exciting disgust against public mea
sures, and contempt^of magistrates. They will
do all they can to promote its w elfare ; and what-

195 MEMOIRS OF
ever be their political system, will support
government as long as it answers the great ends
of its existence ; will sacrifice their private in
terest, and in case of imminent danger expose
their lives in its defence.
The Author here refutes the idea, that de
fence is wrong in all cases : he cites the exam
ple of Abraham in the old testament ; and in
the new, the conduct of Paul at Philippi. At
the same time he condemns the modern notions
of honour, and maxims of revenge. He also
remarks that christians are not to use the- sword
in defence of their own principles; and that
such as have on this ground taken the sword,
have usually perished by the sword ; instancing
as examples, the Albigenses, the Bohemians,
and the French protestants. But the defence
of civil order stands on different grounds ; and
if all were thus to neglect their duty, the magis
trate would indeed " bear the sword in vain."
It is no sin, says he, to be a soldier, witness two
believing centurions. John did not reprove the
soldiers for bearing arms, but instructed them
in their duty as soldiers.
With respect to the injustice of a war, it is
observed, that it is of a very complex nature,
and that we are unacquainted with many facts
the knowledge of which is necessary to enable
us to decide that point. One thing we know,

MR, ANDREW FULLER, 199
whether it be ri^t that one nation should seek
absolutely to ruin another. It is evidently our
duty to resist such an attempt, however it may
have been provoked.
Another part of our duty consists in ' praying
to the Lord,' for public peace and prosperity.
We should beware that all our dependance as
a nation is upon God, and that a great load pf
guilt lies upon our country.
In considering the motive, we are told that
our duty is graciously interwoven with our in
terest : * Ye shall have peace.' The preacher
then draws a picture of the raiseries we should
endure in all ranks of life, as citizens, as relations,
and as christians, if the public tranquility were
disturbed. — Happily, these groundless apprehen
sions have long since passed away ; and the
Sermon only remains, unsatisfactory as it is, to
perpetuate the " Christian Patriotism" of its
Author.

iZ.-^A Viridication of Protestant Dissent, from tlie
the charges of the Rev, Thomas Robinson, Vicar of St,
Mary's, Leicester.
At the time this little pamphlet was written,
the. spirit of opposition ran high against the

200 MEMOIRS Of*
evangelical clergy; and some of their brtferest
enemies were found amongst the members of
the established church. A long and acrimoni
ous controversy had been maintained, for and
against an evangelical construction of the Arti
cles, and on the tendency of the evangelical
ministry ; and though the adverse party failed
in their proof, and were eventually defeated,
they did not fail to get preferments in the church
for their hostilities to the truth, nor to inspire
their more enlightened brethren with the terrors
of dissent.
Mr. Robinson, though in othier respects a man
of great excellence, was at all times a rigid
churchman, entertaining high notions of epis
copal prerogatives, and of the precedence due
to the establishment. No man more carefvilly
avoided an approach to the contaminating prin
ciples of dissent ; and while he honoured a few
eminent individuals with his friendship, among
whom Mr. Fuller himself was one, he main
tained a chilling distance from the general body
of nonconformists. But the particular class to
which he himself belonged, having fallen under
severe suspicion, (unjustly enough,) that they
had crept within the pale under an episcopal dis
guise, as their adversaries insinuated, merely
for the purpose of lowering character and calum
niating the arguments which they could not

MR, ANDR EW FULLER. 20 1
answer, Mr. Robinson was tempted to make an
immoderate display of his attachment ; and in
the warmth of his zeal in defence of episcopacy,
he made some foul attacks on the opposite party.
Though Mr. Fuller was the advocate of union,
rather than of dissent, and bore towards Mr.
Robinson a considerable share of esteem ; yet
he could not suffer any personal considerations
to interfere with the obligations he owed to truth,
nor that the imposing authority of so respecta
ble a clergyman in his own neighbourhood
should obtrude upon the public attention with
out examining its claims. He entered, however,
upon his " Vindication" with great reluctance,
and suffered it to appear without a name.
His defence of Protestant Dissent seems re
ducible to two positions : — That the Church of
England is not agreeable to the scriptural and
apostolic form ; and that if it be, it is not exclu
sively ; so as to have any right to claim the uni
versal obedienceof a particular tract of country.
In reply to the charges which had been exhi
bited, he observes that while Mr. Robinson at
tempts to prove the established church apostoli
cal in its " order of ministers," he neither cites
any scripture, nor any authority for the office of
arcA-bishops, arc/i-deacons, deans, or priests ;
nor shows that the rank was hi use, even though
the name were not recorded ; nor that one set
of pastors were controulable by another.
p

202 MEMOIRS OF
He then examines and refutes the proposition,
" That it is the duty of the subject to obey the
ordinances of the church, unless they can be
proved contrary to divine injunction." He re
marks that if the apostles, like the popish church,
had attempted to convert whole nations at once,
and had acted on Mr. R.'s principle, they would
have framed different modes of worship in differ
ent places ; they would have examined how much
of the old materials of heathen superstition,
" not directly contrary to divine injunction,"
would do to work up again ; they would also
make as few alterations as possible, and intro
duce old things under new names.
Mr. Robinson's defence ofthe English church,
he observes, would as well apply to the church
of Rome. It might be said, ' She has her bis
hops, priests, and deacons ; that her chain of
subordination from the laity through the clergy,
and the bishops to the pope,' is " reasonable
and expedient;" that these, and many other
" decent and edifying" things ought not to be
rejected, unless they can be proved " contrary
to express divine injunction." But, says the
Author, to believe a doctrine, or practice a
forra, even if it may be innocent, merely on the
ground of human authority, destroys the very
principle of christian obedience, — He answers
Mr. R.'s encomiums on the doctrinal purity of

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 203
the church by saying, that the Articles do not
show what the church is, but what the church
was ; and that not one in ten believes them in
their obvious meaning.
The disputes among dissenters having been
alleged, Mr, Fuller rebuts the objection in the
following manner —
" The clergy put various meanings on their own
articles ; and the peace which is boasted by the church,
is perhaps not so much the fruit of meekness and bro-
Iffcerly love, as the cause of indifference, and the still
ness of ecclesiastical despotism, — We see in the great
body of the members of this community, not ' saints,-
and faithful in Christ Jesus ;' not ' a congregation of
faithful men/ as the articles define a church ; but men
of the world ; men who would be ashamed to be thought
saints, and who deride all spiritual religion. Where
the spirit and conduct are evidently diverse from
Christianity ; where no pretence is made to any other
than traditional assent, which in Turkey would have
made them Mahometans, and in China, Pagans ;
where the very idea of ' being born of God' is derided,
and all spiritual reUgion regarded with contempt;
— to consider such persons as believers ; is an abuse of
charity and candour ; and to treat them as such, is to
foster self-deception."
This little piece abounds with manly sense,
good humour, precision of thought, and a per
spicuity and force of reasoning, corresponding
with Mr. Fuller's other publications.
P 2

204' MEMOIRS OF

13. — The Great Question Ansicered. 12aio.
This small pamphlet was written at the re
quest of a very worthy gentleman, who wished
to distribute among the inhabitants of the north
a plain practical piece tending to awaken the
consciences ofthe careless, and excite a serious
enquiry about the salvation of their souls. Tlie
writer has, therefore, very suitably chosen for
his subject, the question of the Philippian jailor :
"What must I do to be saved?" And the
apostle's answer : " Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved."
In writing this pomted address to the uncon
verted, Mr, Fuller also intended to display the
practical efficacy of those views of faith which
he had so frequently contended for in his pole
mical works, and their adaptation to the case
and conscience of the perishing and unbelieving.
In this attempt he has been happily successful,
and some of his warmest opponents are said to
have expressed their satisfaction in the views
that are here exhibited. The tract has had an
extensive circulation, in a variety of forras, and
has been translated into some of the foreign
languages.

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 205

] 4. -^Expository Discourses on the Book qf Genesis, in
terspersed with Practical Reflections. 2 vols, 8vo,
The contents of these volumes, consisting of
fifty-tight short discourses, were not originally
intended for the press. The Author had been
in the habit of delivering expository lectures for
several years to his own congregation, on va
rious parts of scripture ; and after proceeding
a considerable way in the book of Genesis,
without having preserved any thing more than
a few short notes occasionally, which served as
an index to his intended discourse, he was ear
nestly requested by a friend to give the sub
stance of his commentary to the public. With
this request he reluctantly complied ; and, after
delivering his discourses frora the pulpit, he
copied the general outline for the press.
In executing this perfonnance, he selects a
chapter or a section of convenient length, and
furnishes a concise exposition of its leading cir
cumstances, accompanied with a few pointed
reflections. This method, though necessarily
too limited for the expansive powers of the
writer, is pursued with the happiest effect ;-'and
it is difficult to conceive of a larger quantity of
pithy matter being compressed within so small

206 MEMOIRS OF
a compass. He is perhaps raore successful
when a freedom from such restraints enables
him to explore widely, to examine minutely,
and to contend in open ground with the oppo
sitions of enmity and error; but of all Mr, Ful
ler's writings, none have a higher claim to ge
neral regard, for their utility and practical im
portance, than his volumes on the Book of
Genesis. The historical and descriptive parts are pe
culiarly interesting, and exhibit some of the
finest specimens of moral painting. We are not
only made acquainted with the principal events
and transactions in the lives of the antediluvian
patriarchs ; but we seem to be present at the
scene, to behold them with our eyes, to de
velope the secrets of character, the springs of
action, and to become intimate at once with
the generations before the flood. The trial of
the original transgressors, after their fall, and
the doom denounced upon them, are among the
distinguishing features of this performance. The
effects of sin in perverting the understanding
and polluting the heart, introducing prevarica
tion and deceit, bringing guilt and shame upon
the offenders, and ruin upon an unborn world,
are depicted in the most vivid colours, and
adapted to make a deep and lasting impres
sion.

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 20/
The violence which preceded and introduced
the flood, with all its treraendous conse
quences, is traced to an analogy with some of
the awful events of the present portentous pe
riod with striking effect, and contains a season
able adraonition to the kings and rulers of the
earth. " From the influence of corruption in producing
violence," says the Expositor of Gen. vi. 11, "and
bringing on the deluge, we may see the importance of
pure religion, and those who adhere to it, to the well
being of society. They are the preserving principle,
the salt of the earth ; and when they are banished, or
in any way become extinct, the consequences will soon
be felt. While the sons of God are kept together, and
continued faithful, God would not destroy the wor]4
for their sakes ; but, when reduced to a single family,
he vp^ould, as in the case of Lot, take that away, and
destroy the rest. The late convulsions of a neighbour
ing nation may, I apprehend, be easily traced to this
cause : all their violence originated in the corruption
of the true religi<Mi. About a hundred and thirty years
ago, the law which protected the reformation in that
country was repealed; and almost all the religious
people were either murdered or banished. The conse^
quence was, as might have been expected, the great
body of the nation, princes, priests, and people, sunk
into infidelity. The protestant religion, while it conti
nued, was the salt of the state ; but, when banished,
and superstition had nothing left to counteract it, things
soon hastened to their crisis. Popery, aided by a de
spotic civil government, brought forth infidelity ; and

208 MEMOIRS OF
the child as soon as it grew up to maturity, murdered
its own parents. If the principal part of religious peo
ple in this or any other country were driven away, the
rest would soon become infidels, and practical atheists ;
and what every order and degree of men would have to
expect from the prevalence of these principles, there is
no want of examples to inform them."
In remarking on the covenant made with
Noah after the flood, Mr. Fuller finds occasion
to illustrate a principle of fundaraental import
ance to the system of revelation ; and shows
that Gods exercising mercy towards the un
worthy, for the sake of one that was righteous,
and as the raeans of expressing his love of righ
teousness, was fully recognized in the divine
oeconoray, and exhibited under every dispensa
tion. Many interesting observations on this
subject, appear in different parts ofthe work.
Abraham's entertaining angels unawares, is
introduced with good effect, as an instance of
patriarchal hospitality and politeness. His con
descension towards Lot, and the amiable man
ner in which he prevents a disagreement bet
ween them, are adduced as an example highly
worthy of imitation, in settling disputes araong
brethren, and accorapanied with a happy dis
play of the pacific tendency of Christianity.
Abraham's being transformed into a warrior to
save Lot, his military movements and exploits,
his interview with Melchisedek and the king of

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 209
Sodom, are well supported, and give a peculiar
interest to this part of sacred history.
But as the life of Abraham was more prolific
of important events, than that of any other of
the patriarchs, and afforded an opportunity of
illustrating some of the leading principles ofthe
gospel to the greatest advantage, the preacher
seizes on one of these ; and, with the hand of a
master, gives the following sketch of the doc
trine of Justification by faith, from Gen, xv. 4
—6, " Much is made of this passage by the apostle Paul,
in establishing the doctrine of justification by faith;
and much has been said by others, as to the meaning
of both Paul and Moses, One set of expositors, con
sidering it as extremely evident that by faith is here
meant the act of believing, and hence contend for this
as our justifying righteousness. Faith, in their ac
count, seems to be imputed to us for righteousness by
a kind of gracious compromise, in which God accepts
of an imperfect, instead of a perfect obedience. Ano
ther set of expositors, jealous for the honour of free
grace, and of the righteousness of Christ, contend that
the faith of Abraham is here to be taken objectively, for
the righteousness of Christ believed in. To me it ap
pears that both these expositions are forced. To esta
blish the doctrine of justification by the righteousness
of Christ, it is not necessary to maintain that the faith
of Abraham means Christ in whom he believed. ]\or
can this be maintained : for it is manifestly the sam6
thing, in the account of the apostle Paul, as believ-

2 10 MEMOIRS OF
ing^ whioh is very distinct from the object believed in.
The truth appears to be this ; — It is faith, or believing,
that is counted for righteousness ; not, however, as a
. righteous act, or on account of any inherent virtue con
tained in it, but in respect of Christ, on whose righteous
ness it terminates.-)^
" That we may form a clear idea, both of the text
and the doctrine, let the following particulars be con
sidered. " 1. Though Abraham believed God when he leftUr
pf the Chaldees,J yet his faith in that instance is not
mentioned in connection with his justification : nor does
the apostle, either in his epistle to the Romans, or in
that to the Galatians, argue that doctrine from it, or
hold it up as an example of justifying faith, I do not
mean to suggest, that Abraham was then in an unjus
tified state ; but that the instance of his faith which
was thought proper by the Holy Spirit to be selected
as the model for believing unto justification, was not
this, nor any other of the kind ; but those only in which
there was an immediate respect had to the person qf the
Messiah, The examples of faith referred to in both
these epistles, are taken from his believing the pro
mises relative to his seed; in which seed, as the apostle
observes, Christ was included,^ Though christians
may believe in God with respect to the common con
cerns of this life, and such faith may ascertain their
being in a justified state ; yet this is not, strictly speak
ing, the faith by which they are justified, which in
variably has respect to the person and work of Christ,
* Rooi. iv. 6. t Calvin's Inst. b. iii. eh. xi. § 7. t Heb. xi. 8.
§ Rom. iv. II. Gal. iii, 16.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 211
Abraham believed in God as premising Christ : they
believe in him as having raised him from the dead.
" By him, all that believe, (that is, in him ;) are justi
fied from all things, from which they could not be jus
tified by the law of Moses," It is through faith in his
blood, that they obtaiil remission of sins — He is just,
and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.*
" 2, This distinction, so clearly perceivable both ia
the old and new testament, sufficiently decides in what
sense faith is considered as justifying. Whatever
other properties the magnet ma3' possess, it is as point
ing invariably to the north that it guides the mariner:
so whatever other properties faith may possess, it is
as pointing to Christ, and bringing us into union with
him, that it justifies. f It is not that for the sake of
which we are accepted of God : for if it were, justifi
cation by faith could not be opposed to justification
by works, nor could boasting be excluded ; neither
would there be any meaning in its being said to be by
faith, that it might be qf grace. But believing in Christ,
we are considered by the Lawgiver of the world as one
with him, and so are accepted and forgiven for his
sake. Hence it is, that to be justified by faith is the
same thing as to be justified by the blood of Christ, or ;
made righteous by his obedieiwe.% Faith is not the
grace wherein we stand, but that by which we have ac
cess to it.§ Thus it is, that the healing of various ma
ladies is ascribed, in the new testament, to faith : not
that the virtue which caused the cures, proceeded from
this as its proper cause ; but this was a necessary con-
• Rom. iv, 24. Acts xiii. 39, Rom. iii, 25, 26. t Rom. viii. 1.
1 Cor, i, 30. Phil. iii. 9. t Rom. v. 9. 19. j Rom, v. 2i '

212 MEMOIRS OF
comitant, to give the parties access to the power and
grace of the Saviour, by which only they were healed.
" 3. The phrase, "counted it for righteousness," does
not mean that God thought it to be what it was, which
would have been merely an act of justice ; but his
graciously reckoning it what in itself it was not ; viz.
a ground for the bestowment of covenant blessings.
Even in the case of Phinehas, of whom the same
phrase is used in reference to his zeal for God, it has
this meaning : for one single act of zeal, whatever may
be said of it, could not entitle him, and his posterity
after him, to tbe honour conferred upon them,* And
with respect to the present case, " the phrase, as the
apostle uses it, (says a great writer) manifestly imports,
that God of his sovereign grace, is pleased, in his deal
ings with the sinner, to take and regard that which in
deed is not righteousness, and in one who has no righ
teousness, so that the consequence shall be the same
as if he had righteousness, and which may be from the
respect it bears to something which is indeed righte-
ousness,"t The faith of Abraham, though of a holy
nature, yet contained nothing in itself fit for a justify
ing righteousness : all the adaptedness which it pos
sessed to that end was the respect which it had to the
Messiah, on whom it terminated.
" Though faith is not otir justifying righteousness,
yet it is a necessary concomitant, and mean of justificar
tion ; and, being the grace which above all others ho
nours Christ, it is that which above all others God de+
lights to honour. Hence it is that justification is asr
* Psalm, cvi 31. compared with Num. xxv. 12, 13.
t President Edwards Sermons on Justification : Disc. i. p, S,

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 213
cribed to it, rather than to the righteousness of Christ
without it. Our Saviour might have said to Barti-
meus, * Go thy way, / have made thee whole.' This
would have been truth, but not the whole of the truth
which it was his design to convey. The necessity of
faith, in order to healing, would not have appeared
from this mode of speaking ; nor had any honour been
done, or encouragement been given to it. But, by his
saying, " Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole,"
each of these ideas is conveyed. Christ would omit
mentioning his own honour, as knowing that faith
having an immediate respect to him, amply provided
for it."
The discourse on Abraham's offering up his
son, in which the triumph of faith over the feel
ings of nature is so affectingly recorded, affords
one of the finest specimens of the preacher's
ability. The expository form is dropped, and
a regular discussion Is assumed ; in which pecu
liar skill is discovered in investigating the
different parts of the subject, placing them all
in a strong light, and tracing their relations to
each other, and their reference to distant and
neglected objects. The whole of this discourse
is unusually pathetic, and cannot be read with
out the liveliest interest.
The life of Isaac, which produced but few inci
dents, is dismissed with consistent brevity ; but
that of the illustrious Joseph occupies more than
half the second volume. Mr. Fuller acknow
ledges that he entered on the narrative with

214 MEMOIRS OF
some dismay, and felt in the course of his com
position that no human hand could touch
the subject without deteriorating the divine
original. There are, however, many affecting
passages in this part of the work, many indi
cations of ingenuous sensibility, blended with
a variety of acute and original remarks. The
prudence and the policy of Joseph, the dan
gers of pre-eminence, Jacob's interview with
Pharoah, and that of Joseph with his brethren,
are illustrated with singular felicity; and in
Judah's oration on behalf of his brother Benja
min, the preacher finds one of the finest speci
mens of eloquence any where to be met with,
either in ancient or in modern times.
The conclusion of this exposition is highly
forcible and argumentative : the doctrine of
human depravity, and of salvation by free grace,
are shown to have an inseparable connection,
and to be interwoven with the history of man.
" None can deiiy the fact, that men are what they
ought not to be ; but how they came to be so, cannot
be told. To say, as many do, that the stock is good,
but that it gets corrupt in rearing, is to reason in a
manner that no one would have the face to do in any
other case. If a tree were found, wliich in every cli
mate, every age, every soil, and under every kind of
cultivation, brought forth the fruits of death, nobod}'^
would hesitate to pronounce it of a poisonous nature.
Such is the account given us by revelation, and this

MR. ANDREW FULLER, g 1 5
book informs us how it became so. It is true, it does
not answer curious questions on this awful subject. It
traces the origin of evil as far as sobriety and humility
would wish to enquire. It states the fact, that God
made man upright, and that he hath sought out many
inventions : but there it leaves it.
" If the doctrine of the fall, as narrated in this book,
be admitted, that of salvation by free grace, through
the atonement of Christ, will follow of course. I do
not say that redemption by Christ could be inferretT
from the fall itself; but being revealed in the same
sacred book, we cannot believe the one without feel
ing tlie necessity of the other.
" Finally : Look at the antipathy which is everywhere
to be seen between the righteous and the wicked, be
tween them that fear God and them that fear him not.
All the narratives which have passed under our review,
as those of Cain and Abel, Enoch and his cotempo
raries, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob aiid Esau, are pic
tures of originals which the world continues in every
age to exhibit. But this book traces this antipathy to
its source, and gives us reason to expect its continu
ance, till Satan and his cause shall be bruised under
our feet." •*

15. — Tlie Pernicious Influence of Delay in Religious
Concerns: a Sermon delivered at Clipstone, Nor
thamptonshire, April, 1791, 12mo.
This sermon has been already mentioned as
preparing the way for missionary undertakings.

£16 MEMOIRS OF
and as having produced a powerful effect at
the time it was delivered. Various excuses
had been urged in favour of delay, and some
of them apparently prudential ; but Mr. Fuller
exposes their futility, and shews that they had
their origin in carnal policy, and indifference
to the best interests of religion. The preach
ing of it gave an impetus to the missionary
spirit that was already afloat, brought the sub
ject to a crisis in the minds of his ministering
brethren, and its subsequent publication had a
similar happy effect upon multitudes who were
not present at the time of its delivery. The
sermon has now for a long time been extreme
ly rare to be met with, but will of course find
a place in the projected uniform edition ofthe
Author's works.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 217

CHAPTER VII.
Review of Mr. Fuller's Doctrinal and Prac
tical Writings continued.
The advantages which Mr. Fuller derived
from polemical discussion, are very apparent
in his subsequent writings on doctrinal and
practical subjects. There is a stronger nerve
and a higher tone in his moral system, than is
commonly found in cotemporary writers ; for
though the same truths might be generally ac
knowledged, few men had the faculty of plac
ing them in so strong a light, or investing them
with such high importance. Controversy not
only deepened his penetration, and added
keenness to his discernment, but stamped a
greater value on those principles which he had
recovered from the Amorites with his sword
and with his bow.
The article which introduces the present
chapter, resulted principally from those labori
ous investigations in which he had been previ
ously engaged, and was chiefly composed in
the serious hours of sickness and retirement,
Q

2 18 MEMOIRS OF
after the tumult of debate was over, and when
his thoughts had ripened to maturity. Reli
gious sentiment with him never was a matter
of speculation. He had long seen that the in
terests of personal religion were involved in the
principles which he had endeavoured to defend ;
and being left in full possession, he employed
them in every variety of form that could give
proof of their prac^cal efficacy. Hence in his
preaching, and in his writing, there is a sort
of mandatory style which bespeaks a convic
tion of their vital importance, and a pungency
of appeal from which the reader cannot easily
escape.

16. — Dialogues, Letters, and Essays, on various subjects.
12mo. 1806.
Though this work did not admit of a sys
tematic arrangement, it nevertheless illustrates
and defends many of the leading doctrines of
the gospel in a very satisfactory manner, and
may properly be considered as a compendious
body of divinity. The papers which compose
this volume are classed under three principal
divisions. Part the First is on Fundamental
Principles; and consists of nine Dialogues

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 219
and five Letters, between Crispus and Gains, —
on the Peculiar Turn of the present age — Im
portance of Truth — Connection between Doc
trinal, Experimental, and Practical Religion —
Moral Character of God — Free-agency of Man
— Antinomianisra — Goodness ofthe Moral Law
— Total Depravity of Human Nature — and the
Consequences resulting from it.
The first dialogue, which admirably describes
the peculiar turn of the present age, concludes
with this just and striking discrimination of
character : —
" Crispus. What evidence have we, that religious
people are influenced by a spirit of indifference ?
" Gains. The crying up of one part of religion at
the expense of another. You may often hear of
practical religion as being every thing; and of specu-.
lative opinions (which is the fashionable name for doc
trinal sentiments) as matters of very little consequence.
Because they are not cognizable by the civil magis-^
tiate, they treat them as if they weye of np account ;
and by opposing them to practical religion, the un
wary are led to conclude that the one has no depend
ance on the other. The effect of this has been, that
others, from an attachment to doctrinal principles,
have run to a contrary extreme. They write and
preach in favour of doctrines, and what are called the
.privileges of the gospel, to the neglect of subjects
which iminediately relate to practice. In other circles
you may hear experience, or experimental religion,
extolled above all things, even at the expense of chris-
Q 2

220 MEMOIRS OF
tiau practice and of sound doctrine. But really, the
religion of Jesus ought not thus to be mangled and
torn in pieces. Take away the doctrines of the gos
pel, and 3'ou take away the food of christians. Insist
on them alone, and you transform us into religious
epicures. And you may as well talk of the pleasure
you experience in eating, when you are actually de
prived of sustenance, or of the exquisite enjoyments
of a state of total inactivity, as boast of experimental
religion, unconnected with doctrinal and practical
godliness. The conduct of a man who walks with
God, appears to me to resemble that of the industrious
husbandman, who eats that he may be strengthened
to labour, and who by labour is prepared to enjoy his
food. The consequences resulting from the doctrine
of human depravity, in the fifth Letter, are
pointed out in the Author's best manner ; and
his exposure of the Hypercalvinistic scheme, is
very masterly and decisive. The duty of minis
ters, relative to their unconverted hearers, is
here exhibited in a style of reasoning that just
ly challenges the most serious regard of all who
desire to " make full proof of their ministry,"
Mr. Fuller very forcibly reraarks,
" Instead of its being a question, whether ministers
should exhort their carnal auditors to any thing spirit
ually good, it deserves to be seriously considered, whe
ther it be not at their peril to exhort them to any thing
short qf it.
If all duty consists in the genuine operations and

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 22 1
expressions ofthe heart, it must be utterly wrong for
ministers to compromise matters with the enemies of
God, by exhorting them to mere external actions, or
to such a kind of exercise as may be performed with
out the love of God. The truth is, there is no way for
a sinner to take in which he can find solid rest; but
that of returning home to God by Jesus Christ, " Re
pent and believe the gospel. Believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," If the answer
be, ' we cannot comply with these things ; our hearts
are too hard;' — the servant of God having warned
them, that what they call their incapacity is no
other than a wicked aversion to God and good
ness ; that they judge themselves unworthy of ever
lasting life, and that their blood will be upon
their own heads, — must there leave them. His soul
may weep in secret for them; but it is at his peril to
compromise the matter."
Part the Second consists of Miscellaneous
Pieces, — on theNature of Regeneration — Diffe
rent Degrees in Glory — the Unpardonable Sin
— on the Ministry — the Manner in which divine
truth is communicated in the Holy Scriptures
— Connection in which the doctrine of Election
is introduced in the Scriptures — on Evil Things
which pass under Specious Names — the Deity
of Christ essential to Atonement — the Sonship
of Christ — Obedience and Death of Christ —
Necessity of seeking those things First which
are of the First importance — the Proper and Im
proper Use of Terms.

222 MEMOIRS OF
The piece on Regeneration, proving that the
Spirit of God produces a new principle in the
heart, and not merely imparts a new light to the
understanding, is highly interesting and impor
tant. That on the manner in which Divine
Truth is communicated in the scriptures, con
tains the following impressive passage :
" It is not very difficult to discern the wisdom of
God in introducing truth in such a manner. If every
species of plants and flowers were to grow together,
instead of the whole being scattered over the earth, the
effect would be very diflferent, and much for the worse :
and if all truth relating to one subject, were to be
found only in one book, chapter, or epistle, we should
probably understand much less than we do. There are
some divine truths which are less pleasant than others.
Even good men have their partialities, or favourite
principles, which would induce them to read those
parts of scripture which favoured them, to the neglect
of others. But truth being scattered throughout the
scriptures, we are thereby necessitated, if we read at
all, to read the whole mind of God ; and thus it is that
we gradually and insensibly imbibe it, and become as
similated to the same image. The conduct of God in
this matter, resembles that of a wise physician, who,
in prescribing for a child, directs that its medicine be
mixed up with its necessary food."
On the Deity and Sonship of Christ, a num
ber of original remarks occur, highly worthy of
attention. Mr. Fuller, with his accustomed
ability, has driven the Socinians and Arians

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 223
from their strong holds, and entrenched himself
so skilfully in the fair plains of reason and scrip
ture, that the utmost fury of the enemy can
never dislodge him.
Christians of all denominations might read
his piece on Seeking those things First which
are of the First importance, to great advantage,
and cannot but admire the liberality with which
his sentiments are stated.
" If we wish to promote the Dissenting interest, it
must not be by expending our principal zeal in endea
vouring to make men Dissenters, but in making dis
senters and others christians. The principles of
dissent, however just and important, are not to be com
pared with the glorious gospel of the blessed God. — If
we wish to see the Baptist denomination prosper, we
must not expend our zeal so much in endeavouring to
make men Baptists, as in labouring to make baptists
and others christians. By rejoicing in the prosperity
of every other denomination, in as far as they accord
with the inind of Christ, we shall promote the best in
terests of our own."
, Part the Third, which consists of Original
Pieces, not before published, contains, amongst
other things, three conversations on Imputation
—-Substitution — and Particular Redemption. —
On the first of these topics, Mr. Fuller opposes
the notion of Christ's becoming guilty by impu
tation ; and states his own views of the subject
in the following manner : .

224 MEMOIRS OF
" The term guilty, I am aware, is often used by theo
logical writers, for an obligation to punishment, and
so applies to that voluntary obligation which Christ
came under, to sustain the punishment of our sins.
But, strictly speaking, guilt is the desert of punish
ment ; and this can never apply but to the offender.
It is the opposite of innocence. A voluntary obliga
tion to endure the punishment of another is not guilt,
any more than a consequent exemption from obliga
tion in the offender, is innocence. Both guilt and in
nocence are tiansferrable in their effects ; but in them
selves they are intransferrable. To say that Christ was
reckoned or counted in the divine administration, as if
he were the sinner, and came under an obligation to en
dure the curse or punishment due to our sins, is one
thing : but to say he deserved that curse, is another.
Guilt, strictly speaking, is the inseparable attendant of
transgression, and could never therefore for one mo
ment occupy the conscience of Christ, If Christ by
imputation became deserving of punishment, we by
non-irnputation cease to deserve it ; and if our deme
rits be literally transferred to him, his merits must of
course be the same to us : and then, instead of approach
ing God as guilty and unworthy, we might take con
sequence to ourselves before him, as not only guiltless
but meritorious beings,"
He quotes Calvin's opinion in support of his
own, and exposes the absurdity of some of Dr.
Crisp's sentiments. — On Substitution, Mr. Ful
ler gives the following statement, relative to the
sufficiency of the atonement.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 225
" It is a fact, that the scriptures rest the general invi
tations of the gospel upon the atonement of Christ.
But if there weie not a sufficiency in the atonement for
the salvation of sinners without distinction, how could
the ambassadors of Christ beseech them to be recon
ciled to God, and that from the consideration of his
having been made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him ?
What would you think of tbe fallen angels being in
vited to be reconciled to God, from the consideration of
an atonement having been made for fallen men ? You
would say, it is inviting them to partake of a benefit
which has no existence ; the obtaining of which, there
fore, is naturally impossible.
" Upon the supposition of the atonement being in
sufficient for the salvation of any more than are actu
ally saved by it, the non-elect however are in the same
state, with respect to a reconciliation to God through
it, as the fallen angels ; that is, the thing is not only
morally, but naturally impossible. But if there be an
objective fulness in the atonement of Christ, sufficient
for any number of sinners, were they to believe in him ;
there is no other impossibility in the way of any man's
salvation to whom the gospel comes, at least, than what
arises from the state of his own mind. The intention
of God not to remove this impossibility, and so not to
save him, is a purpose to withhold not only that which
he was not obliged to bestow, but that which is never
represented in the scriptures as necessary to the con
sistence of exhortations or invitations."
The Conversations on these subjects, between
'* Peter, James, and John," who personated Mr.

226 MEMOIRS OF
Booth, Mr. Fuller, and his Friend, were intend
ed to illustrate the points in dispute between the
two former, and to remove some injurious mis
representations which then existed. The dis
cussion of these topics is conducted with con
summate ability, and forms one of the most in
teresting parts of all the Author's writings. The
conclusion, which proceeds very properly from
the umpire, is in the true spirit of the gospel.
" I conceive, my dear brethren," says John, " that
you have each said as much on these subjects as is like
ly to be for edification. Permit me, after having heard,
and candidly attended to all that has passed between
you, to assure 3-ou both of my esteem, and to declare
that in my opinion, the difference between you ought
not to prevent j-our feeling towards and treating each
other as brethren. The greater part of those things
wherein you seem to differ, may be owing either to a
difference in the manner of expressing yourselves, or
to the affixing of consequences to a principle which
yet are unperceived by him that holds it. I do not ac
cuse either of you with doing so intentionally : but prin
ciples and their consequences are so suddenly asso
ciated in the mind, that when we hear a person avow
the former, we can scarcely forbear immediately attri
buting to him the latter. If a principle be proposed
to us for acceptance, it is right to weigh the Conse
quences; but when forming our judgment of the per
son who holds it, we should attach nothing to him but
what he perceives and avows. If by an exchange of
ideas you can come to a better undeistanding, it will

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 227
afford me pleasure : meanwhile, it is some satisfaction
that your visit to me has not tended to widen but con
siderably to diminish your differences. Brethren, there
are many adversaries of the gospel around you, who
would rejoice to see you at variance : Let there be no
strife between you. You are both erring mortals ; but
both, I trust, the sincere friends of the Lord Jesus.
Love one another I "

17. — Jesus the true Messiah: A Sermon delivered in the
Jews' Chapel, Church Street, Spital Fields, Nov. IQ-
I8O9 Printed for the Society for promoting Christianity
among the Jews. 8vo.
On such an occasion it might be expected
that the preacher would endeavour to substan
tiate the evidence in favour of the Messiahship
of Jesus; and, though the subject had been pretty
well exhausted, that such a preacher as Mr.
Fuller would advance something that was more
than usually interesting. Few men surpassed
him in the talent of placing a subject in the
clearest point of light, and of selecting the best
species of evidence in its support.
Having chosen for his text, Psalm xl. 6, 7, 8, he
encounters Jewish unbelief by observing, that
the coming of the Mes.siah is represented, in
this passage, as distinguished by the abohtion of

228 MEMOIRS OF
sacrifices and ceremonies ; by the accomplish
ment of the grea;t body of Scripture prophecy;
and by the perfect fulfilment of the will of God.
He disputes the perpetuity of the ceremonial
law, from the depreciating language of scripture
respecting it, and from the fact of its having
ceased to be observed. On this subject, he ad
dresses the Jewish part of his audience in the
following manner.
" In maintaining the perpetuity of the sacrifices and
ceremonies of the Mosaic law, your writers are not only
opposed by Scripture but by Fact. Whether Messiah
the prince be come or not, sacrifice and oblation have
ceased. We believe they virtually ceased when Jesus
offered himself a sacrifice, and in a few years afterwards
they actually ceased. Those of your nation who be
lieved in Jesus, voluntarily, though gradually, ceased
to offer them ; and those who did not believe him, were
compelled to desist, by the destruction of their city and
temple. You may adhere to a few of your ancient cere
monies ; but it can only be like gathering round the
ashes of the system ; the substance of it is consumed.
' The sacrifices of the holy temple,' as one of your wri
ters acknowledges, * have ceased.'
The amount is, whether Jesus be the Messiah or not,
his appearance in the world has this character pertaining
to it, that it was the period in which the sacrifice and
the oblation actually ceased. And it is worthy of your
serious enquiry, whether these things can be accom«-
plished in any other than Jesus. Should Messiah the
prince come at some future period, as your nation ex-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 2^9
pects, how are the sacrifice and the oblation to cease
on his appearance, when they have already ceased
nearly eighteen hundred years f It therefore he be not
come, he can never come,'so as to answer this part of
the Scripture account of him."
Under the second division, Mr. Fuller notices
the prophecies concerning the time of the Mes
siah's advent, the place of his nativity, the family
from which he should spring, the kind of mira
cles he should perform, his lowliness, death,
resurrection, and rejection by his own country
men. He then notices the striking fulfilment of
these prophecies, supposing Jesus to be the
Messiah, and insists on the impossibility of their
being fulfilled at all on any other hypothesis.
He afterwards proceeds to point out the ftiU ac
complishment of the divine will, both precept
and purpose, in the obedience of Christ. He
refutes several objections which are current
among the Jews ; and concludes with a pressing
appeal to their consciences, and an earnest ex
hortation to professed christians to adorn the
doctrine of God their Saviour. — The whole
sermon carries with it convincing evidence,
that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of the
living God ; and if it failed to produce its end
and design, it would leave the unbehevers with
out excuse.

230 MEMOIRS OF

18. — Sermons on Various Subjects. 8vo. 1814.
The Author's numerous active engagements,
which called him frequently from home, and es
pecially of late years left him but little time for
retirement, prevented his writing any large work ;
and this, which was one ofthe last of his publi
cations, was several years in compiling. Had
it been otherwise, several more volumes of ser
mons, equally excellent with the present, might
have been expected. The christian world,
however, has reason to be thankful for the legacy
which is left, enriched as it is with a maturity Of
thought, on subjects of the highest importance.
Doctrinal, practical, and experimental divinity,
are here blended in equal proportions, free
from controversy, but full of point, and just
discrimination. The Sermons are sixteen in number, and on
the following topics — Solitary Reflection, or
the sinner directed to look into himself for con
viction — Advice to the Dejected, or the soul di
rected to look out of itself for consolation—- The
Prayer of Faith, exemplified in the Woman of
Canaan — The future Perfection of the Church,
contrasted with its Present Imperfections — The
Gospel the only effectual means of producing

MR. ANDREW FULLER. ^31
Universal Peace amongst mankind — The Re
ception of Christ the Turning Point of salvation
— On Justification — The Believer's Review of
his past and present state — The Nature and
Importance of Love to God — Conformity to
the Death of Christ — the Life of Christ the se
curity and felicity of his Church — Christianity
the Antidote to presumption and despair — The
sorrow attending Wisdom and Knowledge —
The Magnitude of the heavenly Inheritance.
Amidst such a variety, where each invites at
tention, the selection is difficult; but the ser
mons on Justification, while they are confessedly
on a subject of pre-eminent iraportance, are dis
tinguishable for perspicuity of statement, and
force of reasoning ; and the last sermon, in par
ticular, abounds with an originality of thought
seldom to be met with, on one of the most diffi
cult passages in the inspired volurae.
In ascertaining the meaning of the terra Jus
tification, Mr. Fuller distinguishes it from sancti
fication, and considers it as the opposite of con
demnation ; and though amongst men it is not
only opposed to condemnation but even to par
don, yet in the justification of a sinner with
God it is not so opposed, though distinguish
able from it.
" From these dissimilarities, and others which might
be pointed out, it must be evident to every thinking

232 MEMOIRS OF
mitid, that though there are certain points of likeness,
sufficient to account for the use of the term, yet we are
not to learn the scripture doctrine of justification from
what is so called in the judicial proceedings of human
courts, and in various particulars cannot safely reason
from one to the other. The principal points of likeness
respect not the grounds of the proceeding, but the ef
fects of it. Believing in Jesus, we are united to him ;
and being so, are treated by the Judge of all as one
with him ; his obedience unto death is imputed to us,
or reckoned as ours ; and we for his sake are delivered
from condemnation as though we had been innocent,
and entitled to eternal life as though we had been per
fectly obedient.
" But let us farther enquire, What is gospel justification?
Alluding to justification in a court of judicature, it has
been common to speak of it as a sentence. This sen
tence has been considered by some divines, as passing —
first, in the mind of God from eternity — second, on
Christ and the elect considered in him when he rose
from the dead — third, in the conscience of a sinner on
his believing. Justification by faith, in the view of
these divines, denotes either justification by Christ the
object of faith, or the manifestation to the soul of what
previously existed in the mind of God.
" Others, who have been far from holding with justifi
cation as a decree in the divine mind, have yet seemed
to consider it as a manifestation, impression, or per
suasion in the human mind. They have spoken of
themselves and others as being justified under such a
sermon, or at such an hour ; when all that they appear
to mean is, that at such a time they had a strong im
pression or persuasion that they were justified."

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 233
The reply to these different hypotheses, is as
follows —
" In respect to the first, it is true that justification,
and every other spiritual blessing, was included in that
purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began ; but as the actual bestowment
of other blessings supposes the existence of the party,
so does justification. Christ was ' raised again for our
justification,' in the same sense as he died for the pardon
of our sins. Pardon and justification were virtually
obtained by his death and resurrection ; and to this may
be added, our glorification was obtained by his ascen
sion ; for we were not only ' quickened together with
him, and raised up together,' but ' made to sit together
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.' But as this does
not prove that we were from thence actually glorified,;
neither do the other prove that we were actually pardon
ed or justified.
" Whatever justification is, the scriptures represent
it as taking place on our believing in Christ. It is not
any thing that belongs to predestination, but some
thing that intervenes between that and glorification.
' Whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and
whom he called, them he also justified ; and whom he
justified, them he also glorified.' That which the scrip
tures call justification is by faith in Christ Jesus; and
is sometimes spoken of as future, which it could not be
if it were before our actual existence. For example :
' Seeing it is one God who shall justify the circumci
sion by faith, and the uncircumcision by faith-r-Now it
was hot written for Abraham's sake alone, that it was,
imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be
R

234 MEMOIRS OF
imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus x)ur
Lord from the dead. The scripture foreseeing that God
wotdd justify the heathen through faith, &c.' If justi
fication were God's decree finally to acquit, condemna
tion must be his decree finally to condemn. But every
unbeliever, whether elect or non-elect, is under cour
demnation, as the scriptures abundantly teach : con
demnation therefore cannot be God's decree finally to
condemn. Saul of Tarsus, while an \inbeliever, was
under condemnation ; yet God had not appointed him
to wrath, but to obtain salvation by Jesus Christ. The
sum is, neither condemnation nor justification consists
in the secret purpose of God, but in his will as revealed
or declared, as by a sentence in an open court.
" And as justification is not a purpose in the divine
mind, neither is it a manifestation to, an impression on,
or a persuasion of, the human mind. That there are
manifestations to believers, is admitted. God mani
fests himself unto them as he doth not unto the world.
The things of God, which are hidden from the wise and
prudent, are revealed to them. But these are not things
which were previously locked up in the divine pur
poses, but things which were already revealed in the
scriptures, and which were previously hidden from
them, as they still are from unbelievers, by their own
criminal blindness. God does not reveal his secret
counsels to men otherwise than by fulfilling them. To
pretend to a revelation or manifestation of that which
is not contained in the scriptures, is pretending to be
inspired in the same extraordinary manner as wore the
prophets and apostles.
" If justification consists in a manifestation, impres
sion, or persuasion that we. are justified, condemnation

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 235
must be a like impression or persuasion that we are
condemned : but this is not true. The Jews who op
posed Christ, were under condemnation ; yet so far
from being impressed or persuaded of any such thing,
they had no doubt but God was their Father. Be
lievers in Jesus, on the other hand, may at times be iiri-
pressed with strong apprehensions of divine wrath,
while yet they are not exposed to it. Neither justifi
cation therefore, nor condemnation, consists in the per
suasion of the mind that we are under the one or the
other. Besides, to make a thing consist in a persua
sion of the truth of that thing, is palpable absurdity.
There can be no well-grounded persuasion of the truth
of any thing, unless it be true and evident, antecedent
ly to our being persuaded of it."
Having cleared away these errors, which ten
ded to involve the subject in a mist, Mr. Fuller
states justification to be a relative change, not in,
or upon, but concerning us ; that it consists in
our standing acquitted by the revealed will of
God declared in the gospel ; so that he whom
the scriptures bless is blessed, and he whom
they curse is cursed. The enquiry then pro
ceeds to " what is it in the redemption of Christ
to which the scriptures ascribe its efficacy — what
concern faith has in our justification — and
whether justification includes the pardon of our
sins, past, present, and to come?" The answer
to the last enqniry, is too important to be over
looked.
R 2

236 MEMOIRS OF
" That justification includes the pardon of sin, has
been proved already, from Rom. iv. 6, 7 ; and seeing it
is promised of him that believeth that he ' shall not
come into condemnation,' it must in some way secure
the pardon of all his sins, and the possession of eternal
life. Yet to speak of sins as being pardoned before they
are repented of, or even committed, is not only to main
tain that on which the scriptures are silent, but to con
tradict the current language of their testimony. If all
our sins, past, present, and to come, were actually for
given, either when Christ laid down his life, or even on
our first believing, why did David speak of ' confessing
his transgression', and of God ' forgiving his iniquity ?'
Why did Solomon teach us, that ' he who confesseth
and forsaketh his sin shall find mercy r' Why did our
Lord direct us in our daily prayers to say, ' Forgive us
our debts as wc forgive our debtors ;' and why add, ' if
ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your
heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses V Finally,
why did the apostle John teach us, ' that if we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness ?'
Nor is it sufficient to understand this language of tho
manifestation of forgiveness to the mind. Forgiveness
is not opposed to merely withholding the comforts of re
ligion, but to ' laying our sins to our charge.' The
parable of the servant who took his fellow-servant by
the throat, and was delivered by his lord to the tormen
tors, is thus applied by our Saviour : * So likewise shall
my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your
hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.'
This undoubtedly means more than withholding a sense
of forgiveness in the present life. Mor is there any

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 237
thing in all this inconsistent with the certain perseve-
- ranee of true believers, or with the promise that ' they
shall not come into condemnation. The truth taught
us in this promise is not that if after believing in Christ,
-we live in sin, and die without repentance, we shall
nevertheless escape condemnation ; but that provision
is made in behalf of believers that they shall not live in
sin ; and when they sin, that they shall not die without
repentance, but return to God, and so obtain forgiveness.
The promise of non-condemnation includes that of re
pentance and perseverance. I will put my law in their
hearts, and they shall not depart from me."
The last sermon in this volume contains
an explication of that difficult passage in Rom.
viii. 18 — 23, which is discussed in three propo
sitions — 1. Such is the magnitude of the ghiry
to be revealed in us, that the sufferings of the
present time are not worthy to be compared
with it — 2. Such is the magnitude of the glory,
that its influence extends to the whole creation
— 3. Such is its magnitude that those christians
who have possessed the highest enjoyments in
this world were not satisfied M'ith them, but
groaned within themselves, waiting for the pos
session of it.
For sound and original remark, for a deep
insight into the sacred scriptures, and a clear
and forcible statement of many of the leading
points in the christian system, this volume of
sermons would bear a comparison with any

238 MEMOIRS OF
other that has appeared in the English lan
guage ; though for elegance of diction, and dif
fusion of sentiraent, it may easily be surpassed
by writers of far inferior ability.
The style however is more polished than
that of various other of the Author's perform
ances, though it is occasionly rugged, and gene
rally inflexible ; emitting hght as through the
bars of .a grated window, and pouring down
torrents of living water as from the sides of a
craggy mountain.

1^. — The Principles and Prospects of a Servant of Christ.
A Sermon delivered at the Funeral qf the late Rev.
John Sutcliffe, A.M., .Tune 9,8, 1814: with a brief
Memoir ofthe Deceased. 8vo,
After the clpsest intimacy between these two
good-men, in personal friendship, in ministerial
and missionary labours, and which had never
been interrupted for upwards of thirty years, it
must have been no ordinary trial to the survivor
to pronounce the funeral solemnities pf his de
parted brother. IVfr, Fyller however enters on
the undertaking vyith that self-posesssion, for
which he was ever remarkable ; anti in a tone
of calm sensibility, he exhibits the foundation

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 239
of a sinner's hope, places his beloved fnend
fully upon it, directs his eyes to the cross,
and describes him, during the whole of his
course, as looking for the mercy of our Lord
Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
The distinguishing quality of this serraon is
its great simplicity : there are no bursts of feel
ing, few novelties of sentiment, no strong ex
pression s. The tide of thought moves smoothly
on, without any thing to impede or accelerate
its progress. The preacher is calm, tender, and
pathetic ; evidently restrained by the dread of
an unmerited eulogiura, and chastened to the
extreme of moderation. Feeling as he always
did a strong aversion to the general strain of
fimeral orations, raore fit for chapels where ca-
lendarian saints are registered than for any part
of a protestant country, and suspecting himself
of those partialities which a long-continued in
timacy would impart, he carefully guards against
the wanderings of imagination, confines himself
to a few plain and simple truths, leaving scarce
ly any room for the expressions of ardent
friendship. The life of Mr, SutcUffe furnished but few
incidents for detail, and little occasion for an
extended narrative. He was a man of {ilain
sense, solid piety, and of puritanic behaviour ;
but not greatly distinguished for his talents or

240 MEMOIRS OF
acquirements. He had read much divinity,
possessed considerable discernment in casuisti
cal cases, and was an able counsellor, but de
ficient in general information and literary taste.
In the acquisition of learning he was plodding^
and industrious, a great economist of time, and
studying frugality in evei-y department. Such
was his uniform circumspection that he seldom
spoke unadvisably with his hps, and was never
known to deviate from the strictest honour and
integrity. The whole tenor of his life was calm
and unruffled, exempt from extraordinary trials,
and exhibiting a scene of placid piety. He dis
covered more candour, greater tenderness in
judging of character, than his superior friend ;
had fewer prejudices, and less suspicion of hu
man nature. There was a little natural asperity
in his temper, which religion had greatly soften
ed; but there was not much of that urbanity,
or spontaneous benevolence, which gives the
charm to social intercourse, or erabellishment
to character. His raental faculties were plain
and strong, but not versatile in their application;
his moral qualities were of solid worth, but
neither brilliant nor alluring. In labours the
most important and arduous, he was Mr. Fuller's
friend and associate ; they acted together with
the greatest harmony, and their varied talents
were alike consecrated to the public service.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 241
If one w^s more fitted to preside in council, the
other was prepared to take the field ; and while
Moses could answer all the hard questions,
Aaron was still the saint of the Lord. Mr.
Sutchffe vVas a man of deep devotion, of con
summate prudence, and unsullied fame; and
Mr. Fuller having performed the last act of
friendship, in the last sermon he ever published,
soon follows him to the house appointed for all
living. So much harmony in life and in death,
was highly honourable to their characters, and
leaves a fragrance upon their memory.

QiS.r-^Brief Narrative qf the Baptist Mission in India.
Nearly all the Periodical Accounts of the
Society were compiled by their able Secretary,
from the letters and journals transmitted by
the missionaries ; but as this encreasing compi
lation soon became too ponderous and expen
sive for general distribution, it was found ne
cessary, in order to give the widest circulation
to the missionary intelligence^ to compress the
whole into a small pamphlet. This acceptable
service was perfifrmed by Mr. Fuller, in his
' Brief Narrative,' which produced important
advantages to the mission.

242 MEMOIRS OF
Its origin is here traced with greater accu
racy and minuteness than in any former pubh-
cation, and the succeeding events are stated
with singular precision and fidelity. The whole
of the subject was so familiar to the writer, that
perhaps no other person could have condensed
such a quantity of intelligence into so small a
compass. Having in a former chapter of these Memoirs
traced an outline of the origin of the mission,
it is unnecessary to repeat it in this place ; but
it may not be altogether impertinent to remark,,
that important as it has now become, the mis
sion to India was at first generally regarded as
chimerical, and but few thought it a matter of
duty. Speaking of it upon one occasion, Mr.
Fuller remarked, that " some of our ministers
considered the plan to be like a proposal to
make a turnpike road to the moon." He added,
" I acknowledge that I also said in effect, If
the Lord should make windows in heaven,
might this thing be." But he soon entered'
heartily into the measure.
Besides these various publications by Mr.
Fuller, chiefly ou' doctrinal and practical sub
jects, he edited a work formerly published by
an American Lady under the title of
A View of Religions : By Hannah Adams. A new
edition, with corrections and additions. To which is pre
fixed an Essay on Truth. By A. Fuller. I2mo.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 243
The introduction, by the American author,
presents a concise but comprehensive view of
the state of religion and philosophy at the time
of our Lord's appearance. The First Part of the
work comprises an alphabetical compendium,
not only of the denominations existing among
christians in the present age, but also of the
several divisions and heresies that have ap
peared since the earliest times of Christianity.
The Second Part contains a brief description
of Paganism, Mahomedism, Judaisra and Dei,sra.
The Third exhibits an account of the religions
that now prevail among the different nations of
the earth.
Many of the articles in the latter part are
miserably defective, while those of the first are
equally redundant. Only six or seven lines
each are devoted to the history of religion in
Ireland, and in Wales^ while ten times the same
quantity of letter press is given in descriptions
of several forgotten religionists and antiquated
heretics, who perished from the earth a thou
sand years ago. On the article. Church of
England, eight whole lines are bestowed ; and
on the Mahometans, nearly as many pages!
The work, which affords a quantity of valuable
materials, might have been rendered useful, in
the hands of a careful editor who had raore
time at command than Mr. Fuller could affoixi

244 MEMOIRS OF
to bestow upon it ; but in its present state it is
disfigured by so many anomahes, as to be en
titled to very slender commendation.
But whatever be its defects, they are not pro
perly imputable to the English editor ; as the
utmost that he engaged for, was to ' correct'
some errors which the American writer had
committed, -with respect to the English deno
minations, and to make some ' additions' to
those articles which chiefly related to the same
subject, without at all interfering with the ge
neral plan of the work. Mr. Fuller accord
ingly inserted a fresh account of the Cal-
vinists. Baptists, Friends or Quakers, Metho
dists,, Moravians, and several others ; some of
which had not only been imperfectly stated in
the American edition of this work, but also
grossly misrepresented in Mr. Evans's Sketch
ofthe different denominations.
The Essay on Truth, (a page of which was
omitted by the carelessness of the compositor,
and since inserted in a recent edition, with the
parade of ' corrections and additions,') exhibits
all the characteristic qualities of Mr. Fuller's
other writings. It embraces three principal en
quiries, suggested by the work itself, and tend
ing to relieve those perplexities which the pe
rusal of such a multitude of discordant senti
ments would naturally occasion.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 245
After examinmg the first question — ' What is
Truth' — and pointing out some of its distinctive
properties, Mr. Fuller observes,
" If language have any determinate meaning, it is
plainly taught us in the scriptures that mankind are
not only sinners, but in a lost and perishing condition.,
without help or hope, but what arises from the free
grace of God through the atonement ; that Christ died
as our substitute ; that we are forgiven and accepted
only for the sake of what he hath done and suffered ;
that in his person and work, all evangelical truth con
centrates ; that the doctrine of salvation for the chief
of sinners through his death, was so familiar in the
primitive times as to become a kind of christian pro-
verb,.or * saying;' that on our receiving and retaining
this, depends our present standing and final salvation.
When this doctrine is received in the true spirit of it
— which it never is but by a sinner ready to perish —
all those fruitless speculations, which tend only to be
wilder the mind, will be laid aside; just as malice,
guile, and envies, and evil speakings, are laid aside by
him who is born of God.
" True religion is with great beauty and propriety
called ' walking in the truth.' A life of sobriety, righ
teousness, and godliness, is christian principle reduced
to practice. Truth is a system of love, an overflow of
divine blessedness, as is intimated by its being called
' the glorious gospel of the blessed God ; ' a system of
reconciliation, peace, and forgiveness ; full of the most
amazing condescension, and of spotless rectitude. To
walk in truth like this, is to walk in love ; to be tender
hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's

246 MEMOIRS OF
sake hath forgiven us ; to be of the same mind witli
Him who made himself of no reputation, and took
upon him the form of a servant ; and to be holy in all
manner of conversation."
To the second enquiry — ' How is it to be ac
counted for, that there should be so many di
versities and contradictions among christians,
both in regard to sentiments and modes of wor
ship' — the answer is :
" That there is an important difference between di
versity and contrariety. The former belongs to men as
men, which the latter does not. One man comprehends
more of truth, another less ; this has a talent for dis
covering one part of truth, and that another. But in
all this there is nothing discordant, any more than in a
diversity of features, or in the variegated face of the
earth, which abounds in divers kinds of flowers,- every
one of which contributes to the beauty of the whole. It
is not so with respect to truth and error, which are as
opposite as right and wrong. True doctrines are the
plants, and false doctrines the weeds of the church.
They cannot both flourish in the same mind/ The one
must be rooted up, or the other will be overrun, and
rendered unproductive. The causes which the scrip
tures assign for the corruption of chrisitian doctrine
are principally, if not entirely, of a moral nature. They
represent evangelical truth as a holy doctrine, and as
that which cannot be understood by an unholy mind.
An unrenewed person, whatever be his education, ta
lents, or natural temper, can never fall in with Chris
tianity, as it is taught in the New Testament."

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 247
The answer to the third question — ' Wlty is
error permitted' — is equally clear and satisfac
tory :
" This is an awful subject ; and if we were left to
oyrown conjectures upon it, it would be our wisdom to
leave it to the great day, when all things will be made
manifest ; but we are not. The evidence in favour of
true religion is sufficient for a candid mind : but not
for one that is disposed to cavil. If we attend to it
simply to find out truth, and obey it, we shall not be
disappointed ; but if our souls be lifted up within us,
the very rock of salvation will be to us a stone of
stumbling. " The visible kingdom of Christ is a floor contain
ing a mixture of wheat and chaff; and every false
doctrine is a ' wind,' which he whose fan is in his hand,
makes use of to purge it. There is a great number of
characters who profess to receive the truth, on whom,
notwithstanding, it never sat easily. Its holy and
humbling nature galls their spirits. In such cases the
mind is prepared to receive any representation of the
gospel, however fallacious, that may comport with its
desires ; and, being thus averse to truth, God frequent
ly in just judgment suffers the wind of false doctrine
to sweep them away.
" There is a way of viewing the corruption and de
pravity of mankind, so as to excite bitterness andwrath,
and every species of evil temper ; and there is a way
of viewing them, that, without approving or conniving
at what is wrong, shall excite the tear of compassion.
It does not become us to declaim against the wicked
ness of the wicked in a manner as if we expected
grapes of thorns, or fi^gs of thistles: but, while we .

248 MEMOIRS OF
prove ourselves the decided friends of God, to bear
good-will to men. It becomes those who may be the
most firmly established in the truth as it is in Jesus,
to consider that a portion of the errors of the age, in
all probability, attaches to them ; and though it were
otherwise, yet they are directed to carry it benevolent
ly towards others who may err : " In meekness in
structing those that oppose themselves ,- if God, per
adventure, will give them repentance, to the acknow
ledging of the truth."
" There is an important difference between razing
the foundation, and building upon that foundation a
portion of woodj and hay, and stubble. It becomes
us not to make light of either : but the latter may be
an object of forbearance, whereas the former is not.
With the enemies of Christ, we ought, iji religious
matters, to make no terms ; but towards his friends,
though in some respects erroneous, it behoves us to
come as near as it is possible to do, without a derelic
tion of principle. A truly christian spirit will feel the
force of such language as the folloSving, and will act
upon it : "All that in every place call upon the name
of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours, grace
be unto them, and peace from God our Father, and
from the Lord Jesus Christ — Grace be with them that
love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity!"
The sentiments contained in these brief ex
tracts cannot fail to meet the approbation of the
sincere and enlightened believer ; and a happy
combination of charity and christian zeal is con
spicuous throughout the whole of this valuable
Essay.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 249

21. — Expository Discourses on the Apocalypse, inter
spersed with Practical Reflections. 8vo. 1813.
This posthumous publication, consisting of
thirty-one discourses, delivered in 1809 and
1810, after undergoing several revisions, was
finished by the Author within six weeks of his
death, and of course contains his mature
thoughts on the most mysterious part of sacred
prophecy. There is however but little novelty
in the work, but little to gratify the anxious
curiosity of the age, or to elucidate the unfulfil
led and more difficult parts of the Revelation.
The general outline of the prophetic scheme is
boldly sketched, and its various ramifications
are marked with that precision which was com
mon to the writer ; but in general there is an
extreme of modesty and diffidence, with scarce
ly any attempts to pass the usual bounda
ries of thought on these subjects, or any adven
turous flight of speculation. The plan of the
work differs in some respects from that of Low-
man and Newton, while it embraces their views
ofthe Eastern church and the Ottoman empire,
with the exception of making Mahomet ' the
false prophet' of the apocalypse ; yet whether
it be owing to the condensity of these dis
courses, or the singular perspeeuity of the \vri-

250 MEMOIRS OF
ter, so that what was intricate becomes familiar
in his hands, the whole assumes an interesting
form, and there is not a line but what is intelli
gible to the plainest reader ; which is not com
monly the case with commentaries on this my
sterious book, for they often leave us more
perplexed than we were before. Little notice
is taken of the celebrated performances of Mr.
Faber, except to rectify a few of his mistakes ;
and none at all of a certain popular writer on
prophecy, whom Mr. Fuller used to denomi
nate " the Fortune-teller of the church," except
to intimate that in the delirium which prevailed
a few years ago, some ridiculous attempts were
made at interpreting prophecy with a view of
establishing a political hypothesis.
Mr. Fuller seemed fully aware of the diffi
culty attending his undertaking, but found en
couragement to pursue his enquiries, from the
blessing promised to those who ' read and hear
and keep the words' of this prophecy, which
he considers as analogous to the cloudy pillar
in the wilderness, guiding the N-ew-testament
church through the labyrinths of anti-christian
errors and corruptions.
His remarks on the Epistles to the Seven
Asiatic Churches are brief, but full of point, and
abounding with important discriminations. The
reader is struck with the admirable use that is

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 251
made of scripture phraseology, in adapting it to
character and circumstances, though it is no
other than the usual manner of the writer.
Contrary to the general current of exposition,
these Epistles are not considered as predicting
the state of Christianity at so raany future pe
riods, symbolizing with that of the seven
churches ; but as descriptive of the actual state
of the christian profession in the Apostle's time,
and designed to furnish encouragements, re
proofs, warnings, and counsels, to other churches
and individuals, in all future ages, as their
cases may require. Some important observa
tions occur on the subject of brotherly adraoni
tion, which ought never to be forgotten, though
they have httle more than a theoretical exis
tence. The character of the Son of God, while
addressing the seven churches, is given with
great effect, and ought to be considered as the
model of all his ministers ; "blending commen
dation with reproof, and the tenderest compas
sion and forbearance with the most inviolable
love of righteousness.
The introductory vision to the opening of the
sealed book, in chap, vi,, is peculiarly grand
and affecting ; and there is a majesty and sim
plicity in the style and manner of the writer
which comport with the nature pf the subject.
Tbe exposition of the symbolical prophecy,
s 2

252 MEMOIRS OF
though not original, is very satisfactory, and
developes the basis on which the subsequent
remarks are founded,
" We are not to conceive ofthe seals," says Mr, Ful
ler ; " as containing one series of events, the trumpets
another, and the vials another ; but as all being in
cluded in the seals : for the seven trumpets are only
subdivisions of the seventh seal, and the seven vials of
the seventh trumpet — This division into seals, and
subdivision into trumpets and vials, appears to be the
only one which the prophecy requires, or even admits.
Not to mention its • division into chapters, which are
sometimes made in the midst of a subject, the scheme
of dividing it into periods, which Mr. Lowman and
many others have favoured, seems to be merely a work
ofthe imagination. There are doubtless some remark
able periods in the prophecy, such as that of the 1260
years, &c,; but to make them seve7i in number, and for
this purpose to reckon the day of judgment, and the
heavenly state, as periods, is fanciful. It is by the di
vision of the prophecy itself into seals, and the subdi
vision of the seventh seal into trumpets, and of the
seventh trumpet into vials, that we must steer our
course," Contrary also to the scheme of Mr, Lowman
and others, who considered the opening of the
first seal as not taking place till after the death
of John, Mr. Fuller offers good reasons for con
cluding that it should be dated from the ascen
sion of Christ; and by consideringthe visions of
John as retrospecting to the commencement of

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 253
the christian dispensation, the sealed book is
made to contain a perfect system of New-testa
ment prophecy, from the time of the ascension
to the final end of all things. By this means
also we are furnished with an easy interpreta
tion of the division of the book, into ' things
Vi^hich the sacred writer had seen, things which
were, and things which should be hereafter.'
Assuming this obvious principle of inlserpre-
tation, the first .sj'a; seals are supposed to include
the principal events of the first three hundred
years, or to the comraencement of the reign of
Constantine, The seventh seal, which includes
the trumpets and the vial«, extends from that
period to the end of the world. The first four
trumpets under the seventh seal, relate to the
subversion ofthe papal Roman empire ; and the
last three, which are woe trumpets, to its final
dissolution. Chapter xi. of the Revelation is considered
as giving a general representation of this cor
rupt and persecuting power, with the state of
the christian church under it, during the 1260
years. Chapter xii, gives a second, and Chap
ter xiii. and xiv, a third general representation
of it during the same period. Chapter xv. and
xvi. give a more particular account of that part
of the subject which commences at the sound
ing of the seventh trumpet, and contains a sub-

254 MEMOIRS OF «
division of that trumpet into seven vials, the
pQjjiring out of which brings us down to the
Millennium. Chapter xvii,, xviii,, and xix, con
tain what in modern publications would be cal
led Notes of illustration, giving particular ac
counts of things which before had only been
generally intimated. Such is Mr. Fuller's ge
neral distribution of the prophecy.
The Slaying of the Witnesses, concerning
which, so much has been written to little pur
pose, he considers as having taken place before
the Reformation ; though he does not relieve
us frora the dread of some future persecution.
The former of these events took place, as the
writer supposes, on the suppression of the Bo
hemians ; after which no society of christians
was to be found for nearly a hundred years,
who dared to oppose the general corruption;
and that the resurrection of the Witnesses, and
their ascension to heaven, took place at the
time of the Reformation, when by a special
providence, the parties concerned in it were
placed out of the reach of their enemies, — The
prospect of another popish persecution, after
the second fUght of the church into the wilder
ness, which few commentators have noticed, is
thus described —
" From the times of the Reformation, the church of
Christ had in a manner come out of the wilderness.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 255
Having obtained a degree of legal protection in seve
ral nations, its members were not obliged as heretofore
to retire into woods and mountains and caves, nor to
haVe recourse to midnight assemblies for the pui-pose
of hearing the gospel : but after renewed persecutions,
the woman is obliged a second time to fly into the wil
derness, as to her wonted place of refuge. Sgeb has
been the state of Protestants in all Popish countries ;
such has been their state in France, from the revoca
tion of the Edict of Nantes in l685 to the Revolution
in 1789, though of late they were treated with less se
verity than formerly, being allowed to meet in the day
time, only under military inspection. Nor was it in
popish countries only that the wrath of the dragon
vented itself. A portion of the poison of a persecuting
spirit was found among Protestants, even in our own
country, from the Reformation to the Revolution of
1688. If one place was more distinguished than
another, as affording a shelter for the woman at the
time of this her second flight, I suspect it was Noeth
Ameeica ;* where the church of Christ has been
nourished, and may continue to be nourished, during
the remainder of the 1260 years. And as to those
parts of the church which still exist in a state of inse-
• Should this conjecture be well founded, il may ppssibly ac
count for the singular mercy vouchsafed to the churches on the
western continent, where, during the last twenty-five years,
while Europe has been deluged with blood, remarkable re
vivals in religion have taken place, and tbe Spirit has been
poured out from on high. The same hand which has been pu-
nishing the enemies ofthe church, has been rewarding the inha
bitants of tlie wilderness, who nourished her in the day of her
calamity. £d.

.256 MEMOIRS OF
curity, the serpent has not been suffered to make alull
end of them : they are nourished by the word of God,
ahd shall doubtless survive the reign of Antichristian
corruption and persecution.
" The flood of waters cast after the woman by the
dragon, and the war made on the remnant of her seed,
referring, as it appears, to the latter end of the 1260
years, may be something yet to come. It is not impos
sible that persecution may yet be revived. The Anti
christian cause can hardly be supposed to expire with
out some deadly struggles. Indeed it is in the very
act of " making war on Him that sitteth upon the
horse, and his army," that the " beast and 'false pro
phet will be taken ;" and which seems to be the same
war which is made with the " remnant of the woman's
seed."^ — Should a flood of persecution yet be in reserve
for the church of Christ, it may be the last effort of
an expiring foe; and from that, the earth will pre
serve her, by swallowing it up ; it may be in some
such way as the invasion of the Philistines preserved
David ; or as political struggles have often proved fa
vourable to christians, by furnishing those who wished
to persecute them with other employment. The dra
gon, provoked by his want of success against the wo
man, may vent his malice on the remnant of her seed
that are within his reach : but his time is short. His
agents, " the beast and the false prophet, will soon be
taken ; and the Angel, with a great chain in his hand,
shall next lay hold of him, and cast him into the bot
tomless pit."
On the Name of the Beast, and the Number
of his name, in Rev. xiii. 1 8, a passage which

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 257
f
i*as puzzled all the commentators, Mr. Fuller
gives no additional light; but offei-s the stale
common place exposition of an abracadabra.
The first prediction which the writer meets
with as applicable to the present times, is that
which describes an ' angel flying in the midst
of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to
preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to
every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and
people ;' which he thinks is fulfilling in the
zeal which has been kindled of late years to
carry the gospel among the heathen ; an object
not unworthy of a place in prophecy.
Every one will feel anxious to know what
were the sentiments of this discerning writer on
the subject of the pouring out of the Seven
Vials, in Rev. xvi. ; and many will be dissap-
pointed to find, that instead of five or six, as is
commonly supposed, only the first two are
poured • out ; and that no less a space than a
hundred and fifty years is allowed for these
vials of wrath, commencing from the beginning
ofthe French Revolution in 1789. This leaves
a dismal prospect, for at least three or four ge-
-nerations to come ; during which time, Europe
is still to be an acelderaa! — The exposition is
¦briefly as follows —
" It is a fact vei-y remarkable that the seven trumpets
h;iye each a point of resemblance with the seven vials.

25S MEMOIRS OF
For example : the first trumpet affected the earth ; and
so does the first vial. Tbe second trumpet turned the
sea into blood; and tbe second vial was poured out
upon the sea, which became as the blood of a dead
man. The third trrmipet affected the rivers and foun
tains qf water ; and so does the third vial. The fourth
trumpet affected the sun ; and tlic fomth vial does the
same. The fifth trumpet was followed by darkness and
fain; and such are tire effects of the fifth vial. Tbe
sixth trumpet was complex, relating pardy to the de-
ipredations of the Euphratean horsemen in the east,, and
partly to the idolatries and persecutions of the beast
and his associates in the west; and so is the'sixth vial;
relating partly to the Euphratean waters being dried
up, and partly to tbe battle of Arenageddon, by
which the cause of the beast will be ruined. Final
ly : the seventh trumpet presents a closing scene ,- and
so does the seventh vial.* These resemblances cannot
be accidental. Though they refer to events, therefore,
more than a thousand years distant from each other,
yet there must be some important points of likeness
between them ; and as the trumpets are all fulfilled, ex
cept the last, we may by means of them form some
judgment of the vials which yet may be unfulfilled."
After gusting the sentiments of Dr. Gill, who
had given a similar exposition of the vials, in
1752, Mr. Fuller proceeds with the text —
" ' And the first angel went, and poured out his
vial upon the earth.' If by the earth be meant the
continent, as France and Germany, especially the latter,
* Compare Rev. ix. 1, 3. with xvi. 10. Chap. ix. 14—
xi. 14. with xvi. 12—16. Chap, xi.15. with xvi. 17.

MR. ANDREW FULLER, Q59
w-e have certainly seen a succession of evils falling
upon the men who. ' had the mark of the beast ;' first
in' France, and after that in Gennany, grievous as the
most ' noisome- sores,' and like them indicative of a
state of corruption and approaching dissolution,
" ' And the second angel poured out his vial upon
the sea.' If this vial respect the papal maritime na
tions, particularly Spain and Portugal, we have seen a
commencement of things in those countries, but have
not yet seen the issue. What it will be, God knoweth !
Whether this or that political party prevail, it will be
a plague, and a plague that will tend to accomplish the
ruin of the Antichristian cause.
" ' And the third angel poured out his vial upon the
rivers and fountains qf waters.' If these denote Italy
and Savoy, these countries may be expected to be the
scene of the next great convulsions which shall agitate
Europe. And if it be so, it may be a just retribution
for the blood ofthe Waldenses, which was there shed
in shocking profusion for many successive centuries.
" ' And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the
sun' By the sun is undoubtedly to be understood the
supreme secular government of what is called the Holy
Roman Empire, which is denominated the beast, and
distinguished by its carrying or supporting the harlot-
Its scorching heat cannot be understood of the perse
cution of the faithful ; for they would not blaspheme
under it. It seems therefore to denote the galling ty
ranny by which the adherents of the beast will be op
pressed, while yet they repent not of their deeds.
" ' And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the
seat of the beast.' By the beast we have all along
understood that secular government which, at the head

£60 MEMOIRS OF ~
of the other European governments, has supported tbe
Papal Antichrist. This certainly has not been the im
perial government of France, but of Germany, to which
therefore the character of the beast belongs. The sup
porters of the papal cause will eventually be confound
ed : darkness and anguish will come upon them. Yet
being given up, like Pharoah, to hardness of heart,
they will continue to blaspheme the God of heaven,
and will not repent of their deeds. These blasphemies
and this perseverance in impenitence are sure signs of
its being the determination of heaven to destroy them.
Individuals may repent and escape; but as a commu
nity they are appointed to utter destruction.
" ' And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the
great river Euphrates.' This vial, so far as respects
the temporal dominion of Christ's enemies, possesses
a final character; and seems partly to respect the over
throw of the Turkish power, signified by the * drying
up of the Euphrates,' and partly that of the Papal, sig
nified by the battle of * Arenageddon.' The second
part of this vial is the most tremendous. This is the
last struggle of the beast and his adherents, and which
will issue in their utter ruin. This is ' the great day of
God Almighty ;' the same as the harvest and the vin
tage in Chap, xiv., and the taking of the beast and the
false prophet, in Chap. xix.
" ' And the seventh angel poured out his vial into
the air. The moral atmosphere of the world has long
been polluted by false religion, from which it is the
object of this vial to cleanse it as by a thunder storm ;
which thunder storm produces a great earthquake, and
this the falling to pieces of the great antichristian city
and other cities with it. The face of the world from

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 261
hence becomes changed ; and the wrath of God pur
sues, as by a terrible hail storm, the men who repent
not of their deeds. And now a voice out of the tem
ple of heaven, even from the throne of God is heard,
saying. It is hone ! The threatening of the angel in
Chap. X. 7, is accomplished— the 1260 years are ended
—The mystery of God is finished — and now com
mences the Millennium !"

262 MEMOIRS OF

CHAPTER VIII.
Review ofthe Controversy on Faith, with brief
notices of 31r. Fuller's several opponents.
The distinction which Mr. Fuller acquired
amongst the Theological writers of the day,
arose chiefly from the talent which he displayed
in controversy; for though his other writings
were generally well received, and obtained an
extensive circulation, yet in this department he
particularly excelled. He was sometimes weary
of disputation, and wished to decline it ; but
when the interests of trath invited him to t^e
field, he seldom quitted it but with honour and
success. He carefully took his station in some
fixed invulnerable principle, whence he annoyed
the adversary, and bid defiance to his attacks.
His powerful understanding was equally distin
guished by a rapidity of exercise, grasping a
subject almost intuitively, and fixing on the
point of an argument with singular precision
and accuracy. As the talents of his opponents
were various, and the subjects in debate more
or less interesting, his polemical pieces of course.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 263
possess different degrees of merit ; and where
the host was feeble, the conquest though deci
sive could not be eminent
With respect to the present controversy,
though it related more immediately to one par
ticular class of chrktians, it was pregnant with
great practical results, and fully demanded by
existing circumstances. At the time Mr. FuHct
commenced a pubhc profession of Christianity,
and entered on the work of the ministry, the
state of the Baptist denoraiation in this country
was truly deplorable. The writings of Hussey,
Gill, and Brine* were all in vogue ; and such
* The following remarks from the pen of ]Mr. Fuller
himself, relative to this point, deserve insertion here.
" I believe no writer of eminence can be named
before the present century, who <lenied it to be the
d«ty of men in general to believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ for the salvation of their souls. I think Mr.
Hussey was the first person, who by the geacKd
tenor of his writings laid the foundation for this
sentiment. And yet even ]SIr. Hussey did not, that
I recollect, expressly avow it. On the contrary, he
allowed it to be " the duty of those who were not ^-
fectually called, to hear ^rituaUy, and open their Hearts
to Christ; though, as he justly asserted, the preaching
of this as their duty would not effect a cure'' Opera
tions qf Grace, p. 442.
Mr. Hussey was doubtless a man of considerable emi
nence in some respects. Mr. Beart, in his Eternal
Law and Everlasting Gospel, I think has given as fair

264 MEMOIRS OF
was the veneration in which their names were
generally held, that the system of doctrine
and as candid an account of his writings as could well
be given. But Mr. Hussey, though in some respects
a great man, was nevertheless possessed of that warm
turn of mind, which frequently misleads even the great
est of men, especially in defending a favourite sentiment.
Mr. Brine is the only writer of eminence who has
expressly defended the sentiment. Dr. Gill took no
active part in the conti-oversy. It is allowed that the
negative side of the question was his avowed sentiment,
and this appears to be implied in the general tenor of
his writings. At the same time it cannot be denied,
that when engaged in other controversies, he frequently'
argued in a manner favourable to our side ; and his
writings contain various concessions on this subject,
which if any one else had made them, would not be
much to the satisfaction of our opposing brethren.
However they may be inclined to represent us as verg
ing towards Arminianism, it is certain that Dr. Gill
in his answ'er to Dr. Whitby, the noted Arminian, fre
quently makes use of our arguments, nor could he easily
have gone through that work without them. (See his
Cause of God and Truth, part I. p. 63, 69, 118, 159,
160, 165. Part II. p. 88, 211, 215, 922, 226. First
edition.) And the very title of Mr. Brine's chief
pamphlet against our sentiment, which he called.
Motives to Love and Unity among Calvinists differing in
Opinion, as well as the most explicit acknowledgment;:
therein contained, might teach those who pay any
deference to his judgment, not to claim to themselves
the title of Calvinists, exclusively." Defence of a Trea
tise, entitled. The Gospel qf Christ worthy qf all Acceptor
tion, p. 13, 14.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 265
which they contended for, almost universally
prevailed ; and their works, not the scriptures,
became in effect the standard of orthodoxy. It
is not intended to insinuate, that there is nothing
valuable in the writings of those authors ; on the
contrary it must be readily admitted, that all
the leading truths of the gospel are maintained
in them. It is nevertheless manifest, that by
stretching what are usually called the doctrines
of grace, beyond the scripture medium, they in
troduced a system of JBTyper-Calvinism, which
extended its baleful influence over nearly all the
churches, and covered- them with a cloud of
darkness. " From the moral inability which the oracles
of truth ascribe to man in his fallen state, these
divines were induced to divide moral and religi
ous duties into two classes, natural and spiritual;
comprehending under the latter, those which
required spiritual or supernatural assistance to
their performance ; and under the former, those
which demand no such assistance.. Agreeable
to this distinction, they conceived it to be the
duty of all men to abstain from the outward acts
of sin, to read the scriptures, to frequent the
worship of God, and to attend with serious assi
duity to the means of grace ; but they supposed
that repentance, faith in Christ, and the exercise
of genuine internal devotion, were obligatory only
on the regenerate. Hence their ministry con-
T

266 MEMOIRS OF
sisted almost entirely of an exhibition of the pe
culiar mysteries of the gospel, with few or no
addresses to the unconverted. They conceived
themselves not warranted to urge them to re
pent and believe the gospel, those being spiritiial
duties, from whose obligation they were released
by the inability contracted by the fall."*
As a necessary consequence, the calls and in
vitations of the gospel were entirely overlooked
— the simple scriptural view of saving faith, as
consisting in the belief of the record that God
hath given of his Son, exchanged for the doc
trine of appropriation — and the duty of man to
believe whatever God reveals, totally denied.
Nothing was now to be heard but the privileges
of believers, or rather the privileges of those
who had wrought themselves up to an as
surance that they were of the number of the
elect — and all attempts to call sinners to the
obedience of faith, were stigmatized as savour
ing of Arminian legality.
The reflecting mind of Mr. Fuller was struck
vrith this heterogeneous mixture of truth and
error, and raore especially when he contem
plated its pernicious effects upon the churches.
Like the chilling touch ofthe torpedo, it seemed
to paralyze every arm that came in contact with
it; and, writing to a friend, raore than twenty
• Help to Zion's Travellers : a new edition, by Rev. Rob. Hall :
p. xix, Pref.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 267
years afterwards, in reference to that degraded
state of things, Mr. Fuller made use of the fol
lowing strong and pointed language. "When
I first pubhshed my treatise on the nature of
faith, and the duty of all raen who hear the gos
pel to believe it, the christian profession had
smik into conterapt amongst us ; insomuch,
that had matters gone on but a few years longer,
the baptists ivould havebecome a perfect dunghill
in society."
It was. Mr. Fuller's misfortiine, however, to
have been initiated in these sentiments ; and he
afterwards lamented, as we have seen in the
early part of his history, that he had been long
kept in distress and darkness for want of clearer
views ofthe nature of faith, and from having sat
under a ministry which disavowed all direct
addresses to the unconverted. For a time also
his own preaching was greatly deficient in this
article ; and though he did not wholly refrain
frora such addresses, he sensibly felt their in
consistency with the notions entertained of hu
man inability. He began to discern, that love
was the fulfilling of the law; and that in fact,
men owed nothing to their Creator, or to one
another, which is not comprehended in the ex
ercise of love. He perceived that every thing
short of the perfection of love, constituted men
sinners ; and that though depraved, we are as
capable, if we were but inclined, to bestow our
T 2

268 MEMOIRS Oil
hearts upon God, as upon the things of this
world. He anticipated the effects which these
views, if he should become confirmed in them,
must produce on the strain of his preaching, and
therefore moved on with slow and trembling
steps. It was a great injury to him at this early pe
riod of his ministry, that his attention was
diverted to other subjects of far inferior
importance. The writings of Mr. Johnson of
Liverpool were recommended to his notice, as
well as some others on speculative points. The
style of that author, he used to say, seemed to
him then, very imposing, and much calculated
to carry away young and inexperienced readers.
His professed purpose to vindicate the Creator
from being the author of sin, greatly preposses
sed Mr. Fuller in favour of his opinions; but
he soon found them destitute of scriptural au
thority. He saw, that as the grace manifested
by Christ Jesus proceeded on the ground ofthe
entrance of sin, and was purposed before the
world began, that the permission of sin must
also be the subject of divine determination : and
as sin has in fact, entered, prevailed, and reign
ed upon earth, he was satisfied that it could be
no reproach to the holy Majesty of heaven and
earth to decree what has actually taken place.
The inconsistency with the divine perfections,
if any there were, he perceived must be in per

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 269
mitting evil to exist, and not in his decree to
do so : and he was afraid that Mr. Johnson's
hypothesis rather arraigned than justified the
ways of God to men. He thought he discovered
that Mr. Johnson, and those who adopted his
views, were misled by the ambiguity ofthe word
permit, which denotes not merely ' notto obstruct,
but without approbation ;' but also ' to give
leave,' in a different sense. These questions
being put to rest in his mind, he henceforth
thought little more about them ; but in review
ing his experience, he saw reason to bless God
for preserving him from the idle and unprofit
able employment in which others were engros
sed, and from the pernicious effects which he
observed these and things similar, to have on
some christians.
Had the mind of Mr. Fuller been only of an
ordinary cast, it is not improbable that he had
been retained for a much longer period than he
was, if not throughout the remainder of his life,
perplexed and bewildered amidst these jarring
elements of theological contest. But happy
for himself and for the christian World, he burst
asunder the enslaving fetters of human dogmas,
emancipated himself from their paralyzing influ
ence on his researches after truth ; and taking
the word of God alone for his guide, he deter
mined to call no man master upon earth, but to

270 MEMOIRS OF
follow with a firm and cautious step, the dic
tates of an enlightened understanding.
In the year 1781, at the age of Iwenty-six, he
composed his first treatise, which was published
about five years afterwards, entitled —
The Gospel worthy of All Acceptation : or the duty of
sinners to believe in Jesus Christ. I2mo.
The leading design of this performance is to
prove, that men are under iiidispensible obli
gations to beheve whatever God says, and to
do whatever he commands ; and a Saviour being
revealed in the gospel, the law in effect requires
those to whom he is made known, to believe in
him, seeing it insists upon obedience to the
whole revealed will of God — that no rational
creature can justly claim exemption from obh-
gation, or is at liberty to do what he please, to
believe or not believe what God declares, to
comply or not comply with what he enjoins ;
for were that the case, he would have no occa
sion to give account of his conduct to fhe Judge
of all the earth — that the inability Of man to
comply with the divine requirements is wholly
of a moral nature, and totally distinct from the
want of natural faculties ; that it consists in the
prevalence of an evil disposition, or in blind
ness and hardness of heart; that though, while
this disordered state of the mind exists, it will

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 271
prevent a compliance with the divine require
ments as certainly as any physical privation,
yet being voluntary, it becomes in the highest
degree criminal ; and that legitimate coraraands,
enforced by proper sanctions, being amongst
the strongest motives, and tending in their own
nature to incline the will, they cannot be with
held, without virtually relinquishing the claim
of divine authority and dominion.
These sentiments are discussed in several
distinct propositions, and supported by a weight
of scriptural evidence, sufficient to silence all
objections. The Author then adverts to the
doctrine of divine decrees — the nature of man's
original holiness — particular redemption — the
covenant of works — the inability of man — and
the necessity of a divine principle in order to
believing ; proving the consistency of the inde
finite calls of the gospel, with these and other
admitted parts of the Calvinistic system.
Great opposition, however, was made to this
publication at its first appearance from various
quarters; and the author himself was regarded
with suspicion among several of his friends. In
fact, so blind was the enmity directed against
him, that one of the churches in his own neigh
bourhood refused for seven years to hold com
munion with him, or to allow any of their mem
bers to have fellowship with his church. The

272 MEMOIRS OF
dissenters in general, notwithstanding, and the
baptists in particular, are under great obhga-
tions to his memory, for his faithful and perse
vering exertions, in emancipating thera from the
servility of such a system as that already de
scribed, and giving free scope to the publication
of the gospel. A considerable revolution has
in consequence taken place in the sentiments of
the baptist denomination, and a greater relish
excited for spiritual and practical rehgion. A
wider separation has been made between real
and nominal christians of the same community ;
between antinoraian calvinists and calvinistic
believers ; while a closer union has been effect
ed amongst the genuine friends of evangelical
truth. " The excrescences of Calvinism have
been cut off; the points of defence have been
diminished in number, and better fortified ;
truth has shone forth with brighter lustre; and
the ministry of the gospel been rendered raore
simple, more practical, and more efficacious."
But as truth is slow in its progress, and the
reformation of pubhc bodies is generally effect
ed with great difficulty, it was not to be ex
pected that such an innovation upon the system
which had prevailed for more than half a cen
tury, would be suffered to pass unnoticed. — .
The book must be answered ; or Calvinism, it
was thought, would be ruined. The first oppo-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 273
nent who presented hiraself, and to whom, as
one ofthe successors of Dr. Gill, the conserva
tion of reputed orthodoxy properly belonged,
was Mr. button.
Pastor of the Particular Baptist Church, meet
ing in Dean Street, Borough. This gentleman
published " Remarks " on Mr. Fuller's perfor
mance, in refutation of its leading sentiment ;
which simply related to the nature of saving
faith, and its obligatiops on fallen man.
In managing this dispute, Mr. Button admits,
what indeed no sober friend to revelation could
deny, ' that every man is bound cordially to re
ceive, and heartily to approve of the gospel ; '
but then he imagines there is something in
saving faith very distinct from this, though he
does not contend for appropriation as essential
to its existence. Rejecting Mr. Fuller's defi
nition, as deficient, he wishes to substitute for
' a belief of the truth,' a reliance on Christ for
salvation, and to include both cause and effect
in the nature of true believing. He appears to
lay much stress on the distinction between be
lieving the divine testimony, and believing in or
on Christ for salvation ; though it is well known
that this phrase is sometimes expressive of an
essentially defective and temporary faith.* It*
* John ii. 23, 24. cliap. viii. 30—33-

274 MEMOIRS OF
is true, that to believe the aposties is not the
same thing as to believe on them, because the
apostles did not preach themselves ; but as
Christ is the subject of his own testimony, to
believe him, and to believe on him, are expres
sions of the same import, and are used indiscri
minately, the one for the other. John iii. 36.
This kind of special faith, however, Mr.
Button does not consider as obligatory on all
men, but that only which consists in giving cre
dit to the word, and which requires no spiri
tual principle or supernatural assistance in order
to its perforraance. In proof of this he offers
copious extracts from the coraraentary of Dr,
Gill, on the various scriptures urged on the
other side, and leaves Mr. Fuller's arguments
to shift for themselves. The evidence in favour
of faith being commanded in the scriptures, is
all disposed of with the utmost ease, and with
out the labour of an argument. Coraraands,
Mr. Button affirms, do not always imply duty.
He is of opinion they are sometimes used to
denote an extraordinary exertion of divine
power, as when God said to the Israelitish na
tion, 'live;' and sometimes they are simply
intended to afford direction and encouragement.
Applying this principle generally to the precep
tive parts of scripture, all the mountains sink
into a plain, and every thing is leveled down

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 275
to the moral, or rather immoral, capacity ofthe
unregenerate. Mr. Button enters into some curious distinc
tions, relative to * natural and spiritual holiness,'
and ' legal and evangelical spirituality,' in
order to evince the incapacity of our first pa
rents 'for spiritual duties, and to invalidate the
obligation of their sinful descendants to such
sort of requirements. Other topics are also
urged in the usual manner, — that the doctrine
of particular redemption, of divine decrees, and
man's dependence on divine influence for the
performance of holy duties, are inconsistent with
indefinite invitations, and the unqualified re
quirements of repentance and faith.
Before any reply was made to these *' Re
marks," another opponent presented himself
frora a very different quarter, under the title of
Philanthropes, who published his " Observa
tions" on Mr. Fuller's treatise, in the hoperf)f
bringing him over to the Arminian system.
This respectable individual, who has long been
a distinguished character among the General
Baptists, was Mr. dan TAYLOR.
Those who had watched the progress of con
troversy, must have observed the coincidence
which is often found betwixt systems that ap
pear at first view at the utmost variance from

276 MEMOIRS OF
each other^ Some modern Arminians, who
deny the doctrine of total depravity, maintain
that it is the duty of all men to repent and be
lieve the gospel, because all possess an inherent
power of so doing, without any special divine
as.sistance; while others, who believe that as
sistance to be offered or put within the reach
of every man, ground the obhgation to faith
and repentance on this superinduced abihty.
The high Calvinists, on the contrary, deny
that any man in a state of uiiregeneracy is un
der an obligation to perform those duties, be
cause they are not possessed of the requisite
ability. Thus both concur in making moral
ability the measure of obligation ; a position
which, when the terms are Jiccuratfly defined
and cleared of their ambiguity, conduct us to
this very extraordinary conclusion, — th;it inrn
are obliged to just as much of duty as they are
inclined to.*
This singular sort of coincidence is to be met
w ith in several parts of the present controversy.
Mr. Taylor, as well as Mr. Button, insists that
saving faith is something more than believing
the divine testimony, and that it includes the
uctual coming to Christ for life ; but Mr. T. of
course contends, that the obligation to believe
is co-extensive with the publication of the
* Hall's Help to Zion's Travellers ; ed. 181.5 p. xxv. Pref.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 277
j»os[)el. They are also agreed on another point ;
and that is, if regeneration precede believing iu
Christ, as Mr. Fuller and Mr. Button both ad
mit, then sinners are excusable in not believing,
and that it is absurd to exhort thera to believe,
while in a state of unregeneracy. Mr, Taylor
allows that men are born in sin, and that their
inability to do things spiritually good is real
and total ; yet he contends that they ought not
to be punished for it, or for any of its necessary
effects, if the former were unavoidable, and the
latter without remedy. Natural power he does
not consider to be power, so long as there is a
total want of moral capacity for what is good,
or the necessary means of producing it ; so that
in his opinion it comes all to one, that ' what
we cannot do, we cannot do,' whatever be the
f;ause. Mr. Fuller had admitted the infinite suffici
ency of the death of Christ, while he pleaded for
a limited design, and rested on the former the
consistency of general calls and invitations.
Mr. Taylor urges some strong objections lo
this, and hopes to convince his opponent that
universal invitations necessarily imply univer
sal provision. At the same time, by includinj^
the forgiveness of sins in the doctrine of re
demption, Mr. T. uses the term in the same
restricted sense as that of salvafion; and con-

278 MEMOIRS OF
sequently, whatever his ideas might be on the
extent of the death of Christ, he could not
properly be considered as the advocate of uni
versal redemption.
Mr. Fuller replied to Mr. Button's " Re
marks," and to Mr. Taylor's "Observations"
at the same time, in his
Defence qf a Treatise, entitled, The Gospel of Christ
worthy of All Acceptation. \1 SI . p, 200, 12mo,
Granting to Mr. Button various principles,
eomraon to thera both as Calvinists, Mr. Fuller
explains hiraself on the nature of true believing,
and says it never was his design to exclude
from it the idea of trust or confidence in Christ.
Whether that be of the essence of faith itself, or
an effect which immediately follows, he always
considered them as inseparable.
" Faith, in its most general sense," he says, " signifies
the credit of some testimony, whether that testimony be
true or false, — When we speak of the faith of the gospel,
as ' a belief of the truth,' it is not to be understood of all
kinds of truth, nor even of all kinds of scripture truth, A
true believer, so far as he understands it, believes all scrip
ture truth ; and to discredit any one truth in the biblci
knowing it to be such, is a damning sin : yet it is not
the credit given to a chronological or historical fact,
for instance, that denominates any one a true believer.
The peculiar truth, by embracing of which we be
come believers in Christ, is the gospel, or the good

MR, ANDREW FULLER, 279
news: of salvation through his name. The belief of
this implies the belief of other truths ; such as the good
ness of the divine government, the evil of sin, our
lost and ruined condition by it, and our utter insuffi
ciency to help ourselves ; but it is the soul's embracing,
or falling in with the way of salvation by Christ, that
peculiarly denominates us true believers."
On the obligations of men to believe in Christ,
Mr. Fuller refers to the body of evidence pro
duced in the second part of his former Treatise,
which had remained unanswered. He then
passes on to various other topics which had
been noticed in the course of the debate ; such
as — the causes to which the want of faith is
ascribed — the punishments threatened and in
flicted for not believing — the state of man in in
nocence — divine decrees — particular redemp
tion — and the nature of spiritual dispositions ;
obviating the objections arising from some of
these particulars, and placing others in a strong
position of defence. He at the same time
evinces the tendency of his own principles to es
tablish the doctrines of human depravity, divine
grace, and the work of the Holy Spirit ; closing
this part of the discussion with a few admoni
tory hints to his fi-iendly opponent, on the fatal
consequences of a ministry which declines all
direct addresses to the unconverted, to repent
and believe the gospel, and on the tendency of

280 MEMOIRS OF
a principle which required such an exposition
of the scriptures as had been exhibited in his
performance. Fully persuaded however ofthe
purity of Mr. Button's design, whatever might
be his opinion of the part he had taken in the
present controversy, he participated in the high
esteem so generally entertained for his character,
Mr. Fuller entered on the Defence of his trea
tise on Faith, in reply to the objections of Mr.
Dan Taylor, with considerable satisfaction ;
feeling, as he said, that he had in his hand a
two-edged sword, with which he could do some
.execution on the opposite systems of his adver
saries. It is evident that his sentiments are
hostile to both ; and they provoked an equal
degi-ee of opposition in return. He was now
placed however between two fires ; the Hyper-
Calvinists on the hills, and the Arminians in the
vallies ; and it was to be seen whether he could
keep his ground between them.
Desirous of shortening the debate as much
as possible, and of bringing the main question
to a speedy issue, he selected only such topics
as bore immediately upon it ; but in the hands
of Mr. Taylor, the controversy soon involved
nearly all the points of difference in the adverse
systems. The principal arguments, however,
related to — the precedence of regeneration to

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 281
faith — the inability of fallen raan — and the ex
tent of the death of Christ.
, On the first of these, Mr. Fuller observes that,
" Not only scripture, but common observation
might teach us the need of a bias of mind, different
from that which prevails over men in general, in order
to our coming to Christ. Whoever be the cause of
such a bias, let that at present be out ofthe question ;
suppose it is man himself, still a turn of some sort
there must be ; for it will hardly be said, that the same
thoughts and temper of mind which lead a man to des
pise and reject the Saviour, will lead him also to esteem
and embrace him ! That a turn of mind is necessary
to our coming to Christ, is evident from the nature of
things ; and if so, our mistake must lie, if any where,
in ascribing it to the Spirit of God/'
As Mr. Taylor was very tenacious for the
priority of faith, and for considering regenera
tion as including the whole of that change which
is necessary in order to denominate any one a
christian, and not merely its first commence
ment, Mr. Fuller was willing to allow that the
term may be thus comprehensively understood
in some parts of the new testament ; and that
in this large sense, regeneration is by the word.
Still the great question is,
" Whether the Holy Spirit of God is the proper and
efficient cause of a sinner's believing in Christ; or
whether it be owing to his holy influence, aijd that
u

282 MEMOIRS OF
alone, that one sinner believes in Christ rather than
another. If this were but allowed, we should be con
tent. If the first beginning of God's work upon the
inind is by the word, let it but be granted that it is by
the agency of the Holy Spirit, causing that word to be
embraced by one person so as it is not by another,
and so to become effectual, and we are satisfied. If
this be but granted, it will amount to the same thing as
that which we mean by regeneration preceding our
coming to Christ, since the cause always precedes the
effect.". The substance of what Mr. Taylor had ad
vanced on the subject of human inability, is as
follows — That man was so reduced by the fall,
as to be ' really and totally unable to do good' —
that if he had been left in this condition, he
would not have been to blame for not doing it,
but that his inability would have been his excuse,
' let his practices have been as "vile as they
might'-^but that God has not left him in this
condition. He has sent his Son to die for all
men universally ; and by giving, or at least of
fering grace to all men, he reraoves the inability
¦which they derived frora the fall; and from
hence they become accountable beings, and are
inexcusable if they do not comply with spiritual
requirements. " If these things be true, it must follow," says Mr.
Fuller, " that Christ did not die for the sim of any man.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 28.3
except it were Adam, since none of the fallen race
could have sinned if he had never died. The reason
ings of Mr. Taylor suppose that men are not charge
able with sin, or blameworthiness, independently of
the death of Christ, and the grace of the gospel ; and if
so, it could not be to atone for sin that he laid down
his life ; for prior to the consideration of this, there was
no sin for which he could have to atone.
" It seems if men had but power to comply, every
idea of injustice would subside. Well, we affirm they
have power. They have the same natural ability to
embrace Christ as to reject him. They could comply
with the gospel if they would. Is any thing more ne
cessary to denominate them accountable beings ? We
believe not ; and perhaps in fact, Mr. Taylor believes.
the same. In some places however he appears to think
there is. Well, what is it .'' If any thing, it must be an
inclination, as well as an abilit)'. But would he be
willing to have his objection so stated, that it is hard
that new obligations should be laid upon persons who
have no inclination to what they already lie under .? If
so, it will afford a powerful plea to final unbelievers at
the last day. No, it will be said, they might have had
an inclination if they would. But let it be considered,
whether any thing like this is revealed in scripture,
and whether it be not repugnant even to common
sense. If they had been willing, they might, or would
have been willing!
" The whole force of Mr. Taylor's arguments, rests
upon the supposition of that being true which is a
matter of dispute ; namely, that natural power is not
power, and is not sufficient to denominate men ac-
u 2

284 MEMOIRS OF
Countable beings. His statement of the above objec
tion takes this for granted ; whereas this is what we
positively deny, maintaining that natural power is
power, properly so called, and is to all intents and pur
poses sufficient to render men accountable beings;
that the want of inclination in a sinner is of no account
with the Governor of the world ; that he proceeds in
his requirements, and that it is right he should proceed,
in the same way as if no such disinclination existed.
" After all, it is doubtful whether Mr. Taylor means
any thing more by his notion of grace, than we do by
natural ability. We allow that men can come to Christy
and do things spiritually good, if they will. He is not
satisfied, it seems, with this ; they must have something
of grace given, or offered; otherwise they cannot be ac
countable beings. — Well, what does it amount to ?
Does he mean that they must have something of real
good, or a holy inclination in them? I qoestion whether
he will affirm this. Does he mean that this supposed
grace does any thing effectual towards making them
willing? No such thing. What then does he mean ?
Nothing that I can comprehend more than this ; that
men may come to Christ if they will. His whole
scheme of grace, therefore, amounts to no more than
our natural ability. We admit that men in general arc
possessed of this ability ; but then we have no notion
of calling it grace. If we must be accountable beings,
we apprehend this to be no more than an exercise of
justice. What end they can have in calling this power
by the name of grace, it is difficult to say, unless it be
to avoid the odium of seeming to ascribe to divine
grace nothing at all."

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 285
In proof of a limitation of design in the
death of Christ, Mr. Fuller adverts to— the
promises made to Christ, ofthe certain efficacy
of his death — the characters under which he
died — the effects ascribed to his death, being
such as do not terrainate on all mankind — the
intercession of Christ, founded on his death,
not extending to all — the doctrine of personal
and unconditional election as necessarily con
nected with a special design in his death — and
the character of the redeemed in the world above.
The consistency of particular rederaption, or
of a liraitedr design in the death of Christ, with
the general calls and invitations of the gospel,
and the comparative advantages of the opposite
systems, are stated in the following manner :
" The provision made by the death of Christ is of
two kinds, — a provision of pardon and acceptance for
all believers — and a provision of grace to enable a sin
ner to believe. The first affords a motive for returning
to God in Christ's name ; the last excites to a com
pliance with that motive. Now in which of these has
the scheme of Mr. T. any advantage of that which he
opposes ? Not in the flrst : we suppose the provisions
of Christ's death altogether sufficient for the fulfilment
of his promises, be they as extensive as they may —
that full and free pardon is provided for all that believe
in "him — and tliat if all the inhabitants of the globe
could be persuaded to return to God in Christ's name,
they would undoubtedly be accepted of him. Does
the opposite scheme propose any more ? No ; it pre-

286 MEMOIRS OF
tends to no such thing as a provision for unbelievers
being forgiven and accepted. Thus far at least, there
fore, we. stand upon equal ground.
" But has the scheme of our opponent the advan
tage in the last particular ? Does it not boast of a uni
versal provision of grace, sufficient to enable every
man to comply with the gospel .¦¦ It does ; but what it
amounts to, is difficult to say. Does it effectually
produce in mankind in general any thing of a right
spirit, any thing of a true desire to come to Christ for
the salvation of their souls .? No such thing is pretend
ed. At most it only amounts to this, that God is ready
to help them out of their condition, if they will but
ask him; and to give them every assistance in the
good work, if they will but be in earnest and set about
it. ^A'^ell, if this is the whole of which our opponent
can boast, I see nothing superior in this neither, to
the sentiment which he opposes. We consider the
least degree of a right spirit as plentifully encouraged
in the word of God. If a person do but truly desire
to come to Christ, or desire the influence of the Holy
Spirit to that end, we doubt not but grace is provided
for his assistance. God will surely ' give his Holy
Spirit to them that ask him.' Where then is the su
periority of INIr. Taylor's system ? It makes no effec
tual provision for begetting a right disposition in those
who are so utterly destitute of it that they will not
seek after it. It only encourages the well disposed ;
and as to these, if their well-disposedness is real, there
is no want of encouragement for them in the system
he opposes.
" According to Mr. Taylor's scheme, the redemption

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 287
and salvation of the whole human race is left to un
certainty ; to such uncertainty as to depend upon the
fickle, capricious, and perverse will of man. It sup
poses no effectual provision made for Christ to ' see
ofthe travail of his soul,' in the salvation of sinners.
^Ir. T. has a very great objection to a sinner's coming
to Christ with a peradventure ; but it seems he has no
objection to his Lord and Saviour coming into the
world, and laying down his life with no better security.
Notwithstanding any provision made by liis scheme,
the Head of .the church might have been without a
single member, the King of Zion without a subject,
and the Shepherd of Israel without any to constitute a
flock. Satan might have triumphed for ever, and the
many mansions in glory have remained eternally
unoccupied by tbe children of men !
" Though Mr. Ta3'lor's scheme professedly main
tains that Christ died to atone for the sins of all man
kind; 3'et in reality it amounts to no such thing.
The sin of mankind may be distinguished into two
kinds ; that wliich is committed simply agauist God
as a La\vgiver, antecedently to all considerations ofthe
gift of Christ, and the grace of the gospel ; and that
that which is committed more immediately against
the gospel, despising the riches of God'a goodness,
and rejecting his way of salvation. Does ]\Ir. Taylor
maintain that Christ made atonement for both these ?
On the contrary, his scheme supposes that he atoned
for neither. Not for the flrst ; for he abundantly in
sists that there could be nothing ofthe nature of blame
worthiness in this, and consequently nothing to- require
an atonement. Not for the last; for if so, atonement

288 MEMOIRS OF
must be made for impenitency and unbelief; and in that
case surely^ these evils would not prove the ruin of
the subject."
Mr. Taylor however was not to be silenced
by this Reply ; he therefore continued his " Ob
servations" in Thirteen additional Letters, re
peating the same objections to Mr. Fuller's hy
pothesis, but without casting any additional
light upon the subject. He entirely overlooks
Mr. Fuller's explanation and concession on the
subject of regeneration ; that if understood in a
sense which includes not only the passive re
ception but the actual effects of christian prin
ciple, there could be no objection to its being
produced ' by the word of truth ;' nor would it
be objected that the forraer should be ascribed
to the same means, if the agency of the Holy
Spirit were but admitted. Instead of meeting
this statement, or complying with the requisite
admission, Mr. Taylor contents himself with
denying that the change of heart implied in the
reception of truth is called regeneration, and in
sists that his opponent's candid explanation has
altered the state ofthe question. He believes
in the universality of divine influence, but in
none that is effectual ; and therefore does not
teach us to what cause the previous disposition
is to be ascribed, or how it comes to pass that
any one is inclined rather than another to re-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 289
cefve the truth. It would save much trouble in
this controversy, and relieve the subject of many
unnecessary distinctions, if the advocates of Mr.
Taylor's scheme would at once inform us how
it is, that while God bestows grace alike on all
men, it is he that makes them to differ.
It is not a little extraordinary that in the ear
ly part of the debate, Mr. Taylor highly ap
proved ofthe perspicuous manner in which Mr.
Fuller had stated the difference between natu
ral and moral inability in fallen man ; and was
fully persuaded, " that a good understanding of
this distinction would contribute to the estab
lishment of the doctrine he had undertaken to
maintain ;" yet when the effects of this distinc
tion began to operate powerfully on his own
system, he changed his mind, and imposed
another meaning on the terms. There appears
however to be no other way of accounting for
the inconsistencies and contradictions to be
met with in his various remarks on this subject.
He writes like one who saw and was afraid to
meet this flaming sword ; and lest his own
troops should be put to flight, he would not
acknowledge that the Hypercalvinistshad been
defeated. * Natural ability' is now the power of per
forming natural actions, and ' moral abihty' the
power of performing- those which are spiritual!

290 MEMOIRS OF
This is an attempt to distinguish the use of
these terms by the objects to which they ai-e
applied, as if the same faculties were not com
petent to both good and evil, and could not
perform natural and spiritual actions, according
as the will may be inclined. Mr. Taylor there
fore concludes, that if God require any thing
of a moral or spiritual nature of any man, it is
but right that he should furnish him with moral
power for its performance. Thus he represents
moral ability as if it were a distinct faculty,
formed by the Creator for the performance of
moral actions, while natural power is given for
the performance of natural actions ; and the
reader is led to imagine that God is as much
required to provide the one as the other, in or
der to render sinful men accountable for their
conduct. But as moral ability is nothing more
than the power ofthe will, improperly so cal
led, or a disposition to employ our natm-al fa
culties in a right manner, it cannot be necessary
that a person should be actually disposed to
what is right, in order to render him account
able, but merely that he should be capable of
performing right actions, if he be so inchned.
Mr. Fuller admitted the universality of the
atonement, both in his first and second treatise ;
or that the death of Christ had opened a way,
whereby God could, consistently with his jus-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 291
tice, forgive any sinner whatever who returns
to him by Jesus Christ ; and that in this sense
he died for the sins of all mankind, and there
fore all are invited to come unto God by him,
assured that whosoever cometh he will in no
wise cast out. But while a way is thus pre
pared for the salvation of sinners without dis
tinction, Mr. Fuller at the same time maintains
that an effectual provision is made for all who
are finally saved, and that their salvation is the
consequence of such a special design.
This hypothesis, as has been observed, ap
pears to possess every advantage of which the
opposite one can boast ; and notwithstanding
all that Mr. Taylor has written about universal
provision, he has at length but little to object.
" It is so plain," he says, " that Christ might
absolutely design the salvation of some, and
yet l-ay down his life for all, that I think the
consistency of these two positions was hardly
ever denied by any man of consideration, what
ever were his sentiments riespecting either of
them."* After this there is no need for quota
tion, nor for any farther dispute on this head.
Mr. Fuller did not publish any thing more in
reply to Mr. Taylor, though he suggested sorae
important remarks to a friend, who, under the
signature of AoNOsros, addressed a series of
'• Thirteen Letters, ]^. 91, 92.

292 MEMOIRS OF
Letters to Mr. Fuller, on " The Reality and
Efficacy of Divine Grace," in answer to Mr.
Taylor's second treatise. This performance,
which displays as much acumen as either of the
former, and evidently bespeaks tbe same hand
to have been employed, takes a review of the
principal topics in debate, and ably refutes the
various objections advanced by Mr. Fullers
opponent. Driven from every other refuge,
Mr. Taylor fixes on the following apparently
strong position, as his dernier resort, in defence
of the supposed innocence of moral impotence ;
namely, " If men could never avoid it, cannot
deliver themselves from it, and the blessed God
will not deliver them, surely they ought not to
be punished for it, pr for any of its necessary ef
fects." On this and on every other occasion, Mr.
T. finds it convenient to represent moraZ inability,
not only in terms inapplicable to the subject,
and which imply misfortune rather than blame,
but so as to confound it with every just idea of
natural and involuntary weakness. In this way
his positions have the appearance of plausibility,
and the incautious reader is stunned by his ob
jections. " Agnostos" unravels the sophism at
considerable length, and affords a satisfactory
solution of the difficulties it had occasioned.
His pamphlet indeed is chiefly occupied in de
tecting the inconclusive reasonings and tergiver-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 293
sations of Mr. T.'s productions, and in exhibit
ing the real points of difference between the
two antagonists.
Mr. Taylor at length terminated this tedious
controversy, by publishing his " Friendly Con
clusion," in reply to the Letters of Agnostos ;
in which he in effect congratulates himself in
having brought both Mr. Fuller and his Friend
so nearly to his own views of the evangelical
system ! This unseasonable and unfounded
triumph was so completely disgusting, that it
was some time before Mr. Fuller could be in
duced to read this last act of the drama, and
longer still before he could forget what appeared
to him at the time, an instance of disingenuous-
ness, but which was clearly capable of being
attributed to a raore honourable motive. It
was not very grateful indeed to his feelings,
that at the time he was encountering the system
of corrupted Calvinism, a stranger passing by
should seem to intermeddle with strife that did
not belong to him; and though this stranger
set out very pleasantly, appearing rather as a
coadjutor, and entert-aining considerable expec
tations, he evidently lost much of his candour
and good temper in the progress of the debate,
and got deeply embroiled in the contest which
his thankless services were intended to adjust.
Independently of the disadvantages of the sys-

394 MEMOIRS OF
tem which he had undertaken to defend, it may
be doubted whether he well understood the
true grounds ofthe controversy ; at any rate he
was but ill prepared to meet the close metaphy
sical reasoning of Mr. Fuller, or to defend him
self against the pugilistic efforts of such a gi
gantic adversary.
The discussion, however, with all its imper
fections, was productive of important advan
tages. It had its effect on sorae of Mr. Taylor's
connections, in giving a more evangelical tone to
their preaching ; and on Mr. Fuller's, in render
ing the doctrine of the Cross more generally in-;
teresting. The universality of the atonement.
was raore fully acknowledged, as the ground
of general invitations ; addresses to the unre
generate were applied with less reserve, and
with greater pungency and force. Mr. Taylor
had ventured to suggest, that Mr. Fuller could
not, on his own principles, fasten a conviction
of blame on the conscience of any sinner, for
not turning to God, and believing in Jesus
Christ, A similar hint was afterwards given
by another of his opponents ; and it was partly
with a view of refuting these insinuations, and
of exhibiting the practical efficacy of his own
system, that he wrote his. admirable tract, en-
titied, " The Great Question Answered ;" in,
which the principles maintained in the present

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 295
controversy, divested of all their polemical at
tire, and pointed with the nakedness of truth,
are applied with inconceivable force to the con
sciences of the unconverted.
It must also be acknowledged, that contrary
to the spirit of most controversialists, who seek
to widen the breach rather than to heal it, there
was a disposition on both sides to approximate,
and to sink the minor differences between them.
Mr. Taylor had no wish to controvert the doc
trine of election, of divine decrees, or of final
perseverance, nor even to deny the speciality
of design in the death of Christ, with respect
to those who are "finally saved ; provided his
opponent would admit that provision was made
for all, and that no insuperable impediment aris
ing from raoral impotence should be placed iu
in the way of any man's salvation. Mr. Fuller
on his part also was walling to concede the uni
versality of the death of Christ, the general in
direct influences ofthe Holy Spirit, and regene
ration by the word ; provided his opponent
would admit of divine agency, and that the
difference made in the conversion of a sinner is
to be ascribed to free and effectual grace.
This reciprocal disposition is highly amiable ;
and discovers, not an undervaluation, but a just
discrimination of the comparative importance
of christian principles. Amongst the tempe-

^96 MEMOIRS OF
rate and well informed, who are fully aware of
the difficulties attending each hypothesis, there
can scarcely be a moment's hesitation in admit
ting, that the points in which these two good
men were agreed are of infinitely higher mo
ment than those in which they differ, whatever
be their supposed magnitude; and that upon
either system the foundations of human hope
remain unshaken. Nor is there any thing in
the contrariety of views entertained on these
subjects, which ought to obstruct the most cor
dial affection and harmony araong real chris
tians. Mr. Fuller's doctrine, however, was destined
to undergo another trial; and before he had
retired from the scene of action,
Mr. JOHN MARTIN
made his appearance, thundering across the
ground with a ponderous load of polemics, and
threatening to give his system to the fowls of
the air, and to the beasts of the field.
Mr. Martin was formerly pastor of the bap
tist church at Sheepshead in Leicestershn-e^
where he hved on terras of intimacy with Mr.
Hall of Arnsby; since then he removed to
London, and became pastor of the baptist
church first in Grafton Street, and more recentiy

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 297
in Keppel Street, Russel Square. In the
earlier part of his ministry, Mr. Martin fully
acquiesced in the sentiment now adopted by Mr.
Fuller, and stated thera in some of his printed ser-
raons ; but ha ving changed his raind upon the sub
ject, without any direct avowal of the fact, he now
coraraences hostilities with his former connec
tions, who had not shown him that deference
which his pre-eminence demanded.
Neither satisfied with the labours of Mr.
Button, nor vrith those of Mr. Taylor, in this
field of controversy, though differing but little in
sentiment from the former, Mr. Martin comes
forward with his " Thoughts on the Duty of
Man, relative to Faith in Jesus Christ," and
enters on the discussion with a great swell of lan
guage ; giving gratuitous information of his
own advantages, of his superior experience and
attainments, of the reputation he anticipated
from the contest, and of his opponents inconsist
ency and incompetence ; towards whom he
perforras a haughty condescension, in noticing
the writings of such an obscure individual.
This part of the present controversy, though
amusing enough, is altogether the least satis
factory, since it abounded with personalities
which it is painful to recollect, and still more
so to repeat.
Omitting what is extraneous in Mr. Martin's
X

298 MEMOIRS OF
publication, there are only three points which
come under any thing like a regular discussion ;
these are — ^love to God — divine efficiency — and
human endeavour.
Understanding by the term, ' disinterested
love,' an exclusive affection for those properties
of the divine nature which bear no relation to
creatures, or in which they have no immediate
interest, if such there be, Mr. Martin easily and
pompously announces it a mere nonentity ; and
as the love of^n araiable object cannot be sepa
rated from the pleasure which such an affection
must necessarily produce, he is equally confi
dent that disinterested love can have no place
among creatures, and even reproaches Mr. Ful
ler with having imported this contraband ar
ticle, not from the island of Utopia, but from a
certain market in America. He also represents
Arminians, Mystics, and Deists, as its chief de-
tailers and defenders.
The qiiestion arising from Mr. Fuller's state
ment was simply this : ' Is it possible for us
to take pleasure in an object for its own sake?'
Mr. Martin answers, No. — Wherefore? Be
cause, says he, that object affords us pleasure ;
that is, we cannot take pleasure in an Object^
because we can and do find pleasure in it !
" When I speaji of loving God for himself," says
Mr. Fuller, " I neither suppose it is on account of

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 299
some excellencies in his nature, which have no relation
to our welfare; nor that we feel, or ought to feel, re
gardless of our best interests, honour, or happiness.
Each of these may, and ought, no doubt, to be pur
sued in subordination to the divine glory ; and a pro
per pursuit of them, instead of setting aside the idea of
love to God for his own excellency, necessarily im
plies it. Am I, for instance, in search for true ho
nour ? If I am, it is of that honour which arises from
being approved of God. But in order to his approba
tion being the summit of my ambition, I must neces
sarily love him for what he is in himself. What gra
tification could the applause of a person afford me, of
whom I had but a mean opinion, and towards whom I
had no previous regard. — Am I in pursuit of substan
tial happiness ? If so, I am seeking the enjoyment of
God, as my everlasting portion. Biit how could I con
ceive of God as a portion worthy to be sought, or at
all adapted to make me happy, unless I loved him for
what he is in himself, antecedently to my enjoyment of
him. Do men ever seek a portion in earthly things,
without viewing that portion as good and desirable in
itself, whether they have it or not ? "
On the subject of * divine efficiency,' ,Mr.
Martin allows that we need the Spirit of God
to enable us to do oUr duty, but is unwilling to
admit that faith comes under that description.
He wishes to consider it as a gift, rather than
a duty ; or not a duty, because it is a gift ; and
censures Mr. F. for confounding blessings with-
requirements, and dispositions with acts of obe-^
X 2

30(3 MEMOIRS OE
dience. To heighten this absurdity and con
fusion, he labours to represent it as an assump
tion of divine efficiency; requiring raen to be
what God alone can make them, as if it was
their duty, rather than his prerogative, to pro
duce spiritual principles. By a similar perver
sion ofthe intellect, he considers men as volun
tarily active in cases where their passiveness is
necessarily implied; and then represents Mr.
Fuller's system as requiring the unregenerate to
quicken themselves, to make the word effec
tual to salvation, to convince themselves of sin,
to be born again, and to be the sons of God !
It is not easy to witness the tenour of Mr,
Martin's reasoning on this point, and at the
same time preserve that gravity of countenance
which his fi'iends might imagine to be due to
his rank and station in society. From the pe
riod when he first entered on the present con
troversy even to hoary years, he had one short
argument against its being the duty of men to
believe the gospel, which he has brought for
ward a thpusand times, both from the pulpit
and the press, with little variation ; and it was
generally couched in the following short sen
tence, with an extraordinary swell of utterance :
Will any man tell me, that it is my duty to do
that WITHOUT divine assistance, which I can
only do with ! — This question ever appeared

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 301
to him to possess all the properties of an axiom,
or self-evident demonstration ; and beyond it,
the good raan was never able to advance a
single step ; but when \ie lifted up his feet, as
Fuller said, he was always careful to put them
down again in the same place. No reasoning,
however cogent, could lead him to understand
that though faith is the gift of God, it is not less
the duty of men on that account, since the same
things under different views are both God's gift
and men's duty. It is God's work to bestow faith
and repentance ; but it is man's duty, in obe
dience to his will, to repent and believe the gos
pel. God, in bestowing these, makes men only
to see things as they ought, and to be affected
and disposed by thera as they ought. He may
do this or not, according to his sovereign good
pleasure; but mens obligations remain still the
same, whether they will hear or whether they
will forbear; and the gospel revelation leaves
them without excuse. John xv. 22 — 24.
Though Mr. Martin does not directly deny
that faith is the duty of the unregenerate, nor
attempt to invalidate the evidence by which that
position is supported, yet he is for bringing the
matter a little more within the compass of hu
man ability, and for including the sum total of
obligation under the whimsical notion of ' en
deavour ; ' so that it is not man's duty to repent

302 MEMOIRS OF
and believe the gospel, but to 'endeavour' to
do so, and to use means for that purpose. Yet
he does not pretend that these endeavours will
be successful, or issue in the possession of the
good desired ; but, after all his endeavours, the
sinner may perish everlastingly.
The recital of such unmeaning distinctions
and refinements can now answer no other pur
pose than that of affording additional evidence
of what is every day but too apparent — ^the
weakness of the human understanding, and the
power of prejudice in resisting the clearest dic
tates of reason and revelation.— A short quo
tation, in answer to this sort of logic, is quite
sufficient. " The grounds on which Mr. Martin supports his
denial of its being the duty of a bad man to be a good
man are such, that if they prove any thing, they will
prove that it is not the duty of a villain to be an honest
man ; but barely to make certain ' endeavours ' towards
it, which may or may not be effectual, as God shall
please to bless them. But if such a character were a
debtor to Mr. Martin, and were to urge that though he
had ' endeavoured' to his utmost to become of an ho
nest mind, yet it had not pleased God at present to
crown his ' endeavours' with success, it is well if he
did not treat him a little uncivilly !"
Mr. Fuller's Reply is entitled. Remarks on
Mr. Martin's publication, in Five Letters to a
Friend. 1789. And though the reader would

MR. ANDREW FULLER. SOS
think that this perfonnance contains a sufficient
quantity of nitre, yet the venerable Friend to
whom these Letters were addressed, and who
was well acquainted with Mr. Martin, after
wards told the Author that he had been too
sparing of his adversary, whose supercilious
airs had merited the severest chastisement.
Still writhing under the lashes of his antago
nist, Mr. Martin continued his lucubrations for
two years longer, in a Second and a Third Part,
successively written on the same subject ; but
the contempt which Mr. Fuller felt and fre
quently expressed, for such a writer, prevented
his making any farther reply ; and Mr. Martin
afterwards construed this silence into a pre
sumption, that he had " said much that could
not be refuted ! "
The tottering cause of Hypercalvinism now
called forth a tribe of advocates of various des
criptions. Sorae of thera had learned to write,
and others could read English ; but they all
helped to sound the alarm, and to preserve the
stump of dagon. The productions of these
men are too contemptible for criticism, and
would not have been noticed in this place, but
for the sake of marking the progress of the pre
sent controversy, and of exhibiting more of its
effects.

304 MEMOIRS OF •
One of these scribblers published two Ser
mons, which he entitled, " The Faith of the
Gospel Yjudicated ;" that is, ofthe Gospel, not
according to the four Evangelists, but of some
ofthe Norfolk Baptist churches. And, accord
ing to this Gospel, we are flatly told, ' that men
in nature's darkness have nothing to do with
the faith of God's elect, have no rischt to believe
in Christ; that faith is not a natural grace, not
a dufy ofthe law:' and that, as Mr. Martin said,
' it is not the duty of a natural man to make
himself a new creature, to give himself the Holy
Spirit,' nor of course to be that which nothing
short of divine grace can make him ; moreover,
' that not one of the self-righteous are invited
to come to Christ, nor is faith the duty of either
saints or sinners ! '
Another of these Norfolk Baptists took up
his pen, and aimed what he called " A Blow at
the root of Fullerism, in a Letter to a Friend ;"
but which might rather have been called, a blow
at the authority of the Lord, and his Anointed ;
or an attempt to break their bands asunder,
and to cast away their cords from us. This
writer allows indeed that faith is required by the
moral law, though not that which is connected
with salvation ; and maintains that the law is
the rule of duty to unbelievers, and the gospel
to believers, according to the ancient error of

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 305
the Neonomians. He sometimes acknowledges
that is no just objection to faith being required
of the unconverted, merely because they can
not of themselves believe, or that* faith, where-
ever it exists, is the gift and operation of God ;
though he afterwards recals these concessions,
and reasons on the contrary principles. Not distin
guishing between the law as a covenant, and as
a rule of duty, he mistakes the requirements of
the latter for those of the former ; and thence
imagines that if faith be required by the law,
salvation cannot be of grace. Nor does this
teacher appear to know the difference between
what is virtually required by the law, and what
it formally commands ; hence he supposes it
cannot require faith, because it does not reveal
a Saviour. After this Quixotte had ended his blows,
which were never felt, but only heard by the
tenants of the neighbouring wood, another of
fers his " Help for the true disciples of Im-
raanuel ; being an answer to a book published
by A. Fuller, on the duty of sinners to beheve
in Christ."
We said that some of these orthodox defen
ders had learned to read and write ; but the
present author must be excepted from these
high attainments, for he is " one that still needs
his leading string and bib." After frequently

306 MEMOIRS OF
tdling us of some things that are approbate.
and of othei-s that are disappr abated, he desires
tiie reader to change ' these foreign words ;'
and though ' tiie work has many deviations
from the rules of grammar,' he is quite of opinion
that ' it can never be answered.' And certainly
every one must ' think as how it cannot!' He
also gives notice that he has made two other
books, and assures the reader that he will find
ail the topics ' handled scripturally, argumen-
tatively, and critically, to his real satisfaction!!'
After an interval of eleven years, raore " Help"
is provided " for the true disciples of Immanuel,"
in a Second Part ; in m hich our author under
takes to stateafew' conclusive arguments ag-ainst
Mr. Fuller's favourite seutiment, concerning the
duty of the dead ;' and that he may do tiie busi
ness in a wholesale way, he lays it down as ' a
preliminary to the right/y understanding of the
scriptures,' that they ai'e to be considered as
referring either to the Sinai covenant, or to tiie
covenant of grace. By this convenient dis
tribution, he gives one half of all tiiat is found
in holy writ to the circumcised Israelites, and
the otherhalf to 'the ti-iie disciples of Immanuel.'
Not a scrap of any kind, either of precept or
invitation, is left for the rest of mankind ; and
as for modern unbelievers, poor hapless beings!
they are most unmercifully delivered up at once
to the light and law of nature.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 307
In hardihood of assertion, and iubold defiance
of every principle of religion and morality, this
man out-herods even Herod himself. Senti
ments and expressions like the following abound
in every page of his wretched performance : —
" The gospel neither causes nor occasions the con
demnation of any mail — it is not the duty of all men
to feai- God as believers do— the Mosaic law required
nothing more than natural and moral obedience, with
out any thing spiritual ; and even that is not binding on
all men— the moral law, seeing it made a part of the
Sinai covenant, is not binding on all men — if God did
not chuse to become a father to Judas, he doubtless
excused him from all obhgation to filial reverence — the
fifth commandment is accompanied with temporal pro
mises, therefore it does not belong to men in general—
the Jewish people as a body were not capable of spiri
tual fear — the non-elect have nothing to do with tlie
fear of God — the law will not condemn a man because
he is not found in Christ— duty grows out of favour;
favour is the root of obedience, and the ground of obliga
tion — God did not require Israel to love him, till after
their deliverance from bondage — men are not com
manded to flee from tbe wrath to come — it is not con
sistent to say to the unregenerate, believe in Christ,
lest ye perish — nothing can be required of any natural
man, different from what would have been required,
supposing no saviour had been provided — it is not the
duty of ministers or of missionaries to make men chris
tians, or convey to them the blessings of the gospel —
the far greater part of God's elect will know nothing of
the zealous doings in the missionary cause, yet they will
be openly justified by the eternal Judge !"

308 MEMOIRS OF
Such is the ignorance and presumption of
these defenders of Hypercalvinism, and of one
especially who passes for its principal advocate.
It now finds no other asylum than is afforded
by a set of illiterate Antinomians; and like
another Judas, it "is gone to its own place.
There may be pious individuals whose views
of huraan obligation do not fully correspond
with the scriptures, and others who have been
awed into an acquiescence by the lordly inso
lence of their teachers ; but it is evident that the
system itself is retiring into the back settlements,
drawing with it the refuse of christian society,
and sending forth its venom against every des
cription of practical believers.
Gladly dismissing this nameless fraternity, we
hope for the reader's forgivenness in having for
one moment exhibited such a collection of ivory,
apes, and peacocks, assuring him that graver
matter will speedily demand his attention ; nor
can we scarcely forbear soliciting compassion
for a distinguished author, whose misfortune
it was to be thus assailed. In taking our leave,
those fines of Cowper strongly force themselves
upon our recollection :
" Church quacks, with [judgments] under no command.
Who fill the world with doctrines contraband.
Discoverers of they know not what, confined
Within no bounds — the blind that lead the bhnd ;

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 309
To strea/ns of popular opinion drawn.
Deposit in those shallows all their spawn.
The wriggling fry soon fill the creeks around,
Pois'ning the waters where their swarms abound.
Scorned by the nobler tenants q^ the flood.
Minnows and gudgeons gorge th' unwholesome food."
Progress qf Error, 474.
The last, but not the least considerable of
Mr. Fuller's opponents, on the subject of Faith,
was Mr. ARCHIBALD MACLEAN,
one of the Pastors of the Baptist church, then
meeting in Niddry Street, Edinburgh.
In Mr, Fuller's first treatise, ahd during the
preceding part of the controversy, he defined
faith to be a belief of the truth, or a cordial re
ception of the gospel ; maintaining at the same
time that it is a. holy exercise, arising from a
renewal of the heart. But as this did not di-
rectiy include a reliance on Christ for salvation,
though that was stated to be a necessary conse
quence of true believing, the definition was ob
jected to by his former opponents, as not coming
fully up to the idea of saving faith.
Mr. Maclean, on the contrary, considered the
latter part ofthe definition as including too much ;
and especially, that the doctrine of a previous
disposition in order to believing, was wholly

310 MEMOIRS OF
inadmissible. He therefore added to a second
edition of his treatise on " The Commission of
Christ," several pages of animadversion, charg
ing these sentiments with a tendency to subvert
the great doctrine of justification by grace alone,
but without mentioning the name of the author.
This charge fell of course, on each of Mr. Ful
ler's former opponents, equally with himself,
though he alone must bear the burden and heat
of the day.
These consequences are examined by Mr.
Fuller, in an Appendix to a new and improved
edition of his Treatise on Faith, published in
1801, fourteen years after the first appearance
of the work, and subsequently to his having
been engaged in other arduous controversies.
In the course of a year, Mr. Maclean came
forward with " A Reply to Mr. F nller' & Appen^
dix; particularly to his doctrine of antecedent
holiness, and the nature and object of justifying
faith." In this Reply the author very modest
ly intimates, that Mr. Fuller was " ranch his
.superior in poleraical talents, and that it was
with great reluctance he entered on the present
controversy," which in fact originated in a pre
vious conversation and epistolary correspon
dence between the parties, of which each com
plained that undue advantage had been taken.
Mr. Fuller however had no cause to be ashamed

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 311
of his antagonist ; for he found him " an acute
reasoner, and mighty in the scriptures."
But in the progress of their theological war
fare, this sort of complaisance was easily de
clined^ for, as a shrewd writer observed, when
expressing his dislike of controversy, it gene
rally begins with ' Dear Sir,' and ends with
'Sir!' These formidable antagonists neverthe
less enjoyed some friendly interviews with each
other, which afforded opportunity for mutual
explanations and expressions of esteem. In the
autumn of 1796, Mr. Maclean visited Kettering,
and preached for Mr. Fuller ; when a conversa
tion ensued, which prepared the way for future
discussion. On the arrival ofthe stranger, Mr.
Fuller pleasantly intimated, that though it was
not the custom ofthe English churches ' to wash
the saints' feet;' yet if he would allow him, he
would very cheerfully clean his boots, and bring
him a dry pair of slippers. On other occasions
Mr. Fuller called on his friend at Edinburgh,
who offered an apology for some expressions m
his last performance ; and though Mr. Fuller
professed to the very last that he was " uncon
scious of any unbrotherly feeling" towards Mr.
Maclean, yet he neither admired the reflections
contained in some parts of his writings, nor those
notions of unifoimity which excluded him from
the pulpit of his opponent, whenever he visited

312 MEMOIRS OF
the northern metropolis. It is said that this
unbrotherly exclusion was contrary to the mind
of Mr. Maclean, and that it was imposed by his
more rigid colleagues ; yet it is very well known
that the Scottish baptists in general refuse com
munion to their English brethren.
Mr. Fuller took no notice of Mr. Maclean's
"Reply" to his Appendix, for upwards of
seven years ; not only on account of his mission
ary avocations, and other superior engagements ;
but from feeling disgusted, as he said, with the
illiberality of his opponent, in repeatedly arraign
ing his motives, accusing him of intentional
misrepresentation, and insinuating that he could
" take either side of a question as he found oc
casion." This long continued silence inducing
a suspicion on the other side, more than once or
twice repeated, that Mr. Maclean's performance
was found to be unanswerable, Mr. Fuller at
length produced his admirable

Strictures on Sandemanianism, in Twelve Letters to a
Friend, pp. 240. 12mo. 1810.
In this work, which discovers an intensity of
thought, and cost the Author more labour than
any other of his compositions, he does not un
dertake a direct answer to Mr. Maclean ; nor
did he intend that its contents should be con-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 313
sidered as generally applicable to him, though
he takes frequent occasion to notice his princi
pal arguments. Mr. Fuller acknowledges in
deed, what his eager partisans seem not to ob
serve, " that in the Appendix to the last edition
of his Treatise on Faith, he was guilty of an
oversight, in attributing to Mr. M'Lean many
sentiments which did not belong to him. This
mis-statement," Says Mr. Fuller, " was owing
to my having at the time entirely forgot his piece
on The Calls of the Gospel, and my consider
ing an anonymous performance as his, which
was written by a Mr. Bernard. It is true, I
had the means of knowing better, and should
have been more attentive to them : in this how
ever lay the whole of my fault. It never was
my design for a moment to misrepresent Mr.
M'Lean or any other man ; nor did I ever feel
the least reluctance to make the most explicit
acknowledgment. " I may add, though I am sorry that I mis
took him, yet I am glad I was mistaken. The
difference between us is sp much the less, which
to any one who wishes to unite with all who
love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, as far
as possible, must afford a degree of satisfac
tion."*
* Strictures on Sandemanianiim, p. 39, 60. Note.
Y

314 MEMOIRS OF
In conformity with these benevolent senti
ments, it will be our first pleasure to notice the
points of coincidence between these two emi
nent men, especially as they are of higher im
portance than the things in which they differed.
And it is not a little gratifying^ to find, that not
withstanding the warmth of the discussion, they
were well agreed in the following particulars,
relative to the present controversy —
1. That faith is the belief of whatever God
hath revealed in his word, and that upon his
own authority ; that the faith which has the
proraise of eternal life, is the belief of the gos
pel, or the good news of the fulfilment of the
old-testament prophecies, in the coming, life,
death, resurrection, and exaltation ofthe Son of
God, and of the salvation which he has thereby
obtained for sinners of all nations.
2. That as true faith is always represented as
affecting the heart, and influencing the life, it
must therefore be a belief of the quality, as well
as the reality of its object ; that it includes a
perception of the excellency and glory of the
gospel, as exhibiting a scheme of salvation full
of God, every way worthy of him, and declara
tive of his true character ; and of the amiable-
ness and suitableness of Christ as a Saviour,
according as he is revealed in the gospel ; and
that without this, the truth is not believed.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 315
3. That though trusting in Christ, or relying
on him for salvation, is not properly included
in the nature of faith, seeing it is the effect of
believing the divine testimony conceniing him ;
yet that it is inseparable from true believing, is
often .considered as equivalent, and that there
is no saving faith without it.
4. They both contended that it is the indis
pensable duty of all who hear the gospel to
believe it to the saving of the soul; that it is
expressly commanded in the scriptures, and
essential to true obedience.
5. That unbelief is a great and heinous sin
against God ; that it arises frora an evil heart,
from voluntary ignorance, love of the present
world, and aversion from the things of God;
that it makes him a liar, rejects his amazing
love and grace, as revealed in the gospel, and
is threatened with eternal damnation.
6. That men's inability to believe, where the
light ofthe gospel is enjoyed, is not natural but
moral, and therefore culpable; that it arises
not from the want of information, or natural
capacity, but from wilful depravity, and enmity
against the truths
7. That in consequence of this depravity, and
the blindness of the raind, a divine energy is
necessary to make men know and believe the
truth as it is in Jesus ;. and that saving faith is
Y 2

316 MEMOIRS OF
the gift of God, and an effect of the regenerat
ing influence of his word and Holy Spirit.
8. They also both maintained, though some
times without properly understanding one ano
ther, that faith has revealed truth only for its
object, or that which is true antecedently to its
being believed, and whether it be believed or
not ; that the finished work of Christ, exchisive
of every act, exercise, or thought of the human
mind, is that for the sake of which a sinner is
justified before God ; that no qualifications of
any kind are necessary to warrant our believing^
in him ; and that the first scriptural consolation
received by the believer arises from the gospel,
and not from reflecting on the feelings of his
own mind towards it.
The points on which they differ, though of
some consequence, are merely collateral to
these subjects; and relate more to metaphysical
distinctions, than to any leading article of the
christian system.
1. Mr. M'Lean, though he does not con
sider faith as a passive admission of the truth,
but allows it to be an act or exercise of the
mind ; yet is for excluding the influence of the
will and affections, and making it a mere be
lieving exercise of the understanding.
It is admitted by Mr. Fuller, that faith has

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 317
its seat in the understanding, yet that it may be
influenced by the disposition. Unbelief is seat
ed in the understanding, as much as belief; yet
it is not denied that this is influenced by the
disposition. Mr. M'Lean himself admits that
unbelief arises not merely from ignorance, but
also from the aversion of the will, whereby
the judgment is blinded, and most unreason
ably prejudiced against the truth. Mr. F. of
course concludes, that the opposite of this can
not be a mere exercise of the understanding.
2. Mr. M'Lean pleads for such a belief of
the gospel as has nothing in it of a holy nature,
nothing of conformity to the raoral law ; and
contends that it is holy only in reference to its
objects and effects, and not in its own nature ;
though he admits that it is the root of all chris
tian virtues, and that which gives glory to God,
and without which it is impossible to please him.
He also allows that faith is a duty imperiously
commanded, and unbelief a great and heinous
sin. Mr. Fuller on the contrary contends that as
faith is a duty, it must be a holy exercise, be
cause God can require nothing but what is holy,
and nothing but what comes under the influence
of the will ; that if faith he the root of aU chris
tian virtues, it must itself be virtuous, for that
no holy effects can arise from a principle that

318 MEMOIRS OF
is not holy ; and that if there be no holiness in
faith, there can be no sin in its opposite, which
nevertheless is allowed to be exceeding sinful.
He also pleads that if faith be a duty, and yet
includes in it " nothing of conformity to the
moral law," it must then be a requirement of a
new and remedial law ; and if the love of God,
which is required by the old law, would not
lead any sinner to believe in Christ, as he is re
vealed in the gospel, he asks. Why is unbelief
alleged to the Jews as a proof that they had
not the love of God in them. John. v. 42 — 47.
3. Mr. M' Lean's objection to the holy nature
of faith is thus stated —
" When men include in the very nature of justifying
faith such good dispositions, holy affections, and pious
exercises of heart, as the moral law requires, and so
make them necessary (no matter under what considera
tion) to acceptance with God, it perverts the apostles'
doctrine upon this important subject, and makes justifi
cation to be as it were by the works of the law."*
To this Mr. Fuller replies —
" I know not of any writer who has given such a
definition of faith as this statement would represent.
No more holy affection is pleaded for in faith, than un
holy disaffection is allowed to be in unbelief. But the
design is manifestly to exclude all holy affection from
faith, as being favourable to self-righteousness.
" If therefore repentance be considered as necessary to
* Commission, second edition, Note.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 3 19
forgiveness, seeing it must be allowed to include holy
affection, it will be considered as favourable to self-
righteousness. And as to distinguishing between what
is necessary in the established order qf things, and what
is necessary as a procuring cause, this will not be ad
mitted ; for it is ' no matter under what consideration.'
If any thing required by the moral law be rendered
necessary, it makes justification to be ' as it were by the
works of the law.'
" As Mr. M'Lean however, in his piece on " The
Calls and Invitations of the Gospel," has gone pretty
far towards answering himself, I shall transcribe a pas
sage from that performance. It is an unscriptural re
finement upon divine grace, (he there says) and con
trary to the doctrine of the apostles, to class faith and
repentance with the works of the law, and to state them
as equally opposite to free justification. Indeed neither
faith nor repentance are the meritorious or procuring
causeof a sinner's justification, anymore than the works
of ;the law are; (and who that really believes and re
pents will imagine that they are ?) Bat still the one is
opposed to free justification, the other not. To him
that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but
of debt; and faith and repentance corresponding ex
actly with the manifestation of divine grace, as freely
justifying the guilty through the atonement, are in their
very nat;ure opposite to all self-dependence, and lead
men to glory only in the Lord." p. 26.
" We see here," adds Mr. Fuller, " that there is
nothing in the nature of repentance that clashes with a
free justification, which yet must be allowed to include
a portion of holy affection. Why then object to the

320 MEMOIRS OF
same thing ia faith ? Is it because holy affection is ' re
quired by the moral law ?' Be it so ; it is die same in
repentance as in faith ; and if the one ma}- ' in its very
nature' agree with a free justification, so may the other.
The truth is, the moral law materially considered, is
not opposed to free justification. The love of God and
man is in its own nature as opposite to self-righteous
pride, as faith and repentance are. It is not the ' law
that is against the promises,' but those works ofthe law
done by a sinful creature with a view qf obtaining life, or
of procuring acceptance with God as the reward of them.
If holy affection were urged with such a view, then
were it opposed to the free grace of the gospel ; but
while this is not the case, all such reasonings are
' unscriptural refinements.'
" If men make a righteousness of their faith, it is not
owing to these representations of it, but to their own
corruptions ; for let faith include what good disposition
it may, it is no part ofthe meritorious cause of jusrifi-
cation ; and let it be simplified as it may, even till it
shall contain no more of the holy nature of God than
a glance of the eye, yet it is not on this account more
friendly to the doctrine of grace, nor less liable to be
come the food of a self-righteous spirit. The way in
which this spirit is cut up in the new testament is, not
by reducing faith to an unfeeling speculation, but by
denouncing the curse against eveiy one who comes
short of periect obedience. Gal. iii. 10,"*
4. There is also some difference between these
writers, on the subject of a previous principle
* Strictures, p. 37— 39.

MR. J^NDRE^V FULLER. 321
in order to believing, but which appears to have
been magnified beyond its real importance.
Considering faith as a moral, rather than an in
tellectual exercise, Mr. FuUer maintained that
k is the effect of the regenerating influences of
the Holy Spirit, or a persuasion of divine truth
arising fi-om the state of the heart ; alleging that
the same state of mind which disposes men to
reject the gospel, could not incline them to em
brace it ; and that except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. He there
fore, in the order of nature, placed regenera
tion before faith, though not in the order of
time ; and while he admitted the instrumen
tality of the word in effecting this change,
he insisted that it could not be by the word
believed, for then faith would be the effect of
itself. Mr. M'Lean, considering faith rather as an
intellectual than a moral exercise, reverses this
order ; making regeneration to be the effect of
faith, and spiritual disposition to follow upon
right perception.
" What I maintain," says he, " is briefly this: That
in regeneration, the Holy Sphit, in the first instance,
by his inexphcable energy, gives the mind a believing
or realising perception of the truth as revealed in the
word, and thereby operates on the will and affections, liot
only in the beginning of the change, but in all the
subsequent progress of sanctification ; for men are not
only born again of the inconuptible seed of the word.

oC'2 MEiMOIRS OF
bnt are also sanctified throngh the truth, which is tlie
word of God."*
Yet in another of his performances, he says,
" It is a doctrine clearly taught in the scriptui-es,
that none have a true miderstanding of the gos[>el but
such as are taught of God, by tlie special illiuninating
influences ofthe Holy Spuit. A^'e are expressly told
that * the natural man receivcth not the things ot" the
Spirit of God; for thev aic foolishness untoliiiu ; nei
ther can he know them, because they aie spiritually
discerned.' Adding, " It is not pleaded that any
truth or sentiment is communicated to the mind by the
Spirit, besides what is already clearly revealed in the
word ; and the illumination of die Spirit is to make men
perceive and understaud tliat revelation which is already
given, in its true light. But as to what that true light
is, no man by any form of expression can oflcctually
communicate that to his neighbour, any more than he
can give him a ^iritual disceritmenl, which would be
to perform tlie peculiai- office of the Holy Spirit." j-
In another place he acknowledges, that '' the scrip
tures always represent the regenerating and sanctifying
influences of the Spirit as exerted upon tho heart;
which includes not only the understanding, but tlie
will and affections, or the prevalent inclinations mid
dispositions of the soul.";];
According td tiiese statements, the difference
between the two controversialists, on this point,
could not be considerable. They botii main
tain the idea of a previous principle, or of the
» Rtpb/, p. 35. i Works, vol. iv, p. 78, 80, 81.
t Works, vol. ii, p. 91.

MR. ANDREW FULLER, :3'23
soul's being rendered spiritual, in order to its
believing in Christ ; and the difterence lies not
in the necessity, but in the nattire of a previous
change of mind ; or whether it be proper to call
it a principle, and to suppose it to include life
as Avell as light. Mr. Fuller determines it to be
a holy susceptibility; and Mr. M'Lean, a
spiritual perception ; but both ascribe it to di
vine influence.
Mr, Fuller's " Strictures" are occupied on
other topics, relative to the practices ofthe Sande
manian churches, which have no imraediate con
nection with the present controversy, and ought
not to be confounded with it. It is true the
writer was clearly of opinion, tiiat the Scottish
Baptists in general had imbibed too much of
the Sandemanian system, and was confirmed
in that opinion by observing its effects among
them, as well as amongst other denominations,
during his repeated excursions to tiie north, as
has already appeared from his Journal m a
former Chapter ; yet it is evident that his lead
ing design was rather to expose the antichristian
spirit of the system, wherever it prevailed, than
attack any paa-ticular class of its pi"ofessors.
And though he thought that Mr. M'Lean
retained so much of the savour of tiiese princi
ples, " as often to reason upon tiie ground of
them, and to involve hiraself in numerous incon-

324 MEMOIRS OF
sistencies; yet he did not mean to suggest that
his system was precisely that of Mr. Sande-
man."* Justice also requires it to be said, that
in several important articles there was a total
disparity : and if the statement in the former
part of this paper be found correct, Mr. M'Lean
was more nearly allied in sentiment to his
opponent, than to the opposite party with
which he has been classed.
* Strictures, p, 151. Note.

Mr. ANDREW FULLER. 3^5

CHAPTER IX.
The Socinian — Universalist — Deistical — and
Missionary Controversies.
It seldom falls to the lot of any author, how
ever eminent, to be called into so wide a field
of controversy, or to engage upwards of a
dozen writers in succession, each distinguished
in their several departments^ and on a variety of
subjects, connected indeed with religious inte
rests, but demanding the most vigorous exercise
of an acute and penetrating judgment, and an in
timate acquaintance with the whole circle of po
lemical theology. Here it was that Mr. Fuller
found himself at home; and the sacred scriptures,
in which he constantly delighted^ both supplied
the place of science, and fiirnished him with
those weapons which he wielded with such
wonderful success.
Tn the preceding chapter we saw him engag
ed in those minor disputations which exist
araong christians ; in this we behold him at war
chiefly with the adversaries of revelation, with
deists and semi-deists of various descriptions ;

326 MEMOIRS OF
some under the garb of Christianity, and others
naked to their shame. There he endeavoured
to rectify the errors of a mistaken friend ; here
he sounds the alarm of an enemy in the camp,
and wishes to unite all parties in the cause of
God and truth. Nor were his zealous exertions,
in conjunction with those of other denomina
tions, vain or ineffectual. Infidelity has ceased
to stalk in open day, and like the nightly pesti
lence, it is compelled to walk in darkness. The
enemies of evangelical truth, if not reduced in
number, are in full retreat ; and instead of the
vaun tings of an arrogant and vain philosophy,
are now heard the tender recitals of Missionary
adventures, and the full chorus of Bible institu
tions ; whose sound is gone forth into all the
earth, and their words unto the ends of the
world. The Socinian Controversy.
Modern Socinianism, it has been said, is so
unlike to Christiafiity, that it seems a matter of
surprise it should ever have assumed the name,
unless for the purpose of procuring for it a little
religious reputation, and giving it a freer cur
rency among the credulous. It contains indeed
sorae portion of scriptural truth, and so does
judaisrn and deism ; but it has none of the fea
tures of genuine Christianity, and even Socinus

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 337
himself would not have known by what name
to distinguish it. It is evidently a system of
scepticism, and not a religion of belief. It com
mences doubting — ^it lives by doubting — and it
dies doubting. Uncertainty is connected with
all its enquiries, and attends it in all the stages
of its progress. The less you believe respecting
Christ, the less you are afraid of Satan and of
hell — the greater freedom you use with the
Scriptures, and the more indifference you show
to divine institutions — the better christian you
become. Yet at the comraencement ofthe present Con
troversy, the pretensions of its advocates were
the most inordinate ; and nothing but the ex
clusive title of Rational Christians would satisfy
them. The great Goliah of the party. Dr.
Priestley, was in the meridian of his days ; and
by a series of pubhcations which were every
year coming forward in rapid succession, he
astonished the christian world by the boldness
of his style, and his daring attacks upon the
orthodox system. From calling in question
the divinity of the Son of God, and the doc
trine of his atonement for sin, he proceeded by
regular gradations to undermine every impor
tant and valuable truth pertaining to the chris
tian revelation, until he daringly impugned the
inspiration of the Scriptures — questioned the di-

328 MEMOIRS OF
vine authority of such parts of them as raihtated
against his hypothesis, represented the Saviour
as peccable, and his apostles as inconclusive
reasoners! Christiansof all denominations stood
aghast at the novelty and audacity of these
speculations, and were literally panic struck at
beholding this bold blasphemer defying the
armies of Israel.
There had also been a previous union among
Protestant Dissenters, in their application to
Parliament for the repeal of the Corporation
and Test Acts, of which the Socinians had avail
ed themselves, and which soonbecame the source
of various misconceptions. Serious raen of the
estabhshed church expressed their surprise, that
sorae dissenters could unite with others so op
posite in their religious principles ; not consider
ing that the union was merely civil, and not of
a religious nature. Others supposed that the
majority of dissenters had either imbibed the
Socinian system, or were hastily approaching
towards it. The famous Bishop Horsley was
one who appeared to entertain this opinion.
Dr. Priestley, at the same time, though he al
lowed the orthodox to be the most numerous
body of dissenters, insinuated that nine tenths
of the general population would prefer a unita
rian to a trinitarian liturgy. The arrogance of
the Socinian party, in caUing themselves The

MR, ANDREW FULLER, 3^9
dissenters, the modern dissenters, like some or
thodox christians of later times, who call them
selves The  Society ; together with
the insiduous attempts of the former to disse
minate their principles, and charging Calvinism
with having an immoral tendency — ^produced a
new state of things in the religious world.
At this juncture, a pamphlet appeared anony
mous indeed, but written by the late Rev. Samuel
Palmer of Hackney, in a style remarkable for
its temperance and candour, calling upon the
friends of orthodoxy to stand forward and defend
their principles, and to state clearly the genuine
articles of the christian faith ; pointing out at
the same time the propriety of reviewing calmly
and dispassionately the system of their venera
ble predecessors. It was also modestly hinted,
that some things would be found scarcely tena
ble ; and which, as belonging to the outposts,
it would perhaps be wise in them to give up,
for the sake of preserving the citadel.
This pamphlet made a strong impression on
the public raind. It obtained high comraen-
dation frora the Monthly Reviewers, in conduct
ing whose journal at that time, Mr. Badcock
had a considerable share, and who evidently
took pains to second the object of this pam
phlet, Mr. Fuller was now rising into pubhc
notice as a theological writer ; and being alive
z

330 MEMOIRS OF
to the interests and iraportance of divine truth,
he felt the call thus raade upon hira as an indi
vidual, to attempt a defence of those doctrines
which Socinianisra was labouring to destroy.
He had at that time raany senior brethren in
the ministry, to whom he looked up with be
coming deference and respect. Little indeed
was to be expected frora the acute and ingeni
ous Robinson, the versatility of whose mind
had become sufficiently conspicuous, and
whose fondness of novelty and paradox had
given him a predilection for the writings of
Priestley ; nor can it be doubted, that the treat
ment he received from the orthodox contributed
not a little to lessen his regard for their inte
rests, and attach hira to any society rather than
their own.
Dr. Stennett also, but frora different motives,
reraained a silent spectator of the contest. Mr.
Fuller deterrained however to raake an effort ;
and having applied in vain to several of his bre
thren in the ministry for their assistance, he at
length, in 1793^ produced his celebrated work,
entitled.
The Calvinistic and Socinian Systems examined and com
pared, as to their Moral Tendency : in a series qf Let
ters, addressed to the friends of vital and practical re
ligion. 8vo. bds. pp. 400,
The clear and satisfactory nature of the argu-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 331
ment employed, and theiraportant effects result
ing frora this performance, have placed it in
very high esteem, and procured an extensive
circulation. For its appearance however in its
present state, the public are much indebted to
the venerable Booth, for a hint which he sug
gested to the author ; who when he first under
took to examine the Socinian controversy, had
sketched only a small pamphlet, divided into
twelve sections. On viewing the manuscript,
Mr, Booth recommended him to enlarge his
plan, and to devote a whole Letter to each to
pic : this he afterwards did, and carried on the
series to the nuraber of fifteen. Dr. John
Fawcett, of Hebden Bridge, near Halifax, also
concurred very heartily in the design, and cora-
raunicated some valuable thoughts on ' Love to
God,' which appear in Letter vii. This how
ever is the sum total of the author's obligations.
Upon these topics he professedly reasons,
both on the consequences that might naturally
be expected frora the adverse systeras, and on
the actual effects which they appeared to pro
duce. He at the same time fairly considers the
conduct of the general body of people that pro
fess each system. He also finds occasion to
examine and refute the pretension of Socinians
to a great number of converts ; and towards the
conclusion, he detects the resemblance and
z 2

332 MEMOIRS OF
tendency of Socinianisra to Infidelity. Most
of his arguments are deduced from matter of
fact, obvious in itself, and often acknowledged
by Socinian writers.
A summary of this able perforraance is given
with such force and precision, after having es
tablished all his positions by a close and equit
able comparison of the two systeras, that we
cannot better be made acquainted with its con-
tents,or the tenour ofthe reasoning, in so small
a compass, than by quoting the words of the
Author in his two concluding reflections.'
" First : If that system which embraces the deity and
atonement of Christ, with other correspondent doctrines,
be friendly to a life of sobriety, righteousness, ahd god
liness ; it must be of God, and it becomes us to abide
by it ; not because it is the doctrine of Calvin, or of
any other uninspired man, but as being the gospel, which
we have received from Christ and his apostles ; wherein
we stand, and by which we are saved.
" Secondly : If that system of religion which rejects
the deity and atonement of Christ, with other cones-
pondent doctrines, be unfriendly to the conversion of
sinners to a life of holiness, and of professed unbelievers
to faith in Christ ; if it be a system which irreligious
men are the first, and serious christians the last to em
brace ; if it be found to relax the obligations to virtuous
affection and behaviour, by relaxing the standard of
virtue itself; if it promote neither love to God under
his true character, nor benevolence to men, as it is ex-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 333
emplified in the spirit of Christ and liis apostles ; if it
lead those who embrace it to be wise in their own eyes,
and instead of humbly deprecating God's righteous
displeasure, even in their dying moments, arrogantly
to challenge his justice ; if the charity which it incul
cates be founded in an indifference to divine truth ; if
it be inconsistent With ardent love to Christ, and venera
tion for the holy Scriptures ; if the happiness which it
promotes be at variance' with the joys of the gospel ;
and, finally, if it diminish the motives to gratitude,
obedience, and heavenly mindedness, and have a natu
ral tendency to Infidelity, — it must be an immoral sys
tem, and consequently not of God. It is not the gos
pel of Christ, but another gospel. Those who preach
it, preach another Jesus, whom the apostles did not
preach ; and thoSe who receive it, receive another spirit,
which they never imbibed. It is not the light which
cometh from above, but a cloiid of darkness that hath
arisen from beneath, tending to eclipse it. It is not
the highway of truth, which is a way of holiness, but
a by-path of error, which misleads the unwary traveller ;
and of which, as we value our immortal interests, it be
comes us to beware. We need not be afraid of evi
dence, or of free enquiry. For, if in-eligious men be
the first, and serious christians the last who embrace
the Socinian system ; it is easy to perceive, that the
avenues which lea^ to it are not, as its abettors would
persuade us to think, an openness to conviction, or a
free and impartial enquiry after truth ; but a heart se
cretly disaffected to the true character of God, and dis
satisfied with the gospel way of salvation."
The Socinians have never been able fairly to
meet this performance, or to defend their own

334 MEMOIRS OF
system, on the principle which it adopts ; but
pretending to rest their cause on the literality
of scriptural evidence, they have betrayed a
conviction that it would be more easy to puzzle
plain and serious christians by overbearing as
sertions and plausible subterfuges, about the
sense of detached passages in the bible, than to
persuade them that the body of Socinians in
general is to be set in competition for practical
godliness with that of Calvinists.
The religious world at large will doubtless
retain a lasting sense of their obligation to the
lamented Author, for his vivid representation of
the leading doctrines of the Christian System,
and for his perspicuous and striking display of
an argument in their defence, so accessible to
general comprehension and observation; and
will gratefully acknowledge, that the manner
ra which the investigation was conducted, hap
pily comports with the genius and the spirit of
genuine Christianity.
Socinianism Indefensible, on fhe ground of its Moral
Tendency : containing A Reply to Dr. Toulmin, and
Mr. Kentish. 8vo. 1797-
After having exhibited several heavy charges
against the Calvinistic system, as being un
friendly to benevolent affections and virtuous
behaviour, it was not to be expected that the
advocates of Socinianism would all at once de-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 335
cline to make good their charges, or to accept
the challenge of examining their own system
vipon the same ground ; much less that they
would hesitate to admit the validity of such a
test. At the time that Mr. Fuller's examina
tion of the Calvinistic and Socinian Systems
first made its appearance, so much regard was
entertained for moral principle that some ofthe
most respectable characters araong thera ac
knowledged that the work was " well worthy of
their attention."
Dr. Priestley, it was said, refused to read it,
notwithstanding it contained frequent reference
to what he had published ; and not till after
three years, when several editions were in circu
lation, was any answer attempted. Dr. Toul
min indeed had no doubt, " that the gentlemen,
on passages in whose writings raany of our
Author's reflections were groimded, were every
way equal to the contest, if they saw fit to enter
the lists with him." Their not having done
this, Dr, Toulmin comes forward with his
" Practical Efficacy of the Unitarian doctrine ;
but he was scarcely a breakfast for this power
ful antagonist. He compleated his answer to
Dr. Toulmin and Mr. Kentish in a few days ;
observing at the time he was writing it, that he
could see his way clearly through the subject ;
•and that it would cost him more labour to reply
to a single letter, such as he was iu the habit of

336 MEMOIRS OF
receiving from sorae close thinking Scots, than
to answer half a dozen such writers as these.
Before Dr. Toulrain could undertake what
he thought so easy of achieveraent, he was oblig
ed to shift the ground of the contest, and virtu
ally to give up the principle, that the raoral
tendency of a doctrine is a fair criterion of its
truth ; and to maintain on the contrary, that
we are not to ask by whom any system is pro
fessed, but to confine ourselves to the single
enquiry, by what evidence it is supported. The
doctor, and his coadjutor in the same cause,
had a right to rest the evidence in favour of
their system on what ground they pleased ; but
neither in truth nor in literary justice, had they
any right to consider their work as an answer
to Mr. Fuller's performance.
In a new edition of his pamphlet. Dr. Toul
rain is at length reduced to the necessity of ac
knowledging, that " he did not intend to give
a full and minute answer" to his opponent, but
only to bring the unitarian doctrine to the test
of scriptural facts. Mr. Fuller afterwards no
ticed the unfairness of Dr. Toulmin's conduct,
exposed the futility of his arguments, and es
tablished the legitimacy of the principle on
which he had rested his performance, in a post
script to a new and enlarged edition of his
Calvinistic and Socinian Systems compared, as

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 337
to their Moral Tendency ; and here ended the
part he had taken in this controversy.
Three or four years afterwards, an ignorant
and intemperate man, who formerly professed
orthodox principles which he never understood,
as he hiraself acknowledged, went over to the
Socinian standard, and addressed a printed
Letter to Mr. Fuller. This auxiliary publica
tion falling into the hands of one of the raost
distinguished characters amongst the Socinians,
he was pleased to recommend it to some of his
brethren, and hoped that it would convert even
the Author of the Systems compared ; though
it abounded in false assertions, misrepresenta
tions, and the lowest species of scurrility.
Perceiving the complete triumph which had
been gained over his opponents, who having
felt to their cost, the disadvantage of bringing
their scheme to the test of its moral efficacy,
and afterwards appealing to the Scriptures,
" rightly understood and critically explained,"
could, notwithstanding, descend frora these
heights to fraternise with a scribbler who was
really unable to write a single paragraph of
coraraon sense, and ex.alt hira to the rank of a
champion, provoked the risibility of Mr. Fuller
to such a degree, that he could not forbear ex
claiming — " Poor Socinianism ! Through the
^traitness of the siege wherewith thine enemies

33S MEMOIRS Of
have beseiged thee, an ass's head is sold Jar four
score pieces of silver, and tfte fourth part qf a
kab qf dove's dung for fire pieces qf silver/"
This conti'oversy may now be considered as
settled, so far at least as relates to the present
ground of argument. Mr. Belsham used to
make great boast of the practical eflScacy of
their system : but after Dr. Toulmin and Mr.
Kentish had received their quietus, he was
willing to relinquish that point, or at least did
not defend it : but .said on behalf of himself and
his coadjutoi-s, that " they would not trespass
upon the holy ground." There is therefore no
longer any necessity for caiTving on this war
fare ; tiie friends of evangelical truth are in le
gal possession, and have only to improve those
advantages which the contest has ensured, by
adding to their faith, virtue, brotherly kindness,
and charity. If Socinianism still hves, it owes
it^ existence to controversy, and maintains it-
.•<elf by the logical dexterity of its defenders.
Like the apocalyptic beast, it appears with its-
head wounded to death, and is going fast to
perdition. The Universaust Controversy.
The apostle of Universalism was Mr, W'm-
chester, minister of a dissenting congregation in
London; itnd being a man of lather popular

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 339
talents, and pleasing raanners, he drew together
a considerable number of hearers, and made
some proselytes. Novelty, in any dress, al
ways finds admirers ; but when adorned in the
garb of Universal Salvation, — promising eternal
life to those who die in their sins, after suffer
ing a paternal chastisement in a future state, to
qualify them for heaven, it cannot fail of obtain
ing many votaries. Yet however corrupt men
may be in practice, and however desirous of be
lieving a doctrine so congenial with their de
pravity, they do not all at once give up those
opinions in which they have been educated,
and which appear to be sanctioned by the word
of God itself. I n order therefore to effect any
considerable success, all those plain and nume
rous passages of scripture which threaten de
struction to the finally impenitent, must first be
disposed of. The expedient is easy. It is
only necessary to intimate, that the bible, as it
is in common use, is not the language in which
the scriptures were originally written ; then to
assert that the men who translated the bible into
Enghsh were strongly prejudiced in favour of
many false doctrines, and that they have given
such an interpretation as best suited their own
errors : moreover, that they were ignorant raen,
who knew nothing of modern improvements in
learning, and have committed many ofthe gross-

340 MEMOIRS OF
est mistakes. This done, all confidence in the
English bible is taken away, and nothing more
is necessary but to affirm that it is so and so in
the .original.
This expedient Mr. Winchester adopted : he
professed as great a veneration for the bible as
any raan; but not the bible as it is read by
Englishmen, but in Hebrew and Greek. By
these and similar means he made a number of
converts ; and universal salvation, among a cer
tain class, became the order of the day. Mr.
Winchester, however, did not formally renounce
what are usually considered the essentials of
Christianity, though the arguments by which he
supported universalism tended to their subver
sion. He also paved the way, perhaps unde
signedly, for what has since taken place. He
taught, by his frequent references to the origi
nal, in support of his doctrine, that no depen
dence was to be placed in the English bible, and
prepared his hearers to receive whatever senti
ments the learned should thrak right to declare
were contained in the original scriptures. By
this means they found, that one doctrine which
seemed to be plainly enough taught in their
bibles, was false; and then, why might not
others be false, which seemed equally plain.
Mr. Vidler, who had formerly been pastor of
-the baptist church at Battle in Sussex, after-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 341
wards succeeded Mr. Winchester, and found a
people exactly prepared for hira. This gen-
tleraan so infinitely outdid all the doings of his
predecessor, as to cause the name of Winches
ter soon to be forgotten. Universal salvation is
now scarcely ever heard of, except as the firet
step which led to greater discoveries. They
now see that there is no truth in the doctrine of
Christ's satisfaction for sin; that Jesus was no
more than a man, and the son of Joseph ; that
the soul is material, and sleeps till the morning
of the resurrection. They are also learned in
the doctrine of philosophical necessity ; and as
for Greek, it is perfectly farailiar; even sorae
of the ladies speak it as grammatically as they
do English. It is no wonder therefore that this
new literati should style themselves the avow
ed enemies of bigotry, and the friends of free
enquiry: they are candid, rational, and libe
ral, and entertain the most benevolent senti
raents towards infidels; pitying them as being
driven to infidelity, by the absurdities maintain
ed by what are called orthodox christians.
They entertain the most sanguine hopes of bring
ing these well-disposed, but mistaken unbeliev
ers, over to rational rehgion — if these should
not get the start of them, and bring them over to
infidehty. As soon as it was understood that Mr. Vid-

342 MEMOIRS OP
ler had embraced the doctrine of universal salva
tion, Mr. Fuller was desirous of arresting his
progress: accordingly, in February 1793, he ad
dressed to Mr. V. an expostulatory letter, en
treating him to consider the pernicious tendency
of those principles, and to "beware of the whirl
pool of Socinianism." Mr. V. made no reply ;
and as the letter contained nothing of a private
nature, it was inserted in the Evangelical Maga
zine two years afterwards, under the signature
of Gaius. Presuming that Mr. V. would at
tempt to maintain his new system on the ground
of his predecessors, this letter embraced the
following questions — (1) Whether Mr. V.'.s
change of sentiment did not arise from an idea
that endless punishment was in itself unjust
— (2) Whether the genius of the sentin^ent in
question be not opposite to that of every other
sentiment in the bible— (3) Whether Mr. V.'s
ministrations, on this principle, will not savour
of his who taught our first parents, ' ye shall
not surely die.'
In 1797, when Mr. V. commenced editor of
the Universalist Miscellany, he was anxious to
engage Mr. F. in a controversy, and inserted a
letter in the first two numbers of the work, stat
ing that Mr. F.'s questions had no more refer
ence to the doctrine of the Universalists, than
to that of election. Supposing also that the

MR. ANDREW PULLER. 343
doctrine of endless punishment rests entirely
on the meaning of tiie words ever, everlasting,
^c, he attempted to prove that these are words
of indefinite meaning, which cannot be ascer
tained but by the subject with which they stand
connected.' He then brought forward the rea
sons which induced hira to adopt his preisent
system. Proceeding in the discussion, Mr. V. endea
vours to evade the first enquiry ; raaintaining
that the question is not whether endless punish-
raent be in itself just, but whether God has any
where threatened any description of sinners with
it. Mr. Fuller meets this enquiry in his Fifth
Letter, containing four sources of scriptural
proof of the doctrine of endless punishment,
with his remarks on each ; and it maybe doubted
whether such a mass of striking and satisfactory
evidence on this subject has ever been exhibited,
within the same compass, in the English lan
guage. The first source of evidence is derived
from those passages of scripture which des
cribe the future states of men in contrast;
from which Mr. F. reasons, th-atthe state of the
righteous, which is opposed to thatof the wicked,
is allowed to be final ; and if that of the wicked
were not the same, it would not have been con
trasted with it, for it would not be a contrast.
He also pleads that the passages quoted are

344 MEMOIRS OF
totally silent, as to any other state following that
of condemnation and fiiture punishment ; and
that the phraseology of the greater part of them
is inconsistent with the notion of any other state
following that which they describe. His second
species of evidence consists of those scriptures
which ^eak of the duration of future punish
ment by the terms ' everlasting, eternal, for
ever, and for ever and ever.' His third, all
those passages which express the duration of fu
ture punishment by implication, or by forms of
speech which imply the doctrine in question.
The last body of evidence is drawn from those
scriptures which teach that a change of heart,
and a preparedness for heaven, are confined to
the present life.
Mr. V. had previously allowed that the future
state of the righteous was final ; and that as
their life and blessedness flow naturally from
God, in whom are all our springs, it would be
like him, eternal in duration. But being over
whelmed with the evidence which his opponent
had adduced, he had now no other way of ex
tricating himself, than by alleging that the state
of the righteous had not been proved to be
final, not that if the state of the wicked be not
final, it would not be contrasted with that of the
righteous. He was willing indeed to admit,
that the final state of the righteous might be
elsewhere expressed, and taught on other

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 345
grounds ; but contended that the words 'eternal'
and ' everlasting,' proved nothing to the purpose.
The remainder of the controversy is chiefly
occupied in investigating these and similar terms,
in reference to the doctrine of future punishment.
The words 'ever, everlasting, and eternal, 'mean
ing no raore in Mr. V.'s creed than ' age, age-
lasting, or ages, he was requested to fix on a
term that would better express unlimited dura
tion. He therefore selects for this purpose the
word endless, and professes that he should have
been satisfied of the truth of his opponent's doc
trine, if this term had been associated with it in
the scriptures, referring at the same time to Heb.
vii. 16 ; where, unfortunately, it is used in a limit
ed sense, and restricted to the period of Christ's
mediation. Mr. F. shows that it is not in the
power of language to convey any definitive idea,
according to Mr. V.'s code of interpretation ;
and if a subject is not to be understood by the
terms, in which it is expressed, but the terms
by the previous ideas which any one attaches
to the subject, or if terms themselves have no
specific or proper meaning, there is no hope of
understanding any thing, either in common
speech or in holy writ.
The various shifts and evasions attempted
by Mr. V., in the course of this disputation, ren
dered it extremely irksome to Mr. F. to proceed,
A a

346 MEMOIRS OF
and he did it with great reluctance. He found
that he had to do, as he said, with a ' gross and
subtle sophist,' whose understanding was perver
ted by a system, which rendered him inaccessible
to evidence. He was also much disgusted with the
literary pretensions of his antagonist, whose ut
most acquirements he thought did not go far be-
yondthegreek alphabet; andnot professing a cri
tical acquaintance with the original languages
himself, he judged it would become them both
to write in English. Mr. V. took fire at this,
and scornfully suggested to Mr. F. that he
might have been contented with confessing his
own ignorance. In spite of this counsel, he
continued to figure away in Hebrew and Greek ;
and poor Mr. F. was obliged to follow him
as well as he was able. After the dispute was
ended, his papers were reprinted in a separate
pamphlet, entitled —
Letters to Mr. Vidler, on the doctrine qf Universal Sal
vation. 1802. 8vo. pp, 108,
This pubHcation closed Mr. Fuller's part
in the pi*esent contest. But a gentleman, who
had been a strict observer of every thing that
passed, and had watched the direction of every
blow, being provoked at the groundless preten
sions of Mr. v., and hurt by his ignorant ir
reverent freedoms with the holy scriptures, re-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 347
solved to expose him to the religious world.
He therefore published " Letters to a Univer
salist ; containing a Review of the Controversy
between Mr. Vidler and Mr. Fuller, on the
doctrine of Universal Salvation." And true it
is, he has stripped the sciolist of all his pluraes,
and turned hira out, and his cause with him,
naked to their sharae. — Tbe following are sorae
of his concluding reflections :
" What are we to think of the man, who with such
consummate effrontery, not only charges the commonly
received translation with being false, — but appeals to
' every proper judge' for the genuineness of a transla
tion, the most glaringly contradictory, ungrammatical,
and absurd, that perhaps ignorance ever ventured to
publish ; and that too, when he must have known that
the authority of the greatest names that ever adorned
real science, was directly against him ; and without the
suffrage of a single scholar to keep him in countenance.
Let him hide his face in confusion. His trash did not
deserve so much attention ; but I measured its impor
tance by the mischief it might do amongst unlettered
readers. I cannot help expressing an honest indigna
tion against the man who undermines the common
christian's faith, by insinuating that his English bible
is & false transcript of the original. When I contrast
their venerable names and real learning with the half-
taught scholars of modern times, who, having just
learned to distinguish alplm from beta, take upon
them to criticise, and unceremoniously to cashier
A a 2

348 MEMOIRS OF
them, I blush at the mention of learning, and loathe
the name of science.
" Were I to recal to your recollection the proofs I
have given of his misrepresentation, his ungenerous
disavowal of sentiments which he maintained at the
beginning of the controversy, his petulant illiberality,
his unsupported pretensioHs to candour and imparti
ality — it might look like indulging a vindictive spirit,
against which I solemnly appeal. I have no enmity
whatever against the man: it is simply against the wri
ter that all my animadversions are aimed : and if the
representation here given of the disputant, should
operate to the advantage of the man, I shall think my
self well repaid for the trouble I have taken in this
Review. — I entreat you, look well to yourself. Make
a voluntary surrender, if you please, of your understand
ing ; take the self confident, the smatterer in knowledge,
the noisy boaster of superior candour and discernment,
as your guide, in things that pertain to the present life ;
sacrifice every thing that is dear to you of a finite du
ration ; but— make a reserve of your soul! "

The Deistical Controversy.
A spirit of infidelity has existed in all ages of
the world ; but it was not till within a century
after the Reformation that it made its appear
ance in this country under a systematic form.
Lord Herbert is said to have been the first Eng
lish deist who inveighed against the inspiration

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 349
of the scriptures, and openly defended the prin
ciples of infidelity ; but to avoid the odiura of
such a proceeding, his publications were both
in Latin, and first printed on the continent. He
maintained that there is but one God, that he is
chiefly to be worshipped, that piety and virtue
are the principal parts of his worship, that God
will pardon sins on repentance, and that there
kre rewards for the good and punishments for
the wicked in a future state, and that these were
coraraon sentiments acknowledged by all na
tions. Lord Herbert was soon followed by a num
ber of other writers, who each in his turn as
sailed the bulwarks of Christianity. Araong
the principal of these, in later times, were Lord
Shaftesbury, Lord Bolingbroke, Morgan, Gib
bon, and Hume. Deism now assumed a grosser
forra ; not only was the sufficiency ofthe light of
nature acknowledged, and the necessity of a
supernatural revdation totally denied, but along
with it the existence of a providence and of a
future state, and every distinction between
raoral good and evil. Christianity, and even
common morality, being assaulted by such inve
terate adversaries, numerous defenders arose
for their support ; amongst the most distinguish
ed of whom are Chandler, Lardner, and Le-

350 MEMOIRS OF
land, whose voluminous writings have acquired
the highest celebrity.
Soon after the commencement of the French
Revolution, the spirit of infidelity again revived,
and Christianity was outrageously treated as an
imposture. The prevailing party in France,
having possessed themselves of the power of the
state, made every exertion to efface from the
public mind, all ideas of religion and morality ;
and in one instance, an attempt was made fof
restoring somethmg like the ancient idolatry.
The doctrine of the imraortality of the soul, or
a future state of rewards and punishments, was
publicly ridiculed, and the people were taught
to believe that death was an everlasting sleep.
' The Temple of Reason ' was inscribed on the
churches, in contempt of Divine Revelation ;
atheistical and licentious homilies were publish
ed instead of the old service, and a ludicrous
imitation of the Greek mythology exhibited
under the title of ' The Religion of Reason.'
Infidelity was carried to such an excess, that
they even dressed up a common harlot with the
most fantastic decorations, whom they blasphe
mously styled ' The Goddess of Reason ; ' and
having placed her on an altar in the church,
whither she was escorted by the constituted
authorities, they harangued the people, who in

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 35 1
return professed the deepest adoration, and
sung several songs in honour of the goddess.
This horrid scene was concluded by burning
the prayer-book, confessional, and every thing
appropriated to the use of public worship.
Amidst the temporary triumphs of * The
Temple of Reason,' ' The Religion of Reason,'
and ' The Goddess of Reason,' Thomas Paine's
' Age of Reason ' made its appearance ; and
favoured by various political circumstances, it
diffused a spirit of infidelity throughout the
country. The low state of religion in general,
the long reign of darkness in the established
church, the prevalence of Hypercalvinism
amongst one class of dissenters, the bold and
daring efforts of Socinianism in another, toge
ther with the eager interest felt by political par
tisans, in the revolutionary inoveraents of the
day, left but little to resist the torrent of infide
lity which poured in from the neighbouring con
tinent. Several able answers were written to Paine's
popular and pernicious pamphlet; but its ef
fects were widely and deeply felt. The general
qualities of this writer, both in reference to his
political and deistical publications, were once
described by Mr. Fuller in the following terms.
" He possesses strong powers of mind ; but his
prejudices are stronger than his faculties. His

352 . MEMOIRS OF
imagination is vivid, but extreraely impure ; his
language is forcible, but grossly offensive ; his
endowments are chiefly natural, and on this ac
count his vanity is intolerable. The strength
and energy of his conceptions would render him
a convincing reasoner ; but the moral qualities
of his mind in raost cases forbid it. Malignant
passions, violent prejudices, and a vain desire of
displaying his wit, must, in proportion as they
operate, disqualify him for just reasoning, let
his talents be what they may. In fine, his ge
nius is much more adapted to demolish, than
to build up. His talents are formed for expos
ing, the ills of huraan society, rather than for en
couraging the good. Reproach is his element :
if he can find truth on which to ground it, it is
very well ; but if not, his jaundiced mind can
supply that deficiency, and give a colour to
every object of dislike according to his wishes.
He is a plant that will not flourish either by the
rains of heaven, or the natural fertility of the
earth : it is only by the putrid effluvia of the
dunghill that he can live."
In publishing an answer ^to this profane and
sarcastic writer, Mr. Fuller takes occasion to
review the principles of deistical writers in ge
neral, in contrast with the doctrines of revealed
religion ; and omitting various points in dispute
between Christians and Infidels, relative to his-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 553
torical facts, which had been ably discussed by
other writers, he confines himself chiefly to the
internal evidence which Christianity possesses,
and brings the opposite system to the test of its
moral tendency. His valuable work on this
subject is accordingly entitled —
The Gospel its own Witness ; or the Holy Nature, and
Divine Harmony of the Christian Religion, contrasted
with the Immorality and Absurdity of Deism. 8vo.
pp. 260. 1800.
In reviewing the lives and the labours of
deistical authors, he finds that while they aor
knowledge the existence of one Supreme Being,
they overlook or deny his raoral character, as
cribing to hira little more than the attributes of
power and wisdom, and with admirable con-
•sistency refusing to worship him. Such also is
the tendency of their system, that it loosens all
the bonds of society, by subverting the prin
ciples of moral obligation, placing the essence
of virtue in self-love, or at most in the love of
our species, without any reference to supreme
authority, and reducing vice merely to what is
personally inconvenient or socially injurious.
Lord Shaftesbury says, virtue is an affection
for the whole of our species : Lord Bolingbroke
says, it is only the love of ourselves : Volney

354- MEMOIRS OF
says, it is every thing that tends to preserve
and perfect man ; Hume says, it is whatever is
useful in society : Paine says, it is endeavour
ing to make our fellow creatures happy. But
God is not in all their thoughts.
In the lives of these men every species of ini
quity is tolerated, and their enmity to the Gos
pel is found to arise from its holy nature, Her
bert, Hobbes, Shaftesbury, Morgan, Chubb,
and Voltaire, the decided enemies of Christiani
ty, were all guilty of the vilest hypocrisy, and
justified themselves in the most deliberate false
hoods. Woolston was a gi'oss blasphemer;
Tindal was infamous for vice in general ; Rous
seau was a thief, by his own confession ; Paine
was a profane swearer, and a drunkard ; and
Hume died as a fool dieth. The day before his
death he spent in a pitiful and affected unconcern
about this tremendous subject, playing at cards,
reading profane books, and making silly at
tempts at wit, concerning his interview with
Charon, the heathen ferry-man of Hades. Paine
also flattered himself that his principles would
bear him up in the prospect of death ; but recent
accounts have testified that he died under deep
remorse, and in the agonies of despair.
In opposition to the immorality of these men,
and the absurdity of their sentiments, in mak
ing virtue to consist in something independent

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 355
of the dispositions of the raind, Mr. Fuller ob
serves, that it is a distinguishing property of
the Bible that all its precepts extend du-ectly to
the heart : it is the heart that they require ;
and all the different forms of worship and obe
dience which they prescribe, are only so many
modifications or varied expressions of it. Con
sidering the evil of sin as arising merely from
the mischief it does to society, these writers
raake the essence of it to consist, not in the in-,
tention, but the action, Mr, F. on the contiary,
considers the action as nothing, any farther than
as it carries the intention into execution. After
having proved that the divine law is suramed
up in love, and that this principle is competent
to the government of the whole creation, and if
obeyed, would render every intelligent creature
happy ; he demands of his adversaries whether
they can produce any principle to be compared
with it. The answer is, no : their deity takes
no cognizance of the heart. According to them,
there is neither merit nor crime in intention;
their morahty only goes to form the exterior of
man. It allows the utmost scope for evil de
sires, provided they be not carried into execu
tion. Mr. F. then exliibits at full view the pure
and holy principles of the gospel, their influence
on society, and in the formation of character ;
their tendency to promote benevolence, to alle-

356 MEMOIRS OF
viate the sorrows, and enhance the felicity of
the present state. On the latter of these sub
jects is the following impressive paragraph —
" Where, but in the gospel, will you find relief
under tbe innumerable ills of the present life ? This is
the well known refuge of christians. Are they poor,
afflicted, persecuted, or reproached ? They are led to
consider Him who endured the contradiction of sinners,
who lived a life of poverty and ignominy, who endured
persecution and reproach, and death itself for them ;
and to realise a blessed immortality in prospect. By
a view of such things their hearts are cheered, and
their afflictions become tolerable. Looking to Jesus,
who for the joy that was set before him, endured the
cross, despising the shame, and is now set down at the
right hand of the throne of God, they run with patience
the race that is set before them. — But what is the com
fort of unbelievers .'' Life being short, and having no
ground to hope for any thing beyond it, if they be
crossed here, they become inconsolable. Hence it is
not uncommon for persons of this description, after the
example of the philosophers and statesmen of Greece
and Rome, when they find themselves depressed by
adversity, and have no prospect of retrieving their for
tunes, to put a period to their lives. Unhappy men !
Is this the felicity to which ye would introduce us ? Is
it in guilt, shame, remorse, and desperation that ye des
cry such charms .? Admitting that our hope of immor
tality is visionary, where is the injury ? If it be a
dream, is it not a pleasant one ? To say the least, it
beguiles many a melancholy hour, and can do no mis
chief: but,if itbeareality — what will become of you!"

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 357
The harmony of the christian religion is next
considered, as an evidence of its divinity ; and
the agreement of prophecy with historical fact
is strikingly pointed out. The same events
must have been noticed by forraer writers, but
perhaps at no time with so much effect; the
evidence is irresistible. The correspondence of
the holy scriptures with living truth, or with
things as they actually exist in the mind, and
in the world ; the simplicity and sublimity of
their style, the holy unction that rests on every
page, all furnish sources of argument in favour
of their inspiration. There is nothing in the
sacred writings to gratify /presumptuous specu
lation or idle curiosity, nothing to excite levity
or folly; they are free from affectation and va
nity, are never known to flatter the great, and
discover no anxiety to guard against seeming
inconsistencies ; but leave the truth to com-
raend itself to every raan's conscience in the
sight of God. " There is something in all they
say which leaves behind it a sensation produced
by no other writings ; something peculiarly
suited to the mind when in its most serious
frames, oppressed by affliction, or thoughtful
about a future life ; something which gives me
lancholy itself a charm, and produces tears
more delicious to the raind than the raost hia:h-
flavoured earthly enjoyments. It is a savour of

358 MEMOIRS OP
life, a savour of Glod, an uncfitm from the Holy
One." The iMucidation of the scripture dor(rin<^ of
salvation through a Mediator, and its consist
ency with sober reason, is singularly ch-ar and
satisfactory; but the last ohaptm- of tlic work,
which maintains its coiisist«nicy with the mo
dern opinion of tlir ningi|it<ide of creation, ex
hibits a train of thought which may bc^u- iv com
parison with any thing that h:ts been written on
this subjtvt in the I'^nglish hmguage. The chris
tian here attacks the deist in his strong hold,
takes comjilete possession of it, and plants the
bannor of tho cross on the very s|)ol wh(M-e in
fidelity had jire.sonted its brazen front. I'lit;
magnitude of cn^ation, h't it be as {>xteiisive us
it may, serves only to illustrate the snblimer
doctrine of redemption, and forms a temple for
its praise. — The work coiiclndes with faithful
and aflbcitionati? a<ldresseR to Deists, .lews, and
Christians, on their obligations towards flu.-
Gospel revelation.
Some genthnncn who felt particularly inte
rested in tli(! present volume, inade pecuniary
offers for a cheap <>(lition :it a rodm^od |>rie(>,
in order to give it an (wtensive cli'culation.
The MissioNAHv Controvisusy.
The Deists have hud their day, and it is over.
If they make any appearance* now, it is uniUn

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 359
the g-arb of Christianity. Unable to keep their
groimd in die field of open controversy, they
were for trying what they could effect by means
of a practical opposition on the plains of India,
and by imparting to the government their ap
prehensions for the fate of tiie eastern empire,
if the ti'ue religion should be suffei-ed to prevail.
Some of them who had had the mortification
of beholding the successful exertions of tJie
Missionaries, about the time that the massacre
happened at Vellore, seized on this and other
cotempoi-ai-j" circumstances, for the purpose of
spreading au alarm ; tiiough in fact they had
no more connection witii the mission, tiian the
building of Tenterden steeple in Latimer's time
had with the flowing of the tide upon the Ken
tish shore.
Several of tiiese gentlemen returned to Eng
land, with indictments ready prepared, and only
wanted the assistance of some able advocates.
The first who presented himself was Mr. Twi
ning, of famous memory, who addressed a Let
ter to the Chainnan of the East India Company.
protesting against ' interfering in the religious
opinions ofthe natives of India, and deprecating
the consequences whicli might arise from such
an attempt.'
Next followed Major Scott Waring, with
" Observations on the present state of the East

360 MEMOIRS OF
India Company ; and having received alarming
intelligence frora gentlemen lately returned from
India, he ' humbly submits to the consideration
of his Majesty's Ministers, the East India Com
pany, and the Legislature, a plan for restoring
that confidence which the natives formerly re
posed in the justice and policy of the British
Governraent, as to the security of their religion,
laws, and local customs ;' and this plan was, ' the
immediate recal of every English missionary,
and a prohibition to all persons dependent on the
Company from giving assistance to the transla
tion or circulation of the holy scriptures. — And
what have these missionaries done, said Mr.
Fuller, that they are to be immediately recalled ;
and these holy scriptures, that they are not to
be translated or circulated by any one depen
dent on the Company ? As to the forraer, it is
not pretended that they had any hand in the
tragical event at Vellore ; and as to the latter,
no accusation has yet been brought against thera.
The irapolicy of Dr. Buchanan's visit to the
Syrian christians is also urged ; and it gave se
rious offence to the Major that the epithet " im
portant" should be attached to an enquiry rela
ting to Christianity. He calls it ' the most tri
fling of all possible subjects connected with the
welfare of our oriental empire.' He likewise
speaks of this empire as being ' conquered by

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 36 1
British valour.' God and religion therefore
could have nothing to do with it. No, let the
missionaries go to Africa, to the South Sea
Islands, or to the wilds of America ; but let them
not come hither ! Oh thou seer, go, flee thee
away into the land of Judah, and there eat breads,
and prophesy there : but prophesy not again any
more in Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and
it is the king's court. Yet this gentleman
would be thought after all to be a chrisj;ian,
and ' trusts it will not be imputed to mdifte-
rence for the eternal welfare of the people of In
dia,' that he advises what he does ! He farther
alleges that ' the late Bishop of St. Asaph, a
sound and orthodox divine, and one of the
raain pillars of our good old Church of Eng
land, deprecated all such interference. His
Letter to the Chairman concludes with several
invectives against the missionaries.
A Bengal Officer corapletes the triad, by
publishing " A Vindication of the Hindoos ;"
stating the excellency of their raoral systera, and
the danger of interfering with their customs or
religion. And in the true style of Brahmanism
he becomes the apologist, and even the admirer
of their shastres, their temples, and their idols.
He calls for the persecution of Christianity in
the east, more loudly than his coadjutors ; and
expresses his apprehensions that if the Bible be
B b

S62 MEMOIRS OF
not proscribed, and the missionaries expelled, all
the Europeans in the east will become the vic
tims of Dhoorga. Asif on an expedition against
sorae rebellious rajah, this Bengal Officerdashes
after the missionaries through thick and thin,
deterrained at all events to vindicate his beloved
Hindoos, and to exterminate the adversaries of
their exalted religion. These gentlemen are all
of thera sufficiently alarraed for their commer
cial interests in India, but are utterly regardless
of*the souls of fifty millions of heathens, living
under the same government with themselves.
Whether the real Devil or the imaginary Cali
take them, appears to be no part of their con
cern, provided Jesus Christ has nothing to do
with them.
These publications were soon followed by a
second and a third pamphlet from the pen
of Major Scott Waring, repeating and affirm
ing the same things, with a profiision of ad
ditional invective. An anonymous " Letter"
also made its appearance, addressed " to the
President ofthe Board of Controul, on the pro
pagation of Christianity in India ;" recommend
ing that the vigilant controul ofthe India Govern
ments should keep pace vrith the growing zeal
of this country for the conversion of the natives
of Hindostan. About the same time. Dr.
jBarrow published his "Sermon," which had been

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 363
delivered before •' the University of Oxford ;
on the propriety of confining Missionary under
takings to the Established Church ;" and recom
mending "one uniform and general attempt, to
the exclusion of all others, where we have the
power to exclude them, to be made by the rainis-
ters of the national church, under the authority
and regulations of an act of the legislature."
Araong those who contributed their aid in the
present contest, were the Edinburgh Revieicers,
who professed a desu'e to " use their feeble en
deavours in assisting the public judgment on
those topics to which its attention was actually
directed ;" and for this purpose they raake their
first attack on raethodisra, and the next on rais-
sions. Under the former term they include in
one undistinguished mass, " the sentiments of the
Arminian and Calvinistic Methodists, and of
the evangelical clergymen of the church of Eng
land ;" whom they describe as three classes of
fanatics, " engaged in one general conspiracy
against common sense and rational orthodox
Christianity I" Anxious for the preservation of
Paganism and Mahometanism abroad, and of
Heathenism at home, frora the attacks of Evan
gelical rainisters and missionaries, the Barrister
joinsthis goodly fraternity, and offers his " Hints
to the public and the legislature, on the nature
and effect of evangehcal preaching;" while
Bb2

364 MEMOIRS OF
the rest were employed in submitting " A
plan to his Majesty's Ministers, the East India
Company, and the Legislature," proposing to re
cal every English missionary, and to limit the
circulation ofthe scriptures. Not knowing what
to do with these Evangelical men, they humbly
request the government to take them in hand ;
while they themselves wish to be thought the
friends, and almost the only friends, of reason
and toleration.
This collision of parties produced considerable
agitation in tbe public raind ; and Mr, Twining
having promised to bring the missionary business
before a Court of Proprietors at the India House,
called up Mr. Fuller to Town, in December
1807, where he answered Mr. Twining's pam
phlet, and watched the progress of the enemy.
The Court dismissed Mr. Twining's proposition,
declining to interfere with the propagation of
Christianity in India; and Mr. Fuller resumed.
his pen, in answer to Major Scott Waring, and
the rest of the Anti-Missionaries. Three pam
phlets, quickly succeeding each other, under the
previous inspection of some gentlemen of high
distinction, raade their appearance in 1808, en-
titied— An Apology for the late Christian. Missions to India ;
making in all, 330 pages octavo.
On the importance of the present controversy,

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 365
the author has the following just and striking
remarks —
" It appears to be the design of Providence, by a
succession of events, to effect a more marked distinction
between the friends and enemies of religion, than has
of late years subsisted. Through a variety of causes
they have long been confounded. As though there
were no standard for either side to repair to, they have
each mingled with the other in a sort of promiscuous
mass. " The effect of this junction has been more unfavour
able to the cause of Christ, than to that of his adver
saries. Hence it appears to be the will of God, by his
inscrutable providence, to effect a closer union among
christians, and a more marked separation between them
and their adversaries. As though some decisive con
flict were about to take place, the hosts on each side
seem to be mustering for the battle.
" The French Revolution, (that mighty shaking of
the church and of the world) has been productive of
this among other effects. Great numbers, who had be
fore passed as christians, perceiving infidelity to be
coming into fashion, avowed their unbelief. Many of
these however, finding afterwards that they had mis
taken the road to preferment, turnedabout, and assumed
to be the patrons of rational and orthodox Christianity !
Serious christians of different denominations, on the
other hand, felt a new motive to unite in defence of the
common faith in which they were agreed.
" The same effect has been produced by the sending
out of missions to the heathen. The effort itself ex-

366 MEMOIRS OF
cited a correspondence of feeling, a communication of
sentiment, and a unity of action, and that to a great ex
tent : and now that success has in some measure attended
it, it has drawn against it a host of adversaries. As the
assembling of Israel before the Lord in Mispeh, though
they had neither sword nor spear amongst them, exci
ted the jealousy of the Philistines, and drew forth their
armies in the hope of crushing them at the outset, so it
is at this day. It is remarkable what a tendency the
genuine exercises of true religion have to manifest the
principles of men, and to draw them into union, either
on the side of Christ, or on that of his adversaries.
You may now perceive deists, socinians, and others,
who retain the form of Christianity but deny the power,
naturally falling into their ranks on one side; and serious
christians, almost forgetting their former differences, as
naturally uniting on the other. I question whether
there ever was a controversy since the days of the
apostles, in which religion and irreligion were more
clearly marked, and their respective adherents more
distinctly organised."
The solemn warning addressed to those in
authority, in the author's Letter to the Chair
man of the East India Corapany, relative to the
insiduous atterapts of unbelievers to prevent the
evangelising of the idolatrous Hindoos, is too
important to be overlooked, and affords an in
stance of fidelity worthy of the cause in which
it was exerted.
" Whatever measures may be taken by men who have

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 367
become aliens from that which is the glory of their
country," says Mr. Fuller, " I trust there will be found
a sufficient number of the rulers and inhabitants of
this land to counteract them. If not, let us talk as we
may against French atheism, we are fast sinking into it.
— If, Sir, there be a God that j udgeth in the earth, the
danger lies in making Him our enemy. It is a princi
ple which cannot be disputed, however it inay be dis
regarded, that whatever is right, is wise ; and whatever is
wrong, is foolish and dangerous. Sir, the tombs of na
tions, successively buried in oblivion, have this truth
inscribecT on every one of them : — It was by " forbid
ding christian ministers to «peak unto the gentiles that
they might be saved, that the most favoured nation upon
earth filled up the measure of its sins, and drew upon
it the wrath of heaven to the uttermost."
" At a time. Sir, when many and great nations are
overthrown ; nations which have not possessed our
privileges, and therefore have not incurred our guilt;
when we are engaged in the most tremendous struggle
that this country ever knew ; and when on certain occa
sions we profess to fast, and to humble ourselves be
fore Almighty God ; shall we raise from its slumbers
the wicked system of persecution? ' Do we provoke
the Lord to jealousy ? Are we stronger than He ?'
" Mr. Twining may be disgusted at the idea of the
Eastern empire being given us by Providence, for the
very purpose of introducing the gospel; but if it be so,
it is no more than God's having formerly given it to
Cyrus for Jacob his servant's sake. Men may scorn to
be subservient to their Maker ; but whether they con
sent or not, it will be so. The conquests of B,ome

368 MEMOIRS OP
made way for the introduction of Christianity into
Britain ; and those of Britain may make way for its
general introduction in the East. Should Britain be
friendly to this object, it may be the lengthening of
her tranquility ; but as an eloquent writer observes, " If
we decline the illustrious appointment, God may de
volve on some less refractory people those high des
tinies which might have been ours. Who knoweth
whether we are come to the kingdom for such a time as
this? If we altogether hold our peace at this time, then
may there enlargement and deliverance arise to them from
another, place; and we and our father's house may be des
troyed." While engaged in this arduous contest, Mr.
Fuller received no material assistance, except
frora one quarter, much as he desired it ; but was
left to maintain the conflict alone, and had to
produce his voluminous pamphlets in the course
only of a few weeks. The present Dr. Adam
Clarke, author of a learned and invaluable Com
mentary on the Scriptures, kindly tendered his
¦' Remarks" on the Vindication written by a
Bengal Officer, which appear, duly acknowledg
ed, in the second part of Mr. Fuller's Apology,
under the title of Audi et Alteram Parlem. At
the close of his strictures, after having sufficiently
exposed the immorahty and shocking absurdity
of the Hindoo mythology, which the officer had
so shamelessly attempted to ' vindicate,' Dr,

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 369
Clarke mentions the missionaries in the raost
honourable terras.
" It may be supposed," says he, " from the preced
ing Remarks, that we are parties in the Baptist mission
in the East Indies, and that therefore our testimony
may be justly liable to the charge of undue partiality.
To remove every impression of this kind, we here de
clare that we never had, nor have we now, any religious
connection whatever with the missionaries abroad, nor
with their directors at home. We have, with many
others, admired their zealous labours, their inoffensive,
irreproachable, and exemplary conduct, and have been
astonished at their various attainments-; and particularly
so at the deep, extensive, solid and unostentatious piety
and learning of the Rev. Dr. Carey, who is at their
head ; a gentleman, whom we scruple not to say, is an
honour to religion, literature, and his country; a bles
sing to our Eastern possessions, and a credit to human
nature." Here ended the contest with the British
Triad, except indeed that Major Scott Waring,
incapable of conviction or impression, went on
raving, in company with the Socinian Barrister.
Having done with Mr. Fidler and the Baptist
mission in' India, his next attack was on two
clergymen, who had preached before the Uni
versities in favour of a translation of the Scrip
tures into the oriental languages ; and also on
Lord Teignraouth, for having urged the policy

370 MEMOIRS OF
and obligation of Britons to communicate to
the natives of India the knowledge of Chris
tianity. The Major now continued his old trade,
repeating and repeating, throughout a hundred
and twenty more pages, the phrases and sen
tences of ' mania of conversion,' ' ignorant sec
tarian bigots,' ' mad baptists,' ' mad calvinis
tic missionaries,' ' I am decidedly of opinion
that the conversion ofthe Hindoos is impractica
ble,' ' these proceedings will end in the destruc
tion of our eastern empire,' and a few raore such
sayings, till by his total invincibility he reduced
his opponents to despair, and no farther opera
tions were undertaken against him. Some of
the Critics indeed compared him to a Hindoo
yogiy who had fixed himself on the top of a
post under a vow to repeat some one word or
phrase millions of times ; and themselves to
persons sent repeatedly to reconnoitre him, and
report what he is at, and who must every time
return with the sarae story. Since the erection
/Of this gibbet, we have heard no more of the
Major. In reply to Dr. Barrow, who pleaded for
an exclusive ecclesiastical establishment in
India, and that missionary undertakings should
be confined to the national church, Mr. Fuller
states the illiberality and total inadequacy of
of such a plan ; but dechned giving, on that
occasion, any opinion on the propriety of such

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 371
an establishment, independently of its becoming
exclusive. The extravagant proposition of Dr.
Barrow, whose avowed intolerance knows no
limits but the vvant of power, was happily,
never entertained by the Rulers either in church
or state ; but some time afterwards, when a
renewal of the East India Company's Charter
was contemplated, several eminent individuals,
in the Directory and in the Senate, who had
witnessed and deplored the various obstacles
thrown in the way of the Baptist missionaries,
were desirous of giving a legal currency to
Christianity in India by obtaining the adoption
of an episcopal establishment.
On this subject, the Secretary ofthe Baptist
Mission would certainly not have obtruded his
opinion, any more than on the former occasion ;
but the confidence these gentlemen had in his
judgment, and the satisfaction they felt in refer
ence to the able and prudent manner in which
the concerns ofthe mission had been conducted,
induced them to sohcit his thoughts on their
leading object, as well as on others connected
with it. Mr. Fuller complied with the requisi
tion ; and the following extracts from a private
Letter on the occasion, addressed to a distin
guished individual, afford ample evidence of his
having stood clear of party interests and attach
ments.

372 MEMOIRS OF
" As to an Estabhshed Religion in Bengal,"
said Mr. Fuller, " I presume you do not ex
pect ray concurrence. If pious Episcopalians
wished to go over, to spread the gospel which
they believe, and stand on no other ground
than the goodness of their cause, in the raain
of their undertaking, I should cheerfully wish
them God speed ; and wonld, if they needed
it, according to my ability, contribute to their
assistance, as several of them have done to
ours: but an established religion is somewhat
different. I have as great an objection to ray
own principles being an established religion as
any other ; yea greater : for if some one religi
ous system must be pressed into the service of
of the state,, I had rather it were one I did not
so well approve, that what I do approve might
i-eraain at liberty to serve the Lord without the
imposition of huraan authority.
" I have no other objection to an Establish'.
raent in Bengal than I have in England, or any
other country, I believe all huraan establish
ments of religion to be injurious, as tending to
set aside the authority of Christ in his church,
and to introduce in its place unscriptural tradi
tions, worldly pomp, and unmeaning ceremo
nies; all which being " of human invention,
cannot," as you justly reason in another case,
" be approved of God,"

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 373
It amounts to a raoral certainty, that so long
as the world continues to lie in wickedne'ss, a
great raajority of every government will con
sist of irreligious characters. But a religion
established and supported by such characters,
must be supposed to partake of their spirit, and
to be framed in subserviency to their ends.
Whenever it ceases to comply with the will of
the power that gave it an establishment, it must
cease to be; or, which would be worse, itself
become a power tyrannising over its masters.
In this direction proceeded the great aposta
sy of Rorae. Until Christianity was adopted
by the state, it was comparatively pure. The
church, though oppressed by great afflictions
and reproaches, grew and multiplied, and was
then ' the bride of Christ :' but from that time
she began to sustain a very different character.
You know the representations given of her in
the records of truth — that of ' a woman arrayed
in scarlet' — ' decked with gold, and pearls,
and precious stones' — and ' sitting upon a scar
let coloured beast.' — In her first stages she was
the servant, and in her last the master of the
beast on which she rode. Good men in power,
like Constantine, may have thought that by
raising the christian clergy to worldly honours,
and by creating offices in the church to which
princely eraoluraents should be attached, they*
did God service : but they were mistaken.

374 MEMOIRS OF
Perhaps you. Sir, may not propose to your
self any thing more than a number of serious
and pious clergymen being properly provided
for, and encouraged in their work ; but should
your plan succeed, its issue will be in a greater
or less degree as above described. " All es
tablishments," as you yourself acknowledge,
" carry in them a principle of progressive de
generacy." Religion in any form is in danger
of degenerating ; but in this form it is morally
impossible that it should be otherwise. — In
short, I object to an Established religion be
cause it must necessarily be a creature of the
state ; and, like every other creature, must be
formed after the pleasure, and live upon the
smiles of its creator.
I approve of a religion that shall be peaceable,
but chaste ; favourable to order and good go
vernment, but not dependent on it ; a faithful
firiend to those in power, and to those out of
power, but not the retained advocate of either.
Notwithstanding the freedom of these re
marks, there is still much in your plan which I
approve. It appears to me to be quite in cha
racter for the East India Company to provide
means for teaching the Bengalese the English
language, arts and sciences, and to send out
schoolmasters for that purpose. This, if ac
complished, would be a very important object.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 375
It would give them access to our Bible, as well
as to many other things. Here also would be
room for you and others to use your influence
in procuring pious men, who raight be great
blessings in that capacity. And as to mission
aries, I could be glad if you, as well as we,
could obtain the leave of the Company to send
them, and that they might enjoy their protection
when there. More than this I dare not ask, or
even accept at their hands.
I know your object is to do something on an
enlarged scale. I revere your motive, but would
entreat you to consider the words of an Apostle,
2 Cor. vi. 11 — 18. Christian enlargement, ac
cording to this passage, and according to fact,
does not consist in uniting with, or drawing in
to our religious measures, great numbers of
worldly men ; but rather in the reverse. The
forming of such connections, is the same thing
as being * unequally yoked.' To unite the
sprightly horse with a tardy ass, would be to
straiten rather than to enlarge hira ; and must
impede the object, instead of promoting it.
Half a score christians, cordially united, will
accomplish more than thousands of. heteroge
neous characters, possessed of mere discordant
principles. But if your scheme were not thwarted by
such a connection, it would certainly be cor-

376 IMEMOins OF
rupted, and so in great imnisnro ho dcfcaioii.
Every body ernu-ii, lik{> ev(Ty sp«M'its, if they
propagate any tliiin;-. it Milllu> their own likt^
ness. True n-liiiion may be accidtnitally propa-
jiated bv those Mho are ih^slilntoof it ; but that
is all. God olten makes use of instrunicnts in
this way; bnt it is a work nhove our hands.
If we attempt it, thoit> is infinite danger of the
work being raaired. They may indeed 1)0 used
in fiiriiishinn- some of the materials, as Tyrian
workmen furnished materials, and aided in tiie
building ofthe ti>iiiple: but they inusl luit be in
vested with the [lowir of direction. In this
case tho answer of Zernbbabel to those \\livt
offered to unite in rebuilding the temple, is
worthy ofexaiDjiUv ' You have nolhinii,- lo do
with us, to build a house unto our (uxl ; but
we ourselves fo<i,ether will build unto tlu' Lord
God of Israel, as ('yrus the king of Persia hath
coinmauded us.'
You suppose tho mmibor of pious ministers
that could be (Hillected, and siipportt'd by
voluntary subscription iiuM-oly, would bt^ small.
Be it so : a small number, if llioy could (;o-ope-
rate with several pious schoolmasters, might do
great things. I may also add, the number of
characters suitaltlo for such nil undertaking, is
small. You hope for thirty: I wish you may
find so many. It is more than wo can find

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 377
amongst us. If you can muster ten, without
holding up very handsome pecuniary prospects
to allure them, it will be a good speciraen of
the prevalence of true religion in your connec
tions. Finally : Notwithstanding all I have said, I
had much rather see the doctrine of Christianity
introduced among the Hindoos, even though it
were under the form of an Established Episco
pacy, than that they should continue as they
are ; and if you should persevere in your scheme,
I shall pray that it may prosper in all that is
good about it, and which I am persuaded is
not a little."

c c

378 MEMOIRS OF

CHAPTER X.
Cohtroversy with Mr. Booth — miscellaneous
pieces on Pariicalar Redemption — the Substi
tution and Merits of Christ — on Faith and
justyficaiion — lay Ordination, and the ad
ministration of ihe Lord's Supper.
It was grief of heart to Mr. Fuller, to have
any disagreement with a man whom he so highly
esteemed, as the venerable Abraham Booth.
But on some minor points there was a difference
between them, though not such as would justify
the slightest alienation, or require any painftil
exercise of mutual forbearance. During the
controversy on Faith, in which Mr. Fuller was,
several years engaged with various opponents,
who marched forward from the ranks both of Ar
minians and Calvinists, to meet this redoubtable
champion, Mr Booth watched its progress with
considerable anxiety ; and finally concluded
that he could find a middle path between those
Calvinists who admit and those who deny the
obligation of sinners to believe the gospel. He
at the same time suspected that Mr. Fuller and

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 379
his friends were too much attached to the senti
ments of President Edwards, and other Ameri
can divines of later date ; and that by importing
their metaphysical refinements, there would
be some danger of relaxing that rauscular sys
tem of theology to which he hiraself was so ar
dently devoted.
Mr, Booth therefore published, in 1796, his
first edition of " Glad Tidings to perishing
sinners ;" the object of which is to prove that
" the genuine gospel contains a complete war
rant for the ungodly to believe in Jesus." This
is a proposition which Mr. Fuller never denied,
and which needed but little proof; and it is
rather extraordinary that so acute a writer as
Mr. Booth should seem to confound the " war
rant" to believe, with a disposition to believe,
or that state of raind which induces faith. Had
the question been, what is it that Warrants a sin
ner to believe in Christ ; the obvious answer is,
the gospel and that only. But if it were asked,
what is it that inclines a sinner to believe ; the
only answer is, that sacred influence by which
he is renewed in the spirit of his raind. Yet
both in the title and tenour of the work, this
necessary and iraportant distinction is too much
overlooked. In the progress of his enquiry, Mr. Booth
did not fail to animadvert pretty severely on
c c 2

380 MEMOIRS OF
some of the American writers, whom he meni-
tioned rather in terms of contempt ; and the sei>
tiraents of Dr. Hopkins in particular, on the sub
ject of regeneration and justification, he endea
voured to represent as " pernicious," and tending
to " corrupt the gospel." His paraphlet soon
crossed the Atlantic, where it was attentively
examined by Dr. Hopkins, who transmitted to
a friend on this side the water, a complete refu
tation of several of Mr. Booth's positions, ac
corapanied with some pointed strictures on the
teraper of his perforraance, and the inconclusive
nature of his reasonings. The respect enter
tained for Mr. Booth did not permit the printing
of this valuable manuscript, and it obtained only
a private circulation ; for whatever difference of
opinion might exist on some speculative points,
all parties were agreed in paying homage to his
character. Mr. Fuller apologised to Dr. Hop
kins for Mr. Booth's manner of writing, and his
seeming contempt for cotemporary authors, in a
letter dated March 17, 1798 ; while he at: the
sarae time expressed his own opinion of the
pamphlet in question.
" I sincerely thank you," says he " for your
remarks on Mr. Booth's performance; which
every person of judgment who has seen them,.
within my knowledge, considers as a decisive
refutation. When his piece first came out, I

MR. ANDREW FULLER. gg 1
was in London. I looked into it, and soon after
called upon hira. I told him, as to his first part,
I had no objection to it, except this; that it
seemed to imply that sinners were very willing to
come to Christ, if thf door was but open ; and
that all that was wanting was a right or " war
rant" to come. But as to his second part, I was
fully persuaded that he was wrong, and that I
could prove him so. To which he made scarcely
any other reply than saying, he supposed I
should not approve of it.
" I have remarked the effects of his pamphlet
on the public mind. Some of our monthly edi
tors have bestowed indiscriminate praise, vrith-
out at all understanding the ground of the con
troversy. People in general do not seem to
comprehend his design. They can see no
objecthe has in view, or who, or whathemeansto
oppose, except one. They think his fii-st part
savours of an agreeraent with rae ; and reckon
therefore that the whole book was written in
order to favour ray sentiments on the duty of
sinners to believe in Christ. I have been asked
for a copy of my first piece on that subject;
and when I have answered, it is out of print :
' WeU,' it has been said, ' I will get Mr. Booth's
book ; I reckon they are pretty much alike.'
In short, I do not think it will do any harm,
owing chiefly to its obscurity.

382 MEMOlRS:OF
" You are mistaken however, in Mr. Booth's
character ; and as for his manner of writing, it
may adrait of some apology. He is an
upright, godly, learned man. But — (1) He is
a generation older than ^utcliffe, Pearce, or
myself; and perhaps it may be owing to this
that he is less attentive to any thing we write. —
(2) He is a great admirer of Owen, Vitringa,
Venema, &c. ; and seems to suppose that
they have gone to the ne pins ultra of dis
covery. — (3) Having written a pretty large and
valuable work, entitled, " Pedobaptism examin
ed on the principles, concessions, and reasonings
of the most learned pedobaptists," he there got
into such a habit of quotation, that he seems
unable to write half a dozen pages without it. —
And though I believe him to be as honest a
man as any in the world, I will not say that he
is destitute of what on both sides of the water,
for aught I know, may be called ' British pride.'*
I attribute his misrepresentations of your senti
ments to this spirit, by which he was prevented
from a patient and candid examination of the
whole of what you say, rather than to any un
worthy design, of which he is utterly incapable."
Mr. Fuller and his connections certainly had
• This alludes to Mr. Booth's frequently calling; his opponent
"tlic American Doctor."

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 383
.1 very high estcfiin for the writings of President
Edwards, and others of the New-England
school, which th(;y road with considerable ad
vantage ; and to that bulwark of th<! Calvinistic
sy8t(!m, Edwards's Treatise on the Freedom of
the Will, Mr. Fuller acknowledgr-d himself in
debted for his first right views on the subject of
moral obligation. But that he indiscriminately
adopted the s(!iitimonts of these writers, or ad
mitted all their reasonings, is far from bf^ing true.
In the same letter to Dr. Hopkins, from which
tho above extracts are taken, are the following
paragraphs— " I am not sure that your idea of (lod being
' the author of sin,' is essentially different from
tho notion of those Calvinists who consider sin
UK the object of divine decree : but I ain satisfled
of this, that to say * CJod is tho author of sin'
does so naturally convey to almost every raind
tho i<h;a8, that God is the friend and approver
of sin ; that we are raere passive instruments,
and that Iu; himself being the grand agent, ought
only to bo accountable for it, — that I should
think, by using it, I conveyed ideas directly con
trary to James i. 13. And I must say that the
whole; of that passage taken together, appears
to me to represent an important truth, which
your manner of writing seems to overlook ; and

384 MEMOIRS OF
which is thus expressed by M^Laurin, in his
sermon on the passage. — ' Whatever dishonour
able thoughts sinful men may have of God to
the contrary, yet it is a truth clearly evident,
that God is infinitely free frora the blame of
their sins.'* — Your observations on the passage,
in vol. i. p. 213. of your System, go only to
prove that your views do not represent God as
tempting men to sin, or as being terapted ' him
self to sin : but you do not observe the opposi-
tionin the context, that evil is not to be ascribed
to God, ver. 13 — 15 ; that every good and per
fect gift, especially regeneration, is to be as
cribed to God, ver. 16 — J 8.
" I have enjoyed great pleasure in reading
many of your metaphysical pieces, and hope
those who can throw light on evangelical sub
jects in that way, will continue to write. But
I have observed that wherever an extiaordinary
man has been raised up, like President Edwards,
who has excelled in some particular doctrines,
or manner of reasoning, it is usual for his follow
ers and admirers too much to confine their at
tention to his doctrines or manner of reasoning,
as though all excellence was there concentrated.
I allowthat your present writers do not implicitly
follow Edwards, as to his sentiments, but that
* Sermops and Essays, p. 31.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 385
you preserve a spirit of free enquiry : yet I raust
say, it appears to rae that several of your younger
men possess a rage ofimitating his metaphysical
manner, till some of them become metaphysic
mad. I am not without sorae of Mr. Scott's ap
prehensions, lest by such a spirit, the simplicity
of the gospel should be lost, and truth amongst
you stand more in the wisdom of men, than in
the power of God."
There were also sorae half-taught geniuses at
home, who were smattering away on the subject
of human obligation, to the neglect of the great
doctrines of the gospel ; and of this, Mr. Fuller
was sufficiently aware. In reference to this sub
ject, he preached a sermon at the Oakham Asso
ciation, on the importance of makingthe coraraon
salvation the leading theme of the ministry, and
the first object of christian attachment. " It has
frequently been the case," said he, " that sorae
one particular topic has formed the character of
an age or generation of men ; and this topic has
been hackneyed in almost every place, till the
public raind has becorae weary of it ; while other
things of equal iraportance have been overlooked.
Both preachers and hearers are in danger of
raakinglight of coraraon truths, andofindulgingin
a spirit of curious speculation. This will render
preaching rather an entertainment, than a benefit
lo the soul. We are commanded to feed the

386 MEMOIRS OF
church of God ; not their fancies, or imaginations,
nor merely their understandings, but their re
newed minds. It indicates a vicious taste, and
affords a manifest proof of degeneracy, where the
common salvation is shghted, and matters of re
finement eagerly pursued. The doctrine of
Christ crucified is full of the wisdom of God,
and willfurnish materials for the strongest powers ;
let this therefore be our darling theme."
On other occasions also Mr. Fuller dissented
frora the opinions ofthe American writers, and
as freely stated his own convictions. The
Serraon he preached at the Bedford Union
having found its way to America, Dr. Hopkins
offered sorae strictures upon it, which elicited
the following remarks from the author. " Dr.
Hopkins thinks," says he, " that I have given up
the doctrine of disinterested love because I
have observed concerning David, when he said
' Here I am, let him do with me as seemeth
good in his sight,' that he could not raean by
this, If God have no love to my soul, I submit
to be for ever separated from hira: for such
subraission is not required of any who live un
der a dispensation of raercy. — I have written
an answer to Dr. Hopkins, in which I have de
fended that position. He is a mighty reasoner :
but on this subject I feel my ground. Should
he furnish„a reply, the correspondence may
•bereafter be published."

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 387
Much as he approved of the able Discourses
of Dr. Jonathan Edwards, on the consistency
of the Atonement with the doctrine of free
Grace, " I object, ' says he, " to Edwards's
account of public justice, as being too indefinite.
It comprises, he says, ' all moral goodness, and
properly means the righteousness or rectitude
of God, by which all his actions are guided,
with a supreme regard to the grejitest good.'
But if public justice comprises ' all raoral good
ness,' it comprises the exercise of goodness or
good will to his creatures. But to say that
Christ died to satisfy goodness, would be strange.
Public justice is that expression of the divine
character which has a special regard to what is
right; its province is to guard the rights of
raoral government, and take care that the divine
authority be not impaired."
Had it not been for the insinuations alluded
to at the beginning of this Chapter, and for the
wish which some others discovered, to identify
Mr. Fullerwith the American writers for the pur
pose of reproach, and to represent him as being
the importer of a foreign system of theology, it
could not have been necessary to adduce these
extracts from his private correspondence, to
show that he could not justly be so identified,
or that he was capable of thinking for hiraself;
nor indeed is it even now necessary ; for, setting

388 MEMOIRS OF
aside all party prejudices, no one acquainted
with Mr. Fuller's writings can doubt that they
display an independent and original cast of
raind, rarely to be raet with in modern authors.
The reader therefore will excuse this digression,
and we will turn again to Mr. Booth.
Having published his Glad Tidings, under the
full conviction that Mr. Fuller's sentiments were
defective and en-oneous, he rested satisfied in
having taken up an invulnerable position in the
doctrine of regeneration by the word of God ;
and herein, as he supposed, lay the main
strength of his performance. In conversation
with a friend upon the subject, in January 1798,
Mr. Booth observed, that he had consulted
nearly twenty bodies of divinity, all of which
confirmed his statement of the connection be
tween faith and regeneration ; and that if any
one could fairly answer his reasoning in page
15-5 of the first edition of his Glad Tidings, he
would give up the whole of his performance;
for on that reasoning, the strength of his posi
tion depended.
This imphed challenge being reported to Mr.
Fuller, he very attentively re-examined the pas
sage, and comrauuicated his thoughts to a friend,
who afterwards submitted them to Mr. Booth's
inspection, but without receiving any answer.
The reader will flnd some interest in perusing

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 389
this little piece of controversy between these
two eminent men, which has not before trans
pired, though the substance of it may have been
wrought into sorae of Mr. Fuller's later publi
cations. The invincible position, on which Mr. Booth
so confidently relied, is as follows : —
" If Satan laid the foundation of his king
dom amongst men, by the use of language re
plete with infernal falsehood ; it cannot be ab
surd to maintain, that the spiritual dominion of
Christ in the hearts of sinners commences under
the salutary operation of divine truth. If the
feither of lies, by words of deceit, without any
previous physical influence on the mental
powers, polluted the imagination, obscured the
understanding, and corrupted the heart of Eve,
when in her primitive state, and under a strong
bias to obedience; why should it be denied
that the Holy Spirit, by the word of truth, with
out any preparatory agency on the soul, enlight
ens the mind, impresses the conscience, and
g-ives a new tum to the heart of one that is dead
in sin? .
" As the first inclination to evil, in the hu
raan heart, when perfectly pure, was produced
without any previous physical influence by the
lie of Satan ; we are led by analogy, equally as
by the language of scripture, to consider the

390 MEMOIRS OF
first holy tendency, in a heart that is totally
corrupt, as produced by the truth of G-od, with
out any preparatoiy agency."

The following is Mr, Futter's Answer.
Mr. Booth's argument is entirely drawn from
two supposed opposites. Arguing from oppo-
sites is very safe, provided there be an opposi
tion in that point wherein the argument con
sists. — Let us examine whether this be the case
m the present instance.
The cases are, the origin of evil it\. a creature
free from sin, and the origin of good in a crea
ture free from righteousness.
According to Mr. Booth, the origin of evil
is found in a discredit of the word : Ergo,
the origin of good will be found in a credit of
the word.
Again : There was no evil bias antecedently
to Eve's discrediting the word : Ergo, there is
no holy bias given to the heart antecedently to
believing the word.
Thus far Mr. Booth : — ^let us now proceed
a step farther.
Eve was wrought upon, for aught appears,
merely by moral suasion, without any super
natural influence : she was influenced by words.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 391
or motives, as creatures influence one another.
Ergo, we are wrought upon in regeneration
merely in the same way, by moral suasion only ;
by words, or motives, and without any super
natural influence whatever.
This is worse than Arminianism itself, which
admits at least of some kind of divine influence.
Here Mr. Booth would dissent: but why
should he ? It is an argument arising from his
own principles. ,
He would however admit a difference be
tween the two cases. Eve's mind, he would
say, though free from sin, was not invulnemble
to evil : but the heart of a sinner, who is far
from righteousness, is invulnerable to every
thing but the arm of Jehovah. Isaiah Iiii. 1.
And by admitting this, he would destroy his
argument from opposites ; seeing the opposition
does not hold in that part wherein the argument
consists. But is it not true, that the human mind is in
all cases drawn into exercise by motives ? I be
lieve it is. The question then will turn upon
this hinge; — In what manner does the Holy
Spirit influence the mind, so as to give efficacy
to those powerful motives which are addressed
to it in the gospel ? Is it by giving an addition
al energy to the motives, which. they do not in
themselves possess', or is it by giving to the

392 MEMOIRS OF
soul a susceptibility of truth ? — The answer to
this question must be decided by the Scrip
tures. Now the Scriptures represent blindness of
mind, and hardness of heart, as the reason why
men cannot believe. John xii. 39, 40. But
if these things be the only bar to believing, is it
unreasonable to suppose, that divine influence
should be exerted in the removal of them ?
Does not the manner of speaking which the
scriptures use, convey to us this idea, — That in
turning a sinner to hiraself, God not only pre
sents the light before hira, but gives him eyes
to see ; that he not only proclaims to him the
joyful sound, but gives him ears to hear it ? Or
to speak without a figure, that he not only pre
sents the truth, but gives him a heart to under
stand it, in order that he may convert and be
healed ?
Nothing can operate as a motive, unless the
mind be susceptible of it : the most powerful
motives furnished by the gospel are therefore no
motives to an unrenewed mind. But if the
Lord opeti the heart, we attend to the things
that are spoken. He has also promised to put
his law into the inward parts, and to write it in
the hearts of sinners. Jer. xxxi. 33. But
seeing their hearts are represented as stone, on
which nothing makes impression, how could

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 393
this be effected? By taking away the heart of
stone, and giving a heart of flesh. Ezek.
xxxvi. 26.
Mr. Booth accuses this sentiment of" enthu
siasm :" but why so ? Perhaps he can form no
idea of any divine influence, except that which
is by means of the word. And can he forra an
idea of any influence by the word ? We can
conceive of the influence of motives upon the
mind, that is, ofthe word itself ; but not of
any additional energy being given to those mo
tives, which they did not in themselves possess.
But are we not said to be begotten ' by the
word of truth ?' We are : but the terms begot
ten, regenerated, quickened, bom again, do not
appear to be used by the sacred writers in a
metaphysical sense ; that is, they are not design
ed to convey the idea merely of that ' heart to
understand,' which is given in order to conver
sion ; (Dent. xxix. 4. John xii. 40.) but the
whole of that change by which a sinner be
comes a saint. I do not think that in scripture,
r^eneration denotes oue stage of that change,
and conversion another ; but that they are figu
rative representations of the same thing, which
is sometimes called regeneration, sometimes
conversion, sometimes a resurrection, and
sometimes a creation. In this sense therefore, I
believe regeneration to be by the word of God ;
D d *

394 MEMOIRS OF
and which I think is consistent with a divine in
fluence, giving a heart to understand, that we
may be converted and be healed ; or that this
influence is exerted previous to a voluntary and
cordial reception of the truth.
I know not how Mr. Booth will make it ap
pear, that faith and regeneration are co-eval in
the order of nature. In whatever sense he con
siders faith, his argument from opposites, and
maintaining that regeneration is by the Word,
renders this co-existence inconsistent. If he
considers faith as the belief of the word, which
his argument from opposites requires, and yet
ascribes regeneration to it, then faith raust pre
cede regeneration, as the cause necessarily pre
cedes the effect.
But if he considers faith as " a reliance on
Christ for salvation," and the belief of the word
as a matter " presupposed," as he has stated it
in page 3 ; then regeneration raust precede faith.
Eve he considers as being depraved by the be
lief of a lie, and a sinner as being regenerated
by the belief of the truth: butif sd, regieneration
is effected by that which is even previous to
faith, or which is " presuprposed" by it: it must
therefore itself be previous to faith, or to " a re
liance on Christ for salvation."

MR. AKDREW FULLER. 595
Not deeming the above remarks worthy of
attention, Mr. Booth published a new and en
larged edition of his paraphlet, in 1800. The
Rev. Thomas Scott, author of a valuable Com
mentary on the Bible, having laid before the
public his thoughts on " The Nature and War
rant of Faith," in reference to Mr. Booth's per
formance, Mr. Fuller was solicited to give a
Review of both these pamphlets in one of the
monthly journals. He did so; and it gave con
siderable offence to Mr. Booth. He also notic
ed some of his arguments in a new edition of
his Treatise on Faith, which made its appear
ance soon after, and which was by no means
palatable to the Author of Glad Tidings; who
by this time began to complain that his anta
gonist " was always in pursuit of hira."
A few friendly explanations however were
sufficient to adjust the present raisunder-
standing between the parties, who continued
to maintain their respective differences of sen
timent, without any annoyance to a cordial in
tercourse. But unfoi-tunately, another subject
for controversy started up, which placed them
again in a state of opposition. Some of the
monthly editors, as well as others, endeavoured
to represent Mr. Fuller as having abandoned
his principles on the subject of Particular
Redemption ; pljicing its peculiarity not in the
Dd2

396 MEMOIRS OF
degree of Christ's sufferings, or in any want of
sufficiency as to the nature of the atonement,
but merely in the sovereignty of its application.
This was reckoned an error of such magnitude,
as ought to sink him in Ihfe esteem of religious
people ; and had the words of Calvin himself
been quoted on this subject, they would have
been sufficient in the account of some modern
Calvinists to prove even him an Arminian.
Instead of abandoning his former views, Mr.
Fuller avowed the same principle at the coin-
menceraent of the present controversy as he af
terwards maintained in his later publications.
In his Reply to Mr. Dan Taylor, pp. 63, 64,
his words are—" I suppose Philanthropos is not
ignorant that Calvinists in general have consider
ed the particularity of rederaption as consist
ing not in the degree of Christ's sufferings, as
though he must have suffered more, if raore
sinners had been finally saved, or in any in-
suffciency that attended them ; but in the so
vereign purpose and design of the Father an/i
the Son, whereby they were coiistituted, or ap
pointed, the price of their redemption ; the ob
jects of that redemption ascertained,, and the
ends to be answered by the whole transaction
determined. They suppose the sufferings of
Christ in themselves considered, are of infinite
value; sufficient to have saved all the world.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 397
and a thousand worlds, if it had pleased God
to have constituted them the price of their re
deraption, and made thera effectual to that
end. — These views of the subject accord with
my own."
It is true, Mr. Fuller at the same time repre
sents Christ as dying in the character of a shep
herd for his flock, a husband for his church,
and a surety for his people ; but each of these
particulars is adduced merely in proof of a spe
ciality of design in the death of Christ, and
not of the want of any sufficiency in the nature
\>f the atonement itself. Every charge there
fore, of his having relinquished his sentiments,
founded on these arguments, must be nugatory.
It is manifest he then thought, as he did after
wards, that the obedience and death of Christ,
in theraselves considered, were like the sun in
the heavens, necessary for an individual, but
sufficient for a world ; sufficient for all, but
effectual only to the elect, and that ia conse
quence of the sovereign design of the Father
and the Son respecting the atonement.
On the appearance however of the second
edition of Mr. Fuller's Treatise on Faith, in
which these sentiraents were reviewed, and
subsequently to a claraour raised by the dread
of an iraaginary innovation, Mr. Booth classed
himself amongst the number of alarmists ; and

398 MEMOIRS OF
in September 1803, preached a sermon at the
monthly meeting, which was afterwards pub
hshed, under the title of " Divine Justice es
sential to the Divine Character." Desirous of
preventing any future misunderstanding, and of
continuing in friendship with a man whom Mr.
Fuller so highly esteemed, he addressed the fol
lowing letter to the author of the sermon, soon
after its delivery, and previous to its publica
tion: " DEAR siK, October'lO. 1803.
I AM informed that in a sermon which
you lately delivered at the monthly meetings
you were understood to have made ' a smart
attack upon rae ;' that you were requested to
print the serraon ; and that you expressed a
design to publish something more substantial
on the subject than a single sermon, or to that
effect. From the account I have received of
your sermon, I should conceive there is nothing
in it but what I believe and approve, except
the misstatement given of my sentiments.
In the letter which I wrote to you last May,
previous to ray calling upon you as you desired,
I assured you that a cordial reconciliation
would give me great pleasure, and I expressly
requested that it raight be cordial, or not at all.
Such it was on my part, and such I understood
it to be on yours, It is true, that in your letter

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 3gQ
of April 1, 1803, while you expressed your sor
row for having misunderstood, and so misrepre
sented me, you intimated thq.t you were ' ex
ceedingly averse from the necessary conse
quences of certain tenets, which, if you rightly
understood rae, I had avowed.' But in the
sarae letter you proposed, if providence should
perrait, to ' lay your sentiraents on these sub
jects before ine.' To this I replied in my letter
of May the 8th, that ' as to any thing ypti
might find leisure and inclination to communi
cate, I should be happy to read and consider it.'
Now Sir, after all this, and without any thing
new occurring, that I know of, I should not
have expected to hear of your publicly attack
ing me, as having advanced what was ' near
to nonsense,' and proposing to write largely on
the subject. I should have thought, if truth
had been your only object, you would have
tried whether I might not be convinced of my
supposed error by the means which you first
proposed ; namely, that of ' laying before me
your sentiments.' If however you determine
otherwise, so be it.
In order to prevent as far as possible any
unnecessary disputation that raight arise from
misapprehension, I will add a few things res
pecting the sentiment which I presume you
mean to oppose. Of this, I think, you cannot

400 WEMOIRS OF
complain, as it will save you some unpleasant
i'eflections.-=-If my information be con-ect, you
define redemption to be ' deliverance by price.'
To this I have no objection. I also freely aflow
that ' the apphcation of redemption is not re
demption :' it is the carrying of the work of i-e-
demption into eflfect, and is accomplished by
the agency of the Holy Spirit. Nor does the
peculiarity of redemption consist in such appli-
cation. To say it did, would indeed be denj^-
ing the doctrine ; and not only approaching
' near to nonsense," but plunging into it. Bnt
whether I have alvvays happily expi'essed
myself or not, it never was my design to convey
any such idea.
It is true, that from what I have heard of
your objections, I really thought I must have
somewhere stated, ' that the pecuHarity of re
demption lay in the sos ereignty of its applica
tion;' and I possibly may have admitted tiiis
statement in conversation, if not in writing.
But if I have, I meant to use the word redemp
tion not in a proper, but metonymical sense;
not for deliverance, but that by which it was
obtained ; in which sense it is used, if I mistake
not, in Rom. iii. 24, as being that through which
we are justified.
On looking over what I have written how
ever, in the second edition of my Treatise on

MR. ANDREW FILLER. 401
Faith, p. 109, I find what I have stated to be
this : ' The pecuharity which attends the atone
ment consists not in its insufficiency to save
more than are saved ; but in the sovereignty of
its application.' — And what this sovereign ap
plication of the atonement is, I have explained
in raore places than one ; namely, the purpose or
design ofthe Father and the Son concerning it ;
whose intention it was that what was sufficient
for all, should be appropriated or applied to a
part, the atonement being offered and accepted
as the price of their redemption. Whether
every passage I have written on this subject be
so clearly expressed as to be incapable of any
other construction or not, I never meant to place
the peculiarity of redemption in its application ;
but in the previous design, of which it is the
result. If you look into ray Reply to Philan
thropos, you will find the sarae sentiraent ; and
I never understood that you objected to it till
after I had reviewed your Glad Tidings.
To say that the peculiarity of redemption
consists in the design of the Father and the
Son, that the atonement should be effectu-al to
the redemption of the elect, is very different
from saying ' the peculiarity of rederaption lies
in its supplication ;' and it is only by this mis
statement that you have raade ' nonsense' of it.
The distinction which I always from the time

402 MEMOIRS OF
of writing my Reply to Philanthropos meant to
hold out was, between what the death of Christ
was in itself adapted to, and sufficient for, and
what it was designed by the Father and the Son
actually to accomplish; — a distinction which,
you. raust know, belongs not to the system of
Arininius, but to that of his opponents.
You may easily conceive. Sir, it cannot be
agreeable to rae to repel public attacks by pri
vate explanations. It is what I would not do
to any raan ofthe same age with myself. I have
done so however to you, now a second time.
I hope after this, if I am publicly opposed,
whether frora the pulpit or the press, my senti
ments will not be misrepresented. If when
fairly stated, they can be overturned, so let
them be. A. F."
Mr. Booth, after a few months, published his
Sermon on " Divine Justice ; to which is sub
joined an Appendix, containing a repetition of
the identical misstatements pointed out in the
above letter, and which were afterwards quoted
with applause in other publications. Hapless
indeed is the fate of such an author, who raust
be corapelled to believe against his will, and to
adrait of sentiments which he utterly disavows !
Between Mr. Fuller and Mr. Booth, however,
there was no contrariety of opinion as to ' divine
justice being essential to the divine character,'

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 403
nor as to the absolute necessity of the atonement
to reconcile the exercise of mercy with the
rights of justice, and the grounds on which the
believer is accounted righteous before God.
On these points they were perfectly agreed.
The difference chiefly relates to what precise
ideas ought to be attached to the terms substitu
tion and imputation. Mr. Booth conceived that
Mr. Fuller had expressed hiraself in too general
terras respecting the extent of the atonement, as
if it opened a way whereby the whole race of
n\2LX\.might be saved, as far as respects sufficiency
in the atonement, though the nuraber who shall
ultimately receive the advantage of it, is limited
by the divine sovereignty. He therefore con
tended that Christ represented a certain number
only, whose sins and deserved punishment were
transferred to him ; and to whom, on the con
trary, his obedience and sufferings are iraputed
as forming their justifying righteousness.
On the subject of imputation, Mr. Fuller re
peatedly insisted that there could be no mediun^
between Christ's being really considered as a
sinner, in his substitutional capacity, and his
being treated for our sakes as though he were
one ; and that as Mr. Booth rejected the latter
as too vague and indefinite, he must of necessity
embrace the former alternative. Mr. Booth,
however, with just abhorrence abjures the idea

404 MEMOIRS OF
of charging the Redeemer with guilt in any other
sense than by imputation ; yet he speaks of him
as being every thing but a sinner, and uses some
expressions too nearly akin to those which raake
him really such. He also insinuates as if Mr.
Fuller had denied the imputation of Christ's
righteousness, while he maintained the imputa
tion of its effects, and represents this as an ab
surdity. Whereas Mr. Fuller bad said, that
the imputation of Christ's righteousness to a be
liever, is the treating him as righteous through
Christ, by justifying and glorifying him, as if he
tvere really righteous : and so far as relates to
treatment, he is accounted righteous, but in his
reaZc^arac^er, God raust ever view hira as asinner.
In the Appendix to this Serraon, where the
points in dispute are more directly investigated,
there is a total misapprehension of Mr. Fuller's
meaning, and indeed a total misrepresentation
of his words. In spite of all remonstrance, he
again represents him as saying, that " the par
ticularity of the atonement consists in the sove
reign pleasure of God, with regard to its applica
tion 1"
This hopeless piece of business issued in a
correspondence, not between Mr. Fuller and
Mr. Booth, (for with the former, the latter de
chned to communicate) but between Mr. Booth
and a third person, through whom he received

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 405
Mr. Fuller's statements. The substance of this
correspondence was afterwards given to the pub
lic, in a Dialogue between ' Peter, James, and
John ;'* in which the points in dispute are fairly
stated. It is true indeed that this mode of writ
ing is liable to strong Objections, as it invariably
gives to the dialogist the palm of victory ; but
that Mr. Booth's sentiments and reasonings are
not misrepresented, there is the fullest assurance
from the well known integrity of the writer, and
the unimpeachable veracity of his surviving
friend, whose suffrage is implied.
It is with no design whatever to revive any
painful recollection, that these hints are given;
but merely to prevent as far as possible the re
petition of those misstateraents, relative to Mr.
Fuller's sentiments, which have already been
too often encouraged. No one acquainted with
the character of Mr. Booth, can forbear to vener
ate his memory ; but it is undeniable, that his
tenacity for a system, and his dread of innova
tion, subjected hhn to impressions not the raost
favourable to free and candid enquiry. It was
a matter of grief to Mr. Fuller, that he had to
encounter opposition from a man whom he could
never approach but with sentiments of reveren
tial esteem, and he often mentioned it with re-
. * Vide* Dialogues, Letters, and Essays, Cbap. vii, Memoirs, pp.
233—227.

406 MEMOIRS OP
gret; especially as that opposition was demanded,
and might have been effective, in another quarter.
The collision between such eminent individuals,
like two jarring worlds, passing in opposite di
rections with their blaze of light, cannot fail to be
interesting, though only some of their remoter
angles came in contact ; and it will be wise and
honourable in the friends of both, to imitate their
virtues, and avoid their imperfections.
In what light the principal subjects of the
present controversy were considered in other
parts of the kingdom, will appear in the two
following articles.

Conversation with a friend at Edinburgh, on the
subject of Particular Redemption, in 1805.
S. Mr. Booth has published a Sermon, the
appendix to which is understood to be directed
against you.
F. I suppose so.
S. He intimates, does he not, that you place
the peculiarity of redemption in its application ?
F. I think he does not express hiraself just
so ; but that those whom he opposes place it
in the application of the atonement.
S. And do you place it in the application^^
call it which you will, of redemption, or of the
atonement ?

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 407
F. No, I do not.
S. In what then ?
F. In the sovereign pleasure of God, with
regard to its application. — In other words. In
the design of the Father and the Son, respect
ing THE PERSONS TO WHOM IT SHALL BE AP
PLIED. S. Indeed ? And is that all you have as
serted on that subject ?
F. So far as I remember, it is : it is all that
I believe. S. But there is a great difterence between the
peculiarity of redemption being placed in its
application, and in the design of the Father
and the Son, respecting application.
F. True ; as great as between election and
vocation. The one is the work of the Holy
Spirit in time ; the other is the purpose of God
before time.
S. And is it possible for Mr. Booth lo have
so far mistaken your meaning ?
F. Yes, and raore than this : he has actually
quoted my words in proof ot what they dis
prove. My words, as stated by himself at
the beginning of his appendix, are — " The par
ticularity of the atonement consists in the so
vereign pleasure of God, with regard to its ap
plication," And this is alleged in proof, that
I confound the atonement with its application !

408 MEMOIRS OF
— I consider particular redemption as merely
a branch of election, or as the great design of
election running through all the works of God.
In giving his Son to die, he kept this design in
view. In sending his gospel, he doesthe same.
Not that the one was in itself insufficient to
atone for more, or the other to raake more wise
unto salvation, than are so made : but all is ap
plied according to the purpose of Him who
worketh all things according to the counsel of
his own will.
S. That is just the idea of the apostle, in
Ephes. i. " He hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings  according as he hath chosen us
in hira, before the foundation of the world." —
But what do you raean, and what end is an
swered, by maintaining the sufficiency of the
atonement to save raore than God purposed to
save? F. 1 consider that if one sinner only had
been saved consistently with justice, it required
to be by the sarae all-perfect obedience unto
death : and this being yielded, is i^^e^ equally
adapted to save a world as an individual, pro
vided a world believed in it. — And as to the
end answered byjt, you aflow, and Mr. Booth
allows, that sinners without distinction are in~
vited to believe in Christ,
S. True.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 409
F. If there be a sufficiency in Christ's death,
beyond what is actually accoraplished by it,
there is a ground in the nature of things for such
invitations. But if not, a great part of raankind
will be found at last to have been invited to be
lieve and partake of that which had no existence.
They are not only invited to do that which is
morally irapossible, in which there is no contra
diction ; but that which is physically impossible :
for how could they believe in Christ for salvation,
if the salvation of Christ wasinsiifficientforthem?
Instead of saying, " Come, for all things are
ready ;" according to such a notion, we should
say, ' Come, though it may be, nothing is ready,
if you were to come.' — I know Mr. Booth talks
of a waste of love ; but he raight as well talk of
what was done for the unbelievers in the wilder
ness as a waste of love, or of the gospel being
sent to thousands who never receive it, as a
waste of love.

Another conversation, on the Atonement and
Substitution of Christ.
Arriving at Dundee, I presently found my
self amidst a circle of friends, rainisters and
others, who requested nie to give my ideas of
E e

410 MEMOIRS OF
the Atonement and Substitution of Christ. The
substance of what passed, as nearly as I can
recollect, was as follows : —
I consider the atonement as a divine extraor
dinary expedient, for the exercise of mercy con
sistently with justice. With respect to the Sa
viour being our Substitute, perhaps my ideas
may appear by a few connected observations.
God, as the moral governor of the world, de
lights to impart his favour in reward of obedience ;
like a wise and good parent, who not only loves
his children, but loves righteousness also, and
therefore bestows his gifts in reward of it. —
" Well." — ?If man had continued in obedience,
God would have poured forth all the fulness of
his heart, all the blessings of eternal life in re
ward of it. — " Well." — But raan became a
rebel, and God hath nothing left in our world
to reward.
" Tme ; and what then?"
God raust either withhold his favours, and in
stead of thera, inflict his displeasure ; or bestow
them in some other way. — " Well." — He has
not withheld his favour, but has bestowed it in
some other way. — " In what way ?" — 'He has
given his own Son, from raere self-raoved good
ness ; and not as the reward of any thing done
by any one. — " Well." — He has also blessed a
certain number of the human race with all spiri-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. ,41 1
tual blessings, in reward of his obedience unto
death. He being raade a curse, all who believe
in him are exempted fi:-om it ; and yielding full
obedience to the law% God rewarded hira by
justifying and saving thera at his request, and
for his sake. The death of Christ was a satis
faction to justice ; not by the letter of the law
having taken its course ; but God having hereby
expressed his displeasure against sin, the spirit of
it is preserved and honoured, though the believ
ing sinner is pardoned. God is so well pleased
vrith the obedience and death of his Son, that
he gives him all he asks ; and he asks our sal
vation. There is no sin so great, but he can
forgive it ; nor blessing so rich, but be can bes
tow it for his sake. Every petition presented in
his name is sure to succeed.
" But is there nothing in the Substitution of
Christ which renders our salvation a matter of
right?" It is certainly consistent with right, and an
exercise of remunerative justice towards Christ..
But it is not so a matter of right, as not to be in
every part of it an exercise of free grace towards
us; nor does it to us become a matter of claim.
The only right or title that we have to it is in
virtue of promise ; and God never promises that
which he could not in justice withhold.
" I have heard sorae persons speak of chris-
Ee 2

412 MEMOIRS OF
tians as claiminsr salvation in virtue of Christ's
death, ?ind of suing out their right to it."
So have I, and have been greatly surprised at
their arrogance. Could you talk in that strain
upon your knees ?
" If our salvation be an exercise of remunera
tive justice towards Christ; why is it not the
same towards us ?"
The union between Christ and us, though
sufficiently close to afford a foundation for what
we did, to be reckoned as if it were his, and
what he did and suffered, as if it were ours ;
yet is not so intimate as for the actions of either
to be those of the other. We talk of guilt being
taken away by the death of Christ ; and if by
guilt we mean obnoxiousness to punishment, it is
so. But if we mean desert of punishment, it is
not so. Guilt in this sense is untransferrible,
and must for ever attach to the offender. Sin
and righteousness are imputable, but not trans-
ferrible, except in their effects. The imputation
of our sin to Christ consists in the transfer of
its effects ; and the imputation of his righteous
ness to us consists in the same. God did not
think his Son a sinner, and us innocent ;. but he
treated each as iftJiey were so.
" But did not Christask for our beingwith him,
in a way. of claim ?"
Not so as if it were not of grace ; but God

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 4 1 3
being so well pleased with his Son, desired him,
if I may so speak, to ask what he would — and
he asked our salvation.
" But is not God said to be just, as well as
faithful, in forgiving our sins ?"
Yes ; and4ie is said to be righteous, or rather,
7iot unrighteous to forget our labour of love.
Yet you do not claim such rewards as an exer
cise of essential justice, or so as to supersede
grace.

On the NATURE OF ChRIST's MERIT:
In a Letter io the Rev. Dr. John Erskine.
In Mr. Fuller's work on Deism, entitled,
*' The gospel its own Witness," he intima
ted in a Note that he had, " no doubt of the
atonement of Christ being a perfect satisfaction
to divine justice ; nor of his hein^ worthy of all
that was conferred upon him, and upon us for
his sake ; nor of that which to us is sovereign
mercy being to Jdm an exercise of remunera
tive justice : but he wished it to be considered,
whether the moral Governor of the world was
laid under such a kind of obligation to show
mercy to sinners as a creditor is under to dis'
charge a debtor, on having received full satisfac-

414 MEMOIRS OF
tion at the hands of a surety ? If he be, the
writer was unable to perceive how there could
be any room for free forgivenefes on the part of
God ; or how it can be said that justice and
grace harmonise in a sinner's salvation."
Dr. John Erskine of Edinburgl^ as well as
sorae others, hesitated to adrait this statement ;
and the following is Mr. Fuller's answer to his
objections —
Dear Sir, Feb. 25. 1800.
I THANK you for your free and friendly
reraarks upon ray late publication. Your ap
probation of what I write, I can truly say, gives
me great satisfaction ; and your disapprobation
of a certain part of it, induced me carefully to
re-examine it, lest I should be mistaken. If I
could perceive that any thing I have wijitten,
detracts frora the glory Of my Redeemer's me
diation, I should be very unhappy.
You suggest an apprehension that the senti
ment thrown out is inconsistent with our being
directed to pray in the name of Christ, or oil the
gi'ound of his merits, which you Consider as our
title to eternal life. Whether afty thing I have
Written, really clashed with this sentiment or
not, be assured that all Itiy prayers and hopes
are in the name of Christ; and his raerit or
worthiness is my only title to eternal life. Per
haps, hoWeVer, I may afll:^ t6 these terms, ideas

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 415
different frora yours, and therein may consist all
the difference between us.
I never liked to deal in scholastic terms, un
less I could perceive they had a clear sense in
thera. I have therefore said nothing ofthe dis
tinction between the merit of condignity, and
the merit of congruity ; but so far as I under
stand these terms, they express what I mean.
I apprehend that merit of the first kind is not
only inapplicable to the virtuous exercises of
creatures towards God, but such as cannot pos
sibly be exercised towards an all-perfect Being
by any one, whatever be his nature or character.
Who hath given unto hira ? Even the goodness
of Christ ' extendeth not to hira, but to the
saints that are in the earth.'
After the most serious and attentive applica
tion to the subject, it appears to me, that there
is a real difference between satisfaction, merit,
&c., as made in cases of debt and credit, and
in cases of crime, where the injury respects
character and government. In the one case, a
full satisfaction made by a surety to a creditor,
precludes the exercise of forgiving mercy on his
part towards the debtor. But it is not so in the
other, as I suppose is sufficiently manifest by the
similitude in Chap. iv. Part IL— ^The scriptures
also appear to rae always to represent the death
of Christ as making perfect satisfaction to di-

416 MEMOIRS OF
vine justice ; not as conferring a benefit, which
should lay the Father under a natural obliga
tion, in sorae forra to repay; but as doing
that which was well pleasing in his sight, and
which his infinite love of righteousness would
necessarily induce him to reward. *' Psal. xv. 7.
Isaiah. Iiii. 10 — 12. John x. 17. Ephes. v. 2.
Phil. ii. 6— 11.
Christ was " made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law." By the law
here I understand the covenant of works; for in
no other character are we redeemed from under
it. The covenant of works contained a threat
ening of death, in case of disobedience ; and by
implication a promise, in case of obedience.
Christ by his sacrifice atoned for our breach of
that covenant ; and this being connected with a
course of unspotted obedience, he obtained for
us a title to eternal life. But as it would have
been only by a merit, of congruity, had we kept
the covenant, that we should have enjoyed eter
nal life; does it not follow, that it was the same
kind of raerit by which we are reinstated in the
divine favour? I do not raean to compare the
merit of Christ and that of the purest creatures,
in point of worth, but merely as to its nature
and kind ; and wbich appears to rae to be the
only possible kind that can be exercised towards
God.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 417
Such, ray dear and venerable friend, are the
reasons for what I have advanced. You have
wished me to revise the Note, ahd to express
myself a little differently, or put it into a hypo
thetical forra, if I can do so consistently with
ray own views. I thank you for the interest
you take in the acceptableness of ray writings.
It has also been suggested frora another quarter,
that by acknowledging spiritual blessings bes
towed on us, to be acts of remunerative jus
tice towards Christ, I have retracted, rather
than explained the Note. Be it so then : if what
I said before be inconsistent with this truth,
I do retract it ; though I raust assure you that
I never intended any thing different.
A. F."

On Faith and Justification:
In a Letter to Mr. M'Lean.
In December 1796, the Rev. Mr. Simeon of
Cambridge was at Edinburgh, and preached a
sermon from Mark xvi. 15, 16. After it was
printed, an anonymous writer animadverted
upon it in a pamphlet entitled " David and Jo
nathan;" which a gentleman in Edinburgh
transraitted to Mr. Fuller, with his own reraarks

418 MEMOIRS OF
upon the subject. Mr. Fuller replied to his
letter, and soon after received one from Mr.
M'Lean, who was supppsed to be the author
of the pamphlet ; and to him the following let
ter was addressed, in answer to his objections.
It is possible that most of the sentiraents have
been given under another form, in sorae of the
Author's later pubhcations ; but as the letter it
self is unpublished and entire, and contains a
concise view of the principal points in dispute,
it was judged expedient to give it an insertion
in this place.
Dear Sir, July 1797.
If your letter had barely contained a state
ment of your ideas on certain subjects on which
I have already fully wrote my mind, I might
have dechned a particular answer ; and on ac
count of bodily indisposition, and various ne
cessary avocations, this would have been much
more agreeable to me. But by the conse
quences which you charge on my views of Faith
and Justification, I am constrained to be expli
cit on that subject.
The substance of what has been advanced,
in reference to these points, is reducible to three
questions ; namely, whether faith includes in it
an exercise ofthe heart' — if it does, whether it
be not confounded with love and hope — and

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 419
whether it renders justification, after all, to be
by works ?
I had asked, ' If faith be a mere assent of the
understanding, and have nothing of moral good
in it, how can it be the object of command?
How can it be a duty ? ' You answer, " By a
mere assent of the understanding, you raust
mean a belief of the testimony of God, ground
ed upon his authority and faithfulness. This
you think has nothing of moral good in it." —
That I think a mere assent of the understand
ing has nothing of moral good in it, is true ; but
why must I mean by a mere assent of the under
standing, a belief of the testimony of God
grounded upon his authority and faithfulness?
The very point in dispute is, whether such a
belief does not include more than a mere assent
of the understanding. To suppose therefore
that I raust mean this, is to Suppose that I must
grant you the very point in dispute.
The intellectual faculty, I suppose, is capable
of nothing more than knowledge ; but that faith
or credence is something more than knowledge.
A man may understand that which he does not
believe ; yet he cannot be said to believe it, if
he understand nothing about it. An assent of
the understanding is a matter of judgment,
which regards the meaning of the testifier, ra
ther than of faith, which relates to thfe truth of

420 MEMOIRS OF
the testimony. — And if it be merely an exercise
of the understanding, that is, if it be not influ
enced by any bias of heart, it contains neither
good nor evil of a moral kind, but is purely na
tural. Such an assent is not an object of com
mand, is not a duty, nor is the opposite of it a
sin. Diligent and impartial examination is a
duty ; but knowledge itself, I conceive, is not.
It is true there is a knowledge to which eternal
life is promised, which is duty ; and an igno
rance which is threatened with divine vengeance,
2Thes. i. 8, and which therefore must be sin.
But neither is the former a mere exercise of the
intellectual faculty, nor the latter a mere defect
of that exercise. That ignorance which is
threatened with divine vengeance, you will al
low, is a voluntary ignorance, which includes a
mixture of that evil teraper which hateth the
light. John viii. 43. Hence it is called the
blindness of the heart. Ephes. iv. 18. Hence
also ' David,' in his dialogue with ' J( nathan,'
p. 15, very properly describes it as an evil eye.
And I suppose that the knowledge to which
eternal life is promised, includes a mixture of
holy love. When the terms, ignorance and
knowledge, are used in this sense, which they
frequently are in scripture, I consider them as
used not iu a literal but in a figurative sense, as
when God is said to know certain characters
at the day of judgment.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 421
David in his dialogue admits of the distinction
between spiritual knowledge and that which is
merely speculative, though he contends, and
very justly, that the latter " implies some very
essential imperfection and error." The reason of
this imperfection and error is also very properly
suggested by David. His words are — " After
all that we can say of the speculative knowledge
of practical truth, we must still remember that
it implies some very essential imperfection and
error." David here seems to intimate, that
practical truth is not discernible by speculative
knowledge. Now what David calls speculative knowledge,
I call a mere exercise ofthe intellectual or specu
lative faculty ; and so for once we are agreed,
that the knowledge of practical truth is more
than a mere exercise of intellect. — Again : what
he calls spiritual knowledge, and which is the
only true knowledge of practical truth, is the
same as that which I have mentioned as having
eternal life connected with it. But that which
is spiritual, whether it be knowledge or faith,
cannot be a raere exercise of the intellectual
faculty, for the terra spiritual denotes as ranch
as holy : but holiness necessarily includes some
affection ofthe heart.
That which distinguishes faith from a mere
exercise of the intellectual faculty, and which

422 MEMOIRS OF
constitutes its morality, is, that it includes a
treating of God either as the God of truth, or as
a liar. Hence, as you very properly express
it, " it is right to believe all that God says, and
exceeding wrong to hold him as a liar." You
go on to ask, " why may not belief be an object
of coramand as well as love ?" Do I deny then
that it is so ? If indeed belief included notjjing
more than an exercise ofthe intellectual faculty, I
should deny it, because I am persuaded that
the heart, and its genuine expressions, are the
whole of what God requires; but viewing be
lief as I do, I readily admit it to be an object of
command. You add, " and if it be both right
in itself, and the object of command, it must
certainly be a duty." Very true, Sir, and in
this short passage you have said all I wish to
plead for. Whether you will allow the terms,
moral good, raoral exercise, or virtue, to pertain
to the nature of faith, or not ; while you adhere
to this, I am satisfied.
If these be your views of faith, which I am
persuaded is the case, say what you will, you
do not consider it as a natural but as a moral
exercise. And while you allow faith to be right,
you need not argue as you do, " that though it
should contain no intrinsic virtue or moral ex
cellence in itself, yet it does not follow that un
belief could contain no sin." Nor do I think

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 433
this argument conclusive. You plead, that
though there may be no virtue in a thing, yet
there raay be sin in its opposite ; and instance
in " the abstinence from various crimes, eating
when we are hungry, and believing a human
testimony." There may indeed be no virtue in
these things as they are generally performed by
apostate creatures : but if they were performed
as God requires thera to be, (which they should,
in order to be the opposites of the sense you
mention) they would contain real virtue. God
requires us to abstain from all sin,^o»«. a regard
to his name ; to eat and drink, and do whatso
ever we do to his glory ; and even to credit the
testimony of a friend, " when we have reason
to do so." These things thus performed would
be truly virtuous. Whatever is capable of being
done by a raoral agent with an eye to the glory
of God, ought to be so done; and if it be so
done, it is right or virtuous ; if not, it is wrong
or sinful. ,
ft appears to rae that the idea against which
you argue is merit, rather than duty. I plead
only for duty, which is the very principle by
which, according to the reasoning of our Lord,
merit is excluded. Luke xvi 10. If it be ne
cessary in order " to refuse some praise to the
creature," to deny that faith is an exercise of
virtue; it must be equally necessary to deny

424 MEMOIRS OF
that it is " a right exercise, a commanded exer
cise, and what is a part of our duty ; " for these
are the self-same things.
While you allow^ faith to be both " right in
itself, and an object of command, and conse
quently a duty ;" to what purpose do you ob
ject agahist my contending for its morality?
" If we are not justified by faith as a virtue, you
say, of what iraportance is it to contend for the
raoral excellence of faith? Why so solicitous
to find something in it more than belief? Why
is that held insufficient for justification ?" This,
by the bye, is a misstatement. I do not pre
tend to find any thing more in faith than belief.
Belief itself, I suppose, includes in it all that
I contend for. And as to the importance of
the morality of faith, ask yourself; If we are
not justified by faith as a compliance with what
"in itself is right," as obedience to " the command
of God," or as the perforraance of " a duty," of
what importance is it to contend for it as being
either this or that ? You can easily give an an
swer to this question ; and by so doing, you
will answer that which you have put to me.
And if while you allow faith to be " right,"
you attribute " all the virtue and influence
which is ascribed to it in j ustification, to its ob
ject," rather than any intrinsic Tightness which
itself contains, you do what I heartily approve ;

' MR. ANDREW FULLER. 425
and in so doing, whether you can understand
my distinguishing between justification by faith
on account of its relation to its object, and
justification by it as a virtue, or not, you maintain
the sarae thing.
You seem certain that I consider faith " as a
temper or disposition of heart corresponding
to the truth believed." If you be certain of
it, it is more than 1 am. I say it includes such
a teraper'; but I do not suppose it would
be a proper definition of faith, to call it a dis
position of the heart corresponding with re
vealed truth. To give God credit or discredit,
seems better to agre^ with the idea of an exer
cise ofthe soul, than of a temper or disposition.
It is actually treating God either as the God of
truth, or as a liar. It has more of a disposition
in it than you seem willing to acknowledge; and
more of an assent to truth thaii the notion of it
which you ascribe to rae. It is what the scrip
tures call a receiving of the lone qf the truth,
that we may be saved. 2 Thess. ii. 10. You
may easily perceive that I do nOt consider it
either as an exercise of the understanding to
the exclusion of the will, or of the will to the
exclusion ofthe understanding. To distinguish
the powers of the soul is in raany cases very
proper, and to distinguish the natural frora the
moral powers is of iraportance : but I conceive
there are several mental exercises, and perhaps
F f

426 MEMOIRS OF
all those which are of a spiritual nature, which
cannot be said to be exercises of a single power,
but o/" Me soul, without distinction of its powers.
Such are repentance, hope, and fear; and such
I conceive is faith.
As to my confounding faith with hope and
love, which the apostle declares to be three, I
have already answered this objection ; and I
must say that your reply is far from satisfactory.
Whether ray considering them as distinct with
regard to their objects, include all the distinc
tion that there is between them or not, you ad
rait " hope to include desire," which is the
same thing as its including love, Hope, you
say, " is a modification, of love." Hope there
fore, acoSPding to your own acknowledgment,
though distinguished from love, yet is not so
distinct from it, but that it includes a portion of
it. But if this may be said of hope, there is no
good reason to be drawn from this passage why
it may not also be said of faith. 1 Cor. xiii. 13.
If faith mclude an exercise of the will, David
" would be at a loss to account for the supe
riority of love." (pp. 18, 19.) By the same rule
he must be at a loss to account for its superi
ority to hope, since he allows hope to " include
desire," that is to say, to include love, and to
be " a modification of it." Does not the apos
tle himself suggest wherein consists the supe-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 427
riority of love ; naraely, its perpetuity ? ' Love
never faileth.' Faith shall terrainate in vision,
and hope in fruition ; but love shall rise and en
crease to eternity.
Again : If faith include " the assent of the
will, with the concurrence ofthe warraest affec
tions, David would be unable to see why faith,
and not love, unites us to Christ." p. 1 9. This
objection proceeds upon the supposition that
faith not only includes love, but that it is love ;
or that faith and love are the sarae things. In
this case, no doubt, it would be impossible to
discern why faith should unite us to Christ
rather than love, seeing there would be no dif
ference between the one and the other. But
though faith raay include a portion of love, it
does not follow from thence that it is in no re
spect distinguishable from it ; or that there are
not some effects ascribable to faith, on account
of its peculiar properties, which are not to be
ascribed to love. Justification includes the for
giveness of sins, yet it is not the same thing as
forgiveness ; and there are some things ascrib
able to the former, namely, a title to eternal
life, which do not belong to the latter. Rora.
V. 18, 21.
You seem greatly jealous on the subject of
meetness; and so does Dr. S., who fears ray
views on this subject will " rot my preaching
Ff 2

428 MEMOIRS OF
and experience." I am truly obliged to both
hira and you for your anxiety on this head.
Both your letters on this subject raade a deep
irapression on ray heart. I could have water
ed each pf them with tears. There would how
ever have been some difference. Over his I
could have shed tears of trembling self-diffidence,
lest what he suggested should be true, and I
should in any degree, though unwittingly, dis
honour Him whom ray soul loveth. Over
yours I could have wept for grief. The mixture
of tartness, and unkind insinuation, which on
some occasions accompany your reasonings,
was not the most pleasant. It seeraed to me
unsuitable to brotherly discussion. But this I
pass over, and attend to the subject.
By a few rough notes which I have of my
letter to Dr. S., I think, among other things, I
asked, ' May not faith include the acquiescence
of the heart, and so be a moral exercise ; and
may there not be a fitness in God's justifying
persons who thus acquiesce, without any foun
dation being laid for boasting? Though faith
be a moral exercise, yet I do not consider that
it is on account of its morality, but its relation
to Christ, that justification is ascribed to it.'
On this you remark, that " the distinction be
tween this and being justified by faith as a vir-

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 429
tue, is too fine : for if this fitness in God's justi
fying arises from the raoral excellency of faith,
we must undoubtedly be justified by faith as a
a virtue, in some sense or other."
You will admit, I think, of a fitness between
justification and believing^; or that it is wisely
ordered, that believers should be justified rather
than unbelievers. Otherwise you raust suppose
that God does what there is no reason or fitness
in doing.
Farther, you suppose believing to include a
knowledge of Christ, at least such a knowledge
as " perceives and realises the object;" and
this you will admit to precede justification, and
that there is a fitness in its doing so. Yet you
do not maintain that our realising perception of
Christ's righteousness, but Christ's righteous
ness itself, is that on account of which God jus
tifies us. Now why raay I not maintain the
same, though I consider the belief ofthe gospel
as including a cordial acquiescence in it?
If you allege, there is no other fitness in
God's justifying a person on his beheving, in
your sense of the terra, than a fitness of wis
dom; none which underraines the freeness of
grace, or which bears any reserablance to the
notion of those who .talk of a raerit of congruity ;
and that for this reason, — there being nothing
of moral good included in the nature of faith,

430 MEMOIRS OF
there can be no ground for a moral fitness in a
sinner being justified by it.
To this I answer — (1) You do allow faith to
include moral good, though in sorae places you
write as though you did not. You allow it to
be " right in itself, a command of God, a duty,
and the contrary a sin, as making God a liar."
You raust admit therefore, that though vve are
justified by that which is right, is a command,
is a duty ; yet it is not on account of its right-
ness, or of its being an obedience to the divine
comraand, or a compliance with duty ; but mere
ly on account of the object in which it termir
nates. And if this distinction be not ^' too fine"
for you, neither will that to which you object
in me ; for it is the same thing.-r-(2) A fitness
of wisdom is the whole for which I plead. It
appears to be wisely ordered that no person
should share the blessing of justification through
the righteousness of Christ, till he heartily ac^
quiesce in that way of saving sinners. Yet it
is not his acquiescence that is any ground of
his acceptance, but that in which he acquiesces.
I wall try and state another case or two, which
may throw some light upon that in question.
Let us suppose Pharaoh's daughter, who was
married to king Solomon, to have been a poor
outcast, and even defiled ; yet Solomon sends
his servants to invite her to the most intimate

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 43 1
and honourable union. At first she feels attach
ed to her lovers, and refuses — at length how
ever her mind is changed. She is married to
him ; and that moraent becomes interested in
his possessions. — Perhaps you would admit the
fitness in this case, that she should first be unit
ed with Solomon ere she become interested in
his possessions ; and with such a kind of union
too, as should include a renunciation of all her
former lovers and practices. Yet virtuous as
this union might be, and wicked as it would
have been in her to have still adhered to her
lovers, you would never imagine that she was
put in possession of the crown on account of
her marriage, considered as an exercise of virtue,
or as a reward for it. Nor would she, if a true
penitent, ever think of arrogating to herself any
merit for acquiescing in the king's proposal, or
consenting to do as she had done ; but rather
be confounded on account of her former wicked
ness, and especially that she should have been
so attached to it as for a time to despise the
riches of his goodness.
I do not pretend to say that this case will
throughout apply to that of Christ and his
church; but I conceive they are sufficiently
alike to illustrate the argument. Union with
Christ is that which in the order of things pre
cedes justification. "Of him are ye in Christ
Jesus, who of God is raade unto us righteous-

432 MEMOIRS OF
ness — that I may be found in him, not having
mine own righteousness, but that which is by
the faith of Christ." David adraits this in his
dialogue, p. 19. This union with Christ is to
be of one spirit with him ; and this being by
faith, it is hence that by faith we are justified.
It is here I tliink I can perceive the peculiar
relation that faith bears to Christ. Such a be
lief of the gospel as that whereby we embrace
bis way of salyation with our whole soul, ren
ders Cl^rist and us ' no more twain,' but one
spirit. 1 Cor. vi. 17. This is analogous to the
joining act in marriage. Whatever love there
niight be in such an act, and however necessary
such love might be to render it sincere, or what
ever love might follow after, it is not this, but
the act of rqarriage, that so unites the parties
as that the one sh^ll be interested in the posses
sions pf the other,
In short, by the above representation, I can see
a cordial and virtuous acquiescence necessary
to the enjoyment of an advantage, and a fitness
in its being so ; yet not such a fitness as those
maintain who speak of a merit of congruity, but
a fitness of w^isdom.
Again : there is a fitness of wisdora in the es-^
tablished connection between repentatice and
the remission of sins. That such a connection
exists throughout the scriptures, I imagine you
will not deny. Neither can you doubt whether

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 433
repentance be a moral exercise of mind : yet
you will not say that this raoral exercise is that
on account of ivhich we are forgiven; but that
it is wholly for Christ's sake, as ranch as we
are justified wholly for the sake of his righte
ousness. Here again, you must raake use of
the distinction which you say is " too fine." It
is true, repentance does not occupy the sarae
place with respect to forgiveness, as faith does
with respect to justification, for we are not said
to be forgiven by repentance ; yet the connec
tion is as real in the one case as in the other.
Forgiveness follows upon repentance, which is
a virtue, and it is fit it should, rather than go
before it: and yet it is not for the sake of that
virtue, but ofthe blood-shedding of Christ, that
we are forgiven.
You allow, and that rightly, that justification
includes the forgiveness of sins : if there be no
forgiveness therefore without repentance, which
the scriptures abundantly teach, there can be
no justification without repentance. Conse
quently, repentance must be implied or includ
ed in the very nature of justifying faith, as much
as the forgiveness of sins is included in justifi
cation. Nor does this idea confound faith
and repentance, any more than the other con
founds justification and pardon.
Once more : there is a fitness of wisdom in
the established connection between receiving

434 MEMOIRS OF
Christ, and having power, right or privilege, to
become the sons of God. John i. 12. And
receiving Christ, I think you will adrait to be
a holy or raoral exercise, including the concur
rence ofthe will. It is the direct opposite of
rejecting hira, or receiving him not. ver. 11.
Yet you will not say that it is a reward for hav
ing received him, that he confers upon us the
blessing of adoption. We are predestinated to
that relation merely of grace, by Jesus Christ ;
and not as the reward of any thing good in us.
Here then you must again admit of a distinction
which you say is " too fine." Adoption fol
lows upon receiving Christ, ivhich is a virtue ;
and it is wisely ordered that it should : yet it is
not for the sake of that virtue, but frora the free
grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
that we of aliens are made sons.
If I can find opportunity, I may take some
notice of the other parts of your letter at some
future time. Meanwhile I only say, that writ
ing upon subjects of difference is as unpleasant
to me as it can be to you, and perhaps more so,
on account of the indisposition that attends me :
and having stated ray views, I do not intend to
keep up a controversy. If I can receive any
fresh light from your communications, I shall
be obliged to you ; but probably I shall not
largely reply any more. A, F,"

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 435

The VALIDITY OF Lay Ordination.
While I was at Aberdeen, I was waited
upon by a deputation, consisting of the pastor,
a deacon, and another raeraber of a little baptist
church, lately formed at New Byth, near Old
Deer, Aberdeenshire. A baptist minister now
in Norfolk, was the episcopal minister at Old
Deer, till the year 1799. At that time his views
were altered concerning baptism ; and he went
to London, and was baptised by Mr. Booth.
Soon after a baptist church of ten members, out
of his former congregation, was formed in the
neighbourhood. The church then proceeded to
choose one of their members to be their pastor;
and on March 26, 1803, they set him apart to
to that office by prayer. Some of the members
however were not satisfied, as to the validity
of his ordination, seeing there were no pastor
or pastors from other churches present to join
in it. A few of them had communed together
at the Lord's table ; but the rest stood aloof,
merely on this account. Their errand to me
was, to request my judgment on the validity of
his ordination ; and if I thought it invalid, that
I would come and ordain him.
I told them, if there had been any other pas
tors or churches within their reach, it would

436 MEMOIRS OF
have been proper to request their concurrence
and assistance ; and that if I had been there at
the tirae, I should have had no objection to have
joined in prayer, and in the laying on of hands.
But as things were, I could not see how they
could have acted otherwise than they had done.
And as to my now ordaining him, I could do
no such thing ; partly because it would imply
that I thought him not as yet their pastor, which
was not true ; and partly because it would con
vey an idea of my having some power or autho
rity to impart to another minister, of which I
had no conception. My advice was that they
should all be satisfied with what was done.

On the PROPRIETY OF ADMINISTERING THE
Lord's Supper, without a minister.
When Mr. Fuller was in Edinburgh, in the
year 1805, he communed with a newly-formed
baptist church in that city, not then provided
with a pastor ; and at their request, he admi
nistered the Lord's supper among them. Pre
vious to this, they had been in the habit of com-
meraorating the death of Christ in this ordi
nance; but wished to know his opinion on the
subject.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 437
•' I told thera," says Mr. Fuller, " that proba
bly there were few of ray brethren who raight be
of my mind ; but that I had long been of opinion,
that there was no scriptural authority for con
fining the administration of the Lord's supper
to a minister. I had no doubt but that the pri
mitive pastors did preside at the Lord's table,
as well as in the reception and exclusion of
merabers, and in short in all the proceedings of
the church ; and that where there was a pastor,
it was proper he should continue to do so.
But that when a pastor died, or was removed,
the church was not obhged to desist from com-
raeraorating the Lord's death, any raore than
from receiving or excluding members ; and
that it was as lawful for them to appoint a dea
con, or any senior member, to preside in the
one case as in the other.
Neither did I recollect that any minister is
said to have administered the Lord's supper,
unless we consider our Saviour as sustaining
that character at the time of its institution ; and
this silence of the scriptures conderniug the ad
ministrator, appeared to me to prove that it was
a matter of indifference. — Finally, I told thera
that it was not the practice of our English
churches ; that they, raany of thera, would send
for the pastors of other churches to perform
this office; and that I for one had often com-

438 MEMOIRS OF
plied with such requests. I could wish how
ever it were otherwise, and that every church,
when destitute of a pastor, would attend to the
Lord's supper among themselves.
It is the practice of this and all the baptist
churches in Scotland, to coraraeraorate the
Lord's death every Lord's day. I do not think
this to be binding, but am persuaded there can
be nothing wrong in it, and that probably it was
the practice of the primitive churches."

A view of Mr. Fuller's early thoughts on
Strict Communion, written in the year 1774,
was promised in a former page ; but as a pam
phlet prepared by the author a fewlnonths only
before his decease has since been published, con
taining of course his mature thoughts on this
subject, the fulfilment of such a promise raust
now be deemed superfluous, especially as the
early manuscript exhibits nothing but what is
stated to much greater advantage in the later
production. In attempting to prove " the admission of un-
baptised persons to the Lord's supper, incon
sistent with the new testament," the Author
stated the question to be, — whether baptism has
any such instituted connection with the Lord's
supper as to be a prerequisite to it? And cer-^

iSIR. ANDREW FULLER. 439
feEiinly, nothing short of express di\ ine authority
can be allowed to decide in a case of such vital
importance to the interests of practical religion.
Mr. Fuller finds this instituted connection, first,
in the literal order of the apostolic commission,
which gives a precedence to baptism, but vrith-
out specifying the supper ; and next, in the or
der of events. " All the recorded facts in the
new testament, place baptism before the cele
bration of thfe Lord's supper." The literal ar
rangement, and the historic facts are admitted
in evidence of the primitive order ; — but where
is the proof that the obhgations of the supper
and of christian coinraunion raust be sacrificed
to its preservation ? Before a principle can be
admitted, which dissevers all the bonds of social
piety, and unchristianises more than half the
christian world, there are required, and in com
mon justice strictly demanded, ' confirmations
strong as proofs of holy writ.'
When the Sandemanian churches multiplied
terras of coramunion, under the authority of an
instituted connection, till they treated alraost
every christian on this side the Tweed as a hea
then raan and a pubhcan, Mr. Fuller knew how
to expose their high pretensions; and ranch of
his solid reasoning on that occasion would equal
ly apply to the present subject.* But as this
• See in particular Letters ix, x. in his Strictures on Sande-
raanianism.

440 MEMOIRS OF
is not the place for discussion, the writer for
bears; and will only take the opportunity of
expressing his satisfaction that the practice of
strict coinraunion, which has so long divided
the christian church, is likely to undergo a se
vere investigation, and that the subject is al
ready placed in able hands.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 441

CHAPTER XI.
Mr. Fuller's last illness and death.

Notwithstanding his stout athletic frame,
Mr. Fuller appears to have been constitutionally
bilious, and susceptible of those distressing com
plaints usuaUy considered as arising from dis
eased liver. His vital organs, in other respects,
were sound and vigorous ; and he both required
and enjoyed, strong muscular exercise, inter
mixed with his sedentary employraent. When
long at home, he was subject to distressing
head-aches and bilious affections, excited by
intense application to writing, but frora these he
was generaUy relieved by tia veiling. Yet the
reraedy, in the issue, if it did not aggravate the
disease, demanded those resources which the
human constitution was unable to supply. When
in the best state of health, Mr. Fuller used to
say, he did not expect a long life, and that pro
bably he should never live to the age of three
score and ten ; and the event too well justified
these forebodings. G g

442 MEMOIRS OF
At a later period, he often laboured under va
rious attacks of difficult breathing, cough, indi
gestion, bilious sickness, and feverish symp
toms ; which were greatly encreased by fatigue,
exposure to cold or humid air, especially after
preaching, and exertions of this kind too fre
quently repeated, and sometimes top long con
tinued. He was scarcely ever mindful of his
health, except in reference to two things, —
damp beds, and an easterly wind. These he
anxiously avoided ; and the latter especially he
considered as his raost dangerous foe. All the
rest took their chance, while he pursued his la
bours unapprised of any danger. Thongh he
was not at any tirae very corpulent, yet of late
years he sunk considerably in flesh ; and it was
remarked at the first annual meeting of the
Baptist Missionary Society, held in London,
" that he brought all his soul with him, but only
half his body."
During the last year of his life, he visited
Olney, Bedford, Leicester, and sorae parts of
Essex; and, on his return, attended annual
meetings in the city, June 22, 1814 ; where on
the preceding evening,* he preached from Titus
i. 15. His intimate friend, Mr. Sutcliffe of Ol
ney, died on the following evening. On the
28th he went to his interment, and preached his
funeral sermon, of which some notice has been

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 443
taken in a forraer chapter.* It was natural
enough to notice the words of a dying friend,
and especially for such a raind as Mr. Fuller's
to attempt some improvement of them. He ac
cordingly remarked in conversation, a little
while afterwards, " I have been thinking of what
brother Sutcliffe said to me a few days before
his death,—' I wish I had prayed more.' So I
wish that I had prayed raore. I do not suppose
that brother Sutcliffe meant that he wished he
had prayed more frequently, but more spiritu
ally. I wish I had prayed more for the influ
ences of the Holy Spirit; I might have enjoyed
more of the power of vital godliness. I wish I
had prayed more for the assistance of the Holy
Spirit, in studying and preaching ray sermons ;
I raight have seen raore of the blessing of God
attending my ministry. I wish I had prayed
more for the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit to
attend the labours of our friends in India ; I
might have witnessed more of the effects of their
efforts in the conversion of the heathen."
Much as he felt this bereavement, together
with his own encreasing infirmities, it did not
damp the ardour of his exertions. In the
course of the following month, he made a tour
through Lancashire and Yorkshire, preaching
the gospel, communicating information of the
See page 238.
Gg. 2

444 MEMOIRS OF
mission, and endeavouring to impress the
churches and christians in general with just
sentiraents of its iraportance, and to obtain funds
for its support. On his return from this ex!-
cursion, he was observed to be less animated in
his preaching than formerly ; and the altered
appearance of his health gave painful indica
tions to his friends, that his labours were draw
ing to a close.
On the ,31st of August following, he was a
second tirae at Leicester, assisting in the ordi
nation of Mr. Yates, who was preparing to join
the baptist raissionaries in India. He appeared
remarkably solemn, and was deeply affected on
the occasion, preaching and praying as one
standing on the verge of eternity. He was then
in an ill state of health, and felt a strong presen
timent that he should see his Leicester friends
no more. But nothing moved him :, his only
wish was to finish his course with joy, and the
ministry which*he had received, to testify the
gospel of the grace of God. During the inter
view at Leicester, he was overwhelmed with
anxieties and cares about the mission, an object
ever near his heart, so that few of his friends
could have any conversation with hira. At
every interval he laid his pocket book before
-bira, as was usual ; and then, forgetting every
other subject, religious intelligence of one kind

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 445
or other was comrauuicated. Before the ser
vices of the day were ended, he sunk under the
weight of his infirmities, and was obliged to
send for medical assistance ; but his disorder,
which is said to have arisen frora a schirrous
liver, admitted only of a little temporary relief.
He acknowledged that " he was very ill," ad
ding that " his work was nearly done ; but that
he could not spare tirae to nurse hiraself, and
he raust labour as long as he could." ¦
Early in September, after preaching on a
Lord's day morning, he was taken so ill as to
be unable to attend public worship in the after
noon. On the 30th, he wrote to a friend as fol
lows : " Since I saw you, I have been brought
very low. About a month ago I had a bilious
attack, from which, having often had it before,
1 expected no serious consequences ; but, after
two or three days, I was seized with violent in
flammation, I suppose in the liver. I had a high
fever,^ was bled, blistered, and confined to my
bed for a week, I took calomel medicines ;
after this the fever abated, and my raedical at
tendant considered the danger as over. My
appetite has returned, and I have been out in
the air pretty ranch ; but the soreness in ray
right side is still such that I know not how to
sleep upon it, and ray strength recruits very
slowly."

446 MEMOIRS OF
Three weeks afterwards, writing to another
friend, he says, " I have preached only twice for
the last five or six weeks ; but am gradually,
though slowly recovering. Since I was laid by
from preaching, I have written out ray Sermon,
and drawn up a Memoir for ray dear brother
Sutcliffe. Your partiality for the Memoir of
dear Pearce, will ensure ine one reader at least
for that of Sutchffe. I hope the great and good
Mr. Charles of Bala, will find some one who
will do justice to his memory. Mrs. Sutcliffe
died on the 3d of September, less than eleven
weeks after her husband. Death has swept
away almogt all iny old friends ; and I seem to
stand expecting to be called for soon. It mat
ters not when, so that we be found in Christ."
In another letter, written about the sarae time,
he says, " Brother Sutcliffe's last end wafe en
viable : let mine be like his ! Death has been
making havoc of late amongst us. Yesterday
I preached a funeral sermon, if so it might be
called, fqp three ofthe members of 'our church,
lately deceased. I feel as one who has the
sentence of death, and whose great concern it
is, whether my rehgion will bear the test ! Al
raost all ray old friends are dead, or dying.
Well, I have a hope that bears rae up; and it
is through grace. In reviewing ray life, I sec
much evil — God be merciful to me a sinner ! "

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 447
In a very weak state of health, he still perse
vered in his endeavours to serve the mission.
In the preceding July, he had been a journey
into Yorkshire ; but being obliged to return be
fore he could fully accomplish his object, he
determined to complete his progress iu that
quarter, and to visit the churches which he had
not theu visited. Accordingly, on the 10th of
October, he took with him two young ministers
for this purpose; but having reached Newark
upon Trent, he became feverish the first night,
and could take no rest. He was therefore
obhged to return home, and requested his com
panions to proceed on their journey.
On the Sth of November following, he said,
" I mend a little, keeping free from all fatigue
and wet weather ; but I can preach only once
a day — twice leaves a soreness in the place
where the infl-amraation was. I feel the force
of Eccles, xii. 1, last clause ; and have lately
preached with ranch feeling on Psal. Ixxi. 9.
" Cast rae not off in old age: forsake rae not
when my strength faileth." %
Notwithstanding the delicate state of his
health, and the unfavourable season of the year,
he ventured on a journey to London in the
month of December, which added fresh excite
ment to his disorder. This was his last visit to
the metropolis, and it is highly probable that

448 MEMOIRS OF
his own mind was deeply impressed with a pre
sentiment that such would be the case. He
continued there only one Lord's day, namely,
Dec. 18th, in the evening of which he preached
a discourse at the meeting-house in Carter Lane,
for the benefit of " The British and Foreign
School Society;" and as this may be regarded
as his farewel Sermon to his London friends,
it may not be uninteresting to give a brief ac
count of it in this place.
His text was Daniel xii. 4. " Many shall
run to and fro, and knowledge shall be encrea
sed." This he considered to be a prophecy
which had an immediate respect to the present
time ; and in order to illustrate the subject, he
proceeded to explain^— the kind of knowledge
there referred to-^^ — and the means by which it
was to be encreased.
" As to the first of these," said he, " we have
heard ranch of late years of philosophical illu
mination, which, by excluding the Bible, is to
araeliorate Jhe condition of raan ; and we have
seen sorae of its effects. It is something remark
able, that from the time when the Bible was to
be thrown aside as useless, it has been more in
request, and more extensively circulated ! Par
tial as unbelievers may be to their own kind of
knowledge, they cannot expect that its preva
lence should be an object of Scripture pro^

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 449
phecy. No : the knowledge of which the Scrip
tures make account is that of which the fear of
the Lord is the beginning. We may depend
upon it that it is Bible-knowledge, or the
Bible would not have predicted it with appro
bation. It is that which " the wicked will not
understand, but the wise shall understand it."
It is the knowledge of " the only true God,
and of Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent." —
With this, however, raust be included the first
principles, at least, of huraan science, as sub
servient to it ; inasmuch as the end includes
the means which lead to it.
" It is the glory of Christ's kingdom that it
is est-ablishecl and proraoted by knowledge. It
invites examination, and courts humble inquiry.
Is it thus with Paganisra, or Mahometanism, or
apostate Judaisra, or Deism, or corrupt Chris
tianity? No: these are works of darkness,
for the dispelling of which raany shall run to
and fro, as with the lamp of truth in their hands.
" We have a written religion : and though it
is not essential to salvation that we should be
able to read and write, yet these are essential
to our making any considerable proficiency in
the knowledge of God. Without being able
to i-ead we cannot " search the Scriptures,'' nor
" meditate in the law of the Lord by day and
by night." It is a great disadvantage to a hear^

450 MEMOIRS OF
er ofthe. gospel to be unable to compare what
he hears with the word of God. Nor is it less
so to a minister, or a missionary, in addressing
such auditors. It might therefore be presumed,
that prior to the general spread of the gospel
there would be a general diffusion of knowledge^
even amongst the lower classes of raankind.
" Secondly. Respecting the means by which
knowledge shall be encreased — " raany shall
run to and fro :" that is, they that possess it shall
be desirous of imparting it to others. There may
be a desire to impart knowledge without pos
sessing it : some good raen, like Ahiraaaz, are
e^ger to ran while yet they have no tidings, and
some vain men have an itch to be teachers
when it would rather become them to learn.
Those who possess knowledge, however, would
do well to impart it according to their ability.
" It is chiefly by means of instruction that
men are " wiser than the beasts of the field."
We are born, it is true, with capacious and im
mortal powers ; but while the mind is uninform
ed, they are of but small account. Knowledge
enters principally at the door of the senses. To
what do we owe the gift of speech ? It raay
seera to be natural to us ; but if we are born
deaf, we shall also be dumb ; and if with this
we are blind, there would be but little difference
in point of knowledge between us and other

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 45 1
animals. Why is raan so long in growing up
to maturity? Other animals attain theirs in
a short time compared with hira. Is it not that
there raay be opportunity for instruction ? Both
may possess like powers : but the one is instruct
ed, while the other is not. Many poor boys
and girls in a country village, who cannot
read, and never heard the gospel, nor converse
with wise raen, are very little, if any thing, su
perior to savages. Who can read the pathetic
lines of Gray, when looking at the graves of
the poor in a country church-yard, withoutdrop-
ping a tear of sympathy ?
" Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid
Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire ;
Hands that the rod of empire might have sway'd.
Or waked to ecstacy the living lyre.
But knowledge to their eyes her ample page.
Rich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll ;
Chill penury repress'd their noble rage.
And froze the genial current of their soul !"
" A portion of this evil raay always continue
to be the lot of the poor in the present life :
but it raay be considerably diminished ; and
when the knowledge of the Lord shall cover
the earth as the waters do the sea, it will be so.
God hath so ordered things, that we should be
blessings to one another. One generation pass-

452 MEMOIRS OF
eth not away till he has reared another to take
its place. We might all have been called alone
and blessed, hke Abraham ; but as in blessing
him, God raade hira a blessing to the nations,
it is in some respects the same with us. If he
gives us the cup of salvation, we raust hand it
round. If he gives us knowledge, or riches,
or any other gift, we raust not keep it to our
selves, but run to and fro that we raay irapart it,
" If it be the design of God to diffuse the
knowledge of himself over the earth in these
last days, it raight be expected that suitable
raeans and instruments would be employ
ed to accomplish it. When he meant to rear a
tabernacle in the wilderness, he raised up Beza-
leel and Aholiab, and other wise-hearted men,
in whom he put wisdom and understanding.
Thus we might expect men to be g-ifted and
qualified for the work appointed thera, and to
be stirred up to engage in it. It might be ex
pected, supposing a great work was designed to
be accoraplished, that societies would be formed,
some to translate the sacred Scriptures into the
languages of the nations, some to give them cir
culation, some to scatter tracts which shall im
press their leading principles, some to preach
the gospel, and sorae to teach the rising genera^
tion to read and write.

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 453
"Who can observe the movements ofthe pre
sent times, without perceiving on thera the finger
of God ? They raay not have risen just in the
order above described. The institution of Sun
day Schools, as they are called, for the children
of the poor, took the lead about thirty years ago ;
since then other institutions of various kinds
have followed ; but they have all risen nearly to
gether, and all indicate a divine design. They
forra a whole, and like the different parts of a
raachine, all work together.
" Amongst those institutions, which have al
ready attracted the attention of Europe, and
not of Europe only, that which is now called
"The British and Foreign School Society"
claims our attention. And such a Society is
wanted, to give success to all other institutions
for the diffusion of knowledge ; for, if the world
were full of Bibles, it would be of little avail if
the people were not taught to read thera. Is
not the British system of education an engine
capable of moving the raoral world? From
what little I know of it, I am persuaded it is ;
and that God has caused it to be brought for
ward for this purpose. Its principle appears to
me to be military. We all know that astonish
ing effects are produced in the political world
by fomiing and organizing a number of raen,
every one filling the most advantageous post.

454 MEMOIRS OF
and all acting together in concert. If this prin
ciple has been brought to bear in war, why
should it not rather be eraployed in promoting
knowledge, and diffusing the blessings of peace ?
It is of but small account whether it originated
with a Bell or with a Lancaster, and whether
the societies act in concert or not, so that they
do but act. It raay be a Useful rivalry, and
serve to provoke to good works. It requires
to be supported, and 1 trust it will be so. If the
nations of Europe who have sent and are send
ing messengers to learn the principles of our
operations, should perceive our hands to. slacken
in the use of thera, it must not only sink us
in their esteem, but impede the progress of the
work. It is only to be a little more ceconomical,
denying ourselves a few of the superfluities of
life, and we raay support all these institutions.
The expence of one lust is greater than all the
taxes of benevolence and religion."
From this imperfect abstract of his Sermon,
it is not difficult to trace out something of the
vigorous raind of Mr. Fuller ; but to be able to
appreciate in any tolerable degree the height
to which the preacher rose upon this occasion,
it is necessary to have both heard and seen hira.
According to the report of several persons of
indisputable judgment and veracity, who were
privileged to enjoy this favoured opportunity.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 455
it was one of the greatest of his ministerial ef
forts, and might have reminded one of the case
of Sampson, sumraoning all his remaining
strength, in order, by one decisive effort, to
subvert the pillars of the house, and bury his
adversaries in its ruins. Just so the soul of
Fuller — all the powers of his mind, and all his
varied energies, appeared to have been collect
ed and concentrated in the delivery of this his
farewel Sermon. Never will it be forgotten by
some who heard him, how impressive and ener
getic was the whole ; but there were parts of it,
in which the preacher seemed to resemble the
setting sun, at the instant he is about to sink be-
hipd the western hills — when, as though loth
to quit the horizon, he rekindles his beams, ex
pands his surface, and blazes forth in all his ma
jesty. ' In January 1815, Mr. Fuller considered his
health to be much recovered, except that he
had taken cold during the frost, which at first
affected his lungs, and afterwards almost de
prived him of hearing. He was advised to go
to Cheltenham, but deferred it to a milder sea
son ; in the meantime he took a saline medi
cine, recoraraended by Dr. Jenner as a substi
tute for the waters. In the course of this month
he revised his piece on Strict Communion, which
had originated in a verbal but warm discussion

456 MEMOIRS OF
with a highly respected friend, who had fre
quently opposed his views on this subject, and
which was now left for posthumous publication,
if circumstances should so require. These few
pages afford evidence that his faculties were un
impaired, notwithstanding the declining state of
his health. His correspondence also was at this
time continued, with but little interruption.
Though incapable of any great exertion, his
spirits revived as the spring approached; and.
on the 29tli of March he ventured as far as
Clipstone, eleven miles from Kettering, to assist
at the ordination of Mr. John Mack. His ad
dress to the church on this occasion, from
3 John 8, was peculiarly solemn and impressive :
and some of the rainisters who were present ob
served, they never heard hira to greater advan
tage. From the manner in which he expressed
himself, several of his friends foreboded it would
be the last time they should hear him, and that
they should see his face no raore. Being asked
how he found hiraself after he left the pulpit,
•his reply was, " I ara very ill — a dying raan."
On a second interview with the sarae person,
he added, " All is over — ray work is nearly
finished — I shall see you no more: the bles
sing of the Lord attend you. Farewel."
On the following sabbath, April 2nd, he ap
peared for the last time in his own pulpit, where

MR. ANDREWTULLER. 457
m the afternoon he preached his last sermon,
from Isaiah Ixvi. 1, 2. " Thus saith the Lord :
the heaven is ray throne, and the earth is my
footstool : where is the house that ye build unto
rae? and where is the place of ray rest? For
all those things hath ray hand raade, and all
those things have been, saith the Lord. But
to this raan will I look, even to him that is
poor and of a contrite spirit, and trerableth at
my word."
Serious apprehensions were now entertained
ofthe issue of his complaints ; and the anxiety
of his friends to prolong if possible his eminently
useful life, urged upon his attention the medi
cal advice which had been repeatedly suggested,
to make tVial of the Cheltenhara waters, if so
be there might be hope. His congregation also,
as an expression of their affection and esteem,
presented him with fifty pounds towards the
expences Of the journey. While he was making
his arrangements, he wrote to a minister in the
north, on the ninth of April, informing hira that
" his health was in a low state ; that it was hard
work for him to write a letter ; but he must go
to Cheltenham, where he should be obliged to
all his friends to let him rest frora correspon
dence." And even to the nineteenth, the sarae
idea is repeated ; when in another letter he says,
" I am ordered to go next monday for Chelten-
H h

458 MEMOIRS OF
ham. I should be happy to come and see you
before I go, if the weather 'and my -affliction
would permit. When I shall return is uncer
tain. My times are in the Lord's hands ; but
to me all is uncertainty." The pressure of dis
ease now rapidly encreasing upon him, frustra
ted the intentions both of himself and his friends,
and the journey was found to be impracticable*
Every succeeding day brought with it addi
tional proof that the time of his departure was at
hand ; but he contemplated the hour of its ar
rival without dismay. He soon became sb weak
as to be unable to bear an interview with his
most intimate friends, more than a few minutes
at a time. The warm bath was twice applied
Without effect, and neither food nor medicine
could be administered. His liver was found
to be greatly enlarged and hardened. Amidst
unusual depression of body, he enjoyed great
calmness of mind, a solid hope, and resignation
to the will of God.
The last day he was down stairs was on the
28th of April; vvhen he dictated the following let
ter to Dr. Ryland, which was written by an ama
nuensis, and subscribed with his initials.
" My dearest Frieitd,
We have enjoyed much togtether,
which I hope will prove an earnest of greater

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 459
enjoyment in another world. We have also
wrought together in the Lord's vineyard, and
he has given us to reap together in a measure
in his vintage. I expect this is nearly over;
but I trust we shall meet, and part no more.
I have very little hope of recovery ; but I am
satisfied to drink of the cup which ray heavenly
Father giveth rae to drink. Without experience,
no one can conceive of the depression of my
spirits ; yet I have no despondency. ' I know
whom I have believed, and that he is able to
keep that which I have coraraitted to him against
that day.' *I ara a poor guilty creature ; but Jesus
is an almighty Saviour. I have preached and
written much against the abuse of the doctrine
of grace, but that doctrine is all my salvation,
and all my desire. I have no other hope than
frora raere sovereign, efficacious grace, through
the atoneraent of my Lord and Saviour. With
this hope I can go into eternity with composure.
Come, Lord Jesus ! Come when thou wilt ! Here
I am ; let him do with me as seemeth him good.
We have sorae who have been giving it out of
late, that ' if Sutcliffe and sorae others had
preached raore of Christ, and less of Jonathan
Edwards, they would have been more useful.'
If those who talk thus, preached Christ half as
much as Jonathan Edwards did, and were half
as useful as he was, their usefulness would be
double what it is. It is very singular that the
Hh2

460 MEMOIRS OF
Mission to the East should have originated with
raen of these principles; and without pretending
to be a prophet, I raay say, if ever it ftills into
the hands of raen who talk in this strain, it will
soon corae to nothing.
If I should never see your face in the flesh,
I could wish one last testiraony of brotherly
love, and of the trath of the gospel, to be ex
pressed by your coming over, and preaching my
funeral sermon, if it can be, fi*om Rom. viii. 10;
I. can dictate no more, biit ara ever yours, A. F."
As his end drew near, he complained of great
depression and sinking, saying he must die.
A friend replied, ' I know of no person. Sir,
who is in a more happy situation than yourself;
a good man, on the verge of a blessed immor
tality.' Mr. Fuller humbly acquiesced, and
hoped it was so. He afterwards lifted up his
hands, and exclaimed, " I am a great sinner,
and if I am saved, it must be by great and
sovereign grace— --by great and sovereign grace!"
His mind continued full of hope; and though
he felt nothing approaching to rapture, yet the
closing scene was such as strikingly displayed
the triuraph of his faith. Dropping now and
then a few words, he was heard to say that he
had nothing to do but to die — and again repeat
ed, " I know whom I have believed." At

MR. ANDREW I^ULLER. 461
'another tiine he expressed himself in his own
.energetic manner, saying, " My hope is such,
that I am not afraid to plunge into eternity."
The geneiral vigour of. his constitution pro
viding a resistance to the violence of disease,
rendered his sufferings peculiarly severe; and
towards the last, the conflict assumed a raost
formidable aspect. Placing his hand on the
diseased part, the sufferer exclaimed, " Oh,
this deadly wound!" At another time, "All
misery centres here !" Being asked whether he
meant bodily misery ; he replied, " Oh yes :
I can think of nothing else 1" His bilious
sickness becoming almost incessant, allowed
but few opportunities of conversing with his
friends ; and of course, httle could be known
of his dying experience. The following de
tached sentences, which dropped at different
i^itervals, indicate the general state of his mind
during the last days of his illness ;
1 '^ I feel satisfaction that my times are in the
Lord's hands, I have been iraportuning the
Lord, that whether I live it raay be to him,
or whether I die it raay be to hira. Flesh and
heart fail ; but God is the strength of my heart,
and my portion for ever."
" Into thy hands I comraitmy spirit, myfaraily,
and my charge,. I have done a htde for God;
but all that I have done needs forgiveness, I

462 MEMOIRS OF
trust in sovereign grace and merfcy alone. God
is my supporter and my hope. I woiild say,
not ray will, but thine be done. God is my
soul's eternal rock, the strength of every saint.
I ara a poor sinner, and my only hope is in the
Saviour of sinners."
He repeated more than once, " My breath is
corrupt — my days are extinct." Fi-equently
during his aflliction, he said, " My mind is calm:
no raptures — no despondency. At other' times
he said, " I am not disraayed. My God, my
Saviour, my Refuge, to thee I commit my spirit.
Take me to thyself— Bless those I leavebehind."
At length, on the morning of the Lord's day.
May 7, 1815, the summons came to call hira to
his rest, in the sixty-second year of his age.
Aware that it was the sabbath, he said to an at
tendant, just loud enough to be heard, " I wish
I had strength to worship with you." He -added,
" My eyes are dim :" and he appeared to be
nearly blind. From eleven till about half past
eleven o'clock, during the raorning service, sit
ting up in bed, he was observed to be engaged
in prayer ; but only two words were distinctly
audible — " Help me!^' At the close of the
prayer, he struggled — fell back— sighed three
times-^aod in five minutes expired. His hands
were clasped in death, as in the attitude of
prayer.

MR. ANDREW FULLER, 463
On the following sabbstth, a day previous tp
the interraent, the Rey, T, N. Toller, Pastor of
the Independent Church at Kettering, and the
highly respected friend of the deceased, delivered
a discourse on the occasion to his own congre
gation ; and chose for his text the pathetic ex
clamation in 1 Kings xiii. 30. Alas, my brother!
The just and discriminating reraarks, which ap
pear in the following extracts from the serraon,
are not less honourable to the preacher than
they will be gratifying, to the pious and intelli
gent reader. " With regard to the much res
pected friend and christian minister, lately re
moved," says Mir. Toller, " it might appear un
becoming and indelicate in me to enter far into
his charaicter and case, particularly as this will
be done to so much greater advantage on the
approaching day ; but thus much I could hardly
satisfy raysejf withoutadvancingonthis occasion.
" I trust I am sincerely disposed to join in
the general and just tribute, which his friends
and the public are inclined to pay to his abili
ties, his sound sense, and solid understanding ;
and to his unwearied diligence and unconquer
able ardour, in supporting and pursuing the in
terests of the best of causes ; and that,' not only
in the coraraon duties of his profession, but
more particularly in the propagation of Christi
anity in the foreign climes of India. Perhaps

464 MEMOIRS OF
no individual, next to tiie unequalled Carey, no
individual at least at home, has done so much to
promote that cause ; and considering the few
advantages of early education which he enjoyed,
the eminence to which he has risen, the influ
ence he had acquired, and the means of useful
ness which he had collected and secured, are
so much the raore extraordinarj', and reflect
the greater credit ou his raeraory.
" The variety and compass of his writings,
though all bearing on one grand point, yet serve
to shew what sheer abilities, sound principle,
ardent zeal, and persevering application can do.
I have read his works, (some of them raore than
once) with much satisfaction, and I trust with
sorae improvement; tiiat such improvement has
not aaiounted to more, ought to be attributed
to myself. I have not a doubt but that they
have been of real and extensive use in the chris
tian church, in support ofthe radical principles
of evangelical religion, and will continue to be
so after his dust shall mingle with the clods of
the valley. It is a satisfaction to me to reflect,
that in the great leading views of vital chrisr
tianity, he expresses very nearly ray own senti
ments ; though it is not to be expected that per
sons who think for themselves on sacred sub
jects, should on every point ' see eye to eye.'
You will not therefore expect that I should

MR, ANDREW FULLER. 465
profess myself able to subscribe to every article
in his theological creed : still however it is a
pleasure to rae to reflect now, that differing
only on points of subordinate importance, wher
ever that was the case, we always agreed to
differ. " Though living in the same town, engaged
in the same profession, and that under the ban
ners of different denominations, for about thirty
years, I do not recollect that ev^- an angry
word passed between us, or a single jar occur
red, by our means, among our respective con
nections. At the same time, I would not men
tion this in the spirit of a vain comphment, either
to him or to myself, but desire to be deeply sen
sible of a thousand deficiencies and errors in
other respects ; nor would I be understood, in
a servile spirit of fulsome flattery, as represent
ing him as ?l faultless character ; or holding him
up in all respects as a model of the christian
temper ; for alas ! of whom can you say, ' be ye
followers of hira,' unless you insert the restric
tive clause, so far as he was ' a follower of
Christ,' " While then I think him an eminent loss to
his family, a general loss to society and the
church of Christ, and perhaps an irreparable
loss to his own denomination, I trust I can, with
truly christian cordiality, follow him up to tbe

466 MEMOIRS OF
footstool of his Master's throne, and congratu
late him on that " well done, good and faithful
servant," which I have no doubt he has received.
" I conclude with remarking, that in no one
point, either from his writings which I have
read, or the sermons I have heard from him, or
the interviews and conversations I have had
with hira, — in nothing can I so fully join issue
with hira, as in the raanner of his dying. Had
he gone off full of rapture and transport, I might
have said, ' Oh let me die the triumphant death
of the righteous ! ' But it would have been far
more than I could have realised, or expected
in my own case: but the state of his mind to
wards the last, appears to have been, if I raay
so express it, ' after my own heart.' He die d
as a penitent sinner at the foot of the cross. At-
my last parting, I shook hands with him twice, ,
and observed, with sorae emotion, not expect
ing to see him more, " we have lived harmo-.
niously many years in the same place ; I trust
we shall one day meet above." I think the last
religious sentence he dropped to me, was,
*' Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ unto eternal life."
" Being reminded of his missionary labours,
he replied, " Ah ! the object was unquestion
ably good;" but adverted to the mia;/wre of mo
tives, to thfe i^nfluence of which we are liable in

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 467
supporting the best of causes. To another
friend, who was congratulating him in a similar
style, he replied, " I have been a great sinner ;
and if I am saved at all, it must be by great and
sovereign grace." Here the dying minister—
the dying friend speaks all ray heart : here I
come nearer to him at his death than I havie ever
done through the whole course of his life. The
testimony of a christian conscience is at all
times invaluable ; but in the dying* raoraents of
a fallen creature, it can afford no raore than
auxiliat'y support ; the grand prorainent hold of
the trembling soul, must be ' the golden chain
that comes down from heaven,' It is the imme
diate, personal, realising ajiplication ; it is the
broad jialpable hope of salvation for penitent
sinners, through the riches of divine grace in
Christ Jesus our Lord, that throws every thing'
else to the shades. It is not the voice of con
gratulation on the best-spent hfe, however just,
that is most acceptable in those awful raoraents,
to pious rainds : that is often heard with trem
bling diffidence and conscious apprehension, of
contaminating motives "and counteracting de
fects. The sweetest rausic in the ears of expir
ing piety, raUst be struck from another string :
" This is the record, that God hath given unto
us eternal life, and this life is in his Son-^The
wages of sin is death t; but the gift of God is
eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord,"

46$ MEMOIRS OF
" In aU probability, my bones will be depo
sited not far frora his : God grant that I raay
die in the same teraper, and the sarae hope ;
and that our spirits may be united in the day of
the Lord ! Amen."
On the following day, May 15, 1815, the
mortal remains of Mr. Fuller were interred in
the burying ground adjoining the place of, wor
ship, where be had preached for two and thirty
years. The funeral solemnities were numerous^
ly attended by persons frora all the adjacent
towns; the mourning resembled that in, Egypt
when Jacob died, and both ministers and peo
ple vied with each other in paying the last token.
of respect to his raeraory. Mr. Toller of Ket-j
tering began the service in prayer ; Dr. Ryland
of Bristol preached the funeral Serraon fron>
Rora. viii. 10, which was afterwards printed;
and Mr. Hall of Leicester delivered the Oration.
Six rainisters, of the different denominations in
Kettering, bore the , pall ; naraely, two clergy
men ofthe Establishment; two of Mr. Wesley's
Connection ; Mr. Toiler ; and, Mr. John Hall,
late assistant to the deceased,
In unison with these affectionate testimonies
of esteem, the most respectable Society in Great
Britain paid their homage to departed worth,
by transmitting the following entry from theiy

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 46^
minutes, on the 22nd of May foflowing. — " The
Comraittee of he British and Foreign Bible So
ciety, learn with deep regret the decease of the
late Rev. Andrew Fuller, Secretary to the Bap
tist Missionary Society ; and impressed with a
sense of the valuable services rendered by that
excellent individual in promoting the transla
tion and publication of the sacred Scriptures in
the East, desire to unite their condolence on
this afflictive event with those of their Baptist
Brethren to whom he was raore particularly al
lied, and of the Christian world by whom his
memory will deserve to be held in affectionate
andgrateful veneration."

470 MEMOIRS OF

CHAPTER XII.
Brief Review of Mr. Fuller's Character.
After what has been advanced in the pre
ceding pages, on the subject of Mr, Fuller's
abihties as a preacher and a writer, his mission
ary pursuits, general labours, and usefulness-
all of which demand, and will receive,. the tri
bute of esteem from christians of every denomi
nation, and be long and gratefully remembered
by posterity — ^it is presumed that little more will
be expected than a few reraarks on some of the
prorainent features of his character, for the pur
pose of deriving instruction from the excellencies
and defects which they exhibit, and of discharg
ing the duty of a faithful and impartial biogija-
pher ; especially as these Memoirs have already
extended beyond the limits which the author
had prescribed, though without exhausting the
materials he had prepared to lay before the
reader. The favoured individual, whose life and cha
racter we are now contemplating, and who was
so eminently formed for active and important

MR, ANDREW FULLER, 471
services, was evidently endowed with great
mental and corporeal strength, and possessed,
according to his expressive phrase, " a large por
tion of being." In person he was above the
middle stature, tall, stout, and muscular ; his
sombre aspect impressive of fear, and repulsive
to approach. And being, as he said, " of an
athletic frame, and of a daring spirit, he was of
ten in early life engaged in such exercises and
exploits as raight have issued in death, if the
good hand of God had not preserved hira." Al
luding to those days of vanity, he would quote
with sensible emotion the words of the prophet ;
' let not the mighty raan glory in his raight ;' but
having been a famous wrestler in his youth, he
seldom met with a stout raan without making
an ideal comparison of strength, and possessing
sorae of his forraer feelings in reference to its
exercise. If necessity required, he was still by
no raeans deficient in courage, of which some
evidence was given after he removed to Ketter
ing. When his rest was disturbed by the con
duct of disorderly persons, he would sometimes
arise in the night, rush alone into the street, and
quell the disturbance, without any apprehen
sion of danger.
His nerves were uniformly so firm that he
seemed to be raade alraost without fear, and it
may be doubted whether he was ever seen in a

4f2 MEMOlJlS Ot*
state of agitation. Often would he divert him*
self with the saying of a lady of quality, who on
noticing the effeminacy of modern tiraes, would
" thank God that she was born before nerves
were in fashion ;" and whether Mr. Fuller also
enjoyed this singular felicity or not, no raan was
less troubled with nervous sensibilities than
himself. Upwards of twenty years ago, the
shock of an earthquake was felt across theking^
dora, a little before eleven o'clock at night. Mr*
Fuller had preached that evening at Braybroofc
a few miles from Kettering, and was just retired
to rest. The friend at whose' house he lodged,
being much alarmed, awoke him, by reporting
the dreadful tidings of an earthquake ! " Very
well,"/ said he  " I must sleep :" — and with
perfect composure and satisfaction he continued
his devoirs to Morpheus, while the fi-ightened
family were penetrated with their perilous Situ*
ation. His mode of living had an air of patriarchal
simplicity ; he seldom indulged in any thing.
more than the plainest food, and was very mo
derate in the use of fermented liquor. He car
ried his ides of economy to an extreme, deem
ing it scarcely aflowable to eat animal food more
than once a day; and when he occasionally
departed from this rale, he would remark that
it was a luxury somewhat like that of the pro-

MR, ANDREW FULLER, 473
piiet, who had " bread and flesh in the morn
ing, and bread and flesh in the evening." Pos-
isessing a robust constitution, and having been
brought up nearly in habits of rusticity, he was
unable to make due allowance for those who
had received a different education, or whose
health required another mode of treatment.
Hence he was in some instances severe in his
reflections upon others, equally economical
with himself, though in a different way, but who
could not exactly adopt his ideas of frugality,
or conform to the unrefined nature of his regi
men. Free from parsimony and selfishness,
the rigid sentiments and feelings which he car
ried into every department and into all the du
ties of life, left but little room for the expressions
of hospitality. Nature had formed him to en
dure hardness ; and as a good soldier of Jesus
. Christ, he found a higher motive for his obedi
ence and self-denial.
He was generally regular in his hours of rest,
and possessed an even flow of spirits, bordering
upon cheerfulness. In the earlier part of life,
when in company with a chosen friend, he was
fond of ' the heel of an evening ;' and while en
gaged on religious subjects, he would some
times indulge in close and ardent conversation
till the dawning of the day. He seldom allow
ed himself in night studies, or made any igreat
I i

474 1WEM0IR9 OF
efforts in early rising. He was a disciple of
nature, and loved the order established in her
empire. When some persons wondered how
he wrote so much, preached so often, and en
tered upon such a multiplicity of engagements,
he used very pleasantly to tell a tale about
Dr. Gill.. A gentleman having heard of his
great learning and voluminous writings, called
upon him to enquire by what extraordinary
means he had achieved so much, and wherein
his peculiar habits consisted; the doctor an
swered,, be did not know that there was any
thing extraordinary about it; for he ate, and
drank, and rose, and slept, hke other people.
And though Mr. Fuller may be said to have
done the work of alnjost ten men, he never
seemed to be hurried, or to use any extraordi
nary means to accomplish it. He was rich in
mental resources, and employed them with wise
economy. In domestic life be was calm and tranquil,
reposing in the bosom of his family with great
contentmejit and satisfaction. No man more
enjoyed the softened pleasure^ of the society of
*' Home," or entered with greater feeling into it^
interests and concerns ; yet he never returned
home firom his numerous fatiguing jonrnies
to indulge himself in ease, or like one who
sought a refuge from the intensity of labour, but

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 475
solely with a view of renewing it in another
forra. ' Instead of requiring a total seclusion
from every interruption, or hurrying hiraself six
feet deep in his study, in order to prepare the
numerous publications, which in one shape or
other were constantly issuing from his pen al
most every month in the year, he sat at his desk
surrounded with the raerabers of his faraily in
their usual sitting room, where, with astonish
ing rapidity, he composed his various papers
for the press, and maintained at the sarae time a
most extensive and unremitted correspondence.
He needed no excuse for delay, nor had any
one cause to complain of his want of punctuali
ty. If he wanted time to answer the numerous
letters addressed to him, he made it by some
exercise of self-denial, and was in every thing
the determined enemy of procrastination. Such
was his plan of operation, that he had no occa
sion to exclaim with a heathen emperor, * I have
lost a day ;' every hour was fully occupied in the
duties of his station.
His spirit was ardent and invincible, display-.
ing an alraost unequalled decision of character^
His judgment on most points, whether of a re
ligious or temporal nature, was generally form-;
ed with such force and precision, that he seemed
a stranger to hesitation, and seldom found oc
casion to review any pf his resolutions. In dif-
li 2

476 MEMOIRS OF
ficult cases he sometimes consulted a fevr
friends ; but his conduct was invariably deter
mined by his own judgment. In missionary
concerns, which belonged not to hiraself only,
and which involved thie pubhc interests of
religion, he was much in the habit of advising
with his friend and coadjutor Mr. Sutcliffe ; into>
the texture of whose raind, caution was so thick
ly interwoven as nearly to destroy its elasticity,
and. who in sorae cases needed to be cautioned
against caution itself. When Mr. Fuller re
ceived any intelligence from India which per
plexed him, he would tie up his papers, get
upon his horse, and ride over to Olney ; where
he could see things better, he used to say, than
he could at Kettering. But having once settled
in his own mind the question of right, ou what
ever subject, he wo"Jd pursue his object with
indefatigable industry, patience, and perse
verance. There was a firmness in his principles
and proceedings,. which neither admitted relaxa
tion nor delay. Difficulties and disappointments^
instead of producing' discouragement, afforded a
fresh excitement to action, and the hope of ultir-
mate success. He had no idea of ease or rest ;
he seemed to contemplate life only as a scene
of perpetual activity, and in this he placed the
summit of his enjoyment. Even to the very
last, he spoke of death, not as the termination ofi

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 477
a mortal existence, but as the end of all his la
bours. He was not a raan to whom raediocrity,
in any sense, could be attributed. Prompti
tude, vigour, and resolution, marked his entire
character. Quick in apprehension and discern
ment, he was no less speedy and ardent io ac
tion. Never did any man appear more fully to
realise the worth of time, or to enter more prac
tically in to Solomons maxira : ' Whatsoever thy
hand findeth to do, do it with thy raight ; for
there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor
wisdora in the grave whither thou goest.' He
worked while it is called to day, like one who
seeraed continually aware that the night coraeth,
when no raan can work.
Mr. Fuller possessed considerable taste for
reading : but as he had not tirae to consult raany
authors, his knowledge of course was less va
rious than profound ; and for the generality of
modern publications, especially, he had no very
high esteem. His library for several years was
not much larger than John Bunyan's, consist
ing chiefly of a scanty collection of the writ
ings of the Puritans, -and those of the New-Eng
land school. He was very partial to Owen and
Bunyan ; and the Holy War he considered as
the ablest of Bunyan's works, written on true
metaphysical principles, without any ofthe pa
rade of argument. Owen on Indwelling Sin, and

478 MEMOIRS OF
on Spiritual Mindedness, displayed, as he
thought, a depth of judgment, and a knowledge
of human nature, scarcely to be found in ai\y
other author. President Edwards on the Will,
and also on the Affections, he constantly recom
mended ; the one as containing the ablest de
fence of theological thesis, and the other as de
lineating the genuine nature of experimental re
ligion. As for hiraself, who stood in less heed
of auxiUary aid, the Bible was bis library, his
treasury of knowledge ; and to that he repaired
with ever new delight. What he read of human ¦
authors was merely subordinate, and with a view
of elucidating some parts of the sacred writings.
His fire of original genius was constantly fed by
pure and rich supplies from this boundless source
of intelligence ; and this it was that rendered
his preaching and conversation peculiarly inter
esting, affording fi'esh excitements to zeal and
diligence in the study of the holy scriptures.
But if spirituality consists in an aptness for
spiritual exercises, or in the prevalence of devout
affections, in this, Mr. Fuller was not eminent.
His turn of mind led him to cultivate the intel
lectual and practical parts of religion, rather
than the devotional ; and the want of fervour
and enlargement, especially in the duty of pray
er, was noticed and lamented by several of his
brethren. He discovered an h^tbitual and com-

MR. ANDREW PULLER. 479
mendable disposition to converse on religious
subjects, and appeared to have but little relish
for any other ; but it was his reraarks on their
consistency and propriety, their harmony and
tendency, as affording grounds for rational be
lief, that became -the subject of admiration, ra
ther than any remafkable degree of spirituality
displayed in the disctission, or any imraediate
or successful effort to impress the heart and
kindle the fire of devotion. To this cause has
already been attributed the want Of adequate
success in the discharge of his professional en
gagements; and with the exception arising from
late experience, such was the general com
plexion of his religious constitution.
The fertility of his genius is universally ac
knowledged ; and his aptness to improve the oc
currences of life to sacred put-poses, was conspi
cuous on various occasions. Scarcely any thing
passed under his notice without affording a les
son of instructibn, and many of his sermons had
their origin in local circumstances, which fur
nished both the topic Of discourse, and the me
dium of illtfstratioh. Previous to the Associa
tion at Nottingham, in 1784, he was going tO
preach at some distance from home, after a
heavy fall of rain, Which had inundated a part of
the road, so as nearly to fender it impaSsable.
Depending on the inforraation of a guide who
went with him, he ventured to cross the water

480 MEMOIRS OF
to some distance ; but as he advanced, the dan
ger increased, and the water soon reached his
horse's saddle. Mr. Fuller thought they were
plunging into certain destruction, and was un
willing to proceed. But his guide called out,
'Go forward; go forward — all vrill be well;'
and still depending on his testiraony, they were
landed safe on the other side. This singular
occurrence suggested to hira the necessity of a
guide, and the iraportance of " walking by faith,
and not by sight," in our passage to the heaven
ly world ; a subject which he afterwards so hap
pily illustrated, in the earliest, and one pf the
best of his printed Sermons.*
Few persons possessed a larger share of ge
nuine wit than Mr. Fuller, or were more apt at
repartee. In sorae instances he was severely
sarcastic, and the propensity to satirise was one
of his besetting sins. Earlier in life he allowed
himself a latitude which his maturer years dis
approved ; but he was at all times utterly averse
frora polluting the sanctity of religion with the
profaneness of a jest, The applic^,tion of scrip
ture phraseology to common purposes, implying
a comparison between sacred and secular con
cerns, grated upon his ear, and sometimes deep^
ly wounded his feelings. He was once travels
ling in company to St, Ives and St. Neots, a
* See page 161.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 481
little undetermined which ofthe places he should
visit first, both being in the sarae neighbourhood.
Arriving at two cross roads, with one of the
towns on his right and the other on his le£t, he
was asked, " To which of the Saints wilt thou
turn ? " Instead of smiling at the question, his
heart was grieved ; and to the end of the jour
ney, he lectured on the impropriety of such irre
verent freedoras. In the pulpit especially, he
could not endure any thing that had the appear
ance of lightness ; and severely conderaned the
meanness that can avail itself of the silence
which decency imposes upon an audience, to
render it the vehicle of personal invective ; yet
he could on sorae occasions convey a pointed
reproof with perfect good huraour, and in a way
that indicated the shrewdness of his observa
tion. On a Lord's day, in the afternoon, per
ceiving his hearers to be drowsy as soon as he
had read his text, he struck his bible three tiraes
against the side of the pulpit, calling out, "What
asleep already? I am often afraid I should
preach you asleep ; but the fault cannot be mine
to day, for I have not yet begun ! " Both in his
sermons and in his writings, there is a greater
variety of apophthegms than is usually to be met
with in modern authors, and most of them dis
cover the keenness of his penetration and the
^"ustness of his conceptions.

482 MEMOIRS OF
It was asserted by the ingenious Bishop
Atterbury, " that there never was a good wri
ter who had not the art of transplanting into
his own writings, the beauties of his predeces
sors ; and that the man vvho imitated nobody,
would probably find no imitators." Whether
this remark be just or not, it was totally inap
plicable to Mr. Fuller, who had a stronger
claim to the praise of originality than most of
those who are denominated men of genius. It
has been insinuated however, by some of his
opponents, that he borrowed his religious sys
tem frora Richard Baxter, and that he pub
lished as his own, sorae ingenious sentiraents
which are to be found iu the writings of Presi
dent Edwards. That he never availed himself
of the labours of others, need not be affirmed,
nPr would it be creditable to his understanding ;
but every one acquainted with him must know,
that he looked at every thing witii his own eyes,
and that his mind was habitually occupied with
his own thoughts ; and it would be marvellous
in the extreme, if every coincidence between two
or three thinking and powerful minds must be
liable to the charge of plagiarism'. Mr. Fuller
assuredly believed many things which Baxter
and other good raen belieted ; but to call him
on that account a Baxterian, of to affirm that
he took his leading sentiments from that writef ,

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 483
is just as equitable as to make a Socinian of-
him, because he happened to believe in the hu
manity of Christ and in the doctrine of the
resurrection. The fact is that he had not seen
the polemical writings of Baxter till after he
had published what others called his Baxte-
rianism ; and then, to meet the charge, he for
the first time took the trouble to examine them.
Having done sO, he observed in a letter to a
friend, " I have lately been reading the contro
versial pieces of Richard Baxter, and found
them tedious and crabbed in the extreme. It
is true, they contain sorae of my sentiments, but
much that I disapprove. It is obvious enough,
that his manner of thinking and mode of ex
pression were entirely his own ; he had no mo
dels, nor did he so much as possess the power
of imitation. He could seldom reconcile him
self to the drudgery of quotation, even where it
might have been done to advantage ; but used
to say, in allusion to the spider, that he liked
best to publish what he had spun out of his own
bowels. In the composition of his sermons,
his rule was to consult no commentator on his
text, till after he had formed his own judgment,
and then but very rarely, and in the way which
he himself has mentioned in his posthumous Dis
courses on the Apocalypse.* The praise of origi-
* Preface, p. xi.

484 MEMOIRS OF
tiality cannot be denied to him without the most
manifest injustice.
There was an independence and an ingenuous
ness about him, which could not escape the
raost transient observer. He scorned every
thing that was mean and selfish, and was one
of the last men in the world to plume himself
with borrowed feathers. He hated all manner
of guile and deceit, and whatever is assumed
as a disguise to sentiment and feeling. Affec
tation and vanity were the objects of his su
preme contempt. Vanity, he used to say, was
the sin of little rainds ; and pride of great ones.
He had no envious nor rancorous feelings
about him ; his constitution was unproductive
of the meaner vices. Disinterested and self-
denied, he had no worldly ambition to gratify,
no sordid appetites to indulge. There was a
transparent sincerity iri ail his actions, and even
the misguided parts of his conduct entitled him
to the praise of good intention.
The patience and the fortitude with which
Mr. Fuller sustained the various trials of heart
and intellect, have been in part exemplified in
the forraer pages of these Meraoirs. We have
witnessed the overflowings of his soul under
the most painful bereavements, and the agonies
produced by some of his living sorrows ; we
have also seen that his grief was generally

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 485
moderated as well as sanctified by the influence
of religious principle, which not only prevented
despondency and discontent, but conducted him
to the only source of hope and consolation.
In seasons of deep distress, he would soraetiraes
set himself apart for fasting and prayer; and af
flictions, though often grievous, seldom failed
to produce in him the peaceable fruits of righ
teousness. Towards the latter part of life, es
pecially, these effects became more visible. The
meraoranda of his experience on these occa
sions, which he was in the habit of preserving,
would furnish sorae valuable instruction to the
friends of vital religion, and discover raore of
the genuine exercises of his heart than can be
known through any other medium. But there
was one feature in his domestic afflictions, too
araiable and interesting to be overlooked. In
stead of sending to a distance for sorae minister
of his own denomination, to perform the solem
nities required in the instance of mortality, he
almost invariably resorted to his truly respecta
ble and reverend brother, the minister of the
Independent cofigregation in the same town, in
whose sympathy and friendship he found that
assistance and support which we look for in a
day of trouble. Nor did Mr. Fuller fail to re
turn equal expressions of regard, when it came
to the lot of his amiable friend to experience

486 MEMOIRS OF .
similar berigavements. This lovely conduct was
dictated, not only by reciprocal affection and
esteem, but by the words of inspiration, which
Mr. Fuller noticed on these occasions ; " Go
not into thy brother's house in the day of thy
calamity: better is a neighbour that is near,
than a brother far off."
Courage and resolution, we have already re
marked, were constituent to his nature ; they
also received an impetus from his raoral system,
and the importance which he attached to an up
right and decided conduct. In advocating the
cause of God and truth against open and dis
guised infidels, and against the enemies of mis
sions at home and abroad, he evinced the bold
ness of a lion ; regarding neither the frowns of
the great, nor the combinations of the
powerful. He would have admonished a
wicked prince with the courage of a Latimer,
had he been called to it ; and gone in before
Pharaoh, not fearing the wrath of the king.
The heroism blended with his character is strong
ly marked in the style and tenour of his writ
ings, and in the sirailies employed in the illustra
tion of his subjects ; all breathe a martial air,
and bid defiance to the enemy. He appeared
most in his element when surrounded with dif
ficulties, and exposed to the attack of numerous

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 487
opponents ; then he could 'ride in the whirlwind,
and direct the storm.'
It is not surprising, that talents of so high an
order should have acquired a most extensive in
fluence ; superiority of mind contains a warrant
for command, and men in general are willing to
obey. Mr. Fuller did not assume the dictator
ship, it was freely given to hira ; the deference paid
to his jud,gment decided every thing, and from
it there was no appeal. Probably many other
circles in the religious world enjoy a similar ad
vantage, where the thinking of one man saves
the trouble to all the rest ; yet it may be doubted
whether this easy expedient be not productive of
some injurious effects, and amongst others, that
of prostrating the human faculties before the ob
ject of their admiration, till it ceases to be tan
gible, a^id becomes invested with sorae imagi
nary grandeur which it would be awful to ap
proach. Hence arises the timidity in exarain-
ing character, the disposition to give too high a
colouring to biographical sketches, and tp con-
fi)und every just distinction with indiscriminate
and unmeaning praise. It is better for us to
know that every thing pertaining to man is imper
fect, and that where we see much positive ex
cellence, we may expect to find some positive
defects ; then only are we placed in a situation
to contemplate the lives of the best of men to
edification and advantage.

488 Memoirs of
The mental and moral energy of Mr. Fullei^s
character was evidently allied to ^mething like
misanthropy, or at least a disposition to in
dulge the most unbounded suspicions of hu^
raan nature, which in too raany instances pro
duced rashness and dogmatism in the opinion
he formed of other.s. Sorae raay be disposed
to attribute this to his superior discernment, and
acquaintance with raankind. It is true he stu
died this subject ; but he studied it till he could
see nothing to commend, where he found any
thing to censure. " To think ill of raan, and
well of men," was with hira an established
axiom ; but it would be a rare thing to arrive at
the latter sentiraent through the raediura of the
forraer, or to feel benevolently towards the in
dividuals of a species which we have previously
agreed to vilify and conderan. Mr. Fuller's
ideas on the abstract doctrine of human depra
vity, raight be perfectly correct and scriptural ;
but it does not follow that the position they oc
cupied in his thoughts, or the effect they actu
ally produced on his feelings, raust needs be
equally unexceptionable ; and where the raind
becoraes accessible to every suspicion, this is not
likely to be the case. The constitutional tinge
given to his moral and religious systera, infused
into his preaching and conversation a style pf
malediction, neither the most favourable to use-

Mr. ANDREW FULLER. 439
fulness, nor adapted to forra an araiable trait in
the christiail^charapter.
Though Mr. Fuller's natural temper was
neither churlish nor morose, it was not distin
guished by gentlene^, meekness, affability, nor
kindness. There was a sturdiness about hira,
which gave an appearance of roughness and
severity to his behaviour, often forbidding to
strangers, and sometimes annoying and disa
greeable to his friends. A vigorous constitu
tion and uncultivated habits, allied to an inde
pendent and determined mind, occasioned an
excess of freedom and fidelity, notunfrequently
at variance with the softer passions, and pro
ducing a luxuriance of the severer virtues. He
had too much dignity to be offended on trifling
occasions, was never fond of liljgation, and
seldom engaged in personal disputes ; his mien
and aspect afforded him the raost ample protec
tion frora the intrusions of petulance and con
ceit. Having been often reminded of his stern be
haviour, which had become rather a general sub
ject of complaint, he ventured one day to men
tion it in a company of rainisters ; when one of
them replied, ' Why, Sir, you do not appisar
likely to make war without sorae just occasion ;
but it is pretty evident that you keep up a form
idable peace establishment.' The company of
course enjoyed the pleasantry of this remark,
till another of thein perceiving the effect it was
likely to pf6duce, added, ' We had better stop ;
K

490 MEMOIRS 01-
or we shall be in danger of putting brother
Fuller's troops into motion.' ^
It is not unusual for men to set too high a
value on that particular virtue in which they
are supposed to excel: ^nd virtue itself, by
being stretched too far,^'ljecomes nearly alhed
to vice. The centre of all moral excellence is
benevolence or love ; every departure from this
is an approach to something opposite. The ex
treme of moderation and forbearance is allied
to dishonest indifference, and that of justice to
rigour and cruelty. Justice is indeed too strong
a term to be applied to man ; the utmost that
he can do is to support equity. It was Mr.
Fuller's infelicity however, that he could not
be faithful, without being severe; nor display
his zeal against principles and practices which
he disapproved, whether justly or not, without
exceeding the restraints of ordinary prudence,
and retrenching some of the duties of religion
and humanity. His manner of giving reproof,
in raany cases,, bore no resemblance to the ex
amples afforded us m scripture ; and though he
could appreciate those examples, and adiiiire
what was amiable,* he had not the power to
imitate thenx. Instead of seeking that which is
gone astray, and binding up that which is bro*
ken ; his dispensatory contained no emollients,.
and he seems to have had no idea that a wound
could be healed, except by the immediate ap-
* Discourses on the Apocalypse, p. 16.

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 491
plication of a caustic. The sound of his " sledge
hammer" has reverberated to the plains of In
dia, and back from thence to the British shores.
Notwithstanding his intimate acquaintance
with human nature, he was liable to gross im
positions, and credulous of ill report. His
opinion of mankind seems to have destroyed all
his confidence in them, and to have rendered
the evil more credible than the good, tlie false
more certain than the true. He was of course
susceptible of the strongest prejudices, and found
the sacrifice of character, of feeling, and of
friendship, to recjuire but little self-denial.
Such indeed was the precision and integrity of
his understanding, that if he had authentic evi
dence before him, he v/ould be almost compe
tent to assist in passing judgment on the world ;
but if surrounded with false witnesses, as was
often the case, neither the life of men or angels
would be safe in his bands. He could never
penetrate those shades which misrepresentation
had formed around him, nor view an injured
character any otherwise than through a fog,
which magnified every distortion into the most
hideous caricature. He was in truth a son of
Levi,* with a two-edged sword in his hand,
binding kings in chains, and nobles with fet
ters of iron, — though this honour have not all
the saints. With his zeal for whatever he be
lieved to be true, his want of forbearance
' Deul. xxxiii, 9.

,492 MEMOIRS OF
towards moral and heretical offenders, and the
paramount importance he attached to an in
flexible fidelity, he would have been in danger
in darker times, of employing other arguments
than those which sober reason would approve.
In the reign of Mary, he would have made a
glorious martyr ; under the pontificate of Inno
cent iii,, he would have rivalled the zeal of St.
Dominic, and occupied the first place in the
Inquisition. It is extremely painful to advert to particular
instances of this kind of severity, and if truth,
justice, honour, and impartiality did not im
periously demand it, we would not advert to
the unhappy transactions in which he was con
cerned at Soham, in the year 1809, in a dis
pute between his former friends and a party of
Socinians, %^ho claimed a right to their place of
worship ; and to the incorrect and unsatisfac
tory statement he was induced to raake of
those transactions nearly eighteen months after
wards, in defence of his own conduct, Under
no pretence whatever can we attempt to justify
those transactions, nor the part which Mr. Ful
ler took in them, nor the n^eans which he after
wards employed to exjculpate hiraself from the
charge of wishing indirectly at least to avail
himself of those disgraceful statutes since re
pealed by the legislature, to secure what; he
coiisidered the rights of the injured party;

MR. ANDREW FULLER. 493
much less can we agree to consider him
as having been influenced by any sinister or
dishonourable motive, of which he was utterly
incapable. The whole wa^ a downright and
palpable mistake, founded indeed, as in raany
other cases, on a large quantity of misinforraa-
tion, and a wilful design of accomplishing the
supposed ends of public justice. There is no
need of any farther comment. His " Narrative
of Facts" relative to these occurrences, which
we have consigned to oblivion, instead of classing
it with his other publications, adraits but of one
apology. It was written long after the " facts"
had taken place, and raust be attributed, as his
eloquent and judicious friend observed, to " a
most unhappy lapse of raeraory ;" though un
fortunately, there are some other " facts" which
demand a similar apology.
Every one acquainted with Mr. Fuller's pow-
ei-s of description, and who has noticed the ac
curacy and fidelity with which he has delineated
some of the scripture characters, in his dis
courses on the book of Genesis, would feel a
sort of eager curiosity to inspect sorae of the
moral profiles of cotemporary characters, which
he occasionally executed. The following is
one of this description. Alluding to an eminent
minister deceased, whose life and labours
adorned the last half century, he says, " His
character, you may suppose, bas often passed
before ray mind ; and as it passed, I drew the

494 MEMOIRS OF
following short sketch of it. — He is in general,
a man of great integrity; but his prejudices are
strong, and when once imbibed, in great danger
of becoming inveterate. His integrity also is
too much confined to doing right while he is
right : let him but once commit a fault, and he
is one of the last men from whom you may ex
pect an ingenuous acknowledgment. The pride
of consistency is his easy besetting sin." — With
the exception only of the latter part of this de-
cription, every one acquainted with his charac
ter must see, that Mr. Fuller in this instance,
though undesignedly, drew a most correct
likeness of himself, as well as of the respecta
ble individual for whom it was intended.
It is but justice however to add, that he
was so deeply sensible ofthe luggedness of his
natural disposition, of his want of forbearance
and moderation, and of his proneness to undue
severity, notwithstanding tlie gratuitous asser
tions of sorae of his injudicious friends, that he of
ten raade it a subject of lamentation ; and no man
raore severely conderaned what was wrong in
his temper and conduct than he did hiraself.
Having been adraonished of these things,
he thus wrote in a letter afterwards: " I
do raost sincerely thank you for your re
marks on ray proneness to err in that way, and
hope it win be ray concern to watch and pray
against it. If 1 have thereby lost the love of
my brethren, I must bear it as well as I can.

"Mr. ANDREW FULLER. 495
I do not doubt your love to me ; and the gi-eat-
est proof lies in your having pointed out to me
ray faults. I hope you will not withhold this
kind of remarlcs in future."
These failings, however, though they cast a
shade over his brightest performances, and di
minish the esteem that is otherwise due to the
most splendid talents, did not affect the grand
motives by which his general conduct was di
rected. His entire character was formed of
STERLING INTEGRITY, and which was ramified
into all his actions. In principle, as well as in
doctrine, he ' shewed incorruptness,' and great
' sincerity.' The s(!verest suspicion could ne
ver reach him ; his elevation on this part of the
moral scale placed him far beyond tlie keenest
eye of jealousy, and nearer to the throne of
eternal justice than is common to the most dis
tinguished mortals. His sense of honour and
fidelity, aUowed of no resort to the schemes of
interest, or the too common arts of dishonest
temporising. No hopes, no fears, no conside
rations whatever, could cause him to deviate
from what he judged to be the path of upright
ness. Never was huraan integrity found raore
inflexible, or honesty raore true to her inten
tion. For this inestimable quality, he would
have been admired and revered by Aristides the
Just, whatever might be his deficiencies in the
milder graces. It has been said, and amongst

496 MEMOIRS &c.
mere politicians it may be trae, ' that every niafi
has his price :' but in Fuller we have an article
that no raan could buy or sell, not even those
who have the mark of the beast in their right
hand and in their foreheads. His price was far
above rubies, and tiie raost fine gold would have
been utterly contemned.
He possessed a most sincere desire to glorify
God, and his whole life was devoted to that all-
important object. It may be doubted whether,
since Luther's time, any man could be found on
this side the globe, who had laboured more to
cultivate and extend the knowledge of the truth
than Mr. Fuller ; and to that eminent reformer
he bore a striking likeness, both in his excellen
cies and defects. Nor can there be any hesita
tion in subscribing fully to the sentiraent that has
been expressed by his venerable friend, — that he
was probably " the raost judicious and able theo
logical writer that ever belonged to the baptist
denomination ; and that he will be highly esteem
ed for his able defence of the truth as it is in Jesus,
and for his zeal for the propagation of thei gospel,
not only by his cotemporaries of Various religious
persuasions, but by posterity, as long as the Eng
lish language, and the history of the Baptist Mis
sion to India shall endui-e." FINIS. I ¦ ':

E., W. Morris, Printer,
High Wycombe.

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