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COMMENCES HIS DIARY.

"In the government of the church, or when you visit your congregation, especially the unfortunate or the sick, still remember you have to do with conscience and with God.

"Now, my dear brother, though I might have enlarged upon all the particulars on which I have addressed you, I must conclude, in the words of Paul to Timothy I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. Watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry,' and the God of grace be with you. Amen."

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This was followed by a very interesting discourse, delivered to the church, by the Rev. Thomas Davis, A. M. from Heb. xiii. 8. Pray for us." The services were then closed with appropriate sacred music, and with prayer.

With the termination of this solemn service, it may be said, that the public labours of the Rev. Mr. Stanford commenced.

At an early period, he appears to have been impressed with the importance, especially to Ministers, of keeping a diary, or journal of the exercises of their minds, the duties they have performed, and the changes through which they have passed; yet he made no attempt of this kind until the year 1798.

He then, owing to a variety of circumstances, received a very strong conviction of its utility, as a means of correcting his errors, humbling his heart, and promoting a spirit of vital piety. In this practice he continued without interruption, nearly thirty-five

years.

CHAPTER III.

MR. STANFORD REMOVES TO AMERICA-INVITED TO BECOME THE PASTOR OF THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH IN PROVIDENCE -RETURNS TO NEW-YORK-VARIOUS TRIALS.

EXTRACTS from his diary will be introduced into the subsequent pages of this memoir; but it is deemed proper, first to present a brief account of the more prominent events of his life, from the time of his ordination to the work of the gospel ministry, in the year 1781, until the commencement of his journal in 1793.

A few years subsequent to his entering upon the duties of the public ministry, the mind of Mr. Stanford became much dissatisfied with his situation; and after importunate prayer to God, and with the advice of several ministers, and other friends, he resolved to visit America. He accordingly left England, January 7th, 1786, and after a very tempestuous voyage, in a bad ship, and repeated escapes from the most imminent dangers, he arrived in Norfolk, in Virginia, on the 16th of April; where, though a stranger, he was cordially received, and experienced numerous expressions of hospitality and kindness. Having the most satisfactory letters of introduction to several persons of respectability in the city of New-York, he forwarded them to the gentlemen addressed; and while waiting for their answers, employed himself in the education of a few classes, composed of the children of some of the most opulent families in the place. In a short time, he received an invitation to visit NewYork; and on the 4th of November, 1786, he sailed from Norfolk, and in the course of the following month, by the aid of his friends, he opened an academy in

40

CALL FROM THE CHURCH IN PROVIDENCE.

this city, which, by the smiles of Providence, was in a few months raised to a very flourishing condition. Shortly after his arrival in New-York, he occasionally preached for the venerable John Gano; pastor of THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, in Gold-street; who bestowed upon him the affection and attentions of a father.

In the year 1787, Dr. James Manning, (the first) president of Brown University, in Providence, RhodeIsland, having resigned the charge of the Baptist church in that place, Mr. Stanford received three successive invitations to spend a year with them; but as to the propriety of the step, there was a difference of opinion amongst his friends in New-York. The annual income from his academy was one hundred per cent. above the compensation offered by the church; his academial duties were less arduous, and gave him more entirely the control of his time; besides which, he would not be burdened with those solicitudes which are connected with the increasing responsibilities of the pastoral office. Nevertheless, after many prayers, and great mental conflicts, he concluded to remove to Providence, for the time specified. His first sermon to that church and congregation, was delivered from Psalm cxxii. 9; "Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good." The congregation gradually increased, and many were converted to the truth.

This being the oldest church in the state, of any religious denomination, and THE FIRST BAPtist CHURCH CONSTITUTED IN AMERICA, (founded A. D. 1639,) he employed part of the first nine months, in writing her history; which was afterwards printed in England.

The original document is in our possession; but is here omitted, as it may be found in the first volume of the HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS," published by the Rev. David Benedict, A. M. See page 473-485.

BAPTISTS, THE ADVOCATES OF LIBERTY.

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As this is the first church in which Mr. Stanford was engaged as a stated preacher in America, the subjoined view of their beautiful edifice is here presented, for the purpose of gratifying those who have never visited the spot, where, to employ the language of Governor Hopkins; "Roger Williams justly claimed the honour of being the first legislator in the world, who fully and effectually provided for, and established a free, full, and absolute liberty of conscience."*

The building is eighty feet square, and much of the beauty of correct taste, is displayed in its internal arrangements. The roof and galleries are supported by twelve fluted pillars of the Dorick order. The ceiling is a continued arch; but intersected immediately over the galleries. The steeple is one hundred and ninety-six feet in height, and is by competent judges regarded as among the most beautiful specimens of architectural symmetry in the United States.

* That the Baptists were the first who practised upon the principle of unrestricted religious liberty, and that they have never denied to others the freedom which they claimed for themselves, is a fact which ought to be universally known. Not only during the eventful period, when Stennett and Piggot, with many others, appealed to the throne of England, and plead for the continuance of those glorious principles of British law, by which the equal civil rights, and inalienable privileges of religious liberty were guaranteed to the nation; but also throughout the English revolution of 1688, and in the colonial, and revolutionary history of our own country, the Baptists have, as a denomination, every where distinguished themselves, by zealously contending for the honour of God, and the rights of man. This eulogy has seldom been denied to the Baptists, by any writer of great research. Catholics and Protestants have admitted the fact, aad upon the pages of impartial history, it will indisputably perpetuate that praise, to which they are so justly entitled.

In the mind of Roger Williams, a Baptist, we find the germ of these principles, and that enlightened zeal which procured for the colony of Rhode-Island the charter, by which, for the first time, mankind were practically taught the salutary lesson of universal religious liberty. Mr. Williams was not only the founder of the state of Rhode-Island, but in consequence of his friendly intercourse with the Indians, he became the means of saving all the American colonies from the desolating storm which was gathering around the council-fires of "the grand confederacy," and would, in all probability, but for the providential interference of Mr. W. have swept from our shores the last traces of our pilgrim fathers.

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LETTER FROM REV. JONATHAN EDWARDS.

The clock and bell were both manufactured in London; the weight of the latter is 2387 pounds. The following original inscription on the bell, is a characteristic relic of olden times

"For freedom of conscience, this town was first planted,
Persuasion, not force, was us'd by the people;
This church is the oldest, and has not recanted,

Enjoying and granting, bell, temple, and steeple."

About this time he received the following letter from the venerable and Rev. Jonathan Edwards.

"REV. SIR,

"New-Haven, May 5, 1788.

"Your obliging favour of April 29, was duly received. I am happy to hear of your prosperous journey and agreeable reception at Providence. Please to present mine and Mrs. Edwards' compliments to Nicholas and John Brown, Esqrs. I shall be ever proud to acknowledge the family connection, and intend a visit at Providence, when Mrs. Edwards can find it convenient to accompany me.

"I am glad to hear of the intention of your neighbouring ministers to form a ministerial society. You may depend upon it, that properly conducted, it will be of real and great advantage. This I say from my own experience in the society of which I am a member. We meet on the Tuesday of every month, and continue together till after dinner on the next day. We choose a moderator and scribe, and our meetings are opened and closed with prayer by the moderator. A sermon is preached publickly. After sermon, critical remarks are made on the sentiments, the style, and the delivery of the sermons and other public exercises. Next are considered the theological questions, commonly three, proposed at the preceding meeting. In the consideration of them, every one offers his sentiments in his turn, by the direction of