BARTON W. STONE
We have already learned that efforts were being made to return to
apostolic Christianity in different places in the East, and I mentioned
these efforts first because as emigration is most usually westward, the
influences thus exerted spread far and wide. This is one of the reasons
why the plea to return to the original practice of the apostolic
churches has been more effective in the West than in the East.
I now give attention to a great movement that was inaugurated in what
was then called the "West," through the untiring labors of Barton W.
Stone and others. Stone was born in Maryland, December 24, 1772. His
father died and the mother, being left with a large family of children,
moved to Pittsylvania County, Va., in 1779, where the manners and
customs of the people were very simple, and contentment seemed to be the
lot of all, and happiness dwelt in every breast amidst the abundance of
home stores, acquired by honest industry. His first teacher was a
tyrant, who seemed to take pleasure in whipping and abusing his pupils
for every trifling offense. When called upon to recite, he was so
affected with fear, and so confused in mind, that he could say nothing,
and remained in that school only a few days. He was then sent to another
teacher, who was patient and kind, and he advanced so rapidly that after
five years' training his teacher "pronounced him a finished scholar."
This fired him with ambition and spurred his efforts to rise to eminence
in learning.
CONFRONTED BY MANY DIFFICULTIES
About this time some Baptist preachers came into the neighborhood and
began preaching to the people, and great excitement followed. Multitudes
attended their ministrations, and many were immersed. Immersion was so
novel that people traveled long distances to see the ordinance
administered. Young Stone was constant in his attendance, and was
particularly interested in hearing the converts relate their
experiences. Of their conviction and great distress they were very
particular in giving an account, and how and when they obtained
deliverance from their burdens. Some were delivered by a dream, a
vision, or some uncommon appearance of light; others by a voice spoken
to them--"Thy sins are forgiven thee"; and others by seeing the Savior
with their natural eyes. Such experiences were considered good by the
Church, and those relating such were baptized and received into full
fellowship. The preachers had an art of affecting their hearers by a
tuneful voice in preaching. Not knowing any better, he considered all
this a work of God, and the way of salvation.
After these came Methodist preachers who were bitterly opposed by the
Baptists and Episcopalians, who publicly declared them to be the locusts
of Revelation, and warned the people against receiving them. Stone's
mind was much agitated, and vacillated between the two parties. For some
time he had been in the habit of retiring in secret, morning and
evening, for prayer, with an earnest desire for religion; but being
ignorant of what he ought to do, he became discouraged and quit praying,
and turned away from religion.
When he was about sixteen he came into possession of his portion of his
father's estate. This absorbed his mind day and night endeavoring to
devise some plan as to how to use it to the best advantage. At last he
decided to acquire a liberal education, and thus qualify himself for the
practice of law. Having reached this decision he began immediately to
arrange his affairs to put his purpose into execution. Accordingly he
bade farewell to his mother, and made his way to the noted academy at
Guilford, N. C. Here he applied himself with great diligence to acquire
an education or die in the attempt. He divested himself of every
hindrance for the course. With such application he made rapid progress.
Just before he entered the academy the students had been greatly stirred
by James McGready, a Presbyterian preacher, and Stone was not a little
surprised to find many of the students assembled every morning in a
private room before the hour for recitation to engage in singing and
prayer. This was a source of uneasiness to him, and frequently brought
him to serious reflections. He labored diligently to banish these
serious thoughts, thinking that religion would impede his progress in
learning, thwart the object he had in view, and expose him to the
ridicule of his relatives and companions. He therefore associated with
those students who made light of such things, and joined them in the
ridicule of the pious. For this his conscience severely condemned him
when alone and made him so very unhappy that he could neither enjoy the
company of the pious nor that of the impious. This caused him to decide
to go to Hampden-Sidney College, Virginia, that he might be away from
the constant sight of religion. He determined to leave at once, but was
prevented by a violent storm. He remained in his room all day and
reached the decision to pursue his studies there and to attend to his
own business, and let others do the same.
Having made this resolution, he was settled till his roommate asked him
to accompany him to hear Mr. McGready preach. Of the deep impression
made on him by the discourse he heard on that occasion he says:
His coarse, tremulous voice excited in me the idea of something
unearthly. His gestures were the very reverse of elegance. Everything
appeared by him forgotten but the salvation of souls. Such
earnestness, such zeal, such powerful persuasion, enforced by the joys
of heaven and miseries of hell, I had never witnessed before. My mind
was chained by him, and followed him closely in his rounds of heaven,
earth and hell, with feelings indescribable. His concluding remarks
were addressed to the sinners to flee the wrath to come without delay.
Never before had I comparatively felt the force of truth. Such was my
excitement that had I been standing I should have probably sunk to the
floor under the impression.
When the meeting was over he returned to his room, and when night came
he walked out into a field and seriously reasoned with himself on the
all-important subject of religion. He asked himself: "What shall I do?
Shall I embrace religion, or not?" He weighed the subject and counted
the cost. He concluded that if he embraced religion he would then incur
the displeasure of his relatives and lose the favor and company of his
companions: become the object of their scorn and ridicule; relinquish
all his plans and schemes for worldly honor, wealth and preferment, and
bid adieu to all the pleasures in which he had lived. He asked himself,
"Are you willing to make this sacrifice?" His heart answered, "No, no."
Then there loomed before him a certain alternative, "You must be
damned." This thought was so terrible to him that he could not endure
the thought, and, after due deliberation, he resolved from that hour to
seek religion at the sacrifice of every earthly good, and immediately
prostrated himself before God in supplication for mercy.
In accordance with the popular belief, and the experience of the pious
in those days, he anticipated a long and painful struggle before he
should be prepared to come to Christ, or, in the language of that day,
before he should "get religion." This anticipation was fully realized.
For a year he was tossed about on the waves of uncertainty, laboring,
praying and striving for "saving faith," sometimes desponding and almost
despairing of ever getting it. He wrestled with this condition until he
heard a sermon on "God is love," which so impressed his mind that he
retired to the woods alone with his Bible. There he read and prayed with
various feelings, between hope and fear, till the great truth of the
love of God so triumphed over him that he afterward said:
I yielded and sunk at his feet, a willing subject. I loved him, I
adored him, I praised him aloud in the silent night, in the echoing
groves around. I confessed to the Lord my sin and folly in
disbelieving his word so long, and in following so long the devices of
men. I now saw that a poor sinner was as much authorized to believe in
Jesus at first as last; that now was the accepted time and the day of
salvation.
From that time he looked forward to preaching, and in the spring of 1796
applied to the Presbytery of Orange, N. C., for license to preach. In
describing the proceedings of the presbytery, he says: "Never shall I
forget the impression made on my mind when a venerable old father
addressed the candidates, standing up together before the presbytery.
After the address he presented to each of the candidates the Bible (not
the Confession of Faith), with this solemn charge, 'Go ye unto all the
world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.'" He was assigned to a
certain district, but soon became much discouraged, and contemplated
seeking regions where he was not known and turning his attention to some
other calling in life.
In the midst of much doubt and perplexity, he turned westward and
finally reached Caneridge, Bourbon County, Ky., where he remained for a
few months, then returned to Virginia.
ORDAINED TO THE MINISTRY
In the fall of 1798 he received a call from the united congregations of
Caneridge and Concord, through the Transylvania Presbytery. He accepted,
and a day was appointed for his ordination to the ministry. Knowing that
at his ordination he would be required to adopt the Westminster
Confession of Faith, as the system of doctrine taught in the Bible, he
determined to give it a very careful examination. This was to him almost
the beginning of sorrows. He stumbled at the doctrine of the Trinity as
therein taught, and could not conscientiously subscribe to it. Doubts,
too, arose in his mind on the doctrines of election, reprobation and
predestination, as then taught. He had before this time learned from
those higher up in the ecclesiastical world the way of divesting those
doctrines of their hard, repulsive features, and admitted them as true,
yet unfathomable mysteries. Viewing them as such, he let them alone in
his public discourses and confined himself to the practical part of
religion, and to subjects within his depth. But in re-examining these
doctrines he found the covering put over them could not hide them from a
discerning eye with close inspection. Indeed, he saw that they were
necessary to the system, without any covering.
He was in this state of mind when the day for his ordination came. He
determined to tell the presbytery honestly his state of mind, and to
request them to defer his ordination until he should be better informed
and settled. When the day came a large congregation assembled, but
before the presbytery convened he took aside the two pillars--James
Blythe and Robert Marshall--and made known to them his difficulties and
that he had determined to decline ordination at that time. They labored,
but in vain, to remove his difficulties and objections. They asked him
how far he was willing to receive the Confession of Faith. To this he
replied, "As far as I see it is consistent with the Word of God." They
concluded that that was sufficient. The presbytery then convened, and
when the question, "Do you receive and adopt the Confession of Faith as
containing the system of doctrine taught in the Bible?" he answered
aloud, so that the whole assembly could hear, "I do, so far as I see it
consistent with the Word of God." No objection being raised to this
answer he was ordained.
The reception of his ordination papers neither ended his intellectual
misgivings nor his difficulties with his strictly orthodox ministerial
associates in the presbytery. His mind, from this time until he finally
broke the fetters of religious bondage, "was continually tossed on the
waves of speculative divinity," the all-engrossing theme of the
religious community at that time. Clashing, controversial theories were
urged by the different sects with much zeal and bad feeling. At that
time he believed and taught that mankind were so depraved that they
could do nothing acceptable to God until his Spirit, by some physical,
almighty and mysterious power had quickened, enlightened and regenerated
the heart, and thus prepared the sinner to believe in Jesus for
salvation. He began to see that if God did not perform this regenerating
work in all, it was because he chose to do it for some and not for
others, and that this depended upon his own sovereign will and pleasure.
He then saw that the doctrine was inseparably linked with unconditional
election and reprobation, as taught in the Westminster Confession of
Faith; that they are virtually one, and that was the reason why he
admitted the decrees of election and reprobation, having admitted the
doctrine of total depravity. Scores of objections continually crossed
his mind against the system. These he imputed to blasphemous suggestions
of Satan, and labored to repel them as satanic temptations and not
honestly to meet them with Scripture arguments. Often, when addressing
the multitudes on the doctrine of total depravity, on their inability to
believe and on the physical power of God to produce faith, and then
persuading the helpless to "repent and believe" the Gospel, his zeal
would in a moment be chilled by such questions as: "How can they
believe?" "How can they repent?" "How can they do impossibilities?" "How
can they be guilty in not doing them?" Such thoughts almost stifled his
ability to speak, and were as great weights pressing him down to the
shades of death. The pulpits were continually ringing with this
doctrine; but to his mind it ceased to be a relief; for whatever name it
was called, he could see that the inability was in the sinner, and
therefore he could not believe nor repent, but must be damned. Wearied
with the works and doctrines of men and distrustful of their influence,
he made the Bible his constant companion. He honestly, earnestly and
prayerfully sought for the truth, determined to buy it at the sacrifice
of everything else.
He was relieved from this state of perplexity by this resolve. By
reading and meditating upon the Word of God, he became convinced that
God did love the whole world, and that the only reason why he did not
save all was because of their unbelief, and that the reason why they
believed not was because they neglected and received not his testimony
concerning his Son, for the Scripture says: "These are written, that ye
may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing
ye may have life in his name." From this he saw that the requirement to
believe in the Son of God was reasonable, because the testimony given is
sufficient to produce faith in the sinner, and the invitation and
encouragement of the Gospel are sufficient, if believed, to lead him to
the Savior for the promised salvation and eternal life. From that moment
of new light and joy he began to part company with Calvinism, declaring
it to be the heaviest clog on Christianity in the world, a dark mountain
between heaven and earth, shutting out the love of God from the sinner's
heart.
In the joy of this new-found liberty he received such power that made
him one of God's choicest instruments in awakening religious society out
of its apathy, and in preparing the way for the great religious movement
with which the last century was ushered in. Born with his new
convictions of God's all-abounding love, was an intense yearning to
bring his fellow men to the joy of such a salvation. While the fire was
kindling in his soul, he heard of a great religious excitement which had
already begun in Logan County, Kentucky, under the labors of certain
Presbyterian preachers, among whom was the same James McGready whose
preaching had so strongly affected Stone, while a youth, in North
Carolina. In the spring of 1801 he attended one of these camp meetings,
and for the first time witnessed those strange agitations and cataleptic
attacks, which baffled description. He describes them thus:
The scene to me was new, and passing strange. It baffled description.
Many, very very many, fell down as men slain in battle, and continued
for hours together in an apparently breathless and motionless state;
sometimes for a few moments reviving and exhibiting symptoms of life
by a deep groan or a piercing shriek, or by a prayer for mercy most
fervently uttered. After lying thus for hours they obtained
deliverance. The gloomy cloud which had covered their faces seemed
gradually and visibly to disappear, and hope in smiles brightened into
joy; they would rise shouting deliverance, and then would address the
surrounding multitude in language truly eloquent. (Biography of Stone,
page 34.)
REMARKABLE MEETING AT CANE RIDGE
Returning from these strange scenes, he entered the pulpit at Caneridge
with heart aglow with spiritual fervor. No longer shackled by the
doctrine of election and reprobation, he took for his text the inspiring
message of the great commission: "Go ye into all the world and preach
the Gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned." Old as was
the text, it came like a new evangel to this people, who had known
nothing but the hard terms of a Calvinistic creed. The audience was
visibly affected, and he left them promising to return in a few days.
This was the beginning of one of the greatest revivals in history. On
his return a vast multitude awaited him, and he had scarcely begun to
picture before them the great salvation when scores fell to the ground
as if smitten by some unseen hand. It is well to let Mr. Stone describe
the scene in his own language:
Some attempted to fly from the scene panic-stricken, but they either
fell or returned immediately to the crowd, as unable to get away. In
the midst of this exercise an intelligent deist in the neighborhood
stepped up to me and said, "Mr. Stone, I always thought before that
you were an honest man, but now I am convinced that you are deceiving
the people." I viewed him with pity, and mildly spoke a few words to
him; immediately he fell as a dead man, and arose no more until he had
confessed the Savior. (Biography, pages 36, 37.)
The report of this remarkable meeting soon spread through the country,
and shortly afterward he held a protracted meeting at Concord. The whole
country was aroused and multitudes of all denominations attended. Party
spirit shrank away and all joined heartily in the meeting, which
continued five days and nights without a break, and great numbers
abandoned sin.
On July 2, 1801, Barton W. Stone was married to Miss Elizabeth Campbell,
of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Soon after marriage they hurried on to
Caneridge for the memorable meeting which began on Friday before the
third Sunday in August. The news concerning the remarkable meeting at
Concord had spread far and wide, and when the time came to begin the
meeting at Caneridge the roads were literally crowded with wagons,
carriages, horsemen and footmen, moving to the camp grounds. The crowd
was estimated at thirty thousand. During the meeting four or five
preachers were frequently speaking at the same time, in different parts
of the encampment, without confusion. All denominations joined in the
conduct of the meeting. Party spirit for the time had disappeared, and
all united in the great work. Multitudes abandoned sin and entered the
profession and practice of religion. The meeting continued six or seven
days and nights, and would have continued longer but food for the
multitude could not be found.
This meeting was attended by many from Ohio and other distant parts, who
returned to their homes and spread the same spirit in their
neighborhoods, and the same results followed, and it can not be denied
that great good resulted. Nor were its effects by any means transient,
but were felt for years in the rapid growth of the churches in general
and in a great degree of religious fervor.
From the beginning of this great excitement Mr. Stone had been employed
almost day and night in preaching, singing, visiting, and praying with
and for the distressed, till his lungs failed and became inflamed,
attended with a violent cough, and it was believed that he had
tuberculosis. His strength failed and he believed that his end was near.
Notwithstanding this he had an intense desire to attend a camp-meeting a
few miles distant from Caneridge. His physician had strictly forbidden
him to preach any more till his disease should be removed.
This meeting was held in a grove near Paris. Here for the first time a
Presbyterian preacher opposed the work and the doctrine by which the
zeal among them had its existence and life. He labored hard to bring the
people under the yoke of Calvin and to regulate them according to his
standard. He wished to leave the camp at night and repair to the town,
nearly a mile away, and hold the meeting in a house that would not hold
half the people. This could not be done without leaving their tent and
other things exposed. The consequence was, the meeting was divided and
the work greatly hindered. Infidels and formalists were greatly elated
over this supposed victory and passed great encomiums on the preacher;
but the hearts of the revivalists were filled with sorrow. Stone went to
the meeting in town. A preacher was put forward who had always been
hostile to the work and seldom mingled with the revivalists. He
addressed the assembly in "iceberg style," and its influence was very
depressing. Stone had decided to lead the congregation in prayer just as
soon as the preacher closed. When he finally closed, Stone arose and
said, "Let us pray." At that very moment another preacher of the same
cast with the former rose in the pulpit to preach another sermon; but
Stone proceeded to pray, feeling a tender concern for the people. While
he was praying the people became much affected and the house was filled
with distress. Some of the preachers jumped out of the window back of
the pulpit and fled. Stone then pushed his way through the crowd to
those in distress, pointed them to the way of salvation, and
administered to them the comforts of the Gospel. The physician who was
attending him being present, pressed his way through the crowd and found
Stone wet with perspiration. He ordered him to his home, lecturing him
severely for violating his orders. He put on dry clothes and retired at
once, slept sounding, and arose next morning perfectly relieved from his
affliction. He soon regained his strength and joyfully resumed his
ministerial duties. This incident brought the campmeeting to a sudden
close.
"A TIME OF DISTRESS"
There were at this time several other preachers in the Presbyterian
Church who coincided in religious views with Stone. These were Richard
McNemar, John Thompson, John Dunlavy, Robert Marshall and David
Purviance. The three former lived in Ohio, and the three latter lived in
Kentucky. They all boldly preached the sufficiency of the Gospel to save
men, and that the testimony of God was designed and able to produce
faith, and that sinners were capable of understanding and believing this
testimony, and of acting upon it by coming to the Savior and from him
obtaining salvation and the Holy Spirit. When they first began to preach
these things, "the people appeared as just awakened from the sleep of
ages. They seemed to see for the first time that they were responsible
beings, and that a refusal to use the means appointed was a damning
sin."
This departure from the doctrine of the Westminster Confession of Faith
soon occasioned a virulent opposition on the part of those who adhered
to it. "At first they were pleased to see the Methodists and Baptists so
cordially uniting with us in the worship; but as soon as they saw these
sects drawing away disciples after them, they raised the tocsin of
alarm--The Confession of Faith is in danger, 'To your tents, O Israel!'"
These partisans began to preach boldly the doctrines of their Confession
of Faith and used the most potent arguments in their defense. "A fire
was now kindled that threatened to ruin the great fervor among the
people. It revived the dying spirit of partyism and gave strength to
trembling infidels and lifeless professors. The sects were aroused. The
Methodists and Baptists, who had so long lived in peace and harmony with
the Presbyterians and with one another, now girded on their armor and
marched into the deathly field of controversy and war. These were times
of distress. The spirit of partyism soon expelled the spirit of love and
union--peace fled before discord and strife and religion was stifled and
banished in the unhallowed struggle for pre-eminence. Who shall be the
greatest seemed to be the spirit of the contest. The salvation of the
world was no longer the burden, and the spirit of mourning in prayer
took its flight from the breasts of many preachers and people. Yet there
were some of all the sects who deplored this unhappy state of things;
but their entreating voice was drowned in the din of battle."
The Presbytery of Springfield, Ohio, arraigned McNemar on the charge of
heresy, and the case came before the synod at Lexington, Ky. Foreseeing
their fate before that body, Stone, McNemar, Thompson, Dunlavy and
Marshall drew up a protest, declaring their independence and withdrawal
from the jurisdiction of the synod. The synod then suspended them and
declared their congregations vacant. This act produced great commotion
and division among the churches and confirmed the seceding ministers in
their opposition to creeds and authoritative ecclesiastical systems. But
as yet they had no thought of ceasing to hold the Presbyterian faith,
and that they might continue in the service of the Church organized
themselves into an independent presbytery, called the "Springfield
Presbytery," but soon finding this position an impossible one and the
whole system out of harmony with their views, they now took another step
in their work of reform. Renouncing their allegiance to all authority
but that of their divine Master, they resolved to be governed by the
Bible as their only rule of faith and practice. This called for the
tracts and sermons from the opposition, and the views thus canvassed
became widely disseminated.
Soon after his separation, Stone called the churches at Caneridge and
Concord together and informed them that he could no longer preach to
support Presbyterianism, but that his labors should henceforth be
directed to advance the kingdom of God, irrespective of party, releasing
them from all pecuniary obligations to him. Thus for the cause of truth
he sacrificed the friendship of two large churches and an abundant
salary for his support. He preferred the truth to the friendship and
kindness of his associates in the Presbyterian ministry, who were dear
to him, and tenderly united in the bonds of love. Having now no support
from the congregations, and having emancipated his slaves, he turned his
attention cheerfully to labor on his farm. Though fatigued in body, his
spirit was happy and calm. He did not relax his ministerial labors,
preaching almost every night and often in the daytime to those who were
anxious to hear the Word. He had no money to hire laborers, and often on
his return home he had to labor at night while others were asleep to
redeem his lost time.
Co-operating with his associates in the Springfield Presbytery in
preaching and planting churches, a year had scarcely passed until such
an organization was perceived to be unscriptural, and was by common
consent renounced, all agreeing to take the name "Christian," which they
believed to be the only proper title for Christ's followers, and
believed it to have been given by divine appointment to the disciples at
Antioch. Having divested themselves of all party creeds and party names,
and trusting alone in God and the word of his grace, they became a
byword and laughing stock to the whole family of the sects; all of whom
prophesied their speedy annihilation. Through much tribulation and
strenuous opposition they advanced, and churches and preachers were
multiplied.
As their renouncing their allegiance to all authority in religious
matters but that of the Lord Jesus Christ aroused much interest and no
little opposition at the time, it will, no doubt, be interesting to my
readers to have this remarkable production in full, together with the
witnesses' address in full, which is as follows:
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF THE SPRINGFIELD PRESBYTERY
The Presbytery of Springfield, sitting at Caneridge, in the county of
Bourbon, being, through a gracious Providence, in more than ordinary
bodily health, growing in strength and size daily; and in perfect
soundness and composure of mind; but knowing that it is appointed for
all delegated bodies once to die; and considering that the life of
every such body is very uncertain, do make and ordain this our last
will and testament, in manner and form following, viz:
_Imprimis._ We _will_, that this body die, be dissolved, and sink into
union with the body of Christ at large; for there is but one body and
one spirit, even as we are called in one hope of our calling.
_Item._ We _will_, that our name of distinction, with its _Reverend
title_, be forgotten, that there be but one Lord over God's heritage,
and his name one.
_Item._ We _will_, that our power of making laws for the government of
the Church, and executing them by delegated authority, forever cease;
that the people may have free course to the Bible, and adopt the _law
of the spirit of life in Jesus Christ_.
_Item._ We _will_, that candidates for the gospel ministry henceforth
study the Holy Scriptures, with fervent prayer, and obtain license
from God to preach the simple Gospel, _with the Holy Spirit sent down
from heaven_, without any mixture of philosophy, vain deceit,
traditions of men, or the rudiments of the world. And let none take
_this honor to himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron_.
_Item._ We _will_, that the Church of Christ resume her native right
of internal government, try her candidates for the ministry, as to
their soundness in the faith, acquaintance with experimental religion,
gravity and aptness to teach; and admit no other proof of their
authority but Christ speaking in them. We will that the Church of
Christ look up to the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into
the harvest; and that she resume her primitive right of trying those
_who say they are apostles and are not_.
_Item._ We _will_, that each particular church as a body, actuated by
the same spirit, choose her own preacher and support him by a
free-will offering, without a written _call_ or _subscription_, admit
members, remove offenses; and never henceforth _delegate_ her right of
government to any man or set of men whatever.
_Item._ We _will_, that the people henceforth take the Bible as the
only sure guide to heaven; and as many as are offended with other
books, which stand in competition with it, may cast them into the fire
if they choose; for it is better to enter into the life having one
book than having many to be cast into hell.
_Item._ We _will_, that preachers and people cultivate a spirit of
mutual forbearance; pray more and dispute less; and while they behold
the signs of the times, look up, and confidently expect that
redemption draweth nigh.
_Item._ We _will_, that our weak brethren who may have been wishing to
make the Presbytery of Springfield their king, and wot not what is now
become of it, betake themselves to the Rock of Ages, and follow Jesus
for the future.
_Item._ We _will_, that the Synod of Kentucky examine every member who
may be suspected of having departed from the Confession of Faith, and
suspend every such heretic immediately, in order that the oppressed
may go free, and taste the sweets of gospel liberty.
_Item._ We _will_, that Ja---- ----, the author of two letters lately
published in Lexington, be encouraged in his zeal to destroy
_partyism_. We will, moreover, that our past conduct be examined into
by all who may have correct information; but let foreigners beware of
speaking evil of things which they know not.
_Item._ Finally, we _will_, that all our _sister bodies_ read their
Bibles carefully, that they may see their fate there determined, and
prepare for death before it is too late.
Springfield Presbytery.
June 28, 1804. (L. S.)
Robert Marshall, John Dunlavy, Richard McNemar, B. W. Stone, John
Thompson, David Purviance,
_Witnesses_.
THE WITNESSES' ADDRESS
We, the above-named witnesses of the Last Will and Testament of the
Springfield Presbytery, knowing that there will be many conjectures
respecting the causes which have occasioned the dissolution of that
body, think proper to testify that from its first existence it was
knit together in love, lived in peace and concord, and died a
voluntary and happy death.
Their reasons for dissolving that body were the following: With deep
concern they viewed the divisions and party spirit among professing
Christians, principally owing to the adoption of human creeds and
forms of government. While they were united under the name of a
presbyter, they endeavored to cultivate a spirit of love and unity
with all Christians, but found it extremely difficult to suppress the
idea that they themselves were a party separate from others. This
difficulty increased in proportion to their success in the ministry.
Jealousies were excited in the minds of other denominations; and a
temptation was laid before those who were connected with the various
parties to view them in the same light. At their last meeting they
undertook to prepare for the press a piece entitled, "Observations on
Church Government," in which the world will see the beautiful
simplicity of Christian Church government, stript of human invention
and lordly traditions.
As they proceeded in the investigation of that subject, they soon
found that there was neither precept nor example in the New Testament
for such confederacies as modern church sessions, presbyteries,
synods, General Assemblies, etc. Hence they concluded that while they
continued in the connection in which they then stood, they were off
the foundation of the apostles and prophets of which Christ himself is
the chief cornerstone. However just, therefore, their views of church
might have been, they would have gone out under the name, the precious
cause of Jesus, and dying sinners who are kept from the Lord by the
existence of sects and parties in the church, they have cheerfully
consented to retire from the din and fury of conflicting parties--sink
out of the view of fleshly minds, and die the death. They believe
their death will be great gain to the world. But though dead, as
above, and stript of their mortal frame, which only served to keep
them too near the confines of Egyptian bondage, they yet live and
speak in the land of gospel liberty; they blow the trumpet of jubilee,
and willingly devote themselves to the help of the Lord against the
mighty. They will aid the brethren, by their counsel, when required;
assist in ordaining elders or pastors, seek the divine blessing, unite
with all Christians, commune together, and strengthen each others'
hands in the work of the Lord.
We design, by the grace of God, to continue in the exercise of those
functions which belong to us as ministers of the Gospel, confidently
trusting in the Lord, that he will be with us. We candidly acknowledge
that in some things we may err, through human infirmity; but he will
correct our wanderings and preserve his Church. Let all Christians
join with us in crying to God day and night to remove the obstacles
which stand in the way of his work, and give him no rest till he make
Jerusalem a praise in the earth. We heartily unite with our Christian
brethren of every name in thanksgiving to God for the display of his
goodness in the glorious work he is carrying on in our western
country, which we hope will terminate in the universal spread of the
Gospel. (Biography of B. W. Stone, pages 51-55.)
PRACTICES MODIFIED IN MANY PARTICULARS
The stand they now took drove them to modify their practices in many
particulars. Among the first things to which they turned their attention
was infant baptism. Previous, indeed, to the great excitement in 1801,
Robert Marshall had become satisfied that infant baptism was not taught
in the Word of God; upon which Stone tried to set him right, but in the
course of the discussion he became so thoroughly convinced of its
unscripturalness that he discontinued the practice entirely. The
religious awakening, however, soon engrossed the minds of all, and for
some years baptism was left out of view. At length, many becoming
dissatisfied with their infant baptism, a meeting was convened to
thoroughly consider the subject, and, after a friendly investigation,
and discussion, it was decided that each member should act in accordance
with his convictions. As none among them had been immersed, it was a
question whether any one was qualified to administer baptism, which was
finally settled upon the ground that authority to preach carried with it
the authority to baptize. In the performance of this newly-discovered
duty, the ministers first baptized each other, and then their
congregations. The practice of immersion soon prevailed generally among
the churches.
Shortly after having reached the conclusion that the immersion of
believers is the only Scriptural baptism, at a great meeting at Concord,
when mourners were daily invited to collect around for prayer, as was
their custom then, and many persons were prayed for without receiving
the expected comfort, the words of Peter rolled through Stone's
mind--"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit"--and he thought, "were Peter here he would thus address
these mourners." So he quickly arose and addressed them in the same
language and urged them to comply with this demand. The effect, however,
was the reverse of what he intended. Instead of comforting the mourners,
it only perplexed and confused them by directing their attention to an
untried course of procedure utterly unknown to "revivals," and for which
they were wholly unprepared. "While their hearts were filled with ardent
desires for special operations of the Holy Spirit and of fire, this
unexpected presentation produced a chilling effect, and tended to cool
the ardor of their excited imagination. Mr. Stone himself, indeed,
quoted Peter's language on this occasion evidently more from his anxiety
to suggest some means of relief, and from his unbounded confidence in
the Word of God, than from any proper understanding of the relation of
baptism to remission of sins."
The independent stand that Stone took on the Bible alone greatly
increased his labors. Kindred spirits speedily rallied to his support.
The Presbyterians forbade their people to associate with them in their
worship, on pain of censure or exclusion, but this caused many to cast
their lot with them. Churches quickly sprang up over a wide region,
rejecting all standards but the Bible and refusing to wear any name but
that of "Christians." Stone and his co-laborers now devoted themselves
to encouraging and strengthening these widely-scattered churches.
"SHAKERISM"
Scarcely had the work been inaugurated, however, before the very life of
the churches was threatened by the appearance of a strange delusion. A
semi-religious, socialistic movement, known as "Shakerism," had some
years before this established several communities in the State of New
York. Its leaders, hearing of the revolt against Calvinism led by Stone,
sent three missionaries--Bates, Mitchum and Young--among them. They were
eminently qualified for their work, and soon made sad havoc of the
newly-planted churches. Stone thus describes them and their work:
Their appearance was prepossessing, they were grave and unassuming at
first in their manners; very intelligent and ready in the Scriptures,
and of great boldness in their faith. They informed us that they had
heard of us in the East, and greatly rejoiced in the work of God among
us--that as far as we had gone we were right, but we had not gone far
enough into the work--that they had been sent by their brethren to
teach the way of God more perfectly, by obedience to which all should
be led into perfect holiness. They seemed to understand all the
springs and avenues of the human heart. They delivered their testimony
and labored to confirm it by the Scriptures. They promised the
greatest blessings to the obedient, but certain damnation to the
disobedient. They urged the people to confess their sins to them,
especially the sin of matrimony, and to forsake all
immediately--husbands must forsake their wives and wives their
husbands.... Many said they were the great power of God, confessed
their sins to them and forsook their marriage state. Among them were
three of our preachers--Matthew Houston, Richard McNamar and John
Dunlavy. Several more of our preachers and pupils, alarmed, fled from
us, and joined the sects around us. (Biography, page 62)
It was only by the great effort of Stone that the churches were saved
from this vortex of ruin. He labored day and night, far and near, among
the churches where the Quakers went. By this means the evil influence
was checked and their broken ranks were rallied, and soon led once more
to victory.
THE WORK PROSPERS
Soon after the trouble with the Quakers had been quelled and the
churches were once more in a prosperous condition, another trouble arose
which threatened their entire overthrow. Two of the preachers, who with
Stone had thrown off the yoke of Presbyterianism, abandoned the
movement, reaffirmed their faith in the Westminster Confession of Faith,
and returned to the Presbyterian fold. "Of the five of us," as he wrote
at a later date, "that left the Presbyterians, I only was left, and they
sought my life." Conscious of the integrity of his purpose, and
convinced of the scripturalness of his position, Stone continued to
preach to the churches far and near, to any who would listen to him,
rendering his services gratuitously, and earning as best he could the
support of his family out of his little farm. Preaching the Gospel as he
now understood it, multitudes flocked to his standard, and many
flourishing churches were established by him in Ohio, Kentucky and
Tennessee.
As an evangelist among the pioneer population of newly-settled States he
was without a rival. His large, generous nature quickly won the
confidence of the hardy inhabitants. His zeal and originality awakened
their interest and fixed their attention. His warm sympathies and strong
emotions melted them to repentance and led them to obedience. Seldom did
he preach a sermon that did not result in conversions, sometimes scores
coming forward at the close of a single address. At other times the
wayside cabin with its lonely occupant received with gladness the
message of life. Here is a scene as he describes it:
One day as I was riding along slowly to an appointment at night, I was
passing by a small hut, when a woman ran out and called to me. I
stopped my horse. She told that she had heard me preach the day
before, and with a heavenly countenance thanked God for it. "For,"
said she, "the Lord has blessed my soul. Will you stop and baptize
me?" "Yes," said I, "gladly will I do it." I dismounted, and walked
into the hut. "Oh," said she, "will you wait till I send for my
sister, a short distance off. She was with me, and the Lord has
blessed her, too. She wants also to be baptized." "Oh, yes," said I;
"I will gladly wait." She quickly dispatched a little boy to call her
husband from the field near the house, and to tell the sister to come.
In the meantime she was busy preparing dinner for me. It was no doubt
the best she had, but such as I had never seen before. I never more
thankfully, more happily, and more heartily dined. The husband soon
came in, and the wife beckoned him out, and informed him of her
intention of being baptized. He obstinately opposed it. In tears and
distress she informed me. I talked mildly with him of the impropriety
of his conduct, and at length gained his consent. Her countenance
brightened with joy, and her sister came in shortly.
There, in the depths of the forest, in a stream that flowed near by, was
witnessed a scene that rivals in picturesqueness and simple beauty any
recorded in the Word of God.
On another occasion as he was returning from an appointment he was
overtaken by a gentleman returning from the same meeting, and the two
continued the journey together. Stone introduced the subject of
religion, which was found not to be disagreeable to the stranger, though
he made no profession of religion. He urged him with many arguments to a
speedy turning to the Lord. It was very evident that his mind was deeply
troubled and that he was vacillating as to his choice of life or death.
At length they came to a clear running stream, when he said to Stone:
"See, here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized?" To which he
replied in the language of Philip to the Eunuch: "If thou believest with
all thine heart, thou mayest." The ready response came: "I believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and am determined hereafter to be his
servant." Without anything further passing between them, they dismounted
and Stone baptized him.
About 1812 Stone filled an appointment of long standing in Meigs County,
Ohio. The Separate Baptists, by previous appointment, held their annual
association at the same time and place. They agreed to worship together.
The crowd of people was great, and early in the meeting Stone baptized
William Caldwell, a Presbyterian preacher, in the Ohio River. This drew
the cords of friendship more closely between him and the Baptists. By
this united effort the excitement became very great. The elders and
members of the association met daily in a house near the stand, where
they transacted their business, while worship was carried on at the
stand. Stone was asked and urged to assist them in their deliberations
in the association, and frequently requested to give his opinion on
certain points, which he did to their acceptance and approbation. They
had a very difficult case before them, on which they could come to no
decision. He was urged to speak on it, and to speak freely. He spoke
freely and fully on the point, showing it to be a party measure, and
unscriptural, at the same time exerting himself against sectarianism,
formularies and creeds, laboring all the while to establish the
scriptural ground of union among Christians, and the name they should
wear, and that until Christians were united in spirit on the Bible there
would be no end to such difficult cases as now confronted them. Having
closed his speech, he went at once to the stand.
The mind of the association was withdrawn from any further consideration
of the knotty cases before them to the consideration of what had been
presented to them in the speech which they had just heard, with the
result that they agreed to forever lay aside their formularies and
creeds and take the Bible alone for their rule of faith and practice--to
drop the name "Baptist" and take the name "Christian"--and to disband
their association and join Stone and others in their efforts to return
to apostolic Christianity. They then marched to the stand, shouting the
praises of God and proclaiming aloud what they had done. They embraced
each other with Christian love, by which the union was cemented. This
gave a mighty impetus to the work and multitudes were added to the Lord.