which many of us knew nothing until this meeting of the assembly." Now this synodical resolution was sent down to the Presbytery of Philadelphia, was received by the same, at a meeting in Frankford; and was by a resolution entered upon the records of the Presbytery. It was read several times publicly, and in the presence of the only four ministers then belonging to the Presbytery, who had ever been suspected of any predilection for Hopkinsianism. No one of them, therefore, could have written the letter without a wilful departure from the truth. It must have been, we imagine, some elder, who ever drags Dagon into his speeches; and if he calls himself a member of the Presbytery because he is an elder, he ought to have known, that, at the time of his writing, the Presbytery of Philadelphia consisted of twenty-four ordained Pastors, with at least as many ruling Elders. The letter insinuates that had the Synod been well attended by the members of the Presbytery of Philadelphia the Synodical Letter would not have been issued; but this is evidently an erroneous idea, because the Presbytery never has contained, at any one time, more than three ministers, who have not cordially denounced the peculiar tenets of the Hopkinsians. Let us however copy, and so preserve, the words of this anonymous letter-writer, as a specimen of the erroneous statements which have been industriously circulated against the reverend Synod. He observes,

"The General Assembly rose on yesterday. We had a very large, interesting, and harmonious meeting. There never was [were] such glorious things spoken of Zion before by the members of this Assembly. The hand of the Lord was never more visibly seen in defending the cause of truth, in maintaining the peace of his glorious kingdom, than we have witnessed at the late meeting of the Assembly. The pastoral letter of the Synod of Philadelphia was not overlooked by the worthy members of the House. But there were some things in the Synod's book still more exceptionable than was in the letter, of which many of us knew nothing until this meeting of the Assembly. AÍthough there are twenty-four members belonging to our Presbytery, yet there were but three of us at that meeting of the Synod, and Mr. Ely was one of them. A resolution was passed that

all the ministers belonging to the Synod who had embraced any of the Hopkinsian sentiments should be called to account. The glorious standard of the cross of Christ was erected on the floor of the General Assembly; those called Hopkinsians on one side, and their opposers on the other. O my dear sir, many of us, at this time, trembled for the peace of the Church; but determined not to let the letter and Synod book pass uncondemned. The book was referred to a committee. The names of whom I do not now remember, except Dr. Miller. After some days he brought in and read the report of that wise and honorable committee, on which the peace of the whole church seemed to rest for some days. The report went to condemn the letter and the resolution relating to Hopkinsianism. A few of those who had drawn the sword, were called upon by our worthy Moderator Dr. C. to defend the proceedings of the Synod of Philadelphia. They were given to know by the Hopkinsians belonging to the Synod, that they must not agitate the subject: so there was but one of two things to which they could resort. Either let their opposition die a natural death without throwing one shaft; or define what they meant by Hopkinsian error. After a few faint struggles this Dagon fell dead before the ark of truth, and I believe, all the members of the assembly rejoice at his death, and attended his funeral with emotions of pleasure, except, five who protested. O but God is good to Zion."

The committee, of which Dr. Miller was chairman, consisted of one, or at most two persons, beside himself; and if any one can believe, that for some days the peace of the whole church depended on that wise and honorable committee, instead of the great head of the church, he must be a pattern of credulity. But when did" the Hopkinsians belonging to the Synod," give the defenders of the Synodical Letter to know, that they must not agitate the subject? Who are these Hopkinsians? We never knew that any ministers of our Presbytery except the Rev. Nathaniel Reeves, and our brother, the Rev. John Gloucester, a gentleman of colour, were willing to be thought Hopkinsians; and we are sure that they could never have intimidated the eloquent and bold defenders of the Synod. Mr. Gloucester we admit may have all the Hopkinsianism that the Rev. Gideon Blackburn, his teacher, was able to instil into him; but he is too modest and sensible to have given the Rev. Samuel Martin, and

the Rev. John E. Latta, to know, that they might not do whatever they deemed best; and as for brother Reeves, he is a good-tempered little man, that no one ever feared. What credit is due to the writer who, after the General Assembly had risen, could intimate that only five members protested, will be known from the protests which are on the records of that Judicatory. As to the condemnation too, our readers shall have the means of forming a judgment for themselves, from the documents of which we shall furnish either accurate copies, or extracts. The only parts of the Synodical Letter which have excited the animadversions of the writer of the printed "Vindication," which is evidently the work of some Socinian enemy to all creeds; of "The Triangle;" and of the General Assembly, here follow.

"The Synod, assembled in Lancaster at the present time, consists of a greater number of members than have been convened at any meeting for many years; and from their free conversation on the state of religion, it appears, that all the Presbyteries are more than commonly alive to the importance of contending earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints; and of resisting the introduction of Arian, Socinian, Arminian, and Hopkinsian heresies, which are some of the means by which the enemy of souls would, if possible, deceive the very elect.

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"The Synod desire to cherish a stronger regard for the truth as it is in Jesus than they find at present subsisting among themselves; and because they are not ignorant of the disposition of many good men to cry Peace,' where there should be no peace, and, there is no danger,' in cases in which God commands us to avoid the appearance of evil; they would affectionately exhort each Presbytery under their care, to be strict in the examination of candidates for licensure or ordination, upon the subject of those delusions of the present age, which seem to be a combination of most of the innovations made upon Christian doctrine in former times.

"May the time never come, in which our ecclesiastical courts shall determine, that Hopkinsianism and the doctrines of our Confession of Faith are the same thing; or that men are less exposed now, than in the days of the apostles, to the danger perverting the right ways of the Lord.

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"The Synod would exhort particularly all the elders of the Churches to beware of those, who have made such pretended

discoveries in Christian theology as require an abandonment of the form of sound words,' contained in our excellent Confession and the Holy Scriptures.

"In some portions of our Synodical bounds exertions have been made, but with little effect, to propagate the doctrine of universal salvation. We rejoice that the shafts of Satan should fall ineffectual from the shield of Jesus; and we desire all persons under our care to present this shield, by maintaining and diffusing assiduously the sentiments of the Word of God, in opposition to every damning error.

"Three or four of our Churches have experienced what is commonly called a revival of religion; and to them accessions of communicants have been numerous: but in many other congregations a gradual but almost constant multiplication of the professed friends of Zion reminds us, that if the thunder-storm in Summer excites the most attention, it is the continued blessing from the clouds which replenishes the springs, and makes glad the harvest of the husbandman. For the many, who are united in a short time; and for the many, who are gradually gathered to Christ, not by the great and strong wind that rends the mountains, nor by the earthquake, but by the still small voice, which cometh not with observation, we would give our Redeemer thanks; and desire the Churches to bless him, no less for the daily dew, than the latter, and the early rain.

"We know of but one antitrinitarian synagogue in all our borders; and that there may never be another, we pray you, brethren, repeatedly to declare the truth, that the only true God in existence, is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; the God who is in Christ Jesus, reconciling the world to himself."

The last of these paragraphs stirs all the gall in the author of the "Vindication;" and so he spits it out against our Confession, and all who cannot think Doctors Price, Lardner and Hopkins, and Messrs. Wesley and Winchester," sound theologians, that might with propriety be received by our Presbyteries. We wish he had not found co-workers in opposition more respectable and orthodox than himself. Universalists and Socinians we could not expect to be pleased; but the Synod had a right to expect that Calvinists would not attempt to weaken their hands: and it was but reasonable too, that all sects and parties should have been willing that the Synod should prescribe their own terms of membership

in their own body. The Synod of Philadelphia was in peace, and desirous of guarding her future welfare. The Synod of New-York, we knew had become divided by the introduction of many members who could not adopt our Confession of Faith, without qualifying some parts of it; and we knew too, that a majority of the Presby tery of New-York had become something more, or less, than Calvinists, greatly to the annoyance of that Christian city. We were desirous, therefore, of closing the door against contention in season; and while we decided nothing concerning the piety and future salvation of Arians, Socinians, Arminians, Hopkinsians and Universalists, we directed the Presbyteries under our care to be more than commonly cautious in excluding all such applicants for admission, from their respective ecclesiastical bodies. We did not even proceed so far as to advise the exclusion of these persons from the commu. nion of the Lord's table; for we believe a man may hold a damning error; that is, an error which is calculated to destroy men; and not be himself in every instance damned by it: we think that an Arian, an Arminian, a Hopkinsian and a Universalist may give us reason to suppose that he is a renewed man: but we are confident that no errorist of either kind ought to be an Elder or a Pastor in the Presbyterian church. But the Hopkinsians wish a name and place among us, notwithstanding their difference in doctrine from us, upon five or six very important points, at least, and this raises all the bigotry and persecution against the Synod.

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The heaviest charge which has been adduced against the Pastoral Letter of the Synod is, that it discounte nances revivals of religion. Never was a more unfounded charge brought against any public document. We have quoted all which the Synod has said on this subject; and we ask the reader, what is said unfriendly to revivals of religion? At the last General Assembly the Rev. Dr. Alexander of the Theological Seminary said, that there had lately been among the students of that institution what might in strict propriety be called a revival of religion, because all were before hopefully pious,