Resolved, That the establish ment of civil and religious liberty to each denomination in this province, is the sincere wish of this congress but being by no means vested with powers of civil government, whereby they can redress the grievances of any person whatever; they therefore recommend to the Baptist churches, that when a general assembly shall be convened in this colony, they lay the real grievances of said churches before the same; when and where their petition will most certainly meet with all that attention due to the memo rial of a denomination of chris

By order of the Congress, JOHN HANCOCK, President. A true extract from the Minutes,

as

John Lincoln, Secretary." Such an assembly as is here mentioned, convened at Watertown, July 1775, to which our brethren presented another memorial, in which they said, “Our real grievances are, that we, well as our fathers, have, from time to time been taxed on religious accounts, where we were not represented; and when we have sued for our rights, our causes have been tried by interested judges. That the representatives in former assemblies, as well as in the present, were elected by virtue only of civil and worldly qualifications, is a truth so evident, that we presume it need not be proved to this assembly; and for a civil legislature to impose religious taxes, is, we conceive, a power which their constituen.s never had to give; and is, therefore, going entirely out of their jurisdiction. Under the legal dispensation, when God himself prescribed the exact proportion of what the people were to give, yet none but persons of the worst characters ever attempted to take it by force. How daring then must it be for any to do it for Christ's ministers, who says, My kingdom is not of this world! We beseech this honourable assembly to take these matters into their wise and serious consideration,

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before Him who has said, With what measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you again. Is not all America now appealing to heaven, against the injustice of being taxed, when we are not represented; and against being judged by men who are interested in getting away our money? and will heaven approve of your doing the same thing to your fellow-servants! No, surely. We have no desire of representing this government as the worst of any who have imposed religious taxes; we fully believe the contrary; yet, as we are persuaded that an entire freedom from being taxed by civil rulers to religious worship, is not a mere favour from any man or men in the world, but a right and property granted us by God, who commands us to stand fast in it, we have not only the same reason to refuse an acknowledgement of such taxing power here, as America has the abovesaid power, but also, according to our present light, we should wrong our consciences in allowing that power to men, which we believe belongs only to God."

This memorial was read in the assembly, and after laying a week on the table, was read again, debated upon, and referred to a committee, who reported favourably. A bill was finally brought in, in favour of the petitions, read once, and a time set for its second reading; but their own business crowded in, and nothing more was done about it. In this manner have the Baptists always been shuffled out of their rights. After this, they made a number of attempts to get some security for their freedom, but none was ever formerly given them. They had

many fair promises, which were never fulfilled; and when the State Constitution was formed, the Bill of Rights declares, “ All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights, &c." The second declares, “No subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained in his person, liberty, or estate, for worshipping God in the mauner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience, &c."

But notwithstanding all these declarations, many have been molested, and restrained in their persons, liberties, and estates, on religious accounts.

These things we have thought proper to insert in Mr. Backus's biography. He was undoubtedly the draughtsman of some of the memorials of his brethren; and he was, certainly, the able and undaunted expositor of them all. His whole soul was engaged in the prosecution of his agency; insomuch that he became the cham. pion of non-conformity in England, and was, on that account, much vilified and abused by the established party.

When he waited on the Congress at Philadelphia, he was accused of going there on purpose to attempt to break the union of the colonies. The newspapers abounded with pieces against him, some of which he answered, aud others he treated as beneath his notice. In one, he was threatened with a halter and the gallows; but he had been too long inured to the water war, to be terrified by such impotent threats.

In 1789, Mr. Backus took a journey into Virginia, and North Carolina, in which he was goue

about six months, preached 126 sermons, and travelled by land and water, 3000 miles. This journey was undertaken in consequence of a request from the southern brethren, for some one of the ministers of the Warren Association to come and assist them, in the great field of labour which was then opened before them.

This distinguished man finished his earthly course with great composure, Nov. 20, 1806, in the 83rd year of his age, and 60th of his ministry. He had been laid by from his public labours a few months previous to his death, by a paralytic stroke, which deprived him of his speech, and the use of his limbs. But his reason was continued to the last; and in his expiring moments he manifested an entire resignation to the will of heaven. He left behind him a number of children, all of whom are respectable members of society. He never received much from his people, but by the blessing of Providence, he had acquired an estate of considerable value.

As a preacher, he was evangelical and plain. His discourses, though not highly ornamented with the rhetorick of language, were richly stored with scripture truth. His historical works contain a vast fund of materials of the utmost importance towards a history of our denomination, which must have sunk into oblivion, had it not been for his unwearied care.

The following description of Mr. Backus is from the pen of Dr. Baldwin, of Boston.

"His personal appearance was very grave and venerable. He

was not far from six feet in stature, and in the latter part of his life, considerably corpulent. He was naturally modest and diffident; which probably led him into a habit, which he continued to the day of his death, of shutting his eyes when conversing or preaching on important subjects. His voice was clear and distinct, but rather sharp than pleasant. In both praying and preaching, he often appeared to be favoured with such a degree of divine unction, as to render it manifest to all that God was with him. Few men have more uniformly lived and acted up to their profession than Mr. Backus. It may be truly said of him, that he was a burning and shining light; and, though dead, he left behind him the good name which is better than precious ointment."

JEHOVAH-JIREH. Genesis xxii. 14. Every person conversant with scripture is aware, that in the earlier ages of the world God's people frequently gave particular and significant names not only to persons, but also to places, and things, purposely to commemorate and perpetuate remarkable events. Witness Hagar's well, Beerlahai-roi; Abraham's Jehovah-jireh; Moses's Jehovah-nissi, and Samuel's Ebenezer; names given by these pious persons to transmit to the latest posterity signal interpositions of God in favour of his people, especially in seasons of peculiar distress and tribulation. Jehovah-jireh, the Lord will see, or provide, as it is said to this day. In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. Or,

as it should be rendered, In the mount the Lord will be seen. Agreeably to the versification of our excellent poet,

"Just in the last distressing hour, The Lord displays delivering pow'r; The mount of danger is the place, Where we shall see surprizing grace."

From the passage thus introduced, we plainly discover the following important sentiment, that though God frequently suffers his people to feel the extremity of distress, yet he always appears for their relief. Let us briefly illustrate the sentiment-notice the wisdom of the divine procedure and deduce practical reflections. The doctrine as above stated, is capable of abundant illustration from the sacred pages. Witness the present memorable trial of Abraham's faith, as well as of his parental feelings, which are admitted to be the strongest feelings in human nature. We see that the command to offer up his only son Isaac, as a burnt offering, was not recalled the same day it was given, nor until near the close of the third day. Hence full time was given for the full exercise of each tender emotion--till he had made every preparation for the bloody sacrifice till the knife was actually grasped-then, at the ali-eventful moment, just in the mouth of danger, the angel cries, "Abraham, forbear." Witness also Jacob, when Esau, with 400 men marched against him, with murder in his heart, and the means to accomplish his purpose in his hands. In this extremity, Jacob, with his whole family, in danger of a violent death from a brother's malice, blown up into rage and fury God did not suddenly in

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terpose, but suffered Jacob's distress to rise to the highest pitch. Then Esau's heart was turned from hatred to kindness. Nor were the people of Israel delivered from Egyptian bondage very soon after another king arose who knew not Joseph; but the bondage was increased from time to time, until they were obliged to make brick without straw-until they had been beaten-until their male children had been drowned

until things were come to an extremity. Then, when hope had given up the ghost-then, on that self-same night, 'that night much to be remembered,' God led forth his host out of Egypt's land.How often, also, was David, in the extremity of distress, ere he was delivered. When Saul and his army were just at his heels, a messenger cries out, "Haste thee, and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land. At another time, David, in distress, is compared to a prisoner confined in a horrible pit, in miry clay, yet he was not suddenly delivered, but was obliged to wait patiently in the doleful situation, until the Lord brought him out, and put a new song in his mouth.-But the time would fail to tell of Jehosaphat, Hezekiah, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, of Daniel, and of Jonah, who were delivered in the very extremity of distress, by the signal interposition of divine power and grace. We may also descend to later periods, for further illustration. Witness the low and afflicted state of the church, at the time of the Reformation, through the persecution of papal Rome; how wonderfully and unexpectedly did God appear in raising up and preserv

ing Luther and his followers! And in our own nation, when queen Mary had burnt most of our eminent divines, suddenly the queen's soul is required of her; And when king James had nearly restored the popish superstition, suddenly (as on this day, 4. Nov.) the Prince of Orange is wafted to the British shore!-But our sentiment is confirmed by the experiences of God's people in every age, both as it respects their bodies and their souls: how often are the people of God visited with dire diseases, "till their flesh is so consumed that it caunot be seen, and the bones that were not seen stick out-till their soul draweth near to death, and their life to the destroyer!" Yet in this extremity, if there be an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness, then he is gracious unto him, and saith, deliver him from going down to the grave, I have found a ransom. Lo, these things God worketh oftentimes with men !" And when the spirit of God convinces of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, frequently trouble is suffered to continue and increase until even the sorrows of death and the pangs of hell, get hold of the conscience. The 3000' were pricked in the heart' before they obtained the joys of God's salvation. Now, it is evident, that in all the cases mentioned, God could have delivered his people before matters came to extremities; nor is his love to be for a moment called in question. Whence appears then the propriety of the divine procedure? 1st. Pungent trials prove the faith of God's people to be of divine original. Christians live by faith, and walk

by faith. Peter represents the trial of faith as being far more important than the trial of gold and silver, and the necessity of fiery trials, and piercing afflictious. That it may appear to honour and glory, God tries his people, not for his own information, but for theirs; that it may appear to themselves that they trust in, and adhere to him, under the most piercing trials. He that faints in the day of adversity, is at best a weak believer, but how honourable, how glorious, did the faith of Moses, David, and Daniel, appear, after their fiery trials? 2d. Piercing trials excite fervency in prayer. Although we are exhorted to fervent, importunate, and persevering prayer, yet such is our natural disinclination to a practical regard to precepts, that great distress and imminent danger seem the more powerful incentives to that fervent spirit, which is so acceptable to God, and so useful to ourselves and others. If Jacob's distress had not been extreme, he had never wrestled with God, or obtained the name of Israel. 3d. The hand of God appears the more conspicuous in granting deliverance in a time of extremity, when all human help fails, and we apply to Him who is a refuge and strength, and a present help in time of trouble. Then we sing, "The hand that made us is divine."

Learn 1st, Never to despair of divine help, let the danger be ever so great. The whole design of the bible is to promote faith, prayer, and hope; but not a single word to inculcate despondency. God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted (tried) above