help something, and something important. With best wishes and prayers, "I remain, dear sir, "DEAR SIR, "Your affectionate and faithful friend, "THOMAS SCOTT." "Chapel Street, November 10, 1798. ......"I THINK your views in respect of your grand design are very proper; and, in thus waiting on the Lord, he will no doubt direct you in due time to the best measures, and to that determination which will be most for his glory and your real good. When I proposed the question concerning the body of Christians among whom you meant to seek admission into the ministry, I was not fully aware of the import of my own inquiry; for I find the difficulties are in most cases greater than I supposed. I could, as far as I can see, if it were fairly in my line, communicate with your seceders, as a layman, but I am sure I could not conscientiously enter into the engagements required of those whom they ordain. I believe all parties were wrong in many things, last century; and it seems absurd to make an unqualified approbation of any party, so long since, the sine qua non of ministering in the gospel of Christ at present; when the most able, studious, and pious men can scarcely make up their own minds on so complicated a business; and most men are absolutely incompetent, through want of adequate information, to form any judgment about it....... "I do not think either great strength of body, or singular talents of mind, are at all essential to the work of the ministry. As to the former, many of the most useful men that ever lived have seemed to think their ill state of health, leading them to speak 'as dying men to dying men,' one great means of their usefulness. And, though considerable talents are necessary for some special services, yet God has not generally made much use of them, and they have often been snares, rather than advantages, to the possessors; while men of moderate talents, with humble, simple, zealous minds, have had the greatest success. Besides, we are not competent judges of our own talents: and conscious unworthiness and insufficiency constitute one grand requisite for simplicity of dependence on the Lord in all things.-Classical learning, in the present state of things, is necessary for admission into the ministry; and it is proper that some, or even many, ministers should be classical scholars: but I am of opinion that a good fund of general knowledge, connected with an accurate and enlarged acquaintance with the Bible, and with theology as a science, (all of which may be attained by one who understands his own native language alone,) are far more useful in the pastoral office, in general circumstances, than a moderate acquaintance with languages can be. In short, I would have two sorts of ministers: one so completely learned as to be able to meet the enemies of Christianity on that ground, and to be above them at their own weapons: the other, pastors of no other pretensions than to be scribes well instructed in the word of God, and the great things of true religion. A smattering of Greek and Latin, or Hebrew, procured by an adult, at a great expense of time, if not of money, that might be better employed, is seldom of much use; and frequently only renders the possessor conceited and dogmatical. -But in this we must accommodate to the opinions of those among whom we attempt to obtain admission. "I really am incompetent to give any particular advice on the last subject you mention, except that I should be very frank and open in avowing my purpose, not to let regard to worldly interest or credit influence me, in the least, to do or omit any thing, contrary to my conscience; or that so much as seemed to be declining the reproach of Christ. You are perfectly right, that every concession will make way for some other requisition: and, except you can be convinced that some part of your conduct has been justly reprehensible, or needlessly offensive, or intermeddling with things which do not belong to you, your wisdom and safety will consist in making no concessions, but meekly, yet firmly, avowing a purpose of acting up to your conscience, and taking the consequences. In every thing else concede: here be firm. The axe-head would not have enabled the hewer to cut down the forest, if the trees had decidedly and unanimously refused him a handle: but, that granted, the rest followed......But my paper is full, my time gone, and I am tired. With best wishes and prayers, "I remain, "Your's faithfully and affectionately, "DEAR SIR, "Chapel Street, May 25, 1799. "WE have set on foot a new society for missions to Africa and the East by members of the established church: and, as I am a party greatly concerned, and have accepted the office of secretary, it occupies a great deal of my time. Probably we shall engage a set of men (to support it,) and draw most of our resources from quarters, which are out of the reach of other societies. If you knew any one of a heroical spirit in the cause of Christ and of souls, he might here have an opportunity of exerting himself in that best of services. "I have it not at all in my power at present to enter upon the questions about 'the covenant,' to which the seceders are so much attached: nor am I qualified, without more study, to give a decided opinion, grounded on convincing arguments, suited to settle the judgment of a serious inquirer. I have always thought it very extraordinary to blend the political disputes of the last century (for from these in great measure the questions originated,) with the religious profession of the present; when, in fact, I think the chief fault of the religion of that turbulent time was its close connexion with politics. I do not see how any one can swear to the solemn league and covenant, without engaging for what he knows to be impracticable. I am not very partial to oaths at all, except when absolutely necessary. I cannot see how the oaths of our forefathers can bind us; or that we have any right to swear in the name of our posterity. The solemn league and covenant seems to me to breathe a severe, if not a persecuting spirit; and I could not by any means enter into such an engagement: but many wise and good men have thought otherwise; and I can only judge for myself......In fact, I scarcely know any body of Christians who do not seem to me to require some things, either in respect to communion, or to the ministry, with which I am not satisfied: so that I do not wish to render others so scrupulous as I am myself. 66 ......With respect to public covenanting, I think all we have to do with the sins of the nation, or body we belong to, is, to repent of our own sins, and do our own duties; and, when we do what we can to prevent or counteract the sins of the nation, we are not answerable for what we cannot help; and can never be required to engage for what we cannot perform.-Nehemiah was the civil governor, and was doing the duty of his place: and I should think it very different to concur with the civil governor in such an engagement, and to enter into a covenant of this kind without him, or against him. The other passages relate to personally covenanting with the Lord to be his servants, not to public and political covenanting about matters almost inseparable from the government of our country........ "I pray the Lord to direct you, to counsel, comfort, and prosper you! and I remain in great haste, "Your affectionate friend, "THOMAS SCOTT." My father's correspondent here remarks, "In this and some following letters it will appear, with what judicious views Mr. Scott enters on a subject which to an Englishman must be very strange, and little beard of; namely, the disputes which have subsisted so long among the good people in Scotland, about the covenants and vows of their forefathers during the civil wars with Charles I. These have been a fruitful source of contention from that period down to the present: and, though the controversy is now dying away, yet it is often entangling to the consciences of pious people." It appears to be a question among these good people, how far the vows of the forefathers are even now binding upon their posterity of the present generation! "Chapel Street, August 28, 1799, "DEAR SIR, "I HAVE received and read over your present, as a specimen of Scotch divinity, and must say that it is, according to this specimen, extremely heterogeneous. I have traversed, methinks, both the frigid and the torrid zone; the ice and snows of Zembla, and the burning deserts of Africa. The sermon on moderation conveys me about twenty degrees north of Laodicea; and, except that the author marks, as if essential to zealous religion, some disgraceful appendages which human infirmity often connects with it, and as he may thus furnish a hint to such as would take away occasion of censure from those who seek occasion, I see nothing worth further notice; and can only lament that things in Scotland so much, in this respect, resemble the too general state of things in England. "The same observations almost may suffice for the pamphlet on Mr. ———— -'s tour. I trust it will concur with other things to render the itinerants more circumspect, ar more careful to avoid all needless offence. I had taken liberty to point out some things which I had thought lial to exception, and am happy to say they have altered them. I cannot but consider the design as good; but in Scotland it must meet with immense opposition, from the state of things both among the seceders and in the establishment. The latter too generally, I fear, are opposed to the thing itself: the former seem willing rather to let things remain as they are, or grow worse, than to permit any to attempt a melioration, except in their way. We saw one casting out devils in thy name; but we forbad him, because he followed not with us. The author of this pamphlet approaches nearer to the gospel, but seems by no means evangelical.* "The Act, Declaration, and Testimony is indeed a curious book; and, though it brought me little information de novo, yet it has so laid together the several things which I had before read detached, and which were scattered and broken in my memory, that it gave me a new or clearer view of the whole subject.-As to doctrines (which) the new presbytery asserted or protested against, there are not many things in which I should not agree with them: though I think, after allowing or asserting the scripture to be the only rule, they are over-exact in requiring every expression to conform to the Confessions, &c. in the strictest sense they can put upon them; which is not only too magisterial, but is suited entirely to preclude all attempts at a fuller understanding of the scriptures, than our forefathers just emerging from popery had attained.-I differ from them in a few points a little: but their views of Christianity, as to doctrine, far more accord to mine than either those of (many) modern evangelical divines in England, or those of the North American divines.-But what shall I say to the discipline, the divine right of presbytery, the solemn league and covenant, &c.? It seems to me that the connexion of religion with politics is one grand antichristian abuse which was universally adopted at the reformation, by which modern Christianity is most strikingly discriminated from ancient. The foundation of the Anglican church, as laid at the reformation by the authority of prince and parliament, was such as was suited to connect the church too closely with the governing powers, and to give strong temptation to a mercenary time-serving spirit * In a letter of September 1, 1800, he says of the "itinerants" here referred to: "I have entirely the same view of your zealous irregulars in Scotland that you express: but I trust that good will come out of their exertions: and lukewarmness seems almost he worst symptom in any church: so we must bear with their defects."-These pers afterwards gave him much greater dissatisfaction. |