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Christ, Herod, ars old t. Paul

scep gers is holics,

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while man is

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.

a God of justice; and since all men do not receive equal jus-
tice in this world, there must be a future state of existence,
in which the righteous Governor of the Universe will evi
dently distinguish between those who love and practice that
which is just and good, and those who do not. In this world,
the best and most moral men, the very salt of the earth, are
often despised and neglected; nay, they are insulted, scan-
dalized, persecuted, imprisoned, and even put to death as
the worst of human beings; while cheats, thieves, liars, adul-
terets, and duellists, who are murderers; nay, the very vilest
and most profane and immoral men, the very offscouring of all
human society, are caressed and admired, are voted for and
promoted they ride upon the high places of the earth, they
walk in robes or lawn, they are adorned with a CROWN, or a
MITRE, and are unmindful of their mortality or accountability.
But the venerable Dr. Watts very excellently describes their
situation in his paraphrase of the 73d Psalm, when he says,
"Lord, what a thoughtless wretch was I

To mourn and murmur and repine,
To see the wicked placed on high,
In pride and robes of honour shine,

But Oh, their end, their dreadful end !" &c.

In the final judgment of the world, the justice and goodness of the divine government, will be made manifest to every understanding. Then shall the innocent be protected, while the guilty are confounded. Then shall the meek, the humble, and the persecuted be exalted and rewarded, while the proud, the unjust, the malicious, and oppressive shall be brought low and punished. In that day, there will be nothing hid which shall not be made manifest, there will be no deception which shall not be detected, no injustice which shall not be rectified; and unless by faith and repentance we come to God, in the appointed means of divine grace, we shall all likewise perish. The justice of God must be vindicated, the guilty must be punished, the innocent must be protected and rewarded, or the throne of Heaven must fall. By the deeds of the law no flesh can live. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God: but in, and through him "who

8

every son and daughter of the human race may obtain forgiveness and be for ever happy with the Lord, and with each other.

Though from my fellow men I have not deserved the disgrace, the imprisonment, and the affliction loaded upon me, and upon my friends; yet before that God unto whom " all hearts are open, all desires are known, and from whom no secrets are hid," in other respects, I have often offended in thought, word, and deed, and as I hope and expect God, for Christ's sake to forgive me; so I feel in my heart to forgive my enemies, persecutors and slanderers, and pray God to turn their hearts. Still I feel it my duty, in the promotion of truth and justice, in the suppression of perjury, wickedness and vice, and in the conveyance of that knowledge which may be honorable to God and useful to mankind, to lay before the public the following Memoirs, which I entreat the reader to peruse with attention, and consider with candour; and to beheve me his persecuted friend and humble servant in the ministry of the Gospel of peace and reconciliation in the Lord Jesus Christ.

HEBRON, OCTOBER 7th, 1823.

AMMI ROGERS.

in forn each

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1, AMMI ROGERS, was born in the town of Branford, in omotion the county of New-Haven, in the state of Connecticut, on kedness the 26th of May, in or about the year of our Lord, 1770. ich may My father was Thomas Rogers, who departed this life in, before Branford, on the 23d of June, 1804, aged 79. He was the reader son of Josiah Rogers, who departed this life in Branford, d to be about the year 1750, aged 86. He came from Long Island, he min- was a son of one of three brothers who came from England and he Lord were grandsons of the celebrated John Rogers, a clergyman of the Church of England, burnt by the Roman Catholics in Smithfield, in the first year of the reign of queen Mary, 1554. My grandfather was one of the proprietors of the town of Branford; he owned and occupied the extensive farm and mills which are now owned and occupied by my brother osiah Rogers and which have been in possession of the, amily from about the earliest settlement of the town. My mother, before she was married was Rebecca Hobart, laughter of Abijah Hobart, of Stonington, in New-London ounty. By him, a relation with the family of Masons is laimed; also, with the Rev. Mr. Hobart, the former minister of Fairfield, and his descendants. My grandmother Rogers was a Goodsell-my grandmother Hobart was a Bartholonew. My brothers were, Abijah, Rufus, Thomas, Josiah, Eliphalet and Hobart-my sister was Irene, who is married Thelus Todd--and, except the false and scandalous accuations charged upon me, there never was, so far as I know r believe, a stain or even suspicion of immorality fixed upon

disposition of the human heart, which is deceitful above things and desperately wicked, and to induce all mankin live that sober, righteous, and godly life. while in this wo which will terminate in everlasting happiness in the wo

While I was a member of College, my religious convicti were strong, my impressions were deep, my conversion hopeful and joyous, but my views of the doctrines of relig were varient from the Saybrook confession of faith, and Assembly's Catechism, though at that time an opportun had not occurred for me to exainine any other system. length I obtained permission to attend. for half a day, div worship in the Episcopal Church; and although I was a str ger to their church government and worship. yet their d trine was liberal, and conformable to what I had previou thought. This induced an inquiry into the origin of the r gion in which I had been educated, and I found that when forefathers first came to this country, they came from Engla that when they came from England they came from the Chur of England, and were Dissenters from that Church. This duced an enquiry into the cause and ground of their sepa tion-into what they gained, and into what they lost. T brought to view a subject with which I was wholly una quainted, viz. the government of the christian church, the a thority necessary in the regular and due administration oft sacraments, the articles of the christian faith, and the worsh of God, as practised by churchmen and dissenters. this time appeared the letters of the Rev. Dr. Bowden president Stiles, on the subject of a leniai succession of Bis I a ops, by a valid ordination, which were not answered. read Potter on Church Government, Cave's Lives of the F thers, Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, and many other exc I also read a histo lent writers on the part of the church.

Abo

of the Puritans in England, the New England Memorial, ther's Magnalia, and the Cambridge and Saybrook Platform with such other books as I could find on the part of the d senters. My earnest endeavor was to learn and know t truth, and that I might have a disposition to ast according

Ra

abort tist, Methodist, or a Quaker, but was fully satisfied that whomanki ever departed from the government of any society, departed this from that society; that whoever departed from the governthe ment of the christian church, did, by that very aci, depart

from the church, and was in danger of loosing the benefit of convict all that Christ had done, and suffered for him; that as no one version could lawfully act in the name of another without his authoof relity, so no one could lawfully baptize or administer the sacraith, and ment or hold forth the terms of life and salvation to a guilty opport world, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the System. Holy Ghost. without authority from God; that this authority day, could only be obtained in an immediate and extraordinary. was a commission from fleaver, and then immediate and extraordiet their mary works must be produced to prove it, for God never red previo quires his creatures to believe that which he has not given n of the them evidence to believe; or it must be obtained by a succesat whension. To pretend to work miracles, or to produce extraor om Engdinary works, was ridiculous and vain; to claim a succession, the Chauthentic documents must be produced to prove it; and this ch. The could only be done in the Episcopal church, which included the Greek. Latin, English, and other churches, but not the distheir sept lost. senters from the church of England. Many very able, and wholly uprous men and women were among them, but I could not be urch, the Satisfied, that by their separation from the government, doctration of trine, and worship of the universal church, they had gained the worny thing which was honorable to God, or useful to mankind; ers. Abor in the Episcopal church they might be as able, as amiable, . Bowden and as pious as they could be in their own way. But they had Ssion of Bost much.

ered.

I could not but think they were mistaken in separating

es of the rom the church of England, but at the same time adopted other exhis mode of reasoning, viz. after diligent inquiry and fair emorial, ut I claim not infallibility-I may be mistaken; if I am, ead a his examination, I sincerely think that I am right in my religion, ok Platfor hope God will forgive me; others may be as sincere in their

rt of the

nd know

religion, as I am in mine. If I say that God will not forgive them, how can I expect him to forgive me, if I should hap. pen to be wrong. So that whoever shall pass sentence of sentence of