Theophilus Chamberlain, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1766 April 26

Author Chamberlain, Theophilus[pers0009.ocp]

26 April 1766[1766-04-26]

Call Number766276

[note (type: abstract): Chamberlin writes of his religious epiphany.][note (type: handwriting): Handwriting is relatively clear, yet letter case (especially with regard to S and D) is often difficult to decipher. There are also many deletions and additions.][note (type: paper): Large sheet folded in half to make four pages is in good-to-fair condition, with moderate creasing, staining and wear.][note (type: ink): Brown-black.][note (type: signature): Signature is abbreviated.][note (type: noteworthy): The book that Chamberlain mentions on one recto is: Theron and Aspasio: or, A Series of Dialogues and Letters upon the Most Important and Interesting Subjects, in three volumes by James Hervey, London, 1755.]
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]
[Rvd | Rev.]Rvd Rev. [& | and]&and Dear
 Sir
I take this Method to lay before
you [wt | what]wtwhat I was [latly | lately]latlylately mentioning of my Ex
periences since I left you [laſt | last]laſtlast fall. I shall
[uſe | use]uſeuse all [poſible | possible]poſiblepossible Brevity, and [ye | the]yethe [utmoſt | utmost]utmoſtutmost
[openeſs | openess]openeſsopeness, in [expreſsing | expressing]expreſsingexpressing [ye | the]yethe Real Sentiments
of my mind, in [ye | the]yethe Time of [theſe | these]theſethese Experiences.
about two years ago I had an [oppertunity | opportunity]oppertunityopportunity
to read [illegible], [above] [ye | the]yethe Letters on Theron [& | and]&and [Aſpaſio | Aspasio]AſpaſioAspasio[ye | the]yethe Letters on Theron [& | and]&and [Aſpaſio | Aspasio]AſpaſioAspasio [wc | which]wcwhich [servd | served]servdserved me no other [Purpoſe | purpose]Purpoſepurpose
[yn | than]ynthan to give me an [invetrate | inveterate]invetrateinveterate Prejudice [againſt | against]againſtagainst
[againſt | against]againſtagainst [ye | the]yethe Author of [ym | them]ymthem. when I was down [laſt | last]laſtlast fall
I began to read him again with [ye | the]yethe [diſadvantage | disadvantage]diſadvantagedisadvantage
of [ye | the]yethe Same Prejud[illegible]ice I had before imbibed. I had
Time to read but a [Smal | small]Smalsmall part of his [firſt | first]firſtfirst Volume
before I began my Journey in [Proſecution | prosecution]Proſecutionprosecution of my [miſion | mission]miſionmission
[illegible] among [ye | the]yethe Natives, to [ye | the]yethe [Weſtward | westward]Weſtwardwestward.
however I had read So far as to Set me a thinking
on his [difinition | definition]difinitiondefinition of Faith. before I reached Albany[place0001.ocp] it
once, and [yt | that]ytthat for [ye | the]yethe [firſt | first]firſtfirst Time, came into my mind [yt | that]ytthat
[ye | the]yethe faith [yr | ]yr [Diſcribed | described]Diſcribeddescribed, might be [ye | the]yethe faith of Gods Elect.
I See [yt | that]ytthat in [Caſe | case]Caſecase it was so, a Train of [Conſequences | consequences]Conſequencesconsequences [wld | would]wldwould
[folow | follow]folowfollow [wh | which]whwhich were [Extreamly | extremely]Extreamlyextremely [Diſagreable | disagreeable]Diſagreabledisagreeable to me, yet in
some [meaſure | measure]meaſuremeasure [aprihend[above] inging | apprehending]aprihend[above] ingingapprehending [ye | the]yethe Importance of my Knowing
the Truth, with regard to [ye | the]yethe Nature of faith, I determined
[illegible] as Soon as my [Buiſeneſs | businesses]Buiſeneſsbusinesses would permit to Examine
the Scripture [thorowly | thoroughly]thorowlythoroughly on [yt | that]ytthat head. [wn | when]wnwhen I got as far
as [Kanajoharry | Canajoharie]KanajoharryCanajoharie[place0026.ocp] I was obliged to [waite | wait]waitewait about three Weeks for
a Road and Company to [Onoida | Oneida]OnoidaOneida[place0179.ocp]. [Moſt | Most]MoſtMost of [ye | the]yethe [Leaſure | leisure]Leaſureleisure I
had here, I Spent in Reading the Scripture with an
Intent to find out [wt | what]wtwhat [above] [ye | the]yethe[ye | the]yethe faith [somuch | so much]somuchso much [Inſiſted | insisted]Inſiſtedinsisted on In [Script
ture | Scrip
ture]
Script
ture
Scrip
ture
and by Divines, truly contains. [Wn | When]WnWhen I come to
read [ye | the]yethe [Goſple | Gospel]GoſpleGospel of John, and other Parts of [ye | the]yethe New [Teſtament | Testament]TeſtamentTestament,
and to look Back to [ye | the]yethe faith of [ye | the]yethe [Antiensts | ancients]Antienstsancients [Quoated | quoted]Quoatedquoted from
[ye | the]yethe Old [Teſtament | Testament]TeſtamentTestament, I became fully [convincd | convinced]convincdconvinced [yt | that]ytthat the Word
Believe, so frequently [uſd | used]uſdused in Scripture, is [yr | ]yr [uſd | used]uſdused in its
[moſt | most]moſtmost plain and [commone | common]commonecommon [Senſe | sense]Senſesense; and [yt | that]ytthat [illegible] [above] [ye | the]yethe[ye | the]yethe faith
[uſed | used]uſedused as a Synonimy with Believe; and So frequently
connected with eternal[illegible] Life, is a Plain, every-day-Belief,
of [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): [ye | the]yethe][ye | the]yethe Truths Record in [ye | the]yethe Word of God. Having Got thus
far, I began to be greatly [Exerciſed | exercised]Exerciſedexercised about [wt | what]wtwhat, would be
my [finale | final]finalefinal Exit, and eternal State in [ye | the]yethe World of Spirits.
My whole Query was, how [Sll | shall]Sllshall I find [ye | the]yethe Truths [wh | which]whwhich give
Life, to every one who believes [ym | them]ymthem. My [firſt | first]firſtfirst thought
was [yt | that]ytthat [ye | the]yethe [neceſary | necessary]neceſarynecessary Truths [muſt | must]muſtmust undoubtedly be revealed in
[ye | the]yethe Word of [G. | God]G.God in plain and [intelegible | intelligible]intelegibleintelligible Terms; but [yn | then]ynthen it
[turnd | turned]turndturned in my mind [yt | that]ytthat [ye | the]yethe Bible [itſelf | itself]itſelfitself might be a fiction
I then Examined [ye | the]yethe Evidences [wh | which]whwhich had often Supported
me in belief of divine Revelation, and found [ym | them]ymthem [Suf
ficent | suf
ficient]
Suf
ficent
suf
ficient
to Support me Still in believing, [yt | that]ytthat [ye | the]yethe Bible is
in truth and reality [ye | the]yethe Word of God. I now read the
[Goſple | Gospel]GoſpleGospel of Luke; [illegible] I read it with Attention
and [Eagerneſs | eagerness]Eagerneſseagerness, hoping to [lite | light]litelight on Some Truth [wh | which]whwhich [wld | would]wldwould
Set me free, from [yt | that]ytthat Concern [illegible] [& | and]&and Anxiety [reſpecting | respecting]reſpectingrespecting
my future [Exiſtance | existence]Exiſtanceexistence [wh | which]whwhich was Such an [Exerciſe | exercise]Exerciſeexercise to
my mind. I attended to [ye | the]yethe coming of [ye | the]yethe son of God into
[ye | the]yethe World, his conduct in [ye | the]yethe World, [ye | the]yethe doctrines he [preachd | preached]preachdpreached
, [ye | the]yethe [oppoſion | opposition]oppoſionopposition of [ye | the]yethe World to him on account of his con­
duct, and Doctrines, and his [finaly | finally]finalyfinally Suffering even un
to Death. my next concern was to determine certainly
and [preciſly | precisely]preciſlyprecisely, [wt | what]wtwhat it was he [Sufferd | suffered]Sufferdsuffered for. I read [ye | the]yethe Book
of Isaiah; the Law given at Mount Sinai; took [per
ticuliar | par
ticular]
per
ticuliar
par
ticular
Notice of [ye | the]yethe [Curſes | curses]Curſescurses pronounced [againſt | against]againſtagainst every
offence, and [turnd | turned]turndturned [yn | then]ynthen to every [Paſage | passage]Paſagepassage I could find
in [ye | the]yethe New Testament [wh | which]whwhich gave any account of [wt | what]wtwhat
[Chriſt | Christ]ChriſtChrist died for. at length, I came to this [concluſion | conclusion]concluſionconclusion
[yt | that]ytthat [Chriſt | Christ]ChriſtChrist [Sufferd | suffered]Sufferdsuffered [ye | the]yethe whole length and Breadth of [yt | that]ytthat
Suffering [wh | which]whwhich [ye | the]yethe Law [threatend | threatened]threatendthreatened, for every offence
[yt | that]ytthat will [finaly | finally]finalyfinally be forgiven. This [concluſion | conclusion]concluſionconclusion im­
mediately [preſented | presented]preſentedpresented to my view a Character of God
[wh | which]whwhich was at once amiable and [awfull | awful]awfullawful. amiable in
[ys | this]ysthis, [yt | that]ytthat he is so [infinitly | infinitely]infinitlyinfinitely kind [& | and]&and [compaſionate | compassionate]compaſionatecompassionate [above] to his creaturesto his creatures, [yt | that]ytthat he
entertains thoughts of Pardon and [happineſs | happiness]happineſshappiness for [ym | them]ymthem
[illegible] [wn | when]wnwhen [deſerving | deserving]deſervingdeserving to [ye | the]yethe [laſt | last]laſtlast degree the tokens of his
eternal Anger and Indignation; and never [puniſhes | punishes]puniſhespunishes
[ym | them]ymthem for want of Benevolence. and [awfull | awful]awfullawful in [yt | that]ytthat
he never will forgive an Offence [againſt | against]againſtagainst his own
Law [till | 'til]till'til [ye | the]yethe [Sentance | sentence]Sentancesentence of [ye | the]yethe Law [againſt | against]againſtagainst [yt | that]ytthat offence
is [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): forgiven]forgiven inflicted to [ye | the]yethe full; and [yt | that]ytthat though his own
son is accountable for offences, he [muſt | must]muſtmust for every offence [bare | bear]barebear
[right] the full [puniſhment | punishment]puniſhmentpunishmentthe full [puniſhment | punishment]puniſhmentpunishment
I [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): was]was now saw [yt | that]ytthat [ye | the]yethe Law of God has in every [senſe | sense]senſesense
its own [meaſures | measures]meaſuresmeasures and never a Single [illegible] Creature
more is made [miſerable | miserable]miſerablemiserable, [yn | than]ynthan [wt | what]wtwhat [ye | the]yethe Law [abſoloutly | absolutely]abſoloutlyabsolutely
Required in order [yt | that]ytthat God [ye | the]yethe giver of it might remain
[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): a god]a god a God of truth, and [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): So Support his moral [gvt | government]gvtgovernment]So Support his moral [gvt | government]gvtgovernment
So Support his moral government in [ye | the]yethe [univerſe | universe]univerſeuniverse.
I got now [effectualy | effectually]effectualyeffectually [convincd | convinced]convincdconvinced [yt | that]ytthat nothing could be
more [abſurd | absurd]abſurdabsurd [yn | than]ynthan for me to [uſe | use]uſeuse [ye | the]yethe [leaſt | least]leaſtleast [indeavour | endeavour]indeavourendeavour[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): s]s
to bring [myſelf | myself]myſelfmyself to procure the favour of god, or to
gain Acceptance to Salvation. I now [realy | really]realyreally [believd | believed]believdbelieved
or I knew [yt | that]ytthat if God should [puniſh | punish]puniſhpunish me with eternal
[miſery | misery]miſerymisery for every offence, to his Law, I ever had [com
mited | com
mitted]
com
mited
com
mitted
, And [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): In]In [illegible] [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): [Criſis | crisis]Criſiscrisis,][Criſis | crisis]Criſiscrisis, nothing kept me from [illegible]
[illegible] it would [proceede | proceed]proceedeproceed
from no other [Diſpoſion | disposition]Diſpoſiondisposition [above] contrary to thatcontrary to that [illegible] he commands in [ye | the]yethe
Law, viz, thou shalt Love they Neighbour as [thy
self | thy
self]
thy
self
thy
self
. In this [Criſis | crisis]Criſiscrisis, I found no other [Reaſon | reason]Reaſonreason to hope
for Salvation, [yn | than]ynthan [barly | barely]barlybarely this [yt | that]ytthat God [diſignd | designed]diſignddesigned to save
some Creatures of my own Character. nor did this
foundation, appear [smal | small]smalsmall or [inconſiderable | inconsiderable]inconſiderableinconsiderable, for
I knew, [yt | that]ytthat nothing but gods [sovereignt | sovereignty]sovereigntsovereignty had laid
this foundation, and [yt | that]ytthat [above] [nither | neither]nitherneither[nither | neither]nitherneither I nor any of my Character
had [ye | the]yethe [leaſt | least]leaſtleast [Deſert | desert]Deſertdesert in us of even this foundation
of hope. Here I hoped, and Still hope with trem­
bling, and it is my glory and Joy [yt | that]ytthat a door of hope
is here Let open to me [wh | which]whwhich no man can shut.
[ſir | sir]ſirsir I have So little claim to your attention
[yt | that]ytthat I have [crouded | crowded]croudedcrowded [theſe | these]theſethese things, [illegible]So much [togeather | together]togeathertogether
, [yt | that]ytthat some [confuſion | confusion]confuſionconfusion is created. If you read it and
can [underſtand | understand]underſtandunderstand my meaning my End is [anſwerd | answered]anſwerdanswered.
[Closer]
Yours
[Theop | Theophilus]TheopTheophilus Chamberlain[pers0009.ocp]

To [Rd | Rev.]RdRev. [E | Eleazar]EEleazar Wheelock[pers0036.ocp]
[Trailer]
[M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Chamberlain[pers0009.ocp]s Experienc[illegible]
April [26.th | 26th]26.th26th — 1766[1766-04-26].
For
[Rvd | Rev.]Rvd Rev. [Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Wheelock[pers0036.ocp]

Document Summary

People identified in this document:

id Text in document Role in header Authorized Name
pers0009.ocp Theo p Theophilus Chamberlain writer Chamberlain, Theophilus
pers0036.ocp E Eleazar Wheelock recipient Wheelock, Eleazar
pers0009.ocp M. r Mr. Chamberlain writer Chamberlain, Theophilus
pers0036.ocp M r Mr. Wheelock recipient Wheelock, Eleazar

Places identified in this document:

id Text in document Authorized Name
place0122.ocp Lebanon Lebanon
place0001.ocp Albany Albany
place0026.ocp Kanajoharry Canajoharie Canajoharie
place0179.ocp Onoida Oneida Oneida

This document does not contain any tagged organizations.

Dates identified in this document:

Standard Form Text
1766-04-26 April 26— 1766
1766-04-26 April 26.th26th — 1766

Regularized text:

Type Original Regularized
modernization Rvd Rev.
variation latly lately
modernization laſt last
modernization uſe use
variation poſible possible
modernization ye the
modernization utmoſt utmost
modernization openeſs openess
modernization expreſsing expressing
modernization theſe these
variation oppertunity opportunity
modernization Aſpaſio Aspasio
variation servd served
modernization Purpoſe purpose
modernization yn than
variation invetrate inveterate
modernization againſt against
modernization ym them
modernization diſadvantage disadvantage
variation Smal small
modernization firſt first
modernization Proſecution prosecution
modernization miſion mission
modernization Weſtward westward
variation difinition definition
modernization yt that
modernization Diſcribed described
modernization Caſe case
modernization Conſequences consequences
variation folow follow
variation Extreamly extremely
modernization Diſagreable disagreeable
modernization meaſure measure
variation aprihend[above] inging apprehending
modernization Buiſeneſs businesses
variation thorowly thoroughly
variation Kanajoharry Canajoharie
variation waite wait
variation Onoida Oneida
modernization Moſt Most
modernization Leaſure leisure
modernization Inſiſted insisted
variation Script
ture
Scrip
ture
modernization Goſple Gospel
modernization Teſtament Testament
variation Antiensts ancients
variation Quoated quoted
variation convincd convinced
modernization uſd used
modernization moſt most
variation commone common
modernization Senſe sense
modernization uſed used
modernization Exerciſed exercised
variation finale final
modernization neceſary necessary
modernization muſt must
variation intelegible intelligible
modernization yn then
variation turnd turned
modernization itſelf itself
variation Suf
ficent
suf
ficient
modernization Eagerneſs eagerness
variation lite light
modernization reſpecting respecting
variation Exiſtance existence
modernization Exerciſe exercise
modernization oppoſion opposition
variation finaly finally
modernization preciſly precisely
variation Sufferd suffered
variation per
ticuliar
par
ticular
modernization Curſes curses
modernization Paſage passage
modernization Chriſt Christ
modernization concluſion conclusion
variation threatend threatened
modernization preſented presented
variation awfull awful
modernization ys this
variation infinitly infinitely
modernization compaſionate compassionate
modernization happineſs happiness
modernization deſerving deserving
modernization puniſhes punishes
variation till 'til
variation Sentance sentence
variation bare bear
modernization puniſhment punishment
modernization senſe sense
modernization meaſures measures
modernization miſerable miserable
modernization abſoloutly absolutely
modernization univerſe universe
variation effectualy effectually
modernization abſurd absurd
modernization leaſt least
variation indeavour endeavour
modernization myſelf myself
variation realy really
variation believd believed
modernization puniſh punish
modernization miſery misery
variation com
mited
com
mitted
modernization Criſis crisis
variation proceede proceed
modernization Diſpoſion disposition
variation thy
self
thy
self
modernization Reaſon reason
variation barly barely
modernization diſignd designed
variation smal small
modernization inconſiderable inconsiderable
variation nither neither
modernization Deſert desert
modernization ſir sir
variation crouded crowded
variation togeather together
modernization confuſion confusion
modernization underſtand understand
modernization anſwerd answered
modernization Rd Rev.
modernization M.r Mr.
modernization 26.th 26th
modernization Rvd Rev.
modernization Mr Mr.

Expanded abbreviations:

Abbreviation Expansion
& and
wt what
wc which
wld would
wh which
wn when
Wn When
Sll shall
G. God
preachd preached
gvt government
Theop Theophilus
E Eleazar

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