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    con-rowley

    1681                             123

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     I think it not meet to Engage for any time certain among you by reason my inability

    is such, as yt I know not but I may be forced to break off: Thus Sr craving your prayers

    for me I Rest

    Yors to Serve

      Boston 24 ffeb. 80                     Edward Paison

     

                                                                                                wife

    March 20 1681 did publickly acknowledge ye great sin of uncleanness Benjamin Peirson & Hannah his

     I desire to confess my sin and in especial manner ye great sin of uncleanness wch I doe own my

    self guilty of & I hope ye lord hath in some measure convinced me of ye Evill of it, I hope I may say yt ys

    sin wch I am guilty off is my dayly greif & burden, & desire yt it may be ever before me for my humi

    liation as long as I live, my desire Is yt might have a farther sight & sence of ye evill yt is in all my sins

    in particular I acknowledg yt it would be just with god to leave me to hardness & blindness & to spiri

    tuall judgmts wch are ye greatest of all others, But I desire to plead with God yt he would be pleased to be

    mercifull to me a poor miserable lost sinner, my parents have often warned me to tale heed of Sin & of

    that sin wch I fell into, I thought yt my parents had noe need to say soe much concerning yt sin for

    I was not affrayed of it, I thought I should never fall into such a sin: I desire yt all Gods pp would

    pray hard to God for me yt I may be deeply humbled for ys Sin, for it is a great sin against God. Ye

    holy name of God hath bin dishonourd by me, I have broaken covenant wth god, I have reproached

    religion: oh plead wth God for me yt he would yet own me, in his Son Jesus Xst & yt he would

    cleans me from ye guilt of all sin by his blood, & farther desire your prayers yt all Gods deal

    ings wth me may work for my Spirituall & eternal good

      The acknowledgmt of Benjamin Peirson

     

     I desire to be deeply humbled for my Sins, & especially for ye sin of uncleanness wch I by my Sin

    have provockd God to leave me to fall unto: I do acknowledg it were just wth God if he had

    cut me off as soon as I had comitted yt evill, but as god of his Goodness hath spared my life I also

    doe desire yt he would be pleased to give me true repentance Even unto life for all my sins & especially

    for yt sin yt God hath left me to fall into, & yt he would therby help me to se more into my own heart &

    yt I may se what I am when God is pleased to leave me to my self, & yt I may se yt its God alone yt

    can be pure: I desire to be humbled that I should provoak God & dishonour my freinds by com

    mitting such an evill, notwthstanding the warnings wch I have had, both by parents & by minister, & yt

    I should sin against god in such a matter under such light & means of grace as I have lived under

    I have cause to wonder at Gods goodness yt not withstanding my provoaking sins against him yt he shuld be

    pleased to spare my life in ye danger of childbirth : I doe earnestly desire the prayers of Gods pp for

    me yt all his dealings towards me be may be for my souls advantage

    Mr Edward Payson                           The acknowledgmt of Hannah Peirson

    came to assist Mr S Phillips April 10 1681[120]

    Mr Paison came to help in ye work of ye ministry April 10 1681 & when he had bin

    with us a month or 6 weeks we understood that he was under some discouragemt in his spirit

    about going on in ye work, & hinted to some yt ffreinds must part upon ys ye church renewed

    yr call & sent several in ye name of ye whole to signify our thankfull acceptance of his

    godly labours amongst us & desired he would be incouraged to goe on, he notwthstanding would

    would not ingage to stay or settle wth us but if we would run ye venture of his leaving us at last he

    knew not but he should stay a while wth us, but going down to ye comencemt[121] he intimated

    to some that he knew not whether he should return any more to stay upon ys a town

    meeting was warned 17 Aug 81. to try the mind of ye Towne whether yei did concurr wth

    ye church in desiring Mr Paisons continuance in ye work of ye ministry in Rowley and they

    signified ye desire yroff one & all yt were present and chose 2 messeng: Mr Neh: Jewitt and

    Daniel Weicome to goe to him & his ffreinds to se what might be done for gaining his con

    =sent to come again to us. _____

    ________________________

    Mr Paison being under discouragemts about his continuing in ye work of ye ministry heer, & speaking

    to some of leaving us  the church a 2d time sent messengers to him to incourage him in his work &

    to manifest their thankfull acceptance of his labours, & desires of his continuance in order to

    settlmt but he would not much incourage us but told us if we would venture to imploy him a while whe

    ther he settled wth us or noe he then might stay, we accepted of that seing we could get noe

    more but going down to ye Commencemt 1681 he staid a long time  month & more & understanding

     

    [120] This entry is written in another hand, probably Payson’s.

    [121] I.e., the commencement or graduation ceremonies at Harvard College.