I have seen no
instance of a public confession for this fault, until the ministry of
Mr. Dexter [1724-1755], and then they were extremely rare. In 1781 the
church gave the confessing parties the privilege of making a private
confession to the church, in the room of a public confession. In Mr.
Havens ministry, the number of cases of unlawful cohabitation increased
to an alarming degree. For twenty-five years before 1781, twenty-five
cases had been publicly acknowledged before the congregation, and
fourteen cases within the last ten years. This brought out the minister
to preach on the subject from the pulpit. Mr. Haven, in a long and
memorable discourse, sought out the cause of the growing sin, and
suggested the proper remedy. He attributed the frequent recurrence of
the fault to the custom then prevalent, of females admitting young men
to their beds, who sought their company with intentions of marriage. And
he exhorted all to abandon that custom, and no longer expose themselves
to temptations which so many were found unable to resist.
"The immediate effect of this discourse on the congregation has been
described to me, and was such as we must naturally suppose it would be.
A grave man, the beloved and revered pastor of the congregation, comes
out suddenly on his audience, and discusses a subject on which mirth and
merriment only had been heard, and denounces a favorite custom.
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