siderable uneasiness. A few words will explain my meaning. An unconverted man says, I can do nothing: if God would give me a heart, I should pray, repent, believe; but I cannot give myself a heart: if he will not, how can I help it? I must wait his time: perhaps he sometime may, and sometime he certainly will, if I be one of the elect; and if not I must perish, and all I can do will signify nothing. A professor says, I have declined and backslidden: if God will be pleased to revive me I shall be restored: I must wait: I hope I have known better times: and He will not finally forsake his people.' In this style they excuse their sloth and lukewarmness, quiet their consciences, stop their ears against exhortation, and, under pretence of passively waiting till God do all, and of giving him all the glory, fairly exonerate themselves of their guilt, and charge it all upon God!-Indeed Adam's race seem determined that the glory of the good and the blame of the bad shall go together. The Arminian takes the blame of the bad to himself, and thinks it but reasonable that he should have the glory of the good too. The pseudo-Calvinist gives God all the glory of the good, but seems to think it reasonable that he should bear the blame of the bad also. But the true Christian says, To me, even to me alone, belong shame and confusion of face for all my rebellion, impenitence, unbelief, and sloth, all my days: but to God alone belongs the glory of all the good wrought in me, or done by me.'"

I present the reader with one more letter, strikingly displaying the fervour of the writer's spirit in his Master's service, and the stimulating nature of his

intercourse with his fellow-servants. friend Mr. Mayor, dated May 14, 1785.

It is to his

My dear friend, Nothing could sufficiently apologize for my omission of writing, except your own. Nay indeed, though that does keep me in countenance, yet I do not think we are either of us excused. For a little time now and then spent in dictating a letter to each other might be a means of quickening both of us; as we have before now found conversation to be. Remember, Iron sharpens iron, Yea, remember what Horace says,

Ergo fungar vice cotis, acutum

Reddere quæ ferrum valet, exsors ipsa secandi.

Therefore, whether you can cut yourself or not, try to whet me, and make me cut; and then I hope I shall try to return the obligation. I believe Satan prevails as much against the cause of Christ by persuading ministers to sit still, or merely to go on in the beaten round, without attempting any thing more, as in any other way. My conscience is never quiet and joyful, but when I am busy in some ministerial employment; not merely in acquiring, but in communicating the knowledge of divine things by my tongue and pen not only by meditation endeavouring to affect my own heart, but, by some method or other, endeavouring to affect others, and stir them up to seek, trust, love, and serve the Lord. And, after a multitude of thoughts about pride, ambition, &c. influencing me to be active, (and they will insinuate themselves,) I am persuaded Satan would have me while away my life in inactivity, under pretences of modesty, diffidence, and humility; and he never is wanting to furnish me with excuses for delaying or

shifting services. But I beg of God to rouse us from this lethargy. Paul says to Timothy, Be instant in season, out of season; preach the word: and seems to think there is more danger of sloth, than of too great activity in the preacher of the gospel. May the love of Christ constrain us, and compassion for perishing souls prevail with us, to leave no means untried to promote faith and holiness, and to bear testimony against irreligion and false religion; to awaken the careless, to undeceive the deluded, to allure souls to Christ, to encourage the humble, and stir up the believer to glorify God.-Write soon a letter longer than the note you sent from Birmingham, and let me know how things go on in your soul, and in your congregation. Stir up, my brother, the gift of God that is in you. Hoc AGE. Now is the time to labour, and suffer hardship and reproach. It is both seedtime and harvest and it is shameful to sleep in either. Cast your bread upon the waters. Sow in the morning, and in the evening, and water it with many prayers; and, if you see it not before, you will see the fruit of it at the last day.-Some little good is going on here, and we are waiting and praying for more: lend us your assistance in this particular.

"I should have been glad to be at Birmingham, but could not :-especially to have met you there. . . . "Desiring to remember you in my prayers, and requesting your prayers, I remain your very affectionate friend and brother, THOMAS SCOTT."

CHAPTER IX.

FROM THE CLOSE OF HIS MINISTRY AT OLNEY TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF HIS COMMENTARY

ON THE BIBLE.

Such was the nature of

my father's situation, and such the course he was pursuing, when events occurred, by which he was very unexpectedly called to occupy higher ground, and to enter upon a new field of service and of trial. But he himself shall furnish both the introduction to this change, and the history of what took place. Thus he speaks in his narrative:

66

My outward circumstances were now in some measure improved at Olney; and my ministry, though unpopular, was in many instances evidently blessed yet I never could make up my mind to continue there. The vicar, the Rev. Moses Browne, was very old, and there was no doubt, that, in the event of his death, I should be presented to the living, if I remained on the curacy. But this very circumstance tended to render me dissatisfied. I cannot, and need not convey to others a particular account of all things which rendered the thoughts of spending my days at Olney painful to me; and the change of situation, from curate to vicar, would, with respect to some of them, have rather aggravated than relieved my difficulties. In part my views might be erroneous; but, in the far greater

part, I should feel the same objection still, if Olney were what it was then; which in some respects it certainly is not.

"I had not, however, the most distant prospect of any other situation; and my unpopularity at Olney was itself a powerful bar to my obtaining any. This may be judged of by the following incident. I went to London, as I was accustomed to do once a year, and I was asked to preach by a friend whom I had heard with profit, as early as I so heard any one, and for whom I had repeatedly preached before. But, just as I was going into the pulpit, he said to me,

Do not scold my people, as I have heard you do the people at Olney. This did not seem well timed. He, however, unreservedly testified his approbation of the sermon which I was, notwithstanding, enabled to preach. But it shows the representations which were spread of my ministry, and how unfavourable they would be to my desire of a change of situation.

“Mr. Cowper, in letters to Mr. Newton, which have since been published by Mr. Hayley, and which pretty generally found their way to the Reviews, brought the same charge against me in strong terms; which, coming from so eminent and popular a character, must have great weight. But Mr. C., it should be known, never heard me preach: neither did Mrs. Unwin; nor their more respectable friends. Mr. C.'s information concerning my preaching was derived from the very persons, whose doctrinal and practical antinomianism I steadily confronted. Notwithstanding these harsh censures, however, God blessed my ministry at Olney to the conversion of many; and to effectually repressing the antinomian spirit which had