SCOTTISH CHRISTIAN HERALD,

CONDUCTED UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF MINISTERS AND MEMBERS OF THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH.

"THE FEAR OF THE LORD, THAT IS WISDOм."

SATURDAY, MAY 28, 1836.

things in which they most require the benefit of his forethought and pains; if he would ensure them in the possession of what will be better for them than fortune and friends, honour and length of days; if he would be a father to them in the sense in which a being, with such a nature as his and theirs, should act the part of a father to his offspring: if, in short, he would give free expression to the instincts, whether of nature or of grace, he will rejoice that the audience-chamber of the King of Kings, is not so crowded that he cannot take his children thither along with him, that the ear of Deity is not full of his personal petitions, - that he cannot hope to be heard, when he joins their prayers with his own, that "the fulness which is in Christ" is divine and infinite, so that he may take for himself, and bring others to take, and still leave " enough and to spare" for count

less thousands to the close of time.

himself, to endeavour to do something for their | his children, and would provide for them in the spiritual advantage. And as the sphere in which he most directly acts, and in which his endeavours afford the greatest promise of success, is home; home will be the circle in which the divine feel ing of benevolence, kindled by the love of Christ to himself, will first and chiefly operate. His wife, his children, his domestics, those loved and accustomed objects, on whom his eye first turns in the morning, and on whom it latest falls at night, -the scene of his best comforts and unreproved joys, the quiet haven in which his heart seeks rest from the tossings of ambition and the tumult of a crowd, will present irresistible claims on his affectionate interest and exertions. To suppose him indifferent here, involves a contradiction which we cannot conceive to be realized, where piety and benevolence retain any hold of the mind. And, if in earnest about the spiritual good of his family, what can be a more obvious direction for his religious concern to take, than to devote a portion of his daily time, to such exercises and exhibitions of Religion, as are included under the denomination of Family Worship? To read aloud the Word of God, for example, is to place all who hear it in the most favourable position for knowledge and growth in religion, to bring the mind into immediate contact with the source of truth, the standard of duty, the medium of divine and saving influence: it is, so far as man's agency is concerned, to open the ear to the oracles of infinite wisdom, to affect it by the powers of the world to come, to surround it by models of celestial excellence, and to invite it onward in the pursuit of glory, honour, and eternal life, by considerations the most awful, and by prospects the most alluring: in a word, it is to unlock the gate within which are "hid all the treasures of divine wisdom and knowledge"-to unseal the fountain of "the water of life, the streams whereof make glad all the inhabitants of the city of God." And, if the Word of God have been read to any purpose, what more natural, what more likely to follow, as a matter of course, than to give thanks to

Nor can similar reflections fail to affect him in relation to the other members of his family. His servants, by the very place they fill, possess a claim upon his friendly consideration and regard. Can he see them from day to day, and receive from them numberless attentions and accessions to his comforts, and never ask himself, if he has no duties to perform to them, besides giving them their food and their stipulated wages? Can he refrain from thinking of their souls of their noral and spiritual welfare, and of all the consequences which must ensue, both in time and eternity, from a nature such as theirs being left a prey to ignorance and vice? can the thought occur to him, that possibly he may be the destined instrument of doing good to souls as precious as his own, and whose plea of want addresses itself to him every time the customary offices of domestic service are rendered, and not be moved with tender compassion and affectionate solicitude in their behalf? And, if thus impressed, can he refuse them a place at the family altar; or rather, will he not rejoice that there he and they can meet on common distinctions of fortune and condition, binds together the whole family of man in subordination to one great common Master in heaven?

God for truths so precious, discoveries so won-ground, and own the tie that, in spite of temporary

derful, gifts so invaluable, prospects and hopes so bright and cheering; and to supplicate from him an interest in blessings so essential to happiness, both in this life and in that which is to come? In this way, the exercises of Family Worship will be recognised to be a duty, from being felt to be a privilege. The father of a family has but to look around him, and to consult his own heart, in order to feel the responsibility of his situation. He is surrounded by beings who have the strongest and the tenderest claims upon his Christian regard, intelligent, accountable, immortal beings, who look up to him not only to be clothed and fed, but to be remembered and cared for in the far more interesting relation in which they stand to a Supreme Ruler, and to an unseen but eternal world. If neglected by him, who is to care for them? Who is to guide their feet into the way of peace, if their natural guardian desert them? If he know from experience the worth of the soul; if he love

How fitly all the exercises of domestic worship correspond to the circumstances of the family relation, it is easy to shew. Family mercies require family acknowledgments: family sins, family con. fessions: family wants, family petitions. It is God who "setteth man in families," how suitable that God be honoured by the combined prayers and praises of those whom he has united by so close a bond! Christ has revealed himself in a family relation, owning as "brethren, as sisters, as kinsmen, all who do his Father's will,"-how fit, that families who profess to feel the value of so high and honourable a bond of union should own its attracting influence, and court the society of their Elder Brother! The Holy Spirit is the spirit of love, the author and cherisher of all the kindly affection which is to survive the breaking prayer in general may be considered as attending | Or a person so well known, and so eminent as RowOn his removal to Cambridge, and during the whole period of his studies at that university, he shewed himself alive to the promotion of piety in himself and others, insomuch, that by his example and his precepts, by boldly professing Christ and despising the shame, he succeeded in awakening a salutary concern about their eternal interests in the minds of not a few of his fellow-students, among whom were several who afterwards acquired eminence both in the Church and among the Methodists. Nor were his exertions confined to the young men of the university: he set himself to the task of visiting the prisoners and the sick, and of preaching in several of the most destitute places of Cambridge and the adjacent villages, in which he was joined by several of the gownsmen, whom he had been chiefly instrumental in winning over to the faith, and was countenanced by several more advanced in years, such as Whitefield, Berridge, and others, who, spirituallyminded and zealous as they were, were not always the most judicious counsellors. Proceedings so unusual in a young student attracted the attention of the college, exposed him frequently to the insults of the populace of the town, drew down upon him the displeasure of his parents, and led to the expulsion of six of his associates from the university, his family influence alone saving him from a similar fate. Meanwhile, he carried on his literary studies, with a view to prepare for the ministry, with unabated ardour. Notwithstanding his incessant labours in preaching among the villages, and the constant communications he kept up with his religious friends in various parts of the country, he found time for serious application to the pursuits of literature and science, acting upon it as a fixed principle, that human learning is a great ornament to the character, and may be made highly subservient to the work of a Christian minister. In many branches of science, particularly optics, mechanics, and astronomy, he had made so great proficiency, that when he underwent his examinations, previously to taking the degree of bachelor of arts, there were few who equalled, and none who excelled him in these departments. The whole bent of his mind, however, was directed to the preaching of the Gospel; and to his active mind, the plan of Whitefield and his associates, of itinerating the country, and preaching with out any fixed place or regular congregation, possessed irresistible attractions. He assumed, therefore, the character of an itinerant preacher; and although he was ever sincerely attached to the constitution and doctrines of the Church of England, yet the irregularities of his mode of preaching, and his aversion to conform to the general rules of that Church, excited such a prejudice against him, that he was refused ordination by six different bishops, and it was not without considerable influence and management on the part of his friends, that he succeeded at length in obtaining orders. The interval between his leaving the University and receiving ordination he spent beneath the paternal roof at Hawkstone. But so great was the displeasure which his father, Sir Rowland, had conceived at his conduct, that he was kept under the strictest confinement-not allowed to go about preaching, or to hold any communication with his religious friends and what with the frowns of his family, and his disappointments in regard to his reception in the Church, his distress of mind may be more easily imagined than described. An anecdote related by his excellent biographer will show his situa

tion at this time.

" Sir Rowland Hill restricted his allowance to a very small sum, both in token of displeasure at his itinerant life, and to prevent it. But he was determined to go forth, though without purse or scrip,' and to pursue, in defiance of every human restraint, the course he conceived Providence had marked out for him. Many of his most arduous journeys were made upon a little Welsh pony given him by a clergyman, and he often

left the scene of an evening sermon the next morning, without knowing where he should find at night a resting place for himself and the faithful animal which carried him. He seldom, however, failed to meet with a kind reception from some person who loved him for his work's sake, though he was often reduced to great difficulties. On one evening in particular, as he used frequently to describe, when he landed on his return to Bristol, and had paid the passage across the Seven for himself and his pony, he had not sufficient left in his purse to procure a night's lodging, and went on, he knew not whither, hungry and exhausted. But he was not deserted, and before night found shelter and refreshment, as well as the means of proceeding on his journey. Impelled by the irresistible conviction that he was following the commands of God, he pursued his one great object, undaunted by every earthly obstacle. No one could feel more acutely the displeasure of his parents, over which he often wept in the silent agony of his heart, nor did he ever once refuse compliance with their wishes but for the Gospel's sake. He might have reposed amidst their smiles, in the lap of affluence, ease, and plenty; but he gave up every thing in the sincerest devotion to God, and received, as will be hereafter seen, the fulness of the promise, even in this life, to such as have willingly left all for the cause of the Redeemer."

Nor did the opposition to his zealous proceedings arise solely from his family and his superiors in the Church and the University. He was often exposed to the greatest annoyance, and even danger, from the tumultuous assemblies he ventured to address, of which the two following instances, extracted from his journal, may suffice as a sample: -" Preached at Stowey, to the most outrageous congregacion I ever saw. There was such a noise with beating of pans, shovels, &c., blowing of horns, and ringing of bells, that I could scarce hear myself speak. Though we were pelted with much dirt, eggs, &c., I was enabled to preach out my sermon. At Putsham, to a serious and attentive congregation out of doors, on Heb. ii. 17, 18, on the compassionate unchangeable priesthood of Christ. Though I had not a deal of liberty, yet some I believe were comforted in their souls. Though the congregation stood serious, some scoffed at a distance, others threw stones. One man was slightly cut, and another almost stunned by a blow, which cut him violently over the eye. We could get neither sight nor knowledge of our secret enemies in this affair: may the Lord forgive and convert them." Instances, however, in which he met with a more favourable and indulgent reception from the people are frequently related in his diary, and these he never fails to accompany with an expression of fervent thanksgiving to the Lord, who had opened to him a wide and effectual door for the entrance of his Word. There can be no doubt that in these excursions he was eminently useful in awakening the minds of many to a salutary concern about their spiritual interests, and that many had cause to regard him with eternal gratitude as their spiritual father who had begotten them in the Lord. Notwithstanding such undoubted proofs of his zeal and usefulness, his family could not be reconciled to his irregular mode of proceeding: they despatched his brother Richard to Bristol, whither he had gone to prosecute his pastoral labours, to endeavour to prevail upon him to desist; but, like Saul among the prophets, that pious man caught the spirit of him whose career he had been employed to check; and, as from that time, Richard became himself a preacher, we shall gratify the reader with a detail of the circumstances as they are given by the biographer: -" Sir Rowland Hill, gratified by his cessation from his once favourite pursuit, sent him to Bristol to prevail on his brother Rowland to follow his example and return home. On his arrival at Bristol, Mr Richard Hill heard that Rowland was gone to Kingswood to preach to the colliers. He immediately followed him, and found him surrounded by an immense multitude of these long neglected people, listening with the greatest interest to the solemn appeal he was making to their consciences. Mr Rowland Hill saw his brother, and guessing his errand, only proceeded with increased earnestness; and such was the power of his address, that the black faces of the poor colliers soon exhibited innumerable channels of tears, which the sermon had caused them to shed. Mr Richard Hill was much affected by the unusual scene, and his brother Rowland, taking advantage of his emotion, announced, at the conclusion of the service, - ' My brother, Richard Hill, Esquire, will preach here at this time to-morrow.' Taken by surprise under the impression produced by what he had just witnessed, Mr Richard Hill consented to preach to the colliers; and instead of returning with his brother to Hawkstone, became his coadjutor in the very work he designed to persuade him to relinquish."

The year 1773 was remarkable in the life of Mr Hill for two events his marriage with Miss Tudway, a lady of unfeigned piety, with whom he lived in uninterrupted harmony for nearly sixty years; and his ordination to deacon's orders, when he was appointed to the parish of Kingston in Somersetshire, with a stipend of forty pounds a-year. His settlement in this place of ministerial labour did not put a stop to his wandering and eccentric habits; for, while he laboured with exemplary diligence among his own people, he was indefatigable in preaching in many other places day after day; and although frequently overtaken by sickness, yet, no sooner had he recovered, than he renewed his herculean exertions. "He met with every species of opposition, was lampooned, burned in effigy, pelted, and threatened, but none of these things moved him, or disturbed his inexhaustible flow of spirits. He placed his family motto, 'Go forward,' on his seal, and he determined to act upon the precept."* These extraordinary exertions in the cause of the Gospel, together with his own truly devotional character, procured him the notice and friendship of all who were then known as the friends of religion, particularly, of Hervey, Venn, John Newton, Fletcher of Madely, and the well-known Dr Ryland of Bristol; and, besides, there was something in the freshness, originality, and power of his discourses, which made him, not only when in the country, but after his removal to Surry Chapel in London, run after by multitudes of eager and admiring hearers.

"The great secret, perhaps, of the amazing effect of his preaching was, its being all nature. He generally chose the subject which impressed and affected his own mind at the moment, and discoursed on it as he felt, not as he had previously thought; and thus, on every occasion, whether joyous or grievous, he found his way to hearts whose strings vibrated in unison with those of his own. Sheridan used to say of him, 'I go to hear Rowland Hill, because his ideas come red-hot from the heart. Never was there a truer description of the preaching of any minister; he spoke as he felt; and the tears he shed, and the smiles that beamed upon his countenance, soon 'wakened up their fellows,' in the listening throng that heard him. After one sermon, in which he had poured forth the experience of his pious soul in expressing the exulting feelings of the Christian's joy, Mr Ambrose Serle came into the vestry of Surry Chapel, and seizing him by the hand, exclaimed, 'Oh, my dear sir, if we are so happy now, what shall we be a hundred thousand years hence in heaven!' And on another occasion, Dr Milner, the celebrated Dean of Carlisle, was so worked upon, that he went to

On one occasion, an attempt had been made to persuade him not to go to Richmonci, because a party of young men had hired a boat, and were coming down the river, with the determination to draw him through the water. His feelings may be conceived when informed the boat was Lupset, and that the poor misguided enemies of his ministry had all entered into the presence of their Judge in another world.

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him and said, - Mr Hill, Mr Hill, I felt to-day-'tis this slap-dash preaching, say what they will, that does all the good.'

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Mr Hill was fond of the country, and he was in the habit of retiring during the summer months to the scenes of his former labour in Gloucestershire, where he erected a house and a chapel for the benefit of as many of the country people as chose to avail themselves of the privilege. The situation is thus graphically described by his biographer:

"The celebrated Robert Hall once paid him a visit at Wotton, and said of it, ' Sir, it is the most paradisaical spot I was ever in.' Strong as was the expression, he did not say too much. Opposite the house is the most perfect amphitheatre of hill, three parts of which is clothed with a hanging wood, of exquisite variety of foliage, enclosing a dale of the richest fertility. The summit of a hill on the left of the house commands a landscape on which nature has lavished her choicest attractions. The Welsh mountains, the Malvern hills, the green vale of Berkeley, the broad course of the silvery and majestic Severn, and a foreground. of grassy knolls and hanging woods, form the principal features of a scene in which all are blended in the loveliest harmony and proportions. In front of the house, a rocky path winding through a sloping wood of beech, breaks it with its white and narrow streaks into clusters of great beauty and variety. On the sabbath this road teemed with human beings, coming from the lovely glens around to hear the word of life from the lips of their beloved minister. About half an hour before service, he might be seen watching through a telescope his approaching flock as they descended into the valley, and making his remarks to those near him on the seriousness or levity of their manner. Sometimes he gave a hint of the latter in his sermon, and they who were conscious of its application, wondered how he knew it. Some of them used to say, we must mind what we do, for Master Hill knows every thing, bless him."

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In this chapel he always preached on Sabbath; but he scarcely allowed a day to pass without preaching somewhere in the neighbourhood, orchards, commons, gardens, woods, hills and dales, being often the scenes of his varied labours. On a Sunday, after the service of his chapel at Wotton, he would give out such a notice as this: - ' To-morrow evening meet the society.' Any body here from Nibley?' - (a nod of assent.) • Tell them I shall preach there Tuesday; Wednesday, preach here; Thursday, Wickwar; Friday, Uley; Saturday, must have some rest; Sunday, here again, God willing. After this notice he not unfrequently forgot the places where he intended to go, when Mrs Hill's accuracy was of no slight service in aiding his memory. He often said at breakfast, where am I to preach today?' and fortunate it was for himself and the people, that she had not forgotten the detail of his arrangements."

Many of the country people who attended his ministrations in this rural retreat were brought under the influence of the truth, and gave evidence of the sincerity and power of their faith, by the consistency of their lives, and their abounding in the fruits of righteousness. There was one, however, who, with a profession that had never brought him under suspicion, concealed a heart that was still in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity; and as the story affords a remarkable proof, both of the eminently pious character of Mr Hill, and the awe in which even ungodly men stand of the people of God, it may be interesting to the reader to meet with it in the words of the author whom we have already quoted.

"A man who worked in Mr Hill's garden at Wotton, and was supposed to have forsaken a life of sin, under the influence of religion, was at length discovered to have been the perpetrator of several burglaries,