4» 
 
 I THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,| 
 ^ Princeton, N. J. ^ 
 
 BX 5199 .H54 L4 1841 
 
 The Life of Rev. James 
 Hervey, M.A. , rector of 
 
I 
 
 .1 
 
4 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2015 
 
 https://archive.org/details/lifeofrevjamesheOOunse 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 Ret. JAMES HERVEY, M.A. 
 
 RECTOR OP WESTON-FAVEL. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 
 
 JAMES RDS3ELL, FCBLISHINQ AQENT. 
 
 1841. 
 
Printed by 
 
 WILLIAM 9. MARTIEN. 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Rev. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 HIS BIRTH, EDUCATION, AND CONVERSION. 
 
 This eminent Christian, and excellent minister, 
 was born February 26, 1713, at Hardingstone, near 
 Northampton, England, his father being then mi- 
 nister of Collingtree in that neigbourhood. He 
 received his first instruction from his mother, who 
 taught him to read. Under her tuition he continued 
 till he was seven years of age, when he was sent 
 to the grammar school of Northampton, where he 
 remained till he was seventeen, and learned the 
 Latin and Greek languages, in which his genius 
 and memory would have enabled him to make a 
 much greater progress, if it had not been prevented 
 by his schoolmaster, who would not suffer him, 
 nor any of his scholars, to learn faster than his own 
 son. 
 
 In 1731 he was sent to Oxford, where he re- 
 sided several years. The first two or three years 
 of his residence at this university were not distin- 
 guished by that diligent appHcation to .study for 
 which he was afterwards eminent. Mr. Ryland 
 says, " While at the university, he was much at a 
 loss for want of a faithful friend to direct him to 
 proper studies: he was ordered, in a very careless 
 
4 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 manner, to read such and such books, which were 
 altogether unsuitable to his taste, and, in a high 
 degree, afforded matter of disgust and discourage- 
 ment. At last, by the peculiar agency of Provi- 
 dence, he was led to read Abbe de Pluche's Nature 
 Displayed, well known by the title Spectacle de la 
 Nature. The intrinsic beauty of the piece allured 
 his imagination and passions; and when he had 
 made an entrance into the work, he read with in- 
 cessant eagerness, improvement and pleasure. This 
 •work cherished his natural passion for knowledge. 
 He added Dr. Derham's Astro-Theology : this 
 book assisted him in his first learned ideas of the 
 starry heavens, and led him into views of the whole 
 Newtonian system of philosophy. His concep- 
 tions were further aided by Ray's Wisdom of God 
 in Creation, and Dr. Derham's Demonstration of 
 the Being and attributes of God, in his Physico- 
 Theology. To these books he added Keil's Ana- 
 tomy, which he studied with such incessant atten- 
 tion, and perpetual reviews, as to make himself ac- 
 quainted with the structure of the human body 
 better than any man I ever knew. He went on to 
 read Mr. Spence's Five Dialogues on Pope's 
 Translation of Homer, which, he often assured 
 me, gave him a greater insight into the nature and 
 beauty of composition than any author he ever 
 read. By the most accurate digestion of these au- 
 thors in his understanding, and a continued con- 
 templation of the book of nature, he advanced his 
 mind, and polished his genius in the line of sci- 
 ence." 
 
 In 1733, becoming acquainted with some fellow- 
 students,* who began to distinguish themselves by 
 their serious impressions of religion, and their zeal 
 
 * Messrs. Wesley, Morgan, Ingham, and Whitefield- 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 5 
 
 to promote it, he was engaged in a strict attention 
 to piety and usefulness. At this time he received 
 the communion every Sabbath, and visited the sick 
 and the prisoners in the jail: we find him also 
 reading to poor people, who had not the advantage 
 of knowing letters. He speaks of this to a friend: 
 *' I employ every day an hour or more, which I 
 think is as much time as I can spare from my stu- 
 dies, with some well-inclined people of the poorer 
 sort; we read Henry on the Holy Scriptures, and 
 pray together: there is one set in one part of the 
 city, and another in another; I meet at a neigh- 
 bour's house." 
 
 At this time a happy friendship commenced be- 
 tween Mr. Hervey, while at home, and Mr. Ris- 
 don Darracot, a student under Dr. Doddridge: two 
 souls eminently congenial for warm piety and use- 
 fulness. At a religious man's house, who belonged 
 to Dr. Doddridge's church, but was in the parish 
 of VVeston-Favel, they had their first interview. 
 Of this Darracot says, "Though now almost nine- 
 teen years ago, I retain a delightful impression Oi 
 our converse then." They continued to corres- 
 pond through life. 
 
 While at college, he often wrote to his relations, 
 particularly to one of his sisters. Besides much 
 good advice, he says, " I have frequently recol- 
 lected, and, as it were, acted over again, the many 
 pleasant hours we have spent together in reading 
 holy and edifying works, or discoursing on pious 
 and useful subjects." Mr. Hervey being a pupil 
 of Mr. .Tohn Wesley at this time, he gratefully ac- 
 knowledges his kindness to him in the following 
 words: "I heartily thank you, as for all other fa- 
 vours, so especially for teaching me Hebrew. I 
 have cultivated this study, according to your ad- 
 vice. I can never forget that^tender-hearted and 
 
6 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 generous Fellow of Lincoln, who conclescended to 
 take such compassionate notice of a poor luuler- 
 graduate, whom almost every body contemned, and 
 no man cared for my soul." The practice of Wes- 
 ley through life, was to rise very early in the morn- 
 ing; and in this he was imitated by liis amiable 
 pupil, who was often seen at his studies when the 
 other members of the college were retiring to rest. 
 
 He was ordained a deacon, by Dr. Potter, bishop 
 of Oxford, September 14, 1736; and immediately 
 afterwards he gave up an exhibition he liad from 
 his college of twenty pounds a year : his reason 
 for which was, that he thought it unjust to retain 
 what another student might stand in need of. 
 
 It appears, from his first letters, that in his early 
 youth he showed a serious turn of mind ; but se- 
 veral of these speak a language very different from 
 those truths for which he was afterwards so able 
 and zealous an advocate ; the fact is, he was then 
 an entire stranger to the doctrine of justitication by 
 faith in the imputed righteousness of Christ, and 
 had strong prepossessions against it. An intimate 
 friend of Mr. Hervey has told the public,* (and 
 lie most likely received the information from him- 
 self,) that till he was eighteen he had no serious 
 impressions of religion, and afterwards, till he was 
 twenty-seven, his views of divine truth were dark, 
 indistinct, and confused. In this way he preached 
 for several years. 
 
 Mr. Ryland says, " All this time Avas spent in 
 reading improper books, trusting to his own virtue 
 and righteousness for justification, and without the 
 joys of God's salvation. He had no friend in 
 all the world to recommend to him the best books 
 — no friend to explain to him the true sense and 
 
 * Rev. John Ryland, late of Northampton, 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 7 
 
 meaning of the Holy Scriptures. All his ex- 
 ternal observances, and his attempts to practise 
 virtue, had a tendency to build up a strong barrier 
 between Christ and his soul. During part of this 
 period, he possessed what he afterwards reckoned 
 a rich treasure of gospel-truth, ' Marshall on Sanc- 
 tification ;' but he let it lie by in his study, without 
 the least attention, or so much as once reading it, 
 till at last the providence and grace of God roused 
 him to read this treatise, which was so much bless- 
 ed to him. Mr. Hervey was left to make his own 
 way in religious knowledge, and for a long time 
 that way was in the dark: at last, in 1741, Jenks 
 on Submission to Christ's Righteousness, and RaAv- 
 lin on Justification, were put into his hand by Di- 
 vine Providence. These were the books which, 
 under the influence of the Spirit of God, lirst di- 
 rected his apprehensions to Christ's righteousness. 
 Marshall on Sanctification first led him to the great 
 spring and means of gospel holiness. Mr. Thomas 
 Hall on Perseverance, in the Lime Street Lectures, 
 first led him into the comfort of that doctrine. He 
 acknowledged to the Rev. Moses Brown, that Zim- 
 merman on the Excellency of the Knowledge of 
 Christ, was among the first books that led him to 
 have a clear light and understanding of the gospel, 
 and had been blessed to his experiencing true esta- 
 blished rest in his soul. He was also much assisted 
 in his researches into evangelical truth by Boston's 
 Fourfold State of Man, and Witsius on the Cove- 
 nants. Of this author he says, " I cannot but la- 
 ment it, as one of my greatest losses, that I was 
 not sooner acquainted with this most excellent au- 
 thor, all whose works have such a delicacy of com- 
 position, and such a sweet savour of holiness, that 
 I know not any comparison more proper to repre- 
 sent their true character, than the golden pot which 
 
8 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 had manna, and was outwardly bright with bur- 
 nished gold, inwardly rich with heavenly food." 
 While he perused these treatises, he found many 
 expressions contrary to his pre-conceived and legal 
 ideas, being quite unaccustomed, as he says, to the 
 joyful sound of grace and salvation, infinitely rich 
 grace, and perfectly free salvation, they seemed 
 strange language to him : but he constantly read on, 
 till, under a divine blessing, he knew the grace of 
 God in truth ; and examining and explaining these 
 expressions, found them to coincide entirely with 
 the truth as it is in Jesus. 
 
 The state of Mr. Hervey's mind at this time is 
 illustrated by the following interesting anecdote : 
 In the parish where Mr, Hervey preached, there 
 resided a plougliman, who usually attended the mi- 
 nistry of Dr. Doddridge, and who was well inform- 
 ed in the doctrines of grace. Mr. Hervey being 
 advised by his physician, for the benefit of his 
 health, to follow the plough, in order to smell the 
 fresh earth, frequently accompanied this plough- 
 man in his rural employment. Mr. Hervey under- 
 standing the ploughman was a serious person, said 
 to him one morning, " What do you think is the 
 hardest thing in religion? To which he replied, 
 " I am a poor illiterate man, and you. Sir, are a 
 minister; I beg leave to return the question." Then 
 said Mr. Hervey, " I think the hardest thing is to 
 deny sinful self," grounding his opinion on that 
 solemn admonition of our Lord, " If any man will 
 come after me, let him deny himself." " I argued," 
 says Mr. Hervey, " upon the import and extent of 
 the duty, showing that merely to forbear the infa- 
 mous action is little, we must deny admittance, 
 deny entertainment, at least, to the evil imagina- 
 tion, and quench even the enkindling spark of irre- 
 gular desire." In this way I shot my random bolt. 
 
EEV. JAMES HERVET. 
 
 9 
 
 The ploughman repUed, " There is another in- 
 stance of self-denial, to which the injunction ex- 
 tends, which is of great moment, and the hardest 
 thing in religion, and that is, to deny righteous 
 self. You know I do not come to hear you preach, 
 but go, every Sabbath, with my family, to North- 
 ampton, to hear Dr. Doddridge. We rise early in 
 the morning, and have prayers before we set out, 
 in which I find pleasure; walking there and back 
 I find pleasure; under the sermon I find pleasure; 
 when at the Lord's table I find pleasure ; we read 
 a portion of the Scriptures and go to prayers in the 
 evening, and find pleasure ; but, to this moment I 
 find it the hardest thing to deny righteous self; I 
 mean the renouncing of our own strength, and of 
 our own righteousness, not leaning on that for ho- 
 liness, nor relying on this for justification." In 
 repeating the story to a friend, Mr. Hervey ob- 
 served, " I then hated the righteousness of Christ; 
 I looked at the man with astonishment and disdain, 
 and thought him an old fool, and wondered at, what 
 I then fancied, the modey mixture of piety and 
 oddity in his notions. I have since clearly seen 
 who was the fool — not the wise old Christian, but 
 the proud James Hervey; I now discern sense, 
 solidity, and truth in his observations." 
 
 During this period of his life, Mr. Whitefield 
 corresponded with him. The following letter, 
 while it exhibits that good man's concern for him, 
 makes Mr, Hervey's principles and views also evi- 
 dent: "I long to have my dear friend come forth 
 and preach the truth as it is in Jesus; not a right- 
 eousness or inward holiness of our own, whereby 
 we make ourselves meet, but the righteousness of 
 another, even the Lord our righteousness; upon 
 the imputation and apprehending of which by faith, 
 we shall be made meet by his Holy Spirit to live 
 
mi 
 
 10 L I F E O F 
 
 with and enjoy God. Dear Mr. Hervey, it is an 
 excellent thin;^ to be convinced of the freeness and 
 riches of God's grace in Christ Jesus; it is sweet 
 to know and preach that Christ justifies the un- 
 godly, and that all good works are not so much as 
 partly tlie cause, but the effect of our justification 
 before God. Till convinced of these truths, you 
 must own free-will in man, which is directly con- 
 trary to the Holy Scriptures, and the articles of our 
 church. Let me advise dear Mr. Hervey, laying 
 aside all prejudice, to read and pray over St. Paul's 
 episdes to the Romans and Galatians, and then let 
 him tell me what he thinks of this doctrine. Most 
 of our old friends are now happily enlightened; 
 God sets his seal to such preaching in an extraor- 
 dinary manner, and I am persuaded the gates of 
 hell will never be able to prevail against it. O that 
 dear Mr. Hervey would also join with us! O that 
 the Lord would open his eyes to behold aright this 
 mystery of godliness ! How would it rejoice my 
 heart! how would it comfort his own soul! He 
 would no longer groan under a spirit of bondage ; 
 no, he would be brought into the glorious liberty 
 of the children of God."* At this time it is evi- 
 dent Mr. Hervey was seeking salvation, but he 
 sought it as it were by the works of the law. One 
 of his leading errors then was, that he formed low, 
 scanty, inadequate apprehensions of the law of 
 God; from this unavoidably followed a disesteem 
 of imputed righteousness, a conceit of personal 
 
 * Whitefield's Collection of Letters, Let. 100, dated 
 1739. Mr. Hervey seems to have been peculiarly endeared 
 to this good man : in an after period, Mr. Whitefield says 
 of him, " The author of the Meditations is my old friend ; 
 a most heavenly-minded creature, who is contented vi'ith 
 a small pittance, and gives all that he has to the poor." 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 11 
 
 qualifications, a spirit of legal bondage, and a tinc- 
 ture of Pharisaical pride. He conceived faith to 
 be no more than a mere believing of promises if he 
 did well, and of threatenings if he did ill. He 
 wished for a salvation to be bestowed upon some 
 sincere, pious, and worthy person, and was dis- 
 tressed because he could not find himself of that 
 number. To use his own words, when he felt he 
 was deplorably deficient in duty, he would comfort 
 himself with saying, " Soul, thy God only requires 
 sincere obedience, and perhaps to-morrow may be 
 more abundant in acts of holiness." When over- 
 come by sin, he would call to mind his righteous 
 deeds, and so think to commute with divine justice, 
 and quit scores for his oflences by his duties. In 
 order to be reconciled to God, or to ease his con- 
 science, he would promise stricter watchfulness, 
 more alms, and renewed fastings: overlooking en- 
 tirely the active obedience of our Redeemer, he 
 fondly imagined that, through the death of Christ, 
 he might have pardon of his sins, and could, by 
 his own doings, secure eternal life. 
 
 For some time, letters from the above correspon- 
 dent were disregarded, or treated with a stubborn 
 silence; but at length, by these and other means, 
 a saving change took place in Mr. Hervey. He 
 says, " The two great commandments. Thou shalt 
 love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thou 
 shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, made the first 
 awakening impression on my heart. Amazing! 
 thought I; are these commands of God as obliga- 
 tory as the prohibition of adultery, or the observa- 
 tion of the Sabbath? Then has my whole life been 
 a continued act of disobedience; not a day, nor an 
 hour, in which I have performed my duty. This 
 conviction," says he, " struck me as the hand- 
 writing upon the wall struck the presumptuous mo- 
 
12 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 narch. It pursued me, as Saul pursued the Chris- 
 tians, not only to my own house, but to distant 
 cities, nor ever gave up the great controversy, till, 
 under the influences of the Spirit, it brought me 
 weary and heavy laden to Jesus Clirisl." God, 
 who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, 
 shined into his heart, to give him the light of the 
 knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 This illumination of his mind was not that clear 
 but inefficacious apprehension of evangelical truth, 
 in which, as in the moonshine of a frosty night, 
 much may be seen but nothing grows; it was 
 like that produced by the sun's light, warm and 
 fructifying. Under this illumination he saw, that 
 any sinner, whatsoever he be, has sufficient war- 
 rant immediately to believe in, or depend on, Jesus 
 Christ for everlasting life. Under the influence of 
 divine grace, he believed the truth of the report, 
 and the sufficiency of Christ alone: he believed 
 the divine encouragement, that he should be saved 
 in this way: he trusted with confidence his ever- 
 lasting concerns on the person, finished work, and 
 grace of Christ. Accordingly, in this sense, and 
 in this sense only, he pleads, in his writings, for 
 a particular application of Jesus and his fulness, 
 offered to sinners in general and indefinite terms. 
 In this sense he uses the terms " for me, in my 
 stead," as respecting the obedience and death of 
 Christ. Neither in his books, nor in his expe- 
 rience, did he consider his trust as in the least en- 
 titling him to everlasting life ; but he considered 
 rather that he had a Saviour and everlasting life 
 given to him, as a sinner, to trust and depend upon. 
 He did not wish to work himself up to this trust or 
 confidence, as the condition of being saved; but 
 considered that he had a sure foundation, whereon 
 
HBV, JAMES HEEVEY. 
 
 13 
 
 he might constantly depend for salvation, without 
 fear of disappointment, by this assured faith. 
 
 He by no means set aside holiness of heart and 
 life, as has been alleged; so far from it, that he re- 
 lied on Jesus for this precious gift, and esteemed 
 him as made of God to him, sanctification. Un- 
 der the influence of this assured confidence, he 
 sought to be renewed in his whole man after the 
 pattern of Christ; and coveted earnestly to have 
 the same mind in him as was in his Saviour and 
 Master. 
 
 At this change Mr. Hervey's religious friends re- 
 joiced, and none more than Mr. Whitefield. He 
 says to a friend, "The prospect is promising; 
 many students at Oxford are earnestly learning 
 Christ. — Dear Mr. Hervey, whose loving and ca- 
 tholic heart you know, hath learned and preached 
 Christ." 
 
 We are happy to give, in Mr. Hervey's own 
 words, a particular account of the change of his 
 views and heart into a most scriptural and evangeli- 
 cal mould. In a letter to Mr. Whitefield on this 
 subject, he says, " I own, with shame and sorrow, 
 that I have been a blind leader of the blind; my 
 tongue and my pen have perverted the good ways 
 of the Lord, and have darkened the glory of re- 
 deeming merit and sovereign grace. I have dared 
 to invade the glories of an all-sufficient Saviour, 
 and to pluck the crown off his head. My writings 
 and discourses have derogated from the honours, 
 the everlasting and incommunicable honours, of 
 Jesus; they presumed to give works a share in the 
 redemption and recovery of a lost sinner; they 
 have placed these filthy rags upon the throne of 
 the Lamb, and by that means have debased the 
 Saviour, and exalted the sinner. But I trust the 
 divine truth begins to dawn upon the soul. O may 
 
14 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 it, like tlie rising sun, shine more and more, till 
 the day break in all its brightness, and the shadows 
 flee away! Now, was I possessed of all the right- 
 eous acts that have made saints and martyrs famous 
 in all generations; could they be transferred to me, 
 and might I call them all my own, I would re- 
 nounce them all that I might win Christ. I would 
 not dare to appear before the burning eye of God 
 with such straw and stubble ; no, I would long to 
 be clothed in a Mediator's righteousness, and as- 
 cribe all my salvation to the most unmerited and 
 freest grace." 
 
 In another letter to the same person he writes — 
 " You are pleased to ask, how the Holy Ghost 
 convinced me of self-righteousness, and drove me 
 out of my false rest? Indeed, Sir, I cannot tell; 
 the light was not instantaneous, but gradual ; it 
 did not flash upon my soul, but arose like the 
 dawning of the day. A little book, by Jenks, 
 upon Submission to the Righteousness of God, was 
 made serviceable to me. Your journals. Dear Sir, 
 and sermons, especially that sweet sermon upon 
 " What think ye of Christ?" were a means of 
 bringing me to the knowledge of the truth; and 
 another piece has been also very precious eye-salve 
 to my dim and clouded understanding, I mean 
 " Marshall's Gospel Mystery of Sanctification." 
 These, blessed be He who is a light to them that 
 sit in darkness ! have in some degree convinced 
 me of my former errors. I now begin to see I 
 have been labouring in the fire, and wearying my- 
 self for very vanity, while I have attempted to esta- 
 blish my own righteousness. I trusted I knew 
 not what, while I have trusted in some imaginary 
 good deeds of my own; these are no hiding-place 
 from the storm, they are a refuge of lies. If I had 
 the meekness of Moses, and the patience of Job, 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 15 
 
 the zeal of Paul, and the love of John, I durst not 
 advance the least plea to eternal life on this footing: 
 but as for my own beggarly performances and 
 wretched righteousness, O gracious, adorable Em- 
 manuel, I am ashamed, I am grieved, that I should 
 thrust them into the place of thy divine, thy incon- 
 ceivably precious obedience ! My schemes are al- 
 tered; I now desire to work in my blessed Master's 
 service, not for, but from, life and salvation. 1 
 would study to please him in righteousness and ho- 
 liness all the days of my life. I seek this blessing 
 of holiness, not as a condition, but as a part, a 
 choice and inestimable part, of that complete sal- 
 vation which Jesus hath purchased for me." 
 
 Formerly, through his ignorance of the gospel, 
 and the legal temper of his mind, he had discarded 
 the active obedience of Christ, now he believed 
 this glorious doctrine, and rested on it as a most 
 invaluable privilege. So he says, " My faith is, 
 that our Jjord's obedience to the moral law, in pro- 
 fessed submission to its authority, and in exact con- 
 formity to its precepts; his performance of all holy 
 duties, and his exercise of all heavenly graces ; that 
 all this is a most essential and distinguished part of 
 his merit; that this is of higiier dignity and greater 
 value than the whole world, and all the rigliteous- 
 ness in it; that the divine law is hereby more sig- 
 nally honoured, than it could have been honoured 
 by the uninterrupted obedience of Adam and all 
 his posterity; that God's justice, holiness and truth, 
 receive greater glory from these unparalleled acts of 
 duty, than from the services of angels and men, in 
 their several wonderful orders; that this active 
 righteousness, together with his most meritorious 
 sufferings, are the ground and cause of my accept- 
 ance with God, are the very thing which procures 
 and effects my justification, making me not barely 
 
16 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 acquitted from guilt, but truly righteous, yea, per- 
 fectly righteous, and that before the God of infinite 
 penetration and purity." This view of things, he 
 says, was to him incomparably magnificent, and 
 inexpressibly comfortable. 
 
 Mr. Hervey found it a hard task for such a mind 
 as his, long and eminently leavened with ignorance 
 and legal pride, to come to Christ divested of every 
 recommendation but that of extreme wretchedness, 
 to receive from the hand of unmerited benignity 
 the free riches of evangelical grace. On this sub- 
 ject he would relate and apply the following anec- 
 dote of Dr. Cheyne, an English physician; to one 
 consulting him about the recovery of his health, 
 the Doctor replied, " You are not bad enough for 
 me." As none but the deeply disordered would 
 submit to Cheyne's mortifying prescriptions, in like 
 manner Mr. Hervey found that none but the weary 
 and heavy laden would come to Jehovah our right- 
 eousness, or relish the doctrine of grace, which re- 
 presents the Redeemer as the meridian sun, and all 
 the sons of Adam as glow-worms of the night. 
 
 In the light of the glory of God, he now viewed 
 the gospel as a choice blessing, setting an open 
 door, not for believers to come up to a certain stan- 
 dard, but for sinners to trust in the Lord Jesus im- 
 mediately, without waiting for any distinguishing 
 reason in themselves. He now saw, that no con- 
 ditions or performances are to be placed between 
 the sinner and the Saviour ; but the first step of 
 practical religion is to trust Christ alone, as given 
 us in the word of grace. 
 
 These views, attended with Almighty grace, 
 brought down in him every high thing that exalted 
 itself against the knowledge of God, and brought 
 into captivity every thought to the obedience of 
 Christ. 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 17 
 
 This remarkable change appeared in his ser- 
 mons. Empty legal harangues no longer disgraced 
 his pulpit. He now discoursed of grace reigning, 
 through righteousness, unto an eternal life of holi- 
 ness and happiness. This he did at first more 
 darkly; but afterwards with greater clearness, in 
 proportion to his growing knowledge and experi- 
 ence of the truth as it is in Jesus. 
 
 Then he began to be a true evangelical preacher. 
 Christ crucified, the foundation of the sinner's 
 hope ; Clirist on the throne, the lawgiver of the 
 redeemed; Christ, by his word and Spirit in the 
 heart, the believer's life; Christ in glory, the eleva- 
 ting object of the saint's expectation and desire; 
 these, and the subjects connected with them in the 
 plan of redemption, were now his loved and chosen 
 themes. His sermons, under the divine blessing, 
 made the grace of God sweet, salvation through 
 Christ acceptable, sin hateful, and strict holiness 
 amiable, to the souls of his people. 
 
 To his good friend Whitefield, who used every 
 proper method he could think of to change his 
 views, and whose letters he once refused to answer, 
 he now wrote: "Dear Sir, cease not to pray for 
 me, desist not to counsel me, since I perceive you 
 cannot forbear to love me." After this change, he 
 made heart religion his business through life. In 
 a letter to a friend he has these words : — " What I 
 wrote concerning a firm faith in God's most pre- 
 cious promises, a humble trust that we are the ob- 
 jects of his tender love, is what I desire to feel, 
 rather than what I experience; tliey are considera- 
 tions with which I would ply my heart, in the hope 
 that they may be the happy means of making me 
 strong in faith, and enable me thereby to give glory 
 to God. All my aim, all my desire is, to quicken 
 in my heart the seeds of practical faith and vital 
 2 
 
18 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 holiness. I will, on your encouragement, go on 
 with niy book, in my slow way, happy if my own 
 heart may be impressed with the evangelical truths, 
 even though tliey should reach, as handled by tliis 
 pen, no further. That comfortable Scripture has 
 been oflen-times a cordial to my heart, The Lord 
 delighteth in them that fear him, and put their trust 
 in his mercy. How often have I read, that to 
 make me rich, the Lord of all things had not where 
 to lay his head! To obtain joy and gladness for 
 me, the Prince of peace was sorrowful, sorrowful 
 even unto death ! To cleanse me from all guilt, to 
 present me without spot or blemish before the 
 throne, the everlasting Son of God was content to 
 spill the last drop of his blood ! How often have I 
 read all this, and yet continued unaffected and stu- 
 pidly insensible ! May my heart be smitten with 
 remorse, and overwhelmed with shame, for my vile, 
 vile ingratitude, to so divinely compassionate a Sa- 
 viour; and so much the more, as 1 am assured of 
 his readiness to forgive all my provocations, and 
 to love me as freely as if I had never sinned." 
 
 When he received letters, which he thought 
 would flatter the vanity of his mind, he would not 
 look at them a second time. The same disposition 
 of mind will appear in the following extract; — 
 " I am so far from carrying on my versifying de- 
 signs, that I heartily wish I had never conceived 
 any; that those lines I sent to — had never been 
 made, or I had never heard them commended. 
 Pride and vanity are foolish and unreasonable in 
 dust and ashes, and, what is worse, odious and de- 
 testable before infinite perfection and infinite power, 
 Oh ! let you and I then dread whatever may ad- 
 minister fuel to these worst of tempers, more than 
 the poison of asps, or the pestilence that walketh 
 in darkness. Let us pray against seeking, desiring. 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 19 
 
 or taking pleasure in tlie honour that cometh of 
 men; and if, at any time, the flattering tongue, 
 that snare of death, shall overtake us, let us in- 
 stantly fly to our Saviour, and complain unto our 
 God ; then let us remember, and remembering let 
 us acknowledge, that we are nothing, have nothing, 
 and deserve nothing, but shame and contempt, but 
 misery and punishment." 
 
 He also evidenced a detestation of every thing 
 that he thought tended to pollute the heart. So he 
 writes of the author of " The Fairy Queen," in the 
 following terms: — "He is, in fancy, superior to 
 every poet, yet so luscious in some of his represen- 
 tations, I have occasionally dipped into, that it is 
 impossible, for me at least, to advert to them with- 
 out catching the infection. His pictures of this 
 sort are drawn with a good design ; he makes his 
 heroes victors over the soft allurements ; but I be- 
 lieve few minds are so case-hardened against sen- 
 sual pleasures, as not to receive disadvantageous 
 impressions. I am therefore determined never to 
 look into it again, never to gather the honey of 
 poetry from the briers of contamination. ' Flee 
 temptation,' is the advice of an inspired apostle, 
 and I will pay the due respect to it." 
 
 He also seems to have kept a diary, wherein he 
 minuted down his sins of omission and commis- 
 sion, took notice of the manner in which his time 
 was spent, of the strain of his discourse, and of the 
 frame of his heart in religious duties. These inte- 
 resting memoirs he often reviewed. This method 
 of keeping a diary he found the means of teaching 
 him the knowledge of himself, and of disposing 
 him to prayer, and other duties. 
 
 After this change of his sentiments and heart, 
 Mr. Hervey met with a considerable share of re- , 
 proach, but was encouraged by the Master he 
 
20 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 served, and by the friends to the same cause of 
 grace and holiness. 
 
 After Mr. Hervey's change of sentiment, he was 
 earnestly importuned by some friends, particularly 
 by Mr. Whitefield, to become an itinerant; besides 
 many solicitations to himself, Mr. W., knowing 
 that the success of the gospel was the joy of Mr. 
 Hervey's heart, writes to a mutual friend — " I have 
 been in eight Welsh counties; I think we have 
 not had one dry meeting. Had my dear Mr. Her- 
 vey been there to have seen the simplicity of so 
 many dear saints, I am persuaded he would have 
 said, 'Let my soul be with the Methodists.'" The 
 weakness of Mr. Hervey's constitution, and, per- 
 haps, other considerations, prevented his falling in 
 with the above proposal. His principal talent 
 seems to have consisted in study and writing; this 
 he employed to good purpose ; in the mean time, 
 he gave abundant encouragement to those of his 
 friends who were engaged in itinerant services. 
 
 At the time when Mr. Hervey was called to the 
 knowledge of the truth, it was much under a veil 
 in the church whereof he was a member. To use 
 the words of one of her sons — " At that time, a 
 minister of the Church of England, who ventured to 
 maintain her articles and homilies in doctrine, and 
 who supported them in fact by a holy practice, was 
 a kind of prodigy, and met with nothing but cen- 
 sure, persecution, and hard names, from all ranks 
 and sorts of men. Our pulpits resounded with 
 morality, deduced from the principles of nature, 
 and the fitness of things, with no relation to Christ 
 or the Holy Ghost; all which the heathen philoso- 
 phers have insisted on, and with perhaps more than 
 modern ingenuity, and in consequence of this our 
 streets have resounded with heathen immorality." 
 
 The same was the case with many among the 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 21 
 
 dissenters. The Rev. Mr. Barker, in a letter to Dr. 
 Doddridge, says, The defection of our younger 
 ministers I greatly lament: the dissenting interest 
 is not like itself; I hardly know it. I knew the 
 time when I had no doubt into whatever place 
 among dissenters I went, but that my heart would 
 be warmed and comforted, and my edification pro- 
 moted ; now I hear prayers and sermons which I 
 neither relish nor understand. Evangelical truth 
 and duty are quite old fashioned ; from many pul- 
 pits one's ears are so dinned with reason, the great 
 law of reason, the eternal law of reason, that it is 
 enough to put one out of conceit with the chief 
 excellency of our nature, because it is idolized, 
 and even deified." In this unhappy time, Mr. 
 Hervey, with some other excellent men, were 
 raised up to explain and defend the genuine gos- 
 pel. It is also remarkable, that some years before, 
 the same doctrine had been revived in Scotland by 
 occasion of a controversy about a book, entitled, 
 " The Marrow of Modern Divinity," and by the 
 excellent sermons and writings of Messrs. Boston, 
 Erskines, &c. These found their way into Eng- 
 land, and were eminently useful to Mr. Hervey, 
 while his works have been greatly blessed for pro- 
 moting the interests of evangelical truth both in 
 England and Scotland. 
 
 HIS RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES. 
 
 To promote faith and holiness, was, next to the 
 glory of God, the great end of Mr. Ilervey's min- 
 istrations. Of the nature of both, he entertained 
 the most just views. In his view, all revealed 
 truth ought to be highly valued and believed; but 
 he judged, that the special subject of the gospel 
 was Christ; and that preaching Christ, according 
 
22 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 to the direction of tlie word of God, was preaching 
 the gospel. To exhibit Christ, our Saviour and 
 our Lord, made of God to sinful men, wisdom, 
 righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, was 
 with Mr. Ilervey the sum of the gospel. He ap- 
 prehended gospel declarations were made in a form 
 that warrants every person, merely in the character 
 of a guilty undone sinner, to depend on Christ alone 
 for complete salvation, and to rest assured, that a 
 gracious, faithful God, will be to him, and do to 
 him, all that is imported in these general declara- 
 tions, which testify the grace of God unto mankind, 
 as sinners, of whom he is one. He also considered, 
 that these declarations do not only constitute a sin- 
 ner's warrant to possess the Saviour and eternal 
 life, but oblige him, as his bounden duty, to judge 
 them faithful sayings, and to depend upon them, as 
 the sufficient, the only ground of his sure and un- 
 deceiving hope. 
 
 The definition of faith, given in Tlieron and 
 Aspasio, Let. 10, Mr. Hervey apprehended might, 
 at first view, dissatisfy and alarm even some pious 
 people, including, as they apprehended, too great a 
 degree of assurance: But, says he, " If ihey please 
 to take it in connection with the explanation and 
 adjustment, delivered in the 16th Dialogue, I hope 
 all cause of disapprobation or surprise will vanish. 
 I flatter myself, that the sentiment will be found, 
 not only comfortable to the sinner, but agreeable to 
 Scripture, and truly unexceptionable, as well as 
 highly desirable." He further says, " Christ died 
 for me, seems lo be the faith preaclied and taught 
 by the apostles." "The life I live in the flesh, the 
 life of holiness, usefulness, and comfort, I live by 
 the faith of the Son of God." What this faith is, 
 he explains in the next sentence. "By viewing 
 the Son of God as loving me, and giving himself 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 23 
 
 for me." In another private letter, writing of the 
 'I'hessaloniaus receiving the gospel, he remarks : 
 " Receiving the gospel — What is meant by that 
 expression? Believing that the apostles were no 
 impostors, that Christ was the true Messiah ? This, 
 and abundantly more, I apprehend, it implies; that 
 Christ died, not for sins only in general, but for 
 our sins in particular: that he bore all their in- 
 iquities, in his own bleeding body and agonizing 
 soul, on the accursed tree: that all their crimes be- 
 ing fully expiated, the most rigorous justice would 
 not demand double payment; and, consequently, 
 that there remaineth no condemnation for them.* 
 This is the glad tidings, to which they not only at- 
 tended, and assented with a speculative assent, but 
 with a personal application of it, each to his own 
 particular case. 1 shall subjoin further on this 
 head, (says Mr, Hervey,) what I take to be a very 
 accurate explication of the apostle's celebrated defi- 
 nition of faith. ' Faith is the substance of things 
 hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen;' 
 that is, putting us into a kind of present possession 
 of the promises, and setting divine grace before the 
 mind, in all the light and power of demonstration." 
 
 * The above sentiment, which Mr. Hervey had bor- 
 rowed from the writings of the Keforraers, and afterwards 
 qualified in his last amendments, is expressed by the ju- 
 dicious Boston, and otiier modern divines, in the following 
 words: — "The gospel is the report of a crucified Christ, 
 made over to sinners, as the device of heaven for tlieir sal- 
 vation. It is proclaimed by the authority of heaven, that 
 Christ has died, and by his death purchased life and salva- 
 tion for lost children of Adam, and that they, and every 
 one of them, may have free access to him. Faith trusting 
 this report as true and good, the soul concludes " the Sa- 
 viour is mine," and leans on him for all the purchase of 
 his death, for life and salvation to itself in particular." — 
 Boston's Sermons on Isa. liii 1. 
 
24 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 He always acknowledged that those to whom the 
 gospel is made effectual, believe the truth of this 
 report, and of the sufficiency of Christ alone, be- 
 fore there can be any acts of receiving or appro- 
 priating; but he viewed the idea of appropriation 
 as entering into the nature of faith, and says of it, 
 " To appropriate, in the theological sense, is to 
 take home the grace of God, which lies in the 
 common indefinite grant of the gospel. Is Christ 
 the treasure hid in the field? To appropriate this 
 treasure, is to receive and use it as our ovi^n por- 
 tion. Is Christ the balm of Gilead, full of saving 
 health? To appropriate this balm, is to take and 
 apply it for the recovery of our own souls ; and 
 "without such an appropriation, how can we be en- 
 riched by the former, or healed by the latter?" 
 
 He also apprehended, that a believer, in the ex- 
 ercise of faith, believes something with reference 
 to his own salvation, upon the ground of God's 
 faithfulness in the promise, which is, that now 
 Christ is and will be a Saviour to him; that what- 
 soever he did for the redemption of mankind, he 
 did it for him ; and that he shall have eternal life 
 by him. Tliis appropriation, he apprehended not 
 to arise from any supposition that God hath chosen 
 us to salvation, or that Christ died with a design to 
 redeem us, or as grounded on any marks and evi- 
 dences of a gracious work within us, nor that it im- 
 plied a persuasion that we are at the time in actual 
 possession of Christ and salvation. But the appro- 
 priation Mr. Hervey contended for, was one entirely 
 founded upon the record of God; an echo to the di- 
 vine testimony; a persuasion that God really giveth 
 us, in particular, sufficient and desirable salvation, 
 to be enjoyed in Christ; and that, viewing it in 
 this light, we believe in God, that it shall be to us 
 guilty sinners, even as it is told us in these decla- 
 
REV. JAMES HEBVEY. 
 
 25 
 
 rations which reveal divine favour to the ungodly. 
 To this purpose, also, is the following note ap- 
 pended to Theron and Aspasio: — "We no where 
 suppose, that a freedom from all fears, or a superi- 
 ority to all doubts, is included in the nature of faith ; 
 we only affirm, that an appropriating persuasion of 
 salvation, by Christ alone, is that confidence which 
 properly answers to the divine report and grant of 
 a Saviour, to be believed on for life everlasting. 
 This persuasion or assurance may be incumbered , 
 with doubts, and may conflict with fears; but still 
 it is assurance, real assurance, and proves itself to 
 be such, by opposing and struggling with the con- 
 trary principle." He illustrates this by a pleasing 
 similitude: — "In some fruitful family, you may 
 see one child in the leading strings, another able to 
 walk by itself, a third come home from the school 
 of literature : observe their speech ; one lisps a few 
 broken sentences, another talks intelligibly, but 
 very incorrectly ; the last has learned to express 
 himself with tolerable propriety ; yet each speaks 
 the same language, notwithstanding the various 
 degrees of fluency in their utterance or propriety 
 of diction. So faith always speaks one and the 
 same uniform language, whether she lisps or stam- 
 mers; whether she whispers in faint accents, or 
 raises her voice in a more manly tone, this is still 
 the import of her speech, ' God, even our God, 
 v/ill give us his blessing.' " 
 
 Mr. Hervey viewing faith as being founded in 
 the self-evidencing light of the word, as being the 
 effect of the demonstration of the Spirit, and in its 
 very nature implying an assurance of the divine all- 
 sufficiency and grace, apprehended that it gave 
 the soul a conscious enjoyment of the Saviour, and 
 that it was the best means of knowing our actual 
 interest in him, and that we are under no delusion- 
 3 
 
26 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 He thought, with other evangelical divines, that so 
 far as a believer is in the exercise of this direct and 
 assured faith, under the influence of the Holy 
 Spirit, he needeth not the support of other marks 
 and evidences of grace within himself, because his 
 mind rests entirely and quietly in the divine all-suf- 
 ficiency, grace, and faithfulness ; and this he reckon- 
 ed the most desirable way to keep all other marks 
 and evidences of a gracious state clear and distinct. 
 To use his own words; "As faith is such a per- 
 suasion of the heart, and such a reception of Christ 
 (as above described,) it assures the soul of salvation 
 by its own act, antecedent to all reflection on its 
 fruits and eff"ects, or works and evidences. It as- 
 sures the soul of acquittance from guilt, and of 
 reconciliation to Christ; of a title to the everlasting 
 inheritance, and of grace sufiicient for every case of 
 need." He was happy that his sentiments of the 
 appropriation of faith were not only scriptural, but 
 confirmed by a multitude of eminent witnesses. 
 "If the reader," says he, " inquire after theirnames, 
 he will find some of them enumerated in the fol- 
 lowing catalogue: — Luther, Calvin, Melancthon, 
 Beza, Bullinger, Bucer, Knox, Craig, Melvil, Bruce, 
 Davidson, Forbes, &c. Ursinus, Zanchius, Junius, 
 Piscator, Rollock, Wendelinus, Chamierus, Bodius, 
 Pareus, Altingius, the Triglandii, Arnoldus, Mare- 
 sius, WoUebius, Heideggerus, Essenius, Turreti- 
 nus, Witsius, (fee. Also many British divines; 
 among others, Perkins, Pemble, Willet, Gouge, 
 Rogers, Owen, and Marshall." He further adds, 
 " If we were apparenfly and demonstratively in an 
 error, yet, to err with such company, and in the 
 footsteps of such guides, must very much tend to 
 mitigate the severity of censure. But I believe few 
 serious persons will venture to charge error and de- 
 lusion upon such a venerable body of Protestant 
 
KEV. JAMES HERVET. 
 
 27 
 
 divines, so eminent for their learning, and so ex- 
 emplary for their holiness; whose labours were 
 so remarkably owned by God, and whose senti- 
 ments, have been adopted by so many reformed 
 churches. The declarations of the English and 
 Palatine churches are produced in the Dialogue. I 
 have in my hand an extract from the confessions 
 and standard doctrines of the Church of Scotland — 
 of Ireland — of France — of Helvetia ; with all which 
 Aspasio has the happiness to agree. Only some of 
 them are much stronger in displaying and main- 
 taining the special fiducia, or the appropriating 
 persuasion of faith."* 
 
 * It would greatly conduce to clear views of this sub- 
 ject, were proper distinctions between the assurance of faith 
 itself and the assurance of sense observed, and rightly un- 
 derstood. This Mr. Hervey illustrates in the close of Dia- 
 logue 16. When he, and other evangelical divines, speak 
 of assurance as essential to faith, many have sup|)osed they 
 taught, that none can be real Christians who do not feel 
 that they are passed from death to life, and have uncloud- 
 ed views of their own interest in Christ, so as to say, under 
 the manifestations of his love, '• My Beloved is mine, and I 
 am his ;" but God forbid we should thus oft'end against the 
 generation of his children. That many of them want such 
 an assurance, may not be qtiestioned. This, however, is 
 the assurance, not of faith, but of sense; and vastly diC- 
 ferent they are. The object of the former is Christ reveal- 
 ed in the word, the object of the latter, is Christ revealed 
 in the heart; the ground of the former, is the testimony of 
 God without us, that of the latter, is the work of the Spirit 
 within us; the one embraces the promise, looking at noth- 
 ing but the veracity of the promisor, the other enjoys the 
 promise in the sweetness of its actual accomplishment. 
 The question on the first point is this. Is the scriptural tes- 
 timony true or not ? But on the second point the question 
 is. Am I possessed of saving faith in the divine testimony ? 
 am I already in a state of union to Christ? Another dis- 
 tinction also is needful. Faith sometimes denotes the 
 simple belief of a doctrine or truth ; at other times, and 
 
28 
 
 1 I F E OF 
 
 This assured confidence Mr. Hervey maintained 
 more explicitly in Theron and Aspasio than in his 
 former works. This gave alarm to several who 
 admired his writings, and some of them plied him 
 close with various objections. These objectors, 
 however undesignedly, were attempting to over- 
 throw the solid foundation laid for the hope and 
 confidence of guilty sinners. They contradicted the 
 divine grant of Christ and salvation to sinners, by 
 clogging it with pre-reqnisites and preparations of 
 sensibility, of need, real desire, &c. Finding Mr. 
 Cudworth of the same judgment with himself, he 
 wrote to him, that by their careful and united con- 
 sideration of all objections that had been offered, 
 this very important point might be sifted, and more 
 clearly established. The effect of these consulta- 
 tions considerably enriched the third edition of 
 Theron and Aspasio, particularly Dial. 15 and 16, 
 and rendered it more accurate. On this he says ; 
 " I found it necessary to make these additions, in 
 order to maintain two very important points, which 
 are opposed by many, even of my pious friends ; I 
 mean the assurance, or special application or ap- 
 
 most frequently in Scripture, trust or confidence in God, or 
 a fiducial reliance upon his mercy and promise in Christ 
 for salvation. It is evident these two are very distinct, and 
 that some things may be affirmed of faith, taken in the one 
 sense, which cannot, with any propriety, be ascribed to it 
 when it is talten in the other. We trust this observation 
 is sufficient to show the absurdity of those cavils and so- 
 phistical reasonings, by which some have endeavoured to 
 throw an odium on the doctrine taught by Mr. Ilervey and 
 many other celebrated divines, concerning the appropria- 
 tion or assurance of faith, and to represent it as absurd and 
 ridiculous, as a faith vvithout any ground: such it would 
 certainly be, if saving faith never signified any thing more 
 than the belief of some doctrinal proposition, fact, or event, 
 recorded in Scripture. 
 
REV. JAMES HEHVET. 
 
 29 
 
 propriation, included in the failh of the operation of 
 God; and that sinners, as sinners, without the pre- 
 parative or condition of any qualification, are allow- 
 ed,, are warranted, thus to apply Christ to them- 
 selves, by virtue of the free oifer and grant made in 
 the gospel. These two doctrines seem to me the 
 very quintessence of grace, and the riches of the 
 gospel." 
 
 In a letter to Mr. Hervey Mr. Cudworth observes, 
 " Upon the whole, in the objections made to your 
 views of faith, we seem to be only on the old Re- 
 formation dispute still — whether we are to be justi- 
 fied by Christ alone, or whether we must first find 
 some righteousness in ourselves?" 
 
 Mr. Kennedy having written in defence of these 
 sentiments, Mr. Hervey remarks, " Mr. Kennedy 
 speaks the very sentiments of my heart, better than 
 my own tongue could express them; I do not per- 
 ceive a single sentence to which I should make any 
 objection. With other believers in Jesus Christ, I 
 would be of one heart, but with Mr. Kennedy I 
 have the pleasure to be of one mind."* 
 
 Mr. Hervey always considers faith as connected 
 with its object. He knew that the Spirit of God, 
 in the Scriptures, frequently and fully describes the 
 object of faith, and the nature of the testimony to 
 be believed, but seldom describes or defines the act 
 of believing; that it is the very nature of faith to 
 overlook itself as an act altogether, and to be wholly 
 employed about its object; and that, in fact, it de- 
 rives its whole meaning, existence and use from 
 this. On the object of faith he therefore enlarges 
 in his writings, on the precious person, names, 
 love, undertaking, relations, grace, and laws of the 
 Saviour; and on his various blessings, peace, par- 
 don, holiness, comfort. Sic, So he says: " Pre- 
 
 » Gen. Col. of Letters. 
 
30 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 cious faith, which brings honour to the holy name 
 of Jesus, and comfort to the sinner's soul; this 
 treats him, according to his infinite glory and infi- 
 nite grace, as the true God, as the great God, 
 as God over all, blessed for evermore. This noble 
 faith acknowledges and uses him, as the all-suffi- 
 cient Saviour from the guilt, and an almighty Sa- 
 viour from the power of sin. It firmly trusts, 
 that the death of Jesus has finished transgression, 
 and made reconciliation for iniquity; that the Spi- 
 rit of Christ will subdue corruption, renew us after 
 the image of God, and animate us all to the duties 
 of religion." He also insisted often on the war- 
 rant of faith. Like other evangelical writers, he 
 never confounds the warrant of faitli with the marks 
 or evidences of it. He always shows, that while 
 men esteem Christ precious, know the plague of 
 their own heart, love God's commandments, &c. 
 these evidence them believers; but that men, mere- 
 ly as sinful creatures, are clearly and fully war- 
 ranted, from God's word, to receive Christ and his 
 benefits by faith. His views of this point were 
 the following: "Every word of God is undoubt- 
 edly true, and to be depended upon, according to 
 the declarations thereof; and no soul can possibly 
 be deceived in believing and so trusting to it. 
 The Holy Ghost does not work in us to believe 
 otherwise than the word declares, no more than he 
 excites us to do otherwise than the word requires. 
 This word declares Christ as the gift of God to the 
 world, and'invites all the ends of the earth to look 
 to him for salvation, and assures them, that whoso- 
 ever believes on him shall not perish, but have 
 everlasting life. This word, then, sufficiently en- 
 titles, authorizes, and warrants every sinner confi- 
 dently to trust on Christ for his own particular 
 salvation, by virtue of God's invitation and com- 
 
REV. JAHES HERVET. 
 
 31 
 
 mand ; and this is what the Spirit of God clears to 
 every soul that receives Christ." As to a lull as- 
 surance, or the highest degree of the grace of faith, 
 he used to express himself in the moderate words of 
 a late judicious divine : " I do not afHrm, that with- 
 out a full assurance there is no faith; but this I 
 maintain, that wherever the latter exists, there will 
 be a sincere pursuit of the former." Among the 
 reasons why so few persons attain this eminent 
 blessing, he reckoned the following: They under- 
 stand not the perfect freeness of grace, nor the im- 
 mense merits of Christ: they do not consider the 
 unspeakable value of an assured faith, neither are 
 they aware it is intended for sinful men as such. 
 
 He viewed faith imputed for righteousness, only 
 as it accepts Christ's righteousness; even as one's 
 receiving a diamond with his hand from a friend 
 may make him worth some thousand pounds, yet 
 it is properly the friend's gift, the diamond, that 
 enriches him, and not merely the taking it into his 
 hand. The righteousness of faith he considered 
 as not at all the rigliteousness of its own act, but 
 the righteousness of Christ, of God, the obedience 
 of one ; and he reckoned that believing as neither 
 honourable to God, nor any way profitable to us, 
 which doth not receive Christ himself to be our 
 complete righteousness, without the consideration 
 of any thing performed by us, or wrought in us. 
 To use his own words: " We are justified by faith, 
 in the same manner as we are fed by the hand, or 
 as we are said to drink of a cup. Neither the hand 
 nor the cup are the cause of our sustenance, but 
 the instruments, the one of conveying, the other 
 of receiving it," 
 
 From his experience, he says; "To what 
 afflicting fears, to what grievous despondency, 
 should I, lor my part, be perpetually liable, if my 
 
32 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 own failh was the ground of my justification. 
 Blessed be the Father of mercies ! we have a surer 
 support: not upon faith, but upon its gracious Au- 
 thor and glorious Object is the hope of Israel found- 
 ed. My faith beholds nothing but the Divine Je- 
 sus; it never inquires, what have I done? what 
 have I suffered ? but what has that most illustrious 
 Personage done and suffered? what has Jevovah, 
 manifested in our nature, wrought for the benefit 
 and redemption of sinners?" 
 
 This assured faith he also considered as produc- 
 tive of the truest joy. This mere appropriating 
 persuasion of Christ and his righteousness, Mr. 
 Hervey found of more use to stay his soul under 
 spiritual conflicts, than looking back to ten thou- 
 sand evidences without it. When he went afresh 
 to Jesus as a sinful creature, he found all the relief 
 he needed, though he could not apply as a saint. 
 Wishing a correspondent might be filled with all 
 joy and peace in believing, he remarks; " It is ob- 
 servable, the apostle says, all joy and peace are to 
 be derived, not merely from practising, but be- 
 lieving; not from any thing in ourselves, but from 
 the fulness that is in Christ?" 
 
 Under distress from indwelling sin, he advises 
 :in these words : " Shall we pore upon our blemish- 
 es, and fasten our eyes upon our wounds ? This 
 will increase our anguish. But let us turn our 
 eyes to him who was typified by the brazen ser- 
 pent; by his stripes we are healed. He that di- 
 verts his attention from this sublimely excellent 
 object, must unavoidably fall into perplexity and 
 distress. Did we steadfastly believe in our incar- 
 nate God ; believe that every one of our iniquities 
 is laid on him ; that whatever he did and suffered 
 for the redemption of sinners, he did and suffered 
 for us ; that Christ, the Lord of glory, is made to 
 
BEV. JAMES HERVET, 
 
 33 
 
 us righteousness : were we rooted and grounded in 
 this belief, how would it cheer our thoughts! how 
 would it draw the thorn from our consciences, and 
 pour the balm of heaven upon our souls ! This faith 
 is a source, is the only source, of substantial and 
 lasting joy." This Mr. Hervey attests by his own 
 experience : when I depart from this precious truth, 
 assurance by the direct act of faith, I fall into dark- 
 ness and distress; but when, looking for no evi- 
 dences in myself, I depend on the free promise of 
 God in his word; when regarding myself only as 
 a poor sinner, I confidently trust in Christ as my 
 righteousness and salvation, then light beams forth 
 and springs up." While these were his views of 
 failh, he apprehended they were entirely agreeable 
 to reason. 
 
 " For my part," says he, " I am no more sur- 
 prised that some revealed truths should amaze my 
 understanding, than that the blazing star should 
 dazzle my eyes. I should renounce my very rea- 
 son, if I did not believe what Omniscience attests, 
 even though it should imply what is altogether in- 
 explicable to my scanty conceptions. My reason, 
 in her sedatest moments, assures me that Scripture 
 cannot deceive, though I be unable to comprehend. 
 My reason declares, that I shall be a rebel against 
 her laws, if I do not submit to the determination of 
 Scripture as decisive, as infallible." " My reason 
 says, Prove all things, admit nothing without a sa- 
 tisfactory proof; and when any thing is proved to 
 be revealed of God, receive it as an oracle. When 
 Reason sets up herself in proud contradistinction to 
 the sacred oracles; when, all-arrogant and self-suf- 
 ficient, she says to the word of Scripture, I have 
 no need of thee; she is then, I must be bold to 
 maintain, not only a glow-worm, but an ignis fa- 
 tuus, not only a bubble, but a snare. I am, how- 
 
34 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 ever, far from denying that noble faculty of reason, 
 \vhen exerted in her proper sphere, and acting in 
 a deferential subordination to the revealed will of 
 Heaven. While she exercises her power within 
 these limits, she is unspeakably serviceable, and 
 cannot be too much cultivated." What he puts in 
 the mouth of his Aspasio was his own exercise: — 
 Pardon is mine, grace is mine, Christ, with all 
 his spiritual blessings, is mine. Why ? because I 
 am conscious of sanctifying operations in my own 
 breast? rather because God hath spoken in his 
 holiness — because all these precious privileges are 
 consigned over to me (as a sinner) in the everlast- 
 ing gospel, with a clearness as unquestionable as 
 the truth — with a certainty inviolable as the oath 
 of God. Bless the Lord, O my soul, that a sinner, 
 such a vile sinner, should be allowed to take Christ 
 and all his salvation, as my own, and thus to 
 assure myself of pardon, holiness and glory." 
 Through the whole of his pilgrimage he exercised 
 himself in this believing confidence. 
 
 Mr. Hervey expresses his views of holiness in 
 the following terms: "True holiness consists in 
 the love of God and the love of man ; that unforced, 
 unfeigned, and most rational love of God, which 
 arises from a discovery of his unspeakable mercy, 
 and infinite kindness to us; that cordial, disinter- 
 ested, and universal love of man, which flows from 
 the possession of a satisfactory and delightful por- 
 tion in the Lord Jehovah. Holiness, thus stated 
 (says he) is considered not as the means, but as a 
 distinguished part of our salvation, or rather as the 
 very central point, in which all the means of grace, 
 and all the ordinances of religion terminate." To 
 a friend he exclaims : " O what a happiness, and 
 what a high distinction, to be enabled to adorn the 
 doctrine of God our Saviour! May this be the 
 
BE V. JAMES HEHVET, 
 
 35 
 
 privileo-e of your life and conversation ; then you 
 will have no cause to regret the want of a ducal 
 coronet." Mr. Hervey apprehended it a dangerous 
 mistake to imagine, that holiness was something 
 entirely different from salvation. He knew that 
 upon this principle people suppose, they must en- 
 deavour to be holy, and then they shall receive sal- 
 vation ; whereas the truth us, all true holiness is 
 an essential ingredient of that complete and ever- 
 lasting salvation, which is enjoyed by believing on 
 the name of Jesus. Mr. Hervey further adds as 
 to holiness ; " Man, in a natural state, is absolutely 
 incapable of practising this holiness or happiness, 
 and from this state none are released but by being 
 united to Christ, or, as the apostle speaks, by 
 Christ dwelling in the heart through faith." 
 
 He well understood, and constantly maintained, 
 the connexion between faith and holiness. The 
 faith which Mr. Hervey maintained, was a trust in 
 Jesus for his whole salvation, for a salvation from 
 sin, as well as from wrath; for that holiness of 
 heart and life, which is absolutely necessary to 
 make us meet for the inheritance of the saints in 
 light, as well as for that righteousness, by which 
 only we can be accepted in the sight of God. He 
 judged that the holy tendency of this faith did not 
 arise so much from the nature of the act, as from 
 its object, Christ made in the offer of the gospel to 
 us sinful creatures, sanctification. He would some- 
 times say to his friends, " Show me what men say 
 of virtue, and I will show that the faith I plead for 
 is productive of it." 
 
 He says, " I am sorry to hear that Mr. 
 
 should think my doctrine tends to the introduction 
 of licentiousness; far, very far from it; it is the 
 genuine doctrine of the Scriptures, and the only 
 doctrine to reclaim mankind, as it encourages them 
 
36 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 not to continue in their sins, but to turn to their 
 injured Lord, and receive salvation at his beneficent 
 hand. ' Him that cometh unto me, I will in no 
 wise cast out,' are our blessed Lord's own words, 
 and all my preaching and writings are founded on 
 that comfortable declaration to my lost undone fel- 
 low creatures, that tender invitation to them in 
 whom there is no health." Like every gospel 
 minister, he carefully explained and enforced the 
 duties of holiness to his hearers, in all their extent 
 and spirituality. But he viewed the truths of the 
 gospel, strictly taken, as the ministration of Christ 
 and his grace to the heart, these truths of them- 
 selves disposing it to holiness. On this point he 
 appeals to facts: " Mark the effect of preaching 
 mere morality, and of preaching the grace of 
 Christ," says he to a correspondent, " Do they, 
 who would decry faith, and extol their good works, 
 distinguish themselves by the practice of them ? 
 If not, I must beg leave to say they are self-con- 
 demned. Only observe, for the next month (by 
 their fruits you will know them,) the conduct of 
 those who are such loud advocates for the merits, 
 the dignity of man, and the freedom of his actions, 
 and of those who rely on the active and passive 
 obedience of Christ; and then tell me ingenuously, 
 which are the people that pay the greatest reve- 
 rence to the word of God, and in particular to the 
 fourth commandment? inquire which of them use 
 family prayer? whose conversation is most edify- 
 ing? which of them visit and travel on Sunday? 
 and which of them pass that holy day as becometh 
 those that have named the name of Christ? I will 
 be bold to say, upon an impartial examination, the 
 majority of these will be found on the side of those 
 who embrace the doctrine of the imputation of 
 Christ's righteousness, and who expect salvation 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 37 
 
 by him alone, and not by deeds which they have 
 done."* 
 
 Through life he experienced, that his purity of 
 heart and conduct bore a proportional degree with 
 the appropriation of faith, in the person and work 
 of Jesus, as an effect from the cause ; so that, when 
 his believing assurance was weak, his purity was 
 little, and when it was strong, his holiness was 
 eminent. The following words of a learned and 
 evangelical modern writer well deserve a place 
 here: "Mr. Hervey lived a life of faith, and, in 
 consequence of that, a life of holiness in the Re- 
 deemer. In the smallest things he was exemplary. 
 The late Mr. Romaine told Mr. Serle, that once 
 being in his company at breakfast, Mr. Hervey 
 (being in ill health,) retired with a small basin of 
 milk to another part of the room, and he heard 
 him praying over it : ' Lord, if I obtain no nourish- 
 ment from this food, at least let me get thankful- 
 ness for it.' This is a little sample of the spirit in 
 which he lived; and his life was uniformly such. 
 Happy would it be for some, who have thought it 
 
 * Gen. Col. Let. 209. — The following anecdote, related 
 of a fellovv-labourcr of Mr. Hervey by Sir Richard Hill, 
 may not be unsuitable in this place: " When that faithful 
 minister of Christ, Mr. Venn, was Vicar of Huddersficld 
 in Yorkshire, he told me, that a neighbouring clergyman, 
 
 the Rev. Dr. L , one day addressed him nearly in the 
 
 following words: — ' Mr. Venn, I know not how it is, but 
 I should really think your doctrines of grace and faith 
 were calculated to make all your hearers live in sin ; and 
 yet I must own that there is an astonishing reformation 
 wrought in your parish, whereas I do not believe I ever 
 made one soul the better, though 1 have been telling them 
 their duty for many years. ' Mr. Venn smiled at this in- 
 genuous confession, and frankly told him, he would do 
 well to burn all his old sermons, and try what preaching 
 Christ would do." 
 
38 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 proper to traduce him, if iheir hearts were as warm 
 towards Christ, and their lives were as unspotted 
 as his." 
 
 By several, under the influence of a legal tem- 
 per, Mr. Harvey has been called an Antinomiania 
 principle, as many other evangelical writers have 
 been.* Mr. Ilervey detested the pernicious prin- 
 ciples which justly go under this name, and labour- 
 ed hard to explode them. 
 
 He explicitly maintained the necessary connec- 
 tion between faith and holiness, and the overpower- 
 ing influence of the former upon the latter. Upon 
 this he pleasantly and judiciously enlarges as to 
 religion in general, and the various graces and vir- 
 tues of the Christian life. We offer the following 
 extracts from his private letters, directed to those 
 whom he had good evidence to consider as parta- 
 kers of this holy faith: — "So long as the 11th 
 
 * In every age, the most evangelical writers and minis- 
 ters have been aspersed with the character of Antinomians, 
 by persons unacquainted with the gospel, who went about 
 to establish their own righteousness. Among others, 
 Messrs. Trail, Chauncy, Romainc, &c. in England, met 
 with much obloquy and reproach, under this name. Seve- 
 ral in Scotland also suffered in their good name on this 
 account: as the eminently holy and judicious Messrs. Hog, 
 of Carnock, Boston, of Ettrick, and Ebenezer and Ralph 
 Erskine, while maintaining the same doctrines for which 
 Mr. Hervey has been so much blamed. The Antinomian 
 errors are the following, none of which the above ministers, 
 or Mr. Hervey, ever maintained : — "The books of the Old 
 Testament are no rule of our faith under the gospel. 
 Christ, and pardon of sin, are no less our's before believing 
 than after it. Good works are not necessary in respect of 
 salvation, Christ having fulfilled all the demands of the law 
 in our stead. The ten commandments are not of indispen- 
 sable obligation. When a believer comes short in obeying 
 God's law, he sins not, and ought not to mourn for it." 
 Horrid perversions of the truth ! 
 
BEV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 39 
 
 chapter of the Hebrews remains in the Bible, it will 
 remain an unanswerable confutation of those objec- 
 tions which suppose the doctrine of faith to have an 
 unkindly influence on religious or virtuous practice; 
 against all such cavils it will stand fast for evermore, 
 as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. I^et 
 not any suspect that the message of free rich grace 
 has a tendency to sooth men into supineness, or 
 serve the cause of licentiousness. It is of all other ex- 
 pedients the most effectually calculated to reconcile 
 us to God, to subdue our enmity, and captivate our 
 perverse affections, to impress our alienated hearts 
 with adoring gratitude, and engage our refractory 
 wills to dutiful obedience." " Relying on nothing 
 valuable in yourself ('he writes to a friend,) but de- 
 pending entirely upon the faithful promise of Him 
 who cannot lie, then you will feel your heart exci- 
 ted to love your most adorable Benefactor ; then you 
 will study to please him in all your conversation; 
 then you will be truly holy." " The Lord purifieth 
 the heart by faith in Jesus Christ, as giving his most 
 glorious person for our ransom, and by his own ob- 
 lation finishing our transgression, yea, perfeciingus 
 for ever. Would we renounce all ungodliness, 
 would we live soberly, righteously, and godly, in 
 the world? That grace, appropriated by faitii, is 
 the sure, the effectual means of true sanctification ; 
 the sure, the effectual motive of willing obedience." 
 " Faith is not a dormant grace, but an active prin- 
 ciple. As light never ceases to issue from the sun, 
 or water from a perennial fountain; so a holy con- 
 versation, and a purified heart, are the inseparable 
 effects of true faith: those will always be more 
 exemplary, in proportion as this is more lively." 
 He illustrates this in particular instances of duty: 
 " I congratulate Mr. on his wisdom and hap- 
 piness in giving up himself without reserve to the 
 
40 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 blessed God. Why should we be reluctant in 
 this deliglitful ad'iiir? One cause of our backward- 
 ness is, our stubborn selfishness and strong cor- 
 ruption: another reason is, we do not attempt it in 
 the proper way ; we consider perhaps the reasona- 
 bleness of it, we urge on our consciences the neces- 
 sity of It, and we labour with our hearts, if by any 
 means we may bring them to the practice of it; 
 but we seldom apply the endearing motives of the 
 gospel. Paul says, ' I beseech you tlierefore, breth- 
 ren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your 
 bodies a living sacrifice.' Here the duty of sur- 
 rendering ourselves to the Almighty is inculcated, 
 and the easy, the expeditious manner of doing it, 
 namely, by believing, is displayed. We are to 
 present our bodies, not in contradistinction to our 
 souls, but in allusion to the whole burnt-offering of 
 old, in which not a joint, or the fat, or the kidneys 
 only, but the whole of the animal, was set apart for 
 the victim; so we are to devote, not this talent or 
 that only but all we have, and all we are, to the 
 glory of his name, and to the good pleasure of his 
 will, a living sacrifice, not dead in carnal pleasure, 
 nor asleep in spiritual indolence, but awake and 
 active for our Divine Master, fervent and zealous in 
 his sacred service. What should engage us to all 
 this ? The most inviting and the most forcible of 
 inducements, the mercies of our God. He has 
 given himself, and all his sublime perfections, to 
 be our portion. He has given his Son, his infinite 
 atonement and everlasting righteousness, to be our 
 salvation. He has given us his Spirit to testify of 
 Chiist in our hearts, to apply this great salvation to 
 our souls, and to make all grace to abound toward 
 us. All this he has given freely, irrevocably, eternal- 
 ly ; and can we, under the influence of such a faith, 
 
EEV. JAMES HEBVEY. 
 
 41 
 
 can we forbear the inquiry, 'What shall I render 
 to the Lortl, for all his benefits toward me ?' " 
 
 " The apostle says, Repent and be baptized ; 
 but if a poor sinner had asked him this question, 
 How shall I repent? what shall melt my stony 
 heart? what shall make me abhor myself, and my 
 beloved lusts? To this effect he would probably 
 have replied; Nothing but the grace of God mani- 
 fested in Christ; believe that the Lord delivered up 
 his dearest Son to die in your stead; believe that 
 the blessed Jesus has borne every one of your sins, 
 in his bleeding body and on the accursed tree : this, 
 under the influence of the Holy Ghost, will soften 
 the hard heart : this will alienate your heart from all 
 iniquity ; by this you will be taught godly sorrow, 
 Zech. xii. 10, and evangelical humiliation, Ezek. 
 xxxvi. Repent, and believe the gospel. Repent, 
 forsake all your vices and all your follies. Mortify 
 every evil temper, and renounce every evil way. 
 In order to render this practicable, believe the gos- 
 pel, wherein a Saviour is preached and displayed, 
 who makes peace for such offenders, reconciles 
 them to God, obtains eternal redemption for ihem ; 
 this will sweetly draw your affections from iniquity, 
 and sweetly attach them to the blessed God." 
 " The truest humility, the most genuine abasement, 
 is grounded on a sense of our ever-blessed Re- 
 deemer's love. He that is high above all height, 
 humbled himself to death, even the death of the 
 cross, that he might make expiation for these of- 
 fences. When we are properly impressed with this 
 astonishing and delightful truth, it will sink us in 
 humiliation, while it exalts us in hope. If we ob- 
 serve the scales of a balance, the higher the one 
 ascends, the lower proportionably the other drops. 
 So the more we advance in this faith the more we 
 4 
 
42 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 shall increase in poverty of spirit. Taylor, upon 
 ' Faith, working by Love,' is a work I never read. 
 0 that I nia)' know its truth by happy experience ? 
 The love of Christ is the true source of repentance, 
 the true spur of obedience, and the true spur to 
 mortification; it will make even the stern counte- 
 nance of that dreaded duty wear a smile. Under 
 its influence, the difficult task of self-denial becomes 
 not practicable only, but easy and eligible ; we 
 shall without reluctance deny ourselves for His 
 sake, who has obtained pardon of sin and eternal 
 redemption for us; we shall gladly renounce any 
 alluring vanity for his honour, who has made us 
 children of God and heirs of glory; we shall be 
 ready to distribute, willing to communicate, for the 
 relief of his afflicted servants, when we believe that 
 their exalted Lord emptied even his veins and laid 
 down his very life, for their salvation. Faith is 
 characterised at working by love. This is its hap- 
 py tendency, and this is its generous language, — 
 Has Christ been so inconceivably gracious to me ? 
 Surely, then, I should be kind to my fellow-crea- 
 tures, and to all his people. Has he borne all my 
 sins on the tree of his cross? Then let me bear 
 with patience the disappointments which Provi- 
 dence may ordain, and bear with meekness the dis- 
 respect which my neighbours may offer. Has he 
 clothed me with the robe of his immaculate righte- 
 ousness? How gladly, then, should I clothe his 
 poor servants with the fleeces of my sheep, and 
 accommodate them with the superfluities of my 
 wealth ! Has he purchased life and immortality for 
 so despicable a creature, so vile a sinner! Surely, 
 then, I should be zealous to glorify his blessed 
 name — should employ my little stock of talents to 
 magnify his Majesty, and to further his sacred 
 cause." 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 43 
 
 "It is St. Paul's argument, and a most affecting 
 argument it is: 'Be ye kind one to anotlier, ten- 
 der-hearted, forgiving one another, as God for 
 Christ's sake hath forgiven you.' May the Spirit 
 of eternal goodness confirm you in this faith; and 
 give you a happy persuasion that all your sins are 
 blotted out by the blood of the Lamb; and that 
 though there are and will be failings in you, yet 
 there is no condemnation for you ! This will pro- 
 mote and facilitate the increase of every virtue; just 
 as a generous cordial exhilarates the spirits, invigo- 
 rates the limbs, and sheds its benign influence 
 through the whole frame." His constant direction 
 was, " Cherish faiih, and you will of course culti- 
 vate obedience; water the root, and the branches 
 of universal godliness will assuredly partake of its 
 beneficial effects, will spread and bring forth their 
 fruits." 
 
 On the whole, while the Antinomian pretends to 
 receive Christ, but does not reckon himself obliged 
 to walk in Christ, and the legalist considers him- 
 self as under an indispensable obligation to walk 
 in obedience to the law of Christ, while he despises 
 the doctrine of faith in his person and mediation, 
 Mr. Hervey was favoured with scriptural views of 
 faith and holiness; and, as a true Christian, aimed 
 to receive the Lord Jesus by believing, and to walk 
 in him by practical holiness. 
 
 Mr. Hervey makes the following remarks as to 
 an error, " which is often committed in our at- 
 tempts to instruct little chddren. What is more 
 common than to tell them, "if they will be good, 
 God Almighty will love and bless them ;' whereas 
 they should rather be informed, that God Almighty 
 has given his Son to die for sinners ; and if they 
 pray to him, he will forgive their sins, will make 
 
44 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 them holy and happy, and bless them with all spi- 
 ritual blessings in Christ." 
 
 The doctrines of grace, which he so explicitly 
 maintained, he fully expected would be opposed. 
 He had been warned of this by Mr. Whitefield ; 
 " 1 foretel the fate of these volumes ; nothing but 
 your scenery can screen you ; self will never con- 
 sent to die, though slain in so genteel a manner, 
 without showing some resentment against its artful 
 murderer." He expected it himself. Enlarging 
 on sovereign grace, as running through all divine 
 blessings, he observes : " This is that glorious 
 gospel, which human learning could never have 
 discovered, which carnal reason cannot understand, 
 which the wisdom of this world counteth foolish- 
 ness, which the envy of the devil and the pride of 
 man will always oppose. So long as the devil is 
 suffered to deceive the nations, and so long as the 
 heart is unconvinced of sin, we may assure our- 
 selves, that the doctrines of justification by Christ's 
 righteousness, and salvation by free grace, will be 
 opposed." 
 
 He could also glory in any name of reproach 
 (as the honourable reproach of Christ) that might 
 be cast upon him, for asserting the absolute bound- 
 less freedom of the grace of God, which excludes 
 every kind of human merit, and teaches men to 
 deny ungodliness and wordly lusts, and to live so- 
 berly, righteously, and godly. 
 
 He evinced much candour and forbearance, but 
 properly guards himself in the following words: — 
 " I apprehend, that between Christians, whose 
 judgments disagree only about a form of prayer, 
 or manner of worship, there is no more essential 
 difference than between flowers that bloom from 
 the same kind of seed, but happen to be somewhat 
 
REV. JAMES HEHVEY. 
 
 45 
 
 diversified in the mixture of their colours; where- 
 as, if one denies the divinity of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and degrades the incarnate God to the 
 meanness of a mere creature ; if another cries up 
 the worthiness of liuman works, and depreciates 
 the meritorious righteousness of the glorious Me- 
 diator; if a third addresses the incommunicable 
 honours to a finite being, and bows to the image, 
 or prays to the saint; these are errors, in my opi- 
 nion, unhappily derogatory to the Redeemer's dig- 
 nity, and not a little prejudicial to the comfort of 
 his people. Against these, therefore, to remon- 
 strate, bespeaks, not the censorious bigot, but the 
 friend of truth, and the lover of mankind; where- 
 as, to stand neuter and silent, while such principles 
 are propagated, might be an instance of criminal 
 remissness, rather than of Christian ranoderation. 
 For persons who espouse such persuasions as the 
 former, and habituate themselves to such practices 
 as the latter, we will not fail to maintain a tender 
 compassion; we will not cease to put up earnest 
 intercessions; we will also acknowledge and love 
 whatever is truly excellent and amiable in them. Yet 
 we dare not subscribe their creed; we cannot re- 
 mit our assiduous but kind endeavours to reconcile 
 them to what (upon the most impartial examina- 
 tion,) we are thoroughly convinced is a more 
 scriptural belief and a purer worship." 
 
 HIS PUBLIC CHARACTER AND CONDUCT. 
 
 In his public ministry, Mr. Hervey clearly stated 
 and illustrated the difference of the law, which re- 
 quires all obedience of men; and of the gospel 
 strictly taken, which freely offers and gives all 
 privileges to us; and their blessed harmony and 
 
46 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 mutual subserviency in Christ. He aimed to coun- 
 teract, with equal care, self-riglUeous legality on 
 the one hand, and Antinomian licentiousness on the 
 other. He says himself to his people: " The usual 
 subjects of your preacher, are the absolutely free 
 grace of God, and the immensely rich merits of 
 Christ; the infinite atonement and everlasting right- 
 eousness of the Redeemer. While he enlarges on 
 these, he is sowing the seed of vital holiness, with- 
 out which seed, holiness will never flourish in 
 your hearts, will never bring forth fruit in your 
 lives." He Avas anxiously concerned to have his 
 people thoroughly convinced that they were sinful 
 lost creatures, not to recommend them to Christ, 
 but that, from such a conviction, they might per- 
 ceive their indispensable need of a Saviour. To 
 this purpose he says to them ; " I dare not flatter 
 you with vain hopes ; I must not buoy you with 
 ungrounded imaginations. Beware, I beseech you, 
 lest you build for eternity on the sand. Trust no 
 longer in a refuge of lies, lest all your admired at- 
 tainments, at the day of final retribution, be like 
 straw, and hay, and slubble, in Nebuchadnezzar's 
 fiery furnace."* In another sermon he thus ad- 
 ministers reproof : " If I could speak in thunder, I 
 could never inveigh too loudly against these vices : 
 ye that go on in such iniquities, ye are scattering 
 brimstone on your habitations, ye are heaping up 
 wrath against the day of wrath, how can ye escape 
 the damnation of hell?"t 
 
 Mr. Hervey especially preached Jesus to his 
 people, and enlarged on the glorious person, the 
 mysterious incarnation, the amazing satisfaction of 
 
 * The Cross of Christ the Christian's glory, 
 t Sermon on The Way of Holiness. 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 47 
 
 Christ Jesus the Lord; the glories of his exalted 
 state; his mediatorial characters, offices, and rela- 
 tions. Those were his darling themes, on which 
 he expatiated with peculiar delight ; and when any 
 topics that have not the most immediate relation to 
 Christ were the subjects of his discourse, yet still 
 it might be said of his sermons, what the apostle 
 says of Christians, " Of him are ye in Christ Je- 
 sus ;" whatever mystery, whatever privilege, what- 
 ever duty he chose to explain, still Christ was all 
 in all. If he insisted on a divine attribute, he de- 
 clared how it shone forth in Christ with the bright- 
 est evidence. If on a promise, he explained how 
 in Christ it was yea and amen. If on a command, 
 he inculcated the propriety of obedience by fur- 
 nishing motives deduced from Christ, and how im- 
 possible it is to obey without being united to 
 him as the head of vital influence. His precious 
 Redeemer was the beginning, the middle, and the 
 end of every sermon with him. He apprehended 
 that all the efficacy of gospel-truth, for light, holi- 
 ness, and comfort, centered in and arose from the 
 divine person of Immanuel. He particularly was 
 determined, with the apostle, to preach him as 
 crucified. Well might he appeal to his hearers, 
 in one of his published sermons: " Does not the 
 joyful sound echo under these roofs ? Is not Christ 
 crucified set before your eyes 1 Crucified for such 
 offenders; crucified that such offenders as you 
 may be pardoned, may be accepted, may be glori- 
 fied." The cross of Christ was the doctrine that 
 lay nearest his heart; this, in all its tendencies 
 and bearings, in all its relations to the honour of 
 God and the salvation of men, he delighted to elu- 
 cidate in every various form of words, and on this 
 he dwelt with growing zeal and ardour to the close 
 
I 
 
 48 LIFE OF 
 
 of life. It was the subject that met him in every 
 direction, that beautified and adorned every other 
 topic, that lived and breathed in all his preaching, 
 the centre of all his sermons ; in reference to, and 
 in dependence upon which, other subjects were 
 considered. As an ambassador of Christ, he wished 
 to spread far and wide the honours of the Lamb 
 that was slain ; to make every sacred roof resound 
 with his fame, and every human heart glow with 
 his love ; to declare, as far as the force of words 
 would go, the inconceivable richness of that aton- 
 ing blood, whose merits are commensurate with 
 the glories of the divinity ; to tell the most sinful 
 wretch what pity yearns in Immanuel's bowels, 
 and what the compassionate High Priest has done 
 for his soul; to invite the indigent to become rich, 
 and to entreat the guilty to accept of pardon, be- 
 cause in the crucified Jesus is fulness of grace, and 
 all-sufficiency to save. What he laid before an 
 assembly of ministers, he exemplified in his own 
 conduct. He set not before his hearers a system 
 of refined heathenism, nor entertained them with 
 cold spiritless lectures of virtue; on the contrary, 
 he displayed the infinitely tender love, and im- 
 mensely free grace of the dying Jesus. No topics 
 in the whole compass of oratory, no argument 
 amidst all the stores of reason, did he find so admi- 
 rably calculated to excite the finest movements of 
 the soul, to strike all the inmost springs of action, 
 with the most persuasive energy. When he 
 alarmed the supine, or intimidated the presumptu- 
 ous, he would call them to behold God's own Son 
 weltering in his blood — God's own Son transfixed 
 with the arrows of justice. He bade them con- 
 sider, if judgment begins with the immaculate Me- 
 diator, where the irreclaimable sinner would ap- 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 49 
 
 pear? How could he escape the stroke, or bear 
 the weight of God's everlasting vengeance? When 
 he would comfort the distressed, he pointed them 
 to an atonement, whose merits are infinite, and able 
 to save to the very uttermost; he led them to a 
 righteousness, wliose efficacy is unbounded, and 
 sufficient to justify the ungodly, and to the only 
 sovereign balm for a wounded conscience. In sup- 
 porting the weak, and animating the doubting, he 
 showed them promises, free and exceeding great 
 and j)recious promises, sealed by the blood of Je- 
 hovah's Son. He declared, 
 
 " To man the bleeding cross has proniis'd all, 
 The bleeding cross has sworn eternal grace." 
 
 This he viewed as the most restorative cordial to 
 the drooping Christian; and, in short, found the 
 doctrine of Immanuel's cross suited to answer all 
 the ends of his ministry, and promote all the truly 
 valuable interests of his people. Particularly, he 
 was persuaded that this doctrine, though rich with 
 consolation to the ruined sinner, was in no respect 
 likely to open a door for licentiousness, and em- 
 bolden sinners to prosecute their vices; on the 
 contrary, he knew it was the only powerful mo- 
 tive to that genuine repentance, which flows from 
 an unfeigned love of God, and operates in a hearty 
 detestation of all sin. While this was to some a 
 stumbling-block and foolishness, he made it the 
 Alpha and Omega, the beginning and ending, of 
 all his ministrations. He faithfully told his people 
 their sin and duty, as prudently as possible, and 
 Avith the gentleness of Christ; but as to these 
 points nothing could prevail on him to conceal or 
 disguise them. He used this method of preaching, 
 that by union and fellowship with Jesus they 
 5 
 
50 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 might enjoy every spiritual blessing, and be adorn- 
 ed with every virtue: earnestly he wished to in- 
 graft his hearers into tlie true vine, that he might 
 quickly find them loaded witli tlie fruits of right- 
 eousness. He longed particularly to have a lively 
 sense of the goodness of a redeeming God, mani- 
 fested in freely offering pardon and peace to rebel- 
 lious sinners in the gospel, impressed on their 
 souls. From this source, he knew, by happy ex- 
 perience, that all the amiable graces and important 
 duties, which constitute the dignity or happiness of 
 our nature, could alone be derived. He clearly tes- 
 tified the grace of God, and constantly affirmed, 
 that they who believed in God, should be careful 
 to maintain good works. 
 
 His manner of preaching was impressive ; in- 
 deed, he brought his message written on his heart. 
 He spoke of the guilt of sin, and the sufferings of 
 Christ, in ihe exercise of feeling his own guilt, and 
 leaning on these sufferings for its expiation. He 
 expatiated on the love of Christ, under the influ- 
 ence of a heart kindled with it; and on the glory 
 to come, in the temper of one who expects, and 
 longs, to be a sharer in it. In preaching, Mr. 
 Hervey was always very earnest, particularly near 
 the end; so much so, that he had always to change 
 his linen. We have several instances of this earnest- 
 ness in the few sermons he published, especially 
 in his addresses to sinners: — " O that I might pre- 
 vail ! O that God would make you sensible of 
 your peril! O that man, woman, and child would 
 ask, How shall I flee from the wrath to come ? 
 Fain would I prevail in this most importunate ad- 
 dress. My dear friends, if you turn away from 
 such invitations, you are ruined to eternity. To 
 believe on the Son of God is your grand concern, 
 
REV. JAMES HERVET. 
 
 51 
 
 the one thing needful; without this nothing will 
 profit you; tiierefore I repeat my exhort:ition, 
 therefore I am so urgent, therefore I cannot dis- 
 miss the subject, without beseeching the Father of 
 mercies to command a blessing upon tlie word." 
 Under great weakness of body, he says to his peo- 
 ple, " Shall I proceed? I have been already copi- 
 ous, perhaps somewhat tedious, yet yon will bear 
 with me on tiiis occasion ; yes, you will bear with 
 me a little longer, for I am loth, very loth to dis- 
 miss you without persuading you. Let me entreat 
 you, brelln-en, for the sake of your immortal souls ; 
 let me charge you by all that is desirable in time, 
 and awful in eternity, not to neglect these coun- 
 sels." 
 
 His mode of preaching was not that general ad- 
 dress which seems to take for granted all men are 
 saints ; it was, on the contrary, very discrimina- 
 tive. He knew that he preached to a mixed au- 
 dience, men in very diflerent situations, and of 
 very different characters, and, like a wise steward, 
 he gave to each his portion of food in due season : 
 the sinner in a natural state he roused, he also 
 pressed and encouraged him to the use of all the 
 means appointed for the working of saving faith ; 
 the saint he exhorted to build himself up on his 
 most holy faith, in the exercise of every good word 
 and work. The style which he used in his ser- 
 mons, was far from possessing that luxuriancy and 
 brilliance which is to be found in his Meditations; 
 yet, while it was in the highest degree simple and 
 perspicuous, it never degenerated into rant or vul- 
 garity. He wished to adapt his language to the 
 lowest capacity. Mr. Hervey thought evangelical 
 doctrine and plain language of much more import- 
 ance to his parishioners, than elaborate and orna- 
 
52 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 mental discourses ; though few men were more 
 capable of gratifying a polite audience. While he 
 could see and admire the beauties of the eloquent 
 orator or strong reasoner, he wished to be a useful 
 minister of Christ. As to his preparations for the 
 pulpit, he, for many years, while at Dummer, 
 Bideford, and CoUingtree, wrote notes of his ser- 
 mons in short-hand ; after he was setded at Wes- 
 ton-Favel he discontinued this practice, having then 
 a good acquaintance with the system of gospel- 
 truth. He, without notes, by meditation and prayer, 
 arranged his preparations for public service; so 
 that, as he says, all his sermons vanished into air, 
 unless the blessed Spirit had left any trace of them 
 on the heart of the hearers. 
 
 Mr. Hervey suited himself to his different charges; 
 at Bideford he never forgot the sailors, and at Wes- 
 ton he knew he spoke to husbandmen. The fol- 
 lowing extract from a sermon of his to sailors will 
 illustrate this remark: " What we have mentioned 
 of our Lord's saying, ' Peace, be still,' to the 
 raging waves, may instruct you whom to address 
 in the hour of danger; and may also teach you the 
 wisdom of securing an interest in the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, whose divine word even the winds and sea 
 obey. The hour is coming, dear sailors, when 
 you shall hail with shouts your native land no 
 more. O then seek unto Christ; get an interest 
 in his merits ; give yourselves up to his govern- 
 ance ; let his word be your compass ; let his 
 grace hold the helm, and steer your course; let 
 his blessing fill your sails ; let his blood, his right- 
 eousness, his Spirit be the prize of your calling; 
 let this be the precious merchandize you covet, 
 this the pearl of great price you seek. Lay hold 
 on Christ; and, renouncing every other refuge, lay 
 
R E V. J A M E S H E R V E Y. 53 
 
 the whole stress of your soul wholly on Christ, as 
 a shipwrecked mariner relinquishes all his sinking 
 cargo, and clings only to the planks that may float 
 him safe to sliore." To the mariners he also says: 
 " You have not the opportunities which your rela- 
 tions enjoy on the land. You have no churches 
 to frequent, no sacraments to receive, nor such 
 plenty of the means of grace ; but you see more 
 of the awful God, and his tremendous works. You 
 see with what dreadful splendour his lightnings 
 shine upon the world, and with Avhat astonishing 
 majesty he utters his voice in thunders. You see 
 how, at his command, the stormy wind ariseth, 
 and the waters rage horribly: again, at his com- 
 mand, the tempestuous elements are hushed, and 
 the troubled ocean sinks into a calm. The craggy 
 rocks that break the foaming billows, and can as 
 easily dash your vessel into a thousand pieces ; 
 those rocks are set fast by his mighty arm, and 
 melt like wax at his tremendous frown. Those 
 lofty mountains, which throw their shade over the 
 seas, and point out your way from afar; all these 
 arose at his word, and stand as so many attestations 
 of his power. If he descend in terrible magnifi- 
 cence, they flee like frighted lambs; if he touch 
 them in his indignation, they smoke like lighted 
 tow." 
 
 In administering the Lord's Supper he was pe- 
 culiarly lively and fervent, so that sometimes his 
 natural strength would be quite exhausted. 
 
 The venerable Dr. Haweis attended his ministry 
 one sabbath, and sent the compiler the following 
 account, which he allows to be made public. " My 
 knowledge and acquaintance with Mr. Hervey was 
 only of one day, of one sabbath: he was removing 
 from his ministerial labours, just as I was ready to 
 
54 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 enter upon iheni, and being very desirous of see- 
 ing him before his departure to glory, and if I might 
 secure but a thread of the mantle of Ehjah, I rode 
 from Oxford to Weston-Favel, his parish, a dis- 
 tance of about fifty miles for that purpose. I found 
 him tall, and much emaciated: with serenity of 
 countenance, and a cordial welcome, he asked me 
 to dine and spend the day with him, which I ac- 
 cepted with pleasure. His preaching was purely 
 evangelical, and very similar to his writings, in 
 beautiful comments on the Scriptures lie quoted ; 
 but his manner of delivery far from the elegance I 
 expected in the tone of voice and action. His 
 cliurch was very small, and, though full, not re- 
 markably crowded; but the people were very at- 
 tentive to hear him. He invited me to go home 
 with him; and engaged in very kind and spiritual 
 conversation. I just remember one observation he 
 made. We sat in a little inner parlour, and his 
 mother and sisler in one adjoining. I observed a 
 little sauce-pan on the fire: " You will dine in the 
 next room witii my mother," said he; " I no long- 
 er eat meat; this is my little cookery (some gruel,) 
 which, like the pulse which fed Daniel and his 
 fellows, if the Lord please to bless it, can strength- 
 en me for the King's service, that I should be fat- 
 ter and fairer than if I used more substantial food." 
 At evening, when I parted with him, to meet no 
 more till we should be counted worthy to stand be- 
 fore the Son of man, an aged domestic brought out 
 my horse, and, as I mounted, ofl'ered for me a fer- 
 vent prayer, that He who dwelt in the bush, would 
 be my guide through the wilderness. The distance 
 of time is so great, that these are the only circum- 
 stances I remember." 
 
 He did not think it sufficient to preach on the 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEV. 
 
 55 
 
 Lord's clay only, but he set up a weekly lecture 
 every Wednesday evening at Weston-Favel church, 
 which was well attended, and much blessed to 
 many of his neighbours; this lecture was held, 
 during the winter, at seven o'clock, that it might 
 not interfere with the work of the labouring people; 
 and he lighted the church at his own expense, not 
 choosing to put the parish to any additional charge. 
 The exercise of his ministry, in this respect, he 
 expresses to a correspondent in the following terms: 
 " I have this afternoon been preaching to a crowd- 
 ed audience — the Lord grant it may be an edified 
 one! One would be surprised, and I believe every 
 body wonders, that I am able to officiate for my- 
 self. I am so weak (in 1753,) that I can hardly 
 walk to the end of my parish, though a small one, 
 and so tender, that I dare not visit my poor neigh- 
 bours, for fear of catching cold in their bleak houses; 
 yet I am enabled every Lord's day to catechise and 
 expound to my children in the morning, and to 
 preach in the afternoon; and every Wednesday 
 evening, hay-time and harvest only excepted, I 
 give them a lecture or sermon in Weston church. 
 This is the Lord's doing, or, as your favourite 
 book expresses it, this is owing to the good hand 
 of God upon me. Join with me in adoring his 
 name; pray with me, that if my life is spared, my 
 capacity for his service may be prolonged ; that 
 if it be his blessed will, the day which puts an 
 end to the one, may put a period to the other." 
 
 Mr. Hervey did not confine his preaching to his 
 church alone, but took every opportunity to preach 
 Christ. One of his constant hearers relates the fol- 
 lowing anecdote on this head, which fell under his 
 own observation : — " Mr. Hervey had preached on 
 Gen. xxviii, 12, "And, behold, a ladder, set upon 
 
56 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven,' &c.: 
 this he considered as a type of Christ. After he 
 had done his duty in the church of Weston, as he 
 was coming down the lane, leading from it to his 
 own house, his hearers, wishing to show their re- 
 gard to him, generally used to stand on each side of 
 the lane to pay their respects, by bowing and cour- 
 tesying to him as he passed : so soon as he came 
 to the top of the lane, he lifted up his hands, and 
 gave a short lecture as he passed along, saying, 
 ' O my friends, I beg of God you may not forget 
 this glorious ladder, that Almighty God hath pro- 
 vided for poor sinners ; a ladder that will conduct 
 us from this grovelling earth! a ladder that will 
 raise us above our corruption, unto the glorious 
 liberty of the sons of God ! O my dear friends and 
 hearers, I beg you will never forget this glorious 
 ladder, but hope you may daily meditate upon it, 
 till you reach the third lieaven." 
 
 He appears to have preached seldom any where 
 but at home, unless when called to preach visita- 
 tion-sermons. He gives an account of two occa- 
 sions of this sort. In June, 1741, he writes: "I 
 am just now going to our visitation, held at Nor- 
 thampton; I shall appear a stranger in our Jerusa- 
 lem, knowing few, and known by fewer. Methinks 
 there is something august and venerable in a meet- 
 ing of the clergy, especially if one look upon them 
 as so many agents from the invisible God, and en- 
 voys from the court of heaven. I Iiope to be put 
 in mind of that awful day, when the Lord Jesus, 
 the great Shepherd of the sheep, and Bishop of 
 souls, will make his entrance in the clouds of 
 heaven." He preached on 2 Cor. v. 18: the ser- 
 mon was published after his death, and is entitled, 
 The Ministry of Reconciliation. In 1753, he was 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 57 
 
 called to the same duty. He thus speaks of this 
 occasion : — " I am going to set out for Northamp- 
 ton, where I am to preach the visitation-sermon. 
 I know not how I sliall speak, so as to be heard in 
 that very large and lofty church. May the Lord 
 God Omnipotent make his strength perfect in my 
 extreme weakness ! My text is, God forbid that 
 I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. O for the eloquence of an Apollos, and 
 the fervour of a Boanerges, to treat worthily such 
 a subject ! I am quite ashamed of my poor spirit- 
 less jejune composition ; and I am not less ashamed 
 of my unbelief, that I dare not trust God for utter- 
 ance, but, before an audience that is critical, for- 
 sooth, must use my notes." 
 
 In tliese sermons, especially the last, he bore an 
 open and explicit testimony to almost all the pecu- 
 liarities of the gospel, before many who maintained 
 an entirely opposite system, or cared for none of 
 these things. He afterwards printed it for the 
 benefit of a poor child. He seems also to have 
 preached occasionally in one of the seaport towns 
 in the west. 
 
 The performance of his ministerial duty was, for 
 some time before he died, much interrupted by the 
 ill state of his health, which would not permit him 
 personally to fulfil all his pastoral duties ; a circum- 
 stance which gave him great concern. He would 
 often lament his inability to serve his people, com- 
 paring himself to a bleeding disabled soldier, and 
 only not slain. He would also sometimes say, 
 " My preaching is not like sending an arrow from 
 a bow, to which some strength of arm is necessary, 
 but like pulling the trigger of a gun, ready charged, 
 which the feeblest finger can do." During the last 
 two or three years before he died, he could scarcely 
 
58 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 do any thing more than preach once on the Lord's 
 day, when people from many miles round (locked 
 to liear him. His ^Vednesday evening lecture he 
 discontinued for the last year of his life. In Jan- 
 uary, 1758, he writes: "The cough has totally 
 destroyed the small remainder of strength, that I 
 am quite incapable to preach so much as once on 
 the Lord's day; I am obliged to beg assistance, 
 and am looking out for a curate, to take the whole 
 business on his hands. May the Head of the 
 Church vouchsafe to furnish me with a faidifui and 
 wise steward, who may supply my lack of service, 
 and give his household their portion of meat in due 
 season," He always preached without notes, ex- 
 cept on very particular occasions; but his method 
 was judicious and clear, and not incumbered with 
 too many divisions. As to this, his friend Dr. 
 Stonehouse says, " I recollect that he preached 
 without notes, excepting that he had before him a 
 small leaf of paper, on which were written, in 
 short-hand, the general heads and particulars of the 
 sermon, which he sometimes looked at, and some- 
 limes not. He was very regular in his plans, nor 
 was he very long; from thirty to forty minutes 
 was his usual time; rarely longer." His weak- 
 ness rendering him, for several months before his 
 death, incapable of speaking any length of time to 
 his congregation, he sliortened his discourses, and 
 took a most useful method of inculcating his in- 
 structions. After he had expounded his text, and 
 divided his sermon into two or three heads, he 
 would speak briefly, and at the conclusion of each 
 head, enforce wiiat he had said by a pertinent text 
 of Scripture, desiring his congregation to turn to 
 their Bibles, and double down that text. " Now, 
 (added he,) my dear brethren, if you forget my 
 
KEV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 59 
 
 sermon, you cannot forget God's word in this 
 text, unless you wilfully throw aside your Bibles. 
 Show this to your children, or the absent part of 
 your family, when you return home. Ponder and 
 pray over these portions of God's word ; you will 
 have abundant matter for edification." Then he 
 gave a striking exhortation, and at the end of it, 
 another text for them to double down; so that they 
 had always three texts, in order to their finding of 
 which, he paused in the pulpit. This method had 
 anodier good effect; it obliged the generality to 
 bring their Bibles along with them, for those who 
 were without Bibles, lost the benefit of the texts, 
 and were unemployed; while the great majority, 
 who had their's, were busy looking for the texts 
 referred to in the sermon. His method of cate- 
 chising children in the church, and of speaking to 
 them in private, was very engaging and useful. 
 We give this in his own»words: — " As to instruct- 
 ing children, my method is to ask them easy ques- 
 tions, and to teach them easy and short answers. 
 The Lord's prayer was the subject of our last 
 explanation. In some such manner I proceeded: 
 Why is this prayer called the Lord's prayer? Be- 
 cause our Lord taught it. — Why is Christ called 
 our Lord? Because he bought us with his blood. 
 Why does he teach us to call God Father? That 
 we may go to him as children to a fiither. — How 
 do children go to God as a father? With faith, 
 not doubting but he will give them what they want. 
 Why our Father in heaven? That we may pray 
 to him with reverence. — What is meant by God's 
 name? God himself, and all his perfections. — 
 What by hallowed? 'I'hat he may be honoured 
 and glorified. — How is God to be honoured? In 
 our hearts, with our tongues, and by our lives, &lc. 
 
60 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 On such questions I endeavour to comprehend, not 
 all that may be said, but that only which may be 
 level to their capacities, and is most necessary for 
 them to know. The answer to each question I 
 explain in the most familiar manner possible, such 
 a manner as a polite hearer might treat with the 
 most sovereign contempt; I use little similes, that 
 are quite low. In every explanation I would be 
 short, but repeat it again and again; tautology in 
 this case is the true propriety of speaking to our 
 little auditors, and will be better than all the graces 
 of eloquence." 
 
 He would at these times ask such questions as 
 were not only suitable to the words of the cate- 
 chism, but also such as would most strike at the 
 vices of his parishioners. Some of these having 
 lain in bed on a Sabbath morning longer than he 
 approved, others having been busy in foddering 
 their cattle when he was coming to church, and 
 several having frequented the ale-house, he thus 
 catechised one of the children before the congrega- 
 tion: — "Repeat me the fourth commandment. — 
 Now, my little man, do you understand the mean- 
 ing of this command? Yes, Sir. Then, if you 
 do, you will be able to answer me these questions : 
 Do those keep the holy Sabbath day, who lie in 
 bed till eight or nine o'clock in the morning, in- 
 stead of rising to say their prayers, or read their 
 Bibles ? No, Sir. Do those keep the Sabbath who 
 fodder their cattle when other people are going to 
 church? No, Sir. Does God Almighty bless such 
 as go to ale-houses on the Sabbath, and do not 
 mind the instructions of their minister? No, Sir. 
 Do those who love God, read the Bible in their 
 families, particularly on Sabbath evening, and have 
 prayers every morning and night in their houses? 
 
EEV. JAMES HERVEY, 
 
 61 
 
 Yes, Sir." A great variety of such pertinent ques- 
 tions he would frequently ask, in the most familiar 
 and engaging manner, on every part of the cate- 
 chism, as he thought most conducive to the im- 
 provement and editication of his people. Indeed, 
 he seems to have paid peculiar attention to the 
 lambs of the flock. We have many instances of 
 this. To a friend he writes: — "Your dear little 
 ones, the olive plants about your table, I trust are 
 in a flourishing state. May the good Lord fulfil 
 his gracious promises to them, and the children of 
 your honoured neighbour. May he pour his Spi- 
 rit upon your seed, and his blessing upon your 
 offspring, that they may grow up (in knowledge 
 and grace) as willows by the water courses." To 
 another he says: " I have just been giving an ex- 
 hortation to my young brethren: I have warned 
 them to remember their Creator in the days of 
 their youth. My thoughts were led to the subject 
 by an alarming providence, which snatched away 
 one of their companions in the gaiety of youth. 
 May the hand of the Almighty set home the word 
 of his ministers ! May young persons come, in 
 the vigour of health, to the feet of the Redeemer, 
 and devote their warm affections to his service ! 
 And O may the preacher himself (then a young 
 man) both lead them in the way, and encourage 
 them to follow !" 
 
 As long as he was able, he catechised the chil- 
 dren of his parishes in the summer season in the 
 church, on the catechism, the creed, the ten com- 
 mandments, and the Lord's prayer. He was 
 much pleased with (as he says) some hopeful 
 young people, who came together to visit him one 
 afternoon. He introduced a discourse on growth 
 in grace, and settled times for future conferences 
 
62 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 with them on divine snbjecls. He used to recom- 
 mend to them " Henry's Pleasantness of Religion," 
 and " Jeniv's Glorious Victory of Chastity." Of this 
 last he says : " It is a pity that this piece is not more 
 regarded by parents, as it is, perhaps, the best 
 thing of its size ever written on the subject, and 
 ought to be put into the hands of all young peo- 
 ple." Having received a supply of Mason's small 
 Catechisms, from his friend Mr. Ryland, he scat- 
 tered them among his young people, saying: 
 " Some such small evangelical treatises are much 
 wanted." He particularly recommended to the 
 young the Book of God. " I find, (he says) from 
 an expression in your letter, that you read the 
 New Testament in the original. Dear Sir, let that 
 book be your bosom friend and your constant com- 
 panion. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse 
 his way? but by taking heed to himself, accord- 
 ing to the doctrine and example of his most holy 
 Redeemer." Again he writes: " My dear Sir, lay 
 up a stock of comfort, get your graces lively, while 
 animal nature blooms." To a young lady he writes ; 
 " I am pleased not a little to hear a lady of your 
 blooming years declare, that an inquiry relating to 
 everlasting salvation, has taken up much of her 
 thoughts. Let me entreat you to go on and imi- 
 tate that excellent woman, whose panegyric is 
 uttered by wisdom and truth itself — ' Mary hath 
 chosen that good part, which shall not be taken 
 from her.' " For the sake of young people, as 
 proper historical furniture for their minds, he in- 
 tended to write the most memorable and striking 
 facts of the four ancient monarchies, calculated to 
 explain the prophecies of Scripture, and demon- 
 strate their exact accomplishment; with succinct 
 details of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the dis- 
 
BEV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 63 
 
 persion of the Jews. His bad health and death 
 prevented this. 
 
 When he met with young people he would talk 
 witii them: sometimes he saw reason to reprove 
 them (as when he saw them profaning the ^Sab- 
 bath, by playing at marbles, (fee.) in his gentle 
 way, telling them they had souls to be saved or 
 lost. He talked with them familiarly about reli- 
 gion as a delightful employment; put easy ques- 
 tions to them ; encouraged them occasionally by 
 little presents, and thus taught them an amiable, 
 cheerful, and generous piety. Indeed, he had a 
 very happy method of gaining the attention of 
 youth, and took great delight in talking with them ; 
 instances of which were long remembered by his 
 people and domestics. It is well known that Mr. 
 Hervey's health, in the concluding years of his 
 life, was in a very shattered state; it was then his 
 constant practice to take a daily airing on horse- 
 back, when the weather would permit. In a sub- 
 ordinate care of his health he did not forget his 
 business of doing good. When he met with young 
 persons in these excursions, he used to engage 
 them in religious conversation, in a manner pecu- 
 liarly prepossessing, urging them to attend to the 
 one thing needful. When he perceived a disposi- 
 tion to attend to religion, he encouraged it by the 
 gift of Bibles and other religious books suited to 
 iheir age. The divine blessing, in repealed in- 
 stances, rested upon his exertions; and these ca- 
 sual interviews were the means of making more 
 than one thoughtful and permanently religious. 
 One of the seals of Mr. Hervey's labours was alive 
 in 1811. When a young man, at work in the 
 neighbourhood of Weston, Mr. Hervey used often, 
 in the course of his rides to visit him. He was 
 
64 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 accustomed to dismount from his horse, hang the 
 bridle on his arm, and in the most familiar and 
 affectionate manner, recommend to him attention 
 to the concerns of his soul. The young man was 
 afterwards clerk to Mr. Hervey's successor. He, 
 at the above date, was a member of the Baptist 
 Church of Northampton ; and acknowledged, with 
 pleasure, that the recollection of Mr. Hervey's 
 conversations had been highly beneficial to his 
 spiritual interests. He has in his possession a 
 Bible he received from Mr. Hervey. We only 
 add, it is incalculable what benefits might result 
 from ministers following the example of Mr. Her- 
 vey in this particular. 
 
 He did not confine his teaching to God's house, 
 but he brought it home to people's dwellings, visit- 
 ing them from house to house, agreeably to the 
 apostle's pattern. His friend Dr. Doddridge hints, 
 that Mr. Hervey was peculiarly diligent in this ardu- 
 ous part of ministerial duty. There he prudently 
 and seriously inquired into the state of their souls, 
 and their proceedings in their families; whether 
 they were completely furnished with saving know- 
 ledge, and the means of it, the Book of God particu- 
 larly, and whether they were careful to increase it, 
 by allotting a daily portion of their time for reading 
 the Scriptures ; whether their children were cate- 
 chised, and their servants instructed; whether they 
 were constant in family worship, and at their closet- 
 devotions; how they spent the Sabbath-day, &c. 
 Into these, and other points of the like nature, he 
 would prudently and kindly examine, and exhort 
 them to amend what was amiss, and encourage 
 them to persevere in that which was good. After 
 he was unable to visit them at their own houses, 
 he encouraged them to come to him, and to con- 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 65 
 
 verse freely on the subjects relating to their eternal 
 interests; and on such occasions, he would speak 
 with a force and propriety peculiar to himself. He 
 also diliffenlly, according to his ability, visiled the 
 sick. AV' ithal, he took heed to himself. Though 
 he sometimes met with ungrateful and provoking 
 usage, he was usually meek, and, like his Master, 
 returned blessing for cursing. Thus he says: 
 " To overcome the perverseness of our people by 
 unwearied kindness, to dissipate their blindness by 
 incessant instructions, and to work out their vices 
 by ceaseless, but tender persuasions ; this is the true 
 glory and excellency of a Christian minister; this 
 is that happy spirit, and that truly pastoral practice, 
 which, if I could obtain, I should bless the day 
 wherein I was born." He was courteous and con- 
 descending, and would stoop with cheerfulness to 
 the lowest person in his parish. He was not tri- 
 fling or ludicrous, but aff'able and kind, seeking to 
 please not himself, but his neighbours, for their 
 good to editicalion. He maintained a uniform 
 gravity of behaviour. Even his enemies confessed 
 that his life was a fair and beautiful transcript of 
 his doctrine, such as might remind men of, and be 
 daily reinforcing, his instructions. As far as hu- 
 man infirmities did permit, he strove to be unblame- 
 able and iinreproveable, that he might renew the 
 aposde's charge, " Be ye followers of me, even as 
 1 am of Christ;" and he could humbly make his 
 appeal, " Ye are witnesses, and God also, how 
 holily, atid justly, and unblameably, I have behaved 
 myself among you.'' He endeavoured to leave a 
 savour of the knowledge of Christ in every private 
 company ; and it appeared from all his conversa- 
 tion, that the affections of his heart, and the labours 
 6 
 
66 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 of his life, were wholly devoted to the honour and 
 interest of his adored Kedeemer. 
 
 From the above it will appear that Mr. Hervey 
 was a truly conscientious and diligent pastor. 
 Among other causes of this, we may reckon his 
 warm love to the souls of his people. This he 
 expresses in the following words: — "I thank you 
 for your affectionate wishes. I endeavour not to 
 be behind hand with my people in the exercise of 
 love. You are always on my heart, and often, 
 often mentioned in my prayers, especially that you 
 may be partakers of the Holy Ghost, and feel all 
 those saving convictions which are described by 
 our Lord, John xvi. 8 — 11; that you may be in- 
 terested in the new covenant, and enjoy all those 
 precious privileges which were purchased for us 
 by our dying Saviour, and are recorded by his 
 apostle, Heb. viii. 10 — 12. 1 accoinpany my for- 
 mer labours with my repeated prayers, and bear 
 my little flock on my supplicating and affectionate 
 heart all the day long. O that the gracious God 
 may fulfil in them all the good pleasure of his will, 
 and his work of faith with power. The way to 
 secure the love of others, is to love them, to pray 
 for them, and with a willing assiduity to set forward 
 their true happiness. This, whenever I was among 
 them, my people will confess, I did notecase to do. 
 And the God of heaven knows I daily bear them 
 on my heart, and often recommend them to the 
 tenderest mercies of our everlasting Father. 
 
 At Mr. Whitefield's desire, and with his father's 
 concurrence, Mr. Hervey went through the parish 
 of Weston several times, and conversed with the 
 people about the concerns of their souls; in these 
 services he thought he had considerable success. 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 G7 
 
 He also set up an evening catechetical lecture at 
 Weston or Collingtree. On this he says : " 1 hope 
 my evening assembhes are and will be prospered. 
 I have had comfortable assurances that the sanctify- 
 ing Spirit has been among us, and blessed my 
 discourses to the edifying of the hearers. Thanks 
 be to God for his unspeakable gift. I have some 
 I'rom two parishes beside our own that attend upon 
 my Utile catechetical lecture; and if (as you say) I 
 am to have some from Northampton also, what an 
 important person will God Almighty make me !" 
 In 1736 he left Oxford, and became his father's 
 curate in Collingtree. Here he lived very happily, 
 He says of the people, " 'i'hey love me, and love 
 my doctrine, and long for the pure milk of the 
 word. O that their precious souls were as firmly 
 united to Christ, as their favourable opinion is 
 secured to me!" Having occasion to visit them, 
 after he was settled at Weston, he remarks to a 
 correspondent, "It would have pleased you to have 
 observed how glad the honest folks were to see 
 their old curate ; and why were they glad ? for no 
 other reason, that I can conceive, but because I 
 used to converse with them in private, just as I 
 spoke to them from the pulpit, and endeavoured, 
 at every interview, to set forward their eternal sal- 
 vation. This I find is the grand secret to win the 
 affections of a flock." He afterwards accepted the 
 curacy of Dummer, in Hampsliire. Here he lived 
 among a poor illiterate people, where his friend 
 Mr. Whitefield had been before. While in this 
 place, the people of Collingtree sent him a pressing 
 invitation to return, upon which he wrote them an 
 excellent letter, as to the choice of a minister." 
 Here he continued about twelve months, when he 
 was invited to Stoke-Abbey, in Devonsliire, the 
 
68 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 seat of his worthy college acquaintance, Paul Or- 
 chard, Esq. In this pleasant place, and worthy 
 family, he was very happy, and lived upwards of 
 two years in great esteem and friendship. The 
 following agreement between Messrs. Hervey and 
 Orchard deserves preservation: — 
 
 Agreement between Paul Orchard, Esq. and Mr. Hervey. 
 
 " We, the underwritten, whom God's providence 
 has wonderfully brought acquainted with each other, 
 for the purposes, no doubt, of piety and everlasting 
 salvation, sensible how blind and corrupt our nature 
 is, how forward to fall into errors and iniquities, 
 but how backward to discern or amend them ; 
 knowing also the great advantage of kind and affec- 
 tionate, but, at the same time, sincere and impartial 
 reproof and admonition, do oblige ourselves to 
 watch over each other's conduct, conversation, and 
 tempers ; and whenever we perceive any thing 
 amiss therein, any duty ill done, or not done so 
 well as it ought, any thing omitted which might 
 be for our spiritual good, or practised which will 
 tend to our spiritual hurt; in fine, any thing prac- 
 tised or neglected, which we shall wish to have 
 been otherwise in a dying hour — all tliis we will 
 watch to observe, never fail to reprove, and earnest- 
 ly endeavour to correct in each other, that so we 
 may have nothing to upbraid one another with when 
 we meet in the eternal state. We resolve to do all 
 this with the utmost plainness, and all honest free- 
 dom; and, provided it be done with tenderness, 
 with apparent good will, and in private, we will 
 esteem it as the greatest kindness we can show, 
 the truest interest of sincere friendship that we can 
 exercise, and the only way of answering the gra- 
 cious ends of Almighty wisdom in bringing us to- 
 
REV. JAMESHERVEY. 
 
 69 
 
 gether. In witness and confirmation of which 
 resolution, we here subscribe oiir names, 
 
 " Paul Orchard, 
 " James Hervey. 
 
 " November 28, 1738." 
 
 While here, he was attacked with that weakness 
 j of constitution which never left him. He used to 
 take excursions for his health into Cornwall ; when, 
 he says he saw the wondrous works of God, roaring 
 seas and rugged rocks, stretching out to the ocean. 
 
 When Mr. Orchard's eldest son (to whom he 
 dedicated the second volume of his Meditations) 
 was to be baptized, he insisted that Mr. Hervey 
 should be one of the godfathers, that he might have 
 an eye to his Christian education. Through life 
 he took a deep interest in the spiritual welfare of 
 this family.* For the education of this young 
 gentleman he was particularly anxious. So he 
 writes to his mother: " Pray present my tender 
 love and most affectionate blessing, to my dear lit- 
 tle godson. I want to know how far he has got in 
 his book; whether he is perfect in his catechism, 
 and takes pleasure in offering up his prayers to 
 God every night and morning? 1 hope he still re- 
 members who it was that walked upon the sea 
 (which Mr. Hervey probably had told him;) who 
 it was that made him and all the world. I am 
 delighted with your endeavours to bring him, like 
 that illustrious youth celebrated by the apostle, ac- 
 quainted with the Scriptures from a child. As he 
 constantly reads the Psalms and chapters, I often 
 think of him when our family is employed in the 
 same manner, and breathe a humble petition, that 
 the mercies implored, or the happiness promised, 
 may not be my portion only, but his and your's." 
 
 * See Letters published by Colonel Burgess. 
 
70 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 He modestly desires her, often to endeavour to 
 make him sensible of the greatness of God; that 
 this glorious God sees him in every place; that he 
 is to live but a very little while here below ; that he 
 is a sinner, and therefore unworthy of the heavenly 
 felicity, but Christ Jesus has died for the pardon of 
 his offences. 
 
 In 1740, he undertook the charge of Bideford, 
 fourteen miles from Stoke-Abey, where he lived 
 greatly beloved by all the people. His congrega- 
 tion was large, but his stipend was small; his 
 friends, therefore, made a collection yearly, which 
 raised his income to 60/. Yet this, with an allow- 
 ance he had received from his father, was often in- 
 sufficient for his support, owing to the unbounded 
 benevolence of his disposition, which prompted 
 him to give more than he could properly afford. 
 This led some of his kind friends at Bideford to 
 practise an innocent deception upon him, by bor- 
 rowing money from him when he received his 
 salary; this they kept till they knew Mr. Hervey 
 stood in need of it, and then they returned it to him. 
 Here he planned and partly executed his Medita- 
 tions and Contemplations. His meditations among 
 the Tombs, and the Reflections on a Flower Gar- 
 den, were principally written at Bideford. It was a 
 ride from that place to Kilhampton, in Cornwall, 
 which suggested the former; and the latter were in 
 part composed in the summer-house of a pleasant 
 garden, belonging to the family with whom he 
 lodged. 
 
 Upon his coming to Bideford, he says, " I find 
 well disposed people in these parts ; they have 
 turned their faces Zion-ward, and seem to have a 
 desire and longing to enter into the Jerusalem that 
 is above. These persons are not displeased with 
 
 4 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 71 
 
 my company, and court my stay, if so, I may he a 
 guide to them who seek Jesus who was crucified. 
 O that I could admire the free condescending good- 
 ness of God! He has no need of a poor polhited 
 worm; he has nobler ministers to perform his good 
 pleasure; and will he magnify his grace by em- 
 ploying so vile an instrument? Will he execute his 
 work, his most important and most glorious work, 
 of converting souls, by the hand of a wretched sin- 
 ner? 0 help me to adore his mercy!" 
 
 Here he began to preach evangelically. He 
 had, at the different places where he was stationed 
 before, preached in a legal strain; but in two ser- 
 mons on Rom. v. 19, usually called at Bideford his 
 Recantation Sermons, he plainly and delightfully 
 avows his evangelical sentiments.* His conver- 
 sation with some poor but very pious people about 
 Bideford, was one cause of the change of his 
 views. 
 
 In the discharge of his pastoral duties here, Mr. 
 Hervey Avas very exemplary. He preached twice 
 every Lord's day ; and on Tuesdays and Fridays 
 he took occasion to expound part of the first or 
 second lesson, except when he catechised the chil- 
 dren, and then he confined his instructions to a 
 famdiar explanation of the church catechism ; the 
 remainder of his time he devoted to study or con- 
 versation. His acquaintance was select; among 
 them was a young man, who was son of the parish 
 clerk, and a most excellent mathematician: his 
 name was Doun. From him Mr. Hervey acquired 
 a considerable knowledge of astronomy. He died 
 at the age of twenty-four, and his funeral sermon 
 was preached by Mr. Hervey, who improved the 
 
 * Afterwards publislied by the late Rev. Mr. Toplady, 
 in 1769, and now printed in his works. 
 
72 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 melancholy occasion in a very affecting manner.* 
 In this place he formed a religious society, which 
 continued above forty years after his departure from 
 Bideford. Here we may take occasion to observe, 
 that, like his friend Mr. Walker, of Truro, he 
 greatly encouraged such associations. — Writing to 
 one of his Bideford friends, he remarks, " 1 am 
 glad to find that you, and , and , of- 
 ten meet together, and like the people mentioned 
 by the prophet, speak one to another of the things 
 of God. O let us exhort one another to faith, love, 
 and good works ; and so much the more, as we 
 see the day of eternal judgment approaching. Let 
 me not be forgotten in your little society, when the 
 Lord Jesus is in the midst of you, speaking peace 
 to your consciences, showing you his hands and 
 his side." Meeting with some reproach for his 
 activity in setting up these, he says, " As a fellow 
 member of your meetings, and a joint engager in 
 your schemes for reviving religion and a reformed 
 age ; a character I am so far from being ashamed 
 of, that I am only ashamed of my scanty abilities 
 to answer it, and of the poor inconsiderable assis- 
 tance which I am able to contribute to so worthy 
 an attempt." 
 
 While in this place, the following incidents hap- 
 
 * The following' notes of a sermon, preached on this oc- 
 casion, deserve to be recorded: — "He that taught you to 
 find your way through the trackless ocean, is himself pas- 
 sed into the invisible world, and landed on the eternal 
 shores. He that taught you to speculate the skies, and 
 observe the celestial bodies, is gone to a distance, vastly 
 more remote and immeasurable than their's. O that you 
 would lay this his last remove to heart, as diligently 
 as you did his principles of navigation, in your memory. 
 The same change must take place in you; and, in a little 
 time, you must make your last voyage." 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 73 
 
 pened: — On a Sabbath-day, as lie was preacliing, 
 (we use his own words,) a "boy came running 
 into the church breatliless andtrembhng, He told, 
 but in a low voice, those who stood near, that a 
 press-gang was advancing to besiege the doors, and 
 arrest the sailors. An alarm was immediately 
 taken. The seamen, with much hurry, and no 
 small anxiety, began to shift for themselves. The 
 rest of the congregation, perceiving an unusual 
 stir, were struck with surprise. A whisper of in- 
 quiry ran from seat to seat, which increased by de- 
 grees into a confused murmur. No one could in- 
 form his neighbour ; therefore every one was left 
 to solve the appearance from the suggestions of a 
 timorous imagination. Some suspected the town 
 was on fire ; some were apprehensive of an inva- 
 sion from the Spaniards ; others looked up, and 
 looked round, to see if the walls were not giving 
 way, and the roof falling upon their heads. In a 
 few moments the consternation became general. 
 The men stood like statues in silent amazement 
 and unavailing perplexity : the women shrieked 
 aloud, and fell into fits. Nothing was seen but 
 wild disorder ; nothing was heard but tumultuous 
 clamour. The preacher's voice was drowned : 
 had he spoken in thunder, his message would 
 scarcely have been regarded. To have gone on 
 with his work, amidst such a prodigious ferment, 
 had been like arguing with a whirlwind, or talking 
 to a tempest. This brought to my mind that great 
 tremendous day, when the heavens will pass away, 
 when the earth will be dissolved, and ail the inha- 
 bitants receive their final doom. If, at such inci- 
 dents of very inferior dread, our hearts are ready 
 to fail, what unknown and inconceivable astonish- 
 ment must seize the guilty conscience, when the 
 7 
 
74 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 hand oflhe Almighty shall open those unparalleled 
 scenes of wonder, desolation, and horror : when 
 the trumpet shall soimd, the dead rise, the world 
 be in flames, the Judge on the throne, and all man- 
 kind at the bar. Surely then, the main care of 
 our lives should be to obtain peace and acceptance 
 before the dreadful tribunal of God. And what 
 is sufficient for this purpose but righteousness ! — 
 the most perfect obedience, and meritorious satis- 
 faction of Christ, wrought for us, and applied to 
 us ?" Upon this he excellendy improves and en- 
 larges in Theron and Aspasio. 
 
 On March 2, 1741, he writes to a friend: "You 
 have heard, I do not doubt, that Mr. Nichols, my 
 rector, is no more ; who will succeed him is yet a 
 secret. Many, I believe, are eagerly wishing for 
 it, as a place of considerable profit; and few, per- 
 haps, solicitously considering whether they are 
 equal to the discharge of so difficult and important 
 a service. But hold my pen ! what have I to do 
 to judge others? let it be all my care to approve 
 myself faithful in my appointed station." Here 
 he was curate two years and a half, when he was 
 dismissed by the new incumbent, against the uni- 
 ted request of the parishioners, who offered to 
 maintain him at their own expense. Mr. Hervey 
 was uncommonly attached to this people, as they 
 also were to him. While with them, he says, " I 
 live in the very heart of the town. O that the 
 town, and the immortal interests of its inhabitants 
 may be ever on my heart; may I covet no other 
 prosperity, and pursue no other happiness than to 
 be an instrument of doing them some spiritual 
 good, than to see my parishioners walking in the 
 truth." Again he writes, " I wish you and Mrs. 
 abundance of edification from Mr. Erskine's 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 75 
 
 Sermons, which I sent you. I hope I shall never 
 forget niy dear people of Bideford; I sliall bear 
 thein upon my heart when I retire into my study 
 for reading, when I walk solitary in the fields for 
 exercise, and when I bend my knees before the 
 God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." After 
 he left Bideford, he sent his people many copies of 
 his works; dispersed other religious books among 
 them, sent to the poor liberal supplies of money, 
 and the collection of Promises he had selected and 
 printed. Of this he says, " We paste them at the 
 beginning and end of our Bibles, that like a little 
 vial of cordial drops, distilled from (he well of life, 
 they may be always at hand to refresh our souls, 
 and enliven our faith." 
 
 In 1743, he returned to Weston-Favel, and offi- 
 ciated as curate to his father, at Collingtrce. 
 
 In May 12, 1750, Mr. Hervey speaks with much 
 pleasure of a visit he had from his friend White- 
 field, either at Weston or Northampton. " This 
 indefatigable preacher of the everlasting gospel 
 delivered his message under the canopy of the 
 skies, and in the midst of a numerous and attentive 
 audience. Dr. Doddridge. Dr. Stonehouse, an- 
 other doctor of physic, Dr. Hartley, a worthy 
 clergyman, and your late curate, were on his right 
 hand and on his left. The text was, ' "Ve are the 
 temples of the living God.' He showed himself 
 a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly 
 dividing the word of truth. He dealt out to saints 
 and sinners their portion in due season. All the 
 hearers hung on his lips, and many were visibly 
 impressed by the power of his doctrine. May the 
 Omnipotent and Eternal Husbandman prosper the 
 seed sown, and make it productive of sound faith 
 and vital holiness." A little after his removal to 
 
76 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 Weston, he writes to Mr. Orchard: "I am in my 
 present situation like a person retired from the 
 noise and hurry of a market, to the silence and rest 
 of a recluse's •cell. In the parish I now serve, I 
 have not had so much occasional duty through the 
 course of a whole year, as used to occur formerly 
 in every week. My sphere of action is contracted, 
 and only one talent committed to my charge ; O 
 that I may be faithful in this little ! that one day I 
 may receive my great Master's approbation, and 
 be bidden to enter the joy of my Lord." Here 
 we cannot help remarking the wisdom of Provi- 
 dence, in frequently placing men of superior abili- 
 ties in small charges. Had Mr. Hervey been 
 placed in a station more public and eminent than 
 Weston-Favel, it is highly probable he would have 
 been less diffusively useful. In this small charge 
 he got time to compose his elaborate works, The- 
 ron and Aspasio, and Aspasio Vindicated. 
 
 In June, 1750, his health being much impaired 
 by his great attention to duty, and his friends judg- 
 ing that the change of air might be of benefit to 
 him, they formed a design, which they executed, 
 of conveying him to London, under a pretence of 
 riding a few miles in a friend's post-chaise, who 
 was going thither. Of this he pleasantly com- 
 plains in a letter, upon his arrival there, which be- 
 gins thus : 
 
 " My dear friend, 
 
 " If you chide, I must accuse. Pray where was 
 your warrant, where your commission, to impress 
 me into this journey ? However, as a good Chris- 
 tian, I forgive you and your accomplices." After 
 commending several clergymen, his friends, whom 
 he saw on the road, he concludes thus : " My 
 animal nature is so very feeble, that I can find no 
 
BEV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 77 
 
 benefit from the change of air, nor from the enjoy- 
 ment of the most pleasant society." He remain- 
 ed in London from June, 1750, to April or May, 
 1752. During this period he writes to a friend; 
 I I have been at or near London for more than a 
 ' year, unable to execute the business of my minis- 
 terial office, and lingering away life, partly at my 
 brotlier's, and partly among friends; inexpressibly 
 obliged to a gracious Providence, that though in- 
 capable of earning any thing, I want no manner of 
 thing that is good." While for almost two years 
 in London, he appears to have been seldom em- 
 ployed in public work ; indeed, the extreme weak- 
 ness of his body rendered him quite unfit for it. 
 But he was not idle; here he corresponded with 
 some religious friends, composed his remarks on 
 Bolingbroke's Letters, enlarged and corrected his 
 Meditations, and wrote part of Theron and As- 
 pasio. Being suddenly taken from his beloved 
 charge, the parish of Collingtree, he sent them his 
 advice in the following words: — "My departure 
 from Northampton was sudden and unexpected; 
 could I have seen my people, and given them my 
 parting advice, it should have been in the words of 
 that good man Barnabas, who exhorted all the dis- 
 ciples, that with purpose of heart they should 
 cleave unlo the Lord. Cleave, my dear friends, 
 to the Lord Jesus Christ. Cleave to his word ; 
 let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, and be 
 your meditation all the day long. Let the Bible, 
 that inestimable book, be ofien in your hand, and 
 its precious truths in your thoughts. Thus let us 
 sit, with holy men, at the feet of Jesus, and I hope 
 you will experience his word to drop as the rain, 
 and distil as the dew. Cleave (o his merits; 
 fly to his divine blood for pardon, t is the fountain 
 
78 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 opened for sin and for uncleanness. It purges 
 from all guilt, and takes away all sin ; and blessed 
 be God, it is always open, always free of accessi 
 Fly to his rigliteousness ; let us renounce our own, 
 and rely on his obedience : what unprofitable ser- 
 vants are we 1 how slothful is our whole life ! how 
 imperfect in every work ! But as for Christ, his 
 work is perfect ; it is complete, and infinitely mer- 
 itorious. In this shall all the seed of Israel, all 
 true believers, be justified, and in this shall they 
 glory. Cleave to his Spirit; seek for the Divine 
 Spirit. Cry mightily to God for the Divine 
 Spirit. Let them that have it pray that they may 
 have it more abundantly, and be even filled with 
 the Spirit. This blessed Spirit reveals Christ, 
 strengthens faith, quickens love, and purifies the 
 heart. Christ died to obtain this Spirit for us ; he 
 intercedes for us, that we may receive it ; and his 
 heavenly Father, for his sake has promised, (0 
 glorious privilege !) to give it more readily than a 
 parent gives bread to a hungry child. Cleave to 
 his example ; study his holy life, eye his unblame- 
 able conduct, observe his amiable temper; look to 
 this heavenly pattern, as those who learn to write 
 look to their copy ; and God grant that we all, with 
 open face, beholding the glory of the Lord, may 
 be changed into the same image from glory to glory, 
 even by the Spirit of the Lord. Thus let us cleave 
 to Christ the Lord — cleave v;itli full purpose of 
 heart, incessantly, closely, inseparably. Let us 
 say with our father Jacob, I will not let thee go. 
 In the happy, happy mansions above, may we, 
 and many, very many of my dear flock, meet, and 
 never be parted more." 
 
 While in London, Mr. Hervey lodged for some 
 time with his brother in Miles's-lane. There it 
 
REV. JAMES HEEVEY. 
 
 79 
 
 pleased liis Heavenly Father to superadd to his 
 other infirmities, a violent fever, which confined 
 him for eight weeks, and brought him to the brink 
 of the grave. On this occasion Mr. William Her- 
 vey, witli whom he lodged, wrote as follows to 
 one of his intimate friends: — " My brother is in- 
 deed an example of patience. He has not spoken, 
 during the whole period of his severe illness, one 
 single word of peevishness. I am persuaded he 
 prays for you, now he lies sick upon his bed." 
 Afterward, the family was visited with a very 
 alarming providence ; a fire broke out in a house 
 which communicated with that of his brother. On 
 this terrifying occasion, he caught such a cold (be- 
 ing obliged to wade through the water in order to 
 escape the fire) as confined him to his chamber for 
 several weeks. Of this event he remarks : " It put 
 me in mind of that tremendous day, when the hea- 
 vens shall pass away willi a great noise, when the 
 elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth 
 and the works that are therein shall be burnt up." 
 One of the winters that he stayed in London, he 
 lodged at the house of his good friend Mr. White- 
 field, in Tottenham-court Road : here he was very 
 happy. In a letter to Mrs. Whitefield, when at 
 Bristol, he uses a little pleasantry, and writes to 
 her: " This leaves your family in good health, 
 and me, whom you appoint steward, like Gideon's 
 soldiers, faint, yet pursuing; faint with bodily lan- 
 guors, but following after that amiable, adorable 
 God, whose loving-kindness is better than life. 
 We go on comfortably, want for nothing but your 
 company. Mr. Cruttenden says, I live like a king, 
 and dine every day in state. I tell him, No, I 
 am nothing more tlian lord high-steward of your 
 majesty's household; but since he will have it that 
 
80 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 I am a monarch, I this clay begin to act in charac- 
 ter, and commanded and charged our trusty and 
 well-beloved Robert Cruttenden, Esq. not to be 
 wanting in his attendance on our royal person. I 
 hope my friend's jest is a good omen. I hope we 
 shall be kings to our God, and reign over the re- 
 bels within, and tread the world under our feet, 
 and sit in heavenly places with our exalted and 
 royal Head, Christ Jesus." To this he afterwards 
 refers, in a letter to Mr. Whitefield: " I often think 
 of the delightful winter I passed at the Tabernacle, 
 think of that with pleasure, but with shame and 
 anguish, on my non-improvement of such oppor- 
 tunities. O what could such a wretch do, without 
 an all-sufficient, all-perfect, all-meritorious Saviour? 
 Blessed be God for millions of mercies, but above 
 all, blessed be his adorable name for Jesus Christ !" 
 While in the Metropolis, he was visited by Dr. 
 Gill, and declares it was his own fault, if he reaped 
 not much advantage by his conversation. He also 
 there, for the tirst time, heard Mr. Romaine, To 
 his correspondent he gives an account of the text 
 I and sermon, and wishes much success to him in 
 explaining the gospel to his thronged auditories. 
 
 Upon his father's death. May, 1752, Mr. Her- 
 vey returned to Weston. He mentions this to a 
 friend in these words : " It has pleased God to 
 take my father to himself ; on which account I am 
 obliged to remove to Northamptonshire, and, if I 
 can bear the journey, and undergo the fatigue, to 
 take the living of Weston. May it convince me 
 more thoroughly that I am a stranger and a so- 
 journer below ! and may our affections be there, 
 where our true home and everlasting inheritance 
 lie !" Ere he entered on his ministry, as Rector 
 there, he met with some distressing difhculties. He 
 
REV, JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 81 
 
 saj's to a friend, " I am under the neeessit)"- of 
 taking a living, though I am inexpressibly weak. 
 See how diorny the world is, and how unkind its 
 inhabitants; tlie surrogate has denied my mother 
 the sequestration of the living, though she is patron- 
 ess, and 1 ain the heir. He has taken it to him- 
 self, not only without, but against, the consent of 
 both the churcli-wardens. Pray for us, dear Sir, 
 that we may be enabled to love our enemies, and 
 do good and wish well to those who injuriously 
 treat us." He applied to his diocesan, who fa- 
 I'oured him; and he was soon after regularly in- 
 ducted into the family-livings of Weston-Favel and 
 Collingtree, in Northamptonshire. For a long time 
 he was determined against being a pluralist, and 
 refused to accept of Collingtree, or to qualify him- 
 self for it, insomuch that it was in danger of lapsing 
 to the bishop; but at length, through the earnest 
 and constant entreaties of his family and friends, 
 who, unknown to him, had sent to, and procured 
 from Oxford, tlie necessary certificates of his being 
 a Bachelor of Arts, in order to his taking his Mas- 
 ter's degree at Clare-hall, Cambridge, he was, 
 after much importunity, prevailed on to comply 
 with their requests. When he waited on Dr. Tho- 
 mas, the then bishop of Peterborough, for institu- 
 tion to Collingtree, after he had been inducted into 
 Weston, he said to him, " I suppose your Lord- 
 ship will be surprised to see James Hervey come 
 to desire your Lordship to permit him to be a plu- 
 ralist; but I assure you, I do it to satisfy the re- 
 peated solicitations of my mother and sister." To 
 a friend he writes on this subject: " Advised by 
 my friends, importuned by my relations, and swayed 
 by concern for the circumstances of a mother and 
 sister, who live with me, 1 have been prevailed on 
 
82 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 to take a second benefice." Mr. Hervey never 
 had any preferment given him, nor ever solicited 
 for any, but continued a curate till his father's death, 
 when he took possession of the two family-livings 
 (being within five measured miles of each other.) 
 While many of his brethren liunted for lucrative 
 livings, and higher stations in the church, he says, 
 " I have no wish to be spoken of to the king, or 
 the captain of the host. Of gold and silver, blessed 
 be the Divine Providence, I have enough and to 
 spare: like the Shunamite, I dwell among my 
 own people, perfectly content with my station, 
 and without a single wish for a higher.'' Mr. 
 Hervey and his curate used to attend alternately, 
 till his ill health confined him entirely to Weston- 
 Favel: in this place he always resided. In the 
 parish of Weston, his ministry seemed very un- 
 successful; some persons locked up their pews, 
 and would not attend, nor suffer others to occupy 
 them ; but while this was the case, he was very 
 useful to multitudes all the country round. An ex- 
 cellent minister who lived in Northampton, Mr. 
 Ryland, says, " I know many people in the neigh- 
 bouring villages, who were converted under his 
 ministry." Several of these came from a great 
 distance. The aisles, and every other place in his 
 church, where strangers might be, were crowded. 
 
 A worthy domestic, alive in 1811, related, that 
 his usual visiters were the Rev. Messrs. Wiiilefield, 
 T. Jones, Cudworth, Doddridge, Ryland, and a 
 pious young man, a stone-mason ; the lips of these 
 righteous men fed one another; indeed few but re- 
 ligious persons called on him. 
 
 Mr. Hervey describes his situation at Weston in 
 the following words: — " Weston is near North- 
 ampton, about two miles from the town, pleasantly 
 
REV. JAMES H E R V E V. 
 
 83 
 
 situated on an agreeable eminence, on tlie right 
 side of tlie river, and a proper distance from tlie 
 meadow. My house is quite retired; it faces the 
 garden and the field, so that we hear none of the 
 tumultuous din of the world, and see nothing but 
 the wonderful and charming works of the Creator. 
 O that I may be enabled to improve this advantage- 
 ous solitude! Though secluded from the gay and 
 busy scenes of life, may I ever be present with that 
 divine Being who has heaven for his throne, and 
 the earth for his footstool ; whose mercy in Christ 
 Jesus is like his majesty, exceeding great and in- 
 finite." 
 
 To his devout attentive mind, his garden turned 
 preacher, and, as he says himself, " its blooming 
 tenants were so many lively sermons." We have 
 an instance of this in Theron and Aspasio: " Op- 
 posite to the room in which I write, is a most 
 agreeable prospect of the gardens and the fields. 
 These covered with herbage and loaded with corn; 
 those adorned with flowers and abounding with 
 esculents ; all appearing with so florid and so 
 beauiiful an aspect, that they really seem, in con- 
 formity to the Psalmist's description, even to laugh 
 and sing. Let me just observe, that all these fine 
 scenes, all these rich productions sprung — from 
 what? from the dissolution of the respective seeds. 
 The seeds planted by the gardener, and the grain 
 sown by the husbandman, first perished in the 
 ground, and then tlie copious increase arose. Much 
 in the same manner a true faith in Christ and his 
 righteousness arises — from what ? from the ruins 
 of self-sufliciency, and the death of a personal ex- 
 cellency. Let me therefore entreat my 'I'heron, 
 still to keep an eye on the depravity of his nature, 
 and the miscarriages of his life : the more clearly 
 
84 
 
 I I F E OP 
 
 we see, the more deeply we feel, our guilt and our 
 misery, the more highly shall we value the obedi- 
 ence of our blessed Surety. In such a heart, faith 
 will flourish as a rose, and lift up its head like a 
 cedar in Lebanon," Writing also to Mr. Wesley, 
 who opposed his exposition of James ii. 22 — " By 
 works was faith made perfect;" he says, " Thus 
 faith hereby answered its proper end, and appeared 
 to be of the true, the scriptural kind, since it over- 
 came the world, overcame self, and regarded God 
 as all in all. Shall I send you to a familiar instruc- 
 tion ? I view from my window a young tree. The 
 gardener, when he planted it, told me it was a 
 fruit tree, a pear tree, a right bearer (hi Roy ; it 
 may be such a tree, and have its respective fruit in 
 itself; but this did not then appear. If, when au- 
 tumn arrives, its branches are loaded with fruit, 
 with pears, with that most delicious kind of pears, 
 this will be a demonstration of all those properties ; 
 this will not make it such a particular tree, no, nor 
 make it a good and fruitful tree, but only show it 
 to be of that fine sort, and make its nature and per- 
 fections evident." 
 
 When his father's curate at Collinglree, he has 
 been seen lying on his back in the church-yard, 
 surveying the starry heavens through his teles- 
 cope. 
 
 lie gives us the following account of his en- 
 trance on the ministry, as rector, at Weston, in a 
 letter to a friend : — " I did on the day you mention, 
 ascend the pulpit, and speak for the space of half 
 an hour to my people, but with so much weak- 
 ness ! It is well the eternal God does not want 
 strength of lungs, or delicacy of elocution, but can 
 do his work, his great work of converting souls, 
 by the weakest, meanest instruments ! If it was not 
 
REV. JAMES HERVET. 
 
 85 
 
 so, I must absolutely despair of being successful in 
 my labour, or serviceable in my office. I opened 
 my commission lo my new parishioners, from 
 these words of the blessed and only Potentate — 
 Preach the gospel to every creature; — showed them 
 what the gospel means, and what blessings it com- 
 prehends; by whom these were purchased, and to 
 whom they are offered; exhorted them severally 
 to secure to themselves a share in ihhse unspeak- 
 able blessings; and gave them to understand, that 
 the end of my preaching among them, the design 
 of my conversation with them, and the principal 
 aim of my whole life, would be to bring them ac- 
 quainted with this delightful doctrine, and to assist 
 them in obtaining the great salvation. I bless God 
 for making my poor discourse acceptable to my 
 hearers; and now I must beseech the bountiful 
 Giver of all good, to make it beneficial to their 
 souls." In the beginning of his ministry here, he 
 was mucli discouraged by the remarkable weak- 
 ness of his constitution. So he writes; "My 
 strength is so worn down, and my constitution so 
 irreparably decayed, that it will be absolutely im- 
 possible for me to discharge my ministerial duty." 
 However, having obtained help of God, he preach- 
 ed the gospel to that parish more than six years 
 and discharged all the duties of the ministry with 
 much diligence. He wrote to Dr. Watts : " I have 
 reason to thank you for your sacred songs, which 
 I have introduced into the service of my church ; 
 so that, in the solemnities of the Sabbath, and in a 
 lecture on a week-day, your music lights up the 
 incense of our praise, and furnishes our devotions 
 with harmony."* This he also had done when 
 
 * Memoirs of Dr. Watts. 
 
86 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 his father's curate at Collingtree. His hearers 
 wished always for him to preach as long as he was 
 able to perform divine service; he says in his last 
 days: " I have not entirely given over my minis- 
 terial duty, because my parishioners have an affec- 
 tion for me, and rather clioose to be content with 
 one sermon on the Lord's day, and that delivered 
 with much weakness, than to be assiduously atten- 
 ded, and more ably served, by a stranger. To 
 them, perhaps, my languid looks may preach, and 
 even my enfeebled voice have a peculiar strength, 
 from the consideration, tliat the minister who is 
 now standing before their eyes, and addresses their 
 ears, must ere long, be seen and heard no more." 
 
 At Weston, many strangers attended his min- 
 istrj' . many from the villages around, from North- 
 ampton, and even from London: these last lodged 
 in Northampton. Two months after his settle- 
 ment in Weston, he received institution to Colling- 
 tree as its rector. Here the Rev. Moses Brown 
 was his curate for several years. This gentleman 
 was afterwards vicar of Olney and Chaplain of 
 Morden College ; he was a person of eminent piety, 
 strict evangelical views, and an amiable disposition. 
 He was author of two poetical pieces, an Essay on 
 the Universe, and Sunday Thoughts ; also, at Mr. 
 Hervey's desire, he translated Zimmerman's Ex- 
 cellency of the Knowledge of Christ. He speaks 
 of Mr. Hervey in the following terms: — " My ac- 
 quaintance with that pious and amiable man, and 
 accomplished author of Meditations, and 'J'heron 
 and Aspasio, had been only at a distance, and epis- 
 tolary, till my coming, in the year 1753, to be his 
 curate at Collingtree, and setdingsoon hereupon in 
 his neighbourhood; this drew on the peculiarly en- 
 deared intimacy there was between us, that continu- 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 87 
 
 ed till liis death, in which intervals of some years 
 (the happiest that have been given to my life) I had 
 frequent and fresh opportunities of his pleasant, 
 always edifying conversation, and the advantage 
 of partaking of many of his private hours and 
 thoughts." Of his induction there, Mr. Hervey 
 writes to a correspondent, August 18, 1752: *' On 
 Sunday I gave my new charge my lirst sermon. 
 O that God may give both it and them his heaven- 
 ly benediction! The text was taken from that 
 noble declaration of the apostle, in which he adores 
 his God, and congratulates himself upon the un- 
 speakable privilege of being a minister of the gos- 
 pel ! ' To me, who am less than the least of all 
 saints, is this grace given, that I should preach 
 among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of 
 Christ,' Eph. iii. 8." 
 
 Man is not born, either the first or second time, 
 for himself only. He is a member of the public, 
 and ought to do all the good he can to others. This 
 Mr. Hervey well knew; and the love of God and 
 men being eminently shed abroad in his heart, it 
 was fertile of good designs. On the subject of 
 Christian benevolence, he says, " I believe the 
 world has a notion that I am a dignified, or a bene- 
 ficed man at least. Dear Sir, (says he, to his cor- 
 respondent,) may it be your benefice and mine, to 
 do good to souls, and our highest dignity to glori- 
 fy the ever-blessed Redeemer, who, for our sakes, 
 had not where to lay his head, till he was num- 
 bered with transgressors, and laid in the silent 
 grave."* "Ecclesiastical preferment — preferment! 
 Yes, if rightly understood, it is rightly so called ; 
 for what can be a more honourable office than to 
 
 * Gen. Col. Let. 92. 
 
88 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 labour for Christ; to spend and be spent for Him 
 whom heaven and earth adore ; who yet was made 
 sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness 
 of God in him? O that my brethren and I may 
 understand the word preferment in this truly pre- 
 cious and noble sense!"* " To save souls is the 
 noblest acquisition in the world, infinitely more de- 
 sirable than to find great spoil. May this be my 
 continual aim." 
 
 Mr. Hervey was engaged in contriving and en- 
 couraging schemes to do good in behalf of the souls 
 of men : " I caused lately (says he) to be printed, 
 for the benefit of my people, a little collection of 
 Scripture promises. I would have them pasted into 
 their Bibles, and other pious books, that they may 
 not be lost, but always at hand ; and may the God 
 of all grace command them to be mixed with faith, 
 and ingrafted into their hearts. Perhaps some of 
 your friends may not disdain this spiritual nosegay, 
 because, though little, it is culled from the garden 
 of God. I may also say, they will be a cordial to 
 a believer, when all the delicacies imported by ship- 
 ping lose their agreeable relish; they will be a por- 
 tion to him, when all the treasures acquired by 
 commerce are faking their everlasting flight." He 
 enclosed this list in letters to his friends. 
 
 To a judicious and holy clergyman (probably 
 Mr. Walker of Truro,) he writes : "I should much 
 wish to see from your pen two or three lively ani- 
 mated forms of morning and evening prayer, with 
 clear and short directions how to pray aright, and 
 a proper method of daily self-examination. 'I'his, 
 printed in a half-penny pamphlet, we might give 
 away to any body, to every body indeed ; and if 
 
 • Letter, Gospel Magazine. 
 
BEV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 89 
 
 one in twenty, or even one in fifty, proved success- 
 ful, our pains and expense would be abundantly 
 recompensed. We should also have some handle 
 to lay hold on hypocritical self-deceiving souls : 
 we might say, Neighbour, have you got these pray- 
 ers by heart? Do you constantly use them, and 
 examine yourselves daily by these questions ?" 
 
 The county hospital of Northampton, he, along 
 with his friends, Dr. Stonehouse and Dr. Dod- 
 dridge, greatly encouraged : while he was able, he 
 visited the patients, and gave them suitable direc- 
 tions. To the last mentioned friend, he writes : 
 j " I heartily applaud the zeal you show for the spi- 
 I ritual welfare of the patients of the Northampton 
 i infirmary. It would be an inestimable favour, if, 
 by the blessing of God, it might be productive of a 
 reformation in the persons whom it admits and dis- 
 charges. As distressed objects will in all proba- 
 bility resort to it from all parts of the country, a 
 change wrought in their hearts, and a renewal be- 
 gun. in their lives, will be a happy means of dif- 
 fusing religion far and near. I hope the clergy 
 concerned in the management of the infirmary will, 
 with delight and assiduity, concur in the prosecu- 
 tion of so desirable an end. I can promise for one, 
 so far as God shall give me ability. I wish some 
 proper scheme was contrived for the execution of 
 this design, in which I might bear some little part, 
 without giving umbrage to my brethren, or alarm- 
 ing their jealousy. I have sometimes thought of 
 giving the patients a kind of lecture or exhortation 
 once a week, formed on some one or other of those 
 Scripture mementos on the walls, but am somewhat 
 doubtful whether such a proposal would meet with 
 acceptance. Sometimes checked by the infirmities 
 of my constitution, I have hitherto neglected to 
 8 
 
90 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 mention the affair; however, I now venture to 
 submit it to your consideration : to this, or any 
 other advisable method, I should very readily con- 
 tribute the best of my assistance."* 
 
 To a clergyman he writes : " Let me beg of you 
 to direct me to the most improving books you have 
 met with. No longer ago than yesterday, a young 
 clergyman, whom I had never seen before, made 
 me a visit, and attended a lecture which I give my 
 parish in Weston church, on a Wednesday even- 
 ing, at seven o'clock: an amiable gentleman truly! 
 He seems mighty well inclined ; wonders that his 
 brethren do not make edifying subjects, such as 
 justification and sanctification, the favourites of their 
 discourse. Now I do not know what more sub- 
 stantial service 1 could do such a person, than to 
 recommend to his study some evangelical author, 
 with a little sketch of his character and distinguish- 
 ing excellency, which might be a blessing to others, 
 and a blessing to himself."t " I should be much 
 obliged, if you would let me know what are some 
 of the most valuable books which you have met 
 with, on various subjects of importance; what 
 little treatises most proper to be put into the hands 
 of illiterate people ; what are some of the most 
 improving and judicious compositions in biography; 
 what the most sound and weighty authors that might 
 be recommended to young students of divinity. "J 
 " Methinks, if a subscription to modernize valuable 
 authors, and thus rescue them from the pit of ob- 
 livion, was properly set on foot by some men of 
 eminence, and the proposals well drawn up, it 
 would meet with due encouragement. I have often 
 wondered that such an attempt has never yet been 
 
 * Gea. Col. Let. 27. t Ibid. 149. t Ibid. 112. 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 91 
 
 made. How many excellent books of the last cen- 
 tury are now out of print, while such a ninnber of 
 useless and pernicious writings are continually pub- 
 lished!"* "I wish some judicious hand would 
 give us the quintessence of Dr. Owen's works, 
 each in a size both portable for the pocket and the 
 memory. I really think it would be one of the 
 most substantial acts of service which a scholar 
 or divine could perform for the present age." He 
 urges his correspondent (Mr. Ryland) to think of 
 executing it: "I cannot but think it would be a 
 profitable employ for young students in divinity, to 
 exercise themselves in abridging Caryl on Job, 
 Owen on the Hebrews, Charnock on the Attributes, 
 or some such valuable, but voluminous authors. 
 These and many other works of the same luxuriant 
 growth, would, if put into the alembic, afford us 
 the very spirit of the gospel, and the richest cor- 
 dial for our souls. "t 
 
 He did much good in recommending religious 
 treatises, little known had it not been for his warm 
 commendations. He also diligently dispersed re- 
 ligious tracts among his friends, and among the 
 poor, the careless, the weak, and afflicted. 
 
 He encouraged, by his influence and his purse, 
 societies for promoting the gospel, both at home 
 and abroad. The following directions, given by 
 him, most likely took place in his own practice : — 
 " For reformation in swearing, lying, sabbath- 
 breaking, passionate and unchaste persons, you 
 may write, (or keep by you printed) hints on slips 
 of paper against either of these vices, and place 
 them in the way of such persons, either by put- 
 1 ting them in their books, windows, or other places, 
 
 » Gen. Col. Let. 209. t Note to Aspasio Vindicated. 
 
92 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 provided you do not care to give them to the per- 
 son yourself, or they may be sent by post."* 
 
 In attempts to do good, he used also to take hold 
 of any suitable occasion, and write a religious let- 
 ter to his friends. This is evident in his numerous 
 letters. We only select a few instances. 
 
 His friend, Dr. Stonehouse, having fallen from 
 his horse, he sends him the following advice : — 
 " Let me exhort you to live as on the borders of eter- 
 nity, and often to reflect where the late fall from 
 your horse might have hurried you. Eternity is 
 at hand ; He that cometh will come, and will not 
 tarry. O that your soul may prosper ! but it can- 
 not prosper unless the world be under foot, and 
 your affections fixed on Jesus; what besides him 
 deserves a thought ?" 
 
 To one looking toward the ministry, he writes : 
 " Worldly craftiness is a bad guide, I wish you 
 may have religious discretion for yours, and that, 
 instead of paying court to the great, you begin to 
 court souls for the everlasting Bridegroom ; this is 
 your true interest, and will avail you when every 
 worldly consideration will be found ineffectual." 
 
 To a physician, about using means for the spi- 
 ritual welfare of his patients, he writes : " I great- 
 ly wish those in the practice of physic would 
 study St. Paul as well as Hippocrates, and attend 
 occasionally to the spiritual wants of their patients, 
 when they are consulted as to their bodily disor- 
 ders. This would be endeavouring to copy after 
 the pattern of the compassionate Physician of man- 
 kind, who, while he cured the body, cured the 
 soul. Being totally and continually silent at the 
 patient's bed-side, is, I think, denying, or in some 
 
 * Hints concerning promoting religion. 
 
BEV. JAMES HEKVEY. 
 
 93 
 
 measure being ashamed of the Redeemer, who 
 bought us with his blood: is it not, as it were, 
 refusing to embark in his cause? How many such 
 might be improved and comforted by a physician, 
 without any hindrance to his prescriptions, detri- 
 ment to his character, or loss of his time ! The 
 sick would long remember the words of their phy- 
 sician, if he would now and then drop occasionally 
 a few religious hints, or a striking sentence or two, 
 with propriety and seriousness." 
 
 Among the instances of his benevolence, we 
 may mention his visiting condemned criminals in 
 Northampton jail, which, to one under his relaxed 
 state of health, was an eminent labour of love. 
 We have an instance of this, August 8, 1747: " I 
 visited the poor condemned malefactor; found him 
 an ignorant person; aimed chiefly at these two 
 grand points, to convince him of the heinousness 
 of his sin, and show him the all-sufficiency of the 
 Saviour to obtain pardon for the vilest of offenders." 
 When, through weakness, unable to visit two pri- 
 soners in 1755, he wrote them a suitable letter. 
 
 Being a rich partaker of the Spirit of Jesus, who 
 in all iiis people's afflictions is afflicted, he could 
 say in some measure, " Who is weak, and I am 
 not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?" To 
 the afflicted he administered comforts and direc- 
 tions suited to their situation. 
 
 Even with those who maltreated him he sym- 
 pathized. So he writes a friend: "The tenant, 
 whose mother you saw at my house, continues 
 obstinate and revengeful to the very last, and will 
 leave me no possibility of getting my money for 
 the time past, or my land for the time to come, but 
 only by arresting him and throwing him into jail ; 
 and this I cannot be prevailed on to do. It would 
 
94 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 grieve me extremely, that a man who has a wife 
 and two small children, lies in a prison confined 
 by my orders." 
 
 Among many instances of his compassion to the 
 afflicted, we have the following from his own hand, 
 to an intimate: — " Soon after I received your fa- 
 vour, a messenger came from London, bringing 
 us the alarming news that my youngest brother 
 was extremely ill. Upon me the office fell of taking 
 the journey; feeble and languid as I was, there was 
 no rejecting such a call. Accordingly, I took coach, 
 and in two days arrived safe in London, where 
 I found my poor brother seized with a most vio- 
 lent fever. After attending his sick-bed for several 
 days, I had the melancholy task of closing his dear 
 eyes, and resigning him up to death. Scarcely 
 was I returned to Weston, but another awful pro- 
 vidence fetched me from home. My very worthy 
 physician, Dr. Stonehouse, had the misfortune to 
 lose an amiable and excellent wife. At this valu- 
 able friend's house, I was desired to abide some 
 time, in order to assist in writing letters for him, 
 and despatching his necessary affairs, in comfort- 
 ing him concerning the deceased, and (if the will 
 of God be so) in endeavouring to improve the 
 awakening visitation to our mutual good." 
 
 To a dying Christian at Bideford, he says: " So 
 you are going to leave us: you will be at your 
 eternal home before us! I heartily wish you an 
 easy, a comfortable, and a lightsome journey. 
 Fear not ; He that died upon the cross will be 
 with you, when you walk through the valley of 
 the shadow of death. People that travel often sing 
 by the way, to render their journey more pleasant. 
 Let me furnish you with a song, most exactly and 
 most charmingly suited to your purpose : Who 
 
REV. JAMES n E R V £ Y. 95 
 
 shall lay any thing to my charge? It is God that 
 justifieth me; who is he that condemneth me? It 
 is Christ that died for me; yea, rather, that is 
 risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, 
 who also maketh intercession for me. Shall tlie 
 law lay any thing to my charge? That has been 
 fully satisfied, by the obedience and death of my 
 divine Lord. Shall sin condemn me? That hath 
 been borne, all been abolished by the Lamb of God, 
 that taketh away the sin of the world. Shall Satan 
 accuse me? What will that avail, when the Judge 
 himself justifies me? The Judge himself pro- 
 nounces me righteous. — See Rom. viii. 33, 34; 
 Gal. iii. 13; 1 Pet. ii. 24; Dan. ix. 24; John 
 i. 29. But shall I be pronounced righteous, who 
 have been and am a poor sinner ? Hear what the 
 Holy Ghost saith: Christ loved the Church, and 
 gave himself for it, that he might present it to him- 
 self a glorious Church, not iiaving spot or wrinkle, 
 or any such thing. What reason have they to be 
 ashamed, who have neither spot nor wrinkle, nor 
 any blemish? And such will be the appearance of 
 those who are washed in Christ's blood, and clodied 
 in liis righteousness; they will be presented fault- 
 less, and with exceeding joy. Eph. v. 25 — 27; 
 Jude 24." 
 
 Knowing the grace of our Lord Jesus, who, 
 though he was rich, yet for our sakes became 
 poor, he abounded in acts of beneficence to tlic 
 needy ; and in this he consulted the interests of tlie 
 soul by good advice, as well as those of the body. 
 He applied to physicians in the belialf of the sick. 
 He frequently petitioned such physicians as he ap- 
 prehended to be charitably disposed, to give their 
 advice occasionally, when they rode through a 
 town, to such poor persons as the clergyman of 
 
96 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 the place, or some respectable inhabitant, should 
 recommend as real objects of compassion. With 
 great pleasure, then, and with as much gratitude to 
 the physician as if done for himself, he would de- 
 fray the expense of what medicines were wanted. 
 
 He also gave away a great number of religious 
 books, with suitable instructions how to use them, 
 and especially Bibles. In the blank leaf of these 
 he frequendy wrote something suited to make an 
 impression, or else stuck in a printed tract. 
 
 His charity to his hearers, the poor colliers 
 about Collingtree, in respect of both soul and body, 
 was almost boundless. All the profits of his Medi- 
 tations, amounting to £700, he expended in charity. 
 " This (said he) I have devoted to God. I will 
 on no account apply it to any worldly uses. I 
 write not for profit, nor for fame, but to serve the 
 cause of God ; and as he hath blessed my attempt, 
 I think myself bound to relieve the distresses of 
 my fellow-creatures with the profits that come from 
 this quarter." He was not willing his charity should 
 die with him, for he ordered all the profit arising 
 from the future sale of his books to be constantly 
 applied to charitable purposes. He chose rather 
 to clothe the poor, than give them money. He 
 used to get some judicious person to buy linen, 
 coarse cloth, stockings, shoes, &c., at the best 
 rate, alleging that the poor could not buy so good 
 a commodity at the little shops, and with small 
 sums of money — and adding, "I am God's stew- 
 ard for his poor, and I must husband the little pit- 
 tance I have to bestow upon them as well as possi- 
 ble." But where money would be particularly 
 serviceable to a family long atHicted with sickness, 
 or to a prudent housekeeper, who had met with 
 great losses in trade, he would give five, ten, or 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEV. 97 
 
 fifteen guineas. He interested himself much for 
 his worthy friend Moses Brown. He writes : — 
 *' AVith £50 a year, as curate of Ohiey, Mr. B. 
 has, I think, thirteen children. One is settled in 
 the world, and a friend of his has taken another for 
 his clerk, gratis. We propose to put out one of 
 
 I his daughters to some decent business, by which 
 she may have the means of getting her livelihood. 
 He has been at a great expense, poor man, by the 
 sickness of his family. We have put one of Mr. 
 Moses Brown's children apprentice to a handsome 
 business ; and it will be a pleasure to do so worthy 
 a man ail the service that lies in my power." He 
 wrote a large and warm recommendation of Burn- 
 ham's Pious Memorial, as a piece of charity to his 
 
 I distressed widow. Among other instances of his 
 charity, he proposed to buy a slave, to instruct 
 him in the Christian religion: thus he writes his 
 friend Mr. Whitefield, who, in America, had op- 
 portunity to make this purchase: " When you 
 please to demand, my brother will pay you £30, 
 
 1 for the purchase of a negro ; and may the Lord 
 
 i Jesus Christ give you, or rather take for himself, 
 the precious soul of the poor slave." Mr. White- 
 field answers the above, and says, " I think to call 
 your intended purchase Weston, and shall take 
 care to remind him by whose means he Avas 
 brought under the everlasting gospel." He ofTered 
 a yearly allowance to a poor student attending the 
 academy of Mr. Ryland. 
 
 In another letter, he says, " My money is 
 Christ's, and I only desire he will give me be- 
 nevolence to bestow it willingly, and grace to be- 
 slow it prudenUy."* — "I forbear every unneces- 
 
 «Gen. Col. Let. 178. 
 9 
 
98 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 sary expense, and want many of the little conveni- 
 ences of life, that I may succour the worthy ser- 
 vants of Christ."* — " I see so much indigence, and 
 so many distressed objects, that I begrudge myself 
 all unnecessary disbursements of money. Who 
 would indulge too much even in innocent and 
 elegant amusements, and thereby lessen his ability 
 to relieve, to cherish, and comfort the Lord Jesus 
 in his afflicted members ?"t 
 
 While Mr. Hervey was so charitable to the poor, 
 and upon Christian principles, he acted with pru- 
 dence and discretion. To a friend he writes in the 
 following terms : — " I think a guinea is fully enough 
 for giving away to a person whose character we are 
 ignorant of. There are too many to whom an alms, 
 in the way of money, is only an administration of 
 fuel to their lusts; not that I presume to fix such a 
 charge upon the present petitioner, yet this convic- 
 tion makes me cautious, where I have no assurance 
 of the person's sobriety. Had it not been for his 
 father's worth, I should have almost thought it my 
 duty to have shut my hands, till I had received 
 some more satisfactory recommendations. We are 
 stewards of our Master's goods, and discretion is 
 requisite in the discharge of such an office, as well 
 as fidelity." — " In your last, you asked me for two 
 guineas out of my private purse, for our very de- 
 serving and very distressed friend. Indeed it is 
 quite exhausted, but I have agreed to go halves 
 with Rivington in the profits of my book ; and I 
 always make it a maxim not to give till I have 
 gotten. If the Lord please to prosper my work, I 
 will very readily communicate." 
 
 Mr. Hervey wished, by occasion of his external 
 
 * Gen. Col. Let. 80. t Ibid. 197. 
 
REV, JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 99 
 
 charity, to recommend Jesus to his fellow-men. 
 So he writes a friend: " I am glad the little money 
 I left in your hand had not been remitted, if it may 
 be a means of cherishing one of the least of our 
 Redeemer's brethren. You did right in delivering 
 
 a guinea to Mrs. , for the benefit of poor 
 
 widow C, If M. L. or B. P. are in want, by all 
 means let them be relieved. Tell them I present 
 each of them with a crown, and be pleased to give 
 it them in my name, assuring them that I give it 
 with the utmost readiness ; and bid them think, if 
 a poor mortal, a wretched sinner, is so ready to 
 help them, according to his ability, how much 
 more ready is the infinitely compassionate Saviour 
 of the world to pity all their miseries, and comfort 
 them in all their troubles ! If poor dust and ashes 
 has a heart to pity, how inconceivably more willing 
 is the fountain of love, the adorable Friend of sin- 
 ners, to hear their prayers, and fulfil all their de- 
 sires! Were it in my power, I would willingly do 
 more for them ; but let them remember, that the 
 power of the blessed Jesus knows no limits. Per- 
 haps my poor friends may feel themselves a little 
 inclined to love the giver of such a mite. If they 
 should feel themselves so disposed, O let them 
 consider what reason they have to adore and love 
 their most merciful Redeemer! Their friend never 
 shed his blood for them, never laid down his life 
 for them ; but Jesus who reigns in glory, did both 
 for their sake."* 
 
 A day before he died, when he was reduced to 
 such extreme weakness, as to be unable to read, 
 and could with difficulty speak, a small account 
 being settled with him by a friend, as the balance 
 
 * Evangelical Magazine, Vol. 10. 
 
100 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 of which he received eighteen shillings ; looking 
 on the money with great indifference, he expressed 
 himself to this effect: — "I would gladly dispose of 
 this small sum in such a manner as may do most 
 good. It is the only act which I now am, and 
 probably the last which I shall be, able to perform. 
 Give yourself the trouble (says he to a friend) of 
 looking among these books, and you Avill find Mr. 
 Richard's pamphlet; at the latter end of which are, 
 in manuscript, I remember, some hints concern- 
 ing the means of promoting religion in ourselves 
 and others, which (with some additions and im- 
 provements, which you might easily make) will 
 not fill more than half a sheet of paper, and if 
 stuck up, or framed, might be particularly useful 
 in that form. Let, then, such a number be printed 
 and given away, as this money will admit of." It 
 was always his desii'e to die just even with the 
 world. " I will be my own executor," said he; 
 and, as he died on Christmas-day, his fund expired 
 almost with his life. What little remained, he de- 
 sired might be given to the poor at that severe 
 season. 
 
 Mr. Hervey's heart was entirely devoted to the 
 interests of his Redeemer, and drawn out with 
 peculiar affection to all his followers, especially the 
 most holy, zealous and active. Mere names of 
 parties were not of great account with him ; the 
 precious truth of evangelical doctrine was his pearl; 
 where he found it, there his heart was knit. He 
 says, on this point, " I reckon it a singular bless- 
 ing, that the spirit of prejudice and party zeal falls 
 away, and we can converse together as brethren, 
 though we worship the great Parent of all in dif- 
 ferent assemblies." — " Be not ashamed of the name 
 Puritan ; they were the soundest preachers, and I 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 101 
 
 believe the truest followers of Christ." — " For my 
 part, I esteem the Puritans as some of the most 
 zealous Christians that ever appeared in our land." 
 " To settle faith on its proper basis, the meritorious 
 righteousness of the Redeemer, and to deduce obe- 
 dience from its true origin, the love of God shed 
 abroad in our heart; to search the conscience, and 
 convince the judgment; to awaken the lethargic, 
 and comfort the aillictcd soul, and all from a thor- 
 ough knowledge joined to a masterly application 
 of the Divine word; these are real excellences; 
 these, if we may credit history, entered into the 
 preaching, these, if we examine impartially, are to 
 be found in the writings of the Puritans." He 
 particularly prized them as maintaining his favour- 
 ite doctrine of imputed righteousness. " The Pu- 
 ritans, one and all of them, glory in tlie righteous- 
 ness of their great Mediator, they extol his imputed 
 righteousness in almost every page, and pour con- 
 tempt on all other works compared with their 
 Lord's; for my part, I know no set of writers in 
 the world so eminently remarkable for this doctrine 
 and diction; it quite distinguishes them from the 
 generality of our modern treatises. He mentions 
 particular divines, and says: " Dr. Owen, witli his 
 correct judgment and immense fund of learning; 
 Mr. Charnock, with his masculine style and inex- 
 haustible vein of thought; Dr. Goodwin, with sen- 
 timents eminently evangelical, and a most liappy 
 talent at opening, sifting, and displaying the hidden 
 riches of Scripture; these, I think, are the tirst 
 three. Then comes Mr. Howe, nervous and ma- 
 jestic, with all the powers of imagery at his com- 
 mand ; Dr. Bates, fluent and polished, with a never 
 ceasing store of beautiful similitudes; Mr. Flavel, 
 fervent and alTectionatc, with a masterly hand at 
 
102 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 probing tlie conscience and striking the passions; 
 Mr. Caryl, Dr. Manion, Mr. Pool, with many 
 others, whose works will speak for them ten thou- 
 sand times better than the tongue of panegyric, or 
 the pen of biography. You are not ignorant of 
 my sentiments with regard to our dissenting bre- 
 thren. Are we not all devoted to the same supreme 
 Lord? Do we not all rely on the merits of the 
 same glorious Redeemer? By professing the same 
 faith, the same doctrine which is according to god- 
 liness, we are incorporated into the same mystical 
 body ; and how strange, how unnatural would it 
 be, if the head should be averse to the breast, or 
 the hands inveterately prejudiced against the feet, 
 only because the one is habited somewhat differ- 
 ently from the other? Though I am steady in my 
 attachment to the Established Church, I would 
 have a right hand of fellowship and a heart of love 
 ever ready, ever open, to all the upright evangelical 
 dissenters." Having desired a friend to transmit 
 his most cordial affection to a dissenting minister, 
 he adds: "I dearly love him, and rejoice in the 
 expectation of meeting him in the everlasting king- 
 dom of our dear Redeemer. How inconsiderable, 
 what a perfect nothing, is the difference of preach- 
 ing in a cloak, or in a gown, since we both hold 
 the same Head, both are united to the same Saviour, 
 and have access by the same Spirit to the Father. 
 I assure you his name has been mentioned in my 
 poor intercessions, ever since he favoured me with 
 his friendly edifying epistle. Tell him I am ma- 
 king some faint attempts to recommend to the world 
 a doctrine which is music to his ears, and better 
 than a cordial to his heart."* To the same pur- 
 
 * Gen. Col. Let. 61. 
 
EEV. JAMES HEEVEY. 
 
 103 
 
 pose he writes : " Be it so, that in some parts sev- 
 eral of our brethren dissent; let us all live amica- 
 bly and sociably together, for ■we harmonize in 
 principles. Let us join in conversation and inter- 
 mingle interests, discover no estrangement of be- 
 haviour, cherish no alienation of affection ; if any 
 strife subsist, let it be to follow our Divine Master 
 most closely, in humihty of heart and unblame- 
 ableness of life ; let it be to serve one another most 
 readily in all the kind offices of a cordial friend- 
 ship." 
 
 Mr. Hervey attained much of the meekness and 
 gentleness of Christ, and was a person of refined 
 manners. He apprehended the modern sentiment, 
 that politeness and religion were inconsistent, and 
 race and good breeding irreconcilable, was an arti- 
 ce of our grand enemy to bring the best of causes 
 into disrepute; he therefore cultivated true polite- 
 ness. In the mean time, he, on proper occasions, 
 honestly and plainly reproved sin. Dining with 
 one of his respected friends, Mr. Hervey observed 
 him utier a profane expression. H^ did not think 
 it prudent, before his family, to reprove him ; but 
 soon after, in a letter to him, he has the following 
 hints: — " I fancy, my dear friend, yon did not take 
 notice of an unbecoming expression which dropped 
 from your lips while 1 sat at your table. You were 
 a little chagrined at the carelessness of your ser- 
 vant, and said to him, with some warmth. What 
 in the name of God do you mean? Such expres- 
 sions from your mouth will be much observed, and 
 long remembered. I need say no more; you your- 
 self will perceive, by a moment's refleciion, how 
 faulty they are in themselves, how pernicious they 
 may be to others. May the good Lord pardon 
 and deliver you from evil, and may both of us 
 
104 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 meditate on that text, ' Set a watch before our 
 mouths, and keep the door of our hps.' " 
 
 The following striking anecdote of Christian 
 faithfulness is related of him. In it we have evi- 
 dence of the prudence and eflicacy of his admoni- 
 tions. Being once on a journey, a lady, who hap- 
 pened to be in the same carriage, was expatiating 
 in a particular manner on the amusements of the 
 stage, as in her esteem superior to any other plea- 
 sures. Among other things, she said there was the 
 pleasure of thinking on the play before she went, 
 the pleasure she enjoyed while there, and the plea- 
 sure of ruminating on it in her bed at night. Mr. 
 Hervey, who sat and heard her discourse without 
 interrupting her, when she had concluded, said to 
 her, in a mild manner, that there was one pleasure 
 more, besides what she had mentioned, which she 
 had forgot. " What can that be?" said she; " for 
 surely I have included every pleasure, when I con- 
 sidered the enjoyment beforehand, at the time, and 
 afterwards. Pray, Sir, Avhat is it?'' Mr. Hervey, 
 with a grave look, and in a manner peculiar to him- 
 self, replied, " Madam, the pleasure it will give 
 you on your death-bed." A clap of thunder, or a 
 flash of lightning, would not have struck her with 
 more surprise: the stroke v^ent to her very heart. 
 She had not one word to say, but, during the rest 
 of the journey, seemed quite occupied in thinking 
 upon it. In short, the consequence of this well- 
 timed remark was, that she never after went to the 
 play-house, but became a pious woman, and a fol- 
 lower of those pleasures which would afford her 
 true satisfaction even on a death-bed. 
 
 iVIr. Hervey particularly enjoyed pious conver- 
 sation; he seems to have sought out the company 
 of the serious, wherever the hand of the Lord led 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY, 
 
 105 
 
 him. His great humility made him respect tiie 
 sentiiDcnts of others; while his happy talent of 
 securing openings for introducing religious hints, 
 or improving on those of others, rendered his con- 
 versation at once entertaining and edifying. From 
 Bath he writes: " There are found, in this loose 
 and luxurious city, those who hunger and thirst 
 after Christ and his righteousness. To them the 
 pleasures of the world, which encircle them on 
 every hand, are as dross and dung, in compari- 
 son of the Saviour's love." In other conversation 
 he was often disappointed. '• When 1 have been 
 asked," says he, " to spend an afternoon with gen- 
 tlemen of a learned education and unquestionable 
 ingenuity, I have fancied myself invited to take a 
 turn in some beautiful garden, where I expected to 
 have been treated with a sight of the most delicate 
 flowers and most amiable forms of nature, when, 
 to my surprise, I have been shown nothing but the 
 most worthless thistles and contemptible weeds. 
 
 " For my part, when Christ and his righteous- 
 ness are the subject of conference, I know not how 
 to complain of prolixity; I feel no weariness, but 
 rather delight to talk of them Avithout ceasing." 
 In Christian conversation he often used to select 
 a text of Scripture, and speak from it; he would 
 sometimes modestly secure a conversation of this 
 kind to himself. So, mentioning to Dr. Stone- 
 house, Col. i. 11, he writes to him: " If you live 
 to give me an hour's conversation, this verse and 
 the preceding would furnish us with a most pleas- 
 ing and improving subject of discourse; the cor- 
 rectness, the propriety, the energy of die inspired 
 supplications are admirable." 
 
 Mr. Hervey writes to a friend: "I have lately 
 seen that most e.\cellent minister of the ever bles- 
 
106 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 sed Jesus, Mr. Whitefiekl. I dined, supped, and 
 spent the evening with him at Northampton, in 
 company with Dr. Doddridge and two pious cler- 
 gymen of the Church of England, both of them 
 known to the learned world by their valuable wri- 
 tings; and surely I never spent a more delightful 
 evening, or saw one that seemed to make nearer 
 approaches to tlie felicity of heaven. A gentleman 
 of great worth and rank in town invited us to his 
 house, and gave us an elegant treat; but how 
 mean was his provision, how coarse his delicacies, 
 compared with the fruit of my friend's lips! they 
 dropped as the honey-comb, and were a well of 
 life." 
 
 As a letter writer, Mr. Hervey certainly ranks 
 among tlie first in that department. His epistles 
 largely partake of the simplicity, freedom, and fa- 
 miliar conversation becoming letter writing. We 
 see him, as it were, opening his bosom to his Chris- 
 tian friends, and expressing himself with all the 
 tenderness and warmth of an affectionate brother! 
 Mingled with singular modesty, his letters often 
 convey the sound heartfelt experience of the real 
 Christian. Every incident is improved to some 
 religious purposes, and his ihouglits took naturally 
 a pleasant turn, in speaking of the most common 
 things, if applied to his dear Saviour. He writes 
 to the afflicted, both in body and mind, many con- 
 solatory letters. He defends and explains several 
 of tlie leading truths of the everlasting gospel. 
 He directs, in almost all cases of tlie Christian life, 
 his correspondents, who gladly sought his advice; 
 and when he felt it necessary to administer reproof 
 or warning, he does not fail to do it, though per- 
 formed with Christian mildness. He does not 
 shrink back from the painful duty; his wounds are 
 
BEV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 107 
 
 those of a friend, and well fitted to answer their 
 salutary design. His letters were prayed over, 
 and were certainly useful to those to whom he 
 originally sent them, and still are precious and 
 useful as a Christian directory. They are also a 
 pattern for religious letter writing; endowed as he 
 was, with qualities which rendered his correspon- 
 dence so valuahle and pleasant, it is a matter of 
 thankfulness that he was led to write so many 
 friendly and Christian letters. 
 
 Mr. Hervey, in social intercourse, was distin- 
 guished for a suavity of manners which was pecu- 
 liarly engaging, being modest, affable, polite, and 
 gentle. He also possessed the Christian affection 
 of sincere and warm friendship. This happy dis- 
 position is owned by his friends, and appears in 
 his letters. We know he was candid in a high 
 degree, and his candour might make him, particu- 
 larly in his early days, think better of some men 
 than they deserved. In the mean time, he laid it 
 down as a rule, not to associate with any as a friend, 
 in whom the following infirmities were predomi- 
 nant: — 1. If he be reserved, or be incapable of 
 communicating his mind freely. 2. If he be proud 
 of his knowledge, imperious in his disposition, 
 and fond of imposing his own sentiments upon 
 us. 3. If he be positive, and will dispute to the 
 end, by resisting the clearest evidence, rather than 
 be overcome. 4. If he be fretful and peevish, 
 ready to take things in a wrong sense. 5. If he 
 affect wit on all occasions, and is full of his con- 
 ceils, puns, quibbles, jests, and repartees. 6. If 
 he carry about him a sort of craft and cunning, and 
 a disguise, acting rather as a spy than a friend. 
 
 One who knew him well says, " He had the 
 least of a party spirit of any man I ever knew. 
 
108 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 He practised a kind of forgetting himself, in order 
 to be agreeable to others, yet in so delicate a man- 
 ner, as scarcely to let you perceive that he was so 
 employed. He gave himself no airs of superiority, 
 but was always on a level with his company." 
 Another friend writes of him : " His unfeigned love 
 to the evangelical doctrine of free salvation and 
 eternal life, given in Christ Jesus to ilie most guil- 
 ty, was the basis of that Christian friendship which 
 subsisted between us. The first letter I received 
 from him was of such a nature, that I could not 
 but say, as soon as I received it. The Ijord has gra- 
 ciously given me a friend for the truth's sake, and 
 this will be a friend until death. 'J'his hath proved 
 a truth ; for as it began, so it continued. The 
 truth, the despised, the valuable and important 
 truth, was at the bottom of all his regard. He was 
 not a barely complaisant, but a faithful friend, such 
 as would not listen to the false suggestions and 
 idle whispers of any who, thinking his regard an 
 honour to me, would strive to break it oft'. In this 
 I proved that he who loved his Master, loved his 
 cause, and passing by the distinctions made in the 
 world, loved Jesus in his witnesses and members." 
 
 In his friendship, he always regarded the high- 
 est, the eternal interest of his friends. Nothing 
 can be more amiable, and at the same time more 
 dignified, than this fidelity, in what he esteemed 
 the duty of friendship. To his benefactress, Mrs. 
 Orchard, he writes: " Indeed you do me too great 
 an honour, in vouchsafing to thank me for my let- 
 ters. I esteem it a favour, if you will permit me 
 to remind you of serious and everlasting things ; 
 and might these epistolary remembrances stir up 
 in ni}' benefactress's mind a more hearty concern 
 for her precious soul, with joy I would reflect on 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 109 
 
 them in my last moments. I fear I presume some- 
 times, and make too bold with your condescending 
 goodness; but if I write freely and plainly, in a 
 pressing- or importunate manner, impute it, for it 
 is wholly owing, to my zeal for your spiritual 
 welfare. It is because I long, earnestly long, to 
 see that generous person one day crowned with 
 eternal glory, who has showed such respect, and 
 exercised such kindness to me. If I tell her of 
 the sinfulness and corruption of our nature, it is 
 only that she may be cleansed and healed by Di- 
 vine grace. If I speak of the worthlessness and 
 imperfection of our best services, it is only that 
 she may be brought to a happy reliance on Jesus 
 Christ, and so have life through his blessed name." 
 I He prayed for his friends in their distress. So 
 I he writes Dr. Slonehouse, when in afiliction : " A 
 passage which I read this very day, in Colossians, 
 (chap. i. 11,) is extremely pertinent to your case, 
 and what I shall frequently pray may be fuliilled 
 to your great consolation, that you may be strength- 
 ened with all might, according to his glorious 
 power, unto all patience and long-suffering, with 
 joyfulness." 
 
 He wished strictly to guard against flattery. To 
 a kind and honoured correspondent, he writes: 
 " I assure you it would grieve me beyond expres- 
 sion, if any thing should drop from my pen that 
 might awaken the least vanity in your mind, or in- 
 I jure that most precious virtue, humility : this would 
 be poison instead of balm. The high and lofty 
 One, that inhabiteth eternity, beholds the vain and 
 conceited afar off." To Dr. Stonehouse, whose 
 letter he apprehended flattered him, he says: — 
 Praise is most enchanting music to the human 
 ear ; shall I say most delicious poison to the human 
 
110 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 taste? From strangers, or complimentary corres- 
 pondents, we must expect a touch upon this string, 
 but among friends, among bosom friends, it must 
 not be so; you and I will teach one another's 
 hearts to rise in wonder and glow in love, at the 
 consideration of that ever blessed Sovereign, who 
 is higher tlian the kings of the earth, and yet lay 
 in darkness in the shadow of death, that he might 
 make us the sons of God and exalt us to eternal 
 life." 
 
 HIS PERSONAL RELIGION THROUGH LIFE. 
 
 Mr. Hervey, having laid a good foundation in 
 scriptural principles of grace and truth, was emi- 
 nent for personal holiness in heart and life. His 
 apprehensions of truth were totally in the light of 
 free salvation to the guilty, as the ground of im- 
 mediate confidence. It was matter of experience 
 to him, that, as the chief of sinners, he had a right 
 to say, Christ was his Saviour, by virtue of the 
 general free promise and grant of the gospel. This 
 he actually did, and in believing, he received 
 strength for duly, and also the acceptance of it. 
 Herein he not only received the truths of the gos- 
 pel on these points, as truths, but besides, and from 
 the influence of them upon his mind, received 
 Christ himself, as conveyed therein to him in par- 
 ticular. These believing apprehensions were a 
 living principle of holiness, not merely as acts or 
 duties commanded by God, or given as the exer- 
 cise of a grace, but chiefly as possessing Christ, as 
 looking to and receiving Christ, made of God to 
 him sanctification and redemption. In the name 
 of himself and other evangeUcal preachers, he says: 
 *' Our maxim is, though less than nothing, though 
 
REV. JAMES H E R V E Y. 
 
 Ill 
 
 worse than nothing, in ourselves; we can do all 
 things through Christ strengthening us." To fol- 
 low after iiolincss he counted the greatest privi- 
 lege. Speaking of the good actions of Abel, Enoch, 
 Abraham, and Elias, he says: " For my part, I 
 shall reckon myself truly happy; I shall bless the 
 day wherein I was born, if I may but be enabled 
 to follow the footsteps of those illustrious leaders, 
 though I should not reach the summit of their 
 virtues." 
 
 Under an impression of regard to Jesus as all in 
 religion, he acted towards his friends. To one of 
 them he relates the following anecdote : " I remem- 
 ber a very ingenious gentleman once showed me a 
 composition in manuscript, which he intended for 
 the press, and asked my opinion : it was moral, it 
 vras delicate, it was highly finished ; but I ventured 
 to tell him there was one thing wanting, the name 
 and merits of the divinely excellent Jesus, without 
 which I feared the God of heaven would not ac- 
 company it with his grace, and without which I 
 was sure the enemy of souls would laugh it to scorn. 
 The gentleman seemed to be struck with surprise. 
 ' The name of Jesus !' he replied : ' this single cir- 
 cumstance would frustrate all my expectations, 
 would infallibly obstruct the sale, and make read- 
 ers of refinement throw it aside with disdain.'" 
 On this Mr. Hervey makes the following reflec- 
 tion: "I can never think the spread of our per- 
 formances will be obstructed by pleasing Him who 
 has all hearts and events in his sovereign hand." 
 He further adds (upon his publishing Theron and 
 Aspasio,) " I am willing to put the matter to a 
 trial, and myself to practise the advice I gave. So 
 far from secreting the amiable and majestic names 
 of JESUS and the adorable TRINITY, I have 
 
112 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 printed them in grand and conspicuous capitals; 
 that all the world may see I look upon it as my 
 highest honour to acknowledge, to venerate, to 
 magnify my God and Saviour: and if he has no 
 power over the hearts of men, or nothing to do 
 with the events of the world ; if acceptance and 
 success are none of his gifts, have no dependance 
 on his smile; then I am content, perfectly content, 
 to be without them."* 
 
 On the whole, the motto of Mr. Hervey's Chris- 
 tianity was LOOKING UNTO JESUS. This he wished 
 to do in every case. In every enjoyment he look- 
 ed to Jesus, receiving it as proceeding from his 
 love, and purchased by his agonies. In every tri- 
 bulation he looked to Jesus; he marked his gra- 
 cious hand managing the scourge, or mingling the 
 bitter cup, attempering it to a proper severity, ad- 
 justing the time of its continuance, and ready to 
 make these seeming adversities productive of real 
 good. In every duty he looked to Jesus, for 
 strength, motive, and acceptance. In every in- 
 firmity and failing, he looked unto Jesus, his mei-- 
 ciful iligli Priest, pleading his atoning blood, and 
 making intercession for transgressors. In every 
 temptation he looked to Jesus, as the Captain of 
 salvation, to make him more than a conqueror 
 over all his enemies. And, in the hour of his de- 
 parture, we know by the sequel he looked unto 
 Jesus, as he who had swallowed up death in vic- 
 tory, and was the only way to the abodes of bliss. 
 These views of Christ as the all in religion, never 
 led him to supineness, security, or licentiousness; 
 but, on the contrary, to active practical holiness. 
 So he says: "If Jesus be the first and the last, 
 
 * Letters to Lady F. Shirley, Let. 90. 
 
KEV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 113 
 
 should he not be so likewise in our esteem, in our 
 desires, in our glorying, in our life and death ?" 
 
 It is well known it was Mr. Hervey's doctrine, 
 that we must partake of the comforts of the gospel, 
 before we can practise the duties of the law. These 
 comforts he mentions in his letters: "A saving in- 
 terest in Christ, a reneu'al by the Holy Ghost, a 
 persuasion of our reconciliation to God, and a per- 
 suasion of our future enjoyment of the heavenly 
 happiness." Few Christians have had the follow- 
 ing Scriptures more exemplified in their experi- 
 ence: — "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, 
 whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth 
 in thee;" and, " being filled with all joy and peace 
 in believing." What Mr. Toplady reports as one 
 of his sayings, may, with great propriety, be ap- 
 plied to himself: " To a lively believer, who en- 
 joys continual fellowship with God, every day is 
 a Sabbath, and every meal a sacrament." His in- 
 timate friend, Dr. Stonehouse, says of him: " Her- 
 vey was a very cheerful man, though always ill." 
 " I am always, as Mr. Thomson truly speaks, 
 weak and ill, half dead while I live; yet my spirit 
 rejoices in God my Saviour, in Jehovah my righte- 
 ousness." This was the more remarkable in Mr. 
 Hcrvey, as, through his constitutional malady, in- 
 superable languors seized him, unfitting him for 
 every business, rendering every enjoyment unrel- 
 ishing, filling him with misgiving thoughts, and 
 making every thing that went cross acutely painful 
 to him. 
 
 Besides other consolations, he particularly en- 
 joyed a good hope of eternal glory. " In that hap- 
 py world," says he, "where the inhabitant shall 
 no more say, I am sick, there I hope, through the 
 blood of the everlasting covenant, to meet you, 
 10 
 
114 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 and no longer tire you with the disagreeable men- 
 tion of my indispositions, but join with you in lov- 
 ing, adoring and magnifying, that dear, divinely 
 excellent Jesus, who loved us, and washed us from 
 our sins in his blood."* Again; "In the heavenly 
 courts of the living God, there I trust to meet you, 
 there to see you walking among the angels of light, 
 or sitting on a throne of glory, or prostrate at those 
 feet wliich were pierced with irons, and nailed to 
 the accursed tree, for your salvation. This, per- 
 haps, when we see clearly the lengths and breadths, 
 the heights and depths, of our adored Redeemer's 
 love, will be esteemed the most desirable posture, 
 and the most delightful employ. Till I am admit- 
 ted to this honour, I am," <fec.t To the same pur- 
 pose he writes to an intimate friend, who had asked 
 him. Have you peace and joy in the Holy Ghost? 
 " I sometimes do rejoice, and not in carnal satis- 
 factions, but in hope of the glory which shall be 
 revealed; sometimes, too, I am blessed with in- 
 ward peace, and possess my soul in tranquillity. "J 
 While Mr. Hervey relished the divine pleasures 
 of Christianity, he utterly detested those which the 
 thoughtless and gay find in romances, novels, and 
 theatrical entertainments. " These,'' says he, " are 
 commonly calculated to inflame a wanton fancy; 
 and if conducted with so much modesty as not to 
 debauch the affections, they pervert the judgment 
 and bewilder the taste. By their incredible adven- 
 tures, their extravagant parade of gallantry, and 
 their characters widely different from truth and 
 nature, they inspire foolish conceits, beget idle 
 expectations, introduce a disgust of genuine his- 
 
 * Letters to Lady F. Shirley, Let. 26. 
 
 t Ibid 62. t Letter to Mr. Whitefield. 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 115 
 
 tory, and indispose their admirers to acquiesce in 
 the decent civilities, or to relish the satisfactions of 
 common life." As to the theatre, he says, " If an 
 
 earthquake should happen, ask Mr. (that 
 
 advocate for the theatre) if he would like to be 
 found in the play-house, and go from the boxes or 
 the pit to the great tribunal. Indeed, the stage is 
 indefensible.'' 
 
 Mr. Hervey considered the atonement of Jesus 
 as the great foundation of holiness. Had he in 
 the least apprehended that the imputed righteous- 
 ness of Jesus had any tendency to subvert holiness, 
 to confirm the hypocritical professor in his neglect 
 of moral duties, or discourage the sincere convert 
 from the pursuit of real virtue, he would have re- 
 jected it with the utmost abhorrence; but he, on 
 scriptural grounds, viewed the atonement as a great 
 cause of universal holiness; that this being applied 
 to the soul, delivers fully from the curse of the 
 law and the strengdi of sin; that hereby all the 
 divine attributes are legally engaged to bestow 
 sanctification, as the quintessence of eternal life, to 
 wliich we are adjudged in justification; that this 
 blood of Jesus, in a real, though inconceivable 
 manner, purges our conscience from dead works, 
 to serve the living God; and that, in this atone- 
 ment, there is contained all strength and motive to 
 excite and enable us to holiness in all manner of 
 conversation. In his sermon on Galatians vi. 14, 
 he has these words: "True morality is the image 
 of the blessed God, and its proper origin is from 
 the cross of our divine Master. Through the 
 merits of his death, sinners are made partakers of 
 the Holy Spirit, who writes upon their hearts, and 
 makes legible in their conversation, what was an- 
 ciently written upon the mitre of the high-priest, 
 
116 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 Holiness to the Lord ! And O what a motive is 
 the cross of Christ to the exercise of every virtue! 
 He died ! my Lord ! my Judge ! my King ! to re- 
 deem me from all iniquity, and to make me zealous 
 of good works. How powerfully, far heyond any 
 naked instruction of abstract reasonings, do such 
 considerations invite us, urge us, constrain us, to 
 renounce all ungodliness, and adorn the doctrine of 
 God our Saviour in all things !" " The cross of 
 Christ affords matter for the deepest humility, and 
 yields fuel for the most flaming love. Faith in our 
 crucified Jesus is an ever active principle of the 
 most cheerful and exact obedience. From the 
 atonement springs assurance of pardon, a comfort- 
 able persuasion of our reconciliation with God, an 
 established hope of eternal glory. These will be 
 operative as a torch in the sheaf; these will enkin- 
 dle love, and increase watchfulness; these will be- 
 get true humility of mind, and work an unfeigned 
 abhorrence of sin ; these will enlarge the heart 
 with charity, and exalt the affections above the 
 world." 
 
 His constant declaration was, that in his expe- 
 rience he found the all-sufficiency of Christ's right- 
 eousness, and confidence therein, to be a never- 
 failing spring of true holiness. As to any licen- 
 tious inference, which men may draw from the 
 doctrine of the atonement, he thought they could 
 be drawn by none but those who give evidence 
 they do not understand it, and cannot be said to 
 believe it. So he says in a letter: "If they do 
 not understand the fitness of free justification to 
 promote holiness, it is because their understandings 
 are darkened, it is a sign they want the eye-salve." 
 From his own experience, he says, " I believe that 
 Jesus Christ, the incarnate God, is my Saviour; 
 
REV, JAMES HERVEY. 117 
 
 that he has done all I was bound to perform, and 
 suflered all I was condemned to sustain, and so he 
 procured a full final salvation for a poor damnable 
 sinner; I now would fain serve him who hath 
 saved me; 1 would glorify him before men, who 
 justified me before God; I would study to please 
 him in righteousness and holiness, all the days of 
 my life."* — " In ray adorable Redeemer I hare a 
 perfect righteousness, and am completely justitied ; 
 and shall I not endeavour to walk worthy of such 
 favours, to show my gratitude for sucli beneficence, 
 by bringing forth the fruits of righteousness in all 
 my conversation?" — "In the incarnate Jehovah 
 alone, in his divinely excellent deeds, and unutter- 
 ably meritorious sufferings, I have righteousness ; 
 from the joyful knowledge, the personal appropri- 
 ation, and the perpetual improvement of this ines- 
 timable privilege, I have strength lor my santifica- 
 tion. Now do I indeed delight myself in the Lord, 
 who, perfectly reconciled and infinitely gracious, 
 has done so great things for me. Now do I cor- 
 dially love my neighbour; and being so happy my- 
 self, unfeignedly long for his eternal happiness, 
 that he may be a partaker with me of this great sal- 
 vation." He also on this point appeals to the ex- 
 perience of all who have tasted that the Lord is gra- 
 cious: " Speak, ye who are enabled to believe that 
 God is reconciled, has received the all-satisfying 
 atonement, and placed his Son's righteousness to 
 your account! Have not you, under such convic- 
 tions, fell every power of your souls springing for- 
 ward to glorify your heavenly Father? to glorify 
 him by every instance of obedience, fidelity, and 
 zeal ? 
 
 As many religious letters were sent to Mr. Her- 
 * Letter to Mr. VVhiteficld. 
 
118 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 vey, which, through his peculiar bodily weakness, 
 he was not able to answer, he made it an invariable 
 rule to remember these correspondents in his pray- 
 ers. We have many instances of this devotional 
 spirit : " My constant prayer is, that Immanuel 
 would vouchsafe to prosper the words of my lips, 
 and the dictates of my pen." For his friends he 
 prayed: "I think I may venture to say, without 
 vanity and without falsehood, I am grateful; heart- 
 ily wishing and praying that our Lord Jesus Christ 
 himself, and God, even our Father, may give 
 you everlasting salvation, and good hope through 
 grace."* — " Till this heart ceases to beat, I shall 
 never cease to pray for your happiness." — " I may 
 truly say, I never recollect your name, without im- 
 ploring for you all the fulness of the blessings of 
 the gospel of Christ." To Mr. and Mrs. Orchard 
 he writes: " Do you desire my prayers? I wish 
 they were more effectual and prevailing; such as 
 they are you both have them, and shall have them 
 to my life's end." In a letter to Dr. "Watts, he 
 says: "Our excellent friend. Dr. Doddridge, in- 
 forms me of the infirm condition of your health, 
 for which reason I humbly beseech the Father of 
 spirits, and the God of our life, to renew your 
 strength as the eagle, and to recruit a lamp that hath 
 shone with distinguished lustre in his sanctuary; 
 or if this may not consist with the counsels of his 
 wisdom, to make all your bed in your languishings, 
 softly to untie the cords of animal existence, and 
 enable your dislodging soul to pass triumphantly 
 through the valley of death, leaning on your be- 
 loved Jesus, and rejoicing in the greatness of his 
 salvation." 
 
 * Letters to Lady F. Shirley, Let. 61. 
 
BEV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 119 
 
 As to his people, he always remembered to la- 
 bour for them in the closet as well as in the pulpit; 
 to wreslle for them in secret supplication, as well 
 as to exert himself in public preaching, for their 
 spiritual and eternal benefit: while he reckoned this 
 a pleasing employ, he also says, he thought it the 
 truest method of expressing his pastoral affection. 
 When he finished any public service, he always 
 retired to his closet, supplicating the Lord's blessing 
 on Avhat he had said. Exhorting his people to pray 
 for faith in the righteousness of Jesus, he says: 
 "Seek this blessing to yourselves, brethren; and 
 if I forget to join my best supplications to yours, 
 let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. My 
 heart's desire and prayer for you shall always be, 
 that you may believe to the saving of the soul." 
 
 His importunity is illustrated in the following 
 well authenticated anecdote: — Mr. Hervey's man- 
 servant, sleeping in the room immediately above 
 that of his master, one night, long after the family 
 was retired to rest, awoke; hearing the groans 
 of Mr. Hervey in the room beneath, who seemed 
 to be in great distress, he went down immediately 
 and opened the door of his master's room ; but in- 
 stead of finding him in his bed, as he expected, he 
 saw him prostrate on the floor, engaged in earnest 
 importunate prayer to his God ; like Jacob, he 
 wept and made supplication. Disturbed with this 
 unseasonable appearance, Mr. Hervey, Avith his 
 usual mildness, only said, " John, you should not 
 have entered the room, unless 1 had rung the bell." 
 
 As he had occasion, secret ejaculations were al- 
 ways his exercise. In his own name, as well as 
 in that of a society at Bideford, he says ; " Besides 
 secret solemn prayers, we should accustom our- 
 selves to short, but devout and fervent ejaculations 
 
120 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 all the day long, that we may fulfil the divine cotn- 
 mand of praying always, praying without ceasing, 
 watching unto prayer ; in this manner deriving con- 
 tinually fresh supplies of wisdom, strength, and 
 righteousness, from the all-sufficient and inexhaust- 
 ible, though overfloM'ing source: and blessed, for 
 ever blessed be God, this may be done in the midst 
 of business, without hindering it; in the midst of 
 a journey, without retarding it; and in the midst 
 of company, without alarming it." 
 
 Either in ejaculations or on his knees he prayed 
 in tlie following cases : — When he received a reli- 
 gious book ; when he gave away religious books or 
 tracts ; and when he wrote letters of advice, re- 
 proof, or consolation : indeed, the grace of God 
 imbued him with a happy devotional spirit, which 
 appears on every suitable occasion. We may ob- 
 serve it frequently in his letters : speaking of eter- 
 nal life, he immediately adds : " And in thee, bles- 
 sed Jesus, in thee alone, this is to be found." — 
 " Long eternity receives us, and then we rest from 
 our labours, then we forget our transient toil, amidst 
 innumerable ages of perfection, and glory, and joy: 
 for all this, not unto us, not unto us, but to thy 
 name, unto thy love, thy righteousness, thy inter- 
 cession, be the praise." 
 
 In family devotion, Mr. Hervey was strict and 
 constant. Before supper, the evening prayer as- 
 cended; this, rather than a later hour, was pitched 
 upon, that the family might join in the sacred ser- 
 vice with a lively devotion. No servant was al- 
 lowed to be absent. A. chapter of the sacred ora- 
 cles was read ; Mr. Hervey made the choice. He 
 selected some of the most instructive and anima- 
 ting portions of Scripture, and judged it advisable 
 to peruse these again and again, rather than to go 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 121 
 
 through the whole of the sacred writings. He or- 
 dered the servants to take it by turns to read ; and, 
 in this way, they read through the Psalms, Gos- 
 pels, and Episdes, so much every day. When the 
 chapter was finished, he singled out one verse of 
 Aveighty and edifying import, which, for the space 
 of a few minutes, he explained, applied, and aflec- 
 tionately urged on their consciences. When a 
 friend was present, to whom he thought his dis- 
 course might be useful, or when he met with a 
 passage on the love of Christ, he would enlarge 
 for a considerable time, and then he concluded 
 with prayer. This he performed with great se- 
 riousness and reverence, though he was never 
 tedious. Every part was pronounced with that 
 deliberation and solemn accent which commands 
 attention and creates awe. 
 
 In the morning, before breakfast, the worship of 
 God was renewed. At this time he omitted the 
 chapter, but would ask one of the servants, " Well, 
 where was our text last night?" After he had re- 
 peated it, he made them give an account of what 
 had been said upon it; he threw the substance of 
 the explanation into a few searching and interest- 
 ing questions, which he addressed to each of them ; 
 he encouraged those whose answers showed that 
 they had given diligent heed to his instructions; 
 and, when needful, he put on an air of severity, 
 mixed with tenderness, and reproved the negli- 
 gent. He re-inculcated the principal points, charg- 
 ing them to retain the doctrines in their memories, 
 and revolve them in their thoughts, while they were 
 pursuing their respective employments through the 
 day. He then concluded with prayer, under the 
 influence of the same devotional temper. 
 
 He caused all his family to attend public wor- 
 11 
 
122 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 ship. So lie writes to a friend: " Thanks for tlie 
 venison; we cannot dress it to-day; all my family 
 are to be at court this morning; the King of hea- 
 ven has sent positive orders, and will not excuse 
 either man-servant or maid-servant." 
 
 Under a sense of iiuman depravity, Mr. Hervey, 
 though one of the best of men, lamented before 
 God his Ignorance of the divine perfections, his 
 slowness of heart to believe the divine promises, 
 his languor of gratitude for the inestimable and in- 
 numerable gifts of the Divine goodness. He fre- 
 quently felt deadness in his devotions, disorder in 
 his ad'ections, and other relics of the original lea- 
 ven. Under these he groaned, and sought daily 
 by faith, prayer, and watchfulness, more and more 
 to put off this old man, which is corrupt, according 
 to the deceitful lusts : and to alleviate his sorrow, 
 he endeavoured continually to remember, that how- 
 ever unworthy he now was, however vile he had 
 been, his adored Redeemer's righteousness was 
 perfecdy infinite, and in it he was fully warranted 
 to make his boast, and that his old man was cruci- 
 fied with Jesus. The suitable reflection of Mr. 
 Hervey in this case, is expressed in the following 
 words : — " We believe a friend, when he makes a 
 profession of kindness ; and why are we so back- 
 ward to believe the repeated, more solemn, and in- 
 finitely more faithful assurances, which the Scrip- 
 tures give us of our Redeemer's love? Let us blush 
 and be confounded for our unbelief, and may the 
 Lord of all power and grace help our unbelief." — 
 " Unbelief treats God as a liar; because it rejects 
 the testimony he has borne concerning his dear 
 Son. Unbelief makes us idolize our own perform- 
 ances, sacrilegiously rob the Redeemer of his ho- 
 nour, and most arrogantly ascribe them to self." — 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 123 
 
 " I can,' I assure j^ou, act an implicit faitii on you, 
 and believe you have excellent reasons for your 
 conduct, though they should be hid from my know- 
 ledge; but such is my weakness, (O that I may 
 blush, and be confounded under a sense of it!) I 
 can hardly do the same with regard to the unerring 
 and ever-gracious God. ' Lord, increase our faith,' 
 is a supplication which we should often address to 
 the throne of grace." 
 
 " Concerning the Scriptures," he says, " I would 
 rejoice to hold conferences in private houses, in 
 the pulpit, in my family, and when abroad; nay, 
 I would be wholly employed about them, unless 
 the inbred corruption of my heart opposed." He 
 exclaims, " O blessed book ! our better, our spirit- 
 ual sun, that sheddest thy bright beams upon our 
 souls, and furnishest us with tihe light of life ! thou 
 sovereign antidote against the delusions of the 
 devil, the treachery of our fallen nature, and the 
 darkness of the world ! thou guide, to lead us 
 safely through the waves of this miserable life un- 
 to our heavenly and everlasting rest! No wonder 
 that David counted his kingdom as nothing, and 
 called thee his heritage and portion for ever; no 
 wonder the holy martyrs parted with their estates, 
 their families, their blood, radier than wiih thee. 
 'Tis rather to be v/ondered at, that mankind do not 
 prize thee as their richest jewel, converse with 
 thee as their sweetest companion, and talk of thee 
 as the dearest object of their love, all the day long, 
 "f is with regret I leave off speaking of thy un- 
 speakable worth." — " I have often thought that 
 the Scripture is finely calculated to furnish out the 
 most exquisite entertainment to the imagination, 
 from those principal sources mentioned by Addi- 
 • son, the great, the beautiful, and the new. But 
 
124 
 
 LITE OF 
 
 what is this compared with that infinitely noble 
 benefit, to impart which is the professed design of 
 the Bible, the benefit of maiiing us wise unto sal- 
 vation, of making us partakers of a divine nature." 
 
 In his last days he prayed much over his Bible; 
 througli life he did the same. Reading the word 
 and prayer he found to be duties which naturally 
 assisted one another; the one furnishing him with 
 confessions, pleas, and arguments ; the other pro- 
 moting solemnity and spirituality of mind, which 
 he found went further toward his understanding 
 the Scriptures than a library of expositions. He 
 mentions some Scriptures he prayed over: "I 
 will heal your backslidings, and love you freely." 
 " There shall be a fountain opened for the house of 
 David," &c. &c. 
 
 Mr. Hervey possessed and cultivated spiritual- 
 mindedness in a remarkable degree. He knew it 
 became him as a Christian divine; and in the ex- 
 ercise of it he took great delight. This is evident 
 in his Meditations. In the infancy of his Chris- 
 tianity and evangelical knowledge, he manifests 
 the spiritual turn of his mind. In the following 
 letter he recapitulates his meditations in a journey 
 during the early part of his ministry: — " On Sun- 
 day I was called out by Providence from my own 
 flock, to preach at two strange churches. They 
 lay at a considerable distance from each other, and 
 from Dummer, so that in passing to them, and re- 
 pairing again to my own parish, I travelled a good 
 many miles. All the way I went along, I was en- 
 tertained in the finest manner imaginable. 1 was 
 in company with a gentleman of a clear understand- 
 ing and a tolerable share of reading. He could 
 talk judiciously upon most topics, and would some- 
 times bestow some hints upon religious ones : so 
 
REV. JAMES H E R V E Y. 
 
 125 
 
 that when I was disposed for conversation, I could 
 have immediate recourse to one that would re- 
 fine my taste, and improve my judgment, if not 
 minister grace to my heart. At our first setting 
 out, we went over strong ground, where no seed 
 was sown, and so no fruit could grow. Its useless- 
 ness was not owing to any defect in point of fer- 
 tility, but to a want of being manured. Is not this 
 
 'the case of many immortal souls, who bid fair for 
 becoming saints, but are lost and spoiled for want 
 of care and instruction ? O for faithful shepherds 
 
 'to seek them, for industrious husbandmen to culti- 
 vate them ! Send, Lord, plenty of such to work 
 in thy vineyard, and to watch over thy sheep ! 
 This coarse beginning, though it had no form or 
 comeliness in itself, yet tended to give an additional 
 verdure to the succeeding scenes ; so the bottom- 
 less pit, and the unquenchable fire, though infi- 
 nitely formidable, will create in the elect a tasteful 
 relish and enjoyment of their heavenly felicity. 
 We made more haste than ordinary to get away 
 from this barren spot. For why should one fre- 
 quent such acquaintance, Avhere all that occurs is 
 vain and unprofitable? where nothing truly benefi- 
 cial can either be imparted or acquired? When 
 we were advanced a litde further, we entered upon 
 a large inclosure; here were all the footsteps of a 
 commendable and successful industry. The wheat 
 was in the blade, and sprang up with a plenteous 
 increase, and in goodly array. This suggested to 
 me the value of a diligent hand: by a spirit of 
 management, even the wilderness may be brought 
 to bud and blossom as a rose: and were there such 
 a spirit among the professors of religion, it would 
 prompt them to be, like Dorcas, full of good works, 
 or like the great apostle, continually aspiring after 
 
126 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 fresh and higher measures of perfection. We 
 should be frugal of our time, carefid of all our tal- 
 ents, and laudably covetous of every grain of im- 
 provement in piety. VVe held on our course, 
 admiring still as we went, the teeming earth, the 
 infant corn, and the pregnant promises of a prodi- 
 gious harvest. This led me to muse upon one of 
 the distinguishing doctrines of Christianity, I mean 
 the general resurrection. It convinced me how 
 perfectly possible it was widi God to raise the 
 dead; it gave me also a glimpse of that perfection 
 of beauty to which the bodies of the saints shall' 
 rise ; for a little while ago I beheld, and, lo ! the 
 whole vegetable world was naked and bare, with- 
 out any ornament; but now how charming it ap- 
 pears ! no virgin is more gay and blooming, no 
 bride is better arrayed, or more sparkling; and if 
 God so enlivens and clothes the grass of the earth, 
 and the tenants of the field, how much more shall 
 he quicken and ennoble our mortal bodies, which 
 we hope are the temples of the Holy Ghost! Our 
 next remove was to a lane, set on either side with 
 lofty trees and humble shrubs. Here the twigs 
 were gemmed with buds, just ready to open and 
 unfold ; there they were already opened into blos- 
 soms. O the adorable efficacy of the divine voice ! 
 how powerfully and lastingly it operates! God 
 said once, 'Let the earth bring forth;' he spake 
 not twice, and yet how punctually does nature 
 obey this single command! O that men would lay 
 this to heart, and learn a lesson of obedience from 
 the inanimate creation ! All other things continue 
 according to their Maker's ordinance, and shall man 
 be the only rebel in the kingdom of nature? While 
 our sight was regaled in this manner, a set of 
 chiming bells saluted our ears, with a solemn and 
 
REV. JAMES HEKVEY. 
 
 127 
 
 serene harmony. It had no great diversity of stops, 
 nor artful mixture of notes, but surely it was most 
 gladdening music, and spoke a heavenly meaning. 
 It was calculated to inspire such a joy as the royal 
 Psalmist felt, when he heard the acceptable invita- 
 tion to go up to the house of the Lord. On a sud- 
 den, when we were least apprehensive of it, the 
 wind wheeled about, and bore away the silver 
 sounds, but it was only to bring them back again, 
 as unexpectedly, with the fresh pleasure of a grate- 
 ful surprise. Here I thought of the sweet influ- 
 ences of grace, and wished for that happy time, 
 when the visits of the blessed Spirit will be unin- 
 terrupted." 
 
 The following are instances of his spiritual turn, 
 from his letters: — " There is at Bideford, and has 
 been for a considerable time, a townsman of mine ; 
 
 his name is . I little thought to find such 
 
 a person in these remote parts: it puts me in mind 
 of heaven, where people of every kindred and 
 tongue, of all nations and languages, will form one 
 general and glorious assembly." — " I have been 
 prevailed on to sit for my picture: if ever portrait 
 was the shadow of a shadow, mine is. O that I 
 may be renewed after the amiable image of the 
 blessed Jesus! and when I awake up after his 
 likeness, I shall be satisfied with it." A gentle- 
 man being with him in his garden, he plucked a 
 rose, and desired him to present it to his wife, to 
 put her in mind of the Rose of Sharon. She paid 
 that regard to the giver and the gift, as to put it 
 into a frame with a glass. Upon hearing of this, 
 he writes: " Your lady has shown the most wel- 
 come complaisance to me and to the rose; to me, 
 in accepting what is less than a trifle; to the rose, 
 in putting it to such a use: and could that poor 
 
128 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 vegetable be sensible, it would rejoice to be a re- 
 membrancer of its amiable Creator.' The prophet 
 calls upon the whole creation, inanimate as it is, 
 to exult and triumph in the grace of our incarnate 
 God: Sing, O heavens! be joyful, O earth! break 
 forth into singing, ye mountains! O forest, and 
 every tree, whether cultivated or wild! for the 
 Lord, by his incarnation, blood and righteousness, 
 hath redeemed Jacob and glorified himself, most 
 magnificently displayed all his divine perfections, 
 in the salvation of Israel. I heartily wish she 
 may every day become more and more acquainted 
 with the Rose of Sharon, that his loveliness, riches 
 and glory may be revealed in her heart by the 
 Holy Ghost. Happy the souls in which this 
 flower of heaven blossoms, which are charmed 
 with its beauty and refreshed with its odours; 
 their happiness will not fade away as a leaf, but, 
 like the merit and mercy of their Lord, will be new 
 every morning, new every moment, new through 
 eternal ages." 
 
 The following are other extracts: " The small- 
 pox is marking many here, and carrying off some 
 among us. I have often thought it is a lively em- 
 blem of the condition of our souls, by corrupt na- 
 ture and evil practice; so polluted, so loathsome, 
 is our better part, in the eye of uncreated purity, 
 till we are cleansed in redeeming blood. May we 
 earnestly long to be washed in that fountain opened 
 in our Saviour's side, for sin and uncleanness." — 
 " I am much pleased with the appearance of a 
 wintry guest, a fall of snow, because it gives me a 
 fine idea of that spotless purity which I trust my 
 friend will derive from the precious blood of Christ. 
 How endearing are his words, and how inestimable 
 his promise! ' Come now, let us reason together, 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 129 
 
 saith the Lord ; though your iniquities be as s-car- 
 let, they shall be as snow ; thougli they be red like 
 ciinison, they shall be as wool!' How noble is 
 ihc declaration, and how triumphant is the failh of 
 David, speaking upon the same subject! 'Thou 
 shalt purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; 
 thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than 
 snow.' These passages must certainly refer to the 
 blood of the everlasting covenant, witliout which 
 there is no remission; they cannot but relate to the 
 blood of the Lamb, which taketh away the sin of 
 the world. How great must he be, how infinitely 
 glorious, who can take away all sins! so entirely 
 take them away, that not the least spot or blemish 
 shall remain." 
 
 " Will you give me leave to transmit in writing 
 ■what I heard in conversation, an event that lately 
 happened, and told by a person who was an eye- 
 witness to the whole ? A soldier was condemned to 
 be executed for desertion, a young man, in the 
 prime of life, with the bloom of health in his coun- 
 tenance. Being come to the place of execution, he 
 prepared himself for death without any emotion of 
 fear, opened his breast without any change of coun- 
 tenance, and drew the cap over his eyes without 
 the least trepidation in his limbs. Six of his com- 
 rades were draughted out, and ordered to advance 
 softly forwards. Being come within four yards of 
 the criminal, they received orders to fire, and shot 
 each his ball quite through the body. After this, 
 the corpse, with its face uncovered, and the wounds 
 bleeding, was extended on the ground, and the 
 whole regiment, to make the terror more impres- 
 sive, marched over its legs. The sight was so 
 awful, that one of the soldiers fainted away as he 
 passed by the dismal spectacle; and the account so 
 
130 
 
 r I F E OF 
 
 aflecting, that I observed llie tears stealing down 
 the cheeks of a lady, when it was related. Will 
 not this help us to form some faint apprehensions 
 of God Almighty's tender and amazing love in 
 Christ Jesus? When we had deserted his service, 
 and rebelled against his majesty, not once or twice 
 only, but times out of number, did he pass sentence 
 upon us ? No, he exercised all long-suffering to- 
 ward us ; instead of condemning us, he deputed 
 his own Son to be condemned, and to suffer in our 
 room. He resigned the dearly-beloved of his soul, 
 the immaculate and blessed Jesus, to receive all 
 the arrows of vengeance into his heart; to become 
 a pale, bloody, mangled corpse, a spectacle of 
 misery to angels and men, on purpose tliat we might 
 go free, that we might be delivered from punish- 
 ment, and become heirs of eternal happiness. O 
 adorable kindness to none-such rebels, freely to 
 pardon and fully to forgive them ! Still more stu- 
 pendous, to raise them from the block to the highest 
 preferment in heaven,- to exalt them from the stake 
 to a glorious crown, or everlasting kingdom ; and 
 to surrender his illustrious and divine Son in their 
 place, this is loving kindness unutterable and incon- 
 ceivable." 
 
 A gentleman waiting in his parlour, to transact 
 some business as to ploughing his parsonage- 
 grounds, while he was writing a letter to a minis- 
 ter, he added : " May prosperity attend his plough ; 
 but, above all, may it attend yours and mine, Which 
 would open the ground for the seed of the everlast- 
 ing gospel." 
 
 Several pious ministers, of different denomina- 
 tions, having for two days successively dined with 
 him, he exclaims, " O for that hour when we shall 
 all sit down at the marriage-feast of the Lamb ! 
 
REV, JAMES H E R V E Y. 
 
 131 
 
 May we taste it by faith, till our souls are satiated 
 with its fulness in glory." 
 
 Recollecting a most delicate piece of flattery, ad- 
 dressed 10 a Roman emperor by Horace the poet, 
 he says; "This I would cast into a Christian 
 mould, and thus translate : 
 
 " When faith presents the Saviour's death, 
 And whispers, This is mine, 
 Sweetly my rising hours advance; 
 And peacefiilly decline. 
 
 " While such my views, the radiant sun 
 Sheds a most sprightly ray ; 
 Each object smiles, all nature charms, — 
 I sing my cares away." 
 
 Mr. Hervey, in his younger years, was vain and 
 proud to a singular degree ; but the grace of God 
 made him low in his own eyes. Learning of Him 
 who is meek and lowly, " he walked softly all his 
 years." His friend Ryland says of him, in this 
 respect, " He practised a kind of forgetfuiness of 
 himself, in order to be agreeable to others. He 
 gave himself no- air of superiority on account of his 
 being a minister of the Established Church. He 
 was always on a level with his company. He 
 never considered himself as James Hervey the 
 celebrated writer, but as a poor guilty sinner, 
 equally indebted to Divine grace, with the lowest 
 day-labourer in his parish." " If Mr. Hervey may 
 be believed," says one of his intimate friends, 
 " nothing was mqj-e offensive to him, tlian those 
 encomiums on his piety, which only serve to ren- 
 der his confession of himself hypocritical, and his 
 doctrine false. In all his thoughts, in all his prac- 
 tice, he found himself a sinner, and in nothing 
 more so than in entertaining any good conceit of 
 
132 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 himself, or his own state, by comparison with 
 other men. God had taught him he had no rule 
 to measure by, but the perfect law or will of 
 Heaven, and every single deviation served to ren- 
 der his plea of righteousness vain, to class him 
 among the rest of mankind-sinners, and subject 
 him to eternal vengeance. In the view of these 
 circumstances, mercy revealed in Christ Jesus to 
 the guilty was a precious, joyful sound, which he 
 heard and lived by. Had he heard any one des- 
 cribe the holy, heavenly, pious Mr. Hervey, he 
 would have replied, ' You have described a man 
 that wdl never enter heaven, but as the guilty 
 James Hervey.' " 
 
 In a letter, he says, " I am ashamed of my un- 
 profitableness ; I certainly have been a most un- 
 faithful servant. Tiie traces of my ministerial con- 
 duct are like the path-way of a keel in the waves ; 
 oblivion is the only honour, forgiveness all the re- 
 ward, I crave for my service. O may the blood of 
 the heavenly Lamb be my atonement, or I sink into 
 aggravated condemnation ! May his most perfect 
 obedience be my righteousness, or I must be cover- 
 ed with utter confusion ! and now my Lord is taking 
 away my stewardship, which I have so wretchedly 
 misimpi-oved." — " O tliat in every thing I may 
 have the teachableness of a babe ! I have the weak- 
 ness. Lord endow me with the docility, of a wean- 
 ed child, yea, of a babe and suckling," — " O that 
 I may evermore grow in a self-denying, self-ab- 
 horring temper! then how gladly shall 1 submit to 
 the righteousness of God." — " I am sure my poor, 
 lame, mangled conformity to my maker's com- 
 mands, fills me with shame, and would make me 
 hang down my head as a bulrush ; but my Lord's 
 death, my Lord's obedience, my divine Lord's 
 
EEV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 133 
 
 merit, encourages me, emboldens me, and enables 
 me to say, " Who shall condemn me?" 
 
 To his friend, Mr. RIoses Brown, he writes : "I 
 
 was much pleased with Mr. 's observations on 
 
 my two little volumes (the Meditations.) Let the 
 righteous smite me friendly, and reprove me; with 
 thankfulness I shall receive, with readiness submit 
 
 to correction. I am very far from tliinking Mr. 
 
 a sour critic ; on the contrary, I admire his candour, 
 in transmitting the mistakes to the author himself, 
 and not trumpeting them abroad to the discredit of 
 the work. I have so high an opinion of his judg- 
 ment, that if the Father of lights should enable me 
 to linish the small piece I am attempting, I shall be 
 extremely glad to have every sheet pass under the 
 correction of so wise and penetrating an observer." 
 The following anecdote is related on this subject: — 
 Mr. Hervey, being in company with a person who 
 was paying him some compliments on account of 
 his writings, replied, laying his hand on his breast, 
 " O Sir ! you would not strike the sparks of ap- 
 plause, if you knew how much corrupt tinder I 
 have within." 
 
 Even under his trials he was thankful. He says, 
 •« O that I may be enabled to bless the hand, and 
 kiss the rod that smites me ! I thank the physician 
 who prescribes my medicines, though disgustful 
 and expensive. I thank the surgeon who has 
 pierced my veins, and taken away even part of my 
 vital blood, because 1 am assured he intends my 
 welfare. And is there not infinitely greater reason 
 to thank the unerring and tender providence of my 
 God, who never afflicts arbitrarily, but graciously, 
 nor grieves the children of men, but for their spiri- 
 tual and eternal good?" 
 
 To Dr. Watts he writes: " Pardon me if I take 
 
134 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 leave to interrupt your important studies for the 
 good of mankind, or suspend for one moment your 
 communion with the blessed God, I cannot ex- 
 cuse myself, without expressing my gratitude for 
 the present, by your order, lately transmitted by 
 your bookseller, (the Doctor's discourses on the 
 glory of Christ as God-man,) which I shall value, 
 not only for its instructive contents, but in a very 
 peculiar manner for the sake of the author and 
 giver." 
 
 While Mr. Hervey possessed the feelings of hu- 
 man nature, his temper was by grace subdued into 
 the meekness and gentleness of Christ Though 
 naturally irascible, having put on Christ, he put on 
 a meek and quiet spirit. He had some very sharp 
 trials of his patience both from God and man, 
 but he learned meekness by the things which he 
 suffered. 
 
 He made it a constant rule to pray for all who 
 affronted or injured him. A nobleman having af- 
 fronted one of his correspondents and himself, he 
 seems to have felt indignant on the occasion, and 
 to have uttered passionate expressions; but he im- 
 mediately recovered himself, and added, " Come, 
 let us take a generous revenge; let us beseech the 
 King of kings, and Lord of lords, to bless with the 
 knowledge of Clu-ist, with all the riches of his gos- 
 pel, him who had not benevolence enough to grant 
 us so small a boon." 
 
 A friend having sent him a caution against being 
 drawn into controversy with a warm and overbear- 
 ing disputant, he writes: " Controversj' is as much 
 my aversion as it can be your's, for where this 
 begins, religion too often ends. I shall not en- 
 ter the lists, I promise you, with any one, unless 
 I am absolutely necessitated to it; but if I am com- 
 
BEV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 135 
 
 pelled to appear in print on such an occasion, 
 I sliall endeavour to pay due regard to Solomon's 
 excellent advice. ' A soft answer turnelii away 
 wrath, but grievous words stir up anger,' Prov. 
 XV. I. Instead of exasperating my adversary by 
 cutting reprehensions, I will, if possible, constrain 
 him, by a candid and respectful treatment, to mo- 
 derate his temper, and, by coercive propriety of 
 arguments, persuade him to relinquish such tenets 
 as I think erroneous. God grant I may never be- 
 have with indecent resentment, how great soever 
 may be the provocation of my gainsayers ; but that 
 in all my writings and conversation, 1 may avoid tiie 
 hasty spirit, lest I injure my own peace of mind, 
 and disgrace my profession as a Christian and a 
 minister. It is a rule with me, always to speak 
 well of the good qualities of even bad men, espe- 
 cially when others are censuring them with an 
 unmerciful severity: and I could wish every con- 
 troversialist would learn so much candour, as to 
 put the best construction on his opponent's book, 
 and to embrace what was in general good in it, 
 however he might censure some particular opinion 
 of the contending author. To live peaceably with 
 all men, is my earnest desire and daily prayer; 
 and, in order to do this, I am more and more con- 
 vinced of the necessity of candour, humility, and 
 a conscientious regard to the pattern of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ." — " I have often won- 
 dered that disputants, especially on religious sub- 
 jects, should choose to deal in such acrimonious 
 and reproachful language. Does the wrath of man 
 work the righteousness of God? or is a passionate 
 invective the proper means, either to conciliate our 
 affections, or convince our judgment? Why should 
 we not write in the same gentle and obliging strain 
 
136 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 in which we converse ? Why should not our con- 
 troversies from the press be carried on with such a 
 candid and amiable strife? This would certainly 
 render them more pleasing to the reader, more pro- 
 fitable to the public, and much more likely to have 
 the desired effect on our opponent." 
 
 When he was misrepresented and calumniated, 
 he would say : " Our enemies are sometimes our 
 best friends, and tell us truths, and then we should 
 amend our faults, and be thankful for such informa- 
 tion; and if what they say is not true, and only 
 spoken through malice, then such persons are to 
 be considered as diseased in their minds, and we 
 should pray for them ; they are to be pitied, and I 
 might as justly be angry with the man who is dis- 
 eased in his body. 
 
 We have the following, among other instances 
 of his meekness: — " One of his tenants, in whose 
 field he was gently riding, because it was clean 
 and by the side of the road, threatened to shoot 
 him ; to whom he said, " Pray, Mr. Nichols, don't 
 be so angry, and I will do you no harm ; the first 
 gap I come to, that I can lead my horse over, I'll 
 do it, and creep through the hedge myself." 
 
 His meekness was produced and animated by 
 evangelical views. To a friend, he said: "Was 
 there any real offence, it is not for a follower or a 
 minister of Christ to resent it. Our blessed Re- 
 deemer was meek under the most provoking indig- 
 nities, meek under the vilest calumnies and inces- 
 sant contradiction of sinners, and made the kindest 
 excuse for his disciples, though they neglected 
 him in his bitter agony ; meek he was, though 
 mocked by Herod, and insulted by his scornful 
 soldiers; meek, though they buffeted his sacred 
 head, and spared not to spit in his amiable face : 
 
HEV. JAMES HERVEV. 
 
 137 
 
 when condemned to death, he was led as a lamb to 
 the slaughter; though nailed to the cross, though 
 rent with wounds and racked with pain, he never 
 complained of the barbarous usage; thougii they 
 hung iiini on an infamous tree, amidst the most 
 scandalous malefactors, and exposed him to the 
 abhorrence of thousands of spectators, he possessed 
 his soul in patience and resignation; though they 
 reviled him in the extremity of his sorrows, and 
 made wanton sport even with his dying pangs, yet 
 he bore all, he forgave all, yea, he prayed for ids 
 inhuman murderers: 'Father, forgive them,' was 
 his merciful supplication ; 'for they know not what 
 they do' — his gracious apology! Who can medi- 
 tate on this miracle of forgiving goodness, and fo- 
 ment indignation, or harbour resentment? May 
 those wonderful words ever be sounding in our 
 ears, and that lovely pattern ever shining before our 
 eyes! May that most compassionate voice of our 
 dear Lord have the same eflect upon our ruffled 
 spirits, as his commanding voice had upon the tem- 
 pestuous sea. It is written in the prophet, ' The 
 wolf shall dwell with the lamb;' the nations of the 
 world shall learn war no more, angry passions 
 shall be soothed into gentleness and love. Surely, 
 whenever this desirable change takes place, the 
 example of our blessed Master, set home by the 
 Diviive Spirit, will be the instrument of producing 
 the happy revolution." 
 
 To his relations this good man showed all duti- 
 ful attention, particularly as to their best and eternal 
 interests. To one of his brothers he wrote a long 
 and excellent letter, on his conduct during his ap- 
 prenticeship. He was particularly anxious he 
 should be connected with a religious master, and 
 12 
 
138 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 therefore said : " Desire your honoured mother and 
 mine to have a jtreat regard to your soul, and the 
 things that malve for its welfare, in'putting you out. 
 Let it be inquired, not only whether such a trades- 
 man be a man of substance and credit, but whether 
 he be also a man of religion and godliness? whether 
 he be a lover of good people? a careful frequenter 
 of tlie church I whether ins children be well nur- 
 tured and educated in the fear of tlie Lord? whether 
 family prayer be daily offered up in his house? 
 whether he believes that the souls of his servants 
 are committed to his trust, and that he will be an- 
 swerable for the neglect of them at the judgment- 
 seat? It will be sadly hazardous to venture your- 
 self under the roof of any person who is not fur- 
 nished with these principles, or is a stranger to 
 these practices." 
 
 "April 1741." Mr. Hervey writes: " My poor 
 father lies languishing in a most deplorable and 
 distressed condition. His case is uncommon: his 
 pains are racking and extremely acute. Physicians 
 have done their utmost, and can contribute no re- 
 lief. Art stanils baffled, medicines confess their 
 impotence, and the disorder, sharp and inveterate, 
 triumphs over all human applications. This may 
 ere long be our case. O that we may be so wise 
 as to make preparation for the worst! If we re- 
 member our Creator in the days of our health, he 
 will not forget us when trouble and anguish take 
 hold of us. Forget us ! No, but will make all 
 our bed in our sickness; will soften our agonizing 
 pillow; will wipe off the dying sweat; will speak 
 peace to our soul, when horrible dread overwhelms 
 it; and will provide us an eternal building, when 
 this earthly tabernacle totters, and sinks, and tum- 
 bles into dust. That the God of all consolation 
 
REV. JAMES n E R V E Y, 
 
 139 
 
 may do all this for my poor father now, and for 
 you in the time of need, is the earnest praver of 
 
 J. H." 
 
 To his mother he writes: " You need not doubt 
 of being remembered in my supplications to the 
 throne of grace. 0 that they were better ! O that 
 they proceeded from firmer faith, and were accom- 
 panied with greater fervour ! Poor and weak as 
 they are, they are often put up in behalf of my ho- 
 noured parents, tliat the God and Father of our 
 Lord Jesus may strengthen them with all might, 
 according to his glorious power, unto all patience 
 and long-suffering with joyfulness ; may give them 
 a humble resignation to his blessed will, enable 
 them to rejoice even in their tribulations, and make 
 all things to work together for their good, their ex- 
 ceeding great and everlasting good." — " I am glad 
 to hear my sister holds well. God always mingles 
 our cup of affliction with some sweetening drops; 
 none but Christ, that dear and adorable Redeemer, 
 none but Christ, had gall without any honey, and 
 vengeance without any mercy. Blessed be his 
 holy name, for enduring all kinds of misery, that 
 we might want no manner of thing that is good," 
 —"I hope this will find my father better. I heartily 
 wish, and daily pray, that the God of everlasting 
 compassions may comfort him under his sorrows 
 may sanctify his afflictions, and restore him to his 
 health, that he may recover more spiritual strength 
 before he goes hence, and is no more seen. I sent 
 my brother some books, and humbly beseech tlie 
 Giver of every good gift to accompany them with 
 his heavenly blessing, for what He blesses will be 
 blessed indeed." 
 
 Mr. Hervey was particularly happy in observing 
 the serious turn of mind evinced by his sister, who 
 
140 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 lived with him. On this he writes to an intimate 
 friend; " My sister has of late grown considerably 
 in grace. She delights in the word of God, loves 
 the people of God, and is never better pleased 
 than when she is talking of God, and Jesus 
 Christ whom he hath sent." Of his brother in 
 London, he says to the same friend, " I am glad 
 my brother has so good a taste, and knows what is 
 the best feast; may he evermore delight in such 
 entertainment, where Christ and his glories, Christ 
 and his merits, Christ and his grace, are the sub- 
 ject of the discourse, and chief of the treat."* 
 As to his servants, his commands to them were 
 easy. He scarcely ever saw them, without con- 
 versing with them about Christ: their spiritual in- 
 terests lay near his heart. One of the last he had, 
 who was alive in 1812, observes, " I never saw 
 him, witiiout receiving some kind advice. He gave 
 me my Bible, and recommended me to read it: he 
 also exhorted me to pray." 
 
 While in this valley of tears, Mr. Hervey met 
 with reproach, disappointments, and various trials 
 and temptations. 
 
 Among his other trials, the carelessness of some 
 of his near relations about the one thing needful, 
 gave him much uneasiness. They did not at all 
 relish the doctrines he so cordially believed and 
 diligently taught. They were indifferent, if not 
 hostile, to his fervent piety; it was with reluctance 
 they attended his family devotions, and even occa- 
 sionally turned them into ridicule. He had, how- 
 ever, the happiness to see a work of grace begun 
 in several of them before he died. 
 
 * Tills worthy gentleman lived several years after Mr. 
 Hervey, and sustained a most respectable character among 
 the friends of religion. 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 141 
 
 The weight of his ministerial work h\y heavy 
 on him, he being afiaid lest he shoiiUl be uiiraitli- 
 ful. Under great distress of conscience, and ha- 
 rassed by violent temptations, he made his case 
 known to an experienced friend, who said, " You 
 do not pray." Surprised at this, he replied, "I 
 pray, if such a thing be possible, too much; I can 
 hardly tell how many times in the day. I bow my 
 knee before God, almost to the omission of my 
 other duties, and the neglect of my necessary stu- 
 dies." " You mistake my meaning," said his 
 friend, " I do not refer you to the ceremony of the 
 knee, but to the devotion of the heart, which ne- 
 glects not any business, but intermingles prayer 
 with ail ; which in every place looks to the Lord, 
 and on every occasion lift;3 up an indigent longing 
 soul for the supply of his grace. This," added 
 he, and spoke with great vehemence, " this is the 
 prayer which all tlie devils in hell cannot with- 
 stand." Mr. Hervey profited by this advice. To 
 an intimate correspondent he writes: " Methinks 
 I could almost wish, that whatever bufTetings of 
 Satan I feel, you might be exposed to none of his 
 fiery darts." He then expresses the advantages 
 he reaped from them: " But it cannot, it must not 
 be so ; without them, diligence would fold her 
 arms, circumspection would close her eyes, and all 
 our Christian graces lose their activity and vigour. 
 To be immured always in a warm room, where no 
 single breath of air could reach us, would not be 
 conducive to the health of our bodies; to be free 
 from trials, and exempt from temptations, would 
 be as little beneficial to the state of the soul. At 
 such seasons, and by such discipline, we are taught 
 to know ourselves. Where, at such an hour of in- 
 firmity and prevailing corruption, where is our 
 
142 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 fancied righteousness? what figure does our own 
 obedience make? Alas! it appears most wortii- 
 less, and most despicably mean. Then, how com- 
 fortable to reflect, that miserably defective in our- 
 selves, we are complete in our divine Redeemer! 
 When we see our own righteousness to be poor in- 
 terrupted scraps of duty ; to be, as the prophet 
 speaks, no better than filthy rags; then how pre- 
 cious is Jesus Christ, in the character of the Lord 
 our Righteousness ! then how reviving is such a 
 text of Scripture, ' God halh made liim to be sin 
 for us, that we might be made the righteousness 
 of God in him !' " 
 
 He used to remember the saying of an aged 
 Christian: " Those temptations, which drive us to 
 prayer, and make us more attentive to the Scrip- 
 lures, cannot ruin us, will never hurt us, nay, will 
 turn in the issue to our great advantage." — "A 
 holy joy in the merits of our ever-blessed Redeem- 
 er, a calm resignation to the all-wise will of God, 
 and a well-grounded hope of unutterable and im- 
 mortal bliss in a better world — these, these are 
 more absolutely needful for a case like this (his 
 friend being in affliction,) and will do more toward 
 relief, than all the drugs whicli nature can produce ; 
 and very sure I am, these noble anodynes are dis- 
 pensed no where but in the Scriptures, are to be 
 procured no otherwise than by prayer: other me- 
 thods may stupify, but will not remove the pain, 
 much less introduce permanent ease. I speak not 
 this from mere speculation, or conjectural proba- 
 bility; I have myself experienced the efficacy of 
 these expedients, for these desirable purposes; hav- 
 ing been a sort of veteran in affliction, 1 have been 
 under the necessity of applying these consolations, 
 and have the utmost reason to bear witness that there 
 is nothing like them." 
 
EEV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 143 
 
 To his good friend, the Rev. Moses Brown, he, 
 under his wealiness, writes: " If I have not been 
 punctual ill answering your letter, ascribe it to the 
 usual, whicii is indeed tiie true cause ; I mean a 
 failure of strength and languor of spirits, which 
 both disincline and disqualify me for every thing. 
 The winter has made me a prisoner : I have not 
 been any farther than the church these two months. 
 
 May you, and all the ministers of the blessed 
 Jesus, be anointed with the Holy Ghost and with 
 power. May you, in imitation of our divine Mas- 
 ter, go about doing much spiritual good, and slied- 
 ding abroad the savour of his most precious name. 
 O that I iiad strength ! I would then pray earnestly 
 that I might go and do likewise." — " I write as a 
 poor prisoner, who lately expected to have the sen- 
 tence of death executed. May I never forget how 
 much I shall want an assured faith in the all-glori- 
 ous Redeemer when the awful change approaches. 
 The faithfulness, the goodness, the unsearchable 
 riches of Christ, apprehended by a sweedy assured, 
 soul-reviving faith — these are our sovereign support 
 under all troubles, and our most efl'ectual preserve 
 ative from all temptations: we believe, blessed 
 Jesus', help our unbelief." — " You may have heard 
 of my late dangerous sickness. Indeed, I was 
 sick nigh unto death. Little did I think of writing 
 to my friends, or of being written to any more in 
 the land of the living. O that I may devote the life 
 that has been prolonged, devote it wholly to the 
 CJod of my health and my salvation." — " If my 
 health be inquired after, it is irreparably decayed, 
 my constitution is more and more enervated ; in- 
 deed, I am become like a broken vessel ; my spirits 
 are at so low an ebb, and animal nature so relaxed, 
 as sorely to tempt me to envy others, and to be dis- 
 
144 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 contented with the Divine disposals. Will you 
 somelimes beseech the Father of everlasting com- 
 passions to remove from me these afflictive evils, 
 and not to forsake a poor sinner when his strength 
 faileth ; but though niy flesh and my heart fail, my 
 flesh under incurable languors, and my heart through 
 manifold corruptions; yet that the blessed Jesus 
 may be the strength of my heart, and my portion 
 for ever." 
 
 At another time he writes : " I had a very rest- 
 less night, torn almost to pieces by my cough. 
 Strange! that these flimsy vessels will bear such 
 violent strainings, that none of them will burst, 
 and let the battered soul slip away to her eternal 
 rest in Christ." — " I am this day a prisoner in my 
 chamber, and write in much pain. Blessed be God 
 for that world where all tears will be wiped away 
 from our eyes, and there will be no more pain! and 
 blessed be God for a Saviour, who is the way to 
 these happy mansions, and the door of admission 
 into them. O that every thing may lead my dear 
 friend and me more and more to Christ Jesus ! in 
 him alone peace, and rest, and true joy, are to be 
 found." — " I Avish I could gratify your benevolent 
 temper in giving a comfortable account of my 
 health; but nothing administered for its succour 
 and restoration succeeds. I hope to meet you ere 
 long amidst the innumerable company of angels, no 
 more to complain, ' My head, my head !' no more 
 say, ' I am sick." — " The grasshopper is a burden 
 to me, every blast blows me down, or my contin- 
 ual indisposition and inconceivable languors pierce 
 through me. 1 now hang a swelled face over niy 
 paper, occasioned only by taking the air yesterday 
 in my chair, and finding a sharper atmosphere than 
 for many weeks I had been accustomed to. Pray 
 
HEV. JAMES HEUVEY. 
 
 145 
 
 for me, dear Sir, that, established in Christ, and 
 strong in his foith, I may be looking for and hast- 
 ing unto, the day of God, when this poor enervated, 
 crazy body will (to the everlasting praise of free 
 grace,) be made like unto Christ's glorious body." 
 
 During his illness he wrote — " I have little abil- 
 ity to read: my chief reading all the preceding win- 
 ter, (June, 1757,) has been confined lo some choice 
 portions of Scripture; and as to writing, invention 
 stagnates, and my hand is enervated. I fear I shall 
 not be enabled to conduct Theron in the paths of 
 holiness, and transmit Aspasio to the realms of 
 glory." * During this weakness for public service, 
 he was encouraged by his good friend Mr. White- 
 field, who said, " Fear not your weak body ; we 
 are immortal till our work be done. My continual 
 vomitings almost kill me, and yet the pulpit is my 
 cure. 1 speak this to encourage you." 
 
 He enlarges in narrating his experience under 
 some seasons of bodily weakness and distress. The 
 first was in 1747, when he was visited with such 
 a severe illness, as to apprehend nothing but death 
 was before him. On this occasion he writes: " My 
 health is continually upon the decline, and the 
 springs of life are all relaxing; medicine is baffled. 
 Dr. Stonehouse, who is a dear friend to his patient, 
 and a lover of the Lord Jesus, pities, but cannot 
 succour. With this blessing, however, together 
 with a multitude of others, the Divine goodness 
 vouchsafes to gild the gloom of decaying nature, 
 so that 1 am racked with no pain, and enjoy the 
 free undisturbed use of my reason. Now I appre- 
 hend myself near tlie close of life, and stand, as it 
 were, upon the brink of the grave, with eternity 
 
 * Referring to his design of writing another volume on 
 Gospel Holiness. 
 
 13 
 
146 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 full in my view. Perhaps you will be willing to 
 know my sentiments of tilings, in this awful situa- 
 tion ; at such a juncture, the mind is most unpre- 
 judiced, and the judgment not so liable lo be daz- 
 zled by the glitter of worldly objects. I have read 
 of a person, who was ofien retired and on his knees, 
 and was remarkable for his frequency and fervency 
 in devotion ; being asked the reason of this so sin- 
 gular behaviour, he replied, ' Because I know I 
 must die.' I assure you I feel the weight of this 
 answer, I see the wisdom of this procedure, and, 
 was my span lo be lengthened, would endeavour 
 always to remember the one, and daily to imitate 
 the other. I think also, we fail in our duty, and 
 thwart our comfort, by studying God's holy word 
 no more. Was I to renew my studies, I would re- 
 sign the delights of modern wit and eloquence, and 
 devote my attention to the Scriptures of truth ; I 
 would sit with much assiduity at my divine Mas- 
 ter's feet, and desire to know nothing but Christ, 
 and him crucified. This is wisdom, whose fruits 
 are peace in life, consolation in death, and everlast- 
 ing salvation after death. This I would seek, this 
 I would explore, through the spacious and delight- 
 ful fields of the Old and New Testaments. In 
 short, I would adopt the resolution of tiie apostles, 
 give myself unto prayer, and to the word. With 
 regard lo my public ministry, my chief aim should 
 be to beget in my people's minds a deep sense of 
 their depraved, guilty, undone condition, and a 
 clear, believing conviction of the all-sufficiency of 
 Christ, by his blood, his righteousness, his inter- 
 cession, and his Spirit, to save them to the utter- 
 most. I would always take care to labour for them 
 in my closet as well as in the pulpit, and wrestle 
 in secret supplications, as well as exert myself in 
 
REV. JAMES II E R V E Y. 
 
 147 
 
 public preaching;, for their spiritual and eternal wel- 
 iare ; for unless God take this work into his own 
 hand, what mortal is sufficient for it? Now, per- 
 haps, if you sat at my right hand, you would ask, 
 What is my hope with' regard to my future and 
 immortal state? Truly, my hope, my whole hope, 
 is even in the Lord Redeemer. Should the king 
 of terrors threaten, I flee to the wounds of the 
 slaughtered Lamb, as the trembling dove to the 
 clifis of the rock. Should Satan accuse, I plead 
 the Surety of the covenant, who took my guilt up- 
 on himself, and bare my sins in his own body on 
 the accursed tree, on purpose that all the nations of 
 the earth might be blessed. Should hell open its 
 jaws, I look up to that gracious Being, who says, 
 ' Deliver him from going down to the pit, for I 
 have found a ransom.' Should it be said. No un- 
 clean thing can enter heaven, my answer is, ' The 
 blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from 
 all sin. Though my sins be as scarlet, they shall 
 be white as snow.' Should it be added. None can 
 sit down at the marriage-supper of the Lamb with- 
 out a wedding garment; and your righteousnesses, 
 what are they before the pure law and piercing eye 
 of God, but filthy rags? These 1 renounce, and 
 seek to be found in the Lord my righteousness. It 
 is written in the word that shall judge the world at 
 the last day, ' By his obedience shall many be made 
 righteous;' so that Jesus, the dear and adorable Je- 
 sus, is all my trust; his merits are my staff, when I 
 pass through the valley of the shadow of death; 
 his merits are my anchor, when I launch into the 
 boundless ocean of eternity. If the God of glory 
 pleases to take notice of any of my mean endeav- 
 ours to honour his holy name, it will he infinite 
 condescension and grace; but his Son, his righte- 
 
148 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 ousness and his sufferings, is all my hope and sal- 
 vation." 
 
 In January, 1758, he writes: " My late illness 
 has brought ine so very low, and rendered me so 
 extremely weak, that my hand is scarcely able to 
 execute the dictates of my lieart, I do not go out 
 of my room till dinner time, and then it is rather 
 to see my relations eat, than to take refreshment 
 myself. Amidst all the languors of decaying na- 
 ture, this is the most sovereign support — I'ree jus- 
 tification through Jesus Christ; a comfortable per- 
 suasion that he has removed our sins from us, as 
 far as the east is from the west; that he has cast 
 them all into the depths of the sea, and will present 
 us to himself, not having spot or wrinkle, or any 
 such thing." 
 
 A few months before he died, he writes a friend : 
 " Your prayers are blessings I greatly need and 
 gready beg. Blessed be God for inclining the 
 hearts of so many believers to remember my un- 
 worthy name at the throne of grace. 1 hope you 
 will go on to implore the God and Father of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ in my behalf, as the time of de- 
 parture approaches. I am just languishing. My 
 excellent friend, a skilful physician, and a sincere 
 lover of Christ, has passed sentence of death on me. 
 He declares that all the medicines in the world 
 cannot restore my decayed constitution. I now 
 look for no other remedy than the blood of Christ 
 and the Spirit of God. I would long for no other 
 blessing, but a thankful resignation to his all-gra- 
 cious will, and cheerful faith in our Saviour's 
 merit." 
 
REV. JAMES H E R V E Y, 
 
 149 
 
 HIS LAST SICKNESS AND DYING SAYINGS. 
 
 As Mr. Hervey's weakness increased, he evinced 
 the same liappy and devotional spirit. He seems 
 to have been blessed, after he knew the grace of 
 God, with a solid sensible assurance of his interest 
 in Jesus ; and when the days drew near that he 
 must die, he, to use his own words in tlie case of 
 others,* " displayed true fortitude, rational tran- 
 quillity and well grounded hope, built upon the 
 divine promises, supported by the divine Spirit, 
 rendered steadfast and immovable by a divine pro- 
 pitiation and righteousness. He found that the 
 comforts of religion softened the bed of sickness, 
 and soothed the agonies of dissolution. Though 
 sensible he was bidding a final adieu to time, and 
 just launching out into the abyss of eternity, his 
 God sustained him in the greatest extremity: he 
 overcame the last enemy by the blood of the Lamb. 
 His discourses savoured of heaven, and his hopes 
 were full of immortality." It is to be hoped, on 
 this occasion, that no one who has the least serious- 
 ness, or feels any concern for his true happiness, 
 can forbear crying out, " Let me die the death of 
 the righteous, and let my last end be like his." 
 
 In his death, and to his last moments, he parti- 
 cularly bore witness of a hope and confidence of 
 eternal life, built on the manifestation of the love 
 of God, in giving his Son for and to the most guilty 
 sinner. This he had abundantly testified in his 
 valuable writings, in his daily conversation, in his 
 disinterested fellowship, and sincere friendship for 
 the truth's sake; and in the last and trying season, 
 he afibrded an eminent instance of the support 
 
 • Preface to Burnham's Pious Memorials. 
 
150 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 which ihese dontrines, for which he so earnestly 
 conlendeil, could liieii impart. He was then con- 
 soled, not by reflections on his own qualifications 
 and commendable actions, which indeed were many 
 and eminent, but entirely by faith in Jehovah his 
 righteousness, and salvation granted to him in the 
 word of grace. He saw nothing in himself to re- 
 commend him to his gracious Redeemer, whether 
 duties, endeavours, or attainments. On the con- 
 trary, his soul would have been overwhelmed 
 within him, if he had not had a free Saviour, and 
 free salvation to lay hold upon, as the gift of God 
 to him as a sinful creature. The powerlul, lively, 
 effectual applicaiion of divine grace to his soul, by 
 the declarations of the gospel, were the ground of 
 his comfort and hope. His death-bed peace was 
 not that of a righteous or innocent man, but of a 
 redeemed sinner; of one who saw himself to be 
 guilty, condemned, and vile beyond all expression, 
 but believed himself complete in Christ. 
 
 His dying exercise at different times, we find 
 expressed in the following words: — *' Believe me, 
 your letters are far from fatiguing me, even in my 
 greatest Aveakness; they tell me of Jesus who was 
 crucified, the only cordial for my drooping soul." 
 To his physician he writes: "I have just been 
 reading Gerhard's 'Support under all AtHictions;' 
 and a most excellent book it is. If your medicines 
 have not the desired effect, I must seek relief from 
 him. From him, do I say? from a fellow mortal? 
 O, what are all the consolations that all the crea- 
 tures in the universe can afford, in comparison of 
 that grand consolation of our condescending Lord's, 
 'Ye are my friends,' John xv. 14. ' Come and 
 inherit the kingdom prepared for you,' Matt. xxv. 
 34 ; ' where the inhabitant shall not say, I am 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 151 
 
 sick," Isa. xxxiii. 24; 'and where there shall be 
 no more sorrow nor death, neither any more pain,' 
 Rev. xxi. 4." — " I now spend almost my whole 
 time in reading and praying over the Bible. In- 
 deed, indeed, you cannot conceive how the springs 
 of life in me are relaxed and relaxing. ' What 
 thou dost, do quickly,' is for me a proper admoni- 
 tion, as I am so apprehensive of my approaching 
 dissolution. My dear friend, attend to the one 
 thing needful." — " I have no heart to take any 
 medicines ; all but Christ is to me unprofitable : 
 blessed be God for pardon and salvation through 
 his blood. Let me prescribe this for my dear 
 friend."* — " My cough is very troublesome, I can 
 get little rest; but my never failing remedy is the 
 love of Christ."t He then adds: 
 
 " The gospel bears my spirits up: 
 A faithful and unchanging God 
 Lays the foundation of my hope, 
 In oaths, in promises, in blood." — Watts. 
 
 As he had often conversed with his friends 
 through life on the love of Christ, it still continued 
 his favourite theme. Whenever a friend of Mr. 
 Romaine's, who was much with him, came into 
 his room, he would begin to talk of the love of 
 Christ and of the great things he had done for him, 
 until his breath failed him. As soon as he had 
 recovered himself a little, he would proceed upon 
 the same sweet subject; so that he might have 
 truly applied to himself the words of the prophet, 
 " My mouth shall be telling of thy righteousness 
 and of thy salvation all the day long, for I know 
 no end thereof." 
 
 The following passage on this subject was one 
 
 * Gen. Col. Let. ]95. t Ibid. 209. 
 
152 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 of his favourite Scriptures, Rev. vii. 14, 15: 
 " These are they who came out of great tribula- 
 tion, and have washed their robes and made them 
 white in the blood of the I/amb: tlierefore are they 
 before the throne of God, and serve him day and 
 night in his temple." From this, he says he 
 hoped to derive consolation in his dying hours, 
 and his expectation was not disappointed. 
 
 The atonement of Jesus was his darling theme 
 after he knew the grace of God in truth ; and in 
 the appropriating views of this he solaced himself 
 in his dying hours. By this medium, death and 
 the grave to him, as a redeemed sinner, were di- 
 vested of all their gloom; a future judgment ap- 
 peared to be a joyful solemnity; eternity a delight- 
 ful boundless object of pleasing expectation and 
 desire. 
 
 He employed himself much in prayer for himself 
 and his friends: as to these he says, "This, pro- 
 bably, is the last time you will ever hear from me; 
 but I shall not fail to remember you in my inter- 
 cessions for my friends at the throne of grace; and 
 I humbly beg of God Almighty, that the love of 
 his Son may sweetly constrain you, and that his 
 promises may ever be operative on your mind." 
 To use his own words in the case of others, ad- 
 hering to and glorying in the cross of Christ, he 
 entered the harbour of eternal rest, not like a ship- 
 wrecked mariner, cleaving to some broken plank, 
 and hardly escaping the raging waves, but like 
 some stately vessel, with all her sails expanded, 
 and riding before a prosperous gale. 
 
 His last illness was long. It greatly increased, 
 in October, 1758, and grew very formidable in 
 December following; for on the Lord's day, the 
 third of that month, in the evening, after prayer in 
 
R K V. JAMES H K R V E Y. 
 
 153 
 
 his family, he seemed to be arrested by death, so 
 that the united assistance of his sister and servant 
 enabled him wilb difficulty to get up stairs to his 
 room, whence he never came down. His illness 
 gaining ground every day, he became sensible of 
 liis approaching dissolution. He had frequent and 
 violent returns of the cramp, which gave him most 
 acute pain. A hectic cough likewise afflicted iiim 
 so grievously in the night, that he could not lie in 
 bed till four in the morning, and was often obliged 
 to rise at two, especially as opium, how much so- 
 ever guarded by other medicines, would not agree 
 with him. On the 15th of that month, he com- 
 plained much of a pain in his side. The Rev, 
 Mr. Maddock, his curate, being with him on the 
 afternoon of that day, Mr. Hervey spoke to him in 
 strong and pathetic terms of his assurance of faith, 
 and of tlie great love of God in Christ. He de- 
 clared that the fear of death was taken from him. 
 "O!" said he, " what has Christ, how much has 
 Christ done for me; and how little have I done for 
 so loving a Saviour! If I preached even once a 
 week, it was at last a burden to me. I have not 
 visited the people of my parish as I ought to have 
 done, and thus have preached from house to house. 
 I have not taken every opportunity of speaking for 
 Christ." These expressions were accompanied 
 with tears, which were too visible not to be ob- 
 served; and, lest his tears should be misinterpreted, 
 as they had been conversing about his expected 
 end, and of his assurance of happiness, he pro- 
 ceeded thus: — "Do not think 1 am afraid to die; 
 I assure you I am not; I know what my Saviour 
 hath done for me; I want to be gone, but I won- 
 der and lament to think of the love of Christ in 
 doing so much for me, and how little I have done 
 
154 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 for him." la another conversation, discoursing 
 likewise of liis approaching dissohition, which he 
 did with the utmost calmness and serenity, and of 
 the little which we know of God's word, he said, 
 " How many precious texts are there, big with the 
 most rich liutlis of Christ, which we cannot com- 
 prehend, which we know nothing of; and of those 
 we do know, how few do we remember! A good 
 textuary is a good divine ; and that is the armour, 
 the word of God is the sword. Those texts I 
 must use when that subtle and arch adversary of 
 mankind comes to sift me in my last conflict. 
 Surely I need be well provided with these wea- 
 pons; I had need have my quiver full of them, to 
 answer Satan with texts out of the word of God: 
 thus did Christ when he was tempted in the wil- 
 derness." AVhat Mr. Hervey expected came upon 
 him : " The enemy of souls saw him in great weak- 
 ness of body, and then made a furious onset against 
 his faith; but the Captain of salvation was with 
 him, and would not give him over into the enemy's 
 hands: his faith was tried, and it came like gold 
 out of the fire." 
 
 On the ]9tli of December, 1758, his pains aba- 
 ted, and he grew drowsy and lethargic. The next 
 day he was visited by Dr. Stonehouse, who de- 
 clared that, in his opinion, Mr. Hervey could not 
 live above three or four days ; upon which the 
 Doctor took occasion to speak of the many conso- 
 lations through Christ which the true Christian 
 enjoys in the prospect of death, of the emptiness 
 of worldly honours to an immortal soul, and of the 
 unprofitableness of riches to the irreligious man. 
 Mr. Hervey replied, "True, Doctor, true; the 
 only invaluable riches are in heaven. What would 
 it avail me now to be Archbishop of Canterbury ? 
 
REV, JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 155 
 
 disease would show no respect to my mitre. That 
 prel;ite not only is very great, but, I am told, has 
 religion really at heart; yet it is godliness, not 
 grandeur, that will avail him hereafter. The gos- 
 pel is offered to me, a poor country parson, the 
 same as to his Grace : Christ makes no dilTerence 
 between us! Why, then, do ministers thus neglect 
 the charge of so kind a Saviour, fawn upon the 
 great, and hunt after worldly preferments with so 
 much eagerness, to the disgrace of our order? 
 These are the things. Doctor, and not our poverty 
 or obscurity, which render the clergy so justly con- 
 temptible in the eyes of worldlings. No wonder 
 the service of our church (grieved am I to say it !) 
 is become such a lifeless tiling, since it is, alas ! too 
 generally executed by persons dead to godliness in 
 all their conversation, whose inditrerence to reli- 
 gion, and worldly minded behaviour, proclaims the 
 little regard they pay to the doctrines of our Lord 
 who bought them." When the Doctor was going 
 away, Mr. Hervey, with great tenderness, observ- 
 ed to him, that as not long ago he had a dangerous 
 fall from his horse, and as he had been lately ill, 
 and looked very pale, he hoped he would think on 
 these narrow escapes, so often fatal to others, as a 
 kind of warning from God to him, and remember 
 them as such; adding, " How careful ought Ave to 
 be to improve those years which remain, at a time 
 of life when but few can remain for us ! 
 
 About this time, his kind friend Mr. Whitefield 
 sent him the following letter: — "And is my dear 
 friend indeed about to take his last flight? I dare 
 not wish your return into this vale of tears; but 
 our prayers are continually ascending to the Father 
 of our spirits, that you may die in the embraces 
 
156 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 of a never failing Jesus, and in all the triumphs 
 of an exalted faith. Farewell, my dear friend, 
 f — a — r — e — well ! Yet a little while, and we shall 
 meet, 
 
 ' Where sin, and strife, and sorrow cease, 
 And all is love, £ind joy, and peace.' 
 
 " God comfort your mother, and relations, and 
 thousands, and thousands more, who must bewail 
 your departure." 
 
 Mr. Hervey, the day before he died, went a few 
 steps across the room ; but immediataly finding his 
 strength failing him, he sunk, rather than fell down, 
 his fall being broken by his sister, who, observing 
 his weakness, ran and caught him ; but he fainted 
 away, and was in appearance dead, it being a con- 
 siderable time before any pulse could be perceived, 
 When he came to himself, Mr. William Hervey 
 said, "We were afraid you were gone;" he an- 
 swered, "I wish I had;" and well he might wish 
 so, for his strength was quite exhausted, his body 
 extremely emaciated, and his bones so sore, that 
 he could not bear one to touch him, when it was 
 necessary to move him about. Yet, under all his 
 sufferings, he was still praising God for all his 
 mercies ; insomuch that he never received a mor- 
 sel of lemon to moisten his mouth, without thank- 
 ing God for his bounty and goodness, in creating 
 so many helps and refreshments to a sick and de- 
 caying body. But especially did he praise God for 
 endowing him with patience, in which he possess- 
 ed his soul. Indeed, his patience was eminent: in 
 his long illness he was never known to fret or be 
 uneasy, nor did those about him observe him utter 
 a hasty or angry word. 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 157 
 
 On the 25th of December, on which he died, in 
 the morning, his brother coming into his room to 
 inquire after his welfare, he said, *' I have been 
 thiniving of my great ingratitude to my God." Mr. 
 * Maddock also paying him his morning visit, Mr. 
 Hervey lifted up his head, and opened his eyes, as 
 he sat in his easy-chair, to see who it Avas, and 
 said, " Sir, I cannot talk with you." He com- 
 plained much this day of a great inward conflict 
 which he had, laying his hand on his breast, and 
 saying, "Ah ! you know not how great a conflict 
 I have." During this time, he constantly lifted up 
 his eyes towards heaven, with his arms clasped 
 together in a praying form, and said two or three 
 times, " When this great conflict is over, then," 
 but said no more, though it was understood he 
 meant that he should go to rest. Dr. Stonehouse 
 came to him about three hours before he expired ; 
 Mr. Hervey spoke aflectionately to him of the im- 
 portance of his everlasting concerns, and entreated 
 him not to be overcharged with the cares of this 
 life, but to attend, amidst ihe multiplicity of his 
 business, to the one thing needful, adding ; 
 
 " Which done, the poorest can no vrants endure, 
 And which not done, the richest must be poor." — Pope. 
 
 This he said with such an emphasis and significant 
 look, as conveyed the meaning in a manner the 
 most sensible and affecting. 
 
 The Doctor, seeing the very great difficulty and 
 pain with which he spoke every word, and finding 
 by his pulse that the pangs of death were then 
 coming on, desired him that he would spare him- 
 self, " No," said he, with peculiar ardour, " Doc- 
 
158 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 tor, no ; you tell me I have but a few, minutes to 
 live? O let me spend them in adoring our great 
 Redeemer!" He then repeated the 26di verse of 
 the 73d Psalm, " My flesh and my heart faileth, 
 but God is the strengdi of my heart, and my por- 
 tion for ever;" and he expatiated, in a most de- 
 lightful manner, on the words of Paul, 1 Cor. iii. 
 22; "All are yours, whether life or death, things 
 present or things to come,'' referring his friends to 
 the exposition of Dr. Doddridge. "Here," said 
 he, "here is the treasure of a Christian; death is 
 reckoned among this inventory, and a noble trea- 
 sure it is! How thankful am I for death, as it is 
 the passage through which I go to the Lord and 
 giver of eternal life ; and as it frees me from all the 
 misery wiiich you see me now endure, and which 
 I am willing to endure as long as God thinks fit; 
 for I know that he will, by and by, in his own 
 good time, dismiss me from tiie body. These 
 light atHictions are but for a moment, and then 
 comes an eternal weight of glory. O welcome, 
 welcome death ! thou mayest well be reckoned 
 among the treasures of tlie Christian; to live is 
 Christ, and to die is gain." After whicli, as the 
 Doctor was taking liis final leave of him, Mr. 
 Hervey expressed great gratitude for his visits, 
 though it had been long ovit of the power of medi- 
 cine to cure him. At this time Mr. Hervey lay for 
 a considerable time without seeming to breathe ; the 
 company in the room thought he was gone ; Dr. 
 Stonehoiise took a looking-glass and placed it be- 
 fore his mouth, and observed he was still living; a 
 little after he revived. Having paused a short time, 
 he, with great serenity and sweetness in his coun- 
 tenance, though the pangs of death were upon him, 
 
REV, JAMES H E R V E y. 
 
 159 
 
 being raiscti a little in liis chair, said: " Lord, now 
 leltest thou tliy servant depart in peace, according 
 to thy most holy and comfortable word, for mine 
 ej'es iiave seen thy most precious and comlortable 
 salvation. Here, Doctor, is my cordial; wliat are 
 all the cordials given to support the dying, in com- 
 parison of that which arises from the j)romises of 
 salvation by Christ? This, this supports me !" 
 
 When writing Aspasio Vindicated, Mr. Hervey 
 had intimated his earnest wish for himself, that he 
 might die the death of Simeon, and his God gave 
 him the desire of his heart. Jesus made him a 
 conqueror over all the powers of darkness: having 
 endeavoured to rob him of his peace, but in vain, 
 they left him in the Saviour's hand, never moi'e to 
 be templed, and he watched over iiim with the ten- 
 derest love until he took him home. 
 
 About three o'clock, he said, "The conflict is 
 over; now all is done;" after whicli he scarcely 
 spake any other word intelligibly, except " Preci- 
 ous salvation !" Some years before his death, when 
 he found himself bowed down with the spirit of 
 weakness and infirmity, being afraid lest he should 
 disgrace the gospel in his languishing moments, he 
 earnesdy prayed to God, and desired others to unite 
 in the same petition, that he might not then dis- 
 liononr the cause of Christ. His own and his 
 friends' prayers were heard ; for, notwithstanding 
 his lingering weakness and depressed spirits, which 
 at length gave him up into the hands of death, yet 
 he triumphed over all his fears, and over the grand 
 tempter and adversary of souls, and in no common 
 way glorified his God in dying. 
 
 During the last hour he said nothing. Mean- 
 while, it may jusdy be supposed, though men could 
 
160 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 no longer hear the clear name of Jesus, as the sal- 
 vation of God, reverberating on his feeble dying 
 lips, his meditation on him would be sweet, till in 
 a little he cried, with the ransomed millions about 
 the throne, " Salvation to our God, and the Lamb, 
 for ever and ever." Leaning his head against the 
 side of the easy-chair, without a sigh, or groan, or 
 struggle, or the least emotion, he shut his eyes 
 and departed, betwixt four and five in the after- 
 noon, December 25, 1758, in the forty-fifth year 
 of his age. 
 
 To use the words of Mr. Romaine, " The Lord 
 heard his prayer, ' Now let thy servant depart in 
 peace,' and gave him a gentle dismission. He 
 died as he lived, in an even and calm composure of 
 mind ; death showed that he came to iiim as a 
 friendly messenger to call him to glory, for he 
 cheerfully obeyed the summons. There was no 
 fear, no terror, but he departed in peace, and in full 
 assurance of faith." 
 
 Wiien his body was conveyed to the church, it 
 was covered, according to a desire which he had 
 expressed, with the poor's pal! ; and he was buried 
 under the middle of the communion-table, in the 
 chancel of Weston-Favel, on Friday, the 28th of 
 December, in the presence of a numerous congre- 
 gation, full of regret for the loss of so excellent a 
 pastor. One who was present, says : " Mr. Mad- 
 dock (his excellent curate) was in tears; some were 
 wringing their hands, others sobbing , many were 
 silently weeping, but all seemed inwardly and sin- 
 cerely grieved, as their looks sufficiently testified, 
 being a visible witness of his worth and their sor- 
 row." 
 
 Many years after, his only surviving sister placed 
 
REV. JAMES HERVEY. 161 
 
 a stone over his grave, with the following inscrip- 
 tion : 
 
 HERE LIE THE REMAINS 
 OF THE 
 
 Rev. JAMES HERVEY, A. M. 
 
 LATE RECTOR OF THIS PARISH, 
 
 THAT VERY PIOUS MAN 
 AND MUCH ADMIRED AUTHOR, 
 WHO DIED DEC. 25, 1758, 
 IN THE 45tH year OF HIS AGE. 
 
 Reader, expect no more to make him known, 
 Vain the fond elegy and tigur'd stone ; 
 A name more lasting shall his writings give, 
 There view display'd his heavenly soul, and live. 
 
 14 
 
 / 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 OP THE 
 
 REV. AUGUSTUS M. TOPLADY. 
 
 VICAR OF BROAD HEMBUKY. 
 
Rev. AUGUSTUS M. TOPLADY. 
 
 The Rev. Augustus Montague Toplady was the 
 son of Ricliard Toplady, a major in the British 
 army, who died at the siege of Carthagena soon 
 after his birth. His mother's maiden name was 
 Catharine Bate. She was sister to the Rev. Mr. 
 Bate, rector of St. Paul's, Deptford. He was born 
 at Farnham, in Surrey, November the 4th, 1740. 
 
 He received the first rudiments of his education 
 at Westminster school, where he early evinced pe- 
 culiar abilities. From that place he accompanied 
 his mother, who became a widow at an early period 
 of his life, in a journey to Ireland, to pursue claims 
 to an estate which she had in that country. Not- 
 withstanding the solitary state in which his mother 
 was left, she anxiously watched over him with the 
 deepest sympathy of affection, and persevered in a 
 plan for his education -and future views in life, 
 which were the principal concerns of her maternal 
 solicitude. He was entered a student in Trinity 
 College, Dublin, and took his degree of Bachelor 
 of Arts. Mr. Toplady returned his mother's ten- 
 der care with the utmost affection. Indeed, so 
 great was the obligation which he always conceived 
 he owed her, that he never mentioned her but in 
 words expressive of affection and gratitude. 
 
1G6 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 As he was improving those natural talents with 
 which he was eminently endoMed, it pleased God 
 in his providence, when lie was about the age of 
 sixteen, to direct his steps into a barn, at a place 
 called Codymain, in Ireland, where a layman, 
 named Morris, was preaching. The word of God 
 Avhich was then delivered, was fixed upon his con- 
 science, " in demonstration of the Spirit and with 
 power." Let it not rashly be deemed enthusiasm 
 when it is asserted, " That his faith did not stand 
 in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." 
 
 A few years after the above memorable circum- 
 stance, Mr. Toplady reflects upon it in the follow- 
 ing words: — "February 29, 1768, at night, after 
 my return from Exeter, my desires were strongly 
 drawn out, and drawn up to God. I could, indeed, 
 say, that I groaned with the groans of love, joy, 
 and peace ; but so it was, even with comfortable 
 groans that cannot be uttered. That sweet text, 
 Ephesians ii. 13, " Ye, who sometimes were afar 
 off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ," was 
 particularly delightful and refreshing to my soul ; 
 and the more so, as it reminded me of the days 
 and months that are past, even the day of my sen- 
 sible espousals to the Bridegroom of the elect. It 
 was from that passage that Mr. Morris preached on 
 the memorable evening of my effectual call by the 
 grace of God, under the ministry of that dear mes- 
 senger; and under that sermon, I was, I trust, 
 brought nigh by the blood of Christ, in August, 
 1756. 
 
 " Strange that I, who had so long sat under the 
 means of grace in England, should be brought nigh 
 to God in an obscure part of Ireland, amidst a 
 handful of God's people met together in a barn, 
 and under the ministry of one who could hardly 
 
REV, A. M. T O P L A D Y. 
 
 167 
 
 spell his name ! Surely it was the Lord's doing, 
 and is marvellous! The excellency of such power 
 must be of God, and cannot be of man: the rege- 
 neraling Spirit breathes not only on wliom, but 
 likewise when, where, and as he listeOi." 
 
 Mr. Toplady early made it appear that he was 
 not afraid of literary labour; the valuable years of 
 his youth were devoted to useful and honourable 
 studies, rather than to frivolous occupations, such 
 as too often engross the minds of young men at 
 his age. He laid a solid basis for future years. 
 Between the age of fifteen and eighteen, by way 
 of relaxation from his studies, he employed him- 
 self in writing little poetic pieces, which were 
 printed at Dublin, in the year 1759. They are by 
 no means deficient in spirit and force : some of the 
 verses are truly poetical, and many of the thoughts 
 new. Amidst the small inaccuracies of these ju- 
 venile compositions, there are indubitable marks of 
 genius. The ardour of piety and religion, which 
 irradiated the morning of his life, increased in 
 lustre as his years advanced. 
 
 Richly replete with a variety of gifts, and di- 
 vinely instructed into those doctrines requisite for 
 a Christian and a minister, he was ordained on 
 Trinity Sunday, the 6th of June, 1762. He en- 
 tered upon the ministerial function, not only as a 
 scholar, and as one professing religion, but as an 
 honest man. He was well persuaded, that after 
 the awful declarations made by every candidate for 
 holy orders, the man who can draw back, or pal- 
 liate, for any sinister purpose, the doctrines he has 
 subscribed, to insinuate himself into the favour of 
 men, to avoid persecution, or for any aggrandize- 
 ment, must be devoid of every upright principle, 
 and openly prove himself an apostate from the 
 
168 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 church, a (raitor to the cause he once avowed, and 
 a har to the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Shortly after liis initiation into the ministry, he 
 was inducted into the living of Blagdon, in Somer- 
 setshire, which was procured by -friends, in a man- 
 ner very usual ; but so scrupulous was he when 
 acquainted with the circumstance, that he was not 
 easy until he had resigned it. He then went to 
 Fen-Ottery and Harpford, and in the year 1768 
 took possession of the vicarage of Broad-Hembury, 
 near Honiton, in Devonshire, which he held until 
 his death. Such were the love and lenity he showed 
 to his people, that the Avhole produce of the living 
 did not amount to eighty pounds per annum. He 
 was by no means anxious after temporal profits, or 
 desirous of ecclesiastical preferments. It was his 
 pre-eminence to merit the highest, and to be con- 
 tent with the lowest. In this situation he composed 
 the greatest part of his writings. 
 
 To bring the reader more intimately acquainted 
 with this excellent character, we shall insert co- 
 pious extracts from a diary found in his manuscript 
 papers, entided, " Short memorials of God's gra- 
 cious dealings, with my soul, in a way of spiritual 
 experience, from December 6, 1767," with this 
 motto, " Bethel visits ought to be remembered." 
 
 Sunday, Dec. 6, 1767. — In the morning read 
 prayers and preached here at Fen-Ottery, to a very 
 attentive congregation. In the afternoon, the con- 
 gregation of Harpford was exceedingly numerous; 
 and God enabled me to preach with great enlarge- 
 ment of mind and fervour. The doctrine did in- 
 deed seem to descend as the dew, and to be wel- 
 come as refreshing showers to the grass. O my 
 Lord, let not my ministry be approved only, or 
 tend to no more than conciliating the esteem and 
 
REV. A. M. TOPLADY. 
 
 169 
 
 affections of my people to tiiy unworthy messen- 
 ger; but do the work of thy grace upon their hearts : 
 call in thy chosen ; seal and edify thy regenerate; 
 and command thy everlasting blessing on their 
 souls ! Save me from self-opinion, and from self- 
 seeking; and may they cease from man, and look 
 solely to thee ! 
 
 Monday 7. — Received a letter from Mr. Luce, 
 and answered it. Gracious God, dispose of the 
 event to which it relates as seemeth best to thee ! 
 Choose thou my heritage and my lot ! Let it be 
 thy doing, not mine ! 
 
 This afternoon, I received a letter from my ho- 
 noured mother, and my chest from London. It is 
 a satisfaction to receive these presents and pledges 
 of an earthly parent's love; but all the relations 
 and all the good things of this life are less than no- 
 thing and vanity when compared with the love of 
 Christ, that passeth knowledge, and with one 
 glimpse of thy special favour, O thou gracious Fa- 
 ther of spirits. 
 
 Thursday 10. — Heard that Mr. Duke has had a 
 relapse into his fever. Pity that so amiable a per- 
 son in other respects, should want the one thing 
 needful! How much has he suffered since I knew 
 him, by drinking too freely, and how many narrow 
 escapes has he had of his life ! Yet, I fear, he 
 goes on still, as an ox to the slaughter. " It hath 
 set him on fire round about, yet he knows it not: 
 it burneth him, yet he lays it not to heart." I 
 bless God, who has enabled me to be faithful to 
 the soul of my friend, and put it into my mind to 
 write him that letter of remonstrance from London, 
 about a twelvemonth ago. But, alas, I have only 
 delivered my own soul! Neither experience of 
 present evils, nor the remonstrances of friends,. 
 15 
 
170 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 will or can have any true effect on a sinner's heart, 
 except thou, O Almighty Spirit, vouchsafe to re- 
 veal the arm of thy grace, and quicken the dead in 
 sin, by the effectual working of thy glorious power. 
 As overseer of this parish, I went down in the 
 morning to view two of the poor-houses, and see 
 what repairs they want. Lord, what am I, that 
 thou hast cast my lot in fairer ground, and given 
 me a more goodly heritage ! Surely, in a way of 
 providence, no less than in a way of grace, thou 
 hast made me to differ ; and I have nothing which 
 I did n,ot receive from thee. 
 
 In the evening, wrote to my mother. Some 
 particulars in her last letters to me, obliged me, in 
 my answer, to make the following observations, 
 among others: — "God has fulfilled his promises 
 to me, so often, and so many ways, that I think, 
 if we could not trust his faithfulness and power, 
 we should be doubly inexcusable. That he works 
 by means, is certain ; and I hope to try all that he 
 puts into my hands. In the meanwhile, let us cast 
 our care on him, and remember, that he tliat be- 
 lieveth shall not make haste. There is one thing 
 that pleases me much about Broad-Hembury, and 
 makes me hope for a blessing on the event ; name- 
 ly, that it was not, from first to last, of my own 
 seeking: and every door, without any Application 
 of mine, has hitherto flown open, and all seems to 
 point that way. As a good man somewhere says, 
 ' A believer never yet carved for himself, but he 
 cut his own fingers.' The all-wise God, whose 
 never failing providence ordereth every event, usu- 
 • ally makes what we set our hearts upon unsatisfac- 
 tory, and sweetens what we feared ; bringing real 
 evil out of seeming good, and real good out of 
 seeming evil, to show us what short-sighted crea- 
 
REV. A. M. TOP LADY, 
 
 171 
 
 hires we are, and to teach us to live by faith upon 
 his blessed self. If I should really exchange my 
 present living, for Broad-Hembury, it will, I be- 
 lieve, be soon after Christmas. In the meanwhile, 
 add your prayers, that God himself would be 
 pleased to choose my heritage and fix my lot; 
 command his gracious blessing on the event; turn 
 the balance, as seemeth good in his sight, and 
 make it entirely his own doing, not mine. Do not 
 let your tenderness for me get the better of your 
 confidence in God: a fault, I fear, too common, 
 even with believing parents. Poor Mr. D. is re- 
 lapsed, and his life is despaired of. Alas! what is 
 wealth, with its usual attendants, the lust of the 
 eye and the pride of life, when death stares us in 
 the face! An interest in the covenant of grace is 
 of more value than all the worlds God hath made. 
 Riches profit not in the day of wrath; but right- 
 eousness, even the obedience, blood and interces- 
 sion of Christ, delivereth from the sting of tempo- 
 ral, and from the very possibility of suflTeriiig eter- 
 nal death. In him may we be foand, living and 
 dying!" 
 
 In my chamber, before I went to bed, was much 
 comforted while singing praise to the great Three- 
 One, the author of all the blessings I enjoy, and of 
 all I hope for. I can testify, by sweet and repeat- 
 ed experience, that singing is an ordinance of God 
 and a means of grace. Lord, fit my soul to bear 
 a part in that song for ever new, which the elect 
 angels, and saints made perfect in glory, are now 
 singing before the throne and before the Lamb ! 
 
 Saturday, 12. — In the evening read bishop New- 
 ton on the Prophecies. At night, was earnest 
 with God in private prayer, for a blessing on my 
 to-morrow's ministrations, and received an answer 
 
172 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 of peace. Lord, evermore increase iii)' mental de- 
 pendence on thy Holy Spirit. 1 am less than 
 nothing, if less can be ; and, oh, I am worse than 
 nothing, for 1 am a vile sinner! But thou art in- 
 finitely gracious, and all power is thine. 
 
 Sunday, 13. — The Lord was with me both parts 
 of the da_v. Water, O God, the souls that heard; 
 and the seed of thy word, sown in weakness, do 
 thou raise in power. 
 
 Monday, 14. — This morning, one William 
 Towning, about nineteen j ears old, was brought 
 here before Mr. Penny, for breaking open and rob- 
 bing farmer Endicoit's house yesterday afternoon, 
 in time of service, while the family were at church. 
 My honest parishioner, it seems, just before he 
 went out, stept back into his room, he knew not 
 why, and put away a considerable sum of money 
 into a more secret place than where it had lain for 
 some time past, by which means he was only rob- 
 bed of little more than thirty shillings in money. 
 How evidently providential ! Just before the un- 
 happy young man was going off, from Mr. Penny's, 
 for Exeter jail, his father, who had heard of his son's 
 situation but an hour or two before, came up to the 
 house with a look that too plainly declared the 
 agonies of his heart. Unable to face his parent, 
 the young man burst into tears, and retired into the 
 orchard, whither his guard and his father followed 
 him. Lord, if it be consistent with ihe counsel of 
 thy will, be the comforter and the salvation of this 
 sinner and his afflicted family. Bad as he is, thy 
 grace can melt him down. By nature I am as vile 
 as he: yet I am, I trust, a monument of mercy, 
 and a trophy of thy redeeming power. Blessed be 
 the Lord, my new creator! Blessed be the Lord, 
 my faithful keeper! 
 
REV, A. M. TOPLADY, 
 
 173 
 
 Before I came out of my chamber, to-day, I was 
 too hasty and short in private prayer. My con- 
 science told me so at the time ; and yet, such was 
 my ingratitude and my folly, that I nevertheless 
 restrained prayer before God. In the course of 
 the day, I had great reason to repent of my first 
 sin, by being permitted to fall into another. It is 
 just, O Lord, that thou shouldst withdraw thy pre- 
 sence from one who Avaited so carelessly on thee. 
 May I never more, on any pretext whatever, rob 
 thee (or rather deprive my own soul) of thy due 
 worship; but make all things else give way to 
 communion with thee! 
 
 The Lord, however, was pleased, in a few hours, 
 sensibly to heal my backslidings, and open the in- 
 tercourse of love between himself and me. I never 
 so feelingly wonder at my own depravity, nor so 
 deeply abhor myself, as when the fire of divine 
 love warms my heart, and the out-pourings of 
 God's Spirit enliven my soul. Surely the know- 
 ledge of salvation is the most powerful incentive to 
 repentance ; and not only the most prevailing, but an 
 absolutely irresistible motive to universal holiness ! 
 
 Sunday, 20. — Was indisposed the former part of 
 the day. Read prayers and preached in the morn- 
 ing, but languidly. In the afternoon God renewed 
 my strength, and I read prayers and preached at 
 Harpford, with much freedom of soul, to an ex- 
 ceedingly large congregation. Oh the diflference, the 
 inexpressible difference, between enjoying God's 
 presence, and pining in his absence ! This day my 
 soul has been like a chariot without wheels, and 
 afterwards mounted as on eagles' wings. Blessed 
 be God for tempering distress with joy ! too much 
 of the former might weigh me quite down; too 
 much of the latter might exalt me above measure. 
 
174 
 
 L I F K OF 
 
 It is wisely and kindly done, O God, to give me 
 a taste of both. 
 
 Tuesday, 22. — All day within. The former part 
 of it, I was considerably out of order, and expe- 
 rienced something of what it is to have a body 
 without health, and a soul without comfort. But, 
 while I was musing, the fire kindled, and the light 
 of God's countenance shone within. I found a 
 particular blessing, in reading Mr. Mayo's sermon 
 (Morning Exercises, vol. iv. Serm. iv.) on our 
 " deliverance by Christ from the fear of death," 
 Heb. ii. 1.5. Several things, in that choice dis- 
 course, struck me much; among the rest the ob- 
 servations that follow; "The apostle says, (I 
 Thess. iv. 14.) that Jesus died, but that the saints 
 sleep in him ; the reason why the phrase is varied 
 is, because he sustained death with all its terrors, 
 that so it might become a calm and quiet sleep to 
 the saints." " Satan desired to have Peter, that he 
 might sift him as wheat; and with what did he sift 
 and shake him! Why, it was with the fear of 
 death. Peter was afraid they would deal with him 
 as they were' dealing with liis master. It was his 
 slavish fear of death that made him deny Christ; 
 but anon, he recovered himself, and got above this 
 fear: how came this about? It was by means of 
 faith. Christ had prayed for him, that his faith 
 should not fail. It may be said of those, who are 
 
 fearful of death, that they are of little faith." 
 
 " It is usual with God to give his people some clus- 
 ters of the grapes of Canaan, here in the wilder- 
 ness ; to give them some drops of that new wine, 
 which they shall drink in the kingdom of their 
 Father. This sets them a longing to have their 
 fill thereof; even as the Gauls, when they had tas- 
 ted the wines of Italy, were not satisfied to have 
 
REV. A. M. TOPLADY. 
 
 175 
 
 those wines brought to ihem, but would go to pos- 
 sess tlie land where the vines grew." 
 
 In the afiernoon, my indisposition was, in great 
 measure, removed. Surely the shedding abroad of 
 divine love in the heart, and a good hope through 
 grace, frequently conduce as much to the health of 
 the body as to health of soul. This is not the first 
 time I have found it so. 
 
 Thursday, 24. — My faith was weak, and my 
 comfort small, this whole day, especially in the 
 evening. Yet, this is my rock of dependence, that 
 the foundation of the Lord standeth sure ; his love 
 is unchangeable ; his purpose according to election 
 cannot be overthrown; his covenant is from ever- 
 lasting to everlasting; and he girdeth me when I 
 know it not. 
 
 Friday, 25. — Read prayers, preached, and ad- 
 ministered the Holy sacrament here at Fen-Ottery, 
 in the morning. Farmer T e, whom I hap- 
 pened to meet at Miktam, no longer ago than last 
 Wednesday evening, so drunk that he could hardly 
 sit on his horse, presented himself at the Lord's 
 table, with the rest of the communicants; but I 
 passed him by, not daring to administer the sym- 
 bols of my Saviour's body and blood to one who 
 had lately crucified him afresh, and had given no 
 proof of repentance. He appeared surprised and 
 abashed. Lord, make this denial of the outward 
 visible sign, a means of inward and spiritual grace 
 to his soul ! 
 
 I would observe that I have, through the blessing 
 of God, been perfectly well through this whole day, 
 both as to health, strength, and spirits; and gone 
 through my church duties.wilh the utmost ease, 
 freedom, and pleasure, yet I have experienced 
 nothing of that spiritual comfort and joy, which I 
 
176 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 sometimes do. A demonstration this, that they 
 are prodigiously wide of the mark, who think that 
 what believers know to be the joys of the Holy 
 Ghost, are, in fact, no otlier than certain pleasing 
 sensations, arising from a brisk circulation of the 
 blood, and a lively flow of the animal spirits. In 
 this light, the consolations of God are considered 
 by those who never experienced them. But if 
 what the regenerate declare to be the sweetness of 
 divine fellowship, is, in reality, no more than what 
 the cold formalist imagines, it would follow, that 
 every person, when in full health and spirits, ac- 
 tually enjoys that inward complacency and sweet- 
 ness. But this is very far from being the case. I 
 myself am a witness, that spiritual comforts are 
 sometimes highest, when bodily health, strength, 
 and spirits are at the lowest; and when bodily 
 health, strength, and spirits are at the highest, 
 spiritual comforts are sometimes at the lowest; 
 nay, clear gone, and totally absent. Whence I 
 conclude, that the sensible effusion of divine love 
 in the soul, is superior to, independent of, and dis- 
 tinct from, bodily health, strength and spirits. 
 These may be where that is not, and the reverse. 
 
 At night, in my cliamber, God was with me in 
 my private waiting upon him; and I could indeed 
 say, from a heart-felt sense of his love, that it is 
 good for me to draw nigh unto the Lord. Thy 
 visitation, sweet Jesus, is the life and joy of my 
 spirit. 
 
 Sunday. 27. — In the morning read prayers and 
 preached at Harpford, to a congregation tolerably 
 large, and very attentive. Afterwards administer- 
 ed the Lord's supper to some who appeared truly 
 devout communicants. It was indeed an ordinance 
 of love to my own soul. I experienced the favour 
 
REV. A. M. TOPLADY. 
 
 177 
 
 and presence of God. I sat under his shadow 
 with great delight, and his fruit was pleasant to 
 my taste. 
 
 In the afternoon read prayers and preached with 
 great hberty and enlargement of mind, here at 
 Fen-Ottery. My subject was Acts xiii. 39. The 
 sermon itself, excepting a few additions here and 
 there, was what I had formerly written in Ireland, 
 in the year 1760, a litde before I quitted college. 
 I can never be sufficiently thankful, that my reli- 
 gious principles were all fixed, long before I enter- 
 ed into orders. Through the good hand of my 
 God upon me, I set out in the ministry with clear 
 gospel-light from the first; a blessing not vouch- 
 safed to every one. Many an evangelical minister 
 has found himself obliged to retract and unsay 
 what he had taught before in the days of his igno- 
 rance. Lord, how is it that I have been so sig- 
 nally favoured of thee! O keep me to the end, 
 steadfast in thy truths. Let me but go on experi- 
 mentally and sensibly to know thee, and then it 
 will be absolutely impossible for me to depart from 
 tlie precious doctrines of grace; my early insight 
 into which, I look upon as one of the distinguish- 
 ing blessings of my life. 
 
 In the evening, received a letter from Mr. An- 
 drew Lacam, of London ; wherein he gives me this 
 account of his late sister, Mrs. Carter, who died 
 last month : " She had, for some time, left the 
 Fountain of living waters. I had two diff'erent 
 conferences with her during her illness. I assured 
 her that I did not come to lord it over her; but, in 
 love to her soul, put tlie question, how stand mat- 
 ters between God and you ? Her attestation was, 
 with sighs and tears, as follows: I am truly sen- 
 sible that I have run away from God; and it is 
 
178 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 my heart's burden. But it is written in God's 
 word, Whoso cometh unto me, I will in no wise 
 cast out. I will, therefore, upon his promise, ven- 
 ture to cast my soul, without reserve, upon Jesus 
 Christ; and there I am sure I can never perish. 
 Upon this we went to prayer," <fec. 
 
 I could not forbear answering my friend's letter, 
 almost as soon as I received it; and, among other 
 things, observed to him as follows: 
 
 " The account you give of dear Mrs. Carter's 
 decease, is a ground for hope in Israel concerning 
 her. It is a great and blessed thing, when we are 
 enabled to cast ourselves on the promises. It 
 cannot possibly be done without faith; and he that 
 believeth shall be saved. Adored be the free grace 
 of God which, I trust, healed the backslidings of 
 your sister, and brought her again within the bond 
 of the covenant. His Spirit alone can drive the 
 ploughshare of penitential conviction through a 
 sinner's heart, and give us to mourn at the spiritual 
 sight of Him whom our sins have pierced. The 
 Lord give us to mourn more and more, until we 
 have mourned away our unbelief, our carelessness, 
 and hardness of heart! The soul, I verily believe, 
 is never safer than when, with returning Mary, we 
 stand at the feet of Christ, behind him, weeping. 
 I read lately of a minister, in the last century, 
 whose departing words were, ' A broken and a 
 contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise.' Nor 
 can I think such a state to be at all inferior, in 
 point of real safety, to that of a good man who died 
 a few years ago in London, with these triumphant 
 words in his mouth : ' Now, angels, do your office.' 
 Of some, it is written, ' They shall come with 
 weeping, and with supplications will I lead them;' 
 while others of the Lord's people enter the haven 
 
BEV. A. M. TOPLADY. 179 
 
 of everlasting life, as it were, with full sails and 
 flying colours : they ' return with singing unto 
 Zion.' But this is our comfort, that of all wliom 
 the Fatlier gave to Christ, he will not lose one. 
 However the joy of faith may decline, the grace 
 itself shall never totally fail, having for its security 
 the Father's covenant love, which is from everlast- 
 ing to everlasting; the blessed Mediator's interces- 
 sion, which is perpetual and all-prevailing; and the 
 faithfulness of the Holy Ghost, who, when once 
 given, is a fountain of living water, springing up 
 in the beUever's heart to life eternal. May he, in 
 all liis plenitude of saving grace and heavenly love, 
 descend upon our souls as dew, and make us glad 
 with the light of his countenance! When I con- 
 sider the goodness of God to me, the chief of sin- 
 ners, I am astonished at the coldness of my grati- 
 tude and the smaUness of my love. Yet, little and 
 cold as it is, even that is his gift and the worl* of 
 his Spirit; an earnest, I cannot doubt,, of more and 
 greater. The Lord Jesus increase the spark to a 
 flame, and make the litUe one become a thousand ! 
 My health, after which you are so kind as to in- 
 quire, was never better; and, what is greater still, 
 I often experience the peace that passeth all under- 
 standing, and the joy that is unspeakable and full 
 of glory. Not that I am always upon the mount. 
 There are seasons in which my Lord is ' as one 
 that hideth himself.' But he only hides himself ; 
 he never forsakes the sinner he has loved. And, 
 blessed be his name, he has engaged that the re- 
 generate soul shall never totally forsake him; else 
 there would never be a saint in heaven. I rejoice 
 to hear of Mrs. Ws temporal welfare, and pray 
 God to make her, spiritually, such as he would 
 have her to be. She and I have much chaff to be 
 
180 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 burnt up — much tin to be consumed; may the 
 blood of the Lamb be upcm us both for pardon, 
 and the sacred Spirit be to us as a refining fire for 
 sanctification. If you M'rite to her, do present the 
 captain and her with my Christian respects ; and 
 let her know from me, that except she comes to 
 Christ, as a poor sinner, with the halter of self- 
 abasement round her neck, and the empty vessel 
 of faith in her hand, as a condemned criminal who 
 has nothing to plead, and as an insolvent debtor 
 who has noihing to pay, she is stout-hearted and 
 far from righteousness. The way to be filled with 
 the fulness of God, is to bring no money in our 
 sack's mouth. If you see my old friend, Mr. I., 
 tell him that he will not be able to find any rest 
 for the sole of his foot, until he returns to the doc- 
 trines of grace, and flies back to the ark of God's 
 election." 
 
 y'uesday, 29. — At night, before I betook myself 
 to rest, I was enabled to act faith very strongly on 
 the promises. It was as if I had held a conversa- 
 tion with God. He assured me of his faithfulness, 
 and I trusted him. It was whispered to my soul, 
 " Thou shall find me faithful ;" my soul answered, 
 "Lord, I believe it: I take ihee at thy word." 
 This, I am certain, was more tiian fancy. It was 
 too sweet, too clear, and too powerful, to be the 
 daughter of imagination. There was a nescio quid 
 divini, (something divine,) attended with joy un- 
 speakable, as much superior to all the sensations 
 excited by earthly comforts, as the heavens are 
 higher than the earth. Besides, in my experiences 
 of this kind, when under the immediate light of 
 God's presence within, my soul is, in a great 
 measure, passive, and lies open to the beams of 
 the Sun of righteousness. The acts of faith, love, 
 
REV. A. M. T O P L A D Y, 
 
 181 
 
 and spiritual aspiration, are subsequent to, and 
 occasioned by tiiis unutterable reception of divine 
 influence. I bless my God, I know his inward 
 voice, the still small whisper of his good Spirit; 
 and can distinguish it from every other suggestion 
 whatever. Lord, evermore give me this bread to 
 eat, which the world knoweth not of! 
 
 Wednesday, 30. — Held my tithe dinner at Ilarp- 
 ford. The greater part of both parishes attended : 
 they seemed greatly satisfied ; and I had as much 
 reason to be satisfied with them. Busy as I was 
 myself in receiving my dues, and numerous as the 
 company was, Mr. Powell, of Ottery, (who made 
 one,) and myself, had several opportunities of con- 
 versing on the best subjects, particularly the decrees 
 of God, and the spiritual impotence of man's will. 
 
 Before I went to bed, God gave me such a sense 
 of his love as came but little short of full assurance. 
 Who am I, O Lord ? The weakest and the vilest 
 of all thy called ones; not only the least of saints, 
 but the chief of sinners. But though a sinner, yet 
 sanctified in part by the Holy Ghost given unto me. 
 I should wrong the work of his grace upon my 
 heart, was I to deny my regeneration ; but Lord, I 
 wish for a nearer conformity to thy image. My 
 short-comings and my mis-doings, my unbelief and 
 want of love, would sink me into the nethermost 
 hell, was not Jesus my righteousness and my re- 
 demption. 'I'here is no sin which 1 should not com- 
 mit, was not Jesus, by the power of his Spirit, my 
 sanctification. O, when shall I resemble him quite, 
 and have all the mind that was in him? When I 
 see him face to face, which God will hasten in his 
 time. 
 
 Thursday, 31. — All day within, reading. The 
 thought of how many acquaintances I have lost by 
 
182 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 death, within the course of this year, dwelt with 
 great weight upon my mind. And yet I am spared! 
 Lord, may it be for good, and not for evil ! There 
 are (that I know of,) but two things worth living 
 for: — 1. To further the cause of God, and thereby 
 glorify him before the world. 2. To do good to 
 the souls and bodies of men. 
 
 Upon a review of the past year, I desire to con- 
 fess that my unfruitfulness has been exceedingly 
 great; my sins still greater: and God's mercies 
 greater than both. It is now between eleven and 
 twelve at night : nor can I conclude the year more 
 suitably to the present frame of my own mind, than 
 with tlie following verse from one of my hymns, 
 which expresses both my sense of past, and my 
 humble dependence on divine goodness for future 
 favours : 
 
 Kind Author, and ground of my hope. 
 
 Thee, thee for my (iod I avow ; 
 My glad Ebenezer set up. 
 
 And own tliou hast helped me till now : 
 I muse on the years that are past, 
 
 Wherein my defence thou hastprov'd; 
 Nor wilt thou abandon at last 
 
 A sinner so signally lov'd. 
 
 Saturday, January 2, 1768. — In the afternoon, 
 called on William Perry, of Southertown. Our 
 discourse happened to take a serious turn. Among 
 other subjects, we spoke concerning the divinity of 
 the ever-blessed Son of God. I could scarce help 
 smiling, at the same time that I lieartily applauded 
 the honest zeal of my well-meaning parishioner: 
 — " Let any man," said he, " but search the Scrip- 
 tures, and if he does not find that Christ, as a di- 
 vine person, subsisted not only previous to his birth 
 
E E V. A. M. TO PL A D Y. 183 
 
 of the virgin Mary, but from everIastin<T, I will 
 lose my head." This brought to my mind that just 
 observation of the late excellent Mr. Hervey, who, 
 speaking of Christ's atonement, says, " Ask any 
 of your serious tenants what ideas arise in their 
 minds, upon a perusal of the forementioncd texts? 
 I dare venture that, artless and unimproved as their 
 understandings are, they will not hesitate for an 
 answer. They will neither complain of obscurity, 
 nor ask the assistance of learning, but will imme- 
 diately discern, in all these passages, a gracious 
 Redeemer suffering in their stead ; and by his bit- 
 ter but expiatory passion, procuring the pardon of 
 their sins. Nay, further, as they are not accus- 
 tomed to the finessee of criticism, I appreiiend they 
 v.'ill be at a loss to conceive how it is possible to 
 understand such passages in any other sense." 
 
 Sunday, 3. — Read prayers and preached in the 
 morning, here at Fen-Ottery ; and in the afternoon, 
 at Harpford, to a very large congregation, consid- 
 ering the quantity of snow that lies on the ground, 
 and the intenseness of the frost, which render it 
 almost equally unsafe to walk or ride. I opened 
 the ministrations of this year with that grateful ac- 
 knowledgment of the aposUe, 1 Cor. xv. 10, " By 
 the grace of God I am what I am:" which was my 
 thesis both parts of the day. My liberty, both of 
 spirit and utterance, was very great in the afternoon. 
 Looking on my watch, I was surprised to find that 
 I had detained my dear people three-quarters of an 
 hour; and yet, when I concluded, they seemed un- 
 willing to rise from their seats, notwithstanding the 
 unusual intenseness of the cold. Lord of hosts, 
 who hast all hearts in thy hand, work in my hear- 
 ers both to be, to will, and to do, of th}^ good 
 pleasure ! 
 
184 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 This dreadfully severe weather contimiinff, I or- 
 dered two more bushels of wheat to be distributed. 
 
 Saturday, 9. — This evening I felt unusual diffi- 
 dence in myself, about the performance of to-mor- 
 row's duty. Free, blessed be God, from fightings 
 without, I yet had fears within. 1 besought the 
 Lord to manifest his strength in my weakness ; and 
 these precious words were returned with unuttera- 
 ble power and sweetness to my soul : " Trust in the 
 Lord Jehovah, for in him is everlasting strength." 
 I was instantly enabled to cast myself, with perfect 
 acquiescence, on the message from Heaven; which, 
 though delivered as an exhortation, is, in effect, a 
 most glorious and comfortable promise. My doubts 
 ceased; my misgivings vanished away; and I was 
 assured that God would certainly give me a supply 
 of sabbath-day strength for a sabbath-day's work. 
 
 Sunday, 10. — Found God faithful to his word. 
 Great was my strength, both morning and afternoon, 
 nor less the liveliness of my soul in preaching. 
 
 Received a letter from my honoured mother. 
 The same person who brought it, brought me like- 
 wise two London newspapers, which 1 hope to 
 read to-morrow; but dare not on God's day. After 
 evening service, visited and prayed with William 
 May, senior. His cry was, " What shall I do to 
 be saved?" But I could not, on close conversation 
 with him, discover the least sign of evangelical re- 
 pentance. He neither sees the vileness of his heart, 
 nor knows his need of Christ. Lord, bless what I 
 was enabled to speak, and do that work upon his 
 soul which man cannot! One of the most difficult 
 and discouraging parts of the ministry, I have long 
 found, is visiting the ignorant and unawakened sick. 
 But nothing is too hard for God. He, whose grace 
 wrought on me, is able to work on the sinner I 
 have been with to-day. 
 
REV. A. M. TOPLADY. 
 
 185 
 
 Tuesday, 12. — In the afternoon red Dr. Calamy's 
 account of the ejected ministers. What a blow to 
 vital religion, to the protestant interest in general, 
 and to the church of England herself, was the fatal 
 extinguishment of so many burning and shining 
 lights ! But they are now where the wicked cease 
 from troubling, and where the weary are at rest. 
 
 Sunday, 17. — God gave me strength to go 
 through the public duties of the day in a comforta- 
 ble and becoming manner. In the morning, read 
 prayers and preached here at Fen-Ottery, to a large 
 congregation ; and in the afternoon, at Harpford, 
 to an exceedingly numerous one. Between morning 
 and afternoon service read the first Epistle to the 
 Thessalonians in the Greek. In the evening read 
 the Cripplegate Lectures. Though my joy in the 
 Lord has not been great to-day, yet this has been a 
 profitable sabbath to my own soul: O God, make 
 it so to the attentive people who sat under my un- 
 worthy ministry ! 
 
 Friday, 22. — In the morning rode to Exeter, by 
 appointment, to meet Mr. Luce. Bought Cave's 
 Historia Literaria, Brooks's Dispensatory, and 
 Erskine's Sermons, in three volumes. At night, I 
 spent tiiree or four hours reading Erskine's Ser- 
 mons, particularly the following ones : " The rent 
 Vail of the Temple;" — "The Harmony of Divine 
 Attributes; — "The Believer exalted in imputed 
 Righteousness;" — and, "Faith's Plea upon God's 
 Word and Covenant." The Reading of these 
 sweet discourses was wonderfully blest to my soul. 
 Great was my rejoicing and triumph in Christ. 
 The Lord was with me of a truth, and his gracious 
 visitation revived my spirit. One moment's com- 
 munion with Christ, one moment's sense of union 
 16 
 
186 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 with him, one momeiu's view of interest in him, is 
 inefTabie, inestimable ! 
 
 Saturday, 23. — Continued at Exeter, until the 
 afternoon. Before dinner, Mr. Luce and I made 
 a formal resignation of our respective livings, be- 
 fore Mr. Geare and two other witnesses. Having 
 signed and sealed the instruments of resignation, we 
 left them with Mr. (Jeare, to be transmitted to the 
 bishop. Prosper thou the work of our hands upon 
 us, yea, prosper thou our handy work, Supreme 
 Disposer of all things! May thy glorious Majesty, 
 and thy gracious blessing be upon us, for thy mer- 
 cies' sake in Jesus Christ! Amen. 
 
 After dinner, left Exeter, and returned' to Fen- 
 Ottery. The ride was far from a comfortable one. 
 Hail, rain, or snow, almost the whole way. 
 
 I think this has been the most remarkable day, 
 in point of weather, I ever knew. Between the 
 time of my rising in the morning and returning 
 home at night, we have had frost and thaw, snow, 
 rain, hail, thunder and lightning, calm, high wind, 
 and sun-shine: a mixture of almost all weathers, 
 from sun-rise to sun-set. 
 
 Before I retired to my chamber, I read Erskine's 
 Sermon (and a matchless one it is,) entided, "The 
 Promising God a Performing God;" and the Lord 
 set the seal of his Spirit on my heart. I was en- 
 abled to mix faith with whatl read; and God made 
 it a time of love, joy, peace, and spiritual refresh- 
 ment to my soul. I could look and pray to him as 
 my covenant God in Jesus Christ, who loved me 
 from everlasting, and will love me without end. 
 
 Sunday, 24. — A day of almost perpetual rain. 
 Read prayers and preached, in the morning, at 
 Harpford, and here in the afternoon, to large con- 
 
REV. A, M. TOPLADY. 
 
 187 
 
 gi-pgations, considcrinfr the weatlier. God was 
 with me in a way of bodily strengih: but I cannot 
 say I liad much spiiiiual communion with him in 
 a way of sensible intercourfce. But though my 
 fleece was not Avatered, I trust the dew of heaven 
 fell around. 
 
 Between the morning and afternoon service, I 
 read Erskine's Sermon, entitled, "The King held 
 in the Galleries:" not without much comfort and 
 confirmation in Christ. 
 
 In the evening farmer Roberts came here to set- 
 tle his tythe. I told him, I never transacted busi- 
 ness on the Lord's day, and desired liim to defer 
 paying me till some other lime. — At night read 
 Erskine's Sermon, entitled, "The humble Soul 
 the peculiar Favourite of Heaven." 
 
 Sunday, 31. — Read prayers and preached in the 
 morning here at Fen-Ottery ; and, in the afternoon, 
 to an exceedingly large congregation at Harpford, 
 Between morning and afternoon service, I made 
 some very important additions to my sermon (wrote 
 last Monday) on Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 26, 27. In de- 
 livering it at Harpford, to-day, God was with me 
 of a truth. His word was eagerly received, and 
 seemed to be deeply felt, by very many. 1 think 
 I have seldom, if ever, seen sucii an appearance of 
 usefulness among my Harpford people, since I 
 knew them, as this afternoon. 
 
 How sweet is the work of the ministry, when 
 attended with the unction and power of the Holy 
 One! My soul has been very barren, ever since 
 last Lord's day ; but this sabbath has been a sabbath 
 indeed. 
 
 Spent the evening, both agreeably and profitably, 
 in reading the confession of faith, charge, and 
 sermon, delivered at Bristol last August, at the or- 
 
188 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 dination of Mr. Evans, jun. Blessed be God for 
 the advancement of his interest among us, under 
 whatever form. Lord, increase the number of thy 
 faithful witnesses, every where, and in every de- 
 nomination of protestants ! 
 
 Monday, February 1. — Before I went to bed this 
 night, the Lord favoured me with some sweet inti- 
 mations of his love. 
 
 Sunday,?. — In the morning, atHarpford; and 
 here, at Fen-Ottery, in the afternoon, I read prayers 
 and preached to a ver}' full congregation each time ; 
 and, 1 trust, the word was blest to some. My 
 strength and enlargement of soul, especially in the 
 afternoon, were very considerable. Bless the Lord, 
 O my soul ; and learn to trust him who is faith- 
 fulness itself. — In the evening, read Bunyan's Pil- 
 grim. 
 
 Wednesday, 10. — The Lord was very gracious 
 to my soul this afternoon. His Spirit was the Com- 
 forter, and Mr. Erskine's two sermons, on "The 
 Rainbow of the Covenant," were the channel 
 through which that comfort was conveyed. Amid 
 my many seasons and long intervals of barrenness 
 and want of joy, God sometimes makes me glad 
 with the light of his countenance: but, alas! I can 
 too often say, with him of old, concerning such 
 sweet seasons, " vara hora, brevis mora'' (few 
 and short.) Yet I can, through grace, say like- 
 wise, 
 
 A moment's intercourse with thee 
 Is worth a year's delay. 
 
 Surely, O God, I could not long after thy pre- 
 sence, if I did not know the sweetness of it, and 
 love thee in some measure : and I could not know 
 that, but by the revelation of thy Spirit in my heart; 
 
REV. A. sr. T 0 P L A D Y. 
 
 189 
 
 nor love thee at all, if thou hadst not first loved 
 me — We grieve at the absence of those we love, 
 and of none else : blessed be God for this evidence 
 of true, however weak, grace ! 
 
 Thursday, 11. — Began to compose a course of 
 family-prayer.* Lord, prosper the work of my 
 hands upon me, and make it useful ! 
 
 Friday, 12. — A Utile before bed-time, I darted 
 up an ejaculation, that God would be pleased to 
 strengthen me, and give me faithfulness, in the dis- 
 charge of my duty toward the parishioners of Broad- 
 Hembury, whither I expect soon to remove. My 
 God gave me this sweet answer immediately, " I 
 will enable thee, and bless thee." Behold the ser- 
 vant of the Lord ; be it unto me, according to thy 
 word ! 
 
 I desire to remember, with grief and shame, that 
 soon after the above manifestation of God's favour 
 to my soul, I was tempted, before I could get to 
 sleep, with high thoughts of my own righteousness, 
 both as a man and as a minister. The enemy 
 plied his fiery darts very thick, and came in as a 
 flood ; but the Spirit of the Lord lifted up a stan- 
 dard against iiim. I was enabled (glory to divine 
 grace !) to reject the cursed insinuations as 1 would 
 hell-fire. Oh, that ever such a wretch as L should 
 be tempted to think highly of himself! 1 that am 
 of myself nothing but sin and weakness ; I, in 
 whose flesh naturally dwells no good thing; L who 
 deserve damnation for the best work I ever per- 
 formed ! Lord Jesus, humble me to the dust, yea to 
 the very centre of abasement, in thy presence. 
 Root out and tear up this most poisonous, this most 
 accursed weed, from the unworthiest heart that ever 
 was. Show me my utter nothingness. Keep me 
 
 * Published in his Works. 
 
190 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 sensible of my sinnership. Sink me clown, deeper, 
 and deeper, into penitence and self-abhorrence. 
 Break the Dagon of pride in pieces before the ark 
 of thy merits. Demolish, by the breath of thy 
 Spirit, the walls, the Babel of self-righteousness 
 and self-opinion ; level them with the trodden soil, 
 grind them to powder, annihilate them for ever and 
 ever. Grace, grace, be all my experience, and all 
 my cry ! Amen. Amen. 
 
 Sunday, 14. — In the morning, read prayers and 
 preached here at Fen-Oltery, to a pretty full audi- 
 tory. In the afternoon, read prayers at Harpford, 
 and preached Mrs. Mary \V baton's funeral ser- 
 mon, to an exceedingly great congregation indeed. 
 I could not forbear observing, " that God had 
 spared her to a good old age : that she was born 
 in the year 1676, ten years before the death of 
 Charles II. and about fourteen before the coming 
 in of king William III., that she lived in the reign 
 of seven monarchs, and died last Tuesday, aged 
 ninety-three." Great was my fervour and enlarge- 
 ment of soul ; nor less to appearance, the attention 
 of them that heard. Nay, they seemed to do 
 more than attend : the word, I verily believe, came 
 with power and weight to their hearts. I never 
 yet saw my church so full (insomuch that there 
 was hardly any standing) and think I seldom, if 
 ever, beheld a people that seemed to relish the gos- 
 pel better. Neither they nor myself were weary, 
 though I detained them much longer than usual. — ■ 
 Since my intention of changing livings with Mr. 
 Luce has been publicly known, a spirit of great 
 earnestness and life appears to have been poured 
 out on my people. And yet, I trust, I see my 
 way plainly pointed out, and that it is the will of 
 God I should leave them. A wonderful combina- 
 
REV. A. M. T O P L A D Y. 
 
 191 
 
 tion of providential circumstances, leaves me scarce- 
 ly any room to doubt of my call to Broad-Hembu- 
 ry. Lord, bring me not up thither, unless thy 
 presence goes with me ! 
 
 Mr. Holmes, of Exeter, came from thence this 
 morning to hear the unworthiest of God's messen- 
 gers. This gentleman was at my churches, both 
 parts of the day; and, from what conversation I 
 had with him, appears to be one who knows and 
 loves the truth as it is in Jesus. 
 
 Wednesday, 17. — In my chamber, this evening, 
 those words, 2 Tim. i. 7 : " God hath not given 
 unto us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of 
 love, and of a sound mind," were impressed much 
 upon my heart, and my meditation on them was 
 attended, not only with great peace and sweetness, 
 but with joy in the Holy Ghost. My sense of 
 union and communion with God was very clear: 
 and I was enabled to see myself one of God's re- 
 generate people, by finding within myself, through 
 the riches of grace alone, those three infallible evi- 
 dences of conversion, which that delightful text 
 lays down. The Spirit of Christ was to me a 
 spirit of power, when he effectually called me to 
 the knowledge of himself in the year 1756, at 
 Codymain, in Ireland, under the ministry of Mr. 
 James Morris: he has been, and is, a spirit of love, 
 in my soul, to all the divine persons; and, as such, 
 the principle of sanctification : and he has been to 
 me a spirit of a sound mind, by leading me into, 
 and confirming me in, the light of gospel truth, in 
 its full harmony and consistency ; which I verily 
 belive, for my own part, to be a branch, at least, 
 of that sophronismos .(which, among other signi- 
 fications, denotes wisdom and instruction,) men- 
 tioned by the apostle in that passage; and may not, 
 
192 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 I apprehend, be improperly rendered, soundness of 
 judgment. Yet, the sound 7nind, abstracted from 
 the poiver and the love, is not, of itself a certain 
 evidence of regeneration : it is the divine powder, 
 and the love of God shed abroad in the heart, 
 which render soundness of judgment not only com- 
 fortable, but a mark of saving grace. Blessed be 
 God for my experience of all the three ! 
 
 Sunday 21. — I have great reason to be thankful 
 for the strength and presence of mind, with which 
 I was enabled to go through with my public duties, 
 both parts of the day; and to be humbled in soul, 
 for my want of spiritual liveliness and fervour. 
 Lord, I am and can be alert in thy work no longer 
 than I feel the efficacy of divine attraction : may I, 
 if it please thee, feel it more and more, for the sake 
 of thy rich mercy in Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 
 In the evening I was enabled to draw much spi- 
 ritual improvement from that passage, John xi. 40, 
 " Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldst be- 
 lieve, thou shouldst see the glory of God?" Lord, 
 cause me to do the one, and to see the other! 
 
 Tuesday, 23. — Awoke very early this morning, 
 with those words full and deep upon my mind, 
 " I will give unto you the sure mercies of David." 
 I cannot say that I had an immediate sense of co- 
 venant-interest in that glorious promise : yet the 
 impression of it was attended with a satisfactory 
 sweetness, and its signification was, as it were, 
 spontaneously opened to me, in a manner too clear 
 and pleasing to express. It seemed to me, and I 
 can find no reason still to think otherwise, that the 
 passage may be literally rendered "the sacred" 
 (that is, the inviolable) " aiy:! faithful things of Da- 
 vid :" for, why may not the word, which signifies 
 holy, just, and sacred, have, in this connexion, the 
 
REV. A. M. T O P L A D Y. 
 
 193 
 
 signification of inviolable ; and denote the firmness, 
 certainty, and perpetuity of those spiritual bless- 
 ings, which are eiven and made over to God's 
 elect, by virtue and in consequence of the Father's 
 covenant of grace made in their behalf with Christ, 
 our antitypical David? This, at least, must be 
 granted ; that the words, as they lie in the New 
 Testament, will bear the translation I have given: 
 and this translation and sense of them seem exact- 
 ly to coincide with the original passage, as it stands 
 in the prophet, from whence the apostle quoted it. 
 
 Sunday, 28. — The Lord was witli me in the 
 discharge of my ministry both parts of the day ; 
 especially in the afternoon at Harpford. O my 
 faithful God, bless the word spoken! 
 
 Wednesday, March 2. — In secret prayer this 
 morning, before 1 left my chamber, the fire of di- 
 vine love kindled, and the Lord sensibly shone 
 upon my soul. I could not forbear saying, " O 
 why art thou so kind to the chief of sinners ?" 
 I was so taken up, and as it were circumfused, 
 with the love of God, and the perception of my 
 union with him, that I could hardly ask for pardon. 
 Thus I walked in the light of his countenance, for, 
 I suppose, two or three minutes; when, alas! evil 
 wanderings intervened, my warmth of joy sudden- 
 ly subsided, and I was, in great measure, brought 
 down from the mount. Yet the sweetness and 
 peace of this heavenly visit remained, after the 
 blessed visitant was withdrawn. Though tlie sun 
 himself retired from view, yet, if I may so express 
 it, I enjoyed the refraction of his beams. He did 
 not disappear without leaving a blessing behind 
 him; sufficient, I trust, for faith to live upon until 
 I see him again. 
 
 I (Thursday, 3. — Upon a review of this day, in 
 which my mind has been variously exercised, I 
 17 
 
194 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 have great reason to stand astonished at my own 
 baseness ; nor less so at the several instances of 
 mercy, both temporal and spiritual, with which 
 God has favoured me since I awoke this morning. 
 I can, through grace, adopt David's language, and 
 close the evening with his sweet hymn of thanks- 
 giving: "Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget 
 not all his benefits : who forgiveth all thy sin, and 
 healeth all thine infirmities; who saveth thy life 
 from destruction, and crowneth thee with loving- 
 kindness and tender mercies; who satisfies thy 
 mouth with good things," the good things of his 
 providence, and thy heart with the better things of 
 his grace; " making thee young and lusty as an 
 eagle." Psalm ciii. 
 
 Tuesday, 8. — Our family dining early to-day, 
 Mr. Harris, of Wellington, and myself took a walk, 
 about two in the afternoon, to the top of Fen-Otte- 
 ry Hill. Looking round from thence, I observed 
 to him how plainly we could see the two churches, 
 of Harpford and Fen-Ottery, in the vale beneath 
 us. Perceiving, however, a pillar of smoke rising 
 into the air, at a little distance from Harpford 
 tower, I asked my companion, " What he thought 
 it was ?" He replied, " I suppose they are burn- 
 ing stubble." Imagining this to be the case, we 
 continued our walk for, I believe, full three hours, 
 round Ailsbear Hill, and other parts of the com- 
 mon. Coming, at last, to Micktam in our circuit, 
 we called on old farmer Francke ; and were hardly 
 seated, before he asked us, " Whether we had 
 heard of the fire at Harpford?" adding, that, "ac- 
 cording to the best of what his eldest son could 
 discern, it was farmer Endicott's house that was 
 burning." The wind being pretty strong, north- 
 east by east, I knew, that, if it was Endicott's 
 house, or any of the adjoining ones, the vicarage- 
 
REV. A. M. TOPLADY. 
 
 195 
 
 house and offices must be in imminent danger. I 
 posted away for Harpford, without delay ; and, 
 beinof got within near view of the village, plainly 
 perceived by the course of the smoke, that the vi- 
 carage had actually taken fire. By the time I arri- 
 ved at the wooden bridge, I met a man coming to 
 acquaint me with what had happened: upon seeing 
 me he saluted me with " Sir, your house is burnt 
 down to the ground." Entering the village, I 
 found it almost literally true. The dwelling-house, 
 the barn, the stable, &c. with the back house rented 
 by John Woodford were, as it were by sympathy, 
 all in flames at once, and more than half consumed. 
 Thomas Wilson's house, and that in which Henry 
 Bishop lately lived, from which latter mine caught 
 fire, were totally destroyed. When I saw the vi- 
 carage irrecoverably lost, I returned to Fen-Ottery, 
 and took horse for Exeter; where I arrived be- 
 tween eight and nine in the evening, and put up at 
 Mr. Lathbury's. Being fatigued with my hasty 
 ride, I thought it best to apprize Mr. Gearing, 
 agent for the London Insurance Office, by a note, 
 of what had happened: who, in his answer, de- 
 sired to see me next morning. 
 
 What I chiefly enter down this account in my 
 diary for, is this: namely, as a memento of God's 
 great goodness to me, both in a way of providence 
 and grace. Though I was not certain whether the 
 expense, I mean all above the insurance, of re- 
 building the vicarage-house, with its appendages, 
 might not eventually fall on me, notwithstanding 
 my resignation of the living last January 23, by 
 Mr. Luce's probably refusing, in consequence of 
 this misfortune, to complete our projected ex- 
 change; yet neither the report, nor the sight of 
 this alarming visitation, made me so much as 
 change countenance, or feel the least dejection. 
 
196 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 This could not proceed from nature; for, my 
 nerves are naturally so weak, that, in general, the 
 least discomposing accident oversets me quite, for 
 a time. It was iherefoi'e owing to the supporting 
 goodness of Uod, who made me experience the 
 truth of that promise, " Thy shoes shall be iron 
 and brass ; and as thy days, so shall thy strength 
 be." Surely, we can both do and endure all things, 
 through Ciirist enabling us. Had any one told me 
 beforehand, " You will see the vicarage all in 
 flames, without the least emotion of mind," I 
 should have thought it impossible. But the strength 
 of God was made perfect in my weakness; and 
 therefore it was that my heart stood fast, believing 
 in the Lord. O may thy grace be ever sufficient 
 for me ! 
 
 Spent the evening not only in a comfortable, 
 but even in a rejoicing frame of mind ; and never 
 rested better afterwards. Thou, Lord, canst make 
 the feeble, as David. Thus, the 8th of March 
 was a day to be particularly noted, not in my book 
 only, but in my latest remembrance; on account of 
 that wonderful support with which I was favoured: 
 which not only made my feet as hind's feet, and 
 caused me to walk on the high places of Jacob; 
 but which even bore me up, as on eagles' wings, 
 above the reach of grief, fear, and weakness; and, 
 as it were, laid me at rest on the bosom of Christ, 
 and within the arms of God. 
 
 Wednesday, 9. — Spent about an hour and a half 
 with good Mr. Holmes, whom I found in great 
 distress of mind, on account of his only surviving 
 son being given over in a fever. During our in- 
 terview, God so opened my mouth, and so enlarged 
 my heart, that, I trust, both my friend and myself 
 found our spiritual strength renewed, and were 
 sensibly and powerfully comforted from above. In 
 the evening returned to Fen-Ottery. 
 
REV. A. M. TOPLADY. 
 
 197 
 
 Thursday, 10. — Drinking tea, this afternoon, at 
 farmer Carter's, I had an opportunity of seeing 
 more leisurely, the devastation at Harpford. The 
 whole vicarage is one large mass of ruins. 
 
 Sunday, 20. — In the morning, read prayers and 
 preached at Harpford, to a very full congregation: 
 but without any ray of sweetness or enlargement; 
 at least, to myself. Between morning and after- 
 noon service, I was much dejected and bowed 
 down in spirit. I was so far left to the doubtings 
 and evil surmisings of my own unbelieving heart, 
 as even to dread the remaining public duties that 
 lay before me. But the glorious Lord was better 
 to me than my fears, and graciously disappointed 
 my ungracious misgivings: for, in the afternoon, 
 he was with me, both in a way of strength, and in 
 a way of consolation. 1 read prayers and preached 
 here at Fen-Ottery, with great freedom, and con- 
 siderable liveliness, to a crowded church. 
 
 About six in the evening, being alone in my 
 chamber, I was still more sensibly led forth beside 
 the waters of comfort. I tasted some sweet drop- 
 pings of the honeycomb, and could say, " My 
 Lord, and ray God!" The embers were blown 
 aside, by the breath of the Holy Spirit; the veil o 
 unbelief was rent; and the shadows fled away. 
 Light sprung up, and the fire kindled; even the 
 light of God's countenance, and the tire of his love. 
 Yet my comforts did not amount to the full triumph 
 and ecstatic bliss I have sometimes experienced; 
 but were gentle, peaceful, and serene: attended 
 with a mild, refreshing, lenient warmth; which 
 melted me into conscious nothingness before God, 
 and made me feel him and rest upon him as my 
 all in all. The very state this in which, if it be 
 his will, I could wish both to live and die: for I 
 look upon such a placid reception of his gently 
 
198 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 pervading influence, where all is soft, and sweet, 
 and still, to be tiie most desirable frame of soul on 
 this side heaven. But I desire to leave all to the 
 disposal of Him who best knows how to deal with 
 his militant people; and who will be sure to lead 
 them to heaven by the right way, and me among 
 the rest. 
 
 Monday, 21. — Between ten and eleven at night, 
 in my chamber, a little before I betook myself to 
 rest, the Lord favoured me with some gracious 
 outgoings of afTeclion toward himself. My medita- 
 tion of him, and communion with him, were sweet ; 
 and the intimations of his love to me, drew forth 
 my love to him. The cherishing south-wind of his 
 loving Spirit breathed upon the garden of my soul, 
 and the spices thereof flowed out. I could say, 
 and still can, " Whom have I in heaven, but thee? 
 and there is none upon earth that I desire in com- 
 parison of thee. Come, O my beloved, into thy 
 garden, and eat thy pleasant fruits !" Thus, though 
 aflfected ever since the afternoon with a slight head- 
 ache, my bodily indisposition was more tiian com- 
 pensated with the peace that passeth all under- 
 standing; and I could rejoice in the sense of union 
 with Christ, my exalted Head; a head, that is 
 never out of order. 
 
 Thursday, 24. — In the afternoon, the Lord gave 
 me this word of comfort, " I have put away thy 
 sin." It came with power, and I was enabled to 
 believe the testimony of the Holy Spirit. Towards 
 evening, I was in a very comfortable frame of soul, 
 while making some considerable additions to my 
 sermon on John ii. 19. How greatly do these 
 occasional visits from above, cheer and strengflien 
 a sinner on his way to Zion ! Surely, there is a 
 river, and not only the streams, but even a few 
 drops of it, make glad the city of God. 
 
EEV. A. M. TOPLADY. 
 
 199 
 
 Friday, 25. — This afternoon and evening, but 
 especially at night, the Lord has been very gra- 
 cious to my soul. I could see myself loved with 
 an everlasting love, and clothed with Christ's ever- 
 lasting righteousness. My peace flowed, as a river ; 
 and I found the comforts of the Holy Spirit to be 
 neither few nor small. My sense of justification 
 was unclouded, as when the clear shining of the 
 sun giveth light. My beloved is mine, and I am 
 his. Under these sweet, unutterable manifestations, 
 I have scarcely any thing to pray for : supplication 
 is swallowed up in wonder, love, and praise: Jesus 
 smiles, and more than a ray of heaven is shed upon 
 my soul. "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my 
 soul shall be joyful in my God ; for he hath clothed 
 me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered 
 me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom 
 decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride 
 adorneth herself with her jewels." My harp is 
 taken down from the willows, and I can sing the 
 Lord's song in a strange land. 
 
 Touch'd by tlie finger of thy love, 
 Sweet melody of praise I bring; 
 
 Join the enraptur'd choirs above. 
 
 And feel the bliss which makes them sing. 
 
 Saturday, 26. — A letter from London informs 
 me, that poor old lady Goring is lately turned pa- 
 pist. Surely, it is a debt I owe to God, to truth, 
 to my own conscience, and to the friendship with 
 which that unhappy lady formerly honoured me, 
 to write to her on this sad occasion. Lord, keep 
 me steadfast in the purity of thy blessed gospel, 
 and, if it please thee, recover her from this snare 
 of the devil ! 
 
 Was indisposed, great part of this day, with the 
 head-ache : but enjoyed, toward evening, a measure 
 
200 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 of the peace of God. At night, a little before I 
 went to bed, the Lord was pleased to give me a 
 full assurance of his being with me in a way of 
 grace and strength, and carrying me comfortably 
 through the duties of the ensuing Sabbath. I could 
 no more doubt of his giving me a Sabbath-day's 
 blessing, than if the Sabbath had been passed, and 
 the blessing actually received. 
 
 Sunday, 27. — Between eight and nine this morn- 
 ing, the Lord visited my soul with a lively sense of 
 his salvation. My comfort, joy, and triumph, were 
 unutterable for some minutes ; and the savour of 
 his precious ointment, thus divinely shed abroad 
 in my heart, abode with me, more or less, through 
 the course of the whole day. In the morning, my 
 congregation here at Fen-Ottery was very full; and 
 I was enabled to read prayers, and to preach, with 
 more inward liberty and consolation of spirit, than 
 I have done for some Sundays back. The gospel 
 ordinances were sweet to my taste, and I experi- 
 enced that animating promise, " He that watereth, 
 shall be watered also himself." 
 
 In the afternoon, read prayers and preached at 
 Harpford, to a congregation indeed. " Behold the 
 Lamb of God," was my subject: O Lamb of God, 
 cause me, and those who heard me this day, to be- 
 hold thee, here, in the light of special faith; and 
 hereafter, in the light of endless glory ! 
 
 Though I have a violent cold upon me, with a 
 tendency to a sore throat, yet I was carried through 
 my duties, not only with great comfort, but with 
 unusual strength of body and voice. A worse 
 church to speak in, I never knew, than Harpford; 
 yet I am confident, I was well heard by all present; 
 whose number, I apprehend, was at least seven 
 hundred : which, I dare believe, I should not have 
 been, considering my hoarseness to-day, had not 
 
REV. A. sr. T O r L A D Y. 
 
 201 
 
 my soul been particularly happy in the Lord. The 
 sense of his presence givelh power to tlie faint, and 
 makes men act beyond themselves. Under the in- 
 fluence of his Spirit, the meanest believer becomes 
 like the chariots of Amminadib, and goes fortli like 
 a giant refreshed with wine: the places of God's 
 worsiiip are each a banqueting-house; and the 
 means of grace are so many mountains of spices. 
 
 Tuesday, 29. — That sweet text, "This God is 
 our God for ever and ever; he shall be our guide 
 even unto death;" proved a cordial to my soul this 
 morning. Blessed be his name, I could adopt 
 those words of triumph, and still can, in the assur- 
 ance of faith. I am, through grace, as clearly satis- 
 fied of my interest in the blessing they contain, as 
 if they were addressed to me by name. 
 
 I remember a delightful paraphrase of this golden 
 passage, written by Mr. Hart; which I cannot help 
 putting down here ; and the rather, as it is the very 
 language of my soul at present: 
 
 " This God is the God we adore, 
 
 Our faithful unchangeable friend; 
 Whose love is as great as his pow'r ; 
 
 And neither knows measure nor end. 
 'Tis Jesus, the first and the last, 
 
 Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home ; 
 We'll praise him, for all that is past, 
 
 And trust him, for all that's to come." 
 
 In the afternoon, began, and about half finished, 
 a sermon on Phil. ii. 8, which, if the Lord please, 
 I hope to deliver from the pulpit next Friday. The 
 Lord has already, while writing it, made it a means 
 of grace to myself; and given me to experience the 
 power of that dying love, which the text and the 
 preceding context so sweetly celebrate. O Lamb 
 of God, slain for me, thy blood is balm, ihy pre- 
 sence is hliss, thy smile is heaven! Through thy 
 
202 
 
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 precious righteousness, sinners and salvation meet 
 together. Thou hast luiit me to thyself in the 
 bonds of an everlasting covenant, which shall not 
 be forgotten and cannot be annulled. Thou hast 
 set me as a seal upon thine arm, and hast set the 
 seal of thy Spirit upon my heart. 
 
 April 1. — Good-Friday. — In the morning read 
 prayers, preached, and administered the blessed 
 sacrament at Harpford. Both in the pulpit and at 
 the Lord's table, my joy, consolation, and enlarge- 
 ment of soul were great: and I think I never saw 
 communicants more humble, serious, and devout. 
 God's presence seemed to be manifested among us 
 in a very uncommon manner. In the afternoon 
 read prayers and preached here at Fen-Ottery ; 
 and the glorious majesty of the Lord our God was 
 evidently upon speaker and hearers. This has 
 been a Good-Friday indeed to my soul; and I 
 dare believe to the souls of many beside. Lord 
 make the sensible unction of thy Spirit not only 
 to descend upon us, but to abide with us! 
 
 Sunday, 3 — Easter Sunday. — Rose this morning 
 with such a cold and hoarseness in my voice, that 
 I could hardly speak either audibly or intelligibly. 
 Read prayers, however, if it might be called read- 
 ing, here at Fen-Ottery, and administered the bles- 
 sed sacrament : but, knowing it would be in vain to 
 attempt preaching, ordered the clerk to make an 
 apology to the congregation. At the table of the 
 Lord, tlie Lord of the table was with me of a truth, 
 and made my soul rejoice amid all the weakness of 
 my body. In the afternoon rode to Harpford, where 
 after reading prayers to a very great congregation, 
 as well as I could, which was very badly, I was in 
 some doubt whether I had best attempt to preach 
 or not. Considering, however, that if I found I 
 could not make myself heard, I could but cease; 
 
REV. A. M. T O P L A D Y. 203 
 
 and grieving at the thought of sending away such a 
 multiuide without even endeavouring to break to 
 them the word of life, I went up into the pulpit, 
 and besought the Lord to manifest his strength in 
 my weakness: and he graciously did: I preached 
 three-quarters of an hour, with wonderful strength 
 and unusual enlargement of soul. Awe and atten- 
 tion were visible on every face. I was enabled to 
 exert myself greatly, and to pour out my whole 
 soul in the ministry of the word. The sense of 
 God's presence, together with the sweetness and 
 dignity of the subject I was upon, melted me so, 
 that I think I was nevermore strongly carried out. 
 Once in particular, I could scarcely refrain from 
 bursting into tears. Hoarse and disagreeable as my 
 voice sounded, yet I am convinced the voice of the 
 Holy Spirit made its way to many hearts. Indeed, 
 all were struck, if there is any judgment to be form- 
 ed by appearances. My wonder at the ability with 
 which 1 was endued, and my gratitude to the bles- 
 sed God, for the comforts that were experienced, 
 will hardly suffer me to desist from saying more of 
 this memorable opportunity. Lord, who would not 
 trust thee? Who would not love thee ? The work, 
 O God, was thine; and thine be all the glory! 
 Amen, Amen. 
 
 Wednesday, G. — Tliis afternoon, about two 
 o'clock, I received institution at Exeter, to the liv- 
 ing of Broad-Hembury. While on my knees, as 
 the chancellor was committing the souls of that 
 parish to my care, my own soul was secretly lifted 
 up to God for a blessing ; which I humbly trust will 
 be given, for his mercy's sake in Jesus Christ. 
 
 Immediately after I was instituted to Broad-Hem- 
 bury, Mr. Luce was instituted to Harpford. 
 
 Thursday, 7. — That gracious promise was given 
 me to-day, " I will inform thee and teach thee in 
 
204 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 the way wherein thou shalt go ; and I will guide 
 thee with mine eye." I had been previously much 
 dejected in spirit, and exercised with various doubts, 
 but that word of comfort came with sucli power 
 and effect, tliat I was soon set to rights again. 
 
 Friday, 8. — Mr. Luce dining here to-day, we 
 walked in the afternoon to Harpford, where I in- 
 ducted him into that living. In the course of this 
 day I was favoured with some comfortable glimpses 
 of my heavenly Father's countenance. O that I 
 could ever have a heart warm with love ! But it is 
 belter to catch fire now and then, than to be always 
 cold. Blessed be the Comforter of God's elect, a 
 live coal from the golden altar which is before the 
 throne, is sometimes dropped into my heart, and 
 then I can sing, 
 
 Lov'd of my God, for him again 
 
 With love intense I burn : 
 Chosen of Thee ere time began, 
 
 I chose Thee in return. 
 
 To have a part and lot in God's salvation is the 
 main thing: but to have the joy of it, is an addition- 
 al blessing, which makes our way to the kingdom 
 smooth and sweet. 
 
 Saturday, 9. — In the evening, while returning 
 from Broad-Hembury, where I dined to-day, and 
 at night, alter my return hither to Fen-Ottery, I 
 had the comfort of sweet communion with God, 
 and not only enjoyed that peace whicii the world 
 cannot give, but was favoured with some delightful 
 assurances of God's everlasting love tome a sinner. 
 I was like what is said of Napiitali, " satisfied with 
 favour:" even with the favour of Him whose name 
 is as ointment poured forth ; whom to know is life 
 eternal ; and whom to converse with is heaven. The 
 Spirit himself bore witness with my spirit, that I 
 
REV. A. M. T O P L A D T. 
 
 205 
 
 am a child of God, and a joint-heir with Christ. 
 Lord, doubdess thou art my Father: O enable me 
 to love thee as such, and to walk worthy of my 
 heavenly pedigree ! 
 
 Sunday, 10. — Did duty this day at the churches 
 here, for I suppose the last time. In the morning 
 read prayers and preached at Fen-Ottery ; and in 
 the ai'ternoon read prayers and preached at Harp- 
 ford, to a very great congregation. At the latter 
 church, God did indeed open to me a door both of 
 knowledge and of utterance ; insomuch that I could 
 not possibly confine myself to my notes, but was 
 carried out with extraordinary enlargement, readi- 
 ness, and presence of mind ; especially while speak- 
 ing of the certain perseverance of God's regenerate 
 people, and of the utter impossibility of beingjus- 
 tified by works. I did not take any leave of my 
 dear people. Farewell sermons, in my opinion, 
 carry in them such an air of self-importance, that 
 I have long resolved never to preach one again. 
 Let me rather close my ministry in this place with 
 — I. Secretly begging pardon of God to-night for 
 my manifold sins, omissions, and infirmities, both 
 as a man and as a minister. — 2. I earnestly intreat 
 my gracious Lord to make me thankful for the in- 
 numerable mercies I have experienced since I had 
 the care of these parishes upon me. — 3. I pray God 
 to command his efficacious blessing on my weak, 
 sinful, and unworthy labours here; most humbly 
 beseeching him to own the messages of salvation 
 I have delivered from time to time, and to grant that 
 the seed he has enabled me to sow, may be found 
 after many days. — 4. I beg him to stay with these 
 that stay, and to go with me when I go from them: 
 that his presence and his blessing may be their por- 
 tion, my portion, and the portion of those among 
 whom 1 expect shortly to minister. O thou God 
 
206 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 of power and of grace, all hearts are in thy hand, 
 and all events are at thy disposal ! Set, O set the 
 seal of thv almighty fiat upon each of these peti- 
 tions ! and supply all our need, according to thy 
 riches in glory by Christ Jesus ! Amen, Amen. 
 
 Tuesday, 12. — At night the Lord gave me to ex- 
 perience some gracious meltings of heart. How 
 sweet are the humiliations of penitential love ! I 
 desire no greater bliss than to lie at my heavenly 
 Master's foot-stool, dissolved in wonder, gratitude, 
 and self-abasement. 
 
 Friday, 1 5. — Several words of comfort were this 
 day, at different times, spoken to and sealed upon 
 my heart : particularly these three, " Fear not, I 
 will be with thee." — "Trust me." — "I will up- 
 hold thee with the right-hand of my righteousness." 
 At another time these words were powerfully sug- 
 gested to my soul, " Be joyful in the Lord." To 
 many, all this would appear as the most palpable 
 enthusiasm ; and there was a time when I myself 
 should have thought so too. But, blessed be God 
 the Comforter, I know what it is to enjoy some de- 
 gree of communion with the Father, and the Son 
 by him. And exclusive of this inward elenchos, 
 (proof) which is to myself equivalent, in point of 
 mental satisfaction, to ten thousand demonstrations, 
 my experiences of this kind, considered even in 
 the most rational view, cannot, I am well persua- 
 ded, be justly counted enthusiastic, or the offspring 
 of a heated imagination: for — 1. It is attended with 
 such a powerful sweetness, and such commanding 
 weight, such satisfactory clearness, and such a per- 
 fect consistency with the promises of Scripture, as 
 leave me no cause to doubt of its being indeed the 
 voice of God to my soul. — 2. My mind, on these 
 occasions, is as absolutely passive, as my body can 
 at any time be on hearing any person speak with 
 
REV. A. M. TOPLADY. 
 
 207 
 
 whom I converse. — 3. I argue from events. I can, 
 to the best of my remembrance and belief, truly 
 say, that I never yet liave had one promise or as- 
 surance, concerning temporal things, impressed on 
 me beforehand in a way of communion with God, 
 which tlie event did not realize : I never, that I 
 know of, knew it fail in any one single instance. I 
 do not say, that a particular assurance, concerning 
 any particular futurity, is always given me before- 
 hand ; far from it : but when it has, two unisons 
 never harmonized more exactly than my assurance 
 and the subsequent providence. And, if this has 
 hitherto been the case with me in temporal con- 
 cerns and matters of providence, why should sim- 
 ilar indulgences from above, respecting spiritual 
 things and matters of grace, be treated as fanciful? 
 
 At night, in my chamber, the Lord gave me 
 several solid assurances of his future providential 
 goodness to me. I was enabled to know the voice 
 of Him that spake within, and to cast the anchor 
 of faith on what he said. My complacency and 
 satisfaction of soul were equally comfortable and 
 utterable. O my God, that which thou hast pro- 
 mised, thou art able also to perform. 
 
 Sunday, 17. — In the morning read prayers and 
 preached at Broad-Hembury to a large congre- 
 gation. I opened (if I may so speak) my spi- 
 ritual commission by discoursing from those words, 
 2 Cor. iv. 5. " We preach not ourselves, but Christ 
 Jesus the Lord." Great was my reason for grati 
 tude and thankfulness to the gracious Author of all 
 good, I was enabled, both parts of the day, to go 
 through the duties of it with much satisfaction and 
 presence of mind ; and the word preached seemed 
 to be relished by many, and to be well received by 
 all. 
 
 In the evening returned to Fen-Ottery, where I 
 
208 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 read with great comfort and joy in the Holy Ghost, 
 Mr. Harvey's sermon on the " Way of Holiness." 
 In secret prayer too, before I went to bed, the chan- 
 nel of comfortable inlercourse was opened between 
 God and my soul. All weakness and all unwor- 
 thiness as I am, I have, in Christ, both righteous- 
 ness and strength: and God, through him, is my 
 portion for ever. In his favour is life ; and that 
 life is mine. 
 
 Saturday, 23. — After dinner rode to Broad-Hem- 
 bury, where, at night, in my chamber, a little be- 
 fore I went to bed, my soul was harassed in a sad 
 and very unusual manner, and with doubts and 
 fears and unbelief. I was in spiritual darkness, 
 even darkness that might be felt. I do not know 
 that I ever was so much given up to the evil sur- 
 misings of my own heart, since I have been in 
 orders. I could hardly act faith at all. Had it 
 not been for fear of exposing myself and disturb- 
 ing the family, I should have roared for the dis- 
 quietiiess of my heart. My heavenly Pilot disap- 
 peared ; I seemed to have quite lost my hold on 
 the Rock of ages; I sunk in the deep mire, and the 
 waves and storms went over me. Yet, at last, in 
 prayer, I was enabled, I know not how, to throw 
 myself, absolutely and at large on God, at all 
 events, for better and for worse ; yet without com- 
 fort and almost without hope. I was, in short, al- 
 most in a state of despair. My horror and distress 
 were unutterable. And in this condition I remain- 
 ed, until it pleased God to give me some sleep. 
 
 Sunday, 24. — When I awoke this morning, I 
 had peace of soul, and a considerable measure of 
 confidence in God. Read prayers and preached 
 with strength of body and enlargement of mind. — 
 Afier my return from public morning service, my 
 consolations from above were inexpressible. Hea- 
 
B E V. A, M. TO PL AD Y. 
 
 209 
 
 viness did indeed endure for a night; but joy came 
 in the mdming. My soul could amgniry the Lord, 
 and my spirit rejoiced in God my Saviour. Read 
 bishop Wilkins's Preacher with great approbation 
 and [jlea-^hre, and not without improvement. In 
 the afternoon read prayers and preaclicd to a very 
 large congregation; and God was with me of a 
 truth. My own soul was ricldy watered, and 
 there seemed to be showers of blessing all around. 
 I never preached so much extempore in my life 
 before. My whole introduction was off-hand: nor 
 did I ever express myself more freely, pertinently, 
 and to my own satisfaction. My text, both parts 
 of the day. Psalm xxxii. 1. Oh what infinite 
 amends has God made me for the distresses of last 
 night! Might I choose for myself, which, how- 
 ever, I am not qualified for, nor yet desirous of 
 doing, I should hardly, I think, care how much 
 God liumbled me in private before him, so 1 might 
 but enjoy his presence and blessing in the discharge 
 of my public duties. 
 
 What a day has this been! A Sabbath-day in- 
 deed; a day of feasting to my soul; a day of tri- 
 umph and rejoicing. He brought me into his 
 banqueting-house, and his banner over me was 
 love. 1 never was more assisted from above than 
 this afternoon ; very seldom so much. Lord, bless 
 the people, as thou hast blessed me ! 
 
 Here let me leave it on thankful record, for my 
 comfort and support, if it please God, in future 
 times of trial and desertion, that I riever was lower 
 in the valley than last night, nor higher on the 
 mount than to-day. The Lord chastened me, but 
 did not give me over unto death : and he never 
 will. He may, indeed, for a small moment, hide 
 his face from me: but with everlasting kindness 
 will he have mercy on me. 
 
 18 
 
210 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 Thursday, 5. — My honoured and most dear 
 mother's bu-lh-day. Gracious God, crown her in- 
 estimable life with many years to come; and crown 
 each year with additional grace and redoubled hap- 
 piness ! Afier dinner, removed for good, from Fen- 
 Ottery to Broad-Hembury ; where, being arrived, 
 I spent the evening in a comfortable frame of soul, 
 humbly trusting that the God and guide of my life, 
 who fixeth tiie bounds of our habitations below, 
 will, himself, vouchsafe to be the dwelling-place 
 of my soul here and ever. At niglit there was 
 some thunder, during which especially, I was fa- 
 voured with a sweetly awful sense of God's majes- 
 ty and love. How iiappy, 0 Lord, is the soul, 
 which is enabled to wrap itself in thee! 
 
 Sunday, 15. — In the morning rode to Sheldon, 
 where I read prayers and preached to a very atten- 
 tive congregation: a small church, but well filled. 
 After service, returned home to Broad-Hembury; 
 where, in the afternoon, I read prayers and preach- 
 ed to a great auditory ; and the Lord was with me 
 in an especial manner. Spent the evening very 
 comfortably and profitably in writing part of a ser- 
 mon. At night, those words dwelt much upon my 
 mind, and were greatly blessed to me, " The Lord 
 is my portion, saith my soul:" through the influ- 
 ence of his good Spirit, I could see and rejoice in 
 God as my portion indeed. 
 
 Sunday, 22. — Whitsunday. — In the morning 
 read prayers, preached, and administered the holy 
 sacrament to thirty-six communicants. In the af- 
 ternoon read prayers and preached to a very large 
 congregation. I trust the ordinances were blest to 
 some; but as to myself, I can only say, that I went 
 through the duties of the day with strength, ease, 
 and presence of mind. I desire to be thankful for 
 this : yet am grieved that I was not more fervent in 
 
REV. A. M. TOPLADY, 
 
 211 
 
 spirit, and higher on the mount of divine love. I 
 couid ever wisii to be — 
 
 " Like the rapt seraph that adores and burns." 
 
 Fain would I mount, fain would I glow, 
 
 And loose my cable from below; 
 
 But I can only spread my sail, 
 
 Thou, thou must breathe th' auspicious gale. 
 
 Friday, 27. — Notwithstanding my aggravated 
 sinfulness and my absohite unworlhiness, God 
 gave me, this night, to drink of his consolations, 
 as from a river. " Pardon and sanctitication," 
 was my prayer: " Mercy, pardon and salvation," 
 was the gracious answer. 
 
 Saturday, 28. — This evening I was enabled to 
 rejoice in spirit. God gave me not only a good 
 hope in his grace, but the assurance of faith. Fin- 
 ished a sermon on Rev. ii. 17. I do tliink, and 
 trust that I can say, that text is verified in me, even 
 me a sinner. Through the blood ol' the Lamb, I 
 believe that I shall overcome: I am ofien fed with 
 the hidden manna of communion with God ; there 
 are times when I can set to my seal, that the white 
 stone of absolution and justification is mine; and 
 that I have the new name, the privilege of adoption 
 into the invisible family of God: the consciousness 
 of which is attended with such comfort as is only 
 known to them that receive it. To Father, Son 
 and Spirit, be all the glory ! 
 
 Sunday, 29. — Read prayers and preached, morn- 
 ing and afternoon, to a much larger congregation, 
 both times, than I expected, considering tiie wet- 
 ness of the weather. God has watered the earth 
 to-day, with his rain, which has been, for some 
 time, greatly wanted ; but the spiritual shower of 
 divine love did not descend upon my soul until I 
 retired to my study, this evening, after family pray- 
 
212 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 er. I had tlien some short, but comfortable inter- 
 course with God. An observation which I met 
 with to-day, in reading Downame's " Christian 
 Warfare," strucl<: me much: speaking of the Holy- 
 Spirit as the sealer of the elect, he asks, " How is 
 it possible to receive the seal, without feeling the 
 impression?" O that I might feel it more and 
 more ! 
 
 June 5. Sunday. — This morning I read prayers 
 and preaclied to a large congregation ; and in the 
 afternoon to a very large one. My God was pres- 
 ent with me both times; and, I trust, I have reason 
 to hope that my labour was not in vain in the Lord. 
 Visited and prayed with farmer William Taylor, 
 twice lo-day. The first time, particularly, 1 had 
 great freedom of speech in conversing with him on 
 spiritual matters. He has, probably, not many 
 days to live; and, I would hope, is not without 
 some sense of divine things. Visited also and 
 prayed with Edward Granger, a very ignorant per- 
 son, and full of what are called good resolutions, if 
 God should restore him again to health. It is a 
 melancholy thing that, in a protestant country, a 
 minister should have so much ignorance to combat 
 with in most of the common people. I thank thee, 
 Holy Father, if I am, in any measure, enlightened 
 into the knowledge of thee ; and beseech thee to 
 make me an instrument in thy hand of giving light 
 to others, so far as my little sphere extends. Was, 
 through grace, very comfortable in my own soul, 
 several times this day. 
 
 Thursday, 9. — In the morning, visited and pray- 
 ed with farmer William Taylor. One thing which 
 he said, I took notice of with satisfaction; his 
 words were, " My pains are nothing to my hopes." 
 Dined and drank lea at Grange. At night, after 
 my return from thence, I was happy in the Lord. 
 
REV. A. M, TO PL A DT. 213 
 
 I was enabled, from a sense of interest in Christ, 
 to sing tliose sweet lines, 
 
 " Jesus, thou art my righteousness," &c. 
 
 Sunday, 12. — Read prayers and preached morn- 
 ing and afternoon. Might I judge of what others 
 felt, by the comfortable enlargement I experienced 
 myself, both parts of the day, I should trust that 
 the arm of the Lord was revealed. The afternoon 
 audience was very great: and God was with me 
 of a truth. A door of knowledge and of utterance 
 was opened to me: and I humbly hope God open- 
 ed to himself a door into the hearts of some that 
 heard. I cannot forbear observing, that last night 
 and to-day, the liOrd gave me some special assur- 
 ances of his being with me in the discharge of ihe 
 public duties of this Sabbath; and his gracious in- 
 timations were verified indeed. The promises of 
 man frequently exceed the performance; but God's 
 performance exceeds even his promises. 
 
 Saturday, 18. — All day at home. Wrote several 
 hymns; and while writing that which begins thus: 
 " When faith's alert, and hope shines clear," &c. 
 I was, through grace, very comfortable in my soul; 
 so, indeed, 1 have been the whole day. Read 
 bishop Hopkins's Works, which were sent me 
 from Exeter yesterday, with much spiritual im- 
 provement. From morning until now, that is, 
 until eleven at night, I have enjoyed a continual 
 feast within. Christ has been unspeakably pre- 
 cious to my heart, and the blessed spirit of God has 
 visited me wilh sweet and reviving manifestations. 
 Temptations of a particular kind beset me more 
 than once; but the Lord lifted up his standard, and 
 I fell not; the gates of hell attacked me, but did 
 not prevail against the grace of God which was 
 wilh me. Glory be to God on high, who spreads 
 
214 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 a table for me in the wilderness, makino; me to 
 banquet on iiis love, and who has caused my cup 
 of joy to overflow this day. Yea, and I shall dwell 
 in the house of the Lord, and be myself his house 
 for ever. 
 
 Sunday 19. — Though somewhat out of order in 
 the morning, God carried me well through the du- 
 ties of the day. Read prayers and preached twice, 
 as usual. In the afternoon the congregation was 
 very large. This has not been such a rejoicing 
 day to my own soul as yesterday was ; but I trust 
 the word preached was not powerless allogether. 
 Yet this, I fear, I can truly say, that my lot has 
 never hitherto been cast among a people so gene- 
 rally ignorant of divine things, and so totally dead 
 to God. I know of but three persons, in all this 
 large and populous parish, on whom I have solid 
 reason to trust a work of saving grace is begun. 
 But this I verily believe, that if God had not some 
 elect souls to call, he would not have sent me hither. 
 When vicar of Karpford, I laboured among that 
 people for a great part of two years, before 1 could 
 perceive a sensible out-pouring of God's Holy Spi- 
 rit upon them; and yet, before I left them, God 
 seemed to have owned my ministry in a very great 
 and unexpected manner. Lord, grant, if it please 
 thee, that I may have the same consolation here! 
 
 Wednesday, 22. — Calling on Mrs. Hutchins this 
 evening, I found Joan Venn there, from whom I 
 had the comfort of hearing that my unworthy mi- 
 nistry has, in general, been attended with great 
 power to her soul: but, above all, on the 24th of 
 last April, in the afternoon, under that sermon from 
 Psalm xxxii. 1. Lord, carry on thy work in her 
 soul and mine, to the day of Christ! 
 
 Friday, 24. — Visited and prayed with Sarah 
 Granger. In the evening, had a very comfortable 
 
REV. A. M. TOPLADY. 
 
 215 
 
 interview witli old farmer William Taylor, who, 
 thousrh better than I ever expected to see him, is 
 not, in all probability, far from the invisible world. 
 God enabled me to pray with him extempore; 
 and I never yet saw him so affected. If the Lord 
 gives ability, I think to lay aside forms of prayer 
 in my future attendance on the sick. I generally 
 find, that prayer on these occasions, offered up as 
 God gives utterance, is more blest to the souls I 
 attend upon, as well as to my own. Lord, may 
 thy good Spirit, which maketh intercession in thy 
 saints, be ever present with me, to help my infir- 
 mities, and teach me to pray as I ought. There 
 are, certainly, particular exigencies and cases, 
 which few, if any prescribed form can reach. With 
 regard to this, and every other part of my duty as 
 a minister, my help standeth in the name of the 
 Lord, who hath made heaven and earth. I only 
 wish that my natural diffidence was less, and my 
 faith greater. 
 
 Sunday, 26. — A sabbath of joy and blessing. 
 Was somewhat cast down last niglit and early this 
 morning, at the prospect of the public duties lying 
 before me, as 1 have been, for some days past, 
 troubled with a cough, which grows upon me more 
 and more. But God heard my petitions, and was 
 belter to me than my expectations. I read prayers 
 and preached in the morning to a large congrega- 
 tion, and in the afternoon to an exceedingly full 
 one, with unusual freedom of utterance and strength 
 of body both times. After morning service visited 
 and prayed with Sarah Granger. In prayer, she 
 was quite melted down, and wept greatly. God 
 gave me both words and matter suitable to her case. 
 In the evening visited and prayed with farmer Wil- 
 liam Taylor: and on this occasion, too, I was en- 
 abled to pray with much liberty of speech and 
 comfort to myself. 
 
216 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 Tuesday, 28. — In iny way to Grange, where I 
 dined and spent the evening, visited Sarah Gran- 
 ger. I found her surrounded wiih weeping friends 
 and relatives, and herself little more than alive, in 
 point of bodily strength, but perfectly sensible. 
 My mouth was opened to speak much and perti- 
 nently to her case : and the Lord gave me very 
 great freedom, enlargement, and warmth in prayer. 
 I hope it was made a season of blessing both to 
 her and to those who were present, as, through 
 grace, it was to myself. She strongly, and in a 
 most affecting manner, requested me to have an eye 
 over her children when she was dead and gone, 
 and to do what I could in furthering them in the 
 way to the kingdom of God. I assured her that 
 nothing in my power should be wanting, if I lived, 
 which might conduce to their spiritual or temporal 
 welfare. 
 
 Friday, July 1. — Drinking tea this afternoon, at 
 Priory, we were surprised with a very unexpected 
 storm of rain, thunder, and lightning. The flashes 
 were so frequent, and so very violent, that Mrs. 
 Sydenham proposed shutting the windows, letting 
 down the curtains, and having candles brought in, 
 which was done accordingly. I dropt an intima- 
 tion of my readiness to go to prayer : but the hint 
 was not accepted. After about two hours, the 
 weather being fair again, I took that opportunity 
 of returning hoine to Broad-Hembury. On my 
 way the thunder and lightning were renewed ; but 
 there being no rain, I kept on: and, blessed be 
 God's good providence, arrived safe at the vicarage. 
 The Lord preserved me from a slavish fear: but I 
 felt a very desirable awe on my mind, even such as 
 I would always wish to feel on such a command- 
 ing occasion. I conversed much with God in men- 
 tal prayer, and desire to bless his name, that the 
 
REV. A. M. TOPIADY. 217 
 
 awful manifestations of his power were not com- 
 missioned either to hurt or destroy. I have heard 
 much louder thunder, but never, I believe, saw 
 such prodigious lightning, except my being more 
 exposed to it than I ever was before, made me 
 think so. Thou, O Lord, commandest the waters; 
 it is the glorious God who maketh the thunder: 
 and, adored be the riches of thy mercy, it was thou 
 who didst bid the lightnings alarm, but prohibit 
 them to strike. O take me and seal me thine for 
 ever ! 
 
 Sunday, 3. — Early this morning took horse for 
 Fen-Ottery, where, being arrived, I went to cap- 
 tain Penney's. After being with him about half 
 an hour, we walked to church. If I might judge 
 by the tears which some shed, under tlie word 
 preached, (and, indeed, I myself did with great 
 difficulty refrain from weeping towards the conclu- 
 sion,) the message of salvation seemed to be at- 
 tended with power. After dinner, rode to Harp- 
 ford, where I read prayers and preached to a very 
 great congregation. Though my cough was some- 
 what troublesome at intervals, I detained my old 
 audience for fifty minutes, and great was my 
 strength of voice and fervour of spirit, nor less 
 their attention. 
 
 Upon a retrospective view of this Lord's day, I 
 find abundant reason to adore, admire, and praise 
 the goodness of God. Mr. Luce's being at Ply- 
 mouth, rendered it necessary for me, as a friend, 
 to assist him, by officiating at his churches : and 
 the Lord has been very gracious to me in my un- 
 worthy ministrations. I have had, also, the addi- 
 tional satisfaction of delivering the tidings of peace 
 and salvation to a people of whom I had lately the 
 charge, and whom I affectionately love in the Lord. 
 19 
 
218 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 Thou God of all ^race, command thy omnipotent 
 blessing on what they have heard! 
 
 Saturday, 9. — The merciful and gracious Lord 
 was sensibly with me the latter part of to-day. 
 " Awake and sing," and, presently after, " Arise 
 and shine," were spoken to my soul, from above, 
 with power and sweetness. 
 
 Late at night, God was again pleased to give me 
 some pledge of a Sabbath-day's blessing to-morrow. 
 Such comfortable and peremptory convictions of 
 God's future presence and support on a succeeding 
 Sunday, with which I have been so often favoured 
 beforehand, I intend, henceforth, as often as God 
 is pleased to grant them, to distinguish by the 
 name of Saturday-assurances. Assurances they are 
 indeed : so clear, positive, and satisfactory. I never 
 knew them once fail, or deceive my trust. I have 
 often been dejected and fearful, at the approach of 
 a Sabbath on which I was to minister publicly; 
 and God has frequendy, not to say generally, been 
 better to me than my unbelieving fears ; but, on 
 those happy days (and, blessed be his name, they 
 have, of late especially, been very many) when 
 previous assurances have been given me of his 
 help and presence on the Sunday following, those 
 assurances have always been made good. The 
 Lord has often disappointed my doubts, and the 
 evil surmisiiigs of unbelief ; but he never once dis- 
 appointed my hope, when he has said previously 
 to my soul, " I will be with thee." 
 
 Sunday, 10. — God has made this a comfortable 
 Sabbath indeed. In the morning read prayers and 
 preaclied to a considerable congregation ; and, in 
 the afternoon, to an exceedingly great one : with 
 great readiness, strength, and presence of mind, 
 each lime. In the evening, God delivered me out 
 of a grievous temptation, and saved me from falling 
 
REV, A. M. T O P L A D Y. 
 
 219 
 
 by it. Visited and prayed with iSarah Granger. I 
 was heartily glad to find tliat the Lord has made 
 her sensible of the deceitfuiness of her heart. Her 
 fears that slie is not sincerely earnest in seeking 
 God, and, to use her own expression, her " long- 
 ings after the Lord Jesus." are to me favourable 
 signs of her being so. In praying with her, God 
 gave me enlargement of mind, and great freedom 
 of speech. Visited old Mrs. Hutehins, who longs 
 for the assurance of faith, but whose fear of death 
 rather increases than abates: I was enabled to 
 speak a word in season, and trust it was notwIioUy 
 in vain in the Lord. At night read Polhill's Trea- 
 tise, late the property of the excellent Mr. Pearsall, 
 entitled, " Precious Faith." It is a precious book, 
 and on a precious subject. 
 
 Sunday, 17. — In the morning, read prayers and 
 preached; but not with that sensible comfort which 
 I sometimes enjoy. In the afternoon, Mr. Savery 
 was so kind as to read prayers and preach in my 
 stead. My cough was rather troublesome to day. 
 After evening service, I was much cheered and re- 
 freshed in soul, while reading Mr. Erskine's ser- 
 mon, entitled, " Faith's Plea on God's Word and 
 Covenant." 
 
 Sunday, 31. — Read prayers and preached both 
 morning and afternoon, with strength and some 
 liveliness, but with little spiritual joy. 
 
 At night, was visited with some tastes of com- 
 fort, and with the sweet rays of my heavenly Fa- 
 ther's countenance, in reading Erskine's sermons. 
 Read likewise, not without sensible improvement, 
 some part of the acts of the synod of Dort: par- 
 ticularly, the judgment of the British divines, " Of 
 the Perseverance of Saints." 
 
 Monday, 8. — I cannot help noting, to my shame, 
 and as a mark of my exceeding depravity, that, 
 
220 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 after all the Lord's Sabbath-day's mercies to me 
 yesterday, I was never, that I know of, more cold, 
 lifeless, and wandering, than I was in secret prayer 
 last night, just before going to bed. Pardon, dear- 
 est Lord, my want of love ! Alas ! if I loved thee 
 more, I should serve thee better. During the 
 course of the present day, God gave me some very 
 humbling and instructing views of myself. Ab- 
 stracted from special efficacious grace, nothingness 
 (or, if any thing, utter sinfulness) may be written 
 on all I have, and am, and do. I31essed be God, 
 that I have some ground to hope myself interested 
 in a better righteousness than my own ! 
 
 Thursday, 18. — At Exeter, to-day, I spent some 
 time with that excellent Christian, good old Mr. 
 Brewer: and, in the course of our conversation, I 
 experienced much of the divine presence. Among 
 other matters, he mentioned some particulars, spo- 
 ken in a charge lately given at the ordination of a 
 young dissenting minister, which I put down here, 
 as they are too good to be lost. " I cannot con- 
 clude," said the old ambassador of Christ, " without 
 reminding you, my young brother, of some things 
 that may be of use to you, in the course of your 
 ministry. 1. Preach Christ crucified, and dwell 
 chiefly on the blessings resulting from his right- 
 eousness, atonement, and intercession. 2. Avoid 
 all needless controversies in the pulpit; except it 
 be, when your suliject necessarily requires it; or 
 when the truths of God are likely to suffer by your 
 silence. 3. When you ascend the pulpit, leave 
 your learning behind you: endeavour to preach 
 more to the hearts of your people than to their 
 heads. 4. Do not aflect too much oratory. Seek 
 rather to profit, than to be admired." 
 
 Sunday, 28. — Read prayers and preached both 
 parts of the day, with uncommon strength of body, 
 
REV. A. M. TOPLADY. 
 
 221 
 
 and with vast enlargement of soul. Between morn- 
 ing and afternoon service, being in my study, and 
 comfortably engaged in secret prayer, the Lord 
 visited me with a refreshing shower of divine love, 
 so that my soul was like a watered garden. I 
 never felt so intense a desire to be useful to the 
 souls of my people; my heart was expanded, and 
 burnt with zeal for the glory of God, and for the 
 spiritual welfare of my flock. I wished to spend 
 and be spent in the ministry of the word ; and had 
 some gracious assurances from on high, that God 
 would make use of me to diffuse his gospel, and 
 call in some of his chosen that are yet unconverted. 
 In the afternoon the congregation was exceedingly 
 great indeed. I was all on fire for God, and the 
 fire, I verily believe, caught from heart to heart. I 
 am astonished when I review tlie blessings of this 
 Lord's day. That a sinner so vile, so feeble, so ill, 
 and so hell-deserving, should be thus powerfully 
 carried beyond himself, and be enabled to preach 
 with such demonstration of the Spirit. Unto me, 
 who am less than the least of all saints, is this 
 grace given, that I should preach among the Gen- 
 tiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Lord, let 
 thy word run and be glorified ! Out of weakness 
 I am made strong: to thy name alone be the entire 
 praise ! And go on, O go on, to own tlie counsel 
 of thy unworthiest messenger, and to make the feet 
 of him that sent me sound behind me ! Thy mer- 
 cies to me, both as a man, as a believer, and as a 
 minister, have already been so wonderful, that there 
 is hardly any thing too great for me to hope for at 
 thy hands. 
 
 Monday, 29. — This evening, after my return 
 from Grange, God was very gracious to my soul. 
 My meditation of him was sweet, and he gave me 
 songs in the night season. I had sweet melting 
 
222 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 views of his special goodness, and of my own ut- 
 ter uawortliiness. The united sense of these two 
 keeps the suul in an even balance. I am then hap- 
 piest as well as safest, when ray very exaltations 
 laj^ me lowest. 
 
 Wednesday, 31. — Writing this afternoon to IMrs. 
 Browne, of Bath, I could not help enumerating 
 some of God's chief mercies to me, both in away 
 of providence and grace since I saw her last. 
 Among other things, I observed as follows : " God 
 has also given me in general, a much greater por- 
 tion of health and strength than usual ; and crown- 
 ed his other mercies, by enabling me to dispense 
 his gospel, for the most part, with a liveliness and 
 fervour which I have seldom experienced for so 
 long a time together. — I sing, and ought to sing of 
 merc)^ and loving kindness. I can indeed set up 
 my Ebenezer ; erect a monument of thankfuhiess, 
 and inscribe every separate blessing with David's 
 motto, " This hath God done.' May his grace lay 
 me low at his footstool as a Christian, and his al- 
 mighty Spirit command success on my unworthy 
 labours as a minister! The Lord go on to make 
 you, madam, happy in his love, and an instrument 
 of extensive good to his people below. In the ex- 
 ercise of the grace he has given you, and in the 
 discharge of the duties he has allotted to you, may 
 your joy and peace flourish as the lily, and your 
 comforts cast forth the root as Lebanon. Amid all 
 your bodily complaints, may his strength be per- 
 fected in your weakness, and his right hand sustain 
 you, until, by the blood of tlie atonement, and the 
 faithful guidance of his Spirit, he has brought you 
 to that land of light, and rest, and joy, where the 
 glorified inhabitant sliall no more, in any sense 
 whatever, say, I am sick." 
 
 Friday, September 2. — Received this morning a 
 
REV. A. M. TOPLADY. 
 
 223 
 
 letter from a gospel friend, informing me that Mr. 
 Morris, of the county of Wexford, in Ireland, 
 (vviiose ministry was, a little turned of twelve 
 years ago, blest to my conversion,) is waxing cold 
 in the work of the Lord. Upon which I thought 
 it a debt due to friendship and to the cause of God, 
 to write him a letter.* 
 
 TO MR. MORRIS. 
 
 Broad-Hevibury, Devon, Sept. 2, 1768. 
 
 It is now about eight years since I saw, or heard 
 from my ever dear Mr. Morris. The Lord knows 
 you are near my heart, and often present to my 
 thoughts. God grant that this letter may find my 
 valued friend as well in body, and as lively in soul, 
 as when I saw him last. 
 
 I have been in orders between six and seven 
 years, and now write to you from my living. The 
 Spirit of God has kept me steadfast in his glorious 
 truths, and given me much joy and peace in be- 
 lieving. I trust too, that my labours as a minister 
 have been owned from above, to the calling in of 
 some chosen vessels, and to the consolation of 
 others, who were before quickened from their death 
 in trespasses and sins ; which I mention to the praise 
 and glory of His grace, who vouclisafes to make 
 use of the meanest, the feeblest, and the un worthiest 
 instrument to accomplish his designs of love to- 
 wards those he delights to save. Whilst I am wri- 
 ting, the fire kindles in my soul; may it reach your 
 heart, when this letter reaches your hands. 1 am 
 at present, high on the mount of divine love, and 
 can sing with the church, Isa. Ixi. 10. "I will 
 greatly rejoice in the Lord," &c. How is it with 
 you? Are you as zealous for Christ and for souls, 
 
 * This letter has been preserved in Mr. Toplady's works, 
 and is here inserted. 
 
224 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 as when God made you the means of my conver- 
 sion, twelve years ago ? O tliat the Lord would 
 rend the heavens and come down, and set you all 
 in a flame for himself I Permit your spiritual son 
 to remind you of the sweet, the memorable days 
 and months that are past. Indeed, and indeed, I 
 love you tenderly, in the bowels of Jesus Christ. 
 How has my heart burnt within me, and how have 
 my tears flowed like water from the smitten rock, 
 •when I have heard you preach the unsearchable 
 riches of his grace, blood and righteousness ! The 
 word came with power and with the Holy Ghost 
 sent down from heaven. And is it true, can it be 
 possible, that you should cease from your work of 
 calling sinners to repentance ? Do you withdraw 
 your hand from the gospel-plough, after God has 
 made it prosper so long in your hands ? I am told 
 so, but 1 cannot believe it. O man of God, stir up 
 the gift that is in thee ; let it not rust and moulder, 
 by lying useless. The Lord hath often spoken to 
 me by your mouth. O that he would now speak to 
 you by my pen ! Do, at my request, meet the dear 
 people of Codymain, and wlio knows, but there 
 may once more be showers of blessings. Blow the 
 trumpet in Zion as heretofore. While life, and 
 health, and strength continue, let your feet stand 
 upon the mountains, and the law of gospel kindness 
 dwell upon your tongue, to the very last : yea, let 
 your lips feed many. Adieu. 
 
 I scarcely know how to leave oif when I write 
 to any of my brethren in the faith. If even the 
 poor, feeble, mortal saints below love one another 
 so well, no wonder that the love of an infinite God 
 to his own dear elect should be from everlasting 
 to everlasting. Electing, justifying, regenerating, 
 sanctifying, and persevering grace, have been, and 
 are the subjects of my ministry ; and I hope will 
 
REV. A. M. TOPLADY. 225 
 
 be to my latest breath. It" a messenger of Christ 
 is under the lively experimental influence of these 
 glorious truths, the word of his Master will be as 
 fire in his bones; yea, he will be in pangs, as it 
 were, like a woman in travail, until Christ is form- 
 ed in the hearts of them that hear. God Almighty 
 pour out such a spirit of fervency on my dear Mr. 
 Morris, and on his 
 
 Ever affectionate friend, 
 
 Augustus M. Toplady. 
 
 Saturday, 24. — Dined at Ottery to-day at Mr. 
 Dare's. Our conversation turned partly on histori- 
 cal, partly on religious subjects. We talked parti- 
 cularly on the nature of regeneration ; and I took 
 occasion, among other things, to observe, that the 
 ■whole process of the new birth seems included in 
 that three-fold conviction, mentioned by our Lord, 
 and declared by him to be the office of the Holy 
 Ghost; namely, 1. Conviction of sin, or of our 
 total depravity by nature and practice; of the im- 
 possibility of our being justified by works ; of our 
 liableness to the whole curse of the law; and our 
 absolute inability to help, save, or recover ourselves, 
 whether in whole or in part. 2. Conviction of 
 righteousness, that is, of the perfection, necessity, 
 and efficacy of Christ's righteousness, in order to 
 justification before God. 3. Conviction of judg- 
 ment, or that act of the Holy Spirit on the soul, 
 whereby " the prince of this world is judged ;" 
 brought, as it were, to the bar; found guilty of usur- 
 pation, and dethroned; from which happy moment, 
 the sinner is brought into sweet subjection to God, 
 his lawful sovereign ; sin is weakened as to its do- 
 minion, in order to its final extirpation; and the re- 
 generate soul is more and more conformed to the 
 image of God's holiness. So that, I suppose, con- 
 
226 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 viction of sin is only another name for evangelical 
 repentance; conviction of righteousness, for true 
 faitli in Clirist; and conviction of judgment, a peri- 
 phrasis for sanctification : which three capital graces 
 are the constituents of regeneration. Toward even- 
 ing returned to Broad-Hembury. 
 
 Sunday, 25. — In the morning read prayers and 
 preached ; and the power of God appeared to ac- 
 company the word spoken. Young Mr. Minifie, 
 in particular, was, I am informed, greatly affected 
 from above. In tlie afternoon the congregation was 
 by far the greatest I ever yet saw here : the people 
 flocked like doves to the windows; and such an 
 auditory, and that auditory so solemn and atten- 
 tive, was a most awful affecting sight. I read 
 prayers and preached with a fervour, strength, and 
 liveliness, which only God could give. His word 
 seems to run like fire wl)ich none can quench. 
 Lord, pardon my unworthiness, and accomplish 
 the work of thy grace upon the hearts of them that 
 hear, and on the base sinful heart of me, the fee- 
 blest and most undeserving of thy messengers! — 
 After evening service Mary Ellis called on me. If 
 ever a soul was truly convinced of sin, I believe 
 she is so. I endeavoured to administer balm to 
 her wounded spirit, by opening up the promises, 
 and unfolding a little of the unsearchable riches of 
 Christ. This morning, as I was going to church, 
 Joan Venn put a paper into my hands. Last 
 Tuesday she gave me an account of God's past 
 dealings with her soul: and I have seldom seen a 
 person, of the truth of whose conversion I had so 
 little cause to doubt. In consequence of our inter- 
 view that day, she has had some exercises of mind, 
 as I find from this paper, which, omitting what re- 
 lates to my unwortliy self, runs thus: — " I have 
 had very deep thoughts, and very great trouble, 
 
K E V. A. M. T O P L A D Y. 
 
 227 
 
 since my last discourse with you. I have looked 
 into my life past ; I have ransacked my soul, and 
 called to mind tlie sinful failings of my youth : and 
 I find it very hard and difficult to make my calling 
 and election sure. I have earnestly desired to 
 leave no corner of my soul unsearched; and I find 
 myself a very grievous and wretched sinner. I 
 have committed grievous sins, very grievous sins, 
 such sins as are not fit to be named before God's 
 saints. I have examined my soul by each particu- 
 lar commandment, and find myself guilty of the 
 breach of all, and that in a high degree. And now, 
 when I look upon the glass of the law, and there 
 see my own vileness, I find God's justice and my 
 own deserts even ready to surprise me and cast 
 me down into the nethermost hell, and that most 
 righteously: but, oh, see the goodness of a gracious 
 God, in that he hath given me a sight of my sins ! 
 And I am inclined to think, that, if God did not 
 work with me, tiiis sorrow could not be. O, sir, 
 I cannot but let you know, that sometimes I have 
 some blessed thoughts of God: and oh, how sweet 
 are they to my soul ! they are so ravishing, that I 
 cannot possibly declare it ; but they are like the 
 morning cloud and early dew, soon gone, and then 
 I am afraid. I have had abundance of trials and 
 temptations in these three years almost; but if I 
 could think that my dear Lord had shed his blood 
 for me, I should not be so much shaken ; and, be- 
 cause I cannot apply these things to myself, my 
 heart doth mourn within me. I am gready afraid 
 of the deceitfulness of my heart, lest that should 
 deceive me. But let the righteous smite me, and 
 it shall be a kindness ; and let him reprove me, 
 and it shall be excellent oil which shall not break 
 my head. O that the Lord Jesus Christ would but 
 sprinkle what I have said, with his precious blood ! 
 And, now I have opened my soul to you, I most 
 
228 
 
 LIFE OP 
 
 humbly beg and desire your advice concerning 
 these weighty matters: for they are matters which 
 concern my never-dying soul. And I have a high 
 esteem for you: but what is my esteem? The 
 esteem of a poor worm: of a poor sinful creature. 
 
 0 that the Lord would let me see more and more 
 my own vileness ! Now I have declared to you 
 what the Lord, through grace hath revealed to me; 
 though I am unworthy to write to such," (fee. 
 
 O that all my parishioners were, not only almost, 
 but altogether such in spirit as this woman ! Illi- 
 terate she is, and, I believe, chiefly supports her- 
 self by spinning : but, when God teaches, souls 
 are taught indeed. 
 
 October 2, Sunday, 1768. — In the morning read 
 prayers and preached to a large and affected audi- 
 tory : afterwards I administered the blessed sacra- 
 ment. Last Whitsunday, I had but thirty-six com- 
 municants: to-day I had the comfort of counting 
 sixty-one. It was a season of spiritual joy and 
 refreshment. Duty is pleasant when God is pre- 
 sent. In the afternoon read prayers and preached 
 to a still more crowded church than ever. Great 
 were my strength and joy in the Lord : and the 
 word, I verily trust, was armed with divine power. 
 Mr. Pratt, of Dalwood, in Dorsetshire, with two 
 other gentlemen of the same place, were here both 
 parts of the day. I know not that I ever spent a 
 more comfortable and triumphant Sabbath. How 
 is it, O thou God of love, that thy tender mercies 
 should thus accompany and follow the vilest sin- 
 ner out of hell ! That to me, who am less than the 
 least of all saints, this grace should be given, that 
 
 1 should both experience and preach the unsearch- 
 able riches of Christ! 
 
 It is much to be regretted that this diary was 
 only continued for ten montlis. 
 
K E V. A. M. T O P L A D T. 
 
 229 
 
 It is well known that Mr. Toplady was engaged 
 in various controversial publications; in this brief 
 account of him, but little need be said on this sub- 
 ject, especially as his works are all before the 
 public. 
 
 In the year 1768, six students were expelled the 
 University of Oxford; much investigation relative 
 to the cause took place, and several pamphlets 
 were written on the occasion. It was in some de- 
 gree the means of reviving an inquiry respecting 
 the Calvinism or Arminianism of the Church of 
 England. 
 
 Dr. Nowell peremptorily asserted the Arminian- 
 ism of the Church of England in answer to Pietus 
 Oxoniensis. This called forth the pen of Mr. 
 Toplady, in a treatise publislied in the year 1769, 
 with the following tide : " The Church of England 
 vindicated from the charge of Arminianism, in a 
 letter addressed to Dr. Nowell." 
 
 In the same year he published a tract in Eng- 
 lish, from the Latin of Jerom Zanchius, with this 
 inscription, " The Doctrine of absolute Predestina- 
 tion stated and asserted, with a Preliminary Dis- 
 course on the Divine Attributes, accompanied with 
 the Life of Zanchius." This piece was finished 
 by Mr. Toplady when he was about twenty years 
 of age, but it was not announced to the public until 
 nine years after. The translation was undertaken 
 with a view to illustrate the principles of the Re- 
 formation, and obviate objections that have been 
 urged, that the doctrine of predestination was but 
 partially received by those eminent men, who had 
 then lately left the church of Rome. 
 
 In the year 1771, were published three sermons 
 by Mr. Toplady, preached in his church, at Broad- 
 Hembury, Dec. 25, 1770, two of whicii were en- 
 tided, " Jesus seen of Angels," and the third, 
 " God's Mindfulness of Man." 
 
230 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1774, a religions 
 pamphlet was priiitetl, called the Gospel Magazine; 
 being a new series of a former work under that 
 name, which was continued statedly. From De- 
 cember, 1775, to June, 1776, Mr. Toplady was 
 the editor, which enhanced the sale considerably. 
 
 Mr. Toplady had but a very weak and languid 
 body; yet this by no means retarded his intense 
 application to study, which was often prolonged 
 until two or three o'clock in the morning; this, 
 and the cold moist air to which he had been expo- 
 sed, probably laid the foundation of a consumption, 
 which terminated in his death. He endeavoured 
 to exchange his living for one in a southern pari of 
 the island, but could not obtain it. As his strength 
 and health were greatly impaired, he was advised 
 by the faculty to remove to London, which he ac- 
 cordingly did in the year 1775; and, notwithstand- 
 ing his debilitated I'rame, he continued to j)reach a 
 number of sermons in various churches, for the 
 benefit of public charitable institutions. 
 
 Having no settled situation in the metropolis to 
 preach in, and many of his friends being desirous 
 of receiving the advantages of his ministry, they 
 procured, by an engagement with the trustees of 
 the French Calvinist Reformed Church, in Orange 
 street, Leicester Fields, their chapel for divine 
 service on Sunday and Wednesday evenings. Mr. 
 Toplady accordingly preached his first sermon 
 there on Sunday, April 11th, 1776, from the 44th 
 of Isaiah, verse the 22d. It was on the same spot 
 that he closed his ministerial labours, which con- 
 tinued for the term of two years and three months. 
 In liis addresses from the pulpit in that chapel, he 
 appeared often, as it were, divested of the body, 
 and to be in the participation of the happiness that 
 appertains to the invisible state. It was not the 
 
REV. A. M. TOPLADY, 
 
 231 
 
 mechanical process of preaching', regulated by the 
 caprice of the moment: what he delivered he felt, 
 and his feelings proceeded from thoughlfuhiess, 
 meditation and experience ; an experience illumi- 
 nated by divine knowledge, which continued co- 
 piously increasing the nearer he approached his 
 heavenly inheritance. 
 
 During the time of his residence at Orange street 
 Chapel, he published, in the year 1770, a collec- 
 tion of Psalms and Hymns, for public and private 
 Avorship. The compositions are four hundred and 
 nineteen in number.* 
 
 The apprehensions entertained for some time 
 past, by those who loved Mr. Toplady, that his 
 health was on the decline, began now to be con- 
 firmed. For, on Easter Sunday, the 19th of April, 
 1778, as he attempted to speak from Isaiah xxvi. 
 19, " Thy dead men shall live; together with my 
 dead body shall they arise," &c., his hoarseness 
 was so violent, that he was obliged, after naming 
 the text, to descend from the pulpit. Yet so ar- 
 dently abounding was he in the ministry of the 
 word, that when the least abatement in his disor- 
 der gave him a little strength, he entered upon his 
 delightful work with as much alacrity of spirit as 
 if he was in a state of convalescence. After 
 preaching, he has been so enfeebled as to create 
 the most exquisite sensibility in the breasts of those 
 who have beheld him. He preached four times 
 after the above Sunday; and, on each occasion, 
 his words were to the congregation, as if he should 
 
 * Mr. Montg-omery observes, as to Mr. Toplady's own 
 Hymns, " There is a |)eculiar etherial spirit, in some of 
 them ; whether mourning or rejoicing-, praying or prais- 
 ing, the writer seems absorbed in the full triumph of faith; 
 ' and whether in the body or out of the body, caught up 
 into tlic third heaven,' and beholding unutterable things." 
 
232 
 
 1 1 F E OF 
 
 never see ihem more, until he met them in the king- 
 dom of heaven. 
 
 While he was waiting and earnestly desiring a 
 dismission from the body, and having, as he him- 
 self expressed, setded all his concerns respecting 
 both Avorlds, so as to have nothing to do but die, 
 he received a shaft that was quite unexpected. A 
 report had been propagated, that Mr. Toplady had 
 receded from his former principles, and had a de- 
 sire to protest against them in the presence of Mr. 
 Wesley. Ijctters from the country were sent to 
 him, mentioning his recantation, as also some ver- 
 bal intimations from those who were present when 
 the intelligence was given. When the above trans- 
 actions were rehearsed to him, it rekindled the 
 dying embers that remained. He acquainted his 
 physician with his intention of going before his 
 congregation again, to make a solemn appeal in 
 reference to his past and present principles. He 
 was informed that it would be dangerous in him to 
 make the attempt, and that probably he might die 
 in the execution of it. He replied, with his usual 
 magnanimity, " A good man once said, he would 
 rather wear out than rust out; and I would rather 
 die in the harness than die in the stall." On Sun- 
 day, June 14th, he came from Knightsbridge ; and, 
 after a sermon by his assistant, the Rev. Dr. Illing- 
 worth, he went up into the pulpit, to the inexpres- 
 sible surprise of his people, and made a short, but 
 affecting exhortation, from the 2d epistle of Peter, 
 i. 13, 14 : " Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am 
 in this tabernacle, to stir you up, by putting you 
 in remembrance, knowing that shortly I must put 
 off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus 
 Christ hath showed me." When mentioning the 
 sensible peace he was a recipient of, and the joy 
 and consolation of the Holy Spirit, which he had 
 
EEV. A. M. TOP LADY. 
 
 233 
 
 participated of for several montlis past, and the 
 desirable expectation tiiat, in a few days, he must 
 resign liis mortal part to corruption, as a prelude 
 to his seeing tiie King in his beauty, the effect 
 produced upon his auditory cannot be described. 
 He closed his address, respecting the purport of 
 his coming there, and the substance was printed 
 in a week after, entitled, " The Rev. Mr. Topla- 
 dy's Dying Avowal of his Religious Sentiments." 
 
 We shall now introduce a few extracts from a 
 small narrative, published a short lime after his 
 death. Some of his observations and remarks were, 
 by a few persons, who where present, committed 
 to writing, that they might not be effaced from the 
 memory, and for the satisfaction of otliers. 
 
 In conversation with a gentleman of the faculty, 
 not long before his death, Mr. Toplady frequently 
 disclaimed with abhorrence the least dependence on 
 his own righteousness, as any cause of his justifi- 
 cation before God, and said, that he rejoiced only 
 in the free, complete, and everlasting salvation of 
 God's elect by Jesus Christ, through the sanctilica- 
 tion of the Holy Spirit. We cannot satisfy the 
 reader more than by giving his friend's own relation 
 of the intercourse and conversation. " A remark- 
 able jealousy was apparent in his whole conduct, 
 for fear of receiving any part of that honour which 
 is due to Christ alone. He desired to be nothing, 
 and that Jesus might be all and in all. His feel- 
 ings were so very tender upon this subject, that I 
 once undesignedly put liim almost in an agony, by 
 remarking the great loss which the church of 
 Christ would sustain by his death, at this particu- 
 lar juncture. The utmost distress was immediate- 
 ly visible in his countenance, and he exclaimed to 
 this purpose: — What by my death? No! By my 
 death ? No. Jesus Christ is able, and will, by 
 20 
 
234 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 proper instruments, defend his own truths. And 
 witli regard to what little I have been enabled to 
 do in this way, not to me, not to me, but to his own 
 name, and to that only, be the glory. 
 
 " Conversing upon the subject of election, he 
 said. That God's everlasting love to his chosen 
 people; his eternal, particular, most free and im- 
 mutable choice of them in Christ Jesus, was with- 
 out the least respect to any work or works of righte- 
 ousness, wrought or to be wrought, or that ever 
 should be wrought, in them or by them ; for God's 
 election does not depend upon our sanctification, 
 but our sanctification depends upon God's election 
 and appointment of us to everlasting life. — At an- 
 other time he was so atTected with a sense of God's 
 everlasting love to his soul, that he could not refrain 
 from bursting into tears. 
 
 " The more his bodily strength was impaired, 
 the more vigorous, lively, and rejoicing his mind 
 seemed to be. From the whole tenor of his con- 
 versation during our interviews, he appeared not 
 merely placid and serene, but he evidently pos- 
 sessed the fullest assurance of the most triumphant 
 faith. He repeatedly told me, that he had not had 
 the least shadow of a doubt, respecting his eternal 
 salvation for nearly two years past. It is no won- 
 der, therefore, that he so earnestly longed to be 
 dissolved and to be with Christ. His soul seemed 
 to be constantly panting heaven-ward ; and his de- 
 sires increased the nearer his dissolution approach- 
 ed. A short time before his death, at his request, 
 I felt his pulse; and he desired to know what I 
 thought of it. I told him, that his heart and ar- 
 teries evidendy beat, almost every day, weaker and 
 weaker. He replied immediately, with the sweet- 
 est smile upon his countenance. Why, that is a 
 good sign that my death is fast approaching; and. 
 
REV. A, M. TOPLADY. 
 
 235 
 
 blessed be God, I can add, that my heart beats 
 every day stronger and stronger for glory. 
 
 " A few days preceding his dissolution, I found 
 him sitting up in his arm chair, and scarcely able 
 to move or speak. 1 addressed him very sofdy, 
 and asked if his consolations continued to abound 
 as they had hitherto done. He quickly replied, 0 
 my dear sir, it is impossible to describe how good 
 God is to me. Since I have been sitting in this 
 chair this afternoon, (glory be to his name!) I have 
 enjoyed such a season, such sweet communion 
 with God, and such delightful manifestations of 
 his presence with and love to my soul, that it is 
 impossible for words or any language to express 
 them. I have had peace and joy unutterable; and 
 I fear not, but that God's consolations and support 
 will continue. But he immediately recollected 
 himself, and added. What have I said? God may, 
 to be sure, as a Sovereign, hide his face and his 
 smiles from me; however, I believe he will not; 
 and if he should, yet still will I trust in him: I 
 know I am safe and secure, for his love and his 
 covenant are everlasting." 
 
 To another friend who, in a conversation with 
 him upon the subject of his principles, had asked 
 him whether any doubt remained upon his mind 
 respecting the truth of them ; he answered, Doubt, 
 sir, doubt ! Pray use not that word, when speak- 
 ing of me. I cannot endure the term, at least while 
 God continues to shine upon my soul in the gra- 
 cious manner he does now : not (added he) but 
 that I am sensible, that while in the body, if left of 
 him, I am capable, through the power of tempta- 
 tion, of calling into question every truth of the gos- 
 pel. But that is so far from being the case, that the 
 comforts and manifestations of his love are so abun- 
 dant as to render my state and condition the most 
 
236 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 desirable in the world. I would not exchange my 
 condition with any one npon eartli. And, with 
 respect to my principles, those blessed truths which 
 I have been enabled in my poor measure to main- 
 tain, appear to me, more than ever, most gloriously 
 indubitable. My own existence is not, to my ap- 
 prehension, a greater certainty." 
 
 The same friend calling upon him a day or two 
 before his death, he said, with hands clasped, and 
 his eyes lifted up and starting with tears of the 
 most evident joy, O my dear sir, I cannot tell you 
 the comforts I feel in my soul ; they are past ex- 
 pression! The consolations of God to such an un- 
 worthy wretch are so abundant, that he leaves me 
 nothing to pray for, but a continuance of them. I 
 enjoy a heaven already in my soul. My prayers 
 are all converted into praise. Nevertheless, I do 
 not forget, that I am still in the body, and liable to 
 all those distressing fears which are incident to 
 human nature, when under temptation and without 
 any sensible divine support. But so long as the 
 presence of God continues with me, in the degree 
 I now enjoy it, I cannot but think that such a des- 
 ponding frame is impossible. All this he spake 
 with an emphasis the most ardent that can be con- 
 ceived. 
 
 Speaking to another particular friend upon the 
 subject of his "dying avowal," he expressed him- 
 self thus: " My dear friend, those great and glo- 
 rious truths, which the Lord, in rich mercy, has 
 given me to believe, and which he has enabled me, 
 though very feebly, to stand forth intlie defence of, 
 are not, as those who believe not or oppose them 
 say, dry doctrines, or mere speculative points. No. 
 But, being brought into practical and heart-felt ex- 
 perience, they are the very joy and support of my 
 soul; and the consolations flowing from them, carry 
 
REV. A. M. TOPLADY. 
 
 237 
 
 me far above the things of time and sense." Soon 
 afterwards he added, " So far as I know my own 
 heart, I have no desire but to be entirely passive; 
 to live, to die, to be, to do, to sutler, whatever is 
 God's blessed will concerning me; being perfectly 
 satisfied, that as he ever has done, so he ever will 
 do, that which is best concerning me ; and that he 
 deals out, in number, weight, and measure, what- 
 ever will conduce most to his own glory, and to the 
 good of his people." 
 
 Another of his friends, mentioning likewise the 
 report that was spread abroad of his recanting his 
 former principles ; he said, with some vehemence 
 and emotion, " I recant my former principles ! God 
 forbid that I should be so vile an apostate." To 
 which he presently added, with great apparent hu- 
 mility, " And yet that apostate I should soon be, 
 if I were left to myself." 
 
 To the same friend, conversing upon the subject 
 of his sickness, he said: " Sickness is no affliction; 
 pain no curse; death itself no dissolution." 
 
 All his conversations, as he approached nearer 
 and nearer to his decease, seemed more and more 
 happy, and heavenly. He frequently called him- 
 self the happiest man in the world. " Oh ! (said 
 he) how this soul of mine longs to be gone ! Like 
 a bird imprisoned in a cage, it longs to take its 
 flight. O that I had wings like a dove, then would 
 I flee away to the realms of bliss, and be at rest 
 forever! O that some guardian angel might be 
 commissioned, for I long to be absent from this 
 body, and to be with my Lord for ever. Being 
 asked by a friend, if he always enjoyed such ma- 
 nifestations, he answered, I cannot say there are 
 no intermissions ; for, if there were not, my con- 
 solations would be more and greater than I could 
 possibly bear; but when they abate, they leave 
 
238 
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 such an abiding sense of God's goodness, and of 
 the certainty of my being fixed upon the eternal 
 rock Christ Jesus, that my soul is still filled with 
 peace and joy. 
 
 At another time, and indeed for many days to- 
 gether, he cried out, " Oh what a day of sunshine 
 has this been to me ! I have not words to express 
 it. It is unutterable. O my friends, how good is 
 God ! almost without interruption his presence 
 has been with me." And then, repeating seve- 
 ral passages of Scripture, he added, " What a 
 great thing it is to rejoice in death !" Speaking of 
 Christ, he said, "His love is unutterable!" He 
 was happy in declaring, that the eighth chapter of 
 the epistle to the Romans, from the thirty-third to 
 the end of the six following verses, were the joy 
 and comfort of his soul. Upon that portion of 
 Scripture he often descanted with great delight, 
 and would be frequently ejaculating, " Lord Jesus ! 
 why tarriest thou so long!" He sometimes said, 
 " I find as the bottles of heaven empty they are 
 filled again;" meaning, probably, the continual 
 comforts of grace, which he abundantly enjoyed. 
 
 When he drew near his end, he said, waking 
 from a slumber: "O what delights! Who can 
 fathom the joys of the third heaven ?" And, a 
 litde before his departure, he was blessing and 
 praising God for continuing to him his understand- 
 ing in clearness; but, added he in a rapture, " for 
 what is most of all, his abiding presence, and the 
 shining of his love upon my soul. The sky, says 
 he, is clear; there is no cloud : Come, Lord Jesus, 
 come quickly !" 
 
 Within an hour of his death he called his friends 
 and his servant, and asked them if they could give 
 him up: upon their answering in the affirmative, 
 since it pleased the Lord to be so gracious to him. 
 
REV. A. M. T O P L A D Y. 
 
 239 
 
 he replied, " Oh whnl a blessing it is, you are 
 made willing to give me up into the hands of my 
 dear Redeemer, and to part with me ; it will not be 
 long before God takes me; for no mortal man can 
 live (bursting, while he said it, into tears of joy) 
 after the glories which God has manifested to my 
 soul." Soon after this he closed his eyes, and 
 found, as Milton finely expresses it, 
 
 A death, like sleep, 
 
 A gentle wafting to immortal life, 
 
 on Tuesday, August the 11th, 1778, in the 38th 
 year of his age. 
 
 On Monday, August the 17th, at four o'clock 
 in the afternoon, his remains were brought from 
 Knightsbridge to Tottenham Court Chapel, to be 
 interred. Though the time was kept as private as 
 possible, there were, notwithstanding, several thou- 
 sands of persons present at the solemnity. It was 
 his particular request that no funeral sermon should 
 be preached; he desired to slip into the tomb un- 
 noticed and unregarded. His soul disdained to 
 borrow posthumous fame. He had no wish to 
 have his memory perpetuated by those little arts 
 and finesses so often practised; he knew that his 
 record was on high, and that his name was written 
 in the Lamb's book of life. He sought for no eu- 
 logium while living; and any panegyrics bestowed 
 upon him when his course was run, he knew could 
 be of no service, and that they are often too justly 
 construed to proceed from pride, vanity, and weak- 
 ness. 
 
 The Rev. Rowland Hill, prior to the burial ser- 
 vice, could not refrain from innocently trespassing 
 upon the solicitation of his departed friend, by ad- 
 dressing the multitude on the solemn occasion, and 
 embraced the opportunity of affectionately declar- 
 
240 
 
 B E V. A. M. T 0 P L A D T. 
 
 ing the love and veneration he felt for the deceased. 
 The beautiful simplicity of his pathos, and the ex- 
 quisite sensibility he showed, were more than 
 equivalent to the most studied harangue. The fu- 
 neral service was read by Dr. lllingworth, and 
 concluded with a suitable hymn. . 
 
 Some enemies of Mr. Toplady having raised 
 various false reports as to the state of his mind in 
 his last hours, Sir Richard Hill refuted these slan- 
 ders: he quotes the two following remarks made 
 by Mr. Toplady not long before his death. The 
 first was — " 'J'o a person interested in the salvation 
 of Christ, sickness is no disease, pain no affliction, 
 death no dissolution." The other was an answer 
 to Dr. Gilford, in consequence of the doctor's ex- 
 pressing hopes that Mr. Toplady might recover, 
 and be again useful. Mr. Toplady heard what his 
 friend had to say, and then expressed himself near- 
 ly in the following words: "I believe God never 
 gave such manifestations of his love to any crea- 
 ture, and suffered him to live." 
 
 The following attestation was also given by An- 
 drew Gifford, D. D. British Museum ; John Ry- 
 land, senior, Northampton; Thomas Evans, Apo- 
 thecary, Knights-bridge; and Elizabeth Sterling, 
 nurse; with nine other persons : 
 
 " We, whose names are underwritten, are wil- 
 ling to testify upon oath, if required, that all the 
 particulars published to the world in the late me- 
 moirs, relative to the illness and death of the late 
 Rev. Augustus Montague Toplady, are strictly 
 true; we ourselves having been eye and ear-wit- 
 nesses of the same." 
 
 THE END.