•^ 
 
 
 ^llt^^'%ttit&J^ 
 
-B5e 51-9-9-7*54 R94 1791 
 Ryland, John, 1753-1825. 
 The character of the Rev. 
 James Hervey, M.A. , late 
 
 
 
 ii-)*37l^ 
 
THE 
 
 CHARACTER 
 
 or T H B 
 
 Rev. JAMES HERVEY, M. A. 
 
 LATE 
 
 Re^or of Wefton Favel, in North amp onjhire^ 
 CONSIDERED, 
 
 ASA 
 
 MAN OF GENIUS and a PREACHER— As a PHILOSOPHER axd 
 CHRISTIAN UNITED— As a REGENERATE MAN— A? a MAN 
 ENDOWED WITH THE DIGNI [Y^nd PREROGATIVES OF A CHRIS- 
 TIAN— As A MAN OF BEAUTIFUL VIRTUE and HOLINESS. 
 
 By JOHN RYLAND, M. A. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 , Printed byW. JUSTINS, Blackfriars, for R.THOMPSON, 
 No. 326, Oxford SrREETt 
 
 And sold bvH. D. SYMONDS, Paternoster-Row, and MUR- 
 GATROYD, Chiswell-Street. 
 
 M,D C C , X C. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO THE 
 
 LIFE of HERVEY. 
 
 ^0 virtuous and ingenuous young Alen* 
 To virtuous and ajn'iable JVomen, 
 To young Students in Divinity, 
 To Tutors of Touth, 
 
 FIRST. 
 TO VIRTUOUS AND INGENUOUS YOUNG MEN. 
 
 MY DEAR FRIENDS, 
 
 T Have had, from my earliefl youth, a fin- 
 cere love for fuch perfons as you ; and now 
 I feel a ftronger affecflion than ever I had before : 
 I confider you as the great fupports of civil fo- 
 ciety ; as the ornaments of human nature ; as 
 the hopes of the rifing generation ; from you, 
 as the proper fountains, muft flow v/ifdom, 
 virtue, and happinefs; whilfl, from the wicked 
 and ungodly, there will continually ifTue 
 flreams of folly, vice, and mifery. 
 
 a In 
 
ii PREFACE. 
 
 In the compofition of the following, work, I 
 have had your welfare very much at heart. 
 My whole aim has been to write the truth, and 
 nothing but the truth. I have fet down all 
 that I knew concerning him with great fimpli- 
 city and integrity of heart; and I dare appeal 
 to the tribunal of heaven : the omnifcient Judge 
 of my foul knows that my grand defign was 
 to difplay the illuftrious grace of Christ in 
 the falvation and happinefs of this man. 
 
 If any perfon fhall cenfure me, as having faid 
 too high or too kind things of his charafter, let 
 them candidly confider that 1 was obliged to 
 write the truth ; and what opinion v/ould they 
 have formed of me, if to avoid the appearance 
 of flattery, I had concealed the truth ; a mind 
 and life of fuch fuperlor excellence could not 
 have been written without the appearance of 
 flattery; but, however, I fhall difregard fcvere 
 cenfure, whilfl I know that my grand aim was 
 not to fet off* the man, but to demonftrate the 
 fovereign grace of God in Christ. 
 
 If God, from all eternity, decreed to illuf- 
 trate his perfevSlions in the uncommon natural 
 genius, the peculiar and ihining excellencies, 
 with" the 'mofl fublime fpirit of religion, in 
 this Angular perfon, who, and what was I, 
 that I ihould withfl:and God ? If I attempted 
 
 ta 
 
PREFACE. ili 
 
 to defcribe a rare and an uncommon work of the 
 Almighty, I muft defcribe it as being what it 
 was, and not conceal any of 'its perfedlions : 
 my bufmefs and duty was to trace out the wif- 
 dom, power, and goodnefs of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ in the formation of this excellent 
 creature. It was my wifdom to relate what I 
 faw, and my happinefs to have fuch a piece of 
 exquifite workmanfliip fet before mine eyes. 
 Here I could view, with rapture and aftonifh- 
 ment, the being and attributes of God, in the 
 produdlion of fuch a work. Here I could view 
 the wonderful efficacy of redeeming blood, in 
 recovering from darknefs, guilt, and corrup- 
 tion, a human foul that had been involved in 
 all the ruins of the apoftacy. Here I faw a 
 mind that was envenomed with pride and pre- 
 judice againft the dominion of God, in the gra- 
 cious provilion of a free and abfolute falvation 
 of a fmner by Christ's righteoufnefs : I fav/ 
 this mind enlightened, renewed, humbled in 
 the duft, made fincere in its enquiries after 
 truth, and happily brought into the enjoyment 
 of that truth. I faw tliis mind under the con- 
 du6l of the Holy Spirit, gradually riling from 
 folly to wifdom, from unbelief to faith, from 
 enmity to love, from pride to humility, from 
 prejudice to unbiafled integrity, from luke- 
 
 a 2 warmnefs 
 
iv . PREFACE, 
 
 warmiiefs to zeal, from infenfibility and black 
 ingratitude, to the highcft thankfulnefs that 
 ever dwelt in a mortal breaft. Amidft fuch 
 wonders of redeeming and fanctifying mercy, 
 what could I do but ftand ftill and admire, and 
 filently adore ^ or elle burft forth in the praifes 
 of the moft wife, the mofl gracious, the mofl 
 holy, and the moft jufl: God ! As 1 had the ad- 
 vantages above any other man novv^ living to 
 contemplate this muTor of the divine perfec- 
 tions, and this miracle of redeeming mercy, 
 who can blame me for ftanding ftill to feaft 
 mine eyes with fuch a charming fpeftacle, and 
 to admire the grace of Christ, till my foul 
 was loft in holy adoration and fecret praifc? 
 * If I had written upon this fubjedl in a dull 
 dreaming manner, without tafte, life, or fpirit : 
 if I had treated this illuftrious creature of God 
 with a cold indifference, or a contemptible luke- 
 warmnefs of foul, what true Chriftian is there 
 to be found who would not have blamed and 
 defpifed me ? They would have faid, and that 
 juftly, that I had no true relilL for the fingular 
 invincible and vi(!torious grace of God in the re- 
 demotion and holinefs of a loft fmner. If I had 
 given to the world fuch a dull unmeaning and 
 infipid performance, who would have read it ? 
 jMot the corrupt part of mankind; they muft 
 
 have 
 
PREFACE. T 
 
 have works of genius, tafte, and fire : every new 
 romance ; every new piece for the play-houfe, 
 muft be animated with fait and'fpirit, in order 
 to keep the town in a continual attention and 
 burft of applaufe. 
 
 If I had given a cold narrative of Hervey's 
 life and virtues, would fordid hypocrites have 
 read my book ? No : they have fomething elfe 
 to do-: their grand bufinefs is to patch up and 
 keep in repair their falfe profeffion of Chrif- 
 tianity. 
 
 Would proud felf- righteous Pharifees have 
 read my book ? No : they would not have borne 
 to have heard one w^ord againft their favourite 
 idol, their own rightecufnefs, even if I had ex- 
 preffed it in a cold unmeaning manner, and 
 without one part of that ardent zeal which 
 dwelt in the breafi: of our admirable author. 
 
 Will proud felf- righteous Pharifees read my 
 book? No : they will not; they have too high 
 an opinion of their own virtue to read and rehfla 
 the charadler and temper of a man fo entirely 
 oppofite to their own : they can never delight 
 in a man of his principles, whofe grand defign 
 was to humble the fmner, to exalt the Saviour, 
 and to promote vital holinefs to the very utter- 
 mofl. 
 
 To 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 To you, therefore, worthy young men, I turn 
 myfelf : I expeift you will read my work with 
 attention, candour, and eagernefs. I trufl you 
 will here meet with fomething to inform your 
 underftandings, to pleafe your tafte, to animate 
 your virtues, to allure your fouls to excel in 
 every good thought, word, and work. I leave 
 the book in your hands, and commit that and 
 yourfelves to the keeping and direftion of the 
 Holy Spirit of God. 
 
 TO VIRTUOUS AND AMIABLE WOMEN. 
 
 It muft be allowed without flattery, that you 
 are the chief ornaments of civil fociety ; and if 
 your underftandings are clearly enlightened ; if 
 your judgments are folidly fixed; if your tafte 
 is delicate and correft ; if your beft paffions 
 are fet upon the fupreme good, and your whole 
 lives devoted to the love and purfuit of truth, 
 you will certainly become the greateft bleflings 
 to the Britifli empire : you will be dutiful 
 daughters, loving fifters, amiable friends, and 
 wife and virtuous mothers, at the head jof well- 
 formed families. 
 
 Let me advife you to cultivate a generous 
 ambition, to excel in every thing that is lovely 
 and of good report. Do not give way to ab- 
 jed thoughts of yourfelves — dignity and honour 
 
 is 
 
PREFACE. vli 
 
 is a very different thing from pride : there may 
 be pride without dignity, and dignity without 
 pride. Pride is the high opinion that a poor 
 little narrow foul entertains of itfcif, attended 
 with a mean felfiilinefs, which prompts us to 
 feek nothing but our own humour and our own 
 honour. Dignity is a generous fenfe of our 
 connedion with Christ; a high conception 
 of our immortal duration, with a vaft defire tc 
 live for the glory of God, and the happinefs of 
 mankind. Cherifli this dignity with your 
 whole heart: feek out for the beft motives to 
 promote it : put yourfelves in the way of thofe 
 motives : ftrive to underftand the force of thofe 
 motives: comply with the grand defign of 
 thofe motives, and beg of the Spirit of God 
 to give an edge and force to thofe motives. 
 
 This book* I dedicate to you: I had the 
 good of your precious fouls at heart, whilft I 
 was compofing it; and I pubhfli it with an 
 hi<>h hope that I iliall have fome of the bell 
 women in the Britifli empire to be my readers. 
 
 1 know that all the vicious and wicked part 
 of your fex will defpife this work. From them 
 I exped: no favour : the vain and trifling part 
 of your fex, who can rehfn nothing but plays, 
 romances, and novels, with all the reft of the 
 trafli of the age, thefe people will. give me no 
 
 attention; 
 
,.ui PREFACE, 
 
 attention; and from them I turn with a mix- 
 ture of pity, indignation, and filent contempt. 
 
 Go on, my worthy friends, beg of God the 
 Holy Spirit to adorn you with all theperfo- 
 nal graces of humility, meeknefs, patience, felf- 
 denial, contentment, prudence, chaftity, forti- 
 tude, and felf-poiTeflion. 
 
 Beg of God the Holy Spirit to adorn you 
 with all the Chriftian graces of lively fliith in 
 Christ : ardent love to his perfon : imitation 
 of his beautiful example, learning every leflbn of 
 truth at his feet : obedience to him as your di- 
 vine Mafter, and dependance upon him as your 
 powerful Interceflbr. 
 
 Beg of the Holy Spirit to work into your 
 hearts all the divine graces, /. t\ a clear know- 
 ledge of God in his natural and moral attri- 
 butes ; a holy fear of his divine majefty ; a 
 lively love to his beautiful charafter ; a deep 
 fubmiflion to his holy will, however made 
 known; a powerful truft in his divine provi- 
 dence and grace ; and a lively communion with 
 him in the works of creation and providence, 
 in the words of falvation and grace. 
 
 .Beg of the Holy Spirit to adorn your foul 
 with all the focial graces of love to your fellow 
 creatures ; a fpirit of beneficence, or a delight 
 in doing good : the exercife of mercy to fouls' 
 
 and 
 
PREFACE. 'x 
 
 and bodies in mifery ; in a forgivenefs of in- 
 juries ; in a fpirit of juftice, truth, and faithful- 
 nefs ', and may the golden threads of fmcerity, 
 zeal, tendernefs, and perfeverance, run through 
 the whole tenour of your life and converfp.tion. 
 
 To YOUNG STUDENTS OF DIVINITY. 
 
 My dear young friends, it concerns you above 
 all things to have the approbation of Christ 
 in your ftudies : it is impoffible for you to have 
 that approbation, unlefs your hearts are re- 
 newed, and fet right in the fight of God. You 
 mufl be made uprightly to aim at his glory in 
 ^11 things, and regard his inteueft as the great 
 ufe of your eternal exillence. It concerns you 
 very much to be employed in fevere felf-exami- 
 nation. Am I exerciling myfelf in the very 
 beft ftudies, and do I purfue the richeft objedts 
 of knowledge in the beft manner? Does God 
 the Son ftand by me every moment ? Does he 
 infped: my heart, my principles, and all my 
 views? Is the perfon of Christ the higheft 
 object of my efteem ? And is it my great aim in 
 the ftudy of the original Scriptures, to iind out 
 the glorious perfeffions and offices of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ? Do I fee the fitnefs of his 
 offices ? Do I enjoy the fulnefs of his offices? 
 Do I feel the power of his offices? Do I dif- 
 
 b cern 
 
X PREFACE, 
 
 cern the beauty of his offices, to endear him- 
 felf eternally to my foul ? Are all my acquifi- 
 tions of fcience laid at his feet, made fubfer- 
 vient to his intereft, and confecrated to the 
 ?ood of his church in the world ? How do I 
 fpend my mornings ? Are they loft in fleep and 
 idlenefs ? Do I lay my plan of ftudy wifely for 
 every day ? Kow do I conclude my evenings ? 
 Are they loft in chattering and impertinence ? 
 Have I a generous ambition to excel for the 
 edifying of the church, or is it my main ftudy 
 and defign to advance felf, to preach felf, to 
 feek the glory of being ftiled a man of parts, a 
 man of politenefs, and a pian of elegance ? If 
 thefe are my low and fordid views of the Chrif- 
 tian miniftry, how can I ever look God in the 
 face, and with what a dreadful vengeance will 
 God look me in the face. And after I have 
 read this Life of Hervey, if my ftudies ftiould 
 be condu6ted in a wrong manner, I muft ftand 
 fpeechlefs and fhivering before the tribunal of 
 God. 
 
 On the other hand, if my heart (hould be in- 
 clined by- the grace of God the Holy Spirit 
 to imitate this beautiful example, to imbibe his 
 amiable temper, and purfue the fame glorious 
 work, 1 ft^all have the fmiles and approbation 
 of the Judge of the univerfe : I fhall hear him 
 
 fay. 
 
PREFACE. xi' 
 
 fay, '^ Well done good and faithful fervanty enter 
 ** into the joy of thy Lordr Then I fhall be 
 aflbciated with all thefe great and excellent men, 
 and fliall mingle fouls, and fentiments, and joys 
 with them before the throne of God. 
 
 TO PIOUS TUTORSOF DIVINITY AND SCIENCE. 
 
 My dear and honoured friends, you are fome 
 of the moft important creatures of God, and 
 it becomes you to think fo : if you rightly 
 condud: the fludies of valuable young men, 
 you will become the greateft bleffings to the 
 rifing generation, and the inftrumients of honour 
 and happinefs to the Britiili empire. If you 
 condudl the ftudies of our Britifli youth in a 
 wrong manner, they will have reafon to curfe 
 you to all eternity, and to wifli they had never 
 fallen into fuch fooliih and unfaithful hands. 
 
 But if you are wife and worthy men; if you 
 direct your ftudents to the very beft objeds of 
 knowledge ; and if you invite and allure them to 
 reduce all their knowledge to the purpofes of 
 practical godlinefs, what an harveft of honour 
 and happinefs will you reap in this life, and 
 what glorious profped:s will open to your eyes 
 from the invifible world through the blood and 
 righteoufnefs of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 b 2. I have 
 
 <• 
 
xii PREFACE. 
 
 I have a thoufand things to fay to you upon 
 this occafion, but Dr. Watts's Improvement of 
 the Mind, both parts -, and Rolhn's Method of 
 Study, 4 vols, in duodecimo, will abundantly 
 fupply all my deficiencies, and fet you right in 
 the purfuit of every branch of know^ledge. 
 
 I now deliver up this work into the hands 
 of the eternal Son of God, for the fervice and 
 good of the churches of Christ, and the 
 rifing generation. Evangelical holinefs, and 
 focial virtue, in all its branches, I admire and 
 love. I pray God, from the depth of my 
 foul, that I may admire and love them more 
 every day. Every part of this book was writ- 
 ■'ten with a defign to promote fcience and true 
 religion. I blefs God that I have a large 
 number of true Chriftian friends who will 
 read this book with candour and delight: they 
 will fee its faults : they will difcern its fcopc 
 and tendency : they will read the life and tem- 
 per of this great and good man with an ardent 
 defire to imitate his example: they will pray 
 moft paflionately that the fame good Spirit of 
 God, which dwelt fo eminently in him, may 
 dwell more powerfully and fweetly in them : 
 they will make ufe of this book as a m.irrcr, 
 to difcern the beauties and blemifhes of their 
 own fouls : they w^ill here f nd.many cautions 
 
 t» 
 
PREFACE. ,i^ 
 
 to avoid the blemiflies of the Chriftian temper, 
 and many counfels to diredl and ftimulate therot 
 to higher degrees of growth in grace and holi- 
 nefs; to be the dignity and ornament of the 
 Chriftian church, and the reputation and glory 
 of their native country. Here let ambitioa 
 rife; let Godly am^bition know no bounds or 
 limits: you cannot be too humble; but meaa 
 and abjed; thoughts of yourfelves is not humi* 
 lity, but the curfe, and plague, and poifon of 
 the foul : for a man to have mean and abje(;S 
 thoughts of himfeif, is the way never to think 
 a great thought ; never to fpeak a good word ; 
 never to perform one generous adlion. Chrif- 
 tian profeiTors are too low in their views : too 
 contracted in their conceptions : too narrow in 
 their purpofes : too lukewarm in their pur- 
 fuits ; and what is the confequence ? The glory 
 of God is obfcured : the honour of Christ'^ 
 Godhead and righteoufnefs is eclipfed : the 
 blelfed Spirit of God is grieved and affronted : 
 the holinefs of God in his law is undervalued: 
 the riches of the grace of the Gofpel are not 
 difplayed : av/akened and enquiring fouls are 
 difcouraged : lukewarm profeiTors are confirmed 
 in their fhabby profefllon, and unbelievers are 
 hardened in their infidelity. Thefc are fomeof 
 the avvful confequences of neglcding to imitate 
 
 fuch 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 fuch a charafter as that which is contained In 
 
 this book. 
 
 I fhall rejoice in the agonies of death, and 
 in my departure into the invifible world, if I 
 /hall be well informed that this book has been 
 of real and permanent fervice to the immortal 
 fouls of true Chriftians ; and when God comes 
 to declare my charadler, and fix my ftate in the 
 invifible world, I fhall appeal to his impartial 
 and inflexible tribunal for the truth of v/hat I 
 have written. I know that God's eye can dif- 
 cern more errors and blemiihes in my work, 
 than can be difcerned by all the men upon 
 earth, and angels in heaven ; but this bleffed 
 God is a moft merciful Being, and I know that 
 in his mercy I iliall have a fure refuge, when 
 I come to converfe with the immortal fpirit of 
 Hervey in glory, and to give him an account 
 of what I have been doing to compofe and 
 publifli his life and charafter, when I fhall af- 
 fure him that I did this not to fet off the man, 
 but to difplay the fovereign and invincible grace 
 of Christ in his falvation. He will give me 
 full credit for my aifertion, becauf^ he that was 
 all. candour and fvveetnefs upon earth, cannot 
 poffibly be all fournefs and feverity in heaven. 
 We fhall therefor e agree together to leave the 
 
 book 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 book to make its way upon earth, as the provi- 
 dence of God fhall diredl, whilft we fhall 
 adore together, before the throne of God and 
 the Lamb for ever and ever. 
 
 F^k XI, ,791. John Ryland. 
 
THE 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 09 
 
 Mr. HERVEY's LIFE* 
 
 HE Preface, - - ' 
 
 To ingenuous and pious young men. 
 To amiable and virtuous women. 
 To young ftudents of divinity. 
 
 To modeft and virtuous young tutors in the feats of learn- 
 ing and fcience. 
 
 CHAPTER!. 
 
 Hh CharaSfer as a Man of excellent Genius, and as a moft Evan. 
 
 gelical Preacher, 
 
 The nature of his character, - Page 3 
 
 Whence it arofe, - - - 4 
 
 What conftitutes genius, " ' a 
 
 His end as a preacher, - - ' j 
 The novelty in his preaching, as to matter, method, 
 
 proofs, iniages, emotions of his paiTionsj his ftyle or 
 
 language; applications of his fermons, - 7 
 
 Eloquence; its nature, - - - .• 
 
 His drav^ing internal charafters, - - ib. 
 
 His (kill in reafoning, and found divinity, 9 
 
 His habitual and adual grace, - - - ib. 
 
 His care to avoid a vulgar ftyle, - - ' ' 
 
 a His 
 
11 CONTENT^* 
 
 His attention to a particular and pungent manner of 
 
 preaching, - - - - IT 
 
 His fimpllcity and fublime manner of addrefs, 12 
 
 His dating the great doftrines of the Gofpel, r- 14 
 
 His ardent love to the fouls of his auditory, ^ 15 
 
 His amiable decencies in the pulpit — in his matter — his 
 
 proofs — time place— audience, • 16 
 
 His view of mens hearts, - - - 17 
 
 His ardour of love to the Bible, - - ib. 
 
 His regard to his own dignity of chara£ler, and the 
 
 great ends of his office, - - - 18 
 
 His regard to the very beft motives to diligence, - 19 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 The character of Hervey as a Chriftian and Philofopher 
 united. - - . _ 20 — 28 
 
 G H A P. III. 
 
 The CharcMer of Hervey as a regenerate Man» 
 
 Regeneration confidered as a divine change In the inward 
 principle; in tlie intention and end; in the perceptions 
 and thoughts; in his comfort aiid joys, - 3 1 
 
 Regeneration confidered as a vital principle, or fpring of 
 fpiritual ai5iion in God, and from God, - 32 
 
 The beautiful refemblance between natural life and fpiritual 
 life, - - - - 33 
 
 Regeneration confidered, as a divine mental habit, and a vital 
 principle, both united in one operation, - 35 
 
 This pnr.ciplc of life, or ftate of a6iive exiflence confi- 
 dered, as voluntarj^, fervent, unbounded, powerful, eafy, 
 pleafant, permanent, and beautiful, - 36 — 40 
 
 Regeneration confidered as the law put into the heart, 42 
 
 As the image of God, or the likenefs of his moral per- 
 feclions iiT.prefled upon the foul. 
 
 This true likenefs to Ctod confifts in a refemblance of his 
 affections, actions, and holinefs. - - 46 
 
 Regeneration confidered as a new birth; the ftriking. like- 
 nefs between cur firft and fecond birth, in nine in- 
 ftances, - - - - ^y — ^o 
 
 CHAP. 
 
CONTENTS. Ill 
 
 C H A P. IV. 
 
 Tiews of Hervey as a Man endowed with the Dignity and Pre* 
 rogatives of a Chr'i/iia'd», 
 
 I. He was a man born of God, - - rg 
 
 II. His birth-day celebrated by angels, - 5y 
 
 III. Born of a noble One, - - - ib, 
 
 IV. The reftored image of God, - - ib, 
 
 V. His foul was inlaid with all manner of lovely ornaments 
 and beauties, - - - - <;8 
 
 VI. Hervey was dignified with noble names and titles of " 
 honour, - . . . j[j^ 
 
 VII. He was married to the Prince of heaven, 5a 
 
 VIII. He was ennobled and enriched by all kinds of union 
 v/ith the eternal Son of God, - - ib» 
 
 IX. He was a tem.ple of God the eternal Spirit, 60 
 
 X. His foul was brighter than the vifible fun in the expanfe 
 
 of heaven, - _ - ib, 
 
 XI. His foul had greater dignity than all the fixed ftars 
 
 in the univerfe, - - - 6 1 
 
 XII. The immortal foul of this good man was the end of 
 the v/hole creation, - _ - ijj, 
 
 XJII. Hervey's foul pofiefled greater riches than all the 
 banks of money in Europe, - - ib. 
 
 XIV. He was the heir of the world, - 62 
 
 XV. He had a liberal and noble education from the om- 
 niprefent and incarnate God. - - ib, 
 
 XVI. He had a foul formed to love and delight in the na- 
 tural and moral perfections of God, - - 63 
 
 XVII. All things in heaven, earth, and hell, worked to- 
 gether for his temporal and eternal good, - 64 
 
 XIX. The holinefs of God was the moft agreeable obje<Sl 
 
 to Hervey's pure and illuminated foul, - ib, 
 
 XX. He lived by faith in the invifible and ever prefent 
 God the Redeemer, the Friend and life of his foul, 65 
 
 XXI. He was a glorious inftance and example of the true 
 dignity and pre-eminence of man, - 66 
 
 XXII. Hervey could never die, - - ib, 
 
 XXIII. His foul was moft agreeable to the taftc and con- 
 ceptions of the Lord Jesus Christ, - 67 
 
 XXIV. Flis foul was a fun in a dark world, - 68 
 
 XXV. This great man was happy to think of Christ 
 rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth, and that his 
 delights were with the fons of men. 69 
 
 a 2 XXVI. His 
 
IV CONTENTS. 
 
 XXVI. His excellent and holy foul was fuperlor in real 
 dignity and folid glory to all the unconverted men upon 
 earth, and angels in heaven, - - 70 
 
 XXVII. Christ was thefole fpring and fource of his di- 
 vine life, - - - ib. 
 
 XXVIII. He felt an unbounded ardour of joy in God the 
 Redeemer, - - - - ib, 
 
 XXIX. He was a truly learned man in the fight of God, 76 
 
 XXX. He was truly a wife man in the fight of God, 77 
 
 XXXI. Hervey was a happier man than all the millions of 
 the wicked on the face of the earth, - 78 
 
 XXXII . Mr. Hervey was remarkable for a fpiritual under- 
 Handing of the revelation of the Gofpel, concerning the 
 divine perfon of the eternal Son of God, - 82 
 
 XXXIII. His fublime views of the wifdom of Christ in 
 our redemption, were attended with profpefts of equal 
 bright-nefs and beauty with refpedi: to the goodnefs of 
 Christ, - - - - ib, 
 
 XXXIV. Hervey fought and pra6^ifed prudence, 83 
 
 XXXV. He had a very deep and powerful fenfe of the ho- 
 linefs of God conftantly abiding on his foul and con- 
 fcience, - - - - 87 
 
 XXXVI. This great and wife man, had the highell vene- 
 ration for the efTential and immutable juftice of God, 8 S 
 
 XXXVIL He had the higheft efteem and admiration for 
 Christ, as God the TTruth, - - 89 
 
 A Scriptural view of the truth and faithfulnefs of Christ 
 in the Old Teftament in fixty-eight inftances, 96 — 99 
 
 A view of the faithfulnefs of Christ in the New Tefta- 
 ment in thirty-fix inftances, 
 
 XXX VIII. His difpofition and propenfity of heart towards 
 the divine and precious righteoufnefs of the Lord Je- 
 sus Christ, as placed to his account for juftification 
 before God, - - - ib* 
 
 His folid underftanding of the nature of this righteouf- 
 nefs, - • - - - 1 00 
 
 His pungent fenfe of the want of this righteoufnefs, lOj 
 
 His ardent defire, or vehement thirft, after this righteouf- 
 nefs, - - . - _ 102 
 
 His cheerful acceptance of this righteoufnefs, as the rich 
 gift of God, - - - ib. 
 
 His humble and entire dependance on this righteoufnefs, ib. 
 
 Note. Hervey was no Antinomian : he was no Armi- 
 nian: no man loved virtue more : no man depended on 
 • it lefs than himfelf, - , - - 103 
 
 He 
 
CONTENTS* V 
 
 Ke had a vaft admiration and efteem for this righteoufnefs, 104 
 He had an habitual delight in Christ's imputed righte- 
 oufnefs, - - - ,- -105 
 He felt the deepeft gratitude, and exprelTed the fweeteft 
 
 thankfulnefs to God for the gift of this righteoufnefs, 
 XXXIX. We now rife up to the very higheft glory of • 
 Hervey's characfuer, which confifted in the moft fu- 
 preme love to the eternal perfon of God the Son, 
 The nature of love to Christ, - - 107 
 
 The grounds and reafons of his love to the perfon of 
 
 Christ, _ - . _ _ 
 
 The glorious adlions and exercifes of love to Christ : in 
 his thoughts and conceptions: in his defires after 
 Christ's happinefs to make him happy, - 108 
 
 In his ardent love to the word and Spirit of Christ, 
 In his honefty to put himfelf in the way of the very beft 
 
 motives to excite love to Christ, 
 His keen fenfe that all invifible objedls were very near to 
 
 his foul, - - - - -112 
 
 XL, The folid glory and real greatnefs of his chara6i:er, as 
 he clearly underftood, and highly valued that grand 
 •canon in divinity, the analogy of faith, ib» 
 
 The nature of the analogy of faith, - - nj 
 
 The ufes of the analogy of faith, - - 1 1 ^ 
 
 A view of God the Son as Jehovah God and Lord, 
 
 in forty inftances, - - - - 118 
 
 A view of Christ confidered as man in fixty-one in- 
 
 ftances, ----- ib. 
 
 Views of Christ as a prophet in thirty-five inftances, 120 
 The beautiful parallel between Mofes and Christ as a 
 prophet, by the late Dr. Newton, in above twenty par- 
 ticulars, - - _ , _ - lb. 
 Views of Christ as a Priefl: in ninety-one inllances, 122-125 
 Views of Christ as a King, in thirty- two inftances, 125 
 Mifcellaneous names exprefiive of the glories of Christ, 
 
 in one hundred and eleven inftances, - 126 — 129 
 
 Note. The fum total of all thefe inftances, make TWO 
 
 hundred and seventy-nine particulars, 
 A view of Hervey's faith in all thefe inftances, 130 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 The CharaSfer of Hervey as a Man of Science and Virtue, 
 
 I. As. a mafter of the fcience of Logic, - 133 — 144 
 
 II. His knowledge of Natural Philofophy, - 145 
 
 IIL His 
 
vi CONTENTS. 
 
 IIL His fklU in the languages, Hebrew, Greek, and 
 Latin, - - - 145— 1 5^ 
 
 IV. His knowledge of Geography and Aftronomy, 150 
 
 V . His admirable Ikill in Anatomy, - - 151 
 VI. His exquifite knowledge of Moral Philofophy, 152 
 Of the nature of happinefs, - - ^ 153 
 Of the nature of virtue, as feated in the underftanding, 
 
 will, and pafllons, _ - - 154 — 161 
 
 The rule of virtue; the will of God grounded in the 
 
 conftitution and powers of man, - 161 
 
 The nature of virtue, as an intentional conformity of our 
 
 whole fouls, to the nature, rectitude, and will of God 
 
 - - - - 163 — 167 
 
 Motives to virtue, arlfing from honour and difgrace, profit 
 
 and lofs, pleafure and pain, - - 167 — 172 
 
 A view of God's abfolute promifes, - 173 
 
 Evidential promifes, - «- ^ - 174 
 
 The threaten ings and terrors of God agalnft vice. 182 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Tlje CharaHer of Hervey as a Dhine. 
 
 Hervey's Life as a divine, - 182 
 
 The cleareft methods of difplaying the exlftence of God, 
 arifmg from the amazing extent of the vifd^le univerfe, 
 and the wonders of fpace, as agreeing with the idea of 
 a God. — Space has three apparent attributes of the 
 Deity; eternity, immutability, omniprefencc ; and yet 
 fpace is not God, and God is not fpace, - 1 83 
 
 Of gravitation, as a force impreffed on all bodies, by 
 which they mutually attract, or ten J towards each other, 186 
 
 Of the various wonderful eftects of this grand fimple prin- 
 ciple of gravitation, accounting for the regular motion of 
 the planets, and the beauty and order of the vifible world. 
 
 A concife view of the Newtonian fyftem of the univerfe, in- 
 cluding the periods, diftances, velocity, and magnitude of 
 the primary planets, - - - - 1 87 
 
 An explanation of Kepler's law, that the fquares of tlie pe- 
 riodical times are as the cubes of their diftances. This 
 is made eafy to common capacities by Mr. Bonnycaftle, 1 89 
 
 Of the prodigious number and variety of creatures con- 
 tained in unbounded fpace, - - - 193 
 
 Of the exquifite minutenefs of millions of creatures, 1 92 
 
 Of the beauty, order, and regularity, of every diftlndt fpe- 
 cies of things, • - - - 193 
 
 The 
 
' CONTENTS. Vil 
 
 The amazing difference between the works of nature and 
 
 art, ."...- . - 193 
 
 The ailonifhing diftlnc^ion of fexes in all animals, as the 
 means by which the fpecies is continued, 'and the due pro- 
 portion of the number of each fex, which has been con- 
 ftantly kept up from the be8;inning, - - iq5 
 
 The planets receive all their light and heat from the body of 
 the fun ; a compound force, is the caufe of the revolution 
 of the planets round the fun. There is nothing in uni- 
 verfai fpace to refift or retard the motion of the plane- 
 tary worlds. - - - Wf^ 
 Hervey clearly difcerned that the diftance of our earth from 
 the fun was infinitely better than if it were nearer or far- 
 ther off, - -_ - - ib. 
 He faw that the earth revolves with a double motion, /. e, 
 a daily motion on its ov/n axis ; an annual motion around 
 the fun, at the rate of one thoufand miles a minute, lb. 
 He faw, with the higheft aftonifhment and delight, the ad- 
 mirable mode of the daily and annual motion of our earth, 
 to produce the different lengths of days and nights, and 
 the four feafons of the year, - - Iq5 
 Of the initinfts in birds, beads, fifties, reptiles, and infe£ts, 
 which have been ever the fame in all ages and nations for 
 almoft fix thoufand years, - - 190 
 Of the immortality of the foul, - - 200 
 The objefts and actions of tlie underftanding, 20 1 
 The objects and actions of the will brightly demonftrate a 
 
 God, - - - - 203 
 
 The objects and actions of the imagination demonftrate a 
 
 God, - - -^ - 204. 
 
 Three fources of the pleafures of the imagination, /. e, the 
 
 great, the new, and the beautiful, - - 205 
 
 The final caufe of our being pteafed v/ith what is great, 206 
 The final caufe of our pleafure in whatever is new, ib. 
 
 The final caufe of our pleafure in all the gradations of beau- 
 ty in heaven and earth, in nature and Scripture, 207 
 Objects ill the natural world fuited to the imagination, 208 
 Objects of grandeur and terror united in the natural world, 209 
 Objecfs of grandeur and terror in Scripture, 2 10 
 Obje6ts of beauty and novelty fuited to the imagination, in 
 
 twenty views, - - - 21 1 
 
 The objects and a61:ions of the paftions agree with the idea 
 
 of a God, and clearly prove the immortality of the foul, ib. 
 The pleafing paftions agree with the idea of a God, 212 
 
 The painful paffions agree with the idea of a God, ib. 
 
 Ths 
 
Vin CONTENTS. 
 
 The abje(£ls and aclions of the memory ; of the confciencc ; 
 of genius and tafte j agree with our idea of a God, 21 J 
 
 Hervey's view of the utter infufficiency of reafon to lead us 
 to true virtue and happinefs in the fruition of God, 216 
 
 The defects of reafon with refpe6l to the knowledge of 
 
 ; God, - _ _ - - ib. 
 
 The defeats of reafon with refpecl to the fupremegood, 217 
 
 The defects of reafon with refpe6t to a complete fyftem of 
 morality, - - - 2i8 
 
 The defeds of re?/on with refpe6t to the beft motives to 
 virtue, - - - ib. 
 
 Reafon cannot difcover the immediate prefence of the God 
 and Lawgiver of the foul, - - 219 
 
 Reafon cannot difcover the prefent pleafures and rewards of 
 virtue, - - - ib. 
 
 Reafon camiot difcover the future pleafures and rewards of 
 virtue, - - - 220 
 
 Reafon cannot difcover all the prefent tonnents and punifh- 
 ments of vice in their utmoft extent, pungency and terror, 221 
 
 Reafon cannot difcover the future torments and punifli- 
 ments of vice, - - 224 
 
 Reafon is defective with refpe£t to examples of virtue : it 
 cannot give us one perfedt example, - ib. 
 
 Reafon is defective in a feventh motive to virtue : it cannot . 
 difcover the leaft aHiftance of the Spirit of God for the 
 great work of devotion and virtue : it knows not of any 
 ailiitance of the Spirit to illuminate the under /landing ; 
 to give us a favoury tafte ; to fupprefs all indifference 
 of heart to God i to work in us a readinefs to all man- 
 ner of virtue; to enliven all grace into pleafmg exercife; 
 to difplay the moft pungent motives to univerfal holinefs ; 
 - to ftrengthen the foul in its powers, to comply with every 
 motive that God has propofed, - ib. 
 
 Reafon is defective in difcovering the pardon of fin; the 
 eradication of vile inclinations ; the refinement of the 
 foul into holinefs; fupport under the troubles of life; 
 fandtihed affli(5tion and ftrong confolations againft the 
 terrors of death, - - 224 — 234 
 
 His'clear idea of the nature of infpiration, - 235 
 
 The Scripture idea of God, or a concife view of the divine 
 perfections, - - 2137 
 
 The Scripture notion of the divine unity, - 240 
 
 A view of the plurality of perfons in the Godhead, from 
 
 the Hebrew Bible, - - - ib 
 
 Inftances of a plural noun and plural adjective, 241 
 
 The 
 
CONTENTS. ix 
 
 The plural nqun and plural verb, " -, - 242 
 
 The plural pronoun belonging to the Sovereign God, ib. 
 
 A divme Perfon appearing in the character of a MeiTenger, 243 
 Mifcellaneous proofs of a plurality in the Godhead, ib. 
 
 Scripture repi efentations of three Perfons in the divine na- 
 ture, - - _ 244 
 
 Preliminary Definitions. 
 
 I. Creation proves a Trinity, - 245 
 
 II. The creation of man, - - 246 
 
 III. The deliverance of the Ifraelites out of Egypt, ib. 
 
 IV. The covenant of grace, - - ib. 
 
 V. The ceconomy of falvation, - - 247 
 
 VI. Christ fent by the Lord God and his Spirit, ib. 
 
 VII. The Son of God fent into human flefli, ib. 
 
 VIII. Jesus anointed by God the Father and the 
 Holy Spirit, _ _ _ ib. 
 
 The undlion and fealing of believers, -^ 248 
 
 IX. The baptifm of Jesus, - - ib. 
 
 X. Jesus promifes to fend the Holy Spirit from the 
 Father, _ _ _ ib. 
 
 XI. Our Lord Jesus obtained eternal redemption, 249 
 
 XII. The refurrecSlion of Christ fliews three Perfons, ib, 
 
 XIII. In regeneration we fee a Trinity, ► ib. 
 
 XIV. Adoption is an aft of three Perfons, - 250 
 
 XV. Frefh illuminations from God in three Perfons, ib. 
 
 XVI. Frefh grace and ftrength from three Perfons, 251 
 
 XVII. The Holy Spirit given to believers by God the 
 Father, through the meritorious blood and righteoufnefs 
 
 of Jesus Christ, - - ib. 
 
 XVIII. A ftriking proof of a Trinity from the objeft: of 
 our prayer?, - - - ib, 
 
 XIX. Infpiration is peculiarly the work of the Holy Spi- 
 rit, but including the actions of God the Father 
 
 and God the Son, - - - - 252 
 
 XX. Jehovah addrefled in three Perfons, - ib. 
 
 XXI. The government of the world by the facred Three, 253 
 XXIL Election is afcribed to the Father, fanftification 
 
 to the Spirit, and atonement to God the Son, ib. 
 
 XIII. The act of jufirification is afcribed to each of the 
 facred Three, - _ _ _ ib, 
 
 XXIV. Baptifm is to be adminiilered in the name of the 
 facred Three, - - - , - 254 
 
 XXV, The general refurreftion proves a Trinity, ib 
 
 b 'XXVI. Thc^ 
 
 
X COKTENTS. 
 
 XXVI. The Scripture demonftration of a Trinity con- 
 cluded with the apoftoiic benedidlion, 2 Cor. xiii. 14. 254 
 
 Christ the Son of God in forty-two Scripture evi- 
 dences, - - - - " 255 
 
 Hervey's clear knowledge of the decrees of God, 258 
 
 The nature of the divine decrees, - - ib 
 
 The object and extent of the divine decrees, - ib 
 
 His knowledge of the actions of God, as proceeding from 
 his decrees, was the fpring of great and generous ac- 
 tions every day of his life^ - - - ib. 
 
 He faw the perfe6lions of the firft man in his original con- 
 ftitution and power% as a creature formed for holinefs 
 and happinefs - - - - 159 
 
 He had a deep and daily fenfe of the univerfal depravity of 
 human nature, - - - - ib. 
 
 He had a clear underftanding of the free diftinguifliing love 
 of God. ----- 5»6o 
 
 He faw that there 'was a difference between the moral cha- 
 racters of men in this world, - - ib. 
 
 That this difference between men is not afcribed to the 
 will and power of man, but to the will and power of 
 God, - _ _ - _ 261 
 
 And the diftinCtion that is made by this work of God in 
 the heart, is not attributed to any merit in man, but to 
 free and fovereign grace in Christ, - - ib. 
 
 This choice of perfons to holinefs by the free grace of 
 God, is from eternity; for God has no new defigns, ib. 
 
 He traced w^ith great fagacity and delight, the gradual open- 
 ings of the Gofpel, from Adam to the birth of Christ, 
 as difplayed by the eloquent Dr. Witfius, in his Oeco- 
 nomy of the Covenants, book IV. - - 262 
 
 The typical inftitutions, the prophets declarations, the mi- 
 raculous operations, all furnifhed noble objedls to his 
 underftanding - ^ _ - ib. 
 
 He had a very diftin6t and forcible conception of the fu- 
 perior advantages which we enjoy under the Chriftian 
 difpenfation, - - _ 263 
 
 The meridian terrors of divine juftice, the fplendors of in- 
 finite mercy in the crcfs of Christ, a larger cffufion 
 of the Holy Spirit, more aft onifliingaCls of pardon- 
 ing mercy, endearing invitations, kind expoftulations, 
 rich promiies, fcafonable fuccours of divine grace, and 
 bright examples of univerfal holinefs, all combined to 
 ravifti his heart, to charm his eyes, and animate his 
 praifes, , . - . - 263 
 
 Hcrvev 
 
CONTENTS. xi 
 
 Hervey was a firm believer of the Incarnation of the Son 
 of God : he durft not explain the modes of it, but he 
 believed it as a fa<St : he received it as a truth, and tri- 
 umphed in it as the life and joy of his 'foul, - 263 
 He confidered Christ as the fupreme and infallible teacher 
 of truth : he confidered Christ as the feat and repo- 
 fitory of all the truth of God, - . - ib. 
 He had a firm faith in the nature of Christ*s fatisfadion : 
 he was deeply convinced of its necelTity, and he knev/ 
 its reality and perfection in his own haj^y experience. 
 He felt the glorious power of Christ's refurre6tion in 
 his own foul. — Garbutt on the Refurre6tion of Christ 
 abridged by Dr. Watts, is a performance above all 
 price; and it fills me v/ith aftonifhment, indignation, 
 and bitternefs, to fee that is has been neglected and for- 
 gotten for fifty years paft. 
 Hervey undcrftood as well as any man, the great doctrine 
 
 of regeneration and vital union with Christ, 
 He coniidered regeneration as a divine life infufcd, as a 
 holy mental habit created, as a fpiritual change pafled 
 on the foul. He confidered it as the moral image of 
 GoD inflamped on the mind, as the law of God in- 
 fcribed, as a new and heavenly birth produced by the 
 Spirit of God. - - - - 265 
 
 He confidered vital union with Christ, as the very life 
 blood of religion. There is reafon to believe that 
 from his total filence concerning two moll excellent 
 books, that they had never come to his hands: thefe 
 are Chriftus in Corde, or Christ in the heart, by 
 the incomparable Edward Polhill, Efq. and Christ 
 a Chrifi:ian's Life, by the Ijiiritiial John Gammon; 
 lately publiflied by the Rev. Mr. Wills; thefe two 
 books are the richeft in the world, and their value is 
 above all dcfcription, - - - 662 
 
 He was experimentally acquainted with the rich blcfTing 
 
 of fanctification, - - - 266 
 
 He underftood as well as any man the doctrine of jufi:ifi- 
 
 cation by the imputed righreoufnefs of Christ, 267 
 
 The different forms of the v/ord imputed, no lefs than ele- 
 ven times in Rom. iv. - - - it)' 
 None of the parties concerned have any reafon to com- 
 plain, in the jufi:ification of a finner by ChiIISt's 
 rijihteoufnefs, _ - i» - 260 
 The nature and dignity of adoption, - - iP* 
 
 I Z Of 
 
Xii O N T E N T S. 
 
 Of Peace or friendfhip with God; lively hope and joy 
 
 in Christ, . - - 269 
 
 Of the honours of true religion, as an intelleitual plea- 
 fure, as an aiiiftant to holinefs, and a glorious engine of 
 ufefulnefsj - - - 2,70 
 
 Hervey's temper, with refped to the riches of this world, 
 
 and temporal pleafures, - - - 271 
 
 Of the bleffing of divine affiftance from God the Holy 
 
 Spirit, - - - - 272 
 
 Of the law of God, as a rule of action, commanding all 
 that is right, and forbidding all that is wrong. Of the 
 law in the form of a covenant of vv^orks, and in the 
 form of a rule of a£lion, - - - 273 
 
 Of the grace of repentance, as wrought into his heart by 
 
 the Spirit of God, - - - ibid 
 
 Of his ardent love of the worfhip of God in all its 
 
 branches, - - - ^ ibid 
 
 His exceeding veneration for all the parts of public worlhip, ibid 
 His manner of family worfhip, - - 274 
 
 His clofet devotions, - . - - 275 
 
 His deep veneration for the being and attributes of God, ibid 
 His wonderful delight in the Lord's day, ^ - 276 
 
 He confidered the fear of God as the beginning of wif- 
 dom ; and a truft in his perfections, as the highell hap- 
 pinefs, „ _ - _ ibi(j 
 
 His unbounded love for the nature and chara6ler of God, 
 
 and the ufe of all his paflions in religion, - 277 
 
 His faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and hope in his 
 
 blood, ^ _ _ _ ibid 
 
 His love to the perfon of Christ, and zeal for his glory, 278 
 The objeds of the invifible Vv'orld were always very near 
 - him, and he realized thofe objecSls by faith in a very 
 
 lively manner, - , - - ibid 
 
 He loved to imitate the exam-ple of Christ in his temper 
 
 and life, - " . . " . - _ 2S1 
 
 His candour with refoeCi to Chriftian baptifm, and his 
 
 thoughts of the Church of England - - 282 
 
 His love to the Proteftant Dilfenters, - - 283 
 
 His moft endeared love to, and veneration for^ the Lord*s 
 
 Supper, - - - - ibid 
 
 His love and gratitude to God the Holy Spirit, 285 
 
 His fobricty, temperance, chaftity, humility, meeknefs, 
 patience, felf-denial and contentment, all flione out in 
 his temper. and lif", under tlie conduct and influence o^ 
 God the Holy Spirit, - - - 286 
 
 H 
 
 e 
 
CONTENTS, xid 
 
 He was mofl eminent In the mortification of every fm, in 
 the refiftance of all temptations, and a rcfolute watch - 
 fulnefs againft all finful compliances in hea;-t, lip, and life, 287 
 
 He diftinguiihed himfelf in diligence, prudence, and for- 
 titude, _ _ _ . i^i^ 
 
 His love to the v/hole world was fincere, generous, pow- 
 erful, and perminent, - - - 2S5 
 
 From the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit in this 
 great man's foul, there arofe as great fincerity, as per- 
 haps ever exifted in a human bofom, - - ibid 
 
 There is an excellent beauty in divine juftice; moral juftice 
 amongft mankind is a very great beauty, - 28a 
 
 His flriS regard to all the perfons v/hom he efteemed his 
 fuperiors ; fuch are magiftrates, parents, and minifters, 
 with all the rich and honourable in this v/crld, 290 
 
 Hence arofe his tender compaffion for the poor, his grreat 
 love to children, and his juftice and tendernefs to his 
 fervants, - _ _ _ ^[^ 
 
 He was the beft neighbour in the world, and the reafon was, 
 he loved his neighbour as himfelf, - - ibid 
 
 He had a mcft ardent love to the whole church of God 
 upon earth. - - - 29 j 
 
 Hervey v/zz an ardent lover of all the pleafures of vital re- 
 ligion: hence arofe his fondnefs for the beauties of nature, ZQ2 
 
 He loved to contemplate the death of the body, and the 
 immortality of the foul; he always found himfelf at 
 hom.e among the tombs; a ftriking paflage from Dr. 
 Young in his Poem upon the Laft Day, - 293 
 
 Clear demonftrations of the immortality of the foul, 
 
 proofs from nature, - - 294 
 
 Proofs of the immortality of the foul from the natural and 
 moral perfections of God, _ « _ 205 
 
 Proofs from man, of the immortality of the foul, 296 
 
 Proofs of the immortality of the foul, from the fublime 
 and glorious truths of the Gofpel, - 297 
 
 Select portions of Scripture, proving the immortality of 
 the foul, _ _ - _ 29^ 
 
 Theter;or and glory of the refurreflion; a ftriking paflage 
 from Hervey on the Tombs, - - - _ ibid 
 
 Thecrrandeur of the laft judgm.ent; Plervey's difcription of 
 it, in Letter V. of Alpafio to Theron, - 299 
 
 Hervey's clear fenfe of the final mifery of the wicked, in 
 a variety of awlul views, - - 900 
 
 Hervey's views of heaven, or the final happinef; of the 
 righteouSj in fcveral poirxts of light, -r 301 
 
 Re- 
 
XlV CONTENTS 
 
 Remarks on Mr. Hervey's Life and Character. 
 
 Remark I. All the knowledge of this great and good man, 
 was carried on, and attained by books, - 301 
 
 Remark II. How exceedingly defective and erroneous, 
 are our public and private fchemes of education; or ra- 
 ther, we have no wife and good fchemes at all,*- 302 
 
 Remark III. What unfpeakable encouragement does this 
 example give, to excite young perfons to encreafe in 
 knowledge and virtue, - - ~ 304 
 
 The Author's ardent prayer for his country, - ibid 
 
 His hopes that this book will outlive darknefs, prejudice, 
 errors, and infidelity, - - - 305 
 
 The ufefulncfs of this book in the latter day glory, 306 
 
 The gradual dawnings of the Gofpel, upon the foul of this 
 good man, from the year 1741, to 1746, whenhepub- 
 lifhed his Meditations among the Tombs, and his Re- 
 flections on a Flower Garden, - - ibid 
 
 The furprife and pleafure which thefe writings gave to the 
 Chriflian world, _ _ _ Jbld 
 
 The peculiar goodnefs of Christ, to the foul of this 
 good man, _ _ . ^07 
 
 The decrees of God pra6llcally improved, by the great 
 Mr. John Hubbard, with additions, - - 308 
 
 The decree of God often brings forth, what could never 
 be expedled from the outward face of things, ibid 
 
 This remark delightfully illuftrated, and confirmed by the 
 inflancesof Charles Rollin and James Hervey, 309 
 
 The defign of this conclufion, is to roufe the ambition of 
 the Britifh youth, to excel in learning and virtue, 310 
 
 The beaut.ful refemblance in the temper and character of 
 Rollin and Hervey, in 14 inflanoes, - 31 j 
 
 '^ 
 
-*-*-*^^' *— ''^""*-'°"'~^ i <^iir i i B- — — i ' ti-T r t ii n - '^'-r i T^^wrTV ljttr' 
 
 » lllli>»W li l W iJMM^»« 
 
 T H P 
 
 CHARACTER 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ReV. Mr. James tiervey, A. M, 
 
 J 
 
 AMES HERVEY^s Charafter arofe from his 
 will and underflanding : his will was endued by 
 the Spirit of GOD, with a permanent principle of 
 holinefs, freely determining his whole foul to acl afcc? 
 fuch a particular manner as to increafe the fum of 
 fiappinefs in the univerfe^ and not^ on the contrary part, 
 for one moment, to increafe die fum of mifery in the 
 great moral em.pire of GOD. 
 
 PI is Character iikewife arofc from his underfland- 
 ing, or an aptitude to excel in clear fpirituai know- 
 ledge, which enabled him to inflruct the people of 
 GOD, and increafe the happinefs of the Church of 
 CHRIST, and not on the contrary to increafe igno- 
 rance, fin, and miierv. 
 
 Elis Chara6ler alio arofe from his Imagination and 
 tafte ; or his clear fenfe of the moll: fublime, beautiful, 
 si,nd affecting objedts in heaven and earth, and his 
 
 A 2 power 
 
THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEY. 
 4 
 
 power to paint thofe obje^ls in the moft flriking lan^ 
 guage^ to allure and captivate the hearts and pafTions 
 of mankind. ' 
 
 His Charafter likewife arofe from the moral quali- 
 ties of his foul, or the divine glories of his mind and 
 paflions, which were all on fire for God his Saviour. 
 
 Confequently his character arofe from the regene- 
 ration of his whole foul, as having pafTed under a 
 mighty change in his moral powers and principles 
 of adtion; being endowed with the moft excellent 
 kind of life, and made the fubjedt of the nobleft di- 
 vine habits, his heart being infcribed with the whole 
 divine law in a clear ftrong fenfe of its meaning, a cor- 
 dial approbation of its purity, an ardent inclination to 
 obey it, and a real ability of will for that obedience. 
 
 His Character likewife arofe from the image of 
 God imprefied upon his whole effence, inclinations, 
 powers, and paffions: the moral perfedlions of God 
 were ftruck in ftrong characters on his whole foul. 
 
 Wisdom ftione in the ferene brightnefs of his un- 
 derftanding. 
 
 Goodness, or an inclination to increafe happinefs, 
 glowed like ccleftial fire. 
 
 Holiness, or the purity of God, fhonein his foul 
 as a refemblance, an imitation, and exprefTion of the 
 immaculate holinefs of the divine nature. 
 
 Justice, or an ardent regard for the rights of his 
 
 God and Saviour in his right eoujnejs, redemptiouy and 
 
 \race:, pofTeiTed his will with a determinate purpofe. 
 
 xo prefer ve thofe rights inviolate againft all kinds of 
 
 oppofition. 
 
 Trvth was a permanent principle in the nature 
 and effence of his foul. Truth fhone in the concep- 
 tions of his underftanding. Truth dwelt in the radi- 
 cal intentions of his will. Truth appeared in all the 
 words of his lips^ as the tranfparent exprefTions of his 
 fmccre and upright heart. Truth fparkled in all the 
 
 actions 
 
THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEY. 5 
 
 aclions of his life* Truth appeared in his afleclions. 
 His admiration was fixed upon the great and wonder- 
 ful Redeemer. The objed: of his love was the fit- 
 nefs, fulnefs, and beauty of Christ: the objedls of 
 his hatred were fin and error. He hated fin more 
 than hell : he loved holinefs in a manner that relem- 
 bled the love of God to holinefs. Error v/as the 
 objedl of his contempt and fcorn: he had an holy- 
 caution and fear of miflaking truth, and falling into 
 error. His gratitude to Christ rofe as high as hea- 
 venj w^as as wide as unbounded fpace, and lallino- as 
 eternity. But the grand feature of holinefs in the 
 great foul of this man, was a permanent principle of 
 delight and joy in the righteoujnejs of Christ, im- 
 puted to him, or put down to his account and credit 
 hy the z.di of God himielf. This he regarded as 
 the entire ground and matter of his juflification foi? 
 eternity. Here his ePceem, his defire, and benevo- 
 lence, all rofe fublimely to forcible fire, and exDrefTed 
 itfelf in the mjoft mai^nificent eloquence. 
 
 Here he differed toto ccelo from many thoufands of 
 the Britifh clergy, and from all the Socinians in the 
 whole univerfe. 
 
 Let us now return and view him as a man of ge- 
 nius and tafte. By genius, 1 mean an aptitude in the 
 imagination to excel in painting all the beauties of 
 nature and Scripture. By tafte, I ir.ean a clear ienfe, 
 and a lively reliih, for all the noble and beautiful ob- 
 jects in creation and revelation. The attributes and 
 adtions of God Xa\^ Redeemer were the objects of 
 his pecuhar delight. He had great elevation and pe- 
 netration of thought: and he fpared no pains to edu- 
 cate his foul to grandeur, by impregnating his mind 
 with enlarged and generous ideas. 
 
 HERVEY's foul was near to Christ, and in- 
 tcnfely one fpirlt with him. He had the richefh pri- 
 vileges and blelTings from Christ, as we (hall fliew 
 
 in 
 
6 THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEY. 
 
 in a fcparate efTay, on his perfonal religion and hap- 
 pinefs, in above fixty views of him. 
 
 His ultimate view and end was to make Christ's 
 fulnefs and beauty confpicuous to the churches, and 
 to all mankind, in the richeft eloquence, and in the 
 moft illuftrious manner 3 and to this end prayer was 
 the life and joy of his foul. He had a glorious and 
 daring freedom of thought on Christ's eternal di- 
 vinity: he had fuch an amplitude of mind, and fuch 
 a boldnefs of conceptions and paffions refpecling the 
 grand works of creation and redemption, as diftin- 
 guifhed him from other writers and preachers. He 
 had lively images of all vifible and invifible objects j 
 and the warm and flrong commotions, of his foul 
 arofe from the keen perception of beauty and defor- 
 mity in the vifible and invifible worlds. 
 
 HERVEY had the moft pleafing and ufeful new 
 things in his preaching, writings, and converfation. 
 
 Firjl. His matter and fubjeds of difcourfe Were 
 new: his rich and fruitful invention was never ex- 
 haufted. In the courfe of, fix years that I vifited 
 him twice a year, what ailonifhing charms of elo- 
 quence have I heard from him at family worfhip, as 
 ■well as in the pulpit. Never did I hear from any 
 other man fuch new turns and elevated range of 
 thou<^ht and paffion as I have heard from him times 
 more than I can recollect, in the parlour, at family 
 devotion. In a word, they were fome of die befl di- 
 vinity ledtures that ever were given to young ftudents. 
 
 Second, His method was often new: he never 
 moved on with the heavy pace of a pack-horfe, but 
 flew like an eagle, and ranged all over the fkies. 
 
 nird. His proofs and demonftrations were often 
 new: he knew fuch a variety of proofs from the fund 
 of the Scriptures, that he was never at a lofs for ar- 
 guments. This appears with furprifing beauty againft 
 Martin Tomkias, in his Letters, No. .24— 27, in 
 
 which 
 
THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEY. y 
 
 which letters he nobly defends the perfonality ajtid 
 divinity of the Holy Spirit, 
 
 His ability for proving the great truths of the 
 Gofpcl brightly appear in his Dialogues and Letters of 
 Theron and Aipafio: none can doubt of his fkiil in 
 reafoning, who have read, with attention, thofe works. 
 
 Fourth. His images and figures were new. He 
 knew as well as any man the beft figures which con- 
 tained a beauty, or exprefled a painful or pleafing 
 Gom.motion of the foul, and he feized with ardour the 
 moil glowing images of all things. 
 
 He relifhed the mod daring and ftriking ideas, and 
 painted them in lb lively a manner, as though you 
 law them before your eyes. 
 
 Fifth. His movements of heart and paflions, or 
 the itrong commotions of his delicate, pure, and holy 
 foul, were new. He felt all objeds to the bottom of 
 his being, and found new fentimen.ts rifing continu- 
 ally within the depth of his foul. 
 
 Sixth. His words and exprelTions were often new. 
 His ftyle was the copy of the conceptions of his 
 ideas, and the feeling comimotions of his heart. 
 
 He did not in a faftidious m.anner difdain plain 
 words, and common forms of fpeech -, nor did he, 
 with a falfe and corrupt tafle, hunt perpetually for 
 new forms of expreflion, and fuch words as were not 
 of the ufual manner 5 but he had fuch powers to vary 
 his language, fo as ever to appear pleafing, and not 
 difguftful to his auditory, or to his friends in common 
 converfaticn. 
 
 Seventh. His applications of his fermons were of- 
 ten new: his manner of addrelTing the underftanding 
 and confcience, the imagination, memory, and paf. 
 fions of his different kinds of hearers, were unbound- 
 edly nev/j and he could afford to blot out, and throw 
 awav richesj fuperior to other autliors. 
 
 ' He 
 
S THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEY- 
 
 He had a rich genius for eloquence. Genius is 
 an aptitude to excel in eloquence, or in any particu- 
 lar art or fcience. 
 
 If there ever was any man who had a talent or 
 aptitude from the God of rature for excelling in any- 
 one thing whatever, then Hervey had an aptitude for 
 eloquence. 
 
 If eloquence confiils in an ability or power of ex- 
 prelTing the nature of an objefl with exad propriety 
 and decency of language, Hervey was one of the 
 moft eloquent of all mankind. 
 
 If eloquence confifts in declaring, in the mofc clear 
 and forcible manner, the illuflrious power, beauty, 
 fjlnefs, and fitnefs of Christ, and the tendernefs and 
 fvveetnefs of his grace, to perifliing finners, then Her- 
 vey was a mod eloquent man. 
 
 If eloquence be a power of fuiting words and 
 exprefTions exadly to the perfon of Christ with ad- 
 mirable propriety and decency, then Hervey was the 
 moft eloquent man that hath exiited in the whole 
 world for fjventeen hundred years pafb. 
 
 In a word, he had fijch an unbounded fund of 
 thought, imagination, and pafTionj and fuch a variety 
 of modes of expreffion, that he appeared to be never 
 exhaufled, or at a lofs to difcover the conceptions of 
 ' his undcrftanding. . I v/ili exprefs again what I before 
 obferved, that he could afford to throv/ away riches 
 enough to flock the minds, writings, and fermons, of 
 many other men. 
 
 He painted the hearts, the manners and chara6lers 
 of men, with wonderful clearnefs, evidence,, and pre- 
 cifion. 
 
 He had an admirable talent for anatomifing the un- 
 derftanding, the confcience, the memory, the will, 
 and the paffions, as well as the thoughts and imagina- 
 tions of the hearts as may be clearly feen in his awful 
 difcoveries of the total degeneracy and univerfal de^- 
 
 pravicy 
 
THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEY. 9 
 
 pravity of all mankind in his Theron and As- 
 PAsio, Dialogue XI and XIII. And no man 
 tinderftood better that amazing defcription of the de- 
 pravity of man, vividly painted by Dr. Witfius, in 
 his incomparable Economy of the Covenants, 
 Book I. chap. v. fed. 8, and Book III. chap. vi. 
 fe6l. 6. No fpirit in hell can be uglier, or more 
 loathfome and horrible than the heart of man ; and 
 Hervey knew it more clearly than almoft any man in 
 the world. 
 
 He was an excellent mafler of found logic, and true 
 divinity, in a very high degree. See his manly rea- 
 foning againfl the fly and malignant enemy to the di- 
 vinity and perfonality of the Holy Spirit, mentioned 
 before, page 6. 
 
 Hervey was a great mafler, of found divinity; 
 and this was owing to the gracious influences 
 of the divine Spirit. God the Holy Spirit infufed 
 into his foul habitual grace : he had a new and gra- 
 cious fpiritual life, or divine principle, created in his 
 mind, by which he was changed in all his faculties 
 and afl^eclions, and enabled to make noble exertions 
 of love to every divine obje6t that was fet before him, 
 with clear evidence of its coming from the God of 
 truth; and this habitual grace is abfolutely eflfential to 
 a true Gofpel minifter. 
 
 He was likev/ife blefl!ed with a^ual grace^ which 
 appears by his Letters, in a fmall degree, from 173 J, 
 in the 19th year of his age, as arifing from the prin- 
 ciple of habitual grace infufed into his foul; and by 
 very flow degrees, it grew in the ufe of the Scriptures, 
 by ardent prayer, and the reading of fome good 
 books, from 1734 to 1741. This appears by a let- 
 ter in my poflTeflion, direfted to Mr. George Whit- 
 field, dated from Biddeford, in the 27th year of his 
 age. This letter, which will be -printed at the end 
 of his Life, clearly and beautifully fhews that 
 
 B Christ, 
 
lo THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEY. 
 
 Christ, the pure original truth, was dawning upoft 
 his foul. 
 
 Adual grace in this great man's heart, was an in- 
 fluence of God the Spirit upon his powers and affec-^ 
 tionsj it was the divine agency and afliftance working 
 by his foul, any good fpiritual adlion, or duty whatfo- 
 ever, without any pre-exiftence to that a6l, or conti- 
 nuance after it: God working in him both to will and tq. 
 do of his own good pie ajure. 
 
 This habitual and adlual grace in Hervey's facul- 
 ties and pafTions, formed him, by flow degrees j and, in 
 the diligent ufe of proper means, into a very judici- 
 ous and excellent divine. It is a moft delightful em- 
 ployment, to mark the gradual progrefs of fciencq 
 and religion, in the good man's heart, from the 19th 
 to his 45th year; that is, a courfe of 26 years. I 
 could dwell upon it for an hundred pages together, 
 and never grow weary of fuch a charming fubjedt of 
 pleafing admiration. 
 
 It was this habitual and aftual grace In his great 
 foul that fpiritualized and beautified the whole crea- 
 tion, and turned all nature into a fchool of inftruc- 
 tion to his holy imagination. This grace taught him 
 to read the two great books of Nature and Scripture 
 with new eyes, and new commotions of the paflions. 
 
 This grace taught him to fee Christ and his pre- 
 cious righteoufnefs in every part of Scripture: he 
 viewed the perfedtions of God the Son in every objedt 
 in the univerfe. All his letters, except a few of the 
 firftj all his Contemplations and Dialogues^ all his 
 Letters to Theron, to Lady Frances Shirley, to my- 
 felf, and his other friends, appear to be tindured and 
 beautified with the grace and glory of Christ. 
 
 ' By the moft keen and incefTant attention to nature 
 and Scripture, he role to fuch a pitch of facred know- 
 ledge and devotion, as few good men ever attained. 
 It would be invidious to compare him with the elo- 
 quent Dr. Bates 5 the favoury and Judicious Dr. 
 
 Owenj 
 
THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEY. n 
 
 Owen; the accurate and copious Charnock; the f^reat 
 John Smith, of Canibridge; and the much greater 
 maHj Edward Polhill, Efq. the mafculine John Howc; 
 the correct and nervous Hurrion ; the lagacious prefix 
 dent Edwards J the florid Dr. Watts, the fprightly and 
 benevolent Dr. Doddridge, and the fervent zealous 
 "Whitfield, with the great and judicious Dr. Water- 
 land. But this I may fafely fay, that Hervey had thofe 
 peculiar excellencies which diflinguifh him from all 
 thofe great men; and even that prince of all divines. 
 Dr. Witfius, did not excel him in great conceptions, 
 rich imagination, devotional criticifm, deep humility, 
 and feraphic fire. Sufi^er me to make this remark, 
 that through the defective and faulty methods of 
 education, almoft all the above divines negleded the 
 beauties of creation, and the charms of natural 
 philofophyi Through this defe(5l, their compofi- 
 tions want that ftriking brilliance with which Hervey 's 
 writings abound* 
 
 This great and good preacher difdained to ufe any 
 coarfe words, and low vulgar exprefTions ; fuch as de- 
 bafe the true dignity of the pulpit, render the preach- 
 er mean and contemptible, givejuft offence to good 
 fenfe, and raife difguft in a refined and holy tafte. 
 
 Hervey had the keened perceptions, amidft all 
 his deep condefcenfion to vulgar capacities. No 
 man of true tafte could defpife him as mean and 
 vulgar, even in the lowefl addrefiTes to the meanell 
 of his flock. 
 
 Nor did he ever content himfelf with mere ge- 
 neral difcourfes that afl^e6l no body, and are fo vague 
 and unmeaning as. to intereft neither the liead nor' 
 the heart — that have no tendency to alarm the finner, 
 nor animate and comfort the faint. 
 
 What a pungent manner does he ufe in his fermons 
 on the Time of Danger, the Means of Safety, and the 
 Way of Holinefs ! How does he fcarch Ther^wl's 
 confcience, in his Letter on Self-Ex*min*tiQn; and 
 
 B a wkac 
 
J 2 THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEY. 
 
 what a pointed addrefs to the foul, is that letter to 
 the condemned makfadors in Northannpton jail*- it 
 is a pattern for all preachers to the end of the world. 
 See his Colledion of Letters, No. 141. 
 
 He loved fimplicity in his manner of preaching ; 
 and with refpecl to his ideas, they were very clear, 
 and never obfcure and confufed. He had no compli- 
 cated and perplexed conceptions > no crowd of 
 thoughts to overwhelm his own underftanding, or 
 the conceptions of his hearers and readers. He had 
 a fimplicity of method in his preaching particularly. 
 In all his fermons you might difcern a clear and 
 eafy arrangement 5 nothing tedious j no long-winded 
 periods j no perplexing parenthefes ; no tirefome 
 circumlocutions, but every thing adapted to the 
 weakeft memory of his auditors. 
 
 He loved a fervency of Jlyky or the language 
 and mode in which he expreffed the conceptions of 
 his underflanding, and the pleafing or dreadful com- 
 tnotions of his heart. 
 
 He loved the sublime to a moft ardent, degree ;. 
 the beautiful and the pathetic were the objeds of 
 his purefl: delight. No man I ever knew loved the 
 truly fublime and beautiful fo fervently as James 
 Hervey. Longinus himlelf never had a higher 
 conception of its nature and beauty. Not even our 
 three Britifli Longinufes, Dr. Lowth, the late Biihop 
 of London 5 Dr. Smith, the Dean ofCheftcr; and 
 Dr. Blair, the prefent Profelfor of Eloquence at 
 Edinburgh, never poflefTed a higher tafte for the 
 fublime and the beautiful, than the amiable and ex- 
 cellent Hervey, He had a fublimity of conceptions. 
 His underflanding was capable of receiving great 
 ide^s, without pain-or difficulty j of receiving new 
 and uncommon ideaSj without furprife or averfion f 
 and he loved to furvey large trains of aflonilhing- 
 tlioughts of .the God and Saviour he adored. ^ 
 
 He 
 
THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEY. ^ 
 
 He had great fublimity in his pfffions : he felt and 
 cxpiefled the higheft admiration and efteem for "the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. He had the n;ioft ardent de- 
 fire after his vital prefcnce -, and he difcovered the 
 Itrongeft exertions of benevolence and gratitude to 
 Christ for his precious redenaption. His hatred to 
 fin was infinite , and his defire of difunion from it 
 rofe as high as heaven, and lading as eternity. 
 
 He had a fublimity of ftyle and language. It 
 was quite natural to him to exprefs himfelf in the 
 manner you fee. He never fought after uncommon 
 modes of exprelTion, or high-founding terms of art. 
 His words are fimple, yet fubhme. He certainly 
 had a great luxuriance of imagination, and could af- 
 ford to throw away a great flock of riches -, but 
 amidfl all his redundancy, you muft acknowledge, 
 that in a thoufand places, his expreffions are very 
 concife : his words are forcible, and full of fire. 
 
 He was an experimental and pra6lical preacher : 
 he entered deeply into all the parts of vital expe- 
 rience : he urged to particular duties, and oppofcd 
 particular fins upon Gofpel principles. 
 
 He always kept up a clear diftindion between the 
 regenerate and the unregenerate, and marked their 
 diftincl and oppofite chara6ters in the mofl decided 
 manner. This is a great defed in many of our Cal- 
 viniftic preachers : they do not dwell long enough, 
 nor fpeak keen enough, on the diftind nature of true 
 and falfe conviction ; the faith of an hypocrite, and 
 the faith of a fincere believer ; the true nature of re- 
 generation, that ilTues in happinefs, and the mere re- 
 femblance of it, that ifiues in eternal ruin. They do 
 not continually bring the great objed of faith to the 
 mental eye, nor reprefent the neceffity of the perpetu- 
 al affiftances of God the Spirit, to keep up incelTanc 
 views of Christ's righteoufnefs. 
 
 He knew how to Hate the great dodrines of the 
 Gofpel in a ftriking and judicious manner ; and he 
 
 defended 
 
14 THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEY. 
 
 defended and improved them in the moft pungent and 
 fpirited didion. Hervey had fuch wifdom and fkill, 
 to reprefent the truths of Chrillianity in a pleafing and 
 beautiful hght, that was pecuUar to himfelf. He ufcd 
 frequently to obferve, that he did not wifh to invent 
 any new dodlrine, but he defired to drefs the good 
 old truths of the reformation in fuch beautiful dra 
 pery of language, as to allure people of all conditi- 
 ons ; but efpecially thofe in the higher ranks of life ; 
 to contemplate thofe truths from which we, as a na- 
 tion, have ungratefully departed. In this defign, he 
 fucceeded as well, and better, than any other man in 
 England. 
 
 We have had very able divines, who have dated 
 the great do(5lrines of the Gofpel, and improved them 
 in a very mafterly manner. Witnefs Dr. Waterland, 
 Dr. Abraham Taylor, Dr* Calamy, and Mr. Slofs, 
 on the Trinity* Dr. Owen and Mr. Hurrion on par- 
 ticular Redemption. Mr. Richard Rawlin on Jufti- 
 fication, byCnRiST^s righteoufnefs. Dr. Doddridge's 
 ten Sermons on Regeneration. Edward Polhill, Efq» 
 on Christ, as the mirror of the divine perfediions, 
 and vital union with Christ. The Rev. Thomas 
 Hall, on Final Perfeverance. Dr. Gill on the Refur- 
 redion of the Dead. With many other great and 
 good authors ; but in point of eloquence and beau- 
 ty, Hervey exceeds them all. 
 
 He defpifed and avoided all boifterous noife ; all 
 rude and violent vociferation in the pulpit : every 
 thing that was vulgar and coarfe ; every thing that 
 was grofsly Ihocking and offenfive ; every thing that 
 gaVe difguft to perfons of found fenfe -, every thing 
 that had the lead tindlure of uglinefs or deformity ; 
 every thing that was a difgrace to the pulpit in tem- 
 per, exprefTion, and adtion, he avoided with the utmoft 
 prudence and caution. 
 
 On the other hand, his modefty, in manners and 
 cxprelTion, were moft amiable and alluring. Never 
 
 did 
 
THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEY. 15 
 
 did I fee deportment more modeft and inviting to 
 imitation, than in that of the moft amiabk Hervey. 
 
 He had a moft tender love to immortal fouls. No 
 man knew better than himfelf the infinite dignity or 
 immenfe worth of an immortal foul. He ftudied the 
 igiftonilhing nature and powers of the foul. He knew 
 the grandeur of the paflions , and he viewed the eter- 
 nal duration of a foul in the light of Christ*s blood 
 upon the crofs ; and in all he thought, fpoke, or 
 wrote, he fiill had the wprth of a foul in view. He 
 did notdefpife Sir Richard Blackmore*s Demonftra- 
 tion of the Immortality of the Soul. He had the 
 higheft efteem for Dr. Young's Demonftration of Im- 
 mortality, Night Six and Seven. And if he had ever 
 read Dr. Leng's Boylean Ledures on the Immorta- 
 lity of the Soul, he muft have given them his cordial 
 approbation. Had Dr. Gill's moft excellent Dif- 
 courfe on Immortality been then known, and the 
 great Andrew Baxter, whofe work upon the foul was 
 publifhedby Dr. Duncan in odlavo, 1779; and, to 
 name no more, if Dr. Porteus, the prefent Bifhop 
 of London, had then publilhed his three excellent 
 Sermons upon Immortality, Hervey would have read 
 t|iem all with the higheft relifti and admiration. 
 
 He finely obferved all the decencies of the pulpit, 
 jn his whole condud of preaching. There was a 
 ijecency in the matter of his fermons -, his fubjedls 
 were always very ferious and fublime : they might 
 be well ranged under three heads. Ruin, Righteouf- 
 pels, and Regeneration. There was a decency in his 
 jproofs and evidences ; he always fteered a middle 
 courfe, between a haughty pofitivity, and a fceptical 
 hefitation. He made it an invariable rule to be tho- 
 roughly convinced of the truth and importance of his 
 fubjedl, before he proceeded to ftate and defend it 5 
 but when he was once in poflefTion of a truth, he 
 held it with the greateft fortitude and tenacioufnefs. 
 
 I never 
 
i6 THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEY. 
 
 I never oblerved any thing of the fceptic in him, in 
 this whole of our converfation and Gorrefpondence. 
 
 Ke obferved the greateil decency in point of time, 
 place, and the perfons to -whom he addreffed himfelf. 
 I believe no man ever faw the leaft violation in the 
 iitnels and decorum cf behaviour, in the whole of his 
 deportment. He obferved fuch a decency in all his 
 actions, that it was irnpolTibie for any man to take juit 
 offence. He obferved the greateil decency with re- 
 fpeft to his age. You faw in him nothing of levity; 
 nothing ludicrous ; no marks of the light and frothy 
 ftudentj no haughty or dignified refcrve; nothing that 
 favoured of the four and peevifh old man. In a word, 
 he had dignity without pride; modeily without 
 meannefsj affability v/ithout groveHng; and cour- 
 tefy without flattery. There v/as great faithfulnefsirt 
 his friendfhip. He obferved the greateft decency in 
 his expreffions, and would never fail to give you the 
 moil pointed reproof for a fault. He could fling 
 like the bee, who always affords a drop of honey to 
 affwage the fmart. 
 
 He confidered very minutely the flate and frame of 
 all the hearts of his hearers. He knew as well as 
 any man, the difference between a regenerate and un- 
 regenerate flate : he did not preach to a promifcuous 
 auditory, as though they were all converted ta 
 Christ; nor did he treat true believers as though 
 they were in an unregenerate ffate: he diflinguifhed 
 well betv/een thofe who are in darknefs, and thofe who 
 are in light; the blind and the feeing; the deaf, and 
 thofe who have ears to hear; the dead and the living; 
 the profligate and the pharifee ; the hypocrite and the 
 fincere: he diflinguifhed between the weak and the 
 llrong, the backflider and the man that advances in 
 holinefs of heart. And he had a word proper and. 
 pungent to all thefe different characlers in his audi- 
 tory. 
 
 He 
 
THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEV. 17 
 
 He had an ardor of love to the word of God, 
 above millions of true Chriftians. Never did I fee 
 in a mortal breaft, fuch love to the infpired Scriptures 
 of God ', fuch fupreme efteem rifing into the utmoft 
 veneration j fuch ardent commotion of defire that 
 could never be fatisfiedj and you could not have 
 pleafed him better, than by bringing him any eluci- 
 dation of a text of Scripture : even the very fragments 
 of an expofition were ahvays welcome to his heart: 
 he had fuch fupreme benevolence, or good will to the 
 precious Bible, that far tranfcended the pleafures of a 
 geometrician in Euclid; or the joys of an orator, in 
 hearing the eloquence of Demoflhenes. There was 
 iil him an unbounded delight, or a fweet agreement 
 with the book of God, in love and joy, which difco- 
 vered a fuperlative affection to the Bible; and hence 
 arofe his fublime criticifms on the force and beauty 
 of the original phrafes of the Hebrev/ Bible, and the 
 Greek Teftament ; and every body mud acknow- 
 ledge, that his criticifms were all light and devout 
 fire, mingled with elegance. 
 
 He had a high regard to his own dignity of cha- 
 ra6ler, and the grandeur and importance of his of- 
 fice. A Chriilian preacher's employment is of the 
 higheft dignity and ufefulnefs in the eyes of devils 
 and damned fpirits ; in the eyes of angels and glori- 
 fied fouls : in the eyes of God the Father, and his 
 eternal Son and Spirit. 
 
 JAMES HERVEY, in this life, for twenty-fix 
 years, ftood nearer to God's heart than millions of 
 angels: he was more intenfely united to Christ, 
 joined or glued to the Lord, and made one fpirit 
 with him. He had the deepeft intereft in the eter- 
 nal Council of Peace; that covenant, which was con- 
 trived with the higheft wifdom, entered into with the 
 moft ferious regard to man, in which there was the 
 nioft perfe6t affociation of the three perfons in Goz>. 
 He was thought with a price that was above the worth 
 
 C of 
 
1 8 THE CHARACTER GF MR. HERVEY. 
 
 of the flarry worlds, and all the angelic legions. H« 
 felt the attradlions of Christ's love, and difcerned 
 more diftindlly and forcibly thofe attractions of love, 
 than the angels of heaven. He knew that all the 
 damned in hell were entirely defigned to difplay the 
 glory of Christ : that all the faved fouls in heaven, 
 in their ultimate deftination, were intended to difplay 
 the greatnefs of Christ's Godhead; the fitnefs of 
 his righteoufnefs to juftify ; the fulnefs of his grace 
 to make holy : the power of his arm to deliver, and 
 the ravifhing beauty of his perfon to endear himfelf 
 to the fouls of men. 
 
 He was governed in his whole temper and condufl 
 by the fupreme ends of his miniftry, which were the 
 utmoft glory of Christ, and the union of immortal 
 fouls to him. All his thoughts and ftudies were 
 tinctured with this defign. All his writings and fer- 
 mons were animated by this principle. Christ was, 
 in the highefl fenfe, his whole life : he lived from 
 Christ as the fountain of his life: he lived like 
 Christ, as the pattern of his life j and he lived t§ 
 his glory, as the end of his life. His great aim and 
 paflionate defire, was to bring fouls to know Christ $ 
 to make them wife men j to bring fouls to kve 
 Christ \ to make them good men, and to bring 
 fouls to foffejs Christ, to make them hap-py men. 
 Whatever books or converfation had this tendency, 
 it always met with his approbation. Whatever 
 fermons or writings had a tendency to negledl, or 
 pervert this end, they were fure to meet with his 
 lublime contempt, and filent difdain. You could 
 not pleafe him^better, than by dropping a hint how 
 Qhrist's perfonal and relative glory might be pror 
 mbted ; nor could you difpleafe him more, than by 
 manifefting a neglect of the Godhead and righteouf- 
 nefs of Chrut, .91: kflening his maftifeitative glorv 
 ij the world. 
 
 He 
 
THE CHARACTER OF MR. HERVEY. 19 
 
 He felt powerfully, and he obeyed with alacrity the 
 very befl motives to roufe him to a moft powerful zeal 
 for the glory of Christ. No man was more honeft 
 to put himfelf in the way of motives. No man was 
 more (incere in fearching out for the heft motives. 
 No man had a keener fenfibility, to feel the force of 
 thofe motives ; and no man was more diligent and 
 adtive to purfue the defign of thofe motives. All the 
 peculiar difcoveries of divine revelation, were the dar- 
 ling themes of his meditation. He confidered Christ 
 as the grand mirror of all the divine perfections; and 
 he confidered all revealed truth as flowing out of, and 
 to be refolved into the perfon and attributes, the 
 righteoufhefs and blood of God his Saviour. He 
 felt every motive, addrelTed to fear ^ arifing from the 
 confideration of evil. He felt every motive addreffed 
 to hope^ or the confideration of good to be enjoyed. 
 He felt all the motives addreffed to the generous paf- 
 fion of gratitude, which indeed is not any one parti- 
 cular pafTion, but a combination of all the finefl feel- 
 ings of the human mind. He felt all the motives a4- 
 dreffed to the noblefl ambition, and the highefl glory. 
 He confidered glory as the fame of the mofl excellent 
 virtue, attended with praife. He was notinfenfible of 
 the fuperior excellency of his own writings, and of 
 their amazing reception in the world; and with a 
 mofl amiable fimplicity, has confefTed to me, ^' I am 
 " apt to have too good an opinion of my own works." 
 But the grace of Christ, in a very fuperior degree, 
 raifed him above a palfionate zeal for his own honour, 
 and gave him a mofl ardent and commanding fenfe of 
 the tranfcendent glory of Christ. He accounted it 
 the mofl folid glory, and real greatnefs of a Chriftian 
 preacher^ to throw himfelf into the fhade. 
 
 C 2 5"^^ 
 
( 20 ) 
 
 The CHARJCTER of HERVET as a PHILOSO^ 
 PEER and a CHRISTIAN united, 
 
 PHILOSOPHY is the clear knowledge of the 
 beauties of creation ; the properties of matter ; the 
 laws of nature ; the powers and immortality of man; 
 the good and bad qualities of the human heart i and 
 the ultimate intention of God in the produdion and 
 prefervation of the univerfe. 
 
 HERVEY was born a Philofopher ; he carried 
 in his mind that flandard of good fenfe, which gave 
 him a delicate and correct perception of the beauty 
 of the worlds before he had read any books, or re- 
 ceived any inilrudions in Philofophy. His genius, 
 or aptitude to excel, led him to contemplate, with 
 rapture, the grandeur of the univerfe. He had the 
 unhappinefs to have the word tutors that ever exifted. 
 He was under one mailer for ten years, for clalfical 
 education. He told me with his own mouth, that his 
 mailer never made but one remark in reading the 
 Greek Teftament, and that was a very foohilione. I 
 wifn I could recoiled it^ for the fake of all fuch maf- 
 ters, with which this country abounds. He was five 
 years more under his tutor at Lincoln college, Ox- 
 ford ; that tutor behaved towards him with a falfe 
 dignity and haughty referve. 
 
 You will then fay, how could this youth commence 
 a natural philofopher ? I anfwer, he had no tutor 
 but the Providential agency of Jesus Christ, di- 
 redling his own genius and taile. The two firil years of 
 his being at college, were ipent in iauntering and 
 idienefs; not fo much through natural indolence, as 
 for want of a wile and faithful friend to diredl him 
 to proper fludies : he was ordered, in a very carelefs 
 manner, to read fuch and fuch books, which were al- 
 together unfuitable to his taile, and in an high degree 
 afforded matter of difguil and difcouragement. If I 
 
 wer^ 
 
*?HE CHARACTER OF HERVEY, &c. ^ 
 
 were to name thofe authors, I fhould do it with an 
 indignant feorn and contempt. At laft, by the pe- 
 culiar agency of Providence, he was led to read the 
 Abbe k Pkiche's Nature Difplayed, >Jveli known by 
 the title of Spedacle de la Nature. The intrinfic 
 beauty of the piece, allured his imagination and paf- 
 fions ; and when he had macje an entrance into the 
 work, he read with incefTant greedinefs, improvement, 
 and pleafure. This work cherillied and fomented his 
 natural paflion for knowledge : he added Dr. Der- 
 ham's Aftro-Theology. Tnis book, which is fupe- 
 rior to every other of the kind, afliflied him in his firft 
 learned ideas of the Starry Heavens, and led him into 
 views of the whole Newtonian Syftem of Philofophy, 
 His conceptions were farther aided by Ray's Wifdom 
 of God in Creation, and Dr. Derham's Demonftra- 
 tion of the Being and Attributes of God in his Phy- 
 fico-Theology. To thefe books he added, Keil's 
 Anatomy, which he ftudied with fuch incelTant atten- 
 tion, and perpetual reviews, as to make himfelf the 
 greateft mafter of the knowledge and elegance of the 
 ilru(5lure of the human body, above any man I ever 
 knew. He went on to read Mr. Spence's Five Dia- 
 logues on Pope's Tranflation of Homer, which he 
 often allured me gave him a greater infight into the 
 nature and beauty of compofition, than any author 
 he ever read. By the mod accurate digeCiion of thefe 
 authors, in his undcrftanding, and a continual con- 
 templation of the Book of Nature, he adorned his 
 mind, and polilhed his genius in the line of fcience. 
 
 Philofophy roufed and refined his tafle, purged his 
 undcrftanding from Atheifm, and all corrupt ideas 
 of God : expelled a low fuperftition, or falfe ideas of 
 the character and attributes of God, and cleared off 
 all erroneous conceptions of the nature of religion, 
 Philofophy gave him noble conceptions of the moral 
 perfections of the Deity : expanded his undcrftanding, 
 to take in great and wonderful thoughts of the wif- 
 dom. 
 
M THE CHARACTER OF HERVEY 
 
 dom, power, and goodnefs of God in creation. Phi- 
 lofophy purified his reafon from prejudices, and en- 
 larged all his intelleflual powers to a very great de- 
 gree. Philolbphy exhilerated his grand imagination, 
 fweetened his bell pafTions, and gladdened his heart. 
 Philofophy meliorated his will, or rational appetite 
 for goodnefs and beauty ; infpired dignity into his 
 temper, manners, and deportment: enlivened and 
 ennobled his converfation, and raifed him above all 
 low groveling difcourfe. Philofophy invigorated his 
 public fpirit, and roufed him unto a generous love of 
 his country, and to all mankind. Phijofophy, con- 
 nedled with religion, m^ade him the credit of his birth- 
 place, the honour of Great Britain, and the glory of 
 Europe. All thefe rich improvements of his mind, 
 he was free and zealous to declare, that they were not 
 owing to his own induflry, or exquifite powers of ge^ 
 nius, but they were folely owing to the gracious in- 
 fluence of an omnipotent God and Saviour. PTe 
 was grateful to confefs, that the Grace of God the 
 Holy Spirit, freed him from ten thoufand narrow 
 conceptions of men and things : purged away all falfe 
 judgments and puerile prejudices, concerning the uni- 
 verfe. He was noblv g;rateful to declare, that it was 
 the continual Grace of Christ upon his heart, that 
 fired up his m.editations and devotional exerciles ; in 
 thought engaged, and attention fixed ; in thought in- 
 flamed, and attention centered in the perfon, glory, 
 and righteoufnefs of Christ. Under the influence 
 of God the Spirit, he was formed to as great a degree 
 of philofophy and religion, as any man in the Britifh 
 empire ever poflefled. Philofophy, animated by vi- 
 tal religion, carried him direclly into an heart-union 
 with' Christ, enlarged the capacities of his under- 
 flianding, refl:ored him to felf-dominion and felf- en- 
 joyment : raifed him to the higheft end of his exifl:- 
 ence, and enabled him to live up to the height of his 
 being and immortal powers. Philofophy and devotion 
 
 produced 
 
AS A PHlLOSOPHfia. 2^ 
 
 produced and cherilhed the greatefl purity and fere- 
 nity of foul, and infpired in him the deepeil peace of 
 confcience or friendlhip with God his Saviour : in- 
 fufed into him a fenfe of liberty in God. He had a 
 liberty of Giace, and a profpecl of the liberty of 
 glory^ He could come with boldnefs to the throne 
 of God, wreflle with his Almighty Saviour, and 
 fay with Jacob, / will not let thee gOy except thou 
 hlejs me> His writings were always carried on by a 
 daily converfe with Christ j and his manufcripts for 
 the prefs, (all which paiTed through my hands) were 
 frequently beautified with continual afpirations to 
 Christ, which, though often concealed by the erafe- 
 ment of his pen, yet I could peep under the covering-, 
 and read with great pleafure and improvement. 
 
 By found Philofophy and true Religion united, lie 
 jfpiritualized the whole fyftem of the univerfe in all 
 its parts, as illuflrated by the amiable Le Pluche ; the 
 fagacious and devout Dr. Derham ; the pious and 
 elegant Archbifhop of Cambray 1 the mafculine An- 
 drew Baxter, and demonftrated by Sir Ifaac Newton. 
 Enlightened and directed by thefe great authors, he 
 flew likcuin eagle all round the globe, and ranged like 
 an angel all over the fkies. 
 
 Philofophy and Religion taught him to obferv^e 
 the motions of Providence j to adore the wifdom 
 of Providence ; and comply with the defigns of 
 providence in every minute affair of his life. Ke 
 realized the hand of Christ on every event, every 
 day, ^-^tx^ hour, every morning and evening, of his 
 happy life. He faw much of God his Saviour in 
 every creature, and he conlidered every creature to be 
 nothing without God. In all he thought, fpoke, and 
 acted, he was governed by this grand principle^, 
 *^ that every creature is that to us, and no mere, thaa 
 ** what Christ makes it to be." 
 
 Philofophy, united to vital Religion, carried his 
 foul, by an happy progreflive motion, into God his 
 S.^vipuR, Every time I vifited him, iii the courfe of 
 
 twelve 
 
24 THE CHARACTER OF HERVEY 
 
 twelve half years^ I obferved, with filent aftonilh- 
 ment, what frefli progrefs he had made in a life of ho- 
 linefs; his temper towards Christ, more animated 
 by faith and love ; his attention to the perfon of 
 Christ, and his difpofition to fit at his feet, more 
 tender and fixed : his habits of imitation of Christ's 
 temper and dependance upon his interceflion, more 
 fenfible and evident. His perception of the natural 
 and moral attributes of God, more diftindl and for- 
 cible, his obedience to the divine will, more free; 
 his truft in divine Providence advanced to an higher 
 deg-ree j his delight in the grandeur and beauty of 
 God, and his communion with him, in every moment 
 of his rational exiftence, and in all the vital emotions 
 of his pafTions, more feeling and fenfible to himfelf^ 
 and more convincing to his obfervant friends. 
 
 The operations of vital holinefs in his heart, ap- 
 peared more bright and amiable to others, than it did 
 to hlmfelf. His humility was carried to an excefs, if 
 it is poiTible for any excefs to be in humility. He 
 had fuch a low opinion of himfelf, that he was almoft 
 ready, fometimes, to rcCiga his underftanding to the 
 dictates of other men. I do not fay that he ever ac- 
 tually did it ; but this I will affirm, that the greateft 
 foible 1 ever obferved in him, was too low an opinion 
 of one of the nobleft works he ever wrote : I mean 
 his Eleven Letters upon Juftitication, by Christ's 
 imputed Righteoufnefs. Thefe letters were written 
 with his dying hand. And what is faid of a much in- 
 ferior author, concerning a Poem upon the Lord's 
 Prayer, and the fear of God, may be more juflly ap- 
 plied to him, when compofing thefe letters. 
 
 ** Wr£j}li?ig nxiith Death he did thofe lines indite,] 
 ** No other the7ne could gi've his foul delight,^* 
 
 Wa l l e r . 
 
 If you confider.the Character of Hervey as a Phl- 
 lofopher and Chriflian united, you fee in him the 
 
 fweeteil 
 
AS A PHILOSOPHER. 25 
 
 fweeteft meeknefs in the government of his anger. 
 Never did I fee him in a frame of mind that was not 
 fit for immediate death. If the pride and petulance 
 of one of the moft falfe-hearted men fhat ever lived, 
 could have moved him to undue anger, I fhould have 
 {ten it either in the features of his countenance ; or 
 the language of his lipsj or in his letters to me; or in 
 his fuperior letters to his enemy 3 but not a trace of 
 improper commotion can be found. It was wonder- 
 ful to confider how he could preferve fuch a beauti- 
 ful temper of meeknefs in a confiftency with his ar- 
 dent zeal for the dodlrine of juflification, by the im- 
 puted righteoufnefs of Christ, or Christ's a6live 
 and palTive obedience put down to our account and 
 credit, by an a6l of God, as a Father and a Judge. 
 
 His contentment with the allotments of Provi- 
 dence was fo great, that I never law the leaft mark of 
 diflatisfadtion or fretfulnefs in him. His fortitude in 
 bearing afflidlions was wonderful; but his fortitude in 
 defending truth was more fo : he had no dread of any 
 confequences : he had no flavifh fear of any man upon 
 earth ; and if he had been called to preach before the 
 King, Lords, and Commons, he would not have 
 ihunned to declare the whole counfel of God. 
 
 With refped; to his temperance and chaflity, I be- 
 lieve no man in Great Britain, or in the whole world, 
 was ever a more perfed pattern ; and all his graces 
 and condudl were under the dire6lion of the moft 
 confummate prudence. I never faw one inftance of 
 imprudence in his behaviour and condud: in the whole 
 fix years of my converfation with him. 
 
 liis /octal graces towards mankind were moft beau- 
 tiful and exemplary ; his benevolence had no other 
 limits than the empire of God : every thing, except 
 the fin and madnefs of men and devils, was the ob- 
 jed of his love. If the definition of virtue given us 
 by Prefident Edwards, " that it is univerfal benevo- 
 lence to being 5'' I lay, if this be a right definition, and 
 
 D nobody 
 
25 THE CHARACTER OF HERVEY 
 
 nobody can prove that it is wrong, then Hervey was 
 one of the nioft virtuous men that ever lived. He 
 had the tendered regard for immortal fouls : he had 
 the ftrongefl mercy to men, confidered as finners and 
 miferable : he had the tendered compaffion for poor 
 men drawn into error, and could make the moft can- 
 did allowance for the different imprefTions of truth 
 and religion, upon the human underftanding and 
 confcience : he kindly confidered, that perfons who 
 had no education, and perfons who had received a 
 corrupt and bad education, had very different con- 
 ceptions of God and truth, from thofe perfons, who 
 in their earlieft years were trained up in right ideas, 
 of all the parts of faith, worlhip, and morals. He had 
 yet greater candour, if it was pofTible, towards all 
 true Chriifians, who differed in their apprehenfions 
 of fome part of truth: he clearly faw that God did, 
 not give equal impreffions of the powers of the world 
 to come ; that is to fay, invifible perfons and invifi- 
 ble tranfaflions : he fully knew, that all believers 
 had not conceptions equally diftindl, and equally for- 
 cible : he judicioufly thought, that true believers had 
 different natural capacities, and that they had diffe- 
 rent age and ftature in the Chriftian life : he wifely 
 diilinguiflied between new-born babes and little chil- 
 dren : he did not confound thefe with ftrong men and 
 fathers in ChPvIst : he made all proper and juft al- 
 lowances for perfons who laboured under great dif- 
 advantages, by reading improper books, or fitting 
 under a puerile and injudicious miniftry : he clearly 
 difcerned, that God, our Saviour, was an abfolute 
 fovereign over his own grace ; and that he gave one, 
 or five, or ten talents, juft as it pleafed him i and 
 that he calls fome perfons to higher and more ardu- 
 ous fervices ; and that by a greater force of under- 
 Handing, and by having the advantage of a very cor- 
 re6l and judicious education, by the effects of long 
 a|id hard ftydy 5 by a mgre free and ample converfe 
 
 with 
 
AS A PHILOSOPHER. 27 
 
 with the Chrlftian world -, and above all, by the 
 brighter illuminations of God the Holy Spirit, fome 
 Chriflians would rife almoft to the flature and beauty 
 of angels ; whilfl other Chriflians refembled little 
 dwarfs; that fome Chriftians had the elevation of the 
 cedars of Lebanon, while others refembled the fra- 
 grant myrtle tree ; others, like the green olive i and 
 others, like the humble box-tree ; yet all were fitted 
 to beautify the garden of God. 
 
 His love and compafTion for the poor, rofe to 
 fuch an aftonilhing degree, as I never difcerned in 
 any other human being : he appeared to be nothing 
 but bowels of mercy : he had a powerful difpofition 
 to feed them, to clothe them, and in{lru6l them in 
 the true method of falvation, by our Lord, Jesus 
 Christ : he did but juft allow himfelf the necefla- 
 ries of life, in order that he might have the more to 
 beftow on the people of God, and minifters of 
 Christ. He kept no money by him, any longer 
 than till he could difpofe of it to fome good ufe ; yet 
 he made no account of the money that he gave 
 away ; he tried to forget every thing he did, and 
 could not bear to have any body mention any chari- 
 table adion he had done. 
 
 His fpirit of forgivenefs of injuries was almoft un- 
 paralleled. If any body fpoke ill of him ; if any per- 
 ibn wrote him an abufive letter, his only pain was, 
 to think that they were dlftempered or bad people ^ 
 and in proportion as they were malignant, they w^ere 
 miferable : it was always the joy of his heart to do 
 good for evil ;• and he did that good with the greateft 
 cafe and complacency. 
 
 His heart was the feat of moral juftice and truth ; 
 his will was endued with a permanent principle of juf- 
 tice, which determined him to do all thofc things 
 which his underftanding perceived fit and right to 
 be done. He had the higheft regard to the rights 
 of God, and the rights of man ; and lie dcfired to 
 
 D 2 ^ ve 
 
2B THE CHARACTER OF HERVEY. 
 
 give to God the rights of his law, and the rights of 
 his Gol'pel : he was equally willing to give to all men 
 their rights in the full extent, refpedting their good 
 name and reputation, their bodies, fouls, and eftates. 
 Truth fhone in the conceptions of his underflanding, 
 the intentions of the heart, the expreflions of his pen 
 and tongue, and in all the a6tions of his life. 
 
 Hervey was remarkably juft and true in his friend- 
 fhips ; if once he took a perfon into his heart, all the 
 powers of earth and hell could never get him out ; 
 nothing but your own bad condu6t, could make 
 him alter his friendfhip for you ; and that friendfhip, 
 fo long as you did not forfeit it, was not only fteady 
 and fincere, but remarkably tender and generous : if 
 he thought you a wife and worthy perfon, his heart 
 was all your own ; his head contrived for your wel- 
 fare J his tongue gave you the wifeft counfel, and the 
 moft faithful reproof; his pen was employed to ani- 
 mate your devotion, and cheer your heart. In the 
 compafs of above fifty years, I never found fo wife 
 and faithful a friend. 
 
 His fincerity was pure and tranfparent to the very 
 bottom of his being : he never difguifed his fenti- 
 ments of men, and books, and things ; you faw at 
 once, into the whole intention of his heart ; he had 
 not one fentiment of religion or fcience, that he 
 wifhed to conceal : he had no difguifes or doublings 
 in his whole temper or deportment towards God or 
 man : he had a pafiionate defire to pleafe God in" 
 every thing : he defired to know the will of God ir^ 
 the moft minute affairs of life ; and he obeyed that 
 will to the uttermoft of his power : his thoughts, 
 words, and actions, had a fingular correfpondence 
 with each other : he was uniformly the fame at home 
 and abroad, in Iblitude and in company, and in all 
 the conditions and circumftances of human life. 
 
 The 
 
i ^9 1 
 
 rhe CHARACTER of HERFET as a REGENE^ 
 RATE MAN, 
 
 He had certainly pafifed under a fenfible and mio-hty 
 change, wrought in his foul by the efficacious grace 
 of God the Holy Spirit. He had experienced the 
 infufion of a vital principle, or a new mental habit, or 
 difpofition to live to God. The law of God, and a 
 divine nature, were put into and formed in the foul, 
 enabling this man to a6t in a holy and pleafing man- 
 ner towards God, and to grow up in the beauty of 
 holinefs to eternal glory in the heavens, 
 
 Confider Hervey as a regenerate man, as having pafTed 
 under a change.— It was a real change, and not ima- 
 ginary : it was a peculiar change, yet common to all 
 true Chriftians: it was a change, quite contrary to his 
 former temper of mind : it was every way as oppo- 
 fite to his natural ftate, as .light is to darknefs ; as 
 fummer is to winter ; as day is to night ; as heat is to 
 cold ; as fertility is to barrennefs ; as fpirit is to flefh j 
 as fweet is to bitter ; as beauty is to ughnefs ^ as life 
 is to death j as purity is to fin^ as an angel is to a de- 
 vil ; as heaven is to hell. 
 
 This good and great man had pafled under a uni- 
 verfal change, in his whole perfon of foul and body. 
 This new creation bears a ftrong refemblance to the 
 firfl creation, and to human generation. It is through- 
 out a new creation ; intirely a new generation ; a new 
 birth in all its parts : it bears proportion to corruption 
 in all the parts of it : tends to expel, by degrees, the 
 whole frame and genius of original fin in every part 
 of body and foul : it fpreads its influence through 
 all the powers and paffions of the human mind. 
 
 The proper feat of grace is the fubflance or elTence 
 of the foul, and therefore it influences every faculty 
 and aff^edion ; «very fenfe and fentiment. 
 
 There 
 
30 THE CHARACTER OF KERVEY 
 
 There is a gracious harmony of parts in the whole 
 new man, in all the light of the underftanding j the 
 choice of the will ; the tendernefs of the confcience ; 
 the retention of the memory ; the purity and gran- 
 deur of the imagination ; the love and joy of the paf- 
 fions ; the richnefs and fertility of the invention j the 
 correclnefs and delicacy of the tafte^ for all that is holy 
 and beautiful in heaven and earth. 
 
 This amiable man had pafTed under an inward 
 change in piinciple, intentions, thoughts, and com- 
 forts: he had experienced a change of principle, or 
 fpring of aclion in the foul. Faith was the grand 
 fpring of all his holy adions, working by ardent love 
 to God and man : no perfon better underflood the na- 
 ture of faith : no man more clearly knew the founda- 
 tion of faith, and no believer produced richer effects 
 and fruits of faith. 
 
 He had experienced a change of intention and end. 
 His whole aim was the honour of God, and the glory 
 of Christ's moral perfections. 
 
 Self, feif is the fole end of the old man, the cor- 
 rupt nature : God is tht Ible end of the new man. 
 Christ's glory is the fole end and intention of the 
 new and divine nature. The intention of God our Sa- 
 viour, in the new creation, is for himfelf to reprelent 
 his wifdom and goodnels -, his holinefs, juilice, and 
 truth. 
 
 The new creation is an evangelical imprelTion upon 
 the foul, and therefore correfponds in its intention, 
 and holy inclination, with the grand dciign of the 
 Gofpel. 
 
 T'his new creation. Is the bringing forth of the foul 
 into a likenefs to God, the Redeemer, as the pat- 
 tern 'and end of divine grace. 
 
 The end of the new creation, is to advance the 
 foul above the power of fin, into the beauty of holi- 
 nefs ; above the power of fatan, into union vv^ith 
 Christ ; above the fpirit of the world, into the bo- 
 fom of God. ' It 
 
AS A REGENERATE MAN, 31 
 
 It is impofTible for a Ibiil to have this new creation, 
 without a change of intention and defign. This change 
 of end or defign, doth alone fit the foul for its proper 
 actions, fervices, and true felicity in' Christ, our 
 redeemins; God. 
 
 View this excellent man in the change of his 
 thoughts : thoughts are refle6led perceptions of the 
 mind : thoughts are the a6lions of the human un- 
 derftanding on the objefts of material nature, or 
 qn the invifible objects of the fpiritual world, dif- 
 covered by divine revelation. There was a fingu- - 
 lar and remarkable change in the thoughts of Her- 
 vey, concerning all things in heaven, earth, and hell; 
 all things vifible and invifible ; all things good or 
 bad i all things pair, prefent, or future. 
 
 He had a peculiar change, with refpe(5l to his com- 
 fort and joys : he had no more joy in fin,' or the pe- 
 rifliing things of time and fenfc ; he had no more joy 
 in the vain applaufes, the perifl:iing riches, or thti va- 
 nifning plealures of a polluted world ; but his joy 
 centered in Christ 5 and his comifort flowed from 
 God, the Holy Spirit. Joy, is an agreeable fen- 
 fation, or pleafure, excited by the prefence of beauty 
 and goodnefs, with the profped of a full fruition of 
 the lupreme good, by the perception of its real na- 
 ture ; by a vital union with its moft amiable beauty ; 
 a full refl of the foul in its elfence, without interrup- 
 tion or feparation -, a rich delight, without difguil or 
 difappointment ; a free ufe, without denial or dimi- 
 nution ; and a full enjoym.ent of pleafure in the moft 
 rapturous degree of inward fenfation and reflexion 
 cn God, the Redeemer. 
 
 Hervey experienced and exhibited an outward 
 change, in all its beautiful effe6ls -, and with refpedl to 
 all external obje£ls, he difcovered this outward change 
 in all his natural a6lions. If there was ever any man, 
 who eat and drank to the glory of God, Hervey was 
 the man. In all his civil and moral actions, punclu- 
 
 ality 
 
32 THE CHARACTER OF HERVEY 
 
 ality was the maxim -, Christ*s glory was the end. 
 In all his common converfation with good men, or 
 bad, every thing was tinctured with religion ; and if 
 he had not Christ every miniite on his tongue, he 
 had him always in his heart. Need it then be told, 
 that in all his religious a6lions, Christ was the prin- 
 ciple, the pattern, and the end ? 
 
 View Hervey, as pofTefTed of a vital principle, or 
 fpring of fpiritual adlion, in God, and from God : 
 he knew what it was to pafs from fpiritual death to 
 fpiritual life : he was quickened and enlivened, who 
 had been dead in trefpaffes and fins -, he was endowed 
 with a living, powerful, felf- a6tive, or divine motion, 
 animating his foul and body for God. 
 
 The formal nature or eiTence of life, of every kind 
 and degree, is very fublime, myflerious, and in com - 
 prehenfible : life is animated exiftence, and we cannot 
 give a clearer definition of life. Yet, although we 
 know, that life is felf-motion ; its effence, and many 
 of its properties, are quite above our underflandlng. 
 We have this comfort and fatisfaftion, that no bo- 
 tanift can better tell us, what is vegetative life, than we 
 can tell what is fpiritual life : no anatomift can more 
 clearly declare, what is animal life, than we know 
 what is divine hfe : I fay again, not the greateft metaphy- 
 ficians in the world, even Locke, and Bifhop Berkely, 
 can more clearly define what is rational life, than we 
 can tell what is fpiritual life. Not the greateft me- 
 taphy ficians in the world, can more clearly define what 
 is rational life, than we can declare what are the pro- 
 perties of the religious life. We know for a cer- 
 tainty, that the religious life is a ftate of holy, a6tive 
 cxiftence, or felf-motion^ under the influence of God, 
 the Holy Spirit. 
 
 That great phyfician. Dr. Mead, defines life in' 
 this manner : life is a circulation of the blood from 
 the heart, by the arteries, and its return. back to the 
 heart, bv the fame canals inverted. 
 
 In 
 
AS A REGENERATE MAN. 33 
 
 In this manner, we define fpiritual life, it is an 
 cnaanation from God the Son, who is the efficient 
 life of every believer, and this ftream of vital holy 
 animation, circulates through all the powers and paf- 
 fions of the believer's foul, and returns back again to 
 God, the efficient life, in llreams of love, gratitude, 
 and obedience* 
 
 Firft. Is natural life felf-aflive exiftence under the 
 agency of God the Spirit ? So is fpiritual life. 
 
 Second. Is natural life a pov/er or ability for ac- 
 tion ? Thus fpiritual life is a power or ability for holy 
 ii^lion. 
 
 Third. Is natural life the refult of union between 
 foul and body ? So fpiritual life is owing to a vital 
 union of the foul with Christ* 
 
 Fourth. Is natural life diffufed through all the 
 parts of the body ? So fpiritual life is diffufed through 
 all the powers of the foul. 
 
 Fifth. Does natural life (land in need of God*s in- 
 cefTant agency ? And do we live and move, and have 
 our exiftence in God ? So does fpiritual life every 
 moment depend upon the agency of the Spirit of God. 
 
 Sixth. Does natural life need every day frefh food, 
 frefli air, fupplies of meat and drink, warm clothing, 
 and feafonable phyfic ? Thus does fpiritual life need 
 the frefli air of the Holy Spirit, the flefli of Christ, 
 which is meat indeed J the blood of Christ, which 
 is drink indeed; the clothing of Christ's Righte- 
 oufnefs, and the feafonable phyfic of fatherly afflic- 
 tions. 
 
 Seventh. Does natural life operate by the five 
 fenfes, feeing, hearing, feeling, tafting, and fmelhng? 
 So does fpiritual life : it fees the beauty of Christ : 
 it hears his gracious and powerful voice: it feels the 
 conftraining force of his eternal love : it taftes that 
 the Lor d is gracious, and the fweetnefs of his pro- 
 mifes : it fmells the fragrance of his good ointments, 
 orthe graces of his Spirit. 
 
 E Eighth. 
 
34 THE CHARACTER OF HERVEV 
 
 Eighth. Does natural life exert itfelf in ten thoufand 
 different operations, by walking, working, converfa- 
 tion, weeping, rejoicing, loving, and hating ; by hunger 
 and third -, by pain and pleafure, and all the infinite va- 
 riety of the primitive and derivative pafTions, in their 
 fimple and compound operations ? So does fpirituai 
 life. Thus we have exemplified our aflertion, that the 
 religious and divine life, is every way as well known 
 in its effence and properties, as animated exiftence in 
 the vegetative, the animal^ and the rational kingdoms 
 of nature : and in all thefe various operations, Hervey 
 difplayed himfelf a truly fpirituai and religious man. 
 
 Viezv HERVET as a Man endowed with a divine men- 
 tal Habit y infufed into his Soulj hy GOD the HOLT 
 SPIRIT. 
 
 A divine mental habit is an inward frame of heart, 
 or radical difpofition of the will, enabling a man to 
 a6l with eafe and readinefs for the glory of Christ, 
 and conformable to the divine holinefs. 
 
 Firft. This was a real habit, and not imaginary : 
 it is polTeffed by every true Chriftian in heaven and 
 on earth : it is a ftrong inclination or fixed bent of 
 the will to God : it is a divine aptitude to excel in 
 holinefs towards God the Redeemer, and all the ob- 
 je6ls of our free agency : it difcovers itfelf in ten 
 thoufand modes of adrion -, and this holy bent of the 
 will is neceflary for ail gracious anions towards God 
 the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and towards all 
 mankind. This habit is but one, as the foul of man 
 is but one fim.ple principle of rational operation ; fo 
 grace is but one fimple principle of holy opera- 
 tion. 
 
 This habit receives various denominations, or 
 names, from the feat or fubje6t of it, that is, the foul 
 in which it refides : in the underllanding, it is the 
 knowledge of God our Saviour ; in the will, it is 
 
 the 
 
AS A REGENERATE MAN. 35 
 
 the choice of God: in the afFeclions^ it is a motion 
 towards God. 
 
 This habit receives different names from the ob- 
 je<5ls by which it is diverfified : as it clofts with Christ 
 crucified and dying, it is fiith ; as it rejoices in a de- 
 lightful union with Christ living, it is love: as it lies 
 at Christ's fttt, it is humility: as it obferves the 
 will of Christ, it is obedience: as it fubmits to 
 Christ's rod, it is patience and refignation : as it is 
 fatisfied with the appointments of Providence, it is 
 contentment: as it burns for Christ's glory, it is 
 zeal : as it teaches us to refle6l upon fin with Ibrrow 
 and indignation, it is repentance : as it feels an high 
 degree of pleafure in Christ's perfon and perfec- 
 tions, it is joy. 
 
 . Here we will take a view of the nature of regene- 
 ration in Hervey's foul, as it is a vital principle and 
 a holy habit, united both together in one operation ; 
 it is therefore a motion to God, and a motion for God, 
 as the refult of a motion from God the Holy Spirit j 
 and it mufl be, and really is, ready in diipofirion, 
 and ready in a6livity of motion. Firll, it is ready 
 in difpofition for motion j it is difpofed to every o-ood 
 word and work, when God calls and fmiles, at any 
 timiC, in any place, and upon any occafion whatfoever. 
 
 This readinefs to God, and for God, is radicallv, 
 in every regenerate foul in the whole world ; yet it 
 doth not always adually appear every day or every 
 hour. This readinefs to every good work, doth not 
 adcually appear in perfons newly regenerated; the 
 loweil degree of this habit, is a purpofe of heart to 
 cleave to the Lord Jesus, Ads xi. 23. 
 
 This fpiritual principle and holy habit united, was 
 the caufe in Hervey's foul, which made him ready in 
 adive motion : it made him naturally active in mo- 
 tion towards Christ : all vital adtions are from na- 
 ture itfclt and it is the nature and effence of the 
 
 ]E 2 divine 
 
SS THE CHARACTER OF HERVEY 
 
 divine life to be felf-adtive, and always in motion to-? 
 wards God the Redeemer. 
 
 He was voluntarily adlive : he had a free choice not 
 forced by God or man : free grace always produces 
 free will to good : holy men are the only free-meri of 
 God upon earth. 
 
 He v/as fervently a6live : his foul burned with ar- 
 dour to do fomething noble for God every day of his 
 life : he was zealous, like godlike Phinehas' againft 
 fin; like David againft Goliath; like Christ fcourg- 
 ing the buyers and fellers out of the temple; like 
 Paul preaching at Athens, when his fpirit was ftirred 
 in him to fee the idolatry of the city. 
 
 Hervey was mloundedly adlive for Christ: he 
 knew no limits: he difdained all reftraints in his ar- 
 dour for God, and againft fin: he was unbounded in 
 his affedlion for God : his foul burned with defire to 
 reft every moment in the bofom of Christ: he ar- 
 idently wifhed even to a raging thirft for clearer per- 
 ceptions of the divine attributes, a more intenfe union 
 with the foul and Godhead of Jesus Christ; to feel 
 in him a reft undifturbed, and to have from him a 
 rich fruition, without denial or limitation. He had * 
 an ardent delight in Christ without bounds; and he 
 wiftied to increafe every moment, to eternity, in per- 
 ceptions of his perfon; of union of heart with heart; 
 a reft in his love, and to have ftill deeper and deeper 
 delights in the ufe of all God's perfedions. 
 
 His foul was unbounded in difaffection to fin: he 
 ardently defired to have an eternal difunion from fin : 
 he hated it with a mortal averfion; that is, a defire 
 to kill it; and at the fame time he had an immortal 
 hatred to tin, as long as God's holinefs ftiould en- 
 dure : he burned with rage againft fin : he was fully 
 refolved upon its death and utter ruin; that is, a to- 
 tal deftrudion of its being in the foul. 
 
 ' He was fower fully ad:ive for God. This fpiritual 
 life and holy habit united, gives aftonifhing ftrength, 
 
 vigour 
 
AS A REGENERATE MAN. 5^ 
 
 vigour, refolution, and fortitude to the foul. Grace al- 
 ways adds ftrength to the mind, and fixes the determi- 
 nations of the will for God : we have glorious exam- 
 ples of this kind in Scripture: it was 'this powerfully 
 adive principle, that enabled Jaco]b to wreftle with 
 Jesus and prevail : it was this that gave a ftrength 
 of chaftity to Jofeph: this infpired fortitude into 
 Jofiiua, and made Mofes not fear the wrath of the 
 king: this infufed courage into Caleb, to outbrave 
 three paillions of Ifraelites : this gave a poor widow 
 ftrength of foul to refolve, never to part with her 
 mother-in-law in poverty: this infpired ftrength of 
 mind, into the ftripling David, to meet that monfter 
 of a man, Goliath : this principle enabled three heroes 
 to dare the flames for God^ and enabled Daniel to 
 meet a den of lions, rather than ceafe to pray. This 
 gave to Mordecai, that ftout fpirit againft proud Ha- 
 man : this infpired Paul with a godlike fortitude, to 
 fay none of thefe things move me j and what mean ye 
 to weep and break mine heart ? I am willing not onlv 
 to be bound, but ready to die for the name of the 
 Lord Jesus: it was this vidlorious principle that 
 gave ftrength of mind to all the martyrs, to kifs the 
 ftake, and fing in the flames. And I know that 
 Mr. Hervey had the fame intrepid refolution, rather 
 to die, for the fake of the Lord Jesus, than to give 
 up one truth. He was a dreadnought, in defending 
 the glorious do6lrine of juftification by Christ's im- 
 puted Righteoufnefs. 
 
 This fpiritual principle and holy habit united, made 
 him eafily a6live for Christ. 
 
 The motions of the foul are always eafy, when it 
 • moves upon wheels nicely made, and oiled by the 
 freeft love of God. Every thing that Hervey faid 
 and did in religion, was done with wonderful eafe. 
 There was a freedom in his converfation, in his writ- 
 ings, in his fermons, that was almoft inimitable. Ne- 
 ver did I fee dignity and freedom fo happily united. 
 
 Ihis 
 
^t THE CHARACTER OF HERVEV 
 
 This leads me to oblerve, that he was pleajantly ac- 
 tive for Christ ; all his adions flowing from life and 
 an holy habit, were agreeable and pleafant. His foul 
 rejoiced to aft for Christ, and to exercife himfelf for 
 his o-lory, in great, new, and beautiful exertions of 
 crrace. He was pleafed in obedience, or in fuffering ; 
 in fevcre Itudies and lofty contemplations, and in all 
 kinds of devout exercifes of the heart, like the amia- 
 ble Mrs. Rowe, or the accurate Dr. Witfius. His 
 foul rebounded with joy, as much at an opportunity 
 tor pleafmg and glojrifying Christ, as John the Bap- 
 tifl rejoiced at the approach of the mother of our 
 
 Lord. 
 
 He had a permanent activity for Christ all tho^ 
 days of his hfe. If ever any manobferved the fenfe 
 and fpiric of an old good rule, ^^ count that day loft 
 on which the fetring fun fees from thine hand no no- 
 ble action done,'' it was James Kervey. It is afto- 
 niihino- to think, that a man of fuch a feeble conftitu- 
 tion could go through fuch a conftant feries of elevated 
 thoucyhts and contemplation : fuch incefiant writing 
 for the public : fuch an extenfive correfpondence by 
 letters, and fuch unwearied beneficence to the poor : 
 Every day, and every week; every month, and every 
 year, to the iaft m.oment of his life, was filled up with 
 love to Christ ; love to his people, and to his coun- 
 try . With jufc propriety he m.ight aiTume Mr. Bradbu- 
 ry's m.otto. Pro Cbrijh pro palria -y I live for Christ 
 and my country. 
 
 Grace is a ftate of active exiftence from God the 
 Holy Spirit : it is a perpetual motion of the foul 
 in the hfe and perfections of the Lord Jesus Christ: 
 he lived from Christ, as his principle : he lived like 
 Christ, as his pattern ; and he lived to Christ as 
 his Iaft end. Fie might juftly fay with the apoftle 
 Paul', for me to hve is Christ ; and he had a thou- 
 fand reafons for living to Christ, becaufe he had a 
 new principle of grace out of the fulnefs of Christ: 
 
 .he 
 
AS A REGENERATE MAN. 39 
 
 he had a- precious vital union with Christ : he had 
 daily rich lupplies from Christ : he had a full con- 
 Vidlion, that with refpedt to all outward mercies, ic 
 was coo low and mean for him to Jive upon them. 
 He had a moft endearing love to Christ's perfon; 
 and whenever he felt any withdrawings of Christ's 
 pfefence, he found it very painful and diftrefiing. He 
 law it was a dreadful thing to be without Christ, and 
 that ten thoufand worlds without him were but cy- 
 phers and bubbles. He valued Christ as the pearl 
 of great price ; and he had a feeling experience, that 
 Christ's loving kindnefs was better than life in a 
 thoufand points of view. Christ had done and dif- 
 fered o;reat things for him, and he had received .^reat 
 things from him; wifdom, righteoufnefs, fandtifica- 
 tion, and redemption. He had received (Irong con- 
 folations for his confcience ; that is to fay, rich cordi- 
 als, which are vidlorious over all oppofition, and du- 
 rable without ruin and decay. He expefted greater 
 things from Christ i better and better through life, 
 and to eternity. He clearly faw that there was no 
 objedl in the univerfe fo glorious as the Lord Jesus 
 Christ 5 and that the whole creation is empty trafli 
 without him. He knew as well as any man, that 
 Christ had paid all his debts: that he had fuffered 
 for all his fins : that he had wrought out an everlafting 
 righteoufnefs for his juftification : that he had begun 
 a glorious work of fancftification in his foul : that he 
 had fecured the higheil end of his exillence, and that 
 his fecurity was greater than his interefl: : his intereft 
 was that of a created finite foul, but his fecurity was 
 that of an infinite uncreated God. 
 
 There was a beautiful order in all the activity and 
 motions of Hervey's foul for the glory of Christ. 
 Grace loves beautiful order and method in all its ope- 
 rations. The foul does all for God, in number, 
 weight, and meafurc; in time, place, and manner. 
 That which our moral philofophers fpeak of virtue, 
 
 is 
 
40 THE CHARACTER OF HERVEY. 
 
 is only true in the hlgheft fenfe of divine grace: they 
 fpeak very much of the to Tr^tTroi/, the fitnefs of vir- 
 tue ', the TO xaXoi/, the beauty of virtue ; the to ocyx^ov^ 
 the goodnefs of virtue. All this fitnefs, beauty, and 
 goodnefsj appeared in the temper and anions of this 
 
 great man. 
 
 Upon a review of the refult of this divine change, 
 this fpiritual principle, this gracious bent and habit of 
 holinefs, which was infufed into Hervey's foul by the 
 Spirit of God ; from a continued activity for God, 
 and towards God, we may obferve, that there fol- 
 lowed two grand efFecls ; a predominance of grace 
 and antipathy to fin. Thefe Ihone in the foul of* 
 Hervey. Firft, there was a predominance of grace in 
 his new nature. Grace will Itrive refolutely for the 
 maftery over lufl and corruption : it will fpeak the 
 lafb word for the King of kings. Grace is nobly am- 
 bitious to be abfolute monarch under God the Re- 
 deemer. — Secondly, there was in his foul, a difficulty 
 to fin : no creature can a6t pleafantly againft a rooted 
 habic : it muft be difficult to fin againft purpofe of 
 heart, Adts xi. 23. 
 
 When a regenerate man commits a wilful fin, he 
 has a thoufand barriers againft the commiffion of it ; 
 he muft fin againft a new heart j a new creature ^ a 
 divine nature; the root of the matter; the fear of 
 God put into the heart; a bent of will and tafte for 
 holinefs; a clear fenfe of the beauty and dignity of 
 holinefs, Thefe are fome of the difficulties that lie in 
 the way of fin. 
 
 It is hard for a man to fin who hath cordially cho- 
 fen God for his portion. Pfalm ckix. 57. Tbou art 
 my portwty Lord. Lam. iii. 24. The Lord is my 
 portion, faith my foul y therefore will I hope in him, 
 
 N. B. This was the text of fcriptilre, that fet a 
 very good man in full fixed liberty for life.* 
 
 ♦ The excellent Mr. Jofeph Williams, of Kidderjnlnller. 
 
 It 
 
AS A REGENERATE MAN. 41 
 
 It is difEcult for a true believer to contradift that 
 new habit, with which he is fo highly pleafed, and 
 which is a beautiful refemblance of God. 
 
 It muft be difficult to a6t that fin, which by virtue 
 of this holy habit, he is daily ftriving to eradicate and 
 deftroy. 
 
 It is difficult for the habit of Hn, in a regenerate 
 man, to do the fame adtions, after it hath received a 
 deadly wound : as it is for a man deeply wounded, to 
 do what'he could when he was found, wind and limb. 
 
 This new nature cannot be in a man without a uni* 
 ¥erfal enmity to fin every day of his life ; although a 
 Chriftian has not a univerfal vidlory, yet he can but 
 half lin at moft, when regenerate. 
 
 Some perfons may object the cafes of David and 
 Peter. Mr. Henry wifely remarks, that even David 
 did not repeat his lewdnefs ; and with refpedl to Pe* 
 ter, who fwore twice, and curfed himfelf once, and 
 <iid as it were bind his foul down to damnation, yet a 
 iingle look from Christ made him go out and weep 
 bitterly. With refpe£t to this holy man whofe charac- 
 ter we are writing, the power of fin was fo far bro- 
 ken, and the principle and venom of fin fo far 
 wafted, that it was not only very difficult for him to 
 commit fin, but it was exceeding difficult for him to 
 "•avoid a delight and joy in God. This leads us to 
 another profpecSt of regeneration. 
 
 View it as a law put into the heart, and written 
 upon the everlafting tables of the foul, by the finger 
 ©f God the Spirit. 
 
 Every creature animate an4 inanimate is under a 
 law to God, The law of gravitation runs through 
 univerfal nature, from a grain pf fand to feventy-fivc 
 millions of funs, each of them feven hundred thoufand 
 miles diameter. 
 
 The laws ,of vegetation run through all the plants, 
 trees, and flowers, from the hyfTop, that groweth on 
 the wal j.to the lofty cedar of Lebanon. 
 
 F The 
 
42 THE CHARACTER OF HERVEY 
 
 The lav/s of inflin6t in the animal world, run 
 'through all the birds, beafts, fiihes^ reptiles, and in- 
 ledls j and which laws they always obey. There are 
 the laws of motion, belonging to all bodies on the 
 face of the Q;lobe. There is the law of nature in 
 man, and from which he cannot be relealbd to all 
 eternity. 
 
 There is the law of the new creature : the new and 
 divine nature in a regenerate man, cannot exift with- 
 out a law or rule of aidlion. The new creature furely 
 hath a law, God promifes, as a mighty blefiing, / 
 IV ill put my law in their inwai'd parts, and write it in their 
 hearts, Jerern. xxxi. ^2' xxxii. 40. Heb. viii. 10. 
 It is lliled by the apoftle Paul, the law of the mind, 
 Rom. vii. 23. 
 
 Let us confider what is meant by the law put into 
 the heart. This is a plain fign that it was blotted out 
 in a fad de2;ree before. 
 
 This law of the mind, or law written in the heart, 
 is not only the fame with the great original law of 
 nature j it not only includes that, but much more j it 
 is a deeper impreflion of God's nature and will upor^ 
 the foul of a regenerate man ; it is a more beautiful 
 impreflion ; a more durable and lafting impreflion, 
 never to be lofl:, but it fhall grow deeper and brighter 
 for ever and ever. In the heaven of heavens, it is 
 more than a law of reafon -, it is a law of mighty 
 grace, or a fenfe of a good will in God to us, and a 
 good work of God in us. 
 
 It is a reflioration of that law which was the grand 
 original law of nature ; but it is more than a mere 
 reftoration ; this law is v/ritten in the heart wholly, 
 and not in a piece-meal manner; every part of the 
 law is written upon every part of the heart. 
 
 This law v/ritten in the heart, does nor make the 
 outward law needlefs and ulelefs ; for that is itill a 
 rule: this inward law, written in the heart, is a con- 
 forniity to the outward rule, and therefore is not a 
 
 '. ' rule 
 
AS A REGENERATE MAN. 43 
 
 rule itfelf : it is the thing ruled, and not the rule it- 
 felf. Some raw and injudicious Chriftians, for want 
 of fifting and comparing ideas, have talked and writ- 
 ten like Antinomians, though we have i-eafon to hope 
 they are good men ; they have not been fo wife as 
 they fhould be, nor fo wife as they might have been, 
 if they had taken more pains to fearch after a clear 
 conception of the true nature of things. 
 
 Let us confider, wherein confifts the writing of the 
 law in the heart, and putting it in the inward parts. 
 It appears in the following views of itj a knowledge 
 of the fenfe and meaning of the law; an inward con- 
 formity of heart to the law ; a ftrong propenfity to 
 obey the law -, an ardent affe6lion for it ; an intenfe 
 delight in it, with an actual ability to obey its com- 
 mands. 
 
 Firft. An inward knowledge of the law ; a fenfe of 
 its meaning and vaft extent in the underftanding ; a 
 difcernment of the exceeding great fpirituality of the 
 law ; 2L perception ef the reafonablenefs of its de- 
 mands ; the purity of its precepts ; the perpetual ob- 
 ligation of it upon the foul, as enduring for ever. The 
 foul fees, that in a conformity to this law, the dig- 
 nity and beauty of the foul cpnfifts ; and the regene- 
 rate man adores God for its binding force to eternity; 
 which leads us to obferve, that there is an inward 
 conformity of heart to the law ; the foul is deeply 
 impreffed with it ; and 'the heart and the law fit ex- 
 adly to each other, juft as the feal and wax, where 
 every lineament anfwers to the imprefllon of that feal ; 
 and the powers of the foul, are like the wards of a 
 lock, which are nicely adapted to its proper key. 
 
 There is a ftrong propenfity to obey the law; 
 there is a bent of the will, or a powerful impulfe of 
 the new nature towards the law. The grace of God 
 produces an invincible inclination, an unconquerable 
 inftincl or aptitude in the mind, will, and tafte, to 
 
 F 2 obey 
 
44 THE CHARACTER OF HERVEY 
 
 obey the whole law of God, difcovered in every man-^ 
 ner and degree. 
 
 Mr. Hervey had an ardent love to the law, and 
 an intenfe delight in the whole extent of its precepts : 
 his foul as really loved to obey the law, as he loved 
 the Gofpel. That man that loves not the law in the 
 whole extent of its commands, as it is a rule bf duty^ 
 and a ftandard of beauty, never loved the Gofpel for 
 one moment in his life* 
 
 He had an aflual ability for obedience to the 
 law : an inward ftrength in his underftanding and 
 will ; in his confcience and paffions, to obey the law 
 of God. God the Spirit, infufed anadlive ftrength 
 into the foul of this good man ; he created a prac- 
 tical power in his foul, to yield a free and perpetual 
 obedience. Thus you fee a complete and compre- 
 henfive idea of what is meant by writing the law on 
 the heart ; that there is included in it a fpiritual per- 
 ception of the fenfe and meaning of the law , an ap- 
 probation of the holinefs of the law, as it is a copy 
 of the redtitude and beauty of God, and a ftandard of 
 the reflitude and beauty of man. It includes like- 
 wife, a conformity of our natures, unto the purity of 
 its demands, and a ftri6l avoidance of all that it for- 
 bids. There is likewife a propenfion of heart to 
 obedience, and a love and delight in that obedience : * 
 a man is lovely to himfelf, when he feels the leaft de- 
 gree of conformity to the divine law ^ and he is deformed 
 and deteftable in his own eyes, when he feels him- 
 felf fall fhort of conformity to the law j but when 
 God gives the foul an adual ability to obey, he feels 
 more joy than in all the riches of the univerfe. 
 
 View regeneration, as it is the image of God, or 
 the likenefs of his moral perfedions, imprelTed upon 
 the foul. We are faid to be born ofGoD, i John iii. 9^ 
 and it is peculiarly remarkable, that we are faid to be 
 born of Christ, i John ii. 29. he may y^ell there-^ 
 fore be called the everlafting Father. We are faid 
 likewife to be born of the fpirit, John liu 5. We are 
 
 renewed 
 
AS A REGENERATE MAN. ^^ 
 
 renewed in the image of hinn that created us, Golof. 
 ii. lo. We are made partakers of the divine nature* 
 2 Pet. i. 4. Every true Chriftian is the image and 
 glory of God, i Cor. xi. 7. Let us take feveral 
 views of this fubjed, and apply them to the amiable 
 lierveyy as we proceed. 
 
 Thexe is in the foul of man a natural likenefs to the 
 cfTence of God. God is a fpirit incorporeal and invifi- 
 ble, poflefTed of life and a6lion, underfl-anding, will, 
 and affedions. The foul of man is a fpirit incorporeal 
 and invifibie, endowed with life and adion, under- 
 {landing, will, and afFedtions. This natural refem- 
 blance of the foul of man to God, is common to bad 
 men as well as good, and will continue amoncrft de- 
 vils and loft fouls for ever, as well as with faints and 
 angels in glory : indeed, the efTence of God is infi- 
 nite and incomprehenfible ; and, in that refpecl, there 
 can be no participation with the eternal efTence and 
 being of God. 
 
 But in regeneration, there is a real participation 
 of a divine nature ; it is not a mere pidture, but a 
 nature divine in its origin, or fountain : divine in its 
 refemblance or likenefs to God : divine in its bent 
 and tendency, as it proceeds to a fruition of God. — 
 God's moral perfedtions are in the new creature, by 
 way of quality, which are in God by way of efTence. 
 
 it is a real likenefs to God, as the creature is ca- 
 pable of; and this likenefs is laid in the firft linea- 
 ments of it, in regeneration, and completed in the 
 higheft meafures of it, by fanditication in glory. 
 
 The' whole image of God is drawn in the new 
 creature; the man is renewed in knowledge, after 
 the image of God that created him, CololT. iii. 10, 
 It is the image of God, not a part of his image ; 
 not a fragment of God's refemblance, as a perfc^d: 
 child has every part of his body quite anfwerable to 
 the father, fo all the moral perfections of God are 
 delineated on the human foul s diere is an image of 
 
 his 
 
46 THE CHARACTER OF HERVEY 
 
 his wifdom, or an ability to fuit the beft means to 
 the attainment of the noblell ends ; there is an image 
 of his goodnefs, or a bent of will to make other fouls 
 happy, which is ftamped upon the foul by the Spirit 
 of God. 
 
 As there is an impreflion of the wifdom of God 
 on the underftanding, fo there is an equal imprefTion 
 of the goodnefs and holinefs of God on the will and 
 aifedions. 
 
 It is more peculiarly a flriking likenefs to 
 Christ, wherein we partake of his nature: a new 
 nature is a delineation of Christ ; it is fuch a vivid 
 likenefs to Christ's temper and conduct, that it 
 feems to be as it were another Christ put into the 
 foul. As the image of the fun in a veflel of water ex- 
 •adlly refembles the fun in the heavens, fo the image 
 of Christ in the foul of a believer exa6lly refembles 
 the Sun of Righteoufnefs : wc are predeftinated to be 
 conformed unto the image of God's Son, Rom. viii. 
 
 Christ is formed in us, Galat. iv. 19, There is 
 the fame mind in us which was in Christ Jesus, and 
 believers are exhorted to arm themfelves with the 
 lame mind, i Pet. 
 
 It is a likenefs to the Holy Spirit of God, who 
 is the immediate caufe of it -, hence the new crea- 
 ture is called Spirit, John iii. 8. all the graces are 
 the fruits of the Spirit, Galat. v. 22— .25. Be- 
 lievers are faid to mind the things of the Spirit; they 
 have a tafte for fpiritual things ; they have a clear 
 fenfe of the beauty of fpiritual objedls ; they have a 
 relifn for fpiritual blefiings ; they have a bent and in- 
 clination for fpiritual exercifes ; they have a delight in 
 fpiritual perfons in heaven and earth. 
 
 Let us confider wherein this true likenefs to God 
 confifls : as v/e are made partakers of the divine na- 
 ture, we iliall find that it confiils in a likenefs to 
 God, of affeclions, of adlions, of holinefs. . 
 
 Firft. In a- likenefs of affedlions, God, and his fer- 
 vant^ Hervey, had a love to the fame objedls : God 
 
 delighted 
 
AS A REGENERATE MAN. 47 
 
 delighted in him, and he delighted in God : God's 
 love, and the love of this holy nnan centered in each 
 other : they loved and they hated all the fame ob- 
 jedls : Sin was the objedl of God's -hatred, and fin 
 was the obje<fl: of the mo|l intenfe hatred of this 
 holy man. 
 
 There was a likenefs of aftions and operations in 
 God, and in this excellent man : all bad men natu- 
 rally work like Satan ; they operate like the impure 
 fpirits of hell -, they are of their father the devil, and 
 the works of their father they will do, John viii. 44. 
 Now confider what is the oppofite to the temper and 
 aftions of bad men. Gop works for his ov/n glory, 
 or with a view to the fame of his excellent perfec- 
 tions. This good man faid, Amen ; I will work for 
 that too. 
 
 God loves the Church, and works for its good 
 every moment : Amen, faid Hervey ; I love the 
 Church, and will work for its good every day of my 
 life. God aims to exalt Christ in all his thoughts, 
 words, and adions : Amen, faid this good man j I 
 will exalt Christ and his righteoufnefs for ever to 
 the utmpil of my power. God, in all his influences 
 on the foul of this good man, aimed at its purity, 
 beauty, and elevation to Christ : Amen, fajd this 
 good man, that is v/hat I ardently aim at, and chiefly 
 long for. 
 
 In a likenefs to the holinefs of Gop, holinefs is the 
 ihining purity of the divine nature in its powers, af- 
 fedions and operations. Hervey was made a par- 
 taker of God's holinefs, Hcb. xii. 10. He was born 
 of Christ, that is, he was made partaker of tlie di- 
 vine nature of Christ, i John ii. 29. This was 
 the chief thing in which his excellent foul refembled 
 God. 
 
 Let us view regeneration as it is a new birth, or 
 being born again j there is a flriking likenefs between 
 our iirft and fecond birth 5 our natural birth from 
 
 our 
 
4S THE CHARACTER OF HERVEY 
 
 our parents, and our fpiritual birth fronn Christ ; 
 our old birth fronn Adam, and our new birth from the 
 Son of God : our firft birth rifes from very fmall 
 beginnings, and our fecond birth is compared to a 
 grain of muftard feed, and to a little leaven, which 
 kavenejth the whole lump. If you read the firft 
 letters of this amiable man, you will fee divine grace 
 in its firft and fmalleft principle ; who could ever 
 have thought, that fuch a feeble principle could ever 
 have taken deep root downward, and brought forth 
 fruit upward, in fuch an aftoniftiing variety and 
 
 beauty. 
 
 In our firft birth we are wholly pafTive : no man 
 has a hand in his own formation -, no man has the 
 ieaft degree of power to determine the features of his 
 face, the ftrcngth of his conftitution, or the powers 
 of his foul. Hervey was free and zealous to declare, 
 that regeneration was the motion of God in the crea- 
 ture, and that converfion was the motion of the crea- 
 ture to God ; that in regeneration he received life^ 
 and in converfion exerted that life j that regeneration 
 was an holy habit infufed, in which the ftrudlure of 
 the new man is infinitely fuperior in beauty and har- 
 mony to the ftruclure of the human body : not the 
 tonf>-ue of an orator, nor the pencil of an angel, can 
 fully paint the beauty and harmonious afiemblage of 
 the Chriftian and divine graces, the perfonal and fo- 
 cial virtues of a true believer. The amiable fea- 
 tures of holinefs that appeared in Hervey *s heart and 
 life, m.ay teach men to imitate, and angels to ad- 
 mire. 
 
 In our firft birth we have new relations ; there are 
 joyful and happy connections appear, which were un- 
 known before ; there is a fweet agreement between 
 the parent and the child ; Jerufalem above, which is 
 the mother of us all, rejoices to fee a new-born child, 
 and all our brethren in Christ ftiout for joy. 
 
 In 
 
AS A REGENERATE MAN. 4p 
 
 In our flrft birth, there is a family likenefs ^ and 
 as the child grows up, the features of the parent are 
 marked in llrong charadiers upon the countenance of 
 the child. Thus it is in the world of grace ; you 
 may know the parent by the child, and you may 
 know the child by looking at the features of the 
 father ; in the wicked world there is a flrong likenefs 
 between Satan and his children, fo that you may 
 eafily know who are of their father, the devil: you may 
 fee the features of Satan upon the child, and you may 
 know the child by looking at the features of the fa- 
 ther. Certainly there muft be as flrong a refemblance 
 between God and his children, as there can be be- 
 tween the children of the devil and their father in 
 hell, John viii. 44. 
 
 Our firfl birth is incomprehenfible to all the un- 
 derilandings of men and angels. That incomparable 
 anatomift. Dr. William Harvey, who difcovered and 
 dcmonflrated the circulation of the blood, was never 
 able to explain the nature and m>anner of human ge- 
 neration ; and our modern Harveys, who muft be al- 
 lowed to be the moft acute anatomifts in the world ; 
 I mean Dr. John Hunter, and his late brother, with the 
 prefent Mr. Cruikfhanks, are quite incompetent to the 
 tafl< : and we may venture to challenge all the fons 
 of fcience unto the end of the world, ever to ex- 
 plain the beginning, rife, progrefs, and perfection of 
 the human body. Do we acknowledge fadls to be 
 incomprehenfible myfteries in the world of nature, 
 and fhall we be fo abfurd as to deny them in the 
 world of grace. 
 
 Thus we have viewed Hervey as a regenerate 
 man ; we have confidered him as having pafTed 
 under a change in his underftanding, will, affedions, 
 and tafte ; in his principles, thought, intentions and 
 end of life ; we have viewed him as the feat and fub- 
 je6t of a divine and immortal life ; we have confi- 
 dered him as poirelTed of a divine habit -, and we have 
 
 G viewed 
 
5b AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 viewed the beautiful union and vigorous operations 
 of this life and habit, as united together ; we have 
 viewed his foul as infcribed with the divine law, and 
 have confidered what is meant by God*s writing the 
 law upon the heart : we have proceeded to defcribe 
 the moral perfedlions of God, and the beautiful tem- 
 per of Christ, as inftamped upon his fouL Laftly, 
 we have viewed him as the feat and fubjedl: of the 
 new birth j and fliall we not difcern, adore, and admire 
 the wife, the powerful, and good hand of God in this 
 whole ftru6lure. Even this feeble delineation of his in- 
 ternal character, if viewed in the light of faith, and 
 under the influence of divine grace, is fufficient to 
 attradl all hearts, and charm all eyes. 
 
 But if any reader has a ftrong paflion to fee the 
 grandeur and beauty of regeneration in all its ampli- 
 tude and extent defcribed in the very bell language, 
 let him read the firft writer in the world upon this 
 fubject ; I mean the immortal Stephen Charnock, 
 Vol. II. in folio. 
 
 View HERVET as a Man endowed with the Dignity 
 and Prerogatives of a CHRISTIAN. 
 
 THE dignity of a Chriftian is the refult of vital 
 union with Christ : it confifts of being pofTefTed of 
 a radical and eflential refemblance to God. The 
 ftrongeft cordials of the Gofpel have the happieft 
 tendency to promote and cherifh this dignity -, a fpi- 
 ritual privilege confifts in exemption from the 
 v/orft evils, and in being endowed with a right to the 
 very beft goods : a cordial is a vital and moft inte- 
 refting truth that has a tendency to comfort and 
 cheer the heart : a fpiritual prerogative is a right of 
 diftin<^ion and pre-eminence belonging to a Chriftian 
 above all other men, and cxclufive of the whole un- 
 regenerate world. 
 
 Btforc 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 51 
 
 B-eforc we amplify the charadler of Hervey in his 
 dignity, comfort, and prerogatives, let us take a fhort 
 profpedt of them in a miniature picture ; in order to 
 excite our efteem, inflame our defires to'be pofl^efled of 
 the fame dignity, and encourage our hopes of enjoy- 
 ing the fame ftrong confolation. 
 
 We fhall enter upon this part of Hervey's Life and 
 Charader with two preliminaries : 
 
 PRELIMINARY I. 
 
 Let not the weakeil true Chriftian upon earth, 
 feel any difguft or difcouragement at the fuperior 
 degrees of holinefs with which he was endowed, or 
 the embellifhments of genius and fcience with which 
 he was adorned. Every true believer is poffelTed with 
 the grand elTentials of falvation and happinefs, in as 
 real a manner as this great and good man : he had 
 no exclufive privileges of falvation ; his dignity is 
 common to all regenerate fouls ; the cordials of the 
 Gofpel are the right of every Chriftian ; and the 
 weakeft fervant of God, has a fhare in all the great 
 prerogatives of a Chriftian, and an intereft in thofe 
 eternal diftincftions and honours which (joD beftowed 
 upon him, 
 
 PRELIMINARY II. 
 
 In the Covenant of Grace, v/hich begins with this 
 grand article, " I will be to you a God," every 
 perfedtion ip the divine nature is engaged to be ex- 
 erted to the very uttermoft, for the falvntion of every 
 believer : the infinite perfe6lions of God the Son, 
 or his boundlefs capacities for virtue and happinefs, 
 are all pledged to the true Chriftian. Christ will 
 exert his three offices to the very uttermoft, to re- 
 move the three plagues of a blind anderftanding, a 
 guilty confcience, and a ftubborn will : he v/ill em- 
 ploy his three offices to the very uttermoft, to an- 
 fwer three fcruples of a doubting Chriftian : is he 
 
 G. 2 able. 
 
53 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 able, is he willing, is he commiffioned and (worn in- 
 to his office by God ? Christ will exert his three 
 offices of prophet, prieft, and king, to level three 
 mountains in the way to heaven : the juftice of God 
 declares you are guilty and deferve hell ; the holi- 
 nefs of God fwears you are filthy, and unfit to come 
 to heaven. The decrees of God are a profound depth, 
 which no underilanding can fathom or know. Christ 
 fatisfies divine juftice by his blood -, he glorifies di- 
 vine holinefs by his obedience 5 and he opens up the 
 thoughts of God, as containing nothing but thoughts 
 of peace, and not thoughts of evil towards his peo- 
 ple. Christ, by his three offices, unravels the devil's 
 plots, that we cannot difcover : he anfwers the de- 
 vil's -charges, which we cannot deny ; and he con- 
 quers the devil's forces, which we cannot refift. The: 
 Spirit of God, in all his infinite perfedions and ope- 
 rations, is engaged by his word and oath, to bring 
 home the redemption of Christ to the heart, and to 
 give us an holinefs and happinefs, vafl as our capacities, 
 and lafting as our immortal exiftence. With thefe two 
 preliminaries, we proceed to confider the dignity and 
 prerogatives of a Chriftian; firft of all in miniature, 
 and then with a greater amplitude and extent. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 This great and good man was born of God — 
 his birth-day was celebrated by all the millions of 
 holy angels. — He v/as the fon of a noble one, Jerem,, 
 XXX. 21. He fpraiig from a nobleman, Luke xix. 
 12. — He was the reftored image of the living God 
 —His foul was inlaid with ail manner of beauties and 
 ornaments — He was dignified with noble names and 
 titles of honour — He was married to the Prince of 
 jPeace and Lord of lords, the incarnate God over 
 the whole earth— -He was ennobled and enriched by 
 all kinds of union with Christ, his vital head-— He 
 was a temple of God, the eternal Spirit— -His foul 
 
 • ■ ' was 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 55 
 
 was brighter than the vifible fun in the expanfe of 
 heaven. 
 
 S E C T J O N II. , 
 
 His foul was of more worth and dignity than fe- 
 yenty-five miljions of the fixed ftars — His immortal 
 foul was the end of the whole creation, vifible and in- 
 vifible, mortal and immortal, rational and material 
 — His foul poffefled greater riches than all the mines 
 of gold and diamonds in the Weft and Eaft-Indies — 
 He was an heir of the whole world 3 a monarch of 
 the univerfe, Rom. iv. 13.-— He had a liberal and 
 noble education, under the tuition of the omnipotent 
 and incarnate God — He had a foul formed to love 
 and delight in the natural and moral perfedions of 
 the divine nature — All things muft needs work for 
 his temporal, fpiritual, and eternal good— The holi- 
 nefs of God was the moft agreeable objed in the 
 world to Hervey's pure illuminated exalted foul — He 
 lived by faith in the invifible ever prefenc agency of 
 God the Redeemer, who was the author, obje6l, and 
 life of that faith — He Ihewed to the three worlds of 
 heaven, earth, and hell, the true dignity and pre- 
 eminence of man. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Hervey could never die, his divine life was im- 
 mortal; " his life was hid with Christ in God."— 
 His foul was moft agreeable to the correal tafle of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ — His foul was a bright 
 iun in a dark world. — Christ had an infinite delight 
 in this man, as he was cleanfcd from guilt by his 
 blood ; as clodied with his divine and infinite righte- 
 pufnefs ♦, as adorned by the graces of ihe Holy Spi- 
 rit ; and as a rightful heir to eternal glory. His ex-* 
 celient and holy foul was fuperior to all the unrege- 
 nerate kings and monarchs in the world, wicked 
 princes, profligate lords, proud philofophers, artful 
 ' ■ ftatefmen. 
 
54 . AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 ilatefmen, florid orators, and mighty warriors, with 
 all other Ihining charadlers in the univerfe deftitute 
 of divine grace, were far beneath this great man. 
 Glory IS the fame of excellent virtue, attended with 
 praife ; and Hervey had more folid glory and real 
 greatncfs of foul, than all the unconverted men upon 
 the face of the whole earth. Christ> as a Chrifti- 
 an's life, defcribed by that excellent man, Mr. John 
 Gammon, was never better exemplified, than in the 
 life and charader of James Hervey. He felt an ar- 
 dour of joy in God the Redeemer, flowing from 
 above fixty funds or fountains of joy. His foul was 
 the beauty of his birth-place ; it was the ornament 
 to the village, and gave dignity to the county in v/hich 
 he was born : he was the honour of Great Britain, 
 the beauty and ornament of Europe, the glory of 
 human nature, and a credit to the whole univerfe of 
 God— Gop's life, and all his infinite attributes dwelt 
 every moment in his precious foul — He felt the hap- 
 pinefs of heaven above him, around him, withia 
 him, flowing every moment as an emanation from 
 God. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 He was a fpiritually learned man in the fight of 
 God — He was a truly wife man— He was a man en- 
 dowed with wonderful prudence — He was really a 
 happy man; happier than all tlie millions of the 
 wicked world — He was a man of great benevolence 
 and generofity of ibul — He was a man of eminent 
 hollnefs — He was a very jufl: man ; he loved eternal 
 and immutable juftice — He was a man of great 
 truth, finccrity, and faithfuinefs — He was a man en- 
 dowed with aftonifliino; fortitude- — He had a chafte 
 foul in a chafle body. ' 
 
 SECTION 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 55 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 He was a man of wife zeal and diligence — Pie was 
 a very humble man — He was a man of great meek- 
 nefs and felf-denial — He was a man of the moft calm 
 contentment — He conquered all things by patience-— 
 He was indefatigable in his labours for the glory of 
 Christ — He was fupported by a fure hope in God 
 his Saviour— He lived without a pagan folicitude 
 and heathenifh care concerning food and raiment — He 
 loved frugality for the fake of liberality, but he 
 hated a foolifh prodigality — The vifible and invifible 
 worlds were created for his fake, and all creatures 
 were at his fervice, and for his ufe and pleafure — His 
 foul was the moil beautiful bride of Christ, the 
 eternal and immutable Jehovah, the God of the 
 whole earth. 
 
 SECTION vr. 
 
 He lived and walked ; he fought and conquered 
 by faith — His foul was enriched by the daily unflion 
 of actual grace — He was an heir of God, and a joint 
 heir of Christ— He had an ardent and immortal de- 
 light in God — He was a man polTelTed of infinite 
 happinefs ; he was happy in his fweet life, happy in 
 his pleafant death, happy in his glorious immortality. 
 The whole world of material nature, with all its pro* 
 dudtions, laws, operations and beauties, \^ere infi- 
 nitely inferior to his immortal foul— He was a noble 
 freeman in the city and kingdom of God — He was a 
 friend of God, and to him God was a cordial friend. 
 Friendiliip is a fweet attraclion of the heart between 
 two perfons, forcibly inclining them to promote each 
 other's happinefs — He was endowed with all manner 
 of rights, and every kind of pre-eminence as a citi- 
 zen of heaven-^^His gratitude, praifes, and thankf- 
 givings were exceedingly pleafing to God— His foul 
 was a victorious conqueror gver fin, Satan, felf, the 
 
 world. 
 
56 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 world, and death — He was a divine Marlborough in 
 the armies of GoD-^He was the rightful heir of 
 eternal life, a life of holinefs, and a life of happinefs ; 
 he faw wicivcd men and devils beneath his feet : he 
 faw good men and angels all around him — Heaven 
 blazed upon his mental eye ; the patriarchs, pro- 
 phets, apoftles, and martyrs attraded his love -, he 
 felt God his Saviour within his foul, and he was fure 
 of the fruition of this God for ever and ever. 
 
 Having viewed the miniature pi6lure of Hervey's 
 dignity, and prerogatives as a Chriftian, let us now 
 take a more ample furvey of this beautiful and at- 
 tra6live objed t let us confider every thing with re- 
 fpe6l to ourfelves : let us always remember that Her- 
 vey had no monopoly of the bleflings of grace: he 
 pretended to no exclufive right to the cordials and 
 prerogatives of a true Chriftian j but he rejoiced to 
 fee the whole believing world as happy as his own 
 foul, as you may clearly difcern in his Rhapfody on 
 the Bleffings of the Gofpel, Dialogue xvii. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 I. He was a Man born of God. 
 
 Our birth of natural parents implies, that we re- 
 ceive from them our exiftence, life, and likenefs ; but 
 they are only inftruments under the agency of God : 
 they can give nothing by their own power; they can 
 neither determine our being, life, features, fex, con- 
 flitution, or beauty ; but God can do all thefe. As 
 in nature, fo in grace ; and to be fpiritually born of 
 GoD^ implies that God gives us our entire being, 
 life, and likenefs, ftrength, flature, conftitution, and 
 beauty ! 
 
 "What an infinite honour ; what a prerogative, 
 marked with an eternal diftincftion, for Hervey, to be 
 born of God 1 and how glorious was the likenefs be- 
 tween the fon and the Father. 
 
 II. His 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 57 
 
 II. His Birth-Day was celebrated by all the 
 Princes in the Court of PIeaven. 
 
 There is joy in the prefence of the angels over 
 -every repenting finner, Luke xv. When we con- 
 fider the nature, the number, the powers, and bright 
 perfedtions of angels, we have reafon to be aflonifli- 
 ed at their benevolence to man ! They are mentioned 
 in the Scripture no lefs than 170 times 3 and in every 
 place there is a difcovery of their good will and 
 tender care of man. 
 
 Thefe generous beings, in millions, and hundreds 
 of millions, fly all round the globe: they watched 
 over Hervey when he was a child : they attended him 
 in his youth : they guarded his life at Oxford, Dum- 
 mer, Stoke-abbey, Biddeford and Wefton Favell : 
 they attended all his night-fludies, contemplations, 
 writings, and fermons -, and on Dec. 25, 1758, at four 
 o'clock in the afternoon, they flew with his pre- 
 cious foul to the third heavens, and prefented him 
 with exceeding joy to our God and Saviour on 
 his throne. 
 
 III. He was born of a Noble One, Jerem. 
 XXX. 21. 
 
 ITli^ Adiro, a noble one, not nobles, as our 
 tranflation has wrongly rendered the text. 
 
 Christ is filled a noble man, Luke xix. 12. Ai^ 
 Q^uTTo; fjyfvn?, and the Bereans are faid to be more 
 noble than others, or better born, A6ls xxii. 11. 
 Hervey was born of this noble one, i John ii. 29, 
 and his temper, pafllons, and actions, all favoured 
 of nobility. No man ever exemplified the fublime 
 difcourfe on the noblenefs and excellence of true re- 
 ligion, by the great John Smith, of Cambridge, 
 better than this exalted and godlike fervant of Je- 
 sus Christ. 
 
 IV. He was the rejlored image of God, 
 
 The image of God is the fliining purity of the 
 divine nature, perfedions, and decrees, according to 
 
 H which^ 
 
5S AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 which, and with infinite reafon, God operates in 
 creation, providence, redemption, and glory. 
 
 Hervey made the fhining purity of God, the pat- 
 tern of all his tempers, words, fermons, writings, 
 and adlions. 
 
 Every thing that favoured of the world, the devil, 
 and the flefh, was the objedl of his hatred, indignation, 
 and contempt. Every thing that favoured of holinefs, 
 beauty, and the dignity of God, was the object of 
 his efleem, rifing into veneration, and that rifing in- 
 to a profound and eternal adoration of the charader 
 of God. 
 
 V. His SOUL was inlaid with all manner of lovely 
 ernaments and beauties. Every thing that could adorn 
 a man of fcience 5 every grace that could adorn a 
 Chriftian j every perfedlion that could beautify an an- 
 gel, and the lineaments of every feature of the in- 
 carnate God, were to be found in this holv man. 
 
 His firft beauty was vital faith, working by love. 
 This was the fpring of all his beautiful writings, words, 
 and actions : this was the general receiver of all God*s 
 bleflings : this led up the chorus of all the Chriftian 
 and divine graces, of all the perfonal and focial vir- 
 tues of his foul. 
 
 VI. Hervey was dignified with noble names and 
 titles of honour. Thefe are the excellent names of 
 true Chriftians in Scripture :— jewels — fheep — fer- 
 vants of Christ — a friend of God— -adopted fons of 
 God — an old difciple — a bride — a ftar — a burning 
 and Ihining light— lights of the world — a city itt oa 
 an hill — a foldier — an heir of God — the fait of the 
 earth—a merchant feeking goodly pearls — a palm-tree 
 — a cedar of Lebanon — a pine-tree — a willow — a fra- 
 grant myrtle-tree — a hardy box-tree — a dove — a lion 
 — a veflel of mercy — wheat to be gathered into the 
 garner — a lively flone — a fteward — the Lamb's wife — 
 a prophet, prieft, and king— an heir of Christ — 
 the honourable of the earth — an eternal excellency, 
 and the joy of many generations, Ifai. Ix, 15* 
 
 On 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 59 
 
 On the other hand, let us reprefent, by way of 
 contrail, the wicked, who are marked with every 
 epithet of opprobium and difgrace. Drofs — wolves 
 — flaves — haters of God — children of the devil — re- 
 bels — an harlot — blacknefs of darknefs — outer dark- 
 nefs — dogs and fwine — captives in a dungeon — flufr- 
 gards — children of wrath and heirs of hell- — fait that 
 has loft its favour — a fool — thorns, Joftiua xxiii. 13. 
 Numb, xxxiii. 55.— thiftles — briars — nettles — wild 
 afles colts — veflels of wrath — chaff and tares to be 
 burned — having hearts of adamant — thieves and rob- 
 bers — fornicators — without underftanding — in con- 
 demnation and bondage — children of hell — a genera- 
 tion of vipers- — the troubled fea — foxes for craft — 
 goats for luft — leopards for ficrcenefs. 
 
 N. B. Thefe contrafts ftrike the mind and illuftrate 
 each other. 
 
 VII. He was married to the Prince of Heaven, 
 the King of kings, and Lord of lords, the incarnate 
 God of the whole earth. 
 
 This glorious Prince efteemed the perfon of Her- 
 vey ; he defired to have his heart, Prov. xxiii. 26. 
 he bore an ardent good will to his foul, and dehghted 
 in the thoughts of a vital union of fpirits. 
 
 On the other hand, Hervey efteemed the Prince 
 of Peace ; he defired his vital prefence ; he bore a 
 ftrong good will to his perfon and kingdom, and he 
 found a fweet delight in his love. 
 
 Thus a conjugal union began, which will never end 
 to eternity ; incomprehenfible dignity ; die richeft 
 privileges of a Chriftian, the rights of a Son of God, 
 are the glorious effe6ls and conlequences of this mar- 
 riage, which leads us to obferve, 
 
 VIII. That he was ennobled and enriched by all 
 kinds of union with the eternal Son of God. There 
 are natural unions of root and branches of the vine 
 and its twigs, graft and ftock, head and members, 
 foul and body. — Moral unions , friend with friend, 
 huft)and and wife. — Civil unions^ king and fubjeds, 
 
 H 2 captain 
 
^o AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 captain and foldiers, counlellor and clients, advocate 
 and criminals, furety and debtor, captives and re-r 
 deemer, prieft and offenders, phyfician and patients 
 with broken bones, fhepherd and fheep, tutor and 
 fcholars*. — Spiritual and divme umoHyof foul with foul. 
 This union refenables that of the divinity and huma- 
 nity in the one perfon of Gop the Son : this likewife 
 refembles the union of the three glorious intelligent 
 agents in the undivided being of God, John xvii. 
 
 A^ole, Our undeiilandings can go no higher into 
 this glorious myftery. 
 
 IX. He was a Temple of God th€ eternal Spirit. 
 A temple is a peculiar dwelling-place of God, exclu- 
 iive of all other perfons and things ; it is a flru6lure 
 built entirely for God, and confecrated wholly to the 
 adoration of his perfections, and the celebrapon of his 
 praifes : know ye nor, that your bodies are the 
 tem-ples of the Holy Spirit ? What an idea of the 
 infinite dignity of a Chriftian, and what refi.ned and 
 beautiful morals fhould we have, if we lived like 
 Hervey, under the lively fenfe of this privilege? God 
 tht Spirit lived in his whole foul and body \ he ac- 
 tuated his underftanding and will, his confcience and 
 pafTions j he kept him as the apple of his eye, and 
 hid him under the fhadow of his wings. 
 
 X. His SOUL was brighter than the vifthle fun in 
 the expanfe o^ heaven. The vifible fun is dead mat- 
 ter; he was a living fpirit; that fun is void of 
 thought ; he was a thinking being to eternity — that 
 fun has no underflanding ; he had a power of mind, 
 to difcern all the perfecStions of God— That fun has 
 no feif- motion ; his foul has eternal felf-a6livity in 
 God. — That fun has no choice of will; no power to 
 do a thing, or let it alone; his foul, under grace, 
 had a felf-determining power freely to choofs Christ 
 
 '^ Jrtifciai union : as foundation and building: corner flone, 
 and the whole ftrufture. hicorporated union : as bread of life : 
 ineat and drink indeed. John vi. 43. 
 
 and 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 6t 
 
 and vital holinefs. Thus you fee, Hervey's foul 
 was brighter and better than the fun in the heavens. 
 
 SECTION 11. . 
 
 XI. His SOUL had greater i?^;//'/j than all the fixed 
 fiars in the univerfe. 
 
 That excellent writer, the Aflronomer and Opti- 
 cian, in Fleet'ftreet, Mr. George Adams, in his late 
 Treatife, obferves, that it is now agreed, we have 
 above 75 millions of fixed ftars, which are all funs 
 equal in magnitude to t^^r fun, in our fyflem. 
 
 And the greateft of all practical Aflronomers, Mr. 
 Herfchell, when I vifited him on rvlonday. May 9, 
 1785, allured me he had difcovered one hundred and 
 fixteen thoufand flars in fifteen minutes, with his in- 
 comparable telefcope. 
 
 Now they muil have an immenfe magnitude, and a 
 pure innate light and fire, in order to be feen at all: 
 but if we put dl thefe into one fcale, one foul of the 
 immortal Hervey will outweigh them all I See Dr. 
 Bentley's Sermons at Boyle's Lecture, No. viii. i^^ 
 
 XII. The f;;27;26?r/^/ /^^/ of this good man, was the 
 end of the whole creat'wny vifible and invifible, mor- 
 tal and immortal, rational and material. 
 
 All things are for your fakes, 2 Cor. iv. 15. 
 
 All things are your's, i Cor. iii, 21. 
 
 All angels, flars, funs, planets, empires, monarchs, 
 beggars, good men, bad men, devils, all the damned 
 millions of atheifts, infidels, profligates, madmen, 
 fools, heretics, tyrants, perfecutors, pains, difeafes, 
 and death itfeif, are all put into the believer's inven- 
 tory, and are parts of his Bank ftock. Confe- 
 quently, 
 
 XIII. Heryey's soul pofTelTed greater riches than all 
 the banks of money in Europe, with the rich trea- 
 fuvcs of all the jewellers in the whole world, joined 
 to. all the filver mines of Mexico and Peru, with all 
 the gold and diamonds of the Weft and Eaft Indies. 
 
 Thefe 
 
62 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 Thefe riches are nothing but dead matter, deftitute 
 of thought, life, intelligence, and reafon. Much 
 more without grace and holinefs, the image of God, 
 the Redeemer, in all its moral perfedions and 
 
 The grand and fublime ideas of the divine un~ 
 dcrftanding, were hid in God from eternal ages, the 
 archetypes of all creations, and efpecially of eleCt 
 fouls, which were hid in the underilanding of God, 
 the Redeemer, were in part revealed to the foul of 
 this great man. 
 
 XIV. He was the heir of the world, Rom. iv. ij. 
 the monarch of the univerfe. See Dr. Witfius's fub- 
 lime ideas on this fubjedl, Oecon. Book III. chap. x. 
 fett. 30, 31. 
 
 Our great father Abraham was the heir of the 
 world, and all believers are joint heirs with him. 
 What a noble idea of the dignity of a true Chriftian 
 does this thought fupply ! An heir of the whole crea- 
 tion : the wonders of fpace : the revolutions of nature : 
 the fuccefTions of the f^afons : the alternate changes 
 of day and night: the graces of the patriarchs, the 
 great conceptions of the prophets : the magnanimity 
 of the apoflles : the fortitude of the martyrs : the 
 fcience of the reformed divines, with all the glorious 
 gifts, fermons, expofitions, writings, and eloquence 
 of the beft and brighteft preachers of the lad and 
 prefent age, are all for the fervice and good of true 
 believers. 
 
 XV. He had a liberal and nohle education from the 
 cmniprejent and incarnate God. 
 
 Hervey's tutors in human learning, were fome of 
 the worfl in the worlds his divine tutor was the very 
 beft in the univerfe. 
 
 Education confiits in giving clear ideas of God — 
 in cherilhing right inclinations of the will and choice 
 ■ — in anim.ating the paflions, and regulat-ing and di- 
 redling them to proper objedls, producing the fitnefs 
 
 and 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 63 
 
 and decorum of the whole deportment towards God 
 and all mankind. 
 
 That great man, Milton, in his Treatife on this 
 fubjed, confiders a right noble and generous educa^ 
 tion as that which enables a man with wifdom and 
 juftice, with goodneis and greatnefs of foul, to per- 
 form all the duties which we owe to God, to our- 
 felves, and to our country, in fuch a manner, under 
 the aids of divine grace, as fhali make us dear to 
 God, and famous to all ages. Such an education 
 Hervey received from Christ, his divine Mafter j it 
 was conducted by Christ, with the utmoft delicacy, 
 with the fweeteft and moil elegant decency, and 
 which raifed him to the utmoft corrednefs of tafte : 
 his faculties and pafTions were wrought up to moll 
 exquifite perfection, and he had the cleareft fenfe of 
 the grandeur and beauty of creation and revelation, 
 above any other man 1 ever knew. How happy 
 would it be to fee thoufands of the preachers of 
 Chriftianity in England and France, educated in the 
 fame manner ! 
 
 XVI. He had a soul formed to love and delight 
 in the natural and moral ^perfe^lions of God. 
 
 He had a clear fenfe of the omniprefence and eter- 
 nity of the Deity, and he rejoiced in ail the difco- 
 veries of h's life and power ; the almighty flrength 
 and a6live exiftence of God, was a noble and affect- 
 ing objeCl to entertain the fublime tafte of his large 
 and capacious foul : he could take in great ideas of 
 the divine nature ; he received new and uncommon 
 difcoveries of God with rapture and pleafurc. 
 
 The moral perfections of God are the fame in kind 
 with moral perfections in men and angels, though in- 
 finitely different with relpeCt to degrees : the genuine 
 idea of the word perfection is this, it is a capacity for 
 virtue and happinefs. 
 
 The moral perfections of God confift in the rec- 
 titude of his will, and the clcarnefs and purity of his 
 underfcanding ^ his will is invariably inclined to do 
 
 what 
 
64 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 what his pure mind fees right and beft to be done ; 
 confequently we nnay conceive this clear idea of the 
 moral perfections of the Lord Jesus Christ, that 
 they confift in a permanent and immutable principle 
 which determines him to ad: in one particular holy 
 "manner, and not in the lead contrary to what his clear 
 and boundlefs underflanding perceives to be proper 
 and right to be done. Hervey agreed with the great 
 Polhili, in confidering Christ as the mirror of all 
 the divine perfections : without Christ we cannot 
 have one glimpfe of the Godhead for our comfort and 
 joy to eternity. 
 
 XVII. All things in heaven^ earth, and heUy 
 worked together for his temporal and eternal good. 
 
 All good things under the direction of Providence, 
 did actually work fof his benefit ; good men and good 
 books, efpecially the Book of God, worked for his 
 fpiritnal welfare ; bad perfons and things were over- 
 ruled by the wifdom and power of God the Son, to 
 make fin more odious, Christ more precious, the 
 devil more deteftable, and the ways of God more 
 pleafant fo his foul. This part of divinity is difplayed 
 with all the charms of eloquence, and brightnefs of 
 imagination by Dr. Watts, in. his difcourfes on the 
 Apoltle's words, " All things are your's." But if 
 any judicious and inquifitive Chriltian wifhes to fee 
 this truth in all the force and glory of demonftration, 
 let him read the incomparable Charnock, in his Dif- 
 courfe upon Divine Providence, 8vo, 1680. 
 
 XIX. The holinejs of God was the molt agreeable 
 elje^ to Hervey' s pure and illuminated /cz//. 
 
 "The holinefs of God is the mofl fnining purity of 
 his nature and perfections, according to which, and 
 with the mofl perfect realbn he invariably operates in 
 nature, providence, and redemption. God never 
 thinks but with holinefs ; he never fpeaks in his pro- 
 mi fes and threatenings, but with holinefs ; he never 
 a6ts towards good men or bad^ towards devils or 
 
 angels 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 65 
 
 angels, but in a manner agreeable to the fhining pu- 
 rity of his perfections. 
 
 Hervey loved the Scriptures for their fpotlefs pu- 
 rity and holinefs ; he had a clear perception of the 
 purity of God revealed in Scripture -, he had a vital 
 union with that purity ; he had a reft in the holinefs 
 of God with his will, and he delighted in it with all 
 his beft pafiibns of love and joy -, he loved every par- 
 ticle of pure light in the Scriptures. Thy word, O 
 God, is very pure; therefore thy fervant Hervey 
 loved it : witnefs his excellent Letter on the Book of 
 Job, written in Latin to the Rev. Mr. Thayer, near 
 Northampton. 
 
 XX. He lived by faith in the invifible and ever 
 prefent God the Redeemer, the friend and life of his 
 jouL 
 
 He had a ftrong perfuafion of the power and grace 
 of Christ to fave: he received Christ's whole per- 
 fon into his foul, and he committed his all to Christ 
 for time and eternity. Faith, true vital faith, was 
 in him a fettled confidence in the truth -of Christ. 
 Faith took Christ at his word, and trufted refo- 
 lutely and chearfuUy, in his free tranfparent promife. 
 Faith treated Christ as an upi*ight undiiTembling 
 God. 
 
 Unbelief treats God as a liar, as a falfe-hearted 
 being, who makes a voluntary difagreement between 
 his mind and fpeech, and fpeaks contrary to light 
 fhining in his underftanding, with an intent to de- 
 ceive. 
 
 Faith, on the contrary, treats God as true — true 
 in his exiftence — true in his conceptions v/ithout er- 
 ror — true in his intentions without hypocrify — true in 
 all his expreflions without lying — true in his adions 
 without unfaithfulnefs ; and in this nnanner Hervey 
 treated God, from the firft moment of his eftablifli- 
 ment in grace, till the laft hour and moment of his 
 life. 
 
 I SECTION 
 
66 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWE® 
 
 SECTION IIL 
 
 XXL He was a glorious injlance and example of the 
 true dignity ^nd pre-eminence of man. 
 
 All dignity of loul arifes from vital holinefs ^ all 
 holinefs arifes from a living union with the perfon of 
 God the Son : and there can be no dignity without 
 holinefsj nor holinefs without union. Man is equally 
 fallen from God with the devils, only with this dif- 
 ference ; we live in a world furrounded with good- 
 nefs ; they live in a world furrounded with darknefs 
 and defpair. 
 
 Conceptions of the dignity of man are carried to a 
 vaft height and extent in the Night Thoughts and the 
 Centaur, not fabulous, of Dr. Young ; and amidft a 
 conflellation of bright and beautiful thoughts, there 
 are fome extravagant and erroneous notions concern- 
 ing the freedom of the human will, and the power 
 of man to attain virtue. Hervey exhibited all this 
 dignity without one fpark of that pride and arrogance 
 which eclipfes and diminifhes the glory of fovereign 
 and invincible grace. 
 
 N. B. The dignity of man is dilplayed in the 
 brightefl and moil beautiful light, by that excellent 
 and incomparable fcholar and divine, Edward Pol- 
 hill, Efq. in his Treatife on Union with Christ, 
 i2mo. and his Palmarian Book, endtled Speculum 
 ^heologia in Chrijioy i. e. The Mirror of Divinity in 
 the Perfon of Christ j which is equal, if not fuperior 
 to Dr. Owen's glorious book on the Perfon of 
 Christ, 4to, 1679. 
 
 XXII. Hervey could never die ; it was impoffiblc 
 for him to die; his divine life was immortaly for his 
 LIFE was hid with Christ in God. 
 
 The clear and diilindl idea of life is this: that it is 
 feF-motion, or animated exiftence, but ftill depend- 
 ant upon God. When we fpeak of life as felf-adivf 
 exiftence, we do not mean that this \& exifts with- 
 out 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 6j 
 
 out God ; we live and move in God, according to 
 the order of nature \ and more {Oy if pofTible, accord- 
 ing to the order of grace. 
 
 God alone is original and eflential life : he only is 
 the immutable and perfedt life : he alone has eternal 
 life in himfelf : and he only is the efficient life of all 
 creatures. Natural life flows from him, as the God 
 of nature : rational life flows from him as the God 
 of reafon : a gracious life flows from him as the God 
 of grace : and a glorious life flows from him as the 
 God of glory. Herveyknew that his life of nature, 
 reafon, grace, and glory, all flowed from Christ, 
 the true God, and eternal life. 
 
 XXIIL His SOUL was mofl: agreeable to the tajle 
 and conceptions of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Christ had a clear fenfe of the noble and beauti- 
 ful qualities, which adorned the foul of this great 
 man 5 and well he m.ight, for he was the author of 
 them all : he loved his foul, and took pleafure in its 
 profperity; he loved to look at him, and as Dr. 
 Witfius exprefl^es it, to ftand fl:ill and feaft his eyes 
 with the beauties of a holy, humble, generous 
 mind. 
 
 Christ could fee more beauty in Hervey, than in 
 the fun and moon, the planets, and all the millions of 
 the fixed fliars. 
 
 He could fee more beauty in this one holy foul, 
 than in all the wicked monarchs, the profligate lords, 
 the proud philofophers, the artful fl:atelmen, and 
 haughty conquerors of the whole earth. 
 
 There were a thoufand objects of Chr ist*s taflie and 
 delight in the foul of this one man ; the fincerity of 
 his heart ; the fweetnefs and candour of his temper j 
 the benevolence and beauty of his paflions^ the chear- 
 fulnefs of his mind j his ardent zeal for the divine 
 glory j the new graces and aff^ecftions that were rifing 
 up continually j his habitual joy in God i his lively 
 gratitude for divine mercies j his generofity to all 
 
 I 2 mankind ; 
 
68 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 ir.ankind i his liberty of foul in prayer ; his liberality 
 of fentiments towards all true Chriftians -, his grand 
 and holy imagination ; his pure friendfhip with 
 Christ and ail his people 3 his wonderful thoughts 
 and images refieded from the greatnefs of his foul ; 
 and all thefe perfections and good qualities under the 
 condud of a delicate and correct tafte^ afcending to 
 God in a fiame of divine fire, were the objedts of 
 Christ's delight. 
 
 XXIV. His soul was a sun in a dark world. 
 
 Who can meafure the immenfe magnitude of the 
 fun ? Who can declare the boundlefs extent of the 
 capacities of a foul? 
 
 What language can defcribe the light of the fun 
 in the finenefs of its particles, the velocity of the mo- 
 tions of its beams, the expanfion of its rays, through 
 unknown millions of mailes, and in all diredlions every 
 way, and every way equally through the boundleis 
 expanfe : the beauty of its colours, which are the 
 grand caufe of all the beauty in the univerfe? 
 
 The lun difcovers wonders 5 the foul of man dif- 
 covers greater wonders : light reveals new, and great, 
 and beautiful objedts, to excite our love ; light reveals 
 ugly, terrible, and abominable objeds, to excite our 
 hatred : the light of grace in the foul, difovers the 
 beauties of heaven, to roufe our efteem and defire. 
 This light alfo reveals the horrible deformity of fin, 
 to the end, that we may hate it more than the dam- 
 nation of hell. The purity of the beams of the fun 
 is very peculiar and remarkable : who ever knew that 
 the foul fleams of a dunghill, or the filth of a puddle, 
 could defile the light of the fun ? And what moral im- 
 purity can defile the new nature in a holy foul ? The 
 fun is moft excellently ufeful in its chearing and en- 
 livening rays, to make every thing pleafant and joy- 
 ful in the creation of God i but the emanations of 
 grace, from Hervey's rich and glorious foul, has 
 fpread a greater chearfainefs through the rational 
 
 creation, 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 69 
 creation of God, and will continue to do fo throuf^h 
 millions yet unborn, quite down to the burning "of 
 the v/orld. The fun promotes univerlal fruitfulnels in 
 the fpring and fummerfeafons of the year : it is, under 
 God, the great parent of univerfal fertihty ; but who 
 can tell the amazing fruitfulnefs in holinefs and p-ood 
 works, which Hervey's writings, under Goo, have 
 produced and cheriftied in the believing world. The 
 fun has been unboundedly good and beneficial to all 
 mankind every hour, for almofl fix thoufand years ; 
 the productions of Hervey's eloquent and divine pen 
 have done more fpiritual good to immortal fouls, from 
 the firft hour of the publication of the Meditations 
 amongft the Tombs, to this moment, and will con- 
 tinue to fpread their happy influence, till the day, 
 when a nation fliall be born at once, popei-y deilroyed, 
 the Jews converted, and the fpiritual reign of Christ 
 commence in its utmofl giory. 
 
 XXV. This great man was happy to think of 
 Christ's rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earlby 
 and that his delights were with thcfo}7s of me?/. 
 
 He knew that Christ could take two views of 
 his people -, he could view them in their apodate 
 head, as guilty, and under obligation to punifliment i 
 as naked and expofed to everlafling vengeance ; as 
 full of the uglinefs and deformity of hell, and juftly 
 obnoxious to the vengeance of eternal fire. His foul 
 was infinitely pleafed to think that Christ could de- 
 light in his people, as viewing them cleanfcd from 
 guilt by his blood, and all obligation to punifhment 
 for ever diffolved— as clothed with his divine and in- 
 finite righteoufnefs, and made perfectly fpotlefs in 
 point of juilification before the divine tribunal — as 
 adorned and fweetened by the graces of the Holy 
 Spirit, and made exceeding beautiful in point of lanc- 
 tification and gofpel holinefs: he faw that Christ 
 could delight in his people, as rightfully entitled to 
 
 eternal 
 
7© AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 eternal glory in the heavens, and that this right was 
 indefeafible and for ever the fame. 
 
 XXVI. His excellent and holy soul, was fiipe- 
 rior in real dignity and folid glory y to all the un- 
 converted MEN upon earthy and angels in heaven. 
 Glory is the fame of excellent virtue, attended with 
 praife. — Honour is a ftate of dignity beyond the reach 
 of juft fufpicion, fuperior to the influence of un- 
 righteous cenfure, and in defiance of all the calumny 
 in the world. Honour is the emanation of virtue, the 
 renown of real holinefs ; it is a fuperior degree of re- 
 femblance to Christ, furrounded with praife.— 
 Solid gloj-y is the weil-eftablilhed fame of the noble- 
 nefs and excellence of true religion, advanced to a 
 very high degree, and furrounded with the efteem 
 and approbation of God, and the rational applaufe of 
 angels in heaven, and all good men upon the face 
 of the earth. 
 
 XXVII. Christ was the fole fpring and fource of 
 *4iis divine life. 
 
 The nature and properties of his life flowed from 
 Christ : he enlarged the extent of it: hepreferved 
 the calmnefs and lerenity of it : he emboldened and 
 ftrengthened it : He was the great increafer and feeder 
 of his life : He fpiritualized his genius, and increafed 
 the bent and tafte of his life: He gave him a fl:rong 
 and invincible bent to purfue all the beauties of cre- 
 ation and Providence : He led him into the fuperior 
 beauties of Scripture, and taught him the flmplicity, 
 energy, and fpirit of the facred originals. This ren- 
 dered him fuperior to mofl: fcholars and divines, in 
 explaining and illuilrating the infpired Scriptures of 
 God. 
 
 XXVIII. He felt an unbounded ardor of joy in 
 God, the Redeemer, as iflfuing from different ///Wj, 
 and flowing from. difl:in6l fountains into his happy 
 
 SOUL. 
 
 All 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 71 
 
 All the funds of joy; all the fountains of fweet arid 
 folid pleafure ; ail the mighty fprings of triumph and 
 tranfport, are to be fought and found in the perfon 
 and offices, in the righteoufnefs and , blood of God 
 the Son. Joy is pleafure ; pleafure is an agreeable 
 . fenfation of the foul, arifing from the prefence and 
 fruition of the fupreme good, with the profped of 
 enjoying that good, without any lofs to eternity. 
 
 It is the will of God, that every true believer 
 fhould have ftrong confolation. 
 
 Confolation is the relief of the mind under any 
 trouble, arifing from the prefence of a good, out- 
 balancing the evil which we feel or fear. 
 
 Confolation, may be faid to be ftrong, when it has 
 a firm foundation, and is made victorious over all 
 oppofition, and felt to be durable without ruin or 
 decay. 
 
 God's people have the firmeft ground for ever- 
 lading joy in the exiftence and perfedions of the liv- 
 ing and true God. 
 
 Believers rejoice to think of the certainty of the 
 divine exiftence, and every perfeftion of Godhead is 
 the ground-work of their joy : they rejoice in all the 
 relations of God to them, as he is the Cr^^/^r of their 
 exiftence, and the Ozvner of their exiftence, with all 
 their powers and good qualities ; they rejoice to tliink 
 that God is the Governor of their exiftence: they feel 
 with unfpeakable pleafure, that he is the Benefa^or of 
 their being ; and that all the ftreams of light, life, 
 liberty, and purity, flow from God, through the per- 
 fon of Christ, into their happy fouls: they rejoice 
 to feel that God is the eternal Judge of their exiftence, 
 and that their immortal being and happinefs will be 
 determined by the immutable volitions of his will. 
 They rejoice in xho: divine infpiration and authority 
 of the Scriptures i they believe the do6lrines re- 
 vealed ; they obey the precepts prefcribed, and live 
 upon the blefiings promifed. They rejoice in the 
 
 perfon 
 
72 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 perfon of Christ, as God-Man : his eternal divi- 
 nity, is the objed; of their faith, love, and adoration ; 
 they rejoice in the conftitution of Christ's perfon, as 
 the moll glorious manifeftation of the wifdom, love, 
 and power of the Godhead : they rejoice in th^fitnejs 
 of his perfon, to do them good ; in the fulnejs of his 
 perfon, to give them all poflible good j in the great- 
 nejs of his perfon, to excite in them the higheft 
 ardor of aftonifhment and delight : they rejoice 
 in the power of his arm, to fave to the very utter- 
 mofti that is, to the uttermoft of their dangers, 
 of their defires, and immortal duration : they rejoice 
 in the gracious v/iliingnefs of his heart to fave, and 
 that he feels all the infinite delights of a God, in the 
 falvarion of all his people, without the lead lofs or 
 difappointment : they rejoice in the heauty of his per- 
 fon, to endear himfelf to their fouls, and to make 
 himfelf eternally precious in their efteem. 
 
 They rejoice in his three offices of prophet, priefl, 
 and kins;: his offices confiil in the different modes of 
 the manifefiation of the divine perfections : his wif-. 
 dom removes the plague of darknefs from their un- 
 derflandins; : his obedience and fatisfaftion removes 
 the plague of guilt from their confciences : his Al- 
 mighty Power, blended with Grace, removes the 
 plague of ftubbornnefs from their will and affe6lions : 
 he demonftrates to the mental eye of their faith, that 
 he is able and willing, and commi'ffioned, and fworn 
 into his offices, by God the Father. He has per- 
 fcdlly fatisfied God's juftice by his death : he has 
 perfediy pleafed the divine holinefs by his obedience 5 
 and he has opened up the profoundeft depths of 
 God's heart, as containing none but thoughts of 
 peace, and no thoughts of evil. 
 
 They rejoice to fee that Christ, as a wife pro- 
 pliet, has unravelled all the devil's plots which they 
 could not difcover ; that Christ, as a meritorious 
 pried, has anfwered all the devil's charges, v/hich 
 
 they 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 73 
 
 they could not deny: that Christ as an omnipo- 
 tent God and King, has broke and conquered all 
 the devil's forces, which they could not refift. 
 
 Another fund or fountain of joy to trine believers, is 
 the interefl and kingdoni of Christ in the world, 
 Christ's interefl does not confifl in external forms 
 and ceremonies -, in worldly glare and grandeur ; but 
 in vital holinefs implanted in the fouls of men ; in a 
 divine nature created, and every moment fupported 
 by God the Spirit. This conflitutes the true glory 
 and foHd greatnefs of the Church of Christ upon 
 earth : it wants no fupport from the arm of mighty 
 kings J the arts of deep politicians j the wifdom of 
 proud philofophers j the harangues of eloquent ora- 
 tors; the riches of wealthy bankers; or the glittering 
 trappings of gold and jewels. Thefe are all extraneous 
 and foreign to the true interefl of Christ; and 
 though he condefcends fometimes to make ufe of 
 them, yet he can do without them to all eternity. 
 
 True believers rejoice in the profped: of the fpi- 
 ritual reign of Christ, in the latter day glory. 
 
 They confider, in the light of prophecy, and with 
 an eye of faith, that there will be a vafl increafe of 
 fpiritual knowledge all round the world : that Holinefs 
 to the Lord fball be written upon the bells of the horjesy 
 that is, that all the common employments of life 
 fhall be confecrated by holy fouls to the glory of 
 Chb.ist; and that love to each other, will be every 
 way proportionable to their holinefs towards God : 
 they view with rapture and pleafure, the vafb extent 
 of this knowledge, holinefs, and brotherly love: it 
 will fpread all round the globe, from pole to pole; 
 and every empire, kingdom, and flate, with all the 
 iflands of the fea : in Ihort, every habitable fpot that 
 rolls at the foot of Christ's throne, fhall bewaflied 
 in his blood, clothed with his righteoufnefs, and 
 adorned by the graces of his Spirit. All the enemies 
 of the church v/ill be utterly deftroyed, and all the 
 
 K ' Pagans, 
 
74 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 Pagans, Mahometans, Papifts, Jews, and the whok 
 world of Protefbant infidels, that v/ill not bow to the 
 fcepter of Christ^s grace, fhali break under the iron 
 rod of his juftice. They view with joy the fubnnif- 
 fion of all the kings and queens, the nobles, and 
 mighty men of the earth, to the church of Christ. 
 God declares that they fl:iall bow down to the foles of 
 her feet. They confider, with joy, that this fpiritual 
 profperity will be of longer continuance than any pe- 
 riod of happinefs fince the creation of the world: 
 they view with joy the converfion of all the twelve 
 tribes of the Jev/s, their acceflion to the church of 
 Christ j their full and univerfal return to their own 
 land, and their being placed in holineis and honour 
 at the head of all the nations upon earth. In the 
 light of faith they view the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 after a fhort period of the drovv^fy Laodicean ilatc, 
 defcendins; from heaven with a fhout, with the voice 
 of the archangel, and the trump of God; and the 
 dead in Chr ist fhall rife lirft. They fee in the morn- 
 ing of the thoufand years, the whole world of God's 
 eleifl franding upon their feet: in one moment they 
 fee the living changed, and the vvhole afTembled 
 world of holy fouls in their new-raifed bodies afcend 
 as fwift as light to meet the Lord Jesus in the air: 
 they fee them ftand at the right hand of Christ. 
 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the confla- 
 gration will begin; the earth, with all her works, fhall 
 be burned up; the loftiefb mountains, which arc 
 twenty thoufand feet high, fhall be difiblved like a 
 pile of fnow; the folemn temples, the gorgeous pa- 
 laces, the moft populous cines, with the pooreft vil- 
 lages, and the viiell cottages, fhall be blended in one 
 promilcuous ruin: the wicked, which are then living, 
 fl:iall have their bodies difTolved into aflies by fire, 
 and thofe allies fhall be thrown under our feet: they 
 fee the creation of the new heavens and'the new eafth : 
 they fee the New J erufalem formed, the walls eretled, 
 
 the 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. yy 
 
 the gates made of foiid pearl fee up, the flreets paved 
 widi pure gold like tranfparent glafsj the river of life 
 running through the city; the tree of life arifes and 
 fpreads its branches, with their twelve manner of 
 fruits, over the whole breadth of the river ; they de- 
 fcend with their glorified Lord, and here they reign 
 as kings a thoufand years. In the light of faith, they 
 fee the grand employment of the inhabitants of the 
 new earth: they fee them all fparkling with holinefs, 
 and every Chriilian as a mirror to reiie6b the fun 
 beams of his Redeemer's countenance: all our la- 
 bours, fervices, fufferings, will then be reviewed, 
 and God our Saviour will reward his own grace. 
 In the evening of this day^ and at the conclufion of 
 a thoufand years, they fee their glorious Lord afcend 
 into the expanfe of heaven, with all the millions of 
 his faints with him; they fnall ftand at his right hand: 
 they v/ill fee the wicked dead all arife: in a moment 
 they fhall (land upon their feet; their characters will 
 be all declared i the qualities of their wicked hearts 
 all difplayed: their i'prings and motives of action 
 laid naked and open to the whole affembled world of 
 faints,, angels, and devils : their final flate of mifery 
 will be fixed: they muft hear the fentence, Depart ye 
 curjed into everlafiingfire^ prepared for the devil and his 
 angels. It is the language of infinite hatred ; it im- 
 plies the everlafting averfion of God's nature to the 
 wicked : they are words that contain indignant fcorn 
 and contempt: they imply an unalterable refolution 
 in God*s nature and v/ill, never to relent; the wicked 
 fhall be driven off firfii; Christ and his people fhall 
 keep the field of victory and triumph. In the light 
 of faith, they fee the tranfports and horrors of the 
 two eternal worlds; the one to demonftrate pure jui- 
 tice v/ichout any mercy, the other to difplajr infinite 
 grace in all its brightnefs, to all eternity. 
 
 Thefe are fome of the funds or fountains of the 
 Chriflian's joy; and from thefe fountains Hervey's 
 
 K « foul 
 
76 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 folil was richly replenifhed, all through the hitl 
 twenty-fix years of his happy life. 
 
 XXIX. He was a truly learned man in the 
 SIGHT of God. 
 
 Learning confifts in a clear knowledge of books 
 and fad:s, in a juft acquaintance with the characters 
 of men, times and ages, antient and modern; in an 
 accurate and fagacious fearch into the fprings and 
 caufes of things, in order to explain the laws and ope- 
 rations ofnature, the rational and immortal powers of 
 man, his connections with God, his dependance upon 
 him, and obligations to love and adore him^ his con- 
 nections with mankind, and with the whole univerfe, 
 that we may point out and purfue the great ends of 
 our eternal exiflence ; the befl ufe of our rational ca- 
 pacities ^ the higheft tafte for our virtuous enjoy- 
 ments; the wifell application of our noblefb faculties 
 to poiifh and dignify our nature, and advance the glory 
 of Christ as the true caufe of our exiflence, and 
 the fource of our holinefs and happinefs. 
 
 In all thefe views Hervey was a truly learned man. 
 
 Knowledge is the conception of ideas of truth ; and 
 
 comparing them with each other, and difcerning their 
 
 agreement with each other, or their difference from 
 
 each other, and from the nature of things. 
 
 A learned man is one who has a large flock of 
 clear ideas upon all the fciences or branches of know- 
 ledge, and who is able beautifully to difcourfe upon 
 any fyftem of fpeculative or practical truth, lb as to 
 inliruCt and pleafe mankind. 
 
 There were few of the liberal fciences with which 
 Hervey had not a familiar acquaintance, but he 
 had the wifdom to purfue thofe moil which were befl 
 adapted to his genius and tafte. With his ufual fim- 
 plicity and fweetnefs of temper, he has faid to me, 
 *^ My friend, I have not a flrong mind ; I have not 
 « powers fitted for arduous refearches, .but I think I 
 " have a power of writing in ibm.ew^hat of a ftriking 
 
 *^ manner. 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 
 
 " manner, fo far as to pleafe mankind, and to re- 
 ^^ commend my dear Redeemer." Happy if all our 
 learned men were to make the fame ufe of their f^e- 
 nius and talents. 
 
 XXX. He was trnly a wise man in the fight of 
 God. 
 
 Wifdom confifls in the ftrength of theunderftanding, 
 to confider the relation of things under the notion of 
 means and ends, and their fitnefs or unfitnefs, to pro- 
 mc^e our holinefs and happinefs. 
 
 This is true wifdom to knov/ the grand end of our 
 exiftencV, and the very befl means of purfuing and 
 attaining that end : the devils knew that Hervey was 
 a wife man; good men and angels knew that he was 
 a wife man; the Lord Jesus Christ loved him as a 
 wife man; the divine Father and Holy Spirit de- 
 lighted in him as a wife man ; that blelTed Author of 
 all wifdom and goodnefs had taught him to be wife; 
 he enabled him to prcpofe the very befl end of his 
 exiftence ; he taught him to ule the befl means to at- 
 tain that end; heaiTifled him as to the circumflances 
 of adion, to do every thing in the fittefl time, and 
 mofl beautiful manner: he taught him to fecure him- 
 felf from all bitter repentance, and forrov/ for doing 
 wrong: he fecured him from wifhing that he had taken 
 better meafures, and ufed better means to attain his 
 end. In a word, he taught him to know Christ's 
 righteoufnefs, which made him a v/ife man: he taught 
 him to love Christ's perfon, which made him a good 
 man : he brought him into a vital union with Christ's 
 Iieart, and a fweet fruition of his eternal love, which 
 made him an happy man. 
 
 Hervey was truly prudent in the fight of God : as 
 wifdom is practical knowledge, fo prudence is pradli- 
 cal wifdom. 
 
 Guarding againfl repentance, chagrin and difap- 
 pointmicnt, is the hardeil part of prudence, and where 
 almoft all men fall and fail, 
 
 Hervey 
 
78 • AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 Hervey did not fail or fail in this point, with re- 
 fpe6l to the final ifiue of things 3 but before he at- 
 tained his ftrength of mind and underftanding, to en- 
 joy his God and Saviour in a free and full union of 
 foul with foul, he hurt his health by night ftudies, and 
 broke his delicate conftitution beyond the power of 
 recovery. Here it was that the great Toplady 
 miftook his way, and ruined his health j the great 
 John Milton loft his eyes by the fame miftaken 
 ftep. Thefe three men were truly wife, and are now 
 eternally happy: but let us never make them pat- 
 terns for our imitation in that, which was the greateft 
 blunder of their lives. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 XXXI. Hervey was a happier man than all the 
 millions of the wicked on the face of the earth. See 
 this difplayed in his fublime and beautiful triumph and 
 gratitude to Christ in his noble rhapfody on the blef- 
 fings of the Gofpel, Dialogue XVII. In order to 
 your pofTeflion of this noble rhapfody, you muft feel 
 that rich alTurance of faith, Dialogue XVI. It is of 
 infinite confequence for a Chriftian to ufe the mofl 
 flrenuous exertions in prayer to Christ, for this great 
 affurance of faith, and boundlefs joy in the blefiings 
 of the Gofpel. 
 
 God's people live belov/ their dignity and privi- 
 leges in Christ: they fail exceedingly in their prac- 
 tical regards to Christ : they do not live up to the 
 height of their being in union with God the Redee- 
 mer, who is the light, life, and glory, of every true 
 Chriltian. 
 
 Here Hervey excelled, and was a pattern to all 
 believers to the end of the world. 
 
 If you compare Hervey with all the great men of 
 Greece and Rome, you will fee him fuperior in hap- 
 pinefs and holinefs, in wifdom and dignity, above dl 
 the heroes of antiauitv. You will fee in him fuch 
 
 pre- 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES 79 
 
 pre'eminence in fublime tempers and delicate tafte 
 that you will not bear with patience the connparifon: 
 you will think it an infult upon his memory to men- 
 tion the greatefl men of Greece: fuch' were Socrates 
 and Plato, Ariftotle and Ariftides, Homer, Demoft- 
 henes, and Epicletus. If you infliitute a comparifon 
 between him and the greateft men among the Romans, 
 there is not one man that will bear to be mentioned 
 with him. You will turn away your face with difdain 
 upon the mention of Scipio and Cato, Virgil and 
 Horace, Cicero and Quintilian: and even Seneca's 
 temper and conduct will not bear one moment's com- 
 parifon. In a word, if you go through all Plutarch's 
 lives, and comjpare them with the divine and Chriilian 
 graces, the fweet and focial affections which fhonc in 
 Hervey's temper and life, you Vvill find that Hervey 
 fhines like the fun in the expanfe, which extinguifhes 
 and drowns all the light of the ftars by his fuperior 
 brio;htnefs. 
 
 If you compare Hervey with all the mofb celebra- 
 ted geniufes of modern times, he will appear to great 
 advantage on the comparifon. Call up to view 
 Shakefpeare, Pope, Bolingbroke, Hume, Hobbes, and 
 Lord Herbert. Go over to France, compare Her- 
 vey with Voltaire, and all the herds of infidels : what 
 do you think of him now, when fet in contraft with 
 fuch faints as thefe. O Hervey ! the palm is thine ! 
 for ever thine. 
 
 Compare Hervey with Fauflus Socinus, whofe fa- 
 mous words are thefe, 
 
 " FrdBce-pta veteris Fader is maxima ex parte ejujmodl 
 '^ T^w/, ut difficile fit creditUy ilia Deo man are, adeo vel 
 ^^ levia-i vel vana^ velfuperftitioja, vel etia'm ftulta ac ri- 
 " dicula, et iri/umma, parum Deo digjia videriqueant.'* 
 In Englifh thus: 
 The precepts of the Old Teftament are, for the 
 
 m.ofh part fuch, that it is hard to believe that they 
 
 proceed from God : they are either fo light, or vain. 
 
 Or 
 
 cc 
 cc 
 
go AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 " or fuperftitious, or even foolilli, or ridiculous ; and 
 *^ upon the whole, they leemed not to be worthy of 
 " God," Here is one fpecimen out of a thoufand of 
 Socinus's great piety ! 
 
 See this paragraph in his firft volume folio, page 
 499, of the AmfterdaiTi Edition, 1656. 
 
 One more proof of Socinus's great piety in his ca- 
 pital work Be Chfifto Servatore^ Part III. Cap. vi. 
 page 204. Vol. II. of his Works fpeaking of the 
 Satisfaction of Christ, has thefe\vords: 
 
 Ego quidem non Je?nel Jed J^pe id injacris monhnentis 
 Jcriptum extaret 5 non tdcirco tamen ita rem prorfus Je 
 habere crederera, ut vos opinamini,^^ 
 
 The Engiilh of which paflage is this : 
 *^ As for my part, indeed, though fuch a thing 
 (i. e. the fatisfadion of Christ) ihoukl be found 
 not once, but frequently in the facred records ; I 
 
 
 Surely the remark of Dr. Witfius is juil: " Shtan- 
 do de reipja liquet 3 Je?nper pro Deo contra Jiult^e rationis 
 nofir^c Ccfjpitationcs fiatuendmn ejl, Monjlrum hor- 
 i'endum infand^ Joarejics ei prcfan.e arrogantipe parturit 
 qui qiiodSccinusfacit non erubejcitjcrihere'^ De Oecon^ 
 Lib. II. Cap. V. Sect. viii. 
 
 *^ When the facft is plain, we are always to vindicate 
 God againfl: the fophiilry of our foolifii reafon- 
 ings.— -That man is certainly the author of a 
 monftrous, horrible, and detefcable error, who, like 
 " Socirius, is not afhamed to write the above words." 
 Let us now ferioufly compare the temper and piety 
 of Fauilus Socinus with James Hervey. Let us 
 view our author in his temper towards God the Fa- 
 ther : his clear perception of the divine perfecftions : 
 his ardent love to the beautiful nature of God: his 
 hieh veneration for the divine Mates rv : his truft in 
 God's faithful promifes ; his obedience to the orders 
 of the divine law, and moil afted:ionate commiunion 
 with God, in providence and grace. 
 
 View 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 8i 
 
 View him in his temper and difpofition towards 
 God the Son: he had a clear underftanding of 
 Christ's eternal divinity; a hvely faith in his rio-h- 
 teoufncfs and blood; a moil; delightful union^in 
 heart, with his perfonal beauty ; a moft accurate imi- 
 tation of his perfecl example ; an humble fubmiffion 
 to his infallible didlates; with an inceffant dependancc 
 on his powerful interceflion, founded on his fatis- 
 fadion. 
 
 View him in his temper and conduct towards God 
 the Holy Spirit. He regarded Him as the fpirit 
 of wifdom and revelation, Eph. i. 17. He loved 
 him as the fpirit of truth, John xiv. 17. He con- 
 fided in him as the fpirit of comfort and ftrength, John 
 xiv. 26. Colof. i. 1 1. He apphed to him as the fpi- 
 rit of hoHnefs, Rom. i. 4. and he rejoiced in him as 
 a fpirit of love and goodncfs, Pfalm cxliii. 10. 
 
 View Hervey in his temper towards himfelf, as the 
 refult of union witn Christ. He was humble in the 
 opinion of his own underftanding and goodnefs : he 
 was meek and patient, and contented in his flation : 
 he was chafte, fober, and temperate in his appetites : 
 he had the fortitude of the lion, the wifdom of the 
 ferpent, and the harmleffnefs of the dove. 
 
 Confider Hervey in his temper and conduift to- 
 wards all mankind : the Spirit of Christ influenced 
 his heart, and gave him an aptitude to excel in bene- 
 volence and beneficence : he had a tender mercy to 
 the fouls and bodies of men : he had a fpirit of ore- 
 nerous forgivenefs to all offenders. Union with 
 Christ, produced in his foul a temper of juftice, 
 truth, and candour. Faithfulnei's fhone in his uni- 
 verfal condudt. Sincerity and tendernefs, pundluality 
 and perfeverance, in good works, under the diredion 
 of prudence, adorned ail his actions, and rendered 
 him a lovely objedl to men, to angels, and even to 
 God himifeif 
 
 Now compare this perfon v/ith Faullus Socinus, 
 and fee v/hich is the greateft Chriftian. See the Life 
 
 ^ L of 
 
83 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 of Fauflus Socinus at large, by Mr. Toulmin, 8vo. 
 6s. With refpedl to morality, the fe are his gcninne 
 fentimentSj which you may lee in his Expofition of 
 the fth chapter of Matthew, and many other parts of 
 his works. " He believed that officious lies are 
 " lawful : that the motions of concupifcence are not 
 *^ vicious : that idle or obfcene words, gluttony, 
 *' drunkennefs, riot, luxury, and all impure defires 
 " and lufts, were not forbidden till Christ's time, 
 " and confequently were no fins." 
 
 XXXII. Mr. Hervey was remarkable for a fpiri- 
 tual underftanding of the revelation of the Gofpel, 
 concerning the divine perfon of the eternal Son of 
 God. 
 
 He clearly faw in the light of vital faith, that God 
 the Son, was the glorious mirror of all the divine 
 perfe(5tions, and the repofitory of all evangelical truth. 
 He viewed him as that adorable obje61:, in which 
 alone the wifdom of God v/as difplayed in the moft 
 tranfcendent light and beauty : having a fweet affoci- 
 ation and union of the divine and human nature in 
 one perfon 3 and in whom was to be {ten the richefl 
 conjundlion of juilice and miercy in God* In the 
 fufferings of this adorable perfon, he faw a moft won- 
 derful conjundlion of punifhment and obedience, and 
 a rich airociation of full fatisfa6tion and infinite me- 
 rit, even the mxrit of all poffible grace ; and afford- 
 ing a rich example of the beauty of grace, to excite 
 our imitation. 
 
 Hervey clearly faw, that Christ in the characlers 
 of Saviour and Redeemer, exceeded that of Creator 
 and Preferver, in the moft amazing and tranfcendent 
 degree. 
 
 XXXIII. Thefe fubiime views of the v/ifdom of 
 Christ in our redemption, were attended with prof- 
 pedts of equal brightnefs and beauty, with refpe(5l to 
 the goodnefs of Christ. Hov; great is his goodnefs ! 
 How great is his beauty I Zech. ix. 17. Christ, 
 
 in 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES 83 
 
 in giving himfelf to us and for us, has given us a 
 greater gift than all the legions of angels and millions 
 of worlds — and the manner in which he p-ive himfelf 
 was fo fweer, fo condefcending, and ' generous, as 
 tranfcends all exprefTion and conception of his people 
 to eternity ! — If we confider to whom Christ o-ave 
 himfelf! to us, that were creatures lefs than nothing, 
 and worfe than nothing — and if we recoiled: the infi- 
 nite evils, moral as fin^ and natural evil, which is 
 puniflimenti which are the two greateft plagues in the 
 world ! — If we view all the goods Christ has pro- 
 cured, temporal, fpiritual, and eternal. Temporal 
 for the body ; fpiritual for the foul ; and eternal goods 
 for foul and body in heaven. If you confider the 
 eafy and free manner and grounds on which we enjoy 
 this fupreme good, and that God the Son, comes 
 nearer to us in a double union, than he did to Adam 
 in Paradife : by a perfonal union of his divine with 
 his human nature, and a vital holy union with our 
 fouls, what objects which were hid in God from eter- 
 nity, are here laid open i and what ravifhing enter- 
 tainments did they yield to the holy and contempla- 
 tive foul of this great and good man ! 
 
 XXXIV. From a view of the wifdom and 
 prudence in harmony with the juftice and mercy 
 of God — of the harmonious conjuncftion of punifh- 
 ment and obedience : of the beautiful union of fatis- 
 fa6lion and merit in the actions of Christ : and the 
 wonderful conjunction of the merit of all grace, and 
 of example, by its divine beauty, to allure imitation: 
 from all thefe viev/s, Hervey's foul v/as mightily ex- . 
 cited and roufed to feek and pracSrife the mod ex- 
 quifite holy prudence and difcretion. 
 
 Religious prudence is an ability of judging what 
 is the very best in the choice of ends and means. 
 Prudence is the leading grace in vital godlinefs -, for 
 without prudence to guide and guard all the virtues 
 and graces, every virtue would be tarnifhed^ and 
 
 L % every 
 
84 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 every grace v/ould be diftorced or pat out of place; 
 every virtue would degenerate into a folly or a vice ; 
 religion would degenerate into athcifm or fuperftition; 
 zeixi into bigotry and perfecuuon ; tempeiance into 
 aufterity ; courage into ralhnefs^ humility into ab- 
 je6tnefs and nneannefs of foul -, meeknefs into an in- 
 fipid temper, or rife into anger, fury, and malice ; 
 diligence into anxiety or llothfulnefs 3 love into a 
 foolifh fondnefs or violent hatred ; chaftity into luft 
 and impurity ; friendfhip into a doating idolatry, or 
 into averfion, loathing, and difguft. 
 
 Thus we might go through all the virtues and 
 graces, and fhew that every virtue would be fpoiled, 
 every grace would be tarnifhed, without prudence to 
 guide, and guard them in their excrcife. 
 
 His Prudence judged of the befl end, and the beft 
 means adapted to the very bell end. 
 
 Prudence gave him a knowledge of persons, and 
 a knowledge of actions. 
 
 1. A KNOWLEDGE of himfelf*. his natural powers, 
 genius, or aptitude to excel in divinity, philofophy, 
 and eloquence ; his tafte and bias of temper ; his 
 real abilities, knowledge, and confequence to the 
 world. 
 
 2. His KNOWLEDGE of Other men: their capacities, 
 pafTions, quality in life, bias of mind. — Humours, 
 fancies, foibles. — Favourite taftes, education, and real 
 charaders in the eye of God. 
 
 His PRUDENCE included a knowledo;e of ^^ctions : 
 the intrinfic nature of actions — the eilimate of adlions 
 in the eyes of all the world — the circumllances of 
 a6lionS'— the effedts of actions- <jr the genuine con- 
 fequences that flow from go^d and bad adions, ac- 
 cording to their nature and genuine tendency. 
 
 I. He had a keen perception of the intrinfic na- 
 ture of actions, as full of goodnefs and dignity, or 
 malignity and bafenefs, as adorned with beauty, or 
 
 tarnifhed 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. §5 
 
 tarniflied with deformity ! as enlivened with pleafure, 
 or attended with pain and mifery. He thorono-hly 
 imderiLOod all actions, whether good, evil, or indif- 
 ferent. 
 
 2. He had a itrid regard to the eilimate of adions 
 in the eye of the v/orld, whether they were of good 
 report, or evil report, amongil mankind. His ex- 
 qiiifite prudence always enquired, " Will the adion 
 " give a handle for cenfure? Will the a6tion be of- 
 " fenfive to friends, or fcandalous to be reported by 
 " enemies ? Is the adion of evil report, or good re- 
 *' port, in the eyes of bad men or good men ?'* 
 
 3. He gave a keen attention to the circumfi an ces of 
 adions, with refpedt to the time when, the ^lace where^ 
 and the manner how^ they were done, 
 
 4. His confummate prudence obfcrved the confe- 
 quences of adions : it was this profpective faculty that 
 was the chief charadiieriftic of his true manly pru- 
 dence. He could forefee events at a diftance, and 
 he provided accordingly. It was from this that his 
 prudence came to be of fo great importance and ad- 
 vantage in the conduct of life. 
 
 In order to his forming this judgment of future 
 confequences, his prudence kept in view the tim.e 
 paft. He always reviewed the a6lions and deport- 
 ment of his life, and by comparing fimilar caufes and 
 events, he proceeded with a greater confidence and 
 bravery of mind, becaufe he khew that the fame 
 things come round again in human life. 
 
 Prudence is the art of conjecturing. The objedls 
 of fcience are things efientially true and necefiary, 
 Theobjet5ts of prudence are things contingent, which 
 may fall out one way or another. He knev/ that it 
 was well worth our while to come as near to certainty 
 as poflible, and to regulate our condu(ft accordingly. 
 Now, in this uncertainty of events, what did this wife 
 man do ? He obferved, as for his life, thefe m.axims 
 of prudence. 
 
 Maxim 
 
$6 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 Maxim I. He attempted nothing fiom which there 
 was a profptd of more evil arifing than good. 
 
 Maxim 11. He did what appeared moft advifea- 
 ble, and committed the event to Providence. 
 
 Maxim III. He confidcred the uncertainty of 
 things, and made allowance for it in the fchemes 
 which he formed, and the hopes and expedtations 
 which he entertained. Upon the v/hole, thefe two 
 things he confidered as eilentially neceflary to the 
 idea of prudence. 
 
 1. Due confultation concerning fuch things as de- 
 mand it, in a right manner, and for a competent 
 time, that the refolution taken up may be neither too 
 hafcy and precipitant, nor too How. 
 
 2. A faculty of difcerning proper means, when 
 they occur. 
 
 To the perfection of his prudence, he had three 
 things that were very remiarkable. 
 
 1. A 7mtural fcigcicity, prudence to appear with any 
 luftre and beauty miufl:, in part, be a gift of the God 
 of nature, though in the grand affair of all, the fal- 
 vation of our fouls, it is our happinefs that every 
 convinced finner is welcome to be prudent in giving 
 up his foul to God the Redeemer; to be faved by 
 his precious blood, and imputed righteoufnefs. 
 
 2. A firm 'prejencc of mlnd^ and fuch a ready turn 
 of thought, as helped him to expedients on a fudden 
 pufli, when he had no time to m.ake many reflections. 
 The Duke of Marlborous;h was remarkable for this 
 prefence of mind in the day of battle; but no Marl- 
 borough had mere fortitude than James Hervey. 
 
 3. Experience J or knowledge, gained by obferva- 
 tion, iri'ide on men and things. This v^as of great 
 Vi^^ to improve his n itur.41 fagacity. The Book of 
 Proverbs is the refult of obfervation and experience, 
 aided by the infpiration of the Holy Spirit, and no ^ 
 man was ever more attentive to that book. 
 
 XXXV. Hervey 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. %y 
 
 XXXV. Hervey had a very deep and powerful 
 fenle of the holinefs of God conftantly abiding on his 
 foul and confcience, and exciting hinrt to the moft in- 
 tenfe hatred of fin ; or a defire to have an eternal 
 difunion from it. 
 
 He confidered holinefs as the beauty and glory of 
 the divine nature, and as thefhin'ng purity of the na- 
 ture, powers, and affeclions of man. Yea, he confi- 
 dered it as a thoufand times more divine than the foul 
 itfelf. He fet this glorious attribute before his men- 
 tal EYE ; and Gonfidered what manner of perfon he 
 ought to be in all holy converlacion and godiinefs. 
 GOD ACTij LIKE HIMSELF. He acled hke God. He 
 judged that his decorum of temper confiiled in an 
 holy alTimilation to the moral qualities of God our 
 Saviour, and to refemble his imitable perfections : 
 to be full of love, mercy, holinefs, and patience, as 
 Christ is. This is to be, and ad like a Chriftian. 
 One Ihining virtue or another of God was continually 
 breaking out from Hervey's heart, to tell the world 
 that he was a true Chriftian : his love and mercy to 
 his fellow creatures declared his fenfe of the infinite 
 love and mercy of God to himfelf: his patience under 
 injuries bore a refemblance to thofe riches of forbear- 
 ance, which God the Saviour exercifed towards his 
 own foul. 
 
 * All his holy graces appeared as fo many rays of 
 God, who is the great fountain and pattern of holinefs. 
 He walked worthy of God, and in imitation of 
 Christ : and this was to walk condecently to himfelf; 
 and in an high (^orrefpondence to the dignity of a 
 Christian. God does all things for himfelf, for his 
 own glory ; and Hervey's aim was to do all things for 
 God ; an higher .nd nobler end than God cannot pof- 
 fibly be y and iV thing fhort of this would ever content 
 the foul of this great snd generous man of God. 
 
 Read the immortal work of Polhill on the Holinefs 
 of God*, page 26—41, Spcdum Tbeologi<:e in Chrilio, 
 
 4to. 
 
$5' AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 4to. 1678. The richefl book ever written in the En- 
 glifh language ^ a book unknown, and confequently 
 diii'egarded. 
 
 XXXVI. This great and wife man had the highell 
 veneration for the eiTentlai and iaimutable juftice of 
 God. 
 
 That attribute, which all wilful finners abhor: that 
 glorious divine perfe^lion which Socinians would be 
 ■glad to have deftroyed ; or for ever clofed up in God 
 without one fingle exertion againfc fm or finners. 
 
 This attribute, in all its glory and terror, Hervey 
 loved and adored: this was the grand reafon why he 
 fied to Christ's righteoufnels, and rejoiced in the 
 bleffed plan of falvation ; a plan in which we fee 
 wonders upon wonders : miracles of power uniting 
 with miracles of miercy, and all the terrors of jus- 
 tice miingiing with the triumphs of ev^erlafting grace. . 
 Salvation would not, it could not take place, without 
 a full provifion for the utrnoft rights and demands of 
 eternal juftice: nor would Hervey have taken plea- 
 fure in his own falvation, if it could have . been 
 effe(5led at the expence, eclipfe, and ruin of God's 
 natural and efTential juftice. 
 
 The fum total of religion is, to imitate the God 
 we adore. 
 
 Hervey had a divine permanent principle in his 
 will, determining his foul to actions of juftice; and 
 not the contrary. He v/as juft in his difpofitions to- 
 wards God, in giving him the full glory of his grace 
 in the juftificatioii of a finner. Juft in his temper to 
 God the Son, in giving him the whole glory of his 
 precious imputed Righteousness. Juft in his temper 
 tov/ards God the Holy Spirit, in giving him. the 
 full glory of regeneration and confolation. Juft to 
 the Church of Christ, and to all mankind; and juft 
 to his own foul, by feeking his eternal happinefs and 
 falvation. 
 
 Let 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES S^ 
 
 Let us now proceed to confider Hervey in that 
 point of light in which confifts the folid glory and 
 real greatnefs of a believer, and a preacher of the 
 Gofpel. 
 
 XXXVII. He had the highefl efleem and admi- 
 ration for Christ as God the Truth, Deut. xxxii. 4. 
 Ifai. Ixv. 16. The amen or truth. Rev. iii. 14. The 
 truth and the life, John xiv. 6. 
 
 When man departed from God, he intirely fell out 
 of the truth into the efTence and fpirit of the father 
 of lies. 
 
 The greatefl lovers of truth I ever read were, Dr. 
 Witfius, Edward Polhill, Efq. Dr. Owen, Stephen 
 Charnock, Dr. Gill, and John Brine : and Hervey 
 was equal to them, all in ardent love of eternal di- 
 vine truth in the perfon of God the Son, Christ 
 Jesjjs our Lord. 
 
 Hervey had the highefl flrongefl faith in Christ's 
 exiflence as the true God, and not an unexifting 
 fidlion. All mankind treat Christ as a cypher and 
 a lie, till omnipotent grace changes the qualities of 
 the foul. Then, and not till then, they confider God 
 the Redeemer, as the greatefl reality of exiflence and 
 nature, above all created perfons and things. 
 
 The truth of Christ's exillence is fo real and 
 great, that nothing in the univerfe is fo lure and cer- 
 tain. 
 
 All things are fi6lions and fhadows, when compared 
 with Him. And fo Hervey treated all creation : he 
 confidered the earth and flarry heavens as fhadows 
 without Christ. All trees, and plants, and flowers j 
 all gold and filver, and precious ftones -, all birds, and 
 beafls, and fifhes, as fidlions and cyphers, feparate 
 from Christ. 
 
 When he compared the real and glorious exiflence 
 of God the Son with kings, fbatefmen, and philofo- 
 phers, he confidered them all as hubbies and ftdlions 
 of a moment. All the nine hundred millions of 
 
 M mankind 
 
90 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 mankind on the face of the earth, he confidered as 
 Ihadows, as a lie, a dream ; as fictions and painted 
 nothings before God ! God incarnate ! God every- 
 where prefent ! Gop all in all ! 
 
 He confidered and revered the truth of Christ's 
 conceptions, in oppofition to error and miRake. This 
 confifts in Christ's infinite underftanding, having a 
 true perception of the nature of all things, in oppo- 
 fition to a miftaken apprehenfion of the nature of 
 things in heaven, earth, and hell ; and in the nature, 
 powers, and moral qualities, of actions in men, de- 
 vils, and angels. 
 
 He had the higheft efleem for the truth of Ckr ist's 
 intentions, in oppofition to hypocrify. Hypocrify is 
 difTimulation in the ixioral difpofition and character : 
 it is not acting up to a permanent principle of fince- 
 rity and truth. The effence of hypocrify confifts rn 
 appearing different from the reality of internal fenti- 
 ments. Hervey knew that God our vSaviour is not 
 an infincere being, of a double diffemhling heart. 
 His intentions are all pure, and tranfparent to the very 
 bottom of his being. He hates hypocrify in men 
 and devils with his whole fouls and will he everprac- 
 tife it himfeif P 
 
 He loved the truth of God the Son in his expref- 
 fions, in oppofition to lying and falfehood. God the 
 Redeemer fpeaks out his heart in doctrines and fa6ts; 
 in predictions of future events; in laws and precepts; 
 in threatenings and prom.ifes. He never fpeaks con- 
 trary to truth fhining in his underftanding. There 
 is no voluntary difagreement between his mind and 
 fpeech in all that he fays to good men and bad. This 
 oreat and sood man had the hio;heft confidence in the 
 prom.ifes of God ; and he com:pofed little colledions 
 of thole promifes, and gave them away in thoufands, 
 to be pafted within the covers of the bible. 
 
 Hervey had the higheft efteem and veneration fqr 
 the truth of God in his actions, in oppofition to 
 
 fickleneft 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES 91 
 
 ficklenefs and unfaithfulnefs. He rejoiced widi full 
 confidence in die thouo^ht that there can be no difa- 
 greennent between his declarations and a6tions. God's 
 promifes, laws, threatenings, dodrines, prophecies, all 
 harmonize, coincide, and agree with his uniform con- 
 dud and adiions in Providence. He formed a very 
 clear idea of the truth of God, in his underftanding, 
 which removed from his conceptions all fiditious, fa- 
 bulous, and imaginary exiilence. Millions of man- 
 kind treat God as a fiditious being, a feigned God, an 
 imaginary being. Men treat God as nothing, and a 
 lie i and they treat this world in its fenfual lufts, 
 Ibrdid riches, and vain honours, as the only real and 
 folid good in the univerfe. This they do every mo- 
 ment of their lives. Not To this wife and holy man. 
 He viewed the truth of God as removing from his 
 conceptions all ideas of error in God's underfland- 
 ing i all miftakes in his perceptions and ideas. God 
 has no mifapprehenfions of the nature of men or an- 
 gels, or the quality of moral adions. God has no 
 mifconceptions of himfelf, or of things pail, prefent, 
 or to come, in future ages. 
 
 Hervey had fuch a high value for the truth of 
 God, as removed from his mind all ideas of hypo- 
 crify, or a dxCign to deceive and cheat his creatures. 
 He knew that God had no intention to amufe or flat- 
 ter mankind. His eileem for the divine truth re- 
 moved from his Conceptions all ideas of lying or 
 fpeaking contrary to truth in his promifes and threat- 
 enings. His conceptions of God's truth removed 
 from his mind all ideas of unfaithfulnefs in the adions 
 of the divine Redeemer, or his ading contrary to his 
 declared words and fentim.ents. He knew that God 
 never would ad contrary to his profefiions. 
 
 Hervey had the mod profound veneration for the 
 properties of divine truth. He confidered God the 
 Son as ejfential truth : it is eflendal to his very being: 
 he cannot exiil without truth: to conceive of Christ 
 
 M 2 without 
 
92 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 without truth, is to conceive of him as a cypher, and 
 no being at all. 
 
 You cannot conceive of a foul without thoudit or 
 confcioufnefs. You cannot conceive of a body with- 
 out fohd -extenfion and divifibility. So you cannot 
 conceive of a God without truth, which is every way 
 as eflcncial to his being, as thought is to a foul, or folid 
 cxtenfion to a body. 
 
 He viewed God the Son as original truth: all 
 kinds of truth flow from God — The truth of crea- 
 tion — truth in fcience and learning — truth in revela- 
 tion, laws, promifes, do6lrines, and threatenings — all 
 the truth of vital religion in the heart — the divine 
 life — the holy habits of grace — the truth of the di- 
 vine law — the truth of God*s moral perfections — the 
 divine change, and the new birth, all flow from the 
 truth and goodnefs of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 He confidered God the Son as the primary truth. 
 As God is the firil being, fo he is the firfl truth. 
 There are millions of truths in the minds of men; 
 but they are all fecondary truths: they are derived 
 from God the original truth: there are millions of 
 ideas of truth in thx^ underfiandings of angels, but 
 they are revealed by God, who gives them an apti- 
 tude of mind to contemplate the works of creation, 
 and to ftudy the nobler work of redemption. 
 
 He confidered God the Son as pure and perfe5l 
 truth: pure without the leaf!: mixture of error, deceit^ 
 or unfaithfulnefs: perfe6l, without the leaft defe6l in 
 his being, conceptions, or adlions. 
 
 He confidered God the Son as eter^ial truth. Eter- 
 nity is duration without beginning, fucceflion or end. 
 It is perpetuity of exiflence, exiiling all at once with- 
 out fucceffion of moments. God the Son never be- 
 gan to be true, and will never end in his truth. As 
 truth was in him from eternity 3 fo truth will fhine 
 out from his nature in heaven and hell to eternity. 
 Truth will give the greateft twinge of torment to 
 
 damned 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES 93 
 
 damned finners, and afford the higheft fatisfadion and 
 joy to redeemed loiils. Truth and God's decree are 
 the great gulph fixed between the two worlds, and 
 all damned finners will find that the eternal and im- 
 mutable truth of God's decree, is the impaffable 
 barrier between heaven and hell. 
 
 Hervey confidered God the Son as immutalle truth. 
 Truth is not immutable in the miinds of angels and 
 men. Truth was not immutably feated in the minds 
 of the angels, for they abode not in the truth, John 
 viii. 44* and thus they became liars and devils. 
 
 Truth was not immutable in the minds of our firfl 
 parents; they abode net in the truth, nor did the 
 truth of God's omniprefence abide in them; if it 
 had, they would never have fled like atheifts to hide 
 from God, and then tell lies to his face to excufe 
 their crime. Here you fee the horrors of departing 
 from the truth, in the firfl infidels of the human race. 
 
 Wife and good men, in all ages, have had the 
 truth in their minds, but the truth did not always 
 fhine immutably ftrongeven in the befl underflandings. 
 The wifeft men, and the mofc holy lovei*s of truth, 
 have been liable to weaknefs, inattention, and an 
 eciipfe of the underfianding, when God the Spirit of 
 truth has fufpended his light and influence. Witneis 
 Noah and Abraham, Mofcs and David, Solomon 
 and Peter; but in God our Saviour it is infinitely 
 impoffible for a fufpenfion of thought to betray him 
 into error for one m.oment. Truth in his under- 
 ftanding, is the fame from eternity to eternity, with- 
 out any variablenels or fliadow of turning. 
 
 Hervey wifely confidered that God the Son, the 
 Author of our being, has given us a ftrong common 
 fenfe, or that power of the mind which perceives 
 truth, and commands affent, by a fudden impulfe, 
 independent of our will; independent of all reafon- 
 ing and books; independent of all education, and ac- 
 quired habits; operating on all mankind in every age 
 
 and 
 
94 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWE0 
 
 and nation all around the globe, and therefore ftiled 
 common fenfe. 
 
 Hervey confidered the Lord Jesus Christ as the 
 great Author of that divine common fenfe which 
 perceives fpiritual truth in a moment, wJienever the 
 grand objeft is prefented. Propofe this obje6t when- 
 ever you will, in any point of Scripture light, and 
 this holy common fenfe will affent and approve, ad- 
 mire and adore; and this is common to all true Chrif- 
 tians in every age and nation. 
 
 This great and good man confidered that God our 
 Saviour in his nature and choice, requires us to be 
 true in our conceptions; fincere in our intentions; 
 upright in our expreflions; exa6l and full of veracity 
 in our words; faithful in our promifes, actions, and 
 condu(51:. 
 
 God the truth requires this by the lav/ of nature in 
 the whole world of mankind. He requires it in his 
 revealed law from every man where that law is pub- 
 lifhed. He feverely requires it above all in his own 
 people, and can he allow the reverfe in his own mind, 
 in his own words and adlions ? The holy God knows 
 that it is impoiTible. 
 
 Hervey knew that if God the Son could fpeak 
 contrary to truth, always (liining in his mind ; or 
 make a willino; difae-reement between his thoudits 
 and his words, with a defign to deceive good men or 
 bad, he could not hide it from himfelf; and it m.uft 
 fill his mind with a painful confcioufnefs at him- 
 felf, and all his perfe6lions would reproach him, and 
 bear witnefs againft him for fpeaking and acling ut- 
 terly unworthy of a God. To conceive of God as 
 eternally reproaching himfelf, is a moft horrid ideaj 
 a felf- upbraiding God is a notion full of horror. 
 
 Hervey knew, that if fuch a perfon as God the 
 Son, who is beyond all pofTibility of receiving ad- 
 vantage from lying and unfaithfulnefs, ' was to bi^ 
 guilty of it, he would be fo much the more inexcu- 
 
 fable 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES 9^ 
 
 fable and deteftable, and be an objcd of abhorrence 
 to men and angels. Good men would hate him, be- 
 caufe they could not trufl him. Angels would be 
 filled v/ith horror, and expert their own ruin every 
 moment. Bad men and devils would bellartled intp 
 aftonifhment, and cry out to Christ, " What! art 
 f^ thou become like one of us?" 
 
 Hervey well knew that if God the Saviour could 
 be deceitful and a liar, fo as to fpeak contrary to 
 truth for one moment^ all love to him would be loft. 
 If God could be erroneous in his conceptions, hypo- 
 critical in his intentions, falfe in his expreflions, and 
 unfaithful in his a6tions, heaven might be turned into 
 hell. Abraham and Mofes might perifh— Ifaiah and 
 Paul might be damned to eternal wretchedneis — 
 Judas and Rabfhakeh might have an efcape out of 
 prifon — and Kervey and Witfius thrown into their 
 condition. Thus all gratitude to God, and confi- 
 dence in his faithfulnefs, muft be loft out of heaven 
 and earth. 
 
 Hervey knew that God the Son had no need to 
 make a promife to increafe his ovm riches, multiply 
 }iis own pleafures,or augment his own honour and hap- 
 pinefs, 
 
 God has no need to fpeak any falfe words to in- 
 creafe his own happinefs, becaufe he is infinitely hap- 
 py now. He has no reafon to tell a lie to avoid any 
 evil, becaufe he is infinitely fuperior to all evil. He 
 has no need to fpeak a lie to increafe his own honour 
 or fame, becaufe his honour is boundlefs, and his fame 
 eternal 5 therefore if God the Son tell a lie, or fpeak a 
 falfehood, it muft be without any motive whatfoever. 
 
 The above thoughts on Mr. Hervey's knov/ledge 
 of the nature of truth and honefty in the fearch after 
 at, I know to be a fadl ; and I dare aver, in the pre- 
 ience of God, and before the whole world, that I 
 firmly believe there has not exifted an human being, 
 fince the days of inlpiration, v;ho had a greater love 
 
 to 
 
p6 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 to the whole fyflem of evangelical truth than James 
 Hervey. This I this is the IbJid glory of a learned 
 man ; and all learning is trafh, moon-fhine, and a 
 lie, without the love of truth. A learned man is.no 
 better than an embelliihed devil, and all his pompous 
 fcience will be only like a talent cf gold fufpended 
 on a man's neck in the fea, linking him fooner and 
 deeper into the ocean of perdition. 
 
 As this is an age infamous for the hatred of truth 
 in Christ, and of malice at his eternal perfon as God 
 over all, I will endeavour to fearch out the original 
 fprings and caufes of Hervey's love to the truth, 
 which will be a ftriking contrail to the prefent gene- 
 ration of infidels, and traitors to the Gofpel. 
 
 Know then, my dear reader, that the gi-and fprings 
 and caufes of Hervey's love to truth, were a powerful 
 and glorious Regeneration of his foul by God the 
 Eternal Spirit, and a clear forcible conception of 
 the truth and veracity of God revealed in Scripture. 
 The firfl fpring of his love of truth I have already 
 defcribed in the formxr pages. The fecond fpring 
 I will now difplay from the grand volume of Infpi- 
 ration. 
 
 Hervey had a clear, extenfive, and fpiritual under- 
 flandino; of the fenfe and beauty of the followins: 
 pafTages in the book of God. Exod. xxxiv. 6. The 
 Lord God abundant in goodnefs and truth. Deut. 
 xxxii. 4. The God amen — God the truth. Genefis 
 xxiv. 27. God hath not left my Mafter deftitute of his 
 TRUTH. Gen. xxxii. 10. I am not worthy of all the 
 truth of God. Numb, xxiii. 19. God is not a man 
 that he iliould lie. i Sam. xv. 29. The ftrength or 
 eternity of Ifrael will not lie. Deut. vii. 9. The 
 faithfulnefs of God to a thoufand generations. Jolh. 
 xxi. 45. There failed not ought of any good thing — 
 all came to pafs. Jofli. xxiii. 14. Ye know in all 
 your hearts — not one thing hath failed. Ver. 15. Alt 
 good things are come upon you, which the Lord 
 
 your 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. ^i 
 
 your God promifed. i Kings viii. 15. which he fpake 
 with his mouth, and hath with his hand fulfilled it. 
 Ver. 20. The Lord hath performed the word that he 
 fpake. Ver. 24. Thou fpakeft with thy mouth, and 
 haft fulfilled it with thine hand. Ver. t^d. There hath 
 not failed one word of all his good promife which he 
 promifed by the hand of Mofes his fervant. Gen. 
 xxii. 16. By myfelf have I fworn, that in blefTing I 
 will blefs thee. xxvi. 3. I will perform the oath which 
 I fware. Deut. ix. 5. That he may perform the word 
 which he fv/are unto thy fathers. 
 
 Note. An oath is God's folemn appeal to all his 
 moral perfections, for the truth of any promife or af- 
 firmation : calling upon his attributes to bear witnefs 
 againft him, if he proves worfe than his word. 
 
 The judgments, or wife determinations of the 
 Lord are true, Pfal. xix. 9. Thou art a man of 
 God : the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth, 
 I Kings xvii. 24. Thy God will not forget the co- 
 venant, Deut. iv. 31. All the paths of the Lord are 
 truth, Pfal. XXV. 10. Thou haft redeemed miC, O 
 Lord God of truth, Pfal. xxxi. 5. God ftiall fend 
 out his truth, Ivii. 3. Thy truth is great to the clouds, 
 ver. 10. 
 
 All his works are done in truth, Pfal. xxxiii. 4. 
 Mercy and truth are met together, Ixxxv. 10. Thou . 
 Lord art plenteous in truth, ver. 15. Truth ftiali 
 go before thy face, Pfal. Ixxxix. 14. I will make 
 known thy faithfulnefs to all generations, Pfal. Ixxxix. 
 I. Once I have fworn by my holinefs, I will not lie 
 unto David, nor fuffer my faithfulnefs to fail, Pfal. 
 Ixxxix. i^c^. His trudi ftiall be thy ftiield and buck- 
 ler, Pfal. xci 4. Pie fliall judge the world in truth, 
 Pfal. xcvi. 13. He hath remembered his truth, Pfal. 
 xcviii. 3. 
 
 His truth endureth for ever, Pfal. c. 5. Give glo- 
 ry for thy truth, Pfal. cxv. i. His works arc verity 
 
 N and 
 
98 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 and truth, Pfal. cxi. 7. Thy faithfulnefs reacheth to 
 the clouds, Pfal. xxxvi, 5. Thy faithfulnefs round 
 about thee, Pfal. Ixxxix. 8. Thy faithfulnefs as the 
 very heavens, ver. 2. My faithfulnefs ihall be with 
 him, ver. 24. A faithful vi^itnefs in heaven, ver. 37. 
 Thy faithfulnefs in the congregation of the faints, 
 ver. 5. Thy connmandments are very faithful, Pfal. 
 cxix. 86. 
 
 -In faithfulnefs thou haft afflidled me, Pfal. cxix. 75. 
 Thy faithfulnefs to all generations, ver. 90. I will 
 praife thee for thy truth, Pfal. cxxxvii. 2. In thy 
 faithfulnefs anfwer me, Pfal. cxliii. i. Thy law is 
 truth, Pfal. cxix. 142. Thy word is true from the 
 beginning, Pfal. cxix. 160. Thy teftimonies are very 
 faithful, ver. 138. My covenant I will not break, 
 nor alter the thing that is gone out of my mouth, 
 Pfal. Ixxxix. 34. To fhew forth the faithfulnefs of 
 God every night, Pfal. xcii. 2. Shall thy faithfulnefs 
 be declared in deftru6lion ? Pfal. Ixxxviii. 11. 
 
 I have declared thy faithfulnefs, Pfal. cxl. 10. He 
 keepeth truth for ever, Pfal. cxlvi. 6. Faithfulnefs is 
 the girdle of his loins, Ifa. xi. 5. I will fweep Baby- 
 lon with the befom of deftrudlion, Ifai. xiv. 23, 24. 
 
 Note. There are feventy-eight threatenings againft 
 Babylon in Ifaiah and Jeremiah. 
 
 I will haften my word to perform it, Jer. i. 12. I 
 will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not. 
 for good, Jer. xxxix. 16. Every purpofe of the 
 Lord ihall be performed, Jer. li. 29. The Lord, a 
 true and faithful v/itnefs, Jer. xlii. 5. I will fay the 
 word : I will perform it, faith the Lord God, Ezek. 
 xii. 25. He fhall blefs himfelf in the God Amen, 
 (or truth) : He fhall fwear by the God Amen, Ifai. 
 
 Ixv: 16. 
 
 I will betroth thee to me in faithfulnefs, and thou 
 fhalt know the Lord, Hof, ii. 20. — Note. Betroth is 
 mentioned three times — All his works are truth, Dan. 
 iv. 37. I will perform the oath which I have fworn, 
 
 Jer. 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 99 
 
 Jer. xiv. 5. Thou wilt perform the truth which thou 
 haft fworn, Mic. vii. 20. I have fpoken it^ and I 
 will bring it to pals, I fa. xlvi. 10, 11. ' 
 
 A VIEW of the TRUTH and FAITHFULNESS 
 cf GOD the SON in the NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 To perform the mercy he prcmifed, the oath 
 which he fware, Luke i. 72, 73. He that fent me 
 is true, John vii. 28. He that fent me is true, John 
 viii. 26. The only true God, John xvii. 3. Sanc- 
 tify them by thy truth, John xvii. 17. The Spirit 
 of truth, John xiv. 17. The Spirit of truth, John 
 xvi. 13. The Spirit is truth, i John v. 6. I am the 
 truth, John xiv. 6. As God is true, 2 Cor. i. 18. 
 
 The promifes of God in Him are amen, 2 Cor.. 
 i. 20. God is faithful, i. Cor. i. 9. God is faith- 
 ful, I Cor. X. 13. Faithful is He who hath called 
 you, I Thef. v. 24. The Lord is faithful, 2 Thef. 
 iii. 3. He abideth faithful, 2 Tim. ii. 13. God is 
 not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of 
 love, Heb. vi. 10. God cannot lie, Titus i. 2. It 
 is impoflible for God to lie, Heb. vi. 18. He is 
 faithful that hath promifed, Heb. xi. 23. 
 
 She judged him faithful who had promifed, Heb. 
 xi. II. The faithful word, Titus i. 9. A faith- 
 ful Creator, i Pet. iv. 19. He is faithful and 
 juft, I John i. 9. We are in him. that is true. 
 He is the true God, i John v. 20. He that is 
 holy and true. Rev. iii. 7, The amen, the faithful 
 and true witnefs, ver. 14. Hov/ long holy and true. 
 Rev- vi 10. He is the faithful witnefs. Rev. i. 5. 
 
 Let God be true, but every man a liar, Rom. iii. 
 4. He is faithful and true, Rev. xix. 11. Thefe 
 words are true and faithful. Rev. xxi. 5. Thy coun- 
 fels of old are faithfjlnefs and truth, Ifai. xxv. i. 
 Thefe fayings are faithful and true. Rev. xxii. 6. 
 
 N 2 Thofe 
 
ICO AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 Thofe things which God before fliewed, he hath 
 fulfilled, Ads iii. 18. My coumd lliall (land, I will 
 do all my pleafure, Ifai.xivi. 10. ^ 
 
 Thus we have given you the Scripture demon- 
 ftrations of the truth and faithfulnefs of God the 
 eternal Son, as the grand fpring and caule of Her- 
 vey's ardent and permanent love of truth: and ia 
 this view of him, he was a mofl: glorious contrail to 
 all the infidels and Laodiceans of the prefent day. 
 
 XXX VI II. Let U5 now proceed to trace out 
 that glorious diftinguifhing feature in Hervey's beau- 
 tiful CHARACTER, his DISPOSITION and propcnfity of 
 heart towards the divine and precious righteous- 
 ness of the Lord Jesus Christ, as placed to his 
 account for justification before God. 
 
 This! this is the grand eflcntial of a true Chrif- 
 tian : it is this that marks the difference between 
 the weakeft believer, and the moft refined hypocrite, 
 or meer moraliil in the whole world. 
 
 Hervey had a clear perception, and a folid under- 
 Handing of the nature and dcfign of Christ's righte- 
 oufnefs. 
 
 He knew that God had this precious righteouf- 
 nefs from all eternity in hi3 eye and decree, as the 
 fole matter of a finner's juftification before God. 
 
 God faw with infinite complacency the right habits, 
 and the right actions of Christ's holy foul, as a6ling 
 in the room and Head of his people : and no man on 
 earth had a better underftanding of the divine and in- 
 finite dignity and excellence of this obedience, than 
 the author of Theron and Afpafio. This was the real 
 glory of his character : this raifed him above millions 
 of npankind in the Chriftian world: this raifed him in 
 folid Q-reatnefs of foul above ail the ano;els of heaven. 
 
 His capiicious mind viewed this righteoufnefs as 
 difcovered to our firfl parents, difplayed to Abel, 
 Enoch, and Noah : as fet in a brighter light before 
 the mental eyes of Abraham, Mofes, and Job : as 
 
 - farther 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES; lot 
 
 farther revealed in its glorious brightnefs to David, all 
 through the book of Pfalms : and more abundantly 
 difcovered to the prophet Ifaiah, and his excellent 
 fuccefTors, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel j and atlaft 
 exhibited in its cleared glory in the perfon and ac- 
 tions of the incarnate Gop. Here you fee the ruler 
 of all worlds, fubmit to his own law, and become 
 obedient to death, even the death of the crpfs : this 
 righteoufnefs was difplayed by the Apofliles in its 
 noon-tide glory, before heaven, earth, and hell. 
 
 He had a pungent fenfe and keen convi6lion of his 
 want of this righteousness to juftify him before God. 
 This lively and forcible conception arofe from a view 
 of the eternal and immutable extent of the divine 
 law ! and the irnmaculate holinefs and inflexible juf- 
 tice of God. Without this conviction every man 
 will have more pride than devils, and will treat the 
 righteoufnefs of Christ with contempt and difd.ain. 
 
 Human nature in all ages has always been proud of 
 its own virtue i but Cicero and Seneca, with the other 
 Pagan philofophers, were never equal in pride to our 
 modern infidels, who treat our Redeemer with con- 
 tempt, difguft, and abhorrence 3 and rejed: his fatis- 
 fa6lion and righteoufnels as the ground of our accep- 
 tance with God. 
 
 Not fo our author and dear friend : no man in the 
 whole world had a more piercing fenfe of the impu- 
 rity of his nature and his guilt before God. This he 
 has demonftrated in his eleven letters*, beyond any 
 
 * Thefe letters were jiift upon the point of being fupprefled, and 
 loft to the Chriftian world for ever. If that had been the cafe, I 
 fhould have leaion to regret the lofs to the day of my death. Soon 
 after Mr, Hervey's death, thefe excellent letters were put into my 
 hands for twelve or fourteen weeks. From a principle of fooiilh and 
 falfe delicacy, I did not take a copy of them, wh-ch I ought to have 
 done. Happy for the church, the manufcript fell mto the hands of 
 three of my friends, who had more fmcerity, zeal, and courage, than 
 I had ; and thus the manufcript was refcued from deftrudlion : and 
 the original copy at lalt brought to light. This is fuch an event as I 
 Ihall biefs God for to all eternity. 
 
 Other 
 
102 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 other man that has ever written on this glorious fab- 
 
 jecl. 
 
 Hervey had a very ardent defire, a nnoft violent 
 hunger, and vehement thirft, after this righteous- 
 ness. Hunger is a painful fenfation of a v/ant of 
 food, as thirft is a painful fenfe of the want of water, 
 or fome liquid, to cool our parching tongues. Thefe 
 are the Scripture images of the reftlefs and raging 
 appetites of the foul, after the righteouihefs of 
 Christ for juftification, before the burning tribunal 
 of God. 
 
 God the Holy Spirit formed the foul of this 
 great and good man, into a difpofition for a cheerful 
 acceptance of this righteoufnefs, as the free rich gift 
 of God to a perilbing finner.— A clear and diftind 
 perception of the nature and defign of this righte- 
 oufnefs — a pungent fenfe of our want of it- — and a 
 vehement thirft after it, always ifTues in a joyful 
 and pleaiing acceptance of it. And however reluc- 
 tant the proud heart of a finner may be to this pre- 
 cious obedience; and however he may at firft be 
 goaded by necefiky, and a fight of his damnable 
 condition to fly to it, yet, like the man flying from 
 the avenger of blood, when got within the walls of 
 the city of Refuge, he finds fuch rich provifions and 
 fafety from dangers, as fhall excite him to blefs God 
 for fuch a gracious appointment, and to live with 
 cheerfulnefs amidft the beft of company, the moft 
 fpacious palaces, and the joyful elegances of human 
 life. Thus did Hervey enjoy himfelf in Christ. 
 
 An hum.ble and intire dependence on this righte- 
 oufnefs, was a very vifible and beautiful feature in the 
 foul of this wife and great believer. 
 
 He had by nature a very proud opinion of his own 
 virtue, and a contempt for the righteoufnefs of 
 Christ. He has frequently faid to me^ " I hated. 
 ^^ the righteoufnefs of Christ, and I wondered at a 
 *^ <T-ood old man, a member of Dr. Doddridge's 
 
 " church. 
 
^•c 
 
 WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES 103 
 
 Church who, when I was applauding the excellency 
 *^ of felf' denial," replied, " Mr. Hervey, you have 
 " forgot the greateft ad; of that grace, which is to 
 *' deny ourfelves of a proud confidence in our own 
 ^^ obedience for juftification." — " I looked at the 
 " man with a{toni(hment and difdain, and thought 
 " him an old fool. I have feen clearly fince who 
 *^ was the fool, not the wife old Chriftian, but the 
 *^ proud James Plervey." 
 
 No man had a more genuine, deep, and undifiem- 
 bled HUMILITY, or a deeper convidtion of his incef- 
 fant and immediate dependance on the preci- 
 ous righteoufnefs and Spirit of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ for acceptance with God, and ability to live 
 in conformity to the rectitude and beauty of God. 
 
 He had the utmoil contempt and fcorn for his own 
 righteoufnefs, when fet in competition with the di- 
 vine and infinite obedience of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Hervey v/as no Antinomian. He loved and prac- 
 tifed every branch of moral virtue in the befi: man- 
 ner, and on the purefl and mofb noble principles. 
 No man upon earth exceeded him in love to. holinefs, 
 in heart, lip, and life. 
 
 He was no Arminian. He did not depend for one 
 moment on himfelf for wifdom, righteoufnefs, fandti- 
 fication, and redemption. No man loved virtue more; 
 no man depended on it le/s, than himfelf 
 
 He judged concerning his own righteoufnefs with 
 the Scriptures, that it was but filthy rags i and count- 
 ed it but dung, (Ty.'jpaXa, i. e. cffal, or dog's meat, that 
 he might win CHRfsT, and be found in him, not hav- 
 ing on his own righteoufnefs. He had too fine a tafte 
 to live upon clival or dog's meat. He left fuch foul 
 feeding wholly to the Arminians, who have the moit 
 indelicate and incorre(5l tafte, with refpedl to the food 
 of the foul, and the matter of ourjufdfication. 
 
 •. -Not 
 
104 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 Not fo the correft genius and delicate tafle of our 
 excellent friend, who had a clear fenfe of all the gra- 
 dations of beauty in heaven and earth, and who knew 
 that Christ's righteoufnefs was the chiefeft objedt 
 among ten thoufand, and altogether lovely. 
 
 He had a vaft admiration and ejleem for the righte- 
 oufnefs of Christ, as put down to his account and 
 credit for his juftification. 
 
 He admired the boundlefs wifdom of God*s un- 
 derftanding, which devifed this method of a finner's 
 acceptance. He admired the wifdom and condefcen- 
 fion of Christ, in coming into our nature, and fub- 
 ftituting his foul in our room and (lead. He ad- 
 mired the wifdom of the Holy Spirit, in giving us 
 fuch a clear revelation of this Righteoufnefs all 
 through the Scriptures; fo clear, that none but men 
 befotted, and prejudiced by the devil, and the pride 
 of their own hearts, can defpife and deny it. 
 
 He had the higheft efleem for this righteoufnefs : 
 he fet an infinite price upon it : he valued it above 
 ten thoufand worlds of men and angels. He com- 
 pared all created objects with this righteoufnefs, and 
 found them to be worthlefs trafh and vanity. 
 
 Whenever I vifited him in the courfe of fix years, 
 I always found Christ, and his precious righteoufnefs, 
 to be uppermoft in his thoughts and affeclions -, and if 
 he was for a few minutes diverted from his beloved ob- 
 ie6t, by any impertinent and extraneous converfation, 
 he would fit filent as midnight, and cold as death, till 
 he had a fair opportunity to renew his delightful 
 theme : and if any perfon ilarted a divine fubjedt, his 
 imagination and pafTions catched fire in a moment, 
 and he was fure to be firil to encourage the wife and 
 holy thought, and difplay it in the moft agreeable and 
 pleafing manner. 
 
 He had an habitual delight in Chr ist's imputed 
 righteoufnefs. Delight is a mixture of love and joy, 
 in an objed confidered as good and beautiful, and 
 
 -• every 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 105 
 
 every way fit to make me eternally happy in the frui- 
 tion of that good. 
 
 Delight is flyled the mailer bee in the hive of 
 human paffions : they all hearken to its tone, and 
 obey its voice : whatever objeft we delight in, is fure 
 to be the objedt of our attention, .our paffionSj our 
 converfation, and our purfuits. 
 
 This was the temper and habitual tafle of Her- 
 vey's mind and underftanding. Nothing gave him 
 fo much fatisfadlion and joy : and in this he eternally 
 diflented from all devils and infidels : there is no ob- 
 je6b that they hate with fo much malice and maligni- 
 ty. Nothing gives a Socinian fuch pain, fuch indig- 
 nation, and bitternefs, as the eternal Godhead and im- 
 puted Righteoufnefs of Christ. It would fill him 
 with tortures and unlpeakable mifery, to be for a thou- 
 fand years obliged to hear of nothing to fee, nothing 
 but this objeft. That which is the higheft heaven to 
 the believer, would be to him the moft tormenting 
 hell : and you could not more fling up to all the tor- 
 tures and madnefs of the damned, than to oblige a 
 Socinian to all eternity to fee nothing, to hear of no- 
 thing, but the divinity and righteoufnefs of our God 
 and Saviour. 
 
 That objeft which conflitutes the highefl beauty 
 and pleafure of heaven to us, is to them the moft 
 difguftful uglinefs and plague of hell. Thus it has 
 been, and thus it will be, as long as God and immor- 
 tal fouls fhall live in the vaft eternity of the invifible 
 wprld. 
 
 Hervey felt the deepeft gratitude, and expreffed 
 the fweeteft thankfulness to God for the gift of 
 this righteouinefs. 
 
 Gratitude is a compound pafTion : it is a compofi- 
 tion of all the fineft feelings of the hunaan foul. Gra- 
 titude hath feven ingredients, which go into its whole 
 idea and nature : it includes a fenfe of the blelTing : 
 a fight of the generous benefadlor : an ardent bent 
 
 Q of 
 
ic6 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOV/ED 
 
 of mind to rnake the befl returns : a defire to havTG 
 better ability and power to be ir.ore grateful : a de- 
 terminate purpofe never to lay gratitude a fide : adif- 
 pleafure and pain when we feel an ungrateful heart : 
 and an high approbation of ourl^lves, when we feel 
 gratitude grow into all its power, life, and beauty. 
 
 Such was the 'tafle and temper of Heryey's great 
 and generous foul. This was the bent and tendency 
 of his mind, through the courfe of twenty-fix years 
 of his holy happy life. 
 
 I declare mofl ferioufly, before God, that in the 
 courfe of fixty years^ in which I have been capable of 
 making fome obfervation on mien and things, I never 
 have feen a man equal to James Hervey^ in gratitude 
 and thankfulneis for the rianteoufnefs of Christ. 
 
 All the fprings and fountains of the great deep of 
 his fuui were thrown open on this object ; and thefe 
 fountains rofe as high as heaven ; fpread as wide as 
 the univerfe; and flowed into the eternity of Gop's 
 duration and happineis. All his thoughts, wprds, and 
 alliens, were fwallov/ed ijp, and lolt in this infinite 
 ocean of the purefl: and richeil grace. 
 
 Now, iTiy dear Reader, I wiih you the fame happy 
 tade ; the fam.e holy tendency; the fame fpiritual per- 
 ceptions ; the fame divine idea^ i the fame vaft un- 
 derfcanding; tliG fame Godlike mind. 
 
 ,XXX1X. Let us now rife up to the very higheil 
 glory of »Hervey's Character, which confiited in the 
 moil ardent and fijpreiTie loye to the eternal perfpn, 
 divinity, and offices of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Here let us confider the naiure of his love to 
 Christ : the gi-ounds and reafons of his affeflion : the 
 actions and exercife of this love : the excellent pro- 
 perties of his love : with all the pungent and mighty 
 motives, to roufe and enflame this love : with the fin- 
 cerity of Hervey's heart, to put himfclf in the way 
 of the bell motives to increafe this glorious affection 
 of love to the Redeemer, and God of his falvation. 
 
 His 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 107 
 
 His love, in the nature of itj confided of four in- 
 gredients, or was made up of four conftituent parts, 
 efteein and delire, benevolence and delight. Efleem 
 is a refpcdfbl thought of Christ in the underftand- 
 ing, coniidered as good and worthy in himfelf De- 
 fire is a warm emotion of the heart towaids him, as 
 fit to do us good, and make us happy. Benevolence 
 is a pleafing emotion or good will to Christ, confi- 
 dered as fit to receive good from us ; and dehght is 
 a mixture, or compofition of love and joy in Him, as 
 an objed; of complete goodnefs, truth, beauty, and 
 perfection. ' 
 
 The grounds and reafons of his love to the perfon of 
 Christ, were the names and titles He bears ; the per- 
 fedions He pofTefTes ; the love that He exercifes to- 
 wards us ; the unions and relations in which He (lands 
 to us ; the aflonifhing fufferings and death He has en- 
 dured for us J and the biellings and rich comforts He 
 bellows upon us. 
 
 He felt, in a mod: powerful manner, all the glori- 
 ous a6lions and exercifes of love to Christ. 
 
 His thoughts and conceptions were raifed to an no- 
 ble elevation and penei'ration, on the eternal perfon of 
 the Son of God : his wAnd difdained every object 
 that was put in competition with him : he had a m.ofl 
 fublime contempt and fcorn of all his former idols, 
 trafh, and vanity. The v/orld ! the v/orld to him was 
 all mere title page, and no contents or folid good to 
 fatisfy his vad and boundiefs mind : yea, fuch was 
 his value for Christ, that he undervalued his own 
 fine genius, and natural parts, and capacities for learn- 
 ing, fcience, and virtue, when compared with Christ. 
 I declare what I know to be true, that he could not en- 
 dure to fpeak one v/ord in praife of himfelf ^ and he 
 could nor, without pain and diCnill, hear one v/ord 
 fpoken of his perfon, virtues, a:id writings : while 
 Socinians are admiring thernfelves, and applauding 
 each other, as men of vail powers of genius, v/onder- 
 
 O 2 fui 
 
xo8 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 ful penetration and learning, aftonifliing fcience and 
 virtue. Hervey had all thefe objects in contempt, 
 when compared with the tranfcendent glories of Gop 
 his Saviour. 
 
 He defired Christ^s prefence for his own foul to 
 make him happy. He defired Christ's grace to ena- 
 ble him to ferve his caufe and intereft in the world : 
 but above all, he defired Christ, on the account of 
 his eternal dignity and excellence, as the fupreme and 
 only good : the ocean of all perfedion : the fum of 
 all that is bright and beautiful in heaven and earth. 
 
 His joys in Christ were unbounded and eternal; 
 on his own account, as he found himfelf infinitely 
 happy, in an ocean of perfections and grace : and his 
 joys on the account of Christ's undiminifhed glory 
 and happinefs, rofe higher than the heavens, and en- 
 dured to eternity. 
 
 His LOVE to Christ appeared in a mofl bright 
 and lovely manner, in his ardent love to the Word 
 and Spirit of Christ. 
 
 He had the firmeft faith in the infpiration of the 
 Scriptures. He believed that all the hiftorical parts 
 of the bible were written by the infpiration of direc- 
 tion ; and no facfl was omitted through forgetfulnefs ; 
 no fa(ft was mifreprefented through prejudice; no fad: 
 added by human invention; but that all was the 
 plain fimple narrative of God himfelf. 
 \ He believed that all the rapturous and devotional 
 hymns and pfalms of the Scripture, were written by 
 the infpiration of elevation. That the Holy Spirit 
 fet fire to the contemplations and paflions of the fa- 
 cred writers, and every devout fong was the language 
 of ardent imagination and enlivened pafiion, but un- 
 der the condud of the pureft reafon, and the cleareft 
 wifdom and prudence. 
 
 He firmly believed that all the dodrines of the 
 Gofpel ; all the predidions of future events ; all the 
 promifes of rich grace, came wholly from God. He 
 
 1 early 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES 109 
 
 clearly. knew that all the doclrines, prophecies^ pro- 
 mifes, and threatenings of Scripture, were hid in 
 God from eternal ages: i. e. eternal duration. And 
 that all the nnen upon earth, and all the angels in hea- 
 ven, could not have ftarted one thouo;ht concernino- 
 thefe grand, new, and wonderful objects ; but they were 
 all the pure revelations of God the Holy Spirit. 
 
 This led him to a very high conception of the dio-, 
 nity and glory of the Holy Spirit; and to the ut- 
 moft love and veneration for his divine perfon and 
 charader. 
 
 I never knew but one man who equalled him in a 
 tender love and veneration for the perfon and ope- 
 rations of God the Holy Spirit; and that was the 
 moft holy and judicious John Brine, the greateft maf- 
 ter of the Socinian controverfy, above and beyond 
 every other man in the whole v/orld. 
 
 Hervey fhewed his love to Christ, by the entire 
 refignation of his foul and body, to the difpofing 
 will of Christ's Providence — to the commanding 
 will of His law — and to the fandlifying will of His 
 Spirit. Never did I fee in any mortal breaft, fuch 
 a confidence in the peculiar Providence, and fuch a 
 moft profound and abfolute refignation to the will of 
 God, however made known in the oeconomy of na- 
 ture, and the order of grace. He appeared to have 
 no will of his own feparate from the v/ill of God. 
 He lived as much as a man in this imperfed: ftate 
 could well live to the will of God his Saviour, and 
 his will feemed fwallowed up and loft in the will and 
 pleafure of his divine Redeemer. 
 
 He was always pleafed with his own exiftence and 
 powers, when he felt a grateful difpofuion; and he 
 was grieved and difpleafed with his own foul, when 
 he found any workings of an ungrateful frame of 
 heart.' He v/as not lovely to himfelf, when he felt an 
 ungrateful heart : on the other hand, he was pleafed 
 with his own eternal exiftence and immortal powers, 
 
 when 
 
no AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 when he felt a foul glowing with gratitude, under the 
 influence of celeftiai fire. 
 
 Let us now take a furvey of all the excellent and 
 glorious properties of his love to Christ ; and in the 
 firft place we view it as a rational love: what is 
 realbn, but a power to fee the truth of certain princi- 
 ples whjch God has eltablifhed, and to draw fure 
 conclufions from clear principles: and was ever any 
 principle revealed by God fo noble and divine as 
 this, that Christ is the moil lovely objed: in all 
 worlds: and what furer conclufion can holy reafon 
 draw than this ; therefore I ought to love him with a 
 fupreme and eternal afFedlion and delight. 
 
 There are a fet of men in our nation, v/ho ftile 
 themlelves, and complimiCnt one another with the 
 dignified title of rational Christians. I wifli to 
 know wherein their rationality appears to be fuperior 
 to that of James Hervey. Does it confifl: in an out- 
 rage on the eternal and immutable truth of God : in 
 a muft impudent infult of his natural and moral per- 
 fections : in a proud contemipt of the peculiar dodrines 
 of the Gofpel : in a malicious rancour at the Godhead 
 of Jesus Christ: in a contem.pt of his divine and 
 infinite fatisfa(5lion and righteoufnefs : in a determined 
 fpite at regeneration by God the Holy Spirit ? If it 
 does, they may take all their rationality to thcm- 
 felves : we defire to have nothing to do with it, to 
 eternity. . ' 
 
 Rational Christians ! who are they ? the men 
 who defpife Christ's perfon and divinity, or the men 
 that efleem him above ten thoufand worlds I If it be 
 fuperior v^ifdom. to love the h^gheft beauty, and to 
 feek for the richeft fruition of the fupreme good, in 
 the exercife of vital faith i then Hervey was in the 
 noblefl fenfe a rational Christian. 
 
 If it be the utmofl folly and madncfs, for a man to 
 try with all his might to dainn his own foul, and the 
 fouls of all mankind, then Socinians are in the worlt 
 
 fenfe 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. in 
 
 fenfeofthe terms irrational Christians, i. e. no 
 Chiiflians, but infidels and enemies to God and the 
 ■whole moral world. 
 
 Flis love to Christ was fincere and fervent. He 
 loved Christ with a pure heart fervently, i. Pet, i, 
 22. He loved our Lord Jesus in finccrity, i. e. 
 with incorruptnefs £v o(,(p^cc^(Ticc, Eph. vi. 24. 
 
 Hervey was no hypocrite in his love to Christ : 
 an hypocrite is a perlon profefling Chriftianity, with- 
 out a divine principle in his heart: he has no defire 
 to pleafe God in any thing: he is never honeft in his 
 enquiries after truth: he never defires to know the 
 whole v/ill of God : he never applies himfelf to prac- 
 tife every duty and virtue: he never puts his neck 
 under Christ's whole yoke : he hath always a loop- 
 hole for lome fin: he ever gives way to fome darling 
 lufr. He is never uniform in his thoughts, words, and. 
 adtions: there is a very great inconfiftency between 
 his profeffion, and his fecret pra6tice. 
 
 Not fo this great and good man : he was the very 
 reverfe of an hypocrite in all his thoughts, words, 
 and actions. No man could (land the teft of Mr. 
 Crook*s famous book, defcribing the hypocrite, in a 
 folio volume, better than James Hervey. 
 
 He was honeft to put himJ'elf in the way of the 
 very beft motives to excite his foul to love Christ. 
 He was fincere to fearch into thofe heft motives: he 
 was upright in ftriving to underftand the heft motives: 
 he was honeft in being heartily willing to feel the ut- 
 moft force of the heft motives : and he was equally 
 honeft in freely complying with the defign and end of 
 thofe motives, to bring us into an eternal refemblance 
 and fruition of Christ. 
 
 He put himfelf in the way of all the motives ad- 
 drelTed to fear, hope, gratitude, intereft, pleailire, ho- 
 nour, ambition, glory, and fhame^ and he felt the 
 keeneft and utmoft force of thofe motives, command- 
 ing all the powers and affections of his foul. 
 
 H€ 
 
112 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 He had a keen fenfc, and a mighty conviction, that 
 all invifible objecls were very near to his foul. This 
 roufed his fear cf caution, and kept the defenfive 
 pafTions in their full tone and exercife. He had a clear 
 fight of the faithfulnefs of Christ in his promifes. 
 This raifed his hopes to full truft and confident ex- 
 pectation: he had a feeling fervfe of redeeming love; 
 and this roufed his gratitude to immortal force and 
 fire : he had a ftrikins; view of the brave men in all 
 ages, who had gone before him to heaven j and this 
 fired up his ambition to excel. He had a clear 
 fenfe of the bafenefs and ino;ratitude of not lovino: 
 Christ, and this awakened the paffjon of shame j 
 i, e. forrow and felf-contempt; and his paffion for folid 
 GLORY, and real greatnefs, was raifed by a confciouf- 
 nefs of the dignity and intrinfic excellence of loving the 
 Redeemer with a fupreme and unrivalled affection. 
 
 He could look God our Saviour in the face, and 
 fay, " Lord Jesus thou knowefl all things, thou 
 knowefl that I love thee", John xxi. 17. 
 
 When he confidered the ftate of England with re- 
 fpedt to religion, and the artful and malicious oppo- 
 fition to the divinity and righteoufnefs of Christ, it 
 raifed in his foul the moft powerful emotions of com- 
 pafTion for miferable finners, and the moft ardent 
 ZEAL, i. e. a mixture of love and anger; of love for 
 the whole fyftem of truth, and anger at the oppofi- 
 tion to it, by the deceit and malice of all its enemies. 
 
 Pie deeply confidered that every infidel and ene- 
 my to Christ's perfon and righteoufnefs, was 
 branded with this black mark ; that he was a confe- 
 derate with devils and damned fpirits in a felf-deflroy- 
 ing war, againfl all poffibie and infinite power and 
 goodnefs. 
 
 XL. Having viewed PI ervey in his regard to truth 
 and faithfulnefs of God; in his glorious difpofitions 
 and tafte for Christ's righteousness, and his ar- 
 dent love to his eternal perfon and divinity. 
 
 Let 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 113 
 Let us now view him in the solid glory and real 
 
 GREATNESS of his CHARACTER aS a DIVINE, who 
 
 clearly underftood, and highly valuecj, that grand 
 canon 
 
 The analogy of FAITH. 
 
 This is the univerfal rule for underftanding the true 
 {enic of Scripture: every dodtrine you would found 
 on the Scripture, muft be agreeable to the analogy 
 of faith ; for thofe do6lrines cannot be grounded on 
 Scripture, which are contrary to the analogy of faith. 
 For the underftanding of what we mean by this glori- 
 ous canon, let it be obferved, that no young fludent 
 in divinity, or preacher of religion, is for one moment 
 fit to teach, or qualified to inftrudt the church of 
 Christ, who is himfelf chargeable with fcepticifm ; 
 or at a lofs to determine what is the mind and will of 
 Christ in the Gofpel, as though he knew not where 
 to fet his foot, or hefitated concerning thofe great, im- 
 portant, and glorious difcoveries of the truths which 
 were hid in God from eternal ages, which are not 
 mentioned flightly, or by the bye, or in a meer occa- 
 fional manner, but are clearly and ftrikingly revealed, 
 and are to be found in every part of the Gofpel -, fo 
 thai: we muft go back from the knov/n fenfe of words, 
 if we deny them 3 and we muft" renounce the general 
 fenfe and experience of all true Chriftians, if we deny 
 thefe common principles. 
 
 Thefe dodrines, a worthy young ftudent in divi- 
 nity, is always fuppofed to believe and lovej and 
 therefore, whatever fenfe of Scripture is not agreeable 
 to thefe firft grand principles, hath a tendency to fap 
 and ruin the foundations of our faith, v/hich we mull 
 either lay afide and renounce, or elfe we muft explain 
 every other do6trine we embrace, in a full conftftency 
 with thofe clear principles. 
 
 yf;; Exemplification of what we mean by the 
 Analogy of Faith. 
 
 Thus, if we can prove by undeniable arguments 
 
 P that 
 
114 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 that man is guilty before God ; and that this guilt 
 cannot be removed^ but by an atonennentj or fatibfac- 
 tion made for itj and that this atonement, or divine 
 fatisfa6lion, was really made by the obedience and 
 death of Christ, and that our jurtiiication and right 
 to eternal life, is founded upon this righteoufnefs and 
 death; then whatever doctrine or notion of the So- 
 cinian tends to fubvcrt this truth, it muft be quite 
 contrary to the analogy of faith. 
 
 The Socinians and Arminians may reply, that 
 which is agreeable to my faith as a Calvinift, is not a 
 ftandard for the faith of other men, who differ from 
 me. 
 
 I do not deny this.— But then that which is agree- 
 able to my faith, is a rule by which I proceed in judg- 
 ing of the truth of dodlrines, and in giving the fenfe 
 of thofe Scriptures that are fiippofed to maintain thofe 
 dodrines; fo that perfons m.ufl: either wholly lay afide 
 and reject thefe effentiai dodrines, or explain ail others 
 confitlent with them. 
 
 Now, my dear Reader, you fhall have the analogy 
 of faith farther explained, as a grand theorem in di- 
 vinity, which is of more ufe to a Chriflian, or a mi- 
 nifter of the Gofpel, than the m.ariner's compafs and 
 polar flar, is to a failor 3 or the aphorifms of Hypo- 
 crates to a phyfician -, the axioms in geometry to a 
 mathematician 3 the adjudged cafes in law, to a coun- 
 lellor, or pleader at the bar ; or the maxims of war 
 to a MarlborouQ;h. 
 
 The analogy of faith is the proportion that the 
 do6lrines of the Gofpel bear to each other; or the 
 clofe connexion between ail the truths of revealed 
 religion. 
 
 It is the univerfal harmony that fubfifls between all 
 the principles of Chriftianity ; fo that if you deftroy 
 one, you deftroy them all ; and if you hold one, you 
 are obliged to held them all, otherv/ife you muft incur 
 
 the 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 115 
 
 the charge of being an abfurd realbnerj andan incon- 
 iiftent preacher or writer. 
 
 This glorious analogy of faith, is the uniform de- 
 fign of G0D3 in the vvhole fcheme of falvation, by the 
 rig-hteoufnefs and blood of Christ. It is the iweet 
 conlent of all the parts of truth with each other ; the 
 harmonious connexion of the great do6trines of 
 grace, or the wife adjuilment and concurrence of ail 
 revealed truths, to advance the glory of God's grand 
 deiigns in the ialvationof men, in which the end and 
 means are fo ciofely conne6led together, that one of the 
 truths of the Golpel cannot be denied, hut all the reft 
 mufl follow its fate, and be likewife denied ; nor one 
 of thefe capital truths be held fait, but you mufl hold 
 the other truths fafl: in like manner. 
 
 T1iis may be explained and exemplified through 
 all the great truths of theGofpel: they glorify God's 
 free grace to the uttermoit : they humble the pride of 
 man into duft and aflies : they afibrd flrong confola- 
 tion to difrrefied confciences : they cherifh and pro- 
 mote holinefs in heart and life : they are all confiftenc 
 with each other, and exempt from ail abfurdity and 
 contradidion of ideas in the human underflandinQ:. 
 
 God the Eternal Spirit had fo deeply imprefTed on 
 his underflianding, confcience, and memory, the fenfe 
 and excellent ufe of the analogy of faith, that 
 neither men, with all their artifice ; nor devils, with all 
 their fedu6lions and force, could v/refl it from him. 
 He knew the excellence and glory of this grand the- 
 orem in divinity too well to part with it; and it 
 would be happy for all our tutors and (Indents, if 
 they had as keen a fenfe of its dignity and ufefulnefs: 
 if they had, we fliould have no Calvinifts go over to 
 the infidel fcheme of the Socinians, as they have late- 
 ly done to the deflruftion of their own ufefulnefs, and 
 the grief of all their bell friends in the churches of 
 Christ. O ! how do I wifh, f^om the depth of my 
 foul, that we had once again a Dr. Owen, at Oxford ; 
 
 P 2 an 
 
tie AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 an Arrowfmirh, at Cambridge; a Brine and Gill, in 
 London 3 aWitfius, in Holland; a Rollin, in France; 
 an Halyburton, in Scotland; an Ulher, in Ireland; 
 and Prefident Edwards, in America : Men that un- 
 Merftood the analogy of faith as well, or better, than 
 any divines in the whole world; efpecially if we add 
 that prodigy of genius in true divinity, Polhill, the 
 author of Speculum Tlieologias in Chrifto, which 
 bears the fame rank in theology as Sir Ifaac New- 
 ton's Principia holds in Natural Philofophy. 
 
 And if God our Saviour fhall pleafe to blefs our 
 fludents with the fame humble mind, and divine ap- 
 titude to learn, like our Hervey, we fhall then fee 
 men in our pulpits who fliall be more ufeful and im^ 
 portant than the angels in glory. 
 
 We ihall now exhibit the grand obje6t of Her- 
 vey 's faith and love, in what I v/ould call Christ's 
 beauty and glory in his perfonal and relative charac- 
 ters of God and man : the Prophet and Teacher: the 
 ^riefl and Righteoufnefs : the King and Governor, of 
 his church, in heaven and earth. 
 
 A VIEW of GOD the SON ^s JEHOVAH. 
 
 Hervey's faith confidered him as that Jehovah 
 who fware an oath to Abraham at Mount Moriah. 
 The angel or m.eflenger, Jehovah, faid. By myjelf I 
 have/worn^ Gen. xxii. i6. Heb. vi. 13 — 18. Could 
 this be a meer creature of God ? If fo, he was the 
 greateft blafphemxr in the world. 
 
 I AM that I AM, Exod. iii. 14. is expreiTive of 
 the name Jehovah, the felf-exiilent and immortal 
 God — Jehovah God of your fathers. This is ap- 
 plied to Christ, Acls vii. 30. Jehovah fent fiery 
 ferpents. Numb. xxi. 6. The people fpake againft 
 God, ver. 5. They tempted Christ, i Cor. x. 9. 
 therefore Christ is Jehovah. 
 
 Jofhua worfhipped Christ as the Captain of the 
 Lord's hoft. Jofhua faid, What faith Jehovah to 
 
 to 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. uy 
 
 to his fervant? Jofli. v. 14. Christ is the Captaia 
 of our falvationj Heb. ii. 10. therefore Chris : is Je- 
 hovah. Jehovah afcended on high, a'nd led captivity- 
 captive, Pf. Ixviii. 18. This is applied to Christ, 
 Eph. iv. 8. therefore Christ is Jehovah. 
 
 In Jehovah we have righteoufnefs, Ifa. xlv. 24. 
 Christ is made unto us righteoufnefs, i Cor. i. 30, 
 therefore Christ is Jehovah. 
 
 Christ the Branch is Jehovah our righteoufnefs, 
 Jer. xxiii. 6. Of God he is made unto us righteouf- 
 nefs, 2 Cor. V. 21. therefore Jesus is Jehovah. 
 
 I will fave them by Jehovah their God, Hof. i. 7, 
 He fliall fave his people from their fins, Matt. i. 21. 
 therefore Christ is the true Jehovah. 
 
 Thefe are all plain clear Scripture declarations and 
 folid conclufions. It requires only common fenfe: it 
 requires nothing but an honeil love of truth to feel 
 their evidence ; and I leave them in the hands of every 
 upright Chrillian in the whole world. A man muft 
 outrage God and truth, and coiTimon fenfe, if he fliall 
 attempt to deny them, or evade their evidence. 
 
 This vital faith in Hervey's foul, viewed Christ 
 as God, with a rich variety of additional titles, as the 
 mighty God, Ifai. ix. 5, God and none elfe, Ifai. 
 xlv. 22. The God of the whole earth, liv. 5. The 
 Lord their God, Hof i. 7. God over all, blelTed 
 for evermore, Rom. ix. 5. The great God, even 
 our Saviour Jesus Christ, Tit. ii. 13. He is the 
 true God and eternal hfe, i John v. 20. The only 
 wife God our Saviour, Jude ver. 25, The God of 
 glory appeared unto our father Abraham, Acts vii. 2. 
 The Lord of glory, i Cor. ii. 8. tou Kvpia r/xwv 
 
 Jn<rov Xpio-la rn; ^o^vig ; Our LoRD JeSUS Christ of 
 
 glory, James ii. i. He is Lord of all, A(5ls x. 2^. 
 Lord of lords. Rev. xix. 16. The firll and the laif, 
 Ifai. xli. 4. The Alpha and Omega; the firft and 
 the lad. Rev, i. 8. The God of Abraham, Exod. 
 iii. 6, compare with A<5t:s vii, 32. The image of the 
 
 invifible 
 
iiS AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 invifible God, the firfl-born of every creaturCi of 
 rather the firft Producer of every creature. Col. i. 15. 
 Trpcalolo^iog 7rao-/i? ydnTEug, Lord of the dead and the liv- 
 ing, Rom. xiv. 9. Prince of life, Adls iii. 15. Thy 
 throne, O God, is for ever and ever, Pf. xlv. 6. Heb. 
 i. 8. The God Annen, (|?iDK) Ifa. Ixv. 16. compared 
 with Rev. iii. 14. (the Amen) Eyw £^/x* vi o^oi;, >ioik n 
 ^Xrihicc^ y.cci 7] i^oov. I am the way, the truth, and the 
 life. John xiv. 6. Thy God, thy glory, Ifai. Ix. 19, 
 My Lord and my God, John xx. 28. 
 
 He conftdered CHRIST as MAN, 
 
 The feed of the woman. Gen. iii. 15. compared 
 with Gal. iv. 4. The feed of Abraham, Gal. iii. 16. 
 The feed of Ifaac, G^n. xxvi. 4. The feed of Ja- 
 cob, Gen. xxviii. 14. The fecond man, i Cor. xvo 
 47. The laft Adam, i Cor. xv; 42. The man 
 Christ Jesus, i Tim. ii. 5. The Son of man. 
 Matt, xvi. 13. One m.an, Jesus Christ, Rom., v. 15. 
 The heavenly man, i Cor. xv. 49. Fairer than the 
 children of men, Pfal. xl. 2. A tender plant, and a 
 root out of a dry ground, Ifai. liii. 2. A rod out of 
 the frem of Jeife, Ifa. xi. i. The fruit of the body 
 of David, Pfal. cxxxii. 11. The fon of David, Matr. 
 xxii. 42. A righteous Branch unto David, Jer. xxiii. 
 5. The Branch of righteoufnefsj Jer. xxiii. 15. The 
 firft-born fon of Mary, Luke ii. 7. The blelTed 
 fruit of Mary's womb, Luke i. 42. The holy thing 
 which was born of Mary, Luke i. 2S* ^ child born, 
 and a fon given, ifa. ix. 5. A fiar out of Jacob, 
 Numib. xxiv. 17. The lion of the tribe of Judah, 
 Rev. V. 5. A child, whofe name is Immanuel, Ifa. vii. 
 24. The holy child Jesus, Ad:s iv. 27. A wo- 
 man, fnall (nmDn) compafs, or furround, a man, 
 Jer. xxxi. 22. A man with a writer's ink-horn by 
 his fide, Ezek. ix. 2. The man clothed with linen, 
 ver. 3. The man who had the ink>horrr, ver. ii.- 
 The appearance of a man above the firmament, or 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. U9 
 
 expanjcy Ezek. i. 26. He fpake to the man clothed 
 in linen, Ezek. x. 2. — Note. This is three times re- 
 peated.— -A man like the appearance of brafs, with a 
 line of fiax, and a m.eafuring reed of fix cubits long, 
 i. e. nine fttty Ezek. xl. 3, 5. And the man flood hj 
 me, and faid unto me, the place of m,y throne, and the 
 place of the foles of my feet, Ezek. xliii. 6, 7. 
 
 A certain man clothed in linen, Dan. x. 5. A maa 
 among the myrtle trees, Zech. i. 10. A man whole 
 name is the Branch, Zech. vi. 12. The man that is 
 my fellov/, or equal, Zech. xii. 7. Jesus, a man ap- 
 proved of God, Ads ii. 22. That man whom he 
 ordained, A6ls xvii. 31. Go to my brethren, John 
 XX. 17. He is not alhamed to call them brethren, 
 Heb. ii. 1 1. I will declare thy name to my brethren, 
 Heb. ii. 12. made like unto his brethren, ver, 17. 
 
 The firfi-born among many brethren, Rom. viii. 9. 
 Jesus of Nazareth, Mark i. 24. Jesus thou fon of 
 David, Mark x. 47. The Holy One of God, Mark 
 i. 24. Thou waft widi Jesus of Nazareth, Mark 
 xiv. 67. Ye feek Jesus of Nazareth, Mark xvi. 6. 
 He fhall be called a Nazarene, Matt. ii. 23. The 
 word was made flefh, John i. 14. God's rio-hteous 
 fervant, Ifai. iiii. 11. Behold my fervant, Ifai. xlii. i. 
 
 My fervant fhall deal prudently, Ifai. lii. 13. The 
 apple tree. Cant. ii. 3. A green fir tree, Hof. xiv. 8. 
 The true vine, John xv. i. The good olive tree, 
 Rom. xi. 17. A goodly cedar, Ezek. xviii. 23. A 
 plant of renown, Ezek. xxxiv. 29. 
 
 Hervey loved and admxired the Lord Jesus Christ 
 as a 
 
 PROPHET. 
 This glorious character and office requires infinite 
 underflanding to know the whole fyftem of truth in 
 God, and infinite faithfulnefs and infallibility in the 
 difcovery of truth, to the underflanding and con- 
 fpience. It fuppofes almighty power and grace to 
 
 enlighten 
 
I20 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 enlighten and flrengthen the mind to receive truths 
 and to give us a ftrong ardent tafte for the truth, 
 goodnefs, and beauty, of the Holy Scriptures. Thus 
 Christ appears in all his fitnefs, fulnefs, power, and 
 will, to fave us from the plague of a dark und^erftand- 
 ino-, and to unravel all the plots of hell and earth, 
 which are formed for our deftrudion. 
 
 This renders Christ a mod amiable obje61: to 
 every convinced finner who knows the weaknefs of 
 his mind, to difcern, to receive, and retain, the truths 
 of divine revelation, 
 
 Christ was to be a prophet like unto Mofes, 
 Deut. XV. 1 8. This is moft beautifully exemplified 
 in near thirty inftances by the late Dr. Nev/ton, in his 
 DilTertations on Prophecy, Vol. I. 8vo/ Mofes 
 was perfccuted as foon as born: fo v/as Christ. 
 Mofes was educated in all the wifdom and learning of 
 Egypt : Christ hath all the treafures of wifdom and 
 knowledo-e. Mofes fled into the wildernefs of Ara- 
 bia : Christ was led into the wildernefs to be tempted 
 of the devil. Mofes led the children of Ifrael out of 
 E<^vpt : Christ leads all his people out of a Hate of 
 nature. Mofes fed the people with manna : Christ 
 feeds his people with his own fitCn and blood, Mofes 
 received the two tables of the law, written by the finger 
 of God : Christ received the whole law, written on 
 his heart. Mofes had to treat with a moik perverfe peo- 
 ple all his days : Christ preached to a woix perverfe 
 and faithlefs generation. The wicked Ifraelites fpake of 
 floning Moles : the Jews took up ftones to kill 
 Christ. The face of Mofes fhone when he came 
 down from the mount: the face of Christ flione 
 when he was on the mount, Matt. xvii. 2. Mofes 
 ftruck the rock to give the people to drink water : 
 Christ was himfelf ftruck with the rod of divine 
 juftice, to bring forth the waters of life. Mofes went 
 up to die on Mount Nebo : Christ went up to die 
 on Mount Calvary. Mofes left Jofliua to fucceed 
 
 him 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. i2t 
 
 lilm in leading the people into Canaan, Christ fent 
 the Holy Spirit to lead all his people to hea- 
 ven. 
 
 Thefe, with a great variety of other beauties, ap- 
 pear^ on a comparifon of Moles with Christ -, and 
 Hervey's foul catched fire at every view of the fupe- 
 rior glories of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 A Prophet fhall the Lord your God raife up. Ads 
 iii. 22. A great Prophet, Luke vii. i6. The Pro- 
 phet — This is of a truth that Prophet, John vi. 14, 
 Wildonn, Prov. viii. i. Matt. xi. 19. Light, John 
 iii. 19. The true Light, John i. 9. Light of the 
 world, John viii. 12. The Light of men, John i. 4. 
 A great Light, Ifai. ix. 2. A Light to lighten the 
 Gentiles, Ifa. xlix. 6. The Day Star, 2 Pet. i. 19. 
 Thy Light, Jfai. Ix. i. The Lord is my light, PfaL 
 xxvii. I. A Sun, Pfal. Ixxxiv. 11. An everlafling 
 Light, Ifai. Ix. 19. Thy God, thy Glory, ver. 19. 
 Sun of Righteoufnefs, Mai. iv. 2. Thy fun fnall 
 no inore go down, Ifa. Ix. 20. The Lamb is the 
 Light of the New Jerufalem, Rev. xxi. 23. The 
 Way, the Truth, John xiv. 6. The Am.en, or Truth, 
 Rev. iii. 14. The God Amen, or Truth, Ifai. Ixv. 
 16. The Counfellor, Ifai. ix. 6. A Teacher come 
 from God, John iii. 2. The Author, Object, Fee- 
 der, and Finifher of Faith, Heb. xii. 2. He that 
 hath the key of David, 3vho openeth, and no man 
 ihutteth, i. e. he opens the meaning of the Scrip- 
 tures, and the human underftanding. Rev. iii. 7. 
 Faithful and true. Rev. xix. 11. The faithful Wit- 
 nefs. Rev. i. 5. A Shepherd that feeketh out his 
 flock, Ezek. xxxiv. 12. One Shepherd, ver, 13. The 
 chief Shepherd, i Pet. v. 4. The good Shepherd, 
 John x. II. The Lord is my Shepherd, Pfal. 
 xxiii. I. 
 
 Thefe are fome of the bright and beautiful difco- 
 veries of Christ, as the fupreme and infallible 
 
 Q^ * Teacher 
 
122 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 Teacher of fouls -, and thefe views were perpetually 
 kept up in the mind of our excellent friend. 
 
 Hervey had a moft endeared love and veneration 
 for the charader of Christ as a 
 
 PRIEST. 
 
 Cfirist alTunning this charafter, and- executing this 
 glorious ofBce, has difcovered one of the greateft and 
 inofl wonderful modes in which the divine nature is ex- 
 erted, in the falvation and final happinefs of the people 
 of God. By this office, a facrifice is offered up : a re- 
 demption is effeded : a fatisfacStion to the rector al 
 JUSTICE is made : an obedience or righteoufnefs of 
 divine and infinite v/orth is wrought out, and brought 
 in before the tribunal of God for ourjuftification. 
 
 The interceflion of Christ is grounded on this 
 fatisfadion and righteoufnefs; and our Lord, as a 
 Prieil, can and will beftow all polTible blelTings on 
 his people. Thefe were the three great parts of the 
 high pried 's ofHce under the Mofaic difpenfation, 
 to offer a facrifice : to intercede for the people : and 
 blels the congregation : and thus the type was a live- 
 ly reprcfentation of the prieftly office of Christ. 
 ilervcy loved this glorious character, as the great 
 central glory of the whole Gofpel. 
 
 We will now give the difpiay of it from divine re- 
 velation. 
 
 The Mediator of a better Covenant, Heb. viii. 6. 
 The one Mediator between God and man, i Tim. ii. 
 5. The Mediator of the New Teftament or Covenant, 
 Heb. ix. 5. An High Priefl for ever, Pfalm ex. 4. 
 Heb. vi. 20. The High Priefl of our profeffion, 
 Heb. iii. i. A Surety of a better Covenant, Heb. vii. 
 0.2, Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant, Heb. 
 xii. 24. Such an High Priefl became us, i. e. was 
 fuitable to us, who was holy, harmlefs, undefiled, fe- 
 parate from fmners, higher than the heavens, Heb. 
 
 vii. 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 113 
 
 vii. 26. A Covenant of the People, a Light of the 
 Gentiles, Ifa, xlii. 6. A merciful and faithful High 
 Priefl, Heb. ii. 17. 
 
 My Redeemer, Job xix. 25. Tliy Redeemer, Ifa. 
 Viv, 5. — Note. De Gols obferves, that the word Re- 
 deemer is ufed fix hundred times. — The Lamb of 
 God, John i. 29. The Lamb without Spot, i Per. 
 i. 19. The Lamb flain. Rev. v. 12. — N. B. Christ 
 is called a Lamb twenty-nine times in the book of the 
 Revelations. — Christ our pafTover is facrificed for 
 us, I Cor. v. 7. Made fin for ns, 2 Cor. v. 21. Made 
 a CURSE for us. Gal. iii. 13.— Dr. Gill obferved to me, 
 that this is a phrafe never ufed, even of the devils or 
 damned fpirits.— Our Peace^ Eph. ii. 14, Our Life, 
 Col. iii. 4. 
 
 The Bread of Life, John vi. 48. The Bread of 
 GoD, ver. 33. The Tree of Life, Rev. ii.j.xxii. 14. 
 The Refurre6lion and the Life, John xi. 25. The 
 plague and deflru6lion of death, Hafea xiii. 14. 
 The Saviour of the body, the church, Eph. v. 23. 
 The Saviour of the world, .1 John iv. 14. A Sa- 
 viour and a Great One, Ifa. xix. 20. O God of If- 
 rael the Saviour, Ifa, xlv. 15. A juit Gop and a Sa- 
 yiour, ver. 21, 
 
 To you is born this day a Saviour, Luke ii. 11. 
 A Prince and a Saviour, A6ls v. 31. We look for 
 the Saviour, Phil. iii. 20. My Spirit rejoiceth in God 
 my Saviour, Luke i. 47. The commandment of God 
 our Saviour, i Tinn. i. i. In the fight pf God our 
 Saviour, i Tim. ii. 3. The living God is the Sa- 
 viour, I Tim. iv. 10. The appearing of God our 
 Saviour, 2 Tim. i. 10. The kindnefs and love of 
 God our Saviour, Titus iii. 4. The commandment 
 of God our Saviour, Titus i. 3. The Lord Jesus 
 Christ our Saviour, ver. 4 
 
 Qj. The 
 
124 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 The glorious appearance of the great God our Savi- 
 our, Titus ii. 13. The righteoufnefs of God our Sa- 
 viour, 2 Pet. i. I. The knowledge of the LopvD and 
 Saviour, 2 Pet. ii. 20. Grow in grace and in the know- 
 ledge of our Saviour, 2 Pet. iii. 18. The Father fent 
 the Son to be the Saviour^ i John iy. 14. To the only 
 wife God our Saviour, Jude 25. They forgat God 
 their Saviour, Pfal. cvi. 21. The Holy One of Ii- 
 raei thy Saviour, Ifa. xliii. 3. Befides me there is no 
 Saviour, ver. 11. I Jehovah am thy Saviour, Ifa. 
 xlix. 26. So he was their Saviour, Ifa. Ixiii. 8. I will 
 be to them a little fanciuary, i. e. a Saviour, Ezek. 
 xi. 16. The Rock of our falvation, 2 Sam. xxii. 47. 
 Pfal. xviii. 2. The Well of falvation, Ifa. xii. 3. 
 The Horn of falvation, Luke i. 69. The Captain 
 of our falvation, Pleb. ii. 10. 1 have waited for 
 thy falvation, Gqh, xlix. 18. The Rock of our f?J- 
 vation, Pfal. xcv. i. Jehovah is my falvation, 
 Exod. XV. 2. I rejoice in thy falvation i Sam. ii. i. 
 
 He fl:iali be my falvation. Job xiii. 16. Jehovah 
 is my light, and my falvation, Pfal. xxvii. i. Such 
 as love thy falvation, Pfal. xl. 16. The falvation of 
 God, Ifa. 1. 23. O God of our falvation, Pfal. Ixv. 
 5. Thy faving health, or healing falvation, Pfal. 
 Ixvii. 2, Let fuch as love thy falvation be glad, Pfal. 
 Ixx. 4. My mouth fl^.all fhev/ forth thy falvation all 
 the day, pfal. Ixxi. 15. Shew forth his falvation from 
 day to day, pfal. xcvi. 2. ThQ Lord hath made 
 known his falvation, Pfal. xcviii. 2. 
 
 All the ends of the earth have feen the falvation of 
 GpD, Pfal. xcviii. 3. All the ends of the earth Ihall fee 
 the falvation of God, Ifa. Iii. 10. Jehovah is my 
 ftrength and fong, and is becom.e my falvation, Pfal. 
 cxviii. 14. My foul fainteth for thy falvation, Plak 
 cxix. 81. Mine eyes fail for thy falvation, ver. 123. I 
 have hoped for thy falvation, ver. 166. I have longed 
 
 for 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 125 
 
 for thy falvation, ver. 174. God is my falvation, Ifa. 
 xii. 2. Let them bring forth falvation, Ifa. xlv. 8. 
 Salvation in Zion for IfraeJ my glory,' Ifa. xlvi. 13. 
 
 My falvation fliall not tarry, Ifa. xlvi. 13. The gar- 
 ments of falvation j the robe of righteoufnefs, Ifa. Ixi, 
 10. Salvation as a lamp that burneth, Ifa. Ixii. i. 
 Behold thy falvation cometh, ver. 1 1. All flefh fhall 
 fee the falvation of Gop, Luke iii. 6, I will joy in 
 the God of my falvation, Hab. iii. 18. Thou fhalc 
 call his name Jesus, for he (hail fave his people from 
 their fins. Matt. i. 21. — Note, The whole Gofpel is 
 comprehended in this one word— Jesus. 
 
 Hervey regarded Christ as a 
 K I N G. 
 
 This is another mode of God's difcovering hlmfelf 
 to the church, in order to difplay the divine glory in 
 our happinefs. 
 
 We have not only the plague of a weak blind un- 
 derftanding, and the torment of a wicked guilty con- 
 fcience ; but we have alfo the plague of a ftubborn 
 and rebellious will, which is always at war with every 
 attribute, and every perfon in the Godhead. This 
 moft defperate enmity muft be fubdued, or the foul 
 be loft for ever. 
 
 Nothing but Omnipotence, at the command of in- 
 finite love, and under the guidance of infinite wif- 
 dom, can apply the great redemption of Christ to 
 millions of immiOrtal fouls, in every period of time. 
 
 A King on my holy hill, Pfal. ii. 6. David, a 
 king and a prince, Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24. David my 
 fervant fhall be king over them, Ezek. xxxvii. 24. 
 Captain of the Lord's hoft, Jo(h. v. 14. ftiled 
 Jehovah, vi. 2. Lord of the living and the dead, 
 Rom. xiv. 9. A Leader and Commander to the peo- 
 ple, Ifa. iv. 4. Messiah the Prince, Dan. ix. 25. 
 
 A Gover- 
 
126 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 A Governor that lliall rule my people Ifrael^ Mic. 
 y. 2, Matt. ii. 6. A Great King over all the earth, 
 Pfal. xlvii. 2. Sing ye praifes with iincierftanding, 
 live times repeated, ver. 6, 7. The Prince of Life, 
 A& iii. 15. 
 
 The King of the daughter of Zion, Zech. ix. 9. A 
 Great King, above all gods, Pfal. xcv. 3. The King 
 that is fairer than the children of men, Pfal. xlv. 2. 
 The Lord reigneth, Pfal. xciii. i. David their 
 King, Hofea iii. 5. Their God, and David their 
 King, Jer. xxx. 9. He is born King of the Jews, 
 Matt^ ii. 2. The Horn of David, Pfal. cxxxii. 17. 
 He reigns over Jacob for ever, Luke i. 33. The 
 King of Ifr^ei, J ohn i. 49. 
 
 The Kln.^ of Rio;hteoufnefs, Heb. ii. 7. The Kino; 
 pf Peace, ibid. Higher than the kings of the earth, 
 Pfal. ixxxix. 27. The King of kings. Rev. xvii. 14. 
 The Lord of lords. Rev. xix. 16, The Prince qf 
 the kings of the earth. Rev. i. 5. The King's Son, 
 Pfal. Ixxii. I. The King of Glory, Pfal. xxiv. 8i 
 '-^Note. This is five times repeated. — The Lord of 
 glory, I Cor. ii. S. James ii. i. 
 
 Miscellaneous Names exprelTive of the G1.0- 
 RiEs of Christ. 
 
 The Apoftie and High Prieil of our profeflion, 
 Heb. iii. i. A Deacon, (0, hc/.v.ovoq) or a Minifler, 
 Rom. XV. 8. A Minifler of Holy Things, rwi/ o^yxm 
 AfiTou^yof, Heb. viii. 2. The x\nge], or MelTenger of 
 the Covenant, Mai. iii. i. The Servant of God, 
 Ifai. xlix. 6. The Defire of ail nations. Flag. ii. 7. 
 The Ele6l of God, Ifai. xlii. i. A Worm and no 
 man, Pfa. xxii. 6. The Lord and Son of David, 
 Pfal. ex. I. Matt. xxii. 43. The Day Spi*ing from ■ 
 on high, Luke i. 78. Rabbi, or my Great Mafler, 
 John i. 43. Rabboni, or my Mafler, John xx. 160 
 
 A Stone; 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 12^ 
 
 A Stone laid in Zion — a tried Stone — a precious 
 Corner Stone — a fure Foundation ; or as it is in the 
 Hebrew, ^DirJ HDID a foundation— a foundation, Ifai, 
 Xxviii. 16. 
 
 Other Foundation can no man lay than that is laid, 
 Jesus Christ, i Cor. iii. 11. A Stone, the Head of 
 the Corner, Pfal. cxviii. a2. A Stone of Stunnblino-, 
 and Rock of Offence, i Pet. ii. 8. The Forerun- 
 ner, Heb. VI. 8. An Advocate with the Father, 
 I John ii. 2. The true Redeemer and near Kinf- 
 man, J^ev. xxv. 25. Ruth i v. 4. — Note, The word 
 Goel, /KIJ^ or Redeemer, is mennoned fix hundred 
 times. See De Gols on the Divinity of Christ. — A 
 Sower, Matt. xiii. 3. Solomon, Cant. iii. 7. Kincy 
 Solomon, iii. 11. The Rofe of Sharon, ibid. ii. i. 
 
 Thou whom my foul loveth, Sol. Song iii, 
 I, 2, 3. My Brother, ibid. viii. i. The Lamb in 
 the midft of the throne, Rev. v. 6. The Lamb is 
 the Temple of the New Jerufalem, Rev. xxi. 22. 
 The Lamb is the light of the New Jerufalem, ver. 
 23. — Note. Christ is ftiied a Lamib twenty-nine 
 times in the Revelations.— A Bundle of Myrrh, Sol. 
 Song i. 13. A Clufter of Camphire, ibid 14. Fair 
 and Pleafanr, ibid. i. 16, My fervant the Branch, 
 Zech. iii. 8. The man whofe name is the Branch, 
 Zech. vi. 12. 
 
 He feedeth am.ong the lilies, Sol. Song ii. 16. vi. 
 3. He feedeth in the gardens, Sol. Song vi. 2. A 
 Stone cut out without hands, Dan. ii. 34. The 
 Stone became a great mountain, and filled the whole 
 earth, Dan. ii. 2>S' ^^^ countenance is as Lebanon, 
 excellent as the cedars, Sol. Song v. 15. A man of 
 war, Exod. xv. 3. Mighty to fave, Ifai. Ixiii. i. 
 Mod mighty, Pfal. xlv. 3. He treadeth the wine- 
 prefs alone, Ifai. Ixiii. 2, 3. Shiloh— -a quiet peace- 
 able P4"ince, Gen, xiix. 10. 
 
 A no- 
 
123 ' AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 A noble man, Luke xix. 1 2. A noble one, n*^*!!^ 
 Jer. XXX. 2U A ftronger man, Luke xi. if 2. My 
 ftrength, my fong, my falvation/ Ifai. xii, 2, A 
 flreno-th to the poor, Ifai. xxv. 4. A ftrength to the 
 iieedy in diftrefs, ib. ver. 5. A refuge from the ftorm, 
 ibid. A fhadow from the heat, ibid.— A^b^^. All thefe 
 four o-lories of Christ are in one verfe. — An hiding 
 place from the wind: a covert from the tempeft: 
 rivers of waters in a dry place: the fhadow of a great 
 rock in a weary land, Ifai. xxxii. 2. — Note. All thefe 
 four glories are in one verfe. — My God fhall be my 
 ftrength, Ifai. xlix. 5. 
 
 He that liveth and was dead, and is alive for ever- 
 more, Amen. He hath the keys of hell and of death. 
 Rev. i. 18. Our hope, i Tim. i. i. Christ in us 
 the hope of glory, Col. i. 27. Zerubbabel, Zech. iv. 
 6. Hag. ii. 3. O Jehovah my ftrength, and my 
 fortrefs, and my refuge in the day of afflidion, Jer. 
 xvi. 19. Thy hufband, Ifa. liv. 5. Pfal. xlv. 10. 
 The portion of Jacob, Jer. x. 16. A light to lighten 
 the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Ifrael, Luke 
 ii. 32. Ifa. Ix. 19. Thehopeof his people, and the 
 ftreno;th of the children of Ifrael, Joel iii. i6. Hav- 
 ing falvation, Zech. ix. 9. 
 
 The Keeper of Ifrael, Pfal. cxxi. 4. The Angel 
 which redeemed me from all evil. Gen. xlviii. 16. I 
 will fend an angel before thee to drive out the Cana- 
 anite, Exod. xxxiii. 2. The arm of the Lord, Ifa. 
 liii. I. Ii. 9. The Bridegroom, Matt. xxv. I. Ifa. Ixii. 
 4, 5. The Heir of all things, Heb. i. 2. The Head 
 over all things to the church, Eph. i. 22. A Sceptre 
 ftiall rife out of Ifrael, and a Star out of Jacob, 
 Numb. xxiv. 17. The BleiTed One who comes in 
 the name of the Lord, Pfal. cviii. 20. . 
 
 Blefied be the Lord God, doing wondrous things, 
 Pfa. Ixxii. 18, The Lord ftrong and mighty in bat- 
 tle. 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. I29 
 
 tic, Pfal. xxiv. 8. God (landeth in the cono^reo-a- 
 tion; he judgeth among the Gods, Pfal. Ixxxii. i. 
 The Judge of the living and the dead^ A(fts x. 42. 
 The Judge of all the earth, Gen. xviii. 2§, God 
 is judge himfelf, Pfal. 1. 6. The chiefelb an:iong 
 ten thoufand and altogether lovely, Sol. Song, v. 
 10. White and ruddy, ibid. My Friend, ibid. 16. 
 Chrift is all in all, Col. iii. 1 1. 
 
 i.et us now view the palTion of Love, which is 
 expreffed towards this glorious and divine perfon, 
 by all chaile virgin Chriftians, in ail ages to the 
 end of the world.— /-T^/^. Christ is iliied David. 
 *in i. e. Beloved no lefs than thirty-two times in 
 the Song of Songs ; which fliall be thus exemplified: 
 
 The Beloved, Sol. Song. i. 13. My Beloved, 
 ver. 14. My Beloved, ii. 2- My Beloved, ver 8. 
 My Beloved, ver. 9. My Beloved, ver. 10. My 
 Beloved, ver. 16. My Beloved ver. 17* Thy Be- 
 loved, iv. 16. My Beloved, v. 2. 
 
 My Beloved, Sol. Song, v. 4. My Beloved, ver. 
 5. My Beloved, my Beloved, ver. 6. My Beloved, 
 ver. 8. Thy Beloved, thy beloved, ver. 9. My Be- 
 loved, ver. TO. My Beloved, ver. 16. Thy Be- 
 loved, thy Beloved, vi. i. My Beloved, ver. 2. My 
 Beloved, my Beloved, ver. 3. 
 
 My Beloved, Sol. Song. vii. 9. My Beloved, 
 ver. 10. My Beloved, ver. 11. My beloved, ver. 
 13. My Love, viii. 4. Her Beloved, ver. 5. My 
 Beloved, ver. 14. Thy Love, ii. i. MyvWell Be- 
 loved, Ifa. V. I, Thou whom my foul loveth is 
 repeated four times, Sol. Song. i. 7. — iii. i, 2, 3. 
 
 Nole. Christ is friied the Beloved^ with aftonifli- 
 ing repetitions in the Song of Solomon. In this 
 manner the Scriptures reprefent the genuine pafTion 
 of love to Christ; and in this m.anner the excellent 
 
 R Plervev 
 
Jj^ >AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 Hervey exprefTed his paffion in all his holy thoughts/ 
 words, and writings. 
 
 Note, All iingenerate perfons, wherever the Gofpel 
 comes, as they do not love Chrifl, they are adul- 
 terous lovers of fin and the world, and they are 
 lovers of damnation in the caufes of it, i. e. infi- 
 delity, and enmity to Christ. 
 
 Let us clofe all our views with a fong of feven- 
 fold praifc, due to the Lord Jesus Christ, Rev. v. 
 1 2. Worthy is the Lamb that was Gain, to receive, i. 
 power, 2. riches; 3. wifdom; 4. ilrengthj 5. honour; 
 6. glory i 7. blelTingi and every creature v/hich is in 
 heaven, and on the earthy heard I, faying, " Blef- 
 '* fing and honour, glory and pov/er, be unto the 
 " Lamb, for ever and ever," and the four living 
 creatures faid. Amen. 
 
 Hervey's faiuli v/as the confident expe6tation of 
 things hoped for. The clear demonftration and con- 
 vincing evidence of invifible objefts, i. e. invi- 
 ^ fibie perfons, invifible attributes, invifible tranf- 
 adlions, and invifible blelTings. God the Holy Spi- 
 rit, by a phyfical, moral, and gracious Influence, 
 and real operation, wrought into his underflanding, 
 a perfuafion of Christ's almighty power and grace 
 to fave : he opened his heart to receive Christ 
 in all his ofHces, and to make a full and eternal 
 furrender of his imm.ortal foul into Christ's hands, 
 to be laved intirely in his own method of grace and 
 faJvation. 
 
 It v/as this vital and peculiar faith of the opera- 
 tion of God, which marks the diflindl charadler, and 
 conflitutes the real difference between a true be- 
 liever, and all the unbelievers in the world. This 
 faith enabled him to treat Christ according to the 
 revealed idea of him; and from the names and 
 charadcers of Christ in the preceding pages; and 
 
 • Read Dr. Lowth's Le<5tures on the Song of Songs. 
 
 from 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 131 
 
 from the clear difcoveries of his divine attributes, 
 and works of creation and redemption, and the di- 
 vine worfliip paid to him by the patriarchs, pro- 
 phets, apoftles, martyrs, and true Chriftians in all 
 ages : this great and good man formed his con- 
 ceptions of Chrift, and exprefled the beft affections 
 for his perfon, interefl:, and glory, in the world. 
 
 He confidered Christ in his eternal exiftence, 
 or exifting all at once without fuccefiion of moments, 
 or change of time or place ; and confequentiy, im- 
 mutable, and tvaj where prefent, with all fpace : 
 the living God and -Friend of his precious foul. 
 He kept up a continual converfe with him by faith 
 and prayer : he lived in him : he lived with him ia 
 habitual joy and increafing delight. He faw future 
 things as eternal, and eternity jufl at hand: and by 
 his vital union with the perfon of God the Son, he 
 could call eternal blelTings and felicity all his own. 
 This inlpired his mind and palTions with a dignity and 
 majefty of holiness peculiar to his character: and 
 by virtue of this holinefs, fhining in his under- 
 flanding, he contemplated the boundlefs power, the 
 €xquifite wifdom, and exuberant goodnefs of Christ, 
 in all his works of creation, providence, and redemp- 
 tion ; and every frefh profpecft of the glories of 
 Christ, transformed his foul into a brighter refem- 
 blance of the m.oral perfections of his God. 
 
 He clearly difcerned, that every natural and 
 moral perfection of God the Father, was equally 
 afcribed to God the Son ; and he faw Christ in 
 all the works of creation. He confidered that Christ 
 gave being to our world and the flarry heavens, 
 which, without his agency, would have no exiftence: 
 that he upholds the univerfe, which would, if left 
 to itfelf, tumble into ruins : that he actuates every 
 living creature, vegetable, animal, rational, and an- 
 gelical, which would otherwife be intirely a lifelefs 
 mafs : and he recovered our fvflem when it was 
 . • R 2 ' all 
 
l^z AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 all doomed to deflruflion, for the apoftacy and rebel- 
 lion of man. He has beautifully difplayed thefe grand 
 truths in his contemplations on a flower garden: and 
 his defcant on creation, which are everlaiting monu- 
 ments of his wonderful genius, and devotional tafte. 
 
 He imitated all the patriarchs, prophets, and apof- 
 tles, in the inceliant ardent worfliip he offered up 
 to our Lord Jesus, as God above all -, and he pur- 
 fued the glory of Christ, as the final caufe of his im- 
 mortal exiftence. 
 
 Wc nov/ comiC to confider the characler of Hervey 
 as a man of science and virtue; and in this point 
 of light, propofe him for an example to the rifing 
 generation. His natural fenfibility was exceeding great: 
 his perceptions of beauty were exquifirely fine : he 
 had a clear fenfe of beauty in all its gradations: and 
 when this v/as connedlcd with true piety, it worked 
 up his natural fenfibility to its utmofl pertedtion. 
 
 While he was a fchool-boy, and had not the leaft 
 advantage in the tuition of the fciences, the beauties 
 of the vegetable and animal creation, ftruck him very 
 ftrongly ; and before he had the leaft learned ac- 
 quaintance with the fcience of aftronomy, the glories of 
 the flarry heavens poured themfelves into his foul. 
 Fie ufed to obferve, that when' he took a walk into the 
 fields in the night feafon, he paufed, pondered, trem- 
 bled, and adored : he found an unknown fomething 
 v/ithin him, which fuggelled Rrongly, that there was 
 a moft wife, miighty, and good Being, at the head of 
 the unlverfe, wdio governed and difpol'ed of all things. 
 When thefe natural fentiments and fublimje feelings 
 of Ibul came to be cultivated by reading Dr. Der- 
 ham's A fbo- theology, and Le Pulche's Dialogues on 
 the Starry Heavens, thefe enlarged the capacity of 
 his underftanding, to take in great and fublime ideas, 
 without pain or difficulty j to receive new and un- 
 com.mon ideas, without an ignorant furprife and aver- 
 fion. Thefe excellent books, with others written in 
 
 the 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROG^^TIVES. 133 
 
 the fame ftrain and tafle, had a happy tendency to, 
 enable hini to furvey vaft trains of great ideas with- 
 out pajn or difficulty. 
 
 The NATURAL HISTORY of air and water, in their 
 diftind properties and ufes, were open to his mind : 
 the different clalTes of minerals that lay within the 
 bowels of the earth, were all familiar to his foul : 
 the furniture of the furface of our earth, in gralTes, 
 plants, trees, and flowers, highly gratified his talle, 
 and gave pleafure to his imagination. The various 
 clafTes of birds, beafls, fiflies, and infe6ls, pafTed in 
 review before his mental eye ; and knowing himfelf 
 to be a redeemed and recovered creature of God, and 
 difcerning that Christ was the Creator and Re- 
 deemer of all thefe objcdls, he felt more divine plea- 
 fure than Adam could in Paradife. 
 
 Hervey was a great mafter of the fcience of logic : 
 he underftood the nature of ideas, and the objects of 
 perception, as well as any man : he had a very clear 
 and diftind conception of all fubflances and qualities, 
 material and immaterial, vifible and invifible, mortal 
 and immortal, temporal and eternal. 
 
 He had a more clear and forcible conception of 
 the nature of God and human fouls, as well as 
 devils and angels, than moft men in the whole world, 
 and a more comprehenfive idea of divine objecfls ; 
 and a more compleat perception of all their pro- 
 perties and parts, as difcovered by divine revelation, 
 with a very extenfive apprehenfion of the various 
 kinds and qualities of the glorious doclrines of the 
 Gofpel. 
 
 He had an aflonilhing degree of elevation and 
 penetration of thought, to reach into the future 
 events which are coming upon the univerfe in the 
 latter day : the ruin of Popery ; the converfion and 
 reftoration of the Jev/s ; the fpread of the Gofpel 
 through all the nations of the earth ; and the dif- 
 play of the grandeur of God the Son. 
 
 He 
 
134 A^ A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 He had a clear knowledge of the prejudices of the 
 human underftanding : — He himfelf had been the 
 fubje^l of the ftrongell prejudices agalnfl the Gofpel. 
 We have the utmoft reafon to believe, that he had 
 never heard a fingle fermon on the perfon and righ- 
 teoufnefs of Christ, tor the 'TiX^jeventeen years of his 
 life. When he went to Oxford, matters we ^--e not 
 mended; tlie two firll years were palled over in ig- 
 norance and indolence. He then fell into the hands 
 of men that were ignorant of the method of accept- 
 ance v/ith God. Thefe men became his fpiritual 
 phyficians ; and foolifh phyficians they were : their 
 religion confiftecj in a fet of outward obfervances, 
 and a punftilipus regard to rules of their own de- 
 vifihg — rifing at ftated hours—^fafting feveral times 
 in the week — giving the food they faved by failing to 
 the poor— faying prayers at certain hours-?— vifiting 
 the prifoners in the jails— frequent attendance upon 
 the facrament — binding themifelyes by vows and co- 
 venants, to certain virtues and pradtices. This was 
 the fum total of their religion : they had no fpiritual 
 perception of the perfon of Christ i no underftand- 
 ing of his glorious righteoufnefs for pur juflihcation : 
 no acquaintance with the fpirituallty and vaft extent 
 of God's law : no fenfe of the immaculate purity of 
 God : no convidlion of the plague of their own hearts ; 
 no deep difcernment of the power, deceit^ and mahg- 
 nity of indweUing fin : no fight of the abfolute necef- 
 fity of regeneration by God the Holy Spirit : nq 
 knov/ledge of his divine perfon, and the infinite im- 
 portance and necefiity of his operations in the fcheme 
 of our falvation : no experience of the pleafures of 
 vital religion. In this dark, fad, joylefs Hate, he 
 lived for eight years i that is to fay, from the ninteenth 
 year of his age, till he was tweuty-Jevcn. All this 
 time was fpent in reading improper books, trufting 
 to his own virtue and righteoufnefs for juftification, 
 and without the joys of God's falvation. He had no 
 
 friend 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 135 
 
 friend in all the world, to recommend to him the 
 bed books : no friend to explain to him the true 
 fenfe and meaning of the Holy Scriptures. All his 
 external obfervances and his attempts to pra6life vir- 
 tue, had a tendency to build up a ftrong barrier be- 
 tween Christ and his foul. He ufed to lament it as 
 one of the greateft lolTes of his whole life, that the 
 ceconomy of the covenants, by the incomparable' Wit- 
 fiUSy was never fo m^uch as mentioned to him ; and 
 v/hilft he was at Stoke-Abbey, in Devonfhire, his 
 dear friend, Paul Orchard:, Efq. who was in the 
 fame fpirit of enquiry after happinefs with himfelf^ 
 joined with him in reading a vaft variety of treatifes, 
 and a great deal of religious traih they perufed^ a 
 number of legal books they ftudied, which had no 
 other tendency, than to eciipfe the glory of the Lord 
 Jesus, and leave their fouls in froil and darknefs : 
 among x}i\^ refl, they ftumbled upon one good 
 book, and that was EUpoa Cole's, on the Sovereignty 
 and Righteoufnefs of God , on Eledlion, Redemp- 
 tion, Effectual Calling, and final Perfeverance. Their 
 minds were fo incruiled with prejudice, and fo enve- 
 nomed with enmity againft the dominion of God, 
 that they threw the book av/ay, not only as worthlefs, 
 but pernicious -, and refumed the reading of books 
 more adapted to their legal pride. In this joylefs 
 (late of religious obfervances, they continued fome 
 years: at laft, in the year 1741, the Lord Jesus 
 Christ began to dawn upon his foul ; then it was, 
 that he wrote the letter from Biddeford, marked 
 No. L in the Appendix to this book. 
 
 Hervey had ten thoufand prejudices to furround 
 and poifon his underftanding : prejudices arifmg from 
 words : arifing from the difRculty and obfcurity of 
 things : prejudices arifing from bad or improper 
 books, and artful and malignant men who lie in wait 
 to deceive : but above all, prejudices arifing from the 
 depravity and corruption of his own heart. 
 
 Bv 
 
136 AS A CHRISTIAN, ENDOWED 
 
 By flow degrees, God the Holy Spirit enabled 
 him to lurmount all the prejudices which had poifoned 
 his underllanding, and framed him to a noble and 
 firm determination to review and examine all his ideas 
 and principles, as to their fitnefs or unfitnefs ; good- 
 nels or moral evil ; truth or falfehood ; and he re- 
 jeded with a fublime difdain, all that he found to be 
 wrong or difagreeable to the revealed will of God. 
 
 As a found and mafculine mafter of logic, he well 
 underftood the principles and rules in matters of 
 fenfe j in matters of reafon and fpeculation ; in affairs'* 
 of human prudence ; in matters of morality and reli- 
 gion ^ in the nature and evidences of infpiration, and 
 knew thefe principles and rules, with a degree of 
 intuitive readinefs and familiarity : and he could dif- 
 cern, with great fagacity, the principles and rules of 
 judging concerning things pad, prefent, and to come. 
 How happy would it be for young fludents of genius 
 and piety, to imitate Hervey in the exercife of reafon, 
 in their honed enquiries after truth. 
 
 The greateft glory of the human underflanding, is 
 to reafon well on all fubje(51s and all occafions 
 whatfoever, but efpecially upon the moil divine and 
 heavenly fubje6ls. The word difgrace of the human 
 underflanding, is to reaibn illj efpecially on divine 
 fubje^ls. The next greateft glory of the human un- 
 derflanding, is to unravel fophiflry, and detecl error 
 in all the parts of philofophy and divinity. Nothing 
 can be a 8:reater fhame to a man that fliles himfelf a 
 philofopher, than to reafon in a corrupt and erroneous 
 manner. 
 
 It was the greateil: glory of Hervey 's underfland- 
 ing, to receive and difcern the mcfl fpirituai and hea- 
 venly objedls ; < and he purfued thofe objefls with an 
 unbiafTed integrity : no Ibphifms of men or devils 
 could warp his underflanding. He kept truth for 
 ever in his eye, and purfued it Vv'ith unfainting perfe- 
 verance. In all his reafonings, he never loft fight of 
 
 the 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. 137 
 
 point in debate. He took the iirmoft care to Jay 
 down found premifes, and to draw folid conclufions 
 from thofe premifcs. He was deeply concerned not 
 to reafon inconclufively. He was honedly willing 
 and zealous to follow wherever truda led the v/ay. 
 I would, with the utmoft candour, compare his me- 
 thods of reafoning with fome of the moll mafterly lo- 
 gicians in the world ; 1 mean Chillingworth, Bifhop 
 Bull, Dr. Waterland, Dr. Owen, Dr. Witfius, and 
 Mr. Brine. Thcfe great men underftood the force 
 of diredl demonllration : they were exceeding care- 
 ful to lay down none but clear and fjre principles ; 
 and they drew the mod genuine and legitimate infe- 
 rences from thofe principles. On the other hand, 
 men of weak or corrupt underflandings, are not 
 careful to lay dov/n found principles; and if their 
 principles are falfe, their conclufions mud be bad : 
 or otherwife, they draw corrupt inferences from true 
 principles ; and thefe are the things that conftitute all 
 fophifms whatever. 
 
 Hervey was as careful, as of his life and foul, not 
 to be impofed upon by fophiftry : all the powers of 
 earth and hell could never drive or fcduce him from 
 the love of truth: the authority of the greateft bad 
 men had no influence : the love of fame never fwayed 
 his underftanding : the riches of the world, except to 
 do good with thtm, had no charms for his imagina- 
 tion. Senfual pleafure could never feduce his un- 
 derftanding into an error : he favv the infamy and 
 madnefs of unlawful pleafure, and v/as crucified and 
 dead to all criminal Q;ratii^iCations. 
 
 Hervey had a vaft (lock of ideas upon all forts of 
 divine fubjecfts : he bad the keeneft read inefs at all 
 kinds of fcriptural arguments : no man better under- 
 ftood the force of the apoftle Paul's reaft>ning, on the 
 great do6liine of juftification by Christ's imputed 
 righteoufnels : ' it never entered into his mind, that 
 the apoille reafoned inconclufively ; and no man, ex- 
 
 S cept 
 
1.3^ HIS CHARACTER 
 
 ctpt the great Mr. Brine, had fludied this fubjedl with 
 more fixed "attention. 
 
 The higheil excellency of this good man, confified 
 in the fpirituality of his underfcanding, and his love 
 of truth. There were many other men that excelled 
 him in feveral branches of learnin.e ; but no man went 
 beyond him in a difcernment of divine things. Nev/- 
 ton and Dr. Barrow, v/ere fuperior to him in geome- 
 try ; and yet, without his knowing it, he purfued the 
 very bed m.ethod of geom.etrical leafoning. Judge 
 Haies, and the great Judge Blackfcone, were inft- 
 nit^rly fuperior to him, in the knowledge of lav/s and 
 government j but he underflood the meaning of the 
 divine h;w better than both of them. The o;reat 
 Locke, was iiiperior to him in metaphyfics; but he 
 underftood the dignity of Christ, and the worth of 
 Ins own immortal foul, better than all the Lockes in 
 the v.crld. The great Sir Ilaac could anatomize the 
 rays of light, and penetrate the nature and properties 
 of colours, beyond any man upon trie earth; but 
 Kervcy had more fpiritual lighc5 than ever Newton 
 himfelf poflcffed. Demofchenes and Cicero, excelled 
 him in natural and political eloquence- but they have 
 no ihare with him, in a bright dilplay of Christ's 
 perfon and righteoufnefs. 
 
 I'his great and wife man accudomed himfelf to 
 clear and diftind: ideas: to evident propofitions; to 
 ilrong and convincing arguments on all the fubje(5ls 
 of divinity. Afpafio's Dialogues with ["heron, and 
 Hervey's eleven letters on jufrincation, by Christ's 
 imputed rigiiteoufnefs, are ^glorious evidences of the 
 exce;l)eni2y of his underllanding. 
 
 He enlarged his general acquaintance with things 
 daily, in order to attain a rich furniture of ideas, by 
 which thofe propofitions, which occur, may be either 
 proved or dilprovcd : but he did efpecially meditate 
 and enquire, with great diligciice and exactnefs, into 
 the nature, properties, circumilances and relations of 
 
 the 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 139 
 
 the particular Ijbjefb, about which he reafoncd or- 
 judged : he furveyed a queftion round about^ and on 
 all (ides ; and extended his views, as far as poffible, 
 to every thing that had a conned:ion with it. 
 
 In learchiiig the knowledge of divine things, he 
 always kept the precife point of the prefcnt qucdion 
 in his eye: he took earneft heed, that he added noch^ 
 ing to it while he Wvas reafoning, nor omitted any part 
 of it. By keeping the fmgie point of enquiry in his 
 conftant view, he was iecured from fuddtn ral]:i, and 
 impertinent determinations; which fome have obtrud- 
 ed, inftead of folucions and folid anfwers, before they 
 perfedly knew the queftion. When he had exactly 
 confidered the precife point of enquiry, or what v/as 
 unknown in the qucftion, he then confidered what and 
 hov/ much he knevv' already of the quedion, or of the 
 ideas of which it is compofed. In choofing his argu- 
 ments to prove any queftion, he always took fuch 
 heads of truth, which are fureft and lead fallible, and 
 which carry the greateft evidence and ftren.^th with 
 them. He was not fo fblicitous about the number, 
 as the weight of his arguments ; elpecially in proving 
 any proportion which adinitted of divine certainty 
 and complete demonftration. A growing acquaint- 
 ance v/ith fcience and divinity, and a daily improve- 
 ment of his underftanding in divine fubjeds, did beft 
 teach him to judge and diliinguifn, in what cafes the 
 number oi arguments adds lo their weight and foi*ce. 
 He proved his conclufion, as far as pofTible, by fome 
 propofidons, that v/cre in themfelves more plain, 
 evident, and certain, than the conclufion ; or at leall:, 
 fuch as are more known, and more intelligible to the 
 perfon whom he v^^ouid convince. If we negled: this 
 rule, we fhall endeavour to enlighten that which is 
 obfcure, by fomething equally or more obfcure ; and 
 to confirm that which is doubtful, by fomethino- 
 equally or more uncertain. He laboured in all rea- 
 fonings, to enlighten the underllanding, as well as to 
 
 S 2 conquer 
 
I40 HISCHARACTER 
 
 conquer and captivate the judgment : he argued in 
 ' fuch a manner, as might give a natural, diflindl, and 
 folid knowledge of divine objefts to his readers -, as 
 well as to force their aflent, by a mere proof of the 
 quefcion. Now to attain this end, the chief medium 
 of his demonllration was fetched, as mucii as pofTible, 
 from the nature of the thing to be proved, or from 
 thofe things which are moft naturally connected with 
 it. He diftinguillied well between an explanation 
 and an argument -, and neither impoi'ed on himfelf, nor 
 fuffered himfelf to be impoled upon by others, by 
 miftaking a mere lUuftration for a convincing reafon. 
 Axioms, or felf-evident propofitions, may want an 
 explanation or illuftration, though they are not to be 
 proved by reafoning. Similitudes and allufions, have 
 oftentimes a very happy influence to explain fome dif- 
 ficult truths, and to render the idea of it familiar and 
 eafy. In his whole courfe of reafoning, he kept 
 his mind fmcerely intent on the purfuit of truth, and 
 followed folid arguments whcreloever it led him. — 
 No party fpirit, no love of fame, no vile avarice or 
 love of money, no polluted pafTions, nor the jaun- 
 dice of any prejudice whatfoever, ftopped or averted 
 the current of his reafoning, in the purfuit of true 
 knowledge of his God and Saviour. 
 
 When we fet this great and good man in his ho- 
 • neft and admirable methods of reafoning, in contrail 
 with the proud enemies of the Gofpei, we lliall fee 
 in him every thing to raife our admiration and 
 efteem -, and every thing in them, to roufe our indig- 
 nation and contem.pt. He loved folid h&s and di- 
 vine reafonings: tjiey love fcepticifm and fophiilry : 
 they are frequently guilty of a miftake of the queftion, 
 that is, when fomething elie is proved, which has nei- 
 ther any neceffary connexion or confiftency with the 
 thing enquired; and confequently gives no determina- 
 tion to the enquiry, though it may feem at iirfl: fight 
 to determine the queftion. They are guilty of begging 
 
 the 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 141 
 
 • the thing in queflion, or a fuppofition of whac is not 
 granted; that is, when any propoficion is proved by 
 the fame propoficion in other \vor(;lsj or by fome- 
 thing that is equally uncertain and difputed. They 
 are guilty of another fort of fallacy, which is called a 
 •circle. This is very^near kin to the fophifm, which 
 is called a begging the queflion; as when one of 
 the premifes in a fyllogifnn is queftioned and op- 
 pofed ; and we intend to prove it by the conclufion. 
 
 The Papifls are famous at this fort of fallacy, when 
 they prove the Scripture to be the word of God, by 
 the authority or infallible teflimony of their church; 
 and when they are called to fhew the infaliibie au- 
 thority of their church, they pretend to prove it by 
 the Scripture. The next kind of fophifm is called, 
 the afiignation of a falfe caufe. There is fcarce any 
 thing m.ore commiOn in human life, than this fort of 
 deceitful argument: if any tv/o accidental events hap- 
 pen to concur, one is prefently made the caufe of the 
 other. 
 
 This fophifm was found in the early days of the 
 world: for v/hen holy Job was furrounded with un- 
 common mifery, his own friends inferred, that he was 
 
 * a moil wicked man ; and charged him with aggravat- 
 ed guilt, as the caufe of his calamities; though God 
 himfelf, by a voice from heaven, iblved this uncharit- 
 able fophifm, and cleared his fervant Job of that 
 charge. The v^^ay to relieve ourfelves from thole 
 fophifms, and to fecure ourfelves from the danger of 
 falling into them, is an honeil love of truth, and an 
 ardent enquiry into the real nature and caufes of 
 things; with a conftant attention and fixed watchful- 
 nefs againft all thofe prejudices, that might warp the 
 judgment afide from truth in that enquiry. How ex- 
 ceedingly abfurd and contemptible is the fophiflry of 
 the Socinians, which they exercife againfl the grand 
 dodlrines of revelation. They are continually guilty 
 of a miftakc of the queflion, between Socinians and 
 
 Calvinifls : 
 
142 H I S C H A R A C T E R 
 
 Calvinills : in a thoufand indances, they form a bold 
 and impudent luppofition of what is not granted; 
 and are guiky of a mean begging the thing in qiief- 
 tion, without any fort of proof. They are continually 
 guilty of the afiignation of a falfe caufe of man's fal- 
 vation. In the prefent day, feveral Calvinifts of good 
 natural parts, of amiable manners, and whcfe gifts 
 promifed ufefulnefs in the churches, have gone over 
 from Calvinifm to Socinianifm. Heaven forbid, that 
 1 lliould indulge a fpirit of perfecuticn againft thefe 
 men. Peri'ecucion coniifts in hurting a man in his 
 natural or civil rights, m.erely on account of the faith 
 he proftiTes, and the worlliip he practices, without 
 his being guilty of iny civil forfeiture or crime. 
 ~\Ve renounce pe^fecution as being full of abfuroity 
 and iniquity, in all its !:i:ids and degrees. 
 
 Thus v.ehave viewed Hervey as a iVi^n fkiiled in 
 found logic,- being well acquaii. red with the nanure of 
 ideas, the objedts of pci-cepti. n, as m.atter and fpirit, 
 with their dirtereni qualities : having viewed the dif- 
 ferent kinds of perception, as fenfible, fpiritual, and in- 
 teile6tuali as clear and diitindt; or obfcurc and con- 
 fufed; as comprehenfive in all their properties ; com.- 
 plete in ail their parts 5 extcnfive in all tlieir kinds.; and 
 orderly in due method. 
 
 The clearnefs of cur conceptions may be illufirated 
 by a mdcrcfcope, which views things clearly in their 
 own nature. The comprehenfivenefs of our con- 
 ceptions of the properties of all divine objects, may 
 be iiiuftrated by a terrefnial globe turning upon its 
 own axis, and exhibiting, in a few m.oments of time, 
 the different empires, kingdoms, republicks, and ci- 
 ti,es i th? iilands, rivers, fprings, and lakes, on the 
 face of the whole earth. We would then confider 
 every diviiie obje'51: as complete in all its parts. This 
 may be iiiuftrated by an anatomical knife, Vvhich di- 
 vides the human body into all its component parts ; 
 as bones and cartilages, mufcles and tendons, which 
 
 are 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 143 
 
 are the terminations of thofe mufcies: as divided into 
 arteries and veins, v/hich are the iame canals inverted * 
 as divided into the brain, ipinal marro.w, and nerves ; 
 v/hich nerves, are only the brain and fpinal marrow, 
 carried into difrertnt rair.lhcaiions, and fpread all over 
 the body, to th. ends of cur fingers and toes. He 
 confidered divine objecfts in all taeir different kinds ; 
 and this may be iliuilratecl, by a glafs prifm, which 
 refolves and analyiis hght into iis feven original co- 
 lours; as violet, indigo, blue, greenj yellcw, orange, 
 red; and the compofition of all thefe colours mnkes a 
 complete white, or no colour at all. Hervey went on 
 to confider the nature of judgment, and the different 
 kinds of propofitions: he confidered the different 
 fources of human knowledge, as icnfc, intelligence, 
 confcioufnefs, reafon, infpiration, and human tefli- 
 mony. 
 
 He traced^ in a very accurate manner, all the dif- 
 ferent prejudices or falfe judgments of mankind. He 
 entered deeply into himfelf; confidered the falfe 
 judgments which he had form.ed, arifing from im.pro- 
 per v/ords ; arifing from bad books and bad men; 
 but efpeciaily, from, his own bad heart; of which he 
 had the deepefl confcioufnefs of any man, except the 
 great Brine, v/hich I ever knew. This wife and good 
 man, entered into the nature of clear and found fyl- 
 logifms: he underftood the major and the minor pro- 
 pofitions, as well as any man; and knew how to draw 
 the conclufions with the utmoft difcinclnefs and force. 
 He purfued his reafonings with the greatefl: honefty 
 and attention, and never loll: fight of his grand object, 
 pure and immutable truth. Truth was the fovereign 
 of his foul, the miilrefs of liis aifedlions, and the dar- 
 ling of his heart; and to this, he facrihced all vain 
 honours, fordid riches, and fenfuai pleafures ; and if 
 the whole world had been offered him, to be bought 
 at the price of truth and virtue, he would have 
 
 fcorned 
 
144- HIS CHARACTER 
 
 Jcorned to have opened his mouth and faid, I will huy 
 it. 
 
 Having given a fhoitflvetch of Hervey's chara6}:er 
 as a found a.id good logician, let us in the next place 
 view him with refpe(5t to his I<:nowledge of 
 
 NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, 
 or a clear perception of the greatnefs, variety, beauty, 
 and ends of the whole Cp<.eation. 
 
 We have taken a Ihort profpe6l of him in this 
 point of light already: let us here view him in the 
 higheft exertions of his vaft underftanding, in the 
 grand principle and foundation of all philofophy; and 
 that is the great law of universal gravitatioi^. 
 He darted, with the whole tire and force of his un- 
 derftanding, inro God and gravitation, beyond the 
 conceptions of millions of mankind; and faw deeper 
 and farther into this grand olijeCt, than mod philofo- 
 phers in the whole world. He faw, with intuitive ra- 
 pidity of perception, that gravitation is only ano- 
 ther name for the action of God our Saviour, upon 
 all matter in the univerfe : and the fundamental laws 
 of nature are nothing elfe but the wifdom, power, 
 goodnefs, and omniprefence, of God the Son, acting 
 every wherein his ov/n world; and every moment 
 fudaining and actuating the whole creation. 
 
 Moft men who flile themselves philofophers, fufFer 
 their minds and underftandin2;s to be debauched v/ith 
 mere dead matter^ or poifoned with fuch deteftable 
 intidelity, that they fee nothing; they believe nothing: 
 they love nothing that relates to the perfon, the at- 
 tributes, the adions, and glories of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 Not fo the great and fublime Hervey: he faw God 
 in every .creature : he was attentive to the agency of 
 God the Redeemer every day and every hour of his 
 life: it became habitual to him for many 'years before 
 he died to live in Christ, and to be one Spirit with 
 
 » him. 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 145 
 
 him. This gave fuch an immortal dignity to his 
 mind, and Rich a grandeur to his conceptions, voli- 
 tions, and palTions: and fuch a majefcy in his adiions, 
 and in all his deportment, as I never faw in any other 
 man in my whole life. .Whenever I came afrelli 
 into his prefence, I was ftruck with veneration and 
 delight: he feemed to me above the rank of other 
 men: a being that defcendcd from the celcfliial world, 
 and breathing in the air of Paradife: his temper and 
 underflanding had a certain Godlike manner, as I 
 know not how to exprefs. It was impofiible to think 
 of him with contempt, unlets you were a brute, or a 
 fool, void of all common fenie, and deftitute of all 
 learning and virtue. If you v/ere a m.an of any ge- 
 nius, tafle, and piety, you muft, in pi-oportion as you 
 rofe in dignity of mind, efteem and venerate his fu- 
 perior character. 
 
 I have converfed with learned men and philofo- 
 phers almoil fifty years: and I have found the greatefl 
 number of them, no better than practical Atheists, 
 deftitute of all right knowledge of God, fecret or 
 open enemies to divine revelation, with a temper as 
 determined in hatred of Christ, as the devils or the 
 damned fpirits; and ail their fcience and philofophy 
 only fcrved them to do miore mifchief to mankind, 
 and to render them fo much the more deteflable in 
 the eyes of all wife and good men. Hervey valued 
 no man for his learning alone, unlefs joined with ar- 
 dent devotion to the oerfon of his God and Saviour, 
 
 J. 
 
 Hervey's flcill in the HEBREW LANGUAGE. 
 
 He began the ftudy of the Hebrew about the nine- 
 teenth year of his age, by the inftigation of an ac- 
 quaintance, who gave him no manner of affiftance. 
 The only book he took up was, the Weftminfter 
 Hebrew Grammar. That book feems to be con- 
 trived by the devil to prevent the pleafing learning of 
 the Hebrew language; it is dark and obfcure, mih- 
 
 T out 
 
 V 
 
146 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 out any light: it is harfh and unpleafant, without any 
 tafte: it is ugly and difguftful, without any beauty: 
 and it is dull and lifelefs, widiout any fpirit. One 
 would think that all the powers of darkneis had fac 
 in council for a thoufand years pafl, to prevent the 
 rational and pleafant ftudy of the Hebrew language. 
 We have reafon to believe that ninety-nine Gram- 
 nnars out of an hundred, were invented by hell, to 
 fpoil the mod ufeful and beautiful language in the 
 world. Hervey took up this Granamar by the infti- 
 gation of an Egyptian tafk-mafterj who urged hini 
 to work and make bricks without draw: he never 
 gave him the leafl afliftance in the language, which 
 Mr. Hervey found fo harfh and difficult, that he 
 threw it by in defpair. Some time after, he was urged 
 by the fame tafk-mafler to learn the Hebrew lan- 
 guage. He attempted the matter again, by the fame 
 abfurd Grammar. He ftuck a long time at the hee- 
 mantic nouns, and was not able for his life and foul to 
 go on. Thefe heemantic nouns, at the beginning of a 
 Grammar, is another invention of the devil, to fpoil 
 the learning of one of the mod important languages 
 in the world. 
 
 After a long time, and much perplexity, great dif- 
 couragements, chopped hay, prickly furze-bufhes, 
 and tormenting dinging nettles, by a happy Provi- 
 dence, there was another fellow of Lincoln college, 
 far different from the former tyrant. Seeing Mr. 
 Hervey in his painful embarraffment, he pitied him, 
 and took him into his bofom: he condudled him to 
 the fird chapter of Genefis, and analized every word: 
 he taught him to reduce every noun to its proper pat- 
 tern : he indruded him to trace every verb to its pro- 
 per root, and to work every verb through the active 
 and paffive conjugations of kal and niphaly of pibel 
 and puhal; hipbil and kophal^ with the reciprocal 
 form of the verb hithpaeL If the devil could have 
 had his way, we had lod one of the fined Hebrew 
 fcholars in the world. After 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 147 
 
 After Mr. Hervey had learned to analize the firfl 
 chapter of Genefis, he went on like a race horfe, or 
 a giant; he entered into the fnnplicity, the energy, 
 the imagery, and the majefty of the firft language 
 fpoken upon earth; and to my certain knowledge, 
 he was one of the firft fcholars in Europe for a fami- 
 liar knowledge in the Hebrew Bible; and whilft the 
 greateft part of the minifter^ of religion hardly know 
 thQ beginning from the end, or the top from the bot- 
 tom of the facred Scriptures of God, in their origi- 
 nal language, this excellent man converfed with the 
 Hebrew Scriptures with the critical knowledge of a 
 Jewifh Rabbi, and the devotional Ipirit of a lively 
 Chriftian. 
 
 Hervey's ikill in the GREEK LANGUAGE. 
 
 He was fent to the Grammar Free School in 
 Northampton, at kvcn years of age. His father 
 was minifter at Hardingftone, one mile from North- 
 ampton, where Hervey was born. He went as a 
 day-lcholar for ten years. Here he learnt nothing 
 but Latin and Greek. He loon got before many of 
 the boys who had been fome time in the fchool ; but 
 his ungenerous and fordid mafter checked his pro- 
 grefs, left he ftiould go beyond his own fon. Thus 
 one of the fineft geniufes in the world was hindered in 
 his improvement, to gratify the meannefs of a bad 
 mafter, and perhaps to cover the fliame of a dull boy. 
 His mafter had no fort of tafte for the beauties of li- 
 terature : never made any remarks on the excellent 
 paftages in the claflics, nor did he ever lay before him 
 a map, to affift him to underftand the defcriptions in 
 the hiftorians and poets. In the courfe of ten years, 
 he muft unavoidably have acquired a vaft ftock of 
 Latin and Greek words ; and when his underftand- 
 ing and imagination began to bud and blolFom, he 
 would, from his own reflections, begin to fee their 
 beauties, and tafte their fweetnefs. Ele was grown fo 
 
 T 2 exceed- 
 
148 H I S C H A R A C T E R 
 
 exceedingly tail at feventeen years of age, that he was 
 afhamed to go as a fchool-boy any longer : he then 
 pecitioned his father that he iTiight go to Oxford : ac- 
 cordingly a little exhibition of twenty pounds a year 
 was procured for hirn at Lincoln college. Here he 
 was left to himfelf, by a proud indolent tutor; and 
 if a gracious God had not took care of him, he 
 would have been plunged in vice, and loil for ever. 
 After two years fpent in idlenefs, and non- improve- 
 ment, ov;ing chiefly to the improper books that 
 were laid before him ; books quite unfuitable to 
 his tafle and capacity, and only fitted to iill him 
 with difguft i.nd defpair : he v/as roufed from his 
 drowfineis by the feciet and flow fcimulations of 
 divine grace : he then began to recoiled: the claffical 
 knowledge he had acquired, in a dry and dull manner, 
 at the grammar fchool : he reviewed his Greek: he 
 read the Greek Teflament with dilioence : he re- 
 viewed Homer and Xenophon, and began to difcern 
 the ailonifhing beauties in thole works of genius 
 and eloquence -, and at laft arofe to as niafteriy 
 an acquaintance with Homer's Iliad and OdyfTey, as 
 mofl fcholars in the whole world. Perhaps no man 
 had a greater fenhbility to the beauties of that daring 
 genius. Homer : no man entered with greater eleva- 
 tion, and penetration of thought, into the charadlers, 
 the fpeeches, the aftions, the ardent imaginations, the 
 powerful pafTions, and the daring adtions of valour in 
 Achilles, He6lor, and the other heroes in the Greek 
 and Trojan armies : it fet his foul all on fire. 
 
 In a courfe of eight years Hervey had perufcd, 
 v/ith great attention, the feledt beauties of the Greek 
 and Roman clafTics ;. but in the year 1741, divine 
 c^race drew him fi om the feet of Homer and Demoft- 
 henes, to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, his 
 heavenly tutors and there he abode for eighteen 
 years. Now the Greek Teftament was the darling ob- 
 je6l of his foul 3 and in conjunction with the Hebrew 
 
 Bible, 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 149 
 
 Bible, were the great medium of his acquaintance 
 with Christ. He roved through the flowery fields 
 of the four Evangelitls with unutterable furprize, ad- 
 miration, and efteem. He found the Lord Jesus 
 the object of thehigheft benevolence and gratitude. 
 
 Hervey^s fldll in the LATIN LANGUAGE. 
 
 He underftood the beauties of the Latin ton^rue 
 as well as any man ; and perhaps better than m.oil 
 claflical Ichoiars in the world. He did not content 
 himfeif with a mere dry plodding over letters and 
 fyllablesj merely to under (land the grammatical fenfe 
 of words, but he entered with genius and fpiric into 
 the meaning of the auchors he read, and the beauties 
 of fentiment and cumpofition. A dull fecond-rate 
 claflic had no charms for him, and therefore he laid 
 them by with coldnefs and indifference. An author 
 who wrote with ardent imagination, and enlivened 
 paffion i who painted the chara6ters of great men; 
 entered into the fprings of their acTtions j defcribed the 
 battles of heroes ; reprefented the grand effedls of peace 
 or war ; the eredion or ruin of kingdoms ^ the awful 
 convuifions of nature ^ the amjable charms of corn- 
 fields j the pictures of rural nature; the cultivation of 
 land ', the policy ; the good governmiCnt and order of 
 bees ; their exquifite produ6iions of combs and honey ; 
 with a thoufand beautiful dialogues of fhepherds — - 
 
 Thefe, v/ith innumerable other beauties, let fire to 
 Hervey's imagination -, raifed his pafTions to the highefl 
 tone and energy, and took pofTeffion of his whole loul. 
 All thefe beauties Hervey found in one author; but 
 for the lad years of his life, his tafte for holinefs, and 
 his devotion to CeRisr, had almofc expelled the love 
 of Virgil out of his heart. To ihew my love and 
 refpedt for him, as foon as ever Bafkerville's beauti- 
 ful edition of Virgil in quarto was publiflbed, I car- 
 ried it to him as a prefent. He received me with his 
 ufual fweetnefs, and exprelTed the tendereft gratitude 
 
 for 
 
I^ HTS CHARACTER 
 
 for my regard to him. Said he, " My dear friend, if 
 *' I intended to keep this book, I vvouki accept it j but 
 " as I fhall never read it, you muft allow me to pay 
 .^^ for it, for I (hall furely give it away." 
 
 Let me obl'erve, that amongft many of the claffic 
 authors, as he had one favourite among the poets, fo 
 he had one that he valued above all the prole writers, 
 and looked upon as a mafter-piece of eloquent de- 
 fcription, and that was the fecond part of TuUy's 
 book De Natura Deorum. If Tully had done as well 
 on the firft and third part of that book, he would have 
 deferved the approbation and praifes of the whole 
 world. 
 
 Hervey had a clear fenfe of the grandeur and beau- 
 ty of fentiments and language in the orations of De- 
 mofthenes and Cicero -, and if he had pofieifed health 
 and fpirits equal to his genius and tafte, he could have 
 transfufed them into the Englilh language with energy 
 and beauty peculiar to himfelf, difplaying of the 
 lively beauties of the Englilli language, of which he 
 was fo ^reat a mafter. 
 
 His knowledge of 
 
 GEOGRAPHY and ASTRONOMY. 
 
 His clafTical tutor, who taught him the languages of 
 Latin and Greek for ten years, was one of the moil 
 neo;lio;ent and unfaithful men in the whole world. He 
 never made but one remark upon the Greek Tefla- 
 ment, and that was a remiark fit only for a fool to 
 make. When he led him in his abfurd method through 
 the claffics, he never laid before him fo much as a 
 fingle map of any of thole countries which are de- 
 fcribed by the Greek and Latin hiftorians and poets. 
 His tutor at Lincoln college, in Oxford, was the fame 
 lazy and worthlefs charadler : he took no fort of care 
 and pains in his education ; of which, out of a thou- 
 fand proofs, this is one ; that after Mr. Hervey had 
 entered into orders, he happened to be in company 
 
 with 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 15, 
 
 with fome gentlemen, who were fpeaking of Jerufa- 
 iem; he was fo ignorant, as not to know where Jeru- 
 falem flood : he knew nothing of the 'latitude of the 
 place, nor the quarter of the world where it was built. 
 He was fo flung with fhame at his own ignorance, 
 and roufed to indignation at his tutors, that he went 
 immediately and bought a book of maps, and fludied 
 Geography in all its parts, with fuch diligence and at- 
 tention, that he became one of the firfl Geographers 
 in the whole world. 
 
 He was equally ignorant of Aflronomy, or the fci- 
 €nce of the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stany Heavens. 
 He fludied Dr. Derham's Aflro-theology, with fuch 
 incelTant diligence, and unbounded delight, that he 
 made himfelf mafter of the Newtonian Syftem of the 
 Heavens. This enlarged the capacity of his under- 
 flanding to a moil extraordinary degree, and enabled 
 him to take in great and fublime ideas of God, in his 
 being, attributes, and perfeclions, and to receive new 
 and uncommon ideas of the Godhead and glory of 
 Christ, without a childiih furprize, or abfurd aver- 
 fion. This enabled him to furvey ten thoufand grand 
 ideas in a beautiful arrangement, and a regular fuc- 
 cefHon. 
 
 Hervey's admirable fkill in ANATOMY. 
 
 He thoroughly underflood the flru6lure and oeco- 
 nomy of the human body. He was well acquainted 
 with the fyflem of the bones, and cartilages by which 
 thofe bones were connedted. He was well acquainted 
 with the do6lrine of the mufcles, and the tendons in 
 which thefe mufcles terminate. He was clearly ac- 
 quainted with the whole fyflem of the arteries, by 
 which the blood is conveyed from the heart, to all 
 parts of the body and the veins, which are the fame 
 canals inverted, by which the blood is brought back 
 to the heart again. He had an exquifite knowledge 
 of the nature of digeftion, nutrition, and circulation: 
 
 be 
 
x^2 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 he traced the chyle from all its velTels, to its grand re-, 
 ceptacle at the left kidney : he followed it up through 
 its glorious tube, the chojacic duit, 'till it poured 
 its vital treafure into the right auicle of the heart: 
 he purfued it into the right venrncle, and from thence 
 bv the pulmonary arteries, to both the lobes of the 
 lungs : he purfued it by the fame canals inverted, 
 called the pulmonary veins, to the left auricle of the 
 heart : from the hit aui icl.e, he faw it into the left ven- 
 tricle ^ and from thence he purfued its vital tour by 
 the grand artery, down by the back bone, to the end 
 of the toes ; and by another beautiful artery to the 
 top of the head, and to the ends of the fingers. And 
 thus, at the rate of fixty ounces in a minute, and at 
 the length of feventeen yaids in the fame time, the 
 blood has played itfcif off ever fince we were born. 
 
 Let us now view Hervey, who, on the principles of 
 the o-lorious Gofpel, had a mod exquifite knowledge of 
 MORAL PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 This beautiful and glorious fcience confifts of two 
 parts, PiAPPiNESS and Virtue. 
 
 Happinefs confifts in the fruition of the fupreme 
 good. The fupreme good is an cbjett defirable for 
 its ov/n fake. It is that which removes all pofTible 
 evil from the body and foul of man. It mud, by its 
 own virtue, remiove all natural evil, which is pain, 
 difeafes, poverty, and death. It mud remove all mo- 
 ral evil, or an habitual violation of God's eternal and 
 immutable law, v/ith all charge of offence, which is 
 guilt, or an obligation to punidiment. It mud re-- 
 move all eternal evil, confiding in the pain of lofs, or 
 ah eternal difunion from the dipreme good ; and 
 from the pain of fenfe, which is an eternal feeling of 
 the holy judice of God, giving us a lively confciouf- 
 nefs of God's hatred and wrath againft our perfojas 
 and crimes. 
 
 The 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 155 
 
 The fuprcme good mufl: have another property j it 
 muft be immutably and univerfally the fame, with- 
 out any difcontinuance and lofsj that is, to fay, it mu'^ 
 be as frelh and lively after the fruition of ten thou- 
 fand agesj as it is nowj being known it muft make a 
 wife man; being intenfely loved, muft make a good 
 man; and being richly enjoyed, m.uft make a happy- 
 man. 
 
 Enjoyment, or fruition, confifts in five things ; 
 perception, union, reft, ufe, and delight. It is im- 
 poflible for any man to be happy without a fplritu- 
 al perception of Christ: no man can be happy 
 without a vital union with Christ: no man can be 
 happy without a total reft in the perfon and blood 
 of CiiPvIst: no man can be happy without a free 
 and full ufe of the righteoufnels of Christ: no man 
 can be happy without a delight in Christ; that is to 
 fay, an habitual love and joy in his perfedions and 
 beauty. No man can be happy v/ithout an ardent 
 zeal for his glory, as the ultimate end and intention 
 of his eternal exiftence. 
 
 Hervcy knew Christ as the fapreme good, as 
 well as any man in the world; and he knew that 
 vital virtue, flowing out of the fulnefs of Christ, 
 was the only means of bi-inging him to the fruition 
 of this fuDreme g-ood. 
 
 J. o 
 
 All the Pagan philofophers were blind and mi- 
 fei-able men; they profeiled themfelves to be wiie, 
 but becamte fools. The epicureans placed happinefs 
 in fenfual o;ood; the difcioles of Ariftotle and Zeno ; 
 the one placed happinefs in the habits of virtue; 
 the other placed happinefs in the actions of virtue. 
 Plato, and his followers, ailertcd, that happinefs 
 confifted in a perception of the divine goodnefs and 
 beauty; but he never knew, for one moment, the 
 right method of attaining an union with, aud en- 
 joyment of the fupreme beauty and good. The 
 Platonic world, by wifdom, knew not God. 
 
 U How 
 
154 H I S C H A R A C T E R 
 
 How ought we to love and adore the infinite 
 goodnefs and mercy of God, in giving us a revela- 
 tion of the fupreme good. We were totally igno- 
 rant of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is an objedb 
 infinitely defirable for his own fake, and not for the 
 fake of any thing elfej for then that obje6t would be 
 before him, and above him, and confequently he 
 would not be the fupreme good; our Lord Jesus 
 Christ has another property of the fupreirx good, 
 and that is, He is able wholly to remove from us all 
 natural, moral, and eternal evils ^ and he is equally 
 able and willing to bellow upon us, all natural, mo- 
 ral, and eternal good. He can give us a happinefs 
 as large as our wifhes, and lading as our fouls; a 
 happinefs which an immortal foul fhall never out- 
 live, and an eternal God fhall never ceafe to com- 
 municate. 
 
 Our God and Saviour is an unperifning good, 
 and the fruition of him will be as lively and frefh 
 after millions of ages are rolled away, as he was at 
 the beginning of our enjoyment of his prefence. 
 Flervey knew as well as any man, by happy experi- 
 ence, the nature of the fruition of the fupreme good: 
 he had a clear perception, a forcible underftanding 
 of the nature of this good: he felt an intenfe union 
 with it, an entire reft of heart in it, a freehand full 
 ufe of Christ's perfon and righteoufnefs; an habi- 
 tual delight in him, as the fti ength of his heart, and 
 his portion for ever. 
 
 Let us now take a viev/ of the fecond part of 
 moral philofophy, which is VIRTUE. 
 
 Virtue is a free and intentional conformity of our 
 nature and adlions to the nature and will of God. 
 
 Here let us confider the feat and fubjedl of virtue 
 i — The underfianding:, ivill^ and affetlmis. The under- 
 ftanding may be confidered as fpeculative or practi- 
 cal. The underftanding as fpecula'tive, is that 
 power of the foul which fimply views the exiftence 
 
 and 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 155 
 
 and nature of all obje6ls, v/ithout any regard to our 
 happinefs, or the confequences of adions. A man's 
 unoerllanding may be faid to be found^ when he h^s 
 a clear perception of the nature of all things in hea- 
 ven, earth, and hell ; when he has a complete con- 
 ception cf an objedt in all its parts, and a compre- 
 heniive conception of all its properties; when he has 
 an extenfive conception of any being in all its kinds; 
 and v/hen he has an orderly conception or under- 
 ftanding of a fubjedl in due method. 
 
 The pradlical underftanding, confiders the nature 
 of actions in their moral qualities; and the confe- 
 quences of a6lions, with refpe6l to tim.e and eternity. 
 In this view, the underftanding may be faid to be in 
 a found ftate, when it clearly conceives of the eternity 
 and immutability of the divine law, and our infinite 
 obligations to obey its commands, with the fitnefs and 
 reafonablenefs of that obedience : when we have a 
 fbrong fenfe of the immaculate purity of God, and a 
 very keen conception of the infinite evil of fin, as it 
 ftrikes at all poffible and infinite good, and fixes a 
 ftain in the foul to an infinite duration ; as it makes 
 the foul fubjed: to fuffer the lofs of an infinite good, 
 and to feel that infinite lofs to all eternity. 
 
 The moral underftanding may be confidered in a 
 found ftate, when it has a forcible apprehenfion of 
 the iitnels, goodnefs, and beauty of Gofpel holinefs, 
 and feels that perception attended with the higheft ad- 
 miration and efteem, with the utmoft veneration ^and 
 benevolence. 
 
 The will of MAN 
 
 Is that rational appetite of the foul, which purfues 
 every objeft that appears good, and avoids every ob- 
 ject that appears evil. The will may be faid to be in 
 a found ftate, when all its volitions and dererminati- 
 ons are conformable to the will of God: it is this that 
 conftitutes the efience of virtue. On the other hand, 
 the will is in an unlbund and corrupt ftate, when its 
 
 U 2 volitions 
 
ts6 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 volitions and determinations are continually oppofite 
 to the revealed will of God. 
 
 The efience and lile of fin, ccnfifts in the habitual 
 inclination of the will to difobey the will of Godj and 
 the fum total of the inadnefs and rebfliion of man- 
 kind, confifts in a perpetual attempt to fubje^l the 
 will, glory, and majefty cf God, to the corrupt deter- 
 minations, humours, and lulls of men. Hence fpring 
 all the miferies that have plagued, and will plague 
 and ruin the human race to eternity. On the other 
 hand, if we view our lovely author, I mufl declare 
 once more, in the divine prefence, that I never law a 
 human will fo totally abforbed in the v\/ili of God: 
 not a fimple motion in Providence, but he ftri^tiy at- 
 tended to it: not a hint of the good pleafure of God, 
 but he freely obeyed it. He clearly fav/, that in a 
 mofc chearful and lively conformity of his whole foul, 
 to the pleafure and commands of God his Saviour, 
 the whole dignity, glory, and felicity of man, en- 
 tirely confifts. 
 
 The acquifition of the dom.inion cf our lyftem, 
 
 and the pofTefTion of all the riches and glory of the 
 
 univer-fe, had no charm.s for him, when com.pared 
 
 _with a little farther conformity to the hoiinefs of 
 
 God in his law. 
 
 Let us now confider the nature of virtue, as it is 
 feated in the AFFECTIONS. 
 
 The arfeclions are fenfible motions of the foul, 
 arifing from an unufual objecSt fuited to excite that 
 motion. The pafTions of the foul are to be confi- 
 dered as primitive or derivative 3 as fim.ple or comi- 
 pound. 
 
 The primitive pafTions are admiration, love, and 
 hatred i efteem and contempt; benevolence and mia- 
 levolencej complacency and dilblicency. 
 
 The derivative pafTions are defire and averfion ; 
 hope and fear; joy and forrow; gratitude and anget. 
 All thefe pafTions in Kervev's heart were confecrated' 
 
 entirely 
 
^ D1 V^ 
 
 AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 157 
 
 entirely to. the pleafure and glory of God his Re- 
 deemer. His admiration was fixed upon an objed 
 the moil Qrrand, nevv', and beautiful in the univerfe 
 ' — he difcerned a perlbnj whole nanrie is 
 
 Wonderful: Counsellor: The Strong or 
 Mighty God: The Father of Eternity: The 
 Prince of Peace. 
 
 LOVE. 
 
 Tovc is the moft powerful pafiion of the hunnan 
 foul : it is a delightful union of the heart, with an 
 obje6l confidered as good. Hcrvey knew where to 
 find the true good, the greateft good : he knew that 
 this good was fuited to the higheft and nobleil pow- 
 ers of the human foul : that it was adapted to the 
 nature of man in every period of time, and in every 
 nation all round the globe. He knew that this good 
 would fupport a fteady ferenity amidll all the vexa- 
 tions and troubles of human life : that it would en- 
 liven and fweeten all other lav/ful enjoyments: that 
 the fruition of this good would ftand the ted of the 
 moil fevere refiedlion : that it would improve upon 
 longer experience \ and upon the moft frequent repe- 
 tition, yield fcill higher fruitions : that it might be 
 enjoyed without biuihes and fhame, or the lead pain- 
 ful r-emorfe of confcience : that it was fuperior to our 
 ■greateft capacities for happinefs, and lading as our 
 eternal exiftence. 
 
 If v/e {zx. the fupreme good in a vigorous contraft 
 with the honours, riches, and pleafures of this world, 
 it will appear greatly heightened by the comparifon. 
 
 Temporal good is not fuited to our highefl facul- 
 ties: it is not adapted to the nature of man : it will 
 not fupport a fceady ferenity under all the vexations 
 of life : an excefs in worldly gratifications imbitters 
 • and poifons the common comforts of life : worldly 
 
 enjoy- 
 
I58r; HIS CHARACTER 
 
 enjoyments will not ftand the teil of cool and delin 
 berate reafon : worldly lufts grow more bitter and 
 tormenting, upon longer experience : the more flat, 
 infipid, and naufeous, are all worldly pleafures, on fre- 
 auent repetition : worldly lulls can never be enjoyed 
 without biufhes and fliame -, that is, forrovv and felf- 
 contempt; for a man knows himfelf to be a fool, whilil 
 he is gratifying lull ; and he can never enjoy the ap- 
 probation of his own heart. Worldly pleafures are all 
 inferior to our capacities of happinefs j and we feel 
 them too little for the mighty grafp of an immortal 
 foul. Worldly lufts die away ; they are v^nifliing as 
 a fhadov/ ; empty as a bubble, and lighter than a fea- 
 ther : the power of gratification is loon lofl : the ob- 
 jeds of fruition fly away as fwift as lightening, and 
 leave nothing behind but ilench and darknels, and the 
 tortures of the damned, 
 
 Hervey's great underftanding faw die truth of all 
 thefe things in the ciearefl and ftrongell point of 
 liaht: he flew with the force and quickncfs of ce- 
 ieilial fire, from all ungodiinefs and vvorkily lufts ; 
 and his will and paiTions darted with their full force 
 and fire into the infinite beauty of God his Saviour. 
 
 The PASSION of HATRED 
 
 Ts a defne of difunion from an objecfl, confidered as 
 intrinfically evil, ugly, and deteftable ; pernicious and 
 deftrudlive of our peace and happinefs. The firfl 
 *)b-ie6t of hatred in the univerft, is fm, or mioral evil, 
 which is a departure from the beautiful ordci" of God 5 
 a violation of his revealed will, and a defperate en- 
 iriity to infinite goodne^j. 
 
 No creature ought ro be the obje^l: of our hatred, 
 confidered Hmply as the production of God, devils, 
 and bad men: viewed as clothed with evil qualities, 
 may be hated, and ought to be hated as the enemits 
 of God. No man had a m.ore intenfe liatred of fif! 
 fhan our excellent friend -, and as holinefs grew more 
 
 rooted 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 1^9 
 
 rooted in the habits, and rofe higher in the exertion 
 of the a6iions, his hatred of fin continually increafed. 
 We have already viewed him in his efteem for 
 Christ, confidered as an object good in himfelf: in 
 his benevolence to Christ, confidering him as wor- 
 thy to receive good : in his defires after Christ, con- 
 fidered as fit to do us good, and fuited to make us 
 happy : he had a complacency in Christ, confidered 
 as an objedl of perfe6l beauty and delight. 
 
 His contempt, averfion, malevolence, and bitter 
 difguft, were all pointed at the deteftable ugiinefs of 
 moral evil. 
 
 His hope in the righteoufnefs and fatisfa6lion of 
 Christ, rofe as high as the third heavens : his fear 
 filled him with av/e of the great God: made him 
 dread to offend him, and eager to pleafe him. His 
 joys all terminated in Christ, as an ocean of infinite 
 perfeclion : his forrows arofe from a confcioufnefs of 
 his pafl unkindnefs to his dear Redeemer, and a keen 
 fenfe of prefent depravity of heart : his gratitude had 
 no other bounds than the infinitude of God's exillence 
 and duration. He had the moft delicate fenfe of the 
 excellency and v/orth of bleffings received. " I knov/, 
 " (faid he, when dying,) what my dear Redeep^ier 
 *^ has done for me." He had the moll lively per- 
 ception of the fpirit and fpring of his Redeemer'js 
 ad;ions and fufferino;s, and that was felf-movin"; love. 
 He had an ardent deli re to make all poffible returns : 
 he wifhed for better ability to be more grateful, and he 
 determined never to lay gratitude afide, but with the 
 extinftion of his being, and his total lofs of all con- 
 fcioufnefs. He was always difpleafed with himfelf, 
 v/hen he felt the leall failure in gratitude ; and he de- 
 lighted in his own exiflence, when he found a grateful 
 heart. 
 
 We have already obferv ed, that the pafnons are ei- 
 ther fimple or compound. We muft not pretend to 
 go through all the vaft variety of the pafTions of the 
 
 heart: 
 
o' 
 
 i6o HIS CHARACTER 
 
 heart : their number, nature, caufes, appearances, pains, 
 pleafurcs, ends, and ufes, if confidered as they de- 
 lerve> would make a large treatife by itfelf. Let us 
 only confider tht combination of the fimpie paflions 
 in a very few inftances. 
 
 Honour is a generous fenfe of right and wrong 
 and is always attended with the compound paffion 
 ftiled ambition. Ambition is compofed of vivid 
 wonder and vaft defire: it admires an objeci:. confi- 
 dered as great : it defires that objedl,- confidered 
 as good. A holy ambition was created by God, in 
 ihc firil formation of the human foul : its grand 
 dcCign and ufc was to attach man to God for ever 
 and ever. This pafTion man wickedly tore from 
 his breail. In » regeneration, Christ re-infufes it 
 into the foul, on purpofe that man might live in 
 an eternal union with him.felf, as the fountain of all 
 honour. Hervey was one of the moil ambitious men 
 in the whole world:' he had a mofl intenfe defire 
 of the eternal approbation of his great Mailer : no- 
 thing fnort of the delight of Christ in the hap- 
 pinels of his foul, could iatisfy his immortal mind. 
 Glory is another compound paiTion: it is made up 
 of immenfe joy in an objcdl, and boundlel's fejf-love, 
 animated by a fenfe of our intereft in that objefl. 
 Notwithfianding the feebleneis of Mr. Hervey 's con- 
 ilitution of body, and the precariouhiefs of his health, 
 with the langour of his Ipirits, and the preiTures of his 
 animal ftiuclure upon the powers of his mind, he had 
 within him the feeds of immortal glory: thefe feeds 
 of divine fire flaflied out into meridian brightnefs on , 
 a thoufand occafions : witnefs that paiTage in his Me- 
 ditations among The Tombs — " Wonder ! O man ! 
 be loft in admiration at the events v/hich are com- 
 ing on the univerfe !" — Witnefshis expofition of that 
 paifage in the firil Book of Kings, chap.viii. IVUIGqd 
 in very deed dwell with man upon the eartB ! Wi tnefs 
 his mofl lublime refiedions on that paifage in Rev. x. 
 
WITH DIGNITY AND PREROGATIVES. i6i 
 
 "Time jhall be no longer, Witnefs his rhapfody on the 
 bleiTings of the Golpelj Dialogue XVIi. Witnefs the 
 aftonifliino; o-randeur of his thoudits on the heavens 
 and earth flying away from the prefence of the Son 
 of God, Rev. xx. Witnefs his Palnaarian eloquence, 
 which tranfcends every thing, his Meditations on 
 the 40th Chapter of Ifaiah, page 60, in his Eleven 
 Letters on Christ's Imputed Righteoufnefs. But 
 who can number all his beauties. I mud only add 
 his unparalleled Expofition of thofe words: " The 
 " loftinefs of man fhall be bowed down, and the 
 " haughtinefs of m.en fnall be made low, and the 
 ^^ Lord Jesus alone fliall be exalted in that day," 
 Ifai. ii. 10, 22. — See the Eleven Letters, page 79 — 82. 
 
 The RULE of VIRTUE 
 
 Is the y/ill of Christ grounded in the conflitu- 
 ticn and powers of man, and made known by the 
 light of reafon and divine revelation. God our Sa- 
 viour has given comimon fenfe to the whole world; 
 and in this view he is the light to every man that 
 comes into exidence. 
 
 Common {tiiic is a power of perceiving truth by 
 a fudden impulfe, independent of our will, prior to 
 all reafoning, and to all kinds of education: it is ef- 
 fential to the human mind, to fee that all things are 
 not alike true, nor alike falfe, nor alike fit, nor alike 
 unfit, nor alike good, nor alike evil, nor alike beau- 
 tiful, nor alike deformed, nor alike happy, nor alike 
 miferable. 
 
 Thefe perceptions of commion fenfe take place in 
 a moment, whenever their obje6]:s are prefented; and 
 r.hefe decifions of common fenfe, are like a fudden 
 impulfe, much quicker than any reafonings whatfoever, 
 and prior to all inftrudtions from mankind. 
 
 Moral good and evil are wifely marked out by the 
 different natural efFedls which they produce: moral 
 good always produces natural good, that is, pleafure 
 
 X and 
 
i6z HI S CHAR ACT ER 
 
 and happinels: moral evil always produces natural 
 evil, that is, pain and mifery: moral good always 
 iflues in honour: moral evil always ilTues in dif- 
 grace and fhame: moral good is always attended 
 with gain and advantage; moral evil is always at- 
 tended with lofs and damage. Thefe invariable ef- 
 fecls, which take place in all mankind all round the 
 globe, in every period of time, are the wife inter- 
 pretations of the will of Christ, and the eternal and 
 immutable fandions of his law. 
 
 All thefe explanations and demonftrations of the 
 law of nature, are illuminated, enlarged, improved, 
 and enforced, by the fuperior light of divine reve- 
 lation. 
 
 Hervey faw, as clearly as any man, the infuffici- 
 ency of the light of reafon in its prefent (late, to 
 lead us to happinefs and virtue. This gave him a 
 mod endeared and tranicendent efleem for the Holy 
 Scriptures. He loved every particle of truth in the 
 Hebrew Bible and the Greek Teilament: he fcorned 
 to read the Bible with other mens eyes: he difdained 
 the fault of being on a level with the boy that wiped 
 his horfes heels. This is fuch an indignity to the 
 charadler of a preacher, which no man of genius, 
 fpirit, and good itn^ty will ever endure; a generous 
 preacher will be afliamed to afcend the pulpit ignorant 
 of the facred originals, and the contents of his great 
 Mafter's commiflion and inftruclions: and he will, 
 by inceffant attention and prayer, form a familiar ac- 
 quaintance with the infpiied Scriptures of God. 
 
 The NATURE of VIRTUE. 
 
 , Virtue is a free and intentional conformity of our 
 whole nature and choice to the rectitude, purity, and 
 determinations of the will of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, manifefted by common kni't!'^ rcafon, and 
 revelation. 
 
 Vice 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 163 
 
 Vice is the difconformity of our nature, will, ao 
 tions, and pafTions, to the will of God. 
 
 Virtue is the produ6lion of the greateft happinefs 
 to mankind : it is the confornnity of our adlions to 
 the piiblic good — vice is the production of pain to 
 mankind: it is the increafe of mifery in the univerfe. 
 
 Virtue is the knowledge of God's moral attributes 
 — vice is an ignorance of the nature and perfections 
 of the Deity. Virtue is an ardent union of the will 
 with God — vice is a determined enmity of the will 
 to God. Virtue is a high veneration for the divine 
 character — vice is an infinite contempt of the being 
 and dignity of God. Virtue is a fixed regard to the 
 divine will, and a free fubmiflion to the divine domi- 
 nion — vice is a wicked refiftance of the will of God, 
 and a vile attempt to fubje6t God*s pleafure to our 
 humours and lufts. Virtue is a noble trud in the care 
 of divine Providence— vice is a dlflrufl of the honour 
 and faithfulnefs of God. Virtue loves to converfe 
 with the Deity in all his vv^orks of creation and pro- 
 vidence — vice is blind to God in the flructure and 
 operations of the univerfe, Vircue loves to fee God 
 in every thing— vice difcerns God in none of the 
 works of his hands. Virtue loves to converfe with 
 God in the Sacred Scriptures— vice hates the Scrip- 
 tures with the venomous malice of the devil. 
 
 Virtue clearly perceives the fitnefs, fulnefs, power, 
 beauty, and grace, of the Lord Jesus Christ— 
 vice fees no titnefs in him, defpifcs his fulnefs, defies 
 his power, Iiates his beauty, and fcorns his grace. 
 Virtue loves to imitate the example of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ — vice loves to copy the example of 
 the devil and all bad men. Virtue loves to fit at 
 Christ's feet to learn of him every thing great, good, 
 venerable, and wonderful — vice loves to fit at the 
 feet of the devil, and to be led captive by him at his 
 will. Virtue loves a full confidence in Christ's in- 
 
 X 2 tercefiion 
 
164. HIS CHAR ACTE R 
 
 tercefiion — vice fcorns that interceffion, and re- 
 nounces it for ever. 
 
 Virtue loves the divinity, perfonality, and opera- 
 tions of God the Holy Spirit — vice hates the divine 
 perfon of the Spirit of GoDj and fcorns all his gra- 
 cious influences. Virtue loves the fpirit of truth — 
 vice loves the fpirit of error. Virtue loves the teach- 
 ing and guidance of the Spirit — vice loves the in- 
 ftruclions and Q;uidance of the devil. Virtue loves to 
 be fealed with the innage of Christ — vice loves to be 
 inftampcd with the refennblance of fatan. Virtue loves 
 the fpirit of wifdom and revelation— vice loves the 
 fpirit of folly and darknefs. 
 
 Virtue loves the v;hole world of mankind with 
 ardent and intenfe affection — vice hates all the hu- 
 man race, and ardently loves their utter deftrudlion. 
 Vircue delights in the v/hoie houihold of faith — vice 
 would perfecutc all Chriflians to the death. Virtue 
 loves the beauty of univerfal juftice — vice delights 
 in all kinds of unrighteoufnefs. Virtue delights in 
 fincerity of heart — vice loves hypocrify and deceit. 
 Virtue teaches our lips the utmoil veracity — vice 
 infpires our tongues with the fpirit of lying. Vir- 
 tue loves faithfulnefs in all cur aftions — vice 
 makes us falfe and fickle in all the relations of life. 
 Virtue infpires us with a fpirit of candour, in judg- 
 ing the perfons and aftions of m.ankind — vice is in- 
 tenfely cenforious and unkind to the whole human 
 race. Virtue has flrong compaiTion for poor men as 
 miferable — vice is cruel as the grave, and barba- 
 rous as hell. Virtue is exceedingly merciful to mens 
 fouls — vice aims to murder them ail. Virtue has a 
 fpirit of generous forgivenefs of all offences — vice 
 fays, " I will never forgive or forget, but purfue 
 '/ every offence v/ith a fweet revenge." Virtue is a 
 fpirit of deep humility — vice is a fpirit of haughti- 
 neA and pride. Virtue is a ipirit of meeknefs and 
 quietnefs — vice is a fpirit of rail:! anger and boifterous 
 
 rage. 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 165 
 
 rage. Virtue is a fpirit of patience and contentment 
 — vice is a fpirit of fretfulnefs and murmuring at di- 
 vine Providence. Virtue is a fpirit of felf-denial in 
 all things, but efpecially a denial of our own righte- 
 oufnefs for j unification — vice is a violent and corrupt 
 felfiftnefs, and a vain confidence in our own works 
 to juflify us before God. Virtue commands our ap- 
 petites into fobriety and temperance — vice inflames 
 our appetites for rioting and drunkennefs. Virtue 
 teaches us chaftity in body, foul, paflions, and ima- 
 gination — vice inflamiCS the blood, enrages the paf- 
 fions for impurity, pollutes the imagination, and 
 renders foul and body a (lave to lufb. 
 
 Through all thefe virtues which fhone in Hervey's 
 temper and character, there appeared fome fignal 
 qualities which animated and adorned all the reft; 
 fuch were fincerity, tendernefs, zeal, prudence, and 
 perfeverance. 
 
 Sincerity was the life blood of all his gi-aces : it 
 was the g:olden thread that ran throuo;h the whole v/eb 
 of his Chriftian life. Sincerity animated him to an 
 ardent intention to pleafe God in every thing through 
 his whole courfe. Sincerity prompted him to en- 
 quire into the whole will of God, and afluated him 
 to drive after a total compliance with that will, as 
 far as he knew it. Sincerity was the caufe of an ex- 
 adt correfpondence between his thoughts, words, and 
 a6lions: he had no wifh or intention to deceive God 
 or man : he was the fame uniform great character 
 through life. 
 
 Tenderness is an exquifite and lively fenfibility of 
 -the prefence of God with the hum»an mind: it in- 
 cludes in it pungent remorfe of confcience, whenever 
 we violate the eternal rule of riQ;ht and wrono-; a ten- 
 der regard for the honour and glory of Christ, as 
 the true God, and eternal life ; a tender refentment 
 of the leaft injury done to his divine charadter and 
 righteoufnefs 3 a tender regard for his holy law and 
 
 Gofpel: 
 
i66 H I S C H A R A C T E R 
 
 Gofpel; and a tender concern for the intereft and 
 happincfs of his people, and the advancement of his 
 kingdom in the world. 
 
 Zeal is a compound palTion, made up of love and 
 anger: love to an objefl, confidered as beautiful and 
 good ; and anger at every per ion and thing which 
 have a tendency to injure that objedl. The original 
 Hebrew word, which we tranfiate zeal, fignifies re- 
 fentment for the deareil thing. Plervey had a mod 
 powerful and ardent love to Christ : had the utmoft 
 regard for his precious righteoufnefs j confequently 
 his anger muft rife againft every thing which eclipfed 
 the giory of that perfon, or depreciated the worth of 
 that righteoufnefs. His zeal appears through all his 
 works, but it ihines in its meridian glory in many 
 pages in his Eleven Letters on Juflification. 
 
 Whenever Pagan or Chrifcian fyftems of moral 
 philofophy were fet up in competition with Christ, 
 to eclipfe his righteoufnefs, or to rival the excellency 
 of evangelical holinefs, he treated them with infinite 
 fcorn and indignation. 
 
 All fyftems of moral philofophy, without Christ, 
 were with him upon an equal footing with Ariftotle's 
 Ethics, and Tully's offices. — -*^ Give me," faid he to 
 me, " any of their fyftems of morals, I will take all 
 " their heathen virtues, and turn them into Chriftian 
 " graces: I will reprefent them as Bowing from vital 
 <* union with Christ; as animated by the Spirit of 
 " Christ, and enforced by m^otives drawn from the 
 '< Gofpel of Christ." 
 
 This excellent zeal in Hervey's bofom was a per- 
 manent principle of habitual love to, and concern 
 for, the glory of Christ's perfon and graces and ten 
 thoufand creations offered him as a price to deny or 
 diminidi one tittle of Christ's honour, would have 
 met with infinite indignation and abhorrence. 
 
 Prudence confifts in propofing the nobleft end of 
 all our adionsj in ufing the beft means to attain that 
 
 endi 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 167 
 
 end; in obferving the fitted clrcumflances of time, 
 and nnanner of adion; in preventing all reafons for 
 bitter repentance, and guarding agamft every iliing 
 that may defeat the higheft end and intention we have 
 in view. If we try Ilervey's character by this de- 
 fcription of prudence, we fnall have reafon to efleem 
 and venerate him in the higheit degree. The end 
 that he propofed, was the difplay of the boundlefs 
 glory of Chr ist. The means that he made ufe ofi 
 were faith and love, and the gracious promifes of the 
 Gofpel. In all his converfation, ftudies, preaching 
 and writings, he obferved the fitted circumflances of 
 time and manner; and by the affiftance of God the 
 Holy Spirit, he fecured himfelf from bitter repentance, 
 and guarded againfl all defeat of his fupreme end. 
 
 Perseverance implies a continuance in all gra- 
 cious habits of the heart, and holy adions in the life. 
 It fcorns to ferve our Lord Jesus Christ by fits and 
 Itarts, being fometimxCs as hot as fire, and at other 
 times as cold as ice; fometimes ferving God, and 
 other times ferving the devil; fometimes purfuino* 
 the pleafures of fin, and at other times the pleafures 
 of religion; fometimes running with their faces to- 
 wards hell, in company with the people of this world; 
 and at other times running our race with true Chrif- 
 tians, after the prize of celeftial glory. 
 
 Hervey defpifed this inconfiftent condud:, this de- 
 teftabie duplicity of charader. Pie was not always in 
 one equal frame of lively devotion and joy, but he was 
 habitually ready to receive any frefh notices of celef- 
 tial truth ; and he had an habitual difpofition to catch 
 fire whenever the great objed was propofed; thatob- 
 jed of his faith v/hich was the chiefeft an:ong ten thou- 
 fand, and altogether lovely. 
 
 MOTIVES TO VIRTUE. 
 A motive is the confideration of good or evil, 
 which determines the choice, and excites to adion: 
 
 it 
 
i68 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 it is an impulfe to move by the fenfe of good, to b« 
 enjoyed, or evil to be avoided. To propofe a mo- 
 tive, is to give an impulfe to the mind and palTions 
 by propofing fuch objc6ls to the iinderflanding, will, 
 and paffions, which have the fitted tendency to roufe 
 the fprings of aclion to piirfue all that is good, and 
 avoid all that is evil. 
 
 Thefe motives, drawn from reafon and fcripture, 
 are addreffed to fear, hope, gratitude, interefl, gain, 
 lofs, honour, difgrace, pain, pleafure, ambition, fhame, 
 and glory. 
 
 Thefe motives pour in upon us from all quarters, 
 like light from all the parts of the ftarry heavens ; 
 and ftreams from all the fprings, fountains, and ri- 
 vers, of the known world; heaven, earth, hell, time 
 pail, prefent, and future; men, devils, angels, the 
 alluring beauties of creation, the events that are 
 coming upon the univerfe, the defcending God, the 
 burning world, the concluding fcenes of creation, the 
 tranfports of the favcd, the terrors of the damned, 
 and the opening fcenes of a vaft eternity, all furnifh 
 motives to fiing and ftorm the foul into the higheil 
 advancements in virtue. 
 
 Out of an immenfe mafs of m.otives to virtue, 
 which offer themfelves to our confideration, let us 
 fele<5l a few of the moil pungent and alluring nature. 
 
 God ardently loves virtue wherever he fees it; 
 the virtue of the patriarchs, prophets, and apoftles, 
 were the obje6ls of his mofc intenfe delight. All the 
 primitive Chrillian fathers, the throng of glorious, 
 ccnfeiTors, and the noble army of martyrs, with all, 
 the divines and Chrillians in every period, to the, 
 prefent time, have been the objedls of his highefl 
 approbation and efleem. God is now carrying on one 
 grand fcheme of wifdom, virtue and happinefs, which 
 he will never ceafe to execute, till the lad foul diall, 
 be born of God. 
 
 God 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 169 
 
 God loves virtue fo intenfely, that if he could fee 
 one good thought in any unregenerate man upon 
 earth ; yea, if he fiw one good thought or holy voli- 
 tion in a devil, or a damned fpirit. It would be his 
 approbation and delight. 
 
 On the other hand,, if he could fee an evil thought 
 in an angel or faint in glory, he would abhor it^ and 
 although he loves his people upon earth with a molt 
 intenfe aiJedion, yet he never loved their fins, nor 
 ever will: they were always hated; they are now 
 hated, and will be totally expelled from the foul. 
 The dominion of fin, in believers, is gone for ever: 
 its reign is abfolutely irrecoverable: it reigns not, 
 nor fhail reign in the faints. 
 
 Christ has bought all virtue with his blood, to 
 put into our hearts; and he has bought our hearts 
 with his blood, to be the feat and fubjecbl of eternal 
 virtue. 
 
 God the Holy Spirit, inclined the will of this 
 great and good man, to put himfelf in the way of 
 motives: he afllfted him to underliand the nature of 
 motives : to feel the force and energy of motives : to 
 comply with the defign and intention of motives: 
 and pra6lically to obey with joy the great end of the 
 bed motives in the world. 
 
 No man in a fiate of nature loves to put himfelf 
 in the way of the bed motives: no man underftands 
 the nature of the bell motives: no man feels the force 
 of the bell motives : no man difcerns the defis:n of 
 the befl motives: no man chearfully obeys the influ-- 
 ence of the bed iPiOtives. 
 
 This is the great and effential difference between a 
 true Chriftian and every other man. This is the 
 differentia conftitutiva which marks the internal cha- 
 radler of a regenerate man, and diilinguilhes him 
 from all other perfons in the world: fuch a man was 
 Hervey. 
 
 y I never 
 
i70 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 I never knew any man more free from corrupt 
 fprinf5-s and impure motives, in his whole temper,^ 
 lano^'i^ore and condudt: pure love to God his Savi- 
 OUR-, boundlefs benevolence to the wliole univerfe, 
 and peculiar delight in the image ot Christ, found 
 in all true Chriftians, were the grand fprings of his 
 action. He faw and felt that the objects in the eter- 
 nal and irtvifible world were every moment near to 
 his foul. He confidered millions of good beings in 
 heaven, as very near him every moment, and mil- 
 lions of bad beings in torm.ent, as not very diftant 
 from the prefent ftate of things in the vifible world. 
 His foul catched fire at the fight of all great charac- 
 ters for virtue which have appeared in the Jewiih 
 and the Chriftian world. He wifely confidered that 
 a n^reat and ocood foul could not employ itlelf in a 
 "Worthy manner, except in vital virtue towards God 
 and mian. 
 
 He ftrongly felt, and clearly difcerned, how much 
 great and good work true virtue would accomplifh iri 
 the world, and in the chuiches of Christ; He con- 
 fidered virtue as the greased glory of the human cha- 
 racter ; for what is glory but the fame of the mofc 
 excellent virtue^ attended with praife. It is by this 
 that the greateil and beil of men in all ages have 
 pbrained a good report, and that good report will be 
 made afrefli at the burning bar of Christ, am^id fur- 
 rounding worlds of devils, men, and angels. He 
 knew that virtue would eternally live in the bright- 
 nefs of the underftanding; in the redlitude of the will j 
 in the ftrength cf the memory; in the delicacy and 
 corre6tnefs of confcience ; in the grandeur of the ima- 
 <:yination; in the fire of the great pafllons^ it fpreads 
 health, ftrength, and beauty through the whole foul. 
 God the Holy Spirit fet before his mental eyes, 
 the pleafure, the riches, and the honours of virtue. 
 Pleaiure is a confcioufnefs ot agreeable fenjations, 
 tirifinc^ from the prefehce of beauty and good. Vir- 
 tue 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. i^^i 
 
 tiie always produces the pleafures of contempiation^ 
 phe pleafures o( ad:ion, the pleafures of fruition^ and 
 the pleafures of hope and beautiful profpedls, which 
 terminate in nothino; ihort of the everlail"in"; duration 
 of God. Riches are a competent fuppiy of our 
 real wants, and a fatisfa^lion of mind, with that comr 
 petence. Honour is the fame of virtue; attended 
 with eternal praife. Praife and renown have always 
 been the rewards of real virtue, and fire up a gene- 
 rous ambition to excel j to confid.er what patterns of 
 virtue are gone to heaven before usj what prudence, 
 juftice, temperance, and fortitude, Ihone in the tem- 
 pers and chara6lers of the great and good men of the 
 Old and Nev/ Teilament. The great Bafils, Chry- 
 foftoms, the Bradwardines; the great Bacons, the 
 Boyles, the Miltons, the Polhills the Owen§, the 
 Witfiufes, tjie Charnocks, the 3 ate fes, the Howes, 
 the Hurrions, the Wattfes, the Doddridges, the 
 Brines, the Gills, the Edwards, the Hallyburtons, 
 the Feneions, the Rollins ; with millions of heroes 
 more, all fiaflied their brighteft virtues upon Her- 
 vey's undcrft.anding, imagination, and pafiions; and 
 routed him to an unbounded ardor to excel in every 
 virtue, and rife and fhine in every Chriftian grace. 
 
 Nor did he ever forget his great and wondeHbl poet. 
 Dr. Young, whofe Night Thoughts, and the great 
 Longinus* of the prefent age, whofe Led:ures on the 
 Flebrew prophe4:s, in their original compofitiop, and 
 their prefent elegant tranflation, by Dr. Gregory, 
 which muft be conhdered as the flandard of talle to 
 the learned world, and exceed all commendation 
 and praife. 
 
 His hatred and indignation agalnfl vice, were 
 roufed to the higheft degree, by a view of the worflr 
 x:hara6t:ers in all ages and nations: the monflers of 
 vice before the deluge ^ the polluted finners of So- 
 dom i the tyrant Pharaoh, and his outrageous and 
 cruel armyi the rebellious ifraelites in the wilder- 
 
 * Dr. Lowth late Billiop of London. 
 
 ^"^ 2 nefsi 
 
172 HISCHARACTER 
 
 nefs; the fhocking impudence of Zimri and Cofbl; 
 the gigantic heights in blafphemy and vice appearing 
 in Korah, Dathan> and Abiram; the black atheifm 
 and deteftable ingratitude in the Canaanites: the vice 
 of avarice in Achan : of lewdnefs and folly in Sannp- 
 fon ; the horrid profligacy of the BenjamiteS;^ 
 Judg. xix. 25. XX. 15. The moft daring atheifm and 
 blafphemy of Hophni and Phinehas; the vile hypo- 
 crify and rebelHon of king Saulj the defperate un- 
 chaftity, adultery, and murder in David; the horrid 
 inceft of Amnon; the murder of that wretched m.an 
 by his own brother; the tranfcendent rebellion of 
 Abfalom; and the undefcriptive and undefcribable 
 lewdnefs of that horrid parricide. The dreadful 
 apoftacy of Solomon : the unparalleled and inexprefTi- 
 ble infolence of Rabfhakeh; the horrible madnefs 
 and atheifm of the wicked bible burners^ Jehoiakim, 
 Antiochus, and Dioclefian: the daring impiety of 
 Bellhazzar; the infinite crime of Judas Ifcariot; the 
 murder of the Lord of life; the murder of Stephen; 
 the cruel madnefs and rage of Saul the perfecutor; 
 the unbounded wickednefs of Nero; and his moft 
 barbarous murder of the apoftle Paul. With all the 
 immenfe crimes againft God and man, which have 
 rifen up to public view in every age, and in every 
 nation under heaven. 
 
 All thefe crimes, which ftrike at an infinite God, 
 and fix a guilt in the foul through an infinite dura- 
 tion; and ail this guilt and infinite malignity, which 
 expofe every foul to the lofs of an infinite good, 
 through an infinite duration, unlefs cleared ofi^ by the 
 fatisfaclion and righteoufnefs of God the Son: I fay, 
 all thefe crimes and infinite deformities of vice, rofe 
 up before the mind and underftanding of this great 
 and good man ; and filled him with eternal hatred 
 and horrors unfpeakable. 
 
 God has decreed tp infufe virtue and'holinefs into 
 our hearts; and his promifes are the copies of his 
 decree. The 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 173 
 
 The promifes muft be viewed as ablblutc, or evi- 
 dential. The ablblute promifes put grace into the 
 heart: the evidential and dcfcriptive promifes draw 
 grace into exercife. 
 
 A promife is a declaration that we will do fcmething 
 for the fervice and good of another perfon. A con- 
 dition is that on v/hich a promife is fuipended, and 
 made to reft, and which being performed, gives a 
 right to thQ good promifed. There are properly no 
 conditional promifes in the book of God ^ for thofe 
 promifes that are made to graces and duties, fuppofe 
 that God has abfolutely put grace into the heart: and 
 wherever there is the appearance of a condition, the 
 fagacity of faith will quickly find out an abfolute 
 promife to enable us to perform that condition. 
 
 A View of GOD'S ABSOLUTE PROMISES. 
 
 I will be to them a God, and they fhall be to me 
 a people: they fhall all know me from the ieaft to 
 the greatefl: I will be m-erciful to their unrighteouf- 
 nefs, and their fins and iniquities I will remember no 
 more, Heb. viii. 10, 12. I will give them a heart to 
 know me, that I am the Loud, and they fhall be my 
 people, and I w^ill be their God; for they fhall return 
 unto me with their whole heart, Jer. xxiv. 7. A 
 new heart alfo will I give you, and a new fpirit will I 
 put v/ithin you; and I will take away the ftony heart 
 out of your flefh, and I will give you a heart of flefh, 
 and I will put my fpirit within you, Ezek. xxxvi. 26. 
 xi. 19. i will not turn away from them to do them 
 good: I will put my fear in their hearts, that they 
 fhall not depart flom me: yea, I will rejoice over 
 them to do them good, with my vv^hole heart, and 
 with my whole foul, Jer. xxxii. 38, 41. The Lord 
 thy God will circumcife thy heart, to love the Lord 
 thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy ibul, 
 that thou mayefl live, Deut. xxx. 6, I will blefs thee, 
 ^d thou fhalt be a blefTing, I will blefs them that 
 
 blefs 
 
174 HIS CHi^RAGTER 
 
 blefs thee, and cnrfe him that curfeth thee. Gen. xil, 
 2, 3. I will not leave thee 'till I have done that 
 which I fpoke to thee of^ Gen. xxviii. 15. Thou 
 faidft I will do thee good. Gen. xxxii. 12. I will do 
 you no hurt, Jer. xxv. 6. 
 
 Ye fhall be a peculiar treafure to me above all 
 people, Exod. xix 5. Thy fhoes Ihall be iron and 
 brals, and as thy days, fo fhall thy flrength be, Dcut. 
 xxxiii. 25. The eternal God is thy refuge, and un- 
 derneath are the everlafting arms, ver. 27. Let them 
 that love him be as the fun when he goeth forth in his 
 might, Judg. V. 31. I will be with thee 5 I will not 
 fail thee, nor forfake thee. Be ftrong and of a good 
 courage, Joih.'i. 5, 6. I will never never leave thee: I 
 v/ill noti I Vv'ill not; I willnot forfake thee, Ov [xn o-s ai-^;, 
 o'jd'\v uv, 7£ By>iccr(x,Xi7rca, Heb. xiii. 5. The righteous 
 fhall hold on his way; and he that hath clean hands 
 ill all be ilronger and flronger. Job xvii. 9. He with- 
 draweth not his eyes from the righteous, Job xxxvi. 7, 
 Whatfoever he doth fliail profper, Pfal. i. 3. Thou 
 wilt prepare their heart, and caufe thine ear to hear, 
 Pfal. x. 17. 1 Vv'ill inftrudl thee, and teach thee in 
 the way vv'hich thou {halt go ; I will guide thee with 
 mine eye, pfal. xxxii. 8. No evil ihail b.^fall thee, 
 neither fnall any plague come nigh thy dwelling, 
 Pfal. xci. 10. 
 
 EVIDENTIAL PROMISES. 
 
 Thefs evidential or defcriptive promifes are made 
 to diftinCt graces and duties. They are wifely con- 
 trived to mark out ihe charadler of true Chriftians; 
 to (hew the neceffity of the diligent ufe of the means 
 of grace ; to bring us to a continual dependance upon 
 God the Holy Spirit: to roufe us to a vigorous ex- 
 ercife of all grace, and draw us to a generous per- 
 formance of all duties to Goo and man,' with dignity 
 znd clieaifulncfs. Afl<; and it fhall be given you: 
 
 feek 
 
As A MAN O? SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 17^ 
 
 Itiek and ye fhall find : knock and it fhall be opened 
 unto you, Matt. vii. 7. Seek firft the kingdom of 
 God and his righteoufnefs, and all things fhall be 
 added unto you. Matt. vi. ^^^ How much more 
 fhall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to 
 them that afk him> Luke xi. 13. The Comforter, 
 the Holy Ghoft, fhall teach you all things, and bring 
 all things to your remembrance, John xiv. 26. He 
 that ioveth me fhall be loved of my Father, and I 
 will love him, and will manifefl m.yfelf to him, John 
 xiv. 21. If a man love me he will keep my words, 
 and my Father will love him, and we will come unto 
 him, and make our abode with him, ver. 23. Be- 
 caufe he hath fet his love upon me, therefore will I 
 deliver him : I will fet him on high, becaufe he hath 
 known my name : he fhall call upon me and I will 
 anfwer him. I will be with him in trouble: I will 
 deliver him^ and honour him, Pfal. xci. 14, 15. I 
 drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love, 
 Hof. xi. 4. All that the Father giveth me, fhall 
 come to mcj and him that cometh to me, I will in 
 
 no wile Caft out, ttuu ^i^coa-i fxoi Trocrnpi TTpoq ifxi n^ii 
 xcci, rov sp'^ofxivou irpoq jxs ov (j-yi jXjSaAw f^w, John vi. 37. 
 
 No man can come to me except the Father draw him, 
 ver. 44. If any man lack wifdom, let him afl<: it of 
 God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth 
 not, and it fhall be given him, James i. 5. I coun- 
 fel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire. Rev. iii. 1 8. 
 
 Threatenings and Terrors of God againfb all 
 Kinds of Vice. 
 
 A Threatening is a denunciation of natural evil ; 
 i. e. pain, fhame, and death, on account of moral 
 evil committed againft God. Guilt is an oflfence 
 againft the law, and an obligation to punilhment for 
 that offence. Punifliment is natural evil inflicted for 
 "moral evil aded againft God. 
 
 I. If 
 
^-6 H I S C H A R A C T S H 
 
 1. If any man worfhip the bead, and receivi? 
 his mark, the fame fhall drink of the wine of the 
 wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture 
 into the ^ cup of his indignation, and he fhall be 
 tormented with fire and brimilone, Rev. xiv. lo^ 
 
 2. The wicked fhall be turned into hell, and all 
 the nations that forget God, Pfal. ix. 17. 
 
 3. Confider this, ye that forget God, left I tear you 
 in pieces, and there be none to deliver, Pfal. 1. 22. 
 
 4. With God is terrible majefty. Job xxxvii. 22. 
 
 5. Sinners in Zion are afraid. Who among us 
 fhall dwell with devouring fire? Who among us fnall 
 dwell with everlafting burnings ? Ifai. xxxiii. 14. 
 
 6. There is no peace, faith my God, to the wicked, 
 Ifai. Ivii. 21. 
 
 7. For in the hand of the Lord is a cup, and the 
 wine is red : it is full of mixture, and he poureth out 
 of the fame; but the dregs thereof all the wicked of 
 the earth fhall wring them out, and drink them, Pfal,- 
 Ixxv. 8. 
 
 8. Upon the wicked he fhall rain fhares, fire, and 
 brim.ftone; and an horrible tempeft : this fhall be 
 the portion of their cup, Pfil. xi. 6. 
 
 9. Can thine heart endure, or can thy hands be 
 flrong in the day that I fliail deal v/ith thee ? I the 
 Lord have fpoken it, and will do it, Ezek.xxii. 14. 
 
 10. Thou fnall not be purged from thy fikhinefs 
 any more, till I have caufed my fury to reft upon 
 thee, Ezek. xxiv. 13. 
 
 11. Hov/ can ye efcape the dam.nation of hell ? 
 Matt, xxiii. ;^2' 
 
 12. That they all maybe damned who believe not 
 the truth, 2 Theif. ii. 12. 
 
 Having viewed the al;/oIute promift^s of God, which 
 infufe grace into the heart by the agency of the Holy 
 Spirit; and the evidential promifes which draw grace 
 and virtue into aftion j and having viewed the threat- 
 
 enings 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. 177 
 
 cnings and terrors of divine juftice againft all fin and 
 vice, let us clofe our flvetch of the iyflem of moral 
 philofophy, with a profpe6l of the final mifery of 
 vice, and the final happinefs of virtue; ^nd then 
 proceed to confider Hcrvey as a found and judicious 
 divine. 
 
 Vice is Hells or the final mifery of the vicious 
 and wicked. 
 
 Vice is always attended with torment : it is always 
 follov/ed by tortures of mind and body : it is the 
 fandion of God's natural law : that like caufes fliould 
 produce like efi^ecls in the moral world. This is a 
 noble idea, which is not enough attended to by the 
 rifing generation of young preachers, and young pep- 
 ple in general. " That moral evil, which is fin, 
 ihall always produce natural evil, which is pain ; and 
 moral good, which is true virtue, fhall always pro- 
 duce natural good, which is pleafure, or eafe of mind, 
 health of body, and a fine flow of fpirits and joy. 
 This grand law of nature Flervey knew to the very 
 bottom, and could difplay as well as any man upon 
 earth. 
 
 Vice is torment of confcience, or painful feelings 
 in the underftanding and memory, arifing from a 
 fenfe of an offence againft the law of God in our 
 nature. 
 
 Confcience is that knowledge which a man hath of 
 his ov/n actions with relation to a law; and from a 
 violation of this law : a confcioufnefs of ofi'ence will 
 immediately take place, and painful fenfations will 
 arife in the mind. This will be attended with a fenfe 
 of God's hatred, or his will to difunite himfelf from 
 the criminal : his hatred or will to punilh, includes 
 three ideas; an hatred of averfion; an hatred of 
 oppofition ; and hatred of profecution ; all which 
 €xift in God the Son, the Judge of the world. From 
 a fenfe of God's hatred of vice, there arifes in the 
 foul, an hatred of God, fettled into malice, or a fixed 
 
 Z habit 
 
173 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 habit and averfion; oppofition, and perfecution. 
 This is attended with eternal hardnefs of heart, or 
 an inflexible refolve never to relent or yield to the 
 will of God to eternity. 
 
 Vice likewife ilTues in black defpair, and wild im- 
 patience, at the lofs of all good; never to be 
 regained; impofiible to be rellored. 
 
 Vice feels the torture of raging defires for eafe, 
 never gratified ; ardently wifhing for a drop of plea- 
 fure, but never for one moment indulged. Defire 
 and utter difappointment, are the tormenting pains 
 of vicious loft ipirits in the invifible eternity. 
 
 Vice feels the moft vexing envy at all happy 
 fouls in heaven and earth. Envy is pain at feeing 
 other perfons happier than ourfelves : envy is pain 
 felt at the fight of excellence, at the fame time that 
 we know we are far below that excellence, and never 
 can arife to it, but ihall be finking lower and lower 
 to eternity, although our eyes and our pride hate 
 the convi6lion ; and we feel the keeneft hatred of 
 another man for his happinefs or fuccefs in virtue. 
 This is a lively and true idea of the torments of the 
 damned in hell, efpecially if. we add another thought. 
 
 Vice dreads every hour new tortures, and hath 
 horrible fears of freih punifliments burfting in upon 
 the foul from the holy juftice and difpleafure of 
 God. 
 
 Now place all thefe thoughts in one viev/, and 
 you have a clear and extenfive idea of hell. Tor- 
 ture and remorfe of confcience, a fenfe of the hatred 
 of God, and his dreadful anger ; a bitter hatred of 
 the perfon of Christ ; fettled into malice, the ma- 
 lice of averfion, the malice of oppofition, the malice 
 of perfecution, eternal hardnefs of heart, and inflexible 
 obftinacy in vice and v/ickednefs — black defpair of 
 mercy ; and wild imipatience at the lofs oF all good-^ 
 raging defires after eafe, never gratified-— vexing envy 
 
 at 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE, 179 
 
 at the welfare and happinefs of others, and hourly 
 dread of new tortures from an angry God, never to 
 be appeafed in his wrath : never to be altered in his 
 will to punifh a defperate and impenitent Tinner 
 againft God. 
 
 Thefe are the motives addrefled to the fears, and 
 terrors, and horrors, of an immortal foul, to deter 
 it from vice, and roufe, and fling, and florm the foul 
 to virtue. Thefe operated powerfully on the mind of 
 Hervey for eight years *, till nriore generous fprings 
 and principles took place in his fublime and exalted 
 foul, which leads us by an eafy tranfition to obferve. 
 
 Virtue is Heaven j that is, the final happinefs 
 of the righteous to all eternity. 
 
 Virtue infpires peace of confcience. Peace is 
 a fenfe of pure friendfhip with God. Friendlhip is 
 a fweet attradtion of the heart between two perfons, 
 inclining each perfon to promote mutually their in- 
 tereft, honour, and happinefs. Such a friendfhip 
 fubfiils between God the Son, and every believer 
 in the world. Such a friendfhip fubfifted between 
 the immortal Hervey and his divine and glorious Re- 
 deemer, the Lord JEHOVAH Jesus Christ : in 
 Christ his life was hid: Christ was his glory: 
 his tongue fpoke his praife j his pen proclaimed his 
 boundlefs perfections, and his whole life and deport- 
 ment declared his Godhke temper and a6lions. 
 
 Virtue is attended with a fenfe of God*s love; 
 a perfuafion that God the Son ardently defires a.'i 
 union of his heart with us, and our heart with him: 
 that God hath a love of good-will, and a love of 
 delight : that his felf-fprung love rejoices over us 
 to do us good with his whole heart, and his whole 
 foul. 
 
 Virtue is a fettled delight in the perfon of God 
 the Son. Delight is a compound pafTioni made up 
 
 * From 1733, to 1741. 
 
 Z 2 of 
 
i8o HISCHARACTER 
 
 cf love and joy. We have already obferved, that 
 Delight is the queen bee in the hive of human 
 pafTions, whole voice and tone governs all the refl. 
 Nothing doth lb attach the foul to the perfon of' 
 Christ, as an intenle, unbounded, and eternal 
 delight. 
 
 Virtue fweetens the temper, and foftens the paf- 
 fions of the foul. As vice poifons and embitters all 
 the great paffions, and transforms us into the temper 
 of devils, fo virtue purifies, refines, and exalt all 
 the fined feelings and emotions of the foul, and 
 transforms us into the likenefs of angels and of God i 
 and never did I fee, in any creature, fo lively a 
 refemblance of Christ, as in this glorious and im- 
 mortal man, fcholar, Chriftian, and divine. 
 
 Virtue ilTues in unbounded joy. Joy is a great 
 quantity of pleafure. Pleafure is agreeable fenla- 
 rion, ariiing from the prefence of the purelt good. 
 
 Virtue is joy in the Being of a God: it is plea- 
 fure in the eiTence and attributes of God : it is de- 
 light in all our relations and connexions with God : 
 it is an high joy in all our obligations to our Creator, 
 Preferver, Governor, Benefactor, Judge, and Re- 
 deem.er : it is pleafure of mind to feel the influence 
 of God the Spirit in his phyfical, moral, and gra- 
 cious operations on the human underftanding, will, 
 and afFedlions. 
 
 . Virtue js pleafed at the happinefs of millions of 
 immortal fouls equally with ourfelves : and in this 
 Hervey was a glorious pattern of unbounded bene- 
 volence. 
 
 Socinian principles are cruel to the fouls of all 
 mankind : there is no benevolence in the whole 
 fyftem of Socinianifm. : it m.akes no provifion for 
 the iure falvaticn of one foul, in all the world : 
 but we can prove that it doth infallibly ruin the 
 whole human race. That fcheme, which is ufually 
 ftikd Calvinis^^, detached from the errors of 
 
 Calvin^ 
 
AS A MAN OF SCIENCE AND VIRTUE. i8s 
 
 Calvin, and purged intirely from the fpirit of per- 
 fecution. I fay this fyflem of religion is the only 
 fcheme in the world that has any mercy, good-will, 
 or generofity in it ; and thefe two affertions I am 
 ready to demonftrate in the face of the whole world. 
 The proof is ready at any time, but it is too 
 copious to be inferted in this part of our Friend's 
 characfler, he himfelf was a living evidence of the 
 truth. 
 
 Virtue expects greater and better things from 
 God the Redeemer everv day ^ and every hour of 
 life. 
 
 Frefh fountains of divine knov/ledge : new im- 
 prefTions of grace and holinefs : fweet fprings of joy 
 burfting out of the heart of God, to enlighten, 
 beautify, and refreih the happy fouls of all thofe who 
 are made perfedl in virtue , and whofe undcrftand- 
 ings are full of light to fee Christ in his highefl 
 glory : whofe wills and affedlions are fixed on 
 Christ, as the fupreme good and beauty for ever 
 and ever. 
 
 Thus you fee that moral Philosophy, viewed in 
 Christ, is not impietas in artis formam redac- 
 TA,-which is the jufl cenfure of Dr. Cotton Mather 
 on all our dry, fpiritlefs, deiftical fyftems of moral 
 philofophy. (See my Edition of Dr. Cotton Ma- 
 ther's Student and Preacher, page 40) but morality, 
 as flowing from Christ : as arifing from, union with 
 Christ; as animated by the fpirit of Christ, and 
 directed by the precepts and example of Christ, is 
 a glorious fyftem, full of light, life, and beauty. 
 
 Let us place all thefe thoughts in one view, in 
 order to have a clear and extenfive conception of the 
 virtue and glory of heaven, or the final happinefs of 
 the virtuous. 
 
 Peace of confcience, and ferenity of unclerfl:anding : 
 a fenfe of God the Redeemer's love or will to make 
 me happy : a fettled delight in Christ's perfon and 
 
 offices: 
 
iSi HIS CHARACTER 
 
 offices : a fweetnefs of temper, and foftnefs of- paf- 
 fions : unbounded joy in the fitnefs and fulnefs^ the 
 power and beauty of Christ : eafe in all the powers; 
 and pleafures in all the affedions : joy to fee other 
 virtuous fouls as happy as ourfelves : and feeling high 
 fatisfadion in their eternal felicity. 
 
 Expelling new profpe6ts of God every hour, and 
 new joys every moment of life through eternity. 
 
 The CHARACTER of HERVEY as a DIVINE. 
 
 I write what I know to be truth, and I will make 
 no apology for a moft free and faithful declaration of 
 the great principles of his faith. 
 
 No man loved truth with more ardor and honeity: 
 and no man was more cautious againft- every error in 
 all the grand articles of his religion. 
 
 He believed the exiftence of one living and true 
 God, the firfl caufe of all worlds : the Sovereign 
 Lord of the foyls of all mankind : the Supreme 
 Good to all real Chriftians, and the Lait End of the 
 whole univerfe. 
 
 A m.an has nothing to do but to open his eyes; 
 and on the firft glance of common fenfe, he 'muft 
 fee marks of defign in the world around him: and. 
 in the ftruflure of his own body and foul, he fees ten 
 thoufand evidences of the exiftence of a God. 
 
 The cleareft and beft method of demonftration of 
 the divine exiftence, is to confider the agreement of 
 all the objefls in the vifible world with the idea of a 
 God ; and for this grand purpofe Hervey had as keen 
 a tafte, and as good a genius, as any man upon earth. 
 He had an enthufiaftic fondnefs for the beauties of 
 creation ; and when he fat for his pidure to Mr. John 
 Michael Williams, in the year 175 1, he chofe this for 
 his motto, ^lalibet Herba Deum. Evejy vegetable 
 fhewsa God; and he found it the eafieft way of dif? 
 playing God to the rifing generation. 
 
A S A D I V I N E. ifj 
 
 By that glorious power of common fenfe, he faw in 
 a moment the Being of a God. He faw with eafe 
 the amazing extent of the vifible univerfe, and that 
 the wonders of space agree with the idea of a God. 
 
 He faw that fpace had three apparent attributes of 
 God. Eternity; for when did fpace begin to exift? 
 Immutabihtys for who ever knew any change in 
 fpace ? Omniprefencej for can it be excluded or fhut 
 out from any part of the univerfe ? 
 
 And yet fpace is not God : and God is not fpace : 
 nor will any man of common fenfe aflert that fpace is 
 GoD; but it agrees in its wonderful properties with 
 our idea of a God: and the myfteries of fpace have 
 puzzled all the powers of a Newton : and will puz- 
 zle ail the keeneil Philofophers to the end of the 
 world. I defy the mofl piercing mind to explain all 
 the wonders of fpace : the chief ufe of fpace, is to 
 confound and mortify human pride. 
 
 He faw by the firft glance of common fenfe, the 
 aflonifliing magnitude, and the amazing minutenefs 
 of millions of creatures : and that all thefe agree with 
 the idea of a God. 
 
 Mountains, and rocks, and globes, and worlds, 
 down to a grain of fand ; a particle of dull, even to 
 die laft divifion of matter. 
 
 Trees, from the lofty cedar of Lebanon, of ninety 
 feet in circumference, down to the hyffop that groweth 
 or} the wall. 
 
 Birds, from the tall oflrich of ten feet high, to 
 the little humming bird, which weighs a few grains. 
 
 Beasts, from the monftrous elephant, down to 
 the mites which are but jull difcernible, as fpecks of 
 anim.ated exiftence. 
 
 Fishes, from the mountainous whale of an hundred 
 f«et in length, rp the fmall minnow, the anchovy, and 
 the diminutive fprat. 
 
 Reptiles, from the enormous rattle-fnake, to the 
 fmall eels in vinegar and four pafte, which are not 
 fcen without a microfcope. In* 
 
iS4 HISCHARACTER 
 
 Insects, without number, and without end; which 
 furpafs all numeration, and defy all defcription. All 
 thefe agree with the idea of a God ; and all poured 
 their evidence of a divine exiftence into Hervey's ad- 
 miring underflanding and enraptured foul. 
 
 The aftonifhing numbers, and amazing variety of 
 creatures in unbounded fpace, agrees clearly with the 
 idea of a God. 
 
 Are there not above one hundred and fifty kinds of 
 quadrupeds, or four-footed beafts, wild and tame ? 
 
 Are there not above five hundred kinds of birds, 
 all claflified by their beaks j and do not thefe agree 
 with the idea of a God ? 
 
 Are there not unknown numbers of all kinds of 
 fifhes ; and thefe claiTified by their fins and perpendi- 
 cular or horizontal tails ^ and do not they all agree 
 with the idea of a God ? 
 
 The immenfe number and variety of fnell fifh, ex- 
 ceed all computation; and is not their exquifite beau- 
 ty a ftriking demonftration of a God ? 
 
 Are there not above fixteen thoufand kinds of 
 plants, trees, and flowers, in twenty-four clafTes, and 
 about one hundred and twenty orders ; and do not all 
 thefe agree with the idea of a moft wife and powerful 
 GodP 
 
 Does not the great philofopher, Ray, reckon there 
 are twentv thoufand different kinds of Infe6ls ; and 
 do they not, rn their admirable beauty, agree with the 
 idea of a God ? 
 
 Who can reckon up all the Reptiles and Serpents 
 in their unbounded variety ! but do they not all agree 
 with the idea of a wife, powerful, great and omnipre- 
 fent God ? 
 
 Doth not that great promoter of fcience, and moil 
 amiable genius, Mr. George Adams, of Fleet-ftreet, 
 in his excellent Treatife on Aftronomy, obferve, that it 
 is now agreed, by the greateft men in Europe, that 
 
 there 
 
AS A DIVINE. tSs 
 
 there are reckoned to be about feventy-five millions 
 
 of fixed ftars in the whole univerfe, or concave of the 
 
 heavens ? that is to fay, funs, for they all fhine by 
 
 their own light like our fun. Now only Hand flill and 
 
 confider the wondrous works of God ! Job xxxvii. 
 
 14. Confider, ponder, paufe, wonder, trennble, and 
 
 adore, on the furvey of fo many funs, and probably 
 
 every one as big or bigger than our fun ; and all agree 
 
 that his magnitude is seven hundred thoufand 
 
 miles in diameter. Now only think, till your under- 
 
 flanding is quite wearied out and overwhelmed, and 
 
 drowned and loft: fay within yourfelf^ what do I 
 
 fee ? what do I contemplate ? Seventy- five times 
 
 ten hundred thoufand funs, and each of them (even 
 
 hundred thoufand miles in diameter; all fhining 
 
 mafiTes of fire : letters and words written in charadlers 
 
 of light, and all agreeing with the idea of a moft wife, 
 
 omnipotent, bountiful, ever adlive, and ever prefent 
 
 God. 
 
 Now, who can view with an eye of common fenfe, 
 all thefe aftonifhing numbers of creatures, beafts, 
 birds, fifties, ftiell fifties, plants, trees, flowers, in- 
 fec^ls, reptiles, andferpentsj planets, moons, comets, 
 and fixed ftars ; or funs, in the vaft unbounded fpace ! 
 I fay, who ? What man of common fenfe can fur- 
 vey all thefe wonders, and not confefs that all 
 thefe objects agree with the idea of a God ! And 
 who but a fworn atheift will not admire, adore, and 
 praife this great, and good, and moft beautiful boun- 
 tiful God ! 
 
 Great and moft excellent Jehovah, thou Creator 
 and Redeemer of loft mankind, thy fervant Hervey 
 faw thee in every object 3 admired thy works of beauty, 
 and praifed thee as that dear and immortal Friend, on 
 whom he every moment depended for the felicities of 
 his genius, and immortal happinefs. 
 
 Hervey darted the eye of his redeemed underftand- 
 ing into God and gravitation, with invincible force and 
 vivid fire ! 
 
 A a Gravi-^ 
 
i86 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 Gravitation is a force impreffed on all bodies ; 
 by which they mutually attradt, or te^d towards each 
 other, according to the quantity of matter they con- 
 tain ^ and in proportion to their diftances. 
 
 He underftood this grand fundamental principle of 
 all philofophy better than moil fcholars in the learned 
 world. 
 
 And as Christ had redeemed his genius, imagi- 
 nation and tafte, from depravity and pollution ; he 
 devoted them all to the glory of his divine Friend, 
 Redeemer, and God. 
 
 • He faw God with every glimpfe of his reafon y and 
 catched fire at every difcovery of his Friend. 
 
 Hervey faw, by the force of his underflanding, 
 that this grand fnnple principle of gravitation, ac- 
 counts for the regular motion of the planets, lb necef- 
 fary to the beauty and order of the'vifible world— 
 that gravitation accounts for the prefTure of the air, 
 fo ufeful to the prefervation of all animal life — thc^t 
 gravitation accounts for the afcent of vapours, and 
 their defccnt, when collecfled and condenfed, in 
 refreihing rains — that gravitation accounts for the 
 perpetual flux of rivers , for the ebbing and flowing 
 of the fea and oceans — that gravitation accounts for 
 the ftability of the earth, fupporting innumerable liv- 
 ing creatures, with all convenient furniture, for their 
 accommodation — that gravitation is the foundation of 
 all human mechanical arts, Vv^ithout which life would 
 not be tolerable — that gravitation accounts for the 
 growth of all vegetables and animals. 
 
 But this fimple caufe, productive of fo many im- 
 portant appearances in nature, he always attributed 
 to God the Son, as the firil mover; as his work ; for 
 'it is not to be explained, without having recourfe to 
 the power and will of the great Redeemer. 
 
 It is evidently an aclive force, and therefore can- 
 not be afcribed to matter, which is wholly and eflTen- 
 tially inadiive s and whatever appearance of action it 
 
 has^ 
 
A S A I) I V I N E. ,87 
 
 lias, can only be by the contaft of its fuperficlal parts ; 
 whereas the force of gravity penetrates to the center 
 of all bodies, and affeds them at thegreateft diftance : 
 therefore it mufb be the immediate operation of the 
 firft caufe himfelf ; for what agent can adl every where, 
 except God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ? 
 
 Let us refume the views of Hervey's darting all the 
 force and fire of his vaft underftanding into the grand 
 laws, by which the immortal God governs the world : 
 that is to fay, the law of univerfal gravitation, which 
 God has commanded all bodies to obferve : the beau- 
 tiful law of the planets, defcribing equal areas in equal 
 times 3 and the grand law firil difcovered by John 
 Kepler, " that the fquares of the periodical times are 
 " in a wife proportion to the cubes of the didances 
 " of all the planets from the fun, which is the grand 
 " center of ail their motions." 
 
 I, MeR C U R Y. 
 
 His period is 88 days. His diflance from the {un 
 is 36,000,000 of miles. His velocity 109,000 miles 
 per hour. His diameter is 3000 miles. The fun 
 is 26,000,000 times bigger than Mercury. 
 
 2. V E N U S. 
 
 Her period around the fun is 224 days. Her dif- 
 tance from the fun is 68,000,000 miles. Her velo- 
 city is 80,000 miles an hour. Diameter near 8,000 
 miles. 
 
 3. OurEarth. 
 
 Her period is 2^5 days. Her diftance 95,000,000 
 miles. Her velocity annual 1,000 miles per mi- 
 nute. Her diurnal velocity 1,000 miles an hour. 
 Her diameter 7,970 miles. 
 
 4. Mar s. 
 
 His period round the fun is 686 days. His diftance 
 from the fun is 140,000,000 miles. His diameter 
 
 , A a 2 is 
 
i»8 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 154000 miles. His velocity round the fun 55,000 
 miles per hour. 
 
 5. Jupiter.. 
 
 His period round the fun is 4,3^2 days, or near 
 twelve years. His diftance from the fun 494,000,000 
 miles. His' velocity round the fun is 22,000 miles 
 per hour. His diameter is 94,000 miles* 
 
 6. Saturn. 
 
 His period round the fun is 29 years and 167 days. 
 Diftance from the fun is 900,000,000 miles. His di- 
 ameter 78,000 miles. His velocity round the fun is 
 22,000 miles per hour. 
 
 7. G E.O R G I U M S I D U S 
 
 Was difcovered by Dr. Herfchell in the year 178 1. 
 His period is 83 years. His diftance 1,800,000,000 
 miles. 
 
 N, B. This grand difcovery of the Herfchell planet, 
 was made March 13th, 178 1, by the firft aftronomer 
 in the world. Dr. Herfchell, at Windfor. 
 
 Hervey faw, with unbounded admiration, and the 
 moft fublime delight to his imagination and paf- 
 fions, the three grand laws by which God governs the 
 whole beautiful ftrudture of the univerfe ; and thefe 
 are, the law of univerfal gravitation mentioned be- 
 fore; and the harmony between the times and 
 diftances, with refped to all the planets and their 
 moons ; and likewife the third beautiful law, that 
 the planets defcribe equal areas, in equal times, in 
 all parts of their periods: and thefe three laws God 
 has kept up, in their full force and glory, for near 
 fix thoufand years. 
 
 Thefe three laws are the great foundations on which 
 Sir Ifaac Newton's Natural Philofophy is built, and 
 they will endure till God fhall burn the Ciniverfe, and 
 deftroy the vifible creationi 
 
 With 
 
, A S A B 1 V I N E. ,8^ 
 
 With refpefl to that grand law, " that the fquares 
 '^ of the periodical times of all the planets are as the 
 " cubes of their diftances," let us a little farther o-ive 
 a clear explanation and illuftration of it, for the enter- 
 tainnnent of my yoiing readers, who have an inquifitivc 
 mind, and love to have their underftandings conduced 
 into the knowledge of the nobleft truths in Natural 
 Philosophy. 
 
 Venus revolves round the fun in 224 days. The 
 earth revolves round the fun in 365 days. The dif- 
 tance of the earth from the fun is ninety-five millions 
 of miles. Hence, according to Kepler, as the fquare 
 of 365 is to the fquare of 224, fo is the cube of 
 ninety-five millions of miles to a fourth number, which 
 is the cube of Venus's diftance from the fun : and if 
 the cube root of this number be found, it will o-ive 
 about fixty-eight millions of miles for her real diftance; 
 fo that by this rule, if the times of the periodical 
 revolutions of the planets be known, and the diftance 
 of any one of them, from the fun, the diftances of ail 
 the reft may be determined by a fimple proportion, 
 or the golden rule of three dired*^ and this rule is 
 not only applicable to the planets, but it is alfo equal- 
 ly true with refped to their fatellites, or attendants. 
 The moons of Jupiter and Saturn are found to follow 
 the fame law in revolving round their primaries, 
 as is obferved by thofe primaries in revoivincr round 
 the fun. Thefe are the difcoveries by which Kepler 
 enriched the fcience, and obtained an immortality of 
 renown to ail ages in the world. This great philofo- 
 pher was born at Wiel, in the Dutchy of Wirtembero-, 
 in Germany, on the 27th of December, 1571. He 
 
 * Every ingenious young perfon who can readily woik the golden 
 rule, or lule of three dire6l, may foon learn to extradt the fquaie and 
 tube root in the cominon method j but the roots are extracted with 
 much more eafe and elegance by the ufe of Logarithms. 
 
 Read that moft excellent Treatile of Arithmetic, recommended by 
 that confummate mathematician, HumphryDitton-"(he author jcha 
 Hill, page ai4.— 236. By Logarithms, page 2J3---32J, 
 
 died 
 
I90 X HIS CHARACTER 
 
 died on die 15th of November, 1631, in die ^9rfi 
 
 year of his ao;e. 
 
 Let us Hand ftill and review the underflanding and 
 the pleafures of this great man Hervey: he had a 
 foul feelingly alive to every fine impulfe of beauty 
 in the whole creation of God. 
 
 If we confider the amazing extent of the whole 
 creation, it gives us a notion of power incomprehen- 
 iible in the production and prefervation of the uni- 
 verfe. The limits of creation are to us, and to 
 every created mind, unfearchable: its extent is be- 
 yond ail the power of Cight which we have or can 
 have from the afiiilance of the beft telefcopes. 
 
 The diftance from the earth to the fun is prodigi- 
 oufly greater than any man can conceive, who is un- 
 acquainted with aftronomvi and yet how vaft foever 
 this diftance is, it is very inconfiderable, in comparifon 
 of the diftance from the fixed ftars which are vifible 
 to our naked eye : and yet more fo in comparifon of 
 thofe which are fo remote, as not to be {ggti without 
 the beft glaftes : and how many more there may be 
 which by reafon of their vaftly greater diftance are 
 invifible, we cannot guefs, though we have reafon to 
 believe them to be an inconceivable number; and 
 thefe being all funs to fo many fyftems of other pla- 
 nets attending them, muft require fuch an immenfe 
 fpace for their feveral revolutions, without interfering 
 with one another, as tranfcends all human conception 
 to imagine*. 
 
 Hervey had a clear fenfe of the prodigious number 
 and variety of creatures contained in this unbounded 
 fpace, and he had a power to feel pleafure from this 
 
 * When I vifited Dr. Herfcbell, May 9th, 1785, at his houfe in 
 Datchet, near VVindfor, he afTured me that he had feen, with his grand 
 telefcope, 116,000 ftars in the fpace of fifteen minutes. He has like- 
 wife obrerved, in his letter to the Roj'al Society, that the Georgium 
 Sidus, or the new planet, which he dii'covered, is eighteen hundred 
 millions of miles diftant from the fun. This is but the femi-diameter 
 of its orbit, confequently its whole diameter is thirty-fix hundred 
 millions of miles* 
 
 clear 
 
A S A D r V I N E. I9J 
 
 clear fenfe of their variety : he was feelingly alive to 
 the wifdom and contrivance of that God, whofe un- 
 derftanding was equal to that infinite power that pro- 
 duced them. 
 
 When he took a view only of this earth, with which 
 he was bell acquainted, as having the neareft means 
 of knowing it, which is but a point in comparifon of 
 the univerfe, what an amazing variety did it afford 
 him : under the earth, how many kinds of fofTils, flones, 
 gems, minerals, and metals : upon the furface, what 
 an incredible number of vegetables, trees, plants, 
 fhrubs, gralTes, with their feveral diftind: feeds, leaves, 
 flowers, and fruits : upon the earth, in the waters and 
 in the air, how many thoufand forts or tribes of ani- 
 mals of different bulk and figure ; beads, birds, fifhes, 
 reptiles, and infects: and if the various kinds are fo 
 many, how many millions are the individuals of each . 
 kind ! it may alio be obferved, that there is a won- 
 derful variety among the individuals of the fame fpe- 
 cies. Even in feveral nations of mankind, there is 
 an incredible diverfity as to colour, ftature, and lan- 
 guage i but we have a moft flriking inllance of the 
 wifdom of God in that inimitable variety in the faces 
 of men, of which not one of fo many thoufands and 
 millions is fo like another, as not to be eafily diflin- 
 guifhed. 
 
 If we extend our thoughts and views farther, and 
 confider that the number of fixed flars, efpecially 
 fince the improvement of telefcopes, is not fo much 
 pretended to be gueffed at, and that the planets about 
 them may be replenifhed with creatures, both animate 
 and inanimate, as different in kind as thev are diflant 
 in place from thofe with which we are acquainted, is 
 very probable j and there may be as many more kinds 
 of them, and as many more individuals of each kind, 
 as the places they are lodged in will contain. What 
 an aftonifliing multiplication of their number and vari- 
 ety will this then amount to : it is here the excefs of 
 
 power. 
 
192 HISCHARACTER 
 
 power, and wifdom, fo infinitely beyond our capacity, 
 and not the want of it, which dazzles our underiland* 
 ing, as the excefiive light of the fun blinds our eyes. 
 
 Hervey faw with intuitive rapidity of perception, 
 or an underftanding feelingly alive : he difcerned with 
 rapture and admiration the exquifite minutenefs of 
 millions of creatures, and the feveral parts of which 
 each diilindl creature, either animate or inanimate, 
 is compofed: this heightened his admiration of the 
 infinite fkill of God, who framed them. There are 
 ten thoufand millions of entire and perfe6l animals 
 jendued with life and motion, fo very fmall, that they 
 cannot eafily be difcerned by the naked eye ; and yet, 
 by the help of good microfcopes, are difcovered to 
 Jiave their feveral organical parts as curioufly framed, 
 and fitted to their feveral motions and uies, as thofe 
 monftrous animals, an elephant fifteen feet high, or a 
 whale an hundred feet long. And how furprifmgly 
 fmall mufl thofe parts be, fingJy taken, in a fmall crea- 
 ture, when a compounded body made up of fo great 
 a number, is hardly big enough to be vifible. The' 
 like may be faid for the fine texture of the minute 
 parts of larger animals, and even of plants, and all 
 difcin(5t kinds of vegetables, of which the firft flamina 
 are fo fmall as to be imperceptible to our unafTifled 
 fenfes. And even the moil fimple, and feemingly 
 Jefs compounded bodies, of how infinitely fmall par- 
 ticles do theyconiiil: ? Who can, by his fenfes,difco- 
 ver the figure of the conflituent parts of fluids, which 
 yet are not ib clofely united, but that there is much 
 vacuity between them? Who can difcern the texture 
 of the parts of water, which makes it fo difficult to be 
 comprefTed by any human force ? Or whoever faw the 
 particles of air and wind, which, though comprefTible, 
 yet how great is their force of refiftance ? So that the 
 minima nature are as much beyond our capacities to 
 difcover, as the magnitude of the univerfe. 
 
 What 
 
A S A D I V I N E. ,p3 
 
 What an infinite wifdom then mufl it be, how in- 
 tenfcj as well as extenfive, which at once fo inti- 
 mately reaches, and fo accurately manages, both 
 thefe extremes. 
 
 Hervey had a clear fenfe of the beauty of crea- 
 tion, with a power to fed pleafure from that beauty. 
 Beauty is that quality in objects which excites love. 
 A man cannot open his eyes and think like a man> 
 but he muft perceive the beauty, order, and regula- 
 rity, of every diftind fpecies of things ^ and the 
 more a man exercifes the power of common fenfe, 
 the accuracy of the divine underftanding will more 
 brightly appear. Though the number of God's 
 works be fo incomprehenfibly great, and their kinds 
 fo various, yet each of them fingly is direded, fitted 
 up, and finifhed, with as much fl^ill and exadnefs, 
 as if it were the only thing attended to. Every one 
 of the creatures is wrought with more art and curio- 
 fity, than the mofl fkilful human artifl can attain to 
 imitate, though he were to fpend all his time and 
 pains upon a fmall piece of work. What our blef- 
 fed Saviour fays of the flowers of the field, that 
 even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one 
 of theje, is no hyperbolical expreffion. The mod 
 curious polifhing, gilding, or painting of human art, 
 cannot vie with that of fome fmall infedrs, feeds, 
 and flowers. — The moft curious v/orks of art, th^ 
 fharpeft fined needle, doth appear as a blunt rough 
 bar of iron, coming from the furnace or the foro-e: 
 the moft accurate engravings or embofilnents, feem 
 fuch rude bungling deformed works, as if they had 
 been done by a mattock or a trowel. 
 
 So vaft a difference is there between the fkill of 
 nature and the rudenefs and imperfection of art. See 
 Bifhop Wilkins's Principles and Duties of Relicrion, 
 Book I. Chap. vi. Nor is the order, regularity, and 
 proportion conftantly obferved in the feveral parts 
 of the vifible creation, lefs to be admired than the 
 
 B b beauty 
 
!94 HIS CHARACTER. 
 
 beauty and elegance of each work, that (o many de- 
 grees of creatures, annnate and inanimate, ihould be 
 always conflantly kept in their proper ranks fo that 
 they appear to be the lame in their inrtin6ls, through 
 all generations, notwithftandirtg every thing appears 
 in perpetual motion, is utterly repugnant to the na- 
 ture of chance, and mufi; evince a wife God, that 
 orders all things in number, weight, and meafure. 
 
 The harmonious correfpondence of each part of 
 nature to each other part, fhews a comprehenfive 
 v/ifdom that has one entire view of all things at 
 once ; fuch a fl^ill as hath no occafion to mend or 
 new model one part of its work to make it fit for 
 another, but which m.akes both great and fmall parts 
 anfwer one another fo exa6lly, that notwithlianding 
 all the various motions and dire6lions of miOtion in 
 the world, there is no diforder or difliurbance created 
 by it in the whole, but every part and every motion 
 of that part is every way as well preferved, as if all 
 the reft had been particularly defigned for that only : 
 and though we can never be able to difcover all the 
 ufes and defigns for which every particular part of 
 the creation was miade, or to v^hich it ferves, yet 
 from what we can difcover, we may reafonably con- 
 clude, that every part has its ufe in the whole, and 
 that every thing is wifely fuited to fome excellent 
 purpofe or other, though we cannot find it out. 
 
 In every part of nature, of which we have any 
 tolerable acquaintance, even from the vafl hea- 
 venly bodies, as the fun, moon, and planets, down 
 to the fmallefl infed: on earth, we may obferve one 
 thing fuited to another with a moft exacl and beauti- 
 ful fitncfs; fo that we are forced to fay, all nature is 
 but one mighty work of one almighty and all-wife 
 God. But then that there is a goodnefs as well as 
 wifdom and power fhewn in the formation of all 
 thino^s, does more evidently appear from the animal 
 and rational part of the world, which being endued 
 
 with 
 
A S A r> I V I N E. 19- 
 
 \vith fenfationj are capable of pleafure and fatisfac- 
 tian> as all creatures which have animal life are in 
 different degrees, for they all rejoice jn their powers 
 of fenfation and perception^ and are well pleafed with 
 their own exiflence. No man had a more forcible 
 conception of the wifdom, power, and goodnefs of 
 God, in the creation of the animal and rational parts 
 of the world, and in giving them the fenfations of 
 pleafure in the fruition of good, than the author of 
 the Meditation on the Flower Garden, and the Def- 
 cant upon Creation. This great and good man en- 
 tered into the mod fublime contemplations on the cu- 
 rious ftru(^ure of fo many different fpecies of animals ; 
 and he obferved how exadiy they were fitted in their 
 outward make and figure, as well as inward difpofi- 
 tions and inflin6ts to their ftates and conditions of life, 
 and what fuitable provifion is made for their fatisfac- 
 tion, as well as for their prefervation, continuance, 
 and propagation of their feveral kinds. He could 
 not but admire the bounty as well as the wifdom of 
 Providence. How ailonilhing is the diftinclion of 
 fexe5 in all animals, that being the mxans by which 
 the fpecies is continued, and the due proportion of 
 the numbers of each fex to the other fex, which has 
 been conftantly kept up from the beginning. This 
 quite deftroys all fuppofition of fpontaneous genera- 
 tion i even in leiTer animals, and ihews the abfurdity 
 of thinking that any real animal, and efpeciaily man- 
 kind, could ever be produced by chance, or a ca- 
 fual motion, and concourfe of atoms, of which they 
 confitl. 
 
 We may farther take notice of the exquifite formation 
 and difpofition of the feveral organs of fenfe, as the 
 eye, the ear, the tafte, the noflriis, the nerves, ramified 
 through the whole body, for the purpofes of feeling j 
 and with what wonderful contrivance and nicety they 
 are adapted in every creature to their proper bufineis 
 and manner of life 3 and though they are fo curious^ and 
 
 B b 2 of 
 
^95 HXSCHARACTER 
 
 of fo fine a ftrudlure, yet how well they are guarded 
 againft any thing that may hurt or annoy them. 
 Thefe things are difplayed with all the channs of 
 eloquence, by Mr. Hervey himfelf, in his twelfth 
 Dialogue, on the wonderful ftrudture of the human 
 body. 
 
 Hervey faw, with a clear underftanding, that 
 God is a Being infinitely good, the wife and power- 
 ful caufe of the univerfe. He faw with a Godlike 
 mind, that the planets receive all their light and 
 heat from the body of the fun, and that this is a 
 glorious evidence of infinite wifdom, power, and 
 goodnefs; therefore confummate prudence, and not 
 wild chance, nor blind fate, made this conftitution 
 of things. 
 
 He faw that a compound force is the caufe of the 
 revolution. of the planets around the fun, and that 
 this force, which is called the centrifugal and centri- 
 petal motion, is a moft flriking mark of intelligence 
 and defign. 
 
 He faw that fpace is perfe6lly a void ; that there is 
 nothing to refill or retard j nothing to guide or divert 
 the motion of the planetary worlds j and this is an 
 aftonifhing evidence of the wifdom and power of 
 God. He clearly difcerned that thefituation of our 
 earth, and its diflance from the fun, is infinitely bet- 
 ter than if it were nearer or farther off. If the fun 
 was nearer we lliould be burnt to afhes; and if it was 
 farther off, we fhould perifh with cold, and the fca 
 would be frozen into ice to the very bottom. 
 
 His penetrating mind knew that the earth revolves 
 with a double motion; that is to fay, a daily motion 
 on its own axis, at the rate of one thoufand miles per 
 hour ; and an annual motion around the fun at the rate 
 of above a thoufand miles a minute j that is, fixty 
 times fafter than the diurnal motion. 
 
 Hervey wifely compared the admirable propof^ 
 tion of the daily and annual nmotions of the earth, as 
 
 diftin6t 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 107 
 
 diftindt from each other; and he clearly faw^ that 
 thefe very different degrees of velocity fupplied him 
 with abundant reafon to admire and adore the exqui- 
 fite wifdom and s-oodnefs of God. * 
 
 He confideredj v/ith the higheft aflonilliment and 
 delight, the admirable mode of the daily and annual 
 motion, by the, axis of the earth making an angle vvitli 
 the plain of the ecliptic*, the quantity of which angle 
 is twenty-three degrees and an half. Here he faw 
 reafon for vivid wonder and delight ; becaufe by this 
 happy contrivance we have the four feafons of the 
 year. Spring and Summer, Autumn and Winter, 
 with the different lengths of the days and nights 
 through the whole vear. 
 
 Hervey faw, with ardent devotion, that the at- 
 mofphere, or body of air, and the frame and face 
 of the globe, diiplayed wonderful marks of v/ifdom 
 and defign, with rich evidences of abundant good- 
 nefs and almighty power. 
 
 He confidered that the ample provifion of waters, 
 in the oceans, feas, rivers, and fprings, wonderfully 
 difcovered wifdom vi^ithout bounds, power without li- 
 mits, goodnefs without end, to the glory of an eter- 
 nal and omniprefent God. 
 
 Hervey contemplated with rapture and devotion, 
 the lofty mountains of fifteen and twenty thoufand 
 feet high, with all the beautiful fruitful vallies, as 
 evincing, in the moil ftriking manner, the marks of 
 the wifdom, power, and goodnefs of a mod glorious 
 God. 
 
 * It appears plain enough in the parts and model of the worU', 
 that there is a c ^ntrivance and a refpetit to certain reafons and endsj 
 how the fun is placed near the middle of our fyftem for the more con- 
 venient difpenfing of his light and influence to the planets inovin®- 
 at?out him : how the plain of the earth's equator interie^ts that of htr 
 orbit, and makes a proper angle with it, in order to diveriify the year, 
 and create a ufeful variety of feafons, and the regular gradations of 
 day and night. Thefe things, thor^h a thoufand times repeated, will 
 always be pleafmg meditations to good men and true fcholars.— See 
 Rehglon of Nature, by Vv^illiam Woliafton; Efq. 4.to. 1724., 
 
 In 
 
t^t H 1 S C H A R A C T E R 
 
 In this beautiful manner Hervey traced out the 
 cxiftence, the perfections, and the works of the moft 
 oiorious God; and in this manner all tutors* of divi- 
 nity ought to train their pupils from the firft moment 
 they come under their care. This would lay a ftrong 
 foundation on the principles of good common fenfe, 
 on which to build the grand fuperftrutlure of reveal- 
 ed religion, and all the branches of moral virtue, 
 which, under the influences of the blefTed Spirit, 
 would not fail to make them rational Chriilians, in 
 the richeft fenfe of the word. 
 
 We fhall now proceed to trace out Hervey*s know- 
 ledge of the aftonifliing powers and affedions of the 
 human foul, with the ftriking proofs of its immorta- 
 lity. We Ihall view his clear convidlion of the infuf- 
 iiciency of realbn, without revelation, to lead us to 
 eternal happinefs. 
 
 His rich acquaintance with the nature of infpira- 
 tion, and the evidences of it arifmg from mxiracles, 
 
 * The learned and pious author of the Enquiry into the Nature of 
 the Human Soul, on the Principles oF Kealbn and Philofophy ; who is 
 lilcewife the author of Matho, is a man of fuch uncommon excellence, 
 that I have no words equal to my conceptions of his worth : and I 
 cannot but feel an aflonilhment, mingled with contempt and indigna- 
 tion, at the ftupidity and ingratitude of the prefent age, which ap- 
 pears to know nothing of this great man, or his writings. I will not 
 mention the name of this almoft unknown man, who defei ves the efteeni 
 and veneration of the learned world, and the whole rifmg generation. 
 
 There is another great man, who has been treated with the fame in- 
 gratitude and negle6t: his Sixteen Sermons at Boyle's Ledure exceed 
 almoft every thing of the kind, for clear thought, elevated conception.=^, 
 and mafculine language. I have endeavoured to dojufticeto this 
 moft excellent author, by giving feveral pages from his Seventh Ser- 
 mon of his Boylean Le6tures, which muft charm every reader of true 
 tafte, and allure him to read the whole volume, compofed by Dr. John 
 Leng, late Bifhop of Norwich. 
 
 I am likewife indebted to another excellent author, for an eafy 
 explanation of Kepler's Grand Law, concerning the beautiful har- 
 mony between the fquares of the times, and the cubes of the diftances 
 of all the planets. This is now made eafy to every ingenious youth in 
 Great Britain, in the moft pleafmg Letters on Allronomy, by the fS-» 
 gacious Mr. Bonnycullle, of the Military Acadsmy, at Woolwich. 
 
 prophecy, 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 199 
 
 prophecy, the goodnefs of the dodrine, and the mo- 
 ral character of Christ, with his prophets and 
 apoftles. His views of the three Perfons in one di- 
 vine nature, arifing from the numerous plurals in the 
 Hebrew Bible ; with the rich variety of views of the 
 agency of the facred Three in creation, providence, 
 and falvation. We fhall take a fhort furvey of his 
 ideas of the natural and moral perfe6lions of God; 
 and the peculiar chara6ler of Christ in Scripture, 
 as the Son of God. We lliall then be able clearly to 
 underfland all the fubfequent articles of his faith, 
 from his own immortal writings. 
 
 We fhall clofe the work with a variety of pleafing 
 and in{tru6live remarks on his temper and conduct in 
 private life ; and a concife review of his works, in 
 order to allure ingenuous and pious young perfons of 
 both fexes to an arduous and delightful imitation of 
 his example. 
 
 We are obliged to pafs by a thoufand other evi- 
 dences of the being of a God, for want of room 5 
 otherwife we fhould go through all the inftinds which 
 God hath infufed into the different claiTes of birds^, 
 beads, and fifhes. We fhould have obferved, that 
 thefe inflin6ls have been ever the fame; the different 
 claffes of birds have the fame genius and manner of 
 life, as they had almoil fix thoufand years ago. The 
 beads, both wild and tame, have the fame aptitude to 
 excel, in the purfuits of their food, the prcfervation of 
 their lives from danger, and the continuation of their 
 fpecies : the fifhes have the fame impreffions, the 
 fame purfuits, and the fam.e methods of preferving 
 their lives in every part of the ocean and rivers, as 
 they had in the beginning of the creation. 
 
 ' The many thoufand kinds of reptiles and in- 
 fe6ls have the fame genius and fagacity to preferve 
 their lives, and continue their kind as they had at their 
 fird production. 
 
 The 
 
ioo HIS CHARACTER 
 
 The confideration of the famenefs of inltinifl in ail 
 animals round the globe, from pole to pole, is to me, 
 S3 it was to Mr. Hervey, a mofc mighty demonftra- 
 tion of the being of a God. 
 
 Hervey had, by reading books on Natural Hif- 
 tory, and efpecialiy the Abbe le Pluche's Spetflacie 
 dt la Nature, or Nature Difplayed, fo richly furnifhed 
 his mind with views of anim.ated nature, that he 
 feemed to me to grafp the whole creation in his un- 
 derflanding. Every creature he faw, gave a frefh 
 pieafiire to his imagination, and raifed a devout and 
 adoring thought of God his Saviour. 
 
 God had. given this great and amiable man a foul 
 above the common part of the human race : it is no 
 extravagance or flattery to fay, that he pofiefTed in 
 fcis firft formation, and in all his, after improvemicnts, 
 a vad capacity of underflanding, to take in great and 
 fjblime ideas v/ithout pain or difficulty; a power of 
 m:iind to receive new and uncommon ideas with de- 
 light, and an ability to furvey great trains of thought 
 without confufion or diforder. 
 
 He was therefore one of the fitted men in the 
 world to defcribe the powers, afre6i:ions, and opera- 
 tions of the immortal foul : and in every view of it 
 lie confidered the agreement of the idea of a foul 
 with the idea of a God. 
 
 The obiedls and actions of the underflandin":*: the 
 €bje61:s and aclions of the will : the objedls and ac- 
 tions of the imagination : the objedis and a6i:ions of 
 the paffions : the memory : the confcience : the ge- 
 jcius and tade of the foul, all clearly agree with the 
 idea of a mod wife, powerful, and immortal God. 
 
 Hervey clearly faw that a fpiritual being, which has 
 fuch a vaft underllandinGr, to take in an immenrfe 
 number of ideas of the nature, attributes, and a6ti- 
 ons of God, muft be truly immortal, and cannot be 
 a perilliirig efTence. The idea of a ipirit of fuch 
 knowledge, wonderfully agrees with the idea of a 
 
 God. 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 201 
 
 God. He clearly faw that a fpiritual being, which 
 has conceptions of eternity itfelf, and its amazing 
 grandeur and terror, miift be innnaortal ; and a foul 
 which can think of eternity j that apprehends and con- 
 ceives of eternity itfelf, agrees with the idea of a 
 God. . 
 
 Eternity is duration, exifting all at once without 
 any fucceffion of moments, divided and diftinguifhed 
 into paft, prefent, and future duration. Eternity is un- 
 fucceflive duration, incapable of being jfhortened ; in- 
 capable of addition, or being lengthened or growino- 
 older or younger for ever. — God's duration is effen- 
 tial, eternal, perfe6l, and immutable : he exifts all at 
 once, and can neither grow older or younger throuf^h 
 an infinite duration. — The idea of eternity ftruck 
 Hervey's underilanding with the keeneft force. He 
 thus fpeaks in his Meditations among the Tombs. 
 O Eternity ! Eternity ! How are our boldeft, our 
 ilrongeft thoughts loft and overwhelmed in thee ! 
 Who can fet land marks to limit thy dimenfions, or 
 find plummets to fathom tliy depths ? Arithneticians 
 have figures to compute all the progrelTions of time : 
 Aftronomers have inftruments to calculate the diftances 
 of the planets ; but what numbers can ftate, what lines 
 can gauge, the lengths and breadths of eternity ? It is 
 higher than heaven ; what canft thou do ? Deeper 
 than hell j what canft thou know ? The meafure 
 thereof is longer than the earth, broader than the fea. 
 Myfterious, mighty exiftence ! A fum not to be lef- 
 fened by the largeft dedu5lions ! An extent not to be 
 contracted by all pofTible diminutions ! None can truly 
 fay, after the moft prodigious wafte of ages, *^ So 
 *^ much of eternity is gone." For when millions of 
 centuries are elapfed, it is but juft commencing; and 
 when millions more have run their ample round, it 
 will be no nearer ending. Yea, when ages, humerous 
 as the bloom of fpring, increafed by the leaves of au- 
 tumn, and all multiplied by the drops of rain, which 
 
 C c drown 
 
202 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 drown the winter— when thefe, and ten thoufarid 
 times ten thoufand more — more than can be repre- 
 fented by any fimilitude, or imagined by any concep- 
 tion — when all thefe are revolved and finifhedy eter- 
 nity, vafl boundlefs amazing eternity, will only be 
 heginning I 
 
 Hervey clearly faw that the idea of a foul, a rati- 
 onal intelligent being, which feels pain or uneafmefs 
 at the fad defedls of its own knowledge, agrees with 
 the idea of a God ; and a fpiritual being, which feels 
 the tormenting defeds of its own underftanding, muft 
 be immortal. 
 
 Birds, beafls, and fifhes, foon arrive to their ne 'plus 
 ultra^ and can go no farther in the improvements of 
 fenfe, in the fagacity of their faculties, or in their ad- 
 vancement in the arts of addrefs to eternity. This is 
 the cafe with the moft fagacious creature upon earth, 
 the elephant \ all his art and fagacity is foon at an 
 end ; but man can improve in fcience, and the deli- 
 cate arts and luxuries of life, through ten thoufand 
 ages, and never come to the laft pitch of improve- 
 ment. That fpiritual being, which feels that it hath 
 not knowledge in proportion to the powers and capa- 
 cities it pofTefTes, muft be immortal. 
 
 And the idea of a foul, which has not knowledge- 
 of the liberal fciences, the languages, and divinity, in 
 proportion to its vaft and aftonifliing faculties, muft 
 agree with the idea of a God. 
 
 That fpirit which has a boundlefs defire after the 
 knowledge of God, and which feels an inextinguiftia- 
 ble thirft for brighter conceptions of the divine attri- 
 butes, muft be immortal. 
 
 The idea of a foul feeling an infuppreflible ardour 
 after more knowledge every day and every hour, 
 agrees with the idea of a God. 
 
 All thefe fentimental feelings were conftantly pre- 
 fent with Mr. Hervey's foul every day 'of his life.- 
 
 The 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 205 
 
 The OBJECTS and actions of the will brightly 
 demonflrate a God. 
 
 That being whofe will hath for its pbje6b immenfe 
 goodnefs, mull be inannortal ; and the idea of a foul, 
 whofe object is eifential and unbounded good, won- 
 derfully agrees with the idea of a God. 
 
 That foul which is able to love and choofe God as 
 the fupreme good, mufl be imnaortal. 
 
 The foul can unite itfelf to God in an eternal ad- 
 hefion of the will, by the agency of the divine fpirit: 
 it can cleave to God in ardent inextinguiihable love 
 and forcible fire, therefore it mufl be immortal i it 
 cannot but be an unperilhing elTence. 
 
 The idea of a foul that can love God with vafl 
 admiration and efleem, that ardently delights in him 
 with unbounded benevolence and gratitude, agrees 
 with the idea of a God. 
 
 That being which hath unfatisfied defires all 
 through life. 
 
 Defires of knowledge are not fatisfied to the full j 
 defires after virtue and holinefs are not fully fatisfied ; 
 defires after happinefs in the goodnefs of God are not 
 fully fatisfied. 
 
 The foul longs for more knowledge, for more vir- 
 tue, for more holinefs, and Godlike dignity, and a 
 more corred: and delicate tafle for a happinefs in. God, 
 eternal as our exiftence : fuch a foul mufl be im- 
 mortal, and the idea 9f fuch a foul agrees with the 
 idea of a God. 
 
 That being which a6ls with freedom and fovereign 
 dominion like a God in ten thoufand operations, mufl 
 be unperifhable and immortal. 
 
 The foul acts with amazing liberty, whether in hell 
 or earth, or the heaven of heavens j whether as a fin- 
 ner or faint, as a devil or an angel, it is free in a6ls 
 of fin, madnefs, and rebellion. It is free in adls of 
 holinefs and devotion to God : the idea of fuch a 
 foul agrees with the idea of a God. 
 
 C c 2. That 
 
204 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 That being whole will is never weakened by difeafc 
 or age, but is moft adtive and vigorous in its opera- 
 tions, even when the body is dying in a confumption, 
 or as weak as a child with difeafe in the agonies of 
 death. 
 
 How clear is the underilanding to conceive of the 
 eternity of God : how adtive and vigorous the will 
 when on the verge of eternity, as appears by the ar- 
 dour of its defires for the death of the body, and the 
 fire of its paffions to go to God, when a man is holy 
 2nd full of love : the idea of this wonderful being 
 agrees with the idea of a God. 
 
 The OBJECTS and actions of the imagination 
 dennonftrate a God. This great and good man well 
 underftood the nature and pleafures of the imagina- 
 tion j and no man in the European world better un- 
 derflood the ufes of the imagination for the purpofes 
 of contemplation and devotion. 
 
 Imagination is the power of receiving lively images 
 of fenQbie obje6ls; of reprefenting, by recolledion, 
 fuch ftrgng pL6lures of things, and giving fuch de- 
 fcriptions as force the image of the obje6l delcribed 
 upon the mind. Thus a compleat idea of imagina- 
 tion confifls of three parts -, a power of receiving 
 images -, a power of recolle6ting images ; and a 
 powen of ftrongly painting images on the minds of 
 other men. 
 
 Imagination is the fimpie apprehenfion of material 
 objeds when prefent, and the power of painting the 
 images of thofe objects to the underftanding when 
 abfent. 
 
 Imagination is that faculty by which the mind not 
 only refleds on its own operations, but allembles the 
 various ideas conveyed to the underftanding by the 
 fenfes, and treaiured up in the repofitory of the me- 
 mory, compounding or disjoining them at pleafure, 
 and by its adlive power of inventing new' afTociations 
 of ideas, and of combining them with infinite varietyj 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 205 
 
 is enabled to prefent a bold creation of its own, and 
 to exhibit new fcenes which never exifted in nature. 
 As this was a favourite fubje6l with Mr. Hervey, let 
 ■us take a farther view of the pleafures of imagination 
 from Mr. Addifon's lively effays, in eleven papers in 
 the Spediator, Vol. VI. No. 411— 421. Mr. Addifon 
 obferves, on the pleafures of imagination, that the 
 perfection of our fight above our other fenfes, greatly 
 afTifts us in thefe pleafures. The pleafures of imagina- 
 tion arife firft of all from the eyes ; and thefe pleafures 
 are divided under two heads, primary and fecondary ; 
 and thefe pleafures of the im.agination are in fome 
 refpedts equal, if not fuperior, to thofe of the under- 
 ^ (landing. The extent, or vaft abundance of the plea- 
 fures of the imagination, demand our peculiar notice 5 
 and likewife the rich and high advantages which a 
 man of true genius- and tafle receives from a relifli of 
 thofe pleafures. 
 
 The beft ways of repeating and increafing thefe 
 pleafures, is to ftudy all the grand images in the vi- 
 fible univerfe, and to take an extenfive furvey of all 
 the fcriptural images and hiflorical fadls. Thefe views 
 will enable us to difcern in what refpeds the delicious 
 pleafures of the imagination are preferable to the plea- 
 sures of the underftanding. , 
 
 In No. 412, Mr. Addifon fhews that there are 
 three fources of the pleafures of the imagination in 
 our furvey of outward objedlsj that is to fay, the 
 GREAT, the NEW, and the beautiful. He Ihews 
 how what is great pleafes the imagination : how what 
 is new pleafes the imagination : how what is beautiful 
 pleafes the imagination. He treats of the beautiful 
 in our own fpecies ; the beauty of countenance, of 
 body, of adion, of voice, of addrefs, of converfa- 
 jtion, of eloquence. 
 
 He fhews how what is beautiful of the creation in 
 general pleafes the imagination. He fhews that other 
 accidental caufes may contribute to the heightening 
 of thefe exquifite pleafures. In 
 
5o6 HISCHARACTER 
 
 In No. 413, he fhews that the original efficient 
 caufe of all the innocent pleafures of the imagination 
 is God himfelf. 
 
 The ■ necelTary caufe of our being pleafed with 
 what is new, beautiful, and great, is unknown. 
 
 But the final caufes are more knov/n and more ufe- 
 ful for us to know. 
 
 The final caufe of our being, pleafed with what is 
 great, is this : the infinite God has fo formed the foul 
 of man, that nothing but himfelf can be its laft ade- 
 quate and proper happinefs ; becaufe, therefore, the 
 whole of our happinefs muft arife from the contemp- 
 lation of his being and perfediion, that he might give 
 our fouls a jufl relilh of fuch a glorious contempla- 
 tion. He has made them naturally delight in the ap- 
 prehenfion of what is great and unlimited like God. 
 • Gur admiration, which is a very pleafing motion of 
 the mind, immediately rifes at the confideration of 
 ^ny objed that takes up a great deal of room in the 
 imiagination, and by confequence will improve into 
 the higheft pitch of aftonifhment and devotion, when 
 we contemplate God's nature and perfe6tion5, which 
 are neither circumfcribed by time or place, nor to be 
 comprehended by the largeft capacity of men or an- 
 o;els. The attributes of God are unbounded by time, 
 therefore eternal : unbounded by fpace, therefore om- 
 niprefent: unbounded in povv^er, therefore omnipo- 
 tent. 
 
 The final daufe of cur pleafures in whatever is new, 
 rare and uncomm.on, is this : God has annexed a fe- 
 cret pleafure to the idea of any thing that is new gr 
 uncommon, that he might encourage us in the eager 
 2ind keen purfuit after knowledge, and inflame our 
 bed pafTions to fearch into, the v/onders of his crea- 
 ti^on, fcnpture, and falvation ; for every new idea 
 brings fuch a pleafure along with it, a^ rewards any 
 pains we have taken in the acquifition of it, and con- 
 lequently fervcs ^s a^ftriking and pathetic motive to 
 
 put 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 207 
 
 put us on freih difcoveries in God, and the revelation 
 of his eternal Son and Spirit, with all the wonders of 
 creation and providence. 
 
 The final caufe of our pleafure in beauty in our 
 fellow creatures, is this : God has made every thing 
 that is truly beautiful and pleafant in our own fpecies, 
 that we might exercife generous love and benevolence 
 to all mankind. 
 
 The beauty of countenance, of voice, of perfon, 
 temper, and behaviour, all confpire with their fined 
 impulfes to ftrike our fcnfes and imagination with de- 
 licate pleafure. 
 
 The final caufe of beauty in the creation, is to 
 pleafe and regale the imagination. 
 
 God has made every thing that is beautiful in all 
 other objedls pleafing to our tafte. 
 
 He has created fo many objed's to appear beautiful, 
 that he might render the whole creation more cheer- 
 ing and delightful. 
 
 He has given almofi: every thing about us, the 
 power of raifing an agreeable idea in the imagination ; 
 fo that it is impofTible for us to b«hold his works v/ith 
 coldnefs or indifference, and to furvey fo many beau- 
 ties of creation and Scripture without a fecret fatis- 
 fa6lion and complacency. 
 
 The final caufe of beauty in revelation, is to pleafe 
 the tafte, and charm the imagination. There is a 
 beauty in miracles : there is a beauty in the prophe- 
 cies : there is a beauty in the fingular providences 
 and the noble actions recorded in Scripture. 
 
 The final caufe of beauty in Scripture images, and 
 lively fi_gures, is to ftrike the imagination with a deli- 
 cate impuife of pleafure, and charm the devout and 
 ■ virtuous tafte of a true Chriftian's heart and under- 
 ftanding. 
 
 This may be exemplified in a great variety of Scrip- 
 tural facts and characters in the Old Teftament, and 
 
 in 
 
5o8 HISCHARACTER 
 
 in the parables and adions of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ in the New. 
 
 The final caufe of beauty in the do6lrines, laws, 
 and promifes of the Gofpel, is to allure and faften 
 the attention of the whole foul of a real believer to 
 his God and Saviour. 
 
 The final caufe of the beauty of the numerous 
 nan^.es of Christ, with his perfedions^ ofHces, and 
 lovely characters, in Pfalm xlv. Proverbs viii. Song 
 of Songs V. Heb. i. Col. i. Rev. i. with ten thou- 
 fand other beauties of his perfon, is to allure and at- 
 tra6l the fouls of millions of men into the moil for- 
 cible love and admiration. 
 
 The final caufe of the beauties of virtue and holi- 
 nefs, is to excite love and imitation amongft mankind ; 
 and this great end has been wonderfully anfwered by 
 the temuer and wrltlno-s of Our excellent friend. 
 
 The final caufe of greatnefs, novelty, and beauty, 
 in the latter day glory : the converfion of millions of 
 Jews and Gentiles : the utter ruin of Pagan, Ma- 
 hometan, and Popi/h wickednefs, is to ftrike our 
 imagination. Thefe are all defigned to roufe our at- 
 tention; to fix our iludies; to fire up our eager 
 fearches, and to elevate us to the utmoil pitch of 
 fublimity of fentiment and pafllon ; and thus to fpread 
 through the whole foul a rational and Godlike enthu- 
 fiafin. 
 
 This is likewife the final caufe of the difcoveries 
 of the ultimate glory of heaven in its certainty, na- 
 ture, variety of pleafures, degrees of joy, changes of 
 employment, perpetual additions of happinefs, and 
 eternity of duration. 
 
 Objects in the natural World fuited to the 
 Imagination. 
 
 The rifing of the morning fun in its .utmoft glory. 
 
 The fame objed viewed in the midit of the Atlan* 
 tic oqean» 
 
 The 
 
AS A DIVINE. 209 
 
 The beauty of the fetting fun in a ferene fummer 
 evening. 
 
 The fame objecfb viewed by fea, when remote from 
 land fome thoufands of miles. 
 
 The calmneis of the vaft ocean hufhed to fleep 
 like a child in the cradle. 
 
 The ferenenefs of the ftarry heavens by night. 
 
 The beauties of a fmiling meadow^ and the fer- 
 tile corn fields by day. 
 
 The grand chorus of all the birds warbling forth 
 the praifes of their Maker. 
 
 Objects of Grandeur and Terror united. 
 
 Suppofe yourfelf fufpended in boundlefs fpace; 
 that you have a vaft profped: of eternal duration; 
 the world of waters under your fQet, a fudden eclipfe 
 of the moon increafes the darknefs of the night ; 
 you fee in a moment aftonilhing flafhes of lighten- 
 ing j you hear the prolonged roar of thunder i in a 
 moment a dreadful ftorm at fea arifes, and tofies the 
 waves twenty thoufand feet high, which is the height 
 of the lofcieft mountains: a terrible earthquake fhakes 
 cities to pieces, and involves them in flames : at the 
 fame moment volcanoes burfting out in ftreams of 
 liquid fire twenty miles long, feven miles broad, and 
 fixty feet deep: at the fame inftant you hear cata- 
 radts of water four hundred feet high, and the crafh 
 of falling rocks, which difcover the foundations of 
 nature : whilft all thefe objeds combine together, 
 fnatch your foul to the margin of eternity, make you 
 feel yourfelf in the hands of omnipotence, and place 
 you in the immediate profpeds of the burning tribu- 
 iial of God. 
 
 Objects of Grandeur and Terror in Scripture, 
 fuited to the imagination, agreeing with the idea of a 
 God, and evincing the immortality of the foul. 
 
 D d The 
 
2:o H 1 S C H A R A C T E R 
 
 The drcaeiful deluge: fire and brimftone rained 
 from heaven in an unexpected moment : the tea ter- 
 rible plagues, and the ruin of the tyrant and hiq 
 hoft: the niount all on fire, and trembling to its 
 bafis: Korah, Dathan, Abiram, with ail their fami- 
 lies, fwallowed alive: a buih all on fire, yet not 
 confumed : Jordan rifes up like mountains: the walls 
 of Jericho fall flat in a moment: the fun and moon 
 ftand ftiil a v^^hole day, for the ruin of God's ene- 
 mies: David's battle with a monfter: 185,000 rebel^ 
 ilruck dead by God's juftice in twelve hours: three 
 heroes defy the fevenfold rage of fire: a vifibie hand 
 fprings out of the wall, and writes the eternal doom 
 pf a tyrant : the lions devour whole families of the 
 riobles in a mo;nent: Haman hurled from the apex 01 
 honour, and hanged like a dog. 
 
 Jerufalem twice devoured' with tremendous fa* 
 mine, fword, and lire. 
 
 . Objects of Beauty and Novelty fuitcd to the 
 
 imagination, ^. 
 
 I. Judah's affe'^ing addrefs to his brother Jofeph. 
 
 •2. What an obje(^l- of newnefs and beauty was 
 the fudden furprifing difcovery of Jofeph's perfon 
 and ]ove to his brethren! And what a lively type of 
 an infinitely greater perfon, and his tranfcendent 
 love! Jofeph's fudden advancement from a prifbn to 
 a throne, is a nevv^, furprifing, and beautiful obje6t. 
 3. Jonathan's ardent love and friendiliip for David. 
 
 , . 4. The happy interpofitlon of the wife and vir- 
 tuous Abigail faved her huA^and' and family from 
 inf!:ant dellruclion. 
 
 5. Solomon's dedication of the temple. 
 
 6. Qu(;en of Sheba's interview v^ith Solomon* 
 
 7. Ahafnerus's grand feafl:. 
 
 8. Our Saviour ^t; the marriage of Cana. 
 
 9. Christ feeding 5,000. 
 
 10. Christ''s transfiguration on the mount, 
 
 II. Refur- 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 2,1 
 
 XI, Refurredtion of Lazarus. 
 
 12. Our Saviour's calming the tempefl. 
 
 13. Surrounded with the children. 
 
 14. His appearance to Mary Magdalen. 
 
 15. His converfe on going to Emmaus. 
 
 16. His appearance to the twelve and to five hun- 
 dred brethren at once. 
 
 17. His afcenfion from Mount Olivet. 
 
 18. The glorious day of Pentecoft. 
 
 19. His appearance to John in the firfl chapter 
 bf the Revelations. 
 
 10, His appearance at PauFs converfion. 
 
 The Objects and Actions of the Passions of 
 the foul, agree with the idea of a God, and clearly 
 prove its immortality. 
 
 Passions are unufual motions of the foul, arifing 
 from new objedls, fuited to produce that emotion. 
 
 A great, new, and agreeable objec!:!, produces that 
 ^leafing and unufual motion of the mind, which is 
 ililed admiration: how great is his goodnefs, and 
 how great is his beauty I Zech. ix. 17. How mani- 
 fold are thy works ! in wildom h%ft thciu made them 
 all! Pfal. civ. 24. 
 
 An obje6l that appears good and fit to make lis 
 happy, produces that miOtion which iffues in a de- 
 light-ml union with the obje6l, ftiled love. 
 
 An object appearing deformed, evil, and ugly, 
 and fit to do us a terrible injury, excites that unufual 
 motion in the will to fly from, and be difunited from 
 the objedt: this is ftiled hatred. 
 
 Now admiration at' new obje<5ls, love of good and 
 beautiful objedls, and hatred of all ugly objedls, all 
 agree with the idea of a God, and wonderfully prove 
 our fure immortality of duration in a future and in- 
 vifible world. 
 
 Efleem and contempt — defire and averlion — bene- 
 yolence and malevolence — complacency and delight 
 
 D d 2 ^ --dif- 
 
212 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 — difplicency and difguft, at the proper objects, all 
 agree with the idea of a God, and demonllrate our 
 eternity of exiftence. 
 
 Hope and fear — ^joy and forrow — gratitude and 
 anger, all proclaim the foul immortal, and wonder- 
 fully agree with the being of a God. 
 
 AH the pleafing pafiions, and all the painful pafTi- 
 ons, clearly fhew the immortality of the foul, and 
 ftrongly evince the being of a God. 
 
 The PLEASING Passions all agree with the idea of 
 a God; admiration, love, efteem, benevolence, com- 
 placency, or delight ; defire, hope, joy, gratitude, am- 
 bition, glory, fortitude, veneration, congratulation, 
 cheerfulnefs, ferenity, emulation, zeal, gladnefs, mo- 
 defty, adoration, candour, officiofity, hofpitality, equa- 
 nimity, public fpirit: all thefe declare the foul to be 
 immortal. 
 
 The PAINFUL Passions agree with our ideas of a 
 God, and equally Ihev/ the immortality of the foul, 
 hatred, contempt, malevolence, difplicence, averfion, 
 fear, forrow, anger, fhame, confternation, flu6tuation, 
 loathing, envy, fcorn, difdain, indignation, defpera- 
 tion, jealoufy, repentance, furprife, terror, horror, 
 fpite, rage, fury, rancour, malice, revenge, anguifh, 
 anxiety, melancholy, difguft, cruelty, felfifhnefs, im- 
 purity : all thefe pafiions agree with the idea of a juft 
 and angry God, and loudly proclaim the immortality 
 of the foul. 
 
 The Objects and Actions of the memory clearly 
 agree with the idea of a God, and convincingly prove 
 che immortality of the foul. 
 
 Memory is the power of recolle6ting fa6ls, or of 
 reviving thofe ideas which have lain out of fight. 
 
 A good memory is ready to receive the various 
 ideas of fadts and words : it is large and copious to 
 treafure up fa6ls and charaders: it is fi:rong and dura- 
 ble to retain thofe fads j faithful and aftive to fuggefi: 
 
 and 
 
AS A DIVINE. 7.r^ 
 
 and recolleft, on every proper occafion, all thofe 
 words, thoughts, and fads, which have been com- 
 mitted to its care, and treafiired up in this flore-houfc 
 of the foul. The wonderful power of memory, clearly 
 fhews the amazing wifdom and goodnefs of God. 
 
 Without memory, the foul would be an univerfal 
 blank: it is the grand repofitory of languages and fci-, 
 ence: it is the llore-houfe of divinity drawn from 
 the pure Scriptures of God. 
 
 Memory is of infinite fervice in hiftory, by retain- 
 ing fads, charaders, and events, of the mod llrik- 
 ing and awful nature: to drive us from vice, and of 
 the moil ftriking and beautiful nature to allure and 
 llimuiate us to the pradice of univerfal virtue. How 
 brightly does the being of a God fliine forth in the 
 powers and ufes of memory in the mind of man ! 
 
 The Objects and Actions of Conscience, prove 
 the immortality of the foul, and clearly agree with our 
 idea of a God. 
 
 Confcience is a power of the rational foul, by 
 which it knows its own adions with regard to a law, 
 and judges of their fitnefsand unfitnefs, or the moral 
 good or evil that is in them, according to that light 
 which the mind poffeiTes, and with reference to the 
 judgment and will of God. 
 
 Confcience is God's viceg;erent in the foul : it acls 
 for him, and under his juft government: it receives 
 its authority and direction from God, and is account- 
 able to him, and to no other power in heaven or 
 earth. 
 
 Confcience obferves all the thoughts, adions, and 
 words of a man's whole life, from the very firft dawn 
 of reafon, to the moment of death and to eternity. 
 
 Confcience writes down every ad of fin and holi- 
 nefs, and records, as on tables of brafs, or pillars ot 
 marble, all the moral a;id immoral adions of our foul 
 and body* 
 
 Coqfciencc 
 
|^?4 HISCHARACTER 
 
 Confcience is a bold, refolute, and honeft wltncfs 
 of our anions ; a mofl: accurate and dreadful regifter 
 of our crimes; an impartial judge to condemn or 
 Nullify; a moil exquifite tormentor of vice arid wick- 
 ednefs, and a moil generous rewardel* of goodnefs 
 and virtue. 
 
 An evil confcience is blind arid ignorant, dull and 
 ftupid, partial and fcrupulous; as in the cafe of Saul, 
 Who was very fevere about a little honey, and yet 
 could deliberately kill, at one and the fame hour, four- 
 fcore prieils of God. 
 
 An evil confcience is liable to perpetual forrow and 
 fadnefs, trouble and diilrels, anguiili or pungent grief^ 
 v;hich often rifes to horror and defpair. It makes a 
 wicked man flee wlien no one purfueth, Prov. xxviii. i. 
 whilil the righteous are as bold as a lion. 
 
 A guilty confcience trembles at the thoughts of 
 death, and dreads its approach : it looks forward with 
 terror to the day of judgment, the appearance of the 
 eternal Judge, and the burning tribunal of the invifible 
 world. 
 
 The Objects and Actions of Genius and Taste, 
 agree with our ideas of a God, and evinces the im- 
 mortality of the foul. 
 
 Genius is an aptitude to excel in the line of 
 fcience and virtue. 
 
 Taile is a clear fenfe of all that is great and good, 
 true and beautiful, in heaven and earth ; it is a power 
 of receiving pleaiure from the beauties of creation 
 and revelation ; the beauties of chara6lers and virtu- 
 ous actions j the excellencies of hiilory and eloquence, 
 diffufed through the whole body of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 Taile is the exquifite fenfibility of the foul to every 
 fine impulfe of beauty, truth and goodnefs. This 
 tafte is wrought up to perfedlion and 'delicacy, by 
 education, iludy and devotion i by which means the 
 
 mind 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 21J 
 
 ipljad becomes able to difcern with an Intuitive force 
 and readinefsj how nnuch true beauty and pkarure 
 every object in heaven and earth can give us. 
 
 In the words of the judicious and eloquent R(>llin| 
 \ye obferve that tafle is a clear, lively, and dillinft 
 perception of all the beauty, truth andjuflnefs, of the 
 thoughts and expreffion which compofe a dilcourfe or 
 treatife. It diftinguifhes what is confornaabie to elo- 
 quence and propriety, in every charader, and ili; table- 
 in different circumftances. And whilil with a deli- 
 cate and exquifite fagac'ty it notes the graces^ 
 turns, manners, and expreriions mofl likely to pleafe, 
 it perceives all the defects which produce the con- 
 trary effect i dillinguifhes precifely wherein thofe ble- 
 mifnes confift, and how far they are removed fom 
 the ftridl rules of eloquence, and the real beauties of 
 pature. 
 
 This happy faculty of tafte is a kind of natural 
 reafon, wrought up to perfedion by a refined educa- 
 tion, clo|e attention, and thought; by a lively con- 
 verfe with the great Friend and Teacher of man, the 
 only wife God our Saviour. 
 
 This good tafte is not confined to literature; it 
 takes in alfo all fciences and branches of knowiedo-e. 
 
 It confifts, therefore, in a certain jufb and exad dif- 
 cernment, which points out to us, in each of the 
 branches of knowledge, whatever is moft curious, 
 beautiful, and ufeful; whatever is moft eifential, fuita- 
 bie, and neceffary to thofe who apply to it; how far, 
 confequenrly, we fhould carry the Itudy of it, what 
 ought to be removed from it, and what deferves a 
 particular application and preference before the reft. 
 
 Read Rollin's Reflections on a good Tafte, in his 
 admirable method of ftudy, Vol. I. page 41 — 53. 
 png. Edit. i2mo. 
 
 Read Mr, Addifon on Imagination — Spectator, 
 VoJ. VI. No,4ii — 421, 
 
 Thus 
 
pj5 his character. 
 
 Thus we have conlidered the objecls and actions o( 
 the underflandingj of the will; the imagination, the 
 paflions^ the memory, the confcience, the genius, and 
 talle ; and we fee in a moment that thefe are evi- 
 dences of the immortality of the foul ; and we fee the 
 agreement of thefe ideas with the idea of a God ; and 
 if we proceed farther to conf.der the moral perfe61;ions 
 .of GoD^ we fhall fee the clear agreement of the Ideas 
 pf a foul with thofe m.oral perfections. The wifdom 
 and goodaefs of God, evince its immortality : the 
 liolinefs and juilice of God, demonftrate its immor- 
 tality : the truth, fincerity, veracity, and faithfulnefs 
 of God, proclaim the foul immortal. 
 
 But after all, Hervey knew, as well as any man, 
 the utter infufficiency of reafon, to lead us to true vir- 
 tue and happinefs in the fruition of God. 
 
 Reafon is a power of judging of the nature, relation, 
 and ufes of things ; the fitnefs or unfitnefs -, the good 
 or evil qualities of actions, and the truth or falfehood 
 of proportions. 
 
 Reafon is a power of the underilanding, to difcern 
 that- all things are not alike true, nor alike good, nor 
 alike fit, nor alike beautiful; and to fee that all a6li- 
 ons, tempers and qualities, are not alike evil, nor 
 alike unfit, nor alike wrong, nor alike ugly and dt^ 
 formed. 
 
 Reafon alone, without the aid of revelation, can- 
 not give us eafy and plain notices of a God, fuch as 
 are clear to the weakeil mind, affecting to the moft 
 'flupid heart, and fuitable to the meaneft underftand- 
 
 'B' 
 
 Reafon cannot give fpecial and diftind ideas of 
 God, to enable the foul, in a moment, to diftinguifh 
 God from all other beings,* and to give him that ve- 
 neration which his dignity demands. 
 
 Reafon is infufhcient to give us cert;iin and con- 
 vincing notices of a God, fo as to bind the under- 
 ftanding to affent to the truth of God's exiftence; to 
 
 convince 
 
AS A DIVINE. 217 
 
 convince It of the reality of the divine perfe(5lionSj 
 infiprefs the confcience Vv^ith a fenfe of divine juftice, 
 *nd perfuade the will to fubmit to the donainion of 
 God. 
 
 Reafon cannot give extenfive ideas of God, in all 
 his natural and moral periedionsj nor is it able to 
 difcover all the moral relations of God to our fouls, 
 fo that we may be fure that no idea of God is want- 
 ing, which is needful to our real duty and final hap- 
 pinefs. 
 
 Reafon is unable to give pleafant and lovely ideas 
 of God, fuch as Ihall fuit a rational tafle, and excite 
 a tender afFedtion to him as an amiable being, full of 
 perfed love, good and beautiful in himfelf; fit to do 
 us the higheft good, worthy to receive all pofTible 
 good from us; an obje6l in whom we may expand 
 our nobleft powers with delight; a being that rejoices 
 to do us good, and fill us with happinefs. 
 
 Reafon can never furnifh fuch fweet difcoveries of 
 God, as fhall (et our hearts at reft, fo as to have no 
 occafion to feek any farther happinefs to eternity. 
 
 Reafon cannot give fuch powerful and durable 
 ideas of God as fhall abide with great force upon the 
 foul, working from moment to moment, and renew- 
 ing the imprefTion every inftant on the underftanding 
 and confcience ; and yet fuch an imprefTion is abfo- 
 lutely necefTary for man's duty and happinefs. Here 
 reafon difcovers its utter weaknefs and infufficiency. 
 
 In order that a man fhould know God, he mufl 
 have fuch an inceffant imprefTion of God upon his 
 foul, as fhall forcibly influence him to a compliance 
 with every duty, in every inftance, in every flate of 
 life, from youth to manhood, from manhood to old 
 age, and to the very moment of death. 
 
 Reafon cannot difcover the true happinefs of man. 
 Reafon cannot difcern that good which removes 
 mifery, prevents pain, prepares for happinefs, and 
 makes a man happy in God. 
 
 E e Reafon 
 
2i8 HISCHARACTER 
 
 Reafon cannot difcern wherein true happinefs con- 
 fiils: it knows not that good which is fuited to our 
 higheft powers, and is agreeable to every fituation 
 we can be in all round the globe, and to every cha- 
 ra(fl;er we can fuftain. 
 
 Reafon cannot difcern that good which may be 
 enjoyed without fhame, poiTelTed without fufpicion of 
 wrong condudlj or dread of future bad confequences. 
 
 Reafon cannot difcern that good which will fup- 
 port us under the troubles of life, refine and fatisfy 
 our affections, (land the fevere tefl of fober reflection, 
 improve upon longer experience, afford the higheft 
 pleafure, upon the mofb frequent repetition, and be as 
 lafting as our eternal exiftence. 
 
 Reafon cannot difcover a complete body of morals, 
 or univerfal virtue, as the means of happinefs. 
 
 Reafon never has given us a complete body of mo- 
 rality, without def^cl or darknefs. A perfedi: fcheme 
 of moi aiity mud be eafy and clear, in order to be in- 
 flru(?live and ufeful to man. A confufed rule of duty 
 is of no ufe; a found plan of morals muft be univer- 
 fal, to oppofe every fin, and urge to every duty. 
 There muft be nothing defective, nothing vicious in 
 the whole fyftem. Sound morality muft have no 
 pernicious maxim to draw after it any bad confe- 
 quences. This plan muft be avowed by God him- 
 felf as a rule of duty, and enforced by his dominion 
 and authority. 
 
 Reafon leaves poor man to draw the rule of duty 
 from the fource of his own nature. Man cannot 
 frame a complete body of morals: he can make no 
 progrefs in a fyftem of morality of his own, whilft he 
 is a raw youth, full of impure appetites and bad paf- 
 fions. If clear rules could be found out, motives 
 would be wanting: if motives were difcerned, affift*- 
 ances of light and ftrength would be wanting. Man 
 will not be honeft to put himfelf in thji way of mo- 
 tives; he will not be honeft to enquire into the defign 
 
 6{ 
 
AS A DIVINE. 21.9 
 
 of motives: he will not be horieil to fulfil the inten- 
 tion of motives; and we fhall freeze to ice^ amidft 
 m'axims of wifdom and modves to virtbe. 
 
 Hervey clearly faw the utter insufficiency of 
 Reason to furnifli the bed motives to Virtue. 
 
 It cannot give us a full view of the immediate pre- 
 fehce of God, the Lawgiver and Judge of the world. 
 It doth not give us a fweet fenfationof theprefentplea- 
 fures of virtue, nor the future rewards of virtue : nor 
 does reafon give us to knov/ the prefent punifhments 
 of vice, nor the future vengeance of God againil all fin. 
 
 Reafon cannot give us one good and perfedt ex- 
 ample of virtue in the whole world, in any age or 
 nation under heaven. 
 
 Reafon is defective in another m^otive to virtue: 
 it cannot difcover the lead help and alTiftance from 
 God in the practice of virtue in one inftance through 
 life. 
 
 Reafon cannot give us a full view of the immediate 
 prefence of God, and the infinite authority of his 
 laws, as the invariable rule of virtue. 
 
 Reafon is unable to recommend the law, by fhew- 
 ing the glorious qualifications of the Lawgiver in his 
 power and greatnefs : it cannot fjpply us with right 
 notions of his wifdom and goodnefs, jutlice and 
 truth j and yet the difcoveries of thefe glorious pro- 
 perties mufl be attained, in order to promote univer* 
 fal virtue. 
 
 Reafon cannot give fuch clear evidence of God 
 from moment to moment as fnall (Irike the under- 
 fcanding with force, touch the pafiions with fire, leave 
 a lively imprefTion, and have a pungent influence to 
 quicken us to the practice of virtue. 
 
 Reafon cannot fhevv^ us that our Governor is always 
 near j that he is every m.oment convet'fant with us ; 
 that we have every day convincing evidences of his 
 goodnefs, wifdom, juftice, and kindnefs, with all 
 other perfedlions, fitting him for government. 
 
 E e 2 Thefc 
 
220 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 Thefe notices are abfolutely needful to enforce a re^ 
 gard to the will of God. 
 
 Reafon cannot excite to obedience, by (hewing Us 
 that the title of the Lawgiver is indifputable, and the 
 ground of his claim to our affedlion clearly made 
 known. Such is the tranfcendent excellency of the 
 nature of God, as to render him the only fit being to 
 o^overn ; but reafon is blind to this excellence. 
 
 Reafon doth not clearly difcern that God is the 
 Creator of all worlds, and that he has an abfolute 
 propriety in all his creatures. 
 
 The human underftanding is bhnd with refped to 
 God's preferving us in being every moment; his 
 taking fpecial care of us, and his infpedlion into the 
 whole of our frame, with the many precious benefits 
 he has beflowed upon us. All this peculiar attention 
 of God to us, and his clofe influence upon us, from 
 moment to moment, is moft ungratefully difregarded 
 by every man in the world. 
 
 Reafon is unable to give us a clear and fatisfying 
 difcovery of God*s concernment in his own laws, i. e, 
 that the God who is thus qualified for, and rightly 
 pofTefTed of the government, has made fuch laws, and 
 llamped his authority upon theih. 
 
 No truth in the world is mof-e certain, and we can 
 clearly make it appear, even to demonflration, that , 
 the frame of the univerfe, and the whole fyftem of the 
 laws of nature, are adapted to the powers of man, in 
 a ftate of re6litude, which is not the cafe of man 
 now. No, verily ; this is infinitely far from being his 
 prefent ftate ; and therefore, how to reconcile the per- 
 fedion of thefe laws to the moft rational ideas of 
 God, and the prefent ftate of man, is an incompre- 
 henfible fpeculation of infinite confequence, and of 
 the moft prodigious difficulty ; fo that the human un- 
 derftanding never could have got through it \ its ut- 
 moft force could never have furmounted it; the 
 . whole united world of minds could never have folved 
 
 the 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 221 
 
 the difficulty, if God had not gracioiifly given us 
 another guide above reafon, and the light of nature. 
 
 Reafon cannot give a certain knowledge that God 
 has a great regard to his laws, and keenly infpeds 
 whether or no thefe laws are obeyed. The knowledge 
 of this would be a ftrong inducement to regard his 
 laws j but here realbn always fails. 
 
 Reafon is defedive in a fecond motive to virtue, it 
 doth not clearly difcern the prefentpleafures of virtue, 
 nor fatisfy us. with refpedl to the prefent rewards of 
 virtue. 
 
 Reafon cannot produce in us fuch a delightful Ccnih 
 of God, nor imprefs upon us fuch a feeling convidion 
 of our momentary dependance upon him, and mighty 
 obligations to him, as fhall excite us to love him with 
 a lively gratitude, zealoufly flrive to promote his 
 glory, and proclaim to the utmod of our power the 
 excellency of his perfe6lions. 
 
 Reafon is unable to difcern the certainty and evi- 
 dence of a virtuous life: it cannot fteadily difcover 
 the beauty and excellency of a virtuous life. 
 
 Mere Reafon cannot infpire the pleafures and joy? 
 of a virtuous life: it cannot fupply the pleafures of a 
 virtuous action : it cannot enable us to enjoy the 
 fweet pleafures of refledlion, after the performance 
 of a good action: it cannot furnifh the pleafures of 
 exquifite fruition in the prefence and love of God. 
 
 Reafon can never furnifh the pleafures of hope, 
 and truil in God for all future times. 
 
 Reafon is unable to exhibit the alluring and in- 
 ftrudive nature of a virtuous life. A fhining light 
 inftrudls: an ardent light enflames: a beautiful lio-ht 
 perfuades the pafTions of the heart, and excites imi- 
 tation; but where is fuch a fliining, ardent, and beau- 
 tiful light to be found? 
 
 Reafon is infufficient to make an high advance- 
 ment in the power and beauty of virtue. True re- 
 ligion is of a progrefllve nature. Vital virtue re* 
 
 fembles 
 
12 
 
 HI ^ CHAllACtfeR 
 
 fembles the advancing light of the rifing fun. As 
 the fun rifes higher and higher towards the meridian, 
 fo Hervey was ilill advancing in goodnefs. Internal 
 virtue urged him on by a rational and forcible ftimu- 
 lus to a farther growth in knowledge^ perfeftion, and 
 ufefulnefsi but here the pov/ers of unaflifted reafon 
 could do nothing. He, as a virtuous man, improved 
 in the knov/ledo-e of God and himfelf: he had an ar- 
 dent zeal to advance in clearer apprehenfions of the 
 infinite perfections of his Redeemer: his concep- 
 tions of the dignity of God, and of the powers and 
 affeftions of his own foul became more vivid and 
 diftin6l: his mind was more free from pride and 
 hauo-htinefs : his reafon more free from error: his 
 judgment more purged from prejudice, and more cor- 
 red in its decifions. But where is the man to be 
 found in the v/hole world that is capable of thefe 
 noble advancements on the principles of reafon alone ? 
 
 Reafon is unable to produce a fixed adhefion of 
 die will to God and virtue: it cannot give uS Itrength 
 and firmnefs in true religion. An adhefion of the 
 will to God, is properly the ilrength of virtue. If 
 reafon were fufficient for the happinefs of m.an, we 
 Ihould find a natural progrefs in the life of virtue; 
 and this adhefion of the will to the goodnefs, re6li- 
 tude, and beauty of God, v/ould grow ftrongerwith 
 time, lb as to bear a proportion with the growing 
 apprehcnfion of God, and the enlarged views of the 
 human underflanding. There is a great degree of 
 flrength in the union of the will to God; and in this. 
 union, true virtue confifls: but did reafon alone ever 
 produce it? A foul that truly feels it, hopes to have 
 the approbation of God before the whole afiembled 
 world : but reafon can neither produce, nor cherifli 
 this hope. 
 
 Reafon cannot excite us to that fublime virtue 
 which will caufe a man to fhine in the perfedion of 
 his example. Hervey was a man of true virtue : he 
 
 proceeded 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 223 
 
 proceeded to higher degrees of beauty and perfedlion ; 
 he had fewer bleniifhes than other men^ and fewer 
 than he himfeif once had: he was more purified from 
 the vices of flelli and fpirit: he corrc6led whatever 
 was amifs in his temper and condudt: his example 
 was formerly good, but of late years it was much 
 brighter and better^ more lovely and inftrudive. 
 This man, of high and delicate virtue, laboured 
 about his example and character*, as a fkilful painter 
 doth upon a picture, or a ftatuary on a piece of firfl- 
 rate fculpture^ who, before he finilhes his piece, 
 ftrives to give beauty to the whole, and to fpread a 
 grace over his whole produdion; but we challenge 
 the whole world to produce one man that hath done 
 this on the mere principles of realbn, 
 
 Reafon can never advance a man in the eafe and 
 pleafure of virtuous ad:ion. Hervey, as a man of 
 true virtue, found, to his unfpeakable pleafure, that 
 he advanced in the eafe of virtuous adtion, and that 
 the pleafure of right condu6l was ftiil increafmo-J 
 He felt his faculties more and more adapted to ac- 
 tions of generous goodnefs, and the pleafures of de- 
 votion, and fociai benevolence : by a divine and God- 
 like inftind, he proceeded naturally into worthy 
 manners and pradicesj whilil every bad man will 
 make a fwift progxeiTive miotion into all the pollu- 
 tions and plagues of vice; but where is the man 
 \vho, on the principles of mere reafon, hath pur- 
 fued virtue and avoided wickednefs ? 
 
 Reafon alone cannot carry any man intofuch puri- 
 ty of heart as (hall, at lad, iiTue in a flate of perfec- 
 tion in the full fruition of God. The perfection of 
 virtue, in the order and operations of our nobleft 
 powers, would certainly be the refult of a rich ad- 
 vance in perfed; goodnefs ; but here reafon eternally 
 fails. The human underftanding, in its prefent fcate, 
 
 * See Grove on the Pleafure and Beauty of Religion. 
 
 is 
 
224 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 is utterly unable to guide us to that perfedion of hap- 
 pinelsin God, and that rich enjoyment of the foul, in 
 all its powers of fruition, which our nature appears 
 to be defigned for in its original conflitution. Thus 
 we have feen that reafon is defeclive in the fecond 
 inotive to virtue; i, e, it cannot difplay, in a con- 
 vincing manner, the prefent pleasures of virtue a,nd 
 obedience to God. 
 
 Reafon is defective in a third motive to virtue: it 
 cannot give us a clear and ftriking view of future 
 rewards and pleafures, to repay us for all prefent 
 difadvantages and hardfhips we fufFer for the like of 
 God and vital virtue. 
 
 Reafon is defective in a fourth motive to virtue ;. 
 i. e* it cannot difcover, in a clear and forcible m.an- 
 ner; thofe prefent pains and horrors which are ahvays 
 the refult of vicious aftions; nor, fifthly, can reafon 
 difcover thofe terrible future punifhments which Goo 
 will certainly execute on all refolute and determined 
 rebels againfl his government. 
 
 Reafon is defecStive in a fixth motive to virtue: it 
 cannot Iliew us one example of fpotiefs virtue in the 
 uhole world. Prctcepta docent^ exernpla movent. Pre- 
 cepts teach, examples move to adiion. Laws and 
 precepts only inftrudt us what is to be done; but 
 reafon can neither furnilh precepts nor examples to 
 excite one man to vital virtue. 
 
 Reafon is defective in a feventh motive and means 
 to virtue; /. e. it cannot difcover the leaft affiftance 
 from GoD for the great work of devotion or bene- 
 volence to mankind. 
 
 Reafon cannot difcover any afTidance of the Spirit 
 of God, to ilkiminate the underftanding, to diicern 
 the divine perfeclions, and our duty and hapninefs. 
 
 Reafon can difcover no help of the Holy Spirit, to 
 mvt us a favourv tade for all the truths of the Gof- 
 pel, with a lively fenfe of all Gofpel motives. 
 
 Reaibn 
 
AS A DIVINE; 225 
 
 Reafon can ;iever difcover the pawer of divine 
 grace, to fupprefs all indifference of heart to God, 
 )and all inclinations to vice and wickedqefs. 
 
 Reafon can never difcover the Holy Spirit working 
 in us a willingnefs and readinefs to all manner of 
 duties. 
 
 Reafon can never difcover the Holy Spirit as en« 
 livening all graces into pleafing exercifes. 
 
 Reafon can never difcover the Holy Spirit as dif- 
 playing all the motives to univerfal holinefs. 
 
 Reafon can never difcover the Holy Spirit as 
 flrengthening the foul in its powers and paffions, to 
 comply with every motive that God has propofed. 
 
 Thus far we have Ihewn the utter infufficiency of 
 reafon to make proper difcoveries of God, and his. 
 infinite perfections; to fhew the fupreme good or 
 happinefs of man; to difcover a perfe6l rule of mo- 
 rality, or plan of found virtue and m^orals; and to 
 difcern the moik^ powerful motives to virtue and 
 godlinefs. 
 
 We now proceed to fhew that reafon cannot dif- 
 cover the pardon of fin; the refinement of the foul 
 by fanclification; fupport under the troubles of life, 
 and confolation agafnft the fears of death. 
 
 Reafon is infufficient to difcover the pardon of fin. 
 The clear and determinate idea of pardon, is this: 
 that it is -a voluntary and free adl of grace, which 
 remits the punifhment, and releafes the finner from ' 
 that vengeance he juftly deferved, and which the 
 Lawgiver might juftly have infiidled on him. So? 
 that upon the whole, pardon includes four ideas, a 
 total fupprefTion of all defires to punifh — a kind dif- 
 pofitlon to do the finner good — a folemn aflurance of 
 hearty reconciliation — admifiion into full confidence 
 ■with God. Pardon of fin is the life of religion, and 
 without this no religion can exift. 
 
 Reafon cannot difcern the eftimate which God has 
 made of the firft ad of fin; nor can it intimate the 
 
 F f way 
 
226' HIS CHARACTER 
 
 way in which God would be propitious to a rebel- 
 It is unable to difcern God inviting men to repent- 
 ance; nor can it difcover any command of God to 
 repent. It cannot difcover one finner pardoned frorn 
 the beginning of the world to this very moment. It 
 is unable to difcern the great defign of God's pa-^. 
 tience towards a wicked world for thoufands of years. 
 This is an incomprehenfible conduct in God, which 
 no fagacity of man can account for or folve. 
 
 Reafon is infufficient to fhew us any happy foul's 
 burfting into fongs of praife for pardon from God as 
 a merciful being. 
 
 Reafon can difcover no holy and fpiritual worfliI|) 
 appointed by God for any of his rebellious creatures; 
 tior does it alTure lis that any worfhip will be accepta- 
 ble to him: no worlhip is commanded by God on 
 the foot of reafon. This is an awful thought; /. e, 
 that God commands no man to worlhip; nor by the 
 light of reafon doth he exhort or command any man 
 to repent and to turn to God. 
 
 Reafon can never difcover one purpofe in the heart 
 of God, nor one promife in the mouth of God, nor 
 one adlion in the condud: of God, that gives a fure 
 and certain indication of the pardon of a fingle fin j 
 much lefs can it difcover ten thoufand promifes and 
 adions flowing from the gracious nature of God ia 
 ftreams of light and love upon loft rebels. 
 
 Reafon cannot difcover one name belonging to 
 God that infpires a folid hope of pardon. It can 
 never difcern one perfe6lion in God that can pardon: 
 it cannot poflibly fee the harmony of juftice and 
 mercy in the pardon of one fin in the whole world. 
 The united reafon and wifdom of all mankind, can 
 never difcover how juftice and mercy may be ftiewn 
 at the fame time to a criminal in civil government, 
 much lefs in the government of God. . This thought 
 defcfY^s to bfi urged, to the utmoft extent. 
 
 Reafon 
 
AS A DIVINE. 227 
 
 Reafon is not in the ieaft able to difcern a fuitable 
 provifion for a divine and infinite Governor, to 
 the end that he may pardon fin with .honour to his 
 moral chara6ler and laws. It can difcern no ranfom 
 paid to a divine and infinite Conqueror : no facrifice 
 to a divine and injured Monarch: no fatisfadlion to a 
 divine and infinite Judge. 
 
 Reafon can difcover no able friend to us who could, 
 by the difpofitions of his heart, and by his adlions 
 and fufferings, provide for the meridian glory of di- 
 vine juftice, as making laws; as rewarding obedience 
 to laws ; as punilhing the violation of laws in the 
 moftjuftand impartial manner; and this friend freely 
 obeying all the righteous cornmands, and bearing all 
 the righteous curfes of the law which it otherwife re- 
 quired of us, in order to efcape punifhment, and 
 have a right to eternal happinefs in God. Concern- 
 ing all this, reafon is at an utter and eternal iofs. 
 
 Reafon cannot difcover one man fent by God to 
 proclaim a word of pardon to a guilty world: not 
 any fet of men, nor fo much as one man, can be 
 difcovered by reafon, as fent with a commiflion from 
 God, and fealed with a broad feal of heaven, to pro- 
 claini a fingle hint of pardon to a guilty world, or 
 tp any individual on earth, through thoufands of years. 
 We defy ail mankind to deny this, and prove the 
 contrary. TJie human underflanding is not able to 
 difcover God ifluing out any commands to rebels, 
 to forgive the crimes they commit againft each other. 
 No man, by the exercife of reafon alone, can difcern 
 that God has ordered him to forgive his fellow crea- 
 tures their offences : no, not in one fingle inftance 
 through the v/hole world. Ignorance of the pardon- 
 ing mercy of God, and having''' no command from 
 God to forgive each otherj^; was the blamelefs oc- 
 cafion of producing the oppofite fpirit in the Pagan 
 world. They knew not God's mercy; they knew 
 not any command to forgive: the defperate depravity 
 
 Fiz of 
 
iin His CHARACTER 
 
 of the human heart took occafion from this to excra 
 the fpirit of revenge in every mode of operation^, 
 and thus they refemble the moft malignant devils. 
 
 Reafon is utterly infufficient to fupprefs vicious in- 
 clinations, and to root them out of the heart, or tq 
 refine and purify the foul by pov;erful and efFeflual 
 holinpfs. How blind was the Heathen world ^ how 
 dark their wifeft philofophers^ how childifh and filly 
 are all the beft means they prefcribed. Plato bids 
 you purify your fouls by mufic and mathematics. 
 Can mufic charm away the lull of the flefh ? Can 
 Euclid's Eleinents fubdue your pride? purge out 
 impurity, rafli anger, malice, and covetoufhefs ? 
 
 Reafon cannot produce thole excellent qualities in 
 the foul which are neceiTary for a life of virtue and 
 holinefs. 
 
 Reafon cannot difcover the true fource of holinefs, 
 nor the foundation on which it is enjoyed ; i, e, an 
 union of heart with God, and a new conftitution of 
 foul flowing entirely from the grace of Christ. A 
 fufficiency of flrength and light from God is abfo- 
 lutely neceffary for a life of holinefs towards God, 
 and a conforrnity to his rnoral perfedions. To be 
 Tike God in wifdom, a man muft be made wife: to 
 refemble his goodnefs, a m.an muft be made good at 
 heart: to bear the likenefs of his holinefs, a man 
 muft be refined in the temper of his foul : to refem- 
 ble God's juftice and truth, a man muft be imprelTed 
 with the fenfe of the beauty of juftice, and be filled 
 with fincerity and integrity of heart. But did mere 
 reafon ever produce thefe charming qualities ? Where 
 is the m.an to be found? In what age or in what 
 country did he live, that performed all this by the 
 power of rqalbn alone ? A cordial peace and friend- 
 ship with God is abfolutely neceffary to a life of vital 
 virtue and holinefs. Nothing lefs than a powerful 
 fenfe of peace with God can produce an earneft de- 
 fire after a refemblance to God: but here reafon, 
 
 with 
 
AS A B I V I N E. 229 
 
 mth all Its united powers, utterly fails. A lively 
 hope of being happy in the prelence of God to eter- 
 nity, is eiTentially neceflary to a life of genuine virtue 
 and hoHnefs in the prefent world. 
 
 Without this vigorous hope, no man on earth will 
 ever put himfelf to the expence of praclifing univer-- 
 fal virtue, or a love to God and all mankind. And 
 where is this man to be found, who ever purfuec} 
 univerfal virtue on the principles of reafon alone ? 
 Where was he born ? Where was he educated ? 
 Where did he live ? No anfwer can be given. Our 
 infidels are flruck dumb for ever. They cannot, if 
 the life of their foul depended upon it, give us a fa- 
 tisfying anfwer to thefe queftions; confequently the 
 fcheme of their infidelity is ruined for ever, and 
 if they had any moral honefly, or juflice, and truth 
 in their hearts, they would confefs it before the whole 
 world. 
 
 For a rational creature in his prefent itate, and with 
 all the awful imperfedions of his internal charadler, 
 to look for an eternity of happinefs in God, is to look 
 very high indeed. It is to form very grand conceptions, 
 and moil exalted hopes j and it is demonftrably certain, 
 that no man in the world will go to the expence of 
 denying all his vile appetites after prefent good, with- 
 out a llrong fenfation of yifible and eternal good to 
 reward him for his felf-denial, and the refolute prac- 
 tice of virtue. 
 
 Now I afk again. Where is the man to be found, 
 that has preferved in his bofom an high hope of the 
 eternal fruition of God, as the fupreme good, and on 
 this principle alone has denied every bad appetite, 
 every polluted paffion, every impure inclination, 
 every vicious tafle, and has exerted ail his powers in 
 love to God and to all mankind? There is no fuch 
 man to be found in the whole worlds he is yet to be 
 born. 
 " " We 
 
e^o HIS C H A R A C T E R. 
 
 We repeat it ^gain, that reafon cannot! produce 
 and cherilh any of thofe noble principles in the foul 
 ¥/hich are neceffary for a life of virtue and holinefs. 
 
 A vigorous bent of the mind, or a powerful and 
 ardent inclination and propenfity of the heart to vir- 
 tue, is neceffary to the practice of virtue;, but her<? 
 reafon utterly fails. 
 
 All mankind have an adlual bent of heart to moral 
 iCvil, or a propenfity to vice and wickednefs: it is 
 neceffary to the end that a man may be virtuous, that 
 his inclinations for good be as lively and forcible for 
 virtue, as the heart of a wicked man is to vice; as 
 an hungry man longs for bread; as a thirfty man 
 eagerly defires to drink; as the hart panteth after the 
 ^water brooks; as the ambitious man longs for ho- 
 nour; as the covetous m^an loves gold; as the fenfual 
 profligate purfues pleafure ; as a man of fcience and 
 tafte eagerly feeks knowledge: fo it. is equally re- 
 <juifite that a man of virtue fnould pofTefs an irrefiili- 
 bie impuife to every branch of virtue, and an in-?, 
 ceffant thirfl after univerfal holinefs. This conflitu- 
 tion of foul on the principles of reafon is not to be 
 found in the whole world. 
 
 Reafon cannot fupport us under the troubles and 
 bitter afRiclions of life. It is utterly infuificient to 
 give us a lively apprehenfion, and a flrong concep- 
 tion of the weight and worth of eternal good. It 
 cannot infpire the leafl fenfe of the fweetnefs and fo- 
 iidity of invifible things: it knows nothing of the re- 
 ality and beauty of the perfections of God, and his 
 being prefent with us at all times, in all places, and 
 in all conditions. 
 
 •Reafon can give no relief to the mind in pinching 
 and critical times of diirrefs. It cannot difcover any 
 certain fupplies in want, nor difcern God's provi- 
 dence taking fpecial notice of any one of the human 
 race, having a care for fparrows, and numbering the 
 hairs of our head. 
 
 Reafon 
 
AS A DIVINE, 23Y 
 
 Reafon knows not that there is any one man in our 
 "world whom God will vouchfafe to call his friend j 
 nor can it difcern any promife that God has made 
 to the human race. Not the utm-ofl exertion of rea- 
 fon can tell us that God has ever made one promife, 
 or ever will to eternity: it knows not that God ha§ 
 any people on earth or in heaven. 
 
 Reafon knows not the Son of God : it cannot form 
 ©ne thought of him, nor tell us that God has a Son. 
 It is totally blind concerning a Saviour. 
 
 Reafon knows not the Spirit of God, or that God*3 
 Spirit has any exiftence: all eternity is in horrid 
 darknefs, even the blacknefs of darknefs. 
 
 Reafon knows not a word of heaven: an eternal 
 heaven, with all its pleafures and fulnefs of joy> is 
 totally unknown. 
 
 Reafon is quite blind concerning God's kingdom 
 in our world, or in the v/orld to come: it is totally 
 ignorant of all God's falvations of every kind: it 
 has no a^Turance of interefl in God. It has no dif- 
 cernment of God's fpecial favour, or experience of 
 his faithfulnefs in the lead: it knows of no fweetneii 
 in God our Saviour and Redeemer. 
 
 Reafon cries if the fweetnefs of the world is lofl^ 
 all is loft to me for ever: it knows not that there is 
 one drop of love in God for an immortal foul to 
 eternity. 
 
 Reafon is blind concernino; the true ufefulnefs of 
 aiBidlions: it knov^^s not the folid good which fprings 
 up out of the trials, troubles, and diflrelTes of life; 
 it cannot difcern their ufe to the fouls of men, nor 
 make all afflidions work for our prefent and eternal 
 good. 
 
 Reafon knowsnot a word or a fy liable of any fear--* 
 not from the voice of God : it is totally at a lofs as 
 to all the final ifTues of our affairs with God at death; 
 it is totally ignorant of all notices of God's oath, 
 
 life. 
 
i32 fe[ 1 S C HA R A C T E R 
 
 life, foul, arm, and confolations pledged to one M-« 
 ner in all the world. 
 
 Reafon knows nothing of the appearances of God 
 in our favour; nothing of the lall (late of the uni-.' 
 YQr{c'y nothing of his free interpofitions for our good,^ 
 either for time or for eternity j all is dark, dark as 
 death. 
 
 Reafon is infufficient to fupport us in the prolpedls 
 and terrors of death. Let us take four diftinct views 
 cf death. 
 
 ill. Confider it as your leaving this world, and 
 ail thino^s in it for ever. 
 
 2G. Confider death as the awful time when your 
 "whole interna] charadler Ihali be declared by God 
 hlmfelf, and your ftate ihall be fealed and fixed for 
 eternity. 
 
 3d. View death as turning the body to corruption 
 and rottennefs, and reducing it to the dufl from 
 "whence it was taken. 
 
 4th. View death as an entrance upon a new world, 
 and a new manner of exiiling, thinking, and afting, 
 in a difembodied llate. 
 
 Reafon is infufficient to give us any ftrong conjola- 
 tions againft the terror of death. 
 
 Reafon in guilty man will awfully declare that 
 God will forfake us in our mofi grievous dying 
 
 agonies. 
 
 Reafon cannot look upon God as a merciful Fa- 
 ther, nor can it truft in his infinite goodnefs to fup- 
 port us. 
 
 Reafon knows nothing at all of the fulferings and 
 death of our Lord Jesus Christ: it is totally ig- 
 notant of the infinite and eternal merit of his obedi- 
 ence and blood. 
 
 Reafon knows nothing at all of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ as dead in his grave, to make it .a fafe refting 
 place for all his followers, 
 
 Reafon 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 233 
 
 Reafon is totally ignorant of the refurredion of 
 Christ, and has no idea of the vicftory of Jesus 
 over death, and fin, and the grave. 
 
 Reafon is totally ignorant of the afcenfion of Je- 
 sus into heaven, and his amazing triumph over all 
 his enemies, with the honours that he enjoys at God's 
 right hand. > 
 
 Reafon cannot flart one thought of our vital union 
 with Christ by his eternal love; the new and divine 
 nature in the foul; the omnipotence of his arm, and 
 his Holy Spirit, as the firlt fruits of our blefled im- 
 mortality. Here reafon utterly fails. The human 
 underflanding cannot difcern that death will deliver 
 us from all temporal evils which we daily fuffer from 
 a body liable to a thoufand difeafes, from vile ene*^ 
 mies, falfe friends, lofTes of temporal good, pinches 
 and trials in Providence, critical rimes of diftrefs, 
 and cruel fufpicions of God's favour to our fouls. 
 
 Reafon cannot difcern that death fhall deliver us 
 from all fin, which we fee raging and reigning all 
 over the world in the bodies, and fouls, and lives, of 
 millions of mankind j and likewife from the horrid 
 power and deceit of internal depravity. Here reafb|^ 
 utterly fails. 
 
 The human underflanding, without revelation, 
 knows nothing at all of the glory and happinefs of 
 our fouls, the firfl moment of their departure out of 
 the body from darknefs to light, from corruption to 
 purity, from conflid to triumph, from v/eaknefs to 
 flrength, from bondage to liberty, from enemies to 
 friends, from doubts to full afTu ranee, from forrows 
 to joys, from groans to hallelujahs, in the prefence 
 of God. Here reafon appears utterly infufHcient. 
 
 Reafon knows not one fyllable of the glorious and 
 aflonifliing refurreftion of the body, and the fweet 
 meeting of body and foul before God. All the 
 Greek and Roman philofophers, who lived after the 
 refurred:ion was publifhed by the apoftles, looked 
 
 G g upon 
 
234 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 upon the dodlrine of the relurreftion with fcorn aricf: 
 dirdain: and even at Athens, the feat of philofophy 
 and fcience, they treated Paul as a babbhng fellow 
 for preaching Jesus and the refurrecftion of the dead. 
 
 Reafon alone is entirely ignorant of the utter d^- 
 flrudlion of death, fin and pain, forrow and fadnefs, 
 dark nights and difmal temptations, with the eternal 
 and moft blefied life which true Chriftians fhall enjoy 
 both in foul and body after their refurredion. 
 
 Hervey faw as clearly as any man in the world, 
 the utter infiifficiency of reafon to difcover the na- 
 tural and m.oral attributes of God, the fupreme hap- 
 pinefs of man, a fyfiem of univerfal virtue, or a plan 
 of perfe^l morals, without redundancy, error, or de- 
 fed:. He knew the infufTiciency of reafon to difco- 
 ver the mioft pungent motives to virtue, arifing from 
 the immediate prefence of GpD; the prefent rewards 
 andpleafures of virtue^ the future rewards of virtue j 
 the prefent punifhments of vice; the future punifli- 
 ments of vice; the beautiful examples of virtue; the 
 rich aiiiftances to virtue, or the povv^erful fuccours 
 of divine grace. He clearly faw the infufficiency of 
 "reafon to diicover the pardon of fin, the purification 
 of the heart, and the advancement of the foul in 
 virtue and holinefs. He knew the infufHciency of 
 reafon to fupport us under the troubles of life and 
 the terrors of death. 
 
 From a pungent convidcion of the truth of all 
 thefe particulars, he clearly faw the necefTity of di- 
 vine revelation to lead him into the true knovv^- 
 ledge of God, and final happinefs in the fruition of 
 God. This endeared revelation to his inmofl foul; 
 and no man in the whole world had a higher value 
 for the Bible than himfelf. He had thoughts forfe- 
 veral years before he died, of writing a Series of 
 Letters on the Fulfihrxent of Prophecies, with re- 
 ipecl to the Four Univerfal Monarchies; the Difper- 
 fion of the Jews; the Rife and Progrefs of Popery, and 
 
 the 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 23 
 
 the Great Messiah. Nothing but the feeWenefs of 
 his conftitution, his other avocations, and his want of 
 a free flow of fpirits, prevented our enjo.ynaent of this 
 rich treafure, which would have been an high enter- 
 tainment of eloquence and divinity united, to the 
 pious and ingenuous part of the Chriilian world. 
 He entered with ardour into the nature ofinfpiration: 
 he faw God take the fouls of the facred penmen into 
 his own hands, and infufe his own thoughts, ideas, 
 and images, into their underftandings. He faw God's. 
 Spirit giving them direction in ail matters of fad, 
 firing their imaginations, elevating their conceptions, 
 inflaming their paffionsj in all the pfalms and devoti- 
 ■ onal exercifes of the Bible. He lav/ God commu- 
 nicating his underfl'anding to all the prophets, to ena- 
 ble them to foretel ten thoufand future events; to 
 difcover fublime dodrines ; to denounce the moil: 
 awful .threatenings, and to declare the richefl: pro- 
 inifes which were hid in God from eternal ages. He 
 4aw the broad feal of omnipotence in the miraculous 
 operations, confirming the truth of ail thefe difcove- 
 ries. He faw the holinefs of the penmen; and in 
 the light of eternity, he faw the divine charader of 
 the Son of God, the great Founder of the Chriitiaa 
 religion. He faw the omniprefent Spirit of God go 
 forth in the name of Christ, and enlightening the 
 underftandings, and converting thoufands and mil- 
 jions to the refemblance and fruition of God in 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 With all thefe fa6ts and objeds darting upon his 
 mental eye, he fat down with the utmoft ferioufnefi, 
 with the mod honefl: impartiality, and the moll lively 
 gratitude, to fearch into the genuine fcnfe and mean- 
 ing of the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 Hervey did not come with a proud underftanding 
 to the Bible, to teach God what He ought to fay, 
 or how He ought to fpeak: he had no fcheme of 
 pre-conceived notions to put upon the v/ord of 
 God, prior to his approach to the Sacred Scrip- 
 
 G g 2 tures. 
 
^36 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 tures. He was fenfible of the weaknefs of the urf-i 
 derflanding to receive truth, to difcern truth, to re- 
 tain truth: he was fenfible of the weaknefs and wick- 
 ednefs of the human will, that as it was weak, it could 
 not choofe Christ j that as it was wicked, it would 
 moft certainly refufe him. He knew the pollution of 
 the human imagination, and that every thought of 
 man's heart was only evil all the day, Heb. Gen. vi. 
 5. He knew the defperate fiiry of the human pafil- 
 ons againft God, and their violent oppofition to the 
 method of j unification by the righteoufnefs of Christ. 
 He knew the weaknefs of the human memory to recol- 
 lect truth, and its pronenefs to be a repofitory for trafh 
 and lincleannefs. He knew the guiltinefs of the hu- 
 man confcience, and how full it was loaded with of- 
 fences againft God. He knew the depravity of man's 
 genius and tafte, and what a relifli human nature had 
 for all the difpofitions of the beaft and the devil. 
 
 With thefe convidlions full in his eye, and felt to 
 the very depth of his foul^ he came to the Bible to 
 be taught the whole counfel of God ; as dark, to be 
 enlightened; as ftubborn, to be made willing; as fil- 
 thy, to be purified; as turbulent, to be humbled in 
 the dufts as full of trafh, to be cleanfed from all ini- 
 quity; as guilty, to be pardoned; as an unclean and 
 groveling creature, to be elevated and refined. 
 
 With thefe fentiments and feelings of foul he came 
 to the Bible. He was ftedfaftly governed by thefe 
 immortal principles and rules in his interpretation of 
 Scripture. He afligned no irrational or abfurd fenfe 
 to the word of God; he never fixed any meaning to 
 the Scripture which was contrary to found reafon, or 
 was an outrage upon common fenfe. 
 
 When he attempted to judge of any divine fubje6t 
 by reafon, he took care that they v/ere fuch fubjecls 
 as were within the fphere of reafon. 
 
 He fubmitted his reafon humbly to divine revela* 
 tlon in all truths and difcoverics of God, which rea- 
 fon could never attain. 
 
 He 
 
AS A DIVINE. 23^ 
 
 tie offered no violence or outrage to the lanouagre 
 of Scripture, nor gave evafive explanations of it oa 
 fuch fubjedls as are not branches of itatural relip-ion. 
 He diflinguifhed well between the principles of na- 
 tural religion, and the principles of revealed relig-ion, 
 although the former are contained in the Bible indieir 
 utmoft perfection, as well as the latter in their brio-htelt 
 beauty. 
 
 He obferved the real intention and defign of the 
 divine writers; and he took the words and expreOions 
 of Scripture in their proper connexion and meanino-^ 
 He allowed every word of Scripture its obvious and 
 proper fenfe; that is, the natural fenfe v.'hich Scripture 
 conveys. 
 
 He compared the word of God with itfelf: he col- 
 ieded the feveral parts of Scripture on the fame fub- 
 je6ls, and on the fame view. By this means he had 
 the moft ftriking evidence of every doclrine, blefTino-, 
 ■and precept, fet before his eyes in the mod attradive 
 light ; and his views of the beauty of truth were of 
 unfpeakable ufe and pleafure to his foul. 
 
 With thefe convidions, deep in his confcience, and 
 thefe modeil difpofitions of mind, and with thefe prin- 
 ciples and rules in his underftanding, he proceeded to 
 confider the Scriptural idea of the charader of God ; 
 the revealed account of the unity of God^ the dKco- 
 very of a plurality of agents in the undivided beino- 
 of God, arifmg from the Hebrew plurals of the Old 
 Teftament, and the difcoveries of three facred ao-ents 
 in the works of creation, in the works of providence 
 in the produdion of miracles, and in the higheft work 
 of all, the work of falvation. ^ 
 
 The ScRiPtuRE Idea of God; or a roncife View of 
 
 the Divine Perfeclions. 
 
 It is certain, by the light of nature, that there ' is 
 
 a God; and it is certain that this God can be but 
 
 one; He is an infinite, eternal, unchangeable, inde- 
 
 pendentj 
 
^3^ H I S C H A R A C T E R. 
 
 pendentj and neceflarily exiftent Being, every where 
 prefentj the Creator, Preferver, and Governor of all 
 things j infinite in wifdom, power, holinefs, juftice, 
 goodnefs and truth* 
 
 The Scripture wholly agrees with the light of rea- 
 fon, in the notion it gives us of one that is really, 
 truly, and properly God. An account of this, I 
 ihall give in the words of a great writer*, not being 
 able to exprefs myfelf better, or naore^ according to 
 my own mind. " If we trace (fays he) this matter 
 through the Old Teftamient, we fnall find that the 
 Scripture notion of a perfon that is truly God, and 
 Ihould be received as fuch, includes in it 
 
 Power and Might irresistible.'* 
 
 Lord Jehovah, what God is there in heaven 
 'or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and 
 according to thy might, Deut. iii. 24. 
 
 Jehovah, your God, is among you, a mighty 
 God and terrible, Deut. vii. i. 
 
 Jehovah, your God, is a God of gods, and a 
 Lord of lords ^ a great God, a mighty and terri- 
 ble, Deut. X. 17. 
 
 Thine, O Jehovah, is the greatnefs, and the 
 power, and the glory, and the vidory, and the ma- 
 iefty, .1 Chron. xxix. 11. 
 
 He is wife in heart, and mighty in flrength ; who 
 .hath hardened himfelf againfl: him and profpered? 
 Job ix. 4. 
 
 With Him is flrength and wifdom. Job xii. 13. 
 
 1 know that thou canil do every thing, Job xlii. 2, 
 In the Lord is everlafting flrength, Ila. xxvi. 5. 
 God, even Jehovah, that created the heavens, 
 
 and flretched them out; He that fpread forth the 
 earth, and what comes out of it; He that gives 
 breath to the people upon it, and fpirit to them that 
 walk therein, Ifa. xlii. 5. 
 
 * Dr. Watorland in his Sermon-a on C«s,iST''a Divinity. 
 
 Perfect 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 239 
 
 Perfect Knowledge and coi^summate Wisdom, 
 
 He that is perfedl in knowledge^ is with thee^ 
 Job xxxvi. 4. 
 
 Doft thou know the wondrous works of Him that 
 js perfedl in knowledge? Job xxxvii. 16. 
 
 BlefTed be the name of God, for wifdom and 
 might are his, Dan. ii. 20. 
 
 Eternity. 
 
 Thy throne is eftablifhed of old from everlafting, 
 Pfa. xciii. 2. 
 
 God is great; neither can the number of his years 
 be fearched out. Job xxxvi. 26. 
 
 The eternal God, Deut. xxxiii. 27. 
 
 Jehovah, the everiafting God, Gen. xxi. jj, 
 
 Koiy One, v/ho inhabits eternity, Ifa. Ivii. 15, 
 
 Immutability, 
 I am Jehovah : I change not, Mai. iii. 16. 
 
 Omnipresence. 
 Whither fhall I go from thy Spirit 5 whether ihall I 
 fly from thy prefence ? Pfa. cxxxix. 7. 
 
 Am I a God at hand, faith the Lord, and not a 
 God afar off? Can any hide himfelf in fecret places 
 that I fhall not fee him, faith the Lord ? Do not I 
 fill heaven and earth, faith the Lord ? Jer. xxiii. 
 ajj 24. 
 
 Creative Powers. 
 
 Job xxvi. xxxvii. xxxviii. xxxix. xl. xli. throughout. 
 
 Jehovah, thou art God alone, 2 Kings xix. ic. 
 
 1 am Jehovah, that makes all things, Ifa. xliv. 24. 
 I am He who laid the foundation of the earth, 
 
 Ifa. xlviii. 12, 13. 
 
 Jehovah ! He is the true God : He is the living 
 God : has made the earth by his power, Jer, x. 10, 12, 
 
 Supremacy, Independence, and necessary 
 Existence. 
 
 God faid, I AM that I AM, Exod. iii. 14. 
 Thefe are the diftinguifliing charaders, under 
 
 which 
 
24(5 H 1 S C H A R A C T E R 
 
 %vhich God was pleafed to make himfelf known -, and it 
 h upon thefe accounts^ that he^ in oppofition to all 
 other gods, claims to be received and honoured as 
 God. Thefe are therefore what make up the Scrip- 
 ture idea of a perfon who is truly, reallyjs and properly 
 God. And if the Scripture has informed us what 
 properties, attributes, and perfections mull be fup- 
 pofed to meet in one, that is truly and properly God, 
 our own reafon muft tell us, that thefe attributes, 
 properties, and perfedions, muil have a fubjed, and 
 this fubjedt we call fubftance; and therefore the 
 Scripture notion of Goo is, that of an eternal, immuta- 
 ble, omnifcient, omniprefent, almighty fubilance. If it 
 be pretended that thefe are the characters of a Supreme 
 God only, and not of every perfon that is true God, I 
 anfwer, that fupremacy (^negatively confidered, in 
 oppofition to any fuperior nature) is one of the cha- 
 ra(5ters belonging to any perfon that is truly God, as 
 much as omnipotence, omnifcience, or any other ; and 
 confequentiy he is not truly God in the Scripture no-^ 
 tion of God, who is not Supreme God. 
 
 This is the true notion of God, which may be 
 drawn f-om the writings of the Old Teframent, and 
 the fam.e runs through thofe of the New. 
 
 The Scripture Notiont of the Divine Unity f. 
 
 As natural reafon aflures us, that there can be but 
 one abfolutely infinite being, fo the Scripture eftabliflies 
 ihQ unity of God, in the fuUeft and ftrongefc manner. 
 This, Mofes proclaimed in the ears of Ifrael :|: : " Hear 
 
 Ifrael, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah;" and 
 that there can be but one true God, the Moil Pligh 
 Himfelf has aiTured us, fpeaking thus by the prophet 
 Ifaiah^ ; " I (Jehovah of Hofts) am the firft and 
 
 1 am the lafb, and befides me there is no God: there 
 
 * I fay, negatively ; becaufe pofitive fupremacy €ver others, could 
 net commence till the creation. 
 
 f See Dr. Abraham Taylor on the Trinity. 
 X D'jut. vi. 4. § Ifai xlv. 6, 8. 
 
 is 
 
AS A DIVINE. 24t 
 
 is no God befides me; I know not any.'* Christ ac- 
 knowlcdgedj that the fcribe aniwered difcreetly, when 
 he faid*, " There is one God, and the^e is none but 
 He/* The apoftle Paul has declared f, " There is 
 one God/' And not to multiply quotations in fo plain 
 a matter, the apoftle James reprefents this truth to 
 be too clear to be denied by the devils j for he thus 
 fpeaks to fuch as vainly pretended to faith without 
 good worksj. " Thou believed that there is one 
 God ; thou dofl well : the devils alfo believe and 
 tremble." 
 
 Thefe declaradons of the unity of God, effedually 
 guard againft all inferior fubordinate gods, and efFedlu- 
 ally exclude all creatures from having divine honour 
 afcribed to them. None that are not gods by nature 
 can be efteemed truly and properly Gods. The apoftle 
 Paul tells the Galatian converts, that they were en- 
 tirely ignorant of the true God, while they worfhipped 
 fuch as by nature were no Gods. ^^ Then when you 
 knew not God, you did fervice to them which by na- 
 ture are no gods." None can be true God, in a Scrip- 
 ture fenfe, but one infinitely perfe6t Being, who is God 
 by nature, or neceffarily exiftent. 
 
 A View of the Plurality of Persons in the Eter- 
 nal Godhead, from the Hebrew Bible. 
 
 I. ITTVi^ Gods; Thirty-two times in Genefis i. — 
 Five hundred times in the Five Books of Mofes. 
 
 Why does Mofes ufe the plural five hundred 
 times, when there is a fingular noun nV*Pi^. 
 
 Instances of a Plural Noun, and Plural 
 . . Adjective. 
 
 II. D'^nnp n'TVi^ Gods nigh, Deut. iv. 7. 
 
 III. n^'n D^'^^H Living Gods, Deut. v. 26. 
 
 * Mark xii. 32, f i Tim. ii. 5. 
 
 X J^m^sn, i^. §G3l.iv. 8. 
 
 Hh IV. 
 
242 HISCHARACTER 
 
 IV. D'^nD'n'?*^ Living Gods, i Sam. xvii. 26^ 
 
 V. D''''n DTi'p^^ Living Gods, verfe 2^* 
 
 VI. Cl''^n wnbik iiin He is the living Gods, Jer. x. io 
 ' VII. ^^^^D^I:^•^pD*'^bl^ The Holy Gods is He, 
 
 Jofli. xxiv. 19. 
 
 VIII. 0'"^'"^^ D^ntJi* Illuftrions Gods, i Sam. iv. S, 
 
 IX. V^^^^O'^S^Q'J^^^ Gods judging in the earth, 
 Pfal. Iviii. II. 
 
 X. PV^;^ ''^^Ip The Holy Supreme Ones, Dan. vii. 
 18. 
 
 IiNTSTANGES OF THE PlURAL NoUN AND PlURAL 
 
 Verb, 
 
 XL D*Ti*nW3 Let us make man. Gen. i. 26. 
 
 XII. n^-1^1 Tm2 Let us go down, and let us con- 
 found their language. Gen. ii. 7- 
 
 XIII. Q''"f^^ ^^^ ^^^^ Gods caufed me to wander, 
 Gen. XX. 13. 
 
 XIV. D^n'^i^ I^Jn^J^^I ilnd Gods fufFered not, Gen, 
 xxxi. 7. 
 
 XV. D'H^i* V^^* '^^^^ Gods appeared to him, Gen» 
 XXXV. 7. 
 
 XVI. '^tOBt!;"' DW^i Gods judge. Gen. xxxi. 53. 
 
 XVII. JinB'? DM'?>* "JI^Sl Gods went to redeem, 
 a Sam. vii. 23. 
 
 Instances of the Plural Pronoun belonging 
 TO the supreme God. 
 
 XVIII. ''^^Q inKD The man is become as one of 
 Xjs, Gen. iii. 22. 
 
 XIX. "J^^ 1^^ ^^'^ And who will go for us, Ifa. vi. 8. 
 
 XX. ")^^nw Shew us what fhall happen, Ifu. 
 %\u 22. • . 
 
 Instan-* 
 
A S A D I V 1 N E. 243 
 
 Instances of a Divine Person appearing in the 
 Character of a Messenger. 
 
 XXI. mnnJ^te The Meflenger of Jehovah, Gen. 
 
 xvi. 7. 
 
 The Mefienger who appeared to Hagar was Jeho- 
 vah, as appears from verfe 13. 
 
 The name of Jehovah who/pake to her. 
 
 XXII. ^^^' '^'^^ i^'^''^ Jehovah in the charader of a 
 Mefienger converfed with Abraham, Gen. xviii. 1,2, 
 
 It is evident that Christ was one of the three men. 
 
 XXIII. Di*;j 'r));2m u -iDi^T-nin^ in^d v^n Nnpn 
 
 Jehovah in the chara6ler of a Mefienger, fwore an 
 oath to Abraham, Gen. xxii. 11, 12. 
 
 XXIV. &c. ^i^'^:jn IS^OT The Mefi-enger that re- 
 deemed me from all evil, blefs the lads. Gen. xlviii. 
 16. 
 
 XXV. D-n^^^ vbi^ K-)pv-vb^* mn" >'':''^ J^i^*) The 
 Mefifenger of Jehovah appeared unto Mofes — God 
 called to him out of the bufh, Exod. iii. 2, 4. 
 
 XXVI. U-ip2^Qt^The Mefienger, to whom pay 
 obedience for my name is in him, Exod. xxiii. 20, 21. 
 
 XXVII. TU>T^«:i^^Wn:L;n a Mefienger fays to 
 Jofliua, ^^ I have removed thy iniquity from thee," 
 Zech. iii. 4. 
 
 Miscellaneous Proofs of a Plurality in the 
 
 Godhead. 
 
 XXVIII. m^''r^^^D i>DOTmnn Jehovah rained 
 
 on Sodom from Jehovah, Gen. xix. 24. 
 
 XXIX. U'mp The Holy Ones^ unto which of 
 the Holy Ones wilt thou turn, Job v. i. 
 
 XXX. D^::^lpr^;7-n And the knowledge of the Holy 
 Ones, Provr ix. 10. 
 
 XXXI. D^::^ip n;^"n And the knowledge of the 
 Holy Onps, Prov. xxx. 3. ' ^ 
 
 Hh2 xxxir. 
 
fe44 H 1 S C H A R A C T E R 
 
 XXXII. Q^'^'^P The Holy Ones, Hof. xi. 9. 
 XXXIIL r^^P The Holy Ones, Dan. iv. 13, 17. 
 
 XXXIV. t:^npt:;npi:;np Holy, Holy, Holy, Ifai. 
 vi. 3. 
 
 XXXV. D'n:i^ Higher Ones, Eccle. v. 7. 
 
 XXXVI. T^^n1ni^K->3n And remember thy Cre- 
 ators, Eccle. xii. i. 
 
 XXXVII. 'm m^li^ n^i^ where is God my Ma- 
 kers, Job XXXV. 10. 
 
 XXXVIII. D''n^snJ^n:j Thy throne, O God, Pfal. 
 xlv. 7.-.Verre 8. Tn':'>i DNn*?.^ ^HTO O God, thy 
 God hath anointed thee. 
 
 XXXIX. VW2b^y>:^'m^' Let Ifrael rejoice ia 
 his Makers, Pfalm cxlix. 2. 
 
 XL. 'i^'^'^^ ^^^^ "^J^' Q^-^t^^^ °^^^ If I am Lords where 
 is my fear, Mai. i. 6. 
 
 XLI. T^^VT^n Thy Makers— thy Hufband, 
 Ifai. liv. 5. 
 
 XLII. T^J^Ti^W Thy Makers fliall marry thee, 
 Tfai. Ixii. 5. 
 
 XLIII. "JJp"!^* n*l.T Je^hovah our righteoufnefs. 
 Jehovah Vv'ill raife the Branch Jehovah, Jer. 
 xxiii. 6. 
 
 XLIV. P**)^ The Watchers, Dan. iv. 13. 17, 
 
 XLV. V-T>>n™N^>''>» i^r\bi^ The Moft High God 
 —They took away, Dan. v. 18, 20. 
 
 XLVI. DD''^'7^^^•)<TnQ^^;'I^^.^•) Jehovah fays, I 
 •will lave them by Jehovah their God, Hof. i. 7. 
 
 Scripture Representation of Three Persons 
 in the Divine Nature. 
 
 Preliminary Definitions. 
 
 A Perfon is fomething intelligent, in oppofition to 
 the brutal creation. 
 
 ^ A Perfon if- fomething which is the fubje61: of in- 
 elligence, having diftinctive charaders of /, Tbou^ 
 
 Hey 
 
AS A DIVINE. 245 
 
 He^ not divided, nor diflinguiflied into more intelii- 
 gent agents, capable of the Tame chara6ler. 
 
 The Trinity is not a fingle Perfon, becaufe diftin- 
 guifhed into more intelligent agents than one. See 
 Dr. Waterland's Second Defence, pages 370, 371, 
 
 A Being is one feparate divided fubflance, divided 
 from ail other beings. 
 
 The DiyiNE Being is the one infinite divine na« 
 ture. 
 
 A Divine Person is one fingle fubfiflent in that 
 being or fubfbance, the Godhead. 
 
 Thofe that deny the true and proper Deity of Je- 
 sus Christ, plainly and flatly deny that two perfons 
 can be one necefiary being or fubftance. Dr. Water- 
 land's Second Defence, page 437. 
 
 " They fay two perfons cannot be one being, page 
 
 43S. 
 
 *' Two perfons cannot be one necefiary exifting 
 fubftance." 
 
 I. Creation proves a Trinity. 
 
 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and 
 the earth. Gen. i. i. 
 
 2. All things were made by Jesus Christ, Eph* 
 iii. 9. 
 
 Lord, Thou art God, which haft made heaven and 
 earth, A6ls iv. 24. 
 
 All things were made by Christ : without Him 
 no one thing, John i. 3. 
 
 For by him were all things created that are ia 
 heaven, and that are in earth, vifible and invifible, 
 whether they be thrones or dominions, or principali- 
 ties, or powers, all things were created by him, and 
 for him. Col. i. 16. 
 
 3. The Spirit of God moved on the face of the 
 waters. Gen. i. 2. 
 
 By his Spirit he garniftied the heavens, and all the 
 hoft of them j by the breath or fpirit of his mouth. 
 Job xxvi. 13, 
 
 IL The 
 
24^ HIS CHAR AGTEE 
 
 II. The Creation of Man, 
 
 Let Us make man^ Gen. i. 26. 
 Thy Maker is thy Hufband, Ifa. liv. 5. 
 Let us kneel before our Maker, Pfal. xcv. 6. 
 The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath 
 of the Almighty hath given me life. Job xxxiii. 4.. 
 
 III. The Deliverance of the Israelites out of 
 
 Egypt, by 
 
 |. Jehovah the Father, whofe mercies, &c» 
 Pfal. Ixii. 12. 
 
 2. The Angei of his Prefence, who faved — re- 
 deemed — bare them. Ifa. Ixiii. 9. ' 
 
 3. The Spirit led them on — caufed them to redj 
 yer. JO, II, 14. 
 
 IV. The Covenant of Grace. 
 
 The Father made the covenant. 
 
 The Son is the Surety, Mediator, and Me/Ienger. 
 
 The Spirit of God Hands by as a witnefs, to fee 
 all the articles agreed upon and performed on each 
 fide. 
 
 The Father's part in the covenant was to fill h 
 with all blelFings, Eph. i. 4. 
 
 The Son's part was to receive all the blefUngs, and 
 keep them. Pfa. Ixviii. 18. Thou hail received gifts 
 for men. Col. ii. 3. In whom are hid all the trea- 
 fures of wilHom and knowledge. Col. i. 19. For it 
 pleafed the sacred Three, that in him fhould all 
 folnefs dwell*. 
 
 The Spirit's part is to apply all the blefiings to 
 elect fouls. He fhall take of mine, and fhall fliew 
 it unto you, John xvi. 15. 
 
 For I am with you, faith the Lord of Hods, with 
 the word by whom I covenanted with you, when ye 
 came out of Egypt j fo my Spirit is (landing among 
 you. Hag. ii. 4, 5. 
 
 * See Dr. Gill's Body of Divinity, Vol. I. page 231. 
 
 V. The 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 247 
 
 V. The Oeconomy of Salvation-. 
 
 1. The God and Father of Christ ele6ts men, 
 and blefTes them ; predeftinates and adopts them into 
 his family, Eph. i. 5, 6. 
 
 1, The Son of God is the Author of Redemption 
 by his blood, Eph. i. 7. Rev. v. 9. 
 
 3. The Holy Spirit feals them up for the pof* 
 fefiion of heaven, Eph. i. 3— 11. 
 
 VI. Christ fent by the Lord God and his Spirit^ 
 
 Ifa. xlviii. 16. 
 
 Here we plainly perceive Three Perfons« 
 
 1. Now the Lord God 
 
 2. And his Spirit 
 
 3. Have fent Me, Ila. Ixi. i» 
 Again, 
 
 r. The Spirit 
 
 ^, Of the Lord God 
 
 3. Is upon Me. 
 
 VII. The Son of God fent into Human Fiefli, 
 
 Gal. iv. 4. 
 
 God was manifeft in the flefh, i Tim. iii. iS, 
 
 See a Trinity in Luke i. 32 — 25- 
 
 I. The Highest — Jehovah the Father, ver. 32, 
 
 1. The Son of the Highest who took flefh of "the 
 virgin. 
 
 3. The Holy Ghost who overlhadowed the vir- 
 gin, ver. 2S* 
 
 VIII. Jesus anointed by God the Father with the 
 
 Holy Spirit. 
 
 Pfa. xlv. 7. Thy God hath anointed thee. 
 
 Ifa. Ixi. I. Jehovah hath anointed me. 
 
 Ads X. 38. How God anointed Jesus of Nazaretji 
 with the Holy Ghost, and with power. 
 
 Note. Here the Holy Spirit is plainly diftin- 
 guifhed from a power, or virtue, or an energy, which 
 the Sgcinians WQuld have us Relieve. See alfo 
 
 Rom. 
 
248 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 Rom. XV. 13. where we read of the power of the 
 Holy Ghost; that is, on Soclnian principles, the 
 power of a power ! the attribute of an attribute I the 
 energy of an energy ! But this is too contemptible 
 and abfurd to be admitted by any that are fo modeft 
 as to take God at his word refpeding the perfonality 
 and divinity of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 The Unction and Sealing of Believers. 
 
 Now he who eftablifheth us with you in Christ, 
 and hath anointed us, is God ; who alfo hath fealed 
 lis, and given the earnefl of the Spirit in our hearts, 
 2 Cor. i. 21, 22. 
 
 IX. The Baptism of Jesus* 
 
 1. Jesus being baptifed— 
 
 2. The Holy Spirit defcending— 
 
 3. The Father fpeaking from heaven — 
 
 This is MY beloved Son — The Spirit defcended 
 upon him. Matt. iii. 16, 17. 
 
 Go Arian ! — Go Socinian !— Go Unitarian ! to 
 Jordan, and fee a Trinity. 
 
 X. Jesus promifes to fend the Holy Spirit from 
 
 the Father. 
 
 See a Trinity twice in one verfe, John xv. 26. 
 
 1. But when the Comforter is come, 
 
 2. Whom I will fend unto you 
 
 3. From the Father. 
 Again, in the fame verfe. 
 
 1. Even the Spirit of Truth, 
 
 2. Who proceedeth from the Father, 
 
 3. He (the Holy Spirit) Ihall teftify of Me. 
 Again, John xiv. 26. 
 
 it. But the Comforter, who is the Holy Ghost, 
 
 2. Whom the Father will fend 
 
 3. In my Name. 
 
 See alfo John xiv. 1 6, 
 I. I will prav. 
 
 ' 2. The 
 
A S A D I V I N E. ^49 
 
 2. The Father, 
 
 3. He fhall give you another Comforter. See 
 chap. xvi. 7. 
 
 XL Our Lord Jesus obtained Eternal Redemp* 
 
 TION. 
 
 1. The price was paid to God the Father. 
 Thou haft redeemed us to God with thy 
 
 blood. Rev. v. 9. 
 
 2. Christ paid the price. 
 
 As man, his body and foul were the facrifice, 
 Heb. ix. 12, 14. 
 
 As God-Man, he was the Prieftor Sacrificer. 
 
 As GoD, he was the Altar on which he facrificed, 
 or offered up his Satisfa6lion. 
 
 3. It was through the eternal Spirit. 
 
 Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, by whom ye 
 are fealed unto the day of Redemption, Eph. iv. 30. 
 
 XII. The Resurrection of Christ fliews Three 
 
 Persons. 
 
 1. God raifed up Jesus, i Cor. xv. 15. 
 
 2. I have power to take up my life again, John 
 X. 18. 
 
 3. The Spirit raifed up Christ from the dead, 
 Rom. viii. 9. 
 
 Again, 
 
 1. God raifed him, and gave him glory, i Pet. i. 21, 
 
 2. Christ raifed himfelf by his own power — " I 
 will raife it up," John ii. 19. 
 
 3. He was declared the Son of God with power, 
 according to the Spirit, Rom. i. 4. 
 
 XIII. In Regeneration we fee a Trinity. 
 
 1. The Father is faid to regenerate —'"' Bieffed 
 be the God and Father — begotten us again,'' i Pet. 
 
 2, Son of God regenerates — " Quickens whom 
 he will,'* John v. 21.—" Bora pf him/' i John ii. 29. 
 
 I i t ~ J. The 
 
.JI50 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 3. The Spirit of God regenerates-*—^' Born of 
 water and of the Spirit," John iii. 5. 
 
 See the Three Perfons in Titus iii. 5. 
 
 God the Father is called our Saviour — is faid 
 to fave by the wafhirig of regeneration, and the re- 
 newing of the Holy Ghost, (a E^sp^fsv) whom h^ 
 poured out on men, through Jesus Chrit our Savi- 
 our. 
 
 XIV. Adoption is an Act of Three Persoisls.'' 
 
 1. The Father's love is admired in befliowing 
 this favour, i John iii. i. 
 
 2. Christ gives right and power to become the 
 fons of God, John i. 12. Gal. iv. 5. 
 
 A privilege is a right and power to enjoy a pecu- 
 liar, exclufive blefling, or a blefTing from which others 
 are excluded. 
 
 3. The Spirit is the Spirit of adoption. 
 
 He witneiTes to our fpirits that we are fons, Ronv 
 viii. i6i 
 
 See all three together in one verfe. 
 
 Becaufe ye are- fons, God hath fent forth the Spi- 
 rit of his Son into your hearts, crying^ Abba, Fa- 
 ther, Gal. iv. 6. 
 
 XV. Fresh Illuminations from God in Three 
 
 Persons. 
 
 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ? the 
 Father of Glory, may give unto you the Spirit of 
 wifdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that 
 is, of Christ, Eph. i. 17. where 
 
 1. The Father is prayed to. 
 
 2. The Spirit of wifdom is prayed for, that they 
 ipight have 
 
 3. Aa increafe of the knowledge of Christ, 
 
 XVI. Fresi! 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 251 
 
 KVL Fresh Grace and Strength from Three 
 
 Persons. 
 
 I bow my knee to the Father 'of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, that he would grant you accordino- 
 to the riches of his glory, to be ilrengthened with 
 might by his Spirit in the inner man, Eph. iii. 14, 
 16, See Zech. X. 12. 
 
 XVII. The Holy Ghost given to Beliisvers, by 
 God the Father, through the Merits of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 The Holy Ghost, whom He, that is, God the 
 Father, poured on us abundantly through Jesus 
 Christ, Titus iii. 5, 6. 
 
 XVIII. Proof from the Object of our Prayers. 
 
 The obje6l of prayer is the one God 5 Father, 
 Son, and Spirit. 
 
 Sometimes the God and Father of Christ is 
 fingly addrefTed — " I bow my knee to the Father," 
 ^c. Eph. iii. 14. 
 
 Sometimes Christ himfelf as by Stephen — " Lord 
 Jesus receive my Spirit," A6ls vii. 59. 
 
 Sometimes the Holy Spirit — " I befought the 
 Lord thrice," 2 Cor. xii. 9. ' 
 
 The Lord dire6l your hearts into the love of 
 God, and into the patient waiting for Christ, (or intd 
 the patience of Christ) 2 Thelf. iii. 5. 
 
 Sometimes all three together. 
 
 1. Him who is, was, an'd is to come; (namely, the 
 Father) 
 
 2. The feven fpirits which are before his throne ; 
 (which mean the Holy Spirit in the perfedion of 
 his mds and traces — See Dr* Gill inLoc.) 
 
 y. And from Jesus Christ, Rev. i, 4, 5. 
 Some think the {even fpirits are angels; but it is 
 abfurd to imagine that grace and peace fliould be 
 
 112 . • prayed , 
 
25* HISCHARACTER 
 
 prayed for from angels equally as from God. Cari 
 angels too be fet before the Son of God ? 
 
 XIX. Infpiration is peculiarly the work of the Holy 
 
 Spirit, but not to the exckifion of the Father 
 
 and the Son. All three dictated to David, and 
 
 doubtlefs- all the writers were infpired in the fame 
 
 manner, and by the fame perfons. 
 
 1. The Spirit of the Lord fpake by me, and 
 his word was in my tongue. 
 
 2. The GoDof Ifrael — (that is, God the Father) 
 
 3. The Rock of Ifrael fpake to me, (that is, Jesus 
 Christ) 2 Sam. xxiii. 2, 3. 
 
 i» All Scripture is given by infpiration of God, 
 2 Tim. iii. 16. 
 
 2. The Bible is,* « the Word of Christ."— Let 
 the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, 5cc, CoL 
 iii. 16. 
 
 3. Holy men of God fpake as they were moved 
 by the Holy Ghost, 2 Pet. i. 21. 
 
 XX. JEHOVAH in Three Persons. 
 
 1. Jehovah blefs thee, and keep thee. 
 
 2. Jehovah make his face fhine upon thee, and 
 be gracious unto thee. 
 
 3. Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee, and 
 give thee peace. Numb. vi. 24, 25, 26. 
 
 Jehovah is our Judge. 
 Jehovah is our Lawgiver. 
 
 Jehovah is our King — he will fave us^ Ifai. xxxiii, 
 22. ■ . . ■ ^-- > , ■ 
 
 O Lord hear. 
 O Lord forgive. 
 
 Lord hearken and do, Dan. ix. 19. 
 Chriftian Preachers adore God in Three Perfons. 
 Holy, 
 Holy, 
 Holy, I fa. vi. 3. Rev. iv. 8, 
 
 Thefe 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 255 
 
 Thefe are beautiful Inftances of the attention paid 
 to the Thi"ee Perfons in the Divine nature ; or elfe 
 how comes it to pafs that the repetitioA is made only 
 three times — no more and no lefs. 
 
 XXI. The Government of the World by the 
 
 Sacred Three. 
 
 1. My Father worketh hitherto, 
 
 2. And I work, 
 
 3. Who hath diredted the Spirit of the Lord, or 
 being his Counfellor, hath taught him, that is, in the 
 affair of the government of the world, as follows : 
 With whom took he counfel ? And who inflrud:ed 
 him and taught him in the path of judgment, and 
 taught him knowledge, and fliewed to him the way 
 of underftanding, to manage the important con- 
 cerns of the world, to do every thing wifely and 
 juftly, and to overrule all for the beft ends and pur- 
 pofes? See Ifa. xL 13, 14.— See Dr. Gill's Body of 
 Divinity, Vol. I. page 230. 
 
 XXII. Eledlion is afcribed to the Father^ Sancftifi- 
 cation to the Spirit, and Atonement to our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 Read i Pet. i. 2. Ele6l, according to the fore- 
 knowledge of God the Father, through fandifica- 
 tion of the Spirit unto obedience, and fprinkling of 
 the blood of Jesus. 
 
 XXIII. The Act of Justification is afcribed to 
 
 each of the Sacred Three. 
 
 1. God the Father juftifies. 
 
 One God who fliall juftify, &c. Rom. iii. 30. 
 BlelTednefs of the man to whom God imputeth 
 righteoufnefs without works, Rom. iv. 6. 
 It is God that juftifieth, Rom. viii. 23* 
 
 2. It is not only by the righteoufnefs of Christ 
 that men are juftified, but he himfelf juilifies by his 
 knowledge, or by faith in him. 
 
 By 
 
254 H I S C H A R A C T £ R 
 
 By his knowledge fliall my righteous fervant jiifli^> 
 many, Ifai. liii. 1 1. 
 
 3. It is the Spirit of God that pronounces the 
 fentence of juftification in the confcience of believers: 
 Jiencg they 2ir^mfiified in the name of the Lord Jesus, 
 end by the Spirit of our Gop." i Cor. vi. 11. — See 
 br. Gill's Body of Divinity, Vol. I. page 234. 
 
 XXIV. Baptism is to be adminiftered. 
 
 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost, Matt, xxviii. 19. 
 
 XXV. The General Refvirre61,ion proves a Trinity. 
 
 1. God the Father. 
 
 God hath both raifed up the Lord, and will alp), 
 raije up us by his own power, i Cor. vi. 14. 
 
 Knowing that he which raifed up the Lord Jesus, 
 fiall raiJc us up, aljo by Jesus, and ihall prefent Xi% 
 \yith you, 2 Cqr. iv. 14. 
 
 2. God the Son. 
 
 All that are in the graves fhall hear his voice^ 
 John V. 28. 
 
 I am alive for evermore, amen, and have the keys 
 of hell and of death, Rev. i. 18. 
 
 The Lord Jesus, who fhall change our vile body^ 
 that it may be fafhioned like unto His glorious body^ 
 6i:c. Phil, iii, 21. 
 
 3. God the Holy Spirit, 
 
 Shall alfo quicken your mortal bodies, by his 
 Spirit that dwelleth in vou, Rom. viii. 11. 
 
 XXVI. Vv^e conclude the Scripture Demonstra- 
 tion of a Trinity, with the Apoftle's benedidory 
 trayer. 
 
 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ^, 
 The love of God, 
 
 And the com.munion of the Holy Ghost, be with 
 you all, amen. 2 Cor. 7xiii, 14. 
 
 SON 
 
A S A D I V I N E, -5^ 
 
 SON OF GOD. 
 
 1. The foim of the fourth was like the Son of 
 God, (Vn^N^ ia) Dan. iii. 25. ' . 
 
 2. If thou be the Son of God, (s* mog n r» Oea) 
 Matt. iv. 3. 
 
 3. Jefus thou Son of God, Ibid. viii. 29. 
 
 4. Thou art the Son of God, Ibid. xiv. ^2^ 
 
 5. Chrifb the Son of God, Ibid. xxvi. 6;^, 
 
 6. The Son of Godv, Ibid, xxvii. 40. 
 
 7. I am the Son of God, ver. 43. 
 
 8. Truly this was the Son of God, ver. 54. 
 
 9. Jefus Chrift the Son of God, Mark i. i. 
 
 10. Thou art the Son of God, Ibid, iii; 11. 
 
 11. This Man was the Son of God, {viog Oia) 
 Ibid. XV. 39. 
 
 1 2^ That thing born of thee, fhall be called the 
 Son of God, Luke i. 35. 
 
 13. Thou art Chrift th^ Son of God, Ibid. iv. 41. 
 
 14. Jefus, thou Son of God Moft High, Ibid. 
 Viii. 28. 
 
 15c Art thou then the Son of God? Ibid. xxii. 70, 
 
 16. This is the Son of God, John i. 34. 
 
 17. The only begotten Son of God, Ibid. iii. i8, 
 
 18. The voice of the Son of God, Ibid. v. 25. 
 
 19. Thou art the Chrift, the Son of the living^ 
 God, Ibid. vi. 69. 
 
 20. Doft thou believe on the Son of God? Ibid. 
 ix. 3S. 
 
 21. I am the Son of God, (mog ra 0fs 5$^;) John 
 !5C. 36. 
 
 22. That the Son of God might be glorified. 
 Ibid. xi. 4. 
 
 23. Thou art Chrift the Son of God, ver. 27. 
 
 24. He ought to die becaufe he made himlelf the 
 Son of God, John xix. 7. 
 
 25. Thefe are written that ye might believe that 
 Jefus is the Chrift— the Son of God, Ibid, xx. 31. 
 
 " 26. I 
 
2s6 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 26. I believe that Jefus Chrifl is the Son of God,. 
 A6ts viii. 37. 
 
 27. He preached Chrifl, that he is the Son of God, 
 Ibid. ix. 20. 
 
 28. Declared to be the Son of God with power, 
 Ronn. i. 4. 
 
 29. The Son of God, Jefus Chrifl, 2 Cor. i. 19. 
 
 30. I live by the faith of the Son of God, 
 Gal. ii. 20. 
 
 31. To the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, 
 (uia Tjj Gfa) Eph. iv. 13. 
 
 32. Jefus the Son of God, Heb. iv. 14. 
 
 ^^2* Crucify afrefh the Son of God, Ibid. vi. 6. 
 
 34. Made like the Son of God, Ibid. vii. 3. 
 
 2S' Trodden under foot the Son of God, Ibid. 
 X. 29. 
 
 26, The Son of God was manifefled to deftroy 
 the works of the devil, i John iii. 8. 
 
 37. Confefs that Jefus is the Son of God, Ibid, 
 iv. 15. 
 
 38. Jefus is the Son of God, Ibid. v. 5. 
 
 39. Bclieveth on the Son of God, ver. 10. 
 
 40 Believe on the name of the Son of God, 
 ver. I ?. 
 
 41. The Son of God is come, ver. 20. 
 
 42. Thefe things, faith the Son of God, who hath, 
 eyes like fire. Rev. ii. 18. 
 
 Thus far we have viewed the Charadler of Her- 
 vey as a divine : we have viewed his faith in the ex- 
 iflence and perfections of God: we have entered, in 
 his own eafy and popular manner, into the clearefl 
 ejvidences of the divine exiflence; and we have 
 adapted it to the capacity of all the young people of 
 Great Britain. I had not power to give more con- 
 vincing demonflrations. We then proceeded to con- 
 fiderthe natural evidences of the immortality of the 
 foul ; and on this fubjed our young people will find 
 
 fome 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 257 
 
 fome arguments peculiarly fuited to their under- 
 flanding, and fonne thoughts v^hich are not com- 
 monly to be met with in books on this fubjedl. It 
 will not be eafy for the infidels of the prefent age 
 to overthrow thefe arguments: their trafh and im- 
 pertinence on this fubjecl will be found utterly 
 infufficient for this purpofe. We defy every infidel 
 in Great Britain to prove, that he and his dog 
 Jouler are upon a level with refpe^t to the na- 
 ture of their fouls; their capacities for virtue and 
 happinefs; their eternity of duration, and final delli- 
 nation, in the empire of God. 
 
 We have proceeded to confider the objecls and the 
 a(^tions of imagination, and have fhewn that there 
 are three fources of the pleafures of the imagination 
 in our furvey of outward objects; that is to fay, the 
 great, the new, and the beautiful. We went on to 
 confider thQ obje& and a6lions of the paflions of the 
 foul : we viewed a large train of the pleafant pafiions 
 of the foul: we proceeded to fhow the painful pafTions 
 of the foul, which agree with our ideas of a God, and 
 fhow our immortality in a ilrong point of light. We 
 went on to confider the obje6ls and adtions of the 
 confcience, which prove the immortality of the foul, 
 and clearly agree with the idea of a God. 
 
 We proceeded to confider the objeifts and adlions of 
 tafte: v/e purfued the nature oftafie, as defcribed by 
 the excellent Rollin : v/e confidered the pleafures and 
 ufes of tafte in philofophy and devotion. Here Her- 
 vey fhone in a moil confpicuous point of light. 
 
 We have proceeded to confider the infijfficiency 
 of reafon to lead man to final happinefs. We have 
 viewed reafon as defective in giving us convincing 
 notions of a G0D5 as not being able to fhow us where 
 true happinefs is to be found, as being exceedingly 
 defective in giving us a plan of univerfal virtue, 
 and equally defedive in furnifhing us v/ith the very 
 beft motives to virtue. We have proved that reafon 
 
 K k cannct 
 
i58 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 cannot difcover the pardon of fin, the advance"* 
 ment of the foul in vital holinefs, fufEcient fupport 
 under the trials of life, and ftrong confblations againit 
 the fears of death. 
 
 Thefe views of the three facred Perfons in the 
 one divine nature, were perfectly agreeable to his 
 underftanding and his faith. He was quite at home 
 in this great truth of the Trinity. His four Ser- 
 ,mons oh the Divinity of Christ — His Letter upon 
 Christ's eternal Godhead, in Theron and Afpafio, 
 No. 8, and his Letters on the Divinity and Perfon- 
 ality of the Holy Spirit, in anfwer to Martin Tom- 
 kins, of Hackney, No. 24 — 27, plainly fhew how 
 great a mafter he was on thefe fubjeds. 
 
 And as he had the moft diftind and forcible con- 
 ceptions of the facred Perfons in the divine nature^ 
 fo he likewife had a clear underftanding of the di- 
 vine decrees. He knew the nature of thefe decrees, 
 as they were determinate purpofes of the diving 
 will, founded on the clear perceptions of the divine 
 underftanding. He confidered the obie6ts and ex-^ 
 tent of thefe decrees as refpedting every thing in 
 heaven, earth, and hell, from the firft moment of 
 creation to all eternity— the produ6lion, preferva^ 
 tion, and government of the whole natural world — 
 the great events at the deluge — the difperfion of 
 the nations at Babel — the deftrudion of Sodom and 
 Gomorrah— the call of Abraham, and all tlie great 
 events that took place in his fimily — the afflictions 
 and the .advancement of Jofeph — the terrible plagues 
 on Egypt — the ruin of the mad tyrant at the Red 
 Sea — the wonders that furrounded the Ifraelites for 
 'forty years in the wildernefs — their entrance into 
 Canaan, with all the fubfequent train of tranfadtions 
 under their judges and kings, quite down to the cap- 
 tivity — the ftrange and terrible puniftiment of the 
 ten tribes which took phcefeven hundred years before 
 the "birth of Christ, and which has now lafted 
 
 twenty -five 
 
AS A DIVINE. ' 259 
 
 twenty-five hundred years without any prefent fign of 
 their ever being recalled — the ruin of Egypt, of 
 Babylon, of Nineveh, of Tyre-^the ^ife of Popery 
 at Ronae, with the prefent Hate of all mankind, 
 good and bad, and all the future events that are 
 coming upon the univerfe; i. e, the fudden conver- 
 fion of all the Jews — their call into their own land, 
 and eftabliHiment in greater glory than ever — the- 
 ruin of Popery and Mahommedifm, and the Ipread 
 of the Gofpel all round the globe. 
 
 Thefe, with the free adions of all mankind, with 
 the publication and eftablifhment of the Gofpel in 
 different nations, are included in the objeds and 
 extent of the divine decrees, and they were the ob- 
 jedls of Hervey's fpiritual underflanding. He con- 
 fidered all the adlions of God, in time, as forming 
 one grand fyllem, without redundancy, error, or 
 dtftdiy terminating in the happinefs of all God's 
 eledb, and exhibiting the nobleft afTemblage of the 
 divine perfedlions. 
 
 He faw the perfections of the firfl man in his ori- 
 ginal conftitution and powers, who had a clear un- 
 derflanding to difcern God; a redlitude of will con- 
 formed to the divine nature ; and his affe6lipns were 
 like fair water in a cryftal glafs, without any diftur- 
 bance or fediment; a clear and unclouded imagina- 
 tion J an a6live and retentive memory, which brought 
 God to his recolledtion every moment. He had a 
 talle for all that was holy in heaven and earth ; and 
 from all thefe qualifications, nothing could flow but 
 perfe6l happinefs. 
 
 Hervey has Ihewn his deep fenfe of the depra- 
 vity of HUMAN NATURE, as vicwcd from experience 
 and Scripture, in Dialogues XI and XIII. A man 
 mufl have no reverence for the truth of God in 
 Scripture, if he can deny the fads and evidences pro- 
 duced in thofe Dialogues. 
 
 K k 2 He 
 
z6o HIS CHARACTER 
 
 He had a very clear underftanding of the doflrlne 
 of God's free distinguishing and sovereign 
 
 LOVE. 
 
 He knew that God, before he .made t;he world, 
 chofe feme certain perfons of his own free grace to 
 be made holy and happy; and he confidered this 
 whole do6lrine in the following points of light: 
 
 I. There is a manifeft difference between the chil- 
 dren of men in this world. It is evident, from daily 
 obfervation, that fome are religious, and others un- 
 godly; fome are fpiritual, and others are earthly- 
 minded; fome are vicious, and other men are virtu- 
 ous ; fome are holy, and others are finful ; fome have 
 the temper of angels, other men have the temper of 
 brutes ; fome are confecrated to God, others are de- 
 voted to the devil; fome are full of benevolence to 
 mankind, others are full of hatred and malice; fome 
 work for the public happinefs, others work to pro- 
 mote pubhc mifery; fome are ftridly temperate, 
 others are riotous gluttons; fome are amiably fober, 
 others abominable drunkards; fome have virgin 
 chaftity, others are monfters in lewdnefs ; fome revere 
 the divine name, others are profane fwearers; fome 
 are deeply humble, others are infernals in pride ; 
 fome have a meek and quiet fpirit, others are inflamed 
 with rafh anger; fome are patient as lambs, others 
 are fretful as wafps; fome have a generous public 
 fpirit, others are eaten up with the fcurvy of felf-love j 
 fome are contented as a weaned child, others are dif- 
 contented with every condition ; feme mortify every 
 fin, others indulge every luft of fiefh and fpirit ; fome 
 reiift the devil, and he flies from them, others yield to 
 his temptations, and are his tame flaves ; fome live 
 above the fpirit of the world, others give into all fin- 
 ful compliances; fome are diligent in every good 
 thought, word, and work, others are lazy fluggards, 
 and abfolutely good for nothing; fome have a bouhd- 
 lefs benevolence to Being, others are envenomed with 
 ' ^ the 
 
AS A D I V I N E. 261 
 
 the malice of hell; fome ^re ardent lovers of juflice, 
 with a deliberate purpofe of preferving the rights of 
 men inviolate, others outrage every brapch of moral 
 juftice, and trample upon the rights of all mankind; 
 fbme have an ardent love to truth and veracity, 
 others ad as if they were poffefTed with the lying devil; 
 fome defire to imitate the faithfulnefs of God, others 
 are unfaithful as the fpirits of hell. 
 
 2. This difference between men, or this diilinc- 
 tion of the righteous from the wicked, is not af- 
 cribed in Scripture to the will and power of man, 
 as the caufe of it, but to the will and power of God, 
 and to God the Holy Spirit working in them by 
 his grace. " Who maketh thee to differ ? i Cor. iv. 
 7. You hath he enlivened who were dead in fin, 
 Eph. ii. I. Who were born, not of the will of 
 man, but of God, John i. 13. Ye muft be born 
 again, John iii. 5. (Faith is) not of yourfelves, it is 
 the gift of God,'' Eph. ii. 8. This work of grace 
 is filled a creation, or giving exiflence to new prin- 
 ciples: it is fliled regeneration, or a new birth: it is 
 ftiled a vidlory, or a conquefl of corrupt nature: it 
 is likewife termed a refurredtion from the dead. 
 
 3. The diflindion that is made by this work of 
 God on the heart, is attributed in Scripture not to 
 any merit in man, which God forefaw, but to the 
 abfolutely free and fovereign grace of Christ to- 
 wards his people, and his fpecial choice of them to 
 be partakers of thefe bleffings. " God, who is rich in 
 mercy, Eph. ii. 4. By grace ye are faved, ver. 5. 
 By grace ye are faved, ver. 8. There is a remnant, 
 according to the election of grace j and if by grace, 
 then it is no more of works, Rom. ii. 5, 6. Herein 
 is love 3 not that we loved God, but that he loved 
 us," I John iv. io« 
 
 4. This choice of perfons to fanclification and 
 falvation by the free grace of God, is reprefented in 
 Scripture as before the foundation of the world, 
 
 from 
 
262 HISCHARACTER 
 
 from eternity. God has no new defigns. God hath^ 
 from the beginning, chofen yon to falvation, through 
 fanftification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. 
 
 He traced, with great fagacity and delight, the 
 gradual openings of the Gofpel, from Adam to Abra- 
 ham \ from Abraham to Mojes -, from Mofes to Davidi 
 from David to Jfaiah ; from Ifaiah to the birth of 
 Christ. And in thefe dawnings and gradations of 
 Gofpel knowledge, he was greatly afiilled by the 
 fourth book of TVitfms^s Economy of the Covenants, 
 which is the fitteft and moil judicious work on the 
 fubject. 
 
 His mind was exceedingly inflru6led and enter- 
 tained in viewing the wonderful wifdom and goodncfs 
 of God in the whole Mofaic difpenfation of the 
 Gofpel; the typical inftitutions of perfons and things; 
 the High Prieft ; the daily facrilice ; the annual 
 atonement ; the ark of the covenant; the mercy 
 feat ; the golden cherubim, all pointed out to Her- 
 vey's faith, theperfon, righteoufnefs,fatisfaclion, and 
 grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 The prophetic declarations were another fource of 
 entertainment to the mind of this good man. He 
 was exceedingly fond of the prophecies, and nothing 
 but a want of health and fpirits prevented his writing 
 a volume of letters upon them, as we have obferved 
 above. 
 
 Thefpccial providences and miraculous operations 
 were anodier fource of wonders appearing in the Mo- 
 faic difpenfation. Every voluntary incerpofition of 
 God the Redeemer in favour of good men, and 
 every miraculous operation wrought by his omnipo- 
 tence, were the broad feals of heaven fixed to the 
 adminiftration and mifllon of Mofes, and all the fubfe- 
 quent prophets. And let it be obferved once for all, 
 that every man who is not well acquainted with the 
 Mofaic difpenfation, will never have a judicious 
 knowledge of the New Teflament. 
 
 He 
 
AS A DIVINE. 263 
 
 He clearly faw, with wonder and gratitude, the fu- 
 perior advantages which we enjoy under the Chriftiaii 
 difpenfation. Here we have a brightep view of the 
 thoughts that were hid in God from eternal ages. 
 Here we have the meridian terrors of divine juiticc 
 united, with all the fplendors of infinite mercy, at the 
 fame moment, in the crofs of Christ — we have a 
 larger effufion of the Holy Spirit of God — more 
 aftonifhing adls of pardoning mercy difpiayed to the 
 word of rebels — the moft endearing invitations of 
 God's tender love — his kindeil expoflulations with 
 vile finners — the richeft promifes of all forts of grace 
 and mercy — the brighteft examples of univerfal hoH* 
 nefs — the moft feafonable fuccours of divine grace in 
 all cafes, and the worft of all imaginable conditions. 
 All thefe, fealed with the blood of God, and confirmed 
 hy his oath; and this oath is an appeal to his life and 
 perfections for the truth of all his declarations. 
 
 Hervey did not, in a proud and arrogant manner, 
 attempt to explain the modus of our Lord's incarna- 
 tion) or deny it, becaufe he could not comprehend it; 
 he left that for other perfons to do, who had mor€ 
 pride and lefs underftanding. He beheved it as a 
 revealed fa6l : he received it as a truth of God : he 
 trufted to it as the ground of his faith and falvation: 
 he triumphed in it as the life and joy of his foul; and 
 it will be the boail and bleifednefs of his heart to 
 -eternity. 
 
 He confidered Christ as the repofitory of all 
 truth : as the feat and fubjecl of all the determinations 
 and decrees of God: they were all depofited m him 
 to be executed i?y him. There is not an event that 
 takes place, which ihall appear of the greateft: or the 
 leaft confequence in heaven, earth, or hell, but what 
 pafles through his head and his hands. All tranfac- 
 tions, quite down to the burning of the world, fall un- 
 der his cognizance, and are lubjedt to his controuL 
 Hervey fat at Christ's feet with incefiant alTiduity 
 
 and 
 
264 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 and prayer. He underftood ho truth : he valued no 
 truth: he delighted in no truth, but as it was taught 
 him by the infallible Spirit of Christ. 
 
 After a mofl: deliberate and attentive ftudyof the 
 Sacred Scriptures, he was brought to as firm a faith 
 as any one man ever pofleiTed in the divine and infi- 
 nite Redemption — the divine and infinite Sacrifice— 
 the divine and infinite Satisfaction — the divine and in- 
 finite Righteoufnefs — ^the divine and infinite Intercef- 
 fion, (for thefe were his conRant phrafes from which 
 he never would depart). 
 
 Thefe led him to confider God the Father in 
 three charaClers, as an almighty Conqueror ; an in- 
 jured Sovereign -, an inexorable Judge. Thefe views 
 led him to confider man as a miferable captive, 
 a traiterous rebel, a mod provoking criminal. 
 Thefe led him to confider Christ as an almighty 
 Redeemer; a glorious High Priell and Sacritice; 
 and a moil faithful and able Surety, who en- 
 dured the whole punifhment from the law and juftice 
 of God. Thefe views led him to confider the Holv 
 Spirit as in regeneration, delivering us from bondage ; 
 in fandlification, reconciling us to Christ's facritice i 
 and as enjoying from the Comforter, peace of con- 
 fcience through Christ's righteoufnefs and blood. 
 
 He felt the glorious power of Christ's refurrec- 
 tion in his own foul. Garbutty on the Refurredlion of 
 Christ, abridged by Dr. IVattSy is a performance 
 above all price — Bitton, on the Refurrecftion of 
 Christ — The great Mr. Roger Cotes on the Refurrec- 
 tion of Christ — The late BiJJjop Sherlock^ and the 
 incomparable Gilbert Weft^ on the Refurre6lion of 
 Christ, deferve incefTant attention and eternal ad- 
 miration and love. Our amiable author had their 
 fentiments daily fhining'in his mind, and warm at his 
 heart. He felt the power of Christ's refurredlion^ 
 and you might continually obferve him rifing to'hea- 
 ven by faith and Jove. 
 
 He 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 265 
 
 He viewed Christ as having carried his faris- 
 fadllon into the heaven of heavens, and as having 
 prefented it before the throne of God- his Father, 
 where he met with the highefl delight and eternal 
 • approbation. That righteoufnefs and atonement 
 fpeak the very beft things in favour of all his peo- 
 ple upon earth, and keep up a good underilanding 
 between God and his people. 
 
 He viewed Christ in his abfolute dominion over 
 all v/orlds, as the King of nature, the King of na- 
 tions, and the King of faints. All nature is 
 Christ's temple j all fpace is his abode. Th6 
 depths of hell; the heights of heaven; the unm.ea- 
 furabie trails of unbounded fpace, are all equally- 
 near to an omniprefent God and Redeemer. Every 
 thing that exifts, is preferved by his care; every thing 
 that lives, lives by his life; and every thing that 
 moves, moves by his animation. He governs ina- 
 nimate nature by certain laws of gravitation and at- 
 tradion. He governs the vegetable world by rules 
 of his own inftitution. He governs mere animate 
 nature by the laws of inLl:in6t and incelTant impulfe. 
 He govei*ns the rational world by principles of rea- 
 fon and confcience; by m.otives fuited to our nature, 
 addreffed to the original fprings in the human heart; 
 fuch are honour and difhonour; fuch are profit and 
 lofs; fuch are pain and pleafure; the prefent pains 
 of vice, and the prefent plealures of virtue, with all 
 the future pains and pleafures of the invifible world. 
 Hervey faw and felt, with infinite rapture, this 
 fupreme independent and abfolute dominion of 
 Christ over the whole creation ; and he found it to 
 be the joy and the blifs of his foul. 
 
 Hervey had a clear underilanding, and a rich ex- 
 perience of the doclrine and bleiTing of regeneration, 
 and vital union with Jesus Christ. 
 
 He felt a change in his underftanding, his will, and 
 his affc(fl;ions : he had new apprehenfions of the at- 
 
 L 1 tributes 
 
266 HIS CHARACTER. 
 
 tributes of God : he had new appreheniions of his 
 dependance upon God : he had new apprehenfions of 
 his obligations to God, and of his awful violation of 
 thofe obligations. 
 
 He had a clear fenfe of the guiltinefs of his ani- 
 ons before God : he knew he was an offenfive crea- 
 ture, and deferved eternal punifhment for thofe of- 
 fences. He had new apprehenfions of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, as the God and falvation of a finner. 
 He had new apprehenfions of the Spirit of God, as 
 Jrhovah Lord and God, the Author of all fpiritual 
 life: the fource of all holy mental habits: the folc 
 Agent of the fpiritual divine change : the divine Wri- 
 ter of the law of God upon the heart : the glorious 
 Sealer of the moral im.age of God upon the foul, and 
 the fovereign Author of the divine and heavenly birth. 
 
 He v/as experimencally acquainted with the rich 
 blefllng of fandlificaticn. His value for Mr. Mar- 
 fhali's book on the Myflery of Gofpel Sanftificatlona 
 exceeded all defcription. He never thought he could 
 read or recciT.mend it enough. He has informed 
 me that he let it lye by in his ftudy, without the 
 leau attention, or fo much as once reading it, till aq. 
 laft the providence and grace of Christ roufed his 
 attention to read that book; and when once he came 
 to underftand the four firft dirediqns, a heaven of 
 holinefs opened to his foul, and darted upon hh 
 m.ental eye. He then ran like a ftrong man: he 
 found himfeif brought into a new world: he found 
 new refolutions for God, and againll fin: he tailed 
 new pleafures in the' word of God: he felt new jc^ 
 in. the worfliip of God; and he felt new pleafure ia 
 converfing with the people of God. He underilood 
 fandlitication, as it confifcs in putting off the old man, 
 and putting on the new : he felt a vital union with 
 Christ: he was glued (koAAw^usi/o?, i Cor. vi. 17..) 
 to the Lord Jesus, and made one fpirit v;ith him: 
 
 he 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 1^-^ 
 
 he had a famenel's of nature, a purity of principles, 
 and a heavenly tafte, refembling the Son of God. 
 
 The dodlrine and bleiTing of union with Christ 
 is naofl: richly defcribed by Polhill, in his Chrijius in 
 Corde-y and Chrift a Chrifiians Life^ by Mr. Gam- 
 mon, lately pubHlhed by the Rev. Mr. Wills; an^ 
 Chrift a Chriftians Patlern^hy the Rev. Mr. Robert 
 Murray. Thefe are books that give the brightefl de- 
 fcriptionof all the branches of evangelical holinefs. 
 
 It was one of the brightefl glories of his chara6ler, 
 that he underftood, as well as any man in the whole 
 world, the do6lrine of juftification, by the imputed 
 righteoufnefs of Jesus Christ. 
 
 He confidered pardon in the mind of God as a 
 total fupprefTion of all defires to punifh- as a kind 
 difpofition to do the finner goodj as a folcmn aifu- 
 rance of hearty reconciliation; as an admifiion into 
 full confidence of favour with God. He confidered 
 imputation of righteoufnefs as. an ad: of Goo, 
 placing to the account and credit of a finner, the 
 •righteoufnefs and blood of Christ for his juflifi- 
 cation. 
 
 He was exceedingly pleafed with the word lu- 
 PUTED, which is mentioned in different forms no 
 lefs than eleven times in the fourth chapter of the 
 Epiftle to the Romans. 
 
 Rom. iv. 3. It was counted to him for righteouf- 
 nefs, £Aoy(?9n a-J]w 5k aiy.c/AO(TV]>y\v. \^er. 4. Reckoned of 
 grace, Xoy.C^irc/A y.oLtoc yj^^^vj, Ver. 5.' Counted for 
 righteoufnefs, Acy;^£rai jk hy.yAQ<T'^yy\]j , Ver. 6. God 
 imputeth righteoufnefs widiout works, O.^c? 7^0'ml'^raA 
 ^iy:ociO(TOVVv y^ocpig zpyoov, \ cv. 8. The ToR D wiU not 
 impute fin, K.-^f^iog ov [J.71 ?^oyi(ryirai oc^ccpriu]^, Ver. 9. 
 Faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteouihefs, 
 
 y) TTiijig fAovicrovi rw Af^pacciJ. sig ^ixocioa-vvn]/. Ver. X. 
 
 How was it then reckoned? ttw^t ow sAoyjdO-^ Ver. 
 II. That righteoufnefs might be imputed to then:, 
 ng TO Aoyi^^ni/cct Kon ^I'lci? rv\v oiKO(,iocru]^riu, Ver. 2 2. 
 
 L 1 2 It 
 
268 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 It was imputed to him for righteoufnefs, iXoyi^h 
 otvTu £;? ^i>io^iQ(rvuYii/, Ver. 23. That it was imputed 
 to him, oTi fAoyi?9r) auTw. Ver. 24. But for us alfo 
 to whom IT Ihall be imputed, Axxcc xoct ^i riy.cccy 01; 
 
 Note. The felf-fame it which was imputed to 
 Abraham, is imputed to us, which is not the habit 
 or ad: of Abraham*s faith, but the objeft of it, i, e, 
 the divineand infinite righteoufnefs of Jesus Christ. 
 
 He faw, that in this method of j unification, none 
 of the parties concerned had any reafon to complain 3 
 but every thing was tran failed with high fatisfaftion 
 and joy, to every party afTociated in the grand affair 
 of man's falvation. The Father could not com- 
 plain, becaufe tlie fcheme originated from him — The 
 Son of God could not complain, for he thinks it 
 his higheft honour and glory to ftand at the head of 
 the whole redeemed world — The Spirit of God 
 cannot complain, becaufe he loves to regenerate im- 
 mortal fouls, and bring them to the highefl pitch of 
 holinefs and happinefs — The Law of God cannot 
 complain, becaufe that is obeyed in a higher and no- 
 bier manner than by all the beft men upon earth, and 
 faints in glory — The Juftice of God cannot com- 
 plain, becaufe that is fatisfied infinitely better than 
 by all the torments of devils and damned fpirirs 
 prolonged through a vafl eternity. 
 
 In clofe connexion with juftification flands adop- 
 tion into 'God's family. This is an higher ad of 
 fovereign grace than the pardon of fin, the judifica- 
 tion^f a guilty criminal, or the fan6tification of a 
 finiWr. A man m,ay be releafed from all obligation 
 to punifnment, and not taken into favour: a man 
 may be taken into favour, and yet not taken into the 
 family as a fon. This is a greater privilege and dig- 
 nity than to be an angel of God. To be an heir of- 
 God, is a g^reater honour than to be heir of -all 
 worlds. To be joint heir of Jesus Christ, is 
 
 * * . a much 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 2€^ . 
 
 a much greater privilege than the angels ever did or 
 ever will enjoy. Here they have no Ihare with us: 
 here we are their fuperiors to eternity. 
 
 Hervey ufually appeared to me with the dignity 
 of an angel j but in reality his dignity was above 
 them all. From this fenfe of the grace of adoption, 
 flowed the fweeteil peace, the foongeft hope, the 
 richell joy. 
 
 There was an ardent inclination between the heart 
 of Hervey, and the heart of God, towards the mod 
 perfe6l friendfhip. Hervey was a friend to God, 
 and to him God was a tender friend. Hence arofe 
 the Urongeft hope in God: the foundations of hope 
 were v/eil laid: the objefts of hope were clearly re- 
 vealed: the blclTings of hope were powerfully ap- 
 plied, and the exercifes of hope were mightily en- 
 couraged. Hence arofe the fweeteft joy in God, 
 Joy is a large quantity of pleafure, or the fweeteft 
 fenfations of the mind, fpringing from a confciouf- 
 hefs that we have it in our power to pofTefs the 
 greatefl poffible good, 
 
 ,' Hervey rejoiced in the divine perfon of Christ: 
 he rejoiced in the fitnefs of Christ to fave : in 
 the fulncfs of Christ to fatisfy: in the power of 
 Christ's -arm to deliver, and in the beauty and grace 
 of Christ to endear himfelf to the foul. He re- 
 joiced in the offices of Christ: in his prophetic of- 
 fice to teach him wifdom and truth : in his prieftly 
 office, as his glorious righteoufnefs: in his kino-ly 
 office, as his almighty Friend. In a word, his joys 
 were as high as heaven j wide as unbounded fpace, 
 and lading as a vafl: eternity. 
 
 Hervey knew the honours of true religion. The 
 eilence. of honour confiils in being made honed by 
 the Spirit of God, and pofleffing a generous fcorn of 
 doing wrong in the fight of God or man. A noble- 
 nefs of mind, and dignity of manners, exciting the 
 
 edeem 
 
2^0 H I S C H A R A C T E R 
 
 efteem and veneration of mankind, without a taint 
 of jufl Ibipicion, or a mark of juft contempt. 
 
 Honour is an intelieclual pleafure : it is a beautiful 
 object, a real good, fitted to our original powers of 
 tafte : it is an objed fuited to give our pafiions true 
 pleafure. 
 
 To have the approbation of a wife and good God, 
 and marks of attention and diftind:ion from the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect Judge of excellence, 
 gives a fweet fenfation to a holy and virtuous mindj 
 and no man can defpife this honour, except he who 
 defpairs of attaining it. 
 
 Honour is an affiflant to holinefs: a powerful 
 helper to virtue: it is laudable to ufe honour as a 
 fcaffolding to holinefs and virtue, which m.ufl never 
 be taken down to eternity. Holinefs and honour 
 will live together in the prefence of God, and Jesus 
 Christ will never ceafe to crown holinefs with the 
 moll perfe6t honour and glory. 
 
 Honour is a glorious engine of ufcf;ilnefs, or an 
 inftrument of promoting the happinefs of the church 
 of Christ, and the good of m.ankind. It is truly 
 becoming a wife man to feek honour for this end, 
 that he may do the more good. It is the wifdom of 
 a great min4 to gain honour as an engine of diffufing 
 happinefs. 
 
 Mr. Hervey has obtained great degrees of honour, 
 wherever his name has been well known, and his 
 WTitlncrs well read and underftoodj but 1 do him the 
 iufiice to declare, -that I believe that few men of 
 equal powers of. genius, learning, and virtue, ever 
 Ibu^^ht the honour of this world lefs than himfelf. 
 
 In the whole compafs of my convcrfe and cor- 
 refpondence with him, I never faw a mind fo fupe- 
 rior to the applaufes of mankind. The feitilli paffions 
 appeared to be not only fuppreffcd, but eradicated; 
 not only mortified, but flruck dead : be catched tire 
 at the lead glimpfe of the glory of Christ, and was 
 
 all 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 271 
 
 all life and zeal for the honour of his Mailer, whilft 
 a fondnefs for fame appeared to be crucified, dead, 
 buried, and loll. 
 
 With refped to the riches of this world, he took 
 no pains to acquire them 5 but he v^as not indifferent 
 as to a competence in life. He knew that the God 
 who fparcd not his own fon, wouki with him freely 
 give us all things. As to temporal fupplies, he left 
 it entirely to his heavenly Saviour to give him food 
 and raim.ent at the time when, and in the manner 
 how, he pleafed. He only defired temporal good for a 
 fuppiy of his real wants ; the enjoyment of his flu- 
 dies, and of his friends; the purpofes of moral juf- 
 tice; and the glorious exertions of a godlike bene- 
 volence. 
 
 Health of body; eafe of mind; a fweet flow of 
 animal fpirits; a high degree of cheerfulnefs; pleaf- 
 ing profpecSts of the grandeur and novelty of crea- 
 tion; clear views of the beauties of Scripture; with 
 all the ravilhing fweetnefs ot the great and precious 
 promifes. Thefe were all defirable objt6ls, as they 
 were fubfervient to the divine honour, and promo- 
 tive of his own ufefulnefs. 
 
 Hervcy had the greateil ferenity of mind, and 
 felf-polfeflion of foul, under all the troubles and af- 
 fli6lions of human life. He felt the prefence of a 
 good that was pure, powerful, and permanent; and 
 this good was fuperior to all the evils he felt or 
 feared. He knew, as well as any man, that ail 
 things in heaven, earth, and hell, mull needs vv^ork 
 for his good. 
 
 I never obferved in him, for one moment, the 
 lead diflurbance of mind, with refpe6l to future 
 events, and the calamities of life. With the moil 
 placid foul, he left all his affairs in the hands of h;s 
 bed Friend; and he firmxly believed tjiat he fhould be 
 bettered by every thing, and worlted by nothing; 
 and you fee, that in the lad day of his life, when the 
 
 agonies 
 
^72 H16CHARACTER 
 
 agonies of death were faft approaching, nothing 
 could fhake the godlike dignity of his mind. 
 
 He loved the blefllng of divine alTiftances from 
 God the Holy Spirit. He fleered between the two 
 extremes of a cold procedure in religion, upon the 
 mcer principles of reafon, without any ailiflance 
 from God; and all enthufiultic impulfes, vifions, and 
 voices, which have no ground in clear reafon, or 
 folid foundation in Scripture. He knew that duty 
 and dependence muft go hand in hand together; he 
 knew that maxim to be exceeding good, Bene oraffe 
 cji bcnejiuduijj'e-y i. e. praying is the befl fludys and 
 this, Avwo magnus vir fine affiatu divino. No man is 
 good without the divine afTiitance. 
 
 The whole fcope and tenor of Scripture, lead lis 
 to confider the human mind as every moment de- 
 pendent upon God for its light, favour, inclinations 
 to holinefs, a tafte for virtue, a genius for devotion, 
 ftrength over fin, power to plead the promifes, abi- 
 lity to difcern what is m.atter of duty in the mofl 
 difficult circumflances of human life, an honeliy of 
 heart to put ourfelvcs in the way of the very bed 
 motives, with a cheerful alacrity of foul to obey 
 thofe motives with unfainting perfeverance, to the 
 end of life. All that fleady determination of fpirit, 
 which lived and reigned in Hervey^s heart for the lail 
 eighteen years of his life, was entirely the fruit and 
 confequence of the faithful energy of God the Ipirit 
 in his foul. 
 
 It was this glorious fpirit which infufed the divine 
 life and pieferved that life. This fpirit created the 
 holy mental habit, and continued that habit in its full 
 force and virtue. This Holy Spirit palled the di- 
 vine change upon all his faculties, and preferved that 
 cliange. Ihis bleffcd Spirit infcribed the divine law, 
 and 'preferved that infcription. This blefied Spirit 
 iuiprcficd the facrcd image, and preferved that im- 
 
 preflion. 
 
AS A D I V I N E. 27J 
 
 preflion. This blclTed Spirit produced the new 
 birth, and preferved it alive and immortal in the foul. 
 
 All thefe godlike inftincts and impVeflions pro- 
 duced an unbounded zeal for the divine honour, and 
 an ardent defire to live with God in immortal glory. 
 
 He ardently loved the law of God in the form of 
 a covenant of works, becaufe Christ his head had 
 perfectly kept it. He loved the law of God as a 
 rule of a(flion, becaufe Christ his King had kindly 
 commanded it. 
 
 A law is a rule of a6lion, commanding all that is 
 right, and forbidding all that is wrong. 
 
 The covenant of works is more than a law: it is 
 a law with a penalty annexed to difobedience, and a 
 reward of eternal life annexed to obedience. 
 
 The covenant of works is natural religion in its 
 iitmoft extent, perfe6lion, and glory; and the con- 
 dition of this covenant is uncontaminated virtue. 
 
 On the footing of natural religion, the whole 
 world is guilty before God : all mankind are utterly 
 unable to fulfil the condition, to make fatisfadlion 
 for pad offences, or endure the punifhment due to 
 their crimes, in this view of things believers are 
 eternally delivered from the covenant of works. Be- 
 lievers owe an eternal debt of gratitude to Christ 
 the Redeemer, and an eternal debt of loyalty to 
 Christ their King. If Christ could redeem us 
 from hell, and not from fin, he would be no Re- 
 deemer at all, or worfe than none. A king without 
 a law is a cypher; and if Christ had no rule of 
 obedience, he would be no king at all. God loves 
 the law in the form of the covenant of works, and 
 he delighted his eyes with feeing Citrist obey it as 
 a covenant. Let all mankind know, what devils 
 and angels already know, that God will never fave 
 one foul at the expence and ruin of the covenant of 
 works, 
 
 M m Hervey 
 
274 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 Hervey loved the grace of repentance, and had 
 every branch of it wrought into his heart by the 
 eternal Spirit of God. He was poffefled of the 
 confidering part of repentance: the refolving part; 
 the turning part; the melting and mourning part; 
 the confefling part; the returning and working pare 
 of repentance; and thefe he has defcribed in the 
 mod pungent and lively manner I ever faw, or ex- 
 pedl to fee. Read his Eight Pofthumous Sermons, 
 fold by Mathews, in the Strand. ,^^, 
 
 Hervey was a moil ardent lover of the >vorfhip of 
 God in all its branches. Worfhip is the mofh fer- 
 vent and lively acknowledgment of all the divine 
 attributes in the perfon of Christ the Mediator, 
 under the affiftance of the Holy Spirit, with a 
 high degree of admiration and love, and attended 
 with the utmoft gratitude and delight. 
 
 Hervey had an exceeding veneration for all the 
 parts of public worfliip. Hov/ often have I feen his 
 foul nothing but tendernefs and fire! It was enough 
 to grieve any ferious perfon's heart to fee fuch a ce- 
 leftial genius pinned down to the thoughts and words 
 of other men, lb vaftly inferior to his own. 
 
 I have already hinted at his manner of family wor- 
 fhip. His two fervants read the Gofpels, Epiftles, 
 and Pfalms, in regular order, throughout the year. 
 When they made any blunder, he always fbopped 
 them. When the chapter and pfalm were finifhed, 
 he chofe out that pafiage which flruck his imagina- 
 tion and pleafed his tafte. He would begin fo flow, 
 and with fuch fimplicity of thought and language, 
 that you would be tempted to imagine he wanted 
 matter; but he foon convinced you to the contrary: 
 the powers of his underftanding began^to ferment; 
 his thoughts multiplied; his paflions took fire; hi's 
 exprefTions glowed ; and in clear, concife, and ener- 
 getic words, for fifteen or twenty minutes, he would 
 
 fiv 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 275 
 
 fly with your foul to the third heavens, and leave 
 your heart melting in the prefence of God. 
 
 After confidering him in his manner of family 
 prayer, I intended to defcribe his clofet devotions 5 
 but I find myfelf unequal to the tafl^. In order to 
 relieve myfelf, and entertain the reader, I defigned to 
 have introduced his guardian angel, who attended 
 him night and day for the lafl twenty years of his 
 life. I wifh to draw this angel as reprefenting the 
 ardour of his fecret adorations; the depth and pun- 
 gency of his confefTions of fin; the fervour of his 
 pleadings with God for grace and mercy; the fub- 
 lime fire^of his gratitude to God ; his high delight 
 in the Lord Jesus, as the life and joy of his foul. 
 But here I likewife fail; I can neither, by my own 
 powers, nor by the help of an angel, paint Hervey*s 
 heart equal to the life. If I fhould be favoured with 
 an happy flow of thought, they fhall be inferted in 
 the Appendix. At prefent we mufc difmifs this moft 
 agreeable fubje^l. 
 
 He had the deepeft veneration for the being and 
 attributes of God of any man I ever knew: he ap- 
 peared to feel God in all the powers of his foul 
 every moment. Moft men are practical atheifts; 
 and even religious men appear to think of God, and 
 fpeak of Him with fuch coldnefs and indifference of 
 heart, as favours of ingratitude and contempt. 
 
 It was obferved of the great Mr. Boyle and Sir 
 Ifaac Newton, that they never fpoke the word God 
 without a folemn pauie before hand; and neither 
 of them excelled our Author in his reverential at- 
 tention to the Deity: he faw God in every thing: 
 he heard his voice in every thing: he tafted the divine 
 goodnefs in his food, and he regarded the move- 
 ments of his Providence in every ftep of his life ; at 
 all times, and in all places, he adverted to the power, 
 prefence, and grace of God his Saviour. 
 
 M m 2 He 
 
2;6 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 He had a wonderful delight in the Lord's day: he 
 confidered that day as confecrated to contemplation 
 and devotion i as devoted to the purfuit of truth 
 and fruition of goodnefs : he never flept away his 
 Lord's day mornings : his foul foared away into the 
 pcrfedions of Christ, and beauties of Scripture : 
 he had not one moment for trifling and impertinence 
 through the whole day, and yet he kept clear of ail 
 Jewifh rigours and feverities : he had nothing gloomy 
 or four in his religion, nor did I ever fee one fit of 
 gloom or fournefs in his temper for one moment. 
 Public worfliip was the delight and joy of his foul ; 
 and had he been allowed at all tinies the ufe of free 
 prayer equally as in free preaching, he had been ari 
 obje(5l for wife men to imitate, and angels to admire. 
 
 He confidered the fear of God as the beginning 
 of wifdom, and a truft in his perfeftions as the com- 
 mencement of happinefs. He had a ferious and de- 
 lightful fenfe of God, which always ifTued in obe- 
 dience to the difpofing will of his Providence j the 
 commanding will of his law, and the lan6tifying will 
 of his fpirit in the Gofpel. He had the greatefl: ex- ' 
 pedations and truft in God. He was free to declare 
 to God, that he found himielf guilty, and fled to him 
 for pardon : that he found him.felf filthy, and fled to 
 him for purity : that he found himleif in danger, and 
 fled to him -for protedion : that he found himfelf 
 needy, and fied to him for fupply : that he found 
 himfelf weak, and fled to hiin for ftrength : that he 
 found himfelf a captive, and fled to him for liberty ; 
 that he found himfelf timorous, and fled to him for 
 fortitude : that he found himfelf fainting, and fled to 
 him for perfeverance. Oh! that all Chriftians micrht 
 imitate him in his fear, faith, trufl., and confidence in 
 God. 
 
 His whole foul appeared to be transformed into 
 love to Gor^ his efteem for the nature and charader 
 of God was unbounded; his defires after the vital 
 
 . prefence 
 
AS A D I V I N E. 277 
 
 prefence of God were infinite upon Infinite ; his good 
 will to the caufe of God had no other limits than 
 the divine nature and attributes ; and his delight in 
 God refembled the divine love, which has neither a 
 bottom, noi* a Ihore. There are ihree admirable 
 difcourfes upon love to God; the firft by Dr. An- 
 nefly in the Morning Exercifes ; the fecond by Dr. 
 Watts, in his Ufe of the Paffions in Religion ; the 
 third by Dr. Guyfe, in the Berry-ftreet Ledlures ; 
 and to thefe I add a fourth, Mrs. Rowe*s Devout 
 Exercifes of the Heart. Thefe were all exemplified 
 in a moil lively manner by our amiable and excellent 
 friend; but the principle and grace which peculiarly 
 diftinguifhed him from all mankind, was vital faith : he 
 had a firm perfuafion of Christ's power and grace to 
 fave : his heart was open to receive him in all his 
 offices, and he furrendered his whole foul into 
 Christ's hands, to be faved by him in his own 
 method of falvation; Witfius's Chapter of Faith, in 
 his Economy of the Covenants; but above all, Mr, 
 Erfkine's Six Sermons upon the Affurance of Faith, 
 pleafed him miore than every thing he had read. 
 He aflured me that he had had a njillion of doubts ; 
 and when God the Spirii began to make him tafle 
 the joys of affurance, he felt himfelf ardently defirous 
 to bring every Chriflian to the fame ftature and 
 llrength with himfelf. 
 
 We have already taken notice of his faich in 
 QBRisT,and I can affure the reader -, that it was a faith 
 not without words ; his whole foul was perpetually 
 bent upon doing good : all his thoughts and paf- 
 fions : all his words and adions, tended towards the 
 publir happinefs : it feemed impoffible for me to 
 conceive of him as living a fingle day, without con^ 
 trivlngr how to do o^ood. 
 
 His love to Christ we have defcribed before; I 
 muft only add, in this place, that Mr. Hubbard's 
 two excellent Sermons upon love to Christ, were 
 
 exem- 
 
278 HISCHARACTER 
 
 exemplified by this great and good man in the moft 
 fingular manner. His love to Christ v/as attended 
 with the highcil zeal for his glory. Zeal is a com- 
 pound pafTion made up of love and anger ; love to 
 the objeft confidered as good, and anger at every 
 thing that has a tendency to eclipfe or injure that 
 good. He knew that God the Father had the higheft 
 value for his dear Son, and the keened refentment 
 againfl every enemy to his glory. He knew that 
 God the Son had the utmoft regard for his own 
 honour, and the difplay of his illuflrious power and 
 grace to fave to the uttermoft, and he copied the ex- 
 ample of his Divine Mafter. He knew that God 
 the Holy Spirit delighted to glorify Christ : that 
 this was his favourite work in the Churches of Christ. 
 Hervey's delight and glory was to imitate the exam- 
 ple of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 The obje6ls of the invifihle world were always 
 very near him, and he realized thofe obje6ts by faidi 
 in a very lively manner. He viewed all the faints 
 and angels in glory as very near him every inoment. 
 He viewed all the devils and damned fpirits as very 
 near him : the two worlds of happinefs and mifery 
 were ftrongly prefent in his mental eye : his faith 
 brought diilant things very near; he confidered fu- 
 ture things as eternal, and eternity juil at hand. 
 Thefe ftrong and pungent reprefentations of invifible 
 objects, kept his whole foul alive and av/ake to the 
 glory cf his great God and Saviour. 
 
 lie had a powerful periuafion and confidence that 
 Christ had bought a rich abundance of zeal with 
 his moll precious blood to put into his heart, and 
 that he had purchafed that heart with the fame blood 
 to be the receptacle of holy zeal. This was an al- 
 mighty motive to all manner of good works. 
 
 All the bieiTino-s of heaven and earth : all the 
 graces and glories of time and eternity, he confidered 
 iis the fruit of Christ's blood and righteoufnefs^; 
 
 and 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 279 
 
 and he conficiered his iinderdanding, with all his Im- 
 mortal powers, to be redeemed by the blood of God, 
 from darknefs, guilt, and corruption, to be the entire 
 property of his Redeemer, to be' continually em.- 
 ployed in the richeft difplay of all the divine per- 
 fe6lions. 
 
 He regarded the example of the beft of men in all 
 ages, in order to roufe his own zeal to the moft un- 
 bounded fire. He confidered Phinehas, who was 
 zealous for his God, as a noble pattern for imitation. 
 He imitated the example of the glorious Elijah, 
 who, amidfl a nation of infidels and idolatei-s, was 
 very jealous for the Lord God of Hofts. He imi- 
 tated the example of his Divine Maflier, who could 
 truly fay;, the zeal of thine houfe hath eaten me up. 
 He copied the glorious zeal of the apoftle Paul, who 
 declares, with a mioft magnificent boldnefs, none of 
 thefe things move me, neither count I my life dear 
 unto myfelf, fo that I may finifh my cpurfe with joy. 
 What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart: I 
 am willing not only to fulfer, but to die for the name 
 of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 Hervey confidered that the zeal of a great and 
 generous foul could be no otherwife employed or ex- 
 pended, but in glorifying Christ. 
 
 His zeal could boldly look God in the face, and 
 God could look his zeal in the face with a fmilinsc 
 approbation, becaufe it was the produ6lion of his 
 own blcifed Spirit in his heart. His zeal was 
 equally purged from lukewarmnefs on the one hand, 
 and the mad fire of perfecuting bitternefs on the 
 other. I never obferved the leail fpeck of perlecu- 
 tion in his temper, language, and letters. It is al- 
 mofl impoflibie to conceive, of a human foul, in 
 an imperfedl fcate, and dwelling' in frail flelli and 
 blood, more entirely transformed into love to God 
 and all m^ankind; he found, by happy experience, 
 that as true zeal is a refemblance of Gcr>, fo it 
 
 always 
 
28o HIS CHARACTER 
 
 always lives neareft to that God, whofe re£litude 
 and honour is infinite and eternal. As zeal loves to 
 live near to God, as it is immortal as our foul, the 
 providence and grace of Christ will never forfake a 
 man of true zeal in the prefent life. 
 
 The example and righteoufnefs; the honour and 
 dignity of the great Founder of our religion, is an 
 infinitely touching confideration, to roufe us to zeal 
 immortal as our exigence, God has in all ag^es en- 
 couraged men of the moll refined zeal and ardour 
 in the caufe of Christ. 
 
 Self love and felf-interefl^ that is, deep felf-con- 
 cern awakened Hervey to jealoufy or refcntment for 
 the deareft objefl, and fpirited up his paflions to acl 
 with zeal for that object. 
 
 Gratitude flimulated Hervey's foul to a generous 
 zeal for the divine honour: gratitude is acompofition 
 of the fined feelings of the foul : gratitude has (tven 
 ingredients in the compofition of it, /. e. a lively 
 fenfe of benefits received j a tender regard to the 
 great Benefaftorj an ardent defire to make all pofii- 
 ble returns ; a fteady determination to be more grate- 
 ful when we have better abilities; a refolution never 
 to lay gratitude afide ; difapprobation, and felf-con- 
 tempt, when we feel an ungrateful heart, and a high 
 delight in our own exiftence, when we feel a grate- 
 ful temper equal to our willies. 
 
 He confidered zeal as an intelle6lual pleafure, as 
 a mod agreeable exercife to all the faculties of the 
 foul, highly pleafing to God, who is the object of it, 
 and exceedingly pleafing to a good man, who is the 
 feat and fubjedt of it. 
 
 Lukewarmnefs in religion has no pleafure : it is 
 highly difpleafing to God, and it is no pleafure to a 
 carnal profefifor. 
 
 Indifference of heart to the evidences of God's ex- 
 iftence i indifi^erence of heart to the evidences of the 
 foul's immortality j indifference of heart to the evi- 
 dences 
 
AS A DIVINE. * 28i 
 
 dences of the infpiration of Scripture ^ indifference 
 of heart to the evidences of Christ's divinity; in- 
 difference of heart to the evidences of his precious 
 fatisfacflion and righteoufnefs ; indifference of heart 
 to the evidences of the divinity of the Holy Spirit; 
 indifference of heart to the evidences of all the glo- 
 rious doctrines of the Gofpel; indifference of heart 
 to every part of pradlical godlinefs. This temper 
 marks the charader of the prefent generation of pro- 
 feffors ; but whether God approves of this temper ^ 
 whether Christ delights in this treatment of his 
 perfon and grace; whether the Holy Spirit of God 
 is pleafed with this treatment, the day of death, 
 which is very near, and the day of judgment, that is 
 not far off, will mod awfully declare. 
 
 At this lafl tremendous day, Hervey's zeal for the 
 glory of Christ will ftand confpicuous, and v/ill 
 fhine out before the whole affembled world of devils, 
 men and angels. Millions of guilty hypocrites will 
 bluih to fee the infinite fuperiority of his character: 
 millions of devils will tremble to fee him applauded: 
 millions of angels will triumph to hear him approved; 
 and millions of his fellow Chrifiians will rejoice to 
 fhare with him in the rewards of ^race throuo-h an 
 endlefs eternity. 
 
 Hervey loved to imitate the example of Christ 
 in his temper and life. There was the fame mind in 
 him that was in Christ Jesus. " He walked as 
 Christ walked," i John ii. 6. Christ fought his 
 Father's glory in all things. Hervey fought Christ's 
 glory in all things. Christ obeyed his Father's 
 will in all cafes whatfoever. Hervey obeyed Christ 
 at all times and in all conditions. Christ truiled 
 his Father's providence in all circumflances. Her- 
 vey trufted Christ's providence in all things, 
 Christ worfliipped his Father's perfections with 
 high veneration and delight. Hervey adored the 
 
 N n perfecjtions 
 
282 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 perfedions of Christ with eternal admiration and 
 efteenti. 
 
 Thus we have feen that Christ aimed at his F'ii- 
 ther's glory : he trufted his Father's providence : he 
 obeyed his Father's will, and as man worfhipped his 
 Father's perfedlions with high fatisfa6i:ion and joy. 
 In all thefe inflances our amiable Author imitated 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ 
 had all the human graces in the higheft perfedtion and 
 beauty j the ftridleft temperance and more than vir- 
 gin chaftityj the deepeil humility, the fweeteft meek- 
 nefs, the moft unwearied patience, the fevered felf-de- 
 nial, the moft perfe6t contentment with the allot- 
 ments of Providence, the moft undaunted fortitude, 
 the greateft felf-command: thefe all ftione out in the 
 temper and life of the Lord Jesus Christ ; and in 
 all thefe Hervey copied the temper and life of his 
 dear Mafter, the Lord Jesus Christ. The focial 
 graces ftione out in his temper and life in their ut- 
 moft brilliancy and beauty : his love to being v/as un- 
 bounded by every thing but the will and decrees of 
 God: his uprightnefs to all m.ankind: his truth and 
 juftice to the whole world: his fpirit of forgivenefs, 
 and his mercy to fouls in mifery, were beyond all 
 defcription. 
 
 And through every part of his temper, there ran 
 the golden threads of zeal and tendernefs ; of perfe- 
 verance and prudence. Hervey had a vaft admira- 
 tion and the moft affe6lionate imitation of his Mafter. 
 With refped to the glorious ordinance of Chriftian 
 baptifm, Flervey was no four bigot on the one 
 fide, or on the other. I never obferved in him 
 the leaft degree of prejudice againft what is called 
 Believers Baptifm. He was not fo happy to be led 
 into it for hlmfclf. This was one of the difadvantages 
 of his education, and to the connexions he had 
 formed in all the firft parts of his life. I ufed fome 
 rimes to reprefent to him the fentiments x){ the moft 
 
 rigid 
 
AS A D I V I N E. 283 
 
 rigid DifTenters concerning him. I told him that they 
 wondered he fhould continue in a church which had 
 lb many marks of imperfedion, and fo many ble- 
 mifhes from human invention. He fr,eely replied with 
 his ufual franknefs and candour, which hid nothing 
 from me, nor ever denied or difguifed one fenti- 
 ment of his foul. " My dear friend, I had not the 
 " forming of the conftitution of the Church of Eng- 
 " land : I had not the eftabliihing and inftituting 
 " of the modes of worlhip; Divine Providence 
 " brought me forth in the Church ^ I am in great 
 " weaknefs of conftitution, and have no health and 
 fpirits to make any great exertions : if I was to 
 omit reading the prayers, they would fufpend 
 me ; if they did, I would come amongft you, for I 
 love you dearly. With refpedt to the errors and ble- 
 " mifties of the Church of England, as I was not 
 the author of them, fo I can neither corrc6l or 
 remove them. In truth, I ftrive never to think of 
 them, but to fix all my attention on the perfon of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 Hervey had a moft endeared love to the Lord's 
 fupper : his ideas of it were very fpiritual and hea- 
 venly : he confidered this ordinance in the light of 
 Scripture ; and with the eye of faith, he primarily 
 confidered it as a memorial of the fuffe rings and fatis- 
 faclion of Christ : he avoided two extremes in his 
 conceptions of this facred inftitution ; on the one 
 hand, that it was a mere memorial of the ad; of an 
 abfent generous friend, and that we fliould keep up 
 mere rational fentiments of Christ's fufferings and 
 death, as a martyr for truth ; while on the other hand, 
 he defpifed and abhorred all thofe wild and fuperfbi- 
 tious notions with which the Papifts and others have 
 difhonourcd this blefied ordinance. He entered into 
 a fevere examination of his ftate and frame before he 
 came to this inftitution : he approached it with the 
 greateft veneration and love for Christ : he faw in 
 
 N n 2 ■ Christ's 
 
284 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 Christ's death the mod ftriking proofs of the infi- 
 nite evil of fin j of the awfal ftriclnefjs of the juftice 
 of God 5 the harmony of all the divine attributes in 
 his faivation 3 the infinite worth of his own immortal 
 foul i the boundlefs love of God in the gift of 
 Christ, and the purchafe of all the precious blef- 
 fings of the new covenant at the hands of juftice 5 
 2n 1 that the kingdom of heaven was now fet open to 
 all believers. 
 
 He exercifed the moft fublime and glorious affec- 
 tions in his attendance upon this ordinance, efpecially 
 thefe four ; admiration, gratitude, Godly forrow, and 
 a joyful delight. He faw in this plan of redemption, 
 that every thir.g was marvellous belonging to it : the 
 plan of faivation was marvellous : the perfon of the 
 Redeemer was' wonderful : his fufferings and death 
 were marvellous: his coniTids in the garden and 
 on the crofs were aftonifhing: his victories and 
 triumphs over all oppofition, were marvellous : his 
 triumphs over death, and his afcenfion to heaven, 
 were marvellous : his application of this redemption 
 to the fouls of men v/as wonderful : his carrying on 
 the work of grace in the heart, in fpite of all poffible 
 oppofition ; and his finally crowning grace with 
 glory : thefe were, in his view, a6tions more than un- 
 ipeakable, more than glorious. 
 
 Ail the fprings of gratitude in his holy and genc-t 
 rous heart v/ere fet open upon this occafion ; and he 
 had, as we have already obferved, the ftrongeft fenfe 
 of b:^nefits received ; the greateft love to his dear 
 Benefadlor, and an ardent difpofition to make all pof- 
 fible returns, with a relblucion never to lay gratitude 
 afide to etei^nity. 
 
 Godly forrow arifes f om a clear fenfe of the evil 
 of fin, and a fenfe of the malignity and guilt that 
 there is in fin, and the mifchief and mifery that flows 
 from it. This forrow does not fo much arife from a 
 fear of hell, or a dread of damnation for our crimes, 
 
 as 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 285 
 
 as from a fenfe of the great iinkindnefs and bafenefs 
 that we have been guilty of in our temper and condudt 
 towards our bed and dcareft Friend. A believer never 
 mourns better, than when he has the higheft hope of 
 heaven, and the flrongeft aiTurances of the love of 
 Christ. 
 
 The affedlion of delight, which is a mixture of 
 love and joy, was powerfully felt, and generoufly 
 exercifed by our excellent friend at this ordinance. 
 Delight ruled all the powers and affedlions of his 
 foul : delight reigned and triumphed in his heart : 
 €very view that he had of Christ afforded him new 
 pleafure, and infpircd him with greater degrees of 
 
 joy- 
 
 God the Holy Spirit alTifled him to take a mofl 
 refpecftfnl departure from the Lord's table, and to 
 live as becomes the Gofpel of Christ, in all holy 
 converfation and godlinefs. 
 
 The Holy Spirit opened all the fountains of 
 ftrong confolations, arifing from the Lord's fupper: 
 he was fupported under the fenfe of pad fins, by a 
 knowledge that they were all pardoned : he was fup- 
 ported under a fenfe of prefent fins, by a promife that 
 they fhould be all fubdued : he was fupported under 
 a fenfe of indwelling fin, by an afTurance that it 
 fhould be all eradicated, and expelled from the foul: 
 he was fupported under a fenfe of daily defedts and 
 infirmities of his obedience, by a fight of Christ's 
 righteoufnefs : he was fupported under troubles of 
 life, by an alTurance that all things Ihould work toge- 
 ther for his good : he was fupported under the ap- 
 proaches and terrors of death, by an aflurance that 
 Christ had extracted the fting, conquered the 
 power, and altered the property of death for all 
 believers. 
 
 He had a mofl endeared love and gratitude for God 
 the Holy Spirit : he confidered him as Jehovah, 
 God, and Lord, ^qual with God ti)e Father and 
 
 the 
 
2B6 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 the Son ; he viewed him as pofTeflbr of all pofliblc 
 and infinite perfediions 5 as eternal, innnnutablej and 
 omniprefent : as the efficient and eternal life of the 
 whole creation : he confidered him as omnipotent, 
 and upholding all things by the word of his power : 
 he confidered him as all- wife, pofTelTed of infinite 
 goodnefs, grace, and love ^ holy, jull, true, and 
 faithful. 
 
 He viewed the Holy Spirit as the author of the 
 whole univerfe; as the parent of angels and men ^ the 
 former of all things vifible and invitible, mortal and 
 immortal. 
 
 He viewed the Holy Spirit as the author of the 
 whole body of Scripture i that he took the penmen 
 into his own hands, and enabled them to record the 
 fadrs, by the direction of infpiration : he affifted them 
 to compofe the pfalms and fongs of Scripture by the 
 inlpiration of elevation. 
 
 He alTifled them to make all the difcoveries of the 
 glorious Gofpel ; to write all the prediclions in the pro- 
 ph etic part of Scripture 5 to denounce all the threat- 
 cnlngs againil fins to piefcribe all the laws of uni- 
 verfal obedience ; to publilh all the exceeding great 
 and precious promifes, and to open a charming prof- 
 ped into the heaven of heavens. 
 
 From all thefe profpeds arofe a mofl refpedlful 
 love and veneration for the Holy Spirit : he obeyed 
 his di(5lates without referve : he put himfelf in the 
 way of every motive fuggefted by the Holy Spi- 
 rit in the Sacred Scriptures. No perfon ran with a 
 fwifter race -, no one moved with a fweeter pleafure 
 in the ways of Christ's commandments, v/hen the 
 Holy Spirit had enlarged his heart. 
 
 God the Holy Spirit inhabited his Vv'hole foul, 
 and incorporated himfelf with all his immortal 
 powers and pafTions. Hence arofe a mutual de- 
 light in each other: God the Holy Spirit took 
 him into his own hands, and made him a living 
 
 temple . 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 287 
 
 temple. Hence arofe all thofe perfonal graces 
 that adorned his charader: his ftri6t temperance in 
 the government of his appetites: his virgin chaftity, 
 or the purity of his defires: his deep humility, or 
 fenfe of his immediate dependance upon God for 
 every thing: his fweet mxceknefs in the government 
 of his anger: his refolute feif-denial with refpect to 
 his own fame, and his own righteoufnefs: his pati- 
 ence to wait, to work, and to fuffer : his entire con- 
 tentment of mind with the appointments of provi- 
 dence. 
 
 Hence arofe his mortification of all fin: his re- 
 fiflance of every temptation of the devil, and his 
 watching againft all the finful compliances of this 
 world. Hence arofe his flriking at fin and felf in all 
 its fecret adings in the mind. Hence arofe his rea- 
 dinefs to conflict with every temptation upon its firfl: 
 approach to the foul, and his holy contempt of all 
 the vain riches, the fleeting honours, and the fordid 
 pleafurcs of the prefent life. 
 
 From the indwelling of the Spirit of God, arofe 
 his eagle-eyed prudence and difcretion in the manage- 
 ment of himfelf and all his affairs in life. Hence 
 arofe his undaunted and invincible fortitude, which 
 made him fuperior to all poflible oppofition in the 
 way to heaven, and entitled him to thofe rewards and 
 honours which are fo glorioufiy promifed to the con- 
 querors in the Book of the Revelations. Hence arofe 
 his amazing activity and diligence in all his iludies 
 and purfuits of evangelical knowledge: he hardly 
 knew what it was to have one lazy hour: his work- 
 ing mind was always bufy to glorify Christ, and 
 promote the happinefs of true believers. Nothino- 
 gave him fo great a joy as to be able to difplay the 
 illuftrious power and grace of Christ ; and in con- 
 ne(5lion with this, it o^ave him the his-heil delight to 
 find that his writings were infl:ru6live and ufeful to 
 mankind. Jt is hardly conceiveable how a humian 
 
 Ipinc 
 
288 . HIS CHARACTER 
 
 fpirit, incarnate in fo feeble a conftitution, could 
 ever ufe more diligence in the ways of God. 
 
 His love to the whole world of mankind was fin- 
 cere, generous, powerful, and permanent: he had 
 the ieaft of a party fpirit of any man I ever knew: 
 he pradtifed a kind of forgetting himfelf, in order 
 to be agreeable to others, yet in fo delicate a manner 
 as fcarce to let you perceive that he was fo employed : 
 he gave himfelf no airs of fuperiority, on account of 
 his being a minifter of the eflablilhed Church of 
 England: he was always upon a level with his com- 
 pany: he never confidered himfelf as James Hervey, 
 the celebrated writer, but as a poor guilty finner, 
 equallv indebted to divine grace with the loweft 
 godly day-labourer in his parifh: he envied no one 
 the honour and happinefs of doing more good than 
 himfelf: he rejoiced in the amiable talents and graces 
 of all his brethren, and all were his brethren who be- 
 longed to Christ: he was mightily pleafed at any 
 opportunity of afTifting and directing the fliidies of 
 pious young men, who were devoted to the miniflry 
 of the Gofpel. Nothing gave him greater pleafure, 
 than to fee them, go on well, ftudy wifely, and preach 
 Christ fervently and fuccefsfuiiy. 
 
 From the indvv^elling of God the Holy Spirit, 
 in this great man's foul, there arofe as great fincerity 
 of heart as perhaps ever exiiled in an human foul: 
 he had a mod fmcere defire to pleafe God in ail 
 things: he longed to know the whole will of God, 
 ^nd he applied himfelf to obey the will of God as 
 far as he knew it: he was vaflly fiiperior to the moft 
 refined heathens: they only obeyed their own reafon: 
 they never obeyed God for one moment. Hervey 
 did not obey his own carnal reafon, but he obeyed the 
 Toice of God in his providence, and in his law: his 
 thoughts, v/ords, and actions, were all of apiece; 
 and he preferved a fclf-confidency of chara6i:er in his 
 whole condud through life : his words were the copy 
 
 of 
 
AS A DIVINE. 289 
 
 of his heart ; and his aftions were his words, carried 
 into execution : a better pattern of veracity and 
 faithfulnefs did not exift in the whole Briciih empire : 
 he loved univerfal juflice and truth j, and if ever any 
 man exhibited the golden rule as a living law, Her- 
 vey was the man. Dr. Watts's beautiful Sermon on 
 the Golden Rule was copied out in the life and con- 
 verfation of our excellent friend. 
 
 There is an excellent beauty in divine juflice. 
 Moral juflice amongfl mankind, is a very great 
 beauty: it is a return towards our original redlitude 
 in Paradife: it is a refloration of the image of God 
 in regeneration, and makes a man lovely in his tem- 
 per, words, and aclions. 
 
 How much more beautiful mufl be the charadler 
 of God asjuft, having an ardent regard to all his 
 rights, and a deliberate defign ; a determinate pur- 
 pofe to prcferve thofe rights facred and inviolate for 
 ever, being jufl to the Lord Jesus , juft to the Holy 
 Spirit; jufl to all faints and angels in heaven; juft 
 to ail good men on earth; jufl to all bad men and 
 devils on earth or in hell to eternity. This was the 
 invariable temper of our excellent friend. 
 
 There is an unutterable dignity in divine juflice: 
 there is a mofl excellent dignity in moral juflice 
 amongfl men. A man of inflexible juftice in heart, 
 words, and a6lions, is a man of fuperior dignity to 
 the trafh of mankind: he hath a generous fcorfi of 
 doing wrong, and a determined purpofe to do all 
 that his underflanding perceives to be right. How 
 much greater dignity mufl there be in the juflice of 
 God : h^ knows his own worth : he is confcious of 
 his tranfcendent excellence above all men and angels; 
 and he fcorns to think an unjufl thought; to fpeak 
 an unjufl word, or do an unjufl adlion towards one 
 of his creature* in heaven, earth, and hell. 
 
 Moral juflice is the great bond of union amongft 
 mankind: without juflice, families would be in ruin- 
 
 O o ous 
 
290 HIS CHARACTER. 
 
 ous dlforder -, focieties would be diflbived ; towns and 
 cities in a ftate of war; kingdonis and empires would 
 be the bedlams of the univerfe -, and all nations round 
 the globe would be fields of blood 
 
 God has (lamped a copy of his juftice on the con- 
 fciences of men ; and this preferves the world in 
 order; and this fenfe of juftice eftablillies an eternal 
 order and union in the heaven of heavens. 
 
 Hervey was the brighteft mirror of the eflential 
 juftice of God that I ever knew; and it was from 
 this principle of univerfal juftice, in connexion with 
 invariable truth, that he afted in his condu6l tov/ards 
 all mankind. Hence arofe his ftrift regard to all the 
 perfons whom he efteemed his fuperiors : fuch are 
 magiftrates, parents, minifters, with all the rich and 
 honourable in this world. 
 
 Hence arofe his tender compaftion for the fouls of 
 all mankind : his tender pity and unfailing generofity 
 to the poor: his great love to children, and his ardent 
 defire that the rifing generation might receive the 
 very beft education. Hence arofe his great juftice 
 "to the fouls of his fervants : no man upon earth 
 could take a more prudent care to lead his fervants 
 into the way of falvation. 
 
 He was the beft neighbour in the world ; and the 
 reafon was, he loved his neighbour as himfelf. If 
 ever there was a man that adled the part of the good 
 Samaritan, Hervey was the man at all times and in 
 ^]\ conditions ; he was not only the moft dutiful fon, 
 and the moft loving brother that could exift, but he 
 was one of the fincereft and tendereft friends that 
 ever breathed upon earth. I am fure I found him 
 fo; and I ftiall relifti the thoughts of his friendfhip 
 to. m.e in the agonies of death itfelf. I can hardly 
 forbear running out into a large difcourfe on the na- 
 ture, the ingredients, the properties, and adlions of 
 true friendfhip ; but I muft ftop my hand to prevent 
 
 thfs 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 291 
 
 this part of my book being difproportionate to the 
 reft. 
 
 Let me juft obferve, that Dr. Owen's Diflertations 
 on Divine Juftice, tranflated fi'om the .Latin, are be- 
 gun to be publifhed. The whole will make about 
 feven numbers, at fix-pence each ; but the reft will 
 not be printed till the firft number is fold off. It 
 may be had of the bookfellers, whofe names are pre- 
 fixed to this work. 
 
 He had a moft ardent love to the whole Church 
 of God upon earth : he knew that there were a body 
 of men chofen by God the Father from eternity to 
 holinefs and happinefs : he knew that the body of 
 Christ confifted of thefe chofen men, and that it was 
 for thefe alone that he laid down his hfe, and that the 
 ends of Christ's death never could be fruftrated: 
 he knew that this body of men were wrought upon 
 by God the Holy Spirit in regeneration, converfion, 
 and fanclification : that this body of men were min- 
 gled with carnal profefTors in the prefent world, and 
 this mixture of people were called the vilible Church 
 of Christ ; but that the invifible church were dif- 
 tinguiftied from all mankind by an inward vital holi- 
 nefs, v,/hich rendered them dearer to God, than all 
 the nations upon earth : for this body of people he 
 ftudied, laboured, and prayed with a conftancy, equal 
 to his life and breath. 
 
 He delighted at all times to think of this body of 
 people : he knew that a large part of them were al- 
 ready in heaven, and that the reft v/ould certainly 
 follow : he confidered himfelf as a member of this 
 illuftrious bodv, and he o;loried in Christ his divine 
 friend, who had put him amongft the children. He 
 rejoiced at the enlargem^ent of this church under any 
 denomination ; and you could not pleafe him better 
 than by carrying him any good news of the con- 
 verfion of immortal fouls to the great head of the 
 church. 
 
 O o 2 Hervey 
 
292 HISCHARACTER 
 
 Hervey was an ardent lover of all the pleafurcs bf 
 vital religion, and he knew its glorious ules and ad- 
 vantages to his own foul : he confidered religion as a 
 delightful fenfe of God upon the foul, produced and 
 cherifhed by the influences of God the Spirit alone : 
 he knew that the origin of this religion was the life 
 of God : it was Christ formed in the heart, that 
 this noble principle enabled him to live above him- 
 felf in God, and gave him a fweet boldnefs with God 
 in prayer and praife : he found that this religion 
 fanAifted all his faculties, and confecrated all his paf- 
 fions to Christ: he found that this religion fandli- 
 fied the whole creation to him, and turned all nature 
 into a fchool of infcrudion, ajid a temple of evan- 
 gelical devotion. 
 
 Hence arofe his fondnefs for the beauties of na* 
 ture. Hence arofe his powers of defcriptive elo- 
 quence : every thing, from an angel to an atom, 
 brought God the Redeemer to his mind: his defcant 
 upon creation, in which he litis the feveral parts of 
 the vifible univerfe into the fervice of his Redeemer, 
 is nothing but a copy of the daily efFufions of his 
 heart. 
 
 Whenever you came into his company, unlefs he 
 was difturbed and interrupted by your own imperti- 
 nence, he v/ould prefently fail upon fome of his fub- 
 lime contemplations. He wanted no prompting from 
 any man : your grand point of wifdom and intereft 
 was to let him go on in liis own way; and then, if 
 you had the mind of an angel, he would be fure to 
 entertain you. 
 
 Only confider what a rich and inexhauflible m.ind 
 this man m.ufc have, to be able for twenty years to- 
 . gether to go on in the pleafing infl:ru6lion of man- 
 kind, with no other interruptions than what a feeble 
 conftitution, and the necefiary intervals of food and 
 fleep required of him : all the reft of his time was 
 devoted in the mod fiaming manner tt) the difplay of 
 
 tl)e 
 
A S A D I V J N E. 295 
 
 the divine perfon; the divine and infinite fatisfaftion ; 
 the divine and infinite righteoiifnefs; the glorious of- 
 fices and grace of the Lo^d Jesus Christ. He 
 lived upon hinn as his principle : he lived like him 
 as his pattern : he lived to him as his end. Exiil- 
 ence would have been a plague and torment to him, 
 if every moment of it had not been devoted to the 
 glory of his redeeming God, 
 
 Every morning of his life his grand queftion was, 
 " What fhall I do for the glory of Christ and the 
 good of his kingdom in the world ? How fhall I 
 bed employ myfelf to-day in difplaying the new 
 beauties of nature and Scripture?" 
 
 Ury verbal criticifm had very little of his atten- 
 tion; but devotional criticifm engroffed his whole 
 heart: he was exceedingly pleafed to have from you 
 any beautiful remark on the energy and dignity of 
 the words in the Hebrew Bible; and he was equally 
 pleafed to have any jull ciiticifms upon the New 
 Teftament. 
 
 Hervey loved to contemplate the death of the 
 body, and the immortality of the foul. He always 
 found himfeif at home among the tombs, and he 
 could fpeak with equal truth thofe lines of Dr. 
 Young, in his Poem .on the Laft Day. 
 
 Say then, my mufe, whom difmal fcenes delight. 
 
 Frequent at tombs, and in the realms of night ; 
 
 Say melancholy maid, if bold to dare 
 
 The laft extremes of terror and defpair: 
 
 O fay, what change on earth, what heart in man. 
 
 This blackeft moment fmce the world began. 
 
 Second edition, page loth. 
 
 He confidered death in every view of it, and he 
 confidered death as a part of his treafure and bank 
 ftock. 
 
 The death of good men, the death of bad men, 
 the death of his dearefl friends, the death of his bit- 
 bereft enemies, the death of prophets and apoftles, 
 
 the 
 
^94 HISCHARACTER 
 
 the death of martyrs and primitive ChriflianSj his 
 own death J but above all, the death of Christ, was 
 a rich part of his treafure. 
 
 He confidered death as a ceffation of the motion 
 of the heart, and a ftoppage of the circulation of the 
 blood, and the free flow of the animal fpirits. He 
 confidered death as a difunion of foul and body, or a 
 reparation of the two conftituent parts in man, as a 
 diflbiution of our earthly frame, and a departure out 
 of this world to an invifible eternity. He confidered 
 death as a turning the body to duft and afhes. He 
 confidered death as iflfuing in a declaration of our 
 moral charadler before the throne of God, and affix- 
 ing our flate for eternity, in heaven or hell. He 
 confidered death as entering upon a new ftate of our 
 thinking powers, and having larger conceptions of 
 God to eternity. 
 
 With refpedt to the body, he confidered death as a 
 fleep, Daniel xii. 2. and it is fo filled becaufe fleep 
 is an image of death. 
 
 In fleep the fenfes are locked up, and in death a 
 man is wholly deprived of his fenfes. Sleep is but 
 for a fliort time, and fo is death. After fleep a man 
 rifes, and being refreflied by it, is more fit for labour. 
 So is death to true Chrifl:ians ; it is a reft to them, and 
 they will rife in the morning of the refurredlion frefli, 
 lively and adlive, more fit for divine exercifes. See 
 Dr. Gill's Body of Divinity, page 916, 917. 
 
 Hervey had as clear views of the immortality of 
 the foul, as any man upon earth. He confidered the 
 proofs from nature; the proofs from the natural and 
 moral perfe6i:ions of God ; the proofs from man ; the 
 proofs from the fublime and glorious truths of the 
 Gofpel i the proofs from a clear account in Scripture, 
 of fouls, even now, this moment in heaven and hell. 
 
 Hervey had the proofs from nature clearly before 
 his underftanding ; the grandeur of fpace, as appa- 
 rently refembling the eternity, immutability, omni- , 
 
 prefence 
 
A S A D I V I I^ E. 2^ 
 
 prefence of God. Who can contemplate fpace, and 
 conceive it as exifting only for the fake of a block 
 or a brute ? 
 
 The Revolution of the natural World. 
 
 If we could watch every night in the northern and 
 fouthern hemifpheres, we fhould fee every one of the 
 conftellations in the whole vaft concave of the hea- 
 vens ; and who can imagine that thefe grand prof- 
 peels were all made for a creature of a moment's 
 duration ? 
 
 The fucceflion of the four feafons evinces the im- 
 mortality of the foul. 
 
 Spring exhibits a new creation. 
 Summer fliews frefh fcenes of boundlefs goodnefs* 
 ^- Autumn difplays the new bounties of Providence. 
 Winter exhibits new profpeds of the wifdom, 
 power, and goodnefs of God. 
 
 Has God brought on fuch a fuccefTion of the 
 feafons for nearly fix thoufand years, merely for 
 the ufe of dogs and bullocks, or birds and filhes ? 
 The regular and beautiful fuccefTion of day and 
 nio-ht through fomany thoufands of years, ^gives us a 
 ftriking evidence of our immortality. 
 
 Proofs of the Immortality of the Soul, from * 
 
 THE natural and MORAL PERFECTIONS OF GoD. 
 
 His eternity is a refemblance of our immortality. 
 His Omniprefence refembles the vaft range of thought 
 by which the foul of Hervey could fly in a moment 
 through heaven, earth, and hell. His omnipotence 
 is a ftriking image of the amazing ftrength and adli- 
 vity of this great man's immortal fpirit. The wifdom 
 and knowledge of God refembles the worlds of fci- 
 cnce refiding in the vaft underftanding of this man. 
 
 The goodnefs of God was a lively image of the 
 unbounded benevolence which reigned and lived in 
 this good man's heart. 
 
 ■ The 
 
296 HISCHARACTER 
 
 The divine holinels was the pattern and fource of 
 his holinefs. The jiiilice of God was a lively refem- 
 blance and image in the foul of this juft man, and his 
 truth and faithfulnefs was the origin, the pattern, and 
 the end of all truth, veracity, and faithfulnefs, in his 
 immortal foul, to eternity. 
 
 Proofs from Man, of the Immortality of 
 
 THE Soul. 
 
 His difcontent with his prefent condition in life. 
 There is not a man in the world in his unregenerate 
 Hate, but what wifhes for fome change in his condi • 
 tion. The gradual growth of reafon proves immor- 
 tality ; the nature of hope afpires to immortality, the 
 nature of virtue, which is progrefiive, to eternity. A 
 foul is capable of increafing knowledge, through ten 
 thoufand ages. The grandeur of the pafTions pro- 
 claim the foul immortal. Unbounded ambition, or 
 the love of honour, fame, and glory, fhew that we are 
 immortal. The infatiable appetite for pleafure 
 evinces our eternal duration ; the fordid pafllon for 
 wealth, or the mean appetite itiled avarice, or love of 
 gold, is a proof of our immortality. Our prefent 
 Itate is quite puzzling and unintelligible, on a fuppo- 
 fition that we die like a bullock or a dog. The ab- 
 furdities that follow from the brutal ftate of the human 
 foul, are infinite upon infinite : they confound the 
 human underflanding, and outrage ail the common 
 fenfe in the world. The fuppofition of our dying 
 like brutes makes a wife man mad : it drives him to 
 the mod defperate circumfl^^nces. 
 
 For non-exiftence no man ever wlilied. 
 But firll he wifiied the Deity deftroy'd. 
 
 Night Vir. line 892. 
 
 In a word, the daily war between devils and angels 
 proves our fouls to be immortal, and therefore wc 
 may fay with Dr. Young, 
 
 Kind is the devil, O infidel 1 when compared with thee. 
 
 Line 874. 
 
 Proofs 
 
AS A DIVINE, 
 
 297 
 
 Proofs from the sublime and glorious Truths 
 OF THE Gospel. 
 
 The facred three, who from all eternity entered 
 into a council of peace concerning'man's falvation. 
 This council includes three ideas, i. e. the deepeft 
 wifdom, the utmoft fincerity and ferioufnefs con- 
 cerning man, as being a moft important creature in 
 the eye of God. 
 
 It like wife includes the utmoft union of heart, or 
 the fweeteft aflbciation of the divine Perfons, to effed 
 the eternal falvation of men. See a View of the 
 Plurality of Perfons, in the eternal Godhead, from 
 the Hebrew Bible, in forty-fix Particulars, page 241 
 ' — 244 of this book. See a Scripture Repreientation 
 of three Perfons in the Divine Nature, aflbciated in 
 the Salvation of Man, in twenty-fix Particulars of 
 this Book, page 245 — 254. 
 
 The glorious dodlrine of eled:ion to everlaftino- 
 life, proves our immortality. 
 
 The do6trine of particular, abfolute, and certain 
 redemption, demonftrates the immortality of the fouL 
 
 The glorious blefTing of adoption, pardon of fin, 
 and juftification by Chris r's imputed righteoufnefs, 
 demonftrates the immortality of the foul. 
 
 The great blefling of regeneration, converfion, 
 fandification, and vital union with Christ, prove the 
 immortality of the foul. 
 
 The final perfeverance in mental habits of holinefs, 
 or the continuation of divine and fpiritual principles, 
 demonftrate the immortality of the foul. 
 
 We have a clear account in Scripture, of fouls 
 now this moment in heaven and hell. This is a 
 bright proof of immortality. We have promifes of 
 eternal life to good men, and we have thrcatenings 
 of eternal death to bad men ; all to be fulfilled at our 
 moment of departure from the body. 
 
 Thefe are all ftriking proofs of our immortality. 
 
 Pp Let 
 
298 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 Let us clofe the evidence with the declarations of 
 God himfelf. Men may kill the body, but cannot 
 kill the foul, Matt. i. 28. The Ipirit fliall return to 
 God who gave it, Ecc. xii. 7. Two men appeared, 
 Mofes and Elias, Luke ix. 31. Beggar died, and 
 was carried by angels, Luke xvi. 22. In hell he lift 
 up his eyes, Luke xvi. 23, To-day (halt thou be 
 with me in Paradife, Luke xxiii. 43. Stephen faid. 
 Lord Jesus receive my Ipirit, Ads vii. 59. Abfent 
 from the body, prefent with the Lord, 2 Cor. 
 V. 8. Whether in the body or out of the body, I 
 cannot tell, God knoweth, 2 Cor. xii. 2. Spirits 
 of juft men made perfe6i, Heb. xii. 23. To live is 
 Christ, to die is gain, Phil. i. 21. Life and immor- 
 tality are illuminated by the Gofpel, 2 Tim. i. 10. 
 I faw the fouls of them that were flain for the word 
 of God, Rev. vi. 9. 
 
 Hervey had very exalted conceptions of the terror 
 and glory of the rellirredion, and the laft conflagra- 
 tion of the univerfe. I cannot fpeak fo well for him, 
 as he can for himfelf: hear him then in his own 
 words. 
 
 " Wonder, O man ! Be loft in admiradon at thofc 
 
 prodigious events which are coming on the univerfe : 
 
 events, the greatnefs of which, nothing finite can 
 
 meafure, fuch as will caufe whatever is confiderable 
 
 or momentous in the annals of all generations, to 
 
 fink into littlenefs and nothing : events, (Jesus pre- 
 
 . pare us for their approach ; defend us when they take 
 
 place!) big with the everlailing fates of all the living 
 
 and all the dead. I mud fee the graves cleaving, 
 
 the fea teeming, and fwarms unfufpedied, crowds 
 
 unnumbered, yea^ multitudes of thronging nations 
 
 rifincr from both. 1 mull fee the world in flames : 
 
 muft (land at the difTolution of all terreftrial things : 
 
 and be an attendant on the burial of nature. I mud 
 
 fee the vaft expanfe of the fl-:y wrapt up like a fcroll ; 
 
 and the incarnate God ifluing forth from light inac- 
 
 cefTible, 
 
AS A D I V I N E. 299 
 
 cefTible, with ten thoufand times ten thoufand angels> 
 to judge both men and devils. I miifl fee ali eternity 
 difclored to view j and enter upon a ftate of being that 
 will never, never have an end. — Tombs, page 131." 
 Hervey conlidered the refurredion of the dead as 
 that grand and aftonifliing adlion of the omnipotence 
 of God the Son, by which the bodies of all that are 
 dead in earth and fea fhall fpring up from the duft, 
 and Hand on their feet in a moment, in the twinklino- 
 of an eye, never to die any more, but to liave their 
 eternal exiftence determined to the horrors of hell or 
 the joys of heaven, as long as God endures. 
 
 Hervey had grand conceptions of the laft judg- 
 ment: in the twenty-firft year of his age, as may be 
 feen in a letter to his filler, concerning }dY. Young's 
 poem on the laft day, dated Lincoln College, Oxford, 
 May 2, 1734. Colledlion, Letter IIL 
 
 He grew in his relifh for this poem for twenty-four 
 years, and never Icyft fight of it. 
 
 He confidered the laft judgment as that great 
 aflion of God the Son, in which he will accurately 
 fearch the fouls of all men, and attentively examine 
 the internal chara6ler of every perfon, and declare 
 the quality of every temper, and a6lion, and deter- 
 mine the ftate of damnation and mifery, or falvation 
 and happinefs, for every immortal foul, to all eter- 
 nity, in heaven or hell. 
 
 If you wifti to read the moft ftriking defcription of 
 the day of judgment I ever read, or expert to read, 
 fee Letter V^ of Afpafio to T heron, page 413—421, 
 and the conclufion of that letter, page 462 — 464. — 
 large odavo Edition. 
 
 Hervtiy had a clear fenfe of hell, or the final mi- 
 fery of the v/icked. He confidered hell as confifting 
 in the tortures of a guilty confcience, in a keen re- 
 morfe for all bad tempers, words, and adions. He 
 confidered hell as confifting in eternal felf-accufation, 
 and felf- upbraiding for paft crimes. 
 
 P p 2 He 
 
306 KISCHARACTER 
 
 He considered heil as confiding in a fenfe of 
 God's will to feparate us frona him, and to fill us 
 with defpair of his love, as loil for ever and ever. 
 
 He confidered hell as confiftins^ in a hatred of 
 God, fettled into malice, which can never eale itfeif 
 by revenge. 
 
 He eonfidered hell as confiding in eternal hardnefs 
 of heart, never to relent for pad crinnes ; never to 
 doop to the will of Christ to all eternity. 
 
 He eonfidered hell as confiding in intenfe black 
 forrow, and wild inapatience, at the lofs of all pofiible 
 good, with a full conviction that the lofs of that good 
 never will be redored. 
 
 He eonfidered hell as confiding in raging defires 
 for eafe, which never Ihall be fatisfied, and in longing 
 for a drop of pleafure, which never can be gratified. 
 
 He eonfidered hell as confiding in vexation and 
 envy at all happy fouls in heaven and earth, and in a 
 bitter ill will to every happy creature in the univerfe 
 of God. 
 
 He eonfidered hell as confiding in a dread of new 
 torments, and horrible fears of new punidiment every 
 moment, through an ete/nal duration. Thefe were 
 the tremendous conceptions that Hervey formed of 
 hell. 
 
 Hervey had clear views of heaven, or the final 
 happinefs of the righteous. He eonfidered heaven 
 as confiding in fweet peace of confcience, or a fenfe 
 of perfed frienddiip with God. He knew that all 
 ground of offence between God and man was entirely 
 taken away by the blood of Christ. He knew that 
 God had no ill will to punidi -, that he had not one 
 angrv thought in his heart ; that he received the fin- 
 ner into full confidence of favour, that there was no 
 reafon for the lead complaint in God againd his 
 people. 
 
 He eonfidered heaven as confiding in a fenfe of 
 God's will to unite himfelf to the foulsr of his peo- 
 ple. 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 301 
 
 pie. He knew that in heaven that God's defires to 
 unite himfelf to his people run out into a mod un- 
 bounded length, and indulged themfelves in all the 
 ardours that a God can feel. 
 
 He confidered heaven as confifting in love to God, 
 rifing into vaft admiration and efteem, and fettled 
 into the moft intenfc delight. 
 
 He conficiered heaven as confiiling in eternal 
 fweetnefs of temper, like the brighteft faints of the 
 Old and New Teftament, and an eternal foftnefs of 
 heart, without the leaft reludance, wearinefs, or 
 difguft. 
 
 He confidered heaven as confifting in the moft un- 
 bounded pieafuresj thepleafures of the frame of foul, 
 puriuy and hoiinefs : the pleafures of the place a holy, 
 heavenly worlds thepleafures of the companv, God 
 the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, millions of 
 glorified faints and angels ^ thepleafures of looking 
 back on the goodnefs of Christ through our whole 
 lives i the pleafures of looking forward through a 
 boundlefs eternity, and feeing that we have entered 
 upon a ftate of happinefs, which fhall never never have 
 an end. This delightful eafe in the powers of the foul, 
 and thefe oceans of pieafure which roll through all the 
 affections, will be equal to our vaft capacities, and 
 lafting as our immortal duration. 
 
 He confidered heaven as confifting in a great 
 quantity of relative happinefs, or a joy to fee all the 
 millions of fouls in heaven equally happy with our- 
 felves. There is no undervaluation of fouls in heaven : 
 there is no contempt for fouls in glory : there is no 
 averfion to one bleffed fpirit : there is no ill will to a 
 Chriftian brother ; no difguft at a fellow Chriftian i but 
 we fliall furvey the world of fouls with the fame un- 
 bounded delight, as though the happinefs was all our 
 own through eternity. To all thefe we muft add, 
 one more conception to complete our ideas of 
 heaven. 
 
 Hervey 
 
302 HISCHARACTER 
 
 Hcrvey confidered heaven as coafifting in hourly 
 cxpedations of new pleafures, burfting from the heart 
 of Jesus, our God and Saviour. 
 
 Remarks on Mr. Harvey's Life and Cha- 
 racter. 
 
 Remark I. All the knowledge of this great and 
 good man was carried on and attained by books. 
 Truly fpeaking, he had no tutors : before he went to 
 college he had none: while he was at college he had 
 none. His nominal tutor taught him nothing, nor 
 v/ere regular le<5lures to be found in his college -, con- 
 fequently he was left to make his own way, and for a 
 long time that way was in the dark. At lad Mr. 
 Jenks and Rawlin, on Juftification by Christ's Righ- 
 teoufnefs, odlavo, I74i,were put into his ^and by di- 
 vine Providence. Thefe were the books which, under 
 the diredion of the Spirit of God, firft directed his 
 apprehenfions to Christ's righteoufnefs. Marfhall on 
 San^lification firft led him to the great fpring and 
 means of Gofpel holinefs. The great Mr. Thomas 
 Hall on Final Perfeverance, in the Lime-flreet lec- 
 tures, firft led him into the comfort of that dodliine; 
 and when he came to read Witfius's CEconomy of 
 the Covenants, he found a treafure, infinitely rich, 
 divinely excellent and inexhauftible. He ufed to la- 
 ment it as one of his greateft lolTes that he was ac- 
 quainted with that excellent author no fooner. 
 
 BofVon's Fourfold State of Man laid very near his 
 heart. He has defcribed from him the whole procefs 
 of convi<5lion and converfion, in a moft lively and in- 
 ftru(5live manner. See T heron and Afpafio, Dia- 
 logue IX. page 29, large odlavo edition. 
 
 Remark II. How exceeding defeftive and er- 
 roneous are our public and private fchemes of edu- 
 cation ! or rather, we have no wife and good fchemes 
 at all. Every man who fets himfeif up as a tutor of 
 
 youth. 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 303 
 
 youth, purfues the dilates of his own wild imacrina- 
 tion, and the fcholars fare accordingly. But the me- 
 thod of education at our public colleges are beyond 
 defcription defedive and bad. This ,is difplayed in 
 moil lively and affeding colours, in the efTays of the 
 Rev. Vicefimus Knox. 
 
 If we furvey our two univerfities, the beauty and 
 grandeur of the buildings, the pleafantnefs of the gar- 
 dens, the fhady walks, the pleafant bowers, the pu1)lic 
 and private libraries, the inftituted iedlures upon all 
 the liberal arts and fciences, the noble profeflbrfhips, 
 the large endowments and rich incomes of thofe col- 
 leges, with a thoufand other advantages, which I can- 
 not fo much as name. 
 
 Amidft all this profufion of advantages, Hervey 
 had jufl as much help as though he had been born 
 on the Coafl- of Guinea, or in the Sandwich Iflands; 
 and we have reafon to think that thoufands of our 
 young men, who refide at the colleges, meet with the 
 fame fate. They go thither ignorant of fcience and 
 divinity, and they come away ignorant as they went. 
 
 What a moft afFediing confideration is this! that a 
 young man of fo fine a genius and capacity to receive 
 all kinds of in(lru6lion, fhould be fo vilely neo-le6led ! 
 
 I have as great an efteem and veneration for 
 learned and good men at our public colleges, as m.oft 
 perfons in the world : they mud know that I do not 
 write from a fpirit of ill will and bitternefs. If the 
 concealing thefe errors and blemifhes in public edu- 
 cation would cure them, I would be the firft man in 
 the world to keep them fecret, but the matter is im- 
 pofTible. The ignorance and infufficiency of our 
 young nobility, and the great defeds in the know- 
 ledge of divinity in the younger minifters ofrelicrion, 
 is vifible in every part of Great Britain, and cannot 
 poffibly be concealed from the common people in 
 every parifh. 
 
 Re- 
 
304 HIS CHi^RACTER 
 
 Remark III. What unfpeakable encouragement 
 doth this example give to excite young perlbns to in- 
 creale in knowledge and virtue. 
 
 In this cafe you fee every obftrudion removed, 
 every obftacle demolifhed, every objedlion anfwered. 
 
 The obftrudions in the way to knowledge are chiefly 
 thefe three, i, e. indolence, cowardice and lelf-conceit. 
 
 Now what reafon can there be for indolence, when 
 they fee the pattern of a man of indefatigable dili- 
 gence ? What ground can they have for cowardice, .. 
 when they fee a perfon of great tendernefs of confti- 
 tution furmount all difficulties, conquer all obftacles, 
 and rife to fuch tranfcendent heights of fcience and 
 virtue ? What reafon can they have for pride and 
 felf-conceit, when they fee a man of fuch lliining ge- 
 nius and fuch accomplifbments, to bfr one of the 
 humbleft perfons in the world ? 
 
 Only Hand flill, my reader, and confider for a few 
 moments; here is a poor raw boy, kept at the gram- 
 mar fchool for ten years, without any perfon to teach 
 him one fcrap of fcience, or fo much as to lead him 
 into the beauties of the clafTics, not fuffered to hear 
 Dr. Doddridge preach the Gofpel, tliough he lived in 
 the fame town for fever al years. 
 
 When he v/as fent to Lincoln College, in Oxford, 
 he had no tutor ; or one that was worfe than none, a 
 proud and haughty man, who had no true talte i no 
 genius for teaching; no humanity and fatherly com- 
 palTion ', no faithfulnefs and honefty of foul. Under 
 this man he was taught nothings and after flaying 
 near five years at college, m.aking his way by his 
 own induflry and the blefTing of Christ. 
 
 Can you imagine a man labouring under greater 
 difadvantages ? every thing to difcourage him, no- 
 thing on earth to prompt him to excel. 
 
 I publifh this work not fo much to proclaim the 
 fame of Mr. Hervey^as to promote the glory of Gor> 
 and the good of my country. That country whefe 
 
 happinefs 
 
AS A DIVINE. 305 
 
 happlnefs I have more or lefs fought for above fifty 
 years. I have now a greater regard than ever to 
 national honour, to national wealth, to national fai- 
 ence and virtue ; but above all to national religion 
 and happinefs. I defire to offer up a prayer, with 
 the warmeft emotions that an immortal foul can feel 
 for the falvation of our King and Queen, for the 
 heir of the throne, for our nobles, our judges, and 
 our clergy of all denominations -, for our merchants, 
 our hufbandmen, and the common people of the 
 land. I pray the eternal Being, that this book 
 which I now publilh, may be an inftrument in the 
 hands of divine Providence, to promote national ho- 
 nour and happinefs, by cherifhing true religion, and 
 advancing public Ipirit, or the love of our country. 
 I truft I Ihall have fome of the wifeil: and beft young 
 people amongft my readers. 
 
 There are doubtlefs feveral defedls in my book, 
 and I am not fo blind as to be ignorant of mainy of 
 them ; but this I can afiure the reader, th at there is 
 not one wilful mifreprefentation of fa6ls ; and I defy 
 the malice of hell and earth to prove that I have writ- 
 ten one faliliood. It was impoflible to defcribe fuch 
 a chara6ler as this without an appearance of flattety : 
 fuch fuperior virtues and graces will always appear 
 extravagant to the people of cold hearts and very 
 inferior virtue. 
 
 My pretended friends, who endeavoured to pourt^ 
 cold water on my ardent defcription of this great andfe. 
 good man mud excufe me that I did not choofe to ^^\ 
 llioop to the load of their phlegm : cold dead phlegm ' ' 
 in fpeaking or writing I always defpife, and I affure 
 them that the authors of it fliall always have it all to 
 themfelves. 
 
 This book will outlive Pagan darknefs, the Ma- 
 hommedan Alcoran, Jewifh prejudices, Popilh errors 
 and Proteftant infidelity : it wiU be read by millions 
 then, which are now unborn. The wife and worthy 
 
 Q^q people 
 
3o6 HIS CHARACTER 
 
 people in that happy time will wilh that Hervey 
 had had a better biographer ; and I wifh fo too, but 
 however, this book vv'ill convey lome information con- 
 cerning the charadler of a man whofe name is written 
 with the beams of the fun, and infcribed amongil the ^ 
 conftellations of heaven. If this book fhail convey 
 fome inftrudlion and entertainment, how much mjore 
 Ihall his own immortal writings be read with a fixed, 
 attention and fervent admiration. They will read 
 with wonder and delight the works of a man born in 
 the Sardianftate of the church, on Friday, the 26th of 
 February, 17 14, at Hardingstone, a country vil- 
 lage, one mile from Northampton, and who died De- 
 cember 25th, at four o'clock in the afternoon, at 
 Wefton Favell, 1758, in the forty-fifth year of his 
 
 age. 
 
 They will wonder to think of a man who was 
 trained up in a total ignorance of the fpiritual nature 
 of the Gofpel to the year 1733. They will then fee 
 the light of God gradually dawning upon his foul to 
 1 741. In that year his letter to Mr. Whitfield fhews. 
 that his foul centered in Chrit's righteoufnefs : from 
 this time his path fhone brighter and brighter to the 
 year 1746. In that happy period, his Meditations 
 among the Tombs, and his Refledlions on a Flower 
 Garden, burfh out all at once on the aftonifhed world. 
 People of the fined: fenfe, of the mod elegant tafte, 
 and the higheft relifh for the Gofpel, faw a new fpe- 
 cies of writing, which pleafed the mind, intruded 
 the underflanding, charmed the imagination, fired the 
 pafTions, and ipread a glow of devotion and delight 
 throuf>h the whole foul. 
 
 They were at a lofs which to admire moft, the 
 genius of the w.' er, or the productions of his pen. 
 Sometimes they turned their thoughts to the man, 
 and were ready to afl<: themfelves this queftion. What 
 a ftrange creature is here ? Is this a feraph or a human 
 being? where was he born, where was-he educated? 
 
 How 
 
A S A D I V J N E. * 307 
 
 How did he attain this knowledge ? Who gave him 
 thefe powers, to paint to the imagination, to prove to 
 our reafon the truths of the Golpel, and move the 
 paffions of the heart. 
 
 The peculiar Goodness of Christ to James 
 
 Hervey. 
 
 Confider this man as the obje6l of Christ's af- 
 fe<5tionate difpofition to make his foul happy. What- 
 ever good he polTeflisd of any kind ; whatever genius 
 or excellence he was confcious of in the frame of his 
 nature ; in the aptitude of his underftanding 3 in the 
 bent of his will ; in the rich powers of his imagina- 
 tion, and his pre-eminence above millions of other 
 men, all flowed from Christ and his Holy Spirit. 
 
 That largenefs in the capacity of his foul, by which 
 he was entertained with a boundlefs diverfity of ob- 
 je6ts in univerfal nature, through earth, and fea, and 
 heaven ; with all the ftarry worlds, and the Scrip- 
 tures of God : all thefe worlds of objedls and ideas 
 flowed from the Perfon and Spirit of Christ. 
 
 Christ, by his Spirit, gave him thofe divine, 
 afl^e6lions, and thofe devout paffions, v*'hich yielded 
 him a great variety of fruitions and pleafures. 
 
 His moral capacities and improvements were ac- 
 companied with a high {en^G of worth, as a new and 
 regenerate creature of God, indued with a divine 
 take, or holy aptitude of underftanding, to conceive 
 great and new thoughts of the perfediions of God hi;^ 
 Redeemer, and his vital union with his foul. 
 
 The rich privileges of his condition, as a Chrift- 
 ian J or that ample provifion which was made for his 
 eafy enjoyment of life and exiftence, whether by 
 means of his own invention, or by the afiiftance of 
 his friends, whether by the benevolence of his fel- 
 low creatures, or by the immediate agency of Christ 
 
 Q^q 2 alone. 
 
3o8 HISCHARACTER 
 
 alone, it all comes to the fame thing, Christ is the 
 Iburce and giver of all good. 
 
 The daily happinefs which he received from 
 Christ, and the continual fenfe he had of the fu- 
 preme good; the hourly union he had with eflential 
 truth; his reft in the love of Christ j his delight in 
 the fupreme beauty, and in the ufe and enjoyment of 
 Christ's infinite love 3 all thefe flowed from the fame 
 fource. 
 
 All thefe good things, with every other good thing 
 that can be mentioned or thought of, are originally 
 owing to the bounty of Christ; and however they 
 were conveyed by the kindnefs of friends, or the in- 
 tervention of Providence, Christ was to be feen in 
 all every moment; and the whole world of good in 
 its vaft variety^ is all nothing but cyphers and vanity 
 without Christ. 
 
 I'he Decrees of God, pra5ficaUy i7nproved by the great 
 Mr. John Hubbard, with Additions. 
 
 With what calm ferenity and fublime fortitude 
 may a truly good man commit himfelf to God in 
 well doing. 
 
 WKat a mighty fpring is the decree of God to ge- 
 nerous, great, and noble undertakings, in the caufe of 
 God, and for the glory of the Son of God, in his 
 perfon, perfedions> and offices. 
 
 What has a v/ife and worthy man to fear, that 
 fnould deter or divert, allure or terrify, his foul from 
 the moft difficult adtions, the moft laborious and 
 dangerous fervices he is warranted or called by 
 God to engage in; for he knows that nothing is left 
 to chance ; nothing in all the world left to run at ran- 
 dom; nothing left to the will and power of creatures; 
 but all occurrences and operations are regulated and 
 ordered by the decree of heaven : all matters are go- 
 verned by the purpofe of the all wife mind of God ; 
 and the inward thoughts, or mighty decree of God, 
 
 often 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 309 
 
 often brings forth what could never be expe6i:ed from 
 the outward face of things. Which abfolute decrees, 
 or inward thoughts and purpofes of God, are clearly 
 and fully interpreted by God's whole* word : his vo- 
 luntary declarations and rich promifes in particular, 
 refped:ing the temporal bleflings and fpiritual graces 
 of his people : that let the decree of God fall how it 
 will, let the mighty thoughts of God the Son open 
 to the world in adions and great operations how they 
 may, the wife and good man fhall be improved by 
 every thing j he fhall be bettered by every thing : 
 he fhall be worfted by nothing through the whole of 
 his life, and in the moment of his death. 
 
 The heart of God, exprefTed in his promifes, 
 interprets all his thoughts concerning his people; 
 and there is no one condition of pain or pleafure, 
 of poverty or riches, of lofs or gain, of difgrace 
 or honour, of temptation or vidory, of perfecution or 
 proteftion, of oppreffion or liberty, of funihine or 
 midnight, of ficknefs or health, of folitude or com- 
 pany, of focial friendfhip or friendleflhefs, of thev/orld's 
 favours or its frowns, and of the approach of the king 
 of terrors, in which the wife and good man fhali 
 not be bettered .by every thing, and worfted by 
 nothing. He fhall rife fuperior to the world, the 
 devil, and the flefh, and triumph in God's love for 
 ever and ever. 
 
 God's decree brings forth what could never be ex- 
 pe6led from the outward face of things. 
 
 This remark is moft delightfully illuftrated and 
 confirmed by the inftances of Charles Rollin and 
 James Hervey. 
 
 Here are two poor boys, raifed from nothing, to be 
 the firft writers in the whole world. Rollin was the 
 fon of a cutler at Paris, whofe father died when 
 he was but five years of age : his mother was not 
 able to give him a good education. A curate in the 
 
 neighbourhood 
 
5to HISCHARACTER 
 
 tieighbourhood procured him a place in a charity 
 fchooL Here he made fuch a rapid progrtfs, as to 
 afloniih his friends, and gain him an higher fitua- 
 tion in a better leminary. All the world knows the 
 confequences ! he became the firft man in France, 
 and his writings will live till the burning of the uni- 
 verfe and the end of all things. 
 
 James Hervey is another inflance of the fmgular 
 and fupreme goodnefs of God. He was but one de- 
 gree above a charity boy: and who could ever have 
 thought that this youth fhouid rife to the mod exalted 
 degrees of fcience, eloquence, and devotion ; fo as to 
 become the wonder and ornament of the Britifli em.- 
 pire! 
 
 The defign of this conclufion of my work is to 
 rouze the ambition of the Britifh youth, to excell in 
 every part of learning and virtue j and efpccially to 
 you in the lower ranks of life. There is no occafion 
 for you to be the fon of a nobleman, in order to be a 
 gox)d fcholar, and an amiable Chrillian. Wealth and 
 honour acquired already to your hands, are rather an 
 obftacle, and a curfe to iludy and fcience. 
 
 Our public fchools produce few or none of the 
 beft men in England : you have therefore every mo- 
 tive to Simulate you to adlion, to diligence, to dig- 
 nity, and folid glory. 
 
 Arife! arife then, my dear young friends, and 
 llrive to make new Rollins and Herveys in the pre- 
 ient age. 
 
 There was a beautiful refemblance in the temper 
 and charadler of thefe two excellent men. 
 
 Their natural genius and tafte. 
 
 Their fine perceptions of beauty. 
 
 Their love of claffical elegance. 
 
 Their delight in tiie beauties of creation. 
 
 Theirdelicate dilcernment of thebcaucit:s ofhiftory, 
 and the charadters of men. 
 
 Their 
 
A S A D I V I N E. 3t, 
 
 Their natural powers for eloquence, and all kinds 
 of good writing. 
 
 Their ardent love to God, and delight in his per- 
 fe6lions. 
 
 Their afloniihing reverence for, and ftudy of the 
 Holy Scriptures. 
 
 Their peculiar love to the perfon of Christ, and 
 faith in his precious righteoufnefs and blood for their 
 whole falvation. 
 
 Their amazing tendernefs and zeal, for the honour 
 of God the Holy Spirit. 
 
 Their boundlefs philanthropy, or univerfal love to 
 the whole world of mankind. 
 
 Their high fenfe of honour and moral juflice, in 
 all its branches and views. 
 
 Their invincible fpirit of benevolence and bene- 
 ficence all through life. 
 
 Their indefatigable love to all the fciences, and 
 their infatiable purfuit of every part of beautiful lite- 
 rature. 
 
 Thefe are fome of the features in which Rollin 
 and Hefvey refembled each other : and thefe virtues 
 powerfully invite and ftimulate us to a moil dilio-ent 
 imitation. 
 
 Great God ! make it appear that we are dear to 
 thee, and eminent for holinefs, and ufefulnefs all the 
 days of our lives. Let a generous ambition to ex- 
 cel animate our breads, and under the condu6b of 
 God the Spirit rife higher and higher in the empire 
 of God to eternity. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
SERIES of LETTERS 
 
 FROM THE LATE 
 
 Rev. JAMES HERVEY, M. A. 
 
 TO THE 
 
 Rev. JOHN R Y L A N D, M. A. 
 
 CONTAINIKG, 
 
 SIXYEAR's CORRESPONDENCEBEFOREHIS DEATH, 
 
 WHICH HAPPENED 
 
 DECEMBER 25, 1758. 
 
 JSlever before printed. 
 
^PMap«iV<inaMCVv«n^^3'X*a*KSMM^rcsv«^avBMae!«BeK«>iije9kKKQa 
 
 SERIES of LETTERS. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Wejlon-Favel^ Dec. 2, 1752. 
 
 Rev, and Bear Sh'y 
 
 T AM afhamed to acknowledge, but acknowledge I 
 mull, that I received your firfl favour by the nev^f- 
 man. I was then very bufy (at thole intervals of time 
 when I was capable of application) in preparing for 
 the prefs " An Anfwer to Lord Bolingbroke*s Ani- 
 madverfions on the Hiftory of the Old Teflainent.'* 
 In behalf of which attempt, I intreat an interefl in 
 your prayers to God, that it may be accompanied 
 with his blefling, and may advance the honour of his 
 word. 
 
 Since that, I have been feized by a fwellcd face 
 and a fever, which has confined mc to my chamber, 
 and delivered me over to the phyfician. Being always 
 fo extremely weak, and often quite ill, I am difcou- 
 raged from undertaking either correfpondence or bu- 
 finefs. How can fuch an invalid hope for fpirits to 
 anfsver the one, or for flrength to difpatch the other ? 
 This is my cafej or elfe I fhould, v/ith real delight, 
 embrace your propofal. Nothing could be more 
 agreeable, than a free epiftolary intercourfe, on the 
 glories, the merits, and the love of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. But I am really become like a broken vejpl-^ 
 and cannot engage to furnifh out my quota. Your 
 
 A 2 friend*s 
 
4 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 friend's mind was always a penurious, and now is an 
 exhaufled foil — can give birth to nothing that 13 
 worthy of the fubje6t:, or worthy of your perufal. 
 
 I defire to blefs the God of all power, and the God 
 of free grace, if he has been pleafed to make my fee- 
 ble miniflry in any degree edifying to any of your 
 friends. May the perfon you hint at, incrcafe with 
 the increafe of Godj be fealed unto the day of re- 
 demption j and though I know not the name, have a 
 fvveet afTurance, that his or her name is written in the 
 Lamb's Book of Life! — My cordial falutation and 
 good wifhes wait on Mr. Medley. May He that 
 walketh amidft the golden candleflicks, and has the 
 feven fpirits of God, profper your united labours; 
 that you may train up many, many youths, for a life 
 of diftinguifhed holinefs, and extenfive ufefulnefs, in 
 the world below, and for a iifeof confummate happi- 
 nefs and everlailing glory in the manfions above ! 
 
 I wifh you would favour me with your thoughts 
 concerning the righteoufnefs of Christ's life: its 
 excellency and perfe6lion: that righteoufnefs, I mean, 
 which was antecedent to his atoning death, and con- 
 fided in his obedience to the w^hole moral law j I will 
 then fend you the refult of my meditations on the 
 fajne fubject: to be partly confirmed; partly im- 
 proved, by your's. Though I* have forbore writings 
 I have taken every opportunity to inquire after you. 
 I have always profefTed a miofl affeftionate efteem for 
 you J and have often made mention of you at our 
 heavenly Father's throne ; which not only has been, 
 but will continue to be, the pleafing pra6lice of. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your fincere Friend, 
 
 and Brother in Christ, 
 
 JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 LET- 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 LETTER 11. 
 
 Rev» and Dear Sir, 
 
 Wejion-Fa'vzly Jan. 63 1 753. 
 
 T AM truly obligedj and fincerely thankful, for your 
 
 laft letter. The fpeed and the weight of your an- 
 iwer render it a double favour. J fee it is dated 
 Dec. the 13th; but I received it not till iafl Sunday 
 evening, when it refrefhed my fpirits, after they had 
 been exhaufled, delightfully exhauRed, by preaching 
 Jesus Christ. From which circumflance, you will 
 perceive, it was impplnble for me to acknowledge 
 your kindnefs Iboner. 
 
 Herewith I fend you, according to my promife, a 
 few thoughts on the noble fubjedt which you have 
 confidered, Vv'ith an energy which, I hope, will frrike 
 me, on every repeated perufal j and Vv'ith a propriety, 
 in which I can find nothing to be altered, unlefs it 
 be its brevity. Do not grudge your paper, my dear 
 friend, when you pour out your fentiments on fuch a 
 topic. 
 
 My manufcript is part of a pretty large work, 
 which, amidfl great infirmities of body and mind, 
 I have been meditating. Let me befeech you to 
 read it; not v/ith the partiality of a friend, but the 
 feverity of a critic ; and let me hope ; let me pro- 
 miife myfelf, to receive it again, improved and en- 
 riched by your free corredlions. 
 
 The v/hole work, if the Father of Lights fhould 
 youchfafe ability to finifh it, vv'ill confifl partly of 
 Dialogues, and partly of Letters : to treat of thofc 
 grand do6lrines of Chriftianity, which are of univerfal 
 concernment, and of the laft importance; fuch as 
 the fall of man in Adam ; the depravity of our nature ; 
 the atonemxnt of Christ's death; the imputation of 
 his righteoufnefs ; (this is to be confidered very dif- 
 tin(5lly and copioufly) the fan(5lification of our nature 
 &:c. To be interfperfed with fome eafy but improving 
 
 flridiures 
 
6 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 ftridures of natural philofophy, and to be decorated 
 with fome agreeable, but edifying piclures, of rural 
 3:iature. 
 
 I intreat you to obferve, on a feparate paper, what 
 is redundant/ and ought to be retrenched— what is 
 deficient, and wants to be luppiied — what is obfcure, 
 and needs to be cleared up — what is weak, and fliould 
 be ftrengthened—- low, and fliould be elevated. I re- 
 joice to find, that my fentiments fo exadly coincide 
 v/ith your's. 1 ihall often befeech Hinn, in whom are 
 hid all the treafures of wifdom, to give you all knov/- 
 ledge and utterance. And I humbly requeil the 
 lame exercife of benevolence in behalf ofi 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your truly affeftionate Brother, 
 in Jesus Christ, 
 
 JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 P. S. I am obliged for your candid approbation of 
 Remarks on Lord Bolingbrokc. Accompany them, 
 dear Sir, with your prayers: then, perhaps, though 
 they touch the argument but fuperficially, they may 
 be made to penetrate fome hearts. 
 
 LETTER in. 
 
 Wejion-Fa'vel, Feh. 3, 1 75 3. 
 
 Rev, and Dear Sir^ 
 
 I Received your obliging letter, and very valuable 
 prefent of Witfius, which I Hiall thankfully keep 
 as a monument of your friendfhip, and attentively 
 ftudy as a magazine of evangelical wifdom. May the 
 Lord Jesus Christ transfiife the precious truths 
 from the writer's pen, to the reader^s heart ! — I had 
 feen this treatife before \ but it was at a time when my 
 fpirits v;ere funk to a very low ebb, and I had but 
 little rcJifh even forthemoft excellent things. 
 
 I rejoice, ap.d fhali be encouraged to proceed in my 
 work, if you really approve thofe little fketchcs 3 bat 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS, f 
 
 hope, and I earnellly beg, that you will beflow upon 
 them your free corredlions. My piece is at yet only 
 in embryo. Will you, dear Sir, contribute your aflifl- 
 ance to ripen the defign, and bring 'it to the birth? 
 With this view, I fend you my four firfl Dialogues : 
 they are very incorred, and fhamefully blotted : the 
 iirft fault, your pen will mend; the fecond, your can- 
 dor will excufe* But inflead of making any more apo- 
 logies, or making any other requefts, give me leave to 
 lay before you a plan of the whole fcheme. 
 
 After the four firfl conferences, T heron and Afpafio 
 enter upon the fubje(5l of our Lord's adlive righteouf- 
 nefs. ■ Objections from reafon, from Scripture, are 
 confidered — The abfolute perfeClion of the divine 
 law, and confummate holinefs of the Divine Ma- 
 jesty — Sincere obedience, infufficient for our jufli- 
 Hcation — ^The end of the law, to convince of fin, and 
 bring to Christ — Some other objections urged and 
 anfwered. — The corruption of our nature; firft: proved 
 from Scripture, then dil played from experience. Be- 
 tween v/hich, to relieve the reader, is introduced a 
 Dialogue on the wonderful Stru<fture of the Human 
 Body. The whole fummed up — Our fiiends part^ 
 but agree to correfpond — Theron more attentively 
 obierving his heart and life, comparing both with the 
 divine law, is convinced of his great guilt and total 
 deficiency — Begins to acknowledge the neceiTity of a 
 better righteoulhefs than his ov/n — Defires to fee 
 what can be alledged for the fupport of this doCtrine, 
 which occafions fome letters from Afpafio; wherein 
 the point is proved from our Articles and Homilies ^ 
 from the Scriptures of the Old and New Teftam.ent^ 
 from the writings of our mofl eminent divines — The 
 excellency of Christ's righteoufhefs difplayed, both 
 from its matchlefs perfection, and from the dignity 
 of his perfon — A letter or two from Theron, bv v/ay 
 of carrying on the intercourfe relating to the wonders 
 of creation, and the goodnefs of the Creator; not 
 'without fome views to the main fubjeft— -The influ- 
 ence 
 
8 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 ence of righteoufnefs, on moral virtue and evan- 
 gelical holinel's — Our friends brought together again 
 — Theron, under difcouraging impreflions, thinks fo 
 glorious a righteoufnefs can never be intended for 
 fo grievous a finner — The freenefs of grace, and of 
 the gift of righteoufnefs — A difcourfe on faith, by 
 which we are interefted in our Lord's obedience — 
 The precious and delightful ufe to be made of this 
 righteouHiefs — Theron relapfes into fins of infirmity — 
 his faith is (hzken — fupports proper for fuch a ftate — 
 A difcourfe or two on fan6tificationi its nature j its 
 principles; its progrefs — Afpafio, feized with a fud- 
 dtn iilnefs — the manner of his death — the laft enemy 
 conquered, and the believer departing, with hopes 
 full of immortality. 
 
 This is the platform. — If you approve the defign, 
 I hope you will recommend it in prayer to the Father 
 of Mercies, and Fountain of Wifdom. If any thing 
 occurs which may be proper to fill up thefe outlines, 
 and complete the work, I promife myfelf you will be 
 fo kind as to communicate. 
 
 Have you feen a treatife, intitied " The Gofpel 
 MyTtery of San6liiication?" If you have met with it, 
 pleafe to favour me with your opinion of it. What 
 muft I dcfire you to accept by way of return for your 
 prefent? I have nothing but my Meditations : thofe 
 are old and ftale; but fach as they are, let them (land 
 in your fludy as a micmorial of that diftinguifhed place 
 which you have in the heart of, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your truly aifeclionate, 
 
 and obliged Friend and Brother, 
 
 JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 P. o. I am afham.ed to fend fuch patch- work ma- 
 nuicriptsj but methinks I would not tranfcribe them 
 till they are enriched by your and your afTiflant's re- 
 m.arks. ' . 
 
 LET- 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 9 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 WeJIon-Favel, March ij, I753» 
 My dear Friend^ ' ' ■ 
 
 J ALSO received your obliging letter, after I had 
 
 been preaching j preaching upon thofe important 
 
 words of our Lord Jesus Christ, John xvi. 8 — ii, 
 
 that I had fpoke lefs unworthily of the facred fub- 
 jedt, and not fullied the glory, nor enervated the' 
 power, of the everlalling Gofpel ! But the Mailer 
 whom we ferve, can make his flrength perfect in 
 weaknefs : can make the voice of jfbammering lips be- 
 come the power of God unto falvation. May his 
 good Spirit be with us, and his good hand be upon 
 us, when we fludy his word, and publifh his grace! 
 
 I thank you for taking the trouble of perufing my 
 very imperfed manufcripts; and I defire Mr. Medley 
 to accept my very grateful acknowledgments for the 
 improving remarks he has made. I beg of him to 
 proceeds to ufe the fame kind feverity with the 
 o'ther fl^etchesi and render them, if pofTible, fit for 
 public view — meet for the Mafier's ufe, I am {^n- 
 fible the pointing is inaccurate, and fhall be much 
 obliged for every correction in this particular. It 
 will be no lefs beneficial to my piece, if he pleafes to 
 make free ufe of the pruning knife. Prolixity upon 
 fuch a fubjed will Infallibly create difgud, efpecially 
 with the polite; for whofe perufal, and whofe fervice, 
 
 1 would wifh my attempt was properly calculated. 
 
 I do not pretend, nor indeed do I v/ifh, to write one 
 new truth. The utmoil of my aim is, to reprefent 
 old doftrines in a pleafing light, and drefs them in a 
 fafhionable, or genteel manner. 
 
 If it is not too late, I would defire to be in the 
 number of the fubfcribers to the work which Mr. 
 Medley has corre6led for the prefs. Did I enquire 
 whether you have feen a piece intitlcd, " The Gofpel 
 Myftery of Sandificati5n ?" 1 intended to afk this 
 
 B queflion, 
 
10. A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 qiieftion, but as I find nothing in any of your letters 
 relatino- to it, I am inclined to think I forgot to ex- 
 ecute my defign. My beft thanks for your kind 
 offer of Dr. Gill's curious and valuable fermon i but 
 as I have it already, you will not be difpleafed, if I 
 take the liberty to return it, when a convenient op- 
 portunity prefents itfelf. I have the pleafure of know- 
 ing the author, and I hope the benefit of being in- 
 terefled in his prayers. When I was at London, he 
 was fo friendly as to vifit me at my brother's, (who 
 lives not far from the Dodlor's) and always left me 
 wifer ; and I am fure it was not owing to his incapa- 
 city or negligence, if I was not better. If you know, 
 or happen to meet with any books, particularly excel- 
 lent and ufeful, I fhould own myfelf obliged by your 
 recommendation of them. And I promife myfelf 
 you will not ceafe to commend, to the tender mercies 
 of God, your very weak, but 
 
 Truly affe(ftionate 
 
 Brother in ChriH, 
 
 JAMES HERVEY. 
 P. S. My moil cordial falutation waits upon Mr. 
 Medley. 
 
 L E T T E R V. 
 
 Wejlon, April z\i 1753. 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 TN how many refpeds am I obliged to you ; obliged 
 •^ to you for your affcftionate letter ; for your edi- 
 fy ipg meditation, and for Mr. Fowler's truly valu- 
 ablc°book : for all which, accept the poor, but fin- 
 cere return of my thanks. 
 
 I hope Mr. Medley will not difcontinue his labour 
 of criticifm and of love; but proceed to'polifli thofe 
 rude Iketches j for which fervice I ihall be bound to 
 
 wiih 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. n 
 
 wilh that he himfeif may be a polilhed fhaft In our 
 divine Redeemer's quiver. 
 
 I fhall be glad to receive the Catalogue of Seled 
 Authors, which you inention -, for I aflfure you, I am 
 not fo vi^ell acquainted with excellent writers as your 
 candor may imagine. Be pleafed to mark thofe which 
 you think more particularly worthy of recommenda- 
 tion I and if a defcription of their characler and dif- 
 tinguifhing excellencies fhould flow readily into your 
 pen, a few ftriclures of this kind would be highly 
 welcome. Your fenrim.ents, with relation to Marlhal, 
 have excited this wifh ; from which you will learn, 
 without my particularizing it, how well I like them. 
 
 If i read Dr. Owen's Works, I fhould prefer your 
 books, for that very reafon which you mention as a 
 difparagement. The manufcript marginal nones will 
 be entertaining, inllru6live ; and will, in a pleafing 
 manner, quicken and keep up my attention j for I 
 mufh confefs to you, that in perufing a long com- 
 pofition, my fpirits are always languid, flag, fink, 
 are exhaufled. 
 
 I admire Mr. Fowler, am^ong other excellencies, 
 for reducing his Treatife to fo moderate a compafs. 
 I wifh fome judicious hand would give us the quin- 
 teffence of Dr. Owen's works, each in a fize fo 
 portable, both for the pocket and the memory : I 
 really think it would be one of the moft fubfliantial 
 acts of fervice v/hich a fcholar and a divine could per- 
 form for the prefent age. Do you approve this 
 fcheme ? Iffo, fuppofe you think of executing it. 
 
 I cannot fay that I am mauch verfed in Dr. Ov/en's 
 writings. I once fet about reading his Expofition of 
 t\\Q Epiftle to the Hebrews -, but his Differtarions and 
 Annotations were fo exceflively prolix, that I could 
 by no means retain them in my mind.— The glorious 
 and delightful fubje(5]: of union with our exalted head, 
 Christ Jesus, 'will be confidered in the procefs of 
 thefe efiays, O ! for an un6tion from the Holy One, 
 
 B 2 to 
 
12 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 to teach us all things, that are moll expedient for us 
 to write, and for others to know ! 
 
 Whei) your fweet meditation upon Gal. vi. 14, 
 came to my hand, I was confidering about a proper 
 text for a fermon to be preached before the Clergy at 
 our approaching vifitation , and I can recollt:(5t none 
 that pleafes me fo much as, " God forbid," &c. You 
 will excule me, if I take the liberty to enrich my 
 difcourfc with fome of your hints ; and pray for me, 
 deaj- Sir, I befeech you, that I may open nay mouth 
 boldly, and declare the truth as it is in Jesus. Your 
 heart is made for friendfhip. Though mine is much 
 lefs warm and tender, it has, I afTure you, a very warm 
 and tender regard for Mr, Ryland : to hear from him;, 
 will always be eileemed a favour ; to hear of his hap- 
 pinefs, will always be enjoyed as a pleafure by. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your truly affectionate Brother 
 
 in our LordJesus Christ, 
 
 JAMES HERVEY, 
 P. S, My cordial compliments wait on Mr. Medley,^ 
 
 W 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 Wefion, May 4, I754» 
 
 My dear Friend ^ 
 
 ITH gratitude I received, and with delight I 
 perufed, Mr. Brine's judicious letter. As God 
 has given him a clear head, and a warm heart, I hope 
 he will give a fingular blefiing to the produce of 
 both. May he alfo enable mie fo to conned: and 
 interweave thefe fublime fentiments, with my own 
 fuperficial notions, that they may appear, not like 
 pieces of velvet tacked on fufliian, but like beautiful 
 bloifoms growing out of the tree. 
 
 Pray let me have your thoughts upon the fubjedl. 
 Your's are moft fuitable to my tafte, (and if I do not 
 
 greatly 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. jj 
 
 ,greatly miftake) will be mofl acceptable to tlie public. 
 Light is good, and heat is good ; but the two in 
 conjun6ticn are better than either feparate. 
 
 You aflc for Letter L and Letter VJ. I fancy you 
 mean Letter V, becaufe that is one of the moft im- 
 portant, and Letter VI. is rather a digrefiion of the 
 entertaining and ornamental kind, than an elTential 
 part of the fubjeclj however, that I may not difap- 
 point, I have tranfmitted both. Be critical, be fevere, 
 be callegatory, in perufing them ; and, if divine Pro- 
 vidence enables me to publifn, and voi]chfafe me 
 fuccefs, I will furnifh, out of my profits^ the poor 
 of your congregation, with bibles. 
 
 My good friend and pious brother. Hartley, has 
 juft publifhed a volume of Sermons. He is a fiend 
 to the righteoufnefs of Christ^ but fo far as it is 
 formed in our hearts, he does not like the do&ine-of 
 imiputed righteoufnefs ; and faid, at Lady Huntin.o-- 
 don's, from the fmcerity and impartiality of liis zeal, 
 that it would be better to have my intended Vv'ork 
 fupprefTed, than publiflied. This I was told under 
 the rofe ; and this I fpeak only internes. — He has 
 given us a very long preface concerning religion, en-, 
 thufiafm, &c. He fpeaks highly of Mr. Law's works; 
 apd among other things fliys, " He has refuted that 
 " irreverant, but common notion, of the divine Ma- 
 f^'jefty's being actuated by a fpirit of vindiciive wTath, 
 " in his proceedings againft fallen maq." If you 
 choofe to fee the Sermons, they fliall compofe, or be 
 a part of my next packet : it is a five fi'iilling volume. 
 — My bookfeller tells me it will be impolTible to com- 
 prize my ElTay in lefs than three volumes of the Me- 
 ditation fize. It is much againft my inclination to 
 exceed the quantity of two volumes j but I believe I 
 muft fubmit, or elfe we fhall cramp the defign, and 
 mutilate the plan. — I heartily v/ifh my brother Hart- 
 ley's fermons may be accompanied with an abundant 
 blefTihg, and bring much honour to our crucified 
 Lord. And I defire to thank his holy name, for 
 
 the 
 
14 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 the acceptance which he has been pleafed to give unto 
 my weak atcemprs. The oeher day I was agreeably 
 furprifed with a prelent fronri Amfterdam ; a tranfla- 
 tion of my firft volume into Low Dutch ; very hand- 
 fomely printed in large o6tavo, and ornamented vnth 
 eight lively and expreflive prints. It is now in two 
 languages. O 1 that a double portion of divine bene- 
 diction may attend it ! and more than a double por- 
 tion reft upon my dear brother at Warwick, and all 
 the undertakers, for the honour and intereft of him 
 who was dead, but is alive for evermore. I have 
 given my laft orders with relation to printing the Sche- 
 dule of Promifes -, but perhaps fhall not have it in my 
 power to perform my engagement, till I put them 
 into your own hand at Wefton, The expedlation of 
 which is pleafmg ; bur let it not fuperfede the plea- 
 fure of hearing fronn you again. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER VIL 
 
 Wejio?!, July 8, 1754. 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 Received your printed letter from London, and 
 fhould have been glad to receive the author at 
 Wefton. Though difappointed of this pleafure, I 
 hope, through the new and living way confecrated for 
 lis, to meet in a calmer place than the ihades ot 
 Wefton, and in a grander place than the ftreets of 
 London. 
 
 Did you fnew your Defcant upon the Oath of God 
 to Dr. Gill and Mr. Eriae ? Did it receive the ap- 
 probation of thofe mafter builders in Ifrael ? Of each 
 of whom v/e may fay, in an inferior degree, whatwai 
 faid in the moft exalted fenfe of their divine Lord, 
 
 Ilai. 
 
A S E Pv I E S OF LETTERS. 15 
 
 Ifai. xi. 3. Do not you think our tranflation has 
 happily enough expreffed the fine metaphor contained 
 in the original ? Or, can you fuggefl a better ren- 
 dering, then lliall niake him of quick' underftandino- 
 in the fear of the Lord ? 
 
 I prefume this will find you at V/arwick; and I 
 truft will find you fafe, living together with your 
 family, under the defence of the Moil High, and 
 abiding under the fhadow of the Almighty. I fend 
 this ticket, principally to beg the favour of you to 
 tranfcribe the fubjecls, or heads, of Mr. Hervcy's 
 Dialogues and Letters. He himfelf has mifiaid and 
 cannot recover them. It will fave him a little trou- 
 ble, if you will fend him a copy. 
 
 I have had my bookfeller's opinion with relation to 
 the number of copies proper to be printed, at which 
 I am fomewhat furprifed, and muft defire your advice. 
 He fays, 5000 in fmall, and 750 in large oftavo. To 
 this I have fome objedions. In the firft place, the 
 fale of fuch a prodigious quantity, cannot but be 
 hazardous, though I muft confefs I have no reafon 
 to diflrufl: the goodnefs of that over-ruling Providence 
 to which I would humbly afcribe the acceptance of a 
 preceding eflliy. This fcruple, therefore, lliall be fet 
 afide. But what think you of the following confidera- 
 tion ? Errors and v/eaknefTes, if fuch a number be 
 printed at once, may never be corrected. Whereas, if 
 we publifli half the propofed number, and a fecond 
 edition is demanded, there may be an opportunity of 
 corredting miftakes, and retouching inaccuracies. 
 
 May 1 not hope to receive a few hints for a Preface, 
 in which I am advifcd to declare, that it is my firm re- 
 folution to enter no farther into the controverfy ? With 
 this view, that in cafe the dodrines are attacked, 
 other and abler champions may fee a clear itao-e for 
 their entrance. 
 
 I am in poPiciTion of Dr. Crifpj the Lord Jesus, 
 who is our wildom, fanfcify my reading; and make it, 
 like the milk colleded in the mother's bread, a little 
 refcrvoir for the fpiritual nourifhment of his people. 
 
 An 
 
i6 A SERIES OF LETTERS, 
 
 An account of the obfervables which you met with 
 at our metropolis, either in your own preaching and 
 converfation, or in the works and fentiments of the 
 learned, will be very acceptable to. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your afFedlionate Brother, 
 
 JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 Wejioriy July 26, 1 754. 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 T Congratulate you and Mrs. Ryland, on your fafe 
 return to Warwick. May the feed which you 
 have left behind you, grow and profper ! and may 
 the ground before you, be like the harveft of the 
 fixth year in Ifrael, doubly fruitful ! 
 
 I am indebted to you for two letters, and as many 
 parcels. — Mather's Chriflian Philofopher, you are 
 pleafed to fay, is my own. In fuch a fenfe it is mine, 
 as the flowers in my garden belong to the bees. My 
 property is like theirs : may my improvement alfo be 
 like theirs ! — The mai^fcript letters fent by Mr, 
 Waliin contain an inftance of true heroifm. 1 would 
 fay as I read, 
 
 " Sic miht Conthigal vivere^ ficqus morir 
 
 Mr. Keith has fent me, by your order, the 
 Dialogue on Preaching;, and BlackmiOre's Eflav on 
 the fame fubje<5t. The former I have in m^iludy 
 already : it is full of fine words, and pleafes in the 
 readins:. But I don't know how, the benefit vanifhes 
 with the perufal ; the improvement is infenfibly loft, 
 O that this may not be the cafe with miy elfays ! 
 Rather let them be " as a nail faftened in a fure place!" 
 — Would you think it ? directions about preaching, 
 
 rather 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 17 
 
 rather difcourage than profit me. They fetch from 
 my breaft, that defponding confeflion^ 
 
 Cupidum^ frateVy optimey vires defieunt. 
 
 The Lord Jesus ftrengthen my weaknefs ! You 
 fhould not have put down my name in the lift of the 
 evangelical league j fome men have Atlantean fnoul- 
 ders, and can execute any thing; may undertake al- 
 moft every thing : — your friend is a dwarf and a crip- 
 ple. And who would invite fuch a one into.fo ardu- 
 ous a fervice ? However, I muft not think of en- 
 gaging in any new work, till Theron and Afpafio's 
 affairs are got off my hands. How my heart trem- 
 bles, left I fhould fail in this attempt, and betray my 
 divine Matter's caufe, to the infults of his enemies ! 
 Lord, I am intimidated; undertake it for me ! — This 
 
 week came a letter from Dr. S , that breathed 
 
 the Chriftian, and fpoke the gentleman: be fo good as 
 to make my grateful acknowledgments to him and Mr. 
 Wailin. — I fhall take your advice, with relation to the 
 num.ber of copies — Will it be proper to introduce the 
 work with a dedication ? — Herewith are returned Mr. 
 Hurrion^s works ; and they are accompanied with one 
 manufcript v/hich you have not feen. Pray examine 
 it ; correfl its fentiments, and polifh its ftyle ; and 
 whenever you publifh, may your works be " as po- 
 lifhed fliafts," in the vidlorious Redeemer's quiver ! 
 I am, dear Sir, 
 Your truly affectionate Brother, 
 in Christ, 
 JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 WeJioHy Aug. 17, 1754, 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 'TpHIS week I received both your letters, and both 
 your parcels, and as from every fuch favour I 
 
 C receive 
 
|8 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 receive pleafure, and hope to reap advantage, id is 
 but juft, that I return my thanks. 
 
 I wonder how you, who have heard my Hammer- 
 ing voice, and feen my withered arm, could think of 
 cnlifting fuch a cripple in your fervice.— ^If I was per- 
 fedly at leifure, 1 durft not undertake to furnifh out 
 any ftated periodical compofition for the pubhc. The 
 languor of my conftitution is fo great, and the failure 
 of m,y fpirits fo frequent, that whatever I attempt of 
 this kind, muft be attempted-r-not at fuch an hour, 
 or fuch a week -, but whenever a lucid and lively in- 
 terval returns. 
 
 At prefent, my hands, amidft all their weaknefs, 
 are fo full of employ, that I have not time or ability 
 to pay the imlifpenfable debt of gratitude and friend- 
 fhip due to my correfpondents. Letters, both of be- 
 nevolence and of piety, I am obliged to lay by un- 
 anfwered ; being embarked in an affair that requires 
 all, more than all, my application ; and thinking it 
 my duty to be, till it is finifhed, lotus in illo. 
 
 Give me leave alfo to hint, that I cannot perfuade 
 mylelf to approve of every thing in your propofals. 
 The execution of them is likely to be premature. 
 Might I offer my opinion, I would humbly advife, 
 that you delay the publication of your Effays for a 
 confiderable fpace, till each member of the fociety 
 has a ftock of materials digefted, compleated, and 
 ready to form his qupta, otherwife, unexpected avo- 
 cations pnay break in upon the time which he intends 
 to allot for his compofitions : m.ay oblige him tq 
 write when his fpirits are dull, and his thoughts ftag- 
 nate ; by which means, what he writes may fall very 
 fliort of \^ hat is required in your fifth article. 
 
 Further. I would flrongly remonffrate againfl ar- 
 ticle the third. My vote is, not barely that it be al- 
 tered, but intireiy reverfed. It fliould be a ftanding 
 invariable rule, that nothing be difmiffed from the 
 pen ; nothing be committed to the prefs, but what 
 has undergone the examination^ apd received the cor- 
 rection 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 19 
 
 re6i:ion of every member; otherwife the principal end, 
 and higheil advantage of an aflbciationj are loll. 
 
 When you quote my letter, you quite miftake my 
 meaning. I fpoke of writing, not with all poffiblc 
 energy of thought, and all the fire and force of dic- 
 tion; but as Luther fomewhere exprefTes himlelfj 
 ^Trivialitsry vulgariter^ and. Ad caftum populi. 
 
 I keep your EfTay ; becaufe I would not only ad- 
 vife, but earneftly intreat you to take time. Beware 
 of being precipitate ; your lively imagination wants 
 the curb, almoil as much as my phlegmatic temper 
 the fpur. 
 
 See how freely I fpeak my mind. Adl the fame 
 part with me : tell me as plainly of my errors : cor- 
 redl the faults of my condud, and of my writings; for 
 how much better is it to be chaftifed with tendernefs 
 by a friend, than to be wounded and infulted by an 
 enemy ! My poor veflel is going to be launched. The 
 Lord Jesus Christ give it a profperous gale, and a 
 a fuccefsful voyage. The prefs is at work for the 
 publication. Oh 1 let your prayers be initant for a 
 blefling. 
 
 I am, dear Sir, 
 
 Your afFedionate Brother, 
 
 JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 Weftott'Favel, 03. 19, 1754. 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 LAST night I received your parcel. But I had 
 not the Tatisfa6tion of receiving it from the hands 
 of the bearer : the fine afternoon tempted me abroad ; 
 and I was gone out in queft of — what I never find, 
 and what I hope you never want-^health» 
 
 (S 2 I thank 
 
io A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 I thank you for your remarks on the little manu- 
 fcript J and, for that copious variety of phrafes, which 
 may fupply the fterility of my invention. You judge 
 right in fuppofing me to have full employ, but am 
 much out of order, and extremely languid in my 
 fpirits. You muft expedl nothing from me. I am a 
 bow not barely unftrung, but broken. Have neither 
 a heart nor a hand for any work. I think with fhame 
 and difmay of the piece that is publifhing. Had I 
 formerly been in this mifgiving frame, and very en- 
 feebled ftate, fure I fliould never have adventured to 
 appear from the prefs. O ! that the declaration of 
 the apoftle might be fulfilled in this weakeft of crea- 
 tures. 
 
 I have read and read again your lively piece ; yet 
 with a cold and dead heart. Two or three very flight 
 alterations I have ventured to make, but thefe noE 
 without diffidence. The word attend appears to me 
 more proper for your purpofe^ and in your connec- 
 tion, than convey, or convoy ; becaufe one of the 
 lafl expreiTions generally fignifies to guard what is 
 expofed to danger, or to bear what is unable to tra- 
 'vel, neither of which offices need to be performed to 
 the triumiphant Jesus. 
 
 In page 6, 7, the epithet immortal^ occurs four 
 times, and the adjeclive///M/;;t', three or four. This, 
 perhaps, you will alter, when the piece is reprinted, 
 and bound up v/ith your other works. I could not 
 fo change them as to improve them, otherwife I 
 would have done it. The pamphlet fliall be fent with 
 the manufcript directions to your printer by to-mor- 
 row*s poll. If you can fugged a proper hint for a 
 preface, I Ihall be much obliged : only I muft fay, 
 (for we are entered upon the third volume, but I 
 Ihall not be able to fend you the fecond till next 
 week, at which time you may exped, and I, if I live 
 and am well, will not negledt to fend it,) I will very 
 readily pay my fhare for a fourth part of your 
 little tradt. Let me know what it comes to. But I 
 
 will 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 2| 
 
 Will defire you, or your friends, to difpofe of them ; 
 for I correspond with nobody, fee nobody, and am as 
 the Pfalmifl fpeaks. Like urao them that are out of re- 
 membrance, and are cut away from thy hand. Twenty 
 I fhall order for myfeif, and the remainder Ihall wait 
 , for your fignal. I am, dear Sir, in great weaknefs, 
 but with great fincerity, 
 
 Your Friend and Brother, 
 
 in Christ Jesus, 
 JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 IFefton-Fa-vel, Nov, 2, 1754, 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 LET me thank you for your three extracts : they 
 are very fubftantial vouchers, and give a great 
 fandlion to my opinion. I wifh you had touched my 
 cold piece with your torch, and enkindled it here 
 and there with a little of your fire: of that fire 
 which glows in your rapturous teftimony borne to the 
 divine Jesus, and v/ill, I trufl, warm the hearts of 
 multitudes. 
 
 Pray let me know what I am to pay for my fhare 
 of the copies; and be fo kind as to difpofe of them 
 for my Mafter and me. I am the moft unfit perfon 
 alive to undertake the oflice of fpreading this, or any 
 fuch work, becaufe, fenfible how often my fpirirs fail 
 me, and leave me quite incapable of anfwerino- the 
 expedations of my correfpondents, I choofe to de- 
 cline almoft all epiflolary intercourie. Several letters 
 now lie by me, from known and unknown hands, 
 which are not, and I believe never will, be acknow- 
 ledged J any otherwife than by prayers to God for the 
 friendly writers. To-day, blelled be the God of my 
 life, I am fomewhat better, than when I wrote laft. 
 
22 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 But ah ! how Jong will this gleam of halcyon weather 
 continue ? Well, there is a world in which the voice of 
 joy and health is perpetually heard ; may my infir- 
 mities render thofe defirable manfions to me ! and may 
 your vivacity fit you for abundant ufefulnefs here ! 
 
 I now fulfil my promife — fend you Volume II. 
 Laft week my bookfeiler difappointed me. Now let 
 me intreat my dear friend to correal it with his pen, 
 and blefs it with his prayers. Any remarks from your- 
 feif or acquaintance, wouki be extremely welcome. 
 I had rather have the performance improved than 
 applauded ; by the latter, a vain creature may be 
 made vainer ; by the former, the all-glorious Jesus 
 may vouchfafe to bring fome honour to his name, 
 and fome furtherance to his caufe. My bookfeiler 
 tiiinks there is a probability of a fecond. edition, fo 
 that any emendations tranfmitted, may take place. 
 
 As foon as the third volume is completed, it will 
 be fure to make one of its firft vifits to you ; who will 
 pity its imperfections, and pray for its author. 
 
 Your affe<5lionate Brother, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 I 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 Wejion-Faijely Nov. 23, 1754. 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 Received your hints, and return my thanks. The 
 Preface is finiflied, and muft be fent to-morrow. 
 I have negle6led to compofe it, till it was too late to 
 fhew it to any friend for his revifal and corredlion. 
 Bef(;;ech the unerring wifdom to make it, and the 
 whole performance. 
 
 I am obliged for your kind and feafonable reproof. 
 Let the righteous fmite me friendly. I am indeed too 
 unthankful to my heavenly Father \ yet, you do not 
 
 know ^ 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 23 
 
 know; you cannot conceive ; it is impofTible for n:ie 
 to exprefs, what forrow attends fuch inceflant languors 
 of conftitution, and failure of fpirits. Devotion is 
 deadened ; joy is extinguiflied 5 peace is difconapofed, 
 the poor foul is rendered tender and fenfible to every 
 crofs accident, as the inflamed or ulcerated flefli fuf- 
 fers, even by the flighteft touch. O for faith ! as 
 ftrong, long-fuffering, unconquerable faith, to live 
 upon the fulnefs and riches of Christ, when there is 
 nothing but penury and defolation in felf ! 
 
 Mr. F has fent me 225 of your pamphlets ; 
 
 pray let me know what I am indebted ; what the 
 other gentlemen pay for their quota. — The more I 
 read your piece, the more I like it. O ! that I may 
 feel it in my very foul, and carry the imprefTions of it ; 
 I will not fay to my grave only, but infinitely beyond 
 the grave, even to the heaven of heavens. But if 
 you write for the poor and ordinary clafs of mankind, 
 I really think the ityle is too enriched, and the Senti- 
 ments too refined, at lead in feveral places, for their 
 apprehenfion. Why did you put yourfelf to the ex- 
 pence of printing the Promifes, when I have hundreds 
 and hundreds that want to be diftribured. To let 
 you fee how unfit I am to undertake the monthly 
 difpofal of an edifying pamphlet, I cannot but inform 
 you, that I have hardly put off half a hundred of 
 thefe little fcraps, though I truft, when my larger 
 work is difpatched, to be a little more active, in com- 
 mitting thefe to the exchangers, if fo be they may 
 receive a blefiing from on high, and my Lord, when 
 he Cometh, may receive his own with ufury. — ^I fend 
 you a hundred of your own compofitions, and a hun- 
 dred of my collediions ; a hundred fhips of the line, 
 attended with a hundred pinnaces. The Lord Jesus 
 vouchfafe a profperous expedition to them all ! 
 
 Pray execute your intention. I will fend you a 
 large fet of Theron and Afpafio, if you will return it 
 to me, loaded in the margin, with criticifms, cafti- 
 
 gationsy 
 
24 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 gations, and improvements. Though I cannot fix 
 a time, I knov/ not when the larger fort will be com- 
 pleted. Methinks I would advife thofe who ptir- 
 chafe the larger edition, to have it only half bound 
 in blue covers, and not cut on the edges. The pa- 
 per feems to be remarkably large. The binder will 
 probably cut away abundance of the maro-in, which 
 
 will very much impair the beauty of the volume. 
 
 To fee you at Chrifimas, will be a pleafure to my 
 family, and to> 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your affectionate Brother, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 Weft on, Jan. i8, 1755. 
 
 Mj dear Friendy 
 
 T Hope this will find you fafely arrived at Warwick, 
 "^ refrefned in your conftitution by your late journey, 
 and refrefhed in your fpirit by finding your family in 
 profperity. 
 
 I fend according to my promife, the third volume 
 of T heron and Afpafio in fheets : any remarks which 
 the truth that dwelleth in you fhall fuggefl, will be 
 gladly received, and gratefully acknowledged. Amidfl 
 all my fond partiality, and notwithftanding the dimnefs 
 of m^y fight, I cannot but difcern many blemifhes j 
 the good EoR d of his mercies fake pardon them ; 
 and for his own Gofpel's fake enable my friends to 
 corre6l them. 
 
 "When you fend me a parcel, be fo kind .as to in- 
 clofe that print in Stackhoufe's Hiftory of the Bible, 
 which reprefents the interview of King Solomon and 
 Queen of Sheba , together with the number that re- 
 lates to it, and add your obfervations on this picture, 
 and Hervcy's^Defcription, Vol. I, p. 231. 
 
 ' I have 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 25 
 
 I have taken the freedom of writing to Mr. Brine, 
 and have fent him a copy of the work. May the 
 Lord Jesus incline his heart to aiTifb me, and make 
 him of quick underflanding, both to detect and to 
 redrify what is amifs. 
 
 What do you take to be the precife meaning and 
 defign of the apoftle James in that remarkable afler- 
 tion, Whojoever Jhall keep the whole law^ and offend in 
 one pointy he is guilty of all ? The Bifhop of London, 
 in a volume of Sermons, which he has lately pub- 
 lifhed, objedts to the fenfe commonly given by expo- 
 fitors. He fays, it doth not fuit the apoftle's inference, 
 in the latter part of the verfe : it is liable to all the 
 difficulties of the floic*s paradox, that all ofiences are 
 equal. It relates, he thinks, to the royal law of love 
 mentioned before ; and is intended to fhew, that one 
 injurious adtion, (even though it be only a partial 
 preference) is as inconfiflent with love, as another ; 
 and in this refpecfl, injurious actions have no differ- 
 ence ; for they are all equally inconfiflent with the 
 great law of charity. 
 
 You are often mentioned in our family ; and we 
 trufl, you remember us all at the throne of grace. 
 My fervant flays for the parcel ; fo that I cannot add 
 more than, 
 
 Your's, inviolablv, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 JFc/Ion, Feh. 8, 1 75 5* 
 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 T Return your picture — obliged for the fight of it; 
 
 bat more obliged for your remarks on it. I think 
 
 they are perfedlly juil : I fubfcribe to them all ; and 
 
 join with you in pronouncing the performance inde- 
 
 D licate 
 
26 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 licate, injudicious, contemptible. I wilh you would 
 examine Theron and Afpafio, with the fame honell 
 and friendly rigour, which you have exercifed on 
 Raphael's pencil. 
 
 I hope this will find you thoroughly reftored to 
 health ; freed from every complaint of the conftitu- 
 tional kind. O I how defirable (if fuch be the Lord's 
 will) is fome good degree of animal vigour and vi- 
 vacity ! How it expedites the operations of the mind, 
 and tunes the human machine for the nicer and hap- 
 pier agency of grace. In this, as well as the fub- 
 limer fenfe of the promife, may the Lord renew your 
 llrength, and make fat your bones ! My book 'is not 
 publilhed yet : it is flow enough in its appearance. 
 O ! that it may be equally fure in its compofition, its 
 acceptance, and fuccefs. it is advertifed for the i8th 
 of this inftant ; but there are fo many unexpe(5ted re- 
 moras, that I dare not anfwer for its forth coming, 
 even at the expiration of ten days more. I have or- 
 dered my bookfeller to lodge a parcel for you in the 
 hands of Mr. Ward : it v/ill contain feven fets of the 
 fmall fize, for the worthy minifters you mention ; and 
 one fct of the large fize for yourfelf. Wlien you pre- 
 fent the piece, you will engage their prayers for a 
 divine bleffjng on the work, and obtain tJieir remarks 
 for the improvement of another edition. 
 
 Docftor Crifp fays, " There is no wrath to be- 
 lievers; Christ has bore it all -, cxhaufted it wholly, 
 Hnd carried it — clean away." This is comfortable 
 doctrine. But how will it confift with fome Scrip- 
 tures, that feem to fpeak the contrary fentiment; with 
 that pafTage in Micah particularly ; Iwi/l hear the in- 
 digfwJicn of the Lord, becauje 1 have fmned againfi him^ 
 This is evidently the voice of a believer — of a con- 
 firmed believer — of a believer in the very exercife of 
 faith : for he calls God, My God, and the God of 
 my falvation. He fays, "^he Lord will bring me forth 
 to light : I fhall behgld his righteoujnefs. 
 
 May 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. t; 
 
 May our adorable Mafter prepare us both for the 
 fervice of the fanduary, and grant that we may come 
 to our important work, like the Mailer of old, full of 
 fmthy and of the Holy Ghost ! 
 
 I am, dear Sir, of all your friends, the moil weak, 
 but not the leail obliged, nor the ieail afte(R:ionate, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 L f: T T E R XV. 
 
 WeJio7i, March 8, 1755. 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 T Directed my bookfeller, a confiderable time ago, to 
 leave a parcel with Mr. Ward, containing {tY(:n 
 fets of Theron and Afpafio, (fmall lize) for your 
 friends: one {tty (large fize) for yourfelf I hope he 
 has executed my orders, and the books are come to 
 your hand. We have begun another edition, and 
 ventured to print three thoufand. May the Lop.d 
 Jesus Christ compafiicnate the author, and profper 
 the work of his hand upon him. O profper thou his 
 handy v/ork ! 
 
 Any remarks and improvements v/ill be extremely 
 welcome; but they muil be communicated foon, 
 otherwife, perhaps, they cannot take place; for it was 
 propofed to begin upon each volume at once; and 
 proceed, by means of feveral hands, and feveral 
 preiTes, with great expedition. 
 
 I find, from an advertifement in the Northampton 
 newfpaper, that the writers of the Review have treated 
 Mr. Brine with virulence and Icurrility. What may 
 I expect at their hands? Pray for me, that I may re- 
 ceive their cenfures and invedlives with calmnefs, and 
 neither be exafperated in my temper, nor intimidated 
 in my fpirit. May this be the language of my heart, 
 Though they ciirje^ yet blefs thou, 
 
 D 2 I fee 
 
2S A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 I fee there is lately piiblillied, a magnificent edition 
 of the Hebrew Bible, with which are connected, the 
 Greek Apocryphal Books. To all which are pre- 
 fixed, DilTertations; and fubjoined, Expofitory Notes, 
 by Monf. Houbiganr. Have you ever heard a cha- 
 racter of this work ? 
 
 The Princefs of Wales, and my other noble friends, 
 were pleafed to receive my books in a very candid and 
 obliging manner. May the divine Redeemer open 
 their hearts ; give them admiffion into their fouls ; 
 and make them not micrely a matter of amiufement, 
 but a favour of life unto life ! 
 
 May he blefs abundantly all your labours, and 
 continue forth his loving kindnefs, his grace, mercy, 
 and peace to, 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Your alfedtlonate Brother, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 WefioHy March 15, 1755* 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 T Am glad to hear that the parcel Is come fafe, 
 though it was more tardy in its arrival than 1 pro- 
 pofed, and than you might expe6t. I am miuch 
 obliged to you for the two valuable books, which I 
 hope the Lord Jesus will make a bleffing to my own 
 foul, and enable me to recommend them, in a proper 
 manner to the perufal of others. I will endeavour 
 to follow your advice, and drop a hint to my reader, 
 of the worth and excellency of Do6lor Owen's 
 Treatife. 
 
 It may be not only ufeful to the reader, but necef- 
 fary for the vindication of the writer. I am already* 
 attacked on this head, by a gentleman, irt manufcript. 
 
 He 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 29 
 
 He writes thus :— " Theroii fays, Vol. III. p. 249, 
 When I have been cleanfed, I defile nnyfelf afrefh.' 
 Now St. Paul, in that fo commonly-wrefled chap- 
 ter to the Romans, is delcribing tbe natural man, 
 " that had not been cleanfed ; or there is no good 
 " Chriftian, but is infinitely better than was Paul." 
 - — To this he fubjoins feveral texts of Scripture,-— : 
 /iead to fin — fnade free from fin — ht cannot fin — go 
 and fiin no more. And proceeds thus : " I believe 
 " when you confider fo many pofitive texts, as you 
 " know there are, and that without any fnadow of 
 " qualification, you will allow there muft be meant a 
 " comparative perfedlion ; a being in a degree per- 
 " fe6l, even as our Father which is in heaven is per- 
 *^ fed: ; or, Hovv' are we his fons ?" 
 
 " Afpafio replies, ' The eiticacy of Christ's death 
 
 * is new for onr application every morning ; new 
 
 * for this blelTed purpofe every moment.' Let a 
 " friend, and not an enemy, put thefe fentences to- 
 " gether ; all your angelic pages, I doubt, Vv'ili not 
 " refcue you. For my part, I was ilruck with hor- 
 ^* ror, as to what comes after: *" My bcil hours are 
 
 * not free from finful infirmities, nor my beft duties 
 ^ from finful imperfedions.* It feems to me but a 
 " part of what 1 am to undcrfcand by the fpeech, 
 " that miring and v/afhing, and miring again, is too 
 ^^ like ablblution, and finning the very fin anew." 
 
 Thus my correfpondent, and, I believe, my friend. 
 As to the firfl exprefTion, I intend to expunge it: 
 " I defile myfeif," looks too ir.uch like voluntary and 
 allowed tranfgrelTion. And I muft own, I have al- 
 ways been inclined to think that the apoftle, in the 
 latter part of the 7th chapter to the Romans, is not de- 
 fcribing his adult, but his infantile ftate in Chrifli- 
 anity, what he experienced in the firfh llage of his 
 journey to Zion. Does he not give us an account, firfl 
 of his total death in fin, then of his being awakened 
 by x}i\^ power of the law, fet home by the convincing 
 Spirit \ After that, of his conflids, fore conflicts with 
 
 unbelief 
 
30 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 unbelief and corruption, before he was eftabliihed in 
 grace ? Laft of al^j does he not difplay his deliver- 
 ance from this ftate of bondage and of fear ? This I 
 look upon only as a fkirmilh^ or a prelude to the 
 grand afTault. 
 
 The Author of the London Magazine has taken 
 notice of T heron and Afpafio, and really , in a very 
 refpeclful and honourable manner. — My fentence in 
 the Gentieman^s Magazine, is refpited till next 
 rnonth. I know not whether the Monthly Review 
 has taken me to tafk; but this I know, (O that I 
 could conflantly believe it) that if God be for us, it 
 matters not who is againft us. If He efpoufes our 
 caufe, no weapon formed againft it fhall profper. 
 Do, my dear friend, fend m.e what you mention in 
 your laft, and let me have every day more and more 
 reafon to profefs myfelf, 
 
 Your obho:ed, as well as, 
 
 affectionate Brother, 
 
 J. HERVEY, 
 
 LETTER XVH. 
 
 WeJioUi Jpril 5, 1 755. 
 
 My dear Friendy 
 
 T Received your letter by the poft : I thank you very 
 fincerely for the contents. As I read them with 
 an eager eye, and efpecially th^ Introduftion to them, 
 I could not forbear whifpering to myfelf, " Gallantly 
 *f faid." I could not forbear wiftiing, that the encou- 
 ragement and the commiflion, given by the angel 
 to Gideon, maybe given to my friend, — *^ Go, in this 
 " thy might," with which I truft the Lord Jesus 
 Christ has endowed thee, that thou may eft fight his 
 battles, and maintain his truth. 
 
 I v/ill, if 1 live to write another lettec, deliver my 
 fentiments concerning your interpretvition of the lat- 
 ter 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 3-1 
 
 ter part of Romans vii, and the clofe fpirited queries, 
 iuggefled on the occafion. My thoughts have been 
 fo engaged, and my weak fpirits fo hurried, about a 
 troublefome vexatious affair of a fccular nature, that 
 I have had but little power, and as little leifure, to con- 
 fider more important points. The tenant, whofe mo- 
 ther you faw at my houfe, continues obftinate and re- 
 vengeful to the very laft, and will leave me no pofli- 
 bility of getting my money for the time paft, or my 
 land for the time to come, but only by arrefting him, 
 and throwing him. into gaol ; and this I cannot be pre- 
 vailed on to do : it would grieve me extremely to re- 
 fled:, that a man, who has a wife and two fmall chil- 
 dren, lies in a prifon, confined by my order. 
 
 I have received two long letters, one from Mr. Pike 
 of London, another from Mrs. Dutton of Great 
 Granlden, on the fubjed; of affurance of faith. I will 
 tranfmit them both for your perufal. If, as you read, 
 any thing fiiould occur, which may ftrengthen my 
 arguments, or iiluftrate miy tenet — any thing which 
 may temper and qualify the dodirine, and render it 
 lefs exceptionable, yet equally ufeful' — aiy point that 
 I fhould e^ive up, or any concefTion vSat I fhould 
 make, be fo kind as to favour me w^ith a hint. Mr. 
 Brine is againfb me on this fubjed:. He writes thus : 
 — " If by an appropriation of Christ, is meant an 
 ** application to him for life and falvation, this is ef- 
 ^' fential to faith. But if it defigns a conclufion, 
 fpringing up in my mind of my own interefl in 
 him, and in his faving benefits, I cannot but ap- 
 prehend it is a miftake. A poor finner may dil- 
 cern his need of Christ, and be fully perfuaded 
 of his ability to fave him ; and upon it apply unto 
 *^ him for mercy, pardon, and fuccour, in his dif- 
 ^^ trelTed condition, in this language : If thou wilt thou 
 " canji 'make me clean ; which, I hope, will be found 
 '^ to be that faith, which is the faith of the operation 
 '' of Gou.'* 
 
 * Now 
 
32 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 Now I would fo condudt my Treatife, that it fhould 
 eftablilh my own opinion, without oppofing the 
 judgment of thefe and other eminent divines : I 
 would recommend and promote the aiTurance of faith, 
 yet allow that a foul, deftitute of this gift, may be 
 really fafe, though not truly happy. If you could 
 fuggeft fome method of maintaining the Chriftian's 
 privilege, without offending the brother of high or 
 low emdowments, I fhould be glad. What you do 
 of this kind, pray let it be fpeedy, otherwife it can- 
 not take place. I muft beg of you to return thefe 
 letters, with your friendly remarks, next week, with- 
 out fail ; for our new edition goes on at a great 
 rate ; they have finifhcd very near half of each volume, 
 and my bookfeller, prefuming that 1 fhould have no 
 objedlion, took the liberty of making the edition 
 confift of 4000, inflead of 3000, on which we had 
 agreed. 1 fuppofe he was prompted to do this, by 
 finding a call for the piece. 
 
 Now I begin to expert a warm, and no very can- 
 did attack, from the authors of the Monthly Review. 
 I fee from their treatmicnt of Mr. Brine, what ci- 
 vility I m.ay promile myfelf Mr. R has let 
 
 fiy upon them, i-n a manner that is, I think, more 
 zealous than judicious; fuch as fiiews him to be 
 galled by their inveiStives, though he profelies the con- 
 trary; and fuch as feems to betray relentment, rather 
 than difplay a calm and difpafTionate concern for 
 truth. May the true and great Zapnath-Paaneah fill 
 us with all wifdorn and fpirituai undeiflanding, that 
 we may walk and write, worthy of the Lord, unto all 
 pleafing ! 
 
 I fend you four franks. I wifh you much of 
 that anointing, which may reach you all things. I beg 
 to hear from you by the firll: opportunity; and remain. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Moil cordially yoyr's, 
 
 ' j. HERVEY. 
 
 LET- 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 LETTER XVIIJ. 
 
 My dear Friendy 
 
 IVeJion, July^y 1755, 
 
 YOUR parcel has reached my hand, and your af- 
 fedionate lympathizing letter has made an im- 
 prefHon on my heart. I rejoice to hear that God has 
 been with you in your journey, and brought you to 
 your habitation in peace. May the eternal Spirit 
 water tlie feed which you have fown^ that on your 
 next excurfion into thofe parts, you may find the 
 fields laden with increafe, and white for the harveft! 
 
 I am glad you have not fent Mr. Gillies's Hiirori- 
 cal Colle6lions. I defire you to alter your purpofe, 
 and to divert your intended favour fome other way. 
 Do you ailc the reafon? It is thisj I am already Ibp- 
 plied. The worthy author has made me a prefent of 
 his work, and may the Lord almighty make his 
 work as a " torch in the ilieaf,'' to quicken a fupine, 
 and enflame a lukewarm age! 
 
 A confiderable time ago, I gave directions to Mr. 
 
 R , to prepare a let of the Meditations, in the 
 
 manner you defcribed, and to lodge them with Mr. 
 Ward, to be forv/arded with the firft parcel for you. 
 
 Do you know one Mr. John Dowley? He lives 
 at Lutterworth; is, I apprehend, a dilTenting teacher; 
 he has favoured me with a letter, very fenfible, very 
 obliging, and equally devout. If I live to write to 
 you again, I will tranfcribe a critical remark, which 
 he makes, but with a great deal of modefly, upon my 
 interpretation of Exod. xxxiv. 7. 
 
 The plan you mention, pleafes and afflifls me. 
 Its important nature, joined with a probability of 
 ufefulnefs, pleafes ; but a confcioufnefs of my weak- 
 nefs, and a reflexion on my incapacity for the fervice, 
 afflids. However, may I bow my head and fay, the 
 
 E will 
 
34 ASERIESOFLETTERS. 
 
 will of the Lord, which is always good, always the 
 bed, be done. When do you publifh your Defcrip- 
 tion of a Preacher? I hope our divine Mailer will 
 give it admittance into our univerfities, make it as 
 the Prophet's lalt in thofe fpring-heads. Surely, if 
 beauty of thought, and force of language, are re- 
 lifhed in thofe feminaries, your little piece will want 
 no recommendation, but be its own pafiport. 
 
 That this, and all your labours of love may find 
 much acceptance, and under the Redeemer's bleffing, 
 difFufe much good, is the wifh, the prayer, and will, 
 when accompliihed, be the joy of. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your affedionate Brother 
 in the Gofpel, 
 J. HERVEY, 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 Wepny Juguft, 1755. 
 
 My dear Friendy 
 
 Fully intended to have returned your valuable ma- 
 nufcript, together with this ticket; but as other 
 engagements have broke in upon my time, I hope 
 you v/ill excufe the delay. 
 
 Did I ever mention to you a little book, intitled 
 Terentiiis Chrijiianus ? As you proceed upon a new 
 plan, in the education of youth, and admit none but 
 edifying books into your fchool, I am apt to think the 
 piece I have mentioned, may comport with your de- 
 fign. 
 
 - Pray return Mr. W 's letter. I find, by private 
 
 intelligence, that he has fhewn it in London i and has 
 thought proper to animadvert upon me, by name, 
 from his pulpit. I am inclined to take no notice 
 either of his preaching or hia writing. 
 
 I have 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 35 
 
 I have received from Mr. Keith, a fet of Dr. 
 Crifp's Sermons i they are very neady printed : they 
 entertain the eye, and, I hope, will adminifler much 
 confolation to the heart. 
 
 A Gentleman of Edinburgh, a p^fed flranger, fent 
 me, a few days ago, a book, ftiled " The Marrow of 
 Modern Divinity," with Notes by Mr. Bofton. I 
 have not been at leifure to perufe it; but by dippino- 
 into it, I feem to like it not a little. Has it fallen 
 into your hands ? if fo, favour me widi your opinion 
 of it. 
 
 My good friend, Mr. Whitefield, is now at my 
 houfe. He purpofes to lift up his voice at North- 
 ampton, and proclaim the acceptable year of the 
 Lord. May the Lord of heaven and earth bids 
 my vifitant -, blels my correfpondent, and blefs their 
 very unworthy 
 
 Servant, Friend, and Brother, 
 in Christ Jesus, 
 
 JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 Wejlotiy March 9, 175^. 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 LATE on Saturday night, I received the inclofed, 
 together with your ticket; by which ciicum- 
 fiance, you will perceive, that I could not poiTibly 
 return the proof- fheet fooner. Wonder not that I re- 
 mit it to you rather than the printer. Nejcit vox miffd 
 reverterey is the confequence of printing ; I durfl not, 
 therefore, commit it to, the prefs, till the alterations 
 which 1 have ventured to make, have been fubmitted 
 to your own examination. I mull defire ; nay, I do 
 infifl upon it, that without the leail complaifance to 
 
 E 2 my 
 
36 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 rny opinion, you reje6l them, one and all, if they do 
 not fuic your defign, or comport with your ideas. 
 
 Alarming reprefentations indeed ! May the 
 God of Glory accompany them with his fpirit, that 
 they may awaken the lupine, intimidate the hardened, 
 and, hke the thunders of Sinai, urge us all to take 
 ihelter in our divine Mediator ! 
 
 Let me remind my friend, that in eight pages of 
 his ElTay, 1 have made m.ore attempts to improve, 
 than he would make in more than a thoufand pages 
 of Theron and Afpafio. You are unkindly tender ; 
 I am feverely kind. Perhaps we are both to blame j 
 but furely mine is the mofi; excufable fault of the two. 
 
 Have you ever feen a little book, intitled " The 
 Eternal Law, and Everlafting Gofpel," by Mr. 
 Beart ? It was lately put into my hand, and feems 
 to be a foiid, corredl, miailerly performance. 
 
 You promife niG a long letter : let me afTure you 
 the longer it is, the more welcome it will be to. 
 My dear Mr. Ryland, 
 
 Your inviolable Friend, 
 And affedionate Brother, 
 
 JAMES HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XXL 
 
 Wefion, Auguji 7, 17560 
 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 T\0 I really defire the continuance of your thoughts ? 
 "'^ Yes, verily, nor can any thing oblige me more. 
 Pray let me look upon thele as the fir ft fruits, and 
 •give me leave to expe£l the harveil. 
 
 Herewith I fend you Dr. Owen upon the He- 
 brews. I defire you will not think of returning the 
 volumes, but look upon them as your- own. 
 
 I am 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 37 
 
 I am forry you ordered Mr. Keith to fend me 
 Brooks, becaufe I had procured it before his came: 
 if you will commiflion him to get Eaton's Honey- 
 comb of Juftificationj (which Mr. Alt fo highly 
 commends) and tranfmit to me, it will be a favour. 
 
 This week I received a parcel and a letter from 
 Mr. B 5 of Olney, both which you will find ac- 
 companying Mr. Brooks. Mr. B- — -, I afllire you, 
 is a better judge of poetry than I pretend to be: 
 pradice makes perfed, and he has pradifed both in 
 rhyme and blank verfe, with confiderable fuccefs; 
 yet I cannot admire his expunging, roar and foam, 
 and fubftituting in its {lead, fap its haje. 
 
 For the letter you mention, I am accountable. 
 But I muil defire to keep it a little longer, becaufe it 
 contains the explanation of a charge brought againft 
 me by Mr. W , who is going to unmafk his bat- 
 tery, and play his artillery upon me in public. Two 
 perfons, formerly his preachers, inform me, that he is 
 now in Ireland, and preparing an Anfwer to Theron 
 and Afpafio. The Lord J esus grant, that the truth 
 of his Gofpel, not mine, or my oppofer's not;ions, may 
 ftand! 
 
 Why does not Dr. GilPs Expofition make its ap- 
 pearance? I long to be regaled with his Comment 
 on the elegant, fublime, rapturous Ifaiah. I wrote 
 lately to Amflerdam, and defired my correfpondent 
 to fend Witfius's picture, which I intend as an orna- 
 ment, not of my parlour, but of your's. 
 
 J. H. 
 
 LET^ 
 
3$ A S E R I E S O F L E T T E R S; 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 Wejion, OSloher 23, 1756^ 
 
 ' ■ 'HIS day ftt'nnlght I received your packet; and 
 
 My dear Frlendy 
 
 take the firft opportunity to thank you for the 
 contents. 
 
 Mr. White's Letter, in purfuance of your requell, 
 is returned. He is fit for the bulinefs he undertakes; 
 has the art of foliciting with force, yet with modefi-y. 
 I wifh him fuccefs, whenever he engages in fo bene- 
 volent a caufe. If a guinea per annum will be of any 
 fervice to the young iludent, his parents may depend 
 upon fuch a fuppiy from me, as long as my life con- 
 tinues. The firft payment, if acceptable, fliall be 
 advanced, when my next packet comes to Warwick. 
 
 Is the Honey-comb your prefent ? or muft it be 
 returned — No more franks at prefent; I have enough. 
 If you lend me Bofuet's Univerfal Hiftory, perhaps 
 I may recommend it as a book not improper for 
 young gentlemen or young ladies. I could be glad 
 to furnini Mifs MelifTa with a little library. Do you 
 recollecl any treatifes peculiarly proper for this pur- 
 pofe, whofe ftyle is perfpicuous and polite ^ whofe 
 matter is entertaining, yet edifying ? 
 
 I have feen the Addrefs to Clergymen, and think 
 it well executed, as it is evidently well defigned, af- 
 fectionate, and fpirited; w^eighty and pointed; yet not 
 overbearing or dogmatical. May the Lord fpeak to 
 us all, with a ftrong handy and fpeak, if it be his will, 
 by this word ! 
 
 Two of Dr. Gill's numbers are come to hand; 
 but I have not been able to go through them, though 
 they are fome of the moft flowery walks (the prophe- 
 cies of Ifaiah I mean) in the garden of God. 
 
 The 
 
A SERIES gP LETTERS. 39 
 
 The toiirth volume of Theron and Afpafio, after 
 which you enquire^, is lefs than an ennbryo, is a mere 
 nonentity.' May He who fpoke the univerfe into 
 being 5 who calls the things that are not) as though they 
 wercy endue a poor enervated finner with Abraham's 
 faith, zvho agahifi hopej believed in hope. 
 
 Pray let me have one of your monthly EiTays, as 
 they come out. I v/ould v/illingly take a number, 
 but I really have not proper opportunities of dif- 
 perfing them. When does your Dialogue in wtr^o. 
 make its appearance? Or do you follow Mr. B— 's 
 advice, and perfuade the author to execute his work 
 in profe? 
 
 Yefterday my old friend, Mr. Hartley, dined with 
 me, and brought a pious clergyman with him j the day 
 before, your brother, (and why fhouid I not add my 
 brother) Mr. Evans, was content with a m.orfel at my 
 table. O ! for that hour, when we fhali all fit down 
 at the marriage feaft of the LAMB! May we talle it 
 by faith, till our fouls are " fatiated with its fulnefs in 
 glory." I (hall wait, not with impatience, but with 
 fome degree of eagernefs, for the packet which you 
 have promifed to, 
 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 Your afFe6lionate, 
 
 J. HERVEY, 
 
 LETTER XXIIL 
 
 Wejlorij No'vember zg^ 1756. 
 
 My dear Friendy 
 
 MR. S-^ — is now in my room, fketching out the 
 plan of a houfe. While he is thus employed, 
 I feize a moment to thank you, for remembering m^ 
 in my weak eflate. Help to fo feeble a hand : hints 
 
 fuggefted 
 
46 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 fno-o'efted to fo lano-uid a mind, will be as the " cold 
 of fnow in harveft/' [By the bye, what is the true 
 meaning, or where is the Icriptural, i. e. the confum^ 
 mate propriety of this comparifon ? If I remeoibex 
 right, the original is, as a fhield of fnow.] 
 
 Herewith you have the grand attack from Mr. W. 
 of which I apprized you fome time ago. Examine 
 it clofely ; return it fpeedily ; and if you pleafe, con- 
 fute it efFedually ; demolifh the battery, and fpike up 
 the cannon. I have not anfwered in any fhape; and 
 when I do anfwer with my pen, I propofe nothing 
 more than a general acknowledgment, and an inqui- 
 ry, v/hether he propofes to print his animadverfions ? 
 I (hall long for your packet, and pray for a rich unc- 
 tion of the fpirit on your invention, your judgment, 
 your elocution. 
 
 Ever your's, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 My dear Friendy 
 
 HEREWITH I return Mr. White's letter, which 
 I intended, but forgot to inclofe in the laft 
 packet. In your advertifement, vv/ould not gradually 
 be better than annually ? " Annually, thefc ten years," 
 feems to be an approach towards tautology. I have 
 fome doubt with regard to the exadV propriety of 
 your title j all the principal branches of revealed 
 religion, evangelical hoHnefs, and focial virtue. By 
 this it fhould feem, that you look upon evangelical 
 holinefs, and focial virtue, as branches diftindl and 
 different from, not comprehended in, revealed religion. 
 Whereas the poffibility of a finifter acceptation would 
 
 be 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 44 
 
 be prevented, if you was to exprefs yourfelf in feme 
 fuch manner, *^ On the principal branches of revealed 
 religion, including, Vital Faith — Evangelical Holi- 
 nefs — Social Virtue." 
 
 I query whether the word fpiritedy being fuppofed 
 to come from your own pen, is fo perfeflly free from 
 an air of vanity or oftentation. 
 
 See with what freedom I write ! in this one parti- 
 cular let me be your pattern 3 do Jo to mey and more 
 aljo. In your difcourfe on Full AlTurance of Faith, 
 there are Ibme of th^ moft grand and important truths 
 that can enter into the heart of man ; feveral of them 
 will appear rant and enthufiafm to the carnal mind; 
 fome of them will be like ftrange fayings, even to many 
 ferious perfons. For my part, I fubfcribe to them 
 all, without the leaft hefitation or referve^ and though 
 many of my pamphlets I have juft peeped upon, and 
 then laid by, never to be regarded more, this I fhali 
 have at my right hand: this I fhall often fludy: this I 
 would always remember: and if I may but have its 
 counter-part in my heart, I fliall reach the fummit of 
 my wifhes. An exprelTion or two I have marked, as 
 not perfecftly pleafing my ear; and one I have inclofed 
 in a parenthefis, as feemingly redundant. Pray let me 
 have half a dozen of your papers as foon as they are 
 printed — no more than this number: I would afk for 
 more if I wanted more, or could difpofe of them pro- 
 perly. As foon as I am come to a determination 
 about Mr. Dry, you Ihall be inform.ed. The Father 
 of Compaffions profper you and diredl me. 
 
 Ever your's, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 P. S. Thanks for BofTuet : he is a very delicate 
 writer indeed. 
 
 LET- 
 
42 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 Weft on, Ja7iuary ig, 1 757. 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 YOU repofe a confidence in my judgment, which 
 gives pain to my mind. Indeed, my dilcern- 
 ment is like my conflitution, utterly enex^vated i and 
 my tafte for compofition, like my appetite for food^, 
 is quite palled and depraved. I can do httle elfe, than 
 beg of the Lord, in behalf of my worthy friend, 
 and my other brethren in the miniftry. 
 
 The effay which you mention, and which I have 
 expedted by every poll, is not yet come to my hand. 
 Since you enjoin me this tallc, I will, as foon as I re- 
 ceive it, perufe it with the clofeft attention^ and deal 
 with it jufl as if it was to go abroad under my own 
 name. But why, my dear Sir, why do you expofe 
 your writings to fuch hazard ? Would you fuffer a 
 iliaking hand to open your vein, or choofe a blind 
 operator to couch your eye ? The Lord grant you 
 may not repent your adventrous condudl ; and that I 
 may not, inftead of a plane, bring a faw to the work. 
 
 As to your plan of education, fill it up by degrees, 
 add a touch to-day, another to-morrow, and thus let 
 it ripen into perfeftion. God only wife, and Gop 
 all-wife, knows that I am abfolutely incapable of ex- 
 ecuting fuch a fcheme, otherwife I Ihould not be 
 averfe, but very defirous to engraft my tree with one 
 of your fcions 3 and I mud befeech you, when I am 
 releafed from this afflicted ftate, not to make public 
 that little fketch, which I know nqt how has flole it- 
 felf into your hand : it will appear, unlefs you re- 
 touch and complete it, very rude and imperfed:. 
 Moil fincerely I thank you for your afredtionate and 
 fervent prayers. But in this inllance, my faith fails. 
 Wl^-c-n I think upon your kind encouragement, I 
 
 cannot 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 43 
 
 cannot forbear calling to mind the hinnane and pious 
 pradice of Nathan, advifing David to build the tem- 
 ple. But — dies aliter vifum. 
 
 I wifh your fon James may be like his namefake 
 under the Old Teftament, a prince' with God, and 
 mighty in prayer; or like his no lefs honourable name- 
 fake under the New, a Jervant of Gov, and cf the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. Under the luftre of fuch 
 chara6lers, I fhall be willing to have my meannefs 
 eclipfed: I lliall be glad to have my unworthinefs loft. 
 And can you intend, when you pray for him, to re- 
 member me ? that is like a true friend j that is like a 
 Chriflian friend ^ and like a friend, whofe favours will 
 extend, not only through the years of life, but through 
 the ages of eternity. I have great reafon, therefore, 
 to profefs myfelf. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Inviolably and eternally your's, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XXVL 
 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 ACCEPT my thanks for your valuable letter. It 
 found me juft come down from a week's con- 
 finement to m.y bed and my chamber: the Lord was 
 pleafed to vifit me with a fever, which has left behind 
 it a violent and almoft inceffant cough. This brings 
 me very low, and if not removed, muft foon bring 
 me to the duft. My flejh and my heart fails \ hut God 
 the Saviour is the ftrength of my heart, and my portion 
 for ever. 
 
 As to the apology, &c. my great doubt is, whether 
 it be a tolXolmto^ committed to me by the Lord. My 
 poor head is now fo opprefTed, that I have little incli- 
 nation^ and lefs ability, to think upon the fubjed. Ex- 
 
 F 2 cufe 
 
44 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 ciile my brevity, my dear friend y this hand has fcarcely 
 ftrength to hold the pen. Pray, that I may be ilrong 
 in faith, and rejoice in the Lord. 
 
 Ever your'sj 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XXVIL 
 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 THANKS for your kind willies, and thanks for 
 your valuable Treatile on Faith. May the 
 former be granted, as far as is confiftent with the di- 
 vine good pleafure ! May the latter be blefled, abun- 
 dantly blefTed, to my edification and comfort ! 
 
 I have fome thoughts of publifhing two or three 
 plain Sermons, preached on the late fad days : none 
 that I have feen on the occafion, fpeak enough of the 
 one thing needful. Here I fnall make a facrifice of 
 all my reputation, (if I ever had any) with the ele- 
 gant and polite ; and let it go, freely let it go, if any 
 honour may redound to the Lord our righteoufnefs. 
 What would you advife upon the fubjed ? 
 
 I am juit going abroad upon an affair that is hkely 
 to be exceeding troublefome to me— -law. I fear law 
 is unavoidable, unlefs I will tamely give up my rights. 
 God almighty knows I am for peace; but though I 
 fpeak unto them thereof, they make ready for battle. 
 * Adieu ! my dear friend. I need not add, that I 
 am, though in the midfl of much weaknefs, cordially 
 your's, 
 
 Friday mern^ J, HERVEY. 
 
 LET- 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 45 
 
 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 Wejiofi, April l>2, 1757* 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 T Hope you received the packet by the newfman; 
 
 and I mud beg you to return it by the returning 
 newfman. You fee how holy and wife perfonsareagainft 
 inydodlrine: the Lord Jesus guide me continually ^ 
 guide me efpecially in this important point ! The more 
 I think of the matter, the lefs I am inclined to recede 
 from my opinion. I cannot perfuade myfelf that Mr. 
 Brine's account anfwers the ideas of faith, or comes 
 up to the fcriptural defcriptions of it. I fhould be 
 glad not to offend thefe excellent perfons ; yet, with a 
 decent firmnefs, would maintain what feems to me the 
 truth of the Gofpel. Let me hope for fome affifiiance 
 from your pen; you are a much better judge of thefe 
 debates: you have been £i/r^f(po//.£j/o? rot? Aoyoi? t>i? 
 icAT^Ofia?-, whereas I am but tji? cmu^^ov o Tr^oo-riAuTOf. 
 
 I think you diftinguifli very clearly and juftly con- 
 cerning the divine indignation ^ and as to Rom. vii. 
 you fay more to convince me that the Apoille fpeaks 
 of himfelf, and of his prefent ftate, than I ever heard 
 or read before: it has fuch an effe6l: upon your fcho- 
 lar, that it has induced me to expunge a paffage in 
 my new edition, which feemed to contradid: your opi- 
 nion. Pray do not negie61: to fend the manufcripts. 
 The prefs will want Dialogue XVI. in a very little 
 time. I hope your health is eflablifhed,' as well as 
 reflored : mine is rather worfe than better: inceflant 
 and infuperable langoursi they unfit me for every bu- 
 finefs; render every enjoyment unrelifhing; and what 
 is more deplorable, makes m^y temper hke the fore, 
 inflamed, ulcerated fieHi. Any thing that comes unex- 
 pected, alarms me: any thing that goes crofs, vexes 
 me: 1 am fadly inclined to a peevifh humour. Pray 
 for me, dear Sir, that our compaffionate Lord would 
 
 give 
 
46 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 give me, in his good time, an abundant entrance into 
 a better world, for I am weary of this; yet I would 
 humbly adore and blefs God for the everlafting rio-h- 
 teoufnefs of my Saviour, and that eternal redemption 
 which he has obtained for finners. Amidft the o-reatefl 
 infirmities of body and foul, this is a rock: here is 
 fafety ; from hence flows comfort. 
 
 Excufe my fcribble : it partakes of my diforder. I 
 am afhamed of every thing in this fcrap of paper^ 
 only of this one profefTion, that 
 
 I am. 
 Your obliged and affectionate, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 Wejlon, April 20, 1757. 
 
 My dear Friendy 
 
 T Know not how to be filent any longer, though I 
 -■^ cannot yet anfwer your expe stations. The little Col- 
 le6lion of Promifes is not yet printed; as foon as they 
 are done, I will fend you two hundred, and as many 
 more as you pleafe. I propofe to have two thoufand 
 worked off: my motto muff be, what Virgil pleads by 
 way of recommendation to his Poem on the Bees, 
 
 ^^ /;/ eft Jua gratia parvis*'' 
 
 Or rather, what the infpired writer fays, in order to 
 difplay thd amiable and wonderful condefcenfion of 
 the Lord JEHOVAH, 
 
 He does not dejpije the day of Jmall things. 
 
 Accept the two Sermons that wait upon you : one 
 for 'yourfelf, and one for a friend. The author is a 
 worthy neighbour, who loves .his divine Mafter, and 
 labours in his vineyard. When lliall we have fome of 
 your Difcourfes P I verily think they would be wel- 
 come 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 47 
 
 come to the world, and our Lord would honour them 
 
 with his blelTing. I queflion whether Mr. B 's 
 
 manner of writing will meet with much acceptance : 
 there is fomething very good and fervefit ; not correct 
 and noble. However, what God blefles, is blefled in- 
 deed: when he fmiles upon a perfon, or his perform* 
 ance, both the one and the other fhall have favour with 
 all the people. May this be with my dear correfpond- 
 ent and brother: be with him. in his going out, and 
 coming in, from this time forth, for evermore. 
 
 I hope you have a packet of judicious and weighty 
 remarks from Mr. Brine; and will tranfmit them to 
 me, enriched by an addition of your own. I take 
 this opportunity of fending Volufenus de ^ranJquiU 
 litate, becaufe I would not have you purchafe it, till 
 you have ^^tn whether you like it; and if you like it, 
 then I defire you will feek no farther, but keep that 
 which is in your hand. 
 
 Dear Friend, 
 
 Ever your's, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 WeJio7ti Sept. 3, 1757* 
 
 My dear Friendy 
 
 ACCORDING to promife, I now defire your ac* 
 ceptance of my feeble EiTay : ilrengthen it with 
 your prayers, that it may go forth in the name of the 
 Lord God of hofls, and Ipread abroad the favour of 
 our Divine Redeemer's name. I expe61: afevere at- 
 tack from the Reviewers ; but our God and Saviour, 
 whofe grace we would magnify ; whofe interefls they 
 would oppofe, can turn thofe wife men backward, and 
 make their knowledge foolifh. 
 
 For 
 
48 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 For any remarks, corre6lions, and improvements 
 from your pen, I fhali be fincerely thankful. Pray 
 tranfmit whatever of this kind occurs in the perufal; 
 an edition is printing on ordinary paper. Tell me, 
 v^hether you will have any of thefe to diftribute amono- 
 the poor. 
 
 I have feveral letters to write, before my fervant 
 goes to market. This will be my excufe for adding- 
 no more, only, that I am. 
 
 Ever your's, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 P. S, You will pleafe to deliver Mr, Smith's let- 
 ter, 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 Wejion, Sept. 2i, 1757. 
 
 My dear' Friendy 
 
 ILTEREWITH I return your lively and charming 
 manufcrjpt. In giving it this character, I have 
 no defign to flatter the author, or elate him with va- 
 nity; not to flatter him, becaufe what I fay, is the ge- 
 nuine fentiment of my heart : not to elate him, be- 
 caufe I afcribe what is beautiful and excellent to the 
 Father of Lights. 
 
 Some perhaps miay think the beginning of the 
 piece is rather too fcholafl:ic. " Is it right to fay, the 
 Saviour, (or God under the relation of a Saviour) ex- 
 ifls by a necefijty of nature ?"" page i, 1. 3. " Is it fafe 
 to fay, the living God, expiring in agonies of difl!blu- 
 tion?" Should it not rather be. He who is the living, 
 &c. page 3, line 12. 1 aflc thefe quefl:ions chiefly for 
 my own information. Ibid. Would you fay "a foun- 
 tain is cloathed with difgrace ?" As it is not cuftomary 
 to cloath fountains, I am in fome doubt whether this 
 is proper. Page 5, line 13, " Delicious delight.'* ' Is 
 
 there 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 49 
 
 there not too great a fimilarity between the fubfban- 
 tive and its epithet? Page idt. line 13. " Brilliant'" is 
 an elegant word; but as it always leads our ideas to 
 the lultre of a diamond, it feems not to enlarge, but 
 dimihifh our conceptions of the Redeemer's glory, 
 which infinitely tranfcends, not dian:ic)nds only, but 
 ilars and funs. 
 
 Thefe, my dear Sir, are the only remarks I have to 
 offer in a critical view, or in the capacity of a caviller : 
 I fhall only add my prayers, that your arrow may go 
 forth as lightning, and be as the whirlwinds of the 
 foiith; conljpicuous as the former, forcible as the 
 latter ! 
 
 I fend you, according to promifcj the firft volume 
 of my poor attempt; examine and corred it, that it 
 may be lefs unworthy the glorious fubjeclsi in cafe 
 the good providence of God fhould vouchfafe to 
 honour it with another edition ; and do not fail to im- 
 plore the bleffing of heaven iipon it, that it may not 
 be as duft upon the hedgesj but as dew upon the 
 grafs. I wifh you miuch fuccefs in your evangelical 
 aflbciation. As for me, my abihties, which at beft, 
 and when moft difengaged, are really like a thing of 
 nought, are now entirely taken up with the work upon 
 the wheels; no lefs than eio;ht men are conftantly 
 employed upon it: if therefore you could give me 
 any afTiftance, it would be very fignally ferviceable to 
 the moll infirm, but not the leaft fincere of your 
 friends, 
 
 J. HERVEY, 
 
 LET- 
 
50 ISERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 LETTER XXXIL 
 
 Wejiofty 06i. II, I757» 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 EXCUSE my delay In returning your truly valu- 
 able manufcript. I purpofed to do it feveral 
 times, but by my frequent indifpofitions, my pur- 
 pofes were broken off. You muft not expedl a punc- 
 tual correfpondent in me : to will is prefent with me, 
 but oftentimes how to perform w^hat I wifh, I know 
 not. 
 
 I have read your plan again and again, and each 
 time with new pleafure. I will now perufe it once 
 more, with the pen in my hand j and whatever ap- 
 pears to want a retouch, I will freely obferve. 
 
 Page I. " Right noble," is what Mr. Johnfon 
 would call a cant term, graceful only in the Herald's 
 office, and in the titles of great perfonages. 
 
 Ibid. " Greatnefs of foul, elevation," &c. Is there 
 not a redundancy of fine exprelTions here ? 
 
 Ibid. " Evangelical virtue, together with vital 
 faith." Should not faith take the wall of virtucy as 
 being fenior of the two ? 1 mean, fliould not faith 
 be mentioned liril ? 
 
 Pao-e 2, " Rottino; in our ojraves." The word 
 rotting is too fordid, unlels ufed on purpofe to pour 
 contempt. 
 
 Ibid, " Natural education." Is natural a pro- 
 per epithet to this fubftantive ? Is not " defpair- 
 ing" rarher too ftrong a word, unlefs you foften it by 
 the infertion of alnioft P 
 
 Thus far I had vv^ritten iaft Saturday, and was un - 
 expededly called down to receiveavifitant: he proved 
 to be a young clergyman, a ftranger, charged with a 
 melTage from my honourable friend. Lady Francis 
 Shirlev. Vv'e had fome .ferious converfation, which 
 
 he 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. S* 
 
 he feemed to enter upon with readinefs, and purfue 
 with pleafbre. May the Father of Spirits connmand 
 it to leave a favour of Christ on our hearts ! I now 
 refume, not the ofEce of a critic, but -the fedulity of 
 a friend. 
 
 Page 4, 1. 4, del. too ; 1. 6, r. and for meer, Sup- 
 pofe you was to enlarge upon the preceding and fol- 
 lowing articles, add a few finews and a little flefh to 
 your flveleton, would it not be more graceful ? Might 
 it not be more ufeful ? 
 
 Page 5. I have inclofed two fentences in Hook's, 
 which appear not abfolutely needful. 
 
 Well, my friend, if you are enabled to form 
 your youth on the model you propofe, happy are 
 the children committed to your care. The Lord 
 Jesus give you ftrength to execute, as he has 
 given you wifdom to defign. I have been guilty 
 of a fault too common with me, the fault of 
 miflaying my papers : I cannot find, with all my 
 fearch, the letter which, at my requeft, you was fo 
 kind as to return. It will, I prefume, come to hand, 
 when I do not look for it. I will regard if as your 
 property, and make a confcience of rtiloring it, 
 though it be but as a thread, or a fhoe-iatchet ! — I v/ifa 
 you would fend me one copy of every monthly paper 
 publiflied by your Evangelical Society : I have none 
 but thole written by yourfelf. — The third edition of 
 Theron and Afpafio has made its appearance : 1 have 
 not heard with what acceptance from the public. — I 
 hope you will pray for the fuccel's of this work. — I 
 hope the Lord will hear your prayers in behalf of 
 my projedled work \ and may all your affeflionate 
 prayers for me, return v/ith an abundant increafe of 
 bleHings on your own v/orks, your own intereds, and 
 your own heart. Forgive the delay, and forgive all 
 the faults of, my dear Friend, 
 
 Your unworthy Brother in Ciirist, 
 
 J, HERVEY. 
 G 2 LET- 
 
S« A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 LETTER XXXIII. 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 Saturday Morni-ag, Nov. IJ^"/* 
 
 A CCEPT my thvinks for your precious manu-^ 
 fcripts: pray continue thefe epiftolary favours. 
 Excufe tliQ delay of my acknowledgments ; I have 
 been very bufy in correding my three Sermons for 
 the prefs: by to-morrow's poft I return the proof of 
 the lall half llieet, fo that they will foon make their 
 appearance. The Lord, whofe glory they would 
 promote^ of whofe grace they teftify, both give them 
 favour, and accompany them with power. This is 
 the title, 
 
 'Tbe Time of Danger, a?id Tbe Means of Safe iy, to 
 which is added^ The IVay of HoUnefs, 
 
 I will order my bookfeller to pack up one of the 
 SenTions for you, together with Theron and Afpaiio 
 for Mr. Crabtree, to be left with Mr. Ward. If you 
 approve the difcouries, I will fend you fome of them 
 to give away among your poor neighbours. — Laft night 
 came to hand your Treatife on the Full AfTurance 
 of Faith. Lord ! let the blefled do6lrines defcend into 
 my heart, and ever abiding in my foul, ever operate 
 on my converfation. I will, as the Lord fhali direct, 
 place out your treafure to intereft. My letter is fnort, 
 but my Sermons will be long. I mufl nov/ be wtvY 
 fparing of my brown bread, left you foon complain 
 of a glut. Thanks for the perufal of Mr. Wither- 
 fpoon's letters it difcovcrs tatie and judgment, pru- 
 dence and piety, in the writer. May thefe, and all 
 other gifts and graces of the Spirit, abound in your 
 correfpondent, yourfelf, and your Brother, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LE T. 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 53 , 
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 Saturday Mvrn. "Jan. 1 758. 
 
 My dear Friend ^ ' ' 
 
 ]\.'JANY thanks for your thoughts on the Covenant, 
 ^ You have indeed let plenty before me: nnay I 
 be enabled to felecl what is mo(t proper for my pur- 
 pofe; what may be, under the divine bleffing, as a 
 nail fafiened in a jure place. 
 
 You enquire after my intended anfwer to Mr. 
 Wefley: I am tranfcribing it for the prefs, but 
 find it dirHcult to preferve the decency of the gen- 
 tiemauj and tlie m.eeknefs of x\\^ Chriftian: there 
 is fo much unfair dealing running through my op- 
 ponent's objections, and the moil magifterial air 
 all along fupplying the place of argument. Pray 
 for me, dear pi lend, that I may not betray the bleffed 
 caufe, by the weaknefs of my reafoning; nor dii^ 
 honour it by the badnefs of my temper. 
 
 Whether I fnali be enabled to finifn this work, is 
 apparently uncertain; my cough feizes me in the night 
 like a lion, and leaves me, before the morning, 
 weaker than a babe, it has fo totally deftroyed iTiy 
 iiTiall rem^ainder of ftrength, that I am quite unable 
 to preach fo much as once on the Lord's day: 1 am 
 obliged to beg afllflance, and am looking out for a 
 curate, to take the whole bufinefs on his hand. May 
 the Head of the church vouchfafe to furnilh me with 
 a fiithful and wife fteward, who may fupply my lack 
 of fervice, and give his houfliold their portion of fpi- 
 ritual meat in due feafon. 
 
 Pray has Mr. Wood finifhed his Vv'ork? Methinks 
 I fhould be glad to have that volume returned, that 
 in cafe my life drops, I might have a copy corredled, 
 and fo leave it, that my furvivors might be at no lofs 
 concerning; it. 
 
 • I had. 
 
54 A 5ERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 I had, not long ago, the favour of a vifit from your 
 worthy neighbour, Mr. Talbot. He came, accom- 
 panied with Mr. Maddin; and both were like men 
 baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire; fervent 
 in fpirit, and fetting their faces as a flint. 
 I am, my dear Friend, 
 
 Your's, moft afreclionately, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 Wejiotiy Feb. 1 8 , 1 7 5 B . 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 T Have fent you a quarter of an hundred of the Fad 
 ^ Sermons ; and I thank you for putting me in a 
 way to fpeak for Jesus Christ by my pen, fince I 
 am ftiil incapable of pleading for him, or giving 
 honour to him with my tongue. May He, whofe 
 countenance is as the fun when it fhineth in its 
 ilrength, vouchfafe to fmile upon the diilributor, the 
 readers, and the writer ! 
 
 Do not give yourfelf much trouble about Neo- 
 nom Unmafked. I value it much,, but can do with- 
 out it, or perhaps procure it elfewhere. There are but 
 few books, whofe fentiments 1 fo generally approve, 
 or whofe do6trine is fo thoroughly evangelical. 
 
 The letter from Cirencefter you will permit me to 
 keep one week longer, or till another packet \ at lead 
 till fome other idifpacch comes to you. It fliall not 
 be miflaid. I fincerely thank you for your admoni- 
 tion on this fubjedt. J have of late been guilty ^i 
 negligence in this particular, almoil to a fin. 
 
 Let me expe6l the fpeedy accomplifliment of your 
 promlfe. Cannot you get a few moments to run over 
 the alterations in the firic volume, when. Mr. Wood 
 has tranfcribed theni ? together with a curfory glance 
 
 of 
 
A SERIES OF L3ETTERS 5- 
 
 of your eye, will you not beftow a few improvino- 
 touches of your pen ? 
 
 Excufe me, if I proceed no farther. I have jufl 
 been writing two letters, one for Wales, another fjr 
 Scotland -, and Ihould write tv/o more before my fer- 
 vant goes to market, and that which would be a re- 
 creation to your vigorous, is a toil to the enfeebled 
 hand of. 
 
 Your very afFedtionate Friend, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XXXVI. 
 
 Wejion, Marcby 175S. 
 
 My dear Friendy 
 
 R. Carter tells me you liave been ill. By this 
 time, I truft, your llrength is renewed. May 
 your ability for the fervice of our divine Mailer in- 
 creafe, as much as mirie decreafes I 
 
 I have a curate, a godly man ; loves Christ; un- 
 derflands the Gofpel, and will watch over my flock, 
 with more afTiduity, I hope with greater fuccefs, than 
 their original pallor. 
 
 My affedionate refpedls to Mr. Carter : tell him I 
 cannot fpare Mr. Wefley's book, becaufe I am tran- 
 fcribing, though very fiowly, and with a moft feeble 
 hand, my remarks for the prefs ; in executing which 
 work, I have continual need of having his letter be- 
 fore me. He urges no argument, either to eftablifh 
 his own opinion, or to overthrow mine ; only denies 
 the validity of my reafons in fuch manner as the follow- 
 ing : — " How does it appear that Christ undertook 
 " this before the foundation of the world, and that 
 " by a pofitive covenant betv/een Him and the Fa- 
 " ther V — " Neither of thefe texts, nor all of them 
 *^ prove, what they were brought to prove, that there 
 
5^ A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 «' ever was any fuch covenant made between the Fa- 
 *^ ther and the Son/* 
 
 Your thoughts upon the joys of heaven will be 
 very welcome, and very luitable to my cafe. Thanks-y 
 everlailing thanks, for the blood of the Lamb, in 
 which our robes are walhed; and ail we are, all we 
 have, yea, all we do, is made whiter than fnow. 
 
 Here is an author's mite towards the relief of out 
 poor brethren in Hampihire.' Let it come to themy 
 
 not^as from J. H y, but as from the God that 
 
 hideth himfelf. 
 
 Ever your's^ 
 
 J. HERVEti 
 
 LETTER XXXVIL 
 
 Jp-il 15, 1758^ 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 T Thank you for your pundluality in returning the 
 manufcnpt papers, at the time requefted. I thank 
 you alfo fur your very welcome, and no lefs valuable 
 obfervations on the fubje6t. I really am more and 
 more confirmed in my opinion, notwithftanding 
 ail the objedions -, or rather, I am more and miore 
 convinced, that Mr. Marlliars dodlrine is the doc- 
 trine of the Gofpel. To this my reafon fubfcribes: 
 this I think is taught in the Scriptures: this I am 
 fure is approved and ratified by my own daily ex- 
 perience. When I depart from this precious truth, 
 AlTurance by the dired acl of Faith, 1 fall into dark- 
 nefs and diftrtfs; but when, looking for no evidences 
 in myfelf, I depend on the free promife of God in his 
 w^ord; when regarding myfelf only as a poor finner, I 
 confidently truit in Christ as my rightcoufnefs and 
 f^ilvation; then light beams forth, and comfort fprings 
 up. I propofe to make fome alterations in Dialogue 
 X¥L and as it is already too long, to divide it into 
 
 two 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 57 
 
 two conferences. Befeech th€ Lord Jesus that I 
 may not bewilder nay reader, but clear his way, and 
 guide his fleps. 
 
 By the laft poft, I received the proof fheet of " A 
 Demonflration, &c." I will return it to Mr. Hay- 
 ward, by the next mail, according to your defire. I 
 will alfo venture to make a few flight alterations ; but 
 I fliall do this with hefitation and timidity. If ever 
 you confign over any of your future compofitions 
 to my infpedlion, I mufl infill upon it, that you 
 yourfelf perufe and corred what your friend offers by 
 way of improvement. I will criticife for you, but 
 not pretend to finiih for the prefs. It is impofTible 1 
 fhould, like the author, take in the defign, compre- 
 hend the method, and advert to the language; im- 
 pofTible therefore, that I fhould be fo proper and 
 competent a judge; befides, there are fome things 
 that do not pleafe and ftrike me like others. Upon 
 thefe I would put a query. Was the determination 
 referred to you? But I dare not alter thenn, barely 
 upon the report of my ovm imagination; neither 
 could I alter them entirely to my ov/n fatisfadiion. 
 
 I fee you look upon fin as an infinite offence, pao-e 
 6, line 4. I prefume you mean objectively, yet I can- 
 not bring myfelf to adopt this opinion. I am inclined 
 to think that we fhould referve and appropriate the 
 word infinite wholly, intirely, and without any exceo- 
 tion, to God and his perfe6lions. But I am not po- 
 fitive. In this and every thing, O ! that I might have 
 the teachabienefs of a babe ! I have the weaknefs. 
 Lord grant me the docility of a weaned child; yea, 
 of a babe and fuckling. I fhall long to fee the Eflay 
 mentioned page 12, in the note: this v/ill fuit my 
 tafle, and, I fancy, be not a little imprefTive on the 
 generality of your readers. The thoughts in the Dif- 
 fertation before me, are folemn, grand, and of tre- 
 mendous import. God from on high accompany 
 them with his blefTing, that they may humble us all, 
 
 H and 
 
58 4. SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 and bring us to the feet, to the crofs, to the blood of 
 Jesus. I fhall defire Mr. Hayward to order a dozen 
 for me, to be left at Mr. Rivington's. I am, m^ 
 dear friend^ though very, very weak, yet 
 
 Inviolably your's, 
 
 J. HERVEYo 
 
 I 
 
 LETTER XXXVIII. 
 
 Wejicny May 13, 1 75 8, 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 Send the fecpnd volume, and my bed compli- 
 ments, to Mr. Wood. If he is not tired of the 
 work, I would beg of him to be rather expeditious, 
 than curious. \{ ever the piece comes again to the 
 prefs, the compofitors will deface and fpoil the moft 
 delicate writing. 
 
 When the bearer returns, you will tranfmit the 
 firft volume, both the interleaved copy and the other. 
 
 Have you feen Mr. Brine's Anfwer to the Letters 
 on Theron and Afpafio ? I find this piece begins to 
 be taken into confideration. Not only Mr. Brine and 
 Mr. Wedey has animadverted upon it; another 
 Treatife I fee is advertifed in the public papers, in- 
 titled, ^' A Plain Account of Faith in Jesus Christ, 
 in Remarks on feveral PalTages in the Letters on 
 Theron and Aipafio.'* I hope the attention of man- 
 kind will be awakened to this important fubje6l ; and 
 may the Father of Lights enable his minifters to make 
 the vifion, the capital doftrine of the Golpel, plain 
 upon tables, fo that he who runs may read. 
 
 Ever your's, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LET- 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 59 
 
 LETTER XXXIX. 
 
 Wejion, July 15^ 1 75 8. 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 T Will treafUre up, and very fafely keep, your 
 
 fprightly thpughts : may they, through the divine 
 Spirit, be prompters to my dull invention. 
 
 Mr. Goldney s letter to his fubfcribers I happened 
 to fee, before he made any overtures for ah inter- 
 courfe with me; I thought him, if not impaired in 
 his intelledts, extremely injudicious; have therefore 
 given no encouragement to his intended vifit. Poor 
 man! he is fo far from having any thing like judg- 
 ment, that he docs not underfcand the common ru- 
 diments of grammar. 
 
 This however I muft fay in his behalf, that he is 
 modeft. When one of my neighbours fignified to him, 
 that on account of my extremely ill ilate of health, 
 I chofe to decline vifits and company, he did not 
 offer to intrude himfelf. He has been at Weflon 
 church feveral times, but I hear no good report of 
 him. This may be owing to that fpirit of defama- 
 tion which walketh through the earth. 
 
 S— — turns out worfe and worfe. I am afraid I 
 Jhall have much trouble with him, and much lofs 
 from him* He begins to grow defperate. He told 
 my mother to her face, he would arreft her, and take 
 away the bricks from my ground, though every living 
 creature, from Sir Thomas Drury, the able juflice, 
 to the mxeaneft mechanic, pronounce them mine. I 
 have been obliged to confult a lawyer upon the occa- 
 fion. He pays nobody: poor workmen are dif- 
 trefled for want of their money \ and betwixt you and 
 
 I, he appears to be — fay nothing of thefe 
 
 things, only, if you can think of any expedient to 
 ferve me, communicate it. He has embroiled him.- 
 
 H 2 felf 
 
6o A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 felf in fome fcrape, for which the conflable of Weflon 
 is now charged with a warrant to apprehend him. 
 
 The inclofed I wrote at Dr. Stonehoufe's particu- 
 lar and repeated defire. Without my knowledge, he 
 committed it to the prefs. Examine it, improve it, 
 and fend it back, lefs unmeet for our divine Mailer's 
 life. 
 
 I have fome thoughts of anfwering Mr. Wefley's 
 Remarks. I mention this defign, that, unfledged as 
 it is, it may have the benefit of your prayers. Xiuttx. 
 is the word on this occafion. Tell it to none, but our 
 unerring Counfellor : to Him the oftner you recom- 
 mend it, the better. 
 
 Our united and cordial compliments attend your- 
 felfi and your truly amiable fpoufe. 
 
 Ever your's, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XL. 
 
 ^r J -n ' 3 Wefion, Sept 3c, 1758. 
 
 My dear rnendy 
 
 Tl/TR. Wefley, among other objeaions to Theron 
 ^^^ and Afpafio, finds fault with the do6lrine of a 
 Covenant eflablifhed between the Father and the Son 
 — calls upon me to prove it by Scripture, and defies 
 me to prove that it was made from eternity. 
 
 I find,^ from reading Witfius, that Dr. Owen has 
 treated this fubjeft very copioufly, in his fecond vo- 
 lume, Exercife IV. page 49. I wiih you would be fo 
 kind as to perufe this Diflertation, and give me an ex- 
 trad of the thoughts that are moft material, and the 
 arguments that are moft forcible. 
 
 By the way, let me defire you to examine your 
 Witfius, and obferve whether it contains this refe- 
 rence to Owen. By this you may know, whether 
 
 your's 
 
A SERIES OF i:,ETTERS. 6i 
 
 your*s is the beft edition. I have now two infipref- 
 fions of that excellent book before me; the beil has 
 the reference, page 142, the other has not. 
 
 I exped:, ere long, a parcel from Warwick, which 
 will be highly welcome to 
 
 Your's, mod cordially, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 P. ^S". What is become of S ? Had he finifhed 
 
 the work according to contract, he would now have 
 feventy pounds to take. 
 
 LETTER XLL 
 
 Wefion, OSi. 14, 175S. 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 LAST night I received your packet by the pofl, 
 for which you will pleafe to accept my betl 
 thanks : a continuation of your valuable thoughts 
 will be very welcome : the Lord render them^ equally 
 ufeful ! I wifh you was at my right hand, that I 
 might confult you more particularly about my in- 
 tended Anfwer. I hope you will not fail to implore 
 for me, the guidance of the wonderful Counfellor. 
 
 My kind refpefts to good Mr. Carter : 1 wiih him 
 much light from the Lord ; much comfort in his 
 heart, and much fuccefs in his work. 
 
 I wifh you would fpeak to S— about paying the 
 bill of a young man who lately wrote to him. He 
 
 rents Ibme ground of me: his name, J — G : 
 
 he ferved S with his team, and now is in great 
 
 want of the money. If S • will write me an 
 
 order, I will pay him. 
 
 I can now add no more, becaufe the bearer waits, 
 and is in hafte to be gone, unlefs it be, that I am 
 
 Ever your's, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 P, S. 
 
62 A S E li I E S OF LETTERS. 
 
 P. S, Franks are always welcome to me : howevefji' 
 do not diftrefs yourfelf, for I am in no immediate 
 want. 
 
 LETTER XLII. 
 
 Saturday, ^7S^<i 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 T Have but a few moments allowed, to anfwer your 
 -^ kind letter — no complaints of the builder. The 
 houfe goes on apace, but I have not been able to go' 
 up to the houfe of the Lord, ever fince Chriilmas; 
 no, nor yet am able: blefied be God for the houfe not 
 made with hands ! I fliall be very glad to fee your 
 Contemplations on the Perfeilion and Joy of that 
 happy place. 
 
 The franks come at your call, may the Lord''s 
 prefence and pov/er profper v/hat you have diilributed, 
 and what you are preparing for the public. Excufe 
 my brevity. Ever your's, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 ^hefolhimng Letters, hearing no Date, cannot he placed in Chro^ 
 
 f!0 logical Order. 
 
 LETTER XLIIL 
 
 Mv dear Fiiendy 
 
 /^N Saturday lad, an accident hindered mc from 
 ^^ writing by the newfman, and fending as I pro- 
 pofed, your very ingenious Preface. The author 
 feems to be a perfon of fine tafte, Iblid judgment, 
 very extenfive learning, and no enemy to Chriftianity. 
 I cannot but wifh him fuccefs in his worl^, and jQiould 
 be ftrongly inclined to T)urchafe it, if I was not pof- 
 
 fefTed 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 65 
 
 fefled already, of Chambers's Didlionary. I hope I 
 ihall not diiappoint your expeclations by the next re- 
 .turn of the newlnaaji. In the mean time, be fo good 
 as to examine the following attempt to anfv/er the 
 objeclion made in my lafl. 
 
 Theroru Pray do you allow that Christ is God? 
 
 Ajpafio. AVe not only allow it, but we infill: upon 
 it, and make our boaft of it. This is the very foun- 
 dation of his merit, and the fupport of our hopes. 
 
 'Ther. This may aggrandize the merit of Christ^ 
 jbut it will increafe the difficulty of your tafk^ for, ac- 
 cording to this opinion, Christ mufl make fatisfac- 
 tion to himfelf! And is not this a pradlice quite unpre- 
 cedented? a notion perfe6liy abfard? 
 
 AJp. It is quite unprecedented you fay. On this 
 point I fball not vehemently contend j only let me 
 niention one inftance, Zakucusy you know, the Prince 
 of the Locrlans, made a law, that whoever was con- 
 vi6led of adultery, fhould be puniflied with the lofs 
 of both his eyes: his ov^n fon was apprehended in the 
 very fa6l, and brought to a public trial. How could 
 the father acquit himfelf in fo tender and delicate a 
 conjundlure? Should he execute the law in all its 
 figour? This would be worfe than death to the un- 
 happy youth. Should he pardon fo notorious a de- 
 linquent? This would defeat the defign of his falutary 
 jnftitution. To avoid both thefe inconveniences, he 
 ordered one of his own eyes to be pulled out, and 
 one of his fons; by vv^hich means, the rights of juflice 
 were prefer ved inviolable; yet the tendernefs of a 
 parent was remarkably indulged; and may we not 
 venture to fay, that in this cafe, Zaleucus both re- 
 ceived and made fatisfaclion ? Received it as a legif- 
 lator, even while he made it as a father. 
 
 ner. I cannot fee how this fuffering of the father 
 was, in any degree, fatisfadory to the law, fince the 
 father and the fon could not be conildcred as one and 
 the fame perfon. It may pafs for an extraordinary 
 
 and 
 
64 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 and romantic inftance of parental indulgence. It 
 may flrike the fancy of the benevolent and compaf- 
 fionate hearer; but if tried at the bar of equity and 
 reafon, it x^'ill hardly be admitted as any legal fatis- 
 fa(5lion : it will probably be condemned as a breach of 
 nature's firft and fundamental law, felf-prefervation, 
 
 Jfp, What you obferve, I muft confefs has v/eight. 
 It will oblige me, I believe, to give up my illuftra- 
 tion. Neverthelefs, what you urge againft the pro- 
 priety of mxy exemplification, tends to eftablifli the 
 truth of mxy doclrine: for Christ and his people are 
 actually confidered as one and the fame perfon. They 
 are one myftical body; He the head, they the mem- 
 bers; fo intimately united to him, that they are faid 
 to be bone of his bone, and flefli of his iiefli. By 
 virtue of which union, their offences were charged 
 upon him; their fins were puniflied in him; and by 
 his flripes, they are healed : they obtain impunity and 
 life. 
 
 Though there may be- nothing in the procedure of 
 men, which bears any refemblance to this miracle of 
 heavenly goodnefs, it receives fufficient confirmation 
 from the language of Scripture. 
 
 He who wrote as an amxanuenfis to — — > 
 
 in order to receive the fmiiljing touches of your 
 pen, will probablv find promifes m^ore full and ex- 
 plicit on each head; or, perhaps, v/ili think of fome 
 other particulars, that fiiould be taken under confide- 
 ration. If you will examine and complete the little 
 colle6lion, they ihaii be printed very neatly, fo as to 
 be ornamental to the book, as well as beneficial to 
 the owner. 
 
 Promises of Pardon. 
 
 Ifai. i. i8. Sin as fcarler, fnall be white as fnow. — 
 Ifai. xliii. 25. I am he that blotteth out thy fins. — 
 A(^s xiii. 38, 39. The forgivenefs of fins. — Eph. i. 7. 
 Redemption—the forgivenefs of fins.— «i Peter ii. '24. 
 
 His 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 6^ 
 
 His own felf bare our fins. — Rev. i. 5. wafhed u»- 
 from our fins in his own blood. 
 
 Of Justification. 
 
 Ifai. xlv. 24, 25. In the Lord I have righteoufnefs, 
 - — in the Lord juftified.— Rom. iii. 21. 24. Juilified 
 freely by his grace, through redemption in Jesus.-— 
 Rom. viii. 23, 34. It is God that juftifieth— it is 
 Christ that died. 
 
 Of Sanctification. 
 
 Deut. XXX. 6. Thy God will circumcife thy heart, 
 to love the Lord thy God. — Jen xxiv. 7. I will give 
 them an heart to know me, the Lord. — i Cor. vi. 11. 
 Ye are wafhed, ye are fan6lified by the Spirit of our 
 God. — I ThefT. v. 23. The God of Peace fandlfy 
 your whole fpirit, foul and body. 
 
 InTemptation. 
 
 I Cor. X. 13. God is faithful, who will not fulfer 
 you to be tempted above your ability. — 2 Cor. xii. 
 9. My grace is fufficient for thee ; my ftrength perfed: 
 in weaknefs. 
 
 In Affliction. 
 
 Job V. 17. Happy the man whom God corredleth. 
 Defpife not the chaftening of the almjghty. — Pfa. 1. 15. 
 Call upon me in thy day of trouble : I will deliver 
 thee. — 2 Cor. iv, 17. Our light afflidion, but for a 
 moment — worketh for us a weight of glory. 
 
 I N D E A T H. 
 
 Pfal. xxiii. 4. In the valley of the fhadow of death, 
 I will fear no evil, thou art with me. — i Cor. xv. 
 SSy SI' O death where is thy fling — God giveth us 
 the victory. — 2 Cor. v. i. If our earthly houfe is 
 diffolved, we have a building of God. — John iii. 16, 
 Whoever believeth Ihall not periih, but liave evec- 
 lafling life, 
 
 I At 
 
66 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 At the top I would have this text : God hath 
 given us exceeding great and precious promijes. At the 
 bottom this: God being willing to floe w unto the heirs of 
 promifey i£c, I have now tafked and tired you, but the 
 latter I fhall not often do, in fo immoderate a man- 
 ner. For the former, your work fhall be with the 
 Lord, and your reward from your God. Gratitude 
 and love is all you muft expedl from. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your obliged and afFedlionate Brother, 
 
 in Christ Jesus, 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XLIV. 
 
 My dear Friendy 
 
 I Intended to have made my acknowledgments for 
 your laft favour by Saturday's newfman ; but an 
 unexpected accident rendered my defign impradtica- 
 ble. 
 
 I aflure you, I efteem fuch letters to be a favour in- 
 deed. Let me beg to have them continued j they 
 breathe the genuine fpirit of Chriilianity. Chriftiani- 
 ty thus difplayed, is Supremely noble, and worthy of 
 the bleficd God : thus enjoyed, is highly delightful, 
 and conftitutes both the dignity and happinefs of 
 man. 
 
 1 believe it will be in a manner impoflible to begin 
 my new houfe this year ; we have no other abode, 
 as yet, fit to receive us. Before the commencement 
 of another winter, we hope to be accommodated, and 
 
 to remove ; fo that Mr. S may proceed as early 
 
 as he pleafes in the following year. 
 
 I have not had the pleafure of feeing the Critical 
 Review for December; but I find, from the adver- 
 tifements in the public papers, that they take Mr. 
 
 Jenks 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS, 67 
 
 Jenks and his recommender to tafl^:. I am not dif- 
 appointed : I expedled no quarter from them. 
 
 You would fmile, and be a little furprifed, if you 
 was to fee what employed my fpare hours almoft all 
 laft week. I never had fuch an inclination for buf- 
 foonery in all my life : it was occafioned by the un- 
 worthy and abufive treatment which the Reviewers 
 beftow upon all the moil valuable writers that appear 
 in public ; and I verily think if their infolence can be 
 curbed, it muft be done in purfuance of Horace's 
 niaxim. 
 
 Ridiculum acri 
 
 Fortius^ ^c. 
 
 Or in obedience to that command of unerring wifdom, 
 anfwer a fool according to his folly. I am now there- 
 fore digefting and tranfcribing a parcel of Remarks, 
 which will amount to a fhilling pamphlet, and may 
 receive the following title : 
 
 NED DRY'S APOLOGY 
 
 for the Critical Reviewers. 
 
 With a complimentary Card to thofe Gentlemen, 
 
 This written — That publifhed, 
 
 By James Hervey, A. M. 
 
 *' Ut tu fortuna^n^ fic 7ios te celja terernus,'' Hor. 
 
 Whether it be expedient to publlfh fuch a thing, the 
 Lord Jesus knows ; and I truft the Lord Jesus will 
 diredl ; they are the enemies of his caufe, and I 
 Ihould be very v/ell pleafed to bear my teflimiOny 
 ao:ainft them. No mortal knov/s that I have anv fuch 
 thoughts, you only excepted. Let it remain a pro- 
 found fecret \ befeech, as I know you will, befeech 
 HIM who is Head over all things to the church, to 
 vouchfafe his heavenly guidance. Give me your free 
 opinion. If I can get a perlbn to tranfcribe, I will 
 fend you a copy. 
 
 Ever your's, in Christ Jesus, 
 
 I 2 J, HERVEY. 
 
58 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 P. S. Will you difpofe of a guinea among your 
 poor people, during this fevere fealbn ? I defire you 
 will not let any one know fronn whona it connes. i 
 inclofe the guinea in the book Mr. Witherfpooa 
 mentions.— A fnnart piece truly. 
 
 LETTER XLV. 
 
 Tuefday Enjening, 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 T Thank you for your beautiful exhortation, and fine 
 harangue, which makes m.e wilh it had been your 
 office, not to encourage, but to execute. 
 
 I thank you iikewife for your criticifms : confounded 
 and plaguy are low cant words, not ufed but upon 
 droll f'jbje6ls; and though I believe they are proper 
 enough on thofe occafions, yet, as they are feldom 
 heard but from, the lips of the licentious, or profane, 
 they would, I am apt to fufpecl, offend the ferious ear. 
 The paragraph, relating to colLivenefs, you and 
 your friends very jufciy condemn. It was intended to 
 cenfure the clergyman for his fhameful diligence, in 
 writing notes upon two loofe comedians, and to give a 
 reprefcntation of his performance not very inviting : 
 but it may be faid of the attempt, Peccato ccrrigendo pec- 
 ceat, I have altered it in this manner: Mr. S — n, a 
 reverend clergyman, who has lately been very zealous 
 to edify the pious world, by publifhing and expounding 
 a brace of lufcious comicdians, has no lefs obliged and 
 improved the learned world, by letting them into the 
 meaning of the cuiious word, ccflive : and I cannot 
 but acknov/ledge, that the expofitor has been juft as 
 laudably employed as his authors. Sych kind of 
 
 works 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 69 
 
 works are the propereft place in the world for fiich 
 definitions and explanations. Though, for my own 
 part, I do not much want good Mr. S — n's inftruc- 
 tions on this lubjedt, becaufe I fee the -thing exempli- 
 fied whenever the Critical Reviewers point out ex- 
 cellencies, or beflow praife. Whether this is proper, 
 Te tuorque pines fit y judicium. 
 
 This Mr. S— n, I am forry to fay ic, v/as a fellow 
 collegian of mine. I well remember him at Lincoln 
 college, but I had not the leafl; intim.acy with him. 
 He joined, if I am not mifinformed, with a brother 
 pf your late excellent friend^ Mr. Seward, to pubhfh 
 an edition of Beaumont and Fletcher. I hope God 
 will make Mr. Witherfpoon's pen as fliarp as a razor^ 
 to cut the comb of fuch writers, and their works. I 
 was forry to fee, from, a paragraph in a late nevvfpaper, 
 that, by the command of the Prince, the tragedy of 
 Douglas (to which Mr. Witherfpoon alludes) was 
 re-a6i:ed at the Theatre Royal. Ah! my brother, 
 this is one fource, one copious lource of our miferies; 
 if princes will encourage fuch corrupting entertain- 
 ments, there never will be wanting even minifixrs to 
 write for them, and magiftrates to attend them. O 
 that the Prince of the kings of the earth would give 
 our rulers^ and all that are in authority, to dijcern the 
 things that are excellent. 
 
 Little do you think what I am going to l€i\ you— 
 that my friends, who have feen the piece, abfoiutely 
 difap prove of it. 
 
 A gentleman in the neighbourhood, a perfon of 
 fine talle, to whom an acquaintance of mine ihewed 
 it, fays^ Horace ihaii g've my opinion, 
 
 • CavCj faxis 
 
 Te quidquam indignum. 
 
 - — . Hac mea Cur a ejl^ 
 
 Ne quid tu per das ^ natt fis J ecus. 
 Dr. Stonehoufe fays, it is a low, dull, fpiritlcfs 
 thinj^ ; that 1 am no more fit for fuch kind of writ- 
 
 ing, 
 
JO A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 ■jno-, than a cameras horfe to run a race. He read it, 
 he tells me, to fome ingenious ladies, who have a re- 
 o-ard for my charader : they declared they would 
 come over to Wcfton, and down upon their knees, (if 
 it were needful) to folicit me not to publiili it. Men- 
 tion nothing of thefe matters : I have mentioned 
 them to none but yourfelf. Thofe are the only per- 
 fons that have fecn the manufcript. Amidft fuch a 
 diverfity of opinions. How (hall I determine ? Shall 
 Warwick or Northampton turn the fcale P The 
 Lord Jesus Christ overrule the determination. If 
 it may be for his honour, let it appear with courage 
 and confidence \ if not, let it be eonfigned over to 
 fiience and oblivion. 
 
 I am glad you receive fuch advantage and delight 
 from the great Dr. Owen. Perufe, and tell me what 
 you think of the pamphlet, intitled " A Friendly At- 
 tempt," &c. You are not to return it, but only your 
 fentiments of it. Fray have you feen Mr. Goadby's 
 Expofition ? The v^ovd. farrago^ which you make ufe 
 of, makes me conjedlure you have Ibm.e knowledge 
 of the v/ork. I faw a fpecimen of it in manufcript, 
 and it feemed to me the very thing which your ex- 
 prelTion denotes. He condantly fays, in his adver- 
 tifement, the fale increafes every day, yet I know np 
 mortal in thefe parts that purchafes it. 
 
 I have fent, according to your defire, the Appen- 
 dix ; but in cafe the Apology Ihou Id appear, this, I 
 think, had better be fecreted, becaufe it relates pretty 
 much to myfelf ; and to fpeak properly in fuch a cafe, 
 is very difficult ; to fpeak much, difcovers an in- 
 ward wound, and tells the v.'orld the party is galled, 
 which, though it is not fa6l, yet, if fuppofed, would 
 o-ive an occafion for triumph. Never was I lefs con- 
 cerned for any thing of this nature, than for the bad 
 words of the Reviewers. Never did I covet any one's 
 ci^ood word lefs than theirs. 
 
 Mr. 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 71 
 
 Mr. S — calls upon me. I hope to return your ma- 
 nufcript by the newfman ; and may I never forget 
 Him who fays. Return unto me^ for I have redeemed thee. 
 
 Affectionately ybur's, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 P, S, I have fent the guinea for Mr. Underhill to 
 you, having no convenient method of tranfmitting ic 
 to Daventry. 
 
 The following are the palTages, or feme of the paflages, which I 
 would have annexed to the Apology. 
 
 LETTER XLVI. 
 
 nPHE Charaaer of Mr. Jenks's Meditations, as 
 given by the Critical Reviewers. 
 
 Cum notis variorum. 
 
 ^^ The Meditations are not in the leafl adapted to 
 *^ build up the foul in faith, in holinefs, or joy." 
 
 This affertion is a full evidence that thefe men 
 never knew in the leafl what is the nature of vital 
 faith, holinefs, or joy : and as they declared themfeives 
 utterly deflitute of the fpirit of religion, I am confi- 
 dent no one Chriftian in the world, who reads Mr. 
 Jenks, will believe them. 
 
 " They are ridiculous and enthufiaftic.'* 
 
 Ridiculous to no man who knov/s what it is to be 
 ferious concerning his God, his foul, or Iiis falvation. 
 The Reviewers have not the exalted happinefs to pof- 
 fefs the leaft Ipark of this glorious enthufiafm; an 
 enthufiafm every way confiflent with redlified reafon 5 
 an enthufiafm which Mofes and the prophets, Christ 
 and the apoflles, expreffed in its noblefl perfe<flion. 
 
 " They are like hairs on the greafy coat of a 
 *^ groom, or like difli-water thrown down the kennel." 
 
 Thefe Reviewers are in the eyes of every real 
 Chriftian upon earth, much better qualified to execute 
 
 the 
 
■^z A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 the office of a groom to horfes, than to play the cri- 
 tic's part on books of vital Chriftianity ^ and if they 
 were paid only in proportion to their merits, diih wa- 
 ter would be their highefl reward for their work. 
 
 " They are nonfenfe — one great blot — the author 
 ** can neither write nor read." 
 
 An eternal blot in the Reviewer's charaden They 
 can evidently neither write like Chriftians, nor read 
 like true critics. This every wife m.an who reads 
 their monthly productions will immediately fee. 
 
 Pray return this paper. I hope you will be ena- 
 bled to fill up the vacancies, with fome fmart re- 
 marks. Sure v>/e may, without offence to piety or 
 charity, pray with the Pfalmifl,M^^<? their faces ajhamedj^ 
 
 OLORD. 
 
 The true Temper and Genius of the Critical Reviewers, 
 
 Does there not appear, drawn from their monthly 
 pamphlets, great feif-efceem for their own {tn(Q^ pe- 
 netration, learning and di(5lion ? A very high idea of 
 their importance and weight in the literary world. 
 " We are the rnenl" A refoiute determination to vin- 
 dicate themfelves with rudenefs and overbearing 
 liercenefs and impudence. 
 
 A moit rooted and cordial hatred of all the glo- 
 rious peculiarities of the Gofpel, a fpecial fpite and 
 venom at the mod fpiritual and evangelical authors; 
 a fcorn of all reproof, and an expectation that the 
 public adore them, as the revivers of true tafte. 
 
 A hearty contemapt of the pubhc appears in their 
 rilthy and foolifh extraCls from books of the moft 
 vvorthlefs character : they appear almoft deftitute of 
 true critical tafte, and efpecially of real candour, and 
 generous benevolence. I can fee nothing lovely in 
 them as men or as fcholars^ and as for religion, they 
 ■themfelves tell us that they have not one grain of it. 
 
 \n a word, the real impiety of infidels — a rooted 
 fpite at vital godhnefs — a rank venom of heart — a 
 
 cruelty 
 
A SERIESOF LETTERS. 73 
 
 cruelty and hard-heartednefs towards wife and worthy 
 men, infinitely beyond themfelves — a fpirit of con- 
 tempt towards the public — the real malice of devils 
 and horrid malignity of the damned, (eem to me to 
 be the grand conftituent parts of their temper, and the 
 eflentials of their compofitions; and if I were to wifh 
 them the finifhed ruin of their immortal fouls, 1 would 
 wifh they might pofTefs eternally the fame contempt 
 and enmity tov/ards God, and the fame infernal ma- 
 levolence towards all good men, as they have abun- 
 -dantly exprefTed in their twelve monthly pamphlets! 
 
 Liars, in a6ling oppofite to their plan : I appeal to 
 that public which thefe men have infulted, by fuppof- 
 ing them to be fo far deftitute of religion, grace, and 
 good manners, as to join thefe Reviewers in pro- 
 phaning the name of the almighty Majeily: in 
 making a joke of vital devotion, and injuring the 
 blamelefs character of their peaceable fellow fubjeds. 
 By fliling them dirty enthufiafts, they difcover great 
 wantonnefs of cruelty. 
 
 Thefe forry wretches have affronted the public, by 
 oppofing the general voice, for the writings and repu- 
 tation of che author of the Meditations among the 
 Tombs, &c. Do they imagine they can injure his 
 charader with any fenfible man, or true Chriilian? 
 
 LETTER XLVIL 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 THANKS for the inclofed. I have nothing to 
 fend with it, but my cordial wiihes, that the wri- 
 ter and the lender may go on, in their glorious war- 
 fare, from conquering to conquer. May I not hope 
 to receive a packet by the return of the bearer ? A 
 packet which will lay me under an obligation to 
 
 K Mr. 
 
74 A SERIES OPLETTERS. 
 
 Mr. Wood and Mr. Ryland ? which will always be 
 gratefully acknowledged by, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER XLVIIL 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 TUST before the arrival of your packet, Mr. D— 
 fet out for Warwick, proaiifing himfelf much 
 pleafure, and equal profit in your converfation. 1 
 truil you will meet each other in the fulnefs of the 
 blelTings of the Gofpel of Christ. 
 
 Mintert is at your fervice, as long as you pleafe. 
 
 Mr. D took with him Douglas, &:c. By the 
 
 bearer, I fend two volumes of Voyages and Travels i 
 the other five to follow, whenever you give the fignal. 
 No picture, nor any of the works of Witfius from 
 Holland. Mudge upon the Pfalms is not at prefent 
 within reach; it will be foon, then it fhall wait upon 
 you. Mr. Davis*s letter is again miQaid; that I 
 mean written by his own hand ; a much longer, tran- 
 fcribed by Mr. Cruttenden, fupplies its place. As 
 to any Dialogues for Vol. IV. there are none in be- 
 ing : I have only fome hints, and thofe chiefly in 
 fhort hand. I do aflure you, though I have a heart 
 to the work, I have neither ftrength nor fpirits to ex* 
 ecute it: when I retire to my fludy, I can but jufl read, 
 or pray a little, not think or write at all. My defign 
 of printing three Sermons, proves an abortion: two 
 Difcourfes I purpofe to corre6l in a little time -, the 
 Lord of all power give them a profperous voyage, 
 that they may traffic for his honour: mine are mer- 
 chantmen, your's fhall be men of war, and both, I 
 hope, will be the means of Ipreading abroad the favour 
 of Christ's name. 
 
 No 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 75 
 
 No letter from Mr. Witherfpoonj I believe I neg- 
 ledled to anfwer his laft favour, therefore cannot 
 expedt a renewed inllance of his friendlhip. 1 have 
 not leifure to perufe his epiftle to you, nor your pleaf- 
 ingly long letter to me, becaufe the bearer v/aits to be 
 difpatched, and my horfe (lands ready to receive his 
 mafter. The former ihall be returned, and the latter 
 acknowledged by the firfl opportunity. 
 
 I can promife nothing to Mr. Wood. Have only- 
 told him, that I ihall remember his offer, and that a 
 recommendadon from Mr. Ryland will always have 
 weight with me. Mod freely I tranfmit another 
 crown for the poor woman, and another for whomfo- 
 ever you fhall judge a proper objedt. Excufe my 
 great hafte and rapid fcribbling. 
 
 Ever your's, 
 
 J. HERVEY- 
 
 LETTER XLIX. 
 
 Wejion, Sunday Enjening* 
 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 jMuft defire you to accept my thanks for your elo- 
 •*- quent difplay of the Accomplifhed Preacher; and 
 may the Lord accept my prayer, when I befeech him 
 to grant, that you may be what you defcribe. 
 
 We will expedl your company, and I will not de- 
 fpair of feeing the continuation of your thoughts on 
 the pleafure of religion, and the execution of your 
 promife, with regard to your Aphorifms on Faith. 
 
 I have been under the iurgeons and apothecary's 
 hands. Have ventured out to day ; and God be praifed 
 was enabled, though with much weaknefs, to teftify 
 of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. O ! that 
 the word may profper, and the work not recall my 
 feverilh diforder, I fee you very much commend 
 
 K 2 Mr. 
 
y6 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 Mr. Hubbard, an author with whom I have had no 
 converfe; will you introduce me to his acquaintance I 
 And when opportunity ferves^ lend me the difcourfes 
 mentioned page 15, of the Preacher, 
 
 " On the Love of Christ." 
 " On the Imitation of Christ.** 
 I have fent the firft volume of Theron, &c. with 
 . alterations : at your leifure peep upon them, and fee 
 if they are corrections. If Mr. — — will be fo kind 
 as to tranfcribe into the interleaved vokune all the al- 
 terations which have your imprimature, or rather 
 transferatur, I lliall be much obliged. 
 
 Excufe mv fcrawl — I write with my gloves on- — am 
 fo warm, I dare not put them off — they call me to my 
 fupper — tea — fo I muil take my leave of my friend, 
 whofe I am in the bonds of the Gofpel,, aad of fin- 
 cere affe6lion. 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER L, 
 
 E 
 
 My dear Frlendy 
 
 ^XCUSE my delay in anfwering your letter, ancf 
 acknowledging your prefent tranfmitted by Mr.. 
 Venner:, they both deferve my fpeedier thanks, which 
 you will accept though late. As I expe6led, by every 
 pod, the packet from London, I purpofely withheld my 
 pen, intending,, upon the receipt of your proof-fhect, 
 to fend you any remarks that occurred, by the very 
 firft maili and refolving, within myfelf, not to fuffer 
 any alterations of mine to take place, till they had 
 been fubmitted to your examination, and received 
 your approbation. In this refolution I ftillperfift, and 
 you muft not defire, I had almofb faid, ,you iliall not 
 oblige me to depart from it. Criticifing on thefe 
 terms, and with fuch a view, I fliall execute my part 
 
 more 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS, 
 
 more freely, otherwife 1 fhail hefitate, acl with timi- 
 dity, and fcarcely venture to diminilh a jot, or add a 
 tittle. 
 
 I ann fomewhat furprifed that you, wTio take fo many 
 of other people's children under your care, fhould be 
 unwilling to finifh the education of your own, your 
 intelle6lual children. I mean the offspring of your 
 happy invention. The Treatife you mention, as it is 
 begun, fo let it be finifhed, by yourfelf. You muft 
 lock upon me as a broken veffeL I have not written 
 a^line (fuch languors have opprefTed me) towards the 
 accomplifhment of my intended work, during feveral 
 weeks; and yet I am ftrongly importuned to corred the 
 tranflation of a fmall Latin treatife, ~De Eminentid Cogm- 
 tionis Chriftiy to form it into my own manner, and pub- 
 lifh it under my own name. This method, it is 
 thought, may be a means of making it fpread, and 
 rendering it profitable to the tranflator, who wants 
 gain, almoft as much as others want grace. The 
 piece was written originally in German by Liborius 
 Limmermannus. Have you feen it, or heard any ac- 
 count of it? I fancy you have not: there are fome 
 charming evangelical truths in it, moft comfortable, 
 encouraging, delightful! But it feems to want order, 
 and a proper arrangement. Here it fhould be pruned, 
 and there it fhould be grafted. If I fhould attempt 
 to difpatch this bufinefs, I muft beg, not only your 
 perufal of the piece, but your correction of the tranf- 
 lation, and efpecially your examination ; your exaCc 
 and rigorous examination of the do6lrines. 
 
 Another propofal is made to me, and that by a 
 member of your Evangelical Society. Mr. Vivian 
 propofes to print his Vilitation Sermon; one on the 
 like occafion by Mr. Davis of Virginia, and mine. 
 To print them all together in one'pamphlet. I told him 
 that mine would rather be as lead upon the heels, than 
 as wings in the body of his intended piece : that fome 
 hundreds of the fecond edition now lie upon the book- 
 
 fellens 
 
781 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 fellers hands. He perfifts in his propofal, notwith- 
 ftanding this dilcouraging circumilance. He would 
 print, if there be four or five hundred of mine unfold, 
 an equal number of his own, and of Mr. Davis's, 
 and ftich tiiem together. What fhall I do in this 
 cafe? I cannot perfuade myfelf that the fcheme is 
 likely to fucceed; or rather, I am perfuaded, that the 
 alliance which their works folicit with mine, will be a 
 clog, rather than a furtherance. 
 
 Pleafe to prefent mine and my families compli- 
 ments to Mr. Venner, and accept the fame yourfelf, 
 £l-om, dear Sir, 
 
 Your affectionate, and obliged, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER LI. 
 
 My dear Friendy 
 
 " Y laft was fo very long, that I will only trouble 
 . my dear friend with a line at prefent. Did not 
 you mention, and with applaufe, a method of keep- 
 ing a diary ? which, if I remember right, you told me, 
 was ufed by Dr. Doddridge. I fliould be obhged, 
 if, when you have leifure, you would communicate 
 to me the plan. Thanks for the extremely ingenious 
 Preface, and Mr. Hurrion's folidly ufeful books. 
 What entertaining accounts of genius and induftry in 
 the former ! What delightful difcoveries of grace 
 and love in the latter 1 We would tafte the firft, but, 
 drink into the laft. Virgil has an exprelfion, whirh, 
 to a fober and temperate mind, may give a lively idea 
 of the A|>oicle's meaning, 
 
 Plenoje proluit Auro, 
 
 Though I Hiould be afraid to propofe fuch an illuf-? 
 tration to the world. [This was written to have waited 
 
 upon 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 79 
 
 Upon you laft week, but poflponed for the reafon 
 mentioned in my letter.] 
 
 Your's, 
 
 'J, HERVEY, 
 
 LETTER LIL 
 
 ^hurfday E<vemng^ 
 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 ACCEPT my thanks for your packet. I like the 
 thoughts with which you have filled up the va- 
 cant fpaces. And would you really have me publifh 
 Mr. Dry's, &c. ? The good Lord dired me. This 
 v/ill certainly bring upon me the m-oil unrelenting 
 perfecution of the Reviewers pen ; but what have I to 
 fear? Succefs they cannot withhold ; it is not by might, 
 hor by ftrength, not by their favour and recommen- 
 dation, but by HIS SPIRIT. Reputation is not my 
 aim; yet if I had this end in view, it is written. They that 
 honour me, I will honour, O ! that it might be for the 
 honour of Christ ! then I would run ail hazards, and 
 pubhfli it at all adventures ; and if He pleafes to prof- 
 per, your fix bibles for his poor people lliall be made 
 twelve. 
 
 Thanks for Mafon's Catechifms : fome fuch fmall 
 evangelical treatifes are greatly wanted. I am fm- 
 cereiy glad you are going to publifh fomething confi^ 
 derable; the Lord almighty make it acceptable, and 
 make it powerful. 1 have been hurried aimoft ever 
 fnice the receiving your packet. If it be pofTible, I 
 will return your manufcript by the newfman. 
 
 Mr. White writes like a man of great politenefs, 
 as well as eminent piety. The fecond volume of 
 Jenks waits upon you, together v/ith Marfhal. But 
 you are miftaken in apprehending, that I have added 
 potes to the new edition, only a kind of preface j in 
 
 which 
 
So A SERIES OF LETTERS, 
 
 which is a fentiment or two, not very palTable even 
 with the pious world; yet furely they contain the truth 
 of grace, and the glory of the Gofpel. 
 
 If I live, I propofe to fend you in a frank, the Ap- 
 pendix to my intended pamphlet. In what fize fhould 
 it appear, and what price fhould it bear ? You forgot 
 to give me your opinion about my cenfure of Mr. 
 Goadby and his Life of Bampfylde Carew. I would 
 not do any thing unkind. How would he have a6led 
 in fuch a cafe ? who fays, Be ye followers of me^ even as 
 J am of Christ. Mr. Marihal, if you pleafe to ac- 
 cept it, is your own 3 as is, on the fame terms, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER LIIL 
 
 'Thurfday Evening. 
 
 THANKS to my worthy friend for interefting him- 
 fcif in behalf of my affairs: I may now fay, Ja5la 
 eft alea. I have this moment given my confent to 
 the terms propofed by Mr. S — , and purely to gra- 
 tify him, my mother and filter have departed from my 
 refoiution, with regard to the price. Articles are 
 drawn up; to thefe 1 have aliented in general i only 
 have deferred figning them, in order to have them in- 
 fpe(5led by fome perfons of better judgment than 
 myfelf, that if there fhould be any little matters ne- 
 ceiTary or proper to be added, they may be Ibggefled 
 and inferted. With this provifo I have agreed. I 
 hope the work will be fo executed, as to give me 
 little trouble, and get the architect much credit. 
 
 Twenty-five Sermons are lent, and accompanied 
 w^ith my earned prayers, that they may be among 
 many people as a dew from the Lord, and as rain upon 
 the grajs. You may, if you find them acceptable to 
 your people, command another cargo. 
 
 The 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 8s 
 
 The third and fourth volumes of Voyages are fcnc. 
 Mr. Fellows's poem is received, but you mufl not ex- 
 pe6l any thing confiderable from m.y remarks. My 
 imagination, as well as my conftitution, fades like 
 yonder leaves. 
 
 . I think the Critical Reviewers are fomewhat like 
 Balaam, who had a ftrong inclination to curfc, but was 
 Overruled to blefs the people. I fend you four franks, 
 and remain. 
 
 Inviolably your's, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER LIV. 
 
 ... ^^/^ 3> 1758* 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 T Thank you, for taking in good part my free re- 
 monftrances, and impartial objedions. See what 
 it is to have to do with a Chriftian ! his mind, though 
 endued with manly wifdom, is meek as the weaned 
 ehild. May my foul be more and more call into this 
 amiable mould I And as you accede to my opinion, 
 may I be enabled to imitate your humility. 
 
 I thank you alfo for the perufal of your manu- 
 fcript. I hope the Giver of every good gift will ena- 
 ble you to compofe, to finifli, and to publifh, many 
 fuch animated pieces* You afk me to corre6lj but 
 fhall I venture to alter, or prefume to cenfure Mr. 
 Ryland's writings? No : I will only tell him^, v/hat the 
 worldi when favoured with his works, may pofFibly 
 fay. " We could wifh that our favourite authorj in 
 *^ fome parts, was not quire fo fcholaftic, and meta- 
 *^ phyfical ; and that in others, his fentiments, though 
 " all fhining, and his words, though every one elegant, 
 " were not quite fo diffufe." 
 
 I- Mv 
 
S2 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 My own piece is indeed in die prefs, and by this 
 pod 1 return the fifteenth Hieet corrected. I remem- 
 ber my promile; and let me look upon it as my pri- 
 vilege. As luch, I afTure you^ I fhall efteem it^ if you 
 will freely animadvert upon every inaccuracy, and 
 by your friendly remarks enrich what is empove- 
 nihed, exalt what grovels, and reftify what is errone- 
 ous. As loon as ever the firft volume is finiiliedj I 
 will fend it to Warwick; and give me leave, till then, 
 to detain your valuable manufcript. I took your ad- 
 vice as to the number of copies to be printed, though 
 fome have thought I have proceeded injudicioufiy, 
 becaufe my bookfeller offered to give me tvv'o hun- 
 dred pounds, and fifty copies bound, lettered and gilt> 
 for permiffion to print four thoufand copies of the 
 fmall, and feven hundred and fifty of the large oc- 
 tavo; but 1 muftown, the hope of correcting and ren- 
 dering the work lei's unworthy of the incomparable 
 fubje6l, in cafe Providence ihould command a fecond 
 edition, outweighs with me all pecuniary conlidera- 
 tions. Have you confidered what would be proper 
 to lay before the world in the Preface? You who have 
 lately been at our metropolis, and know the fenti- 
 ments of mankind, can judge of this particular much 
 better than an invahd and reclufe. I have not jzoc 
 the fecond volume of Vitringa, though I have lent 
 for it four times, and waited, I believe, double the 
 number of weeks. J want it very much, to confult 
 that m.afterlv author, with relation to fome texts 
 quoted by Afpafio. It is my admired commentator,. 
 and what before all others 1 fhould covet to read, if 
 I live to fee my prefent completed and launched into 
 the world. But to Dr. Gill's requefl, efpecially whea 
 feconded by Mr. Ryland, I can deny nothing. As 
 foon as ever I recover the book, I will examine what 
 is written upon thofe particular texts, and then tranf- 
 mit them to the Doctor. 
 
 What 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 83^ 
 
 What do you think of my fentiments and reafon- 
 ings on the grand fubjedl of faith? Is the article of 
 affurance wound up too tight? Can fome of my 
 brethren bear with me, if I fpeak but flightly of 
 that celebrated diftinclion, the faith of adherence, and 
 the faith of affurance? A gentleman of eminent 
 piety and fuperior fenie told me, that receiving of 
 Christ, is a catling of the foul upon, and trufting 
 in him, and him. alone, for whole falvation, which is 
 fucceeded by a fbrong, a lively, heart-cheering affur- 
 ance. That this aflii ranee is diflind from favino- 
 faith, and no part of it, nor infeparably connedled 
 with it ; faving faith being exercifed on the perfon 
 of Christ as an all-fufficient and willing Saviour; 
 whereas the faith of affurance is exercifed upon a 
 propofition, viz. That Christ died for me. Weigh 
 thefe thoughts in your balance, and let me know the 
 refult. 
 
 I believe I mufh dedicate my book to a lady of 
 quality, and I would fay fine things, not of my patro- 
 jiefs, but of her religion. I wiHi 1 could give an ami- 
 able pi6ture of the glorious Gofpel. I wilh you woulcj 
 lend me a fev/ bright tints, fuch as might reprefcnt it 
 in a light honourable, amiable, and attractive ? 
 
 Ever your's, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER LV, 
 
 Afy dear Friend^ 
 
 I Sent you a Dialogue on Faith, No. XVI. Be fo 
 kind as to return it with your remarks, alterations, 
 and improvements. Lafl: week I tranfmitted, in loofe 
 fheets, the firft volume of the work, that has long been 
 conceived, and is now come to the birth. Here alfo 
 your corrections, though too late to enrich this edi- 
 
 L 2 tion. 
 
^ A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 tion, will be very acceptable. Give me leave to alk 
 your opinion with reference to a dedication. This 
 you know will be a detached piece, of a fmall fize, 
 printed in a large type, and addreiled to a perfon of 
 diftin6lion. Thefe circurnllances will render it pecu- 
 liarly confpicuous, and expofe it to a more fevere ex- 
 amination. Anticipate the cenforious critic, and 
 freely find fault with the following ellay ; 
 
 'fo the Right Hon* Lady F 6"— :■< , 
 
 ^^ Madaniy 
 '^ IF Chriftianity was inconfiftent with the trueft 
 " politenefs, or prejudicial to real happinefs, I fhoulc} 
 *^ be extremely injudicious, and inexpreffibly ungrate- 
 " ful, in prefenting thefe eflays to your Ladyfhip, 
 " But as the religion of Christ is the grand orna- 
 " ment of our nature, and a fource of the fublimeft 
 joys, the purport of the following pages cannot be 
 unworthy the countenance and protedlion of the 
 moft accompli fhcd perfon y neither can there be a 
 wifh more fuitable to the oblig^ations, or the dictates 
 of a grateful heart, than that you may experience 
 what you read, and be what you patronize. 
 
 Did religion confift in a cuftomary round of ex- 
 " ternal obfervances, or a forced fubmiflion to fome 
 " rigorous aufterities, I lliould not fcruple to joiq 
 *^ with the infidel in defpifing it; and with the fenfu- 
 *' alift in having nothing to do with it. You need not 
 ** be informed. Madam, that it is as much fuperior to 
 " all fuch low or forbidding fingularities, as the hea- 
 " vens are higher than the earth : it is defcribed by 
 <* an author, who learned its theory in the regions of 
 " Paradife, and difplayed its efficacy in his own exem- 
 " plary converlation : it is thus defcribed by that in- 
 *^ comparable author, 7'he kingdom of God is not meat 
 " and drink, hit, &c. 
 
 " To be reconciled to the omnipotent.GoD: to be 
 ^^ interefted in the unfearchable riches of Christ : 
 
 « to 
 
 cc 
 
 (C 
 
 <c 
 <c 
 
 cc 
 
 cc 
 
cc 
 
 D 
 
 A SERIES OF LETTERS. ^5 
 
 f? to be renewed in our hearts, and influenced in our 
 f^ lives by the fandlifying operations of the divine 
 <^ Spirit; this is evangehcal righteoufnefs ; this is 
 ^^ genuine religion. This, Madam, i.s the kingdom 
 ?^ of God ereded in the foul. How amiable and in- 
 " viting is fuch an inftitution ! What a dignity, and 
 f' what a beauty are vifible in all its parts ! from fucli 
 ^' a (late, and fuch a condu6l, what other effects can 
 ^' flow, but that peace which paficth all underfland- 
 ing : that joy which is unfpeakable, and full of 
 lory I 
 Was there any thing in the amufcments of the 
 *^ gay, the purfuits of the ambitious, or the pomp 
 ^' of courts, preferable or comparable to thele blef- 
 ^* fings of the everlafling Gofpel, I fnould not take 
 *' the liberty of exhorting your Ladyfhip to perfe- 
 *^ vere and advance in thofe paths which you have 
 ^* been fo wife and happy as to choofe, are lb confif- 
 '* tent and faithful as to avow ; neither would that 
 *' which is now my humble exhortation, have been 
 5^ the invariable fubjecl of my prayers, ever fince I 
 ^' had the honour of profelling myfelf, 
 
 '" Madam, &c.'* 
 
 Line 17. " Having nothing to do with." I do not 
 like this expreflion : How Ihall I exprefs the fame 
 idea in a more elegant manner ? Is there any thing 
 fulfome in ail this ? Any thing unbecoming the 
 preacher of humility, or dangerous to its pofTefTor r 
 O ! that your words — O ! that my words, and the 
 words of all Chr ist's minifters, may be fweet as 
 the honey, yet penetrating as the fling! — Have 
 you formed the plan of a Preface ? I have thrown 
 to2;ether a few fentiments, but have not time to 
 tranfcribe them. The Lord Jesus Christ prof- 
 per you in all your labours, and enable you to pray 
 for the weakeft of all your brethren. Though weak 
 even to contempt, one would think the devil feems to 
 rage againft me; he has ilirred up fome envenomed 
 
 •' tongues 
 
B6 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 tongues to blacken and afperfe my charadler in ail 
 places ; nay, they threaten me by a letter under their 
 own hand, to expofe me in the public papers as a vil- 
 lain. They fpare not to talk of fhooting me ; and all 
 this, becaule hearing no recomm.ending account of 
 their charadter, I refufed to receive them as my te- 
 nants, and admit them to occupy my land. Such 
 treatment I have not deferved from them, but deferve 
 infinitely greater Ihame and infamy from the righteous 
 God ; yet, as Christ has bore ignominy in my flead> 
 farely confufion from God will not cover me ; nor 
 reproach from men hurt me. Say nothing of this, 
 only pray for mx, that I may not be intim.idated in 
 my fpirit, nor exafperated in mjy temper. I fear my 
 pwn treacherous and naughty heart, more than their 
 menaces. Ever your's, 
 
 J. HERVEY, 
 
 LETTER LVL 
 
 This fir my wcrthy Friend, 
 
 METHINKS I do not like the word its when 
 ufcd as a relative to the Godhead, as it is gene- 
 ■^^lly applied to the inanimate or ^brutal creation. 
 The idea is low: it would pleafe m.e better if the fen- 
 timent was exprefied in fome fuch manner, " On the 
 eternal Godhead, on all the divine perfons, and all the 
 divine perfe6lions." 
 
 I took my pen in hand with a defign to have 
 pointed out other inaccuracies, and to have made 
 other corredions, but my intention outrun my ability. 
 I think you afk, what part of the Efiay on Faith you 
 fhall leave out? 1 anfwer, the lefs you leave out the 
 better: is it abfolutely impofnble to take in the whole? 
 1 am loth to lofe a thread, or a flioe-latchet of this 
 
 very 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS, 8^ 
 
 very important fubjcdl. I befecch you let your paper 
 be brimful ; and I beg of the Lord God omnipo- 
 tent to ilrengthen you with his arm, to accompany 
 you with his fmile, when you take the field againft 
 doubts, fears, jealoufies, and evil furmifings of Christ, 
 which are the bane of the Chriftian's comforts, and 
 the remora to his holinefs. 
 
 I forgot to return Mr. Witherfpoon's letter. When 
 he fends you his EfTay againfl the Stage, favour me 
 with a fight of it. The Appendix, be fo good as to 
 return with improvements ; I am quite at a lofs how 
 to proceed. On one fide, defirous to bear my tefti- 
 mony againft the enemies of our divine Mafter; on 
 the other, intimidated by the remonflrances of fome 
 of miY friends. That I have not entirely abandoned 
 the defign, you may fee from the alteration which I 
 have made. Inftead of the Appendix, Verax is to 
 deliver a paper, with a defire that it may be pub- 
 lifhed, in order to prevent all mifreprefentation of his 
 condudV, and all mifapprehenfion of his defign. The 
 paper I inclofe, and with it a frank, to bring it back as 
 foon as you have perufed and correded it. The fame 
 vehicle v/ill be roomy enough to contain the Appen- 
 dix iikewife. Sometimes I think fomewhat of this 
 nature will be proper ; fometimes I think it will 
 fpoil the preceding irony. Judge for me, unable as I 
 am to determine for myfelf, 
 
 J. H. 
 
 LETTER LVII. 
 
 AW. 2i, 1757. 
 My dear Friendy 
 
 YOU very much oblige my family and myfelf, 
 by interefting yourftlf in the affair of my new 
 lioufe; I am perhaps timid and cautious to an extrem.e. 
 
 After 
 
«5 A SERIES OF LETTER?. 
 
 After all, I fhall depend more upon your influence 
 with my archite^l:, than upon the obligation of arti- 
 cles, though executed on ilamped paper. 
 
 We are now removed into our new lodgings; and 
 blefTed be the divine Providence, none of us feem to 
 have taken cold. We fhall be very glad of your 
 company to infpe6l the building of timber and ftone^ 
 and diredl us to the houfe not made with hands, eter- 
 nal in the heavens. 
 
 I have given orders to m.y bookfeller for an inter- 
 leaved copy of the Dialogues. Shall be very thank- 
 ful to him who has the pen of a ready writer, for 
 tranfcribing the' alterations ; and more thankful to 
 fomebody elfe, who is of quick underftanding in the 
 fear of the Lord, for revifing and correcting them. 
 
 I am glad to find tliat you have fent the Chriftian 
 Preacher to the prefs. May he who walks amidft the 
 golden candleflicks, fend it through his churches, and 
 form his minifters upon that excellent model. I fhall 
 long to read it in print, as I heard it with much plea- 
 fure from your manufcript copy. 
 
 t^ave a care you do not depreciate your works, by 
 inferting any thing of mine. My poor charadler is 
 going to execution. The Reviewers have already put 
 the halter about its neck ; if therefoje you would ob- 
 tain diftinclion, or are a candidate for fame, ftand 
 clear and detached from fuch a contemptible fcribbier. 
 
 You may put my name among Mr. Turner's fub- 
 fcribers. Send me one copy. l{ upon perufal it 
 appears a proper prefent for any of my few acquain- 
 tance, I will very readily take a number. Upon the 
 fubjed of the church, and its government, I m^ufl 
 proceed with caution. 
 ■ I have, purely in compliance v/ith your requefl-^ 
 made a few animadverfions on Philander and Palemon; 
 Such offices I decline, for this, among other reaforis,- 
 that my friends may riot be led unawares to rely on a 
 broken reed, amidfl all the Janguors of enervated na- 
 ture ir 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 89 
 
 ture ', fuch mufl a better judgment and tafte than mine 
 - unavoidably be. 
 
 It would be a high delight to examine nature, and 
 admire her Maker, in your company, and with the aid 
 of your fine microfcope. Mr. Baker, I really think, 
 deferves your thanks, as he has given us an excellent 
 comment on thefe words of the Pfalmift, Marvel- 
 lous are thy works \ and has enabled us to add, And 
 that my foul knoweth 'right well. 
 
 You may draw upon me for any number of the 
 Faft Sermons, and your draughts will always receive 
 due honour. May the Lord Jesus, who was himfelf 
 crucified in weaknefs, vouch fafe to work by weak- 
 nefs i or in other words, by 
 
 Your truly afre(ftIonate, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER LVIIL 
 
 Weftorii Saturday E'vening, 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 YOU have our united thanks for your advice re- 
 lating to my old houfe ; but it is in a manner 
 /impoffible to practice it. As to danger, it is my opi- 
 nion, that it would ftand thefe ten years ; but I fully 
 purpofe, God willing, to abandon it at the clofe of 
 the fummer. I am cutting down fome timber, that 
 it may be ready for the faw-pit this year, and for the 
 building another year. 
 
 I have fent you Mr. Dry's Apology : though it is 
 written, it has been thrown by : I have feveral doubts, 
 whether my pen carries any edge, and whether the edge, 
 if there is any, be like the faw, or the razor: Is it of the 
 former kind ? then it will not anfwer my purpofe, and 
 will not gall and check the adverfaries of Christ and 
 
 M his 
 
90 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 his fervants, bTJt will give them occafion to triumph 
 more extravagantly. Upon this query judge rigo- 
 roufly, and the good Lord ftrengthen your judgment. 
 I have fome doubt, whether this kind of writing fuits 
 my character, as a minifter of Jesus Christ. Is it not 
 thtEvT^o^.7rBXioc which the apoftle condemns and banilhes 
 from the Gonverfation of Chriftians ? The principal 
 reafon to juftify fuch a manner of addrefs is, that no 
 other method feems to have the leaft probability of 
 fucceeding. All that is folid, thefe men will evade 
 by a fneer ; and all that is ferious, they will turn into 
 burlelque : ridicule is the only vein in which they 
 will bleed. 
 
 Have you any acquaintance who poflefs the humou- 
 rous and fatirical talent ? Could you get their opinion 
 and their retouches, and without blazing abroad the 
 matter ? If it is not fit for publication, I would have 
 it remain a fecret. A fecret it is in thefe parts : my 
 own relations know nothing of it : one perfon only 
 has icen it. 
 
 Should I mention the cafe of Mr. Goadby, page 
 II? Do you know any thing of him, or his Expofi- 
 tion ? He pretends to be a very ferious and holy 
 man. He once or twice came to fee me, at my bro- 
 ther's houfe, and talked very devoutly. Is it not 
 fbrange that fuch a perfon ihould be fo eager to Ipread 
 fo vile a book, as the Apology for the King of Beg- 
 gars ? Does not fuch inconfiftency in religious pro- 
 feffors, bring a reproach upon Chriftianity f Does it 
 not, fince it is a pubhc offence, deferve a public re- 
 primand P I have reproved this gentleman in a pri- 
 vate letter, but to no purpofe. 
 
 There is one paflage in the fourth page capable of 
 bearing a double entendre, where Dr. Bufby is intro- 
 duced, faying, " Then my Lady Birch fhall cool your 
 flame." But as it is fuppofed to be fpoken to a boy, 
 lure it muft be egregioufly wreiling of the fenfe, to 
 apply it loofely. However, fife this and . other paf- 
 
 fages 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 9! 
 
 fages with as much rigour (if it bepoflible for a bene- 
 volent heart to exercife fo much) as the Critical Re- 
 viewers will certainly ufe^ if this piece Ihould ev^er 
 come abroad. 
 
 I have not the Critical Reviews, therefore fome 
 references want to be filled up. But I can eafilv 
 borrow the former, and I can as eafily execute the 
 latter. I have fome thought of adding, at the end, a 
 letter written to me by a very ingenious young cler- 
 gyman, on feeing the remarks made by the Review- 
 ers on Mr. Jenks's Meditations j and like wife of 
 extracting the grols palTages of their calumny, and 
 printing them (together with the clergyman's letter) 
 cum notis variorum. I wilh you would read them 
 again, and put down an ironical obfervation or two. 
 Do not be unkindly modell here; your hints will 
 greatly aflift me. All this muil come in under my 
 own name. Verax, you will foon know, has made 
 his exit. Ho\y fhall I introduce fuch a thing natu- 
 rally and gra^'efuily? 
 
 I h^ve le|it the clergyman's letter, otherwife I 
 would have fent it for your perufal. It is truly ju- 
 dicious, and quite poignant, though not under the 
 veil of farcafm, but declaring the thing as it is. 
 The whole of this addition 1 wouki comprife in two 
 or three leaves. If you fnould think, when all points 
 are weighed, that the piece ought to fee the light, you 
 muft return it fpeedily. I have expunged my name; 
 and if you read or fhew the manufcript to any body, 
 it is of no confequence that the author be known; 
 but if it is publiilied, I apprehend I fnould put my 
 name to the title page. This I may venture to ima- 
 gine would promote its fale; and 1 fhould not be in 
 the lead unwilling to bear my teftimony againfl the 
 enemies of our Lord and his Qofpel: though I 
 muft exped fuch perfecution of xht pen as has not 
 
 often been known. 
 
 M 2 Let 
 
92 A SERIES OF LETTE^IS. 
 
 Let me hope for a continuation of your lively 
 thoughts on the fubjeftof Christ's religion, and beg 
 of you to remennber me, when you befeech the Fa- 
 tber of Lights to inform the ignorant, and teach them 
 in the way wherein they fhould go ; for I do alTure you ^ 
 I am very much at a lofs how to proceed. I iliall in- 
 treat our divine Mafter to direct your mind, that you 
 may be the melTenger of his will to, 
 
 A Brother in Christ, 
 
 J. HERVEYa 
 
 LETTER LIX. 
 
 December 31. 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 I AM juft come up from dinner, and who ihould be 
 there, but the Rev. Mr. Howen ! who was fo un- 
 
 feafonably zealous as to attack Mr. S on the 
 
 principles of Antipedo-baptifm. I was forry to ob- 
 ferve it, and thought it a breach of delicacy and pro- 
 priety in conduct, efpecially to do this to my guefl, 
 and at my table j therefore I took up the cudgels, and 
 perfonateda Baptill, I fear I made my opponent an- 
 gry, and I am apprehenfive I fhall be repreiented as 
 a treacherous or perfidious fon of the church. 
 
 Thanks, many thanks for your Eflay, and for alTur- 
 ing me, that it is an earned, as well as a gift. I wifli 
 you had penned the remarks that occurred on reading 
 the manufcript ; whether it is to be printed or not I 
 am ignorant. Mr. Wither fpoon's EfTay waits upon 
 you, together with a very candid letter which I re- 
 ceived by the lall poll. The latter you will return ' 
 by the firft opportunity. Jenks's Meditations is hke- 
 wife in the packet. I fhall overdo the matter, and * 
 make my recomimendadons thread-bare,, by fo fre- 
 quently repeating them. Marlhal on Sandtification 
 
 is 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 95 
 
 IS ready to come abroad, with a recommendatory let- 
 ter by Mr. H y. May our divine Mafcer and 
 
 Head turn all to his glory ! I was really averfe to 
 this bufinefs : when Ihall I be able tp withdand im- 
 portunity ? I hope Spencers Remarks on the Poe- 
 try of the Odyfiey will be of fingular fervice to the 
 Birmingham Dialogues in verfe. I think it is the 
 moft inilrucling work of the kind : to me it has been 
 far more ufeful than Longinus, or Dionyfius Hali- 
 cem. Shall not we fee you this Chriftmas ? For my 
 part I am not defirous of feeing many people -, buc 
 your comjpany will be always defirable^ becaufe I be- 
 Jieve it will always be a blefTmg to. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your affeftionate Brother, 
 
 J. HERVEY, 
 
 LETTER LX- 
 
 My dear Friendy 
 
 YOUR demand for a number of Sermons, to dif- 
 tribute among your neighboui"s, fliall be ho- 
 noured with due compliance: if the Lord pleafes to 
 make them acceptable or ul'eful, a frefh fupply fhall 
 be at your fervice, and come at your call. The 
 meaner fort, through fome flrange delay of the book- 
 feller or printer, are not yet publiflied, otherwife they 
 had been fent in this parcel. 
 
 I return your Synopfis Hijloria Sacra^ with thanks. 
 What comes from your pen, is more agreeable to me, 
 than what is detached from your library. The latter 
 is reilored, that the former may fucceed in its place. 
 Remarks upon the Aphorifms, and a Continuation of 
 the Pleafures of Religion^ are the favours defired and 
 expecledf 
 
 From 
 
94 A SERIES OF LETTERS, 
 
 From the Reviewers I expe6l no quarter ; but if 
 the caufe be Christ's, it is written. No weapon forrned 
 againft i/, Jhall projper, Mudge upon the Pfahns I 
 do not forget ; but at prefent I cannot get at it, nor 
 fhall I be able, till I remove my books, and change 
 my habitation. Mr. S — waits, therefore I detain 
 him and you no longer, than only to add, 
 
 Your Friend and Brother, 
 
 J. HERVEY, 
 
 LETTER LXI, 
 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 MR. S— ^ — has jufi: informed me, that he is fetting 
 out for Warwick. I dilmifs all other bufmeli^ 
 to write you a line. 
 
 I return, though with relu6lance, Neonomianifm 
 Unmaiked. I thought it had been your own by pur- 
 chafe, and mine by promife. I very much eileem it, 
 bccaufe of its excellent evangehcal doclrine i and 
 more, becaufe it is improved by feveral remarks from 
 your pen. If it does not really belong to another 
 perfon, I muft ilill maintain my claim. 
 
 You left two pamphlets, which are reilored. If the 
 obliging penman has executed his work in my firft 
 volume, let it come back with the bearer, and I will 
 fupply him with frefn bufinefs, and pay him my beft 
 thanks. 
 
 I have not been abroad 3 the weather has been ei- 
 ther fo damp, or fo cold. I hope your health is firm, 
 and your fpirits flow. May they both, devoted to the 
 beft of mailers, be eminently inftrumental in difplay- 
 ing his honour^ and advancing his interefts. 
 
 Moft cordially your's^ 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 LET- 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 55 
 
 LETTER LXIL 
 
 Wejiofty Friday Night, 
 
 My dear Friendy 
 
 T Hope by the newfman of next week, to fend you a 
 quarter of a hundred of the Sermons ^ they do not 
 come to me till to-morrow, or elfe they fhould be 
 tranfmitted to you fooner. Confiderino; the idle infio-- 
 nificance of our fleets and armies in Europe, and the 
 formidable advantages gained by the French in Ame- 
 rica, the voice of alarm feems to be more and more 
 needful. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, grant it may not found in vain, even from 
 thefe feeble lips ! 
 
 We begin to be under fom.e uneafy apprehenfions 
 about Mr. S . He has been unaccountably di- 
 latory in my mother's bufinefs : he talked of getting 
 her houfe ready to receive us in fpring, and he has 
 hardly done it by Michaelmas: ill it is true he was, 
 yet feldom confined to his room 3 generally able, if 
 not to work, yet to overfee workmen. He feems to 
 have but little regard to his word: if I fhould enter 
 into a bond Vv'ith him, has he any bottom ? Is he a 
 man of any fubftance? Sad things are conjedlured re- 
 lating to the caufe of his illnefs. I vv'ifh it may 
 prove a falfe furmife, but circumfiances look dark. 
 Your prudence will incline you to mention nothing of 
 this kind, only to have a wakeful eye on the occafion : 
 he appears to be a random conductor of bufinefs. 
 The bearer, his' carpenter, is obliged to come to 
 Warwick for frefh orders, which journey furely Mr. 
 
 S ihould have prevented, either by coming this 
 
 week, as he promifcd, or by giving ampler dircdions 
 before he left us. 
 
 Pray 
 
95 A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 Pray advife us how to proceed. In this requeft^ 
 as well as in cordial refpedls to yourfelf, my mother 
 and filler join with 
 
 Tour's, moil fincerelv, 
 
 ' J. H. 
 
 I 
 
 LETTER LXIII. 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 Return the fix numbers of the Appendix, together 
 
 with my thanks to you, for giving me this religious 
 entertainment, not omitting my poor prayers to God, 
 that the Lord may be feen over thefe faithful la- 
 bourers, and the arrow of the Gofpel may go forth 
 from their lips and their pens, as the lightning. 
 
 Whether S is returned to you, I know not. 
 
 He is gone from, thefe parts, but never called upon me 
 at his departure, nor I believe did he take his leave 
 of any one elfe; for he went off with precipitancy and 
 confufion, a writ being out againft him from the per- 
 fon of whom he bought the deals. Many more 
 debts came to li2:ht: feveral of the creditors have 
 been with me, defiring I would pay them, or help 
 them to get their money. The time afligned for 
 tiniHiing the houfe dravvs near: no chimney pieces, 
 locks, &c. provided; and now nobody will trufl that 
 unhappy man, for fo much as a pound of nails. How 
 I am to proceed, I am at a lols to difcern: may the 
 eye of Omnipotence be my guide! 
 
 The continuation of your thoughts on the fubjedt 
 of female education, will be a welcome favour. When 
 you afk what progrefs I make in this or that work, 
 you fetch a ligli from my bread : my ftrength is in- 
 deed become lAbour and forrow. In about three 
 weeks time, the leaves on the trees will be an exad: 
 emblem of mv (late. 
 
 As 
 
A SERIES OF LETTERS. 97 
 
 As to the Anfwer to Mr. Wefiey, I am not fully 
 determined; but if life is fpared, I am much inclined 
 to publifh it, hoping it may be a teilimony for the 
 grace of our God, and the righteoufnefs of his 
 Christ. 
 
 I fhall be glad to fee Mr. Johnfon's and Wither- 
 fpoon*s letters : will return them fpeedily and punc- 
 tually, as you muft return the inclofed little Poem : 
 it was written by a clergyman of diftindion, brought^ 
 I am told, to the knowledge of Christ, by Mr. 
 Whitefield's preaching. That he and you may have 
 many fuch feals to your miniftry, is the unfeigned de- 
 fire of^ 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your truly affedlionate Friend, 
 
 J. HERVEY. 
 
 LETTER LXIV, 
 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 ACCEPT my thanks for your advice, relating to 
 S ; the Lord dired: me how to procetd ! 
 
 I detain the bricks chiefly for my own fecuriry: if he 
 would go on, and finifh the houfe according to agree- 
 ment, he would find me not very rigorous in this or 
 any other article. 
 
 Herewith I iend you three quarters of an hundred 
 of the Thoughts on Sunday Vifits, and a dozen of the 
 Fall Sermons, My ftcck of the latter grows low : 
 and Rivington has fold off, a few fcores only excepted, 
 that vail imprefTion of fix thoufand ! which is the 
 more extraordinary, as there was an edition printed in 
 Scotland, and one or two in America. If God will 
 blels, who can blaft ? O may he blefs the perufal to 
 hi* own glory, as he has bleffed the faie to my profit. 
 
 N Herewith 
 
9S A SERIES OF LETTERS. 
 
 Herewith comes iikewii'e my contribution to Mr. 
 UndcrhilFs education. I have nothing more to add at 
 prefent — asbufy as it is compatible with my poor frame, 
 broken and enervated beyond expreflion, let me ex- 
 pect to fee fpeedily the continuation of your thoughts, 
 and ever to enjoy the continuation of your prayers for. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 Your Brother in Christ, 
 
 JAMES HERVEY* 
 
 LETTER LXV. 
 
 November 12. 
 My dear Friend^ 
 
 THave given my confent to Mr. S— — 's propofals. 
 ^ The articles are not figned : this I deferred, that I 
 might have opportunity to confult my acquaintance. 
 They informed me, that a bare note, drawn up and 
 figned by us both, will be of no force in law. Nothing 
 is a fecurity in this refpedb, but a bond, executed on 
 
 ftamp paper : as Mr. S has no bottom, is worth 
 
 nothing, even this, in cafe of default or negledl, will 
 be of no fervice. 
 
 There are feveral necefifaries, not mentioned in the 
 eilimate, fuch as hearth ftones, chimney pieces, floors 
 for hall, kitchen, &c. Thefe, to be fure, ought to be 
 provided in a manner fuitable to the ftile and genius 
 of the building. May I depend upon his integrity 
 as to fuch particulars ? 
 
 My mother complains that the hair ufed in her 
 mortar, was bad, and the laths not good; that upon 
 
 her objecting to the price, as exorbitant^ Mr. S 
 
 offered to have his bill and workmanfhip examined 
 by any impartial judge, and declared himfelf willing 
 to abide by his determinations from which off^er he 
 now recedes. 
 
 When 
 
A SERIES OP LETTERS. $9 
 
 When fhall I have done with fuch dry fubjeflsj 
 and receive nothing from you but thoie words which, 
 in their degree, are fpirit and life. The manufcript Poem 
 comes by the firft packet, and Mudge's Tranflation of 
 the Pfalms, which now is difengaged from a load of 
 other books, I am glad to fee a couple of new 
 Sermons publifhed by Dr. Gill; when Ihall I 
 fee fome pubhlhed by Mr. Ryland? Are you not 
 difpatching to the prefs your long-expe6led work: I 
 wifh much, if it be the Lord's will, to perufe it be- 
 fore I die. Will that gentleman, who kindly offered 
 to tranfcribe any Dialogues in manufcript, take the 
 trouble of writing into an interleaved copy, the alter- 
 ations and corredlions which I have occafionally made 
 in T heron and Afpafio ? This would be apiece of 
 fervice, and a welcome favour; fo much the more, as 
 they might be tranfcribed under your infpedtion^ and 
 receive an improvement from your pen. 
 
 I am, my dear Friend, 
 
 Inviolably your's, 
 
 J. HERVEY, 
 P. S, Do you correfpond with our trufty ingenious 
 friend Deniham ? Or can you tell me any tidings of 
 him ? Pray give us your opinion by the firft oppor* 
 tunity. 
 
 THE S N B. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 To THE Rev. Mr. V/hitefield. 
 
 Bear. Mr, Whitefield, Biddeford, 1741. 
 
 Y' O U R favour flruck me with an agreeable 
 furprize: I verily thought my ftubborn fiJence 
 had razed me from your remembrance i but fince 
 you flill have an afFedion for an ungrateful friend, 
 I take this opportunity of returning my thankful ac- 
 knowledgments. 
 
 I rejoice ro hear the Redeemer's caufe revives. 
 Set up thyfeif, O incarnate God ! above the heavens, 
 and diffufe thy glory throughout all the earth. Let 
 thy enemies perifh, O Lord ! Letdifappointments 
 attend the attempts of thy foes and the devices of 
 hell : but let thy fervants be profperous, and their 
 meira2:e crowned with fuccefs. 
 
 Dear Sir, I cannot boaft of trophies erected here 
 by the Captain of our falvation: I hope the arm of 
 the Lord will be revealed more and more amono- 
 us. I hope the trium.phs of Free Grace will have 
 wider fpread and freer conrfe, and prevail mightily 
 over our unbelief I own with fliame and forrow that I 
 have been too long a blind leader of the blind : my 
 tongue and my pen have perverted the good ways of 
 God : they havedarkened the glory of redeeming merit 
 and fovereign grace. I have dared to invade the preio- 
 gatives of an ail-fufiicient Saviour, and to pluck x}i\Q 
 
 A . crown 
 
ii APPENDIX. 
 
 crown off his head. My writings and difcourfes 
 have derogated from the honours^ the everlafting and 
 incommunicable honours of Jesus. They prefumed 
 to give works a fhare in the redemption and recovery 
 of a loft finner: they have placed thofe filthy rags 
 upon the throne of the Lamb, and by that means de- 
 bafed the Saviour, and exalted the finner. 
 
 But I truft the divine truth begins to dawn upon 
 my foul. O may it, like the rifing fun, fhine more 
 and more, till the day break in all its brightnefs, 
 and thefhadows flee away. Now was I polTeft of all 
 the righteous ad:s that have made faints and martyrs 
 famous in all generations: could they all be trans- 
 ferred to me, and might I call them all my ov/n, I 
 would renounce them all that I might win Christ. 
 I would not dare to appear before the bright and 
 BURNING Eye of God with fuch hay, ftraw and ftub- 
 ble. No. dear Sir, I would long to be clothed in a 
 Mediator's Righteousness, and afcribe all my fal- 
 vation to the moft unmerited and {rGc(\: grace. 
 
 I have juft been giving an exhortation to my 
 young brethren : I have warned them to remember 
 their Creator in the days of their youth. My 
 thoughts were led to the fubjedl by an alarming 
 Providence, which fnatched one of their fellows in 
 the gaiety and bloom of life. May the hand of the 
 Almighty fet home the word of his minifters: may 
 young perfons come in the vigour of health, to the 
 Redeemer's feet, and devote their warm affedions 
 to his fervice. And O may the preacher himfelf 
 both lead them in the way, and encourage them to 
 follow. Dear Sir, ceafe not to pray for me : defift 
 not to counfel me, fince I perceive you cannot for- 
 bear to love me. 
 
 I am, 
 
 Your's affedlionately, 
 
 JAMES HERVEY, 
 JEt. 27 years. 
 
 LET- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Ill 
 
 A Specimen of the Author'^ Correfpondence 'with 
 Mr. HERVEY. 
 
 Rev. and dear Sir, 
 
 THE kind favour of your letter dated December 2, 
 — came to my hands, but not till the nth, 
 otherwife I fliould have anfwered it by the laft return 
 of the news carrier. I thank you with all my heart for 
 your goodnefs to me : I read it again and again with 
 great pleafure: I fincerely fympathize with you in 
 your late indifpofition, and am glad you are fome- 
 thing better. I pray that our dear Redeemer may 
 long continue you with us, though for yourfelf it 
 would be better to depart and be with Him. As foon 
 as ever your remarks on Lord Bolingbroke were ad- 
 vertifed, I fent for them, and read them with the 
 greateft relifh and improvement. It has been fre- 
 quently a pleafing refled:ion with me, that whenever 
 an infidel of genius and learning has arofe in the po- 
 lite world, our Lord Jesus Christ immediately 
 makes it appear that he has faithful hum«ble fervants 
 in v^aiting, who, under his influence, with fuperior 
 clearnefs of thought, greater delicacy and beauty of 
 language, and demonftration of truth, plead his righ- 
 teous caufe, to the confufion of the adverfaries, and 
 the joy of his friends. 
 
 I will now proceed to confider the queftion you 
 did me the honour to propofe to me, which I will 
 attempt to anfwer with the greatell freedom and fim- 
 plicity of which I am capable j not that I imagine 
 myfeif capable of adding to your treafure one new 
 idea, but in order to fhew you my readinefs to oblige 
 you. The fubjedl propofed is moft delicious and im- 
 portant ; and what is more, I hope for a rich return 
 from my dear and honoured brother, v/hom I am 
 now addrelTing. The queflion you propofe to my 
 confideration, and on which you require my thoughts 
 concerning the righteoufnefs of Christ's life, its ex- 
 
 A 2 cellencv 
 
jv APPENDIX. 
 
 ceilency and peife(5lion ; that righteoufnefs which v?as 
 antecedent to his atoning death, and confifted in his 
 obedience to the whole moral law, I will attempt 
 feebly and imperfedlly to aniwer in the following 
 manner : — I believe that the whole human nature of 
 Christ, as foon as ever it was formed, and being in 
 the formation of it united to the eternal Person of 
 the Son of God, who was fully poflefTed of all 
 pofTible and infinite perfe6lions, and equal to the Fa- 
 ther and bleiTed Spirit. I fay, as foon as ever the 
 human nature was united to the Godhead in the 
 Perfon of the Son, it had a right to glory and blef- 
 fednefs above the law; but for the fake of his people, 
 he voluntarily confented to be made under the law, 
 by a fpecial appointment of God the Father. Be- 
 in^^ thus made under the lav/ by a peculiar confti- 
 tution, the law v/as v/rought into the whole contex- 
 ture of his heart: his mind had a clear and full per- 
 ception of its fpirituality and vaft extent : his will and 
 pure pafTions had a full propenfity to obey it; and his 
 whole human nature had an entire capacity and power 
 to yield the mod exa£t and perfect obedience all 
 throu*"yh life: that he was filled with all the gifts and 
 o-races of the eternal Spirit in their highell and 
 richefi perfe<ftion ; and, as the confequence of this, he 
 ' lived in the continued exercife of the vaft ftedfaft faith 
 in the divine perfections and providence : the moft 
 ardent love to tlie eternal God, the decpeft humility, 
 the mcft flaming zeal for the glory of his Father : 
 the moft exaft government of all his appetites and 
 pafTions : the ftrongeft love to all mankind as 
 creatures, and a fpecial good will to all his ele^l, 
 whom tlie Father had given him. That all thefe 
 oraces and this obedieiiCe was condnually influenced 
 by the infinite wifdom, goodnefs, love, holinefs, juf- 
 tice and truth pf bis divine nature, which poflTelfed 
 and animated his whole human framaC, and infufed 
 into ii, and all its operations, an infinite worth and gy.- 
 
 ceilency 
 
APPENDIX. V 
 
 celleiicy above all our corruptions and imaginations. 
 That in all this internal and external obedience of 
 Christ, there was an exa6l correfpondence to all the 
 moral perfe6lions of God : as they re'fided in the Fa- 
 ther, who flood up for the rights of the whole 
 Godhead, and demanded the perfect fulfilment of 
 the covenant ofv/orks, in order for man's falvation, 
 which was glorioufly performed by our adorable Je- 
 sus, in whom, through his whole life, even to death, 
 ilione the richeft conftellation of virtues and graces 
 that ever appeared, or can appear in our world. I 
 believe that all this was done by him, in the nature, 
 in the name and flead of his eled; ; and that, by virtue 
 of his divine nature, it was equivalent, yea, fuperior 
 to the obedience of all his people, fuppofing they had 
 never been guilty of defecftion from God : and I be- 
 lieve that this obedience is accepted of God at the 
 bar of juflice, and at the throne of his grace, as the 
 matter of our full and everlafling juflificaticn, in 
 conjun6lion with his atoning death, which fatibficd the 
 penalties of the law, and exhaufled all its curfes, I 
 believe with the pious and venerable Dr. Owen, 
 *^ That the righteoufnefs of Christ's life, with his 
 death, was the highefl act of obedience to God that ever 
 was or ever fhall be to all eternity." But, alas ! what 
 a mafs of darknefs and confufion is there in iny 
 heart ? How little do I know of this righteoufnefs, and 
 how broken and clouded are all my ideas ? Therefore, 
 to make my letter v/orth your acceptance, I will beg 
 leave to conclude with an immortal paragraph from 
 the judicious Witfius. " Uic via cftenditur ad me- 
 liorem terrefiri Paradijum et ad certiorem ftabilioremqui 
 f elicit atem^ ea qua Ada^nus txcidit. Hie riova Jpe^ perdi- 
 tis mortalibus allucet qu<s eograticr cjfe debet quo inex/pec- 
 iatior obvemt. Hie conditiones offeriintur qiiibus atenia 
 Jalus annex a eft ; conditiones non a nobis rurjus praftandes 
 quod ardnium dejpoyidere faeeret : Jed ah eo qui vita non 
 cxcedet antenuam vere dixerit, conjtamnatmn eft. Hie lu- 
 
 ddijftm-9 
 
vi APPENDIX. 
 
 cidiffimo J^lendore micant Jiupejjdoe Dei noftri vlrtutes 
 Japentiay potentiay Veritas^ juflitia^ Jantlitas^ honitas 
 f *A5{^9^wT3-ioj mijericordia et quis omnes fando ennmeitt T^ 
 De CEconomiay /^zo, 130. 
 
 I am very forry I have not room for the whole paf- 
 fage ; but doubtlefs your feled library is not deftitute 
 of fo excellent a book. I hope you received my laft 
 letter on the Satisfaction of Christ. I am wait- 
 ing with a mixture of impatience and pleafure for the 
 fulfilment of your kind promife. Freely cenfure me 
 if I deferve it. ^ 
 
 I am, 
 My moil dear brother in Christ, 
 Your*s more than I can exprels, 
 IVarwick, Bee, 13, 1752. JOHN RYLAND. 
 
 Part of a Letter to Mr. FIervey. 
 
 Imputation of Adam's Sin to all bis Children. 
 
 ORIGINAL fin, imputed precifely, confifts in 
 God's placing to the account of all Adam's children 
 thole unjuft and unlawful thoughts and adions which 
 he was the author of in his fir ft ad of rebellion, when 
 he ftood as the public head of all mankind, and God's 
 efteeming and judging as unjuft and evil, or guilty, 
 according to the nature of that firft grand adl of mofi: 
 aggravated fm, rebellion or dilbbedience. 
 
 ^be confequence and effe^s of tbis imputation of 
 cur firfi father' s fin to us. — We are born with an ugly, 
 deformed, corrupted foul and body, and are naturally 
 and necefiarily, according to the order of God's efTen- 
 tial jultice, under wrath, or a fentence of death, an ob- 
 ligation or bond to fufrer punifhm.ent. 
 
 Imputation of all the original and actual fins of the 
 ele^i to Christ. — It is an a(5t of God, of his fove- 
 reign and unchangeable will, whereby, on the confide- 
 ration of the finful and unclean natures and adions ' 
 of his people, he reckons and places to the account of 
 
 Christ 
 
APPENDIX. vix 
 
 Christ, their Head and Surety, all their perfonal 
 guilt, or their true and proper fins, and really account- 
 ing them as Christ's, on the footing of his own adt 
 as a fovereign Judge. He binds Christ down as a 
 guilty Perfon in the eye of the law, in all its utmoft 
 extent and force, without the leaft mitigation in the 
 proper room and Head of his eled:, and no other 
 perfon s. 
 
 l^he confequence of this pladng of original and a6iual 
 fin to the account of Christ. — He was from his 
 very birth under an obligation, a moral and un- 
 changeable bond, to pay for all his people the full 
 price of redemption : to offer a pure, fpotleis, recon- 
 ciling facrifice: to endure the evil of fuffcriiiff for their 
 evil adions, or undergo the very fame punifhment 
 which was due to them, to the end that he might 
 make a full satisfaction, or rather folution ; an 
 eternal and complete folution of their debt; and thus, 
 by paying. what was in our obligation to pay, and by 
 fuffering what was in our obligation to fuffer, we are 
 upon the footing of God's ftri61: and inflexible juftice, 
 releafed from paying or fuffering — our obligation is 
 for ever dilfolved. 
 
 Imputation of Christ'ji Right eoujnefs to his People. 
 — It is an a6t of God, as a Father and a juft 
 Judge ; an adt within God, of his meer good will or 
 free love, by which, on the confideration of the obe- 
 dience, the all-perfed and glorious * obedience and 
 atoning death of Christ, conndered as a price, or 
 facriftce, or punifhmcnt. He makes an abfolute 
 granp and gift of a true, real, perfec^t, juftifying righ- 
 
 * Christ's obedience was perfect with refpedl: to the inward 
 fprings of action, he havin;^ an exa6t iccliiude in his morai 
 powers : peifc'Ct with regard to the parts of the divine law in its vaft 
 Spirituality, extent and obligation 5 ptrfeil as to the various operations 
 of liis mind and body; perteCt as to the whole period ot his obedience. 
 
 teoufnefs 
 
viii APPENDIX. 
 
 teoufnefs or redtitude in the court of God, even that 
 rio-hteoufnefs of Christ hnnfelf, unto all the eledt, 
 and juftly accounting it as theirs, on his own gracious 
 and judicial ad. He releafes, or frees, from all obli- 
 gation to fuffer, and juftly grants them a right to all 
 kinds of bleflings, or all manner of good things, and a 
 firm and indifputable claim and title to eternal life. 
 
 ne conjequence of this placing of Christ'j holy 
 iiature and a5fionSy /ufferings and death to our ac- 
 count, — All this being reckoned to our perfons, in 
 God's eternal mind, we had before our converfion ; 
 yea, permit me to fay before our being ; before the 
 world; a fecret right in the eye of God, to pardon 
 and life, or a fecret right to all forts of bleflings, con- 
 fidered in union with, or related to Christ : yea, even 
 a right to the eternal pofieflion and enjoyment of the 
 adorable Godhead, to the utmoft of our immortal 
 powers and capacities. After regeneration, this fecret 
 right is laid open to us, and becomes pleadable by us. 
 
 My dear brother, I had your laft letter, for which I 
 am ftill more obliged — your friendfhip more endeared. 
 My next letter fhall confider the miftakes of Bax- 
 ter, Williams, Bifliop Stillingfleet and Do6lor , 
 
 with refpecl to imputation. AfTure yourfelf of the 
 utmoft exertion of my feeble powers to fubferve your 
 plan. You have with this No. II. III. and IV. If 
 the Lord Jesus permit, I v/ill accept of your moft 
 friendly invitation. I wifh you would expatiate freely 
 on the feveral names of Christ, in the manner you 
 have already purfued in the Contemplations, efpe- 
 cially where you run the parallel between Christ 
 and the fun, and the note on Rev. x. time fhall be 
 no longer. With Solomon's addrefs, will God in 
 very deed dwell with men ? — Improve my plan. 
 
 I am, dear Sir, 
 
 Inviolably your*s, 
 IFarwick, Dec, 3, 1753. JOHN JIYLAND. 
 
II 
 
 
 
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