A PLEA FOR RELIGION
AND THE
SACRED WRITINGS.
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BY TIE
MET: DATID SIMPSON, M. A.
•WITH A. LIFE OF THE AUTHOR B1
J. 1. TTIJL 1LIAMS, feSQ. F. S.A.
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A
PLEA FOR RELIGION
AND I "Hjj
THE SACRED WRITINGS; \ '
ADDRESSED TO THE DISCIPLES OF THOMAS PAINE, AND
WAVERING CHRISTIANS OF EVERY PERSUASION.
/ CONTAINING
THE AUTHOR'S DETERMINATION
WITH A
f CONTAINING
ion TO HATE R ELINflU jHJS CHAlt
IN THE ESTABLISHEdIcHURCH, £n& ON WHICH j
THAT DETERMINATION WAS FQUNDE-®". ■ /
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M.A.,
Minister of Christ Church, Macclesfield.
i He that believeth shall be saved i but he that believeth not shall be damned."—JESUS CHRIST.
a fleto lEbition,
EDITED BY HIS SON:
WITH A LIFE OF THE AUTHOR,
BT SIR J. B. WILLIAMS, LL.D. F.S.A.
LONDON:
JACKSON & WALFORD, 18, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD.
1837.
ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL.
/ •? ft ? **
Eccles, Printer, 101, Fenchurch Street, London.
ADVffi^^kENT.
Five and thirty years have elapsed since I con-
sidered it my duty to publish the Second Edition of
the "Plea for Religion," which my revered father
was alone prevented doing by his lamented death.
In addition to other claims on public regard, the
work is to be valued as an effective and permanent
vindication of Revealed Truth; and as having
been honoured of God, to the deliverance of many
from the awful bondage of infidelity.
Anxious for its continued usefulness, after the
issue of thirteen London, and various country edi-
tions, I beg to offer one to the'public, with many
additional notes, including a few of a very interesting
c-—. character from that of the Rev. John Gaulter, long
'G C since out of print, and which I have his permission
(£ V freely to use. The various statistics are adapted to
the present time.
A Life of the Author, from authentic documents,
by Sir John Bickerton Williams; a highly-finished
portrait, from an original painting; a facsimile of
autography; and a vignette of Christ Church,
Macclesfield ; will, it is believed, be considered
desirable appendages to the present edition.
DAVID SIMPSON.
Heavitree, near Exeter,
September 4, 1837.
LIFE
OF
THE REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M.A.
" Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man
is peace." Psalm xxxvii. 37.
" They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and
they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."
Daniel xii. 3.
THE LIFE
OF THE
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M.A.
Bokn 1745—Died 1799.
Several sketches of Mr. Simpson's history already
exist: the most minute, by the Rev. John Gaulter (')
and the late Rev. Edward Parsons ;(2) hut particulars
concerning him, unknown to his former biographers,
having come to light, an attempt is here made, aided
byMSS., and every prior narrative, to furnish another,
and more ample account. (3)
Mr. Simpson was born of respectable parents, on
the 12th of October, 1745, in the parish of Ingleby
Arncliffe, near Northallerton, in Yorkshire.
His father, whose name was Ralph, was a fanner;
and, naturally enough, designed this, his only living
son, for the same employment.
(1) Prefixed to his edition of the " Plea for Religion."
(2) Prefixed to his edition of the " Plea for the Deity of
Jesus."
(3) It may he here stated, that, with the reprinting of the
volume, to which the following narrative is prefixed, I have
nothing whatever to do.
b
ii LIFE OF THE
God, it was soon manifest, had otherwise purposed,
and although a narration of the occurrence which led
to the change, is liable to abuse; and, like the well-
known records of Colonel Gardiner's conversion, and
the appearance of Dr. Donne's wife, may, to some
readers, appear incredible—to others enthusiastical—
it cannot, nevertheless, he withheld. The statement
is Mr. Simpson's own ; and, as such, is entitled to deli-
berate consideration.
" When I was yet a hoy, and undesigned for the
ministiy, either by my parents or from inclination,
one Sunday evening, while reading prayers in my
father's family, suddenly a voice, or something like
a voice, called aloud within me, yet so as not to be
perceived by any of the persons who were kneeling
round me, f You must go, and be instructed for thg
ministry.' The voice, or whatever it might be, was
so exceedingly quick and powerful, that it was with
some difficulty I could proceed to the end of the
prayer, which was that form for families at the end of
the little book, called ' The Christian Monitor.' As
soon, however, as the prayer was ended, I made
request to my father to let me be trained up for the
ministry. I told him all I knew of the circumstance.
He, of course, denied my request, thinking it was
some whim I had got into my head, which would go
off again when I had slept upon it. But the voice, or
what shall I call it P gave me no lest, night or day, for
three weeks; when my ever dear, honoured, and in-
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. iii
diligent father gave way to my wishes, and put me into
a train of study, to qualify me for the university." (4)
It does not seem needful, in order to estimate the
foregoing account, to abate a single jot of the pity,
or ridicule, so often bestowed upon the dreams, and
visions, and voices, which are unconnected with what
is intelligible, or useful. It is necessary, merely, to
look at the circumstances, and results; keeping in
view, as a material fact, that the impression produced,
was free from every accompaniment of fanatical con-
ceit—from every thing that savoured of presumption,
or rashness.
The " call," of which Mr. Simpson speaks, induced
the utmost sobriety of mind; it was associated, as to
himself and many others, with consequences of ever-
lasting moment; and, so far from involving a disregard
to human learning, or an instantaneous obtrusion upon
the ministry, it inculcated the value of the one, by
directing to suitable preparation for the other.
Having acquired the rudiments of classical know-
ledge from the Rev. Mr. Dawson, of Northallerton,
Mr. S. was removed to Scorton, where, under the able
instructions of the Rev. Mr. Noble, (5) he was fitted for
the university, and then admitted to St. John's Col-
lege, Cambridge. Thither Mr. Noble followed him
with good counsel; and a letter, yet preserved, dated
(4) Theol. Tracts (infra), Oct. 1791, pp. 237—238.
(5) Some account of Scorton, and Mr. Noble may be seen
in the " Life of tbe Rev. T. Scott," p. 6, &c.
iv
LIFE OF THE
10th October, 1765, while congratulating him upon
having obtained a scholarship, evinces an earnest con-
cem, that he might " continue the same application"
as " at Scorton, and a regular deportment under the
many temptations, to which" he would," inevitably, be
exposed."(6) -^n example, by the way, of conscientious
care, and well-directed zeal, which deserves imitation.
Before Mr. Simpson left the university, his "ho-
noured master" was removed by death. " I saw
him," says a pupil, " when his last hour was fast
approaching; he was very sensible ; received me, as
he always did, with kind affection; was thankful for
my visit; and named you with tenderness. I attended
the funeral. Mr. Archdeacon Blackburn, and Lindsey
were there. The funeral was truly solemn. I could
perceive tears stealing down the cheeks of many.
Dickinson was so affected as to be scarce able to go
on with the service." (7)
At that time, the Rev. Theophilus Lindsey, whose
name has just been mentioned, and whom an existing
MS. describes as " heavenly, and his prayers fervent
and spiritual," was vicar of Catterick; nor had he then
embraced (or if he had, it was not known) the send-
ments which he afterwards espoused. There, Mr. S.,
in one of his earliest vacations, visited him ; and the
results which, through divine mercy, followed, were of
(6) The original MS.
(7) Letter from Mr. Joy to Mr. Simpson.—The orig. MS.
KEY. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. V
unspeakable importance, both to himself, and the
church of God.
On Mr. Lindsey inquiring, rather minutely, but
with genuine kindness, into the nature of Mr. Simp-
son's studies, and the employment of his time at col-
lege, the melancholy truth came out, that, notwith-
standing his education was, avowedly, for the Christian
ministry, he had no Bible.(s) This led to conversation;
an indelible impression was made upon Mr. Simpson's
mind; he was filled with conviction and remorse ; cir-
cumstances heightened his emotions ; reflection added
to their keenness; and, not long afterwards, being
stopped by a highwayman, who, presenting a pistol,
demanded his money, his " young blood" was frozen
with the thought, that now his soul was lost—for ever.
When the excitement, thus occasioned, had subsided,
his first care was to obtain a quarto Bible, with mar-
ginal references; the next, devoutly to study it.
His heart, like Lydia's, was, in fact, " openedin-
stead of disregarding any longer the unknown sufferings
of the "Just one," he believingly contemplated them
in connexion with his own transgressions; and, al-
though, to avoid the charge of methodism, which he
greatly feared, he endeavoured to conceal his altered
views, by preventing even his new Bible from lying
upon his desk; shame soon yielded to holy courage;
and the attractions of the cross increasing in clearness,
(8) And see the " Sacred Literature," vol. iii. p. 14, note.
vi
LIFE OF THE
and force, he confessed the despised name, and em-
ployed his tongue, and pen for God.
The volume which, before, he had criminally
neglected, was thus glowingly commended—" If a book
was professedly to come from God, to teach mankind
his will, what should we expect its contents to be ?
Should we expect to be told the nature and perfections
of God ? The nature and perfections of God are in the
Bible alone made known. Should we expect to know
how all things came into being at first P The Bible
alone declares it. Should we wish to know what the
Lord God requires of his creatures ? This the Bible
makes known — supreme love. Should we want to
know the reward of obedience ? The Bible points out
eternal joys. Would curiosity lead us to inquire the
reward of disobedience ? The Bible reveals extreme,
everlasting misery. Should we inquire what is our
duty to each other ? In the Bible it is written, as with
a sunbeam—Love all men as yourselves. Would we
know the original of those miseries, and disorders which
we observe in the world ? and how a merciful God can
permit them ? The Bible points to the cause, and
proclaims death and every evil, to be the wages of sin.
Would we know whence are those strange disorders, we
each of us feel in our own natures ? The Bible in-
forms us, we are all in a state of ruin—we are fallen
creatures. Would we discover how sin is pardoned,
our natures restored, and God's perfections glorified ?
Though this was hid from ages, and generations of the
RET. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. vii
heathen, the Bible makes it as clear as the sun—by
the death of Christ, and the operations of the Spirit.
What could we require in a book from God, that is not
to be found in the Bible P Secret things, indeed, are
therein concealed, but essential and useful things, are
clearly revealed.
" View the Bible in another light. Do we want his-
tory ? The Bible is the most ancient, and the most
entertaining, and the most instructive history in the
world. Do we want poetry ? The book of Job is an
epic poem, not inferior to Homer, Virgil, or Milton.
Does the lyric muse invite us P The Psalms of David
stand foremost in the lists of fame. Are we in a
melancholy mood ? Let us read David's Lamentations
over Saul, and Jeremiah's Lamentations. Do we want
strains of oratory ? The prophets, and Paul, are yet
amongst mortals unrivalled. In short, the Bible is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness — that the man of God
may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good
work."
The seriousness of Mr. Simpson soon caught the
eye of the late Rev. Rowland Hill, then also a student
at St. John's : they became intimate; they read toge-
ther in the Greek Testament, and evangelical publica-
tions; and always concluded with prayer.
Mr. Hill introduced him to other collegians who
were like-minded ; not, however, without consequences,
which, but for the same grace that supported the first
viii
LIFE OF THE
Christians, would have destroyed their fellowship, and
their religion. It was in allusion to these, that Mr.
Hill, in the journal of his first tour in Scotland, thus
expressed himself. " The university was then almost
in total darkness. No wonder, therefore, if for such
exercises, and for some other strong symptoms of a
methodistical bias, we were speedily marked, and had
the honour of being pointed at, as the curiosities of
the day. This did good : others joined us, to the num-
her of ten or twelve. Some of them were Nicodemian
disciples : others have proved bold and useful ministers,
and some of them, I trust, have been taken to glory."
Mr. Sidney, jealous for Mr. Hill's honour, thinks
that " Pentycross, Simpson, Robinson, and others,"
the parties referred to in the foregoing paragraph, did
not " possess his fire, energy, and unflinching bold-
ness."(9)
It may he so as to some of them; hut, as far as
Mr. Simpson is concerned, the representation, it is
thought, was a mistaken one; and as to Mr. Penty-
cross, " unflinching boldness" was his special charac-
teristic.
To narrate, in anything like detail, Mr. S.'s progress
in religious knowledge, is, for want of information,
impracticable; he threw out one hint, respecting it,
however, in a sermon, many years afterwards, upon
Ps. 126, v. 5, as to his reception of the spirit of adop-
(9) Life of Rowland Hill, p. 23.
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. ix
tion (in the comfort of which, it is believed, he, more
or less, walked to the end of life) which, whether re-
garded as to the fact itself, or the advice founded upon
it, or Mr. Simpson's manner, cannot he omitted. " My
brethren be not discouraged. They that sow in tears
shall reap in joy. You may find God to-morrow, next
week, next month, or next year. If you continue to
seek the Lord in simplicity, and sincerity, you are sure
to find. But you should look,and expect to find the Lord
every day, every hour, every moment, under every ser-
mon, under every chapter, under every prayer, under
every ordinance; yea, every hour of the day, when your
hands are employed in your daily calling. I say, you
must look, and expect to find the Lord every day, hour,
and moment. I well remember, when it first pleased
God to visit my own soul with this spiritual and evan-
gelical deliverance, I was sitting at breakfast in my own
room at Cambridge."
The time, to borrow the striking language of the
prophet Ezekiel, was a "time of love." His soul
was satisfied " as with marrow and fatness;" the
" peace," the satisfaction, peculiar to a " good man,"
to one "renewed in the Spirit" of his mind, and
which he consciously enjoyed, rendered all employ-
ments, except such as were spiritual, irksome and
insipid; so much so, as to endanger the neglect of
his proper studies. The attention he had, hitherto,
bestowed, almost exclusively, upon mathematical
science, was now directed, because more accordant
X
LIFE OF THE
with his taste, to theology; and, urged by the impe-
tuosity of his feelings, and a desire to preach, he
solicited permission to finish, without delay, his college
exercises. The distinction taught by Gurnall is an im-
portant one; but Mr. S. had yet to learn it—" that
when God calls us to be Christians, he calls us out of
the world as to our affections, but not as to our em-
ployment."(10)
Having been wisely detained the accustomed Terms,
he left the University with competent classical ac-
quirements. He, subsequently, added the Hebrew
language; and taught it, without the points. He took
his Bachelor's degree in 1769 ; that of M. A. in 1772.
Mr. Simpson was ordained, on the title of the Rev.
Mr. Unwin, whom Cowper has immortalized, to the
curacy of Stock Harward with Ramsden Bellhouse, in
Essex. The licence bears date the 24th of September,
1769, and is signed by Bishop Terrick, from whom, it
is presumed, he received orders.
Mr. Unwin had been Mr. Simpson's fellow student;
and, from the commencement of his religious course, a
firm and valuable friend; their new relation, however,
promising as it appeared, continued but a short time—
two years only. Mr. Simpson's determination to leave,
proved an occasion of regret to many: and there being
no sufficient reason for it, it seems difficult to acquit
(10) The Christian in Complete Armour, 2nd Part, p. 250.
4to.—1658.
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. xi
him of indiscretion. God, nevertheless, overruled it for
good—to himself, " in the way of instruction and hu-
miliationto the cause of religion, in the better qua-
lifying him for usefulness.
Under the sanction of the venerable John Newton,
and Mr. de Coetlogon, Mr. Simpson settled at Buck-
ingham. But his faithful preaching, though in accord-
ance with the national articles and homilies, soon
plunged him into difficulties. He was beset, by the
enemies of practical Christianity,on every hand; and
all the obloquy which pertained, at that time, to the
charge of methodism, was freely heaped upon him.
The celebrated Robert Robinson, with whom he
became acquainted at Cambridge, told him, by letter,
soon after his ordination, that he must " cry a sale of
character:" and he experimentally learnt now,what he
meant.
Nothing short of his removal would satisfy his ad-
versaries; and this, by means of the Diocesan, was
accomplished. The Bishop's impression may be in-
ferred from the remark he made to Mr. Simpson, after
hearing the whole case; a remark which, to some of
the bystanders, must have been exceedingly distressing;
as nauseous as though a draught of the " bitter water"
of "jealousy"(11) had been administered. " If, sir, you
are determined to do your duty, as a clergyman ought
to do, you must, every where, expect to meet with
opposition."
(11) See Numbers, 5.
xii
LIFE OF THE
The prayers of such as had derived profit from his
ministry followed him; and he lived, after he was se-
parated from them, in their affections. This was the
case, and it deserves notice, with Mr. West, founder of
the chapel at Gawcott, whose funeral sermon was pub-
lished by its first minister, (ls) the late Rev. Thomas
Scott, Jun.; with the Rev. W. Goode, M. A.,(13) Rector
of St. Ann's, &c., Blackfriars; and with the Rev. John
Goode, (14) of White Row, Spitalfields, not to mention
other members of the same excellent family. The
last named gentleman, in a letter to Mr. Simpson,
after detailing the benefit he had "received from his
preaching and prayers," and the obligation he felt to
give thanks to God in his behalf continually; adds,
with the emotion of a mind divinely enlightened,
" Alas! where was I wandering, when the Lord sent
you among us ? Where, but in the wilderness of this
world; lost to all care and concern about God, and
Christ, and Salvation." (1S)
In the year 1773, a year which the historian of
Macclesfield justly observes, ought ever to be memo-
rable with the inhabitants of that town, Mr. Simpson
removed thither, on the invitation of Charles Roe,
(12) 8vo.—1815. See p. 5.
(13) Life of the Rev. W. Goode, M.A., 8vo., 1828, pp. 8
and 9. 2nd edition.
(14) See an account of the Rev. John Goode, in the Evan-
gelical Magazine for 1831, p. 585.
(15) The original MS.
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. xiii
\
Esq.,(1G) and became, shortly afterwards, curate of the
old church.
He now married. The object of his affection, Miss
Waldy, of Yarm, was a lady of distinguished excellence,
and "soon prepared for heaven." She entered upon
that blessed rest the 16th of Sept., 1774, after a union
of about 15 months; leaving Mr. Simpson with one
daughter, Ann Waldy, to mourn her loss. The last
words she addressed to her attendants, were " Seek the
Lord. He is a glorious God. He is a gracious God;
and if you seek him he will be found of you." When
Mr. Simpson, several years afterwards, published his
discourse, upon the vast importance of true religion,(17)
he narrated her end; and associating her memory with
Milton's exquisite lines " on a virtuous young lady,"
remarked, that they were seldom more applicable.
In October, 1776, he married again : and by Mrs.
Elizabeth Davy, the object of his second choice, had
three children; the youngest died in infancy; the
eldest, as we shall see presently, was " taken away,"
shortly before her parents; and the second yet lives,
bearing his father's name, and serving his father's God.
Mr. Simpson's unceasing activity, his uncompro-
mising opposition to sin, and his cordial support of the
Wesleyans, who had now visited Macclesfield, brought
(16) Mr. Simpson's account of Mr. Roe may be seen in his
discourse on Beneficence. Several Discourses, p. 420, &c.—
Oct. 1789.
(17) Several Discourses, p. 131, &c.
xiv
LIFE OF THE
upon him there, as at Buckingham, the wrath of the
ungodly. They, indeed, set themselves in the most
hostile array; they censured his preaching, they reviled
his character, they appealed to the Bishop. Dr. Mark-
ham needed no arguments; he at once silenced him ;
angrily observing, that, to him, the Methodists owed
all their success in Macclesfield. " My Lord," he
replied," I cannot take this honour to myself."
But, as of old, " the things which happened, fell out
rather, unto the furtherance of the gospel." Suspension
was the signal for itinerating; and, after the example
of the first Christians, when scattered by persecution,
" he went every where preaching the Word ;" and such
was his success, that he continued the practice long
after the cause had ceased; he continued it, to some,
but less extent, until prevented by infirmities. When he
ceased in part, he did so, only because, as he observed,
the Methodist preachers were then generally received,
and societies formed in the villages he had visited; so
that there was not the same necessity for his exertions,
as before.
The nomination to the prime curacy of the church,
at Macclesfield, is in the Mayor pro tempore. A vacancy
occurring at a time when Mr. Gould, who was friendly
to Mr. Simpson, filled the office, he had the offer of it;
he accepted it. But, notwithstanding a new and, hap-
pily, different Bishop filled the See, every stratagem
within the reach of human ingenuity was tried, and
every effort that inveterate malice could prompt, was
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. XV
made, to prevent his induction. His adversaries ral-
lied all their strength; they confederated, they wrote,
they petitioned, and they presented against him, in due
form, no less than seventeen charges; all which, to
their excessive mortification, Dr. Porteus reduced to
one: namely, that he was a Methodist, and that his
preaching tended to increase the sect.
Neither Mr. Simpson, nor his advocates, accounted
this any disgrace; and in a letter of vindication, which
he addressed to his Diocesan, the matter was thus stated:
" My method is to preach the great truths, and doc-
trines, and precepts of the gospel, in as plain, and
earnest, and affectionate a manner as I am able. Per-
sons of different rank, persuasions, and characters come
to hear. Some, hereby, have been convinced of the
error of their ways, see their guilt, and the danger
they are in, and become seriously concerned about
their salvation. The change is soon discovered ; they
meet with one or another who invite them to attend
the preachings, and meetings among the Methodists;
and, hence, their number is increased to a considerable
degree. This is the truth. I own the fact; I have
often thought of it, but I confess myself unequal to the
difficulty. What would your Lordship advise ?" (ls)
Throughout the conflict, Mr. Simpson's deportment
was exceedingly dignified, and ornamental. Former
" tribulation " had endeared to him the Christian's
(18) Original MS.
xvi
LIFE OF THE
" refugeand it had worked " patience," and humility,
and self-control. While his opponents were frantic
with enmity, and gave full scope to their scorn and
rage, he (he assured the Bishop (19) it should he so)
studiously imitated the silence, and the meekness of
his heavenly Master.
Ere the contest ended, Mr. Roe, in fulfilment of a
vow made when young—that, if successful in business,
he would erect a church, in token of his gratitude to
God—offered' to build one for Mr. Simpson. This
offer Mr. Simpson—not wishing, as he expressed it, to
preach to a people who hated him—gladly embraced;
and, without delay, proposed to his opponents—which
they admitted was generous—that, if things could be
so adjusted, as to give him legal security in the new
incumbency, he would resign the preferment he then
enjoyed. The terms were agreed to : an elegant
structure, called Christ Church, was consecrated,
and Mr. Simpson, on the 31st of December, 1779,
duly licensed to it, by Bishop Porteus. According
to his engagement, he quitted the old church, and,
thenceforward, fulfilled his ministry without interrup-
tion.
When Mr. Simpson was called to pass through the
troubles, thus briefly narrated, it was not so easy as,
through the mercy of the Most High, it is now, for
" awakened ministers" (they are Mr. Newton's words)
(19) Letter to the Bishop.—Original MS.
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. xvii
in the Establishment, to have personal intercourse with
"brethren in Christ Jesus." Such men, at that time
of day, were thinly scattered, and, wherever found, had
their names cast out as evil. Association was, naturally,
the more sought, as was the case in the apostolic age,
by letter; and many MSS. yet remain to illustrate,
in the instance of Mr. Simpson, its nature and ad-
vantages: the Rev. John Berridge, of Everton; the
Rev. Rowland Hill; the Rev. Thomas Robinson, of
Witcham (afterwards of Leicester); the Rev. John
Fletcher, of Madeley; the Rev. H.Venn, of Yelling;
and the Rev. William Romaine, must be especially
mentioned; since from all those eminent persons, as
well as Mr. Hey, of Leeds, and many others, existing
documents discover, not only that devotedness to God
for which they are severally renowned, but that affec-
donate kindness, and sympathy, and concern to
strengthen each other's hands, which marked those,
who refreshed the earliest Christian sufferers. They
" agreed to remember each other in their solemn pre-
paration for each Lord's Day, by retiring on the
Saturday evening, from six to seven, for prayer; to
implore of the Lord, for themselves and the people,
all spiritual blessings." (20)
Before proceeding with the narrative, a few speci-
mens of the correspondence referred to, shall he intro-
duced.
(20) Letter from the Rev. H. Venn to Mr. Simpson.—
Orig. MS.
c
xviii
life of the
" My very dear, much honoured, because
much persecuted, friend and brother, Your
most worthy friends, Mr. and Mrs. Roe, did me the
favour, this morning, to eat a breakfast with me.
Blessed be God, disinterested souls shall be borne
through. Our greatest honour is to he sufferers for
God. No Cross no Crown. Twice have they cast
you out. I dare not direct; all that I can say is, for
myself, I bless the Lord I am entirely his, and daily
find the portion of the outcast is a happy one indeed.
However, is not your way plain P Another door opens,
in which none can molest you. Be sure of this: not
a hair of your head can ever be touched for preaching
under toleration : nor can it hinder you of any pre-
ferment that shoidd offer. The canon law is nothing,
having never had any parliamentary ratification. This
Judge Blackstone has publicly declared. Though I
preach in licensed places continually, yet more
churches are open to me than I can serve. Thou-
sands in this city flock to hear, yet multitudes go away
for want of room. Ecclesiastics roar, as Luther says,
like bears struck on the snout; yet this, they know,
is all they can do. Your share of humility and diffi-
dence I long for exceedingly; yet a little courage to
face the devil may not be amiss. The Lord knows
how difficult it is to keep measures with the wretched,
much-to-he-pitied, church governors of the present day.
As I can sincerely assure you I love you affectionately,
do let me hear from you how matters are to turn.
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. xix
Direct for me, at Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire.
There is my parish: my church is a meeting-house.
Those parts, of late, have heen remarkably evan-
gelized. Happy should I he, indeed, to see you
there, with Mrs. Simpson, if you could spare time.
This, perhaps, you may do while your church is
building. N o doubt you have heard your poor fellow-
pilgrim has got a wife as well as yourself. Next to
the blessing of redemption, she is my greatest. Pray
for us both. Dear Charles (21) sends his love. I saw
him yesterday, and to-morrow I preach for him at the
Lock. Thus, blessed be God, rams' horns and silver
trumpets sweetly coalesce. I congratulate you upon
being a father. That the choicest of blessings may
rest upon you in every relationship in life, is the sin-
cere prayer of your ever affectionate Brother,
"ROWLAND HILL."
" Rev. David Simpson,
" Macclesfield, Cheshire." (22)
" Bierly, Sept. 5, 1774.
" My good Brother,—I did not answer your
letter, because I would have you to wait a little. You
know I have been accustomed to such treatment as
you have met with, and I have lived to see the good-
ness of God's dealings with me. It seems to me
(21) The Rev. Thomas Charles, of Bala.
(22) The original MS.
xx
life of the
worth your while to wait a little upon the Lord.
Don't hurry: you may take a hasty step, and repent
it all your days. Wait, I say, upon the Lord; he
may teach you why he silenced you. You may see
it was for your good. He wanted to teach you sub-
mission, to break your own spirit, and curb your
self-will; perhaps he intended to humble you, and so
to fit you for more usefulness; that having done his
work at Macclesfield, you might rely more upon his
grace in labouring for him elsewhere.
"You ask me my opinion. I give it you freely.
If you follow Providence, it speaks plain. You are
not shut out of the Lord's vineyard, but only called
to labour in another part of it, where the door is open
for you. Providences, in such cases, speak as plain
as Scripture. Pray to the Lord to make his will yours,
and I doubt not in the least, hut you will see your way
here as plain as I do; and if you accept it, may our
Divine Head bless you abundantly, and give you a
large Yorkshire harvest. I am, with great respect,
yours, very sincerely,
"W. ROMAINE."
" Rev. D. Simpson." (23)
" Madeley, 4th August, 1770.
" Rev. and dear Sir,—I have sometimes preached
in licensed places, hut have never been censured for it.
(23) The original MS.
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. Xxi
Perhaps it is because my superiors in the church
think me not worth their notice, and despair of shack-
ling me with their unevangelical regularity. If the
Bishop were to take me to task about this piece of
irregularity, I would observe—1. That the canons of
men cannot overthrow the canons of God. Preach the
Word. Be instant in season and out of season ; the
time cometh, and now is, when true worshippers shall
worship, particularly and exclusively of other places,
neither on Mount Gerizim, nor on Mount Zion; but
they shall worship every where in spirit and in truth.
The contrary canons are Jewish, and subversive of the
liberty wherewith Christ has made us free ; yea, con-
trary to the right of Churchmen, which must, at least,
include the privileges of Dissenters. 2. Before the
Bishop shackled me with canons, he charged me to
look for Christ's lost sheep that are dispersed abroad,
and for his children who are in the midst of this
wicked world; and these sheep, &c. I will try to
gather whenever I meet them. We have a general
canon—While we have time, let us do good to all men,
and especially to them of the household of Faith.
Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every
creature willing to hear it. A justice of peace would
once prosecute me upon the Conventicle Act; but
when it came to the point, he durst not do it. Some
of my parishioners went and complained to the Bishop
about my conventicles. I wrote to the registrar, that
I hoped his Lordship, who had given me the above-
xxii
LIFE OF THE
mentioned charge at ordination, would not be against
my following it: that I thought it hard the tipplers
should have twenty or thirty tippling-houses, the Dis-
senters three or four, and the Papists one, meeting-
house, in my parish, undisturbed, and that I should be
disturbed, because I would not have God's Word
confined to one house. And that, with respect to the
canons, it would be absurd to put them in force against
preaching clergymen, when they were set aside with re-
spect to catechising, tippling, gaming, carding clergy-
men. That I did not desire his Lordship to patronise
me, in a special manner, in the use of my Christian
liberty; but that I hoped he would connive at it.
Whether they received my letter or not, I do not
know; but they never attempted to molest me. As I was
speaking on the head of preaching in licensed places,
or Dissenting meeting-houses, with the late Mr. White-
field, he told me, that when a minister of the Church
of England did read the common prayers, there was no
law against him; and that the Church clergy do so,
very frequently, in America.
" The questions of your letter are most of them out
of my sphere; but they may be properly answered
by a worthy servant of Christ, the Rev. Mr. John
Ryland, minister of the new chapel at Birmingham,
whose case is somewhat similar to yours. This chapel
was built upon the estate of a serious lady, who got it
consecrated, and presented him. I design to send
him your letter, and desire him to give you and your
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. xxiii
worthy patron [to whom I beg you would present my
Christian respects] all the intelligence he can ; only he
modestly and steadily hold for God, and your enemies
will be more afraid of you, than you of them ; or, if
God will honour you with the badge of persecution, he
will comfort and bless you the more for it. May the
God of all grace and power be with you more and
more—ask it, dear sir, for your brother, and servant
in Christ.
"J. FLETCHER."
" The Rev. Mr. Simpson,
" Macclesfield, Cheshire." (24)
" Everton, near Biggleswade, Bedfordshire,
" August 8th, 1775.
" Dear Sir,—Your letter, for want of full direc-
tion, first rambled to Woburn, and then was remanded
to London, before it visited Everton. This accounts
for my tardy answer. When I began to itinerate, a
multitude of dangers surrounded me, and seemed
ready to ingulph me. My relations and friends
were up in arms; my college was provoked; my
Bishop incensed; the clergy on fire ; and the church
canons pointing their ghastly mouths at me. As
you are now doing, so did I send letters to my
friends, begging advice, but received unsatisfactory,
or discouraging answers. Then I saw, if I meant to
(24) The original MS.
xxiv
LIFE OF THE
itinerate, I must not confer with flesh and blood, but
cast myself wholly upon the Lord. By his help, I did
so, and made a surrender of myself to Jesus, expecting
to be deprived, not only of my fellowship and vicarage,
but also of my liberty. At various times, complaints or
presentments were carried to my college, to successive
archdeacons and bishops; and my first diocesan frankly
told me I should either be in Bedlam or Huntingdon
gaol by and by. But, through the good blessing of my
God, I am yet in possession of my senses, my tythes,
and my liberty; and he who has hitherto delivered, I
trust will yet deliver me from the mouth of ecclesiastical
lions, and the paw of worldly bears. 1 have suffered
from nothing, except from lapidations and pillory treats,
which yet have proved more frightful than hurtful. If
you are invited to go out, and feel yourself inclined to
do so, take a lover's leap, neck or nothing, and commit
yourself to Jesus. Ask no man's leave to preach
Christ; that is unevangelical and shameful. Seek not
much advice about it; that is dangerous. Such advice
I found, generally, comes the wrong way—heels up-
permost. Most preachers love a snug church, and a
whole skin; and what they love they will prescribe.
If you are determined to be evangelically regular, i. e.
secularly irregular; then expect, wherever you go, a
storm will follow you, which may fright you, but will
bring no real harm. Make the Lord your whole
trust, and all will be well. Remember this, brother
David! for if your heart is resting upon some human
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. XXV
arm for support, or if your eye is squinting at it for
protection, Jesus Christ will let you fall, and roll you
soundly in a kennel, to teach you better manners. If
you become a recruiting serjeant, you must go out
—duce et auspice Christo. The Lord direct, assist,
and prosper you. Grace be with you, and your much
affectionate friend and servant,
" J. BERRIDGE."
" To the Rev. Mr. Simpson,
" At Macclesfield, Cheshire." (25)
Mr. Simpson being settled at his new church,
" abounded," as was the case, indeed, before, (26) " in the
work of the Lordand, in proportion as his " manner
of life," the courteousness of his demeanour, his can-
dour, and benevolence, and consistent piety were
known, he became the object of general confidence,
and respect. Mr. Venn, addressing him by letter,
gave utterance to the high esteem he felt for his friend,
and his piety, in the following terms; complimentary,
indeed, but, no doubt, perfectly sincere.
" I shall never forget you till I forget my Lord,
(25) The original MS.
(26) The Sermon he published in 1774, on the office, and
duty of a Minister of the Gospel (see infra), states, on its
title-page, that it was " first preached, and was published, with
design to obviate some objections made to the author, for using
too much diligence, in the work of the ministry."
xxvi
LIFE OF THE
and his blessed truth ; both which are made, by his
adorable grace, very dear to your soul." (27)
Like impressions were produced upon many; and
an appalling occurrence, which happened on the 14th
September 1777, served to deepen them. The allu-
sion is, to a smart shock of an earthquake, extending
through a circuit of more than three hundred miles.
It was felt at Macclesfield, just at the time when
Mr. Simpson, and his congregation were assembled for
worship. Alarm quickly spreading, it was buzzed,
that an uncommonly high tower, then only recently
finished, was falling: the people fled to the opposite
doors ; the noise and confusion, owing to the entrances
being instantly blocked up, by persons either thrown,
or fallen down, was indescribable. But Mr. Simpson,
so far from participating in the terror, discovered the
calmest fortitude, and remained in complete self-pos-
session, at the communion table, where he was when
the panic began, until it had nearly subsided. His
whole demeanour proclaimed, that, had "the bride-
groom " then come, he was ready.
His conduct as a minister is entitled to more than
a mere passing notice—it deserves special observation.
He devoted the afternoon of every Monday, and an
hour on other days, excepting Saturday and Sunday,
to listen to the wants of the inhabitants. At their
command, he placed his knowledge of law and physic,
(27) The original MS.
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. XXvii
which was considerable. For the sick poor he provided
medicine ; he assigned a large collection of books for
the gratuitous use of the district; in order that religi-
ous tracts might be disseminated, he entrusted copious
supplies of them to hawkers, with, oftentimes, little
prospect of payment; he formed a female friendly
society, an institution then unprecedented ; he estab-
lished a weekly lecture in the church; he founded
charity schools, and, for several years, superintended
them.
He shone in the pulpit with peculiar lustre. Be-
sides a good enunciation, and a well-disposed voice, his
emphasis was placed with singular correctness. Com-
petent judges considered the lessons explained " as he
went along;" and one individual is said to have been
" converted," by hearing him recite that beautiful
verse of Dr. Watts—
" Let those refuse to sing
That never knew our God;
But children of the heavenly King,
May speak their joys abroad."
He always read his discourses ; not, it is believed,
so much from choice, as the want of confidence. He
said, that attempting to preach a charity sermon at
Congleton, extempore, he became " confused," his
ideas fled, and he was obliged to conclude abruptly.
Owing to the intense earnestness of his manner, and
his uncompromising fidelity, his sermons were listened
xxviii
LIFE OF THE
to with an unusually deep interest. His church was
filled—usually thronged. Some of the audience tra-
veiled, when the weather was favourable, as many as
five, eight, or ten miles. So great was his popularity,
that one gentleman went forty miles to hear him. The
Lord's table was, commonly, attended by six or seven
hundred communicants.
The themes upon which he delighted to dwell, were
the most momentous that can engage attention : the
apostacy and depravity of man; his redemption by
Christ; the indispensable necessity of regeneration; of
faith in Christ; and the fruits of righteousness. But
the following selection, made almost at random, from
the titles of his MS. sermons, especially in connexion
with the list of his writings at the end of this narrative,
will best present the matter to the reader. " On the
harmony of the divine attributes in the redemption of
the world—on the gospel method of salvation—on
the trinity—on the ministry of reconciliation—on the
new creature—on regeneration—on the parable of the
sower—on the loth Psalm—on sacrifices—on Solo-
mon's experience—on the royal law—on St. Paul's
description of charity—on the parable of Dives and
Lazarus—on the unsearchable riches of Christ—on
Solomon's exhortation to young men—on our Saviour's
sermon on the mount—on the mercy of God—on the
love of God—on the proof of our love to God—on the
promises of God—on seeking and finding God—on the
Iriends of Christ—on the consolations of God—on the
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. xxix
1st Psalm—on the greatness of the gospel salvation—
on the heavenly mansions—on the teachings of God
—on the grace of God—on the divinity of our blessed
Saviour—on assurance of faith—on salvation by grace
—on dedication to God—on the fruits of faith—on
Christian perfection—on the last judgment."
The style of Mr. Simpson's discourses was remark-
ably clear; and in his preparations he often borrowed
largely; commonly, when that was the case, he no-
ticed upon the cover of his MS. the authors employed.
Davies was his favourite, and he was thought much to
resemble him; he, however, drew freely from other
writers, such as Ogden, Jortin,and Horsley; Bellamy,
Robert Walker, and Witherspoon. Of the last two he
was accustomed to speak with great approbation. He
lauded Butler's Analogy, and stated, as a recommen-
dation of it, that, amidst all the fluctuations he had ex-
perienced from the contradictory, and plausible opinions
of men, no other volume gave him so much satisfac-
tion.(28)
Mr. Simpson's reading was more extensive and
multifarious, than that of most lovers of books ; but it
was professional, and, ordinarily, directed to the eluci-
dation, or defence of revealed truth. This arose from a
sense of duty, from preference, and from the per-
plexity he had long suffered, upon some subjects of
(28) Miscellaneous Tracts, p. 493.
XXX
LIFE OF THE
supreme importance. He has mentioned (29) "the
soul;" and" the divine, and atoning Saviour." The
circumstance last noticed, explains the anxiety his
writings every where evince, to promote the study of
Holy Scripture; to vindicate its authority; to allure
by its beauties; and to demonstrate the happiness,
which is inseparable from its cordial belief. But,
although in seeking these ends, he manifests an al-
most inordinate attachment to compilation, the habit
was not indulged, because, as Bentley intimated of
Warburton, his appetite was'stronger than his diges-
tion ; nor from any love of display; but from a desire
to satisfy, and please; both which he, evidently, con-
nected with accumulation, and variety. Hence, what
he wrote was profusely illustrated, either by anecdotes,
or narratives, or poetry, or the opinions of others. His
annotations upon some subjects, furnish a bibliogra-
pher's manual.
Whether, however, he compiled or composed, and
whether what he prepared, was intended for the pulpit
or the press, there was nothing about him, either stilted,
or pompous; there was the ardour only of a man of
God, intent upon the salvation of men; and that plain,
and pointed form of address (30) was employed, which,
(29) Miscellaneous Tracts, p. 493.
(30) A young man—so searching on one occasion was the
discourse—actually knelt down upon the Bible, at his return
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. XXxi
how little soever it suited the fastidious few, was, in
his opinion, alone adapted for the many. He said,
sometimes, when speaking of certain tracts drawn up
for the poor, " They are too well written; these ji-
nished things arc not striking enough; a person must
be content to forfeit some of his fame as an elegant
writer, if he would be useful."
By early rising, and unremitting industry, Mr.
Simpson prepared many volumes (several of them
large ones) for the press, to the amazement of even
his friends. " When I look at you," says Mr. Robin-
son, of Leicester, himself a voluminous writer, " and
consider the quality and variety of work you are able
to attend to, I am ashamed of my own negligence, and
inactivity. I desire to bless and praise our gracious
God, who still supports and prospers you in his ser-
vice, and hath given you a pen to write, as well as a
tongue to speak, in defence of his truth, and in attes-
tation of his grace. I am astonished that you have
leisure enough, to enter so thoroughly into these sub-
jects; and that, with all your other ministerial engage-
ments, you should stand forth, with so much ability to
repel the insolent attacks, of the adversaries of our
faith." (31)
In those efforts at usefulness, Mr. Simpson exem-
from church, to curse him : hut the same individual afterwards,
the hand of death being upon him, desired both his presence,
and his prayers.
(31) Letter to Mr. Simpson.—Original MS.
xxxii
LIFE OF THE
plified the honesty of his opinion, already cited, as to
style. Occasionally, it must be acknowledged, he
rendered it too plain; it amounted, when the names
of living persons were mentioned, to offensiveness;
hut it was invariably frank, and staking. Its perspi-
cuity added greatly to its force. There is a heart
about it, which, while convincing the reader both of
the author's sincerity and benevolence, excites, like
the bluntness of Latimer, and South, and Leslie, more
powerfully than any polished composition. The good
effected by his pungent counsels, and astounding ex-
postulations, will be among the discoveries of the last
day.
For a time, Mr. Simpson superintended a classical
seminary; and about the year 1781, opened a school
for young people of both sexes, the principal share of
the toil of which, he took upon himself. At one period,
more than one hundred and sixty scholars were in at-
tendance; and, during the winter months, an hour or
two in the morning, by candle-light
He thought, subsequently, and expressed his regret
on account of it, that his early discipline had been too
severe. It should, however, be remarked, that his me-
thod of illustration, in those readings which formed a
part of his school exercises, was so engaging, as to
convert the exercise, commonly, in the estimation of
the pupils, into an agreeable relaxation.
He established a Sabbath charity-school, " long be-
fore the worthy Mr. Raikes, of Gloucester, formed his
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. xxxiii
plan ;"(32) and, besides constantly visiting it on Sunday
evenings, attended, as well as his curate, once a month,
to catechise, and instruct the senior scholars. This
roused attention, and, regarding the large attendance
of spectators as a favourable omen, he commenced at
the school, on Wednesday evenings, a course of exposi-
tion on the " Pilgrim's Progress/' The service was
conducted in an upper room, and so crowded was it the
first time of being used, that one of the beams gave
way, and numbers were precipitated to the bottom.
To one young woman the fall proved fatal; and to
many, a serious injury. But the calamity, painful as
it was, instead of diminishing, increased Mr. Simpson's
desire to do good; he speedily recommenced his la-
hours, on the ground floor, though more incommodious
than the other, and continued them until prevented by
disease, the year before his death. Multitudes were
benefited. He noticed, with delight, that his greatest
success had been among the young; a result to which
his habitual cheerfulness, and condescending kindness,
must have greatly contributed. While revering him
as their pastor, they rejoiced and confided in him, as a
companion, and a friend.
In evidence of the minuteness of his attentions to
them, it may be mentioned, that into the first edition
of the Psalms and Hymns, compiled for his congrega-
tion, he introduced some compositions, which " may
(32) Gentleman's Magazine, vol. lxix. p. 352.
d
xxxiv
LIFE OF THE
rather be called divine poems," expressly with a view to
their improvement, and entertainment.''(33) In the sub-
sequent edition these were omitted. The Preface to both
copies is worthy of perusal; it discovers Mr. Simpson's
love of music, and anthems, and organs; it advocates
singing by the whole congregation; and the use, also,
" of hymns" as well as psalms, in religious worship. The
support he thus gave to hymnology, probably had re-
ference to Mr. Romaine's sentiments on the subject,(34)
which, strange as it may seem, were quite contrary.
Mr. Simpson's occasional and distant services, were
numerous. For several years, on the invitation of the
Rev. Dr. Bayley, he preached at St. James's Church,
Manchester, during the days of the race week; and the
congregations were attentive, and overflowing.
He frequently visited the neighbouring villages.
When the churches were not open to receive him, he
boldly proclaimed the gospel in private houses, or the
open air.
For a long season he went, once a quarter, to Bullock
Smithy, (35) near Stockport; and scarcely ever, without
some visible success. On one of those occasions, he
(33) The Preface.
(34) Essay on Psalmody. Mr. Romaine's Works, vol. v.
p. 1, &c.
(35) It was there that Mr. Simpson, in the year 1790, as-
sisted the Rev. John Wesley at the opening of a chapel. He
read the Church Service, and Mr. Wesley preached from
Acts ii. 4. " and they were filled with the Holy Ghost."
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. XXXV
delivered a discourse from Daniel 5, v. 27, " Thou art
weighed in the balances and found wanting;" in which,
after making a solemn pause, every eye being fixed
upon him in breathless expectation, he demanded, with
a dignity peculiar to himself, that his hearers should
permit conscience, for once, to bear its faithful testi-
mony as to their individual condition before God. He
inquired, whether, if at that moment, they were to be
weighed in the balances of Divine Justice, they would
not, assuredly, be found wanting P " Conviction," it
is said, " flashed upon the people, like lightning; and
every part of the assembly was vocal, with cries and
groans."
But it would be endless to narrate the instances of
his exertions, and success. They were great, and upon
a large scale; in their degree not inferior, perhaps, to
those of his friend, Mr. Hill. Mr. Simpson, of the
two, was the most attentive to canonical restraints, but
both were incessant in the Redeemer's service; and
often alike careless as to places. Mr. Hill never
scrupled publicly to expose to ridicule, sometimes with
startling facetiousness, the ecclesiastical rules as to
consecrated ground. Mr. Simpson, less inconsistent,
contented himself with more reserve.
In their general views they, nevertheless, barmo-
nised, as will be apparent from the following letters;
and being upon kindred subjects, it has been thought
best to let them appear together.
xxxvi
LIFE OF THE
" RoJborough, near Stroud.
"My dear old Friend,—I received your letter
last post. I should be heartily glad to promise you
the assistance you request, if I thought it would be in
my power to perform. All my time at present is taken
up, in attending upon the work of building a new
chapel on the Surry side of Blackfriar's Bridge, a part
of the town that, for many years, has been quite desti-
tute of the gospel: the place is to be upon a large
scale, and, consequently, requires much of my atten-
tion. Another circumstance confines me in London.
Some good people have jealousies raised in them, lest
building the new place would take me from the old
ones: it is thought necessary to give them the closer
attendance, that all may be convinced nothing is in-
tended, but the enlargement of the same cause. It is
but a little more than a week since I left town. In
about a fortnight's time, when the foundation is dug
out, and the materials are prepared, I shall be called
again to town to lay the first stone; this will be about
the second week in June. If possible, from thence I
should be glad to make an elopement to serve you at
Macclesfield. Was it a small distance from London,
I would venture upon an immediate promise: but,
when I consider the time and expense necessary for so
long a journey, I despair of being able to accomplish
my desire. My dear friend mentions my expenses
being refunded. I feel ashamed that so much money
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. XXXV'ii
should be spent for so poor a tool; and to tell you the
truth, having lately given away all I could spare, and
more than I could spare, for the present chapel, my
wings are considerably dipt, and must take some little
time to grow again. I think, therefore, for this year,
you had better, if you must have a stranger on that
day, seek for another than trust upon me. Perhaps,
should lives be spared, I may be more at liberty ano-
ther year. If you have anything more to say upon the
subject, as I don't know that sooner than a fortnight I
may be in town, you may direct your next to me,
under cover, to Richard Hill, Esq., M. P., Wimpole
Street, Cavendish Square. Your poor old friend has
much to do; his work increases upon him : he feels the
burden. It is astonishing how all doors seem opening.
My invitations to preach in the largest churches occur
more frequently than ever. Just before I left town, our
old friend Hallifax, Bishop of Gloucester, and myself,
preached on the same day, in the same church.
Bishops are now come to high honour, to be joined
with methodist parsons. Pray for me. I need many
prayers. Love to Mrs. Simpson and Nan. (36)
" Your most sincere, most affectionate.
« R. HILL."
" Rev. d. Simpson,
" Macclesfield, Cheshire." (37)
(36) Afterwards Mrs. Lee.
(37) The original MS.
xxxviii
life of the
" My dear old Friend, and Brother, — It
grieves me that I fear it will not be in my power to
visit Macclesfield, according to the affectionate wishes
of my heart. London engagements much circumscribe
my country excursions. However, when I can come
to see you I will; but when that will be I dare not
promise. Penty (38) is now filling up my place in
London; he grows greatly, and is, by all accounts,
very lively in his ministry. Dear Mr. Venn has also
been giving us a helping hand, and, I am sorry to add,
he now labours under a dangerous indisposition that
indicates something of the dropsy. O that such
valuable lives may be spared !
" You know you are in my debt, and when you
come to London payment must be made.
" Things go on most blessedly in London, and a
little is doing in different places in the country ; but
I long to see that blessed prayer a thousand times
more answered—
' Thy kingdom come.'
" My dear friend, let us labour much to promote it:
(38) The Rev. Thomas Pentycross, late Rector of St. Mary,
Wallingford. A good memoir of Mr. Pentycross appeared in
the Evangelical Magazine, vol. xvi. pp. 4.53, 497; and his
extraordinary conference with Dr. Drummond, the Archbishop
of York, in the Congregational Magazine, vol. ix. pp. 505—
510.
kev. david simpson, m. a. xxmx
in blessing God will bless us ; and in multiplying we
shall be multiplied.
" Your ever affectionate brother,
" R. HILL."
" Rev. D. Simpson,
" Macclesfield, ChesMre." (39)
" My dear, very dear, Brother David,—I am
now writing from your old room, in your old parish,
among many that very dearly love you. Hitherto
the Lord hath helped your poor old brother to keep on
in his old itinerating plan. The cloud of providence
conducted me to spend yesterday's Sabbath in this
place. I preached twice in the meeting, and once
out of doors. Some rebels molested us a little. What
a mercy the battle is the Lord's ! The crown is pre-
pared, and the conqueror shall have it. The Lord of
mercy bless you in every work that is set before you.
He did own you here. I hear he still continues to
bless you at Macclesfield. What a mercy that such
worms should meet with such blessings from the
Lord!
" From the consideration of former intimate love
and fellowship in the gospel, I send you these hasty
lines. I have been writing about five minutes, and it
answers the end to my dear brother, that he may see
(39) The original MS.
xl
life of the
I love him as much as ever—a hint this for dear
David. His friends at Buckingham complain loudly,
of his total neglect in never sending them a line.
Five minutes will do for this as well as five hours.
Well, they all forgive you, and send love, especially the
Goodes, though none more affectionate than
" Your faithful friend and brother,
" R. HILL."
" Buckingham, May 12." (40)
" My dear Brother,—I am now upon a gospel
ramble through Cheshire into Yorkshire. On Tues-
day evening I preach at Congieton; on the Wednes-
day I repair to Buxton. I think Macclesfield will
not be much out of my way; if so, on next Wed-
nesday morning you may expect to see me. I saw
Mrs. Simpson a few days since at Wem ; she men-
tioned your desire of a sermon from an old friend;
though I fear time cannot be redeemed for this, yet
I will do all in my power to give you a call. I am
now at Wrenbury; the minister lends me the pulpit
to-morrow. 0 that Christ may be exalted, and the
sinner debased ! then God will be glorified, and ho-
liness promoted. I did not know that I should
have been near Macclesfield till to-day, or you should
(40) The original MS.
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. xli
have heard from me sooner. It is now very late.
Peace be with you.
" Your old unalterable friend in an
unalterable Christ,
"R. HILL."
" Wrenbury Hall, Sat. Eve, 11 o'clock." (41)
If the efforts of some eminent ministers, have been
so exclusively public as to involve the neglect of home,
such was not the case with Mr. Simpson. He, amidst
all his occupations, was strictly domestic—the husband,
and the father. His household assembled, morning
and evening, for Divine worship. All were industri-
ously employed. The training of his children was
regulated, and superintended by himself; he taught
them to read, to borrow his own phraseology from his
manuscripts, " properly, distinctly, and gracefully;''
to " love their Bible above all other books, and God
above all other beings." He incited them, to " aim at
excelling in the most trifling matters." They were
warned against " trifling," and against " naughty
childrento be " lively, cheerful, and affectionate; to
strive to please, and be pleased; " to avoid " absence
in conversation ; " to " take reproof well;" to be
" prudent, cautious, and discreet;" to take care of
their health, since they had but "one life to lose."
(41) The original MS.
xlii
LIFE OF THE
Although his daughters were " taught the languages,"
they were cautioned " not to discover that they
knew any thing about them, unless upon very parti-
cular occasions." But, not to multiply extracts, nor
so much as to allude to the testimony of those, who yet
" rise up and call him blessed,'' it need only he added,
that very many letters remain to show, in the strongest
manner, both his conjugal affection, and his anxiety
for the well-being of his children; his vigilance for
their highest and best interests, as well as their worldly
respectability.
Addressing his daughter—he says :
" How swift and imperceptible is the flight of time!
Five weeks are gone since you left us, and they appear
but so many days. The same will be our reflection at
the close of life itself! How parsimonious should we
be of every moment, on the proper improvement of
which hang everlasting things ! How imprudent are
we to squander every day, with profusion, many of
those moments we shall be glad, ere long, to purchase
at the price of worlds, if we had them! You remem-
ber the dying words of Salmatius, who was unquestion-
ably one of the first scholars that ever lived : ' Oh ! I
have lost a world of time ! of time, the most precious
thing in the world! whereof had I but one year more,
it should all be spent in David's Psalms, and Paul's
Epistles!' What a lesson ought this to be to us !" (42)
(42) The original MS.
EEV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. xliii
And. all his correspondence with the members of
his family, was of the same character; showing, in a
manner perfectly unexceptionable, the strength and
sacredness of his love ; the secret springs of the holy
actions we have admired; the deep humility which
imparted such an exquisite charm to his character.
By touching this last string, in the retired and easy
manner he was accustomed to do it, he conveyed to
others, but with consummate delicacy, such hints as
he thought the most salutary.
Writing to the second Mrs. Simpson, he says—
" How strangely do I dream life away ! Surely I
am one of the greatest fools in nature! Blest and
chastened, and yet a flagrant rebel still! 0 that I
might begin to live wholly to the Lord, who redeemed
me."
" I wish to live only to him [God], and for him,
and to exhaust all the little strength I have in his ser-
vice. True it is, I am the lowest, poorest, meanest of
all my Master's heralds; but I am not weary of that
service, but would hold the candle, or scrape the shoes
of any of his servants that I judge are such, in since-
rity and truth." (43)
Mr. Simpson's best feelings were called into exer-
cise in the year 1798, by the marriage of his eldest
daughter to John Lee, Esq., a solicitor, at Wem, in
Shropshire; and if a few sentences are here devoted
(43) The original MS.
xliv
LIFE OF THE
to one so well known to the writer, the digression will
not, it is hoped, he considered improper.
Mr. Lee was born in 1772, at Wolley Green, on
Maidenhead Thicket, in Berkshire. He was a scholar
at Reading, under Dr. Valpy, and studied the law at
Wallingford, in the office of Mr. Allnatt, who, for
many years, acted as the Town Clerk of that borough.
Possessing a rare union of intellect and industry, he
attained professional eminence. There were some ec-
centricities in his character, but they were innocent,
and amusing: occasionally, he discovered great absence
of mind; and a mixture of opposite qualities not
often united. With a predominant love of pleasantry,
of even sarcastic jesting, he relished, and cultivated the
gravest pursuits. In the disquisitions of Hartley,
the abstrusest points of "Fine and Nonclaim," and
the " Contingent Remainders, and Executory Devises
of Fearne"—he discovered sources of the highest pos-
sible delight.
In social life, he exhibited an amiable pattern of
Christian virtue; and, having felt the " power of the
Gospel," and suffered, also, for the name of Christ, he
considered it his duty, occasionally to recommend to his
fellow men, from the pulpit, the source, and means of
blessedness. He preached, not merely when his ser-
vices were desired at home, but during the visits he,
sometimes, made of pleasure, and friendship. This was
the case, to mention no other instances, at Walling-
ford, Wotton-under-Edge, and Painswick. With the
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. xlv
venerated Cornelius Winter, whose name will be ever
associated with the town last-named, Mr. Lee lived in
habits of the strictest intimacy; and it was the case,
too, with the late Mr. Rowland Hill, and his brother,
Sir Richard, the latter of whom, in token of his re-
gard, remembered him in his will.
For several years, Mr. Lee sustained the office of a
deacon in the congregational Church, Chapel Street,
Wem, and he honourably discharged it. His heart
was large, and his concern for the prosperity of religion
prevailing. When he removed to Shrewsbury, which
was the case not long before his death, he left a blank
which has not yet been filled.
As an author, he was remarkably serious and solid.
The little he printed, discovers considerable thought,
but few of those graces which render composition at-
tractive. His first publication, " The Doctrines of
Grace Vindicated''—written partly in conjunction with
a friend—was anonymous, and in reply to a sermon,
preached March 6, 1792, by Dr. Valpy, at the Assizes
held at Reading. He contributed, occasionally, to the
" Christian Observer," and the " Theological Maga-
zine;" a few separate pamphlets, also, bear testimony
to his ability, and his zeal. Besides a brief Memoir
of his eldest daughter; and " The Oracle Answered,"—
a defence of his friend and pastor, Peter Edwards, in
a letter to the author of a pamphlet so entitled—he
published, in the year 1804, " Reflections on the re-
xlvi
LIFE OF THE
cent Extension of the Powers of their Lordships the
Bishops."
An admirable profile, taken in his latter days, and
since engraved, has accurately perpetuated his intelli-
gent countenance. His head was one of beautiful
symmetry—its baldness was relieved by powder ; and,
although his gait was peculiar, and his stature rather
below the middle size, with an inclination to corpu-
lence, there was about his general appearance such a
bearing—such an air of attractive vivacity and gentle-
manly ease, as at once to rivet, and reward attention.
Having laboured, for a time, under a disease of the
heart, he died very suddenly, on Wednesday, 23rd
September, 1818. He was buried at Weston, near
Hawkstone.
But to return. Mr. Simpson had now attained that
Christian maturity, which made all his Hews of life
sober: terrestrial objects, though never so pleasant,
were regarded with chastened feelings; and there was
a repose about his spirit, a weanedness of soul with
reference to earthly pleasures and natural attachments,
associated with holy aspirings, which intimated his
preparation for that change which rapidly approached.
Symptoms of paralysis had repeatedly shown them-
selves ; but, writing to his brother-in-law, Mr. Myles,
5th July, 1798, he says—"A few weeks ago, I was
taken all down my left side with a stroke of the palsy,
as I was talking to a poor man in my study. It re-
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. xlvii
turned five times. At present, with the blessing of
God upon the means, I am pretty well recovered, and
have been only laid by one Sabbath Day." ('")
In the same letter it was, that he thus confirms
several of the representations already made :—
" I love you all as affectionately as ever I did, and fre-
quently both think of you, talk of you, and pray for you,
and sometimes even dream of you. My mind, when
I wake and when I sleep, makes many an excursion
into my dear native place, which, notwithstanding the
homeliness of it, I prefer to every other spot upon the
globe ; and, if divine providence should so order it, I
would rather settle among you, in some small seques-
tered spot, with a few kind friends, than be pro-
moted to the first living, or even to the best bishopric
in the kingdom. These are not words of course, but
the genuine dictates of my mind. Honour and popu-
larity have lost their charms with me, and I only long
for more of the mind that was in Christ; for the sen-
sible, heartfelt, experimental consolations of his reli-
gion, and for a meetness to enter into the society of
just men made perfect." (4S)
That " meetness" was soon accomplished. A severe
affliction of five months, first deprived him of his
daughter Elizabeth; C6) and although, " during the
whole time," to borrow his own words, " she was pa-
(44) Copy from the original MS., Mrs. Lee's.
(45) Original MS., Mrs. Lee's copy.
(46) She died 25th July, 1798.
xlviii
LIFE OF THE
tient and resigned, beyond what," he had " almost
ever seen or knownnay, " the latter part of her
illness, much more than resigned. All on the stretch
for mercy and salvation." The stroke, to both the
mourning parents, was a heavy one; " the more
so," and he tenderly remarked it when communicating
the intelligence to his brother, " as they were left
childless at home, and she was the only daughter of
her mother."(47)
Mrs. Simpson's constitution fell a prey, almost im-
mediately, to the fatigue and grief, attendant on her
daughter's sickness and death; yet, painful as the
prospect thus presented was to others, every manifes-
tation on her part discovered entire submission,—the
utmost willingness to " depart, and be with Christ."
When the use of means proved unavailing, she only
remarked, " God is faithful; he has promised never to
forsake them that trust in him." Ever after the phy-
sician, Dr. Howard, of Knutsford, namely, in Febru-
ary 1799, confirmed the fears her friends entertained,
the desire of life seemed to be abandoned, and she
requested, that nothing of a worldly nature might be
mentioned to her.
The enemy who " seeks to devour," was, however,
permitted, for a short season, to harass her ; she was
assailed by temptations, and his fiery darts produced
a, degree of despondency. Her " soul refused to be
(47) The original MS.
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. xlix
comforted." She said, she had deceived herself; she
had been in a deep sleep all her life ; she was but just
awakened to a sense of her misery. But, in answer to
fervent and importunate prayer, he, who at first,
" caused the light to shine out of darkness," shone upon
her; the consolations of her Saviour's love again
abounded; the " Spirit itself bore witness with her
spirit," that she was a child of God ; and she exulted
in the assurance of her title, to the " inheritance of the
saints."
Three days before her departure, she exclaimed,
with peculiar vigour,
" Give me a place at thy saints' feet,
Or some fall'n angel's vacant seat;
I'll strive to sing as loud as they,
Who sit above in brighter day."
Her dismission was, mercifully, granted, March the
13th, about seven o'clock in the evening.
Mrs. Simpson's life had been that of " the right-
eous and her manuscripts, besides other evidence,
show such a measure of godly fear—such a dedica-
tion to the divine glory—such a concern for the sal-
vation of others, especially her children, as stands
associated only with eminent piety. With the follow-
ing sentences her papers, penned a few weeks prior to
her death, ended. They were written for private use,
but they have a voice to all.
" Oh, thou blessed God! Thou art, when every
creature fails, a never-failing friend. Blessed be thy
e
1
LIFE OF THE
holy name, I have found thee ever faithful (though I
am most unfaithful) ; ever faithful to thy promise.
Thou hast promised—as thy day so shall thy strength
be. Thou hast, in a particular manner, fulfilled this
promise to me the last year. I pray thee, O Lord, to
help me to look upon myself as a stranger and
a sojourner here, in this vain, unsatisfying world. 0
help me, enable me, I pray thee, for if thou dost not,
my heart will be for cleaving to something here below.
But, oh, I would not. I wish to sit loose to every
thing. Let me have fellowship with thee, thou ever-
blessed Jehovah—Father, Son, and Spirit." (4S)
It had been the practice of this excellent woman, to
retire, in an afternoon, to her bed-room, with her fe-
male servants, for mutual prayer; and on Thursday
evenings to assemble her children, and any juvenile
visitors, for religious instruction. She sung, and
prayed, and conversed with them, in the most en-
gaging manner; and each young person repeated his
accustomed form of prayer. One of that little party,
then a child, now a gentleman of large property, and
an occasional preacher in Mr. Wesley's connexion, al-
luding, not long since, to those social meetings, grate-
fully noticed his obligations; and expressed his earnest
wish, that every domestic circle might be favoured, with
an equally effective course of religious training.
A few days after the commencement of Mrs. Simp-
(48) The original MS.
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. li
son's illness, Mr. Simpson himself was seized, and the
malady—malignant typhus—soon earned him to the
grave. He preached his last sermon, exactly six weeks
before the one occasioned by his death. The text was
Psalm exxx. 3, " If thou, Lord, shouldest mark ini-
quities, 0 Lord, who shall stand ?"
He, like his beloved consort, was in a " waiting"
posture. All his temporal affairs were settled; his
last intended publication was completed; his numer-
ous executorships, with one exception, of inconsider-
able moment, were ended; his eldest daughter was
happily married; and his son satisfactorily fixed.
His situation, notwithstanding, was, in many respects,
extremely affecting. "While Mrs. Simpson was con-
fined, in the circumstances before described, to one
room, he was confined to another; but although they
adjoined, he was unable, personally, to minister to her
comfort. He only heard of her holy joy, and peace-
ful end. Acutely, however, as he felt the separation,
both before and after it occurred, he evinced the de-
voutest acquiescence in the divine pleasure. He said
to Mr. Lee," I am quite satisfied with all the dispen-
sations of providence, though they may appear to be
severe—very severe—but I am quite satisfied." " All
is well—all will be well. These dispensations of God
are right and just. I have every reason to praise
him."
After he took to his bed, which was shortly before
Mrs. Simpson's death, he continued quite calm, and
lii LIFE OF THE
happy; save only as, now and then, he discovered
anxiety on her account; and even this was suppressed,
or regulated. " God," said he, " is going to close up
the scene at once, and end our lives and our labours
together. It is an awful providence, but it is the will
of God."
On Sunday, the 16th of March, when asked by
Mr. Lee how he was ; he replied, "very poorly." A
hope being expressed that he would get better, he said,
"No, I shall never get better in this life: I have no
desire to come back to life, I am tired of this life;
tired of its vanities, tired of its follies, tired of its amuse-
ments, tired of its business. Our work is done (mean-
ing his own and Mrs. Simpson's). We leave the great
scene of things now passing in the world, to you.
Why should I wish to live P "
Another day he repeated, with strong emphasis,
the lines before quoted; "give me a place," &c. He
pointed out some "comfortable hymns," which he
wished read to him ; one was,
" Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to thy "bosom fly," &c.
He remarked, "that hymn has been very comfortable
to many others, in similar circumstances, as well as
me." He dwelt particularly on the verse, "other refuge
I have none," &c.; and said, "I am a very poor crea-
ture."
The next day, as Mr. Lee, whom he desired to read
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. liii
to him, was taking the hymn hook, for which before he
had shown a preference, he said, " I want some com-
fortable portion from the blessed Scriptures; all human
support now fails me." That text was then repeated,
" my flesh and my heart fail; God is the strength of
my heart, and my portion for ever." "These comfort-
able portions," said he," occur to my mind, and support
me" you will observe," he subsequently remarked,
" that I am not dying as one who has no hope : veiy
far from it. I consider all my eternal concerns as
settled. All my dependence rests upon the great atone-
ment. I have committed all my concerns into the
hands of my Redeemer."
He then called to the person who attended him.
" Peter, tell the people I am not dying as one without
hope ;" and expressed his strong assurance of the hap-
piness that awaited him.
In the evening he said, " This is a very serious dis-
pensation. It appears severe, very severe; first the
shepherdess is taken away, and then the shepherd, and
both as by one stroke. But I am perfectly satisfied
respecting it; and this our light affliction, which is but
for a moment, shall work out for us a far more exceed-
big, and an eternal weight of glory."
Great solicitude was, nevertheless, manifested for
his recovery. Not only was prayer offered up in his
own church, but in most of the places of worship in
the town.
As the approach of the "last enemy" became more
liv
LIFE OF THE
and more visible, distressing as it was to others, Mr.
Simpson hailed the onset. "He would," according to
Mr. Lee's description, in a letter written at the time,
" if it were possible, fly on the wings of a seraph ; he
wants only a seraph's tongue to sing the praises of his
Redeemer as loud as they. We have, therefore, here
in the midst of our tribulations, a little heaven."(49)
After a severe fit of coughing, he said to his attendant,
—"The way seems hard; but it is the way the children
of God all go ; and I do not wish to be exempted from
it. I know that my Redeemer liveth. I feel him
precious. He supports me under all. 0 that I was
able to express all I feel." The doctor coming in soon
afterwards, asked him how he was ? He replied,
" Partly here, and partly elsewhere." The expression
he most frequently used, was—" I have no desire to
come back to life."
Another day he said to the person who attended him,
" How awful a thing it is for a man to be brought to his
dying bed, and to have no hope beyond the grave. It
is truly awful; but, blessed be God, this is not my case."
To his curate, he said—" To me, to live has been
Christ, and to die will be gain."
On Tuesday morning, March 19th, he thus solemnly
addressed his son, " I hope the Lord will bless you
when I am gone. I trust he will; and I commend
you to the word of his grace, which is able to build you
(49) The original MS.
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. lv
up, and to give you an inheritance among all them
which are sanctified. The Lord hless you—the Lord
hless you.''
To Mr. Lee, he said, in the kindest manner, " Fare-
well, my dear son. God hless you—God bless you."
His strength now rapidly declined, but he spoke
much of the glories of heaven, and the happiness of
separate spirits, of their robes of righteousness and
palms of victory; then, breathing his ardent wishes for
the happiness of those who were with him, he added,
" Pardon, peace, and everlasting felicity are desirable
things."
After a day of apparent suffering, nature being quite
exhausted, he fell asleep in Jesus early in the morning
of Easter Sunday, March the 24th, 1799.
His remains were interred the Tuesday following,
amidst the tears of an immense multitude, in a vault
outside the church where he had so usefully officiated.
And it is worthy of notice here, that, with the
"service," and, particularly, " the address" delivered
on the occasion, the late Rev. James Townley, D. D.,
who was trained when young by Mr. Simpson, con-
nected the powerful re-awakening of his early religious
impressions. He frequently alluded to the occurrence,
and, generally, with deep emotion.
Many pulpits besides his own, bore an honourable
testimony to Mr. Simpson's sterling excellencies.
Mr. Nightingale, a Wesleyan Methodist, published
lvi
LIFE OF THE
" Elegiac Thoughts," and the periodicals, both news-
papers and magazines, abounded with notices, as grati-
fying to survivors, as they were just to the departed.
The venerable Rector of Waters Upton, in Shropshire,
Mr. Hatton, in a letter of condolence to the family,
rejoiced over him, as " a burning and shining light."
" He is now," said he, " reaping the fruits of his
labours in a blessed eternity; he has received the
approbation of his Redeemer, and been welcomed with
that ravishing salutation—'Well done, good and faith-
ful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!(50)
In stature, Mr. Simpson was above the middle size.
He was comely, and well proportioned; and his eyes
remarkable for their brilliancy, and expression. His
garb was plain, he wore a wig, and a clerical hat. He
kept a good horse, rode boldly, and was fond of the
exercise.
It remains only to notice, the solemn resolution he
had formed to quit the established church, and a public
avowal of which, in a farewell sermon to his congrega-
tion, was prevented by death, just twelve hours before
the time fixed by himself for making it.
To enumerate the influences which combined to
produce the resolve is impossible. But, in contem-
plating it—the treatment he long met with as a clergy-
man ; the ceaseless activity of his zeal; his declarations
(50) The original MS.
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. lvii
of Catholicism, (51) evincing an advancement in chris-
tian love and union, at the utmost distance from ca-
nonical exclusiveness—not to mention his own hahits,
and the examples of his honoured friends, Mr. Lind-
sey (52) and Rowland Hill—will, naturally, occur to the
mind. Nor will it he easy to overlook, the long, and
close intimacy he enjoyed, with the venerated founder of
methodism, whose doctrinal views were similar to his
own, and whose system and operations he more than
favoured. (M) It may be conceived, how inability
(which was, at length, the case, through the express in-
terference of the bishop) to invite such a preacher as
(51) See the preface to the second edition of the " Plea for
Religion."
(52 Uniformly courteous and candid, Mr. Simpson kept up
his acquaintanceship with Mr. Lindsey, after that amiable man
had departed, as he believed, from the faith: and when he
published his " Strictures," in answer to Dr. Priestley, he pre-
sented him with a copy, and one for the Dr. also. The letter
in reply, now before me in manuscript, discovers, very strik-
ingly, the mutual regard of both parties.
In a note to the 14th section of the " Strictures," Mr. Simp-
son took occasion to express his respect, for both those cele-
brated men; and, in connexion with it, to denounce bigotry,
and advocate the fullest exemplification of " kindness, for-
bearance, and charity," how much soever men may differ from
each other.
In the same book, section vii, he mentions the sincere plea-
sure he had, in acknowledging the great obligations he was
under to Mr. Lindsey.
(53) The sermon Mr. S. published in 1784, on the death of
Mrs. Rogers, contained an " Apology for the Methodists."
lviii
LIFE OF THE
Mr. Wesley to his pulpit, would operate, as meditated
upon, by such a man as Mr. Simpson.
Besides all which, there does not seem to have been
a time, when he was so attached to any section of
Christendom, not even the church to which he be-
longed, as to shut his eyes to what was excellent in
other men, or other denominations. Although he
could, and did, write (54) strong things against the re-
forming efforts of some Dissenters, at a time when test
acts were thought essential to public safety, he, proba-
bly, never had the slightest sympathy with that preju-
dice, which would sacrifice the hearing of the truth to
an attendance at church, under the plea, that the Gos-
pel is set forth in her formularies. When about leaving
Buckingham, a parishioner, to whose conversion his
ministry had been blessed, fearing that his successor
knew not God, asked advice. Mr. Simpson, keeping
in view the inspired direction — " Take heed what ye
hear"—and the Meeting-house supplying the instruc-
tion the Church wanted, he said, without hesitation,
"Join the Dissenters."
But it was only in the " Plea for Religion " (one
impression of which he lived to see sold), that he
advocated those sentiments, as to civil and religious
liberty, which glow in the writings of Owen, and
Milton, and Ibbot, and Locke; and it was reserved
(54) See his Strictures on Religious Opinions, section xi.
Miscellaneous Tracts, pp. 453—462.
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. lix
for the Appendices, prepared for a new edition of that
work, to make generally known, the determination he
had formed. (55)
The second of those documents thus commences :
" After w hat has been said in the foregoing papers, I
do not see how I can, either in honour or conscience,
continue to officiate any longer, as a Minister of the
Gospel, in the Establishment of my native country."
It then states his reasons for secession; and, in spite
of all diversity of opinion as to the determination
itself, and those portions of its language which would
have been better if more dispassionate, it evinces, not
only a brilliant specimen of conscientious self-denial,
and intrepid firmness, but, the courage of a noble soul
—the decision, after deep reflection, of a thoroughly
honest man.
Anticipating the reception the announcement would
meet with, he said—" Well; I have no doubt that my
motives have been such as the Almighty approves;
and I leave the whole to him." (56)
Some of the clergy were at once alienated (57) by
(5.5) The 2nd edition of the " Flea" was not published until
1802. The advertisement states, that Mr. Simpson's executors,
from motives not generally interesting, hesitated on the pro-
priety of making it public; but that his son, Mr. D. Simpson,
being then of age, thought it his duty to perform the inten-
tions of his father.
(56) Reece's Memoir—Methodist Magazine—1800, p. 102.
(57) It is pleasant to notice here that Mr. Robinson, of Lei-
cester, was not one of the number. He knew Mr. Simpson
lx
LIFE OF THE
the publication, from every prior sentiment of respect.
Others of them, used it as a sponge to wipe out the
very obligations of gratitude; and not a few went so
far, as to denounce the book with bitterness; to pour
upon the author, though dead, a redundance of abuse;
and, in spite of ample evidence to the contrary, to
brand him as disloyal. Actuated by motives similar
to those which Addison delineated, with such exquisite
humour, (5S) they asserted that, notwithstanding, the
" Plea " professed to be an antidote to " Paine's Age
of Reason," it would be the most injurious of the two.
For some reason or other, they overlooked the fact,
that, while it was the design of the moral incendiary
just named, to overturn Revelation, it was Mr. Simp-
son's to establish its authenticity; to exhibit the reli-
gion of Jesus as it appears in the Word of God; and
to recommend it to universal attention, and acceptance.
Time, however, has shed light upon most, if not
all the obnoxious themes : they have become familiar
to the public mind; and they have been subjected, by
royal mandate, to Parliamentary inquiry. They have,
moreover, either been rectified, or pointed out for
amendment, or condemned as unwarrantable. Besides
which, it is now better than ever understood, if not
pretty commonly admitted, that there lies upon no
too well to "be carried down the stream; and in a letter to
Mrs. Lee,in 1810, specially mentions her father as his "old,
and much-valued friend."—The wig. MS.
(58) The Freeholder, No. 22.
KEV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. lxi
man a greater obligation, to belong to the Church of
England than to any other Church; and, conse-
quently, that the whole frame-work, and each distinct
part of that venerable hierarchy, is as fair and legiti-
mate a topic for reflection, inquiry, and discussion, as
that of any other Christian denomination. Apart
from this, what would become of Protestantism ? the
freedom of the human will P the right of private
judgment ?
Mr. Simpson ivas a Protestant, in deed and in truth.
He thought for himself; and, with his future account
in view, examined whatever claimed his faith and
affections, by the light of Scripture. To that autho-
rity, but to no other, he implicitly bowed. Hence his
impartiality; hence his boldness; hence his decision.
His neighbour and friend, Mr. Whitaker (a lay gen-
tleman of distinguished piety and zeal), remarked of
him, in a sermon yet preserved in MS. and addressed
to the Sunday School at Macclesfield in the year 1799,
that, in " future years, his name would be pronounced
with rapture ; that generations then unborn, would rise,
and call him blessed. Posterity," he added, " will do
justice to his memory, and fame will enrol him in the
annals of Macclesfield, as its greatest and its wor-
thiest character."
The following is a correct list of Mr. Simpson's
publications:—
1. Select Psalms and Hymns. The volume contained
lxii
LIFE OF THE
491 Psalms and Hymns, and 27 Anthems; the 2nd edi-
tion 366 Psalms and Hymns, and 16 Anthems.
2. Sermons on Useful and Important Subjects; viz.
The Excellency and Importance of the Bible—The Office,
and Duty of a Minister of the Gospel—The Harmony of
the Divine Attributes in the Salvation of Man Displayed
—The Method of Salvation Revealed in the Gospel—
The Nature, and Necessity of Regeneration-—Marriage
Honourable ; Whoredom Damnable. Oct. 1774.
3. The Happiness of Dying in the Lord ; with an
Apology for the Methodists. A Sermon, preached at
Christ Church, Macclesfield, on Sunday, the 22nd of Fe-
bruary 1784, occasioned by the Death of Mrs. Martha
Rogers, wife of James Rogers, Preacher of the Gospel in
the Rev. Mr. Wesley's Societies. By the Rev. David
Simpson, M. A. 12mo. 1784.
4. Sacred Literature; showing the Holy Scriptures to
be superior to the most celebrated writings of antiquity,
by the testimony of above five hundred witnesses; and
also a comparison of their several kinds of composition ;
in 12 books. To which are added—Epistles and Extracts
from some of the most early of the Christian Fathers.
The whole intended, not only to recommend the Bible, as
superior to all other books, but as a moral and tbeologi-
cal repository for Christians, of every rank and degree.
4 vols. 8vo. 1788.
5. Discourses on Several Subjects; viz.: A Discourse
on Stage Entertainments — On the Vast Importance of
True Religion—On the Royal Proclamation for the Sup-
pression of Vice and Immorality—On Inoculation for the
Small Pox—On Beneficence, and the wonderful Remu-
nerations of Divine Providence to Charitable Men ; with
a variety of Examples. Oct. 1789.
6. Miscellaneous Tracts on Theological Subjects, se-
REV. DAVID SIMPSON, M. A. lxiii
lected and original. Oct. 1792. Containing—The Nature
and Design of Christianity, extracted from a late Author
—The Excellency and Greatness of a Religious Mind,
extracted from a late Author—Portraits of Human Cha-
racters, with occasional Reflections; extracted from a late
Author, and addressed to all orders of Men—A Discourse
on Dreams and Night Visions ; with numerous Examples,
ancient and modern—Strictures on the various Opinions
of Men in Religious Matters, and the Best Means of As-
certaining the Original Doctrines of Christianity.
To the whole was appended, " a, list of hooks in the
several departments of learning."
7. An Essay on the Authenticity of the New Testa-
ment. Oct. 1793.
8. A Short Introduction to Baptism, Confirmation, and
the Lord's Supper. 48mo. 1794.
9. A Key to the Prophecies. Oct. 1795.
10. A Plea for Religion and the Sacred Writings. 1797.
11. God Speaking from Mount Gerizim, or the Gospel
in a Map ; being a Short View of the exceedingly great
and Precious Promises. Oct. 36 pages.
12. An Apology for the Doctrine of the Trinity. 1798.
A new edition, in the year 1812, was published by the late
Rev. Edward Parsons, under the title of—A Plea for the
Deity of Jesus, and the Doctrine of the Trinity ; being
Chronological View of what is related concerning the
person of Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Trinity, whether
in the Sacred Writings, or in the Jewish, Heathen, and
Christian authors.
13. A Concise Scriptural View of the Divinity of Our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Oct. 7 pages.
Several of the foregoing works have been reprinted.
The " Plea for Religion " has passed through many
lxiv LIFE OF THE REV. D. SIMPSON, M. A.
editions. It has been, in the highest and best sense,
remarkably useful. Through its instrumentality many
an infidel has been reclaimed; many a believer esta-
blished; and many a sinner, not merely convinced of
the error of his ways, but led effectually to the Sa-
viour.
A handsome monument, erected in Christ Church,
Macclesfield, " by an affectionate people, as a grateful
acknowledgment of the benefits, they had derived"
from their pastor's ministry, bears the following in-
scription:
Sacred to the Memory
Of the Rev. David Simpson, M. A.
The first Minister of this Church,
Who, after 24 years' laborious, and unremitted service,
Departed this life, March 24th, 1799,
Aged 54.
As a preacher of the Gospel he was zealous and faithful;
Pure and uncorrupt in his doctrine;
A pattern of good works in his life;
A friend to the poor and distressed;
A comforter of the sick and afflicted ;
A father to the orphan ;
A husband to the widow ;
And, confining his benevolence neither to sect nor per-
suasion,
He was, in his universal charity,
The Good Samaritan.
JOHN BICKERTON WILLIAMS.
The Crescent, Shrewsbury,
February 5, 1636.
It hath been said by the late excellent Bishop Home,
that " in times when erroneous and noxious tenets
are diffused, all men should embrace some opportu-
nity to bear their testimony against them." It will
be allowed by every dispassionate observer, that if
erroneous and noxious tenets were ever diffused
among men in any age, they are eminently so in the
present. I am so far, however, from considering this
in the light of a misfortune to the general cause of
truth, that I am persuaded purposes of the most im-
portant nature are to be answered by it in the course
of Divine Providence. But, notwithstanding this
persuasion, I have thought it my duty, in the follow-
ing pages, to bear a decided testimony against some
of the most pernicious of those errors which prevail
among us, and to stand forward as an advocate in
behalf of Religion in general, and the Sacred Writings
in particular. " If the foundations be destroyed,
what can the righteous do ? "
One might suppose, prior to experience, infidelity
was a thing of so gloomy and uncomfortable a nature,
that no man of the least decency of character could
B
2
PREFACE.
be found who would embark in the desperate scheme.
But when we consider the many awful threatenings
recorded in the Bible against persons of a certain
description, the numerous passages apparently liable
to very serious objections, the natural darkness of
the human understanding, the perverseness of the
human will, and the imperious calls of contending
passions, we need not be surprised that a large pro-
portion of irreligious characters, who have little to
hope from divine mercy, and much to fear from
divine justice, should be induced to embark in any
scheme that is calculated to afford them present in-
dulgence, and free them from apprehensions of future
danger. Thomas Paine's deistical principles may
buoy up the minds of persons of this character while
health and prosperity smile upon them, but they will
generally fail us in seasons of adversity, and es-
pecially in the views of approaching dissolution. (')
Give me a religion that will stand by me at all sea-
sons, in prosperity and adversity, in sickness and
health, in time and eternity. I would not give a rush
for a religion which will only serve my turn when
the sunshine of worldly favour illumines my steps,
and fails me when I stand in the greatest need of its
support. This is the case with Deism, as many have
found to their extreme sorrow, when the eternal
world drew near, and dawned upon their astonished
(1) "You have been used," said good Mr. Matthew Henry,
a little before his death, to a friend, "to take notice of the
sayings of dying men. This is mine; that a life spent in the
service of God and communion with him,is the most comfort-
able and pleasant life that any one can live in this world."
PREFACE.
3
sight. More than one of the unhappy mutineers,
who have lately been executed on board His Ma-
jesty's ships of war, found themselves in this awful
predicament as their fate approached. Corrupted
by Paine's " Age of Reason," when they conceived
themselves free from danger, they gloried in their
shame; but when the King of Terrors came to stare
them in the face, they saw their folly, repented, be-
lieved, and trembled in the views of the eternal
world. Dilferent, indeed, was the conduct of many
others of these unhappy men, some of whom were,
apparently at least, equally regardless of life or of
death. So we read of multitudes of our fellow-
creatures, both in our own and in a neighbouring
country, who, set free from the salutary restraints of
religion, and the government of the Divine Being,
by a daring and uncontrolled spirit of infidelity,
destroy themselves and rush into the presence of the
Almighty without dismay. (') More reasonable and
(1) The general practice of duelling, among the higher
orders of society in this country, is a sure indication, that a
spirit of infidelity is alarmingly gone abroad. A Christian
fight a duel! Impossible! True valour forbids it. And, to
mend the matter, upon the Lord's day too ! Still more impos-
sihle! Every principle of his religion prohibits the impious
deed. How much pain of mind did not the conduct of a certain
most respectable character give, to all the serious part of the
nation, on a late unhappy occasion of this sort? Religion,
good morals, sound policy, true patriotism, all forbade the un-
christian rencounter. Stake his life against the life of a !
Were we to act thus in common life, a state of confinement
would be thought essentially necessary for our welfare and the
public good. Can nothing be done, no measures taken, to put
4
PREFACE.
becoming surely is the conduct of those who, when
brought to a sense of their sin and folly, fear and
tremble before this dread sovereign. This seems to
have been the case with the late Lord P . This
nobleman, after he turned Deist, took every oppor-
tunity to show his contempt of religion. The cler-
gyman and parishioners of the place, where his
Lordship's seat in Northamptonshire stood, usually
passed in sight of the house on their way to church.
At the time of going and returning, he frequently
ordered his children and servants into the hall, for
the vile purpose of laughing at and ridiculing them.
He pursued this course for some time, but at length
drew near the close of life. Upon his dying pillow
his views were altered. He found, that, however
his former sentiments might suit him in health, they
could not support him in the hour of dissolution;
a stop to this infamous practice, this national opprobrium1
Let those whom it concerns consider.
[When the pious Colonel Gardiner received a challenge, he
nobly refused it: and, with expressions which mark the cha-
racter of the hero and Christian, said," I am not afraid to
fight, but I am afraid to sin."
A young officer imagined he had been insulted by the cele-
brated Marshal Turenne. He demanded satisfaction. The
Marshal made no reply to his challenge. Irritated, the youth
met him, accompanied by two general officers, and spat in his
face. The Marshal seized the hilt of his sword, which he as
suddenly quitted, and taking out his handkerchief, "Young
man," said he, " could I wipe your blood from my conscience,
with as much ease as I can your spittle from my face, I would
take your life upon the spot. Go, Sir." Struck, the youth
solicited forgiveness, which he obtained, and afterwards the
patronage of the Marshal.] Ed.
PREFACE.
5
when in the cold arms of death, the terrors of the
Almighty were heavy upon him. Painful remem-
brance brought to view ten thousand insults offered
to that God at whose bar he was shortly to stand ;
and conscience being strongly impressed with the
solemnity of that day, he but too justly feared the
God he had insulted would then consign him to
destruction. With his mind thus agitated, he called
to a person in the room, and desired him " to go into
the library, and fetch the cursed book," meaning
that which had made him a Deist. He went; but
returned, saying he could not find it. The nobleman
then cried with vehemence, that " he must go again,
and look till he did find it, for he could not die till it
was destroyed." The person having at last met with
it, gave it into his hands. It was no sooner com-
mitted to him, than he tore it to pieces, with mingled
horror and revenge, and committed it to the flames.
Having thus taken vengeance on the instrument of
his own ruin, he soon after breathed his soul into
the hands of his Creator. Q)
Affecting as is this example, that of a William
Pope, of Bolton, in Lancashire, is much more so.
At this place there is a considerable number of
deistical persons, who assemble together on Sundays
to confirm each other in their infidelity. The oaths
and imprecations that are uttered in that meeting
are too horrible to relate, while they toss the Word
of God upon the floor, kick it round the house, and
(1) See Evan. Mag. for June, 1797, where it is declared this
anecdote may be depended upon, as it came from the lips of a
person who was present at the scene.
6
PREFACE.
tread it under their feet. This William Pope, who
had been a steady Methodist for some years, became
at length a professed Deist, and joined himself to
this hellish crew. After he had been an associate
of this company some time, he was taken ill, and the
nature of his complaint was such, that he confessed
the hand of God was upon him; and he declared he
longed to die, that he might go to hell—many times
praying earnestly for damnation. Two of the Me-
thodist preachers, Messrs. Rhodes and Barrowclough,
were sent for to talk to and pray with the unhappy
man. But he was so far from being thankful for
their advice and assistance, that he spit in their faces,
threw at them whatever he could lay his hands upon,
struck one of them upon the head with all his might,
and often cried out, when they were praying, " Lord,
do not hear their prayers !" If they said, " Lord, save
his soul!" he cried, "Lord, damn my soul!" often
adding, " My damnation is sealed, and I long to be in
hell!" In this way he continued, sometimes better
and sometimes worse, till he died. He was fre-
quently visited by his deistical brethen during his
illness, who would fain have persuaded the public he
was out of his senses; which was by no means the
case. The writer of this account saw the unhappy
man once, but never desired to see him again. Mr.
Rhodes justly said, he was as full of the devil as he
could hold. This melancholy business happened in
the course of the present year, and made a great
noise in the town and neighbourhood of Bolton.(')
(1) Mr. Rhodes has since published an account of the sick-
ness and death of this unhappy man, in the Methodist Maga-
PREFACE.
7
These are shocking instances of the dreadful effects
of infidelity upon the minds of our fellow-creatures,
in those seasons when we stand in most need of sup-
port and consolation. If living witnesses to the truth
and importance of religion and the Sacred Writings^)
might have any consideration with such of my readers
as are deistically inclined, I could produce many of
the first characters of the age, from among all the
contending denominations of Christians. The late
Jacob Bryant, Esq. who was unquestionably one of
the deepest inquirers into the original of things then
living, and NO PRIEST, hath not only written a
zine for August, 1798, which is one of the most affecting on
record.
(1) It becomes every objector to the Sacred Writings to
reflect, that " the moral and natural evils in the world were not
introduced by the Gospel; why then must the Gospel be called
upon to account for them, rather than any other religion or
sect of philosophy ? If there never had been an Old Testa-
ment, never a New one, mankind would have been, at least, as
corrupt and miserable as they are at present. What harm,
then, have the Old and New Testament done to you, that you
perpetually challenge them to account to you for the evil you
suffer? You dislike, perhaps, the story of Adam and Eve, and
can by no means digest the account of the serpent's tempting
and prevailing against our first parents: very well; let this
account be laid aside, and what are you now the better? Is
there not the same evil remaining in the world, whether you
believe or disbelieve the story of the Fall? And if so, what
account do you pretend to give of it? For if you pretend to
any religion, you are as liable to be called to this account, as
any professor or teacher of the Gospel. Nohodv is exempt in
this case, but the Atheist; and his privilege comes from hence,
that he has no account to give of any thing; for all difficulties
are alike upon his scheme."—Sherlock on Prophecy, p. 233.
8
PREFACE.
treatise professedly to prove the authenticity of the
New Testament, but hath also, in another of his
learned investigations, made the following declaration
in favour of these incomparable and invaluable
writings:
" This investigation" (a work written to prove
that Troy never existed) " I more readily undertook,
as it affords an excellent contrast with the Sacred
Writings. The more we search into the very ancient
records of Rome or Greece, the greater darkness and
uncertainty ensue. None of them can stand the test
of close examination. Upon a minute inspection, all
becomes dark and doubtful, and often inconsistent:
but when we encounter the Sacred Volume, even in
parts of far higher antiquity, the deeper we go, the
greater treasure we find. The various parts are so
consistent, that they afford mutual illustration; and
the more earnestly we look, the greater light accrues,
and, consequently, the greater satisfaction. So it
has always appeared to me, who have looked dili-
gently, and examined; and I trust I have not been
mistaken." (')
(1) "When I was in camp with the Duke of Marlborough,"
says this truly learned and respectable man, in another place,
" an officer of my acquaintance desired me, upon my making
a short excursion, to take him with me in my carriage. Our
conversation was rather desultory, as is usual upon such occa-
sions : and among other things he asked me, rather abruptly,
what were my notions about religion. I answered evasively,
or at least indeterminately, as his inquiry seemed to proceed
iuerely from an idle curiosity; and I did not see that any
happy consequence could ensue from an explanation. How-
ever, some time afterwards, he made a visit at my house, and
PREFACE.
9
Various similar testimonies have been adduced in
the course of the following little work. Mr. Ers-
kine's name is there mentioned with honour. But
as he hath since come forward in a manner more
direct and full in behalf of religion and the Sacred
Writings, I cannot do the religious reader a greater
pleasure, or render the deistical one a more impor-
tant service, than by presenting him, in this place,
with the substance of the speech which this cele-
brated orator delivered upon the trial of Williams,
stayed with me a few days. During this interval, one evening,
he put the question to me again; and at the same time added,
that he should he really obliged, if I would give him my
thoughts in general upon the subject. Upon this I turned
towards him, and, after a pause, told him, that my opinion lay
in a small compass : and he should have it in as compendious
a manner as the subject would permit. ' Religion,' I said,' is
either true or false. This is the alternative; there is no me-
dium. If it be the latter—merely an idle system, and a ' cun-
ningly devised fable,' ' let us eat and drink, for to-morrow
we die.' The world is before us, let us take all due advantage
and choose what may seem best. For we have no prospect of
any life to come; much less any assurances. But, if religion
be a truth, it is the most serious truth of any with which we
can possibly be engaged : an article of the greatest importance.
It demands our most diligent inquiry to obtain a knowledge of
it: and a fixed resolution to abide by it, when obtained. For
religion teaches us, that this life bears no proportion to the life
to come. You see then, my good friend, that an alternative
of the utmost consequence lies before you. Make, therefore,
your election, as you may judge best; and heaven direct you
in your determination.' He told me that he was much affected
with the crisis to which I brought the object of inquiry;
and I trust that it was attended with happy consequences af-
terwards."
10
PREFACE.
in the Court of King's Bench, for publishing Thomas
Paine's " Age of Reason," on the 24th of June,
1797, before Lord Kenyon and a special jury.
" Gentlemen—The defendant stands indicted for
having published this book, which I have only read
from the obligations of professional duty, and from
the reading of which I rose with astonishment and
disgust. For my own part, gentlemen, I have been
ever deeply devoted to the truths of Christianity,
and my firm belief in the Holy Gospel is by no
means owing to the prejudices of education (though
I was religiously educated by the best of parents),
but arises from the fullest and most continued re-
flections of my riper years and understanding. It
forms, at this moment, the greatest consolation of a
life, which, as a shadow, must pass away; and
without it, indeed, I should consider my long course
of health and prosperity (perhaps too long and too
uninterrupted to be good for any man), only as the
dust which the wind scatters, and rather as a snare
than as a blessing.
" This publication appears to me to be as mis-
chievous and cruel in its probable effects, as it is
manifestly illegal in its principles ; because it strikes
at the best, sometimes, alas! the only refuge and
consolation amidst the distresses and afflictions of the
world. The poor and humble, whom it affects to
pity, may be stabbed to the heart by it. They have
more occasion for firm hopes beyond the grave, than
those who have greater comforts to render life de-
lightful. I can conceive a distressed but virtuous
man, surrounded by children looking up to him for
bread when he has none to give them, sinking under
PREFACE.
11
the last day's labour, and unequal to the next, yet still
looking up with confidence to the hour when all
tears shall be wiped from the eyes of affliction, bear-
ing the burden laid upon him by a mysterious Pro-
vidence which he adores, and looking forward with
exultation to the revealed promises of his Creator,
when he shall be greater than the greatest, and hap-
pier than the happiest of mankind. What a change
in such a mind might not be wrought by such a
merciless publication ?
" ' But it seems this is an Age of Reason, and the
time and the person are at last arrived, that are to
dissipate the errors which have overspread the past
generations of ignorance. The believers in Christi-
anity are many, but it belongs to the few that are
wise to correct their credulity. Belief is an act of
reason, and superior reason may, therefore, dictate
to the weak.'
" In running the mind along the long list of sin-
cere and devout Christians, I cannot help lamenting
that Newton had not lived to this day, to have had
his shallowness filled up with this new flood of light.
" But the subject is too awful for irony. I will
speak plainly and directly. Newton was a Christian.
Newton, whose mind burst forth from the fetters
cast by nature upon our finite conceptions—Newton,
whose science was truth, and the foundation of
whose knowledge of it was philosophy : not those
visionary and arrogant presumptions, which too often
usurp its name, but philosophy resting upon the
basis of mathematics, which, like figures, cannot lie
—Newton, who carried the line and rule to the ut-
most barriers of creation, and explored the principles
12
PREFACE.
by which, no doubt, all created matter is held toge-
ther and exists.
" ' But this extraordinary man, in the mighty reach
of his mind, overlooked, perhaps, the errors, which a
minuter investigation of the created things on this
earth might have taught him, of the essence of his
Creator.'
" What then shall be said of the great Mr. Boyle,
who looked into the organic structure of all matter,
even to the brute inanimate substances, which the
foot treads on? Such a man may be supposed to
have been equally qualified with Mr. Paine to look
up through Nature to Nature's God. Yet the result
of all his contemplation was the most confirmed and
devout belief in all which the other holds in con-
tempt, as despicable and drivelling superstition.
" ' But this error might, perhaps, arise from a want
of due attention to the foundations of human judg-
ment, and the structure of that understanding which
God has given us for the investigation of truth.'
"Let that question be answered by Mr. Locke,
who was, to the highest pitch of devotion and adora-
tion, a Christian: Mr. Locke, whose office it was to
detect the errors of thinking, by going up to the
fountains of thought, and to direct into the proper
track of reasoning, the devious mind of man, by
showing him its whole process, from the first per-
ceptions of sense to the last conclusions of ratioci-
nation, putting a rein besides upon false opinion, by
practical rules for the conduct of human judgment.
" ' But these men were only deep thinkers, and
lived in their closets, unaccustomed to the traffic of
the world, and to the laws which practically regulate
mankind.'
PREFACE.
13
" Gentlemen—In the place where we now sit to
administer the justice of this great country, above a
century ago, the never-to-be-forgotten Sir Matthew
Hale presided; whose faith in Christianity is an
exalted commentary upon its truth and reason, and
whose life was a glorious example of its fruits in man,
administering human justice with a wisdom and
purity drawn from the pure fountain of the Christian
dispensation, which has been, and will be, in all ages,
a subject of the highest reverence and admiration.
" ' But it is said by the author, that the Christian
fable is but the tale of the more ancient super-
stitions of the world, and may be easily detected by
a proper understanding of the mythologies of the
Heathens.'
" Did Milton understand those mythologies?
Was he less versed than Mr. Paine in the super-
stitions of the world? No; they were the subject
of his immortal song; and though shut out from all
recurrence to them, he poured them forth from the
stores of a memory rich with all that man ever knew,
and laid them in their order as the illustration of
that real and exalted faith, the unquestionable source
of that fervid genius, which cast a sort of shade upon
all the other works of man:
" He pass'd the hounds of flaming space,
Where angels tremble while they gaze;
He saw, till blasted with excess of light,
He closed his eyes in endless night."
But it was the light of the body only that was extin-
guished, the celestial light shone inward, and enabled
him to justify the ways of God to man. The result
of his thinking was nevertheless not the same as
14
PREFACE.
the author's. The mysterious incarnation of our
Blessed Saviour (which this work blasphemes in
words so wholly unfit for the mouth of a Christian,
or for the ear of a Court of Justice, that I dare not
and will not give them utterance) Milton made the
grand conclusion of the Paradise Lost, the rest from
his finished labours, and the ultimate hope, expecta-
tion, and glory of the world:—
" A virgin is his mother, hut his sire,
The power of the Most High; he shall ascend
The throne hereditary, and hound his reign (1)
With earth's wide bounds, his glory with the heavens."
Mr. E. next entered most forcibly and deeply into
the evidences of Christianity, particularly those that
were founded on that stupendous scheme of pro-
phecy, which formed one of the most unanswerable
arguments for the truth of the Christian religion.
" It was not," he said, " the purpose of God to
destroy free agency by overpowering the human
mind with the irresistible light and conviction of re-
velation, but to leave men to collect its truths, as
(1) " Piety has found
Friends in the friends of science, and true prayer
Has flow'd from lips wet with Castalian dews.
Such was thy wisdom, Newton, childlike sage !
Sagacious reader of the works of God,
And in his Word sagacious. Such too thine,
Milton, whose genius had angelic wings,
And fed on manna. And such thine, in whom
Our British Themis gloried with just cause,
Immortal Hale! for deep discernment praised,
And sound integrity, not more than famed
For sanctity of manners undefil'd."
Cowper's Task, h. 3.
PREFACE.
15
they were gradually illustrated in the accomplish-
ment of the divine promises of the Gospel. Bred as
he was to the consideration of evidence, he declared
he considered the prophecy concerning the destruc-
tion of the Jewish nation, if there was nothing else
to support Christianity, absolutely irresistible. The
division of the Jews into tribes, to preserve the
genealogy of Christ; the distinction of the tribe of
Judah, from which he was to come; the loss of that
distinction when that end was accomplished; the
predicted departure of the sceptre from Israel; the
destruction of the temple of Jerusalem, which impe-
rial munificence in vain attempted to rebuild to dis-
grace the prophecy; the dispersion of this nation
over the face of the whole earth; the spreading of
the Gospel throughout the world; the persecutions
of its true ministers, and the foretold superstitions
which for ages had defiled its worship." These were
topics upon which Mr. Erskine expatiated with great
eloquence, and produced most powerful effect on
every part of the audience. (')
Lord Kenyon then, in addressing the jury, among
other important things, said, " I sincerely wish that
the author of the work in question may become a
partaker of that faith in revealed religion, which he
has so grossly defamed, and may be enabled to make
his peace with God, for that disorder which he has
endeavoured to the utmost of his power to introduce
into society. We have heard to-day, that the light
(1) Though I greatly admire the defence of Mr. Erskine in
this oration, I am not clear the prosecution can he justified
upon the genuine principles of Christian liberty.
16
PREFACE.
of nature, and the contemplation of the works of
creation, are sufficient, without any other revelation
of the divine will. Socrates, Plato, Xenophon, Tully,
each of them in their turns, professed they wanted
other lights; and knowing and confessing that God was
good, they took it for granted the time would come
when he would impart a further revelation of his
will to mankind. Though they walked as it were
through a cloud darkly, they hoped their posterity
would almost see God face to face. This condition
of mankind has met with reprehension to-day. But
I shall not pursue this argument: fully impressed
with the great truths of religion, which, thank God,
I was taught in my early years to believe, and of
which the hour of reflection and inquiry, instead of
producing any doubt, has fully confirmed me in."
He that feels not conviction enough from these
reasonings and authorities to make him pause, at
least, in his deistical courses, is out of the reach of
all ordinary means of conviction, and must be dealt
with in some more fearful manner. I pray God his
conscience may be alarmed as with thunder—that
the arrows of the Almighty may stick fast within
him—that his soul may feel the terrors of hell fol-
lowing hard after him—that, like the unhappy per-
son just mentioned, he may be made a monument
of divine justice in the sight of all men—and that,
like the celebrated Rochester, he may be finally
snatched as a brand from the burning by the power
of sovereign grace! Hay that " blood, which
speaketh better things than the blood of Abel," and
on which he now profanely and insolently tramples,
be applied to his soul by the energy of the Eternal
preface.
17
Spirit! And may there be joy in the presence of
the angels of God at his conversion, and heaven's
eternal arches resound with hallelujahs at the news
of a sinner saved!
Reader !
The author of this little book, which is here
put into your hand, cannot help being extremely
alarmed for the safety of his friends in this day of
abounding infidelity, when he considers the decla-
ration of Christ, that " Whosoever shall be ashamed
of him, and of his words, in this adulterous and
sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of Man
be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his
Father with the holy angels."
It is impossible to add anything to the weight of
these words. The heart that is unappalled by them,
is harder than the nether millstone, and incapable of
religious melioration.
When you have perused the pamphlet two or three
times carefully over, if you think it calculated, in
ever so small a degree, to impress the mind with
conviction, have the goodness to lend it to your
unbelieving neighbour, remembering the words of
St. James; " Brethren ! if any of you do err from the
truth, and one convert him, let him know, that he
who converteth a sinner from the error of his ways
shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multi-
tude of sins."
If you are dissatisfied with what is here advanced
in favour of religion and the Sacred Writings, by no
means give up the cause as desperate, but do your-
self the justice to procure Bishop Watson's Apology
c
18
PREFACE.
for the Bible, in answer to Thomas Paine, and his
Apology for Christianity, in answer to Mr. Gibbon.
They are books small in size, but rich in value.
They discover great liberality of mind, much strength
of argument, a clear elucidation of difficulties, and
vast superiority of ability on this question to the
persons they undertook to answer.
The best edition of the Apology for the Bible,
which is the more popular and seasonable work of
the two, is four shillings; but an inferior one may
be had from any of the booksellers, at the reduced
price of one shilling.
Considering the sceptical spirit of the present age,
and the danger young and inexperienced people are
in of being seduced into the paths of irreligion; this,
or some other antidote ought to be in every man's
hand, who has any serious concern, either for his
own felicity, or that of his friends and neighbours.
DAVID SIMPSON.
MACCLESFIELD,
Sept. 12, 1797.
PREFACE
TO THE SECOND EDITION.
This edition of the " Plea for Religion" is enlarged
with a considerable quantity of fresh matter, and is
more than double the size of the former.
The whole of the first edition is retained, with
some trifling alterations, and several of its parts en-
larged and improved.
The anecdotal additions are many and important,
and, it is hoped, will be found to furnish a good de-
gree of profitable amusement.
Remarkable deistical conversions, with instances
of unhappy and triumphant dissolutions, are here
also more numerous.
This edition is also considerably extended in the
religious and practical part, and, the author trusts,
not without advantage, as a lively and experimental
sense of divine things upon the human mind is vin-
dicated from the charge of enthusiasm, and the vile
aspersions of a " world that lieth in wickedness."
The prophecies concerning Christ, and his church,
in these latter days, are treated pretty much at large,
with a view to demonstrate the divine authority of
the Sacred Writings.
Other arguments for the truth and authenticity of
20 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
the Scriptures (') are suggested, the most common
objections stated and answered, and the whole ren-
dered as concise and satisfactory as may be.
Mr. Paine's objections to the Bible are particu-
larly considered, and brief answers returned. His
abuse of the Sacred Writers is also noticed with the
severity it deserves, and his ignorance and malignity
exposed.
Many extracts from our most celebrated poets are
interspersed. This will be considered as an excel-
lence by some, and an imperfection by others.
The literary reader will call to mind, that several of
the most valuable authors among the ancients have
written in the same manner—
" A verse may catch him, who a sermon flies,
And turn delight into a sacrifice."
A compendious account of the present state of
church-preferments is introduced, besides a general
view of the dissenting congregations in this king-
dom.
The present state of the Methodist societies in
Great Britain, Ireland, America, and the West
Indies, is likewise noticed, with some account of the
rise and meaning of that denomination of Chris-
tians.
(1) Consult Simpson's Essay on the authenticity of the New
Testament, in answer to Volney and Evanson; but more espe-
cially Jones's New and Full Method of settling the Canonical
Authority of the New Testament, 3 vols, octavo: a most
learned, able, valuable, and decisive work, just reprinted by
the University of Oxford, though written hy a Dissenting
Minister: an instance of liberality not always to he met with.
"Can any good thing come out of Galilee?"
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 21
Some shameful instances of non-residence, pa-
tronage, and pluralities of livings, now in existence
among the bishops and clergy of the land, are here
detailed, and strongly reprehended.
The Articles and Canons, the Liturgy, and other
public offices of our church, are reviewed, and in
some respects reproved. At the same time, most of
the defects in our ecclesiastical frame are confirmed
by the opinions of some of our most learned and
respectable writers.
If the author is thought severe upon the episcopal
and clerical orders of men, let it be remarked, that
he "esteems them all very highly in love for their
office' sake," because he is persuaded it is of divine
appointment; and that if at any time he has given
way to his indignation, and expressed himself in
strong terms against these orders, it is never in-
tended to affect any but the culpable part of them;
and that both the prophets under the Old Testament
dispensation, and Christ with his apostles under the
New, have done the same. We cannot follow bet-
ter examples.
But, in a " Plea for Religion and the Sacred
Writings," where is the propriety of exposing the
imperfections of the church, with her bishops and
clergy ?
Because the undiscerning world in general, and
our deistical fellow-creatures in particular, constantly
unite them together, and wound the pure and im-
mortal religion of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Scrip-
tures, through their sides; whereas they are things
essentially different. What has the character and
gospel of Christ to do with the treachery of Judas,
22 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
the cowardice of Peter, the ambition of James and
John, the lukewarmness and worldly spirit of our
bishops and clergy, or with the superstitions and
secular appendages of the church of Rome, the
church of England, or any other human establish-
ment under heaven ? They are things perfectly
distinct. And if we mean to defend the gospel to
any purpose, it must be the gospel alone, independent
of every human mixture and addition. Corrupt
churches and bad men cannot be defended.
The best part of the book, in the opinion of the
author, is that where he has enlarged upon the ex-
cellence and utility of the Sacred Writings. He
confesses he is anxious to recommend them to the
daily perusal of every man ; because he is persuaded
both our present peace and future welfare very
much depend upon the practice. He trusts, there-
fore, if all the rest of the book is rejected with
contempt, this will be attended to with peculiar
seriousness.
The reduction of the national religion to the pure
standard of the gospel, and the moral and religious
reformation of all orders of men, are repeatedly
insisted on, and with singular earnestness, as what
alone, in his judgment, can save us from impending
ruin. This is done, because he is firmly persuaded
there can be no general spread of evangelical prin-
ciples and practices while the hierarchy is in its pre-
sent contaminated state, and the bishops and clergy
continue in a condition so generally depraved. The
good of his country is what he has exceedingly at
heart, however much he may be mistaken in the
means he thinks necessary to promote that end.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 23
The missions to the heathen are here spoken of
with zeal and approbation. These noble efforts for
the salvation of mankind he believes to be one rea-
son among others, why, in the midst of abounding
iniquity, our fate, as a nation, is for a season sus-
pended. (')
The extravagances of the French governors are
incidentally touched upon, and the vileness of their
(1) Is it not an instance of the most unamiahle higotry that
ever was exhibited in a Christian country, that when such
generous, disinterested, and nohle efforts have been making for
two or three years past, by various denominations of men, for
the civilisation and christianisation of the South Sea Islands,
which are situated in the centre of some hundreds of millions
of gross idolaters, scarcely one bishop or dignified clergyman
of the Church of England—scarcely one Arian or Socinian
congregation, those more opulent bodies of dissenters—scarcely
one nobleman, and hut very few rich commoners, appear to
have contributed a single shilling out of their ample revenues
towards promoting this expensive and godlike design!—The
honour and blessedness of the glorious attempt is left to the
poor!—Is not such a conduct among our great ones speaking,
in the strongest of all language, that it is better the poor,
miserable, benighted heathen nations should continue in their
present deplorable condition, than that they should he brought
out of darkness into "the glorious liberty of the children of
God," in any other way than that prescribed by them! Oh !
shame to these several orders of men. What a curse has not
bigotry ever been to mankind ?—■" Master, we saw one casting
out devils in thy name, and we forbad him, because he followed
not us," said the selfish and party-spirited apostles. " Forbid
them not," replied the benevolent and liberal-minded Saviour,
" for there is no man that can work a miracle in my name, who
will lightly speak evil of me."—I add, with the apostle, If
Christ is preached, and souls saved, " I therein do rejoice, yea,
and will rejoice," whoever is the instrument.
24 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
conduct, both towards their own people and the
neighbouring nations, exposed. (')
He has taken the liberty of mentioning a variety
of books upon different subjects. Some of these he
has particularly recommended; others are only in-
serted among those of the same class. Young
readers may find their advantage in this part of his
treatise.
Both believers and unbelievers, he trusts, will
meet with something or another that will be useful
to them. Whatever is conceived to be pernicious,
they will do well to reject, remembering that we are
enjoined by a very high authority, to " prove all
things, and hold fast that which is good."
Several other miscellaneous matters are inter-
spersed through the whole, which he wishes may be
both profitable and pleasant: utile dulci.
If any of his clerical brethen are so far offended
(1) The difference between the English and French in point
of piety is more than once noticed in the following pages. I
observe here still further, in honour of the brave Admiral Lord
Nelson, that the very next morning after the victory, August 2,
1798, while all must have been yet hurry and confusion, he
issued the following memorandum to all the Captains of his
squadron.
"Almighty God having blessed his Majesty's arms with
victory, the Admiral intends returning Public Thanksgiving
for the same at two o'clock this day, and he recommends every
ship doing the same as soon as convenient."
Public thanks were accordingly returned at the hour ap-
pointed.
This solemn act of gratitude to heaven seemed to make a
very deep impression upon the minds of several of the French
prisoners, both officers and men.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 25
at the freedoms he has taken with his own order, or
the established religion of his country, as to make a
reply, he shall think himself at liberty to return an
answer or otherwise, as he may judge expedient.
So far as the moral and religious conduct of the
clergy is concerned, the best answer to his charges
will be, to correct and amend what is amiss. So far
as the durability of the ecclesiastical constitution of
the country is in question, he would refer his indig-
nant reader to the prophetical declarations of the St.
John of the Old Testament.
Some repetitions will be found, and some mistakes
discovered. The reader will have the goodness to
excuse the former, and correct the latter.
Two Appendixes are subjoined, the former of
which contains some further thoughts on a national
reform, and the latter, the author's reasons for re-
signing his preferment in the religious establishment
of the country, and declining any longer to officiate
as a minister in the Church of England.
To the whole is added a copious Index, whereby
every thing most important may be turned to, with-
out loss of time.
If the author has advanced anything that is wrong,
uncharitable, unchristian, or unbecoming his station,
in the course of these strictures, he is heartily sorry
for it, and wishes it unsaid. " Let him not, however,
accept any man's person, neither let him give flat-
tering titles unto man; for he knows not to give
flattering titles; in so doing his Maker would soon
take him away." It has been, therefore, his desire
to speak the plain honest truth, as it appears to him,
without courting any man's favour, or fearing any
26 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
man's displeasure.(') He makes no question but a
large number of good men are to be found both in
the established church and out of it. Even the most
despised of sectarists, he conceives, are not wholly
destitute.(2) And in his opinion, one such character
(1) King George II., who was fond of the late Mr. Whiston,
happened to be walking with him one day, during the heat of
his persecution, in Hampton Court gardens. As they were
talking upon this subject, his Majesty observed, that " however
right he might he in his opinions, it would he better if he kept
them to himself."—" Is your Majesty really serious in your
advice ?" answered the old man. " I really am," replied the
King. " Why, then," said Whiston, "had Martin Luther been
of this way of thinking, where would your Majesty have been
at this time I"
"But why," rejoins the impatient reader, "why speak so
freely and openly upon all these public abuses, at a time so
critical as the present?"
Because I may never have another opportunity, and it is
proper that somebody should speak. For the public abuses
specified in these papers, he conceives must either be removed
by the gentle hand of reform, or Divine Providence will take
the matter into its own hand, and subvert them by the rough
hand of a most implacable enemy. I speak these things under
correction, and with the most benevolent wishes for the pros-
perity of my King and Country, and the universal spread of
the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
(2) The wise ones of this world would do well to call to
mind, who it is that hath said," That which is highly esteemed
among men is abomination in the sight of God." Luke xvi.
15. Compare 1 Cor. i. 26—29. Men, sects, and parties, which
are held in the highest estimation by the world, are usually,
perhaps universally, held in the lowest estimation by God;
and, on the contrary, men, sects, and parties, which are held
in the lowest estimation by the world, are usually, perhaps
universally, held in the highest estimation by the Almighty.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 27
is infinitely more estimable, than a million of im-
moral parsons, those most miserable and contemptible
of all human beings, who contaminate every neigh-
bourhood were they dwell; or ever so large a body
of mere literary clergymen, however extolled and
caressed by the world, who, bloated with pride and
self-importance, are a disgrace to the lowly spirit of
the Saviour of mankind. To every truly pious and
consistent Christian, literate or illiterate, he would
give the right hand of fellowship, and bid him God
speed, in the name of the Lord, wherever he is found.
Clerical bigots, however, of every description,
he most cordially pities and despises. They are
despicable animals. Swollen with an imaginary dig-
nity, they are wise in their own eyes, and prudent
in their own sight, lording it over the poor of Christ's
flock, and binding heavy burdens upon them, and
grievous to be borne, which they themselves will not
move with one of their fingers. Such characters,
whether found among Episcopalians, Presbyterians,
Methodists, Quakers, (') or any other denomination
The way to heaven prescribed by the Scripture, and the way
to heaven prescribed by worldly-minded men, are as opposite
to each other as the east to the west. The former saith, " Strait
is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and
few there be that find it." The latter say," Wide is the gate
and broad is the way that leadeth unto life, and many there
be which go in thereat." Persons of this character are usually
secure and confident, determined and resolute, merry and jovial,
and perceive little or no danger even when they are dancing
blindfold on the brink of destruction.
(1) [A few' particulars relative to this amiable and unos-
tentatious body of Christians cannot fail to he generally in-
teresting.
28 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
of men, are the Scribes and Pharisees of the day, to
whom the great and inflexible Judge of the world, in
just but terrible language, exclaimed, "Ye serpents,
The Societyof Friends have 396 meeting-houses in England
and Wales, and ahout 30,000 members. The efforts of the
Society, as a body, were, for a series of years (commencing long
before the subject claimed public attention), most strenuously,
perseveringly, and successfully, directed towards the extinc-
tion of the slave trade and slavery. (See Clarkson's " History
of the Abolition.") They have, on religious principle, laboured
to diffuse information, with a view to mitigate the severity of
our criminal code, and to promote the abandonment of capital
punishment.
The great evils of our old prison regulations have also been
repeatedly and urgently pressed on the notice of the legislature,
from year to year; and the reformation in the female side of
Newgate affords a convincing proof that the most profligate
are accessible to the salutary effects of Christian instruction;
which astonishing change was brought about by Mrs. Eliza-
beth Fry, and a few females of congenial spirit.
While they have ever been the strenuous advocates and warm
supporters of universal education, every plan which has had
for its object the moral and physical amelioration of human
kind has had their prompt assistance. Their efforts in the
promotion of Bible, Temperance, and Peace Societies, have
been uniform and energetic; and incalculable benefit has re-
suited to themselves from these endeavours; and from the associ-
ation with evangelical Christians of other denominations.
The discipline of the Friends is well organized, and adapted
to its end; it has kept up the high moral tone of the Society,
and is generally administered with steady reference to gospel
principles.
It is a fundamental rule, that all then- poor shall be supported
by the body (by voluntary contributions, under the direction of
the respective meetings), and also, that all their children shall
be educated; for this purpose, they have several public schools,
viz., Ackworth, in Yorkshire; Lidcott, in Somersetshire; Wig-
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 29
ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the dam-
nation of hell?" To the author of these papers the
praise or dispraise of such men is almost equally
ton, in Cumberland, and some others. In all these, neither
the plan of instruction nor the style of conducting the estab-
lishments, restrict them to those in humble circumstances, so
that a large proportion of the children are paid for by the pa-
rents. Great improvements have recently taken place in the
Christian instruction given in these schools.
" Religious visits," as they are termed, have been paid of
late years, to France, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, &c.; and
there are, at this time, some Friends thus engaged in Aus-
tralia, and in the South Sea Islands. Efforts have been made
to induce the Society to come forward more decidedly, as a
body, to assist in evangelizing the world; this has not yet
been accomplished. Very many of the Friends, however, con-
tribute to missionary funds in some shape or other; and
both the interest felt in the spread of the Gospel, and the
support given, are steadily augmenting.
The distraints made on members of the Society, in 1835, for
ecclesiastical demands, exceed £12,800. The loss borne by
each individual distrained upon is in no case refunded, or in
any way made up by the body. One Friend was in prison, so
late as last May, on this account; and, in their early days,
hundreds died in prison, for refusal to pay tithes and church
rates. The frightful persecution Friends endured formerly,
and the continued wasting of property up to the present
moment, have gradually driven them from agriculture. The
large proportion of them were originally farmers; and one
injurious result of the tithe system has been exemplified in
the fact of its having driven a body of serious Christian men
into towns, instead of being scattered up and down among the
rural population, which has suffered by the loss. Through the
marshes of Somerset, this effect has been very striking.
It is thought that a dozen country parishes might be reck-
oned in that county, where Friends formerly had meeting
houses, where now there is not a single member living.
30 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
indifferent. But a liberal-minded and benevolent
soul, who embraces every human being in the arms
of his charity, who rises superior to the superstitious
tribe of infallible doctors—the genus irritabile vatum;
Every service, and they are neither few nor slight, is done
without fee or reward, no one being paid for any thing he
may have to perform for the body, with the single exception
of a recording clerk in London, whose whole time is employed
in his office.
The public charity trusts are numerous and valuable; all
are administered gratuitously, and an honorable testimony was
borne to the Christian faithfulness with which they had been
administered, by the Charity Commissioners exempting them
from parliamentary controul.
The admirable institution called " the Retreat," at York, for
persons afflicted with disorders of the mind (a lunatic asylum
for Friends), is well worthy of very prominent attention. It is
conducted on the beautiful principle, that coercion may be
superseded by love and firmness; and it has most triumphantly
established, first, its practicability; and, secondly, its benefi-
cial results ; the permanent cures being in a proportion of three
to one over other establishments. Out of upwards of one hun-
dred patients, there has been only one under restraint (bodily),
and that merely by a broad strap, confining the arms behind,
to prevent the patient taking off her clothes.
Thus much on moral statistics and discipline. On the infi-
nitely higher points of faith and doctrine much excitement now
prevails among the Friends. The fact really is, they are large
debtors to the Bible Society and Bible influence. A deepen-
ing, and widening, and strengthening of sound evangelical doc-
trinal views, has been the blessed result Whether the existing
doctrinal controversy will terminate in the establishment of a
more evangelical creed, or rather in an abrogation of some of
the mystical views of " the Fathers,"—or in a split—no one
seems able to conjecture. It is, however, firmly believed by
n^any, that the spiritual prosperity of the Society will be ulti-
mately promoted by it.] Ed.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 31
who can pierce through the guise of human dis-
tinctions, and trace religious excellence among all
orders and descriptions of men, he would clasp to
his bosom, make him room in his heart, and give
him a place in the attic story of his affections. He
loves a generous soul, a noble spirit, with whom he
can hold sweet converse on things human and
divine; trace the awful footsteps of a mysterious
Providence,
" And justify the ways of God to man
while angels ministrant attend the enraptured strains.
" O noctes cceruzque Deum !" (')
(1) The third chapter of Malachi seems to me to contain
the most emphatical recommendation of religious conversation
that ever was penned. Cicero, too, speaks with an air of
indignation of men of talents meeting together, and spending
all their time in milking the ram, or holding the pail: " Quasi
vero clarorum virorum aut tacitos congressus esse oporteat,
aut ludicros sermones, aut rerum colloquia leviorum." Acadern.
Qucest. lib. 4.
This brings to my mind an anecdote, which I have some-
where read concerning the immortal Locke, who being invited
by a certain nobleman to give the meeting to some of the most
celebrated wits and scholars of the age, went in great expec-
tation of enjoying a high intellectual repast. The card table
being introduced after dinner, contrary to his expectation, he
retired pensive and chagrined to the window. Inquiry being
made if he was well, he replied, " He had come to give the
company meeting in full confidence of receiving an uncommon
degree of satisfaction in the conversation of such celebrated
characters, and he must acknowledge he felt himself hurt at
the disappointment." The card table was immediately with-
drawn, and a rich flow of souls begun, to his no small gratifi-
cation.
32 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
From a melancholy dearth of such society, how-
ever, he is generally constrained to converse with
the ancient and modern dead, those first of human
beings, who have left us the image of their souls
reflected in their immortal volumes.
Here, he sometimes seems to catch a ray of their
genius; to intermingle soul with soul; to taste the
raptures of their sacred rage ; and to meditate unut-
terable things. Oh ! for a spirit of burning, to refine
these drossy natures; " a muse of fire," to elevate
his mind to their celestial strains; and a seraph's
wings to mount up to the blissful throng of the
spirits of just men made perfect, around the throne
of the great Father of the universe, and his Son, the
ever-blessed ! Yet a little while, and these shadows
shall flee away—these earthly tabernacles be taken
down—these mortal bodies be clothed with immorta-
lity—the church militant be changed into the church
triumphant, and the infinite Majesty of Heaven be
seen without a veil, loved without a rival, and en-
joyed without satiety, through the long round of
vast eternity.
DAVID SIMPSON.
MACCLESFIELD,
Jan. I, 1799.
A
PLEA FOR RELIGION,
SfC. 8fc.
FRIENDS AND COUNTRYMEN,
There are few ages of the world but have pro-
duced various instances of persons who have treated
the divine dispensations either with neglect or scorn.
Of these, some have persisted in their folly to the
latest period of their earthly existence ; while others
have discovered their mistake in time, and both
sought and found forgiveness with God. In most
ages, too, there have been some who have piously
observed the manifestations of heaven; who have
cordially received the Holy Scriptures as a revelation
from on high; and who have built their everlasting
expectations upon the salvation which is therein re-
vealed. The hopes of such persons have never been
disappointed. If they have lived up, in any good
degree, to their religious profession, they have always
been favoured with peace of mind, and strong con-
solation in life; firm confidence in Christ, usually
at the hour of death; and have frequently gone
off the stage of time into eternity, " rejoicing in
d
34
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
hope of the glory of God," with unspeakable and
triumphant joy. Examples of this kind, even among
illiterate men, women, and children, might be pro-
duced in numbers very considerable. But how ex-
tremely different, most commonly, is the last end of
those persons who have denied and scorned the
revelations of heaven ; who have rejected the Sacred
Writings, and treated serious godliness with sneers
and contempt ? Nay, it has frequently been known,
that the first-rate geniuses, and greatest men of their
times, have left the world under much darkness of
mind, full of doubts and fearful apprehensions con-
cerning the divine favour, owing to their being too
deeply immersed in secular or literary pursuits; to
their living beneath their Christian privileges; and
spending too small a portion of their time in devout
retirement and religious exercises. Nothing, indeed,
can keep the life of God vigorously alive in the soul
but these exercises. Where they are either wholly
neglected, or frequently interrupted, there the
power of religion languishes. Faith and hope,
peace and love, joy in and confidence towards God,
grow weak; doubts and fears, disquietude of mind,
and scruples of conscience prevail. The sun goes
down, and sets, to this world at least, under a dark
and cheerless cloud. But where the humble be-
liever in Christ Jesus (the eyes of his understand-
ing being enlightened, and his fears alarmed by a
sense of danger,) lays aside every spiritual en-
cumbrance, and the sin by which he hath been
often too easily overcome; where he resolutely
breaks through every snare, and lives to the great
purposes for which we were all born; where, with
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 35
the illustrious philosopher and physician, Boer-
haave, (') and the eminent statesmen, Sir John Bar-
nard, the Duke of Ormond, and Lord Capel, (2) he
spends a due proportion of every day in private
prayer, meditation, and reading the sacred volume ;
there, with these truly valuable men, he usually hath
(1) [This excellent philosopher and physician (Boerhaave)
was distinguished for his high devotional feelings, love of the
Holy Scriptures, and his uniform attention to the sacred duty
of prayer. A friend, who had often admired his " patience
under great provocation," asked him, if he ever knew what it
was to he angry ? To which he replied with the utmost frank-
ness, That he was naturally quick of resentment; but that by
prayer and meditation he had obtained a complete mastery over
his passions; this he attributed, as he did every good thought,
and every laudable action, to God. Speaking of one of the
most prevalent and detestable vices, he said, " They are sparks
which, if you do not blow, will go out themselves. The surest
remedy against scandal is to live it down, by a perseverance
in well doing; and by praying to God that he would cure the
distempered minds of those who traduce and injure us."]—Ed.
(2) It was the custom of three of these great men, to spend
an hour every morning in private prayer and reading the
Holy Scriptures; and of the fourth, to meditate half an hour
every day upon eternity. This gave them comfort and vigour
of mind to support the toil and fatigue of the day. Nay, we
are told in the Life of the Duke of Ormond, that" he never
prepared for bed, or went abroad in a morning, till he had
withdrawn an hour to his closet."
We might mention a considerable number of similar in-
stances. John Lord Harrington, who died A.D. 1613, at the
age of 22 years, was a young nobleman of eminent piety and
rare literary attainments. He was an early riser, and usually
spent a considerable part of the morning in private prayer,
and reading the Sacred Writings. The same religious exercise
was also pursued both in the evening and at mid-day.
36
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
large enjoyment of the consolations of religion, and
abounds in peace and hope through the power of the
Holy Ghost. He goes through life, if not smoothly
and usefully, at least contentedly and happily. While,
in the eyes of those persons, who boast of their su-
periority of understanding, and freedom from vulgar
prejudices, the Redeemer of the world becomes
daily more and more contemptible ; and in the eyes
of the lukewarm Christian, less and less desirable;
in the estimation of the devout and lively believer,
who, by waiting upon the Lord, renews his strength,
the Son of God, in his person, offices, and work,
Sir Harbottle Grimstone, Master of the Rolls, an eminent
lawyer, a just judge, and a person of large fortune, who lived
in the last century, " was a very pious and devout man, and
spent every day at least an hour in the morning, and as much
at night, in prayer and meditation. And even in winter, when
he was obliged to be very early on the bench, he took care to
rise so soon that he had always the command of that time,
which he gave to those exercises."
This brings to my mind the case of the late Colonel James
Gardiner, who was slain at the battle of Preston Pans, A.D.
171.3. This brave man used constantly to rise at four in the
morning, and to spend " his time, till six, in the secret exercises
of devotion, reading, meditation, and prayer. And if at any
time he was obliged to go out before six in the morning, he
rose proportionably sooner; so that when a journey or march
has required him to be on horseback by four, he would be at
his devotions at furthest by two."
The same holds true of General Sir William Waller, who
was as devout in the closet as he was valiant in the field.
Let the reader mark well, that none of these religious
persons were either monks or parsons, but men of great con-
sideration jn the world, who were engaged in the most active
scenes of life.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 37
appears with increasing affection, " the chiefest
among ten thousand, and altogether lovely." Being
convinced of sin, and "justified by faith, he has
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and
the love of God is shed abroad in his heart by the
Holy Ghost, which is given unto him." He is
" strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner
man, and Christ dwells in his heart by faith."
" Being rooted and grounded in love, he compre-
hends with all saints, what is the breadth, and length,
and depth, and height, and he knows the love of
Christthough indeed " it passeth knowledge."
He is, moreover, " filled with all the" communicable
" fullness of God, and a peace passing understand-
ing keepeth his heart and mind, through Christ
Jesus."
" A Christian dwells, like Uriel, in the sun !
Meridian evidence puts doubt to flight,
And ardent hope anticipates the skies."
Young.
The language of the soul is, " Whom have I in
heaven, but thee, O God ? and there is none upon
earth that I desire in comparison of thee." To do
unto others as he would have them to do unto him,
is the great law of his life, in all his dealings between
man and man; and whereinsoever he falls short of a
full compliance with this royal statute, he laments
and bewails his folly; makes satisfaction according
to the nature of the case; flees to " the blood of
sprinkling" for pardon; and returns with renewed
vigour to the path of duty. " Giving all diligence,
he adds to his faith, virtue; and to virtue, know-
38
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
ledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to tem-
perance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and
to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness, charity." With zealous affection he culti-
vates the holy tempers which were in Christ; bowels
of mercy, lowliness, meekness, gentleness, contempt
of the world, patience, temperance, long-suffering, a
tender love to every human being, bearing, believing,
hoping, enduring all things. He " submits himself
to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake ; whe-
ther it be to the king as supreme ; or unto governors,
as unto them that are sent by him for the punish-
ment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that
do well." He pays all due respect unto men of
every rank and degree. He loves with peculiar
affection the whole brotherhood of believers in Christ
Jesus. He so fears God as to depart from evil, and
so honours the king as to be ready, on every proper
call, to sacrifice his life for the good of the public.
He endeavours to acquit himself with propriety in
every station, whether as master, servant, parent,
child, magistrate, subject, teacher, learner. In short,
" whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are
honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things
are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever
things are of good report," to these he attends with
the utmost diligence and assiduity. This is the
Christianity which the Son of God taught unto the
world.(') And he that is of this religion, is "my
(!) Dr. Robertson, our celebrated historian, tells us, that
" Christianity is rational and sublime in its doctrines, humane
and beneficent in its precepts, pure and simple in its worship."
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 39
brother, my sister, and my mother," by what name
soever he is distinguished and called.
I do not say, however, that this is the religion of
the great body of persons who call themselves Chris-
tians. Much otherwise. Many who are so called
are extremely immoral. Others are guilty only of
And even Mr. Paine is constrained to confess, that "Jesus
Christ was a virtuous and an amiable man; that the morality
which he preached and practised was of the most benevolent
kind; that though similar systems of morality had been
preached by Confucius, and by some of the Greek philosophers
many years before, and by many good men in all ages, it has
not been exceeded by any."—Important concession ! Where
is the propriety then of endeavouring to explode the Gospel ?
—Thou art condemned out of thine own mouth!
Lord Bolingbroke has made concessions similar to this of
Paine;—" No religion," says he," ever appeared in the world,
whose natural tendency was so much directed to promote
the peace and happiness of mankind as Christianity. No
system can be more simple and plain than that of natural
religion as it stands in the Gospel. The system of religion
which Christ published, and his Evangelists recorded, is a
complete system to all the purposes of religion, natural and
revealed. Christianity, as it stands in the Gospel, contains
not only a complete, but a very plain system of religion.
The gospel is in all cases one continued lesson of the strictest
morality, of justice, of benevolence, and of universal charity."
These are strange concessions from a professed Deist! And
yet, strange as they certainly are, much the same have been
made by Blount, Tindal, Morgan, Toland, Chubb, Rousseau,
and most of our other real or pretended unbelievers.
The truth is, all these deistical gentlemen could approve the
morality, or some parts of the morality, of the new Testament,
but they could neither understand nor approve the grand
scheme of redemption therein exhibited. Why! Because
" the naturai man. receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
40
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
some particular vice. Some are decent in their ge-
neral conduct, and pretty attentive to religious ob-
sen ances; but yet total strangers to inward religion.
Great sticklers for their own party, be it what it
may, they harbour a strong aversion to all who dare
to think for themselves, and presume to dissent from
them in principle or practice. So remote are they
from the character and experience of the above evan-
gelical requirements, that they consider them as de-
lusive and enthusiastic. Something of the form of
godliness they have gotten, but they deny, and some-
times even ridicule, the power. Be this as it may,
true religion is still the same; and the above is a
scriptural sketch of it, whether we will hear, or whe-
ther we will forbear. So far too are real Christians
from being ashamed of this gospel method of saving
a lost world, that they make it their boast and song
all the day through " in the house of their pilgri-
mage."
" IH praise my Maker with my breath;
And when my Toice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne'er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures."
They experience its effects in raising them from
God: they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned."—1 Cor. h. 14.
They were blind to all the glories of the gospel scheme. They
neither saw nor felt their need of such a redemption as is
therein exhibited. What wonder then if they spent their lives
in opposing its gracious designs?
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 41
the ruins of their fall. They lament with sincere
contrition the sins and follies of their unregenerate
state. They discover nothing but condemnation,
while they remain under the covenant of works.
They flee for refuge to the only hope of sinful men :
and consider themselves as the happiest of God's
creatures, in having this plank thrown out, on which
they are permitted to escape safe to land. In the
meantime, they feel this religion makes them easy,
comfortable, and happy; and seems adapted with
consummate wisdom to their state and circum-
stances.
" Soft peace she brings, wherever she arrives,
She builds her quiet as she forms our lives:
Lays the rough paths of peevish nature even,
And opens in each breast a little heaven."
This is the portion of happiness which the gospel
yields us while we live, and we have not the smallest
fear that it will fail us when we die. On the con-
trary, we know that "our light affliction" in this
world, " which is," comparatively, " but for a mo-
ment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eter-
nal weight of gloryand that, " if our earthly
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a
building of God, a house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens." (')
(1) " If there is one condition in this life more happy than
another," says a great author," it is, surely, that of him, who
founds all his hopes of futurity on the promises of the Gospel;
who carefully endeavours to conform his actions to its precepts;
looking upon the great God Almighty as his protector here,
his reward hereafter, and his everlasting preserver. This is a
42
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
" Nothing on earth we call our own,
But, strangers to the world unknown,
We all their goods despise;
We trample on their whole delight,
And seek a city out of sight,
A country in the skies."
If then the religion of Jesus Christ be a delusion,
it is, at least, a happy delusion; and even a wise
man would scarcely wish to be undeceived. He
would rather be ready to say with the great Roman
orator, when speaking of the immortality of the soul:
—" If in this I err, I willingly err ; nor, while I live,
shall any man wrest from me this error, with which
I am extremely delighted." (')
If we wish to exemplify these observations, it
would be no difficult matter to produce various very
striking instances of persons, as well from the Sacred
Writings, as from the history of these latter ages,
whose conduct and character have been conformable
frame of mind so perfective of our nature, tliat if Christianity,
from a belief of which it can only be derived, was as certainly
false as it is certainly true, one could not help wishing that it
might he universally received in the world."
Mr. Pope has a declaration to Bishop Atterhury to the same
purport, which is worthy of memorial. " The hoy despises the
infant, the man the hoy, the philosopher both, and the Christian
all."
(1) " Si in hoc erro, lubenter erro: nec mihi hunc errorem,
quo delector, dum vivo, extorqueri volo."
Mr. Addison also very properly saith, when speaking of the
immortality of the soul, " If it is a dream, let me enjoy it;
since it makes me both the happier and the better man."—
Spectator, No. 186.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 43
to the above representations. But as the Bible is in
every one's hands, and may be consulted at pleasure,
we will call the attention of the reader to a few in-
stances of persons, who have been eminent in their
way, during these latter ages only, and some of them
even in our own times. These may be dying in-
fidels—penitent arjd recovered infidels—dying Chris-
tians, who have lived too much in the spirit of the
world—and Christians dying, either with great com-
posure of mind, or in the full assurance of faith. (])
I.—Examples of Dying Infidels.
" The wicked is driven away in his wickedness."—Prov. xiv. 32*
" Horrible is the end of the unrighteous generation."—Wis. iii. 19.
1. Mr. Hobbes was a celebrated infidel in the last
age, who, in bravado, would sometimes speak very
unbecoming things of God and his word. Yet, when
alone, he was haunted with the most tormenting re-
flections, and would awake in great terror, if his
candle happened only to go out in the night He
could never bear any discourse of death, and seemed
to cast off all thought of it (2) He lived to be up-
(1) " There is nothing in history," says this elegant writer
in another place,"which is so improving to the reader as
those accounts which we meet with of the deaths of eminent
persons, and of their behaviour at that dreadful season. I
may also add, that there are no parts in history which affect
and please the reader in so sensible a manner."—Spectator,
No. 289.
(2) What an amiable character was the heathen Socrates,
when compared with this infidel philosopher! Just before
44
A PLEA FOE RELIGION
wards of ninety. His last sensible words were,
when he found he could live no longer, " I shall be
glad then to find a hole to creep out of the world
at." And, notwithstanding all his high pretensions
to learning and philosophy, his uneasiness constrained
him to confess, when he drew near to the grave, that
" he was about to take a leap in the dark." The
writings of this old sinner ruined the Earl of Ro-
Chester, and many other gentlemen of the first parts
in this nation, as that nobleman himself declared
after his conversion.
2. The account which the celebrated Sully gives
us of young Servin, is out of the common way.
" The beginning of June, 1623," says he, " I set
out for Calais, where I was to embark, having with
me a retinue of upwards of two hundred gentlemen,
or who called themselves such, of whom a consider-
able number were really of the first distinction.
Just before my departure, old Servin came and pre-
sented his son to me, and begged I would use my
endeavours to make him a man of some worth and
the cup of poison was brought him, entertaining his friends
with an admirable discourse on the immortality of the soul, he
has these words: " Whether or no God will approve my actions
I know not; but this I am sure of, that I have at all times
made it my endeavour to please him, and I have a good hope
that this my endeavour will be accepted by him."
Who can doubt, but the merits of the all-atoning Lamb of
God were extended to this virtuous heathen? How few pro-
fessed Christians can honestly make the same appeal!—
Besides, Socrates seems to have had as firm a faith in a
Saviour, then to come, as many of the most virtuous of the
Israelitish nation.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
45
honesty, but he confessed he dared not hope, not
through any want of understanding or capacity in
the young man, but from his natural inclination to
all kinds of vice. The old man was in the right: what
he told me having excited my curiosity to gain a
thorough knowledge of young Servin, 1 found him
to be at once both a wonder and a monster; for I
can give no other idea of that assemblage of the most
excellent and most pernicious qualities. Let the
reader represent to himself a man of a genius so
lively, and an understanding so extensive, as ren-
dered him scarcely ignorant of any thing that could
be known; of so vast and ready a comprehension,
that he immediately made himself master of what he
attempted; and of so prodigious a memory, that he
never forgot what he had once learned ; he possessed
all parts of philosophy and the mathematics, particu-
larly fortification and drawing. Even in theology he
was so well skilled, that he was an excellent preacher,
whenever he had a mind to exert that talent, and an
able disputant for and against the reformed religion
indifferently. He not only understood Greek, He-
brew, and all the languages which we call learned,
but also the different jargons or modern dialects.
He accented and pronounced them so naturally, and
so perfectly imitated the gestures and manners both
of the several nations of Europe, and the particular
provinces of France, that he might have been taken
for a native of all or any of these countries ; and this
quality he applied to counterfeit all sorts of persons,
wherein he succeeded wonderfully. He was, more-
over, the best comedian and greatest droll that
46
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
perhaps ever appeared ; he had a genius for poetry,
and wrote many verses ; he played upon almost all
instruments, was a perfect master of music, and sung
most agreeably and justly. He likewise could say
mass, for he was of a disposition to do, as well as to
know, all things ; his body was perfectly well suited
to his mind, he was light, nimble, dexterous, and fit
for all exercises; he could ride well, and in dancing,
wrestling, and leaping, he was admired; there are no
recreative games which he did not know; and he
was skilled in almost all the mechanic arts. But now
for the reverse of the medal: here it appeared that
he was treacherous, cruel, cowardly, deceitful; a liar,
a cheat, a drunkard, and a glutton; a sharper in
play, immersed in every species of vice, a bias-
phemer, an atheist; in a word, in him might be
found all the vices contrary to nature, honour, reli-
gion, and society: the truth of which he himself
evinced with his latest breath, for he died in the
flower of his age, in a common brothel, perfectly
corrupted by his debaucheries, and expired with a
glass in his hand, cursing and denying God."
It is evident from this extraordinary case, that
" with the talents of an angel a man may be a fool."
There is no necessary connexion between great na-
tural abilities and religious qualifications. They
may go together, but they are frequently found
asunder.
3. The Honourable Francis Newport, who died
in the year 1692, was favoured both with a liberal
and religious education. After spending five years
in the university, he was entered in one of the inns
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
47
of court. Here he fell into the hands of infidels,
lost all his religious impressions, commenced infidel
himself, and became a most abandoned character,
uniting himself to a club of wretches, who met
together constantly to encourage each other in being
critically wicked. In this manner he conducted him-
self for several years, till at length his intemperate
courses brought on an illness, which revived all his
former religious impressions, accompanied with inex-
pressible horror of mind. The violence of his tor-
ments was such that he sweat in the most prodigious
manner that ever was seen. In nine days he was
reduced from a robust state of health to perfect
weakness; during all which time his language was
the most dreadful that imagination can conceive.
At one time, looking towards the fire, he said, " Oh!
that I was to lie and broil upon that fire for a hun-
dred thousand years, to purchase the favour of God,
and be reconciled to him again; but it is a fruitless,
vain wish ; millions of millions of years will bring
me no nearer to the end of my tortures than one
poor hour. O eternity! eternity ! who can pro-
perly paraphrase upon the words—for ever and
ever!"
In this kind of strain he went on, till his strength
was exhausted, and his dissolution approached; when,
recovering a little breath, with a groan so dreadful
and loud, as if it had not been human, he cried out,
" Oh ! the insufferable pangs of hell and damna-
tion !" and so died ; death settling the visage of his
face in such a form, as if the body, though dead,
was sensible of the extremity of torments.
It may be much questioned, whether a more
48
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
affecting narrative (') was ever composed in any lan-
guage, than the true history of this unhappy gentle-
man's last sickness and death. It is greatly to be
desired, that men of all denominations would give it
a serious perusal.
4. Mr. William Emmerson was, at the same time,
an infidel, and one of the first mathematicians of the
age. Though, in some respects, he might be consi-
dered as a worthy man, his conduct through life was
rude, vulgar, and frequently immoral. He paid no
attention to religious duties, and both intoxication
and profane language were familiar to him. To-
wards the close of his days, being afflicted with the
stone, he would crawl about the floor on his hands
and knees, sometimes praying, and sometimes swear-
ing, as the humour took him. (2) What a poor
creature is man without religion ! Sir Isaac Newton
died of the same disorder, which was attended, at
times, with such severe paroxysms, as forced out
large drops of sweat that ran down his face. In
these trying circumstances, however, he was never
observed to utter any complaint, or to express the
least impatience. What a striking contrast between
the conduct of the infidel and the Christian.
5. Monsieur Voltaire, during a long life, was con-
tinually treating the Holy Scriptures with contempt,
(1) It has been sometimes called the second Spira.
(2) This extraordinary man, by way of justifying his own
irreligious conduct, drew up his objections to the Sacred Writ-
ings much in the same way as Thomas Paine; hut it does
not appear that they were ever laid before the public, as
Paine's have been.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 49
and endeavouring to spread the poison of infidelity
through the nations. See, however, the end of such
a conduct. In his last illness he sent for Dr. Tron-
chin; who, when he came, found Voltaire in the
greatest agonies, exclaiming with the utmost horror,
" I am abandoned by God and man." He then
said, " Doctor, I will give you half of what I am
worth, if you will give me six months' life." The
Doctor answered, " Sir, you cannot live six weeks."
Voltaire replied, " Then I shall go to hell, and you
will go with me I" and soon after expired.
This is the hero of modern infidels ! Dare any of
them say—"Let me die the death of Voltaire, and
let my last end be like his !" Wonderful infatuation !
This unhappy gentleman occupies the first niche in
the French pantheon! That he was a man of great
and various talents none can deny; but his want of
sound learning, and moral qualifications, will ever
prevent his being ranked with the benefactors of man-
kind, by the wise and good. Such a hero indeed is be-
fitting a nation under judicial infatuation, to answer
the wise ends of the Governor of the world. If the
reader has felt himself injured by the poison of this
man's writings, he may find relief for his wounded mind
by perusing carefully Findley's Vindication of the
Sacred Books from the Misrepresentations and Ca-
vils of Voltaire ; and Lefanu's Letters of certain
Jews to Voltaire. The hoary infidel cuts but a very
sorry figure in the hands of these sons of Abraham.
Since the publication of the first edition of this
work, we have had an account of the last days of this
extraordinary man, by the Abbe Barruel, author of
" The History of the French Clergy." And it is so
E
50
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
extremely interesting, that I will lay it before the
reader, in a translation of that gentleman's own
words, taken from his " History of Jacobinism," by
the editor of the " British Critic."
" It was during Voltaire's last visit to Paris, when
his triumph was complete, and he had even feared
that he should die with glory, amidst the acclama-
tions of an infatuated theatre, that he was struck
by the hand of Providence, and fated to make a very
different termination of his career.
" In the midst of his triumphs, a violent hemorr-
hage raised apprehensions for his life. D'Alembert,
Diderot, and Marmontel hastened to support his
resolution in his last moments, but were only wit-
nesses to their mutual ignominy, as well as to his
own.
" Here let not the historian fear exaggeration.
Rage, remorse, reproach, and blasphemy, all accom-
pany and characterize the long agony of the dying
atheist. His death, the most terrible ever recorded
to have stricken the impious man, will not be denied
by his companions in impiety. Their silence, how-
ever much they may wish to deny it, is the least of
those corroborative proofs which might be adduced.
Not one of the sophisters has ever dared to mention
any sign given of resolution or tranquillity, by the
premier chief, during the space of three months,
which elapsed from the time he was crowned in the
theatre, until his decease. Such a silence expresses
how great their humiliation was in his death!
" It was in his return from the theatre, and in the
midst of the toils he was resuming in order to ac-
quire fresh applause, when Voltaire was warned, that
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
51
the long career of his impiety was drawing to an
end.
" In spite of all the sophisters, flocking around
him, in the first days of his illness, he gave signs of
wishing to return to God whom he had so often
blasphemed. He called for the priest who minis-
tered to him, whom he had sworn to crush, under
the appellation of the Wretch. (') His danger in-
creasing, he wrote the following note to the Abbe
Gaultier:—' You had promised, sir, to come and
hear me. I entreat you would take the trouble
of calling as soon as possible.' Signed, ' Voltaire.
Paris, the 26th February, 1778.'
" A few days after this he wrote the following
declaration, in the presence of the same Abbe Gaul-
tier, the Abbe Mignot, and the Marquis de Ville-
vieille, copied from the minutes deposited with Mr.
Momet, notary, at Paris:
" ' I, the under-written, declare, that for these four
days past, having been afflicted with a vomiting of
blood, at the age of eighty-four, and not having been
able to drag myself to the church, the Rev. the
Rector of St. Sulpice having been pleased to add to
his good works, that of sending to me the Abbe
Gaultier, a priest, I confessed to him! and if it
please God to dispose of me, I die in the Holy Ca-
tholic Church, in which I was born ; hoping that the
divine mercy will deign to pardon all my faults. If
(1) It had been customary during many years, for Voltaire
to call our blessed Saviour—The Wretch. And he vowed that
he would crush him. He closes many of his letters to his
infidel friends with the same words—Crush the Wretch!
52
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
ever I have scandalized the Church, I ask pardon of
God and of the Church. Second of March, 1778.'
Signed, 'Voltaire. In presence of the Abbe Mignot,
my nephew, and the Marquis de Villevieille, my
friend.'
" After the two witnesses had signed this decla-
ration, Voltaire added these words, copied from the
same minutes :—' The Abbe Gaultier, my confessor,
having apprised me, that it was said among a certain
set of people, I should protest against every thing I
did at my death; I declare I never made such a
speech, and that it is an old jest, attributed long
since to many of the learned, more enlightened than
I am.'
" Was this declaration a fresh instance of his
former hypocrisy ? for he had the mean hypocrisy,
even in the midst of his efforts against Christianity,
to receive the sacrament regularly, and to do other
acts of religion, merely to be able to deny his infi-
delity, if accused of it.
" Unfortunately, after the explanations we have
seen him give of his exterior acts of religion, might
there not be room for doubt ? Be that as it may,
there is a public homage paid to that religion in
which he declared he meant to die, notwithstanding
his having- perpetually conspired against it during
his life. This declaration is also signed by the same
friend and adept, the Marquis de Villevieille, to
whom, eleven years before, Voltaire was wont to
write,' Conceal your march from the enemy, in your
endeavours to crush the Wretch ! '
" Voltaire had permitted this declaration to be
carried to the rector of St. Sulpice, and to the arch-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 53
bishop of Paris, to know whether it would be suffi-
cient. When the Abbe Gaultier returned with the
answer, it was impossible for him to gain admittance
to the patient. The conspirators had strained every
nerve to hinder the chief from consummating his
recantation ; and every avenue was shut to the priest,
whom Voltaire himself had sent for. The demons
haunted every access; rage succeeds to fury, and
fury to rage again, during the remainder of his life.
" Then it was that D'Alembert, Diderot, and
about twenty others of the conspirators, who had
beset his apartment, never approached him, but to
witness their own ignominy; and often he would
curse them and exclaim, ' Retire, it is you that have
brought me to my present state ! Begone ! I could
have done without you all; but you could not exist
without me! And what a wretched glory have you
procured me !'
" Then would succeed the horrid remembrance
of his conspiracy. They could hear him, the prey
of anguish and dread, alternately supplicating or
blaspheming that God, against whom he had con-
spired; and in plaintive accents he would cry out,
' Oh Christ I Oh Jesus Christ I' and then com-
plain that he was abandoned by God and man. The
hand, which had traced in ancient writ the sentence
of an impious and reviling king, seemed to trace
before his eyes, Crush, then, do crush the Wretch !
In vain he turned his head away; the time Avas
coming apace when he was to appear before the tri-
bunal of him whom he had blasphemed; and his
physicians, particularly Mr. Tronchin, calling in to ad-
minister relief, thunderstruck, retired, declaring that
54
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
the death of the impious man was terrible indeed.
The pride of these conspirators would willingly have
suppressed these declarations, but it was in vain.
The Mareschal de Richelieu flies from the bed-side,
declaring it to be a sight too terrible to be sustained;
and Mr. Tronchin, that the furies of Orestes could
give but a faint idea of those of Voltaire." (')
6. Mr. Addison mentions a gentleman, in France,
who was so zealous a promoter of infidelity, that he
had got together a select company of disciples, and
travelled into all parts of the kingdom to make con-
verts. In the midst of his fantastical success he fell
sick, and was reclaimed to such a sense of his condi-
(1) Diderot and D'Alembert also, his friends and com-
panions in infidelity, are said to have died with remorse of
conscience somewhat similar to the above.
This account of the unhappy end of Voltaire is confirmed
bv a letter from M. de Luc, an eminent philosopher and a
man of the strictest honour and probity.
Let the reader consult D'Alembert's account of the death of
Voltaire, in a letter to the King of Prussia, and his Eulogium
at Berlin, where it is partly denied; but denied in such a way
as to give strong reason to suppose his end was without honour.
—See King of Prussia's Works, vol. 12, p. 130—152; and vol.
13, p. 517.
Mr. Cowper, in his Poem on Truth, has alluded to the above
circumstances in the character of this arch-infidel:
" The Frenchman, first in literary fame,
(Mention him, if you please—Voltaire?—The same,)
With spirit, genius, eloquence, supplied,
Lived long, wrote much, laugh'd heartily, and died;
The Scripture was his jest-book, whence he drew
Bon-mots to gall the Christian and the Jew.
An infidel in health; but what, when sick?
Oh then, a text would touch him at the quick!"
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 55
tion, that after he had passed some time in great
agonies and horrors of mind, he begged those who
had the care of burying him, to dress his body in
the habit of a capuchin, that the devil might not run
away with it; and to do further justice upon himself,
he desired them to tie a halter about his neck, as a
mark of that ignominious punishment, which, in his
own thoughts, he had so justly deserved.
7. The last days of David Hume, that celebrated
Deist, were spent in playing at whist, in cracking
his jokes about Charon and his boat, and in reading
Lucian, and other entertaining books. This is a
consummatum est worthy of a clever fellow, whose
" conscience was seared as with a hot iron!" Dr.
Johnson observes upon this impenitent death-bed
scene, "Hume owned he had never read the New
Testament with attention. Here then was a man,
who had been at no pains to inquire into the truth of
religion, and had continually turned his mind the other
way. It was not to be expected that the prospect of
death should alter his way of thinking, unless God
should send an angel to set him right. He had a
vanity in being thought easy." Dives " fared sump-
tuously every day," and saw no danger; but the next
thing we hear of him is—" In hell he lifted up his
eyes, being in torments!" (')
(1) It is much to be lamented that a man of Hume's abi-
lities should have prostituted his talents in the manner it is
well known he did. With all his pretensions to philosophy,
he was an advocate for adultery and suicide. The reader will
find a sufficient answer to his sophistry in Home's Letters on
Infidelity, Beattie's Essay on the Nature and Immutability of
56
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Mr. Gibbon says, " He died the death of a philo-
sopher!" (') Bravo ! bravo ! If philosophers die
Truth, in Opposition to Sophistry and Scepticism, and Camp-
hell on the Miracles of Christ.
[See also some very just and striking reflections concerning
Hume, in the Eclectic Review for February, 1808.]—Ed.
Mr. Gibbon was one of the most respectable Deists of the
present age, and more like Hume, in several respects, than
any other of the opposers of Christianity. Very sufficient
reasons, however, may be given for his infidelity, without in
the least impeaching the credit of the evangelical system.
Mr. Porson, in the preface to his Letters to Mr. Archdeacon
Travis, after giving a very high, and, indeed, just character of
Mr. Gibbon's celebrated History, seems to account for his
rejecting the gospel in a satisfactory manner, from the state of
his mind. " He shows," says this learned gentleman, " so
strong a dislike to Christianity, as visibly disqualifies him for
that society, of which he has created Ammianus Marcellinus
president. I confess that I see nothing wrong in Mr. Gibbon's
attack on Christianity.* It proceeded, I doubt not, from the
purest and most virtuous motive. We can only blame him for
carrying on the attack in an insidious manner, and with im-
proper motives. He often makes, when he cannot readily find,
an occasion to insult our religion; which he hates so cordially
that he might seem to revenge some personal injury. Such is
his eagerness in the cause, that he stoops to the most des-
picable pun, or to the most awkward perversion of language,
for the pleasure of turning Scripture into ribaldry, or of calling
Jesus an impostor. A rage for indecency pervades the whole
work, but especially the last volumes. If the history were
anonymous, I should guess that these disgraceful obscenities
were written by some debauchee, who having from age, or
accident, or excess, survived the practice of lust, still indulged
himself in the luxury of speculation: and exposed the impo-
tent imbecility, after he had lost the vigour of the passions."
(1) Such are the opposers of Jesus and his Gospel! Let us
* This seems a culpable excess of candour, amounting almost to indif-
ference.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 57
in such a manner, may it be my lot to die like an
old-fashioned and enthusiastic Christian.
8. Of all the accounts which are left us of the
latter end of those who are gone before into the
eternal state, several are more horrible, but few so
affecting as that which is given us, by his own pen,
of the late all-accomplished Earl of Chesterfield. It
shows incontestibly, what a poor creature man is,
notwithstanding the highest polish he is capable of
receiving, without the knowledge and experience of
those comforts, which true religion yields : and what
egregious fools all those persons are, who squander
away their precious time in what the world, by a
strange perversion of language, calls pleasure.
see how this sneering antagonist of Christianity terminated
his mortal career.
Eager for the continuation of his present existence, having
little expectation of any future one, he declared to a friend
about twenty-four hours previous to his departure, in a flow of
self-gratulation, that he thought himself a good life for ten,
twelve, or perhaps twenty years. And during his short illness,
it is observable that he never gave the least intimation of a
future state of existence. This insensibility at the hour of
dissolution, is, in the language of scepticism, dying like a
clever fellow, the death of a philosopher!
See Evans's Attempt to account for the Infidelity of Edward
Gibbon, Esq.
Among all the numerous volumes that Mr. Gibbon read, it
does not appear that he ever perused any able defence, or
judicious explication of the Christian religion.—Consult his
Memoirs and Diary written by himself. His conversion and
re-conversion terminated in Deism: or rather, perhaps, in a
settled indifference to all religion. He never more gave him-
self much concern about it.
58
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
" I have enjoyed," says that finished character,
" all the pleasures of this world, and consequently
know their futility, and do not regret their loss. I
appraise them at their real value, which, in truth, is
very low; whereas, those who have not experienced
always overrate them. They only see their gay out-
side, and are dazzled with their glare; but I have
been behind the scenes. It is a common notion,
and, like many common ones, a very false one, that
those who have led a life of pleasure and business,
can never be easy in retirement; whereas, I am per-
suaded that they are the only people who can, if they
have any sense and reflection. They can look back
oculo irretorto (without an evil eye) upon what they
from knowledge despise ; others have always a han-
kering after what they are not acquainted with. I
look upon all that has passed as one of those roman-
tic dreams which opium commonly occasions; and
I do by no means desire to repeat the nauseous dose,
for the sake of the fugitive dream. When I say
that I have no regret, I do not mean that I have no
remorse; for a life either of business, or still more
of pleasure, never was and never will be, a state of
innocence. But God, who knows the strength of
human passions, and the weakness of human reason,
will, it is to be hoped, rather mercifully pardon,
than justly punish, acknowledged errors. I have
been as wicked and as vain, though not so wise, as
Solomon; but am now at last wise enough to feel
and attest the truth of his reflection, that all is
vanity and vexation of spirit. This truth is never
sufficiently discovered or felt by mere speculation:
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
59
experience, in this case, is necessary for conviction,
though perhaps at the expense of some morality.
" My health is always bad, though sometimes
better and sometimes worse; and my deafness de-
prives me of the comforts of society, which other
people have in their illnesses. This, you must allow,
is an unfortunate latter end of my life, and conse-
quently a tiresome one ; but I must own too, that it is
a sort of balance to the tumultuous and imaginary
pleasures of the former part of it. I consider my
present wretched old age as a just compensation for
the follies, not to say sins, of my youth. At the
same time I am thankful that I feel none of those
torturing ills which frequently attend the last stage
of life; and I flatter myself, that I shall go off
quietly, but I am sure with resignation. My stay in
this world cannot be long. God, who placed me
here, only knows when he will order me out of it;
but whenever he does, I shall willingly obey his
commands. I wait for it, imploring the mercy of
my Creator, and deprecating his justice. The best
of us must trust to the former, and dread the latter.
" I think I am not afraid of my journey's end;
but will not answer for myself, when the object
draws very near, and is very sure. For when one
does see death near, let the best or the worst people
say what they please, it is a serious consideration.
The divine attribute of mercy, which gives us com-
fort, cannot make us forget, nor ought it, the attri-
bute of justice, which must blend some fears with
our hope.
" Life is neither a burden nor a pleasure to me;
but a certain degree of ennui necessarily attends
60
A PLEA FOE RELIGION
that neutral state, which makes me very willing to
part with it, when he who placed me here thinks fit
to call me away. When I reflect, however, upon
the poor remainder of my life, I look upon it as a
burden that must every day grow heavier and hea-
vier, from the natural progression of physical ills,
the usual companions of increasing years. My
reason tells me, that I should wish for the end of it;
but instinct, often stronger than reason, and perhaps
often in the right, makes me take all proper methods
to put it off. This innate sentiment alone makes me
bear life with patience ; for I assure you I have no
further hopes, but on the contrary, many fears from
it None of the primitive Anachorites in the The-
bais could be more detached from life than I am. I
consider it as one who is wholly unconcerned in it,
and even when I reflect upon what I have seen,
what I have heard, and what I have done myself, I
can hardly persuade myself that all the frivolous
hurry and bustle, and pleasures of the world, had
any reality, but they seem to have been the dreams
of restless nights. This philosophy, however, I
thank God, neither makes me sour nor melancholy;
I see the folly and absurdity of mankind without in-
dignation or peevishness. I wish them wiser, and
consequently better, than they are." (')
(1) Miscellaneous Works, vol. iii. passim.—The Letters of
that celebrated nobleman, which he wrote to his son, contain
positive evidence that, with all his honours, learning, wit, and
politeness, he was a thorough bad man, with a heart full of
deceit and uncleanness. Those Letters have been a pest to the
young nobility and gentry of this nation. It may be ques-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 61
This is the life, these are the mortifying acknow-
ledgments, and this is the poor sneaking end of the
best bred man of the age ! Not one word about a
tioned whether Rochester's Poems ever did more harm. This
celebrated nobleman was accounted not only the most polite
and well-bred man, but the greatest wit of his time. Various
jeux dyesprit are accordingly handed about, as haying proceeded
from him on different occasions. The two following, which
contain an allusion to the Sacred Writings, I will take the
liberty of presenting to the reader.
Chesterfield being invited to dine with the Spanish ambas-
sador, met the minister of France, and some others. After
dinner, the Spaniard proposed a toast, and begged to give his
Master, under the title of the sun. The French ambassador's
turn came next, who gave his under the description of the
moon. Lord Chesterfield being asked for his, replied, "Your
Excellencies have taken from me all the greatest luminaries
of heaven, and the stars are too small for a comparison with
my royal master; I therefore beg leave to give your Excel-
lencies—Joshua!"
The other instance is still more pertinent. The Earl being
at Brussels, was waited on by Voltaire, who politely invited
him to sup with him and Madame C . His Lordship
accepted the invitation. The conversation happening to turn
upon the affairs of England," I think, my Lord," said Madame
C " that the Parliament of England consists of five or six
hundred of the best informed and most sensible men in the
kingdom 1"— "True, Madame; they are generally supposed
to be so."—" What then, my Lord, can be the reason that they
tolerate so great an absurdity as the Christian religion I"—" I
suppose, Madame," replied his Lordship, "it is because they
have not been able to substitute any thing better in its stead;
when they can, I don't doubt but, in their wisdom, they will
readily accept it."
To have entered into a serious defence of the Gospel of
Christ, with such a pert and flippant lady, would have been
the height of folly; but such an answer as this, was better
62
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Mediator! He acknowledges, indeed, his frailties,
but yet in such a way as to extenuate his offences.
One would suppose he had been an old heathen phi-
losopher, who had never heard of the name of Jesus!
rather than a penitent Christian, whose life had
abounded with a variety of vices.
How little and how poor is man, in his most
finished estate, without religion ! Let us hear in
what manner the lively believer in Jesus takes his
leave of this mortal scene: "lam now ready to be
offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I
have fought a good fight; I have finished my course;
I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for
me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, will give me at that day."
9. The sad evening before the death of the noble
Altamont, I was with him. No one was there but
his physician, and an intimate friend whom he loved,
and whom he had ruined. At my coming in, he
said—
"You and the physician are come too late. I
have neither life nor hope. You both aim at mi-
racles. You would raise the dead !"
" Heaven," I said, " was merciful,—"
" Or I could not have been thus guilty. What
has it not done to bless and to save me ? I have
been too strong for Omnipotence ! I plucked down
• i»
ruin I
I said, " The blessed Redeemer—"
calculated to silence her, than a thousand demonstrations,
which she would neither hare been able nor willing to under-
stand.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 63
" Hold ! hold ! you wound me ! This is the rock
on which I split—I denied his name."
Refusing to hear any thing from me, or take any
thing from the physician, he lay silent, as far as sud-
den darts of pain would permit, till the clock struck.
Then, with vehemence—
" Oh, Time! Time! it is fit thou shouldst thus
strike thy murderer to the heart. How art thou fled
for ever ? A month ! Oh, for a single week! I ask
not for years ; though an age were too little for the
much I have to do."
On my saying we could not do too much; that
heaven was a blessed place—
" So much the worse. 'Tis lost! 'tis lost! Hea-
ven is to me the severest part of hell!"
Soon after I proposed prayer.
" Pray you that can. I never prayed. I cannot
pray. Nor need I. Is not heaven on my side al-
ready ? It closes with my conscience. Its severest
strokes but second my own."
His friend being much touched, even to tears, at
this (who could forbear? I could not), with a most
affectionate look, he said, " Keep those tears for
thyself; I have undone thee. Don't weep for me!
That's cruel. What can pain me more ?"
Here his friend, too much affected, would have left
him;
"No, stay. Thou still mayest hope. Therefore
hear me. How madly have I talked! How madly
hast thou listened and believed! But look on my
present state, as a full answer to thee and to myself.
This body is all weakness and pain; but my soul, as
if strung up by torment to greater strength and spirit,
64
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
is full powerful to reason—full mighty to suffer.
And that which thus triumphs within the jaws of mor-
tality is, doubtless, immortal. And as for Deity, no-
thing less than an Almighty could inflict what I feel."
I was about to congratulate this passive involun-
tary confessor, on his asserting the two prime articles
of his creed, extorted by the rack of nature, when he
said thus, very passionately—
" No, no! let me speak on. I have not long to
speak. My much injured friend! my soul, as my
body, lies in ruins—in scattered fragments of broken
thought. Remorse for the past throws my thoughts
on the future; worse dread of the future strikes them
back on the past. I turn, and turn, and find no ray.
Didst thou feel half the mountain that is on me, thou
wouldst struggle with the martyr for his stake, and
bless heaven for the flames. That is not an ever-
lasting flame; that is not an unquenchable fire."
How were we struck! Yet soon after still more.
With what an eye of distraction, what a face of des-
pair, he cried out, " My principles have poisoned
my friend ; my extravagance has beggared my boy;
my unkindness has murdered my wife ! And is there
another hell ? Oh thou blasphemed, yet most in-
dulgent, Lord God ! Hell itself is a refuge, if it
hides me from thy frown."
Soon after his understanding failed. His terrified
imagination uttered horrors not to be repeated, or
ever forgotten. And ere the sun arose, the gay,
young, noble, ingenuous, accomplished, and most
wretched Altamont expired. (*)
(1) See Young's Centaur not Fabulous.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 65
It is not easy for imagination itself to form a more
affecting representation of a death-bed scene, than
that of this noble youth.
10. " Sir,—I was not long since called to visit a
poor gentleman, erewhile of the most robust body,
and of the gayest temper, I ever knew. But when I
visited him, oh, how was the glory departed from
him ! I found him no more that sprightly and viva-
cious son of joy which he used to be, but languish-
ing, pining away, and withering under the chastening
hand of God. His limbs feeble and trembling; his
countenance forlorn and ghastly; and the little
breath he had left, sobbed out in sorrowful sighs!
his body hastening apace to the dust, to lodge in the
silent grave—the land of darkness and desolation;
his soul just going to God who gave it; preparing itself
to wing away unto its long home; to enter upon an un-
changeable and eternal state. When I was come up
into his chamber, and had seated myself on his bed, he
first cast a most wistful look at me, and then began, as
well as he was able, to speak, ' Oh ! that I had been
wise, that I had known this, that I had considered
my latter end. Ah ! Mr. , Death is knocking
at my door; in a few hours more I shall draw my
last gasp ; and then judgment, the tremendous judg-
ment! how shall I appear, unprepared as I am, be-
fore the all-knowing and omnipotent God ? How
shall I endure the day of his coming ?' When I
mentioned, among many other things, that strict ho-
liness which he had formerly so slightly esteemed, he
replied, with a hasty eagerness, ' Oh ! that holiness
is the only thing I now long for. I have not words
to tell you how highly I value it. I would gladly
F
66
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
part with all my estate, large as it is, or a world, to
obtain it Now my benighted eyes are enlightened,
I clearly discern the things that are excellent. What
is there in the place whither I am going but God ?
or what is there to be desired on earth but reli-
gion ?' 4 But if this God should restore you to
health,' said I, ' think- you that you should alter your
former courses ?' ' I call heaven and earth to wit-
ness,' said he, ' I would labour for holiness, as I shall
soon labour for life. As for riches and pleasures,
and the applauses of men, I account them as dross
and dung, no more to my happiness than the feathers
that lie on the floor. Oh! if the righteous Judge
would try me once more ; if he would but reprieve
and spare me a little longer, in what a spirit would
I spend the remainder of my days ! I would know
no other business, aim at no other end, than perfect-
ing myself in holiness. Whatever contributed to
that, every means of grace, every opportunity of
spiritual improvement, should be dearer to me than
thousands of gold and silver. But alas! why do I
amuse myself with fond imaginations ? the best reso-
lutions are now insignificant, because they are too
late. The day in which I should have worked is
over and gone, and I see a sad horrible night ap-
proaching, bringing with it the blackness of dark-
ness for ever. Heretofore, woe is me! when God
called, I refused; when he invited, I was one of
them that made excuse. Now, therefore, I receive
the reward of my deeds; fearfulness and trembling
are come upon me; I smart, and am in sore anguish
already; and yet this is but the beginning of sor-
rows ! It doth not yet appear what I shall be; but
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 67
sure I shall be ruined, undone, and destroyed with
an everlasting destruction!'
" This sad scene I saw with mine eyes; these
words, and many more equally affecting, I heard
with mine ears; and soon after attended the un-
happy gentleman to his tomb." (')
11. Mr. Cumberland, in "The Observer," gives us
one of the most mournful tales that ever was re-
lated, concerning a gentleman of infidel principles,
whom he denominates Antitheus. " I remember
him," says he, " in the height of his fame, the hero
of his party ; no man so caressed, followed, and ap-
plauded. He was a little loose, his friends would
own, in his moral character, but then he was the
most honest fellow in the world. It was not to be
denied that he was rather free in his notions, but
then he was the best creature living. I have seen
(1) Extract of a Letter from Mr. Hervey to Beau Nash,
Esq. of Bath.
If the stings, lashes, twinges, and scorpions of a guilty con-
science are so horrible while we continue in the body, what
must they be when we are dislodged by death, and find that
our damnation is sealed by the Judge Supreme! Let the lost
soul in Shakspeare speak some little of future woe :—
" But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,
I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul; freeze thy warm blood;
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres;
Thy knotted and combined locks to part,
And each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the fretful porcupine:
But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood."
68
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
men of the gravest characters wink at his sallies,
because he was so pleasant, and so well bred, it was
impossible to be angry with him. Every thing went
well with him, and Antitheus seemed to be at the
summit of human prosperity, when he was suddenly
seized with the most alarming symptoms. He was
at his country house, and (which had rarely hap-
pened to him) he at that time chanced to be alone;
wife or family he had none, and out of the multi-
tude of his friends no one happened to be near him
at the time of his attack. A neighbouring physician
was called out of bed in the night, to come to him
with all haste in his extremity. He found him sitting
up in his bed, supported by pillows, his countenance
full of horror, his breath struggling as in the article
of death, his pulse intermitting, and at times beating
with such rapidity as could hardly be counted.
Antitheus dismissed the attendants he had about
him, and eagerly demanded of the physician, if he
thought him in danger. The physician answered,
that he must fairly tell him he was in imminent dan-
ger. ' How so ? how so ? do you think me dying ?'
He was sorry to say the symptoms indicated death.
' Impossible ! you must not let me die : I dare not
die : O doctor, save me if you can.' 'Your situation,
sir, is such, that it is not in mine or any other man's
art to save you; and I think I should not do my
duty, if I gave you any false hope in these moments,
which, if I am not mistaken, will not more than suf-
fice to settle any worldly or other concerns which
you may have upon your mind.' ' My mind is full
of horror,' cried the dying man, ' and I am incapable
of preparing it for death.' He now fell into an
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 69
agony, accompanied with a shower of tears; a cor-
dial was administered, and he revived in a degree ;
when, turning to the physician, who had his fingers
upon the pulse, he eagerly demanded of him, if he
did not see that blood upon the feet curtains of his
bed. There was none to be seen; the physician
assured him it was nothing but the vapour of his
fancy. ' I see it plainly,' said Antitheus, ' in the
shape of a human hand: I have been visited with a
tremendous apparition. As I was lying sleepless
in my bed this night, I took up a letter of a de-
ceased friend to dissipate certain thoughts which
made me uneasy. I believed him to be a great
philosopher, and was converted to his opinions. Per-
suaded by his arguments and my own experience
that the disorderly affairs of this evil world could not
be administered by any wise, just, or provident
Being, I had brought myself to think no such
Being could exist, and that a life produced by chance
must terminate in annihilation. This is the reason-
ing of that letter, and such were the thoughts I was
revolving in my mind, when the apparition of my
dear friend presented itself before me; and unfold-
ing the curtains of my bed, stood at my feet, looking
earnestly upon me for a considerable space of time.
My heart sunk within me; for his face was ghastly,
full of horror, with an expression of such anguish as
I can never describe. His eyes were fixed upon me,
and, at length, with a mournful motion of his head—-
Alas, alas! he cried, we are in a fatal error! and
taking hold of the curtains with his hand, shook
them violently, and disappeared. This, I protest to
70
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
you, I both saw and heard; and look, where the
print of his hand is left in blood upon the curtains!'
" Antitheus survived the relation of this vision
very few hours, and died delirious in great agonies."
What a forsaken and disconsolate creature is man
without his God and Saviour! (;)
(1) [The last moments of the highly talented Lord Byron
were peculiarly affecting. On the 9th of April, 1824, he took a
severe cold, which resisted the efforts of his medical attendants.
Fever succeeded; frequent bleeding was resorted to, without
success. On the 18th he appeared much dissatisfied, and ex-
pressed a fear that his disease was not understood; he evi-
dently became weaker every hour, and he had occasional fits of
delirium. In the course of the day he said," I now begin to
think I am seriously ill." He told me (says Mr. Fletcher, his
confidential attendant) that he had several directions to give
me, in case he was taken off suddenly. He added," it is now
nearly over, and I must tell you all, without losing a moment."
I proposed to fetch pen, ink, and paper; but he said," Oh no,
you will lose too much time, and I have it not to spare, for
my time is now short." After uttering a few sentences, his
Lordship appeared greatly affected, and his voice failed, so
that I could only catch a word at intervals; but he kept mut-
tering something very seriously, for some time, and raising
his voice, said, " Now, if you do not execute every order I
have given you, I will torment you hereafter, if possible."
Here, says Mr. Fletcher, I told his Lordship, in the greatest
perplexity, that I had not understood a word of what he had
said. " Oh! then all is lost, for it is now too late; can it be
possible, that you have not understood me?" " No, my Lord,
but I pray you to try and inform me once more." " How can
I ?" rejoined his Lordship. " It is now too late, and all is over."
I said " Not our will but God's be done;" he answered, " not
mine be done; I will try." He made several efforts,but could
only repeat two or three words at a time, such as " My wife—
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
71
12. Rousseau has the honour of the second place
in the French Pantheon. He was born at Geneva;
and, at a proper age, was bound an apprentice to an
artist. During his apprenticeship he frequently
robbed his master, as well as other persons. Before
his time was expired he decamped, and fled into the
dominions of the King of Sardinia, where he changed
his religion, and became a Catholic. By an unex-
pected turn of fortune, he became a footman, in
which capacity he forgot not his old habit of steal-
ing. He is detected with the stolen goods ; swears
they were given him by a maid servant of the house.
The girl, being confronted with him, denies the fact,
and, weeping, presses hjm to confess the truth; but
the young philosopher still persists in the lie, and
the poor girl is driven from her place in disgrace.
Tired of being a servant man, he went to throw
himself on the protection of a lady whom he had
seen once before, and who, he protests, was the
most virtuous creature of her sex. The lady had
so great a regard for him, that she called him her
my child—my sister. You know all. You must say all. You
know my wishes." The rest was quite unintelligible. He had
been nine days without taking any sustenance, except a few
spoonfuls of broth. A consultation was now held, when it was
determined to administer wine and bark. After taking it, he
expressed a wish to sleep. A friend desiring him to compose
himself, he shed tears, and apparently sank into a slumber; it
was the lethargy preceding death, as he did not move hand
or foot for twenty-four hours. At the expiration of that time,
at six o'clock in the evening of the 19th of April, he just
opened his eyes—shut them—and almost instantly expired.
— Westminster Review, 1824.]—Ed.
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A PLEA FOR RELIGION
little darling, and he called her mamma. Mamma
had a footman, who served her besides in another
capacity, very much resembling that of a husband;
but she had a most tender affection for her adopted
son Rousseau; and, as she feared he was forming
connexions with a certain lady, who might spoil his
morals, she herself, out of pure virtue, took him—
to bed with her! This virtuous effort to preserve
the purity of Rousseau's heart had a dreadful effect
on the poor footman, and so he poisoned himself.
Rousseau fell sick, and mamma was obliged to part
with little darling, while he performed a journey to
the south of France for the recovery of his health.
On the road he dines with a gentleman, and lies
with his wife. As he was returning back, he de-
bated with himself whether he should pay this lady
a second visit or not; but fearing he might be
tempted to seduce her daughter also, virtue got the
better, and determined the little darling to fly home
into the arms of his mamma; but, alas! those arms
were filled with another. Mamma's virtue had
prompted her to take a substitute, whom she liked
too well to part with, and our philosopher was
obliged to shift for himself. The reader should be
told, that the little darling, while he resided with
his mamma, went to make a tour with a young mu-
sician : their friendship was warm, like that of most
young men, and they were besides enjoined to take
particular care of each other during their travels.
They went on for some time together, agreed perfect-
ly well, and vowed an everlasting friendship for each
other: but the musician being one day taken in a
fit, fell down in the street, which furnished the
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 73
faithful Rousseau with an opportunity of slipping
off with some of his things, and leaving him to the
mercy of the people, in a town where he was a total
stranger.
We seldom meet with so much villany as this in a
youth. His manhood, however, was worthy of it:
he turned apostate a second time, was driven from
within the walls of his native city of Geneva, as an
incendiary, and an apostle of anarchy and infidelity;
nor did he forget how to thieve. At last the phi-
losopher marries; but like a philosopher; that is,
without going to church. He had a family of chil-
dren, and like a kind philosophical father, for fear
they should want after his death, he sends them to
the poor-house during his life time! To conclude,
the philosopher dies, and leaves the philosophress,
his wife, to the protection of a friend; she marries
a footman, and gets turned into the street.
This vile wretch has the impudence to say, in the
work written by himself, which contains a confes-
sion of these his crimes, that no man can come to
the throne of God and say, I am a better man than
Rousseau. (')
Notwithstanding the above unworthy circum-
stances, it must be owned that Rousseau's writings
have great literary merit, but then they contain
principles which might be expected from such a
person. He has exhausted all the powers of rea-
soning, and all the charms of eloquence, in the
(1) The above account of this strange man is taken from
his own Confessions, Peter Porcupine's Bloody Buoy, and the
accounts published at his death.
74
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
cause of anarchy and irreligion ; and his writings
are so much the more dangerous, as he winds him-
self into favour with the unwary, by an eternal cant
about virtue and liberty: he seems to have assumed
the mask of virtue for no other purpose than that
of propagating, with more certain success, the
blackest and most incorrigible vice.
This was the man and the writer whom the Con-
stituent Assembly held up to the imitation and even
adoration of the poor deluded French populace : he
and Voltaire, who never could agree in life, are
placed by each other's side in death, and made the
standard of French principles and religion to all
future generations.
We have seen how Voltaire terminated his earthly
career, we shall find Rousseau expiring with a lie in
his mouth, and the most imjuous appeal to the Di-
vine Being that was ever made by mortal man.
—" Ah! my dear," said he, to his wife, or mis-
tress, just before he expired, " how happy a thing
it is to die, when one has no reason for remorse, or
self-reproach!"—And then, addressing himself to
the Almighty, he said, " Eternal Being I the soul
that I am going to give thee back is as pure, at
this moment, as it was when it proceeded from thee;
render it partaker of thy felicity !"
These twelve examples are such as to give but
little encouragement to any person, who has a
proper concern for his own welfare, to embark
either in the atheistic or deistic schemes. In those
cases where conscience was awake, the unhappy
men were filled with anguish and amazement in-
expressible: and in those cases where conscience
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
75
seemed to be asleep, there appears nothing enviable
in their situation, even upon their own supposition,
that there is no after reckoning. If to die like an
ass be a privilege, I give them joy of it! much
good may it do them! May I die like a Christian,
having a hope blooming with immortal expectations !
Let us turn from these horrible instances of per-
verted reason, and take a view of some more pro-
mising scenes.
II.—Examples of Persons recovered from their
Infidelity.
" If, sick of folly, I relent, he writes
My name in heaven."
13. Charles Gildon, author of a book called " The
Oracles of Reason," was convinced of the fallacy of
his own arguments against religion, and the danger
of his situation, by reading " Leslie's Short Method
with a Deist." He afterwards wrote a defence of
Revealed Religion, entitled, " The Deist's Manual,"
and died in the Christian faith.
14. The late Lord Littleton, author of the His-
tory of Henry the Second, and his friend Gilbert
West, Esq. had both imbibed the principles of un-
belief, and had agreed together to write something
in favour of infidelity. To do this more effectually,
they judged it necessary, first, to acquaint them-
selves pretty well with the contents of the Bible.
By the perusal of that book, however, they were
both convinced of their error: both became con-
verts to the religion of Christ Jesus; both took up
76
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
their pens and wrote in favour of it; (') the former,
his " Observations on the Conversion of St. Paul
the latter, his " Observations on the Resurrection of
Christand both died in peace.
(1) Athenagoras, a famous Athenian philosopher in the
second century, had entertained so unfavourable an opinion
of the Christian religion, that he was determined to write
against it; but upon an intimate inquiry into the facts on
which it was supported, in the course of his collecting mate-
rials for his intended publication, he was convinced hy the
blaze of evidence in its favour, and turned his designed in-
vective into an elaborate apology, which is still in being.
The above Mr. West, writing to Dr. Doddridge, on the pub-
lication of his Memoirs of Colonel Gardiner, ascribes his own
conversion from a state of infidelity, into which he had been
seduced, to the care his mother had taken in his education.—
" I cannot help taking notice," says he, " of your remarks
upon the advantage of an early education in the principles of
religion, because I have myself most happily experienced it;
since I owe to the early care of a most excellent woman, my
mother, that bent and bias to religion, which, with the co-
operating grace of God, hath at length brought me hack to
those paths of peace, from whence I might have otherwise
been in danger of deviating for ever!"
Dr. Johnson tells us, that " Lord Littleton, in the pride of
juvenile confidence, with the help of corrupt conversation,
entertained doubts of the truth of Christianity; but he
thought afterwards it was no longer fit to doubt, or believe by
chance; and therefore applied himself seriously to the great
question. His studies being honest, ended in conviction:
he found that religion was true, and what he had learned, he
endeavoured to teach, by Observations on the Conversion of
St. Paul; a treatise to which Infidelity has never been able
to fabricate a specious answer." Two days previous to his
dissolution, this great and good man addressed his physician
in these memorable words—" Doctor, you shall be my con-
fessor. When I first set out in the world, I had friends who
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 77
15. Sir John Pringle, one of the first characters
of the present age, though blessed with a religious
education, contracted the principles of infidelity,
endeavoured to shake my belief in the Christian religion; I
saw difficulties which staggered me, but I kept my mind open
to conviction. The evidences and doctrines of Christianity,
studied with attention, made me a most firm and persuaded
believer of the Christian religion. I have made it the rule of
my life, and—it is the ground of my future hopes."
The conversion of the Rev. John Newton, late Rector of
St. Mary Woolnoth, in London, is also extremely remarkable.
He was bom of religious parents, and brought up in his
younger years, in a religious manner. The impressions of
this kind seemed to he strong and deep. At length, however,
the admonitions of conscience, which, from successive re-
pulses, had grown weaker and weaker, entirely ceased: he
commenced infidel; and for the space of many months, if
not for some years, he does not recollect that he had a single
check of that sort. At times he was visited with sickness,
and believed himself near to death; hut he had not, like
Mr. Paine in the same situation, the least concern about the
consequences: he seemed to have every mark of final impe-
nitence and rejection; neither judgments nor mercies made
the least impression on him.
In this unhappy condition he continued a number of years,
all the time improving himself under very unpropitious cir-
cumstances, in classical and mathematical learning. At the
age of about twenty-three or twenty-four, however, it pleased
God to call him by his grace, " out of darkness" and delusion
" into his marvellous light," and, in due time, into " the glo-
rious liberty of the children of God." He lived for many
years under the porver and influence of religion, and was an
eminent instrument of good to many thousands of souls by
his preaching and writings.
It is remarkable, that in this case also, a religious educa-
tion seemed to he the remote means of his conversion, after
all his wanderings from the path of duty.
78
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
when he came to travel abroad in the world. But
as he scorned to be an implicit believer, he was
equally averse to being an implicit unbeliever: he
[Mr. Newton was the friend of Cowper, the poet, and a man
of great worth and usefulness in the Church. His life was a
model of Christian simplicity, and his death did honour to
his profession.
His attainments in the various branches of polite and pro-
found literature were considerable: he correctly understood,
and faithfully taught, the truth of God; and the Established
Church has had but feiv ministers of whom it could be mure
appositely said, " He was a burning and a shining light."
Mr. Newton composed an epitaph for himself, desiring that
it might he put up near the vestry door: his executors have
complied strictly with his injunctions. The following is a
correct copy:—
John Newton, Clerk,
once an Infidel and Libertine, a Servant of Slaves in Africa,
was,
by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ,
Preserved, Restored, Pardoned!
and appointed to preach the Faith
he had long laboured to destroy.
He ministered
near 16 years as a Curate and Vicar of Olney, in Berks;
and 28 years as rector of these United Parishes.*
On Feb. 1st, 1750, he married
Mary,
daughter of the late George Catlett,
of Chatham, Kent;
whom he resigned to the Lord who gave her,
on Dec. 15, 1799.
He died on Dec. 21, 1807, aged 82 years;
and his mortal Remains are deposited in the Vault
beneath this Church.]—Ed.
* St. Mary Woolnoth, and St. Mary Woolchurch Haw, Lombard Street.
—See his Life by the Rev. Richard Cecil.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 79
therefore set himself to examine the principles of
the Gospel of Christ, with all caution and serious-
ness. The result of his investigation was, a full
[Another extraordinary interposition of Divine power and
goodness may he adduced in the more recent conversion of
the Rev. Cornelius Neale. He was Senior Wrangler, First
Smith's Prizeman, and Second Medallist, in the University of
Cambridge, in the year 1812; and early the next year was
elected Fellow of his College of St. John's. He had the
advantage of very pious and excellent parents: from early
life he had been the subject of religious impressions, but a
deep and painful aversion to the interior influence of religion,
and its command over conscience, seems more and more to
have spread itself in his mind; and several succeeding years
passed away, in a kind of intellectual idolatry of Shakspeare
and Newton, and other heroes of literature and science, be-
fore those convictions returned in transforming energy. Al-
though, at one season, he determined to banish all thoughts
of religion, and all care for his soul, and (to use his own ex-
pression) " to live as I list, and die as I could," yet he was
never able to persuade himself to scepticism; he could not
doubt the truth of the Bible, as being the word of God. His
passion for works of imagination was insatiable; the miser-
able refuge, indeed, of a heart destitute of real happiness,
aware of its own wretchedness, and yet reluctant to yield to
the strivings of God's Holy Spirit, and to the convictions of
conscience. In this state he continued eight years. A slight
seizure of hemorrhage at length overtook him; it produced
evident terror in his mind; determined to put away thought, he
sent to the library for the last new novel of Walter Scott's;
he read the beginning, but in vain; turned over many sue-
cessive pages, still in vain; and found himself looking at the
end blank leaf; when suddenly a strong impression came
across his mind, not, indeed, in the same way, hut as forcibly
as if a voice were speaking to him, " There is mercy yet!"
reiterating the expression, so that he could, as it were, see or
hear nothing else. With unutterable indignation against
80
a plea for religion
conviction of the divine origin and authority of the
Gospel. The evidence of Revelation appeared to
him to be solid and invincible; and the nature of it
to be such as demanded his warmest acceptance.
16. Soame Jenyns, Esq. Member of Parliament
for Cambridge, by some means had been warped
aside into the paths of infidelity, and continued in
this state of mind several years. Finding his spirit,
however, not at rest, he was induced to examine the
grounds upon which his unbelief was founded: he
discovered his error, was led to believe in the Sa-
viour of Mankind, and wrote a small treatise in
defence of the Gospel, entitled, " A View of the In-
himself, for thus trifling—and unspeakable joy to feel per-
suaded of the truth of the suggestion, and that it was indeed
sent in mercy—he threw, with violence, the hook as far from
him as possible, and could only, with thankfulness, deter-
mine to accept the offered mercy ; and from this moment, to
and through his dying hour, no doubt, that he was one whom
this mercy had accepted, ever really, or at all abidingly, dis-
turbed his mind. It pleased God to grant him a slow reco-
very from this sickness, and to spare him to labour for three
years. He mourned bitterly over the past scenes of his col-
lege life, saying, " I had influence, great influence, but
abused it, wasted it! Oh, what I might have done!" He now
applied himself to redeem past time, by diligently employing
that which remained, and to improve his talents to the glory
of God, and the good of his fellow-creatures. Of the article
of dying, he had ever had a fear, and sometimes expressed it,
acknowledging it was the result of a weak faith. About half
an hour before his dissolution, he said, in a whisper, " The
fear of death is quite taken away." His departing spirit winged
its flight from earth to heaven, on the 8th of August, 1823 : in
four days he would have completed his thirty-fourth year. See
his Memoir by the Rev. W. Jowett.]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
81
ternal Evidences of Christianitya work worthy the
perusal of every man who wishes to understand the
excellence of the religion he professes.
17. Docter Oliver, a noted physician at Bath,
was a zealous unbeliever till within a short time of
his death. Being convinced of his error, and the
danger of his situation, he bewailed his past conduct
with strong compunction of heart, and gave up his
spirit, at last, in confident expectation of mercy
from God, through the merit of that Saviour, whom,
for many years, he had ridiculed and opposed.—
" Oh!" said he, " that I could undo the mischief
which I have done! I was more ardent to poison
people with the principles of irreligion and unbelief,
than almost any Christian can be to spread the doc-
trines of Christ."
18. General Dykern received a mortal wound at
the battle of Bergen, in Germany, A.D. 1759. He
was of a noble family, and possessed equal abilities
as a minister in the closet, and a general in the field;
being favoured with a liberal education. Having
imbibed the principles of infidelity, by some means
or other, he continued a professed Deist, till the
time he received his fatal wound. During his illness,
however, a great and effectual change was wrought
upon his mind by the power of divine grace, and he
died in the full assurance of faith, glorying in the
salvation of Jesus, and wondering at the happy
change which had taken place in his soul! (')
19. John, Earl of Rochester, was a great man,
(1) See this case more at large in De Coetlogon's Divine
Treasury, p. 27.
G
82
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
every way; a great wit, a great scholar, a great
poet, a great sinner, and a great penitent. His life
was written by Bishop Burnet, and his funeral ser-
mon was preached and published by Mr. Parsons.
Dr. Johnson, speaking of Burnet's Life of this no-
bleman, says, " The critic ought to read it for its
elegance, the philosopher for its argument, and the
saint for its piety."
His Lordship, it appears, had advanced to an un-
common height of wickedness, having been an advo-
cate in the black cause of Atheism, and an enco-
miast of Beelzebub. He had raked too in the very
bottom of the jakes of debauchery, and had been a
satirist against religion itself. But when, like the
prodigal in the Gospel, he came to himself, his mind
was filled with the most extreme horror, which
forced sharp and bitter invectives from him, against
himself; terming himself the vilest wretch on whom
the sun ever shone; wishing he had been a crawling
leper in a ditch, a link-boy, or a beggar, or had lived
in a dungeon, rather than have offended God in the
manner he had done.
Upon the first visit of Mr. Parsons to him, on
May 26, 1680, after a journey from the West, he
found him labouring under great trouble of mind,
and his conscience full of terror. The Earl told him
—" when on his journey, he had been arguing -with
greater vigour against God and Religion, (') than
(1) The Earl of Rochester," says Bishop Burnet, " told
me of a singular presage that one had of his approaching
death, in the Lady Warre, his mother-in-law's house. The
chaplain had dreamed that such a day he should die; but
and the sacred writings. 83
ever he had done in his life-time before, and that he
had been resolved to run them down with all the
argument and spite in the world; but, like the great
convert St. Paul, he found it hard to kick against
God." At this time, however, his heart was so
powerfully affected, that he argued as much for God
and Religion, as ever he had done against them.
He had such tremendous apprehensions of the Di-
vine Majesty, mingled with such delightful contem-
plations of his nature and perfections, and of the
amiableness of religion, that he said—" I never was
advanced thus far towards happiness in my life be-
fore: though upon the commission of some extraor-
dinary sins, I have had some considerable checks
and warnings from within ; but still I struggled with
them, and so wore them off again. One day, at an
atheistical meeting, in the house of a person of
quality, I undertook to manage the cause, and was
the principal disputant against God and religion;
being by all the family put out of the belief of it, he had al-
most forgot it, till the evening before, at supper. There being
thirteen at table, according to a fond conceit that one of these
must soon die, one of the young ladies pointed to him, that
he was to die. He, remembering his dream, fell into some
disorder, and the Lady Warre reproving him for his supersti-
tion, he said, he was confident he was to die before morning;
but he being in perfect health, it was not much minded. It
was Saturday night, and he was to preach next day: he went
to his chamber, and sat up late, as appeared by the burning
of his candle, and he had been preparing his notes for his
sermon; but was found dead in his bed the next morning.
This," he said, " made him inclined to believe, that the soul
was a substance distinct from matter, and this often returned
to his thoughts."]—Ed.
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A PLEA FOR RELIGION
and for my performances received the applauses of
the whole company. Upon this, my mind was ter-
ribly struck, and I immediately replied thus to my-
self—' Good God, that a man who walks upright,
who sees the wonderful works of God, and has the
use of his senses and reason, should use them to the
defying of his Creator!' But though this was a
good beginning towards my conversion, to find my
conscience touched for my sins, yet it went ofF
again: nay, all my life long I had a secret value and
reverence for an honest man, and loved morality in
others. But I had formed an odd scheme of »reli-
gion to myself, which would solve all that God or
conscience might force upon me; yet I was never
well reconciled to the business of Christianity: nor
had I that reverence for the Gospel of Christ which
I ought to have had."
This state of mind continued, till the fifty-third
chapter of Isaiah was read to him, together with
some other parts of the Sacred Scriptures; when it
pleased God to fill his mind with such peace and joy
in believing, that it was remarkable to all about him.
Afterwards, he frequently desired those who were
with him, to read the same chapter to him; upon
which he used to enlarge in a very familiar and af-
fectionate manner, applying the whole to his own
humiliation and encouragement.
" O, blessed God !" he would say, " can such a
horrid creature as I am be accepted by thee, who
have denied thy being, and contemned thy power?
Can there be mercy and pardon for me ? Will God
own such a wretch as I am?"
In the middle of his sickness he said still further
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
85
—" Shall the unspeakable joys of heaven be con-
ferred on me? O mighty Saviour, never but
through thine infinite love and satisfaction ! O never
but by the purchase of thy blood!"—adding " that
with all abhorrence he reflected upon his former life
—that from his heart he repented of all that folly
and madness of which he had been guilty."
He had a strong and growing esteem for the Sa-
cred Scriptures, and evidently saw their divine ful-
ness and excellency. " For having spoken to his
heart, he acknowledged that all the seeming absurd-
ities and contradictions fancied by men of corrupt
and reprobate judgments, were vanished; and the
excellency and beauty of them appeared conspicu-
ously, now that he was come to receive the truth in
the love of it."
During his illness he had a hearty concern for the
pious education of his children, wishing, " his son
might never be a wit, one of those wretched crea-
tures who pride themselves in abusing God and re-
ligion, denying his being or his providence; but that
he might become an honest man, and of a truly
religious character, which only could be the support
and blessing of his family."
One of his companions coming to see him on his
death-bed, he said to him—" 0 remember that you
contemn God no more: he is an avenging God, and
will visit you for your sins; and will, I hope, in
mercy touch your conscience, sooner or later, as he
has done mine. You and I have been friends and
sinners together a great while, therefore I am the
more free with you. We have been all mistaken in
our conceits and opinions; our persuasions have
86
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
been false and groundless, therefore I pray God
grant you repentance."
When he drew towards the last stage of his sick-
ness, he said—" If God should spare me yet a little
longer time here, I hope to bring glory to his name,
proportionably to the dishonour I have done to him
in my whole past life; and particularly by my en-
deavours to convince others, and to assure them of
the danger of their condition, if they continued im-
penitent; and to tell them how graciously God had
dealt with me."
And when he came within still nearer views of
dissolution, about three or four days before it, he
said—" I shall now die; but oh ! what unspeakable
glories do I see ! What joys, beyond thought or
expression, am I sensible of! I am assured of God's
mercy to me through Jesus Christ! Oh! how I
long to die, and to be with my Saviour!"
For the admonition of others, and to undo, as
much as was in his power, the mischief of his former
conduct, he subscribed the following Recantation,
and ordered it to be published after his death:—
" For the benefit of all those whom I may have
drawn into sin, by my example and encouragement,
I leave to the world this my last declaration; which
I deliver in the presence of the great God, who
knows the secrets of all hearts, and before whom I
am now appearing to be judged ; that from the bot-
torn of my soul I detest and abhor the whole course
of my former wicked life; that I think I can never
sufficiently admire the goodness of God, who has
given me a true sense of my pernicious opinions and
vile practices, by which I have hitherto lived without
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
87
hope, and without God in the world; have been an
open enemy to Jesus Christ, doing the utmost de-
spite to the Holy Spirit of Grace; and that the
greatest testimony of my charity to such, is to warn
them, in the name of God, as they regard the wel-
fare of their immortal souls, no more to deny his
being or his providence, or despise his goodness; no
more to make a mock of sin, or contemn the pure
and excellent religion of my ever-blessed Redeemer,
through whose merits alone, I, one of the greatest
of sinners, do yet hope for mercy and forgiveness.
Amen." (')
20. We have an account of the conversion of an-
other determined Deist to the faith of Christ, in six
letters, from a Minister of the Reformed Church
abroad, to the Rev. John Newton, late Rector of
St. Mary Woolnoth, London. He was born of
religious parents, was brought up at school and uni-
(1) The case of Sir Duncomb Colchester, a magistrate in
the county of Gloucester, towards the close of the 17th cen-
tury, was somewhat like this of Rochester. He was a gentle-
man of excellent parts, a generous spirit, and undaunted
courage. Having, however, spent many years in sundry
extravagances, he was at length, by a long and painful sick-
ness, brought to a very serious sense of the excellency of
religion, and of his own great sin and folly in the neglect and
contempt of it. He accordingly, by way of making some
small reparation for the mischief he had done by his wicked-
ness, drew up an address to his friends and the public, some-
what like to the above of Rochester, signed by divers wit
nesses, and caused it to be read in two neighbouring churches,
and spread abroad among all his friends and neighbours
through the country, as extensively as he was able.
88
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
versity for the ministry, became eminent for his li-
terary attainments, but lost all his religion and com-
menced Deist. Proud of his abilities and attain-
meats, and trusting solely to his reasoning powers,
he disdained to think with the vulgar, and was too
wise in his own esteem to be instructed by divine
Revelation. But while he was unacquainted with
God, he was guilty of secret impurities, and a
stranger to peace. Like a ship in a storm, without
rudder or pilot, he was hurried along by tumultuous
passions, till be grew weary of life. In such a state
of soul, and at such a crisis, the light of heavenly
truth broke in upon his mind. The Lord spake and
it was done: the storm was hushed: the man was
powerfully and unexpectedly changed: the servant
of sin became the servant of Christ; and he now
preaches with energy and success, the faith he be-
fore laboured to destroy. (')
21. Captain John Lee, who was executed for for-
gery, March 4, 1784, became an infidel, through
reading the elegant, but sophistical writings of Da-
(1) Similar to this instance, in some respects, is the case of
the Rev. Thomas Scott, author of the invaluable Commentary
on the Bible. " I feel myself impelled to declare," says he,
" that I once was not much more disposed to credit the Scrip-
tures than Mr. Paine; and having got rid of the shackles of
education, was much flattered by my emancipation and supe-
rior discernment. But twenty years, employed in diligently
investigating the evidences and contents of the Bible, have
produced in me an unshaken assurance that it is the word of
God."—Ansiver to Paine's Age of Reason, p. 23.*
* [See his Life, by his Son, the Rev. John Scott.]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 89
vid Hume. (') Deeply, however, did he repent his
folly, when he came to be in distressed circum-
stances. " I leave to the world," said he, in a letter
to a friend, the night before his execution, " this
mournful memento, that however much a man may
be favoured by personal qualifications, or distin-
guished by mental endowments, genius will be use-
less, and abilities avail but little, unless accompanied
by a sense of religion, and attended by the practice
of virtue."
22. Another gentleman, whose name is concealed
out of delicacy to his connexions, was descended of
a noble and religious family. His life was extremely
irregular and dissolute, but his natural parts and en-
dowments of mind were so extraordinary, that they
(I) [In a letter of the late Dr. Beattie's, we have a disclo-
sure of the baleful tendency of the sceptical opinions of Hume.
It is to he found in the life of the Doctor, written by Sir Wil-
liam Forbes; a work of considerable merit, and much literary
information : nay, he himself seems to think them dangerous.
This appears from the following fact, which I had from
Dr. Gregory. Mr. Hume was boasting to the Doctor, that
among his disciples in Edinburgh he had the honour to
reckon many of the fair sex. " Now tell me," said the Doctor,
" whether if you had a wife or daughter, you would wish them
to be your disciples ? Think well before you answer me, for I
assure you, that, whatever your answer is, I will not conceal
it." Mr. Hume, with a smile, and some hesitation, made this
reply—"No; I believe scepticism maybe too sturdy a virtue
for a woman." Miss Gregory will certainly remember that
she has heard her father tell this story. Dr. Gregory's
" Legacy" to the world is very different to that of David Hume's.
The literature of one is honoured by piety; while the writings
of the other, both political and moral, are as dangerous to the
rights, as they are to the final happiness of men.]—Ed.
90
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
rendered his conversation agreeable to persons of the
highest rank and quality. Being taken ill, he be-
lieved he should die at the very beginning of his
sickness: his friend, with whom he had frequently
disputed against the existence of a God, and the
truths of revealed religion, came to visit liim on the
second day after he was seized : he asked him how
he did, and what made him so dejected !
" Alas!" said he, " are you so void of under-
standing, as to imagine I am afraid to die! Far be
such thoughts from me : I could meet death with as
much courage as I have encountered an enemy in
the field of battle, and embrace it as freely as I ever
did any friend whom I entirely loved ; for I see no-
thing in this world that is worth the pains of keeping.
I have made trial of most states and conditions of
life: I have continued at home for a considerable
time, and travelled abroad in foreign parts; I have
been rich and poor; I have been raised to honour
and reversed in a high degree; I have also been
exposed to scorn and contempt; I have been wise
and foolish; I have experienced the difference be-
tween virtue and vice, and every thing that was
possible for a man in my station; so that I am ca-
pable of distinguishing what is really good and
praiseworthy, and what is not. Now I see with a
clearer sight than ever, and discern a vast difference
between the vain licentious discourse of a libertine,
and the sound arguments of a true believer: for
though the former may express himself more finely
than the latter, so as to puzzle him with hard ques-
tions and intricate notions, yet all amount to no more
than the fallacy of a few airy repartees, which are
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
91
never affected by sober Christians, nor capable of
eluding the force of solid reason. But now I know
how to make a distinction between them; and I wish
from the bottom of my heart I had been so sensible
of my error in the time of my health; then I had
never had those dreadful foretastes of hell which I
now have. Oh! what a sad account have I to give
of a long life spent in sin and folly ! I look beyond
the fears of a temporal death. All the dread that
you perceive in me arises from the near approach I
make to an eternal death; for I must die to live to
all eternity."
This unhappy gentleman continued in this manner
to bewail his past folly, Atheism, and Infidelity, for
forty days, and then expired. His friend, however,
took much pains with him to encourage his repent-
ance, faith, and return to a proper state of mind;
the particulars of which would be too tedious to
record in this place. At last, however, he was
brought to entertain some hope, that the Redeemer
of Mankind would take pity on his deplorable con-
dition, pardon his sins, and rescue him from that
everlasting destruction which awaits all such cha-
racters. He told his friend, therefore, that if he
departed with a smile, he might hope for the best
concerning him; but if he should be seen giving up
the ghost with a frown, there would be reason to
fear the worst.
This was about three o'clock in the afternoon, and
he lived till four the next morning. A little before
he expired he was heard to speak these words softly
to himself—" Oh! that I had possession of the
meanest place in heaven, and could but creep into
92
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
one corner of it." Afterwards he cried out for se-
veral times together—"Oh dear! dear! dear! dear!"
—and near a minute before he expired, his friend
perceiving him to look full in his face, with a smiling
countenance
There we leave him till the resurrection morn. (')
(1) It is impossible for any man to say with certainty whe-
ther the change which seems to pass upon the human mind,
upon these melancholy occasions, is real and saving, or only
apparent and delusive. We have known various instances,
where every symptom of genuine repentance has been exhi-
bited upon a sick bed, but no sooner has health returned, than
they have returned to folly with accelerated speed; fulfilling
the old Popish distich—
" When the devil was sick, the devil a monk would be;
When the devil got well, the devil a monk was he !"
[The awful uncertainty of a death-bed repentance has been
ably discussed by some of the first and greatest men that ever
ornamented the church of God. In general, they have not
denied the possibility, but the extreme difficulty of ascer-
taining the real characters of such a state. Voltaire, and a
great number of speculative and practical Infidels, have
tinctured with suspicion the sincerity of confessions and ap-
parent sorrow for sin, when men of corrupt opinions, and un-
sanctified lives, are in great corporeal or mental debility.
This subject has been examined with great ability by the
learned and eloquent bishop, Jeremiah Taylor, in one of his
sermons. The passage is too long for insertion, but a certain
portion of it is here abridged: " He that never repents till a vio-
lent fear be upon him; till he apprehends himself to be in the
j aws of death, ready to give up his unready and unprepared ac-
counts; till he sees the Judge sitting in all the address of his
dreadfulness and majesty, just now (as he believes) ready to pro-
nounce that fearful and intolerable sentence of' Go ye cursed
into everlasting fire.' This man does nothing for the love of
God; nothing for the love of virtue. It is just as a condemned
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 93
23. When Count Struensee, prime minister of the
kingdom of Denmark, had been disgraced, and im-
prisoned by his sovereign for certain misdemeanors
man repents that he was a traitor, hut repented not till he was
arrested. Such a repentance as this may still consist with as
great affection to sin as ever he had; and it is no thanks to
him, if, when the knife is at his throat, he gives good words,
and flatters. Would not the son of Tarquin have refused to
have abused Lucretia, if Junius Brutus had been by him ?
Would the impurest person in the world act his lusts in the
market-place, or drink off an intemperate goblet, if a dagger
was at his breast? Let the fear of shame, of death, and judg-
ment he taken away," and many of those will " no more resist
temptation, than they could before remove their fears. These
men then sin not, because they dare not; they are frightened
from the act." And " if a man dies then, dies when he only
declaims against sin, it is very far from" being the means of
" reconciling him to God, or hopes of pardon; for it proceeds
from a violent unnatural cause," and is " no act of choice or
virtue, hut of sorrow, and a miserable, unchosen, unavoidable
fear."
The colouring of this picture, is not too strong. When
vice has no charms, and its practice is impossible, when the
commandment is come home, and the eternal state before
men, it is no wonder, if, like the professional atheist Volney,
they should call upon that God for mercy, whose being they
had denied, and whose perfections they had insulted. But
we are not to abandon all expectations of the salvation of the
most depraved: there is a door of hope for the relenting pro-
fligate, and the abjuring infidel. The emanation of the divine
benevolence admits, that through faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, men may be reconciled unto God; and when they have
reason to expect a Judge, they find a Saviour—and an Ac-
cuser, they find an Advocate ! The case has been stated cor-
recti y by St. Augustine. Said that venerable and pious
father," there was one saved at the last, that none might des-
pair, and but one, that none might presume."]—Ed.
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A PLEA FOR RELIGION
of which he had been guilty, he was brought from a
state of infidelity to a serious sense of his situation.
He then declared, " The more I learn Christianity
from Scripture, the more I grow convinced how
unjust those objections are with which it is charged.
I find, for instance, that all which Voltaire says of
the intolerance of Christians, and of blood-shedding
caused by Christianity, is a very unjust charge laid
upon religion. It is easy to be seen that those cru-
elties, said to be caused by religion, if properly con-
sidered, were the production of human passion, self-
ishness, and ambition, and that religion served in
such cases only for a cloak. I am fully convinced
of the truth of the Christian religion, and I feel its
power in quieting my conscience, and reforming my
sentiments. I have examined it during a good state
of health, and with all the reason I am master of.
I tried every argument, I felt no fear, I have taken
my own time, and I have not been in haste. I own
with joy I find Christianity the more amiable, the
more I get acquainted with it. I never knew it
before. I believed it contradicted reason, and the
nature of man, whose religion it was designed to be.
I thought it an artfully contrived and ambiguous
doctrine, full of incomprehensibilities. Whenever I
formerly thought on religion, in some serious moments,
I had always an idea in my mind how it ought to be,
which was, it should be simple and accommodated to
the abilities of men in every condition. I now find
Christianity to be axactly so; it answers entirely
that idea which I had formed of true religion. Had
I but formerly known it was such, I should not have
delayed turning Christian till this time of my impri-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
95
sonment. But I had the misfortune to be pi^judiced
against religion, first through my own passions, but
afterwards likewise by so many human inventions,
foisted into it, of which I could see plainly that they
had no foundation, though they were styled essential
parts of Christianity. I was offended when God was
always represented to me as an angry, jealous judge,
who is much pleased when he has an opportunity of
showing his revenge, though I knew he was love
itself; and am now convinced, that though he must
punish, yet he takes no kind of delight in it, and is
rather for pardoning. From my infancy I have
known but few Christians who had not scandalized
me by their enthusiasm and wickedness, which they
wanted to hide under the cloak of piety. I knew
indeed that not all Christians were such, or talked
such an affected language; but I was too volatile to
inquire of better Christians after the true spirit of
religion. Frequently I heard sermons in my youth,
but they made no impression upon me. That without
Christ there was no salvation was the only truth
which served for a subject in all sermons; and this
was repeated over and over again in synonymous
expressions. But it was never set in its true light,
and never properly proved. I saw people cry at
church; but after their tears were dried up, I found
them in their actions not in the least better, but
rather allowing themselves in every transgression,
upon the privilege of being faithful believers. He
said he observed in St. Paul a great genius, much
wisdom, and true philosophy. The apostles write
extremely well, now and then inimitably beautiful,
and at the same time with simplicity and clearness.—
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The free-thinkers extol the fables of JEsop, but the
parables and narrations of Christ will not please them;
notwithstanding they are derived from a greater know-
ledge of nature and contain more excellent morality.
Besides, they are proposed with a more noble and
artless simplicity than any writings of the kind, among
ancient or modern authors."
24. Count Brandt, the companion of Struensee in
guilt and misfortunes, with great freedom, owned
before me and others, that his imprisonment was the
means of setting his soul at liberty; and he found
his chains so little troublesome to him, that he would
oftentimes take them up and kiss them. " For,"
said he, "when I believed myself to be free, I was a
miserable slave to my passions; and now, since I am
a prisoner, truth and grace have set me at liberty."
He pitied the miserable condition of those who were
under the yoke of unbelief and sin, which he himself
had worn, and kept himself in it by reading deistical
writings. He mentioned, among the rest, the works
of Voltaire, to whom he owed very little that was
good. He said he had spent upon his travels four
days with this old advocate for unbelief, and had
heard nothing from him but what could corrupt the
heart and sound morals. He was very sorry for all
this, but was much pleased that he had found a taste
for the true word of God; whose efficacy upon his
heart, since he read it with good intentions, con-
vinced him of its divine origin. (L)
It is usually said, that example has a more power-
ful effect upon the mind than precept. None can
(1) See Dr. Hee's History of Count Enevold Brandt.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 97
deny that these are respectable ones. They are such
as every Deist and sceptic in the kingdom should
well consider, before he ventures his salvation upon
the justness of his own principles. If equal danger,
or if any danger, attended our embracing the Chris-
tian scheme, the unbeliever would be in a certain
degree justified in withholding his assent to that
scheme; but as all the hazard is on his side of the
question, and none on the other, language furnishes
no words to express the extreme folly of treating
religion with levity, much less with ridicule and con-
tempt.
III. — Examples of dying Christians who had lived
in the Spirit of the World.
" This shall ye have of My hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow."
Isa. ch. 50, ver. 11.
25. Hugo Grotius is said to have possessed the
brightest genius ever recorded of a youth in the
learned world, and was a profound admirer, and a
daily reader, of the Sacred Writings; yet, after all
his attainments, reputation, and labour in the cause
of learning, he was constrained at last to cry out,
" Ah ! I have consumed my life in a laborious doing
of nothing! I would give all my learning and ho-
nour for the plain integrity of John Urick !"
This John Urick was a religious poor man, who
spent eight hours of the day in prayer, eight in la-
bour, and but eight in meals, sleep, and other neces-
saries. (')
(1) Alfred the Great, King of England, who fought fifty-six
battles with the Danes, many of which were gained by his own
H
98
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Grotius had devoted too much of his time to
worldly company, secular business, and learned
trifles; too little to the exercises of the closet.
" This is forsaking the fountain of living waters, and
hewing out to ourselves broken cisterns that can hold
no water."
26. When Salmasius, who was one of the most
consummate scholars of his time, came to the close
of life, he saw cause to exclaim bitterly against him-
self. " Oh!" said he, " I have lost a world of time I
time, the most precious thing in the world ! whereof
had I but one year more, it should be spent in Da-
vid's Psalms and Paul's Epistles ! Oh, sirs!" said
he again to those about him, " mind the world less,
and God more!"
27. Dr. Samuel Johnson, (') whose death made such
personal courage and great example, dedicated, with strict
punctuality, eight hours every day to acts of devotion, eight
hours to public affairs, and as many to sleep, study, and ne-
cessary refreshment.
(1) Dr. Johnson's Life,by Boswell, appears to me one of the
most entertaining narratives in the English language.
[This extraordinary philologist and critic, who in his
writings gave a force and elevation to our language unknown
before, was a uniform lover of the Bible. One of his most
prominent excellencies appears in the unvarying hostility
which he maintained against unbelief, however it assumed the
characters of candour and reason. In his society, the enemies
of the truth of revelation did not suggest a doubt that was
not obviated, nor an argument which was not refuted; and, in
general, before him Infidelity was silent, and its proudest
champions abashed.
Throughout life he spoke with reverence of the Scriptures,
and had the highest regard for opinions which ignorance or
impiety has treated as illusive, or condemned as enthusiastical.
AND THE SACRED
a noise a few years ago, was unquestionably one of the
first men of the age, and a serious believer in Jesus
Christ for many years before his death. Mixing, how-
His works and conversation contain the clearest evidence of
this. Sir John Hawkins, one of his biographers, who cannot
be suspected as the friend of experimental religion, or the
advocate of the truth of divine influence on the human heart,
has left this subject without a doubt. He informs us, that in
the latter part of his life, the Doctor was most interested with
Baxter's Saint's Rest, Law's Serious Call, and " such hooks as
theseand, as additional evidence, Boswell assures us, that
he warmly recommended the writings of Mr. Baxter to him,
by saying " Read them all; they are all good."
In his Lives of the Poets, he discovers a stronger predi-
lection in favour of those authors who were more remarkable
for their piety, than even poetic celebrity; and when talents
and religion unite, he exhibits them for approval and imitation.
Of the pious and ingenious Gilbert West, he says," A stroke
of the palsy brought to the grave one of the few poets to whom
the grave might be without its terrors." And of Doctor Watts,
after a critical examination of his writings, he observes, " As
piety predominated in his mind, it is diffused over his works."
" He is at least one of the poets with whom youth and
ignorance may be safely pleased; and happy will be that
reader whose mind is disposed by his verses, or his prose, to
imitate him in all but his nonconformity, to copy his bene-
volence to man, and his reverence to God." In Mr. Hoole's
narrative of the events of the last illness of the Doctor we
have many proofs of the serious complexion of his character.
On one occasion he said to Mr. Hoole, "Attend closely to
private prayer, and receiving the sacrament. He conjured me
to read and meditate upon the Bible, and not throw it aside
for a play or a novel." It will appear, by a reference to Hoole,
that the conversations of the Doctor in his last days were
upon those subjects which most highly interest men who are
preparing with seriousness to meet God. He laboured under
a physical defect, which was the torture of his life, and which
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ever, too much with men of no religion, his mind was
kept barren of spiritual consolation, and he was
grievously haunted with the fear of death through
his whole life. " The approach of death," said he
to a friend, " is very dreadful. I am afraid to think
on that which I know I cannot avoid. It is vain to
look round and round for that help which cannot be
had. Yet we hope and hope, and fancy that he who
has lived to-day may live to-morrow." To another
friend he said, " He never had a moment in which
death was not terrible to him." On another occa-
sion he declared in company, at Oxford, " I am afraid
I shall be one of those who shall be damned—sent
to hell, and punished everlastingly." When this
great man, however, actually approached dissolution,
" all his fears were calmed and absorbed by the pre-
valence of his faith, and his trust in the merits and
propitiation of Jesus Christ." He was full of resig-
nation, strong in faith,.joyful in hope of his own sal-
vation, and anxious for the salvation of his friends.
he carried to the grave: its consequence was a mental gloom,
which neither medicine nor religion had removed. To this,
and the literary characters who were his associates, we are
probably to ascribe, the indistinct manner of his professional
experience. But if the publications which have been noticed
were those which occupied his attention at a period so mo-
mentous, it is scarcely credible that he should have been
without the knowledge of that true and undefiled religion,
which is so explicitly stated to be, by Dr. Isaac Barrow, a
" sense of God's favour, the influence of grace upon the heart,
and the comforts of the Holy Ghost:" and I may add, without
this, any man's faith is but folly; and his expectations of
heaven any thing but scriptural.]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 101
He particularly exhorted Sir Joshua Reynolds, on
his dying bed, " to read the Bible, and to keep holy
the Sabbath-day." The last words he was heard to
speak were, " God bless you !"
28. Baron Haller, a famous Swiss physician, the
delight and ornament of his country, was, at the
same time, a great philosopher, a profound politi-
cian, an agreeable poet, and more particularly fa-
mous for his skill in botany, anatomy, and physic.
During his last sickness, he had the honour of a visit
from Joseph, the late Emperor of Germany. Upon
his death-bed, owing probably to the variety of his
literary pursuits, the multiplicity of his engage-
ments, and the honours heaped upon him by the
world, he went through sore conflicts of spirit con-
cerning his interest in the salvation of the Re-
deemer: his mind was clouded, and his soul des-
titute of comfort. In his last moments, however,
he expressed renewed confidence in God's mercy
through Christ, and left the world in peace.
29. Sir John Mason, on his death-bed, spoke to
those about him, in the manner following:—" I have
lived to see five princes, and have been privy coun-
cillor to four of them. I have seen the most re-
markable things in foreign parts, and have been pre-
sent at most state transactions for thirty years,
together; and I have learned this after so many
years' experience—That seriousness is the greatest
wisdom, temperance the best physic, and a good
conscience the best estate: and were I to live
again, I would change the court for a cloister; my
privy councillor's bustle for a hermit's retirement;
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and the whole life I have lived in the palace, for an
hour's enjoyment of God in the chapel." (')
30. Philip the Third, King of Spain, when he
drew near the end of his days, expressed his deep
(1) James, Earl of Marlborough, who was killed in a battle
at sea, on the coast of Holland, A. D. 1665, having a kind of
presentiment of his own death, wrote to his friend Sir Hugh
Pollard a letter, of which the following is a copy:—
" Sir,—I believe the goodness of your nature, and the
friendship yon have always borne me, will receive with kind-
ness the last office of your friend. I am in health enough of
body, and (through the mercy of God in Jesus Christ) well
disposed in mind. This I premise, that you may be satisfied
that what I write proceeds not from any fantastic error of mind,
hut from a sober resolution of what concerns myself, and ear-
nest desire to do you more good after my death, than mine
example (God of his mercy pardon the badness of it), in my
lifetime may do you harm. I will not speak aught of the
vanity of this world; your own age and experience will save
that labour: hut there is a certain thing that goeth up and
down the world, called Religion, dressed and pretended fan-
tastically, and to purposes had enough, which yet by such evil
dealing loseth not its being. Moreover God, in his infinite
mercy, hath given us his Holy Word, in which, as there are
many things hard to he understood, so there is enough plain
and easy, to quiet our minds, and direct us concerning our
future being. I confess to God and you, I have been a great
neglecter, and I fear, a despiser of it. God, of his infinite
mercy, pardon me the dreadful fault! But when I retired
myself from the noise and deceitful vanity of the world, I
found no comfort in any other resolution, than what I had
from thence. I commend from the bottom of my heart the
same to your happy use. Dear Sir Hugh, let us he more
generous than to believe we die as the beasts that perish; but
with a Christian, manly, brave resolution, look to what is
eternal. I will not trouble you further. Show this letter to
my friends, and to whom you please. The only great God,
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 103
regret for a careless and worldly life, in the fol-
lowing emphatical words: " Ah ! how happy would
it have been for me, had I spent these twenty-three
years, that I have held my kingdom, in retire-
ment I" (')
and holy God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, direct you to an
happy end of your life, and send us a joyful resurrection.
" So prays your true friend,
" Marlborough."
[Dr. Woodward's reflections on this communication of his
Lordship to his friend are worthy of observation. " This letter,"
says the Doctor," though very weighty in the matter of it, and
very serious in the phrase and expression, yet is most remark-
able for the time in which it was written; namely, but a few
days before the soul of this noble Lord departed into the invi-
sible state. He now saw the infinite worth of religion, and the
pernicious folly of offending God; and he kindly imparts these
sentiments to those friends of his, for whose eternal welfare he
had reason to be particularly concerned."]—Ed.
(1) ["During Napoleon's confinement at St Helena,a copy
of Dr. Bogue's' Essay on the Divine Authority of the New
Testament' was given to him, which the author had sent to the
island; he read it with interest and satisfaction. At that time,
a religious revival took place among the inhabitants of the
island, as well as several soldiers of the garrison. One of the
effects of this restoration of religion was the establishment of
a meeting of officers and other Christians, whose object was to
read and study the Scriptures, to instruct each other mutually,
and to pray for themselves and for their brethren. In the two
last years of Napoleon's life several of these pious officers
formed the picket established in the immediate neighbourhood
of the Emperor's dwelling. They met for religious exercises,
as we have before remarked, on the other side of the valley,
and about a gun-shot from his lowly residence; and there,
strangers to the politics of the government whose orders they
obeyed, and minding nothing but the charity the Gospel
inspires, they never failed to supplicate heaven in fervent
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31. Cardinal Mazarine, one of the greatest states-
men in Europe, cried out, a little before his death,
with astonishment and tears: " Oh ! my poor soul!
what will become of thee ? Whither wilt thou go ?
Were I to live again, I would be a Capuchin rather
than a courtier."
32. George Villiers, the younger, Duke of Bucking-
ham, was the richest man, and one of the greatest
wits in the court of Charles the Second; and yet
such were his vices and extravagances, that, before
he died, he was reduced to poverty and general con-
tempt. In this situation, however, he seems to have
prayer on behalf of their prisoner; they begged the God of
mercy and goodness to allay the sufferings of a long sickness,
and to make them instrumental to the peace and salvation of
his soul. It was, therefore, natural that they should be very
desirous to know what had been Napoleon's ideas and senti-
ments on his approach to eternity. Among other things, these
companions of his exile learned that he had read Dr. Bogue's
Essay with pleasure; that he read the Holy Scriptures, of
which he spoke respectfully; and that in his illness the name
of that Saviour spoken of and revealed in the New Testament
was often on his lips. After Napoleon's death, the copy of
the Essay which belonged to him, and which he had made use
of, was given to one of the sub-officers of the picket, who had
taught English to the children of the Emperor's friends, and
who was known as a respectable man, and a religious character.
When the regiment returned to England, one of the officers
presented this same copy to the venerable author, who received
it with the warmest thanks. He afterwards frequently ex-
pressed his gratitude to God, that he had called him to write a
book which had been interesting to that extraordinary man,
and which, in all probability, had produced a most salutary
effect upon his mind."—From"Le Bon Messager," a Swiss
Almanack.]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 105
been brought to a sense of his folly, and the danger
of his condition, from the letter which he wrote to
Dr. Barrow, of whom he had a high opinion,^) on
his death-bed ; and which is well worth the attention
of every man of pleasure and dissipation.
" Dear Doctor,—I always looked upon you
as a man of true virtue; and I know you to be a
person of sound judgment. For, however I may act
in opposition to the principles of religion, or the
dictates of reason, I can honestly assure you I had
always the highest veneration for both. The world
and I may shake hands, for I dare affirm we are
heartily weary of each other. O Doctor! what a
prodigal have I been of the most valuable of all
possessions—Time ! I have squandered it away with
a persuasion it was lasting: and now, when a few
days would be worth a hecatomb of worlds, I cannot
flatter myself with a prospect of half a dozen hours.
" How despicable is that man who never prays to
his God, but in the time of his distress ! In what
manner can he supplicate that Omnipotent Being in
his affliction, with reverence, whom, in the tide of
his prosperity, he never remembered with dread?
Do not brand me with infidelity, when I tell you I
am almost ashamed to offer up my petitions to the
throne of grace; or of imploring that divine mercy
in the next world, which I have so scandalously
(1) This appears in a very strong light from the anecdote
which is recorded concerning the Doctor's preaching before
King Charles the Second, and the Duke's severe address to
him.
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abused in this. Shall ingratitude to man be looked
on as the blackest of crimes, and not ingratitude to
God ? Shall an insult offered to the King be looked
on in the most offensive light, and yet no notice be
taken when the King of Kings is treated with indig-
nity and disrespect ?
" The companions of my former libertinism would
scarce believe their eyes, were you to show them this
epistle. They would laugh at me as a dreaming en-
thusiast, or pity me as a timorous wretch, who was
shocked at the appearance of futurity. They are
more entitled to my pity than my resentment. A
future state may very well strike terror into any man
who has not acted well in this life; and he must
have an uncommon share of courage indeed, who
does not shrink at the presence of his God.
" You see, my dear Doctor, the apprehensions of
death will soon bring the most profligate to a proper
use of their understanding. I am haunted by re-
morse, despised by my acquaintance, and, I fear,
forsaken by my God. There is nothing so dan-
gerous, my dear Doctor, as extraordinary abilities.
I cannot be accused of vanity now, by being sen-
sible that I was once possessed of uncommon quali-
fications; as I sincerely regret that I was ever
blessed with any at all. My rank in life still made
these accomplishments more conspicuous; and, fas-
cinated with the general applause which they pro-
cured, I never considered about the proper means by
which they should be displayed. Hence, to pur-
chase a smile from a blockhead, whom I despised, I
have frequently treated the virtuous with disrespect;
and sported with the holy name of Heaven, to obtain
and the sacred writings. 10f
a laugh from a parcel of fools, who were entitled to
nothing but my contempt.
"Your men of wit, my dear Doctor, look on them-
selves as discharged from the duties of religion; and
confine the doctrines of the Gospel to people of
meaner understandings ; and look on that man to be
of a narrow genius who studies to be good. What
a pity that the Holy Writings are not made the cri-
terion of true judgment! Favour me, my dear Doc-
tor, with a visit as soon as possible. Writing to you
gives me some ease. I am of opinion this is the last
visit I shall ever solicit from you. My distemper is
powerful. Come and pray for the departing spirit of
the unhappy
" Buckingham !"(')
(1) This nobleman is described to have been a gay, capri-
cious person, of some wit, and great vivacity. He was the
minister of riot, and counsellor of infamous practices; the
slave of intemperance, a pretended Atheist, without honour or
principle, economy or discretion. At last, deserted by all his
friends, and despised by all the world, he died in the greatest
want and obscurity. It is of him that Mr. Pope says:
" In the worst inn's worst room, with mat half hung,
With floor of plaster, and the walls of dung—
Great Tilliers lies: Alas ! how changed from him ■
That life of pleasure, and that soul of whim !—
No wit to flatter left of all his store!
No fool to laugh at, which he valued more!
There, victor of his health, of fortune, friends,
And fame, this lord of useless thousands ends."
Mr. Dryden describes this nobleman as being—
" A man so various, that he seem'd to be
Not one, but all mankind's epitome;
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33. We have also an uncommon alarm given us,
in a letter from another nobleman, but whose name
is concealed from motives of delicacy, on his death-
Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong :
Was every thing by starts, and nothing long;
But, in the course of one revolving moon
Was chymist, fiddler, statesman, and buffoon:
Then all for women, painting, rhyming, drinking;
Besides ten thousand freaks that died in thinking."
Wentworth Dillon, Earl of Roscommon, cotemporary with
Buckingham, was also a man of considerable learning and
abilities, but a man of dissipation and licentious principles.
He addicted himself immoderately to gaming, by which he was
engaged in frequent quarrels, and brought into no little distress.
But however we may be disposed to play the devil when we are
in no apparent danger, there is a time coming, when we shall
all see tilings in a more serious point of view. Accordingly,
we are told, at the moment this merry nobleman expired, he
was constrained to utter, with an energy of voice that expressed
the most ardent devotion—
" My God, my Father, and my Friend,
Do not forsake me in the end !"
Something like the case of Buckingham and Roscommon,
likewise, was the last scene of John Sheffield, Duke of Buck-
ingliam, who died in the reign of George the First, if we may
credit the lines inscribed by his own order on his monument—
" Dubius, sed non improbus vixi.
Incertus morior, non perturbatus.
Humanum est nescire et errare.
Christum adveneror, Deo confido.
Ens Entium, miserere mei!"
Sir Richard Steele hath given us another affecting confession
of a dying Infidel, in No. LXXXI. of the Guardian; and a
humorous account of two other gentlemen of the same cast, in
Nos. CXI. and CXXXV. of the Tatler, which the reader may
consult at his pleasure.
and the sacred writings. 109
bed, to an intimate companion; which no man can
seriously read, and not find himself deeply affected.
I will produce it at length :—
" Dear Sir,—Before you receive this, my final
state will be determined by the Judge of all the
earth. In a few days, at most, perhaps in a few
hours, the inevitable sentence will be past, that
shall raise me to the heights of happiness, or sink
me to the depths of misery. While you read these
lines, I shall be either .groaning under the ago-
nies of absolute despair, or triumphing in fulness
of j°y-
" It is impossible for me to express the present
disposition of my soul—the vast uncertainty I am
struggling with ! No words can paint the force and
vivacity of my apprehensions. Every doubt wears
the face of horror, and would perfectly overwhelm
me, but for some faint beams of hope, which dart
across the tremendous gloom! What tongue can
utter the anguish of a soul suspended between the
extremes of infinite joy and eternal misery ? I am
throwing my last stake for eternity, and tremble and
shudder for the important event.
" Good God! how have I employed myself? what
enchantment hath held me ? In what delirium has
my life been passed? What have I been doing,
while the sun in its race, and the stars in their
courses, have lent their beams perhaps only to light
me to perdition ?
" I never awaked till now. I have but just com-
menced the dignity of a rational being. Till this
instant I had a wrong apprehension of every thing
in nature. I have pursued shadows, and entertained
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myself with dreams. I have been treasuring up
dust, and sporting myself with the wind. I look
back on my past life, and, but for some memorials of
infamy and guilt, it is all a blank—a perfect va-
cancy ! I might have grazed with the beasts of the
field, or sung with the winged inhabitants in the
woods, to much better purpose than any for which
I have lived. And, oh ! but for some faint hope, a
thousand times more blessed had I been to have slept
with the clods of the valley, and never heard the
Almighty's fiat; nor waked into life at his command!
" I never had a just apprehension of the solemnity
of the part I am to act till now. I have often met
Death insulting on the hostile plain, and, with a
stupid boast, defied his terrors; with a courage, as
brutal as that of the warlike horse, I have rushed
into the battle, laughed at the glittering spear, and
rejoiced at the sound of the trumpet, nor had a
thought of any state beyond the grave, nor the great
tribunal to which I must have been summoned :—
" Where all my secret guilt had been reveal'd,
Nor the minutest circumstance conceal'd."
It is this which arms Death with till its terrors; else
I could still mock at fear, and smile in the face of
the gloomy monarch. It is not giving up my breath
—it is not being for ever insensible, is the thought
at which I shrink—it is the terrible hereafter, the
something beyond the grave, at which I recoil.
Those great realities, which, in the hours of mirth
and vanity, I have treated as phantoms, as the idle
dreams of superstitious beings ; these start forth, and
dare me now in their most terrible demonstration.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. Ill
My awakened conscience feels something of that
eternal vengeance I have often defied.
" To what heights of madness is it possible for
human nature to reach ? What extravagance is it to
jest with death! to laugh at damnation! to sport
with eternal chains, and recreate a jovial fancy with
the scenes of infernal misery!
" Were there no impiety in this kind of mirth,
it would be as ill-bred as to entertain a dying friend
with the sight of a harlequin, or the rehearsal of a
farce. Every thing in nature seems to reproach this
levity in human creatures. The whole creation, man
excepted, is serious : man, who has the highest rea-
son to be so, while he has affairs of infinite conse-
quence depending on this short and uncertain dura-
tion. A condemned wretch may with as good a
grace go dancing to his execution, as the greatest
part of mankind go on with such a thoughtless
gaiety to their graves.
" Oh! my friend, with what horror do I recal
those hours of vanity we have wasted together!
Return, ye lost neglected moments! How should I
prize you above the eastern treasures ! Let me
dwell with hermits; let me rest on the cold earth;
let me converse in cottages; may I but once more
stand a candidate for an immortal crown, and have
my probation for celestial happiness.
" Ye vain grandeurs of a court! Ye sounding
titles, and perishing riches! what do ye now sig-
nify ? what consolation, what relief can ye give me ?
I have a splendid passage to the grave; I die in
state, and languish under a gilded canopy; I am ex-
piring on soft and downy pillows, and am respect-
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fully attended by my servants and physicians; my
dependents sigh; my sisters weep ; my father bends
beneath a load of years and grief! my lovely wife,
pale and silent, conceals her inward anguish; my
friend, who was as my own soul, suppresses his
sighs, and leaves me to hide his secret grief. But,
oh! which of these will answer my summons at the
high tribunal ? which of them will bail me from the
arrest of Death? who will descend into the dark
prison of the grave for me ?
" Here they all leave me, after having paid a few
idle ceremonies to the breathless clay, which perhaps
may lie reposed in state, while my soul, my only
conscious part, may stand trembling before my
Judge.
" My afflicted friends, it is very probable, with
great solemnity, will lay the senseless corpse in a
stately monument, inscribed with—
Here lies the great
But could the pale carcase speak, it would soon
reply—
" False marble, where?
Nothing but poor and sordid dust lies here !"
While some flattering panegyric is pronounced at
my interment, I may, perhaps, be hearing my just
condemnation at a superior tribunal; where an un-
erring verdict may sentence me to everlasting in-
famy. But I cast myself on God's absolute mercy,
through the infinite merits of the Redeemer of lost
mankind. Adieu, my dear friend, till we meet in
the world of spirits!"
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 113
Nothing is so well calculated to convince us of the
vast importance of living wholly under the power of
the Gospel, as seeing great and valuable men dying
in such a low, sneaking, and unworthy manner, as
many of the first characters of our world have been
known to do. The cases of Grotius and Salmasius,
of Johnson and Haller, are mortifying instances.
Great talents, great learning, great celebrity, are all
utterly insufficient to constitute a man happy, and
give him peace and confidence in a dying hour. We
know the promises of God are all yea and amen in
Christ Jesus; but if the promises are sure, and
strongly animating to the proper objects of them,
the threatenings of God are not less infallible, and
at the same time are extremely alarming to the
proper objects of them. Nothing within the com-
pass of nature can enable a man, with the eyes of
his mind properly enlightened, to face death without
fear and dismay, but a strong conscious sense,
founded on scriptural evidence, that our sins are
pardoned, that God is reconciled, and that the Judge
of the world is become our friend.
IV. — Examples of Persons living and dying, either
with Confidence,or in the full Assurance of Faith.
" Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."
Ps. cxvi. 15.
" Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his."
Numb, xxiii. 10.
34. Joseph Addison, Esq. was a very able and
elegant advocate for the Bible, in life and death.
Just before his departure, having sent for a young
i
114
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
nobleman, nearly related to him, who requested to
know his dying commands—his answer was—" See
in what peace a Christian can die !"
He spoke with difficulty, and soon expired.—
Through grace divine, how great is man! Through
divine mercy how stingless is death !
" He taught us how to live; and oh! too high
A price for knowledge, taught us how to die."(l)
35. Dr. John Leland, after spending a long and
exemplary life in the service of the Gospel, closed it
with the following words:—" I give my dying testi-
mony to the truth of Christianity. The promises of
the Gospel are my support and consolation. They,
alone, yield me satisfaction in a dying hour. I am
not afraid to die. The Gospel of Christ has raised
me above the fear of death; ' for I know that my
Redeemer liveth.'"
36. Monsieur Pascal was a great man every way,
and one of the most humble and devout believers in
Jesus that ever lived. The celebrated Bayle saith of
his life, that " a hundred volumes of sermons are not
worth so much as this single life, and are far less
capable of disarming men of impiety. The extraor-
dinary humility and devotion of Monsieur Pascal
gives a more sensible mortification to the libertines
of the age, than if one was to let loose upon them a
dozen of Missionaries. They can now no longer at-
tack us with their favourite and darling objection,
that there are none but little and narrow spirits
who profess themselves the votaries of piety and
religion; for we can now tell them, and boldly tell
(1) See Dr. Young's Conjectures on Original Composition.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 115
them, that both the maxims and practice thereof
have been pushed on to the strongest degree, and
carried to the greatest height, by one of the pro-
foundest geometricians, by one of the most subtile
metaphysicians, and by one of the most solid and
penetrating geniuses that ever yet existed on this
earth." (1)
37. Olympia Fulvia Morato was one of the
earliest and brightest ornaments of the Reformation.
She could declaim in Latin, converse in Greek, and
was a critic in the most difficult classics. But after
it pleased God by his grace to open the eyes of her
mind to discover the truth, she became enamoured
of the Sacred Scriptures above all other books in the
world, and studied them by day and by night. And
when dissolution approached, she declared she felt
nothing but ' an inexpressible tranquillity and peace
with God through Jesus Christ.' Her mouth was
full of the praises of God, and she emphatically ex-
pressed herself by saying—'I am nothing but joy.'
38. William, Lord Russel, delivered himself, just
before his execution, in the strongest terms of faith
and confidence. Besides many other things, he
said:—" Neither my imprisonment nor fear of death
have been able to discompose me in any degree.
On the contrary, I have found the assurances of the
(1) " This great man, during some of the latter years of his
life, spent his whole time in prayer, and in reading the Holy
Scriptures; and in this he took incredible delight."—Jesup's
Life of Pascal.
In his " Thoughts on Religion" there is a fine expostulation
with unbelievers, which ought most seriously to be attended to
by every person of that description.
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love and mercy of God, in and through my blessed
Redeemer, in whom I only trust. And I do not
question but I am going to partake of that fulness of
joy, which is in his presence ; the hopes of which do
so wonderfully delight me, that I think this is the
happiest time of my life, though others may look
upon it as the saddest."
39. Charles the Fifth, Emperor of Germany,
King of Spain, and Lord of the Netherlands, after
having alarmed and agitated all Europe for near fifty
years, retired from the world, and enjoyed more
complete contentment in this situation than all his
grandeur had ever yielded him. " I have tasted,"
said he, " more satisfaction in my solitude, in one
day, than in all the triumphs of my former reign;
and I find that the sincere study, profession, and
practice of the Christian religion, hath in it such joys
and sweetness as courts are strangers to." (')
(1) Louis, one of the late Dukes of Orleans, expressed the
delight he found in piety and devotion in the following terms,
which are somewhat similar to the above of Charles:—" I
know, by experience, that sublunary grandeur and sublunary
pleasures are deceitful and vain, and are always infinitely
below the conceptions we form of them. But, on the contrarv,
such happiness and such complacency may be found in devo-
tion and piety, as the sensual mind has no idea of."
Gustavus Adolphus, the renowned King of Sweden, was also
eminent for his piety towards God, and has been known to
spend hours together in religious retirement. So too our ex-
cellent Alfred.
It is said likewise of his late Majesty, King George II., that
during war time, he would constantly be in his closet between
five and six o'clock in the morning, winter and summer, pray-
ing for the success of his fleets and armies.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 117
40. Oxenstiern was chancellor of Sweden, and
one of the most able and learned men of his time,
and yet he was not too great and too wise to be
above being taught by the Sacred Writings. " After
all my troubles and toilings in the world," says he,
" I find that my private life in the country has af-
forded me more contentment than ever I met with
in all my public employments. I have lately applied
myself to the study of the Bible, wherein all wisdom
and the greatest delights are to be found. I there-
fore counsel you (the English Ambassador) to make
the study and practice of the Word of God your
chief contentment and delight; as indeed it will be
to every soul who savours the truths of God, which
infinitely excel all worldly things."
41. Mr. Selden, the famous lawyer, whom Grotius
calls " the glory of the English nation," was, as Sir
Matthew Hale declared, " a resolved serious Chris-
tian, and a great adversary to Hobbes's errors." He
was generally considered as one of the most eminent
philosophers, and most learned men of his time. He
had taken a diligent survey of all kinds of learning, and
had read as much perhaps as any man ever did; and
A remarkable instance of attention to the blessing of the
Divine Being we have also in the conduct of the truly valiant
Admiral Lord Duncan. Previous to the late action on the
coast of Holland, during the awful moments of preparation,
he called his officers upon deck, and in their presence pros-
trated himself in prayer before the God of Hosts, committing
himself and them, with the cause they maintained, to his
sovereign protection, his family to his care, his soul and body
to the diposal of his providence; then, rising from his knees,
he gave command to make the attack.
118
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
yet, towards the latter end of his days, he declared to
Archbishop Usher, that notwithstanding he had been
so laborious in his inquiries, and curious in his col-
lections, and had possessed himself of a treasure of
books and manuscripts upon all ancient subjects;
yet " he could rest his soul on none, save the Scrip-
tures." (')—This is a perfect eulogium on the sacred
volume.
42. Monsieur Claude was a very considerable
man among the Protestants who were driven out of
France by Louis the Fourteenth. When he was
taken ill he sent for the senior pastor of the church,
to whom, in the presence of all his family, he
expressed himself thus: " Sir, I was desirous
to see you, and to make my dying declaration
before you. I am a miserable sinner before God.
I most heartily beseech him to show me mercy for
the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ I hope he will
hear my prayer. He has promised to hear the cries
of repenting sinners. I adore him for blessing my
ministry. It has not beert fruitless in his church;
it is an effect of God's grace, and I adore his provi-
dence for it."
After pausing awhile, he added, " I have carefully
examined all religions. None appear to me worthy
of the wisdom of God, and capable of leading man
to happiness, but the Christian religion. I have di-
ligently studied popery and the reformation. The
(I) This is equally true of that great philosophic soul, Mar-
cilius Ficinus, who was as learned a man as Italy ever pro-
duced. After he had read all good authors, he rested in the
Bihle as the only hook.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
119
Protestant religion, I think, is the only good religion.
It is all found in the Holy Scriptures, the Word of
God. (') From this, as from a fountain, all religions
must be drawn. Scripture is the root, the Protes-
tant religion is the trunk and branches of the tree.
It becomes you all to keep steady to it."
About a week before he died, with true patriar-
chal dignity, he sat up in his bed, and asked to speak
with his son and family. " Son," said he, tenderly
embracing him, " I am leaving you. The time of
my departure is at hand." Silence, and sobs, and
floods of tears followed, each clasped in the other's
arms. The family all came and asked his blessing.
" Most willingly," replied he, " will I give it you."
Mrs. Claude kneeled down by the bedside. " My
wife," said he, " I have always tenderly loved you.
Be not afflicted at my death. The death of the
saints is precious in the sight of God. In you I
have seen a sincere piety. I bless God for it. Be
constant in serving him with your whole heart. He
will bless you. I recommend my son and his fa-
mily to you, and I beseech the Lord to bless you."
(1) [A priest at Rome wrote upon a piece of paper, and sent
it by a boy to Sir Henry Wotton," Where was your religion
to be found before Luther?" Whereupon Sir Henry under-
wrote, and sent back the note with this reply, " My religion
was to be found then, where yours is not to be found now, in
the written word of God." Sir Henry sent to the same Priest
the following question," Do you believe those many thousands
of poor Christians damned, who were excommunicated because
the Pope and the Duke of Venice could not agree about their
temporal power?" He had modesty enough to write under the
note," Excuse me, Sir."]—Ed.
120
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
To his son, who, with an old servant, was kneeling
by his mother, he said, among other things, " Son,
you have chosen the good part. Perform your of-
fice as a good pastor, and God will bless you. Love
and respect your mother. Be mindful of this do-
mestic. Take care she wants nothing as long as she
lives. I give you all my blessing."
He afterwards said, at several times: " I am so
oppressed, that I can attend only to two of the great
truths of religion, the mercy of God, and the graci-
ous aid of his Holy Spirit."
" I know whom I have believed, and I am per-
suaded he is able to keep that which I have com-
mitted unto him against that day."
" My whole recourse is to the mercy of God: I
expect a better life than this."
" Our Lord Jesus Christ is my only righteous-
ness."
Thus died the venerable and inestimable John
Claude, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, A. D.
1687.
43. The Rev. Samuel Walker, of Truro, in Corn-
wall, was a minister of no ordinary rank in the
church of Christ. His excessive labours, however,
ruined his constitution, and he died at the age of
forty-eight. When his dissolution drew near, after
much former darkness, but the most assured confi-
dence in God, he broke out to his nurse in this rap-
turous expression : " I have been upon the wings of
the cherubim! Heaven has been in a manner
opened to me ! I shall soon be there !" Next day,
to a friend who came to see him, he said, with a joy
in his countenance more than words can utter:—
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 121
" O my friend, had I strength to speak, I could tell
you such news as would rejoice your very soul! I
have had such views of heaven ! but I am not able
to say more." (l)
44. The Rev. James Hervey is well known to
have been an elegant scholar, and a believer in the
Bible, with its most distinguished truths. When he
apprehended himself to be near the close of life, and
stood, as it were, on the brink of the grave, with
eternity full in view, he wrote to a friend at a dis-
tance, to tell him what were his sentiments in that
awful situation. " I have been too fond," said he,
" of reading every thing valuable and elegant that
has been penned in our language, and been peculi-
arly charmed with the historians, orators, and poets
of antiquity; but were I to renew my studies, I
would take leave of those accomplished trifles; I
would resign the delights of modern wits, amuse-
ments, and eloquence, and devote my attention to
the Scriptures of truth. I would sit with much
greater assiduity at my divine Master's feet, and de-
sire to know nothing in comparison of 'Jesus Christ,
and him crucified.'"
After this, when his dissolution drew still nearer,
he said to those about him, " How thankful am I for
death! It is the passage to the Lord and Giver of
eternal life. O welcome, welcome death! Thou
mayest well be reckoned among the treasures of the
Christian; ' to live is Christ, but to die is gain !'
' Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
(1) [See his Life, by the Rev. E. Sidney.]—Ed.
122
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
according to thy' most holy and comfortable ' word;
for mine eyes have seen thy' precious ' salvation.'"
45. Dr. Leechman, late Principal of the College
of Glasgow, at the close of life, thus addressed the
son of a worthy nobleman, who was designed for the
church, and the early part of whose education had
been much under the Doctor's eye.
" You see the situation I am in; I have not many
days to live; I am glad you have had an opportu-
nity of witnessing the tranquillity of my last mo-
ments. But it is not tranquillity and composure
alone; it is joy and triumph ; it is complete exulta-
tion." His features kindled, his voice rose as he
spake. " And whence," says he, " does this exulta-
tion spring? From that book (pointing to a Bible
that lay on the table), from that book, too much
neglected indeed, but which contains invaluable
treasures ! treasures of joy and rejoicing ! for it
makes us certain that 'this mortal shall put on
immortality.'"
46. The Rev. William Romaine was a zealous
and successful preacher of the Gospel of Jesus, and
adorned it by a suitable character above fifty years.
In his last illness not one fretful or murmuring
word ever escaped his lips. " I have," said he,
" the peace of God in my conscience, and the love
of God in my heart I knew before the doctrines I
preached to be truths, but now I experience them to
be blessings. Jesus is more precious than rubies,
and all that can be desired on earth is not to be
compared to him." He was in full possession of his
mental powers to the last moment, and near his dis-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 123
solution cried out, " Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
Almighty! Glory be to thee on high for such
peace on earth, and good will to men." (')
(1) [The Rev. Rowland Hill " was a burning and a shining
light," for three quarters of a century. He was the sixth son
of Sir Rowland Hill, Baronet, of Hawkestone, in Shropshire.
His last illness was of very short duration. Some of his ex-
pressions were, " It is a solemn thing to die. I have no raptu-
rous joys, hut peace—a good hope through grace—all through
grace. Christ is every thing to a dying man; but I want to
he perfectly holy, perfectly like my dear Lord; without holi-
ness there is no such thing as getting to heaven." His happy
spirit was released from the bondage of mortality, without a
sigh, or groan, or any other evidence of the agony of a last
struggle, on Thursday evening, 11th of April, 1833, in the
eighty-ninth year of his age. His character is thus admirably
delineated, in the ' Christian Observer,' for September, 1834.—
" We see him born to flattering worldly prospects, surrounded
with connexions who were able and willing to open his path
to wealth and dignity, and possessed of talents and endow-
ments to second all their efforts in his favour; the idol of all
who knew him—in childhood and youth—at school and col-
lege; excelling in whatever he attempted, even to being the
best rider, swimmer, sportsman, or whatever else was the object
of ambition among young men of his own age and station;
qualified to be a remarkable man and a leader, and to add to
the hereditary renown of his family, unless he preferred en-
joying life with rustic honours, in the ease, dignity, and con-
viviality of a well-beneficed clergyman, according to the fashion
at that period not uncommon:—we see him, thus favourably
circumstanced in regard to his temporal prospects, casting
aside every thing to become—not what he appeared to the
present generation, when, after a long life of unstained cha-
racter, he had outlived reproach, and was every where venera-
ted for his eminent virtues, even by those who least appreciated
the principles from which they sprang; hut, an outcast from
his paternal home; the disgrace and reproach, in the estimation
124
a plea for religion
These are glorious instances of the power of reli-
gion upon the human mind in the most trying cir-
cumstances of nature. I know it is fashionable for
lukewarm and pharisaical Christians, who have " a
form of godliness, but deny the power," and for
philosophisters of every description, to treat all such
death-bed scenes as delusive and fanatical. I am
not, however, ashamed to say, that dissolutions of
of his beloved parent, of an honourable house; a despised
itinerant preacher; often houseless, pennyless, and needing
the boon of charity to afford him a morsel of bread; bending
his proud spirit to all that was accounted ignominious; jibed
and sneered at; hunted down by mobs and magistrates; en-
during privations and fatigues, under which, even his iron
frame and undaunted spirit were often bowed to the dust; and
relinquishing the blandishments and amenities of polished in-
tercourse; the thousand boasted charms of the higher walks of
social life, to consort with the poor and ignorant and destitute,
and to spend and be spent for their welfare. This is, we con-
fess, a spectacle at which we gaze with admiration. If a man
of the world expressed to us a doubt whether there is any rea-
lity, or any power in religion—we would show him Rowland
Hill, as he might have been, and as he was; we would take
him round the walks, and rocks, and groves of Hawkestone,
and would thence transfer him to the lanes, and meeting-houses,
and market-places, where the poor had the Gospel preached to
them—the rich keeping far aloof; in short but we need not
complete the contrast, or point the moral. We vindicate not
all that Rowland Hill said or did; but the principle, the mo-
tive, the self-devotion, the love of God, and the love of man,
which excited him to action, and gave lustre to his erratic
course—not lustrous because erratic; the zeal, the diligence,
the charity, the ardour for the glory of his Divine Master, and
for the souls of men, for whom he died—these shall be remem-
bered, when his eccentricities are for ever forgotten."—See his
Life, by the Rev. E. Sidney.']—ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 125
the above description appear to me honourable to
religion, and desirable above all the enjoyments of
the world. If this be enthusiasm, may I be the
rankest enthusiast that ever existed. Such enthu-
siasts, thanks be to God, have appeared, more or
less, in every age of the Gospel dispensation. They
are increasing now in a considerable degree, and
they shall abound more and more, notwithstanding
all the oppositions of infidelity, and the cool moral
harangues of a secular and lukewarm clergy. Large
numbers of examples might be produced, of a simi-
lar kind, from those who lived before the rise of
both methodism and puritanism, besides these we
have mentioned; but the only one I shall introduce
here, by way of contrast to the death-bed scenes of
Chesterfield, Voltaire, Rousseau, and the other un-
happy characters we have recorded, shall be that
of the learned and excellent Bishop Bedell, that
scourge of ecclesiastical corruption, that admirable
pattern for prelates and clergymen, and that glory of
the Irish hierarchy.
47. After a life spent in the most laborious service
of his Divine Master, when he apprehended his great
change to draw near, he called for his sons and his
sons' wives, and spake to them at several times, as
he was able, as nearly as could be recollected, in the
following words:—
" I am going the way of all flesh ; ' I am ready to
be offered up, and the time of my departure is at
hand.' Knowing, therefore, that ' shortly I must
put off this tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus
Christ hath showed me'I know also, that if this
my earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,
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A PLEA FOR RELIGION
I have a building of God, a house not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens,' a fair mansion in the
' New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven
from my God.' Therefore, ' to me to live is Christ,
and to die is gain ; which increaseth my desire even
now to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far
better' than to continue here in the transitory, vain,
and false pleasures of this world, of which I have
seen an end.
" Hearken, therefore, unto the last words of your
dying father. ' I am no more in this world, but ye
are in the world.' ' I ascend to my Father and your
Father, to my God and your God, through the all-
sufficient merits of Jesus Christ my Redeemer, who
ever lives to make intercession for me;' who is ' a
propitiation' for all my sins, and washed me from
them all in his own blood; who is ' worthy to receive
glory, and honour, and power; who hath created all
things, and for whose pleasure they are and were
created.'
" My witness is in heaven, and my record on
high, that I have endeavoured to glorify God on
earth ; and in the ministry of the Gospel of his dear
Son, which was committed to my trust; ' I have
finished the work which he gave me to do,' as a
faithful ambassador of Christ, and steward of the
mysteries of God. ' I have preached righteousness
in the great congregation ; lo ! I have not refrained
my bps, 0 Lord! thou knowest' ' I have not hid
thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared
thy faithfulness and thy salvation ; I have not con-
cealed thy loving kindness and thy truth from the
great congregation' of mankind. ' He is near that
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 127
justifieth me,' that 'I have not concealed the words
of the Holy One; but the words that he gave to me
I have given to you, and ye have received them.'
" I had a desire and resolution to walk before God
in every stage of my pilgrimage, from my youth up
to this day, in truth and with an upright heart, and
to do that which was upright in his eyes, to the ut-
most of my power; and ' what things were gain to
me formerly, these things I count now loss for
Christ: yea, doubtless, and I count all things but
loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus
Christ, my Lord; for whom I have suffered the
loss of all things; and I count them but dung, that
I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having
my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteous-
ness which is of God by faith; that I may know
him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fel-
lowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to
his death.' ' I press,' therefore, ' towards the mark
for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus.'
" ' Let nothing separate you from the love of
Christ, neither tribulation, nor distress, nor perse-
cution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor peril, nor
sword:' though as we hear and see, ' for his sake we
are killed all the day long, we are accounted as
sheep for the slaughter; yea, in all these things we
are more than conquerors, through Him that loved
us; for I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any creature, shall be able to separate me from
128
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
the love of God in Christ Jesus, my Lord.' There-
fore, ' love not the world, nor the things of the
world;' but prepare daily and hourly for death,
which now besieges us on every side ; and be faith-
ful unto death, that we may meet together joyfully
on the right hand of Christ at the last day, and fol-
low the lamb whithersoever he goeth, with all those
that are clothed in white robes, in sign of innocency,
and palms in their hands, in sign of victory ; ' which
came out of great tribulation, and have washed their
robes, and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb.' ' They shall hunger no more, nor thirst,
neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat;
for the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne
shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living
fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes.'
" Choose rather with Moses, ' to suffer affliction
with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season ;' which will be bitterness in the
latter end. Look, therefore, for sufferings, and to
be made partakers of the sufferings of Christ; ' to
fill up that which is behind of the affliction of Christ
in your flesh, for his body's sake, which is the
church.' What can you look for, but one woe after
another, while the man of sin is thus suffered to
rage, and to make havoc of God's people at his
pleasure, while men are divided about trifles that
ought to have been more vigilant over us and care-
ful of those whose blood is precious in God's sight,
though now shed every where like water. ' If ye
suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye ; be not
afraid of their terror, neither be ye troubled ;' and
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 129
be ye ' in nothing terrified by your adversaries;
which is to them an evident token of perdition, but
to you of salvation, and that of God.' ' For to you
it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe
on him, but also to suffer for his sake.' ' Rejoice,
therefore, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's
sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye
may be glad also with exceeding joy.' ' And if ye
be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye;
the Spirit of glory and of Christ resteth on you; on
their part he is evil spoken of, on your part he is
glorified.'
" God will surely visit you in due time, and turn
your captivity as the rivers of the south, and bring
you back again into your possession in this land:
' though now for a season, if need be, ye are in hea-
vineSs through manifold temptations; yet ye shall
reap in joy,' though now ye ' sow in tears ;' all our
losses shall be recompensed with abundant advan-
tages; for my God will supply all your need, ac-
cording to his riches in glory, by Christ Jesus, who
is able to do exceeding abundantly for us, above all
that we are able to ask or think.' "
After that, he blessed his children, and those who
stood about him, in an audible voice, in these words:
" God of his infinite mercy bless you all, and present
you holy and unblameable, and irreproveable in his
sight, that we may meet together at the right hand
of our blessed ' Saviour Jesus Christ, with joy un-
speakable and full of glory.' Amen." To which he
added these words : " ' I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the course' of my ministry and life
together. Though ' grievous wolves have entered
K
130
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
in among us, not sparing the flockyet I trust the
great Shepherd of his flock ' will save and deliver
them out of all places where they have been scat-
tered in this cloudy and dark day : and they shall be
no more a prey to the heathen, neither shall the
beasts of the land devour them ; but they shall dwell
safely, and none shall make them afraid.' ' O Lord,
I have waited for thy salvation 1'" And after a little
interval, he said, "' I have kept the faith' once given
to the saints; for the which cause I have also suf-
fered these things; but ' I am not ashamed, for I
know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that
he is able to keep that which I have committed to
him against that day.'"
After this the good Bishop spake little more. His
sickness increased, his speech failed, and he slum-
bered the remainder of his time away, till his dis-
charge came.
Let incredulity itself now say, if this was not an
admirable close of so laborious and useful a life as
this excellent man is known to have lived.
One may defy all the sons of infidelity to show us
an example among their brethren, of a life so useful,
and a death so great, so noble, so glorious, as this of
the good Bishop. (')
(1) Be it observed too, what use this admirable man makes
of the Sacred Writings.
" They know not
That Scripture is the only cure of woe:
That field of promise, how it flings abroad
Its odour o'er the Christian's thorny road:
The soul, reposing on assured relief,
Feels herself happy amidst all her grief,
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 131
Now, my friends and countrymen, these are all so
many well-attested matters of fact. Most of the
persons mentioned were of the first reputation in
their respective spheres of action. It would be pru-
dent to review the whole; to compare the several
instances; and weigh thoroughly the issue: for
though it is not our province to determine the final
fates of men, we may, from such comparison, see
clearly whose situation is most eligible at the close
of life, and whose case stands fairest for future feli-
city. Extremely weak, therefore, would it be, to let
any man sneer us out of our Bible, our Redeemer,
and our salvation. Did we ever know a person la-
ment, when he came to die, that he had taken too
much care to serve his Creator, and save his soul
alive! Did we ever hear of a Deist, who gloried in
his departing moments, that he had been favoured
with success, in making converts to the principles of
infidelity? Or did we ever see a sound scholar,
who was at the same time a chaste, temperate, moral,
and conscientious man, that lived and died an unbe-
liever? (') Instances of a contrary nature we have
Forgets her labour as she toils along,
Weeps tears of joy, and hursts into a song."
Cowper's Poem on Truth.
(1) Lord Bolingbroke was a man of considerable talents,
and lived and died an infidel. But when we reflect, that he
was at the same time a libertine, and much addicted to women
and wine, we shall cease to wonder that he rejected Christianity,
notwithstanding the high compliments he sometimes thought
proper to pay it
Sir William Temple, too, " was a person of true judgment
in civil affairs, and very good principles with relation to
government; but in nothing else. He was a vain man, much
132
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
known many, but rarely one which comes up to this
description. Persons of an affected liberality of
mind, indeed, are frequently found, who hector, do-
mineer, and speak great swelling words of vanity,
while health and prosperity smile upon them; but they
generally lose their courage, and appear to infinite
disadvantage, when death and judgment stare them
blown up in his own conceit, which he showed too indecently
on all occasions. He seemed to think, that things were as
they are from all eternity; at least he thought religion was fit
only for the mob. He was a great admirer of the sect of Con-
fucius, in China, who were Atheists themselves, or left religion
to the rabble. He was a corrupter of all that came near him,
and he delivered himself up wholly to study, ease, and plea-
sure."—Burnet's Own Times. A. D. 1674.
Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury, was " a
man of various talents, but a Deist at best in his religion. He
had the dotage of astrology in him to a high degree. He
fancied that after death our souls lived in stars. He had a
general knowledge of the slighter parts of learning, but under-
stood little to the bottom: so he triumphed in a rambling way
of talking, but argued slightly when he was held close to any
point. He had a wonderful faculty at opposing, and running
things down; but had not the like force in building up. He
had such an extravagant vanity in setting himself out, that it
was very disagreeable."
Sir George Saville, afterwards Viscount, Earl, and Marquis
of Halifax, was "a man of great and ready wit; full of life
and very pleasant; much turned to satire. He let his wit run
much on matters of religion; so that he passed for a bold and
determined Atheist; though he often protested he was not one.
He confessed he could not swallow down every thing that
divines imposed on the world. He was a Christian by sub-
mission: he believed as much as he could. In a fit of
sickness, I knew him very much touched with a sense of
religion. I was then often with him. He seemed full of good
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 133
in the face. If their souls are not harrowed up with
horror, as in the cases of Voltaire, Newport, Alta-
mont, and others; at best they are sullen, gloomy,
disconsolate, like Hobbes and Chesterfield; or
" having their consciences seared as with a hot iron,"
they are insensible to the vast realities of the invi-
sible world, brave it out, and sport blindfold on the
brink of destruction, after the manner of Servin,
Hume, Emmerson, and several of the late French
philosophers. But surely a conduct of this kind is
highly unbecoming men of wisdom, even upon their
own supposition that death is an eternal sleep. Is
annihilation so small a matter, that a reasonable man
can look upon it with complacency ? Hume's con-
duct was infinitely unnatural. It was the effect of pride
and sophistical philosophy. " He had a vanity in
being thought easy," as Dr. Johnson justly observes.
" That must be our cure,
To be no more. Sad cure! For who would lose
this intellectual being,
Those thoughts that wander through eternity,
To perish rather, swallow'd up and lost
In the wide womb of uncreated night,
Devoid of sense and motion."
It will be the concern of every wise man, therefore,
purposes; but they went off with his sickness."—Burnet's
Own Times.
This is a specimen of the general characters of those who
reject the Gospel of Christ. Gray, the poet, seems to have had
an opinion of Shaftesbury equally low with the above of
Bishop Burnet.—See Johnson's Lives of the English Poets,
vol. iv. pp. 464, 463.
134
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
to take warning in time, to be cautious how he gives
credit to the representations of unbelievers, and con-
sider well what the end of our present state of trial
will be. It is an easy business to revile and stigma-
tise the Bible. Few things more so. Any smatterer
in learning, who hath got a wicked heart, a witty
head, and a comfortable flow of scurrilous language,
is competent to the task. Examples of this kind we
meet with in every neighbourhood. Profound scho-
lars, however, and modest men, have always been
incapable of such conduct. What Lord Bacon (')
saith of Atheism is equally true of Deism; " A little
philosophy inclineth man's mind to Atheism; but
depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to
religion!" Our great moral poet, too, will teach
us the same lesson :—
(1) Lord Bacon was a serious believer in the Gospel of
Christ, and hath given us his creed at some length, which is
worthy the attention of the reader. The above passage is
taken from his Essays^ No. 16.—In a prayer which he wrote
upon a certain occasion, he addresses the Almighty, by saying
—"Thy creatures have been my books, but thy Scriptures
much more. I have sought thee in the courts, fields, and
gardens; but I have found thee in thy temples."
Sir Richard Steele gives us a fine character of this extra-
ordinary person. He says, " He was a man, who for greatness
of genius and compass of knowledge, did honour to his age
and country; one might almost say to human nature itself.
He possessed at once all those extraordinary talents which
were divided amongst the greatest authors of antiquity. He
had the sound, distinct, comprehensive knowledge of Aristotle,
with all the beautiful lights, graces, and embellishments of
Cicero. One does not know which to admire most in his
writings, the strength of reason, force of style, or brightness of
imagination."—Toiler, No. 267.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 135
" A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again." (1)
What then if Thomas Paine, who is well known
to be both illiterate and immoral, insolent and sati-
rical (ill qualifications for the discovery of moral
and religious truth, which consists in purity, mo-
desty, humility, sobriety, and goodness), though
otherwise a man of good natural understanding, is
an unbeliever in the divine mission of the son of
God? It may be some consolation to remember,
that the first characters which ever adorned our
world, in every department of human life, have not
been ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Every man
would do well to reflect, in these days of abounding
licentiousness, by way of supporting the mind
against the ridicule of professed Deists, that the
divines, Butler, and Bentley, and Barrow, and Berk-
ley, and Cudworth, and Clarke, and Sherlock, and
Doddridge, and Lardner, and Pearson, and Taylor,
and Usher, and a thousand more, were believers ;(2)
(1) "The Christian religion," says another great writer,
" has nothing to apprehend from the strictest investigation of
the most learned of its adversaries; it suffers only from the
misconceptions of sciolists, and silly pretenders to superior
wisdom. A little learning is far more dangerous to the faith
of those who possess it, than ignorance itself."
(2) [It has been conceived, through mistake, that the author
intended in this place to vouch for the genuine piety of every
individual of the long list here enumerated. But this was by
no means necessary to liis argument, however favourably he
might have conceived of the generality of these characters.
136
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
that the poets, Spencer, and Waller, and Cowley,
and Prior, and Thomson, and Young, and Milton,
were believers; that the statesmen, Hyde, and So-
mers, and Cullen, and Pulteney, and Howard, and
Harrington, and King, and Barrington, and Little-
ton, with numberless more, Q) were believers: that
the moralists, Steele, and Addison, and Hawkes-
worth, and Johnson, were believers: that the phy-
sicians, Arbuthnot, and Cheyne, and Brown, and
Boerhaave, and Pringle, and Hartley, and Haller,
and Mead, and Fothergill, were believers: that the
lawyers, Hale, and Melmoth, and Forbes, and Hailes,
and Pratt, and Blackstone, and Jones, (2) were belie-
He is arguing simply here for the truth of the Scriptures; and
the drift of his argument is, that they hare approTed them-
selves, respecting their veracity, to the understandings of the
greatest and most enlightened geniuses; and withstood the
scrutiny of the most deep and critical investigation. This is
precisely the argument adopted by Lord Chancellor Erskine,
when counsel in the prosecution against Williams, referred to
in the Preface. The author knew too well the difference be-
tween the mere assent of the understanding to the truth of the
Scriptures, and their saving influence on the heart, to make
any confusion between them. A man may he a true believer
in the authenticity of the Scriptures, while he is a very infidel
as to the obedience he pays to them.]—Ed.
(1) Washington was lately a living character, and generally
allowed to be one of the first of warriors, the first of politicians,
and the worthiest of men. This same gentleman was the de-
light of " an admiring and astonished world," and yet—hear
it, 0 ye minute philosophers of degenerate Europe—he was a
serious Christian!
(2) It is a pleasure to hear such men as the honourable
Thomas (now Lord) Erskine, one of the first orators of the age,
come boldly forward in favour of the Gospel of Jesus. " No
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 137
vers : that the philosophers, Pascal, and Grotius, and
Ray, and Cotes, and Fergusson, and Adams, and Locke,
and Euler, and Newton, were believers. (') Where
is the great misfortune, then, to the interests of reli-
gion, if lukewarm Christians of every persuasion, be-
tray the cause they pretend to espouse; and if
unbelievers of every description imagine a vain
thing against the Redeemer of mankind, and the
Book which he hath caused to be written for our
instruction ? Nothing less than demonstration on the
side of infidelity should induce any man to resist the
momentum that these venerable names give in fa-
vour of the Gospel. Many of them were the orna-
ments of human nature, whether we consider the
wide range of their abilities, the great extent of their
learning and knowledge, or the piety, integrity, and
beneficence of their lives. These eminent charac-
ters, Bacon, Newton, Locke, Boyle, Ditton, Addi-
son, Hartley, Littleton, Woodward, Pringle, Haller,
Jones, Boerhaave, Milton, Grotius, Barrington, and
man ever existed," says he, " who is more alive to every thing
connected with the Christian faith than I am, or more unal-
terably impressed with its truths."— View of the Causes, (fc.
p. 56.
(1) We are well aware that the truth of Christianity cannot
be established by authority. But if its truth cannot be so
established, neither can its falsehood. Indeed no man can be a
competent judge, either of the truth or falsehood of the Gospel,
who has not turned his attention to it for a considerable time,
with all seriousness of mind, and with a considerable share of
literary information. We may experience its saving power,
but we are ill qualified to defend its veracity.
138
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Euler, (l) in particular, firmly adhered to the belief
of Christianity, after the most diligent and exact
researches into the life of its founder, the authenti-
city of its records, the completion of the prophecies,
the sublimity of its doctrines, the purity of its pre-
cepts, and the arguments of its adversaries. Here,
you will remark, was no priestcraft. These were all
men of independent principles, and the most liberal
and enlarged minds. They investigated the preten-
sions of the Gospel to the bottom; they were not
only satisfied with the justice of its claims, but they
gloried in it as a most benevolent and godlike
scheme; (2) and they all endeavoured, if not in their
(1) It is said of this great Christian Philosopher, in the
General Biographical Dictionary, that few men of letters have
written so much as he. His memory shall endure, continues
his biographer, till science herself is no more. No geometri-
cian has ever embraced so many objects at one time, or has
equalled him, either in the variety or magnitude of his disco-
veries. He had read all the Latin classics, could repeat the
whole Htneid of Virgil by heart; was perfect master of ancient
mathematical literature; had the history of all ages and
nations, even to the minutest facts, ever present to his mind;
was acquainted with physic, botany and chemistry; was pos-
sessed of every qualification that could render a man estimable.
Yet this man, accomplished as he was, was filled with respect
for religion. His piety was sincere, and his devotion full of
fervour. He went through all his Christian duties with the
greatest attention. He loved all mankind, and if ever he felt
a motion of indignation, it was against the enemies of religion,
particularly against the declared apostles of infidelity. Against
the objections of these men he defended Revelation in a work
published at Berlin, in 1747,
(2) Dr. Disney Alexander, a physician, was favoured with
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 139
oral discourses, yet by their immortal writings, to
recommend it to the general reception of mankind.
It was their study in life, and their solace in death.
a religious education, and brought up with a view to the
church. By mixing with the world as he advanced in life,
he lost his religious impressions. At this time he began to
read the writings of Messrs. Jebb, Lindsey, and Priestley, and
became a confirmed Socinian. In this state of mind, he met
with the writings of Helvetius and Voltaire. He read them
with avidity, and it was not long before he commenced Deist.
In this state of mind he continued some years, applauding
his own superior discernment, and triumphing in his boasted
freedom from the shackles of the Gospel. Necker's book on
the Importance of Religious Opinions, however, falling acci-
dentally into his hands, the fame of the author induced him to
read it. Here his infidelity received a shock; his mind under-
went another change; and he was partly brought back to
religion. Some months after this again, Paley's evidences
of Christianity were recommended to him. He bought the
book. He read it eagerly twice over, in a little time, with great
care. He was convinced—and became a zealous and happy
Christian. This is his own account published in the Arminian
Magazine.
[There is a delicacy to be observed in referring to living in-
dividuals; and, without infringing on it, a slight allusion may
be made to Mr. William Hone, whose name, a few years ago,
stood associated in the public mind, with profaneness and
infidelity.
It is but justice to Mr. Hone to state, that the object of his
parodies, was political, and that they were not composed for
the purpose of bringing religion into contempt, although that
was their unquestionable tendency. While, however, this is
admitted, it must also be admitted, that, if the promotion of
infidelity did not enter into the plan of the parodies, yet, that
no person could have aimed at a political object by such means,
whose mind was not, at the time, under the complete influence
140
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Why then are so many of our fellow-creatures
found to oppose, with such malignant virulence,
what these great men have so successfully laboured
either of infidelity, or indifference—of opposition to religion,
or carelessness about it.
Mr. Hone, in early life, was led to reject Christianity, and
to adopt sceptical, if not atheistical, opinions. At the time of
his celebrated trials, his opinions may have been less extra-
vagant, but neither his intellect nor his heart had submitted
to the authority of revealed religion. After that period, he
became convinced of the truth of the Bible, as a communi-
cation from God, but satisfied himself with something like
Unitarianism. This, however, he found would not satisfy the
heart. About six years since, his conscience was awakened to
a just sense of man's condition, as a sinner, and the need in
which he stands both of an atoning sacrifice and a sanctifying
spirit. After many painful exercises of mind, serious exami-
nation of the Scriptures, prayer, and attendance on the preach-
ing of the Gospel, he came fully to accept the faith " which
once he destroyed," and to acknowledge that Saviour whom he
had formerly dishonoured. The change in the minds of his
family was equally remarkable. One after another was brought
to "the knowledge and belief of the truth," though at first
contemned and resisted; till, at length, in the close of the year
1834, Mr. Hone, his wife, four of their daughters, and a
son-in-law, were received to Christian communion, by one of
the congregational churches in London; and three of his
children, and three of his grand-children were baptized. The
interest excited by the circumstance was intense; the scene was
felt to be one over which angels might be supposed to rejoice,
and which demanded the thanksgiving of Christians on earth.
The substance of this statement is communicated on the best
authority, and is purposely brief and general, as there is reason
to hope that Mr. Hone will give to the public, from his own
pen, some account of the change which he has experienced.]
—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
141
to establish ? The reason, in most eases, is ob-
vious. They will not have this man to reign over
them, because he is not to their taste. And they
oppose the Bible, because it condemns their practice.
For if Jesus is indeed the only Saviour of mankind,
and if the declarations of Scripture are at all to be
regarded, their situation is desperate, and they can-
not escape the condemnation which is therein de-
nounced against all such characters. Other reasons,
however, may be given for such a preposterous con-
duct. Abundance of men are so neglected at first
in their religious education, and when grown up to
maturity are so immersed in the pleasures and pur-
suits of life, that they never give themselves leisure
to examine into the foundation of religion. They
are as inattentive to it, as if it was none of their
concern. This seems to have been the case with
the learned Dr. Halley. For when he was throwing
out, upon a time, some indecent reflections against
Christianity, his friend, Sir Isaac Newton, stopped
him short, and addressed him in these, or the like
words, which imply that this great astronomer had
employed his life in studying only the book of na-
ture :—" Dr. Halley, I am always glad to hear you,
when you speak about astronomy, or other parts of
the mathematics, because that is a subject you have
studied, and well understand; but you should not
talk of Christianity, for you have not studied it: I
have, and am certain you know nothing of the
matter." (')
(1) See the Life of Mr. Emlyn for this anecdote. There is
a sufficient account of the reasons for Dr. Halley's infidelity
in Goadhy's British Biography, vol. viii. p. 37.
142
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Many other persons, possessed of some discern-
ment, observe the hypocrisy of several of the great-
est pretenders to religion; they see them no better,
and scarce even so good, as some who make less
pretensions; and this becomes an insuperable of-
fence to them. If these discerning men, however,
would attend more to their own conduct, and less
to the misconduct of others, it would be much hap-
pier for them, and more to their honour. Can any
thing be more unreasonable than that the Gospel
should be made answerable for all the weaknesses,
vices, and follies of its advocates ? Will philosophy
endure to be tried by this test ? The fact is, truth
is a stubborn thing, and does not fluctuate with the
varying whims and opinions of men. Every person
must give an account of himself unto God. Hypo-
crites have no encouragement from the Bible. Why
should any man, therefore, make their hypocrisy an
objection to that Bible ? Let the blame fall where
it belongs. The fate of such persons is fixed by the
Judge of the world himself. Their false pretensions
are utterly disclaimed by him. " Not every one that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the king-
dom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father
which is in heaven. Many shall say unto me in that
day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy
name, and in thy name cast out devils, and in thy
name done many wonderful works; but then will I
profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from
me, all ye that work iniquity."
The weakness, folly, and enthusiasm; the noise and
nonsense of the zealots among all the denomi-
nations of Christians, is another cause of the infi-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 143
delity of the age.(') Unbelievers see the absurdity of
their pretensions and proceedings, and they are un-
distinguishing and illiberal enough to comprehend
them, and the pure Gospel of Christ, in one general
sentence of reprobation. Such a conduct is surely
uncandid, and highly unbecoming the character of
men who would be thought lovers of wisdom. Where
(1) The extravagancies of some of the German Anabaptists,
the French Prophets, the English Quakers, Puritans, and
Methodists, have given great and just offence to many sensible
and well-disposed people, and been instrumental in driving no
small number into downright indifference to all religion; while
others have contracted the most inveterate principles of infi-
delity. But shall the follies of a few mistaken individuals
subvert the nature of things, and the laws of everlasting truth ?
Because some men are weak, silly, and enthusiastic, and in-
flamed with spiritual pride, shall we take upon us to say,
there is no such thing as sound religion and good sense in the
world? This would be to make ourselves as weak and cul-
pable as those we take upon us to condemn. All revivals of
religion have been attended with excesses; all sects and
parties have had, and will have, among them, men of warm
imaginations and feeble intellects: and wherever persons of
this description become strongly impressed with the importance
of religious truths, they seldom fail to disgrace the party to
which they belong. There is no remedy for such unfortunate
cases, but to use our best endeavours to restrain and keep them
within the bounds of moderation. This, however, is usually
extremely difficult; for all such persons are most commonly
wiser than ten men that can render a reason. They are blown
up with self-importance, consider themselves as the peculiar
favourites of Heaven, and under the immediate teachings and
leadings of the Divine Spirit. While this persuasion continues,
they treat the directions of Scripture as a dead letter, and in
vain you attempt to reduce them to order, and the sober die-
tates of reason and common sense.
144
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
we see integrity, and good intention at the bottom,
we should make all requisite allowance for the infir-
mities of men. The best and wisest are encompassed
with darkness, and know but in part. One grain of
piety and moral excellence is of more worth than the
highest attainments in the arts and sciences without
those moral and religious qualifications.
Others again take offence at the absurd doctrines
of the several religious establishments^) in Christ-
endom. They discover in them certain peculiarities
which they conceive to be irrational. They con-
found the doctrines of these human institutions
(which were formed in the very dawn of the Refor-
mation, while men's eyes were yet scarcely open
enough to discover truth) with genuine Christianity.
Not being at the pains to examine matters to the
(1) "It is the corruption of Establishments, ten thousand
times worse than the rudest dominion of tyranny, which has
changed, and is changing, the face of the modem world."
Mr. Erskine's Pamphlet on the Causes and Consequences of
the Present War, from which these words are extracted, con-
tains a number of important political truths, hut seems to me
by no means satisfactory in speaking on the causes of the wax.
Let any man read, with sober consideration, the Collection of
Addresses transmitted by certain English Clubs and Societies
to the National Convention of France:—Mile's Conduct of
France towards Great Britain—Gifford's Letter to the Earl of
Lauderdale—D'lvernois's Account of the late Revolution in
Geneva—With Bowles's Real Grounds of the present War
with France. This little pamphlet is sufficiently satisfactory.
Lord Mornington's Speech before the House of Commons is
to the same purpose with the above. Harper's Observations
on the Dispute between the United States and France is a
decisive little work. The designs of the French are therein
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 145
bottom, and distinguish accurately, they suppose
them to be alike, and hence contract a rooted indif-
ference, if not an unconquerable aversion to all re-
ligion.
Some there are, again, who, seeing the pomp and
pride of many of our bishops and dignified clergy, how
they, in direct opposition to the whole spirit of the
Gospel, and the example of primitive clerks, as well
as their own holy profession, scramble for emolument
completely developed. Nothing can be clearer, than that they
were the aggressors in the present contest. He that cannot see
this, when the evidence is so plainly laid before him, must be
blinded by, and given up to party.
In addition to what has been advanced by these several authors,
I beg leave here to add a declaration of Lord Auckland, Jan. 9,
1798, in the House of Lords, in reply to Lord Holland. Speak-
ing on the causes of the war, he said, " It was a war of necessity
and not of choice; for he himself at the time was sent with full
powers to preserve peace, if it could be done consistently with the
honour and interest of this country. He was to have met Du-
mourier on the subject; but before the time appointed for that
interview, a confidential officer came and informed him, that the
Directory had declared war against England; thus, by this pre-
tended negotiation, taking the opportunity to seize upon our
shipping."—London Chronicle, Jan. 9—11, 1798.
The above several publications contain the whole merits of
the cause concerning the authors of the war; and let it terminate
as it may, they will convince us that it could not have been
avoided on any principle of honour or safety. In expectation of
subverting the government of this country, the French, encou-
raged by disaffected persons in this kingdom, plunged into the
war. Indeed, it is, properly speaking, the war of English Jaco-
bins. If the French had not been stimulated by persons here,
there had been no war. Let us not, however, murmur against
men—the whole is of God. Great and good purposes are to be
answered by it, in the due order of Divine Providence.
L
146
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
and heap together from two to half a score lucrative
places of preferment, while several thousands of their
brethren are destitute of the ordinary comforts of
life, without further examination, naturally suppose
that religion is all priestcraft and self-interest, honour
and conscience having nothing to do in the business.
It may be of use to state this more at large.
It is well known then, that there are about 18,000
clergymen in England and Wales of the established
religion, and near 10,000 parishes. The rectories
are 5,098 ; the vicarages 3,687 ; the livings of other
descriptions 2,970; in all 11,755.
Twenty or thirty of these livings may be a thou-
sand a year and upwards; four or five hundred of
them five hundred pounds a year and upwards ; two
thousand of them two hundred pounds a year and
upwards ; five thousand of them under one hundred
pounds a year. The average value of livings is about
one hundred and forty pounds a year, reckoning
them at 10,000.
As these things are not very generally understood,
we will be a little more particular.
In the year 1714, when Queen Anne's bounty
began to be distributed, there were
1,071 livings not more than £10 a year,
1,467 20
1,126 30
1,149 40
884 50
In all 5,697 livings not more than £50 a year a-piece.
All the £10 and £20 livings have now been aug-
mented by the above donation.
This bounty is about 13,000 pounds a year, clear
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 147
of deductions; and is, therefore, equal to sixty-five
augmentations annually, at £200 a-piece. (')
The whole income of the church and two uni-
versities is about 1,500,000 pounds a year. There
are 26 bishops, whose annual income is 72,000, or
according to another account 92,000 pounds: each
bishop, therefore, has on an average 2,770 or 3,538
pounds a year, supposing he had no other prefer-
ment. There are 28 deaneries and chapters, whose
income is about 5,000 pounds a year each, making
together about 140,000 pounds. The income of
the two universities is together about 180,000
pounds a year. The 10,000 clergy (2) have together
about 1,108,000 pounds a year among them, which
(1) The clergy are indebted to Bishop Burnet for this appli-
cation. The money itself arises from the first fruits and tenths
of church livings above a certain value, which, before the time
of Henry VIII. used to go to the Pope of Home.
(2) The Dissenters in England and Wales are said, by the
late Mr. Robinson, of Cambridge, to make about a fifth part
of the nation, consisting of near 1400 congregations. The
Quakers are numerous, being about 30,000; but the Inde-
pendents are still more numerous than either the Quakers, or
the Presbyterians, or Baptists, or Moravians.
To these should be added the Methodist preachers of the
Gospel. The regular circuit preachers in Great Britain are
about 300, and the local preachers are supposed to amount to
near 2000.
The preachers of this description in Ireland are 80, and the
local preachers 200 or 300.
In addition to these, they have 300 preachers in America,
besides local assistants. The number of Missionaries in the
West Indies is 20, besides 50 Negro preachers: hence it ap-
pears that the whole number of persons, who preach the
Gospel to the poor, in the Methodist connexion, at present,
148
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
is little more than 100 pounds a-piece. The whole
body of the clergy and their families make near
100,000 souls, that is, about an eightieth part of the
may be about 2 or 3000; of which number 2000 are stationed
in Great Britain.
The number of persons belonging to the societies of the
late Reverend John Wesley is about 82,600 in this country,
18,000 in Ireland, 60,000 in America, and 9000 in the
West Indies; in all 169,600. The number of Negroes who
attend the Methodist preachings in the West Indies is about
50,000; and the number of poor Blacks on the continent of
America, belonging to the Methodist societies, is about 14,000.
These and the 9000 in the West Indies, making together
23,000 Negroes, have renounced their besetting sin—poly-
gamy; and, in the main, live as becomes the Gospel.
The followers of the late Reverend George 'Whitfield, and
Lady Huntingdon, are said to consist of nearly an equal
number in Great Britain, though I should suppose this calcu-
lation is rather exaggerated.
[See Addenda, for a series of articles on the present state of
the leading denominations, and of missions in the colonies, &c.]
—Ed.
It appears from Dr. Whitehead's Lives of the Wesley
family, that the name of Methodist was first bestowed upon
Mr. Charles Wesley, in 1728, at Oxford, for the exact method
and order which he observed in spending his time, and regu-
lating his conduct. An origin surely truly honourable, and
of which no wise man need be ashamed!
And then, what a highly respectable compliment do the
" blind mouths" of this world pay the Methodists, in calling
every man by that name whose conduct is moral, whose piety
is fervent, and whose affections are set upon the things that are
above! Good men in all ages have been what the foolish
world now call Methodists.
Mr. Aikin, in his Tour through North Wales, page 148, has
paid the Methodists a very high compliment. Nor has
Mr. Paley done less in his ' Evidences,' vol. 1, page 38, where
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 149
nation. And reckoning the population of England
and Wales at eight millions of people, every clergy-
man would have a congregation of 444 persons to
attend to, in the same way of calculation.
he says—"After men became Christians, much of their time
was spent in prayer and devotion, in religious meetings, in ce-
lebrating the eucharist, in conferences, in exhortations, in
preaching, in an affectionate intercourse with one another, and
correspondence with other societies. Perhaps their mode of
life, in its form and habit, was not very unlike the Unitas
Fratrum, or of modern Methodists."
Mr. Cecil, in his pleasing Memoirs of the Honourable and
Reverend W. B. Cadogan, pp. 29—36, has given a pretty fair
account of this body of people, which is every where spoken
against, and has honestly and ably defended them from the
obloquy which is usually cast upon all seriously religious cha-
racters by the world. The single circumstance of their heing
generally, I might almost say universally, reviled and abused
by all other denominations of professing Christians, is to me a
certain sign that there is something peculiarly good and ex-
cellent among them. The criterion whereby to judge, which
our Saviour has given us, is, " If ye were of the world, the
world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world,
but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world
hateth you."—John, xv. 19.
[The present Bishop of London has also offered a tribute
to the zeal of the Methodist preachers, equally honourable to
himself and to them :—" I know not why we should hesitate to
acknowledge the good which they (the Wesleyan Methodist
preachers) have done to the cause which the Church has in
hand, by their zealous and laborious exertions, as teachers
of Gospel truth, in many parts of the kingdom, where the
Church afforded no sufficient provision for the spiritual wants
of a rapidly accumulated population. It was necessary that
Christ should be preached there ; and if we did not possess the
means of doing so within ourselves, we have reason to rejoice
that it was faithfully, though irregularly, done by others."—See
the Bishop of London's Charge, 1834.]—Ed.
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A PLEA FOR RELIGION
There are, moreover, 28 cathedrals, 26 deans,
60 archdeacons, and 544 prebends, canons, &c. Be-
sides these, there are in all about 300 in orders, be-
longing to the different cathedrals, and about 800 lay-
officers, such as singing-men, organists, &c. who are
all paid from the cathedral emoluments; so that
there are about 1700 persons attached to the several
cathedrals, who divide among them the 140,000
pounds a year, making upon an average near 83
pounds a year a-piece. (')
The whole income of the Kirk of Scotland was,
in 1755, about 68,500 pounds a year. This was
divided among 944 ministers, and on an average
made 72 pounds a-piece per annum. (2)
Upon a general view of these matters, when it is
considered that all the bishoprics, prebendaries,
deaneries, headships of colleges, and best church
livings, are occupied by a smaller number, in all
probability, than an eighteenth part of these clergy;
what a deplorable situation must a large share of the
remaining seventeen thousand ministers be in, espe-
cially under the present advanced price of most of
the common necessaries of life? And then, it is
curious enough, that these Church dignitaries, who
are in possession of several thousand pounds a year
per man, have made laws directly contrary to the
practice of St. Paul, that the inferior clergy, who
(1) See an Essay on the Revenues of the Church of
England. [See Addenda, for the present state of the Church
of England.]—Ed.
(2) [See Addenda, for the present state of the Church of
Scotland.]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 151
are destitute of all the elegancies, and many of the
comforts of life, shall not be permitted to follow
any other calling, whereby to improve their condi-
tion, and get bread for their families! Would
there be any thing inconsistent with the character
of a minister of the Gospel of Christ, if the poor
rectors, vicars, and curates of the country, should
make a common cause, and associate together in
one body against their unfeeling oppressors ?(')
(1) Every man is an oppressor who holds that which ought
to he in the hands of another. It does not appear to me, that
we can justly blame any man for being a Deist, while the great
body of us, the bishops and clergy, conduct ourselves in the
manner we usually do. The spirit of our hierarchy seems, in
various respects, in direct opposition to the spirit of the Gospel.
A conscientious Deist, if such can be found, who worships
God in spirit and in truth, is infinitely preferable to a proud,
haughty, pompous bishop, or dignified clergyman, who trades
in livings and souls; and his condemnation will be far less
severe. Whatever bishops and clergymen of this description
may profess, they are infidels at bottom. They believe no-
thing of the spirit of Christianity. Religion is their trade;
and gain, with them, is godliness. They live in the spirit of
the ancient Scribes and Pharisees, and they may expect to
share in the fate of the Scribes and Pharisees. Compare
Isaiah lvi. 9—12.
Let the clerical reader turn to the conclusion of Bishop
Burnet's History of his own Times, and he will find the negli-
gent bishops of the land very justly and smartly reprehended
for their improper conduct.
Mr. Ostervald, in his excellent Treatise concerning the
causes of the present Corruption of Christians, attributes that
corruption chiefly to the clergy. His words are these; "The
cause of the corruption of Christians is chiefly to be found in
the clergy. I do not mean to speak here of all churchmen
indifferently. We must do right to some, who distinguish
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A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Could there be any impropriety in their conduct, if
they should peaceably and respectfully address the
king, who is temporal head of the Church, or the
legislature of the land, to take their circumstances
into serious consideration ? One man, not a whit
better than his brethren, shall enjoy 20,000 pounds
a year—another 15,000—another 10,000—another
5000—another 3000—another 2000—and another
1000. One shall heap living upon living—prefer-
ment upon preferment—to a vast amount—merely
because he has got access, too often by mean com-
pliances, to some great man; while his more worthy
themselves by their talents, their zeal, and the holiness of
their lives. But the number of these is not considerable
enough to stop the course of those disorders which are occa-
sioned in the Church, by the vast multitude of remiss and
corrupt pastors. These pull down what the others endeavour
to build up.''—P. ii. Cause 3.
The instances of extreme blame which attach to the higher
orders of the English clergy are very numerous. A certain
gentleman, not a hundred miles from my own neighbourhood,
whom I could name, is possessed of about a thousand a year
private fortune. He is a married man, but without any chil-
dren. He has one living in Cheshire, of the value of more
than 400 pounds a year; another in Essex, and another else-
where; the three together making a thousand a year, more or
less. He is, moreover, chaplain to a company, and private
tutor in a nobleman's family. But what is most culpable, is,
he resides upon none of his livings, and very seldom comes
near them, though a lusty, healthful man. Can that Church
be faultless which permits such horrible abuses ? The bishops
themselves, however, being generally guilty of holding a va-
rietv of preferments, and of most inexcusable non-residence,
are disposed to connive at every thing of the kind among the
superior clergy who are under their inspection.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 153
brother is almost in want of bread for his children.
The late Dr. Law, Bishop of Carlisle, if my me-
mory does not fail me, was possessed, at the time of
his decease, of ten or more different preferments.
He was Bishop—Head of a College—Prebend—
Rector—Librarian, &c. &c. &c. and all this be-
stowed upon him—not because he was a more holy,
useful, and laborious man, than ordinary, though
a man of merit and talents, but because he wriggled
himself into favour with certain great persons, who
had influence with men in power. Instances of this
kind are not uncommon. They are, however, un-
just, impolitic, and unchristian. No wise legisla-
ture ought to permit such abuses, religion being out
of the question. They are inconsistent with every
thing decent and proper, while so many valuable,
learned, laborious, humble, modest men, are pining in
want. I know well that reflections of this nature
are calculated to disoblige those who are interested;
but regardless of consequences, without the least
dislike to any man living, or the smallest view to
any one individual, or a wish to have any thing
better for myself, and actuated only with a love to
truth, and the advancement of our common Chris-
tianity, I, for one, protest, in the face of the sun,
against all such abuses. And I, moreover, solemnly
avow, that the spirit of the present times is such,
that unless these and similar disorders are rectified
by the wisdom of the legislature, the ecclesiastical
fabric in this country will, ere long, be as com-
pletely overturned as that in France has been. (')
(1) The Church of France, before the Revolution, consisted
154
A PLEA FOK RELIGION
Nothing can prevent it but a speedy and thorough
reformation. If the bishops of the land, as first in
dignity, would be first in this grand work; if they
would make a merit of necessity, and, like Bishop
Wilson, resign voluntarily what they cannot long
possess in safety: if they would make an offer to
their king and country of withdrawing from the
Upper House;(') resigning all their secular honours,
of 18 archbishops, 118 bishops, 306,261 clergy, regular and
secular, who together enjoyed a revenue of about five millions
sterling. The kingdom was divided into 34,498 parishes, he-
sides 46 44 annexed parishes 5 in all 39,142 parishes.
(1) This, X believe, is an abuse unknown in any other Pro-
testant Church in Europe, and would never have been sub-
mitted to in the purest age of Christianity. Would to God
our governors in Church and State could see it right to hut
what shall I say t Why should I desire changes, every thing
hut impossible ? It is because I wish as well as any man in
England to my king and country, that I desire every thing
to he removed that may provoke the Divine displeasure
against us, as a nation and people, and bring on the total
dissolution of the political frame of things. The wishes of an
obscure clergyman, however, will be less in the scale than the
small dust upon the balance, when weighed against the vast
body of archbishops, bishops, deans, prebends, canons, arch-
deacons, rectors, vicars, curates, lecturers^ commissaries, chan-
cellors, proctors, surrogates, &c. &c. with which our Church
abounds. We clergymen should do well frequently to study
the 34th chapter of Ezekiel. It might do us much good.
The following address of Cowper is also worth our attention :
" Ye clergy, while your orbit is your place,
Lights of the world, and stars of human race;
But if eccentric, ye forsake your sphere,
Prodigious, ominous, and view'd with fear;
The comet's baneful influence is a dream,
Yours real and pernicious in th' extreme."
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 155
and commence genuine ministers of the Gospel: or,
should this be too much to expect, if they would
renounce their several pluralities,^) and quietly
" Oh laugh or mourn with me the rueful jest,
A cassock'd huntsman, and a fiddling priest;
He from Italian songsters takes his cue,
Set Paul to music, he shall quote him too.
He takes the field! the master of the pack,
Cries, Well done, saint!—and claps him on the back.
Is this the path of sanctity? Is this
To stand a way-mark in the road to bliss ?
Himself a wanderer from the narrow way,
His silly sheep, what wonder if they stray?"
" The sacred function in your hands is made,
Sad sacrilege! no function, but a trade."
Progress of Error.
(1) It is no uncommon thing for the bishops of our Church
to hold such preferments as are utterly incompatible with
each other. The late Dr. Hinchcliffe was at the same time
Bishop of Peterborough, and Master of Trinity College,
Cambridge. As bishop, he ought, by every law of honour,
and conscience, and the Gospel, to have been resident in his
diocese among his clergy and people. As master of Trinity,
his presence could not, in general, be dispensed with.
We have had others, who enjoyed, at the same time, several
incompatible preferments—a Bishopric—a Headship of a
College—a Prebendary—a Rectory—and other emoluments.
As bishop, a man ought to be in his own diocese; as head of
a college, he must be resident; as prebend, certain duties are
due; as rector of a parish, his absence cannot be dispensed
with. And, I might add, as a Lord of Parliament, his pre-
sence is frequently and justly required. What account their
lordships can give, either to God or man, for such of the
preferments as are absolutely incompatible one with another,
it behoves them well to consider. Such examples have a
deadly effect upon the interests of religion. Were they to
preach like St. Paul, who would regard them, who sees that
156
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
retire into their respective dioceses, never appearing
in the great council of the nation, but when abso-
they do not believe their own professions? No rank, no ta-
lents, no learning, no good sense, no respectability, can ex-
cuse such a conduct. We are continually hearing of the
rapid spread of infidelity. The Bishops of London and
Durham, in their late excellent charges, are loud in their
complaints. But what appears surprising to me is, that they,
and others, should speak so strongly of the overthrow of
Christianity in France. By their leave, and with all due
submission, it is not Christianity which has experienced a
subversion there. It is the doctrine of Antichrist; and its
subversion will ultimately prove one of the greatest blessings
God could bestow upon the nations. But who is to blame for
the spread of infidelity ? The bishops and clergy of the land,
more than any other people in it. We, as a body of men, are
almost solely and exclusively culpable. Our negligence,
lukewarmness, worldly-mindedness, and immorality, will ruin
the country. And when the judgments of God come upon
the land, they will fall peculiarly heavy upon the heads of our
order of men.
One word upon the situation of the unhappy Irish. We
cry out against them for their rebellious conduct; and to be
sure they are extremely to blame in many respects. Is there
not, however, a cause, an apparent cause, at least, for their
dissatisfaction ? The grievances of the Protestant part of the
people are many and considerable. The late Lord Bristol,
for instance, Bishop of Derry, whose bishopric is said to have
been 15,000 pounds a year, was rambling over Europe, and
did not set his foot in his diocese for several years; some
have reported for twenty-four.
This is a specimen of the treatment which churchmen
meet with. Can we wonder, if they, as well as the Catholics
and Dissenters, should murmur? Ireland would, in all pro-
bability, have been lost to England, had not the mad and
bloody zeal of the Catholics united the Protestants, in their
own defence, for the protection of their lives and properties.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
157
lutely wanted: if they would come among their
clergy—converse with them freely, and treat them
There are twenty-two bishops, who preside over the Esta-
blished Church in Ireland, at the expense of 74,000 pounds
a year; which is at the rate of 3,368 pounds per annum a
man, besides all their other preferments. Some of them are
known to be very worthy characters; but others, like the one
just mentioned, are extremely to blame, though surely not in
the same degree. While such are the shepherds, no wonder
if the sheep go astray. Ought we to be surprised if Catholics,
Dissenters, and Methodists succeed in making converts?—if
infidelity abound and run like wild-fire among the people ?—
if they complain, wish to overturn such a system of corrup-
tion, and rise in rebellion for the purpose? Nothing but true
religion, or a sense of the impolicy of the measure, can re-
strain them. I do affirm, again and again, that the slothful
and temporising bishops and clergy of Europe are the main au-
thors of the present miseries of Europe, and we may justly and
infallibly expect Divine Providence will, ere long, remove us,
as has been the case in other countries, and give our offices and
emoluments to those who are more worthy of them. Nothing
can save us, unless we become alive to the interests—not of
the Church as a secular institution—but to the interests of
pure, disinterested, evangelical religion. What might not
the 18,000 clergymen in this country do, were we all zea-
lously concerned for the honour of the Lord Jesus, and the
salvation of the people committed to our care ? The face of
things, in every moral point of view at least, would be ex-
tremely different. What a horrible hell shall we parsons
have, when we leave our present beds of down? How
will the devils exult over myriads of full-fed bishops,
doctors, and dignified dons, who have rioted upon the
spoils of the Church, and neglected or abused their holy
charge!
I add further, that, among other causes of complaint in our
sister kingdom, many of the bishoprics are filled up by the
viceroy from among the English clergy, and the best livings
158
a plea for religion
as brethren ; if they would go about doing good, in
all condescension and humility, through their se-
are possessed by Englishmen. Hence a very frequent non-
residence. Every impartial person must consider this as a
real grievance. The Irish clergy, indeed, are, taking them
with some few honourable exceptions, in a state truly deplor-
able, and the great mass of the laity not less so, considered
in every religious point of view. What wonder if the people,
left to perish by their ministers, for lack of knowledge, should
rise up and cut the throats of those ministers ? This is a just
reaction of Providence. We talk of the wild Irish, and
speak of them as being little raised above a state of savage
nature. Let it be considered who is to blame for all this.
The bishops and clergy, I vow. But the fault is greatly in
the ecclesiastical part of the constitutions of the two coun-
tries, which will permit the clerical order of men to receive
the emoluments of the Church, without performing the bu-
siness for which we are paid. No man can surely say that a
reform here would do us any harm! But if a reform in
church matters is never to be brought about till the bishops
and clergy themselves embark in it, there is much reason to
fear, the event is at no little distance. I must, however, do
my own order the justice to observe, that, in former periods,
whatever reformations in religion have been brought forward,
some of the clergy have been the most active and effective
instruments. God send us again a few more Wickliffs,
Cranmers, Latimers, Ridleys, Hookers, and Gilpins, to de-
liver us from the remaining dregs of Popish superstition
which cleave to us, that the throne of out excellent king may
be permanent as the days of heaven, and the British churches
become the glory and envy of the whole world!
" Triumphant here may Jesus reign,
And on his vineyard sweetly smile;
While all the virtues of his train,
Adorn our Church and bless our isle!"
[See Addenda, for the present state of the Church of Ire-
land.]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 159
veral districts, preaching the word of life in an
evangelical strain, among the people, after the ex-
ample of the great Shepherd and Bishop of Souls
and his Apostles; if they would renounce their
pomp and splendour, and set their faces in good
earnest against all monopolies of livings—against
non-residents—against all immoral, disorderly, and
irreligious clergymen ; if they would be the zealous
and avowed friends and patrons of laborious pastors,
in particular, and of good men of every description,
in general—then would the Church of England
soon become, more than ever, the glory of all
churches, and the bishops of that Church would be
the glory of all bishops.
It is, however, not to be doubted, that men pos-
sessed of the loaves and fishes, will laugh at all this
as visionary and enthusiastic.
" I know the warning song is sung in vain,
That few will hear, and fewer heed the strain."
Be it so—I have only to reply—Look at the
bishops and clergy of France! They now think
themselves hardly treated. But, as a body, they had
been excessively to blame; and their present suffer-
ings are proportionate to their former culpability.
Happy will it be for us, if their negligence and mis-
fortunes make us wise and cautious 1 The fate of
the Jewish clergy of old, and of the French, Dutch,
Flemish, Italian, and Swiss clergy of our own times,
comes like a peal of thunder, preaching reform—
real, and effectual, and speedy reform—to the clergy
of every country.
You see then, my countrymen, that I, for one,
160
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
give up all these abuses as indefensible. Every man
of common sense and observation, whose eyes are
not blinded by prejudice, and whose mind is not
closed by sinful habit and self-interest, must see
that they are wrong. But, be it remembered, that
whatever means Divine Providence may use to cor-
rect them—for corrected in due time they must be
—the Gospel of Christ is not to be blamed for them.
It gives them no countenance; it predicts their rise,
their continuance, their downfall; and it denounces
nothing less than the most extreme condemnation
against all those who pervert the divine ordinances
to secular and self-interested purposes. It is neither
emperors, nor kings, nor popes, nor archbishops, nor
bishops, nor clergymen of any inferior description,
that shall escape the just sentence of the universal
Judge. He will make no distinction. He knows
no difference between man and man, but what
moral and religious qualifications make. " Whatso-
ever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Mighty
sinners shall be mightily punished. Eminently good
and useful men shall be eminently rewarded.
To this head let it further be added, that discern-
ing men, observing the conduct, character, and pre-
cepts of the Saviour of the World, and comparing
them with the conduct and manners of our church
dignitaries, cannot help seeing a very striking con-
trast. His kingdom was not to be of this world ;
but the conduct of our bishops is in a great measure
secular. His meat and drink was to do the will of
Him that sent him. He literally " went about doing
good." He preached every where, and to all de-
scriptions of men. A genuine patriot, he saw
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 161
never weary of contributing to the happiness of his
country. He was frequently in the temple, but
never in the palace, except when dragged thither by
force. Our learned prelates, (L) however, are so oc-
cupied in the great council of the nation, in dancing
attendance at court, in guarding their secular emo-
luments from waste, in visiting the nobility and
gentry of the land, and in other worldly engage-
ments of various descriptions, that they have but
little time left either for reading the Scriptures, for
(1) Among the bishops of the Church of England may be
found a considerable number of characters the most respect-
able for every moral, literary, and religious attainment; and
the country is under the utmost obligation to them for their
exertions at different periods of our history. But were any
individuals among them ever so desirous, they have it not in
their power to rectify abuses and reform what they may con-
ceive to he amiss. The system is too compact and well-digested.
Their hands are tied behind them. The prejudices of some,
the interests of others, the supineness of not a few, and the
fears of disturbing the long established order of things in
most, form an insuperable barrier against every reform; in-
somuch that nothing, it is to he feared, can accomplish any
considerable change for the better, but a convulsion. If,
indeed, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the whole bench
of bishops, had discernment, and humility, and public spirit,
and self-denial enough, to come forward of their own accord,
and, with one consent, desire an ameliorated state of things,
there might he some hope. But, that six-and-twenty inte-
rested men should he brought to concur in a business of this
sort, seems next to an impossibility. The sacrifice is too
great! Human nature is too frail to make it.
[See Addenda, for an account of reforms projected, and ef-
fected,by Parliament, in the Church of England.]—Ed.
M
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A PLEA FOR RELIGION
private retirement, or for preaching the Gospel to
the poor of the flock, in their respective districts. (')
(1) Bishops assuredly ought to reside in their dioceses,
among their clergy, preaching in season and out of season;
countenancing and encouraging the good; reproving, ex-
horting, warning, punishing, the unworthy and immoral part
of their clergy. The contrary to this, however, is very fre-
quently the case. If a man happens to have got a little more
zeal than ordinary, and labours more diligently to do good
than the generality of his brethren, immediately they are all in
arms against him. And nothing is more common, than for
his ecclesiastical superiors to frown upon him, to stigmatize
him as a Methodist, and to oppose his interests in every way
they can contrive. Whereas, a clergyman may he a man of
pleasure and dissipation; gay, foolish, silly, trifling; he
may spend his time in the diversions of the field; drink,
swear, and live as foolishly as the most foolish of his flock,
and yet no harm shall happen. He is no Methodist, and
therefore, every favour shall he shown him which he can
desire. Methodism is like the sin against the Holy Ghost;
it is neither to he forgiven in this world, nor in the world to
come!
Be it, however, observed, that the increase of Dissenters,
and the alarming spread of Methodism, are both entirely
owing to the lukewarmness, or negligence, or disorderly con-
duct, or bigotry, or persecuting spirit of the clergy in the
Establishment. And there is no way under heaven of pre-
venting the most mischievous consequences, hut by adopting
new measures, reforming what is amiss, and out-preaching,
out-labouring, and out-living all our opposers. The pride of
office has injured us extremely. The disdain frequently ex-
pressed by us against the several sectarists has been highly
impolitic, and sometimes unchristian. Has not every man
living the same right to worship God according to the dictates
of his own conscience, that we have? To his own master
each one must give an account. He that worships God most
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 163
To hear a bishop preach is a sort of phenomenon in
the country. And, if any of that truly respectable
body of men—some of whom are both great and
spiritually, and. obeys him most universally, believing in the
name of his only begotten son, is the best man, and most
acceptable to the Divine Being, whether he be found in a
church, in a Quaker's meeting-house, in a Dissenting place
of worship of any other description, or upon the top of a
mountain. How long shall we be carried away by weak and
superstitious distinctions! "In every nation," and among
all denominations of men, " he that feareth God, and worketh
righteousness, is accepted with him." And if God will ac-
cept, why should not man? The Saviour of the World him-
self hath given us an infallible definition of a Gospel Church :
" Where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them." Let any man consult
Locke on Toleration, and he can have no doubt on his mind
concerning the liberality of the genuine Gospel of our blessed
Saviour. It has been the custom of the Established Clergy
of all countries, for many ages, to arrogate to themselves a
kind of infallibility. Nay, I might add, there is scarcely a
parson among us all, whether Churchman, Methodist, Quaker,
or Dissenter of any other description, that has not got a
church, a chapel, or a meeting-house in his belly. We are
all Popes in our own way; at least, every denomination has
its imperious and overbearing dictators. Let no man, how-
ever, think the worse of the New Testament religion because
of the different hobby horses which we parsons think proper
to ride. Our order has had its day: and a pretty long day
it has been! The Pope has ridden the bishops, the bishops
have ridden the priests, and the priests have ridden the
people. The tables, however, are now turning, though late;
and we parsons must be contented to be ridden by the people.
But if the people, in their zeal for freedom, should proceed
to cast off the divine yoke—and there is some danger!—If
they should insolently reject the authority of Jesus Christ,
our only Lord, and Master, and Saviour, he " will visit their
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A PLEA FOR RELIGION
good men, and, independent of such considerations,
I hope ever to reverence them for their office' sake
—do vouchsafe, once in a way, as an extreme favour,
offences with a rod, and their sin with scourges." He has a
right to our services. " We are not our own, but are bought
with a price," and no man shall refuse him subjection, and
prosper. Every thinking person must feel that he is a de-
pendent creature, and insufficient for his own happiness;
a sinful creature, and incapable of atoning for his own
transgressions.
I have said above, that among the bishops of the Church
of England may be found a considerable number of cha-
racters the most respectable for every moral, literary, and
religious attainment. I add too, again, that several of the
bishops and clergy of the Irish Church have been also highly
respectable, as well as many of the inferior order of our own
clergy. So likewise have been many of the bishops and
clergy of the French Church. Usher, the Irish archbishop,
for instance, was not only a pious man, but even a walking
library, in point of learning. The late Archbishop New-
come, was a character of the most respectable literary kind.
Bishop Warburton, no mean judge, used to say of Bishop
Taylor, " he had no conception of a greater genius upon
earth than was that holy man." Where too was there ever a
more admirable character than the author of Telemachus ? or
more learned men than Calmet, Da Pin, Montfaucon, and
others among the French clergy * Our own Cotes, though
but a private clergyman, and young in years at the time of
his decease, is said by Bishop Watson to have been second to
none but Newton in sublimity of philosophic genius. But as
the learning, piety, genius, and amiable manners of Fenelon
and his brethren, could not excuse and make tolerable the
corruptions of the Church of France; so neither can the
learning, genius, and piety of the bishops and clergy of
England and Ireland excuse and make justifiable the more
tolerable corruptions of the Churches of these two countries.
We must either simplify and evangelize our ecclesiastical
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 165
to indulge the people of their diocese where they
happen to spend a little time, they usually affect so
much pomp and dignity in their manner, and their
constitutions, or they must fall. I speak this, not from any
personal pique or disappointment, not from a love of novelty
and change, hut upon the authority of the prophetic Scrip-
tures—with a view to the near completion of the 1260
mystical years—and from a solemn and awful contemplation
of the revolutions which are so rapidly taking place all
through Europe. England may, and, I trust, will, he pro-
tected by Divine Providence for a time; " the iniquity of the
Amorites may not yet he fullhut the Great Nation, as
they vain-gloriously call themselves, must ultimately succeed
in their designs, unless a radical reformation should engage
the Lord on our side, and prevent our national ruin.
Great tenderness, however, ought to he exercised towards
our governors, both in Church and State, upon this delicate
subject; because, whenever a king succeeds to the throne of
these lands, he swears to maintain the Church in its present
state; because all important changes are attended with serious
danger to the very existence of society—witness the revolu-
tion in France—and because Judge Blackstone, in his Com-
mentaries, delivers it as his opinion, that no alteration can
take place, either in the Constitution or Liturgy of the Church
of England, consistently with the Act of Union.—Introduc-
tion, sect. 4.
But if this be the case, the Act of Union was unwisely
managed. What right has any one generation to legislate for
all future generations ? and especially to tie up their hands
from making changes and improvements adapted to the taste
of the revolving ages? Upon this principle, Christianity it-
self, and eVen the present constitution of England, is an im-
proper innovation on the wisdom of former ages.
It is evident from the opposition of the Bishop of Roches-
ter to the abolition of holidays, that we may not expect from
the bench of bishops the smallest concession towards refor-
mation in the ecclesiastical part of our constitution. To me,
166
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
discourses are so dry and unevangelical; so stiff, so
cool, so essaical, so critical, so ethical, so heathen-
like, that the poor of the flock can receive little or
no benefit and edification.
These learned gentlemen are so horribly afraid of
however, what we usually call holidays appear in the light of
very serious evils to the community. Let a man conscienti-
ously observe the Lord's Day, and I will excuse him every
other holiday in the calendar.
[Though it was certainly stipulated at the time of the
Union that no alteration should ever afterwards take place in
the doctrine, discipline, worship, or government of the Church
of England; yet the legislature has recently thought fit to
break through this restriction; and we may draw from the
circumstance a most cheering conclusion, which, could it
have had its force on the excellent mind of the author, would
have dissipated much of the gloom, with which, on this sub-
ject, it was evidently oppressed, namely, that the Parliament
now no longer considers itself as bound down by the strict
conditions of the Union, but feels at liberty to make any altera-
tions it may deem conducive to the advantage of the Church.
From this beginning we may doubtless augur the most happy
consequences; no less than a full and thorough, though per-
haps gradual, revision of the whole of our ecclesiastical consti-
tution. The old and mouldering fabric will, doubtless, under-
go a complete repair, the decayed or faulty materials be taken
down, the good preserved and strengthened, the rubbish cast
away. The revenues of the clergy will be more equalized;
the powers of the bishops moderated and defined; the liberties
and rights of the inferior clergy, as a necessary consequence,
more regarded, and better secured; our ecclesiastical courts,
those remaining badges of our spiritual bondage, either to-
tally abolished, or greatly reformed, their proceedings no
longer enveloped in the mystery of darkness, but regularly
published, like those of our other courts; the canon law, or, at
least, that sore and grievous burden to clerical consciences,
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 167
approaching too near the Methodists, (') both in
their doctrines and manner of preaching, that
their sermons are most commonly cast more in the
the mystical oath of canonical obedience, entirely done away;
and the cases of collegiate and clerical subscriptions candidly
reconsidered.
As to the coronation oath, its purport appears to have been
misconceived. According to the present construction of it, it
does not appear to extend to any parliamentary proceedings;
where the King acts only in compliance with the wish of the
nation, expressed by its two great representative bodies. And
this is the view in which of late years it has been regarded.]
—Ed.
(1) Methodist is a term of reproach which has been made
use of, for many years, in this country, to stigmatize all the
most serious, zealous, and lively professors of religion. It is
not confined to any one sect or party; but is common, more
or less, to all who are peculiarly animated in the concerns of
religion. In the Church of England, as by law established,
all those ministers and people are called Methodists, who be-
lieve, and preach, and contend for the doctrines of the Thirty-
nine Articles of Religion. And Arians, Socinians, Armi-
nians, and Formalists of every description, who continue to
attend public worship in the Establishment, are considered
by the undiscerning world as her only true members. In
short, all who embrace, with a lively and zealous faith, the
doctrines of the said Thirty-nine Articles, among all the de-
nominations of Christians, are, by way of ignominy, deno-
minated Methodists.
To be zealous in the most important of all concerns is to
be held as a proverb of reproach! You may be a zealous
philosopher, a zealous politician, or a zealous sciolist of al-
most every description, and you shall meet with approbation
and praise; but if you discover any considerable degree of
warmth and zeal for the grand peculiarities of the Gospel,
168
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
mould of Seneca, or Epictetus, than in that of St.
Paul; and delivered with all the apathy of an an-
cient philosopher.
" How oft, when Paul has served us with a text,
Has Epictetus, Plato, Tully, preached!"
Hence these learned prelates are found to do but
little good. Such preaching never was of much use
to the Christian church. " Christ crucified," alone,
" is the power of God unto salvation." Now and
then, indeed, in the course of three, four, five, six,
or sometimes even ten or twelve years, these shep-
herds of Christ's flock parade through the country,
paying their respects to the great, and holding
confirmations; but where is the spirit of a Peter and
a Paul to be discovered ? Or, to come nearer to
what might be expected, where is the spirit of a
and vital, practical, experimental religion, then the devil, and
all his industrious servants, will stigmatize you with every
name which they consider as opprobrious and disgraceful.
Indeed, Methodist is in the eighteenth century what Puritan
was in the seventeenth. After the Restoration, people, to
shew their aversion to the Puritans, turned every appearance
of religion into ridicule, and from the extreme of hypocrisy,
flew at once into that of profligacy; so now, abundance of
people are so alarmed at the idea of being thought Metho-
dists, that they absolutely give up the peculiar doctrines of
the Gospel, and become as lukewarm and indifferent to all
religion, as though it was no part of their concern. And yet
these wiseacres, in the true spirit of the ancient Scribes and
Pharisees, keep roaring out, Church and King! the Church !
the Church! " the temple of the Lord! the temple of the
Lord are we!"
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 169
Burnet, (') a Leighton, (2) a Beveridge, a Hall, a
Ken, a Bedell, a Reynolds, or a Wilson, to be seen ?
Our confirmations, and I may add, even our ordina-
(1) This excellent man was extremely laborious in his
episcopal office. Every summer he made a tour, for six
weeks or two months, through some district of his bishopric,
daily preaching and confirming from church to church, so as,
in the compass of three years, besides his triennial visitation,
to go through all the principal livings of his diocese.—Sec
Biofpaph. Brit. art. Burnet, by Kippis, vol. iii. p. 29.
(2) Leighton was a most exemplary character, both in his
private and public capacity. The life and writings of few men
are more worthy of imitation and perusal. He laboured hard
to bring about some reformation in the state of things in his
own day, and when he found all his efforts ineffectual, he
quietly withdrew, resigned his preferment, and lived in pri-
vate. What Burnet says of him, can never be too often re-
peated, and too generally known:—" He had the greatest ele-
vation of soul, the largest compass of knowledge, the most
mortified and heavenly disposition, that I ever yet saw in
mortal. He had the greatest parts, as well as virtue, with the
most perfect humility that I ever saw in man; and had a sub-
lime strain in preaching, with so grave a gesture, and such a
majesty both of thought, of language, and pronunciation, that
I never once saw a wandering eye where he preached, and X
have seen whole assemblies often melt in tears before him;
and of whom I can say, with great truth, that in a free and
frequent conversation with him for above two - and - twenty
years, I never knew him say a word that had not a direct
tendency to edification; and I never once saw him in any
other temper, but that which I wished to be in, in the last
moments of my life."
Mr. Locke gives us a similar account of Dr. Edward Po-
cocke:—" I can say of him what few men can say of any
friend of theirs, nor I of any other of my acquaintance;
that I don't remember I ever saw him in any one action, that
170
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
tions (') for the sacred ministry, though good in
themselves, appointed by the highest authority, and
calculated to serve the interests of religion, in no
small degree, are dwindled into painful and disgust-
ing ceremonies, as they are usually administered,
I did, or could, in my own mind, blame, or thought amiss in
him."—Letter to Mr. Smith, of Dartmouth.
(1) Bishop Burnet took large pains in preparing young
people for confirmation, and used every means in his power
to encourage and excite candidates for ordination to come
with due qualifications. He complains, however, in the most
affecting terms, of the low state in which they usually ap-
peared before him. (See the Preface to his Pastoral Care;
the third edition.) The state of things is not much improved
since that great prelate's day. We have, at this time, indeed,
a very considerable number of men in the Establishment, of
the utmost respectability, both for learning, piety, and dili-
gence in their calling; but, when we consider that the clergy
of this country, independent of Scotland and Ireland, are
supposed to make, as before noted, a body of 18,000 men, the
number of truly moral, religious, and diligent characters, is
comparatively small. This is one main reason of the pro-
digious increase of Methodism : and, for the same reason, in-
fidelity is at this moment running like wild-fire among the
great body of the common people. There never was a time
when there was a greater need of zeal and humility, con-
descension and piety, diligence and attention to the grand
peculiarities of the Gospel, in our bishops and clergy, than in
the present day. If we, as a great body of men, paid by the
state for the purpose, rouse not speedily from our supine
condition, and come boldly and manfully forward—not in a
fiery persecuting spirit, but in the spirit of our Divine Master
—we shall neither have churches to preach in, nor people to
preach to. Let the bishops and clergy of England look at
their brethren in France—and arise—set out on a new plan
or be for ever fallen!
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 171
to serious and enlightened minds. Besides, is it to
be supposed, that tte whole of a bishop's business
is to ordain ministers and hold confirmations, to
spend their time in secular engagements, and to
attend their place in the House of Lords ? Is it for
these purposes solely, they are each of them paid by
the public from two to twenty thousand pounds a
year ?
" Good, my brother,
Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Shew me the steep and thorny way to heaven,
Whilst, like a careless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads.''
Can we, or ought we to be surprised, that many
of our worthy countrymen should be drawn aside
into the paths of infidelity, when it is considered
what is the general conduct of our spiritual supe-
riors, and how the above sacred ordinances are fre-
quently administered ? Is it possible the Scriptures
should be true, and our secular and lukewarm, our
negligent and unpreaching bishops be in favour with
the Divine Being ? If they are in safety for a future
state, surely religion must have changed its nature.
Their episcopal conduct is the reverse of St Paul's
injunctions to Timothy, and the bishops of the
Churches of Asia; "to give themselves wholly to
the work of the ministry," and to " take heed to all
the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made
them overseers; to feed the church of God, which
he hath purchased with his own blood." The Lord
of the invisible world hath said, and he who hath the
keys of death and hell, hath said: " Strive to enter in
at the strait gate, for many shall seek to enter in,
172
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
and shall not be able: wide is the gate, and broad
is the way that leadeth to detraction, and many
there be which go in thereat; because strait is the
gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto
life, and few there be that find it." If commands
and declarations like these are true, then woe! woe !
woe ! to the bishops of England ! May we not say
of them, with too general an application, but with
some few honourable exceptions indeed, as good old
Bishop Latimer said of his most reverend and right
reverend brethren in his day: " There is a gap in
hell, as wide as from Calais to Dover, and it is all
filled with unpreaching prelates !" (')
(1) Latimer's words are—" O that a man might hare the
contemplation of hell, that the devil would allow a man to
look into hell, to see the estate of it. If one were admitted
to view hell thus, and beholding it thoroughly, the devil should
say: On yonder side are punished unpreaching prelates;
I think a man should see as far as a kenning, and perceive
nothing hut unpreaching prelates; he might look as far as Ca-
lais, I warrant you.''—Sermon 8, vol. i. p. 155, London, 1791.
I will mention another anecdote to the same purpose:—A
learned friar in Italy, famous for his learning and preaching,
was commanded to preach before the Pope at a year of Ju-
bilee: and to he the better furnished, he repaired a good
while before to Rome, to see the fashion of the conclave,
to accommodate his sermon the better. When the day came
he was to preach, having ended his prayer, he, looking a long
time about, at last cried with a loud voice, three times—" St.
Peter was a fool!—St. Peter was a fool!—St. Peter was a
fool! "—Which words ended, he came out of the pulpit.
Being afterwards convented before the Pope, and asked why
he so carried himself? He answered, " Surely, Holy Father,
if a priest may go to heaven abounding in wealth, honour,
and preferment, and live at ease, never or seldom to preach,
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 173
Let not the reader suppose that I have any preju-
dice against a bishop or a clergyman, as such. There
are some whose learning, piety, diligence, zeal, and
talents, I prodigiously admire; and I myself am of
the clerical order by the most conscientious choice;(')
then surely St. Peter was a fool, who took such a hard way in
travelling, in fasting, in preaching, to go thither."—Whiston's
Memoirs of his own Life, p. 362.
Most of our English bishops are, at this day, in a very
strong sense, unpreaching prelates. The Bishop of London,
[Porteus], and some few more, are exceptions to this general
rule. If the present times, and the awful predicament in which
every clergyman now stands, will not rouse us to a sense of
danger, and a greater degree of zeal and diligence in our
calling, we shall richly deserve our approaching, impending,
inevitable fate, unless prevented by a speedy and effectual re-
turn to evangelical principles and practices. The Gospel is
either true or it is false. If it be false, let us cast off the mask,
and appear in our tine colours: if it be true, let us conduct
ourselves as though we believed it to he so ; and leave no stone
unturned, no means untried, to promote its spread, and influ-
ence, among the world in general, and among the people com-
mitted to our care in particular.
(1) [How, it may be asked, can this declaration be reconciled
with the result as contained in Appendix II. ? Were we at
liberty to consider the expression " clerical order," as refer-
ring to the ministerial office at large, unconfined to the par-
ticular denomination of the Church of England, the solution
would not be difficult, since the author himself, who was not of
the Daubenian school, in that Appendix, has made the obvious
distinction between being a minister of the Gospel in, and out
of the Establishment; for after having declared that he did not
see how he could, " either in honour or in conscience, continue
to officiate any longer as a minister of the Gospel, in the Es-
tablishment," he afterwards declares, " I think it necessary to
say, that the doctrines I have preached for six-and-twenty years,
174
a plea for religion
but I cannot prevail upon myself to call things by
wrong names, and to give flattering titles, where it is
plain they are not deserved. Gravely and seriously
speaking then, I do conceive, that the number of
clerical characters, who will be received with appro-
bation, by the Shepherd and Bishop of Souls, in the
great day of final retribution, will be small, compa-
ratively speaking, extremely small.
I am sure appearances at present are against us.
And I conceive all this is strongly implied in our
Saviour's very solemn discourse to the bishops and
clergy among the Jews, in the twenty-third of Saint
Matthew, just before he left our world. In short:
The clergy of every country in Christendom have
been at the same time, the bane and the bulwark of
religion; the bane, by their pride, misconduct, su-
perstition, negligence, and spiritual domination ; and
I still consider as the truths of God. I mean to preach the
same doctrines, the Lord being my helper, during the whole
remainder of my life, wheresoever my lot may be cast." Yet it
must he admitted that the word " clerical," either in its strict
and accepted use, or in the present connexion, will scarcely hear
this construction. We must therefore suppose, that when this
sentence was written in the first edition, the author's scruples
had not then operated so powerfully as to lead him to the con-
elusion of renouncing his clerical character; and that when he
revised this in the second edition, which is known to have been
a considerable time before he wrote the Appendix, either he
overlooked it, which, as his mind was so occupied by the sub-
ject, is not improbable, or he then continued, on the whole, of
the same sentiment, which was only altered by the gradual
process of mature reflection, aided by firm integrity, and a sense
of the propriety of a consistency of conduct; and this best
accords with the view with which Appendix II. begins.] Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 175
the bulwark, by their piety, excellent learning, and
admirable defences of the doctrines of religion, or
the outworks of Christianity.
The fact is, the Popish clergy have preached and
written so much in defence of the triple tyrant, and
the superstitions of their religion, that scepticism
and infidelity almost universally prevail among
thinking men of that denomination. The more
eagerly the clergy contend, the more mischief they
do to their cause; for really the things for which
they contend are not defensible.
We, of the English Establishment, too, have so
long boasted of the excellence of our Church ; con-
gratulated ourselves so frequently upon our happy
condition ; paid ourselves so many fine compliments
upon the unparalleled purity of our hierarchy ; that
a stranger would be led to conclude, to be sure we
must be the holiest, happiest, and most flourishing
Church upon the face of the earth : whereas, when
you go into our most stately and magnificent cathe-
drals and other sacred edifices, you find them almost
empty and forsaken. At best all is deadness and
lukewarmness, both with priest and people. (') In
various instances, there is little more appearance of
(1) Bishop Burnet says:—" I have lamented, during my
whole life, that I saw so little true zeal among our clergy. X
saw much of it in the clergy of the Church of Rome, though
it is both ill directed and ill conducted. I saw much zeal
likewise throughout the foreign Churches. The Dissenters
have a great deal among them: hut I must own, that the
main body of our clergy has always appeared dead and life-
less to me; and instead of animating one another, they seem
176
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
devotion than in a Jew's synagogue. Go where you
will through the kingdom, one or the other of these
is very generally the case, except where the officiat-
ing clergyman is strictly moral in his conduct, seri-
ous, earnest, and lively in his manner, and evangelical
in his doctrines. Where this, however, happens to
be so, the stigma of Methodism is almost universally
affixed to his character, and his name is had for a
rather to lay one another asleep."—Conclusion of the History
of his oicn Times.
Let any discerning man take a candid, yet impartial surrey
of the clergy, for a circuit of sixty miles round his own neigh-
bourhood, and then let him say, whether the matter is mended
since the time in which this good bishop wrote these words.
Let him attend the dissenting ordinations, and clerical meet-
ings; the Methodist conferences, and district meetings; let him
next proceed to our Church confirmations, ordinations, and
visitations: and then let him say, on which side is to he found
the greatest appearance of evangelical religion. Be it as it may
with others, it is well known that our confirmations are fre-
quently a burlesque, our ordinations disorderly, and our visi-
tations riotous and intemperate. These are melancholy facts.
I observe, too, that for a circuit of many miles round our two
English universities, a greater degree of ignorance and stupidity
prevails among the common people than in most other parts of
the country. This is a strange circumstance, but easily ac-
counted for from the improper conduct of abundance of the
clergy and gentlemen of those two seminaries of learning.
It holds equally true, that, all through the kingdom, where-
ever there is a cathedral and a greater number of parsons than
ordinary, there is usually the least appearance of real religion
among the people. The general lukewarmness of the clergy is
a curse to every neighbourhood where they abound! It is the
same in catholic countries, and must be so, in the nature of
things, through every country, unless we live in the spirit of the
Gospel.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 177
proverb of reproach, in proportion to his zeal and
usefulness, by the sceptics and infidels all around, in
which they are frequently joined by the rich, the
fashionable, and the gay, with the bishop and clergy
at their head. How many such,
" For their bellies' sake,
Creep, and intrude, and climb into the fold !
Of other care they little reck'ning make,
Than how to scramble at the shearer's feast,
And shove away the worthy hidden guest:
Blind mouths ! that scarce themselves know how to hold
A sheep-hook, or have learn'd aught else the least
That to the faithful herdsman's art belongs.
What recks it them ? What need they I They are sped;
And when they list, their lean and flashy songs
Grate on then- scrannal pipes of wretched straw.
The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed,
But swoll'n with wind, and the rank mist they draw,
Rot inwardly, and foul contagion spread:
Besides what the grim wolf with privy paw
Daily devours apace ; and nothing said,
But that two-handed engine at the door,
Stands ready to smite once, and smite no more."
These words of Milton are certainly severe, but
yet not more so than the occasion deserves. If they
were applicable in his day, it is to be feared they are
not less so in the present. As a body, we are, of all
men in England, the most inexcusable. The great
mass of the people are going headlong to the devil
in their sins; the nation, because of its transgres-
sions, is absolutely verging towards destruction ; and
yet a vast majority of the 18,000 parsons are insen-
sible, both of the temporal and eternal danger to
N
178
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
which we, our people, and our country are exposed.
If this censure seem intemperate, let any man prove
that it is not just. I sincerely wish it were wholly
undeserved. I know some good, useful, laborious,
and honourable men among the clergy; men, " the
latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose
but I know also there is a very considerable num-
ber, who are—what shall I say ?—" Tell it not in
Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon lest
the sons of infidelity rejoice; lest the disciples of
Thomas Paine triumph—they are exactly like the
parsons described by the prophet, a little before the
destruction of Jerusalem. " His watchmen are
blind; they are all ignorant; they are all dumb dogs,
they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to
slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs, which can
never have enough; and they are shepherds that
cannot understand ; they all look to their own way,
every one for his gain from his quarter. Come ye,
say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves
with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this
day, and much more abundant." (')
(1) [To promote the growth of the Redeemer's kingdom upon
earth, and to fashion it to the likeness of his kingdom in heaven,
are the great ends for which we have been called and set apart
from our brethren; these are the ends which we must propose to
ourselves, if we desire " to do the work of Him that sent us," in
such a manner " as to save both ourselves and them that hear
us;" and the greater the advantages we possess for doing that
work effectually, the greater will be our sinfulness, if we " neg-
lect the gift that is in us," and are no better than indolent,
indifferent, unprofitable servants.
AND THE SACKED WRITINGS. 179
I have no pleasure, I say again, in exposing the
nakedness of the established religion of my country,
or in exciting against myself the indignation of my
clerical brethren; but the times are alarming; the
great Head of the Church is evidently displeased
with us ; and there is now no concealing the matter
any longer. We ought to examine the ground upon
which we stand. If it be in any respect found un-
tenable, we should change our measures, follow the
determinations of heaven; and by complying with its
high behests, put ourselves under the guardian care of
This consideration, at all times a solemn and awakening
consideration, must surely be felt to press upon us, at the present
moment, with peculiar force. In addition to the awful thought,
that the eternal welfare of thousands of our brethren may he de-
pendant upon our ministerial faithfulness, let us remember, that
the stability of the Established Church itself is now more than
ever contingent upon our personal qualities and exertions.
Our first and highest trust, in this season of peril, must be in
Him, who alone is able to deliver us, and who, if it should
please him to purify our church by tribulation, will, we are per-
suaded, acknowledge it, when purified for his own.
Let us look to Him for protection and guidance; let there be,
at the present crisis, a more than ordinary degree of fervency and
importunity in prayer to Him, for a more abundant effusion of his
Holy Spirit upon all the members of his household.
But, humanly speaking, the safety of the Church, as a re-
cognised and honoured instrument of good in this country, de-
pends upon its clergy; upon the faithfulness of then preaching;
upon the assiduity of their ministrations; upon their exemplary
lives and conversations; and, lastly, upon their brotherly union
and concord.—Bishop of London's Charge, 1834, pp. 45, 46.]
—Ed.
180
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
God. If, without looking forward, or giving our-
selves any concern what is right or what is wrong,
we are determined to defend, through thick and
thin, whatever in former ages has received the sane-
tion of law, and in our own day, the force of cus-
torn, we must take the consequences. (') We shall
most assuredly, in due time, share in the general
(1) [There are times in which an inflexible adherence to
rule may become foolish, or criminal. When rules are adopted
wisely, it is because the state of society at the time requires their
adoption.
But if, under the operation of time—the greatest of all inno-
vators—the circumstances of society materially change, the rule,
once wisely established, may become so inconvenient, as to
render those who pertinaciously maintain it, chargeable with
criminal indilference to the welfare of their fellow creatines. If
there ever was a time when it was expedient to preach only
within consecrated buildings, that time must certainly have
passed now, when such a practice excludes hundreds of thou-
sands from the knowledge which may make them " wise unto
salvation." The immense mass of immortal beings around us,
who will not enter a church, and who could not if they would,
demand that" Wisdom should cry without, and utter her voice in
the streets, and cry in the chief place of concourse,4 How long,
ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity Vv To leave them with-
out instruction, because they cannot hear it within walls especi-
ally set apart for that purpose, seems like sacrificing immortal
souls to a groundless jealousy of innovation. When circumstances
demand a change, it is wise to make it. A bold departure from
the military tactics previously approved, made Napoleon the
greatest commander of his age. A contempt of naval rules, at
a critical moment in the battle of Copenhagen, gave victory to
the British fleet, and made Nelson a viscount. The. reforma-
tion in Germany might have been arrested for years, if Luther
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 181
wreck of the nations. I have no more doubt of this,
than I have of the authority of the Sacred Writings.
The animosity and uncharitableness, which have
evermore prevailed among the different denomina-
tions of Christians, is another cause of the growing
infidelity of the present age. It is not said now, as
in the days of old, " See how these Christians love
one anotherbut " See how these Christians hate
one another." Catholics damn Protestants, and Pro-
testants revile Catholics-O One sect of Protestants
had shrunk from innovation. And Whitfield would never have
ranked among the greatest benefactors of mankind, if he had
not dared to be irregular.
Too long, then, have we neglected these uninstructed thou-
sands. While we are yielding to our indolence, cherishing our
dignity, or punctiliously adhering to modern usage, they are pass-
ing into eternity, untaught in that excelling knowledge, to
obtain which we must, if real Christians, be willing to part with
all things.—The state of the Metropolis Considered, by the Hon.
and Rev. B. W. Noel, M. A. pp. 57, 58.]
(1) What a horrible curse has Popery been to Christendom
in point of population! France alone, we have seen, before the
Kevolution, contained upwards of 366,000 secular and regular
clergy, besides an immense number of nuns. This vast body of
males and females were all enjoined, by the laws of the Church,
to continue in a state of celibacy. In the whole of Christendom
there were no less than 225,444 monasteries about a century
ago. How much greater the number before the Reformation !
Now, reckon only twenty persons to one monastery, there must
be, in these several sinks of sin and pollution (see Gavin's
" Master Key to Popery,'') upwards of 4,500,000 souls debarred
from all the comforts of the married state, and living in direct
opposition to the great law of nature—Increase and multiply.
182
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
anathematizes another sect; every one holding forth
the peculiar doctrines of their own party as the
truths of God, in opposition to the peculiar doctrines
of those who differ from them. It is needless to
Hasten the completion of the 1260 years, O God! which thou
hast determined for the reign of the Man of Sin: and whatever
it may cost us, let us see his destruction with our own eyes; so
will we praise thy name, and shout, Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Babylon is fallen, is fallen! with concordant hearts and voices.
When William the Conqueror came over into England, he
found about a third part of the lands in the possession of the
clergy.
Upwards of three thousand one hundred and eighty religious
houses were suppressed by Henry VIII. and his predecessors.
It is computed that fifty thousand persons were contained in
these several religious houses.
In some respects these religious institutions were useful, in
others extremely pernicious.
Such a number of persons, living in a state of celibacy, when
the country did not contain more than three or four millions of
inhabitants, if so many, must have had a most pernicious effect
upon its population.
The sum total of the clear yearly revenue of the several reli-
gious houses, at the time of their dissolution, of which we have
any account, seems to have been £140,785 6s. 3And as
the value of money is now seven or eight times what it was in
the days of Henry VIII. we cannot reckon the whole at less than
a million sterling a year.
Besides this, there were many other religious foundations dis-
solved, of which we have no account. The plate and goods of
different kinds, which came into the hands of the king at the
same time, were of immense value.
A good general view of all these matters may be seen in an
extract from Bishop Tanner's Notitia Monastica, in Dr. Bum's
Ecclesiastical Law, under the article Monasteries.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 183
specify particulars. We have all been to blame.
Instead of turning our zeal against the immoralities
of the age, we have frequently turned it against
men, who, in every moral and religious point of
view, were perhaps better than ourselves. A spirit
of infallibility, in a greater or less degree, pervades
all parties. In this unchristian strife, the pure spi-
rit of the Gospel has been banished from the great
body of professors, and has taken up its abode
among a few solitary individuals, dispersed through
the several churches of Christendom. Men of dis-
cernment, seeing this to be the state of things through
all denominations, are led to suppose that there
is no truth among any of them. The fact, however,
is directly the contrary. They have all gotten the
saving truth, if they would hold it but in piety,
charity, and righteousness. They all believe in the
Saviour of the World. Let them only observe the
moral and religious precepts of his Gospel, and I
do not see what more is necessary to entitle them to
our christian regards. They may not come up to
the full orthodox belief of the Gospel; but they are
such characters as our Saviour himself would not
have treated with severity. And until religion is
reduced to the simple form in which he left it, there
will never be an end to the bickerings and unchari-
tableness of party, and infidelity will of course pre-
vail.
The general wickedness and immoral conduct of
Christians, so called, is another grand cause of infi-
delity. For let men profess what they will, they
never can persuade any thinking person they believe
184
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
their own principles, while they are seen to trans-
gress every rule of moral and religious obligation,
and, in various of their transactions between man
and man, conduct themselves in a manner, of which
abundance of the heathen, both ancient and modern,
would be ashamed.
All these circumstances, with others of a similar
kind, are the causes why so many persons are
now found, who reject the divine mission of Jesus
Christ. (')
But, my countrymen, can we justly argue from
the abuse to the disuse ? Is Jesus, the most moral
and divine of characters, an impostor, because
many of his ministers and servants have proved un-
faithful and treacherous? Were the other eleven
apostles all knaves and rascals, because Judas was a
traitor ? Are the eternal truths of the Gospel to be
exploded, because men have been presumptuous
enough to adulterate them with the profane mix-
tures of human ordinances ? (2) Or doth our obsti-
(1) Sir Isaac Newton is reported to have said, that infidelity
will overrun Europe before the millennial reign of Christ com-
mences. The corruptions of religion in all the Christian esta-
blishments cannot easily he purged away in any other manner.
They must he subverted hy violence and hlood. There is much
reason to fear it will he impossible to remove them in any other
way. See Winston's Essay on the Revelation of St. John,
p. 321, edit. 1744. Dr. Hartley also seems to have been of the
same opinion respecting the spread of infidelity as Sir Isaac,
in his Observations on Man, Part ii. sect. 81.
(2) "Who that ever really professed the Christian religion,
from the times of the apostles to the present moment, ever con-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
185
nacy alter the nature of evidence, and render the
situation of unbelievers more secure ? The course
of things is fixed and unchangeable. The sun will
shine, the fire will burn, water will drown, the wind
will blow, time will fly, the tide will flow, notwith-
standing all the scepticism of philosophers.
The moral relations of things are not less invari-
able; and our being inconsiderate enough to deny
those relations and the obligations that arise from
them, will neither destroy them, nor render our situ-
ation more secure. My being so foolish as to reject
the existence of God, and so infatuated as to sup-
pose there is no Redeemer, no Sanctifier, no heaven,
no hell, no devil, no soul, no angel, no spirit, and
that the Bible is all a grievous imposition upon man-
kind, doth not prove, either that there is no God, or
that there is no reality in the representations made
by the Gospel. (') Every man must allow, I think,
that it is possible for the Almighty to reveal his will
to the world, if he thinks proper so to do. It will
be further granted, I suppose, that some revelation
seems desirable to allay the fears, and confirm the
sidered it as a human establishment, the work of particular men
or nations, subject to decline with their changes, or to perish
with their falls!"—Erskine, p. 56.
(1) If the various opinions, sects, and parties, which prevail
among Christians, are considered by unbelievers as an objection
to the Gospel itself, let them call to mind that there is not a
smaller number of contradictory opinions prevalent among those
who reject Christianity. This may be seen with strong convic-
tion in Stanley's History of Philosophy, and in the Posthumous
Works of the late King of Prussia—The author of the "Connois-
186
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
hopes of men. If then it ever should be made, what
stronger evidence could be produced of its coming
from God, than that with which the present Sacred
Writings are attended ? The very errors of pro-
fessors, and the corrupt state of religion in every
Christian country, are the literal accomplishment of
several prophecies, and, of course, so far are they
from being any just objection to the Gospel, that
they are a strong proof of the Divine mission of its
great Author.
seur" hath thrown together a few of the unbeliever's tenets,
under the contradictory title of
THE UNBELIEVER'S CREED.
" I believe that there is no God, but that matter is God, and
God is matter: and that it is no matter, whether there is any
God or not. I believe also, that the world was not made ; that
the world made itself; that it had no beginning; that it will last
for ever, world without end.
" I believe that a man is a beast, that the soul is the body,
and the body is the soul; and that after death there is neither
body nor soul.
"I believe there is no religion; that natural religion is the
only religion; and that all religion is unnatural. I believe not
in Moses; I believe in the first philosophy; I believe not the
Evangelists; I believe in Chubb, Collins, Toland, Tindal, Mor-
gan, Mandeville, Woolston, Hobbes, Shaftesbury; I believe in
Lord Bolingbroke; I believe not St. Paul.
"I believe not revelation; I believe in tradition; I believe
in the Talmud; I believe in the Alcoran; I believe not the
Bible; I believe in Socrates; I believe in Confucius: I believe
in Sanconiathan; I believe in Mahomet; I believe not in Christ.
Lastly, I believe in all unbelief."
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 187
But could it even be solidly evinced, that Jesus
was an impostor, that the Virgin Mary was a bad
woman, that the Scriptures are false, and that the
scheme of redemption therein contained is all a
cunningly devised fable of these arch - deceivers,
the priests, yet still it is found true in fact, that a
lively believer in Christ Jesus, who hath done
justly, loved mercy, and walked humbly with his
God, is much happier than the most accomplished
infidel that ever existed, both in life and at the
approach of death. Turn back your attention to
that complete man of the world, Earl Chester-
field; in him you see a finished character, all
that rank, honour, riches, learning, philosophy, can
make us. But was he happy? Read his own
account and be confounded. And are you more
at rest in your spirit? What is your life? — You
eat, and drink, and sleep, and dress, and dance,
and sit down to play. You walk, ride, or are car-
ried abroad. You labour, toil, transact business.
You attend the masquerade, the theatre, the opera,
the park, the levee, the drawing-room, the card-
table, the assembly, the ball, the club, the tavern.
In what manner do you spend your time at any
of these places ? Why, sometimes you talk; make
your observations; look one upon another; dance,
play, trifle like the rest of the triflers there. And
what are you to do again to-morrow? The next
day? The next week? The next year? — You
are to eat, and drink, and sleep, and labour, and
dance, and transact business, and dress, and play,
engage in small talk, walk, ride, and be carried
188
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
abroad again. (') And is this all ? Was it for this,
immortal faculties were bestowed upon us? Miser-
able round of secular pursuits, and empty dissipation!
If faith in the Bible be a deception, it hath at least
the merit of being a comfortable and beneficial one.
It rescues us from this pitiful way of spending our
time and money; it enables us to abound in " works
of faith and labours of loveit excites us to live, in
some degree, worthy of our high-raised expectations,
and prepares us to die with a hope full of immor-
tality. We quit the stage of life without a sigh or a
' (1) The man of fashion is well described by a late poet in the
following humourous manner:
" What is a modern Man of Fashion f
A man of taste and dissipation;
A busy man without employment,
A happy man without enjoyment.
Who squanders all his time and treasures,
On empty joys and tasteless pleasures;
Visits, attendance, and attention,
And courtly arts too low to mention.
In sleep, and dress, and sport, and play,
He throws his worthless life away;
Has no opinion of his own,
But takes from leading beaux the ton;
With a disdainful smile or frown
He oil the rif-raf crowd looks down:
The world polite, his friends and he,
And all the rest are Nobody !
Taught by the great his smiles to sell,
And how to write and how to spell;
The great his oracles he makes,
Copies their vices and mistakes;
Custom pursues, his only rule,
And lives an ape, and dies a fool!"
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 189
tear, and we go wind and tide into the haven of
everlasting rest.(')
" With us no melancholy void,
No period lingers unemployed,
Or unimproved below;
(1) Not manv men ever trifled more agreeably, and at the same
time more perniciously, than Lawrence Sterne, the author of
Tristram Shandy. Among the various beautiful and pathetic
passages which occur in his volumes, he administers poison in
a manner the most imperceptible and bewitching. Few writers
ever more corrupted the public taste. He was a man of consi-
derable, but peculiar talents, making great pretensions to sym-
pathy, wit, and benevolence, but with a heart in no small degree
depraved. And as he had lived with the reputation of a wit, he
was determined to die as such, even though he should sacrifice
every appearance of Christian piety and decorum. Accordingly,
when this clerical buffoon came to be in dying circumstances,
perceiving death to make his advances upwards, raising himself
and sitting up, he is said, either in a real or pretended rage, to
have sworn at the sly assassin, that he should not kill him yet.
This remarkable circumstance, though not mentioned in his
life, is, I believe, strictly true. It is only observed in general,
in the account prefixed to his works, that " Mr. Sterne died as
he lived, the same indifferent, careless creature; as, a day or
two before, he seemed not in the least affected with his approach-
ing dissolution."
This brings to my mind the case of another unhappy man
who was a professed atheist. Dr. Barraby, an eminent physi-
cian in London, was intimately acquainted with him; his name
was Str—t, Esq. After some time, he was seized with a
violent fever, and sent for the doctor; who came and prescribed
several medicines, hut none of them took effect. At length he
told him plainly, " Sir, I know nothing more that can be done ;
you must die." Upon this he clenched his fists, gnashed his
teeth, and said with the utmost fury," God! God ! I wont die!"
and immediately expired.
190
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Oar weariness of life is gone,
Who live to serve our God alone,
And only Him to know."
No man, however, can prove the falsehood of that
inestimable book. Difficulties, many and consider-
able, we know it contains. We are not disposed to
conceal them. It would be very surprising if a book
so circumstanced did not (') But its foundation is
built upon the pillars of everlasting truth. Consci-
entious unbelievers should examine those difficulties
with calmness and patience. The whole collective
evidence of the Gospel is very considerable and
requires time and application. (2) It is expected that
(1) " It would be a miracle greater than any we axe instructed
to believe, if there were no difficulties in the Sacred Writings;
if a being with but five scanty inlets of knowledge, separated
but yesterday from his mother earth, and to-day sinking again
into her bosom, could fathom the depths of the wisdom and
knowledge of the Lord God Almighty.''
All arts and sciences abound with difficulties, and a perfect
knowledge of them is not to be attained without considerable
labour and application; why then should we expect that Theo-
logy, the first of sciences, and that to which all others ought to
be subservient, should be without its abstrusities, and capable
of being understood without labour and application of mind ?
Nay, even that practical religion, which is required of the
humblest followers of the Redeemer, requires a high degree of
attention. " Agonize to enter in at the strait gate," is the com-
mand of the Son of God. And did ever any labour more in
the cause of virtue than Christ and his apostles.
(2) There are four grand arguments for the truth of the
Bible. The first is the miracles it records. 2. The prophecies
it contains. 3. The goodness of the doctrine. 4. The moral
character of the penmen.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 191
they attend to the consistency, harmony, and con-
nexion of all its various parts. The long chain of
prophecies undeniably completed in it; the aston-
ishing and well attested miracles which attend it;
the perfect sanctity of its Author; the purity of its
precepts; the sublimity of its doctrines; the amaz-
ing rapidity of its progress; the illustrious company
of confessors, saints, and martyrs, who died to con-
firm its truth; the testimony of its enemies; toge-
ther with an infinite number of collateral proofs
and subordinate circumstances—all concur to form
such a body of evidence,, as no other truth in the
world can shew; such as must necessarily bear
down, by its own weight and magnitude, all trivial
objections to particular parts.(') They should con-
The miracles flow from divine power; the prophecies, from
divine understanding; the excellence of the doctrine, from
divine goodness; and the moral character of the penmen, from
divine purity.
Thus Christianity is built upon these four immoveable pil-
lars, the power, the understanding, the goodness, and the purity
of God.
The Bible must he the invention, either of good men or
angels, had men or devils, or of God.
It could not be the invention of good men or angels, for they
neither would nor could make a book, and tell lies all the time
they were writing it, saying," Thus saith the Lord," when it
was their own invention.
It could not he the invention of bad men or devils, for they
would not make a book, which commands all duty, forbids all
sin, and condemns their souls to hell to all eternity.
I therefore draw this conclusion—The Bible must be given
by divine inspiration.
(1) See Bishop Porteus's Sermons, vol. i. pp. 41, 42'.
192
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
suit the best books upon the subject, and call in the
assistance of learned and disinterested men, who
have made theological subjects their study. They
should apply to them as they would to a lawyer
about an estate, or a physician about their health;
and they should make the investigation a matter of
the most diligent inquiry. (') Religion is a serious
thing. It is either all or nothing. A few pert ob-
(1) Bishop Watson's Apology for Christianity, in answer to
Mr. Gibbon; and his Apology for the Bible, in answer to
Thomas Paine, before mentioned, are admirably well calculated
to remove a considerable number of difficulties attending the
records of our salvation. Bishop Home's Letters on Infidelity
are wisely suited to the same purpose. But he that is able and
willing to examine thoroughly the grounds of his religion,
should have recourse to Bishop Butler's Analogy of Religion^
natural and revealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature :
a work well adapted to give satisfaction to inquiring minds,
upon the most important of all subjects, religion. I need not
say, that Grotius on the Truth of Christianity is an excellent
little work. Doddridge's Three Sermons on the Evidences of
Christianity seem better suited to the understandings of com-
mon readers than almost any other. Lardner's Credibility;
Michaelis's Introduction to the New Testament; and Paley's
View of the Evidences of Christianity, are all works of high
reputation. Beattie's Evidences of the Christian Religion is a
valuable small work. Baxter on the Truth of Christianity is
not to be answered. Edwards on the Authority, Style, and
Perfection of Scripture, is very valuable. Gildon's Deist's
Manual—Kidder's Demonstration of the Messiah—Stilling-
fleet's Origines Sacrae—Hartley on the Truth of the Christian
Religion—Bryant's Treatise on the authenticity of the Scriptures
—Jortin's Discour se concerning the Truth of the Christian Re-
ligion—Delany's Revelation examined with Candour—Pascal's
Thoughts on Religion—Young's Night Thoughts, and Centaur
not Fabulous—Ditton on the Resurrection—Cure of Deism—
AND TIIE SACRED WRITINGS. 193
jections, started in a mixed company, or in a circle
of friends over the glass, are indecent and despicable.
Shameful herein is the conduct of many vain bab-
Foster's Usefulness, Truth, and Excellency of the Christian
Revelation—Clarke's Truth and certainty of the Christian Re
velation—Lally's Principles of the Christian Religion—Pa-
ley's Horse Paulina;—Bishop Squire's Indifference for Religion
Inexcusable—Locke's Reasonableness of Christianity—Mur-
ray's Evidences of the Jewish and Christian Revelations—
Chandler's Plain Reasons for being a Christian—Addison on
the Truth of Christianity—Bishop Watson's Two Sermons and
Charge—Sykes's Essay upon the Truth of the Christian Re-
ligion—Warhurton's Divine Legation of Moses—Dr. Gregory
Sharpe's Two Arguments in Defence of Christianity—Leslie's
Short Method with Jews and Deists—Bishop Berkley's Minute
Philosopher—Dr. Randolph's View of our Saviour's Ministry
—Bishop Clayton's Vindication of the Histories of the Old and
New Testament—Dr. Bell's Inquiry into the Divine Missions
of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ—Lively Oracles, by the
Author of the Whole Duty of Man—Boyle on the style of
Holy Scripture—Macknight on the Gospel Actions as probable
—West on the Resurrection—Lord Littleton on the Conver-
sion of St. Paul—Le Pluche on the Truth of the Gospel—
Socinius's Argument for the Authority of Holy Scripture—
Bishop Chandler's Defence of Christianity—Priestley's Letters
to a Philosophical Unbeliever—Priestley's Evidence of Re-
vealed Religion—These are all works of some reputation.
Several of them are unanswerable; and all contain more or
less matter upon the truth of the Scriptures, that is useful and
important Many others have written upon the same subject,
but these I have had an opportunity of perusing, and can re-
commend them every one, as containing much that is valuable.
There is, however, one very small work more, which I would
take the liberty of recommending to the common reader, he-
cause it is so plain, satisfactory, and concise ; and that is Dr.
David Jennings's Appeal to Reason and Common Sense for
the Truth of the Holy Scriptures. For the compass of it, this
O
194
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
biers. They should be excluded society. When the
ancient philosopher, Anaxagoras, had expressed in
one of his books a doubt concerning the existence
of God, the book was burned by a public decree of
his fellow-citizens, and he himself banished his
country. These were heathens and republicans.
is a very satisfactory performance. The whole is contained
in two sermons of moderate length, and may he obtained for a
very trifling sum. To these may be added Leland's Deistical
Writers; a work of high and deserved reputation, Leslie's
truth of Christianity Demonstrated—Bishop Taylor's Moral
Demonstration that the Religion of Jesus Christ is from God.
Writings on these subjects, of such universal importance, are
very numerous, and indeed it is scarcely possible they can be
too much so. It may be much questioned whether any ob-
jection whatever has been made to the great truths of Religion
and the Sacred Writings, which has not been fairly and ho-
nestly answered in one or another of the above authors. But
no writer has taken so much pains to state and answer objec-
tions to the Scriptures, as Mr. Stackhouse in his New History
of the Holy Bible. If the serious reader finds himself pressed
with difficulties, he will do well to apply to that great work,
where he will find them exhibited at length, with such answers
as are generally satisfactory.
To these it may be recommended to the serious reader to
add Knox's Christian Philosophy, where he will find the
internal evidence of Christianity insisted on pretty much at
length. The work, however, does not appear to me altogether
unexceptionable, though highly valuable. He seems to set
the external and internal evidences of the Gospel too much in
opposition one to the other. There is, moreover, an asperity,
and superciliousness, on some occasions, in his expressions,
which ill become the subject on which he writes, and which
he very justly condemns in the late Bishop Warburton and
others. The work, however, I trust, will do much good, by
calling the public attention to inward religion.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 195
What would they have said to the philosophisters of
the present day? No person, we may venture to
say, ever honestly examined the whole of the evi-
dence of the truth of the New Testament, who did
not find it satisfactory. Indeed, the Gospel itself is
so pure, (') that no decent man can reject it. Hence
we find, it has ever been the custom of unbelievers to
attack the corruptions of religion, which more or
less prevail in all countries; and, through the sides
of those human appendages, to wound the cause of
truth itself. These arts, however, are inconsistent
with honour, and no person of the least integrity of
mind can be capable of them. Modest men too,
who have not thoroughly examined the arguments
for and against Scripture, will be silent. If they
cannot believe in Jesus, they will be extremely cau-
tious upon what grounds they reject him. They will
remember that Newton examined the evidence of
his divine mission, and was satisfied; that Locke
examined, and died glorying in his salvation. They
will recollect that West, Jenyns, Littleton, and
Pringle, were all at one time unbelievers; all under-
took, like wise men, to examine the grounds of their
infidelity; were all convinced that they had been
dangerously mistaken: all became converts to the
religion of the Son of God; and all died, declaring
their belief in him, and expectations from him.
Thomas Paine, therefore, and his humble followers,
(I) The reader may see the purity of the Gospel drawn out
at length in Newcome's Observations on our Lord's conduct;
Hunter's Observations on the History of Jesus Christ; and
Harwood's Life of Christ.
196
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
may abuse and misrepresent the facts and doctrines
contained in the Sacred Code, as Bolingbroke, and
other deistical, but immoral men, have frequently
done, with learning and ability greatly superior;
they may nibble at it like the viper at the file in the
fable; but they only display their own malignity
and want of solid information. It is not every dab-
bier in science that is qualified, either to vindicate
or oppose the Bible with effect. Deep and various
learning are necessary for this purpose. The expe-
rience of past ages might convince any man that it
will be found " hard to kick against the pricks," and
to resist the evidence with full satisfaction of mind.
All bitter sarcasms, therefore, with which infidels
so unmercifully load the best of books, Q) are un-
becoming, and should be suspended, lest they recoil
upon their own heads. It hath stood the rude
shocks of learned Jews and heathens, heretics and
unbelievers of former ages, and it is not about to
receive its death-wound from the feeble assaults
which the present numerous set of deists are ca-
pable of making upon it. We challenge all the un-
believers in Christendom to account, upon any
merely human principle, for the Scriptural prophe-
(1) For most of the learning that is now in the world we are
indebted to the Bible. To the same book likewise we are in-
debted for all the morality and religion which prevail among
men. Nay, even the absurd tales and fables which we read in
the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans are nothing
more than perversions of the several histories and characters
recorded in the Old Testament. See Jortin's first charge, vol.
vii. of his Sermons; Gale's Court of the Gentiles; and Bryant's
Mythology. Consult too Dryden's Preface to his Religio Laici.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 197
cies concerning the kingdoms of Israel, Judah, and
Egypt; or concerning the cities of Tyre, Nineveh,
Babylon, and Jerusalem. Nay, not to take so large
a compass, but to bring the matter to one point, we
defy any man, on simple human principles, to ac-
count for the present state of the Jews. Would we
give ourselves time, soberly to compare the twenty-
eighth chapter of Deuteronomy with the history and
dispersion of that extraordinary people, we could
not fail of having our minds strongly impressed with
conviction. This one argument is invincible, and
not to be fairly got over by all the wit of man, as
the late accomplished, but irreligious, Chesterfield,
was honest enough to declare. (')
But, if we turn from these prophecies to those
which respect human redemption, and the Saviour
of mankind, we shall find they are extremely re-
markable and minute, and absolutely conclusive for
the Messiahship of Jesus Christ, the son of Mary.
We will consider the predictions and fulfilments at
some length, and boldly appeal to the common sense
and reason of the most prejudiced man upon earth,
whether there be not something far beyond the mere
powers of nature in these strange coincidences.
1. It was predicted, many centuries before it came
to pass, that Messiah should come into the world for
the redemption of human beings Messiah did come
into the world, four thousand years after the first
prediction was uttered. (2)
(1) See Jones's Life of Bishop Home, p. 332.
(2) Gen. iii. 15; Isa. ix. 6,7; Matt. i. 18—25. Dr. Eveleigh
in his Sermons says very justly," The great object of the pro-
198
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
2. Messiah is frequently prophesied of under the
character of Him that was to come.—Jesus Christ is
several times described in this form by the writers
of the New Testament. (l)
3. In ancient times there were four monarchies in
the world, one succeeding another, more famous than
all the rest. It was foretold, that Messiah should
appear under the last of them.—Christ was born
after the destruction of the three first, and while the
fourth was in all its glory. (2)
4. Messiah was to come among men before the
destruction of the second temple. — Jesus Christ
preached in that temple; and it was totally destroyed
within forty years afterwards. (3)
phecies of the Old Testament is the redemption of mankind.
This, as soon as Adam's fall had made it necessary, the mercy
of God was pleased to foretell. And, as the time of its accom-
plishment drew nearer, the predictions concerning it became
gradually so clear and determinate, as to mark out with histo-
rical precision, almost every circumstance in the life and cha-
racter of infinitely the most extraordinary personage, that ever
appear ed among men. Any one of these predictions is sufficient
to indicate a prescience more than human. But the collective
force of all, taken together, is such, that nothing more can be
necessary to prove the interposition of Omniscience, than the
establishment of their authenticity. And this, even at so remote
a period as the present, is placed beyond all doubt."—Sermons,
vi. p. 210.
(1) Compare Hab. ii. 3, 4; Psalm cxviii. 26; Isaiah XXXV.
4; lix. 20; lxii. 11; Dan. ix. 26; Zech. ix. 9; Mai. iii. 1;
Matt. xi. 3; John i. 30; iv. 23; xi. 27; Acts xix. 4. See
Chandler's Defence, ch. ii. sect. i. p. 160—167.
(2) Compare Daniel ii. and vii. with Luke ii. and iii.
(3) Compare Haggai ii. 7, with Matthew xxi. 23. See Jo-
sephus.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 199
5. Messiah was to come into the world before the
dominion of the Jews was taken away.—Christ was
born that very year when Augustus Cassar imposed
a tax on the Jewish nation, as a token of their sub-
jection to the Roman government. (')
6. When Messiah should make his appearance
among men, it was to be a time of general peace,
after dreadful wars and convulsions.—When Jesus
Christ came into the world, the Roman wars were
just terminated, the temple of Janus was shut, and
universal peace reigned through the empire. (2)
7. Messiah was to make his appearance among
men, at a time when there should be a general ex-
pectation of him.—When Jesus Christ came into the
world, all nations were looking for the advent of some
extraordinary person. (J)
(1) Compare Genesis xlix. 10, with Luke ii. 1—7.
(2) Compare Haggai ii. 6, 7, 9, with the Roman history of
this period.
(3) Compare Haggai ii. 7—9, with Matthew ii. 1—10, and
John i. 19—45.
The heathens, as well as the Jews, had a firm persuasion that
some extraordinary person should arise in the world about the
time of our Saviour's birth. Suetonius says, " There was an
old and fixed opinion all over the East, that it was decreed by
heaven, that about that time some person from Judea should ob-
tain the dominion over all."
Tacitus mentions the same prophecy, and almost in the same
words:—■" Most of the Jews had a persuasion, that it was con-
tained in the ancient books of their priests, that at that very time,
the East should grow powerful, and some person from Judea
should gain the dominion."
To these testimonies of the Scriptures and heathen writers, we
may add that of Josephus, who says in his History of the Jewish
200
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
8. Messiah was to have existed with God before
the foundations of the world were laid.—Jesus Christ
was in the beginning with God, and by Him the
worlds were made. (')
9. Messiah was to be one, who had been the fellow,
the equal, and the companion of the Almighty.—
Jesus Christ thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, and was with him from eternity. (2)
10. Messiah was to be the Son of God.—Jesus
Christ was confessedly the only-begotten Son of
God. (3)
11. Messiah was to have had an eternal, and ineff-
able generation.—Jesus Christ was the Son of God,
prior to his being born of the Virgin Mary, in a way
not to be explained by mortal man. (*)
12. Messiah was also to be the Son of Man.—
War, b. vii. c. 12 : " That which chiefly excited the Jews to the
war against the Romans, was a dubious oracle, found in their
Sacred Writings, that about that time, one of them from their
parts should reign over the world."
See this subject drawn out more at large by Mr. Charles
Leslie, in his " Short and Easy Method with the Jews," and
again in his " Truth of Christianity demonstrated." This last
treatise, together with his Short and Easy Method with the
Deists, are absolutely conclusive in favour- of the Gospel. One
may defy the most subtile deist in the world to refute these two
treatises. They are indeed unanswerable, except by sneer and
sarcasm.
(1) Compare Proverbs viii. 22, 23, with John i. 1—3; Colos-
sians i. 16, 17.
(2) Compare Zechariah xiii. 7, with Phil. ii. 6, and John i. 1.
(3) Compare Psalm ii. 12; Proverbs xxx. 4; Hosea xi. 1 ;
Matthew iii. 17 ; xvii. 5.
(4) Compare Micah v. 2, with John i. 1.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 201
Jesus Christ sustained this character, and seemed to
have a pleasure in being called by that name. (')
13. Messiah was not to be born according to the
ordinary course of nature, but to descend from a
pure Virgin.—Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin
Mary. (2)
14. Messiah was to be the son of Abraham, the
father of the faithful, and the friend of God.—Jesus
Christ was sprung from that illustrious patriarch. (3)
15. 'Messiah was to be the son of Isaac, and not
of Ishmael.—Jesus Christ was sprung from Isaac,
and not from Ishmael. (4)
16. Messiah was to be the son of Jacob, and not
of Esau.—Jesus Christ did descend from Jacob, and
not from his brother Esau. (5)
17. Jacob had twelve sons. Messiah was not to
spring from any other of the twelve, but from Judah.
—Jesus Christ claimed Judah as his ancestor in a
direct line. (6)
(1) Daniel vii. 13; Matthew viii. 20.
(2) Compare Genesis iii. 15; Isaiah Tii. 14; and Jeremiah
xxxi. 22; with Matthew i. 22, 23.—It would be well if the op-
posers of the supernatural incarnation qf our Saviour would
soberly read over Dr. Clarke's very sensible discourse on the
miraculous birth of Christ in the 5th volume of his Sermons.
My own Essay on the Authenticity of the New Testament, too,
may also be consulted, especially the Addenda.
(3) Compare Genesis xxi. 1—12, with Matthew i. 1—16.
(4) Compare Genesis xvii. 16—21, with Matthew i. 1—16.
(5) Compare Genesis xxv. 24—34; xxvii. 27—29; xxviii.
13, 14; with Matthew i. 1—16.
(6) Compare Genesis xlix. 8—12, with Matthew i. 1—16.
202
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
18. Messiah was to be sprung from Jesse, the
father of David, king of Israel.—Jesus Christ was
his descendant. (')
19. Jesse had eight sons. David was the youngest.
From none of the seven elder, but from David alone
was Messiah to derive his origin.—Jesus Christ was
the son of David. (2)
20. Messiah was to be born in a poor and mean
condition, when the family should be reduced to a
very low estate. — Jesus Christ, both on his father
and mother's side, was of very low and mean ap-
pearance, though descended from such illustrious
ancestors. (3)
21. Messiah was to have a messenger going before
him, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
—Christ had a messenger going before him who
fully bare witness to his pretensions. (4)
22. The forerunner of Messiah was either to be
Elijah himself, or one in the spirit of Elijah John
the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, was altogether
in the spirit of that great Prophet. (5)
23. The forerunner of Messiah was to preach in
the wilderness, and to prepare the minds of the
people for his coming.—John the Baptist did preach
(1) Compare Isaiah xi. 1, with Matthew i. 1—16.
(2) Compare 1 Samuel xvi. 1—13; 2 Samuel vii. 12—15;
Psalm lxxxix. 19—37 ; Matthew i. 1—16.
(3) Compare Isaiah liii. 2; Luke i. 48, 52 ; ii. 7, 24.
(4) Compare Malachi iii. 1, with John i. 19—34, and iii.
26—36.
(5) Compare Malachi iv. 5, 6, with Mark i. 1—8.
and the sacred writings. 203
in the wilderness of Judea, and professed himself
to be sent to prepare the Jews for the advent of
Christ (')
24. The forerunner of Messiah was to be consi-
derably successful in his office John the Baptist
was treated with great respect by his countrymen,
and made large numbers of disciples. (2)
25. Messiah was not to be born at Jerusalem, the
capital of his kingdom, but at Bethlehem, an obscure
country village.—Jesus Christ was born at Beth-
lehem, by a very peculiar providence. (3)
26. Messiah was to go down into Egypt, and to be
called out from thence.—Jesus Christ went down
into Egypt soon after his birth, and was called out
from thence by an angel of the Lord. (4)
27. Messiah was to be a preacher of the law of
God to his countrymen in the great congregation.—
Jesus Christ was indefatigable in his public minis-
trations, both in the temple, and in all other places
where the people were disposed to hear him. (s)
28. The tribes of Zebulon and Naphthali were
first to be greatly distressed, and afterwards highly
honoured and exalted,"by the appearance of Messiah
among them These tribes principally suffered in
the first Assyrian invasion under Tiglath Pilezer,
(1) Compare Isaiah, xl. 3—5, with Matthew iii. 1—6.
(2) Compare Isaiah xl. 3—5, with Luke iii. 21.
(3) Compare Micah v. 2, with Matthew ii. 2.
(4) Compare Hosea xi. 1, with Matthew ii. 13—23. See too
Whiston on Prophecy, pp. 12 and 52.
(5) Compare Psalm xl. 9,10, with the four Gospels, passim.
204
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
and were afterwards among the first who enjoyed
the blessing of Christ preaching the Gospel, and
exhibiting his miraculous works among them. (')
29. Messiah was to converse and preach the Gospel
in the region of Galilee.—Jesus Christ lived and con-
versed so long in that obscure and despicable part of
the land of Israel, that he was by way of contempt,
denominated a Galilean. (2)
30. Messiah was to have a temple to which he
should come, when he made his appearance in human
flesh.—Jesus Christ, as the son of God, claimed the
temple of Jerusalem as his own, in a sense which no
mere mortal could presume. (3)
31. Messiah was to be the servant of God, whose
name is the Branch.—Jesus Christ was emphati-
cally the Servant of God, and the Day-Spring from
on high. (4)
32. Messiah is spoken of by the ancient prophets
under the characters of an Angel—a Messenger—a
Redeemer—an Interpreter—One of a thousand—a
Plant of renown—a Captain—the Beloved of God
—the true David: Jesus Christ was all these, and
(1) Compare Isaiah ix. 1—4; 2 Kings xv. 29; 1 Chron. v.
26; and Matthew iv. 12—16.
(2) Compare Isaiah ix. 1, 2, with Matthew ii. 22, 23; and
Matthew iv. 23, 25.
(3) Compare Malaehi iii. l,with Luke ii. 49; and Matthew
xxi. 12,13.
(4) Compare Isaiah iv. 2; xi. 1; Jeremiah xxiii. 5; Zecha-
riah iii. 8; vi. 12; Isaiah xlii. 1; Matthew xii. 18; and Luke
i. 78. It should he observed here, that the word translated
Branch, signifies also the East or Day-Spring.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
205
whatever else was peculiar to the character of that
august Being; as will more fully appear from the
following instances. (')
33. Messiah was to be the Messenger of the
Covenant between God and his people Jesus
Christ was that Messenger. (2)
34. Messiah was to sustain the office of a Prophet
when he came to redeem mankind.—Jesus Christ
sustained that office in all its extent. (3)
35. Messiah was also to sustain the office of a
Priest, when he appeared upon earth Jesus Christ
was a Priest, and offered, not indeed the blood of
bullocks and of goats, but his own most precious
blood. (4)
36. Messiah, though a priest, was not to be of the
tribe of Levi, and after the order of Aaron, but after
the order of Melchizedec.—Jesus Christ was of the
tribe of Judah, and had an everlasting priesthood,
after the order of Melchizedec. (5)
37. Messiah was, moreover, to sustain the office
of a King, when he took on him human nature for
the salvation of his elect.—Jesus Christ was a King,
(1) Compare Genesis xlviii. 16; xxxii. 24—30; Hoseaxii.
3, 4. Exod. xxiii. 20—23; Malachi iii. 1; Job xix. 25; xxxiii.
23. Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24, 29; Joshua v. 13, 14; Isaiah xlii. 1 ;
Rev. i. 1; Matthew iii. 17; Hebrews ii. 10.
(2) Compare Jeremiah xxxiii. 20, 21; Malachi iii. 1; Isaiah
lxiii. 9; Hebrews viii. 7—13; x. 9; xiii. 20, 21.
(3) Compare Deuteronomy xviii. 15, 18; Acts iii. 22; Luke
xxiv. 19; Matthew xxiv.
(4) Compare Zechariah vi. 13 : Hebrews ix. 11—14.
(5) Compare Genesis xiv. 18; Psalm ex. 4; Hebrews vi. 20;
vii. 1—28.
206
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
even while upon earth; and, now that he is in hea-
ven, his dominion extends over all worlds. (')
38. Messiah was to be a righteous King, and em-
phatically the Prince of Peace—Jesus Christ was
eminently distinguished as a righteous person, and
the great peacemaker both on earth and in hea-
ven.(2)
39. The kingdom of Messiah was to be universal
and everlasting Jesus Christ has a kingdom, that
in due time shall be universal in its extent, and eter-
nal in its duration. (3)
40. Messiah was to be the Sun of Righteousness,
who should arise upon the world, with salvation in
his rays.—Jesus Christ was the Light of the World,
who illuminateth every man that cometh into it.
Messiah was also to be the East or Morning Star.
—Jesus Christ is called the Day-Spring from on
High, and the Bright and Morning Star. (4)
41. Messiah was to be emphatically the Just One.
—Jesus Christ not only answered the description,
but is repeatedly called by that name. (5)
42. Messiah, to whom belonged the land of Judea,
was to be denominated Immanuel.—Jesus Christ
(1) Compare Psalm ii. 6; Zechariah vi. 13; ix. 9; with
Luke i. 32, 33; and John xxiii. 36, 37; Rev. xix. 16.
(2) Compare Isaiah xxxii. 1; Psalm xlv. 1—17; lxxii. 1—
19; Jeremiah xxiii. 5; Zechariah ix. 9; Isaiah ix. 6; Lake
ii. 14; Ephes. ii. 4—22.
(3) Daniel vii. 27 ; Luke i. 32, 33; Rev. v. 12—14.
(4) Compare Malachi iv. 2; John i. 5, 9; viii. 12; ix. 5;
xii. 35, 46; Isaiah lx. 1, 2; Luke i. 78; and Rev. xxii. 16.
(5) 2 Samuel xxiii. 3; Isaiah xi. 5; Acts iii. 14; vii. 52;
xxii. 14.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 207
was the proprietor of that holy land, and was ex-
pressly called by the name of Immanuel. (')
43. Messiah was to be a great Shepherd, and to
lay down his life for the sheep.—Jesus Christ was
the great and good Shepherd, and shed his blood in
defence of his flock. (2)
44. Messiah was not only to be a righteous King,
and execute judgment and justice in the earth; but
his name was to be Jehovah our Righteousness.—
Jesus Christ is made of God Righteousness to every
one that believes in his name. (3)
45. Messiah was to be, like the lion, which is the
king of animals, of a noble and generous spirit—
Jesus Christ was the Lion of the tribe of Judah. (*)
46. Messiah was to be anointed with the Holy
Ghost in a larger degree than any other man ever
was.—Jesus Christ was favoured in this respect be-
yond all other persons that ever lived. (5)
47. Messiah was to be of a meek and lowly dis-
position, humbling himself for the redemption of the
world—Jesus Christ was meek and lowly in mind,
and answered the prophetic description in every re-
spect (6)
(1) Compare Isaiah vii. 14; viii. 8; Matthew i. 23; and
John i. 11.
(2) Compare Zechariah xiii. 7; Isaiah Ix. 11; and Ezek.
xxxiv. 23, 24; with John x. 1—18.
(3) Compare Jeremiah xxiii. 5, 6, with 1 Corinthians i. 30.
(4) Compare Genesis xlix. 9; and Rev. v. 5.
(5) Compare Psalm xlv. 7; with Matthew iii. 16, 17; and
John iii. 34.
(6) Compare Zechariah ix. 9; Matthew xi. 28,29; John xiii.
1—17; 2 Corinthians viii. 9.
208
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
48. Messiah was to teach mankind the doctrines
of salvation, without ostentation and noise.—Jesus
Christ was quiet and unambitious in all his public
as well as private deportment. (')
49. Messiah was to be endowed with a peculiar
degree of wisdom and understanding.—Jesus Christ,
his enemies being judges, spake as never man spake,
and taught a more pure and excellent doctrine than
ever had been received among mankind before. (2)
50. The doctrine of Messiah was to be of the
most healing, encouraging, and consolatory kind—
The doctrine of Jesus Christ was singularly adapted
to the healing of wounded minds. (3)
51. The doctrine which Messiah should preach
was to have a powerfully transforming influence
upon the minds of men.—The Gospel of Christ had
all this effect upon the dispositions and conduct of
every one of his genuine disciples. (4)
52. Messiah was to be peculiarly kind and affec-
tionate to young, distressed, and tender-spirited per-
sons.—Jesus Christ was singularly attentive to all
such characters. (5)
53. In the confirmation of his divine mission,
Messiah was to display many wonderful works
among the people—Jesus Christ wrought abun-
(1) Compare Isaiah xlii. 1—4; Matthew xii. 14—21.
(2) Compare Isaiah xi. 1—5; John vii. 46; Matthew xiii.
54—58; Matthew v. vi. and vii. chapters.
(3) Compare Isaiah lxi. 1—3; Matthew xi. 28—30; John
xiv. 1—3.
(4) Compare Isaiah xi. 6—8, with Acts ii. 41—47.
(5) Compare Isaiah xl. 11; lv. 1—3; lxi. 1—3; Matthew xii.
20; and Mark x. 13—16.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 209
dance of miracles, in confirmation of his pretensions,
and the doctrines he taught. (')
54. Messiah was to have but little success in
preaching the Gospel among his countrymen the
Jews.—Jesus Christ was almost universally rejected
by them. (2)
55. The minds of the Jews were to be so veiled
that they should not know their Messiah when he
came among them.—The minds of the Jews were so
sealed up and enveloped in prejudice against Jesus
Christ when he appeared, that he was treated by
them as an impostor and deceiver. (3)
46. Messiah was to be the chief corner stone in
the building of his church, elect, precious Jesus
Christ was the chief corner stone, elect and pre-
cious. (4)
57. Messiah was to be rejected by the builders,
but yet made the head-stone in the corner Jesus
Christ was almost universally rejected by the great
men of his nation ; but yet he was made both Lord
and Christ. (s)
58. Messiah was to preach the Gospel to the
poor, and to be embraced by a considerable number
(1) Compare Isaiah xxxv. 5, 6; with Matthew viii. and ix.
chapters, and John xxi. 25.
(2) Compare Isaiah liii. 1; xlix. 4; Rom. x. 1—3, 21.
(3) Compare Isaiah vi. 9—13; xxix. 9—14; 2 Corinthians
iii. 5—18.
(4) Compare Isaiah xxviii. 16; Acts iv. 11, 12; 1 Peter ii.
6—8.
(5) Compare Psalm cxviii. 22; Isaiah viii. 13, 14 ; John vii.
48; Matthew xi. 25, 26; 1 Corinthians i. 26—31; 1 Peter ii.
7, 8.
P
210
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
of that description.—Jesus Christ preached the Gos-
pel to the poor, and various of that rank believed in
his name. (')
59. Messiah was to be despised and rejected of
men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
—Jesus Christ was despised and rejected of men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. (2)
60. Messiah was to be seen riding into Jerusalem,
sitting upon a young ass, as a token of the humility
of his mind.—Jesus Christ answered this prediction,
as well as every other that went before concerning
him, in the most minute circumstance. (3)
61. When Messiah should enter Jerusalem in this
meek and humble manner, great crowds of the com-
mon people should welcome him with shouts and
rejoicings When Jesus Christ rode into that proud
metropolis, in low disguise, the general cry of the
mob was, " Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is
he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna
in the highest."(4)
62. Messiah was to be actuated with such a burn-
ing zeal for the house of God, as even to be endan-
gered by it.—Jesus Christ displayed that zeal upon
various occasions. (5)
63. Messiah was to be betrayed into the hands of
his enemies by the treachery of an intimate friend.
(1) Compare Isaiah lxi. 1; Luke iv. 18; Matthew si. 5;
James ii. a.
(2) Compare Isaiah liii. with Matthew xxvi. and xxvii. chap-
ters, and Phil. ii. 7,8. See too Chandler's Defence, p. 178—194.
(3) Compare Zechariah ix. 9, with Matthew xxi. 1—11.
(4) Ibid, see Chandler's Defence, p. 102—107.
(5) Compare Psalm bdx. 9; John ii. 17.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 211
—Christ was betrayed by one of the disciples whom
he had chosen. (')
64. Messiah was to be sold for thirty pieces of
silver.—Jesus Christ was sold for the sum pre-
dieted. (2)
65. Messiah's price, the thirty pieces of silver,
was to be cast to the potter, in the house of the Lord.
—All this was done when Judas betrayed his Mas-
ter. (3)
66. Messiah was to be condemned in judgment,
and suffer death under the colour of public justice.
—Jesus Christ underwent a mock trial, was declared
innocent by his very judge, and yet delivered over
to be crucified. (*)
67. The followers of Messiah were all to forsake
him in the time of his greatest need.—When Jesus
Christ was apprehended, and put upon his trial, all
his disciples forsook him and fled. (5)
68. Messiah was to finish his public employment,
in confirming the covenant, in about three years and
a half.—Jesus Christ began his public office at thirty
years of age, and was put to death at thirty-three
and a half. (6)
69. Messiah was to be ignominiously scourged by
(1) Compare Psalm xli. 9; lv. 12, 13; Matthew xxvi. 47—
50.
(2) Compare Zechariah xi. 12; Matthew xxvi. 14—16.
(3) Compare Zechariah xi. 13; Matthew xxvii. 3—10.
(4) Compare Isaiah lix. 8, 9; Matthew xxvii. chapter.
(5) Compare Zechariah xiii. 7; Isaiah lxiii. 5; Matthew
xxvi. 56.
(6) Compare Daniel ix. 27, with the period of our Lord's
ministry, in the four Gospels. On this remarkable prediction of
212
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his persecutors.—Jesus Christ was treated in this
manner. (')
70. Messiah was to be smitten on the face in the
day of his humiliation.—Jesus Christ was basely
buffeted by the hands of vile slaves. (2)
71. Messiah was to have his face befouled with
spittle Jesus Christ condescended for our sakes
even to this indignity without complaining. (3)
72. Messiah was to be wounded in his hands even
by his own friends. — Jesus Christ had his hands
nailed to the cursed tree by his own countrymen. (4)
73. Messiah was to be so marred and disfigured
in his visage by the ill treatment he should receive,
that his friends would scarce know him.—And was
not Jesus Christ so disfigured and despoiled ? (5)
74. Messiah was to be oppressed and afflicted, and
yet not open his mouth in complaint. He was to be
brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep
Daniel, consult Maclaurin's Essay on the Prophecies, p. 103,
and Sir Isaac Newton's Observations on Daniel, chap. x. 11.
(1) Compare Isaiah 1. 6, with Matthew xxvii. 26.
(2) Compare Isaiah 1. 6; lii. 14; Micah v. 1; and Mat-
thew xxvi. 67.
(3) Compare Isaiah 1. 6, with Matthew xxv. 67.
(4) Compare Zechariah xiii. 6; with John xx. 27.
(5) Compare Isaiah lii. 14, with Matthew xxvii. 29, 30.—If
it should he objected that several of these circumstances are
trifling and unworthy of the spirit of prophecy to reveal, it
may be very justly answered, that" The more minute some of
these circumstances are in themselves, the greater and more
convincing is the evidence of divine foreknowledge in the pre-
diction of them; because the conformity between the predic-
tion and the history is so much the more circumstantial."—See
Itaclaurin on the Prophecies, p. 63.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 213
before her shearers is dumb, so he was not to open
his mouth—" Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God that
taketh away the sins of the world," before Pilate held
his peace. " And when he was accused of the chief
priests and elders, he answered nothing." (')
75. Messiah was to be taken up with wicked men
in his death.—Christ was suspended on a cross be-
tween two thieves. (2)
(1) Compare Isaiah liii. 7, with Matthew xxvi. 63, and
xxvii. 12—14.
(2) Compare Isaiah liii. 9, with Matthew xxvii. 38, 60.
See on this whole chapter Apthorp's Seventh Discourse on
Prophecy, and Dr. Gregory Sharpe's Second Argument in de-
fence of Christianity, pp. 222—274. A comparison of this 53d
chapter of Isaiah, with the account given in the four Evange-
lists of the sufferings of Christ, was made the instrument of
convincing the witty and wicked Earl of Rochester. The
narrative given of this remarkable transaction, by Bishop
Burnet, is worth insertion in this place:—Rochester said to
Bishop Burnet, " Mr. Parsons, in order to his conviction,
read to him the 53d chapter of Isaiah, and compared that with
our Saviour's passion, that he might there see a prophecy con-
ceming it, written many ages before it was done; which the
Jews that blasphemed Jesus Christ, still kept in their hands
as a book divinely inspired. He said to me that, as he heard
it read, lie felt ail inward force upon him, which did so en-
lighten his mind, and convince him, that he could resist it
no longer; for the words had an authority, which did shoot
like rays or beams in his mind, so that he was not only con-
vinced by the reasonings he had about it, which satisfied his
understanding, but by a power which did so effectually con-
strain him, that he did ever after as firmly believe in his Sa-
viour as if he had seen him in the clouds. He had made it to
be read so often to him, that he had gotten it by heart; and
went through a great part of it in discourse with me, with a
sort of heavenly pleasure, giving me his reflections upon it.
214
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
76. Messiah was to be buried in the sepulchre of
a rich man.—Christ was buried in the tomb of a
rich counsellor.^)
77. Messiah was to be put to death at the end of
490 years, from the time when a commandment
should go forth to restore and to build Jerusalem.—
Now it is remarkable, that from the seventh year of
Artaxerxes Longimanus, King of Persia, from whom
Ezra received his commission, (ch. vii. 8,) to the
death of Jesus Christ, there are just 490 years. (2)
78. Messiah was to be presented by his enemies
with vinegar and gall during his sufferings.—In this
manner was Jesus Christ treated as he hung upon
the cross. (3)
79. The persecutors of Messiah were to pierce
his hands and his feet.—So did the bloody Jews and
Romans treat the Redeemer of mankind. (4)
Some few I remember; ' Who hath believed our report V
Here, he said, was foretold the opposition the Gospel was to
meet with from such wretches as he was. ' He hath no form
nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty,
that we should desire him.' On this he said, the meanness of
his appearance and person has made vain and foolish people
disparage him, because he came not in such a fool's coat as
they delight in. What he said on the other parts, I do not,
says the Bishop, well remember.''—Sharpens " Second Argu-
ment,'' pp. 238—240.
(1) Compare Isaiah liii. 9, with Matthew xxvii. 38, 60.
(2) Daniel ii. 24. See Sykes's " Essay on the Truth of the
Christian Religion,'' p. 20. And for the time of the birth and
passion of Christ, consult the 11th chapter of Sir Isaac New-
ton's " Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel."
(3) Compare Psalm lxix. 21, with Matthew xxvii. 34, and
John xix. 28—30.
(4) Compare Psalm xxii. 16, with Matthew xxvii. 35—Cru-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 215
80. The enemies of Messiah were to laugh him
to scorn, and to taunt and reproach him with sati-
rical language—So did the Jews conduct themselves
towards Christ in the day of his distress. (')
81. When Messiah was put to death, his enemies
were to part his garments among them, and for his
vesture they were to cast lots.—When Christ was
crucified, these transactions took place. (2)
82. When Messiah should suffer death, not
a bone of his body was to be broken.—When
Christ was crucified not a bone of him was in-
jured. (3)
83. When Messiah should be put to death, his side
was, by some means not declared, to be pierced.—
When Jesus Christ was crucified, his side was
pierced with a spear. (4)
84. It was prophesied of Messiah, that he should
make intercession for transgressors.—Jesus Christ
interceded with God for his very murderers, and
now ever liveth at his Father's right hand to plead
the cause of the sinful children of men. (5)
85. Messiah was to be cut off, but not for himself.
—Jesus Christ, who was holy, harmless, undefiled,
and separate from sinners, was cut off by the hands
cifixion was a thing not known among the Jews in the time of
David, nor for many ages afterwards.
(1) Compare Psalm xxii. 7, 8, with Matthew xxvii. 39—44.
(2) Compare Psalm xxii. 18, with Matthew xxvii. 35.
(3) Compare Exodus xii. 45, and Numbers ix. 12, with John
xvi. 31—36.
(4) Compare Zechariah xii. 10, with John xix. 34, 37.
(5) Compare Isaiah liii. 12; Hebrews vii. 25.
216
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
of wicked men, to reconcile God to his rebellious
creatures. (4)
86. When Messiah should come, there was to be
" a fountain opened to the house of David, and to
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin, and for
uncleanness."—When Christ came, he appeared to
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and by
the shedding of his blood once for all. (2)
87. Messiah was to make atonement for the ini-
quities, transgressions, and sins of the world.—Jesus
Christ was a propitiation for the sins of the whole
world. (3)
88. Messiah was to make this atonement in the
last of Daniel's seventy weeks.—Jesus Christ was
crucified in that very week.(4)
(1) Compare Daniel ix. 26; Isaiah liii. 8; Matthew xxri.
and xxvii. chapters.
(2) Compare Zechariah xiii. 1; and Hebrews ix. and x.
chapters.
(3) Compare Isaiah liii. 5; Daniel ix. 24; 1 John ii. 1,2.
(4) Daniel ix. 27. See this remarkable prophecy of Daniel
illustrated at large in Prideaux, p. 1. b. v. Consult also the
fourth and fifth of Apthorp's Discourses, and Chandler's
Defence, pp. 132—150. "The doctrine of atonement," says
Bishop Sherlock," is that which, together with the principles
on which it is founded, and the consequences naturally flowing
from it, distinguishes the Christian religion from all other reli-
gions whatever.''—Sermons, vol. iv. dis. iii. p. 88.
The late excellent Bishop of London also tells us," It is,
without dispute, the great distinguishing character of the Chris-
tian dispensation, the wall of partition between natural and
revealed religion, the main foundation of all our hopes of
pardon and acceptance hereafter.''
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 217
89. Messiah was to abolish the old, and intro-
duce a new dispensation.—Jesus Christ abolished
the ceremonies of the law of Moses, and brought in
a more perfect and rational economy. (')
90. The blood of Messiah was to be " the blood
of the covenant, which should bring prisoners out of
the pit where there is no water."—The blood of
Jesus Christ was the blood of the new covenant dis-
pensation, which, whosoever disregards, shall bear
the blame for ever. (2)
91. Messiah was not to lie in the grave and be
turned to corruption like other men.—Jesus Christ
did not continue in the grave, nor did he see cor-
ruption like the rest of mankind. (3)
92. Messiah was to be raised from the grave on
the third day after his interment.—Jesus Christ was
buried'on the Friday, and rose from the dead on the
Sunday morning following. (4)
93. When Messiah should arise from the dead, he
was to bring some tokens with him of his victory over
the infernal powers—When Jesus Christ entered
the state of the dead, " he led captivity captive,"
unloosed the bands of death, and raised many bodies
of the saints, which were confined under his do-
minion. (5)
(1) Compare Jeremiah xxxi. 31—34, with Hebrews viii. 6
—13.
(2) Compare Zechariah ix. 11, with Hebrews x. 29, xiii. 20.
(3) Compare Psalm xvi. 10, with Matthew xxxiii. 6.
(4) Compare Hoseavi. 2; Matthew xx. 19; Matthew xxviii.
1—7; 1 Corinthians xv. 4.
(5) Compare Psalm lxviii. 18, with Matthew xxvii. 52.
218
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
94. Messiah was to ascend up into heaven, and
reign there at his Father's right hand, invested with
universal dominion.-—Jesus Christ did ascend up into
heaven, in the sight of many witnesses, and took his
place at the right hand of power, invested with uni-
versal dominion. (')
95. When Messiah ascended into heaven, his as-
cension was to be attended with the ministers of
heaven, to usher him into his Father's presence.—
When Jesus Christ ascended up into heaven, two
men stood by the apostles in white apparel, and ad-
dressed them on the joyful occasion. (2)
96. Messiah was to send down from heaven the gift
of the Holy Ghost, as a token and pledge that he
was exalted, and that his Father was pleased with
what he had done upon earth for the redemption of
his people—Jesus Christ sent down the gift of the
Holy Ghost, in a most conspicuous and miraculous
manner. (3)
(1) Compare Psalm xvi. 11; lxviii. 18; Isaiah ix. 6,7; Luke
xxiv. 50, 51; Acts i. 9.; and Matthew xxviii. 18.
The excellent Tillotson observes, that " all things which the
prophets had foretold concerning the Messiah were punctually
made good in the person, and actions, and sufferings of our
Saviour."—Sermon 104.
(2) Compare Daniel vii. 13, 14, with Acts i. 10, 11.
(3) Compare Psalm lxviii. 18; Joel ii. 28—32, with Acts ii.
1—4, and Ephes. iv. 8—12.
"When our Lord, after his resurrection, 'beginning at
Moses and all the prophets,' had expounded unto his apostles,
in'all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself, and opened
their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures,'
Luke xxiv. 27, 45; then they saw plainly (and any one now
who will trace the whole thread of the Old Testament, may
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 219
97. The doctrine of Messiah was to begin to be
preached at Jerusalem, and from thence to spread
itself through the nations—The Gospel of Christ
was first preached in that city, and actually spread
itself through all the neighbouring countries in the
course of a few years. (l)
98. Though Messiah was to be generally rejected
and despised in his life-time; after his death the
pleasure of the Lord, in the conversion and salva-
tion of mankind, was to prosper in his hand How
exactly these circumstances agree with the history
plainly see) that there is a continued series of connexion, one
uniform analogy and design, carried on for many ages hy
divine prescience through a succession of prophecies; which,
as in their proper centre, do all meet together in Christ, and in
him only; however, the single lines, when considered apart,
may many of them he imagined to have another direction, and
point to intermediate events. Nothing is more evident, than
that the whole succession of prophecies can possibly he applied
to none hut Christ. Nothing is more miraculous, than that
they should all of them he capable of being possibly applied to
him. And whatever intermediate deliverances or deliverers of
God's people may seemingly or really be spoken of upon par-
ticular occasions, nothing is more reasonable than to believe
(in the apostle's certainty, who conversed personally with our
Lord after his resurrection, nothing could be more reasonable
than to believe), that the ultimate and general view of the pro-
phetic Spirit always was fixed on him, of whom in some of the
ancient prophecies it is expressly affirmed, that God's servant
David shall be the Prince over his people for ever; that his
dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, which shall not
pass away; and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.''
—Clarke's Sermons, vol. v. ser. 1.
(1) Compare Isaiah ii. 1—4; Micah iv. 1—4; with Actsii.
and Romans x. 18.
220
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
of Jesus Christ, is well known to every Chris-
tian. (')
99. The followers of Messiah should meet with
great and severe trials and persecution, for their ad-
herence to his cause.—The followers of Jesus Christ
had the whole world in arms against them for seve-
ral ages. (2)
100. The rejecters of Messiah should be rejected
of God, and his followers called by another name.—
The Jews, who would not have Christ to rule over
them, were rejected by him, and his followers were
called by another name, through divine appoint-
ment, as it should seem, to accomplish this pro-
phecy. (3)
101. Messiah was to be opposed by kings, and
persons in authority, with great vigour and resolu-
tion. —- Jesus Christ was very generally opposed
through the whole of his public ministry by the
great ones of the world, and all the power of the
Roman empire was in opposition to his cause and
people for upwards of three hundred years. (4)
102. Notwithstanding the opposition of the kings
and princes of the world for a season, the time was
to come when kings should be nursing fathers to the
Church, and queens nursing mothers.—Most of the
governors of the nations of Europe have been pro-
(1) Isaiah liii. 10—12.
(2) Compare Isaiah lxxi. 5, and Malachi iii. 1—3, with Mat-
thew x. 16—18, and 1 Corinthians iv. 9.
(3) Compare Isaiah lxii. 2; lxv. 15, with Acts xi. 26.
(4) Compare Psalm ii. 2; ex. 5, 6; Luke xxiii. 8—12. See
the History of the Church for the first three centuries.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 221
tectors of the cause of Christ now for many cen-
turies. (')
103. It was upon a great variety of occasions pre-
dieted, that Messiah should enlighten the Gentile
nations with the knowledge of the true God.—Jesus
Christ gave particular commandment to his apostles,
no longer to confine their ministrations to the Jews,
as he had done during his life-time; but " go out
into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every
creature." (2)
104. Messiah was to " destroy the covering of the
face, which was cast over all people, and the vail
which was spread over all nations."—When Jesus
Christ appeared, he, by his word, spirit, and apostles,
enlightened the minds of men, and effected a most
surprising change in all the nations where his Gos-
pel was received. (3)
105. To Messiah every knee was to bow, every
tongue to swear, and every heart to submit.—The
whole Christian world, professedly at least, pay this
obedience to Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of souls,
and to no other being whatever. And in due time
all opposing power shall be everlastingly annihi-
lated. (4)
106. It was predicted, that all the enemies of
Messiah should be ashamed and confounded.—Jesus
Christ has already made an awful example of his
enemies the Jews; first in the destruction of their
(1) Isaiah xlix. 23; lx. 3.
(2) Compare Isaiah lx. with Mark xvi. 15.
(3) Compare Isaiah xxv. 6—8; Acts ii. 1—11; xxvi. 17, 18.
(4) Compare Psalm ex. 1; Isaiah xlv. 25 \ 1 Corinthians
xv, 24—28; and Pliilippians ii. 10, 11.
222
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
city and temple; secondly, in their present disper-
sion; and, in the proper season, every opposing
power shall be brought into subjection. (')
107. It was predicted, that Messiah would make
a great and visible difference between his believing
and unbelieving countrymen.—When the Romans
besieged Jerusalem, near two millions of unbeliev-
ing Jews perished, while every single believer fled
out of the city, and escaped in safety to the moun-
tains. (2)
108. Messiah was to appear in the world at the
consummation of the ages, to raise mankind from
the dead, and judge the human race in righteous-
ness.—Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life,
shall appear again at the close of nature, and decide
the final fates both of men and angels. (3)
109. Messiah was to destroy death itself, triumph
over the grave, and create new heavens and a new
earth, wherein should dwell universal righteousness.
—Jesus Christ is he who alone is equal to the mighty
undertaking, and is divinely appointed to that
office. (4)
(1) Compare Psalm ii. 9; ex. 1 ; Isaiah xlv. 24; liv. 17;
lx. 12; with Matthew xxiv. 2 Thess. i. 7—9; and the History
of the Jews.
(2) Compare Malachi 3d and 4th chapters, with the History
of that remarkable siege.
(3) Compare Job xix. 23—27; Isaiah xxv. 8; Daniel xii. 1
—3; Hosea xiii. 14; Micah ii. 13; Matthew xxv. 31—46;
John xi. 25; Acts xvii. 30, 31; 1 Corinthians vi. 3; 2 Co-
rinthians v. 10.
(4) Compare Hosea xiii. 14; Isaiah Ixv. 17 ; lxvi. 22; 1 Co-
rinthians xv. 54, 55; Revelations xx. 14; xxi. 4.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 223
This is a concise view of the predictions contained
in the Old Testament, concerning the nature, birth,
life, doctrine, suffering, death, resurrection, ascen-
sion, and kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. There can be no doubt respecting the pri-
ority of the predictions to the birth of Christ, be-
cause it is well known by every person, who is at all
conversant in these matters, that the Old Testament
was translated out of the Hebrew into the Greek
language, and dispersed over the world, many years
before Christ came ; and that the latest of the pre-
dictions was upwards of three centuries before the
birth of the Redeemer of mankind. Such a variety
of circumstances, therefore, predicted concerning
one man, so many years before he was born, of so
extraordinary a nature, and under such convulsions
and revolutions of civil governments, all accom-
plished in Christ, and in no other person that ever
appeared in the world, point him out with irresist-
ible evidence, as the Saviour of mankind. I call
upon, and challenge the most hardened infidel in
Christendom to refute the conclusion.
But to render the investigation more simple, and
to bring the inquiry into a narrower compass, let
any man, who is sceptically inclined, take the fifty-
second and fifty-third chapters of Isaiah, and com-
pare them seriously with the twenty-sixth and
twenty-seventh chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel,
and then let him deny that Jesus Christ is the true
Messiah, if he can. Rochester, and many others,
have made the experiment, and found it the power
of God unto the conviction of their minds, and the
salvation of their souls. That all these extremely
224
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
minute circumstances of time, place, character, and
the like, should concentre in Christ, and in no other
person that ever appeared in human nature, is truly
remarkable, and absolutely demonstrative of his
Messiahship. Indeed, that he should be born at
such a time, in such a place, and under circum-
stances of poverty; that he should suffer, and be
opposed by those who were strangers to his cha-
racter, and be finally put to an ignominious death;
these things were all common to him, with many
more of our fellow-creatures. But, that he should
profess to be the Saviour of mankind—that he should
be described as one who was to come—be born un-
der the fourth monarchy—while the second temple
was yet standing—before the dominion of the Jews
was entirely taken away—in a time of profound and
universal peace—when there was a general expecta-
tion of some extraordinary person: that he should
have existed with God before the foundations of the
world were laid—been the companion of the Almighty
—been sprung from the Deity by an ineffable genera-
tion—been the Son of God—the Son of Man—be-
gotten of a pure virgin by divine energy, and not by
carnal copulation—that he should be the Son of
Abraham—Isaac—Jacob—Judah—Jesse—David—
born in mean condition—yet having an illustrious
herald preceding him—in the spirit of Elijah, preach-
ing, not in Jerusalem, but in the wilderness—and
successful in his office: that he should be born in
Bethlehem—go down into Egypt—be a preacher of
the Gospel—exercise his ministry in Galilee—in the
neighbourhood of Zebulon and Naphtali—yet be the
proprietor of the temple in Jerusalem; that he should
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 225
be emphatically the servant of God, whose name is
the Branch—a Plant of Renown—the Messenger of
the Covenant—a Prophet—a Priest; not of the tribe
of Levi and after the order of Aaron, but after the
order of Melchizedec—a King—a Righteous King—
the Prince of Peace—having a universal and ever-
lasting kingdom: that he should be the Sun of
Righteousness—the Just—the Just One—Immanuel
—the Shepherd—Jehovah our Righteousness—the
Lion of the tribe of Judah: that he should be
anointed, not with oil, to his offices, but with the
Holy Ghost: that he should be of a most meek,
patient, and humble disposition—teaching mankind
the doctrines of salvation, without pomp and noise—
endowed with a peculiar degree of wisdom and un-
derstanding—and speaking the most healing words
to tender minds and afflicted consciences—changing
thereby all the powers of the soul: that he should
confirm the reality of his mission and the divinity
of his doctrine by a variety of benevolent miracles
—and yet that the principal persons among his
countrymen should not submit to his pretensions :
be the chief corner stone of his church—and, not-
withstanding, rejected by the builders—though em-
braced by many of the common people: that he
should be despised and rejected of men, a man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief—seen riding in
humble triumph into the capital of his kingdom—the
people crying, Hosanna to the Son of David: that
his zeal for the honour of God should transport him
almost to excess: that he should be betrayed by a
friend—sold for thirty pieces of silver: that these
pieces should be thrown down in the Temple—and
Q
226
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
applied to the purchase of a potter's field: that he
should be condemned in judgment—forsaken by all
his friends in his greatest need—finish his public
office in three years and a half—be ignominiously
scourged—smitten on the face—befouled with spittle
—wounded in his hands, by his friends—marred and
disfigured in his countenance—patient and silent
under all his ill treatment—suspended with wicked
men—buried in the tomb of a rich man—put to
death exactly at the end of 490 years from a parti-
cular period—presented with vinegar and gall—
wounded in his hands and feet—laughed to scorn
under his sufferings: that his garments should be
parted among his keepers: that lots should be cast
for his seamless vesture: under all his distresses
that not a bone of his body should be broken : that
his side should be pierced: that he should make
intercession for transgressors—be cut off, though
innocent: that a fountain should be opened to wash
away sin—atonement made for the iniquities of the
world ; in the last of Daniel's 70 weeks—the old
covenant abolished—a new one introduced—the
blood of Messiah being the seal of the covenant:
that though he should be buried, he should not see
corruption—but be raised from the grave on the
third day: that he should bring from the dead
some tokens of his victory—ascend into heaven,
attended with angels—take his place at the right
hand of God—and send down the Spirit upon his
followers: that the Gospel should be first preached
in Jerusalem—multitudes converted to the faith—
great persecutions endured by those who embraced
it—the Jews rejected—and the Church called by a
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 227
new name: that the Gospel should be generally
opposed by the kings and governors of the world—
yet after some time they should become favourable,
and give it encouragement: that the Gentile na-
tions should be enlightened and called: that every
soul should submit to Messiah—those who reject
him being confounded—and those who embrace him
being protected: that he should finally be the judge
of the world—destroy death—and crown his faithful
people with everlasting joy: that all these things
should be predicted of some one person, several
hundreds, or even some thousand years asunder
from each other; and that they should all receive
accomplishment in Jesus Christ, without any one
exempt case, and in no other person that ever ap-
peared upon earth; if under such circumstances
Jesus Christ were not the person intended in the
divine councils, and the Messiah whom all the pro-
phets were inspired to predict, it would be one of
the greatest of miracles. Prophecy would be of no
use. All evidence would be rendered precarious,
and mankind left to roam at large, without any
satisfactory guide to direct their steps, in pursuit of
truth and salvation. I think, then, we may say, with
unshaken confidence, in the words of St. Philip to
Nathaniel: "We have found him, of whom Moses
in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of
Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
But, if we turn from these prophecies to those
which more immediately respect the condition of the
Christian Church in these latter days, we shall find
they also are extremely remarkable, and absolutely
conclusive for the divine authority of the Sacred
Writings.
228
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, invaded the
land of Israel about 600 years before the birth of
Christ, and carried into captivity a considerable
number of the inhabitants of the country. Among
others led captive, were Daniel and his three com-
panions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. In
the second year of his reign, he had a remarkable
dream, which made a strong impression upon his
mind, but which he was not able to recollect. He
sent for all the wise men of Babylon, and however
unreasonable the injunction, insisted that they should
make known his dream, together with the interpre-
tation thereof, upon pain of death. After some
time, the king's determination was revealed unto
Daniel. He requested a little respite might be
allowed him, before the decree should be put in ex-
ecution. This being granted, he went to his three
religious companions, and desired them to join with
him in fasting and prayer, to entreat the Lord to
discover unto him the king's dream, and the inter-
pretation thereof. The Lord was entreated of Daniel
and his three friends, and the whole matter, from
first to last, was revealed unto him, to the full satis-
faction, and even astonishment of the king. The
introduction to the dream is extremely beautiful.
See Dan. ii. 1—30. The dream is this : Dan. ii. 31
—35. The interpretation runs thus: Dan. ii. 37—
45. The king was so affected with the wonderful
manifestation of his inmost thoughts, that he was
quite overcome, forgot his own dignity, and fell into
an act of idolatry. Dan. ii. 46—49. (')
(1) Let the reader take his Bible, turn to the several passages,
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 229
The dream is so distinct, the interpretation of it
so satisfactory, and the whole so perfectly conform-
able to the history of the world, as far as the several
ages have hitherto proceeded, that no thoughtful man
can help being exceedingly struck with the accuracy
of the divine foreknowledge.
The dream itself was the figure of an image in
the form of a man, made principally of metal, but
yet the metal was of ditferent kinds. The head was
of gold. This was an emblematical representation
of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire over
which he presided. The breast and the arms of the
image were of silver. This was an emblematical
representation of the empire of Persia, which was to
subvert and succeed the Babylonian. Nebuchad-
nezzar was, at that time, the most powerful monarch
in all the earth, and made Babylon the capital of his
kingdom, the wonder of the world. Within sixty
years, however, the empire was overturned, and
Babylon itself taken by Cyrus the Great, afterwards
king of Persia. The belly and thighs of the image
were of brass. This represented a third empire
which was to succeed the Babylonian and Persian.
Accordingly, about 200 years after the establishment
of the Persian empire, Alexander, king of Mace-
donia, a small state in the upper part of Greece,
marched against Darius, king of Persia, defeated him
in three pitched battles, and totally subverted the
second of the four empires. The Grecian then
became the third. The fourth was represented by
and consider them well, before he proceeds to the observations
which follow.
230
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
the legs of iron, and feet part of iron and part of
clay. This is the Roman; for it was these people
who subdued the four successors of Alexander, and
reduced their kingdoms into Roman provinces, and
particularly Greece and Macedonia, which were
subdued by them 130 years after the conquest of
Persia by Alexander the Great, and 200 years before
the birth of Christ. The Roman empire then was the
fourth and the last. It was represented in this image
by iron legs, and feet of iron and clay. " Thou
sawest," says Daniel to the king, " till that a stone
was cut out without hands, which smote the image
upon his feet, that were of iron and clay, and brake
them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the
brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces
together, and became like the chaff of the summer
threshing floors; and the wind carried them away,
that no place was found for them: and the stone,
that smote the image, became a great mountain, and
filled the whole earth."
The four empires were all to be destroyed, and a
fifth was to succeed, which was to be different from
all that had gone before. The fourth too was to be
unlike the three former in several respects. The
image had iron legs. This implied, that the empire,
represented by them, was to be more powerful than
any of those which had gone before. But then the
feet and toes of the image were part of iron and
part of clay. This was to denote, that the latter ages
of the Roman empire were partly strong and partly
weak. The ten toes too, upon the feet of the image,
were designed to represent ten kingdoms into which
the Roman empire was to be divided, just as the two
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 231
feet of a human creature are split into ten ramifi-
cations. This is expressed by the prophet in the
manner following: "Whereas thou sawest the feet
and toes, part of potter's clay and part of iron: the
kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of
the strength of the iron; forasmuch as thou sawest
the iron mixed with miry clay ; so the kingdom shall
be partly strong and partly broken. And whereas
thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall
mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they
shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not
mixed with clay." The meaning of which seems to
be, the rulers of the ten kingdoms, into which the
Roman empire will be divided, shall form marriages,
alliances, and contracts one with another, from time
to time, for supporting each other's interests: but
none of their schemes and alliances for obtaining
universal empire shall stand. They shall all be
broken and come to nought. No universal empire
shall ever exist upon earth again, till the spiritual
empire of Jesus Christ, over the hearts, minds, souls,
consciences, and lives of men takes place. Jesus,
notwithstanding all opposition, shall be a universal
monarch, and the only universal monarch, who shall
ever exist again.
It is not, however, expressly asserted in the pro-
phecy before us, that the Roman empire should be
split into ten kingdoms. It is only said the kingdom
shall be divided. But though it is not asserted in so
many words, it is strongly intimated by the ten toes
of the two feet of the image. And the whole is more
fully explained in Daniel's vision, recorded in the
seventh chapter, where the beast, which is symbolical
232
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
of the Roman empire, is represented with ten horns,
as here the image with ten toes. And, indeed, it is
necessary to the full understanding of this dream of
Nebuchadnezzar, that we should compare it with the
vision of Daniel, which signifies the same thing under
different images, with some additional circumstances.
This vision of Daniel was near fifty years after the
dream of Nebuchadnezzar. The first part of the
vision is in Dan. vii. 1—8.
After this, the prophet had a representation of the
everlasting Father of the Universe, with his eternal
Son, the blessed Jesus, passing sentence upon the
little horn in these verses. A horn is a symbolical
representation of government, power, dominion.
The government signified by this little horn was to
be utterly destroyed, and Jesus is to erect his uni-
versal empire upon the ruins of it. See Dan.
vii. 9—.14. This is the same glorious and uni-
versal kingdom of Messiah, which is described in
Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Compare Dan. ii. 35
—44.
When Daniel had beheld the judgment of the
little horn, he did not understand the meaning of it.
He was, therefore, greatly troubled, and very desi-
rous of knowing what the whole signified. After a
little time, he took courage, and went up to one of
the glorious Beings, who stood by, to inquire.
Whereupon, the happy Spirit, that was in the train
of Messiah, laid open to Daniel the outlines of the
whole history of the corruptions of the Christian
Church—their rise—their progress—their amazing
enormity—their subversion—and their total demo-
lition. See Dan. vii. 15—28.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 233
These are wonderful predictions^1) in which we are
all most nearly concerned; because the awful times
of which they speak, we have reason to believe, are
just at hand; and none of us know how soon we
may be involved in the distresses which are here
foretold. The Roman empire, we have seen, was to
be broken up, and divided into ten kingdoms.
Sometime, soon after the formation of these ten
kingdoms, which are denominated horns, there was
to arise one little horn, one small dominion, under-
neath, or from behind three of the ten horns, or
kingdoms, into which the empire should be divided. »
This little horn was to conquer and subdue three of
the ten horns, and to usurp their dominion. After
this, it was to go on and increase more and more
till it had obtained a peculiar kind of power and ju-
risdiction over all the seven other horns. This one
little horn, which was to become so great and pow-
erful, was also to grow proud, and vain, and cruel,
and bloody, and tyrannical, and idolatrous, and a
vile persecutor of the true servants of the living
God. This horribly bloody and tyrannical power
was to be aided and assisted in its cruelties towards
the genuine followers of the Lamb, by all the other
seven kingdoms, over which it had obtained an un-
bounded influence. This wicked and cruel domi-
(1) The reader will find these, and other predictions of Daniel,
ably explained by the late Bishop Newton, in his Dissertations
on the Prophecies. Few of our most able writers on the pro-
phecies, however, seem to me to have any idea that they apply,
to the Protestant establishments, as well as to the Catholic
kingdoms. All these things are against us, and we are usually
extremely backward to believe what we do not wish to be true.
234
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
nion was to continue a time and times and half a
time. A time here, in prophetic language, signifies
a Jewish year, which consisted of only 360 days.
The times then will signify twice 360 days; and
half a time will signify half of 360 days, or 180 days.
But a day, in the language of prophecy, is put for a
year. If, therefore, we add these numbers together,
they will be thrice 360 years, and 180 years, or
exactly 1,260 years, for the continuance of this
bloody and tyrannical power; at the end of which
period it is to be completely and everlastingly de-
stroyed.
Now let us look back and see whether all these
strange predictions of Daniel have ever been accom-
plished.
The Roman empire was to be destroyed: it was
so, in the fifth and sixth centuries. It was to be
divided into a number of small kingdoms; it was so
in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries. A
little horn was to arise, unperceived, and subdue
three of the ten horns. The Bishop of Rome, in a
sort of secret and imperceptible manner, did arise to
temporal dominion, and subdued, by the help of
Pepin, King of France, three of those ten states,
into which the empire had been divided; the senate
of Rome, the kingdom of Lombardy, and the ex-
archate of Ravenna; three governments all in Italy.
And it is extremely remarkable, that upon becoming
master of these three estates, the Bishop of Rome
assumed a triple crown, which he has worn ever
since, and which he continues to wear at this very
day !—This is wonderful!
Now the Bishop of Rome was to retain his power
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 235
over these three states, and his influence over the
seven other kingdoms 1,260 years. If we knew ex-
actly when to begin to reckon these years, we
should know precisely when the destruction of Anti-
christ should take place. (') Some begin to reckon
(1) The temporal power of the Pope is already gone : what
further remains to he done, a little more time, a few more fleet-
ing years, will show. How eventful is the present period !
[The Pope has been sadly cast down of late at the reduction of
his foreign, or rather political jurisdiction in Spain, where he so
long maintained his sway, after all the other governments of
Europe, Portugal not excepted, had renounced the fiction of his
dominion. In a document forwarded to his clergy in Spain, his
Holiness has declared all the proceedings of the Spanish govern-
ment, in reference to ecclesiastical affairs, " null and invalid."
The Pope's original address, called an allocution, which hears
date, Rome, the 1st Feb., 1836, was seized by the government, in
the archiepiscopal palace of Toledo, on occasion of the death of
the late archbishop. It is an important, though amusing, docu-
ment. Passed "in secret consistory,''it will proclaim the folly
and weakness of the Papal See to all Christendom, and render
the Pope's power to dictate, even to Catholic states, the laughing
stock of the civilized world. His Holiness, in utter despair of
controlling untoward events, has betaken himself to a course
which will prove harmless to every one but himself, and the
poor deluded beings who can imagine that it possesses any real
efficacy. He thus addresses his clergy, met in secret consis-
tory, and all others concerned : After denouncing the powers,
in ecclesiastical arrangement, church property,&c., assumed by
the Spanish authorities, he concludes in the following ridiculous
terms :"In the meantime; on the return of the solemn com-
memoration of that sacred day, on which the Virgin Mother of
God entered the temple, to place in it the only begotten Son of
the heavenly Father, the Angel of the Testament, the Peaceful
King, so long expected on earth, we vehemently exhort so many
of you as are here present, the sharers of our grief, to approach
236
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
from the year 606, when the proud prelate of Rome
was declared Universal Bishop. Others begin from
the year 666, the apocalyptic number; and others
from the year 756, when he became a temporal
prince. If the first period be right, then the Pope
of Rome, the undoubted Antichrist of the New Tes-
tament, will be completely destroyed, as a horn,
about the year 1866. If the second period be in-
tended by the spirit of prophecy, then his end will
be near the year 1926. But if the third period be
the time, then Antichrist will retain some part of
his dominion over the nations till about the year
2016.(1)
Most evident it is, that he is rapidly falling. There
her supplicatingly, and joining in prayer with us, implore her
aid in the afflictions of the Church, that through her, to whom
it belongs to destroy all heresies, our differences being removed
and our disturbances appeased, the Daughter of Sion, when
peace and tranquillity have been restored, may lay aside her
grief, may throw away her filthy rags, and clothe herself in the
raiment of rejoicing."
Two conclusions are equally deducible from the Pope's alio-
cution. 1. That his Holiness is as fond of political power in
the nineteenth century, as his predecessors were in the fourteenth
or fifteenth: and, 2. That the kings and governments of Chris-
tendom, have determined to manage their own affairs without his
help. Bulls and prayers to the Virgin may be multiplied by
thousands; but if the power to enforce them, and the disposition
to believe in them, have passed away, they will be regarded as
much as waste paper, or a Christmas carol.—Evangelical Ma-
gazine, March, 1836.]—Ed.
(1) The number of Bishops, whom we usually call Popes, who
have presided over the Romish Church from its first institution
by the apostles, is about two hundred and fifty or sixty; they
have, therefore, presided only about seven years apiece upon an
average.
and the sacred writings. 237
is a great deal, however, yet to be done. But,
" when God works who shall let ?" Much has been
already done, and all will be accomplished in due
time. " Not one word shall fall to the ground of
all that the Lord hath spoken."
Nay, not only shall Antichrist be overthrown, but
even Rome itself, the place and city where he hath
carried on his abominations for so many ages, shall
be everlastingly destroyed. The language of Scrip-
ture is extremely strong, and seems sufficiently clear
and precise. (')
Thus Daniel:—"I beheld then because of the
voice of the great words which the horn spake; I
beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body
destroyed and given to the burning flame." Thus
too St. Paul, where he is probably speaking of Anti-
christ:—"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking
vengeance on them that know not God, and that
obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ;
who shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory
of his power."—And again, in another place in the
same Epistle, where he is certainly and professedly
speaking of Antichrist, he saith:—" And then shall
that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall con-
sume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy
(1) It is granted, that all the passages upon this subject are
figurative and prophetic, and therefore must be interpreted with
caution ; but yet they seem so strong and precise that we cannot
well understand them in any more moderate sense. The reader
will compare them together and form his own judgment.
238
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
with the brightness of his coming."—Thus too St. John:
" The beast goeth into perdition."—Again: " Her
plagues shall be in one day, and she shall be utterly
burnt with fire."—" The kings of the earth shall be-
wail her, and lament for her, when they see the smoke
of her burning, standing afar off for fear of her tor-
ment, saying, Alas ! alas! that great city Babylon,
that mighty city, for in one hour is thy judgment
come."—" In one hour so great riches are come to
nought!"—" They shall see the smoke of her burn-
ing !"■—" And a mighty angel took up a stone like a
great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus
with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown
down, and shall be found no more at all. And the
voice of harpers, and musicians, and trumpeters,
shall be heard no more at all in thee. And no
craftsman, of whatever craft he be, shall be found
any more in thee ; and the sound of a millstone shall
be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a
candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the
voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be
heard no more at all in thee."—Immediately after
these words, all the inhabitants of heaven are repre-
sented as rejoicing and saying, Hallelujah! " And
her smoke rose up for ever and ever."
It will be allowed, that these are very strong ex-
pressions, and imply a punishment extremely severe.
It is remarkable too, that all the country about the
city of Rome, is a kind of bitumen or pitchy sub-
stance. And in the year of our Lord 80, a fire
burst out from beneath the ground, in the middle of
the city, and burnt four of the principal heathen
temples, with the sacred buildings of the Capitol.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 239
Italy, indeed, is a storehouse of fire. And when
the 1,260 years are expired, Rome itself, with all its
magnificence, will be absorbed in a lake of fire, sink
into the sea, and rise no more at all for ever.
It was this grand Antichristian apostacy, (') of
(1) Alexander Pope, Esq. though a Catholic, as is supposed,
to the day of his death, was convinced that the Church of Rome
had all the marks of that Antichristian power predicted in the
writings of the New Testament. And though he had not
courage to profess himself a Protestant, he was firmly per-
suaded of the truths of Christianity.—Ruffhead, p. 542.
[A general opinion of the infidel principles of Alexander
Pope, prevailed among the literati at that period of his life,
when his popularity was at the highest. His intercourse with
Bolingbroke countenanced the persuasion, and, without any
further proof, he was considered as ranking, if not with the
avowed, at least with subtle and secret enemies of Christianity.
This suspicion had reached the elegant retreat, in Ireland, of
one of his firmest friends and admirers, Mr. Henry Brooke, the
author of the " Fool of Quality." In a letter to Pope, in which he
has highly praised his original writings, as the most perfect pieces
of composition which had ever been produced" by any one man,"
he adds," I should not have presumed to express myself thus far
if it had not come in my way, as I was going to speak to you upon
a matter that is much nearer and dearer to me than even your
fame. I have often heard it insinuated, that you had too much
wit to he a man of religion, and too refined a taste to he that
trifling thing called a Christian. Those who spoke this, perhaps,
intended it to your praise; hut to me it was a cloud that inter-
cepted the brightness of your character."
The reply of Pope, is at once honourable to himself, and an
explicit denial of the charge. He says:—
"Bath, December 1, 1739.
" Dear Sir,—Yours came to me no more than two days since,
having been at Bath for some time on account of ill health: it
is impossible I should answer your letter any further than by a
240
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
which we have been speaking, that St. Paul unques-
tionably alludes to in 2 Thes. ii. 1—12 ; in 1 Tim.
iv. 1—3; and in 2 Tim. iii. 1—5. St. John speaks
of the same thing, 1 John ii. 18, 22; and in the
book of Revelation he hath described the abomina-
tions of the Church of Rome at considerable length,
but in language highly figurative-C) If we will be
sincere avowal that I do not deserve the tenth part of what you
say of me as a writer; hut as a man I will not, nay, I ought not,
in gratitude to Him to whom I owe whatever I am, and whatever
I can confess, to his glory, I will not say I deny that you think
no better of me than I deserve ; I sincerely worship God, believe
in his revelation, resign to his dispensations,love all hiscreatures,
am in charity with all denominations of Christians, however
violently they treat each other; and detest none so much as
that profligate race who would loosen the bands of morality,
either under the pretence of religion or free-thinking. I hate no
man as a man, but I hate vice in any man : I hate no sect, hut
I hate uncharitableness in any sect. This much I say, merely
in compliance with your desire, that I should say something of
myself.''—"Your accidental mention of the ill use some infidels
would be glad to make of my writings, makes me send you a
book just published by a person utterly a stranger to me, though
not to my meaning, in which he has perfectly explained me, in
vindication of the Essay on Man, from the aspersions and mis-
takes of Mr. Crowsaz.* It shall come to you by post in one or
two parcels, franked, and I believe will be some satisfaction to
you and others upon that head.
" Yours, in truth and affection,
" Alexander Pope."]—Ed.
(1) The seven seals in this hieroglyphical book refer to Rome in
her Pagan state; the seven trumpets to the Roman empire in its
Christian state; and the seven vials to the same Roman empire,
broken into ten kingdoms, in its Popish and Antichristian state.
* The writer of this answer to Crowsaz was Mr. afterwards Bishop War-
burton: this reply gave rise to his rank in the Church.—See Brookiana,
vol. ii. pp. 12,14.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 241
at the pains to lay all these predictions together, and
compare them with those of Daniel, before men-
tioned, we cannot fail seeing to whom all the charac-
ters belong, and how awful the destruction is, which
awaits this mother of abominations.
" But what is all this to us ? Have we not long
ago renounced the errors and delusions of the Church
of Rome, and declared ourselves professors of the
genuine doctrines of the Redeemer of mankind ?
May we not expect, therefore, to be delivered from
those judgments, which have already fallen upon
France and other countries, and which shall assuredly
fall on all the antichristian states in Europe, which
formerly made a part of the Roman empire ? "
The ten (') kingdoms, before spoken of, we know,
are all to fall, at the end of the said 1260 years, from
the time they owned the dominion of the little horn.
Now England is universally allowed to be one of the
ten. If we begin to reckon the 1260 years from the
time when Gregory the Great, Pope of Rome, sent
over Austin, and his companions, to preach the Gos-
pel to our idolatrous ancestors, there are a few years
yet to expire, before our doom shall be sealed in the
courts above.(2) The French can have no power
(1) These ten kingdoms began to take their rise about the year
of our Lord 450, and proceeded more and more towards perma-
nency for many years. The revolutions and convulsions of
those ages were horribly cruel, bloody, and distressing.
(2) There is some reason, from the present appearance of
things, to suppose, that the 1260 prophetical years must he
calculated from a period somewhat earlier than the commence-
ment of the seventh century. The year of our Lord 538 accords
with the downfal of the Pope's temporal dominion, A. D. 1798.
R
242
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
against us till the commission is signed by the Go-
vernor of the World. The times and the seasons He
hath reserved in His own hand. Nations do not rise
and fall by chance.
" But is there no possibility of preventing or avoid-
ing the universal subversion awaiting both us and all
the other kingdoms of Europe, which constituted
parts of the ancient empire ? "
There seems to be one way, (L) and but one, in
the nature of things. And what may that be ? I
am sorry to say it is one, which is by no means
likely to take place. It is a thorough reformation,
both in theory and practice, in Church and State ; a
general reformation in the moral and religious con-
duct of the inhabitants of this country. For these
purposes, must not religion be reduced to Gospel
purity and simplicity ? (2) must not the Church be
(1)1 am led to think there is still a possibility of averting our
unhappy doom, from the case of Nineveh in Jonah; and that of
Jerusalem in Jeremiah, particularly ch. xxvi. 1—8. It were
happy for us, if the possibility amounted to a probability. Com-
pare Jer. xviii. 1—10. Our safety by no means depends upon
our more frequent repetition of pharisaical forms, and super-
stitious ceremonies, hut upon correcting what is amiss in our
morals, and unevangelical in our doctrines and ecclesiastical
constitution. Was not the present Pope of Rome dethroned at
the very moment he was surrounded by his cardinals, and cele-
hrating his own exaltation to the Papal chair ? Was there ever
a more worthy and religious Pope than his present Holiness ?
Were the ancient Jews ever more strictly and superstitiously
religious, than when they crucified the Lord of Glory ! or than
when their temple and nation were destroyed \
(2) Consult Dr. Hartley, in his Observations on Man, for a
more particular account of the fall of the establishments in
Christendom. Our ecclesiastical governors would do well to
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 243
totally unconnected with, and separate from, the
civil constitution ? This is the opinion of some re-
spectable men. Must not our bishops and clergy be
weigh seriously what that learned physician hath said upon
this subject, while yet there is time. See Part 2. Prop. 82.—But
what can we expect from men who are surrounded with worldly
honours, entitled to a vast patronage of livings, and tempted
with near 100,000 pounds a year, to let things continue as they
are ? He must be almost more than man, whose virtue rises
above such seducements. Tillotson, Burnet, and others, will
complain all is not right; will profess they wish things to be
altered; but how seldom do we find a bishop or dignified cler-
gyman, who believes the Scriptures so firmly, as to renounce all
the riches and honours of this world, and to walk according to
the unadulterated Gospel of the Saviour of mankind ? When
a man is made a D.D. does not the spirit of a D.D. usually
come upon him? and when a bishop, the spirit of a bishop?
Though he had been ever so eager for the removal of abuses
before, does he not usually endeavour to lull conscience to rest,
and even become an advocate for the continuance of things in
their present state ? To be sure he has much to lose, and little to
gain, by any change that can take place ; and " a bird in the
hand is worth two in the bush." When a man has subscribed
an indefinite number of times to a set of propositions, some of
which he doubts, and others of which he disbelieves, it is a
thousand to one, but he goes on to the end of the chapter, and
sinks at last into eternal perdition, as abase prevaricator with
God and conscience. If, in such a case, we can be in a state
of safety for eternity, I am clearly of opinion, religion is all a
farce, and it is of little consequence, with respect to the future
world, whether we be Christians or heathens, Jews or Maho-
me tans.—"God requireth truth in the inward parts !"
It should seem, that the civil part of the British constitution
is also capable of considerable improvement. Every thing of
both kinds, however, might easily be accomplished by the en-
lightened endeavours of our present legislature. Do not the
criminal laws of the country likewise stand in need of revisal ?
Let any man judge of the truth of this, when it is considered
244
a plea for religion
reduced to the scriptural standard? Jesus Christ left
sole King in his own Church ? and human ordinances,
in things sacred, give way to divine prescriptions?
Without these great moral and religious changes,
can we expect to be preserved from the general
wreck of Europe ? And whether these changes are
likely to take place among us, let any cool and im-
partial observer judge. Should not our learned
bishops and clergy see to these things, and zealously
attempt a reformation in themselves, in the ecclesias-
that we have upwards of 160 offences punishable with death.
The jurisprudence also of the country seems to want reform
in a variety of respects. The court of Chancery, in particular,
is enormously tedious and expensive. Do not other depart-
ments of the law too, need much reform ? In the county of
Middlesex alone, in the year 1793, the number of bailable
writs and executions for debts, from ten to twenty pounds,
amounted to no less than 5,712, and the aggregate amount of
the debts sued for, to 81,791 pounds. The costs of these
actions, although made up and not defended at all, would
amount to 68,728 pounds; and, if defended, the aggregate
expense to recover 81,791 pounds, must be no less than 285,920
pounds ! being considerably more than three times the amount
of the debt sued for or defended. At present the rule is to al-
low the same costs for forty shillings as for 10,000 pounds.
Why are these abuses permitted to continue ? Is not the case
but too clear j In short, the whole head is sick, and the whole
heart faint: from the sole of the foot even unto the head there
is no soundness among us. The bishops play into the hands
of the clergy; the lawyers into the hands of the attornies; the
physicians into the hands of the apothecaries,&c. &c. &c., thus
the world goes round. There is more truth in Mr. Pope's ob-
servation than at first appeal's; that " an honest man's the
noblest work of God.''—Vide Treatise on the Police of London.
[Improvements have since been made in the civil practice of
the law, and the penal code greatly ameliorated. See Ad-
denda.]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 245
tical part of the constitution of the country, and
among the great body of the people ? Should they
not universally " cry aloud and not spare; and sound
the trumpet in God's holy mountain ? " Should we
not all set ourselves in good earnest to stem the tor-
rent of iniquity, which overflows these happy lands,
and threatens to involve us in one general calamity ?
The time is come. God hath sent forth the sword
among the nations, and it is Reformation or Ruina-
tion.(') Without this it may be declared by the
(I) It is not enough that such men as Porteus, Barrington,
Watson, Horsley, Paley, and others, should contend in favour
of the Gospel of Christ, while they themselves are, hy their con-
duct, the grand supporters of our ecclesiastical hierarchy, with
all its corruptions. If they wish effectually to serve their coun-
try, and the cause of humanity, they should apply their rare
abilities, to reduce the national religion to the pure standard of
the Gospel. But what can we expect, when men's eyes are
blinded, and their hearts bribed, by worldly honours and prefer-
ments ? Abundance of persons in the Church of Rome have
seen, and do now see, the abuses and corruptions of that Church;
Father Paul, for instance, in the last age, Dr. Geddes and
Mr. Berington in the present—but they cannot prevail upon
themselves to quit their stations. Rev. xiv. 9—11 should be
consulted. So some persons with us have long seen the abuses
and unevangelical traits of our own Church, and yet they make
themselves easy, by writing in defence of the immortal cause of
Christianity, while the vessel in which they themselves are em-
barked, is in danger of being dashed against the rocks. If one
man has a right to prevaricate, and subscribe what he does not
believe, why has not another ? Though of a sentiment in re-
ligion very different, I must say, that Lindsey, Jebb, Ham-
mond, Disney, and others, who have sacrificed their prefer-
ment to the peace of their own minds, are honourable men, de-
serving of all praise. But can we say the same of those cler-
246
A FLEA FOR RELIGION
authority of the Word of the Lord, that as soon as
ever the predicted 1260 years are accomplished, we
gymen, who go on subscribing and swearing to various parti-
cular propositions, which they well know or believe to be wrong }
There is some reason to suppose Mr. Chillingworth's conduct
has had a considerable effect in reconciling the clergy to sub-
scribe to doctrines, which they avowedly do not believe. For
this great man declared, in a letter to Dr. Sheldon, that, " If he
subscribed, he subscribed his own damnation," and yet, in no
long space of time, he actually did subscribe to the Articles of
the Church again and again! " Lord! what is man ? "•—Vide
Biog. Brit, by Kippis, vol. iii. p. 516.
The salvo by which he and some other clergymen, highly
respectable, get over their scruples, is to subscribe the Thirty-
Nine Ar ticles as articles and terms of peace. This, however,
appears to me a shameful evasion, and inconsistent with com-
mon honesty. At this rate, a man in Italy, may subscribe Pope
Pius's Creed; in Turkey, the Koran of Mahomet; or in a
Jewish government, the Talmud of the Rabbins.
Since the above was written, I have been struck with a si-
milar sentiment in the first part of Mr. Paine's Age of Reason ;
and here at least I have the pleasure of agreeing with that cele-
brated Deist, though we differ to to ccelo upon almost every
thing where the Sacred Writings are concerned: " It is impos-
sible,'' says he, very justly, " to calculate the moral mischief, if
I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society.
When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity
of his mind, as to subscribe his professional belief of things he
does not believe, be has prepared himself for the commission of
every other crime. He takes up the trade of a priest for the
sake of gain, and in order to qualify himself for that trade, he
begins with a perjury. Can we conceive any thing more de-
structive to morality than this?"
This subject is considered in a very serious point of view by
Bishop Burnet, in his " Pastoral Care," 3d edit. pp. 96—99,only
he applies it to our declaring we are moved by the Holy Ghost
to preach the Gospel.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 247
shall be "swept with the besom of destruction." For
thus saith the infallible oracle:—" Then was the
iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold,
broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff
A certain respectable clergyman of our Church, whose writings
on some subjects have few equals, hath said," If any one asks
what the expressions in Scripture, ' regenerate'—' born of the
Spirit'—'new creature,' mean?—we answer, that they mean
nothing ! nothing to us!—nothing to be found, or sought for,
in the present circumstances of Christianity.''—This gentleman
well knows, that these declarations of his are extremely differ-
ent from the doctrines of the Church of England, and yet, since
he published these sentiments, he has subscribed more than once,
and, as far as appears, would subscribe again and again, if two
or three more good preferments should fall in his way.
My indignation compels me to say, that a body of clergy of
that description—however learned, ingenious, and worthy they
may be in other respects—deserve extirpating from the face of
the earth; and, if there be a judgment to come, our doom will
be uncommonly severe. The Scripture declares, " all liars
shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and
brimstone." And what more solemn lie can there be, than
subscribing our names, that we believe a number of proposi-
tions, which in our consciences we judge to be false ? unless it
be that other declaration, we " trust we are moved by the Holy
Ghost to preach the Gospel," when we do not believe that there
is any Holy Ghost, but laugh at every pretension of the sort, as
Methodism and enthusiasm ? If " the Lord is a God of know-
ledge by whom actions are weighed,'' we prevaricating parsons
shall have a sad account to give another day. We may keep
up our heads a few years now, while in possession of two or
three good livings, and the world smiles upon us, but the day
of darkness is at no great distance, when nothing but integrity
and conscious uprightness will stand us in any stead. If once
the clergy become generally prevaricators with their solemn
subscriptions, the fate of the English Church is determined.
248
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
of the summer thrashing floors, and the wind carried
them away, that no place was found for themThe
four empires and ten kingdoms, as they are now
constituted, shall, along with the whore of Babylon,
be swept from the face of the earth, and be known
no more at all, in their present forms. And what
shall be the issue? Afflictive as the change may
be, the end shall prove glorious. " In the days of
these kings shall the God of heaven set up a king-
dom, which shall never be destroyed, and the king-
dom shall not be left to other people, but it shall
break in pieces, and consume all these kingdoms, and
it shall stand for ever." All people, nations, and
languages, shall serve the Redeemer of mankind in
the true spirit and power of his religion. " His do-
minion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not
pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed. The kingdom and dominion, and the
greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven,
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most
High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey him."—" Then
shall the wolf dwell with the lamb, and the leopard
shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the
young lion, and the fatling, together, and a little
child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear
shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together,
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the
sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and
the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice-
den." The followers of Jesus shall never hurt or
destroy one another again, but "shall beat their
swords into plough-shares; and their spears into
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
249
pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more; for
the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea." (')
" But still, it is not easy to discern why a Protes-
tant nation should share the common fate of the Ca-
tholic countries, even upon the principles of the pro-
phetic Scriptures?"
Possibly :—But have you reflected upon the fate
of Holland, Geneva, and the reformed Cantons of
Switzerland? They were wholly Protestant, and
made their boast of being more pure than most other
Churches of the reformed religion; and yet they
have undergone the same changes as the Catholic
states, though with infinitely less blood and slaughter.
And I strongly suspect, that though the Pope (°) and
(1) The reader may consult and compare other prophecies of
a similar kind with the above; particularly Isaiah ii. 1—5, and
Micah, iv. 1—5.
(2) The Pope of Rome may be, and probably is, a worthy and
respectable private character. There have been many such in
a course of ages. But, because he is at the head of the great
apostacy from the genuine Gospel of Christ, he shall go into
perdition, let his own moral conduct be what it may. So the
late king of France was a worthy man, and had many and con-
siderable virtues; yet because he was at the head of one of the
ten antichristian kingdoms which gave its power to the support
of the Beast; and because the 1260 prophetical years in that
kingdom were expired, he went into perdition, in a manner the
most afflictive that can be conceived. King George too, is a
most worthy character, and his successors, we trust, will be the
same, but unless there shall be piety and wisdom enough in the
government of the country, civil and religious, to reform radi-
cally the constitution, and render it consistent with the true
250
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
the Church of Rome may be, and certainly are, at
the head of the grand 1260 years' delusion, yet all
other Churches, of whatever denomination, whether
established, or tolerated, or persecuted, which par-
take of the same spirit, or have instituted doctrines
and ceremonies inimical to the pure and unadulter-
ated Gospel of Christ, shall sooner or later share in
the fate of that immense fabric of human ordinances.
That we have various things in our ecclesiastical
establishment, which cannot be defended, upon the
pure principles of the Son of God, seems to many
unquestionable. Our excellent Reformers (2) did
spirit of Divine Revelation, there is reason to tremble for the
consequence. Private worth, it is evident from a thousand ex-
amples, will never protect public and general depravity, from
the punishment due, and the destruction denounced. All that
can be said for it is, that the fate of a nation may, for a season,
be suspended, till the Noahs, the Daniels, the Jobs, and the Jo-
siahs, are taken out of the way.
Consult the pamphlet entitled " Reform or Ruin," for some
useful hints. That pamphlet, however, though containing va-
luable matter, as far as it goes, leaves the constitutional defects
of the country untouched, and seems to take for granted all is
there pretty near as it should be.
[It is somewhat singular that the author should no where
have noticed the celebrated work of Mr. Fleming. That this
gentleman should, in so remarkable and express a manner, have
foretold the year of the French Revolution, and the extreme de-
gradation of the French monarchy, is surely a circumstance de-
serving of great attention. His whole work is interesting, but
it is much to be hoped that his conjecture respecting the general
prevalence of Popery is not equally well founded. The modestv
and piety of the performance cany with them a great recom-
mendation.]—Ed .
(2) It has been the opinion of many disinterested persons, that
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 251
great things, considering how they had been edn-
cated, and the age in which they lived. They were
good men, and proceeded, in their regenerating work,
much further than might have been expected ; but
their successors have not followed the noble example
set before them, of reducing the religious establish-
ment of the country to primitive purity and evange-
lical simplicity. (l) We have been contented to
several of our Church appendages are not only unnecessary hut
pernicious. Archbishop Cranmer, in particular, speaks in strong
terms against some, which he was obliged, from the necessity of
circumstances, to retain. In a letter to Lord Cromwell, he says :
" Having had experience, both in times past, and also in our
days, how the sect of prebendaries have not only spent their
time in much idleness, and their substance in superfluous belly-
cheer, I think it not to he a convenient state or degree to he.
maintained and established. Considering, first, that commonly
a prebendary is neither a learner, nor a teacher, but a good
viander. Then by the same name, they look to be chief, and to
bear all the whole rule and pre-eminence in the college where
they be resident; by means whereof, the younger, of their
own nature given more to pleasure, good cheer, and pastime,
than to abstinence, study, and learning, shall easily be brought
from their books to follow the appetite and example of the same
prebendaries, being their heads and rulers. And the state of
the prebendaries hath been so excessively abused, that when
learned men have been admitted into such room,many times they
have desisted from their good and godly studies, and all other
virtuous exercise of preaching and teaching."—Monthly Maga-
zine for May, 1798.
(1) " There are many prophecies which declare the fall of
the ecclesiastical powers of the Christian world. And though
each Church seems to flatter itself with the hopes of being ex-
empted, yet it is very plain, that the prophetical characters he-
long to all. They have all left the true, pure, simple religion;
and' teach for doctrines the commandments of men.' They are all
252
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
suffer our religious constitution, our doctrines, and
ceremonies, and forms of public worship, to remain
nearly in the same unpurged, adulterated, and super-
stitious state, in which the original reformers left
merchants of the earth, and hare set up a kingdom of this world,
abounding in riches, temporal power, and external pomp. They
have all a dogmatizing spirit, and persecute such as do not re-
ceive their own mark, and worship the image which they have
set up. It is very true, that the Church of Rome is ' Babylon
the Great, and the mother of harlots, and of the abominations of
the earthbut all the rest have copied her example."—Hart-
ley's Observations on Man, p. 2, s. 82.
Be it observed, that Hartley was no Dissenter, but a most
serious, learned, and candid Churchman; and wrote near fifty
[now, nearly eighty] years ago.
If my memory does not fail me, Dr. Downham, some time
since Bishop of Deny, in Ireland, reckoned up 600 gross errors
in the system of Popery.
If any person will seriously consider the low and superstitious
state of the minds of men in general, in the time of James I.
much more in the reigns of his predecessors, he will not be sur-
prised to find, that there are various matters in our ecclesiastical
constitution, which require some alteration. Our forefathers
did great things, and we cannot be sufficiently thankful for their
labours; but much more remains to be done; and it will be
found a task of no ordinary difficulty, peaceably and quietly to
reduce things to a pure evangelical state. This never can be
done indeed, but by a strong concurrence of providential cir-
cumstances. The approbation of his Majesty, with a majority
in the two Houses of Parliament, might easily effect every thing
that is desirable. This would render a reformation practicable,
without danger to the throne. But it should seem, that, with
danger, or without danger, the prophecies of Daniel being true,
such a change must take place, sooner or later. This power of
reforming whatever is amiss, is one of the peculiar excellencies
of the British constitution.—Consult Simpson's " Key to the
Prophecies," in a note on the last sheet, for some thoughts on
this subject.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
253
them.(') At least, the alterations which have been
made since Edward YI.'s time have been few and in-
considerable. And the very last improvements
which took place in our ecclesiastical frame of things
were in the reign of that haughty, persecuting, wa-
vering, and yet tyrannical bigot James I. who would
bear no contradiction, (2) but establish every thing
just according to his own pleasure.(3)
(1) Cranmer, Bucer, Jewel, and others, never considered the
reformation which took place in their own time as complete.
They did what they could, and what the humours of men would
then bear, and left to their successors to accomplish what was
still lacking. Vide Neal's " History of the Puritans,'' vol. i. ch.
1 and 2, where evidence for these assertions is produced at some
length. And now that I have mentioned this work, I beg leave
to recommend it in the warmest terms, as containing abundance
of the most important and authentic information concerning the
history of the English Chinches, from the time of the Reforma-
tion, in the reign of Henry VIII. to the Revolution under
William III. in the year 1688. The last edition, enlarged by
Dr. Toulmin, is by far the best. No clergyman of the esta-
blishment should be without these valuable volumes. It is the
interest of truth alone which we should wish to advance.
(2) This is not, strictly speaking, true. There were some
few useful alterations and additions made in our public forms of
worship during the reign of Charles II.
(3) Vide the Conference at Hampton-Court for the overbear-
ing conduct of this pedantic king, and the fulsome flattery of
court bishops. Several persons, moreover, were put to death, in
this reign for their religious opinions. Is not this one of the in-
fallible marks of the beast!
The next serious effort for reformation in our Church, was
soon after the Restoration. Charles II. behaved handsomely at
first upon the occasion: but acting under the control of a num-
ber of bigotted and high-priestly bishops, whose minds were
still sore with resentment, he afterwards forfeited all his merit,
as the guardian of religious liberty, and became a vile and cruel
254
a plea for religion
Indeed, to many well-informed persons, it seems
extremely questionable, whether the religion of
Jesus Christ admits of any civil establishment at all.
They rather suppose, it is inconsistent with the very
nature of it, and that it was never designed to be
incorporated with any secular institution whatever^1)
Certain it is, that it made its way at first, not only
persecutor. Is not this, too, an indubitable mark of the beast ?
After this, again, a very serious attempt was made to remove
the things objected to in our Church, soon after the Revolution,
under the auspices of those excellent men, Tillotson, Patrick,
Tennison, Kidder, Stillingfleet, Burnet, and others: but being
opposed by a large number of old-wifely bishops, all their
efforts came to nothing. They had been accustomed to read
mumpsimus all their lives, and mumpsimus it should be, they
were determined; and the two houses of Parliament were dis-
posed to acquiesce in their papistical and superstitious views.
We shall rarely have again, at one time, such a constellation of
learned, pious, and liberal-minded bishops as then adorned the
English Church.
(1) It is a remarkable fact, lately brought to light, that the
immense empire of China, which is said to contain 333 millions
of inhabitants, has no established religion. And, in the opinion
of many, the Gospel of Jesus Christ will never have its full and
proper effect upon mankind, till it is completely disentangled
from every human institution. Leave it to itself; let it have
fair play; clog it not with civil pains and penalties ; let it stand
or fall by its own intrinsic worth; let neither kings nor bishops
lay their officious hands upon it; and then see how it will make
its way amongst men. The greatest possible motive, by which
man can be animated, is, the salvation of his own soul. If this
will not move us, nothing else will he of any avail. These are
the sentiments of some very sensible and well-informed persons :
whether they are right in this respect, I leave others to judge.
To me there seems some weight in them.
[Accounts of the population of China differ. Neuhoff states it
to be 230 millions, and Sir G. Staunton 333 millions. According
to Mr. Crawfurd, the latest authority, it is 142,293,731.]—Ed-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 255
without human aid, but even in opposition to all
laws, both civil and religious, which then prevailed
in the Roman empire. This was the state of it for
upwards of 300 years. It seems too, to be the inten-
tion of Divine Providence to reduce it again to the
same simple and unconnected state. America hath
set the example. France, Italy, Holland, and Swit-
zerland are going the same way, and it is highly pro-
bable that all the other states in Europe will, in due
time, follow the same steps. As things now are in
this country, the religion of Jesus Christ, which was
not only " not to be of this world," (l) but in direct
opposition to it, (2) is certainly in a great degree, a
temporal, worldly, civil institution. At least it is a
strange mixture of things, secular and religious. (3)
(1) See John xviii. 36, 37, where Christ claims a kingdom.
(2) Compare Matt. v. 3—12, where he asserts the nature of
that kingdom, and the qualifications of his subjects.
(3) One of our English poets, who was even a bigot of the
Church, hath expressed himself on this subject in the manner
following :
" Inventions added in a fatal hour,
Human appendages of pomp and power,
Whatever shines in outward grandeur great,
I give it up—a creature of the State.
Wide of the Church, as hell from heaven is wide,
The blaze of riches, and the glare of pride,
The vain desire to be entitled Lord,
The worldly kingdom, and the princely sword.
But should the bold usurping spirit dare
Still higher climb, and sit in Moses' chair,
Power o'er my faith and conscience to maintain,
Shall I submit and suffer it to reign ?
Call it the Church, and darkness put for light,
Falsehood with truth confound, and wrong with right i
256
a plea for religion
It is nearly as much so, as it is in the Catholic
countries.
As to the king or queen of any country, as the
case is, being head of the Church, and having the
appointment of bishops, and the nomination to
Church livings, it is conceived by many to be utterly
inconsistent with the very essence of the evangelical
No : I dispute the evil's haughty claim,
The Spirit of the World be still its name,
Whatever call'd by man, 'tis purely evil,
Tis Babel, Antichrist, and Pope, and Devil."
It is a curious circumstance in the history of religion in the
present day, that while light and knowledge, and liberality of
sentiment, are rapidly diffusing themselves among mankind, a
respectable clergyman should be found among us, w ho cuts off
from salvation most of the foreign Protestant churches, and
the whole body of Dissenters of every description in this
country, but by the uncovenanted mercies of God. This is a
most serious and important consideration. Yet this hath been
done by Mr. Daubeny, in his Guide to the Church ; and seem-
ingly too with the full approbation of the editor of the British
Critic. It certainly is incumbent upon Dissenters of all deno-
minations to consider well what this learned gentleman has
advanced, and either to refute the force of his arguments, or
conform to the established religion of the country. Sir Richard
Hill, in his Apology for Brotherly Love, has given such an
answer to Mr. Daubeny's Guide, as that gentleman will not
be easily able to refute. If the doctrine of the Guide is right,
I do not see how we can be fairly justified in leaving the
Church of Rome. The capital mistake of the whole seems to
be, a substitution of the Church of England for the Church of
Christ, exactly in the same manner as the Catholics substitute
the Church of Rome for the Church of Christ.
[See the masterly review of this author's writings in the
Christian Observer.]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 257
dispensation, and the unalienable rights of mankind.
They will tell us, that neither his Majesty—whom
God preserve!—nor the Lord Chancellor, nor his
Majesty's ministers, have, or can have, any concern
in the government of the Church, or the appointment
of officers in it, or to it, directly or indirectly, ac-
cording to the spirit of the Gospel, but only in their
private capacities, as individual members of the
Church. No man upon earth, as it seems to them,
is entitled to any such power. They scruple not to
say, it is one of the very worst traits of Popery, and
an infallible criterion of an anti-christian assuming.
Matt. xx. 20—28. and xxiii. 1—12, are usually re-
ferred to upon this occasion.
As the law now stands in this country, the King is
absolute head of the Church, and the fountain of all
ecclesiastical power; but, so far as the patronage of
benefices goes, this is more nominal than real; for in
truth there are as many heads as there are patrons of
livings. A drunken, swearing, libertine Lord Chan-
cellor, who is living in open fornication or adultery,
contrary to every law, human and divine, if such
chance to be his character, as sometimes is the case,
has the appointment to a large number of livings.
A corrupt, vile, unbelieving, immoral, wicked Minis-
ter of State, if such happens to be his character, has
the nomination to abundance of others. A Roman
Catholic, or some of the most immoral of the nobility
and gentry of the land, very frequently have the pa-
tronage of others. In not a few instances ladies have
the presentation to church preferments. These are
all virtually and substantially so many heads of the
Church ; while the king or queen is only nominally
s
258
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and partially so. This is surely a lamentable state of
things. Can any man wonder at the spread of in-
fidelity and irreligion ? Can we justly expect other
than the downfall of such a system of corrupt
worldly policy? It is well known how harsh and
disagreeable these melancholy truths will sound in
the ears of interested men, and men who swallow
every thing as gospel, to which they have been long
accustomed ; but I affirm it with all possible serious-
ness, again and again, that as I understand the Scrip-
tures, a radical reform, and the removal of all these
secular circumstances alone, can save us, for any
length of time, from national distress. I refer our
bishops—and beg they will seriously consider the
awful declaration—to Dan. ii. 35—44, before men-
tioned. Is not the time for its accomplishment fast
approaching, and near at hand ?
I have spoken above of the patronage of Church
livings. Some of my readers may be in a great
degree strangers to the state of it. I have taken
some pains to inform myself upon the subject, and I
find that it stands nearly in the following propor-
tions. I speak generally, but yet accurately enough
for the purposes of common information. It is well
known, then, that the Church livings of England and
Wales make together, speaking in round numbers,
about ten thousand. Of these near a thousand are
in the gift of the king. It is customary, however,
for the Lord Chancellor to present to all the livings
under the value of twenty pounds in the king's book,
and for the Ministers of State to present to all the
rest. Those under twenty pounds are about 780,
and those above, near 180. Upwards of 1,200
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 259
pieces of Church preferment, of different sizes and
descriptions, are in the gift of the 26 bishops ; more
than 600 in the presentation of the two universities;
about 1,000 in the gift of the several cathedrals and
other clerical institutions; about 5,000 livings are in
the nomination of the nobility and gentry of the
land, men, women, and children ; and 50 or 60 there
may be of a description different from any of the
above, and nearer to the propriety of things. These
are all so many heads of the Church, in a very strong
sense of the words, the king or queen of the coun-
try being a kind of arch-head.^) Moreover, the
bishops of the establishment are, contrary to all an-
cient usage, chosen by the civil power, the clergy
and people over whom they are to preside not having
the least negative upon their election. When they
are chosen too, they take their seats in the upper
house of parliament, and act in most respects like
unto the temporal lords. I will not say, that this
may not be good human policy, supposing the king-
dom of Christ to be a mere worldly sovereignty;
but it appears to me utterly inconsistent with the
(1) Bishop Jewel, in a letter dated May 22, 1559, writes
" that the queen (Elizabeth) refused to be called head of the
Church;" and adds, "that title could not he justly given to
any mortal, it being due only to Christ; and that such titles
had been so much abused by Antichrist, that they ought not
to he any longer continued.''—Bishop Burnet's Travels, lett. i.
p. 52.
Cardinal Wolsey, under Henry VIII. was head of the Eng.
lish Church, and one of the greatest tyrants over the con-
sciences of men that ever existed. Blessed be God for the
Reformation! and the present liberty we enjoy !
S 2
260
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
spirituality of our Saviour's empire, and has had for
many ages a most unhappy effect upon the interests
of his religion in the world. (*) Their emoluments
are of such a nature, their worldly engagements so
numerous, and the temptations to the pleasures,
honours, and amusements of life so strong, that their
minds become secularized, and they lose all lively
relish for the peculiar duties of ministers of the Gos-
pel; which they, therefore, very generally, commit to
the inferior orders of the clergy. They are nearly
as much officers of the crown as the judges and ma-
gistrates of the land. They are chosen by the civil
power, they are virtually paid by the civil power,
they are amenable to the civil power alone, the clergy
and people not possessing the least control. And
then as to the titles by which they are designated,
they appear to carry the most indisputable marks of
the anti-christian apostacy. His Grace the Most
Reverend Father in God, William, by divine Pro-
vidence, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury!—The
Right Reverend Father in God, John, by divine per-
mission, Lord Bishop of London !—What is there in
the titles of the Pope of Rome,(!) that is more mag-
(1) If the Gospel of Christ gave encouragement to such a
state of tilings as this, much as I now admire it, I would reject
all its pretensions, as a divine scheme, with indignation. I do
not wonder that the world abounds with infidels and infidelity !
What pity, however, men will not distinguish between the use
of the Gospel, and the abuse of it! between the Gospel itself,
and the additions which have been made to it by interested
men!
%
(2) Mr. Paine, speaking of the Reformation, says, sensibly
enough, " A multiplicity of national Popes grew out of the
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
261
nificent than the sound of these words ? How un-
like is all this to the spirit of the Gospel, and the
character and conduct of the lowly Saviour of man-
kind? Matt. xi. 28—30, xxiii. 1—12. How much
calculated are such high sounding titles to swell the
pride of frail mortals? Popes, and bishops, and
parsons, are made of like stuff with other men !(1)
And then, what shall we say to the secular and
lukewarm condition of the generality of the clergy
of the land ? — to the patronage of the benefices
before mentioned ?—to the common and abominable
sale of livings?—to our simoniacal contracts?—to our
downfall of the Pope of Christendom." r4nd I add, Rome itself
scarce ever had a more bloody, libidinous, and detestable head
of the Church than was Henry VIII., the self-created Pope of
our own ecclesiastical constitution. Show me a worse man
among all that abhorred race, or a more consummate tyrant
over the consciences of men.
(1) [" A good and honest bishop (I thank God there are
many who deserve that character!) ought to suspect himself
and carefully to watch his own heart He is all of a sudden
elevated from being a tutor, dining at an early hour with his
pupil, to be a spiritual Lord; he is dressed in a magnificent
dress, decorated with a title, flattered by chaplains, and sur-
rounded by little people looking up for the things which he has
to give away; and this often happens to a man who has had
no opportunities of seeing the world, whose parents were in very
humble life, and who has given up all his thoughts to the frogs
of Aristophanes, and the targum of Onkelos. How is it pos-
sible that such a man should not lose his head 1 that he should
not swell! that he should not be guilty of a thousand follies,
and worry and teaze to death (before he recovers his common
sense) a hundred men as good, and as wise, and as able as
himself?''—Rev. Sydney Smith's Letter to Archdeacon Sin-
yleton, on the Ecclesiastical Commission, 1837.]—Ed.
262
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
sinecures, pluralities, non-residences ? (')—to our
declaring we are moved by the Holy Ghost to preach
the Gospel, when we are moved' by nothing more
than a desire to obtain a good living; and, perhaps,
(1) The curates of our Church, in many cases, are as cul-
pable, with respect to non-residence, as the bishops, and rec-
tors, and vicars. In my own neighbourhood, and mostly in
my own parish, we have upwards of twelve chapels, where
there is no resident clergyman. It is much the same in other
parts of the kingdom.
The reader will find several of these defects of the Church of
England touched upon by Burnet, in the Conclusion of the
History of his Own Times.—I add:
My Lord S—h has got a mistress, of whom he is grown weary.
On condition the Rev. A. B. will marry her and make her an
honest woman, he shall be rector of such a living in the gift of
his lordship.
The living of C—h is in the gift of Mr. G—t; he has a
daughter; if the Rev Ch. P—s will marry her, he shall be
presented to the Church.
Mr. G—n has a son, who is neither fit for law, physic, or
the army. He has such a living in his patronage. This rip of
a son shall be trained to the Church, and be the incumbent of
the family rectory.
My Lord D—n has got four sons; one shall enjoy the title
and estate; another shall go into the army, and be made a
general; another shall go to sea, and become an admiral; the
fourth shall be trained to the Church, and be promoted to a
bishopric.
Sir P—r P—r has in his gift a rectory, of the value of
2,000 pounds a year. The Rev. G. W. agrees to give him
five thousand pounds in hand, and five hundred a-year for ten
years.
In this manner are daily bartered the souls of men, like
sheep in a market!—Is it probable that such a state of things
should be maintained for many ages or years longer ? Surely
the legislature of the country ought to take these abuses into
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 263
even deny that there is any Holy Ghost ?—to our
reading one species of doctrines in the desk, and
preaching directly opposite in the pulpit?
Abundance of persons, moreover, object to seve-
ral things in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion—to
several things in the Book of Homilies—and, above
all, to the imposition of subscription to any human
creeds and explications of doctrines whatever. (')
consideration, and endeavour to remove them. If there be a
God, who judgeth the earth, he cannot look upon such abomi-
nations with indifference. Abuses of a similar kind have
brought destruction upon other countries; and shall England
alone be permitted thus to play the devil, and no notice taken
of us by the moral Governor of the World? Such things are
indefensible, and make one blush for the Church in which it
is possible they should take place.
The valuable preferments in our Church are almost univer-
sally obtained by money or by interest; merit having little or
nothing to do in the business. There are, however, several
exceptions to this general rule, under the government of his
present Majesty. But my indignation constrains me to add, that
Maurice, the present worthy author of Indian Antiquities, &c.
&c.—oh shame to a venal age!—is left to starve upon a dis-
tant and laborious curacy of fifty pounds a year. See his own
account in the History of Hindostan, vol. i. p. 119,120. quarto.
" Ye bards of Britain, break the useless lyre,
And rend, disdainful, your detested lays!
Who now shall dare to letter'd fame aspire,
Devotes to penury his hapless days."
See Maurice's fine Elegiac Poem on the Death of Sir William
Jones.
(1) It may be further observed, that subscription to the
Thirty-Nine Articles hath kept many a good man out of the
.Church, but not many bad ones.
" The requiring subscription to the Thirty-Nine Articles,"
Bishop Burnet says," is a great imposition."
I remember an anecdote concerning the famous William
264
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
No man, or set of men, upon earth, as it seems to
them, has a right to demand any such thing of a
fellow Christian.
Can any thing in the whole absurd system of
Popery be more improper, than to make every young
man, without exception, subscribe, when he becomes
a member of either of our English universities, he
believes from his soul, ex annuo, that every thing
contained in the Articles, Homilies, Common Prayer,
and Offices of Ordination, is agreeable to the Word
of God ? (') When, in all ordinary cases, he has
never seriously and attentively read either one or the
other of them? How is it likely, that a boy, raw
from school, should be competent to such a task?
And if he is to subscribe upon the faith of others, on
the same principle he may subscribe to the Mass-
book, the Koran, or any other book whatever.
Whiston and Lord Chancellor King, which is not foreign to
our purpose. Whiston being one day in discourse with the
Chancellor, who was brought up a Dissenter at Exeter, but had
conformed, a debate arose about signing articles which men do
not believe, for the sake of preferment. This the Chancellor
openly justified, " Because," said he, " we must not lose our
usefulness for scruples." Whiston, who was quite of an
opposite opinion, asked his lordship, " If in his court they
allowed of such prevarication ?" He answered, " We do not."
" Then," said Whiston, " suppose God Almighty should be as
just in the next world, as my Lord Chancellor is in this, where
are we then }"
(1) This assertion is not accurate. Some alterations took
place, in this respect, at Cambridge, upwards of twenty years
ago. But in Oxford, subscription continues as it was, I be-
lieve, to this day. Every person there, who has attained the
age of twelve years, subscribes to the Articles of Faith and Re-
ligion when he is matriculated.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
265
After a careful examination, I, for my own part,
am constrained to object, pede el manu, to several
things in the 141st Canon, and consider the require-
ment, on oath, of canonical obedience to the bishop
of the diocese where we officiate, as one of the most
detestable instances of anti-christian imposition that
ever was exercised over a body of clergy.(') And
yet, after we have got our education, at a consider-
able expense, possibly at the expense of our whole
fortune, we must take this abhorred oath, or re-
nounce the profession to which we have been trained,
after our fortune, with which we should have begun
business, is gone, and the proper time of life expired.
These things ought not so to be.(2) Let it be observed,
(1) The 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 27th,
28th, 29th, 38th, 58th, 72nd, 139th 140th, and 141st Canons,
are most of them peculiarly objectionable. Prior to experience,
it would appear highly incredible, that conscientious and liberal-
minded clergymen should be able to swear such kind of obe-
dience. The good Lord pardon his servants, for we surely
consider not what we do !
Let any man seriously read and soberly consider these seve-
ral Canons, and then judge of their tendency. They contain
the very worst part of Popery, that is, a spirit of infallibility.
They proceed, at least upon the infallibility of our own Church;
while we disavow that infallibility, and condemn the pretension
in the Church of Rome.
(2) [" There are many bishops too generous, too humane, and
too Christian, to oppress a poor clergyman; but I have seen
(1 am sorry to say) many grievous instances of partiality,
rudeness, and oppression. I have seen clergymen treated by
bishops with a violence and contempt which the lowest servant
in the bishop's establishment, would not have endured for a
single moment; and if there is a helpless, friendless, wretched
being in the community, it is a poor clergyman in the country,
266
a plea for religion
however, that this is not the fault of the bishops, but
of the Constitution. It is one of the existing laws
of the establishment, and cannot be dispensed with,
with a large family. If there is an object of compassion, he is
one. If there is any occasion in life, where a great man should
lay aside his office, and put on those kind looks, and use those
kind words, which raise the humble from the dust, these are the
occasions when those best parts of the Christian character ought
to be displayed. I would instance the unlimited power which
a bishop possesses over a curate, as a Tery unfair degree of
power for any man to possess. Take the following dialogue,
which represents a real event
Bishop. Sir, I understand you frequent the meetings of the
Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts.
Curate. Yes, my Lord, I do.
Bishop. Sir, I tell you plainly, if you continue to do so, I
shall silence you from preaching in my diocese.
Curate. My Lord, I am very sorry to incur your indignation;
hut I frequent that Society upon principle, because I think it
eminently serviceable to the cause of the Gospel.
Bishop. Sir, I do not enter into your reasons; hut tell you
plainly, if you continue to go there, you shall be silenced.
The young man did go, and was silenced; and as bishops
have always a great deal of clever machinery at work, of
testimonials and bene-decessits, and always a lawyer at their
elbow, under the name of a secretary, a curate excluded from
one diocese is excluded from all. His remedy is an appeal to
the archbishop from the bishop; his worldy goods, however,
amount to ten pounds; he never was in London; he dreads
such a tribunal as an archbishop—he thinks perhaps in time
the bishop may be softened—if he is compelled to restore him,
the enmity will be immortal. It would be just as rational to
give to a frog or a rabbit, upon which the physician is about
to experiment, an appeal to the Zoological Society, as to give
to a country curate, an appeal to the archbishop against his pur-
pie oppressor."—Bev. Sydney Smith's Letter to Archdeacon
Singleton.]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 267
as things now stand; and the bishops are as much
bound to administer the oath, as we are to take it.
Moreover, there are not a few persons, again, who
object to some things in the Baptismal office—in
the office of Confirmation(')—in the office for the
Sick—in the Communion office — in the Ordina-
tion office—in the Burial office (2)—in the Common
(1) [It is worthy of observation, that since the time of the
author of this work, many, in the bosom of the Church of
England, have urged serious objections against various parts
of her system and services. Thus, in his Essay on Regene-
ration, it is remarked by the Rev. Thomas Scott, late of Aston
Sandford: " The fathers, as they are called, i. e., the teachers of
the Christian Church, during some ages after the death of (he
apostles, soon began to speak on this subject in unscriptural
language: and our pious reformers, from an undue regard to
them, and to the circumstances of the times, have retained a few
expressions in the liturgy, which not only are inconsistent with
their other doctrine, but also tend to perplex men's minds, and
mislead their judgment on this important subject."
In a circular drawn up by a member of the Church of
England, and which is reported to have been sent to the Arch-
bishops of Canterbury and York, to the Bishops, to the Duke
of Wellington, and Sir Robert Peel, and to several of the heads
of houses at Oxford and Cambridge, it is enquired:—" Is not
the sponsorial part of the baptismal service a mere fragment of
popery, without the shadow of a foundation in the Holy Scrip-
tures ? Are not multitudes of young people brought to the rite
of confirmation, merely that they may renew the solemn farce,
which was performed by their sponsors at baptism, and that
they may take a vow which they never intend to fulfill"]—Ed.
(2) [The Rev. John Riland, A.M. Curate of Yoxhall,
Staffordshire, in a work entitled " Antichrist, Papal, Protestant,
and Infidel," speaking of the present objectionable form of the
burial service, says, " If one of my parishioners should be killed
this evening in a drunken quarrel, I shall be compelled, in
a few days, verbally to include my own gratitude to God, with
268
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Prayer (x)—in the Litany—in Athanasius's Creed—
in the Calendar—in our Cathedral worship—in our
that of the drunkard's family and friends, in these words:—
' We give Thee hearty thanks, for that it hath pleased Thee
to deliver this our brother, out of the miseries of this sinful
world; beseeching Thee that it may please Thee of Thy gracious
goodness, shortly to accomplish the number of Thine elect.'
But, in point of fact, I am astounded at the terrible reality,
that the man was cut off in a moment, in the very act of sin;
that he was hurried away from the miseries and guilt of a wicked
life, into miseries still greater; that he died without the possi-
bility of repentance; and I found, on such a death, a prayer
that God would complete the number of his elect!"]—Ed.
(1) The celebrated Hoadly, Bishop of Bangor, used to say,
" our liturgical forms ought to be revised and amended, only for
our own sakes, though there were no Dissenters in the land."
[In a volume by the Rev. Robert Cox, A. M., Perpetual
Curate of Stonehouse, North Devon, entitled, " The Liturgy
Revised," the writer remarks, " Notwithstanding, however, the
peculiar excellency of our liturgy, it is not without imperfections,
and those too of a description not easily to escape observ ation;
but of so conspicuous a character, as immediately to arrest the
attention, and, at the same time, of so indefensible a nature,
that the warmest admirers of our Church have been unanimous
in regretting their existence."—pp. 4, 5.
"A cursory reference to the rubrics, will convince us that
many of them are vague, defective, or even contradictory; that
some are inapplicable to modern times; that others, without
sufficient reason, are so universally abandoned, that the re-
sumption of them would excite considerable offence; whereas,
others again, though cogent reasons might be assigned for their
disuse, have, from some unaccountable prejudice, been so
rigorously observed, that the least deviation from them would
subject the clergyman to the disapprobation of his hearers, and
the ecclesiastical censures of his diocesan."—p. 176.
In his " British Liturgy," Mr. Riland, remarks,"These incon-
sistencies refer to the indiscriminate and gregarious manner in
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 209
Spiritual CourtsC)—in the management of our Briefs
which the members of a national church—gathering, as a matter
of course, within its fold the very dregs and refuse of mankind,
both socially and spiritually—are addressed in our services.
All sponsers are believers; all the baptized are regenerate; all
the confirmed, forgiven; all the catechumens, elect; all kings,
religious; all the dead, subjects of thankfulness; to the total
oblivion of the present and eternal distinction between the saved
and the lost."
" What do we gain by the party spirit of the preface to the
liturgy?—the ill-selection of proper lessons,epistles, and gospels;
the retention of legendary names and allusions in the calendar;
the selection of the apocrypha, and the omission of the apoca-
lypse; the mention of feasts and fasts never observed; the
repetition of the pater noster, kyrie eleison, and gloria patri;
the wearisome length of services; the redundance and assump-
tions in the state prayers; the unsatisfactoriness of the three
creeds ; the disputable character of the baptismal and the burial
offices; the incompleteness and dubious construction of the
catechism, and of the order of confirmation; the inapplicable
nature and absolution of the visitation of the sick ; the imper-
fectionof the commination service; the discordance between the
prayer-book and bible translations of the psalms; the contu-
melious and offensive language of the state services; and added
to all these sources of weakness, similar causes of inefficiency
in the articles and homilies."—Riland, p. 209.]—Ed.
(1) Every bishop in England and Ireland has a court of this
description; and the less true religion prevails in any diocese,
the greater and more frequent are the abuses of these courts.
Bishop Burnet, who was well acquainted with these matters,
says: " As for the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, it has been the
burden of my life to see how it was administered: our courts
are managed under the rules of the canon law, dilatory and
expensive—and as their constitution is bad, so the business in
them is small; and therefore all possible contrivances are used
to make the most of those causes that come before them: so
that they are universally dreaded and hated."—Conclusion of
the History of his Own Times.
270
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
—in the Test and Corporation Acts (')—in our
Tithe Laws.(2) There are some, again, who earnestly
[Oil March 12th, 1835, the Attorney-General moved for leave
to bring in a bill to consolidate some 300 or 400 ecclesiastical
courts, which are dispersed all over the country, and which are
incompetent to perform those functions of justice which have
been assigned to them; and, to concentrate the jurisdiction
in ecclesiastical matters in one court, which was to he vested
with additional powers." After some considerable discussion,
however, on August 4th, the second reading was postponed for
three months, and consequently the measure was lost.]—Ed.
(1) [The author's mind was deeply affected by the Test and
Corporation Acts, which for some years have happily been
repealed; by Church Briefs, according to which enormous ex-
penses where incurred in the collection of comparatively a very
small sum, and that till within a very recent period, but which are
now no longer employed; and by the Oaths of Churchn-ardens,
which have just been somewhat modified ; but a concern to
substitute what was deemed more applicable to the present times
has led to his observations being, though most reluctantly, dis-
placed.]—Ed.
(2) See the article Tithe in Burn's Ecclesiastical Law;
whence it appears, that tithes were not paid in England till the
eighth century, and were then given to the clergy, by an act of
tyrannical power and usurpation, by two of our popish and
superstitious kings ; and, in one of the instances, as a commu-
tation for murder.
[It was in the year 786, that an assembly was held in the
presence of the legate of Pope Adrian I, in which the tithes
of the realm were, with great solemnity devoted to the Church.
Offa, to expiate the treacherous murder of a rival, taxed, not
only his own subjects, but all posterity too, as long as they shall
feel themselves bound by his deeds, to pay tithes.]—Ed.
[" One great measure which was carried in last session, was
a bill for the Commutation of Tithes in England. You have
long enjoyed the benefits of such a measure, and to this may he
mainly ascribed the flourishing state of agriculture in Scotland.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 271
deplore our total want of discipline, and our incom-
plete toleration—that our Church holds out other
terms of communion than the Scripture hath enjoined
—and that she is a mighty encourager of ambition
among the superior orders of the clergy, by the
several ranks, degrees, honours, and emoluments,
which prevail amongst us. They are firmly persua-
ded, that the people of every age and country have
an unalienable right to choose their own ministers ;
and that no king, no ruler, no bishop, no lord, no
gentleman, no man, or body of men, upon earth,
has any just claim whatever to dictate who shall ad-
minister to them in the concerns of their salvation:
or to say—You shall think this, believe that, worship
here, or abstain from worshipping there. (*)
In England the tithe system was an unspeakable burden—a tax
upon capital—an impediment to improvement—and a source
of perpetual bickering and ill blood between the pastor and his
parishioners; this is now abolished, and in its place has been
substituted a steady, annual, certain payment, productive neither
of disputes nor inconvenience."—Speech of Sir John Campbell,
the Attorney-General, at Edinburgh, October 17th, 1836.]—ed.
(1) [The following passage is taken from a tract lately
published, by the Hon. and Rev. B. W. Noel, A.M., entitled,
''The Unity of the Church."
" Another Christian, hearing in his life and character all the
marks of a child of God, wished to determine whether he should
join the Episcopalian section of the Church of Christ, or the
Presbyterian. He, too, examined Scripture, weighed the evidence
on both sides, conversed with upright and intelligent men in both
communions, and prayed to be directed right. After much de-
liberation, he became convinced that diocesan episcopacy has
no sanction in the Word of God, and that the orders and disci-
pline of the Presbyterian body, are most conformed to the usages
272
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
For much more than a thousand years, the Chris-
tian world was a stranger to religious liberty. Even
toleration was unknown till about a century ago.
The clergy, especially, have usually been unfriendly to
religious liberty. And when the Act of Toleration
was obtained in King William's time, great numbers
of them were much against it. It appears to me, how-
ever, that both the name and the thing are inconsist-
ent with the very nature of the Gospel of Christ. For,
have not I as much right to control you in your reli-
gious concerns, as you have to control me? To talk
of tolerating, implies an authority over me. Yet
who but Christ has any such authority ? He is a
tyrant, a very Pope, who pretends to any such thing.
—These matters will be better understood by and
by. The whole Christian world lay in darkness,
of the Church in the New Testament; that Presbyterian orders
are of divine appointment, and that it was the will of Christ
that he should he so ordained. With that opinion he became
a Presbyterian minister. Am I now to separate from his society I
how has he sinned? He was obliged to follow what seemed to
him the will of Christ. His conclusions were supported by the
decisions of several of the Protestant Churches. The Lutheran,
Swiss, French, Dutch, and Scotch Churches, the Church of the
Vaudois, and a large and pious section of the American Church,
were all on his side. While in favour of Episcopacy, besides
the Church of Home, the mother of harlots and abominations of
the earth, drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the
blood of the martyrs of Jesus (Rev. ch. xvii. ver. 5, 6.,) and the
eastern Churches, which are nearly as corrupt, he found only the
Church of England, and three or four small sections of the
Church of Christ elsewhere, who had retained diocesan episco-
pacy. Under these circumstances, am I to separate from him ?
Not to have examined the Scripture doctrine, would have been
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 273
upon this subject^1) we have observed, for many ages.
Dr. Owen was the first, I am acquainted with, who
wrote in favour of it, in the year 1646. Milton fol-
lowed him about the year 1658, in his " Treatise on
the Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes." And the
immortal Locke followed them both with his golden
" Treatise on Toleration," in 1689. But notwith-
standing these and many other works which have
since been written on the same subject, much still
sin; not to have followed the convictions of duty, to which the
examination led him, would have been sin. In fidelity to Christ,
he was obliged to act as he did; and if I separate from him, I do
it only because he did his duty."—pp. 11, 12.]—Ed.
(1) [In a "Letter to the Lord Chancellor, on the Evils of
our State Church, suggested by his late Remarks in the House
of Lords, by Sir Arthur Brooke Faulkner, Member of the Uni-
versifies of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin," it is said: " The
very sound of toleration is degrading—a brand upon the fore-
head of the age. States, in their omnipotence, may deem it a
favour to allow us to believe according to our consciences; but
let them recollect, that we derive this toleration from higher
authority. If we reflect on the toleration of past times, it is a
favour, no doubt, to be tolerated in the use of fresh air. To
the lover of church and state it may seem, for aught I know, of
the very essence of tolerance, to allow us to see gratis out of
both our eyes, while it is in the jurisdiction of the state to close
up half our windows; but will Englishmen of the nineteenth
century be likely to think in the same way }
" The high-churchman will say, these are flea-bites to the
superseded vexations of the papal regimen. But all arguments
for injustice, suffered in whatever mode or measure, for opinion,
are untenable. As man grows civilized, his impatience of such
things increases. A free-born spirit winces more at a word, or
a look, or a gesture, than a slave under the lash. Even the
Irish catholic, I could wager, stands a kick Horn the tithe-proctor
worse than before his emancipation."]—Ed.
T
274
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
remains to be done in this country. Locke s book has
not yet been generally read and understood. Though
we have had the honour of being among the first of
the nations which obtained a large portion of civil
and religious freedom, others are now taking the
lead of us, on the rights of conscience. And it does
not appear to many, that we ever can be a thoroughly
united and happy people, till every good subject
enjoys equal civil privileges, without any regard to
religious sects and opinions. If a man be a peace-
able industrious, moral, and religious person, and an
obedient subject to the civil government under which
he lives, let his religious views of things be what
they may, he seems to have a just claim to the en-
joyment of every office, privilege, and emolument of
that government. And till this is in fact the case, I
apprehend, there never can be a settled state of
things. There will be an eternal enmity between
the governing and the governed; an everlasting
struggle for superiority. But when every member
of society enjoys equal privileges with his fellow-
members, the bone of contention is removed, and
there is nothing for which they should any longer be
at enmity. Equal and impartial liberty, equal pri-
vileges and emoluments, are, or should be, the birth-
right of every member of civil society; and would
be the glory of any government to bestow upon all
its serious, religious, and morally acting citizens,
without any regard to the sect or party to which
they belong. Talents and integrity alone should be
the sine qua non to recommend any man to the 110-
tice of people in power. This, it should seem, would
make us an united and happy people.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
275
As we have been speaking on the subject of the
patronage of livings, it may be worth while still
further to observe, that the Bishop of enjoys
very considerable privileges of this nature, which
have, on a late occasion, been shamefully abused.
Not less than 130 presentations belong to him ! A
certain episcopal gentleman of that diocese, knowing
the extensive emoluments he was likely to be pos-
sessed of in this way, brought his son up to the
Church; and, when he came of proper age, bestowed
first one living upon him, and then another, as they
became vacant, to a very considerable amount, which
this son enjoys at this day. He is now one of our
dignified clergymen, and in possession of a very un-
reasonable number of valuable preferments, to most
of which he pays extremely little personal attention.
He takes care, however, to secure the fleece, the
devil may take the flock.—John x. 1—18.
Another son of Aaron, in a neighbouring district
which might be named, possesses preferments in the
Church, by the procurement of his episcopal father,
to the amount of £2000 a year. He has for a long
season been extremely attentive to his tithes; but
hardly ever man paid less attention to the salvation
of the souls of his people, and the sacred duties of
his office. Seldom, indeed, does he appear among
the former, less frequently still does he attend the
proper duties of the latter. Fifty or sixty pounds a
year(') he reluctantly pays to a journeyman parson, to
(1) According to the Report of the Commissioners, lately
presented to Parliament, the annual average of the Curates'
stipends, is £81.
T 2
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supply his own lack of service; but, like master like
man ; they are a miserable couple together; the one
is penurious, the other dissolute. What must the
condition of the flock be, under the care of two such
wretched shepherds ?
I will mention a third curious instance of clerical
sagacity. A certain rectory, not fifty miles from this
place, is said to be of the value of near £2000 a year.
A kind young lady, whose friends have sufficient in-
terest with the patron, falls in love with a wicked,
swearing, dashing officer in the army, arfd marries
him. That a comfortable maintenance may be se-
cured for the happy pair, it is agreed that the gentle-
man shall change the colour of his clothes, apply
himself to the attainment of a smattering of Latin
and Greek, and admit himself a member of one of
our famous universities. There he actually now is,
qualifying himself to take possession of the bouncing
benefice. The incumbent being dead, a pliable par-
son is put in for a time as a locum, tenens. And when
the quondam officer has obtained his proper creden-
tials, this worthy Levite must resign all his fat pigs
in favour of this son of Mars. The white-washed
officer will then come forward, and declare, in the
face of God and man, with a lie in his mouth, that
" he trusts he is moved by the Holy Ghost to preach
the Gospel."
If these were solitary instances of improper pro-
ceedings in Church matters, it would not be worth
while to notice them in this manner. But, alas ! they
are only specimens of what is by no means uncom-
mon, where valuable livings are concerned. Oh !
were the business of private patronage and presen-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 277
tation thoroughly investigated and laid before the
public, the picture would be highly disgusting to
every serious mind, and call for reformation with a
tone not easily to be resisted ! (])
(1) [In a most valuable pamphlet recently published, en-
titled, " Fundamental Reform of the Church Establishment,
by a Clergyman," it is said, "As long as the right of patronage
is unrestricted, the minister of the crown may nominate any
political adherent to a bishopric ; the political nominee of the
crown may appoint to the livings in his gift any clergyman
who may suit his fancy—the Lord Chancellor for the time being,
with any religious opinions, or none, may put whom he will, out
of above 12,000 clergy, into 800 crown livings. College livings
may he obtained by classical and mathematical learning—
sporting and gaming patrons may appoint to the livings in
their gift their companions in the chase or at the card-table—
and unscrupulous parents may enrich unprincipled sons with
their family preferments. With this system of patronage, what
reason have we to hope that any spiritual improvement of the
Establishment which may begin in one generation shall be
extended to the next ? At the very foundation of the Church
there is a permanent source of worldliness, which seems to secure
an endless succession of worldly ministers. Can we hope for
the continuance of the blessing of God, if this system remains
undisturbed?"—p. 26.]—Ed.
[In the preface to a pamphlet which has lately appeared,
entitled," The Church of England Identified, on the Authority
of her own Historians chiefly, with the Second Beast, as
described in the Book of Revelation, chap, xiii, ver. 11—-18,
by R. B. Sanderson, Esq., late Fellow of Oriel College and
formerly Secretary of Presentations to the Lord Chancellor,"
is the following passage:—
" It may be thought by some, perhaps, that the author has
been too severe in his strictures on the Church. On the con-
trary, however, he takes to himself considerable credit for his
forbearance in this particular, since it must be obvious to any
one at all acquainted with the subject, that, with the opportu-
278
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
It is remarkable, that the ecclesiastical and civil
parts of our constitution are, in some respects, in
opposition one to the other; for the former, in the
Book of Homilies, especially holds forth the doctrine
of passive obedience and non-resistance, while the
latter is founded, by the compact at the Revolution,
on the reciprocal rights of king and people. In
this respect, therefore, as well as in several others, a
reformation is highly desirable. Every clergyman
particularly should see and feel this, who is obliged
to subscribe, ex animo, that all and every thing
contained in the Book of Common Prayer, &c. is
agreeable to the Sacred Writings.
nities of observation he has had, first as Fellow of a College,
and afterwards as Secretary to one of the largest holders of
church preferment in the kingdom, he might have brought
forward many things not very favourable to the Church. He
might have pointed out, for instance, the very defective system
of education, to say the least of it, pursued at the Universities,
considered as places of religious instruction, where, if a man be
really religious, he must be so in spite of the place. He might
have enlarged, also, on the very exceptionable manner in which
the church patronage, especially that in the hands of the crown,
(one effect of the supremacy), is administered; that is to say,by
political persons, for purely political purposes. On each of these
topics he might have enlarged, if he had liked, and given much
new and interesting information to the public; but he has
abstained from both, and shall content himself with merely
stating, once for all, in this place, the result of the impression
made upon his own mind by all that he has seen—namely, that
the Church of England is, in its present constitution, a com-
pletely secular establishment, and conducted throughout, from
its very cradle in the university to its crown on the episcopal
bench, without any regard whatever to the spiritual advantage
of those for whose benefit it professes to have been originally
provided."]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 279
I add a second circumstance, which seems a hard-
ship to the enlightened and conscientious part of
the clergy. When we baptize children, we thank God
"that it hath pleased him to regenerate them with
the Holy Spirit, to receive them for his own children
by adoption, and to incorporate them into his Holy
Church." When the same children are presented to
the bishop for confirmation, he also addresses the
Divine Being as having "vouchsafed to regenerate
them by water and the Holy Ghost, and as having
given unto them the forgiveness of all their sins;"
while many of them are as vile young rogues as ever
existed. Then, when we come to bury them, we dare
do no other than send them all to heaven, though
many of those we commit to the earth have been as
wicked in life as men well can be on this side hell.
This surety is a great hardship. Yet we have no
remedy. We must do it, or forfeit our very means
of subsistence.
But what I mean to infer from this view of the
matter here, is, that if the doctrines of baptismal
regeneration and final perseverance be true, every
member of the Church of England is as sure of
heaven when he dies, as if he were already there.
I leave those whom it may concern to draw the na-
tural inference. How is this consistent with the 17th
Article of Religion?
There is another circumstance in our public offices,
which seems to me to affect the credit of our Church,
and the comfort of its ministers. The morning ser-
vice formerly consisted of three parts, which were
used at three different times in the forenoon. These
280
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
are now thrown into one, and all used at the same
time. Supposing each service taken singly to be ever
so unexceptionable, the conjunction of them renders
the whole full of repetition. By this absurd union, the
Lord's Prayer is always repeated five times every Sun-
day morning, and on sacrament days, if there happen
to be a baptism and a churching, it is repeated no less
than eight times, in the space of about two hours.
Use may reconcile us to any thing, how absurd so-
ever it be—witness the popish ceremonies. But let
us suppose, that any of the sectaries of the country
should, in their public devotions, be guilty of the
same tautology, what should we think and say of
them ? Should we not conclude they were mad ?
By the same absurd conjunction of the three an-
cient services into one, we are obliged, by the laws of
our Church, to pray for the king, no less than five
times every Lord's day morning; and even six on
communion day. If I were a bishop, or a rich plu-
ralist, or a fat rector, my eyes, for any thing I know,
might be so far blinded with gold dust, that I should
not see these imperfections of our public service;
but, as it is, I do see them, and feel them, and groan
under them, every Sabbath day of my life. They
may love such things that will, I confess I do not.
Some of the objections, which are usually made
to several parts of our ecclesiastical code of doctrines
and laws, it will be granted by every candid person,
are of no great consequence in themselves; but as
they respectively constitute a part of the general sys-
tem, and are connected with other things of a more
serious and objectionable nature—and as we are com-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 281
pelled to swear obedience to all the Canons,(') and
subscribe, ex animo, to all and every thing contained
in the Common Prayer, &c. as being agreeable to
the Holy Scriptures—the least deviation from those
Scriptures becomes great and weighty. And though
there can be no solid objection to the doctrines and
ceremonies of the Establishment in general, yet,
seeing there are some things, which certainly are
reprehensible, and those too of no very indifferent
nature, the imposition of them, in a manner so solemn,
is an extremely great hardship, and not to be justified
upon any principle of expedience whatever. There
is not a bishop in England who does not continually
transgress one or more of the 141 Canons ; and I am
persuaded also, there is not an episcopal character in
the nation, who can lay his hand upon his heart, and
appeal to heaven, that he believes all and every thing
which he subscribes. Why then not strive to repeal
what is faulty ? Why not ease the labouring con-
sciences of those clergymen who are upright in the
land ? (2)
(1) [" Our canons, some of them most unchristian, some
obsolete, and all needing revision, remain untouched
Generations spring up, grow old, and pass away, without seeing
a single ecclesiastical law enacted, or revised by any Church
authority; and the ponderous hulk of the Establishment lies
without sail or rudder, to be beat upon by the furious waves of
dissent and irreligion, till they throw it up a wreck upon the
shore."—Fundamental Reform of the Church, by a Clergyman,
pp. 31, 32.]—En.
(2) [A petition to the House of Lords for ecclesiastical im-
provements was first drawn up in 1824; it was to have been
presented in 1828, and was printed with notes, and partially
circulated, early in 1831; circumstances which fully prove it
28?
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
These, and some other matters, which might be
brought forward more at large, seem, to many very
well informed and respectable persons, truly objec-
tionable; and strong indications, that we are not so
far removed from the old meretricious lady of Ba-
bylon, as we would willingly have the world to
believe. (') Among the several Protestant establish-
was not a hasty proceeding. Its author is the Rev. C. N.
Wodehouse, Prebendary of Norwich. In this he refers to
" certain subscriptions and declarations required from every
clergyman at his ordination, and upon institution to a benefice
and says," that your petitioner, on reviewing, in after years,
the engagements which he had thus entered into, became
doubtful whether he could renew them if called upon to do so ;
that, further reflection only serving to add strength to such
scruples, he feels himself bound no longer to conceal his
opinions ; and that he now ventures to lay them before your
Lordships, in the hope of being relieved from the difficulty in
which he is involved." After specifying what he considers
objectionable, he thus continues : " That for these reasons,
your petitioner humbly and earnestly prays, that such steps may
be taken as shall seem good to your Lordships, in order to effect
those alterations in the Liturgy, which will relieve the con-
science of your petitioner, and which he firmly believes will, at
the same time, tend to promote harmony amongst Christians,
as well as a more general agreement in the public worship
of God."]—En.
(1) See the Doctrines of the Church of Rome, pretty much at
large, in the 17th Section of Simpson's Key to the Prophecies.—
The cruelty of that Church is horrible. Joseph Mede reckons
up 1,200,000 of the Waldenses and Albigenses put to death in
30 years! The same intolerant and persecuting spirit prevailed
in our Church also, for many years after the Reformation, and
is not yet perfectly done away. *
* See the Prisoner's Defence against the Rev. George Markham ; a well
written pamphlet. Brother George cuts but a poor figure in the hands of
these Quakers.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
283
ments, we must, they fear, be at least considered as
the eldest daughter of that first-born of Wicked-
ness. (')
That I am not singular in supposing there are
several things wrong in the Church establishment
of this country, is evident from the words of Bishop
Watson, in his reply to Mr. Gibbon: " There are,"
says this able advocate for regenerated Christianity,
" many worthless doctrines, many superstitious ob-
servances, which the fraud or folly of mankind have
everywhere annexed to Christianity, especially in
the Church of Rome, as essential parts of it. If you
take these sorry appendages to Christianity for
Christianity itself, as preached by Christ and by
his Apostles—you quite mistake its nature." (2)
Many of our bishops and clergy will complain in
this manner in private, and some few in public, that
various things are wrong and want mending; but
there are exceedingly few who will speak out, remon-
strate, and use their influence, that things may be put
upon a more defensible footing.(3) We keep reading
what we do not approve—the damnatory sentences
in Athanasius's Creed for instance—professing what
we do not believe, subscribing what we know or
suspect to be wrong, and swearing to observe laws
(1) " That Man of Sin"—" The Son of Perdition"—" That
Wicked."—2 Thes. ii.3. 8.
(2) Apology for Christianity, Letter 6.
(3) The supineness deplored by the author is still lamentably
apparent. But that some have risen far above it, is manifest
in the quotations made from Noel, Smith, Riland, Cox, Nehil,
Acaster, Duncombe, &c. How would he have rejoiced, could he
have anticipated the efforts of such coadjutors?
284
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which are truly horrible in their tendency, all our
lives long, for the sake of a little paltry food and
raiment, and a moiety of worldly honour. Is this
the way to glory, and honour, and riches everlast-
ing ? If Wickliffe, and Luther, and Cranmer, and
Ridley, and Latimer, and the glorious army of mar-
tyrs, had acted in the manner we do, no Reformation
had ever taken place. We should have been Popish
priests at this day. The same spirit which keeps us
quiet in our several snug Protestant preferments
now, would have kept us quiet in our several snug
Popish preferments then, if such had been our situ-
ation. It is much more easy to fawn, and cringe,
and flatter with Erasmus, than to face a frowning
world with Luther, and his noble companions.
From the foregoing short view of these two
classes of predictions concerning the Saviour of
mankind, and the condition of the Christian Church
in the world, every candid and sober-minded man,
I think, may see, without the smallest room for
deception, that there is something far more than
human in the prophetic Scriptures. It is impossible
to account for all these strange coincidences, upon
any principles of nature or art whatever. Here is
a long series of predictions, running through all
time, partly fulfilled, partly fulfilling, and partly
to be fulfilled. Let any man account for it, without
supernatural interposition, if he can. If he cannot,
then the Scriptures are of divine original; Jesus is
the Saviour of mankind; all the great things fore-
told shall be accomplished; infidels and infidelity
shall be confounded world without end; and sound
practical believers in Christ Jesus, of every denomi-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 285
nation, shall stand secure and joyful, amidst the con-
vulsion of nations, the subversion of Churches, " the
wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds."
" Such, in that day of terrors, shall be seen
To face the thunders, with a godlike mien.
The planets drop—their thoughts are fixed above;
The centre shakes—their hearts disdain to move."
Are not abundance of these predictions fulfilling
at this day before our eyes ? Is not the religion of
Jesus diffusing itself far and wide among the na-
tions of the earth ? Did not the corruptions of it
commence at a very early period ? Did not the
Church of Rome assume a universal spiritual empire
in the seventh century, and temporal dominion in
the eighth ? (') Is it not expressly predicted, that
(1) It is remarkable that Mahomet began his imposture in
the very year that the Bishop of Rome, by virtue of a grant
from the wicked tyrant Phocas, first assumed the title of
Universal Pastor, and thereupon claimed to himself that supre-
macy which he hath ever since been endeavouring to usurp
over the Church of Christ. This was in the year 606, when
Mahomet retired to his cave to forge his impostures : so that
Antichrist seems at the same time to have set both his feet upon
Christendom together, the one in the East, the other in the
West.—Prideaux's Life of Mahomet, p. 13.
A valuable correspondent, thoroughly acquainted with the
prophetic Scriptures, gives it as his opinion that we are now in
the second period of the seventh vial, Rev. xvi. 17—21. " The
battle of the great God has been, and is fighting. The sacking
of the nations is come. The Man of Sin who has been sitting
in the temple of God 1260 years, all but a few, whom God hath
been consuming with the spirit of his mouth since the Refor-
mation, whom he is now ready to destroy with the appearance
of his presence, we see is ready for the blow."
286
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
the illegitimate empire of that Church should con-
tinue the precise period of 1,260 years ? Does it
not seem that those 1,260 years are upon the point
of expiring? Were not great changes to take place
among the kingdoms, into which the Roman empire
was to be divided, about the expiration of the said
term ? Have not great changes already taken place
in those kingdoms ? Were not the nations which,
for so many ages, had given their power unto the
Beast, to turn against that Beast, and use means for
its destruction ? (') Is not this part of the prophecy
also, in a good degree, fulfilled at the present mo-
ment ? Have not all the Catholic powers forsaken
his Holiness of Rome in the time of his greatest
need ? And is not he, who, a few ages ago, made
all Europe tremble at the thunder of his voice, now
become weak like other men ? Are not the claws
of the Beast cut, and his teeth drawn, so that he can
no longer either scratch or bite? (2) Is he not al-
ready, and in our own day, and before our own
eyes, stripped of his temporal dominion ? And doth
not the triple crown, even now, daiice upon his
head ? or rather has he not for ever lost all right
and title to wear it ? Is it not extremely remarkable,
and a powerful confirmation of the truth of Scrip-
ture prophecy, that just 1,260 years ago from the
present 1798, in the very beginning of the year 538,
Belisarius put an end to the empire of the Goths at
(1) Consult the seventeenth chapter of Revelation.
(2) See the treatment which the present Pope of Rome has
received from the French. They even took the ring from his
finger, and deprived him of his snuff! Ungenerous Frenchmen !
Cruel conquerors!
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 287
Rome, leaving no power therein but the Bishop of
that metropolis ?
Read these things in the prophetic Scriptures; (')
compare them coolly with the present state of Eu-
rope, and then, I say again, deny the truth of Divine
Revelation, if you can. Open your eyes, and behold
these things accomplishing in the face of the whole
world. " This thing is not done in a corner."
It would be well, my countrymen, if you would
seriously consider, still further, that the opposers
of the Gospel are no other than tools and instru-
ments in the hands of that Redeemer(2) whom you
so cordially despise, and rashly reject. He sitteth in
heaven, at the right hand of Power, and laugheth at
all your puny and malicious efforts to impede the
interests of his kingdom.(3) He permits his word,
(1) There is ail astonishing chain of prophecy in the Sacred
Writings; and the argument from thence is invincible. Sir
Isaac Newton, Bishop Newton, and several other writers, have
treated upon them with effect. The prophetic scheme may be
ridiculed, hut it can never he answered. Consult Simpson's
Key to the Prophecies, for a concise view of this indissoluble
chain. Bishops Hurd, Halifax, Clayton, and others, have
written with ability upon these abstruse parts of Sacred Writ.
Dr. Apthorp, Mr. Maclaurin, and Brown, have thrown pretty
much light upon them. But of all who have treated upon the
book of Revelation, none seems to me to have excelled Lowman.
[" Evidence of the Truth of the Christian Religion, derived
from the literal fulfilment of Prophecy," by Dr. Keith, is also
a most interesting and valuable work.]—En.
(2) See this matter discussed at large in Dr. Gerard's Disser-
tation, entitled " Christianity Confirmed by the Opposition of
Infidels."
(3) Would the reader be at the pains to compare the second
and hundred and tenth Psalms, with the history of those per-
288
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
however, "to be tried as silver is tried." But the
more it is opposed, the more completely will it be
refined. The more it is scrutinized, the more it will
be approved. The severity of your criticisms will
serve the cause it is intended to overthrow. Your
assistance is advantageous to us, though infinitely
dangerous to yourselves. You are co-operating, un-
intentionally indeed, with all the zealous servants of
Christ, in carrying forward the designs of Heaven, in
like manner as Judas, with the Jews and Romans,
contributed to the fulfilment of the ancient prophe-
cies, and the salvation of the world, in betraying the
Lord of Glory. The greater the learning, the more
rancorous the hatred; the stronger the opposition,
the more brilliant the talents of its antagonists, the
faster will the kingdom of the Messiah come forward,
sons who in the several ages have set themselves to oppose
either the Jewish or Christian dispensations, he could not fail
of receiving strong conviction of the truth of these two pro-
phetical compositions. We may, indeed, deny any thing, and
turn into ridicule every prophetical accomplishment, as Josephus
informs us the Jews did, in the last dreadful ruin of his un-
happy countrymen. It was familiar with them "to make a
jest of divine things, and to deride, as so many senseless tales,
and juggling impostures, the sacred oracles of their prophets,
though they were then fulfilling before their eyes, and even
upon themselves."
If the reader is disposed to examine another* prophecy, I will
refer him to the ninth chapter of Daniel. The late eminent
philosopher and mathematician, Fergusson, has written a dis-
sertation upon it, which he concludes in these words: " Thus
we have an astronomical demonstration of the truth of this an-
cient prophecy, seeing that the prophetic year of the Messiah's
being cut off, was the very same with the astronomical."—Astro-
nomy, pp. 373—377.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 289
and the more complete and honourable will be the
victory.(') The Gospel never triumphed more glo-
riously in the first ages, than when Celsus and Por-
phyry drew their pens, Dioclesian and Julian their
swords, vowing its annihilation. Truth fears nothing
more than inattention. It is too important to be
treated with indifference. Opposition calls forth
and sharpens the powers of the human mind in its
defence. The cause of the Gospel hath ever gained
by investigation. Credulity is the bane of it. Sound
policy in the deists would let it alone, and leave it
to itself. It was by opposition from all the world
that it was originally propagated. When that oppo-
sition ceased, and the great ones of the earth smiled'
upon and fostered it, a worse than Egyptian dark-
ness of ignorance and delusion overspread Christen-
dom.(2) It is by a revival of that opposition, and
(1) "Christianity may thank its opponents for much light,
from time to time, thrown in on the sublime excellency of its
nature, and the manifestation of its truth. Opponents, in some
sort, are more welcome than its friends, as they do it signal ser-
vice without running it in debt, and have no demand on our
gratitude for the favours they confer. The stronger its adver-
saries, the greater its triumph; the more it is disputed, the
more indisputably will it shine."—Young.
(2) In the middle ages, such thick clouds of barbarity and
ignorance had overwhelmed all schools of literature, that the
maxim then current was—Quanto eris melior grammaticus,
tanto pejor theologus. Espencceus, who was one of themselves,
acknowledges that amongst then best authors, Greece nosse sus-
pedum fuerit, Hebraice proprie heereticum. Zuinglius and
Collinus had like to have lost their lives for meddling with
Greek and Hebrew. To give the derivation of the word Hal-
lelujah racked the wits of whole universities. Doctors of
Divinity were created and pronounced most sufficient, who had
U
290
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probably, too, by a revival of the persecution of its
most zealous advocates, even unto death, that it must
be purified, refined, and restored to its primitive
beauty and simplicity. Philosophical unbelievers, as
well as intolerant Christians, will proceed per fas
never read the Bible. Erasmus says, divines of eighty years of
age were all amazement at hearing any thing quoted from St.
Paul; and that preachers of fifty years' standing had never seen
the New Testament. Musculus assures us that multitudes of
them never saw the Scriptures in their lives. Amama tells us
of the Archbishop of Mentz, that, opening the Bible, he said,
" In truth I do not know what this book is, but I perceive that
every thing in it is against us." Cardinal Hosius's persuasion
was, that" it had been best for the Church if no Gospel had
been written."
The clergy of the Church of Rome all through Europe, in
the last and present ages, though much superior to those in the
middle centuries, are still in a situation truly deplorable. They
have had, indeed, some very considerable individuals, especially
among the Jesuits; but, taking them as a body, there has been
a most melancholy deficiency of literary attainments. The
French clergy seem to have excelled those of most other coun-
tries which profess the Romish faith.
Bishop Burnet's Travels will afford the reader considerable
information upon the state of Popery in the close of the seven-
teenth century; and Dr. Jolm Moore's " View of Society and
Manners in Italy," will furnish us with a tolerable knowledge
of its present state.
If it had not been for the Reformation, most of the. riches of
Christendom would at this day have been in the hands of the
clergy. The revenues of the present Archbishop of Mexico are
said to be £70,000 a year! The Bishopric of Durham is said to
he now £20,000 a year. * Winchester also is very considerable,
and some others are the same.
» [According to the Report lately made to Parliament, the net yearly
income is ,£19,066.]—Ed.
ANT) THE SACRED WRITINGS. 291
atque nefas to carry a favourite point. Human na-
ture is the same in all, however modified, and what-
ever our pretensions. The pure Gospel of Christ,
too, never had more determined and well furnished
enemies in these latter ages, than Louis the Four-
teenth, (') Bolingbroke, and Voltaire; never more
(1) It is calculated that the Roman Catholics, since the rise
of persecution in the seventh or eight century, to the present
time, have butchered, in their blind and diabolical zeal for the
Church, no less than fifty millions of Protestant Christians of
different descriptions. " Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce;
and their wrath, for it was cruel." A righteous Providence is
now taking vengeance on them for their horrible transactions !
It is about three hundred years since the Spaniards discovered
America and the West Indies. The Governor of the World
has a quarrel with them also, for tbeir dreadful cruelties towards
the poor unoffending inhabitants. Twelve millions, it is calcu-
lated, they butchered on the Continent, besides the many mil-
lions who fell in the Islands. Arise, O God, and plead the
cause of these thy creatures !
And is England less guilty with respect to her trade in human
beings i * In ages to come it will scarcely meet with credit,
that we, who boast ourselves of being the most free nation upon
earth, the most religious people in Europe, and the purest and
best constituted Church in the world, should have been capable
of buying and selling annually, upon an average, 60,000 souls.
If there were no other cause, this is enough to bring down the
severest of the Divine judgments! No political motives what-
ever can justify the diabolical traffic. And is it not strange,
that when the abolition of this trade had passed the 558 Mem-
* [It is stated by Edwards,rin his History of the West Indies, that from
1700 to 1786 the number imported into Jamaica, was 610,000 ! " I say this,"
he observes," on sufficient evidence, having in my possession lists of all
the entries." The total import into all the British Colonies from 1680 to
1786, may be put at 2,130,000; " and now," he remarks, (1793), " the whole
number exported from Africa by all the European powers, is 74,000, of
which 38,000 are imported by the British."—Vol. 2, pp. 55,56, 57.]—Ed.
u 2
292
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
true and powerful friends. The sword of the first,
the philosophy of the second, and the ridicule of the
third, have already had very considerable effect. The
French themselves, at this moment, though ready to
hers of the House of Commons, it should not he ahle to pass
the House of Lords, where are assembled twenty-six shepherds
and bishops of souls? Blessings on the heads of those few
worthy prelates who pleaded the cause of humanity, and stood
forth as the advocates of universal freedom !
We have long enjoyed a large share both of civil and religious
liberty; we have made our boast of this privilege, sometimes
very insolently, insulting other nations, because they did not
enjoy the same: and yet we have the impudence, the inliu-
manity, the cruelty, the horrible villany, to enslave 60,000
poor helpless souls every year! Oh England!
" Can'st thou, and honoured with the Christian name,
Buy what is woman-born, and feel no shame!
Trade in the blood of innocence, and plead
Expedience as a warrant for the deed?
So may the wolf, whom famine hath made bold
To quit the forest and invade the fold.
So may the ruffian, who, with ghostly glide,
Dagger in hand, steals close to your bed-side :
Not he, but his emergence, forced the door;
He found it inconvenient to be poor."
Cowper's Poems.
Without being earned away with the violence of any party
whatever on this great question, I think it is clear, upon every
Christian principle, and on every principle of sound policy, that
the importation of fresh slaves into the islands should be abso-
lutely prohibited; and that every proper means should be used
to ameliorate the condition of those who are already imported.
Much wisdom and experience would be necessary to enable any
man to determine what means would be most proper for these
purposes.
[A most auspicious change at length occurred. On the 10th
of June, 1806, a speech of Mr. Fox, then Prime Minister, con-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 293
overturn heaven and earth to banish the Saviour out
of the world he created by his power, redeemed by
his blood, and governs by his wisdom, are but tools
in his hand to bring forward his designs; to purge
eluded with the memorable resolution, " That this House, con-
ceiving the African Slave Trade to he contrary to the principles
of justice, humanity, and sound policy, will, with all practicable
expedition, proceed to take effectual measures for abolishing the
Slave Trade, in such manner and at such period as may he
deemed advisable." On the division, 114 voted for the measure;
against it, only 15! This was the last effort made by Mr. Fox.
In a few days after, he was taken ill of his mortal disease. No
patriot, no philanthropist, no orator, could have wished for a
nobler close to his labours.
Great honour, however, belongs to the name of Wilberforce.
He it was, who brought the whole question before Parliament;
nor did he rest when the Slave Trade was abolished. To the
labours devoted to this object, and afterwards to the entire
emancipation of those in bondage, he gave his best energies
during the thirty-seven years that he was in Parliament; and
during nine subsequent years of retirement, he continued to aid
and direct in the conduct of the measures which were necessary.
There has been no statesman of modern times, who has engaged
in so great a cause, pursued it with such perseverance, and been
crowned during his life-time with such complete success.
It is a singular fact, that, on the very night in which the
House of Commons was employed in passing the clause of
the Act of Emancipation—one of the most important clauses
ever passed:—" Be it enacted, that all and every the persons,
who, on the said first day of August, 1834, shall be holden
in slavery within any such British Colony as aforesaid, shall,
upon, and from and after the said first day Of August, 1834,
become and be to all intents and purposes free and discharged
of and from all manner of slavery, and shall he absolutely and
for ever manumitted; and that the children thereafter to be
bom to any such persons, and the offspring of such children,
shall in like manner be free from their birth; and that from and
294
a plea for religion
the Gospel of its contracted impurities; to manifest
to mankind the truth of the prophetic Scriptures ; to
punish the kingdoms for their abominations; to rouse
them from their long sleep of guilty security; to re-
move all the rubbish of superstition and human or-
dinances out of the way; and to bring in the reign of
universal righteousness, when contending "nations
after the first day of August, 1834, Slavery be and is hereby
utterly and for ever abolished, and declared unlawful throughout
the British Colonies, Plantations, and Possessions abroad"—
about the time when these words were carried, the spirit of
Wilberforce left the world ! The day which saw the end of his
labours, saw also the termination of his life !
Were there space for the purpose, a high testimony might be
borne to the efforts of other distinguished philanthropists. Among
them Sharp, Clarkson, Buxton, Lushington, Stephen, and Ma-
cauly, are entitled to honourable mention, as advocating the
claims of injured Africa; but the leader, in and out of Parlia-
ment, was Wilberforce. Still, however, there is reason to fear
that much remains to be done. The people of England have
given £20,000,000 for the accomplishment of the object so
earnestly sought; but they could not exorcise the slave-holder.
He remains the same; and consequently, injustice, oppression,
and cruelty continue, in many instances, to mark his course.
Happily, he is within the gaze of Him who never slumbers—
of Qim whose cause shall ultimately and fully triumph. Soon,
soon, may the victory be achieved!]—Ed.
It is to be feared we have also a long and dreadful account
to settle with Divine Providence for our rapacious conduct in
the East Indies. This wonderful country has at the same time
enriched and ruined every nation which hath possessed it. So
the Spaniards, by a just reaction of a righteous Providence,
have been enriched and ruined, by the possession of Mexico and
Peru. Every man who goes to the East Indies, with mercan-
tile views, goes to make his fortune. This is frequently done,
and too often in ways the most dishonourable. In the year
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 295
shall learn war no more." Much is to be done, and
they are suitable instruments, admirably adapted to
answer these purposes of Divine Providence. They
are made with this view. A virtuous nation would
not be fit for the business. In the mean time, there
is great reason to apprehend, there will be no small
degree of human misery throughout the several
1769, three millions of the natives of Bengal perished for want,
through the avarice and rascality of a few Englishmen!
" Hast thou, though suckled at fair Freedom's hreast,
Exported slavery to the conquer'd East,
Pull'd down the tyrants India served with dread,
And raised thyself a greater in their stead,
' Gone thither arm'd and hungry, return'd full,
Fed from the richest veins of the Mogul,
A despot big with power obtain'd by wealth,
And that obtain'd by rapine and by stealth i
With Asiatic vices stored thy mind,
But left their virtues and thine own behind.
And having truck'd thy soul, brought home the fee,
To tempt the poor to sell himself to thee I"
Cowper's Poems.
For numerous reactions of Providence, consult the 29th and
30th sections of Simpson's Key to the Prophecies.
By way of softening our resentment against the traders in
human creatures, it may be here observed, that the most po-
lished of the ancient nations were overrun with slaves of the
most oppressed kind. Every person acquainted with profane
history knows well the miserable condition of the Helots in
Sparta. Even in Athens, where slaves were treated with less
inhumanity, they found their condition so intolerable, that
20,000 of them deserted during one of the wars in which they
were engaged. About the year 310 before Christ, the small
state of Attica alone contained 400,000 slaves.
Slavery greatly abounded in the Roman empire also. Among
296
a plea for religion
countries professing Christianity, before these hal-
cyon days come forward.
It is a melancholy circumstance, that before the
present French war broke out, there were fought, in
little more than a century, a hundred bloody battles
by land, besides what were fought by sea, between
the several Christian governments of Europe. This
state of things is awful. It is the pouring out of the
vials of God's wrath upon the Churches. The time,
however, is fast approaching, when these miseries
shall have an end. The Beast shall be destroyed,
and his dominion taken away. The several kingdoms
which have supported him shall be overturned. False,
superstitious, and idolatrous doctrines, rites, and ce-
remonies, shall all be swept off, and the pure, simple,
them, slaves were frequently mutilated in their youth, and
abandoned in their old age. Some, whom age or infirmities had
rendered unfit for labour, were conveyed to a small uninhabited
island on the Tiber, where they were left to perish with famine.
In short, all sorts of punishments, which the wickedness, wan-
tonness, cruelty, or caprice of their owners could inflict, were
frequently made use of. The Roman writers are full of horrid
tales to this purport.
Such has been the general practice of mankind in every age
preceding the introduction of the Gospel! And it is the intro-
duction and profession of that Gospel which render the dealing
in slaves so enormously wicked! A Christian buying and selling
slaves! A man who professes that the leading law of his life
is " to do as he would be done by," spending his time, and
amassing a fortune, in buying and selling his fellow men!
" Is there not some chosen curse,
Some hidden thunder in the stores of heaven,
Red with uncommon wrath, to blast the man
Who gains his fortune from the blood of souls?"]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 297
unadulterated Gospel of Jesus shall spring up. The
present bloody war is of God. The French are
God's rod to scourge the nations of Europe for their
unchristian abominations. They are God's besom,
and intended to sweep the Christian Church of its
filth, and nonsense, and superstition, and idolatry.
It is true they have no such intention ; they mean
no good to the Gospel. But when the Lord has ac-
complished his whole work upon the corrupt Chris-
tian nations and Churches, then he will lay them aside,
cause the indignation to cease, and pure, undefiled
religion shall spring up. This can never be, till the
rubbish is removed. The superstitions of Popery
must first be done away. One generation, or per-
haps two or three, must first be swept off, and in the
course of a few centuries, those, who shall then live,
will see more peaceable, more happy, and more glo-
rious days. But it will be long ere the nonsensical
superstitious doctrines and practices of Antichrist can
be rooted out of the several popish countries. And
it is exceedingly probable, that infidelity must first
become almost general among the several orders of
the people, before pure, genuine, purged Christianity
can prevail. We Protestants who live in England,
and have never been abroad, can have no proper idea
of the poor, low, silly, superstitious state in which
the minds of the common people are kept, by the
mummery and art of the priests in all the Catholic
countries. In Naples, which contains only about
300,000 inhabitants, there are 300 churches; 120
convents of men, and 40 of women. The mother-
church is dedicated to St. Januarius; and when any
calamitous events arise, this St. Januarius is applied
298
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
to, his image is carried about in procession, and
thousands of prayers are offered up to this supposed
patron for deliverance.(') Processions of a similar
kind are extremely common at Rome, and all over
Italy, and, indeed, all through the Catholic world.
At Madrid, the capital of Spain, the Virgin Mary,
it seems, is the most favourite protectress. Abun-
dance of ceremonies are here continually carrying on
in honour of the mother of our Lord. In all Madrid
not a single street or house is to be found, which is
not decorated with a portrait or bust of the Virgin.
Incredible is the annual consumption of flowers made
use of in Spain for crowning the Virgin's image ; in-
credible the number of hands, which are continually
employed, from morning till night, in dressing her
caps, turning her petticoats, and embroidering her
ruffles. Every Spaniard regards the Virgin in the
light of his friend, his confidante, his mistress, whose
whole attention is directed to himself, and who is
perpetually watching over his happiness. Hence
the name of Mary hangs incessantly upon his lips,
mixes in all his compliments, and forms a part of all
his wishes. In speaking, in writing, his appeal is
always to the Virgin, who is the guarantee of all his
promises, the witness of all his transactions. It is in
the name of the holy blessed Virgin, that the ladies
intrigue with their gallants, write billet-doux, send
their portraits, and appoint nocturnal assignations.
The funeral pomp and parade which characterize
the Spaniards at the burial of their dead, is inex-
(2) See a droll account of this pretended Saint, in Moore's
View of Society and Manners in Italy, vol. ii. pp. 274—291.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 299
pressibly great. Upwards of a hundred carriages,
five or six hundred priests and monks, with at least
2000 flambeaux, form the ordinary appendag e of a
common funeral.(')
These things are deplorable, and show the very
low, degraded, and superstitious state of that nation.
The use of the Inquisition, however, in that pope-
priest-ridden country, is still more shocking than all
their other superstitions put together.
What a curse have the priests of Christendom
been to Christendom ! How many precious souls
have been led into the pit of destruction by an un-
godly, superstitious, and idolatrous priesthood I I
was almost going to say, that we parsons have been
the means of damning more souls, than ever we were
a mean of saving ! From our profession it is, that
iniquity diffuses itself through every land ! God
forgive us ! we have been too bad ! Instead of being
a blessing, and spreading health and salvation
through the nations, as is the undoubted design of
the Gospel of Christ, and the Christian ministry, we
have been playing into each other's hands, have
erected a huge fabric of worldly dominion for our-
selves, and have brought down, and are at this
moment bringing down, the Divine judgments upon
every country, where we have erected our standard.
We Protestants will be ready enough to allow, that
this has been the case in the Catholic states; but it
is also true, if I mistake not, of the Protestant
bishops and clergy. We will not sacrifice one inch
of the secular dominion we have, through the weak-
(1) Vide Monthly Magazine for February, 1798.
300
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
ness and folly of men, obtained ; no, not to save the
kingdom from destruction ! The secular and super-
stitious conduct of the heathen priesthood brought
ruin upon the Pagan nations; the secidar and super-
stitious conduct of the Jewish priests brought ruin
upon the Jewish nation; the secular and supersti-
tious conduct of the Catholic priests hath brought
ruin upon the Catholic nations; and the same kind
of secular and superstitious conduct of our Protes-
tant bishops and clergy will involve us in similar
destruction. Nothing can prevent this, but the ec-
clesiastical reform, so frequently mentioned, and
alluded to in these papers! What reason is there
to be given, why a wicked, careless, lukewarm, and
secular Protestant priesthood should not be punished,
as well as those of other denominations? As our
light and privileges are the greater, we may justly
expect our punishment will be more severe. If
there be a God in heaven, who regards the actions
of men, and who respects the completion of his own
predictions, we may be assured the day of darkness
is coming, unless prevented by a change in our con-
duct.—See Jeremiah xviii. I—10.
Surely, at the present dread period, we, of all
people, ought to take the alarm, and use every en-
deavour to remove whatever may subject us to divine
judgments. My daily prayer is for the safety, wel-
fare, and prosperity of my king and country. But
when I look around me, I cannot help being exceed-
ingly affected at the present melancholy state of
most of the neighbouring nations. The sun, moon,
and stars are all darkened; and the powers of
heaven are shaken. Is not the sun set and perished
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 301
in France and Poland ? Are not Holland, Flan-
ders, Switzerland, Geneva, Genoa, Sardinia, Savoy,
Treves, Cologne, Venice, Rome, the Italian domi-
nions of the House of Austria, and the little sea-girt
empire of the Knights of Malta, are not all these
revolutionized and fallen ? Do not the kings of
Prussia, Naples, Spain, and Portugal, and even the
emperor himself, at this moment, tremble on their
thrones ? And doth not the same power, which
hath accomplished, is accomplishing, and will ac-
complish, similar changes in all the continental
states, denounce the most complete destruction to
the British empire ? What then can save us from
the threatened calamity ? (') Nothing under heaven,
but a national reformation, by which we may en-
gage the Divine protection. Hitherto the Lord hath
wonderfully helped us; and I pray God effectually
to help us in time to come: but this we have no
solid reason to expect, for any great number of
years, unless the rubbish of human ordinances shall
be removed out of Christ's kingdom, the Church,
and a very general moral and religious change take
place among us. Oh ! that I could sound an alarm
into the heart of our excellent king, and into the
hearts of our princes, nobles, bishops, clergy,
gentry, tradesmen; and into the hearts also of
all the inferior orders of society ! It is reform,
(1) [The changes which have occurred, not only in England
but in Europe generally, since this paragraph was written, are
too numerous for present recapitulation; a reference to the
pages of modern history, as to them, will prove not merely
interesting but very instructive.]—Ed.
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A PLEA FOR RELIGION
or ruin ! The 1,260 prophetical years are expiring I
Reduce the Redeemer's religion to its primitive pu-
rity and simplicity, or he will come in judgment, and
plead his own rights. (') Let any man, any bishop,
any clergyman, say and prove that these things are
not so, and I will openly retract all that is here ad-
vanced. The Popish constitution is overturned in
Rome this very year (1797); and 1,260 years from this
time the Roman pontiff began his secular dominion
in that proud and idolatrous metropolis of the Chris-
tian world, through the expulsion of the Goths by
Belisarius, the Roman general! (2)—" All flesh is as
grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of
grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof
falleth away; but the Word of the Lord endureth
for ever!"
And shall we be so blind and selfish as to suppose
that all the rest of the nations shall fall, and we
alone be preserved ? Amen I Amen ! May my
king and my country live for ever!
We readily grant, therefore, you see, my country-
men, that the corruptions of Christianity shall be
•
(1) The propagators of infidelity in France, before the Re-
volution, raised among themselves and spent no less a sum
annually, than £900,000 sterling, in purchasing, printing, and
dispersing hooks, to corrupt the minds of the people, and pre-
pare them for desperate measures. And similar means are at
this moment carrying forward in this country, in no small
degree, to accomplish the same purposes. While we parsons
are asleep, crying peace and safety, the enemy is sowing his
tares!
(2) I mention the Goths and Belisarius again in this place,
because I wish to draw the reader's attention to this remark-
able accomplishment of Scripture prophecy.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 303
purged and done away; and we are persuaded the
wickedness of Christians, so called, the lukewarm-
ness of professors, and the reiterated attacks of infi-
dels upon the Gospel, shall all, under the guidance
of Infinite Wisdom, contribute to accomplish this
end. The lofty looks of lordly prelates shall be
brought low; the supercilious airs of downy doctors
and perjured pluralists shall be humbled ; the hor-
rible sacrilege of non-residents, who shear the fleece,
and leave the flock thus despoiled to the charge of
uninterested hirelings that care not for them, shall
be avenged on their impious heads. (') Intemperate
(1) [Lord Henley says, in his plan of Church Reform (recently
published, and dedicated to the King), in allusion to the evils
and corruptions which impair the beauty and strength of the
Establishment, " The most grievous of these evils, Sire, is the
non-residence of the beneficed clergy. This is so extensive, that
it appears, from the last parliamentary returns, that out of 10,533
livings in England and Wales, there are only 4,413 residents :
more than 4,000 livings are insufficient to maintain a minister:
more than 4,800 have no fit residence upon them.
" In populous cities thousands are growing up from infancy
to manhood, who never hear the word of God. It was computed
a few years ago, that in a circumference of eight miles, in a
population of 1,152,000 inhabitants, more than 953,000 never
could attend public worship in the Establishment; and though
churches have been built since that time, yet has the population
proportionably increased. In one diocese, out of 110,000
persons, the attendants at church amounted to 19,069, and the
communicants to 4,134; about one in seven only attending
church, about one in thirty-eight only attending the Lord's table.
Thus are we still in effect an unchristianized land; the deepest
ignorance and irreligion prevails; the gaols are crowded, and
your Majesty's judges, circuit after circuit, are lamenting over
the alarming increase of crime.
" It is estimated, Sire, that in England and Wales there are
304
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priests, avaricious clerks, and buckish parsons, those
curses of Christendom, shall be confounded. All
secular hierarchies in the Church shall be tumbled
into ruin; lukewarm formalists, of every denomina-
at least three millions of Protestant Dissenters. In the Princi-
pality alone, dissent has grown to so amazing an extent, that
its ranks considerably outnumber the members of the Establish-
ment. It appears from a return recently published in a work
of high reputation, (Essay on the Causes of Dissent in Wales,
by J. A, Johnes, Esq., second edition), that the dissenting places
of worship in Wales, at present amount to 1428, while those of
the national Church are only 829.''
The following facts are taken from a work on the Improve-
ment of Society, by Dr. Dick. " The Vicar of Pevensey, in
Sussex, (as appears from a petition of the parishioners, dated
February 1st, 1833), derives an income from the parish of
about £1,200 a-year, and yet has never once performed divine
service since his induction, about seventeen years ago. He
has another living at Guestling, about fifteen miles distant,
from which he derives a revenue of £400 per annum. Whe-
ther he does duty there is not known; but it is not absurd to
suppose, that a parson who will not so much as read prayers for
£1,200, is not very likely to preach for £400. R. Hodgson,
Dean of Carlisle, is also Vicar of Burg-on-Sands, Rector of
St. George's in Hanover Square, and Vicar of Hellington, and
yet at none of these places is he to be found officiating. The
tithes received by the dean and chapter for Heshet amount to
£1,000 or £1,500; they pay the curate that does the duty
£18 5s., or at the rate of one shilling a-day, the wages of a
bricklayer's labourer. In Wetlieral and Warwick, the dean
and chapter draw about £1,000 a-year for tithes, and £1,000
a-year from the church lands, and they pay to the working
minister the sum of £50 a-year. The tithes of the parish of
St. Cuthberts and St. Mary amount to about £1,500 a-year;
and the two curates who do the duty receive each the sum of
£2.13s. 4d. a-year ! Three brothers of the name of Goodenough,
monopolize thirteen pieces of church preferment. One of them
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 305
tion, shall call to the rocks and mountains to hide
them from the wrath of the Lamb. Infidels, seeing
the prophecies accomplished before their eyes, shall
submit themselves to the long-resisted, but gentle
yoke of the Gospel. Wicked and openly profane
men, men of rank especially, those corrupters and
debauchers of the lower orders of society, shall be
converted, and become righteous, or be swept from
the earth, " with the besom of destruction." The
invidious disdain of illiberal sectarists shall be sue-
ceeded by equal and universal benevolence; and
the " Lord Jesus Christ alone shall be exalted in
that day/'C) The Bible, my countrymen, the Bible,
is Prebend of Carlisle, Westminster, and York, Vicar of Wath
All-Saints on Dearn, Chaplain of Ad wick, and Chaplain of
Brompton Bierlow. These preferments produce, of course,
several thousands, for which the incumbents perform absolutely
nothing ; and yet one of the persons above alluded to had
lately the effrontery to come to Carlisle, and preach up ' the
Church is in danger,' because these shocking enormities are now
exposed to public reprobation."—See Times Newspaper for
March 7, 8, 1833.]—ed.
(1) It may be very much questioned, whether the united
wisdom of men be equal to such an effectual reformation in
Church and State, as may be thought perfectly consistent with
the purity and simplicity of the Gospel. In civil matters, it
may be, there is no government devised hy human wisdom
better calculated to promote the liberty, prosperity, and hap-
piness of a country, than our own, by King, Lords, and
Commons, supposing all abuses displaced. Nor do I see any
valid objection to the three orders of the Church, of Bishops,
Priests, and Deacons. It is certain they have prevailed from
the days of the Apostles, in some form or other. But here we
have abundance of things to be removed which are inconsistent
with the Scriptural model; and if our governors, ecclesiastical
X
306
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
stripped of every human appendage, shall rise supe-
rior to all opposition, and shall go down with the
revolving ages of time, enlightening the faith, enli-
vening the hope, enkindling the love, inflaming the
and civil, are determined to hold fast what they have gotten,
and suffer no abuses to he rectified, the great Head of the
Chinch, it may he fully expected, will arise ere long and plead
his own cause in blood and slaughter. It is morally impossible
that the present degenerate state of things should continue
another century. Without a thorough reformation, hoth in
civil and religious concerns (and even such reformation is big
with danger), a much shorter time must subvert the present
order of tilings, not only through Europe in general, but in
England particularly. God grant we may have wisdom to do
that of our own accord which must otherwise be done by con-
straint. When " the iniquity of the Amorites is full," their
enemies will receive commission from above to enter their land,
and to kill and destroy.
The charges and denunciations against the several culprits
mentioned in the preceding page may seem too severe for some
gentle spirited persons, who can " call evil good and good evil
but in my opinion they fall greatly below the propriety of the
case. The offending clergy are the curse and bane of the
country, and the wrath of God shall smoke against the faith-
less shepherds of Christ's flock. Men of rank, likewise, are
sometimes uncommonly blameable. I myself have known some
who have corrupted and debauched the whole neighbourhood
where they lived. The late L—d S—h was a pest in this way.
The late Sir W—m M—h also did much mischief among the
young men and women all around the place where he resided,
for several miles. No young person, of more decent appearance
than ordinary, could well escape his allurements. Boys and
girls were equally his prey. We have many now living also
who are extremely culpable; and when the scourge of heaven
visits the land, it shall fall peculiarly heavy upon such cha-
racters.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 307
zeal, and directing the conduct of men, till the world
shall be no more.
" The cloud-oapp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherits, shall dissolve,
And, like the baseless fabric of a vision,
Leave not a wreck behind."
But the promises and threatenings of the Holy
Writings shall be receiving their awful completion,
upon believers and unbelievers, throughout those
never-ending ages which shall commence when the
present scene of things shall be fully terminated.
Let my countrymen, therefore,
" Read and revere the sacred page; a page
Where triumphs immortality; a page
Which not the whole creation could produce;
Which not the conflagration shall destroy;
In nature's ruins not one letter lost."
In the mean time, be persuaded also to reflect
upon our respective situations. Suppose that we
who believe in the Saviour of mankind are mistaken ?
Upon your own principles we are safe. But suppose
you are mistaken ? Your loss is immense. For "what
is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul ? or what shall a man give in
exchange for his soul ?" You know who it is that
hath said too, " He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth
on him —" he is condemned already!"—" Whoso-
ever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but
on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to
x 2
308
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
powder." Is there no danger to be apprehended
from these and similar declarations, with which the
Sacred Writings so largely abound ? We are per-
suaded there is danger, and such as is of the most
serious kind which can befall a rational creature.
" Know'st thou the importance of a soul immortal I
Behold the midnight glory; worlds on worlds !
Amazing pomp ! Redouble this amaze;
Ten thousand add; add twice ten thousand more ;
Then weigh the whole; one soul outweighs them all;
And calls the astonishing magnificence
Of unintelligent creation poor."
Treating with just contempt, therefore, the scoffs
and sneers (for solid arguments we know they have
none) of the whole unbelieving body of our coun-
trymen, whether among the nobility and gentry of
the land, or among the ignoble vulgar, the beasts of
the people, our determination is, whatever we gain
or lose beside, by the grace of God, to secure the
salvation of this immortal part. No harm can hap-
pen to us in so doing. We are secure in every event
of things. If the four sore scourges of the Al-
mighty, the sword, famine, noisome beasts, and pes-
tilence, should receive their commission to run
through the land, we are yet assured it shall be well
with them that fear God. Sound religion, rational
piety, solid virtue, and a lively sense of the divine
favour, will injure no man. They will render us res-
pected, at least by the wise and good, while we live,
and be a comfortable evidence of our felicity when
we die. (') In the mean time, if it be inquired where
(1) When that fine writer and pious author, Mr. William
Law, came to die, he seemed to enjoy the full assurance of faith.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
309
present happiness is to be found? may we not say
with confidence,
" No doubt 'tis in the human breast,
When clam'rous conscience lies at rest,
Appeased by love divine;
Where Peace has fix'd her snow-white throne,
And Faith and holy Hope are known,
And grateful Praise erects her shrine."
After all, suppose there should be no future exist-
ence—what do welose?(1) But, if there should be a
future state," and that there is, all nature cries aloud
through all her works,"—then what shall become of
the philosophic infidel, the immoral Christian, and
the mere nominal professor? "If the righteous
" Away with these filthy garments!" said the expiring saint;
" I feel a sacred fire kindled in my soul, which will destroy every
thing contrary to itself, and burn as a flame of divine love to
all eternity."
This learned man, in the latter part of his life, degenerated
into all the fooleries of mysticism; and there is some reason to
suppose his extravagant notions might be one means of driving
the celebrated Gibbon into a state of infidelity.
(1) [This question has been impressively answered by the
highly-gifted, but erring and unhappy Lord Byron. In a
letter, addressed to John Shepherd, Esq., of Frome, under
peculiarly interesting circumstances, (given at the close of that
gentleman's admirable " Thoughts on Private Devotion,") his
Lordship says : " Indisputably the firm believers in the Gospel
have a great advantage over all others, for this simple reason,
that if true, they will have their reward hereafter, and if there
be no hereafter, they can but be with the infidel in his eternal
sleep, having had the assistance of an exalted hope, through
life, without subsequent disappointment, since (at the worst for
them) out of nothing,nothing can arise, not even sorrow."]—En.
310
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the
sinner appear ?"
" What can preserve my life, or what destroy ?
An angel's arm can't snatch me from the grave;
Legions of angels can't confine me there."
Reflect, then, my countrymen, upon your situation.
Be the Scriptures true or false; be Jesus Christ a
vile impostor, or the only Saviour of the World; yet
we are undeniably reasonable creatures, and under
tne moral government of God. This is no mere
notion, that may be true or false, but a plain matter
of fact, which every man may be sensible of by
looking into his own bosom. Natural religion, there-
fore, at least, must be binding upon us. And that
also requires, on pain of the highest penalties,
that we should deny ungodliness, all impiety and
profaneness, and worldly lusts, all irregular secular
pleasures and pursuits, and live soberly, chastely,
temperately, righteously, doing strict justice in all
our dealings between man and man, and showing
mercy to every child of distress to the utmost of our
power; and godlily, religiously, piously worshipping
the Divine Being, constantly and conscientiously, in
public and in private, and zealously endeavouring
to please him in every part of our conduct. Deism,
as well as Christianity, requires all this. We gain
nothing then, but lose a great deal, by rejecting the
merciful dispensation of the Gospel, and having re-
course to the religion of nature.(') For natural
(1) What a picture does Yoltaire draw of the condition of man ?
And indeed, though it is very melancholy, it is very just, upon
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 311
religion, equally with revealed, condemns all immoral
men, under the penalty of incurring the utmost dis-
pleasure of our Maker.
his own principles, that the way of salvation, revealed in the
Gospel, has no foundation in truth.
" Who can, without horror," says this sophistical philosopher,
" consider the whole earth as the empire of destruction } It
abounds in wonders; it abounds also in victims; it is a vast
field, of carnage and contagion. Every species is without pity;
pursued and torn to pieces through the earth, and air, and
water! In man there is more wretchedness than in all other
animals put together. He smarts continually under two scourges
which other animals never feel; anxiety and listlessness in ap-
petence, which make him weary of himself. He loves life, and
yet he knows that he must die. If he enjoy some transient
good, for which he is thankful to heaven, he suffers various evils,
and is at last devoured by worms. This knowledge is his fatal
prerogative; other animals have it not. He feels it every mo-
ment, rankling and corroding in his breast. Yet he spends the
transient moment of his existence in diffusing the misery that
he suffers; in cutting the throats of his fellow creatures for pay;
in cheating and being cheated; in robbing and being robbed;
in serving that he may command; and in repenting of all that
he does. The bulk of mankind are nothing more than a crowd
of wretches, equally criminal and unfortunate; and the globe
contains rather carcasses than men. I tremble upon a review of
this dreadful picture, to find that it implies a complaint against
Providence; and I wish that I had never been born!"
Let any man consider well this declaration; afterwards pro-
ceed to take a view of the last three months and dying scene of
Voltaire, and then let him say what this old sinner ever gained
by his boasted infidelity and philosophy.
[What a contrast to the language of the infidel is that of
Halyburton, who died as he had lived, full of confidence in God.
" I shall shortly get a very different sight of God, from what I
have ever had, and shall be made meet to praise him for ever
and ever. Oh, the thoughts of an incarnate Deity are sweet
312
a plea for religion
" But then you have the satisfaction to think there
is no devil. By rejecting the Bible you have at least
got clear of this bugbear, with which we frighten
children and old women !"
If we should ask, how you know there is no such
fallen spirit ? you can give no rational answer. Are
you acquainted with all the secrets of the invisible
world? Your ipse dixit will go no further than ours.
We say there is such a being, and we appeal to all
history, especially to the writings of the Old and
New Testaments; the evidence of which is such as
no man ever did, or ever can, fairly answer. The
Son of God, the Messenger from the invisible state,
hath taught us this doctrine; (l) and we are firmly
persuaded it is acting a more rational part to give
credit to his information concerning the invisible
world, than to trust to the vague, uncertain, and
and ravishing ! Oh, how I wonder at myself, that I do not love
him more, and that I do not admire him more ! What a wonder
that i enjoy such composure under all my hodily pains, and in
the view of death itself ! What a mercy that, having the use
of my reason, i can declare his goodness to my soul! I long
for his salvation, i hless his name that I have found him, and
die rejoicing in him. Oh, blessed be God that i was born !
Oh, that i was where he is ! I have a father and a mother, and
ten brothers and sisters in heaven, and i shall be the eleventh.
Oh, there is a telling in this Providence, and i shall be telling
it for ever ! If there be such a glory in his conduct towards me
now, what will it be to see the Lamb in the midst of the throne ?
Blessed he God, that ever i was born !]—Ed.
(1) The Bible is full of the doctrine of fallen angels. See
especially Matt. x. 1.—Ibid xxv. 41.—Mark v. 8, 9. John
viii. 44.—2 Cor. xi. 14, 15.—James ii. 19.—2 Peter ii. 4.
1 John iii. 8.—Jude ver. 6.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 313
contradictory lights of a vain philosophy. What
have you to reply?—" There is no such being in
nature."—And so your affirmation or negation is to
be the standard of truth! A little more modesty
might become you well; certainly it would make
you the more amiable men, and not less comfortable
in your own minds.
But suppose there be no devil—what do you gain ?
—Still man is a rational creature, and you are under
the moral as well as the natural government of the
Divine Being. And if you have been dexterous
enough to get clear of one enemy, you have two yet
left, the world and your own nature—your lusts and
passions within you, and the allurements of visible
objects without you. Can you deny the existence
of these ? And are you perfectly sure that you shall
be able to wage a successful warfare with two such
potent adversaries ?
You see, then, my countrymen, that when you have
hooted the Bible out of the world, proved the Virgin
Mary to be a bad woman, Jesus Christ to be an
illegitimate child, and annihilated the devil—won-
derful feats I worthy of all praise!—you must not
stop here. There is no safety for you till you have
also annihilated the Maker and Governor of the
World. Atheism must be your dernier resort.(') For
if there be a God, every immoral man will be, ere
(1) Antiphanes, a very ancient poet, who lived near a hundred
years before Socrates, hath strongly expressed his expectation
of future existence. " Be not grieved," says he, " above mea-
sure for thy deceased friends. They are not dead, but have
only finished that journey which it is necessary for every one
of us to take. We ourselves must go to that great place of
314
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
long, a miserable man. You must therefore, to be
consistent, and obtain composure in your irre-
ligious courses, plunge headlong into the gulph of
Atheism^1)—But then, what will you do with reason
reception in which they are all assembled, and in this general
rendezvous of mankind live together in another state of being."
—Spectator, No. 289.
(1) Books proper to be consulted against Atheism may be
these that follow:—Nieuwentyt's Religious Philosopher—
Adams' Lectures on Natural and Experimental Philosophy—
Clarke's Discourse concerning the Being and Attributes of God
—Baxter's Matho—Necker's Importance of Religious Opinions
—Bishop Cumberland on the Laws of Nature—Bentley's
Boyle's Lectures—Ray's Wisdom of God in the Works of Crea-
tion—Wollaston's Religion of Nature—Wesley's Survey of the
Wisdom of God in the Creation—Derham's Physico and Astro-
Theology—Cudworth's true Intellectual System—Bishop Wil-
kins on Natural Religion—Sturm's Reflections on the Works
of God—Spectacle de la Nature, by Le Pluche—and Fenelon's
Demonstration of the Existence, Wisdom, and Omnipotence of
God, drawn from the knowledge of nature, particularly of man,
and fitted to the meanest capacity: this is a fine little work,
and worthy of its great author. To these may be added also,
Swammerdam's Book of Nature—Bonnet's Philosophical Re-
searches—and St. Pierre's Studies of Nature, abound with much
ingenious matter in proof of the Divine Existence.
[Howe most powerfully and successfully contended with
Spinoza, in his " Living Temple." See his Works, vol. i. The
volumes on Natural Theology by Archdeacon Paley and Lord
Brougham; the Sermon on Infidelity, by Robert Hall; the
Discourses of Dr. Dwight, in his System of Theology • and
those published separately on the same subject; together with
Douglas's Truths and Errors of Religion; the Bridgewater
Treatises; and Fergus's Testimony of Nature, and Revelation,
to the Being, Perfections, and Government of God, may all
be noticed as demanding, and well calculated to repay, an
attentive perusal.]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 315
and conscience, those troublesome inmates of the
human bosom? Can you bring yourselves calmly
to believe, that this beautiful frame of nature, which
displays so much intelligence, wisdom, power, good-
ness, justice, art, design, is the work of chance ?
That admirable piece of mechanism, your own body,
the meanest insect that crawls upon the ground, nay,
the very watch in your pocket, will confute the sup-
position. You must, therefore, you see, come back
to and embrace the religion of Jesus, with us believers.
You cannot find rest, upon the principles of sound
reason, in any other system. For though the Gospel
is attended with various and great difficulties, as
every view of both the natural and moral world
unquestionably is; yet it is attended with the fewest
difficulties, and none but such as are honestly super-
able; and is, at the same time, the most comfortable
and happy institution that ever was proposed to the
consideration and acceptance of reasonable creatures.
I transcribe the names of such a variety of authors, hoth here
and on former pages, not out of any vain and foolish ostenta-
tion, but to inform the less experienced reader to what books he
may have recourse, if he finds it necessary to the peace and
satisfaction of his own mind. But there is no proof of the exist-
ence of God, and the truth of Christianity, so consolatory as
the experimental and heart-felt knowledge of God, and of his
Son Jesus Christ. Indeed, all other proofs, without this, are
to little purpose; and this is independent of every other argu-
ment. For though it cannot with propriety be adduced for the
conviction of unbelievers, it is calculated to yield more satis-
faction to our own bosoms than the most laboured arguments
that reach the understanding only. Poor people, whose minds
have taken a religious turn, usually rest their salvation upon
this experimental conviction alone.
316
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Nothing was ever so pure, so benevolent, so divine,
so perfective of human nature, so adapted to the
wants and circumstances of mankind. To live under
the full power of it, is to have the proper enjoyment
of life.(') To believe and obey it, is to be entitled
to a " crown that fadeth not away."
Upon the supposition, that the person whom we
call the Saviour of the World, had no commission
from heaven to make the will of God known to
mankind, would it not be one of the greatest miracles,
that he and his twelve followers, poor, unlettered,
and obscure men, should have brought to light a
system of doctrines the most sublime, and of morals
the most perfect? that Jesus and the fishermen of
Galilee should have far surpassed Socrates, Plato,
Cicero, and all the greatest men of the most enlight-
ened period of the world? that every thing they
advanced should perfectly agree both with the
natural, civil, and religious history of mankind?
that their discourses should still be capable of im-
proving and delighting the most learned and pro-
found geniuses of these latter ages ? (2) that all
(1) " There is not a single precept in the Gospel, without ex-
cepting that which ordains the forgiveness of injuries, or that
which commands every one ' to possess his vessel in sanctifica-
tion and honour,' which is not calculated to promote our hap-
piness."
Sir Isaac Newton has given us a demonstration of the exist-
ence and intelligence of the Divine Being, in the close of his
Principia, which the atheistical reader would do well to consi-
der at his leisure. And to the above books against Atheism,
should be added a very excellent and satisfactory Discourse by
Archbishop Tillotson, on the Wisdom of being Religious.
(2) Newton accounted the Scriptures the most sublime philo-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 317
modern discoveries should bear witness to the truth
of the facts recorded in the most venerable of all
volumes ? and that every book in the world, sacred
or profane, Christian, Jewish, Pagan, or Maho-
metan, instead of lessening, should establish the
credit and authority of the Bible as a revelation
from heaven! (')
sophv, and never mentioned the word—God—but with a pause.
See Bishop Watson's Two Sermons and Charge, p. 9, where
this is asserted. The same thing is recorded ofthe Honourable
Robert Boyle, by Bishop Burnet. How different the conduct
of our minute philosophers !
(I) Mr. Whiston, in his Astronomical Principles of Religion,
gives us a short view of the reasons which induced him to be-
lieve the Jewish and Christian revelations to be true. These
reasons are the following:—
" 1. The revealed religion of the Jews and Christians lays
the law of nature for its foundation; and all along supports and
assists natural religion, as every true revelation ought to do.
" 2. Astronomy, and the rest of our certain mathematic
sciences, do confirm the accounts of Scripture, so far as they are
concerned.
" 3. The most ancient and besthistorical accounts now known,
do, generally speaking, confirm the accounts of Scripture, so far
as they are concerned.
" 4. The more learning has increased, the more certain, in
general, do the Scripture accounts appear; and its difficult
places are more cleared thereby.
" 5. There are, or have been generally, standing memorials
preserved of the certain truths of the principal historical facts,
which were constant evidences for the certainty of them.
" 6. Neither the Mosaical law, nor the Christian religion,
could possibly have been received and established, without such
miracles as the Sacred History contains.
" 7. Although the Jews all along hated and persecuted the
prophets of God; yet they were forced to believe they were
true prophets, and their writings of Divine inspiration.
318
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
This is more extraordinary still, when it is consi-
dered that the object of our Saviour's religion is
new, the doctrines new, his personal character
" 8. The ancient and present state of the Jewish nation are
strong arguments for the truth of their law, and of the Scripture
prophecies relating to them.
" 9. The ancient and present state of the Christian Church
are also strong arguments for the truth of the Gospel, and of the
Scripture prophecies relating thereto.
" 10. The miracles, whereon the Jewish and Christian reli-
gion are founded, were of old owned to he true by their very
enemies.
"11. The sacred writers, who lived in times'and places so
remote from one another, do yet all cany on one and the same
grand design; namely, that of the salvation of mankind, by the
worship of, and obedience to, the one true God, in and through
the king Messiah; which, without a Divine conduct, could
never have been done.
" 12. The principal doctrines of the Jewish and Christian
religion are agreeable to the most ancient traditions of all other
nations.
" 13. The difficulties relating to this religion are not such as
affect the truth of the facts, but the conduct of Providence ; the
reasons of which the sacred writers never pretend fully to know,
or to reveal to mankind.
" 14. Natural religion, which is yet so certain in itself, is not
without such difficulties as to the conduct of Providence, as are
objected to revelation.
" 15. The Sacred History has the greatest marks of truth,
honesty,and impartiality, of all other histories whatsoever; and
withal has none of the known marks of knavery and imposture.
" 16. The predictions of Scripture have been still fulfilled in
the several ages of the world whereto they belong.
" 17. No opposite systems of the universe, or schemes of
Divine revelation, have any tolerable pretences to be true, but
those of the Jews and Christians.
" These are the plain and obvious arguments, which persuade
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 319
new, (') and the religion itself superior to all that
was known among men. These are considerations
me of the truth of the Jewish and Christian revelations, which
I earnestly recommend to the further consideration of the
inquisitive reader."
(1) " The four Evangelists," of whom such contemptuous
things have heen spoken by Mr. Paine and others," have done,
without appearing to have intended it, what was never performed
by any authors before or since. They have drawn a perfect
human character, without a single flaw! They have given the
history of one, whose spirit, words, and actions, were in every
particular what they ought to have heen; who always did the
very thing which was proper, and in the best manner imagi-
nable; who never once deviated from the most consummate
wisdom, purity, benevolence, compassion, meekness, humility,
fortitude, patience, piety, zeal, and every other excellency; and
who, in no instance, let one virtue or holy disposition intrench
on another; but exercised them all in entire harmony and exact
proportion. The more the histories of the Evangelists are ex-
amined, the clearer will this appear, and the more evidently
will it be perceived that they all coincide in the view they
give of their Lord's character. This subject challenges inves-
tigation, and sets infidelity at defiance ! Either these four men
exceeded in genius and capacity all the writers that ever lived,
or they wrote under the special guidance of Divine inspiration;
for without labour or affectation, they have effected what has
baffled all others, who have set themselves purposely to accom-
plish it.
" Industry, ingenuity, and malice have, for many ages, been
employed, in endeavouring to prove the Evangelists inconsistent
with each other; but not a single contradiction has been proved
upon them." t
This quotation is taken from the Rev. T. Scott's Answer to
Paine's Age of Reason. The whole forms a satisfactory anti-
dote against the poison of that virulent Deist's publication; and
may be had at the very moderate price of one shilling.
With this may he compared the fine account that Rousseau
320
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
t
which ought to have much weight with every man
who calls himself a philosopher, and wishes to be
lias given us of the Gospel, which is more remarkable, as it is
from the pen of an enemy.
" I will confess to you," says he, " that the majesty of the
Scriptures strikes me with admiration, as the purity of the
Gospel hath its influence on my heart. Peruse the works of
our philosophers, with all their pomp of diction: how mean,
how contemptible are they, compared with the Scripture ! Is it
possible that a book, at once so simple and sublime, should be
merely the work of man I Is it possible that the Sacred Per-
sonage, whose history it contains, should be himself a mere
man ! Do we find that he assumed the tone of an enthusiast
or ambitious sectary! What sweetness, what purity in his
manner! What an affecting gracefulness in his delivery !
What sublimity in his maxims ! What profound wisdom in
his discourses! What presence of mind in his replies! How
great the command over his passions ! Where is the man,
where the philosopher, who could so live and so die, without
weakness, and without ostentation ! When Plato described his
imaginary good man, loaded with all the shame of guilt, yet
meriting the highest rewards of virtue, he describes exactly the
character of Jesus Christ: the resemblance was so striking,
that all the Christian fathers perceived it
" What prepossession, what blindness must it be, to compare
Socrates, the son of Sophroniscus, to Jesus, the son of Mary!
What an infinite disproportion there is between them ! Socrates
dying without pain or ignominy, easily supported his character
to the last; and if his death, however easy, had not crowned
his life, it might have been doubted whether Socrates, with all
his wisdom, was any thing more than a vain sophist. He in-
vented, it is said, the theory of morals. Others, however, had
before put them in practice: he had only to say therefore what
they had done, and to reduce their examples to precepts. Axis-
tides had been just, before Socrates defined justice : Leonidas
had given up his life for his country, before Socrates declared
patriotism to be a duty: the Spartans were a sober people before
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 321
determined in his judgment only by the reason and
nature of things. (')
Socrates recommended sobriety: before he had even defined
virtue, Greece abounded in virtuous men. But where could
Jesus learn, among his competitors, that pure and sublime
morality, of which he only hath given us both precept and
example. The greatest wisdom was made known among the
most bigotted fanaticism, and the simplicity of the most heroic
virtues did honour to the vilest people upon earth. The death
of Socrates, peaceably philosophizing with his friends, appears
the most agreeable that could be wished for; that of Jesus,
expiring in the midst of agonizing pains, abused, insulted, and
accused by a whole nation, is the most horrible that could be
feared. Socrates, in receiving the cup of poison, blessed indeed
the weeping executioner who administered it; but Jesus, in the
midst of excruciating tortures, prayed for his merciless tormen-
tors. Yes, if the life and death of Socrates were those of a
sage, the life and death of Jesus are those of a God. Shall we
suppose the evangelic history a mere fiction? Indeed, my
friend, it bears not the marks of fiction ; on the contrary, the
history of Socrates, which nobody presumes to doubt, is not so
well attested as that of Jesus Christ. Such a supposition, in
fact, only shifts the difficulty, without obviating it; it is more
inconceivable that a number of persons should agree to write
such a history, than that only one should furnish the subject of
it. The Jewish authors were incapable of the diction, and
strangers to the morality contained in the Gospel, the marks of
whose truth are so striking and inimitable, that the inventor
would be a more astonishing character than a hero."—Emilius.
(I) It is truly remarkable, and highly satisfactory to the
serious Christian, that all modern discoveries are so far from
proving unfavourable to the truth of the Sacred Writings, that
they strongly tend to the illustration and confirmation of them.
All voyages and travels, into the East especially, are particu-
larly useful in this point of view. Bruce's Travels throw light
upon many biblical circumstances. Maurice's Indian Anti-
qui ties, and History of Hindostan, are singularly valuable.
' Y
322 A PLEA FOR RELIGION
" But, is it possible any reasonable man should
be so weak as to suppose the book, called the Bible,
can be the Word of God ?"
No intelligent Christian will distinguish it by that
name, without a large restriction of its contents.
All we assert respecting it, is, that it is a collection
of writings, containing a history of the Divine dis-
pensationsto our world, and that the proper Word (')
of God, with numberless other particulars, is inter-
"woven all the way through these most ancient and
invaluable writings.
" Is it to be conceived by any man, who hath the
least pretension to common sense, that the several
simple relations recorded in the books of Moses,
Joshua, Judges, and those which follow, can be
founded in truth ?"
Most of our misapprehensions of this kind arise
from not duly considering the infant state of the
Harmer's Observations on divers passages of Scripture, is a work
superior to every thing of the kind, as it contains a selection,
from a variety of voyages and travels, of such circumstances
as have a tendency to illustrate the meaning of a large number
of obscure passages in the Sacred Writings. [A considerable
addition has of late been made to this most interesting and
valuable part of our literature. Burder's Oriental Customs,
and Paxton's Illustrations of Scripture, together with a part of
Ward's History of the Hindoos, Laborde's Travels, and also
those of Came, throw great light on many portions of divine
revelation. The service rendered (and often unintentionally)
by modern travellers to the same cause, is admirably shown
in Keith's work on Prophecy, which reached its fourteenth
edition in 1836 ]—Ed.
(1) See this matter set in a very proper light, in the fourth
Letter of Bishop Watson's Apology for the Bible.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 823
world, the progressive nature of civil society, and
the different manners of the several ages and coun-
tries of the earth. The customs of the eastern na-
tions, where the Bible was originally written, were
then, and indeed are at this day, extremely different
from our own; almost as much so as between the
manners of the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands,
and those of this country. And while we are won-
dering at the simplicity of their customs, they are
entertaining themselves with the novelty of ours.(')
" But then, what occasion was there for a Medi-
ator? Is not God the wise and good parent of all
his creatures? and cannot he pardon our offences,
and make us happy in the future state, without the
interposition of any other being whatever?"
What God can do, what he hath done, and what
he will do, are very different considerations. If it
were equally consistent with his wisdom and good-
ness to save mankind without a Mediator, we may
(1) This objection is well answered in the first Letter of
Bishop Watson's Apology.
The character of Moses and his writings is very amply and
satisfactorily vindicated from all the usual objections of infidels,
in the first of Bishop Newton's Dissertations on some parts of
the Old Testament. Little more either need or can be added
to what this learned man hath advanced. If the reader is
disposed, he may add Gray's Key to the Old Testament.
After reading such authors, it is scarcely possible to avoid
entertaining an opinion extremely contemptible of Thomas
Paine.
Mr. Hervey's Remarks on Lord Bolingbroke's Letters on the
Study and Use of History, contain many pious and satisfactory
observations on the history of the Old Testament, especially
on the writings of Moses.
Y 2
324 A PLEA FOR RELIGION
be assured it would have been done. But as the
Divine Being hath thought proper to institute the
mediatorial scheme, we may be assured there are
the best reasons for the appointment; though we
may be incapable of discovering, and even compre-
hending, what all those reasons are. Indeed, even
in this state, few of the blessings of Providence are
conveyed to us, except by the intervention of medi-
ators. The whole plan of the world is carried for-
ward by the assistance of others. How many
mediators must there be, before we can be supplied
with our daily bread ? (l)
" If a revelation must be made to mankind, why
was it delivered in the historic form ? Why was it
not rather given in some set and regular composi-
tion, worthy of its author ?"
The reason of this must be resolved into Divine
wisdom. He, that best knew the nature of man,
chose this method in preference to every other; and
there is no reason to question, but that the va-
riety of compositions, of which the Bible is formed,
is much better adapted to the circumstances of the
great bulk of mankind, than any set and regular dis-
course in the didactic form. (2)
(1) «*iee Soame Jenyns's View of the Internal Evidence of the
Christian Religion, and Butler's Analogy, passim, where the
doctrine of the mediatorship of the Messiah is considered at
large, with unanswerable evidence.
(2) Let the reader consult Mr. Wakefield's Evidence of
Christianity, where he will find a number of remarks well
adapted to display the excellence, recommend the purity, illus-
trate the character, and evince the authenticity of the Christian
religion. See, too, Cobbold's Essay on the Historic form of
Scripture.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 325
" The books of Moses are thought by many to
have been written some ages after his time ?" (')
The authenticity of these books is unquestionable,
and has been amply vindicated, by men every way
furnished for the inquiry. (2)
" Though some parts of the books of Moses are
written with great beauty and simplicity, yet many
of his laws are trifling, and unworthy of a great
legislator ?"
This objection arises from a want of due attention
to the state of the people, for whom those laws were
enacted. When the circumstances of the Jews are
properly considered, the Mosaic institutions will ap-
(1) Le Clerc was of this opinion in his younger days; hut
after more reading, and a better informed judgment, he changed
his mind, and wrote in defence of their genuineness and
authenticity.
" The first, and truly original historians," says another
learned man, " are those of the Hebrew Scriptures. The
sacred writers, to the unequalled dignity of their subject, unite
a majestic simplicity and perspicuity of style and narration.
Moses, the most ancient, is the most perfect of historians.
His style is copious, even, and clear. Like a deep river, he
bears his reader with a calm and majestic course. It was his
purpose, to give a body of laws as well as a thread of history ;
and by interweaving them together, he has authenticated both :
for it is impossible to forge the civil and religious policy of a
great nation."
The ingenious reader will find much entertainment and in-
struction, and various difficulties obviated, in Bryant's Obser-
vations on the Plagues of Egypt.
(2) See Prideaux's Connexion, b. 6; Kidder's Commentary
on the Books of Moses; Witsii Miscellanea Sacra; Marsh's
Discourse on the Authenticity of those Books; and Du Pin's
Bibliotheca.
326
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
pear to be adapted, with the most consummate pro-
priety, to those circumstances. (') It is extremely
hard that the Bible should be made accountable for
our ignorance.
"The character and conduct of David, who is
' called a man after God's own heart,' can never be
defended by any person who has the least regard
to truth and moral excellency?"
It is not the business of these papers to enter into
a minute defence of all those parts of the Bible,
which may seem objectionable. The character of
David, however, stands high in our estimation, ex-
cept in the case of Uriah; and as it has been virulently
attacked by some considerable men, so it has been
no less ably defended. And to such defence, we
beg leave to refer those readers who find themselves
concerned. (2)
(1) Consult Lowman's Dissertation on the Civil Government
of the Hebrews, and Dr. Randolph's Excellency of the Jewish
Law vindicated. See, too, Forties's Thoughts on Religion.
(2) Delany's Historical Account of the Life and Reign of
David is valuable—Bishop Porteus's Sermon on the Character
of David abounds with just remarks; but Chandler's Critical
History of the life of David enters at large into the subject, and
is particularly satisfactory. Another learned man says:
" If we consider David, in the great variety of his fine qnali-
fications; the ornaments of his person, and the far more illus-
trious endowments of his mind; the surprising revolutions in
his fortune ; sometimes reduced to the lowest ebb of adversity,
sometimes riding upon the highest tide of prosperity; his sin-
gular dexterity in extricating himself from difficulties, and pe-
culiar felicity in accommodating himself to all circumstances;
the prizes he won as a youthful champion, and the victories
he gained as an experienced general; his masterly hand upon
the harp, and his inimitable talent for poetry; the admirable
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 327
" The characters and manners of the ancient pro-
phets were uncouth, and unworthy of the God who
is said to have sent them ?"
In general, they were moral and religious men,
and their manners were in perfect conformity to the
times in which they lived, and the people among
whom they conversed. Besides, it is not essential to
the character of a prophet of the true God, that he
should be a good man. Balaam is an instance to the
contrary. God, indeed, in the course of his Provi-
deuce, frequently uses bad men as instruments to
accomplish his own purposes.
" But there are many actions ascribed to the ser-
vants of God, in the Old Testament, which very
much wound the feelings of every good man. Noah
was guilty of intoxication : Abraham of dissimu
lation; Jacob of lying; Aaron of idolatry ; Jael
of treachery and murder; David of adultery and
murder; Solomon of idolatry and lewdness; and
many others of crimes of several kinds ?"
The relation of all these instances of wickedness
in the servants of God, is a proof of the disinterest-
edness and impartiality of the sacred historians ; and
these crimes are recorded, not for our imitation, but
for our admonition. If we attend to the conse-
regulations of Ms royal government, and the incomparable
usefulness of his public writings ; the depth of his repentance,
and the height of his devotion;—the vigour of his faith in the
Divine promises, and the ardour of his love to the Divine Ma-
jesty-;—if we consider these, with several other marks of honour
and grace, which ennoble the history of his life, we shall see
such an assemblage of shining qualities, as perhaps were never
united in any other merely human character."
328 A PLEA FOR RELIGION
quences of these several transgressions, we shd.ll see
no good reason to imitate them. It is not any where
recorded, that these faulty parts of their conduct
met with the approbation of Heaven.
" How may the horrible destruction of the na-
tions of Canaan be reconciled with the principles of
mercy and goodness ?"
Just as pestilence, famine, storms, tempests, and
earthquakes may be reconciled with those lovely
perfections. The Moral Governor of the World is
at liberty to destroy offending nations and indivi-
duals, in any manner he judges meet.(') We see
this to be the constant course of Divine Providence.
"But, you should like to have been eye-witness
of the mighty works wrought by Moses (*) and
Jesus Christ ?"
(1) See this vindicated, in Bryant's Treatise on the Scrip-
tures; in the first letter of Watson's Apology; and in almost
every other author who has treated upon subjects of th i
nature.
(2) The writings of Moses have received much confirmation
and elucidation from the learned labours of the late Sir William
Jones, and Mr. Maurice. All the leading circumstances of the
Mosaic history are found detailed, with various degrees of cor-
ruption and perversion, among the writings of the East Indies.
The following account of Noah and his three sons, from
Mr. Maurice's Sanscreet Fragments, is very remarkable, and
strongly corroborative of the Mosaic history :—
" 1. To Satyavarman,that sovereign of the whole earth, were
born three sons: the eldest, Sherma; then Charma; and,
thirdly, Jyapeti, hy name.
" 2. They were all men of good morals, excellent in virtue
and virtuous deeds, skilled in the use of weapons to strike with
or to be thrown ; brave men, eager for victory in battle.
" 3. But Satyavarman, being continually delighted with de-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 329
So should we. Has not every man, in every age,
and in every country under heaven, the same right
to expect this indulgence? Miracles must, there-
fore, be wrought at all times, in all places, and
before every individual of mankind. And what
would be the consequence ? Miracles would cease
to be miracles, and the whole course of nature would
be thrown into confusion and disorder. So unrea-
sonable are the demands of wayward men.
"Many parts of the Old Testament are extremely
dull, uninteresting, and even unintelligible?"
Considering the ages in which it was written ; the
different manners which prevailed; the frequency of
allusions to ancient customs and circumstances no
vout meditation, and seeing his sons fit for dominion, laid upon
them the burden of government.
" 4. Whilst he remained honouring and satisfying the gods,
and priests, and kine, one day, by the act of destiny, the king
having drunk mead,
" 5. Became senseless, and lay asleep naked. Then was he
seen by Charma, and by him were his two brothers called;
"6. To whom he said, What has now befallen? In what
state is this our sire? By those two was he hidden with
clothes, and called to his senses again and again.
" 7. Having recovered his intellect, and perfectly knowing
what had passed, he cursed Charma, saying, Thou shalt be ser-
vant of servants;
" 8. And since thou wast a laugher in their presence, from
laughter shalt thou acquire a name. Then he gave to Sherma
the wide domain on the south of the snowy mountains;
" 9. And to Jyapeti he gave all on the north of the snowy
mountains; but he, by the power of religious contemplation,
attained supreme bliss."
Asiatic Researches, vol. iii. p. 467, and Mr. Maurice's San-
screet Fragments, p. 44.
330 A PLEA FOR RELIGION
longer known : considering, too, that we generally
read it in one of the most literal of all translations;
and that many hundreds of places are really inaccu-
rately translated ; it is truly wonderful that it should
be so intelligible as it is, and appear to so much ad-
vantage. Most of our objections to those admirable
writings are founded in our own ignorance. (') Be-
fore we set up to be critics upon the Bible, let us
make ourselves thorough masters of the three lan-
guages in which it is written, and of the customs
which prevailed in those countries, and in those ages
when it was written. An avowed infidel, with these
qualifications, I believe, is not at this day to be found
in England. No person of a serious cast of mind, of
pure morals, and a competent share of learning, can
be an infidel. Shew us the man of this description,
who professedly rejects the Divine mission of Jesus
Christ, and we shall think the cause of infidelity less
desperate.
" But are there not many contradictions, absurdi-
ties, and falsehoods in the books of the New Testa-
ment, such as no man can reconcile ?"
We deny that there is either contradiction, absur-
(1) It is no inconsiderable proof of tbe truth of some of the
historical books of the Old Testament, that the ten tribes of
Israel, which were carried captive by Shalmaneser, king of As-
syria, upwards of 2,500 years ago,-and which had been supposed
to be lost and swallowed up among the nations through which
they were scattered, are now found to exist as a distinct people,
in the eastern parts of the world, under the name of Afghans.
Their traditions are little more than a mutilated and perverted
history of the ancient Jews. See the second volume of the
Asiatic Researches for a fuller account of these people.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 331
dity, or falsehood, in this inestimable volume.C)
There are, we grant, certain apparent blemishes of
these kinds, but not even one that is real. Learned
men have vindicated it from these charges with all
reasonable evidence. Can we suppose that such a
man as Locke would have said, that " it is all pure,
all sincere; nothing too much, nothing wanting," if
such charges could be made good against it? But
suppose the New Testament did abound with both
(1) " Holy Scriptures are an adorable mixture, of clearness
and obscurity, which enlighten and humble thft children of God,
and blind and harden those of this world. The light proceeds
from God, and the blindness from the creature."
This is an observation of that admirable divine, Dr. Wilson,
late Bishop of Sodor and Man, whose works contain a rich
magazine of pious and useful observations. If all our bishops
and clergy had lived, and preached, and wrote in the spirit of
this good man, there would have been few infidels this day in
England. Bishop Wilson, though entitled to the honour, al-
ways declined sitting in the House of Lords, saying, " That the
church should have nothing to do with the state. Christ's
kingdom is not of this world." See his works, vol. i. p. 34,
quarto edit.
The public is greatly indebted to the late Archbishop New-
come, an Irish prelate, for his learned labours on biblical sub-
jects. This sound scholar declares his opinion to be, that
" every genuine proposition in Scripture, whether doctrinal or
historical, contains a truth when it is rightly understood; and
that all real difficulties in the Gospels will at length yield to the
efforts of rational criticism." See his Harmony.
Though Dr. Mill has enumerated more than 30,000 varia-
tions in the manuscripts and versions of the New Testament, it
is very remarkable and highly satisfactory, that they do not,
when all put together, affect any thing essential, either in the
doctrines or precepts of the Gospel. [See Home's Introduc-
tion to the Scripture, vol. i. p. 129.]—Ed.
332 A FLEA FOR RELIGION
contradictions, absurdities, and falsehoods, this cir-
cumstance, though less honourable in itself, would
by no means render null the Divine mission of Jesus
Christ. He might be the true Messiah notwithstand-
ing. Impartial men should weigh this well, before
they make the real or supposed blemishes of Scrip-
ture a ground of their rejecting the Saviour of the
World.
" Why was so severe a penalty as everlasting (')
punishment denounced against sin in the Gospel?
This seems hard, and, indeed, inconsistent with the
goodness and mercy of the Divine Being."
Guilty man is an improper judge in this matter.
Infinite Wisdom hath seen good to denounce such
punishment against incorrigible transgressors, and,
therefore, we may be well assured, it is consistent
with infinite goodness and mercy. If the denuncia-
tion of eternal torments will not restrain men from
sin, much less would a shorter duration have done it.
"The Gospel of Christ bears too hard upon the
(1) In the 35tli of Archbishop Tillotson's Sermons, every
thing is said upon the eternity of the torments of hell that can
be known with any certainty. It is a discourse well worth the
serious attention of the reader, especially in the present time of
relaxed divinity, and more relaxed morality.
Some very considerable men, among whom may he reckoned
the late Bishop Newton and Dr. David Hartley, have been of
opinion, that eternal punishment, properly so called, is no
where denounced in Scripture. If so, the objection is of no
force in any point of view. Consult Scarlett's New Testament
on Universal Restitution. We may be assured, however, in
every event of things, "the Judge of all the earth will do
right."
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 333
pleasures of mankind, and lays us under too severe
restraints?"
Does it then rob us of any pleasures worthy the
rational nature ? It restrains us, indeed, but it only
restrains us from things that would do us harm, and
make us and our fellow-creatures miserable. It ad-
mits of every rational, manly, benevolent, and hu-
mane pleasure. Nay, it allows every sensual enjoy-
ment that is consistent with the real good, and true
happiness, of the whole compound nature of man. It
enjoins every thing that can do us good, and it pro-
hibits every thing that will do us harm, under penal-
ties of the most alarming kind. Could a Being of
infinite benevolence and perfection do better, or act
otherwise, consistently with those perfections ?
" How can we, at this distance of time, know that
the writings contained in the Bible are genuine ?
May they not have been corrupted, and many addi-
tions made to them by designing men in after ages?"(')
(1) There are several circumstances, as we have already in
part observed, still in existence, strongly corroborative of the
truth of the Bible. The Mosaic history of the creation is con-
firmed by the present appearance of things; Noah's flood by a
variety of natural phenomena, and the general history of the
world; the destruction of Sodom, by the face of the country
around, and the ruins which have been discovered; the passage
of the Israelites through the Wilderness, by the rock that sup-
plied them with water, which is still in existence, and visible to
the curious inquirer, besides the names of places, and the tra-
ditions of the present inhabitants; the history and prophecies
concerning Nineveh, Babylon, Tyre, Egypt, Jerusalem, and
other cities and countries, are all confirmed by the present state
of those places and countries; the birth and resurrection of
Christ are established by the existing circumstances of the
334 A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Never were any writings conveyed down with so
good evidence of their being genuine as these. Upon
Christian Church; and it is remarkable, that the cleft in the
rock, which is said to have been made by the earthquake at the
crucifixion of Christ, is still visible, and hears witness to the
supernatural concussion. Let the curious reader consult Shaw
and Maundrell's Travels, together with Bryant's Dissertation on
the Divine Mission of Moses, and his Observations on the Place
of Residence given to the Children of Israel in Egypt, and their
Departure from it, for several of the above particulars.
Noah's ark is found, by the most accurate observations of
modern geometricians, to have been contrived after the very best
form for the purpose for which it was intended; and its dimen-
sions perfectly well suited to receive the burden designed for
it. It has been calculated to contain upwards of 72,000 tons
burden.
[The Rev. Dr. Adam Clarke, in his note on the 6th chapter
of Genesis, verse 15, has increased our stock of knowledge on
this difficult, but highly interesting subject, by the following
ingenious and perspicuous observations:—
" As many have supposed the capacity of the ark to have
been much too small for the things which were contained in it,
it will be necessary to examine this subject thoroughly, that
every difficulty may he removed. The things contained in the
ark, besides the eight persons of Noah's family, were one pair of
all unclean animals, and seven pair of all cleag animals, with
provisions for all, sufficient for twelve months.
" At the first view, tlie number of animals may appear so
immense, that no space but the forest could he thought suffi-
cient to contain them. If, however, we come to a calculation,
the number of the different kinds of animals will be found
much less than is generally imagined. It is a question, whe-
ther in this account any but the different genera of animals
necessary to be brought into the ark should be included. Na-
turalists have divided the whole system of zoology into classes
and orders, containing genera and species. There are six
classes thus denominated. 1. Mammalia; 2. Aves; 3. Am-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 335
their first publication, the books of the New Testa-
ment, in particular, were put into all hands, scattered
phibia; 4. Pisces; 5. Insecta:; and 6. Vermes. Withthethree
last of these, viz. fishes, insects, and worms, the question can
have little to do.
" The first class, Mammalia, or animals with teats, contains
seven orders, and only forty-three genera, if we except the
seventh order, cete, i. e. all the whale kind, which certainly
need not come into this account. The different species in this
class amount, the cete excluded, to five hundred and forty-
three.
"The second class, Aves, birds, contains six orders, and only
seventy-four genera, if we exclude the third order, anseres, or
web-footed fowls, all of which could very well live in the water.
The different species in this class, the anseres excepted, amount
to two thousand three hundred and seventy-two.
" The third class, Amphibia, contains only two orders, rep-
tiles and serpents; these comprehend ten genera, and three
hundred and sixty-six species ; hut of the reptiles, many could
live in the water, such as the tortoise, frog, &c. Of the former
there are thirty-three species, of the latter seventeen, which ex-
eluded, reduce the number to three hundred and sixteen. The
whole of these would occupy but little room in the ark, for a
small portion of earth, &c. in the hold, would be sufficient for
their accommodation.
" Bishop Wilkins, who has written largely, and with his
usual accuracy, on this subject, supposes, that quadrupeds do
not amount to one hundred different kinds, nor birds, which
could not live in the water, to two hundred. Of quadrupeds he
shews that only seventy-two species needed a place in the
ark; and the birds he divides into nine classes, including in the
whole one hundred and ninety-five kinds,from which all the web-
footed should be deducted, as these could live in the water.
" He computes all the carniverous animals equivalent, as to
the hulk of their bodies and food, to twenty-seven wolves; and
all the rest to one hundred and eighty oxen. For the former,
he allows one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five sheep
336
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
into all nations, translated into various languages.
They have been quoted by innumerable authors, ap-
pealed to by all parties of Christians, and made the
for their annual consumption; and for the latter, one hundred
and nine thousand five hundred cubits of hay; these animals
and their food will be easily contained in the two first stories,
and much room to spare : as to the third story, no person can
doubt of its being sufficient for the fowls, with Noah and his
family.
" One sheep each day, he judges, will be sufficient for six
wolves; and a square cubit of hay, which contains forty-one
pounds, as ordinarily pressed in our ricks, will be amply suffi-
cient for one ox in the day. When the quantum of room which
these animals and their provender required for one year, is
compared with the capacity of the ark, we shall be led to con-
elude, with the learned bishop, ' that of the two it is more diffi-
cult to assign a number and bulk of necessary things to answer
to the capacity of the ark, than to find sufficient room for the
several species of animals and their food, already known to
have been there.' This be attributes to the imperfection of
our lists of animals, especially those of the unknown parts of
the earth; and adds,' that the most expert mathematicians at
this day,' and he was one of the first in Europe,' could not
assign the proportion of a vessel better accommodated to the
purpose than is here done.' And concludes thus: ' The capa-
city of the ark, which has been made an objection against
Scripture, ought to be esteemed a confirmation of its divine
authority; since, in those ruder ages, men, being less versed in
arts and philosophy, were more obnoxious to vulgar prejudices
ihan now; so that, had it been a human invention, it would
have been contrived according to those wild apprehensions,
which arise from a confused and general view of things, as
much too big as it has been represented too little.' " See Bishop
Wilkins's Essay towards a Philosophical Character and Lan-
g uage.~\—Ed.
Consult Doddridge's Lectures for Heathen Testimonies to the
facts of the Old Testament.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 337
standard of truth in every question of moment. We
can trace them back through every age to the period
in which they were written. And extremely remark-
able and consolatory is the consideration, that not-
withstanding the innumerable times they have been
copied, and the various errors, sects, and parties,
which have arisen, the corruptions which have pre-
vailed in the Church, and the revolutions and con-
vulsions which have taken place among the nations,
the Bible has continued fundamentally the same; in-
somuch that from the very worst copy or translation
in the world we may easily learn the genuine doc-
trines of Christianity. The divisions and squabbles
of men have been wonderfully overruled to the es-
tablishment of God's truth. " The gates of hell shall
not prevail against it." (')
" But notwithstanding all the boasted advantages
of the Gospel, are not many who profess to believe
in Christ, and who attend the ordinances of religion,
the arrantest knaves upon earth?"
Granted. Do you, therefore, infer that the Gos-
pel itself is an imposture ? This argument is good
(1) See Lardner's Credibility, passim; Simpson's Essay on
the Authenticity of the New Testament, where the evidence is
brought into one short view; and Lord Haile's Disquisitions
concerning the Antiquities of the Christian Church.
The celebrated philosopher, Bonnet, of Geneva, assures us,
after a very serious and accurate examination of the subject,
that there is no ancient history " so well attested, as that of the
Messenger of the Gospel; that there are no historical facts
supported by so great a number of proofs, by such striking,
solid, and various proofs, as are those facts on which the reli-
gion of Jesus Christ is founded."
z
338 A PLEA FOR RELIGION
for nothing. It proves too much. Some professors
of natural religion are bad men; therefore natural
religion is an imposture; there is no God. Some
great pretenders to philosophy are knaves; there-
fore philosophy is all an imposition upon mankind.
Some Deists are immoral men; therefore the princi-
pies of Deism are founded in error and delusion.
Was it ever known that any man grew more moral,
pious, virtuous, and heavenly-minded, after rejecting
the Gospel? I could produce you a thousand in-
stances where men have become better by cordially
embracing it; and we may defy you to produce one
instance where any man became worse.
" Can any man, of an enlightened and liberal
mind, embrace the mysterious doctrines of Chris-
tianity ? What must such a one think of the Tri-
nity, the Atonement, the Incarnation, and those other
unaccountable peculiarities of that institution, which
have been a stumbling block to many persons in
every age of the Church ?" (')
(1) Consult Simpson's Apology for the Doctrine of the Tri-
nity, on this objection, where the subject is treated at large.
It appears to me indubitable, that all the real doctrines of
religion, as contained, not in this or the other human institu-
tion, but in the New Testament, are defensible on the purest
principles of reason, without sacrificing any one of its myste-
rious doctrines. There is no need that we should carry our
candour and complaisance so far, to gain the approbation of
any man, or set of men whatever.
The mysterious doctrines of religion have caused some seep-
tical men to reject those Scriptures in which they are con-
tained; others have explained and refined them away. So,
because the doctrines of religion have been abused to supersti-
tion and folly, abundance of our fellow-creatures, without due
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 339
And are there not also many strange and unac-
countable things in the book of nature, and in the
administration of Divine Providence, the design and
use of which we cannot see ? (1) Nay, are there not
consideration, are disposed to cast off all religion whatever.
Ill-judging men! What is human nature without religion ?
How horrible the state of the world without religion! Let
Cicero speak its importance to human happiness: Religione
sublata, perturbatio vitas sequitur, et magna confusio. Atque
haud scio, an pietate adversus Deos sublata, fides etiam et
societas humani generis, et una excellentissima virtus, justitia,
tollatur. De Nat. Deo, 1, 2.
How strongly has this been exemplified in the state of France
for some years!
(1) What if there should be some incomprehensible doctrines
in the Christian religion; some circumstances which, in their
causes or their consequences, pass the reach of human reason;
are they to be rejected on that account 1—" Weigh the matter
fairly, and consider whether revealed religion be not, in this
respect, just upon the same, footing with every other object of
your contemplation. Even in mathematics, the science of de-
monstration itself, though you get over its first principles, and
learn to digest the idea of a point without parts, a line without
breadth, and a surface without thickness, yet you will find
yourselves at a loss to comprehend the peipetual approximation
of lines, which can never meet; the doctrine of incommensura-
bles, and of an infinity of infinities, each infinitely greater, or
infinitely less, not only than any finite quantity, but than each
other. In physics, you cannot comprehend the primary cause
of any thing; not of the light, by which you see ; nor of the
elasticity of the air, by which you hear; nor of the fire, by
which you are warmed. In physiology, you cannot tell what
first gave motion to the heart; nor what continues it; nor why
its motion is less voluntary than that of the lungs; nor why
you are able to move your arm to the right or left, by a
simple volition; you cannot explain the cause of animal heat,
nor comprehend the principle by which your body was first
Z 2
340
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
even some things which to us seem wrong and ill-
contrived? Yet we own the world was created by
God; and that he is the Governor thereof. And
formed, nor by which it is sustained, nor by which it will be
reduced to earth. In natural religion, you cannot comprehend
the eternity or omnipresence of the Deity; nor easily under-
stand, how his prescience can be consistent with your freedom,
or his immutability with his government of moral agents; nor
why he did not make all his creatures equally perfect; nor why
he did not create them sooner : in short, you cannot look into
any branch of knowledge, but you will meet with subjects
above your comprehension. The fall and the redemption of
human kind are not more incomprehensible, than the creation
and conservation of the universe; the infinite Author of the
works of providence, and of nature, is equally inscrutable,
equally past our finding out in them both. And it is somewhat
remarkable, that the deepest inquirers into nature have ever
thought with most reverence, and spoken with most diffidence,
concerning those things which, in revealed religion, may seem
hard to be understood : they have ever avoided that self-
sufficiency of knowledge, which springs from ignorance, pro-
duces indifference, and ends in infidelity.
" Plato mentions a set of men, who were very ignorant, and
thought themselves extremely wise; and who rejected the argu-
ment for the being of a God, derived from the harmony and
order of the universe, as old and trite. There have been men,
it seems, in all ages, who, in affecting singularity, have over-
looked truth : an argument, however, is not the worse for being
old: and surely it would have been a more just mode of rea-
soning, if you had examined the external evidence for the truth
of Christianity, weighed the old arguments from miracles, and
from prophecies, before you had rejected the whole account
from the difficulties you met with in it. You would laugh at an
Indian, who, in peeping into a history of England, and meeting
with the mention of the Thames having been frozen, or of a
shower of hail, or of snow, should throw the book aside, as
unworthy of his further notice, from his want of ability to com-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 341
why then shall we not allow that the Scriptures may
be from God, notwithstanding these difficulties, and
seeming incongruities ? Indeed, a revelation, which
prehend these phenomena."—Bishop Watson's Apology for
Christianity.
[The observations of this learned prelate, in his Apology for
the Bible, are equally striking, p. 115.
" You are lavish in your praise of Deism: it is so much
better than Atheism, that I mean not to say any thing to its
discredit; it is not however without its difficulties. What think
you of an uncaused cause of every thing? of a Being who
has no relation to time, not being older to-day than he was yes-
terday; nor younger to-day than he will he to-morrow? who
has no relation to space, not being a part here, or a part there,
or a whole any where? What think you of an omniscient
Being, who cannot know the future actions of a man? or if his
omniscience enables him to know them, what think you of the
contingency of human actions ? And if human actions are not
contingent, what think you of the morality of actions, of the
distinction between vice and virtue, crime and innocence, sin
and duty ? What think you of the infinite goodness of a Being
who existed through eternity, without any emanation of his
goodness manifested in the creation of sensitive beings ? Or,
if you contend that there has been an eternal creation, what
think you of an effect coeval with its cause, of matter not pos-
terior to its Maker? What think you of the existence of evil,
moral and natural, in the work of an infinite Being, powerful,
wise, and good? What think you of the gift of freedom of will,
when the abuse of freedom becomes the cause of general
misery ? I could propose to your consideration a great many
■other questions of similar tendency, the contemplation of which
has driven not a few from Deism to Atheism, just as the diffi-
culties in revealed religion have driven yourself, and some
others, from Christianity to Deism. For my own part, I can
see no reason why either revealed or natural religion should be
abandoned, on account of the difficulties which attend either
342
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
we could fully comprehend, would not appear the
production of an infinite mind : it would bear no re-
semblance to its heavenly Author; and therefore we
should have reason to suspect it spurious. It is ex-
tremely probable, that the three grand volumes of
nature, providence, and grace, should all, in some
respect or other, bear the stamp of their being de-
rived from one source. Many things in the volumes
of nature and providence far exceed our highest
powers to comprehend; (') it is not improbable,
therefore, that the volume of Divine grace should be
under a similar predicament What doth the wisest
man upon earth know of the nature of God, but
what the Scripture hath told him? Extremely little.
It may be questioned whether we should have known
anything of him, had it not been for some original
revelation.
" If Christ was so necessary to the salvation of the
world, why was he sent no sooner ? Why, even ac-
of them. I look up to the incomprehensible Maker of heaven
and earth with unspeakable admiration, and self-annihilation,
and am a Deist.—I contemplate, with the utmost gratitude
and humility of mind, his unsearchable wisdom and goodness
in the redemption of the world from eternal death, through
the intervention of his Son Jesus Christ, and am a Chris-
tian."]—Ed.
(1) The dispensations of Divine Providence are ably vindi-
cated from the objections of sceptics and infidels by Dr. Sher-
lock, in his valuable Treatise on that subject. The reader will
also find a very pleasing paper in the Spectator to the same
purport, which he would do well to consult. It is No. 237, in
the third volume.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 343
cording to your own account, were four thousand
years suffered to elapse before the Sun of Righteous-
ness arose ?"
Very sufficient reasons may be given, and have a
hundred times been given, for this wise delay. It
may, however, be retorted, if philosophy be medicinal
to a foolish world, why were Thales, Solon, Pytha-
goras, Aristotle, Zeno, Antoninus, Seneca, and other
ancient heathens, born no sooner, but men suffered
to continue so many ages' in profound ignorance,
little superior to the beasts that perish ? Answer
this with respect to them, and you are answered with
respect to the Messiah. I add, moreover, Christ was
the " Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
The efficacy of his death extends from the beginning
to the end of time. He is a universal Saviour.
When we any of us bestow a favour upon a fellow-
creature, we alone are to determine the time and cir-
cumstances of doing that favour.
" If the Gospel and our natural passions (') both
come from one source, why doth the former oppose
the latter?"
It is well known, that while the inferior powers of
human nature assume dominion over the superior, no
man can be happy. The intention of the Gospel is,
(I) See a most remarkable deliverance from the dominion of
indulged and long-continued lust, in the case of Colonel Gar-
diner, sect. 37,38, of bis Life by Dr. Doddridge. Every man t
who is living under the tyrannical dominion of his lusts, and
wishes to obtain deliverance, should not fail to consult this
extraordinary emancipation. Nothing is too hard for Divine
grace to accomplish.
344
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
therefore, not to destroy the affections of men, but
to regulate, and restore them to due order and har-
mony, and so to promote the felicity of human life.
And wherever it hath its proper, full, and natural
effect, there it always forms a virtuous, respectable,
and happy character. The grand intention of it,
however, is to train mankind for glory and immor-
tality, in a future state of existence.
" If the human race are all sprung from one ori-
ginal pair, and if the several species of animals, in-
sects, and birds, were produced in the Garden of
Eden, as the Bible seems to insinuate, how is it pos-
sible they should be found dispersed into the several
countries of the world, at an immense distance, and,
in many cases, separated by extensive oceans?" (')
If we refuse to believe in God, till we understand
all the difficulties attending his existence; and in Jesus
Christ, till we are acquainted with all the mysteries
of Providence and Grace, we must continue, not only
unbelievers, but Atheists, to eternity. How often
must it be repeated, that our comprehension is not
the standard of truth 1 The evidence for the genuine-
ness and authenticity of the Sacred Records must be
the measure of our faith.
" Is it at all probable, that we, and the several
kinds of black men, should be sprung from the same
parents, as the Bible affirms all human creatures
?*»
At first view, this is a considerable difficulty; but
it has been accounted for upon principles perfectly
(1) See Stackhouse on this difficulty.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 345
satisfactory, which we cannot stop here at length to
detail. (')
" Why is the Gospel attended with so many diffi-
culties ? and why did not Infinite Wisdom, if Infinite
Wisdom had any concern in the business, take care
to make every thing plain and easy to the meanest
capacity ?"(2)
It is answered, with triumphant gratitude; every
thing necessary to salvation is plain and easy to the
most common apprehension, if we are humbly dis-
posed to submit our wills and understandings to the
will and understanding of God. And if there are
some things in the Sacred Writings, and in the
scheme of redemption, difficult to comprehend, it is
not less so in the course of nature, and in the prin-
ciples of unrevealed religion. But if the Gospel of
Christ were attended with abundantly more difficul-
ties than it is, still there could be no solid objection
against substantial proof. A poor illiterate man, in
(1) Consult Mr. Bryant's Treatise on the Christian Religion,
pp. 267—277. See the same work, too, for answers to several
other objections. But for a solution of the greatest number of
difficulties, I repeat again, turn to Stackhouse's large work on
the Bible.
(2) The religion of Jesus Christ, any more than the dispen-
sation of Moses, was never intended to be free from difficulties.
It was rather designed to be a touchstone for ingenuous and
curable dispositions. If we are honest inquirers after saving
truth, and persevere in our pursuit, we shall not be disap-
pointed. What we know not to-day, we shall know to-morrow.
That is a fine anecdote which is given us by Jacob Bryant, Esq.
in the above Treatise on the Christian Religion, concerning the
Queen and the Princess Mary. See that work, and Simpson's
Essay on the New Testament, p. 123.
346
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
a dark corner of the earth, has preached a scheme of
doctrines and morals superior to all human wisdom,
and calculated to make all mankind happy, if all
mankind would submit to its authority. This he hath
spread abroad to the ends of the world, in opposition
to all the powers of earth and hell. Let any man
account for this phenomenon, on principles merely
human, if he can.
" Has not the Gospel been the cause of the great-
est misery and destruction to the human race, upon
various occasions, almost ever since it was intro-
duced?"
It has. And this is among the proofs that it came
from above. The Author of it predicted that so it
should be. But the Gospel itself was no otherwise
the cause of misery and destruction to the human
race, than as philosophy has been the cause of misery
and destruction to the inhabitants of France. As in
the latter case, it was not philosophy, but the abuse
of it, which has done so much mischief; so in the
former, it was not the Gospel, but a most wicked
perversion of its pure and benevolent doctrines, which
has produced so much havoc among mankind. (')
(1) See this difficulty answered in Bonnet's Interesting
Views of Christianity, pp. 230—237; and still more fully in
the first volume of Bishop Porteus's Sermons, Discourse the
twelfth.
The Roman emperors of the three first centuries after the
birth of Christ, are somewhere said by St. Jerome, if I remem-
ber right, to have martyred 5,000 Christians a-day every day in
the year, except one; that is, they put to death, at different
times, during those centuries, 1,820,000 souls!—These Hea-
thens, however, according to this calculation, were not half so
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 347
And though it has not done all the good that might
have been desired or expected, yet it has already ac-
complished great things for the world. To the Bible
we owe all the best laws in our best civil institutions.
To the Bible, Europe is indebted for much of the li-
berty which it now enjoys: and, little as we may think
of it, the Bible too was the means of preserving the
small share of learning which was cultivated during
the dark ages. (') We may close these observations
in the words of that great French writer, Montes-
quieu—" To assert that religion has no restraining
power, because it does not always restrain, is to as-
sert, that civil laws have likewise no restraining
power. He reasons falsely against religion, who
enumerates at great length the evils which it has
produced, and overlooks the advantages. Were I to
recount all the evils which civil laws, monarchical
and republican governments, have produced in the
world, I might exhibit a dreadful picture Let us
set before our eyes the continual massacres of Greek
bloody as the Roman Catholic Christians have heen. The
infidel philosophers of France, who are evermore charging the
Gospel with cruelty and murder, though it prohibits every thing
of the kind under the most awful sanctions, by a most tremen-
dous retaliation, have turned their arms one against another,
and have murdered upwards of two millions of their own coun-
tiymen in the course of seven years! Hence it appears; that
your vain-glorious philosophers have been, and are now, at
least, as bloody, illiberal, and intolerant as the most bloody,
illiberal, and intolerant of us parsons ! What has the rejection
of Christianity, and the introduction of philosophy, done for
that enslaved, yet triumphant country!
(1) See this proved by Jortin, vol. vii. pp. 353—377.
348
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
and Roman kings and generals on the one hand, and,
on the other, the destruction of cities and nations by
those very kings and generals : a Timur and a Jen-
cizkan ravaging Asia: and we shall see, that we owe
to religion a certain political law in government, and
in war a certain law of nations; advantages which
human nature cannot sufficiently acknowledge." (')
"If the Gospel is such a blessing to mankind,
why, in all these ages, has it not been published in
every nation?"
It is answer sufficient, that God giveth account of
none of his matters, and every man shall be judged
according to the privileges he hath enjoyed, and not
according to those with which he has not been fa-
voured. No nation hath any right to the blessing.
God is a Sovereign, and may dispense his favours
as his own wisdom shall direct. Moreover, all the
nations of the earth shall be blessed with it in the
due course of Divine Providence.
"Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.'' (2)
" But if God was the original author of the Jewish
and Christian dispensations, why were they permitted
to contract such a mass of ceremonial corruptions ?"
The fault lay not in either of the institutions, but
(1) Spirit of Laws, hook xxiv. ch. 2, 3.
(2) The reader may consult the 20th section of Simpson's
Key to the Prophecies, for a concise view of the millennial
reign of Christ.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 349
in the low and superstitious state of human nature.
The institutions were good, but the folly of men hath
perverted them to unworthy purposes. Is the foun-
tain to be blamed, because the streams have been
polluted by the feet of men ?
" Be it so; but why was man created in so low
and degraded a state ? or, rather, why was he per-
mitted, by the benevolent and all-powerful Creator,
to sink down into such an idolatrous and supersti-
tious condition ?"
This is a difficulty, be it observed, which affects
natural as well as revealed religion, Deism as well as
Christianity. There is no end to questions of this
nature. With equal propriety may we ask, why man
was not created an angel, a seraph, a God ?
"Presumptuous mail! the reason wouldst thou find,
Why form'd so weak, so little, and so blind ?
First, if thou can'st, the harder reason guess,
Why form'd no weaker, blinder, and no less t"
" Can you say that Thomas Paine(') has not
(1) Paine's book against the Bible can never stagger the
faith of any man, who is well informed upon the subject of
religion; yet it will have great effect upon all our immoral and
lukewarm professors of the Gospel. But where is the differ-
ence between a wicked infidel and a wicked Christian? Im-
moral men are incapable of happiness under any dispensation
of religion whatever. They must be changed or perish. And
it is of little consequence whether a man goes to hell as a Deist
or a Christian; only, it is presumed, the lost Christian will
perish under greater aggravations.
A letter now lies before me, which I this day, July 20th,
1798, received from a correspondent, who was intimately ac-
quainted with Thomas Paine before he went to France, and in
350
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
brought many very heavy charges against the writ-
ings both of the Old and New Testaments, and such
as cannot easily be answered?"
whose house he spent pretty much of his time, which assures
me," that Mr. Paine, notwithstanding his superior powers of
natural reason, was a prey to chagrin and apparent disappoint-
ment—that he was never at rest in his mind, but truly ' like the
troubled sea, throwing up mire and filth.'" This gentleman
further adds—and I have seen the same information in the
public prints—" I now understand that Mr. Paine is lost to all
sense of decency in Paris, being intoxicated from morning till
night."
[A person, who knew Mr. Paine, states, that for some years
before his death, he drank to great excess; that his face became,
in consequence, exceedingly disfigured; and that the sight of it
was almost enough to make any one shudder. He adds," his
person was dirty, and his dress shabby. The respectable part
of his friends, though they admired his principles, were
ashamed to speak to him in the street. He died a few miles
from the city (New York), attended by some of his disciples; and
although I was on friendly terms with two or three of them, I
never could learn the state of his mind at the closing scene. I
think the wisdom of Providence is clearly displayed in the last
years of this man's life. He who had said and written so
much on the perfectibility of human nature, was left by his
Maker to put his own principles into practice, till, with all his
light and knowledge, he reduced himself below the level of the
brutes that perish."—Portfolio, page 287, published in 1832,
by Seeley and Sons.
Since the death of this daring and unprincipled adversary of
Christianity, he has met with an able and acute biographer, in
Mr. James Cheetam,who was educated at the grammar-school
of Manchester. It is said, that at one period Mr. C. was
favourable to both the political and religious creeds of Paine,
and found it convenient to change his residence for America.
Better information and experience have effected a change in
his opinions; and his errors have been expiated by a faithful
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 351
We grant this objection in all its force. He is a
man of shrewd abilities, and has a method of setting
narrative of one of the most detestable examples of practical
profligacy, and atrocious enemies of revealed religion, that any
age or country ever produced. His friends have attempted by
bold assertions, and confident relations, to deny the general
opinion of the immoral conduct of this champion of infidelity,
and vainly hoped, that
" Time would varnish o'er the lie,
Till it assum'd Truth's venerable dye j"
but the age of delusion is passed, and the world is much in-
debted to Mr. Cheetam for a work, which is at once as credit-
able to his literary attainments, as to his rigid adherence to
indisputable facts. Paine's conduct in France and America,
was one succession of depravity. With the lower orders of
men, whom his detestable opinions had seduced from their
allegiance to God, and the just laws of their country, " he drank
grog;" and " this little drunken old man," admired and praised
by characters which assimilated with his own, strutted and
staggered about, morning, noon, and night: this was the advo-
cate of natural religion, and the reformer of the political creed
of the most enlightened and liberal statesmen, who ever aided
truth by authority, or ornamented correct opinions by know-
ledge, genius, and eloquence. Dr. Mauley's reply to the inqui-
ries of Mr. Cheetam, who attended him in his last sickness, is
worthy of attention. The letter is too long for insertion, but a
few passages are of particular interest. " During the latter
part of his life, though his conversation was equivocal, his con-
duct was singular. He would not be left alone night or day j"
" and if, as it would sometimes unavoidably happen, he was
left alone, he wouM scream and holla, until some person came
to him."—" There was something remarkable in his conduct
about this period, (which comprises about two weeks imme-
diately preceding his death,) particularly when we reflect, that
Thomas Paine was the author of the Age of Reason. He
would call out, during his paroxisms of distress, without inter-
352
a plea for religion
difficulties in a strong point of view. But if you
yourself are a person of any discernment, you can-
not help seeing, that he discovers great pride of
mission,' O Lord, help me ! God, help me ! Jesus Christ, help
me! O Lord, help me!' &c., repeating the same expressions
without any the least variation, in a tone of voice that would
alarm the whole house."—" During the night of the 5th and
6th of June," " I addressed him in the following manner, the
nurse being present, ' Mr. Paine, your opinions, by a large
portion of the community, have been treated with deference:
you have never been in the habit of mixing in your conversation
words of course; nor have you ever practised profane swearing;
and you must be sensible that we are acquainted with your
religious opinions, as they are given to the world. What must
we think of your present conduct? Why do you call upon
Jesus Christ to help you ? Do you believe that he can help
you? Do you believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ? Come
now, answer me honestly; I want an answer, as from the lips
of a dying man, for I verily believe that you will not live
twenty-four hours.' I waited some time at the end of every
question; he did not answer,but ceased to exclaim in the above
manner. Again I addressed him; ' Mr. Paine, you have not
answered my questions ; will you answer them 1 Allow me to
ask again, Do you believe—or, let me qualify the question—do
you wish to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God V After
a pause of some minutes, he answered, ' I have no wish to be-
lieve oil that subject.' I then left him, and know not whether
he afterwards spoke to any person on any subject, though he
lived" " till the morning of the 8th." The Dr. adds, " It may
be a question worthy of able consideration, whether excessive
pride of opinion, consummate vanity, and inordinate self-love,
might not prevent or retard that otherwise natural conse-
quence?" He died in America on the 8th of June, 1809, aged
seventy-two years and five months. Thus we see, that this
proud and impious boaster, in the extremity of want, was con-
strained to call upon that name, which his lips had insulted, and
his writings blasphemed!]—ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 353
understanding, much rancour and malignity of heart,
and most invincible ignorance of the subject upon
which he writes. His intention in his Rights of
Man was plainly to subvert, as far as in him lay, the
civil government of this country ; and in his Age of
Reason, he meant no other than to convert the com-
mon people of England to a state of infidelity, and
so to overturn the religious government of the coun-
try; and, in both, he evidently meant no other than
to involve us, as a nation, in civil and religious des-
truction. To men of sense, moderation, and infor-
mation, there is no danger, either from his political
or religious efforts; but there is danger to every
reader of his writings, who is not possessed of these
qualifications. Bishop Watson's Apology may per-
fectly satisfy any man that Thomas Paine is by no
means qualified to write against the Bible. Any
fool, indeed, may sneer, revile, abuse, and ridicule
the most valuable objects in nature. The late athe-
istical king of Prussia has had the impudence to
treat the Deity himself in this manner. But what
shall the end be of them that know not God, and
obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ?
If the audacity of this scurrilous infidel were not
equal to his ignorance, he would never have attacked
the clergy on the score of literature, as he does,
when he insinuates they are acquainted with little
more than a b ab, e b eb, and hie, hcec, hoc. Where
does he find, in any period or country of the world,
men of more deep, various, and extensive learning,
than are large numbers of the clergy, among the
several denominations of Christians? Abundance
of names are to be found, with whom he is no more
A A
354
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
fit to be compared, than a dwarf with a giant. One
does not wonder, indeed, to hear him explode an
acquaintance with languages, when, according to his
own confession, he is a stranger to all but the
English. To hear such an ignoramus prate about
the science of astronomy, and the properties of
triangles, is enough to sicken any man, who has
even a smattering of knowledge. Let this empty
and vain-glorious boaster call to mind a small num-
ber even of priests, who have been an honour to
human nature, in point of mathematical, philosophi-
cal, and literary attainments, at least; and then let
him blush, if he is capable of blushing, at his own
vile perversions of Scripture, and misrepresentations
of the characters of the friends of religion. What-
ever faults some of the clergy may have been guilty
of, or whatever defects there may be in the ecclesi-
astical constitution of this, or any other country, a
large number of clerical names will be handed
down with honour, as the benefactors of mankind,
while his shall be damned to fame, as a base calum-
niator of the Sacred Writings, and the characters of
men much better than himself. 'What shall we say,
when such scholars as Barrow, Cudworth, Wilkins,
Pearson, Derham, Flamsteed, Hales, Bentley, Bo-
chart, Desaguliers, Mede, Baxter, Chillingworth,
Clarke, Berkeley, Butler, Warburton, Watts, Dod-
dridge, Lowman, Jortin, Lardner, Witherspoon,
Robertson, and a thousand others, both living and
dead, are involved in the censure of this scurrilous
sciolist? It is true, the Church has had a very long
and dark eclipse. Priests have been highly to blame
on many occasions. But no age can be produced
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 355
when they have not been, at least, as learned and
religious as any other body of men. There was a
time, indeed, when Vigilius was condemned to be
burned for asserting the existence of the antipodes;
and, even so late as the beginning of the seven-
teenth century, Galileo, who discovered and intro-
duced the use of telescopes, instead of being re-
warded for his pains, was imprisoned, and compelled
to renounce his opinions resulting from such dis-
coveries, as damnable heresies. These are lamentable
facts, and the priests, concerned in the persecution,
deserved to be hanged. But I will take upon me to
aver, that even in this enlightened, literary, and
philosophical age, at the very close of the eighteenth
century, Thomas Paine himself hath submitted to
the view of the world, a number of as palpable
instances of ignorance, or maliciousness, or both, as
ever an insulted public was cursed with in any one
person, who pretended to write for the improvement
of mankind. The Age of Reason, as applied to this
vain man's pamphlet, is a burlesque; it is an insult
upon common sense; it ought rather to be called
The Age of Falsehood—The Age of Infidelity—The
Age of Ignorance—The Age of Calumny—The Age
of Manianism—or, in short, The Age of any Thing,
but that of Reason.
I will give the reader a few specimens, and leave
him to judge.
1. Mr. Paine alleges, that Moses could not be the
author of the five books, which go under his name,
because they are frequently written in the third
person.
Xenophon and Caesar will answer this difficulty.
A A 2
356 A PLEA FOR RELIGION
2. Mr. Paine confounds mathematical with histo-
rical evidence.
Any novice in science, however, knows the dif-
ference.
3. Mr. Paine confounds also a book that is ge-
nuine with one that is authentic. (')
[ (1) Bishop Watson's reply to the author of the Age of Rea-
son, on the application of the terms genuine and authentic, has
been admired for its masterly and acute discrimination.
" It may be of use (says the Bishop), to remove this confusion
in your argument, to state, distinctly, the difference between
the genuineness and the authenticity of a book. A genuine
hook, is that which was written by the person whose name it
bears as the author of it. An authentic book, is that which
relates matters of fact as they really happened. A hook may
be genuine, without being authentic; and a book may be
authentic, without being genuine. The books written by
Richardson and Fielding are genuine books, though the histo-
ries of Clarissa and Tom Jones are fables. The history of the
Island of Formosa is a genuine book, it was written by Psal-
manazar; but it is not an authentic book (though it was long
esteemed as such, and translated into different languages), for
the author, in the latter part of his life, took shame to himself
for having imposed on the world, and confessed that it was a
mere romance. Anson's voyage may be considered as an
authentic book, it probably containing a true narration of the
principal events recorded in it; but it is not a genuine book,
having not been written by Walters, to whom it is ascribed, but
by Robins. This distinction between the genuineness and
authenticity of a book, will assist us in detecting the fallacy of
an argument, which you state with great confidence in the part
of your work now under consideration, and which you fre-
fluently allude to in other parts, as conclusive evidence against
the truth of the Bible. Your argument stands thus:—if it be
ound that the books ascribed to Moses, Joshua, and Samuel,
were not written by Moses, Joshua, and Samuel, every part of
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 357
He ought to have known that the difference is
extremely great and important.
4. He declares that the prodigies recorded by
Livy and Tacitus are attended with as good evidence
as the miracles of Christ.
No man of any information can justify such an
assertion.
5. He asserts, that the miracles admit not of
proof.
Let the reader turn to Campbell on the subject,
and judge. The testimony of 500, or 50, or even
10 credible persons, is sufficient to establish the
validity of any of the scriptural miracles, where there
is no counter evidence.
6. Mr. Paine assures us, there is no affirmative
evidence that Moses is the author of the Penta-
teuch.
No books in the world ever had more affirmative
evidence. Bishop Watson has brought it into one
view. Abundance of the most respectable authors,
who have written since the time of Moses, give their
testimony to his writings. The books of Joshua,
Judges, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and most of
those which follow, all bear witness to them, besides
several of the heathen.
£
the authority and authenticity of these books is gone at once.
I presume to think otherwise. The genuineness of these
books (in the judgment of those who say that they were written
by these authors) will certainly be gone; but their authenticity
may remain; they may still contain a true account of real
transactions, though the names of the writers of them should be
found to be different from what they are generally esteemed to
be."]—Ed.
358 A PLEA FOR RELIGION
i
7. He asserts, that the genealogy from Adam to
Saul takes up the first nine chapters of the first book
of Chronicles.
Now any man may see, that the descendants of
David, to four generations after Zerubbabel, are
found in the third chapter; and the succession of
the high priests till the captivity, in the sixth chap-
ter, with various other similar matters.
8. Mr. Paine considers the books of Chronicles as
a repetition of the two books of Kings.
It is easy to be convinced, however, that this is a
very erroneous representation. The first book of
Kings contains an account of the old age and death
of David, with the succession and reign of Solomon;
the history of Rehoboam, and division of the king-
dom ; Jeroboam's reign, and several of his succes-
sors in the kingdom of Israel, till the death of Ahab.
It contains, moreover, some account of Asa, Je-
hoshaphat, and other kings of Judah, so far as
connected with the contemporary kings of Israel.
The history of Elijah is also interwoven in the same
book pretty much at length, with some notice of
Elisha.
The second book of Kings finishes the history of
Elijah, and carries forward the history of Elisha to
some extent, with a kind of joint history of the kings
of Israel and Judah, and those with whom they had
war, till the captivity of the king of Israel by Shal-
maneser, and of the king of Judah by Nebuchad-
nezzar.
Let us now examine the contents of the two books
of Chronicles.
The first book contains the genealogies before
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 359
mentioned, and the history of David, with the settle-
ment of the temple service.
The second book of Chronicles contains the his-
tory of Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, and all the
succeeding kings of Judah, pretty much at large, till
the Babylonish captivity.
From this short review of these four books, it
appears that the reigns of Solomon and Rehoboam,
with some small variations, are common to the books
of Kings and Chronicles; but that, in most other
respects, they are entirely different.
9. Mr. Paine says, the book of Ezra was written
immediately after the Jews returned from Babylon.
He should have known, however, that it was near
fourscore years after.
10. Mr. Paine says, Ezra and Nehemiah wrote an
account of the same affairs in the return of the Jews
from captivity.
He is as much mistaken here as he was concern-
ing the four books of Kings and Chronicles; for
Nehemiah relates few or none of the same events
with Ezra.
11. He says, Satan is no where mentioned in the
Old Testament, but in Job.
Let any man consult 2 Sam. xix. 22; 1 Kings, v.
4; 2 Chron. xxi. 1; Psalm cix. 6 ; Zech. iii. 1; and
other places, and say what dependance can be placed
on this mistaken man's assertions.
12. He pretends to prove, that the book of Job is
the work of some heathen writer, from the words
Pleiades, Orion, and Arcturus, which are found in
our translation. See chap. ix. 9 ; xxxviii. 31, 32.
In the original Hebrew, however, the words are
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A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Hus, Chesil, and Kima. Where, then, is his argu-
ment ?
13. He says, the heathens were a just, moral peo-
pie, not addicted to cruelty and revenge, neither
were they worshippers of images.
This assertion is in direct opposition, not only to
the Bible, but to the general strain of universal
history.
14. Mr. Paine makes himself merry with suppos-
ing that we priests are of opinion all the Psalms were
written by David, and that he must therefore have
composed some of them after his death.
But, where does he find any man of character,
that asserts that they were all written by David ?
The titles to the Psalms might convince him to the
contrary.
15. He says, priests reject reason.
As a universal proposition, this is utterly false.
There are none more reasonable men upon earth,
than many of the Christian priests.
16. He says, " almost the only parts in the book
called the Bible, that convey to us any idea of God,
are some chapters in Job, and the 19th Psalm. I
recollect no other."
Very possibly. But then, is he not a very fit man
to write against the Bible ? What thinks he of the
8th Psalm, the 18th, the 24th, the 29th, the 33rd,
the 34th, the 36th, the 46th, the 47th, the 50th, the
65th, the 93rd, the 96th, the 98th, the 103rd, the
104th, the 107th, the 139th, the 145th, and a vast
variety of other passages, which speak more or less
of the existence, perfections, and government of the
Divine Being?
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 361
17. He says, "some chapters in Job and the 19th
Psalm, are true deistical compositions, for they treat
of the Deity, through his works. They take the
book of creation as the Word of God; they refer to
no other book; and all the inferences they make, are
drawn from that volume."
This declaration is so far from being true, that
one half of the 19th Psalm itself is occupied in cele-
brating the perfection of the law of Moses !
18. He says, the Jews never prayed but when in
trouble.
That this is a vile slander, see 1 Kings, iii. 6—9 ;
1 Kings, viii. 23—53 ; and a variety of the Psalms,
which were composed upon joyful occasions.
The man who can thus wickedly slander a whole
nation, is admirably well suited to declaim against
the iniquity of priests and prophets ! Bolingbroke
and Voltaire were tolerably expert in perversion and
defamation, but Thomas Paine, I think, excels them
both in these estimable qualifications!
19. He says, king Ahaz was defeated and des-
troyed by Pekah.
This is utterly false ; he was defeated, but not des-
troyed. He died a natural death ; and the promise
of the prophet Isaiah was literally fulfilled.
20. He says, the book of Isaiah is " bombastical
rant, extravagant metaphor, such stuff as a school-
boy would have been scarcely excusable for writ-
ing."
Better judges than Thomas Paine are of a very
different opinion. And to go no farther, I challenge
him, and all his friends, to produce, from any book,
ancient or modern, an oration equally eloquent with
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A PLEA FOR RELIGION
the first chapter of this despised book, or any poem
more sublime than that in the fourteenth.
21. He says, the prophet of Judah was found dead
by the contrivance of the prophet of Israel.
Where does he find his evidence ? He can prove
no such thing. There is an old-fashioned book of
high authority, which saith—" When the devil speak-
eth a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar,
and the father of it."
22. Solomon had his house full of wives and mis-
tresses at the age of one-and-twenty.
Let him produce his evidence. Where is it re-
corded ?
23. The infants were not butchered by Herod,
because the Baptist was not involved in the des-
truction.
Mr. Paine ought to have known, that the parents
of the Baptist did not live at Bethlehem; but at
Hebron, which was at a good distance.
24. He intimates, that Christ had in view the
deliverance of his country from the Roman yoke.
Assertions are not proofs; where is the evidence?
25. He says, Christ was not much known when
he was apprehended.
Where did he learn this ? Produce the evidence.
26. He affirms, Christ did not intend to be appre-
hended and crucified.
This is in direct opposition to the Gospels, from
whence all his evidence arises.
27. He asserts, that Peter was the only one of the
men called Apostles, who appears to have been near
the spot at the crucifixion.
It is very plain from this, that Mr. Paine knows
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 363
very little about what he is so abusive. Where was
John?
28. Mr. Paine calls Luke and Mark apostles.
Let any person consult the list of these twelve
honourable men, and see if he can find these two
names among them.
29. He says, it appears from the evangelists, that
the whole time, from the crucifixion to the ascen-
sion, was apparently not more than three or four
days.
This assertion shows the most consummate igno-
ranee of the subject upon which he writes.
30. He says, all the circumstances of Christ's
conduct, between the resurrection and ascension, are
reported to have happened about the same spot.
Some happened at and near Jerusalem, others in
Galilee, which was upwards of fifty miles from
Jerusalem.
31. He affirms, that, according to Matthew,
Christ met his disciples in Galilee on the day of his
resurrection.
There is a plausibility in this assertion, of which
many of the others are destitute, but it is without
due consideration.
32. Mr. Paine insinuates, that Christ appeared
only once after his resurrection.
Read the Gospels, and judge what credit is due
to such a writer. He appeared upon various
occasions.
33. He asserts, that we have only the evidence of
eight or nine persons to the resurrection of Christ.
Such affirmations merit nothing but contempt.
Were not the twelve Apostles witnesses of this
364
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
event? And what does he make of the 500 wit-
nesses mentioned by Paul?
34. He says, there was nothing miraculous or
extraordinary in the conversion of St. Paul: he was
struck down with lightning.
This is the apostle of infidelity! What strange
credulity is necessary to make a complete deist!
35. Mr. Paine affirms, that St. Paul's discourse on
the resurrection is " doubtful jargon—as destitute of
meaning as the tolling of the bell at the funeral."
Well done ! Thomas Paine, thou art a clever fel-
low—worthy of a seat in the French convention !
We shall expect, ere long, to hear thou hast obtained
one of the most honourable niches in the national
Pantheon, as a benefactor of mankind !
36. Mr. Paine has the audacity repeatedly to call
St. Paul a fool.
Mr. Locke, Lord Littleton, and Mr. Paley, will
settle the matter of the Apostle's foolishness with
this doughty champion for unbelief.
After all these instances of ignorance, falsehood,
maliciousness, or misrepresentation, will any person
undertake to say that Mr. Paine is a wise man ?
37. Mr. Paine roundly asserts, " that there was no
such book as the New Testament till more than 300
years after Christ."
If priests and prophets are such " lying rascals,
that there is no believing any thing they say," I close
this long catalogue of strange assertions, by asking—
Who is the liar now ?
The principal books, of which the New Testa-
ment consists, were in existence, and read as sacred
writ, from the time they were first composed by the
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 365
authors whose names they respectively bear. I
defy Mr. Paine, or any other man, to disprove this
assertion.^)
I give these as so many specimens of the false,
ignorant, or malicious representations of this vain-
glorious man. It were an easy matter to in-
crease the number. These, however, may suffice.
It can be of little use to enlarge the selection.
From the whole it appears, that misapprehension,
misrepresentation, false wit, empty declamation,
scurrilous language, and bitter invective, are the
sum total that the keenest capacity and most viru-
lent enmity can produce against the Sacred Writ-
ings. I have examined his books repeatedly, and
with scrupulous attention, and I declare, upon my
salvation, that it does not appear to me, he has made
good, and fairly substantiated, any one objection to
the Sacred Volume, that, in the smallest degree,
affects the business of human redemption, or the
credit of the Divine Records. He has, indeed, done
his best. The book and the authors whom Milton,
Locke, Addison, Boyle, Haller, Euler, and Newton
had in reverence, almost to adoration, this ignorant
and conceited man has treated with all possible
indignity and contempt. We have given the reader
a few specimens of his ignorance ; we will also pro-
<duce a few instances of his insolence. Among other
malignant things, with which his pamphlets abound,
he says: " The books of Moses were written by
(1) See Simpson's Essay on the Authenticity of the New
Testament.
366
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
some very ignorant and stupid pretenders to author-
ship."—" Moses was one of the most vain and
arrogant of coxcombs."—" Genesis is but an anony-
mous book of stories, fables, and traditionary or
invented absurdities, or of downright lies."—
" Among the detestable villains that in any period
of the world have disgraced the name of man, it is
impossible to find a greater than Moses."—" The
Bible is such a book of lies and contradictions, there
is no knowing which part to believe, or whether
any."—" The book of Ruth is an idle, bungling
story, foolishly told, nobody knows by whom, about
a strolling country girl creeping slyly to bed to her
cousin Boaz."—" Wrinkled fanaticism."—" Priestly
ignorance."—" Studied craft of the Scripture-
makers."—" Cant phrase of all the prophets."—
" Barefaced perversion."—" The lying prophet and
impostor Isaiah, and the book of falsehoods that
bears his name."—" The traitor Jeremiah."—" Stu-
pidity of the Bible."—" A stupid book-maker, under
the name of Jeremiah."—" The prophets are im-
postors and liars."—" Jeremiah, another of the
lying prophets."—" The poetical, musical, conjuring,
dreaming, strolling gentry, the prophets."—" Elisha
was a conjuror."—" The prophets were famous for
lying."—" Some of them exulted in cursing."—
" Frantic writing" of the prophets.—" The vicious
and malignant character of a Bible prophet, or a
predicting priest."—" The cant language of a Bible
prophet."—" This lying book, the Bible."—" The
Virgin Mary was debauched by a Ghost."—" Mat-
thew was a dashing writer."—" The writer of the
book of Matthew was an exceeding weak and foolish
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 367
man."—" The sum total of a parson's learning."—
"Priests and conjurors are of the same trade."—"It
is better, far better, that we admitted, if it were
possible, a thousand devils to roam at large, and to
preach publicly the doctrine of devils, if there were
any such, than that we permitted one such impostor
or monster as Moses, Joshua, Samuel, and the Bible
prophets, to come with the pretended Word of God
in his mouth, and have credit among us."—" What
is it the Bible teaches us?"—" Rapine, cruelty, and
murder."—"What is it the Testament teaches us?"
—" To believe that the Almighty committed de-
bauchery with a woman, engaged to be married;
and the belief of this debauchery is called faith."—
" Fragments of morality are irregularly and thinly
scattered in the books of the New Testament."—
" The obscurity and obscene nonsense of the Testa-
ment."—" Faith had its origin in a supposed de-
bauchery."—" The descent of the Holy Ghost is
such absurd stuff, as is fit only for tales of witches
and wizards."—" The groveling tales and doctrines
of the Bible and the Testament are fit only to excite
contempt."
These are some of the flowers of Mr. Paine's Age
of Reason. I have not one word to reply. If any
of my readers find a stomach for such stuff, he is
very welcome to it. I envy not his taste. If he
would give himself the trouble to read over Bishop
Watson's Apology for the Bible, he will see most of
these scurrilities handsomely chastised. I shall only
apply the words of one of these Bible-writers, as he
contemptuously calls them, to the case in hand :
" Why boastest thou thy thyself in mischief, O
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mighty man ? Thy tongue deviseth mischief like a
sharp razor working deceitfully- Thou lovest all-
devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue! But
God shall destroy thee for ever; he shall take thee
away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling-place, and
root thee out of the land of the living. The
righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at
him. Lo, this is the man, that made not God his
strength—but strengthened himself in his wicked-
ness." Psalm Hi.
To proceed to other considerations:
" Some men of great ingenuity have very seriously
called in question the very existence of Jesus Christ,
and have contended, that there never was any such
person upon earth."
Those that will call in question whether there ever
existed upon earth such a person as Jesus Christ,
may with much greater reason question the existence
of Alexander, Caesar, Pompey, and all the other
heroes of antiquity.
" Others there have been, who have presumed to
reject the authority of the New Testament."
Those who will undertake to deny the genuine-
ness and authenticity of the four Gospels, with the
writings of Peter, Paul, James, and John, may, with
much more appearance of truth, deny the authenti-
city of the writings of Homer and Hesiod, of Plato
and Xenophon, of Horace and Virgil; seeing there
is much more evidence for the authenticity of the
former, than of the latter.
" Does it not appear unaccountable, that the
whole Jewish nation should entertain such a warm
expectation of their Messiah's appearance, and that
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 369
they should reject Christ when he actually did come,
if he had not been an impostor?"
It is well known that many thousands of the Jews
and religious proselytes were at first converted to the
faith of Christ. This sufficiently proves, that the
very general rejection of Christ was not owing to a
want of evidence concerning his mission, but to
causes of a different nature. If it be inquired what
those causes were; it may be replied—many false
Messiahs arose about that time. This circumstance
was calculated to perplex the minds of simple peo-
pie, and leave them undetermined which was the
true. The meanness of our Saviour's parentage;
his dwelling in Galilee; his rejecting all worldly
honour; the simplicity of his life and doctrine; the
ignominy of his death ; the sublime language of the
prophets concerning his kingdom; but, above all,
the general wickedness of the generation in which he
appeared; these seem to be sufficient causes for the
rejection of the Messiah, without considering him in
the light of an impostor.
Besides, by the infidelity of the Jews, we gain a
large number of unsuspected witnesses to the truth
of the Old Testament; and by their dispersion into
all countries, they are God's witnesses, and as a seed
sown for the future conversion of the nations: by
their infidelity, too, are fulfilled abundance of pro-
phecies: it is, moreover, a great advantage to the
Gospel to have been first preached in a nation of
unbelievers; it is a means of making the prophecies
more attended to and more studied ; it serves to
show that God did not choose the Jews from among
the nations for their own sakes; it is a warning to us
B B
370
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to beware of the same infidelity; we are taught by it
likewise, that it is not being of any particular nation
or church which saveth a man; and, lastly, it is well
calculated to correct a vain opinion, which every one
is apt to entertain, that had we lived in the times of
our Saviour, and conversed personally with him, we
should have been better Christians, and obeyed with-
out doubt and without reserve.
" Say what you please, you shall never persuade
me to believe abundance of things contained in the
book called the Bible."
Very good. Take your own way. I wish not to
force your conviction, contrary to evidence. Only
weigh the matter seriously and conscientiously, and
may the Author of your being direct your determi-
nation I But, suppose you feel yourself incapable of
receiving the New Testament as a religious system,
founded in truth, cannot you receive it as a system
of morals, founded in policy ? This will not make
you a religious man indeed, but it may make you a
good subject, and a respectable member of civil
society. It is well known, that the importance of
religion to the well-being of every civil community,
is a point on which the greatest politicians, no less
than the most respected moralists, have been gene-
rally agreed; and it is an undisputed fact, established
in the page of history, that in proportion as the in-
fluence of religion has declined in any country, in
that same proportion the state itself has tended to its
dissolution. Is not this an unanswerable argument,
founded in universal experience, if not for the truth,
yet for the utility of religion?
" But, suppose I should be convinced of the fal-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 371
lacy of my own opinions, and the truth of Christ-
ianity, what must I do ? How shall I know, among
all the uncharitable and contending denominations
of Christians, who is right, and who is wrong, and
to whom I should unite myself in Christian fellow-
ship ?"
Take the New Testament into your hand; read it
diligently, call upon the Lord for direction faithfully,
and follow whithersoever it leads the way. Take
nothing upon trust; pin your faith upon no man's
sleeve; to the law and the testimony. (') Believe in
(1) Few of the sectarists of the present day have departed
farther from the Scriptural view of things than the New Church.
The form of baptism in their Liturgy is this:—" I baptize thee
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is at once Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit." Their confession is this:—" Dost thou
believe that God is one, both in essence and in person, in whom
is a divine trinity, consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
and that the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is he? I do."
The Lord's Supper is thus administered:—■" The body of our
Lord Jesus Christ, which is the divine good of his divine love,
nourish and preserve you unto eternal life. Take and eat this,
in remembrance that the Lord glorified his human, and thereby
became the God of heaven and earth."
Enough ! One is grieved and surprised, that any set of peo-
pie should take such liberties in altering the Sacred Writings.
To our own Master, however, we must each of us stand or fall.
Some time since there was a Letter written and addressed to
the clergy in behalf of Swedenborg's Theological Works. The
Letter is admirably well written, and in an excellent spirit,
whoever was the author. But surely a man of his sense must
see the fallaciousness of his own reasoning, on the 13th page of
the small edition, where he gives his reasons why the writings
he wishes to recommend should be received. The whole force
of his recommendation rests upon the reasons there given in
B B 2
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A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Christ, as the Word teaches; put your whole trust
and confidence in him; obey his precepts; worship
God publicly and privately, with sincerity and zeal;
do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your
Maker; and look for his mercy, through Christ
Jesus, unto eternal life; and be assured, all shall be
well.
" Be all these things, however, as they may, the
religion of Jesus is a thing of which you do not
approve. He might be a very good sort of man,
but his doctrines are not to your taste. If you
could only get clear of the Bible, and these d—d
priests,^) of every denomination, as the noble
favour of Swedenborg's divine commission, and jet those rea-
sons are altogether without any sound and legitimate founda-
tion. What will not ingenious men say, and how far will they
not go, to establish a favourite hypothesis ?
(I) It is greatly to be lamented, that the clergy, in most ages
of the Christian Church, have been very generally unfriendly to
toleration, and that they should have been the instruments of
calling for, or stirring up, the civil power to persecution.
Every good and liberal-minded man must confess and bewail
this misfortune. This spirit, however, has not been confined
to ministers of the Establishment. Jews, Heathens, and Ma-
hometans, Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists, have all,
in their turns, when the power has come into their hands, been
guilty of the same intolerant conduct.* It is human nature,
and a part of its disease. But the Gospel itself, all pure, and
perfective of reasonable beings, is free from the bloody charge.
Jesus, the author of it, was the most generous, humane, and
amiable of characters. But, alas, we have sadly forgotten, or
perverted his institutions. Persecution and bloody deeds are
the infallible marks of Antichrist, Rev. xvii. 6. That the
♦ See the pamphlet entitled, A Look to the last Century; or the Dis-
centers weighed in their own Scales. An instructive piece!
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 373
French have done, you then flatter yourselves we
should see happier days ?"
Protestant Churches should have imitated the heast in this
worst part of his conduct, can never be sufficiently bewailed.
Every reign, almost from the Reformation to the Revolution,
was stained with the blood of souls. Henry VIII., who con-
trived to remove the Pope of Rome from being head of the
English Church, and put himself in his place, was a vile,
tyrannical, libidinous, and bloody wretch. A considerable
number of persons were put to death in his reign for con-
science' sake. Nay, even the excellent young king, Ed-
ward VI., was a persecutor, in some cases, unto death, being
over persuaded by those about him, particularly the good, but
mistaken Cranmer. Mary and Elizabeth shed much blood on
account of religion. James and Charles were not innocent.
They stained their hands in blood on the same account. Crom-
well, and the prevailing parties during the Rebellion, made
dreadful havoc. After the Restoration, it is computed that not
less than 8,000 persons perished in prison, and the sum of two
millions of money was wrested from the sufferers. Sixty thou-
sand persons are said to have suffered, in one way or other, from
the Restoration to the Revolution, which was only a period of
about thirty years.
Let the reader consult Dr. Doddridge's excellent Sermon
against the damnable spirit of persecution.
Indeed, all national religions, whether Pagan, Jewish, Turk-
ish, or Christian, have ever hitherto been national tyrannies.
The last began with Constantine, the first Christian emperor,
and continues to this day, our own Establishment not excepted.
And of what pliable stuff we parsons are made has been tided
upon various occasions in this country. When Henry VIII.
discarded the Pope of Rome, and made himself Pope in his
place, the great body of bishops and clergy followed the ex-
ample: very few, comparatively, suffered death for refusal.
When Edward VI. rejected most of the remaining rubbish of
Popery, and became Protestant, almost all the bishops and
clergy again followed his example. Then, when Mary after-
374
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The Bible, and the persons appointed by that
book to minister in holy things, are unquestionably
great restraints upon the passions of men: and
blamable as our order has been, and bad as the
world is, there is no little reason to suppose, it would
be much worse without that order. It is probable
you have not well considered what the consequence
would be of removing these grievances out of the
way. A successful invasion from the French would,
in all likelihood, enable you to obtain these ends, for a
considerable time. (') Had we not, however, " better
wards undid all that Edward had done, and introduced Popery
again,near 3,000 were turned out of their livings; hut not more
than four or five hundred, both of the clergy and laity, suf-
fered for the refusal to join her. And then, once more, when
Elizabeth rejected Popery, the clergy, very generally, imitated
her conduct. Not more than 200 gave up their preferment.
All these changes took place in the course of forty years. But
whoever prevailed, Papist or Protestant, they were steady to
their purpose of persecuting those who refused to comply with
their tyrannical injunctions. Nay, even Calvin persecuted
Servetus unto death; and the gentle Melancthon approved of
what Calvin had done. Cranmer » had his victims; and, what
is worse, the laws of England, in the close of the eighteenth
century, contain bloody statutes in full force. Bloody laws,
however, on account of religion, though of no force, through the
liberality of the times, ought to be repealed, if it were only for
the honour of old England; but there is a higher reason
which should influence the professors of an unpersecuting
Master.
(1) [At the present day, one of the evils least likely to be
apprehended, is that of " a successful invasion from the
* Cranmer was concerned in putting five or six persons to death for their
religious opinions, and he himself was at last put to death by Queen Mary
for the same cause. A just retaliation!
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 375
bear those ills we have, than fly to others that we know
not of?" Reformation of the decayed, impolitic, and
unevangelical parts of the British constitution—not
surely the destruction of the whole—should be the
ardent wish of every true friend to his country, and
to human nature. Perfect liberty, civil and reli-
gious, is the birthright of man. Whatever of this
nature is still wanting in this happy land, might be
easily obtained from the very nature of our govern-
ment. No man, therefore, who is a friend to his
country, could desire to see it involved in political
ruin, for the sake of obtaining what .he may conceive
to be some considerable advantages. Enlighten the
public mind, and it will not be long before all re-
maining abuses shall be rectified.(')
Delenda est Carthago (2) is the uniform language
Frenchbut when this paragraph was penned, a state of ex-
citement and alarm prevailed, which it is absolutely impossible
fully to describe.]—Ed.
(1) [An impartial and intelligent review of the past few
years, will present some interesting proofs of the fulfilment of
this declaration. Light has been poured on the mind, and
abuses have been corrected. In certain instances great im-
provements have taken place, as in the representation of the
people, in our municipal institutions, and in the removal of
disabilities which long operated most injuriously; but much
remains to be accomplished; nor should the fact be regarded
without special gratitude to God, that the public mind is open-
ing to the perception, and the public energies engaging in the
pursuit, of a far sounder and happier state of things.]—Ed.
(2) The city of Carthage was taken and plundered by the
Romans 144 years before the birth of Christ. It was twenty-
four miles in compass, and the burning of it continued seven-
376
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
of Frenchmen. What the meaning of that phrase
will be, we may form a pretty good idea, from the
history of Carthage, and the treatment which Lyons,
one of their own cities, received, when it refused to
comply with the decrees of the Convention. It is
worth while to state this at some length, as a useful
lesson to my countrymen.
By the new constitution of France, it was decreed,
that the king could not be dethroned, unless found
at the head of an army against his country. This
was to be regarded as the highest crime he could
possibly commit, and even for this he could be
punished no otherwise than by being dethroned.
" No crime whatever," says the constitution, " shall
be construed to affect his life." This constitution
every Frenchman had sworn " to obey, and maintain
with all his might." When, therefore, it was pro-
posed to the people of Lyons, by the emissaries of
the National Convention, to petition for the death of
the king, they replied, almost with one voice, " No :
we have sworn, with all France, to maintain the new
constitution with all our might: that constitution
declares, that no crime whatsoever shall affect the
life of the king. For any thing we have yet seen
or heard, we believe him innocent of every crime
which has been laid to his charge. The mode of his
trial is unprecedented in the annals of injustice, the
teen days together. Cato was the author of the sentence,
Delenda est Carthago, and Scipio put it in execution, with
infinite horror, hlood, and slaughter.—See the Roman History
for the account at large.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 877
Convention being at once accuser, evidence, and
judge. We believe him perfectly innocent; but
whether he be or not, the constitution that we have,
by a solemn oath, bound ourselves to maintain with
all our might, declares, that no crime whatever shall
be construed to affect his life: that life, therefore,
we cannot, we will not demand. The rest of the
nation may sport with engagements which they have
called the Almighty to witness; they may add the
crime of assassination to that of perjury; they may
stain themselves with the blood of their innocent and
unfortunate prince; the Lyonese never will."
This was an answer full of good sense, justice,
piety, and honour.
What, however, was the consequence? The Con-
vention immediately vowed vengeance. A numerous
army was prepared. Siege was laid to the city.
Ten thousand of the inhabitants defended it for sixty
days against fifteen times their number, though it
had neither magazines nor fortifications. Thirty
thousand men were slain without the city. Provi-
sions failed within. A capitulation was proposed by
the besieged. The besiegers, however, knowing the
extremity to which the city was reduced for want of
bread, would grant them no terms whatever, without
putting to death indiscriminately all those who had
taken up arms within the city. Seeing no hopes of
capitulation, the besieged determined to cut their
way through the enemy, or fall in the attempt. The
besiegers, knowing all that passed from their parti-
sans within the city, were prepared to receive them;
insomuch, that out of near four thousand persons
378
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
who made this desperate effort, the whole were
either killed or taken, except about fifty. (')
(1) The French have always been a brave and warlike people.
In no war, however, did they ever fight with such desperate and
ferocious courage as in the present. On the first of June,
against Lord Howe, and in the other more recent actions, they
displayed the most determined resolution. The Dutch did the
same in the late action against Admiral Duncan. But if the
French and Dutch displayed such feats of bravery, what must
the English have done ! By land, too, as well as by sea, the
English, in the course of the present unhappy struggle, have
discovered very eminent superiority. We usually say, facts are
stubborn things. Let the following, then, speak the language
of honest truth:—At Lincelle, 1,100 British Guards stormed a
formidable work, defended by six times their number, com-
pletely routed the enemy, and made themselves masters of the
artillery.—In an action near Cateau, 1,800 British cavalry
defeated their army of 25,000 men, pursued them to the gate of
Cambray, took their general prisoner, and upwards of fifty
pieces of cannon.—At the battle of Tournay, a small British
brigade, under the command of General Fox, drove back
General Pichegru's left wing, and decided the victory, till that
moment doubtful.—At a sortie from Nimeguen, six British bat-
talions marched out in the middle of the day, threw themselves,
without firing a shot, into the enemy's trenches, dispersed the
troops that guarded them, and after being in possession of them
two hours, and completely destroying their works, returned in
perfect order to the town, without the enemy daring to harass
them. What feats did not Sir Charles Grey perform in the
West Indies!—What has become of the French East India
possessions!
See Le Messurier's Thoughts on a French Invasion, and
Willyam's Account of the Campaign in the West Indies in the
year 1794.
[" The British army always fought with glory, and maintained
a reputation for valour rarely equalled, and never surpassed by
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
379
After this the victors showed such mercy as might
be expected from them. Not content with butcher-
that of any other nation. Early in the last century, under
Marlborough, it took the lead in the great European con-
federacy, and was mainly instrumental in humbling the over-
grown alarming power of Louis XIV. In subsequent wars on
the continent, Great Britain fought as an auxiliary, and often
against unequal numbers. The campaigns in the Peninsula,
and the unexpectedly rapid successes of the northern alliance,
gradually drew on Great Britain to the full production of her
military energies on the continent; and they terminated the
war by a victory at Waterloo, under the Duke of Wellington,
which may rank among the most brilliant and memorable
achievements of the British arms. The military force of the
nation, at this time, amounted to 200,000 regular troops, ex-
elusive of about 100,000 embodied militia.'rray's En-
cyclopedia.]—Ed.
[" The navy is the force on which Great Britain mainly re-
lies for maintaining her own independence, and her ascendency
over foreign nations. By it she has acquired the sovereignty
of the seas, and the advantages which that sovereignty confers,
of securing her possessions in the most distant quarters of the
globe, of protecting her commerce, and sustaining the exertions
of her armies during war. The achievements by which she has
won this arduous and well-merited ascendency are alike honour-
able to the heroes who commanded her fleets, and to the brave
men who fought under them; especially in the late war, when she
triumphed over the nations of Europe,united under the direction
of France. The matchless valour of British seamen, displayed
on that and on other occasions, is the more to be admired, since
a large proportion of them are procured by means which only
extreme necessity can justify; we allude to impressment, thfe
only mode of conscription practised in this country, if conscrip-
tion that can be called, which is attended with circumstances so
violent and irregular. It appears, however, to have been dis-
continued, except in urgent cases, when a sudden augmenta-
tion of the naval force is required. During the most active
380
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
ing their prisoners in cold blood, they took a plea-
sure in making them die by inches, and in insulting
them in the pangs of death. Placing several to-
gether, they killed one of them at a time, to render
death more terrible to the rest. Neither sex nor age
had any weight upon them. Above two hundred
women, thirty of whom had children at the breast,
whom conjugal love had led to follow their hus-
bands; more than fifty old men, whom filial piety
had snatched from the assassin's stab, were all most
savagely butchered. The death of Madame de
Visague deserves particular notice. This young
lady was about seventeen years of age, and very near
her time of delivery. A party of the democrats
found her behind a hedge, to which place she had
drawn her husband, who was mortally wounded.
When they discovered her, she was on her knees,
supporting his head with her arm. One of them
fired upon her with a carbine, another quartered
her with his hanger, while a third held up the expir-
ing husband to be a spectator of their more than
hellish cruelty.
Several wounded prisoners were collected to-
gether, and put into a ditch, with sentinels placed
round them, to prevent them from killing them-
period of the last maritime war, the number of seamen in em-
ployment amounted to 140,000; and there were in commission
160 sail of the line and 150 frigates, with 30,000 marines.
Before the termination of the contest, however, such was the
humble condition of the foreign navies opposed to us, that our
superiority was maintained with a much smaller force.''—Mur-
ray's Encyclopedia.]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 381
selves, or one another; and thus were they made to
linger, some of them two or three days, while their
enemies testified their ferocious pleasure by all the
insulting gesticulations of savages.
Such was the fury of the triumphant demo-
crats, (') that the deputies from the Convention gave
(1) The world has now existed near 6,000 years; and we
who live in the present period are favoured with the experience
of all former ages. During those ages, every kind of govern-
ment has been tried. And it is found by experience, that
every kind of government has its peculiar advantages and dis-
advantages. To guard against the inconveniences peculiar to
each, the wisdom of Tacitus conceived, that a mixed form of
government, consisting of king, lords, and commons, if it were
practicable, would be the most perfect; but yet he could not
conceive such a government to be possible. His words are:—
" Cunctas nationes aut Reges, aut Primores, aut PopuluB
rexerunt, dilecta ex his et consociata Reipublicse forma laudari
facilius quam evenire; aut si eveniat, non diuturna esse, po-
test."—Tacit. Ann. 1.
The British Government, however, has long reduced this
idea, by him deemed impossible, to practice: and it should
really seem, not only from our own experience in this country,
but from the conduct of the Americans in forming their consti-
tution, and from the conduct of the French in forming theirs,
that three estates, to act as checks one upon another, forms the
most perfect system of government human wisdom can contrive
for the happiness of man. The Americans have two houses
and a president, who is the same as our king, only called by
another name; and the French, during their late sanguinary
revolution, had two estates, and five directors, who occupied the
place of our king and his privy council. So that, after all
their experience, convulsions, and blood, the British Govern-
ment was at last the model they were constrained to follow.
This consideration ought to induce us Englishmen, not only to
be contented with, but to glory in our constitution, as a most
382
a plea for religion
an order against burying the dead, till they had been
cut in morsels. Toilet, the infamous apostate priest
of Trevoux, went, blood-hound like, in quest of a
few unhappy wretches, who had escaped destruc-
tion; and when, by perfidious promises, he had
drawn them from their retreats, he delivered them
up to the daggers of the assassins.
Of the little army that attempted the retreat, six
hundred and eighteen were brought back in chains ;
some of them died of their wounds, and all those
who were not relieved from life this way, were
dragged forth to an ignominious death.
Prior to these misfortunes, there was an infamous
assembly in Lyons, which took the name of the
Democratic Club. In this club a plot was laid for
the assassination of all the rich in one night. Their
oath was—" We swear to exterminate all the rich
and aristocrats; their bloody corpses, thrown into
finished model of human wisdom. We may change, but it is
impossible we can change for the better. All that we should
desire is, that every thing may be removed from it, which is
inconsistent with its purity and perfection. Our present legis-
lature is competent to the correction of every abuse.—See a
just account of the excellence of the British Constitution in
Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws, h. xi. c. 6.
[Blackstone has been deemed an oracle of law, and he
delivered at Oxford, from the professor's chair, the following
sentence:—" The Parliament of Britain hath sovereign and
uncontrollable authority in making and repealing laws con-
cerning matters of all possible denominations, ecclesiastical or
temporal. It can alter the established religion of the land, as
was done in a variety of instances, in the reigns of Henry VIII.
and his children. Such is the omnipotence of Parliament."!
—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 883
the Rhone, shall bear our terrors to the affrighted
sea." This plot was happily discovered in time to
prevent its effects; and the president Challier, with
two others, were condemned to die. This Challier
was looked on as a person of infamous character
before the revolution ; and, since the revolution, he
had imbrued his hands in the blood of his own
father 1
After the capture of the city, the above demo-
cratic club was re-organized, and Javogues, the
deputy from the Convention, became its new presi-
dent. After having represented Challier as a mar-
tyr to the cause of liberty, he addressed himself to
the assembly in nearly these terms:—" Think," said
he, " of the slavery into which you are plunged, by
being the servants and workmen of others; the
nobles, the priests, the proprietors, the rich of every
description, have long been in a combination to rob
the democrats, the real sans culotte republicans, of
their birth-right. Go, citizens; take what belongs
to you, and what you should have enjoyed long ago.
Nor must you stop here; while there exists an
aristocracy in the buildings, half remains undone.
Down with those edifices, raised for the profit or
pleasure of the rich; down with them all: commerce
and arts are useless to a warlike people, and the
destruction of that sublime equality, which France is
determined to spread over the whole globe." He
told this deluded populace, that it was the duty of
every good citizen to discover all those whom he
knew to be guilty of having, in thought, word, or
deed, conspired against the republic. He exhorted
them to fly to the offices open for receiving such
384
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
accusations, and not to spare one lawyer, priest, or
nobleman. He concluded this harangue, worthy of
one of the damned, with declaring, that for a man to
accuse his own father was an act of civism worthy a
true republican, and that to neglect it was a crime
which should be punished with death.
The deeds which followed this diabolical exhorta-
tion were such as might be expected. The bloody
democrats left not a house, not a hole, unsearched;
men and women were led forth from their houses
with as little ceremony as cattle from their pens.
The square where the guillotine stood was red-
dened with blood, like a slaughter-house; while the
piercing cries of the surviving relations were drowned
in the more vociferous howlings of Vive la Repu-
blique !
Soon after this, orders were given from the Con-
vention for the demolition of the city. A hundred
houses were destroyed per day. All the hospitals,
manufactories, banks, &c., &c., were destroyed, with-
out exception. Before the revolution this city con-
tained above 150,000 inhabitants. It was the second
town, with respect to population, in France, and the
first manufacturing town in all Europe. It does not
now contain 70,000 inhabitants, and those are all
reduced to beggary and ruin. As for trade, there is
no such thing thought of. The last report to the
Convention, respecting Lyons, declares the inhabit-
ants without work or bread.
It is difficult to stifle the voice of nature, and to
stagnate the involuntary movements of the soul;
yet even this was attempted, and in some degree
effected, by the deputies of the Convention. Per-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 385
ceiving that the above scenes of blood and devasta-
tion had spread a gloom over the countenances of
the innocent inhabitants, and that even some of their
soldiers seemed touched with compunction, they
issued a mandate, declaring every one suspected of
aristocracy, who should discover the least symptom
of pity, either by his words or his looks 1
The preamble of this mandate makes the blood
run cold: " By the thunder of God! in the name of
the representatives of the French people; on pain of
death, it is ordered," &c., &c. Who would believe,
that this terrific mandate, forbidding men to weep
or look sorrowful on pain of death, concluded with
Vive la Liberte !—Liberty for ever ? Who would
believe that the people, who suffered this mandate
to be stuck up about their city, like a play-bill, had
sworn to live free or die?(1)
In spite, however, of all their menaces, they still
found that remorse would sometimes follow the
murder of a friend or relation. Conscience is a
troublesome guest to the villain who yet believes in
an hereafter. The deputies, therefore, were resolved
to banish this guest from the bosoms of their par-
tisans, as it had already been banished from their
own.
With this object in view, they ordered a solemn
civic festival in honour of Challier. His image was
(1) Under the most extravagant professions of liberty, the
French are now become the greatest slaves in Europe. Wher-
ever they go, they pretend to offer the people liberty; "but no
sooner do the silly folks listen and believe, than they find
themselves plundered and enslaved.
c c
386
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
carried round the city, and placed in the churches.
Those temples which had, many of them, for more
than a thousand years, resounded with hosannas to
the Supreme Being, were now profaned by the
adorations paid to the image of a parricide.
All this was but a prelude to what was to follow
the next day. It was Sunday,^) the day conse-
crated to the worship of our blessed Redeemer. A
vast concourse of democrats, men and women, as-
(1) The French, before the Revolution, were extremely inat-
tentive to the sanctification of the Sabbath; and, hv a most
striking retaliation of Providence, they are now entirely de-
prived of the Sabbath.* Many in this country, especially the
nobility and gentry, are almost universally treading in the same
steps; and have we reason to suppose we shall not, ere long, be
treated in the same manner? Were I an infidel in principle, I
would observe the Sabbath-day, for the sake of example. For
if religion could be proved to have no foundation in truth, it
must he allowed to he extremely convenient for the purpose of
keeping mankind in order. " I go to church sometimes," said
the late infidel Earl of Orford, " in order to induce my servants
to go to church. A good moral sermon may instruct and
benefit them. I only set them an example of listening, not of
believing." And what injury would his lordship have sus-
tained, if he had both listened, believed, and obeyed! All
hypocrites are base and contemptible characters, whatever
specious attainments they may possess, of a literary, philoso-
phical, or political kind. It does not appear that his lordship,
any more than Hume and Franklin, ever gave Christianity a
serious and conscientious investigation. They were all too
busy in life, and had little inclination to religious pursuits.
The carnal mind of a nobleman and a philosopher is equally at
enmity against God.
* [The Sabbath was abolished by a decree of the National Convention,
7th October, 1793; and was restored, 8th April, 1802, by Buonaparte, when
First Consul.—Alison's History of the French Revolution.]—En.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 387
sembled at a signal agreed on, formed themselves
into a sort of mock procession, preceded by the
image of Challier, and followed by a little detached
troop, each bearing in his hand a chalice, or some
other vase of the church. One of these sacrilegious
wretches led an ass, covered with a priest's vestment,
and with a mitre on his head. He was loaded with
crucifixes, and other symbols of the Christian reli-
gion, and had the Old and New Testaments sus-
pended to his tail. Arrived at the square called the
Terreaux, they then threw the two Testaments, the
crucifixes, &c., into a fire, prepared for the purpose,
made the ass drink out of the sacramental cup, and
were proceeding to conclude their diabolical pro-
fanations with the massacre of all the prisoners, to
appease the ghost of Challier, when a violent thun-
der-gust put an end to their meeting, and deferred
the work of death for a few hours.
The pause was not long. The deputies, profiting
by the impious frenzy with which they had inspired
the soldiery and the mob, and by the consterna-
tion of the respectable inhabitants, continued their
butchery with redoubled fury. Those who led the
unhappy sufferers to execution, were no longer
ordered to confine themselves to such as were en-
tered on the list of proscription, but were permitted
to take whomsoever they themselves thought worthy
of death ! To have an enemy among the democrats,
to be rich, or even thought rich, was a sufficient
crime. The words nobleman, priest, lawyer, mer-
chant, or even honest man, were so many terms of
proscription. Three times was the place of the
guillotine changed; at every place holes were dug
c c 2
388
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
to receive the blood, and yet it ran in the gutters !
The executioners were tired, and the deputies, en-
raged to see that their work went on so slowly, repre-
sented to the mob, that they were too merciful, that
vengeance lingered in their hands, and that their
enemies ought to perish in mass!
A ccordingly, the next day, the execution in mass
began. The prisoners were led out, from a hundred
to three hundred at a time, into the outskirts of the
city, where they were fired upon, or stabbed. (')
(1) See much more to the same purpose in Peter Porcupine's
Bloody Buoy, and in Barruel's History of the French Clergy.
Carrier alone, deputy from the Convention, put to death at
Nantz, and other places in the south of France, more than
40,000 persons, including men, women, and children.
Such men are to be considered in the light of Jehus, who are
appointed to execute the Divine vengeance upon those persons
and places, which have incurred the displeasure of the Almighty.
Nantz contained the richest merchants in the kingdom, and
carried on a very considerable trade in the blood of human
creatures.
Bishop Burnet was in France at the time of the horrible per-
secution of the Protestants under Louis XIV.
" I do not think," says he, " that in any age, there ever was
such a violation of all that is sacred, either with relation to God
or man ; and what I saw and knew there, from the first hand,
hath so confirmed all the ideas that I had taken from books, of
the cruelty of that religion, that I hope the impression which
this hath made upon me, shall never end but with my life.
From tne circumstances of it, it may be well termed, the act of
the whole clergy of France."—Travels, Let. 5, pp. 246, 247.
If we would see other accounts of what may be expected
from a successful invasion of this country by the French, we
may be amply gratified, by Anthony Aufrere, Esq.'s, Warning
to Britain against French Perfidy and Cruelty towards the Pea-
sants of Suabia; by Peter Porcupine's Democratic Principles
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 389
One of these massacres deserves particular notice.
Two hundred and sixty-nine persons, taken indis-
criminately among all classes and all ages, were led
to Brotteaux, and there tied to trees. In this situ-
ation they were fired upon with grape shot. Num-
bers of these unfortunate prisoners had only their
limbs broken by the artillery; these were despatched
with the sword or the musket. The greatest part of
the bodies were thrown into the Rhone, some of
them before they were quite dead. Two men, in
particular, had strength enough to swim to a sand-
bank, in the river. One would have thought, that,
thus saved as it were by a miracle, the vengeance of
their enemies would have pursued them no further;
but no sooner were they perceived, than a party of
the dragoons of Lorraine crossed the arm of the
river, stabbed them, and left them a prey to the
fowls of the air.
Among others who fell into the hands of the
democrats, was Mons. Chapuis de Maubourg, one of
the first engineers in Europe. They offered to spare
his life, if he would serve in the armies of the Conven-
tion. They repeated this offer, with their carbines
at his breast. " No," replied this gallant man, " I
have never fought but for my God and my king:
despicable cowards ! fire away !"(')
Illustrated; and by Anecdotes of the Conduct of the French in
Franconia. To these may he added, Turreau's History of the
Vendean War; Lavater's Remonstrance with the French Hi-
rectory; and a work called, A Rapid View of the Overthrow of
Switzerland.
(1) The dying behaviour of various of the victims was very
390
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
The murder in mass did not rob the guillotine of
its prey; there the blood flowed without intermis-
noble and animated. Where so many merit praise, it is diffi-
cult to select.
The king acquitted himself extremely well in the last trying
scenes of his life; but he was the main support of the Beast;
and though he died piously, he died a determined Catholic,
not knowing that this was one of the main causes of his
destruction.
It is but justice to his character to observe, what I believe is
not generally known, that it was the late Queen of France's
party, which forced on the king the treaty with America, in the
view of depressing Great Britain. Louis considered it as an
unfair measure, and threw away the pen, when urged to sanction
it with his signature. But in an evil hour for himself and his
family, he relented on repeated importunity; he signed the
fatal instrument which involved both hemispheres in the horrors
of war; and in so doing, he remotely signed the warrant for
his own execution. What a lesson is this to men of all ranks to
be just and honourable in their dealings !
The Princess of Lamballe was, after the royal family, one of
the most illustrious victims of that bloody period. She was
first confined in the Temple, and was afterwards sent to the
prison of La Force, where the massacre began early in the
morning. At three o'clock she was witness to the preparations
making for her destruction. At seven she was dragged by the
hair of her head into the court, where the victims waited their
final sentence. Here she continued, in a standing posture, to
witness all the horrid proceedings, till nine o'clock, when she
herself was called before the bloody tribunal. They asked her
a few questions; all which she answered with firmness. They
charged her with certain crimes; all which she denied. Being
in a very short time condemned, without any proof of guilt, she
was dragged to the gate; and from the gate conducted through
a double line of assassins to the place of execution, through a
variety of insults and reproaches. By the side of a pile of
dead bodies, she was commanded to kneel, and ask pardon of
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 391
sion. Death itself was not a refuge from democratic
fury. The bodies of the prisoners, who were dead
of their wounds, and of those who, not able to sup-
port the idea of an ignominious death, had given
themselves the fatal blow, were carried to the scaf-
fold, and there beheaded, receiving thousands of
kicks from the sans culottes, because the blood
would not run from them. Persons from their sick
beds, old men not able to walk, and even women
found in child-bed, were carried to the murderous
machine. The respectable Mons. Lauras was torn
from his family of ten children, and his wife big
with the eleventh. This distracted matron ran with
the nation. Firmly she replied, " I have not injured the nation,
and will not ask pardon !"—" Your release is the price of your
obedience." " I expect no favour from the hands of ruffians,
who dare to call themselves the nation."—" Once more, obey;
kneel down and ask pardon, if you wish to live."—" No: I will
not bend my knee. No : I will ask no pardon, no favour from
you."—" Kneel down |.nd ask pardon," was re-echoed by a
thousand voices ; but in vain. She remained superior to fear.
Two ruffians seized her by the arms, and were ready to tear her
in pieces. With all the strength she could gather, she ex-
claimed, " Go on, ruffians, I will not ask pardon." Being
enraged at her firmness, the fellows rush on her with drawn
swords, lay open her body, cut off her head, take out her heart,
bite it with their teeth, put it in a basin, lift the head on a pike,
and carry them about the streets of Paris. Her body was
stripped, and exposed naked to the populace.—For a fuller ac-
count, see Barruel.
This lady was a person of the most amiable manners and
benevolent heart; faithful to her friends, and kind and li-
beral to all. During the whole time she passed in the prison
of La Force, she supported all the poor who happened to be
there.
392
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
her children, and threw herself at the feet of the
brutal deputy Collet D'Herbois. No mercy! Her
conjugal tenderness, the cries of her children, every
thing calculated to soften the heart, presented them-
selves before him ; but in vain. " Take away," said
he to the officious ruffians by whom he was sur-
rounded, " take away the she-rebel and her whelps."
Thus spurned from the presence of him, who alone
was able to save her beloved husband, she followed
him to the place of execution. Her shrieks, when
she saw him fall, joined to the wildness of her looks,
but too plainly foretold her approaching end. She
was seized with the pains of child-birth, and was
carried home to her house. But, as if her torment-
ors had shewn her too much lenity, the sans culotte
commissary soon after arrived, took possession of all
the effects in the name of the sovereign people, drove
her from her bed and her house, from the door of
which she fell dead in the street!
About three hundred women hoped, by their
united prayers and tears, to touch the hearts of those
ferocious deputies; but all their efforts were as vain
as those of M. Lauras. They were threatened with
a discharge of grape shot. Two of them, who, not-
withstanding the menaces of the democrats, still had
the courage to persist, were tied, during six hours, to
the posts of the guillotine; their own husbands were
executed before their eyes, and their blood sprinkled
over them!
M. Servan, a lovely young woman of about
eighteen years of age, was executed, because she
would not discover the retreat of her father!
" What," said she, nobly, to the democratic com-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 393
mittee, " What I betray my father ! impious vil-
lains ! how dare you suppose it ?"
M. Cochet, a lady equally famed for her beauty
and her courage, was accused of having put the
match to a cannon during the siege, and having
assisted in her husband's escape: she was condemned
to suffer death. She declared herself with child;
and the truth of this declaration was attested by two
surgeons. In vain did she implore a respite. In
vain did she plead the innocence of the child that
was in her womb. Her head was severed from her
body, amidst the death-howls of the democratic
brigands!
To this long account of horrible villanies must be
added another, if possible, still more detestable—
libidinous brutality ! Javogues, one of the deputies
from the Convention, opened the career. His ex-
ample was followed by the soldiery and the mob in
general. The wives and daughters of almost all the
respectable inhabitants, particularly of such as had
emigrated, or who were murdered, or in prison,
were put in a state of requisition, and were ordered,
on pain of death, to hold their bodies—I spare the
reader the term made use of in the decree—in rea-
diness for the embraces of the true republicans!—
Nor were they content with violation: the first
ladies of the city were led to the tree of Liberty—of
Liberty!—and there made to take the hands of
chimney-sweepers and common felons. (')
(1) The facts here related are taken from Mr. John Philips's
small pamphlet on the subject, as his is extracted from a French
treatise, and Peter Porcupine's Bloody Buoy.
394
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
If to these deeds of blood committed at Lyons,
we add the murders perpetrated in other parts of
France—at Nantz, 27,000 ; at Paris, 150,000; in La
Vendee, 300,000; and, in short, through the whole
extent of that unhappy country, two millions of
persons, within six or seven years; among whom are
reckoned 250,000 women ; 230,000 children, besides
those murdered in the womb; and 24,000 Christian
priests;(') if, moreover, we consider in what manner
[In the Paris papers of August 1, 1817, we find, among the
obituaries, the following announcement:—" Died, within these
few days, in the hospital for pauper lunatics at Salpetriere,
where she had lived unpitied and unknown for many years, the
famous Theroigne de Mericourt (the Goddess of Reason), the
most remarkable of the heroines of the Revolution." This fe-
male (nearly in a state of nudity) was seated upon a throne, by
Fouche and Camot, in the Champ de Mars, and hailed alter-
nately as the Goddess of Reason and of Liberty. There was
nothing remarkable in the history of the latter days of this
poor creature, and her life is not without its moral. She, who
was taught publicly to blaspheme her Creator, and to dis-
honour her sex, (for she appeared in public nearly naked), was
for the last 20 years of her miserable life subject to the greatest
of human calamities—the deprivation of reason. She repented
very severely of her horrible crimes, and her few lucid intervals
were filled up by the most heart-rending lamentations. She
died at the age of fifty-seven.]—Ed.
(1) The serious Christian will remember these are the days
of vengeance for the innocent blood which was shed in that
wide-extended kingdom, under the predecessors of the late un-
fortunate king. The doctrine of retaliation, though little at-
tended to in general, is an undoubted law of God's kingdom in
the government of the world. A moral governor must be
morally just. " He that sheddeth man's blood, by man shall
his blood be shed." Consult Simpson's Key to the Prophecies,
for a large number of instances, wherein the retaliating provi-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 395
the French, without just offence, have treated the
small independent state of Geneva, and how many of
its most wealthy inhabitants fell a sacrifice to satisfy
the rapacity of the deputies from the Convention ;
we shall obtain a pretty clear idea of what we may
expect, if they should succeed in their designs
against us. We should not only see Bibles and
priests removed out of the way, an event, as some
affect to think, devoutly to be wished; but the coun-
try must undergo every possible calamity. Great
Britain and Ireland would become either a province
of France, or be divided into two or three small
contending republics, like Holland, dependent upon
them. Our navy(') would be conveyed into their
dence of God is visible to the most inattentive observer. Bar-
ruel's History of the French Clergy during the Revolution, and
Peter Porcupine's Bloody Buoy, contain an awful counterpart
to Claude's Complaints of the Protestants of France. The
French philosophers have scarcely been more cruel to the
clergy of France, during the Revolution, than the clergy of
France, at different periods, have been to the Protestants of
France. We are all crying out against the wickedness and
cruelty of the present governors of that great kingdom, but we
forget that the kings, bishops, clergy, nobles, and gentry of
the land, played the same game, and acted the same tragedy,
not very many years ago. It is the Lord's controversy for the
blood of his servants. The above two millions is the number
of persons murdered, besides those who have fallen in battle.
(1) In the year 1693, the royal navy of England consisted of
111 ships, of 40 guns and upwards. In the year 1793, it con-
sisted of upwards of 300 ships of war, from the first to the sixth
rate, besides near 200 sloops, &c.
[The vote for the sea service of 1815 was limited to 55,000
seamen, and 15,000 marines. After the ratification of peace,
the establishment was rapidly reduced; in 1817 it amounted to
396 a plea for religion
ports. London, (') and all our great mercantile
no more than 13,000 seamen, and 6,000 marines. This num-
ber, however, was considered too small to maintain the proper
authority of Great Britain, in the then disturbed state of
affairs on the continent. The estimate for 1831 comprehended
22,000 seamen, and 10,000 marines.]—Ed.
(1) London is now what Tyre was in ancient times. One
cannot help entertaining strong apprehensions of its sharing the
same fate. The trade and riches of it are immensely large, and
the corruption and iniquity of the place are in like proportion.
—See the account of Tyre in the Prophets.
It comprehends, besides London, Westminster, and South-
wark, no less than forty-five villages, of considerable extent,
independent of a vast accession of buildings upon the open
fields in the vicinity. Its length is nearly eight miles, its
breadth three, and its circumference twenty-six. It contains
above 8,000 streets, lanes, alleys, and courts, and more than 65
different squares. Its houses, warehouses, and other buildings
make 162,000, besides 246 churches and chapels, 207 meeting-
houses for Dissenters, 43 chapels for foreigners, and 6 syna-
gogues for the Jews ; which, in all, make 502 places of public
worship. The number of inhabitants, during the sitting of
Parliament, is estimated at 1,250,000. Among those are
found about 50,000 common prostitutes, and no less than
60,000 thieves, coiners, and other bad persons of all descrip-
tions. The annual depredations on the public, by this nu-
merous body of pilferers, are estimated at the sum of
£2,100,000 sterling. In this vast city there are, moreover,
upwards of 4,000 seminaries for education—10 institutions for
promoting the arts—122 asylums for the indigent—17 for the
sick and lame—13 dispensaries—704 charitable institutions—
58 courts of justice—7,040 professional men connected with the
various departments of the law. There are 13,300 vessels
trading to the river Thames in the course of a year; and
40,000 waggons going and returning to the metropolis in the
same period, including their repeated voyages. The amount
of exports and imports, to and from the Thames,is estimated at
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 397
towns, (') would be exhausted of their riches. Our
£66,811,922 sterling, annually; and the property floating in
this vast city every year, is £ 170,000,000 sterling. These
circumstances may be sufficient to convince us of the amazing
extent and importance of the capital of the British empire.—See
these things detailed more at large in an excellent Treatise on
the Police of the Metropolis, by Dr. Colquhoun.
And is all this national opulence and grandeur to be buried
in one general ruin, through the transgression and growing de-
pravity of the people?
[London has immensely increased since the time at which
these particulars were given. Its population, within a radius
of eight miles from St. Paul's, which is all virtually London,
does not fall short of 1,800,000. Never was it, on the whole,
so wealthy, or, temporally considered, so prosperous, as it has
been of late. In 1832, besides boats and other craft, not re-
gistered, there belonged to the port of London 2,669 ships, of
the burden of 565,174 tons, manned by 32,786 men and boys.
In 1834, the nett customs' duty collected in the port of London,
amounted to £9,576,972.
Of the state of the metropolis, an affecting account has
lately been given by the Hon. and Rev. B. W. Noel, M.A.,
referred to pp. 180, 181. A new weekly journal, published at
Birmingham, under the name of the " Reformer," in referring
to it,says:—" He does not,in his estimate of religion, omit the
Dissenters of London, as if they were not worthy of the name
of Christians, but confesses their full strength, taking the
statements of the respected Mr. Blackburn, the Independent
minister of Pentonville, as an authentic source of information
where Dissenters are concerned. The result of the statistical
inquiry is the following :—Persons neglecting public worship,
536,850."
On the moral condition of the metropolis, an eloquent and
impressive discourse has recently issued from the press, entitled,
" The Christian Citizen," by the Rev. John Harris, the author
of" Mammon."]—Ed.
(I) About the year 1700, the town of Manchester contained
398 a plea for religion
foreign possessions would fall into their hands. Our
only one church; and, in 1717, the inhabitants were 8,000.
[Manchester has now 23 churches, 1 Scotch church, about
50 chapels, 1 Jews' synagogue, and 4 places of Catholic wor-
ship. Its population amounted, in 1831, to 279,398;—an in-
crease, in thirty years, of 158,633 inhabitants.]—Ed.
In 1700, Liverpool had only 5,145 inhabitants. In 1790, it
had 70,000. In 1765, it covered an area of 1,184,000 square
yards; in 1790, this space had increased to 4,000,000. [The
population has since overflowed into the adjacent villages, and
swelled them into large towns. The suburbs of Liverpool,
added to it, raise the number of inhabitants to about 203,000.
Liverpool has 27 churches. " The chapels," says Pigot, " are
too numerous for particular description, and consist of edifices
appropriated to the worship of the various denominations of
Calvinists, Presbyterians, Sandemanians, Swedenborgians,
Unitarians, the several classes of Methodists, the Scotch
establishment, Friends' meeting houses, Welsh chapels, a
Jews' synagogue, and 5 Roman Catholic chapels. In addition
to all these religious edifices there are two nautical sanctua-
ries, one formed out of the ship 'William,' and the other out of
his Majesty's frigate the ' Tees.'" Of late years much has
been done for the welfare of sailors, and that with evident
proofs of the blessing of God. May such efforts be yet greatly
increased, and that benediction be still more abundant!]—Ed.
In 1790, it had 84 ships; in 1792, 584. ["In 1832, there
belonged to Liverpool 853 registered vessels, of the burden of
166,028 tons, manned by 9,329 men and boys. The gross
customs' duty, collected in the port during the same year,
amounted to the enormous sum of £3,925,062!"—Maccul-
loch's Dictionary of Commerce.
" The shipping belonging to the port of Liverpool has so
increased of late," says the Liverpool Journal (February, 1836),
"that we can now boast of possessing upwards of 1,000 vessels,
owned by Liverpool merchants, and engaged in the foreign
trade of this port. Several hundreds of other British vessels,
the property of Yarmouth, Plymouth, London, Whitehaven,
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 399
trade would be annihilated; our real estates change
Workington, and the ship-owners of other British ports, are
also engaged in the foreign commerce of Liverpool."]—Ed.
Several other towns in this country are increased nearly in
the same proportion. O happy England, if thou didst but
know thy happiness! The ingratitude and rebellion of the
country, however, against the laws of the Divine Being, must
terminate in our severe chastisement. The wickedness of the
inhabitants is inconceivably great. Compare the lives of the
clergy—the lawyers and attorneys—the medical class—the
soldiery—the sailors—the common people—with the Gospel of
Jesus Christ, and how alarming the contrast! The nobles and
gentry of the land, with some few exceptions, are become in-
curably immoral, as well as irreligious. The trading part of
the nation are all set upon their gain. Serious, uniform, and
conscientious godliness, is only found among a few solitary in-
dividuals. The Sabbath-day is fashionably and very generally
prostituted to secular purposes. The public worship of Al-
mighty God is grievously neglected by all ranks of men. The
sacrament of the Lord's Supper is very thinly attended, and
this only occasionally, and not as a serious duty and privilege.
Birmingham is said to contain about 70,000 inhabitants.
There are five churches, and fourteen meeting-houses, of dif-
ferent descriptions. It is supposed that not more than 5,000
persons attend any place of public worship on any one day; not
more than 10,000 attend any place of public worship at all; so
that there are 60,000 souls in that town, who may be said not
to have any religion at all; that is, about one in seven, or seven
to one. This is a very affecting consideration.
[Birmingham is now estimated to contain about 160,000 in-
habitants. It has 11 churches and Episcopal chapels, 1 Jews'
synagogue, 2 Catholic chapels, and 31 places of worship for Dis-
senters; and yet a vast number of persons never attend them.]
—Ed.
Macclesfield and its environs contain 9 or 10,000 people.
We have two churches and five meeting-houses. Not more,
however, than 3,000 of the nine attend public worship, in all
the places put together. So that here are 6,000 souls, includ-
400 A PLEA FOR RELIGION
masters; our personal property (') be swept into
ing children, who may be considered as infidels in principle, or
practice, or both, the same children being exempt from the
charge.
[Macclesfield and its environs now contain more than
35,000 inhabitants. It has 3 churches, besides a new one in
contemplation, to be erected in Hurdsfield; 11 Dissenting
chapels, viz., 2 Independent, 2 Wesleyan Methodist, 1 New
Connexion, 1 Primitive Methodist, 1 Particular Baptist, 1 Ge-
neral Baptist, 1 Roman Catholic, 1 Unitarian, and 1 Quaker.
There are also 14 National, Infant, and Sunday schools, in-
structing at least 6,000 children.]—Ed.
(1) In 1700, England had 2,281 trading vessels, carrying
261,222 tons burden. In 1792, England had 10,423 trading
vessels, carrying 1,168,468 tons.
[" The total number of ships or vessels belonging to the
British Empire, in 1834, was 25,055, their tonnage 2,716,100,
and their men 168,061."—Macculluch's Statistics.]—Ed.
The quantity of land cultivated in England and Wales
is about 32 millions of acres. The gross produce of the same
is about £75,000,000 sterling annually; and the nett rental
about £ 24,000,000.
The average annual gross produce of the. kingdom, arising
from land and animals, stands nearly according to the following
estimate:—-
Ten millions of acres of wheat, rye, &c. at £4 per
acre £40,000,000
Four millions of acres of hay, clover, &c. at 50s.
per ditto 10,000,000
Eight thousand tons of hops, at £50. per ton 400,000
One million of beeves fattening twenty weeks, at
Is. 6d. per week ] ,500,000
One million of sheep fattening thirteen weeks, at
6d. per week 1,950,000
Two millions of milch-cows, 40 weeks' milk, at
2s. 6d. per week 8,050,000
Wool 3,200,000
Ten millions of lambs, when weaned, at5s. per lamb 2,500,000
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 401
France; our poor would languish and die in the
streets for want of bread, none having it in their
power to relieve them-C) We should be involved
in all the miseries that human nature, in a civilized
state, is capable of undergoing. And from being
one of the first, most powerful, and happy nations
upon the face of the earth, we should become one of
the lowest, weakest, and the most wretched king-
Two millions of calves, at 20s. per calf £2,000,000
Four millions of pigs, at 5s. per pig 1,000,000
Fruits and vegetables for 8,000,000 of people .. 4,500,000
Poultry, eggs, &c. &c. &c
£75,100,000
[" The total annual value of the agricultural produce of Eng.
land and Wales, exclusive of wood, &c. may now be estimated
at about £132,500,000."—Macculloch's Statistics.']—Ed.
(1) The public and private charities of London amount to
£750,000 annually ; and the poor-rates of England and Wales
altogether, make the enormous sum of £2,200,000 a-year, be-
sides all private charities and Sunday schools. Arthur Young,
Esq. tells us, in his letter to Mr. Wilberforce, that the amount
of what is paid for labour of all sorts in England is not less
than one hundred millions sterling. Poor-rates and charities
of every sort cannot amount to less than seven millions.
[The amount of public and private charities now, it is
extremely difficult, if not absolutely impossible, to estimate;
neither can the sum paid for labour be accurately determined.
" The total amount of monies levied by assessment for poor's-
rate and county rate, in England and Wales, in the year ending
25th of March, 1833, was £8,606,501 9s."—Macculloch's Sta-
tistics. Important reductions as to the cost of provision for the
poor, have been recently effected. To give one instance:
" The present amount of poor-rates is about £4,300,000
above what they were in the year 1803. The amount of money
D D
402
a plea for religion
doms in Europe. And could any man, for the sake
of ridding the country of these bugbears, the Bible
and the priests, (') wish to see all this evil come upon
expended in suits of law, removal of paupers, &c. in England
and Wales were, for the years ended March 25th, 1833,
£254,412; 1834, £258,604; 1835, £202,527; and 1836,
£172,432. Thus the saving in litigation appears to be about
double the cost of the new body of Commissioners, which is
about £44,000."—Law Magazine.']—Ed.
(1) It is a melancholy reflection, that among all the clergy
in this country, there were not quite 200 who sacrificed their
interest to principle in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.—See
Gray's Sermons at the Bampton Lecture, p. 238. In Charles
the Second's time, however, there were upwards of 2,000 cler-
gymen who sacrificed their interest to principle, besides a con-
siderable number of conscientious men, it is to be presumed,
who continued in their places.
Bigotry and persecution generally defeat their own purposes !
What a consequence did not the Act of Uniformity give to the
dissenting interest in England I The same foolish game was
played by the bishops and clergy in the present century. In-
stead of encouraging, moderating, and regulating the pious
zeal of a few young men, in Oxford, by gentle and lenient
measures, they shut their churches against them, and compelled
them to go out into the highways and hedges, to preach to
those who were inclined to hear them; and though they were
then but a small band, they are now become a goodly com-
pany, and have already overspread England, Scotland, Ireland,
America, and the West Indies.—All this weight too is thrown
into the dissenting scale ! A few more such imprudent mea-
sures, and down goes Mother Church!
We have spoken on a former page on pluralities and non-
residence. The former, indeed, in all ordinary cases, implies
the latter. We scarce ever read an account of deaths in the
periodical publications, but we find an account of one or more
instances of this nature. The poet Mason is a point in hand.
Though a worthy man, and a character highly respectable, he
had, it appears, accumulated several preferments in the Church
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 403
us ? If any person approves not of religion and its
ministers, he is at perfect liberty, in this free coun-
at the same time. And it is well known to be the custom of
great numbers of the clergy in the Establishment to procure as
many as their interest will reach. This we call good manage-
ment, prudent foresight, taking care for a family, and the like.
If there is no God, it is all very well. But if we are account-
able creatures, and are to exist in a future state, our present
trading in livings and souls will not yield us satisfaction
another day. It is Popery, rank Popery, the worst part of
Popery, imder the highest pretensions to being the most pure
and reformed part of Christ's holy catholic Church. I remem-
ber an anecdote, apposite to the subject in hand. Bishop
Bumet, in his charges to the clergy of his diocese, shewed a
great deal of disinterested integrity, by vehemently exclaiming
against pluralities, as a most sacrilegious robbery. And, in his
first visitation at Salisbury, he urged the authority of St. Ber-
nard, who, being consulted by one of his followers, whether he
might accept of two benefices, replied—" And how will you be
able to serve them both!" " I intend," answered the priest,
" to officiate in one of them by a deputy."—" Will your deputy
be damned for you too!" cried the saint. " Believe me, you
may serve your cure by proxy, but you must be damned in
person." This expression so affected Mr. Kelsey, a pious and
worthy clergyman then present, that he immediately resigned
the rectory of Bemerton, in Berkshire, worth £200 a-year,
which he held then, with one of greater value.—See Bishop
Burnet's Life, by T. Burnet, Esq.
We have observed, that all the bulk of Church preferment, in
this country, is engrossed by about 1,000 clergymen, out of the
18,000. I do not pretend to be accurate in this statement, but
I should suppose it is not far from the truth. Whereas the
emoluments of the Establishment are capable of providing for
10,000 persons in a comfortable way, by abolishing pluralities,
without disturbing the present order of things. Let every
bishop retire within his diocese, and dwell among his clergy, as
a father in his family. Let every clergyman reside upon his
D D 2
404
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
try, to decline paying them any attention. He may
think and act according to his own pleasure. Why,
living, superintending his people, as a shepherd his flock.
And let no man be promoted to the first livings in the king-
dom, merely because he is related to, or connected with, some
great personage; but let the most active, useful, and laborious
ministers, especially when the infirmities of age come on, be
accounted worthy of double honour, by being rewarded for their
extraordinary services with the best livings which the country
affords.
All this, I too well know, is visionary. It is a plausible
theory, but never will be reduced to practice* If it should
please God, however, to put an end to the present unhappy
war, and favour us once more with a settled state of things, I
think it might be well for the great body of the poor rectors,
vicars, and curates of the country, to petition Government to
take their distressed circumstances into consideration. If it
should have no other effect, it would call the attention of the
public to the horrible monopolies of preferments which prevail
among the bishops and higher orders of the clergy. I would
recommend that committees should be formed in every district
through England and Wales, to correspond with a grand su-
perintending committee in London. Let them investigate the
business of Church preferments thoroughly, and drag to broad
day-light all the great offenders in this pretended spiritual
commerce.—See a book called the Miseries and great Hard-
ships of the Inferior Clergy, for some useful information.
Out of the 18,000 clergymen belonging to the Establishment
of this country, there are several hundreds of zealous and lively
men (and the number is much upon the increase), who, pro-
perly speaking, are the only true members of the Church of
England. They believe, and preach, and live her doctrines.
These conscientious men, however, are, as we have already ob-
served, almost universally dubbed Methodists, in a way of con-
tempt, by the majority both of bishops and clergy. This is
shameful treatment, but so it is. Those " downy doctors, that
recumbent virtues preach," who will swear any thing, and
subscribe any thing, no matter whether they believe it or not,
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 405
then, should any man desire to see his native land
involved in a destruction so complete? Be assured,
for the sake of a good bishopric, or fat rectory, are among the
first to exclaim against their more zealous, useful, and pious
brethren. Master, so saying and so doing, thou condemnest
us.—" Woe unto you, ye scribes, pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in
yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in!"—
See Ez. chap, xxxiv.
" When nations are to perish in their sins,
'Tis in the Church the leprosy begins."
" The priestly brotherhood, devout, sincere,
From mean self-interest and ambition clear,
Their hope in heaven, servility their scorn,
Prompt to persuade, expostulate, and warn,
Their wisdom pure, and given them from above,
Their usefulness insured by zeal and love,
As meek as the man Moses, and withal
As hold as in Agrippa's presence Paul,
Should fly the world's contaminating touch,
Holy and unpolluted—are thine such?*
Except a few with Eli's spirit bless'd,
Hophni and Phineas may describe the rest."
Cowper's Expostulation.
As a body of men, the established clergy of this country are
by no means deficient in talents, or in learning of any descrip-
tion. So far is this from being the case, that it is probable
there never existed a body of men of the same number, who
possessed equal natural and acquired qualifications; but we
are deficient in humility, in self-denial, in piety, and in zeal
for the honour of God and the salvation of souls. We want a
more serious attention to the grand peculiarities of the Gospel;
we are deficient in various of those qualifications which are
requisite to make us successful in winning souls to Christ. To
our shame be it spoken, with half our literary attainments, we
* 0 England!
406
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
whenever it comes, it will be promiscuous. The
generation then living will be, in every temporal
suffer the Methodists, and several of the Dissenters, to out-do us
exceedingly in real and positive usefulness to mankind. We
let the cause of Christ suffer and lose ground in our hands. A
large part of our order is inattentive both to religious and
literary pursuits. They are mere men of the world. Another
part is so occupied with literary and philosophical studies, that
they have neither time nor inclination to attend to the peculiar
employment of ministers of the Gospel. There is a third class
of our clergy, which is highly respectable, but whose ministerial
labours are so cool and languid, and whose public discourses
are so merely moral and so wholly unevangelical, that man-
kind are made neither much wiser nor better by their feeble
exertions. In the primitive ages, the divine heralds carried the
sound of the Gospel throughout all lands, from " the British
isles to the banks of the Ganges," in a very short space of time.
But we have suffered Heathenism to return again into some
countries, Mahometanism to overrun others, and Infidelity to
diffuse itself among all orders of society. And it is not im-
probable, but in the course of a few more years, the Gospel of
Christ, through our neglect, lukewarmness, and superstition,
will be in a great degree banished from Christendom. We
must either awake from our lethargic state, and return to
evangelical principles and practices, or all is lost. Most of the
higher ranks of society in this country, both among the clergy
and laity, have forsaken the Gospel scheme of saving a-ruined
world; and it is exceedingly probable the supreme Head of the
Church will, ere long, remove our candlestick, lay aside the
great body of us parsons, as a useless set of men, and deprive
us of those means of grace, which we have so long enjoyed to so
little purpose. The neglect of the Son and Spirit of God is the
master sin of Christendom.
I could wish the reader would give himself the trouble to
consider well what Mr. Wilberforce has written upon the sub-
ject,in his Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of
Professed Christians, in the Higher and Middle Classes in this
Country, contrasted with Real Christianity. If we had a num-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 407
sense at least, totally ruined; and no man shall be
able to extricate himself from the general calamity.
ber of such able and faithful labourers in the cause of Christ-
ianity among the laity, much good might be expected to result
from their endeavours. In my opinion, men of this descrip-
tion are peculiarly called upon in the present day, when Infi-
delity is making such rapid advances, and the clergy are in
such disgrace, to exert themselves in every possible way to
stem the torrent of iniquity, which is ready to bear all down
before it.
See some useful thoughts on the necessity of new measures,
in the Dean of Middleham's Political and Moral Consequences
of a Religious Education, and its Reverse.
[In a Solemn Appeal on behalf of the Church of England,
by the Rev. D. Nehil, A.M., it is said—" The clergy may be
divided into three classes: 1. Those whose bosoms glow with
sublime devotion to the Supreme Being, and who may, in truth,
be said habitually to walk with God. This portion is, I believe,
comparatively very small. 2. Ministers of an opposite descrip-
tion. The difficulty in the present day, of finding situations in
other walks of genteel life, occasions an unusual press of per-
sons, actuated hy low and selfish motives, into the Church; and
this, added to the facility of admission, renders this class much
more numerous than the one with which we have contr asted it.
3. Between the two, we may place an intermediate set of
men, consisting of those whose demeanour bespeaks a respect
for their sacred duties, and a kind of general reverence for
religion. Yet of these it may be said, that their devotional
habits hardly rise to that degree of spirituality which is neces-
sary to the existence of genuine and decided piety."—P. 36.
Most lamentable is it, that the pious clergy of the Establish-
ment are opposed by those of a different order. To shew the
state of mind cherished by one of the majority against them,
let the following suffice. Many other proofs could be adduced.
" As an orthodox member of the Church of England, I do not
hesitate to say, that the principles of the Evangelical, or, as
they may more properly be called, of the Calvinian Methodis-
tical preachers of the present day, are as incompatible with the
408
a plea for religion
In that case, and indeed in every other possible case,
the Gospel of Christ affords the only sure refuge.
It is calculated for both worlds. " The Lord God
is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and
glory; no good thing will he withhold from them
that walk uprightly." Those that live in the entire
spirit, and under the full influence of this divine reli-
gion, have, even now, large enjoyment of its com-
forts. (') And whether we are cut off, according to
sound apostolic doctrine of the Established Church, as the cor-
ruptions of Popery." Again—" With respect to regeneration
and election, on which points our evangelical praters think
proper to be dissentient from our venerable Church, I shall only
remark, that by doing so, they hold out every encouragement
to the ravings of fanatics about the pangs of the new birth, as
well as all their sudden impulses, illuminations, assurances,
and convictions."—A Reply to the End of Religious Con-
troversy of Dr. Milner, by the Rev. Richard Grier, A.M., Vicar
of Templebodan, in the diocese of Cloyne.]—ed.
(1) Turn back, and consider well the cases of Lord Russel,
Morata, Claude, Walker, Hervey, Leland, Romaine, Bedell,
and Leechman. Instead of this small number, we could have
produced some hundreds of characters of a like happy kind, if
it had been consistent with our design.
Bishop Burnet's declaration alone we will here transcribe, as
he was a man of piety, and of large experience of men and
things, and because he delivers it as his last dying speech, and
the sum of all his experience.
" True religion," says he, " is the perfection of human na-
ture, and the joy and delight of every one that feels it active
and strong within him. Of this I write with the more concern
and emotion, because I have felt this is the true, and indeed the
only joy which runs through a man's heart and life. It is that
which has been for many years my greatest support. I rejoice
daily in it. I feel from it the earnest of that supreme joy,
which I pant and long for. I am sure there is nothing else can
afford any true or complete happiness. I have, considering my
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 409
the common course of things, or hurried out of the
world by the violence of wicked men, still we are
fully persuaded it shall be well. They may destroy,
but they cannot hurt us. They will only send us to
our incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading inherit-
ance, a little before the time allotted by the course of
nature.
You see then, my friends and countrymen, it is our
firm determination to adhere to the Bible, and the
truths therein contained, at the risk of every thing
that is held dear among men. We have counted the
cost, and hesitate not a moment in saying, it is " our
glory and joy; dearer to us than thousands of gold
and silver."
" I swear, and from my solemn oath
Will never start aside,
That in God's righteous judgments I
Will stedfastly ahide.
The world's contempt of his commands,
But makes their value rise
In my esteem, who purest gold
Compared with them despise."
sphere, seen a great deal of all that is most shining and tempt-
ing in this world. The pleasures of sense I did soon nauseate.
Intrigues of state, and the conduct of affairs, have something in
them that is more specious; and I was for some years deeply im-
mersed in these, but still with hopes of reforming the world, and
of making mankind wiser and better. But I have found,' that
which is crooked cannot be made straight.' I acquainted myself
with knowledge and learning, and that in great variety. This
yielded not happiness. I cultivated friendship. But this also
I have found was vanity and vexation of spirit, though it be
of the best and noblest sort. The sum is, ' Vanity of vanities,
all is vanity,' besides fearing God and keeping his command-
ments."—See the Conclusion of the History of his Own Times.
410
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Sincerely pitying, therefore, and ardently praying
for the whole generation of those unhappy persons
among our countrymen, who " have forsaken the
only fountain of living waters, and hewn out to
themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water
with the great Lord Bacon we declare, " there
never was found, in any age of the world, either
philosophy, or sect, or religion, or law, or discipline,
that did so highly exalt the public good as the
Christian faith." With Sir Thomas Brown, " we
assume the honourable style of Christian, not be-
cause it is the religion of our country, but because
having, in our riper years and confirmed judgment,
seen and examined all, we find ourselves obliged, by
the principles of grace, and the law of our own
reason, to embrace no other name but this, being
of the same belief which our Saviour taught, the
apostles disseminated, the fathers authorised, and the
martyrs confirmed." With the noble Picus Miran-
dula, we rest in the Bible " as the only book wherein
is found true eloquence and wisdom." With Dr.
Robinson, the natural philosopher, we say, " the
Scriptures of the Old and New Testament contain a
system of human nature, the grandest, the most ex-
tensive and complete, that ever was divulged to
mankind since the foundation of nature." With the
excellent physician and philosopher, Dr. Grew, we
profess that " the Bible contains the laws of God's
kingdom in this lower world, and that religion is so
far from being inconsistent with philosophy, that it
is the highest point and perfection of it." With the
no less excellent physician and philosopher, Dr.
David Hartley, we say, that " no writers, from the
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 411
invention of letters to the present times, are equal
to the penmen of the books of the Old and New
Testaments, in true excellence, utility, and dignity."
With the very celebrated French poet, Boileau, we
say, " every word and syllable of the Bible ought to
be adored: it not only cannot be enough admired,
but it cannot be too much admired." With the
very pious and excellent Sir Matthew Hale, (J) we
are clearly of opinion, " there is no book like the
Bible, for excellent learning, wisdom, and use."
With the celebrated Boyle, we consider it as " a
matchless volume," and believe that " it is impos-
sible we can study it too much, or esteem it too
highly." (2) With the incomparable Newton, " we
account the Scriptures of God to be the most
sublime philosophy." With Milton we are of
opinion, " there are no songs comparable to the
songs of Zion—no orations equal to those of the
(1) [See a valuable life of this eminent man, by J. B. Wil-
liams, Esq., LL.d.]—Ed.
(2) This great philosopher says, " Deists must, to maintain
their negative creed, swallow greater improbabilities than
Christians, to maintain the positive creed of the Apostles.
And they must think it fitter to believe, that chance, or nature,
or superstition, should perform wonderful, and hardly credible
things, than that the great Author of nature, God, should be
able to do so."—fPorks, vol. v., p. 661.
John, Earl of Orrery, relation to the above Mr. Robert
Boyle, is also said to have been a lover of truth, even to
adoration. " He was," says the writer of his life, " a real
Christian, and, as such, he used to say, he constantly hoped
for a better life, there trusting to know the real causes of
those effects, which here struck him with wonder, but not with
doubt."
412
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
prophets—and no politics like those which the
Scriptures teach." With Rousseau every ingenuous
man may say, " I must confess to you, that the
majesty of the Scriptures astonishes me, and the
holiness of the Evangelists speaks to my heart, and
has such strong and striking characters of truth, and
is, moreover, so perfectly inimitable, that if it had
been the invention of men, the inventors would be
greater than the greatest heroes." With the justly
renowned Selden, before mentioned, after having
taken a deliberate survey of all the learning among
the ancients, we solemnly profess, " there is no
book" in the universe " upon which we can rest our
souls in a dying moment, but the Bible." And we
therefore boldly declare, before the face of all the
unbelieving and disobedient world, in the words of
the immortal Chillingworth, " Propose to me any
thing out of the Bible, and require whether I believe
it or not, and seem it never so incomprehensible to
human reason, I will subscribe it with hand and
heart; as knowing no demonstration can be stronger
than this—God hath said so, therefore it is true."
And may we not, finally, exhort and admonish the
sceptical reader, in the glowing language of the
seraphic Young?
" Retire, and read thy Bible, to be gay,
There truths abound of sov'reign aid to peace;
Ah! do not prize them less, because inspired,
As thou and thine are apt and proud to do.
If not inspired, that pregnant page had stood
Time's treasure! and the wonder of the wise!"
After these declarations, the warmth of which
may seem to need some apology, you cannot won-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 413
der, O my countrymen, if we should treat all your
stale cavils, which have been a hundred times re-
peated, and a thousand times confuted, with the
contempt they deserve, and say with the royal
Psalmist (no favourite of yours by the by, but
whom we believers esteem one of the bravest of
warriors, sublimest of poets, greatest of prophets,
most seraphic of musicians, and worthiest of men),
" The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the
soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise
the simple: the statutes of the Lord are right, re-
joicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is
pure, enlightening the eyes : the fear of the Lord is
clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord
are true and righteous altogether; more to be de-
sired are they than gold, yea, than much line gold:
sweeter also than honey, and the choice droppings of
the honeycomb."(')
(1) Other great kings have been of the same mind. Robert,
King of Sicily, declares of himself—" The holy books are
dearer to me than my kingdom, and were I under any necessity
of quitting one, it should be my diadem." And even the
haughty Lewis XIV. " sometimes read his Bible, and was of
opinion it is the finest of all books."
It is recorded of our Edward VI., that upon a certain occa-
sion, a paper which was called for in the council chamber hap-
pened to lie out of reach; the person concerned to produce it,
took a Bible that lay by, and standing upon it, reached down
the paper. The king, observing what was done, ran himself to
the place, and, taking the Bible in his hands, kissed it, and laid
it up again. This circumstance, though trifling in itself, im-
plies in his majesty great reverence for, and much attachment
to, that best of books.
More lately still," William III., King of England, not only
414
a plea for religion
You will excuse the freedom of this address, and
be assured it proceeds from a heart deeply con-
cerned for the welfare of his fellow-men. We wish
to be happy ourselves, and we wish you to be par-
takers of the same felicity. Many of you are en-
dowed with talents of no mean account. We lament
the misapplication of them. Are your spirits per-
fectly at rest in your present state of mind ? And
do you feel satisfied with your future prospects ?
Give me leave to answer for you, and be not of-
fended if I say, " No ! Far from it! My lusts and
passions lead me captive! I am a slave to evil
desires! Of the proper fear of God, which effectu-
believed the truth of the Christian religion very firmly, but was
most exemplarily decent and devout in the public exercises of
the worship of God. He was an attentive hearer of sermons,
and was constant in his private prayers, and in reading the
Scriptures."—Burnet's Own Times, vol. v., p. 71.
[Of Queen Mary, Howe says, in his sermon on her death :
" By most benign influence from heaven, though the plant was
set on earth, they had an early bud in concealment; but we
have seen them blossom in open view, still aspiring thither-
ward, as there they are fully blown; and her otherwise royal
parentage, was thus incomparably more royal."
In reference to George III., Dr. Collyer remarks: " His
personal piety might be marked by any who chose to witness
his public, but unostentatious regard to the ordinances of God,
and the sanctity of the Sabbath. Nor was his religion merely
a public religion—occasionally assumed, for political or popu-
lax purposes—soon to be laid aside, and to be separated from
his private habits. It pervaded all his deportment, and formed
his character. It was real and personal. It was demonstrated
by his devotional spirit, and by his invariable practice of de-
voting one hour every morning to reading the Scriptures, and
to closet prayer."]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 415
ally restraineth from sin, I know but little ! To the
genuine love of God I am an utter stranger; I
scarcely know what it means I The favour of God
I have no reason to expect, in my present state of
moral attainments, be the Bible true or be it false!
With all my pretensions to virtue, in my coolest
moments, I feel condemned in my own conscience !
' That which I do, I allow not; but what I would,
that do I not; for what I hate, that do I.' " (')
" My reason this, my passion that persuades;
I see the right, and I approve it too,
Condemn the wrong, and yet the wrong pursue.''
" O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver
(1) Dr. Doddridge, in his Life of Colonel Gardiner, informs
ns, " that his fine constitution, than which perhaps there hardly
ever was a better, gave him great opportunities of indulging
himself in excesses; and his good spirits enabled him to pur-
sue his pleasures of every kind in so alert and sprightly a man-
ner, that multitudes envied him, and called him, by a dreadful
kind of compliment, the happy rake. Yet still the checks of
conscience, and some remaining principles of so good an edu-
cation as he had received, would break in upon his most licen-
tious hours: and I particularly remember, he told me, that when
some of his dissolute companions were once congratulating him
on his distinguished felicity, a dog happening at that time to
come into the room,he could not forbear groaning inwardly, and
saying to himself, Oh, that I were that dog!—Such was then
his happiness! and such, perhaps, is that of hundreds more,
who bear themselves highest in the contempt of religion, and
glory in that infamous servitude which they call liberty."—
Reader! how is it with you in this respect! Trust a prophet
and a priest for once—■" The wicked are like the troubled sea,
which cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt."
" There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."
416
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
me from the unhappiness I frequently feel, and the
misery I have too much reason to fear ? I would
gladly be a thorough-paced unbeliever; but for the
life of me, I cannot get clear of the terror of death,
the apprehension of a future reckoning, and an un-
accountable foreboding of something terrible to
come!"
No, my countrymen! nor will you ever find either
solid consolation in life, or a just confidence in the
hour of death, till you shake off the chains of those
sins, which have well nigh led you into the gulf of
perdition, and obtain redemption in the blood of that
Saviour, of whom, in your present state of mind, you
make so little account.
Solomon, you know, has the honour of being re-
puted the wisest of men. But, notwithstanding his
extraordinary wisdom, he was, for many years at
least, guilty of extreme folly. He sought for hap-
piness in the gratification of the body, its appetites,
and passions, to the neglect of God and religion,
and the care of his immortal part; but substantial
happiness could no where be found. He ran through
the whole circle of worldly and sensual pleasures;
happiness, however, and ease of mind, still fled before
him, and eluded his pursuit. And after having made
a large number of experiments, for a long season, and
to no manner of purpose, he stops and looks back
upon what he had been doing; and the book of
Ecclesiastes contains his experience. Wishing to
warn his fellow-creatures against the mistakes which
he himself had committed in life, he turns preacher,
and gives us a sermon upon the insufficiency of
worldly things to make us happy. The text of the
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 417
discourse seems to be, " Vanity of vanities, vanity of
vanities; all is vanity."
He begins his sermon by shewing, that all human
courses and pursuits are vain, and do not yield full
satisfaction to the mind. " All things," says he, " are
full of labour: man cannot utter it: the eye is not
satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing."
From this general assertion, the royal preacher
proceeds to shew, that wisdom, and knowledge, and
learning, could not make him happy.
" I, the preacher, was king over Israel, in Jerusa-
lem : and I gave my heart to seek and search out by
wisdom concerning all things that are done under
heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons
of man, to be exercised therewith. I have seen all
the works that are done under the sun ; and, behold,
all is vanity and vexation of spirit. Tjiat which is
crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is
wanting cannot be numbered. I communed with
mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great
estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they
that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my
heart had great experience of wisdom and know-
ledge. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and
to know madness and folly: I perceived that this
also is vexation of spirit."
Not finding rest for his soul in the pursuits of
knowledge and learning, the wise man deserts them,
to try if the pleasures of drinking, planting, building,
music, and dancing, could make him happy, and
afford him that satisfaction which he had hitherto
sought for in vain. " I said in mine heart, Go to,
now, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore enjoy
E E
418
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. I said of
laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it ?
I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, (yet
acquainting my heart with wisdom), and to lay hold
on folly, till I might see what was that good for the
sons of men, which they should do under the heaven
all the days of their life. I made me great works; I
builded me houses; I planted me vineyards; I made
me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them
of all kind of fruits: I made me pools of water, to
water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees;
I got me servants and maidens, and had servants
born in my house; also I had great possessions of
great and small cattle, above all that were in Jeru-
salem before me ; I gathered me also silver and gold,
and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the pro-
vinces; I gat me men-singers, and women-singers,
and the delights of the sons of men, as musical in-
struments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and
increased more than all that were before me in Jeru-
salem: also my wisdom remained with me. And
whatsoever mine eyes desired, I kept not from them;
I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart
rejoiced in all my labour; and this was my portion
of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works
that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that
I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity
and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under
the sun."
After making many other observations upon hu-
man life, and human pursuits, and shewing how
utterly insufficient they all are to constitute any of
us truly easy, content, and happy; the royal preacher
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 419
finishes his excellent sermon by pointing out, in a
few words, what is the state, the duty, and the true
interest of man : " Let us hear the conclusion of the
whole matter: Fear God, and keep his command-
ments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God
shall bring every work into judgment, with every
secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be
evil."
This is the sum of Solomon's experience and
knowledge of men and things; and this is the expe-
rience of all the world. Religion is always our last
resource. We must come to it one time or other, or
we are undone for ever, and had better never have
been born. Nothing can supply its place. The fear,
the love, the service of God, can alone make us
happy. All other things, all other pursuits, all other
pleasures, all other enjoyments, leave us restless,
uneasy, discontented, unhappy.
" The soul, uneasy and confined from home,
Rests and expatiates in a world to come."
If, to this Scriptural sketch, we were disposed to
add still more instances from among our own coun-
trymen, of religious wisdom, amidst all the honours,
luxury, and hurry of public station, we might ob-
serve, that Lord Chancellor Parker, Earl of Maccles-
field, and William Pultney, Earl of Bath, devoted
many of their leisure hours to prayer, reading, and
studying the Bible, and afterwards " died with a hope
full of immortality."
I might call your attention here, likewise, to a
character much more splendid in life, but much
less honourable in death. You recollect the extorted
E E 2
420 A PLEA FOR RELIGION
and affecting declaration of the degraded and almost
expiring Cardinal:
" Had I but served my God with half the zeal
I served my king, he would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies."
Take warning by these examples, my countrymen:
and if by any means you have been led astray from
the paths of virtue and religion, be sensible of your
folly, and turn back with all speed into the way of
piety. It may be old-fashioned, but it is safe and
honourable. " Keep innocency in future, and take
heed to the thing that is right, for that alone will
bring a man peace at the last." If you make ten
thousand efforts to find rest for your mind in any
other way, they will all disappoint you. This is
the experience of the whole world. And is it not
your experience also?
" What nothing earthly gives, or can destroy,
The soul's calm sunshine, and the heartfelt joy,
Is Virtue's prize."
Reflect upon the workings of your own hearts, in
the different periods and circumstances of life, and
say what your feelings have been. Was it not better
with you when you were humble-minded, and went
after the commandments delivered by the Lord, than
it is now ? Making allowance for the difference of
station, may you not say with the celebrated Ma-
dame de Maintenon: " Oh I that I could give you
all my experience; that I could shew you the heavi-
ness which preys upon the spirits of the great,(L) and
(1) An anecdote to this purpose occurs to my mind, con-
cerning one of our present noblemen, who, being in conversa-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 421
how hard they will find it to put out their days!
Don't you see that I pine away with melancholy, in
the midst of a fortune that one could hardly have
imagined, and which nothing but God's assistance
keeps me from sinking under? I protest to you,
that all stations leave a frightful void, an uneasiness,
a weariness, a desire to know something else, because
in all worldly attainments there is nothing which
gives full satisfaction. We find no rest till we have
given ourselves to God. Then we find that there is
nothing further to be sought; that we have attained
to that which is the only good thing in this world.
We meet with vexations, but we have, at the same
time, a solid consolation and peace of heart in the
midst of the greatest afflictions." (') If this, or any
thing like this, be your experience, why will you
any longer " spend your money for that which is not
bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth
not?"
" In vain we seek a heaven below the sky;
The world has false but flattering charms;
Its distant joys shew big in our esteem,
But lessen still as they draw near the eye;
In our embrace the visions die,
And when we grasp the airy forms,
We lose the pleasing dream."
tion with a certain gentleman, said," Oh ! how weary am I of
this d—d attendance npon court! Had Providence cast my lot
among peasants, I had been a happy man."
" Beware what earth calls happiness; beware
All joys, but joys that never can expire."
(1) Letters of Madame de Maintenon, and other eminent
persons.
422
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
But the grand objects which religion holds forth
to our acceptance are adequate to the largest desires
of the human mind. They are calculated as well
for the present as the future world. We may be as
happy here, in spite of all the ills of life, as is for our
real good, and hereafter our happiness shall know
neither measure nor end. Be not like the people
then described by the weeping prophet: "Thus
saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and
ask for the old paths, Where is the good way, and
walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."
" But they said, We will not walk therein."—" Also
I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the
sound of the trumpet."—" But they said, We will
not hearken."
Laugh not at this simple relation, neither despise
the warning given. Stop rather for one moment,
and consider upon what foundation you are building
your future expectations. Though you reject Christ-
ianity, I should hope you are not so far gone as to
disbelieve a state of future rewards and punishments,
of some kind or other. (') Your master, Thomas
Paine, and, indeed, most other Deists, profess thus
much at least. Take then into your serious consi-
deration, whether you think your actions, tempers,
(1) For the natural and philosophical arguments in favour of
a future state, see Bishop Butler's Analogy, part 1. Bishop
Porteus has brought them into a very striking point of view, in
three discourses on the subject, in the first volume of his Ser-
mons. Dr. Craven, too, Professor of Arabic, and Master of St.
John's College, in Cambridge, has published eight discourses
on the evidence of a future state of rewards and punishments,
which are worth the attention of all who have any doubt.
and the sacred writings. 423
and state of mind such, as will, upon your own
principles, stand the test at the great day of account.
It can do you no great harm to reflect upon your
condition, to be serious for a season, and to suspect
you may be wrong. Consider, that you differ essen-
tially from some of the greatest and best men that
ever lived. You stake your eternal all upon the
justness—of what?—your opinion: an opinion, in
confutation of which multitudes have sacrificed their
lives, and which many of the first characters now
upon earth would controvert with the last drop of
their blood! This should stagger your confidence.
Myriads of the most learned and moral persons, of
all ranks and degrees, and of all sects and denomi-
nations, would this moment burn at the stake, in
confirmation of the truth of the Bible, and the divine
mission of Jesus Christ. Are they all deceived?
Are you the only wise men upon earth ? And would
you this moment burn at the stake in proof of Christ
being an impostor? Nothing surely but the most
palpable demonstration in favour of Infidelity should
suffer you to sleep one night more in your present
state of scepticism and unbelief. If you are mistaken,
Sirs ! Should you be mistaken ! The very possi-
bility is enough to overwhelm the human mind!
" My hopes and fears
Start up alarm'd, and o'er life's narrow verge
Look down—on what! A fathomless abyss—
A dread eternity! how surely mine !"
Everlasting existence in misery ! — Under the
frown and displeasure of the best Being in the uni-
verse, without end! Debarred of light and the
424
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
society of happy spirits!—The associates of lost
souls, and miserable angels, through endless ages!—
" The lake which burneth with fire and brimstone 1"
—" The worm that never dies!"—" The fire that
never shall be quenched !"—" Everlasting punish-
ment 1"—" Eternal destruction from the presence of
the Lord, and from the glory of his power I"
" Ah ! could I (to use the words of a great author)
represent to you the different states of good and bad
men; could I give you the prospect which the bles-
sed martyr St. Stephen had, and shew you the blessed
Jesus at the right hand of God, surrounded with
angels and 'the spirits of just men made perfect;'
could I open your ears to hear the never-ceasing
hymns of praise, which the blessed above ' sing to
Him that was, and is, and is to come; to the Lamb
that was slain, but liveth for evercould I lead you
through the unbounded regions of eternal day, and
shew the mutual and ever-blooming joys of saints
who are at rest from their labours, and live for ever
in the presence of God I or could I change the scene,
and unbar the iron gates of hell, and carry you,
through solid darkness, ' to the fire that never goes
out,' and to ' the worm that never dies;' could I shew
you the apostate angels, fast bound in eternal chains,
or the souls of wicked men overwhelmed with tor-
ment and despair; could I open your ears to hear
the deep itself groan with the continual cries of
misery; cries which can never reach the throne of
mercy, but return in sad echoes, and add even to the
very horrors of hell! could I thus set before you
the different ends of Religion and Infidelity, you
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
425
would want no other proof to convince you, that
nothing can recompense the hazard men run of being
for ever miserable through unbelief."
We too well know you will make yourselves merry
with these representations^1) but you should not
(1) When the Dulce of Buckingham was once talking pro-
fanely before King Charles IX., Edmund Waller, the poet, re-
proved him very properly, by saying," My Lord, I am a great
deal older than your grace, and, I believe, have beard more
arguments for Atheism than ever your grace did; but I have
lived long enough to see there is nothing in them, and so I
hope your grace will."
We have an account in the Gentleman's Magazine, for June,
1798, of a man of very distinguished talents, well known for
the laxity of his principles, and the licentiousness of his con-
duct, who died in the course of last year at a very advanced
age. He bore the advances of dissolution tolerably well, while
death seemed at some distance; but when death drew near, his
atheistic principles gave way, and he was afflicted with the
most excruciating mental pangs. When he came to stand on
the brink of eternity, all his resolution forsook him. Though
free from pain, he became restless and disturbed. His last
hours were spent in the agonies and horrors of remorse. He
cried for mercy to that God, whom he had wantonly denied;
and—there let him rest, till the day of account!
I could wish the deistical reader would turn to the seventh
section of Dr. Priestley's Observations on the Increase of Infi-
delity, where he will find the spirit of infidelity exemplified in
the correspondence between Voltaire and D'Alembert. The
resolution of these two Deists was to live and die laughing.
That they lived laughing, is partly true 5 but how did these
gentlemen die! The tune was changed !
This, too, was the case with the witty and facetious Thomas
Brown, who used to treat religion very lightly, and would often
say, that he understood the world better, than to have the im-
putation of righteousness laid to his charge. Nevertheless,
426
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
laugh where you ought to be serious ; vaunt where
you should tremble; or sneer where you should
argue. In these respects you are unquestionably to
blame. If any thing in nature is of importance, it
is surely how we may " escape the death which never
dies," and attain the end of our creation. Walsing-
ham judged like a man of sense, when he said to the
merry courtiers that were laughing on every hand of
him:—" Ah ! while we laugh, all things are serious
round about us; God is serious, who preserveth us,
and hath patience towards us; Christ is serious, who
shed his blood for us; the Holy Ghost is serious,
when he striveth with us; the whole creation is
serious in serving God and us; they are serious in
hell and in heaven; how then can we laugh and be
foolish ?" We believe these denunciations of Scrip-
ture to be the words of eternal truth; and till you
have demonstrated them to be certainly false, you
are not wise to treat them with disregard.
" What none can prove a forgery, may he true;
What none hut bad men wish exploded, must."
You know what pain of body is, and you are no
stranger to a greater or less degree of uneasiness of
mind. Experience, therefore, teaches us, that we are
capable of such uncomfortable sensations. The
upon the approach of death, his heart misgave him, and he
began to express sentiments of remorse for his past life. Thus
we see, however men may bully and defy the devil at coffee-
houses and taverns, they are all the while secretly afraid of him,
and dare scarcely venture themselves alone in the dark, for fear
he should surprise them with his cloven feet.—See the General
Biographical Dictionary, article Brown.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 427
goodness of God is not of that nature to prevent
human misery. The present state largely abounds
therewith. Now, as pain and misery are permitted
here, it is not improbable but they will be the same
in the future state of existence. When only your
head, or tooth aches ; when the gout, stone, or
gravel, seize you; or when a burning fever makes
your moisture like the drought in summer; do you
then despise pain and anguish ? We have been told
that when Mirabeau, (') the elder, was seized with
(1) Mirabeau has frequently been styled an Infidel. I dare
not, however, suppose that he was any other than a Christian,
in the latter part of his time, though possibly of a peculiar cast.
If one may judge from his speech pronounced in the National
Assembly of France, on the 14th of January, 1791, concerning
the civil constitution of the clergy, he was certainly a believer
in the Saviour of mankind, and a most powerful advocate for
regenerated Christianity. It is probable, indeed, he would
have carried it no further than a sort of pure system of moral
philosophy. Speaking of this extraordinary genius brings to
my mind a remarkable paper, which was published in the Com-
plete Magazine for the month of October, 1764, on the Causes
of the Decline of the French Nation. The whole paper is
curious, but the latter part is so extremely applicable to the
present state of Europe, that one can scarcely consider it as
any other than prophetic. The close runs thus :—
" The parliaments of France are obliged to conceal the strong
spirit of liberty, with which they are inflamed, under the mask
of loyalty, and of attachment to the monarchy. They remon.
strate with force and elevation against every measure which
tends to the prejudice of the provinces they protect. They can
go no further; but they await the moment to strike the blow
that shall lay the fabric of despotism in ruins. When this blow
is struck, the effects of it will be equal to those of magic. The
cottage will be put on a level with the palace, the peasant with
428
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
his last illness, he found himself so distressed, that he
desired his physician to despatch him by poison.
His voice having failed him he wrote, "Would you
think that the sensation of death proves so painful?"
His speech having returned, he said, " My pains are
insupportable. I have an age of strength, but not a
moment of courage." A convulsion ensued. It was
followed by a loud scream—and he expired !
Thus, you see how this famous French hero roared
out under the anguish of his disorder. While he was
in health he might, probably, be as full of courage
as you now feel. When the hand of God comes to
be upon the stoutest of us, we are soon taught, that
all our boasted strength is perfect weakness, and all
our vaunted courage perfect cowardice. We may be
permitted for a time to carry on the war against
God and his Christ; but it will not do. A sick bed,
or a dying pillow, will, in all likelihood, bring us to
our senses.^) Or should these be so unfortunate
the prince. Ranks shall be confounded; titles, distinctions,
and birth, shall tumble into an undistinguished heap of con-
fusion. A new moral creation shall strike the view of an ad-
miring universe; and France, like old Rome, in her first flights
to empire, shall appear with the sceptre of universal dominion
bourgeoning in her hands. Out of universal confusion, order
shall arise; the great of nature's creating will assume their
places; and the great by title and accident, will drop despised
into the common mass of the people."
(1) A more extraordinary instance of impenitency I have
not read, than that of a William Williams, who died in the
parish of Tarvin, near Chester, in April, 1791, and was buried
at Great Acton church, near Nantwich, by the Rev. Mr. Wilson.
If my information be right, and I have no reason to call it in
question, but from the horribleness of it, this unhappy man had
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 429
as to fail, a day of judgment will assuredly do the
business which they had left undone.
" To die !—to sleep!—
To sleep! perchance to dream! ay, there's the rub ;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause."
been extremely wicked all his life. When he drew near his
end, being about seventy years of age, he determined to make
his will, and leave all he had from his wife and children,
alleging that the latter were none of his. But though he bade
£50 as a reward, no persons could be found who would sign
as witnesses. He desired, when he died, that a pair of clog
shoes should be put into his coffin, that he might pound devils
and damned souls with them in hell. Being reproved for his
swearing and wickedness, he told those who reproved him, that
he neither regarded them nor their new God; he would curse
and swear so long as he had breath.—He did so. He ordered
his body to be drawn in his own cart to he buried.—It was so.
He charged that five shillings should be spent at every public
house on the road.—Some of it was so. He desired he might
be laid at the corner of the church-yard next the public house,
that he might have the pleasure of hearing the company curse
and swear. He, moreover, requested that every one of his com-
panions would drink a health standing upon his grave after
it was filled up.—They did so; and continued to drink and
make merry over his grave, for near two hours after the inter-
ment.
This shews us there are cases to be met with of persons, who
are so hardened in their sin, and so totally given up of God, that
neither sickness nor death can make any impression upon
them. I remember one of this unhappy description in the
county of Essex, whom I both visited during his illness, and
interred after he was dead. He was a clever fellow, and of a
good family, but so totally depraved, that when one of his
bottle companions wrote to inform him that he was about to
430
a plea for religion
If man be a reasonable creature, there is an here-
after. And if there be an hereafter, it must be a
state of retribution. A moral Governor must deal
with moral agents according to their moral conduct.
The perfection of his nature requires it. I swear by
the Eternal, therefore, all the denunciations of
Scripture shall have their accomplishment upon you,
if you prevent it not by a compliance with the gra-
cious and equitable demands of the Gospel.
It surely is a very astonishing consideration, that
a being such as man, placed on a small globe of
die and go to hell, and desired to know what place he should
bespeak for him there, he sat down, and gave him for reply, that
he did not care where it was, if there was only brandy and rum
enough. Thus he lived, and, soon after this, died, a martyr to
spirituous liquors—cursing and blaspheming, notwithstanding
all that could be done to bring him to a better mind. Being
possessed of two bank bills, of the value of £10 each, which was
all the little property he had left—" Now," said he, to a person
who stood by," when I have spent these in brandy and rum, I
shall be contented to die and go to hell! " He sunk, however,
before they were expended, and left just enough to bury him.
These are shocking instances of obduration, which seem to
vie with Pharaoh himself, and ought to warn every man how
he trifles with the convictions of his own mind, and causes the
spirit of God to withdraw from him.
[Much effort has recently been made to urge on the public
mind the appalling evils of intemperance. Numbers of persons
have consequently engaged to refrain from spirituous liquors,
except for medicinal purposes; and numbers more have pro-
ceeded still further, by agreeing to forego all intoxicating
liquors. They are united, at present, in two distinct societies,
each of which announces an increasing multitude reclaimed
from the paths of dissipation, and habitually practising tern-
perance.]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 431
earth, in a little corner of the universe, cut off from
all communication with the other systems, which are
dispersed through the immensity of space, impri-
soned, as it were, on the spot where he happens to
be born, almost utterly ignorant of the variety of
spiritual existences, and greatly circumscribed in his
knowledge of material things by their remoteness,
magnitude, or minuteness, a stranger to the nature
of the very pebbles on which he treads; unac-
quainted, or but very obscurely informed by his
natural faculties, of his condition after death: it is
wonderful that a being, such as this, should reluc-
tantly receive, or fastidiously reject, the instruction
of the Eternal God !
Or, if this be saying too much, that he should
hastily, and negligently, and triumphantly conclude,
that the Supreme Being never had condescended to
instruct the race of man. It might properly have
been expected, that a rational being, so circum-
stanced, would have sedulously inquired into a sub-
ject of such vast importance; that he would not
have suffered himself to have been diverted from the
investigation, by the pursuits of wealth, or honour,
or any temporal concern; much less by notions taken
up without attention, arguments admitted without
examination, or prejudices imbibed in early youth
from the profane ridicule and impious jestings of
sensual and immoral men.^)
It is customary with you gentlemen, who reject
(1) Bishop Watson's Collection of Theological Tracts, vol. i.
p. 9 (preface), from whence this paragraph is taken, with some
trifling alteration.
432
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
the Scriptures, to consider every believer of them as
weak and credulous. (') I would recommend you,
however, to suspend your censures, and to reconsider
the matter before you form a final judgment. Do
you seriously think, then, that a man who believes
in God, that he is the Creator and Governor of the
world, and " a Rewarder of them that diligently
seek him—that a man who embraces the Gospel
as a dispensation of mercy, and conducts himself
according to the letter and spirit of it, is a weak
and despicable character ? Can you, in the sober
fear of God, esteem all the great men among
Christians to have been unreasonable and deluded
persons? and that Thomas Paine and yourselves are
the only men upon earth who have found out the
true wisdom? Is it probable that men of your
description, who, in general, have never turned
your thoughts seriously and conscientiously that
way, and who are neither more moral, more sensible,
more learned, more philosophical, nor more inquisi-
tive than large numbers of Christians are found to
be, should have made the wonderful discovery, that
religion is all a cheat, and the Bible a ridiculous
tale, trumped up by the priests, to delude and amuse
(1) Let the more solid, rational, and inquisitive Deist, who
is in pursuit of moral and religious truth, and wishes to have
his mind satisfied in the great things which concern human
happiness, have recourse to Dr. Samuel Clarke's hook, on the
Truth and Certainty of the Christian Religion; and then
let him say, whether all who believe in the Saviour of the world,
are weak and credulous persons. Perhaps a piece of more
rational and conclusive argumentation was never presented to
the consideration of mankind.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 433
mankind, while many of our great philosophical cha-
racters of all professions, make it the study of their
lives to comply with the former, and spend a consi-
derable proportion of their time in the investigation
of the latter ? And then, it is of no little importance
to ask, Does your unbelief make you more moral,
pure, chaste, temperate, humble, modest, thankful,
happy? Are you more amiable in your manners
than we Christians usually are ; better masters, ser-
vants, husbands, wives, children, friends, neighbours ?
Besides, my countrymen, (permit me to speak
plainly), are you not the most ungrateful of all hu-
man beings, in that you have derived the whole of
your present peculiar light, information, or philoso-
phy (call it which you will) from the writings of the
Old and New Testaments, and then make use of that
light, information, or philosophy, to discredit those
writings, and to make them ridiculous among man-
kind ? If we want to know what pure nature can
teach, we must divest ourselves of all our present
ideas, collected from the writings of the Sacred Code,
and learn our religion from the Pagan page alone.
The most eminent of them, however, saw and la-
mented their want of what you now so fastidiously
reject.
" Pure Plato ! how had thy chaste spirit hail'd
A faith so fitted to thy moral sense !
What hadst thou felt, to see the fair romance
Of high imagination, the bright dream
Of thy pure fancy more than realized!
O sweet enthusiast! thou hadst bless'd a scheme
Fair, good, and perfect. How had thy wrapp'd soul
Caught fire, and burn'd with a diviner flame !
For e'en thy fair idea ne'er conceived
F F
434
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Such plenitude of love, such boundless bliss,
As Deity made risible to sense."
Should you not, as men of sense, review the
history of the several ancient nations in the world,
and compare their religion and morals with the reli-
gion and morals of your own country, where the
Gospel has been preached for so many years? Com-
mon sense, and common equity seem to require this
of you, before you commence apostates from the
religion in which you have been educated. You will
permit me here to call to your remembrance a few
facts culled out of the history of mankind. Make
what use of them you please. Only give them a
patient consideration, and a fair comparison with the
religion of Jesus, as exhibited in the New Testament,
and then act as you judge meet.
The Babylonians are said to have introduced the
unnatural custom of human sacrifices. The Sephar-
vites, probably a branch of that people, burned their
children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech,
the gods of Sepharvaim. 2 Kings, xvii. 31.
Among the Phoenicians, a father did not scruple
to immolate his only child; a husband to plunge his
knife into a heart as dear to him as his own, to avert
some public misfortune. Porphyr. 1, 2.
In Carthage, the children of the nobility were sa-
crificed to Saturn. The calamities, which Agatho-
cles brought upon that city, were believed by the
inhabitants to be a punishment for the substitution
of ignoble blood; and, to appease the wrath of the
god, they immolated two hundred children of noble
blood in one sacrifice—Plut. de Superstit. Diod.
Sic. 1.20.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 435
The ancient Germans also sacrificed human vie-
tims. Their priestesses opened the veins of the
sufferers, and drew omens from the rapidity of
the stream of blood. — Tact. Germ. 9. Diod. Sic.
1. 5. 20.
The ancient Britons likewise were equally cruel
and superstitious.
The sacrifice of strangers and prisoners of war
seems to have been general, even among the ancient
nations which were more civilized.
Achilles, in Homer, immolates twelve Trojans to
the manes of Patroclus. II. 23. 175.
And even in the 532d year of Rome, two Greeks
and two Gauls were buried alive in a public place of
the city, to satisfy the superstitious prejudices of the
populace. Liv. 1. 22. c. 57.
Though the Greeks do not appear to have offered
human sacrifices, yet whole states were at times re-
duced to slavery, and their lands confiscated, and
their prisoners of war massacred in cold blood.
Conjugal infidelity among the Athenians was be-
come so common in the time of Pericles, that almost
5000 of their citizens were illegitimate. Plut. in
Pericl.
If at any time a man became eminent among them
for virtue, he was generally sentenced to some kind
of punishment, either to imprisonment, banishment,
or death.
Dark, however, as the picture of the Athenians is
exhibited, it is sunshine when compared to that of
the Lacedaemonians. See their history. By the
laws of Sparta, a parent was permitted to destroy a
weak or deformed child.
F F 2
436
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
The Romans, though great and successful, were
equally far from being a virtuous nation. They
were the murderers and plunderers of the world.
We might instance their whole history; but it will
suffice to have observed, that the celebrated Julius
Caesar boasted he had taken eight hundred towns,
vanquished three hundred states, fought three mil-
lions of men, of whom one million had been either
slaughtered or reduced to slavery.
The number of men slain at different periods, even
for their diversion and entertainment, was immense !
A creditor could, at the expiration of thirty days,
seize an insolvent debtor, who could not find bail,
and keep him sixty days in chains. During this
time, he was allowed to expose him three market
days to public sale, for the amount of his debt, and,
at the expiration of the third, to put him to death.
If there were many creditors, they were permitted
to tear and divide his body among them. It was
customary, however, to sell the debtor, and divide
the money.
A father had the right of life and death over his
children, and, by the laws of Rome, was permitted
to expose his child to perish.
The husband was the only judge and arbiter of
his wife's fate. If a wife was convicted of committing
adultery, or of drinking wine, her husband had a
right to put her to death without the formality of
a public trial; while she was not permitted, on any
provocation, to raise her finger against him. (')
(1) See a. learned sermon of Dr. Va,lpy? where these testi-
monies to the depraved state of the heathen nations are detailed
more at large.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 437
To these several facts, add a careful perusal of the
first chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans,
and then you will have had a view of the religion
and morals of the heathen world before the advent
of Christ. If there be a difference between us and
them, it is what the Gospel has made. The heathens,
indeed, excelled greatly in the arts and sciences.
Excellence of composition may be produced from
their writings in rich abundance; but we call upon
you to shew us any thing fit to be compared with
various of the compositions contained in the Bible.
You have no history so ancient, so important, so in-
structive, so entertaining, so well written;^) no
(1) One of the finest and most important passages in all
heathen antiquity is that of Plato, where he introduces Socrates
speaking of some divine teacher of whom he was in expecta-
tion, and of the mist which is naturally upon the mind of man,
which was to be removed by that teacher. " He is one," says
Socrates," who has now a concern for us."—" He is a person
that has a wonderful readiness and willingness to take away
the mist from the mind of man, and to enable us to distinguish
rightly between good and evil."—See his second Alcibiades.
Bishop Hall says, " I durst appeal to the judgment of a car-
nai reader (let him not be prejudiced), that there is no history
so pleasant as the sacred : for should we even set aside the
majesty of the Inditer, none can compare with it for magnifi-
cence, and the antiquity of the matter, the sweetness of com-
piling, and the strange variety of memorable occurrences."
" I am very confident," says Sir Richard Steel, " whoever
reads the Gospels, with a heart as much prepared in favour of
them, as when he sits down to Virgil or Homer, will find no
passage there which is not told with more natural force, than
any episode in either of those wits, who were the chief of mere
mankind."
Mr. Locke somewhere observes, " that morality becomes a
438
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
poetry so sublime; no eloquence so noble and per-
suasive; no proverbs so laconic, so divine, so useful;
no morality so pure and perfective of human nature;
no system of the intellectual world so rational. We
challenge you, my countrymen, we dare you to come
forward, and shew us any thing of equal excellence
in all the authors of antiquity, or among all the
stores of modern refinement ? (') You ought then
to be ashamed of your conduct, in treating with such
indignity and sovereign contempt, writings which
were never excelled, never equalled; and which, it
is probable, you have never given yourselves time
thoroughly to understand. Your conduct herein is
extremely culpable, and what cannot be justified,
either on the principles of religion or philosophy.
Any man possessed of one grain of modesty, and
gratitude to heaven, could not help seeing the im-
gentleman, not merely as a man, but in order to his business as
a gentleman; and the morality of the Gospel," says he, " doth
so excel that of all other books, that to give a man full know-
ledge of true morality, I should send him to no other book but
the New Testament."
(1) If any person, who takes up this book, wishes to be in-
formed where he may find the literary beauties of Holy Scrip-
ture pointed out to him, let him know, that Boyle on the Style
of Scripture—Blackwall's Sacred Classics—and Bishop Lowth's
Prselectiones, are all very valuable in this way. Hervey's
Works contain many beautiful specimens of sacred criticism.
Smith's Longinus—Blair's Lectures—Rollin's Belles Lettres—
Weald's Christian Orator—and the second volume of the Adven-
turer—all contain several good illustrations. Some instances of
the same kind will be met with in the Spectator and Guardian.
Many of these illustrations of the beauties of Scripture are
collected into one view in the second volume of Simpson's
Sacred Literature.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 439
propriety of it. A timely attention to one of Solo-
mon's jests (') might do all such persons everlasting
good: "Judgments are prepared for scorners, and
stripes for the back of fools 1" " I can write," says
Mr. Paine, " a better book than the Bible myself."
We grant this gentleman every merit to which he is
entitled; but I cannot help recommending to his
attention, and that of his friends, another of this
Jewish king's witty sayings: " Seest thou a man
wise in his own conceit ? There is more hope of a
fool than of him !" Many other jests uttered by this
sagacious monarch, are equally funny with these
two, and not less applicable to such characters as
Mr. Paine, and our other vaunting philosophisters ;
but these may suffice as a specimen. The reader might
be abundantly gratified with others of a similar kind,
by having recourse to the jest book itself, to which
I would, therefore, recommend bim with all speed
to apply. A serious application to a book of such
admirable humour could not fail of yielding most
exquisite entertainment 1 Let us, however, proceed
to other considerations.
How different are the opinions of your master
Thomas Paine, and Sir William Jones, (2) concern-
(1) Thomas Paine, by way of shewing his wit, calls Solomon's
Proverbs, a jest book.
(2) Before this illustrious scholar went to India, he was by no
means free from a sceptical bias. But when he resided in Asia,
he investigated, with minute and rigid attention, all those in-
tricate theological points which had occasioned his doubts; and
the result was, not only his own most complete conviction, but
the conviction of several eminent scholars, who, till then, had
but slightly attended to the proofs for the verity of the Mosaic
440
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
ing the Sacred Writings ? The former, who has
betrayed the most palpable ignorance, says all man-
ner of evil against them; while the latter, who was
writings. These gentlemen, from that time, renounced their
doubts and errors, and became, like Sir William himself, not
only almost, hut altogether Christians.
See this subject considered more at large in the British
Critic, for February, 1798.
The above declaration of this excellent man is said to have
been written in one of the blank leaves of his common reading
Bible. He has advanced the same sentiments more at large in
the third volume of the Asiatic Researches, p. 402. " Theolo-
gical inquiries," says he, " are no part of my present subject;
but I cannot refrain from adding, that the collection of tracts,
which we call from their excellence The Scriptures, contain,
independently of a divine origin, more true sublimity, more
exquisite beauty, purer morality, more important history, and
finer strains both of poetry and eloquence, than could be col-
lected within the same compass from all other books that were
ever composed, in any age or in any idiom. The two parts, of
which the Scriptures consist, are connected by a chain of com-
positions, which bear no resemblance in form or style to any
that can be produced from the stores of Grecian, Indian, Per-
sian, or even Arabian, learning. The antiquity of those com-
positions no man doubts; and the unstrained application of
them to events long subsequent to their publication is a solid
ground of belief, that they were genuine predictions, and con-
sequently inspired."
Note, that the last hour of the life of this illustrious cha-
racter (who was particularly eminent for his attainments in
astronomy, chronology, antiquities, languages, music, botany,
and the laws of England,) was marked by a solemn act of
devotion. Finding his dissolution rapidly approaching, he
desired his attendants to carry him into an inner apartment,
where, at his desire, they left him. Returning after a short
interval, they found him in a kneeling posture, with his hands
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 441
an all-accomplished scholar, seems at a loss how
sufficiently to express the sense he had of their im-
portance. " I have regularly and attentively read
the Holy Scriptures," says this great lawyer, " and
am of opinion this volume, independent of its divine
origin, contains more sublimity and beauty, more
pure morality, more important history, and finer
strains of poetry and eloquence, than can be collected
from all other books, in whatever language or age
they may have been composed."
And is it not strange that these contemptible
writers, as Thomas Paine affects to consider them,
should excel all mankind in every sort of composi-
tion? They must have been extremely dexterous
impostors! Christ, the most pious and moral of
men, the most ingenious of deceivers! His apostles,
the most ignorant and illiterate of mortals, the wisest
and most admirable of writers ! What paradoxes a
man must embrace before he can become a finished
infidel!
If then, my countrymen, such are the superior
excellences of the Bible; though you find yourselves
incapable of receiving it as composed by Divine as-
sistance for the instruction and salvation of mankind,
you will do yourselves a very serious injury by ex-
ploding it in every other point of view. Read it, at
least, if it is only as a collection of compositions
more ancient, more curious, more excellent, more
clasped, and his eyes fixed towards heaTen. As they were re-
moving him, he expired.
See Maurice's elegiac Poem on the death of this admirable
man.
442
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
entertaining, and more important than any other
extant. This is a merit you must allow it to possess,
if your mind be ever so little improved in literary
attainments. And if this be not your situation, you
are ill qualified to judge of the truth or falsehood of
a book of such vast antiquity, and which claims de-
rivation from heaven. We have known several good
scholars who used to read the Sacred Code, as we
esteem it, merely as a book of entertainment We
have known others, who have read it to elevate their
minds. Some read it for its history, some for its
poetry, some for its eloquence, some for its morality,
some for its maxims, some for its sublime views of
the Supreme Being, some for the inimitable exam-
pies which it affords of virtue and vice. Be it then
true or false, as a system of Divine revelation, let it
have its due praise, and hold the rank among books
to which it is so justly entitled. (') Give every
author the honour due unto him, and sing with our
epic bard :
" Yet not the more
Cease I to wander, where the Muses haunt
Clear spring, or shady grove, or sunny hill,
Smit with the love of Sacred Song; but chief
Thee, Zion, and the flowery brooks beneath,
That wash thy hallow'd feet, and warbling flow,
Nightly I visit."
(1) The beauties of composition to be met with in the Sacred
Writings are beyond all praise. It is a neglect unpardonable
in classical schools, that they are not read there, as the stand-
aid of good taste and of fine writing, as well as of sound morals
and religion.—If they abound with such numerous specimens
of noble composition in the most literal of all translations, let
any man judge what they must be in the original!
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 443
This book, which you are unhappy enough to
despise, abounds, we have already seen, with all the
various beauties of the Greek and Roman classics,
and in a much higher degree of perfection. It con-
sists, not merely of a collection of chapters and
verses, and distinct aphorisms on trivial subjects,
as too many are apt to conceive ; but is, as it were,
one grand epic composition, forming sixty-six books,
of unequal lengths, and various importance. As
the sun, moon, planets, and comets, make one
system, and are each of them necessary to the har-
mony of the whole; so the different books of the
Sacred Code, though separately considered, and
taken out of their connection, may appear unim-
portant; yet as parts of one large and complicated
system, they are all necessary, useful, or convenient
to the perfection of the whole. And though the
time be longer than is usually admitted in composi-
tions of the epic kind, its beginning being with the
birth, and its end with the close of nature itself; yet it
should be remembered, that even this circumstance
is perfectly consistent with the rest of the adorable
plan; " a thousand years being with the Lord as one
day, and one day as a thousand years." The action
of it, too, is one, entire, and the greatest that can be
conceived. All the beings in the universe, of which
we have any knowledge, are concerned in the drama.
The design of it is to display the perfections of the
adorable Creator; to rescue the human race from
total misery and ruin; and to form us, by example,
to glory, honour, and immortality. The epic opens
in a mild and calm sublimity, with the creation of
the world itself. It is carried on with an astonishing
444
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
variety of incidents, and unparalleled simplicity and
majesty of language. (') The least and most trivial
episodes, or under actions, which are interwoven in
it, are parts either necessary or convenient to for-
ward the main design: either so necessary, that
without them the work must be imperfect, or so
convenient, that no others can be imagined more
suitable to the place in which they are. And it
closes with a book, or, to keep up the figure, with'a
scene, the most solemn, majestic, and sublime, that
ever was composed by any author, sacred or pro-
fane. (2)
" The human mind," says one of the best of judges,
" can conceive nothing more elevated, more grand,
more glowing, more beautiful, and more elegant,
than what we meet with in the Sacred Writings of
the Hebrew bards. The almost ineffable sublimity
of the subjects they treat upon is fully equalled by
the energy of the language, and the dignity of the
style. Some of these writings too, exceed in anti-
quity the fabulous ages of Greece, as much as in
(1) One of the best judges of the age observes, that "the
graceful negligence of nature pleases beyond the truest orna-
ments that art can devise. Indeed, they are then truest, when
they approach the nearest to this negligence. To attain it, is
the very triumph of art. The wise artist, therefore, always
completes his studies in the great school of creation, where the
forms of elegance lie scattered in an endless variety; and
the writer who wishes to possess some portion of that sovereign
excellence and simplicity, even though he were an infidel,
would have recourse to the Scriptures, and make them his
model."
(2) See Dryden's Essays on the Belles Lettres.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 445
sublimity they are superior to the most finished pro-
ductions of that celebrated people.^) Moses, for
instance, stands unrivalled by the best of them, both
as a poet, orator, and historian: (2) David as a poet (3)
and musician: Solomon as a moralist, naturalist,
and pastoral writer : Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Nahum,
Joel, and some other of the minor prophets, as
orators, or poets, or both : Homer and Virgil must
yield the palm to Job(4) for true sublime: Isaiah
excels all the world in almost every kind of compo-
sition: (5) the four Evangelists are eminent as ora-
tors and historians: St. Peter and St. James, St.
Luke and St. John, as authors of no ordinary rank,
and St. Paul as the most sublime of writers and elo-
quent of orators. (6) All these eulogiums upon the
(1) Lowth's Prselectiones.
(2) Longinus, the best critic of the heathen world, speaks of
Moses as no ordinary writer, and cites his account of the crea-
tion as an instance of the true sublime.
(3) Mr. Addison says, " After perusing the book of Psalms,
let a judge of the beauties of poetry read a literal translation of
Horace or Pindar, and he will find in these two last such an
absurdity and confusion of style, with such a comparative
poverty of imagination, as will make him sensible of the vast
superiority of Scripture style."
(4) The Rev. George Costard, famous for oriental learning,
considers Job as an exalted and regular piece of eastern poetry,
of the dramatic kind, consisting of five acts. The three first
end at the 32d chapter; from the 32d to the 38th is the fourth
act; from thence to the end is the fifth act.
(5) Let the reader consult Bishop Lowth's Preelectiones for
the character of the several prophets of the Old Testament,
where he will find much useful information.
(6) The above Longinus ranks Paul of Tarsus among the
most famous orators.
446
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
sacred penmen are spoken of them merely as authors,
without the least view to their higher order as
inspired writers, and messengers of the Lord of
Hosts. (') If this last consideration be taken into
the account, and added to the former, what an all-
important book must the Bible be ! what a blessing
to mankind ! Language cannot express the value
of it. If the exhortation of a late noble author, as
improperly applied to the Grecian bard, were ap-
plied to this inestimable volume, it would be used
with the strictest propriety and decorum :
" Read God's Word once, and you can read no more;
For all books else appear so mean, so poor,
Verse will seem prose ; but still persist to read,
And God's Word will be all the books you need.''
In short, my countrymen, the Bible abounds with
a vast variety of matter, a confused magnificence
above all order; and is the fittest book in the world
to be the standard of doctrines, and the model of
good writing. We defy all the sons of infidelity to
shew us any thing like it, or second to it. Where
will you meet with such a number of instructive
proverbs—fervent prayers—sublime songs—benefi-
cent miracles—apposite parables—infallible prophe-
cies(2)—affectionate epistles—eloquent orations—
(1) Madame Dacier, the celebrated French critic, in the
Preface to her translation of Homer, assures us, that, " the
hooks of the Prophets and the Psalms, even in the Vulgate, are
full of such passages, as the greatest poet in the world could
not put into verse, without losing much of their majesty and
pathos."
(2) A valuable correspondent, speaking of the prophetic
Scriptures, expresses himself in the following manner : " Next
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 447
instructive histories—pure laws—rich promises—
awful denunciations—useful examples, as are set
to astronomy, few subjects expand the human mind more, than
the view which prophecy opens to us of the government of the
Great King. To see the vast mass of materials, kingdoms,
and centuries, in motion, only to the accomplishment of his
purposes : to see refractory man employed to preserve the har-
mony of his designs: and the disorderly passions, while appa-
rently working solely in their own narrow circle, ignorantly
advancing the fulfilment of his determination! This is a study
delightfully interesting, and which, in common with the con-
templation of all the Great Creator's doings, elevates the mind
above the oppression of human cares and sorrows, and seems
to leave her in that serenity of admiration, which one may
imagine an imperfect foretaste of part of the employment and
happiness of angels."
Abraham Cowley tells us, that " all the books of the Bible
are either already most admirable and exalted pieces of poetry,
or are the best materials in the world for it."
Sir Richard Blackmore says, that " for sense, and for noble
and sublime thoughts, the poetical parts of Scripture have an
infinite advantage above all others put together."
Matthew Prior, Esq. is of opinion, that " the writings of
Solomon afford subjects for finer poems in every kind, than
have yet appeared in the Greek, Latin, or any modern lan-
guage."
Alexander Pope, Esq. assures us, that " the pure and noble,
the graceful and dignified simplicity of language, is no where
in such perfection as in the Scripture and Homer; and that
the whole book of Job, with regard both to sublimity of thought
and morality, exceeds, beyond all comparison, the most noble
parts of Homer.'
Mr. Nicholas Rowe too, the poet, after having read most of
the Greek and Roman histories in their original languages, and
most that are written in English, French, Italian, and Spanish,
was fully persuaded of the truth of revealed religion, expressed
it upon all occasions, took great delight in divinity and eccle-
448
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
before us in this richly-fraught magazine of all true
excellence in matter and composition, the Holy
siastical history, and died at last, like a Christian and a philo-
sopher, with ail absolute resignation to the will of God.
There are few anecdotes of our celebrated English poets
which have given me more pleasure than that of poor Collins,
who, in the latter part of his mortal career, withdrew from
study, and travelled with no other book than an English Tes-
tament—such as children carry to school. When a friend took
it into his hand, out of curiosity, to see what companion a man
of letters had chosen—" I have only one book," said Collins,
" but that is the best."—See Johnson's Lives of the Poets,
vol. iv.
I must own that such an anecdote as this knits my heart to
Collins more than all the excellences of his poetry. Sick and
infirm, in the spirit of Mary, he sits at the divine Redeemer's
feet, listening to the words of eternal life. In such a state of
body and mind, one single promise from his gracious and in-
fallible lips, is of more real value and importance, than all the
pompous learning of the most celebrated philosophers. This,
indeed, will never be properly felt and understood, till we come
to be in similar circumstances. When Dr. Watts was almost
worn out, and broken down by his infirmities, he observed, in
conversation with a friend, " he remembered an aged minister
used to say, that the most learned and knowing Christians,
when they come to die, have only the same plain promises of
the Gospel for their support, as the common and unlearned :
and so, said he, I find it. It is the plain promises of the
Gospel that are my support; and I bless God, they are plain
promises, and do not require much labour and pains to under-
stand them, for I can do nothing now, but look into my Bible
for some promise to support me, and live upon that."
This was likewise the case with the pious and excellent Mr.
Hervey. He writes, about two months before his death :—" I
now spend," says he, " almost my whole time in reading and
praying over the Bible." And again, near the same time, to
another friend:—" I am now reduced to a state of infant weak-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 449
Bible? We may say with Propertius, on another
occasion,
" Cedite, Romani Scriptores; cedite, Graii;" (1)
And recommend to the gentleman, (2) the scholar,
ness, and given over by my physician. My grand consolation
is to meditate on Christ; and I am hourly repeating those
heart-reviving lines of Dr. Young :
"' This—only this—subdues the fear of death :
And what is this ?—Survey the wondrous cure;
And at each step let higher wonder rise !
I. Pardon for infinite offence !—2. And pardon
Through means that speak its value infinite !—
3. A pardon bought with blood!—4. With blood divine ! —
5. With blood divine of him I made my foe!—
6. Persisted to provoke!—7. Though woo'd and awed,
Bless'd and chastised, a flagrant rebel still!—
8. A rebel 'midst the thunders of his throne !—
9. Nor I alone !—10. A rebel universe!
II. My species up in arms!—12. Not one exempt!—
13. Yet for the foulest of the foul he dies!
14. Most joy'd for the redeem'd from deepest guilt!—
15. As if our race were held of highest rank ;
And Godhead dearer, as more kind to man.'"
We have just read Godwin's Memoirs of Mrs. Godwin,
otherwise Mrs. Mary Wollstonecroft. She was a woman of
considerable powers, but of a lewd character in life, living with
a Mr. Imlay, as a wife, and having a child by him : and then,
when forsaken by him, living with, and being pregnant by Mr.
Godwin, who afterwards married her. I mention these circum-
stances, because they were both professed philosophers and un-
believers, and as a contrast to the above pious Christians. She
attended no public worship, and during her last illness, no re-
ligious expressions escaped her philosophic lips.
(1) Let both the Greek and Roman authors yield the palm
to the Sacred Writings.
(2) Dr. South observes, that "he who would not read the
G G
450
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
and the philosopher, as well as to the illiterate
Christian, the daily perusal of the Bible, with infi-
nitely greater propriety, than ever Horace did to
the learned Romans the study of the Grecian models.
" Nocturna versate manu, yersate diurna."(l)
There is another circumstance, my countrymen, I
beg leave to submit to your consideration, which is,
that though there are several of your unbelieving
brethren, who are men of considerable natural abi-
lities, of some learning, and of decent morals, yet
there are not a few among you, as among us, who
are profane and debauched in no small degree; and
who, therefore, are not capable of being reasoned
with upon any religious topic whatever. These are
a disgrace to any cause. And the more zealously
they avow their party, the less honourable it is to
that party. Such men are little raised above the
brutes that perish, being earthly, sensual, devilish.
Let them but eat, drink, sleep, and indulge the
baser passions of the human frame, they ask no more,
they look no higher—To intellectual and refined
enjoyments they are strangers. Of literary gratifi-
cations they know little. For moral and religious
pleasures they have no taste. Immortal expectations,
which exalt and ennoble the mind of man, they are
willing to forego. The language of their sensual
souls, which are brutalized with indulgence, is no
Scripture for fear of spoiling his style, shewed himself as much
a blockhead as an Atheist, and to have as small a gust of the
elegancies of expression, as of the sacredness of the matter."
Sermons, vol. iv. p. 32.
(1) Read therein hy day, meditate by night.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 451
other than that of the ancient Epicureans:—" Let
us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." And did
they die to-morrow, the public would have no great
loss of them: could they make good their hopes,
that death is an eternal cessation from sensibility,
they themselves would sustain no material inconve-
nience. The best they can expect is, to cease to be ;
a consummation, for such characters, devoutly to be
wished 1
These are the men, however, who make the great-
est noise, and most violently oppose the religion of
the Son of God, and the Sacred Writings ! (')
(1) It is calculated, that, when trade goes pretty well, there
are, upon an average, 200,000 manufacturers in this country,
who constantly spend their working hours in idleness, drinking,
gambling, and debauchery. This large body of men may like-
wise be considered as Infidels in principle, Atheists in practice,
and ripe for any wicked and desperate enterprize which may
arise. They are the curse and scum of the country; and yet
they are usually excessively wise in their own eyes, and pru-
dent in their own conceit. All the world are fools besides
themselves. They are great politicians, great philosophers,
great divines—over then cups!—and wisdom shall die with
them!
[The dissipation of the working classes is still most lament,
able. When artisans can earn enough for their purposes, as is
frequently the case, in three or four days, the rest of the week
is given to profligacy. The present amount of ignorance is
also most fearful. In Berkshire, of one hundred and thirty
prisoners committed to Reading jail, and tried at the special
commission in 1831, twenty-five only could write; thirty-seven
could read only, and seventy-six could neither write nor read ;
and yet one hundred and twenty were under forty years of
age, varying from eighteen to thirty-five, and must therefore
not be confounded with those, in whose youth, some systems of
G G 2
452 a plea for religion
It is an honour to that religion and those Writings,
that such men are infidels, and avow their unbelief
in the face of the world! May every unreasonable
and immoral man do the same !
After all, my countrymen, if every thing besides
in these papers shall be despised by you, let the
several examples herein recorded have their due
weight upon your minds. If there be importance in
any thing, it is usually to be found in the sentiments
and behaviour of men, when they draw near the
close of their earthly existence.
" Men may live fools, but fools they cannot die."
We may, indeed, be hardened in our sins, when that
event draws nigh. We may brave it out against
death. We may set at defiance all the threats of
Heaven. But, usually, we discover certain symp-
toms, even here, of what our future destiny is like to
be. Fear, horror, indifference, hope, trust, faith,
reliance, joy, will all more or less prevail, according
education now extant had no being, but may be -viewed as a
fair specimen of the several counties. Of the thirty prisoners
tried at Abingdon, six could read and write; eleven could read
a little ; the remainder were wholly uneducated. In Bucking-
hamshire, of the seventy-nine prisoners convicted at Aylesbury,
only thirty could read and write. In Hampshire, of three
hundred and thirty-two committed for trial at Winchester, one
hundred and five could neither read nor write; and nearly the
whole number were destitute of the rudiments of knowledge.
In Kent, about half the prisoners committed to Maidstone jail,
were unable to read or write; and nearly the whole were totally
ignorant of the nature and obligations of religion. In Sussex,
of fifty prisoners put on trial at Lewes, thirteen only could
read and write; twelve could read a little; only one could read
well,]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
453
as the state of our minds shall be, in those solemn
moments, when death is making his approach. (')
(1) There is a very affecting narrative by the Rev. John Cooke,
of Maidenhead, in Berks, entitled Reason paying Homage to
Revelation, in the Confession of a Deist at the gates of Death.
The gentleman in question was a very respectable person of
the medical profession in that town, and died at the age of
thirty-three. He was a man of pleasure, as far as business
would permit; but his favourite amusement was the card-table,
at which he spent mnch time, and would frequently say to Mr.
Cooke," I am prodigiously fond of cards." While he was visit-
ing one of his patients, he was suddenly taken ill. His con-
science was alarmed. His deistical principles, of which he
had long made his boast while in health, gave way. He
lamented his sad condition in most affecting and pitiable
accents. Among other things, he acknowledged, with unut-
terable distress, his neglect of the Lord's day, and the public
worship of God. When he was well he could say, " he was
easy without the Bible—he had no fears for his soul—he be-
lieved it would die with his body—and he was never disturbed
about these things—he could read profane history with as much
pleasure as another reads his Bible." But when he was ill,
and apprehended himself to be on the brink of the grave, he
was thrown into such unutterable agony, as to be bereft at
times of his reason. In the most bitter terms he bewailed his
past folly—mourned over his lost opportunities—declared his
full purpose, if restored, of attending to the great concerns of
his soul—and solemnly warned his companions not to follow
his example—and cried unto God for mercy. At length, after
having lain for some time in a senseless state, he breathed out
his soul with a dismal groan.
If Thomas Paine was as easy and confident in his deistical
principles, under the views of approaching dissolution, as he
pretends, and as I suppose he really was, this is by no means a
sure criterion of those principles being the only true ones. No
man's private persuasion, or conviction, can be a sure test of
truth. For we find men fully persuaded of the truth of their
454
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
So it was in the several cases we have recorded in
these pages. And the time is not at any great dis-
sentiments under the most various, and even contradictory opi-
nions. The most, therefore, that can he inferred from a decla-
ration of this nature is, that Thomas Paine thought his opinions
were according to truth, not that they really were so. Boling-
broke was an immoral man, and yet he too died a Deist. Rous-
seau had heen a wretch, and yet he died avowing his innocency
even to the Almighty himself. Thomas Paine is by no means
an excellent moral character, and yet he rejects every idea of a
Saviour. What then ? Shall their self-righteous convictions
be the standard of truth ? If Thomas Paine had well read and
considered Sterne's Sermon on the Abuses of Conscience, in
Tristram Shandy, he never would have produced his being easy
in the views of apparent dissolution, as a proof that his deis-
tical principles are founded in truth. Conscience may be
lulled to rest by a vast multitude of soporifics. And there is
such a thing too as having it" seared as with a hot iron!"
One of the most remarkable instances of the power of con-
science I recollect to have read, is related by Mr. Fordyce, in
his Dialogues on Education, vol. ii. p. 401, and inserted in the
Evangelical Magazine, vol. vi. p. 327.
If dying with ease, and a conviction that our own religious
principles are the only true ones, were a certain proof of truth,
and that we are right, then would the most absurd and contra-
dictory opinions be proved to be true. How many Christians,
of the most opposite sentiments, depart this life, under the
firmest persuasion of the truth of their principles, and the most
confident assurance that they are going to eternal rest! Would
Thomas Paine allow this to be a just proof, that their opinions
are founded in truth? Besides, Spinoza, the Atheist, was both
a much greater, and a much more moral man than Thomas
Paine, and he died avowing his atheistic principles. Is this a
proof that those principles are true? Shall we conclude there
is no God, because a poor misguided man is mad enough to
die in that persuasion ? Because Bruno is such a fool as to
burn at a stake in defence of the same atheistic principles, shall
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 455
tance when we too must bear our final testimony ;
when the scene of life shall close, and our eternal
state commence. If so,
" Nothing is worth a thought beneath,
But how we may escape the death,
That never, never dies;
How make our own election sure,
And when we fail on earth, secure
A mansion in the skies."
the whole deistic system he thereby subverted, and Atheism
considered as the only true doctrine? If this he conclusive
reasoning, what becomes of Mr. Paine's boasted principles ?
How different are men's convictions under the afflicting
hand of God! Thomas Paine continues hardened, and re-
solves to die in his infidelity. Caspar Bartholin, the celebrated
Danish physician, when affliction was heavy upon him, made
a vow and promise to Heaven, if he was restored to health, that
he would give up his medical pursuits, and apply himself
wholly to his religious concerns. He was restored, and kept
the vow he had so solemnly made unto God. Thomas Paine is
restored, and rages more than ever against the Lord and his
Christ!
Priests, of every denomination, are objects of the highest
possible contempt to all our deistical gentlemen. One of that
fraternity, who has since been taught the error of his ways in a
manner very much out of the common way, was known to
declare," He hoped to see the day, when there would not be a
priest—and that he would not believe the Christian religion
while he was in his senses." Though then in a good state of
health, within a couple of hours he became deranged, and soon
after made various attempts to destroy himself, wishing to be in
hell as soon as possible, that he might feel the worst of his
case. Three physicians attended him for some time; and the
rich promises of the Gospel being held out to him, he was at
length restored to a sound mind, and is now a happy witness
of the power of redeeming grace.—Vide Evangelical Magazine
for September, 1798.
456
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
If you are hardy enough to reject the Scriptural
representations of future misery, give credit at least,
to your own Bibles, the writings of the most respect-
able of the heathen. They had their Elysium and
Tartarus as we our Heaven and Hell. Nor was
there ever any religious institution, which held not
out promises of reward to the obedient, and the
threatenings of punishment to the disobedient. In-
deed, every government, whether human or divine,
must naturally and necessarily do it, or there is an
end to all order. Every law must have its sanction.
Accordingly, we find Homer, Plato, Virgil, (') and
others, have said every thing that is horrible con-
cerning the future misery of lost souls. Our great
English dramatist, who has copied from their writ-
ings, shall speak their opinions:
" Ay, but to die, and go we know not where;
To lie in cold obstruction, and to rot;
This sensible warm motion to become
A kneaded clod; and the delighted spirit
To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside
In thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice;
To be imprison'd in the viewless winds,
And blown with restless violence round about
The pendant world; or to be worse than worst
Of those, that lawless and uncertain thoughts
Imagine howling. 'Tis too horrible !
The weariest and most loathed worldly life,
That age, ache, penury, imprisonment,
(1) The reader will find an account of the rewards of the
righteous, and the punishments of the wicked, in Homer's
fourth and eleventh books of his Odyssey; in Plato's Phcedon,
or Dialogue on the Immortality of the Soul; and in the sixth
book of Virgil's iEneid.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 457
Can lay on nature, is a paradise
To what we fear of death."
If this, or any thing like this, is to be the future
destiny of a certain class of our fellow creatures, we
shall gain little by rejecting the Gospel representa-
tions. We shall be extremely unwise to suffer our
probationary period to pass away unimproved. If
our race be indeed in a state of moral ruin; if the
Almighty hath devised the means for our recovery;
if, among other messengers, he hath sent a person
higher than the heavens to be our Redeemer;(') we
shall be strangely wanting to ourselves, if we treat
this glorious person, and the doctrines of salvation
which he taught, with neglect or contempt. At all
events, therefore, let us examine well the ground
upon which we stand. Negligence, in such a cause,
is nearly as culpable as contempt. And be it never
forgotten, that, on every system, a strictly moral, and
(1) For a very clear and satisfactory defence of the doctrine
of redemption by Jesus Christ, see the first volume of Bishop
Porteus's Sermons, discourse the tenth; and vol. ii. discourses
the second and third; and that he is the real and proper Son of
God, see the fourteenth discourse of the same volume. The
reader who remains unconvinced after considering the various
arguments advanced by the above learned and amiable prelate,
will probably resist every thing that can be said by any other
writer. If, however, he is desirous of seeing the matter fairly
argued between Christianity and Deism, let him have recourse
to a volume of Sermons preached at the Temple Church by
Bishop Sherlock. I myself remember this book to have convinced
a determined Deist, who is now an eminent instrument in the
hands of Providence for the conversion of others. I would,
therefore, to all such use the words of Augustine—Tolle et lege;
tolle et lege.
458
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
religious conduct, is the duty, the interest, the feli-
city of all reasonable beings. What an idiot must
that man be, who rejects his Saviour, his Bible, and
all his immortal expectations, because of some chro-
nological, or genealogical, or geographical difficul-
ties in the records of his salvation, which he cannot
reconcile to the full satisfaction of his mind ! I had
almost said, if the Bible were as full of blunders,
contradictions, and absurdities, as the Koran of Ma-
hornet, yet might Jesus be a prophet sent from God.
The reality of his mission does by no means depend
upon the validity of the Scriptures, (') though the
Scriptures are as genuine and authentic as if all
depended on them.
Be wise, therefore, my countrymen, to know the
time of your visitation. Make the most of your
little span of life. Seek truth with modesty and
(1) If we have any doubts concerning the truth'of the Gos-
pel of Christ, it would he hut fair to examine carefully all the
other religions that now are, or ever were in the world, and
compare them impartially—not with Christianity as established
in the several countries of Europe—but with the pure unmixed
Gospel, as taught by our Saviour, and left on record in the
New Testament, and then give the preference to that which is
most excellent If the reader is disposed to make this survey,
he will find some assistance in J. Stephens, Esq.'s, hook on the
Principles of the Christian Religion, compared with those of
all the other Religions and Systems of Philosophy, which have
hitherto appeared in the world.
To the hooks in favour of Christianity, mentioned on a for-
mer page, may be added, Dr. John Rogers's Eight Sermons
on the necessity of Divine Revelation; Dr. Conybeare's De-
fence of Revealed Religion; GastrePs Certainty and Necessity
of Religion in general, and his Certainty of the Christian
Revelation.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 459
humility, with patience and perseverance, and follow
wheresoever it leads the way. Take the safe side.
Believe in Christ if you can. Believe in him as far
as you can. Examine every principle, step by step.
And should the evidence for Infidelity fall ever so
little short of demonstration, if you act a reasonable
part, you will believe in Jesus, because infinite dan-
ger presses on that side, and no danger whatever on
the side of faith and obedience. Submit then to his
easy and delightful yoke. " His ways," (make but a
fair trial of them) you will always find to be " ways
of pleasantness, and all his paths" to be " paths of
peace." (')
In our opinion, and in the opinion of all wise and
good men of every age and nation,
" 'Tis Religion that must give
Sweetest pleasures while we live;
'Tis Religion must supply
Solid comfort when we die;
Alter death its joys shall be
Lasting as eternity." (2)
(1) For a view of the pleasures and cheerfulness of the reli-
gion of Jesus, see Bishop Porteus's Sermons, vol. ii. p. 1.
(2) Though infidelity is making its way rapidly among the
nations, and among all orders of men, yet is the cause of the
Gospel by no means desperate. The Europeans in the East
Indies are said to be almost universally infidels. The state of
France is too well known. The same spirit is running through
America. Thomas Paine has sent over among them, it is said,
14,000 copies of his deistical publications. But though every
possible effort is making to establish the reign of infidelity,
there are equal efforts at least, I think, making by good men of
all denominations, for the propagation of evangelical truth.
The conflict is severe, but it is easy to see how the contest will
460
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
If, however, after your most serious and conscien-
tious endeavours, you are not able to find satisfac-
terminate. Let every man that is on the Lord's side come for-
ward, and avow himself a friend to the despised Nazaxene, in
opposition to all the powers of earth and hell. " Curse ye Ale-
roz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants
thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the
help of the Lord against the mighty." When one considers
the present situation of the great bulk of mankind, whose heart
does not burn within him to contribute something towards
evangelizing the nations? The inhabitants of the world are
said to amount at this time to about 731 millions; of whom
420 millions are Pagans; 130 millions Mahometans ; 100 mil-
lions Catholics; 44 millions Protestants; 30 millions of the
Greek and Armenian Churches; and 7 millions Jews.
The Rev. Dr. Carey, formerly of Leicester, and for many
years a Missionary among the Hindoos, says,
Europe contains 166,932,000
Asia 387,884,500
Africa 61,137,200
America 116,621,420
The world 732,575,120
Guthrie makes the world to contain.... 953,000,000
The medium number may be 800,000,000
Christians 170,000,000
Jews 9,000,000
Mahometans 140,000,000
Pagans 481,000,000
Total 800,000,000
Subdivisions among Christians may be thus:
Protestants 50,000,000
Greeks and Armenians 30,000,000
Catholics, &c 90,000,000
Total 170,000,000
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 461
tory evidence that Christ came from God ; you must
allow at least, with Rousseau, that he was an extra-
Is not this view of things a loud call to the friends of the
Gospel, to use every possible means to promote the spread of it
among the nations?—" If any man love not the Lord Jesus
Christ, let him be accursed," is the language of inspiration.
Are we in no danger then from that spirit of slumber which
overspreads our minds ? Ought not every man, who has any
concern for his own future happiness, to lend a helping hand
to promote the salvation of the many millions of souls, who
now " sit in darkness, and in the region and shadow of death?"
The Moravians, above all other people upon earth, have herein
great merit.
[They began their Missions in 1732, by sending Christian
David, Matthew Stach, and Christian Stach, to Greenland; and
from that time to this, their zealous efforts in behalf of the hea-
then have been continued. At the close of 1836, they had 46
stations, 216 missionaries, 51,097 converts, of whom about-
15,875 are communicants. Of these 2,709 are Greenlanders
and Esquimaux, 350 Indians, 44,730 Negroes and persons of
colour, and 3,308 Hottentots and other natives of South
Africa.—Periodical accounts, December, 1836. For further
particulars of their history, to a recent period, see The Mis-
sionary Gazetteer, by the Rev. C. Williams.]—Ed.
The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign
Parts, was begun in the year 1701, and has been extremely
useful in spreading the knowledge of the Redeemer's name.
[The report for 1836, states the total receipts of the past year
to have been £54,848 15s. 9d. There are 31 clergymen, 169
missionaries, and 24 catechists in connection with it.]—Ed.
The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, was begun
in the year 1698. Some pleasing accounts from their mis-
sionaries have appeared in the several annual reports. The
efforts of the society have also been very considerable, in the
distribution of Bibles, and religious and useful books of various
descriptions. [The report for 1836 states the last year's circula-
don of Bibles, to have been 100,913; of Testaments,86,061; of
462
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
ordinary man; one of the first characters that ever
appeared upon earth. See then that you blaspheme
Common Prayer books, 192,082 ; of Psalters, 14,803 ; of other
bound books, 125,533; and of small tracts, half-bound, &c.,
1,955,780. Total, 2,475,172.
The publications of the Committee of General Literature and
Education, including the Saturday Magazine, were 4,070,100.
The general receipts of the society were £80,392. 8s. 0d.—See
Dean Pearson's invaluable Memoir of their Missionary Swartz.]
—Ed.
The Baptists in this country sent out, in 1793, two persons
to the East Indies, the fruit of whose labours soon began to
appear, though the mission was in its infancy. We are in-
formed by them, that the Europeans in that country are very
generally in a state of infidelity. This confirms what has been
said by the natives in broken English : " Christian religion—
Devil religion! Christian much drunk—Christian much do
wrong, much beat, much abuse others."—The natives are apt
to say, in making their bargains—■" What, dost thou think me
a Christian, that I would go about to deceive thee ?"—" It is a
sad sight," says one of the fhst missionaries, " to behold a
drunken Christian, and a sober Indian; a temperate Indian,
and a Christian given up to his appetite; an Indian that is
just in his dealing, a Christian not so. Oh what a sad thing it
is for Christians, to come short of Indians, even in moralities!
to come short of those, who themselves believe, to come short
of heaven !" [The same denomination of the Christian Church
have not failed in their work of faith. The success of these
efforts is still encouraging. The receipts of the year ending
31st March, 1837, were £11,140. There are 40 missionaries
employed, exclusive of native preachers, occupying 72 stations.
The communicants are about 12,000.
The Wesleyans, (at first under the guidance of the Rev. Dr.
Coke, who was removed from this world in 1814) have enjoyed
much success in their missionary exertions. In 1794, the an-
nual expenditure amounted to £2,788. 12s. 8Jd. towards which
the Doctor himself, besides other aid, had generously contri-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 463
not his name; treat his cause and interest in the
world with respect, walk according to the best light
buted £917. 17s. 2id.; the total income of the year ending
April, 1837, was £75,526. lis. Id. The society occupies about
180 principal stations; its missionaries are about 300; its
catechists and salaried schoolmasters, &c. are about 200; the
assistants and teachers, not salaried, are 2,600. Five printing
establishments are supported on the foreign stations. The
members of the Society, or communicants, under the spiritual
care of the missionaries, are about 62,000. The total number
attending their ministry, may be reckoned at more than 150,000.
In the schools there are about 43,000 adults and children.
Upwards of twenty different languages are used by the mis-
sionaries; and into several of them the translation of the
Scriptures, and of other useful and instructive books, is in
progress.]—Ed.
The London Missionary Society, have taken up the deplor-
able situation of the heathen nations with great spirit; and
present prospects are very promising. How far it may please
the great Head of the Church to succeed their endeavours in
behalf of the heathen, remains yet to be proved.
[The success of this society is not doubtful, as it was in the
time of the author. In the several parts of the world connected
with its operations, there are 428 stations and out-stations;
114 missionaries; 482 European and native assistants; 84
Christian Churches; 6,615 communicants ; 448 schools; 34,222
scholars; and 15 printing establishments. The total amount
of receipts for the year ending April, 1837, was £64,372.16s. 5d.
—See for particulars of its progress, The Missionary Gazetteer,
by the Rev. C. Williams, Polynesian Researches, by the Rev.
W. Ellis, Yovages of Rev. D. Tyerman and G. Bennet, Esq.,
Memoirs of Mrs. Smith, of the Cape of Good Hope, and a
Narrative of Missionary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands,
by the Rev. John Williams.]—Ed.
But be this as it may, the persons concerned shall not lose
their reward. The attempt is honourable. Every believer in
Christ Jesus should throw his mite into one or other of these
464
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
you have; be virtuous in your own way, and do all
you can—not to make converts to infidelity—(be-
treasuries of heaven. More noble still, however, is he, who,
laying aside all party prejudices, and narrow plans of human
policy, contributes, according to his ability, to every scheme set
on foot for the salvation of his fellow-creatures, and the ad-
vancement of the Redeemer's kingdom. I cannot conceive how
any man, who professes to believe in the name of Christ, can
be at rest in his spirit, without making some effort to advance
the honour of his name. It is a black mark upon him. " Woe
unto them that are at ease in Zion—that put far away the evil
day—that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon
their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the
calves out of the midst of the stall—that chant to the sound of
the viol—that drink wine in bowls—but they are not grieved
for the affliction of Joseph."
Thanks be to God, that though a spirit of infidelity is rapidly
spreading itself through the old rotten churches of Europe, yet
there is a fire kindled in the hearts of thousands that shall
never be extinguished, till all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God. A missionary spirit is beginning to
shew itself, all through England, Scotland, Ireland, Holland,
Switzerland, Germany, and America, which shall finally diffuse
itself through every nation under heaven.
[Forty years have nearly passed away, since the above pious
and liberal sentiments were penned by the author. " No equal
number of years, since the apostolic age, has been marked by
events more important to mankind. The preparations for the
moral renovation of the world have advanced with a celerity
unparalleled in its history, and to this period the Church,
through all succeeding ages, will look back with gratitude and
praise. Institutions of benevolence and piety have risen up on
the Continent and in America, which are now operating pow-
erfully and effectually on every quarter of the world. In our
own country, the missionary efforts of our predecessors, have
attained a magnitude and vigour scarcely contemplated by
their most sanguine projectors. The Most High has also called
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 465
cause when men commence infidels they usually
become immoral) but to lead your fellow men into
into being otter institutions, whose efforts have received the
most cheering tokens of Divine approbation."—The Religious
Tract Society has been established, (1799). At the close of its
38th year,ending March 31,1837, its catalogue contained a list
of more than 2,200 publications. Its issues have exceeded
246,000,000, including publications printed at the expense of
the society, in about eighty foreign languages or dialects. It
is also calculated that many millions have been reprinted by
other societies and individuals, both at home and abroad. Its
benevolent income for the last year was £6,826. Is. lid.; its
total receipts, £67,775. 7s. 6d.
The Church Missionary Society has arisen, (1800), through
the efforts of a few evangelical clergymen and pious laymen.
Its funds and foreign operations have steadily, if not rapidly,
advanced, from its commencement. It has now, at 64 stations,
70 missionaries, 3 native missionaries, 59 catechists and other
laymen, 463 native and country-born teachers, 1315 commu-
nicants, 11,774 attendants on public worship, 431 schools, and
nearly 22,000 scholars, including many youths and adults.
The total income for the year ending March 31, 1837, was
£71,727.0s. 6d. Latterly, the institution at Islington has had
as many as 31 students, of whom 18 were sent out in the
course of a few months.
The British and Foreign Bible Society, the glory of our age
and country, has been formed, (1804), and, in all the majesty
of Christian benevolence, is going through our world, visiting
the most remote, as well as the adjacent nations, scattering, in
its course, the incorruptible seed of Divine truth. This noble
institution has issued more than 10,000,000 copies of the Scrip-
tures, or portions of them, in 135 languages or dialects; and
expended above £2,000,000 sterling. Its total nett receipts for
the year ending March 31, 1837, was £108,740. 19s. 11 d. and
the issues of Bibles and Testaments, 541,843 copies.
The London Society for Promoting Christianity among the
Jews has been commenced, (1807). Of the neglected and
H H
466
a plea for religion
the paths of piety and virtue, under some denomina-
tion or other. If, indeed, you can fairly, by sound
argument, and solid evidence, explode the Divine
authority of the Gospel, we are so far from being
afraid of consequences, that we call upon you to do
it. Try then what you can do. Exert all your
talents. Call forth every latent power of the mind.
Bring out your stores of ancient and modern lore.
But—no ridicule I no laughter ! no sneers! The
occasion is too great and serious. Come forward,
rather, in all the dignity of good sense, in all the
majesty of conscious integrity, in all the zeal which
the love of truth inspires, furnished with languages,
despised objects of its care there are, at least, 6,000,000 oil the
face of the earth. During the last few years, through the
Divine blessing on the efforts made by this society, there has
been a great increase of scriptural knowledge among them, and
a spirit of inquiry is also widely diffused. In London, Berlin,
Warsaw, and almost every considerable city or town in Europe,
where Jews are to be found, and to whom the Gospel has been
proclaimed, there are not wanting living illustrations that God
has not cast away his people, but has mercy on all who return
to him in penitence and faith. In London, Dantzic, the
Grand Duchy of Posen, and other places, Christian instruc-
tion is given to Jewish children with gratifying success. The
Old and New Testaments have been largely distributed in
Hebrew; the Liturgy of the Church of England has been
lately published in the same language, and a plan is in progress
for erecting an Episcopal Hebrew church at Jerusalem; the
Bishop of London having consented to ordain Mr. Nicolayson
to the service of it. Many thousand tracts, in different lan-
guages, are also annually distributed. The society has 41 mis-
sionaries, of whom 16 are converts of the Jewish nation.
The income of the year ending on 31st of March, 1837, was
£14,530. 10s. lid.]—ed.
and the sacred writings. 467
knowledge, experience, observation, and either ho-
nourably overthrow the cause of the Gospel, which
we assuredly deem the cause of truth, or, like Jenyns
and Pringle, openly acknowledge that you are con-
vinced and conquered. This would be manly. This
would be acting in a manner worthy the character of
lovers of truth. And on such men the God of truth
himself would look down from heaven well pleased.
I have already called your attention, gentlemen, to
a variety of characters from among the moderns,
some good, others bad, some believers, others un-
believers. I would wish you, however, to take the
Bible into your own hands, and read it carefully and
coolly over, as a book of common history only, with-
out any regard to its Divine original; and then
endeavour to form an impartial judgment what
course you ought to take, and what the event of
your present conduct will be. To bring the matter
to a short and easy issue, turn to the thirty-seventh
Psalm, read it seriously over half a dozen times, and
consider well its contents. Do not be rash, foolish,
headstrong, and reject this, and the other Sacred
Records, without either rhyme or reason; but be
cool, deliberate, sober, well-advised, and determined
to choose the side of prudence, discretion, and safety.
Let the several historical characters recorded in the
Old and New Testament be taken into your most
careful consideration, and judge calmly of their com-
parative respectability, and with whom you should
like best to die. Whether had you rather wish to
die, and have your portion in eternity with Cain,
Balaam, and Pharaoh; with Korah, Dathan, and
Abiram with Saul, Absalom, and Ahitophel; with
h h 2
468
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Herod, Judas, Pilate, and all such like characters; or
would you choose to die and have your portion in
eternity with Abel, Noah, and Lot; with Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph ; with Moses, Aaron,
Joshua, and Samuel; with David, Asa, Jehoshaphat,
Hezekiah, and Josiah; with Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
and Daniel; with John the Baptist, Jesus Christ,
the twelve Apostles, the seventy Disciples; and all the
other excellent men, whose names are recorded with
approbation in the Jewish and Christian code ? Can
you hesitate one moment which side you would wish
to take ? Consider the matter well, and make your
election.
But, if you do already see reason to believe in the
Son of God ; or if at any future period you should
find cause so to do, take heed that you imbibe the
true, noble, liberal, benevolent spirit of the Gospel,
in all its purity and extent.
Be not ashamed either of its doctrines or precepts.
Its doctrines are oracles, its precepts are sanctioned
with penalties of a nature the most tremendous
that can be conceived. Hold fast the former then,
regardless of the obloquy of self-righteous moralists,
in all their purity and extent. They form one grand,
well-compacted system, far more glorious than the
whole universe of visible created things. " The
heavens declare the glory of God," the wonderful
variety of creatures upon earth, his wisdom, power,
and goodness; but the scheme of saving a lost world,
by the interposition of his Son, outshines all the
other works of the Divine Being that have ever
come within the ken of mortals. " God, who at
sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in time
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 469
past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these
last days, spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the worlds; who, being the brightness of his glory,
and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand
of the Majesty on high." This is perfectly in the
spirit of ancient prophecy: " Unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be
upon his shoulder ; and his name shall be called,
Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God; The Ever-
lasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase
of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,
to order it, and to establish it with judgment, and
with justice, from henceforth even for ever." The
beloved disciple of our Lord displays the original
grandeur of this Mighty One more fully than the
prophet: " In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. All
things were made by him, and without him was not
any thing made that was made."—" And the word
was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth." This amazing idea
of the creating power of the Redeemer is still more
expanded by the great apostle of the Gentiles: " By
him were all things created that are in heaven and
that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they
be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:
all things were created by him and for him; and he
is before all things, and by him all things consist."—
470
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
" He being in the form of God, thought it not
robbery to be equal with God: and though he was
God's Fellow, he made himself of no reputation, and
took upon him the form of a servant, and was made
in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a
name, which is above every name; that at the name
of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth;
and that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
So that, though all (') we " have sinned and come
(1) It may be safely asserted, I apprehend, that all truly
serious and religiously minded people are nearly of one opinion
concerning the great doctrines of the Gospel. They live in the
comfort and die in the faith of them. The Calvinist and Armi-
nian here at least are of one mind. When the Rev. John
Wesley came to die, his language was,
" I the chief of sinners am,
But Jesus died for me."
" There is no way into the holiest, but by the blood of Jesus."
" I'll praise my Maker while I've breath, &c."»
The late Mr. Toplady also appears to have been greatly
supported with divine consolations during his last sickness. A
few days before his death he said to a friend," Oh, my dear
Sir, it is impossible to describe how good God is to me. This
afternoon I hare enjoyed such a season, such sweet comma-
nion with God, and such delightful manifestations of his pre-
sence with, and love to my soul, that it is impossible for words,
or any language, to express them. I have had peace and joy
unutterable."
L* See Mr. Wesley's Life, by the Rev. R. Watson.]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 471
short of the glory of God, we are justified freely by
his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ
To another friend, he said: " The comforts and manifesta-
tions of God's love are so abundant, as to render my state and
condition the most desirable in the world. I would not ex-
change my condition with any one upon earth."
The same friend calling upon him a day or two before his
death, he said, with hands clasped, and his eyes lifted up and
starting with tears of the most evident joy: " Oh, my dear Sir,
I cannot tell you the comforts I feel in my soul. They are
past expression. The consolations of God to such an unworthy
wretch are so abundant, that he leaves me nothing to pray for,
but a continuance of them. I enjoy a heaven already in my
soul. My prayers are all converted into praise."
At another time he said: " Oh, how this soul of mine longs
to be gone ! Like a bird imprisoned in a cage, it longs to take
its flight Oh that I had wings like a dove, then would I fly
away to the realms of bliss, and be at rest for ever! Oh that
some guardian angel might be commissioned; for I long to be
absent from this body, and to be with my Lord for ever."
At another time, and indeed for many days together, he
cried out, " Oh what a day of sunshine has this been to me!
I have not words to express it It is unutterable. Oh, my
friends, how good is God! Almost without interruption his
presence has been with me."
Near his end, waking from a slumber, he said: " Oh what de-
lights ! Who can fathom the joys of the third heaven I" And
again, a little before his departure : " The sky is clear; there is
no cloud;' come Lord Jesus, come quickly.'"
The learned reader will not be sorry to compare here the
dying scenes of two or three of the German Christians with
the above of Wesley and Toplady. Musculus's Soliloquy be-
fore death appears to me in the highest spirit of the Gospel of
Christ.
" Nil superest vita: ; frigus prascordia captat:
Sed tu, Christe, mihi vita perennis ades.
472
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteous-
Quid trepidas, anima I Ad sedes abitura quietis ;
En tibi ductor adest angelus ille tuus.
Linque domum hanc miseram,nunc in sua fata ruentem,
Quam tibi fida Dei dextera restituet.
Peccasti 1—Scio; sed Christus credentibus in se
Peccata expurgat sanguine cuncta suo.
Horribilis mors est I Fateor: sed proxima vita est,
Ad quam te Christi gratia certa vocat.
Prsesto est de Satana, peccato, in morte triumphans
Christus: ad Hunc igitur laeta alacrisque migra."
translated by merrick.
[My life decays, Death's damps have seized my heart;
But thou, O Christ, art more than life to me.
Why tremblest thou, my soul I To rest depart,
Behold thy guardian angel waits for thee.
This wretched tenement dissolving, leave,
Which God's own hand will faithfully restore.
Thy sins are many; but on Christ believe,
And all thy sins his blood will cover o'er.
Is death terrific? Yes: but life is near :
To this the gracious words of Christ invite.
He conquers death, sin, Satan: banish fear,
To his dear presence take thy joyful flight.]—Ed.
Theodore Zuinger, a famous German physician, when he lay
upon his death-bed, took his leave of the world in the following
fine copy of verses, which is a liberal paraphrase of the 122d
Psalm.
" O lux Candida, lux mihi
Leeti conscia transitus!
Per Christi meritum patet
Vitse porta beat®.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 473
ness, for the remission of sins that are past, through
the forbearance of God—to declare his righteousness,
Me status revocat dies
Augustam Domini ad domum:
Jam sacra setherii premam
Laetus limina templi.
Jam visam Solymae edita
Coelo culmina, et asdium
Leetus angelicos, suo et
Augustam populo urbem:
Urbem, quam procul infimis
Terra; finibus exciti
Petunt Christiadee, ut Deum
Laudent voce perenni :
Jussam caelitus oppidis
Urbem jus dare ceteris,
Et sedem fore Davidis
Cuncta in ssecla beati.
Mater nobilis urbium!
Semper te bona pax amat;
Et te semper amantibus
Cedunt omnia recte.
Semper pax tua mcenia
Colit; semper in atriis
Tuis copia dextera
Larga munera fundit,
Dulcis Christiadum domus,
Civem adscribe novitium;
Sola comitata Caritas
Spesque Fidesque, valete."
How different is the spirit of these dying scenes from those
of our modern philosophers, who usually depart this life like
unto the Emperor Adrian, or in a manner much inferior:
" Animula vagula, blandula,
Hospes, comesque corporis,
Quae nunc abibis in loca
Pallidula, rigida, nudula,
Nec, ut soles, dabis jocos V'
474
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
that he might be just, and the justifier of him which
believeth in Jesus: Christ being the end of the law
for righteousness to every one that believeth." These
things being laid together, and duly considered, may
we not exclaim with the same devout and admiring
apostle ? " Without controversy, great is the mystery
of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified
in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into
glory."
Such are the doctrines of Christ, of which the
apostle declares he was not ashamed, and of which
no Christian ought or need to be ashamed; because
they are " the power of God unto salvation unto
every one that believeth" in his name. And we may
say of them what St. Paul says upon another occasion,
" Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any
other Gospel unto you, than that which we have
preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we
said before, so say I now again, If any man preach
any other Gospel unto you than that ye have re-
ceived, let him be accursed." Harsh as these words
may seem, they were written in all the plenitude
of apostolical authority, and apply to every case
where the essential doctrines of the Sacred Writings
are concerned. What those doctrines are may not
be expedient for me here to say; the Scriptures
are in every one's hands, and no man need con-
tinue in ignorance of what the Lord God requires
of him.
And then, as to the precepts of the Redeemer's
religion, they are such as have been admired in all
ages, and as no man need feel himself ashamed to
own. The substance of them is: " Whatsoever ye
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 475
would that men should do to you, do ye even so to
thema precept so held in admiration by one of the
Roman emperors, that he had it inscribed in various
public places, to be seen and read of all men. This
excellent laconic sentence is more expanded by our
Lord himself, in another place: " Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy
mind. And thy neighbour as thyselfand still
more by St. Paul: " The grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to all men ; teaching us, that,
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world,
looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious ap-
pearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus
Christ; who gave himself for us that he might
redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself
a peculiar people, zealous of good works." May I
not then exhort you, my serious readers, in the words
of the same apostle, to " present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service ? and not to be conformed to this
world; but to be transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that ye may prove what is that good and ac-
ceptable, and perfect will of God ?" Endeavour to
be uniformly and conscientiously, inwardly and
outwardly, religious.(') Lay aside, as much as may
(1) There is need, in this time of general discontent, to call
the attention of all good men to the obligations we are under, to
be dutiful and loyal subjects. The Scripture is decisive, that as
we are to fear God, so are we to honour the king. But, setting
duty aside, self-interest, if duly consulted, would induce every
476
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
be, all other thoughts and concerns, and let the
pardon of your sins, the justification of your persons,
the purification of your natures, and the salvation
of your souls, be the grand business and aim of
man to obey the civil government of the happy country in
which we live. We have much to lose, little to gain, by any
change that might take place. The ruin brought upon France
may satisfy any man, how dangerous a thing it is to engage in
public contentions, and disturb the regular order of things. If
the experience of our neighbours will not determine us to peaoe-
able and temperate measures among ourselves, we should do
well to look back to the reign of the first Charles, when the
three kingdoms were convulsed, for seven years together, from
one end to another. Besides the many thousands of private
men who fell in the bloody fray, the many millions of money
that were spent, and the numerous families that were ruined,
there were slain 17 earls and lords—45 knights and baronets—
55 colonels—42 lieutenant-colonels—53 majors—138 captains
—30 gentlemen volunteers—with about 30 others, who were
either beheaded or died in prison. The spirit of the times was
much the same as hath for several years prevailed in France :
nor were the clergy treated with much more humanity, eight or
ten thousand of them being turned out of their livings.—See
Walker's Sufferings of the Clergy, pp. 198—200. And if any
convulsion should take place again in this country, I do not
conceive that we should be much more humane towards each
other, than people have been in cases of a similar nature. He
was no inexperienced man who said—" The beginning of strife
is as when one letteth out water; therefore leave off contention
before it be meddled with."
When the Almighty intends to punish us effectually, he will
deprive us of wisdom, and set us at loggerheads one with ano-
ther.
The consequence will be ruin to the present race of English-
men. If, with the above two dreadful examples before us, we
suffer a party spirit to drive us to extremities, we shall deserve
all we can suffer.—See the seventh chapter of Ezekiel.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 477
your life. Every thing within you, and every thing
without you, will oppose this great regenerating
process of religion. Remember, however, this is
your main concern in the world. One thing alone
is truly needful. Secure this, and every thing beside
is safe.
" This done, the poorest can no wants endure;
And this not done, the richest must he poor."
" Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but that
meat which endureth unto everlasting life."—" Seek
ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness,
and all necessary things shall be added unto you."
If you are ever so rich, great, wise, learned, honour-
able; if you are not at the same time substantially
and experimentally religious, you are a miserable
man. Do you want proof of this ? Look inward,
and look forward to the close of life; or turn back,
and impartially consider the experience of the several
persons, whose declarations we have recorded in the
beginning of this treatise. Compare them, weigh
them, discriminate their characters; reject what is
base and unworthy your attention, take alarm at the
warnings of the dying penitents, and resolve, by the
grace of God, to have a name and a place among his
people. Let others despise and neglect the Sacred
Writings, as their humours shall lead, do you be
much in the perusal of them. Let them dwell in you
richly. They will make you happy in your own
soul, and wise unto salvation. Search them, dig in
them, scrutinize them, let your daily delight be in
them. It is the engrafted word, and the word of
God's grace alone, which is able to build us up in
faith and love, and save our souls alive. Read it,
478
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
therefore, as the word of God. Read it with reli-
gious views. Read it with constant prayer to heaven
for Divine illumination; and, as often as convenient,
get upon your knees in secret,^) with the Bible
spread before you, and, be assured, you shall expe-
rience sublime and ravishing delights, to which the
most happy and prosperous worldly men are utter
strangers, and of which you yourselves can have no
proper conception, till you have made the experi-
ment. Could I be the happy instrument of inducing
you to make the experiment, you would bless me for
ever. And you will give me leave to say, that if you
could "speak with the tongues of men and of
angels," and possessed all knowledge, human and
divine; if you could perform wonders, like Moses,
celebrate the praises of God, like David, prophesy
like Isaiah, write like Paul, preach like Peter, thunder
like James and John, and offer up your souls on
racks and in flames, like the Maccabean mother and
her seven noble sons; if you had power with God,
like Jacob, and had the valour of Joshua, the strength
of Samson, the beauty of Absalom, the wisdom of
Solomon, the zeal of Phineas, with every other
qualification, natural and acquired, that ever centred
in any of the sons of men ; yet, without a close, inti-
mate, experimental acquaintance with the Sacred
Oracles, and the great truths therein contained, all
will avail nothing; you can neither enjoy true conso-
(1) M. De Renty, a French nobleman, used to read three
Chapters a day with his head uncovered, and on his bended
knees; and this is the practice likewise of abundance of reli-
gious characters in the present day.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 479
lation in your spirit now, nor be capable of felicity
hereafter when you die. Were I, therefore, per-
mitted to give my last dying (') advice to the dearest
friend I have in the world, it would be the same
which Dr. Johnson gave to his friend Sir Joshua
Reynolds—Read your Bible ; (2) I only should add
(1) The famous Sir Philip Sidney, taking leave of his brother
Robert, when he died of the wound he had received in the field
of battle, said, "Love my memory; cherish my friends;—but
above all, govern your will and affections by the Will and Word
of your Creator; in me behold the end of this world, with all her
vanity."
Sir Christopher Hatton, in like manner, a celebrated states-
man, a little before his death, advised his relations to he serious
in searching after the will of God in his Holy Word: "for,"
said he," it is deservedly accounted a piece of excellent know-
ledge to understand the laws of the land, and the customs of a
man's country; how much more to know the statutes of heaven;
and the laws of eternity, those immutable and eternal laws of
justice and righteousness! To know the will and pleasure of
the great Monarch, and universal King! I have seen an end of
all perfection, but the commandments of God are exceeding
broad."
(2) This great man himself read the Bible too little, and other
hooks too much. This, and associating frequently with men of
little or no religion, were the main causes of his great leanness
of soul, and fear of death, all through life. He was, indeed, an
extraordinary man, and an admirable judge of good writing.
In the second volume of his Lives of the Poets, p. 110, he speaks
of Dryden's Dialogue on the Drama, as one of the finest prose
compositions in the English language: and at the 152d page of
the same volume he says, Dryden's Poem on the death of Mrs.
Killigrew, is the noblest Ode our language has ever produced.
In the third volume, p. 62, he tells us, the most poetical para-
graph in the whole mass of English poetry is in Congreve's
Mourning Bride. And in the fourth volume, p. 181, he
480
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
as above—Read it daily upon your knees with fer-
vent prayer for Divine illumination; and rest not,
declares, one of the finest similes in all English poetry,is that
of the Student's progress in the sciences, in Pope's Essay on
Criticism, lines 215—232.
The more religious people read the Sacred Writings, and the
less, in general, they trouble themselves with the compositions
of men, the better. If, however, the reader wishes to know what
hooks are best calculated to advance the spirit of religion in the
soul, the following have been found singularly useful; Scougal's
Life of God in the Soul of Man—Baxter's Saint's Everlasting
Rest—Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul—
Watts on the Love of God—Rowe's Devout Exercises of the
Heart—Young's Night Thoughts—Milton's Paradise Lost and
Regained—Law's Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life—
and Thomas a Kempis on the Imitation of Jesus Christ.—
Kempis, in particular, was a great favourite with Archbishop
Leighton and Bishop Burnet. And Law's Serious Call has the
honour of being the means of the conversion of that Hercules
in literature, the late Dr. Johnson; which hook he used, there-
fore, much to commend, saying, " It was the finest piece of
hortatory theology in any language."—See Boswell's Life,
vol. i. pp. 29, 341.—This book has, moreover, extorted the fol-
lowing eulogium even from the sceptical Edward Gibbon, Esq.
one of the first historians of the present age, and an ungues-
tionable judge of literary merit.
" Mr. Law's master work, the Serious Call, is still read as a
popular and powerful book of devotion. His precepts are rigid,
but they are founded on the Gospel; his satire is sharp,but it is
drawn from the knowledge of human life; and many of his por-
traits are not unworthy of the pen of La Bruyere. If he finds
a spark of piety in his reader's mind, he will soon kindle it to
a flame; and a philosopher must allow, that he exposes, with
equal severity and truth, the strange contradiction between the
faith and practice of the Christian world. Under the names of •
Flavia and Miranda, he has admirably described mv two aunts
and the sacred writings. 481
till you have imbibed the spirit of it into the very
frame and constitution of your soul, and transcribe
the precepts and example of Jesus into every part of
your daily deportment in life.
This should be the last dying advice, I say, which
I would give to the tenderest friend I have upon
earth. And, if I should have no other opportunity
permitted me, I here leave it on record, in direct
opposition to the obloquy of the irreligious and
unbelieving world, as a legacy to my friends and the
—the Heathen and the Christian sister."—Memoirs of Gibbon's
Life and Writings.
This, I think, is no common praise!
To the ahove hooks should be added, Bunyan's Pilgrim's
Progress; Bishop Taylor's Holy Living and Dying; Archbishop
Leighton's Works; and such other writings as are of a lively
and evangelic nature. I remember, near thirty years ago, hear-
ing the late excellent Dr. Conyers, of Deptford, say, that if he
were banished into a desert island, and permitted to take with
him only four books, the Life of Mr. Halyburton should be one
of the four.
This useful Life is also the book which that great scholar,
Sir Richard Ellys, valued above all the books in his learned
and copious library.
With respect to the leading and most important doctrines of
the Gospel, I do not know that they are any where more plainly
and faithfully expounded than in the book of Homilies. I
have been of this opinion many years, and still continue the
same, making allowance for the language, and certain circum-
stances peculiar to the times in which they were written. In
this opinion I find myself confirmed by Bishop Horsley, who
says to the Clergy, in his Charge for 1790 : " These discourses,"
some of the Homilies," I would earnestly recommend to your
frequent study, as an unexceptionable summary of doctrine
upon these important points, and an excellent model of compo-
sition for popular instruction."
i i
482
a plea for religion
people among whom I have gone preaching the
Gospel, of more real intrinsic value than thousands
of gold and silver. Read your Bibles, and read
till you love to read. pray daily over
them, and pray till you love to pray. When
the Scriptures and prayer become delightful, and the
time spent therein seems soon expired, then may you
humbly suppose you have made some proficiency in
the Divine life. But, if you can spend whole days
together, without refreshing your soul with some
portion of the Holy Writings; if you feel yourselves
cold, remiss, and negligent in private prayer; or if,
when you read the Scriptures, and retire for devo-
tion, you have little or no taste for the heavenly
employ, but it appears irksome and disagreeable,
and the time spent therein tedious and wearisome,
you may be assured, let your professions be what
they may, and the sermons you hear ever so nume-
rous, or ever so excellent, your soul is either wholly
dead to things divine, or you are in a backsliding
and dangerous condition.
If you have never been accustomed to this reli-
gious exercise, it is extremely probable, you will, for
a time, find much reluctance to it, a grievous struggle
under it, and great unprofitableness in it. Be not,
however, discouraged; but proceed in the divine
employ till you have conquered every difficulty.(')
And remember, these are difficulties that are common
to man; that have been vanquished by multitudes in
every age of the Church; and that must be overcome
by you. Your present comfort, as well as your
(1) See a fine paper on this subject in the Spectator, No. 447.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 483
everlasting welfare, depend upon the victory. For
your encouragement, call to mind the saying of
Pythagoras, the ancient philosopher;
" Let the best course of life your choice invite,
For custom soon will turn it to delight
And the similar sentiment of Hesiod, the old poet;
"The gods have placed labour before virtue; the way
to her is at first rough and difficult, but grows more
smooth and easy the further you advance in it."
Infinitely more encouraging and authoritative still is
the language of the apostle: "Work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling ; for it is God that
worketh in you both to will and to do of his good
pleasure."
Various instances might be produced of persons,
who, when they approached the close of life, bitterly
lamented their neglect of the Sacred Volume. (')
And numerous are the examples of persons, in all
ages, who have spent much of their time in perusing
that most unparalleled book. Moses, Isaiah, and
Malachi, (2) enjoin it upon all the Jews, young and
old. God himself commands the duty to Joshua.
It was the constant practice of David(s) through
life. And there is reason to suppose that Jesus
Christ spent most of his leisure in this manner. Our
great Epic bard hath represented him as saying:
" When I was yet a child, no childish play
To me was pleasing; all my mind was set
(1) See the cases of Salmasius, Hervey, and others, on the
foregoing pages.
(2) Deut. vi. 6—9; Isa. viii. 20; and Mai. iv. 4.
(3) Psalm i. xix. cxix.
I i 2
484
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Serious to learn and know, and thence to do
What might be public good ; myself I thought
Born to that end, born to promote all truth,
All righteous things: therefore, above my years
The law of God I read, and found it sweet,
Made it my whole delight, and in it grew
To such perfection, that ere my age
Had measured twice six years, at our great feast
I went into the temple, there to hear
The teachers of our law, and to propose
What might improve their knowledge or my own;
And was admired by all."(l)
Both Christ and his disciple St. Paul recom-
mend the employ to every Christian. Timothy
was trained from his childhood in this way. And
the Bereans are spoken of as being more noble than
others, because they searched the Scriptures daily.
The primitive Christians were intimately acquainted
with the Sacred Writings, and generally carried a
Bible about them, making it their companion wher-
ever they went. And such was their affection for it,
that many of them have been found buried with the
Gospel laying on their breasts. Women wore it
hanging at their necks. Children were trained up
from their infancy to repeat it by heart; some of
whom made surprising proficiency.
" Instead of gems and silk," says St. Jerome to
Lceta, " let your young daughter be enamoured with
the Holy Scriptures; wherein not gold, nor skins, nor
Babylonian embroideries, but a correct and beautiful
variety, producing faith, will recommend itself. Let
her first learn the Psalter, and be entertained with
those songs, then be instructed into life by the Pro-
(1) Milton's Paradise Regained, b. 1.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 485
verbs of Solomon. Let her learn from Ecclesiastes
to despise worldly things; transcribe from Job the
practice of patience and virtue. Let her pass then
to the Gospels, and never let them be out of her
hands ; and then imbibe, with all the faculties of her
mind, the Acts of the Apostles and Epistles. When
she has enriched the storehouse of her breast with
these treasures, let her learn the Prophets, the Pen-
tateuch, or books of Moses, (') Joshua, and Judges,
the books of Kings and Chronicles, the volumes of
Ezra and Esther, and, lastly, the Canticles.—The
book of Revelation (2) has as many mysteries as
words: I said too little; in every word there is a
(1) Mr. Pope, whom we hare before quoted on the subject of
the Sacred Writings, and whose judgment few will call in ques-
tion, in comparing the discovery of Ulysses to Telemachus,
with Joseph's discovery of himself to his brethren, says," It
must he owned that Homer falls infinitely short of Moses: he
must be a very wicked man, who can read the history of Joseph
without the utmost touches of compassion and transport. There
is a majestic simplicity in the whole relation, and such an
affecting portrait of human nature, that it overwhelms us with
vicissitudes of joy and sorrow. This is a pregnant instance
how much the best of Heathen writers is inferior to the Divine
historian upon a parallel subject, where the two authors endea-
vour to move the softer passions. The same may, with equal
truth, be said in respect to sublimity; not only in the instance
produced by Longinus, viz.' Let there be light, and there was
light; let the earth be made, and the earth was made;' but in
general, in the more elevated parts of Scripture, and particularly
in the whole book of Job, which, with regard both to sublimity
of thought and morality, exceeds, beyond all comparison, the
most noble parts of Homer."—Notes on the Sixteenth Odyssey.
(2) See Strictures on this book in the 24—34th Sections of
Simpson's Key to the Prophecies.
486
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
variety of senses, and the excellency of the book is
above all praise."
The monks of Egypt daily learned some portion
of Scripture, and more especially made it their medi-
tation on the Lord's day; insomuch that many of
them became so expert and well versed in the Holy
Scripture, that they could repeat it by heart; which
is particularly noted of Hilarion, Ammonius, Marcus
junior, Eros, Serapion, Solomon, and others. And
by this means they were qualified to entertain their
souls with spiritual exercises, singing of David's
Psalms, and repeating other parts of Scripture, even
at their bodily labours. At Christ's little village of
Bethlehem there was nothing to be heard but Psalms:
one could not go into the field, but he should hear
the ploughman singing his hallelujahs, the sweating
mower solacing himself with hymns, and the vine-
dresser tuning David's Psalms. Thus the ancient
monks joined their bodily and spiritual exercises
together, and made their common labour become
acts of devotion to God. Their times of eating and
refreshment were managed after the same manner.
In some places they had the Scriptures read at table.
At other places, when supper was ended, they sung
a hymn and so returned to their cells. Thus their
ordinary refreshments were sanctified with the word
of God and prayer—It is very observable, that in
the primitive Church, not only men and women,
but children were encouraged and trained up from
their infancy to the reading of the Holy Scriptures.
Of this we have undoubted evidence from many emi-
nent instances of their practice. Eusebius remarks
of the great care of Leonides, the Martyr, and father
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 487
of Origen, in the education of his son, that he made
him learn the Scriptures, before he set him to the
study of the liberal arts and polite learning. And
Socrates makes the like observation upon the educa-
tion of Eusebius, surnamed Emisenus, who was born
of noble parentage at Edessa, a city of Osroene in
Mesopotamia, that he was first taught the Holy
Scriptures from his infancy, and then human learning.
And Sozomen, in relating the same story, says, this
was done according to the custom of the country;
which shews, that it was no singular instance, but a
general practice to bring children up from their
infancy to the use of the Holy Scriptures. Gregory
Nyssene notes it in the life of his sister Macrina,
that the first part of her instruction in her infancy
was to be taught the easy portions of Scripture,
which were most suitable to her age. He says also,
she did the same for her younger brother Peter,
taking him from his mother's breasts, and instructing
him in the Scriptures, that he might have no time to
spend upon vain studies. It is noted by Sozomen
and Palladius of Marcus, the hermit, that he was so
expert in the Scriptures when he was but a youth,
that he could repeat all the Old and New Testament
without book. Such was the advantage which some
hearers in those days reaped from the benefit of
having the Scriptures read, that it is very remarkable
what is related of one or two of them; that being
men of good memories, they got the Scriptures by
heart, without any knowledge of letters, only by
hearing them constantly read in the church or else-
where. St. Austin remarks this of St Antony, the
famous Egyptian monk; that without being able to
488
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
read himself, he made such a proficiency in the
knowledge of the Scriptures, as both by hearing
them read, to be able to repeat them, and by his own
prudent meditation to understand them. And Gre-
gory the Great gives a like instance, in one Servulus,
a poor man at Rome, who, though he knew not a
letter in the book, yet purchasing a Bible, and en-
tertaining religious men, he prevailed with them to
read it continually to him, by which means he per-
fectly learned the Holy Scriptures. It is yet a more
astonishing instance which Eusebius gives, in one of
the Martyrs of Palestine, a blind man, called John,
who had so happy a memory, that he could repeat
any part of the Bible as readily as others could read
it. And he sometimes supplied the office of reader
in the church; and he did this to so great perfection,
that Eusebius says, when he first heard him, he was
perfectly amazed, and thought he had heard one read-
ing out of a book, till he came a little more curiously
to examine him, and found that he did it only by the
eyes of his understanding, having the Scriptures
written, not in books or tables of stone, but in the
fleshly tables of the heart. There are many such
like instances in ancient history.(')
At the time of the Reformation also, after the
Bible had been buried under the rubbish of human
ordinances for many ages, the people in this country
were extremely eager to read and hear the Holy
Scriptures. They were received with inexpressible
joy. Bishop Ridley and others could repeat large
parts of them without book. The learned Joshua
(1) See Bingham's Antiquities of the Christian Church.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 489
Barnes, sometime afterwards, is said to have read a
small pocket Bible, which he usually carried about
him, a hundred and twenty times over, at leisure
hours. Beza, at upwards of eighty years of age,
could repeat the whole of St. Paul's Epistles, in the
original Greek, and all the Psalms, in Hebrew.
Lord Cromwell, Earl of Essex, in a journey to and
from Rome, learned the whole of the New Testa-
ment by heart. The excellently learned Lady Jane
Grey, though executed at the age of sixteen, the
night before she died, bequeathed to her sister a
Greek Testament, on one of the blank leaves of
which she wrote :—" I have sent you, my dear sister,
a book, which although it be not outwardly trimmed
with gold, yet inwardly it is more worth than all the
precious mines of which the vast world can boast.
It is the book, my only, best, and best beloved sister,
of the Law of the Lord. It is the testament and
last will which he bequeathed unto us wretched sin-
ners, which shall lead you to the path of eternal joy.
It will teach you how to live, and likewise how to
die. If you apply yourself diligently to this book,
seeking to direct your life according to the rule of
the same, it shall win you more, and endow you with
greater felicity, than the possession of all your father's
lands, and you shall be an inheritor of such riches,
as neither the covetous shall withdraw from you,
nor the thief shall steal, nor yet the moths corrupt."
Queen Elizabeth, speaking of her own conduct,
saith, " I walk many times in the pleasant fields of
the Holy Scriptures, where I pluck up the goodliest
herbs of sentences by pruning; and lay them up at
490
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
length in the high seat of memory, by gathering
them together; that so, having tasted their sweet-
ness, I may the less perceive the bitterness of this
miserable life."
Alphonsus, king of Naples, who did not begin to
study till he was fifty years of age, read over the
Old and New Testaments, with their glosses, fourteen
times.
Grotius too made the Holy Scriptures his favourite
study, in every period of his life. They were his
consolation in prison; he always devoted a part of
the day to them, and they were his principal study
during a great part of his embassy abroad.
The learned Father Paul had read over the Greek
Testament with so much exactness, that having used
to mark every word, when he had fully weighed the
importance of it, as he went through it, he had, by
going often over it, and observing what he had
passed by in a former reading, grown up to that at
last, that every word of the whole New Testament
was marked; and when any new illustrations of pas-
sages were suggested to him, he received them with
transports of joy.
Sir Henry Wotton, after his customary public
devotions, used to retire to his study, and there
spend some hours in reading the Bible, and authors
in divinity, closing up his meditations with private
prayer.
The excellent Sir John Hartopp, in like manner,
amidst his other applications, made the Book of
God his chief study, and his divinest delight. The
Bible lay before him night and day.
AND THE SACKED WRITINGS.
491
James Bonnell, Esq. made the Holy Scriptures his
constant and daily study. He read them, he medi-
tated upon them, he prayed over them.
The celebrated Witsius was able to recite almost
any passage of Scripture in its proper language,
together with its context, and thq criticisms of the
best commentators.
Mr. William Gouge tied himself to read fifteen
chapters in the Bible daily.
Lady Frances Hobart read the Psalms over twelve
times every year, the New Testament thrice, and
the other parts of the Old Testament once.
Susannah, Countess of Suffolk, for the last seven
years of her life, read the whole Bible over twice
annually. (')
(I) There have been many female characters highly eminent
for their piety and knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures, as well
as those above mentioned. I will instance a few: Queen Ca-
tharine Parr — Queen Mary — Lady C. Courten—Lady M.
Houghton—Lady Cutts— Lady E. Hastings—Lady M.Armyne
—Lady A. Halket—Lady Langham—Lady E. Brooke—Lady
M. Vere—Mrs. C. Phillips—Mrs. J. Ratcliffe—Mrs.C. Bretterg
—Mrs. A. Baynard—Mrs. A. M. Schurman—Mrs. E. Bury—
Mrs. E. Bumet—Mrs. E. Rowe, and others.—See Gibbon's
Memoirs of Pious Ladies, and Biographium Fcemineum.
In the reign of Henry V. a law was passed against the pe-
rusal of the Scriptures in English. It enacted, " that whatso-
ever they were who should read the Scriptures in the mother
tongue, they should forfeit land, catel, lif, and godes from thevr
heyres for ever, and so be condempned for heretykes to God,
enemies to the crowne, and most errant traitors to the lande."
—Vide Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. i. p. 7.
The above is an honourable list of female characters. We
may therefore place them in the higher class of Bishop Ayl-
492
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
And that the knowledge of Holy Scripture was
never intended to be confined to the clergy, or to
kings, learned men, and persons of rank, is evident,
not only from what we have observed from Bingham
and others, but also from the words of Erasmus, who
contributed more perhaps than any other man to-
wards promoting the knowledge of scriptural learn-
ing.—" I would desire," says he, " that all women
should read the Gospel, and the epistles of St. Paul.
I would to God, the ploughman would sing a text of
Scripture at his plough ; and that the weaver at his
loom with this would drive away the tediousness of
time. I would the wayfaring man, with this pastime,
would expel the weariness of his journey. And, in
short, I would that all the communication of the
Christian should be of the Scripture."
If we come to our own time, it might be made ap-
pear, that abundance of the most serious and valuable
people, among the different denominations of men,
spend a good portion of their time in this sacred
exercise. I observe only, still further, however, that
the late Rev. William Romaine, before mentioned,
mer's account of the fair sex; for this good bishop, when
preaching at court before Queen Elizabeth, tells his audience,
" that women are of two sorts, some of them are wiser, better
learned, discreeter, and more constant, than a number of men;
but another and worse sort of them, and the most part, are fond,
foolish, wanton, flibbergibs, tattlers, triflers, wavering, witless,
without counsel, feeble, careless, rash, proud, dainty, nice, tale-
bearers, eves-droppers, rumour-raisers, evil-tongued, worse-
minded, and in every wise doltified with the dregs of the
devil's dunghill."—Brit. Biog. vol. iii. p. 239.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 493
studied nothing but the Bible for the last thirty or
forty years of his life.
All these examples, from ancients and moderns,
are produced in this place, to encourage the serious
believer to abound in this divine employ, for the
comfort and edification of his own mind. The more
intimately we are acquainted with these writings, the
more fully shall we be persuaded of their incompar-
able excellence. The very learned Le Clerc tells
us, " that while he was compiling his Harmony, he
was so struck with admiration of the excellent dis-
courses of Jesus, so inflamed with the love of his
most holy doctrine, that he thought that he but just
then began to be acquainted with what he scarce ever
laid out of his hands from his infancy." Indeed, the
scheme of redemption therein exhibited is most
worthy of acceptation, admirably calculated to make
all mankind virtuous and happy, could all mankind
see its excellence, feel its necessity, and submit to its
righteous requirements. Far are we from wishing you
to pay a blind submission to every thing that goes
under the name of religion. Very far are we from de-
siring you to believe as we believe, or to act, in every
respect as we think right to act. Prize the liberty
wherewith God hath providentially made you free.
Use your own reason, but use it soberly. Beware of
vain and spurious pretensions. Be upon your guard
against a sophistical philosophy, the fashionable folly
of the preseht day. To sound philosophy we have
no objection ; but when a spurious kind of wisdom,
falsely called philosophy, would rob us of our Bible,
to which we are all more indebted than we feel
494
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
willing to confess, (') we must say of it as Cicero
said of the Twelve Tables:—" Though all should be
(1) Sir Richard Steele says, "the greatest pleasures with
which the imagination can be entertained are to be found in
Sacred Writ, and even the style of Scripture is more than hu-
man."—Tatler, No. 233.
We have an account in the Gentleman's Magazine, for June
1798, of a Mr. Henry Willis, farmer, aged 81, deceased, who
had devoted almost every hour that could be spared from his
labour, during the course of so long a life, to the devout and
serious perusal of the Holy Scriptures. He had read, with the
most minute attention, all the books of the Old and New Tes-
tament eight times over; and had proceeded as far as the book
of Job, in his ninth reading, when his meditations were termi-
nated by death.
A still more excellent account we have in Miss Hannah
More's Shepherd of Salisbury Plain, which is no feigned cha-
racter, but a narrative of real facts, like the above. In a con-
versation with Mr. Johnson, he gives the following pleasing
account of himself:—" Blessed be God ! through his mercy I
learned to read when I was a boy. I believe there is no day
for the last thirty years, that I have not peeped at my Bible.
If we can't find time to read a chapter, I defy any man to say
he can't find time to read a verse; and a single text, well fol-
lowed and put in practice every day, would make no bad figure
at the year's end; 365 texts, without the loss of a moment's
time, would make a pretty stock, a little golden treasury, as one
may say, from new year's day to new year's day; and if chil-
dren were brought up to it, they would come to look for their
text, as naturally as they do for their breakfast. I can say the
greatest part of the Bible by heart. I have led but a lonely
life, and have often had but little to eat: but my Bible has
been meat, drink, and company to me—and when want and
trouble have come upon me, I don't know what I should have
done indeed, if I had not had the promises of this book for my
stay and support."
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 495
offended, I will speak what I think. Truly the little
book of the Twelve Tables alone, whether we con-
sider the several chapters, or regard it as the founda-
tion of all our laws, exceeds the libraries of all the
philosophers, as well in the weight of its authority,
as in the extent of its utility."^)
The principles of natural religion are all solid, and
founded in the reason and relation of things. The
Gospel of Christ is equally solid and rational. It
takes in, unites, and confirms every principle of na-
ture, and adds a number of circumstances suited to
the fallen condition of man. And it calls upon, it
invites, it challenges, it commands us to examine its
pretensions with all possible care, accuracy, and
severity.
" Wrong not the Christian; think not Reason yours;
'Tis Reason our great Master holds so dear;
'Tis Reason's injured rights his wrath resents;
'Tis Reason's voice obeyed his glories crown.—
On Argument alone our faith is built."
If the Gospel had Dot been agreeable to the most
refined principles of human reason, we should never
have found the soundest and most perfect reasoners,
that ever appeared upon earth, enlist under its ban-
Let no man, hereafter, pretend he cannot find time to read
the Sacred Writings. Every person has abundant leisure for
the purpose. Find but inclination, and you will soon find
time.
(l)"Fremant omnes licet, dicam quod sentio: bibliothecas
me hercule omnium philosophorum unus mihi videtur XII.
tabularum libellus, si quis legum fonteis, et capita viderit, et
auctoritatis pondere, et utilitatis ubertate superare."—Be Ora-
tore, lib. i. sect. 195.
496
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
ner. (') That it is not universally received, is by no
means to be ascribed, either to its want of due evi-
(I) We may add too, that the most active, useful, and bene-
volent characters in our own more enlightened day, have been
the firmest believers in the Writings of the Old and New Tes-
taments. The late John Wesley spent his whole life, time,
strength, and fortune, in spreading the knowledge of Christ and
his word; and the late John Howard, Esq. was equally active
in advancing the same cause, in a way as unprecedented, as it
was useful. He was a firm believer in the Scriptures, and a very
serious and conscientious Christian, of the Baptist persuasion.
[Among the testimonies which the most honoured and emi-
nent men have given, in the immediate prospect of death, to
the excellency of the Christian religion, and the supporting
influence of its inestimable consolations, may he given that of
Howard—a testimony which strikingly illustrates the fact, that
his matchless benevolence flowed from the knowledge of a
Saviour's love, and was sustained by the same hallowed power
to the termination of his days.
When sinking under the fatal malady which deprived the
world of his beneficent labours, far from his native land, his
friends, and his home, the expiring philanthropist thus penned,
with his almost powerless hand, his sentiments and emotions
in the prospect of eternity.
" 0 my soul, remember and record, how often God has sent
an answer of peace, mercies in the most seasonable times; how
often, better than thy fears, exceeded thy expectations. Oh,
why should I distrust this good and faithful God ? In his
word he has said, ' In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He
shall direct thy paths.' Lord! leave me not to my own wis-
dom which is folly, nor to my own strength which is weakness.
Help me to glorify Thee on earth, and to finish the work Thou
gavest me to do, and to Thy name alone be all the praise....
Oh, that the Son of God may not have died for me in vain ! I
think I never look into myself, but I find some corruption and
sin in my heart. O God ! do thou sanctify and cleanse the
thoughts of my depraved heart."
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 497
dence, or to its being an irrational scheme: but to
causes of a very different nature. " If our Gospel be
hid, it is hid to them that are lost; in whom the god
of this world hath blinded the minds of them which
believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of
Christ should shine unto them." This view ought
And the last sentence which his hand ever traced was this,
" Oh that Christ may be magnified in me, either hy life or bv
death!"]—Ed.
Bolingbroke, indeed, tells the world, that" the resurrection of
letters was a fatal period; the Christian system has been at-
tacked, and wounded too, very severely, since that time."—
Page 182. He tells us, in another place, that " Christianity
has been in decay ever since the resurrection of letters."—
Page 185. The late king of Prussia has the same sentiment:
" Hobbes, Collins, Shaftesbury, and Bolingbroke, in England,
and their disciples, have given religion a mortal blow."—His-
tory of his Own Times, vol. i. p. 62.
These two great men are mistaken. They confound pure
evangelical religion with superstition. The latter we grant, and
we glory in the truth, has received a mortal blow : but the for-
mer is as unshaken as the throne of the Eternal.
One of the most extraordinary philosophers of the present
age was the late David Rittenhouse, of America. Dr. Rush, of
Philadelphia, who is himself an able philosopher and a deter-
mined Christian, observes very justly, when speaking of the
decease of the above Rittenhouse, who left our world January
26, 1796, that " it is no small triumph to the friends of Revela-
tion to observe, in this age of infidelity, that our religion has
been admitted, and even defended, by men of the most exalted
understanding, and of the strongest reasoning powers. The
single testimony of David Rittenhouse in its favour outweighs
the declamations of whole nations against it."
[A most interesting case of conversion from infidelity ap-
pears in a volume of great value—The Memoirs of Dr. Bate-
man.]—Ed.
K K
498
a plea for religion
to alarm the fears, and rouse the attention, of every
man living; but especially of our unbelieving and
sceptical countrymen. Rejection of the truths of
religion is always, in the Sacred Writings, ascribed
to a fault in the heart and will, rather than to any
defect in the head. " Ye will not come unto me,
that ye may have life."—" If any man will do his
will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of
God, or whether I speak of myself."—" The wicked
shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall
understand, but the wise shall understand." —
" The ways of the Lord are right, and the just
shall walk in them : but the transgressors shall
fall therein." Say not then, my friends, that you
would believe if you could. Deceive not yourselves
by alleging want of evidence. Tell us no longer of
the absurdities and contradictions of Scripture. The
evidence is ample. (') The absurdities will vanish,
(1) " Reasonable Deists cannot but become Christians,
where the Gospel shines." These several passages of the Sacred
Writings account sufficiently well for the infidelity of our seve-
ral deistical writers. Bolingbroke, Voltaire, Gibbon, Paine,
and most others, of whom I have had any knowledge, seem to
have been destitute of the proper state of mind for the investi-
gation of religious truth. " From several conversations," says
the learned Beattie, <£ which it has been my chance to have
with unbelievers, I have learned that ignorance of the nature
of our religion, and a disinclination to study both it and its
evidence, are to be reckoned among the chief causes of infide-
lity."
Affix's Reflections upon the books of the Holy Scripture
contain a large number of valuable thoughts, and should be
read in opposition to all the flimsy objections of the above
Deists. Rett's Sermons at the Bampton Lecture sufficiently
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 499
the contradictions will cease, when once your minds
are brought into a humble, teachable, and religious
frame; when the veil is taken from your hearts, and
the scales have fallen from your eyes. Deny your-
selves, therefore. Cease to live in sin. Mortify
your lusts and passions. Part with the pride of
false philosophy. Live in humility, purity, and
virtue. Be good moral men, conscientious worship-
pers of God, upon your own principles, sober in-
quirers after truth, praying for divine direction, and
it will not be long before you become believers in
Jesus Christ. No moral man can rationally wish to
reject the Gospel, because it is all purity and good-
ness, and the most powerful means, with which the
world was ever favoured, of making us virtuous and
good.
" In his bless'd life
I see the path; and in his death the price:
And in his great ascent, the proof supreme
Of immortality.''
For whatever was the cause, it is plain in fact, that
human reason, unassisted, failed mankind in its great
and proper business of morality; and, therefore, I
invalidate the sophistry of Gibbon. Much satisfactory light
has lately been thrown upon the Plagues of Egypt by the
learned Jacob Bryant. The Old Testament has been more
lately defended against the attacks of Thomas Paine, by David
Levi, a learned Jew, with considerable ability. But of all
single books, none, I think, is equal to the admirable Course of
Lectures by the excellent Dr. Doddridge; a work which no in-
quisitive Christian should be without in his library. The Bio-
graphia Britannica asserts, that Stillingfleet's Origines Sacra: is
" the best defence of revealed religion ever written."
K K 2
500
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
repeat again, he that shall be at the pains of collect-
ing all the moral rules of the ancient philosophers,
and compare them with those contained in the New
Testament, will find them to come infinitely short of
the morality delivered by our Saviour, and taught
by his apostles. (') Add to this, that no other reli-
(1) "Is it bigotry," savs an elegant writer, now living," to
believe in the sublime truths of the Gospel with full assurance
of faith ?—I glory in such bigotry : I would not part with it for
a thousand worlds: I congratulate the man who is possessed
of it; for amidst all the vicissitudes and calamities of the pre-
sent state, that man enjoys an inexhaustible fund of consola-
tion, of which it is not in the power of fortune to deprive him-
" There is not a book on earth so favourable to all the kind,
and all the sublime affections, or so unfriendly to hatred and
persecution, to tyranny, injustice, and every sort of malevolence,
as the Gospel. It breathes nothing throughout but mercy,
benevolence, and peace."
Mr. Paine reflects upon the Scripture for being deficient in
moral precepts. I defy him, however, or any other Deist in the
world, to produce from all the stores of heathen writings any
thing equal or second to Christ's Sermou on the Mount; to
the 12th chapter of Romans, or to the 13th chapter of the 1st
Corinthians. Let any man shew us a system of morality equal
unto these passages if he can. The truth is, Mr. Paine knows
very little of the matter. And, moreover, what has he to do
with morality; he that is so extremely immoral in his own
conduct? Out of thine own mouth shalt thou be judged, O
thou immoral man!
See the Life of Thomas Paine, written by Francis Oldys, M. A.
of the University of Pennsylvania, and that of the same person,
written by Peter Porcupine. From these accounts it appears,
that, let Mr. Paine talk about philosophy and morality as much
as he pleases, he has been, at different periods of his life, a very
bad and immoral man, and, so far as it appears, continues the
same unto this day.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 501
gion, which ever was in the world, hath made pro-
vision for pardoning the sins of mankind, and re-
storing us to the Divine favour, in a way consistent
with the perfections and government of the Supreme
Being.
You will give these reasonings, O my countrymen,
the weight which you suppose they deserve. If you
seriously and conscientiously think there is nothing
in them worthy of your attention, by all means reject
them. If any of you are convinced by what is ad-
vanced, that you have hitherto been mistaken in
rejecting Jesus Christ and his Gospel; or if you see
ground to suspect that you may be wrong, let no
consideration of shame induce you to deny your con-
victions or suspicions. Many men have been mistaken
as well as you. I myself, you perceive, have seen
reason to change several opinions, which before I had
thought founded in truth. Every person, indeed,
must naturally and necessarily at first be a stranger
to the Gospel redemption. Our efforts, therefore,
should be made to become acquainted with it, and
to get into the good and right way. If we look back
upon the foregoing pages, we shall see that several
of the characters there mentioned have been much
led astray. Through different means, however, they
discovered their error. They acknowledged their
fault. They lamented their sin. They laid aside
their prepossessions, and sought for the truth with
all their skill and abilities. They were convinced in
their understandings; (') converted in their hearts;
(1) The reader will find a very clear and concise account of
the true foundation of all human knowledge in the Letters of the
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A PLEA FOR RELIGION
they believed in the Redeemer; obeyed his Gospel;
and, through infinite and unmerited grace, were
eternally saved. Why then should not you pursue
the same measures, if you have any suspicions that
every thing is not with you as it should be ? You
must allow, if the Gospel account of things be true,
it is inconceivably important. Treat it not, there-
fore, with contempt, neglect, indifference, but exa-
mine the matter to the bottom. Follow the example
of West and Littleton, on a former page, and let no
man lead you by the nose to destruction, or sneer you
out of salvation. Examine the evidence, and, with
all simplicity and humility of mind, judge according
to that evidence. And if you are finally convinced
that Jesus is the Christ, act nobly, confess his name,
like Rochester, (') to the teeth of his opposers, and
celebrated Euler, the greatest mathematician of the present
age, to a German princess, vol. i. lett. 115, p. 511. This extra-
ordinary man, second to none hut the immortal Neivton, was a
serious and conscientious Christian, and avowed his belief in
Christ, upon all proper occasions. And while his great Master
declared that he found" more sure marks of authenticity in the
Bible, than in any profane history whatever; he writes to the
above princess, that "the holy life of the apostles, and of
the other primitive Christians, appeared to him an irresistible
proof of the truth of the Christian religion."—Letter 114. For
the above declaration of Sir Isaac Newton, see Bishop Watson's
admirable Apology for Christianity, in answer to Mr. Gibbon,
ett. 3, p. 28.
(1) We have another very respectable and honourable in-
stance of this nature to present to the reader, which has just
taken place, and which others of our deistical gentlemen would
find their advantage in imitating : Dr. Okely, son, I believe, of
the late eminent Greek scholar, Mr. Francis Okely, who is now
physician to the Northampton Infirmary, some months ago,
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 503
strive, like him, to undo all the mischief you may
have occasioned to others.
published an octavo volume, entitled, " Pyrology, or the Con-
nection between Natural and Moral Philosophy, with a Disqui-
sition on the Origin of Christianityin which it was completely
exploded, together with the doctrine of a future state. It has
pleased God, however, to shew Dr. Okely the vanity of his phi-
losophy, and he has done himself the honour to publish the
following manly renunciation of his errors:
" The author of Pyrology feels himself irresistibly impelled
to make known, that he is now thoroughly convinced of the
moral government of God, the immortality of the human soul,
or future state, and of the truth of Christianity in its fullest
extent. For his involuntary error he confidently hopes to be
pardoned by Almighty God, through the merits of Jesus Christ;
but at the same time thinks it his duty, in this public manner,
to solicit the pardon of his readers for having, as much as in
him lay, though he trusts ineffectually, contributed to lead them
astray."—Missionary Magazine.
We may observe upon this subject, that there are other con-
versions in the present day from Deism to Christianity, besides
this of Dr. Okely, and those we have already mentioned in
these papers. Dr. Vanderkemp, a Dutch physician, was con-
vinced, and recovered from infidelity, by an alarming Provi-
dence, and has devoted himself as a missionary for the conver-
sion of the heathen.
[In the month of June, 1791, as Dr. Y. was one day sailing
in a pleasure boat, on the river, with his wife and daughter, the
boat was overset by a sudden storm : his wife and child were
drowned, and he himself only escaped a similar fate, by being
picked up by the crew of a vessel which had been driven from
her moorings, after he had been carried down the stream to the
distance of nearly a mile.
At this eventful period his infidel principles appear to have
been shaken ; as, on the ensuing Sabbath, he not only went to
church, but united in commemorating the death of that Saviour
whom he had long and awfully rejected. In fact, on this solemn
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" But, if we should be so seriously religious, as
you seem to think necessary, we shall lose all the
comforts of life, and become dull and melancholy."
occasion, his heart appears to hare heen completely subdued hy
the power of Divine Grace; and whilst his attention was
directed to the death of Christ, he seems to hare been savingly
convinced of his personal dignity, his all-sufficient atonement,
and his ability and willingness to save even the chief of sinners,
who flee unto him as a refuge from the wrath to come.
The directors of the London Missionary Society, in their
annual report for 1812, disclaim the idea of attempting to eu-
logize this faithful and devoted servant of Jesus, then recently
departed. " His character," say they," is seen and read of all
men, in his piety, self-denial, and apostolic labours. As it was
emphatically written, by way of epitaph, on the tomh of a cele-
hrated architect, in a noble edifice which he had reared, ' Cir-
cumspice,' (Look around), so, when it shall he inquired by
the world, ' What was the character of Dr. Vanderkemp V the
Missionary Society will point to the South African missions, to
Bethelsdorp, and to a Church of the living God, erected in a
wilderness of savages, and say, ' Behold his character; admire
and imitate !' "]—Ed.
- Captain Wilson also is another remarkable instance, who, in
gratitude to God for his goodness to him, undertook to convey
the missionaries to the Southern Ocean, and has acccomplished
the undertaking with great and surprising success, without
putting the Society to the smallest expense.
We are told in the Walpoliana, that Gray, the poet, was a
Deist, though a violent enemy to Atheists; and it does not ap-
pear that ever he was changed.—Monthly Magazine, Oct. 1798.
Henry Redhead Yorke, Esq. one of the gentlemen who was
sentenced to a long imprisonment for seditious practices, may
he mentioned as another instance of a person whose mind has
undergone a great change during his imprisonment; and he
has been open and honest enough to avow it.
" The vices and frauds of the professors of Christianity,"
says he," have nothing to do with Christianity itself. To know
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 505
If this were true, one hour's enjoyment of the
glory of heaven would more than make amends for
all your present loss. It is not, however, true. The
ways of Godliness are grievously belied. For there
is no happiness like the happiness of religion, even in
the present world; and no peace like that of God,
" which passeth all understanding."
" The Men of Grace have found
Glory begun below;
Celestial fruits on earthly ground,
From Faith and Hope do grow.
The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets,
Before we reach the heavenly fields,
Or walk the golden streets."
" But—I shall be singular!"
This is partly true, and partly otherwise. And
suppose you are singular: how will this injure you?
You will have the approbation of your own mind.
You will have God, and Christ, and angels, and all
good men your friends. And is not this sufficient,
but you must have the approbation of the devil and
all his servants too, the children of vice and folly ?
Mistake not, fond man; the approbation of both is
incompatible. " You cannot serve God and Mam-
what it is, we must look to the only proper place, the Scriptures.
The Christian religion is peculiar to itself; it has nothing in
common with the other systems of religion which have existed
in the world. It has God for its founder, and reason for its
basis. It is every where uniform, consistent, and complete."
—See this gentleman's very valuable Letter to the Reformers
for more sentiments to the same purpose.
506
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monneither can you have the friendship of God,
Christ, angels, and good men, and at the same time
possess the approbation of the devil and his servants,
whose portion is in this life. The thing is impossible.
You may as well attempt to reconcile light and dark-
ness, fire and water, heaven and hell—But suppose
you should become a convert to the Gospel of Christ,
and be truly in earnest about the salvation of your
soul, and, of course, singular in your way and manner
of life ; what inconvenience would you sustain ? or
what real dishonour would you undergo ? Was not
Socrates singular among the Athenians? Were not
Enoch and Noah singular among the antediluvians?
Was not Abraham singular in Canaan, and Lot in
Sodom? Were not Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, and all the
prophets, very singular persons in their day ? Our
blessed Lord, his holy apostles, and all the primitive
Christians, were they not uniformly the same ? And
where was the misfortune of all this? When we
read the story of these ancient worthies, do not we
admire their wisdom, their courage, their choice, and
their noble superiority to all those poor creatures
who opposed them, and cast out their name as evil?
What man of taste does not approve the conduct of
Abdiel, in Milton ? Never character was more en-
viable, or more worthy of imitation:
" The seraph Abdiel faithful found
Among the faithless, faithful only he;
Among innumerable false, unmoved,
Unshaken, unseduced, unterrified,
His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal;
Nor number, nor example, with him wrought
To swerve from truth, or change his constant mind,
Though single. From amidst them forth he pass'd,
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 507
Long way through hostile scorn, which he sustain'd
Superior, nor of violence fear'd ought;
And with retorted scorn his back he tum'd
On those proud towers, to swift destruction doom'd.—
Gladly then he mix'd
With his own friendly powers, who him received
With joy and acclamations loud, that one,
That of so many myriads fall'n, yet one
Return'd not lost. On to the sacred hill
They led him high applauded, and present
Before the seat supreme; from whence a voice,
From 'midst a golden cloud, thus mild was heard :
' Servant of God, well done, well hast thou fought
The better fight, who single hast maintain'd
Against revolted multitudes the cause
Of truth, in word mightier than they in arms;
And for the testimony of truth hast borne
Universal reproach, far worse to hear
Than violence; for this was all thy care
To stand approved in sight of God, though worlds
Judged thee perverse.'"
From all these considerations it is evident, that
there are times and circumstances, when, if a man
will be truly religious, and preserve an unshaken
fidelity to his Creator and his Saviour, he must be
singular; he must step aside; he must beg to be ex-
cused in a variety of cases. He must be singular, or
lose his soul. Let not the fear of this odious impu-
tation, therefore, deter any man from exemplary
piety. The giddy multitude, and the sons and
daughters of pleasure, falsely so called, may pretend
to sneer and deride 1 but yet, notwithstanding, they
will secretly applaud your virtuous conduct. There
is a certain dignity, a real nobility, a secret charm,
in a consistently religious character, which none
508
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can despise. (') And, sooner or later, the whole
human race will be of one opinion concerning it.
Instead of being heroes in wickedness then, or
ringleaders in the cause of infidelity, (for there are
not a few who make a mock at sin, and glory in
their shame), let it be your highest ambition to be-
come Christian heroes ; (2) heroes who can forgive,
and love, and bless your enemies; who can conquer
the world and all your own degenerate propensities;
heroes, whose heads are big only with schemes of
mercy and of kindness ; whose hands are continually
stretched out in prayer and acts of benevolence; and
who are never at ease, but in going about doing good
to the bodies and souls of men; heroes (3) in whom
(1) Lord Peterborough, more famed for wit than religion,
when he lodged with Fenelon, at Cambray, was so charmed
with the piety and virtue of the archbishop, that he exclaimed
at parting: " If I stay here any longer, I shall become a
Christian in spite of myself."
(2) Sir Richard Steele's Christian Hero is a little book worth
the attention of the reader, especially of the reader who is dis-
posed to reject the Gospel. It contains an argument to prove,
that no principles but those of religion are sufficient to make
a great man. In this little book we have a sort of comparison
between the characters of Cato and Caesar, Brutus and Cassius,
Jesus Christ and St. Paul. These illustrious heathens make
but a very poor figure, when placed by the side of these Chris-
tian heroes.
(3) One of the most illustrious heroes that England ever
hred, a man equally celebrated for valour, for genius, and for
learning, was not ashamed to address his wife, in the views of
approaching dissolution, in the following pious strain:—" Love
God, and begin betimes. In him you shall find true, everlast-
ing, and endless comfort. When you have travelled and wearied
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 509
religion sits, as it were, in triumph, with all the pas-
sions in subjection around her; with all the lustre
yourself with all sorts of worldly cogitations, you shall sit down
by sorrow in the end. Teach your son also to serve and fear
God whilst he is young, that the fear of God may grow up in
him. Then will God he a husband to you, and a father to him,
a husband and a father that can never be taken from you."
This is true heroism! Such was Sir Walter Raleigh!
How different is the conduct of the French and the English,
during the course of the present unhappy war, on the subject of
religion. It does not appear, that the former have ever acknow-
ledged the government of the Divine Being, or ascribed any of
their successes to his all-superintending Providence; whereas
the generals and admirals of the latter have frequently, if not
constantly, ascribed all their successes to his blessing. The
gallant Admiral Nelson very properly introduced his account of
the victory with which he was favoured, with the tremendous
name, " Almighty God has blessed his majesty's arms, in
the late battle, by a great victory over the fleet of the enemy."
This was very proper; this was infinitely becoming a brave
man; this was the way to insure the Divine protection. " Them
that honour me I will honour: but they that despise me shall
be lightly esteemed," 1 Sam. ii. 30. If the French have been
successful in many of their efforts, let it be considered that God
cannot succeed their attempts upon the nations out of any re-
gard to them as a virtuous people, hut only to answer his own
purposes, and to fulfil his own predictions concerning the sub-
version of the seat of the Beast, and to bring in the Messiah's
kingdom in all its glory. The French are only the tools and
instruments in the hand of God's indignation. They have yet
a deal of direful work to do. When that is accomplished, they
shall be laid aside, and, I hope, chastised and turned unto the
God of their fathers.
Dr. Crome, a German writer, calculates, that the present hor-
rible war, from 1792 to the end of 1796, has cost the several
united powers £232,166,666, with 700,000 men; and France
£326,958,332, with 1,000,000 of men! At the same period
510
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that wisdom, and prudence, and piety, and learning,
and good sense, and good breeding, can bestow to
make you amiable; heroes, in short, whose daily
endeavour is to clothe the naked, to feed the hungry,
to visit the sick, to instruct the ignorant, to be a
father to the fatherless, a husband to the widow, and
a friend to the friendless of all parties and denomi-
nations of men. If such is your heroism, the ear will
bless when it hears you; the eye will give witness
when it sees you ; the blessing of him that is ready
to perish will come upon you ; and the widow's heart
will dance in your presence for joy. Simple as this
account may seem, it is a heroism to which few, com-
paratively, ever attain, or have any idea of. It will
require all your fortitude, and the utmost stretch of
your best powers. In pursuing such a line of con-
duct, in conjunction with your temporal occupation,
you will be employed usefully and comfortably
while you live, and you will be training up for "the
general assembly, and church of the first-born, which
are written in heaven," when you die. " Be strong
in the Lord, then, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Fight
the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life."
he considers England alone as having lost 150,000 men, and
spent £93,333,332.
[After the date just given, these items were most fearfully
augmented. Of the pecuniary results of war, England has
a standing memorial in its national debt, amounting to
£900,000,000—the annual interest of which is calculated to he
£40,000,000.]—ED.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 511
Let the well-known advice of the justly-celebrated
Locke, which is both wise and seasonable, be accept-
able in your eyes. It will assuredly do you no harm,
and, if you pay due attention to it, it will do you
eternal good. He himself was an example of hi3 own
precepts. For fourteen or fifteen years he applied
himself closely to the study of the Holy Scriptures,
and employed the last period of his life hardly in any
thing beside. He was never weary of admiring the
grand views of that sacred book, and the just rela-
tion of all its parts. He every day made discoveries
in it, which gave him fresh cause of admiration. And
so earnest was he for the comfort of his friends, and
the diffusion of sacred knowledge among them, that
even the day before he died, "he very particularly
exhorted all about him to read the Holy Scriptures,
exalting the love which God shewed to man, in jus-
tifying him by faith in Jesus Christ, and returning
him special thanks for having called him to the
knowledge of that Divine Saviour." It has often
been repeated too, that, to a person who asked him
which was the shortest and surest way for a young
gentleman to attain to the true knowledge of the
Christian religion, in the full and just extent of it, he
replied—" Let him study the Holy Scripture, espe-
cially the New Testament. Therein are contained
the words of eternal life.—It hath God for its author
—Salvation for its end—and Truth, without any
mixture of error, for its matter."^)
(1) The ingenious and pious Lavater, after predicting, like
Sir Isaac Newton and Dr. Hartley, the general spread of infi-
delity, thus expresses himself concerning the truth of the Gos-
512
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
This is a noble testimony, both in life and in
death, from this renowned Christian philosopher.
Many hundreds of a similar nature might be laid
before the reader, besides those we have already
selected. And I confess, there is no kind of reading
that is so edifying to me as the final scenes of those
persons, who have been eminent in their day, either
for their virtues or their vices. (') A death-bed is
pel: "If God has not spoken and acted through Christ, then
there never has been a God who hath acted and spoken. If
Christ is the work of chance, then man and the whole world are
the work of chance also. If Christ did not want the assistance
of a God to the performance of his wonderful deeds, nature
also can perform her works without the interference of a God."
—See Secret Journal of a Self-Observer, vol. ii. p. 338.
Compare with the above the death-bed scene of Garzo, the
great grandfather of Petrarch, who was so celebrated for his
probity and good sense, that he was frequently consulted by
philosophers and the learned of those times. " After living to
the age of 104, in innocence and good works, he died, as Plato
did, on the day of his birth, and in the bed in which he was
bom. His death resembled a quiet sleep. He expired sur-
rounded by his family, without pain or uneasiness, while he was
conversing about God and virtue."—Vide. Memoirs of Petrarch.
(1) [The two rival politicians, Fox and Pitt, were firm be-
lievers in the divine authority of the Scriptures. Of the death
of the former, his biographer, Mr. Trotter, has not gratified
pious curiosity by any disclosure of his dying opinions, or
stated the ground on which he expected the felicity of a future
state. Mr. Giffuid has highly interested the religious world, by
taking us into the chamber, where we hear the language, and
mark the religious sentiments, of the Premier of England. If
his dying words are not those of triumphant confidence, and
ardent expectation of heaven, they have the character of repent-
ance, and administer hope; and they express those great and
leading points in revelation, which are held sacred by Christians
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 513
usually a detector of the heart. And to see a fellow-
mortal in the ruins of nature, glorying over the king
of terrors, in all his most horrible forms, is to me by
far the grandest spectacle that can be exhibited upon
of every persuasion, who hold the truth according to Godli-
ness.
Mr. Gifford says," The Bishop of Lincoln," who had been
tutor to Mr. Pitt, " went to his bed-side, and told him he found
it to be his duty to inform him that his situation was considered
as precarious, and requested his leave to read prayers to him,
and to administer the sacrament. Mr. Pitt looked earnestly at
the Bishop for a few moments, and then, with perfect compo-
sure, turned his head to Sir Walter Farquhar, who stood on the
other side of the bed, and slowly said,' How long do you think
I have to live ?' The physician answered, he could not say,
and expressed a faint hope of his recovery. A half smile on
Mr. Pitt's countenance shewed that he placed this language to
its true account. In answer to the Bishop's request to pray
with him, Mr. Pitt said, ' I fear I have, like too many other
men, neglected prayer too much to have any ground for hope,
that it can be efficacious on a death-bed; but,'—rising as he
spoke, and clasping his hands with the utmost fervour and de-
votion—' I throw myself entirely/ (the last word being pro-
nounced with a strong emphasis) ' upon the mercy of God,
through the merits of Christ!' The Bishop assured him, that
the frame of his mind, at this awful moment, was exactly such
as might, reasonably, be expected, to render prayer acceptable
and useful. The Bishop then read prayers, and Mr. Pitt
joined in them, with calm and humble piety. He repeatedly
expressed, in the strongest manner, his sense of his own un-
worthiness to appear in the presence of God; disclaiming all
ideas of merit. About a quarter past four, on Thursday morn-
ing, the 23rd January, 1806—the anniversary of that day on
which, five-and-twenty years before, he had first become a mem-
ber of the British Senate—he breathed his last, without struggle,
and without pain. He was then in his forty-seventh year."—
See Gifford's Political Life of Pitt, vol. vi. p. 806.]—Ed.
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earth. It is, as Seneca observes of Cato, a sight
worthy of God to look down upon. (') What are
all the triumphs of kings and conquerors, when
compared with the triumphs of abundance of the
children of the Most High, in all ages ? The Bible
contains a rich compendium of these religious wor-
thies. (2) The Book of Martyrs too records a noble
army of valiant souls, who went through fire and
water, through racks and tortures, to their blood-
bought reward. The late horrible transactions on
the Continent have added an illustrious page to the
records of religious renown. (3) And if the same
diabolical spirit should pervade this happy country,
I doubt not but there is a goodly company among
us, who, through the power of grace divine, will set
at nought, and bid defiance to, all the threats, guillo-
tines, and engines of the most virulent pseudo-phi-
losophers (4) in the kingdom. So far as I myself am
(1) Ecce spectaculum dignum, ad quod respiciat, intentus
operi suo, Deus! Ecce par Deo dignum, vir fortis cum mala
fortuna compositus! Non video, inquam, quid habeat in terris
Jupiter pulchrius, si convertere animum velit, quam ut spectet
Catonem, jam partibus non semel fractis, nihil ominus inter
ruinas publicas erectum.—Sen. de Divin. Prov.
(2) For the dying advice and last scene of the Saviour of
Mankind, see John, ch. xiv.—rix.; for good old Jacob's, Gen.
xlviii. xlix.; for Joseph's, Gen. 1.; for Moses's, Deut. xxxii.
xxxiii.; for Joshua's, Jos. xxiii. xxiv.; for David's, 1 Chron.
xxviii. 8, 9; and 2 Sam. xxiii. 1—9; Stephen's, Acts vii.; and
Paul's, Acts xx. and 2 Tim. iv. 6—8.
(3) Vide Barruel's History of the French Clergy.
(4) The character of philosophers has been much the same in
all ages. Cicero has described it as accurately as if he had
lived in the present day. " Quotus enim quisque Philosopho-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 515
concerned, whether it shall please the gracious Ruler
of the World to call me hence by a storm ofpersecu-
tion, by the sword • of the enemy, by the enmity of
secret adversaries, or in the natural course of provi-
dence, I, above all things upon earth, desire to quit
this mortal scene in a fiery chariot of divine love,
and heavenly rapture. It is said that the celebrated
Scaliger was so delighted with that famous stanza of
Sternhold and Hopkins, in the 18th Psalm;
" On Cherubs and on Cherubims
Full royally be rode ;
And on the wings of mighty winds
Came flying all abroad;"
that he used to profess, he had rather have been the
author of it, than to have enjoyed the kingdom of
Arragon.
Be this as it may, I have seen so many lukewarm
Christians quit the world in such a doubting, timo-
rous, uncomfortable, miserable manner, that I so-
lemnly declare I had rather, if it please God, take
my leave of this earthly tabernacle, with my faith,
hope, love, peace, and joy, in full exercise, and go with
all my sails unfurled into the haven of eternal rest,
rum invenitur, qui sit ita moratus, ita animo ac vita constitutus,
ut ratio postulat? Qui disciplinam suam non ostentationem
scientiee, sed legem vitse putet ? Qui obtemperet ipse sibi, et
decretis suis pareat? Videre licet, alios tanta levitate et jacta-
done, uti. his fuerit non didicisse melius; alios pecunite cupidos,
gloria; nonnullos, multos libidinum servos, ut cum eorum vita
mirabiliter pugnet oratio : quod quidem mihi videtur esse tur-
pissimum."—Tusc. Disp. lib. 2.
L L 2
516
a plea for religion
than be made emperor of the whole universe. (') I
well know professions like these will subject me to
the charge of intemperate zeal and enthusiasm, as is
observed on a former page. Such charges, however,
I most cordially despise, and hold the philosophic
authors of them in as much pity and contempt, as
they can entertain for the warm and zealous Chris-
tian. I want not to quit the stage of life in the
spirit of Bolingbroke, Hume, Gibbon, Chesterfield,
Godwin, and other such like characters. The feeling,
sensible, confident, joyful approbation of Heaven,
is above all estimation; and the praise of men of
(1) [The close of the life of the author of the Plea for Reli-
gion, was not merely serene hut joyous. While he was confined
in one room, his excellent wife was lying in bodily affliction in
another; hut though unable personally to minister to her
comfort, he heard of her holy joy and peaceful end. While
such a departure of one so tenderly loved was a great mercy,
his own was equally distinguished. Some of his expressions
were, " I consider all my eternal concerns as settled. All my
dependence rests upon the great atonement. I have committed
all my concerns into the hands of my Redeemer." After a
severe fit of coughing, he said to his attendant, " The way
seems hard; but it is the way the children of God all go; and
I do not wish to he exempted from it. I know that my Re-
deemer liveth. I feel him precious. He supports me under
all. Oh that I was able to express all I feel!" At another
time he said," How awful a thing it is for a man to he brought
to his dying bed, and to have no hope beyond the grave. It is
truly awful; but, blessed be God, this is not my case." To his
curate he said," To me, to live has been Christ, and to die will
be gain." As death approached, he hailed his advance, and
when nature was exhausted fell asleep in Jesus, exchanging a
Sabbath on earth, for the keeping of Sabbath which is enjoyed
in heaven.—See his Life, by J. B. Williams, Esq. LL.D.]—Ed.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 517
loose morals, or pharasaical professions, is of little
consideration in my esteem. I wish them wiser and
better, and that they may see their error before it is
too late. Several of those worthy persons, whose
names we have here recorded, died bearing a noble
testimony to evangelical truth. Their condition was
enviable. To many such I myself have been a joyful
witness in the course of my poor ministrations. But
the death-bed scene, which above all others I have
either read or seen, that seems to have had in it the
largest share of divine communications, (') is that of
the Rev. John Janeway, Fellow of King's College, in
Cambridge, who died at the age of twentv-four, in
June, 1657. (2)
(1) The serious reader will find the doctrine of the Holy
Spirit's influence upon the mind, ably defended against our
modern lukewarm professors of religion, from the charge of
enthusiasm, in Bishop Pearson on the Creed, Art. 8; a work
with which every Christian should be intimately acquainted, in
these times of abounding licentiousness both of principle and
practice.
(2) The death-bed of the Rev. Charles Simeon, M. A., Senior
Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, supplies alesson so fraught
with instruction, that it may with great advantage be introduced
here. He died November 13, 1836, in his 77th year. To pro-
mote the glory of God—to further the cause of Christ, at home,
abroad, among Jews and heathens, and throughout the world;
for this he lived, and in the pursuit of these noble objects he
spent no less than fifty-six years of his life. His zeal and
fidelity were maintained for many years in the face of such
persecution and opposition, as few Christians have been ex-
posed to. If any person upon his dying pillow might have
looked back upon a well-spent life with self-complacency,
surely it was he! But no single expression escaped him during
his long illness that betrayed such a self-righteous feeling. He
518
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
If it should appear too rapturous, consider, my
countrymen, what your feelings would be, should
ever referred to himself as to a poor penitent sinner, resting all
his hopes on the merits and righteousness of a Divine Saviour.
" I wish to be alone with my God," said he, on one occasion,
a short time before he died, " and to lie before him as a poor,
wretched, hell-deserving sinner; yes, I say, as a poor hell-
deserving sinner, and to go to my God as the lowest of the low.
But I would look to him as my all-forgiving God, and as my
all-sufficient God, and as my all-atoning God, and as my cove-
n ant-keeping God ! There I would lie before him as the vilest
of the vile, and the lowest of the low, and the poorest of the
poor. I know I am the chief of sinners, and I hope for nothing
but the mercy of God in Christ Jesus unto life eternal; and I
shall be, if not the greatest monument of God's mercy in hea-
ven, yet the very next to it, for I know no greater. Here I lie,
adoring the sovereignty of God, in choosing such an one—the
mercy of God in pardoning such an one—the patience of God in
hearing with such an one—and the faithfulness of God in per-
fecting his work, and performing all his promises to such an
one." On a subsequent occasion he said, " Infinite wisdom
has devised the whole with infinite love—and infinite power
enables me to repose in that love—and all is infinitely good
and gracious—all is right and well, and just as it should he. I
am in a dear father's hands, and all is secure. Whether I have
a little more or a little less of pain and suffering does not mat-
ter. But all is secure! When I look to God I see nothing
hut faithfulness, and immutability, and truth, and I have not
a doubt nor a fear ! but the sweetest peace—i
cannot have more peace ! But if I look another way—
to the poor creature—oh, then, then, there is nothing, nothing,
nothing, hut what is to he abhorred, and mourned over. Yes,
I say that, and it is true!" At another time he thus expressed
his views of the covenant of grace, in language most scriptural
and sublime.
" It is to the principles that I look," said he, " it is on the
broad, grand principles of the Gospel that I repose ! It is not
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 519
news be brought that you had obtained a prize in the
state lottery of twenty or thirty thousand pounds;
or that you were left heir to an estate of immense
value, which you had but little reason to expect. If,
when the Israelites had passed the Red Sea in safety,
they saw it right to sing a song of triumph for their
deliverance, and to praise the Lord with timbrels
and with dances; if, when the same people were de-
livered from the Babylonish captivity, they "went
out with joy, and were led forth with peace, the
mountains and the hills breaking forth before them
into singing, and all the trees of the fields clapping
their handsif, then, " the lame man leaped as an
hart, the tongue of the dumb sung, and the ransomed
of the Lord returned, and came to Zion with songs,
and everlasting joy upon their heads, joy and glad-
ness going before them, and sorrow and sighing
on any particular promise here or there, any little portion of
the word, in which some people seem to take comfort; but I
wish to look at the grand whole, at the vast scheme of
Redemption, as from eternity to eternity. I wish to point out
this peculiarity in my case; I am not solicitous so much about
this feeling or that, this state or that, as upon keeping before
me the grand purposes of Jehovah, from eternity to eternity.
In taking the grand revelation of himself which God
has given us, then I rest upon him, and not upon myself : I
do not depend on feelings and thoughts which are changing
and uncertain, but I am kept by him who changes not! For,
after all, what are a man's best prayers and thoughts before
Him ! It cannot depend upon a few poor, broken, puling
words; nor do I depend upon them, but again, I say, I take
the glorious and majestic discoveries which God
has made to me of himself, and there I rest."—See
the Rev. F. Close's Funeral Sermon.]—Ed.
520
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
fleeing away " at their advance: if, when King David
brought the ark, a symbol of the Divine presence,
unto Zion, he danced before it with all his might,
with shouting, and the sound of the trumpet, while
the envious and malignant Michal severely censured
his pious hilarity: if, when the same royal enthu-
siast (') was only banished from the tabernacle of
God, he affectionately cried out—" As the hart
panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul
after thee, O God: my soul is athirst for God, for
the living God ; when shall I come and appear be-
fore God?—My soul thirsteth for thee; my flesh
longeth for thee ; my soul followeth hard after thee;
my soul gaspeth after thee, as a thirsty landand
if, when this same enviable fanatic came to die, he
again cried out, in the full assurance of faith—" He
hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things and sure: this is all my salvation, and
all my desire (*) if, when the lame beggar, who
had been healed by Peter and John, entered with
them into the Temple, he " walked, and leaped, and
(1) It is a common mistake to suppose thai none hut religious
people are enthusiasts. Enthusiasm is found in every form and
species of human life. The orator and the poet, the hero and
the politician, the intolerant advocate for toleration, and the
projective defenders of Christianity, may all be enthusiasts.—
See a fine account of different kinds of enthusiasts in Andrew's
Scripture Doctrine of Grace, pp. 93—97; a passage which
every one should read and well consider, who is forward in
dealing out the charge of enthusiasm against zealously religious
people of all denominations.
(2) What must have been David's feelings when he composed
the 96th, 145th, and five following Psalms?
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 521
praised God," the Scribes and Pharisees being all in
arms against them : if, when Paul and Silas had been
scourged and imprisoned for the name of the Lord
Jesus, they prayed in the dungeon at midnight, and
" sang praises unto God," for the honour conferred
upon them, and in believing views of the reward
which awaited them : and if, when the Church of
Rome is overturned, the whole triumphant host is
represented as crying aloud—"Hallelujah! Halle-
lujah! Hallelujah ! for the Lord God Omnipotent
reigneth!"
If there has been, and would be, and ought to be,
such ardent desire, and such rapturous joy and
triumph upon all these very inferior occasions; shall
not a man, who has long been buffeted by the world,
allured and seduced by the flesh, and vilely tempted
by the foul apostate Spirit; and who, notwithstand-
ing, has for a good season been living under a strong
and vigorous sense of " the knowledge of salvation
by the remission of his sins," and a sweet experimental
union and communion with God, the Father of Spirits,
through the infinitely perfect obedience and all-
atoning death of his only begotten Son, by the com-
munications of the eternal Spirit; shall not a man so
situated, I say, " rejoice in hope of the glory of God,"
with exceeding great and triumphant joy, (') when
(1) Why may not a man, who makes it his main concern in
life, to serve God and save his soul alive, expect peculiar ma-
nifestations of the Divine favour? It is certain that the pro-
mises of Scripture to this purpose are exceedingly strong and
numerous, and the examples not less so. I helieve I speak
considerably within compass when I say, that there are in the
522
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
he is within sight of land, driving with wind and
tide into the haven of rest, just upon the point of
taking assured possession of " an inheritance in-
corruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not
away ?"(')
" What heart of stone, but glows at thoughts like these 1
Such contemplations mount us; and should mount
The mind still higher; nor ever glance on man,
Unruptured, uninflamed."
If ever mortal lived the life of an angel upon
earth, Mr. Janeway seems to have been the man.
How far do the enjoyments even of lively Christians
fall short of those lengths, and breadths, and heights,
and depths of the love of Christ with which he
was favoured? To evince this, I will present the
reader with a short sketch of his dying scene, and
leave him to judge, whether he ever saw, or perused
any account of an exit so far beyond the common
run of Christians. And yet, by the grace of God,
and a diligent use of the divinely appointed means,
this, or something like this, might be the attainment
of all.
Mr. Janeway was born in the year 1633, at Tylly,
in Hertfordshire. At about twelve years old, he had
made a considerable proficiency in mathematic
science, and in the study of astronomy, and other
parts of useful literature. At seventeen he was ad-
Bible upwards of a hundred of these special manifestations to
the servants of God recorded.
(1) Dr. Priestley considers these strong consolations, in the
view of approaching dissolution, as enthusiasm.—See hisObser-
vations on the Increase of Infidelity, p. 27.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 523
mitted to King's College, Cambridge. At eighteen
it pleased God to enlighten his understanding, and to
give him the knowledge and experience of evange-
lical truth. Mr. Baxter's Saint's Everlasting Rest
became his favourite book. This he read, studied,
imitated. Now he knew that astronomy, with which
he was so delighted, surveyed but a dunghill in com-
parison of that system of things which the religion
of Jesus contemplates. Stars, about which Mr. Paine
makes such a pother, are but dirty clods, when com-
pared with that glory which lies beyond the reach
of the highest human contemplation. He was now,
therefore, wholly occupied with divine contempla-
tions, and tasted so much sweetness in the knowledge
of Christ, that it was discernible in his very appear-
ance, and he "counted every thing but dross and
dung in comparison of the knowledge of Christ, and
him crucified." Not that he looked upon human
learning as useless; but when fixed below Christ,
not improved for Christ, or set in opposition to
Christ, he looked upon wisdom as folly, upon learn-
ing as madness, and upon genius as a curse, which
would make a man more like the devil, more fit for
his service, and put a greater accent upon our misery
in another world.
At the age of twenty he was admitted a Fellow of
his College. Still, however, he went on with his
religious contemplations, and became so mighty in
prayer, and other sacred exercises, that he forgot the
weakness of his body, and injured his health. He
studied much, prayed much, and laboured much in
every way he could contrive to be of use to man-
kind, and to promote the honour of the Divine
524
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
Being. Sickness coming on, he never was permitted
to preach but twice. His disorder, which was of the
consumptive kind, increased rapidly upon him, but
yet with some intervals of relief. During the greatest
part of his sickness, however, he was so filled with
love, and peace, and joy, that human language sinks
under what he saw and felt. During the greatest
part of his illness, he talked as if he had been in the
third heaven; breaking out every now and then into
ecstasies of joy and praise. Not a word dropped
from his mouth but it breathed of Christ and heaven.
He talked as if he had been with Jesus, and came
from the immediate presence of God. At one time
he said;—" O my friends, stand and wonder; come,
look upon a dying man and wonder. Was there ever
greater kindness? Were there ever more sensible
manifestations of rich grace? O, why me, Lord?
why me? Sure this is akin to heaven. And if I
were never to enjoy more than this, it were well
worth all the torments which men and devils could
invent. If this be dying, dying is sweet. Let no
Christian ever be afraid of dying. Oh! death is
sweet to me! This bed is soft. Christ's arms, his
smiles, and visits, sure they would turn hell into
heaven ! Oh ! that you did but see and feel what I
do ! Come, and behold a dying man, more cheerful
than ever you saw any healthful man in the midst of
his sweetest enjoyments. O Sirs, worldly pleasures
are pitiful, poor, sorry things, compared with one
glimpse of his glory which shines so strongly into
my soul. Oh! why should any of you be so sad,
when I am so glad! This, this is the hour that I
have waited for."
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
525
About forty-eight hours before his dissolution, he
said again:—" Praise is now my work, and I shall
be engaged in that sweet employment for ever.
Come, let us lift up our voice in praise. I have no-
thing else to do. I have done with prayer, and all
other ordinances. I have almost done conversing
with mortals. I shall presently be beholding Christ
himself, that died for me, and loved me, and washed
me in his blood. I shall in a few hours be in eter-
nity, singing the song of Moses and the song of the
Lamb. I shall presently stand upon mount ' Zion
with an innumerable company of angels, and the
spirits of just men made perfect, and Jesus the me-
diator of the new covenant.' I shall hear the voice
of much people, and be one amongst them who say
—' Hallelujah ! Salvation, glory, and honour, and
power be unto the Lord our God !' And again we
say, Hallelujah ! Methinks I stand, as it were, one
foot in heaven, and the other on earth. Methinks I
hear the melody of heaven, and by faith I see the
angels waiting to carry my soul to the bosom of
Jesus, and I shall be for ever with the Lord in glory.
And who can choose but rejoice in all this?"
In such a rapturous strain as this he continued,
full of praise, full of admiration, full of joy, till at
length, with abundance of faith and fervency, he
cried aloud:—" Amen ! Amen I" and soon after
expired. (')
(1) Mr. Janeway arrived at these high attainments in the
divine life by a constant perusal of his Bible; a frequent
perusal of Mr. Baxter's Saint's Everlasting Rest, a book for
which multitudes will have cause to bless God for ever; and by
526
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
And now, my friends and countrymen, with senti-
ments of the most benevolent and affectionate regard,
spending a due proportion of every day in secret prayer and
devout contemplation.
The Earl of Mirandola and Concordia, who died in the
flower of his age, about the year 1494, after he had for some
time qui tted all his great employments under Charles V. emperor
of Germany, was esteemed the most beautiful person of that age,
and a man of the most exalted genius; and yet, after having
read all that could be read, and learned every thing that could
then he learned, he wrote to his nephew, an officer in the army,
in a style worthy of the above example of Janeway:—" I make
it my humble request to you," says he," that you would not
fail to read the Holy Scriptures night and morning with great
attention; for as it is our duty to meditate upon the law of God
day and night, so nothing can he more useful: because there
is in the Holy Scriptures a celestial and efficacious power,
inflaming the soul with divine fear and love."
Our celebrated Spencer, though a man of dissipation in his
youth, in his more advanced years entered into the interior of
religion; and, in his two hymns on heavenly love, and heavenly
beauty, hath expressed all the height and depth of Janeway's
experience:
" Then shalt thou feel thy spirit so possess'd,
And ravish'd with devouring great desire
Of his dear self, that shall thy feeble breast
Inflame with love, and set thee all on fire
With burning zeal, through every part entire,
That in no earthly thing thou shalt delight,
But in his sweet and amiable sight.—
Then shall thy ravish'd soul inspired be
With heavenly thoughts, far above human skill,
And thy bright radiant eyes shall plainly see
Th' idea of his pure glory present still
Before thy face, that all thy spirits shall fill
With sweet enragement of celestial love,
Kindled through sight of those fair things above."
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 527
both for you, and every human being, whether Jew,
Turk, Infidel, Heretic, or Christian, I submit these
Spencer's religion, we see from the above extracts, is, like
that of the Quakers," a religion of feeling." This, too, is un-
questionably the religion of the Bible. " Whom having not
seen ye love; in whom though now ye see him not, yet be-
lieving, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory."—
See this subject considered at some length in Mr. Wilberforce's
Practical View, chap, iii, sect. 2 and 3.
The same devout and heavenly spirit breathes strongly in all
the old ascetic authors. Augustine is famous for it; so were
several others of the ancient fathers of the Church. Thomas a
Kempis is excelled by none in this way. St. Bernard is very
pious. His hymn on the name ' Jesus' is in a high strain of this
kind.
" Desidero te millies,
Mi Jesus! quando venies ?
Me lseturn quando facies 1
Me de te quando saties 1"
St. Augustine's hymn, which begins,
" Ad perennis vitse fontem
Mens sitivit arida;"
is in the same strain: and has been imitated in that favourite
old hymn recorded in the Pilgrim's Guide:
" Jerusalem, my happy home,
Oh that I were in thee;
Oh would my woes were at an end,
Thy joys that I might see! &c. &c."
Almost every thing of this kind, however, which has been
left us by our forefathers, is written in a style highly depraved,
and is usually equally devout and superstitious. The pious
reader, therefore, will be upon his guard in the perusal of such
authors, and take the good and cast the bad away. The Bible
alone is free from human weakness.
528
a plea for religion
reflections, concerning Religion and the Sacred
Writings, to your most serious consideration. What
impression they may make upon your minds, is
known only to the God of the spirits of all flesh. (')
(1) If the reader should find himself dissatisfied with the Plea
for Religion and the Sacred Writings, which is here put into his
hand, let him by no means give up the cause as desperate, hut
rather let him lay it aside, and have recourse to those more ahle
and explicit treatises, which I have occasionally recommended
in the notes. Or, if he thinks himself capable of rendering a
more effectual service to the cause of evangelical truth, let him
take up his own pen, and confound the enemies of religion.
Learned laymen, especially, should come forward in vindi-
cation of the Gospel; since every thing which proceeds from the
clergy on religion, is supposed to spring from a self-interested
source. Mr. Wilberforce has done himself much honour.
[The death of this distinguished friend of humanity took
place at Chelsea, in his seventy-fourth year, July 29, 1833.
He was interred, with public honours, in Westminster Abbey.
His long-continued and successful efforts in behalf of those in
bondage have already been noticed; it only remains, therefore,
to advert to his valuable treatise. One who knew him well
says:—" It was published because he found it impossible to
give his political friends a just conception of his real views of
Christianity. They had some notion that he was peculiarly
religious, hut no explicit information. It is one of the most
eloquent books in the English language. The first two editions,
of 2000 copies each, he gave away. The members of both
houses of parliament first received presents. The effect was
electric over the nation. The most prejudiced and irreligious
paused at the beauty of the style and the force of the arguments.
The incidental topics discussed were much admired by judges
of composition;—all admitted it deserved reading. It contri-
buted very considerably to that revival of effective Christianity
which the last forty years have witnessed."]—Ed.
The excellent Miss Hannah More is also a credit to her sex,
and a blessing to her country.
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
529
My earnest request to you, is, that you will give them
a fair and dispassionate hearing, and seek truth, at
least, with as much warmth and assiduity, as we
usually employ in our secular pursuits. No man
[At Barley Wood, Mrs. Hannah More spent the greater part
of her valuable life, and composed some of her most popular
works. It was here that she assembled around her the piety,
talent, and literature of her age; this place she adorned with
every artificial and associate charm—the walk, the wood, the
alcove: here, Locke, and Porteus, and Montagu had spots con-
secrated to their memory, and memorials raised to their worth :
and as the stranger continues his way, he will feel interested to
remember, that, at this place, the remains of its former mistress
were met, on the 13th of September, 1833, by a crowd assembled
by friendship and veneration, who accompanied the mournful
procession along the road which he now pursues. Few literary
characters, if any, have collected so singular a train at their
obsequies—the aristocracy, and the peasantry, and every inter-
mediate class were there; and childhood, too, paid no unwilling
tribute to the memory of one who was dear to all, and whose
literary productions were appreciated by all; her "Essays on
Fashionable Life" being not more familiar to the great, than
were her " Tales from the Cheap Repository" to the children
in the Wrington National School.]—Ed.
It is scarcely possible, however, for authors on this subject to
be too numerous. We are not wanting in clerical writers; but
those who have treated on subjects purely religious, among the
other ranks of society, are comparatively few; and especially
among the princes and nobles of the land. Mr. Horace Wal-
pole has given us a catalogue of the royal and noble authors
of England, Scotland, and Ireland, since the Conquest; and, I
think, he produces, during all those ages, only ten English
princes, ninety-two peers, and fourteen peeresses. To these he
adds twenty-four Scotch royal and noble authors, with eleven
Irish peers: in all about 150; a small number, when it is
considered that they are usually the best educated men in the
country.
M M
530 A PLEA FOR RELIGION
ever succeeded greatly in life, who did not embank
zealously in its concerns. No man ever became a
good scholar, without much time and application.
And no man ever made any considerable proficiency
in things divine, till all the leading powers of his soul
were engaged therein. Permit me, then, to exhort
you to be earnest in your religious inquiries. Apply
your minds with zeal and impartiality to the investi-
gation of sacred wisdom. This is the concern, the
duty, the privilege, the glory, of every human being.
The most ancient and sublime author in the world
hath exhausted all the treasures of nature to express
its intrinsic value: " Where shall Wisdom be found ?
and where is the place of Understanding? Man
knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in
the land of the living. The depth saith, It is not in
me; and the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot
be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for
the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold
of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the ex-
change of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No
mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls; for the
price of Wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of
Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued
with pure gold. Whence then cometh Wisdom?
and where is the place of Understanding ?—Behold,
the fear of the Lord, that is Wisdom ; and to depart
from evil is Understanding."
If such is the value of Wisdom, the search will
undoubtedly repay the labour. But have we any
assurance that the inestimable treasure may be
found ? The wisest of men will answer to our satis-
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS.
531
faction: " My Son, if thou wilt receive my words,
and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou
incline thine ear unto Wisdom, and apply thine heart
to Understanding; yea, if thou criest after Know-
ledge, and liftest up thy voice for Understanding; if
thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as
for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the
fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God—
thou shalt understand righteousness, and judgment,
and equity; yea, every good path." All this im-
plies the greatest possible attention to our religious
concerns.
With these fine sentiments I take my leave, " com-
mending you to God, and to the word of his grace,
which is able to build you up," if you will submit to
its authority, " and to give you an inheritance among
all them that are sanctified." If you are right, in
your present state of mind, may you continue in the
right way to the end of your days, and increase and
abound therein more and more. I think, however,
you should be extremely cautious how you contra-
diet and blaspheme what so many wise and good
men esteem the truth of God, lest that come upon
you, which is spoken of in the prophets—" Behold,
ye despisers, and wonder, and perish !"—Speaking
modestly, your situation is not altogether without
danger. It is impossible you should be perfectly
satisfied that all is as you could wish.(')
(1) He was no inconsiderable man who said, " To doubt of
the Gospel is folly: to reject it is madness."—Jortin'sSermons,
vol. iv. p. 111.
Let the sceptical reader consult Dr. Robertson, the histo-
M M 2
532
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
" Since then we die but once, and after death
Our state no alteration knows,
But when we have resign'd our breath
The immortal spirit goes
To endless joys, or everlasting woes;
Wise is the man, who labours to secure
That mighty and important stake,
And by all methods strives to make
His passage safe, and his reception sure."
As to myself I am thoroughly satisfied with that
God, that Redeemer, and that Sanctifier which the
Christian Scriptures hold out to the view and accept-
ance of mankind. I am perfectly pleased with those
Scriptures, (') and with all the Divine dispensations
rian's, very sensible discourse on the situation of the world at
the time of Christ's appearance, and its connection with the
success of his religion. A conscientious reader cannot fail of
being edified by such a discourse.
(1) When I have spoken above in such strong terms of the
volume of Revelation, it is by no means intended to cast any
slight upon the volume of Nature. While we daily study the
former, we shall do well to pay all due attention to the latter,
according to our opportunities of investigation. To an enlight-
ened observer, they both carry indubitable marks of their great
original. " The heavens declare the glory of God, and the
earth is full of his riches." The most perfect catalogue of stars,
before the present ingenious and indefatigable Dr. Herschel
appeared, did not contain quite 5000; but by the vast supe-
rioritv of his glasses, he hath discovered 44,000 stars in a few
degrees of the heavens;» and by the same proportion, it is sup-
posed that 75,000,000 are exposed in the expanse to human
investigation.-^ All these stars are of a fiery nature, and con-
* See the Dissertations of Dr. Herschel, relative to this brilliant portion
of the heavens, in the Philosophical Transactions.
+ Jerome De Lalande, Director of the French Observatory, supposes
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 533
therein recorded. Our God hath done, is doing,
and will do, all things well. It is altogether fit he
jectured to be so many suns, with their systems of planets
moving round them. tVe know the sun to be the centre of our
system. It is accompanied with 19 planets, besides about 450
comets. What an amazing idea does this give us of the works
of God! and if such is the work, what must the Workman be!
[More recent discoveries tend to deepen the impression. In
one hour, Sir W. Herschel estimated that 50,000 stars passed
through the field of his telescope, in a zone of the heavens two
degrees in breadth. This, however, was stated as an instance
of extraordinary crowding; but, on an average, the whole
expanse of the heavens must exhibit about 100,000,000 of fixed
stars, within the reach of telescopic vision. It is said we must
be one hundred millions of millions of miles, at least, from the
nearest. Many of them, however, must be vastly more remote.
Dr. Wollaston has recently found that the light of the sun is
about twenty millions of millions of times greater than that of
Sirius, the brightest and supposed to be the nearest of the fixed
stars. A hundred and forty comets have appeared within the
earth's orbit during the last century that have not again been
seen. It has been computed, therefore, that the whole number
which range within the earth's orbit must be 1400; but Ura-
nus being about nineteen times more distant, there may be no
less than 11,200,000 comets that come within the known extent
of our system !]—Ed.
Every part of nature, moreover, with which we are acquaint,
ed, is full of living creatures, with stores of every kind to supply
their necessities. This little globe of ours is known to contain
within its bowels a great variety of valuable minerals, and to be
covered with about 20,000 different species of vegetables, 3,000
species of worms, 12,000 species of insects, 200 species of am-
phibious animals, 550 species of birds, 2,600 species of fish, and
200 species of quadrupeds. How immense then must be the
that a glass of Herschel's powers may discover 90,000,000 of stars in the
whole surface of the heavens, and that even this number is but small, in
comparison of what exists.—Monthly Magazine, October, 1798; p. 260.
534
A PLEA FOR RELIGION
should govern his own world, and bow the rebellious
nations to his sway. The present degenerate state
number of individuals! One fly is found to bring forth 2000
at a time, and a single cod-fish to produce considerably more
than three millions and a half of young. Nay, Leuwenhoek
tells us, that there are more animals in the milt of a single cod-
fish, than there are men upon the whole earth. Over all these
creatures preside upwards of 730,000,000 of human beings.
[Since this volume was penned, natural history, with its col-
lateral branches of knowledge, have made great progress. Bo-
tanists are now acquainted with nearly 56,000 different species
of plants; and yet it is probable that several hundred thousands
of species remain to be explored by the industry of future ages.
Above 50,000 species of animals have been observed and de-
scribed, besides several thousands of species which the naked
eye cannot discern ; and several hundreds, if not thousands, of
species yet unknown to the scientific world, may exist in the yet
unexplored regions of the land and depths of the ocean. The
population of the globe is now estimated at about 900,000,000.]
—Ed.
Such is the family of the Great Father here upon earth .'
And when it is considered, that the earth itself, with all its fur-
niture, is no more, when compared with the whole system of
things, than a single grain of sand, when compared with a huge
mountain, we are lost in the immensity of God's works, and
constrained to cry out, " Lord, what is man, that thou art mind-
ful of him, or the son of man, that thou visitest him V And if
to this immensity of the works of creation, we add the admirable
structure of the whole, and the exquisite perfection of every
part, we shall not fail of being exceedingly affected with the
ineffable wisdom of the Divine Architect. To bring this
consideration more within the grasp of human comprehension,
let us take, as it were, to pieces, and examine the several parts,
of any one creature which God hath made : and we shall find a
perfection among its several powers, and an adaptation to its
situation in the grand scale of existence, far surpassing human
skill. Let the most perfect anatomist that ever existed, make
AND THE SACRED WRITINGS. 535
of Christendom is too disgraceful to his government,
to be permitted to continue beyond the predicted
period. He will, therefore, arise and plead his own
cause, and all the wickedness of men, and the con-
vulsions and distress of nations, shall wind up to his
eternal credit. "The Lord is king, be the people
never so impatient; he sitteth between the Cherubim,
be the earth never so unquiet." His Gospel is no
other than the plan devised by infinite wisdom for
his observations upon the human frame; let him examine with
the greatest possible attention the tout ensemble of the structure;
then let him proceed to the several parts, of which the micro-
cosm is composed: first, the powers of the mind—the under-
standing, the will, the memory, the conscience, and the various
affections: next the five senses—the touch, the taste, the smell,
the hearing, and the sight: afterwards let him proceed to the
several fluids of the body : and then to the 300 bones, the 40
different sorts of glands, the 466 muscles, the 40 pair of nerves,
the fibres, the membranes, the arteries, the veins, lymphteducts,
the excretory vessels, the tendons, the ligaments, the cartilages;
and let him explore the whole and every part with the greatest
degree of accuracy, knowledge, and judgment, that ever centred
in man ; and then let him honestly say whether he could sng-
gest the smallest improvement in any one respect. If he were
an Atheist before such investigation, like the celebrated Galen,
he would be converted to the belief of the Divine Existence,
would compose a hymn in praise of the Creator of the World,
and sing with the great progenitor of mankind:
" These are thy glorious works, Parent of Good ;
Almighty, thine this universal frame,
Thus wondrous fair; Thyself how wondrous then!
Unspeakable! who sit'st above these heavens,
To us invisible, or dimly seen
In these thy lowest works; yet these declare
Thy goodness beyond thought, and power divine."
536
A PLEA FOR RELIGION.
the melioration of mankind. The immortal seed is
sown ; the principle of life has vegetated; the little
leaven is diffusing itself far and wide. Much has
been done; much is doing; much shall be done.
Millions of reasonable creatures have already found
eternal rest in consequence of the Redeemer's dying
love: multitudes of souls at this moment are happy
in their own bosoms under a sense of the divine
favour; and innumerable myriads of men shall arise,
believing in his name, trusting in his mediation, and
rejoicing in his salvation, in defiance of all the oppo-
sition of fallen Christians and apostate spirits. Wise
and gracious is the Divine Being in all his ways, and
I rejoice that he is the Governor among the people.
To his service I avowedly devote my feeble powers,
as long as he shall vouchsafe me the exercise of
them; nor will I cease to speak the honours of his
Majesty, while the breath continues to actuate this
mortal frame. And,
" When even at last the solemn hour shall come,
And wing my mystic flight to future worlds,
I cheerful will ohey; there with new powers,
Will rising wonders sing: I cannot go
Where universal love not smiles around,
Sustaining all yon orbs, and all their suns,
From seeming evil still educing good,
And better thence again, and better still,
In infinite progression.—But I lose
Myself in Him, in Light Ineffable !
Come then, expressive Silence, muse His praise."
APPENDIX I.
The reformation contended for in these papers is a
peaceable reform, begun and carried on by the wis-
dom of the three branches of the constitution, as far
as the constitution is concerned; and by the bishops
and clergy, of every denomination, so far as the
moral and religious conduct of the people is con-
cerned. The absolute necessity of such a reforma-
tion is founded on the prophetic declarations of
Daniel, before repeatedly mentioned. The nature of
the reformation which I conceive to be necessary to
our lasting preservation as a kingdom, is, that what-
ever militates against the genuine spirit of Christ's
religion in the establishment should be removed;
and that all orders of clerical characters, especially,
should set themselves, with the utmost zeal and de-
termination, first to reform themselves, and then to
stop the torrent of iniquity, which threatens to in-
volve the country in the most complete destruction.
The Dissenters and Methodists are moving heaven
and earth to promote the cause of religion in their
respective ways. If the 18,000 clergymen in the
establishment would exert themselves for the good of
souls with equal zeal and fervour, the Established
Church would not only be the safer, as an Establish-
538
appendix i.
ment, but the divine protection would be more
effectually engaged on our behalf. Righteous nations
never fall. (v) Unfortunately, however, abundance
of our order of men are the greatest enemies the
country and religion have got. We promote the
interest of Satan more effectually by our indolence,
worldly-mindedness, lukewarmness, and misconduct,
than all the wicked and immoral characters in the
(1) Among other unfavourable signs of the times, the vast
number of bankruptcies in this kingdom is none of the least.
I suppose we average six or seven hundred every year, besides
all the composition businesses, which are still more numerous.
But what I here chiefly refer to, as a proof of depraved morals,
is, that, of all the instances of defraud, intentional or otherwise,
practised upon the public, an instance of after-payment is
rarely recorded; and whenever such an instance occurs, it is
always spoken of with astonishment, as a thing not to be ex-
pected. If a man goes upon the high road, or breaks into your
house, and robs you of a few pounds, he is infamous; and if he
can be caught and arraigned, and the thing proved, he atones
for the offence at the expense of his life. But a man, in the
way of trade, shall cheat you of hundreds and thousands, shall
pay you ten, five, or even only two shillings in the pound, yet
he is a good fellow, a man of honour ; he begins again, keeps
it up, cuts a dash, cracks again, and all is well. He never
dreams, that upon every principle of justice, honour, and con-
science, he is as much a debtor for all his deficiencies, as though
the law had never acquitted him. What an accumulation of
guilt is upon this land on these accounts? Of the many thou-
sands in this country, who fall short in their payments, how
few, how extremely few, do we meet with, or hear of, who,
afterwards, like the most worthy Reyner, call their creditors
together, and pay them what, indeed, is justly due, hut what
they never could demand.
[The number of bankruptcies in the last seven years averaged
1187 per annum.]—Ed.
APPENDIX I.
539
kingdom put together. Only think I Eighteen
thousand men, led on by six-and-twenty bishops, all
filled with faith and the Holy Ghost, with an ardent
love to Jesus Christ, and with a judicious, but warm
and affectionate zeal for the salvation of souls, paid
by the state, and sent out into every corner of the
land to preach the everlasting Gospel! What a glo-
rious consideration! How should we make the
ungodly and profane skulk into corners, and hide
their impious heads ! But, alas 1 " how is the gold
become dim! how is the most fine gold changed!
for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness
gone forth into all the land." Dissenters are increas-
ing, Methodists are multiplying, wickedness is spread-
ing, our churches are emptying, infidelity is per-
vading all orders of society, " and the daughter of
Zion is " like to be " left as a cottage in a vineyard,
as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged
city." (') We may look at the neighbouring nations,
(1) [The author's pious lamentation is strikingly confirmed,
in the Bishop of Chester's charge to his clergy, 1835. " But
we cannot so truly affirm, that in the age which is gone by, she
(the Church of England) sufficiently kept in view the charge
which she had undertaken—the religious culture of our people,
in all their divisions and subdivisions. She confined herself too
much to certain times and limits; entrenched herself behind
established usage and legal requirement; whilst unprovided
flocks were ' wandering in the mountains,' and crowds were
remaining ' idle in the market-place,' because ' no man had
hired them.' She has been slow to adapt herself to the altered
circumstances of the country; has remained fixed and sta-
tionary, whilst all around her has been progressive and expan-
sive.
" It was sufficiently shown by the success which attended the
540
APPENDIX I.
and learn, at their expense, what our own fate will
assuredly be, ere long. Who is so blind? who is so
irregular exertions of Wesley and his follow ers, what the people
needed, and what would engage the affections of the people.
But no disposition appeared to profit by the example, and to
supply to neglected hamlets, or hearers excluded from the
Church, through their regular pastures, the food which they
were seeking elsewhere, and from other hands. It was for-
gotten, that when a parish extended over many miles, a con-
siderable portion of its inhabitants must necessarily be precluded
from any regular attendance on the worship of the parish
church. It was forgotten, that the soul is not naturally disposed
to ' seek the things that are above,' and requires to be con-
tinually watched, and roused, and led onward. There were,
indeed, always some, but they were comparatively few in num-
ber, who looked upon the example of the Apostle as applicable
to themselves, who ' taught both publicly, and from house to
house, testifying repentance toward God, and faith toward
our Lord Jesus Christwho seemed to remember that they
had engaged to set one object before them as the business of
their lives, how they might ' warn every man, and teach every
man in all wisdom, that they might present every man perfect
in Christ Jesus.'"
A disregard of this solemn obligation endangers, according
to this excellent prelate, the existence of the Established
Church. " Certain it is," he says, " that our Church, placed
as it were on high, set up as ' a light to lighten every man that
oometh into the world,' must fulfil the purpose for which it was
set up, or it will be no longer valued ^defended, or maintained.
Men will not prize a Church, as they might admire a statue,
for the beauty of its features, or the symmetry of its form : the
mouth must speak the words of edification, and the limbs move
as their uses are required. Our Church, our ministry, will he
loved and valued in proportion as it is practically effective. In
a word, we enjoy prescriptive rights; we must not neglect re-
ciprocal obligations.
" If it should unhappily ever prove, that the people of this
APPENDIX I.
541
ignorant ? who is so selfish and secure ? who is so
unread in history ? who is so unacquainted with the
prophecies? as not to see that the salvation of
Europe is suspended on its wisdom, in correcting
what is amiss in its morals, and unevangelical in its
ecclesiastical constitutions ?
It should seem, however, notwithstanding the
growing immorality of the age, and the other alarm-
ing symptoms of our nation, that the Governor
among the armies of heaven, and the inhabitants
upon earth, hath still a favour to dear old England.
He is loath to give us up. The wise and vigorous
measures pursued by the king and his ministers are
surely tokens for good to my country. The late very
splendid victories are propitious signs. The acts
too, for excluding suspicious foreigners, and arming
the whole nation, are master-pieces of sound policy.
Hitherto assuredly the Lord hath helped us. He
hath given us a patriotic king, able ministers, skilful
generals, brave soldiers, unparalleled admirals, and
gallant sailors ; above all, he hath poured out a spirit
of wrestling prayer upon large numbers of religious
people. These are symptoms of the most propitious
land were to see in the ministers of the Church nothing above
themselves; nothing of that character which men reverence,
even when they affect to despise it—should see no elevation of
mind; no readiness to abound in every good work; no aptness
to teach; no fitness to ' bear ruleno approximation towards
that standard of activity and intelligence which is daily rising
higher and higher throughout the country: then it would
become a question whether privileges should be perpetuated,
which were found rather to cover indolence and inefficiency,
than to secure ability and exertion."]—Ed.
542
APPENDIX I.
kind. But, with all these advantages, since God
usually works by means, how is it possible for any
country, that is not in a constant high state of pre-
paration, to resist such a mighty armed and growing
republic as France ? If the people in this kingdom
will not very generally come forward and qualify
themselves for resistance, we must ultimately fall.
But if we should share the fate of the other nations,
there will be no just reason to accuse the Govern-
ment. The war was inevitable on our part. It was,
moreover, ordained of God for the subversion of the
seat of the Beast. (') They have been extremely
vigorous in their measures, and have done what
men in their situation could do. Let the people re-
member, that we live in a period, when one of God's
great and afflictive providential dispensations is
coming upon the world; a dispensation predicted
for some thousands of years; and let them second
the endeavours of their governors, and come forward,
man, woman, and child, to defend themselves against
the common enemy, as they would against an army
(1) It has been noticed in a former page, that the Pope and
Mahomet rose in or about the same year. The former is
driven from his seat exactly at the end of 1260 years. And is it
not a circumstance extremely remarkable, that the very same
man, in the very same year, should invade the empire of the
latter during a state of profound peace, seemingly without any
reason? We know the Turk is to fall, and we have some
cause to suppose the period of that catastrophe will be at no
great distance from the subversion of the Pope's secular domi-
nion. I fear we shall be on the wrong side of the question, if
we attempt to support either him or the remaining popish states,
and shall suffer for our intermeddling.
APPENDIX I.
543
of bears, wolves, and tigers; and we shall be safe
under the Divine protection, while that protection is
afforded. But, in my opinion, every remaining
popish, secular, and superstitious circumstance, which
is calculated to offend the Majesty of Heaven, and
to oppose the interests of Christ's kingdom, (') should
(1) What can be more inimical to the interests of the Gospel
of Christ in the world, than the damnable monopoly of Church
livings, so extremely common among all the higher orders of
the clergy in this country ? More than one instance of this
nature is given in the foregoing papers. To these may be
added the following: — A certain clerical character, whom I
could name, is at this time in possession of £700 a-year private
fortune. He is a tippling immoral person, with little or no
family, besides his wife. One living he has got, at a good dis-
tance, of £600 a-year, besides two rectories, one of £500, the
other of £350 a-year. At the same time he has obtained a
prebendary of considerable value in one of our magnificent
cathedrals.
[In a work of the Rev. John Acaster, Vicar of St. Helen's,
York, entitled, " The Church of England in Danger from
Itself," it is said: —"Prebends to be held as sinecures, by
persons living out of the diocese, and doing no clerical duty
whatever, was certainly not the intention of the founders. To
claim and receive tithes, &c. (connected with the prebend) thus
dedicated, without performing personally the duties required,
will be found, I fear, on due consideration, little less than
sacrilege ; nor can any man innocently give, or any man inno-
cently hold, in such a case that which belongs to God alone.
Is it not robbing God, for a man to take and appropriate to his
own use, that which was solemnly given and dedicated to
God for ever, without performing the duties required ? Will it
not be as criminal now, as in the days of that prophet, whom
God inspired to denounce his displeasure against such specu-
lators amongst the Jews ? Should this be the case, it will then
be found, notwithstanding the protection afforded by the law, a
544
APPENDIX I.
be removed from the ecclesiastical part of our consti-
tution, and nothing should be left undone to engage
his continued favour and protection.
The Dissenters and Methodists, I have observed,
are moving heaven and earth to promote the interests
of religion in their several ways, and to oppose the
torrent of vice and infidelity, which is overspreading
these happy and heaven-favoured lands. A kind of
association has been formed among some of the
established clergy at Manchester, to preach a weekly
lecture in each others' churches, which, no doubt,
will be attended with good effect. This is a laudable
effort, and shews a proper attention to the circum-
stances of the times, and should be followed in all
populous towns. We ought every one to step out
of the routine of our accustomed methods of doing
good, and strive, with a peculiar energy, to save our
people's souls from death, and our beloved country
from ruin.(') An association of Protestant Dissenters,
most fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."]
—ED.
Will any wise man undertake to say, that a clergyman of
this description believes the Gospel of Christ! All such cha-
racters are undoubted infidels in disguise, do an infinite deal of
harm to the interests of religion in the world, and, in a well-
ordered state of things, would be degraded from their pretended
sacred office. Such men may cry out as loudly as they please
against Thomas Paine and his deistical brethren—their craft is
in danger! hut they themselves are much more to blame, and
shall be condemned with tenfold confusion. Thomas Paine is
a saint, when compared with such fellows.
(1) [An important institution was formed in London, 19th
February, 1836, called " The Church Pastoral Aid Society." In
APPENDIX I.
545
of different denominations, has also been formed at
Bedford. About thirty ministers in that neighbour-
hood are already engaged to co-operate in spreading
the knowledge of the Gospel through all the towns
and villages in that vicinity, upon the most liberal
plan. The same kind of associations are formed also
in Kent, Dorsetshire, Surrey, Suffolk, Lancashire,
Cheshire, Derbyshire, Northumberland; and will
probably, in a little time, pervade the whole of the
three kingdoms.^) This is good news to all who
the occasional paper issued November, 1836, the committee
say: " The society renders assistance, by aiding in the provi-
sion of places of worship, and in the employment of clerical and
lay assistants; such assistants (while actually engaged), to be
in nowise responsible to the society, or under its control, but
wholly subordinate to the incumbent of the parish or district in
which they are placed. The clerical assistants, being licensed
by the diocesan, officiate as curates. The lay assistants are to
be considered as the visitors of families, and by no means as
taking on themselves the office of public instructors or preachers.
They are entirely and exclusively under the direction of the
parochial minister, and are removable at his pleasure." The
receipts of the society, from February 19, 1836, to March 31,
1837,were £7,363.1 Is. Grants have been made for 64clerical
and 13 lay assistants.]—Ed.
(1) [A large and comprehensive association was formed in
London, in 1831, and designated " The Congregational Union
of England and Wales." Its primary object is to effect, by
deliberation and correspondence, those improvements in the
state of the denomination, which the progress of events, their
own interests, the objections of others, and, above all, the word
of God, may require. A deputation, consisting of the Rev.
Messrs. Reed and Matheson was, in consequence, appointed to
visit the American Churches, and a most interesting and valu-
able narrative of the proceedings of the delegates has recently
N N
546
APPENDIX I.
wish well to the cause of religion, without regard to
sects, parties, and opinions; and may convince us,
that the Gospel of Jesus wants nothing but fair play,
and that human establishments, and great worldly
emoluments are not essentially necessary for its pro-
pagation and support. The Puritans were frowned
on by the government, from the time of the Reforma-
tion to the days of Charles I. and yet they increased
to such a height as to overturn both Church and
State. The Dissenters have been, in some respects,
frowned on again from the Restoration to the pre-
sent time; yet they and the Methodists, who are in
the same predicament, are much more upon the in-
crease (') than we of the Establishment, who are
been published, (1836). Congregational unions have also been
formed in Scotland and Ireland, and from these, as well as from
America, there have heen deputations to the Congregational
Union of England and Wales, who have also had representa-
tives at the meetings of the former.]—Ed.
(1) It is said that the Methodists have increased some thou-
sands last year, (1797). This brings to my mind an anecdote
that is related of the late Rev. George Whitfield, in the reign of
King George II.; which is, that when a certain bishop was
complaining to the king of Mr. Whitfield's great and eccentric
labours, and advising with him what steps were best to be taken
to put a stop to his preaching, his Majesty very shrewdly replied,
" My lord, I can see no other way, but for us to make a bishop
of him. This will stand a good chance of stopping his wild
career." If this he a recipe for curing a clergyman of an
excess of public preaching, the following prescription, given by
a valuable author, about thirty years ago, would have no little
effect in preventing the growth and increase of Methodism.—
u Let the clergy live more holily, pray more fervently, preach
more heavenly, and labour more diligently than the Methodist
APPENDIX I.
547
fostered by the government, attended by the nobles
and gentry of the land, and supported by the state,
at the expense of near two millions a-year. (') When
shall it once be, that the great ones of the world will
be capable of seeing that oppression, of every kind
and degree, for conscience sake, always produces an
effect directly contrary to the wishes and intentions
of the oppressor ?
ministers appear to do; then will Christians flock to the churches
to hear us, as they now flock to the meetings to hear them."
[The minutes of the Wesleyan Conference for 1836, and the
Missionary notices for January, 1837, contain the following
statements: " The number of members or communicants in
Great Britain is 293,132; in Ireland, 26,434; in foreign sta-
tions, 61,803. The total number of members under the care of
the British and Irish Conferences is 381,369; under that of the
American Conferences, 652,528; and under that of the Wes-
leyan Methodist Church, in Upper Canada, 16,092. The total
number of members throughout the world, exclusive of regular
travelling preachers, who are statedly employed in the work of
the ministry, is 1,049,989. The number of regular travelling
preachers in Great Britain is 998; in Ireland, 158; in foreign
stations, 285; in the American connexion (in 1835), 2,758 ; in
the Upper Canada connexion, 74; throughout the world, 4,273.
The number of local or occasional preachers is not officially
stated; but they are supposed to be about 20,000. Compare
this statement with that of the year 1798, p. 147.]—Ed.
(I) [The total gross income of the benefices in England and
Wales, including those not returned to the commissioners, and
calculated upon the average of those returned, is £3,251,159;
and the total nett income of the same is £3,055,451. If the
amount of the curates' stipends, which is included in the in-
come of the incumbents be subtracted therefrom, the nett
income returned will he reduced to £2,579,961, giving an ave-
rage of £244 to each incumbent.—See " The Church without
Church Rates," lately published, (1836.) ]—Ed.
N N 2
548
APPENDIX I.
The villages in England alone, besides cities and
market-towns, are about 30,000. All these call
upon us for every exertion to evangelize them, and
to save the people's souls alive. A branch off from
the Methodists has likewise spread far and wide,
under the direction of the late Mr. Alexander Kil-
ham. At present they have about seventeen circuits,
twenty preachers, and upwards of 5,000 persons in
society, and are increasing considerably each year. (')
Shall we then, we, the eighteen thousand clergy-
men of the Establishment, who are under such supe-
rior obligations, many of whom are paid by the
state at the rate of some hundreds, and others at
the rate of some thousands a-year—shall we be all
asleep, sit still and pursue no peculiarly vigorous
measures, each one in our own sphere, or various of
us in concert, till destruction come upon us to the
uttermost? (2) Is not the time nearly arrived for
(1) [They are now denominated the Methodist New Con-
nesion. The following statement appears in the minutes of
their forty-first annual conference, held at Leeds, in May,
1837: chapels in England and Ireland, 280; societies, 350;
circuit preachers, 97 ; local preachers, 837; members, 20,683;
deaths, 348. The Conference have just sent out a missionary
to Canada. Their hook establishment in Manchester produced
£540 the last year, which is devoted to the spread of the Gospel.
They have also a " Paternal Fund " for the support of minis-
ters' children, and a "Beneficent Fund" for the support of
preachers' widows and children, and superannuated preachers,
both of which are liberally supported.]—Ed.
(2) It is related of the Rev. John Carlyon, LL.B. in the
Gentleman's Magazine for October, 1798, that when his health
would not permit him to reside upon the valuable living of
Bradwell, in Essex, he resolutely gave it up, and would not
APPENDIX I.
549
the subversion of the nations ? And can any thing
under heaven prevent our sharing in the common
fate of Christendom, but a speedy and effectual re-
turn to evangelical principles and practices ? Is not
our sister kingdom already deluged with blood ? (')
And is not the alarm of war in our own borders ?
Does not the murderer's sword draw nearer and
nearer every year? And shall we clergymen, who
above all men in the kingdom are devoted to the most
assured destruction, be indifferent to circumstances ?
Let the very laudable conduct of the several zealous
bodies of Christians in this nation before mentioned,
not excite our rage and envy, but rather let it pro-
voke the great body of us, the established clergy, to
jealousy and emulation. If ever there was a time
when it was necessary to awake out of sleep, and be
alive to the interests of the Gospel, surely it is now.
If our most reverend and right-reverend the arch-
bishops and bishops are indisposed towards a meli-
orated state of the ecclesiastical part of the constitu-
tion, let them at least lay aside their affectation of
pomp and show, come among their clergy and people,
and set us an example of a warm and judicious zeal
in preaching—not merely a refined morality—but
the great and glorious truths of the everlasting Gos-
serve it by a curate, though entreated by the bishop so to do.
There was not, however, in this case, that close trial of con-
acientious integrity which we have known in some others; be-
cause Mr. Carlyon was a person of considerable private fortune.
(1) [It is computed, that the rebellion of 1798 cost Ireland
the lives of 100,000 of its subjects, of whom 70,000 were Roman
Catholics.—Bigelow's Journal, p. 107.]—Ed.
550
APPENDIX I.
pel, (') in such a way as we can all understand and
feel. This would have a strong tendency to animate
and encourage the pious part of the clergy in their
ministerial labours for the good of mankind, and to
discountenance and overawe the licentious and pro-
fane, those dreadful pests of every neighbourhood
which has the misfortune to be cursed with their
example. (2) Such a reformation as this, is within
the power of every bishop upon the bench, whose
age and health will admit of exertion; and no one
(1) Consult the Charge of Bishop Horsley, in 1790, on the
Truths of the Gospel.
For the various efforts which have long been making, and
are at this moment still making, for the destruction of all the
Churches and Governments of Christendom, see those two very
curious and interesting works, Robinson's Proofs of a Conspi-
racy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe, and
Barruel's Memoirs of Jacobinism.
Bishop Newton, in his three admirable volumes on the
Prophecies, which were first published about fifty years ago,
hath spoken in terms nearly as strong as any of the foregoing,
concerning the danger which the country is in because of our
national iniquities.—See vol. ii. p. 239.
Bishop Home also hath expressed his fears to the same pur-
port, at the 162d page of his Sixteen Sermons ; to which two
able writers I beg leave to recommend the reader.
(2) Bishop Burnet speaks on this subject with great concern.
" I say it with great regret," says he, " I have observed the
clergy in all places through which I have travelled, Papists,
Lutherans, Calvinists, and Dissenters; but of them all, our
clergy are the most remiss in their labours in private, and the
least severe in their lives.—Unless a better spirit possesses the
clergy, arguments, and, what is more, laws and authority, will
not prove strong enough to preserve the Church."—Own Timet,
vol. iv. pp. 411, 430.
APPENDIX I.
551
need wait for the concurrence of his brethren. (') As
matters, however, are now managed, a large propor-
(1) [" The time has been, when the bishop presided in his
cathedral, as the parish priest does in his parochial church;. . .
the time now is, in the nineteenth century, when it is perfectly
optional, whether he ever preach a sermon, or take any share
in public divine service, from one end of the year to the other.
" To revert to the period when a bishop was as intimately
known to all his clergy, as a resident incumbent is to his con-
gregation; when the inferior orders of the priesthood could
look up to him, and confer with him as a real' Father in God'
to them, when he was identified with them in all their religious
pursuits, and in all the local duties of the diocese; and then to
glance at the present period, when pomp, and form, and ab-
sence, have supplanted the authoritative powers of respect, and
presence, and affection; when, instead of flying to a diocesan
with the dependent love and anxiety of children, many of his
clergy approach him with fear and trembling, enter his palace,
and await his coming, with nervous apprehension and breathless
palpitations, and quit it grateful that the interview is over;
"To contemplate the age in which a bishop was revered
throughout his diocese as a senior apostle, as an able physician
of souls, when he was beloved as a shepherd by his sheep, when
he was hailed by all the Church, as a ' messenger of glad
tidings' to a sorrowful nation, when he was looked up to in his
diocese, as a great light amidst a benighted people, and then to
bethink ourselves how things now are, that distrust and dislike
have, in many instances, taken root downwards, and borne
fruit upwards; that our bishops hold their formal and periodical
intercourse with their clergy, are rarely ever seen, still more
rarely known, by the laity of their dioceses;
" To ponder all these facts, affords surely but too just grounds
for pious discontent and lamentation : for sorrow which is in-
creased, not assuaged, by reflecting further on the natural, im-
mediate, and universal effect of condescension and fellowship,
in favour of superiors of every profession, but most especially
of our own. For of us the public, perhaps not without reason,
552
appendix i.
tion, both of our bishops and clergy, are in a very
considerable degree a useless burden upon the public.
We not only do little or no good, but we do a great
deal of harm. While we continue dead to the interests
of religion—subscribe what we do not believe—read
what we do not approve—and set the pulpit and
reading desk at loggerheads one with the other:
while our doctrines are unevangelical—our spirit
lukewarm — our minds secular and worldly—our
studies merely literary or philosophical—and our
conduct immoral; far better would it be that the
nation were without us, and all our preferments
sequestered to the purposes of the state as they
respectively became vacant, and the people left to
provide at their own expense for ministers, as it is
among all denominations of Dissenters. In this case,
ministers in general would both be better provided
for, the people would be better served, the govern-
ment would gradually obtain considerable sums of
money to aid them in their efforts to save the coun-
try, and all the dumb dogs, the useless and immoral
part of the clergy, would be sent a packing, one to
his farm, and another to his merchandize. (') Can
any rational man say that this would be a misfortune
to the nation ?(2) At least, were I in the prime minis-
expect more than of others."—A Guide to Church Reform, by
the Rev. Edward Duncombe, M. A., Rector of Newton Kyme,
Yorkshire.]—Ed.
(1) Dr. South very justly somewhere says, if my memory
fail me not, that " many a man has run his head against a
pulpit, who would have cut an excellent figure at a plough-tail."
(2) [In a work recently published, entitled " The Crisis," by
the Rev. B. D. Bogie, B. A., Rector of Lusby, it is remarked:
APPENDIX I.
553
ter's place, and wanted to raise money for the salva-
tion of the kingdom, as it is well known he must do,
" Many sincere Christians, both in the Church and among
the sects, deprecate the dissolution of the union between Church
and State, as injurious to the cause of real religion. We think
that they take a false view of the subject. If, indeed, the
Christianity of this nation was wholly confined to the establish-
ments, and depended upon their existence, the case would be
different; hut it is a fact that cannot be disputed, that the
greatest part of the Church of Christ in these kingdoms, exists,
not in the Established Churches, but among the different deno-
minations of Christians who have separated from their commu-
nion. A very small minority of the children of God belong to
the Establishment; and even that is owing to the impartation
of the leaven of Godliness from the Methodists and Dissenters.
What injury would then accrue to religion from the destruction
of the union between Church and State t Looking at the past,
we should conclude that none would. Bring the Churches to
the test, and they will he found wanting. Utility is the test.
Have, then, the Established Churches answered their end, in
the religious instruction of the people, and the salvation of
souls i Truth answers,' No.' The system has had a fair trial
given it: for 300 years it has been tried; yet, notwithstanding
all the countenance and authority of the State, all the patron-
age and power of the great, it is confessed, even by Churchmen,
that, had it not been for the voluntary exertions of Dissenters
and Methodists, the body of the people would have been left in
utter ignorance of the Gospel. The Church slept in undis-
turbed supineness, until, alarmed at the vast increase of secta-
rianism, she aroused herself at the eleventh hour. In Ireland,
while Catholics and Protestant Dissenters have doubled their
numbers, the Church has remained stationary. Nothing has
been done by the Church for that benighted people, until of late;
and now, when the vessel is foundering, they begin to exert
themselves. Since, then, it is manifest that the State Churches
have miserably failed in instructing the people in vital religion,
■what ill effect would their overthrow have upon the morality
554
APPENDIX I.
I should certainly turn my attention to the property
of the Church. What need is there that a bishop
should enjoy public money to the amount of—from
two to twenty thousand pounds a-year? and for
what? Where is the necessity too, that a private
clergyman should hold a living or livings to the
amount of one, two, or three thousand pounds a-
and piety of the nation? None whatever. The good which has
been done, has mainly been effected by the voluntary exertions
of Christians; and were the ministers of the Establishment
thrown upon the free-will offerings of the people, an incalculable
degree of benefit would he the result. For nothing but the
power of the truth can constrain people willingly to give; none,
therefore, but ministers of Christ would obtain a subsistence in
the Church; and, consequently, none would enter into the sacred
office, but those who felt the power of the Gospel themselves,
and who were constrained by the love of Christ to devote them-
selves to the work of the ministry. Thus, at once, all worldly,
ambitious priests would be excluded: all who were never called
by God, who entered the Church as a profession, a genteel
means of living; or because their relatives had preferment in
their gift—all these, a vast number, would be shut out. So far,
then, from hurting the Church of God, such an event would, we
firmly believe, be the grand means of promoting and establish-
ing it. As long as the Church exists as it is—as long as the
sacred function is considered a mere profession—it can be re-
garded in no other light than a mere worldly institution; and
a hindrance, therefore, to the success of the Gospel. Its
removal, then, ought to be hailed by every true Christian, as a
stumbling-block removed out of the way, and the signal for a
greater effusion of Gospel light than has ever been witnessed in
these islands. Of that, there can be no doubt: for Christians of
every denomination would be stirred up to make greater exer-
tions; the Gospel would be universally diffused; and a holy
rivalry and emulation would soon supply every part of the
land with a truly Christian ministry."—Pp. 11, 12, 13.] Ed.
APPENDIX I.
555
year? I protest my sagacity cannot discern either
the necessity or propriety of these things. (') If I
might be permitted to speak from my own feelings,
I can truly say, I never took more pains in the
ministry than when I had only sixty pounds a-year.
Since I have been married and had a family, my in-
come from the Church has never amounted to a
hundred and twenty pounds a-year. Notwithstand-
ing this, I have been, thank God, not only content
but happy. I have laboured hard, studied hard,
and, probably, have been as useful and well satisfied
with my condition as the fattest rector in all the
diocese of Chester. If any person, in the mean time,
had bestowed upon me a living of five hundred or a
thousand pounds a-year, to be sure I should have been
under great obligation to such a person, but I very
(1) The ingenious Montesquieu tells us, that " the prosperity
of religion is different from that of civil government. A cele-
brated author says, that religion may he well in an afflicted
state, because affliction is the true state of a Christian. To
which we may add, that the humiliations and dispersion of the
Church, the destruction of her temples, and the persecutions of
her martyrs, are the distinguished times of her glory. On the
contrary, when she appears triumphant in the eye of the world,
she is generally sinking in adversity."—De la Grandev/r et la
Decadence des Domains.
Agreeably to this, Bishop Newton, in his learned Disserta-
tions on the Prophecies, speaking of Constantine's open pro-
fession of Christianity, says, " Though it added much to the
temporal prosperity, yet it contributed little to the spiritual
graces and virtues of Christians. It enlarged their revenues,
and increased their endowments; but proved the fatal means
of corrupting the doctrine, and relaxing the discipline of the
Church."—Vol. ii. p. 164.
556
APPENDIX I.
much question whether I should have been made either
a more happy man, or a more useful minister of the
Gospel. (') It is much more likely, I should have
been very seriously injured, should have composed
myself to rest, and cried with the rich fool, " Soul,
thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take
thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." The clergy
with large preferments are, generally speaking, the
drones of society. They neither write any thing to
good purpose, nor do they take any serious pains in
their vocation of preaching the Gospel. If they do
write, it is usually something foreign to their pro-
fession! and if they do sometimes hold forth from
the pulpit, it is in such a way as is calculated to do
neither much good nor much harm. Not being truly
in earnest for their own salvation, they have but little
zeal for the salvation of others. (2) A reduction of
(1) This brings to my recollection a story of one of the popes
of Rome, who, seeing a large sum of money lying upon his
table, said to one of the cardinals," The Church can no longer
say, Silver and gold have I none." " No," answered the other,
" nor can the Church any longer say, Take up thy bed and
walk."
(2) I add here the account which Dr. Hartley, one of the
wisest and best of men, a serious member of our Church, gives
of the state of the clergy in 1749:—
" I choose to speak," says he," to what falls under the oh-
servation of all serious attentive persons in the kingdom. The
superior clergy are, in general, ambitious, and eager in the pur-
suit of riches; flatterers of the great, and subservient to party
interests; negligent of their own particular charges, and also
of the inferior clergy, and their immediate charges. The infe-
rior clergy imitate their superiors, and, in general, take little
more care of their parishes than barely what is necessary to
APPENDIX I.
557
some of our Church livings, an increase of others,
with a prohibition of pluralities where they are above
a certain value, would have some good effect; but,
in my opinion, a still better thing for the real inter-
ests of religion, would be to grant the use of our
churches to the people, in the several districts of the
country, to sequester all the emoluments to the use
of the state after the death of the present incum-
bents, and to leave the people to provide and pay
their own ministers. This would make us look
about us. Bat can any man suppose that the Gospel
of Christ itself would be a sufferer by such a mea-
sure?
avoid the censure of the law. And the clergy of all ranks are,
in general, either ignorant, or, if they do apply, it is rather to
profane learning, to philosophical or political matters, than to
the study of the Scriptures, of the oriental languages, of the
fathers and ecclesiastical authors, and of the writings of devout
men in different ages of the Church. I say this is in general
the case; that is, far the greater part of the clergy, of all ranks,
in this kingdom, are of this kind."—Observations on Man,
vol. ii. p. 450.
Notwithstanding what I have observed above, and what is
here advanced by this learned man, we have had, in the present
age, a few noble exceptions to the general rule.
APPENDIX II.
After what has been said in the foregoing papers, I
do not see how I can, either in honour or conscience,
continue to officiate any longer as a minister of the
Gospel in the Establishment of my native country.(')
(1) Before the reader too severely condemns the author of
this Plea for Religion, because of his leaving the Church, and
the various reflections he has made upon the bishops and clergy;
he requests that the work of good Bishop Burnet, namely, the
Conclusion of the History of his Own Times, may be thoroughly
read and considered. The bishops and clergy of the land should
be extremely familiar both with that, and his admirable little
ljook on the Pastoral Care. " It is high time to awake out of
sleep."
The number of persons, who declined officiating in the Church
of England, upon the conditions required, in the 17th century,
was upwards of two thousand. Milton was brought up and sent
to the University with a view to the Church; but when he came
seriously to consider the conditions upon which he must enter,
he declined the sacred office. " To the Church," says he," by
the intentions of my parents and friends, I was destined of a
child, and in mine own resolutions, till coining to some maturity
of years, and perceiving what tyranny had invaded the Church,
that he who would take orders must subscribe, slave, and take
an oath withal; which unless he took with a conscience that
would retch, he must either straight perjure, or split his faith;
I thought it better to prefer a blameless silence before the sacred
APPENDIX II.
559
It appears to me, in my coolest and most considerate
moments, to be, with all its excellences, a main branch
of the antichristian system. It is a strange mixture,
as hath been already observed, of what is secular and
what is spiritual. And I strongly suspect the day is
at no very great distance, when the whole fabric
shall tumble into ruins, and the pure and immortal
religion of the Son of God rise more bright, lovely,
and glorious, from its subversion.(') The several
warnings of the Sacred Oracles seem to be of vast
importance, and necessary to be observed.—" Flee
out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man
office of speaking, bought and begun with servitude and for-
swearing."
There have been some respectable persons in our own day,
who have declined entering into the Church of England from
objections entertained to our oaths and subscriptions; others
have complied with all our forms and ceremonies, but have
been obliged to strain and shuffle, and have never known what
peace of mind and a good conscience afterwards meant; and
several others have been so pressed and wounded in their
minds, that they have given up their situations, after they have
been already ordained. The late Mr. Archdeacon Blackburne
was never properly at rest in his spirit; the present Dean
Tucker gives up several things among us as wrong; Dr. Ro-
bertson, Messrs. Dyer, Evanson, and Wakefield, all resigned
their letters of orders; or at least have ceased to officiate as
ministers in the Establishment.
(1) In this happy country we seem to have many and strong
symptoms of political decay; for
u States thrive or wither as moons wax and wane,
Even as God's will and God's decree ordain;
While honour, virtue, piety, bear sway,
They flourish; and, as these decline, decay."
Cowper's Expostulation.
560
APPENDIX II.
his soul; be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is
the day of the Lord's vengeance; he will render
unto her a recompense."—Jer. li. 6. " We would
have healed Babylon, but she is not healed; forsake
her, and let us go every one into his own country."—
Ibid. li. 9. " When ye shall see the abomination of
desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in
the holy place, then let them which be in Judea flee
to the mountains."—Matt. xxiv. 15,16. These are
only remotely applicable to the business in hand.
The following is more directly so.—" I heard a voice
from heaven saying, Come out of her my people,
that ye be not partakers of her sins; and that ye re-
ceive not of her plagues."—Rev. xviii. 4.
In obedience to these injunctions, and under a
strong disapprobation of the several antichristian
circumstances of our own Established Church, (')
(1) Thomas Paine observes, that" all national institutions of
Churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me
no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave
mankind, and monopolize power and profit."
The Jewish institution, at least, ought to have been excepted
in this censure. It was unquestionably divine, and was ap-
pointed for the most important purposes, and attended with the
most indisputable evidence.
Another author, much more capable of judging than Mr.
Paine, hath said, in perfect conformity with my own opinion,
that " National Churches are that hay and stubble, which might
be removed, without difficulty or confusion, from the fabric of
religion, by the gentle hand of reformation, hut which the infa-
tuation of ecclesiastics will leave to be destroyed by fire." 1 Cor.
iii. 12,13. National Churches are that incrustation which has
enveloped, by gradual concretion, the diamond of Christianity;
nor can, I fear, the genuine lustre be restored, but by such
APPENDIX II.
561
the general doctrines of which I very much approve
and admire, I now, therefore, withdraw, and re-
nounce a situation which, in some respects, has been
extremely eligible. I cast myself again upon the
bosom of a gracious Providence, which has provided
for me all my life long. Hitherto, I must say, the
Lord hath helped me. I have never wanted any
manner of thing which has been necessary to my
comfort. And though I neither know what to do,
nor whither to go, yet
" The world is all before me, where to choose
My place of rest, and Providence my guide."
This extraordinary step the sacred dictates of con-
science compel me to take. I am truly sorry for it.
To me few trials' were ever equal. I have loved
the people among whom I have so long lived and
laboured. And I have every reason to be satisfied
with their conduct towards me. Neither hath the
great Head of the Church left us without seals to our
violent efforts as the separation of substances so long and
closely connected must inevitably require."
[Mr. Cecil has remarked, in his own impressive manner,
" Christianity must undergo a renovation. If God has sent his
Son, and has declared that he will exalt him on his throne—the
earth, and all that it inherit, are contemptible in the view of
such a plan! If this be God's design—proceed it does, and
proceed it will. Christianity is such a holy and spiritual
affair, that perhaps all human institutions are to be destroyed to
make way for it. Men may fashion things as they will; but, if
there is no effusion of the Spirit of God on their institutions,
they will remain barren and lifeless. Many Christians appeal-
to have forgotten this."—Cecil's Remains, collected and revised
by the Rev. Josiah Pratt, B.D. F.A.S., p. 137.]—Ed.
o o
562
APPENDIX II.
ministry. The appearance of fruit, at times, has
been large. And there are some, no doubt, among
the people of our charge, who will be our joy and
crown in the great day of the Redeemer's coming.
My friends must consider me as called away by an
imperious Providence; and I trust they will be pro-
vided with a successor more than equal, in every
respect, to their late affectionate pastor. I think it
necessary to say in this place, that the doctrines
which I have preached unto them for six-and-twenty
years, I still consider as the truths of God. I have
lived in them myself, and found comfort from them.
I have faithfully made them known to others, as
thousands can bear me witness; we have seen them
effectual to the pulling down the strong holds of sin
and Satan in a variety of cases ; and I hope to die in
the same faith, and to find them the " power of God
unto the salvation" of my own soul in eternal glory
by Christ Jesus. I mean to preach the same doc-
trines, the Lord being my helper, during the whole
remainder of my life, wheresoever my lot may be
cast. I am not weary of the work of the sacred
ministry. I have, indeed, often been weary in it,
but never of it. I pray God my spiritual vigour,
life, and power, and love, and usefulness, may abound
more and more to the end of my Christian warfare.
" Awake, my dormant zeal! for ever flame
With gen'rous ardour for immortal souls;
And may my head, my tongue, my heart, my all,
Spend, and be spent in service so divine."
" But if you had so many objections to the Esta-
blished Church, why did you enter into it ? Why
APPENDIX II.
563
did you continue to officiate so long in it ? And
why did you not decline it long ago ?"
I will tell you honestly. All my habits, and the
prejudices of my education, ran in favour of the
Church. My father and friends were in the same
habits. During my younger days, I took for granted
that every thing was right, nor had I any suspicions
to the contrary. If I had so seriously considered
these things thirty years ago, I humbly hope I should
have acted agreeably to my convictions. I recollect,
indeed, about that time, to have had my fears that
some things among us were not as they should be. I
saw with my own eyes, that almost all the clergy
with whom I was acquainted, were practically wrong
at least. Between them and the precepts of the
Gospel there seemed a perfect contrast. My mind,
however, was then but little informed upon religious
subjects. I was distrustful of my own judgment, and
thought it prudent to be guided by the judgment of
those, of whose piety I had a good opinion. Few
young persons think deeply and solidly, and fewer
still have reading and experience sufficient to enable
them to form an accurate estimate upon such intri-
cate questions. Indeed, most men, in the earlier
stages of life, are led, as I was, by the prejudices of
education, and the example of those with whom they
converse. There is, moreover, so much that is excel-
lent in the articles, homilies, and common forms of
our Church, that it cannot be a matter of wonder, if
unenlightened and inexperienced young men, who are
either careless about all religion, or whose desires
are good, and intentions simple, should comply with
what they hear spoken of in terms of high approba-
o o 2
564
APPENDIX II.
tion, and see practised every day by their superiors
both in age, rank, and learning. The idea too, that
we have left the Church of Rome because of her de-
lusions, and are members of a reformed and Protestant
community, has no little weight with the larger part
of candidates for the sacred ministry.
I am well aware, that many of the most serious and
useful of my clerical brethren are of an opinion very
different from me, respecting the established religion
of this country. It is not long since a clergyman of
this description told me, in a manner extremely em-
phatical, that our Church is all pure and without
spot. (x) I was surprised at such an assertion, from
a conscientious man ; but I have no material objec-
tion to any person's enjoying his own sentiments in
peace. I claim the same liberty, and desire nothing
further. Earnestly wishing success to the ministerial
labours of every good man, whether in the Establish-
ment or out of it, and without either condemning or
approving one denomination or another, I obey the
painful dictates of my own mind. Possibly I am
mistaken. If I am, it is to be lamented, because I
prefer my present situation to most others, I know
of in England. If I had been disposed to leave it, I
have not been without opportunity. Twenty years
ago, the late John Thornton, Esq. of Clapham, near
(1) This brings to my mind a remark which Mr. Whiston
used frequently to make upon the very learned and excellent
Bishop Gibson," That he seemed to think the Church of Eng-
land, as it just then happened to be, established by modern
laws and customs, came down from heaven with the Athanasian
creed in its hand."—Biographical Dictionary, Art. Gibson.
APPENDIX II.
565
London, voluntarily offered to procure me better
preferment, if I would accept of it; but I told him,
after expressing my gratitude, that Divine Providence
seemed to have placed me where I was, and I could
not think of quitting my station, merely for the sake
of a better living: till the time should come when
the same Providence should call me away. That
time seems to me to be now come: since I cannot
any longer keep my Church and retain my honour,
in obeying the dictates of conscience. In my opinion,
this is a providential call to quit my station, though
I never expect to be so happily circumstanced again.
I know well what pain such a determination will give
my dear people : but with all due regard to the feel-
ings of my friends, I must consider that I am amen-
able, in the first place, to the great Head of the
Church for my conduct; and must, on the highest
considerations, endeavour to conduct myself agree-
ably to his pleasure. After a thousand defects, both
in my public ministrations and private conduct, I can
almost say, I have done my best to promote as well
the temporal, as spiritual interests of the town of
Macclesfield; and I heartily wish my successor may
be more acceptable, more heavenly-minded, more
laborious, more useful, and more successful in win-
ning souls to Christ.
To all this, I am aware it will be objected, that "I
am taking a very disreputable step, and that a vast
majority of the men of sense and learning around me
are of a different opinion."
Very true. I admit every thing which can be said
on this score, in the utmost latitude. But a passage
or two of our Saviour's discourses is a sufficient
566
APPENDIX II.
support against all obloquy of this nature. These
monopolizers of sense and learning must answer for
themselves, and I must give an account unto God
for my own conduct. I consider myself as a shadow
that passeth away. I feel the infirmities of nature
coming on, and death stands ready at the door to
summon me before the bar of my Redeemer. It is
therefore of consequence that we act now as we shall
wish we had acted then. At that trial no man can
be responsible for his brother:—" Every one that
hath forsaken houses or brethren, or sisters, or fa-
ther, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for
my sake and the Gospel's, shall receive an hundred-
fold now, with persecutions, and in the world to
come eternal life."—Matt. xix. 29. Mark x. 29, 30.
" Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my
words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of
him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he
shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy
angels."—Mark viii. 38.
" Why are you so squeamish in little matters ?
Why not make yourself easy, and conduct yourself
like the rest of your clerical brethren ?"
To tell you the truth, candid reader, whosoever
you may be, I have long and earnestly endeavoured
to quiet my conscience, and to reconcile it to my
present situation. I have used every method in my
power for this purpose. I have pleaded the example
of others, great men, good men, useful men: I have
soothed it; I have desisted from reading, thinking,
examining; I have pleaded the wishes of my friends,
the usefulness of my ministerial labours; the disa-
greeableness of changing my situation, and forming
APPENDIX II.
567
new connexions; the extreme inconvenience of giving
up my present income, &c. &c. but after all I can do,
conscience follows me from place to place, and thun-
ders in my ear, " What is a man profited if he shall
gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? or what
shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?—He that
loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy
of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than
me, is not worthy of me ; and he that taketh not his
cross and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that
loseth his life for my sake shall find it."
How would you conduct yourself in such a case ?
According to the thirty-sixth canon we are willingly
and ex animo to subscribe, that the book of Common
Prayer, and of ordering of bishops, priests, and dea-
cons, containeth in it nothing contrary to the Scrip-
tures: and that we acknowledge all and every, the
Thirty-nine Articles, besides the Ratification, to be
agreeable to the word of God. (')
(1) As to Mr. Palev's scheme of subscribing the Thirty-nine
Articles as articles of peace; it is all sophistry ! and such as an
honest man should be ashamed to avow. I admire the abilities
of the man, but detest his recommending prevarication to the
clergy.—See his very able and popular work, entitled, Moral
and Political Philosophy, b. 3, p. 1, chap. 22, p. 180, edit. 1.
Mr. Palev is very justly reprehended by the excellent Mr.
Gisbome. " The opinion which Mr. Paley maintains," says
he," appears to me not only unsupported by argument, but
likely to be productive of consequences highly pernicious.
That subscription may be justified without an actual belief of
each of the Articles, as X understand Mr. Paley to intimate, is
a gratuitous assumption. On this point let the Articles speak
for themselves. Why is an Article retained in its place, if it be
568
APPENDIX II.
God of my fathers ! what a requirement is this ?
Can I lift up my hand to heaven and swear by Him
" that liveth for ever and ever," that I do willingly
and ex animo, subscribe as is legally required ? And
can any man living thus subscribe, who has thorough-
ly considered the subject ? We must shuffle and
prevaricate in some things, say and do what we will.
I myself strongly approve the general strain of the
doctrines of our Church; but then here is no choice.
It must be willingly and ex animo, all and every
thing! There is no medium.
And can I (among other things which are to be
subscribed) believe from my soul, before the Searcher
of Hearts, who requireth truth in the inward parts,
and in the face of the whole Christian world declare,
that " Whosoever doth not hold the ' catholic faith,'"
—as explained in the Athanasian Creed—" and keep
not meant to be believed? If one may be signed without being
believed, why not all ? By what criterion are we to distinguish
those which may be subscribed by a person who thinks them
false, from those which may not ? Is not the present mode of
subscription virtually the same as if each article were separately
offered to the subscriber ? And in that case, could any man be
justified in subscribing one which he disbelieved ?
" No circumstance,"he adds," could have a more direct ten-
dency to ensnare the consciences of the clergy; no circumstance
could afford the enemies of the Established Church a more ad-
vantageous occasion of charging her ministers with insincerity,
than the admission of the opinion, that the Articles may safelv
be subscribed, without a conviction of their truth, taken seve-
rally, as well as collectively. That opinion I have seen main-
tained in publications of inferior note, but I could not, without
particular surprise and concern, behold it avowed by a writer of
such authority as Mr. Paley."
APPENDIX II.
569
it whole and undefiled, shall, without doubt, perish
everlastingly ?" This hellish proposition we are en-
joined, not only to believe ourselves, but to affirm
that we do willingly and ex animo subscribe to it, as
being agreeable to the word of God; and then we
must openly profess our faith in it fourteen times
every year. I am not unacquainted that various
manoeuvres are made use of to render these harsh
expressions palatable: but all illustrations and modi-
fications of these damnatory sentences, appear to me
illusive. Bishop Burnet has said all that can well be
said upon them, but, in my opinion, to very little
purpose. Honestly, therefore, did Archbishop Til-
lotson declare to him, " The account given of Atha-
nasius's Creed seems to me in no wise satisfactory.
I wish we were well rid of it."—And so do I too, for
the credit of our common Christianity. It has been
a millstone about the neck of many thousands of
worthy men. To be sure, declarations like these
ascended out of the bottomless pit, to disgrace the
subscribing clergy, to render ridiculous the doctrines
of the Gospel, to impel the world into infidelity, and
to damn the souls of those, who, for the sake of filthy
lucre, set their hands to what they do not honestly
believe. The truth is, though I do believe the doc-
trine of the Trinity, as revealed in the Scriptures;
yet I am not prepared, openly and explicitly, to send
to the devil, under my solemn subscription, every
one who cannot embrace the Athanasian illustration
of it. In this thing the Lord pardon his servant for
subscribing in time past. Assuredly I will do so no
more. Those who can do it are extremely welcome
to the best bishoprics and livings in the kingdom.
570
APPENDIX II.
I should like to retain what I have already gotten,
but not upon the conditions required. As an honest
man, and a man under expectation of salvation, I must
renounce my present situation, and the little emolu-
ments which arise therefrom. There is no other
alternative. (')
" But you are acting a part extremely imprudent,
on account of your family."
True ; but then I am obeying the dictates of con-
science, and, of course, the commands of God. And
you know where it is written, " By faith Abraham,
when he was called to go out into a place which he
should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and
he went out, not knowing whither he went. By
faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a
strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac
and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
for he looked for a city which hath foundations,
whose builder and maker is God."
" By faith Moses, when he was come to years, re-
fused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of
(1) I have for some years made myself tolerably easy under
the damnatory clauses of the Athanasian creed, by omitting to
read it at the times appointed. But, to an upright mind, this is
not perfectly satisfactory; because we solemnly declare and
subscribe our names before the bishop, that we will conform to
the Liturgy of the Church of England, as by law established.
Now every time we omit to read the said creed, or any other
part of the sendee of the Church, when appointed by law to he
read, we are guilty of a breach of engagement. So that, whe-
ther we read the creed in question, or neglect to read it, we are
culpable, if we do not ex animo approve of it.
APPENDIX II.
571
God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than
the treasures in Egypt; for he had respect unto the
recompense of reward." (')
" You are already in the Church, and have got
over the business of subscription. You may con-
tinue, therefore, in your present station without being
called upon to repeat the same painful ceremony."(2)
(1) I do not recollect reading or hearing of any instance so
like unto this of Moses as that of the Marquis of Vico, in Italy,
who died A. D. 1592, at the age of 74. When he was come to
years, and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, he refused to he called
the son and heir to a marquis, a cup-bearer to an emperor,
nephew to a pope, and chose rather to suffer affliction, persecu-
tion, banishment, loss of lands, livings, wife, children, honours,
and preferments, than to enjoy the sinful pleasures of Italy for
a season : esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than
all the honours of the most brilliant connexions, and all the
enjoyments of the most ample fortune; for lie had respect unto
the recompense of the reward.—See his Life, at large, written
by Mr. Samuel Clark, which is extremely well worth the atten-
tion of every man, who is in any respect a sufferer for the sake
of a good conscience.
(2) [" In a work published in 1835, entitled ' Congregational
Reform,' by the Rev. Peter Hall, M.A., rector of Milston,
Wilts, and curate of St. Luke's, Chelsea; it is said,' If the
Church of England is to retain the most pious and honourable
of her communion, as well as the esteem of those that are
without, some freedom must be allowed in the matter of sub-
scription. I allude particularly, to the unqualified assent
required for our liturgy by the act of uniformity. The history
of that enactment, from first to last, is a foul blot to the Church
of England; and it is now high time that her reproach he wiped
away. It claims for a work of man, what is the exclusive
prerogative of the word of God—a declaration of positive
perfection and infallibility. I say deliberately, that such an
572
APPENDIX II.
I have many years been determined never to sub-
scribe again, agreeably to the requirement of the
act was a deed of tyranny against man, and of blasphemy
against God: and no wonder, if, from the hour when it was
passed, the Church of England has never prospered. Its pro-
visions are utterly indefensible ; and to assert, that the unex-
ceptionable approval which it requires, is to be understood
under certain limitations and restrictions, is to add insult to
injury, and peijury to falsehood; for it is to teach men, to take
an oath according to the letter, which you dare not take yourself,
till you have first explained away its import according to the
spirit. If the words mean not what they say, let them be
altered to say precisely what they mean. And so let every
man swear, if he must swear at all, without equivocation or
reserve. At present, the measure only operates as a temptation
to the unprincipled, and a snare to the unwary.'—P. 218.
" In another note, Mr. Hall enumerates the instances of
clergymen, who have lately seceded from the Establishment
from conscientious motives.
" ' I say nothing,' he says,' of those who have taken their
leave on the adoption of Socinian heresies; such as the Rev.
Mr. Bevan(1817), and the Rev.George Baring (1817); nothing
of those who have run wild after Antinomian indulgences;
such as the Rev. Thomas C. Cowan (1818); nothing of those
who have fallen back into the superstitions of Popery; such as
the Hon. and Rev. Thomas Spencer, brother of the present
Earl (1830); nothing of those who have turned aside into the
fond and foolish conceits of Newman Street; such as the Rev.
Mr. Armstrong (1833), the Rev. H. Owen (1833), and the
Rev. H. Dalton (1835). My object is chiefly to shew the
havoc already committed, and likely to be committed, every
year, among pious and honest clergymen, sound in faith and
attachment to the good cause, but scandalized at the laxity of
discipline, and consequent misappropriation of the sen-ices, of
the Church of England !'—Pp. 209,210.
APPENDIX II. 573
36th canon, whatever offers of preferment might be
made me. But when I reflect seriously and closely
" The following is the list, which is limited to the last fifteen
years:—
" 1. Rev. William Hum, vicar of Debenham, Suffolk, 1823.
" 2. Rev. H. B. Bulteel, curate of St. Ebbe's, Oxford, 1831.
" 3. Rev. Lancelot Charles L. Brenton, officiating minister
in the parish of Stadhampton, Oxon, 1831.
" 4. Rev. W. Tiptaft, vicar of Sutton-Courtney, Berks, 1832.
" 5. Rev. J. L. Harris, perpetual curate of Plymstock, Ply-
mouth, 1832.
" 6. Rev. William Morshead, assistant minister at St. Mary's
chapel, Bath, 1832.
" 7. Rev. J. S. Baker, assistant curate at Staines, 1832.
" 8. Rev. James T. Campbell, rector of Tilston, Cheshire,
1832.
" 9. Rev. Henry Borlase, curate of St. Keyne, Cornwall, 1833.
" 10. Rev. John W. Peters, incumbent of Langford, Berks.
" All the above have announced, through the press, their
reasons for separation; and Mr. Hall admits, that they 'appear
generally to have been better men than those who answered
them.' Among those who have not thought proper, so far as
we are aware, to announce their reasons for leaving the Esta-
blishment, through the press, we have to add :
" 11. Rev. Mr. Jones, of Bristow, Norfolk.
" 12. Rev. Richard Hill, curate of West Alvington, Devon.
" 13. Rev. Bernard Gilpin, rector of St. Andrew's, Hertford ,
1834.
" It will be seen that six of the above were beneficed clergy-
men; men who could be open to no conceivable inducement
voluntarily to surrender their preferment, and desert the Esta-
blishment, except from a conscientious conviction of the unlaw-
fulness of the terms of conformity."—Eclectic Review, Feb.
1836.
The Rev. J. C. Philpot, fellow of Worcester College, and
574
APPENDIX II.
upon the subject, this does not satisfy me. I cannot
help considering my holding a Church, and comply-
ing with all its rights and ceremonies, as a silent ac-
quiescence in, and a tacit approbation of, all the
unevangelical traits of the Church of England as by
law established. While such is my situation, I cer-
tainly constitute a part of the grand system of the
antichristian apostacy, which, as I understand the
prophetic Scriptures, is, in due time, to undergo a
total subversion.
"You are quitting a situation of uncommon use-
fulness."
Granted: with my views, however, I cannot ho-
nourably and safely do otherwise. I believe, and
fear, and tremble at the word of the Most High.
Besides, God can do as well without my labours as
with them. And if he should think proper by this
step to cast me quite aside, as a broken vessel, no
longer of use, I will endeavour to acquiesce in the
divine determination.
" God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best: his state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed
curate of Stadhampton, Oxfordshire; and the Rev. Charles
Hargrove, rector and vicar of Kilmina, in the diocese of Tuam,
likewise announced through the press, last year (1836), their
secession from the Establishment. The Patriot of June 15,
1837, also states that the Rev. Edward Battiscombe, A. M.,
fellow of King's College, Cambridge, has resigned his fellow-
ship, and renounced his connexion with the Church of Eng-
land, having joined the Baptist denomination.]—Ed.
APPENDIX II.
575
And post o'er land and ocean without rest!
They also serve, who only stand and wait."
If the Church of England retains much of the
spirit, and some of the superstitions of the Church of
Rome, (J) what is a conscientious man to do, and
how is he to act, under such a persuasion ? Let any
person weigh thoroughly the meaning of the follow-
(1) The late Lord Chatham, in a celebrated speech, which he
made in the House of Lords in favour of the Dissenters, said,
" We have a Popish liturgy, a Calvinistic creed, and an Armi-
nian clergy."
[Sir Walter Scott's testimony on this subject, must be con-
sidered peculiarly deserving of attention. " You must re-
member," says this eminent writer, " that the Reformation of
the Church of England was originally brought about by
Henry VIII. whose principal object was to destroy the depend-
ence of the clergy on the Pope, and transfer to himself, whom
he declared Head of the Church in his own regal right, all the
authority and influence which had formerly been enjoyed by
the Papal See. When, therefore, Henry had destroyed the
monastic establishments, and confiscated their possessions, and
had reformed such doctrines of the Church as he judged re-
quired amendment, it became his object to preserve her general
constitution, and the gradation of inferior and superior clergy,
by whom her functions were administered, because the promo-
tion was, in a great measure, distributed by the hands of the
King himself, to whom, therefore, the inferior clergy must
naturally be attached by hope of preferment, and the superior
orders by gratitude, and the expectation of further advance-
ment. The order of Bishops, in particular, raised to that rank
by the Crown, and enjoying seats in the House of Lords, must
be supposed, on most occasions, willing to espouse the cause
and forward the views of the King in such debates as might
occur in that assembly."]—Ed.
576
APPENDIX II.
ing declarations, and then let him say in what man-
ner I ought to act:—"And the third angel followed
them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship
the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his
forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the
wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out with-
out mixture into the cup of his indignation : and he
shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the
presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of
the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascended
up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor
night, who worship the beast and his image, and
whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." (')—
Rev. xiv. 9—11.
Are not these words enough to make the hair
" stand on end, like quills upon the fretful porcu-
pine?" We all read them, and have read them many
times for many years, and yet, from our general
(1) Dr. Doddridge observes on this paragraph of Scripture,
" When I seriously reflect on this text, and how directly the
force of it lies against those, who, contrary to the light of their
consciences, continue in the communion of the Church of Rome,
for secular advantage, or to avoid the terror of persecution, it
almost makes me tremble : and I heartily wish, that all others,
who connive at those things in the discipline and worship of
Protestant Churches, which they in their consciences think to
be sinful remains of popish superstition and corruption, would
seriously attend to this passage, which is one of the most
dreadful in the whole Book of God, and weigh its awful con-
tents, that they may keep at the greatest possible distance from
this horrible curse, which is sufficient to make the ears of every
one that hears it to tingle.
APPENDIX II.
577
conduct, it would seem that no such passage might
be found in the Sacred Writings. We Protestants
are almost universally of opinion, that they apply
directly to the members of the Church of Rome.
The members of that Church read them as well as
we Protestants, and yet we hardly ever hear of a
Catholic becoming a Protestant, any more than of a
Jew becoming a Christian. " They have eyes, and
see not; ears, and hear not; hearts, and understand
not." The Lord, in judgment, " hath sent them
strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." The
words are extremely plain, and inexpressibly alarm-
ing; but the force of them is always evaded, by
applying them to any thing rather than to their own
Church. We Protestants, too, read them, and make
ourselves easy under the awful denunciation, by ap-
plying them exclusively to the Church of Rome ;
never dreaming that they are, at least in a second
sense, equally applicable, not only to the English,
but to every Church Establishment in Christendom,
which retains any of the marks of the beast. To me
this admits of no doubt. If I am mistaken, it is my
very great misfortune. My judgment has not been
biassed by interest, by connexions, by inclination, or
by any human considerations whatever. I have
thought much upon the subject; read on both sides
of the question whatever has fallen in my way ; con-
versed with various persons for the sake of informa-
tion; suffered the matter to rest upon my mind for
some years undetermined ; have never made my fears,
suspicions, and dissatisfaction known to any man;
and now, when I bring near to myself the thought
P P
578
APPENDIX II.
of quitting one of the most commodious churches in
the kingdom, erected on purpose for my own minis-
trations; leaving interred by it many a precious
deposit, who will, I trust, be " my joy and my crown
in the great day of the Lord Jesus, besides a mother,
a wife, two children, and a sister; and giving up
various kind friends, whom " I love as my own soul,"
together with a large body of people, that, "if it
were possible, would have plucked out their own
eyes, and have given them to me—What shall I
say ?—All that is affectionate within me recoils. I
am torn with conflicting passions; and am ready to
say with the Apostle, " I could wish that myself were
accursed from Christ for my friends and brethren,
whom I love in the bowels of Jesus Christ."
But then, various passages of Scripture—(ill un-
derstood, some will say)—urge me, on the most
momentous considerations, to renounce a situation
which I cannot any longer retain with peace of mind.
Perhaps it is my own fault; certainly it is my very
heavy misfortune. I bewail it exceedingly. I have
received no affront, conceived no disgust; formed no
plans; made no connexions; consulted no friends;
experienced no weariness of the ministerial office;
the ways of religion are still pleasant; I have been
glad when duty called me to the house of God; his
word hath been delightful; the pulpit has been
awfully pleasing ; the table of the Lord hath been the
joy of my heart; and now that Providence calleth
me away, with some degree of reluctance it is that I
say, Lord, here I am; do with me what seemeth
thee good. Let me stay where I am. I gladly stay.
APPENDIX II.
579
Send me where thou wilt. I will endeavour to sub-
mit. Only go with me, and thy pleasure shall be
mine.
" I argue not
Against heaven's hand or will, nor hate a jot
Of heart or hope; but still bear up and steer
Right onward."
p p 2
ADDENDA.
State of Missions.—Page 148.
[The United Brethren are well employed in Greenland, La-
brador, North America, the West Indies, the Danish Islands,
Surinam, and South Africa.—The Church Missionary Society
directs its energies to West Africa, the Mediterranean, the
north, south, and west of India, Ceylon, Australia, the West
Indies, and the north west of America.—The Weslevan Society
is engaged in Ireland, Prance, the Mediterranean, India, Cey-
Ion, Australia, South and West Africa, the West Indies, and
British North America.—The London Society has stations in
the South Sea Islands, beyond the Ganges, in China, Malacca,
Singapore, Penang, and Java, in various parts of India, in
Russia, the Mediterranean, Africa, the African Islands, and
the West Indies.—And the Baptist Society labours in India,
Ceylon, Java, Padang, the West Indies, and South Africa. In
some instances, unlooked for success has rewarded the toils of
those engaged in these important fields; and notwithstanding
the ordinary and sometimes peculiar trials of their station, a
most encouraging amount of good is still apparent.
The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, several
years ago, transferred the superintendence of the missions in
Southern India, to the Incorporated Society for the Propagation
of the Gospel in Foreign Parts; engaging, however, to support
the missionaries, native priests and catechists, who were in its
service at the time of the transfer, during their respective lives.
One missionary only, three native priests, and a few of the
582
ADDENDA.
catechists, are still living, (1837). Notwithstanding the trans-
fer, the society continues to render most efficient aid to the
missions and missionary establishments, to the native schools,
and to the European population in Southern India. It also
supports two missionaries, and several schools, in the Scilly
Islands.
The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel exerts its in-
fluence in British North America, India, and the West Indies.
The Colonial Missionary Society was formed in the year
1836, for the purpose of sending to the Colonies, in some of
which the most awful destitution of the means of religion pre-
vails, evangelical ministers of the Congregational denomina-
tion. During the past year it has sent out, or aided in sending
out, one to Van Diemen's Land, three to Canada, and one to
the New Colony, South Australia. It has also made grants to
several ministers, who are already labouring in some of the
most neglected and destitute parts of our Colonial empire.
The Home Missionary Society was established in the year
1819. It has under its patronage about eighty agents, in-
eluding ministers who are assisted with grants, to enable them
to extend their labours among the villages in their several
districts. These agents have above 25,000 hearers, and are
labouring among a population of 150,000, besides at least
200,000 more, which they are unable to supply.
There are also connected with the above stations, sixty-six
Sunday Schools, containing nearly 6000 children, and about
400 gratuitous teachers.
Church of England.—Page 150.
The following Tables, from a paper entitled " The Church
without Rates," cast some light on English Episcopacy :—
ADDENDA.
583
REVENUES OF THE ARCHIEPISCOPAL AND EPISCOPAL
SEES.
8*2 " a
O g c g
f I'll
a ®
CO
a «
I
III 1
8 a
t o •
^■3*1
rs
5*m
S"=
3 ^
#>H O « 1,
Ph jj-j
J®
fl o-- c t)
■c S
si >
a |
O
o A
SEES.
£ S 8 S-
° S « 2 t
O 11 H 5)
fl 2 "o if? ^
£W
§ ® i
_ <D
a4-
§ °
t!
£ *
S o
H
fl*
5z
£
£
£
Canterbury
22,216
3,034
19,182
York
13,798
1,169
12,629
St. Asaph ....
7,408
1,107
6,301
Bangor
6,580
2,116
4,464
Bath and Wells .
6,770
824
5,946
Bristol
3,032
681
2,351
Carlisle ....
2,585
372
2,213
3,261
Chester
3,951'
690
Chichester ....
4,375
146
4 029
St. David's . . . .
2,490
593
1,897
Durham ....
21,991
2,925
19,066
Ely
12,627
1,522
11,105
Exeter ....
3,147
434
2,713
Gloucester . . . .
2,406
124
2,282
Hereford ....
3,090
574
2,516
Lichfield and Coventry . .
4,375
452
3,923
Lincoln ....
4,913
371
4,542
Llandaff . . . .
1,008
84
924
London ....
15,133
1,204
13,929
Norwich . . . .
5,696
301
5,395
Oxford ....
3,106
458
2,648
Peterborough . . . .
3,518
415
3,103
Rochester ....
1,523
64
1,459
Salisbury . . . .
4,145
206
3,939
Winchester
12,107
956
11,151
Worcester . ...
6,916
347
6,569
Sodor and Man .
2,725
170
2,555
Total . . .
181,631
....
160,292
Average .
" 6,727
5,936
584
ADDENDA.
Oxford
Peterborough
Rochester
Salisbury
Winchester
Worcester
York
Sod or and Man
Total
St. Asaph
Bangor
Bath and Wells
Bristol
Canterbury
Carlisle
Chester
Chichester
St. David's
Durham
Ely
Exeter
Gloucester
Hereford
Lichfield and Coventry ....
Lincoln
Llandaff
London
DIOCESES.
ABSTRACT OF THE INCOMES OF INCUMBENTS'AND CURATES.
10,540
W©IO>-'©CO©COtO.£.?OO<^»Od5>-'O»©©©S0tOrf»-O«W£OiJi-
WH03®CD^030)0>OtOHOHU«0»tO-40^0iWOMi!
each Diocese returned
to the Commissioners,
includingSinecureRec-
tories, but exclusive of
Benefices annexed to
i other Preferments.
Number of Benefices in!
tO I-"— 05 JO CO 1-1 k-t >-» >-i 8?
H-05t^K5CO«Ot^lOO«CpCnOxOO-vj^CDO>OivjO«|Oi-KJOCOC:
CO OJ CO CO -4 CD CO JO —'Crt>f».a0?O"<IM^C0<IO2C«COi—'OI—'?0>—-ac
"© o a> "© "4* "©"o>"0 "bo ~o» "0 "0 "0 "to "V "fo "0 "gj CO"ot"bo-J "0"co "co"0 "oc
MOO'HCflOCjCOWOvlMSOOIOSOOMiOMvjOxOCDOl*'
COO<CnrfKO«-ltOa>CO©^lCOW^l©C»©«©^lK)t!OV|©-^»q>—'©
of the
Net Incomes of
Incumbents
in each Diocese,
exclusive
asbeforementioned.
Aggregate Amount 1
E!£22g£2g2g5£§«t?8g8?5g852gg>g>!S
•vJtOtOtO©>^®OCO<©»4a3©>f»-CO>i*.COtO>sJt«DtO:o*OOtOO>tCt--
|
Average
Net
Income.
CO ' tO tO *-> <-> C* CO *-* OS CO ^ *-> CO >—■ to 1—1 to mmM
CO>—'©^©COCtOCDt—'tOOO>^tO-sJOOtOC14».-oCoJo(35ii^
coS-©to«©©cototoco©-4i©tococSoo>>-'oo^^co«o2c
of
Curates
in
each
Diocese.
A
r*
>(*■
g
"a.
s
of
Stipends
of Curates
in each
Diocese.
~£3,56i~
4,723
18,578
10,668
14,656
3,684
23,239
9,440
11,464
8,556
6,583
28,759
11,405
13,035
24,948
48,347
6,749
35,118
38,510
8,054
11,266
6,551
18,174
19,858
9,002
29,553
211
»•
^-aao©aD©QD^M©o»^aoQoooQocoootovjoogooD05Qo^jS
©Ci»-'GD>-'SC!l-,a0C0©<O"»4»— •-'©©^OiCAOO^to^oi—
Average
of
Stipends
ADDENDA.
585
SCALE OF THE INCOMES OF THE BENEFICED
CLERGY.
Page 146.
Under £50 .
•
. 297
£50,
and under
£100
. . 1629
100,
99
150 .
. 1602
150,
99
200
. . 1354
200,
99
300 .
. 1979
300,
99
400
. . 1326
400,
99
500 .
. 830
500,
99
750
. . 954
750,
99
1000 .
. 323
1000,
99
1500
. . 134
1500,
99
2000 .
32
2000,
99
2500
. . 9
2500,
99
3000 .
4
3000,
99
3500
. . 1
3500,
99
4000 .
2
4800
. . 1
7300
1
10,478
Page 150.
The following is an Extract from the Report of the Church
Commissioners:—
APPENDIX, No. 1.
Present Condition of the several Dioceses in England and Wales,
with reference to the number of Benefices and to Population.
PROVINCE OF CANTERBURY.
Number of „ . ..
Diocese. Benefices. Population.
Canterbury . . . 343 . . 402,885
St. Asaph . . . . 131 . . 197,392
Bangor . . . . 124 . . 153,344
586
ADDENDA.
Diocese.
Number of
Benefices.
Population.
Bath and Wells . . 441 . . 403,908
Bristol . . . 254 . . 263,328
Chichester . . . 267 . . 236,950
St. David's . . 407 . . 372,685
Ely . . . . 149 . . 126,316
Exeter . . , 611 . . 773,251
Gloucester . . . 281 . . 275,806
Hereford . . . 256 . . 207,451
Lichfield and Coventry 606 . . 983,783
Lincoln . . . 1234 . . 855,039
Llandaff . . . 192 . . 183,990
London . . . 635 . . 1,688,899
Norwich . . . 1021 . . 692,163
Oxford . . . 209 . . 139,581
Peterborough . . 290 . . 186,193
Rochester . . 94 . . 196,716
Salisbury . . . 386 . . 320,547
Winchester . . 416 . . 780,214
Worcester . . . 212 . . 357,548
PROVINCE OF YORK.
York. . . .891 ..1,463,503
Carlisle . . . . 127 . 127,701
Chester . . . 554 . .1,902,354
Durham . . . 146 . . 452,687
Condition of the several Dioceses in England and Wales, with
reference to the Number of Benefices and to Population, ac-
cording to the Proposed Alterations.
St. Asaph and Bangor. 253 . . 339,450
Bath and Wells . . 441 .. 403,908 unaltered
Chichester . . . 267 . . 236,950 unaltered
St. David's . . 391 . . 365,646
APPENDIX, No. 2.
PROVINCE OF CANTERBURY.
Diocese.
Canterbury
Number of
Benefices.
. 381 .
Population.
423,069
ADDENDA.
587
Diocese.
Number of
Benefices.
Population.
Ely . .
. 554 . .
, 393,347
Exeter
.611 . .
773,251 unaltered
Gloucester
. 363 . .
324,198
Hereford .
. 264 .
. 218,392
Lichfield
. 459 . .
. 612,555
Lincoln
. 780 . .
. 506,745
Llandaff and Bristol
. 233 . ,
. 303,875
London
. 244 . ,
, 1,746,504
Norwich
. 809 . .
568,285
Oxford
. 523 . .
, 388,043
Peterborough
. 498 . .
394,567
Rochester .
. 536 . .
. 471,813
Salisbury
. 398 . .
. 315,405
Winchester
.391 .
. 495,846
Worcester
. 355 . .
573,020
PROVINCE
OF YORK.
York .
. 595 . .
583,132
Carlisle .
. 285 . .
435,432
Chester
. 246 . .
462,506
Durham
. 152 . .
459,964
Manchester
. 205 . .
1,208,533
Ripon .
. 153 . .
739,748
As to the sentiments prevailing in the Church of England,
the Christian Observer says, in a review of Dr. O'Brien's Ser-
mons on Faith (May, 1836):—
" Even as recently as we commenced our labours, the great
majority of the English clergy taught, that men are justified
before God, not through faith only, but through faith and
something else; and hundreds of pages, in our ear lier volumes,
were devoted to the refutation of this unscriptural and Popish
doctrine. At that period, we were involved in constant arguments
with British critics and anti-jacobin reviewers, and with what
were called the most orthodox divines of those days, and among
them, the writers, or defenders of not a few of the Christian Know-
ledge tracts, who boldly asserted this mongrel, unscriptural, and
anti-protestant doctrine, and accused all who opposed it of sap-
588
ADDENDA.
ping the foundation of moral virtue. At length, however,
brighter days arose; the increased circulation and study of the
Word of God; the revived and enlarged attention paid to the
writings of our reformers and most scriptural divines; and
especially the much neglected, and not seldom reprobated,
homilies of our Church, which are peculiarly explicit on this
momentous subject—and the many important, though some-
times irritating, controversies which have been waged—to-
gether with the wide extension of sound doctrine and scriptural
piety, have either enlightened the understandings, or, for the
most part, stopped the mouths of objectors; so that we have been
repeatedly told of late years, in private and in print, when con-
tending for this essential tenet of our holy faith, that the task
is quite superfluous and constructively uncharitable. What
clergyman, it is asked, what episcopalian magazine, what
writer of a tract for the Christian Knowledge Society, denies, or
doubts that it is the doctrine of Scripture, and the Church of
England, that we are justified by faith only? Why then, all
this reiteration, this controversy, this wearisome reference to
articles, and homilies, and 'hackneyed texts' of Scripture!
We reply, that the improvement, though great, is far from being
universal, for, even to this hour, thousands of sermons are
preached, in which the doctrine of justification by faith only is
avowedly contravened; so that, even on this ground, the discus-
sion is not superfluous. But a still more important reason is,
that orthodox ideas are not commensurate with orthodox lan-
guage; and that, in many quarters, the doctrine under consi-
deration, while admitted in words, is set aside in argument, and
this in several ways, of which more hereafter; but one of them
is, by including in the notion of faith what does not belong to
it. We have heard divines say,' Yes—certainly—it is not to
be denied that we are justified by faith only;' but when asked
what they meant by faith, they replied, ' In short, the whole
Christian religion.' We are under no alarm for the interests of
morality; these are abundantly provided for in another, and far
more efficacious manner; but, in this question, we cannot be
too explicit in not allowing faith and its fruits to be ignorantly
or artfully blended. ' We claim no merit,' say some divines,
' we attribute the good works which result from faith to the
ADDENDA.
589
operation of God's Holy Spirit; but then, of the good works
thus wrought, we certainly do assert, that, being necessarily
included in that complex term, faith, they are regarded by
Infinite Wisdom and Mercy, in the matter of our justification.'
There are several refinements of this kind, all of which strike
at the very root of the simple, scriptural, and protestant notion
of faith, in reference to justification. The more glaring errors
are not obtruded so frequently as formerly; but these specious
substitutes are, in many cases, doing, perhaps, quite as serious
mischief."
As to the numbers of persons connected with the Established
Church, it may be stated, that in a letter lately published by
Dr. J. P. Smith, to Professor Lee, he says:—
" I trust you will not deem it impertinent in me to lay before
you the most authentic account, in my power to obtain, of the
number of Dissenters in England and Wales; but it is imper-
feet, and the former part of it is five years old.
"The number of Protestant dissenting congregations, ac-
cording to the best information that could be collected by the
editors of the Congregational Magazine, in 1829
Presbyterians, of whom the larger part, perhaps 200, are
Unitarians ........ 258
Congregational, otherwise called Independent . . . 1289
Anti-paedo-baptists, of whom a very small number are
Unitarians ........ 888
Methodists, including several sub-divisions; under this
head, also, for want of better information, the
Society of Friends is comprised . . . . 4087
Total . . . 8522
" This statement does not inform us of the number of
persons,* a defect which I have not the means of supplying.
u In the present year (1834), some gentlemen in London
have taken great pains to obtain a more minute account, using
every precaution to secure accuracy. But they have been able
to get returns only to furnish the following list, from two hun-
dred and three towns and villages, in twelve counties; and it is
important to remark, that some of the largest towns in the
590
ADDENDA.
kingdom, and in which Dissenters exist in greater numbers, both
absolute and proportionate, than in most of those which this list
comprehends, are not here included. Among those thus un-
happily wanting, are London, with its vast suburbs, Bristol,
Bath,Manchester, Bolton,in Lancashire; Leeds,Birmingham,
Sheffield, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leicester, Northampton, Nor-
wich, Cambridge, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Exeter, and many
other considerable towns. This statement, therefore, can be
regarded as only an approximation to a specimen, and that not
so favourable to the non-conformist part, as complete returns
would be.
Places of
Worship.
Protestant Dissenters, of \
aU denominations, m-/^4 231)701 47,276 75,766
eluding the Society of ( ' 7
Friends . . .)
Methodists . . . 214 74,897 22,377 38,706
Hearers.
Commu- Scholars,chiefly
r~T m Chanty and
mcants. SundaySchools.
Total of Nonconformists 848
Church of England . . 330
306,598
166,099
69,653
9,625
114,472
47,247
Number of Nonconform- i
ists above that of the (-518 140,499 60,028 67,225
Church of England . )
Since the publication of this letter, the Congregational Maga-
zine has furnished another statement on the subject, in which
it is said:—■" The total number of Congregations separate
from the Established Church, at the present time, stands thus :
Roman Catholics 416
Presbyterians
Independents ....
Baptists ......
Calvinistic Methodists .
Wesleyan Methodists
Other Methodists . * .
Quakers
Home Missionary and other Stations
Total of Nonconformist Congregations in
England alone .
1
197
1840
1201
427
2818
666
396
453
8414
ADDENDA.
591
" Now it appears from the best authorities, that the number
of Episcopalian churches and chapels in England is 11,825,
giving to the Established denomination 3,411 more places of
worship, than are possessed by all the other denominations
united."
It is afterwards proved, that more than half of the 11,825
churches and chapels, are not equal to the Home Missionary
Stations, in the number of their worshippers.—See Congrega-
tional Magazine, (January, 1836).
Church of Scotland and Dissent.—Page 150.
The following Summary of the Religious State of Scotland, is
from Macculloch's Statistics:—
Number of Number of
Congregations. Churches.
Established Church .... . . 1023
United Associate Synod . . . . 324 .
Original Burgher Associate Synod . 44 .
Associate Synod of Original Seceders . . 33 .
Relief Synod . . . . . 107 .
Reformed Presbyterian Synod . . . 33 .
Scottish Episcopal Church . . 72 .
Episcopal Churches not connected with
the Scotch Episcopal Church . . 4 ».
Independents 88 .
Other Sects (Protestants) . . . . 40 .
Total number of Protestant Congregations
not connected with the Established
Church . . 745
Majority of the Established Church
Catholic Chapels ....
278
55
223
Total majority of the Established Church
It is stated, on the same authority, that the number of
Churchmen, as compared with Dissenters, is much greater than
it would appear to be, from this account, of the number of
congregations belonging to each.
592
ADDENDA.
" Out of little more than 1,000 livings in the Church of Scot-
land, about 600 are in the hands of the nobility and gentry;
300 in the gift of the crown; and the remainder at the disposal
of public bodies and universities, with the small exception of
about fifty-seven, which belong to the people; that is to say,
where the minister is nominated, as he ought to be in all cases,
by the congregation at large."—The Seven Vials, by R. B. San-
derson, Esq., p. 30.
The great body of Dissenters in Scotland, commonly
called the Secession, originated about a century ago; and was
occasioned by evils, which a Presbyterian writer traces to
one definite cause, the enforcement of the law of patronage; or,
the settlement of ministers in opposition to the wishes of the
people. Those who at that time had the lead in the manage-
ment of the Church, it is admitted, by no mean authority, the
late Sir Henry Moncrieff, " affected to despise the influence of
the seceding clergymen, and to consider their secession as inca-
pable of producing any serious or permanent effects. The
anticipations of both parties are at sufficient variance with his-
torical truth, to afford a most impressive lesson to later times.
But though the consequences of the secession, have not been
precisely what was on either side foreseen, it has, undoubtedly,
made a material and permanent change in the ecclesiastical
condition of Scotland." Sir Henry candidly states, that the
number of the followers of the seceders " was, gradually, and
almost imperceptibly, augmented in every quarter of the king-
dom; till they have, at length, comprehended a proportion of
the population, which neither the nature of their controversy
with the Church, nor the weight and talents of their original
leaders, would have led either their friends or their opponents to
anticipate."
A subsequent secession, occasioned by the unjust and cruel
treatment of the Rev. Mr. Gillespie, one of the most inoffensive,
upright, and zealous men of his time, gave rise to the distinct
body of Scottish Dissenters, known under the name of the Relief
Church, or the Presbytery of Relief. Sir Henry Moncrieff states,
that, from the congregations of the eight seceding ministers, de-
ADDENDA.
593
posed by the General Assembly in 1740, adding to them the
Presbytery of Relief, " there have risen up, at least, nearly
360 seceding meetings;" which, at a moderate computation, in
round numbers, contain a fourth or a fifth part of the popu-
lation of Scotland. Lord Moncrieff, in his preface to the
republication of his father's tract, supposes this startling an-
nouncement to be merely conjectural. But, in a letter addressed,
in the last year (1836), to the Rt. Hon. Viscount Melbourne, by
the Rev. A. Thomson, of Coldstream, he says, " His lordship
might have found, by a very little inquiry, that the statement
was substantially accurate at the period referred to; and that
since then, upwards of a hundred congregations more, have
been added to the Relief and Secession Churches alone." If
we include all other congregations, separate from those of the
Establishment, double the number mentioned by the reverend
baronet, will be found considerably short of the truth. The Con-
gregationalists (including under that denomination the Scottish
Baptists) are, considered as a large body of Dissenters, of
comparatively recent origin in Scotland, " But," says Mr.
Thomson," if there were any truth in the adage, that' whate'er
is best administered is best,' they would be found entitled to
occupy a very high, if not the highest place, among the Dis-
senters of Scotland." They differ from the other evangelical
denominations, chiefly, in maintaining the independent form of
church government, as opposed to the classical or synodical;
and, it " must in fairness be added," says Mr. Thomson, " in
being more strict in their terms of church fellowship, and in the
administration of church discipline." " Adapting," says Mr.
Thomson," what I may call, Lord Moncrieff's rule, as the guide,
that none should be reckoned as belonging either to the Esta-
blishment or the Dissenters, but those who attend their churches,
there is a very simple mode of computation, by which your
lordship may be satisfied as to the truth of what I have just now
stated. Taking the established churches, in round numbers, at
1,000, and voluntary churches, of all denominations, at 800;
and allowing 200, at an average, to belong to each established
congregation, (which few will deny to be a sufficiently large
proportion, when we include all the most sequestered parishes
in the country); and, supposing 300 to belong to each dissenting
Q Q
594
ADDENDA.
congregation, (for it is easy to see that their respective ministers
could not be supported by a smaller average of attendants),
then, of course, the Dissenters will outnumber the Church, by
not fewer than 40,000. This calculation, I admit, is given as,
in a great measure, conjectural. But, my lord, we court inves-
tigation on the subject We only wish to be weighed in an
even balance. And I have no hesitation in maintaining, that
a searching statistical inquiry, such as the Royal Commission
ought now to make throughout the length and breadth of the
land, would prove, that the voluntary churches can reckon a
much greater proportion still, than I have stated, of those ' who
attend' places of worship; or, as I have before expressed it, of
the church-going population of Scotland."
It is a curious fact, that Blackwood's Magazine for De-
cember 1820—a periodical by no means likely unduly to
praise the Scottish Dissenters, or to depreciate the body from
which they are separated, says:—" The ministers who belong
to the Scottish Secession are, in general, men of great moral
integrity, considerable learning, and very extensive efficiency,
as Bible, and consequently, as useful, preachers. Indeed I do
not know what might now become of the mother-church without
them. For though she assuredly retains a supremacy in all the
great essentials of a national Establishment, (viz., endowments),
it must be confessed, that she requires to be looked after; for
she has a kind of natural infirmity about her, which strongly
induces sleep; and, having sunk for water amidst the depths of
worldly wisdom, her pitcher is not always stored with the most
wholesome beverage, nor are her children always so ready as
she could wish, to use it."
A proposition was made to Parliament, a few months ago, for
aid in building new churches," But," says Mr. Thomson," it is
very remarkable that in many, if not in most, of the parishes
where additional churches and endowments are prayed for, the
existing chinches are half, or more than half, empty, either
owing to the prevalence of dissent, or the incompetence of the
present incumbents. This application has been condemned by
many; and, among others, by the late learned and much
revered Dr. M'Crie, who emphatically declared, at a public
meeting, that,' if the Church of Scotland is not reformed, she is
ADDENDA.
595
not worth the defending; and the extending of her, is the
extending of corruption.'"
Dr. Chalmers deprecated the instructions given to the Royal
Commissioners of Inquiry, which have been appointed, as in-
volving the " grievous error," that any account should be taken
of the places of worship supported by Dissenters," insomuch
that if voluntaryism, however heretical and unsound, will make
itself commensurate to the supply of all the people, then an
Establishment might be dispensed with altogether." On this
passage Mr. Thomson thus speaks:—
" Now the meaning of this, if it has any meaning at all,
must be, that in the established churches, you have the most per-
feet security for hearing nothing but sound doctrine ; while, in
the churches of voluntaryism, you have no guarantee as to what
' the tenets or lessons of education may be,' and you are not
sure but you may be called, or rather you must expect, to
listen to what is ' heretical and unsound.' This is really more
than can be borne; and coming from such a man—not an
ignorant and violent enemy to the truth, but a zealous friend of
sound doctrine and its supporters—is absolutely intolerable.
For what is the fact of the easel Why, my lord, it is this—
and we challenge all the world to deny it;—that the Church
is, of all sects, the only great emporium of heretical and
unsound doctrine in Scotland! The prevailing bodies of Dis-
senters—and not less the smaller sects, consisting of the Old-
light Seceders, and the Reformed Presbytery, recognise, as I
stated before, the very same standard of doctrine with the
Established Church; and then they preach the doctrines of
these standards too, aye, and they preach nothing else. Can
this be affirmed of all the ministers of the Establishment f
Quite the reverse. There is, indeed, one very curious fact,
which the insidious hint, and most calumnious insinuation in
question, compels me to mention—it is well known in Scotland,
but it should be known every where;—it is this, that a stranger
going into any one dissenting place of worship in Scotland,
though he may be totally ignorant of the preacher, can be
quite sure, from the recognised creed of the body, what kind of
doctrine he is to hear. There is no need for the question,
which, in other circumstances, is quite a common one. ' Is he
Q Q 2
596
ADDENDA.
unsound, or evangelical, an Arminian or a Calvinist 1' How
very different is it as to the parish churches! A stranger going
into them, though aware that the creed of all of them is
thoroughly Calvinistic, cannot tell, but that according to Dr.
Burns, he may hear what the people, it seems, in too many
of them, are constantly taught—4 Socinian, Pelagian, or Anti-
nomian heresies!' One of three things, then, Dr. Chalmers,
acting as a man of truth and honour, must do,—either he must
retract his groundless insinuation, which would he ingenuous;
or he must deny Dr. Burns's testimony, which, however, is
generally believed to be true; or he must be obliged to admit,
that in his own Church, of which he speaks so loftily, there are
not only unsound and heretical, but what is, if possible, yet
worse, most unprincipled and hypocritical men."
Church of Ireland.—Page 158.
The state of the Church of Ireland is well described in a
letter from Archdeacon Glover, dated May 16, 1835, to Dean
Pellew, in answer to an invitation from the latter dignitary to
the clergy of the deanery of Norwich, to join in an address to
the king, in support, as it is termed, of the Irish Church, in
consequence of the proposition to employ a portion of its reve-
nues for general education. From this document the following
extract is made:—
" The Church of Ireland is an entirely different and isolated
question. It is so widely separated from the Church of Eng-
land, both in character and usefulness, that it is idle to repre-
sent them, except for the purposes of party, as linked together,
or to make the safety of the one depend, on maintaining the
corruption and abuses of the other. The Established Church
of England, is a mode of Christian faith and discipline, not only
acceptable, but dear to the affections of the great majority of
her people. No churches are here seen without a responsible
minister, no minister without a flock to feed. We may have
sinecures and pluralities which call for remedy; we may have
accumulations of weajth which might be usefully distributed in
ADDENDA.
597
less unequal portions; but we have none of such a nature as
those, to which the measure that so much alarms you can be
needfully applied. The Established Church of Ireland, is an
anomaly to which the whole Christian world supplies no parallel;
unions of eight or ten, or even more parishes, consolidated to
make up one rich living; that living, without either church or
manse, or Protestant congregation, its incumbent enjoying,
through a tithe-agent, its large emoluments; and those emolu-
ments wrung from a population who never behold the face of
their minister, or hear from his lips one word of exhortation.
In every other part of his dominions, his Majesty accepts and
acknowledges, as the established faith, that form of worship
which is most agreeable to the consciences of the great majority
of his subjects. He accepts and acknowledges Presbyterianism
in Scotland, and Catholicism in Canada, and exercises the
greatest caution, in interfering with, even the debasing and cruel
superstitions of the Mahometan or Hindoo in India. But in
Ireland, we are not content to force upon her an Establishment,
which is the hereditary aversion of six-sevenths of her inha-
bitants, but we persevere in presenting this Establishment to
her view, under the most forbidding and repulsive forms. If
conversion be our object, can any means more unlikely be
adopted—can any project be marked by a more signal failure?
Has not the present system been pursued long enough to
answer every purpose of experiment? It has gone on for
about three hundred years, and that wretched country, so far
from becoming more Protestant, or more reconciled to their yoke
of spiritual bondage, has gone on, in one unvaried course of
discontent, rebellion, and bloodshed—a burden, instead of a
benefit, to Great Britain; and that Gospel, which should have
been the harbinger of peace, has been used as the source and
watchword of the most savage barbarities, and the most relent-
less discord. If the experiment of controlling the conscience
by brute force, or overawing it by a splendid and gorgeous
hierarchy, although in support of truth, could be justified by
anv testimony of its utility, it might then be some reason why
we should not abandon it as hopeless; but the very contrary,
not to repeat, what I have urged already, is the notorious and
598
ADDENDA.
admitted fact, and why then invite me to co-operate in urging
on this course still further ? "
All these statements are most fully supported by the Reports
of his Majesty's Commissioners, presented to Parliament, to
which, for further information, the reader is referred. We have
only room for a few facts. Among the queries transmitted by
them to the respective dignitaries, prebendaries, and canons of
cathedral churches in Ireland, was the following, ' Whether
there are any, and what duties, annexed to the office V—6 There
are not any duties annexed,' was the answer returned in the
case of sixteen deaneries, nine precentorships, five chancellor-
ships, seven treasurerships, two provostships, twelve archdeacon-
ries, twenty-three prebends, and one canonry. The total popu-
lation of Ireland, exhibited in their census, of whom the religion
could be ascertained (which includes all except a very small
number), is 7,943,940. The religious persuasions are thus
distinguished :—
Established Church . . . 852,064
Roman Catholics . . . . 6,427,712
Presbyterians 642,356
Other Protestant Dissenters . . . 21,808
" The census of the members of the Established Church,"
says the Edinburgh Review (July, 1835), " exhibits a greater
number than was expected by many. The reason is this: many
are included in these returns, who in England would be called
Dissenters. They are almost exclusively Wesleyan or Primi-
tive Wesleyan Methodists; and since, although attending places
of worship of their own, they also frequently attended the ser-
vice of the Church of England—would not admit that they
dissented from its doctrines—often called themselves Established
Churchmen, and always refused to be enumerated as Protestant
Dissenters—the Commissioners were compelled to class them
as members of the Established Church.
" The annual revenues of the Established Church in Ireland,
is £208,233. 9s. 11 id., exclusive of the incomes of the parochial
benefices, with cure of souls; from which source, incomes to the
amount of more than £112,000 are, in addition to the preced-
ing, possessed by the dignitaries and prebendaries of the Irish
Church."
ADDENDA.
599
The Irish bishops have lately been reduced from twenty-two,
to sixteen.
Page 161.
The second Report of the Commissioners appointed to con-
sider the state of the Established Church of England, in refe-
rence to its ecclesiastical duties and its revenues, was laid before
both Houses of Parliament, by Viscount Melbourne and Lord
John Russell, March 10,1836. For a full acquaintance with
its contents, the reader must be recommended to examine that
document, as they are too numerous and various for present
recapitulation. To employ the words of a prelate, very lately
uttered:—
" At no period since the Restoration have so great changes
been contemplated, and partly carried into effect; and it is, I
think, much to he regretted, that some measures very essential to
the welfare of the Church, and the reform of any evils which
may have crept into it, have been checked in their progress, and
postponed to another session, though without any blame to be
attached on that account to the heads of the Church, or to his
Majesty's Government."—Charge of the Bishop of Lichfield
and Coventry, at his Primary Visitation in August and Septem-
ber, 1836.
For an account of the bill passed August 13, 1836, respecting
tithes, see the speech of the Attorney-General, p. 270.
A bill for the abolition of church rates was brought into the
House of Commons, March 3,1837, which is at present in abev-
ance, hy the prorogation of Parliament.
Improvements in the Law.—Page 244.
The memorable motion of Mr. Brougham, in February, 1828,
on the Reform of the Law, was followed up, after some delay.
It first led to an important measure of two commissions; one on
judicial proceedings, the other on the law of real property, and
600
ADDENDA.
each of these speedily prepared elaborate, voluminous, and
most valuable reports on the subjects entrusted to their inves-
tigation.
For the amendment of the proceedings in the courts of
common law, sundry regulations have been made, abolishing
the most glaring absurdities in practice, and an act was passed
in 1832, to establish a" uniformity of process" at the com-
mencement of actions in the different courts. Some time ago,
an additional judge was appointed to each of the common law
courts, and measures were taken to give the court of exchequer,
which had transacted but a small quantity of business, a higher
character, that it might draw a greater share of employment—
measures which hare most fully succeeded. In the chancery
court, great improvements have also been made.
In the session of Parliament, 1831-2, a bill was discussed,
entitled, " An act for abolishing the punishment of death in
certain cases, and substituting a lesser punishment in lieu
thereofin which some amendments were made in the House
of Lords, and it received the royal assent, July 11, 1832. In
the session just closed, Lord John Russell introduced several
bills for the further amelioration of the criminal law, which
received the assent of Her Majesty, July 17,1837.
Page 427.
M. de la Harpe, to whom the world is indebted for this
extraordinary relation, (an Account of the Last Moments of
Mirabeau),fiom a professed infidel, became a sincere Christian.
After his death, this very curious anecdote was found among
his papers, and published in the " CE uvres Choisies et Posthumes
de M. de la Harpe." The exact fulfilment of these predictions
during the " Reign of Terror" in France, greatly contributed to
the conversion of M. de la Harpe, and must be read with con-
fusion by the half-reasoning unbeliever, and the indifferent and
careless professor of Christianity. In the lapse of centuries,
history has not produced an event which so interests our
curiosity as men; and, by external evidence, contributes to our
ADDENDA,
601
general persuasion as believers.—■" It appears to me," says M.
de la Harpe, " as if it were but yesterday; and it was, never-
theless, in the beginning of the year 1788 : we were at the table
of a brother academician, who was of the highest rank, and a
man of talents. The company was numerous, and of all
kinds; courtiers, advocates, literary men, academicians, &c.
We had heen, as usual, luxuriously entertained; and at the
dessert, the wines of Malvoisie and the Cape, added to the
natural gaiety of good company that kind of social freedom,
which sometimes stretches beyond the rigid decorum of it In
short, we were in a state to allow of any thing that would pro-
duce mirth. Champfort had been reading some of his impious
and libertine tales, and the fine ladies had heard them, without
once making use of their fans. A deluge of pleasantries on
religion then succeeded; one gave a quotation from the Pucelle
d'Orleans; another recollected and applauded the philosophical
distich of Diderot.
Et des boyaux du dernier pretre,
Serrez le cou du dernier roi.
And of the last priest's entrails form the string,
Around the neck of the last king.
A third rises, and with a humper in his hand, " Yes, gen-
tlemen," he exclaims, " I am as sure that there is no God, as I
am certain that Homer is a fool." The conversation after-
wards took a more serious turn, and the most ardent admiration
was expressed of the revolution which Voltaire had produced;
and they all agreed that it formed the brightest ray of his glory.
" He has given the ton to his age, and has contrived to be read in
the chamber, as well as in the drawing room." One of the
company mentioned, and almost burst with laughter at the
circumstance, that his hair-dresser had said, while he was pow-
dering him," Look you, sir: though I am nothing but a poor
journeyman barber, I have no more religion than another
man." It was concluded that the revolution would soon be
consummated, and that it was absolutely necessary for super-
stition and fanaticism to give place to philosophy! The
probability of this epoch was then calculated, and which of the
602
ADDENDA.
company present would live to see the Reign of Reason. The
elder part of them lamented, that they could not flatter them-
selves with the hope of enjoying such a pleasure; while the
younger part rejoiced, in the expectation that they should
witness it. The academy was felicitated for having prepared
the grand work, and being, at the same time, the strong hold,
the centre, and the moving principle, of freedom of thought.
There was only one of the guests who had not shared in the
delights of this conversation; he had even ventured, in a quiet
way, to start a few pleasantries on our noble enthusiasm. It
was Cazotte, an amiable man, of an original turn of mind, but
unfortunately infatuated with the reveries of the Illuminati.
He renewed the conversation in a very serious tone, and in the
following manner; "Gentlemen," said he, "be satisfied, you
will all see this grand and sublime revolution. You know that
I am something of a prophet, and I repeat that you will all see
it." He was answered by the common expression," It is not
necessary to be a great conjurer to foretell that."—" Agreed;
but, perhaps, it may be necessary to be something more,
respecting what I am now going to tell you. Have you any
idea of what will result from this revolution? what will
happen to yourselves, to every one now present? what will be
the immediate progress of it, with its certain effects and conse-
quences!"—" Oh," said Condorcet, with his silly and saturnine
laugh," let us know all about it: a philosopher can have 110
objection to meet a prophet."—•" You, M. Condorcet, will expire
on the pavement of a dungeon; you will die of the poison which
you ,will have taken to escape from the hands of the execu-
tioner; of poison, which the happy state of that period will
render it absolutely necessary that you should carry about
you."(l) At first there appeared a considerable degree of
(1) " Condorcet being outlawed, 28th July, 1794, was arrested and taken
to Bourg-la-Reine; he was shut up in a dungeon and forgotten for twenty-
four hours; the man who went the next day to carry him a little bread
and water, found him motionless and cold. It appears that losing all
hope, he perished, either by a quick poison, which it is said that he
always had about him, or of inanition and faintness, being worn out with
want and fatigue."—Biographic Moderne, published by Longman and Co.,
1811; voLL p. 299.
ADDENDA.
603
astonishment; but it was soon recollected that Cazotte was in the
habit of dreaming while he was awake, and the laugh was as
loud as ever. " M. Cazotte, the tale which you have just told
is not so pleasant as your Diable Amoureux. But what devil
has put this dungeon, this poison, and these hangmen, in your
head I What can these things have in common with philosophy
and the Reign of Reason?"—" That is precisely what I am
telling you. It will be in the name of philosophy, of humanity,
and of liberty; it will be under the Reign of Reason, that what
I have foretold will happen to you. It will then, indeed, be the
Reign of Reason: for she will have temples erected to her
honour. Nay, throughout France, there will be no other places
of public worship than the Temples of Reason."—" In faith,"
said Champfort, with one of his sarcastic smiles," you will not
be an officiating priest in any of these temples ? "—" I hope
not; but you, M. Champfort, you will be well worthy of that
distinction; for you will cut yourself across the veins with
twenty-two strokes of a razor, and will, nevertheless, survive
the attempt for some months." (1) They all looked at him,
and continued to laugh. " You, M. Yicq d'Azyr, you will not
open your veins yourself, but you will order them to be opened,
six times in one day, during a paroxysm of the gout, in order
that you may not fail in your purpose; and you will die during
the night. As for you, M. de Nicolai, you will die on the scaf.
fold; and so, M. Bailly, will you;(2) and so will you, M.
(1) Champfort having been put under arrest for his sarcasms against the
revolutionary measures of the government, he tried to kill himself with a
pistol, and then with a razor : his wounds were not mortal, and he reco-
vered, though regretting that he still lived. He did not long retain his
recovered health, and a disease in the bladder carried him off, oA the 13th
April, 1795.—Biog. Mod. vol. i. p. 249.
(2) " Bailly was arrested by the agents of Robespierre, in October, 1793.
He was sent to the Conciergerie, and brought to trial on the 10th of No-
vember, before the revolutionary tribunal, which condemned him to death.
On the day after the passing of his sentence, he was delivered over to the
executioner, and put into the fatal cart; at length, after having endured
every species of ignominy and of ferocity from the multitude, he ran
himself to the scaffold : he died with great courage." — Biog. Mod.
vol. i. p. 63.
604
ADDENDA.
Malesherbes."(l)—" Oh, heavens!" said Roucher, "it appears
that his vengeance is levelled solely against the academy; he
has just made a most horrible execution of the whole of it:
now tell me my fate, in the name of mercy."—•" You will die
also upon the scaffold."—" Oh," it was universally exclaimed,
" he has sworn to exterminate us all."—" No; it is not I who
have sworn it."—" Are we then to he subjugated hv Turks and
Tartars !"—" By no means; I have already told you, that you
will then he governed by reason and philosophy alone. Those
who will treat you as I have described, will all of them he phi-
losophers, will be continually uttering the same phrase that
you have been repeating for the last hour, will deliver all your
maxims, and will quote, as you have done, Diderot and
Pucelle."—"Oh," it was whispered, "the man is out of his
senses;" for, during the whole of the conversation, his counte-
nance never underwent the least change.—" Oh, no," said
another, "you must perceive he is laughing at us; for he
always blends the marvellous with his pleasantries."—" Yes,"
answered Champfort," the marvellous, with him, is never enli-
vened with gaiety. He always looks as if he were going to be
hanged. But when will all this happen?"—" Six years will
not have passed away, before all which I have told you shall be
accomplished."
Here, indeed, is plenty of miracles, (it was myself, says M.
de la Harpe, who now spoke,) "And you set me down for
nothing."—■" You will, yourself, be a miracle as extraordinary
as any which I have told. You will then be a Christian."(2)
(1) "Malesherbes, at the age of 72, with his daughter and grand-daugh-
ter, being brought before the revolutionary tribunal, were all three con-
demned to death. In crossing the court of the Conciergerie, to reach the
cart that was to convey him to the scaffold, he struck his foot from feeble-
ness violently against a stone, and cried out: "Oh! oh I this is a bad
omen; a Koman in my place would have gone back again." In his last
moments he displayed all the serenity of courage and virtue. He was,
perhaps, the wisest and best man of his time, and his character will descend
without a stain to posterity."—Biog.Mod. vol. ii. p. 337.—See also his
Life, by Mangin, p. 202.
(2) " La Harpe died on the 10th February, 1803, at the age of 64 ; he
ended his will with these words : " I supplicate Divine Providence to
ADDENDA.
605
Loud exclamations immediately followed. " Ah," replied
Champfort," all my fears are removed; for if we are not doomed
to perish till La Harpe becomes a Christian, we shall be
immortal."
" As for us women," said the Duchess de Grammont, " it is
veTy fortunate that we are considered as nothing in these revo-
lutions. Not that we are totally discharged from all concern in
them; but it is understood that, in such cases, we are to be
left to ourselves. Our sex—" —" Your sex, ladies, will be no
guarantee to you in these times. It mil make no difference
whatever, whether you interfere or not. You will be treated
precisely as the men; no distinction -will be made between
you."—" But what does all this mean, M. Cazotte I You are
surely preaching to us about the end of the world."—" I know
no more of that, my Lady Duchess, than yourself: but this I
know, that you will be conducted to the scaffold, with several
other ladies along with you, in the cart of the executioner, and
with your hands tied behind you."—■" I hope, sir, that in such a
case, I shall be allowed, at least, a coach hung with black."—
"No, madam, you will not have the indulgence: ladies of
higher rank than you, will be drawn in a cart as you will be;
with their hands tied as yours will be, and to the same fate as
that to which you are destined."
" Ladies of higher rank than myself? What, princesses of
the blood 1"—" Greater still."
Here there was a very sensible emotion throughout the com-
pany, and the countenance of the master of the mansion wore a
very grave and solemn aspect: it was, indeed, very generally
observed, that this pleasantry was carried rather too far.
Madame de Grammont, in order to disperse the cloud that
seemed to be approaching, made no reply to his last answer,
but contented herself with saying, with an air of gaiety, " You
grant the wishes that I make for the happiness of my native land. May
my country long enjoy peace and quiet i May the holy maxims of the
Gospel be generally followed, for the happiness of society!"—Biog.Mod.
vol. ii. p. 212.
606
ADDENDA.
see, he will not even leave me a confessor."—"No, madam,
that consolation will be denied to all of you. The last person
led to the scaffold who will be allowed a confessor, as the
greatest of favours, will be ." Here he paused for a mo-
ment. " And who, then, is the happy mortal who will be
allowed to enjoy this prerogative 1" It is the only one which
will be left him; it will be the King of France."
The master of the house now rose in haste, and his company
were all actuated by the same impulse. He then advanced to-
wards M. Cazotte, and said to him, in an affecting and impres-
sive tone; " My dear M. Cazotte, we have had enough of these
melancholy conceits: you carry it too far; even to the compro-
mising the company with whom you are, and yourself along
with them." Cazotte made no answer, and was preparing to re-
tire; when Madame de Grammont, who wished, if possible, to
do away all serious impressions, and to restore some kind of
gaiety among them, advanced towards him, and said, " My
good prophet, you have been so kind as to tell us all our for-
tunes, but you have not mentioned any thing respecting your
own." After a few moments' silence, with his eyes fixed on
the ground, " Madam," he replied, " have you read the siege
of Jerusalem, as related by Josephus?"—" To be sure I have,
and who has not? But you may suppose, if you please, that I
know nothing about it."—" Then you must know, madam,
that during the siege of Jerusalem, a man, for seven successive
days, went round the ramparts of that city, in the sight of the
besiegers and besieged, crying incessantly, in a loud and
inauspicious voice, 'Woe to Jerusalem!' and on the seventh
day he cried, ' Woe to Jerusalem, and to myself!' At that
very moment, an enormous stone, thrown by the machine of the
enemy, dashed him in pieces."
M. Cazotte then made his bow, and retired.
Note.—Page 547.
The following Table shows the Progress of Methodism,
as exhibited in the increase of its Circuits, Preachers,
and Members.—(From Chronicles of Wesleyan Methodism,
1827; and Minutes of Conference, 1836.)
ADDENDA.
607
CIRCUITS.
In
England.
Ireland.
"Wales.
Scotland.
The World.
1770
33
10
3
3
1780
43
14
3
4
1790
68
29
3
8
I80O
112
35
5
9
1810
164
47
27
11
1820
279
44
20
15
1826
321
43
19
13
1836
336
46
28
16
TRAVELLING
AND SUPERNUMERARY PREACHERS.
1770
82
20
7
7
1780
121
33
7
9
1790
199
67
7
20
1800
306
79
11
15
1810
513
120
63
18
1820
699
128
42
26
1,765
1826
747
138
44
23
2,418
1836
909
134
57
31
4,273
MEMBERS.
1770
25,361
3,124
346
575
26,405
1780
36,677
6,109
499
555
44,330
1790
54,810
14,106
566
1,086
120,183
1800
88,319
19,292
1,244
1,056
184,979
1810
129,232
28,701
7,259
1,506
349,378
1820
180,492
23,800
7,448
3,277
483,283
1826
219,149
22,514
8,279
3,617
627,663
1836
276,342
26,434
12,603
4,187
1,049,989
It appears, from the latest official Returns, that" the number
of Travelling Preachers in England, Wales, Scotland, and
British Islands, &c., &c., in the year 1826, was 760; Local
Preachers 6,265, Chapels 2,907. The number of chapels seems
to be very inconsiderable compared with the number of Eocal
Preachers; this apparent disparity will be understood, when it
608
addenda.
is known, that the rooms in which there is regular preaching
are not included. These rooms are very numerous, both in
town and country; they constitute an important department of
the great system of Methodism, and are the chief sphere of the
labours of the Local Preachers."
In regard to the income of Methodist preachers, it varies
a little, according to circumstances; some circuits, such as
London, Bristol, Manchester, and Liverpool, where the societies
are large, and many of their members highly respectable, a
more liberal scale is adopted than in smaller ones, such as
Exeter, Shrewsbury, Brighton, Southampton, &c. In all cases,
a house is provided (economically furnished), for married tra-
veiling preachers, by the circuit steward, and also coals and
candles. An annual allowance of sixteen pounds is made for
books and clothes, and the same sum to the wife; fourteen
pounds for board and education of each daughter, and eighteen
pounds for each son, until admitted into one of their public
schools; eight pounds for hoard and wages of a servant. A
weekly sum, in addition, varying from fourteen to eighteen
and twenty shillings, constitute the worldly emoluments of
these devoted men, who are "in labours more abundant,"
preaching, in most cases, from seven to ten sermons weekly;
and who, with the Apostle, may truly affirm, " We will not be
burdensome to you, for we seek not yours, but you." Tlte
unmarried preachers have an annual allowance of twenty
pounds for books and clothes, and generally board and dodge
with members of the society, as they travel through the circuit.
The Local Preachers and the Class Leaders, (the latter a
most numerous and efficient body of spiritual overseers), have
110 remuneration whatever;—"their record," however, " is on
high," and their self-denying labours " shall be recompensed at
the resurrection of the Just."]—Ed.
INDEX.
Addison, Joseph, Esq., quota-
tious from, pp. 42, 313—ac-
count from, of an infidel in
France, 54—pleasing death
of, 113—prefers the Psalms
to Pindar aud Horace, 445.
Adolphus,Gustavus, spent much
time in prayer, 116.
Adrian, address of, to his soul
at death, 473.
Africa, inhabitants of, 460.
Alexander, Dr. Disney, conver-
sion of, from deism, 138.
Alfred, King, great diligence
and devotion of, 111.
Allix, reflections of, on Scrip-
ture, recommended, 498
Alphonsus, King, read the Bible
fourteen times over, 490.
Altamont, an infidel, affecting
death of, 62, 65.
America, inhabitants of, 460—
churches of, deputation to,
545—methodists in, 547.
Anabaptists, German, extrava-
gances of, 143.
Anatomy, sketch of, 534.
Anaxagoras banished for sup-
posed atheism, 194.
Animals, amphibious, species
of, 533.
Anonymous author, quotations
from, 7—gentleman, affect-
iog death in despair of a, 65
—deist, conversion of a, 87
R
gentleman, wickedness, con-
version, and death of, 89.
Antitheus, an infidel, unhappy
death of, 67.
Antiphanes, an ancient author,
on a future state, 313.
Apology for Christianity, 192.
Apostacy, antichristian, 2-19.
Archdeacons, number of, 150.
Arguments, four main, for the
truth of Scripture, 190.
Ark, Noah's, contents of, 334.
Articles, thirty-nine, imposition
of, 263.
Arts and Sciences abound with
difficulties, 190.
Asia, inhabitants of, 460.
Athanagoras, the philosopher,
converted by writing against
Christianity, 76.
Atheism, the last and necessary
resort of infidels, 313—books
against, 314.
Atheist, shocking death of an ,44.
Auckland, Lord, quotation from
speech of, 145.
Aylmer, Bishop, on the cha-
racter of women, 491.
Babylon, prophecies concern-
ing, conclusive, 333.
Bacon, Lord, thought of, on
deism, 134—some account
of, 134—declaration on the
gospel, 410.
r
610
INDEX.
Bankrupts seldom afterwards
pay their creditors, 538.
Baptismal regeneration, 267,
279.
Baptismal service, sponsorial
part of, a fragment of popery,
267 — office, of baptism, a
hardship on the clergy, 279.
Baptist mission, 462.
Barnes, Joshua, read his small
bible one hundred and twenty
times over, 488.
Bartholin, Dr., awakened to
seek God, 455.
Barnard, Sir John, eminent for
devotion, 35.
Barruel, on the French Clergy,
514.
Bath, Earl of, devoted his lei-
sure to prayer and the Bible,
419.
Battles, numerous, before the
French revolution, 296.
Beauties of Scripture, where
found, 437.
Beattie, Dr., on the causes of
infidelity, 498.
Bedell,Bp., interesting account
of, 125—130.
Beings, human, number of, 534.
Belisarius, began the 1260years
of Scripture, 286.
Beneficed clergy, incomes of,
585.
Bernard, St., hymn of, on the
name of Jesus, 527.
Beza, intimately acquainted
with the Bible, 489.
Bible shall be co-existent with
time, 305—confirmed by all
other books, 320—shocking
profanation of the, 386—read
with various views, 443 —
abounds with all kinds of
beauties, 443 — one grand
Epic, 442—should be read in
classical schools for its beau-
ties, 442—exhortation to the
reading of, 470—how to be
read with profit, 470—books
of, how classed as composi-
tions, 445—various excellen-
cies of, 446 — law against
reading of, 491.
Bingham,on the ancient Christ-
ians' love to the Bible, 484.
Birds, species of, 533.
Birmingham, account of, 399.
Bishop of London (1834), tri-
buteto the zeal of Methodist
preachers, 149—on duties of
clergy, 178.
Bishops, conduct of, a main
cause of infidelity, 152—in-
come of, 152, 583—English,
frequently hold incompatible
preferments, 154—should re-
form, 155—Irish, number
and iucome of, 156, 598—
and clergy of Europe, a main
cause of its misery, 157—
English, some of the, worthy
characters, 161 — duty of,
162—should encourage zeal-
ous clergymen, 162—should
preach boldly and faithfully,
162—conduct of, one main
cause of the increase of Sec-
tarists, 162 — unpreaching
prelates, 163—preach base
morality, 168 — not chosen
by civil power, in the first
ages, 259—English, names
of, very pompous, 260—one
possesses 130 presentations,
275—inmost ages,intolerant,
372—should come among
their clergy,403—rarely seen
by the laity, 551.
Blackstone, Judge, on the con-
stitution of England, 165,
382.
INDEX.
611
Blackmore, Sir Richard, opi-
tiion of, 011 the Bible, 447.
Boerhaave, Dr., eminent for de-
votiou, 35.
Bogie, Rev. B. D., the Crisis,
work by him, 552.
Boileau, M., a great admirer of
the Bible, 411.
Bolingbroke, Lord, speaks fa-
vourablyof the Gospel, 39—
an immoral man, 131—died
a deist, 454 — egregiously
mistaken, 497.
Bonaparte at St. Helena, 103.
Bonnel, James, made the Scrip-
tures his daily study, 490.
Bonnet, of Geneva, on the facts
of the New Testament, 337.
Books, in favour of the Jewish
and Christian religion, 192
—to promote the spirit of re-
ligiou, recommended, 480.
Bounty, Queen Anne's, 147.
Boyle, Hon. Robert, entertained
an awful sense of God, 317—
high esteem for the Bible,
411—on the unreasonable-
uess of deists, 411.
Braudt, Count, conversion of,
from infidelity, 96.
Britain, Great, shipping of,
400.
British aud Foreign Bible So-
ciety, happy influence of, 30
—account of, 465.
British army and navy, some
account of the, 378,379,395.
Brown, Sir Thomas, a firm be-
liever, 410.
Brown, Thomas, lived laugh-
ing, but died groaning, 425.
Brown, Rev. John, on the pro-
phecies, 287.
Bruno,burned foran atheist,454.
Bryant, J., treatise of, on the
Christian religion, 328—ob-
R 1
serration of, on the plagues
of Egypt, 325.
Bucer wished for further re-
formation, 253.
Buckingham, Duke of, pathetic
letter from, 105—his deserted
and miserable state, 107—re-
proof of, by Waller, 425.
Burial service, its objectionable
form, 267.
Burnet, Bishop, obtained the
bounty from Queen Anne,
147—great diligence of, 169
—opinion of, concerning the
clergy, 175 — attempted a
reformation, 254—considers
subscription as an imposi-
tion, 263—account of perse-
cution of Protestants, under
Louis XIV., 388—on plural-
ities, 403—on the corruption
of our clergy, 550—on the
Athanasian creed, 569—dy-
ing declaration of, 408.
Butler,Bishop, on a future state,
422.
Byron, Lord, death of, 70—
correspondence with Shep-
herd, 309.
Calvin, John, a persecutor,
374.
Canous, oath of obedience to
the, extremely wrong, 266—
not a bishop in England com-
plies with the whole, 281—
all needing revision, 281.
Capel, Lord, eminent for devo-
tion, 35.
Carrier, and his accomplices,
murdered 40,000 persous,
388.
Carthage, some account of the
destruction of, 375.
Carlyon, Rev. John, resignation
of, 548.
2
612
INDEX.
Cathedrals, income of, 150.
Catholic nations, superstition
of, 298.
Catholics, present to church
livings, 258—cruelty of, 282
—number of, in the world,
460—in Ireland, 598.
Cazotte's extraordinary predic-
tions, 602.
Cecil, Rev. R., on the Method-
ists, 149 — on Christianity,
561.
Challier, President, account of,
383—festival in honour of,
385.
Charles II., a persecutor, 253.
Charles V., opinion of religion,
116.
Chancellor, Lord, presents to
many livings, 258.
Chapius, M., noble end of, 389.
Chatham, Lord, considered our
liturgy as popish, 575.
Chester, Bishop of, charge to
clergy (1835), 539.
Chesterfield,Lord,sickness and
death of, 57—some account
of the letters of, 60—two
anecdotes, concerning, 61—
convinced by the present
state of the Jews, 197.
China, empire of, said to con-
tain 333 millions of souls,
254.
Children, present to church
livings, 259—230,000 mur-
dered in France, 394.
Chillingworth, solemn declara-
tion of, on the Bible, 412—
on subscription to the 39
articles, 246.
Christianity, if untrue, what
gain, 187—triumphed most
under persecution, 289 —
mysterious doctrines of, no
just objection to it, 339.
Christian Knowledge Society,
461.
Christians, dying examples of,
who had lived in the spirit of
the world, 97—corruption of,
much owing to the clergy,
154—knavery of, no valid
objection to Christianity, 184
—animosities of, causes of in-
fidelity, 183—number of, in
the world, 460.
Churches, state, a miserable
failure, 553.
Church livings, monopoly of, a
curse to the country, 543.
Church Missionary Society, ac-
count of, 465.
Church of Christ supposed in-
capable of a temporal head,
256—among whom, in these
kingdoms? 553.
Church of England, income of,
146, 547, 584—its constitu-
tion requires revision, 166—
safety of, depends upon its
clergy, 179—objections to,
263, 281 — preferments of
the, by money or interest, 278
—a completely secular esta-
blishment,278,554—remains
fixed and stationary, 539—
existence of,endangered,540,
543 — state of the, 582 —
sentiments prevailing in the,
587.
Church of Ireland, state of, 553,
596.
Church of Rome, assumed
power of the, 285.
Church of Scotland, and Dis-
sent, state of, 591.
Church Pastoral Aid Society
formed, 544.
Church, Reform on, by Noel,
271 — by Riland, 268 — R.
Cox,268—Sir A. B.Faulkner,
INDEX.
613
273—Sanderson, 277—Fun-
damental Reform,277,281—
Wodehouse on, 282—Lord
Henley on, 303—Nehil on,
407—Acaster on, 543—Dun-
combe on, 551—Bogie on,
552-Hall on, 571.
Church services objectionable,
267,279.
Cicero, M. T., quotations from,
339,515.
Clarke, Dr. Adam, on Noah's
ark, 334.
Clarke, Dr. S., book of, on
Christianity, recommended,
432.
Class leaders, Wesleyan, 608.
Claude, M., edifying death of,
118.
Clayton, Bishop,on the prophe-
cies, 287.
Clergy of the establishment in
England, 146 — iucome of,
147, 547, 584 — au eigh-
teenth part of the, enjoy all
the best preferments, 150—
superior, extremely to blame,
152—misconduct of, 162—
negligence of the, main cause
of the increase of sects, 171
—reproof of, 171—immoral,
do much harm, 304, 403—
the most pious dubbed me-
thodists, 404 — the dissatis-
fied should peaceably remon-
strate, 404 — as a body,
exceedingly learned, 405—
consist of three classes, 407
—who have seceded, 558,
573.
Clergy and people of Ireland,
in a low state, 156,553.
Clergy of France, horribly cruel
under Louis XIV., 388.
Clergy, bane and bulwark of
Christendom, 174—peculiar
duties of, 178—ill treatment
of inferior, by bishops, 265—
unfriendly to toleration, 372
—in time of Elizabeth and
Charles II., 402—many ap-
proach bishops, with fear and
trembling, 551.
Cobbold's Essay on the historic
form of Scripture, 324.
Cochet, M., cruel death of, 393.
Colchester, Sir Duncomb, con-
version of, 87.
Collins, the poet, choice com-
panion of, 440.
Colonial Missionary Society,
582.
Comets, number of, 532.
Confirmation, mere ceremony,
170.
Congregational Union formed,
545.
Congregational Reform, a work
by the Rev. Peter Hall, 571.
Conscience, power of, 454.
Constitution, British, a model
for other nations, 381.
Cooke, Rev. J., affecting narra-
tive by, 453.
Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury,
some account of, 132.
Coronation Oath misconceived,
167.
Corruption, general, of the
country, 244.
Costard, Rev. George, divides
Job into five acts, 445.
Cotes, Roger, character of, 164.
Cowley, Abraham, opinion of,
on the Bible, 447.
Cowper, William, Esq., quota-
tions from, 54,154, 168, 177,
256,292, 295,405, 420,561.
Craven, Professor, on a future
state, 422.
Cranmer, Archbishop, on the
utility of Prebendaries, 251—
614
INDEX.
wishes for further reforma-
tion, 253—a persecutor, 374.
Creation, Mosaic account of,
confirmed, 333.
Creed, some thoughts on the
Athanasian, 569.
Crimes, upwards of 160 punish-
able with death, 244.
Criminal Law, recent alteration
in, 600.
Crome, Dr., on the men killed,
and money spent, in this war,
509.
Cromwell, Lord, could repeat
the New Testament by rote,
489.
Curates, frequently guilty of
non-residence, 260 — unli-
mited power of bishops over,
266—stipend of, 275.
Dacier, Madame, speaks in high
terms of the Psalms aud Pro-
phets, 446.
D'AIembert, said to have died
ill, 54—gives an account of
Voltaire's death, 54.
Daniel, prophetic dream of,
illustrated, 237 — vision of,
illustrated, 237.
Daubeny, guide to the Church
censured, 256.
David, King, character of, vin-
dicated, 326.
Death, remarkable presage of,
82 — ease in, no proof of
safety, 454—triumphant one,
a most desirable thing, 521.
Deans, number of, 150.
Deist, couversion of one, 87—
shocking death of a, 428—
confession of a, 453.
Deists, several, speak well of
the Gospel, 38-—mostly im-
moral, 359—most, believe a
future state, 422—folly of,
423—nothing can justify but
demonstration, 423—remon-
strance with, 430, 456,497—
hate all priests, 455—many
earthly, sensual, and devil-
ish,451—address to the, 458.
Delany's Life of David, 326.
De Renty read the Bible, 478.
Derry, Bishop of, the late, un-
pardonable non-resident,! 56.
Devil, proof of the existence of,
313.
Dick, on Improvement of So-
ciety, 304.
Diderot, said to have died ill,
54.
Dillon, Earl of Roscommon,
penitent death of, 108.
Dispersion of mankind, no valid
objection to Scripture, 344.
Dispersion of the Jews, proof of
veracity of Old Testament,
369.
Dissenters, number of, 147,
590—weighed in their own
scales, a book, 372—making
great exertions, 539.
Distinguished men, believers in
Christianity, 135.
Doctrines, mysterious, of Scrip-
ture not to be rejected, 338.
Doddridge,Dr.,on Heathen tes-
timonies to Old Testament,
330 — on Popish supersti-
tions, 576.
Dryden, John, Esq., quotations
from, 107.
Duelling, an unchristian prac-
tice, 3 — two anecdotes re-
specting, 4.
Duncan, Lord, prayed before
he fought, 117.
Dykern, General, conversion of,
81.
INDEX.
615
East Indies, conduct of Eng-
lishmen in the, 291.
Edward VI., greatly reverenced
the Bible, 413.
Egypt, prophecies concerning,
conclusive, 333.
Elizabeth, Queen, a great lover
and reader of the Bible,
489.
Emmerson, William, wicked
life and death of, 48.
Emperors, Roman, slew 5000
Christians a day, 346.
England, one of the ten king-
doms to fall, 241—only pos-
sible way of its escaping
destruction, 242—church of,
eldest daughter of Rome, 283
—in danger without a re-
form, 302—people of, very
generally depraved, 397 —
shipping of, 400 — annual
produce of, worth, 400—an-
uual labour of, worth, 400—
annual charities of, 401.
English, superior to the French
in bravery, 378.
Enthusiasm, lively religion de-
fended from the charge of,
520.
Erasmus, exhorts all men to
read the Bible,489.
Erskiue, Hon. Thomas,fine ora-
tion of, against T. Paine, 9—
a serious Christian, 136 —
quotations from, 144.
Establishments, corrupt, of reli-
gion, causes of infidelity, 144
—too much boasted of, 175
—many things indefensible,
250.
Euler, extraordinary character
of, 138—letters of, to a Ger-
man princess, 502.
Europe, inhabitants of, 460.
Evangelists, the four, have
drawn a finished character,
319.
Eveleigh, Dr., quotation from,
on prophecy, 197.
Examples, dying infidels, 43
— persons recovered from
infidelity, 75, 139 — dying
Christians, who lived in the
spirit of the world, 97 —
of persons living and dying
either with confidence, or in
full assurance of faith, 113.
Facts of the Old Testament
confirmed by existing cir-
cumstances, 333.
Fashion,man of,described by a
late poet, 188.
Faulkner, Sir A. B., on Tolera-
tion, 273.
Fenelon, Archbishop, a most
amiable character, 164.
Ferguson, Mr., on Daniel's pro-
phecy, 288.
Fish, species of, 534—a cod
produces 3,500,000 young at
a time, 534.
Fly, a, brings forth 2000 young
at a time, 534.
Fox and Pitt, firm believers,
512.
France, church of, some ac-
count of, 153—late king of,
a worthy character, 249—
present governors of, so many
Jehus, 388—new constitution
of, 376.
Franklin, Dr., an infidel, 386.
French, revolution, the, pre-
dieted by Mr. Fleming, 250
— tools in God's hand to
punish the nations, 292—
philosophers more cruel than
kings or parsous, 347 — al-
ways a brave people, 378—
now the greatest slaves in
616
INDEX.
Europe, 385—by profaning
the sabbath are deprived of
it, 386—frenzy of mob, 387
—conduct of, in Suabia and
Franconia, 388—revolution-
ary massacre, 389—late king
of the, and others, died no-
bly, 390—conduct of,respect-
ing the American war, 390
— revolution, brutality of,
393 — during six or seven
years, 2,000,000 of persons
sacrificed, 394—impiety of,
509.
Friar, Italian, curious anecdote
of, 172.
Friends, society of, moral sta-
tistics and discipline of, 27.
Gardiner, Colonel, refuses to
fight a duel, 4—eminent for
devotion, 36—called the hap-
py rake, 415.
Garzo, edifying death of, 512.
George II.,spent much time in
private prayer, 116.
George III., a most worthy cha-
racter, 249—piety of, 414.
Germany, Charles V., Emperor
of, retires from the world,
116.
Gibbon, Edward, Esq., death
of, 56.
Gildon, Charles, conversion of,
75.
Gisborne, reflections of, on Mr.
Paley, 567.
Gospel, why the deists cannot
receive it, 39—opposers of,
its very good friends, 289
— intention of, 338 — mo-
rality of, 437—difficulties of
the, no valid objection to its
truth, 458—society for the
propagation of the, 461 —
challenges investigation,495.
Gouge, Mr. William, read fif-
teen chapters of the Bible
daily, 491.
Gray, the poet, a deist, 504—
had a mean opinion of
Shaftesbury, 132.
Greeks and Armenians, number
of, in the world, 460.
Grew, Dr., a great admirer of
the Bible, 410.
Grey, Lady Jane, bequeathed
New Testament, 489.
Grimstone, Sir Harbottle, emi-
nent for devotion, 36.
Grotius, Hugo, death of, 97—a
great lover of the Bible, 490.
Gustavus Adolphus, fond of re-
tirement, 116.
Haller, Baron, death of, 101.
Halley, Dr., a deist through in-
attention, 141.
Hall, Bishop, a quotation from,
437.
Hale, Sir Matthew, a great ad-
mirer of the Bible, 411,
Halyburton, death of, 311—life
of, strongly recommended,
481.
Hammond, Mr., sacrificed pre-
ferment, 245.
Harpe, M. de la, a surprising
relation from, 600.
Harrington, Lord John,eminent
for piety, 35.
Hartopp, Sir John, made the
Bible his daily study, 490.
Hartley, Dr., on the fall of reli-
gious establishments, 242—
against the eternity of future
misery, 332—a great admirer
of the Bible, 410—extract
from, 557.
Hatton, Sir Christopher, dying
advice of, 479.
Heathen testimonies, to facts of
INDEX.
617
Old Testament, 336—to fu-
ture state, 456.
Hell, heathen description of,
456.
Henley, Lord, letter to the King,
303.
Henry, Matthew, dying declara-
tion of, 2.
Heroism, true, wherein it con-
sists, 508.
Hervey, Rev. James, glorious
death of, 121—spent his last
days id praying over the
Bible, 448.
Herschel, Dr., vast discoveries
of, 532.
Hill, Rev. Rowland, sketch of,
123.
Hill, Sir Richard, apology of,
256.
Hinchcliffe, Dr., a great holder
of preferments, 155.
Hoadley, Bishop, wished much
for a reformation, 268.
Hobbes, Mr., some account of
his life and death, 43.
Hobart, Lady Frances, read the
Bible daily, 491.
Holland, changes in, 249, 301.
Home Missionary Society, 582.
Homilies, recommended by Bi-
shop Horsley, 481.
Hone, Mr., parodies of, 139.
Home, Bishop, quotation from,
1—on the iniquity of the
country, 550.
Horue, Rev. T. H., introduc-
tion to the Scripture recom-
mended, 331.
Houses, religious, suppressed by
Henry VIII., 182.
Howard, John, Esq., a serious
believer, 496—dying wish of,
497.
Hume, David, Esq., merry death
of, 55—au advocate for adul¬
tery and suicide, 55—authors
who have opposed, 56 —
anecdote of, 89—an infidel,
386.
Ignorance, extreme, of the
middle ages, 289—present
amount of, most fearful, 451.
Incumbents and curates, in-
comes of, 584.
Infidelity, persons recovered
from, 75,140—mostly owing
to the Bishops and Clergy,
145—spread of, predicted by
Newton, 184 — danger of,
307 —spreading rapidly, 459
—books against, 480.
Infidels, dying, examples of, 43.
Infidels of France, spent large
sums in spreading their prin-
ciples, 302 — and wicked
Christians much alike, 349—
very unhappy aud self-con-
demned, 415.
Innovationssometimes improve-
ments, 180.
Insects, species of, 533.
Ireland, state of, 156, 553 —
rebellion in 1798, in, 549—
religious persuasions in, 598
—Methodists in, 607.
Israel, prophecies concerning,
conclusive, 199.
Italy, a store-house of fire, 239.
James I., a superstitious biggt,
252.
Janeway, John, triumphant
death of, 517.
Jenyns, Soame, Esq., conver-
sion of, 80—view of internal
evidences of Christian reli-
gion, 324.
Jerome, St., recommends Scrip-
ture, 484.
Jerusalem, prophecies concern-
618
INDEX.
ing, conclusive, 199, 333—
an episcopal Hebrew church
erecting at, 466.
Jesus and his apostles surpassed
all the ancients, 316.
Jewel, Bishop, wished for fur-
ther reformation, 259.
Jews, present state of the, a
full proof of religion, 197—
number of, in the world, 460,
465.
Johnson, Dr., on the death of
Hume, 55—death of, 98 to
101 — exhorted Sir Joshua
Reynolds to read the Bible,
101, 479—life of, by Bos-
well, very entertaining, 101
—suffered by neglecting the
Bible, 479—a good judge of
fine writing, 479—convinced
by reading Law's Serious
Call, 480.
Jones, Sir William, an unbe-
liever, and convinced, 439—
sentiments of, on the Bible,
439—pious death of, 439—
Asiatic researches of, quota-
tions from, 328,329.
Josephus, on prophecy, 199—
on the wickedness of the
Jews, 288.
Judah, prophecies concerning,
conclusive, 199.
Keith, on prophecy, 287.
Kelsey, Rev. Mr.,resigned a rec-
tory of two hundred pounds
a-year, 403.
Kempis, Thomas-a, famous for
a devout spirit, 527.
Kenyon, Lord, testimony of, to
religion, 15.
Kidder, Bishop, endeavoured
reformation, 254.
King in this country, absolute
in the church, 257.
Kingdoms, ten, all to fall at the
end of 1260 years, 233.
Labouring classes, dissipation
of, 451.
Ladies, present to church li vi n gs,
257—of eminence, who loved
and read the Bible, 491.
Lamballe, Princess of, noble
death of, 390.
Land cultivated in England,
400.
Lardner's Credibility, 337.
Latimer, Bishop, on unpreacli-
ing prelates, 172.
La Vendee, 300,000 murders
in, 394.
Lavater, remonstrance of, with
the French Directory, 389—
predicts the general spread of
infidelity, 511 — a firm be-
liever in Christ, 511.
Law, late Bishop of Carlisle, a
monopolizer of preferment,
153.
Law, William, dying speech of,
308—Serious Call of, strongly
recommended by Johnson
and Gibbon, 480.
Laws, English, need improve-
ment, 244.
Law Improvements, 599.
Learning, indebted to the Bible
for, 196.
Le Clerc, on the authenticity of
the books of Moses, 325—a
great admirer of the Gospels,
493.
Lee, Captain John, execution
and penitence of, 88.
Leechman, Dr., dying advice
of, 122.
Leighton, Archbishop, excellent
character of, 169.
Lei and, Dr. John, happy death
of, 114.
INDEX.
619
Leslie,Charles, books of,against
infidelity, recommended, 200.
Lewis XIV., an admirer of the
Bible, 413.
Lindsey, Rev. T., resignation
of, 245.
Liturgy, revised by the Rev. R.
Cox, 268—British, by Mr.
Riland, 268.
Littleton, Lord, conversion of,
75.
Liverpool, some account of,
398.
Livings,church,general account
of, 147, 258—-how disposed
of,-262, 276.
Locke, John, Esq., an advocate
for toleration, 273—on the
morality of the Gospel, 437—
serious declarations of, on the
New Testament, 511—edify-
ing death of, 511.
London, Porteus, Bishop of,
an exception to most other
prelates, 173—brief account
of, 396 — increase of, 397
—affecting account of, by
Noel, 397—Ditto, by Harris,
397.
London Society for Promoting
Christianity among the Jews,
465.
London Missionary Society, 463.
Longinus, praises Moses and
Paul, 445.
Lord's prayer, frequent repeti-
tion of, wrong, 280.
Lowman, Moses, on Revelation,
recommended, 287, 326.
Lowth, Bishop, on the excel-
lence of the prophets, 445.
Louras, Mons., death of, 391.
Luc, M. de, confirms the bad
end of Voltaire, 54.
Lust,long indulged, deliverance
from, 343.
Lyons, in France, shocking
treatment of, 377—demo-
lished, 384.
Macclesfield, some account of,
399—Earl of, devoted him-
self to prayer, 419.
Maclaurin on the prophecies,
quoted, 287.
Madrid, superstitious state of,
298.
Mahomet and the Pope rose the
same year, 285.
Mahometans, number of, in the
world, 460.
Maintenon, Madame de, expe-
rience of, 420.
Man of fashion, character of,
188.
Manchester, some account of,
397.
Manufacturers, 200,000 always
drinking, 451.
Marlborough, James, Earl of,
penitent letter of, 102.
Markham, Rev. G., smartly
treated by the quakers, 282.
Mary, Queen, Howe's sermon
on the death of, 414.
Mason, Sir John, dying declara-
tion of, 101.
Masou the poet, a pluralist,
402.
Mazarine, Cardinal, dying la-
mentation of, 104.
Mede, Joseph, on the cruelty of
the Catholics, 282.
Mediatorship of Christ, doctrine
of, 323.
Melancthon, a persecutor, 374.
Messiah, prophecies of, 197—
divine mission of, proved,
197.
Methodism, a table of the pro-
gress of, 607.
Methodist, a term of reproach
620
INDEX.
for religious people, 167—
New Connexion, 548.
Methodist preachers, income of,
608.
Methodists, number of, 147—
making great exertions, 537
—upon the increase, 539—
how to check the, 540—some
account of the, 590, 607.
Mexico, Archbishop of, posses-
sious, £70,000 a-year, 290.
Middleham, Dean of, on edu-
cation, 407.
Mill, Dr., enumerates 30,000
variations in the New Testa-
ment, 331.
Milner's End of Controversy,
Reply to, by Grier, 408.
MiltOD, John, severe remarks
on clergy, 177 — a noble
champion for toleration,
273—great admirer of the
Bible, 411—quotation from,
442.
Mind, public, ought to be en-
lightened, 375.
Minister, prime, presents to
many livings, 258.
Mirandula, Picus, a great lover
of the Bible, 410—advice of,
to his nephew, 526.
Mirabeau, Monsieur, affecting
death of, 427.
Missions, carried on chiefly by
the poor, some account of,
461—state of, 581.
Monks of Egypt, ancient, great
readers of the Bible, 486.
Montesquieu, Mons., quotation
from, 553.
Moore, Dr. John, on the man-
ners of Italy, 290.
Moore, Miss Hannah, an orna-
ment to her sex, and a bless-
ing to her country, 528—
quotations from, 529—some
account of her residence at
Barley Wood, 529.
Morato, Olympia Fulvia, happy
death of, 115.
Moravian missions, 461.
Moses, character of, vindicated,
323—books of, authentic and
genuine, 325—confirmed by
the East Indian literature,
323,328.
Musculus, soliloquy of, before
death, 471.
Mutineers, some account of, 3.
Nantz, murders at, 394.
Naples, superstition of, 297.
National religions, national ty-
rannies, 373.
National debt, amount of, 510.
Nations of Canaan, destruction
of the, vindicated, 328—of
Europe, which are already
subverted, 301.
Natural history, great progress
making in, 534.
Navy, British, in 1693, 1793,
1815, and 1831, 395.
Neale, Rev. Cornelius, remark-
able conversion of, 79.
Nebuchadnezzar's dream and
image, 228.
Nelson, Admiral Lord, 509.
Newcome, Archbishop, a high
literary character, 164—high
opinion of, on the Scriptures,
331.
Newport, Hon. Francis, miser-
able end of, 46.
Newton,Sir Isaac, painful afflic-
tion and patience of, 48.—
opinion of, as to prevalence
of infidelity, 184—on the pro-
phecies, 287—accounted the
Bible the most sublime philo-
sophy, 411—entertained an
awful sense of God, 316—
INDEX.
621
found the strongest marks of
truth in the Bible, 502.
Newtou, Bishop, predictions of
Daniel, explained, 233—dis-
sertations of, recommended,
323 — against the eternity
of future misery, 332—on
our national iniquities, 550
—on the rich endowments of
the church, 555.
Newton, Rev. John, wicked-
ness and conversion of, 77—
his epitaph, 78.
Nineveh, prophecies concern-
ing, conclusive, 333.
Noblemau,affecting letter from
a, 108 to 112—mortifying
declaration of a, 420.
Noel, Rev. Baptist, on unity of
the church, 271—on state of
metropolis, 397.
Non-conformist congregations,
number of, 590,591.
Non-residence of clergy, griev-
ous, 303, 304.
Objections to the Scriptures,
with answers, 327 to 375.
Okely, Dr., recants his deistical
principles, 502.
Oldys, Francis, writes the life of
T. Paine, 500.
Oliver, Dr., conversion and
death of, 81.
Olympia, F. M., joyful death
of, 115.
Orford, Earl of, an infidel and
hypocrite, 386.
Ordination, mere ceremony,
170.
Orleans, Duke of, declares in
favour of piety, 116.
Ormond, Duke of, eminent for
devotion, 35.
Orrery, Earl of, a firm believer,
411.
Ostervald, to the clergy, attri-
butes great blame, 151.
Owen, Dr. John, an early advo-
cate for toleration, 273.
Oxenstiern, Chancellor, found
rest in the Bible alone, 117.
Pagans, number of, in the
world, 360—felt they needed
revelation, 433—human sa-
crifices by, 434—picture of
their morals, 435.
Pain and misery permitted,
427.
Paine, Thomas, opinion of, on
the gospel, 39—illiterate and
immoral, 135, 349, 355, 500
—Age of Reason, of, 246—
on the reformation, 260—on
national popes, 260—death
of, 350—a man of some na-
tural talents, 354—an igno-
rant and malignant person,
356—ribaldry of, 439—chal-
lenged to produce morals
equal to the New Testament,
500—on national establish-
ments, 560.
Paley, Rev. William, on sub-
scriptioD, 567.
Parishes in England and Wales,
146.
Paris, murders at, 394.
Parliament, British, authority
of, 382.
Pascal, spent his whole time in
prayer and the Bible, 114.
Patronage of livings, brief view
of, 258—sad abuses of the,
275—in Scotland, 592.
Patrick, Bishop, endeavoured
at a reformation, 254.
Paul, St., triumphant death of,
76.
Paul, Father, a great student
in the Scriptures, 490.
622
INDEX.
Persecution by Catholics, 291
—a sure mark of Antichrist,
372—under Louis XIV., 388
—sketch of, in England, 402.
Peterborough, Lord, Eulogium
of, on Fenelon, 508.
Philip III., of Spain, observa-
tion of, 102.
Philosophisters, 195.
Pitt, William, death of, 513.
Pomfret's Poems, quotations
from, 532.
Pococke, high character of, by
Locke, 11>9.
Police of London, 397.
Poor-rates, amount of, 401.
Pope, Alexander, Esq., declara-
tion of, 42, 107—letter of,
239—quotations from, 419,
421, 447, 485.
Pope the, and Mahomet, rose
same year, 285, 502.
Pope of Rome, duration of, 239
anecdote of, 550 — cruelly
treated by the French, 286—
allocution of, (1836), 235.
Popes of Rome, power gone,
235— number of, in all, 236
—however virtuous, to go
into perdition, 249.
Popery, a grievous curse to
Christendom, 181—alluded
to by Paul, 240 — general
prevalence of, predicted by
Mr. Fleming, 250.
P 1, Lord, infidelity and
death of, 4.
Pope, William, infidelity and
awful death of, 5.
Population of the world, 460.
Porcupine, Peter,Bloody Buoy
of, 388 — democratic prin-
ciples of, 388—writes the
Life of T. Paine, 500.
Porson's account of Gibbon's
history, 56.
Porteus, Bishop, sermon on
the character of David, 326
—discourses of, on Redemp-
tion,recommended, 457—on
a future state, recommended,
422.
Preachers, Local, Wesleyan,
147, 547, 608.
Prebends, some account of,
150, 251—not founded for
sinecures, 543.
Preferment, church, instances
of, shocking abuse in, 262,
277, 304,592.
Prior, Matthew, Esq., quota-
tious from, 40—opinion of,
on the book of Solomon,
447.
Priugle, Sir John, conversion
of, 77.
Priestly, Dr., considers all lively
religion as enthusiasm, 522.
Priests, by their folly, the curse
of Christendom, 299—24,000
of, murdered in France, 394.
Priesthood, in danger of being
subverted, 179, 300.
Protestants, number of, in the
world,460—in Ireland,598.
Prophets, ancient, vindicated,
327.
Prophecies, infidels cannot ac-
count for, 195—concerning
the fall of the hierarchies,
251—a wonderful chain of,
in Scripture, 287—remark-
able ones, concerning the
French, 250,427,600.
Propertius, quotation from,
449.
Prussia, Frederick, king of,egre-
giously mistaken, 497.
Puritans, History of, by Neal,
recommended, 253.
Pythagoras, excellent precept
of, 483.
INDEX.
623
Quadrupeds, species of, 533.
Quakers, some account of, 27.
Raleigh, Sir Walter, dying ad-
vice of, 509.
Randolph's Jewish Law viDdi-
cated, 326.
Reason, goddess of, set up in
France, 394.
Reasons, the Author's, for re-
siguation, 560—list of other
resignations, 558, 573.
Rectories, number of, 150.
Reform necessary, 26, 537,
599.
Reformation, prevented the
clergy from amassing the
wealth of Europe, 290—na-
ture of the, contended for,
537.
Reformers, excellent men, and
noble examples, 250.
Religion, short sketch of, 33
to 43—singularity in, no
disgrace, 505—the highest
honour,505—alone can make
us happy, 421 — attended
with safety, 308.
Religions of the world, should
be compared, 458.
Religious Tract Society, ac-
count of, 465.
Renty, Mons. de, read three
chapters of the Bible daily,
on his knees, 478.
Repentance, death-bed, very
dangerous, 92.
Retaliation, doctrine of, 394.
Revenues, of the church of
England, 583—of Ireland,
598.
Reyner, a bankrupt, afterwards
honourably paid his debts,
538.
Ridley, Bishop, able to repeat
much of the Bible, 488.
Rittenhouse, David, a philoso-
pher, yet a believer, 497.
Robertson, Dr., opinion of, on
Christianity, 38.
Robinson, Dr., a great admirer
of the Bible, 410.
Robert, king of Sicily, preferred
his Bible to his kingdom,
413.
Rochester, Earl of, conversion
and wickedness of, 81 to 87.
Romaiue, Rev. Wm., glorious
death of, 122—read nothing
but the Bible for thirty years,
492,
Romans, not virtuous, 436.
Rome, destruction of, predicted,
240.
Roscommon, Earl of, passage
from, applied to the Bible,
447.
Rowe, Nicholas, Esq., died in
the faith, 447.
Rousseau,extraordinary life and
death of, 71 to 74—fine quo-
tations from, on the Gospels,
319,412.
Rush, Dr., a philosopher, yet a
Christian, 497.
Russel, Lord, happy death of,
115.
Ryland,Dr.,auecdote of, 267.
Sabbath, in France, profaned
and lost, 386.
Salmasius, dying lamentation
of, 98.
Saville, Sir George, some ac-
count of, 132.
Scaliger, a_fine stanza admired
by, 515.
Scarlett, New Testament of, on
universal restitution, 332.
Scientific, and other discoveries,
confirmatory of the truth of
the Sacred Writings, 321.
624
INDEX.
Scott, Rev. Thomas, conversion
. of, 88—on regeneration, 267
answer of, to T. Paine, quo-
tation from, 319.
Scott, Sir Walter, on the consti-
tution of the church, 575.
Scotland, Kirk of, some ac-
count of, 150, 591, 592—re-
ligious persuasions in, 591—
Methodists in, 607.
Scriptures, various, compared,
198—truth of, confirmed by
all modern discoveries, 321.
Seamen, British, valour of,379.
Selden,John, dying declaration
of, 117—on the Bible, 412.
Seneca, fine passage from, on
Cato, 514.
Servin, the atheist, life and
death of, 44.
Servan, M., noble death of,
392.
Shaftesbury, Earl of, a deist,
132.
Shipping of England, 400.
Shakspeare's account of purga-
tory, 67 — quotations from,
307,420, 429, 456.
Sheffield, Duke of Bucks, lines
on the death of, 108.
Sherlock, Dr., on the Test Act,
270—on divine providence,
recommended, 342.
Shepherd of Salisbury Plain,
read his Bible daily for 30
years, 494.
Sicily, Robert, king of, on the
Bible, 413.
Sidney, Sir Philip, dying ad-
vice of, 479.
Simeon, Rev. C., death of,
517.
Simpson, Rev. D. (the Author),
declaration, after 26 years
preaching, 173—a zealous
friend of missions, 464 —
death of, 516—apology for
leaving the Church, 558.
Singularity, not to be feared,
505.
Slavery, in ancient times, com-
mon and cruel, 291.
Slave Trade, by Europeans, and
abolition of, 291 to 296.
Socrates and Hobbes contrasted,
43.
Socrates, short account of, 437
—Plato speaks of, 437.
Solomon, sermon and experi-
ence of, 416.
Soul, the, requires to be roused,
540.
South, Dr., two declarations of,
449—sayings of, 552.
Sovereigns, unfriendly to tolera-
tion, 373.
Spain, King of, penitent lamen-
tation from, 102—gross su-
perstition, 298—inquisition,
299.
Spencer, Edmund, fine seuti-
ments of, 526.
Spectator, No. 447, on reading
the Bible, 482.
Spinoza, died an atheist, 454.
Spirit, Holy, operation of, de-
fended, by Bishop Pearson,
517.
Spiritual courts, number of,
270.
Stars, number of, discoverable,
532.
Stackhouse, Rev. T., on the ob-
jections to the Bible, 344.
Steele, Sir Richard, character of
Bacon, 134—opinion of the
Gospels,437—Christian hero,
508.
Sterne, Lawrence, dissolution
of, 189.
Stillingfleet, Bishop, endea-
vours reformation, 254—Ori-
INDEX.
625
gines Sacrae, of, strongly
recommended, 499.
Strueusee, Count, conversion
of, 93 to 96.
Subscription to the articles a
great hardship, 263, 281—
when we go to College, very
wroDg, 264—does a Bishop
in England believe fully his
own subscription ? 283—re-
marks on, by the Rev. P.
Hall, 571.
Suffolk, Susannah, Countess of,
read the Bible over twice a
year, 491.
Swedenborg, strange errors of,
371.
Switzerland, overthrow of, 301,
389.
Tacitus, mentions prophecy,
199—on three states in a go-
vernment, 381.
Temperance societies, 430.
Temple, Sir William, Burnet's
account of, 131.
Tenyson, .Archbishop, endea-
vours reformation, 254.
Testimonies, heathen, to the
birth of Christ, 456.
Theology, difficulties in, 190.
Tillotsou, Archbishop, endea-
vours reformation, 254 —
reprobates the Athauasian
creed, 571.
Tithes, originally, a usurpa-
tion, 270—commutation of,
270.
Toleration, the right of every
man, 163—name and thing
inconsistent, 272 — the very
sound of, degrading, 273—
opposed by clergy and sove-
reigns, 373.
Toilet, an apostate priest, a
blood-hound, 382.
s
Toplady, triumphant death of,
470.
Tribes, ten, of the Jews, now in
the East, 330.
Tronchin, Dr., confirms the bad
end of Voltaire, 54
Turk, fall of, 542.
Turreau's history of the Ven-
dean war, 389.
Unbelievers, creed of, 186.
Uniformity, act of, 402—a foul
blot to the church, 571.
Universities, English, income
of, 147.
Urick, John, great diligence of,
in devotion, 97.
Usher, Archbishop, a walking
library, 164.
Vanderkemp, Dr., converted
from deism, 503 — became
a most devoted missionary,
504
Vegetables, species of, 533.
Vico, Marquis of, like unto
Moses, 571.
Voltaire lived laughing,but how
did he die? 48,425—picture
of condition of man, 310.
Visaque, Madame de, murder
of, 380.
Voluntary exertions produce
the largest results, 554.
Wakefield's Evidences ofCbrist-
ianity, 324.
Wales, churches, and Dissent-
ing chapels in, 304—Me-
thodists in, 607.
Waller, Sir William, eminent
for piety, 36.
Walker, Rev. Samuel, trans-
porting death of, 120.
Walsingham, Sir F., wise saying
of, 426
s
626
INDEX.
War, authors on the causes of
the present, 144.
Warburton'sestimateof Jeremy
Taylor, 164.
Washington, General, a serious
Christian, 136.
Watts, Dr., quotations from, 40,
448, 459, 505.
Watson, Bishop, apologies of,
recommended, 192, 328 —-
entertains objections to the
church, 283 — quotations
from, 339, 341, 356.
West, Gilbert, Esq., conversion
of, 75.
Wesley, Rev. John, comfort-
able death of, 470 — spent
his whole life in doing good,
496.
Wesleyan mission, 462, 547.
Whiston, William, anecdote of,
263—reasons of, for the truth
of the Bible, 317—remark on
Bishop Gibson, 564.
Whitfield, Rev. George, auec-
dote concerning, 546.
Wilberforce, William, Esq., an
able advocate for religion,
406 — interred with public
houours, 528.
Wilkins, Bishop, on the ark,
335.
William III., a firm believer,
414.
Williams, Wm., awful death
of, 428.
Wilson, Bishop, declines his
seat in the House of Lords,
154—observation of, 331.
Wilson, Captain, some account
of the conversion and voyage
of, 504.
Willis, Henry, a farmer, read
the Bible, eight times over,
494.
Witsius, H., the celebrated,
intimately acquainted with
Scripture, 491.
Wolsey, Cardinal, affecting de-
claration of, 420—a tyrant
over the church, 259.
Women, 250,000 murdered in
France, 394.
Wotton, Sir Henry, anecdote
of, 1 19—great reader of the
Bible, 490.
Word of God, what meant by
the, 323.
World, inhabitants of the, how
many, 460.
Worms, species of, what num-
ber of, 533.
Yorke, H. Redhead, Esq., views
of, changed in prison, 504.
Young, Dr., quotations from,
37, 412, 419, 426, 429,
449.
Zealots in religion, causes of in-
fidelity, 143.
Zuinger, Theodore, soliloquy
of, at death, 472.
THE END.
ERRATA.
PAGE
LINE
FOR
READ
lxiii..
....25..,
... .being chronological
. .being a chronological
23..
....32..
... .them not
. .him not
27..
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■.. .were
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41..
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94..
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. ..counsellor's
154..
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...age
..ages
160..
. ..33..
... .saw
. .was
185..
.... 5..
....tide
. .tides.
230..
.... 1..
... .the legs of
. .legs of
270..
....15..
275..
283..
33..
... .coadjutors
. .coadjutors.]—ed
296..
....34..
... .blood of souls."j—ed...
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328..
19..
... .of th i
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356..
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386..
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....ett. 3,
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To the volumes referred to in the note, page 322, ought to be added, a
recent and most valuable work, "Travels in Palestine and Syria," by
George Robinson, Esq. In reference also to the subject of the note, page
533, an interesting volume has just appeared, supplying the results of
modern discoveries in the sublime science of astronomy, entitled, " The
Architecture of the Heavens," by J. P. Nicholl,L.L.D. Edinburgh, 1837.
LONDON :
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A smaller Edition of the " Plea for Religion,"
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