of a more operative principle of divine grace, as the only genuine source of inward and external holiness; what must be their state who, with greater deficiencies, experience no conflict of the mind, no secret misgivings of the conscience? If, in his ardent inquiry after truth, he meditated over the sacred page, and explored the voluminous writings of the Reformers ; what is their responsibility who rest in a system, without an endeavor to ascertain its correctness; who give to the world the hours sacred to prayer and study; or who appropriate their time to objects, which, however praiseworthy in themselves, are not sufficiently identified with their profession, nor calculated to promote their advancement in grace and holiness? But we would pursue this object farther, and demand, if conversion, or a change of heart and life, be necessary in all men, because all naturally partake of the principles of inward corruption, how much more is it necessary to him who offici. ates in holy things; and who, by the titles that designate his character and office, is supposed to contract engagements of the highest and most sacred import ? And yet the very nature and necessity of conversion is questioned by some, in opposition to the most express declarations of Holy Writ ;* thus proving their own need, at least, of that conversion, the possibility of which they so heedlessly dispute. A distinguished and excellent prelate, in our own day,† has merited well of the Christian public, for inviting attention to this subject. In the diocese of St. David's, a prize was offered for the best Essay on the signs of conversion and unconversion in ministers of the Established Church.‡ This was at once recognizing the doctrine, as well as the necessity of conversion. It drew the line of demarcation between true piety, and that which bears only the external garb. It admitted the conversion of some, it doubted the conversion of all; and by instituting an inquiry into the signs and evidences by which the distinction is to be known, it held out a beacon to discriminate the true and faithful pastor from the bold and unauthorised intruder. Let it be remembered too, that this doctrine is avowedly maintained, and the belief and experience of its truth no less avowedly professed, by every candidate, in the form and ceremony prescribed by our own church for ordination-that on this occasion he is solemnly asked, whether he trusts that he is inwardly moved by the *See Matt, xviii. 3; John iii. 5; Acts iii. 19; Eph. iv. 24. The present Bishop of Salisbury, formerly Bishop of St. David's Holy Ghost, to take upon himself the sacred office? To which he deliberately answers, "I trust so. And that, if terms be significant of things, and professions mean what they are sup posed to imply, this call of the Holy Spirit denotes a series of qualifications, of which the real conversion of the heart is the primary and most indispensable. It is on the authority of this declaration, and the supposed sincerity of its avowal, that he is permitted to officiate at her altars, and that the dispensation of the Gospel is committed to his hands; and therefore, the absence of this qualification is not merely a fraud, and an act of perjury, aggravated by the solemnity of the occasion, and by the bold profanation of holy things, but a crime of a still higher magnitude. Souls are betrayed, for every one of which he must render an account to Him who has authoritatively proclaimed, "their blood will I require at thine hand." Another very important lesson to be learnt from the preceding narrative, is the necessity of discriminating morality from religion. The principal error in Mr. Richmond's former views, consisted in this, viz. that they were deficient in the grand characteristic features of the Gospel. Not that he actually denied a single doctrine which the Gospel inculcates; but his conceptions were far from being definite, clear, and comprehensive. They wanted the elevation and spirituality of the Christian System. They were founded more on the standard of morality, than on the principles of the Gospel; and there fore were defective as it respects the motive and end of all human actions, the two essential properties that constitute an action acceptable in the sight of a holy God. A Heathen may be moral, a Christian must be more; for though true religion will always comprise morality, yet morality may exist. without religion. There was a confusion also in his notion of faith and works, and of the respective offices and the design of the law and of the Gospel. The Saviour was not sufficiently exalted, nor the sinner humbled; and there was wanting the baptism of "the Holy Ghost and of fire."-Matt. iii. 11. His sermons, partaking of the same character, were distinguished indeed by solidity of remark, force of expression, strong appeal to the conscience, and a real and commendable zeal for the interests of morality; but they went no further. As regarded the great end of the Christian ministry-the conversion of immortal souls-they were powerless; for moral sermons can produce nothing but moral effects; and it is the Gospel alone that is "mighty through God to the pulling down of the strong holds of sin; and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."-2 Cor. x. 4, 5. There was, indeed, an external reformation produced among his people; but the renovation of the heart, the communion of the soul with God, the inward joy and peace of the Gospel, and the hope full of life and of immortality-these were not experienced and felt, because they were not known: and they were not known, because they were not preached and they were not preached, because they were not adequately understood by the preacher. And is there no ground for apprehension that the same deficiency still exists amongst us to a considerable extent? Are the peculiar doctrines of Christianity commonly brought forward with sufficient clearness, fidelity, and zeal? Are the corruption and the lost state of man, the merey of God in Christ, the necessity of a living faith in the Saviour, the office of the Holy Spirit in his enlightening, converting, and sanctifying influences*-are these grand themes of the Christian ministry urged with the prominence that their incalculable importance demand? Deficiencies in points like these are serious impediments to the growth of true religion, and cannot be too sedulously reproved by those who are the constituted guardians of sound doctrine. For with the mere moralist, the grandeur of the Christian dispensation-the divine love so conspicuous in the whole of its stupendous plan the beauty, order, and symmetry of its several parts are all reduced to the rank and level of a secondary and subordinate scheme. Christ is not the centre of the system, but rather occupies the extreme point; and is brought in as a last expedient to cover the nakedness and insufficiency of our own works. The moralist, according to his own creed, does all that he can and then-looks to his Redeemer to perform the rest. On the other hand, where the moralist ends, the believer begins. With him, every work is begun, continued, and ended in God. He draws from above every motive for his obedience, every promise for his encouragement, and strength to subdue all his corruptions. Christ is the sun that illuminates his moral horizon, the living water to refresh his thirst, the heavenly manna by which he is fed, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega, the "all and in all."-Col. iii. 11. He is the Prophet, by whose wisdom he is taught; the Priest by whose sacrifice he is pardoned; the King, by whose authority he is swayed; and the Shepherd, on whose * See Dr. Owen's celebrated Work "On the Holy Spirit," and Doddridge's "Seven Sermons on Regeneration," for an able elucidation of this subject. What then is the tender care he reposes all his wants. remedy for the defects to which we have alluded, and for the fatal consequences resulting from them?-The knowledge of the Gospel; and the full, free, and faithful declaration of its truths. There must be its tidings on the lips, its grace in the heart, and its holiness in the life of the preacher. Such was the case in the instance of Mr. Richmond, after the change above recorded; and crowded auditories, an inquiring people, and numerous conversions were the happy result. And such will ever be the case where the Gospel is faithfully preached. The same causes will always produce the same effects. The blind will receive their sight, and the lame walk, and the deaf hear, and the spiritually dead be raised to ilfe eternal. CHAPTER IV. Developement of his character-Dedication of his time and thoughts to profitable objects-Fondness of the scenes of nature-Spiritual reflections upon them-Zeal in his ministerial duties-Letters and Diary-Remarks. In the preceding chapter, we have recorded the remarkable change of which Mr. Richmond was the subject, and explained its nature and character. We shall now proceed to illustrate it by its effects, which form the best evidence of its existence, and one of the strongest arguments for its necessity. With this view, we shall consider its operation and influence on the qualities of his mind and heart-on his ministerial habits-his epistolary correspondence-and in the more solemn and impressive exposure of the inward recesses of his soul. In our intercourse with men, we meet with an almost end. less diversity of character; and he who studies human nature is apt to classify those who are the subjects of his contemplation, according to their respective shades and gradations. But how painful is the discovery, when we see persons endowed with finer qualifications of the mind, and the most interesting sensibilities of the heart, wasting on unprofitable objects the powers which, if rightly directed, might render their possesor the instrument of extensive usefulness and good. We seem to behold a beautiful and imposing structure, but it is not occupied by the rightful owner. The lord of the man sion is absent, and a stranger has usurped his place. We turn with disappointment from the contemplation; nor can we withhold the prayer that ere long the fatal illusion may cease, and the chain of the captive be broken. In Mr. Richmond, every qualification became consecrated to religion. His imagination, taste, affections, and endowments received an impulse which directed all their energies to the glory of God, and to useful and profitable purposes. To illustrate what we have said, we subjoin the following passage from one of his popular tracts, which, while it shews his powers for descriptive scenery, proves at the same time how much his admiration of the scenes of nature was made the occasion of elevating the heart to God. "It was not unfrequently my custom, when my mind was filled with any interesting subject for meditation, to seek some spot where the beauties of natural prospect might help to form pleasing and useful associations. "South-eastward, I saw the open ocean, bounded only by the horison. The sun shone, and gilded the waves with a glittering light, that sparkled in the most brilliant manner. On the north, the sea appeared like a noble river, varying from three to seven miles in breadth, between the banks of the opposite coast, and those of the island which I inhabited.* Immediately underneath me, was a fine woody district of country, diversified by many pleasing objects. Distant towns were visible on the opposite shore. Numbers of ships occupied the sheltered station which this northern channel afforded them. The eye roamed with delight over an expanse of near and remote beauties, which alternately caught the observation, and which harmonised together, and produced a scene of peculiar interest. The reflections awakened by these scenes are thus ed: express "How much of the natural beauties of Paradise still remain in the world, although its spiritual character has been so awfully defaced by sin? But when divine grace renews the heart of the fallen sinner, Paradise is regained, and much of its beauty is restored to the soul. As this prospect is compounded of hill and dale, land and sea, woods and plains, all sweetly blended together, and relieving each other in the landscape so do the gracious dispositions, wrought in the soul, produce a beauty and harmony of scene, to which it was before a stranger.' دو We insert one more brief reflection. "What do they not lose, who are strangers to serious meditation on the wonders and beauties of created nature! How gloriously the God of creation shines in his works! Not * The Isle of Wight. |