THE RECTOR OF BROADHURST.
My dear," said Mr. Stevens, "here is an invitation from the Rev. Mr. Ingleby, requesting us and our visitors to take tea at the rectory to-morrow evening, when he will introduce us to the Rev. Mr. Guion; and as we have no engagement, I presume I may send an answer in the affirmative."
"Most certainly," said Mrs. Stevens; "to meet Mr. Ingleby and Mr. Guion together will be a great treat; they are both men of superior intelligence and piety, and of great conversational powers."
"I do not know Mr. Guion," I remarked, "but I have a very high opinion of Mr. Ingleby; he breathes a fine catholic spirit, and preaches the gospel with great simplicity, purity, and power."
"I think," said Mr. Stevens, "I know a few who excel our venerable friend in some separate ministerial qualifications and attainments; but in that rare union of excellencies which meet in him, he stands, in my opinion, unrivalled. He has a voice which is clear and powerful, his action is natural, he commands attention, and he always rewards it; for, by an extraordinary aptness of manner, he compels his hearers to believe that he is addressing them individually. And I have often been astonished by the extraordinary fertility of his mind; for while he is perpetually exhibiting the same truths, the modes of their exhibition are perpetually varying; his arguments, if they are not always new, yet they are always put in a new form; and his figures of illustration, which are beautifully chaste, have, if I may use such an expression, the freshness and fragrance of novelty upon them."
"But, after all," said Mrs. Stevens, "much as I admire him when he is in the pulpit, it is in the parlour and in the walks of private life that he unconsciously unfolds the entire of his real character. He appears more amiable and lovely in the undress of social intimacy, than when attired in the costume of his order. In my opinion, he approaches nearer the perfect and upright man of the Bible than any clergyman I know."
I had heard much of Mr. Ingleby since I had been a visitor at Fairmount, and I now looked forward with great pleasure to the prospect of being more fully acquainted with him. I shall here introduce some particulars of his history, much of which I afterwards learned.
On his leaving college, where he was greatly beloved by those who were admitted into his intimacy, Mr. Ingleby went into Yorkshire, and took the curacy of a country parish; and there he exhibited in faint miniature the fine character which, in after-life, he more clearly and broadly developed. To this spiritual cure he was much attached; and it is probable that he would have continued in it, but he married a niece of the gentleman who had the living of Broadhurst in his gift, and who presented it to him on the day of his marriage. To this living he was inducted in the year 1796; and though he subsequently had several offers of preferment, yet he declined them, preferring contentment and the affectionate regards of the attached and devoted people amongst whom he laboured, to the greater honours and emoluments which were held out to him. When he commenced his ministerial labours, he found the church in a most dilapidated condition; its steeple had fallen; its walls were rent in several parts, and overgrown with rank vegetation; the rain oozed through its roof; the grass had grown high on every walk which led to its antique doors; and though the face of the clock was partly visible, the clock itself had long ceased to tell the hours. Almost the whole parish was living in a state of absolute ignorance and moral barbarism. His heart sunk within him as he surveyed the moral waste which he was appointed to cultivate; but recollecting that he was not appointed to labour in his own strength, he resolved to consecrate his life to its improvement. Having formed this resolution, no offer, however flattering, could for a moment shake it. The first thing he attempted was, not to raise the tithes, which he knew would inflame the prejudices of the people against him, but to get the church repaired. He called a meeting of the parishioners, stated his wish, and urged them, in such a mild and persuasive manner, to comply with it, that the utmost degree of unanimity prevailed; and they retired congratulating each other on the residence of a clergyman amongst them who seemed to manifest a concern for their spiritual welfare. Though the parsonage house was, if possible, in a more dilapidated state than the church, yet he prudently declined alluding to it, which gave a few of the leading men such a high idea of his disinterestedness, that they called another meeting, and resolved that the house and the church should be repaired at the same time. When the church, thoroughly repaired, was reopened for divine worship, there was such a concourse of attendants that it was not large enough to contain them. The clerk, who had grown old in the service, having repeated the Amen within its walls for nearly half a century, said to his rector, while he was assisting him in putting on his sacred vestments, "There is a main lot of people come, Sir, to see our beautiful church; one should almost think that the dead had got leave to come out of their graves to see it."
DRAWN BY S. READ. ENGRAVED BY W. L. THOMAS.
THE CHURCH OF THE NEGLECTED PARISH.
Vol. i. page 66.
It was with some difficulty that Mr. Ingleby could get to the desk; and when he commenced the service, instead of reading the prayers, like his predecessors, in a hurried and irreverent manner, there was so much gravity in his appearance, so much solemnity in his deportment, and such a clearness and impressiveness in his enunciation, that the whole congregation were astonished and delighted. But it was in the pulpit, where he had to proclaim the glad tidings of salvation, that he commanded most attention, and excited the deepest interest. He selected for the occasion the memorable words of St. Paul, "For I am determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Cor. ii. 2). After dwelling some time on the death of Christ, and its grand design, he said, "My brethren, I am appointed to labour amongst you; and I have now informed you what will be the principal subject of my ministrations. I shall preach Christ; and can I preach on any subject so important? As you are sinners, involved in a state of degeneracy, guilt, and condemnation, you need a Saviour who is able to absolve you from your guilt, and bring you into a state of reconciliation with God, and save you from the wrath to come. Such a Saviour I now proclaim to you; a Saviour who is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. On the merit of his obedience and death you must rely for pardon and eternal life; and I beseech you to renounce at once every other object of dependence, and come to him, by faith, with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and he will save you."
This sermon produced a powerful impression, particularly the following very simple illustrative argument:—"If a man, whose tongue is cleaving to the roof of his mouth, were to put this question to me—Will a draught of pure water quench my thirst? I should very naturally say—Try it. Or if a man, when standing on a wreck, should ask me—Will your life-boat take me in safety through this fearful storm? instead of philosophizing on the causes of storms, or on the art of boat-building, I should say—Jump in, Sir, and try it. And I have the same reply to make to you, who may feel disposed to ask me if coming to Jesus Christ to save you will make you happy—Try it. Thousands and millions have made the trial, and found it a successful one; and now I say to each one of you—Try it."
This style of bold, yet simple address, was as novel amongst the people as it was impressive; it commanded and secured attention; and it was evident to all that the preacher was in earnest, for he spake as one having authority. Some were delighted with the sermon, and said that they had never seen the truth in such a clear light before, and that they had never before felt it operate so powerfully on their minds; and after the service was over, they lingered about the church, as though they were unwilling to leave the place in which they had been listening, with so much pleasure, to the glad tidings of salvation. But there were a few of the more respectable part of the people who were offended, and who did not hesitate to say, that if morality was to be excluded from the pulpit, to admit of the introduction of this evangelical style of preaching, they should decline attending the church. In the course of the week Mr. Ingleby received a letter from Mr. Porteous, a county magistrate, of which I afterwards obtained a copy, and also of his reply. I here introduce them as curiosities:—
"Reverend Sir,—I was not a little delighted and astonished on Sunday last; I was delighted with your very eloquent manner of reading our incomparable Liturgy; but I was astonished by the very unguarded expressions which you made use of in your sermon. You said, if my memory serves me, 'good works have nothing to do with our salvation—that if we are saved, it must be by faith in Christ crucified.' Now, if our good works have nothing to do with our salvation, shall we not abstain from performing them? I need not, I am sure, to a gentleman of your learning, point out the dangerous consequences which must result to the interests of morality from such sentiments; but considering that you have been so much engaged in attending to the repairs of the church, etc., I can very easily believe, from your habit of preaching extempore, that you let fall many expressions which, on mature consideration, you will condemn as unequivocally as I do. You will excuse the liberty which I have taken in offering these remarks, but as the morals of the people are somewhat under my supervision, I could not remain silent when I apprehended danger. Assuring you, Reverend Sir, that I have a great esteem for the clergy, and, as you are appointed our rector, I shall be happy to see you at my mansion, and wishing you health and happiness among us—I am, Reverend Sir, your obedient servant,
"J. P."
Mr. Ingleby's reply:—
"Dear Sir,—I received yours of the 10th, and I presume that a reply is expected. I did say, in the course of my sermon, that good works would never merit the forgiveness of our sins, nor procure for us a state of final happiness. And I did say that we must be saved, if we are ever saved, by faith in Jesus Christ. I did state, most expressly, that the obedience and death of Jesus Christ constitute the only meritorious cause of our eternal salvation. And if you read the following passages of Scripture, you will perceive that I am correct:—'But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith' (Phil. iii. 7-9). 'For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them' (Ephesians ii. 8-10).
"And, further, if you consult the Eleventh Article of our church you will find that I advanced no new doctrine:—'We are counted righteous before God only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by faith, and not by our own works or deservings: wherefore, that we are justified by faith only is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification.'
"When these doctrines are preached with simplicity and earnestness among a people who have not been accustomed to hear them, it is no unusual thing for some to imagine that they will be followed by the most dangerous results; but if you will only wait to see their practical influence, you will be convinced that they will incline, as well as teach men, to 'deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.' Assuring you that I am not offended by your free communication, and that I shall be happy to avail myself of your very friendly invitation—I am, yours truly,
"J. I."
The church, which in former times had been almost "as drear as the mansions of the dead," was now crowded to excess; the people flocked to it from all the adjacent parishes, and many, who came to scoff, returned to pray. A visible change soon took place in their habits; the drunkard became sober, the Sabbath-breaker visited the house of prayer, the village games were exchanged for the hallowed exercises of devotion, and the moral desert displayed the beauties of holiness. When it was found that these effects were the result of his ministry, though the spirit of scepticism, which often lurks under a profession of religion, could not be conciliated, yet its open hostility ceased, and the amiable and zealous rector was allowed to pursue the even tenor of his way, beloved by the pious, and respected by the profane.
But he was not more attentive to the duties of his office than to the virtues of his private character. What he enforced on others, he himself practised; what he inculcated from the pulpit, he exemplified in his family. There religion unfolded her sweetest charms, and sent forth an influence which operated with resistless force on every inmate in his house; and as his wife was endowed with an unusual share of prudence, she became indeed an help meet for him. She involved him in no pecuniary embarrassments by the extravagance of her habits; occasioned no discord by the officiousness or bitterness of her temper; but by managing his temporal affairs with discretion, left him more at liberty to devote himself to the duties of his sacred avocation.
The rector of Broadhurst was instant in season and out of season, serving the Lord, and his labours were blessed in the conversion of not a few of his parishioners. His earnestness in the work of the ministry, his evangelical preaching, and his popularity with the common people, stirred up the jealousy and opposition of the neighbouring clergy, who were preachers of morality, but not of the gospel. Some of them even went so far as to denounce him from the pulpit as a fanatical devotee, who was disturbing the peace of society, and ought to be expelled from the church.
None were more severe in their remarks, or more determined in their opposition, than the Rev. Mr. Guion, the rector of Norton. This clergyman had passed through the University of Oxford with great eclat, was a most accomplished scholar, possessed of a very superior understanding, an admirer of polite literature in all its branches, and inherited a large fortune which his father bequeathed him; but when he entered on the discharge of his sacred functions he was an entire stranger to the power of vital religion. His zeal for the church burnt with an ardent, if not a pure flame, which led him to look with supercilious contempt on all whom he deemed innovators; his reverence for the consistency of the clerical character preserved him from the vices and follies in which too many indulge; and the independent tone of his mind induced him to compose his own discourses, rather than read those which were composed by others. By the rich he was admired for the elegance of his manners, by the intelligent for the extent and variety of his knowledge, and by the poor for his profuse benevolence. On his settlement at Norton he called on Mr. Ingleby, but finding that he was (what the world calls) a Methodist, he declined an intimacy, and they rarely met, except on public occasions.
Mr. Ingleby having been appointed to preach a visitation sermon, Mr. Guion and several other clergymen amused themselves with the prospect of hearing an enthusiastic and unintelligible discourse. He chose his text from Isaiah lii. 11: "Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord." After a few introductory remarks, he said that the ministers of religion ought to be men of piety towards God, and of purity in the sight of men; and as they are intrusted with the truths of revelation, they ought to proclaim them with impassioned ardour. Having been favoured with a sight of this manuscript sermon, I have taken a few extracts from it:—
"As, my brethren, the ulterior design of our public ministry is to recover sinners from their apostasy from God, into a state of fellowship with him, ought we not ourselves to live in an habitual contemplation of his excellencies, and in the exercise of spiritual communion with him? Ought we not to rise above the mere forms and ceremonies of devotion, into that immediate intercourse with the Holy One which the Scriptures describe by the appropriate phrase of 'walking with God?' May we not fairly presume that such an hallowed exercise will have a most material influence in inducing within us that pure and ardent spirit of devotion, without which the duties of our sacred profession will be discharged in a cold, formal, and unimpressive manner? And can we expect to shed the lustre of piety around us unless we are imbued with its spirit, by a constant association with Him who alone can infuse it into the mind, and keep it from a state of relaxation and decay?
"It has been remarked that the copy which the rest of mankind write after should be remarkably correct. Hence the exhortation which St. Paul addressed to Timothy is strictly applicable to each of us: 'Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity' (1 Tim. iv. 12). The apology which has sometimes been offered for ministerial irregularity cannot be admitted—'Do as we say, but not as we do;' for is not example more powerful than precept? If the priest be profane, will not the people abhor the sacrifice? If we addict ourselves to the vices of the age, can we warn the people against them with any hope of success? If we follow the amusements and diversions of this world, will they believe that we are in earnest when we exhort them to abstain from the appearance of evil? If we secularize our habits, enter with spirit into the intrigues of the politician, and discover a restless ambition to reach the summit of human fame, will they give us credit for being sincere, if we exhort them, as we ought to do, to set their affections on things above, and not on things on the earth?
"In the discharge of your public functions, I would recommend you to press upon the attention of your hearers those truths which belong to the great scheme of redemption, the lost and helpless state of man, salvation by the free grace of God, justification and acceptance through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the necessity of the new birth, and of the enlightening and purifying operations of the Holy Ghost. These doctrines, which are expressed with so much clearness in the Articles of our church, are the essence and glory of that gospel which we are commissioned to preach; and though they are rejected by many as the corruptions of Christianity, yet I presume that you will contend for them as the faith which you are to deliver for the conversion of sinners and the edification of saints. If these truths are rejected because they are evangelical, and the more fashionable doctrine of a sincere though imperfect obedience, combined with a submission to a prescribed formula of religion, which leaves the heart unrenewed, be substituted in their room, we may gain the applause of those who trust in themselves that they are righteous, but we shall be guilty of an awful departure from the spirit and the design of our commission, and justly incur the displeasure of Jesus Christ.
"To conclude: the hour is rapidly approaching when we, who are appointed as the stewards of the mysteries of the kingdom, shall be summoned into the presence of our invisible Lord, to give an account of our stewardship, when the motives which induced us to take upon ourselves the priest's office and which induced us to retain it, the manner in which we have spent our time, employed our influence and our wealth, and conducted the public solemnities of religion, will undergo a close and a severe investigation; and if we, the ministers of the sanctuary, should, when weighed in the balance, be found wanting, how awful will be our doom! Ezek. xxiii. 7, 8.
"Happy, thrice happy that minister who, amidst all his infirmities, will be able to give up his account with joy; but woe, woe, woe to us if we be found unfaithful!"
This sermon produced a very considerable effect on the audience, but no one was more deeply affected by it than Mr. Guion. He listened with profound attention, and though he mustered all his prejudices against the preacher, and endeavoured to avoid the force of his solemn appeals, yet he was not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. After the service was concluded he retired to meditate on what he had heard, but his mind was too deeply wounded to admit of calm meditation. His personal guilt, his danger, his ministerial infidelity, his dishonoured Lord, the future judgment passed in review before his mind, greatly agitating his feelings; and being unconscious of the immediate cause and design of this extraordinary mental excitement, he knew not where to obtain relief. As the Sabbath approached he attempted, as usual, to compose a sermon, but after poring over the text on which he had fixed, he abandoned it, because he could not understand it. He then selected another, then another, then another, till, in despair, he resolved that he would not make a fresh effort till his mind was more composed. "I'll preach," said he, "an old sermon," but he could not find one that he could preach. At length he took a volume of sermons from off one of the shelves of his library, and seeing one on these words, "Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even to-day do I declare that I will render double unto thee" (Zech. ix. 12), he transcribed it. The following paragraph, when he read it from the pulpit, darted a ray of light across his mind, but he was not then able to discover the truth which it so beautifully exhibits: "You who are lying in the prison of an unconverted state, come hither to this sanctuary, whose gates stand open to receive you. 'It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.' He hath shed that blood which 'cleanseth from all sin,' and hath sealed that gracious and well-ordered covenant which offers pardon and eternal life to every penitent believing sinner. And now all things are ready for your reception; the Father is ready to embrace you, Christ is ready to wash you in his blood, the Spirit is ready to heal your diseased natures, angels are ready to rejoice at your return, and we, as the servants of this King of Zion, are ready to welcome you into this family of God, and do now exhort you, and pray you, in Christ's stead, 'to flee for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set before you.'"
On the next Tuesday he rode over to Broadhurst, and heard Mr. Ingleby preach his evening lecture, but contrived to return without being seen. He now felt conscious that Mr. Ingleby was qualified to become his religious instructor, and therefore resolved to open a correspondence with him, which he did by writing to him as follows:—
"Rev. and Dear Sir,—The sermon which I had the honour of hearing you deliver at your visitation, has made such a deep impression on my mind, that I have been uneasy ever since. It has stripped me of all my imaginary excellence, destroyed the foundation on which I was building my hope of future happiness, convinced me of my personal guilt and degeneracy, rendered me unfit to discharge the functions of my sacred office, and thrown my feelings into such a perturbed state, that I know not how to calm them, nor how to bear up under them. As you have been the means of inflicting the wound, probably you can administer some consolation; and, if you will permit me, I will ride over and avail myself of the honour and felicity of an interview. A reply by the bearer will greatly oblige, yours truly,
"Oliver Guion."
The interview took place as proposed, and from that hour to the present, these two laborious ministers of Jesus Christ have lived in the uninterrupted enjoyment of Christian fellowship, animating each other in their sacred work, and, by uniting their influence, have succeeded in diffusing the leaven of truth through the greater part of their extensive parishes.