I went about consulting my friends, and amongst others, one whom I hold in the highest esteem and regard, Sir Culling Eardley Eardley. I passed a day with him at his seat, Belvedere, near Erith. We were both silent some minutes, considering whether it would be prudent for me to go to Rome.
"Oh! yes," I exclaimed at last, "the present is the very moment when it would be best for me to go among my brethren, in my native land, to speak of Him who is 'the first-born among many brethren.'[101] The hour is propitious, and I hope I may not lose it; the utmost of my desire is that the door should be opened for me to enter."
"But do you not think," suggested Sir Culling, "that your life might be endangered? You know how incensed those priests are against you! If they lay hold of you!——"
"Oh! fear them not; I do not believe that they have any longer the means to injure me. The Pope has already lost all moral power in Rome, and he will soon lose his physical power also. Whatever happens, I believe I shall be protected by the Almighty; He has protected me hitherto, and will doubtless continue to do so, more especially when I am exposed to danger in His service."
"Are you of opinion that your presence in Rome will be useful to the cause of the Gospel? and that the Romans, in the midst of their present political struggle, will find time to turn their attention to matters of Religion? Do you suppose that now, when every one is vociferating for civil liberty, they would listen with complacency to a person who should talk to them of religious liberty, of spiritual liberty, of the liberty of the children of God?"
"Without a doubt I do; I understand the Roman character better than any one, and I feel confident that even in the midst of their political agitation, they would be interested in religious concerns; and the more so when they were made to understand that the religion which their priests had taught them was a false one. Among the numerous doctrines that their Church professes, several are not believed by many persons; but it is through instinct and natural good sense that they refuse to accept them, and not from having proved them to be false. No one has hitherto been allowed to instruct the people, or to give them any books that treat of religious subjects in their proper point of view; and more especially is it forbidden to put the Bible into their hands. Now, what would happen if the Romans heard one of their fellow-citizens speaking to them the language of truth, in opposition to the teaching of the priests?—speaking it with the Bible in his hand; and that Bible, moreover, in their mother tongue; and handed over to them, that they might read it themselves, and teach their children to do so, and by it to reform both their faith and morals? Yes! my Romans would be delighted, at the present juncture, to listen to what they have so often desired to hear, and what no one has hitherto been allowed to explain to them. I am perfectly aware that zeal ought to be guided by prudence; I shall therefore not go and declaim abroad, in the piazzas, but shall rather endeavour to find my way into the houses; and before I hold forth in public, I shall commune with individuals in private. I shall, in fact, make to every one I can a personal appeal. It was so that the primitive Church was formed by its Divine Head. The Lord, then, shall be my guide in all that I do."
"Well, then," observed my friend after a pause, "in order to obtain that guidance, it must be the subject of prayer." Upon which we both knelt down, and as the Spirit dictated I besought the Lord to guide us in our proposed work, according as seemed best to His gracious pleasure. My friend also preferred his supplication that the desire which influenced our minds, and the love which inspired our hearts to convey the truths of the Gospel to our brethren, might be graciously strengthened by His Divine assistance; that the doors might be opened, and the paths prepared to facilitate our undertaking.
We both derived comfort from our prayers; and we felt it to be the will of Heaven that I should go to Rome. I made some further remarks on the subject; and particularly that I considered it to be a providential circumstance that I was not impeded by any engagement with the Malta College, but was free in every respect. I remarked too that my mission was not from men, but from God alone; and consequently, that I depended solely on Him, to whom all obedience and glory is due.
These were not, however, the only supplications that were at that time offered up in behalf of my success. I requested of my brethren of the Evangelical Alliance the benefit of their prayers also, that I might be directed by the Lord in my difficult task; and I was sure they would be fervently made, so that I felt myself sufficiently encouraged, and was full of ardour to commence my work.
In the meanwhile the news from Rome became every day more and more important; since after the flight of the Pope, and after he had refused to receive the embassy from the Senate and the People, who solicited his return, the public feeling against the Papal Court every day continued to increase, as well as their dislike to whatever savoured of the priesthood. Every one delivered his free opinion on passing events; the Roman journals were loud in their denunciations: everything prognosticated the destruction of the Papal government, and with it that the Church,—that hypocritical and tyrannical Church,—would cease to torment the people, and thus the greatest obstacle to their liberty would be removed.