.... Do not permit yourself to judge uncharitably of the motives of others because their religious sentiments are not always floating on the surface of their words and actions."
The remonstrances descend in a graduated scale from these elegant remarks, through letters from old schoolfellows in an off-hand style; frisky young matrons twit him in a very airy kind of argument, and all seems to wind up in a flourish from a young officer, "How dy'e do, my dear old parson; ever in the dumps, eh?"
The long visit to London is at length brought about. He writes in the journal:—"April 13, 1826. At 9 set off for London. I leave Althorp for a longer period than I have since taking orders. May God make it a profitable excursion!" This visit was planned by the family and Dr. Blomfield, when they saw letters were unavailing, in order that Spencer might be brought, by conversing with his old master, into tamer notions on religion.
He accordingly dines and speaks with the Bishop and some clerical friends, but the result was this note in the journal:—"I feel myself in this great town like St. Paul in Athens. Not one like-minded man can I now think of to whom I can resort. But God shall raise me some." The next Sunday after his arrival in London he is asked by Dr. Blomfield to preach in St. Botolph's Church, Bishopsgate street. This sermon was to be a kind of profession of his faith. His own commentaries on it are thus: "I had the wonderful glory of preaching a full and free gospel discourse in the afternoon to a London congregation, and God gave me perfect composure and boldness; and although he liked not the doctrine, the Bishop was perfectly kind to me afterwards." The Rev. Mr. Harvey, Rector of Hornsey, says, in a letter he had the kindness to write to one of our fathers: "My first acquaintance with Mr. Spencer was about 1824 or 1825, when I was curate of St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, of which Archdeacon Blomfield, afterwards Bishop of London, was rector. Mr. Spencer had been a pupil of the Bishop's, and was always regarded by him with great interest. He generally came to him to stay for a few days in the spring, and used then to come and see me, and accompany me in my pastoral visits. He was a person of a most tender and loving spirit, very distrustful of himself, and very anxious to arrive at truth. On one occasion I remember his preaching on a Sunday afternoon at St. Botolph's, when Dr. Blomfield, then Bishop of Chester, read prayers. To the surprise of every one he took the opportunity of explaining his particular views of religion, which were then decidedly evangelical, intimating to the congregation that they were not accustomed generally to have the Gospel fully and faithfully preached. The Bishop of course was pained, but merely said, 'George, how could you preach such a sermon as that? In future I must look over your sermon before you go into the pulpit.' I do not vouch for the details, but this is what I recollect as far as my memory helps me at this distance of time."
Mr. Spencer went to hear others preach, and forms his opinions of each according to his way of thinking. Here are some specimens:—
"The Bishop of Bristol preached in the morning for the schools, a sermon worthy of Plato rather than St. Paul." Another day: "Went with all speed to Craven Chapel, where I heard Irving, the Scotch minister, preach nearly two hours. I was greatly delighted at his eloquence and stout Christian doctrine, though his manner is most blameably extravagant." Another day: "I went with Mr. A—— and Miss B—— to hear Mrs. Fry perform, and was delighted with her expounding to the prisoners in Newgate."
He seems to advance more and more in his own religious views; and he says his father was wretched about them. He gets an opportunity of preaching in the West End of London, and writes thereupon: "O my God, I have testified thy truth to east and west in this horrid Babylon." He soon after returns home, and is so far improved that he determines to preach extempore for the future; in this he succeeds very well. What led him to this resolve was the facility with which he could maintain a conversation on religious topics for any length of time, and the rational supposition that he might do the same, as well in the pulpit as in the parlour.
A letter to the Rev. Mr. Harvey, which is the only one that we have come across of those written by him at this time, gives a fair idea of the state of his mind: it was written on his return to Althorp after this London visit.
"August 3, 1826.
"My Dear Harvey,—Bishop Heber's sermon I think beautiful. I am also pleased with all that has come of late from Bishop Sumner. His apostolic preaching does not fully satisfy me, and I have little doubt, from his writings, that he would not consider it as exactly representing his present views. .... It must be admitted that St. Paul's sins before his conversion are not so heinous as those of many who have not ignorance and unbelief to plead in their favour. .... With regard to the question whether we be under guilt and eternal wrath, or in the favour of God and on the way of life, it seems to me highly dangerous to look to any distinction but this plain one, 'He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.' .... Having thus ventured an opinion to you, I will go on to say that I wish I could have some conversation with you at large on these matters. I do not wish to introduce discussions on these points with my brethren, except when I am led to it by circumstances, and therefore I never entered on the subject with you during my stay in London. I have sometimes blamed myself for it, because you seemed to me to be so candid and unprejudiced that I might have done so without any risk of displeasure. I now tell you that I was much pleased always with the spirit of your sermons and with all your feelings, as far as I could judge of them from conversation; but I could plainly perceive that your views of fundamental doctrines were not what, I am convinced, are the right ones according to the Word of God and the Articles of our Church. The Bishop would have told you, I suppose, that he and I were at variance on these points, though in mutual regard and attachment I humbly trust we never before were so nearly united. Indeed, I never had an argument with him which did not leave me in admiration of his genuine meekness and charity. .... I reckon him very nearly right, and I am sure that he has real humility and an inquiring spirit; and so I firmly trust that, by God's blessing, he will be led to acknowledge the whole truth, and that very shortly. .... All that I venture to say is that he has not, to my mind, yet taken the right view of the plan of Redemption. But I am so convinced of his being on the right way to it, that I could almost engage to acknowledge my own views wrong (though I have not a single doubt of them now), if, before his departure, which God send may be distant, he does not declare his assent to them. I believe that you are just of the same mind on these things, as I was myself a year or two ago. You probably know that my present views are of comparatively recent date with me. They are, in fact, what I have at last settled into, after two or three years of extreme doubts and oscillations and scrupulosities. I thank God that from all these He has delivered me, except the trouble and annoyance of my own evil heart, from which, however, I do not expect complete freedom, while in this tabernacle. As to writers on the subject, I have none, besides the formularies of our Church, whose doctrines and principles I like better than Thomas Scott's. There are some points of discipline, however, in which I do not go along with him. But I now attach myself most exclusively to the Word of God and prayer, as the method of increasing in knowledge, and feel delighted in the freedom which I have gained from the variety of opinions of learned men, which used to perplex me so grievously."
This is what he looked upon as being in the Gospel freedom, that he was free from doctors; and it is a freedom. If Anglican doctors were, like our theologians, all of a mind in doctrine, with a certain margin for diversity of opinion in things of minor consequence, or in the way of clearing up a difficulty, it might be borne; but when one has theologians for guides who agree about as much as one living clergyman agrees with another, it is surely a freedom to be delivered from a yoke that presses on so many sides, and forces so many ways at once.