"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.