sinners." These words so affected him, that he stopt and wept, then wiped his eyes, and read them over a second time. After prayers, he got into the pulpit, and took the same words for his text; and O, such a sermon, sure, never was preached before. He shewed, all the Bible over, that never did any poor sinner sue for mercy but he had it. He told us of Manasseh, of Saul, the Philippian gaoler, and the thief upon the cross: that all these poor bleeding penitents were at once accepted, without any other righteousness but what was to be found in him who died to justify the ungodly; and that whosoeverand again he said it, "Whosoever cometh unto him, he will in no wise cast out." O what a time of love was this! How Edward looked at me, and I at him, while we both, by faith, looked at Jesus Christ, who died for our redemption! Far. And was this all you did for your salvation? Tho. Why, master, nothing more could be done; for the love of Christ broke our hearts into a thousand pieces: from that moment we felt the chains of sin drop off from the soul, and we were at liberty, to love and serve the Lord. Now, for the first time, we began to experience what it was to be "made new creatures in Christ Jesus; old things passed away, and all things became new." Being thus "made partakers of the divine nature," and "renewed in the spirit of our minds," that prayer in the communion service, we trust, was answered now, which we might have read, but never prayed before: "Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy name." And when he concluded that blessed sermon with these words from St. Paul, "I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service;" with a hearty Amen, we at once found that we could give ourselves away to live to his glory. Far. Ah!, but Master Thomas, all the followers of your Vicar are not such saints, for all this: for there is Mr. Feigning, the Squire's steward, though he is a wonderful stickler for your parson, is no better than he should be: and Mrs. Fairspeech, though she comes with such a wonderful sanctified face, loves a sly drop as well as any of her neighbours, and then scolds her husband for not being of her religion. Tho. Yes; and it grieves us to the heart, to think that there should be any "who name the name of Christ, and depart not from iniquity :"but hypocrites there always were, and will be; yet real religion is never the worse for them. But still, you know, master, the Gospel has done wonders among us. Common swearers, and others, who never prayed before, have been made to pray of late: drunkards have become sober, and their ragged families decently clad: Sabbath-breakers, who had heart for nothing on that day but vanity and sinful mirth, can now fill the house of God, and find it their heaven upon earth; yea, and families where wrath and anger reigned, are now ruled by love, by " that meckness and gentleness which is in Christ Jesus." Thus have we happily proved" the Gospel to be the power of God to our salvation," by the blessed fruits of righteousness which have been produced thereby. 66 Far. I don't wonder that you are so fond of your sort of ministers, while they do you so much good. Tho. Why, we care not what sort they are, provided they are but of a godly sort: but you know, master, how terribly people are hardened in sin, if the lives of the ministers, and other great folks, be inconsistent with the gospel; and how many there are now-a-days who scoff at the Bible itself outright, when such men so mortally wound so good, a cause, Yea, such men had much better never preach at all, a thousand times, while their lives, so belie, their words. Far. Well, I must confess, that I have many times thought that if I were as good as the parson, I need be no better: but is not young Parson Merryman one of your sort of late? I remember him when he was a strange wild blade; how he used to gallop over my farm, shouting and roaring like a madman, after Lord Rakish's hounds; and how deadly angry he used to be with his uncle, who would have him made a parson of, because there was a good fat living in the family; how he could crack his jokes, how soon he did over his parishioners in the afternoon, that he, and the gentlefolks who came to see him on the Sunday, might not be disturbed from dinner and the bottle. Tho. Yes, master; and I dare say you have heard that when our minister was called to preach before my Lord Bishop, and all his clergy, how that worthy young gentleman was so affected at the things he heard about the duty of ministers (what they should preach, and how they should live) that he could not be at rest in his conscience till he came to see Mr. Lovegood; and now every body wonders at what an altered man he is. Far. Aye; and it is not above two years ago when he came to our town, while the stage-play people were there, and how he romanced with our daughters; and what a racket he kept up, when all of them should have been in bed and asleep, it would be a shame to tell. Tho. Yes; but then he was a minister of man's making; but now he is a minister of God's making. Once he loved his sports, but now he loves the souls of his parishioners: once he loved the fleece, but now he loves the flock; once he was for this world, but now he is for the next. O master, what wonders are done by the grace of God on the hearts of sinners! Far. Well, Thomas, I believe Mr. Merryman is a true convert; but I must be going; you and your family have picked up the scraps pretty clean. Tho. It is too good to be wasted: thank the Lord, we have had a charming meal. [Thomas to his daughter.] Come, Betsy, my dear, it is your turn to give thanks. Betty to the daughter. Don't be ashamed, my good child; but let master hear how well you can say your thanksgiving hymn. [The daughter says her hymn.] The beasts of the fields, and the fowls of the air, But they cannot praise thee; they know not from whom That all our supplies are from Jesus alone. Far. There's a brave girl; here is sixpence between you and your brother, for saying his grace before dinner; and when you lie-in, Betty, I will remember you. Tho. The Lord bless you, master, with his grace, for your kindness. But you would have me tell you how we.live; and, to my mind, you would not think we do right if we were to neglect our chapter and our prayer because you are here. Betty's a good scholar; and I have a little pride in me that people should know how bravely she can read. [Betty takes down the Bible, reads the latter part of the 14th chapter of St. Luke.] Thomas to Betty. Can't you remember, my dear, what a wonderful sermon our minister made against all these sad excuses; how that a man could not pur chase a piece of ground, buy a few cattle, have a little trade, or marry a wife, but out of all these things, innocent in themselves, they could find an excuse to neglect their salvation, and despise the marriage-supper of the gospel! Thomas then offers up a short prayer: prays for the King, and his favourite, the Lord Chancellor, for sending them Mr. Lovegood; and that God would bless his ministry to them:. and, after some other petitions, prays affectionately for his master and his family. The Farmer gets up much affected;-turns to the window-stifles his concern--wipes his eyes, and says- Far. Thomas, I'd give the world to be as good a man as you are: and that my wife was as good a woman as your Betty. Well, well, I will pluck up courage, and come and hear Mr. Lovegood next Sunday, come what will of it; and I'll try to bring my daughter Nance with me, for she does not seem to be so bad set against Mr. Lovegood as the others; but I know I shall hear enough of it from Mr. Dolittle and my neighbours. Tho. I wonder that gentleman should say such hard things, wherever he goes, against our good minister, and that he should so often preach against him as a hypocrite and over-righteous 'thusist; surely, it is out of ignorance. The Lord open his eyes! But I am a few minutes beyond the time of labour. Come, Thomas, my boy, let us be gone, master wants to be at home. Far. Farewell, Thomas. Tho. and Betty. The Lord bless you, master, for your kindness. |