CHAPTER XVII.
Mr. Venn removed to Huddersfield--Mr. Burnett--Lord Dartmouth--Dr. Conyers--Visitation Sermon--Mr. Thornton--Lady Huntingdon visits Yorkshire--Mr. Romaine--Mr. Wesley--Mr. Madan--Letters from Dr. Conyers to Lady Huntingdon--Letter from Mr. Venn--Mr. Titus Knight--Letter from Mr. Grimshaw--Death of Mr. Grimshaw--Letter from Mr. Venn--Letter from Dr. Conyers--Letter from Mr. Fletcher--Lady Huntingdon, with Messrs. Townsend and Fletcher, visits Huddersfield--Illness of Lady Huntingdon--Mr. Whitefield in Yorkshire--William Shent--Mr. Venn’s irregularities--Mrs. Hannah More--Defence of Mr. Venn--Letter from Mr. Fletcher--Mrs. Deane--Lady Irvine--Mr. Occum, the Indian Preacher--Captain Scott--The London Shunamite--Mr. Wilson.
In 1759, Mr. Venn left the scene of his labours, to the great grief of his pious friend, Dr. Haweis, and, urged by the necessities of his family, accepted from Sir John Ramsden, at the solicitation of the Earl of Dartmouth, the large and valuable living of Huddersfield. He found his parish in worse than Egyptian darkness; but he prophesied over the dry bones, and a wonderful rising followed. He was the means of introducing many valuable clergymen into his parish and neighbourhood, among whom may be mentioned the late Mr. Burnett,[154] Mr. Powly, Mr. Wilson, and Mr. Ryland, who were successively curates in his parish, though most of them afterwards removed to other important situations.
Mr. Venn might be called the Apostle of the district. On the Sunday he would often address the congregation from the desk, briefly explaining and enforcing the Psalms and the Lessons. He would frequently begin the service with a solemn and most impressive address, exhorting them to consider themselves as in the presence of the Great God of Heaven, whose eye was in a particular manner upon them, whilst they drew nigh to Him in His own house. His whole soul was engaged in preaching; and as at this time he only used short notes in the pulpit, ample room was left to indulge the feelings of compassion, of tenderness, and love with which his heart overflowed towards his people. In the week he statedly visited the different hamlets in his extensive parish, and collecting some of the inhabitants at a private house, he addressed them with a kindness and earnestness that moved every heart.
Lord Dartmouth, writing to Mr. Rawlings, says--
“I have delightful accounts from Huddersfield of the wonderful manner in which the ministry of their faithful and laborious vicar is blessed to that people; and, by my last letters from thence, have the satisfaction to learn that his health was never better than at present. Mr. Venn laments exceedingly the loss of Mr. Burnett, whose infirm state has, I find, at last obliged him to seek the benefit of change of air. In his last letter to me are these words concerning him--‘My faithful helper in the Lord’s work, after many repeated efforts to continue in the exercise of his duty, is obliged to desist; his behaviour, under these afflicting circumstances, glorifies his Saviour and recommends his faith.’ Invincible patience and the deepest humiliation, justifying God and accepting the strokes of his rod as a punishment for iniquity, joined to steadfast confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ, are the abiding tempers of his heart. It is my prayer that he may be restored to help me: for I may really say of Mr. Burnett as Paul of Timothy, I know few like-minded who preach the hatred and mortification of sin, whilst they exalt the free grace and righteousness of our God and Saviour--who teach men to live in the denial of every evil temper and in the exercise of every heavenly grace, and, at the same time, sensible of their vileness, to cry--_God be merciful to me a sinner!_’”
Mr. Venn, like the apostolic Grimshaw, was eminently distinguished by a Catholic spirit with respect to other denominations of professing Christians. When he visited Mr. Ingham, he could not witness with indifference the fatal effects of that dreadful division which had marred the work of God, and scattered so many flourishing Churches in that part of the vineyard. Great numbers of young persons were among the fruits of his ministry, and of these at least thirteen became useful, and some of them very eminent ministers, chiefly in the Independent connexion.
About the same period that Mr. Venn removed to Huddersfield, the late Dr. Conyers commenced his evangelical ministry at Helmsley, in the North Riding of Yorkshire. For many years before his eyes were open to see the truth as it is in Jesus, he was a most amiable and exemplary clergyman, in a moral point of view. Having much to do and much to learn, he entered upon the weighty duties of his office with a zeal, though not with a knowledge, proportioned to its magnitude. Accordingly he left no part of his large parish neglected, but regularly visited and familiarly conversed with the most indigent and illiterate, and attempted, not only by frequent public ministrations, catechetical exercises, and private conferences, but also by personal example, to excite to a general propriety of conduct. He was accustomed to assemble at his own house companies of young men for the purpose of religious improvement, and, in conjunction with them, appointed that at a certain hour, at the striking of the church clock, each should retire to his habitation, and be present in spirit together before God in the exercise of prayer.
He was respected and commended as an eminent saint and an exemplary and able minister; but, alas! he was yet unpossessed of vital godliness, and ignorant of the true nature of the Gospel, relying solely on his own righteousness for acceptance. Nay, he imperfectly imbibed the gross and pernicious errors of a Socinian writer, and actually wrote him a letter of thanks for his productions, but was prevented from sending it by the following circumstance. On reading Luke vi. 26, “Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets,” a flash of conviction darted into his soul. He was honoured by general approbation; the rancorous fury of calumny had not interrupted his repose, nor had he to contend with the virulence of persecuting opposition. He was, therefore, apparently, included in the tremendous denunciation. Yet hoping, by additional punctuality in the discharge of his duties, to calm his mental perturbation, he conducted himself with great propriety, fasted more frequently, and used sometimes, at the altar in the church, to sign with his own blood, in a most solemn manner, his resolutions to devote the remains of his life to the service of his God, and to render himself acceptable to heaven by peculiar sanctity.
While reading the lesson for the day in the public service at the church, the expression of St. Paul (Eph. iii. 8), “The unsearchable riches of Christ,” made a deep impression upon his mind. On this Scripture he was involuntarily led to reflect--“_The unsearchable riches of Christ!_”--“I never found, I never knew, that there were unsearchable riches in _Him_.” Accustomed to consider the Gospel as extremely simple and intelligible, he was surprised that the Apostle should assert that the riches of Christ were _unsearchable_; immediately he concluded that his sentiments and experience must be entirely dissimilar to those of the Apostle. Deep convictions accompanied these reflections, and his trouble was not a little increased by considering, that if he himself was wrong in the fundamental articles of religion, he must also, by his mode of preaching, have misguided his flock, to the great prejudice of their souls.
At length the sorrowful sighing of the prisoner was attended with success, and on the 25th of December, 1758, while walking in his room, in a pensive frame, he was led to contemplate those two passages of Scripture, Heb. ix. 22--“Without shedding of blood there is no remission,” and John i. 7--“The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” The mists of ignorance were instantaneously dissipated, and finding that he could centre his hopes in the atoning blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, he became the immediate partaker of real and ineffable joy.
“I went upstairs and down again (said he), backwards and forwards in my room, clapping my hands for joy, and crying out, ‘_I have found him--I have found him--I have found him, whom my soul loveth_,’ and for a little time, as the Apostle said, whether in the body or out of it I could hardly tell.”
The first time that his friends were assembled at his house he embraced the opportunity of informing them, with truly evangelical simplicity, that they had been by him unintentionally deceived. He related his former distresses, and made them acquainted with his present joyful sensations, and concluded by attempting to convince them from Scripture, that the blood of Christ could only expiate their innumerable transgressions and produce real peace of mind, and that his righteousness only could entitle them to the enjoyment of eternal life.
At the parish church, before a numerous auditory, on the ensuing Sabbath-day, he began to preach without a pre-composed sermon, spoke to them freely of the way of salvation by the Lord Jesus alone, acknowledged that his principles had been erroneous, that he had been ignorant of the holy Scriptures, and that the doctrine which he had inculcated and laboured to establish among them was not the Gospel.
He now found that all men did not speak well of him, and he was soon called upon to suffer the reproach of the cross. Many of his former friends began to treat him with negligence and contempt; but none of these things moving him, he determined, by divine assistance, unremittingly to persevere. Uncommon success attended his after labours. As the number of converts considerably increased, he divided them into distinct classes, men by themselves and women by themselves, and then into married and unmarried. His extensive parish contained several small villages, and being divided into hamlets, these select societies assembled in such places as best suited their convenience. At appointed times he met them for the purpose of spiritual conversation, and every day, at eleven o’clock, preached in some part of the parish. These services were continued by him or his curates from the time of his removal from Helmsley.
After his character, as a man of evangelical principles, became generally known, he was called to preach a sermon before the clergy at a visitation of his diocesan, the Archbishop of York. This became the topic of general conversation among the neighbouring clergy and their parishioners, who declared “if he should dare to preach his Methodism in the presence of his Grace, his gown would soon be stripped over his ears.”
During his discourse, the beclouded countenances of his clerical hearers indicated that the important doctrine which he proved and enforced was extremely offensive, and when the service was concluded, as he was in the street in conversation with several farmers, Dr. Drummond, Archbishop of York, advanced, and accosted him as follows:--“Well, Conyers, you have given us a fine sermon!”--“I am glad (said the Doctor) it meets the approbation of your Grace.”--“Approbation! approbation! (replied the Archbishop); if you go on preaching such stuff you will drive all your parish mad. Were you to inculcate the morality of Socrates, it would do more good than canting about the new birth.” His Grace immediately walked off without waiting for a reply.[155]
With a view to promote the cause of Christ, which, of all other causes, lay nearest to her heart, Lady Huntingdon made excursions from time to time, not only into the towns and villages in the neighbourhood of Brighton, Tunbridge Wells, Bath, and other places, where she occasionally resided, but to more distant parts of the kingdom. From the first moment that she was enabled to give herself, her time, her property, and her talents, wholly to the Lord, she ever preferred the path of duty before the lap of repose, and was ready, had it been possible, to visit the uttermost parts of the earth, and convey with her the blessing of the everlasting Gospel; counting neither ease nor interest, reputation, nor even life itself, as dear to her, if by their sacrifice she could in any way be instrumental in bringing before others the grace of which she had been made the happy recipient.
Her Ladyship’s journey to Yorkshire, in 1760, was chiefly owing to the confusion which was then prevailing amongst Mr. Ingham’s societies, from the repeated discussions on Church government and discipline. She was accompanied by Messrs. Romaine and Venn, the latter of whom was then returning to Huddersfield, after labouring at Brighton for some weeks with great zeal and success. Her Ladyship was joined by Mr. Whitefield at Aberford, but their united efforts to restore peace and prevent confusion, as we have already seen, proved ineffectual.
The succeeding summer Mr. Wesley was in Yorkshire, and preached at Knaresborough, Tadcaster, and several places in the immediate vicinity of Aberford. There had been much conversation about the doctrine of _Perfection_, which had been introduced into Yorkshire by the Wesleyan preachers, and Mr. Wesley laboured hard to defend and explain it to Messrs. Grimshaw and Venn. His sermon at Haworth was in the manner of waiting for _perfect love_, and when he visited Huddersfield he came to what he calls “a full explanation with that good man, Mr. Venn,” and he adds, “Lord, if I _must_ dispute, let it be with the children of the devil: let me be at peace with _thy_ children.” A few days after, Mr. Wesley went to Kippax; Mr. Venn came a little time after they were gone into the church; Mr. Romaine read prayers, and Mr. Wesley preached on _Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness_. “O why (says he) should they who agree in this great point fall out about smaller things?”
In the summer of 1762, Lady Huntingdon paid another visit to Yorkshire, and on the 9th of August she attended the nineteenth Conference held at Leeds, when Messrs. Romaine, Madan, Venn, Whitefield, John and Charles Wesley were also present. After which Mr. Whitefield proceeded to Scotland, and Lady Huntingdon to Knaresborough, where she remained some time, and had frequent meetings of all the Gospel clergymen in Yorkshire, with a view to stimulate them to more active exertions in diffusing the light of divine truth. Dr. Conyers, being unable to wait upon her Ladyship, sent the following letter to Knaresborough:--
“Madam--The many kind messages and invitations which I have received from your Ladyship, and especially by the Rev. Roger Bentley, who had the honour and happiness of your company at Knaresborough, have filled my heart with the most _grateful affections_. I have been long in hopes that it would please God to open a way for me to wait upon your Ladyship, but it seems not to be his pleasure. I hope I shall meet you in heaven: we shall ail nothing there--nothing can keep us asunder there. O thou adorable Lord Jesus, hasten thy kingdom--my heart just pants after that blessed time when all the elect of God shall be gathered together--when I shall see Him whom my soul loves eye to eye. I humbly beg your Ladyship’s prayers that I may be strengthened through grace, and, happily triumphant over every evil, may gain an admission into my heavenly Father’s kingdom. I love to pray for your Ladyship, I feel a sweetness upon my soul when I do--it raises in me earnest desires to imitate your example, that I may be with you for ever. I dare hardly take the freedom to beg a line from your Ladyship, but I know you love to do good, and that, through God’s blessing, would do good to me. I am your Ladyship’s most obedient and most affectionate servant in Christ Jesus,
“RICHARD CONYERS.
“Helmsley, September 14th, 1762.”
From Knaresborough Lady Huntingdon removed to Harrogate, where Mr. Romaine preached several times; and from thence to Kippax and Aberford, where she remained several weeks actively engaged in promoting the kingdom of her Lord and Master. On leaving Yorkshire, her Ladyship proceeded to Brighton; whilst there she received the following letter from Mr. Venn:--
“Huddersfield, December 10th, 1762.
“Your Ladyship’s letter rejoiced the hearts of many in these parts. Blessed be God for the refreshment and vigour which your visit to Yorkshire hath diffused in my own dead soul, and for that light and life which our dear Immanuel hath made you the honoured instrument of conveying to the hearts of so many of your fellow-sinners. I cannot but adore the goodness of the Lord in raising up such a monument of his mercy, and inflaming you with such a fervent zeal for his blessed name. I trust the Lord will, in mercy, spare me to see you again in the flesh; perhaps in March or April I may be able to visit you and give you some little assistance; in order to do this, may the Spirit of God open the eyes of my understanding more and more to see my need of a Saviour, and to behold the suitableness, the freeness, and fulness of the redemption which was wrought out by the Lord of life and glory. O help me with your prayers, for truly I need them. I thank you ten thousand times for all your repeated marks of love and generosity to me and my family. Continue to pray for me, and the Lord will return it to you sevenfold.”
After some allusion to his preaching with Mr. Ingham at Aberford, and with Dr. Conyers at Kippax and Huddersfield, he says--
“My congregations are daily increasing. Besides my stated labours on the Lord’s-day, I generally preach eight or ten sermons in the week in the distant parts of the parish, where many come to hear who will not come to the church. I find my out-door preaching much owned of the Lord.
“My wife begs her kindest regards to your Ladyship. That the Father of lights may pour the choicest of his blessings on your soul, and fill you with his love, is the repeated wish of your Lordship’s unworthy friend and servant in Christ,
“H. VENN.”
Whilst Lady Huntingdon was at Aberford she enjoyed frequent opportunities of seeing and conversing with the late Rev. Titus Knight, who was a constant visitor at Mr. Ingham’s. His first labours, it is well known, were among the Methodists, in Mr. Wesley’s societies; and having opportunities of preaching in various parts of the country, he became signally and extensively useful. From repeated interviews and conversations with Lady Huntingdon and Mr. Ingham, it pleased God to give him such consistent views of divine truth, that he could no longer publicly insist upon certain points of doctrine maintained in Mr. Wesley’s Connexion. Christian perfection was much insisted upon at this time by Mr. Wesley, and Lady Huntingdon felt herself bound to combat this error, which Mr. Knight had adopted, with those clear views of revealed truth which she had embraced, and which she explained in a manner so easy and forcible to the minds of others, that many acknowledged themselves indebted to her Ladyship’s instrumentality for a deeper insight into the great doctrines of the Gospel. Lady Huntingdon offered to use her interest in procuring him Episcopal ordination, as he had attained a considerable knowledge of the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin languages, and a copious acquaintance with classical history. This offer, after some consideration, he declined. A few faithful friends, to whom he had been useful, still adhered to him: and to them he continued to preach as opportunity permitted. These being soon increased by the addition of others, a scheme was suggested for erecting a house in which they might more regularly assemble together, but the parties had no resources, and Mr. Grimshaw undertook to beg for it. He was no bigot; he made no distinction of sect or party the measure of his love towards Christians. He used to say, “I love Christians, true Christians, of all parties; I do love them, I will love them, and none shall make me do otherwise.” His first application was to Lady Huntingdon:--
“Madam--Your last letter has remained a long time unanswered; but I know you will excuse what may appear neglect, when informed that I have been about my Master’s business. Indeed, I have the pleasure of assuring you that the Lord’s work prospers amazingly among us. My exhortations are visibly blessed, and I bless God daily and hourly for it. The societies are everywhere in a good state. The Lord is adding to them many seekers of the blessed Jesus--many lively souls who have come to a sense of the pardoning love of God, and are eagerly hungering and thirsting after your inestimable REDEEMER and mine.
“I have had two visits from Mr. Knight. He professed great love and respect for your Ladyship, and acknowledges his deep obligations for the light and knowledge you were instrumental in communicating to him. He is actively labouring to rescue sin-slaved souls from the kingdom of darkness, and the Lord has put honour on his testimony, by giving him seals to his ministry. The people amongst whom he is sowing the seed of the kingdom are poor, their means are very limited, yet the Lord has put it into their hearts to build a house for the preaching of his word. Now I have come to the point--can your Ladyship spare a mite to aid these worthy souls? The demands on your generosity I know to be great, and on that account I feel a repugnance at asking, because I am persuaded you would give, even to the gown on your back, if the case required it. Blessed be God, who has furnished you with means, and with a heart inclined to dispense the unrighteous mammon for the good of others. But you are the Lord’s, all you have is his, and bless and praise him night and day for employing you in his service. May he bless you, sanctify you, and make you abundantly useful in your day and generation! He has raised you up for the accomplishment of a mighty work in the land; I may not live to witness it, but I shall assuredly see some of the triumphs of the cross, the blood-bought slaves, the ransomed captives, rescued from the tyranny and slavery of the great enemy of souls, in the chapels of your Ladyship, all arrayed in robes of dazzling white, and washed from every defilement in the fountain open for sin and uncleanness, praising and blessing Him who hath made them kings and priests unto God and the Lamb for ever. Yes, when I am before the throne--then I shall see, and hear, and know what you have been made the instrument of accomplishing upon earth; and at last we shall meet as _two poor worthless sinners_, stripped of every fancied good, to bless and praise him through eternity!
“I hope ere long to see my dear brother Whitefield in his own pulpit again. When will your Ladyship revive us with another visit? What blessings did the Lord shower upon us the last time you were here! and how did our hearts burn within us to proclaim his love and grace to perishing sinners! Come and animate us afresh--aid us by your counsels and your prayers--communicate a spark of your glowing zeal, and stir us up to renewed activity in the cause of God. All the dear apostles go on well--all pray for your dear Ladyship--and all long for your coming amongst us again. I have been a long round since you were here, and have seen brothers Ingham, Venn, Conyers, and Bentley, all alive, and preaching Christ crucified with wonderful success, and inexpressible benefit to the souls of many.
“Excuse this long, incoherent scribble, and assure yourself I am your Ladyship’s very unworthy and unprofitable friend and brother,
“WILLIAM GRIMSHAW.
“Haworth, November 20th, 1762.”
To this appeal Lady Huntingdon responded with her accustomed liberality; and in a little time such liberal contributions were obtained as enabled Mr. Knight and his friends to accomplish their design. A house was erected, a church formed, and he was ordained pastor in the summer of 1763. Soon after, his acquaintance with Mr. Whitefield commenced, which, under God, was the means of extending his usefulness very considerably; for being invited by Mr. Whitefield to his pulpit, and his preaching being approved, he afterwards became one of the assistant preachers, and spent two months every year in preaching at the Tabernacle, Tottenham-court Chapel, Greenwich, Woolwich, and other places in the same Connexion.[156]
In the spring of 1763, Lady Huntingdon had the misfortune to lose her very valuable and faithful friend, the laborious and truly apostolic Grimshaw. Haworth, in the early part of the year, was afflicted with a putrid fever, of which many persons died. Mr. Grimshaw had a strong presage upon his mind that some one of his own family would be added to the number, and he repeatedly exhorted them all to be ready, as he knew not which it might be. As for himself, it was not for a man of his views and spirit to decline the calls of his duty and affection through apprehension of danger. The fever was highly infectious, and, in visiting the sick parishioners, he soon caught it. From the first attack of the disease he expected and welcomed the approach of death. He knew in whom he believed, and felt His support in the trying hour. While death pointed his javelin to his heart, he beheld the face of the King of Terrors as if it were the face of an angel. He said, “Never had I such a visit from God since I knew him.”
Mr. Ingham, in a letter to Lady Huntingdon, gives the following account of his interviews with Mr. Grimshaw:--
“From the moment he was seized with the fever he felt the sentence of death in himself. When I first saw him he said, ‘My last enemy is come! the signs of death are upon me, but I am not afraid--no! no! blessed be God, my hope is sure, and I am in his hands.’ When I was pouring out my soul in prayer to the Lord, I mentioned the further prolongation of his life, that he might have more opportunities of being useful; and when I had concluded he said, ‘My dear brother Ingham, if the Lord should raise me up, I think I could do more for his glory than I have hitherto done. Alas! what have my wretched services been? and I have now need to cry, at the close of my unprofitable course--_God be merciful to me a sinner!_’ On my next visit I found him much worse, and evidently sinking. I mentioned having received a letter from your Ladyship, and delivered your message. He seemed much affected, but after a few moments revived a little. When I had prayed with him, he said, ‘I harbour no desire of life--my time is come, and I am entirely resigned to God.’ Then lifting up his hands and eyes to heaven, added, ‘Thy will be done! Tell her Ladyship, that dear elect woman, that I thank her from the bottom of my heart for all her kindnesses to me during the years that I have known her. With my dying breath I implore every blessing, temporal and spiritual, to rest upon her. May the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, bless her--bless her in body, soul, and spirit. I can never repay the spiritual good I have reaped at her hands. O that she may be eminently useful in her day and generation!’ At another time he said, laying his hand upon his breast, ‘I am quite exhausted, but I shall soon be at home for ever with the Lord--a poor miserable sinner redeemed by his blood.’ Mr. Venn having arrived, I shortly after took my leave, but never after saw my dear brother Grimshaw alive.“[157]
He died on 7th of April, 1763, in the fifty-fifth year of his age, and in the twenty-first from his settlement at Haworth, the scene of his eminent usefulness in the Church of God.[158]
Mr. Grimshaw was twice married, and survived his second wife; by the former, he had a daughter, who died young, and a son, who survived him about two years: he married a worthy woman, but drinking was his besetment. He often addressed the horse his venerable father rode with these words--“Once thou carriedst a saint--now thou carriest a devil.” The many prayers offered up for him were not in vain. The Lord gave him repentance, and just before he died he exclaimed--“_What will my Father say when he sees me in heaven?_” The widow of Mr. Grimshaw’s son afterwards became the wife of the late Rev. John Cross, vicar of Bradford. The successors of Mr. Grimshaw, the late Rev. John Richardson and the Rev. John James Charnock, trod in his steps, to the great good of Haworth. The blessed effects resulting from Lady Huntingdon’s former visits to Yorkshire induced many of the ministers of Christ in that part of the kingdom to solicit her to honour them with her presence from time to time; and as soon as her Ladyship had determined on taking a journey into Yorkshire, she wrote to several ministers, explaining the object she had in view, and soliciting the aid of such as could with convenience accompany her thither. Mr. Townsend and Mr. Fletcher, it appears, were early engaged for this labour of love. As early as the month of February we find the latter writing thus to Mr. Ireland:--
“If I can leave my parish, I believe it will be to accompany Lady Huntingdon to the Goshen of our land, Yorkshire, to learn the love of Christ at the feet of my brethren and fathers there.”
Lady Anne Erskine, who was then residing with her father, Lord Buchan, at Bath, consented to accompany Lady Huntingdon in her tour into Yorkshire, and her Ladyship was earnestly entreated to gratify the anxious wishes of the people of God in Scotland. Lady Huntingdon readily yielded to the desires of the people of Edinburgh, and as soon as she had resolved on visiting Scotland, wrote to Mr. Venn and Mr. Townsend, inviting them to accompany her thither. A few days before she set out on her tour she received the following reply from Mr. Venn:--
“Your Ladyship’s letter has rejoiced our hearts, and many more. Your coming into Yorkshire, attended by two such faithful labourers, will, I doubt not, be blessed exceedingly to the souls of the people, as your parlour-preaching will be to our own souls. If I can, I shall do myself the pleasure of meeting you at Bretby; if not, on the 9th of next month we shall receive you and your blessed company with that exalted joy which the Holy Ghost inspires. I must take the liberty of begging your Ladyship will present our most respectful compliments to Lady Anne and Miss Orton, and express our sense of the favour they will confer on us on coming to my vicarage. We were in hopes you could have contrived to have spent a Sabbath with us, rather than at Kippax. Three thousand hearers would be present to receive the word of life here, whereas at the village there would be very few. Love to my flock and desire for their good prompts me to mention this.
“To make one of your tour to Scotland would delight me much indeed, but my complaint in my breast is returned, and I am not able to lift up my voice. On Easter Tuesday I perceived the hurt very sensibly. I was pleading for the Lord’s honour and glory as the only Saviour--and how could I help speaking on such a truth with all energy? But the body will not bear it. However, I had yesterday a poor profligate came to me, to tell me that, under that sermon, she, who doubted before the very being of a God, was pricked to the heart, and is now indeed crying out night and day--‘_What shall I do to be saved?_’ Preaching Christ was never so greatly delightful to me as it is now; and yet that highest pleasure I am now incapable of enjoying more than once a week.
“Praying heartily that your going in and out from place to place may be under the powerful influence and rich blessings of the great Leader and Commander of the people, that as one of his chosen troops you may do valiantly, putting to flight the army of the aliens, I conclude myself your Ladyship’s servant in the Gospel, and friend,
“H. VENN.”
Dr. Conyers also, to whom her Ladyship had announced her intention of visiting Yorkshire, felt highly gratified at the prospect of seeing her, and wrote very much to the purport of the above, under date of Helmsley, April 21, 1767.
Early in the month of May, Lady Huntingdon, Lady Anne Erskine, Miss Orton, and Mr. Howel Harris, left Bath, accompanied by Mr. Whitefield, on a preaching excursion through a part of Gloucestershire.
“We have had good seasons at Rodborough (says he); I was regaled with the company of some simple-hearted, first-rate old Methodists, of nearly thirty years’ standing. God willing, I am to preach to-morrow morning, and to have a general sacrament on Friday evening. I have been out twice in the fields. On Sunday I hope to take to Rodborough-wood again. Good Lady Huntingdon, &c., were wonderfully delighted. She and her company lay at Rodborough-house. They honoured dear Mr. Adams with their presence: he is but poorly, and wants a nurse; perhaps before next Sunday he may be married to a simple-hearted, plain, good creature that hath waited upon him and the preachers near twenty years. She hath no fortune, but is one who, I think, will take care of and be obedient to him, for Christ’s sake.”
From Rodborough they proceeded to Gloucester, “where (says Mr. W.) we had a most blessed season yesterday. Thousands and thousands, I trust, heard, saw, and felt.”
Mr. Whitefield going into Wales, Lady Huntingdon and her party proceeded to Hawkestone, the celebrated seat of Sir Rowland Hill, Bart., and from thence to Trevecca, where they were joined by Mr. Fletcher, who conducted them to Madely, where they spent a few days, on their way to Derbyshire. The account of her Ladyship’s progress is contained in a letter from Mr. Fletcher to Mr. Whitefield, dated Madely, May 18, 1767:--
“Reverend and dear Sir--Your mentioning my poor ministrations among your congregation opens again a wound of shame that was but half healed. I feel the need of asking God, you, and your hearers, pardon, for weakening the glorious matter of the Gospel by my wretched broken manner, and spoiling the heavenly power of it by the uncleanness of my heart and lips. I should be glad to go and be your curate some time this year; but I see no opening, nor the least prospect of any. What between the dead and the living, a parish ties one down more than a wife. If I could go anywhere this year it should be to Yorkshire, to accompany Lady Huntingdon, according to a design that I had half formed last year; but I fear that I shall be debarred even from this. I set out, God willing, to-morrow morning for Trevecca, to meet her Ladyship there, and to show her the way to Madely, where she proposes to stay three or four days, on her way to Derbyshire. What chaplain she will have there I know not: God will provide. I rejoice that, though you are sure of heaven, you have still a desire to inherit the earth, by being a _peace-maker_. Somehow, you will enjoy the blessings that others may possibly refuse.
“Last Sunday seven-night Captain Scott preached to my congregation in a sermon which was more blessed, though preached only upon my horse-block, than a hundred of those I preach in the pulpit. I invited him to come and treat her Ladyship next Sunday with another, now the place is consecrated. If you should ever favour Shropshire with your presence, you shall have the captain’s or the parson’s pulpit at your option. Many ask me whether you will not come to have some fruit here also: what must I answer them? I, and many more, complain of a stagnation in the work: what must we do? Everything buds and blossoms around us, yet our winter is not over. I thought Mr. Newton, who hath been three weeks in Shropshire, would have brought the turtle-dove along with him; but I could not prevail upon him to come to this poor Capernaum. I think I hardly ever met his fellow for a judicious spirit. Still, what hath God done in him and in me? I am out of hell, and mine eyes have seen something of his salvation: though I must and do gladly yield to him and all my brethren, yet I must and will contend, that my being in the way to heaven makes me as rich a monument of mercy as he, or any of them. O that I may feel the wonderful effect of the patience that is manifested towards me! Lord, break me, and make me a vessel capable of bearing thy name, and the sweet savour of it, to my fellow-sinners!
* * * * *
“I am, reverend and dear Sir, with, blessed be God, a measure of sincere affection and respect, your willing, though halting and unworthy servant,
“J. FLETCHER.”
Lady Huntingdon and her interesting companions continued a few days at Madely, where they enjoyed the pleasure of Captain Scott’s company, who, at Mr. Fletcher’s urgent request, preached to very large congregations upon his horse-block twice on the Lord’s-day, and on Monday in Madely-wood, to an immense concourse of people, many of whom were drawn thither from motives of curiosity to see her Ladyship and the preaching Captain. From Madely her Ladyship proceeded to Bretby, where she remained until joined by Mr. Venn and Mr. Townsend, both of whom preached in her Ladyship’s chapel there, which was at that time supplied by Mr. Jesse and Mr. Maxfield. As there were now five clergymen with Lady Huntingdon, there was preaching twice a day whilst she remained, and many on these occasions were called to the happy experience of the salvation of Jesus by their labours in that place. On the 9th of June her Ladyship, attended by Messrs. Venn, Townsend, and Fletcher, arrived at Huddersfield, where they were kindly and hospitably received by Mrs. Venn, at the Vicarage-house. Lady Huntingdon did not proceed to Kippax immediately, according to her previous engagement, but complied with the earnest wishes of Mr. Venn, by remaining at Huddersfield the following Sabbath, when Mr. Fletcher preached twice to very large and deeply attentive congregations, many of whom received the word with visible demonstrations of joy.
After leaving Huddersfield, Lady Huntingdon spent some time at Aberford with Mr. and Lady Margaret Ingham. Whilst there, her Ladyship made an excursion to Haworth, and as it was understood that Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Townsend would preach, an immense assemblage of people collected from all parts. Application was made for the use of “Mr. Whitefield’s pulpit,” but the incumbent, though a good man, was averse to out-of-door preaching. Lady Huntingdon remonstrated--the multitude could not be sent away empty--and as she was attended by two clergymen, both of whom were willing to undertake the service, the congregation was addressed in the churchyard, by Mr. Fletcher first, and afterwards by Mr. Townsend.
Not long after her arrival at Kippax, on a visit to her niece, Mrs. Medhurst, Lady Huntingdon became so alarmingly indisposed as to preclude the possibility of her proceeding to Scotland, at least for the present. Mr. Townsend, however, was sent forward; and the particulars of his mission in that kingdom will be found detailed in another place. Her Ladyship suffered much at this time from bodily indisposition, which necessarily prevented her from exerting herself in the execution of those benevolent plans she had devised for the more general diffusion of divine truth in Yorkshire and the neighbouring counties. Those who were privileged to attend her at this season witnessed her growing zeal for the glory of God, and her evident desire to live more to him than ever. Her heart burned with love to his name, and breathed the most fervent wishes to bring others to the knowledge and love of the Saviour. The beginning of July Mr. Madan arrived at Kippax, and, with Mr. Fletcher, Mr. Venn, and others, was fully occupied in preaching almost every day in the adjacent counties for some weeks. Dr. Conyers, rector of Helmsley, Mr. Burnet, vicar of Elland, Mr. Ryland, curate of Huddersfield, Mr. Bentley, of Kippax, and Mr. Powley, vicar of Dewsbury, occasionally assisted, and made frequent excursions, not only in the neighbourhood, but to the more distant parts of the county, affectionately inviting the multitudes, who attended them wherever they itinerated, to “the fountain of living waters,” and “warning every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, that they might present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
Early in the month of September, Mr. Whitefield arrived in Yorkshire, where he had what he calls “a blessed Methodist field-street-preaching plan before him.” Having preached at Leeds and a few other places, he went on to Newcastle, Sunderland, and Hartlepool, where he preached at the door of Mr. Romaine’s mother’s house, and then returned to Leeds. Whilst there, he lodged at the house of one William Shent, whom he designates “a peruke maker,” a man well-known during the early struggles of Methodism in Yorkshire.[159]
Mr. Whitefield preached at Helmsley, then visited Dr. Conyers and Mr. Venn, who never failed to join Mr. Whitefield in the church, the chapel, the cottage, the street, or the fields. This conduct has, to our surprise, been thought to require an apology.
In the account of his life, drawn up by his son, the late Rev. John Venn, of Clapham, and lately published by his grandson, the Rev. Henry Venn, curate of St. John’s, Holloway, Islington, we find the following observation on his having preached frequently for Mr. Hill, at Surrey Chapel:--“Induced by the hope of doing good, my father, in certain instances, preached in unconsecrated places. But having acknowledged this, it becomes my pleasing duty to state that he was no advocate for irregularity in others; that when he afterwards considered it in its different bearings and connections, he lamented that he had given way to it, and restrained several other persons from such acts by the most cogent arguments!”
At what precise time Mr. Venn ceased to be guilty of these very _objectionable irregularities_, over which his son was so solicitous to draw the veil, we are at a loss to conjecture. During a period of considerably more than _thirty_ years, he continued in the same undeviating line in which he had commenced as curate of Clapham, in 1755, when his eyes first opened to the truth. From that time to his acceptance of the living of Huddersfield, in 1759, he was frequent in preaching and administering the sacrament at Lady Huntingdon’s houses in London, Clifton, and other places. While at Huddersfield and Yelling, he continued his faithful ministrations in her Ladyship’s chapels, in private houses, and occasionally in the open air, till some unpleasant litigations, about the year 1782, obliged him and other beneficed clergymen reluctantly to withdraw their services from her Ladyship. But he still continued the _irregular_ practice of preaching in barns, and other unconsecrated places, in the vicinity of Yelling, and at Surrey and Orange-street Chapels, in London, up to the year 1790, and within a very short time of his death, when _inability_, and not disinclination, obliged him to cease from labour.
This view of Mr. Venn’s conduct being considered as offensive, his descendants have put forth their own representations of these matters. Both accounts cannot possibly be true. To what, then, can such contradictions tend? The fact is, the descendants of the worthy Venn dread the charge of _irregularity_, and are studious to wipe him clean of the “odour” of Methodism, which had aspersed him from the commencement to the close of his ministerial labours. We have no particular attachment to the term _Methodist_; but think it would be the height of folly to suppose that those who have experimentally felt the truth, and tasted indeed that the Lord is gracious, should ever expect to steer clear of the odium connected with the avowal of true piety. Every reviver of Evangelical truth, though labouring within the strict pale of regularity--every faithful witness who proclaims the righteousness of our God and Saviour, is sure to sustain the brand of Methodism, and to be most liberally abused by a proud, self-righteous world. Nothing is gained for the Gospel by timidity: pious clergymen would best subserve the cause they love by a bold recognition of brotherhood with all who love and preach our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Had more intercourse of a religious character, as far as the present system of national restrictions allow, been practised by serious Churchmen, it would have convinced the world that there are subjects of paramount importance, in which all the good have a common interest: their own minds would have reaped advantage, the interchange of good offices would have promoted reciprocal good feeling, and much would have been done to prevent that hostility against the Church of England which has discovered itself in some of the best of the Dissenters.
Like many excellent persons, the late Mrs. Hannah More piqued herself on the regularity of her attachment to the Established Church; and, for various reasons, good no doubt in her own judgment, though not so in that of others equally pious, she scrupulously abstained from attending divine worship where there was no Episcopal sanction, and did not hesitate to make so pitiable an apology as this, and that to a bishop too of no remarkable excellence:--“As to connection with conventicles of any kind, I never had any. Had I been irregular, should I not have gone sometimes, during my winter residence at Bath, to Lady Huntingdon’s chapel, a place of great occasional resort? Should I never have gone to some of Whitefield’s or Wesley’s tabernacles, in London, where I have spent a long spring for nearly thirty years? Should I not have strayed now and then into some Methodist meeting in the country? Yet not one of these things have I ever done.”[160]
Was it necessary for Mrs. Hannah More, in order to prove her own sincere attachment to the Church, thus to stand in complete separation from all who were not of her own communion? But she dreaded the name of Methodist, and from this part of the reproach of the cross she turned away. She evidently loved (as Mr. Roberts acknowledges) the praises of her friends and of the public generally. She was flattered by the attention paid her by persons of rank, in Church and State, and she was unwilling to endanger it by any, the least, connexion with those whom it was the fashion to brand as sectaries, enthusiasts, and fanatics. This was her fault, and it brought its own punishment with it. She has been indelibly stamped a _Methodist_, and all the waters of the Atlantic will not wash her clean from the “foul blot.” How often has she struggled to throw off the vile imputation? This is the weakness of her character. When she found it necessary to appeal to the bishop of the diocese, we find her employing the language of careful apology; assuring and re-assuring his lordship that she was, and always had been, entirely free from any connexion with conventiclers. To the rank and office of the Bishop of Bath and Wells respect was due; but to religion and truth much more. Higher ground ought to have been taken by such a character as HANNAH MORE; and posterity would not have blamed her had she shown that, much as she loved the Church, she loved souls yet better.
Mr. Venn not only wished Lady Huntingdon “good luck in the name of the Lord,” but supported her in what some of his more timid brethren might reckon very objectionable irregularities. Inestimable woman! thou art gone to thy rest, and whether thy Great Master will blame or praise thee for doing good to the souls of men, regularly or irregularly, is now no longer dubious. Hypocrisy itself must be ashamed of the supposition, that Mr. Venn ever disapproved or discountenanced the immensely blessed and successful efforts of the Countess of Huntingdon to spread the knowledge of the doctrine of her crucified Lord.
Nor was his friendship less for the apostolic Whitefield. How highly he thought of him, his own account, in the funeral sermon which he preached in Lady Huntingdon’s Chapel at Bath, will best tell. Such unequivocal and decided testimonies leave no room for doubt or dispute on the subject. They are not the friends of Mr. Venn, or the truths he so ably defended, who would cast a veil over those he most honoured, and fear to have him associated with those apostolic witnesses. It is singular that in his memoirs, lately published by his grandson, scarcely any allusion is made to Mr. Whitefield or the Messrs. Wesley, or Mr. Venn’s connexion and correspondence with those great men. They were his first associates when he came to know the grace of God, in Bath, and continued his intimates to the last. His acquaintance with Lady Huntingdon extended through a period of more than thirty years, during which time a very intimate and close correspondence took place between them, yet not one single letter has appeared in the work! Need we mention Mr. Whitefield, Mr. Wesley, Mr. Fletcher, the well-known Howel Harris, and Captain Scott? Some of Mr. Venn’s letters to those apostolic men have appeared in various publications: he loved them, he venerated them, and did not disdain to labour in the same vineyard with them. They are all gone to their glorious rest, to meet in the better temple together, as they have often worshipped in concert below, and to go out no more.
Mr. Fletcher, being obliged to attend the duties of his parish, could not prolong his stay in Yorkshire, and therefore left Kippax, after Mr. Whitefield’s arrival there. On his return to Madely, he wrote thus to Lady Huntingdon:--
“My very dear and honoured Lady--The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who tried Israel, and led them through many a wandering to the good land, that he might do them more good in their latter end--this faithful God hath met with you; a rod is in his hand, but that hand bears so _deep_ a print of love, that the design of his visitation cannot be mistaken. Nor does he come without the supporting staff: he kills to make alive--he wounds to heal--he afflicts to comfort, and to do it more deeply and effectually. My hearty prayer for your Ladyship is, that you may drink the cup the Lord holds out to you as a new token of his unchangeable love. I call it unchangeable, because it is really so in its nature, though the appearances of it greatly vary, for the trial of faith. ‘I am God (says he)--I change not, therefore Israel is not consumed,’ and Shadrac is kept in the burning fiery furnace. When I think of your Ladyship’s illness, the words of Paschal often occur to my mind, and are a little relief to me. ‘Sickness (said that devoted soul)--sickness is the natural condition of Christians: they are then, as they should always be, deprived of all the good things that belong to prosperity, and surrounded with the evils of adversity: their senses and passions are mortified, their eyes are fixed upon death, and their hearts on the Prince of Life. What a blessing (added he) to be placed by the kind hand of Providence in that very state which we should choose, were we allowed our choice!’
“I have often heard your Ladyship speaking admirably upon knowing Christ, and the power of his resurrection, together with _the fellowship of his sufferings_. The Lord will have you improve in that heavenly knowledge, therefore he gives you so long a lesson at this time. The lesson is hard, I grant, but the Master is _so loving_, the science so noble, and the scholar so used to severe exercises, that it is no wonder you are placed in this highest form. No cross, no crown! The heavier the cross, the brighter the crown. I often wish I could bear your Ladyship’s burden, but check this impotent wish, by rejoicing that one who feels not only touches of sympathy, but love everlasting and almighty as Himself, bears it for you, and bears you with it. On the bosom of this dear heavenly Physician I desire to place you. There I want you to enjoy all the birth-sweets of sickness, and when patience hath had its perfect work there, I beg you may live and love till I have received my dismission; and when yours is sealed, may I be allowed to come and meet your departing soul among those whom you have made your friends with the mammon of unrighteousness and with the blessings of Gospel righteousness, and who will long to welcome you into everlasting habitations.
“Till I received Lady Anne’s letter, I often wanted to persuade myself that your Ladyship had got quite well soon after I had left Kippax, and that you were gone to London, about the death of the person I heard you speak of. I rejoice that the Lord laid the embargo upon your Ladyship among so many good nurses as I left you with I pray God reward them for their labours of love to your Ladyship, and make their bed for them when they are visited in their turn. I beg my best respects and warmest thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Medhurst, Miss Medhurst, and the dear company of your Ladyship. Their kindness and patience towards me while at Kippax have laid me under a heavy burden of obligations, which I desire gratefully to acknowledge.
“Through a mistake of our good friend Ireland,[161] dear Mr. Glascott came here the day after I arrived from Yorkshire. He stayed only one day. This stripling will throw down Goliath. I blessed that cross and accident which brought me acquainted with a young soldier that made me so ashamed of myself. Mr. Hill[162] is gone to Brighthelmstone, where I hope he will be as useful as he is in Shropshire. Captain Scott set out last Monday for York, after making a great stir for good in Shrewsbury: he hath been a prophet to several in his own country.
“I am loth to trouble Lady Anne with the request of a line, to know how your Ladyship does, yet I know not well how to give up the hope she will once more steal two minutes for it. I am, with peculiar thanks to Lady Anne for her letter, and to your Ladyship for numberless favours, my Lady, your most indebted and obliged servant,
“J. FLETCHER.”
Lady Huntingdon being sufficiently recovered from her late indisposition, proceeded to Leeds for a short time, and was accompanied thither by Mr. Whitefield. The late Mrs. Deane, who resided at that time at Whitkirk, near Leeds, was considered as ranking among the higher circles. She had occasionally heard Mr. Ingham and Mr. Edwards, who had withdrawn himself from Mr. Wesley, and had built himself a place of worship, known by the name of “White Chapel,” at Leeds, where he continued to dispense the word of life for more than thirty years. Mr. Edwards mentioned Mrs. Deane to Lady Huntingdon, who, observing the marks of a penitent in her, invited her to her house, and there she became acquainted with those bright stars that then shone in England, and now shine in heaven, Messrs. Whitefield, the Wesleys, Venn, Ingham, Romaine, and other clergymen, who found a welcome in that honourable house. She had frequent opportunities of conversing with Lady Huntingdon, and of enjoying those spiritual pleasures which would naturally result from communication with one so well qualified as that excellent lady, to direct and comfort the Christian in his road to glory.
Mrs. Deane was a woman of rank, of superior education and accomplishments, and her letters and meditations afford strong proofs, that if there be any happiness separate from union and communion with God by faith in Jesus Christ, she had powers capable of discerning and enjoying it. Her writings clearly show that she did not seek satisfaction in those shadowy scenes of refined iniquity which too fatally ensnare the majority of those trifling immortals who are ranked among the rich and great. She used to say--
“People in general are seeking happiness where it can never be found--in the world and its pleasures, or else in some created being--in all which they will surely meet with disappointment. Reason and religion both teach us that to be happy we must be holy; and the experience of mind bred up in and influenced by such principles most attest the truth and importance of them. But yet, notwithstanding all his knowledge and experience concerning the reasonableness, the fitness, and the beauty of holiness, let no man trust in or think to find innate goodness in himself. Let him divest himself of all self-confidence, and entirely rely on his Saviour in every spiritual conflict; and let him be assured he will then find a strong tower of defence against every evil, and will be ready to say--
‘For all the good that is in me, All glory to the Eternal Three, Now and to all eternity:’
to which I humbly subscribe in heart and name.”
Mrs. Deane was nearly allied to the noble family of Charles, Viscount Irvine, of Temple Newson, on the river Aire, two miles below Leeds. His Lordship, who had succeeded to the title in 1763, had married Miss Shepherd, a lady possessed of a very great fortune. Mrs. Deane’s attachment to and affection for Lady Irvine, and every member of that honourable family, were remarkable, and always appeared so vigorous that they were constantly breaking forth in the most ardent prayers for their eternal welfare. She soon brought her Ladyship acquainted with Lady Huntingdon, and never failed to invite Lord and Lady Irvine to her house whenever the Countess was at Leeds, or at Ledstone Hall. After a sermon had been delivered with which she had been particularly edified, her love for their eternal interests naturally made her exclaim, “O that Lady Irvine and family had heard this.” She sometimes hoped well of them, and thought that Lady Huntingdon’s conversation had been blessed to Lady Irvine. In one of her letters to her Ladyship, she says--
“You will rejoice to hear that my dear Lady Irvine accompanied me to hear Mr. Charles Wesley. There was a very crowded congregation, and he preached as for eternity, and could look his hearers in the face, and say with humble confidence--‘I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men.’ The worship and service of the day altogether appeared to my dear friend most sacred, solemn, and delightful. The impressions which were made on her mind during your Ladyship’s last conversation with her have continued ever since; and I earnestly pray and hope may not pass away like the morning cloud, or like the early dew. Her judgment and understanding are enlightened, though her conscience may yet be unawakened; and though she thinks differently on some points on which your Ladyship spoke so ably, she admits the doctrine of man’s total depravity by nature, the atonement, justification by faith, the agency of the Spirit in the work of regeneration, and holiness of heart and life in order to final salvation. May the Spirit of God impress those solemn truths on her conscience and apply them to her heart with power! We often speak of your Ladyship; and my dear Lady Irvine acknowledges her obligations to you for the light and comfort which she now enjoys. Lord Irvine always mentions you in terms of great respect, and admiration of your talents and your zeal.”[163]
To return to our narrative. The Rev. Samson Occum, the Indian preacher, and Mr. Whitaker, minister of Norwich, in New England, who had arrived in this country the preceding year, to promote the interests of the Indian Charity Schools at Lebanon, had been making a tour in Scotland and collecting money for the object of their mission. At Newcastle a very considerable sum was collected, after a sermon by Mr. Wesley, who preached at the particular request of Mr. Whitaker. They visited several places in Yorkshire, and met with great success; Mr. Romaine, Mr. Venn, and Mr. Powley also advocating their cause at Leeds, Huddersfield, and Kippax. Mr. Whitefield preached at Sheffield the day after Mr. Occum and Mr. Whitaker had left it. “The Americans were gone (says he) the day before I arrived at Sheffield; I missed them by coming through Chesterfield, instead of Mansfield.” At Leeds, Mr. Whitefield and Lady Huntingdon were joined by Captain Scott, who preached to amazing crowds. His popularity was very great at this period. Many of the rich, worldly wise, and honourable could not endure such preaching; but the common people heard him gladly, and blessed God for the preaching, which they could fully understand, and were as much disposed as ever to say, “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
Mr. Whitefield proceeded to Huddersfield, and passed some weeks with Mr. Venn, but was compelled to decline Mr. Fletcher’s invitation to Madely, as stated in a letter to one of his prime favourites, Mrs. Herritage, whom he calls the “_London Shunamite_.”
“Leeds, Oct. 3, 1767.
“My good Shunamite--Just as your letter came I was taking pen in hand to send you a few lines. What a mercy when good news comes from town and country! And what news so good as that of the word of the Lord Jesus running and being glorified? This hath been the case with the willing, but worthless pilgrim. Everywhere the sound of his Master’s feet hath been heard behind him. Field and street preaching hath rather bettered than hurt his bodily health. But as the weather begins to break, he must look towards winter quarters. This makes it impracticable for him to go to Madely. It is too far distant. May Jesus support the suffering martyr. He will! He will!
‘He knows what sore temptations mean, For he hath felt the same.’
I know this will find you a living martyr, a witness of the truths and life of Jesus, the only preparative for dying a martyr. That whether you live, you may live unto the Lord; or whether you die, you may die unto the Lord, is the earnest prayer of, dear Mrs. Herritage,
“Yours, &c., in our common Lord,
“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”
This was Mr. Whitefield’s last visit to Yorkshire; and it is worthy of remark that the last sermon preached by that apostolic witness in that county was delivered in the pulpit of Huddersfield church.
The ministry of the Rev. Thomas Wilson, about this period, began to attract much attention in Yorkshire. Possessed of strong faith in the divine word, a fervent love of God and Christ, and a living sense of the vast worth of men’s souls, he became a most diligent preacher, uncommonly zealous in his manner, and remarkably plain and pointed in his addresses to men’s consciences. His praise, not as a scholar indeed, but as a good minister of Jesus Christ, will long continue to be heard through a large and populous district. His simplicity and godly sincerity were admitted and admired by great numbers, who could not be prevailed upon by his tears and entreaties to forsake their sinful courses; nevertheless, he has left behind him many seals of his ministry; and many, it is believed, converted by his means, died before him in faith, and most joyfully received his spirit into the heavenly habitations. He lived down prejudice and slander in a very uncommon degree: his rule and his practice were, to overcome evil by doing good. He was eminently a man of peace--he loved it in his heart--he sought it earnestly: but this divine and amiable disposition did not damp his zeal for the cause of God, and his concern to save men’s souls. He boldly rebuked sin; he showed his abhorrence particularly to that destructive vice of drunkenness, so prevalent in manufacturing places, which robs so many of the lower orders not only of their comforts, but of the necessaries of life. He kept a watchful eye over public-houses: he felt and frequently expressed the deepest sorrow (and his regrets were not always unavailing) at the irregularities and excesses which occurred in those places, and especially on Sunday evenings. Many nights of broken rest did he pass, occupied with reflections on the depravity, blindness, and madness of sinners, who were treasuring up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath, while they despised or neglected all his warnings--his warm, vehement, affectionate appeals to their consciences.
Mr. Wilson was somewhat advanced in life when he first turned his thoughts towards the ministry; and he had not had the advantage of a regular classical education. A clergyman of Leeds, of a kindred spirit, beheld in his fervent piety the dawning of singular usefulness, and put him in the way of obtaining holy orders. He applied himself to the study of the languages, and was ordained to a curacy near Wetherby, Yorkshire. There his ardent spirit laboured diligently; and much concern about religion appeared in many of his congregation. Whilst there he received a visit from Lady Huntingdon, in one of her numerous rambles through Yorkshire, and her advice and conversation were of great benefit in exciting him to greater diligence and zeal in the discharge of the duties of his function. Some things there were, however, disagreeable to him in that situation; and on the removal of Mr. Powley to Dewsbury, Mr. Wilson, through his means, became perpetual curate of Slaighwaite.