ceeds from the snow-topt-moun- | a subsequent number of your much esteemed publication, take up the subject more fully, and state some general remedy which may tend in a measure, under the blessing of God, to rectify this evil in the Churches. Dec. 25. 1815. I remain, yours, &c. SUNERGOS returns his thanks to SIMPLEX, for his attention to the Query which he had proposed. Perphaps he or some other of your intelligent correspondents, would give his thoughts on the following subject. tain, not perhaps designedly, but from the want of intimacy; whilst another passes by with as much indifference as he would the most entire stranger: and thus their actual deportment exhibits directly the reverse of the former spectacle. Now, Sir, is not this a serious evil and one which urgently calls for the application of a remedy? Does this state of the christian profession comport with that mentioned by the prophet Malachi, when he says "They that feared the Lord, spake often one to another;" or with that state of the church spoken of in Acts ch. ii. 44-47. and especially in ch. iv. 32.? I am sure you will answer in the negative, and, with sorrow, join me in the opinion that if there be any difference between the church of Christ, in the nineteenth and that in the first century (as too evidently is the case) it is for the worse. The want of mutual brotherly love, the decay of vital godliness, inattention to the commands of Christ, and the coldness of professors to- this respect do they act with wards each other, too much dis- fidelity to God? Or what ought to played in the present day, are me- be the method of procedure to lancholy proofs of the truth of that such believers?" "Is it the duty of pious parents, whom God has blessed with the to hoard riches of this world, by giving succes to their exertion in business, up their wealth, (which God has committed to them, as his stewards) for those ungodly children, who are not only destitute of faith, but decidedly opposed to them for their religion, and to all that love our Lord Jesus?-In Magazine. I would thank you or any of your correspondents, to give me an explanation of the following passages of scripture. "Else what shall they do which are baptized," &c. 1 Cor. xv. 29. opinion. I do not however appre- To the Editor of the New Evangelical hend that the origin or continuance of the evil is in all cases to be SIR, attributed to individual professors, for there are many who, whilst they see and lament the evil, fall under the censure due to it without at all meriting that censure. It is, I humbly conceive, rather to be attributed to their collective inattention to the rules laid down in the word of God, which, if duly regarded would obviate the evil and remedy the defect of which I complain. I have personally had but little experience in church fellow-Matth. xxiv. 29. ship, yet it has been sufficient to perceive the evil I have thus endeavoured to point out; but having done this, I shall leave the matter; hoping that you, or some of your judicious correspondents will, in 'Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." "What is the abomination that maketh desolate." Dan. xii. 11. One or more of the above answered at a time, as convenient to yourself, will much oblige, Yours, H. IGNORATUS. 17 Theological Review. 66 other. Biographers," says Dr. Middleton, in his Life of Cicero, "are apt to be partial and prejudiced in favour of their subject, and some times to give us panegyric instead of history. They work up their charac ters as painters do their portraits, taking the praise of their art to consist, not in copying, but in adorning nature; not in drawing a just resemblance, but in giving a fine picture." We have already had to complain of something like this, in the gentlemen who have favoured us with Sermons on the occasion of Mr. Fuller's death; and we look forwards to more of the same cast. But though our sentiments regarding the subject of these Memoirs differ in several instances from those of Mr. Morris, we are happy to acquit him of all ground of censure in this particular respect. Yet is he as complete a partisan of Mr. Fuller's as could be found in all the circle of his admirers; we mean, in so far as relates to his doctrinal sentiments; and no attentive reader of this most interesting volume can fail to perceive that in the account which is given us of the multifarious controversies which occupied a large proportion of the life of Mr. Fuller, his biographer is prepared to "carry him through thick and thin!" We do not happen to be always of Mr. Morris's mind about these matters; but the privilege that we claim, of exercising our own judgment in regard to them, we are not so incon sistent as to refuse to him, or to any other person. Memoirs of the Life and Writings of the Rev. Andrew Fuller, late Pastor of the Baptist Church at Kettering, and Secretary to the Baptist Misssonary Society. By J. W. MORRIS. London. Hamilton. 1815 8vo. pp. 510. 12s. bds. THE religious public in general, and the Baptist denomination in particular, are, in our opinion, under great obligations to Mr. Morris, for the promptitude with which he has furnished the biography of the great Fuller, as well as for the ability with which he has executed it. That he possessed advantages for the discharge of this office which were in some respects peculiarly his own, is no secret to many who knew both Mr. Fuller and himself. "He professes to have enjoyed a long and intimate acquaintance with the distinguished individual whose Memoirs he has now submitted to the publican acquaintance more intimate and unreserved than was enjoyed by any other person. He has seen him in every shape and attitude, amidst his unwearied labours, and in the moments of relaxation; has known him in every difficulty, and shared with him the pains and pleasures of life. The interchange of thought and feeling, by conversation, by letter, by preaching, by every mode of expression, was continued almost daily for a number of years, during the most active and enterprising period of life." (Preface, p. 6, 7.) To the advantages which are here enumerated, it is difficult to conceive of any thing more that is necessary to We need not remind our readers, constitute the requisite qualifications that in our former volume we furof a finished biographer, except an nished a concise sketch of Mr Fuller's impartial and unprejudiced mind, personal history (vol. i. p. 193--199. and a moderate portion of literary and 225-231.); and though the subtalent. Of any deficiency in regard ject is greatly amplified in the pages to the latter of these, we are of before us, and a variety of interestopinion, that Mr. Morris runs no risk ing occurrences are interspersed of being convicted by readers of throughout, which our coafiued lieven the most fastidious class; tho' mits did not permit us to introduce, we are quite aware that a diversity we must even now decline the pleaof opinion may prevail among them sure of resuming the subject in detail, respecting the former. It is in fruth and satisfy ourselves with submitting one of the most difficult things in the to the reader a syllabus of the conworld to exercise strict impartiality tents of the volume, and a few inin delineating the character of an-teresting extracts, which may enable VOL. II. 18 REVIEW OF MORRIS'S LIFE OF FULLER. posing, grave, and manly; tending to inspire awe, rather than conciliate esteem. His general aspect was louring and cloudy, giving indication of a storm, rather there was nothing boisterous, loud, or dethan affording hopes of serenity. Yet clamatory; no intemperate warmth, or sallies of the passions; all was calm, pathetic, and argumentative, overcast with a kind of negligent grandeur. He was deeply impressed with his subject, and anxious to produce a similar impression on his hearers. "To an acute and vigourous understand him to judge of its entertaining and instructive nature; after which, we shall offer a few strictures on the general merits of the performance. The work is divided into twelve chapters, under the following titles. CHAP. I. Mr. Fuller's parentage -early life-conversion-call to the ministry-and labours at Soham. CHAP. II. His removal to Kettering-exercises of mind under various afflictive dispensations Narrative continued. CHAP. III. His ministerial talents-pastoral laboursing were united, a rich and fertile imagi-and usefulness. CHAP. IV. Brief dom rising to an extacy, and an awful nation, an even flow of feeling, selsketch of his Missionary labours. sense of eternal realities; these, accomCHAP. V. Journal of a tour through panied with an energetic manner of Scotland in July 1805, to collect for speaking, supplied every other defect, the printing of the Scriptures in the and gave to his ministry an unusual degree Eastern languages:-his missionary of interest. He could never be heard but labours continued. CHAP. VI. Review with satisfaction: if the heart were not at of his Doctrinal and Practical writ- all times affected, yet the judgment would ings. CHAP. VII. Review of his be informed, and the taste gratified, by an Doctrinal and Practical writings con- truth, ingeniously stated, and powerfully unexpected display of some important tinued, CHAP. VIII. Review of the applied. His own ideas were strong and Controversy on Faith, with brief no- lucid, and he had the faculty of placing tices of his several opponents. CHAP. them in the clearest light: if he failed to IX. The Socinian Universalist-produce conviction, he was rarely defiDeistical-end Missionary Contro- cient in evidence. versies. CHAP. X. Controversy with Mr. Booth-miscellaneous pieces on Particular Redemption-the Substitution and Merits of Christ—on Faith and Justification-lay Ordination, and the administration of the Lord's Supper. CHAP. XI. His last illness and death. CHAP. XII. Brief review of his character. "Though his writings enter deeply into controversy, in his ministry it was far of the field; here he tarried at home, and otherwise. There he took the high places divided the spoil. The least disputable points of religion, which are at all times the most essential were the leading theme of his ministry. The Cross of Christ was the doctrine that lay nearest his heart; this, in all its tendencies and bearings, in all its relations to the government of God The following description of Mr. and the salvation of the soul, he delighted Fuller as a preacher, is in our opinion to elucidate in every diversity of form, an admirable delineation, and so cor- and on this he dwelt with growing zeal rect, that the pencil of a West or a subject that met him in every direction, and ardour to the close of life. It was a Sir Joshua Reynolds would scarcely that beautified and absorbed every other have furnished a more striking like-topic, that lived and breathed in all his preaching, and that laid the foundation of all his hopes. ness, "In entering the pulpit, he studied very little decorum, and often bundled out of it with an appearance of precipitation; but while there, he seldom failed to acquit himself with honour and fidelity. His attitude too was sufficiently negligent. Not aware of his awkwardness; in the course of his delivery, he would insensibly place one hand upon his breast or behind him, and gradually twist off a button from his coat, which some of his domestics had frequent occasion to replace. This habit was in process of time much corrected, and many other protuberances were smoothed away by the improvement of his taste, and the collisions of society; but certainly in these respects he was not the exact model of an orator. "His presence in the pulpit was im "As there are many who must have observed the cencentrated effect of Mr. Fuller's Sermons, it may not be amiss briefly to notice the principle on which they were avowedly constructed: if it do not excite to general emulation, it may afford to some, at least, a hint of instruction. One of the first books that Mr. Fuller read, after entering on the ministry, and which he frequently recommended to others, was CLAUDE'S Essay on the composition of a Sermon; and to that work he acknowledged himself indebted, for any just ideas which he entertained upon the subject. Unity of design' was apparent in all his discourses; there were no vagrant sentiments, nothing foreign or irrelevant; and though his preaching exhibited a rich variety of remark, all was made to bear upon the point, and to facilitate the end he had in view. His Sermons were never destitute of what Aristotle requires in every discourse,-a beginning, a middle, and an end. Every intelligent hearer must also have noticed, with what admirable dexterity the preacher would avail himself of the attributes of his text,-time, places, persons, and other adventitious circumstances; with what care he would investigate its terms, ascertain its meaning, explore its recesses, mark its gradations, trace its connections, and poize its different parts; and how, wheu he had provided the repast, he would make a distribution like the master of a feast. The simplicity of his ideas, their correspondence with truth and nature, and the luminous order in which they were arranged, produced the effect of enchantment; every one beheld the beauties contained in scripture, and were surprised that he did not discover them before." Many of our readers will be pleased with the following anecdote. 66 Preaching in the villages within a convenient distance, was an employment in which Mr. Fuller greatly delighted, and the solicitations of his friends afforded frequent opportunities. In the spring of 1800, a reputable grazier at B.... in Northamptonshire, who has since emigrated to America, lost a son, and requested Mr. Fuller to preach a funeral sermon. When the service was about to commence, the little meeting-house in the village was found by far too small to contain the congregation: the weather also was too cold to admit of preaching in the open air, and no convenient place was at hand. An urgent request was immediately presented to the aged vicar for the use of the parish church, presuming that the solemnity of the occasion, and the want of accommodation for the crowds which were flocking from all parts of the neighbourhood, would be admitted as some excuse for the violation of the episcopal sanctuary, and that the canon law would for once relax a little of its severity in favour of the superior interests of religion and morality. The parent of the deceased youth was willing to engage for any pecuniary consequences that might ensue, while the preacher promised to make his best apologies to the bishop; if they should be demanded. At length the aged and infirm vicar actually introduced the nonconformist to his pulpit, and himself became a hearer, while Mr. Fuller delivered a most impressive discourse to a numerous and deeply affected audience. It is but justice to add, that no unpleasant notice was taken of this singular circumstance by the diocesan, and neither the preacher nor his friend were called upon for any indemnities. It is pretty well known to those who had any acquaintance with Mr. Fuller, that it has rarely fallen to the lot of mortals to possess greater magnanimity of mind, or to be less depressed with lowness of spirits than he was; yet there were times and seasons, when, ex pede Herculem as he was, something like a disposition to indulge in melancholy musings seemed to overtake him. Mr. Morris records a striking instance of this, P. 57, and the whole passage, which is an extract from one of Mr. Fuller's letters, we presume addressed to himself when he was projecting the Biblical Magazine, is so affecting, that we must beg leave to lay it before our readers. In our opinion there is not a finer passage in all the book; and that part of it in particular, which describes his wife as "looking at him, with the tear ready to drop, and complaining that his engagements hardly left him time to speak to her," is inimitably beautiful; it rivals the pathos of Sterne. My labours will increase, without any consent on my part. As to Magazines, there are several to which I contribute, for the sake of the mission and other public interests; and through such a number of objects as press upon me daily, my own vineyard, my own soul, my family, and my congregation are neglected. Every journey I take, only makes way for two or three more; and every book I write, only occasions me to write others, to explain or defend it. All is vanity and vexation of spirit! I gave my heart to know wisdom: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increase th knowledge, increaseth sorrow.-Some are pressing me to write more largely on the mediation of Christ, and others, to review the second edition of Mr. Booth's Glad Tidings. Controversies perplex me; and I am already engaged with a gross and subtle sophist. My northern correspondents are ever raising objections against my views of faith, &c.; all of which I could answer, but cannot get time. I have sent your remarks to my friend at Edinburgh; they will serve as a tub for the whale to play with, and perhaps for a time he will let me alone. "Pearce's Memoirs are now loudly called for-I sit down almost in despair, and say, That which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is lacking cannot be numbered! My wife looks at me, with a tear ready to drop, and says, My dear, you have hardly time to speak to me,' My friends at home are kind, but they also say, You have no time to 20 REVIEW OF MORRIS'S LIFE OF FULLER. see or know us, and you will soon be worn out.'-Amidst all this, there is, 'Come again to Scotland--come to Portsmouthcome to Plymouth-come to Bristol "Excuse this effusion of melancholy. My heart is willing to do every thing you desire, that I can do; but my hands fail me. Dear brother Ryland complains of old age coming upon him, and I expect old age will come on me, before I am really old. Under this complicated load, my heart has often of late groaned for rest, longing to finish my days in comparative retirement." to hear him.' Then one rises, and speaks a few minutes; then another; and sometimes a third. After this, the pastor preaches. "I asked the company what scriptural authority there was for this practice. They referred me to Heb. x. 25. "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." -I said, I always thought that this was meant of exhorting one another to assemble, and not when assembled. I might also have added, that according to the preceding verse, there is the same reason for appropriating a part of public worship to considering one another,' and so of having a silent meeting, as for appropriating another part to exhorting one another, and the former might as well be made a christian ordinance as the latter. "It is true, mention is made in the New Testament of 'exhortation," But it was not common to the brethren: it was the work of persons in office. He that exhorted was to attend to exhortation, as well as he that teacheth on teaching. It is a branch of the pastoral office, which was to teach, and to exhort, and to reprove, with all longsuffering and doctrine.' In the fifth chapter of the Memoirs, the author has presented us with a Journal of a Tour throughout Scotland, written by Mr. Fuller in July 1805, when collecting for the printing of the Scriptures in the oriental languages. This was not Mr. Fuller's first Journey into that. country, for that took place in 1799. The Journal, however, comprises a considerable portion of intevery resting information, concerning the character, manners, and religious practices of our northern neighbours, sicklied over, nevertheless, with a tincture of prejudice, against those who differed from him on points of either faith or practice. Mr. Morris tells us, that when the Secretary to the Baptist Mission "made his first tour into Scotland, intimidated at the prospect of meeting those Sons of the North, for whose intellectual abilities he always entertained a very high opinion, he took with him his friend Mr. Sutcliff, in whose wisdom and prudence he placed the utmost confidence." p. 11. It seems to have been Mr. Fuller's misfortune to be annoyed in different places with that Now all this is so miserably futile, hydra Sandemanianism; he had met that it requires nothing but an unwith it in Dublin, he found it also in prejudiced mind to perceive its falEdinburgh and different parts of lacy. The whole of these remarks Scotland, and the dread of it ap-are a tissue of misrepresentation, as pears to have locked up his mind in prejudice against every thing that had any affinity to it, "One afternoon," says he, "we had the company of six or seven of the leading men of this connection, and they all bese me on these topics, but in perfect good humour, They contended for what they call the exhortations of the brethren; that is, that in the public worship of the Lord's day, some part of the time should be taken up by one, two, or more of the private brethren, standing up one by one, and speaking from a text of scripture. The officiating pastor for the time, stands up and says, 'If any of the brethren have word of exhortation, we shall be glad "There was a practice indeed, in the primitive churches, called prophesying, which they might all engage in, one by one but this, if it contained nothing extraordinary, was nevertheless a gift which every one did not possess. See 1 Cor. xiv. 1. And the words, 'ye may all prophesy one by one,' means only those who had the gift of doing so to edification: yet such was the design of primitive prophesying. 1 Cor. xiv. 24. To leave it to every one who chooses to stand up, and engage in public worship, is neither to edify the church, nor tending to the conviction of unbelievers," might be easily shewn, did our limits permit, The churches to whom Mr. Fuller refers, do not leave it to every one who chooses, to stand up and engage in public worship, and he ought not to have so misrepresented their conduct. That it was a practice in the apostolic churches for such of the private brethren as were furnished with gifts for that purpose by the glorified Head of the church, to teach, admonish, or exhort their fellow members of the same body, when assembled for public worship, is a point as capable of proof as that the pastors themselves statedly |