PAGE A prayer after the death of some of his congregation INTRODUCTION. I HAVE heard Mr. Rowland Hill remark, with his characteristic humility, that while the minds of many old men seemed to him like ample store-rooms, filled with a rich variety of materials, he could compare his own only to a closet, containing a few good thoughts, to be produced as occasion required. Though this estimate of his attainments fell much below their real extent and solidity, yet it is certain that the perpetual activity of his life prevented him from acquiring more than a limited quantity of such information, as can be treasured up by those alone who are devoted to the pursuits of literature. Practical wisdom is, however, often in an inverse proportion to knowledge derived from books; and, as in philosophy, so in theology, we need xiv Weight of Mr. Hill's opinions. both the erudite student and the acute observer. For more than seventy years had Mr. Hill been conversant with the most interesting of all subjects which can attract the attention of human intelligence, namely, the working of that supernatural power upon the soul, which is to restore in it the lost image of a holy God. He had accurately noted the different effects of religion upon the heart, whether pretended, imaginary, or real; and had so matured his views, that they assumed, without apparent effort, the forms of maxims applicable to almost all the various cases which came successively before him. It was from these experimental observations, that his sermons and religious conversation derived their attraction and influence; for though defective in argumentative plan and systematic arrangement, they possessed the brightness and force of practical wisdom. Great weight was also given to his opinions, from the striking fact, that the fundamentals of truth remained essentially the same in his breast from his earliest youth to hoary hairs. All the conflicting scenes through which he passed had never shaken his doctrines; they stood proof against worldly persecution, enthusiastic heat, and frigid professsion. He was guided and preserved in the His humility and consistency. XV way of life by the voice of revelation, the dictates of conscience, and the spirit of prayer. He watched the progress of religion in his own mind, and keenly noticed it in others. His great study was religion in the soul. For this he was singularly fitted by two remarkable qualities-simplicity and purity. His judgment was neither fettered by prejudice, nor obscured by personal inconsistency. He saw through the medium of no party; he indulged in no practice that could lead him to a false estimate of kindred error in the conduct of other Christians. More than common acquaintance with divine things only seemed to increase his docility of spirit; so that just before the close of his long career, he was heard to say with affecting emphasis, "the farther I get from human childhood, the more I desire to get into divine childhood, and to die a little child in my old age.' When he reviewed the scenes of his protracted pilgrimage, he could not revert in recollection to the spot in which he had dishonoured the holy way; and he was enabled to remark, with humble thankfulness to the power by which he had been upheld, "nothing is more encouraging to God's people than when an aged pilgrim sets a good example to the last; I think I would |