O chant aloud, with high surprise, But still he lives, e'en yet to prove, Lord, shed abroad that love of thine, The splendid robe of righteousness. Let wond'ring angels join the song He however gave better proof of "the love God shed abroad in his heart," than could be evidenced merely by a few pious verses, in the practical view which he took of the nature of Christian charity. All past bitterness in controversy was deeply lamented by him, and never even referred to but with reluctance; and he looked upon every man as his brother in Christ Jesus, whom he believed to be born of the Spirit, and devoted to truth. "The most truly influential thing in the world," he said, "is love, kindled of God, and fanned into exercise by wisdom from above." He thus beautifully illustrated the excellence of loving God supremely "What excites love? It is life. I may be pleased with a fine picture, I may admire a beautiful piece of machinery, but I cannot love them; my affections can only be attracted towards things that are animate. Where also the capacities of the living being are more limited, as in the inferior animals, I cannot feel the same degree of regard I experience towards man. My affection rises with the superiority of the living object to which it is directed. Hence I see the vast wisdom of the first great command, 'thou shalt love the Lord thy God'--a being of infinite knowledge, power, mercy, love, and holiness--with all thy heart." This supreme love to God, is the true secret of unity in the Christian church; but it does not abound as it ought, because of the prevalence of human selfishness even in things pertaining to godliness. There is much worthy of attention in this pithy remark of Mr. Rowland Hill" when the Lord put the different animals into the ark, lions, tigers, lambs, all agreed with each other. If we are really in the ark, we shall also be blest with a spirit of concord." Another of his observations was, "if one heaven is to contain us all hereafter, may we have a little more of that heaven now, by being more united among ourselves." "People," he also said, "dwell too much upon the fringes and phylacteries of religion, instead of laying due stress upon religion itself, and this is one reason why we do not agree as we ought." These happy principles he truly carried into practice as he drew near the termination of his long career; and when the snows of almost ninety years rested on his head, they could not chill a bosom, that was wrapped in the mantle of peace and love. It now only remains for me to notice the expectations of this eminent servant of God, when awaiting the solemn moment in which he was to make proof of his professions and his hopes. Thus the reader will be prepared for those sublime reflections on death which are to be found in these pages. While his trust in the faithfulness of a covenant God in Jesus was unmoved, sometimes a degree of diffidence arose in his mind, from a sense of the weakness of his own powers; but it always ended in leading him to feel that Christ was indeed, in the fullest acceptation of the expression, his All. "There is nothing," he sometimes observed, "which so sweetly mingles with confidence as the grace of diffidence." He felt that faith in the Saviour is compatible with what every one must experience who has any knowledge of the human heart-distrust of self. His illustration of this state of mind was original and eminently striking. He compared himself to the unfledged bird seated on a rock, and knowing that the abyss beneath him must be crossed ere he can reach the opposite shore, but shuddering while conscious of the weakness of his wings. "Thus," said he, "I tremble while I sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, and look towards the other world; but yet I believe God will not let me be launched forth into eternity, till he has given me wings that will enable me to reach the promised rest; or if not, he will bear me in his arms.' I have already in my life of Mr. Hill sufficiently described his conduct in the chamber of death, when he felt that in a few short hours he should no longer be a sojourner in this probationary abode of the mysterious creature man. My desire now is merely to remark that the leading features of his state of mind were such as alone can be conceived to be based on a secure foundation-confidence in Christ and diffidence in self. He that is in any other frame can have no true security, for it is when we are thus "weak" in our own estimation, that we may be said to be "strong in the Lord." The views of this truly great man have not I think been fully appreciated, and perhaps one cause of this was that persons who knew him superficially, were led by his eccentricities to overlook the solid parts of his character.1 In many points of view he was decidedly before his age, particularly as to his notions of the practical effect of religion on the social system, and the faculties of the human inind. He saw clearly the imperfection of the present state of the Christian world, and his plans of action were much more adapted to what it ought to be than what it really is; and hence arose their impracticability. His ideas of truth were too sober for the enthusiast, too spiritual for the mere moralist, too enlarged for the bigot, too fervent for the lukewarm, too disinterested for the aspiring-and of such is not what men call Chistian society, with some happy exceptions, most unfortunately composed? We look, however, for the completion of the Lord's well-proportioned temple, and hope ere long to witness the glorious 1 In the course of last summer the son of an excellent prelate distinguished alike for his piety and attainments told me that his father had read my life of Rowland Hill, and observed how much he had undervalued him, and his views of truth. |