of my friends; and thus I remained alone as a sparrow on the house-top, and like the man in the gospel, who saw men as trees walking. In this situation I communicated the feelings of my heart to a class-leader in the same village, and wishing to know if I might be admitted a member of the Methodist society; in consequence of which I was united to the people in September, 1757. By my intercourse with my friends I soon perceived that religion did not consist in a mere reformation of manners, but in an entire change of heart and mind, through Divine grace, to which I ascribe the whole of my salvation from first to last. From September to the month of February following, the state of my mind was various; sometimes I was very miserable, but God in mercy sent me some gracious visits that prevented me from sinking into black despair; and my only hope was in the merits of my dear Redeemer. But notwithstanding these visits I could not say that my sins were forgiven till February in 1758, when I was working at a certain place, and by a tempest of rain was obliged to take shelter in the house of a neighbour, and as I sat musing I felt a strong desire to withdraw to the stable for the purpose of prayer. Here I wrestled with God in a sort of agony, and before I rose from my knees I felt a degree of blessed comfort and peace, in my heart which till that moment I had never experienced; and that Jesus Christ shed his love abroad in my heart, as certainly as ever he was born of the virgin, or was laid in a manger in the city of Bethlehem, by applying this passage of Sacred Writ, "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Then was I enabled to believe with my heart unto righteousness, and make confession to salvation. I then began to communicate my sentiments to my friends, and could say with the Psalmist, "Come unto me all ye that fear the Lord, and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul." I walked in this happy state but a short season, as I began to doubt whether my joys might not proceed from the sparks of my own kindling, and I had followed my own fancy instead of the Divine Spirit. I had been led to conclude that the new birth, which I then confounded with justification, exempted the believer from all unholy desires and the corruptions of human nature, and I began to feel something in me contrary to pure peace, spiritual joy, and Divine love. This arose from my not rightly distinguishing between justification and sanctification. But the Lord soon taught me that justification was an exemption from guilt, and an introduction into the favour of God; while sanctification was the cleansing of the soul from evil propensities and dispositions, and the renewing it after the image of God; producing holiness in it in various degrees, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. While in this situation of mind the Lord. was pleased to give me conviction by such passages of the Scriptures as "My peace give I unto you, not as the world." At these times my views of the work of grace on my mind were confused, making no distinction between my animal feelings, and the nature of living faith; till at length experience of Divine truth, and conversation with pious and enlightened persons gave me a clearer understanding. In the twenty-second year of my age, that passage of the New Testament, "Freely ye have received, freely give," came forcibly to my heart; I thought I had a small talent which might be of some service to my fellow-creatures, in some small and remote places, where nothing better could be obtained. Thus was I led to become an exhorter, not without comfort to myself, nor I hope without advantage to others. At the age of twenty-six, I became a resident in Keighley, in the county of York. Here I entered into the married state with a pious young woman, of the name of Martha Bince, by whom I had seven children. The earnings of my labour being small, my poor wife sickly, and my family large, I had to contend with many difficulties; but through the help of some kind friends I was enabled to pay my way, and support a good character in the world and the church. There I was made the leader of a small class, which God was pleased to multiply, so that it was more than once divided. There also I was prevailed on to appear more in public in the pulpit, to which I have been occasionally called by my brethren, ever since. The following remarks are taken from a letter written by Samuel Whitaker, jun. He says, "My father began at an early period to reprove sinners wherever he met with them; and being at one time engaged in shewing some of his fellow-workmen the necessity of conversion, in order to prove the same he read some passages out of his Pocket-Bible, when the landlord of the house protested that my father's Bible was not a correct one, nor at all like his, but must be a Methodist Bible! And how much was the old man astonished, when the two Bibles were compared, and found to correspond. My father had talents for a large sphere of action; but he constantly declined every offer of that nature for the sake of holding a closer communion with God: only desiring food and raiment for himself and family, and with these he was indulged. "He outlived all the acquaintance of his youth; and he often rejoiced in the hope of meeting them in the realms of glory. He was long engaged as a class-leader in Keighley, and as a local preacher in the circuit: yet he did not outlive his usefulness, nor was there a congregation to which he was not acceptable, even to the conclusion of his long life; and an omission on his part was always attended with uneasiness on the part of the people. Few persons have maintained a more unblemished character, or left a better name behind them than Samuel Whitaker. "In his natural disposition he was prompt and determined; pleasant and cheerful, and frequently a little quaint in his manner of expression, which sometimes excited a smile in the hearer. He had his portion of crosses; but amidst all his trials he never lost a sense of the Divine favour, from the time when he first found peace with God in the year 1758. He ruled his family with paternal authority, and recommended religion both by precept and example, in such a manner as will be long remembered among his children and relatives. "The close of his life was brought on by a gradual decay of nature, which affected the whole man. He was confined to his bed about five weeks, during which time he endured great difficulty in speaking; but so long as he had strength, he frequently spoke to his family and friends, concerning the things of eternity. He often told his daughter-in-law, with whom he resided, that, though the union between the soul and the body was of such a nature as to make man shudder while passing through the valley of the shadow of death, yet he possessed an unshaken confidence, that when this earthly house of his tabernacle should be dissolved, he should have a house not made with hands, a building of God, eternal in the heavens. During his confinement he manifested much patience, and great resignation to the wise disposal of his heavenly Father: for this he had earnestly prayed, and was answered. He died August 7th, 1816, in the 82d year of his age." SIR, "In humble walks of life he trod, MISCELLANEOUS. To the Editor of the Methodist Magazine. CONCEIVING that the insertion of the following sublime Observations on Time, and its final consummation, will be no disparagement to your justly celebrated and extensively circulated Miscellany, I have transcribed them for that purpose. Hoping to see them shortly ushered forth into the Christian world under your auspices, I remain, Sir, your's, &c. TIME. R. M. P. How speedily will the consummation of all things commence! For yet a little while and the commissioned archangel lifts his hand to heaven, and swears by the Almighty Name, "that time shall be no longer." Then abused opportunities will never return, and new opportunities will never more be offered. Then, should negligent mortals wish, ever so passionately, for a few moments only, to be thrown back from the opening eternity,-thousands of worlds would not be able to procure the grant. How amazingly great and awful is the representation of that tremendous day, as mentioned in the beginning of the 10th chapter of Revelations; which, says one, abstracted from its primary meaning, and considered only as a stately piece of machinery, well deserves our attention; and I will venture to say, has not its superior, perhaps not its equal, in any of the most celebrated masters of Greece and Rome. All that is gloomy or beautiful in the atmosphere, all that is striking or magnificent in every element, is taken in to heighten the idea. Yet nothing is disproportionate; but an uniform air of ineffable majesty, greatens, exalts, ennobles the whole. Observe the aspect of this august personage. All the brightness of the sun shines in his countenance, and all the rage of the fire burns in his feet. See his apparel; the clouds compose his robe, and the drapery of the sky floats upon his shoulders. The rainbow forms his diadem, and that which "compasseth the heaven with a glorious circle," is the ornament of his head. Consider the action; his hand is lifted up to the height of the stars. He speaks, and the regions of the firmament echo with the mighty accents, as the midnight desert resounds with the lion's roar. The artillery of the skies is discharged at the signal; a peal of seven-fold thunder spreads the alarm, and prepares the world to receive his orders. To finish all, and give the highest grandeur, as well as the utmost solemnity to the representation, hear the decree that issues from his mouth. He " swears by Him that liveth for ever." in whatever manner so majestic a person had expressed himself, he could not fail of commanding universal attention. But when he confirms his speech by a most sacred and inviolable oath, we are not only wrapt in silent suspense, but overwhelmed with the profoundest awe. He swears, "That time shall be no longer." Was ever voice so full of terror, and so big with wonder? It proclaims, not the fall of empires, but the final period of things. It strikes off the wheels of nature, bids ages and generations cease to roll, and with one potent word, consigns a whole world over to dissolution! BEING in the habit of reading the Methodist Magazine, I have not been a little surprised in perusing two papers on Public Singing, inserted in the September and November Numbers. The motives which inspired their composition, I doubt not, are of the purest kind; yet I cannot help perceiving several inaccuracies in each paper, which, while they stand unnoticed, give a sanction to their testimony, VOL. XLII. JANUARY, 1819. *H* which certainly ought to be received with peculiar caution. I will, therefore, take the liberty of freely animadverting on their untenable parts. Your correspondent B. while he acknowledges that "singing is an important part of the worship of God," adduces such arguments against its auxiliaries, which, if generally received, and cordially embraced, would effectually destroy the beauty and spirit of our public song, and reduce it to the breathless drone of a Presbyterian semibreve. There appears in his paper to be a peculiar opposition to established bodies of singers. Hence, in the third and last paragraph, he denominates them "antiscriptural associations, an improper association of converted and unconverted persons, which produces an imprudent intercourse of the sexes-frequent altercations between ministers and people-private animosities, and church distractions." Every person who has generally attended a few of our large chapels for any length of time, where no regular associations of singers have been established, must have perceived, not only a suspension of our musical characteristic, but also the utmost discord and confusion existing: for, while no official leader has pitched the tune, a variety of persons have claimed the privilege, many of whom have been unwilling to suspend their choice, which naturally engendered strife, produced a medley, and consequent confusion. Nor was this an individual circumstance; for I have frequently witnessed such contentions nearly through the whole of the first verse. Surely, a well-regulated body of singers will effectually destroy every evil resulting from this quarter: but besides, when the tune has been pitched by one only, hath not the singing been so dull and languid as to sink the spirit of devotion? Your correspondent argues "an imprudent intercourse of the sexes," and leaves us strongly to suspect some very pernicious evil flowing therefrom. I am not prepared to say that evil never did result from such combinations; but surely the same danger, though perhaps not to an equal extent, may result from the public worship of God itself, from class-meetings, from love-feasts, from prayermeetings, and every other meeting where the different sexes are indiscriminately met. Your correspondent would wish us to understand that evil only can proceed from them. I would therefore embrace the opportunity of informing him, that I am personally acquainted with scores, if not hundreds in this town and neighbourhood, who being attracted by the singing, have ultimately become members of such communities; which connection, bringing them under the Divine word, they have received the enlightening and quickening influences of the Holy Spirit, which has eventually led to conversion. Many of our valuable class-leaders and local preachers in this town, and a respectable travelling preacher in our connection, are comprehended in this number. I relate these facts to prove, that however unfortunate your correspondent's observations may have been, yet such a degree of evil does not appear so prominent in the North. If there be "frequent altercation* between ministers and people; I strongly suspect the validity of such an assertion: in my youth I was united to a body of Methodist singers for fourteen years, and do not remember any altersation during that time, except in three instances. |