It was always matter of grief to him either to see or hear of persons walking unworthy of their high vocation. Evangelic principles and Antinomian practices were a coalition which he could not endure. He hungered and thirsted after righteousness himself, and would say, "That holiness was a precious gift and a precious privilege." What GOD hath done for us by Christ, what God doeth in us by the Holy Spirit, and what GOD will do to us in all his Persons hereafter, ought never to be separated from the Christian's faith, hope, and practice, throughout his life. This was Mr. Grimshaw's religion, or rather the religion of Jesus in him. A life thus spent in communion with Gon, it may be expected, would be blessed by him in its end. And it was For him to live was Christ, and to die was gain. So. These last words, from Phil. i. 21. were taken as the text of a sermon, preached upon the occasion of his death, at St. Dunstan's in the West, London, by the Reverend Mr. Romaine, on the 17th of April 1763, ten days after his decease. Some notes, concerning Mr. Grimshaw, taken down at the time, may not be unacceptable to the reader. Mr. Grimshaw (says the excellent preacher) was the most laborious and indefatigable minister of Christ that ever I knew, and I believe one of the most so that ever was in England since the first preaching of the gospel. For the good of souls he rejected all hopes of affluent fortune, and for the love of Christ cheerfully underwent difficulties, dangers, and tribulations. He preached Christ, and Christ alone: And God gave him very numerous seals to his ministry. Himself has told me, that not fewer than twelve hundred were in communion with him; most of whom, in the judgment of charity, he could not but believe to be one with Christ. He has often preached five times in a day, and rarely less than three or four; and to do this would travel likewise forty or fifty miles. And when some of his friends in tenderness to his health, would press him to spare himself sometimes, he would answer, "Let me Jabour now, I shall have rest enough by and bye. I cannot do enough for Christ, who has done so much for me." He was the most humble walker with Christ I ever met with, insomuch that he could never endure to hear any commendations made to him upon his usefulness, or any thing which belonged to him. He caught the disorder, a malignant fever, of which he died, in visiting his flock, among whom it raged; and nothing could dissuade him from this dangerous attendance, when he thought his duty demanded or or some needy souls required it.'-His last words were : "HERE GOES AN UNPROFITABLE SERVANT." It is with great pleasure and gratitude I acknowledge the kindness of my ever-valued and respected friend and rector upon many occasions, and, among them, for the commuication of a letter, written to him from Mr. Grimshaw, not many months before his death, and containing an account of his faith and hopes, which had been often solicited by, and often promised to him. There needs no apology for presenting this excellent Declaration or Creed to the reader; and, accordingly, I shall not offer to trouble him with any. The Rev. Mr. Grimshaw to the Rev. Mr. Romaine. "Reverend and dear Sir, “YESTERDAY I received your kind letter, and must assure you, I reap as much benefit and comfort, and, I dare say, much more from your letters than you can do from mine. Your account of books sent in the box is right as to those bound and stitched: But the number of Mr. Jones's Funeral Sermon is only an hundred, though you say there were an hundred and twenty-five: Such a mistake may be easily made. You left twenty-five with me: So that in all I have one hundred and twenty-five, but no more.— I'll send you money for them the first opportunity. "As to my CREED, so long promised, so long looked for, and so often called for, such as it is, I here send you at last. "I. I BELIEVE, that GOD made man, like all other animals created out of the earth, perfect; endued him with a reasonable and immortal soul, and united his soul to HIS SPIRIT.-Thus created, and thus related to HIMSELF, He laid man under a covenant of works.-This covenant he was competent of keeping, not by virtue of his created abilities, as the old, particularly the Puritan, divines feign, (for I think there is no clear proof from the Scriptures for it) but by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT, to WHOи he was united.-And "II. I BELIEVE so long as his soul kept an eye to the dictates of the SPIRIT, excited His power, and in so doing, fulfilled his condition of the said covenant, and kept his natural appetites within bounds; so long he continued innocent and happy in Paradise.-But, "III. I BELIEVE, that the moment he was prevailed upon by the serpent, at second hand, (viz. by means of his wife) to eat of the forbidden fruit, he died, (that is, he was was divested of his relation to GoD)-he that instant lost his life, light, power, innocence and happiness.-He became a mere Ichabod-a dead, dark, helpless, guilty, mi serable mortal. "IV. I BELIEVE, that the way that the old serpent went to effect man's fall, was the very same that he uses at this day. First he assailed the animal part, and then the rational part, if I may so speak of the man.-Any other way would not answer. The soul was too near the SPIRIT, to operate, or attack that first.-Reasoning with him first will not do.-Alluring the senses must be the first step.-The eye first was allured with the beauty, and then the taste with the sweetness of the apple.-By this means Satan crept nearer the soul, diverted the eye of his mind from GOD, and got the desired opportunity to reason deceitfully with him, in the manner recorded in Genesis iii. and gained his point. "V. I BELIEVE, that Adam, by this means reduced into the above said miserable condition, begot a son in this fallen image, and thence all his posterity in the same, a dead, dark, helpless, guilty and miserable brood. "VI. I BELIEVE there was in Adam, and is in every man, an innate principle, which I call DESIRE of HAPPINESS.-It may seem, that Satan in reasoning with him. chiefly wrought upon this principle to effect his downfall. -And upon this principle in every child of man he chiefly acts to bend them to a sensual gratification of all fleshly and earthly enjoyments.-This is, as I think, what is chiefly meant by natural depravity,—And “ VII. I BELIEVE that while man is seeking happiness a thousand preposterous ways, his mind is filled by the devil with an utter enmity against GoD, his will and law, and also with self-sufficiency and pride, and every evil and diabolical temper. And by all these means he is inevitably and condignly exposed to the wrath of GoD and eternal death and damnation. "VIII. I BELIEVE also, that notwithstanding the fall and all its baleful effects, and though man has utterly lost all power thereby to obey, or perform the condition of the old covenant, yet the LORD did not lose his right and power to command the same obedience: Nor could his justice and holiness, as such, in the least degree dispense with it. He could in no wise, consistently with these at tributes, commute, or relax the condition on man's part. -And yet "IX. I BELIEVE, nay I experience, and have done, ever since I was awakened, to my great grief, and self-abhorrence, that though man has lost all power to obey, yet he still loves the scent of the old cask.-Quo semel est imbuta recens, &c. He is still, silly caitif, proud elf, filthy devil, for Do and LIVE.-And thus he became, and naturally ever will be, averse to all the kind and compassionate intentions and provisions of Divine wisdom, grace and mercy for his redemption and salvation. "X. I BELIEVE further, that every actual sin, suppose ever so small a sinful thought, will expose the soul, yea, and the body too, from the last judgment forward to the eternal, intolerable wrath of GOD: And that the transgressor's whole life, though inwardly and outwardly, and every way, as pure and holy, as that of an arch-angel, will not, cannot prevent it. "XI. I BELIEVE further still, that God would be just, were HE to send any infant immediately from the womb to hell: Seeing the NATURE is polluted, and the seeds of evil are in them:-Not only born but conceived, in sin. "XII. I BELIEVE, that the blessed TRINITY, fore-seeing all this rebellious and wretched fall of man, before his creation, yea, before the foundation of the world, did, out of His infinite wisdom, goodness, compassion and power, and yet consistently with His inexorable and inflexible justice, devise an effectual way of rescuing him from wrath and hell, and restoring him to favour and glory; I call this the NEW COVENANT:-This, REDEMPTION. In this scheme harmonizes every attribute of the Deity; yea, justice itself, that knows not to remit the least mite, is become so placable and propitious, as to forgive the confessing penitent all his sins, and to cleanse him from all unrighteousness. * "XIII. I BELIEVE, that Gon the FATHER required, that, in the new covenant, the old covenant should be fulfilled, the breach repaired-His violated law made honourable-the curse thereof removed, His justice satisfied -His wrath appeased, and His holiness revered. And this too (though no one in heaven or earth, save His only begotten, GoD co-equal Sox, was competent of) by the very nature, strange to tell! that had transgressed.-And this, glory be to GOD, was regular, lawful, right and just. "XIV. I BELIEVE therefore, that GOD, the SON, engaged to assume our nature, and place HIMSELF in our law-place; and became GoD-Man, or GoD manifest in the A the flesh. And this I plainly see was absolutely needful : Because, there was that to be done for us, in order to redeem and save us; which, as GOD, HE could; but as man, He could not: And which, as man, He could; but, as GOD, HE could not, do.-For ❝ XV. I BELIEVE, as GoD only, He could Do; as man only, he could SUFFER.-AS GOD-Man, HE could and did fulfil the Law, so as to deserve eternal glory: As ManGOD, (if I may so speak) He could and did so suffer, as that His sufferings fully atoned and satisfied divine justice for sin, and effectually delivered us from eternal wrath and misery.-But, if, as man, we must say, He did both do, and suffer; be it so; yet as being in union with GOD, the Divinity so deified and divinely impregnated all His obedience, both active and passive, as rendered it completely competent of the important ends above said. This is that righteousness of God; so called, because GOD the FATHER must require it, and GoD the SON only could perform it, for our justification, redemption, and salvation. "XVI. I BELIEVE, that this very righteousness is sufficient to redeem all mankind; but it only is, and will be, imputed to every penitent, believing soul, and that to all intents and purposes, as if He, as indeed He should have done, had Himself performed it.-Glory be to God for free Grace. No reason can be assigned for this; only, He would have mercy; BECAUSE HE would have mercy. "XVII. I BELIEVE, in this righteousness, every member of CHRIST stands, and will stand, complete, irreproveable and acceptable in God's sight, both at death and judgment-" JESUS, THY Blood and Righteousness, &c." “XVIII. I BELIEVE also, that JESUS came to restore to us Adam's losing, the HOLY SPIRIT.-Without this, we are none of HIS-Without GOD, CHRIST, hope in the world-Dead and void of all interest in His merits-To receive and enjoy this, is that NEW BIRTH: So expedient, that without it we cannot enter into the kingdom of GOD-A state of grace here, and a state of glory above.-By it, we are sons of GoD and heirs of that inheritance, which CHRIST, by His righteousness, hath purchased for us. "XIX. I BELIEVE, through this blessed Spirit, therefore, the soul is not only enlivened but enlightened to see and feel her guilty, helpless, and miserable estate, through. |
