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LXXX.

TO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST ASSEMBLING IN BROADMEAD,

BRISTOL.

ON ACCEPTING THE PASTORAL OFFICE.

My dear Brethren,

Leicester, Dec. 21, 1825. After long and mature deliberation, and earnest prayer, I write these lines to inform you that I accept the invitation you have been pleased to give me to the pastoral office. That it may become a mutual blessing, and that you and myself may reap the fruit of it, in the glory of God, the spiritual improvement of each other, and the conversion of sinners from the error of their way, will, I trust, continue to be, as it has already been, the object of your frequent and fervent supplication to the throne of Grace. Be assured I feel deeply my utter inability for the adequate discharge of the weighty duties which devolve upon me, and particularly my unfitness to walk in the steps of your late venerable pastor. My only hope amid the discouragement arising from this quarter is placed in "your prayers, and the supply of the Spirit of Christ Jesus." Conscious as I am of innumerable imperfections, I must rely on your candour for a favourable construction of my conduct, and reception of my labours. Permit me, my dear brethren, to conclude, by "recommending you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified by the faith of Jesus." I remain, dear Brethren, Your affectionate Friend and Brother,

ROBERT HALL.

LXXXI.

TO THE REV. P. J. SAFFERY, OF SALISBURY.

Dear Sir, Leicester, Jan. 16, 1826. I duly received your favour, and cannot be insensible to the honour you have done me, in wishing me to assist at your approaching ordination, by delivering a charge. I am sorry you appear to lay so much stress upon it, because it makes me the more uneasy in putting that negative on your wishes which my judgment and my inclination dictate. As I intend to avoid engagements out of Bristol as much as possible, and very rarely, if ever, to officiate at ordinations, I can by no means consent to begin my career there by an engagement of that nature, which would at once, by giving erroneous expectations, be productive

of much inconvenience. Nearly all the spare time I can command from my proper station will necessarily be occupied in visiting the connexions among which I have lived, and where I have numerous old and tried friends, who must be ever dear to my heart. As to ordinations, it has long been my opinion that they are best conducted by the presbyters or elders of the immediate vicinity of the party; and that to step beyond that circle is to sacrifice or impair the chief benefit of that practice, which is the putting a wholesome check on the abuse of the popular suffrage, by making it impossible for a minister to establish himself at the head of a congregation without the approbation and sanction of the circle of pastors with whom he is to act. It is an affair in which the church are chiefly or solely concerned; and though the calling in a stranger on such occasions may attract a greater audience, it is, in my humble opinion, at the expense of more important objects. For these and other reasons that might be adduced, you must allow me firmly, though most respectfully, to decline the service you have been pleased to assign me; and, to cut off any occasion of [discussion,] I must request the favour of [your] accepting this reply as final.

I cannot close these lines, however, without expressing the pleasure it affords me to find you are likely to succeed your excellent father. That a double portion of his spirit may rest upon you is, dear sir, the sincere desire and prayer of

Your sincere Friend and humble Servant,

ROBERT HALL. P.S.-I beg to be respectfully remembered to your excellent mother, though personally unknown.

LXXXII.

TO THE REV. DR. J. P. SMITH, HOMERTON.

Rev. and dear Sir,

Bristol, Nov. 3, 1826. have to complain of a good deal of misrepresentation in what is stated in your letter, as having passed in my interview with Dr. Malan. The conversations (for they were two) passed at my house, not at Clifton. He was insisting much on the absolute necessity of the full assurance of our personal salvation, which, as he appeared to carry it to a great extent, led me to remark that it seemed to me a most desirable attainment, and what every sincere Christian ought to seek after with diligence, rather than as essential to the very [existence] of religion. And in the course of conversation, I confessed that I had it not myself. At this he expressed his surprise, and began with emphasis to recite that passage in John's epistle, "He that believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." His discourse to me on this subject was not satisfactory. Part of it was not very intelligible;

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and part, as far as I did understand it, was injudicious, and bordering on enthusiasm. I certainly was extremely struck with the indications of exalted piety and love exhibited by his whole deportment, and particularly his countenance. I must confess there was something in his looks that reminded me more of the ideal picture I have formed of the Saviour, than I ever saw before in any human being: and as I am too prone to express myself in the style of hyperbole, it is to that part of his character that the expression your letter quoted must be understood to allude. Though I am certain I never used some of the words imputed to me, particularly those in which I am represented as saying, "All other men were brutes and beasts compared to him." I am equally a stranger to the words and the ideas, you may depend on it. I never acknowledged the little success of my sermons arose from my ministry not being accompanied with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. He observed that my printed discourses (of these only he spoke) wanted simplicity: nor was I at all concerned or surprised at that; for he found much fault with Maclaurin's, on "Glorying in the Cross of Christ," which he accused of the same defect, observing that it exhibited the truth, but did not exhibit his Master; a remark which appeared to me (as I observed to him) very unintelligible. I never gave thanks aloud that Dr. Malan was brought to Bristol; nothing of the kind ever passed from me. I probably did (indeed I know I did) express myself much gratified in having an opportunity of a personal interview; and I parted from him with much esteem and affection on my part. I thought him, on the whole, a very extraordinary man; though much more to be admired for his ardent piety and lively imagination than for judgment or profundity. Even on his favourite topic of assurance he seemed sometimes to retract all that he had asserted. I did not hear him [preach ;] but I learned afterward that his hearers generally went away with the impression of their having heard very new doctrine. If Dr. Malan has given the statement you have copied, I am heartily sorry for it, because it is extremely inaccurate, and must necessarily diminish the high regard in which I held him. Thus I have given you, my dear sir, a brief outline of what passed; and most earnestly wish you every degree of success in your labours to maintain the truth as it is in Jesus.

I am, dear and Rev. Sir,

With very high esteem, your affectionate Friend,

ROBERT HALL.

N. B.-Permit me to return my most sincere thanks for your admirable defence of the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ against Belsham: it will benefit the church, I trust, as long as the English language lasts.

LXXXIII.

TO W. B. GURNEY, ESQ.

ON THE DEATH OF MRS. GURNEY.

Bristol, August 25, 1827.

My dear Friend, It is a very few days since I heard the very melancholy intelligence of the removal of dear Mrs. Gurney; and I was not willing to obtrude on the sacred privacy of grief till its first agitation was in some measure subsided. Most deeply is this stroke felt, and long will continue to be so, by that very large circle of which she was the ornament and delight; but how much more severe the stroke on him who was united to her by the tenderest of earthly ties! To me the information was like a thunderclap: it was so sudden, and so unexpected, that I could scarcely persuade myself it was a reality; it seems now like one of those frightful visions of the night which vanish at the return of dawn.

Alas! how fresh in my mind is the figure of the dear deceased, presiding in the social circle with that inimitable ease, elegance, and grace which captivated every heart:-changed now, and clouded for ever with the shades of death! Never was a victim snatched by the great destroyer more beloved, or more lamented.

But why should I dwell on what is so distressing to remember, rather than advert to the brighter side of this melancholy picture? You, my dear friend, have lost the richest of earthly blessings in a most admirable and amiable wife; but grace has completed its triumph in adding to the celestial choir one more spirit of "the just made perfect." Bright as she shone in her earthly sphere, her light was dim and obscure compared to that which now invests her. Her pure and celestial spirit has ascended to its native seat, where she "bears the name of her God on her forehead, and serves him day and night in his temple." Your loss, my dear friend, is her unspeakable gain; and your mind is too generous in your calmest moments to wish her hurled from her celestial elevation. Let a few more months and years revolve, and you will be reunited to part no more; the days of your mourning will be ended; the Lord will be to you (as he is already to the dear deceased) "your everlasting light, and your God your glory."

I hope you will not suffer the excess of grief so to absorb your mind as to shut out the consolations of piety, or the claims of duty. It is my earnest prayer that God himself may comfort you, and that he may be pleased so to sanctify this most heavy trial, that though "faint," you may be "still pursuing;" and that, though you "sow in tears," you may "reap in joy."

I beg to be most affectionately remembered to every branch of your family, as well as to all inquiring friends; and remain, with deep concern, Your affectionate and sympathizing Friend,

ROBERT HALL.

LXXXIV.

TO EBENEZER FOSTER, ESQ.

My dear Sir, Bristol, Jan. 29, 1829. I safely received your favour of the 20th instant. It gives me great pleasure to infer from your letter, that the health of your family, and particularly of your elder brother, is in a tolerable state.

The death of Mrs. must have been felt very severely by your excellent consort, to whom I beg to express a deep and sincere sympathy. I was greatly affected when I heard of it, and shall ever carry with me a grateful and affectionate sense of the uniform kindness with which she treated me, as well as of the many amiable and interesting traits of her character. It would have given me pleasure to have been informed what were her views and feelings in the prospect of eternity: I hope she exhibited that state of mind, on the approach of that awful crisis, which must prevent surviving friends from "sorrowing as those who have no hope.' I have lately heard with much concern of the alarming illness of my dear friend;—but have rejoiced to learn subsequently that considerable hopes are entertained of his recovery. While events of this nature present a striking commentary on the solemn declaration that "all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the field," it is consoling to remember that "the word of the Lord endureth for ever;" and that, by the preaching of the gospel, it is more extensively promulgated than ever.

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The intelligence you have just given me of the rapid extension of evangelical religion in Cambridge is highly gratifying; nor can I entertain any serious apprehension of ultimate injury resulting from thence to the dissenting interest. If something like competition should have the effect of giving increased momentum to the exertions of both parties, the public may be benefited, and both improved.

With respect to my health, I can say little that I could wish to say. Some small abatement of the violence and frequency of my old complaint has, I think, of late been experienced: but it is very inconsiderable; and the last night it prevented me getting a wink of sleep until after seven o'clock this morning. On this account, I can speak with no sort of confidence of my intended visit to Cambridge, further than this, that I feel a most anxious desire of enjoying it, and that nothing but absolute necessity will prevent me from making the attempt; and, as travelling on the outside is much the easiest to me, it will not be prudent to undertake it till the summer is tolerably advanced. I have little intelligence to communicate worthy of your attention. I continue to be very happy with my people, from whom I daily receive every demonstration of affection and respect. Our attendance is as good as I could wish; and we have added to the Baptist church,*

* To render this phrase intelligible to some readers, it may be proper to observe, that in the congregation at Broadmead there are two classes of persons who are associated in church-fellowship: one consists of those only who have been baptized in adult age, on a confession of faith; while the other consists jointly of such and of Pedobaptists. The former are "strict communion Baptists," and constitute the Baptist church: the latter furnish an example of "mixed communion."-ED. VOL. III.-T

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