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Untitled Article
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
were seen rising among the trees which crowned a little eminence at the outskirts of the village . The labourer stopped to survey the work as he returned from the field : the children peeped into the vestry where they were to learn their Catechism and read the Bible ; and here and there an aged woman wished that another Whitefield might deal forth the spirit and power of the gospel within those walls .
When all was completed , a day was appointed for the opening service , at which several ministers and other friends to the cause had agreed to attend . It was the wish of all that Edwards should take a share of the honourable labours of the day , as he had been the prime mover in the work which was now accomplished : but it was so painful to the old man to be brought into notice by any call but that of duty , that the point was yielded , and he was
allowed to enjoy the scene in his own way , —as a spectator . He was , however , the most distinguished person in the throng ; and while the reverend gentlemen were entertained with all due courtesy and respect , a heartier welcome and a kindlier smile were reserved for the old man . His grey hairs won him more respect than clerical robes could have done ; and his complacent smile seemed to give new pleasure to the day .
Though the building could conveniently accommodate three hundred persons—the whole population of the place—the number of visitors was so great that it was evidently impossible that all could obtain admittance . When every bench was occupied , and the aisle filled , a crowd still remained without . A young minister , who was well known to the people , therefore invited those who could not find room to follow him to the
hillside . He took his place under a tree , and an audience of some hundreds seated themselves round him . It was one of the early days of autumn , mild , bright , and calm . Not a leaf was stirred ; not a sound arose to interrupt the voice of the preacher , which might have been heard to a great distance . Though quite unprepared for preaching , the occasion afforded sufficient inspiration , and he discoursed with vigour and simplicity , and with so much earnestness , that he forgot the time , till informed that the congregation within was about to begin the closing psalm . He immediately brought his
discourse to a conclusion , and gave out the same psalm . The doors of the chapel were thrown open , and all voices , as well as all hearts and minds , were united in the swelling hymn . If any stranger had chanced to pass by at this time , he would long have remembered that music , and felt the impression of the solitary voice which preceded it . Of the force of this impression I can judge from my own observation . It was powerful enough to open the lips and dispel the reserve of one who had seldom , if ever , been known before to speak on any subject connected with reLigion *
I refer to a gentleman who lived in the neighbourhood , and at whose house I was on a visit at the time . I had a general idea that he disapproved of the use of forms in religion , but whether this dislike extended to alJ outward observances , I knew not . On all occasions when the conversation referred to the most interesting of all subjects , he shewed a sensitiveness for which I was at a loss to account . He was neither careless nor
contemptuous ; but profoundly and uneasily silent . The conversation was frequently directed to the topics which he would fain have avoided ; for , of his maJay friends , none could penetrate the mystery which hung around this recess of his mind ; and some were urged by curiosity , others by a better motive , to attempt to gain some insight into his views . But it was in vain . This day afforded the first occasion , and I was made the first depositary of any communication of the kind .
Untitled Article
308 True Worshipers .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1830, page 308, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2584/page/20/
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