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600023141 H 



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ROWLAND HILL; 



LIFE, ANECDOTES, AND PULPIT SAYINGS. 




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ROWLAND HILL; 



%ik, ^mtbiAtSf unii Ipulptt S^^mQS. 



VERNON J. CHARLESWORTH. 



IVITH AN INTRODUCTION 



C. H. SPURGEON. 



LONDON : 
HODDER AND STO 

27, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
1876. 




r/^^ ^. 5"-i>' '1 



Hazell, Watson, and Viney, Printers, London and Aylesuu 



CONTENTS. 



Frontispiece.— Portrait of Rowland Hill. 

Author's Preface 

Introduction by C. H. Spurgkon 

Biographical Sketch . 

Anecdotes 

Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations 

Sermons, etc. 

Last Address at Surrey Chapel 



I 

93 

171 

237 

277 



PREFACE. 



T^EW words only are necessary to introduce the 
-*- following sketch and memorials of the life and 
ministry of the Rev. Rowland Hill, and these must 
express the writer's obligation to the biographies written 
by the Rev. William Jones, the Rev. E. Sidney, and 
Mr. William Jones, formerly Secretary to the Religious 
Tract Society. These works are only to be met with 
occasionally on a second-hand book-stall, and are 
but little known to the present generation. The 
writer has had access to several volumes of Mr. Hill's 
MS. sermons, which are still preserved in the library 
of Surrey Chapel, and for the last fourteen years he 
has enjoyed the friendship of the old members of the 
church, who delight to recall the memories of theu: 
early days. It has been a work of no small diffi- 
culty to compress the materials at command within 
the limits of the present volume, and, at the same 



viii Preface, 

time, to omit nothing necessary to enable the reader 
to form a just estimate of Rowland Hill and his 
life-work — a gentleman by birth and education, a 
man of noble carriage, and a Christian minister of a 
type which may be said to be apostolic. 

It is hoped that this unpretentious volume may be 
the means, in the hands of the Lord, of encourag- 
ing Christian workers, and of suggesting methods 
of usefulness to others whose sphere of Christian 
service is not yet defined. The pulpit sapngs and 
illustrations will furnish themes for thought in quiet 
hours, and may prove useful to Sunday-school teachers 
and preachers in their ministry of love. It is sent 
forth with earnest prayer to this end. 

V. J. C. 

Stock WELL, SepL^ 1876. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Tl yTR. CHARLESWORTH lived for years in 
-^^•^ Suney Chapel Parsonage, and after having 
eaten, and studied, and slept in chambers where 
Rowland Hill did the same before him, he feels the 
spell of the quaint divine holding him captive. He 
has rubbed his clothes against the same door-post, and 
must needs write the man's life. We ought also to 
add that the air is full of Rowland Hill in the regions 
which our friend has frequented, and therefore his 
memory is full of stories, remarks, legends, traditions, 
facts, and anecdotes concerning that wonderful man. 
We fear that like his hero our author has a weakness for 
a joke, and we know that he has also, like Rowland, 
been guilty of making hymns, and we fancy that there 
axe other points in his character which make his sub- 



Introduction, 



ject a very congenial one. Congenial or not, he has 
handled his pen with vigour, and produced this volume, 
and nothing will do but we must TOte an introduction. 
Now I, C. H. Spurgeon, have promised and vowed to 
write no prefaces for anybody, and therefore not for 
the Rev. V. J. Charlesworth ; but we, the Editor of 
the ^^ Sword and Trowel,^ have often received con- 
tributions from the Master of the Stockwell Orphan- 
age; therefore, being indebted to him very greatly in 
our Editorial capacity, we write this, and use the dig- 
nity of the plural pronoun. Take note, however, 
good friends all, that it will be of no use to worry 
either me or usj for neither / nor we will write a pro- 
logue ioryou. 

The majority of persons who know anything of Mr. 
Hill, associate his name with humour in the pulpit. 
Few judge him for using that faculty ; but it is gravely 
questioned whether any one now living may do so 
without sin. It is taken for granted that wit is wicked, 
and humour sinful : dulness, of course, is holy, and 
solemn stupidity is full of grace. We confess we have 
our doubts about both propositions. If dulness were 
a divine power, the world would have been converted 



Introduction. xi 



by now, for the pulpit has never been without a super- 
abundant supply of it, and if mother wit be indeed a 
contraband commodity in the ministry it is no small 
marvel that many of those who possessed it have 
taken highest rank for usefulness. Mr. Hill was hu- 
morous, but he was a great deal more, and those who 
know his life-work will not remember him as exempli- 
fying one single quality, but as a great, good, child- 
like man in whom nothing was repressed, but the 
whole of his redeemed nature allowed to have har- 
monious play. Take him for all in all, we shall not 
soon look upon his like again. In him was no guile. 
He loved his Lord and the souls of men, and he threw 
all his might into the pursuit of doing good. Surely 
no man was ever more unselfish, or less self-conscious. 
Men called him eccentric because they themselves 
were out of centre; he with his great heart, calm 
soul, wise mind, and loving nature had learned to 
wait upon his Lord, and so had found the right centre 
and true orbit for his being. At first the press had 
its sneers for him, but it could not lessen the respect 
in which he was held, and in due time it turned round 
and joined in the chorus of his praise. His riper 



xii Introduction, 



years were full of honour, and, like his younger days, 
full of fruit unto God. 

Several writers have commemorated Rowland Hill, 
but their works are not now in print, and hence the 
vacuum which the present volume will fill up. We 
see no reason why Rowland Hill and Surrey Chapel 
should ever be forgotten. Here is another stone for 
the cairn which keeps his resting-place conspicuous. 
The reader will be the best judge of the value of this 
memorial, but we feel no hesitation in introducing it 
to him as worthy of his attention, and no fear that he 
will fall asleep while reading it. 




PART I. 



PART I. 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 

THE name of Rowland Hill is well known 
throughout Christendom, but many, through 
ignorance or prejudice, consider he was little better 
than a pulpit jester or a religious mountebank. His 
noble character is, unfortunately, obscured by a tra- 
ditional reputation, and his eccentricities have thrown 
his grand life-work into the shade. Few men have 
suffered more from misrepresentation, suggested either 
by envy or malice, and the time has arrived for making 
the present generation acquainted with the salient 
features of his character and the principal events in 
his life-story. 

He was bom on the 23rd of August, 1744, at 
Hawkstone, in Shropshire, the seat of the Hill family,, 
and came of an honourable stock. One of his ances- 
tors was knighted by Henry VIII., and became the 
first Protestant Lord Mayor of London. '* Several 



The Rev, Rowland HilL 



members of the family," says Mr. Sidney, one of his 
biographers, "passed through the dangers of the 
Peninsular War, survived with honour and distinction, 
though not without wounds, the carnage of Waterloo, 
and their names will ever be conspicuous in the annals 
of their country's military glory." 

When a boy, Rowland Hill was remarkable for a 
frank and generous disposition, and for the ready wit 
with which he delighted his friends. On one occasion 
someone said to him, in the presence of his parents : 
" Well, Rowley, and what should you like to be ? " 
Turning towards his father, who was sitting in an 
arm-chair, he replied, ** I should like to be a baronet 
and sit in a great chair." This ready and significant 
answer provoked the mirth of the company, and they, 
doubtless, concluded he was a very promising boy. 
It was only a momentary ambition, however, which 
influenced his mind, if, indeed, the answer may not be 
wholly attributed to his ready wit. He had, probably, 
thought no more about a profession than the boy who 
said he should " like to be a king," and when assured 
that his father had not sufficient influence to secure 
him a throne, promptly rejoined, '* Then, father, I 
should like to be a beadle." 

The coveted ease of a baronet's chair was denied 
the youthful aspirant, as he was destined to spend a 



Biographical Sketch. 



long life of incessant activity and toil. It is to be 
deplored that many young men anticipating the reward 
of honourable age, have buried their talents, disap- 
pointed the hopes of their friends, and have gone 
down to an early and dishonoured grave. To regard 
the dignity of labour as the dream of some addle- 
brained old fogey, who has worked like a horse in a 
mill, only because his neck has been kept in the 
collar and the crack of the whip has given a gentle 
reminder of the penalty of idleness, is a sure pre- 
sage of disgrace and ruin. There is nothing degrad- 
ing in labour, whether manual or mental, and the 
honest workman, in any sphere, is entitied to a 
wreath of which he may be justly proud. With his 
usual epigrammatic force, Mr. Carlyle says, "The 
latest gospel in this world is, Man, know thy work 
and do it ; " and P. J. Bailey gives expression to a 
similar sentiment, in language as forcible as it is 
felicitous, — 

** We live in deeds, not years ; in thoughts, not breaths ; 
In feelings, not in figures on a dial. 
We shovdd count time by heart-throbs. He most lives 
Who thinks most— feels the noblest — ^acts the best.*' 

The perusal of Dr. Watts* hymns for children awak- 
ened in young Rowland his earliest religious impres- 



The Rev. Rowland HilL 



sions, which were deepened by the influence of his elder 
brother, Richard, and his sister Jane, who appear to 
have been eminent for their piety. Their solicitude for 
his spiritual welfare is seen in the earnest letters they 
addressed to him when he was a scholar at Eton, 
where he remained about four years. Miss Hill 
writes : — 

Jan. 7th, 1764. 
*'My dear Rowley, — 

" I rejoice to hear by the letter mamma had from 
you last post, that you arrived safe at Eton, and met 
with no inconveniences from the floods. This mark 
of the care of the Almighty over you may furnish you 
with fresh matter for praise and thankfulness; and 
indeed, so innumerable are the instances of Divine 
mercy, that we have cause continually to dwell on 
the delightful theme of praise which we trust will be 
our employment to all eternity, joining with the 
heavenly host in singing hallelujahs to the God of our 
salvation, whose glory should be celebrated with joy 
and triumph by His reasonable creatures. Praise is 
the work of angels ; the more, therefore, we abound 
in holy, humble, thankful, joyful praise, the more we 
do our Father's will as they do it. Oh, how insipid 
and tasteless do the pleasures of the world appear 



Biographical Sketch, 



\o those who have some experimental knowledge of 
'that only true joy which cometh from above, and 
which is centred in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom 
there is fulness of joy, and at whose right hand there 
are pleasures for evermore. Christ is to the believer 
all that he can wish for, or his heart desire ; He is * as 
the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.' There is 
that in Him, His name, His graces, His comforts, His 
undertaking for poor sinners, which may be their con- 
tinual comfort and support. They that are weary and 
heavy laden, in Christ may find rest ; in Him are all 
^the precious privileges of the new covenant, purchased 
by His blood, and communicated by His Spirit. How 
sweet are the promises in the word of life, to a believ- 
>ing soul which rests upon the Lord Jesus ! How 
sweet the knowledge of pardon, the assurances of 
God's love, the joys of the Holy Ghost, the hopes of 
eternal life, and the present earnests and foretastes of 
it, to those that have their spiritual senses exercised ! 
If the pleasures of sin are distasteful to us, Divine 
consolations will be sweet to our tastes, * sweeter than 
honey and the honeycomb ; ' and we may say with the 
spouse, * As the apple-tree among the trees of the 
wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down 
.under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit 
«ras sweet to my taste.' 



8 The Rev, Rowland Hill, 

" Surely, nothing on this side heaven can be com- 
pared with the delights which are attendant on 
communion with the Redeemer, and the sensible 
manifestations of His love; well may we desire a 
continuance of such blessed views and visits. But 
Christ will, at His good pleasure, withdraw those 
extraordinary communications of Himself, for He is a 
free agent, and His spirit, as the wind, blows when 
and where it listeth ; and in His pleasure it becomes 
us submissively to acquiesce. Our great care miJst be 
that we do nothing to provoke Him to withdraw, and 
to hide His face ; that we carefully watch over our 
own naturally corrupt and desperately wicked hearts, 
and suppress every thought that may grieve Hiy 
good Spirit. Those that experience Divine comfort^ 
should greatly fear sinning it away. 

*^ I now, my dear brother, must conclude my letter, 
but not without a word or two entreating you to be 
diligent in your school studies, and to desire you to- 
be particularly mindful of reading English in your 
private hours. It is the sincere affection I bear you, 
which makes me thus anxious for your improvement. 
I have often urged to you the disgrace an ignorant 
clergyman is to religion. God knows what profession 
is allotted to you ; but, be it what it will, your inde- 
fatigable care is indispensably needful, and humam 



Biographical Sketch, 



learning is a most desirable jewel, in order to set off 
the lustre of those in a sanctified heart. 

" I shall expect no answer to this letter, but when 
you next write, remember to send word if you called 
on Mrs. More, at Oxford. Our dear brother R. arrived 
well in town, as did Mr. Tudway and my sister. I 
hope your young friend grows in grace. 

**J. Hill." 

At the age of eighteen, he yielded himself to the 
Saviour, and entered upon a course of life-long con- 
secration to His service. Religion was not a cloak he 
assumed to curry favour with his friends, nor a creed 
which he espoused to satisfy the craving of an active 
brain ; but a life which, inwrought by the Spirit, thrilled 
his entire being, and constrained a whole-hearted 
obedience to the will of God. He was thus saved 
from being a victim gf the greatest and most delusive 
sham of the age — the profession of religion without 
knowing its power. The hypocrisy which hides the 
hideous deformity of a Christless character by the 
doak of a plausible profession, is one of the most 
odious sins of which a man is capable. 

Notwithstanding the intense ardour of his piety, his 
natural talent for wit manifested itself in his inter- 
course with his school-fellows. In a discussion as to 



10 TIte Rev, Rowland HilL 

the value of the letter H^ some of his school-fellows 
contended that it had the full power of a letter, 
others that it was merely an aspirate, and might be 
omitted altogether, without any disadvantage; and 
the question was not set at rest, till Rowland re- 
marked, ** To me, the letter -^ is a most invaluable 
one, for if it be taken away, I shall be Ul all the days 
of my life." 

We are not surprised to learn that he devoted him- 
self with commendable zeal to the spiritual welfare 
of his companions, and that he reaped at school the 
first-fruits of the abundant harvest of his future min- 
istry. The young converts formed themselves into a 
society, and drew up a code of rules for the guidance 
of their conduct, their aim being, to promote in each 
other growth in grace and progress in Christian service. 
They felt the importance of Christian fellowship, and 
regarded the mutual helpfulness of holy friendship 
as a gracious ordinance of God. Isolation, to young 
Christians especially, is only another word for spiritual 
coldness and death. He who has commanded us to 
** forsake not the assembling of ourselves together," 
and whose presence is pledged to two or three gath- 
ered in His name, has recognised the powerful instinct 
of the renewed heart which craves for fellowship. If 
the unity of the Church is ever manifested to the 



Biographical Sketch, 1 1 

ivorld, it will not be by the unanimous subscription of 
believers to a formulated creed, but by their fraternal 
intercourse as brethren in Christ. 

In the year 1764 Mr. Hill removed to Cambridge, 
and entered St. John's College, in order to qualify 
himself for one of the livings in Norfolk, which were in 
the gift of the Hill family. Evangelical truth was then 
at a discount at the University, but he was prepared 
to stand by his colours at all hazards. In a letter to 
Lady Glenorchy, Miss Jane Hill says, referring to her 
l^rother, **I trust that he will ever stand faithful to 
the cause of his crucified Master, whether he be 
admitted as a minister of the Gospel, to preach in His 
name, or not ; but, alas ! to such a deplorable apos- 
tasy is the world come, that young men who are 
steadfastly attached to the Church, and live exemplary 
lives, can hardly get their testimonials signed for 
orders." 

The new scenes and associates of college life were 
not allowed to divert him from his simple trust as a 
•devout believer in, nor to damp his zeal as a devout 
servant of, the Lord Jesus Christ. His godly life was 
an eloquent rebuke of the worldly dissipations of his 
fellow-students, who made him the butt of their ridi- 
cule and the object of their affected contempt. There 
is a sublimity in the heroism of a young man, who, 



12 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

in fidelity to the monitions of conscience and the 
claims of God, dares to stand alone in defiance of the 
storm of abuse which his godly life provokes. " No- 
body in the college," he says, ** ever gave me a cordial 
smile, except the old shoe-black at the gate, who had 
the love of Christ in his heart** It is a cause for 
thankfulness that a great improvement has taken 
place of late years; but the reformation will not 
be complete imtil the learning of the age is 
brought into subjection to the authority of Christ, 
and a religious character is held to be an indis- 
pensable qualification for admission to our national 
colleges. 

Good John Berridge, of Everton, on hearing of the 
young student, addressed him a letter from Grand- 
chester, in which he says, " If you love Jesus Christ, 
you will not be surprised at the freedom taken with 
you by a stranger, who seeks your acquaintance only 
out of his love to Christ and His people." Their 
friendship became very intimate, and Rowland Hill 
was laid under very considerable obligation to his 
eccentric counsellor. The ministry of Mr. Berridge 
was like an oasis in the spiritual desert of his college 
life. There can be no doubt that the young enthusiast 
derived help and stimulus from the example of his 
more experienced friend, and was encouraged to con- 



Biographical Sketch. 1 3 

secrate even his talent for humour to the service on 
which his heart was set. His sister, in a letter ad- 
dressed to him at this date, says, " My brother and 
myself both think it proper to give you a caution how 
you go too frequently to Mr. B., for, should that be 
iiiscovered, I need not tell you the storm it would 
raise." But Rowland was too intent upon qualifying 
himself for the mission of his life to be deterred by 
the hint of a possible storm. Had he acted upon the 
advice of his too prudent friends he would have been 
as contemptible as the fop who coveted the honour of 
a military uniform, and of whom it was said, — 

** But for these vile guns, 
He would himself have been a soldier." 

With the most laudable devotion Rowland Hill 
sought the conversion of his fellow-students, and had 
the joy of seeing several of them brought to a know- 
ledge of the Saviour. He also went to the villages in 
the vicinity of Cambridge and preached the gospel 
wherever he could command an audience; he even 
visited the county jail, and sought out the sick poor 
in their homes. In this way he gained, by experi- 
ence, a wisdom which characterized the labours of 
his maturer years. The storm, which his sister 
feared, soon became more threatening, for the college 



14 The Rev, Rowland HilL 

authorities condemned his labours as irregular, and 
threatened him with immediate expulsion. He now 
appealed to Mr. Whitefield for advice, from whose 
reply we quote the following sentences: — "About 
thirty-four years ago the master of Pembroke, where 
I was educated, took me to task for visiting the sick 
and going to the prisons. . . I would not have you 
give way — no, not for a moment; the storm is too 
great to hold long : visiting the sick and imprisoned, 
and instructing the ignorant, are the very vitals of 
true and undefiled religion. If threatened, denied 
degree, or expelled for this, it will be the best degree 
you can take. I have seen the dreadful consequences^ 
of giving way and looking back. Now is the time to 
prove the strength of Jesus yours. If opposition did 
not so much abound, your consolations would not sa 
much abound." 

With the hearty God speed of Whitefield, the ap- 
proval of his own conscience, and the smile of heaven, 
Rowland resolved to pursue his course, and manfully 
brave the opposition of the college authorities. His 
diary contains the following record of his attempt ta 
preach the gospel : — " In a bam for the first time, 
with much comfort. God send, if I am to live, this 
may not be my last bam : sweet to rejoice anywhere, 
though in a bam. Some gowns-men were there, but 



Biographical Sketch, 1 5 

were permitted to do no more than gnash with their 
teeth." Mr. Sidney says, " To preach Christ he was 
resolved; and it was not his natural disposition to 
yield to any intimidating menaces. The stigmas and 
censures cast upon him, he considered as honours of 
the highest order; and expulsion, or refusal of any 
university privilege, wouM only have driven him at 
once to other scenes of labour, and not to desponding 
silence and obscure repose." 

In the July of the year 1767, he returned home 
for the long vacation, and the opposition of the college 
authorities was now taken up by his parents. Walk- 
ing on the terrace at Hawkstone, when an old man, 
he said, " I have often paced this spot bitterly weep- 
ing, while by most of the inhabitants of yonder house 
I was considered a disgrace to my family." 

He was sad at heart to be misunderstood, but his 
keenest sorrow was felt when his friends resisted his 
laudable attempt to benefit his fellow-men. His 
brother Richard, with scarcely less zeal but with far. 
more prudence, began to preach the gospel to the 
tenants of the estate ; on hearing of which Mr. White- 
field wrote a letter to Rowland, in which the follow- 
ing significant sentences occur : — ** Blessed, for ever 
blessed, be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, for what He has done for your dear brother. 



1 6 The Rev, Rowland Hill, 

A preaching, prison preaching, field preaching esquire^ 
strikes more than all black gowns and lawn sleeves in 
the world. And, if I am not mistaken, the great 
Shepherd and Bishop of souls will let the world, and 
His own children too, know that He will not be pre- 
scribed to in respect to men, or garbs, or places, 
much less will be confined to any order or set of men 
under heaven." 

This was written more than a hundred years ago, 
but the Established Church has not yet learnt the 
lesson, although it has been enforced by the successes 
of men who have never submitted to human ordina- 
tion. 

Returning to college in October 1767, he was more 
determined than ever to devote himself to the grand 
business of soul-winning. He was heartily greeted by 
those to whom his ministry had been made a blessing, 
but there was no abatement of the opposition on the 
part of the authorities. His diary contains the follow- 
ing suggestive prayer : — ** Lord, grant us a deal of 
blessed preaching this next year." The same spirit 
which sought t© hold him in check at Cambridge, 
assumed a more violent form in the sister university 
at Oxford ; no less than six young men being expelled, 
simply because theu: zeal for the glory of God in the 
salvation of souls was not to be smothered by the 



Biographical Sketch. 1 7 

proprieties of university etiquette. The whole case is 
so instructive that we cannot forbear quoting at length 
the judgment which was pronounced by the vice- 
chancellor : — 

"I. It having appeared to me, D. Durell, Vice- 
Chancellor of the University of Oxford, and un- 
doubted Visitor of St. Edmund Hall, within the said 
University, upon due information and examination, 
that James Matthews of the said Hall, had been 
originally brought up to the trade of a weaver, and 
afterwards followed the low occupation of keeping a 
Tap-house; that, afterwards, having connected him- 
self with known Methodists, he did, without any the 
least proficiency in school knowledge, enter of St. 
Edmund Hall aforesaid, with a design to get into holy 
orders ; and that he still continues to be wholly illite- 
rate, incapable of doing the statutable exercises of 
the Hall, and consequently more incapable of being 
qualified for holy orders, for which he had lately 
offered himself a candidate. Moreover, it having 
appeared by his own confession, that he had fre- 
quented illicit conventicles held in a private house in 
the city of Oxford. Therefore I, D. Durell, by virtue 
of my visitatorial power, and with the advice and 
opinion of the Reverend Thomas Randolph, D.D., 
President of C.C.C., and Margaret Professor of 



1 8 TJie Rev. Rowland Hill. 



Divinity in the University ; of the Reverend Thomas 
Fothergill, D.D., Provost of Queen's College ; of the 
Reverend Thomas Nowell, D.D., Principal of St. 
Mary's Hall, and Public Orator ; and of the Rev. 
Francis Atterbury, M.A., senior Proctor of the Uni- 
versity, my several assessors regularly appointed on 
this occasion, do expel the said James Matthews from 
the said Hall, and do hereby pronounce him expelled. 
'*II. It having also appeared to me that Thomas 
Jones of St. Edmund Hall, had been brought up to 
the trade of a barber, which occupation he had 
followed very lately; that he had made but small 
proficiency in learning, and was incapable of per- 
forming the statutable exercises of the said Hall : and 
moreover, it having appeared by his own confession, 
that he had frequented illicit conventicles in a private 
house in this town, and that he had himself held an 
assembly for public worship at Wheat Aston, in which 
he himself, though not in holy orders, had publicly 
expounded the Scriptures to a mixed congregation, 
and offered up extempore prayers. Therefore I, D. 
Durell, by virtue of niy visitatorial power, and with 
the advice and opinion of each and every one of my 
assessors, the reverend persons aforenamed, do expel 
the said Thomas Jones from the said Hall, and 
hereby pronounce him also expelled. 



Biographical Sketch, 19 

**III. It having also appeared to me that Joseph 
Shipman, of St. Edmund Hall aforesaid, had been 
a draper, was very illiterate, and incapable of per- 
forming the statutable exercises of the said Hall. 
Moreover, it having appeared by his own confession, 
that he had expounded publicly, though not in holy 
orders, the Holy Scriptures to a mixed congregation, 
and offered up extempore prayers. Therefore I, D. 
Durell, by virtue of my visitatorial power, and with 
the advice and opinion of each and every one of my 
assessors, the reverend persons aforenamed, do expel 
the said Joseph Shipman from the said Hall, and 
hereby pronounce him also expelled. 

" IV. It having also appeared to me that Erasmus 
Middleton, of St. Edmund Hall aforesaid, by his 
own confession, h^d formerly officiated in the chapel 
of ease belonging to the parish of Chevely, in the 
county of Berks, not being in holy orders; that he 
had been rejected from holy orders by the Bishop of 
Hereford, for the said offence ; that he was discarded 
by his father for being connected with the people 
-called Methodists; and that he is still under his 
father's displeasure for the same. Moreover it having 
appeared by credible witnesses, that he is still con- 
nected with the said people, and professes their doc- 
trines, — viz., that faith without works is the sole 



20 The Rev, Rowland Hill, 

condition of salvation ; that there is no necessity of 
works ; that the immediate impulse of the Spirit is to 
be waited for. Therefore I, D. Durell, by virtue of 
my visitatorial power, and with the advice and opinion 
of each and every one of my assessors, the reverend 
persons afore-mentioned, do expel the said Erasmus- 
Middleton from the said Hall, and hereby pronounce 
him also expelled. 

" V. It having also appeared to me that Benjamin 
Kay of the said Hall, by his own confession, had 
frequented illicit conventicles in a private house in 
this town, where he had heard extempore prayers- 
frequently offered up by one Hewett, a staymaker* 
Moreover, it having been proved by sufficient evi- 
dence that he held Methodistical principles, — viz., 
the doctrine of absolute election ; that the Spirit of 
God works irresistibly; that once a child of God, 
always a child of God ; that he had endeavoured ta 
instil the same principles into others, and exhorted 
them to continue steadfast in them against all opposi- 
tion. Therefore I, D. Durell, by virtue of my visita- 
torial power, and with the advice and opinion of each 
and every one of my assessors, the reverend persons- 
before-mentioned, do expel the said Benjamin Kay from 
the said Hall, and hereby pronounce him also expelled. 

"VI. It having also appeared to me that Thomas 



Biographical Sketch, 21 



Orove, of St. Edmund Hall aforesaid, though not in holy 
orders, had, by his own confession, lately preached to 
an assembly of people called Methodists in a barn, 
and had offered up extempore prayers in that congre- 
gation. Therefore I, D. Durell, by my visitatorial 
power, and with the advice and opinion of each and 
every one of my assessors, the reverend persons afore- 
named, do expel the said Thomas Grove from the said 
Hall, and hereby pronounce him also expelled." 

This act of intolerance provoked a violent con- 
troversy, the cause of the expelled students being ably 
defended by Mr. Richard Hill, Mr. Whitefield, and 
others. It was shrewdly observed by one of the 
heads of houses present at the trial: "As these six 
:gentlemen were expelled for having too much religion, 
it would be very proper to inquire into the conduct of 
«ome who had too little." To what lengths will not 
bigotry go when inflamed by jealousy? Had these 
grave professors never read the Saviour's anathema 
pronounced on those, " who offend one of His little 
ones ? '* Were they ignorant of the rebuke which He 
administered to their intolerant prototypes, " He that 
is not against us is on our side " ? When men cut a 
■channel along which the river of life shall flow, they 
would rather dam it up at the spring head, than allow 



22 TJte Rev. Rowland Hill. 

it \o overflow the boundaries they have defined. A 
writer in the Monthly Review of June, 1768, con- 
gratulates the supporters of the Establishment by this 
*'able vindication of orthodoxy,*' and adds, '* The 
progress of Methodism amongst us is now become so 
considerable, that it seems to be high time for rational 
religion and common sense to keep a good watch, 
and defend themselves against its encroachments, lest 
we again be overwhelmed by an inundation of pious- 
barbarism, worse than that of those spiritual Goths 
and Vandals, the monks." We shall not be convicted 
of a breach of charity if we say that this jealousy of 
innovation on the part of many of the supporters of 
the National Church exists to-day, in all its intensity, 
and only the strength of Nonconformity prevents its 
exhibition ? The expulsion of these young men, with 
whom Rowland Hill had maintained a friendly cor- 
respondence, did not deter him from the course he 
was pursuing, nor weaken his attachment to the Church.^ 
We confess our utter inability to solve the enigma, 
how men of undoubted piety and apostolic zeal ca» 
submit to the restraints of any ecclesiastical system. 

On completing his academic career, graduating 
B.A. in 1769 and M.A. three years later, Rowland 
Hill sought ordination; but he says, "For visiting 
the sick and imprisoned, and expounding the Scrip- 



Biographical Sketch, 23 

tures in private houses, I met with no less than six 
refusals before I gained admission into the Established 
Church ; but, blessed be God, all this proved for the 
furtherance of the Gospel." 

He was too honest to compromise his conscience 
by mental reservation, and too heroic to maintain his 
social status and seek for worldly advancement by 
the surrender of his liberty to preach the gospel as 
opportimity offered. His father now reduced his 
annual allowance, with the hope of diverting him 
from his erratic career, and inducing obedience to 
order and regularity ; but, with a Divine commission 
to *' go into the world and preach the gospel to every 
creature," — z. commission authenticated by his grand 
success — the opposition of friend and foe only fired his 
heroism, and confirmed his determination to maintain 
his ground at all hazards. **Be not anxious about 
orders," wrote Mr. Berridge to him at this juncture, 
**they will come as soon as wanted; nor be anxious 
about anything but to do the Lord's will, and to do 
the Lord's work." Literally ** without purse or scrip*' 
he went forth, journeying from place to place on a 
little pony, the money for the purchase of which was 
collected by the Rev. Cornelius Winter. When he 
** landed, on his return to Bristol, on one occasion, 
and had paid the passage across the Severn for him- 



24 Tlie Rev, Rowland Hill. 

self and his pony, he had not sufficient left in his 
purse to procure a night's lodging, and he went on, 
he knew not whither, hungry and exhausted." But 
his trust was in the living God, and in his deepest 
extremity he found adequate provision for his need. 
We are conscious of a thrill of admiration for a young 
man who could thus sacrifice all for Christ and the 
good of his fellow-men. His diary about this time 
abounds with the most 'interesting entries, such as the 
following : — " There was such a noise with beating of 
pans, shovels, etc., blowing of horns and ringing "of 
bells, that I could scarce hear myself speak. Though 
we were pelted with much dirt, eggs, etc., I was 
enabled to preach out my sermon." 

The vicar of Everton, who is worthy of being called 
Bishop Berridge for the encouragement and help he 
gave his zealous prottge^ wrote to him again as 
follows : — " I think your chief work for a season will 
be to break up fallow ground. This suits the accent 
of your voice at present. God will give you other 
tongues when they are wanted ; but now He sends you 
out to thrash the mountains, and a glorious thrashing 
it is. Go forth, my dear Rowley, wherever you are 
invited, into the devil's territories; carry the Re- 
deemer's standard along with you; and blow the 
Gospel trumpet boldly, fearing nothing yourself. If 



Biographical Sketch, 25 

jou meet with success, as I trust you will, expect 
clamour and threats from the world, and a little 
venom now and then from the children. These 
l)itter herbs make good sauce for a yoimg recruiting 
sergeant, whose heart would be lifted up with pride 
if it was not kept down by these pressures." 

The old baronet now resolved to use further means 
to induce his son Rowland to discontinue preaching, 
as Richard, had already done. For this purpose 
he despatched Richard to go in search of Rowland. 
*On his arrival at Bristol he heard that Rowland had 
gone to Kingswood to preach to the colliers. He 
immediately followed, and found him surrounded 
by an immense multitude of these long neglected 
people, who were listening with the greatest interest 
to the solemn appeals he made to their consciences. 
Rowland saw his brother, and guessing his errand, 
•only proceeded with increased earnestness ; and such 
was the power of his address, that the black faces of 
the poor colliers soon exhibited innumerable channels 
of tears. Richard was much affected by this unusual 
scene, and Rowland, taking advantage of his emotion, 
announced, at the conclusion of the service, " My 
brother, Richard Hill, Esq., will preach here at this 
time to-morrow." Instead of returning in triumph 
with the young renegade, Richard honoured this un- 



26 Tlie Rev, Rowland Hill, 

expected call to preach, and became his brother's 
coadjutor in the very work he was commissioned to 
persuade him to relinquish. 

When Rowland was again urged to seek ordination 
and secure a living in the Church, he said, *' My desire 
is to win souls, not livings ; and if I can secure the 
bees I care not who gets the hives." 

On the 23rd of May, 1773, he was married at 
Marylebone Church, and immediately afterwards left 
town, and was ordained deacon by the Bishop of Bath 
and Wells, who was sufficiently cautious not to impose 
upon the candidate ^^any condition whatever,^' He 
was appointed curate of the little parish of Kingston, 
near Taunton, in Somersetshire, where he remained 
about twelve months, 

** Passing rich on forty pounds a year." 

His activity and zeal in the discharge of his duties- 
soon provoked opposition. It was here that he 
offended the farmers of his congregation by sapng 
" they were as bad as their very pigs." As they com- 
plained that he ranted so loudly that he could be 
heard through the village, the next time he saw 
Hodge asleep in his pew, he exclaimed, "What! 
shall we not lift up our voice like a trumpet, and cry 
aloud and spare not, when, with all our ranting, 



Biographical Sketch, 27 

sinners can sleep and be damned under our very 
sermons?" 

The Bishop of Carlisle now promised to admit him 
to priests' orders, but was commanded by an order 
from the Archbishop of York ''not to admit him to a 
further grade in the Church, on account of his per- 
petual irregularity." 

Mr. Hiirs disappointment is referred to in his 
diary : — *^ Missing of full orders, I thought it was my 
duty again to begin my public labours as usual.'* 
Referring to this failure, he used to say to his friends 
that he ** ran off with only one ecclesiastical boot on." 

He could now enter more fully into the work of an 
itinerant than before, for the fortune acquired by his^ 
marriage enabled him to bear the expenses incurred 
in travelling from place to place in his work of preach- 
ing the gospel. It would be impossible even .to 
enumerate the places he visited during this campaign, 
much less to record the incidents which occurred. 
"On one occasion an attempt had been made to 
persuade him not to go to Richmond, because a party 
of young men had hired a boat and were coming down 
the river with the determination to draw him through 
the water. His feelings may be conceived when in- 
formed the boat was upset, and that the poor mis- 
guided enemies of his ministry had all entered another 



^8 The Rev, Rowland Hill, 

world." Mrs. Hill accompanied him in most of his 
preaching expeditions, and their journeys were often 
relieved by remarkable adventures. Journeying to- 
wards London, on one occasion, they were stopped 
by a party of highwaymen. "I stood up in the 
carriage," he says, "and made all the outrageous noises 
I could think of, which frightened the fellows almost 
out of then* wits, and one of them said, * We have 
stopped the devil by mistake, and had better be off.' " 
The stories which refer to his treatment of his wife 
are pure inventions. When told of the remark he 
was reported to have made from the pulpit respecting 
her bonnet, he exclaimed, "It is an abominable 
untruth, derogatory to my character as a Christian and 
a gentleman. They would make me out a bear." 
** Sir," he said to his friend, Mr. Jones, "I hope that 
the Christian minister, if not the gentleman, always 
prevented me from making my wife a laughing-stock 
for the amusement of the vulgar." Nothing was more 
•calculated to provoke his indignation than the stories 
which were fabricated respecting him. Those who 
were most intimate with him bear unequivocal testi- 
mony to the manliness of his character and the 
consistency of his conduct. He was scrupulously 
conscientious in everything, and only violated the 
conventionalities of polite life when they prevented 



Biographical Sketch. 2^ 

the realization of his all-absorbing aim. When he 
heard of a slanderous report which the industrious 
scandal-mongers had circulated respecting him, he 
said, "I will so live that nobody will believe it." 
Many deserve the gravest censures for traducing the 
characters of others. Few who attain the eminence 
which popularity commands escape being annoyed 
and insulted by the venomous stings of slanderous 
tongues. Referring to some who had given currency 
to certain baseless stories respecting him, his indigna- 
tion found expression in the following language : — **I 
have humbled myself in following these gentry in lan- 
guage almost as low as their own ; like eels, they are 
now at liberty to sink into their own mud and dirt as 
their safest place of refuge." 

For a period of ten years he continued his itinerant 
labours. His ministry was attended by vast crowds ; 
the conversions were numerous, and many of them 
were of a very remarkable character. In a letter to 
the Rev. David Simpson of Macclesfield, he says : — 
** Our greatest honour is to be sufferers for our God. 
No cross, no crown. For myself, I bless the Lord I 
am entirely His, and daily find the portion of the 
outcast is a happy one indeed. Thousands in this 
city flock to hear, yet multitudes go away for want of 
room. * Ecclesiastics roar,' as Luther says, *like bears 



30 The Rev. Rowland Hill 

struck in the snout,' yet this, they know, is all they 
can do. Your share of humility and diffidence I long 
for exceedingly ; yet a little courage to face the devil 
may not be amiss. The Lord knows how difficult it 
is to keep measures with the wretched, much-to-be- 
pitied church governors at the present day." 

Rowland Hill thus proved himself to be a worthy 
member of the Methodist party, which commenced 
with the labours of \Vhitefield and the Wesleys. He 
traversed the three kingdoms, preaching the gospel, 
and found a joy in his labours which more than com- 
pensated the sorrow he endured from family -and 
priestly persecutions. Hampstead Heath and London 
Fields in the north, and Kennington Common and 
Blackheath in the south, were his favourite places for 
open-air services in London. Preaching on Hamp- 
stead Heath on one occasion, a shower of rain began 
to fall, and the crowd became somewhat restless. He 
very deliberately put on his hat, and said, — " Excuse 
my hat, friends ; but do not let the rain alarm us so 
much. What would the condemned souls in Tophet*s 
parched pit give for a single drop of this consolatory 
rain that falleth upon our delightful land, and makes 
fruitful our bumt-up fields? " 

At a place near Redruth, in Cornwall, there is an 
amphitheatre formed by the falling in of a mine. 



Biographical Sketch, 31 

Here Wesley and Nelson preached to vast congrega- 
tions, and, meeting with no one to show them hos- 
pitality " they slept on the ground for want of lodging, 
and picked blackberries to satisfy their hunger.** 
Here also Rowland Hill proclaimed the message of 
mercy to listening thousands. At another time, 
preaching in a field near Wrexham, one of those 
ludicrous incidents occurred which are fatal to the 
gravity and self-possession of a preacher, and which 
threaten to imperil his success. ** Near the spot there 
was a tenter-field, on which a fine kind of thread, or 
yam, was exposed to the air. Several women, who 
were taking care of it, observing a number of persons 
assembling together, were tempted to quit their employ 
for a short season. The gate of the field was left 
open, and several large pigs walked in. In a few 
moments the intruders got the iron, which is pierced 
through their snouts, entangled in the twine, and the 
more they shook, the more they found themselves 
imprisoned. The loud cries of the pigs alarmed the 
women, who soon found out the mischief which had 
been done. They ran to the spot, and a general pur- 
suit took place. Mr. Hill, while preaching, observed 
several of the women falling upon the poor animals, 
turning them on their backs, and then endeavouring 
to disentangle their heads from the twine. This pro- 



32 The Rev, Rowland HilL 

duced considerable amusement, and for a time inter- 
fered with the service." 

Acknowledgments of good received were often sent 
in ; also requests for special prayer. As his preaching 
engagements necessarily caused him to travel exten- 
sively in various directions, he constantly availed 
himself of the advantage of his carriage and horses. 
On one occasion a rigid Sabbatarian resorted to a 
very questionable expedient for rebuking Mr. Hill,, 
and sent in a request for prayer. Mr. Hill took it » 
and began : — " * The prayers of this congregation are 
desired '" Having proceeded thus far, he ex- 
claimed, " Umph ! * for ' umph ! well, I suppose I 

must finish what I have begun — * for the Rev. Rowland 
Hill, that he will not go riding about in his carriage 
on a Sunday ! ' " Any ordinary man would have beea 
disconcerted, but he looked up very coolly and said, 
" If the writer of this piece of folly and impertinence 
is in the congregation, and will go into the vestry after 
the service, and let me put a saddle on his back, I 
will ride him home instead of going in my carriage. "^ 
When his nephew, Mr. Sidney, asked him if this story 
were true, he replied,—" Aye, that it is, true enough. 
You know I could not call him a donkey in plain 
terms.'* 

Holding Calvinistic views, Rowland Hill took part 



Biographical Sketch, 33 

with Toplady against Fletcher and Wesley in the con- 
troversy then raging. That time and temper should 
have been sacrificed to the purposes of controversy 
by such estimable men, who were agreed on funda- 
mental doctrines, when all their energies were required 
to fight the common battle against sin, is greatly to 
be deplored; but with all his Calvinism, Mr. Hill 
preached a fiiU and free gospel, and adorned the 
doctrines he professed, by the virtues of a holy cha- 
racter. Of course, he was charged with being incon- 
sistent, but, is it not the truest consistency to embrace 
the whole of Divine revelation, without attempting to 
reconcile the seeming difference between the univer- 
sality of the gospel call and its limited application ? 
Election and free agency appear to us as two parallel 
lines, but as they have an inclination towards each 
other, which we, perhaps, cannot detect, they must meet 
in the throne of the Eternal. Wesley and Fletcher 
were at the end of one line, preaching salvation by 
grace, but contemplating man as a free agent ; Hill 
and Toplady were at the end of the other, preaching 
the same gospel, but regarding God as Sovereign. 
Had they looked above the clouds of controversy, 
they would have been assured that the converging 
lines would be seen to meet in the perfected scheme 
of Divine redemption. Had Rowland Hill followed 

3 



34 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

the counsel of his eminent prototype, John Berridge, 
he would have spared himself the sorrow which the 
controversy involved. " My dear friend," he wrote, 
" keep out of all controversy, and wage no war but 
with the devil" The sincerity of the partisans is most 
apparent, and they all lived to regret, we believe, the 
unchristian temper into which they were sometimes 
betrayed. We apologize for neither party, but rather 
prefer to draw the veil of charity over the most pain- 
ful episode in the histories of some of the truest men 
who have laboured in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
Rowland Hill was as severely blamed by the high 
doctrinalists for not preaching to the elect only, as he 
was by the Arminians for preaching too much Calvin- 
ism. When someone complained that he did not 
preach to the elect only, he said, " I don't know them, 
or I would preach to them. Have the goodness to 
mark them with a bit of chalk, and then I'll talk to 
them!" 

Notwithstanding his love of itinerant preaching, 
Mr. Hill at times felt the advantage that would be 
gained from a regular sphere of labour. He had 
origmally contemplated exercising his ministry within 
the pale of the Established Church, but now he felt he 
was destined to occupy a wider field of service. 

The south of London, which shared but few of the 



Biographical Sketch, 35 

advantages of the north, was regarded by Rowland 
Hill as presenting a fine sphere of labour, and during 
the Gordon riots in 1780, he frequently addressed as 
many as twenty thousand people in St. George's Fields. 
The principal chapels in the north were the Tabernacle 
in Moorfields, built for Mr. Whitefield, and opened in 
^753 ^ the Tabernacle in Tottenham Court Road, 
opened in 1756 (Whitefield's funeral sermon was 
preached here in 1770 by John Wesley) ; Mr. Wesley's 
Chapel in the City Road, opened in 1777 ; Spa Fields 
Chapel, originally built for a place of amusement, and 
ultimately purchased by the Countess of Huntingdon 
in 1779. The pulpits of these chapels, with the 
-exception of Wesley's, were open to Mr. Hill, and on 
the death of Mr. Whitefield in 1770, he was spoken 
of as his probable successor. But while Mr. Hill 
had access to many of the Dissenting pulpits, he was 
'denied the same privilege in the chapels belonging to 
the Countess of Huntingdon. Although she rejoiced 
in the success of his labours, her ladyship forbade him 
the use of her chapels, and the name of Mr. Hill is 
mentioned in her ladyship's will as one of the men 
who were not to be appointed or permitted to preach 
in any of her chapels. 

Soon after the Gordon riots, the earnestness of Mr. 
Hill in proclaiming the gospel in the south of London 



36 The Rev, Rowland Hill, 

induced some persons of influence to come forward 
and propose the erection of a large chapel in that 
particular neighbourhood, where Mr. Hill might labour 
regularly, unfettered by ecclesiastical restraints. The 
site was fixed in the Blackfriars Road, and the first 
stone of the building, known throughout the religious 
world as "Surrey Chapel,'* was laid on the 24th of 
June, 1782, and opened on Whit Sunday, June 8, 
1783, Mr. Hill preaching from the text, "We preach 
Christ crucified." 

This was the key-note of his ministry, the harmonies 
of which had thrilled the hearts of multitudes through- 
out the country who had listened to his preachings 
Referring to the erection of Surrey Chapel, the Rev. 
Dr. AUon says,* " Such movements are the invariable 
product of free and earnest spiritual life ; and they are 
almost as invariably opposed by existing conventional 
churches ; but they nevertheless belong to the class of 
things of which the influence upon the spiritual life of 
the Church, as well as upon the spiritual life of the 
world, is most powerful and precious. That they are 
so invariably denounced, and covered with the oppro- 
brium of lawlessness and dissent, is not so much to 
their reproach as to the reproach of those who refuse 



' Life of James Sherman," p. 243. 



Biographical Sketch, 37 

to recognise the necessity and legitimacy of such out- 
bursts of zealous individuality. The Church of Rome, 
with all its relentless imiformity, has been wiser in this 
respect. It has known how to utiUse what the 
Established Church of England has always excom- 
municated and converted into a dangerous antagonism. 
It has not compelled all its reformers to be Dissenters. 
Perhaps in God*s wonderful government of the world 
and the Church, full of imperfection and selfishness as 
they are, the differences, and even strifes of the 
churches are the only practicable means for the main- 
tainance of truth and of spiritual life." And then he 
adds, " So long as the only notion of Christian unity 
is that all men shall come to think and worship as we 
do, so long will Christian unity be impossible j for so 
long shall we cherish the very essence of egotistical 
selfishness and infallibility, even while we are demand- 
ing of our brother that he be cast out. It is much 
easier to demand Catholicity in others than to exercise 
it ourselves." 

Mr. Berridge, happening to be in London at the 
time the first meeting was held to determine the site 
for Surrey Chapel, thus wrote to the Countess of 
Huntingdon : — " I am persuaded that your ladyship 
will rejoice that dear Rowley is going, with the Lord's 
help, to erect a standard for the gospel in the very 



38 Tlu Rev, Rowland Hill, 

middle of the devil's territories in London. What a 
bellowing and a clamour the old enemy will make at 
this fresh invasion of his kingdom ! But he may storm 
and rage and persecute ; Christ's cause must and will 
prevail over every opposition men or devils can raise. 
A meeting has been held, and I am told the place 
fixed upon is one of the worst spots in London, the 
very paradise of devils. This much is satisfactory. 
Fine soil for ploughing and sowing ! By-and-bye^ 
my lady, we shall hear of the reaping time, the har-^ 
vest, and the harvest home. How glorious will be 
the triumphs of the gospel in that place ! I am now 
looking every day to hear that the foundation stone 
has been laid, and the King of Zion consecrating the 
spot by the conversion of souls to Himself. I need- 
not remind your dear ladyship to pour forth a volley 
of prayers for the success of this sanctuary." 

In replying, her ladyship bears the following testi- 
mony :—** I, who have known Mr. Hill from his first 
setting out, can testify that no man ever engaged with 
more heartfelt earnestness in bringing captives from 
the strongholds of Satan into the glorious liberty of 
the gospel of our Emmanuel, and it will require all 
the energies of his zealous and enterprising spirit to* 
erect the standard of the cross in that part of London,, 
where ignorance and depravity prevail to such aik 



Biographical Sketch, 39 

awful degree. Though I have seen sufficient cause to 
exclude him from serving in my chapels for the 
present, yet I cordially rejoice in the success that has 
attended his faithful labours." 

The appointment of Mr. Hill as minister of Surrey 
Chapel was confirmed by the trustees, in whom the 
choice of a minister was invested. His evangelistic 
labours were not restricted, however, when he assumed 
the pastoral office, for he claimed the liberty of being 
absent for six months of the year, that he might evan- 
gelize throughout the country. He facetiously described 
himself as "the rector of Surrey Chapel, vicar of 
Wotton-under-edge, and curate of all the fields and 
lanes throughout England and Wales.** The desire 
he expressed in the opening sentences of the first 
sermon he preached has become an answered prayer, 
"that the worship of God in Surrey Chapel might 
prove the beginning of happy days to thousands who 
were already bom of God, and the cause of future joy 
to tens of thousands who were then dead in trespasses 
and sins." 

Wotton-under-edge in Gloucestershire, where Mr. 
Hill had already erected a house and chapel, and 
where he ministered during a portion of the time he 
was absent from London, is thus described by his 
nephew, Mr. Sidney: — "Opposite the house is the 



40 The Rev. Rowland Hill, 

most perfect amphitheatre of hill, three parts of which 
is clothed with a hanging wood of exquisite variety 
of foliage, enclosing a dale of the richest fertility. 
The summit of a hill on the left of the house com- 
mands a landscape on which Nature has. lavished 
her choicest attractions. The Welsh mountains, the 
Malvern hills, the rich vale of Berkley, the broad 
course of the silvery and majestic Severn, and a fore- 
ground of grassy knolls and hanging woods, form the 
principal features of a scene in which all are blended 
in the loveliest harmony and proportions. In front 
of the house, a rocky path winding through a sloping 
wood of beech, breaks it, with its white and narrow 
streaks, into clusters of great beauty and variety. On 
the Sabbath this road teemed with human beings, 
coming from the lovely glens around to hear the word 
of life from the lips of their beloved minister." 

Robert Hall visited his friend in this rural retreat, 
and remarked to him, — " Sir, it is the most paradisai- 
cal spot I was ever in." 

In selecting an assistant for the chapel at Wotton, 
towards the close of his life, Mr. Hill thus describes 
the man on whom his heart was set, and the preacher 
the people wanted to hear. He says, — " They don't 
want a dictionary^ preacher, for they cannot under- 
stand him; nor a dashing preacher, for they will 



Biographical Sketch. 41 

•despise him; nor a bad-tempered preacher, for he 
will divide them ; but a man with a good loud voice, 
. a disposition to be taught, with brains in his head, 
and grace in his heart.'* For fifteen years the Rev. 
Theophilus Jones was a faithftil servant of the Church, 
a successful soul-winner, and an acceptable supply at 
Surrey Chapel. His voice was so powerful that he 
could be heard some distance from the chapel on a 
summer's evening, when the windows were open. 
The following letter from the pen of Rowland Hill 
describes the man : — " If you were to continue the 
. same plain bawling Welshman you are now, in your 
present situation, I might observe, go on; never mind 
breaking grammar, if the Lord enables you to break 
hearts, and bring souls to Christ; but if you could 
acquire a little more culture, without losing any of 
your zeal and holy simplicity of heart, your usefulness 
might be more extended. I would not give you a 
single sixpence to have your tongue dressed at any of 
our modem academies : they are, in general, sad seul- 
starvation places. Only take the hint, and work on, 
. and blunder on as hard and as fast as you can.*' 
The chapel at Wotton in which Mr. Hill preached 
was pulled down a few years ago, and a structure in 
. accordance with modem ideas erected on its site. 
It may be regretted by some that Surrey Chapel 



42 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

was not affiliated to either of the existing denomina- 
tions. Doubtless Mr. Hill considered it would have 
been opposed to the Catholicity, for which he con- 
tended, to make it a part of any denominational 
system. He sought, however, to cultivate fraternal 
relations with all the sects, without being absorbed by 
any one of them. It was his proud boast that Evan- 
gelical ministers of all communions were free to 
preach in his pulpit. Venn, Scott, Berridge, and 
Pentycross, were some of the eminent Episcopalians 
who preached at Surrey Chapel during the earlier 
years of its history ; and Jay, Sibree, Bull and James^ 
were as frequently found in the list of preachers, as 
representing the Dissenters. 

The liturgical service of the Church of England 
was adopted from the beginning, and its use, with 
slight modification, has been continued to the present 
day. As an independent Church it was free to adopt 
this form of service, but whether the advantages justi- 
fied the expedient may admit of some doubt. The 
liturgical part of the Service was rendered by an 
assistant, and Mr. Rowland Hill left ;^5o per annum 
that the office might be maintained after his decease. 
This amount is now part of the stipend of the assist- 
ant minister. Mr. Hill's salary at Surrey Chapel 
never exceeded \;£'3oo per annum, and out of this. 



Biographical Sketch. 43. 

sum he paid the supplies during his summer vacation. 
When told that someone had remarked he must be 
making a good thing out of his chapels, he replied, — 
" Well, let him pay my travelling expenses for one 
year, and he shall have all my gains, I promise him."^ 
He appears to have been entirely free from anything 
like a sordid motive, and this gave him a coign of 
'vantage in denouncing the hirelings who cared more 
for the wool than the well-being of the flock. He 
consecrated the whole of the fortune he acquired on 
the death of his father to the work in which he was- 
engaged, and found in the sacrifice a joy to which 
those who only live to get are total strangers. It was 
a common saying with him, " The best of living is ta 
live for others." 

We get a glimpse of Rowland Hill's theory of 
Church government in his journal of a Tour through 
the North of England and parts of Scotland^ in which* 
he says, " I like the idea of minister and elders. The 
elders, like aldermen, or eldermen of a city, should 
be representatives of the younger members of the 
Church, whose general approbation should at all times 
be attended to. Government should be a delegated 
business, and a few, well chosen, always accomplish 
the best work. Now it should rest with these to 
attend to the arrangement of the congregation, while 



44 ^-^ ^^* Rowland Hill. 

the people at large should be heard on every just 
occasion. This modified independency is far more 
conducive to order and good government than the 
system which concedes the power to the entire Church, 
and demands that the vote of the Church be taken 
upon every question of petty detail.'* He facetiously 
remarked on one occasion, "I do not love to be 
governed in the Church by old women and servant 
girls.'* 

From its commencement, Surrey Chapel has been 
the centre of a system of benevolent societies, designed 
to reach the various classes of the community. The 
Benevolent Society, foimded in the year 1784, has for 
its object the relief and instruction of the sick poor 
in their own houses, by the active members of the 
Church. Each visitor is allowed, for every candidate 
on his list, two shillings per week, and on the occasion 
of each visit he is expected to read and pray with the 
sufferer and offer appropriate counsel. This society 
has visited, to the year 1876, upwards of 90,000 cases, 
.and has disbursed ;£'4o,ooo. 

The first Sunday-school in the metropolis was 
established by Rowland Hill, soon after the opening 
of Surrey Chapel. It was at first served by paid 
teachers, but this method was soon superseded by 
voluntary instruction. In 1799 three or four other 



Biographical Sketch, 45. 

schools, which had been established in various parts 
of Southwark, chiefly through the zeal of Thomas- 
Cranfield, a person in humble life, but endowed with 
strong faith, were incorporated with Mr. Hill's school 
at Surrey Chapel, under the title of the " Southwark 
Sunday School Society," which still exists. The 
average number of children taught is now 4000, and 
the thirteen schools are still conducted with unabated 
vigour. One superintendent maintained his post for 
upwards of sixty years, and several of the officers at 
the present time have been connected with the schools^ 
for nearly the same period. 

The School of Industry, for the clothing and educa- 
tion of twenty-four girls, and the almshouses for as- 
many poor women, are two of the most valuable 
institutions in connection with Surrey Chapel. An 
amusing incident in connection with Mr. Hill, and 
which exhibits his ready insight into character, occurred 
at one of the Church meetings, when an aged female 
wished to qualify herself for admission to an alms- 
house by becoming a member of the Church. 

** So you wish to join the Church ? " 

"If you please, sir." 

"Where have you been accustomed to hear the 
Gospel?" 

" At your blessed chapel, sir." 



^6 The Rev, Rowland HilL 

*' Oh ! indeed, at my blessed chapel ; dear me ! 
And how long have you attended with us ? " 

** For several years." 

" Do you think you have got any good by attending 
the chapel?" 

^* Oh ! yes, sir. I have had many blessed seasons." 

" Indeed ! Under whose ministry do you think 
jrou were led to feel yourself to be a sinner ? " 

" Under your blessed ministry." 

" Indeed ! and do you think your heart is pretty 
good?'' 

" Oh, no, sir ; it is a very bad one." 

" What ! and do you come here with your bad 
heart, and wish to join the Church ? " 

" Oh, sir ! I mean that my heart is not worse than 
others ; it is pretty good on the whole ! " 

** Indeed ! that's more than I can say ; I'm sure 
mine's bad enough. Well, have you heard that we 
-are going to build some blessed almshouses ? " 

"Yes, sir, I have." 

" Should you like to have one of them ? " 

Dropping a very low courtesy, she replied, — 

"Yes, sir, if you please." 

** I thought so. You may go about your business, 
jny friend ; you won't do for us." 

The severity of this treatment was doubtless justified 



Biographical Sketch. 47 

hy Mr. HilFs knowledge of the applicant, and the 
^suspicion of her ulterior object 



We demur to the truth of the observation frequently 
made, that Rowland Hill could not have succeeded in 
the present day. We believe he would have been 
successful in any age, for he possessed the attribute of 
greatness, and wisely adapted himself to the circum- 
stances of the sphere in which his lot was cast and the 
nature of the commission he was called to fulfil. Car- 
lyle, very truly, says, " The hero can be prophet, king, 
priest, or what you will, according to the world he finds 
himself bom into. I confess I have no notion of a 
truly great man that could not be all sorts of men." 
It is utterly impossible to predicate with any degree of 
certainty the success or failure of a man in any given 
age or sphere. 

Rowland Hill was called to be a preacher when 
evangelical religion was but little prized by the or- 
dained ministers of the National Church. Many of 
them were grossly negligent of their sacred duties, and 
the immorality of others was a standing disgrace. The 
people were kept in gross ignorance of the vital doc- 
trines of Christianity, and their conduct was scarcely 
influenced for good by the teachers appointed by the 



48 The Rev, Rowland Hill, 

State ; their social condition was deplorable to the last 
degree. 

A man of simple faith and unaffected piety, despis- 
ing cant, on the one hand, and guarding against that 
questionable pietism on the other which shrinks from 
revealing itself by a frank avowal, Mr. Hill found the 
fields "white unto harvest," and brought all the energies 
of his redeemed manhood to bear upon the work to- 
which he had received an indisputable call He was 
a living man, and living men must speak ; he was in- 
tensely earnest, and earnestness is never dumb. From 
the moment of his conversion to the latest hour of his 
life he despised that coward reticence by which many 
Christians, otherwise estimable, hide their light under 
a bushel and weaken the testimony to the grace of 
God. Not that he obtruded his piety by pharisaic 
boasting or the glib use of an unctuous phraseology. 
The language of his lips had full commerce with the 
emotions of his heart, and the testimony of his minis- 
try was the faithful index to his saintly character. 

His views of truth were eminently evangelical and 
decidedly Calvinistic. The narrowness of the Bible 
was sufficiently broad for the compass of his creed, 
and he preferred the simplest utterance of inspired 
revelation to the profoundest speculations of an un- 
sanctified philosophy. He was intolerant of that 



Biographical Sketch, 49 

rationalistic spirit, which has developed so rapidly 
of late years, and by which the gospel is obscured 
and the truth of God is made of none effect. The 
substance of his preaching was expressed by the 
alliterative trinity — Ruin by the fall. Redemption by 
the Cross of Christ, and Regeneration by the Holy 
Ghost When examining a young man for the minis- 
try, he said, — " WeU, the gospel is a good milch cow, 
she gives plenty of milk. I never write my sermons. 
I first give a pull at justification, then a plug at adop- 
tion, and, afterwards a bit at sanctification ; and so, in 
one way or the other, 1 fill my pail with the gospel 
milk." 

The success of his ministry is sufficient evidence, we 
think, that such preaching commands the Divine ap- 
proval. Ministers may moralize till they are dumb, 
but casuistry never saved a soul from death ; they may 
philosophise till the "crack of doom," but theory never 
won a soul to Christ The people may be beguiled 
into the profession of religion by the subtie sophistries 
of a rationalistic theology, the fascinating enchant- 
ments of an ornate ritual, and the beauties of an artistic 
symbolism ; but a profession is of no value unless it 
be the exponent of an inner life. ** If any man have 
not the spirit of Christ, he is none of His." 

He was an extemporaneous preacher, and delivered, 

4 



so The Rev. Roivland HilL 

on an average, three hundred and fifty sermons a year 
for a period of sixty-six years. In speaking of the 
custom of reading sermons he once said, — ** If a min- 
ister, after having duly considered the leading truth of 
his text, would but venture, under the Divine blessing, 
to enforce the subject from the natural ability which 
God may have given him, he would find his heart 
animated by the subject, and preaching would soon 
be his daily delight." 

Doubtless his sermons often lacked method, but this 
must not be attributed to his inability to arrange his 
thoughts in logical order. He knew that no sinner 
was ever savingly impressed by a sermon, considered 
as a whole, but by some striking thought, or pointed 
appeal, unpremeditated perhaps by the preacher, and 
not forming a necessary part of the discourse. "Some 
of you may think," he said to his audience at Surrey 
Chapel on one occasion, "that I am preaching a 
rambling sermon ; but oh, if I should be able to reach 
the heart of a poor rambling sinner, I'm sure you'll 
forgive me." And then he went on to say, — ** Sinner, 
you may ramble from Christ, but we will ramble after 
you and try to bring you back into His fold," 

At the moment these words were being uttered a pick- 
pocket entered the chapel, and his conversion was 
traced to the impression then produced. \Mien one 



Biographical Sketch. S I 

of his congregation remarked to him, — " Mr. Hill, you 
have taken us from Dan to Beersheba in your sermon 
to-day,*' he very coolly replied, — "Never inind, my 
friend, it's all holy ground." 

There is no doubt Mr. Hill describes himself in his 
"Village Dialogues," when depicting Mr. Lovegood. 
" If by the sprightliness of his imagination he excited 
a smile of approbation without the least degree of 
levity, he knew how very soon afterwards to excite a 
tear. His preaching was, at times, like the sun, 
brilliant, and even if intervening clouds intercepted 
its bright rays, yet still the warmth was felt, and its 
fertilizing effects were evident. His sentiments were 
elevated and pure. If he descended, it was like the 
swallow, just to dip the tip of his wing in the stream 
and again ascend. After he had taken his text he would, 
for a time, stick to it, and give it a just and correct 
interpretation; though afterwards, from the warmth 
and animated frame of his mind, he would branch out 
so as to surprise his hearers by a brilliancy of thought 
peculiar to himself. His severer hearers would blame 
him for his eccentricities, and call him a rambling 
preacher, though still he was correct in his divinity, 
and well-intentioned in his design; and in all liis ram- 
blings he was ever sure to keep upon holy ground." 

The simplicity of his faith and the sincerity of his 



52 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

.purpose were sustained by prayer. He consecrated 
all his talents at the throne of grace, and maintained the 
vigour of his spiritual life by prayer. It was the potent 
&ctor in the success of his grand life-work, as it is 
the secret of all true success in the work and warfare 
of the Kingdom. The men who have revolutionized 
society by their heroic deeds in the cause of God have 
been mighty through the inspiration of prayer. Paul 
and Luther, Wesley and Whitefield, and the noble army 
of martyrs became bold to dare and strong to do be- 
cause they were men of prayer. 

** More things are wrought by pra3rer 
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice 
Rise, like a fountain, through the night and day. 
For so the whole world is every way 
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God." 

Rowland Hill became so familiar with the art of 
prayer that he was only conscious of a few intervals 
during the day when his heart was not drawn up to 
God in its exercise. He said on one occasion, — " I 
like ejaculatory prayer : it reaches heaven before the 
devil can get a shot at it." He was a living embo- 
diment of Montgomery's charming hymn, and had, 
indeed, proved that, — 

" Prayer is the Christian's vital breath." 



Biographical Sketch. 53 

Sustained by prayer, he was whole-hearted in his 
consecration to the service of Christ and untiring in 
his labours for the good of his fellow-men. Surrey 
Chapel was the centre of his parish, but its boundaries 
were the coast lines of the United Kingdom. He was 
not like a parish water-cart, which may spend itself 
within well defined limits ; he must rather be compared 
to the aerial reservoirs, the clouds, which recognise no 
parochial boundary in their beneficent mission. He 
used to say, — " I always conceived that in preaching 
through England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, I stuck 
close to my parish." 

Charged with a Divine commission, he " went every- 
where preaching the gospel." He wanted no episcopal 
sanction for the limits of his ministry when his Master 
had prescribed **all the world *' as his sphere of ser- 
vice. The system which confines the preaching of the 
gospel to consecrated walls, and sacrifices usefulness to 
propriety, is not according to the mind of Christ. 

With a soul fired with zeal, he brought his natural 
talent for wit and humour to bear upon his work. He 
was no merry-andrew in the pulpit, however, nor did 
he indulge in coarse and random jokes. 

** He was serious in a serious cause," 
and simply supported his heavy artillery of truth with 



54 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

the light musketry of his wit. An intimate friend of 
Cowper, he felt with him, — 

"'Tis pitiful 
To court a grin when you should woo a soul ; 
To break a jest when pity should inspire 
Pathetic inspiration ; and to address 
The skittish fancy with facetious tales 
When sent with God's commission to the heart." 

It is true that he resorted to many novel artifices 
to catch the popular ear; but it was done with such 
consummate skill that they never diverted attention 
firom his grand aim. He once commenced a sermon 
by shouting " Matches ! matches ! matches ! " and 
then he went on to say, " You wonder at my text, but 
this morning, while I was engaged in my study, the 
devil whispered to me, *Ah, Rowland, your zeal is 
indeed noble, and how indefatigably you laboiu: for 
the salvation of souls.* At that very moment a man 
passed under my window, crying matches very lustily, 
and conscience said to me, — * Rowland, you never 
laboured to save souls with half the zeal this man 
does to sell matches." With this introduction, he 
proceeded with his sermon, and the attention, gained 
at the commencement, was held to the close. 

He always preached with an unction and a pathos 
which moved the hearts of the people, and in the 



Biographical Sketch, 5 5 

pulpit his sway was imperial. The most hardened 
trembled under his preaching when he dealt with the 
stem realities of the world to come, and penitents 
were wooed by his touching appeals when he spoke 
of the love of Jesus. Sheridan used to say, "I go 
to hear Rowland Hill because his ideas come red-hot 
from the heart ; *' and it was the opinion of Robert Hall 
" that no man has -ever drawn, since the days of our 
Saviour, such sublime images from nature." In writing 
to his nephew, he said, " It is better to feed the ap- 
petite of the hungry, than to tickle the fancies of the 
whimsical. This breed of preachers are apt soon to 
preach themselves out of breath, and come to nothing. 
May you and I never be the retailers of such whipt- 
syllabub divinity : better keep a cook-shop to satisfy 
the craving appetite, than a confectioner's shop to 
tegale the depraved appetite of the dainty. Good 
brown bread preaching is the best after all." 

Mr. Hill's energies were not exhausted by his 
preaching, nor were the desires of his heart satisfied 
by the gracious results which followed ; hence we find 
him honoarably connected with the formation of the 
principal societies which were called into existence by 
the revived activities of the churches. The Catholicity 
by which they were characterized was due in part to 
his influence. His interest in the London Missionary 



$6 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

Society, of which he was one of the founders, was 
maintained till the close of his life. " He had a kind 
of honest pride, or honourable ambition," says Dr. 
Morison, " in keeping the annual collections at Surrey 
Chapel at the head of all the missionary contributions, 
and such was his own personal liberality on these 
occasions, and such the influence which he exercised 
over the property of his friends, that, to the hour of 
his death, the collection after the Wednesday morning 
discourse seldom averaged less than ;^4oo." On one 
occasion he said to the congregation, ** You must be 
barbarians if you will not do something worthy of 
Surrey Chapel, after the blessed sermon we have just 
heard." On another occasion he inveighed with con- 
siderable severity against those finely-dressed people 
who spend all their money on their wardrobe, and 
reserve nothing but shillings and sixpences for the 
cause of the perishing heathen. Once, indeed, he 
enjoined the " shabby folks, who meant to give nothing, 
to remain in their seats, and not to pollute those 
noble-minded and generous people who had come to 
the sanctuary for the purpose of yielding their hearts 
to the impulses of Christian benevolence." 

The Religious Tract Society was formed at an ad- 
journed meeting held at the St. Paul's Coffee House 
in St. Paul's Churchyard, on the 9th of May, 1799, the 



Biographical Sketch. 57 

first meeting having been held in the vestry of Surrey 
Chapel at the close of the missionary meeting on the 
previous Wednesday. 

The preliminary measures for promoting the forma- 
tion of the British and Foreign Bible Society were 
determined in the committee of the Religious Tract 
Society in 1802. Thus we see how one good work, 
efficiently maintained, leads to the establishment of 
others. Mr. Hill was the ardent friend and supporter 
of the Society from its commencement to the close of 
his life. In reply to a letter from Mr. William Jones, 
requesting him to act as chairman of a meeting, Mr. 
Hill wrote the following characteristic reply : — 

Wotton, Sept TOth, 1826. 
** My Dear Friend, — 

" An old man in the 83rd year of his age ought 
to be a little provident of his remaining strength. 
You will say, no bodily strength can be needed, to sit 
quietly in a chair at a public meeting. True, but no 
small degree of patience is needed, while the poor 
chairman must sit it out for three hours at least, to 
hear many a tiresome long speech, (if they are not all 
of the same sort,) without any remedy or redress, upon 
the high fidgets, above half the time gaping and watch- 
ing the clock. In most of these public meetings I have 



Tne Kev. Rowland Hill. 



been tired down before they have been half over, and 
have been obliged to sheer off with the remains of my 
patience, and leave the finishing to others, while 
nothing but a short speech might have been expected 
firom me. 

" In the way in which too many of these sort of 
meetings are now conducted, I have my fears that 
many a good cause is injured by the means adopted 
for their support. Though some may be gratified by 
what may be said to the point, yet, oh, the dulness, 
the circumlocutiousness, the conceit, the tautology, 
eta, etc., of others ! 

" In short, few know how to be pithy, short, and 
sweet And as I find it very difficult to be pithy and 
sweet, my refiige at all times is to be short. 

" Pity, therefore, a poor old man, and let him not 
be sentenced to suffer such a sort of pillory punish- 
ment, and try if you cannot persuade some other good- 
tempered sinner to suffer in his stead. 

" Yours very sincerely and affectionately, 

"Rowland Hill. 
" To Mr. William Jones." 

Mr. Hill's whole career is a splendid protest against 
the bigotry by which too many estimable Christians 
have restricted their usefulness and brought discredit 



Biographical Sketch. 59 

upon the cause of God. When Dr. Bogue, in the 
course of a sermon, referred to the Catholicity of the 
Missionary Society at its formation, he exclaimed, — 
**We are called upon this evening to the funeral of 
Bigotry ; and I hope it wUl be buried so deep as never 
to rise again.** Mr. Hill wrote the following epitaph, 
but unfortunately it was too premature, for the monster 
still lives : — 

Here lies old Bigotry, abhorr'd 
By all that love our common Lord ; 
No more his influence shall prove 
The torment of the sons of Love. 

We celebrate with holy mirth 
This monster's death, of hellish birth ; 
Ne*er may his hateful influence rise 
Again to blast our sacred joys. 

Gloiy to God, we now are one, 
United to our Head alone ; 
With undivided hearts we praise 
Our God, for His uniting grace. 

Let names, and sects, and parties fall, 
Let Jesus Christ be all in all ; 
Thus, like Thy saints above, shall we 
Be one with each, as one with Thee. 

It was a frequent saying of Mr. Hill, — **Mr. Bigotry 
fell down and broke his leg : would that he had broken 



6o The Rev. Rowland HilL 

his neck." Few men suffered more from bigotry than 
Mr. Hill. On one occasion, after preaching in the 
pulpit of a close communion church, and being in the 
act of taking his seat among the communicants, one of 
the officials remarked, " I am sorry, sir, you cannot sit 
down at our table." " Your table I " he replied ; *' I 
thought it was the Lord's Tdbky and I knew I should 
be welcome there." When nearing the close of his 
ministry he jocularly proposed to advertise for ** a wet 
nurse of the same denomination, in the family of a 
Dissenter to the backbone, to take care of a child who 
was to be brought up to the same way of thinking." 

He was no advocate of uniformity, however. His 
early experience had taught him that it was impossible 
to realize it, and that the attempt to enforce it could 
only lead to tyranny and injustice. With regard to the 
walls which separated the different denominations, he 
said, — ** I do not wish such partitions destroyed, but 
only lowered a litde, that we may shake hands a little 
easier over them." Not that he was willing to com- 
promise truth to secure fraternal intercourse with his 
fellow Christians. His jealousy for the truth brought 
him into conflict with many who could not subscribe 
to his views. William Huntington frequently felt the 
lash which Mr. Hill administered to those whose doc- 
trines inclined to Antinomianisra. The writer of the 



Biographical Sketch. 6 1 

life of Huntington says that Mr. Hill was the first per- 
son who called him an Antinomian, and that he often 
styled him his godfather for giving him the name. In 
a letter Mr. Huntington says, — " My venerable and 
most pious godfather has cleaved to me with fiill pur- 
pose of heart, and I question if he has ever lost sight 
of me in any one sermon preached by him during 
the last twenty-six years; and I firmly believe that 
he has been forced to tell a thousand lies in the name 
of God, only to blacken *my character and to render 
my labours useless." No doubt the writer believed 
the truth of his assertion, but we require additional 
testimony before we convict Mr. Hill of ** telling lies 
in the name of God." His opposition to the school 
of theology of which Mr. Huntington was the principal 
exponent, was due to his conviction that such teach, 
ing was calculated to weaken the divine precepts in 
their application to the conduct of Christians, and he 
was not, therefore, likely to imperil his own case by 
allowing in himself what he condemned in others. 

He said firom the pulpit, — ** I once met with an 
Antinomian professor, in Gloucestershire, who told me 
that he should never doubt any more. I said to him, 
* If you have done doubting for yourself, give me leave 
to doubt for you.' We do not doubt for those who 
want more grace, and are anxious to get nearer to God ; 



62 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

but we doubt for those who live regardless of the pre- 
cepts of the Bible." 

In one of his sermons he made this remark, — ** I 
would rather see the devil in the pulpit than an 
Antinomian.*' 

One of the last remarks he made on his dying bed 
was, — "The greatest curse that ever entered the 
church of God is dirty Antinomianism." 

Few men were more liberal than Mr. Hill in the 
disposition of their property. It is said that his wife 
had frequently to urge a gentle protest in their early 
days, or he would have given his last shilling to some 
needy suppliant. He could always point an appeal 
for the cause he was advocating by a reference to his 
own generosity. This gave him a vantage, also, in 
dealing with those who, while admitting that "it is 
more blessed to give than to receive," had failed to 
test its truth by personal experience. " A miser," he 
would say, " is like a pig : of no use till he is dead 
and cut Up." In denouncing debt as unworthy of a 
Christian, he said, — ** I never pay my debts, and for the 
best of all reasons — I never have any debts to pay." 
On being asked at a public meeting whether any one 
in debt should give to the collection, he replied, 
" Certainly not ; " and then, with a merry twinkle of 
the eye, informed the audience that he should " stand 



Biographical Sketch. 63 

at the door and notice who passed the plate without 
giving." 

As an author Mr. Hill rendered valuable service to 
the cause of truth. His ** Village Dialogues " are still 
popular in many parts of the country, and furnish a 
fair specimen of the manner in which many of the 
clergy of that day discharged their sacred functions. 
Most of his works were, however, of a controversial 
character, and were not designed to survive the neces- 
sities of the hour. In 1803 he published a pamphlet 
entitled "Spiritual Characteristics: represented in an 
account of a most curious Sale of Curates by Public 
Auction, who were to be disposed of in consequence of 
the Clergy Residence Act." This was a clever satire 
on the clergy of the day, and called down a storm of 
abuse upon the author, but, not wishing to imperil 
his usefulness, he withdrew it from circulation. His 
** Warning to Professors on the nature and tendency 
of Public Amusements," was demanded by the lax 
morality of the age. 

His poetical talents were of no mean order, as his 
Divine Hymns for children and sundry compositions 
fully prove. We subjoin a specimen : — 



Dear Friend of friendless sinners, hear, 
And magnify Thy grace divine ; 



64 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

Pardon a worm that would draw near, 
That would his heart to Thee resign : 
A worm by self and sin opprest, 
That pants to reach Thy promised rest 



"With holy fear and reverent love, 

I long to lie beneath Thy throne : 
I long in Thee to live and move. 
And chaise myself on Thee alone : 
Teach me to lean upon Thy breast. 
To find in Thee the promised rest. 

Thou say'st Thou wilt Thy servants keep 
In perfect peace, whose minds shall be, 
Like new-bom babes or helpless sheep. 
Completely stayed, dear Lord, on Thee : 
How calm their state, how truly blest. 
Who trust on Thee, the promised rest 



Take me, my Saviour, as Thine own, 
And vindicate my righteous cause ; 
Be Thou my portion, Lord, alone. 
And bend me to obey Thy laws : 

In Thy dear arms of Love caress' d. 
Give me to find Thy promised rest. 



Bid the tempestuous rage of sin. 
With all its wrathful fiiry, die ; 
Let the Redeemer dwell within. 
And turn my sorrows into joy ; 

Oh, may my heart, by Thee possessed 
Know Thee to be my promised rest 



Biographical Sketch. 65 

The following is from his ** Divine Hymns for 
Children; designed as an appendix to Dr. Watts's 
Divine Songs," 

Dear Jesus, let an infant claim 
The favour to adore Thy name : 
Thou wast so weak, that babes might be 
Encouraged to draw near to Thee. 

My gracious Saviour, I believe 
Thou canst a little child receive ; 
Thy tender love for us is free, 
And why not love poor sinful me ? 

Then to a child, dear Lord, impart 
An humble, meek, and lowly heart : 
Oh, cleanse me by Thy precious blood, 
And fill me with the love of God. 

Tho' oft I sin, yet save me still. 
And make me love Thy sacred will ; 
Each day prepare me by Thy grace 
To meet Thee and behold Thy face. 

These hymns are fair specimens, both of the style 
and doctrines of his poetical compositions. 

His letters embody all the characteristics which 
made him famous. 
We append the following : — 

S 



66 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

LETTER TO MR. BULL. 

" My Dear Brother Bull, — ^At last the famous 
publication is out " (a hymn-book published by Mn 
Hill,) " Cowper, Bull, Hill, & Co. Parturiunt monies^ 
nascitur, etc. ; and now the paper is so paltry, the 
printing so bad, and the typographical blunders so 
capital, that I have not ventured to advertise them. 
My printer is a poor man, and it is a charity to employ 
him, but the biggest blunderer in all the world, myself 
not excepted. I intend, if I can, not to advertise till 
the next edition, and that shall be more correct. Mr. 
Cowper will find all his judicious amendments strictly 
attended to. The omissions are so small, that I think 
he himself would judge them scarcely worth an apology. 
I think you know them all. I have mentioned the cor- 
rector's name in the preface, just as you have directed. 
You are to come to London on Good Friday. This m- 
telligence I received at Clapham, and I told Mr. Thorn- 
ton that I should ask you to come to our house on Good 
Thursday, and that if you preacheji a good sermon I 
would send you on Good Friday afternoon to good Mr. 
Thornton's, with a good number of thanks for your 
good services. My good wife also promises you a 
good supper, and a good pipe, and a good bed, pro- 
vided you give us a little notice that we are to expect 
your good company. So, wishing you a good night, as 



Biographical Sketch. 67 

it is a good while past eleven o'clock, I remain, though 
after a poor rate, 

" Your good friend and servant, 

"Friday Evening.'' " R. HiLL. 

LETTER TO A YOUNG MAN ON THE MINISTRY. 

"My Dear Young Friend, — As the office of a 
minister seems to be beyond all others, so I am not 
surprised that such as feel themselves devoted to God 
are desirous to fill that office ; and though the ground- 
work in those that may be called to fill that important 
trust, must be found in a real work oi grace M\ion their 
own hearts, yet there are other qualifications abso- 
lutely needed before they can prove themselves *work> 
men that need not be ashamed.' There must be a 
natural measure of gifts, as well as spiritual graces; 
and though we may know how far we possess the one, 
by a close examination of our hearts before God, the 
other, I should suppose, can only be discovered to us 
by a due and proper use of means. There is what 
the Scripture' calls an aptitude to teach; a quickness 
and readiness of thought, well regulated by the letter 
of the word, and by that wisdom which is from above : 
and for the want of this, many have entered into thfe 
ministry to prove a burden to themselves, and a dead 
weight to the churches they may be called to serve. 



68 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

Now, this holy aptitude, in my opinion, can only be 
discovered by the practical exercise of such gifts, and 
of which others are always better judges than we can 
be of ourselves ; and then such will be naturally called 
forth for the further exercise of them, by such as have 
felt the spiritual good of them to their hearts ; and 
then, if Providence sets before you such open doors 
as these, you may better judge how far you are called 
to the sacred office. As for all human erudition, 
however good in its place, yet in itself is nothing — it 
is much worse than nothing. How many of our half 
dead churches are contented to be filled with mere 
pulpit lumber of this sort, while the prosperity even 
of living churches is greatly impeded thereby ! and in 
addition to this, what heart-burnings, animosities are 
the result, which too frequently terminate in painful 
divisions and separations, to the disgrace of the sacred 
cause. In these few remarks, while I cannot enter- 
tain the most distant doubt respecting your want of 
integrity and uprightness before God, yet I have lived 
too long in the world not to know the need of such 
hints as these, and I am sure you will take them as 
they are really meant. Let me also drop a further 
hint as it respects your present situation in life. All 
tradesmen who, by their own honesty and integrity, 
can preserve for themselves an honourable indepen- 



Biographical Sketch. 69 

dency, fill a creditable situation in life, and are not 
debarred from being occasionally usefiil in the Church 
of Christ. You, at present, are most usefully engaged 
in our Sunday-schools ; and the gratuitous services of 
yourself and others are highly creditable and bene- 
ficial to the cause. While thus engaged, you may by 
degrees feel your way how far the Lord may design 
you for more extended usefulness in the work ; and 
this alone a fiiture day can decide. And now for my 
last hint till I shall (D.V.) again see you in town. A 
person who enters the ministry, and is obliged to be 
entirely dependent upon the people for his support, 
unless he be of remarkable abilities, is frequently 
called to suffer severely from those who furnish him 
with his support; and if you should throw up a 
profitable concern, you may suffer for it in a future 
day. While I would at all times wish to live depen- 
dent on God, yet it is a great privilege to live a little 
independent of the world. I shall be both thankful 
for your affliction and thankful for your recovery if it 
has proved a profitable season for your soul. Sancti- 
fied afflictions are spiritual promotions. What a mercy 
to be the better for the rod ! With cordial love to your 
family, and all friends, believe me to be, 

" Very sincerely yours, 

" Rowland Hill." 



70 The Rev, Rowland Hill, 

But, after all, it is as a preacher of the gospel that 
Rowland Hill achieved the greatest and most endur- 
ing fame. Preaching was his master passion, and till 
near the age of eighty-nine he was still able to exercise 
his ministry. When too feeble to stand he would sit 
on a high stool in the pulpit and talk sweetly upon the 
text, which was copied in large letters. 

He was justly venerated for his character and for his 
work's sake. His closing years we; e p2rhaps his best ; 
the heat of controversy had cooled, and a brighter era 
had dawned. His heart was at rest in the goodness 
and mercy of God, and his mind was tranquilized by 
the Divine peace. The wish he had often expressed 
was fulfilled **that he might die and go home when 
his work was done." Not long before his last illness, 
meeting an acquaintance who was nearly as aged as 
himself, he said, ** If you and I don't march off soon, 
our friends yonder will think we have missed our 
way." The testimony of his own conscience to the 
purity of his motives ; the approving smile of the 
Saviour he had loved so long, and served so well, were 
conducive to a restfulness of spirit, even in prospect 
of a speedy dissolution. " It is a great mercy," he 
said, ** to have a soft pillow under our head in a dying 
hour ; but to enjoy this privilege, remember we must 
live near to God." While he rejoiced in what, through 



Biographical Sketch. 7 1 

grace, he had been able to accomplish, he, like all 
true men, had to regret that he had not done more. 
" Though I don't lament over what I have preached," 
he wrote to his friend, Mr. W. D. Wills, **yet I greatly 
lament that I have not preached the same truths 
with more spirituality, fervour, and devotedness of 
heart. Though I cannot charge myself as having 
been a lazy drone ; yet, as a busy bee, oh ! that I had 
been better taught how to collect the sacred honey 
from those hills from whence all our hopes of salvation 
come." 

Mr. George Clayton thus describes the scene which 
ensued, after he had preached for him in York Street 
Chapel, Walworth, about twelve months before his 
death. " He retired to the vestry under feelings of great 
an,d manifest exhaustion. There he remained, till every 
individual save the pew-openers, his servant, and myself, 
had left the place. At length, he seemed with some 
reluctance to have summoned energy enough to take 
his departure. Charles, his servant and constant 
attendant, went before him to open the carriage-door 
— the pew-openers remained in the vestry. I offered 
my arm, which he declined, and then followed him as 
he passed down the aisle of the chapel. The lights 
were nearly extinguished, the silence was profound ; 
nothing, indeed, was heard, but the slow majestic tread 



72 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

of his own footsteps, when in an undertone he thus 
soliloquized : — 

* And when I'm to die^ 

Receive me, I'll cry, 
For Jesus hath loved me, I cannot tell why ; 

But this I can find 

We two are so joined 
He'll not be in glory and leave me bdiind/ 

"To my heart," adds Mr. Clayton, "this was a 
scene of unequalled solemnity, nor can I ever recur 
to it without a revival of that hallowed, sacred, shud- 
dering sympathy which it originally awakened." 

The last address Mr. Hill delivered was to the 
Sunday-school teachers, at Surrey Chapel, April 2nd, 
1833. His concluding words were, " * Therefore,, my 
beloved brethren, be ye steadfasf— don*t be wavering 
in any part of your duty — * immovable,' — that will 
prove that you are steadfast indeed, if there is no 
moving you from it — * always abounding in the work 
of the Lord.' Remember that it is in time alone that 
you can do good/' His last illness was very brief, 
and his consciousness was preserved almost to the 
last. He said to a visitor at his bedside, ** I have no 
rapturous joys, but peace — a good hope through 
grace — all through grace." This was a simple but 
blessed testimony, and as he had lived, so he died, 



Biographical Sketch. 73 

trusting to the infinite merits of his Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ. The grace by which he had been sus- 
tained " in labours more abundant " was crowned with 
glory, and the peace which kept his heart and mind 
through the last dark valley melted into the fuller 
peace of heaven's eternal calm 1 

He died on Thursday evening, April nth, 1833, 
in the 89th year of his age, and his mortal remains 
were interred in front of the pulpit, from which he 
had dispensed the word of life for a period of fifty 
years, on the Friday in the following week. 

The large chapel was densely crowded by those who 
mourned his loss as **a father in Israel," a faithful 
pastor, and a loving and generous friend. The service 
was conducted by Dr. Rippon, Dr. Collyer, and the 
Rev. Thomas Jackson. The funeral sermon was 
preached by the Rev. William Jay, of Bath , from the text, 
" Howl, fir tree, for the cedar is fallen." Thus ended 
the earthly pilgrimage and the spiritual warfare of one 
whose unimpeachable character, fidelity to .truth, devo- 
tion to his calling and success in the sacred art of soul- 
winning made him a name to be held in loving re- 
membrance by the whole brotherhood of the redeemed. 

A tablet, surmounted by a bust, was erected on the 
front of the gallery behind the pulpit, with the follow- 
ing inscription : — 



74 TIu Rev. Rowland Hill, 

TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE 

REVEREND ROWLAND HILL, A.M., 

FORMERLY OF 

SAINT JOHN'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, 

AMD FOR 

HALF A CENTURY THE ZEALOUS, ACTIVE, AND DEVOTED 

MINISTER OF SURREY CHAPEL, 

THIS TABLET IS ERECTED, RATHER IN TOKEN 

OF 

THE GRATEFUL RECOLLECTIONS OF 

A REVERED PASTOR 

BY HIS BEREAVED AND MOURNING CONGREGATION, 

THAN AS A TRIBUTE 

SUITABLE TO THE WORTH OF ONE, 

THB 

IMPERISHABLE MONUMENTS OF WHOSE LABOURS 

ARE THE NAMES 

WRITTEN IN HEAVEN OF THE MULTITUDES LED TO GOD 

BY HIS LONG AND FAITHFUL MINISTRY. 

HIS MORTAL REMAINS 

WERE INTERRED IN THIS CHAPEL ON THE 

NINETEENTH DAY OF APRIL, 

A.D. MDCCCXXXIII. 



Biographical Sketch, 7$ 

The work which Rowland Hill originated at Surrey 
Chapel, and maintained with so much vigour, was 
carried on by his esteemed successor, the Rev. James 
Sherman, who was followed by the present pastor, the 
Rev. Newman Hall. 

By a fatal error in his will, the property he left to 
perpetuate the work when the lease of the ground on 
which the chapel stands should expire, was forfeited 
under the Statute of Mortmain, and reverted to the 
residuary legatees, the trustees of Hackney College* 
Mr. Newman Hall has manifested the spirit of his 
illustrious predecessor, and with commendable enthu- 
siasm and by prodigious energy has raised a monument 
to his memory, and served the cause of God by the 
erection of a pile of buildings, at a cost of sixty thou- 
sand pounds, of which the church may be justly 
proud. 

Many will regret, however, that the time-honoured 
name of Surrey Chapel has given place to that of 
Christ Church. The glory of the latter house doubt- 
less exceeds the glory of the former; but the same 
old gospel will be preached in its integrity, and the 
philanthropic agencies which have been sustained 
lor nearly one hundred years will renew their youth 
and be adapted to the spirit and need of the present 
day. 



76 The Rev. Rowland Hill 

In bringing this brief and imperfect sketch to a dose, 
we append the following testimonies to the character 
and usefulness of Rowland Hill, written by his con- 
temporaries. 

The Cabinet AnniMl Register for 1833 contains the 
following notice : — 

" Few ministers of the gospel have had to bear the 
scornful brunt of opposition — to contend against reli- 
gious animosity, and to bear on through good report, 
and evil report, through so long and active a career 
as Mr. Hill. Few have challenged the encounter so 
boldly, or sustained it so single-handed. The inde- 
pendent and ambiguous ecclesiastical position which 
he assumed, as theoretically a Churchman, and prac- 
tically a Dissenter, — a Dissenter within the Church, a 
Churchman among Dissenters — necessarily involved 
him, especially in the earlier part of his career, in 
continual polemic skirmishing. His very Catholicism 
sometimes put on an aggressive form ; for of nothing 
was he so intolerant as of sectarianism. But while he 
thus made himself many opponents, his blameless 
character precluded his having any personal enemies. 
The sarcastic or censorious polemic was forgotten in 
the warm-hearted philanthropist, the indefatigable 
evangelist, and consistent saint. It is quite true, that 
Mr. Hill both said and did things, occasionally, which 



Biographical Sketch. 77 

few other men could have said with good effect, or 
done without imprudence. But the unimpeachable in- 
tegrity and purity of his intentions, the sanctity of his 
life, the charm of his manners, the dignity of true 
breeding, which rescued from vulgarity his most fami- 
liar phrases and his most eccentric actions, conspired 
to secure for him, through life, the affectionate venera- 
tion of all who enjoyed the privilege of his acquaint- 
ance, or understood his character. In Mr. Hill no 
ordinary degree of natural shrewdness was combined 
with an unsuspecting and guileless mind. This some- 
times laid him open to imposition. Deep and accu- 
rate as was his acquaintance with human nature, he 
was not always quick-sighted in reading its appearances 
in the individual. He understood the heart better 
than the moral physiognomy of character ; and thus 
his shrewdness did not preserve him altogether from 
forming mistaken estimates. His generous benevo- 
lence was a distinguishing trait of his character ; and 
he seemed to have the power of inspiring his flock 
with a similar spirit. On two occasions on which col- 
lections were made in the churches and chapels 
throughout the kingdom (the Patriotic Fund at Lloyd's, 
and the subscription for the relief of the German 
sufferers), the collections at Surrey Chapel are recorded 
to have been the largest raised at any one place. The 



78 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

sum annually raised for charitable and religious insti- 
tutions at the Surrey Chapel has been from ;^i,soo 
to ;^ 2,000. As a preacher, Mr. Hill was extreniely 
unequal, as well as systematically unmethodical; gene- 
rally rambling, but pithy, often throwing out the most 
striking remarks, and sometimes interspersing touches 
of genuine pathos amid much that bordered upon the 
ludicrous. But even in his most grotesque sallies 
there was a redeeming simplicity of purpose and 
seriousness of intention. You felt that the preacher 
did not mean to trifle \ that there was no attempt at 
display, no unhallowed familiarity in his feelings, or 
want of reverence to sacred things. In his more pri- 
\*ate expository exercises he was generally grave and 
edifying, with few inequalities, and often highly impres- 
sive. In the de\'Otional part of the service, he was 
unifonnly chaste, solemn, and fervent Of late years, 
the majesty of venerable age that invested his appear- 
ance added not a little to the impressi\-e effect of his 
instmctk)iis. We shall nex^er Iforget his rising to 
lebuke the tempestuous discord of the Bible Society 
Anwvcrsary^ held in Exeter HaIL in May, 1S31. The 
ke«i yet mild tepfO<tf came from his lips with aknost 
tibe force d' prophetic authority : aikI the strong good 
Sttfese of tfte few sentences he ut^fred wenc directly 
It^Mae to ttfee minds cuf the auditory. His physical 



Biographical Sketch, 79 

powers had long been in a declining state, but his in- 
tellectual energies remained almost unimpaired to the 
end of his existence." 

The late Rev. Thomas Jackson, of Stockwell, in 
the memoir of Mr. Hill fimiished to the Evangelical 
Magazine^ states : — 

** Perhaps no man in modern times has been more 
honoured than Mr. Hill, as the instrument of convert- 
ing souls. His talent appeared more particularly in 
awakening the careless, instances of which the writer 
has had many opportunities of witnessmg; and he 
does not rememb.er ever having stayed two days with 
Mr. Hill in any town, without meeting with one person 
or more to whom his ministry had been made useful. 
Onf case, among many, he cannot omit; the scene 
occurred at Devonport, Devonshire, after Mr. Hill had 
been preaching a missionary sermon to a crowded 
congregation in the large chapel in Prince's Street. 
The people had withdrawn, and the deacons and a 
few friends had retired with Mr. Hill into the vestry, 
when two tall, venerable-looking men, upwards of 
seventy years of age, appeared at the vestry door. 
After a short pause they entered, arm-in-arm, and 
advanced towards Mr. Hill, when one of them said, 
with some degree of trepidation, * Sir, will you permit 
two old sinners to have the honour to shake you by 



8o The Rev. Rowland Hill, 

the hand ? ' He replied with some reserve, * Yes, sir,* 
when one of these gentlemen, the other hanging on 
his arm, took his hand, kissed it, bathed it with his 
tears, and said, * Sir, do you remember preaching on 
the spot where this chapel now stands fifty years ago ? ' 
* Yes, I do,' was the reply. The old man then pro- 
ceeded to say, * Oh, sir ! never can the dear friend 
who has hold of my arm, or myself, forget that sermon. 
We were then two careless young men, in his Majesty's 
dock-yard, posting to destruction as fast as time and 
sin could convey us thither. Having heard that an 
interesting young clergyman was to preach out of 
doors, we determined to go and have some fun ; ac- 
cordingly we loaded our pockets with stones, intending 
to pelt you \ but, sir, when you arrived our courage 
failed, and as soon as you engaged in prayer, we were 
so deeply impressed that we looked at each other and 
trembled. When you named your text, and began to 
speak, the word came with power to our hearts \ the 
big tears rolled down our cheeks ; we put our hands 
into our pockets, and dropped the stones one after 
another, until they were all gone ; for God had taken 
the stones out of our hearts. When the service was 
over we retired \ but our hearts were too full to speak, 
until we came near to our lodgings, when my friend 
at my elbow said, *John, this will not do; we are 



Biographical Sketch, 8 1 

both wrong; good-night' This was all he could 
utter ; he retired to his apartment, I to mine ; but 
neither of us dared to go to bed, lest we should awake 
in hell ; and from that time, sir, we humbly hope we 
were converted to God, who, of His infinite mercy, 
has kept us in His ways to the present moment ; and 
we thought, sir, if you would permit us, after the lapse 
of half a hundred years, to have the pleasure of shaking 
you by the hand before we go home, it would be the 
greatest honour that could be conferred on us/* Mr. 
Hill was deeply affected ; the tears rolled down his 
venerable cheeks in quick succession ; he fell on the 
necks of the old men quite in the patriarchal style ; 
and then you might have seen them, locked in each 
other's arms, weeping tears of holy joy and gratitude 
to the Father of mercies. It was a scene at which 
Gabriel might have rejoiced, and infidelity might have 
turned pale. The writer is aware he cannot do justice 
to it by his description, though he feels, at this distance 
of time, something like celestial pleasure in recording 
what he then witnessed. 

" In a sermon, preached on Sunday, the 3rd March, 
1833, at the chapel in Blackfriars Road, London, 
Mr. Hill gave an interesting narrative, in nearly the 
following words : — * I am an old man, and am exhort- 
ing you with my remaining strength not to be con- 

6 



82 The Rev. Rowland Hill 

formed to this world, but to be followers of Him who, 
when your flesh and your heart fail you, will be the 
strength of your heart, and your portion for ever. 
There are many of you now hearing me who have not 
made up your minds on this subject. Oh, if I were 
a young man, how I would work you ! There is a 
great difierence in the manner and method of worship- 
ping God, adopted by different Christians, and for my 
own part I am not particular. I care not how a man 
worships God, so that he worships Him in spirit and 
in truth. I do not mind going a little out of the 
regular road with a man, if it falls in with his inclina- 
tion ; and in this way I would become all things to all 
men, with the hope, through grace, of winning souts 
to Christ. A man may lead me along with him very 
easily, so that he does not lead me into sin ; but the 
moment he attempts to do this we part company. 
Let me call specially on the young around me, not to 
be conformed to this world, for we cannot walk two 
ways at the same time : " ye cannot serve God and 
mammon." 

** * It is now many years since a young man, who 
had been conformed to this world, and who had lived 
a very wicked life, made up his mind to come to this 
chapel to hear the man preach, who, in his estimation, 
was beside himself. He came ; and He, who by the 



Biographical Sketch. 83 

foolishness of preaching can make many wise, put 
words into my mouth to suit his case. He went away 
sorrowing, with an arrow in his heart Now he had a 
brother, who had pursued the same thoughtless, un- 
godly course as himself, and he told him where he 
had been, and how he felt. ** Brother," said he, "we 
have lived very wicked lives : I wish you would come 
with me ; for I think if you were to hear the same man 
preach, you would feel the same as I do." His brother 
consented, and they both came here, and sat, as you 
are now sitting, to hear the word of God preached by 
His unworthy servant. I had this account from the 
young man who iirst came ; and he told me, that if 
ever he had enjoyed a happy moment in the course of 
his life, it was when, turning round to his brother, he 
saw the repentant tear trickling down his cheek. 
These two young men became servants of God ; and 
though one of them is dead, yet they are servants of 
God still. The one worships God at His throne, and 
the other at His footstool.' *' 



PERSONAL REMINISCENCES BY AN OLD MEMBER OF 
SURREY CHAPEL. 

" The first time I had the honour of being in his 
(Mr. Hill's) company was at a committee meeting of 



84 The Rev, R aw land Hill, 

the Southwark Sunday School Society, of which he 
was president He was then considerably advanced 
in years, and the * strong man * had begun to * bow.' 
His step was slow and ii^rm, but his body erect ; his 
grey hair was brushed back from his forehead, exhibit- 
ing a noble countenance, so bland and benevolent that 
all the kindly feelings of the heart were instantly at- 
tracted towards him. We all rose to receive him as he 
entered^ which courtesy he acknowledged by a pleasant 
smile and the facetious exclamation, — * Here's a resur- 
rection ! * His inquiries into the state and discipline 
of the schools were searching and minute, ^nd his re- 
marks full of wisdom, though at the same time full of 
that quiet humour which made his conversation not 
only profitable but amusing. He contrasted the then 
present times with those when Sunday-schools did not 
exist, and expressed his earnest hojipe that ere long the 
religious instruction of children would form part of the 
operation of every Christian church. * We should get 
at them,' he said, * as soon as we can : the devil be- 
gins early enough; if possible let us steal a march 
upon him.' 

" Reference having been made to his early itinerant 
labours, he remarked, — * God was pleased to smile 
upon these poor efforts. But, I could not do now as 
I did then. Time has taken me by the hand. I have 



Biographical Sketch. 85 

known what it is to preach one-and-twenty sermons for 
one-and-twenty meals.* 

" During the evening an inquiry was made respect- 
ing a teacher who had been under considerable obliga- 
tions to Mr. Hill, and had once rendered us good 
service, but whose zeal had considerably abated, when 
he said, — * " Steadfast and unmovable, always abound- 
ing in the work of the Lord ^ " let that be our motto. 
I thought that man would have continued to be a great 
assistance to us, but I am disappointed.' And then 
with an inimitably droll expression of countenance, he 
added, — 'If anyone has got him at the bottom of his 
pocket, I wish he would pull him out.' 

*' Towards the close of the business, Mr. Hill an- 
nounced the receipt of a donation from a nobleman, 
who, at his solicitation, had attended an annual meet- 
ing of the teachers. * I am glad,' said the treasurer, 
* he has become acquainted with our operations, for 
I believe he is a good man, and a man of great 
influence. 'Well,' replied the president, with one 
of his comical looks, * I think he is more enlight- 
ened upon the subject now than he was, for I have 
explained to him not only the manner in which you 
operate, but also the way you are, in your turn, some- 
times operated upon. At the meeting he said to me, — 
'* Are these your teachers ? " " Yes," I answered, ** I 



86 The Rev, Rowland Hill, 

believe so, with, perhaps, a few exceptions." " I sup- 
pose," he remarked again, "they make a pretty good 
thing of it. They seem respectably dressed." " I ex- 
pect," said I, **they are pretty well satisfied. I hear 
no complaints." " If it is a fair question," continued 
his lordship, " what do they receive for their services ? " 
" As to that," I replied, " it is very little of this world's 
goods that they get, unless it is now and then a flea, 
or another insect not quite so nimble in its move- 
ments." ' 

** If anyone had been present that evening who had 
imbibed the notion that religion makes people melan- 
choly, I think the error would have been laughed out 
of him. 

" Although Mr. Hill was a great wit, and exceed- 
ingly amusing in conversation, he was a very different 
man in the pulpit. There he seemed conscious of 
standing on holy ground, and his words were solemn, 
weighty, and impressive. It is true that he sometimes 
used expressions that created a smile. How could it 
be otherwise, with a mind constituted as was his ? 
But as to those vulgar and absurd utterances which 
many were so fond of putting into his mouth, they 
rest upon no foundation of truth whatever. It was 
his complaint, and it was the heaviest charge I ever 
heard him bring against his countrymen, that people 



Biographical Sketch. 87 

would not allow him to be a gentleman. I had the 
privilege of sitting under his ministry for more than 
twelve years, and can truthfully affirm that I never 
heard him utter a sentence unbecoming an ambassa- 
dor of Christ, or the sanctity of the pulpit. Still, I 
am not certain whether these foolish reports did not, 

in the end, do more good than real mischief. 

One Sabbath morning, as I was about to proceed to 
my accustomed place of worship, a female friend 
waited upon me, in company with two farming men 
from a distance. She told me they had a great desire 
to hear Mr. Hill, and requested that I would take 
them with me and get them seated in a favourable 
position. I willingly undertook the commission, and 
as we proceeded on our way, the two men asked me 
many questions about * Sir Rowland,' as they called 
him, and informed me of many things they had heard 
respecting him. * They do tell me,' observed one, 

* that he should say, religion were loike a round of 
beef; it be "coot and coome agin.''' * Well,' I replied, 

* he often makes use of very homely expressions, but 
I do not remember ever having heard him make that 
remark.' Strangely enough, that very morning we 
were favoured with something near of kin to it. I 
took the men into my pew, and for some time they 
seemed to take the greatest interest in everything that 



88 The Rev. Rowland Hill 

was going on; but when the venerable preacher 
ascended the pulpit, every other object ceased to 
attract their attention. * There he be,' said one to 
the other, * there he be.' *Es,' replied his com- 
panion \ * how happy he do look.' His subject was, 
* the gospel of our salvation,' and as he proceeded 
with his discourse my two friends began to be evi- 
dently excited. The fulness and freeness of that 
salvation — a topic always delightful to his soul — was 
set forth in burning words, and their excitement in- 
creased. * It is free,' he exclaimed, * free as the air 
you breathe. And it is as full as it is free. There 
is enough for all. I never heard a man say to his 
neighbour, " Don't you breathe so much air ; if you 
do, there will not be enough for me to breathe." 
No, there is sufficient for every one, and all are in- 
vited to come to the gospel feast. " In My Father's 
house is bread enough and to spare." It is " cut and 
come again." ' At this the delighted countrymen rose 
to their feet and stretched themselves forward as if 
unable any longer to control their feelings. I became 
alarmed lest their emotions should find vent in some 
audible exclamation, so I gently touched the one 
next to me, and smilingly motioned him to resume 
his seat. To my great relief he immediately com- 
plied, and the other following his example, after he 



Biographical Sketch, 89 

had given a few violent nods of satisfaction, I was 
enabled once more to breathe freely. 

***** 

"I have sometimes listened to conversations be- 
tween Mr. Hill and one or two of his friends, in 
which the remarkable energy which characterised his 
more youthful ministrations was referred to. From 
these discourses it appeared that he had been accus- 
tomed to stamp violently with his foot, thump his 
Bible, and even stretch himself over his desk and 
strike the front of the pulpit. On one occasion a 
friend, who had travelled with him in Scotland, said 
to him, * I shall never forget that sermon you preached 
in the old church at K . It was an excellent dis- 
course. ' * Yes,' replied the veteran, with a kind of frown, 
* I remember the devil told me that before I left the 
pulpit.' * At any rate,' said the friend, * it was followed 
by the Divine blessing. There was a great awakening 
among the people. That is the grand thing.' He re- 
plied, * It is a poor sermon, however noisy or eloquent, 
that merely tickles the ear without touching the heart.' 
The friend continued, * You thundered away at a fine 
rate that morning. I will venture to say that the pul- 
pit cushion had not received such a castigation for many 
years, for it was a very inanimate minister who statedly 
preached there. In a few minutes you raised such a 



90 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

cloud of dust as nearly hid you from my view. Some, 

who did not gain admittance, told me they heard you 

very well in the churchyard.' * Ah,' replied Mr. Hill 

thoughtfully, * things have altered since then. The 

bull-dog has got old and cannot bark quite so loud. 

It is a great mercy that he can bark at all.' 
♦ ♦ * ♦ * 

" At Easter, Mr. Hill was accustomed to invite the 
children of the neighbouring schools to assemble in 
Surrey Chapel, to receive an address — the boys on the 
Monday, and the girls on Tuesday. Strangers were 
not expected to be present. Still, many would gene- 
rally make their way in with the children, for the 
doors were not strictly guarded, and females, who were 
ignorant of the regulations, would not unfrequently 
appear among the boys. Mr. Hill loved to see his 
little regiments, as he styled them, muster, and would 
come two or three times into the chapel for that pur- 
pose. On these occasions, nothing seemed to disturb 
his equanimity more than to discover a bonnet among 
the bare heads of the boys, and he would never rest 
until it had disappeared. On coming one day to the 
front of the pulpit, for the purpose of making his usual 
inspection, he was annoyed by the appearance of a 
whole row of females, who had mounted a seat near 
the front entrance. Having sent a messenger to them 



Biographical Sketch, 9^ 

in vain, he determined to take the matter into his own 
hands, and in a voice that produced an immediate 
silence among the children, he exclaimed, * I fear there 
is some mistake. Yes, it must be so,* he continued, 
shading his face from the light with his hand, as if to 
make himself quite certain of the fact. * If I am not 
greatly in error, there are some young men who have 
come into the chapel with women's bonnets on.' All 
eyes were instantly turned towards the place to which 
his were directed, when a shout of laughter was 
raised by the whole youthful congregation, numbering 
at that time about 2,000, which continued until the 
fair intruders, not being proof against such artillery, 
one by one lowered their colours and retired." 

The Rev. Dr. Stougbton says : — 

" You must think of his appearance — a fine, noble, 
expressive countenance — eloquent eyes — an imperial 
nose — an erect gait— tall, commanding: the perfect 
gentleman." He also estimates his 

CHARACTER AS AN ELEMENT OF SUCCESS. 

** Rowland Hill was an extraordinary man, and, in 
estimating a man's life, you must look at him as a 
whole. I believe that in the effect produced by 
eminent persons, what they are go for more than what 
they simply do. When you analyze a minister's acts. 



92 The Rev, Rowland Hill, 

sermons, speeches, and so on, you are sometimes sur- 
prised. * How do you account for the results ? * you 
enquire. * How is it he exerts such an influence ? I 
do not see anything so very wonderful in what he 
says 1 ' Perhaps not, but take him altogether ! The 
sum total of his nature, character, and habits will throw 
light on the question. No doubt many who heard 
Rowland Hill thought they could preach better ; and, 
taking some single sermon as an example, probably 
they could. But their life altogether was a different 
thing from his ! '* 

**I would express him simple, grave, sincere ; 
In doctrine uncorrupt ; in language plain, 
And plain in manner ; decent, solemn, chaste, 
And natural in gesture ; much impressed 
Himself, as conscious of his awful charge, 
And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds 
May feel it too ; affectionate in look. 
And tender in address, as well becomes 
A messenger of grace to guilty men." 



PART II. 



PART II. 

ANECDOTES. 



A JUST REBUKE. 

AN Antinomian, who was addicted to drinking, 
asked him impertinently, ** Now, do you think, 
Mr. Hill, a glass of spirits would drive grace out cf 
my heart ? " " No," he answered, '* for there is none 
in it." 

A FALSE PROFESSOR. 

A LADY, who professed the religion of the Saviour, but 
whose daily practice was not in harmony with it, once 
said to him, ** Oh ! I am afraid lest, after all, I should 
not be saved.*' " I am glad to hear you say so/' 
replied Mr. Hill, " for I have been long afraid for you, 
I assure you." 

A lady's TEMPER. 

" I ONCE took tea with a lady,** said he, ** who was 



96 The Rev, Rowland Hill, 

very particular about her china. The servant unfor- 
tunately broke the best bread-and-butter plate ; her 
mistress took very little notice of the circumstance at 
the time, only remarking, * Never mind, Mary — never 
mind ; accidents cannot be prevented.' * I shall have 
it by-and-bye,* said the servant, when she got out of 
the room ; and so it turned out. The good woman's 
temper," said Mr. Hill, *' was corked up for a season ; 
but it came out with terrible vengeance when the 
company retired." 

PREACHING TO LIVE. 

" I DO think," he would sometimes say, ** that once 
in my life I did earn my daily bread. I was spending 
several weeks with a friend in North Wales, and she 
made me preach for every meal ; so that before break- 
fast, dinner, tea, and supper, I had to ascend the 
pulpit." 

FREEDOM IN SERVICE. 

Mr. Hill always spoke of his Master's "sweet 
service " as being " perfect freedom." In one week, 
when past the age of seventy-one, he travelled a hun- 
dred miles in a mountainous part of Wales, and 
preached twenty-one sermons ! Sometimes he com- 
plained that he was tired on a Sunday evening ; but 



Anecdotes. 97 



the vivacity of his conversation, and the liveliness of 
his manner, used occasionally to elicit the remark, 
** Well, sir, yours is a curious sort of fatigue ; '* to 
which he would reply, " I was tired just now \ but I 
forgot it." 

EFFORTS FOR CHILDREN, 

When Mr. Hill was prevented from reading by 
attacks of inflammation in the eyes, to which he was 
subject, he found a source of amusement in making 
little boxes, covered with coloured paper, containing 
in partitions the letters of the alphabet, as presents 
for the children of his friends. In each box there 
were printed directions, showing how sentences and 
texts of Scripture might be found, with a couplet in 
rhyme, on every letter. Mr. Hill might often be 
seen hard at work, cutting out the letters which he 
had had printed on pasteboard for the purpose, with 
the greatest apparent earnestness. While at Bristol, 
in 1824, he sent a specimen of his invention to Mrs. 
Hannah More, and in the letter which accompanied 
it he humorously imitated the style of Sternhold and 
Hopkins : — 

** With this my love doth come to you : 
My love it is both sure and true, 
And eke the same, likewise also, 
Unto your household it doth go." 

7 



98 Tlie Rev, Roivland HilL 

DIVERSION. — SHOEMAKING. 

Mr. Hill also made beautiful little shoes for infants, 
and would sometimes promise to his female friends, 
on their marriage, that he should present " the first- 
bom'* with a pair of nursery slippers. He had a 
pattern of the various parts, from which he cut out the 
shoe, and then sewed them together with very great 
neatness. These little productions of a great man 
were much valued by those who were fortunate enough 
to procure them. 

diversion.— GARDENING. 

His garden was to him a source of perpetual enjoy- 
ment, and he prided himself on his successful cultiva- 
ion of flowe rs. The strawberries, melons, and fruit- 
trees were brought to great perfection under his own 
special superintendence. 

After dinner, while some person read aloud, he was 
busily occupied in making nets for his fruit-trees or 
fish-ponds j and if he took a walk in the evening, he 
would sometimes measure the distance from the house 
at Wotton to some place in the vicinity. 

"love me, love my dog." 
When Mr. Hill was journeying, he felt much interested 



Anecdotes. 99 



for the comfortable accommodation of his servants. 
At a friend's house in Kent, where he was to sleep, he 
said to his host, " I suppose my man had better get 
a bed at the inn?" ** No, sir," was the reply, "we 
have provided for him." Mr. Hill was evidently 
pleased, and smilingly remarked, " That's well, — * love 
me, love my dog ' also — for I brought him up from a 
puppy." 

Mr. Hill was also ** merciful to his beast." His 
horses were his constant care. Even his domestic 
cat, and other creatures, shared largely in his daily 
regards. 

CLEANLINESS NEXT TO GODLINESS. 

Mr. Hill frequently visited some of the wretched 
hovels which abound in the neighbourhood of Surrey 
Chapel, several of which were inhabited by pious poor. 
He spoke to them in tender sympathy, and the most 
lovely condescension. He always strongly urged upon 
the poor the necessity of every possible adornment of 
the Christian character, particularly cleanliness. 

The least symptom of untidiness was noticed by 
him in an instant, with, ** Here, mistress, is a trifle 
for you to buy some soap and a scrubbing-brush — 
there is plenty of water to be had for nothing." 



icx> The Rev. Rowland Hill 

THE POWER OF A HOLY CHARACTER. 

In one of his visits of mercy to Gloucester gaol, he 
met with a man to whom his conversation appeared 
to be useful. He exercised his influence on his be- 
half, and succeeded, not only in saving his life, but 
eventually in obtaining his liberty. On the man 
leaving the prison, he could obtain no situation for 
want of a good character, when Mr. Hill kindly took 
him into his employ as a gardener, and he conducted 
himself with much propriety for a considerable time. 
Such, however, was the deceitfulness of the heart, that 
the man afterwards resumed his former wicked pur- 
suits, was tried for several robberies, was condemned 
to death, and eventually executed. His benevolent 
master again visited him in his cell ; and during the 
conversations he had with him, the prisoner confessed 
that he had made frequent attempts to break into Mr. 
Hill's house, after he left his service; that he had 
secreted himself several times near the premises, but 
had always been prevented accomplishing his purpose 
by the recollection of his master's great kindness to 
him, and an awful and overwhelming impression that 
God was in the place. 

VISITS TO CRIMINALS. 

During his interviews with criminals condemned to 



Anecdotes, 1 01 



suffer death, Mr. Hill preserved so much composure, 
that none but those who knew him well could be 
aware of the depth of feeling concealed beneath his 
calm exterior. After his return from these painful 
visits, his dinner was generally sent away scarcely 
tasted ; while he gave vent to his hitherto suppressed 
emotions, by frequent ejaculations, whispering with 
solemnity, as if unconscious of the presence of another, 
** Condemned to die 1 condemned to die ! O my God, 
what a mercy to be kept from sin by the restraining 
grace of Thy Holy Spirit I " 

iPITY FOR SLAVES. 

It will be readily believed that Mr. Hill grieved over 
the chains and darkness of the poor negro slaves, and 
strenuously supported all the eflforts made for thek 
emancipation. When expressing his sentiments oa 
this question, he once stated the following fact : — ** A 
poor negro called on me some years since, and told 
me that * his massa beat him very bad,' and inquired 
what he should do. *Do,' said I, *why run away 
from your cruel master as hard as you can.' * Ah J 
massa,' replied the negro, * me cannot run away, for 
me poor slave.' * Slave I no such thing ; the moment 
you touched British groimd you were free ; we have 
no slaves here ! ' The poor negro, delighted with the 



102 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

intelligence, said, * Then me will run away as good 
massa say,' and oflf he went accordingly." 

THE SECRET OF A LONG LIFE. 

In reference to some things which had been said 
upon his " good old age," he remarked, " I daresay 
you yoimg ministers would be glad to live to be old 
men. Now I will tell you how to attain your wishes : 
preach three times a day, and seven days in the week, 
and then you'll find not only that you are in a fine 
state of health, but that you stand a good chance of 
becoming old men. A good pulpit perspiration is a 
famous thing to keep a man in good health." 

HYPOCRISY REBUKED. 

An individual, who had done great discredit to a 
profession of religion, was standing at his door, just 
as he was going out, and hypocritically greeted him 
with, " How do you do, Mr. Hill ? I am delighted to 
see you once more." With an air of perfect amaze- 
ment, he exclaimed, " What ! ar'n't you hanged yet?" 
and returned to the house till the astonished visitor 
departed. 

socinianism attacked. 
In one of his journeys in 1825, he attacked the errors 



I 

Anecdotes. 103 



of Socinians in no very gentle terms, some of whom 
observed rather sneeringly, " Poor old gentleman ! it 
is a pity he does not leave off.** This came to his 
ears, and, after a very animated address on a public 
occasion, he suddenly said, in his own inimitable 
manner, after explaining the cause of the remark, — 
** The ^poor old gentleman ' will never leave off^ till the 
power to refute errors and spread the truth leayes 
him ; so further kind advice on this subject will only 
be thrown away." 

DRIED TONGUES. 

He used to warn young ministers against going up 
and down the country " with a sack of dried tongues 
for sale ; " and one having observed to him, that not- 
withstanding the fault found with his dry sermons, 
there were hopes of their usefulness, for Samson had 
slain the Philistines with the jaw-bone of an ass," 
—"True, he did," replied Mr. Hill, "but it was a 
moist jaw-bone." 

" MANGLING DONE HERE." 

When travelling in the west of England, he passed a 
chapel belonging to a sect in no great favour with 
him, on the front of which was a large board, with an 



104 The Rev, Rowland Hitt. 

ioscription, indicating to what party it belonged. 
Looking up quickly, he said, "What's that ? " and on 
its being read, observed, with his drollest expression 
of countenance, " They had better do like the old 
washerwomen, and put up over their doors» ^Mangling 
danehercr' 

A DISREPUTABLE PREACHER REBUKED. 

Mr. Hill sometimes rendered a word of rebuke 
equally strong and witty. Thus, when a preacher of 
no very good reputation was in the vestry of a place 
where he was going to preach, and seemed imeasy 
lest his servant should not arrive in time with his 
cassock, Mr. Hill said, " Sir, you need not be uneasy, 
for I can preach without my cassock, though I cannot 
preach without my character." 

A PARENTHESIS. 

Mr. Jay says : — " I remember what an impression 
he made when preaching for me, by an interjective 
parenthesis; — for when, in reading the v chapter, i 
Thess., he repeated the verse, 'Abstain from all 
appearance of evil.* He then lifted his eyes, and 
said, in a solemn voice, * Oh, the infinite delicacy of 
the Gospel!'** 



Anecdotes, 105 



A POINTED COMMENT. 

Reading Ih the pulpit one day, the words of the 
woman of Samaria at the well, " The Jews have no 
dealings with the Samaritans,'* looking off as if he saw 
the parties themselves, he exclaimed, " But the devil 
has had dealings enough with you both." 

SAVED BY GRACE. 

When Mr. Hill was some years ago in Scotland, he 
was introduced to an aged minister, somewhat 
resembling himself in piety and eccentricity. The 
old man looked at him for some time very earnestly, 
and at length said, '* Weel, I have been looking for 
some teem at the leens of your face." " And what do 
you think of it?" said Mr. Hill. ''Why, I am 
thinking that if the grace of God hadna changed 
your heart, you would ha been a most tremendous 
rogue." Mr. Hill laughed heartily and said, " Well, 
you have just hit the nail on the head." 

A FAITHFUL REPROOF. 

Mr. Hill was sometimes very felicitous in his 
manner of conveying reproof; and it was done in a 
way peculiar to himself. He was once present when 



io6 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

arrangements were making for the organization of a 
public society, and the persons present were talking 
over the names of the individuals who should be 
proposed to a general meeting as fit members of the 
committee. Several names of persons who were 
engaged in trade having been mentioned, a gentleman 
interposed his advice by remarking that he thought 
some regard should be paid to the respectability of 
the society, and that " tag, rag, and bob-tail should 
not compose the committee." Mr. Hill easily saw 
through the flimsy guise which in this instance ill 
concealed the pride of the human heart; he rose, 
therefore, and lifting up his hands as in the attitude of 
prayer, thus exclaimed, ** God bless tag — God bless 
rag — God bless bob-tail ! " Having uttered these 
words he sat down ; and the tradesmen were placed 
on the committee without another word in the way of 
opposition. 

MR. HILL AND THE PUGILIST. 

Mr. Hill was once engaged to preach in a town 
where he expected to be violently opposed, and 
where it was known that a celebrated pugilist was 
engaged to molest him ; nevertheless, he determined 
to preach, and therefore had recourse to a stratagem, 
by which he disarmed his antagonist of his ferocity. 



Anecdotes, 107 



Having ascended the pulpit, and satisfied himself 
from the appearance of the pugilist that he was not 
inaccessible to flattery, he beckoned him to the 
pulpit stairs, and told him that he was come to 
preach to those people, in the hope of doing them 
good; that some opposition had been threatened; 
that he had been told of his strength and skill in self- 
defence, and had full confidence in his powers ; 
therefore he should place himself in his hands, rely 
on his protection, and begged the favour of his 
company to ride with him in his carriage after the 
service to dinner ! The man felt the full force of the 
compliment ; all his animosity was removed ; he 
declared his readiness to defend the preacher, in case 
of any insult being offered : and was as good as his 
word. He accompanied Mr. Hill to dinner, and 
ever after boasted of the honour which the latter had 
conferred upon him. 

ABSENCE OF MIND AND GREAT COAT TOO. 

On walking out one day after an illness, towards the 
close of his life, he received innumerable congratu- 
lations from persons he met; from tradesmen who 
ran out of their shops, and from the inmates of every 
house he called at. When he returned, his man 
inquired, **Sir, where is your great coat? '* ** That's 



io8 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

more than I can tell joffi^ he replied, laughing; 
'' but I'll tell you where I hare been, and jou must 
go a-hunting after it by-and-bye." The ludicrous 
occurrences which resulted from his foigetfiilness of 
such matters <^ten afforded considerable merrim^it, 
in whidi no one partook more heartily than himsel£ 
If he had not been accompanied by a carefrd 
servant, parts of his dress would have been frequently 
separated in his journeys^ by veiy wide intervals. 

HCLD BY THE DOCTRIXES OF CALVIX. 

During Mr. Hill's second visit to Scotland it was 
ananged for him to preach in the Methodist Chapel 
of one of the large towns in die north. He had 
reached the town in due time, and was about to enter 
the pulpit, when the manager accosted him by sayings 
^\ hear, Mr. Hill, that you hcM the doctrines of 
Calvin, and if so you can't preach." ^ I do not,^ 
said the preacher. ''The pulpit is yours," was the 
reply. The ready preacher added, ^ The doctrines 
of Calvin hold me." 

"what's o'clock?" 

Rowland Hill never seemed to be tked of 
pieadung. In his frequent courses of itinecancy, 
afier a day's ezertioiis^ he would tdl of his pfeaching 



Anecdotes, 109 



adventures, and enliven the social circle with re- 
marks and anecdotes until a late hour, and suddenly, 
when all the party were raised to the highest pitch 
of interest, he would ask, "What's o'clock?" and, 
finding it was late, he would exclaim, ** Dearest 
me, only think of that ; it is time for all Methodist 
preachers to be in bed, I am sure ! " 

A FLOATING CHAPEL. 

Mr. Hill was one of the first promoters of a 
floating chapel, in which he and other ministers 
might preach the Gospel to sailors. Once he 
accidentally overheard three or four of these brave 
fellows supplicating at the throne of grace, in the 
most touching accents, for a blessing on his labours. 
Their gratitude also to him was most remarkable. 
On one occasion a sailor knocked him up at three 
o'clock in the morning, to say that he had taken 
"a passage to the west by a five o'clock coach, 
but that he could not leave without just having a 
peep at his dear Rowland Hill, and craving his 
blessing." 

LAODICEAN CHRISTIANS. 

The Rev. W. Jay writes : — " His brother, Sir Richard, 
once told me of an early instance of his adroitnesi3) 



1 10 The Rev, Rowland HilL 

remarking that he was the same from a lad. It oc- 
curred while he was at Eton College. Even then he 
was under deep impressions of a religious nature; 
and as he felt the importance of divine things himself, 
he was active and concerned to do good to others ; 
and thus he did with an old female servant that 
frequently waited upon him. She one day rather 
reproved him for his zeal, saying, that persons should 
not be righteous overmuch, and should be careful to 
avoid extremes in religion. 'Some,* she said, *were 
too cold, and some were too hot.' *Then,* said 
young Rowland, * I suppose you think we had better 
be lukewarm V *Yes,' she said, *that was the 
proper medium.' He then took up his Testament, 
and read the Saviour's address to the Church of 
Laodicea: — *I would thou wert cold or hot. So 
then because thou art lukewarm^ and neither cold 
nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.' At 
which his /<^/^ admonisher seemed a little surprised 
and stood aghast." 

^*MORE TO FOLLOW." 

Mr. Hill was once requested to send a sum of money 
to a poor minister, in instalments. When he sent the 
first five-pound note, he added the postscript, ** More 
to follow." The worthy man never knew to whom he 



Anecdotes, ill 



was indebted for such timely and unostentatious assist- 
ance, and while the help relieved his necessities it 
also rebuked the anxious fears with which his mind 
had been distressed. ** Oh thou of little faith, where- 
fore didst thou doubt ? " 

MR. hill's story OF A PREACHING FARMER. 

**A CERTAIN farmer, well-known to me, was always 
moral, yet ignorant of the gospel. By reading some 
of the sermons of the late Mr. Romaine, he was called 
to the knowledge of the truth. The farmer was a 
man of good sense and great integrity, and he now 
conceived his domestics should not live without family 
worship. In his kitchen the Bible was almost as 
much in sight as the bacon-rack ; and when he read 
the Bible to them, he could not but express the simple 
feehngs of his heart. He wept, and they wept in 
concert. And in prayer, he found he was not want- 
ing in 'the spirit of grace and of supplications.' 
Thus being enabled to tell his own wants before his 
family, they began to find out their wants also. This 
answered the end The family was filled with sur- 
prise, and they surprised their neighbours, who stole 
in to unite in their worship. They now requested 
•him to preach ; but the modest farmer resisted the 
call. He had a gracious sister, who charged him not 



112 The Rev, Rowland Hill, 

to fight against God, for that others besides his own 
family were benefited by their attendance. The 
farmer consented; yet he was no enthusiast, but a 
solid, pious, thinking man, and had a good knowledge 
of the Bible ; and no man of good sense, though he 
has neither Greek, Latin, nor logic, will ever talk 
nonsense. Thus he commenced a preacher, and was 
wonderfully blessed; quite the apostle, the reformer 
of the neighbourhood. The generous public speedily 
accommodated the farmer with a convenient place of 
worship in the town. The farmer was solemnly 
ordained to the pastoral charge, and the communion 
among them was very seriously and largely attended." 

** HUSBANDS LOtE YOUR WIVES." 

Mr. Hill often felt much grieved at the false reports 
which were circulated of many of his sayings, especially 
those respecting his publicly mentioning Mrs. HilL 
His attentions to her till the close of life were of the 
most gentlemanly and affectionate kind. The high 
view he entertained of her may be seen from the 
following fact. A friend having informed Mr. Hill 
of the sudden death of a lady, the wife of a minister, 
remarked, ** I am afraid our dear minister loved his 
wife too well ; and the Lord, in wisdom, has removed 
her." "What, sir!" replied Mr. Hill, with the 



Anecdotes, 113 



deepest feeling, ** can a man love a good wife too 
much ? Impossible, sir, unless he can love her better 
than Christ loves the Church : * Husbands, love your 
wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave 
Himself for it.'" 

DISSENSION REBUKED. 

It once happened at his own house, that two parties 
of opposite sentiments as to Church government, 
growing warm in their argument, appealed to him. 
He put on one of his arch looks, and said, ** Well, I 
must say you are both wrong ; and I was just think- 
ing, .that if you were tied together by the tail, like two 
cats, and thrown over a forked stick, you would 
scratch each other's eyes out." On another occasion, 
alluding to persons of this kind, he said, " They have 
every one of them swallowed a Pope; and if they 
could be opened, would be found to have him stiH 
within them." 

ANONYMOUS LETTERS. 

** If you would have me read your anonymous 
letters," he would sometimes say, "enclose a ^£'5 
note in them for some good charity." 

WAPPING SINNERS. 

When preaching at St John's, Wapping, on one 

8 



114 ^^^ Rev, Rowland Hill. 

occasion observing that his auditory was unusually 
large, and made up chiefly of seafaring persons, he 
remarked, **I am come to preach to great sinners, 
notorious sinners, profane sinners;" and, with 
peculiar emphasis, exclaimed, **yea, to Wapping 
sinners. ^^ 

JUSTICE BEFORE GENEROSITY. 

Once, when preaching for a public charity, a note 
was handed to him in the pulpit, inquiring "if it 
would be right for a bankrupt to contribute to the 
collection?" He referred to the inquiry, and 
answered it firmly in the negative. He then added, 
"But, my friends, I would advise you who are not 
insolvent not to pass the plate this evening, as 
the people will be sure to say, '* There goes the 
bankrupt.'* 

A CAUTIOUS PREACHER. 

He once said of a man who knew the truth, but 
seemed afraid to preach it in its fulness, " He 
preaches the truth as a donkey mumbles a thistle, — 
very cautiously, 

THE LIGHT OF THE HEATHEN. 

Preaching on one occasion in a country village, and 
being anxious simply to answer the question, *' Have 



Anecdotes. 115 



not the heathen sufficient light ? " his illustration was 
exceedingly simple and. graphic. " I admit," said he, 
**that the heathen have some natural light; but they 
do not use even this aright. Now, suppose the whole 
family in a farmhouse, assembled round the large 
kitchen fire on a winter's evening, all peaceful and 
happy. Presently the stableman opens the door, and 
cries out, * Master I master ! the thieves are robbing 
the hen-roost ! ' Up they all start ; the farmer rushes 
to his closet for his lantern ; he lights the candle, and 
runs out, and, holding up the light nearly to his head, 
advances with cautious steps. The wheelbarrow has 
been left in the way, and over it the good man falls ; 
and why ? because he has no light ? No, because he 
used it improperly. Thus it is with the heathen." 

PLAIN PREACHING COMMENDED, 

ArrER hearing an elaborate sermon that wanted 
unction, he would say, ^^ ThdX cut-andr-dned stuff ntwQX 
tells ; it does not get hold of the people, it is too fine 
by half. There was once a man preached for me at 
Wotton, and used such hard words the people could 
not understand him. Some of the plain folks used to 
say to me, when I came from London, " We do know 

what we do hear when you do preach ; but Mr. 

do use so many dictionary words, we can't understand 



1 1 6 The Rev. Rowland HilL 

his meaning. We don't know where he do get 'em, 
unless it be out of the almanack." On one occasion, 
he said, **It is astonishing what nonsense some people 
will talk in the pulpit. When I was out the other day, 
on a missionary journey, I heard of a man who had 
been preaching on modem improvement; and, amongst 
others, of the merciful way of making war since the 
invention of gunpowder, which proved so much easier 
a death than that inflicted by the ancient weapons. 
He got rightly served for his pains ; for they have 
caXi^di\iva\. \}[i^ gunpowder parson ever since." Then 
he added, " I preach Christ crucified ; and when that 
ceases to be my only theme, may I cease from the 
pulpiL'' 

THE PENALTY OF POPULARITY. 

Mr. Hill was so well known, that apphcations of all 
kinds were made to him ; and when it was ascertained 
that he was in town, the knocker of his door had 
literally no rest from morning till night ; and nothing 
could exceed the good-humour with which he sub- 
mitted to every species of interruption. Foreigners, 
mendicants, candidates for the ministry, in short, 
almost every person who called, found him ready to 
listen to their cases. These were sometimes not a 
little singular. One evening, after dinner, his servant 



Anecdotes, \\J 



said, " Sir» a foreign gentleman wishes to speak to 
you." "Well, show him in/' said Mr. Hill; and 
there entered a tall, moustachioed man, who ad- 
dressed him with, — 

" Meester Hill, I have heard you are a wonderful, 
great, goot man. Can you do anyting ? " 

" Mercy on us ! I must be a wonderful man." 

" Yes, sare, so you are a wonderful man ; so I call 
to ask you to make my ambassador do his duty by 
mey 

" Sir, I can assure you I have not the honour of 
knowing him." 

" Oh, sare, but he regard a letter from you.'* 

" Sir, I can have no possible influence with him, 
and cannot take the liberty of writing to him on a 
subject about which I know nothing." 

** But, sare, I will tell you " 

Finding his applicant inclined to be pertinacious, 
he concluded the business by saying, — 

** Well, sir, you may give my compliments to the 
ambassador, and say that I advise him to do his duty ; 
that will do as well as writing." 

"Very goot, sare, — goot day." 

MR. HILL AND THE PLATFORM. 

No one rejoiced more than Mr. Hill in the prosperity 



1 1 8 The Rev, Rowland Hill 

of the various religious societies. He was the steady 
and unchangeable friend of the Bible Society, At a 
public meeting, where a right reverend prelate pre- 
sided, he referred to the points in dispute, and added, 
** Why, my lord, I would take a Bible from the devil 
himself at the end of a pair of tongs, and thank him 
for it ; though I should call him a fool for his pains.'* 
On the anniversary of this society in May, 1830, 
somebody suggested that the fatigue might be too 
much for him, when he laughed, and said, ** I tell you 
what, I will go, so there is an end of it ; ring the bell, 
and tell them to get the carriage ready directly." He 
arrived late; the great room in Freemasons' Hall 
was full, and a speaker was addressing the assembly. 
The instantaneous burst of applause that succeeded 
the announcement of his name, and continued even 
after he had reached the platform, seemed almost to 
overpower him. 



ROCKING-HORSE CHRISTIANS. 

Entering the house of one of his congregation he 
saw a child on a rocking-horse. " Dear me," ex- 
claimed the aged minister, *' how wondrously like 
some Christians ! there is motion^ but no progress,'' 
The rocking-horse type of spiritual life is still 



Anecdotes, 119 



characteristic of too many Church members in the 
present day. " Grow in grace " is an exhortation but 
little regarded. 

THE DESERTED LAMB. 

" Walking through my field on a winter's morning, 
I met with a lamb, as I thought dead, but taking 
it up I found it just alive ; the cruel mother had 
almost starved it to death. I put it into my bosom, 
and brought it into my house ; there I rubbed its 
starved limbs, warmed it by the fire-side, and fed 
it with warm milk from the cow. ' Soon the lamb 
revived : first it feared me, but afterwards it thoroughly 
loved me. As I mostly fed it with my own hand, 
so it followed me wherever I went, bleating after 
me whenever it saw me, and was always happy when 
it could frisk around me, but never so pleased as 
when I would carry it in my arms. 

" Jesus is a Shepherd, the Shepherd of souls ; and 
of Him it is said, * He carries the lambs in His bosom, 
and gently leads those that are with young.' If you 
desire to love Jesus, read that blessed book, the 
Bible: there you hear such things of the love of 
Christ to poor ruined sinners as I hope will melt 
your eyes to tears, and your hearts into love." 



I20 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

"fire low.'' 

" Mr. Hill always wished to be considered the apostle 
of the common people, in resemblance of Him wiiom 
the common people heard gladly, and in whose teach- 
ing * the poor had the gospel preached unto them.' 
But he who undertakes this work of faith and labour 
of love will find that he has not to address angels, or 
sometimes hardly men. He will need to learn the 
advice which the philosopher was wont to give his 
pupils, 'Study the people;' or that which Crom- 
well gave to his soldiers, * Fire low.' Had his men 
fired high, they would have done no more execution 
than some of our preachers, who shoot over their 
hearers' heads." 

WHOLESOME ADVICE. 

A FORWARD and conceited young man one day, calling 
upon him at Mr. Jay's, asked him if he had heard that 
he was going to change his sentiments. ** No, sir," 
said Mr. Hill, " I have not ; but if you have not fixed 
the time I would advise you to do it as near the 
change of the moon as possible." 

TEMPTATION TO DESERTION. 

Howell Harris, one of Mr. Whitefield's most ener- 



Anecdotes. 121 



getic followers, was a man of extraordinary powers of 
body and mind. Harris used to relate of himself 
that, being once on a journey through Wales, he was 
subjected to great temptations to desert his Master's 
cause, when he said, " Satan, I'll match thee for this I " 
" And so I did," he used to add, *' for I had not ridden 
many miles before I came to a revel, where there was 
a show of mountebanks, which I entered, and just as 
they were commencing, I jumped into the midst of 
them and cried out, * Let us pray,' which so thunder- 
struck them that they listened to me quietly, while I 
preached them a most tremendous sermon that 
frightened many of them home." Mr. Rowland Hill 
greatly delighted in this anecdote, and often considered 
that amidst somewhat similar scenes he had been 
enabled successfully to assail the kingdom of Satan. 

ENTHUSIASM. 

Once, at Wotton, he was completely carried away by 
the impetuous rush of his feelings, and raising him- 
self to his full stature, he exclaimed, " Because I am 
in earnest men call me an enthusiast, but I am not ; 
mine are the words of truth and soberness. When I 
first came into this part of the country, I was walking 
on yonder hill ; I saw a gravel-pit fall in, and bury 
three human beings alive. I lifted up my voice for 



122 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

help so loud that I was heard in the town below, at 
the distance of a mile ; help came, and rescued two 
of the poor sufferers. No one called me an enthusiast 
then ; and when I see eternal destruction ready to fall 
upon poor sinners, and about to entomb them irre- 
coverably in an eternal mass of woe, and call aloud 
on them to escape, shall I be called an enthusiast 
now ? No, no ! *' 

ANXIETY. 

His anxiety at times before engaging in the solemn 
work of preaching was very remarkable. He seemed 
quite lost in reflection, and every now and then 
ejaculated in a low tone, ** Lord, help me to preach I " 
On such occasions, too, he was absent in the highest 
degree, and scarcely knew what he did. A colonel in 
the Engineers, to whom his ministry had been made 
useful, was very anxious to be introduced to him. In 
the evening of the day on which they were made 
known to each other, Mr. Hill was going to preach at 
Woolwich, and asked his new acquaintance to accom- 
pany him in his phaeton. A favourite dog jumped 
into the carriage, and was suffered to go with them. 
The pious officer hoped for some conversation ; but 
his companion appeared unconscious of his presence, 
and went on whispering to himself the arrangement of 



Anecdotes. 123 



his sermon, pulling at the same time the hairs out of 
the dog's back, and spreading them on the colonel's 
knee. He was very much amused with the absence 
of the minister for whom he had conceived so great a 
veneration ; but said he was glad his train of thought 
was not interrupted, for such a sermon he had never 
heard before as Mr. Hill preached that night. 

A CONVENIENT UMBRELLA. 

On a wet day a number of persons took shelter in his 
chapel, during a heavy shower, while he was preach- 
ing; he remarked, "Many people are greatly to be 
blamed for making their religion a cloak^ but I do not 
think that those are much better who make it an 
umbrella, 

A minister's temper. 

He was accustomed to urge on all who entered the 
sacred office the necessity of maintaining Christian 
tempers among their people. "Some folks," he 
would say, "appear as if they had been bathed in 
crab verjuice in their infancy, which penetrated through 
their skins, and has made them sour-blooded ever 
since; but this will not do for a messenger of the 
gospel ; as he bears a message, so he must manifest 
a spirit of love. 



1 24 The Rev. Rowlatid Hill. 



THE BARBER AND THE WIG, 

He was once addressing a number of candidates 
for the ministry, and in adverting to this his con- 
stant theme said, "I will tell you a story. A 
barber having amassed a comfortable independence, 
retired to his native place, where he became a 
preacher in a small chapel. Another person from 
the same village, being similarly fortunate, settled 
there also, and attended the ministry of the barber. 
Wanting a new wig, he said to his pastor, * You might 
as well make it for me ; ' to which he assented. 
The wig was sent home badly made, but charged 
at nearly double the usual price ! The good man 
said nothing, but when anything particularly profit- 
able escaped the lips of the preacher, he observed 
to himself, 'Excellent — but oh/ the wig/' When 
the barber prayed with apparent unction, he also 
thought, « This should touch my heart ; but, oh / 
the wig/' Now, my dear young brethren, wherever 
you are placed, remember the wig.'' 

PREACHING engagements. 

Mr. Hill's retirement into the country was no repose 
to him ; he preached as often there as in London. 
On a Sunday, after the service of his chapel at Wotton, 



Anecdotes, 125 



he would give out such a notice as this, ** To-morrow 
evening meet the society. Anybody here from 
Nibley?" (A nod of assent.) "Tell them I shall 
preach there Tuesday — Wednesday, preach here — 
Thursday, Wickwar — Friday, Uley — Saturday, must 
have some rest — Sunday, here again, God willing." 
After this notice he not unfrequently forgot the places 
where he intended to go, when Mrs. Hill's accuracy 
was of no slight service in aiding his memory. He 
often said at breakfast, ** Where am I to preach 
to-day?'* and fortunate it was for himself and the 
people that she had not forgotten the detail of his 
arrangements. 



NO CHARITY FOR MISERS. 

Mr. Hill frequently referred with great severity to 
illiberal professors. " A miser," he would say, " is 
like a pig, of no use till he is dead and cut up." 
" There are some persons," he remarked, " who are 
so little regretted when they die that the last thing 
you hear about them is the payment of the under- 
taker's bill." On the other hand, in reference to a 
pious clergyman in Dorsetshire, who was exceedingly 
exemplary in his daily conduct, he remarked, " He'll 
cut up well, sir." 



126 TIu Rev, Rowland Hill 



A GOOD HEART. 

A RESPECTABLE female once called on him, express- 
ing a wish to be united with the Church, He at first 
misunderstood her state of mind. Among other 
questions he put the following, " Have you a good 
heart?" She replied, ** I hope I have, sir," Mr. 
Hill called the attention of a friend to the reply, and 
said, ** Come, and see a wonderful woman, who has a 
good\it.2xX., Fm sure it's more than I can say.** The 
worthy female was much affected, but most judiciously 
answered, " I trust, sir, I have a new heart ; and I 
did not think it wrong to call the work of the Holy 
Ghost a ^^^^ work." This remark touched Mr. Hill, 
who immediately apologized in the most Christian 
manner for having wounded her feelings. 

PREACHING TO SAILORS. 

He once paid a visit to Portsmouth, and had the 
greatest pleasure in labouring amongst sailors, and 
generally found his way to their hearts and affections. 
Many a sturdy tar that denounced his opening 
address with an oath, before the close of his solemn 
appeal had melted into tears ; and often did they 
fill the eyes and drop down the rough cheek of 



Anecdotes. 127 



some veteran, who till touched with a recital of the 
Saviour's love and sufferings seemed as hard and 
sapless as the oak which bore him on the bosom of 
that ocean where, without a thought of judgment or 
eternity, he had sternly perilled his life in the 
service of his country. Frequently did Mr. Hill 
experience the no very gentle grasp of some sailor's 
hand, who had been brought to a knowledge of the 
way of life by a sermon he had come to sneer at 
and oppose. Of his visits to seaports he used to 
say, ** I was most affected by those who came about 
me, and told me in tears that I had led them to 
Christ last time I was there j this always touches me." 
When they abused, pelted, and threatened him, he 
stood calm and unmoved ; his countenance, capable 
of almost every expression, never assumed that of 
fear ; but as soon as ever a person told him, in 
a way that removed all suspicion, of his having been 
the means of bringing him to God, he could never 
suppress his emotion. 

CAUGHT BY GUILE. 

In the early period of his ministry, when visiting one 
of our seaport towns, where he attempted to preach 
in the open air, he was so interrupted by noise and 
missiles that it was impossible, for a time, to proceed. 



128 Tlie Rev, Rowland Hill, 

He was on horseback, and his footman with him. 
Instead of attempting to preach, he had recourse to 
an innocent stratagem. Addressing the people, he 
said, ** My lads, I have no right over you ; if you do 
not choose to hear me, I have no authority to force 
your attention ; but I have travelled some miles for 
the sake of doing or receiving good ; I have, there- 
fore, a proposal to make. I always did admire 
British sailors. I see here some able-bodied seamen ; 
some of you, no doubt, have seen a great deal of 
service, and been in many a storm, and some in 
dangerous shipwrecks. Now, as I am very fond of 
hearing the adventures of seamen, my proposal is, 
that as many as you please, in turn, shall stand up, 
and tell us what you have seen and suffered, and what 
dangers you have escaped ; and I will sit and hear 
you out, upon this condition — that you agree to hear 
me afterwards." 

This proposal made many of them laugh heartily, 
and they said one to another, " Do you stand up, and 
give us a lecture ! " One called upon a talkative 
sailor by name, ** I say, Harry, do you give him a 
lecture ! ** which produced a loud burst of laughter 
through the whole crowd; and Mr. Hill, to keep 
them in good humour, laughed with them. After 
waiting some time, Mr. Hill said, " Will none of you 



Anecdotes, 129 



take my proposal ? '* None being disposed to do so, 
he said, " I am a clergyman ; I came, not long since, 
from the University of Cambridge. If you had heard 
me I should have told you nothing but what is in the 
Bible or Prayer-book. I will tell you what I intended 
to say, if you had heard me quietly." And then 
beginning with a declaration of the grace and com- 
passion of Christ, in dying to save all penitent sinners, 
he led them to the consideration of the thief on the 
cross ; and then to the character and circumstances of 
the prodigal son, and the compassion of his father. 
His description of what he meant to have said was so 
interesting and affecting that he rivetted their atten- 
tion, and produced an evident change in their dis- 
position towards him. While he was speaking they 
drew gradually nearer, hanging, as is the practice of 
sailors, when standing in a crowd, upon each other's 
shoulders. In this position they listened, with almost 
death-like silence, till he had finished telling them 
what he should have said if they had been willing to 
hear him. He then took off his hat, made them a 
bow, and thanked them for their civilities. Most of 
them took off their hats, and gave him three cheers ; 
several vociferated, "When will you come again, 
sir ? '* And one man, who seemed like the champion 
of the whole, said, **If you will come again, sir, no 

9 



I30 Tlie Rev. Rowland Hill. 

one shall hurt a hair of your head, if I am on 
shore." 

** MIGHTY FINE PREACHERS.'* 

The Rev. Thomas Jackson says ** Rowland Hill was 
a strange compound of wisdom, good sense, drollery, 
and piety." 

There w^as no affectation in his style : he was per- 
fectly natural, and endeavoured to compass the end 
in view by the most direct and efficient means. ** I 
don't like those mighty fine preachers," he said, 
*' who so beautifully round off all their sentences that 
they are sure to roll off the sinner's conscience.'* 

ROWLAND HILL AND DR. CHALMERS. 

On a public occasion Dr. Chalmers was invited to 
preach at his chapel, and Mr. Hill, in common with 
some of his leading friends, was somewhat alarmed 
when they heard the broad dialect of the distinguished 
. northern divine. Mr. Hill placed himself in the front 
gallery, that he might note the temper of the congre- 
gation as the sermon proceeded. His apprehensions 
were soon removed. The attention of the people was 
rivetted, and a strange murmur ran through the assembly 
when the preacher paused at the end of a paragraph. 
Mr. Hill could not contain himself for delight. He 



Anecdotes, 131 



thumped loudly on the book-board before him and 
exclaimed, quite aloud, **Well done! Well done! 
Thomas Chalmers ! " 

AN INSCRIPTION FOR A CLOCK. 

A CLOCK having the following original lines inscribed 
on it was presented to Pomarre, King of Otaheite, 
by the Rev. R. Hill :— 

** Master, behold me, here I stand. 
To tell the hours at thy command. 
What is thy will ? 'Tis my delight 
To serve thee both by day and night. 
Master, be wise, and learn from me 
To serve thy God as I serve thee. " 

SALVATION TO THE UTTERMOST. 

When a young man he was on a visit to Mr. White- 
field, and the latter requested him to call on a poor 
woman, who had been so dreadfully burned that she 
could not survive many hours. He went immediately, 
•and prayed with her. He had no sooner left her 
than she called out, ** Oh, where is Mr. Whitefield? '* 
Urged by her entreaty, her friends requested him to 
visit her a second time. He complied, and again 
prayed with her. The poor afflicted woman con- 
tinued still to desire his presence. When her friends 



132 



The Rev. Rowland Hill. 



came for him a third time, ** I begged 
said Mr. Hill, '*not to go; for he could 
expect to do any good. * Your nerves are 
your feelings are too acute to endure such sc 
shall never forget his mild rebuke. * Leave 
Master can save to the uttermost, to the % 
most,^ " 

MEANNESS REBUKED. 

In rebuking the meanness of some people, 
** There is a perpetual frost in the pockets 
wealthy people ; as soon as they put their Y 
them they are frozen, and they are unable to 
their purses. Had I my way I would hang i 
but the reverse of the common mode ; I w< 
them up by the heels, that their money migl 
of their pockets for you to pick up and j 
plate." 



LIBERALITY COMMENDED. 

On announcing the amount of a liberal col 
his own people, he remarked, " You have b 
well on this occasion, that we mean to let 
another collection next Sunday. I have he 
of a good cow, that the more you milk her 
she will give." 



Anecdotes. 133 



THE POET OF TpE FUTURE. 

Mr. Sidney says : ** I well remember one morning, 
the footman ushered in a most romantic-looking lady. 
She advanced with measured steps, and with an air 
that caused Mr. Hill to retreat towards the fireplace, 
she began, — 

" * Divine shepherd — ' 

" * Ton my word, ma*am ! * 

** * I hear you have great influence with the royal 
family.' 

" * Well, ma'am, and did you hear anything else ? * 

** *Now, seriously, sir — my son has the most won- 
derful poetic powers. Sir, his poetry is of a sublime 
order, noble, original, fine.' 

***Well, I wonder what will come next,' muttered 
Mr. Hill, in a low tone. 

" * Yes, sir, pardon the liberty, and therefore I called 
to ask you to get him made Poet Laureate' 

** * Ma'am, you might as well ask me to get him 
made Archbishop of Canterbury.' 

" The mother of the poetic genius withdrew, looking 
highly indignant, as Mr. Hill burst into an uncon- 
trollable fit of laughter." 

MR. HILL AND THE PLATFORM. 

The speeches of Mr. Hill at public meetings were 



1 34 The Rez\ Rowland Hill. 

not less original than his sermons. His addresses 
were invariably short, and not unfrequently contained 
a witty philippic against those long harangues by 
which the patience of hearers is so often exhausted, 
and which he described as ''containing a river of 
words, with only a spoonful of thoughts. '* 

A MOVING SPEECH. 

He used to tell the following droll story of what he 
said on one occasion. ** His Royal Highness, the 

Duke of , was in the chair, and kindly desired 

me to sit next him. A man absolutely had the bad 
taste to spin out his dull tiresome oratory for more 
than an hour. Some of the people, tired to death, as 
well they might be, went away. His Royal Highness 
whispered to me, * Really, Mr. Hill, I do not think I 
can sit to hear such another speech as this ; I wish 
you would give one of your good-natured hints about 
it.' It was my turn next; so I said, *May it please 
your Royal Highness, ladies and gentlemen, — I am 
not going to make either a long or a moving speech. 
The first is a rudeness ; and the second is not required 
to-day. After the very moinng one you have just 
heard — so moving, that several of the company have 
been moved by it out of the room ; nay, I even fear, 
such another would so move his Royal Highness him- 



Anecdotes, 135 



self, that he would be unable to continue in the chair ; 
and would, to the great regret of the meeting, be 
obliged to move off.' This tickled his Royal Highness 
and we had no more long speeches that day." 

PRAYING BOY. 

Dr. Stoughton says, " I remember hearing a good 
deal of his college life at Eton, how he held prayer- 
meetings and went to a poor woman's cottage for the 
purpose, leaping a ditch by the help of a pole to get 
there. The woman lived to old age, and he used to 
see her on his visits to Windsor, and, I believe, made 
her some allowance." 

AN APOSTOLIC PREACHER. 

Dr. Stoughton says of him, " He was not learned, 
not logical in the scholastic acceptation of the term, 
not a rhetorician, not a polished orator, but rambling, 
diffuse, unconnected, yet pointed, piercing, eminently 
evangelical, thoroughly practical, hating Antinomianism 
with a hearty hatred ; in short, an apostolic preacher 
of the gospel" 

A PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPE. 

When very early in life he was preaching at Devizes, 
some fellow came to hear him with several snakes in 



1 36 The Rev. Rowland HilL 

his pocket ; watching his opportunity, he threw three 
at once at Mr. Hill. One coiled on his arm, and 
another fastened on his neck. " Perceiving," said he, 
"that they were harmless, I merely took them off and 
threw them behind me, away from the crowd ; some 
of the people immediately drove away the sinner, and 
the result was increased attention and several con- 
versions to God. Soon afterwards the rebel came 
again to hear me ; and he that would have alarmed 
me by serpents, was himself rescued from the old 
serpent, and became for many years a steadfast fol- 
lower of the Lamb of God.*' 

FRUITS OF HIS MINISTRY. 

Mr. Hill was once attending the anniversary sermon 
for the London Missionary Society, at St. Bride's 
Church, when a most interesting circumstance 
occurred. The preacher was Dr. Gilbee, whose 
discourse, from John x. 16, was full of piet}' and 
Christian love. Mr. Hill was so delighted that he 
said, " When I found he was drawing to a conclusion, 
I could hardly help crying out, * Go on. Dr. Gilbee, 
pray give us a little more of this good stuff." At the 
close of the service he went to the vestry, and, open- 
ing the door gently, asked permission to introduce 
himself. 



Anecdotes, 137 



** Dear Dr. Gilbee, will you permit a poor unworthy 
servant of our Divine Master to thank you for this 
day's sermon ? " 

** Oh, dearest Mr. Hill ! '' exclaimed Dr. Gilbee, 
come in, come in; how glad I am to see you. It 
was under your ministry that I was first led to God. 
I once wandered into your chapel \ the music charmed 
me, and then and there it was I felt the power of the 
truth.*' 

THE EMPTY NAPKIN. 

A LADY once requested him to examine her son as 
a candidate for the ministry, remarking, ** I am sure 
he has a talent, but it is hid in a napkin." At the 
close of the interview with the young man, Mr. Hill 
said, ** Well, madam, I have shaken the napkin, and 
I cannot find the talent." 

A CONCEITED D.D. 

He could not endure anything like vanity in a 
minister. A very fine dissenter, with a doctor's 
degree, fresh from the north, once paid him a visit ; 
he fidgetted about all the time he was talking, and 
when he left the room, Mr. Hill lifted up his eyes 
and said, in his most comic tone of voice, " Only 



138 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

think that D.D. should ever be converted into a 
pedestal for a puppy." 

DIVERSION BEFORE PREACHING. 

He was staying at a friend's house on one occasion, 
and retired, as the company supposed, to consider his 
sermon before preaching; but on his host entering 
the room to inform him it was time to start, he found 
him with an old clock, which he had taken to pieces. 
In reply to the surprise which was expressed, he 
remarked, " I have been mending your old clock, and 
I will finish it to-morrow.*' After this he preached 
with more than usual ease and fervour, and drew 
several beautiful images from the occupation in which 
his friend, to his surprise, had found him engaged. 

LAYING ON OF HANDS. 

He witnessed the ordination of a minister in Scotland, 
and one of the elders of the presbytery, not being able 
to reach his hand far enough to impose it on the head 
of the candidate, used the end of his cane for the 
purpose, " This," said Mr. Hill, ** did equally well ; 
it was timber to timber." 

THE STORY OF THE PIGS. 

Two friends once entered Surrey Chapel previous to 
going to India. One was a Christian, the other not 



Anecdotes, 139 



Mr. Hill preached from the text, "We are not 
ignorant of his devices ; " and immediately told the 
following tale: — **Many years since I met a drove 
of pigs in one of the narrow streets of a large town, 
and, to my surprise, they were not driven, but quietly 
followed their leader. This singular fact excited my 
curiosity, and I pursued the swine, until they all 
quietly entered the butchery. I then asked the man 
how he succeeded in getting the poor, stupid, stub- 
born pigs so willingly to follow him; when he told 
me the secret. He had a basket of beans under his 
arm, and kept dropping them as he proceeded, and 
so secured his object. Ah ! my dear hearers, the 
devil has got his basket of beans, and he knows how 
to suit his temptations to every sinner. He drops 
them by the way ; the poor sinner is thus led captive 
by the devil at his will ; and if grace prevent not, he 
will get him at last into his butchery, and there he 
will keep him for ever. Oh, it is because * we are not 
ignorant of his devices* that we are anxious this 
evening to guard you against them." 

The Christian friend mourned over this tale about 
the pigs, and feared it would excite a smile, but not 
produce conviction in the mind of his unbelieving 
companion. After the service they left the chapel, 
and all was silence for a season. 



140 The Rtv, Roivland HilL 

** What a singular statement we had to-night about 
the pigs, and yet how striking and convincing it was," 
remarked the young man. His mind was impressed 
— he could not forget the . basket of beans, the 
butchery, and the final loss of the sinner's soul. He 
left this country, but soon after corresponded with his 
friend, and referred to this sermon as having produced 
a beneficial, and, it is hoped, an abiding impression 
on his mind. 



ORDER AND DECORUM. 

In the year 1798 Mr. Hill commenced his first tour 
in Scotland. He had, at first, but small congre- 
gations ; but after a few weeks, 15,000 people 
assembled to hear him on the Calton Hill. 

A Scotch minister stated that he never heard an 
anecdote from a pulpit in his native land until Mr. 
Hill began his itinerant labours there. 

The Scotch people complained that he rode upon 
all order and decorum. Mr. Hill, after this, called 
one of his carriage-horses " Order " and the other 
*' Decorum," and when asked the reason, he answered, 
**0h, I have given them these names that the people 
in the north may tell the truth in one way if they do 
not in another; but happy should I be to ride on the 



Anecdotes. 14 r 



back of such order and decorum as they advocate till 
I had ridden them to death." 

THE SWEARER SILENCED. 

Returning from Ireland in a ship whose captain was 
heard to swear much, Mr. Hill rebuked him by say- 
ing, " Captain, let us have fair play. It is my turn 
next." 

AN EXPEDIENT FOR BREVITY 

Mr. Hill once left London to advocate tne claims ot 
Christian Missions. He had been much indisposed, 
and promised to be brief in his sermons; a friend 
who travelled with him kindly undertaking to check 
him, when he found him forgetting his promised 
limits. At Leeds he addressed a great multitude in 
the Cloth Hall. He was excited by the scene, and 
became inattentive to the gentle admonitions which 
he received by a pull at his coat-tail. At length, he 
told the people what he had promised, and how his 
brother had been puUing him by the coat. " Never 
mind," he added, **let us have another pull, a strong 
pull, and a pull altogether, and who knows but what 
the devil's throne may fall from some poor sinner's 
heart?'* 



_ -miTT-g: '.airy.* b» 
irLLii ar. -riii: was 



::!= — JTC jjiL'j arre 



-sjixs: 



-rir r^rjurte : ^-^i:-: : isjzr.r- :: :u-Ijj=c -x: rjumsr^cise 



r-i irir. H5s 









TTuhiZci zijnr'' iHw v::^-.:: .r. _- 7'is r.nscrscizicii 



Anecdotes, 143 



was large. Thus he began : ** My dear hearers, I 
guess many of you have come to attend Bristol fair. 
So am I. You do not mean to show your goods 
until to-morrow; but I shall exhibit mine to-night. 
You are afraid purchasers will not come up to your 
prices ; but I am afraid my buyers will not come 
down to mine \ for mine ** (striking his hand on the 
Bible) "are without money and without price." 

SEVERE BUT FAITHFUL. 

A RATHER talkative woman one day said to him, " I 
have been a good deal of late with some papists, and 
they have sadly tempted me to change my religion.** 
** Indeed, ma*am,*' he replied, " I was not aware until 
now that you had any religion to change.*' 

TOPLADY'S FUNERAL SERMON. 

Mr. Toplady died on Tuesday, August nth, 1718, 
and on the 1 7th of the same month his remains were 
conveyed from Knightsbridge, for interment in Tot- 
tenham Court ChapeL In accordance with his 
expressed desire that he might be laid in the sepulchre 
of the dead without any eulogy from the living, or the 
parade of an ostentatious funeral, the time of his 
burial was kept, as much as possible, concealed from 
the public. Still, from information which could not 



144 ^^^ R^' Rowland Hill. 

be prevented, thousands of persons attended at the 
ceremony ; and Mr. Rowland Hill, unable to restrain 
the expression of his feelings, rose unexpectedly, and 
with an energy and pathos that commanded the 
breathless attention of the congregated multitude, 
delivered an unstudied, but not on that accoimt less 
touching and beautiful, address, on the excellences of 
him over whom they were then assembled to lament. 
The power of his language on this occasion added to 
his reputation as a speaker ; it also evinced the real 
feeling and piety of his heart, whence it came in all 
the glowing sensibility of the emotions by which it 
was agitated and impressed. 

PREACHING m WALES. 

It is said that in the Principality, wherever he went, 
Mr. Hill was followed by multitudes. He would 
seize the opportunity of the noontide rest from labour 
to gather around him the Welsh peasantry who live 
in the mountains, and on summer evenings thousands 
would congregate on the side of some romantic hill, 
after a walk of many]|miles by rugged and steep paths, 
to listen to his preaching. He could not speak Welsh, 
but the Welsh who understand English are exceedingly 
fond of hearing a sermon in our tongue. f. 



Anecdotes. 145 



PERSONAL PREACHING. 

It is said of Rowland Hill that if you sat in the back 
seat in the gallery, while he was preaching, you always 
had a notion that Mr. Hill meant you ; or that if you 
sat in the doorway where he could not see yOu, yet 
you were quite convinced he must know you were 
there, and that he was preaching right at you. 

THE INFIDEL RECLAIMED. 

A MEMBER of an infidel club came on a Sunday 
evening into Surrey Chapel merely to gratify his 
curiosity, or to ridicule the truths he heard, but re- 
turned home crying for mercy and pardon ; and in a 
few days after visited Mr. Rowland Hill, to inquire 
what he should do to be saved. Although engaged in 
a laborious business, he dedicated his few leisure 
hours to the service of God ; and it is supposed that 
his benevolent exertions brought him to a premature, 
l?ut happy termination of his life. 

REJOICING WITH TREMBLING. 

Rowland Hill was one day conversing with Mr. 
John Vine Hall, when the latter, speaking of some 
who profess to have attained a state of experience 
which forbids all fear, observed, ** I am not there yet, 

10 



146 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

I still rejoice with trembling." Mr. Hill replied, 
** Do not wish to get any further. Remember, blessed 
is the man that feareth alwa3rs. I am not afraid of 
the faithfulness of Christ, but I am afraid of the 
deceitfulness of my own heart." 

AN EARNEST WISH. 

In the last sermon he ever preached, delivered on 
March 31st, 1833, he said, "Oh! my dear brethren, 
I almost wish to be made young again, if I could bat 
see such days as when I first came and preached at 
Tottenham Court Chapel, and was in the habit of 
preaching in the streets and lanes for want of room. 
Oh ! how I love to recollect what I then felt ! " 

THE "benevolent" PILL-BOX. 

The following anecdote was communicated to the 
writer by an aged member of Surrey Chapel, who well 
remembers the incident. In Mr. Hill's time it was 
the custom to make the annual collection for the funds 
of the Benevolent Society, instituted in 1784, on New 
Year's night. On one of these occasions, towards Ae 
close of Mr. Hill's life, an amusing incident took 
place. During the service a small parcel was handed 
to Mr. Hill,. who was then standing near the Com- 
munion Table. Several layers of paper were sue- 



Anecdotes. 147 



cessively removed, and at last a small pill-box was 
disclosed, containing the label, "Rowland HilFs 
Benevolent Pills." The box being opened, was now 
found to be filled with gold coins. Always ready 
with a playful remark on occasions like this, Mr. Hill, 
looking around his congregation, in the midst of the 
fog which at that moment filled the chapel, quaintly 
remarked, " I will take as many of these pills as you 
like to send me," and then proceeded with the service 
in which he was engaged when thus interrupted. 

RELIGION versus WORLDLINESS. 

A MEMBER of his congregation was in the habit of 
going to the theatre. Mr. Hill went to him and said, 
" This will never do — a member of my Church in the 
habit of attending the theatre ! " Mr. So-and-So 
replied that it smrely must be a mistake, as he was not 
in the habit of going there, although it was true he 
did go now and then, for a treat, ** Oh ! " said 
Rowland Hill, " then you are a worse hypocrite than 
ever, sir. Suppose any one spread the report that I 
ate carrit)n, and I answered, * Well, there is no wrong 
in that ; I don't eat carrion every day in the week, 
but I have a dish now and \htx\for a treat T Why, 
you would say, * What a nasty, foul, and filthy appetite 
Rowland Hill has, to have to go to carrion for a treat.' 



148 The Rev. Rowland Hill, 

Religion is the Christian's truest treat, Christ is his 
enjoyment." And then he added he would not 
profess a religion that did not give him joy. He 
would not go to chapel every Sunday with ^ couple 
of books under his arm, and be crushed in a pew for 
hours, if he found no joy from religion. He went to 
the house of God because there his heart leaped with 
holy mirth. 

MR. hill's general KNOWLEDGE. 

It is said of Mr. Hill that " he had an uncommon 
quickness of apprehension, which will account for the 
great fund of general knowledge which he possessed ; 
though he never seemed to study anything, or to read 
any book attentively through, yet there was no subject 
upon which he seemed unable to speak \ though in 
discourse he could never be kept long to any one 
point." 

THE DRUNKARD SAVED. 

A DRUNKARD, swcarcr, and cruel persecutor of his 
wife, who belonged to Mr. Wesley's society, received 
her one evening on her return from his chapel with 
such kindness of manner that she was astonished. He 
said, "I have been to hear Mr. Hill ; I am a sinner; 
you were right, I was wrong ; I hope I shall never be 



Anecdotes, 149 



unkind to you again, but that we shall walk together 
in the same way.** 

LONG SERMONS. 

After he had reached his eighty-fourth year, it was 
not at all surprising that now and then, before he 
entered the pulpit, he would express a fear lest 
increasing lassitude should cause him to preach with 
impaired force and effect ; but the wonder was that 
as soon as he began to address the people this appre- 
hension was entirely forgotten. Somebody would, 
perhaps, say to him at the close of the service, "Well, 
sir, notwithstanding your complaint of weakness, do 
you know how long you preached this morning?" 
** Perhaps half an hour, or a little more.** "Why, 
sir, you were more than an hour in your sermon.'* 
He then used to look astonished, and say, **Well, I 
am sure I had not an idea of it ; it was too long for 
me, and too long for the people ; but when I am once 
set a-going I cannot stop. I must be shorter, 
though.'* 

MINISTRY TO THE SICK POOR. 

His attention to the little comforts of the afflicted 
poor made them feel that he really had their interests 
at heart. He was sometimes seen early in the summer, 



1 50 Tlie Rev. Rowland Hill. 

searching his garden, with a basket in his hand, for 
the few ripe strawberries he could find, to carry them 
himself to some sufferer to whom they would prove a 
welcome refreshment ; and when he offered this little 
present, it was with a most affectionate kindness of 
manner. 

THE LOST EYE-GLASSES. 

One Sabbath morning he was expounding a passage 
in Isaiah. He placed his spectacles on the side of 
the pulpit, but the zeal of the preacher soon displaced 
them, and they fell into the desk below. He wanted 
to refer to the scriptures, but no glasses could be 
found. His pockets were searched, he looked again 
and again to the place where he had deposited them, 
but the glasses were not forthcoming. All this time 
he was making remarks, though not very much con- 
nected with the subject. At length he exclaimed, 
" Dear me, I have lost my glasses ! " and then im- 
proved the circumstance by the remark, " Dear young 
people, make the best use of your eyes while you can, 
for the time may soon come when you will know the 
value of sight by the loss of it." 

IMPATIENCE OF RESTRAINTS. 

In his old age there were seasons when affliction kept 



Anecdotes. 151 



him out of the pulpit ; but it was necessary to keep a 
kindly watch over him, as there was danger of his 
moving off to chapel as soon as he heard the distant 
notes of the organ. The evening of the new year was 
always a happy season with him, when the *' general 
communion of saints '* was enjoyed at Surrey Chapel. 
He was once confined with inflamed eyes, which were 
bound up; and most reluctantly he consented to 
remain at home; but just as the people were ap- 
proaching the table of the Lord, the venerable man 
made his appearance. He had on a large blue cloak, 
and, though blindfolded, had found his way from the 
house into the chapel alone. The excitement pro- 
duced cannot be described. There was one burst of 
affectionate feeling when the people saw their beloved 
pastor pressing towards the communion-table, while 
the officiating ministers were urging him to retire. In 
the midst of this scene he was heard loudly exclaim- 
ing, "My dear people, they won't let me say one 
word to you." He then pronounced a brief but 
touching benediction upon them, and retired from the 
chapel. 

THE LOOSENING OF THE SILVER CORD. 

On the occasion when he left London for the country 
for the last time, the rapid manner in which he passed 



152 Tlie Rev, Rowland Hill, 

from the grave to the gay was a stiong" indication 
of the excited state of his mind Having finished his 
lunch, he called out, " Charles, are the horses ready?" 
"Not quite, sir." "Horses are good things,** he 
remarked ; " I had one that carried me many miles to 
preach the gospel ; he was a kind creature ; I remem- 
ber I taught him to dance, and he managed it very well 
indeed. Oh ! me, — I am now leaving this place, 
never, perhaps, to see it again. Oh ! 'tis a solemn 
thought. Charles, where is the old cat? I've not 
seen him for a long time ; he used to keep my feet 
warm in the winter, and curl his tail round my legs. 

How does Doctor go on ? I don't much like 

that man. There's something odd about him, and 
his temper is queer. Charles, are the horses ready ? ** 
" Nearly so, sir." " I had a cow once at Wotton, 
and she was a great favourite. I tried to teach 
her to dance, but, poor thing ! she made a sad 
out of it. I once permitted her to give me a ride, 
but I had no sooner got on her back than away she 
went, quite delighted with her load ; but I was soon 
upset, so I never gave her another treat" At this 
moment the servant entered, and said, " The horses 
are ready, sir." " Oh ! dear, must I go ? " He rose 
with difficulty from his chair. He walked to the 
door, and turned back; he sighed, and gave a search- 



Anecdotes, 153 



ing look round the room, and then, in a subdued 
tone, with his eyes raised, he exclaimed, ** 0h ! 'tis 
a solemn thought, — I am not likely to see this place 
again." He paused, and in a voice little louder 
than a whisper, added, " But what a mercy to have 
lived here fifty years, and by heavenly grace to have 
been kept unspotted from the world ! " He then 
said to his attendant, " I'll go into the kitchen and 
see the servants." He slowly descended the steps, 
where he found them all waiting to bid him farewell. 
Standing in the centre of the kitchen with deeply 
-affected feelings, he said, " You'll not see your old 
master again.'* All present were in tears. Just at 
this moment the old cat made his appearance. "You 
nasty old creature," said Mr. Hill ; " so you have 
just come to say mew, mew, before I go ; where have 
you been ? Ah ! you may mew ! Let me stroke his 
back, Daniel" The cat was caught, and having 
patted poor puss several times, Mr. Hill ordered him 
to be set at liberty. He then proceeded to the 
coach-yard. He looked for a second or two with 
deep interest at the chapel. " There I have preached 
for fifty years ; but my work is done." He got into 
his carriage, and then exclaimed, as he drew up the 
window blind, " Farewell ! till bodies meet to part no 
more." 



A ?LZa5A5T KZT20SFSCT. 

Ksrm-wTso his past cxctricesy when near bis death, 
he declared^ -Were I :d Irte my life over agvn, I 
wooLd preach, rzsi ±e same.'' Tjnokfng upwards to 

cxemstl gloTT, he cist bimsdf into die dost. 

a£S£3k:z or xtxd. 

Is his old age his absecce of mind required cmistant 
warrhfhhiess on the part or his attendant, and a scene 
like the fbllowing oftea took place. Before his depar- 
ture for chapel he often nnderwcnt a complete 
catechetical excrcbe. ** Have yon got yoor spectacles, 
sir ? " ** Yes, Charles." " Your white pocket-hand- 
kerchief?" " Yesr Charles." " Your coloored one ? " 
**Yes, Charles." And with an arch look, which few 
could imitate, he would firequently add, ^and my 
nose too." Then it was necessary to keep a sharp 
look out, or he would decamp without his hat. 

This absence of mind was often shown. A friend 
was with him at breakfast during Mrs. Hill's illness^ 
and noticed that he to<^ the ^g-boiler from the fiie, 
and replaced it again, but without the egg. He then 
put water into the tea-pot, but omitted the tea. As 
soon as he poured it out, he observed, " It is vciy 
weak, and must stand a little longer. Oh, my egg," 



Anecdotes. 155 



said he, "it will be overdone.'* He endeavoured 
to find the tgg, but in vain, and smiled on discovering 
its absence from the boiler. " Are you sure, sir, that 
you put your tea into your tea-pot ? " said his friend. 
He examined, and found there was none. And joined 
in a hearty laugh. 



PRESCRIPTION FOR A LONG LIFE. 

** Pray, youngster," said he to a Sunday scholar, who 
afterwards occupied his pulpit in Surrey Chapel (Dr. 
Stowell, of Rotherham College), would you like to 
live long?" **Yes, sir." ** Do you know how?" 
**No, sir.'* "Would you wish me to tell you?" 
** Please, sir." " Work hard." 



BIGOTRY DEPLORED. 

Lamenting on one occasion what he called the 
stiffness of the Church, he said, speaking of Dr. 
Chalmers, ** I don't suppose the good man would be 
allowed to preach at St. Paul's ; but if he were, it 
would not produce a thunderstorm. Indeed it is a 
question with me whether St. Paul himself would be 
admitted into his own cathedral." 



1 56 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

SURREY CHAPEL SINGING. 

Mr. J. Spencer Curwen, who has so ably supported 
his honoured father, the Rev. John Curwen, of Plais- 
tow, in promoting congregational psalmody, by the 
tonic sol-fa method of teaching the people to sing, 
thus writes : — 

" We tread upon historical ground in Surrey Chapel 
— historical, not only in evangelical labours, but, 
what is more to our present purpose, for congre- 
gational psalmody. Surrey chapel is perhaps the 
only chapel in London whose psalmody can be said 
to have a history. All other efforts at the improve- 
ment of worship music among Dissenters are recent 
compared with those which, for iriore than ninety 
years, have been carried on in this place. Rowland 
Hill, whether he called himself musical or not, had 
a strong belief that * the devil should not have all the 
best tunes,' and in the music of Surrey Chapel the 
influence of this opinion can still be traced. In those 
days organs were unheard of among Dissenters ; Row- 
land Hill placed a fine one in his chapel, an instru- 
ment which was said at the time to be the second in 
the kingdom. Moreover, the Church of England 
service, which he used, gave greater opportunity for 
musical elaboration than the * bleak ritual ' of the old 



Anecdotes. 157 



Dissenters. The consequence of all this was that 
Surrey Chapel became famed for its music; and 
people dropped in merely to hear the singing, into 
which the strong nature of Rowland Hill infused a 
great deal of life and vigour. 

" To this day the old people love to dwell upon 
the glories of those times. Then *old Jacob' was 
the organist, and wasn't he a man of the right sort ! 
Th.ere are no such organists, they will tell you, now-a- 
days, no such choirs, and the new organ [it was re- 
newed in 1858] is nothing like the old one. The 
glories of Surrey Chapel psalmody in those palmy 
days culminated in the * pieces,' as the old anthem- 
like tunes were called. Where now, we are asked, 
are the pieces like ' Vital Spark,' * Before Jehovah's 
awful Throne,' * Soon shall the trumpet sound ' (which 
brought out, obligator the fine trumpet-stop of the old 
organ), and a dozen others ? The rapture with which 
certain passages of these tunes are recalled, at a dis- 
tance of thirty or forty years, shows how deep must 
have been the impression they made. * Several of 
the pieces,' says Mr. Sherman, in the preface to 
'Surrey Chapel Music,' by being frequendy sung, 
are as familiar to the congregation as ordinary tunes. 
Nothing can be more imposing than the union of 
nearly three thousand voices rapturously and har- 



1 5 8 Tlu Rev. Rowland Hill. 

moniously singing the praises of their Saviour and 
God ; and for many years it has been to strangers one 
of the charms of Surrey Chapel, and to its regular 
attendants a tie not easily broken.' 

"Surrey Chapel has been provided in its lifetime 
with three hymnals and two music-books. Rowland 
HilFs collection of hymns was remodelled by Mr. 
Sherman, and Mr. Sherman's book has given place 
in turn to another, compiled by the present pastor, 
Mr. Newman Hall, and containing many original 
hymns. The prefaces which Rowland Hill and Mr, 
Sherman wrote to the hymnals are highly character- 
istic, and enforced with homely earnestness the duty 
which lies upon every worshipper of exerting himself 
to praise God with a loud voice. The first Surrey 
Chapel music book was compiled by Dr. Arnold and 
Messrs. Breillat and Dixon, and respectfully dedi- 
cated, by permission, to the Rev. Rowland Hill, M.A. 
It is in an oblong folio, and looks very quaint with its 
figured basses and antique score. This was followed 
in 1847 l>y a new book, issued under Mr. Sherman's 
superintendence, which had the advantage of the fine 
taste and good harmonies of Vincent Novello. * It 
was,' Mr. Sherman assures us, * a great improvement 
on the old.' This book, like its predecessor, has now 
fallen into disuse at Surrey Chapel, and is only turned 



Anecdotes, 159 



to occasionally for an old tune which the people will 
not part with. Its place has been filled by the * Con- 
gregational Psalmist/ and anthems and services of a 
modem sort have superseded the * pieces.' Sic transit 
gloria mundi, 

** The study of Surrey Chapel psalmody is most 
interesting. For three or four generations the 
church has stood apart firom all other churches, 
and kept its individual path. It has always culti- 
vated music in its services, and the changing tastes 
of nearly a century are reflected in the history of its 
psalmody. Its ministry has always been distinguished 
by that Christian fervour which kindles hearts and 
voices in the praise of God, and is, rather than a 
good organ or a well-trained choir, the basis of a real 
and joyful psalmody. The old building will soon be 
closed, and much of the traditional style, which still 
lingers in the psalmody of the place, of necessity, be 
forsaken in the new church to which the congregation 
are removing. The history of the music of Surrey 
Chapel will, however, always remain a unique and 
profitable study." 

NUMBER OF SERMONS PREACHED BY MR. HILL. 

From an account kept by Mr. Hill, it appears that up 
%o June loth, 1831, he had preached 22,291 times. 



i6o TJie Rev. Rowland Hill. 

It may, therefore, be fairly concluded, that up to the 
close of his long ministry of sixty-six years he had 
preached at least 23,000 sermons, being an average 
of nearly 350 every year. Many of these discourses 
were delivered in streets and fields. In reference to 
these services, Mr. Hill has said that, as far as he had 
ascertained, more souls were converted under those 
sermons than under any others that he preached. 
Other eminent ministers of the gospel have been 
equally indefatigable. Whitefield, it appears, in thirty- 
four years preached 18,000 sermons; and John 
Wesley, who lived to about the same age as Mr. Hill, 
delivered 40,560 sermons. 

HUMILITY. 

One of his most frequent observations was, that he 
never remembered to have left the pulpit without a 
humble recollection of his own unworthiness. He had 
naturally a keen sense of the ludicrous, and would say 
things calculated to offend a refined taste ; but when 
his imagination shone forth in all its splendour, his 
expressions were full of pathos, and often reached sub- 
limity. This is the constant characteristic of his writ- 
ings, as it was of his sermons. 

AN APT ILLUSTRATION. 

Preaching once in a manufacturing district^ he saidf 



Anecdotes. i6r 



" I have watched, this evening, the smoke arising from 
your factory chimneys, and although there was scarcely 
any air, yet how obediently it moved in the direction 
of the softest breeze ; so it is with the Christian, when 
God the Holy Ghost breathes upon his soul." 

"l LOVE THEM BOTH BEST." 

He was once preaching on the inseparable connection 
between justification and sanctification, when he thus 
concluded his remarks : ** A person once asked a dear 
little child this improper question, * Which do you 
love best, your father or your mother?* The child 
paused for a moment, and then exclaimed, *I love 
them both best* Now, if you ask me which I love 
best, justification or sanctification, I will answer with 
the little child, and never mind the bad grammar, 
* I love them both best.**' 

SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS. 

" I REMEMBER once being in company where a very 
fine child was present ; he was very beautiful, but he 
was blind ; and he laughed at those who lamented 
that he was blind. Ah ! but if he had once seen, he 
would have lamented his loss too ! Let us once see 
the glory and grace of the gospel, and feel it applied 
to our hearts, and we shall never forget its beauty.'* 

II 



1 62 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

THRIFT— A RELIGIOUS DUTY. 

When speaking to the working classes he would say, 
" I don't think much of that man's religion who is 
without his Sunday coat, when a good providence 
gives him plenty of work." 

AVERSION. 

When preaching to very plain people, he said, "I 
want you to have a holy aversion to sin. Do you 
know what I mean by aversion ? Suppose any of 
you were to put your hand into your pocket and feel 
a toad there, you would draw it out instantly from an 
aversion to the reptile. Do just so with regard to 
sin." 

A difference. 

Mr. Hill had an assistant, and on one occasion 
he thus reproved him. "You yelp like a puppy as 
soon as you get into the field ; but I am an older 
hand, and do not wish to cry till I have started some- 
thing." 

A MODEST VERDICT. 

Notwithstanding his great debility in his closmg 
years, it was often difficult to prevail on the aged 
preacher to seek the repose which nature required; 



Anecdotes, 163 



and yet his beautiful remark was, " I never had too 
much of the seraph, but always too much of the 
snail.** 

SLEEPERS REBUKED. 

Once at Wotton he was preaching in the afternoon 
(the only time it seemed possible to be drowsy under 
him), he saw some sleeping, and paused, saying, ** I 
have heard that the miller can sleep while the mill is 
going, }Dut if it stops it awakens him. I'll- try this 
method; " and so sat down, and soon saw an aroused 
audience. 

CONSCIENCE — ^A LOOKING-GLASS. 

In a sermon at Surrey Chapel he made a pointed 
address to young people about to be married. " You 
will have to get furniture,'* he said, " for your new 
home. Now, there is one piece I would strongly 
recommend — a nice bright looking-glass, />., a good 
conscience, which mind you keep clean and clear, that 
you may see yourselves pleasantly reflected day by 
day.'* 

vaccination. 
On the discovery of vaccination by Dr. Jenner, he 
eagerly embraced the new means of benefiting his 



i64 Tlu Rev. Rowland HiU. 

fellow creatures, and announced after preaching that 
he would be ready to vaccinate to-moirow mcmiing as 
many children as they liked to bring. In an incred- 
ibly short space of time he had successfully vaccinated 
no less than i,ooo children. 

" TAKE HEED HOW YE HEAR.* 

When making a tour in Yorkshire an old man said to 
him, " Mr. Hill, it is just sixty-five years since I first 
heard you preach, and I remember your text, and 
part of your sermon." " Tis more than I do," was 
his reply. " You told us," the old man proceeded, 
"that some people were very squeamish about the 
delivery of different ministers, who preached the 
same gospel. You said, * Suppose you were attending 
to hear a will read, when you expected a legacy to be 
left you, would you employ the time when it was 
reading in criticising the manner in which the lawyer 
read it ? No, you would not ; you would be giving 
all ear to him to hear if anything was left to you, and 
how much it was. That is the way I would advise 
you to hear the gospel.* " 

OPPOSITION DEFEATED. 

On a fine summer evening he was preaching by the 



Anecdotes. 165 



side of his father's park, and his powerful voice was 
sufficiently strong for the sound to reach the ears of 
his father, then sitting in his drawing-room, confined 
to the house by gout He sent a servant to Richard 
to require his presence, and on his arrival he inquired 
whose voice it was that he heard, remarking, ** It is 
Rowland, I suppose, preaching to the people of the 
neighbourhood ; " and then commanded him to fetch 
him at once. Richard obeyed, and going to Rowland, 
whispered to him that he must go directly to his 
father. Rowland said, "What shall I do with the 
congregation ? I cannot go unless you come up and 
finish the discourse." Richard at once consented, 
and Rowland proceeded to his father, who gave him a 
lecture for his irregular conduct " I hear some other 
person preaching,*' said his father; ** who is that?" 
I suppose it is Richard finishing my sermon," was the 
prompt and startling reply. " Go immediately," said 
his father, **and command him to come to me." 
Both brothers were soon in attendance, and after 
submitting to the paternal rebuke, resolved not to 
offend again — till the next time. 

SURETYSHIP. 

Mr. Hill once became surety for a member of his 
church. The man failed, and the incautious pastor 



i66 Tke Rev, Raarland Hill. 

had to pav j^i,ooo — the amoont of the bond. The 
same daj cm which he discharged his liability he 
called upon a firieod, who, obserring that he was un- 
usually depressed, remarked, ** Why, !Mr. Hill, what's 
the matter with you to-day? You seem altogether 
hea\7 and uncomfortable." ^ Heavy, sir,'* replied 
3klr. Hill, *' you are quite mistaken there, for I am 
a thousand pounds lighter than I was yesterday." 

He is a foolish man who questions the wisdom of 
the inspired proverb, '* He that hateth suretyship is 
sure." 

No one should lend or be bond for a greater amount 
than he is prepared to give outright. 

ANTINOMIANISM. 

An Antinomian once called upon him in reference to 
his preaching a " legal gospel" When Rowland Hill 
asked him if he held '' the ten commandments as i 
rule of life," ** Certainly not," replied' the visitor. 
Mr. Hill rang the bell, and on the servant making his 
appearance, he said, "Charles, show that man the 
door, and keep your eye on him until he is beyond the 
reach of every article of wearing apparel or other pro- 
perty in the halL" Recei\Tng a letter from William 
Huntington, he took it from the bearer, and holding it 



Anecdotes. 167 



with the tongs» he thrust it into the fire, and said, 
" There, that's my answer I " 

IDLE GOSSIP REBUKED. 

On one occasion when Mr. and Mrs. Hill were on a 
visit to a friend in the country, the evening conversation 
turned upon a review of the characters of many per- 
sonal friends and acquaintances. Mr. Hill remained a 
silent member of the group, and when he found that 
the verdicts pronounced were not in strict accordance 
with either truth or charity, he rose and rang the bell. 
The servant appeared, and he inquired if they had at 
hand a hearth-brush and a dust-pan. Being answered 
in the affirmative, he begged to be fevoured with them 
for a few minutes. When they were brought in, he 
took them and commenced sweeping the carpet, say- 
ing that a prodigious quantity of dust and dirt had 
been scattered that evening, and he was anxious it 
should be removed. The hint was taken, and the 
conversation was directed to other topics. 

APOLOGIES. 

He often received letters of apology from persons 
who had traduced him. One of his correspondents 
writes, "I most ardently, most zealously, most sincerely 



168 T/ie Rev. Rowland Hilt. 

ask your pardon for the many unknown ofiences against 
you, for the opprobrious and scurrilous language, for 
the most bitter invectives, with which I have treated 
your name and person." 

INGRATITUDE. 

On one occasion he offended the farmers of his con- 
gregation at Kingston by saying they were as bad as 
their very pigs. 

WTien they demanded an explanation, he said, **Now, 
look at your pigs ; when the acorns drop they do not 
go under the elm tree in search for them, but under 
the oak ; and when they have swallowed all they can 
find, off they go, without giving a single look at the 
tree which furnished them meal. So you, like your 
pigs, know where to go to look for your wheat, and 
when your bams are filled with plenty, like them, you 
forget to look up to the source whence all your bless- 
ings have been obtained.** 

ROWLAND HILL*S FERRETS. 

Soon after the opening of Surrey Chapel, several 
devoted men went through the crowded districts of 
Southwark, talking to the poor, and holding district 
meetings for prayer. There were persons who con- 



Anecdotes. ^69 



sfdered these proceedings irregular, and complained 
to Mr. Hill on the subject. " Let them alone,'* said 
the good pastor, " they are my ferrets ; they go into 
the holes and comers where I cannot go, and drive 
out the poor sinner to hear the gospel." 

THE PERCY ANECDOTES. 

It would have been impossible to enumerate all the 
baseless stories which have gained currency respecting 
Rowland Hill. An exception may be made, however, 
in the case of two which are given in the Percy Anec- 
dotes, and which are entirely destitute of truth. In 
one he is said to have been accosted by a footpad, to 
whom he delivered his money and his watch. The 
man was invited to call upon him the next day, and, 
wishing to amend his ways, Mr. Hill took him into his 
service as coachman. In the other he is credited with 
taking off his shirt to give to a sick man, in destitute 
circumstances, whom he visited. 

When his attention was called to these stories, he 
took his pen and wrote across the first, " A lie," and 
across the second, ** Another He," and then signed his 
name. 

MRS. ROWLAND HILL. 

It should not be necessary to contradict the remarks 



170 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

which Mr. Hill is reported to have made respecting his 
wife, but there is abundant reason to believe they are 
even now credited by many. Mr. William Jones, on 
being requested by Mrs. Hill to tell her the reports 
which were in circulation, mentioned the following,— 
that "her husband once put a new cap into the fire," and 
on one occasion, when she entered the chapel with a 
new bonnet, he exclaimed, ** Here comes Mrs. Hill, with 
a chest of drawers on her head." Both stories were de- 
clared to be false, and Mr. Hill remarked with indigna- 
tion, — ** Sir, I hope that the Christian minister, if not 
the gendeman, always prevented me firom making my 
wife a laughing-stock for the amusement of the vulgar." 



Of the use of anecdote and illustration in preaching. 
Dr. Guthrie very truly says : — 

" By awakening and gratifying the imagination, the 
truth finds its way more readily to the heart, and makes 
a deeper impression on the memory. The story, like 
a float, keeps it from sinking ; like a nail, fastens it in 
the mind ; like the feathers of an arrow, makes it 
strike ; and, like the barb, makes it stick." 



PART III. 
)ttljit ^a2m0S an& JHustratious. 



PART III. 

PULPIT SAYINGS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



RECIPROCITY. 

THE grace that leads to Christ previously cornea 
from Christ ; if I live on Him, I feel that I am' 
enabled to live to Him ; there is nothing will teach 
me to live above the world, but living upon Christ. 

Ever may we be looking to God to implant the 
pHnciphy and then we may depend upon it we shall 
abound in the practice. 

Directly I am brought under the blessed influence 
of the life of God, every pulsation will be to His 
glory. 

"the robe of righteousness." 

Though I am imperfect in myself, there is a word 
that tells me I am complete in Christ — the redemp- 
tion is completely wrought out : the righteousness 
that is unto all, and upon all them that believe, is a. 



1 74 The Rev. Rowland Hill 

robe of which it is truly said '' no age can change its 
glorious hue,** but it will be our everlasting ornament 
n the mansions of glory. 



My dear Saviour has not only provided for me 
pardoning love, but renewing grace: nine- tenths of a 
believer's prayer is for purity of heart. 

THE DEVIL'S RARITIES. 

What is to be done with those professors who are 
half for Baal and half for God ? They know so much 
of religion that they are spoiled for the world ; they 
do not go very often to the play house, only now and 
then as a rarity. God keep us from thedeviVs rarities! 
Do all that come to the Lord's Table prove themselves 
to be what they ought to be ? I would they did ! 
I think if the devil could pick out from among the 
people of God those that belong to him, he would 
have a pretty good picking : if I am not fit for earthly 
communion, am I fit for the communion above ? 



I guess what heaven is above when I feel heaven 
upon earth : glorification is a completion of the work 
of grace. 

A PREACHER'S AMBITION. 

I SEE many of my juniors called away before me into 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustratiofis. 175 

an eternal world : I pray when my time comes (and 
that must now be near) that I may die with an honest 
pulpit conscience that I have preached the truth from 
my heart. 

Do not strive to make yourselves holy by working, 
but by believing, by living out of yourselves, entirely 
on the strength of Christ : the believer's life is a life 
hid with Christ in God. 

THE BLESSING OF AFFLICTION. 

The children of God should never look upon afflic- 
tions as sent in anger, but as merciful visitations, for 
whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth : every twig of His 
rod grows in the paradise of His love ; do let your 
afflictions have the tendency to prompt you to prayer : 
a child of God, in an imprisoned state of affliction, is 
far better oflf than sinners at liberty. 



$ am told of the beauty of holiness : there is 
infinite beauty in the holiness of God ; we are beauti- 
fied when we are made holy. 

free pardon. 

I MUST have a more enlarged mind for a better world. 
1 must have a bigger vessel for bigger joys ; sinner as 



I ^6 7 lie Rev, Rowland Hill. 

I am, I have no more sins to answer for than if I were 
an angel, for my Saviour has paid the uttermost 
farthing ; if we had one sin to answer for, we must lose 

heaven. 



The work of Spiritual religion is entirely the work 
of the Holy Ghost : it is as much beyond our reach, 
naturally, as the stars in the firmament. 

REPENTANC E— BLESSINGS OF. 

My God, let me have that repentance which is only 
to be got by living near Thee. 

No one knows how to pray for conversion imtil he 
is converted. 

Repentance is the handmaid that is sent to scour 
our hearts, and then comes the Lord to dwell in 
them. 



I am an old man, and must soon have done with 
preaching : it will not do for me to talk about trifles 
just to please the ear j I do no good here, imless I 
do good to your souls while you are here : better 
gain one soul to* Christ than gain the admiration of 
thousands. 

THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 

We know nothing of the covenant of grace, but as we 



I 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations. 177 

feel the grace of the covenant in our hearts ; there is 
a holy impossibility that where grace reigns sin can 
reign also; they that live under fleshly principles 
cannot please God. It is meet that infinite holiness 
should love its own image wherever He implants it ; 
vile as you are, He has made you lovely by His 
grace. 



God creates in me an appetite for Himself, and He 
is the bread of Kfe to satisfy that appetite. 

GRACE AND WORKS. 

If grace works in us, we can no more cease working 
for God than we can cease breathing ; when the heart 
is right, everything else will be right. Oh, happy are 
they that are enabled to devote their early life to God ! 



Hear with astonishment the large charter of bless- 
ings promised — All things are yours / 

ANGELS. 

I DO not know them, but I shall know them here- 
after : we shall be the surprise of angels that God 
could make creatures who were so averse to all good 
the inheritors of His kingdom. 



Peter seemed the boldest of all the disciples, but 

12 



1 78 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

there was something at the core which he could not 
see, and when he was tried it came out. God 
Almighty save us from self-confidence. 

THE NEW CREATION. 

Carnal men may say prayers, but they cannot pray. 
It is natural for man to dread wrath, but it is super- 
natural in man to love holiness. We know nothing 
of life till we are bom, so we know nothing of spiritual 
life until we are bom again. 

There will be no cry to be saved till the beginning 
of salvation has created that cry in our hearts. 



Leave mankind to their own maxims and ways, and 
they are pretty devils ; but if Christ take them in 
hand (for instance, look at the South Sea Islands), 
His very name will pray away their iniquities. 

MEDITATION. 

There is nothing more glorious to meditate upon 
than the infinite dignity and majesty of Christ; God 
enlarge our vessels that we may receive more from 
Him, and make us to hunger and thirst more after 
Him ; 'tis the sweetest thing in the world to be over- 
whelmed with gratitude towards Him. 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations. 179 

HOLY COURAGE. 

CoMK, beloved, and magnify our glorious King by 
calling down His mighty power for vengeance on 
your sins. Don't be a coward; remember, holy 
courage is a heavenly virtue. The grand work of 
Christ is to destroy the work of the devil \ the more 
we know of Christ, the more we shall hate sin ; 'tis 
sin alone that keeps us from Him. 



Poverty of spirit is the bag into which Christ puts 
the riches of His grace. 

STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS. 

Don't look after the power in yourselves, but expect 
the power of God to rest upon you. May the Lord 
make you know that you have nothing in yourselves : 
the ground of real humility is a knowledge of ourselves, 
feeling we can do nothing without God. 



The Apostle James says, " Count it all joy when ye 
fall into divers temptations ; " I do not want Satan to 
tempt me, but if I am tempted, let it be a matter of 
thankfulness that I am enabled to resist, by looking 
up to God for momentary strength. 



i8o The Rev, Rowland HilL 



"be ye reconciled to god.** 

The best of God*s people have enough to lament 
before Him : take care of quarrelling with God ; let 
Him alone, and be you content to be at His disposal.; 
do pray for a yielding spirit, a child-like giving way, 
when anything tries your patience. 



There is that in Christ which my best conceptioiK 
can never reach. 

SHORTCOMING— SENSE OF. 

Nothing sets us right so much as a sense of our short- 
comings before God. Do you love God more, or pray 
to Him more, than you should? Examine yourselves, 
and blush for shame. 'Tis strange we- should dictate 
to God, yet there is often a great deal of this in our 
proud hearts ; there is not a more beautiful metaphor 
than the clay and the potter. Oh yield- to every touch 
of God's providence : . remember you are nothing but 
ignorance and folly, and all that is wise and good 
comes from God, and from God alone. 



.1 cannot perform one duty without a spiritual 
principle. 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations, 1 8 1 

THE DIGNITY OF THE REDEEMED. 

How are we dignified by regeneration : your bodies 
are the temples of the Holy Ghost, t' We. should 
strive to act, walk, and speak as such. The grand 
matter should be what God think& of us, not what 
man thinks : the praise of man is only an awful 
indication that we are not meet for the praise, of God. 



We never can partake of Christ, the heavenly bread, 
without a heavenly effect : if I live upon that whole- 
some bread I shall be happy. 

AN ALTERNATIVE. 

I QUESTION whether there is a moment in which we 
are not either sinning or, in some way or other,, bring- 
ing forth fruit to the glory of God. 



Are some of you causing joy to the angels of God. 
because you are coming to the God of angels ? Do 
you desire to be right with God ? A man can- never 
be sent to hell with right desires. 

STRENGTH FOR VICTORY. 

When the enemy comes to drive you down from that 
high hill of holiness which you ought to possess, fall 



1 82 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

down awhile, and while you are down let your heart 
be up to God. When He gives the word of com- 
mand, ** Stand up, let Israel go forward," then fight 
manfully, and the victory is sure." 



What dignified raiment belongs to the children of 
God ! We shall almost shame angels when we appear 
in the garments that Christ has wrought out for us. 

CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE. 

Could I see my name written in the brightest 
colours, in the Lamb's book of life, I would not take 
that as so good an evidence as having His lovely law 
written and engraven on my heart. 



There is a divine reality in the work of the Spirit: 
nothing purifies so much as pure worship; you will 
then get good by eveiy Sabbath. 

"we are debtors.'* 

I VERILY believe, if you try to be as good as you 
ought to be, you will find yourselves much worse tluui 
you think for. There would be no more good in the 
best of you than there is in hell, if God did not put it 
there. If God leaves the best of men to th^niselvtfi 
they will soon act as the worst. 



Pulpit Sayings and Illtistrations. 183 

Loo^p at Christ till you axe conformed to His image, 
look t(^ Him that you may know more of Him. 

THE SHIELD OF FAITH. 

Keep the shield of faith constantly before an up- 
right heart, then let Satan's darts, come by millions — 
down they fall — and you shall triumph gloriously. 
You may go into heaven without your shield, but you 
must carry it to heaven's door. 



How kindly did Christ dress Himself in our 
humanity and feelings ; He had all human compassion 
as well as divine omnipotence. 

THE GUEST OF THE HEART. 

** Ye are not your own.** Your bodies are the temples 
of the Holy Ghost Is that an unmeaning metaphor, 
or an over- worded expression? When God enters 
the soul, heaven enters with Him. The heart is com- 
pared to a temple— God never enters without His 
attendants ; repentance cleanses the house— y^/^^ pro- 
vides for the house — watchfulness^ like the porter, 
takes care of it— prayer is a lively messenger^ learns 
what is wanted and then goes for it— faith tells him 
where to go, and he never goes in vain. 
Joy is the musician of this temple, tuning to the 



1 84 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

praises of God and the Lamb ; and this ^terrestrial 
temple shall be removed to the celestial world, for the 
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised. 



He who reigns to bring us to heaven, in time will 
reign to keep us there for ever. 

REPENTANCE— A GRACE. 

Repentance ! That nice, lively, active grace ; when 
God sends it into the heart, what a diligent search it 
m^kes to cleanse out every sin. Repentance is not 
the work of the Law, but a grace of the Gospel. 

In prayer, never let me be satisfied without the 
supply of all my wants. The best way to have our 
wants excited is to look into our Bibles and see what 
we should want, and see what is there provided for us, 
and then go to God for a manifestation of His power. 
The very voice of prayer after God is a sure sign that 
God is coming with good after us; whatever our 
wants are, 'tis God's will that they should be satisfied. 

The law is a glass, not to make me beautiful, but 
to show me my deformities. 



Vile and deformed as I once was, yet, when 
adorned with His lovely likeness, God Himself 
delights in me. 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations. 185 

ELECTION AND SANCTIFICATION. 

We have no right to judge of election but by sancti- 
fication. How do I know that I am chosen of God ? 
Why, by God being my choice. I am to judge of my 
election by the habit of sanctification, that I am 
steadily and perseveringly holy ; that is what we want 
to feel in time — a heaven of holiness. 

God Himself cannot make me happy without 
making me holy. 



Oh that you and I could but have our religion just 
a counterpart of our Bibles : I am only happy as 
God makes me holy: a Christian obedience is 
straightforward work. 

AFFLICTIONS — THE BLESSING OF. 

We shall have to bless God for the storm that 
heaves us, wave after wave, into the harbour of eternal 
rest. We shall have more to do to bless God for 
what He denies us than for what He gives us. Let 
the Lord choose my lot, and let me be contented 
with it 



God be praised, the old man has a dying life in a 
living Christian. 



1 86 The Rev. Rowland Hill 

A PECULIAR PEOPLE. 

When I was young my friends wrote to me, telling 
me not to make myself particular, I don't wish to 
make myself particular, but I hope God will make me 
particular by making me particularly holy. That I 
may be what I should be, may the divine imaj^e be 
restored to me. 



Your life is hid with Christ in God : the world 
cannot see it in principle^ then let them see it in 
practice. 

THE NEW YEAR. 

We are beginning a new year — ^begin well with Christ 
Perhaps the reason I don't preach better is because 
you do not pray more; and the reason you do not 
profit more is because you do not pray enough for a 
blessing. I feel it important work to preach, and 
may you feel it important work to hear. May you 
begin, continue, and end this year with God. 



I am to be perpetually full of wants, that I may be 
perpetually receiving out of the fulness of Christ Jesus 
my Lord. 

repentance— A CONSTANT GRACE. 

Here were three thousand pricked to the heart; 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations. 187 

these were the first-fruits. When they heard that 
Christ had been wounded for their transgressions^ they 
were pricked to the heart ; this produced repentance. 
I tell every penitent not to be contented with his 
share of repentance, but pray that it may sink deeper 
and deeper in his heart If you continue in the 
practice of repentance, you will not \:ommit sin. 



A Christian does not work for God like pumping 
an engine which ceases with the hand; but like a 
spring, that is ever flowing. 



, TRIUMPH OVER SIN. 

Ijp sin attacks you, attack sin by believing ; you have 
a Bible that tells you, ^* Ye shall be more than con- 
querors." Do you say sin is too strong for you ? it is 
not too strong for Omnipotence that dwelleth in you. 
I don*t want to be afraid of going to hell; I want 
to be afraid of sin. Let me be afraid of sin, and then 
I need not be afraid of going to hell. 



Do we live an hour in any day without temptation 
of some kind ? Satan is about us like some flies, that 
only buzz abojut to leave contagion behind ; Satan has 



1 88 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

only to stir our corruptions arid we are soon in a 
flame thereby. 

GOOD SERVANTS. 

That which ruins a good servant destroys our 
domestic happiness, as it is to them we are indebted 
for many of our enjo)niients in private life ; while it is 
the solemn duty of every Christian master of a family 
to remember that his servants should be esteemed a 
sort of secondary children ; and that the care of their 
souls is, in a great measure, committed, to* his charge. 
Family religion is of essential consequence. 



Where you die — when you die — or by what means 
is scarcely worth a thought, if you do but die in 
Christ. 

A BLESSED TRINITY. 

No eminent blessing attends such as do not labour 
to be blessed ; while, such as are favoured with a 
sound head, a warm heart, and a Bible creed) carry 
all before them. 



I wish you to take this as your constant lesson. 
Keep in the way of duty, and let things come as they 
may, all will be well 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations. 189 

" LIGHTS OF THE WORLD." 

It is not the station that we fill which is of impor- 
tance, so much as the light we send forth from it. 
Thanks be to God, we may glorify Him in our 
several spheres more than we perhaps imagine. There 
• is no condition, however humble, which precludes the 
zealous Christian. from doing something to the honour 
. and praise of his God. 



Away with your frozen divinity^ that will never do 
I for us who wish to be warmed with divine love. 

LIFE IN CHRIST. 

•When we are risen with Christ, we leave the grave 
' of our corruption and rise up to newness of life. If I 

am risen with my living Head, I must live by my 

Head. 



The Lord makes that which is lovely, and then loves 
that which is made lovely. 

THE ROD OF AFFLICTION. 

Nothing is by blind chance, all is under the manage- 
ment of infinite wisdom. I would therefore take all 
things as coming from God, that they may lead me tp 



igo The Rev. Rowland HilL 

God. The rod of affliction which He uses is made 
up of many twigs, but they are all cut from the same 
tree. 



While repentance views the justice of God, faith 
looks up and sees the sceptre of mercy. 

UNITY IN DlVERSiry. 

We have heard before now of such a strong family 
likeness that it was hard to distinguish between two 
individuals of the same family. And there is a 
wonderfiil likeness among the children of God ; and 
we do wiser and better to look afiter that than to look 
after the paltry sects and modes into which Chris- 
tianity is now too much divided. There is but one 
and the same grace belonging to them alL God be 
praised, all these minor differences that prevail so 
much in time will cease when we come to see as we 
are seen, know as we are known, and come to be for 
ever with the Lord. 



Soldiers, if they fight well, must keep their ranks j 
let the thoughts of my mind keep their ranks. 

WISE CORRECTION. 

We should chastise our children as the Lord corrects 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations. l g 1 

His; never in wrath, but always in love. Every 
stripe given by an angry hand, from a revengeful 
heart, increases the evil for which the child is so un- 
wisely and unmercifully corrected. 



I want to feel an holy aptitude to give my heart to 
God, and to walk in His ways ; I do believe I shall 
go to heaven if I have heaven in my heart now. 

TRUE FAITH. 

True faith, like the dove sent forth by Noah, may for 
a season hover over the waters without finding a rest- 
ing-place, but will always return to the Ark, bearing 
the olive-branch of peace and love. 



A man may have as many religious changes in the 
year as there are changes in the moon, and be un' 
changed after all. 

SHADOW AND SUBSTANCE. 

The dress of religion is one thing, and its substance 
another. I have heard of a person who wished to be 
dressed very fine in his coffin ; but would that restore 
animation ? The Comforter is sent to us for the very 
purpose that He may put spiritual life within us. 



192 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

We are called to self-denial, that we. may be kept 
from denying Christ. 

THE PREPARATION OF THE HEART. 

We know with what an excellent nicety the skilful 
engraver can represent the forms he designs to produce; 
but it is essential to his art that the substance he 
engraves upon should be suited to receive the impres- 
sion. What could he do on the surface of a coarse 
tile? So God refines the heart, to fit it to receive 
His lovely image, and then, by the operation of His 
Spirit, completes the glorious work. 



It is a sure sign there is peace between us and God 
when we are receiving a number of loving presents. 
If I go to buy of Him, I shall offend Him ; but if I 
go to beg, I shall please Him. 

PRISONERS set FREE BY* CHRIST. 

If repentance be genuine, it will drive us from sin to 
Christ ; and the Bible reveals no other salvation but 
through Him. As prisoners can never open their 
prison-doors by the deepest repentance for their crimes, 
so no acquittal from the guilt of our sins can ever be 
obtained but through the sufferings and death ol 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations. 193 

Christ, who opens the prison-doors to those that are 
•fast tied and bound with the chains of their sins. 



The children of God ** shall mount up with wings 
as an eagle,*' not with the wings of a carrion crow, 
which can scarcely mount above the dung-hill of earth. 
No ! they shall have eagle's wings, and an eagle's eye 
too! 

DOVES AND BUTTERFLIES. 

A MERE professor of religion is like a butterfly, all 
surface — if the breath of heaven breathe upon it, it is 
driven hither and thither ; but the Christian is like the 
dove : a strong-pinioned bird. She may meet the 
thunderstorm in her course, but she is determined to 
persevere ; she will tack about, and give even the 
winds and the tempest to know she has a nest — that 
it is her home — that her heart is there, and she must 
reach it. 



It is religion itself that explains itself to the happy 
soul that has it ; God give you that religion in your 
hearts which explains itself by itself, and enables you 
to set to your seal that God is true. 

13 



194 The Rev. Rowland Hill, 

THE DIVINE FATHER. 

In all the avocations of time, the child of God will 
never lose sight of his heavenly Father. I have often 
seen a little child following its parent in the fields, 
and stooping now and then to gather a few flowers ; 
he looks up and sees him at a distance, the little crea- 
ture runs and gets up to him again, afraid he should 
go too far away. So the Christian, while gathering 
a few flowers from the world, suffers his God to be 
often at a distance from himt ; but the instant he per- 
ceives that he is alone, he runs to reach again his 
Father, Protector, and Friend. 



I would not have you suppose that all your fears 
are ungodly fears ; there is no harm in having a sus- 
picion of ourselves — we should examine ourselves, as 
Satan is very busy in his attacks. 

FLOWERS AND FRUITSi 

I LOVE to see all the flowers and fruits which God 
makes the earth bring forth to please us^ and then I 
think, " Oh that I could bear more fruits of righteous- 
ness to please Him /" 



There cannot be religion without feeling : how can 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations. 195 

you pray without feeling your wants? how can you 
fear without feeling your danger? how can you love 
without feeling the object lovely ? If you cry out, 
**0h, the remains of my corruptions," cry on : God 
loves to hear such cries. 

LOVE IS ALL. 

If the sun shines on a dull brick or stone, they reflect 
none of his beams, there is nothing in them capable 
of this : nor is there, in an ungodly man, any natural 
power of reflecting the light of God. But let the sun 
shine upon a diamond, and see what rays of sparkling 
beauty it emits. Just so the Christian who has the 
graces of the Spirit ; when God shines in his soul, 
beams of celestial loveliness are reflected by him on 
the world. The Christian's character should savour 
of holiness. The promise is, " I will be as the dew 
unto Israel ; '* and how sweet is the fragrance of the 
flower after the gentle falling of the dew : so must the 
true believer be under the soft distilment of the drop- 
pings of heaven on his heart. Cultivate a spirit of 
love. Love is the diamond amongst the jewels of a 
believer's breastplate. The other graces shine like 
the precious stones of nature, with their own peculiar 
lustre and various hues ; but the diamond is white. 
Now in white all the colours are united, so in love is 



196 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 



centred all the other Christian graces and virtues. 
" Love is the fulfilling of the law." 



There is nothing like the shower of pardoning love 
to water the soil that grace may grow. 

THE BLINDNESS OF IGNORANCE. 

Ignorant minds may flounder and wander about, 
because they know nothing of the truth ; but to those 
whose minds are enlightened from above, all will 
appear brilliancy itself. I may take a man out on a 
fine starlight night and, pointing to a star of the first 
brilliancy and magnitude, I may say, " Do you see 
that beautiful star ? " and he says, " No ; I do not" 
Why, how is this ? The man is blind. 



We cannot shine with rays of our own, but we must 
shine if shone upon. 

THE PERFECT LAW. 

Observe the plumage of some elegant bird, mark 
accurately the least portion of its varied dress, and' 
see whether you can note a single defect in its Maker's 
skilful work. Thus the most minute regulations of the 
law of God prove the perfect wisdom of the infinite 
mind that framed and gave the whole. 



Pulpit Sayings ana Illustrations, 197 

God forbid I should say my holiness is my merits 
but it is my mercy, 

THE CLEARNESS OF ESSENTIAL TRUTHS^ 

Scripture is like the firmament on a fine star-light 
night ; many bright orbs are set in the midst of much 
obscurity. But, thanks be to God, the parts necessary 
to be seen by me are luminous. There is not in the 
Bible a single essential truth that is not comparatively 
plain. 



Conformity to the world, in all ages, has proved the 
ruin of the Church. It is utterly impossible to live in 
nearness to God, amd in friendship with the world. 

THE LOVE OF GOD WHICH PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 

I AM unable to reach the lofty theme of the love of 
God ; and yet I do not think that the little sprat which 
swims in the mighty ocean ever complains that there 
is too much water for him to swim in. So it is with 
me. I may be permitted, with my little sprat-like 
powers, to plunge into a subj ect I shall never be fully 
able to comprehend. 

I do not repent that I pray, but I do repent that I 
do not pray with more zeal. 



198 The Rev. Rowland HilL 

LIGHT ITS OWN REVEALER. 

All the lights in the world put together will not show 
the sun ; it is only to be seen by its own effects. So 
the Sun of Righteousness is only to be seen by human 
eyes, as the fulness and brightness of the Father's 
glory, by the light which guides His people to Himself. 



If I am meek and contrite, God means to pardon 
me; if I am prayerful and watchful, He means to 
bless me; He gives me these feelings that He may 
bless me while I feel them. 

THE BIBLE TRUE. 

The Bible, while it has so many wise things in it, 
could not have been the composition of fools j nor 
yet of bad men, as the design of it is entirely to 
counteract the corrupt maxims and bad principles of 
the world, and to inculcate that which is excellent and 
good ; nor yet of designing men, as it was composed 
by so many different penmen, and at such different 
ages of the world. 



*&'- 



May God bring you to the only remedy against 
that direful disease, sin; the poor sinner who speaks 
to you from the pulpit found it at the foot of the 
cross. 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustratiohs, 199 

THE BIBLE— ITS BEAUTY AND STRENGTH. 

Oh the simplicity, the energy, the beauty of the lan- 
guage of the Bible — the spiritual language of God the 
Holy Ghost ! The longer I live in the world, and 
the more I read my Bible, the more I am struck at 
the excessive energy of the Bible — the glorious strength 
of its phraseology — so far beyond anything that is 
human. I remember when at the university, many 
years ago, there was one who pretended to great wis- 
dom, and to have a wonderful insight into the things 
of God. He could not, he said, see the wonderful 
passages some were so fond of. I pointed out that 
passage, ** When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, 
then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." But 
what is meant by Christ being the life of the soul ? 
The dead can know nothing of life ; nor can those 
who have not been made partakers of Divine life com- 
prehend the beauty of those passages which speak of 
its nature and effects. 



I am saved by the Father in a way of providence ; 
I am saved by the Son in a way of redemption ; and 
I am saved by the Spirit in a way of regeneration. 

god's HATRED OF SIN. 

I CAN no more explain the infinite hatred of God to 



200 The Rev. Rowland HiU. 

sin than I can tell you the height of the heavens 
above. Infinite holiness must have an infinite hatred 
against everything that is unholy. God's heaven is 
Himself^ and His own happiness is His own eternal 
and essential holiness ; and could God be deprived o^ 
this, He would cease to be happy. 



I don't want to find out causes why God will save 
me, but I want to find out evidences that He has 
saved me. 

THE DfVINE FIAT. 

When God says, "Let there be light,'* is it in the 
power of all hell to create darkness? When He 
says, " Arise, shine," shall not Omnipotence prevail ? 
We triumph while we believe in God. " If God be 
for us, who can be against us ? " 

CHRIST ALL IN ALL. 

I HAVE often admired the «weet tautology^ if such it 
may be called, of the precious name of Jesus through- 
out the whole of Paufs epistles : wherein he can 
scarcely write a single line without mentioning and 
exalting the Lprd Christ as the believing sinner's all 
in alL 



Puipn Sayings ana Illustrations, 201 



FULL REDEMPTION. 

Jesus has "put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" 
(Heb. ix. 26) ; nor need you fear the penalties of the 
curse, while you view Christ crucified the object of 
your faith, and make Him the only plea for your 
acceptance before God. Never was justice so magni- 
fied before, nor mercy so conspicuously revealed ; had 
the Creator delivered up a thousand angels, there 
would not have been a sacrifice nearly equal to that 
of His not even sparing that of His well-beloved 
Son, when He stood as man for men, to bear the 
vengeance of His wrath. Oh the justice that de- 
manded such an atonement ! Oh the mercy that 
revealed such a salvation for a ruined world ! And 
can sinners hear of such mercy, and resist it — sinners 
doomed to die for sins more in number than the sands 
on the seashore ? Oh what obdurate hearts must those 
be that can be proof against such astonishing love, 
and refuse to yield themselves to Him who paid so 
great a price for sinners so worthless and so vile ! 



The man that loves his garden will not suffer the 
weeds to grow in it ; and there is the weed of pride in 
our hearts, and God will root it out. 



202 The Rev, Rowland HilL 



UNSEARCHABLE RICHES. 

Who can speak aright of the blessings included in the 
unsearchable riches of Christ ? That is a fine passage, 
** Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have 
entered into the heart of man the things that God 
hath prepared for them that love Him.'* The eye 
hath seen great things : on a fine night, for instance, 
how much, and to what an immense distance, can the 
eye behold ! and with those wonderful helps, teles- 
copes, how much farther can it penetrate ! and my 
thoughts can penetrate farther than my eyes can see, 
or my ears hear. But the eye cannot see all, nor the 
ear hear all, nor the heart conceive all; neither can 
we hear, or even conceive aiight of the unsearchable 
riches of Christ. Oh, let us meditate more on the 
great things which God has laid up for those that love 
Him. 



If you want to get above your doubts and fears, 
get above your corruptions ; sin feeds unbelie£ 

CHRIST the alpha AND OMEGA. 

Christ crucified may be said to be the Alpha and 
Omega of all the Bible ; not a promise is given, but 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations, 203 

it refers to Him ; not a threatening is pronounced, 
but He is represented as a covert from the storm, and 
a refuge for the guilty ; not a prophecy is revealed, 
but the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy ; 
not one mystic institution was ever ordained, not one 
bleeding bullock, nor slaughtered lamb, ever stained a 
Jewish altar, but was meant to represent a crucified 
Redeemer, as the Lamb of God, slain from the foun- 
dation of the world. All the lives of the patriarchs, 
filled with providences curious and instructive, mani- 
fest the fulness of His grace ; and while we read with 
a pleasing surprise the tenderness of a forgiving Joseph 
to his returning brethren, the meekness of a Moses, 
the strength of a Samson, the patience of a Job, the 
wisdom of a Solomon, at once we see all their excel- 
lences as faint emblems of Him in whom dwells all 
the fulness of the Godhead bodily — of Him who stands 
as the Creator of each inferior star ; while shining forth 
with His own native glories as the Sun of righteous- 
ness, He appears the only light of a benighted world : 
without this light how great would our darkness be ! 



Christ proves His love by sending down His Holy 
Spirit. He dwells in my heart, and there I find, my 
heaven. 



2C4 T^ ^«'. RiKviana Hill 

THE EVERLASTING COVENANT. 

God did not enter into the covenant of grace with 
man in a fallen state. It never can be admitted that 
God, the eternal sovereign, could enter into such a 
covenant with a set of rebels. The covenant was not 
made between God and fallen man, but between God 
the Father and God the Son, even the Man Christ 
Jesus, the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, who 
became the Substitute for our sinful race ; or, to give 
it directly in Bible language. He became ** the Surety 
of a better testament,*' or the " Mediator of a better 
covenant,'' established upon better promises. 



When we are afraid, and begin to shrink back, the 
devil knows he is gaining ground. I cannot bear 
flying away and turning my back — there is no armour 
given for the back. 

NO HAPPINESS WITHOUT JESUS. 

You cannot be happy while you live, you cannot be 
happy when you die, you cannot be happy in eternity, 
unless you go to the blessed Jesus to save your precious 
souls. Why should you delay ? What sin can be so 
lovely as the love of Christ ? Oh, think of this, and 
let me, as your sincere friend, entreat you to turn and 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations, 205 

live ; live to God in time, and you shall live with Him 
to all eternity ! 

VICTORY OVER EVIL. 

Sin, however strongly rooted in our corrupted nature, 
must give way to the omnipotent agency of God's 
Holy Spirit. The returning prodigal has not language 
to express his humiliated feelings, on account of his 
former life ; but shows tenderness of conscience, 
obedience, and love. 

MAN IN INNOCENCY. 

When our first parents were sent forth from the 
hands of their Creator, their hearts being the direct 
transcript of His moral image, they appeared the 
completest workmanship of a holy God, and were 
blessed with a nature as spotless and pure as an 
angel could possess. All love, all peace, all joy, all 
delight in and conformity to the will of God that 
made them were the continual inmates of their 
happy breasts. Not the least taint of the minutest 
impurity had they to disturb their peace, but all was 
heaven and consolation in the Lord. God pro- 
nounced this, His last work, to be very good, and as 
such took delight in the creature He had made. 



2o6 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

Such was man, while blessed with innocence, before 
the fall ; but how dreadful were the consequences of 
the first transgression ! How was Gk)d's workman- 
ship robbed of all its holiness and grandeur thereby ! 
How was this once glorious temple of the Holy 
Ghost prostituted to iniquity, and converted into the 
most hateful den of filthy lusts and vile abominations ! 
Which of you can deny this, who either reads his 
Bible or reads himself? From Genesis to Revelation, 
all Scripture declares this awful truth, that as soon as 
ever man fell, immediately was he deprived of every- 
thing that was good, and dreadfully filled with every- 
thing that was bad. 



I think I should preach better if you were better 
hearers. You do not know what a blessing you draw 
down upon ministers when you come to hear in a 
spiritual, praying frame of mind. 



MAN HIS OWN ENEMY. 

We have an awful enemy in Satan, but we have one 
still worse in our own sinful hearts. I defy the foe 
without, if I am not likely to be betrayed by the foe 
within. 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations, 207 

HATRED OF SIN. 

The Holy Spirit first enlightens us, and then makes 
us abhor sin as detestable and odious. No child of 
God, no heir of heaven can love sin, or live in it. 
He groans under it, and looks on the right hand, and 
on the left, for a way of escape. As I never can 
reconcile my flesh to allow a hot burning coal to be 
applied to it ; so, if I be a child of God, I never 
can be reconciled to the power of sin in my soul. 



The time oi youth is generally the time of regene- 
ration and conversion to God. 

THE DAY-SPRING FROM ON HIGH. 

By the light of reason we cast a sort of glaring 
illusion around ourselves ; but, if confided in, it tends 
only to obscure our vision of more exalted glories. 
Illuminate a town; the streets are light, while the 
heavens are lost in darkness; but when the day 
breaks forth, both the earth and the sky become 
visible. So the sparks of our own kindling, while 
they shed an artificial brilliancy for a short distance 
around us, involve the scenes above in shadows even 
darker than those of night; but if **the day-spring 



2o8 The Rev. Rowland Hill 

from on high *' dawn in the soul, we have clear views 
both of earth and heaven. 



WTiat a mercy it is when we feel that our God is 
the God of all grace, and the provider of everything ; 
but what of that, if I do not partake ? 

THE ROOT OF SUPERSTITION. 

Where there is but h'tde real religion, the want of it 
is too frequently supplied by an abundance of super- 
stition. The human mind is prone to run into 
extremes on every occasion: some are for believing 
too much, others for believing too litde. Happy are 
those who, being blessed with that " wisdom which is 
from above," are preserved in the middle path, and 
saved from every extreme. 



My dear brethren, it is a great mercy to have a soft 
pillow under our heads in a dying hour ; but that it 
may be so, remember you must live near to God. 



LOVE — A HOLY GRACE. 



The repentance which is most genuine is that which 
springs from love. We never can willingly ofifend 
where we sincerely love; hence this is that holy 



Pulpit Savings and Illustrations, 209 

grace which fills us with a godly jealousy over our- 
selves. 

HEAVEN BEGUN BELOW. 

Righteousness creates a heaven in every man's house 
into which it enters, and it becomes the glory of the 
family circle. 

THE BENEFICENCE OF RELIGION. 

I WANT a religion that is good, and that will do me 
good because it is good. When people talk about 
their religion, they should not be ashamed to have 
these questions asked them : " Pray, what has your 
religion done for you ? What effect has it produced 
upon your minds? What influence has it exerted on 
your tempers and on your conduct ? " We preach a 
religion that makes a man " a new creature in Christ 
Jesus \ " a religion that makes a man " a partaker of 
the divine nature ; " a religion that destroys the old 
man, and makes us anew, creating us '' in righteous- 
ness and true holiness." This must be of God alone : 
the first archangel in heaven cannot create a worm of 
tlie earth, nor give existence to the meanest reptile. 



The Gospel not only saves me from the damnation 
I deserve, but it restores me to the divine image. 

14 



2 1 o The Rev, Rowland HilL 



NO RELIGION WITHOUT FEELING. 

I HAVE heard some people speak against feeling in 
religion; and when we talk about it they call us 
enthusiasts, but I think we may safely call them so. 
Feelings ! why, I shall never go from one side of a 
street to another if I have not feeling. I shall never 
move my hand or my head if I have not feeling. It 
is absurd to talk against feelings. Man is not a stock 
nor a stone, he must feel. Show me a man without 
feelings, and I wonder what sort of a creature he will 
be ! Well, then, what shall I do with my feelings ? 
Why, have God's law written upon them. I shall 
then have the wisdom of holiness, the holy love of 
God, and the influences of His wise and Holy Spirit 
within me. 

If desires are created in me by the Holy Ghost, to 
all eternity I shall be gasping after a further know- 
ledge of God. 

JUSTIFICATION AND GOOD WORKS. 

Faith and repentance are the effects of our salvation, 
they cannot, therefore, be the cause of it, any more 
than motion, which is the effect of life, can be said to 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations. 2 1 1 

.._^ i_ — I. ■ I 

be the cause why we live or move ; and so Bishop 
Beveridge settles the matter : " How can 1 do good 
works in order to my justification, when I can do no 
good works till after I am justified?" 

CHRISTIAN MORALITY. 

The morality of our Lord's sermon on the mount 
amounts to this, that the real Christian is mortified to 
every vile passion, and most completely devoted to 
God 

REDEMPTION AND ITS EFFECTS. 

While a minister preaches redemption by Christ, un- 
less he shows also the glorious effects of this redemp- 
tion, he tells you of a casket without a jewel, or sets 
before you a fine wrought picture which leads you to 
admire his ability, though it gives you but little idea 
of life. I remember once conversing with a cele- 
brated sculptor, who had been hewing out a block of 
marble to represent one of our great patriots. Lord 
Chatham. "There," said he, "is not that a fine 
figure ?" " Now, sir," said I, " can you put life into 
it ? Else, with all its beauty, it is still but a block of 
marble." Now, Christ by His Spirit puts life into a 
beauteous image, and enables the man He forms to 
live to His praise and glory. 



2 1 2 T/V Rer. Rculamd HilL 

THE believer's SUXSET. 

See vou the sun, bow majesdcallj and brightly it 
she ^5 its parting rays around you? I have heard that 
the rays of the setting sun produce a most salutary 
effect on the vegetable world. Oh that my setting 
sun, which must soon go down in death, may, during 
the evening of my days, be more and more blessed in 
shedding a beneficial Ught on the trees the Lord hath 
planted, and is watering to His glory ! 



Your breath is in your nostrils, and you must 
breathe your last as well as your first breath, and 
soon your last will come. 

JESUS ONLY. 

" Lord, to whom shall we go? ** To the law ? — that 
curses us. To the world ? — ^that is a delusive bubble. 
To sin and corruption ? — it has polluted our minds, 
and done us mischief in abundance. Whither can we 
go? "Thou hast the words of eternal life." We 
know and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son 
of the living God. 

THE CHURCH BROADER THAN THE SECTS. 

God has His people among all denominations of 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations, 2 1 3 

Christians, but none of them are the better for being 
bigoted. I will leave you to regard your own party, 
but I will not leave you because you are not of my 
party. I want to love the image of God wherever I 
find it, in preference to any party- 

MONSTERS— MADE BY SIN. 

Sin turns men into monsters, rendering them ** implac- 
able, unmerciful, and without natural affection \ " but 
the Gospel, on the contrary, turns monsters into men, 
directing them to be gentle and merciful among them- 
selves, and to bless their very persecutors. 

THE HEART VersUS BRAINS. 

I HAVE heard many people cry out, ** Why, your 
religion is too strict for us ; your mode of preaching 
will not do for our mode of living." I see, therefore, 
that it is of little use to instruct people's brains till 
God has set their hearts right ; then they become right 
in judgment, by God making them right in heart. 

LIKE LOVES LIKE. 

It is an old proverb, " Like loves like, all the world 
over ; " and this is fully exemplified among the children 
of God, where they have right feelings, and where the 



2 1 4 The Rev\ Rowland Hill. 

communion of saints intimately prevails. When we 
truly love Godf w^e are sure to love one another. 

* LOOKING UP^ 

People talk about looking back on a well-spent life ; 
I look up to Him who spent His life gloriously to 
redeem the life of my precious soul ; and there alone 
I dare to look. I thank God who has kept me from 
the grosser sins of the world ; but there is not a prayer 
more suitable to ray dying lips than that of the publi- 
can, *'God be merciful to me a sinner." 

PREACHING— DIFFERENT STYLES OF. 

Rash preachmg always disgusts; timid preaching 
does nothing but leave poor souls fast asleep ; while 
bold preaching, if delivered under an affectionate love 
to the souls of men, and with a humble desire to pro- 
mote the glory of God, is the only preaching that 
is owned and blessed of Him. 

SUBMISSION. 

We can never desire to say, " Thy will be done," until 
the kingdom of God is set up in our hearts ; and we 
can have no evidence that the kingdom of God is with- 
in us, unless we produce " righteousness, peace, and 
joy in the Holy Ghost." 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations. 2 1 5 

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING. 

The Christian is enjokied to pray without ceasing ; 
not that he can always be engaged in the positive act, 
but he ought to have what I call a holy aptitude for 
prayer. The bird is not always on the "wing, but he 
is ready to fly in an instant ; so the believer is not 
always on the wing of prayer, but he has such a gra- 
cious aptitude for this exercise that he is prepared in 
an instant, when in danger or need, to fly for refuge 
to his God, 



I would not be found anywhere where prayer 
would be inconsistent. I can't pray at. a horse-race 
or at a playhouse; and who, we ask the question, 
would like to spend his last breath in a playhouse ? 

CHARACTER— A GOOD PREACHER. 

That man is a bad preacher in the pulpit who is not 
a good preacher out of it; and no man in the world 
has a right to stand up for Grod if God has not adorned 
him with personal holiness. We should preach by 
what we are, as well as by what we say. 

THE believer's ARMOUR. 

The believer never turns his back on his foe. Show, 



2 1 6 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

Christian, thy shining breast-plate of righteousness 
go forward, advance towards thy enemy, and God shall 
protect th«e behind ; He has promised it ; " The glory 
of thy God shall be thy reward.*' 

SECTARIANISM— THE DEVIL'S WEDGE. 

What sort of an evil is a sectarian spirit ? It is the 
cruel iron wedge of the devil's own forging, to separate 
Christians from each other. Christians thereby be- 
come like divided armies. 

HATRED OF SIN— THE WORK OF GRACE, 

The grace of God begets, in the man that is bom of 
the Spirit, a natural hatred to sin, though he loved it 
in his old estate. The vulture's nature is to prey, with 
horrid preference, on the putrid carcases of the dead. 
But did you ever see the gentle dove gorging on this 
loathsome food ? So the sinner feeds with delight 
on the nauseous enjoyments of his iniquity, like the 
carrion-eating bird of prey, while the regenerate soul 
has a holy disgust of all that is offensive to its heavenly 
nature. 



I think that sermon is not worth a rush that has 
not got the Redeemer in it 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations, 2 17 

DREAMS NOT TRUSTWORTHY. 

A MAN once applied to be admitted to the sacrament 
at Surrey Chapel, and stated that his religious feelings 
originated in a dream. ** Well, that may be," said 
Mr. Hill ; " but we'll tell you what we think of your 
dreams when we have seen how you walk now you 
are awake.'* 

WALKING WITH GOD. 

Seek to have God with you in your daily walk ; get 
Him into your families^ and there keep Him. What 
a happy sight to see parents ruling at the head of the 
family in the fear of God, and how delightful to see 
the children brought up in the nurture and admonition 
of the Lord ! 

HUMILITY. 

The Lord keep us from pride, ever remembering 
we are the followers of a humble and lowly Jesus. 
It is very unseemly to see the servant proud and the 
master condescending ; you will never get good while 
your hearts are lifted up with pride. 

HOLY DELICACY OF MIND. 

The people of the world want a religion that will 



2 1 8 The Rei\ Rowland HilL 

countenance them in sin — they want to compromise 
matters with God ; but we are commanded to come 
out from the world, and not to touch the unclean 
thing. God give us that holy delicacy of mind that 
will cause us to abstain from all appearance of evil. 

PROVISION FOR THE WAV. 

Yours may be a rough way through the wilderness, 
but God will not suffer you to be tempted above that 
ye are able. We may travel on in the Gospel chariot, 
not only without charges, but there is heavenly 
provision, also, for all the sacred pilgrims. 

GOD — THE SOURCE OF ALL GOOD. 

The ground produces nothing of itself without 
a blessing upon it : so of the heart. God is the 
fountain of all good — I must get God to get good ; I 
have no notion of anything doing me good, but as it 
brings me near God. 

MARCHING ORDER. 

With dignity and holy prowess it becomes us to 
march in the celestial way. So long as the Captain 
of our salvation goes before us, and the grace of 
Christ is in us, what have we to fear? How can 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations. 2 19 

I be otherwise than sure of victory, with such a 
Victorious One to support me ? 

PRAYER — THE SECRET OF SECURITY. 

You never read God's word to profit but as it 
eaches you to pray while you read. I go nowhere in 
a spirit of safety but as I go in a spirit of prayer. 

WE KNOW NOT WHAT WE SHALL BE. 

What will my mind be two hundred thousand years 
hence, when I shall have been growing all the time ? 

God, forbid that we should neglect our souls and* 
think them little things, when they will be enlarging 
and increasing in knowledge to all eternity ! Don't 
degrade yourselves : little as you are now, you are to 
grow eternally. 

We only act as we are acted upon ; here I am, and 

1 am to be acted upon. I love to be under the com- 
mand of this glorious power. 

"be careful I'OR NOTHING." 

The Lord careth for the righteous — He knoweth 
all their sorrows. You and I are very ignorant crea- 
tures ; we do not know how much trouble we need. 



220 The Rev. Rowland Hill, 

Remember, you can't have your souls in kinder 
hands — He knows what you need ; our dear Physician 
knows precisely what is best. Be quiet and con- 
tented, then — don*t direct Him, but let Him direct 
you ; this is the way the people of God learn righte- 
ousness. 



We care not who objects to the truths of the 
Gospel, if you exempHfy them in a correspondent 
life and conversation. 

UNDERSTANDING AND MEMORY. 

** I KNOW that my Redeemer liveth.'* 'Tis amaz- 
ing what a blessing the understanding is. This is 
the repository, like a warehouse, to deposit your 
goods ; then comes the memory to recollect what is 
past, and reflection to think what we are doing. 

THE REDEEMER— ONE WITH US. 

He who used to act the part of a redeemer was one 

of near kin. We bless God our Redeemer has taken 
• 

upon Him our nature, and is bone of our bone, and 
flesh of our flesh. Here is a fine expression, my 
Redeemer, from sin and all its vile effects. If Christ 
takes possession of my heart, I expect by redemption 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations, 22 1 

just what that passage says, "He came to redeem us 
from all iniquity, and to purify unto Himself a pecu- 
liar people, zealous of good works." 



Never attempt one duty without God; you may 
attempt ten thousand with Him. 

IN HEAVENLY PLACES. 

Oh, it was a glorious day when our Lord had all His 
disciples together, and while, in the act of blessing 
them. He was parted from them, and taken up into 
glory ; then was sung that beautiful song, " Lift up 
your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlast- 
ing doors, and the King of glory shall come in." 
But, my dear brethren, what signifies my telling you 
about Christ being gone into heaven, "there to 
appear in the presence of God for us," unless you 
feel these things in your hearts, and set your affec- 
tions on things above ? 



To reject Christ is the greatest sin you can commit, 
and the only one that seals your damnation. 

KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD. 

Do look well to your footsteps — that is a great part 



222 Tlu Rev. Rowland Hill. 

of your duty to look where you place your feet, to 
mind and pick a nice clean place in order that you 
may keep your gannents white and clean. Oh, it is 
indeed true that we cannot keep ourselves one 
moment. 

ATONEMENT— PERSONAL INTEREST IN. 

Never think of the atonement of Christ without 
thinking, That costly sacrifice was necessary for mc. 
May God help us to think more of the sufferings of 
Christ, and may His love melt down our hearts. 

LOVE— THE LIFK OF ALL GRACES. 

Faith is a mere imagination, unless it is proved by 
works ; if we are believers, we have that faith which 
works by love, and brings near to God ; if we have 
the grace of love to God in our hearts, we have every 
other grace ; the grace of love is the life of all other . 
graces. 

FINAL PERSEVERANCE. 

You are setting out on a journey from a bad country, 
but never mind that ; take the staff of the promise in 
your hand, and though you set out in weakness, you 
shall be gloriously strengthened till you arrive at that 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations. 223 

city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker 
is God. 



REPENTANCE— THE LAST COMPANION. 

If I may be permitted to drop one tear as I enter the 
portals of the city of my God, it will be at taking an 
eternal leave of that beloved and profitable com- 
panion, Repentance. 

DUTIES RECIPROCAL. 

If I want a good servant, I will aim to improve his 
mind ; I will teach him what is proper ; I will aim to 
be a " good master : " and then, I have no doubt, we 
shall be very happy together. I wish it were well 
understood that all duties are to be reciprocal. Let 
there be good parents, and we shall find good 
children ; let there be good masters, and we shall 
have good servants; let there be good tradesmen, 
and we shall have good customers ; let us do as we 
should, and all will be well. These are very plain 
observations, but they are often necessary. 



I scorn to say the word, I yield to Satan ; by grace 
preventing, I never will yield. 



224 The Rei\ Raivland Hill. 

PROMISES— THE SAINT'S WEAPONS. 

Nothing in the world repels the enemy's temptations 
so well as when we can fasten on a good promise, 
and set it in opposition to the devil's malice against 
our precious souls. 

MEET FOR HEAVEN. 

If an unholy man were to get into heaven, he would 
feel like a hog in a flower-garden. 

PR IDE— WORLDLY. 

A RICH man would be ashamed of himself, if a poor 
beggar boy should claim such a relationship as the 
meanest Christian may claim to God. Oh, what a 
mercy it is to be enabled to say, " Our Father which art 
in heaven." 

WISDOM— HEAVENLY. 

Heavenly wisdom creates heavenly utterance. There 
is something in preaching the Gospel with the Holy 
Ghost sent down from heaven I long to get at. 
If we deal with Divine realities, we ought to feel them 
such, and then the people will in general feel with us, 
and acknowledge the power that does wonders on the 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations, 225 

heart ; while dry, formal discussional preaching leaves 
the hearers just where it found them. Still, they who 
are thus favoured have need to be blessed with a deal 
of humility. We are too apt to be proud of that 
which is not our own. O humility, humility, humility 1 



The Lord knows the secrets of the heart. Happy 
they who know what it is to be secretly dealing with 
God. 

LOVE OF GOD— THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT. 

Give me the man that likes to be good, and I will 
answer for his being good, all the world over. It is. 
the holy influence of the Spirit which gives him this 
liking. 

MR. HILL AND THE POET. 

Mr. Hill had a member of his church who became 
blind and Imbecile. In his affliction he found a solace 
by composing verses, which he sent to his pastor with 
the request that they might be inserted in the Evan- 
gelical Magazine, Mr. Hill received these strange 
effusions, and placed them between the leaves of an 
old volume. He would then dismiss the messenger 
who brought them, with the remark, — " There, give my 

IS 



226 The Rev. Rmvland Hill. 

love to Mr. , and say I have put his verses into the 

magazine." 

PREACHING TO THE END. 

If all the physicians in the world were to tell me I 
must renounce my ministry on account of my increas- 
ing debility, and that such debility would increase till 
a speedy death would be the result, I would keep my 
fee in my pocket, and labour till I died. 

TRUE RELIGION. 

True religion is doctrinal, experimental, and practical. 
If we possessed only doctrinal religion, it would lead 
to Antinomianism ; if only experimental, to enthusiasm ; 
if only practical, to pharisaism : therefore, if we would 
be partakers of the religion of Jesus, all three must be 
united — we must not separate them. 

benevolence. 
Pleading for the Missionary Society on one occasion, 
very earnestly, he concluded by saying, — ^* Mind, I 
don't want you that have not paid twenty shillings in 
the pound to give ; you had better go and pay your 
creditors first" 



A prayerless soul is a Christless soul, and a Christ- 
less soul is a hopeless soul. 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations. 227 

NOISY PREACHING. 

Speaking of the boisterous harangues of those preachers 
who confound noise with power, he said, — ** These 
sermons, sir, remind me of a hail-storm upon pantiles, 
— they make a deal of noise, but produce no impres- 
sion.*' 

UNITY AT THE MERCY-SEAT. 

If you saw a good Churchman and a good Dissenter on 
their knees, and were to close your eyes and not close 
your ears against the prayers that were offered up, you 
would nbt be able to find out which was which. 



The means of grace are good, but good for nothing 
after all if I have not grace for the means. 

LOVE OF PREACHING. 

I WOULD rather be shut up in my coffin than shut out 
of the pulpit. Old, very old, as I am, yet still I trust 
I find it not less my privilege than my duty, to dedicate 
the very last of my declining strength to His glory in 
the accomplishment of the sacred work. Should a 
physician tell me that my life is in danger if I continue 
to preach, I will answer him, — " Neither count I my 
life dear unto myself, so that I may finish my course 



228 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the 
Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.'* 
So said Paul, and so says poor old Rowland Hill. 



If you want to see the height of the hill of God's 
eternal love, you must go down into the valley of 
humility. 

PREACHING— THE END OF. 

Better, a thousand times, to have the simplicity of 
Peter than the eloquence of a Longinus, if we are but 
made useful to the souls of our fellow creatures ! That 
preaching is always best, which best answers the end 
of preaching. 

CONVERSIONS— THE MIRACLES OF THE MINISTRY. 

Some may have apprehensions that little can be done 
because miracles are wanting and the gift of tongues is 
withdrawn. Doubtless Peter had a notable proof at 
hand of the doctrine he preached, while the lame man 
was leaping in the temple, who but just before had 
been healed by the name of the Lord Jesus. But 
miracles never cease, while souls are converted to God ; 
nor will tongues be ever wanting, while the wonderful 
change wrought by the grace of God, so loudly be- 



Pulpit Sayings atid Illustrations. 229 

speaks the praises of His wonder-working power. Let 
heathens see what grace can do on a real convert, and 
we need not any further be discouraged for want of 
miracles and tongues. 



A good pulpit perspiration is a famous thing to keep 
a man in good health. 

DISSENTERS BY BIRTH. 

I REMEMBER once being engaged in conversation with 
a man, and I inquired of him whether there were any 
good people in the town in which he lived : to which 
he replied, — ** We were all Dissenters bom." I said 
to him, *< Do not tell me about Dissenters bom, but 
of Dissenters born again." 

SHIFTING PARSONS. 

Doors opened by incredible industry are now, in 
many places, almost entirely shut; for, you must 
know, the modem sprigs of coxcomical divinity, 
after they have done all the mischief in their power, 
up they fly, like air balloons, and fall down again 
after their inflammable air is a little evaporated, to do 
the same mischief elsewhere, wherever the judgment 
of God permits them to fall I am determined to let 



230 The Rev. Rowland Hill, 

the doors be shut, sooner than to employ the young 
chaplains of old Beelzebub upon the sacred work of 
God. 

A MINISTER'S COAT OF ARMS. 

We want ministers with the zeal of Luther, and the 
quiet, patient spirit of a Moravian missionary — that 
are willing to adopt the cross for their coat of arms, 
a heart above the world for their crest, and to take 
^^expendum et expendar'' for their motto. 

MINISTERIAL TRAINING. 

However high the attainments of a preacher may be, 
it is "the furnace of affliction" alone, that will enable 
him, from deep sympathy of spirit, to "weep with 
those that weep," and fully to administer to "the 
bruised reed" the rich supports of the gospel of 
grace. 

REPROOF WITHOUT OFFENCE. 

After dining with a party of ministers and friends, 
he said to his servant, in the hearing of one of the 
party who had imbibed too freely, " Charles, when 
you see a parson drunk don't talk about it, for you 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations, 231 

will injure the cause of religion ; but whenever you 
see me drunk, tell all the world about it" 



Such as have it in their power should make the 
poor man's pocket the bank of their riches. 

PROSELYTES. 

The wife of an Independent minister once said to 
him, "Some of our people, sir, after they receive 
good under my husband's ministry, are led away by a 
Baptist preacher of the Antinomian class in this town." 
"It is no uncommon thing, madam," replied Mr. 
Hill, "to put out rickety, sickly children to wet 
nurse." 

missionaries. 

Describing the sort of men who were wanted for 
the Mission field, he said, " We want men of good 
plain sense in their heads, and plenty of grace in 
their hearts — ^men who can make a good wheel- 
barrow, and talk to the inquisitive heathen about the 
love of Christ all the time they are knocking it to- 
gether." 

state church. 
Speaking of Establishments, Mr. Hill remarks, 



232 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

"While Christianity was supported by her native 
purity, her beauties were all her own, and the dignity 
of her power on the hearts of millions had a glorious 
effect But when the Church was embraced by the 
State, and began to partake of the riches of the world, 
she partook of its corruptions also. When it became 
creditable to make a profession, outward Christians, 
without inward Christianity, made their appearance 
in abundance. No wonder, therefore, that as Chris- 
tianity rolled on through the muddy channel of 
worldly applause and courtly approbation, it became 
deeply contaminated thereby." 

PLEA FOR FELLOWSHIP. 

In the closing chapter of his "Reflections on some 
Party Distinctions in England," he gives the follow- 
ing : — " In all ages, the churches of God have known 
iheir waxing and waning days; and it should at all 
times be observed, that the very various forms of 
church* government, under which it has subsisted, have 
had their seasons of prosperity and decline. As, there- 
fore, the great Head of the church never restricted His 
most merciful operations, but has left His own disciples 
to determine these lesser matters, according to the 
general rules already given in His word j we act like 



Pulpit Sayings and Illustrations, 233 

when we join with them who partake of His 

. image and find it in our hearts to hold Cliris- 

. ministerial communion with them who hold sacred 

intimate communion with Him. Thus may we 

5 j thus may we die \ devoted to His service, till 

[called to His glory.'' 

WAITING TO BE GRACIOUS. 

Suffer me to conclude by beseeching you, by all that 
is dear and tender, to lay these things most closely to 
heart. While I thus address you, I feel the most 
aflfectionate sympathy towards you that words can 
possibly express. I pray you, therefore, to go home, 
and lay this message to heart. The expanded arms 
of a dear Redeemer are now open to embrace every 
returning prodigal that is enabled to receive this 
gospel call. None are too vile for mercy to receive. 
The Lord of love has given you the promise, "Whoso- 
ever cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out" Even 
so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen and Amen ! 



The following hymn, composed by Mr. Hill for the 
comfort of a dying member of his church, will furnish 
an appropriate conclusion to these fragments of his 
ministry ; — 



234 l^f^ R^' Rowland Hill. 



THE PRAYER OF THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 

Gently, my Saviour, let me down 
To slumber in the arms of death : 
I rest my soul on Thee alone. 
E'en till my last expiring breath. 

Soon will the storm of life be o'er. 
And I shall enter endless rest : 
There shall I live to sin no more. 
And bless Thy name for ever blest. 

Dear Saviour, let Thy will be done ; 
Like yielding clay I humbly lie, 
May every murmuring thought be gone, 
Most peacefully resigned to die. 

Bid me possess sweet peace within. 
Let child-like patience keep my heart ; 
Then shall I feel my heaven begin 
Before my spirit hence depart. 

Yes, and a brighter heaven still 
Awaits my soul through His rich grace. 
Who shall His word of truth reveal, 
Till called to sing His endless praise. 

Hasten Thy chariot, God of love, 
And fetch me from this world of woe ; 
I long to reach those joys above, 
And bid farewell to all below. 

There shall my raptur'd spirit raise 
Still louder notes than angels sing ; 
High glories to Emmanuel's grace. 
My God, my Saviour, and my King. 



PART IV. 
S^ttmans, tit. 



PART IV. 

SERMONS, Etc. 

THE following sermon, entitled "Christ Cruci- 
fied,' the Sum and Substance of the Scriptures," 
was preached by Rowland Hill, June 8th, 1783, at 
the opening of Surrey Chapel, and furnishes a fair 
specimen of his ordinary style of preaching. 

** But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling- 
block, and unto the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them which 
are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and 
the wisdom of God. — i Cor. i. 23, 24. 

Through the abundant mercy and providence of a 
gracious God, we this day enter upon public worship 
in this place ; may it prove the beginning of happy 
days to thousands who are already bom of God, and 
the cause of future joy to tens of thousands who are 
now dead in trespasses and sins ! 

I take it for granted the majority of my congrega- 
tion believe the immortality of the soul, and that the 
Bible is our only directory to a blessed eternity. How 
great the charge of immortal souls ! Well might an 
apostle cry out, ** Who is sufficient for these things? " 



23S Tk£ RfT. Rcsrlimd HiH 

It is bappr fioris dnt h is vritren^'^Oar scfiBdencris 
of God,'' and -mb^ vini a tracbGng hcait, I under- 
take t^ sokssn vock. I bless God fcr the promise 
gnrcn. ^ As tizr car. so slall tiir sUei^lli be.** 

Tbe scbfcct is rhcyapn, as it win direct me to con- 
sider the scbstance of those leading doctziiies of the 
go^xl I mean to {seadi amoi^st too. Qnist cmd- 
£ed mar be said to be die a^ilia and cmega^ of all the 
Bible; not a promise is giren, bat it refers to Him; 
not a t hrratmii^ is proDoanced, bat He is r^iresented 
as a coYcrt from die storm, and a refo^ fcr die gnihy ; 
not a prof^iecT b revealed, but die testimonj of Jesos 
is dse spint of prophecr; not one nnrstic mstitiitioii 
was ever ordained, not one UeeiSng bollock, nor 
slai^teied lamb, erer stained a Jewish ahar, bat 
what was meant to represent a cradfied Redeemer, as 
die Lamb of God, slain from the fbondation of die 
world. An die fires of the patriardis, filled widi 
prondences cxnioos and instructive, mamfest the ful- 
ness of His grace, and while we read with a pleasing 
surprise the tendoness of a foigivii^ Josef^ to his 
retaming brethren, die me^ness of a Moses, die 
strengdi of a Samscm, die patknce of a Job, the 
visdom of a Solomon, at once we see att their excel- 
lences as ^int emblems of Him in whom dwdls aU the 
; of die Godhead bodily; of Him who stands as 



SermonSy etc, 239 



the Creator of each inferior star, while, shining forth 
with His own native glories as the Sun of righteous- 
ness, He appears the only light of a benighted world : 
without this light how great would our darkness be I 
Need we stronger proof than what is given in the two 
first chapters of this epistle? Read them at your 
leisure, and see with what a force of reasoning the 
apostle dwells upon the subject, proving that the very 
wisdom of the world is foolishness with God ; and that 
it is impossible for the mere carnal or unenlightened 
mind to comprehend the glories of the spiritual world : 
for " The natural man receiveth not the things of the 
Spirit of God : for they are foolishness unto him : 
neither can he know them ; because they are spirit- 
ually discerned.** But should some judge further 
evidence to be necessary, let the history of the heathen 
world at large be brought as a confirmation of the 
need and blessing of revelation, wherein all the wisdom 
of the wise, respecting the knowledge of God, is 
proved to be arrant foolishness. Attend to the ab- 
surdities that disgrace the system of the wisest philo- 
sophers, when devoid of this revelation ! Of what 
avail was all the learning of Rome and Greece, to 
prevent them from framing to their darkened and 
vain and foolish imaginations, deities preposterous 
and detestable ? AVhile every vile lust and monstrous 



I 



i 



f to TAr Rev, Rowland Hill. 



abomiDatfon was even deified for their adoration, 
there was scarcely an idea to be found among them 
1 of a God of those infinite perfections that the Bible 

7 reveaJs. And i![ such was the condition of the more 

I j learned and civilized part of mankind, no wonder tbat 

' we find the rest of the fallen race, if possible^ still 

more deeply immersed in this universal ignorance of 
God. The unhappy mariner tossed about in the 
; midst of the ocean, without either chart or compass; 

and made the sport of every variable wind, cannot 
represent to us a deeper scene of misery and distress, 
than we should sustain were we deprived of this 
blessed book. The Bible alone holds forth a God oi 
\nfimte purity, eternal justice, and endued with all 
possible perfections, ^fay we not, therefore, conclude 
the Bible to be iht most invaluable blessing that ever 
God vouchsafed to man ? and will it not be my highest 
honour and greatest glory, to recommend this book 
to you as the main object of your studies and delight, 
and to adopt it for myself as the only directory of all 
my public ministrations in this place ? 

But, however these sacred records bespeak their 
own original, it is well known there is a tribe im- 
mersed in idleness and dissipation, consequently by 
no means worthy to be classed among the most 
"kiBg and learned of the day, who, for want of 



Sermons^ etc. 241 



real argument, are glad of the weapons of banter and 
buffoonery against the blessings of revelation. It is 
matter of consolation to the serious mind, that God 
has not left Himself without witness respecting the 
authenticity of His own book. The fulfilment of pro- 
phecy in particular is the grand external argument 
that leaves the world without excuse. What person 
of an ingenuous mind can read some late admirable 
dissertations upon this subject by Bishop Newton, 
and others, without having his mind at once filled 
with wonder and astonishment, and cleansed from 
every dreg of infidelity ? Nor am I at all ashamed to 
stand up for the internal evidences of Christianity; 
neither shall the stigma of enthusiasm deter me from 
giving my testimony to a truth so profitable to man- 
kind, and so perfectly consistent with the nature of 
the pure and holy God. Was ever system formed or 
thought of by man, promising to man the unutterable 
blessing of a change of mind, a change that transforms 
every degenerated faculty of the soul *'• from darkness 
to light, and firom the power of Satan unto God"? 
Yet the Bible abounds with promises of this sort. 
What else can be the meaning of these various 
phrases, the circumcision of the heart, a new heart, a 
heart of stone exchanged for a heart of flesh, a new 
creation, a new nature, a divine nature, a spiritual 

16 



242 The Rev, Rowland HilL 

mind, a new birth, a putting on the Lord Jesus, abid- 
ing in Him, and dwelling in Him, a being one with 
Him, etc. ? What, I say, can be the meaning of all 
these various phrases, unless they are interpreted as 
God's gracious design of putting His own pure and 
Holy Spirit into the sinner's heart, as a glorious living 
principle, to lift him up above the world, and to 
enable him by his external behaviour, while here 
below, to adorn the doctrine of God his Saviour in all 
things? I am bold, therefore, to conclude, these are 
promises which none but God could truly give, since 
none but God could possibly fulfil them ; may such 
as believe them prove their fulfilment by living to 
His glory ! 

In vain, therefore, do the witlings of the day em- 
ploy their pigmy powers in nibbling at the supposed 
absurdities of some of the miracles, or some fancied 
mistakes in chronology, while such pregnant proof 
can be produced that the book we preach from is the 
book of God, 

Nor should they be so unreasonable to expect 
others to be infidels, while it remains a matter of 
doubt whether they are infidels themselves. The 
integrity of the profession of far too many of them 
cannot but be suspected, while the debauchery and 
dissipation of their lives, and the profligacy of their 



Sermons, etc, 243 



manners, give the world all imaginable reason to con- 
clude, that when they say they do not, they mean 
they dare not believe. 

An ignorant and a profligate deist is a character, of 
all others, the most contemptible. Imagine a little 
novice in learning laughing at the Commentaries of 
Julius Caesar, scorning to suffer his noble understand- 
ing to be duped by such idle tales, and pitying the 
credulous multitude that are so infatuated as to 
believe them; equally insignificant is that man's 
character, who laughs at a book, the authenticity of 
which he never examined, while such as have found 
sound learning to be an excellent handmaid to reli- 
gion, conceive that no stronger proof can be brought 
for the authenticity of the Commentaries of Julius 
Caesar, than has already been produced for the word 
of God. 

But enough of this. Christ crucified is the subject 
of tlie Bible ; and this Bible we conclude to be the 
word of God. I have already hinted, that this is the 
only subject which I mean to know among you. You 
ask me what is to be understood by preaching Christ 
crucified ? First, concerning the person of Christ, — 
and herein I am most firmly persuaded respecting 
His Divine nature, — He is the everlasting Jehovah, 
Creator of all things, God over all, blessed for ever- 



244 '^^^^ ^^' Rowland Hill. 

more. Now this I apprehend to be as plainly re- 
vealed as the existence of a God. First, to Him all 
the powers of creation are ascribed ; but the brightest 
among angels cannot create an atom, or give exis- 
tence to a worm ; as creatures they are nothing in 
themselves, for "in God they live, and move, and 
have their being ; " not such a being as our God and 
Saviour the Lord Jesus ; He was the Creator of all 
things, consequently the Creator of angels. St. John 
says, "All things were made by Him, and without 
Him was not any thing made that was made, and in 
Him was life." Paul adds his testimony to that of 
John ; for unto the Son he affirms it is said, " Thy 
throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of 
righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou 
hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; there- 
fore, God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the 
oil of gladness above Thy fellows. And Thou, Lord, 
in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, 
and the heavens are the works of Thine hands : they 
shall perish ; but Thou remainest ; they all shall wax 
old as doth a garment ; and as a vesture shalt Thou 
fold them up, and they shall be changed : but Thou 
art the same, and Thy years shall not fail" But lest 
some after all should ignorantly mistake Him for the 
framer of the building, by the superior orders of God 



SermonSy etc, 245 



His Father, and not the actual Lord and possessor of 
the building itself; even herein this sacred truth is 
astonishingly guarded by the same apostle, who 
assures us, that not only by Him, but for Him, ** were 
all things created." All worlds were made by His 
great decree, and are upheld by Him as their eternal 
Lord. All their vast inhabitants, from the meanest 
reptile to the highest seraph, are the workmanship of 
His hands, and still subsist by His Almighty care. 
Thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, were 
brought into existence by Him and for Him, and by 
His eternal providence they still exist to bespeak His 
boundless praise. Cavils in abundance, it is well 
known, have been invented to invalidate the strongest 
arguments upon this subject : thus far is undoubtedly 
evident, that from the plain reading of the Scriptures, 
by far the greater part of mankind have been led to 
worship Christ as God : consequently if Christ be not 
God, the Bible itself has led thousands to a wrong 
object of supreme adoration. Was ever book com- 
posed of man so essentially misunderstood ? Do not 
the Socinians themselves give the strongest arguments 
to the deists against the blessing of revelation ? 

This, however, not being the time to enter more 
fully into the controversy, I give the following obser- 
vations, as outlines for farther improvement. Which 



246 The Rev, Rowland HiU. 

of the names, titles, or attributes of the great eternal 
God are not given to our God and Sa\'iour also ? Is 
God the Father called Jehovah ? so is God the Son. 
Is God the Father called the great God, and the only 
i^-ise God ? so is God the Son. Is God the Father the 
Lord of Hosts ? so is God the Son. Is God the Father 
the Author and Giver of life ? so is God the Son, who 
quickeneth whom He will. Is God the Father the 
Almighty, the mighty God, and the everlasting Father ? 
so is God the Son. Is God the Father the Searcher 
of hearts ? so is God the Son. Does God the Father 
receive the homage of prayer and praise from His 
creatures? so does God the Son, who never gave a 
single reproof to those that brought it, though re- 
peatedly we find He was worshipped by men below, 
and as repeatedly adored by angels above. And are 
not these sufficient arguments to demonstrate this 
everlasting truth ? and does not this prove Him to be 
the express image of His Father's person ? and were 
He lacking in a single attribute, how could He be 
His express image ? 

Therefore, my beloved brethren, we will glory 
in the Godhead of our Saviour, and gladly lay it 
as the grand foundation stone of the gospel, upon 
which our superstructure is built. We will make 
this place to resound with the honours due to Hii? 



Sermons, etc, 247 



eternal and ever-blessed name, as King of kings and 
Lord of lords. 

The next observation that occurs respecting the 
person of Christ, is, that as we believe Him to be 
the eternal God, so by taking our nature upon Him, 
we believe Him to be very man. This is the great 
mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh. 
That God might be just, and yet the justifier of 
those that beheve, He prepares a body for His 
well-beloved Son; in that body He fulfils His 
Father's will ; as man He appears for men, magni- 
fies the law and makes it honourable, by bringing in 
an everlasting righteousness, on the sinner's behalf. 
Nor has this truth been less opposed in ancient 
times,* than the truth of His Divinity is opposed 
in the present day : all that are acquainted with the 
history of the earlier ages of the church know with 
what vehemence the error was promoted, that Christ, 
whatever He might be in appearance, was not really 
man ; but the error being dead with its promoters, we 
pass it by, and hasten to consider the situation of 
mankind that rendered it necessary for such a Saviour 
to undertake the recovery of our fallen race. This I 
not only dwell upon as a necessary introduction to 
the glories of the recovery, but that it may be recorded 

* Such was the error of the numerous sect of the Manichees. 



248 Tlu Rev. Rowland Hill. 

among you what I firmly believe respectiiig this awful 

truth, THE FALL OF MAN. 

Man being created in a state of the most complete 
purity, was the delight of his Creator while he con- 
tinued in that happy state; he presently fell, and 
became immediately obnoxious to his God. Sin being 
infinitely odious to the Divine nature, the creature 
that He made was no longer the object of His delight. 
All real good being instantly withdrawn, no principle 
of holiness any longer abiding in him, he is given over 
to the will of the adversary, is led captive by the 
enemy that first tempted him to rebel, who works 
upon his unruly passions, and completely deforms 
every faculty of the soul. Thus fallen, no wonder 
that it necessarily follows, that the imaginations of his 
heart are only evil, and that continually. How re- 
markably does universal experience prove the dreadful 
fact ! Are we dreaming when we say a generation are 
found that deny the fall? Can they be serious? or 
what is to be believed if the fall is to be denied ? As 
believers of revelation I first address them. We 
examine, for a little, God's character of man, and God 
knows man better than man knows himself : by Him 
it is declared, ** There is not a just man upon the 
earth that liveth and smneth not." That the heart is 
deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, that, 



Sermons, etc, 249 



consequently, no flesh living can be justified in His 
sight. That if we say we have no sin, we deceive 
ourselves, and the truth is not in us. That if we say 
we have not sinned, we make Him a liar. That we 
are bom in sin, conceived in sin, dead in sin, sold 
under sin; that evil is present with us; that in us 
dwelleth no good thmg ; that all are gone out of the 
way; that all are become unprofitable; that there is 
none that doeth good, no not one ; that there is none 
to uphold ; that every mouth must be stopped ; that 
all the world, both Jews and Gentiles, are become 
guilty before God. But why need I to multiply 
proofs ? Were I to transcribe half the Bible, either 
directly or indirectly, we should see some fresh 
evidences of the fall. Which of the purest characters 
of Scripture was not defiled by sin ? What meant 
those rivers of blood under the Jewish dispensation, 
but as typical representations to the children of God, 
in those ages of the church, of their daily need of 
atonement, for sins innumerable, known and unknown ; 
an atonement was ordered for sins of ignorance, com- 
mitted against a God of infinite purity, who demanded 
an atonement of infinite satisfaction ? What means 
that incessant voice of prayer mourning over the evil 
and punishment of sin, we find arising from every lip 
acquainted with God? Why such dreadful histories 



250 The Rev, Rowland Hill, 

throughout the Scriptures, as rolls written, within and 
without, with weeping, lamentation, and woe, unless 
man was a sinner before God ? 

Again, let the histoty of the world at large be called 
to bear witness against itself. What are the contents 
of the annals of every nation under heaven, but alter- 
nate histories of misery and oppression ? What rivers 
of innocent blood have been shed to please the pride 
of tyrants I while their poor deluded advocates, for- 
getting to serve that God in righteousness and true 
holiness who fills His throne above, have commanded 
the wretched slaves to obey the horrid mandates of 
these gods below, these dreadful monsters in human 
shape. 

The millions of suflferers amongst the infant race 
shall next produce their testimony to the truth, who, 
though never having actually transgressed the laws of 
God, suffer in this world for their original guilt ; and 
though we trust we have sufficient grounds firom 
Scripture to believe that these are their only sufferings, 
yet sure I am their sufferings in this world sufficiently 
prove them to be sinners from the womb. All the 
groans of universal nature bring up the dreadfiil rear 
of punishments due to the sin of man from a just and 
holy God : nor needs the observation of St Paul 
either proof or comment, which declares, that **the 



Sermons y etc, 251 



whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain to- 
gether," till God shall put away sin by destroying its 
very being from the earth. 

Such was the situation of ruined man, when God 
the Saviour came to redeem. In His body, prepared 
for Him by almighty love, He comes ; stands as the 
Mediator, bears in His own person all that was due 
to mankind from the justice of God, and fulfils those 
ancient prophecies recorded of Him : for the Messiah 
was cut off, not for Himself, but for His people ; 
thereby He finished the transgression, made an end of 
sin, made reconciliation for iniquity, and brought in 
an everlasting righteousness, on the sinner's behalf. 
Thus by the sacrifice of Himself once offered, while 
He dies upon the cross. He bids the sinner live, and 
manifests Himself as ** the Lamb of God, that taketh 
away the sins of the world." Respecting this glorious 
work of redemption, with His dying lips He tells us, " It 
is finished," while by His repeated word of promise 
we are invited to hang all our hopes upon Him for 
grace in time, and for glory in eternity. 

In this blessed name alone, my beloved brethren, I 
preach salvation amongst you : no otherwise wish me 
God speed than as He only is exalted by me as your 
All in all. Should I presume to preach to you in any 
other name, or point you to any other hope, avoid 



252 TJu Rev. Rowland Hill. 

me as your enemy. Yoa are ignorant indeed, if yoa 
do not know that yon are sinners befwe God. As 
breakers of the law, I do not, I dare not point yoa to 
that law against which yon have so repeatedly trans- 
gressed. Withdraw, therefore, every diadow of con- 
fidence that yon may have on account of any thing 
you have done, or can do, as the terms of jrour accept- 
ance. God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity ; 
nor can you stand when He appeareth : for " how can 
man be justified with God ? or how can he be dean 
that is bom of a woman ? " 

It is Jesus that has " put away sin by the sacrifice 
of Himself," nor need you fear the penalties of the 
curse, while you view Christ crucified the object of 
your faith, and make Him the only plea for yonr 
acceptance before God. Never was justice so mag- 
nified before, nor mercy so conspicuously revealed: 
had the great Creator delivered up a thousand angds, 
there would not have been a sacrifice nearly equal to 
that of His not even sparing His well-beloved Son, 
when He stood as man for men, to bear the vengeance 
of His wrath. Oh the justice that demanded such an 
atonement! Oh the mercy that revealed such a 
salvation for a ruined world I And can sinners hear 
of such mercy, and resist it — sinners doomed to die 
for sins more in number than the sands on the sea- 



Sermons ^ etc, 253 



shore ? Oh, what obdurate hearts must those be that 
can be proof against such astonishing love, and refuse 
to yield themselves to Him who paid so great a price 
for sinners so worthless and so vile ! I beseech you, 
by the love of God, you that have never yet been 
captivated by such grace, no longer to delay, but 
haste to be the firstfruits unto the Lord this day in 
this place. The vilest are welcome ; God help you to 
come. 

Thus, agreeably to the language of our text, Christ 
crucified appears to be the substance of all that the gos- 
pel reveals for the salvation of mankind. And are all 
Christians to commence as the followers of an humble, 
crucified Redeemer? and are all other gloryings to 
cease, ** save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by 
whom the world is crucified unto them, and they unto 
the world " ? O, then, what manner of persons ought 
we to be in all conversation and godliness, since being 
bought with a price we cease to be our own, but are 
bound by the strongest obligations to glorify God in 
our bodies and spirits, which are His I 

Not only have we to adore our Saviour as our dying 
Lord, but as our risen Conqueror over all our foes ; 
thereby it appears the victory is complete. All our 
enemies are now subdued by Him who has led cap- 
tivity captive, and lives to triumph over them all; 



254 ^^^ R^' Rowland Hill. 

death will He swallow up in victory, and the very ex- 
istence of sin shall speedily be no more. Being thus 
exalted at the right hand of the Majesty on high, as 
God, He cannot change, like the sons of men ; for with 
Him is no variableness nor shadow of turning, being 
the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever : He rests in 
His love ; therefore having loved His own, He must 
love them to the end. It is impossible that His inter- 
cession for His people can be inefficacious. We know 
the Father heareth Him always, and that hereby the 
Father is glorified in the Son, and the Son in Him. 
O, the unutterable blessing of having such an Advocate 
with the Father to plead oiu- cause before the eternal 
throne I Why should guilt ever again keep us from 
drawing near to God, while the sinner's Friend must be 
heard, whose plea must assuredly prevail ? Sheltered 
from the penalties of a broken law, all that is due to 
sin is done away, as though it had never been : pro- 
tected by that arm which is mighty to save, the power 
of sin shall not be permitted any longer to prevail ; 
yea, we must and shall be holy, while the grand design 
of this salvation must assuredly be brought to pass. 
The death of Christ is the death of sin, and the grand 
procuring cause of holiness to the world ; for He came 
to "purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of 
good works." How, then, say some amongst you, that 



Sermons y etc, 255 



the doctrines of grace tend to make us lax in the rules 
of our obedience, or that from them may be advanced 
that detested principle, ** Let us do evil that good may 
come " ? And how is it that these inconsistent ob- 
jectors, false witnesses we are sure they are, against 
that cause' which with an humble confidence we are 
bold to maintain as the cause of Christ ; how is it, I 
say, that with the same breath they can scoflf at the 
severity of our morals, and yet, as setters forth of 
strange doctrines, represent us as enemies to morality ? 
But are they really serious when they allege the 
accusation, or do they mean it as a bugbear to terrify 
the ignorant? I ^ will not further expostulate with 
such as appear to be ignorant of what they say, or 
whereof they affirm, but only publicly declare I sus- 
pect their honesty in the base accusation ; therefore, 
I am not so vain as to suppose that such can be pro- 
fited by my arguments, who are predetermined to 
believe evil in opposition to all that can be said 
against it, but rather for the sake of recording my 
sentiments amongst you this day I repeat the old 
stale objection, " Shall we continue in sin, that grace 
may abound ? '* I answer, God forbid ; it is impos- 
sible. The doctrines of grace provide just the reverse 
to what our enemies would represent. My text bids 
me to prove the point. Christ crucified is the wisdom 



256 The Rev, Rowland Hill. 

of God, and the power of God to all that believe. 
The knowledge of Christ crucified will and must lead 
us into those paths of Divine obedience, whereby 
" wisdom shall be justified of all her children; " that 
by a consistency and uprightness of behaviour in 
every social and relative situation in life, the world 
may be constrained to cry, What hath God wrought ! 
O the glorious consequences of this blessed salvation ! 
and how peculiar to itself is that power which is called 
"the power of God unto salvation, unto every one 
that believeth." The Holy Spirit assumes the office 
of the sanctifier of the people of God : His sanctify- 
ing influences we are this day called to commemorate; 
and as all the life and influence of holiness in this 
world depend upon His agency, it cannot be said 
that a complete summary of the gospel has been 
delivered, unless some notice be taken of this blessed 
truth. Now the high and lofty One that inhabiteth 
eternity deigns to make the humbled sinner's heart 
the place of His gracious abode. God can now, in a 
way of justice, through the salvation wrought out by 
the Son, communicate of His blessed Spirit to the 
heart of man. His holy nature takes up His resi- 
dence within us, converting every faculty of the soul, 
enabling us to choose Him as our portion. And in 
consequence of that happy choice, we love to run the 



Sermons, etc. 257 

ways of His commandments with a peculiar joy ; yea, 
even with "joy unspeakable, and full of glory." 
Obedience is our heaven, and sin the only hell we 
know below. 

Ye who were once dead in trespasses and sins, who 
thought of nothing but those ways that lead to death, 
ye know that the Redeemer having bought you by 
His bloody has wrought that chaise upon your hearts 
by the living principle of His grace within, which 
constrains all your sins to fall before you, as Dagon 
fell before the ark. WTiile, like the worshippers of 
Baal of old, humbled under a sense of their idolatry, 
ye cast away your idols, and cry, " The Ix)rd He is 
the God, the Lord He is the God." Need ye there- 
fore any longer tedious lectures from the dry moralist 
to tell you to do good? or rather will it not appear, 
being so gloriously changed by the power of God, ye 
find such freedom and delight in the ways of holiness, 
that ye need rather a bridle than a spur? It is with 
the liberty of sons, not with the bondage of slaves, ve 
are taught to obey. 

O ye highly favoured servants of the living God, 
come forth and bear your united testimonies wiih me 
to what ye have felt and tasted of this glorious tmui : 
tell me, I say, did ye lo\ e holine^ or did ye even 
know what holiness meant, till ye knew the gospd 

17 



2 S 8 The Rev. Rowland HiiL 

and loved the Saviour ? Do ye not pant to be holy 
as God is holy ? O blessed pantings, such as angels 
have, such as shall terminate in a state completely as 
glorious as angels enjoy! Go forth, therefore, my 
beloved brethren, and live for God; ** Arise, shine, 
for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is 
risen upon you." Let it now appear that you love 
Jesus too well to offend Him, and that those sacred 
cords which bind angels to obey, have been twined 
around your hearts, and made you the willing captives 
of this most pleasant grace, for the love of Christ 
constrains you. Again through the influences of the 
Holy Spirit, sin, that dwelleth' in you, is now no 
longer your delight; holiness is the object of your 
choice, while the power of omnipotent grace must and 
shall prevail, teaching you to abhor that which is evil, 
and to cleave alone to that which is good. Yet 
again, methinks, I hear you say, We detest the horrid 
idea of being saved by a gospel that makes void 
obedience to the law ; for we love the gospel, as it is 
God's grand method of revealing a power to the heart, 
whereby we obey the law. Most gladly, therefore, do 
we admit it as the rule of our life, and own ourselves 
under its eternal dominion. And as the law is not 
made void, but established by the gospel, we conclude 
it must be holy and eternal as God Himself, binding 



SerwonSy etc, 2; 9 



every creature capable of obeying under its immense 
demands. We judge, therefore, that God can sooner 
cease to be, than to allow the least failure in the least 
decree j nor can any time change Him who must be 
unchangeable in His demands, or erase transgression 
from His eternal mind, or cause Him to dispense with 
that law which is holy and eternal as Himself: conse- 
quently we detest the idea of a milder law than that 
He delivered to our first parents of old, and after- 
wards confirmed on Sinai to His Israel, lest we should 
say that a God of infinite perfections can, contrary to 
His own unchangeable nature, even permit or connive 
at a law that allows imperfections in His creatures. 
Nor dare we admit that strange fancy, however it 
may prevail, of the holy God being won by what some 
suppose to be the terms and conditions of our salva- 
tion, composed of faith, repentance, sincere obedience, 
or what not (for as various are these conditions as 
those that propose them), lest we should be found 
advancing a doctrine derogatory to the holiness of 
God ; for all acknowledge this sincere obedience at 
best to be but imperfect : if imperfect, consequently 
sinful. We therefore cannot admit that the infinitely 
pure and holy God can be pleased with that which 
has in it the nature of sin, and our arguments we sup- 
pose are abundantly strengthened by what we read in 



26o The Rn\ Rtnvland HilL 

the Scriptures, of no other name being given whereby 
sah*ation is obtained. And while we further read, 
that in man dwelleth no good thing, that without Christ 
we can do nothing, we are apt to conclude all these 
supi>osed conditions vanish like smoke ; and we are 
so >'ain as to think ^-e can prove, that the philosophy 
of the doctrine is bad, and the divinity a thousand 
times ^x)rse. 

Thus have I been attempting some^iiat to expatiate 
upon the principal leading doctrines of the gospel, 
which I mean to make the subject of my ministry in 
this place : and however these blessed truths may 
appear foolishness to the world, yet to such as Christ 
hath chosen out of the world they will appear to 
be the wisdom of God and the power of God, unto 
their eternal salvation. Deeply convinced of the evil 
of sin, may many be constrained to fly to oiur God 
and Saviour Jesus, trusting in His righteousness alone 
for pardon and acceptance, and receiving of the 
blessed influences of His Spirit, that they may be 
made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the 
saints in light 

Sufter me to conclude with a word of application on 
the whole. Ye servants of the living God, I beseech 
you to speak His praise by devoting yourselves to His 
glory ; that the blaspheming world may be brought to 



StrmoHSy etc. 261 



shame by beholding your good conversation in Christ. 
Mind your actions ; whether ye eat, or drink, or what- 
soever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Again, I 
request you, mind your tempers. In malice be ye chil- 
dren ; parents, behold your children, and let them teach 
you to forgive. Though they may be angry one minute 
they forgive and love the next. There is nothing more 
worthy to be inculcated than holy tempers. " Learn 
of me," says our Lord and Master, who was the pat- 
tern of meekness, " and ye shall find rest to your 
souls." Lastly, let me request you that are living in 
sin, by the love of God, to consider ere it is too late ; 
" now is the accepted time, now is the day of salva- 
tion," the arms of tender mercy are open to receive 
you. Fancy not that you lose your pleasures when 
you lose your sins, and that living to God will be an 
irksome task; no, blessed be God, thousands can 
declare, that they never knew what it was to be re- 
deemed from misery till they were redeemed from sin. 
My whole soul prays, that God would make you of 
that happy number. Even so be it, Lord Jesus. 
Amen. 



We append the following prayer and sermon, de- 
livered within a year of his death, at the age of eighty- 



262 TJte Rev. Rowland HilL 

nine ; and though the style of the discourse is rambliog 
we consider it no ordinary production when we con- 
sider the preacher's age. Few who survive the allotted 
term of human life would be capable of such an effort. 
The mere sight of the old man in the pulpit babbling 
so sweetly the truths of the gospel must have been a 
means of grace in itself. As the mind pictures the 
scene, while reading the discourse, the unction with 
which it was delivered seems transferred to the printed 
page. It doubtless lacks the vigour of his earlier 
sermons, but it is a sweet memorial of a gracious 
ministry. 

A PRAYER, 

BEFORE THE SERMON, APRIL 29, 1 832. 

O Lord, we give ourselves up to Thee. What a 
blessed thing it is to be strengthened with all might 
by Thy Spirit in the inner man, to have Gk>d in us, 
and with us, while we call on His glorious name. 
that we may be enabled to look through all the weak- 
ness of the body for that spiritual strength which 
comes from Thee. But, Lord, my own mind wants 
preparing by Thee. Lord, Thou must give utterance 
to the preacher, otherwise he will speak ineffectually, 
and he wants to. be made the instrument of bringing 



Sermons, etc, 263 



precious souls to Thee \ and this never can be done 
by him only instrumentally, by Thyself alone originat- 
ing the power from above. Lord, the people are 
before Thee ; how can I get into their hearts ? What 
can I say to them that shall so deeply take root as to 
have a divine eflfect? But Thou dost promise that 
Thy gospel, which is at all times the same, shall be in 
all ages of the church the power of God to the salva- 
tion of the soul. We now most humbly pray that this 
may be the time of salvation to some sinners. How 
often do we grieve, O Lord, to see many people come 
to Thy house on the Sabbath day who approve Thy 
ordinances, and yet neglect them ! Is it not a proof 
that their hearts are still not with Thee ? Good God, 
when shall the work be more effectually wrought, and 
sinners be brought with all the powers of the gospel 
to give themselves up to God in deed and in truth ? 
O that the Lord God would now give us all grace, 
and make us solemnly surrender ourselves to Him as 
His right and His own \ and let all who can be His. 
O for a spirit of dedication to God I O for a prayer 
in prayer I O for the unction of the living Spirit to 
live in all societies powerfully and divinely, to be 
poured on Zion universally, and on all Thy churches 
in the world. We bless Thee for what Thou hast been 
doing in heathen lands : we pray Thee that it may be 



264 The Rev, Rowland Hill, 

done more effectually ; and may the efficacious work- 
ing of Thine Almighty power be gloriously exempli- 
fied in all Thy churches I May we feel the power of 
Thy Holy Spirit so blessedly within us, that the power 
of holiness may universally prevail. 

THE END OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY: 

A SERMON 

PREACHED AT SURREY CHAPEL, 

APRIL 29, 1832. 

BY THB 

REV. ROWLAND HILL. 

** But none of these things move me, neither count I my life 
dear unto myself^ so that I may finish my course with joy, and 
the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify 
the gospel of the grace of God. " — Acts xx. 24. 

Many times when I have stood up in this place I 
have thought that all I could do would be to read my 
text, and afterwards be dependent upon a holy God 
for holy thoughts, trusting to His merciful guiding to 
direct me to speak truths which may be impressed on 
your mind, that the Spirit of holiness might be com- 
municated to your souls thereby. It is a difficult 
matter for me now even to read my text ; but blessed 
be God, my heart echoes to the truth of these thinjjs 



Sermons J etc, 265 



still; and there are no words that I have met with 
yet that sound like the words that echo from the house 
of God. 

But I have been thinking, How can I, such a mere 
shrimp as I have always been, how can I presume to 
address you in the language of such a great man as 
St. Paul, who preached the gospel with the Holy 
■Ghost sent down from heaven with such warm and 
astonishing zeal, and blessed as he was with a spirit 
like his Master's ? Why, they say that when the young 
Grecians were training up to their work of death, the 
first work they had to do was, to see how far they 
could shoot ; and though the goal was placed beyond 
their reach, yet they aimed at it as though they could, 
believing that the day was coming when their strength 
would be sufficient to enable them to send the arrow 
home. O God, help us never to be afraid of Thy high 
conmiands because we poor feeble creatures cannot 
reach them. I am commanded to be a follower of 
God; and I am told in this inestimable volume, that 
my God can do far more abundantly for me above all 
that I can ask, and above all that I can think. We 
ought not to form our desires according to human ex- 
pectations, but according to the riches of the divine 
promises. Oh, glory be to His name, here we have 
that which eye hath not seen, which ear hath not 



266 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

heard, neither hath ever entered into the heart of man 
to conceive ! 

Paul is now about to take leave of the people of 
Ephesus. In this chapter, we are told, he sends for 
the elders of Ephesus to meet him at Miletus, a village 
perhaps near to the seashore, as most probably he was 
not permitted to go far up into the land, being then 
a prisoner, and about to be taken as a prisoner to be 
tried and condemned to death at Rome. Here he 
takes his last, beautiful, final farewell of the people of 
Ephesus, where amidst much contention he had been 
preaching to them the gospel of Christ, and where he 
had been establishing the glorious truths of the gospel 
of Christ in opposition to all the mad projects of the 
• worshipper of the great goddess Diana of that city. 
Lord help me to preach the word this morning, not 
only with some comfort to myself, but with some bless- 
ing to you. Why, my dear brethren, you have need to 
pray more fervently now than ever ; for I cannot preach 
as I used to preach ; and therefore as I cannot preach 
as I would desire, you should pray the more, in order 
that you may not miss of the blessing after all. 

What is it that first presents itself to our considera- 
tion in these words ? (We must go simply through it) 
** Neither count I my life dear unto m}'self." But it 
is very dear, notwithstanding : I have a spark of im- 



Sermons^ etc, 267 



mortality enkindled within me, a life that God has 
secured for Himself by the purchase of His redeeming 
blood, and which He means to make a habitation for 
Himself through His Eternal Spirit. So that my life 
is invaluable ; why then should I not esteem it dear to 
me ? Here the apostle certainly means that he was 
not at all afraid to sacrifice his present life for the sake 
of that future glory which he was to have bestowed 
upon him in the world to come. Oh that we could 
live as we ought to live, and every moment live as 
unto God I Then we should see that a life of car- 
nality, a life of worldly enjoyment, is a life of no con- 
sequence to us. What are the few hours that we 
spend here below when they are compared with that 
vast eternity which is before all of us — that eternity 
which 1 know I shall soon begin, but who can tell 
when I shall end it ? Abel has now been lifting up 
his high praises to God for six thousand years nearly, 
and this morning he begins them all again: and 
though here on earth we get tired in singing ±e same 
song for want of variety, yet there is something so 
new and glorious in the person and sufficiency of the 
Redeemer, that it will always be a new song while we 
sing old ones. The Lord prepare our hearts and put 
them in tune to sing His glorious praise for ever I 
But let us go on. 



268 Tlie Rev. Rowland Hill. 

** So that I may finish my course with joy.'* Well, 
that is the thing, to finish with joy. We must first 
begin well. Oh ye young ones, are ye beginning 
well ? It is lovely to see the first stages of life most 
solemnly dedicated and devoted to God. We like to 
see the blossoms in the spring ; but we like to see the 
fruit much better in the summer, and we like it best 
of all when it ripens in the autumn, and when it 
answers the end for which its fertility was contrived. 
So may the Lord grant that you may all begin well. 
Oh that some prayers may now be offered up in your 
young minds that you may begin well, and begin 
to-day : if you have not yet set out, set out now. 
May you go on better than you have hitherto ; may 
you increase your strength in the Lord ; and may you 
end best of all, finishing your course with joy. 

** Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that 
I may finish my course with joy." My dear brethren, 
this concerns you all \ some of this holy book does 
not concern you all, but this does concern you all, 
God put you in the right path, and the Lord grant 
that you may find your souls so sweetly accustomed 
to walk therein, that you may never step a single step 
aside. Oh, when shall this be sufficiently admired in 
the fulness of the command? ** Be steadfast, unmov- 
able, always abounding in the work of the Lord." 



Sermons, etc. 269 



Keep to that perpetually; give yourselves no time but 
for God and His glory. You say perhaps, ** Sir, you 
don't know ; our time is very much taken up ; our 
trade must be minded ; our families must be attended 
to, and we must work while we are in this lower 
world." Very well, work on ; only remember that in 
the midst of your labour, in the midst of your calling, 
whatsoever it may be, you keep the fear of God warm 
in your hearts, and His love abiding in you, that while 
you are filling that sphere of life in which Providence 
has placed you, you may be filling it up to the glory 
of His dear name. Christian tradesmen are honour- 
able characters ; and I am sure of it, you may glorify 
God in your stations more than many a poor lazy 
creature who has nothing to hinder him from being 
always active for God. 

I have sometimes said that the world seems to me 
to be made up of a top and a bottom ; it is froth at 
top, and mud at bottom; and if there is any clear 
water, it is in the middle of society. If you are in that 
situation that you have all your time occupied, glory 
be to God there is no lawful situation in which you 
cannot serve Him ; otherwise the apostle would not 
have said, " Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, 
serving the Lord;" neither could the apostle' have 
commanded, " If a man will not work, neither let him 



270 Tlie Rev, Rowland HilL 

eat." Come, don't mind your stations, but fill them 
up for God. Remember that whatever station you are 
in, in the minutest circumstance of life, you are 
directed to glorify God in the accomplishment of 
every duty. Whether you eat, or whether you drink, 
or whatsoever you do, you must do it all to the 
glory of God \ you must have but one aim. Camp- 
bell was an excellent writer : he used to put at the 
conclusion of the treatises that he wrote, " Soli deo 
gloria,"— *' To God alone be all the glory." Let 
nothing be done but to the glor}' of God : all human 
actions, all worldly actions may do as much to the 
glory of God, as I may preach to the glory of God. 

But let us see what the apostle further says. 

** None of these things move me, neither count I 
my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my 
course with joy, and the ministry, which I have re- 
ceived of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the 
grace of God.'* Now this is our next business ; God 
keep us to it. The apostle in this short but very 
beautiful address to the elders of Ephesus, has this 
beautifiil expression, ** Testifying both to the Jews, 
and also to the Greeks, repentance towards God and 
faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.'' What a com- 
prehensive idea is that. Let me live every moment, 
while I feel myself a sinner, a penitent before Him, 



Sermons, etc, 271 



because I am a sinner ; and then let the eye of faith 
be fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ, that I may see 
Him in the splendour of His majesty, and the rich- 
ness of His grace, pouring down salvation upon my 
precious soul \ knowing that He hath done that great 
work for me which I never could have done for my- 
self, and not only put away sin (that is the gospel) 
by the sacrifice of Himself upon the tree, and brought 
in an everlasting righteousness, whereby alone His 
Church can be redeemed, but in mercy has proved a 
divine power to be sent into the souls of His elect, 
that they may be sealed by receiving the earnest of 
His Holy Spirit, the sealing of the Spirit of promise 
until the day of redemption. 

But I cannot see into the heavenly book as it lies 
open before the eyes of infinite knowledge ; how then 
can I have any evidence that my name is written in 
the Lamb's book of life ? The only evidence of that 
is, by feeling it ; indeed, my brethren, it is so, only by 
feeling His blessed image impressed upon our hearts. 
It is a very common custom among fine folks who are 
fond of their persons, to send their pictures to one 
another; but when you send a picture, the best picture 
or representation you can get, it is but a picture which 
you send to your friend after all. You cannot send a 
speaking picture to a person; you cannot send a think- 



272 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

ing picture to a person; it is merely an inanimate 
representation. But how gloriously does our blessed 
God work upon the heart when He puts His lovely 
image within us ; when we as lively stones are built up 
as spiritual temples to the Lord, created anew in Him, 
and having new life poured through every faculty of 
the soul. We know in whom we have believed. These 
are the only evidences on which we can depend. You 
never did, and I am very certain you never would, 
if I were to live to an ever so long extended age, 
you would never hear me preach any evidence that a 
man is right with God, but by the implantation of 
His blessed image on the heart. I know some 
people cry out, " Oh, I am sure I shall be saved, for 
there is such and such a promise ; " and another says, 
"Oh, I am sure I am forgiven, for I have such 
liberty;" but they are depending often on outward 
impressions. 

Brethren, there is but one evidence that the heart 
is right with God, and that it is right according to the 
word of God : " We love Him because we keep His 
commandments." If I have sin mortified in me, if I 
have these abominable evils banished from my heart, 
and if I am enabled to put my foot on all my sinful 
lusts, if I am enabled to do this, I am a conqueror, 
and more than a conqueror, through the strength of 



Sermons, etc. 273 



omnipotence reigning in my heart, the strength of Jesus 
Christ, my omnipotent God and Saviour. When this 
is the case I am sure it is right with me. If ever you 
go near a person's house where there are a great number 
of carriages of the nobility and the great people of the 
land, you always cry^out, — "Why, some great man 
lives here, or else he would not have such a great com- 
pany." Now, my dear brethren, it is a truth, that God 
has promised to make your hearts (He cannot give a 
greater promise) the " habitation of God through the 
Spirit ; " He sends His spiritual graces down into our 
souls ; and these are the graces that are my evidence 
that my heart is right with God ; and then I feel the 
blessed image that He has created within my soul ; 
agreeably to that fine expression of the apostle, where 
he says, " We all with open face, beholding as in a 
glass the glory of the Lord " (dear me, I do love that 
word I God make you love it, and feel it ; it is a very- 
strong expression, I am afraid many who use it have 
not felt the power of it), we " are changed into the 
same image from glory to glory.'' We have the very 
mind of Christ in us ; His graces purify us, His tem- 
pers adorn us. His law is the rule of our life, and His 
Spirit is the guide of our conduct. 

There is a mine of truth in that text, " In Him we 
live, and move, and have our being,'* and have the 

18 



274 T^^ ^^' Rowland Hill, 

image of God divinely formed in our minds. Don't 
you think you are Christians because you come here, 
or go elsewhere, or because you are so called by your 
neighbours. Examine your Christianity by your Bibles; 
and remember the way to do that is, to see whether 
the precious graces of the Spirit of Cjod are to be 
found dwelling within your hearts, and written upon 
your consciences. Let them ,be fixed and dwell in 
the soul, and then you will be enabled to tell that 
your hearts are under the influence of Divine grace. 
I feel that when any bad movements are in my 
heart I am grieved at them, and want to go to that 
sacred sanctifying Spirit that can cleanse and purify 
the inward dispositions of the mind. Pray what 
do our earthly doctors do? Why, they ask how 
our constitution is ; they ask how we feel, what inward 
complaints we have. They know very well that all com- 
plaints arise from within, and if they act wisely, they 
operate against our inward evils. So does the Divine 
Physician of our souls (who knows infinitely more than 
they do) when he cleanses the very thoughts of our 
hearts by the inspiration of this Holy Spirit from time 
to time. It is indeed testifying of the gospel of the 
grace of God when i^ch glorious effects are produced 
on the souls of all men who are true believers in His 
dear Son. 



Sermons f etc. 275 



The Apostle Paul here observes, by-the-bye, that 
this ministry is from the Lord. We are many of us 
accustomed to go into the country during the pleasant 
part of the year. Now our first business in the choice 
of such a place should be, to ask whether the church 
minister preaches the gospel or not j and if you find 
that he does, be thankful, and go to hear him. But 
remember that the preaching of the gospel should be 
the grand thing we ought to look after in all the public 
dispensations of Divine Providence. We must re- 
member that imless Christ be preached we hear 
nothing. Christ is all in all, and without Him we 
are nothing at all. Paul received his ministry of the 
Lord ; all the ministry is by the grace of God. It 
is a very strong expression. It pleased the Lord to 
testify the gospel of the grace of God. Those words 
are very strong in the original. The word gospel 
means glad tidings, good news. Why, there is nothing 
worthy the name of good news excepting that which 
tells me how it shall be with me in a fiiture world. 
The gospel, properly speaking, and interpreted in its 
own words, simply means glad tidings. " Behold, we 
bring you glad tidings of great joy;'* the original 
expression is, "This is a gospel of great joy.** And 
where does all this come from ? It comes from the 
grace of Christ. Oh, I am thankful that grace is in 



276 The Rev, Rowlafid Hill. 

my heart ! The same God that gave me repentance 
must keep me penitent all the days of my life \ the' 
same God that taught me to pray will still continue to 
bless me ; the same love that He kindled in my heart, 
must be continually fed by Him, that it may bum up 
to the glory of His name ; the same gracious tempers 
that His powers inspired must be again and agam 
communicated to the heart, that I may still live 
agreeably to my profession. The work of the Son is 
well pleasing to the Father. Yes, the Father beholds, 
with infinite admiration and delight, the glories that 
dwell in His co-equal and co-eternal Son. " This is 
my beloved Son," said the Father, (a fine expression ! ) 
**in whom I am pleased.*' We cannot give the fiill 
interpretation of that word ; it not only means well 
pleased, but fully appeased : ** I rest in my love j I 
am well satisfied with it." The delight of heaven is 
found in the heavenly person of our Lord. And 
whilst the Father doth delight in His Son, He delights 
equally to bless all them that are found united to Him 
by that living faith which the gospel of the grace of 
God creates in the heart. 

These are the principles upon which we may live, 
and may testify the power of the gospel of the grace 
of God upon the soul. It is the divine testimony that 
God gives to the heart ; and I have an evidence that 



SermonSy etc, 277 



I am bom again when His blessed Spirit is found to 
live within me. 

This is perhaps a shorter discourse than I usually 
give you ; but I feel a great degree of weakness this 
morning, and an increase of cough prevents me from 
speaking all that I would ; but there may have been 
enough said to reach the conscience of some poor 
sinner, which may be the cause of his loudest and 
most ecstatic praises in the world of eternal glory. 
May the blessing of God be on what you have heard, 
for His name's sake. Amen. 



The last time Rowland Hill occupied the pulpit at 
Surrey Chapel, nine days before his death, he addressed 
the teachers of the Southwark Sunday-School Society. 
The tender solicitude for the welfare of the schools, 
breathed throughout this address, proves how dear the 
work was to his heart, and that he could foresee a 
splendid future for these institutions over which he had 
watched so long. Although the reasons for including 
this address are extrinsic, it being the last he uttered 
in public, yet we regard it as possessing sufficient 
merit to warrant its reproduction. . It is pervaded by 
that quiet power which was one of the chief character- 
istics of his preaching, and which was due to the sin- 



278 The Rev, Rowland Hill 

cerity of his purpose, the directness of his aim, and 
his conscious dependence upon the help and blessing 
of the Spirit. There is real heart music in this Swan 
Song of the venerable pastor, the echoes of which, 
even at this distant date, may afford counsel and 
stimulus to the workers in the holy cause. 

PRAYER BEFORE THE ADDRESS. 

Oh hear our prayers, O Lord, that thousands and 
tens of thousands of celestial blessings may descend 
upon those who are engaged in this work. They 
want much of Thy Spirit to perform it spiritually : 
they want much of the simplicity of divine teaching 
whereby they may begin well with children in their 
early days. May they under Thy wisdom be guided 
wisely, that they may see the pleasure of the Lord 
largely and abundantly prosper in their hands. We 
thank Thee for counteracting in some little measiue 
the wickedness of the day by these exertions. We 
thank Thee that some who have been teachers them- 
selves, have been set in the ministry of the word, to 
do much good in the name of Thy Holy Child Jesus. 
We thank Thee that there are some now preaching 
the gospel who have received this humble education, 
and which has been made efficacious to bring them 



ScrmonSy etc, 279 

from a state of darkness and ignorance, to lead othcrn 
to the knowledge of Thy truth. Prosper them more 
abundantly from time to time. May we all be striv- 
ing who shall do most good, who shall live more 
completely for God, and ]je dedicated most to His 
glory. Bless all other useful institutions. Oh that 
we may all lay ourselves out for Ood, wear well in His 
celestial service, till such time as we are called to enjoy 
that everlasting rest which remaineth for Thy people 
in the world of eternal glory. Amen. 

AN ADDRESS TO SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
TEACHKRS, 

DKUVRRRD AT SURREY CHAPEL, TUESDAY EVENING, 
APRIL 3, 1833. 

Ir I had not the highest respect for this important 
work of bringing up children in the nurture and ad- 
monition of the Lord, I have infirmities enough now 
belonging to me to plead as an apology for being 
silent on this occasion. But if I can say but little, I 
thank Ood for what has already been said to you. In 
the midst of human weakness we are satisfied that 
(iod can manifest a divine power: He speaks and it 
is done. All the work that relates to the salvation of 



28o The Rev. Rowlafid Hill. 

the soul is entirely the work of God. What a won- 
derful creation is that which I feel within me, and 
which you all feel, in a bad way or a good one — the 
existence of the immortal spirit ! so that every man 
living will either go in a good way to glor)', or in a 
bad way which leads to everlasting banishment from 
the presence of God. 

Hence the instruction of the human mind is of the 
highest importance. The wisest man that ever lived 
undoubtedly was the Lord Jesus Christ, who is wis- 
dom itself jn the hearts of all His people when He 
inspires salvation to dwell within them ; but next to 
Him was Solomon ; and he very wisely says, " For the 
soul to be without knowledge," or instruction, " is not 
good." Our good missionaries are gone abroad into 
many heathen parts of the world j and they there find 
mankind left totally uninstructed, to be monsters of 
iniquity among themselves : so bad are they that they 
will scarcely let their fellow-beings exist among them- 
selves, from the cruelty of their own savage disposi- 
tions. In Scripture, flesh is everywhere mentioned 
and recorded to be in a most depraved and wretched 
condition ; so that it is said " they that are in the 
flesh cannot please God." And there is another ejc- 
pression, though not so plainly worded, perhaps, " The 
carnal mind," which is the same as the fleshly mind, 



Sermons f etc. 281 



is as bad as the devil himself; it is "enmity against 
God ; " and worse cannot be said of human nature, 
or of any creature, than that it is "enmity against 
God." 

Now, what does the gospel propose ? Oh, beloved 
brethren, we never forget that glorious truth which is 
the soul of religion ; and that is, religion in the soul; 
regeneration, being bom again of the Spirit, created 
anew in Christ Jesus our Lord. Hence it is, as my 
good brother, who has been speaking to you, has told 
you already, it is your duty to teach this to children. 
You that honour me with this visit this evening (for 
so I call it), as Stmday-school teachers, ought to be 
thankful to God for your privilege. And it is my 
duty, in the midst of my weakness, more immediately 
to address you. 

Oh, my dear brethren, I love you. God bless you ; 
and God grant that you may live a long time after I 
am dead, to do abundantly more good than I have 
lived to see done. But, however this may be, remem- 
ber there is no good but what must come immediately 
from God. It is all darkness ; it is all death, and hell, 
and sin, till we are bom of the Spirit You are no 
more fit, as you have been already very properly told, 
for this important office, without the influence of divine 
grace upon your hearts, than a dead man is fit to per- 



282 The Rev. Rowland Hill. 

form the functions of animal life. No ; if you are 
instrumental in doing good to others it must always 
be from the principle created in you by God having 
first accomplished that good in your own hearts. 

Hence it is to be lamented that while education in 
general may be looked upon as a blessing, it is lite- 
rally by no means to be esteemed as a blessing to all. 
I really do feci, and I think I have too much evidence 
of it, that, in many instances, merely teaching children 
to read, to go carelessly to a place of worship on a 
Sunday, and leaving them otherwise uninstructed, is 
only putting a weapon into their hands which they 
can never use well till such a time as they are taught 
by the grace and Spirit of God how to use it. Bibles 
will not convert men, excellent as they are, but as the 
spirit, and life, and power of the Scriptures is brought 
home to the heart; it is otherwise but a dead letter to 
them that are " dead in trespasses and in sins." So 
then, my dear brethren and sisters (for you all equally 
may do good), pray particularly for much of the life 
and power of God to possess your own dear souls. 
May you be lovely, excellent, and zealous Christians, 
walking before God in a manner well-pleasing in His 
sight, remembering that as He who hath called you 
is holy, so are you to be holy in all manner of con- 
versation and godliness. Indeed you will never desire 



Ser^nonSy etc. 283 



to do the work of God, but it will be done by drud- 
gery, till such times as righteous desires are implanted 
in your hearts by God Himself, whereby you will be 
directed. As preachers are not to be content with 
displaying their ability in setting forth a fine sermon, 
to gain the admiration of the people ; so you will 
travail with these little children in birth till Christ be 
formed in them ; and, it strikes me, then you will be 
taught to teach them as Christ teaches us all. I think 
you will feel, while you have them before your eyes, 
desirous not only to teach them the letters of the 
book, but the spirit and the meaning of the book 
which they are taught to read. I think you will be 
instructed to understand that it becomes you parti- 
cularly to remember the children of poor parents; 
and that it is your business to do with them, instru- 
mentally, what God has done to you, we trust, 
spiritually and powerfully, — made you to feel the 
glories of His regenerating grace, and to know what 
it means by having the blessed experience of the 
same upon your hearts. 

Now, here is before us a holy book ; you will be 
naturally instructed, I conceive, to mention to your 
children the infinite holiness and purity of God in 
Himself; how He never can behold sin but with in- 
finite detestation and abhorrence ; and you will never 



284 Tlu Rev. Rowland HilL 

see the children before you but you will endeavour to 
make them detest and abhor it too ; and you will tell 
them that all their miseries arise from their inward 
corruptions, and that these must be subdued in them 
before anything that is good can be truly practised by 
them. I don't merely say this to those that give 
exhortations to children; I speak to you all as 
teachers. While you have your little classes before 
you, do endeavour to drop something of what you 
know that may be instructive to them ; and endeavour 
to give them really to see the odiousness, the exces- 
sive odiousness of sin ; and to lead them to that 
power whereby alone grace may be implanted to coun- 
teract their natural corruption; for we cannot tell 
how soon grace may begin in a poor child. God be 
praised, in this sacred volume we are told that out 
of the mouths of babes and sucklings God could 
ordain strength. And while the Pharisees in their spite 
and enmity could cry out against Christ, "Crucify 
Him, crucify Him," the little children could cry 
out in the temple, and say, **Hosaima to David's 
Son, and to David's Lord." I say you cannot 
tell how soon God begins with the human mind. 
I did think, till I considered it more deeply, that we 
were carrying things a little to the extreme by the 
education of children in infant-schools. I now think 



Sermons y etc. 285 



quite otherwise ; I am very well convinced we cannot 
begin with them too early ; the earlier they are brought 
under the regulations of a religious education the 
better ; aye, better, indeed, for us who are living in 
the present generation, and infinitely better for the 
children themselves, who are to form the next genera- 
tion, when that divine knowledge, through the bles- 
sing of God on your instructions, has been so com- 
municated to the mind that that fine glorious passage 
is accomplished in their hearts, when they are made 
in their early days to " Abhor that which is evil, and 
to cleave to that which is gopd." 

From these considerations, my dear brethren, you 
will be taught, that, with tenderness of heart, and 
affection for the good of the souls of the children, 
nothing is done well but as it is done in the spirit of 
love. Love is the fulfilling of the law : love melts, 
and nothing else but love can melt the hardest heart, 
the stony heart, and make the heart of stone become 
a heart of flesh. You will dwell on the lovely story 
how Christ Jesus came and offered Himself a sacrifice 
for sin. You will tell the child, in the language he 
can best understand, the need of being acquainted 
with the Saviour, how they should love Him, and 
what obligations they are under to obey Him, Then 
you will lead them to the preceptive part of the word 



286 The Rev, Rowlatid Hill. 

of God ; for that is the second part of the business. 
First, you teach the child what he is, and what he 
must be, before he can be a good child ; and when 
he is made a good child, after grace has possessed the 
heart, then you may teach him the practice of good- 
ness ; tell him how he should behave himsel£ You 
cannot sow good seed in uncultivated ground: 
let the ground be first well fallowed and broken up. 
Oh God, send down the conviction of sin on the 
children of the rising generation; and then we will do 
all we can to show, among such little sinners as these 
are, what grace there is in Christ to change their poor 
little hearts, and to teach them in their early days to 
be devoted to the love and service of the living God. 
I don't think you do a quarter the good you otherwise 
would in merely teaching a child to read, unless you 
remember that yours is a Sabbath-day school, and 
teach them to read, and to imderstand what they 
read, that they may be the better for it. It is really 
amazing that those who are concerned in some of our 
schools do this in a very clumsy manner ; and though 
I suppose they do as well as they can by the teaching 
that they have firom their own miserable selves, it is 
really lamentable to see how little profit there is in it. 
We have our national schools ; I pray to God to fit 
them to teach ; but I am told that the children are 



Sermons, etc, 287 



not much the better for going there, but rather the 
worse ; going out of the schools as bad as when they 
went in. Yea, in some places they say they are afraid 
to send their children to such schools, because they 
get more harm by being associated with bad children 
than if they did not go at all. 

Now, it is a matter of fact that the rising generation 
will be an extremely corrupted generation, unless the 
grace of God. that brings salvation, be early com- 
municated to their hearts, "teaching them to deny 
ungodliness and worldly lusts.'* Faith teaches this ; 
but we don't understand anything about grace but as 
it is divinely communicated from above. See, there- 
fore, that children are taught to look for this gift, that 
they may be instructed in those things that relate to 
their everlasting peace. And though we should not 
be proud of it, yet we should be thankful for it. 
Consider the blessings that are frequently the result 
of all this. I thank God that we have some (the 
Lord make us very humble) labouring in the ministry 
of the word who had their first instruction in our 
Sunday-schools; and there are a great number of 
good people who have got themselves well associated 
by being connected with good people, and connected 
constantly with each other, whereby we have those 
that watch over each other wisely and well I look 



288 Tlu Rev. Rowland HilL 

upon it they cannot do otherwise than live to 
God, since the Lord has honoured them by placing 
them among the honourable tribe of Sunday-school 
Teachers. 

Yes, my dear brethren, you are doing an abundance 
of good ; and you know not what good may yet be 
done. The more you are filled with the grace of the 
gospel to teach, the better you will be enabled to do 
this in a good and spiritual manner. Oh, may the 
Lord send down upon your dear souls ten thousand 
thousand times more of that spirit of wisdom and 
understanding, that sweetness of divine knowledge, 
that love to the precious souls of men, that love, one 
towards another, and especially towards the children 
of the poor; and may He set your tongues at a 
gracious liberty, and make you to find that though 
there is a sacrifice made by attending these schools, 
yet the Lord is pleased to make the sacrifice a pleasant 
one, in giving you to see that your labour, as you 
have already been told, ** shall not be in vain in the 
Lord." I remember that a poor man once met me 
at the comer of the street, and produced before me 
a little bit of paper, asking, " Will you be so good as 
read this for me?" I said to him, "Can't you read 
yourself? " He replied, " No, sir, I was not bom 
in the days in which there were many Sunday-schools ; 



Sermons^ etc, 289 



but my children can read very prettily, and they read 
to us after I have done my labour; and we never 
were so happy as since we have taken to read religious 
books, to look into our Bibles, and to pray that we 
may be governed by their contents." The Lord 
grant that you may have many such instances as 
this, in making many a family that is a hell full of 
wickedness, to be a little heaven, by God Himself 
dwelling in the midst of it ; for we live untp God 
when the Spirit lives in us. Hence it is that you 
will judge that it is in vain to instruct any of the 
rising generation but as they themselves receive early 
instruction from God, and are taught the necessity of 
being themselves regenerated and bom from above. 
And indeed the doctrines of divine grace, though 
mysterious ('* How can these things be ? ") may be 
explained, and I doubt not will be, in language of 
that description as that children of an early growth 
may be led to understand it. Cannot you tell them 
of the pride and anger of their hearts, working in 
them the evils that are produced there ? And cannot 
they be told that these evils come from the evil nature 
within them ? Cannot they be told how grace can 
subdue these iniquities; how God can give them 
early repentance for early crimes ; and how He can 
renew their hearts in a wonderful, wise, and gracious 

19 



290 The Rev. Rcrojlofid HilL 

manner^ even in their first setting forth in life? God 
be praisedy we have instances set before us some- 
times of this sort, in a remarkable, sweet, and happy 
manner. 

Alas, my dear brethren, that I cannot now serve 
yon as I woold. My strength is gone, bat my heart 
and affections are where they always have been ; and 
I am particularly anxious to drop this, my last testi- 
mony, on behalf of your important office which you 
have undertaken, in instructing the poor man's child, 
and the present rising generation. Go on, my dear 
hearers ! God bless you in every effort ! Fray much 
for His Holy Spirit, that you may have the spirit of 
eminently wise holiness dwelling in your minds, and 
that you may be taught how to instruct children in 
the best of wisdom in their early days. For when I 
look at the madness, and folly, and dissipation, and 
sin, I see madness in their conduct, and beasts and 
devils in their behaviour; but when I look at the 
children of God, there I see the effects of the power 
of grace in them that is well worthy that gracious 
glory which such are to fill in eternity, 

I pray God that these things may do you all good. 
I am very sorry that I speak with so much feebleness, 
but glad still, so far as this, that, in the midst of my 
declining strength, I feel where my heart is. I can- 



SermoftSy etc. 291 



not give you a finer exhortation to conclude with than 
that which my good young brother has addressed 
you from. " Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye 
steadfast," — don't be wavering in any part of your 
duty — " unmoveable," that will prove that you are 
steadfast indeed, if there is no moving you from it. 
We cannot imagine how much we increase in the 
work of the Lord, but as we abound in it. " Always 
abounding in the work of the Lord.** Oh, there was 
a time when preaching to me was but trifling work ; 
I was very glad to go from town to town, and from 
village to village, and preach the gospel to as many 
as I could. You are young ; use your youth for God 
and His glory while you have time. Remember that 
it is in time alone that you are to do good. We can 
do more good on earth than we shall be able to do 
in heaven, it is done beforehand there ; there will be 
no good to be done in heaven ; there will be a good 
deal of good to receive there, but it is all done ; so 
remember this is the time to do good. Here you 
are amidst the enemies of God, and here you may 
prove His glorious strength. May the blessings of 
the eternal God be abundantiy poured down upon 
you, that you may always abound in the work of the 
Lord; and as you have already proved, you shall 
prove that your labour is not in vain in the LiOrd. 



292 The Rev, Rowland Hill, 

Many a good preacher has been already raised up 
from Sunday-schools. I will not mention some names 
that I could mention; and for this reason you will 
say, that they were poor Sunday-school boys before 
they became useful and efficacious ministers of Christ; 
but that should not deter us either. Some Sunday- 
school teachers have been called from that occupation 
to the work in which they are now stationed, and 
which they are filling with credit, and to the eternal 
salvation of the souls of many. 

May the God of all grace give you all the blessings 
that you need in the work. I thank you for your 
kind attendance ; and I am sure I have to thank you 
for your patience and good-wilL 

Not being able to speak as I could wish, you will 
accept that which I have now offered to you, in the 
name of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and may the bless- 
ing of God be with you all evermore. Amen. 



" Servant of God, well done ! They serve Gk>d well 
Who serve His creatures. When the funeral bell 

■ Tolls for the dead, there's nothing left of all 
That decks the 'scutcheon and the velvet pall 
Save this. The coronet is empty show — 
The strength and loveliness are hid below. 
The shifting wealth to others hath accrued. 
The learning cheers not the grave's solitude. 
What's done is what remains ! Ah, blessed they 
Who leave completed tasks of love to stay 
And answer mutely for them, being dead ! 
Life was not purposeless, though life be fled." 

Mrs. Norton. 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

t, wholesome . . .120 

ion, blessings of . . 175, 185 

the rodof . . .189 

Rev. Dr. . . . .36 
louses ^ . . . .45 
lative, an . . . .181 
ion, a preacher's . .174 
iote, the use of . . .170 
s ._ . . . . 177, 181 
Dmianism . . 60, 62. 166 

„ professor of, rebuked 61 
ty, a preacher's . . .122 

ipies 167 

trance, penonal . . • 91 
jr, the believer's . . . 215 
:es, natutal, if novel . . 54 
ment, interest in the . . 222 
•rship. Sale of Curates . . 63 
, Village Dialogues . Id. 
, Warning to Professors 16. 
ion 162 



r and the wi^ 
reful for nothing 
'olence . 
Ige, I^ev. J. . 
Sociei 



58, 



Society 
the . 
ry. 

less, spiritual 
ecclesiastical 
a praying 
ty, an expedient for 

et register . 

ij doctrines of 

usm 

ridge, St John's . . . xx 

late for church membership 45 



. 124 

. 319 

. 226 

23, 24, 37 

o 57 

198, 199 

', 59, 15s 
z6x 
27 
135 
141 

'S 
Z08 

48 



PAGE 

Chairman, miseries of a . •ST 
Chalmers, Rev. Dr. . . . 130 

Chapel, a floating 109 

„ City Road . . .35 

„ Spa Fields . . , U. 

Character, a good preacher . .215 

„ an element of success . 91 

„ power of ... xoo 

Children, efforts for . . . 97 

„ hymns for . . . 65 

,f meetings of . . .90 

Chnst, all in all . . 200 

„ Alpha and Omega . . 202 

yj church .... 75 

Christian evidence . . . 183 

,; the dying . . .234 

Christians, rocking-horse . xi8 

Church, the 2x2 

„ the State . . . .231 

Clayton, Rev. G 71 

Cleanliness 99 

Clock, inscription for . . 13X 

Coat of arms, a minister's . . 330 
Collections, large . . .56 

College life ... . zz 

,, usefulness at . . • 13 
Collyer, Rev. Dr. ... 73 
Comment, a pointed . . X05 

Conscience, a looking-glass . . 163 

Consecration 53 

Controversy 33 

Conversion . . . . 9, 03 
the miracle of the ministry 228 



Correction, wise 
Courage, holy 
Covenant of grace 

„ the eternal 
Cranfield, Thomas 
Creation, the new 



Z90 
170 



:4i 



296 



Index. 



PACE 

Criminak, visits to . . . 100 

Curacy, first a6 

" Cut and come again " . Z^ 



" Dav-spring from on high 
Deathbed sayings. 
Debt .... 
Dedicatory prayer 
Delicacy, noly 
Denominational distinctions 
Depravity, human 
Descent .... 
Desertion, temptation to 
Difference, a 
Dissension rebuked 
Dissenters by birth 
Diversion, gardening . 
„ shoemakmg 
Diversity, unity in 
D.D., a conceited 
Doves and butterflies . 
Dreams not trustworthy 
Drunkard, a, saved 
Duties, reciprocal . 

Eccentricity, effect of . 
Elect, preaching to the 
Election and sanctification 
Encouragement . 
Enthusiasm . . 
Episcopal sanction imnecessary 
Epitaph 

„ on bigotry 
Escape, a providential . 
Evangelical magazine, notice i 
Evidence, Christian 
Evil, victory over . 
Eye-glasses, the lost . 



Faith, the shield of 

,, a true . 
False stories . 
Fanner, a preaching . 
Father, the divine 
Feeling, no religion without 
Fellowship . . . , 

„ plea for ' . 
Ferrets, Rowland Hill's 
Fiat, the divine . 
"Fire low**. 
Fletcher, Rev. J. . 
Flowers and fruits 
.FuU gospel . 



Funeral. 

Gardening, diversion . 
Generosity, commended 
Glenorchy, Lady . 
God, His hatred of sin . 
„ the love of . 
„ „ source of all good 
Gordon riots, the . 
Gospel, a cheap . 

„ compared to a milch 

„ preaching . 
Gossip, idle . 
Government, church 
Grace and works . 

„ covenant of 

,, saved by . 
Guile, caught by . 

H, the letter . 

Hall, Rev. Newman . 

„ Rev. Robert 
Hands, laying on . 
Happiness, Jesus essential to 
Hatred of sin 
Heart, a good 
„ versus brains 
„ preparation of the 
„ the guest of 
Heaven begun below . 

„ meet for . 
Heathen, the light of the 
Heavenly places . 
Heroes, Carlyle's opinion of 
Highwaymen 
Hifl, Miss Jane . 
Richard 
Rowland 

„ letters of 
„ , his salary 
„ self-portraiture 
Mrs., stories of . 
Hirelings denounced . 
Humility 

Himtingdon, the Countess 
Huntington, William . 
" Husbands love your wives 
Hypocrisy rebuked 

Ignorance, blindness of 
Illustration, an apt 
Impressions, early 
Industry, school of 



PAGE 

. 73 

:^ 

. II 

• 199 
. 197 
. 218 
. 35 
. 142 

""'.it 

• 167 
. 43 
. 177 
. 176 
. los 
. 127 

• xo 

• 75 
40»55 

. 138 
. 204 

. 3X6 
. X26 

. 213 

:\% 

. 209 
. 224 
. XX4 

. 32X 

• 47 

. 28 

. 6 

29, 58, 67 

• 4a 

• 5« 

38, X69 

^- *^ 
100, 217 

35,38 
60,61 

. XX8 

. xoa 

. xg6 

. x6o 

. 5 

• 45 



Itidex. 



297 



PAGE 

Infidel reclaimed . . .145 
Ingratitude . . . z68 
Intolerance, clerical . .ax 
Itinerancy 33 

Jackson, Rev. T. ... 79 

Jay, Rev. W 73 

Jesus only 312 

Justice before generosity . 1x4, 336 

Justification and good works . 2x0 

„ and sanctification . x6x 

Jones, Theophilus -40 

Kept by the power of God . . sax 
Knowledge, Rowland Hill's . X48 

Labour, dignity of ... 5 
„ regular sphere of, desired 34 
Lamb, the deserted . . .1x9 
Laodicean Christians . . X09 

Last words in Surrey Chapel . 277 
Law, the perfect .... 196 
Letters . . .29, 57, 65, 67 

„ anonymous . .1x3 

Liberality commended . . 62, X32 
Life in Christ . . . X89 

,, secret of a long . . 102, xss 
Light, its own revealer . X98 

Lights of the world . . . X89 
Like loves like .... 2x3 

Liturp;y 42 

Lookmg up 214 

Love, a holy grace . . 208 

„ is all . • • .. • • »95 
" Love me, love my dog . . 98 
Love of God, the work of the Spirit 225 
Love, the life of all the graces . 222 

Lovegood, Mr 51 

Ludicrous incident . . • 3X 

Man his own enemy . . 206 

,, in innocency . . 205 

** Mangling done here " . X03 

Marchmg order .... 218 

Marriage 36 

" Matches, matches, matches ! " . 54 
Meanness rebuked . . .132 

Meditation X78 

Mercy-seat, unity at the . . 227 
** Mighty fine preachers " . . X30 
Mind, absence of . . . X07, X54 
Ministerial training . . . 230 



Ministry, fruits of the . 
„ key-note of . 
„ letter upon the 
„ the theme of the 

Miser, like a pi|: . 

Misers, no chanty for . 

Misrepresentation, cause of 

Missionaries . 

Missionary Society 

Morality, Christian 

Moralizmg, powerlessness of 

" More to follow I " 

Monsters, made by sin . 

Mortmain, statute of . 

Music, Surrey Chapel . 

Napkin, the empty 
Neglect, clerical . 



Office, titles of . . . .39 

Order and deconun . . 140 

Ordination refused . . . aa 

„ ^ accepted . . .36 

Open air preaching . . .30 

Opposition at home . . . 33 

„ defeated 25, 27, 164 

Oxford, expulsion of students . xo 



PAGE 

6a, I2S 
. xas 

• 3 

• 331 

• 55 

. axz ' 

• 49 
. zzo 

. 3X3 

. xs6 



137 
47 



Pardon, free . ^ . 
Parental opposition 
Parenthesis, a 
Parish, Rowland Hill's 
Parsons, shifting . 
Pastoral office 
Pathos in preaching 
People, a peculiar 
Percy Anecdotes . 
Persecution . 

„ early . 
Perseverance, final 
Personal preaching 
Pickpocket, conversion of 
Pigs, the story of the 
Pill box, the benevolent 
Platform, the 
Poet, the 

„ of the future 
Poetiy, specimens of . 63, 
Popularity, penalty of 
Prayer J a 

„ ejaculatory . 

„ request for . 

20 



• X75 
23»a5 

. X04 

• 53 
. 339 

. 39 

ixiJ 
. 169 
• 24 



. X45 

. X46 
i«7» 133 





235 




»33 


65, 


VA 


362 


378 




5a 




3a 



^8 



Iftdex, 





PAGE* 




PAGE 


Prayer, secret of security • 


. 219 


Reproof, a faithful 


. 105 


„ „ success . 


• 52 


„ without offence 


. 230 


Pray without ceasing . 


• "5 


RestatUst .... 


• 73 


Preacher, a dsiutious . 


. XX4 


Restraint, impatience of 


• 150 


M an apostolic 


• 135 


Retrospect, a pleasant . 
Review, Monthly . 


. 154 


„ Cowper's description 


of . 02 


22 


„ disreputable, rebuked . Z04 


Riches, unsearchable . 


. 202 


Preaching, a master passion 


• 70 


Rippon, Rev. Dr. 


• 73 


„ diversion before 


. 138 


Robe of righteousness . .17.- 


,182 


„ engagements 


. 124 


Rocking-horse Christians 


. 118 


„ extemporaneous 


• 49 






„ first attempt at . 


13* 14 


Sacrifice, self 


• 23 


„ love of . . . 


. 227 


Sailors, preaching to . 


. 126 


„ noisy 


. 227 


Salvation to the uttermost . 


131 


„ plain. 


55» '^5 


Scene, a touching 


• 71 


„ styles of 


\VA 


Sectarianism, the devil's wedge 


. 2i6 


„ the end of 


Self-sacrifice .... 


• 23 


„ to live 


. 96 


Sermons, rambling 


50 


„ to the end 


. 226 


„ long .... 


• 149 


Precocity 


• 4 


„ number preached . 50 


> Z59 


Pride, worldly 


. 224 


„ specimens of . 


237 


Priest's orders refused . 


• 27 


Servant of God 


293 


Prisoners set free 


. 192 


Servants, good 


188 


Professor, a false . 


• 95 


Service, freedom in 


96 


Promises, the saints weapon 


s . 224 


Severe, but faithful 


143 


Proselytes . 


. 231 


Sick poor, ministry to . 


149 


Provision for the way . 


. 218 


Silver cord, the loosening of the 


151 


Pugilist, the . 


. io6 


Sin, God's hatred of 


199 






„ hatred of . . . 


207 


R's, the three 


• 49 


J, triumph over 
Smners, Wapping . 


187 
113 


Ranting justified . 


. 26 


Singing, Surrey Chapel 


156 


Rarities, the devil's 


. 174 




191 


Rebuke, a just 


• 95 


Sheridan, remark of 


55 


Reciprocity . 


• 173 




75 


Reconciliation 


. 180 


Shifting parsons . 




Redeemed, the dignity of th 


e . 181 


Shoemaking, diversion . 


Redeemer the, one with us 


. 222 


Shortcoming, sense of . 


z8o 


Redemption, its effects 


. 21X 


Slander 


•9 


„ full . 


, . 20Z 


Slaves, pity for . 


\o\ 


Redruth 


. 30 


Sleepers rebuked . 


163 


Regret, expressed 


• 7» 


Socinianism attacked . 


X02 


Rejoicing with trembling 
Religion, beneficence of 


• 145 


Souls versus livings 


26 


. 209 


Speech, a moving . 


134 


„ explained by itself 


• 193 


Spiri^the workofthe. 
State\:hurch 


x8a 


„ reality of . 


9 


231 


„ the true . 


. 226 


Stories, fabricated 


^ 


„ versus worldliness 


. 147 


Strength in weakness . 


179 


Reminiscences, personal 


. . J3 


„ for victory . 


181 


Repentance, a grace . 




Submission .... 


2x4 


„ blessings of 


' : 1?6 


Success, early 


29 


„ constant . 


Sunday-schools . 


44 


„ the last companion 


. 223 


Sunset, the believer's . 


2X2 



Index. 



299 



PAGE 

Superstition, the root of . . 208 

Suretyship 165 

Surrey Chapel, benevolent agen- 
cies of . . .44 
,, „ origin of . . 36 

„ „ the product of spiri- 

tual life .^ . 36 
„ „ undenominational 42 

Swearer, ^e, silenced . . •141 

Tabernacle, Moorfields . 35 
„ Tottenham Court Road . lb. 

Table, the Lord's ... .60 

" Take heed how ye hear '* . . 164 

Tract Society, the Religious . 56 

Temper, a lady's . . . .95 

„ a minister's . . . 123 

Temptations, divers . . 179, 187 

Thrift, a religious duty . . 162 

Titles of office . . . .39 
Tongues, dried .... 103 

Toplady, funeral sermon for . 143 

Trinity, a blessed . . . .188 

Truths, clearness of . . . 197 

Umbrella, a convenient . .123 
Understanding and memory . 220 



Unity at the mercy-seat 

„ in diversity 

,, without uniformity 
Usefulness, instances of 

Vaccination . 
Verdict, a modest . 
Victory, strength for . 

Waiting to be gracious 
Wales, preaching in 
**Walkmg with God 
Wapping sinners . 
** We arc debtors " 
We know not what we shall 
Weakness, strength in 
*' What's o'clock ? " 
Whitefield, Rev. G. 
Wisdom, heavenly 
Wish, an earnest . 
„ fulfilled . 
Wit, early . 
Wit and humour . 
Wotton-under-Edge 

Year, the New 
York, Archbishop of 



be 



PAGE 
. 327 

. 60 
79. X49 

1^ 
102 

x8x 

233 
144 
217 
113 
i8a 
2x9 

14. XS 
224 
X46 
70 

4 
53 
39 

186 
27 



Hazell, Watson, and Viney, Printtrs, London and Aylesbury. 



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r 



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