Page images
PDF
EPUB

mit to amputation. This exceedingly alarmed him, and led to reflections on his profane courfe of life, which ftruck him with horror, particularly on comparing it with his religious education, and the pious admonitions of his father and grandfather, with the many prayers they had offered on his account. Defperate as his cafe feemed, he remembered having often heard his parents speak of the Lord, as" a God hearing prayer;" and recollecting fome of his friends had put a Bible into his cheft, for which he had hitherto found no ufe, he called for it, and began to read for a confiderable time the book of Pfalms. The agitation of his mind not fuffering him to reft, he spent the fucceeding night alfo in fervent petitions, not indeed for the falvation of his foul, but for the prefervation of his life and limb.

In the morning he received the vifit of his furgeon with a trembling heart; but to their mutual aftonishment and fatisfaction, the appearance of the wound was fo much improved, as to feem little lefs than miraculous. This led him to believe that God indeed had heard his prayers, and that there was more in religion than he had been habituated to fuppofe.

When the fleet returned, he was permitted to come on fhore till perfectly recovered; though he was not then at all difpofed to quit the fervice, efpecially after sharing the glory of fuch a victory. On his arrival in town, he was carried to the house of his grandfather, Mr. Tonge, who had left Enfield, and was now a deacon of Dr. Gifford's church. Here he was long confined, and had again the advantage of the religious admonitions of Mr. Tonge, who ufed to read to him a fermon, or religious tract, generally on the Lord's-day evening: a fervice which Mr. M. would very readily have excufed. But one evening Mr. T. felected a M S. fermon by Dr. Watts, upon Isaiah xlii. 6, 7. He heard at firft with his ufual indifference, but his attention was gradually raised; and when the difcourfe treated of opening blind eyes, and bringing out prifoners from the prifon, he felt his own cafe described, and the words pierced his conscience. So that, as foon as he was left alone, he fell upon his knees in prayer, and poured out his very soul before the Lord.

Being now able to go abroad, and attending, with his grandfather, the miniftry of Mr. Whitefield and Dr. Gifford, it pleafed God foon to pour the balm of Gilead into his bleeding heart; and in the clofe of that year, 1760, he became a zealous, lively member of the Doctor's Church.

VOL. IX.

C

During

During the long confinement he had fuffered through his wound, Mr. M. had employed many of his hours in recollecting and improving his knowledge of the claffics; and after he became ferious, particularly applied himself to the ftudy of facred literature, in which he was affifted by Mr. Tonge.

His converfion having wholly weaned him from the navy, though he had good affurances of promotion, he commenced a fchool near the Seven Dials, and very happily fucceeded, till in 1762 he married, and removed to KingStreet, Soho.

Good Dr. Gifford, conceiving Mr. M. to poffefs promifing ministerial abilities, advised him to exercise before the church, by whom he was called to the work of the miniftry in public. This was in Auguft 1766. For fome time he engaged only occafionally, but became very popular, and the year following received a call from the Baptift church at Watford, over which he was ordained in July, 1768. In this town alfo he opened a school, but the fatigues of that, together with his public labours, being too much for his conftitution, and his fituation there, in other refpects, not very comfortable, he was eafily perfuaded to remove to Liverpool in 1772. Here he laboured with acceptance and ufefulness till his death, only that he used annually to vifit London, being one of the regular fupplies at Tabernacle and Tottenham Court Chapel, where his miniftry was much efteemed and greatly owned..

Thus Mr. M. unweariedly perfevered in his beloved work till October, 1798, when, while in London, he was attacked by the jaundice, which for fome time difabled him from preaching, and fo weakened his frame, that he with difficulty returned home, among the people of his beloved charge. He arrived at Liverpool in January 1799, and the next day, being the Sabbath, finding himself much revived, he exerted himself to preach twice. This proved too much for his ftrength, and again laid him by till Eafter, when, for the laft time, he addreffed his congregation from Deut. viii. 2.

Infirmity and difeafe now daily encreafed upon him till his diforder terminated in a confirmed dropfy. For fome time his mind was fubject to dejection, and the thoughts of parting with his family, his friends, and his church, were very painful. It was, he faid, " like tearing up an old tree by the roots: none knew how far they extended, or how

firmly they grafped the earth, till they were likely to be torn up.'

[ocr errors]

As his diforder encreafed, however, his frame of mind was more compofed and comfortable; his views brightened, and his confidence in God was fixed. But little before his end, his phyficians perfuaded him to make an excurfion into Wales, which he accomplished with difficulty; returning in about ten days. Only four days before his death, feveral punctures were made with a lancet in one of his feet, which procured him temporary eafe, as he mentions in a letter written on this day, though it gave him no hopes of a recovery. This letter fhews his mind to have been perfectly ferene, as it appears to have continued to the end.

July 15th fymptoms of immediate diffolution first appeared: then he expreffed himself, "calm, refigned, and happy in his foul," and with great affection took leave of many of his friends. On the 16th he was very ill, but very happy, and expreffed himfelf in the language of full affurance, and triumphant faith. To fome friends who now vifited him, he faid, "You fee me on my dying bed, and a fweet bed it is to me. What mercies am I now enjoying in it! Thanks be to God, I have little or no pain. What bleffings I have in my family! all my eight children a com-. fort to me, and fo affectionate, they would, if it were pof fible, lay down their lives for me. With refpećt to myfelf, I am full of comfort and confolation, and able yet to recollect God's precious word.-I never faw fo much of my own unworthiness, or fo much of the excellency, glory, and fuitablenefs of Chrift, as an all-fufficient Saviour. I would with, had I ftrength, to speak of him till I die, particularly to my young friends; whom I always loved to addrefs. As to my fentiments," he continued, "I am no ways altered. The doctrines I have preached, I am fully perfuaded are of the truth. They are now the fupport and confolation of my mind. That Jefus, whom I have fo long recommended to poor finners, is my only comfort in my dying hours. His falvation is every way perfect and complete.' After recovering from a fit, he said, "I am thinking on the laws of gravitation: the nearer a body approaches to its centre, with the more force it is impelled; and the nearer I approach my diffolution, with greater velocity I move towards it." A friend who ftood by, faid, " Dear Sir, Chrift is your centre," "Yes, yes," he replied," he is, he is." C 2

This

i

This evening an evident change took place, and he lay -feveral hours in a ftupor. But at two o'clock on Wednefday morning, the 17th, he revived, and with a ferene and fmiling countenance, faid, " Look up, my foul, and rejoice, for thy redemption draweth nigh.' He then added, "I am looking up to Jefus-but a point or two more,* and I fhall be at my heavenly Father's houfe." His children now afked, "Do you know us, dear father?" With great carneftness he replied, " Know you! yes, fure I do." He then took a moft affectionate leave of them all, and feveral friends, who furrounded his dying bed: being afked, What fhall we fay from you to the abfent part of the family, mentioning their names; he replied, "Say, my dear love to them and tell them, I am going home in peace to my dear Jefus.' He was foon after very reftlefs, and frequently cried out, "Help, help me! One grain of creature mercy, Lord !" His friends tried to help him, and faid with tears, We cannot help you." "No," faid he, help is from above!" He now felt the ftruggles of diffolving nature, and at times fuffered extreme agony, which occafioned him to pray earneftly, but not to murmur. No farther alteration took place till about half an hour before his departure, none of his family expecting to hear his voice again, when he opened his eyes, and with a fmiling countenance, faying, "Dying is fweet work! fweet work! my Father! my heavenly Father! I am looking up, I am looking up to my dear Jefus, my God! my portion, my all in all; then with a dying accent he continued, "Glory, glory! Home, home!" till his voice failed, and between fix and feven o'clock in the evening he cheerfully yielded up his fpirit into the hands of God, without a ftruggle or a groan.

66

Thus died this eminent fervant of Chrift, juft upon the completion of his 61ft year; having been thirty-three years a preacher of the Gofpel, and twenty-feven years paftor of the Baptist Church at Liverpool. On Wednesday, July 24, 1799, he was buried in the moft refpectful manner, on which occafion a fermon was preached by Mr. Smith, of Manchefter; and on the following Sabbath afternoon, another funeral difcourfe was delivered by Mr. Hindle, of the fame place.

Thofe who knew Mr. Medley will not eafily forget the impreffion which his fingular talents always made upon his hearers; and to others it will not be eafy to convey an ade

*Alluding to the compas.

quate

quate idea. Mr. M. poffeffed a deep knowledge of men and things, and an extenfive acquaintance with the Scripture. His doctrines were pure Calvinifm; but his fermons were always favoury and practical. He had a ready invention and a retentive memory: a great command of language, a ready elocution, a good voice, and a very affectionate manner of address, especially to young people. We do not mean, however, to exhibit any man as a model of perfection. Had the Lord chofen perfect minifters, he might have employed angels; but in the prefent ftate, with the moft fuperior talents, we fhall always find a fufficient number of defects to fecure the glory to himfelf: and it is wrong for the partiality of a biographer or of a friend to diminish it, by flattering a creature. It fhould not therefore be concealed, that this character admits of fome abatements. The playfulness of his imagination betrayed him into puerilities, His texts were often quaint, fometimes confifting only of a fingle word, as a him, a but, a not; his divifions and fubdivi fions burthenfome to the memory; he would heap a number of fynonymous epithets upon one another, and this made his difcourfes commonly prolix, though feldom tiresome.

Though Mr. M. did not afpire to the character of a poet, he had an uncommon facility in compofing verfes; and very frequently made a hymn on the fubject of his text. A volume of thefe pieces are already before the world; and one of his fons, with filial affection, has lately presented the public with another volume, containing memoirs of his life, two of his fermons, and fome felect pieces of metrical compofition, the amufement of his leifure hours.

REFLECTIONS ON THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE NINETEENTH CENYURY.

HEN God created man, he was pleafed to provide

WHEN God created mnt of his time: He appointed

the luminaries of heaven" for figns, and for feafons, and for days, and for years." If this provifion was needful when man was holy, happy and long-lived, how much more neceffary is it now, when the children of Adam are totally corrupt, and the duration of life contracted to fo fmall a fpace!

"We take no note of time but from its lofs,"

So

« PreviousContinue »