out; wherefore we sent up and downe from one to another to come betimes, and gett into our place before ye Constables and officers came. And soe we were very comfortably mett early, and continued ye Exercise, only ye Interruption aforesaid, until about halfe an hour past 11. Then we gave liberty for those that were weake, or otherwise not able. to departe; ye rest stayed in ye Place, for fear we should not gett in againe. (And soe they served Mr. Weekes' people; they going all home they kept them out in ye afiernoone, and Hellier dined in their place; and they threw their Chaires and stools out in Street, and some in ye River at James's Back). "But ye Constables at our door when some of ye People went away they likewise went home to Dinner, and our friends that went home, with others, came together to ye rest in y Afternoone timely. And as Broth. Terrill was speakeing, about two of ye Clock, or near it, Two of ye Bishop's men coming in finde us then singing. Then they goe away, and halfe an hour after ye Mayor of y Citty and Alderman Streamer, with Several officers, come up into our Meeting; and ye Mayor findeing us only singing, and none read ye Psalme, in greate Rage and Passion he strikes one man's Bible out of his hand soe fierce, that ye Booke fled over ye People's head, three or four yeards from him, among ye People. Then in said rage ye Mayor commands us in ye King's name to departe, but ye People keep on singing, looking on their bookes; which ye Mayor perceiving that none departed, he fell on us by threats, that he had given us warning. Then y° Mayor went downe to ye Door, and commanded it to be kept, and suffered none to goe forth but as they gave their Names. And as they came forth, ye Mayor sent three, namely Br. Simpson that aged disciple and Mr. Hill with Matthew Price, to Newgate Prisson; where he had sent Six of Mr. Weekes meeting ye same day, as they mett in ye street before their door because they kept them out; and Charged them as persons Guilty of a Byot and broake into ye Man's house, out of whose window ye Minister preached to y People; but ye Minister Escaped when ye Sheriff broake in. This day Whiteing yo Bishop's man Broake our Pulpit. And thus they trampled upon us.' Be it remembered that this kind of treatment at the hands of ecclesiastical and temporal tyrants was being endured by Nonconformists, not only at Bristol, but in all parts of the kingdom, and in some places with greater severity, the said Nonconformists being the most godly, upright, and every way the worthiest people in the land. What strikes us at once in this extract is the coarse and excessively savage brutality with which the executors of the horrible laws then in force against Dissenters carried out their unholy commission. These laws were most severe against the preacher or speaker at their meetings, hence the "curtain," behind which the minister addressed his congregation in frout, so that when the informer came in he could not see the preacher, who thus avoided identification on many occasions, but not always. Such being the manner in which their gatherings for worship were disturbed and broken up, another extract will show what were the penalties inflicted for meeting together :— "... Br. Gwillim, then at sea, and Br. Messenger, were fined for being at a meeting in Dec. last; Br. Gwillim five pounds, and Br. Messenger ten shillings. Hellier also swore against Br. Warren, and ye Jury thereon brought him in Guilty, and he was fined ten shillings tho' he was not there; and all to lye in prison till They had paid their fines and fees. Ye same Day Mr. Weeks, ye Minister, was sent to prison on ye Oxford 5 Mile Act. They accused him of being with us on ye Down, but he was not there. Ye next day, Br. Hunt, Bodenham, Cornish, were fined ten shill. a man for being at a Meeting of Prayer, and fees, which made it 33s. or 34s. apiece. And Br. Dickason was fined a Noble, altho' he was not there, but was in prison; being carried away ye day before to Newgate. And besides this, they had a Warrant against him for 10 Pounds for another Meeting, and that Day one of Hellier's Constables seized his 3 Horses; and Sher. Knight threatened to imprison Br. Terrill on yo Oxford Act for Preaching." Whether our forefathers, under such treatment, attained to the state of grace ascribed to the early Christians, who "took joyfully the spoiling of their goods," does not appear. Perhaps it is not in human nature, as embodied in Englishmen, to do that. But it is clear they did so patiently, persevering by grace Divine in their conscientious adherence to what they deemed right as in the sight of God in the matter of religious worship, notwithstanding all the ill-treatment, suffering, spoliation, and imprisonment they were called upon to undergo. All honour to these good and noble men and women, who have long since gone to the land "where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest." May we, their successors, who live in far happier times, be equally firm in our adherence to the truth of God and the ordinances of His house. We have no such horrible treatment to meet with as they were called upon to face and endure, to test our loyalty to our Sovereign Lord, but we have need of grace and much watchfulness in order to the complete faithfulness, enjoined by the Son of God in His seven epistles to the churches recorded in the book of the Revelation of John the divine. The state of things described in the above extracts prevailed in this country until the year 1688, when William the Third, the Calvinist, came to the throne of these realms, having lasted about thirty years. Will such scenes ever be re-enacted here? It does not appear very probable; our fathers, however, who lived about sixty years ago, thought it possible their children might see such days. It has not been so, but what remains for the present rising generation to see, God only knows. Our godly fathers thought the last bite of the Beast, his last worrying of the lambs and sheep of Christ's flock, was yet in the future; also that, whilst it would be the final one, it would be the sharpest and most bitter, lasting, however, but a short time. Perhaps their conjectures may prove to have been correct; Popery, in the artful guise of Ritualism, is making strange progress in the land; priestly intolerance, though bridled, is by no means dead; and Atheism, more or less pronounced, stalks very boldly abroad in unblushing pretentiousness. But "Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Will be our guard while troubles last, And when the Lord has permitted their enemies to harass and persecute His people, He has favoured them with peculiar manifestations of His love, and sweetly comforted and supported their souls under such heavy trials; and the suffering saints were privileged to realise a spirituality of mind and a closeness of communion with their beloved Lord that abundantly compensated for the loss of worldly goods. Like the Apostles of old, they have been enabled, by superabounding grace, to rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Favourite Lymns and their Authors. HENRY KIRKE WHITE'S HYMNS. It is not often that the Christian Church has had to take its hymns from the hands of learned men or members of universities; but, on the other hand, it may be noticed that in Church selections the names of authors are but seldom given, probably because those of Nonconformist writers would appear too frequently to be pleasant. It is certain that the most and the best have been furnished by them, or by such professed Churchmen as John Newton and Charles Wesley, who, if not generally disowned, are but lightly esteemed. The seraphic, yet talented, Toplady also is a name not honoured by his fraternity as he deserves, although his glowing numbers attained the summit of earthly adoration and praise. His views singularly set at nought established law and custom, as seen in the most explicit directions given in his will as to his interment amongst his Christian friends at the Tabernacle, Tottenham Court Road, no doubt regarding (as did honest John Berridge) the dust of saints as a better consecration than a senseless form by some carnal prelate. Such as these were pleased to recognise, as dearly beloved brethren," the friends of Christ outside the pale of their sect. On the contrary, it is painful to witness the lack of charity in an author like Bishop Heber, who, it is said, expressed a wish "that Dissenters should not sing his hymns;" nevertheless, they have freely united in at least his beautiful missionary hymn, "From Greenland's icy mountains." Yet "the world by wisdom knew not God," to whom it is but foolishness, and such as are taught by His Spirit the true, the heavenly wisdom have to count, as did the great Apostle, such learning as was "their gain, to be but loss." Although Kirke White, by surprising talents, reached, even when young, the height of ambition as a scholar, his writings, and also his high moral character, prove him to have been a humble follower of Christ. What spirituality is expressed in the following prayer, found among his papers after his decease! "Lord, give me a heart to turn all knowledge to Thy glory, and not to mine; keep me from being deluded with the lights of vain philosophy; keep me from the pride of human reason; let me not think my own thoughts, nor dream my own imaginations; but, in all things acting under the good guidance of the Holy Spirit, may I live in all simplicity, humility, and singleness of heart unto the Lord Jesus Christ now and for evermore. Amen." There are not many hymns by him in our selections, so we take as a "favourite" the one which, upon examination, we find most often, entitled "A GOOD SOLDIER OF JESUS CHRIST. "Oft in sorrow, oft in woe, Onward, Christians, onward go; Fight the fight, maintain the strife, Strengthened by the Bread of Life. "Let your drooping hearts be glad : "Let not sorrow dim your eye, 66 Onward, then, to glory move; More than conquerors ye shall prove; Though opposed by many a foe, Christian soldiers, onward go!" The following on "The Star of Bethlehem " has much poetical beauty; yet, whilst found in Rippon and Denham, and other old Selections, is but rarely met with in any of the new ones: "When marshalled on the nightly plain, The glittering host bestud the sky; One star alone of all the train Can fix the sinner's wandering eye. "Hark! hark! to God the chorus breaks, From every host, from every gem; But one alone the Saviour speaks,It is the Star of Bethlehem. "It was my guide, my light, my all, It bade my dark forebodings cease; And through the storm and danger's thrall, It led me to the port of peace," &c. From the few of his hymns that are met with, we will quote only a part of one very excellent, on "Christ as the Henry Kirke White was a native of Nottingham, where he was born March, 1785. His father was a butcher, his mother one of superior mind. He was a scholar when three years old, and even then evinced great love for books and proficiency in learning. At the age of fourteen he became clerk to a firm of solicitors, and delivered a lecture on "Genius," of two hours, extempore, to the members of a literary club in the town. Such was his intense love of knowledge that in his leisure he acquired Latin, Greek, and three other languages. But a mind so capacious was united to a weak constitution, that gave early tokens of consumption, and his religious views caused his decision to be a clergyman. This wish was aided by Mr. Simeon and friends who estimated his powers, and procured his admission into the University at Cambridge in October, 1804. His unremitting and ardent application to study in various branches won general admiration, during which his health gave way considerably; he persevered through a six days' examination, sustained by strong medicines, and was pronounced "the first man of his year," but the honour was dearly purchasedhis life was the price. He was distinguished for moral and religious worth, no less than for talents, such as his writings display, astonishing that one so young should be able to write so much and so well. Unlike most students, his Bible was daily searched; thence, under Divine teaching, he derived those blessings that upheld him in affliction, and enabled him to wit-. ness the approach of death, and the early blight of all earthly hopes and honours, with humble resignation to the will of God. This is often ex pressed, so as to win the sympathy of every feeling heart, as in these lines:- FAITH takes from God salvation's cup; Love never fails, it grows not cold, Love seeks the very humblest place, Impartial where it sheds its ray, Naught its resistless course can stay, Through flood and flame Love presses on, 'Mid good report and ill; Misunderstood and left alone, Pursues its object still. 'Tis unassuming, gentle, mild, Is tender, kind, and true, And meek and humble as a childDoes much without ado. Another's praise it ever speaks- Love bears with much, Love suffers long, Is ever patient, kind; For every cruel word and blow, Love gives to Faith its mighty power, Love brightly cheers the darkest hour, And smooths the roughest way. To Love the stubborn heart will yield Love sweetly soothes the troubled heart, To weary ones doth joy impart, And dries the mourner's tears. Love is God's message to the world— Love is the atmosphere of heaven— It leads the soul to love each page Love's sure to find the blessed way Love makes obedience sweet. They into Christ in all things grow Who speak the truth in love; Grounded in it, His love they know Who fills the throne above. Love's labours are to God most dear- Each act of love done for Him here Duty may walk in truthful ways, Though piles of service may be raised, |