Church, before dinner and supper, and another form, together with reading Scriptures and singing psalms, before bed-time, were daily and constantly added. Neither were these holy offices appropriate to her menial servants; others came freely to joyn with them, and her oratory was as open to the neighbors as her Hall was.' The representative men of the best religious life of the age are, however, not only or chiefly to be discovered on the surface of history, but in obscure records, cherished by a few, who hold in reverence memories wholly slighted by the general public. The name of Henry Jessey will serve as an instance. He was a Yorkshireman, born in 1601, educated at St. John's, College, Cambridge, where, amidst considerable attainments in human knowledge, he also attained the more excellent divine knowledge of Christ, as his Saviour and friend. After living for nine years with Mr. Gurward, in Suffolk, as domestic chaplain, he obtained a living in the year 1633, but in the following year was ejected for neglecting the rubric and removing a crucifix. He then became chaplain to Sir Matthew Birnton, who brought him to London, where he took charge of a congregation of Protestant dissenters, originally formed in 1616 by Mr. Henry Jacob. Several of the congregation becoming Baptists, Mr. Jessey, after two or three years' attention to the subject, and conference with his ministerial brethren, also espoused and publicly avowed the doctrine of baptism of believers only, and "A Letter containing many remarkable Passages in the most holy Life and Death of the late Lady Lettice, Viscountess Falkland." 1648. that by immersion. "But," says his biographer, "notwithstanding his differing from his brethren in this or any other point, he maintained the same Christian love and charity to all saints as before, not only as to a friendly conversation, but also in respect of church communion. He had always some of the Pædo-baptist persuasion, and blamed those who made their particular opinion about baptism the boundary of church communion. He published the reasons of his opinion in this case; and when he travelled through the north and west parts of England to visit the churches, he made it his principal business to excite them to love and union among themselves, notwithstanding their differing from one another in some opinions; and was also the principal person that set up, and preserved for some time, a meeting at London of some eminent men of each denomination, in order to maintain peace and union among those Christians that differed not fundamentally; and this catholic spirit procured him the love and esteem of the good men of all parties."* He was famous, too, as a student of the Hebrew (at a time when this study was rare), of the Greek, Syriac, and Chaldaic; for his efforts for the Jews, and for foreigners in general; for his own charities, and his public urgency in favour of benevolence. On the Restoration, he was ejected from a living which he had held under the Commonwealth; was thrown into prison (in spite of his goodness) for his nonconformity, and there died at the age of sixty-three, in the year 1663, beloved and * Crosby's "History of English Baptists," vol. i., p. 312. lamented by all, as a man of rare learning, piety, moderation, diligence in doing good, and catholicity of spirit. He was an accomplished, devout Christian gentleman. An amusing incident in the history of the PilgrimFathers serves to illustrate the general religious habit of the men whom evil legislation was now banishing from our shores. John Fisk, a pious graduate of Cambridge, escaped in disguise with another Puritan preacher, and embarked for New England. When the ship had passed the Land's End, they "made themselves known, and entertained the passengers with two sermons every day, besides other devotional exercises. Indeed, the whole voyage was so much devoted to the exercises of religion, that when one of the passengers was accused of diverting himself with the hook and line on the Lord's day, he protested, saying, "I do not know which is the Lord's day. I think every day is a Sabbath day; for you do nothing but preach and pray all the week long." In November, 1640, a respectable prebendary of Durham, Mr. Peter Smart, dared to preach against the ritualistic ceremonies then being engrafted on the cathedral service at Durham by Dr. Cosins. He was persecuted, tried, defended himself on the ground of the Prayer-book, Articles, and Homilies, but all in vain: he was heavily fined and imprisoned, until released by the Long Parliament. We get a glimpse of the family piety from the following letter, written to him by his wife whilst he was in prison : *Brook: from Mather's "History of New England." "Most loving and dearly beloved Husband, : "The grace and blessing of God be with you, even as unto mine owne soule and body, so do I dayly in my harty prayer wish unto you and my children; for I doe dayly twise, at the least, in this sort remember you. And I do not doubte, deere husband, but that both you and I, as we be written in the booke of life, so we shall together enjoy the saime everlastingly, throught the saveing grace and mercy of God, our deare Father, in his Soonne our Christ and for this present life, let us wholly appointe ourselves to the will of our God, to glorifie him, whether by life or by death; and even that mercifull Lord make us worthy to honor him either way, as pleaseth him, Amen. Ye what great cause of rejoysing have we in our most gratious God, we can not but brust fourth into the prasing of such a bountifull God, which maide you worthy to suffer for his name and worde saike: for it is given to you of God, not only that ye should believe in him; but also, that ye should suffer for his saik. 1 Peter, 4, 5. Yf ye suffer rebuke in the name of Christ, that is, in Christ's cause, for his truths sake, then ar ye happy and blessed; for the glory of the Spirit of God resteth upon you, and therefore rejoice in the Lord, end againe I say rejoice; for the distresed church doth yet suffer dayly thinges for her mortification, and for this cause, is contemned and despised. But alas! if thy servant David, if thine onely Soone our Christ livede in shame and contempt, and weere a moking stocke for the people; whie should not we then patiently suffer all things, that we might enter into glory, through many troubles, vexations, shame, and ignominy, &c. ?-The blessing of God be with all, Amen, pray, pray. Your loving and faithfull wife untill death, "SUSANNA SMART." * Whatever differences of opinion may exist as to the political qualities of Puritanism, there ought to be none as to the reality and depth of the personal religious conviction which lay at its base. Setting aside from the observers all those who are wilfully prejudiced, and from the observed all those who are obviously mere shallow dissemblers, the judgment must be unanimous in favour of the reality, heartiness, truth, and power of the life of God in their souls. The religion which they professed, the interpretation of Scripture which they received, the views of duty which they carried out, were all grounded on the idea of a transaction between God and the individual soul. The work of Christ, the covenant of grace, the promises of Scripture, all had respect to the individual believer. The abuse of this sentiment led to spiritual pride and fanaticism; but its more frequent use led to the manifestation of some of the grandest characters and actions the world ever saw. *Illustrations of Neal," p. 61. |