CHAPTER VI.

Illness and Death of King George IV.-Accession of William IV.— Bishop Blomfield's Sermon in the Chapel Royal-Spiritual Counsels to the New Monarch-The Temptations of an Exalted Station-Need of Sacramental Communion with Christ-Primary Visitation of the Diocese-The Bishop's Charge-" Signs of the Times"-Spirit of Infidelity—Diffusion of Knowledge—Duty of the Clergy-Adherence to the Rules and Ordinances of the Church-Residence-Private Baptism-Private ChurchingsRegistration-Clerical Agency Offices-Parochial Schools—Public Catechising-Preparation for Confirmation-Introduction of a Sunday Evening Service-Week-day Services-Daily MatinsVisiting Associations-Qualifications for Holy Orders-Necessity of a Higher Standard-Theological Seminaries-The Bishop's Programme of Requirements.

B

EFORE the excitement caused by Bishop Blomfield's
Pastoral had had time to subside, public attention

was diverted from it, and the talk of the town preoccupied, by a far more engrossing topic-the illness of the King, the symptoms of which soon assumed an alarming character, and pointed, as to its probable issue, to the event which, in the month following the publication of the Bishop's Letter, caused a vacancy on the throne. Early on the morning of Saturday, the 26th of June, 1830, King George IV. expired at Windsor Castle; the morning of Sunday, the 27th, dawned upon a new reign, and on the following Sunday, July the 4th, the Prince who had succeeded to the throne, presented himself at the altar of the Chapel Royal, Whitehall, to join in the highest act of

90

CRITICAL PROSPECTS OF THE NEW REIGN.

worship known to the Christian Church; Bishop Blomfield, as Dean of the Chapels Royal, being the officiating minister, and the preacher of the day. The occasion was one of deep interest-one which, to a Christian mind, could not appear otherwise than fraught with important consequences for the future, whether regard were had to the circumstances of the times, or to the character of the man called upon to sustain the weight of England's crown. By giving, or rather suffering to be given, nearly at the close of his reign, the Royal Assent to the Roman Catholic Relief Bill, the departed Monarch had permitted an opening to be made in the sluices of the Constitution, through which the rising tide of change was already beginning to rush with a current, the force and direction of which it was impossible to calculate. His successor had, while a subject, expressed opinions, and exhibited sympathies, which inspired the movement party with the most sanguine expectations; and neither his abilities nor his personal temper and character, seemed to be equal to the difficult part which it was easy to foresee he would have to play, as the wearer and guardian of the crown, in the face of powerful democratic tendencies, manifested both in Parliament and in the nation at large. That Bishop Blomfield fully appreciated the nature of the crisis, and the character of the man who was to encounter it, is evident from the sermon preached by him on the occasion, and subsequently published by the King's command. Nothing could be either more forcible or more delicate, than the language in which he directed the mind of the new Monarch to the heavy weight of reponsibility attaching to his office, and to the only source from which he could hope to derive true strength for the fulfilment of its arduous duties. Taking his text from 1 Cor. x. 16; "The Cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ? the Bread which we break, is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ?"-the Bishop, after dwelling in general terms

COMMUNION SERMON BEFORE THE KING.

91

upon the nature and the blessed effects of the ordinance to which those words have reference, thus passed on to the train of thought which, on so remarkable an occasion it was fitting that the preacher should suggest :—

"There is no diversity of religious character, which can render unnecessary a sacramental communion with Him who is the light and the life of the world. It is alike indispensable for growth in grace and for confirmation in godliness; for him who is but just awakened to the great interests of his soul, and for him who walks in the meridian light of Christian knowledge, and in the matured strength of Christian motives and hopes. Neither is there any difference of external circumstances which can diminish the importance of a constant and persevering application to the source of spiritual wisdom and power, through the appointed means of access, His written Word, the ordinances of His Church, the teaching of His commissioned messengers, the secret outpourings of a devout spirit, but especially the Cup of blessing, and the consecrated Bread, the Communion of the Blood and of the Body of Christ.

"If it be a truth full of graciousness and of consolation, that the Spirit helpeth our infirmities,' who is there, in this state of imperfection and of trial, that is not in extreme and urgent need of that assistance? Who is there that could render an account of services proportioned to his means, of works worthy of his vocation, of a life comformable to his knowledge, of self-denial, patient endurance, active benevolence, adequate to the suggestions even of his own conscience, or, if that be silent, to the plain and uncompromising requirements of the revealed will of

God?

"If the poor and humble members of the family of Christ desire the help of the Spirit, to enlighten and sanctify and console them, in order that, amidst all the discouragements of their hard condition, they may turn to

92

SPECIAL TEMPTATIONS OF HIGH STATION.

good account the single talent entrusted to their care; surely the rich, and the mighty, and the learned may not disdain the aid of Him who alone can enable them rightly to appreciate the value of things temporal, compared with things eternal; who alone can repress the risings of an ambitious spirit, convince them of the vanity of earthly grandeur, and of the insufficiency of this world's wisdom, and yet teach them the awful responsibilities which rest upon those to whom these talents are given in charge. In exact proportion to the number and strength of those ties, (and with whom are they not too numerous and too strong) which bind our affections to this world, and interrupt the steadiness of our progress towards a better, should be our anxiety to profit by all the memorials and aids in which the beneficent author of religion has made provision for its continuance, for its appliance to the understandings and consciences of men, and for its revival in the forgetful heart.

"If a man abide not in me,' said our blessed Lord, 'he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered;' but how can they whom the world endeavours to persuade, by a thousand pressing arguments and ingenious devices, to make it their abiding place, the place of their repose, their trust, their desire, how, I ask, can they be effectually strengthened to resist it, and to adhere to, and abide in Him who has called them out of it, but by the most sincere and continued efforts and strainings towards Him through the Spirit? To them, surely, it is of unspeakable importance that they should from time to time solemnly renew their oath of allegiance to the King of kings and Lord of lords, and be united to Him by visible symbols; that they should offer, in the faithful use of them, a solemn pleading for pardon, and receive His own pledge of their sanctification; that they should oblige themselves by that solemn act, to enter upon a life of holiness and charity, and to copy His example, in devoting themselves to the good of mankind.

SPIRITUAL COUNSELS TO WILLIAM IV.

93

Compared with the richness of that consolation which a sincere and devout mind will experience in the performance of such an act of worship, and compared with the conscious dignity of a soul thus taken into communion with its Saviour, the pleasures, the riches, the honours of this world, fade into insignificance and worthlessness.

"But they alone can experience the fulness of this joy with whom the more solemn facts of devotion are but the marked and emphatic expressions of their habitual feelings; who, if they then seek for supplies of grace with more earnest and importunate entreaty, do so in order that it may regulate and sanctify the tenor of their daily life, and be their direction and support in the discharge of those duties which, when they are lightest, require the effectual aid of the Spirit, and when they are weightiest and most arduous, can never be too weighty nor too arduous for him who knows that all his sufficiency is of God. His strength is made perfect in our weakness; we can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth us."

That these counsels of heavenly wisdom sank deeply into the royal mind, and were not without their influence upon the reign inaugurated by such faithful personal advice to the Monarch, may assuredly be inferred, not merely from the King's command that the sermon should be printed, but from his conduct upon more than one occasion during the course of his reign, when the friends of religion and social order found in William IV. a more strenuous and warm-hearted supporter, and the advocates of change a more resolute opponent, than either party had anti-cipated.

Fresh from the impressive scene in which he himself had taken so conspicuous a part, Bishop Blomfield proceeded to meet the clergy of his diocese at his Primary Visitation. He did so with the full consciousness that, owing to the complexion of the times, his Episcopate would prove an arduous one. "It can scarcely be necessary," he observed, in the introductory portion of his Charge,