adorned description of divine things, which are to be met with in this volume, had they been clothed in fine and elegant expressions, would probably give no offence. There is a refined mode of phraseology too prevalent in the present day. Many truths are thereby rendered palatable, which otherwise would not be so. Like the Grecians of old, we are pleased with what appears in a fine garb, but dislike it when set forth in a simple, plain manner. This is to love the truth for its dress, and not for its own self; to be pleased and delighted with a finecoloured shell, and to have no taste for the precious kernel which it incloses. I have to acknowledge, that I have been materially assisted in this work by an intimate friend. CONTENTS. 1 1. Sect. From his Childhood till he entered College 2. Sect. From his entering College till his Ordination 113 163 .. 1. Sect. Diary and Letters from Aug. 20, 1783 to 1785 363 389 A BRIEF HISTORY, &c. CHAP I. MR. C.'S EARLY LIFE TILL HIS ORDINATION. SECT. I.-From his Childhood till he entered College. ALL the true servants of God are equally the objects of his love and favour, though some of them are employed in more distinguished services than others. Their different works and stations are assigned to them by infinite wisdom. To fit them for arduous situations and extensive usefulness, they have generally to pass through great difficulties. Severe trials are frequently their lot. By these God humbles them, makes them sensible of their own weakness, and teaches them to renounce self, and willingly to rely on his allsufficient strength. Trials are indeed inseparable from the life of a Christian in this world: they seem indispensably necessary for carrying on the good work in the soul; and they generally bear a very near proportion to his activity and usefulness. No great man, as a Christian, has been without great trials. All have not the same: B some feel the inward conflict mostly; others, the outward troubles of life. The former was more particularly the case with the subject of our memoir. Both his Diary and his letters shew that the inward contest was often very arduous and severe; by this he was no doubt prepared for his great work and important labours. Another trait observable in the dealings of God is this: He frequently endows those in the lower stations of life with great gifts, and makes them instrumental in conferring the most extensive benefits on mankind. Society is far more indebted to the middle and lower classes of the community than to the higher, for improvements, both civil and religious. The great benefactors of the country, especially in religion, have generally been men raised from comparatively low stations in society. A noble pedigree was not what the subject of our memoir could boast of, though his parents were respectable in their station. His father was a farmer in the parish of Llanvihangel, ten miles from Carmarthen, South Wales. Though not illustrious by extraction, yet he became eminent, and very eminent, by the benefits he conferred on his native country, both by his ministerial labours and by his writings. The value of his exertions is incalculable. Few, very few, perhaps not more than two besides, since the time of the Reformation, have done so much for the moral and spiritual improvement of the inhabitants of Cambria. He laboured among them for nearly thirty years with great success. His activity and disinterestedness were equally conspicuous. He received no remuneration for his labours. May his example stimulate others, that they may become, like him, a blessing to their country. |