ÆäÀÌÁö À̹ÌÁö
PDF
ePub

with galleries all round, and an upper gallery on two sides for the Sunday school. The whole of the woodwork was painted white, including the pulpit, which was box-like in form, but relieved by a heavy hanging of rich crimson velvet. There was no organ, such a thing being the rarest thing in a Dissenting chapel then; the clerk' gave out the hymns verse by verse from his desk beneath the pulpit, and the singers occupied a square pew on one side. The worship, after the manner of the times, consisted of an opening hymn, the reading of a chapter, and the long prayer, and very long it often was. It will be seen therefore that the service, like the place, was of the simplest kind. A large congregation is, however, the best adornment for any chapel and for any service, and this Hoxton Academy Chapel always had; and hearty and soul-stirring the services usually were. The congregation numbered seldom less, generally more, than a thousand, and sometimes it swelled to half as many again. It consisted largely of respectable families from the neighbourhoods around and beyond it, principally those of wellto-do tradesmen who in those times resided at their places of business, and had never dreamed of suburban villas. The church numbered some seven hundred members, and the communicants at the Lord's Table completely filled the spacious area of the chapel. As to the ministry, the supply system was continued during my time, and some little time after my leaving for college.

THE SUPPLY SYSTEM.

There

As this system is a thing all but unknown in these times, it may be well to describe it as it obtained at Hoxton. It was by no means a thing of haphazard ministerial supply. The same ministers appeared annually, every man in his month, the names being regularly advertised in the Evangelical Magazine. were some little differences as to the length of the supply, some of the preachers remaining three Sundays, some four, and others as many as six; but the average of duration was a month, so that we had twelve regular ministers. As far as I can remember the following were the names, and the order of their coming at the time of which I speak. There was John Horsey, of Launceston, who was there in December and the early part of January. Then came James Rowland, of Henley, of commanding presence and telling style, always the delight of the young people. To him succeeded, in the earlier time, Mr. Guyer, of Ryde, the friend of Mr. Binney, whose neighbour he was in the Isle of Wight. To the adults, and especially to the elders of the congregation, there was no preacher like Thomas Guyer, so thoughtful, so devout, so experimental were his ministrations.

I distinctly recall his small spare figure, his dark countenance, and his keen and incisive manner, with the fulness and spiritual power both of his sermons and prayers. At his death his place was filled by Mr. Addiscott, of Taunton, who almost made up for Mr. Guyer's loss. Next in turn came good old Mr. Scott, of Cleckheaton, said to have been accounted in his earlier days as the beau idéal of a preacher; his tender emotionalism had gained for him the sobriquet of 'The Weeping Prophet.' He was followed at one time by Samuel Luke, of Chester, and afterwards of Taunton, a preacher of considerable fulness and power, and generally popular. On Mr. Luke's removal to London his place was taken by Henry Toller, of Market Harbro, thoughtful and solemn, but somewhat constrained as a preacher, apparently through nervousness. Then came the fervent and rousing ministrations of good John Raven, who was singularly successful in gaining new converts. Fatherly Mr. Percy, of Warwick, came next, who seemed to feel thoroughly at home, sometimes pointing to the window of the study which he occupied as a Hoxton student, and which he could see from the pulpit. Then came the studious and exact Thomas Toller, brother of Henry, and son of the celebrated Rev. T. N. Toller, whom he succeeded at Kettering (the father and son occupying the same pulpit for a hundred years), and who still lives, honoured alike for his own sake and for that of his sire. In August always came the most popular of all the Hoxton supplies, at least to the general public, the Rev. William Haweis Cooper, of Dublin, during the six weeks of whose ministrations the chapel was thronged from floor to roof, the upper gallery being utilized for the overflowing crowds. The spiritual earnestness and brilliant oratory of Mr. Cooper thrilled the multitudes and held them spell-bound. It was he who introduced his young student, J. Denham Smith, who in his early days came after Mr. Cooper, and gained thereby a following only second to his tutor's.

About this time came in Robert Hamilton, then of Lynn, now of Brighton, whose pleasing manner and bold utterance, in tones ringing as a bell, made him acceptable alike to all. James Slye, of Pottersbury, came in October, with his well thoughtout discourses, sound in speech and easy in delivery. To him succeeded the Rev. H. J. Bevis, of Ramsgate, whose sermons, though then somewhat ornate in style, were of a higher cast of thought than most of those to whom we listened, and had a charm for some of the more intelligent young people beyond that of any of the preachers. Nor were there any of these who attracted such congregations, save Mr. Cooper, and at times they came but little short of the numbers that flocked around him. The Rev. W. Slater, of Barnstaple, and afterwards of Teignmouth,

came in about this time, and in place of some of the others named, the Rev. Thomas Cousins, of Portsea, and the Rev. John Pyer, of Devonport, also took their turn for awhile.

ADVANTAGES OF THE SYSTEM.

It will be seen that the country was scoured to find adequate supplies for the pulpit of the old Academy Chapel, and the congregation was favoured with a succession of men of as high an average as the denomination could produce. There were some advantages in the system both to preachers and people, the ministers having the stimulus of preaching to a large metropolitan congregation for so many Sundays every year, and the people having the advantage of hearing a succession of the best men at their best. It is no disparagement to the worthy men who afterwards became in succession stated pastors, to say that the place never flourished so well as under the supply system, for no one man could be expected to produce the varied excellences of a dozen; and besides, the altered character of the neighbourhood, incident to the removal of the better-off classes to the suburbs, largely accounts for the subsequent decline of the old sanctuary. The old system suited the place and the time. A fresh interest was ever kept moving, and the result was a continual tide of new-comers, a considerable number of whom settled down from time to time with the regular congregation.

SPIRITUAL RESULTS.

It is pleasing to record that the spiritual results of the various ministries of Hoxton Chapel were marked and abundant. Some of them seemed specially adapted to bring men to Christ; Mr. Raven's and Mr. Rowland's visits, for instance, were uniformly followed by large additions to the church. I remember that one of Mr. Rowland's sermons in particular was the means of bringing eleven persons into fellowship. Most of the ministries were, in their measure, productive of rich results; but some of them were characterized by spiritual edification, and seemed specially to confirm in the faith such as had already believed. Taking them one and all, they may be said to have been 'workers together' for the spiritual good of the congregation.

CARE OF THE CHURCH.

The pastoral oversight of the church, in which it might be supposed to suffer, was undertaken to some extent by an exceptionally strong body of deacons. They were but seven in number, but each had his own speciality, and thereby an eye was kept on the people in general, as well as on the general affairs of the community. They saw candidates for church membership, and brought them before the Church. They visited

the sick and the sorrowing according to a plan arranged among themselves; and some of them took part not only in religious services around, but could even assist the minister on occasions, or conduct some of the secondary services when needed. The name of Leonard, of Cross, of Way, of Fleming, of Wilson, and of others in earlier or later time, will be remembered by many 'with much Christian esteem.'

SCHOOLS AND OTHER AGENCIES.

The Sunday schools, for there were two, one in the Old Town, near the chapel, and another in Basing Place, Kingsland Road, were, and I believe still are, flourishing institutions. It was with the latter I was connected, and with the former in earlier days my friends, the Revs. Robert Robinson of the Mission House, and Thomas Hill of Finchley. These two schools instructed about a thousand children. A week-night school for the secular and religious instruction of poor boys was originated in the Basing Place School by a dear friend, the late Mr. Thomas Wilson, the younger (son of a worthy deacon of the same name), whose brothers, with myself and some few other young men of the congregation, worked this agency with encouraging results. Beside such works among the young, there were various religious and benevolent societies carried on for the good of the neighbourhood, and of course auxiliaries to the London Missionary Society; and in addition there was a distinct society for the evangelization of Ireland, a work which was instigated by the urgent and eloquent appeals of the Rev. W. H. Cooper on behalf of his adopted land, and which so wrought upon some of us that we had fain given ourselves to 'poor benighted Ireland,' as he was wont to call it.

RECENT TRANSMIGRATION.

It is satisfactory to know that this large and flourishing religious congregation has not crumbled away to nothing, though the old chapel has been relinquished. The ground having been originally leased, like the old Academy, by Dr. Williams's trustees, has been renewed from time to time at some cost, which it was not so easy for a smaller congregation to meet. As the New Tabernacle, a freehold building, is near at hand, and had plenty of unoccupied space, overtures were made to the Hoxton people to amalgamate with the church at the New Tabernacle, and this has been accomplished. The church and congregation, numbering several hundreds, have migrated thither, and it is hoped that by the vigorous efforts of the pastor, the Rev. Fleming Williams, the two bodies will form a united and flourishing Christian fellowship. For my brethren and companions' sake will I now say, Peace be within thee.'

JAMES BRANWHITE FRENCH.

APOSTOLIC LIFE.*

BY

JOSEPH PARKER, D.D.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

'THE Inner Life of Christ,' by Dr. Parker, is one of the most suggestive, most inspiring, and we may add one of the most creative works we know in the sense of quickening in the mind new conceptions of the life and work of Christ. We are glad to find that the author is supplementing these volumes with a series on Apostolic Life,' the first volume of which is now before us. The author says in his preface, 'Here all is movement, progress, controversy, and spiritual conquest: the Church rears its marvellous form amidst the tumult of the world's most exciting history, and names rise almost visibly out of social obscurity into the noblest fame known to human society.' The subjects treated of, Theology Immeasurable,' The Gift of Power,' The Upward Look,' 'Education and Questioning,' 'Apostolical Qualification,' 'The Gift of Fire,' 'Unity in Diversity,' 'Enlarged Conception,' 'Peter's Transfiguration,' 'The Preacher must be Inspired,' 'Larger Meanings,' 'The Appeal to Right,' 'Old Fashioned Religion,' 'The Power of Prayer,' Respectable Churchism,' 'Nothing Secular,' 'The Danger of Controversy,' 'The Silent Vindication,' 'Stephen's Long Life,' 'In a great Succession,' 'How little Money can do,' 'Honest Inquiry,' 'Exultant Faith,' 'What Prayer is,' 'Vital Changes,' 'Dramatic Chapters,' 'The Invisible Self,' 'Enlargement of Ideas,' Typical Conversions,' Coming to Himself,' 'The Gift of the Spirit,' The Interpreter,' The Subtlety of Falsehood,' Larger Definitions,' 'The Fundamental Change'all these show how wide is the range of subjects opened up in the early part of the Acts of the Apostles, and with what vital energy the whole range of study is treated. We have no space to make selections of paragraphs, but we are greatly tempted to do so. We content ourselves with one on page 57: 'The resources of the Church will be multiplied in proportion as the Church enjoys the presence and power of the Holy Ghost. How the old earth has continued to keep pace with all our civilization and science-why should not I amend that sentence and say, How the old, kind motherly earth has been keeping herself back, as if she would be wooed and entreated and besought to tell the secret of her heart and yield up the riches which it had hidden. The electric light was, as to its possibilities in Eden, as certainly as it is in the metropolis of * London, Richard Clarke, 9, Plumtree Court, Farringdon Street, E.C.

[ocr errors]
« ÀÌÀü°è¼Ó »