persons had represented; and, as to the manner of their proceedings, in his judgment, they stood in need of better advice than they would receive, unless they were admonished by higher authority. He then informed the Treasurer, that when the commissioners entered the Chapter-house, after the usual ceremonies, it was manifest to all present, that it was their purpose to deal with the Dean only, and with the rest at some other time. Against him there were thirty-five articles, and fortynine interrogatories, ready drawn in the hand of the promoter, to be put into the court; with which none of the commissioners ever were before acquainted. It was particularly urged, that he was not made minister according to the laws of this realm, but was a mere layman; and, accordingly to be deprived. His Lordship then adds, "If in other matters alleged against him, there be good cause of deprivation, I know not; but if that be the mark, as it is indeed, if the opinion of all be true, I wish it may be hit some other way, rather than by touching his ministry. I cannot in conscience agree to his deprivation for that cause alone. This would be ill taken by all the godly and learned, both at home and abroad, that we allow of popish massing priests in our ministry, and disallow of ministers made in a reformed church." The Archbishop's proceedings against our divine were considered as invidious; and they greatly diminished his reputation in town and country. His calling Mr. Whittingham's ordination in question, according to high authority, was contrary to the statute of 13 Eliz., by which "the ordination of the foreign reformed churches was made valid; and Lansdowne's MSS. vol. xxvii. No. 6. those who had no other orders, were made of like capacity with others, to enjoy any place of ministry in England." The Oxford historian applauds Mr. Whittingham for the good service he did for his country, not only against the popish rebels in the North, but also by repelling the Archbishop of York from visiting the church of Durham: yet he calls him a lukewarm conformist, an enemy to the habits and ceremonies, an active promoter of the Geneva doctrine and discipline; and he brings heavy accusations against him, calling them works of impiety. If we may believe this writer, Mr. Whittingham caused several stone coffins, belonging to the priors, and laid in the cathedral of Durham, to be taken up, and appointed them to be used as troughs for horses and swine, and their covers to pave his own house. He defaced all the brazen pictures and imagery work, and used the stones to build himself a washing-house. The two holy-water stones of fine marble, very artificially engraven, with hollow bosses, very curiously wrought, he took away, and employed them to steep beef and salt-fish in. He caused the image of St. Cuthbert, and other ancient monuments, to be defaced; nor would he endure any thing that appertained to a monastic life. How far he was concerned in these occurrences, it is not in our power to ascertain; and how far his conduct was censurable for these things, we shall not attempt to determine: but the learned and venerable Grindal, when admitted to the archiepiscopal see of York, showed his "great zeal for the discipline and government of the Church," by commanding "all Strype's Annals, vol. ii. p. 524. + Wood's Athenæ, vol. i. p. 154. altars to be pulled down to the ground, and the altar-stones to be defaced, and bestowed to some common use!"* Mr. Whittingham was so conspicuous a character, and his principles so well known, that he could hardly escape the severe censures of those high-church writers, whose pens were dipped in gall; a few instances it may not be improper to mention, as breathing the spirit of the times. An author just cited stigmatizes him "the false and unworthy dean of Durham," who unwillingly submitted to the stroke of death.† Another writer affirms, that Mr. Whittingham, and the rest of his Geneva accomplices, urged all states to take arms, and reform religion by force, rather than suffer idolatry and superstition to remain in the land. A third styles him "the chief ringleader of the Frankfort schismatics, who encouraged Knox and Goodman to set up presbytery and sedition in the kirk of Scotland."§ And another affirms, that it was one of the natural consequences of his translation from Knox's pastorship at Geneva to an English deanery, that he destroyed or removed many beautiful and harmless monuments in his cathedral; adding, "to a man, who had so highly spiritualized his religious conceptions, as to be convinced, that a field, a street, or a barn, were fully sufficient for all the operations of Christian worship, the venerable structures, raised by the magnificent piety of our ancestors, could convey no ideas of solemnity, and had no other charms than their ample endowments." sinuations and censures, the subject of this memoir was a man of extraordinary talents, superior piety, firmly opposed to superstition, an excellent preacher, and an ornament to religion and learning. He died while the cause of his privation was pending, on June 10, 1579, in the sixty-fifth year of his age; and his remains were interred in Durham cathedral, where a monumental inscription was erected to his memory, of which the following is a translation. In Memory of the very learned William Whittingham, an travelled to acquire the literature Notwithstanding all these in- under the displeasure of Queen * Strype's Grindal, pp. 166, 167. + Wood's Athenæ, vol. i. p. 155. Bancroft's Positions, p. 62. § Heylin's Presby. p. 247. Warton's Poetry, vol. i. p. 168. Elizabeth. He published translations of several learned works, * Hutchinson's Durham, vol. ii. p. 151. + Warton, vol. i. pp. 162. 167. Hutchinson's Durham, vol. ii. p. 144. and turned part of the Psalms of David into metre, which are still used in the Church of England. Those which he versified have W. W. prefixed to them, among which is Psalm cxix.; as may be seen in the Book of Commonprayer. The other persons concerned in versifying the Psalms, were Messrs. Thomas Sternhold, John Hopkins, William Kethe, Robert Wisdome, and Thomas Norton, all eminent in their day, and zealous in promoting the reformation of the Church of England. The parts which they performed have the initials of their names prefixed, as may be seen in the Prayer-book.* • Wood, vol. i. pp. 62, 63. 153.-Strype's Annals, vol. ii. p. 102. An author already cited, affirms, that to innovate still farther on our established formulary, Mr. Whittingham also versified the Decalogue, the Nicene, the Apostolic, and Athanasian Creeds, the Lord's Prayer, the Te Deum, the Song of the Three Children, with other hymns which follow the book of Psalmody. All these were sung under his direction in the church of Durham; and it is added, that his design was to render that more tolerable which could not be entirely removed, to accommodate every part of the service to the Psalmodic tone, and to clothe the whole of the Liturgy in the garb of Geneva !* Tutbury. B. B. · * Warton, vol. i. p. 168. ORIGINAL ESSAYS, COMMUNICATIONS, &c. ON THE INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL QUALIFICATIONS OF MISSIONARY CANDIDATES. The Prudential Committee of the American Board of Foreign Missions, have published the following Address to those who may become candidates for employ ment in the missionary work, and to their friends who may be called upon for advice and testimonials. Deeply impressed with a conviction of the vast importance of suitable agents in that department of Christian labour, and with the solemn responsibility of those who recommend candidates for that most difficult work, we have transcribed, with a few trifling omissions, the whole of the article, which we consider important in itself, and possessing increased value, as it records the independent and unbiassed judgment of a respectable body of Christians on a distant Continent, upon the grave subject of missionary qualifications. EDITORS. THE following remarks are submitted to the consideration of such readers, as contemplate entering upon a missionary life. It may fairly be assumed, that, among the younger members of evangeliN. S. No. 41. cal churches throughout our land, the number of such readers is by no means small; and, as the spirit of Christian benevolence rises, and the demand for missionary labor becomes more imperious, it may be expected that this number will be continually increasing. 1. Let those, who think of personally going forth to the heathen as heralds of divine mercy, sit down and deliberately count the cost. There is some danger lest, in the glow of youthful feeling, and under the stimulus of crowded assemblies, and eloquent addresses, and examples of liberality, the cause of missions should be regarded only in the light of a glorious and triumphant cause; and not as an arduous conflict, a long continued struggle, a controversy with principalities and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places. But it is a different thing to spend one's strength among ignorant idolaters, or rude 2 H savages, from what it is to read accounts of missionary labours, or to form in imagination a picture of a vigorous and successful onset against the powers of darkness. There is no safe course for a missionary but to expect many trials; some of them unforeseen and unthought of, and others different in reality from what they were in contemplation. If faithful and devoted, he will also experience many consolations: not the least of which will be the sustaining consciousness that he is influenced by the benevolence of the Gospel; the same principle, which appeared with such transcendent loveliness in the character of our Saviour, and which was exhibited to so happy an extent, and in so remarkable a manner, by the great apostle to the Gentiles. He will be in the habit of reflecting, also, that the object is worthy of infinitely greater sacrifices than he can have made to it; and that, however discouraging appearances may be, the ultimate consequences of fidelity will be unspeakably delightful and glorious. 2. It is very important that those, who are looking forward to the responsible station of missionaries, should be thoroughly acquainted with their own character. There is the more need of caution here, as men are apt to be ignorant of themselves; and especially is it true, that young persons, during the progress of their education, often greatly misjudge as to their relative standing, and their prevailing motives of action. The real character of a man is, however, very likely to develop itself suddenly, when he is thrown into difficult and untried circumstances. Let the candidate for missionary employment, then, make it a particular study to ascertain how he stands in the sight of God. For this let him labor with much as siduity; not merely to gain satisfaction as to his having repented of sin and believed in Christ, but to learn whether he has that love for the souls of men, that devotedness, that zeal, that patience in trouble, that readiness for kind and brotherly co-operation, which are essential to an elevated course of Christian beneficence. To aid himself this matter, let him apply to some pious friend, who can judge impartially, and who will become a candid and faithful adviser. It will be of incalculable benefit to a missionary to have made great progress in moral discipline;-in subduing pride, selfishness, vanity, ambition, and habits of indulgence, before he takes upon him a public character. To all these evils, and many others, the heart of man is exposed; and it is not the part of wisdom to deny the danger, or attempt to conceal it. In the business of self-government, those are the most successful, who have the most thorough knowledge of their weakness, their exposures, and their dangers. 3. The missionary enterprise has now arrived at such a stage in its progress, that the soldiers of the cross have special need of being well furnished with the Gospel armour. The evangelical exertions, which are now distinctly and avowedly directed to the moral renovation of the world, are fast attracting the attention of all observing and reflecting men; and are regarded with very different views by various classes of individuals, according to their feelings, their prejudices, and the part which they are personally disposed to take, either in favour of divine truth, or against it. The friends and supporters of missions entertain high hopes of success, as they have good reason for doing; but these hopes being somewhat indefinite, in regard to time, manner, and circumstances, often lead to sanguine conclusions. These friends, also, very generally form an exalted opinion of the moral excellence of missionaries; and the mere fact, that a man offers to go forth in this capacity, is a passport to their unbounded confidence. Such a state of things should operate powerfully upon the mind of an ingenuous man; and should induce him to aim strenuously to prove worthy of that confidence, which is so liberally bestowed upon him in advance. The enemies of Christ were probably never more on the alert, than at this moment, to discover flaws in the character of his professed friends, and to publish them abroad with a view to bring reproach and disgrace upon all that is doing to extend the limits of the church. These enemies are more or less open in their hostility, according to circumstances; but they all agree in opposing the progress of truth. They are to be found in every Christian country, and have access to almost every considerable missionary station. Some of them are becoming much alarmed, and habitually discover great malignity. Let every missionary expect to be watched by such men ; let him make this anticipated scrutiny a reason for examining and judging himself; and let him take special care, that those who are of the contrary part, may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of him: or, if they are beyond the reach of shame, and will not be silent, let them be compelled to rely upon mere slander, which can either be refuted, or left to destroy itself. It is always to be remembered, that an example of Christian integrity, benevolence, and piety, will commend itself to the consciences of even the most bitter opposers; while others, who are not committed by any acts of direct hostility to the truth, will not be backward in avowing their convictions, and bearing a decided testimony to a life of consistent evangelical virtue. Progress in holiness is to be desired by a missionary, as a mean of usefulness to all around him, while it is a source of unfailing satisfaction to himself. 4. The man, who has deliberately consecrated himself to the service of Christ among the heathen, should not be solicitous respecting subordinate matters. He should cheerfully leave to Providence the precise field of his labour, the time and manner of his going forth, and other things of a similar nature. Not that he should act without consideration, in relation to any subject, however small;-nor that he should fail to communicate any facts, views, or reasonings, which have weight in his own mind;-but he should carefully avoid distressing anxiety about the future, and cheerfully commit himself and all his interests to God. Nothing is more common, than for young men, who are about closing the term of their education, to feel as though it would be extremely desirable to have the tenor of their future years marked out with certainty; not reflecting that, even if their lives were secure for years to come, such certainty would be unattainable by human power or foresight. It cannot be attained, in regard to any class of men, much less professional men, who remain in our own country. The most mature plans are often interrupted; and the only wise and safe course, at home or abroad, is to prepare for usefulness in some important sphere, and then leave every future allotment to be disclosed, in the ordinary course of Providence. |