themselves, but by the free grace of God; else how could it be (let me speak it without reserve) that so good a man, and so good a preacher, should have so little fruit of his labour, his unwearied labour, for so many years? Have your parishioners the life of religion in their souls? Have they so much as the form of it? Are the people of Wintringham, in general, any better than those of Winterton or Halton? Alas! sir, what is it which hinders your reaping the fruit of so much pains and so many prayers? "Is it not possible this may be the very thing,-your setting yourself against those whom God owns, by the continual conviction and conversion of sinners? "I fear, as long as you in any wise oppose these, your rod will not blossom, neither will you see the desire of your soul, in the prosperity of the souls committed to your charge. "I pray God to give you a right judgment in all things, and am, "Dear Sir, "Your affectionate Brother, In 1772, Mr. Wesley writes, "I read Mr. Adam's ingenious comment on the former part of the Epistle to the Romans. I was surprised and grieved. How are the mighty fallen! It is the very quintescence of Antinomianism. I did wonder much, but I do not wonder now, that his rod does not blossom." The next letter is addressed to a lady in Corn wall. "Madam, 66 Nov. 19th, 1756. "Permit me to congratulate you on your happy deliverance from the religion in fashion; by which I mean a creditable profession without the knowledge of the heart which brings us hungering and thirsting to Christ for the relief we want, and which he came from the bosom of the Father to offer us. "That such a profession may consist with a deeprooted love of the world, and indulgence in almost every vanity of it, we have thousands of witnesses, who, never suspecting the goodness of their state, cannot bear to have it called in question, and almost necessarily dislike, reproach, and hate those who condemn them, by turning from their ways and maxims. This is one of the greatest difficulties in the way of a thorough conversion, and needs all the authority of that dreadful denunciation, ' whosoever shall be ashamed of me, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in his own glory, and in that of the holy angels,' to support us under it. pray God send it with all its weight to your heart and mine, and enable us to make a steady confession of the gospel in its truth and purity, as opposite to our natural views, tempers, and affections, and calling us to an experimental knowledge of God, and a new state of holy communion with him." I "How delightful a thing it is to count, and not to count but feel, the Christian's gains,-faith and fidelity; peace with God through Christ; a renewed will; increasing love; and a hope full of im mortality! And how short is the time of our suffering! if upon the whole we do suffer, and are not richly compensated, even here, in every condition, by the afore-named advantages. Go on, madam, knowing whom you have chosen, and let neither your own weakness, nor the frowns of the world, terrify you Christ will have his grace exalted, in opposition to all discouraging unbelieving thoughts from the former, and a faithful acceptance of it, and establishment in it, will make you victorious over the latter. "Never to ask ourselves what our great want is, or what we should ask of God if we might have the wish of our hearts, is great blindness and stupidity; and yet it is the case, not only of the grossly irreligious, but of all those who are in the practise of an external work only. "The awakening of the soul from this sleep of nature is necessarily the first step toward a recovery. "To know that we want remission of sin, and strength against it; a will to live to the glory of God, and mercy to save us in our very best estate; and that the gospel comes home to our case in every one of these points, answers all our wishes, and reveals our wants only to relieve them,—is illumination in the understanding. "But the great work of all is still to come, which is the spiritual life of faith, or the closing of the heart, resolutely and fully, with this blessed scheme of redemption. May God Almighty support and bless you in the benefit of this redemption, comfort you in the blood of Christ, and carry you on swiftly in the way of holiness, conformity to the cross, and self-renunciation. As Christ has wrought salvation by himself, and has gotten the victory for us with his own right hand, he must have the whole glory of our recovery. But though he wants nothing of ours to make his payment weight, and scorns whatever we can offer him in the way of purchase, he expects and is well pleased with the free tender of our service; and all that he hath done and suffered fails of its end, if he does not make us a willing people. "You, my dear lady, love the Lord Jesus in sincerity; love him more, that you may be more happy in him, and taste more of his love. Make communion with him, and access to him, the delight of your soul, and the great end for which you live. Love his commands, because they are his, and then not one of them will be grievous. Love his friends, because they are such; and his enemies, to wish and make them his friends. "I write not to instruct you, who are so much higher in the divine school than myself; nor can I have any end in flattering you, as I am unknown. But my desire is to animate you to ardour and perseverance in the glorious race; and my hope is, that whatever state you are in, you will set no value upon present attainments, but be always pressing on to still greater heights. A progressive state is always a hopeful one, because it is both sincere and selfcondemning; and if it has one eye upon perfection, keeps the other steadily fixed upon Christ. To him, your Saviour, gracious helper, and bountiful re VOL. I. E $. warder, I commend you, and myself to your prayers, and am, from a far country, "Madam, "Yours in christian sincerity, “T. ADAM.” Mr. Adam was engaged at this period in making annotations and reflections upon the gospel of St. Matthew; these he delivered to the parishioners in the way of an exposition of the gospel; and, afterwards, he added lectures, and prayers, to each section. In 1756 he wrote a preface to a course of practical sermons, by the Rev. J. Walker, entitled “The Christian." A copy of the second edition, containing the preface, is before me, with this inscription on the title page: "The gift of the Rev. Mr. Adam to Miss Eleanor Amos."* The preface is important and will edify the devout reader. "As the following sermons are excellently calculated to promote vital Christianity, by illustrating the means and necessity of a real inward change; or the recovery of man from his present state of gross insensibility under the fall, to a life of acquaintance and communion with God; it is hoped they will, with the divine blessing, answer the author's design, by rousing the stupid sinner, undeceiving the formalist, and animating the pious to higher attain ments. *This lady, who was a constant visitor at the rectory, became the second wife of the Editor's grandfather, John Scarborough, Esq. of Wintringham. |