LITERARY NOTICES, &c. WORKS PREPARING FOR THE PRESS. In the press, and shortly will be published, a Course of Lectures, illustrative of the Pilgrim's Progress. By D. Warr, Minister of the Tabernacle, Haverfordwest. Much of the Pilgrim's Progress refers to the civil and ecclesiastical history of the times in which the Author lived; and these Leotures may form a satisfactory exposition of the dark and mysterious parts of the work in question. The Life of Lieut. Col. Blackadder, of the 26th or Cameronian Regiment, afterwards Governor of Stirling Castle; who served with distinguished honour during the Duke of Marlborough's Wars, and during the Rebellion in Scotland in 1715. 18mo. bds. Price 28. A Sketch of the Life of the Rev. Jules Charles Rieu, Pastor of the Reformed Church, Eredericia, in Denmark; containing an Account of that Colony, and Anecdotes of some of the most eminent Protestant Ministers on the Continent, exhibiting the Power of True Religion; with an Introduction and practical Remarks In one volume, 18mo., with an Engraving. Price 1s. 6d. boards. m WORKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED. The History of Moses, being a Continuation of Scripture Stories. 18mo. 3s. Sermons to Children. By the Rev. Samuel Nott, jun. of America. 1s. 6d. Nicodemus; or, a Treatise on the Fear of Man. By Professor Franck. 18mo. 1s. 6d. A Memoir of Central India, including Malwa, and adjoining Provinces, with the History and Copious Illustrations of the past and present conditions of that Country. By Major General Sir John Malcolm. In 2 vols. 8vo. £1. 12s. boards. A Dissertation on the Fall of Man; in which the Literal Sense of the Mosaic Account of that Event, is asserted and vindicated. By the Rev. George Holden, M. A. 8vo. 10s. 6d. boards. Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture. By Thomas Kelly. Fifth Edition, with many new Hymns, price 4s. An Essay on the Limits of Reason, in judging of Subjects of Revelation. By the Rev. J. Davies. 2s. 6d. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS, &c. COMMUNICATIONS have been received this month from the Rev. J. Churchill, T. Gilbart, J. Bulmer, J. Blackburn, W. Vint, J. Matheson, Also from M. S., A. B., P., Viatorius Mercator. · Orme. We regret that our valued friend Viatorius Mercator did not forward us the intelligence to which he alludes in his communication from Liverpool; next month it will be too late. We shall probably feel it expedient to communicate directly with J. M. If he do not hear from us in the mean time, an answer shall be inserted in our next number. As we are anxious to give all possible publicity to the following document, we insert it in this place. Alston, July, 1823. GENTLEMEN,In your Magazine for October, 1822, page 554, there is a paragraph under the head, Penrith New Chapel, which purports to be an Extract from the Third Report of the North Congregational Union, p. 10. We beg leave to say that no such passage is to be found in that Report, nor in any other we have drawn up, as you will perceive from the following quotation, which is taken verbatim from the publication in question, and which contains the real and entire statement. "Penrith. In this populous and respectable town, it is to be lamented, that notwithstanding the existence and zeal of other Christian denominations, a want of general godliness so obviously appears. Feeling this, a few friends of the Congregational order were anxious that a further trial might be made by their Ministers. An invitation was therefore sent to one of them, who commenced preaching in a school-room legally registered for the purpose; and which continues to be supplied by an Itinerant. Our prospects are in the highest degree encouraging; and we hope there will eventually be many here on the Lord's side."--The Third Yearly Report of the Northern Congregational Union.-p. 10, 1815. We the undersigned, most of whose names appear in this Report, think it our duty to certify, that the above quotation is a true and entire copy of the paragraph in ques tion, and that the statement in your Magazine is consequently a false quotation, which was inserted without our knowledge or consent. We do therefore request you to publish this certificate in the next number of your Miscellany, and you will oblige, Gentle. men, your obedient humble servants, JONATHAN HARPER, Alston, Cumberland, MEMOIRS OF MR. WILLIAM NOTCUTT, PASTOR OF THE INDEPENDENT CHURCH OF CHRISTIANS, MEETING IN TACKET STREET, IPSWICH. It is the subject of deep regret to those who love the principles of dissent, that the memory of so many of her most honourable advocates has been suffered to perish, and that the treatment they have endured tends little to the honour of nonconformity, though their moral worth and talent have contributed greatly to its renown. The evanescent nature of the world's applause, has long been a theme to point the tale of the moralist; but among the class to whom we allude, the realities of life have surpassed all that fiction itself could devise. Men whose piety and learning have entitled them to the veneration of society, and who would have imparted lustre to any dignity which the gratitude of other more favoured communities would have bestowed, have pined in obscurity and penury, and, with an injustice still more flagrant, have not even received the common, and but too often the only homage of virtue and excellence, a tribute to departed worth. How must it pain the generous mind to reflect, that the learned Jeremiah Jones passed through this world unheeded, except as the pastor of an obscure Dissenting church, in a state of comparative poverty, while his fellow students, Butler and Secker,* Bishops Butler and Secker, Drs. Samuel Chandler, Andrew Gifford, and Daniel Scott, Messrs. Mole, of Hackney; Pearsall, of Taunton; Frances, of CONG. MAG. No. 70. by choosing the more easy road of conformity, attained to the highest stations in that communion to which they became proselytes. Not that we can justly suppose the secular honours and authority which they enjoyed were really objects of envy to the mind of Mr. Jones, who, as a Protestant Dissenter, would certainly disregard all such distinctions as utterly inconsistent with the true notion of the Christian ministry; the only point in which the superiority of their situation to his can be conceded, is in the opportunity afforded to them of gratifying their literary taste to an extent which he could never expect to realize. Who can tell the advantages that might have accrued to biblical criticism, had the author of "The Method of settling the Canonical Authority of the New Testament," enjoyed those privileges which some of his academical brethren did? Haud facilè emergit, cujus virtutibus obstat Res angusta domi. Nor is this all-is it not equally Southampton, and Jeremiah Jones, were all trained for the ministry, in the Dissenting Academy of Gloucester, and afterwards of Tewksbury, under the care of Mr. Samuel Jones. 3 T the principles which originated his obscurity; that there should be no tablet to register the history of a man who, at the early age at which he died, had amassed the learning displayed in the few works which he published; and finally that it should be left to the liberality of the opponents of his opinions to vindicate the character of his great work against Toland, and with a generosity as great as it is unprecedented, to make it the standard authority on the subject, by giving it the imprimatur of an University? But Jones is not a singular instance; we sicken at the lengthened catalogue which our memory furnishes; let it suffice to mention Samuel Mather, of Witney, an honour even to the family of Mathers, a man of whom Calamy says, he "has affected a retired life, or else it would not be much for the credit of Dissenters, that he should not have a much better station, according to his merits." Though he affected privacy in life, posterity might and should have repaid his modesty, by a monument at once withdrawing his name from obscurity, and compensating the world for the loss it had so long endured, of his example. It is a debt owing to society, that men whose humility and retiredness have prevented the natural influence of their virtues, in their operation on the manners of the age, should at least have an existence in the records, and for the benefit, of a suc ceeding one. The author of "The Vindication of the Holy Bible," was not a man whom even Dissenters could afford to neglect. One fact, however, we may derive * Samuel Mather wrote, 1. Discourse on the Necessity of believing the Doctrine of the Trinity. 2. Discourse on the Godhead of the Holy Ghost, 8vo. 1719. 3. Vindication of the Holy Bible, 8vo. 4. Charge at the Ordination of Mr. R. Milner, Wantage, Berks, 8vo. 1726. 5. Memoirs of the Life of Increase Mather, &c. &c. from the undeserved oblivion into which the memory of our fathers has fallen; if the enemies of our principles have done so much in opposing us, and our friends so little in our defence, surely the power that has maintained us hitherto must be somewhat more than human. The friendless, unsupported, despised cause of nonconformity, has urged its way against obloquy, persecution, secular privileges, worldly policy, and the still more potent prejudice of the heart, and in many instances against the cold misgivings, if not the insidious treachery, of its pretended friends; and what arm but that of God has preserved it? Esto perpetua. The subject of this memoir may well serve as another instance; the many volumes of practical divinity of which he was the author, the fervent piety and the bold espousal of evangelical truth which characterize them, and that too at a time when such doctrines were not the general theme of ministerial addresses, the constancy with which he held, and the ardour with which he defended the distinguishing principles of dissent, should have ensured for him a more extensive reputation than the gratitude of his brethren has bestowed on him. Mr. Notcutt was born in 1672, at Wrington, in Somersetshire, a town dear to the lovers of science as the birth-place of the immortal Locke. He was indebted for his education to the liberality of a friend, who, observing his early piety and desire of learning, undertook the expense of his initiatory instruction, with a view to his being dedicated to the ministry. After passing through the rudiments of literature with considerable credit, he became a student in the academy of Mr. William Payne, an eminent tutor and Dissenting minister at SaffronWalden, in Essex, and of whom it is sufficient to say, he was the friend of John Owen. Among church assembling in Tacket many other faithful ministers of Christ, educated at this Seminary, were Dr. Guyse, Dr. Theophilus Lobb, (celebrated both as a religious and a medical writer,) Caleb Wroe, of Cheshunt, and John Greene, of Chelmsford, who wrote the life of Dr. Lobb, his fellow student, and Mr. Richard Rawlin, known as the author of a work, entitled "Christ the Righteousness of his People," a favourite book of the pious Mr. Hervey. Mr. Notcutt subsequently married Miss Martha Payne, the daughter of his venerable tutor. At this Academy Mr. N. made great progress in his theological studies, and furnished his mind with that store of knowledge to which his numerous works bear so ample testimony. He began preaching in 1705, and in the same year was ordained pastor over the church at Thaxted, in Essex, where he remained nearly twenty years. We have no knowledge of the circumstances which eventually induced the dissolution of this connexion, but we can have no doubt, from the excellence of Mr. N.'s character, and the disinterestedness which he ever manifested, that he was instigated by the best of principles, and that he did not resort to that conclusion till he had sought for direction from that God who has promised to direct the steps of his servants. In the year 1724, he was invited to take the pastoral charge of the * On the morning of the day on which he (Dr. Owen) died, Mr. Thomas (William) Payne, who had been entrusted with the publication of his Meditations on the Glory of Christ, called to take his leave, and to inform him, that he had just been putting that work to the press. "I am glad to hear it," said the dying Christian, and lifting up his hands and eyes, as if transported with enjoyment, exclaimed, "but O! brother Payne, the long-wished for day is come at last, in which I shall see that glory in another manner than I have ever done, or was capable of doing in this world,"-Orme's Life of Owen, p. 448, To Street, Ipswich, vacant by the decease of their pastor, Mr. Thomas Milway, in that year. This church was first gathered in 1686, and in the same year they chose for their pastor Mr. William Langston, whose life is preserved in Calamy, vol. 2, p. 660. In 1702, Mr. Benjamin Glandfield was chosen as assistant to Mr. Langston, whom he succeeded at his decease in 1704. In 1713, the old meeting-house at Greenyard was relinquished, and a new one erected in Tacket Street. Mr. Glandfield, who deceased in 1720, succeeded Mr. Thomas Milway, of Kettering, on whose settlement here, in 1721, the learned John Hurrion, of Denton, preached a sermon entitled "The Rights and Duties of Ministers and People," which he published, 8vo. 1721. Mr. Milway was the son of Mr. Thomas Milway, of Kettering, and originally of Edmundsbury, who is mentioned in our Magazine for 1819, p. 184, Mr. Milway, of Ipswich, had a son Thomas, afterwards settled over a church at Haverhill. Of Mr. Milway a curious anec dote is preserved. Preaching on one occasion on the sin of pride, he particularized on pride in dress; but remembering with sorrow how applicable his observations were to the case of his own daughters, who were remarkable for their undue attachment to dress, and whom he had often vainly endea-" he observed, with much feeling, voured to reform in that particular, "But you will say, look at home. My good friends, I do look at home, till my heart aches." Over this church Mr. Notcutt was settled in 1724, and here he closed his pastoral labours and his life, after a residence of nearly thirty-two years, making in the whole almost fifty-two years service in the ministry of the word, a length of time granted to but 3T2 few amongst the Lord's servants. It is not to be expected that any detailed account can be presented to our readers of the occurrences which chequered the history of Mr. Notcutt in this long pilgrimage, nor indeed would it be generally interesting; few are the striking events in the life of a student and a minister. A faithful discharge of ministerial functions, and a conversation edifying to the church, and unblameable to the world, will be found to be the most honourable traits in the character of those devoted to the service of God in the preaching of the Gospel. In the performance of these duties there is room enough for the display of the greatest energies wherewith any human being can be blessed; more than is usually filled by those who are most earnest in, and best qualified for, the important trust devolved to them. How he exercised this duty, we may learn by an extract from his "Dying Pastor's Legacy," published in 1744, when he was arrived at a venerable age, and the correctness of which those of his sermons which we have been enabled to peruse fully corroborate. "I have endeavoured to represent to you pure religion, by practice and example, as well as by doctrine and precept, that I might be able to say, as the holy apostle did, "that which ye have heard and learned, and seen in me, do." I have made Jesus Christ the end of my ministry, and my life; I have not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God; I have preached the free and effectual grace of God in regeneration and conversion, and the doctrine of free justification of sinners, through the righteousness of Jesus Christ by faith alone. I have also shown you the necessity of holiness and good works." In this interval, Mr. N. published many excellent works on religion, which retain a considerable share of popularity, even in these days, and which, if they entitle him not to the highest honours of literature, yet certainly do much more, they establish his character as a true friend to the best, because the eternal interests of mankind. For many years before he deceased, he suffered much by a nephritic complaint, a malady so common among ministers, as to entitle it to the name of "the students' disease." Hence he was often prevented from officiating in the services of the sanctuary, and in 1752, Mr. (afterwards Dr.) William Gordon was chosen his assistant, and in 1754 was associated with him in the co-pastoral charge, Mr. Notcutt's infirmities rendering such a measure necessary, and Mr. N. having recommended Mr. Gordon to the members of his charge as his successor. It is generally known, that about this time Arianism was spreading very generally among the Dissenting churches, and though its influence was more general in the western counties of England, it was not altogether unknown in Suffolk. The church over which Mr. N. was settled, was not altogether preserved from that infection; one member espoused the Arian views. Mr. N. foreseeing the danger which would inevitably follow from such a principle, if permitted to enter the church, endeavoured to exert all his remaining strength, much impaired by long continued disease, in a defence of the divinity of Christ, which he accomplished in three sermons on three Lord'sday mornings, July 1st, 8th, and 22d, in 1753, from Col. ii. 2-9, which, together with a from Mark x. 45, were the last he was permitted to preach; thus finishing his ministry with a noble confession of his faith, on a point of infinite importance to believers in the Gospel revelation. Nor were his endeavours without a salutary effect: God owned them as means of strengthening the belief of his people on this great doctrine. (To be continued.) sermon |