ant document." But through all these slight clouds the sunshine of his mind was always visible. As an illustration of this, the following anecdote may be quoted. A friend once found him in great agitation, hunting for a despatch he had mislaid; one of the royal family was waiting for it, and he had delayed the search till the last practicable moment; so that at length he seemed quite flurried and disconcerted. At this moment there was a disturbance in the nursery over-head. Now, thought his friend, Wilberforce's temper for once will give way. To his surprise, Mr. Wilberforce turned to him, and exclaimed, "What a blessing it is to have these dear children; only think what a relief, amidst other hurries, to hear their voices, and know they are well!" But it is vain to attempt a full delineation of Mr. Wilberforce's character; it is better to be judged of by the simple narration of his behaviour under the pressure of trials; and these gathered round him in his latter days. One of them was severe loss of property. He had never hoarded up his wealth. Indeed, his delight was to minister of his abundance to the need of others; and many beautiful examples of true liberality have been made known by those whose hearts he made thus to rejoice, and many more will never be counted up till that day when every secret thing shall be uncovered. But the sums he applied in this way may give some notion of the bountiful spirit which actuated him. He generally aimed at appropriating one-fourth of his income to works of piety and charity; and entries have been found in his note-book, which prove that in one year he so employed upwards of 2000l., in another more than 30007. Verily, he that watereth shall himself be watered. Men who afterwards rose to eminence and wealth, owed not unfrequently their earthly all to him, who had marked their early struggles and carried them through. Young men were maintained by him at college, and the declining years of others rendered comfortable. And besides what be distributed with his own hand, he was accustomed to place sums of money with different clergymen, whose limited means prevented their listening to the many calls made upon them. But by these numerous drains Mr. Wilberforce's resources were diminished: he had afterwards to reduce very materially his rents; and at length, by the failure of a speculation in which he raised a large capital to embark his eldest son, he found himself compelled to quit Highwood. A letter of his own will shew the temper in which he received the stroke. "Highwood, March 16, 1831. "I wished that you should receive from myself, rather than from the tongue of rumour, tidings which sooner or later were sure to be conveyed to you, and which I knew would give you pain. The loss incurred has been so heavy as to compel me to descend from my present level, and greatly to diminish my Establishment. But I am bound to recognise, in this dispensation, the gracious mitigation of the severity of the stroke. It was not suffered to take place till all my children were educated, and nearly all of them placed out, in one way or another; and by the delay, Mrs. Wilberforce and I are supplied with an asylum under the roofs of two of our own children. And what better could we desire? A kind Providence has enabled me with truth to adopt the declaration of David, that goodness and mercy have followed me all my days. And now, when the cup presented to me has some bitter ingredients, yet surely no draught can be deemed distasteful which comes from such a hand, and contains such grateful infusions as those of social intercourse and the sweet endearments of filial gratitude and affection. What I shall most miss will be my books and my garden, though I own I do feel a little the not (for I know not how long, if ever,) being able to ask my friends to a dinner or a bed with me, under my own roof. And as even the great apostle did not think the 'having no certain dwelling-place,' associated with his other far greater sufferings, unworthy of mention, so I may feel this also to be some, though I grant not a great evil, to one who has so many kind friends who will be happy to receive him." It ought to be added, that not fewer than six individuals, one of them a West Indian, made separately such private offers to Mr. Wilberforce as would have at once restored his fortune. But he declined these proposals, as he felt it more becoming his Christian character to adapt his habits to his present income. For the completion of his chapel, indeed, but not for himself, he was ready to receive the contributions of his friends. An additional trial was in store for him. Not long after he left Highwood, his surviving daughter was called to her eternal rest. The frame of his mind may best be learned from his own pen: "Blessed be God, we have every reason to be thankful for the state of mind we witness in her: a holy, calm, humble reliance on her Saviour, enables her to enter the dark valley with Christian hope, leaning, as it were, on her Redeemer's arm, and supported and cheered by the blessed promises of his Gospel. We are in the hands of our heavenly Father; and I am sure no one has hitherto had such reason as myself to say that goodness and mercy have followed me all my days. I was much impressed yesterday, with the similarity, in some respects, of my own situation to that of her dear little innocent, who was undergoing the operation of vaccination. The infant gave up its little arm to the operator without suspicion or fear. But when it felt the puncture, which must have been sharp, no words can express the astonishment and grief that followed. I could not have thought the mouth could have been distended so widely as it continued till the nurse's soothing restored her usual calmness. What an illustration is this, thought I, of the impatient feelings we are often apt to experience, and sometimes even to express, when suffering from the dispensations of a Being, whose wisdom we profess to believe to be unerring, whose kindness we know to be unfailing, whose truth also is sure, and who has declared to us that all things shall work together for good to them that love him, and that the object of his inflictions is to make us partakers of his holiness!" The remainder of Mr. Wilberforce's life was passed chiefly under the roofs of his second and third sons. The winter months were spent at East Farleigh in Kent, and the summer at Brighstone in the Isle of Wight. Here he manifested the same even temper, the same humble spirit, the same thankful gratitude, which had adorned his character at Highwood. And like a person in the actual enjoyment of heaven within: he hardly speaks of any one subject, except to express his sense of thankfulness, and what cause he feels for gratitude. This is the case, even in speaking of the things which try him most. Thus talking of his being kept from exercise: What cause for thankfulness have I, that I am not lying in pain, and in a suffering posture, as so many people are! Certainly it is a great privation to me, from my habits, not to be able to walk about, and to lie still so much as I do; but then, how many there are who are lying in severe pain! And then he will break out into some passionate expression of thankfulness. The next morn as he drew nearer to the hour when he must leave the world, there was visible in him a mellowing and advancement, a ripening meetness for the inheritance he was soon to share. Occasionally he would peep out from his seclusion upon the busy world, but it was upon some work and labour of love; as, for instance, to advocate his ancient object, the welfare of the African race. His last public appearance was on April 12, 1833, when he proposed a petition against slavery, at a meeting held at Maidstone. "It was an affecting sight to see the old man, who had been so long the champion of this cause, come forth from his retirement, and with an unquenched spirit, though with a weakened voice and failing body, maintaining [July 27] his amendment seemed to continue. for the last time the cause of truth and justice." His interest in this cause had never flagged; and it was a remarkable coincidence that he just lived to know that a British parliament had resolved to give freedom to the slave: and then, as if his eyes had seen what he had longed for, he departed in peace. While the bill was before the House, some one mentioned casually at dinner, "at this moment probably the debate on slavery is just commencing." Mr. Wilberforce sprung from his chair, and almost startled the friends that sat round him, by exclaiming, with a clear voice and animated countenance, "Hear, hear, hear."bably also with an impaired understanding. During The Friday night before his death, the Slavery-abolition Bill was read a second time in the House of Commons; and the last public news that reached Mr. Wilberforce's ear, was that his country was ready, at a mighty sacrifice, to do away the disgrace of slavery. "Thank God," he said, "that I should have lived to witness a day in which England is willing to give twenty millions sterling for the abolition of slavery." In May 1833, Mr. Wilberforce went to Bath, having been advised to try the waters, in consequence of having previously suffered from influenza. Here, however, his strength gradually declined, and it was seen that his days could not be much farther prolonged. His mind was calm; he knew whom he had believed; and he expressed in touching language, to the friends who saw him, his simple confidence and peace in the Redeemer. In the beginning of July, he was attacked, while at dinner, with sudden illness; and from that time he seemed to look upon himself as a dying man. Still, he was able to bear a journey to London, whither it was thought advisable he should be conveyed to consult Dr. Chambers; and accordingly leaving Bath, July 17th, and traversing the road along which fortyfive years before he had been carried apparently to death, he arrived on the 19th in Cadogan Place, Sloane Street, at a house lent him by his cousin, Mrs. Lucy Smith. He did not intend to remain more than a few days in town; and indeed on Friday, July 26, one of his sons left him, expecting to receive him at his own house on the following Tuesday; but before that day he had entered into his eternal rest. The narrative of the closing scene must be given in the words of his youngest son. "On the whole, what appears to me characteristic in his state of mind is chiefly this: there seems to be little anticipation, though he is strongly impressed with a feeling that he is near his end; much nearer than, from what his physician says, I trust is the case. He speaks very little, as if looking forward to future happiness; but he seems more To an old servant, who drew him out in a wheelchair, he talked with more than usual animation; and the fervency with which he offered up the family prayer was particularly noticed. But in the evening his weakness returned in a most distressing manner; and the next day he experienced a succession of fainting-fits, to which he had been for two years subject, which were followed by much suffering, and which for a time suspended his powers of recollection. His physician pronounced, that if he survived this attack, it would be to suffer much pain, and pro an interval in the evening of Sunday. I am in a very distressed state,' he said, alluding apparently to his bodily condition. Yes,' it was answered; but you have your feet on the Rock.' 'I do not venture,' he replied, to speak so positively; but I hope I have.' And after this expression of his humble trust, with but one groan, he entered into that world where pain and doubt are for ever at an end. He died at three o'clock in the morning of Monday, July 29th, aged seventy-three years and eleven months." As soon as his decease was known, the following letter was addressed to his youngest son : "We, the undersigned members of both houses of parliament, being anxious upon public grounds to shew our respect for the memory of the late William Wilberforce; and being also satisfied that public honours can never be more fitly bestowed than upon such benefactors of mankind, earnestly request that he may be buried in Westminster Abbey; and that we, and others who may agree with us in these sentiments, may have permission to attend his funeral." The names of thirty-seven peers, including some of the most illustrious members of that house, and of nearly one hundred members of the House of Commons, were appended to this requisition; and the lord-chancellor, in conveying it, declared himself "authorised to add, that nearly all the members of both houses of parliament would have joined, had the time allowed." The request was acceded to by the family; and, August 5, the remains of Mr. Wilberforce were com mitted to the tomb in the north transept of the Abbey, near to those of Pitt, and Fox, and Canning. The members then attending the two houses joined the procession-a prince of the blood, the chancellor, the speaker, and other individuals of the highest rank, were the pall-bearers; while the church, and even the streets, were crowded by sympathising multitudes in mourning garments. Never, perhaps, was there a more genuine testimony borne to excellence of character than in the homage rendered to Mr. Wilberforce. It was not because he was of illustrious rank, or possessed of unbounded wealth; it was not that he held the reins of power: it was because he had shone a bright example of Christian grace, and had unweariedly pursued the path of devoted zeal and pious benevolence, that England will ever account him one of the most noble of her sons. In him was fulfilled the Scripture assurance, that "godliness hath the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come." Honours have been paid his memory. At York, a county asylum for the blind has been founded in his name; and at Hull a column has been inscribed to him. Nor have persons of other nations been wanting in their expressions of One thing, however, was left undone at He lived and died undignified by any of respect. home. those titles which are sometimes conferred on merits infinitely below his. They could not, indeed, have really raised him. He would have honoured them, not they him. And it is true that at one time (in 1825) he might, had he so chosen, have been called to the upper house of parliament. But this was not the way in which an honour should have been conferred upon him. And the question was not, what would have exalted him, but what it became the character of England to bestow, in order to shew the sense entertained of the worth of such a man. Verily it was an omission not to be excused, that when, by war and by diplomacy, in the law and in the state, so many received doubtless the just reward of their talents, this man, the honour of his age, was passed and neither peerage nor riband decorated him, over, who went down to his grave plain William Wilberforce. S. GLORYING IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST : A Sermon, BY THE REV. HENRY O'NEILE, A.M. Incumbent of St. Anne's, Lancaster. GAL. vi. 14. "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." WHAT a wonderful testimony to the transforming power of Divine truth is this single statement of St. Paul! Here is the confession of a man, who a few years before led to prison and to judgment those that called on the name of Christ in Jerusalem; the man on whom the blameless life and heroic and triumphant death of the first martyr failed to make any impression, either to moderate his unholy zeal, or to soften the rigour of his character yet here we have him making his boast and his glory of that which he once treated with the most unmeasured scorn and contempt; nay, more, asserting that it is the only subject on which he would or could glory. This revolution in St. Paul's character has not improperly been likened to the effect produced by the shock of an earthquake, by which the course of a mighty stream is diverted from its natural channel into an opposite direction, so complete was the change, so different was he in all respects to what he was before. The Churches in Galatia had among them many Jewish converts; some of these were still wedded to the forms and shadows of the law of Moses, and wished to engraft the religion of Jesus on the ceremonies of Judaism. This compromise would obtain for them two objects which they were anxious to secure it would oblige the Gentile Christians to submit to the burdensome rites of the old law, and it would in some degree relieve them from the persecution of their Jewish brethren; they were, therefore, more anxious to add to a party than to make true disciples of Christ. This is what the apostle calls making a fair show in the flesh," and "glorying in the flesh." 66 The same spirit appears at times among the professed followers of Christ in our own daya disposition to swell the ranks of a sect or a party at any risk, and to increase the numbers of some denomination without adding to the real disciples of Christ. This is to "make a fair show in the flesh;" and the natural consequence is, that we hear of one after another falling away and dishonouring the Christian profession. minded Christian simplicity of the apostle To this "glorying in the flesh" the singlewas entirely opposed; and in the most impressive manner he declares the only ground on which he could glory-" God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ;" and if any gifts or qualifications could give a human creature reason for glorying, who could have done it with half the pretensions of Paul? If a Jew of the purest descent, a Hebrew of the Hebrews," could boast, then might St. Paul have done so. If to be of the strictest sect of the Jews, and to perform the most burdensome religious rites with regularity, could give a ground for glorying, then might St. Paul have been a boaster. If to be learned above most men of his nation, and endowed with strong natural powers of persuasion and eloquence, could give a ground for glorying, then might the apostle be proud. And what Christian could lay the same claim to glorying in his services for that Saviour, who had called him out of darkness into his marvellous light, as our apostle? Who among them had compassed so many dangers by sea and land to win souls to Christ? who had planted so many Churches in Europe and in Asia? who had added such numbers to the Lord? who like him had established by his letters the faith of so many Christians, and by such a luminous exposition of doctrine and practice had edified the Church of God, and given it instruction for every successive generation? But in none, nor in all these things, did Paul glory: his learning, his talents, his station, were all embarked in the great cause in which he gloried, "the cross of Christ," and they were valued only as they advanced that cause. We shall find it, then, a most important inquiry for us to make, why did St. Paul glory in the cross of Christ, and in this alone? But let us first ascertain what is here meant by the cross of Christ. The expression is sometimes used to imply the obstacles and opposition which believers are taught to expect in maintaining their Christian course, whether they proceed from inward or from outward foes; as in that saying of the Lord's, "He that taketh not his cross and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." But here the expression applies specially to the sufferings of Christ when he was nailed to the cross, and the reproach and obloquy which he underwent in that situation for sinners. In this the apostle declares that he gloried-and why? We can readily understand why he should glory in the example of patient suffering which his Divine Master displayed; we can understand why he should glory in the blameless life and holy precepts of that Master; we can understand, too, why he should glory in his triumphant resurrection and exaltation to the right hand of the Majesty on high, with power and dominion: but why glory in the instrument of his death and sufferings? Because the death and sufferings of Christ were the redemption of his Church; because by them "he opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers." His disciples were reviled as the followers of a condemned malefactor. His cross was a stumbling-block to the Jews, and foolishness to the worldly wisdom of the Greeks; but to him it displayed "the power of God and the wisdom of God." In this cross he beheld God reconciling the world to himself; interposing by his own arm to reclaim the lost and the guilty, and restore them to his love and service. The apostle knew there was no other hope on earth or in heaven for a sinner but in the cross of Christ; and therefore it was the centre to which all the deep feelings and affections of his soul converged, and from which emanated all those holy principles and that self-devotedness which illustrated and influenced his whole Christian career; and in proportion as we feel the "exceeding sinfulness of sin," in proportion as we value "peace with God," in proportion as we value holiness in this life, and the fruit of holiness in the happiness of the life which is to come, shall we also magnify the riches of the grace of God, and exalt the sacrifice of the cross; and concentrating all our hopes upon it, feel with the apostle, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." But, oh, how different is the manner in which too many professing Christians think and speak of the cross of Christ! How often, when, in discharge of his duty, a minister is called on to inquire into the kind of religion which this or the other person professeshow often does he find, even from some whose opportunities and privileges have been great, that they can talk of their hopes of salvation, and of the goodness and mercy of God in general terms, without the least allusion to that in which the apostle gloried as his only hope," the cross of Christ," and the full and perfect satisfaction which was there made! Be assured there is some radical defect in that religion which lays so much stress on repentance and prayer, without any reference to that which alone can give repentance and prayer their value, "the cross of Christ." How true is it, that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh!" if the heart feels as it ought to do the evil and danger of sin, and has any real dread of the righteous judgment of God, what scenes will be most vividly impressed upon that heart? Surely they will be the scenes and sufferings of Calvary, where the evil and danger of sin was expiated, and the righteous judgment of God averted from all who seek to be reconciled to him by the death of his Son. What sentiments will be uppermost on the lips of such an one? Will it be that general allusion to the goodness and mercy of God, to which there is often no positive idea or meaning attached? Will it be, "I have prayed earnestly, and I have repented of my sin, and I hope God will forgive me," without any reference to the costly price paid, or the surety offered? Oh, no: the truly awakened sinner knows there can be no genuine repentance but what arises from the work of the Saviour "The stony heart dissolves in tears, and therefore the uppermost sentiment in such a heart is, that every preacher who does not give it a prominent place in his pulpit-addresses, has not formed his model from the preaching and precept of St. Paul. The concluding part of the verse gives us the effects which such a view of the cross of Christ had upon the apostle-" By whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." The first effect was, that by its influence "the world was crucified unto him." This is a remarkable expression. It is a manner of address which the apostle often uses in his epistles. In the 2d chapter of this same epistle, and at the 20th verse, he thus speaks: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." And in the 5th chapter: "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." And to the Romans he writes in chap. vi. 6, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." The punishment of crucifixion was a most degrading one; by the law it could only be inflicted on a slave or the vilest malefactor: hence it implied all that was condemned and despised. In this sense the world was crucified to the apostle. The general state of the world was one of condemnation; the sinful practices of the world made it as odious in his eyes as the condition of a condemned malefactor. He beheld in it that on account of which the Prince of glory ignominiously suffered and died; therefore the general course of it was opposed to his renewed nature. Its pleasures no longer had charms to allure him; its honours and ambition had no longer any glory for him, by reason of the excelling glory of the cross. It was universally under the dominion of sin and the evil one; he desired to be under the dominion of holiness, therefore he wished to live as a stranger in it, "looking to that city which hath sure foundations, whose maker and builder was God." In both these respects, therefore, the world was crucified to the apostle: he would say, "Shall I seek honour and esteem by that which procured my Lord shame and disgrace? shall I seek ease and pleasure by what cost him the most excruciating pain and distress? far be it from me." Even the lawful enjoyments of the world would give him little concern, and afford him but little happiness; his affections were moderated towards them, and he was ever ready to part with all for Christ-yea, to lay down his life for Him who endured the cross for him. But the apostle does not stop here; he adds, " and I am crucified unto the world." This is also easily understood, if we bear in mind what was said as to the nature of crucifixion -a despised and persecuted sufferer, his attachment to Him who bore shame and mockery made him a reproach among his fellowmen; his preaching of the cross, as the only hope of sinners, caused him to be cast off and reviled, thus fulfilling the prediction of his Master," Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake." This doctrine so humbled the pride of man, and its self-denying precepts were so much opposed to the selfindulgence of man, that it found a foe in the bosom of every Jew and Gentile; and therefore, "knowing in whom he had believed," he was contented to "bear in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus." But none of these things moved him; neither did he count his life dear, 66 so that he might finish his course with joy, and testify the Gospel of the grace of God." We have now seen why Paul gloried in the cross of Christ, and the effects and influence it produced upon his life. We, my brethren, are of the same flesh and blood as the apostle; we cannot be more opposed to the cross of Christ than he once was; we may have joined those who, like Gallio, "cared for none of these things;" we may have joined the ranks of the reviler, and the scoffer, and the persecutor, as he did, but we are sinners fallen and condemned as he was, and the same power is present to save in our case as in his. If we look upon the cross of Christ as the children of the fall, it may well fill us with the most unbounded wonder and astonishment. We behold in it God made man, dying not only as a martyr for the truth, but as an all-sufficient sacrifice for sin, and the riches of Divine grace shining forth in manifold wisdom for the salvation of man. It was the preaching of the cross which produced such an astonishing revolution at Jerusalem, when three thousand were converted in one day. It was the glorying in the cross of Christ which caused so many to endure the tortures of martyrdom, rather than deny the Lord that bought them;" and if the world is to be changed from a wilderness to the garden of the Lord, it is by the preaching of the cross of Christ. It is recorded of the first Christian emperor, that when he was setting out with his army to obtain possession of his throne, he was anxious to obtain Divine counsel and assistance; and on his knees he anxiously besought the God of armies to make himself known to him, and direct and support him. The God of heaven heard his prayer; and as he proceeded in doubt and anxiety, he was arrested in his progress at mid-day by a luminous appearance in the heavens, above the orb of the sun it presented to him the form of a fiery cross, with the inscription, "In this 65 |