“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that
which is done, is that which shall be done; and there is no new
thing under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes i. 9.)
In the infidel objections of Bolingbroke, the reader finds the pith of
all the infidel objections of the present day; and, in order to refute
them, nothing more is needed than to turn to the manly defences of the
Holy Bible written more than a hundred years ago. Modern infidelity is
the infidelity of Bolingbroke and others, dished up, and served with
newly-invented garnishing, and a pretentiously learned flavour. Hervey’s
treatise is free from all the ornate faultiness of his “Meditations”; its
style is flowing, clear, and forcible; and its arguments fairly put and
unanswerable. It would be rendering useful service to republish it in the
present alarming prevalency of unbelief.
In the month of May, 1752, the livings of Weston-Favel and Collingtree
were rendered vacant by the death of Hervey’s father. The following
extracts from letters to Lady Frances Shirley refer to this event, and to
other matters.
“_1732, May 19._ I am upon the point to remove into
Northamptonshire. It has pleased God to take my honoured father
to Himself; so that, I am obliged to depart from my present
situation, and to take the living of Weston.[200] O! that I
had strength of constitution, to watch over a flock, and feed
them with the milk of the word! But the will of the Lord is
best. He employs whom He will employ; and whom He will, He lays
aside. Wise and righteous are all His ways. ’Tis very probable,
I shall never have the pleasure of seeing your ladyship again,
on this side the everlasting habitations. My enfeebled state
renders me like an aged tree, which must continue where it is
fixed: to transplant it, or to remove it, is to kill it.”
“_May 23._ I am just arrived at Weston, after a pleasant
journey, in an easy coach, and cool weather. I am much
fatigued, though we allowed two days for about seventy miles.
Thanks are due to your ladyship for making my Letter[201]
acceptable to others, by approving it yourself, and honouring
it with your recommendation. I humbly bless God, if He pleases
to give it favour in the eyes of others; and should think it
the highest privilege, if He would vouchsafe to render it at
all serviceable to their best interests; especially to such a
distinguished and illustrious personage as the Princess of W⸺.
I assure you, my lady, I have not the least aversion to print
any production of mine, in case better judges should think it
might tend to maintain the honour of the Bible, or endear that
inestimable book to mankind. All I fear is, lest acute but
irreligious minds should discover some weak sentiment; should
find some flaw in the argument; and take occasion to wound the
Redeemer, and vilify His truths, through my inadvertence. Be
so good, my lady, as to make my very respectful compliments
acceptable to Dr. Hales,[202] and inform him of my suspicions.
If he would please to revise the little essay, and should think
the ‘Remarks’ will stand the test of a rigorous examination,
my scruples would be very much abated. I believe, I durst
undertake to vindicate all the observations, that are of a
critical nature, with regard to the original language, or of an
historic nature with regard to fact. Whether I offend against
the rules of polite and genteel demeanour, your ladyship is the
best judge. If your ladyship, or the Dr., should persist in
your opinion, I wish you would be so good as to get the paper
transcribed (no matter how close it is written) and transmitted
to me in a frank; for I have no copy of it, only in some
incoherent minutes in shorthand.
“I know not what the Lord will do with me, or how I shall
proceed. My strength is so worn down, and my constitution so
irreparably decayed, that it will be absolutely impossible for
me to discharge my ministerial duty.”
“_June 13._ Weston is near Northampton; about two miles from
the town; pleasantly situated on an agreeable eminence. My
house is quite retired; so that we hear none of the tumultuous
din of the world, and see nothing but the wonderful and
charming works of the Creator. O! that I may be enabled to
improve this advantageous solitude! I did, on the day your
ladyship mentions, ascend the pulpit; and speak, for the space
of half an hour, to my people. But with so much weakness!
O! ’tis well that the eternal God does not want strength of
lungs, or delicacy of elocution; but can do His great work of
converting souls by the weakest, meanest instruments. If it was
not so, I must absolutely despair of being successful in my
labour, or serviceable in my office. I opened my commission to
my new parishioners, from those words: ‘Preach the gospel to
every creature’; and gave them to understand, that, the end of
my preaching amongst them, the design of my conversation with
them, and the principal aim of my whole life would be, to bring
them acquainted with the truth, and assist them in attaining
the great salvation.”
“_July 3._ Advised by my friends, importuned by my relations,
and swayed by a concern for the circumstances of a mother and
sister who live with me, I have been prevailed on to take a
second benefice.[203] This obliges me to set out for Cambridge
without delay, in order to be created Master of Arts. From
thence, I proceed to London, to get a dispensation from
the Archbishop, and the seals from the Lord Chancellor. On
Wednesday night, I hope to be in town; and, if I can get my
business despatched by Saturday or Monday at the farthest, I
may return soon enough to meet our Diocesan on his visitation
at Northampton; receive institution there; and save myself
the fatigue and expense of a journey to Peterborough. I was
honoured with your ladyship’s letter, just as I returned from
visiting my people at Collingtree: the parish which I served,
when I lived with my father, and of which I am going to be
rector. It would have pleased you to have observed how glad the
honest folks were to see their old curate. And why were they
glad? For no other reason, that I can conceive, but because I
used to converse with them in private, just as I spoke to them
from the pulpit; and endeavoured, at every interview, to set
forward their eternal salvation. This, I find, is the grand
secret, to win the affections of a flock. And in this, as in
every other part of true Christianity, our interest and our
duty are connected.”
“_July 11._ I think your ladyship’s objection was very just and
weighty. I fancy it would be most advisable to send the little
piece” (his Remarks on Bolingbroke) “abroad under my own name;
as the acceptance, which my other Essays have found from the
public, may promote the spread of this. And, I apprehend, my
bookseller would give me something for the copy; which, at
this juncture, would scarcely be consistent with prudence to
neglect. The expense of taking my two livings is very great.
It will cost me, I am told, six score pounds; and though,
I believe, I have money enough in the bank, produced by my
selling the property of my ‘Meditations,’ yet such a succour
would be welcome and serviceable. Will your ladyship lend your
name, either at full length or in initial letters, to dignify
and recommend the performance? I humbly submit this proposal
to your ladyship’s determination: and shall be obliged, if you
allow it; and shall acquiesce, if you reject it.”
Hervey visited the metropolis, and, on his return to Weston-Favel, had a
near escape from an untimely death. He writes:—
“_August 2._ Very early on Wednesday morning, I set out for
Northampton, in a new machine, called _The Berlin_; which holds
four passengers, is drawn by a pair of horses, and driven in
the manner of a post-chaise. On this side Newport, we came up
with a stage-coach, and made an attempt to pass it. This the
coachman perceiving, mended his pace; which provoked the driver
of the _Berlin_ to do the same, till they both lashed their
horses into a full career; and were more like running a race,
than conveying passengers. We very narrowly escaped falling
foul on each other’s wheels. I called out to the fellows; but
to no purpose. Within the space of a minute or two, what I
apprehended happened. My vehicle was overturned, and thrown
with great violence on the ground. The coachman was tossed
off his box, and lay bleeding in the road. There was only one
person in the coach, and none but myself in the _Berlin_; yet,
neither of us (so tender was the care of Divine Providence!)
sustained any considerable hurt. I received only a slight
bruise, and had the skin razed from my leg, where I might
too reasonably have feared the misfortune of broken bones,
dislocated limbs, or a fractured skull.”
Hervey was now instituted, by the Bishop of Peterborough, in his
second living, and opened his commission, among his new parishioners,
by preaching from the text,—“To me, who am less than the least of all
saints, is this grace given, that, I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ.” He also sent to the press his “Remarks
on Lord Bolingbroke’s Letters,” which, in the month of November, were
published. He solicited Lady Frances Shirley to favour him with the
criticisms of her friends; and, on December 5, 1752, wrote to her as
follows:—
“I am much obliged to your Ladyship for taking the trouble of
transmitting the sentiments of your critical acquaintance.
If I live to write another letter, I will return my opinion
with relation to them. This is designedly short; to correspond
with my weak state of health. For I am again confined; though,
blessed be God! not ‘in durance vile,’ I preached on Sunday;
and renewed my cold; so that this morning I have lost my
voice. What a dying life is mine! Every blast pierces me, and
every cold crushes me. Blessed, for ever blessed be God! for a
better life and happier state in the heavens. Where we shall be
languid no more; and be ungrateful to Jesus no more; and sin
against God no more.”