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We give this month the Portrait of the late Rev. William Vidler. Proofs in 4to. on fine paper, may be had of the publishers, price 5s. to accompany the former Monthly Repository Portraits of Servetus, Dr. Priestley, and Dr. Toulmin. Subscribers are requested to complete their sets, as we are constrained to confine the number printed to the number actually sold; and on account of the Portrait it is likely that the present Number will be soon out of print. Erratum. Vol. XI. p. 701, col. 2, 33 liues from top, for injurious, read injudicious. a preacher. His reputation as a WILLIAM VIDLER was born reader, together with a natural se riousness of disposition, which was strengthened by his perusal of the sacred books, led his family and neigh bours to foretel, in one of those halfserious, half-jocular predictions, suggested by an evident bias of early cha racter, which are so frequently fulfilled, that he would one day ascend the pulpit. at Battle, in Sussex, May 4, 1758, the tenth child of John and Elizabeth Vidler, of that place, who in their humble rank of life were highly respected for their virtues. He was of so infirm a bodily constitution that his parents were apprehensive that they should not rear him to maturity. At the early age of nine years, he was afflicted with an asthma; and In the general habit of his mind, this disorder was followed at the dis- Mr. Vidler may be said to have feared tance of a few years by a rheumatic God from his youth up, but there were fever, which deprived him for a time seasons when his religious impressions of the use of his limbs, and doomed were particularly strong. He himhim to a tedious confinement. He self, in a memorandum before us, was afterwards subject to frequent dated August 4, 1784, attributes_his attacks of disease. These infirmities decided sense of religion to the afflic laid the foundation of his character; tion, to which we have already refor though they prevented his enjoy- ferred: he says, "I was taken ill · ing the common school education with the rheumatism while I was at which the circumstances of his pa- Hooe" (a little village near Battle) rents allowed them to contemplate, "preaching. I was very troubled to they were the occasion of his acquiring get home again, being afoot. I rea taste for books, the only amusement joice that my Father found me doing by which he could beguile the weari- the work which he had committed to someness of a sick chamber. He me. 1 have great reason to be quiet read every book which came in his under affliction of body, and I think way, and whatever was the subject particularly under this disorder; for I or plan or style, it was remarked that was visited with this same complaint he always went through it; thus about eleven years ago, by means of giving an early indication of that intel- which God was pleased to awaken my lectual resoluteness and perseverance stupid soul to such a concern for which strongly marked his character eternity as never left me till I had in the whole of his life. tasted that he was gracious; and all the illness which I have had from that day to this, has more or less been a blessing to me. The present disorder is very painful; but I can truly say, The will of God be done." But of all the books which he met with, the Bible was his favourite study: and he was encouraged in cultivating an acquaintance with the Scriptures by his mother, who was sincerely pious according to her degree of light, and to whose maternal instructions the son on his death-bed acknowledged to the writer that he owed incalculable obligations. He was in the habit of reading aloud, and thus formed that clear and distinct manner of speaking which gave him such a command over his auditory as At the usual age, Mr. Vidler was put to his father's business, which was that of a stone-mason and bricklayer; a laborious employment, scarcely suited to his weak state of body. He devoted himself to it, however, as far as his strength permitted, working with his father long after he commenced preacher. Ill health only induced him at last to abandon this employment. In childhood and youth he was habitually irascible: he was accustomed to relate that, before he felt the necessity of subduing his temper by patient moral discipline, even trifles would throw him into paroxysms of passion which were very dreadful. It may be supposed that his good sense and his religion did not acquire the ascendancy, in this particular, on a sudden or without many hard and painful struggles. We find the following note in his Diary, bearing date, May, 1788: "Towards the end of this month, I was surprised into a fit of violent and unreasonable anger in the midst of my people at a churchmeeting whatever provocation I rereceived from man, I have great reason to be ashamed of my sin before God. I bless God that though my passion was very great, the sun did not go down upon my wrath. O Lord! give me more meekness and patience, that I may forbear towards others, as thou forbearest towards me." This modest and pious sense of infirmity led him to exercise great watchfulness over his temper and to strive to attain self-command; and he succeeded to such a degree that those persons who were acquainted with him only in the latter years of his life have been always surprised to hear him confess this failing of his early character. He became remarkable for coolness in the midst of opposition and for patience of contradiction: he could discuss with perfect calmness the most interesting questions: his favourite maxim, on which he himself acted, was "soft words and hard arguments." This example may hold out encourage ment to such as are convinced by experience of the desirableness of ameliorating or of the necessity of conquering their own spirit. Mr. Vidler's parents were conscientious and zealous members of the Church of England and brought him up in the profession and observance of the established religion. He was first induced to attend Dissenting worship by means of a Mr. Gilbert, an Independent minister, who occasionally visited Battle as a missionary preacher; and it appears that he be came one of Mr. Gilbert's hearers through the influence of a young woman, of a serious mind and excel lent character, in the house of whose parents the preacher carried on public worship. This person, though much older than himself, Mr. Vidler afterwards married, actuated in great measure by gratitude for the signal blessings which she had been instrumental under God in conferring upon him. He took this important step early in life, and he was ever after accustomed to recommend early marriages, as tending to preserve the morals and improve the characters of young persons and to promote domestic happiness. We are now to consider Mr. Vidler as a Protestant Dissenter; entering upon the path of inquiry which he continued to pursue to the last moment of conscious existence, and beginning to encounter the opposition and obloquy which were not to cease to his life's end, in the assertion of the independence of his mind and in the performance of his religious duty. The commencement of his Christian life has been described by his own pen; and the narrative is so interesting, both from the facts recorded and the manner in which they are related, that, though loug, we shall here insert it entire, as it has been transmitted to us, copied from the register of proceedings of the Baptist church at Battle: it was written, as the reader will perceive, with all the fervour of first love in religion, at a time when the writer considered Christianity and Calvinism to be the same. "A short account of the planting of the Particular Baptist Church at Battle, in Sussex. "The town of Battle appears to have been in a state of darkness with regard to the gospel for many years until the year 1776, in which year it was visited with the word of salvation by the means of Mr. George Gilbert, an independent Calvinist, from Heathfield; who appears to have been a man of real zeal for God, and hath had the happiness to be much owned by God in his public labours. Before his coming to Battle there was indeed a Dissenting people, of the Presbyterian denomination, among whom the gospel had been in its power till about the year 1740, about which time it began to decay, and continued so to do, till at length instead of the glorious gospel, there was nothing more than mere morality for many years before the year 1776, in which year, as before observed, God was pleased to send his gospel to this dark place by means of Mr. Gilbert. The occasion of Mr. Gilbert's coming to Battle was thus. There was a poor man, one William Sweetingham, (Mr. W. Vidler's wife's father) that came from Brighton to Battle to make bricks; this person loved the gospel, but he could go no where to hear it nearer than Heathfield, which is ten miles from Battle: he therefore gave Mr. Gilbert an invitation to come to his house to preach; he accepted the invitation, and in January, 1776, he came and preached to about forty people in the evening; the word seemed to be well received. In February following, Mr. Gilbert came --and preached again to nearly the same number of people, being encouraged by the attention of the people: he came again in March following, intending to preach as before, but was forbid by William Sweetingham's landlord to preach in his house; therefore Mr. Gilbert sat down and conversed with the people about Divine things. "Several persons now seemed to be in earnest about their salvation, the appearance of which set the whole -town in confusion: loud clamours were raised against Mr. Gilbert and his adherents, and W. Sweetingham was threatened with a removal by the parish officers, who hoped by that means to quash the gospel in its bud. In the midst of opposition, Mr. Gilbert came again in May, 1776; and as he was denied a house, he at tempted to preach by the way-side, and though he met with much noise and blasphemy from several that came on purpose to hinder, yet he went on and the word was blessed. This encouraged him to come again in June following, when he preached at the same place, still meeting with many insults. The number of those who gave proof of a work of grace upon their hearts was now about twelve: and as it was quite disagreeable to be exposed thus to the insults of an outrageous mob, they much wished for an house to carry on the worship of God peaceably. Accordingly, Providence graciously favoured them in this, and an house was provided towards the close of the year 1776, and there they met for the worship of God, Mr. Gilbert coming to preach among them once a month on the Lord's day, and generally every Thursday evening beside. They still met with much opposition, and many attempts were made to prevent the success of the word, but through Divine mercy all those attempts were in vain. "In 1777, the power of God still went with the word and the number of hearers gradually increased. Also the people were occasionally visited by some of those worthy ministers who were in connection with the pious and Hon. Lady Huntingdon, who for many years was very useful in supporting a number of ministers in the capacity of itinerant preachers throughout the nation. "The practice of the people on those Lord's days when they had no preacher, was to meet as usual, and after one of them had prayed, to read some sound discourse among them, and conclude the service as at other times. This weak and simple way of worship was often abundantly blessed, not only to comfort those who were already convinced of their misery by nature and had fled to Christ for refuge, but also actually to convince some of their wretchedness, and to fix lasting impressions upon their minds. "This was also useful in bringing forward a gift among the people. A youth, whose name was W. Vidler, who was often their reader when they were destitute of preaching, about nineteen years of age, at the desire of the people in general was induced, in April, 1777, to speak among them by way of exhortation. Being encou raged to continue this practice by the good acceptance it met with, he went on in it, though in much weakness and fear, till October, 1777, when the temptations he met with in the work, and a fear lest he was not in the path of duty, prevailed with him hastily to leave Battle and go into the Isle of Wight. The loss of this person did not continue long; it hath since appeared God designed him to labour in his vineyard at Battle, and therefore Providence brought him back again (though he came with reluctance) in July, 1778. During his absence the work still went on, the people enjoying Mr. Gilbert's labours as before, and had substituted another brother to read and pray among them on the vacant sabbaths. About this time, the conduct of the inhabitants of Battle was a practical comment upon that passage which says, the carnal mind is enmity against God. They had long sought to stop the work of God in the town, and threats and promises had been used towards those who had embraced the gospel; falsehoods had also been often raised to deter others from hearing the word, but all those things had proved ineffectual. God enabled his people to take joyfully the spoiling of their character for his sake, yea and the work of God prospered also in the midst of this. It was therefore consulted how to put an entire stop to it, and the next probable mean to that end was thought to be, the breaking off all manner of dealing with those who professed the gospel. Unjust as this was, yet the chief part of the town agreed to it; and in order to make it the more effectual, articles were also drawn up to which they were to put their names, laying themselves under an obligation not to buy or sell any thing of or to those who encouraged the word, intending by this means to subdue them and bring them to poverty. But here the power of God was displayed: some of the chief promoters of this scheme refused to sign the articles at last; this discouraged the rest, so that the matter was quite dropped. But the spirit of it continued, and some of the brethren felt it long afterwards by decays in their business, occasioned by the malice and ill services of their ene mies. "In 1779, the work of God still went on, notwithstanding the opposition it met with, and the ordinance of the Lord's supper was administered by Mr. Gilbert monthly to near fifty communicants; notwithstanding which, these persons had never been formed into a church, nor had they been instructed in any kind of discipline, but had been taught to despise all church order as detrimental to the power of godliness. "Mr. Vidler continued to exercise among the people, and this year went to hear a worthy Baptist minister, in the neighbourhood, whose name was Purdy, and was by his conversation convinced of the invalidity of infant sprinkling, and the validity of believers' baptism by immersion. This conviction he communicated to some of the brotherhood, who though they could not but confess that believers' baptism was a Scripture doctrine, yet entreated him not to break the peace of the brotherhood by being baptized. He then communicated his thoughts to Mr. Gilbert, and after frequent conversation with him, and reading various authors on both sides of the question, and earnest seeking to God in prayer for direction, and being fully satisfied it was his duty to comply with the ordinance of baptism, he gave himself up to God in that ordinance, in January, 1780, and was baptized by Mr. Purdy, and two more of the brotherhood were baptized at the same time with Mr. Vidler. And as the professors at Battle were not in a church state, those three who were baptized joined themselves to the Baptist church at Rye, of which Mr. Purdy was pastor. The baptism of these three persons gave Mr. Gilbert and some of the brotherhood great uneasiness, and as Mr. Gilbert supposed many more would soon become Baptists if Mr. Vidler continued to exercise his gifts among the people, he therefore informed them, that if Mr. Vidler continued to do so, he was under the necessity of leaving them. ingly, upon the people's refusing to part with Mr. Vidler, Mr. Gilbert left them in February, 1780. The care of the people was now entirely upon Mr. Vidler, though he was not yet called out to the ministry; but the church of Rye thought fit to set apart the 16th day of this month as a day of solemn prayer and fasting in order to separate him for the sacred work, which was accordingly done. Several of the people who saw it their duty were also baptized the same day by Mr. Purdy. In March, 1780, some more of the friends at Battle were baptized, which in the whole made the number about fifteen. They now agreed to enter into a church state, by giving up themselves to one another in a solemn covenant to carry on the worship of God together and practice the discipline and order among them which they found appointed for the churches of Christ in the New Testament. This intention the brethren signified to the Rev. Mr. Purdy, of Accord |