S Suddington XI. About this year, 1658, he was presented to 1658. the rectory of Suddington St. Mary, near Cirences- He was preter in Gloucestershire, which being a living under sented to value, was in the gift of the keeper of the seals for St. Mary's. the time being, and consequently at the disposal of those who at that time were no friends to the church of England; and yet Mr.Bull got the presentation, not only without any mean application to the unlawful powers then in possession, but very honestly and honourably; the manner whereof was thus: the lady Pool, who at that time lived at Cirencester, as lady of the manor of Suddington, claimed a right of presenting to that living; and having a respect for Mr. Gregory, whose daughter Mr. Bull had married, and a much greater for Mr. Bull himself afterwards, as appeared by making him her executor, she offered Mr. Bull the presentation, which he accepted purely upon her right; but he had certainly lost it if Mr. Stone of Cirencester, a particular friend of Mr. Gregory's, had not taken out the broad seal without Mr. Bull's knowledge or privity; which he did upon this occasion. A clergyman, who knew that Mr. Bull had not a good title, endeavoured to get the broad seal for his living; which he had certainly succeeded in, if Mr. Stone had not been concerned in the presentations; for when that person addressed to Mr. Stone for that purpose, he told him that there was a minister lately settled at Suddington whose name was Bull; to which the party replied, that though he was in possession, yet he wanted the legal title. Upon this Mr. Stone acquainted him, that though he did not personally know Mr. Bull, 1658. yet he was not a stranger to his character; and having heard that he had married a daughter of a good friend of his, if he had not a good title, he would help him to one; and so took out the broad seal for Mr. Bull, and sent it to Mr. Gregory, and at the same time gave him an account, how much danger his son-in-law had been in; and all this Mr. Stone did gratis, out of a great regard and esteem for Mr. Gregory, which the providence of God made use of for Mr. Bull's security. 1659. He was In the year 1659, the nation began to be very sensible of the misery they had long groaned under, made privy to the de- and were very earnest to relieve themselves from sign of a general in- that oppression, which had so long prevailed among surrection in 1659. them; and there was at that time a general disposition all over the kingdom to concert measures for the king's restoration. There were very few counties in England, where there was not a formed undertaking by the most powerful men of the county, to possess themselves of some considerable place that might be serviceable to so good a purpose. Several gentlemen in Mr. Bull's neighbourhood had frequent meetings to consult how they might contribute their share of advice and strength towards settling the nation upon a right foundation, by restoring the heir of the kingdom to the throne of his ancestors: and Mr. Bull was at that time so well esteemed for his loyalty and prudence, that the gentlemen admitted him into their secret, and had that confidence in his wise management, as well as in his good dispositions to the church of England, and the royal family, that they fixed upon his house at Suddington for one of the places of their meeting. And accordingly we find from the history of those times, that in July that year a general rendezvous was designed through- 1659. out England, of all who would declare for the king, there having been commissions in every county, directed to six or seven known men, with authority to them to choose one to command in chief in that county, till they should make a conjunction with other forces who had a superior commission from the king. But through the permission of divine Providence, this undertaking was disappointed, and sir George Booth, who was the only person among many that were engaged that made a successful attempt in seizing upon Chester, was in a few days defeated, and himself made a prisoner. 1660. His preach rencester, Upon the restoration, Mr. Bull frequently preached at Cirencester, where there was a populous and large ing at Cicongregation; and he was the better able to give and the octhis assistance to his father-in-law Mr. Gregory, who casion of it. by his great age and infirmities was disabled from performing the duties of his function, because his parish lay in that neighbourhood. Here his sermons gave that general satisfaction, that upon a vacancy in that cure, the people were very solicitous to procure for him the presentation; but they could not prevail upon him to consent to the endeavours they were making to that purpose; the business of it was so great, by reason of the largeness of the parish, that he was discouraged from accepting this testimony of their kindness and respect towards him. The choice of the subjects which he discoursed upon at that place, and in that conjuncture of public affairs, were so very seasonable, that they had a visible good effect upon the congregation, and made such a deep impression, that they are remembered by some persons even to this day. His design was 1660. to convince the people of the necessity of a decent behaviour in the house of God, as well as of the religious observation of the Lord's day, which he explained and pressed in several sermons, from Levit. xix. 30. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. How proper such applications were then to the people, we may collect from the posture of affairs in which we then were; for the swarms of sectaries, which overran the nation in the times of the great rebellion, had carried their hypocrisy so high, that upon the restoration, some men thought they could not recede too far from the behaviour and practice of those persons, who had made religion a cloak for so many villanies. This was apt to expose men to the other extreme, and inclined them to think every appearance of devotion was puritanical. So that nothing could be more proper than to guard people's minds from the temptations to which they were liable, and by proper arguments to enable them to resist what was urged against some things that were serious and devout, under the pretence of their being fanatical. For though hypocrisy and profaneness will both prove destructive to those who indulge them in their practice; yet barefaced irreligion is most pernicious to the public. 1662. sented to age of Sud XII. In the year 1662, Mr. Bull was presented He was pre- to the vicarage of Suddington St. Peter, by the then the vicar- lord chancellor the earl of Clarendon, at the request dington St. and application of his constant patron and worthy diocesan, Dr. Nicholson, who was made bishop of Gloucester upon the restoration, and who had all that merit which was necessary to fill so great a sta Peter. tion in the church to the best advantage, if his stea- 1662. diness to her doctrines and discipline, in her most afflicted state, had not made it also reasonable that he should have had his share in her prosperity. This vicarage, which was but mean in itself, (for the yearly value did not amount to above 251.) yet was of some advantage to Mr. Bull, because it lay contiguous to the rectory of the same name, of which he was then in possession; and it was equally convenient to the parishioners of both parishes to come to either of the churches, in which he thought fit to officiate; so that he sometimes preached in one, and sometimes in the other. The income of both these livings together did not rise to above 1007. a year, clear of taxes; so that if there was not much addition to his labour, there was also no great increase of his revenue. But Mr. Bull had a farther prospect in the enjoying these two livings, than the gratifying his own interest; for by this means he purposed to get them united for the future, and to have them put under the same grant; which he thought would very well answer the pains he took to compass it, and might be a very good piece of service to the church. For as they were not too large for one man's care, both parishes not containing above thirty families, so by this union it might be reasonably supposed, that a person might be expected better qualified for both when they were joined together, than could be hoped for, when they were separated, for either. But the great charge of consolidating these two churches by act of parliament prevented the success of his attempt; though by the consent of the bishop of the diocese, and the parishioners, they were united into one congregation; and he became thereby |