His 1662. so far a benefactor to his successor, that both livings were granted to him at the same time, and it is probable they will be granted together for the future. When he first came to the rectory of Suddington, he began to be more open in the use of the Liturgy of the church of England; and it was next to impossible but that it should be liked and approved by every one that heard him officiate: for he had a most excellent talent in performing the whole service; and he was to that degree perfect in it, that I never yet heard him equalled by any one. whole deportment was grave and serious, and had withal an air of that authority which belonged to his function; his pronunciation was distinct and audible, and yet natural and unaffected; he went through every part of the service with that particular devotion that belongs to it. He read the holy Scriptures with such leisure, and with such exactness, in observing the stops and points, that they were much better understood by the people; and yet with that zeal and gravity as shewed the importance of the message which he delivered, and fixed the attention of those that were to receive it. He offered up all the prayers with great warmth and intenseness of mind; his very soul seemed to invigorate every petition, and to give new life to every prayer; which is certainly one good method to kindle heavenly affections in the congregation. With these advantages he reconciled the minds of his parishioners to the Common Prayer, before the use of it was publicly restored, by the return of a couple king Charles the Second; of which he made a proof, the form of when he was but newly established in his cure: for Common being desired to marry a couple, he performed it on He marries publicly by Prayer. a Sunday morning, according to the form of the 1662. Common Prayer Book, in the face of the congregation, where the most of his parishioners were assembled together for the religious observation of that holy day. When he came out of the church, he inquired of the people, how they liked that manner of solemnizing matrimony; not concealing from them how much it was in their power to expose him to a malicious prosecution, and shewing at the same time the confidence he placed in their kindness and affection; upon which they all expressed their unanimous approbation of his performance; declaring not only their readiness to submit, but also their satisfaction in joining in those prayers which he used in public, with solemn assurances, that they would not only make no complaints of him themselves, but also endeavour to prevent them from others. prayers de mean at advantage ple. It is possible, this devout and decent reading of Reading the the prayers of the church may be looked upon by voutly no some as a mean and low attainment, and by others tainment, as a burden and task to be imposed only upon those and of great that have not gifts for the pulpit. And indeed, if to the peowe may have leave to guess at the thoughts of some men by their actions, this must be the language of their hearts; for either they seldom or never read the prayers themselves, and so depreciate the worth and excellency of them with the people; as if that administration were below the dignity of a parochial priest; or they provide persons of such ordinary and unskilful elocution to officiate in their stead, as apparently tendeth to damp rather than raise the devotion of the congregation. But experience sufficiently convinceth us, that this accomplishment is not easily acquired, because we find there are but 1662-9. few that excel this way; and nothing ought to be accounted mean, that is so instrumental in promoting devotion in the hearts and affections of men. And if any one will attempt in earnest to make himself master of this talent, he will find that it will cost him much labour and pains before he can compass it; for all are not equally blest by nature with strength and sweetness of voice; and yet they ought not to be discouraged if they want those advantages, because elocution is capable of great improvement by study and constant practice. But after all, those who cannot read as becometh the service of God, ought to be rejected as unfit, upon that account, to receive holy orders; for though a man hath the understanding of an angel, yet if he hath no voice, or, at least, if it is so low, and so imperfect, that he can, not either convey his thoughts to the people, or officiate to edification in the service of the church, so far he is unqualified to be admitted into the sacred function. What a dreadful account then will those governors in the church have to give at the day of judgment, who ordain such for deacons as by their administrations quench the devotion of the people, and provoke our adversaries to reproach us; and by their incapacity to read, make the Scripture a dead letter, and the admirable Liturgy of the church a contemptible performance! His manner of preach XIII. But though Mr. Bull thus excelled in dising, and the charging all the offices of the Liturgy, yet he did not frequency shine less in the pulpit, from whence he did for se of it veral years instruct his parish twice every Lord's day. The great end and design of his sermons (for I have often heard him with great pleasure and edifica tion', was to acquaint his people with the know- 1662-9. ledge of the holy Scriptures, which were able to make them wise unto salvation; and therefore all subjects which he handled were always strengthened and confirmed by passages from holy writ, and those passages explained and made easy to the capacity of the meanest understanding, and such useful observations drawn from them, as gave fresh light to his subject, as well as to those texts he had quoted in order to illustrate it. And indeed, he was every way qualified for this proper employment of a Christian preacher; for as he had a clear head and a strong judgment, so he did with great accuracy understand those learned languages, wherein the Bible was originally wrote: he had taken no small pains in his youth to make himself master of the Hebrew ; for he did not content himself with a slight and superficial skill in a language, which he thought so necessary for a divine; and upon which he laid such weight, that it was very usual with him to recommend the study of it to the candidates of divinity, a foundation for their future theological performances. And in his Harmonia Apostolica, which was the very first book he published, he gave the world a sufficient evidence of his knowledge of this kind; and not only of his acquaintance with the Hebrew text, and the best critics thereupon, but also of a much deeper insight into the Jewish learning, by his familiarity with, and accurate judgment concerning the customs and dogmata of that nation, from their best writers. By these means he was [ While Bull was rector of Suddington, Nelson was living with his mother at Dryfield, not far off, and received lessons from Bull at his mother's house.] E 1662-9. able himself to make a judgment of the translations of the holy Scriptures; and instead of an implicit submission to the critics, was qualified to discover their errors, as well as to admire their perfections; which maketh it very advisable, that all those who dedicate themselves to the service of the church, should allow the Hebrew language a share in their studies. To these helps were added a knowledge of sacred history as well as profane, and an insight into those customs, to which several parts of Scripture frequently refer, and without the understanding of which it is often impossible to discern the strength and beauty of what is delivered. But above all, he was thoroughly acquainted with primitive antiquity, and had with great care and observation read the works of the fathers and ancient doctors, from whence he was best able to learn the sense of the catholic church upon all matters of consequence, which is the best guide in interpreting those Scriptures which are not plain in themselves. He only writ the his sermon. It was but seldom, and that upon some extraordischeme of nary occasions, that he composed his sermon entire, and committed it to writing; which is the reason that he has left so few finished discourses behind him. His usual method was, after the choice of his text, to mark some words that were to be explained, in order to give the true sense of that portion of Scripture he had chose to treat upon; and then he writ down some observations, which flowed naturally from the subject, and under each observation hints to illustrate it, and texts of Scripture proper to be explained in order to give light to it; and then drew inferences from his whole discourse by way of application. Thus he had only the scheme |