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My Work and My Authority.

A REVIEW OF THE CONVERSION, MINISTERIAL LEADINGS, AND FAITH OF MR. JOSEPH WILKINS, PASTOR OF THE CHURCH MEETING AT SOHO CHAPEL, OXFORD STREET.

[WRITTEN EXPRESSLY FOR THE EARTHEN VESSEL.]

It is not wise too much to dwell on the past; either on past prosperity, or past adversity each has his work to do and then go hence. Mr. John Pells, the predecessor of Mr. Wilkins, though short his ministerial career, was in some respects successful. He rapidly gathered together a people, many of whom, from various causes, bave been scattered since his lamentable death. We venture, however, to congratulate the people of Soho, on their choice of their present pastor, Mr. J. Wilkins, whose recognition it is now our duty to lay before our readers.

On the previous Sabbath, Dec. 16th, Mr Wilkins preached in the morning from Zechariah vi. 13, "Even HE shall build the temple of the Lord, and HE shall bear the glory," dwelling chiefly on the glory of Christ in the Church, under the figure of a temple. In the evening from Genesis xlix. 10, “And unto Him shall the gathering of the people be;" when the subject was Christ as the great object of attraction.

On Monday, the people met in the chapel for special prayer, when the attendance was remarkably good; a holy and fervent spirit of prayer evidently pervaded the meeting, the brethren earnestly seeking a special blessing on the coming day.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. John Foreman delivered a discourse on Eph. iv. 3, "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit." Before entering on his discourse, he expressed his heartfelt pleasure in meeting the friends, and his brother Wilkins, on that occasion, which he hoped would be a blessing to many souls for years to come. He was privileged to call the Soho people his old friends, he having preached for them as far back as 1825 in the old chapel. They had continued on the best of terms; he had travelled many miles, and often preached with his late friend, and one of their former pastors, Mr. Comb. In Soho they had as much peace as most places, and they still abided by the truth. When he first went to Mount Zion he preached from, “O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity." He hoped this blessing would be realized on his brother whose settlement they were about to celebrate.

Mr. Foreman then made some allusion to the text: FIRST, on the unity of the Spirit; SECOND on the exhortation, "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit." The sermon was not without thought and savour.

Tea was provided in the chapel, which was QUITE FULL, and over 100 had to take tea in the school room in addition. After tea, the chapel became crowded in every part, and much interest was evinced in the proceedings. Among the brethren present, were Messrs. Foreman, Adams, Box, Anderson, Woollacott, Alderson, Bax, Towell, Bloomfield, Keely, Wyard, Green, Leggett, of Suffolk, Flack, Crowhurst, Curtis, Bracher, Porter, Attwood, Osmond, Meeres, Milner, Wise, of Pimlico, Hazleton, G. Webb, of St. Pancras, Griffiths, Garrett, Williamson, &c.,

Mr. Wilkins presided. The meeting was opened by singing, "Come, thou fount of every blessing,"

and Mr. Box, of Woolwich, engaging in prayer.

Mr. Wilkins then proceeded to give a relation of his

CALL BY GRACE AND HOW HE WAS LED INTO THE

MINISTRY.

In giving his statement, he said he found some difficulty in extract

ing what might be considered the Spirit's work from his ordinary history as a creature. As far as possible he would confine himself to matters relating to his own Christian experience. In the providence of God he was removed from his father's house before he was seventeen years of age. His father had relinquished his purpose of bringing him up to his own particular calling, a gamekeeper, and was induced to apprentice him to a builder at Tring. For a short time he pursued a moral course under the influence of an aunt. Shortly, however, he broke from this restraint, and became acquainted with ungodly companions of his own age and station. He then made rapid progress in sin, the chains of Satan were about him, at the same time the stern realities of a future state often disturbed him. Sabbath-breaking and gambling were among his particular crimes, the latter was especially congenial to his depraved heart; but this state of things did not last. Having what was called good luck at gambling, which elevated his animal spirits, he was the first to propose on the following Sabbath that he and his party should go out as a pic-nic and for gambling. They went out not a great distance from the Tring station; a violent storm arose; one of the party spoke of the shame of thus spending their Sabbaths, and proposed returning to their homes. This Mr. Wilkins positively refused,—no, not if it rained devils and pitchforks, points downwards. When the thunder and the lightning were at their height, the tempest raging most fearfully, his companions left him, he being without his coat was wet to his skin. The storm having abated, he went into a green lane leading into the Berkhampstead-road; at this time a more terrible storm was raging in his own breast than had raged in the heavens; he sat down on the green bank, nature, around him seemed all serene, the birds came forth and sang melodiously, making the place echo with their songs; but he felt himself one of the basest wretches out of hell,-a wretched creature. This was the first powerful and lasting impression; God put a bit into his mouth; he could not go on in sin as he had done before. His mother was a godly woman, and was much distressed on account of his sinful course. As he would not meet her, she used often to write to him; but she was not wise in her letter writing. The first part always contained the general news, or all he wanted to know; and then came the mother's counsel about matters of religion. He read the first part of her letters, but never the last. She should have so mixed matters that he could not have read the one without reading the other. On the Saturday following the Sabbath before alluded to, he called at the post-office as was his duty for his employer's letters. One letter was for himself, he recognised his mother's hand-writing; being somewhat distressed, he secretly proposed to read this letter quite through; he repaired to a secret place for this purpose: as usual, first came the news about home, &c., then she told him how concerned she was about his soul, and how unhappy the thought made her, that while they were in this world they could meet each other-could live together, but as she was going to heaven, according to his present course she could not even venture to hope she should meet her Joseph there, and quoted that verse, "Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to my reapers, Gather ye together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them," &c. He could not for some time leave the place where he was then for weeping. After the labours of

the day he felt very wretched; he thought it was no use giving way to such feelings; he would seek his companions and dive into gambling and gaiety with all the energy at his command. That evening was spent as usual in gambling, but he was not free in it as before; there was a deal of forcing work going on in his feelings. At the close of the evening's pastimes, the question arose as to how and where we should spend the next day, Sunday. One said there was to be a funeral sermon preached at the General Baptist Chapel, on the death of a young female, a frequenter of the dancing-room. He said, "We will go and hear it; if she is gone to heaven, I know shall go." They went to hear this sermon and, strange to say, the text was the one mentioned in his mother's letter, which he had in his pocket: "Let both grow together," &c. He dropped his head; he could not conceal his tears; his terror was great and much increased because he had engaged to meet a gambling party at the close of that service; he thought he could not run from his engagement; he went, but could not stay with them: from some pretext he went out the back way and ran home to his room, and there that night for the first time in his life as a real penitent with a contrite spirit and bleeding heart he prostrated himself before God and sought forgiveness. Thus it pleased God to stop him in his mad career; but for months he remained in darkness and extreme ignorance: so sunken in the slang of the gambler, he could not understand the ordinary words of the preacher. He could hear what he said, but did not know what he meant. After awhile he wrote to his mother. She, judging from the general tone of his letters, concluded some favourable change had taken place, and sought an interview. Accordingly he went home one Saturday evening, prodigal-like, and never was there such a meeting in that cottage; the father, mother, and himself wept and prayed together, and having unbosomed himself to them, he felt somewhat relieved. After this his horror of mind seemed not so severe. Soon after this, his brother wrote to him, and made use of that scripture, "Who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." He could not tell what this meant, especially the word "meet;" at length he ventured to ask one of the members of the church, who told him he thought it meant to be made eligible to go to heaven. Another member standing close by, said he thought it also meant to be made fit to go to heaven. This was a great comfort to him to think what a great thing it would be if he was fit and eligible to go and live with a king in his palace; what then must it be to be eligible and fit to go to heaven! Still the darkness was not altogether removed from his mind. About this time" Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress" was lent him; it was his constant companion wherever he went; he literally devoured it; he often wished it had been a reality instead of an allegory; that there was really such a road,—he would soon have packed up and been gone from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. Shortly after he became very anxious to possess a Bible; he had bundles of songs and other such like things which he burned, but had no Bible, and was ashamed to go into a shop to buy one. He once entered a stationer's shop to make some small purchases, thinking he might see one on the counter: but left the shop without a Bible. Just about this time a boy from the Sunday school brought one home with him. He bought this Bible from the boy, giving him one shilling beyond what it had cost him. Mr.

Wilkins held the same Bible up in his hand, saying, "This is the book, which now became my companion by day and by night." It was with peculiar feelings he now looked back to the day when he first turned to that text, "Christ the end of the law for righteousness sake." Here he found some little sips of comfort from day to day, with gleams of light here and there, the peace and joy of mind increased by littles and littles: it was gradual and growing like the morning's dawn. He became exercised about baptism, desirous to know whether it was God's will that he should be baptized or not. He retired to his room and prayed to God if it was His will that he should be baptized, there might appear a black cloud opposite his window. He prayed once, twice, and thrice, but the black cloud did not appear. The thought occurred, what right had he to expect it; the Father had commanded it in the New Testament and that should be sufficient. On Easter Sunday, 1848, he was baptized, when he experienced great joy, and for some time afterwards. It was his delight to rise with the birds and take his Bible or Rippon's Selection of hymns and retire into the fields. Verily everything seemed beautiful at that time; all nature seemed beautiful; the hills, trees, flowers, &c., seemed more lovely than they had ever done before. Often since he had wished he could bring back the same happy feelings. Shortly after this his father died,—this event affected his circumstances, and ultimately caused his removal to Luton, where there was no General Baptist church, so he attached himself to a Fullerite cause under a Mr. Davies, a talented and devout man.

HOW MR. WILKINS WAS LED INTO THE MINISTRY.

Having joined himself to Mr. Davies he was soon brought into full work, first into the Sunday-school, then sent out as a substitute to read sermons in villages. In reading sermons he utterly broke down, and having been accustomed to address the children in the school, he was pressed not to try to read, but to preach, in the villages. One good old man, named Payne, pressed him much to preach, he preached; his first sermon from Matthew xxvii. 13, 14. This was on his birth-day when he was just twenty-one years of age; he met with much encouragement, and had full employ in village preaching at various places. About this time he went to preach at Stratley; the sermon was well received, and the people pressed him to come again, which he promised to do. This promise was a turning point in his ministerial career. It was now proposed that he should go to College, to forward which Mr. Davies took great pains with Mr. Wilkins, and set him to write his thoughts on various subjects; the last subject given for this purpose was REDEMPTION. was in reading the Bible to prepare for writing this paper that Mr. Wilkin's views on Redemption underwent a change. When the paper was laid before Mr. Davies, before he had finished reading it, he looked up and said, "Joseph, you do not believe this?" He replied he did. Mr. Davies wanted him to take the paper back and write another as he could not go on with the matter with a paper containing such views of Redemption. Mr. Wilkins assured him it was no use taking the paper back unless he wrote what he did not believe, as that was the third "Well then," said Mr. Davies, paper he had already written. 66 here the matter must end;" and here it did end; the matter of going to

It

College fell through, and came to nothing. Mr. Davies always considered him a little too high, and knowing that he had heard Mr. Wells at the opening of the chapel at Dunstable, always laboured to fortify him against such sentiments.

He was now wonderfully unsettled, and he became a wanderer, and for a while seemed without a settled creed. After a time, he fell in with a Mr. Fox, who was the means of leading him to Calvinist chapels, and to hear Calvinist ministers. He heard Mr. Milner one WhitWednesday, at Dunstable anniversary, from "I will be as the dew unto Israel," &c.; this was a wonderful stay to him. He also heard Mr. Foreman, at Markyate street, from "Deliver him from going down to the pit," also C. W. Banks at the same place from "The grace of God which teacheth us the denying of all ungodliness," &c. All these sermons, besides others, were made useful to him, also a paper on the "final perseverance of the saints." It was at this time he was requested to fulfil his promise in preaching again at Stratley. He told the man of the change in his views, that he had left the old cause and joined Mr. Cook's. Still the fulfilment of the promise was pressed. This was on the Monday, and to fulfil the promise made, he engaged to go on the following Sunday, then followed for the whole of the week remaining a wonderful exercise of mind. It was a week of earnest secret prayer that God would show him by that service whether he was called to preach or not; his prayer was that, if called to preach, there might be some signal blessing, so plain as not to be mistaken, attending that service, that if such was the case, he would never say no to any request to preach that might follow. If there was no special blessing he should regard that as a proof that he was not called to that work. Sabbath came, he went to Stratley and preached from the words, "Ye must be born again ;" at the close of the service a man rose in the midst of the assembly and said, "Young man, I bless God I was here to-night," I have been in the habit of attending this place for years, but never met with what I have found to-night." And so it proved, for that night his soul was set at liberty, and he afterwards opened his house for the preaching of the Gospel. The people were much excited and pressed him to preach on the following Sabbath afternoon and evening, which he did, taking this as an answer to his week's prayer. Shortly after this he was invited to supply at Eaton Bray, Biggleswade, and other places.

The

[We are requested to say, that at this stage of Mr. Wilkins' statements, he was compelled for want of time to pass over all the following parts of his call to the ministry.]

HIS FAITH.

As to his faith, Mr. Wilkins said, there was not much fear of his returning to Arminianism,—he had tried that and found it empty, nor that he should go back to Fullerism,—he had tasted that also and left it. As he could not then give a full statement of his faith, he should begin with the atonement, as he considered that to be a great centre where other doctrines met in harmony. Judging that if a man be right there, he is not likely to go far wrong elsewhere, and if wrong there, he could scarcely be right elsewhere.

I believe that the life, sufferings, and death of Christ were substitutionary, that He suffered and died in the place and stead of a

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