CHAPTER VI.

Opposition To His Religious Views.

Mr. Spencer was so taken with his new birth that he tried to have all his friends and acquaintances born again after his own fashion. He made no secret, therefore, of his religious leaning; by letter and word of mouth he tried to bring all to his side. We find, from his correspondence at this time, a shower of letters from every point of the clerical compass where there was authority or influence enough to muster a cloud for their discharge. In looking over such of the letters as he has thought well to preserve, one is struck at once with the diversity of opinion. It is better not to give names, perhaps; but a few sentences from each may not be out of place.

Rev. Mr. A.--"I have read your letter through with great care, and I can say with truth, that it has produced much the same effect upon the eye of my mind which the full blaze of the meridian sun sometimes produces upon the natural eye. It has been almost too much for me." The letter goes on encouraging him in his spirit, fortifying him against all carnal opposition. This gentleman is of the same mind as Mr. Spencer, but more glowing in his zeal for the great cause of Gospel freedom.

Rev. Mr. B.--"I address myself to one who, from that love of Christ which passeth knowledge, has evinced an anxiety for me, who am less than the least of all saints, and an unprofitable minister of the Gospel of God." This gentleman's language is of the right stamp; but he does not agree so perfectly, and arranges for a meeting, where they are to have a mutual adjustment of ideas.

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Rev. Mr. C.--"This is very well at the commencement. I trust the Lord will add more, in the best sense of that expression."

Rev. Mr. D.--".... To this I will never consent [renewing left off discussions], being satisfied (as I have before stated to you) that every man who is able and willing and sincerely endeavouring to learn and practise his duty, ought to be left in the quiet and undisturbed possession of his own conscience, and not forced from it against his will by others who happen to form a different judgment. In our former conversations, you told me, as plainly as language could well do, though perhaps not entirely at one interview, that you considered me to be an unconverted sinner, as destitute of the truth as any heathen could be, and in a state of perdition; and you seemed to think that I could be recovered from that fearful condition by that horrid system of indiscriminate condemnation and terror which prevails (I find) at Northampton in its most odious form, and which I believe to be essentially opposed to the principles of the Christian religion, as it is repugnant to those natural feelings of kindness and benevolence which God has implanted in the human breast."

It might be fairer to transcribe his entire letter; but then the other letters have the same claim, and that would make a new volume, for some of the letters extend over fifteen pages of foolscap paper, closely written. The sum of the remaining part is this, that he is twenty-one years in holy orders, and that God could not have allowed him to be in error all that time. He says that, "I never can for one moment admit that any one is more anxious for my happiness than I am myself, nor that any person has a greater right to decide than I have by what means that happiness shall be sought. A man's own conscientious judgment is the proper guide in such cases." He then refers Mr. Spencer to others more learned than he for the discussion of those matters, and mentions the Bishop of Chester and John Rose, "whose qualifications for the task are incomparably superior to mine." This gentleman seems to hesitate between Mr. Spencer's opinions and his own, and is rather uneasy lest he might be wrong, yet does not see {136} the use of troubling himself, as it is all the same in the end, when one tries to do what his conscience tells him is right.

Rev. Mr. E. is a doctor, so let us listen to him. After a rhetorical preface, in which he would make excuses but would not, because they were such friends and did not want them, for handling his friend so summarily, he thus launches forth:--

"Although there can be but _one_ line of duty marked out in the situation of _every_ clergyman, and although, before God, the humblest and the loftiest in that profession are equally bounden to _pursue_ the same line of duty, and are, moreover, equally frail and 'found wanting,'--yet I cannot bring myself to consider yours as by any means an _ordinary_ case."

After thus magnifying the importance of his subject, he neither agrees nor disagrees, but discountenances Mr. Spencer's practices on prudential motives. He staves off the whole matter of doctrine, and talks about discipline.

The next quotation will be from a bishop. He very wisely and keenly observes:--

"Amidst a great deal that is excellent and of right spirit in your observations, there is a presumption and self-confident tone, which is altogether new in _you_, and in my opinion not very consistent with real humility. In fact, I almost wonder that this symptom, if you have ever recalled to mind your conversations, or read over your letters when written, has not made you doubt the reality of what you call your conversion; for I remember perfectly well your having observed to me, that the extreme confidence of those who hold Calvinistic opinions as to their own case, and their extreme uncharitableness towards, or rather _concerning_ others, were strong indications of some radical error in their notions, and so they will ever be considered by those who take the same view with St. Paul of Christian charity."

The Bishop then states the case very clearly at issue between them, and points how far they agree and disagree upon the point of _assurance_ and reliance on the merits of Christ, and proves his side of the question by Scripture, Anglican divines, and common sense.

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It is a very singular thing that this bishop, when he first heard of the manifestations of Mr. Spencers Calvinistic spirit, concludes a short letter to him thus:--

"I recommend to your perusal a most interesting tract, which Blanco White has just published, 'The Poor Man's Preservative against Popery.'

"Ever yours affectionately, *****"

These specimens are picked at random from a heap of letters. It looks incomprehensible to a Catholic how such a state of things could be possible in a system calling itself a Church. Not one of these, who were the clergy working with him in the same field and in the same way, dared to say, or knew how to say, "You have uttered a heresy." Some agreed with him, some applauded him, some wanted to be left alone in their old doctrines, and some begged leave very politely to differ from him, and gave their reasons for so doing. The Bishop argued warmly against him, but Mr. Spencer took up his lordship, and argued quite as warmly for the other side of the question. If he did not put them among the reprobate, they should very likely have let him alone. Such was the state of _dogma_ in the Establishment in the beginning of 1826; it is scarcely improved, except in its own way, in 1865. No definite teaching, nothing positive, nothing precise, all mist, doubt, uncertainty, except that Popery is anti-Christian and subversive of human liberty.

It is very hard to imagine, much less to realize, how these lukewarm expressions of assent and dissent turned, in a few months, into a tempest of opposition. Perhaps the following guess would nearly account for it. We may conclude from the letter of Lady Spencer to Dr. Blomfield (given in his life, page 70), on his being appointed to the see of Chester, that she and Lord Spencer knew something about the making of bishops and the mode of their _translation_. If she took such an interest in a stranger, but a friend, it is not wonderful that she should take a similar, if not a greater, interest in seeing a mitre on the head of her own son. Lord Liverpool had not yet retired from the head of the ministry, {138} and if his politics and Lord Spencer's were sufficiently of accord to promote the man whom the Earl patronized, they would be able to do a like service to the Earl's own son in due course. Extreme Low Church views would never do for the Episcopal Bench in those days, though many were raised to that dignity with little High Church views. Whether Mr. Spencer's opinions clouded this bright future, or that the noble family would feel it a disgrace to have a son so methodistical, or whether real anxiety for his spiritual welfare, or an endeavour to prevent a future that the Bishop's ken seemed to have forecasted, troubled his parents, it is difficult to say. At all events, Mr. Spencer's religious notions caused a great commotion in the family, whilst those who abetted and encouraged him went on preaching their sermons and reading their services in their position, with one exception, and nobody seemed to mind them.

Lady Spencer took her son to London, in the beginning of the year 1826, to have his new notions rectified by Dr. Blomfield. This good doctor immediately prescribed for his patient, for he did not need much feeling of his spiritual pulse after their correspondence. The interview is thus described:--

"Jan. 24.--My mother allowed me her carriage after breakfast, to go and see the Bishop of Chester. I did not find him at home, and so came directly back again. He was so good as to call on me afterwards, and sat talking with me a considerable time. His conversation was most pleasing to me, though I could see that we did not fully agree in our view of Christian doctrine (_sic_). He desired me to read Sumner's 'Apostolical Preaching,' which I sent out for and began doing before dinner."

His obedience to directors of all kinds was remarkable; but the results were invariably contrary to their expectations. He began this book at once, and be it remembered, he had read it twice before. Next day he read on, and "marked many passages which he thought decidedly wrong." He goes out a little, sees an old friend, and delights in reading Cowper's "Task," exclaiming, "It is a great thing to be a true Christian." He visits the Bishop in a day or two; they hold a discussion, but part in charity; and the result was, {139} that Mr. Spencer wrote him "the memorable letter" which scarcely left his lordship a hope of salvation if he did not at once get assured of his election.

A correspondence ensues now, which terminates in a promise given and accepted of a longer stay in London, where matters may be settled in conversation to their mutual satisfaction. In the mean time, Mr. Spencer returns to his parish, and begins reading the New Testament in Greek (another of Dr. Blomfield's prescriptions). As he lays down the