The Great Efficacy of Simple Faith in the Atonement of Christ, Exemplified In

NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES 3 3433 07994825 7 '..„^>\K\J-c- \ v^ : , THE GREAT EFFICACY OF SiyPLR FAITH IN THE ATONEMENT OF CHRIST, EXEMPLIFIED IN A MEMOIR OF MR. WILLIAM CARVOSSO, SIXTY YEARS A CLASS-LEADER IN THE WES- LEYAN MBT^IOJ>IST, CONNEXION, WRITTEN ifeY'RlMSfiLiV •' AND- ' EDITED BY li'S' SO'N;' J' "He staggered not at the 'promise of God throiigh unbelief; but ioa$ strong in faith, giving glory to God." NEAV-YORK rUBLISHED BY T. MASON AND O. LANE, For the Methodist Episcopal Ohurcli, at the Conference Office, 200 Mulberry-street. /. Collord, Printer. 1837. THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS R 1916 L ^ TO THE MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE WESLEYAN METHODIST SOCIETIES IN CORNWALL, AMONG WHOM ARE SO EXTENSIVELY CHERISHED THE PRINCIPLES OP VITAL CHRISTIANITY, OP THE CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE AND USEFUL LIFE OF ONE WHO ARDENTLY DESIRED, AND DILIGENTLY LABOURED, TO PROMOTE THEIR SPIRITUAL INTERESTS, IS MOST AFFECTIONATELY AND RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE EDITOR. r PREFACE. "The observations of good oiu Mr. Car- vosso have been read by mjrself and others, with that awful reverence which is due to the directions of one, Avho—having himself found the way, and being about to enter the kingdom of blessedness—is anxious to direct the multi- tudes who would arrive at the same place. Every syllable has a force, and comes with an irresistible authority : —The whole is emphatic, clear, and scriptural." —This is an extract from a letter, written by the late eminent Counsellor Drew, of Jamaica, to his sister ; at whose re- quest my father had written to him; and of whom an interesting account will be found in a subsequent part of this volume. I have no knowledge of the contents of the letter which was written to Mr. Drew, but doubt not that multiplied observations, of the same kind and quality, will be found in the en- suing pages ; and if they be read by persons whose minds are as simple and well-disposed as his was, there is every reason to believe they will be received as clear and scriptural—felt to have force and authority—and be pronounced good to the use of edifying. Indeed, if the opinion on this subject be correct, which is contained in a letter addressed to the Editor^ ^y a very judicious friend, there is a numerou.'f'class : Vlll PREFACE. of readers who are prepared to feel a g-reater interest in this little work, than could be felt by Mr, Drew and such as never saw my father's face in the flesh. The respected writer says *' I am glad you are about to publish a Memoir of your late excellent father ; I hope to receive much comfort and benefit from its perusal—as I doubt not thousands more will ; especially those who had the happiness of his acquaintance The recollection of the man will render the Memoir doubly interesting. Of the many fa- vours of Divine Providence, which demand my daily acknowledgment, his friendship, which I enjoyed so many years, stands in the foremost rank." Another intelligent friend, who well knew him, remarked to me, " If ever there was a man whose piety, and extraordinary useful- ness, in that sphere of life in which he moved, deserved a biographical record, your late vener- able father is the person." With such statements, it would be easy to swell these introductory pages. But while the Editor deems it unnecessary further to trouble the reader with suffrages of this kind, he has considered those uncalled for not ; to justify the part he has taken, in bringing the volume before the public,—to bespeak the candid attention of the stranger,—and also to remind the Christian reader that, as he is about to tread hallowed ground, it is meet he should do it with that awful reverence which is only found in a devo- tional frame of mind. This is the more neces- sary, as the accumulation of strong meat which PREFACE. IX will be found in many of these pag"es, cannot be used by any, so as to grow thereby, until it be sanctified by prayer to Him whose special grace alone conveys the requisite power to feed on Christ in the heart by faith. The subject of this Memoir was a Methodist —a warm, simple-hearted, old Wesleyan Me- thodist and, therefore, nothing" more or less ; than Methodism, in the old way, must be looked for here. Be it his fault or his excellence, my father was a passionate admirer of Mr. Wesley. Having been twenty years a member of the united society, before the death of that great man and great minister of Christ ; he was often one of those who followed him from place to place, and mingled among the overwhelming crowds, that hung upon his lips when he visited these parts. A thousand times, with streaming eyes, he would bless God for sending Mr. Wes- ley into Cornwall. The doctrines taught by him, he regarded as the pure truth of God ; and received them with his whole spirit and soul. Mr. Wesley's Sermons and Hymn-Book were prized b)'- him, perhaps, as highly as any earthly things ought to be. Their very existence was to him a continued subject of adoring gratitude. Present, free, and full salvation, J)y simple faith in the atonement, formed the theme on which he dwelt with delight, and almost without intermission more particularly during the ; last twenty-five years of his lengthened pilgrim- age. In receiving the salvation of the Gospel, he had no opinion of delays, exceptions, or — " ; X PREFACE. limits. To the spiritually diseased, of every " class, his constant cry was, Come ; for all things are now ready." He saw, in the strong" commanding light of faith, Christ present, able, willing to save mito the uttermost ; and therefore, when he exclaimed, " Believe, and all your sin's forgiven Only believe, and yours is heaven ! it often produced an effect peculiarly his own. In no man's lips, whom I have heard speak on matters of faith, did it ever appear to me that the word " believe " meant so much as in his. When others said to the penitent, " You must believe," the words often appeared without force, and almost without meaning ; but no sooner did he utter those, or similar words, than the wisdom of God was manifest, and Gospel truth, spoken in simplicity, frequently seemed like a leaver that moved the world. Hence the mul- titudes of captive souls who found almost in- stant liberty when they fell into his hands. To some who had no personal knowledge of his character,—having never heard the wisdom and the spirit with which he spake of fairk in the blood of Christ,—it may appear strange, and perhaps scarcely credible, that so many persons, variously instructed and informed, and often long groaning under spiritual bondage, should find the joy of salvation, on their being introduced into his presence but a few minutes only: The sorrowful soul being brought out of darkness into marvellous light, simply by the ; PREFACE. XI use of two or three right words. In some degree to account for this, it should be borne in mind, 1. That, on these occasions, his words came from a heart which felt the power of the Lord was present to heal. His falling tears, his lifted hands, his affecting emphasis, and every lineament of his countenance, declared THAT to the sorrowful spirit whom he addressed, and powerfully enforced the truth contained in his burning words. 2. His faith, no doubt, brought a degree of gracious aid to the helpless soul. To what extent our faith may be regarded while we seek the salvation of others, we have no means of ascertaining ; but that it sometimes has an important bearing on the subject, is evident from the case of the man who was brought to Christ, sick of the palsy. Of the man's own faith, we hear nothing ; but of his four benevolent friends, who used such extraordinary exertions to bring him to Jesus Christ, it is written, "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the sick of the palsy. Son, thy sins are forgiven thee." Now, when a broken-hearted penitent was introduced to my father, and he heard him inquire, amidst the flowing of humble, contrite tears, " What must I do to be saved? " he un- hesitatingly pointed him to the Lamb of God confidently believing that he could and would save the soul that lay thirsting for salvation at the footstool of the mercy-seat: And is not " Jesus Christ the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever?" 3. On the first exercise or act of faith by which the sinner comes to Christ, it is Xll TREFACE. well known that the subject of this Memoir wa3 apt to teach. He was most fruitful in expedients and illustrations, to help the understanding and the confidence of the seeking soul. A young man, a member of our society, one of much in- telligence, and more than ordinary strength of mind, who has since died in faith, observed to me one day in his affliction, " Until I saw your excellent father, it seemed to me I never met with any one whose exposition of faith came within the reach of my understanding; but his remarks on the nature of that important grace were clear and forcible in an extraordinary degree, commending themselves to my reason, as well as to my heart and conscience : And," he added, "suffer me to say, If his papers shall fall into your hands, you will be guilty of an act of injustice to the world, if you do not give them to the public." His illustrations, which told so remarkably, were commonly of the most simple kind.

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