THE EVANGELICAL MAGAZINE AND MISSIONARY CHRONICLE. APRIL 1823. MEMOIR OF THE LATE REV. WILLIAM MILNE, D.D. OUR numerous readers, and the to discover itself, by leading me into friends of Missions in general, will naturally expect to find in this work some meniorial of the late Dr. Milne, whose excellent qualifi cations for the office of a missionary-assiduous and successful application to the difficult language of China, and unwearied and faithful labours in that country and in Malacca, have endeared his name to all classes of the religious public. We are happy, therefore, in being enabled to lay before our readers some account of his life, the early part of which was drawn up by himself, and delivered at the time of his ordination, which took place at Portsea, July 16, 1812. In the course of that solemn service, Mr. Milne being, as is customary on such occasions, desired “to give a reason of the hope that was in him,” made a full and satisfactory reply, from which we give the following extract:— "I was born in the parish of Herethmont in Aberdeenshire, in 1785. My father died when I was six years of age; and my mother gave me the education common to others, in the same condition of life. As to spiritual knowledge, I was a perfect strar to it myself; nor did others impress my mind with its nce. The natural depramy heart began very soon seek impo vity VO I. > those sins, for the commission of which my age and circumstances afforded opportunity. In profane swearing, and other sins of a like nature, I far exceeded most of my equals; and became vile to a proverb. I can remember the time (O God! I desire to do it with shame and sorrow of heart,) when I thought that to invent new oaths would reflect honour on my character, and make me like the great ones of the earth. Though I had a natural predilection for books, yet not, alas! for the book of God. I read it only when constrained, and even then with much reluctance and impatience. Though I learned by heart the Assembly's Catechism, and Willison's Mother's Catechism, yet this was more from a desire to equal my neighbours, and to avoid the displeasure of the minister of the pais, than from any love to the truths which these excellent books contained. Sometimes I used to say my prayers at night for fear of the evil spirit, from whose hurtful influence 1 supposed my prayers were an effectual security. "I do not remember that any deep impressions of divine truth were made on my mind for the first twelve years of my life, except once in my tenth year, when I was constrained to pray, and to form resolutions of amendment. These im pressions, however, soon wore off, and my vows were forgotten. "The sinful propensities of my nature became stronger by indulging them; and many plans did I form in hopes of rendering myself conspicuous in the circle wherein I moved, for the vanity of my mind and gaiety of my conduct. I foolishly imagined that by the time I was sixteen I should attain great celebrity, as a vain and trifling youth. God, however, (I desire to adore his goodness) had other and better things in reserve for me. as a sinner, made any humble application to God, through Christ, for pardon and grace. "At sixteen years of age, when, as I had formerly wickedly supposed, that I should have my fill of iniquity, and see the accomplishment of my foolish plans, it pleased God to remove me to a place where I had the privilege of conversing with pious persons, who embraced every opportunity of turning my attention to the concerns of eternity. Though I "About my thirteenth year, a was a stranger to them, they were partial reformation was effected by concerned for my salvation; one of reading some religious books, par- them especially, who, though poor ticularly Willison on the Sabbath, and in this world, was rich in faith. I Russell's Seven Sermons ;-by the ex- used sometimes to go to his house at ample of two pious persons who the hour of prayer, when he and his lived in a family where I for some family worshipped God at the foot time resided;-by a secret hope of their domestic altar. He was ac which I entertained of being saved customed to make some remarks on by my prayers and reformation ;— the chapter read for the instruction by the dread of temporal evils; of of his children, and to prepare them danger in the night, and of being for the solemn exercise of prayer: drowned in a small river, which I these interested me much, and shewhad frequently to pass;-and by re-ed me a beauty in the word of God presentations which were given of which I never saw before. He exthe sufferings of Christ by the minis- horted me to secret prayer, and to ter at sacrament seasons. But as read pious books, with which he and these representations seemed to some others furnished me. From move the animal feelings rather than this time my enjoyments of pleasure to influence the heart, their effects in the world were marred; and a were temporary. beauty and excellence discovered in religion, which I had never seen before, and which led me to choose it as the only object deserving the chief attention of an immortal creature. As the family in which I lived were strangers to religion themselves, and derided all others who made it their concern, I was very disagreeably situated. The only place I found for retirement was a sheep-cote, where the sheep are kept in winter. Here, surrounded with my fleecy companions, I often bowed the knee, on a piece of turf which I carried in with me for the purpose." Many hours have I spent there, in the winter evenings, with a pleasure to which before I was a stranger; and, while some of the members of the family were plotting how to put me to shame, I was eating in secret of that bread" which the world knoweth not of." "Soon after, I attended a Sabbath evening school, which at that time was commenced in our neighbourhood, where I became one of the scholars. Here my knowledge of evangelical truth increased, and considerable impressions of its importance were made on my mind. My increase in knowledge made me very proud; but I was led to search the Scriptures, and to pray. Sometimes I used to walk home from the school alone, about a mile, over the brow of a hill, praying all the way. At this time I began the worship of God in my mother's family, and also held some meetings for prayer, with my sisters and other children, in a barn that belonged to the premises. "Notwithstanding this change in my outward conduct, I fear that I was all this time acting under the influence of self-righteous principles: for I had never felt my need of Christ in his complete character nor had I, 66 My employment at this time being chiefly of a rural nature, afforded much opportunity through the day for spiritual improvement. Books were my constant companions; and some of them made powerful impressions on my mind. A book, entitled, The Cloud of Witnesses, containing an account of the perзecution in Scotland, in the reign of Charles the Second, gave me an exalted idea of the excellency and power of Christianity. Often have I sat on the brow of a hill reading the lives of the martyrs, admiring their patience and fortitude in suffering; and seeing them “ overcome their enemies by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony," I longed that God would, some time or other, honour me thus to confess his name, and bear my testimony to the truth. In this there was perhaps more zeal than knowledge; more regard for the honour of martyrdom than pure love to God, and his cause in the world. All this time, however, I knew but little of myself as a guilty creature. The book which God made use of more especially for convincing me of my sin and misery, was Bos ton's Fourfold State, which I read with the deepest attention. It conducted me into my own heart, discovered the evils which before lay hid in the chambers of imagery; the monstrous ingratitude to God which had marked all my conduct; and the pollution of original and actual sin, with which my soul was contaminated. I saw that as I was necessarily under the strongest and most righteous obligations to God, and had never for one hour of my life discharged these, but lived in rebellion against the author of my life, so I was justly under the curse of God's righteous law, and exposed to everlasting misery. "What shall I give for the sin of my soul?" was literally the language which I used. To be condemned to toil for a thousand years in the lowest drudgery; or to endure the punishment of hell for a limited space of time, seemed easy when compared to eternal wrath, which I knew my sins deserved, and from which, for some days, I had but little hope of deliverance. To be transformed into a stone, or into one of the fowls of the mountains, which were often flying over my head, was what I sometimes wished, in order to avoid appearing before God in judgment, and to be freed from the danger of everlasting punishment. I could not endure the idea of being for ever left under the dominion of sin, and cast out from the presence of God; therefore I continued to pray, as opportunity serv ed, ten or fifteen times a day, and said, “Who knoweth if God will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him" on my poor, guilty, and wretched soul? But God in his gracious kindness, did not suffer me to remain long in this distress of soul, but directed me to those means by which I learned, how even a vile and guilty creature, such as I was, might be for ever-saved. "Two things contributed to remove this perplexity: one was a sermon of Mr. Boston's, entitled, The Believer's Espousals to Christ. Here the offices of Christ, as mediator, were treated in such a convincing and encouraging way as to produce a lively hope in my soul. The other was a sermon which I heard preached by the late Rev. G. Cowie, of Huntly, on a week evening, from Rev. xxii. 21. He expatiated on the free grace of God, through Christ, to the chief of sinners, with an eloquence peculiar to himself. He quoted those words: "Go, preach the gospel to every creature,' -"" beginning at Jerusalem." Then I was led to reason thus :-If pardon and salvation were offered, without money and without price," to those who had killed the Prince of Life, and thereby committed the greatest possible crime; then, surely that grace, which could triumph over all their guilt, and so richly abound where sins of the highest aggravation once abounded, may be extended to me-pardon my sins, and renew my nature-heal and save my soul. Thus I was led to discover a glory and suitableness in the gospel-as displaying the lustre of the divine perfections, and as preserving the honours of the divine law, while at the same time it conferred eternal life on the guilty sinner believing in Jesus. This discovery captivated my 66 |