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gregation, he engaged me to promise to preach his father's funeral sermon, from a particular text, upon a timely notice of his death, which it was imagined would take place in a few weeks. It pleased God to remove him that night, which kept me there until Wednesday. In the mean time, I saw those appearances of a serious spirit which could not but be very affecting to me; many persons, also, attended the funeral who were not stated hearers there, and expressed the greatest satisfaction in my labours, in which I had very extraordinary Divine assistance. During the whole of this interval I was besieged by the friendly importunities of the congregation; and when, before I went away, the young people came to me in a body, and earnestly entreated me to come among them, promising to submit to all such methods of instruction as I should think proper, I found my heart so much melted with their affectionate fervour, that I was no longer master of myself, and agreed to take the affair into consideration again. Upon the whole, I was persuaded in my conscience that it was my duty to accept their invitation; and God is

my witness, that when I did accept it, which was on the Saturday night afterwards, it was with the utmost reluctance. I acted, indeed, without the advice of almost any of my friends, and directly contrary to that of some for whom I had a very high regard; but I thought myself obliged in conscience to act according to my own views, as it is certain that I must answer for myself another day."*

* Doddridge's Correspondence, vol. iii. p. 2.

CHAPTER III.

PUBLIC CAREER.

THE MINISTER.

THE Congregational church assembling in Castle-hill Meeting-house was organized at an early period. It probably owed its existence to the ministry of Jeremiah Lewis, incumbent of St. Giles', who was ejected from that parish by the Act of Uniformity. Mr. Blower was their pastor in 1694, the year of his death having been a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, and having subsequently held the living of Woodstock: he was also one of the ejected band of worthies. The name of Thomas Shepherd next occurs, whose term of service was short, and whose history is buried in silence, save that he seems to have been a

*The ceremony of marriage was performed in those days by Nonconformists:

December 11.-I married Mr. Buswell's son and daughter, of Kettering, in our meeting-house.-THOMAS SHEPHERD."

prosperous servant of his Divine Master. Under his pastorate the present meeting-house was erected, on a plot of ground near Castlehill, devastated some years before by a tremendous fire, which had threatened the destruction of the whole town. The labours of Mr. Shepherd terminated in 1698, and he was succeeded by Mr. Hunt, a man of considerable talents, who, in 1709, removed to Newport Pagnell, and died at Tunstead, in Norfolk, 1730.* Mr. Hunt's removal was an exchange with the minister at Newport; for Mr. Thomas Tingey, previously pastor there, was publicly recognised at Northampton on the 22nd of February, 1709. "He was an evangelical and able minister, and very zealously exerted himself, even beyond his strength, to preach the gospel in the destitute towns and villages around."+ Mr. Tingey removed to London in 1728. It was on this vacancy that Philip Doddridge was elected to the pastorate.

He was ordained on the 19th of March, 1730. "The afflicting hand of God upon me hindered

* He was the father of the young man mentioned in p. 57. + See interesting account of the History of the Church at Northampton, in the Congregational Magazine for March and April, 1830.

me from making that preparation for the solemnity of this day, which I could otherwise have desired, and which might have answered some valuable end. However, I hope it hath long been my sincere desire to dedicate myself to God in the work of the ministry; and that the views with which I determined to undertake the office, and which I this day solemnly professed, have long since been fixed. The work of the day was carried on in a very honourable and agreeable manner. Mr. Goodrich, of Oundle, began with prayer and reading the Scriptures. Mr. Dawson, of Winchly, continued the exercise. Then Mr. Watson, of Leicester, preached a suitable sermon from 1 Tim. iii. 1:- This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.' Mr. Norris, of Welford, then read the call of the church, of which I declared my acceptance. He took my confession of faith and ordination vows, and proceeded to set me apart by prayer. Mr. Clark, of St. Alban's, gave the charge to me, and Mr. Saunders, of Kettering, the exhortation to the people. Then Mr. Mattock, of Daventry, concluded the whole solemnity with prayer."

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