CHAPTER XV BLINDNESS AND SECOND ILLNESS |
The annual Confirmation times were looked upon by Canon Hoare as the most important occasions, and the ten or twelve weeks of preparation as a season whose value was simply inestimable. Large numbers were prepared by him personally every year, and it was beautiful to see the tender individual interest which he showed in every case. Before the day of Confirmation, at the private interview with each, he noted down in a special book his opinion of the case. He was once asked when he made this diagnosis. He replied: “As they walk from the door to the chair beside me, I get a view of their character and disposition; the conversation which I have with them afterwards gives me a further insight, and I hardly ever find the estimate wrong.” Many who read these lines will remember the earnest prayer, and then the fatherly grasp of the hand and loving blessing with which those interviews ended. All through the weeks and months of preparation the candidates were remembered at the weekly prayer-meeting in the Parish Room, and on the Sunday previous to Confirmation they were commended to the prayers of the congregation and a sermon was specially devoted to the subject. On the day itself there was an early prayer-meeting, to which all candidates came, and afterwards every arrangement was made to keep the newly confirmed free from outside influences that might too soon remove good impressions; the evening was spent, after tea in the Parish Room, in the singing of hymns and listening to various addresses. Every year his interest in the subject was fresh as ever, and at the age of eighty-one his sermon on Confirmation, which was afterwards printed and a copy sent by him to the present Archbishop of Canterbury (and acknowledged by him in one of the following letters), was so remarkable in its power and teaching as to receive a special notice in one of the Archbishop’s recent Charges—an honour most gratifying to the preacher and probably nearly unique. To one of his daughters:— “Balachulish, N.B., September 13th, 1883. “I hope you will enjoy a delightful Sunday at Thun. I do not look forward with much pleasure to ours, for I do not like the Scotch Church services. I was greatly distressed last Sunday at Oban. Oh, how earnest I should be that visitors to Tunbridge Wells should have the pure Gospel of the grace of God! It is grievous to think what many people are condemned to hear! May God make us faithful to His truth!”
“Tunbridge Wells, June 4th, 1885. “I am getting on very comfortably with Confirmation candidates. The Trinity school-girls are improved. They are excellent in their knowledge, well up in the Catechism, in which they used to be so sadly defective. Of course it is extremely difficult for an old man like me to get into the secrets of their young hearts, but many of them, I believe, are more than in earnest, for I feel sure they are really resting on their Saviour. Poor dears! I hope they will be kept, but they are likely to be terribly exposed to all kinds of religious unsettlement. The Salvation Army is going to have a grand ‘Battle’ next week, and the rank and file is to consist of ‘saved drunkards, liars, swearers, poachers, parsons, sailors, and nailers’!! So we are classed with queer company! Is it of God? or is it strange fire? that is the question. But who can wonder if our young people are perplexed and confused?”
Written at the death-bed of his brother Joseph:— “Hampstead, January 16th, 1886. “I could not come home to-day, for I could not leave him in his low estate, though I am not like some of them, in immediate apprehension of any change. I fear there may be still before us deeper depths than we have known yet, unless the Lord mercifully lifts him over them, as He did Miss Courthope. He is generally wandering, but frequently revives in a most curious manner when I speak to him. I firmly believe that minds clouded like his very often have a perception of heavenly things, and most especially of the sweet name of Jesus.“I went this morning to C.M.S. on the subject of the February Meetings. It was very edifying, but I had to come away very quickly, as I wanted to be back. People were all most kind, so much so that I hardly knew how to bear it. “Since then I have been to see Bishop Perry, who was very unwell yesterday, I believe from riding home after a tiring day at Islington in a cold hansom-cab when he had a carriage and pair in his stable wanting exercise! Such is mankind. I tell him that I am obliged to knock about in cabs and ’busses because I cannot afford anything better, but he ought not to think of it. “When we shall be home no one knows. I do not think I can come home for Sunday if things go on as they are now doing, unless I am obliged to do so, and I see nothing to indicate any immediate change. But we are in the Lord’s hands, hour by hour, with eternity full in view and the Lord Jesus almost visible. May we each one abide in His love!”
“Hampstead, January 21st, 1886. “Joseph at rest in the Lord.”
“Tunbridge Wells, March 5th, 1887. “I hope you are still prospering and that you have had as beautiful weather as we have had. I consider that the beautiful bright sunshine of our dear old England is to be preferred to that of the South of France, more especially if the latter is accompanied by earthquakes as a variety, and certainly we have all been enjoying it here. Last Sunday was one of the most lovely days I can remember, and I hope it was one in which we enjoyed some sunshine in our souls. All the week too has been bright and happy, though we have had some fogs in the morning—just enough to teach us how God can clear away all that obscures the sunshine of His love. On Wednesday we had a most profitable sermon from Mr. Russell.”
“Marden Hill, Hertford, August 30th, 1887. “Nothing can be kinder or more affectionate than everybody here. H— and M— are most pleasant, and I would not have missed coming to them here on any account, as I consider that at Cromer every one is in a non-natural condition and here they are in their own home. I wonder whether there is the same difference between myself at home and abroad. I suppose there is, though I do not see it. “I hope you are enjoying Brittany. You surely did not leave Guernsey on your left as you were crossing. If you did I suppose it was to avoid rocks; and maybe we should all prosper more if we were more careful to avoid temptations as well as to overcome them; and I hope the Lord may so direct the path of every one of us that we may be kept from danger and guided safe into the haven of peace. I have been exceedingly impressed with these words in Jeremiah x.: ‘The way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.’ So my way, and your way, is not in ourselves, and I trust the Lord may direct all our steps for His own glory.”
“St. Bernard’s, Caterham, October 14th, 1887. “I return Miss T—’s enclosure. Pray tell her that her confidence need not be in the least shaken by the proposed visit to the Old Catholics, for they are thorough Protestants in many respects. They withdrew from the Church of Rome on the decree of Papal Infallibility (I think in the year 1870), under that very remarkable man Dr. DÖllinger, and have been excommunicated by it. They call themselves ‘Old Catholics’ to distinguish themselves from the New, or Roman, Catholics, and they claim to hold the Catholic faith as it was before Rome introduced its errors. We ought, therefore, to rejoice at our Bishops taking them in hand.”
To his daughters:— “York, May 27th, 1888. “I know not why it is, but my heart is so full for you all that I cannot forbear from writing to tell you. You have been constantly in my thoughts since I left home, and oh, how I have desired that the Lord may give to each one of you every possible happiness! I thank God that I believe He has given us a very happy home, and one that can stand comparison with others; but I long to make it happier still and to do all that a father can do to help each one of you and to promote that loving, joyous spirit which is the sacred privilege of a Christian home. Certainly it has entwined itself very closely round my own heart; and now that I am away I seem to feel it more than ever. May the Lord be with you all, not only while I am with you, but when I am gathered to my own Home with the Lord Jesus! “I am thankful that I have been prospered, and am quite well and had an easy journey. Everybody has been most kind, and I hope the Lord has accompanied the ministry. The morning sermon was a long way off and not exciting: I felt for the good man, for he seemed discouraged. “The Evening Service in the Minster was magnificent. There was a grand congregation, and what with the noble building and fine music there was enough to make a profound impression, even if there had been no sermon. “But I hope they had the Gospel in addition; I certainly desired to give it to them, and they appeared to me very attentive. I do not feel in much heart for speech-making to-day, for I am utterly out of practice. But ‘what have I that I have not received?’ so I must open my mouth to receive my message, and I hope the Lord will give it me.”
“Tunbridge Wells, August 22nd, 1888. “I rejoice to hear that you are prospering and enjoying Chamounix. I cannot doubt that you have a most pleasant, happy, and loving party, and I shall heartily enjoy a few bright days with you and another look at those lovely mountains. There they stand unchanged, while all their admirers pass by and are gone. What a picture of what is going on in life! There is only One who is not a mere passer-by; but, thanks to God, He is unchangeable, and we need never pass away from Him. “We had a very comfortable Sunday. I preached in the morning about Jehoshaphat, to my own great interest. But in the afternoon I had a very poor attendance of men, and preached the feeblest of sermons. I hope it may have confounded the mighty, for it certainly was one of the weak things of the world, and contributed nothing to the self-elevation of the preacher. “I am now off to church to preach on holiness. May God make us partakers of His holiness!” In the autumn of 1888 his blindness began. The doctors stated that it was due to no illness, but just a sudden failure of power. He could at first see figures and large objects more or less, and detect a placard on a wall, but faces were indiscernible and reading and writing an impossibility. Yet it made no difference in his manner or character, and his life was immediately adjusted to the new state of things. The writer well remembers coming into the Vicarage study one morning, and finding the vigorous old man of seventy-six commencing the task of learning the Bible by heart! “It was so important to have all quotations exact.” This work was continued for some months, but when it was suggested that there would be less labour and more profit in learning the raised type for the blind, the former plan was discontinued, volumes of the latter sort were procured, the characters mastered, and for the seven years remaining the beloved study was resumed under circumstances that would have discouraged most men of his age. Blindness did not stop his work—nothing of the kind; the regular Bible and annual Confirmation classes were continued as before, the weekday and Sunday sermons as regularly prepared and preached. His daughters read to him passages from books bearing upon the subject that he had in hand, and he arranged and classified it in his own mind. Gentlemen and ladies in his congregation gladly undertook to come at stated hours and read to him books of various sorts, and so he kept abreast with all that was going on in the world of literature, and, as was his wont, met it for praise or censure in his sermons. On Sundays it was touching to see the venerable old man ascending the pulpit, giving out his text, and then preaching with all his old fire and vigour. The accuracy with which he quoted his texts made it hard to believe that the preacher was blind. The same accuracy was remarkable in another way. There were few things in which Canon Hoare took more interest than in helping the younger clergy. All through his career his Greek Testament readings have been sources of great blessing and help. In the last few years of his life, since his blindness, he revived these readings, going rapidly through a book or group of passages dealing with a subject. There are several now in Tunbridge Wells who remember gratefully and lovingly those early half-hours once a week; they can see him in his study-chair, surrounded by six or eight of the junior clergy with pencils and note-books—the mortal eyes sightless, but the eyes of his understanding being opened, and from his lips pouring forth a stream of words almost too rapid to take down, as he sketched forth the scheme, say, of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and then going into the details chapter after chapter, pointing out the notes of exegesis and different readings, and the light thrown by the Revised Version on each. It was at this time, as the first birthday after his blindness drew near, that several members of his loving congregation subscribed together and purchased a splendid gold repeater watch, striking the hours, quarters, and half-quarters, as a birthday present for their old Vicar. The following letter, written with the aid of the typewriter which he had also learned to use after the loss of his eyesight, shows how much he appreciated this further proof of their affection:— “Trinity Vicarage, June 5th, 1889. “My dear Mrs. Perkins,—I hear that you have been the one chosen by your friends to convey to me the beautiful gift which I received this morning, so to you I must send my answer, and ask you to be so very kind as to assure all the dear people who have taken a share in it of the very great pleasure that their gift has given me. It was so kind of you all to think of me, and to mark by a birthday offering your loving interest in my welfare. But, as for your sending me such a beautiful present, I never for one moment thought of such a thing. You have, however, selected a most useful and valuable form for your kindness. “For many years I have been dependent on a repeater for securing, day by day, the sacred morning hours before breakfast; and many an hour has been secured to the study of God’s most holy Word through the use of an old repeater left to me (as a legacy) by the dear uncle who gave me my title to my first curacy. “But the old watch, like the old master, has worn out, and I have been put to the greatest inconvenience; so that, if ever I have left home, I have been obliged to carry two watches—one for the day and the other for night. “But now, by your gift, the difficulty is removed; and, if ever it please God to restore to me the privilege of spending my winter mornings in the study of His Word, I shall find it to be of inestimable value. “Most heartily, therefore, do I thank all our friends through you, and trust that they may enjoy as happy and sacred morning hours as our Heavenly Father has so often given to me. “Believe me, my dear Mrs. Perkins,
“Very faithfully yours,
“E. Hoare.”
In 1889 Canon Hoare was laid low by a severe illness which all expected to be the last. His family assembled around him, and his people thought that they never would see him again. At this time, when all his friends thought that his call had really come, many letters were received at the Vicarage expressing the warmest sympathy and containing assurances of fervent prayers. The Archbishop of Canterbury wrote as follows to the Rev. J. Gurney Hoare, who was at Tunbridge Wells:— “Lambeth, June 12th, 1889. “My dear Mr. Hoare,—Pray give my love and the assurance of my loving prayers to your dear father. “I had your letter this morning at Hereford. “As some old writer says, it is ‘like the descending of ripe and wholesome fruits from a vigorous and steadfast tree’ when God calls to Him so single-minded and true a servant—all contests over, and charity having triumphed more and more to the end. Tell him, as you think fit, how much I have always felt that he helped and comforted me in my trying place. I have always had his sympathy and genial counsel, and his prayers. And his strength has been consecrated to the last. In what honour he passes to the last peace! May it be wholly ???d????, as the old Greek prayers say. Once more you are all sure of our prayers, and of the prayers of how many through Christ who loves him ever. “Most sincerely yours,
“E. W. Cantuar.”
Again his congregation assembled in daily prayer-meeting, as before; and when it was supposed impossible that he could live out the day the C.M.S. Committee met and poured out their petitions to God, asking that their veteran friend and adviser might yet be spared if it were His will. The prayer was answered, and once more he rose from the bed of sickness, wonderfully unchanged. Compared with past years, we saw that the outward man was perishing, but we saw also that the inward man was being renewed day by day. Before long he was again in the pulpit, and it was more than three years after this that he preached the sermon upon “Confirmation” to which reference has been already made, as well as one upon the “Agnus Dei,” delivered after the Archbishop of Canterbury’s famous judgment. To Bishop Perry:— “Tunbridge Wells, January 10th, 1890. “My very dear Friend,—I cannot tell you how much I have felt about dear Carus. When we think of his age we cannot be surprised, and when we think of his love, his fidelity, his maintenance of the truth, and his great attractiveness we know not how to part with so valuable and pleasant a companion. But as far as you and I are concerned the parting is not likely to be for very long. As we see one after another of our old friends gathered to their rest, it would be madness in us to forget how near we ourselves may be to the banks of the river, or to lose sight for a single moment of the blessed Hope set before us in Christ Jesus. I trust we may all be kept looking for that blessed Hope and the glorious reunion of the Resurrection morning and of the Coming of the Lord. I must acknowledge that for my own part I find myself better able to realise the prospect of that final reunion than the thought of our gathering before the Throne in the intermediate waiting time; but I am persuaded that both are taught in Scripture, and that when we are no longer entangled in the body we shall see wonderful things in the spiritual world, and when we do how shall we ever praise God enough for His marvellous love in making a perfect atonement for people so unworthy as we are! I don’t know how it is with others, but I find myself there is scarcely any sentence in the Prayer-Book which so expresses my own mind as those words, ‘We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under Thy table’; but, thanks be to God! we depend upon the worthiness of that blessed Saviour by whom every claim of the whole law is more than satisfied. Remember me most affectionately to Mrs. Perry, and believe me “Your loving and faithful Friend,
“E. Hoare.”
Letter to Bishop Parry after seeing a report in the papers that he was dangerously ill:— “Dear Edward,—We are all truly sorry to hear that you are not so well. . . . But how can we thank God enough for the unspeakable privilege of knowing that all such matters are safe in the hand of the Lord! I often think of those words of St. Paul, ‘We know that all things work together for good,’ etc. He did not say ‘we think,’ or ‘we hope,’ but ‘we know,’ thereby expressing the full persuasion of his soul in the infinite love and perfect power of our blessed Saviour in combining all things so that they may work together for our good. I delight in the thought that it is our privilege to rest in that full, calm, deliberate persuasion, and that, looking away from everything in ourselves, we may look to Him in peaceful trust, as an eternal object that will not vary with our own variations of thought and feeling. May He keep you in His own right hand, and raise you up if it be His will; and above all, whenever the time of our departure comes, and it must come to us both before very long, may He fulfil present persuasion by giving us an abundant entrance into His everlasting Kingdom. “Believe me most faithfully yours,
“E. Hoare.”
To Mr. Storr, upon hearing of the wonderful collections for the C.M.S. in Matfield and Brenchley:— “February 24th. “Dear Mr. Storr,—I wonder whether there is any information respecting the things of this world given to those who are at rest with their Saviour? If there is ‘joy in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth,’ may we not believe that there is also joy when the Lord’s work is prospered among His people that are on earth? If it be so, I am sure your dear father’s heart will be gladdened by the good report sent me in your letter. It is delightful to see the permanent results of faithful work such as his was at Brenchley. He is gone, but the light which he lighted is still burning, and I hope will long continue to burn to the glory of God.”
To one of his daughters:— “Newcastle, July 31st, 1890. “May the Lord grant you a very happy birthday, and follow it up by the very best of new years! I wonder where we shall all be this time next year; one thing only do I know, i.e. that we shall be safe in the Lord’s hands, so that all will be well. If safe in Him we shall be safe anywhere, whether in Heaven or on earth, whether in the Home above or in some dear old dwelling here. Let the Spirit of God be on the tabernacle and all will be well. “We are prospering, and hope to return on Tuesday. I have quite given up all thought of Stirling, and am looking forward to home with great pleasure.”
[Written with the aid of a typewriter.] “Tunbridge Wells, August, 1890. “What do you think of this? I have been contriving a plan for writing without seeing: I hope it will answer, but as yet I get on very slowly.”
[Also typewritten.] “Tenchley, October 12th, 1891. “I am thinking of you very much in your return to our dear old home, and trust the Lord Himself is with you. I do not like the thought of your being alone, but there is a great difference between being alone and being lonely, and lonely we need never be if only we have the companionship of our Father in Heaven, and that I trust you are enjoying. “We are hoping to return on Thursday, if God permit: I trust it will please Him to grant it.“Let us all pray that there may not merely be three sisters, but the three sister-graces, Faith, Hope, and Love, abiding together in our happy home.”
“Thoughts on Old Age.—1891. “Its temptations:— “1. Indisposition to exertion.—In many cases there is real physical inability. The old muscles are worn out, so that ‘the grasshopper becomes a burden,’ and every movement requires effort. The natural result of this is, we move as little as possible and are glad to have as much as possible done for us. But there is very often a still worse result—namely, that we are apt to leave things undone altogether; we do not like to give in, but when the time comes for action we shrink from the exertion. “2. Selfishness.—Aged people meet with a great amount of attention; their comfort is a matter of continual thought to many loving hearts. Household arrangements are all made to suit them; young people are exceedingly kind to them; they read to them, write for them, help them in every possible manner, and do all in their power to minister to their happiness and comfort. The result is that the old man is apt to consider himself as much as others.”
In his latter years there was an added joy in visiting the homes of his married sons and daughters. The circle of interest widened in sympathy with the joys and sorrows of his grandchildren, and it is no small proof of the tenderness and strength of his character that a man of his age, with so much to occupy his mind in public and private things, could find time for letters to the boys and girls of the second generation. The two following letters are instances of this. To one of his grandsons:— “Tunbridge Wells, February 7th, 1890. “Dear Chris.,—I have been thinking of you every day, and praying to our Heavenly Father to make you a good and happy boy. “I know it is a very sad thing for you to lose Louis, but I have also been thinking what a delightful duty it puts upon you, for now you have your father and mother all to yourself, and are the only boy at home to attend to them and try to make them happy. I think this is a great pleasure and privilege, and I expect to have a nice letter some day from your mother to say that dear Chris. is so good and attentive that he makes the home quite cheerful. But we are such fallen creatures that you cannot do this unless the Lord Himself helps you. So I trust He will do so, and make you a joy to your father and mother. “Your affectionate Grandfather,
“E. Hoare.”
To one of his granddaughters:— “Tunbridge Wells, February 24th, 1891. “Dear Lettice,—I am very glad to hear that you are so happy and prosperous, and I often think what a happy arrangement it has been for your early education. I am sure we ought all to be very grateful to your uncle and aunt for their kindness in making it. How much kindness we meet with in life! I am sure there is kindness for the old, for I am receiving it every day, and I am equally sure there is kindness for the young, for I am constantly meeting with persons who are spending their whole lives in making them happy. But what are we to think of the lovingkindness of the Lord? David says it is better than life, and so I hope you will find it. You have a name that means joy, and I hope the joy may be, not in your name only, but in your heart. For the last two days I have had a great joy in my home, and I shall leave it to you to guess what it is. It is the visit of a lady for whom I feel a great affection. She has sons and daughters who are great friends of mine, so that I wish she had brought some of them with her. You must guess who it can be, and also find David’s words about lovingkindness (Psalm lxiii. 3). “The loving old Grandfather,
“E. H.”
Extracts from letters to his married daughters:— “Tunbridge Wells, November 11th, 1890. “I have thought a great deal of you in your re-settlement at home, and I trust that you have returned for a happy, holy, and useful winter. “I look back with the greatest pleasure to my pleasant visit when all the boys were at home, and I trust that the same happy, peaceful spirit may be the abiding characteristic of your family. “. . . I often think of the promise, ‘They shall bring forth fruit in old age,’ and most earnestly do I desire that my old age may be a fruitful season, but I am inclined to regard anything I can do as little more than the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done. I trust, however, that whatever is left may be diligently used for the glory of my Blessed Saviour.“Give my dear love to Robert, and also to Chris. and Lettice. “Your most affectionate Father,
“E. Hoare.”
“Tunbridge Wells, August 29th, 1891. “I have very much enjoyed your letters, though I have been slow in acknowledging them, for I find typewriting to be both slow work and very tiring to the brain. But I am glad of it, as it makes me sometimes fancy that I am independent. But independence is not the gift for me just now, for I am dependent for everything, and have to be unspeakably thankful for such loving caretakers on whom I may depend. “Above all, how ought my heart to overflow with gratitude to that loving Father on whom it is my joy to depend for everything! Daughters can do a great deal, and would do more if they could, but He can do everything and does supply all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. “I trust all the dear sons are prospering, and the tutor doing well. I wonder whether we shall meet anywhere this autumn. I do not feel much pluck in me for Norfolk; my home is so comfortable that I am not eager to leave it. But there is an idea in people’s minds that we ought to go out in the autumn, so I suppose I shall go somewhere, though I do not at present know where. I am very thankful for my two visits to the North. They helped me to realise better the great interests for which to be continually in prayer. I was very happy with you and your sons. May our gracious God bless you all! “Your loving Father,
“E. H.
“Tunbridge Wells, December 27th, 1891. “ . . . Most heartily do I respond to all your loving wishes for a rich Christmas blessing on our whole party. We have enjoyed a very happy Christmas together. We have had with us E— and his family, and very pleasant have they all been. We have thought continually of the homes of the absent, and many a time both by day and by night has my heart been lifted for you all. I have thought very much of you and all your boys, and cannot doubt that you have had a very merry party. God grant that they may all know the joy of the Lord! I am very sorry to hear of your disappointment. . . . I never forget the advice given me by my grandmother—never to act without seeking the guidance of the Lord, and after acting never to re-open the subject. She would have said that your great mistake is in distressing yourselves now about your decision made two years ago. So as you sought His guidance trust Him to have given it, and push away regrets. “The Lord be with you all! “Your loving Father,
“E. H.”
“Tenchley, Limpsfield, October 6th, 1892. “My typewriter is none the better for its journey, so that I have been unable to write and thank you both for my very happy visit. I most thoroughly enjoyed it, and throughout the whole of my visitation tour there has been nothing on which I look back with more genuine pleasure than I do on those happy days at Chenies. I thought the village lovely. I was greatly pleased with the meeting of Communicants and with the Church Services. I delighted in the children, and am looking forward with the greatest pleasure to their visit; and I greatly enjoyed all my pleasant intercourse with you both, which I valued the more as I have seen less of R— lately than of you, so that I was glad to enjoy his thoughts on many points of interest. “May the Lord bless you abundantly both in your home and in your parish! With dear love to the children, “Your most loving Father,
“E. H.”
“Tenchley, Limpsfield, December 28th, 1892. “We had a very happy day at home, lovely weather, the very perfection of a Christmas Day, and I trust a good deal of sunshine within. I preached to the people on the sacred Name of Jesus, and I gave them what was new to myself, and, if I mistake not, new also to most of them, so we had fresh thoughts on an old subject. What a remarkable feature this is in Scripture! It is full of old truths, but is always bringing them out in newness and freshness to those who will take the trouble to study it. “Dear love to Robert and the boys. “Your most loving Father,
“E. H.”
From the Archbishop of Canterbury:— “Deal Castle, April 13th, 1893. “To the Rev. Canon Hoare. “My dear Canon Hoare,—It was very kind and thoughtful of you to send me your two sermons, in which I was sure to take a great interest. I have read them both with much satisfaction. I think the ‘Agnus Dei’ ought to be very useful. It puts that great hymn in its right position, and it shows the fallacy of certain deductions drawn from the fact that there were no legal grounds on which it could be decided that it was impossible for it to be used. I daresay you have noticed that Richard Baxter (not exactly a Ritualist) did not hesitate to make use of that same passage from St. John in his draft Communion Service. “The sermon on Confirmation I think most serviceable; its instruction most clear, and the remarks on what the Gift is very impressive. I am glad you teach that that beautiful passage in the Epistle to the Ephesians refers to the event recorded in the Acts. And what a motive it supplies, and what a basis for the Christian life! “Thank you very much; I think no one can read that sermon without feeling that Scripture and its true teaching leaves more and more to us, in spite of all fears of ‘Criticism.’ “Sincerely yours,
“E. Cantuar.”
The following letter was to a lady in the United States who had written gratefully about some of his prophetical books, and asked for guidance on various points, as well as for some larger work on the same subject written by him:— “Tunbridge Wells, May 29th, 1893. “To Miss Gray. “My dear Madam,—I have received your letter with very great interest and thankfulness. How little do we know either the where or the how or the when it may please God to make use of any effort in His service, and how little I thought that my two small books had found their way to the hearts of any of God’s people in America! I am the clergyman of a large parish, and they were printed chiefly for the use of my own parishioners, and God has made use of them in His own way and far beyond my expectations. I am thankful to say that the coming of our blessed Lord is more and more the joy of my heart, as I am persuaded it is the central part of our Christian hope. I trust it has pervaded the whole of my ministry; but I have not published anything to be called a book upon the subject, though fragments have been occasionally printed in our local press. I am sending you the sermons recently printed, though only one refers directly to the Advent of our Lord. I am very glad to hear of your meeting for the Study of the Prophetic Word. At one time we had such meetings here, at which we discussed with great brotherly freedom the bright hope pointed out to us in Prophecy, and I believe I learnt more from those Christian conferences than I have ever done from all the books in my library. I trust the Lord may grant you all a similar blessing, so that when our blessed Saviour returns in His glory you may be able to greet Him with the words: ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us.’ ‘This is the Lord; we have waited for Him: we will be glad and rejoice in His Salvation.’ “Believe me very faithfully yours,
“E. Hoare.”
To one who was losing her sight:— “Marden, June 8th, 1893. “Dearest —,—May the Lord give you a happy birthday to-morrow! You have your heavy trial hanging over you, but I trust that in God’s leading you may have a bright and happy year, and may have a clearer sight of your Heavenly Father’s boundless love than you have yet enjoyed. I trust that we may both have the eyes of our understanding enlightened, that we may know better what is the hope of our calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. It is my unceasing prayer that I may see these things clearer and clearer. And I am sure that, if He manifest Himself more clearly to my soul, I shall be more than repaid for the failure of my earthly vision. Your case is different to mine, for you have every hope of complete restoration of sight. But we are one in the desire for heavenly light, and I trust the Lord may give it to you abundantly through the new year, and that I too may enjoy a share.”
Extract from a letter to one of his married daughters:— “Tunbridge Wells, August 3rd, 1893. “We thank Him also very heartily for the happy week spent with you. It was absolutely impossible that greater care and kindness should have been shown to the old man, and I wish you to know how successful you were in giving me a comfortable, pleasant, and happy week, so that I was well repaid for the effort of the two long journeys, and shall ever retain a happy memory of that pleasant visit. “I was very glad to see as much as I did of the three dear sons, and felt exceedingly interested for them all, as I could see in each one that he had a special claim on our loving and earnest prayers. “It was also a great gratification to me to make the acquaintance of your future daughter. Oh, how I hope that the voice of rejoicing and salvation will be in their ‘tabernacle’! With dear love to them all, to the two boys arriving from school, and above all to yourselves at the head of such a family, “Your most loving Father,
“E. Hoare.”
The autumn of 1893 was remarkable for the number of visits which Mr. Hoare paid among relatives in Norfolk and elsewhere. He spoke of it as one of the pleasantest holidays that he had ever spent. Earlham, his mother’s old home, a name so familiar to many through Mr. Hare’s recent volumes on the Gurney family, was revisited, and he delighted in pointing out places in the house that reminded him of childish romps and adventures. A week was spent at Cromer, where, as usual, a great gathering of the clans took place. Here he met his beloved sister-in-law Lady Parry, and, at the house of his favourite cousin, Lady Buxton, he gave a Bible-reading in her spacious drawing-room to a gathering of some fifty or sixty friends and relatives. An eye-witness has described this impressive scene. The old man, blind, but mighty in the Scriptures, took for his subject the prayers for “teaching” contained in the 119th Psalm, and those who listened felt that he had been taught of God, and that another prayer in the same Psalm had been answered in his case: God had opened his eyes and permitted him to see wondrous things in His law.The Sunday following he preached in the grand old church at Cromer. Many remember that occasion; and when the writer paid a visit to that place a year later, he met an old man who spoke of this sermon with enthusiasm, and said that he thought it one of the best that he had ever heard from the aged preacher’s lips. No less than seven homes of his children and relatives were visited by him at this time, and it was from one of them, towards the close of this pleasant holiday, that the following letter to one of his daughters was written:— “Aylsham, September 21st, 1893. “I am very glad to hear of your prosperous settlement at Lynton. It is the place where your dear mother and I spent our first Sunday after our marriage, and I preached in the church, to the great satisfaction of the Vicar, who, I think, was Mr. Pears, afterwards Master of Repton: you appear to have gone to the other church. . . . Magee’s sermons have been very interesting, though I doubt whether they would meet the wants of those who are hungering and thirsting for life; they aim too much at intellectual brilliancy, and it is not by excellency of speech that souls are won. “We came yesterday to this beautiful home. Certainly the lines are fallen unto them in very pleasant places, and I trust they have a goodly heritage in many souls won to their Saviour. But they have their difficulties, and who has not? As long as human nature is what it is, we shall find them everywhere, though different in different places.”
The following letter illustrates the affectionate feelings between the pastor and his people so manifest in this parish:— “The Vicarage, December 13th, 1893. “My dearly beloved Friends, the Members of our Communicants’ Union, and other Communicants in our Church,— “I have been looking forward with the greatest possible pleasure to the prospect of our Advent gathering arranged for to-morrow, but it has pleased our Heavenly Father to take from me all hope of being present. “I have greatly enjoyed those gatherings on former occasions, when it has pleased God to manifest Himself and His own grace in a peculiar manner to our souls. They have also been a source of especial pleasure, as they have given an opportunity for that loving, friendly intercourse which is so delightful amongst Christian friends, and so difficult of attainment in large parishes and large congregations. “I cannot be with you to-morrow in bodily presence, but may I not thankfully adopt the first part of those words of St. Paul in Col. ii. 5–7, ‘For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ’? and may we not all accept this exhortation in the latter part, ‘As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving’? “You observe he does not address us as persons for the first time seeking to know Christ, but as those who have received Him, and are permitted to walk, or spend their lives, in union with Him. If this be the case with us, how should our thanksgivings abound in every possible effort for His glory! “With much affection, and many prayers, “From your faithful Friend and Vicar,
“E. Hoare.”
It was at this time, when his bodily health was so feeble, his step slow and head bowed, that a visitor who had never heard him preach came to Trinity Church. Knowing his reputation, the stranger had great expectations, but at first sight his heart fell within him; as he afterwards acknowledged, “I could not believe that old man in the pew was going to preach, but he got up into the pulpit with some difficulty, and then, it was the power of God!” A clergyman friend who had known him intimately for forty years said of the aged preacher that “his ministry had grown in power up to the very end.” The chief cause of this was doubtless the life of prayer in which he moved and had his being. All who knew him were aware of this, and certainly he who has been permitted to peruse the sacred pages of his journal can no longer feel surprised at the marvellous success which attended that prayer-steeped ministry. While upon this subject it is worthy of record that he often told those whom he wanted to help in their preaching that he prayed over his sermons more even than he prepared them, and the latter part took several hours of his time. When blindness came upon him, and others had to read for him and take down his thoughts for the preparation of his sermons, it was his custom to stand up by his study table and say: “Here is my mind, Lord; take it and use it. Thou knowest who will be there; give me the right thoughts and words, that I may speak as Thy messenger, for Christ’s sake!” And this prayer too was answered. The following letters, written in the last few months of his life, show the clearness of his mind and width of his sympathy up to the end. To the Rev. C. H. Dearsly, who asks, “How far is it Scriptural that female evangelists should address large mixed assemblies—or men only?” “January 19th, 1894. “Mrs. Fry used to draw a wide distinction between ‘prophesying,’ as in Acts ii. 17, and ‘teaching,’ as in 1 Tim. ii. 12, as she believed the former to be an appeal called forth in a special manner by the Holy Spirit, and so she justified her own ministry. I have often thought that there is some truth in her distinction, and I have never felt able to put a hindrance in the way of what may possibly be the movement of the Holy Spirit; so I have thought it safer to be passive in the matter, and not to forbid even though I have felt unable to support.”
To the late Dean of Canterbury on the death of his wife:— “My dear Dean,—I trust the Lord is with you in your great trial, and will be with you unto the end. I believe that no one has the least idea of what the trial is, until they are called to pass through it. Its depth is learned only by experience. There were two lessons taught me when it pleased my Heavenly Father to send it to me. I never had any idea of the magnitude of the trial, and what it was to lose one who had been for so many years a wise counsellor and a most loving wife and mother. But I never knew the extent to which a Heavenly Father could supply all my need ‘according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ I look back upon the thirty years that have elapsed since my great bereavement, and am utterly unable to count up the tokens of His love and tender thoughtfulness during the whole of that period. And so, my dear friend, I am persuaded that you may trust Him entirely. You may trust Him for your eternity; you may trust Him also for the short remainder of your pilgrimage upon earth. You may trust Him to do well for yourself and your daughters. You may trust Him as your faithful Friend and your most wise Counsellor; and so trusting you will never be disappointed, but He will be both with you and yours continually, guiding you with His counsel, and afterward receiving you to glory. Remember me very particularly to your daughters. “Most faithfully yours,
“E. Hoare.”
To the Rev. H. E. Williamson, Hon. Sec. of the West Kent C.M.S. Union:— “Tunbridge Wells, April 11th, 1894. “Dear Williamson,—I am exceedingly sorry to be quite unable to attend the Union of Unions to-morrow at Canterbury. I have greatly enjoyed the meetings of our own Union in former times, and firmly believe that we have been favoured with the presence of that loving Redeemer whose Name we desire to make known throughout the world. I should also have greatly enjoyed the meeting with our dear brethren of East Kent under the presidency of our beloved Dean, in his noble Cathedral; but I cannot venture upon the undertaking, and must look forward to the gathering of that more perfect Union which I hope is shortly to take place, at the Coming of our Lord and Saviour. Remember me to all the dear brethren, and believe me to be very faithfully yours, “E. Hoare.”
NOTES OF CONFIRMATION LECTURES. These notes are intended to assist Candidates in preparing for the Classes. Each of the Chapters mentioned contains a text on the subject of the Lecture. Lecture I.—The Sinfulness of Man. Man is sinful. ,, 1. In nature: Psalm li.; Rom. viii. ,, 2. In heart: Matt. xv.; Jer. xvii. ,, 3. In thought: Gen. vi. ,, 4. In word: James iii. ,, 5. In act: Rom. iii. ,, 6. Under God’s wrath: Eph. ii. Therefore requires two things, viz. Forgiveness of Sin and Change of Heart. Lecture II.—Forgiveness of Sin. 1. The blessing of it: Psalm xxxii. 2. Examples of it: Mark ii.; Luke vii.; Luke xviii. 3. Given us because our sins were laid on the Lord Jesus Christ as our substitute: Isa. liii.; 2 Cor. v.; Gal. iii.; Eph. i.; 1 Peter ii. Lecture III.—Change of Heart. 1. Necessary: John iii. 2. Compared to Birth: John iii. ,, Resurrection: Eph. ii. ,, Creation: Eph. ii.; 2 Cor. v. 3. Wrought by God the Holy Spirit: John i.; John iii.; Ezek. xxxvi. 4. Prayer for it: Psalm li. Lecture IV.—First Promise made in Baptism.
Renunciation. We promise to renounce three things. 1. The devil: Gen. iii.; John viii.; 1 Peter v.; 1 John iii. 2. The world: Rom. xii.; 1 John ii.; Psalm xvii. 3. The flesh: Rom. viii.; Gal. v. Lecture V.—Second Promise made in Baptism.
Faith. We promise to believe in the Lord Jesus. 1. The three articles of Christian faith: Catechism. 2. Examples of faith: Gen. xv.; Rom. iv.; Matt. viii.; Matt. xv.; Luke i.; Luke vii. 3. Salvation given through faith: John iii.; Acts viii.; Acts xvi.; Eph. ii. Lecture VI.—Third Promise made in Baptism.
Obedience. We promise to obey the Commandments. We should obey them In both their parts: Matt, xxii., and Church Catechism. ,, From the heart: Deut. xi.; Rom. vi.; Eph. vi. ,, With delight: Psalm xl.; Psalm cxix.,, In all things: Josh. xxii.; Gen. vi. ,, From love: John xiv.; Rom. xiii.; 2 Cor. v. Lecture VII.—Prayer. Promises to prayer: Luke xi.; John xiv.; John xvi. Prayer should be From the heart: Matt. xv. ,, Earnest: James v. ,, Persevering: Luke xviii.; Eph. vi. ,, In humility: Luke xviii. ,, In faith: Matt. xxi.; James i. ,, In the name of Jesus: John xiv. Lecture VIII.—The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Was appointed by the Lord Himself: Matt. xxvi.; 1 Cor. xi. Is an act of obedience: Mark xiv.; Luke xxii. Is a sign, or emblem: 1 Cor. xi. Is an act of loving remembrance: 1 Cor. xi. Is a means of feeding on the Lord Jesus: 1 Cor. x. Is an opportunity of intercourse with the Lord; Luke xxiv. Is a means of fellowship with each other: 1 Cor. x. Is a help to joy: Acts ii. Lecture IX.—On receiving the Lord’s Supper unworthily. Danger of receiving it unworthily: 1 Cor. xi. “Damnation” here means “chastening”: ver. 32. To receive it unworthily is to receive it— Without repentance, without faith, without seriousness, without love: 1 Cor. xi. You may be young Christians, but not come unworthily: Matt. xxvi.; Acts ii. You may be unworthy to come, but not come unworthily: Luke vii.; Luke xv. Lecture X.—Confirmation Service. The laying on of hands: Acts viii.; Acts xix.; Heb. vi. The blessing to be expected: Acts viii.; Acts xix. Decision for God: Isa. xliv. The prayers in Confirmation Service. For the Holy Spirit. For strength. For defence. For perseverance. For growth in grace.
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