THE

WESLEYAN-METHODIST MAGAZINE.

AUGUST, 1846.

BIOGRAPHY.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. EDMUND GRINDROD:

BY THE REV. JOHN HANNAH, D.D.

(Continued from page 636.)

DOMESTIC suffering and bereavement awaited Mr. Grindrod during his residence at Newcastle; but from these he sought to draw lessons of spiritual improvement. Under the date last mentioned, he writes, "My mind has of late been painfully exercised with domestic trials, especially with the affliction of my dear son Timothy. I have strong forebodings that he will be a cripple for life. May I be able to submit to this fatherly stroke! And may I and my family derive from it all that good which thou, O God, intendest by it!

February 23d, 1818.-My passage for many weeks past has indeed been a stormy one. Constant domestic afflictions have broken my rest, weighed down my spirits, and, for the time, impaired my health. I have felt the combined influence of these things upon my preaching; so that, on some occasions, I have sunk extremely low. My spiritual comforts have been abated, in consequence of my giving place to momentary irritation in my family. A cloud even now seems to hang over my mind. O that the bright Sun of Righteousness may quickly disperse it! Let me be careful in future to secure more time for retirement before I go into the pulpit, and never to go thither in a hurry. "March 16th.-Through what a scene of trouble is the Lord leading me! On Wednesday last, the 11th instant, I had to resign my sweet boy to the cold grasp of death. His sufferings for several days, and particularly for the last three hours of his life, were indeed severe. O what I felt when I saw him agonizing with death! May I never forget the views which I then had of the hatefulness of sin, and the vanity of the world! May I never break the resolutions which I then formed, to be more than ever a spiritual_man! I feel resigned to the supreme will of my unerring heavenly Father. But this resignation does not prevent me from tenderly sorrowing over the sad bereavement. Though my child was only four years and a half old, he has, in his grave and judicious sayings, left behind him many pleasing recollections, on which my mind now dwells with mournful satisfaction. His last words often pierce my heart with thrilling and affecting energy. O may I so live that, when I shall finish my transient

VOL. II.-FOURTH SERIES.

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pilgrimage below, I may rejoin his spirit among the redeemed." How often has the reflection of David, on the death of his child, soothed and sustained bereaved parents! "Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."

Sorrows and anxieties did not yet quit Mr. Grindrod's dwelling; and they were occasionally blended with perplexities in the maintenance of mild but firm discipline in his Circuit. But, by the grace of God, he was "patient in tribulation:" and, in official difficulties, "integrity and uprightness preserved" him; for he "waited" on the Lord. December 15th, he writes, "I am now, and have been for some time past, wading through deep waters. But the Lord is eminently with me. The malignant fever, which prevails in this town, has entered our house, and has brought my oldest child to the gates of the grave. Through the kind providence of God, she is now recovering. I trust that the rest of the family will escape the contagion. Added to this, one of our Local Preachers is endeavouring to stir up strife among us. I fear that I cannot keep the peace of the society, without violating the trust reposed in me by the Conference. This," he says, under that deep sense of responsibility which he constantly cherished, "I am resolved not to do." "My soul," he subjoins, "is in a prosperous state; and I believe that God will show himself strong in my behalf." His persuasion was not vain. The intelligent and right-hearted people by whom he was surrounded, respected his motives, and valued his judgment. On the 30th of this month, he records, "My fears concerning the society are removed. The Local Preacher, who was trying to put himself at the head of a faction, has completely failed."

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February 3d, 1819.-Ò what a trial of faith has this been! The affliction and death of my dear, dear Betsey" (another of his children) "has left an impression which time can never efface.

She died

on Tuesday, the 26th of the last month. Her sufferings, at some times, were indescribable. The violence of the hooping-cough, of which disease she died, brought upon her strong convulsive fits, in which her agitation and agony seemed to be extreme. My consolation is, that all her sufferings are now over. But I know not when the remembrance of them will cease to give me pain. My dear Mary" (Mrs. Grindrod) "has been almost worn down with labour and grief. Lord, look upon our affliction, and visit us!"

During Mr. Grindrod's superintendency of the Newcastle Circuit, the erection of the spacious and elegant Brunswick chapel was commenced; and it was completed under the superintendency of the late Rev. David M'Nicoll. Mr. Grindrod assisted in laying the foundation, and delivered an appropriate address to those who were assembled on an occasion so full of interest both to themselves and to their children. On the influence which he acquired and exercised in the Newcastle Circuit, the writer has been kindly favoured with the following communication by the Rev. John Rigg:-"In no place, perhaps, were the character and talents of our late friend more highly or more justly appreciated than by the Wesleyan societies and congregations of the north, and especially of Newcastle. During his first year there, he was esteemed; during his second and third, he was admired and loved, particularly by the most pious and intelligent. have been with him when he has been placed in difficult circum

I

stances; but I never saw his temper ruffled, or heard him utter a rash word. Able, in the most trying emergencies, to govern himself, he found it comparatively easy to govern others. Opposition, which so often perturbs or stuns the mental faculties, seemed only to concentrate his, and give them additional vigour and activity. He' waxed valiant in fight.' The stream of his thought and language was never so clear and strong as when it had to sweep away some obstacle. He told me that, if any one would get up and contradict him when he was in the pulpit, it would not only deepen the impression made by the sermon, but greatly improve its character. In the whole of his official conduct, during the time that I was with him, there was a rare and beautiful commingling of kindness and impartiality, of suavity and firmness. By some he was accused of being arbitrary: but this accusation was preferred only by the 'lawless and disobedient."

From Newcastle-upon-Tyne he was removed, in the year 1820, to the London East Circuit. Here, also, he remained three years; during which time he was immediately associated in ministerial duty, the first year, with the Rev. Messrs. Charles Atmore, John Burdsall, Jabez Bunting, and John Waterhouse; and, the second and third years, with the Rev. Messrs. Walter Griffith, George Morley, John Burdsall, and Thomas Jackson. But, in addition to these excellent Ministers, one-half of whom have now finished their course, he had free intercourse in London with other able men; and, while he continued to make progress in every useful attainment, he became still more particularly acquainted with the doctrines and discipline of Wesleyan Methodism, in both of which he possessed eminent and acknowledged skill. On Sunday, November 11th, 1821, he preached a discourse in the Wesleyan chapel, Southwark, which he was unanimously requested by the Leaders'-Meeting to publish. It is founded on Dan. iv. 31-37, and is entitled, "The Proud abased: a Sermon on the Scripture History of Nebuchadnezzar." This piece affords a creditable specimen of Mr. Grindrod's pulpit compositions at that period of his life. "It is judicious, impressive, and practical. The nature and various workings of pride are well illustrated; and its folly, criminality, and danger, forcibly exposed." It is also fraught with sound evangelical truth, and contains a distinct exposition of the method which God has appointed for the salvation of sinful men. While it faithfully proceeds on the historical narration which it proposes to illustrate, it connects that narration, not merely with lessons of ethical wisdom, but with the deep principles of spiritual and practical godliness. In the year 1822, Mr. Grindrod was appointed SubSecretary to the Conference, an office which he sustained for eight successive years, and the laborious duties of which he discharged with extraordinary industry, exactness, and ability. By this means, too, he obtained a more familiar intimacy with the system and usages of the Wesleyan body, and was thus gradually prepared for the yet higher posts which he ultimately filled.

*

When he had spent his allotted time in the London East Circuit, he took two stations in Scotland, where he abode four years, as Superintendent, first, of the Glasgow, and then of the Edinburgh, Circuit.

* See the notice of it in the Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine for the year 1822, p. 113.