The National Register.
London, England, 1813-10-03 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REC;ISTE

OCT. 3.

ebe puiptt.

No 9.

Virtue indeed nret•s many a pro‘ing friend,
All,l many a compliment politely penn'd,
But Itl attit'd in that becoming vest
NelLion weaves for her, and half undres‘'d,
Stands iu the drsart, 1/41thering and forlorn,
A unary figure, like. II V.lthct'd thorn!

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COWPFR.

REV. IV. FAULKNER,
SIORNING PREACHER AT ST. JAMEG'S CLERKENWELL.

✓ r. 4.

Em.nent parentsgt pees in some instances undesirable.
Instehd of Leine; l'im,ted, the son is frequently seen as it
we e yressed by the reputation of :be father, between
wit m d es lay when he moves in the same
dated on, come x icons are naturally made by observers.
Huncheds sti:l recollect, for instance, the preaching of the
reverend WsPiam elisha Faulkner, formerly Minister of Elv •
Chapel, and Lecturer of St. Giles's in the Fields ; and,
calling up the resnemlerance of his talents, will not he on-
anxious to asctrain what ate the abilities by which his son,
also a preaches, is now distinguish d ? Concerning those of
the parent, indeed, the ores. est w. iter has already recorded
his opinion, from which, he I.as season to thinkohe chris-
thin public we not genetall% d sp,sed tc, dissent.
The REV W . FA U t Kt: ER, now X% ednesd.iy Evening Lec-
turer of St. A rthelio's,Wat. ing-street, and for some weeks past,
owity to the creasing infirmities of the rector, Mos nine* ,
Preaches at St. James's, C.terieowell, is but recently from
Canshside, though lie is assiduously erdeavouring to make
no ordinary impression on the prs•fessing worshippers of his
'lay. lie was erly deprived of that father in whose steps
be has ventured to tie.d, midsr circumostances that were
sufficiently painful ; since his mother, A% ho still lives. found
herself obliged to resort to the expediQnt of publishing a
Volume of sermons by subscription, immediately on the
dca h of her Husband, and returned her thanks for the
a• very liberal enconragement" she had experienced, as well
as •.‘ the Christian sympathy so genet ally expressed us.der
her heavy affliction."
Persons who remember the father of this preacher, and
many such survive him, seem inclined to suspect that our
young divine is yet in leading-strings; that, in other words,
be is trading upon the old stock ; or, to speak out, that he
prudently limits his pulpit labours to the reading of his fa-
ther's sermons. This contrivance is, however, no uncom-
mon one. Archer Thompson, when he was highly popular
in the church, resorted to the same fountain, whence he
liberally drew his professional supplies
Where " the gospel is preached with popularity," •as .it
appears now the fashion to style it, congregations ate some
times the farthest from truth. It is an abuse of ter ens, to
say the least of it, to talk, as thousands do, of the popula-
rity of religioneand its present diffusion in our land. Gospel
truth never was popular. Could we pry into the real cha-
racters of the great majority of those who are supposed
to have embraced the truth, and are ostensibly attached to
it, we should then discover how few religionists there were
with any thing beyond a name to live by, white they were
actually dead in the most serious sense of the word. Tares
are every where growing up with the wheat.
Clerkenwell has so long been favoured with what is es-
teemed to he gospel preaching, •• preached with populario,"
that the evangelical part of its parishioners might be pre-
sumed by this time qualified to distinguish • sound doc-
trine, and prepared at once to reject that which was stir-
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reptitiout. Yet this seems not their ease. (MIN-wise what .
would they think of that minister veil , slur over the
leading principle.of their religion. and even counsel them
to beware of " shutting- themselves out x)f Heaven '" 11 by
are preachers so feat ful of 'asset tit. the tint!) ? They know
it is their duty to • dec'are; not in putt, the whole
counsel of Cod !' Codlieess alone can effe,t holiue~s.
Noah vi.s distinguished as api eacher ri*Jteousness
but it was the that eruel-ts by f.c.h else be
never would babe constructed the ark, enteied .t with his
d the deluge, and been transmitted down as
an example to believers in all I:,.rert:ir
Mr. Faulkner has sometl,i:)g vet re•th!, in his ap,
pearance, though below tun h:s deli-
very is perspicuous and unemb it assed. He labours to read
his sermons well.
romeosity is too predominant in his prcre ITe not
only labours with too much a. t, wheu ;ek is iot,e,
he is evidently well dis: used to t‘e > defied v..! I;er-
forrnance. Having done his hes:, I c ,rAti.t...F. hi, sew with
sufficient cornplarerev, al'(t aepears tic. if 1 w«. .h,11:111 of
the approba:ion of hi- audience
He adopts :he ens!: mars p,o, efs the church, bef,re.
and after his sermon ; trod, accoidirg to app. ar,,uces, he.
well a' NV isely in alAing by iheni
Mediocrity shon:d not seek t Had tint this
pie cher heet pested in ?hr ec,y t.t ~t t"Se; hein4;
at once! ta,i---t.ed in ol.e of Ow queotr.,d !.nr, , the
kingdom, I c would not have r.tr.acte.:. le cause he (ri ld not
have dial:en -et!, the remat ks here threw:. ..to. 1;1.1101101 be
; never will, proverb; s, caking. s! !he Thuir.e.. ion fire,"
vet, perceiving thCIC i- a el, st,. Il to fie ce him • .'tine kit.d of
notoriety, it may be advar !o consider
wit& his abilities ;oe, '•N het!lcr as !1., res.pt...cts
preacher or hearer. Ile c:.nnot re-eth• ffoin the eath
of life in which he apirears to dove cltoen ;o wall; hay lug
lint his hand to the ploneh, it,e•t not look iev•k ; but he
may filture it some s,ution mo• e 0 his ers, and
therefore mote conduct% e to his " t..100(1. rotate." Unas-
suming usefulness is preferable to ostentatious nothiegres.;..