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OF THE

REV. G. T. BEDELL, D. D.

RECTOR OF ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA.

BY STEPHEN H. TYNG.

WITH A RECOMMENDATORY PREFACE,

BY THE REV. THOMAS SNOW, B. A.

RECTOR OF ST. DUNSTAN'S IN THE WEST, LONDON.

PUBLISHED BY R. B. SEELEY AND W. BURNSIDE :

AND SOLD BY L. AND J. SEELEY,

FLEET STREET, LONDON.

MDCCCXXXV.

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PREFACE.

THE various memoirs of the lives of pious ministers of religion which have of late years been published, have been, I conceive, a great blessing to the church; and the avidity with which such memoirs have been purchased, has shown us that in the form of biography, the lessons of religion are peculiarly acceptable to men. God himself, in his holy word, has taught us much through the histories of men of like passions with ourselves, and has recommended that mode of instruction to our use, as being more easy and agreeable to a large class of mankind than any other.

Who can tell how useful the lives of such persons as Mr. Scott and Mr. Venn may have been to the church, as exhibiting such bright examples of integrity, and singleness of mind, and devotedness to God, from the first day of their conversion, to the closing hour of their lives? Who can read these lives, with a desire to be instructed by them, without perceiving the reality and the power of true godliness, and without learning lessons of usefulness for every department almost in life? Their letters, addressed to persons under such varied circumstances; their conduct, so holy and self-denying;

their struggles, against sin and the world so successful, are full of instruction that may be beneficial, not to ministers only, but to all private Christians. None can tell but God himself, how much the biography of pious ministers may have helped to prepare the way for that revival of religion in the church, which appears so happily to have commenced, and to be spreading itself in all directions. The letters of Mr. Venn to his children of different ages, to his friends in prosperity and adversity, to his brethren in the ministry, his love to all mankind, and his affectionate watchfulness over his flock, his household, and every servant in it, all conspire to show us what a lovely thing the Christian religion, is, and make us long for that blessed time when the power of Christ will be universally acknowledged.

In some of the lives of the most eminent servants of God, there has been a very prominent exhibition of their inward conflicts, trials, and supports. In the copious extracts of diaries never intended to be published, we are taught much that may be beneficial to our souls. We are admitted by the reading of these, into a knowledge of the intercourse of men with God, and in their conflicts and their difficulties we become convinced of their sincerity, and perceive from living epistles, as well as from the word of God, that it must be through struggles and conflicts that we are to obey God, and enter into his kingdom. In the lives of Henry Martyn, David Brainerd, and Dr. Payson, there is much of this manifestation of the inward life of the Christian. We find, however, from the histories of

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