Mr. Taylor remained at Lawrenceville, till Nov. 1823, when he entered the Sophomore class in the college at Princeton. His whole academic life was characterized by communion with God, zeal in the performance of his duties, and unquenchable desire, coupled with untiring efforts, to be useful. He could not content himself with the prospect of doing good at some distant period. He labored for God day by day. And through his instrumentality in Sabbath schools, Bible classes and other meetings, a revival commenced in the neighborhood of his labors, which resulted in a large number of conversions. Thus early did the Lord of the vineyard fulfil the cherished longings of his heart, and render him a messenger of salvation to the perishing. Of his communion with God, and lofty Christian enjoyment during this period, his own journal and letters furnish the best record. We select the following specimens, not as possessing any peculiar elevation, but as examples of the history at large. "What shall I render to the Lord for his goodness this day? Words fail: "tis unspeakable and full of glory.' O the sweet communications of grace and love! He has followed me with his loving-kindness. I felt deeply the import of these precious truths: In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were SEALED with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance.' I doubt not I have experienced all this. I feel that I have been 'sealed.' The sweet'earnest' pervades my inmost soul, and all is heaven there. How precious is Jesus! It is he that charms and comforts my heart. I hear men talk of the works of creation-of lofty mountains and pleasant vales-of verdant plains-of foaming cataracts and gentle rills-the sturdy oak, and the forests green-the fragrant flowers, and the standing corn: I hear them talk of fine houses, handsome furniture, grand equipage, and royal splendor; and a thousand other things, which they seem to admire almost to adoration. But these are not my God. The heavens indeed declare the glory of God; the firmament showeth his handy-work; all nature is stamped with Deity. But what are these? One glimpse of thee, my dearest Lord, one glimpse of thee, as seen in the gospel, outshines them all; and when thou art near, my soul rises above all sublunary things. Thou art my satisfying portion. To-day have I been on Pisgah's top, and seen the promised land. Not long, and I shall rise higher. O blessed prospect!" p. 121. "I have not, a more convincing evidence of my natural life than I have of the spiritual life within me, if PEACE, LOVE, and JOY in the Holy Ghost, are evidences of one's acceptance with God; for these are within me and abound. O what abundant cause I have to speak of the Lord's goodness to me. But my tongue cannot speak, much less can my pen describe, the marvellous loving-kindness of the Lord. O, he is good, and his mercy endureth for ever. O that men would praise him for his wonderful works to the children of men. Since I left New York, I have had a fulness of joy and love indescribable. The windows of heaven have been opened, and have poured down fatness. The oil and wine of consolation have been freely imparted, and I have gone on from day to day praising the Lord. Jesus alone is the source of my happiness. His presence makes my paradise. Take Jesus from the Bible, and the sinner's hope is gone. Take Jesus from the child of God below, and this world would be a desert.-Take him away in the hour of death, and all is darkness and despair. Take him from heaven, and heaven would be annihilated. Let Jesus, then, be our all. May we walk as he walked, live near to him, and ever follow him whithersoever he leadeth. As the good shepherd, he will lead us into the green pastures, and make us to lie down beside the still waters. How rich his provisions! How refreshing to our souls! Foretastes of heaven and endless felicity! Lord, evermore give us this food. I feel that I am a pilgrim, away from my home, and from my love, whom I can only see by the eye of faith. But by and by-O welcome hour! my soul, and your souls too, will escape from these tenements of clay, and wing their flight to heaven and glory. And there we shall see him as he is.-Who would not be there?" p. 103. It was during his residence in the academy, that Mr. Taylor experienced that fresh unction from on high, which seemed to introduce him into a new life. For the first six years of his Christian course, he had lived, like most other professors, a life of doubts and fears, hope and despondency. And yet, unlike them, he spent those years in fervent longings after conformity to God. Not content with a few faint and periodical desires for holiness, his soul panted with unutterable emotions for eminent attainments in piety. In April, 1822, as he walked out one morning, meditating on this absorbing theme, he called in upon a friend. He there took up a hymn-book and cast his eye at once upon a hymn, expressing all his present feelings. The perusal of it increased his desire to be baptized anew with the Holy Ghost.' He lifted his heart in prayer. A sense of his necessities rushed upon his mind. He was weighed down in view of his utter feebleness. He fled to the strength of the almighty Saviour, and at that moment felt most delightfully conscious of giving up ALL to God. He was enabled to say Here Lord, take me, take my whole soul, and seal me thine-thine now, and thine forever.' This was a season to. which, in subsequent life, he often referred, as filled with deepest interest. He looked back to it as the joyous hour of assurance, when the chains were taken off, the captive delivered, and the glory of God revealed. Then the clouds, as it were, rolled away, the sun burst forth in his might, and the pure, serene atmosphere put on a deep tranquillity, a symbol of the peace that reigned in his soul. It was to him a season of ineffable delight; of sweet childlike repose on Jesus. It was the dawn of a day which no more departed. It was the beginning of a life of the most lofty, unblenching piety-of a true walk with God. We can only refer our readers to the extract in a former Magazine, already referred to, where the account is given in his own graphic words. It is not to be expected that the life of a young man in college can present much of stirring incident. The regular, equable flow of duty renders it one of the quietest and most unvarying periods that ever occur in human probation. It is the season when the seed lies, as it were, in the earth, before it germinates and springs up. It is like the day when we hear the silent and steady distilling of the early rain, preparing the soil for the future harvest. But though there be no marvellous histories to relate of Mr. Taylor during this period, we feel that in entering on his college life, we tread upon holy ground. This was the period when he grew most rapidly in grace-when he was so humble and so heavenly, that his words seem to come upon us with all the force of inspiration-when he daily and sweetly sunk down into the will of God-when his soul panted, with such unspeakable ardor, for conformity to God and usefulness to men. The journals and letters exhibit the most striking evidence, as they proceed from month to month, of advancement in holiness. The Christian graces flourish and grow upon him with an almost unexampled rapidity; and every day we find some new trait to admire, some new attraction to draw us to God. Perhaps an idea of the character of Mr. T. during these years could not be given better than in his own words. In his private journals and his letters, we shall find him as he was in reality. Here all disguise is thrown off (if he ever wore any,) and we are made spectators of the inward emotions that were his prominent characteristics. We shall first make some extracts, evincive of his desires for increase of holiness. In writing to a friend, he says "God is love ;' and I feel the indescribable weight of this truth resting upon my soul. To the world and to the formalist, I know indeed that these are unmeaning words; but my friend can rejoice that God has imparted the knowledge of this hidden mystery to me, and is building me up in faith and holiness. Holiness! O, what charms in the very word! God is holy-angels are holy-saints in glory are holy-and without holiness no one shall see the Lord.' * O, to be more like our blessed Jesus more like God!" p. 182. And again "Holiness captivates my soul. It is this that gives the character of God its glory, in my view. It is this that makes the character of angels and disembodied spirits lovely in contemplation. It is this that makes heaven desirable. And it is this that illumes my soul, and allies it to the most holy on earth. My cry is, Lord give me wisdom and holiness. And let this be the burden of your prayer for ine-that I may be wise to win souls, and holy to enter heaven.” p. 234. In his journal, dated January 13th, he says- "His loving kindness, O how great! Have just risen from the floor, where my peace was like a river. I longed for more of God; for a suitable preparation for the work of an evangelist. I felt myself a worm, and no man; but, blessed be the Lord, I am in his hands. Here would I lie, and wait, and long for his direction, from day to day. I love the truth, and long to be more and more sanctified through it. Praise the Lord for holiness-for a clean heart. May I keep myself in the love of God. "Since Sabbath, I have, for the most part, enjoyed a sweet savor of divine things; but this evening the Lord has come of a truth, to deepen his work in my soul. The effect seemed to be, The speechless awe that dares not move Incense had been burning through the day. My willing soul looked upward. *** I longed for a deepening of the work of grace. Peace, in a steady stream, glided me along; but my soul thirsted for God-for the liv. ing God. Sat down and opened the word, and read, 'Jesus stood and cried, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.' Jesus! O, at that name what emotions arose; his loveliness; his condescension! My soul melted, and was filled with love. "What most occupied my mind, was my anticipated office. O! it is more and more magnified in my view. And as it gathers greatness, I long for the best qualification for it-holiness. "More of late than formerly, does this subject call forth strong cries and tears. I now feel in my soul-Who is sufficient for these things?' Shall I be left to prove a drone among the church's watchmen? Shall I live as I see many ministers live? Forbid it, Lord:-They are ciphers when they ought to be thousands. And what lukewarmness-what apathywhat worldly-mindedness, pervade candidates for the ministry! "How I longed for full preparation for the work; and of the kind the Lord would have me possessed of. And rather than live to prove a curse to the church, by being a mercenary-worldly-and thus, a souldamning minister, I would now be removed. But the great Head of the church is breathing on me from time to time. He gives me the holy anointing; he sends sweet longings for his glory-holy jealousy for his honor. On him let me still lean and cast every care. "It was then I felt willing to relinquish all for Christ, and to go any where, and to be any thing for him: and he showed me his countenance, and my strength was renewed."--pp. 202-204. He exhorts others likewise, in his letters, to partake the same spirit, and to labor after the same devotedness. "You recollect the season of our last interview. I think I shall never forget it. It was apparently a heavenly place in Christ Jesus. And have you found the God of love and peace' with you? I doubt not that you have, if you have been of 'one mind' to seek a high attainment in the divine life, adding to your faith virtue,' and have kept all the Christian graces in exercise. And if you still grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,' you will abound more and more in the con⚫solations of the gospel. For the sake of Christ, then-for the sake of the church, which is his body, and which he has purchased with his own blood, and for which he intercedes-for the sake of your pastor, who prays for your prosperity-and for the sake of brother S., who has labored among you -and for your own sakes, I pray you to be-what? O! be UNCOMMON CHRISTIANS; that is, be eminently holy-self-denying-cross-bearing-Bible-every-day Christians." pp. 226, 227. The record of Mr. Taylor's Christian enjoyment is extremely full. Imost every page, we find him exulting in the love of Godtriumphing in Christ-filled with all joy and peace in believing. He presents a beautiful example of that religion, which supports and cheers the Christian. He experienced a constant flow of pleasure, such as seems to most persons entirely impossible. He enjoyed daily communion with God-daily refreshings from his presence. In illustration of these points, his diary is so full that selection is almost unnecessary. Promiscuous extracts, taken almost any where at random, will show him to have been truly a heavenly man. The day was witness to his joy, and in the night, when he awoke, he was still with God. The following are from two letters to his friends "I have not much to say of myself. But I can yet testify of the riches of the grace of God. I am yet a miracle of grace-yet a pilgrim, and glory that I am counted worthy to bear the cross. Heaven's rich munificence is manifested in the choicest of its stores bestowed upon the most unworthy. These college walls do not shut out my God: my room hath become, from the first, a glorious Bethel, yes, a little heaven. It is a sacred spot, where my soul hath often drank of the river of the water of life. 'God is love.' This is my theme below: God is love.' Help me to praise him for what he has done for my soul. He hath done great things, and marvellous, whereof I am glad and would rejoice. I wish to live for none else besides my God, and feel an increased determination to spend and be spent for him. "Twenty-one months have now gone by, since he so powerfully blessed me. Rich seasons, and richer still, have I enjoyed since, and richer still am I expecting below. But heaven! heaven! There is a heaven to come-a holy heaven an eternal rest-a glorious habitation-and new glories are yet to be revealed." p. 152. "Having passed the day in my ordinary pursuits, and been abundantly refreshed at evening devotion, I feel constrained to bless the Lord and take courage. Yes, I rejoice that another day has been numbered-another of the days of my pilgrimage below; for the sweet prospect of heaven has gathered brightness, while my soul has melted with the love of God, let down in streams from the overflowing fountain. O my dear E., who is rich, and the Christian not rich? Whe is happy, and the Christian not happy? Let the world have the pleasures of the world; but our souls cry out for God; for the living God, in whose presence below is joy unspeakable and full of glory. "I can tell you how my mind was led this evening, and it may prove a blessing to you. I read the 2d chapter of Isaiah. The promise of prosperity to Zion, the mountain of the Lord's house, cheered my heart; I could believe that all nations shall flow unto it, and I anticipate the glorious day, though not on earth, to witness it, yet in heaven to rejoice with the church triumphant. My soul cried out, Let the Lord alone be exalted. But the last verse, which speaks of' man whose breath is in his nostrils,' came with a richer blessing. Thought I, soon my pilgrimage will end. Perchance these hands will soon, with all this frame, lie motionless in the grave. The thought was sweet, for my spirit laid fast hold on 'the resurrection and the life. In his name I could look up to God, and cry-Abba, Father. My Father smiled. Jesus looked upon me-the Spirit comforted me-my heart exulted. O bless his name forever. Such a view of Jesus and his cross-his sufferings and death-his resurrection and ascension and his reigning power, I have seldom experienced." p. 169. And in his diary he says, The banner of "March 7.-This has been a high day with my soul. Jesus over me has been love. He has breathed on me, and I have been baptized with the Holy Ghost. O, I love his visits! How animating his presence! It is my heaven below. Lord, enlarge the vessel, and give me more. The King is on his throne. I am a temple of the Holy Ghost, with a sweet prospect of heaven." p. 161. "March 30. Memorable, memorable day! It has been a day of days to me. In it much has been unspeakable and full of glory. On my knees I recorded my resolution, never more to boast save in the cross of Christ. |