THE

WESLEYAN-METHODIST MAGAZINE.

APRIL, 1849.

BIOGRAPHY.

MEMOIR OF MR. THOMAS WATTS,

OF PLUMPTON, NEAR PENRITH, CUMBERLAND:

BY THE REV. SAMUEL ROWE.

WHILE it is much to be deplored that any of the British yeomanry, whose diligence is constantly employed in raising the means of subsistence for multitudes of their fellow-countrymen, should be found living without any proper concern for the welfare of their own deathless spirits, and with no due regard to the will and glory of that almighty Power, on whose favouring and bountiful providence they are so immediately-it might almost be said, so visibly-dependent for success in their useful calling; and are more careful to cultivate their grounds than to cultivate holy affections and habits, and seek the production of "fruit unto holiness;" on the other hand, it is pleasing to reflect that, in this valuable class of the community, these "sons of the soil and tillers of the field," there are so many who, while they come not a whit behind their neighbours in agricultural industry and skill, are, at the same time, giving" all diligence to make their calling and election sure." They have heard and obeyed the commands of grace, addressed to them in language which their daily pursuits render familiar to their ears, strengthening at the same time the assurance with which they hope for the fulfilment of the implied promises,-"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." Among this honourable and happy number was he to whose memory the following notices are devoted,-it is hoped, for the benefit of others.

Mr. Watts was a native of the parish of Weatherhill, near Carlisle. His parents, being upright members of the Episcopal National Establishment, taught their children to read and reverence the word of God, and brought them up in a strict attendance on the services of the Church. But, though moral in their conduct, they were not acquainted with vital godliness, and saw not the evil of many things inconsistent with the higher standard of evangelical conduct, till some time after the conversion of their only son. His mother, chiefly through his

VOL. V.-FOURTH SERIES.

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instrumentality, was brought to seek, and to experience, "the righteousness which is by faith;" she became a devoted and useful member of the Wesleyan society, continuing such for the remainder of her life, and then died in the Lord.

Like most others, Mr. Watts experienced in early life many good impressions and strivings of the Holy Spirit. Nor were they altogether ineffectual. He grew up in that tenderness of conscience which ultimately led him to call upon God to "blot out all his iniquities," and to "create in him a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within him." It was in consequence of his being engaged in a practice which he believed to be sinful, that, when he was about twenty-three years of age, he became awakened to a sense of the necessity of the pardoning mercy of God. He had entered into a company of Yeomanry foot-soldiers, under the command of Mr. Howard, of Corby Castle, called the "Edenside Rangers." It was while, on one occasion, "doing duty" with that company, that he obtained clearer views than ever he before possessed of the evil of sin, both as he saw it in others, and as he felt it in himself. What more particularly pressed on his conscience was the open and complete profanation of the Lord's day which he witnessed, and in which he was, as he was then circumstanced, compelled in some degree to participate. The company was required to assemble on the Sunday, the same as on other days, for the purpose of going through their military exercises.* Mr. Watts felt that he was doing violence to his conscience by breaking the Sabbath in this manner; and he likewise knew that the practice led to other evils from which he did not always refrain, as he sometimes joined his companions in those excesses with which, after the regular exercises, the day was but too often concluded. He knew that in doing this, he was doing wrong; and his feelings at length became so painful, that he resolved to withdraw from so perilous a path. After thus spending the Sabbath evening, his mind was so distressed as soon as he was alone, that, when returning home, he was more than once obliged to seek some sequestered spot, fall upon the ground, and, in agony of soul, call upon God for mercy. Convinced that if he continued to act thus, he should lose his soul; and equally convinced that safety for himself was only to be found in the abandonment of a position in which he was exposed to temptations which

*This highly objectionable practice of exercising the Yeomanry companies on the Lord's day is still carried on in these northern parts of the island, at least, if not elsewhere; for the Westmoreland and Cumberland Yeomanry Cavalry, being assembled in the neighbourhood of Penrith, for their military duties, about the time that the above notices were written, were required, after observing the form of being "marched to church" in the morning of the Sabbath, to devote the afternoon to the usual drilling and exercising: that is, after hearing the Minister of religion, in the performance of his official duty, solemnly read, "Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy in it thou shalt not do any work ;" and after officially repeating the solemn prayer prescribed to be said after the reading of this, and of every other command, "Lord have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law !"— the soldiers of a Christian state were required to go and break this commandment, and to act in direct contradiction to the prayer they had offered, that God would "incline them to keep it!" Ought such things to be allowed in a Christian land?

he felt that he had not sufficient strength to overcome; his resolution was taken. He carried his regimentals to his Commanding Officer, and told him that he could not conscientiously continue in the company, because of its regular profanation of the Sabbath. He thus took up his cross, and bore an open testimony, according to the light he then had, against what he knew to be sin.

Being removed from this particular sphere of temptation, he resolved to lead a new life; but he did not yet see, that in order to the attainment of his object, it was necessary that he should seek a new heart. He had not learned that the tree must be made good, in order that the fruit may be good. Nor is it at all surprising that his views on this subject should be so obscure; for the ministry under which he sat afforded no instruction upon it. In after-days, Mr. Watts used to say, when speaking of this part of his history, "Our parish Priest was one of those who are always saying, 'Do, do, do, and so you shall live;' but he never pointed out to us the need of an inward principle of renewing and strengthening grace, any more than he exhorted us to seek for deliverance from the guilt of our past transgressions." Mr. Watts honestly desired to be right; but, like others in similar circumstances, he confined his attention to the streams, and thought not of the source. As he himself said subsequently, "I did my best to make myself good, and thus to set my conscience at rest." He, therefore, avoided open and gross sin, attended the customary services of the Church, and occasionally "received the sacrament." But all was unavailing. He felt himself a condemned and miserable sinner. He was not satisfied with his own performances; nor when he had done, as he thought, all that he could, did he "find rest to his soul." Like the Pharisees of old, he went about to establish his own righteousness; but he had not their self-complacency: he wished to be right, and he was inwardly conscious that as yet he was not so. What he wanted was an enlightened spiritual instructer, who should teach him the way of the Lord more perfectly, and direct him to seek salvation by grace, through faith in the all-sufficient atonement of the Son of God. And soon the information came which he so much needed. As Peter was sent to a sincere and devout Cornelius, to speak to him words whereby he should be saved, so a gracious Providence afforded means of clearer light to one who had already obeyed the light as far as he possessed it. Two zealous Local Preachers felt a strong desire to visit and preach at Coat-Hill, a village not far from the residence of Mr. Watts. Methodism was then "a new thing" in that neighbourhood; and many went from curiosity to hear what these strangers had to say. Mr. Watts went from purer motives. He was convinced that there was something in religion that he did not as yet understand, and which he believed to be necessary for his peace. He went, therefore, to hear and judge for himself, whether these Methodists could supply the information which he desired to receive. The result was, that from the preaching of these pious men, and others that followed them, he learned the way of "salvation by the remission of sins,"