A POEM, DEDICATED TO THE REV. MR. RALPH ERSKINE, BY A LADY IN NEW-ENGLAND, 19 UPON READING HIS GOSPEL SONNETS. ERSKINE, thou bleffed herald, found Till fin's black empire totter to the ground: OF THE REV. MR. RALPH ERSKINE. THE Rev. Mr. RALPH ERSKINE was honourably defcended of very refpectable ancestors; his father, the Rev. Mr. Henry Erskine, being one of the thirty-three children of Ralph Erfkine of Sheffield, a family of confiderable repute and ftanding in the county of Merfe, and originally defcended from the ancient house of Mar. Our author, and his brother, the Rev. Mr. Ebenezer Erskine, late minifter of the gospel at Stirling, were two of the children of the faid Rev. Mr. Henry Erskine, who was fome time minifter of the gospel at Cornwall, afterwards at Chirnfide; a man eminent in his day, and juftly diftinguished for his piety and firm attachment to Prefbyterian principles: for his ftedfaft adherence to which, he was fubjected to many confiderable hardships in the latter part of the last century, during the perfecuting period of Charles II. and James VII.† The author of the following Poems, was born at Monilaws, in the county of Northumberland, on Sabbaththe 15th of March, 1685, at three o'clock in the afternoon; and baptized at Chirnfide on the 5th of April faid year, by the Rev. Mr. William Violand. He gave pretty early proofs of a great genius and fine fancy; and feveral inftances of a pious difpofition and a folid way of reflecting on matters. On this ac count he was, by his parents, early destined for the holy ministry, who refolved to give him a regular and liberal education, in order to qualify him for that important office. *Cornwall is in the fhire of Northumberland; Chirnside lies about five miles from Berwick upon Tweed, in the Scots fide. + See the continuation of Calamy's Life of Baxter, p. 681. When he had acquired a competent measure of gram, mar, and other introductory parts of education, he went to the university of Edinburgh, to complete his ftudies; where he went through the ordinary courses of Philofophy and Divinity with fuccefs; and made a confiderable progrefs in the branches of literature: for he foon became a fine Grecian, an excellent Logician, and an accomplished Philofopher. But after having acquired fuch a competent measure of knowledge, in thefe various branches of erudition, he gave himself up to the tudy of Theology, his darling and beloved topic; in which he made great progrefs, as his productions therein do abundantly evince. The ordinary courfe of philofophical and theological ftudies being gone through, at the college of Edinburgh, with fuccess, he was, in the providence of God, called forth to appear in a public character; and being well reported of, by all who knew him, for a converfation becoming the gofpel, he was accordingly taken upon trial by the Prefbytery of Dunfermline; and having fin ifhed the ufual pieces of trial affigned him, to the entire fatisfaction of the Prefbytery, he was by them licensed to preach as a probationer, the everlasting gospel, on the 8th of June, 1709. In which capacity, he exercifed the talents which the Lord had graciously conferred on him, within the bounds of the faid Prefbytery, both in vacancies and fettled congregations, to the great fatisfaction of his hearers, both minifters and people, as his certificate from that Prefbytery, dated April 4th, 1711, exprefsly bears. In this station of life he did not long remain: providence foon opened a door for him; and he got an unanimous call from the parishioners of Dunfermline, on the 1st of May 1711, to exercise his minif terial talents and abilities amongst them; which call was approved of by the Prefbytery, on the day following, as regularly proceeded in. He went through the usual pieces of trial, for ordination, prefcribed by the Prefbytery, with approbation; and thereupon they fet him apart to the office of the holy miniftry, in the collegiate charge of Dunfermline, on August 7, 1711. Under the character of a minifter of the gospel, having now a paftoral relation to a particular flock, in the church univerfal, he "determined not to know any thing, fave Jefus Chrift and him crucified." He was "instant in season and out of seafon," in all parts of his ministerial labours, and gave himself wholly thereunto ; exhorting the people under his truft, from house to house, in the way of family vifitation; examining them more publicly upon the principles of our holy religion; vifiting the fick when called; and preaching the everlasting gofpel, in which he had a very pleafing and edifying gift. He preached, by turns, with his colleague every Sabbath and Thursday, through the year and afterwards, when he had none, for several years before his death, he officiated alone, very punctually both on Sabbath and week day. He delivered few extemporary productions. His fermons were generally the fruit of diligent study, and affiduous application. For the most part he wrote all; and kept very close by his notes in the delivery, except when the Lord was pleased to carry in upon his mind, in time of preaching, fome pat and appofite enlargements, whereof he had no previous study, and to which he nevertheless cheerfully gave way, as coming from Him, who has the tongue of the learned; who knows how to speak a word in feafon to him that is weary; and who fays, "It fhall be given you the fame hour what ye fhall fpeak; for it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that fpeaketh in you." He was bleffed with a rich and fertile invention, as appears in the agreeable and entertaining diverfity, wherewith his heads of doctrine are every where adorned. The poetical genius, with which he was happily endowed, contributed not a little to the embellishment of his difcourfes, with a variety of pertinent epithets and striking metaphors. 66 66 His gift of preaching was both inftructing and fearching. Few outfhone him in the nervous and convincing manner whereby he confirmed the truth of the doctrines he infifted on; and fewer ftill in the warm and pathetic addrefs, in which he enforced the practice of them. He peculiarly excelled in the ample and free offers of Chrift he made to his hearers; and the captivating and alluring methods he used, for gaining their compliance, or their receiving and refting on Chrift alone for their falvation, as thus freely and fully exhibited unto them in the gospel. On all which accounts he was juftly efteemed, and much followed, as one of the most popular and edifying preachers of his day. During his time, facramental folemnities, at Dunfermline, were very much crowded; numbers of people, from feveral parts of the kingdom, reforting unto them: and the Lord was pleased to countenance fome of thefe communions, with fignal evidences of his gracious prefence and influence, to the fweet and comfortable experience of many. 1 It will eafily appear to the judicious and experienced reader, in perufing his writings, that he had as dexterous a faculty in ranfacking the plagues of the heart, and defcribing the diverfified circumftances of ferious and exercised fouls, as if they had fully communicated their feveral doubts and cafes unto him; while, in the mean time, he was only unfolding the inward experience of his own foul, what he himself felt of the workings of unbelief, and of the powerful influence of the Holy Spi rit, in opposition thereunto; which could not but quadrate, or agree, with the operations of the felf-fame Spirit of God in others; for, "as in water, face anfwereth to face, fo doth the heart of man to man.' This eminent fervant of Jefus Chrift, being exercised to godlinefs from his youth, became, by the grace of God, a "fcribe inftructed into the kingdom of heaven,” whom our Lord compares to "an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure, things new and old.” Old invariable truths, but new illuftrations of them; old experiences, the fame with other faints before, but new observations and improvements upon them : fo that, with abundance of propriety, it may be faid, that there are few perplexing doubts, or intricate cafes, which the faints have, at any time been exercifed with, that are not in fome one or other of his fermons, very judiciously folved, and diftinctly elucidated, or cleared up. During our author's life time, and at the importunity of many of his acquaintances, both ministers and people, he published a great number of his fermons, on the most interesting fubjects, which were well relished by the tru ly godly, and had their praises in the churches of Chrift, both at home and abroad. Thefe, with feveral others, |