cess

THE subject of this Memoir was the son of that venerable servant of Christ, the late Rev. W. Williams, Dissenting Minister at Brecon and Aber, who laboured with great sucamong the Independents for more than half a century, and was reckoned, in his day, one of the most popular and respectable Ministers in the county of Brecon; he died Dec. 1st, 1800, aged 83. The Rev. Thomas Williams was born in the year 1755, at a place called Drawvilan, near the town of Newport, in the county of Monmouth, on his grandfather's estate. He felt his lost condition as a sinner when he was very young, but the death of one of his sisters had been sanctified by the Spirit of God in bringing him to form the resolution of giving himself up to the Lord and unto his people, and he was received as a member of the church of Christ at Aber, when about 16 years of age. His friends soon finding that he possessed great abilities, encouraged him to devote himself to the Christian ministry, and in order to be better qualified for the important work of preaching Christ to perishing sinners, in his 17th year

VOL. IV.

he entered the academy at Abergavenny, under the tuition of the late Rev. Dr. Benjamin Davies, where he remained for seven years; and when he left the seminary, he received from his tutor an honourable testimony with regard to his character, abilities, and proficiency. Mr. Williams was ordained at Pump-street, in the city of Worcester, where he laboured with great acceptance for two years, and from thence he removed to the city of Hereford, where he has been the faithful Minister of Eignbrook Chapel for upwards of 44 years. When he first settled at Hereford, he met with many trials, and encountered some opposition as a Dissenting Minister, yet he relied on the all-sufficient aid of his God, for strength to persevere in the face of them all. Among his manuscripts was found the following paper, written by himself, which was a covenant engagement between him and the Lord: it is as follows:

"Eternal and ever blessed God, I Thomas

Williams, Dissenting Minister at Hereford,

do most solemnly and seriously on this day, being the 3d of September, in the year of our Lord 1783, renew and ratify my cove 2 N

nant engagements with thee-which engage ments I entered into some years back, but the instrument has been mislaid. As a vile

polluted sinner, I come unto my insulted Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer, and plead the sovereign merits of thy Son for a gracious reception. This day do I, with the utmost solemnity, surrender myself to thee, truly desirous of consecrating myself, all I am and have, to thee wholly and for ever, determined by the assistance of Divine grace, ever to hold myself in an attentive posture, to observe the first intimations of thy will, and ready to spring forward with zeal and joy, to the immediate execution of it. To thy direction also I resign myself and all I am possessed of, to be disposed of by thee in such a manner as thou shalt in thine infinite wisdom judge most subservient to the purposes of thy glory. Use me, O Lord, I beseech thee as an instrument of thy service, number me among thy peculiar people, let me be washed in the blood of thy dear Son, let me be clothed with his righteousness, let me be sanctified by his spirit! Transform me more and more into his image, impart to me, through him, all needful influences of thy purifying, cheering, and comforting Spirit. And let my life be spent under those influences and in the light of thy gracious countenance, as my Father and my God. And when the solemn hour of death comes, grant, O my Father, that then, with peculiar delight, I may remember these my engagements to thee, that I may employ my latest breath in thy service! And do thou Lord, when thou seest the agonies of dissolving nature upon me, remember this covenant too, even though I

should then be incapable of recollecting it.

Look down, O my heavenly Father, with a pitying eye, upon thy languishing, thy dying child; place thine everlasting arms underneath me for my support, put strength and confidence into my departing spirit, and receive ine into the embraces of thine everlasting love, and welcome me to the abode of them that sleep in Jesus, to wait thy final promise of immortal glory---In the belief and hope of which I now lay hold on thy

covenant and set my hand unto it.

"THOMAS WILLIAMS. "

Mr. Williams was in the habit of writing his sermons very full, and they were always plain, evangelical, and often energetic. His favourite points in all his discourses were, Christ and him crucified, the work and influences of the Holy Spirit, bringing sinners to the knowledge of the truth, together with the necessity of maintaining good works, as the best of evidences

that we have religion in the heart; for he was anxious to see all who professed Christ adorning the doctrine of their Divine Master by a consistency of conduct. Towards the people of his charge, he acted the part of a tender father, always ready to assist them when in difficulties. His counsels were much sought after, and in his death the poor have lost a friend they will not soon forget. His charities were not few, and he knew how to follow the direction of Christ-" Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." And the cause of Christ has lost a firm supporter, for he was always ready to advocate every plan laid before him for the extension of true religion; he was one of the first who established an Auxiliary Bible Society at Hereford, and was chosen one of its first Secretaries. The moral darkness of the inhabitants of the county of Hereford pressed very heavily on his mind, and he wanted to give every encouragement to those who laboured under the Home Missionary Society, by inviting them to his house, and having their cause pleaded annually in his pulpit. As a proof of his great attachment towards his own people, he left his valuable library, and about two hundred pounds for the use and support of the cause at Eignbrook. Mr. Williams had married Miss Mary Bradley, an highly accomplished young lady, of the city of Worcester, which happy union lasted with unabated felicity for about 36 years; she died in the Lord in the month of March, 1823. His natural constitution was very strong, and he enjoyed an almost uninterrupted state of health until Sept. 1823, when, on a visit at Aber, in Breconshire, he was taken very ill; his complaint was an inflammation of the bladder, and he never recovered of its effects, although he was enabled to resume the ministry. The last time he preached, was the first Sabbath in January, when he preached