Memoirs of (he Rev. Samuel BoUL 



[Sept. I. 



may dcfcn-e notice. Ttis ;in cxphia.ition 

 Ol" Hum. viii. 11. " li" tlio i'piiit i)t' liiiu 

 that rairod up .Icfiis from tlie dt:id (1\ cil 

 in jou, lie lluit railed up Cliriii Irom tlic 

 dead llmll alfo (juicLen, i^uoir'jirg-n, your 

 Wiorlal bodies by liis IpitiL tli it fivvellcth 

 ill you." Mr. IJold oljlervcj-, tiuit the 

 fcufe of the word ^aoTroiem, as tlial of 

 •yti^fif, with vvhicli ii .p hero conuecied, 

 mud be learned lioui tiie fubjcct o. di(- 

 courfc. " It appears plain to mc," he 

 /liys, " that in tliis vcrle the general re- 

 furrcAioii of the. Lall Day is not fo much 

 us hinted at. The Apollle here declares 

 and proves, that linccre CUririiaiib niuft 

 and will lead truly regular and obedient 

 lives, becaufc the fpirit of C'hrift in them 

 is a vital principle, elTe6tually influencing 

 tliem iu whom he dwells to a holy and 

 new obedience. ' Slutli make olive your 

 mortid bodies,' that is, lludl enable you 

 to otler up your frail, decayin;; bodies, 

 living facrifices unto Cod, to yield them 

 and the members of them iftiinnenls of 

 rigliteoufnefs unto holincfs, and to em- 

 ploy and ul'e them in the athial and Hea- 

 dy performance of that obedience and 

 duty which Chrift your Lord enjoins 

 jou*-." 



In the year 173C, ]\Tr. Bold pnblillied 

 " An Help to Devotion,'' mentioned at 

 the be!:;inning of this article. It appears 

 from the Preface, that •' old af;e, with 

 fume of the infiiniities accompanying it, 

 had rendered hiiii iiica})ablc of performing 

 the offices he had ufually attended in 

 public, and of almoft all coii\er(;itioii." 

 This determined him to employ his pri- 

 vate hours in reading the New 'lellament, 

 with a particular recard to what every 

 chapter ati'ordsto alVill C'hriftians in their 

 daily devotions-. " If they can fix in 

 their memory," fays he, " ovcry mornina; 

 the I'orm rclalinf;; to tlic chapter read, 

 tliey may have opportunities in the day- 

 time to pour out their hearts to the l^ord 

 in their private rej/Oatinf; it, and thereby 

 they will be fiirnillicd with very ulcful 

 fubjeiltson which to employ their iliou>.lht» 

 and uieditiitions, when at leifure from 

 other aria irs ; each of which will contri- 

 bute to eftjiblifli them in a devout tem- 

 per of fpiritf.'' The dev(^iiunal exor- 

 cifes in this piece are fliurt, ratii>iial, 

 and fiJnplc; very exprelfue of the ]iious 

 fnnph'city of the author's mind, and al- 

 fording a proof that on thofe views of 

 Clirii':ianity which deviate from re[)uted 

 orthodoxy, a fpirit of devotion may bo 

 eriilcod. 



Mr. Bold did not lon^r fni-vivc the pub- 

 lication of this tract ; for i.'e died in Au- 

 gull ir37, luivmt; been recior of Steeple 

 (ifty-ii\ years. I'lu- preceding narrative, 

 thou{in not crvAvded with incident-, has 

 cxhiuited a character efiimabie and va- 

 luable, and marked by a candid purfuit 

 and av.jwal of tiiitii, in tinii-s not very 

 favourable to eiihei. It is pleahng to 

 trace out the Inieaments of fuch a cha- 

 rafier, and the name of Mr. Bold dc- 

 ferves to be preferved, on tiie s^round 

 of his endeavours to ioftcii tiie preju- 

 dices and to excite tlie attention of the 

 pub.ic to Mr. Locke's writiu-is and fei.- 

 ments. ^Vhile he was the advocate of 

 this illuftrious man, it is clear that he 

 was not blind to or lilent on tlie merits 

 of other writers, whofc opinions he con- 

 troverted. Speak inji of ftir. Fdwaid.*, 

 lie declared that he " was a perfon for 

 whom he had a m-eat refi)ecl, becuufo of 

 feveral treatifes lie jjublilhed, which did 

 not abound wiili inaj^ilterial rant, but 

 difcoveied him to be an excellent critic, 

 a perfon of great reading and of jjood 

 judgment*. He candidly owned, that 

 iome of thofe who had written againft 

 I\lr. Jxickcwere great men, and polVelfed 

 of admirable talents, while -he palVed jull 

 encomiums, in p-articular, on the learn- 

 ing of Dr. Whitby and the genius of Mr. 

 NorrisJ. The tefiimoiiy he bore to th|»- 

 DilVeiiters, as an evidence of his libera- 

 lity, Ihould not be omitted. " Thofe of 

 the DilVenters with whom I have been 

 ac(|uaintcd," he lays, " have been ineu 

 of great learning, lirict devotion, and ex- 

 traordinary lovalty: men who "have b en 

 diligent atlendcrs on Clod in his public 

 ordinances, eminently religious iu their 

 families, wh.o had a great regard for con- 

 fcience in all the parts of tlieir couverfa- 

 tion with nienf." 



.i\lr. Bold left behind him the charac- 

 ter of " a man of tme learning and ge- 

 nuine piety, of found do(^trine and uioft 

 exemplary life ; a nurtt uleful man in his 

 (tation, and a zealous promoter of tru* 

 rdigioii." And to the j^refent day, ou 

 the authority of a gentleman who washisi 

 intimate friend, this teltimony is borne 

 to him, that " ho was an excellent parill> 

 prielt, very pious and learned." 



Birmingham, Josiil'a Toulmin. 



* Some pafliges. Sec. Pref. p 5f. 

 + A Diicourfe conccrnhig the Refurrcc- 

 tion, &c. Frcf". p. I, '^j 5. 



J l*rcf. to tlio " Brief Relation," p. 3. 



r. 48. t P'cf*:e> P- '^ 



OllIGINAl, 



