Youthful Purposes
Andrew Reed
With increased opportunities for study came intenser delight in it, and willingness to make all available sacrifices for it. His own watch was the first that he had fairly made, and was correspondingly prized; but he gave it to a young man in exchange for “Halyburton on Salvation,” and Fenelon’s “Dialogues Concerning Eloquence.” His whole days were devoted to study in a most systematic fashion. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings were devoted to Hebrew; Tuesday and Thursday mornings to Greek Andrew Reed, yy
and shorthand; Saturday morning to mathematics, which he had studied under the tuition of a young clerk at a brewery. Each afternoon was given up to miscellaneous reading and composition; and each evening, after making up his mother’s daily accounts, to writing, digesting, correcting, and condensing. Beside this, he formed a friendship with a young man who was well versed in theology, and walked and. argued with him until Mrs. Reed feared that her son “was losing himself in philosophical nothings.”
She need not have troubled. One day Andrew’s desk fell over upon the floor, and while putting the displaced manuscripts to rights, her eye caught the titles of several of his exercises. Among them were papers on “Living Faith,” “Hypocrisy,” “Carnal Security,” “Cowardice in Christian Service,” and many others of* a like nature. These satisfied her that her son was in the right track, an earnest seeker after truth. Going to Bunhill Row, she bought the “Life of George Whitefield,’* in two volumes, took them home, crammed them into her boys desk, and then went to her own room to pray that Andrew “might be like that man.” Andrew thanked his mother, and read the volumes twice with deep and evident admiration of the character of Whitefield; and as the result, his own character became more devoted and earnest, and his efforts to do good naore constant and self-denying.
His favourite work of caring for orphan children first showed itself about this time. Mrs. Reed had adopted a little fatherless girl — illiterate and poor — employing her in the capacity of nursemaid. During one of Andrew’s visits to Highgate in order to clean the old ladies’ clock, they had obtained for him, by way of favour, an introduction to an old charity school known as “The Orphan House.” What he saw there made such an impression on his mind, that he returned home at the end of the week, and begged his mother to permit their little nursemaid to enter this “Orphan House,” in order that she might receive a good education. But Mrs. Reed’s hands were too full of business to admit of giving up the girl; therefore, nothing remained but to test the kindness of those who were about her. Young Andrew exclaimed, “Well, mother, she shall have as good an education as I can give hef here,” and from that day, he and his sister Martha made the girl’s education their own peculiar care. Doubtless, the story of Whitefield’s Orphan Home in Georgia had somewhat filled his mind with philanthropic projects.
As another essay to do good, he carried on an adult reading class in his father’s house; thus keeping his sympathies warm and active. While waiting for providential leadings on his life’s path, he performed diligently that work which lay nearest to his hand. So he gained strength and experience for greater and more important enterprises. Unconsciously, he ful.- filled the command of the wisest of men, in doing “whatsoever” his hand found to do, “with all his might”
His next step was to become a communicant with a Christian Church. He joined the Congregational church meeting in the New Road, where his mother attended, and where he had also been accustomed to attend for some years. He was duly admitted into membership, the entry in the church book reading thus, “January 31, 1806. Andrew Reed, aged 18 years.” After this, he definitely adopted the idea of studying for the ministry.
As one of his first steps, he sold his watchmaking tools, and his stock in trade. These were parted with at a great sacrifice, and not without some very natural regrets; but Andrew did not waver. With the money received by their sale, he bought a small library of books; among them, his biographer gives the titles and cost of the following volumes: —
I s. d. “Encyclopedia Perthensis” (23 vols.).. 17 o o “Hervey’s Works” (6 vols.)... .270 “Mosheim’s Ecclesiastical History” (6 vols.). 2 17 o “Witsius On The Covenant” (2 vols.).. 014*0 “Parkhurst’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicons “. 2 10 o “Calvin’s Institutes”.... .080 “Diodati’s Annotations “... .040
“Johnson’s Dictionary” 0100
“Lives of The Poets” o 12 o
“Fenelon’s Dialogues **... .036 Spectator (8 vols.).,,,,, o 9 Besides this sum, his mother gave him sufficient money to obtain books to the value of another ;£’20. With these he felt somewhat furnished as a theological student, and the little workshop was transformed into a proper place for study. In this study Andrew laboured not only during the daylight, but far on into the night, getting his mind well furnished against the time when he should go forth to do a man’s work in the world. This thirst for improvement continued with him throughout life.
But, although hungering after knowledge, he had few advantages compared with the student of later days. There were no public libraries, no good elementary schools, no Mechanic’s Institutes, and few cheap books. Literature was scarce and dear; the taxes upon knowledge were heavy, and war and poverty pressed hardly upon the nation. So Andrew Reed looked about him thoughtfully for means of self-culture.
In 1806 he joined, with some of the young teachers with whom he was associated at Ponder’s End, in forming a society for debating and lecturing on subjects connected with the Bible. This little band called themselves “The Society of Contending Brethren.” Among the young men were one Jardine, a shoemaker; Francis Barnet, a merchant’s clerk; Palmer, a journeyman picture-frame maker; Linniker, a currier, and some others. Their meeting-place was a back room in ChiswelJ Street. They had a small library of standard works, and studied English classics, history, philosophy, theology, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. Each member was expected to read essays of his own composition, at stated times, on moral and religious subjects, while the other members gave friendly criticisms on their productions. These essays tested the powers of the young writers in respect to their mastery of grammar and composition, and proved most helpful to them all.
Among some of the essays composed by Andrew Reed, and read before this society, we find such titles as these — “On Reconciliation,” “The Authenticity of The Bible,” “Instinct and Reason,’’ “Degrees of Glory,’’ “The Origin of Moral Evil,” “The Cherubim,” “On Pulpit Eloquence,” “On the Law,” “The Iniquities of Fathers Imputed to the Children,” “The Sovereignty of God,^’ “Providence,” and “Scriptural Qualifications for the Christian Ministry.” These subjects show how wide was his reading, and how deep was his thoughtfulness. After this he joined a class of young men under the tuition of the Rev. Matthew Wilks, minister of the Tabernacle in Moorfields, and derived much help and encouragement from this gentleman.
During this winter, Andrew prepared a catalogue of Mr. Wilks’ library, “living upon a ladder for many weeks,” in order to accomplish the work satisfactorily, and so got to be more known to his teacher, who seemed to have been much taken with the young student In 1807, Mr. Wilks made a proposal to Andrew that he should study for the Christian ministry. Writing of this in his diary, the young man says: “This evening, when I was leaving the class, Mr. Wilks desired me to call upon him the next Thursday. This much agitated my mind, for I had some reason to suppose that he wanted me to engage in the Christian ministry. I was earnest in prayer for direction from above. On the 20th January, in the evening, I accordingly went Mr. Wilks knew to what church I belonged, and asked me what I thought of entering the Christian ministry, and whether I supposed my parents would be agreeable to the proposal.
I was much pleased with the idea of God’s
government over the hearts of men, and I particularly prayed that He would take Mr. Wilks’ heart under His control, and make him His own voice to me; and that if He did not design me for the work, he would use some means to hinder my entrance on it, but that if He did He would qualify me for it
“On Saturday morning, I told Mr. Wilks that I was willing to take his judgment on the matter, and that I had long had inclinations towards the ministry, but could not believe that I had abilities equal to it He said he thought that I had abilities, which, helped by prayer, study, and spirituality of mind, might be useful in the cause of Christ He then read me several of the rules of Hackney College, into which he wished me to enter.
* He behaved very kindly, and said he would call on my parents. On the next Friday, in company with Mr. Collison, the theological tutor, he fulfilled this promise; and it was agreed that I should go to the college as soon as possible.
Andrew had to meet the Committee of the college, some few days afterwards, and deliver a short extempore discourse, which he did to the satisfaction of all the gentlemen present. He was definitely accepted, then and there, and entered the college, as a student, on March 13th, 1807. Soon after his entrance, the little household spent an evening in company with some ministerial friends, in praying for a blessing upon the future life-work of Andrew. Going from such a home, and descended from such parents, it is little wonder that he subsequently became so renowned for usefulness and goodness.
Some few months after this entrance upon college life, he received an offer of a University education. A Dr. Blair, who had heard him preach one of his earliest sermons, offered to get him into the University of Cambridge, in order that he might be trained for the ministry, under the Rev. Charles Simeon. The proposal must have been both flattering and tempting; but it was, from conscientious motives, declined. There is no doubt that the Established Church lost, by this decision, one who would have ranked among her brightest ornaments.
His deportment as a student was uniformly consistent, diligent, and prayerful He seemed to be always looking out for opportunities of usefulness. Even the servants came under his influence, so that several of them owned how greatly benefited they had been. One of them could not read, and in his hours of recreation Andrew taught her the art, and then gave her Doddridge’s “Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul,” as a reward for her diligence. Beside these marks of devotedness to duty, he was remarkable for early rising, regular attendance at classes, and punctuality at his studies. Indeed, so diligent was he, that he seldom joined in the recreations of the students, but spent the time in the quiet of his own room.
During the vacations, he preached frequently to congregations in need of pastors, in common with the other students. This practice tended to draw out the young men’s ideas, to strengthen their powers of mind, to give them a flow of language, and accustom them to pulpit exercises. In his diary, he recorded many interesting adventures which befell him in the course of these ministrations up and down the country. But so seriously did he view his coming work, that several times he “set apart” hours and days for examination, prayer, and praise, in order to seek God’s blessing upon his life-work, which he was now soon to take up. Upon completing his majority, he especially made it a matter of much prayer that he might “be qualified to Discharge every duty, and to preach the Gospel with abundant success.” Surely this fact furnishes one of the secrets of his after usefulness!
While at college, he preached at one time or another to congregations at Bristol, Plymouth, Lancaster, Dublin, Newcastle, Hexham, Cheltenham, Moorfields Tabernacle, and Selby in Yorkshire, beside a number of other places. It is a remarkable fact, that from all these places he received invitations to become the settled pastor of the congregations to which he had ministered, but the college committee restrained him from making a hasty decision.
The metropolitan friends were not willing to give him up. The young student had so endeared himself to those who knew him, that more than one city congregation made proposals to him to become their minister. And so hard a student was he, that his health began to fail.