12mo. The Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures asserted.A Treatise of Scandal: inquiring, Whether things indifferent become necessary, when commanded by Authority? Whether things scandalous being enjoined, may lawfully be done? How far we are bound in conscience to obey human laws, &c.-An Ordination Sermon on Acts xiii. 2, 3.-Scripture Justification opened, &c.—Ministers' dues and People's duties, a Šerm. on i Th. v. 22.

HAMBLEDEN, [R. S.] Mr. HENRY GOODEARE. Dr. Walker says he was an independent, and never administered the sacrament while he was here. Be this as it may, this was not the cause of his being ejected, but his Nonconformity.

HAMPDEN, [R.] Mr. JOHN SAUNDERS, of Exet. Col. Oxf. Born in Exeter, of which city his father had been mayor. He was promoted to a Fellowship, solely for his great merits, in 1652. He had a penetrating genius, was an acute philosopher, a great admirer of Plato, a very subtle disputant, a hard student, and withal a man of singular piety. He was much beloved by the rector Dr. Conant. As soon as he proceeded M. A. he was made Professor of grammar, and the next year of rhetoric also, to the university; and acquired a great reputation by discharging both those offices, so as to become a celebrated tutor in the college. In 1657, he. was presented to this rectory by Richard Hampden, Esq. and he continued in it till Bartholomew-day. After being silenced, he lived privately, but died within the compass of a year.

HUCKET, Mr. JOHN WILSON. Upon his ejectment, he became chaplain to Sir Thomas Lee and to Sir Richard Ingoldsby, but afterwards he betook himself to the practice of physic.

Great KYMBLE, [V.] 257. GEORGE SWINNOCK, M. A. Born at Maidstone in Kent. He was first at Cambridge, and removed to Oxford, where he was chosen Fellow of Baliol Col. After his ordination he was vicar of Rickmansworth, Herts; and then of Great Kymble, where he was ejected for Nonconformity in 1662; upon which he became chaplain to R. Hampden, Esq. of Great Hampden. Upon the Indulgence in 1672, he removed to Maidstone, where he became pastor of a considerable congregation. He died Nov. 10, 1673. He was a man of good abilities, and a serious, warm, and practical useful preacher.

WORKS.

WORKS. The Door of salvation opened by the key of Rege neration. The Christian man's Calling.→Heaven and Hell epitomized. The Beauty of Magistrates.-Treatise on the Incomparableness of God in his being, attributes, &c.-The Sinner's last sentence.-The Life of Mr. J. Wilson.-Several occasional Ser

mons.

LANGLEY-MARSH [R.] NATHANIEL VINCENT, M. A. [of Magd. Col. Oxf.] Son of a pious minister, Mr. John Vincent, and brother to Mr. Tho. Vincent. He possessed so strong a memory, that he was used, when but seven years old, for the ease of his father, to repeat his sermons in the family on the Lord's day evenings. He was admitted to the university at eleven years of age, and went out M. A. at eighteen. He preached publicly as a lecturer at Pulborow before he was twenty, and at twenty-one was ordained, and fixed as rector of Langley-Marsh. After his ejectment, having first spent a few years in a private family, he came to London, soon after the Fire in 1666, and preached to large multitudes: sometimes to thousands in the ruins. This was censured by some persons as rashness; but God was pleased to own his zeal, by the conversion of many souls. His popularity drew upon him the anger of the higher powers, and he met with much disturbance. Having a meeting-place in Southwark, the soldiers would sometimes come in the morning, and take possession of it, and hinder him from preaching. One time, after they had planted four muskets round his pulpit, with which he seemed not terrified, they pulled him out of it by his hair, As they were carrying him through the narrow alley adjoining, the multitude crowded in between him and the soldiers, and rescued him: But upon a Lord's day quickly after, they again got him into their hands, and having kept him under guard all day, at night Justice Reading and three others fined him 20l. Soon after this, which was in 1670, he was taken again, and committed to the Marshalsea, where the great number of people who came to visit him gave offence. Hereupon, without the least warning, he was hurried away to the Gatehouse in Westminster; which none of his friends would have known, had not an acquaintance been accidentally by the water-side when he was put into a boat; who took a pair of oars to follow it, and saw him lodged in that prison, where he was committed close prisoner during the king's pleasure, without pen, ink, or paper; and was not so much as suffered to write to his wife, to inform her where he

was.

The above gentleman having given her intelligence,

she

she carried him some necessaries, but could not be admitted to see him without a large fee, and then only for a few minutes. This imprisonment was the harder upon him, as he had long had a severe quartan ague. One day the jailor, going with the criminals to their trial, took the key of Mr. Vincent's room with him, when he happened to have his ague, and he was kept all day without any refreshment, so that his fit was very severe: but it pleased God to order it that it never returned.

While he was in prison, some persons were endeavouring to draw up articles against him to affect his life, but they could not accomplish their design. Mrs. Vincent made all the friends she could to petition the king and council; and in seven weeks time got him out of the close imprisonment, but -still he was obliged to remain a prisoner for half a year upon the Five-mile act. After that, he was unmolested, and went "on preaching to a numerous congregation, with great success, till the year 1682, when another storm arose against him. Justice Pierce came into his meeting when he was in the pul-pit, and commanded him in the king's name to come down: but he told him, He was commanded by the King of kings "to stand there; and so went on in his work. Afterwards the officers came frequently to disturb him; but having pre-vious notice of it, he used to quit the pulpit, and the congre-gation sung a psalm. When the justices and constables were gone, he came again into the pulpit, and proceeded. He was afterwards fined 20l. but the officers not having it in their commission to break open doors, did not seize his goods, but indicted him upon the act made in the 35 Eliz. according to which he was to suffer three years imprisonment, and then banishment. He had a summons to appear at the assizes at Dorking in Surrey, under the penalty of 40l. The Lord's day before his going thither, he preached a sort of a farewell sermon, to a very numerous assembly, on Phil. i. 27. and afterwards administered the sacrament. On the Wednesday following he was brought up a prisoner, and committed to the Marshalsea, to continue there till the time of his banishment. He had at that time a sick wife, and six small children, the eldest of which was not eleven years old, and the youngest not two months. Being loth to leave his native country, and his beloved congregation, he took the advice of the ablest counsellors he could meet with, who found a flaw in the indictment; and observed that he had been tried before those who were not the proper legal judges in the case, and

thereupon advised him to be at the expence of a Habeas corpus, in order to his being brought to the bar of the King's bench, there to have a hearing before the judges. He appeared six days successively, with four or five of the ablest counsel, without being able to come to a hearing, His wife petitioned the judges, that bail might be taken for him, that he might have his liberty, but she had little encouragement. The lord chief justice Saunders dying at that time, Sir G. Jeffries succeeded him; and Mr. Vincent being in the hall, when they were just going to enter upon a tedious cause, Judge Jones, casting his eyes upon him, took notice that he had attended several days; and asked the court, whether any reason could be given, why bail might not be taken for his appearance? Upon which he obtained his liberty.

This imprisonment cost him 2001. He preached but seldom for a year after; and when he did, it was to very few at a time; and he went on undisturbed, till he had public liberty in common with his brethren, in the reign of K. James. But after some time, an unhappy and reproachful division took place in his congregation, when sixty of his communicants broke off from him, and joined with Mr. Fincher; which made a deeper impression upon his spirit than any of the troubles he had met with for Nonconformity. He died [suddenly] June 21, 1697, aged 53, and was buried at Bunhill. His funeral sermon was preached by Mr. Nat. Taylor, on Luke xii. 4. from whence the following account of his character* and of his death is extracted. Even Wood owns that he was a considerable scholar, but falsely charges him with having been concerned in Monmouth's rebellion. Athenæ Oxon. ii. 1031.

"As a Minister, he had a good share of learning and other ministerial abilities, which he daily improved by diligent study. He had Luther's three qualifications to make a man a gospel-minister: He gave himself much to meditation and prayer; and as to temptation, he had, in his younger days, been sorely exercised by it. He had a natural fervency of spirit, which made him somewhat vehement in every thing, which time and experience corrected so far as to make him more moderate towards his brethren who differed from him.

The very short character now omitted, which Dr. Calamy gives of him, is taken from that sermon; but the words are Mr. Baxter's concerning his BROTHER, Mr. Thomas Vincent. A strange mistake! But it is more strange, that the Dr. should not have given a larger extract from this excellent dis

course.

He

He had a great zeal against bold intruders into the work of the ministry, in which I hope you his people will imitate him. He had a marvellous readiness in answering difficult questions. But the gift of preaching was the peculiar talent with which God had blessed him. He opened and applied the great truths of the gospel with such plainness and majesty, life and power, as manifested the deep sense he had of the great ends of the ministry. His sermons commanded attention, raised affection, and struck awe into the consciences of his hearers; no wonder then he had such eminent success. As a Christian; he was ready on all occasions to start some serious discourse, and whatever company he came into, like an open box of precious ointment, would leave some sweet perfume behind him. His compassion to the poor was great, and he was liberal in doing good at once both to body and soul. He was a close walker with God; and he found the fruit of it, in a settled calm assurance of the divine love, for many years together; which several times passed the trial and stood unshaken when he thought himself near his end; so that when his nearest relation expressed her sorrow, he replied, "Why weep you for me, who am going to the eternal "inheritance ?" To a friend, he lately said, "I do not "expect to live long, but I bless God, I am ready."-His patience and resignation under afflictions and severe pains were remarkable. When a relation once expressed much concern for him, he answered, "Submission, submission "best becomes creatures." And he used often to say, "I am in the hands of my gracious God and Father, who best "sees what is best for me."-His death was very sudden. He was taken ill in the morning, and had time only to say to those who came about him, "I find I am dying; Lord, Lord, have mercy on my family and congregation." So near did his people lie to his heart, even in his last moments." The sermon concludes with some excellent hints of advice, worthy the attention of all destitute churches.

WORKS. The Conversion of a Sinner, and the Day of Grace. -Heaven or Hell upon earth: a discourse on Conscience.-The Conversion of the Soul.-The true Touchstone, shewing both Grace and Nature.-A Covert from the Storm; [written when in

*To inforce this advice, Mr. Taylor says, among other things" If these illiterate Antinomian usurpers are not speedily and effectually discounte"nanced, by ministers and people too, they who are already THE BLEMISH "OF NONCONFORMITY will quickly prove THE TOTAL RUIN OF IT."-Whether such a hint be unseasonable in our own times, may deserve consideration.