The Hero of the Humber | Page 6

Peace reigned within and all around was lovely. The sun seemed to
shine more brightly, and the birds sang a sweeter song. The flowers
wore a more beautiful aspect, and the very grass seemed clothed in a
more vivid green. It was like a little heaven below. 'As I walked along,'
he says, 'I shouted, glory, glory, glory, and I am sure if a number of
sinners had heard me they would have thought me mad.'
But was he mad? Did not the pentecostal converts 'eat their meat with
gladness and singleness of heart, praising God?' Did not the converts in
Samaria 'make great joy in the city?' Did not the Ethiopian Eunuch,
having obtained salvation, 'go on his way rejoicing?' And Charles
Wesley, four days after his conversion, thus expressed the joy he felt--
I rode on the sky so happy was I, Nor envied Elijah his seat; My soul
mounted higher in a chariot of fire As the moon was under my feet.
And surely God's people have as much right to give utterance to their
joy as the dupes of the devil have to give expression to theirs; and
though the religion of the Saviour requires us to surrender many

pleasures and endure peculiar sorrows, yet it is, supremely, the religion
of peace, joy, and overflowing gladness.
Mr. Ellerthorpe was never guilty of proclaiming with the trumpet
tongue of a Pharisee, either what he felt or did, and though he kept a
carefully written diary, extending over several volumes, and the reading
of which has been a great spiritual treat to the writer of this
book,--revealing, as it does, the secret of that intense earnestness,
unbending integrity, active benevolence, and readiness for every good
word and work by which our friend's religious career was
distinguished,--yet of that diary our space will permit us to make but
the briefest use. Take the following extracts:--
'January 1, 1852.--I, John Ellerthorpe, here in the presence of my God,
before whom I bow, covenant to live nearer to Him than I have done in
the year that has rolled into eternity.'
[Sidenote: HIS PIOUS RESOLUTIONS.]
Resolutions.
'1st. I will bow three times a day in secret.
2nd. I will attend all the means of grace I can.
3rd. I will visit what sick I can.
4th. I will speak ill of no man.
5th. I will hear nothing against any man, especially those who belong to
the same society.
6th. I will respect all men, especially Christians.
7th. I will pray for a revival.
8th. I will guard against all bad language and ill feeling.
9th. I will never speak rash to any man.

10th. I will be honest in all my dealings.
11th. I will always speak the truth.
12th. I will never contract a debt without a proper prospect of payment.
13th. I will read three chapters of the Bible daily.
14th. I will get all to class I possibly can.
15th. I will set a good example before all men, and especially my own
family.
16th. I will not be bound for any man.
17th. I will not argue on scripture with any man.
18th. I will endeavour to improve my time.
19th. I will endeavour to be ready every moment.
20th. I will leave all my concerns in the hands of my God, for Christ's
sake. All these I intend, by the help of my God, diligently to perform.'
That he always carried out these resolutions is more than his diary will
warrant us to say. He sometimes missed the mark, and came short of
his aim. He suffered from a certain hastiness of temper, and ruggedness
of disposition, which, to use his own words, 'cost him a vast deal of
watching and praying. But the Lord,' he adds, 'has helped me in a
wonderful manner, and I believe I shall reap if I faint not.' The
following extracts from his diary will give some idea of his inner
experience:--
[Sidenote: HIS DIARY.]
[Sidenote: HIS INNER EXPERIENCE.]
'January 1850. 5th.--I feel the hardness of my heart and the littleness of
my love, yet I am in a great degree able to deny myself to take up my

cross to follow Christ through good and evil report. 7th.--I feel that I
am growing in grace and that I have more power over temptation, and
over myself than I had some time since, but I want the witness of full
sanctification. 8th.--What is now the state of my mind? Do I now enjoy
an interest in Christ? Am I a child of God? It is suggested by Satan that
I am guilty of many imperfections. I know it, but I know also if any
man sin, etc. Feb. 18th.--I feel my heart is very hard and stubborn, that
I am proud and