His course may seem an inconsistent one to a superficial observer; but there was a unity given to it by the end which he pursued as steadfastly as the sun moves in the heavens above the winds and clouds of the earth.He must have the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ preached to every creature, and he supported the Established Church as fitted to accomplish this end, at the same time holding resolutely by the spiritual independence of the church as given it by Christ, and as necessary to enable it to fulfil its grand ends.And when he found that the church he so loved was interfered with in carrying out its designs, he went on bravely to the disruption of 1843, and amidst convulsions led on an exodus towards a land which he saw before him, but into which he could scarcely be said to enter.Ere he departed in 1847, he had by his wisdom established a sustentation fund for the benefit of the ministers of religion, which he hoped would secure the stability and other benefits of an established church without its temptations.He lived to see churches multiplied by means of the secession far beyond his most sanguine expectations; but he did not live to see such a union among churches as is fitted to secure the grind end which he kept ever before him, -- the spread of the gospel in all the destitute and depraved districts of the land.
I regard Chalmers as the greatest preacher which Scotland has produced.Those who have heard him can never forget {398} the impression he produced.As he spoke, he stood firm upon his legs, and looked with a broad, honest face on his audience.At first there was a flabbiness, a sort of cheesiness, about his look and a blankness in his expression; but he uttered a clear, broad, emphatic sentence, and gained the attention of his hearers; and as he advanced he was evidently interested him self and thoroughly interested the congregation; and soon he became absorbed as did all who listened to him; and in the end there was mind and heart manifested in every member and in every action (often uncouth) of his body, and the people were carried along to the close by a torrent which they could not resist, and to which they enthusiastically yielded.His pronunciation was Scotch, -- provincially Scotch.His style was not pure, not classical, was scarcely English; but it was his own, as is Thomas Carlyle's.It was clear, manly, broad, and massive.But when he spoke no one ever thought of his manner or language: everybody was so carried along by his earnestness and his matter.He commonly began by a clear enunciation of some philosophic or moral principle of great practical moment, and then proceeded to unfold and illustrate it.He did not turn aside himself and he did not distract his hearers by the introduction of a variety of topics; he keeps to his one principle, but he presents it under a vast variety of aspects, all contributing towards the one impression.He is marching up a hill, and he takes us with him; he often lingers by the way and gives us glorious retrospects of the ground we have traversed and glorious prospects of the heights to which he is to conduct us, and he carries us at last to a lofty height with a magnificent scene spread all around.The result is that he has gained our convictions: he has done more, we are ready, by the impulse he has given, to execute what he proposes.At the close, as we feel that he has forgot himself, so we forget our selves, and forget him as a speaker in an admiration of the truth he has expounded or an eager desire to perform what he has inculcated.What he has said has become incorporated with us, like food to strengthen us and go with us.He has planted a principle in the heads and hearts of his hearers to continue there for ever, to send out roots downward and stems and branches upward.The consequence was, that, if be was not the most intellectual or emotional speaker of his age, {399} he was the most practically influential, spreading his power over the length and breadth of Scotland.
Even in the most active operations, and the keenest controversies thereby excited, he retained his academic and philosophic tastes.He delivered in 1815-16 his "Astronomical Discourses," which drew on week-days the busiest Glasgow merchants from their offices and warerooms.
In these discourses he obviates the prepossession apt to be created and fostered in intelligent and refined minds by the Scripture doctrine of the Son of God dying for man, and he does so by showing how great care God takes of the most minute objects and events.In most of his sermons he proceeds upon and unfolds some important philosophic principle.In his "Mercantile Discourses" he lays down the moral principles of business transactions, and shows how a rigid attention to them would restrain injurious speculation and promote a healthy trade.In those on " Human Depravity,"he proves that there may be the deepest sinfulness in hearts which yet have many amiabilities.In his " Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans," he is not always able to enter into the thoughts of the apostle, or follow him in his subtle transitions; but he powerfully defends the grand doctrines of revelation by showing that they are sustained by a profound philosophy.His doctrine, drawn from Scripture, is substantially that of the old Scotch divines from Knox downwards: but every one feels that it is pervaded by a new and fresh spirit; it has less of a stern aspect; it is tolerant; it is catholic.The stream has descended from the stern rocks of the sixteenth, and is sweeping along amid the fertility of the nineteenth, century.