POOR JEWRY LANE.-English Presbyterian, Extinct. 68 not any longer live that idle and unserviceable life which "I have lately done; and therefore if God hath some work "for mee yet to do here, hee will continue mee yet here; "but if not, I am sure there is better work for mee in hea"ven, whereby I shall act for his praise and glory more. "When I took my last leave of him, hee said, Farewell Timothy; and if I see thee not any more in this world (as indeed he did not) I hope I shall in the next, which is a better! (and so I hope also, said Mr. Cruso) Only "remember (continues Mr. Bowles) to keep a good conscience, and walk close with God. Which last words he "twice repeated with a considerable emphasis, that it might "work a deeper impression, and the greater observation."* The above Mr. Oliver Bowles was a member of the Westminster assembly, and is said by Dr. Calamy to be" of Sutton in Bedfordshire;" but whether he died there we are not informed. Mr. Cruso received a liberal education for the ministry, first at a private academy among the Nonconformists; and afterwards in one of the universities of North-Britain, where he resided some years, and took the degree of Master of Arts. Before he entered upon his ministerial employment, it is probable he spent some time as chaplain, or tutor, in a private family, a very usual practice for young ministers at that time; and it is certain the Dissenters have derived no advantage by discontinuing so laudable a custom. It does not appear whether Mr. Cruso preached any where statedly before he settled in London; which we suppose to have been about the time of King James's Indulgence, in 1687. After the division in the Pinners'-Hall lecture, occasioned by the exclusion of Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Daniel Williams, in 1694, Mr. Cruso was chosen to fill up one of the vacancies. This argues him to have been in high repute as a preacher, • Theol. Bib. Mag, vol. iv. p. 138-9. VOL. I. + Account, p. 779. POOR JEWRY LANE.-English Presbyterian, Extinct. that distinction being conferred only upon the most eminent Divines, in and about the metropolis. At that lecture he delivered many elaborate discourses, which he wrote at full length in long-hand, accurately composed, and very judicious. From these a sufficient number was selected after his death to form a moderate size volume, which was published in 1699, with a recommendatory Preface by the Rev. Matthew Mead. Mr. Cruso's qualificatious for the ministry were very considerable. He had laid in a large stock both of divine and human learning, which he cultivated with care, and improved by close application and industry. He possessed a sound mind, and a steady judgment in the great doctrines of the gospel, which he explained with clearness and precision, and enforced with a becoming solemnity. His views of the nature and importance of the ministerial office, would never suffer him to enter the pulpit in an unprepared and careless manner; for though he looked up with becoming reverence to the promised presence and assistance of the Holy Spirit, he thought this was only to be obtained in the use of means, and, therefore, never neglected a diligent preparation in his study. He was a minister that excelled in pulpit talents. His compositions were judicious, exact, serious, and practical. He possessed a solid judgment, and a rich and lively invention. His voice was clear and melodious; his manner eloquent and persuasive; and his deportment in every respect so agreeable, that he could hardly fail of commanding the attention of the most dull and inconsiderate of his hearers. These qualifications were happily directed to the noblest purposes. Mr. Cruso esteemed it his highest honour to be a faithful minister of Jesus Christ; he took great delight in his work, and consecrated all his efforts to the best interests of the souls of men. And his labours were attended with a remarkable degree of acceptance and success. was justly esteemed one of the greatest preachers of the age He POOR JEWRY LANE.--English Presbyterian, Extinct. in which he lived; and presided over a numerous and flourishing church to the day of his death. Mr. Cruso was a hearty friend to civil and religious liberty. No man rejoiced more at the downfal of despotism and popery, and the re-establishment of British freedom by the glorious revolution, under the immortal King William. In commemoration of that happy event, he preached and published a discourse, in which, after gratefully acknowledging the interposition of Providence, he expresses his admiration for the hero, our deliverer. With regard to the religious disputes which agitated the nation in his time, Mr. Cruso, from a principle of conscience, sided with the Nonconformists; but he inculcated love and forbearance among christians of all denominations. He entertained a strong sense of the injustice and barbarity of that fatal act, which, in one day, extinguished so many burning and shining lights, and may be considered as a step to all the calamities which obscured that and the succeeding reign. The anniversary of the Bartholomew ejectment, he never failed to commemorate by a sermon on the 24th of August, when he took occasion to enforce strongly the necessity of a national repentance for that great national sin. Mr. Cruso's religious sentiments harmonized, entirely, with those of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster; and for the doctrines contained in their celebrated confession, he was a strenuous and able advocate. This truly great and excellent man, to use an expression of Mr. Mead, "lived too fast ;" not like many, who shorten their days by sinful excesses, but as a taper which wastes itself to give light to others. His bodily constitution, naturally weak, was greatly impaired by constant study and incessant labours. His extraordinary zeal for the interest of Christ and the souls of men, animated him to increasing desires for usefulness; and his ardent mind continually aspiring to greater knowledge and higher attainments, at length overreached his strength, and brought him to the grave, in |