24
August 1744 A.D. Rev. Rowland
Taylor Born—Church of England
Graves,
Dan. “Noble Rowland Taylor Preached Among the Lowly.” Christianity.com.
Jul 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/noble-rowland-hill-preached-among-the-lowly-11630246.html. Accessed 17 May 2014.
Rowland Hill scandalized his contemporaries. The
son of Sir Rowland Hill, a baronet, he was born in Shropshire, England on this
day, August 23, 1744. Educated at some of England's best schools on his way to
becoming a minister (Shrewsbury, Eton and St. John's College, Cambridge), he
might have risen to elite positions in the church. Instead, he chose a lowly
path.
With the example of George Whitefield before his
eyes, Rowland decided to carry the Gospel where it was most needed. Even while
at school, he preached out of doors and visited the sick. Although he was
appointed to a parish in Kingston, Somersetshire, he was denied admission to
the Church of England priesthood because friends and religious authorities
detested his methods. However, despite opposition and a strong Methodist
influence, Rowland always followed Church of England forms and stayed in that
denomination.
Rowland had a powerful voice and he knew how to
express his ideas in such a way as to reach common people. He drew large
crowds. His book Village Dialogues suggests the kind of illustrations and
sayings that made him a delight to listen to. For example, "I would give
nothing for that man's religion whose very dog and cat are not
the better for it." It was Rowland who asked, "Why should the devil
have all the good tunes?"--a saying often attributed to Martin Luther. The
poet and scholar Robert Southey said that he was as good a performer, in his
own realm, as certain famous actors were in theirs.
In Village Dialogues, Rowland named his Christian
character Thomas Newman, for, as he said, "...everyman who goes to heaven
must have the name of new-man. We must not expect to enter there unless we are
created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them."
Having inherited a good deal of money, Rowland used
it to build Surry Chapel, London, where he preached and continued his
leading-edge efforts at outreach. Thirteen Sunday schools were connected to his
church. Despite his fixed place of work, he continued to make tours through
England and to preach out of doors. In addition to this work, Rowland was a
leader in forming the British and Foreign Bible Society, the London Missionary
Society and the Religious Tract Society.
He died in 1833.
Bibliography:
1. Hill, Rowland. Encyclopedia
Britannica. Britannica, 1911, 1968).
2. Shorter Bartlett's Familiar
Quotations, the. New York: Permabooks, 1957.
3. Wells, Amos R. A Treasure of
Hymns; Brief biographies of 120 leading hymn- writers and Their best hymns.
Boston: W. A. Wilde company, 1945.
4. Various internet articles.
Last updated July, 2007
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