* 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. ^> 
 
 Shelf.... 
 
 BV 4501 .G55 1865 
 Gilroy, Clinton G. 
 Inner life; or. The joys of 
 my Father's house, designe 
 
 
 

 ■J::: 
 
 
 
 '4^ 
 
</ 
 
 TESTIMONIALS. 
 
 The late Hon. Theodore Frelinghuysen, President of the American 
 Bible Society, and Chancellor of the University of New York, in a 
 letter to the author of " The Inner Life, or the Joys of my Father's 
 House," says : — 
 
 " I duly received the manuscript of your work on the Inner 
 Life, and have given it as much attention as other pressing 
 duties allowed me. And having found it pure and Scriptural 
 in its moral and religious contents, I cheerfully recommend it 
 as a work calculated, through the blessing of God, to do much 
 good. The selections of Scripture, in my judgment, are judi- 
 ciously made; and the appropriate application of them in 
 your work, with its excellent spirit, cannot be otherwise than 
 useful. Your volume will be a valuable help to all who seek 
 the wisdom of which the Bible is the sure revelation. 
 
 "THEO. FRELINGHUYSEN. 
 
 "New Brunswick, Dec. 5, 1860." 
 
 Mr. Frelinghuysen was one of the most deeply pious members of the 
 Presbyterian Church in America. No man was more highly e.-i^teemed 
 by the religious world in general. His memory will ever be cherished 
 by all evangelical Christians. 
 
 The Rev. Bishop M. Simpson, D.D., of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, says :■ — 
 
 " I have perused with some care the proof sheets of * The 
 Inner Life ; or, the Joys of my Father's House,' and cordially 
 
^ TESTIMONIALS. 
 
 commend it to the religious public. I am much pleased with 
 its pure, evangelical sentiment, its copious illustrations, and 
 its easy style. It is calculated to aid the thoughtful reader in 
 his efforts to attain a higher life; and I have no doubt its gene- 
 ral circulation will do much good. 
 
 "M. SIMPSON." 
 
 "Philadelphia, July 25, 1864." 
 
 The Rev. P. S. Ilenson, Pastor of the Broad Street Baptist Church, 
 says : — 
 
 " I have read with no little interest and profit the proof- 
 sheets of 'The Inner Life, or the Joys of my Father's 
 House.' It is eminently evangelical in its tone, and catholic 
 in its spirit. Its materials seem to be drawn from the trea- 
 sury of a ripe and varied Christian experience. Believing as 
 I do that a perusal of the book will be calculated to quicken 
 the pulses of that Inner life of which it treats, I sincerely 
 hope it may find its way to many homes and hearts. 
 
 "P. S. IIENSON. 
 "Philadelphia, Oct. 1, 1864." 
 
 The Ptev. Charles P. Krauth, D.D., Professor of Systematic The- 
 olo^'y in the Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran 
 Church, at Philadelphia, and Editor of "The Lutheran and Mis- 
 sionary," says : — 
 
 " The ' Inner Life' strikes us as the work of a thoughtful 
 Christian, thoroughly read in the Bible and largely familiar 
 with the best practical and devotional literature. It is evan- 
 gelical to the core, earnest in its spirit, and well adapted to 
 promote the growth of the Christian life. It presents the heart 
 of religion as distinct from the technicalities of abstra(;t theo- 
 logy, and will profit and interest every reader. It is specially 
 rich in the treasures of Christian experience and of sacred 
 
 song. 
 
 " CHARLES P. KRAUTII. 
 
 " Philadelphia, May 11, 1805." 
 
TESTIMONIALS o 
 
 Tlie Rev. Kingston Goddavd, D. D., Pastor of St. P:iurs Protest- 
 ant Episcopal Church, speaking of " The Inner Life, or the Joy.s 
 of my Father's House," says: — 
 
 '•The value of such works of pnictical experience as 
 the ' Inner Life' is that they present to the Christian the in- 
 ward influences of 'the Truth' in the heart. Mere acquaint- 
 ance with Bible truth may be acquired and yet none of its 
 power felt. To possess it is only like standing in the broad 
 and bright sunshine of mid-day. But when that Truth is 
 presented as it is in this earnest and loving work, it is as 
 if we walked amidst all tlie rich scenery of earth beside its 
 streams and rivers, that the sun had warmed into existence 
 and decked with brilliancy and beauty. Most earnestly do 
 we recommend this book to the perusal of the devout 
 Christian ; and heartily we hail it as a valuable addition to 
 
 our sacred literature. 
 
 "KINGSTON GODDARD, 
 
 "St. Paul's Ch. (P. E. C.) 
 
 "Philadelphia" 
 
 Another eminent minister of Christ, the Rev. J, II. A. Bomberger 
 D.D., Pastor of First German Reformed Church, Race Street, says : — 
 
 " No better testimony can be borne to the real worth of a 
 
 book, than that its perusal has been found truly instructive 
 
 and edifying, and that the reading of several chapters of it 
 
 causes regret that there is neither time nor opportunity, at 
 
 present, for going through the whole of it. This testimony 
 
 I can sincerely ofFer in favor of the ' Inner Life.' It is a good 
 
 book in the highest sense of the term, and cannot fail to prove 
 
 welcome and profitable to all who read it with sober and 
 
 devout minds. 
 
 " J. II. A. BOMBERGER. 
 
 " PniLADELPniA, May 12, 1865," 
 
THE INNER LIFE; 
 
 ou, 
 
 THE JOYS OF MY FATHERS HOUSE. 
 
 DESIGNED TO 
 
 ASSIST THE SEEKER, STRENGTHEN THE WAVERING, 
 
 AND COMFORT THE AFFLICTED AND 
 
 THE BEREAVED. 
 
 BY 
 
 A WAYFARING MA,N. 
 
 ■J 
 
 " After a short pause, he began with a voice that would have allayed the anguish 
 of death, and charmed the wildest discord into calm attention : every accent breathed 
 celestial love and harmony, while he described the joys of his ' Father's house.' Every 
 word was penetrating. In his descriptions, I saw tlie glories, I felt the joys, of heaven." 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 PRINTED 1 OR THE AUTHOR 
 
 BY SHERMAN & CO. 
 
 1SG6. 
 
Entered, accordiug to Act of Con!j;ress, in the year 1SG5, by 
 WM. II. STARR, 
 
 in the Clork's OfTifu of the District Court of tlie United States for the Pi.strict of 
 Connocticnt. 
 
INTRODUCTION, 
 
 There is not enough of anything good in tlie 
 world, Avhich depends on man, not enough even 
 of tliose good things of which it is asserted most 
 frequently, that there is too much. Books are 
 plenty, good hooks are few, and among the classes 
 of the few good books none are more rare than 
 those which are thoroughly adapted to the experi- 
 mental life of the Christian. Eeligious books, 
 written in the course of professional life, and 
 printed simply because they have been written, — 
 books prepared for the benefit of the author, or 
 of the publisher, not for the benefit of the reader, 
 — are common enough. Smooth and graceful in 
 style and rich in thought such works may be, but 
 as they do not come from the heart they do not 
 go to the heart, they simply swell the number of 
 books already too large, books wrought out in no 
 genuine experience, and addressed to no specific 
 want, and incapable of moving the affections of 
 men, a result without which their judgments are 
 enliofhtened in vain. 
 
8 IXTRODUCTIOX, 
 
 The volume which now lies before the reader 
 claims a moment from him, on the ground that it 
 is no bookseller's nor book-writer's manufacture, 
 but a true growth, an humble but genuine growth 
 out of a life kindled by the Saviour and hidden 
 with him in God. It is offered to God and to His 
 Children, as the witness of a heart which was led 
 through sore conflicts to precious experiences, out 
 of the darkness not alone of nature, but of a se- 
 ductive and delusive system of theology, to a 
 knowledge of the truth of God iu his Word, and 
 of the God of truth in his only-begotten Son, 
 through the Holy Ghost, the illuminer and Com- 
 forter. Its author asks a hearing, not because of 
 the earthly wisdom or human eloquence for which 
 the natural heart seeks, but because he speaks 
 w^hat it is his joy, in common with all that are in 
 Christ Jesus, to know, and testifies, in the fellow- 
 sliip of all who are led by the Spirit of God, what 
 he has seen. 
 
 This volume may be made a hand-book for the 
 Pilgrim who turns his face Zionward, not indeed 
 as a substitute for God's own Guide-book, but as 
 a simple Manual, in which is arranged what that 
 great and exhaustless Book furnishes for the way. 
 With this testimony of God's inspired servants is 
 connected, in these pages, the record in which the 
 
INTIIODUCTION, 'J 
 
 i^::'.ii!s of many lands, and the "wayfaring man" 
 Ijiniself, set their seal to God's eyer-ahiding trnth. 
 The Bible, the hfe and testimony of Bible Chris- 
 tians, the sweet and heayenly strains of holy men 
 and women who drew their inspiration from the 
 Bible, these will be found grouped together here 
 in all the artless feryor of a soul which desires to 
 know nothing among men, but "Jesus Christ and 
 him crucified." It is a book in which tlie yearn- 
 ing heart of seeker and saint will find a yoice for 
 its longings, in which the mourning and the re- 
 joicing will find words of comfort and of exulta- 
 tion. It has an extraordinary air of reality, as if 
 the inyisible were visible, as if the glory to be re- 
 vealed were a present thing grasped in living faith. 
 The man who has no religion, or who imagines 
 that religion is all summed up in frigid speculation, 
 may not comprehend the fire of devotion which 
 glows in these pages, and yet he must be cold in- 
 deed, if he can peruse them without feeling some- 
 thing of their own ardent life and aspiration. 
 
 But this little volume is not merely devotional; 
 it is eminently practical. It unfolds duty as well 
 as privilege, duty in the closet, and duty in the 
 family circle. It is especially a book for the 
 family. The Chapters on " Obedience to Parents" 
 are peculiarly comprehensive and forcible. The 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 family which is so happy as to take its shape 
 under the influence of those Chapters will never 
 cease, no, not to eternity, to thank God that this 
 book was hrouglit within it. 
 
 This book is also rich in consolation. The 
 . ever-touching theme of "Family Bereavements" 
 is handled with a tenderness which would have 
 , been impossible on the part of one who had not 
 tasted very deeply of the bitter cup, and very 
 deeply of the consolations which a Saviour's love 
 mingles with it. As the author approaches the 
 termination of his work, the heavenly home as- 
 sumes to him an increasing vividness ; he rises and 
 carries the reader with him, within the veil. He 
 gathers a cloud of witnesses around the saint's 
 dying hour, and central among them all stands 
 the faithful and true Witness, "The Author and 
 finisher of our faith," the adorable and loving 
 Saviour. To that Saviour this book is an offering 
 of love and gratitude ; and all who love him, and 
 all who wish to love him, will find pure delight 
 and an abiding blessing in an earnest, repeated, 
 and prayerful perusal of it. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ADVENT OF THE ONE ALTOGETHER LOVELY. 
 
 His amazing love — No room in tlie Inn foi* "poor" people — 
 Born in a Stable — What the Angels did — His temptations and suf- 
 ferings — His transfiguration — He weeps over a rebellious people — 
 His groans and tears at the grave of Lazarus — What all the riches 
 of the world could not purchase — He is forsaken by all his friends 
 — His sorrows — The powers of darkness assail him — He prays the 
 more earnestly — Sweats great drops of blood — What his tor- 
 mentors and murderers said and did — The amazing riches and 
 glory of the Christian — Eternal misery of all who refuse or neglect 
 to come to Christ — The battle for souls betwixt the Armies of the 
 Cross and Satan and his hosts — Earth a near door-neighbor to 
 Heaven — Time has no duration in the reckoning of God — The 
 speed of Angels — Christ ever present with the Christian in his 
 public and private devotions — Infinite wisdom, power, and conde- 
 scension of God Page 17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 The love unspeakable and full of glory — What the sweet singer 
 of Israel said of it — What St. .John heard — Effect of a mother's 
 prayers, and of preaching Christ and him crucified — Amazing 
 
 (xi) 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 effects of pardon — Why these raptures are allowed new converts — 
 The proofs of true conversion — Who are true Christians, and who 
 mere professors or "reprobates" — The conversion of William 
 Cowper, and others — Heart-cheering experiences — The beacon- 
 light of their Father's house in full view — Sounds like "foolish- 
 ness" to men of the world — "Divers operations, but the same 
 God" — No two leaves upon a tree alike — The cases of Lazarus, 
 Zaccheus, and Mai-y Magdalene — What Mary's tears and love had 
 won — Love and sorrow — Earth's night of weeping will soon sparkle 
 in eternal sunbeams — Christ always uppermost in the thoughts of 
 his people — They cling to the Cross like the ivy to the tree 35 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE WARFARE. 
 
 What God does to the true members of his Church — The true 
 nature of the Christian warfare — The devices of Satan — His onsets 
 constant — Leave no unguarded place — What the Christian mu.?t 
 expect and do — No cross no crown — The hidden designs of God — 
 The rod — Words of cheer for sinking hekrts — The morning with- 
 out clouds — The everlasting hills of glory appear — The spirit of 
 God sounds a string here and there — Conflicts and trials — The 
 way God teaches and trains his children — Fearful consequences 
 of counteracting His afflictive dispensations — Frightful suflFerings 
 and deaths of the most precious and lovely of God's children — 
 Dreadful end of the wicked — Steadfastness of the saints of old — 
 Why the Christian's course is not strewed with flowers and sun- 
 beams 55 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 BATTLES FOUGHT AND VICTORIES WON. 
 
 The aged Soldier of the Cross — The smile upon his wasted 
 cheek — His prospects of eternal happiness clear and glorious — 
 The wilderness passed — His Father's house in full view — Happy 
 deaths — The glories of Immanuel's land — The unspeakable hap- 
 
CONTEXTS. Xlll 
 
 piness of the cliiklvcn of God — What the martyrs did in their last 
 moments — Transporting views of the heavenly world — The minis- 
 try of Angels — Delightful death-bed scenes — Fearful condition of 
 wicked men in a dying hour — Happy death of a Sunday-school 
 scholar — His last words to his parents and sister — His " farewell" 
 to each — Sees his Saviour — Angels around his bed — Hears de- 
 lightful music — Longs to die — The smile of Heaven overspreads 
 his countenance — His last word to his mother — Looks up to 
 Heaven, smiles, and expires in his father's arms 81 
 
 CHAPTER y. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Prayer the life-breath of true religion — AVhat God says of 
 prayer — Dreadful condition of the prayerless man — What the 
 saints of old did — No excuse will be taken — The prayers of Dav+d 
 and Daniel — Places of prayer — What prayer did for Joshua, 
 Elijah, Hezekiah, and other men of God — Amazing power of 
 faithful prayer — Faith : definitions of it — Wrestling with God in 
 prayer — Jacob's prayer — Praying " with strong crying and tears" 
 — A dying father's last prayer for his daughter — Tears — The Lord 
 despises all human strength in prayer — The proud praying lions 
 flung aside to rot — "When I am weak, then am I strong" — Family 
 worship — Dutiful children blessed — A dying father's last gift to 
 his daughter — Its immense value — What God has promised to do 
 for all who truly love him 103 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 PRAYER, CONTINUED. 
 
 The Bible — Its amazing value — What David and Daniel thought 
 of it — What the veterans of the Cross say — Dr. Arnold's remarks 
 — ''Praying with all prayer" hateful to the Devil — His devices — 
 The weapons he uses — What the Christian must do — How to dis- 
 tinguish the true disciples of Christ from mere professors or 
 "reprobates" — Sweet hour of prayer — Prayer within the reach of 
 2 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 all — Ignorance or want of education no excuse — What every true 
 soldier of Christ does — What David said of "filthy rags" or self- 
 righteousness — The power of Satan — His depths — His perfidious 
 crvielty — Tries to delude, degrade, and ruin the Christian — His 
 lying and detestable character — His last resource to destroy the 
 Christian — The warnings of the fathers against his deceptions — 
 What provokes Christ most — The recording Angel ever present — 
 Unguarded moments — What the erring Christian must do — Whnt 
 broke Peter's heart — The Lord's last prayer for his disciples, and 
 for all who come to him 125 
 
 CHAPTER yil. 
 
 OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 
 
 What God said in Abraham's praise — The example of Christ — 
 Warnings to parents — "I won't" — Job and Solomon on Wisdom — 
 The happy child — A man shall be known in his children — The life 
 speaks — Every action has a tongue — Ahaziah and his wicked 
 mother — Their fearful end — What a properly brought up child 
 hates — What wicked children do — What the Scriptures say of 
 them and their wicked parents — Indications by which their true 
 states of mind may be known — What a parent has no right to ask 
 his child to do — The drunkard and profane swearer — Frightful 
 effects of ardent spirits on the human body and mind — The ruin 
 wide-spread — Who is responsible — "Am I my brother's keeper?" 
 — God commands a disobedient drunken son to be stoned to death 
 by his parents — Spontaneous combustion of drunkards — The 
 fearful doom that awaits tliem beyond the grave — The profane 
 swearer 141 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS, CONTINUED. 
 
 Susceptibility of the young mind to evil impressions — Tlie 
 Christian family — A dying mother's last words to her son — The 
 " far-off misty days" — The remembrance of her great love for him 
 brings tears in his eyes — The boy who is *'too big" to obey his 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 mother — What Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords did — 
 The dreadful end of the wicked — The Bible knows no to-morrow 
 — "Thinking about it" — A limit to provocation — The devices of 
 Satan — His helpers and agents — What the Scriptures say of the 
 eternal home of the wicked — What wicked children will say to 
 their parents in the Day of Judgment 1G5 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 The grave — The Christian family never grows less — Anxiety of 
 the blest for the safety of their relations and friends — The Indian 
 mother — The withered blossoms will bloom again — The cloud of 
 witnesses — The loved ones of my childhood's days — The true 
 Soldier of the Cross no believer in second causes — Extravagant 
 desires — Conflicts and trials — Impatience and murmuring — The 
 changed Cross — The bodies of the saints — Abel and his harp — 
 Sings the song of redeeming love — The faith of the saints of old 
 — The music of Heaven — Unspeakable happiness of the redeemed 
 — " I long to be there" — The Angels: their power and glory — 
 The "house" of "many mansions" in full view — The ship enters 
 the harbor — Home at last — The meeting of death-divided friends 
 — The Saviour's amazing love 177 
 
THE 
 
 INNER LIFE. 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 ADVENT OF THE ONE ALTOGETHER LOVELY. 
 
 His amazinjr love — No room in the Inn for "poor" people— -"Born in 
 a Stable — What the Angels did — His temptations and sufferings — His 
 transfiguration — He weeps over a rebellious people — His groans and 
 tears at the grave of Lazarus — What all the riches of the world could 
 not purchase — He is forsaken by all his friends — His sorrows — The 
 powers of darkness assail him — He prays the more earnestly — Sweats 
 great drops of blood — What his tormentors and murderers said and did 
 — The amazing riches and glory of the Christian — Eternal misery of all 
 who refuse or neglect to come to Christ — The battle for souls betwixt the 
 Armies of the Cross and Satan and his hosts — Earth a near door-neigh- 
 bor to Heaven — Time has no duration in the reckoning of God — The 
 speed of Angels — Christ ever present with the Christian in his public and 
 private devotions — Infinite wisdom, power, and condescension of God. 
 
 O THE depth of the love which brought the Lord 
 Jesus from the bosom of his Father, in the " heaven of 
 heavens," to the manger in Bethlehem, to the cross 
 on Calvary, to the depths of the grave in Joseph's 
 sepulchre, which induced him to wash men from their 
 sins in his own blood. Isaiah liii. 3-12 ; Matt. xxvi. 
 20-28; 1 John iii. 16; Rev. i. 5, 6 ; vii. 13, 14. We 
 2* (17) 
 
18 ADVENT OF THE 
 
 were prisoners at the bar, condemned to die ; but he 
 left his "Father's house," and came down to earth, and 
 stood at our side, saying, I will die for them, that 
 they may live forever ! He took our nature upon him, 
 and was born as a man ! He entered the world with 
 all the circumstances of povert}^ ! He had a star to 
 illustrate his birth ; but a stable for his bed-chamber, 
 and a manger for his cradle! The angels sang hymns 
 when he was born ; but he was poor, despised, and 
 afflicted: God being more careful to establish in him 
 the covenant of sufferings, than to refresh his sorrows. 
 Isaiah liii. 3-12 ; Heb. v. 8, 9. Presently, after the angels 
 had finished their hallelujahs, he was forced to fly to 
 save his life, and the air became full of the shrieks of 
 the desolate mothers of Bethlehem for their dying babes. 
 Matt. ii. 18; Jer. xxxi. 15. The Father had no sooner 
 made him illustrious with a voice from heaven, and the 
 descent of the Holy Ghost upon him in the waters of 
 baptism, than he was delivered over to be tempted and 
 assaulted of the devil in the wilderness ! 
 
 His transfiguration was a bright ray of glory ; but he 
 also entered a cloud, and was told a sad story of what 
 he was to suffer in Jerusalem. So that upon Palm 
 Sunday, when he rode triumphantly into that rebellious 
 city, although hailed with the acclamations of a king, 
 he wet the palms with his tears, sweeter than the drops 
 of manna, or the little pearls of heaven that descended 
 upon Mount Hermon, weeping in the midst of this 
 triumph over an obstinate, perishing, and malicious 
 
ONE ALTOGETHER LOVELY. 19 
 
 poople ! "And when he was come nigh, even at the des- 
 cent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the 
 disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud 
 voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, 
 Blessed be the king that cometh in the name of the Lord : 
 peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And the 
 Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Mas- 
 ter, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said 
 unto them, I tell you that if these should hold their peace, 
 the stones would immediately cry out. And when he was 
 come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If 
 thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, 
 the things which belong unto thy peace ! but now they 
 are hid from thine eyes." Luke xix. 3*7-47 ; Prov. i. 24- 
 28 ; Jer. viii. 20. " Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that 
 killcst the Prophets, and stonest them which are sent 
 unto thee, how often w^Ould I have gathered thy children 
 together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her 
 wings, and ye would not! Behold your house is left 
 unto you desolate." Matt, xxiii. SI, 38 ; John vii. 34, 35; 
 Acts xiii. 45, 46. " If I had not done among them the 
 works which none other man did, they had not had sin ; 
 but now have they both seen and hated both me and my 
 Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might 
 be fulfilled that is written in their law. They hated me 
 without a cause." 
 
 Look at him at the grave of Lazarus ! The sufferings 
 of the two sisters touch his loving heart ; and there he — 
 "the Lord of glory," and "the Creator of all things," 
 
20 ADVENT OF THE 
 
 stands forever sanctioning sorrow, and even exalting it 
 into a manly, most noble thing. His eyes swim in tears, 
 groans rend his bosom ; he is deeply, so uncontrollably, 
 so visibly affected, that the spectators exclaim, "Behold, 
 how he loved him, ! " These were precious tears. The 
 passing air kissed them from his cheek, or they were 
 drunk up of the earth, or they glistened but for a little, 
 like dew-drops on some lonely flower ; yet assuring us 
 of his sympathy in our hours of sorrow, their memory 
 has been healing balm to many a bleeding heart. This 
 " man of sorrows," so gentle, so tender, so easily moved 
 that he often wept, endued with a sensibility so deli- 
 cate, that the strings of his heart vibrated to the slight- 
 est touch, has, by a word, rent the tomb. 
 
 Why flow the blessed Saviour's tears ? 
 Is it because the cross he fears — 
 Because he knows he soon shall die, 
 And shall within the cold grave lie. 
 
 He weeps to see the sister weep 
 Of Lazarus, who lies asleep ; 
 So tender is his heart, so kind, 
 That all from him may pity find. 
 
 Mary called her babe her Saviour. Luke i. 46, 41 ; 
 Isaiah ix. 6 ; Micah v. 2, 3. Mary was once poor, but 
 now she had what all the riches in the world could not 
 purchase. Jer. ix. 23, 24 ; 1 Cor. iii. 21-23 ; 2 Cor. vi. 10; 
 Colos. ii. 3. Ah, happy Mary ! happy Mary ! And yet- 
 wonderful to relate, this amazing treasure of the now 
 happy Mary, was once sold for thirty pieces of silver I 
 
ONE ALTOGETHER LOVELY. 21 
 
 Zech. xi. 12, 13; Matt, xxvii. 3, 4. The first star that 
 ever shone, nay, the first angel that ever sang, are but 
 things of yesterday beside this manger, where couched 
 in straw and wrapped in swaddling clothes, a new-born 
 babe is sleeping. "Before Abraham was," or these 
 were, "I am," says Jesus. His mother's maker, and 
 his mother's child, he formed the living womb that gave 
 him birth, and ages before that, the rock that gave him 
 burial. A child, yet Almighty God; a Son, yet The 
 everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace I Isaiah ix. 6; 
 John xiv. 8, 9. See him in that hall — a spectacle of woe ; 
 an old purple robe on his bleeding back ; in his hand a 
 reed; and on his head a wreath — not of laurel, but of 
 thorns, while the blood, trickling down from many 
 wounds over his lovely face, falls on a breast heaving 
 with a sea of sorrows ! 
 
 Oh, my Saviour ! what a theme for mortal tongue ! 
 
 For never yet hath burning spirit flung 
 
 O'er thrilling chord his rapture-making hands, 
 
 To_theme so great, 'mid heaven's seraphic bands. 
 
 Through the long silence of eternal night, 
 
 Thou wast, enthroned in uncreated light; 
 
 Thyself a universe — thyself thine all ! 
 
 And when, of thy mere goodness, thou didst call 
 
 Angelic worlds around thee, sweetly rolled 
 
 Their strains o'er harps of pure, ethereal gold. 
 
 They sung thee God — creation's fount and end, 
 
 Their Sovereign Benefactor, Xord and Friend. 
 
 Their " Holy, Holy, Holy," pealed around, 
 
 Deep echoing through immensities profound ; 
 
 Yet none, amidst their shining hosts of light, 
 
 E'er hailed thee, "Saviour!" that supreme delight 
 
 Reserved for guilty man — for guilty me! — 
 
 To sing through time, and through eternity. 
 
22 ADVENT OE THE 
 
 Yes, He who had been waited on by angels, becomes 
 the servant of servants, takes a towel, and girds himself, 
 and washes his disciples' feet ! John xiii. 4, 5 ; Matt. xxvi. 
 2Y, 28. He who was honored with the hallelujahs of ages 
 is now mocked, spit upon, and scourged ! Oh, for w^ords 
 to picture his humiliation! Dan. vii. 13, 14 ; Psalm xxii. 
 IG, 18; Ixix. 20, 21 ; Matt, xxvii. 29-35. The stupendous 
 fabric of creation, yonder starry vault, this magnificent 
 world, were the work of the hands by which, in love to 
 poor sinful man, he '' the Lord of glory," hung a mangled 
 form, on the Cross of Calvary ! Deserted by the world, 
 " a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief," depend- 
 ent on a few humble followers for the most common 
 necessaries of life, within a few hours of an ignominious 
 death, his foot already on the verge of the grave, he rises 
 to the loftiness of Godhead ; and turning an eye that 
 was to be soon darkened on earth, he claims a com- 
 munity of property with God. "All things," he says, 
 "that the Father hath are mine." 
 
 Though He was rich, yet for our sakes he became 
 poor, that we through his poverty might become rich ! 
 2 Cor. viii. 9 ; Matt. viii. 20 ; Luke ix. 58. He took upon 
 him the form of a man, and ended a life of sorrow by a 
 death of pain, that he might reconcile a fallen world to 
 an offended God! Eph. ii. 15, 16; Rom. iii. 24, 25. His 
 mental suffering was ineffable, inconceivable ; the tempta- 
 tions to which he w^as exposed were all that Satanic 
 ingenuity could devise, to harass and shock his holy 
 mind. Never was sorrow like his sorrow. All human 
 
ONE ALTOGETHER LOVELY. 23 
 
 suffering compared with his, scarcely deserves the name. 
 The deeps environed him ; the waters came into his 
 soul : all God's waves and billows passed over him. He 
 was given up to the assaults of the infernal hosts. Oh, 
 how they tormented his holy soul ! Oh, what nameless 
 terrors ! He was indeed the man who saw affliction by 
 the rod of God's wrath. What an idea do these words 
 give of the intensity of his agony, " Now is my soul 
 troubled ; and what shall I say? — my soul is exceeding 
 sorrowful, even unto death. This cup which Thou 
 givest me to drink, shall I not drink it?" "And there 
 appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening 
 him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: 
 and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling 
 down to the ground." 
 
 So deep were his sorrows, so fervent bis prayers, 
 That down o'er his bosom roll'd great bloody tears ; 
 I wept to behold him; I asked him his name — 
 lie answer'd, 'Tis Jesus! from heaven I came. 
 
 I am thy Redeemer! for thee I must die; 
 The cup is most bitter, but cannot pass by. 
 Thy sins, like a mountain, are laid upon me ; 
 And all this deep anguish I suffer for thee. 
 
 I heard with deep sorrow the tale of his woe, 
 While tears like a fountain of waters did flow ; 
 The cause of his sorrows to hear him repeat, 
 Affected my heart, and I fell at his feet. 
 
 I trembled with sorrow, and loudly did cry. 
 
 Lord ! save a poor sinner, save, or I die ! 
 
 He smiled when he saw me, and said to me, "Live; 
 
 Thy sins, which are many, I freely forgive I " 
 
24 ADVENT OF THE 
 
 How sweet was that moment lie bade me rejoice ! 
 His smile, how pleasant ! how cheering his voice ! 
 I flew from the garden to spread it abroad — 
 I shouted, Salvation ! and Glory to God ! 
 
 Yiew that crucifixion ! Look at that thorny crown on 
 his ensanguined temples I See that ragged purple robe, 
 but ill concealing his lacerated and bleeding form ! Look 
 at that mocking sceptre of a reed ; but the same meek, 
 heavenly, and uncomplaining tenderness ! Oh, how 
 mournful the expression of his lovely features ! His 
 parted lips, already livid with approaching death, are 
 uttering his dying prayer for his murderers, " Father, 
 forgive them, for they know not what they do." But — 
 wonderful to relate, "they laughed him to scorn: they 
 shot out the lip, they shook the head," saying, " He 
 trusted in God : let him deliver him now, for he said, I 
 am the Son of God." " They gave him gall for his meat, 
 and in his thirst they gave him vinegar to drink." Ah, 
 flow, ye tears, flow down these cheeks of mine. 
 
 Yes, he is surely dead, 
 
 The cruel soldier said ; 
 
 Then pierced the Saviour's side. 
 
 Behold, a mingled tide 
 Of blood and water flowing from the wound, 
 Covered with crimson stains Golgotha's ground. 
 
 The loving John was near; 
 
 He saw the soldier's spear 
 
 Bring forth that wondrous flood 
 
 Of water and of blood ; 
 And well remembered hoAV his Master said, 
 He came for sinful man his blood to shed. 
 
ONK ALTOGETHER LOVELY. 25 
 
 The blood that flowed that day 
 
 Long since has passed away ; 
 
 But still there flows a stream — 
 
 Though by all unseen — 
 For those that trust the blood on Calvary spilt ; 
 And in that stream their souls are washed from guilt. 
 
 Oh, what a death for the Father's "well-beloved 
 Sou ! " Xo one wiped the perspiration from his brow. 
 Xo one cheered him with words of comfort. Whoever 
 left the world more forsaken and involved in deeper 
 shades than he ? Yet do not mistake him. It was not 
 a conflict in which w^e see him engaged, but a sacrificial 
 act. He did not yield to death like us, but devoted him- 
 self to it. The payment of the wages of sin is due only 
 from sinners. The Holy One of Israel had nothing in 
 common with death. What was it then we witness on 
 Calvary ? Look up ! After having uttered the great 
 and triumphant shout, " It is finished ! " he again moves 
 his lips to speak. What will follow, signs of weakness 
 and a mournful farewell? not so! Listen! With a 
 loud voice, and the strength and emphasis of one who 
 does not die from weakness, nor dying pays a forced 
 tribute to a mournful necessity ; but as one who is Lord 
 over death, and voluntarily yields himself up to it, he 
 exclaims — and noise of rending rocks, falling mountains, 
 and bursting sepulchres accompany his cry, " Father, 
 into thy hands I commend my spirit!" and after these 
 words, like one whose labor is finished, he bows, self- 
 acting, his bleeding head upon his breast, and resigns 
 his Spirit, or, as John expresses it, "gives up the ghost." 
 
'26 ADVENT OF THE 
 
 Yes, glory be to God, the Holy and Just submits him- 
 self, representatively, to the fate of the guilty, while the 
 latter are forever liberated, and inherit the indescribably 
 happy lot of the Son of God. Rev. xxi. T ; 1 Cor. iii. 21- 
 23. O wonderful and incomparably blessed truth ! 
 " God made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that 
 we might be made the righteousness of God in him ! " 
 2 Cor. V. 21 ; Jer. xxiii. 6 ; Kom. x. 4. " Therefore, being 
 justified by faith, we have peace with God through our 
 Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 Hark ! the voice of love and mercy 
 
 Sounds aloud from Calvary ; 
 See ! it rends the rocks asunder, 
 
 Shakes the earth and veils the sky; 
 "It is finished ! " — 
 
 Hear the dying Saviour cry. 
 It is finished! what pleasure 
 
 Do these precious words afford ! 
 Heavenly blessings without measure, 
 
 Flow to us from Christ the Lord, 
 "It is finished! "— 
 
 Saints, the dying words record. 
 Tune your harps anew, ye seraphs ; 
 
 Join to sing the pleasing theme ; 
 All on earth, and all in heaven. 
 
 Join to praise Immanuel's name; 
 " It is finished ! " — 
 
 Glory to the hlcoding Lamb. 
 
 O ye blessed, who belong to Christ, who can describe 
 the glory of your state ! 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10 ; iii. 21-23 ; 2 Cor. 
 vi. 9, 10 ; Rev. xxi. T. No longer dream of imaginary 
 burdens, but know and never forget that your suit is 
 gained to all eternity. Behold the Son of God yonder 
 
ONE ALTOGETHER LOVELY. 27 
 
 \)ears your fetters ; and nothing more is required of you 
 than to love him with all your heart, and embrace him 
 more and more closely who took your anathema upon 
 himself, that you might exclaim, " The Lord our Right- 
 eousness," 
 
 Love divine, bow sweet thou art! 
 When shall I find my willing heart 
 
 All taken up by thee? 
 
 1 thirst, I faint, I die to prove 
 The greatness of redeeming love, — 
 
 The love of Christ to me, 
 
 Stronger his love than death or hell ; 
 Its riches are unsearchable ; 
 
 The first-born sons of light 
 Desire in vain its depths to see ; 
 They cannot reach the mystery, 
 
 The length, the breadth, the height. 
 
 Dear reader, do you feel His love in your heart? Are 
 you in the path that leads to Heaven ? If not, do you 
 ask, " What must I do to be saved ? " The answer is, 
 " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
 saved." But it is requisite to feel your need of him, and 
 to believe that he is able and willing to save you, and to 
 save you now. Satan may have been trying to persuade 
 you that Christ is not able to save so great a sinner as 
 you are. It is false, for All power is given unto Christ 
 in heaven and in earth. Matt, xxviii. 18. " Wherefore 
 he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto 
 God by him." Heb. vii. 25. Say not, then, "Alas! alas! 
 it is too late!" or, "I have warred too long aii^ainst the 
 
28 ADVENT OF THE 
 
 Holy Spirit to bt)pc for mercy; I feel that my sins are 
 too great to be forgiven; I am a lost man!" Not so, 
 not so; for if you truly feel in your heart that you are " a 
 lost man," and feel deeply penitent — " broken in heart," 
 on account of your sins, you are a saved man ; for Jesus 
 came to save " lost" men. Luke xix. 10 ; Matt. ix. 12, 13; 
 John vi. 37. His word is, " Thou hast destroyed thy- 
 self, but in Me is thine help." Hosea xiii. 9 ; Rom. x. 4- 
 12 ; Colos. ii. 14. He desires to exhibit you in the sight 
 of heaven, earth, and hell, as joroof of what the blood of 
 the Cross is able to accomplish. When he was upon 
 earth, he never spurned the guiltiest away. He pitied 
 whom others loathed, and interceded for them "with 
 strong crying and tears." 
 
 St. Paul, speaking of the Corinthians, says they were 
 " fornicators, effeminate, thieves, covetous, drunkards, 
 revilers, extortioners." "Such," he says, "were some 
 of you." Yet even them the Spirit of God made alive. 
 "Ye are washed," he writes, "ye are sanctified, ye are 
 justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the 
 Spirit of our God." 1 Cor. vi. 9-11. There was nothing 
 in the Colossians that the Spirit of God should visit 
 their hearts. St. Paul tells us that "they walked in 
 fornication, uncloanness, inordinate affections, evil concu- 
 piscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry." Yet 
 them also the Spirit of God quickened. He made them 
 "put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new 
 man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of 
 Him that created him." Col. iii. 5-10. There was 
 
ONE ALTOGETHER LOVELY. 29 
 
 nothing in Mary Magdalene that the Spirit of God 
 should make her soul alive. (See Mark xvi, 9 ; Luke xi. 
 21, 22; and Psalm Ixviii. 18.) Yet even her, the Spirit 
 of God made a new creature, separated her from her sins, 
 brought her to Christ, made her last at the cross, and 
 first at the tomb. ' 
 
 Tell nic Avho is standing there 
 
 "With weeping e3'es and flowing hair, 
 
 And box of ointment sweet. 
 Now on the ground she's bending low ; 
 Her tears yet fast and faster flow ; 
 
 They fall on Jesus' feet. 
 
 To her dear Lord much love she bears. 
 His feet she washes with her tears, 
 
 And wipes them with her hair; 
 And then with pious tenderness. 
 Fond kisses ceases not to press, ^ 
 
 And pours the ointment rare. 
 
 Ah, she whose love is now so strong. 
 Has wandered far, has wandered long, 
 
 And from her God has gone ; 
 But now with willing feet returns. 
 And now with deepest sorrow mourns 
 
 The deeds that she has done. 
 
 And will the Lord in pity look, 
 
 And blot her crimes from out his book, 
 
 And words of comfort say ? 
 Ah, yes ; e'en now he pardon gives, 
 E'en now the weeping sinner lives. 
 
 And wipes her tears away. 
 
 Sinners of every name and nation, — sinners of every 
 sort and description, have knocked at the door of the 
 fold, and none — who came with " a broken heart and a 
 3* 
 
bO ADVENT OF THE 
 
 contrite spirit " — have ever been refused admission. 
 John vi. 37 ; Acts x. 34, 35. It was his glory while on 
 earth, and it is his glory still, to be reproached as the 
 " friend of sinners ; " a friend continually to teach them 
 "the Way" to heaven. His word is, "Be thou faithful 
 unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Rev. 
 ii. 10. " He that overcometh shall inherit all things, 
 and he shall be my son." Rev. xxi. t. "Therefore let 
 no man glory in men : for all things are yours ; whether 
 Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or 
 death, or things present, or things to come ; all a^e 
 yours; and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." 1 Cor. 
 iii. 21-23 ; Jer. ix. 23, 24. Ye,s, you poor broken-hearted 
 ones, whom this world's pettiest monarch would sweep 
 from his path, nor deem you worthy the slightest notice, 
 Jesus, "the Prince of Light," bending from his throne, 
 invites to share his glory, and become with him, " Kings 
 and priests unto God ! " He does not say, " half my 
 kingdom." No; he offers nothing by halves. His pro- 
 mise, unlike that of an earthly monarch, is illimitable. 
 He says, "all Mine are thine;" confining his generosity 
 neither to kingdoms, nor continents, nor worlds, nor 
 heaven itself. He lays the whole universe at the feet 
 of " the broken in heart," or truly penitent. 
 
 The poorest man on earth, who feels the love of Christ 
 in his^ heart, is infinitely more important and honorable 
 in the sight of God, than an unconverted king. The one 
 may glitter like a butterfly in the sun for a little season, 
 and be admired by an ignorant world, but his latter end 
 
ONE ALTOGETHER LOVELY. 81 
 
 is darkness and misery forever. The other may erawl 
 through the world like a crushed worm, and be despised 
 by every one who sees him ; but his latter end is a glorious 
 resurrection and a blessed eternity. Of him the Lord 
 says, " I know thy poverty, but thou art rich." Rev. 
 ii. 9 ; 1 Cor. iii. 21-23 ; 2 Cor. vi. 9, 10 ; Jer. ix. 23, 24. 
 
 In every case of true repentance, Satan suffers a de- 
 feat, and Christ gains a victor}^ When the tide of battle 
 thus runs in favor of the Cross, and when the standard 
 of the Gospel is unfurled, and spread over the citadel of 
 another conquered heart, Angels rejoice, and watch the 
 issue of the conflict that is going on betwixt the follow- 
 ers of the Lamb and the slaves of Satan. The language 
 which Jesus utters, when he tells us that there is an inte- 
 rest felt in heaven over the repentance of every sinner, 
 at the very moment it is taking place upon earth, re- 
 minds us that there is a communication, such as Chris- 
 tians too seldom realize, betwixt the inhabitants of earth 
 and those above. Such a declaration proves, that, how- 
 ever we may dream about the "far-oflf" kingdom, never- 
 theless the earth is such a near door-neighbor to heaven, 
 that what is taking place upon its surface is not only 
 known, but felt, in the world of peace ; showing that 
 the mode of communication is quick and accurate be- 
 tween the two worlds. Besides, we must not forget the 
 amazing fact, that time has no duration in the reckoning 
 of God. " One day iSy with the Lord as a thousand 
 years, and a thousand years as one day." Space, upon 
 the same principle, has no extension in the measurement 
 
32 ADVENT OF THE 
 
 of God. There is no such thing as distance, considered 
 in its relations to Him. Quickness of transition, to 
 some extent, also annihilates space. The speed of An- 
 gels may be so great in their transitions from heaven to 
 earth, and from earth back again to heaven, that, far as 
 the regions may be asunder, they may make the passage 
 quick as a gleam of lightning, or rapid as the twink- 
 ling of an eye. Even our thoughts almost annihilate 
 space as they roam to and fro through the great creation, 
 and up and down through the h-eavens, and round about 
 the throne of God. Angels and glorified spirits may 
 move through space much quicker than our thoughts do, 
 and therefore quicker than the beams of light move 
 away from the sun into the regions around. (See Isaia,h 
 XXV. 1 ; Dan. ix. 21-23 ; and Luke ii. 13.) 
 
 The great universe is the house of God, — Avhich he 
 more than fills ; for he made it, and the Creator must be 
 greater than the creature, — in which he walks in his 
 majesty to and fro, and in every part of which he mani- 
 fests, by the works of his hands and the evolutions of 
 his providence, his awful presence. "Am I a God at 
 hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar oif. Can any 
 hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him ? 
 saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth ? saith 
 the Lord." Jer. xxiii. 23, 24 ; 1 Chron. xxviii. 9 ; 2 Chron. 
 xvi. 9. " Behold the nations are as a drop of a bucket, 
 and are counted as the small dust of the balance : behold 
 He taketh up the isles as a very little thing. All nations 
 before Him are as nothing, and vanity. To whom then 
 
ONE ALTOGETHER LOVELY. 33 
 
 will ye liken God? or to what likeness will ye compare 
 him? Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath 
 it not been told 3^ou from the beginning? have ye not 
 understood from the foundation of the earth ? It is He 
 that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabi- 
 tants thereof are as grasshoppers ; that stretcheth out 
 the heavens as a curtain to dwell in. Who hath mea- 
 sured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted 
 out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust 
 of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains 
 in scales, and the hills in a balance ? To whom then will 
 ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 
 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created 
 these things, that bringeth out their host by number : He 
 ealleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, 
 for that he is strong in power; not one faileth." 
 
 The moral government of God is still more wonderful. 
 The Scriptures very plainly teach the special presence 
 of God in all places where his j^eople meet to pray and 
 praise. The Psalms are full of allusions to it ; and so 
 are most of the books of the New Testament. " Where 
 two or three are gathered together in my Name, there I 
 am in the midst of them." Matt, xviii. 20. "But thou, 
 when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou 
 hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in 
 secret ; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall 
 reward thee openly." Matt. vi. 6. '' No man hath as- 
 cended up to heaven, but he that came down from hea- 
 ven, even the son of man which is in heaven." John iii. 
 
34 ADVENT OF THE 
 
 13; Deut. iv. 15. From these passages of Scripture, we 
 learn that Christ is present with every Christian in his 
 private devotions, and in every assembly which may be 
 convened at the same time throughout the world ; that 
 be is at the same time in heaven and upon earth. 
 
 When I survey the wondrous cross 
 
 On which the Prince of glory died, 
 My richest gain I count but loss, 
 
 And pour contempt on all my pride. 
 
 Forbid it. Lord, that I should boast, 
 Save in the death of Christ, my God : 
 
 All the vain things that charm me most, 
 I sacrifice them to his blood. 
 
 See, from his head, his hands, his feet, 
 Sorrow and love flow mingled down ; 
 
 Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, 
 Or thorns compose so rich a crown ? 
 
 Were the whole realm of nature mirie, 
 
 That were a present far too small ; 
 Love so amazing, so divine, 
 
 Demands my soul, my life, my all. 
 
 Yes, the faithful soldier of Christ is ever ready to say, 
 with St. Paul, "Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but 
 loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus 
 my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, 
 and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and 
 be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, 
 which is of the law, but that which is through the faith 
 of Christ, the righteousness which is of God through faith." 
 Phil. iii. 8, 9; 1 Cor. ii. 2; Isaiah Ixiv. 6; Jer. xxiii. 
 ij; Acts iv. 12. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 TTTE LOVK THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 The love unspeakable and full of glory — What St. John heard — Effect 
 of a mother's prayers, and of preaching Christ and him crucified — 
 Amazing effects of pardon — Why these raptures are allowed new converts 
 — The proofs of true conversion — Who are true Christians, and who 
 mere professors or "reprobates" — Heart-cheering experiences — The 
 beacon-light of their Father's house in full view — Sounds like " foolish- 
 ness" to men of the world — " Divers operations, but the same God" — Love 
 and sorrow — Christ always uppermost in the thoughts of his people — 
 They cling to the Cross like the ivy to the tree. 
 
 When a man loves God, with all his heart, and his 
 neighbor as himself, all nature appears to sympathize 
 with him ; he goes forth with joy, and is led forth with 
 peace; "the mountains and the hills break forth before 
 him into singing, and all the trees of the field clap their 
 hands." The fields, the rivers, the sky, the air, the 
 sun, the stars, the cattle, the birds, the fish — yea, the 
 very stones seem sharers of his joy. They are the 
 choir and he the leader of a band, who, at the lifting 
 of his hand, pours forth whole floods of harmony. The 
 sweet singer of Israel felt this love in his heart when he 
 exclaimed, '* Praise ye Him, sun and moon : praise him 
 all ye stars of light. Praise Him, ye heaven of heavens, 
 and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them 
 
 (35) 
 
86 THE LOYE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 praise the name of the Lord : for he commanded and 
 they were created. He hath also established them for- 
 ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not 
 pass. Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and 
 all deeps : fire, and hail ; snow, and vapor ; stormy 
 wind fulfilling his word : mountains, and hills, fruitful 
 trees, and all cedars : beasts, and all cattle ; creeping 
 things, and flying fowl : kings of the earth : both young 
 men, and maidens ; old men, and children : let them 
 praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is 
 excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven." 
 Psalm cxlviii. 3-13; Luke xix. 40. "And every 
 creature which is in heaven and on earth, and such as 
 are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, 
 Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him 
 that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for- 
 ever and ever." 
 
 Praise ye the Lord, ye immortal choirs 
 
 That fill the worlds above ; 
 Praise him who form'd you of his fires, 
 
 And feeds you with his love. 
 
 Thou restless globe of golden light, 
 Whose beams create our days, 
 
 Join with the silver queen of night, 
 To own your borrow'd rays. 
 
 Thunder and hail, and fire and storms, 
 The troops of his command, 
 
 Appear in all your dreadful forms, 
 And speak his awful hand. 
 
THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 37 
 
 Shout to the Lord, yc surging sens, 
 
 In your eternal roar ; 
 Let wave to wave resound his praise, 
 
 And shore reply to shore. 
 
 A young man who had long been the subject of a 
 pious mother's prayers, speaking of his early Christian 
 experience, says, "After listening to a powerful sermon 
 on the sufferings and death of Christ, I went home 
 much oppressed. I spoke to no one, and did not dare 
 to lift my eyes from my feet, as I expected the earth to 
 open and swallow me. The commotion of my soul was 
 altogether such as language cannot describe. I crept, 
 as it were, to my room, locked my door, and fell upon 
 my knees ; but no words came. I could not pray. 
 The pei'spiration was oozing from every pore. How 
 long I remained on my knees I know not ; happily, this 
 fearful agony of mind did not last long, or I should have 
 died. Some hours elapsed — hours like ages, in which I 
 felt myself before the throne of righteous judgment. 
 While the process was going on I was dumb. Had the 
 salvation of my soul depended on a word, I could not 
 have uttered it. But He who had smitten graciously 
 healed. As if they had been slowly unfolded before 
 me, there appeared these never to be forgotten words, 
 ' The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from 
 all sin.' 1 John i. T ; Rom. iii. 25, 26; x. 4-12; Col. ii. 
 14; Heb. viii. 12. I had read these wonderful words 
 often, but now they appeared new to me. I gazed, 
 believed, loved, and embraced them. The crisis was 
 4 
 
38 THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 past. A tiood of tears rushed from my eyes ; my 
 tongue was set at liberty, and I shouted, Glory to 
 God! 
 
 " For three days after this I was filled with indescri- 
 bable jo}''. I thought [ saw heaven, with its blessed inha- 
 bitants, and its glorious King. I thought He was looking 
 at me with unutterable compassion, and that I recog- 
 nized Him as Jesus, my Saviour, who had laid me under 
 eternal obligations. The world and all its riches ap- 
 peared utterly worthless. The conduct of ungodly men 
 filled me with grief and pity. I saw everything in an 
 entirely new light. A strong desire to fly to heathen 
 lands, that I might preach the news to idolaters, filled 
 my heart, and I felt assured that I had but to open my 
 lips to convince every one of the infinite grace of Christ 
 and the infinite value of Salvation." 
 
 These raptures are sometimes allowed to new converts 
 as foretastes of heavenly bliss, and to convince their 
 minds that the religion of the glorious Gospel of Jesus 
 Christ is what it is represented to be. But new con- 
 verts are yet too carnal to be capable of their constant 
 enjoyment. The principal concern and business of the 
 new convert is to seek growth in grace, rather than 
 flights of ecstacy; to struggle against the motions of 
 fallen nature, and the suggestions of fallen spirits ; and 
 if the new convert does this with faithful perseverance, 
 he will give true proof of that Christian fortitude which 
 will be distinguished by the crown of victory. 1 Cor. ix. 
 21] Eph. iv. 1*7-25; v. 10-16; Rev. xxi. T. The edu- 
 
THE LOVE THAT FASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 39 
 
 cation and di.^cipline must be more or less severe, accord- 
 ing to the necessities of each individual case, in order to 
 wear out vicious habits ; to recover strength of self-gov- 
 ernment, which worldly indulgence must have weakened; 
 to repair, as well as to raise into a habit, the moral prin- 
 ciple, in order to their arriving at a secure state of virtu- 
 ous happiness. 
 
 The body enslaves the soul by nature, but by grace 
 the spirit learns to master the material. The Christian is 
 fleshly, earthly, and sensual, in so far as the material pre- 
 dominates over the spiritual; and he is spiritual in so far 
 as his spirit subdues the power of bodily influences. 
 Clearness of vision, and firmness of foot, and beauty of 
 prospect, come only to those who have struggled up to 
 the heights — to the "heavenly places in Christ Jesus." 
 Conversion may be the work of a moment ; but a samt is 
 not made in an hour. Character — Christian character — 
 is not an act; but a process; not a sudden creation, but a 
 development. It grows and bears fruit like a tree ; and, like 
 a tree, it requires patient care and unwearied cultivation. 
 
 Take another case, " My heart was flooded with de- 
 light; it was a w^edding-day to my soul, and I wore 
 robes fairer than ever graced a bridal. My eyes were 
 windows lighted up with happiness ; my feet were young 
 roes bounding with pleasure, my lips were fountains 
 gushing with song, and my ears were the seats of min- 
 strels. It was hard to contain my rapture within the 
 narrow bounds of prudence. Like the insects leaping 
 in the sunshine, or the fish sporting in the stream, I 
 
iO THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 could have danced to and fro in the convulsions of my 
 delight. Was I sick, my pleasure drowned my pain ; 
 was I feeble, my bliss renewed my strength. Each 
 broken bone praised God ; each strained sinew blessed 
 him. I knew no thought beyond, no hope above, the 
 perfect satisfaction of that hour; for Christ and his sal- 
 vation had filled my soul with unutterable joy and 
 peace. 
 
 *'As the portals of earth were opening for the coming 
 of the summer, so was I preparing for glorious days of 
 happiness and fruitfulness. Everything in creation was 
 in keeping with my condition, as if nature was but a 
 dress made by a skilful hand, fitting my new-born soul 
 in every part. I Avas supremely blest. My heart was 
 like a bell dancing at bridal joys, and the world was full 
 of bells chiming with it. I was glad, and nature cried, 
 * Child, lend me thine hand, and we will dance together, 
 for I too am at ease since my great Lord hath loosed me 
 from my wintry fetters; come on, happy soul, and wan- 
 der where thou wilt, for, 
 
 " I'lie softening air is balm; 
 Echo the mountains round ; the forest smiles ; 
 And every sense and every heart is joy." 
 
 Come on, then, and sport with me on this our mutual 
 feast, for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, 
 the flowers appear on the earth ; the time of the singing 
 of birds has come and the voice of the turtle is heard in 
 our land: the fig-tree putteth forth her green figs, and 
 
THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KXOW^lLEDGE. 41 
 
 the vines with the tender grapes give a good smell. 
 Arise, come away, 
 
 ** Come away to the skies, my beloved, arise. 
 And rejoice in the day thou wast born; 
 On this festival day, come exulting away. 
 And with singing to Ziou return." ' 
 
 We do not expect to behold the Holy Ghost with our 
 bodily eyes, or to touch Him with our hands ; but we 
 need no angel to come down to show us where he 
 dwells. We need no vision from heaven to tell us where 
 we may find Him. Only show us a man in whom the 
 fruits of the Spirit of God are to be seen, and we see one 
 who has the Spirit. We will not doubt the inward pres- 
 ence of the Almighty cause when we see the outward 
 fact of an evident effect. "What! know ye not," says 
 St. Paul, " that your body is the temple of the Holy 
 Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye 
 are not your own. For ye are bought with a price : 
 therefore glorify God in j^our body and in your spirit, 
 which are God's." 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20 ; 2 Pet. i. 19 ; Psalm 
 XXV. 14. " The world seeth Him not, neither knoweth 
 Him, but ye know Him, for he dwelleth with you, and 
 shall be in you." John xiv. 1 ; Col. i. 2t ; 1 John iii. 24. 
 " Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith ; prove 
 your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how 
 that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates." 
 
 Saviour, welcome to my heart ; 
 
 Possess thy humble throne ; 
 Bid every rival, Lord, depart, 
 
 And reign, Christ, alone. 
 
42 THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 The world and Satan I forsake ; 
 
 To thee I all resign ; 
 My longing heart, Saviour, take. 
 
 And fill with love divine. 
 
 may I never turn aside, 
 
 Nor from thy bosom flee ; 
 Let nothing here my heart divide 
 
 I give it all to thee. 
 
 Can we see the wind on a stormy clay ? We can not, 
 but we can see the effects of its force and power. When 
 we see the clouds driven before it, and the trees bending 
 under it — when we hear it whistling through doors and 
 windows, or howling round the chimney-tops, we do no", 
 for a moment doubt its existence: Ave say "there is a 
 wind." Just so is it with the presence of the Spirit of 
 God in the soul. '' The wind bloweth," says Jesus, 
 " where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, 
 but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth ; 
 so is every one that is born of the Spirit." John iii. 8 ; 1 
 John iv. 4. Can we see the magnetic fluid in the com- 
 pass-needle ? We can not. It acts in a mysterious way. 
 But when we see that little piece of iron always turning 
 to the north, we know at once it is under the secret in- 
 fluence of magnetic power. Just so it is with the work 
 of the Spirit of God in the soul. 
 
 Ah ! whence that sootliing sound that came 
 
 So soft, yet burthening the wind ? 
 It kindles, like some latent flame, 
 
 The ardent longings of my mind. 
 
THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 48 
 
 It is the Spirit's voice, 
 
 Still as the evening breeze, 
 Just sighing through the trees, 
 Breathing celestial joys : 
 It fills me with unwonted fire, 
 With tender, strong, yet pure desire. 
 
 But, say, my restless, beating heart. 
 
 What object draws thy soaring thought, 
 That thou with worlds would'st freely part, 
 And deem thy purchase cheaply bought ? 
 Jesus, my Saviour, God ! 
 
 Him my touched soul desires. 
 His are these bosom fires, 
 Panting to sound abroad 
 The name He bears — the love He shows — 
 The grace that from His bounty flows. 
 
 William Cowper, the Christian poet, at one period of 
 his history, was driven by a consciousness of guilt to the 
 verge of despair. At length he opened the Bible and 
 read, " Christ Jesus God hath set forth to be a propitia- 
 tion for sin, through faith in his blood, to declare his 
 righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, 
 through the forbearance of God." Rom. iii. 25; x. 4-12. 
 " Immediately," he says, " I received strength to be- 
 lieve, and the full beams of the Sun of Righteousness 
 shone upon me. I saw that Christ having suffered for 
 my sake, and in my stead, it enabled Almighty God, 
 consistently with his justice and holiness, to exercise 
 his mercy in my behalf. Unless the Almighty i\rm 
 had been under me, I think I should have been over- 
 whelmed with gratitude and joy. My eyes filled with 
 tears, and my voice choked with transport ; I could only 
 
44 THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 look to heaven in silent fear, overwhelmed with love and 
 wonder, I lost no opportunit}^ of repairing to the throne 
 of grace, but flew to it with an earnestness irresistible 
 and never to be satisfied. The Lord had enlarged my 
 heart, and I could now cheerfully run in the ways of his 
 commandments." It was in such a state of mind that 
 he composed the sweet hymn, commencing with the 
 words, " There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn 
 from Immanuel's veins." 
 
 The dying thief rejoiced to see 
 That fountain in his da}'^ ; 
 
 And there may I, though vile as he, 
 Wash all my sins away. 
 
 Take yet another case, " The very fowls of the barn- 
 yard flocked around me, tuning their shrill voices, as I 
 then thought, joined with all creation to praise the Lord 
 for what he had done for my poor soul. I cried out, Can 
 this be the same field that I used to travel? — is this 
 the same farm, — are these the same buildings ? They 
 must be the same, but they are changed. ' Ah ! no ! 
 no!' was the answer, 'the change is in yourself.' I 
 also visited those lonely spots, where in the days of my 
 mourning, far from human eye, I used to vent my sighs, 
 and make my complaints ; and it appeared as if all these 
 shone with lustre unbounded. I leaped — I walked — 
 I rejoiced that my sorrows were turned into joy." 
 
 The Spirit of God can take a tinker without learning, 
 patronage, or money, — a man at one time notorious for 
 
THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 45 
 
 nothing so much as blasphemy and swearing, and make 
 that man write a religious book which shall stand un- 
 rivalled and unequalled in its way by any since the 
 time of the Apostles. He did this with John Bunyan, 
 the author of Pilgrim's Progress. The Spirit of God 
 can take a sailor, drenched in worldliness and sin, — a 
 profligate captain of a slave-ship, and make that man a 
 most successful minister of the Gospel, — a w^riter of 
 letters, which are a storehouse of experimental religion, 
 and of hymns which are known and sung wherever the 
 English language is spoken. He did this with John 
 Newton. When the Spirit of God enters the Sailors' 
 prayer-meeting, "the poor children of the sea" stand up 
 and bear testimony to the infinite love and mercy of 
 their glorious Captain, in these words : 
 
 " Shipmates, I am just eight months old to-night in 
 my Christian life. I was born again on the sea. 
 how happy I have been these eight months of my 
 Christian life ! Before that I was a slave to Satan. 
 Oh ! what a miserable drudge I was in his cruel service. 
 
 Some of you here to-night know what I was how 
 
 miserable, on shipboard or shore, always miserable in 
 my sinful ways and sinful pursuits. But when the 
 Holy Spirit convinced me of my guilt and danger, and 
 prepared my heart to attend to the caU of the glorious 
 Gospel of Christ, and led me to the foot of the cross, 
 and as a poor despairing sinner, to beg for mercy, and 
 God forgave me all for Jesus' sake, I cannot tell you 
 what happiness I felt. Shipmates, it was then the 
 
46 THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 great Captain said to me, Now stand by Me, and I will 
 stand by you, in calm or storm all the same, and will 
 never leave or forsake you. And, glory be to his Name, 
 I have found his promise true You all know how it is 
 with me now. I am not now the slave I once was to 
 Satan. Every day I find the service of my new Master 
 more delightful than ever. I am so happy ! Glory 
 be to God ! Oh ! shipmates, come along with me. 
 The great Captain is on board. The articles are open. 
 Come and sign them — glorious Commander — beautiful 
 Ship — delightful Company," — John xiv. 21-23; Rev. 
 iii. 20; Cant. iv. 16; v. 1, 2, — "splendid voyage — 
 bound to a glorious port — princely wages — Oh, ship- 
 mates, come along! come along!" 
 
 Another sailor said, " Shipmates, I shall never forget 
 the time nor the place when and where God, for Christ's 
 sake, spoke peace to my soul. It was on board a man- 
 of-war, at the foot of the main-mast, on a dark and 
 stormy night, away in mid-ocean, that I first heard the 
 accents of forgiveness. I had been a hardened wretch — 
 quite as bad as any on board a man-of-war, yet I was 
 smitten with conviction of sin, which appalled me. 
 Oh ! what a vile sinner I felt myself to be ! My whole 
 soul was filled with a sense of sin, and I was bowed 
 under the grievous load. But I called on God, at the 
 foot of the main-mast, and he pardoned all my sins, for 
 Jesus' sake ! Oh ! shipmates, what mercy! Oh ! what 
 an hour was that to my poor soul! Six years ago it 
 
THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 47 
 
 was, and what happy years have those six years been 
 to me. 
 
 "Hard was my toil to reach the shore, 
 
 Long tossed upon the ocean ; 
 Above me was the thunder's roar, 
 
 Beneath the waves commotion : 
 Darkly the pall of night was thrown 
 
 Around me, faint with terror : 
 In that dark hour how did my groan 
 
 Ascend for years of error ! 
 
 "Sinking and panting as for breath, 
 
 I knew not help was near me ; 
 And cried, ' Oh ! save me, Lord, from death ; 
 
 Immortal Jesus, hear me ;' 
 Then quick as thought I felt him mine, 
 
 My Saviour stood before me ; 
 I saw his brightness round me shine, 
 
 And shouted. Glory ! Glory !" 
 
 A small sailor-boy now arose and said, " I have been 
 four years at sea. I have neither father or mother, bro- 
 ther or sister. I found out that I was a wicked boy, and 
 not too little to go to hell. If I have got nothing else, 
 I have got a ' Friend ' — I have got Jesus to comfort and 
 cheer my heart with his wonderful love ; and I love him 
 loo. Shipmates, I feel very happy to-night." The sailor- 
 boy's words were not lost. There sat a little boy before 
 him overwhelmed with tears. That little boy said to his 
 father, on leaving the church: " Oh, father, I am so glad 
 you took me to the poor sailors' prayer-meeting to-night. 
 I shall never forget it. Oh, my dear father, I want to be 
 a Christian." 
 
48 THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 The Spirit of God can take a prize-fighter, and trainer 
 of pugilists, and make him pour out his soul in the house 
 of God, in the following manner : — " I feel it my duty to 
 tell you what the Lord has done for my soul. I hope 
 you will hear all I have to say. There are many here 
 who have known me for years, — who have known me 
 when I was fearfully wicked, I was on a visit to my 
 brother in the country. When I went there I had as 
 much idea of getting religion as many of you have now — 
 that is none at all. I went to church to oblige the people 
 with whom I was staying, that's all. The Saviour was 
 there. The Spirit of God was powerfully displayed, and 
 went from heart to heart all through the congregation. 
 It worked upon me three or four nights. The pastor of 
 the church came to me and asked me if I would not like 
 to get religion, and serve God. I answered, ' No, I 
 didn't care about it just then,' and told him a lie, for I 
 did ; I felt as though I needed religion. I got very un- 
 easy, and made up my mind I had better leave that part 
 of the country, as it was getting too warm for me. I 
 told my brother I was going home in the morning. He 
 said, 'Wait another day;' and I made up my mind I 
 would stay and attend another night. Some remarks 
 were made to backsliders the next night, many of whom 
 I knew. They sat there unmoved. The minister, and 
 my religious friends, had been trying to get me to be a 
 Christian, but the devil said, ' Don't be taken in by those 
 fellows.' After church that night, we were going home, — 
 the minister lived up our way, — I made some remarks 
 
THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 49 
 
 about those backsliders, saying to him that, if I were in 
 their place I would come out like a man and seek reli- 
 gion over again. 
 
 " The minister told me that he thought I was a very- 
 great sinner; that I stood in a critical condition, and 
 was more likely to be lost than any of them. I said to 
 my brother, if that was the way the minister was going 
 to talk, I would go. I got my carpet-bag ready next 
 day and started ; I opened the door ; I wanted to go and 
 1 didn't want to go ; and I hoped my brother would 
 again urge me to stay ; he did so, and I stayed. That 
 was on Saturday. After I had my dinner I resolved 
 that I would seek the Lord that night. I made a strong 
 resolution ; I felt where I stood, and that perhaps it was 
 the last time the Spirit of God would strive with me. 
 Saturday night the invitation was given to come forward 
 to the Altar, and I got up, went forward, and fell on my 
 knees by the altar. I tried as hard as ever man did, but 
 I got no religion, — no peace. Sunday night I attended 
 with a like result. That night I could not sleep, my 
 sins looked so frightful ; they came up on every hand 
 and stared at me ; all the sins of my life crowded upon 
 me, many I should not have thought of, had not the Spirit 
 of God brought them before me. My heart was over- 
 whelmed with grief; I could not sleep. Monday morn- 
 ing I got up and prayed ; I did the best I could ; I asked 
 the Lord to take away the weight that bore me down so. 
 A friend came to me that day and said he was going to 
 take a ride and would like to have my company. Know- 
 
50 THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOAVLEDGE. 
 
 ing bim to be a good man, I consented, thinking be 
 might do me good. There was little said as we rode 
 along, but my friend told me to keep looking for the Sa- 
 viour; that I was trying to get religion, and had let 
 everybody know it ; the Lord was Avilling to bless me at 
 any time or anywhere. I was riding along, singing a 
 hymn, and in an instant I felt as though I was blessed. 
 I am sure I gave up my soul and body. The first thing 
 I knew, God spoke peace to my soul. It came like a 
 shot, — it came like lightning, when I was not antici- 
 pating it, and the first thing I said was, ' Glory to God ! 
 Glory to God ! ' My friend said he knew God had blessed 
 me, for he felt the shock too. The change was sur- 
 prising ; everything appeared to have been blessed ; 
 even the horse and wagon. I felt strong. I could 
 almost fly. 
 
 •0, sacred hour! 0, hallowed spot! 
 
 Where love divine first found me : 
 Wherever falls my distant lot, 
 
 My heart shall linger round thee; 
 And when from earth I rise to soar 
 
 Up to my home in heaven, 
 Down will I cast my eyes once more 
 
 Where I was first forgiven.' 
 
 " Glory be to God, this religion is good ! My faith in 
 the Lord Jesus grows stronger every day. I would face 
 all the men that ever lived, and tell them I am bound 
 for heaven." 
 
 All this sounds like "foolishness" to those who know 
 not God ; but tens of thousands of living men could 
 
THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 51 
 
 stand up this day and testify that it is true. They could 
 tell you that they know it all by experience, and that 
 they do indeed feel themselves new men. They love 
 the things that once they hated, and hate the things that 
 once they loved. They have new habits, new ways, 
 new tastes, new joys, new sorrows, new feelings, new 
 opinions, new anxieties, new pleasures, new hopes and 
 new fears. In short the whole bias and current of their 
 being is changed. Once they cared only for this world, 
 its pleasures, its business, its occupations, its rewards. 
 Xow they look upon it as an empty unsatisfying place, 
 — an inn, — a lodging, — a training-school for the life to 
 come. Their treasure is in heaven ; their home beyond 
 the grave. They see the beacon-light of their " Father's 
 house," that so cheeringly speaks of a home brighter 
 and better than the happiest of earthly ones, cheering 
 their hearts, and leading them to forget the intervening 
 billows, or to think of them onh^ as wafting them nearer 
 to their desired haven. 
 
 Let none doubt their calling because it came Hot with 
 the sound of a trumpet ; let them not measure their own 
 feelings by those of other men, and because they are not 
 precisely the same, at once conclude they are no children 
 of the Kingdom. Xo two leaves upon a tree are pre- 
 cisely alike, — variety is the rule of nature; the line of 
 beauty runs not in an undeviating course ; and in grace 
 the same rule holds good. " There are," says St. Paul, 
 " divers operations, but it is the same God which worketh 
 all in all." 
 
52 THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 Adore the power which is not bound down to unity 
 of method, but which can open the eyes b}'^ the clay and 
 spittle, or by the simple touch of the finger. Jesus cried 
 with a loud voice, saying, "Lazarus, come forth!" but 
 the restoration was as speedily effected when he gently 
 said, "Maid, arise." Zaccheus was called from the tree 
 with a voice that the crowd could hear ; but it was a 
 still voice which in the garden said, "Mary." Oh, the 
 emotions of Mary's heart in that dark hour, when she 
 stood in the midst of the congregated and insulting 
 crowd, and beheld her dear Lord and Saviour suffering 
 for those who w^ere turning his sufferings into mockery ! 
 She saw that brow, which is now encircled with a dia- 
 dem of glory, covered with sweat and blood, lacerated 
 and torn with the cruel crown of thorns! Her eyes 
 were red with weeping, and dim with sorrow. The 
 hands that now hold the sceptre of universal dominion, 
 so often stretched forth when upon earth to relieve the 
 needy, or lifted up in prayer, were then stretched and 
 nailed to the bloody beam ! Oh, what horror rushed 
 through Mary's soul when she heard the voice of agony 
 exclaiming, " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 
 me!" Oh the joy of her soul when she heard His well- 
 known voice again saying to her, " Mary." Ah, weeper ! 
 happy weeper ! — 
 
 To thee how bright a morn was given, 
 
 After thy long vigil of despair; 
 
 When that high voice which burial rocks had riven, 
 
 Thrilled with immortal tones the silent air. 
 
THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 53 
 
 Never did clarion royal blast declare 
 Such tale of victory to a breathless crowd, 
 As the deep sweetness of one word could bear 
 Into thy heart of hearts. O woman ! bowed 
 By strong affection's anguish — one low word, 
 "Mary," and all the triumph wrung from death 
 Was thus revealed ! and thou that had'st so erred, 
 So wept, and been forgiven, in trembling faith 
 Did'st cast thee down before th' all-conquering Son, 
 Awed by the mighty gift thy tears and love had won. 
 
 Much love and much sorrow must go together in 
 this vale of tears. Matt, xxvi. 31-39 ; John xi. 33-36 ; 
 xvi. 20-33; Rom. ix. 1, 2; xii. 15, 16; 2 Cor. ii. 4; vi. 
 9, 10 ; Heb. v. 1, 8. But let the Christian soldier " be 
 of good cheer," for " the morning cometh" — that bright 
 morning w^hen the dew-drops collected during earth's 
 night of weeping shall sparkle in eternal sunbeams ; 
 when in one blessed moment a life-long experience of 
 trial will be effaced and forgotten. In that day, the 
 Lord "will rejoice over his people with joy ; he will rest 
 in his love, he will joy over them with singing." 
 
 Mary knew no anchor of hope, no ground of consola- 
 tion, no w^ay to heaven, except through the mediation of 
 her blessed Lord, and were she to imagine existence 
 without him, she could only think of herself as in the 
 jaws of despair, and irrecoverably lost. He was her last 
 resource, but at the same time all-sufficient for her eter- 
 nal salvation. Hence she clave to him with all her soul, 
 and nothing was able to separate her from him. He was 
 always in her thoughts, her soul's delight, and the su- 
 preme object of her affections — all which she expressed 
 6* 
 
54 THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 ill the act of anointing in Simon's houso. She did not 
 pour out a few drops only of the precious ointment, but 
 the whole — as an emblem of her profound devotion to 
 "the Lord of Glory." With the utmost reverence she 
 approached her Divine friend, broke behind him the well- 
 closed vessel, shed the spikenard upon his lovely head 
 and feet, then humbly bent herself down and wiped the 
 latter with her loosened tresses. In this affectionate 
 and symbolical act, a degree of devotedness was mani- 
 fested such as is rarely, if ever, exhibited among Chris- 
 tians in our day. Mary desired to belong to Christ for 
 time and eternity ; to cleave to him by faith, like the ivy 
 to the tree. She wished to live in his light, like a dark 
 planet in the beams of the sun, which lends it its radi- 
 ance. Mary soon followed the dear "Friend" of her 
 once unhappy soul to glory, where she is now singing 
 the song of redeeming love. 
 
 " Oh, I want to put on my attire, 
 
 Washed white in the blood of the Lamb ; 
 I want to be one of your choir, 
 
 And tune my sweet harp to his name ! 
 I want — oh, I want to be there, 
 
 Where sorrow and sin bid adieu, 
 Your joy and your friendship to share, 
 
 To wander and worship with you." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE WARFARE. 
 
 • What God does to the true members of his Church — The true nature 
 of the Christian warfare — The devices of Satan — His onsets constant^ 
 Leave no unguarded place — What the Christian must expect and do — 
 No cross no crown — The hidden designs of God — The rod — Words of 
 cheer for sinking hearts — The morning without clouds — The everlasting 
 hills of glory appear — The spirit of God sounds a string here and there 
 — Conflicts and trials — The way God teaches and trains his children — 
 Fearful consequences of counteracting His afflictive dispensations — 
 Frightful sufi'erings and deaths of the most precious and lovely of God's 
 children — Dreadful end of the wicked — Steadfastness of the saints of old 
 — Why the Christian's course is not strewed with flowers and sunbeams. 
 
 The true members of Christ's Church are chosen ia 
 the furnace of afiiiction, Isaiah xlviii. 10 ; Rev. vii. 14 ; 
 and when they are tried they come forth as gold. Job 
 xxiii. 10 ; 2 Tim. iv. 6-8. The heat of the furnace 
 burns out the dross and leaves the pure metal behind. 
 It is in the furnace that the flesh is destroyed and the 
 old man gets his death-blow. It is in the furnace that 
 self-confidence is uptorn, unbelief broken, and faith 
 strengthened, and purified. The Holy Spirit and man's 
 sin cannot live together peaceably ; they may be both in 
 the same heart, but they cannot both reign there, nor 
 can they both be quiet there; for "the Spirit lusteth 
 
 (55) 
 
56 THE WARFARE. 
 
 against the flesh, and the flesh lusteth against the 
 Spirit ;" they cannot rest, but there will be a perpetual 
 warring in the soul, so that the Christian will have to 
 cry out, " Oh, wretched man that I am ! who shall 
 deliver me from the body of this death." In another 
 place, it is said of this inward warfare, " For unto you it 
 is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on 
 Him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same 
 conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in 
 me." Phil. i. 29, 30 ; 1 Thess. iii. 5, 6 ; Heb. x. 32-39 ; 2 
 Peter ii. 20-22. But let the troubled Christian " be of 
 good cheer," for in due time the Spirit of God will drive 
 out the " strong man armed," and " take from him all 
 his armor wherein he trusted," and will ''lead captivity 
 captive,'' and present the faithful soldier of the Cross 
 blameless before the throne of His Majesty with exceed- 
 ing joy. Luke xi. 21, 22 ; Psalm Ixviii. 18. " Then 
 shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 
 Death is swallowed up in victory ! death where is 
 thy sting ? grave, where is thy victory ? The sting 
 of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law. But 
 thanks be to God, which givcth us the victory through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 The best soldiers of Jesus Christ are always called to 
 drink deepest of his cup, and carry the heaviest burdens. 
 He who lays down his armor when the battle is ever 
 raging, will be in as great danger as though he had no 
 weapon at command. The onsets of Satan are constant, 
 and the soul that hopes to glide gently and unappre- 
 
THE WAR FAKE. 57 
 
 hendingly along the way to heaveu will at length 
 discover the fatal mistake. The real life of every man 
 is the inner life of conflict, of temptation, of hope, fear, 
 remorse, despair. Never did battle at Pharsalia or 
 Waterloo rage like the battle w^hich often desolates the 
 soul of man. Bunyan has endeavored to depict this 
 strife, in the fierce conflict with Apollyon. But the 
 reality \v\\\ defy the descriptive power of any human 
 pen. There is nothing on this side of eternity more 
 sublime and full of awe than this soul-warfare, as some 
 experience it. 
 
 Satan usually finds a season of affliction favorable to 
 his work of temptation, and he never fails to avail him- 
 self of it. When Pharaoh was informed that the 
 children of Israel were entangled in the wilderness, 
 he resolved to pursue them, and mustered his forces 
 for the purpose, in the anticipation of an easy and 
 decisive victory. Thus when Satan sees the Christian 
 soldier entangled wdth perplexity and distress, he comes 
 in upon him like a flood, that, if possible, he may utterlv 
 overwhelm him. In this manner he assailed the Son 
 of God himself It was when approaching the awful 
 consummation of his woes, and w'hen his soul ^vas 
 " exceeding sorrowful, even unto death," that Satan and 
 his hosts exerted their utmost malice against him, and 
 turned the hour of his deepest anguish into the hour 
 and power of darkness. Thus it was with Job. It 
 was when he was suffering from the irritating influence 
 of his complicated woes, that he tempted him to " curse 
 
68 THE WAR FARE. 
 
 God and die." Some of his temptations are of a nature 
 not to be misunderstood ; their design is self-evident — 
 to excite a murmuring and rebellious disposition, by 
 representing God as a hard task-master ; as severe and 
 vindictive in his dispositions — unjust and unreasonable 
 in his requirements ; thus he seeks to inflame the 
 passions, to pervert the judgment, and to excite bitter- 
 ness, opposition, and presumption. Or he approaches 
 in a more covert and subtle manner, and by reasoning, 
 not against God, but for him, although in a manner 
 equally false and deceptive, he endeavors to cast the 
 soul into despondency, and to prevent it from obtaining 
 help or comfort. Great is the distress which, in conse- 
 quence, is sometimes experienced. 
 
 My soul, be on thy guard ; 
 
 Ten thousand foes arise ; 
 The hosts of sin are pressing hard 
 
 To draw thee from the skies. 
 
 watch, and fight, and pray ; 
 
 The battle ne'er give o'er ; 
 Renew it boldly every day, 
 
 And help divine implore. 
 
 Ne'er think the vict'ry won, 
 
 Nor lay thine armor down ; 
 The work of faith will not be done, 
 
 Till thou obtain the crown. 
 
 Then persevere till death 
 
 Shall bring thee to thy God ; 
 He'll take thee, at thy parting breath, 
 
 To his divine abode. 
 
THE WARFARE. 59 
 
 The way to the crown is by the cross. If justified by 
 faith, we must suffer tribulations also. Go round to 
 every saint in glor}' ; every one has a different story, 
 yet each has a tale of suffering. One was persecuted 
 by his "friends." Psalm xli. 5-8; 2 Tim. iii. 11, 12; 
 Zeeb xiii. 6. Another fell into the hands of " false 
 brethren," who, "through covetousness," made mer- 
 chandise of him, " speaking great swelling words, 
 having men's persons in admiration because of advan- 
 tage." 2 Peter ii. 3 ; Jude xvi. Another lost all his 
 property, houses, lands, money, and friends. Phil. iii. 8 ; 
 Heb. X. 34 ; 2 Cor. viii. 9. Another was bereaved of 
 his children, and visited by sore diseases. Job ii. 9, 10 ; 
 Psalms xxxviii. and Ixxxviii. ; Lam. iii. 1-21. Another 
 had lived among depraved men and women, with fear- 
 fully wicked children, who vexed his righteous soul 
 from day to day with their filthy conversation and un- 
 lawful deeds. 2 P,eter ii. 4-8 ; Ezek. xvi. 49, 50 ; 1 Sam. 
 iii. 13. Another had all these afflictions and troubles 
 in one, — "deep called unto deep," but mark, all are 
 brought out of them. It was a dark cloud, but — glory 
 be to God — it passed away; the water was deep, but 
 they reached their "Father's house." Rev. vii. 9-14; 
 Isaiah xlviii. IT ; John xiii. 1. Not one of them blames 
 God foi the road he led them ; their only cry is, " Unto 
 Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his 
 own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto 
 God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for- 
 ever and ever. Amen " 
 
60 THE WARFARE. 
 
 Were it not for the furnace of affliction, what would 
 becotne of the Christian's dross and alloy ? And when 
 the silver is in the crucible the Refiner himself comes 
 near, " Thus saith the Lord, behold I will melt them 
 and try them, for how shall I do for the daughter of my 
 people." Jer. ix. Y. "I will turn My hand upon thee, 
 and purely purge aw^ay thy dross, and take away all thy 
 tin." Isaiah i. 25; Dan. xii. 10; Matt. xiii. 43. Does 
 the craftsman throw the precious metals into the fire 
 and forget them ? No ; they are too costly. He is 
 anxious and careful respecting them. He sits patiently 
 at the door of the furnance intently watchful. As soon 
 as he sees his own face reflected from the molten metal 
 within, he knows that the process has been successful, 
 and he abates the fury of the flames. So does Jesus 
 watch the furnace of affliction in which his people are 
 being purified, not allowing them to suffer injury and 
 loss, but only waiting to see his own image reflected in 
 their hearts. 
 
 Sanctified afflictions are spiritual promotion. Suffer- 
 ing has kept tens of thousands of the children of God 
 from sinning. " How kindly has God," says the 
 lamented Rev. Robert M. M'Cheyne, of Dundee, Scot- 
 land, " thwarted me in every instance where I sought 
 to enslave myself. I will learn at last to glory in dis- 
 appointments." " Blessed," says the Psalmist, "is the 
 man whom Thou chasteneth, and teachest him out of 
 thy law. It is good for me that I have been afflicted ; 
 that I might learn Thy statutes. Before I was afflicted 
 
THE WARFARE. 61 
 
 1 went astray, but now I have kept Thy word." Psalm 
 exix. GY-75 ; Deut. viii. 5, 6. " Blessed is the man that 
 endureth temptation ; for wiien he is tried, he shall 
 receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised 
 to them that love him." 
 
 Disciples of a suffering Saviour, count on suffering ; 
 reckon it not as a strange thing that you should be 
 attacked by Satan and his emissaries — Belial and his 
 sons. John viii. 44 ; Eph. ii. 2. You shall be more than 
 conquerors through Him that loved you. 1 Cor. xv. 57; 
 
 2 Cor. ii. 14 ; 2 Tim. iv. i , 8. The Lord knows the 
 sorrows of his people. Exod. iii. t ; Judges x. 16. He 
 weeps with them. In all their afflictions he is afflicted. 
 He is touched with the feelings of their griefs as well as 
 of their infirmities. How often does he come to us as 
 he did to the disciples in that midnight hour when all 
 seemed lost — "in the fourth watch of the night," when 
 w^e least looked for him ; or when like the shipwrecked 
 Apostle, "for days together neither sun nor stars ap- 
 peared and no small tempest lay on us ; when all hope 
 that we should be saved seemed to be taken away," how 
 often just at that moment has his sweet voice been 
 heard floating over the billows, saying, " Be of good 
 cheer: it is I ; be not afraid." John vi. 20; Isaiah Hi. 
 0. It is the same brief utterance with which he calmed 
 the storm-tossed children of God in every age. "If the 
 Lord," says the Psalmist, "had not stood by me, the 
 deep waters would have gone over my soul." The Lord 
 never forsakes those who love him, " with the whole 
 
 G 
 
62 THE WAR FAKE. 
 
 heart," and do that which is right in his sight. Heb. 
 xiii. 5 ; Isaiah xHii. 1, 2. " Can a woman forget her 
 sucking child, that she should not have compassion on 
 the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I 
 not forg-et thee." 
 
 '&' 
 
 Every human tie may perisli ; 
 
 Friend to friend unfaithful prove ; 
 Mothers cease their own to cherish ; 
 
 Heaven and earth at last remove ; 
 But no changes 
 
 Can attend Jehovah's love. 
 
 In the furnace God may prove thee. 
 
 Thence to bring thee forth more bright, 
 
 But can never cease to love thee ; 
 Thou art precious in his sight : 
 
 God is with thee — 
 God, thine everlasting Light. 
 
 The Lord often brings those who come to him into 
 untried places, that they may seek out the guiding 
 pillar, and prize its radiance. He puts them on the 
 darkening waves, that they may follow the guiding 
 light hung out astern from the only Bark that was ev^r 
 proof against the storm. How does he quiet their fears 
 and misgivings ? As they stand panting on the bleak 
 mountain side, he points his crook to the shining gates 
 of glory, and says, " Fear not, little flock ; it is your 
 Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 
 What gentle words ! what a blessed consummation I 
 And when they stand on the verge of the grave. He 
 says, "Fear not," for "My presence shall go with thee." 
 
THE WARFARE. 63 
 
 "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with 
 thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow 
 thee : when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt 
 not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee ; 
 for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy 
 Saviour." 
 
 The life of the Christian is a life of faith His spirit 
 is brought, by faith, into communion with the life of 
 heaven ; a life which ^nly he who feels it knows. Eph. 
 iii. 18, 19 ; 1 John iv. 4. This communion is shadowed 
 forth in Scripture in such passages as these : " The 
 Secret of the Lord is with them that fear him." Psalm 
 XXV. 14 ; John xiv. 21-23. " In Thy Light shall we see 
 light." Psalm xxxvi. 9. "But we have this Treasure in 
 earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may 
 be of God, and not of us." 2 Cor. iv. 7. " We have also 
 a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well 
 that ye take heed, as unto a Light that shineth in a 
 dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in 
 your hearts." 2 Peter i. 19. "If ye then be risen with 
 Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ 
 sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on 
 things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are 
 dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When 
 Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also 
 appear with him in glory." " Put on, therefore, as the 
 elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kind- 
 ness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering ; for- 
 bearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any 
 
61 THE WARFARE. 
 
 man have a quarrel against any : even as Christ forgave 
 you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on 
 charity, which is the bond of pcrfectness. And let the 
 peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are 
 called in one body ; and be ye thankful. Let the word 
 of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom ; teaching 
 and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and 
 spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to 
 the Lord." 
 
 Ye faitliful souls, who Jesus know, . 
 
 If risen indeed with him ye are, 
 Superior to the joys below, 
 
 His resurrection's power declare. 
 
 Your faith by holy tempers prove : 
 By actions show your sins forgiven: 
 
 And seek the glorious things above, 
 
 And follow Christ your head to heaven. 
 
 There your exalted Saviour see, 
 Seated at God's right hand again. 
 
 In all his Father's majesty, 
 In everlasting pomp to reign. 
 
 For who by faith your Lord receive, 
 Ye nothing seek or want beside ; 
 
 Dead to the world and sin ye live ; 
 Your creature love is crucified, 
 
 Y^our real life with Christ conceal'd 
 Deep in the Father's bosom lies; 
 
 And glorious as your Head reveal'd, 
 Ye soon shall meet him in the skies. 
 
THE WARFARE. 65 
 
 The Lord lovos his people too well to make the world 
 tearless and sorrowless. Be assured there is a disguised 
 love iu all he does. He knows us infinitely better than 
 we know ourselv^es, and often puts a "thorn" in our nest 
 (o drive our affections from things of earth. The Lord 
 chastens his own ; for the children of wrath is reserved 
 retribution in another state of being. Job xxvii. 8-22 ; 
 Psalms xlix. and Ixxiii. Oh take courage ; the " rough 
 dealings" of to-day are an earnest of loving dealings by- 
 and-by. It is in this manner the sheep is brought into 
 the fold by the barking of the dog ; and in this fashion the 
 ship is compelled by the storm to make for the nearest 
 haven. " What I do thou knowest not now ; ])ut thou 
 shalt know hereafter." Johnxiii. 7; Isaiah xlviii. IT. The 
 darkness which you now experience may be for the pur- 
 pose of extinguishing in you those false lights of human 
 reasoning, which oppose the hidden designs of God ; he 
 wishes that you should allow yourself to be conducted, 
 as one blind, by the hand of his good pleasure. " For 
 the Lord's portion is his people ; Jacob is the lot of 
 his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and 
 in the waste and howling wilderness ; he led him 
 about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of 
 his eye." Deut. xxxii. 9, 10. Abandon yourself then, 
 with the generosity of a noble heart, to his guidance. 
 You can not have your own pleasure in this world, 
 and afterward reign with Christ. If God sends you 
 great sufferings, it is a sign that he is preparing you for 
 that delightful country, 
 
6Q THE WARFARE. 
 
 Where all his beauties you behold, 
 And sing his Ucame on harps of gold. 
 
 The critical events and great disappointments of the 
 Christian's life, that so stagger and amaze him, are not 
 so wonderful or mysterious as in his own bewildering 
 grief he is apt to think them. The great events of his 
 life strike him with surprise," because he fails to perceive 
 that God is administering all things with reference to a 
 spiritual commonwealth. We are seldom at agreement 
 with his providence ; or with the spiritual economy of 
 this world ; or with the interests of our being in its 
 highest developments. Yet we are vain, proud, head- 
 strong, impetuous, irascible, impatient under restraint, 
 and rebellious under discipline. Is it strange, then, that 
 at every step of our Christian career we are met by op- 
 posing forces ? Amos iii. 3-6 ; Levit. xxvi. 18-30. Is not 
 every wise household a microcosmic moral government 
 where the parents both please and pain their children, 
 repeating in a minor sphere, the very administrative acts 
 of overruling, denying, compelling, paining, and punish- 
 ing for their good, their own children, as in the greater 
 sphere God thwarts and disciplines them ? This is clearly 
 stated in Deut. viii. 5 : " Thou shalt consider in thine 
 heart that as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy 
 God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the 
 commandments of the Lord thy God, to v/alk in his 
 ways, and to fear him." The same thing is said in Ileb, 
 xii. 5-8 : " And ye have forgotten the exhortation which 
 speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not 
 
THE WARFARE. 67 
 
 thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art 
 rebuked of him : for whom the Lord loveth he chas- 
 teneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If 
 ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with 
 sons ; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not ? 
 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are par- 
 takers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." 
 
 Why should we doubt a Father's love, 
 
 So constant and so kind ? 
 To his unerring, gracious will 
 
 Be every wish resigned. 
 
 Good, when he gives — supremely good, 
 
 Nor less when he denies ; 
 E'en crosses, from his sovereign hand. 
 
 Are blessings in disguise. 
 
 We are commanded to hear " the voice of the rod, and 
 who hath appointed it." But man is stupid and insensi- 
 ble with respect to divine things, and divine teaching. 
 God speaks plainly, but he will not hear. God mani- 
 fested his presence sufficiently to the children of Israel 
 in the wilderness, but they were slow in learning that 
 he was ever with them, to instruct and to bless them, 
 and that what they suffered or enjoyed proceeded 
 from himself. How little do professors of religion in 
 general, look at the design of God in their trials ! 
 They have no solemn recognition of His all-disposing 
 government and superintendence ; no thought of the 
 course of events, but as regulated by something w^hich 
 they call "general law^s," and then blended with 
 
68 THE WARFARE. 
 
 " chance ;" or the afflictions by which they are exercised, 
 but as the exclusive results of what is merely subordi- 
 nate agency. Like the Philistines in the days of Eli, 
 the}^ do not see the hand of God in anything. 1 Sam. vi. 
 9 ; Amos iii. 6 ; Jer. v. 3-31 ; Hosea vii. 2. But not so 
 with the experienced soldier of Christ; he sees the hand 
 of God in everything. He knows that in whatever way 
 an affliction may be intended to operate, its object is the 
 promotion of his welfare. Job v. 6, t ; Heb. xii. 4-13 ; 
 Kev. iii. 19 ; Deut. viii. 5. Is his body afflicted, he is 
 thankful that his mind continues vigorous and entire. 
 Is he poor and despised, he feels in his heart that he 
 has the favor and enjoyment of God ; and can he be 
 despicable who is favored with the special friendship of 
 the sovereign Majesty of the Universe ? Isaiah Ixvi. 2 ; 
 Jer. ix. 23, 24; Rev. ii. 9, 10. Can he be miserable 
 who has " the Lord of glory" for his portion, who enjoys 
 the fountain of all happiness, and who has the light of 
 God's countenance to cheer him, and the consolations of 
 the Divine Spirit to comfort and refresh his soul ? 
 
 Intimatel}^ acquainted with all the circumstances of 
 his people, their age, situation, dispositions, advantages, 
 and temptations, the Lord sees the particular kind of 
 affliction which is needed for the promotion of their wel- 
 fare. He places some of his saints in the vale of pov« 
 erty, because he knows they could not resist the snares 
 of affluence ; — others he deprives of bodily health ; some 
 he dooms to months and years of great adversity ; others 
 he bere'aves of family and friends, and leaves them, as 
 
THE WARFARE. 69 
 
 forlorn pilgrims, to grope tht'ir way to the new Jerusa- 
 lem. But, in all these methods of his providence, he is 
 guided by that infinite wisdom which prompts him to 
 study the different characters of his children, and to ap- 
 portion that discipline to each of them which will best 
 secure the end of all the divine dispensations — the sal- 
 vation of their souls. The Saviour himself was made 
 perfect through sufferings ; and the character of the 
 Christian is more formed and improved by his afflictions 
 than by his enjoyments. Psalm cxix. 6Y, 71, 75 ; 1 Pet. 
 V. 8-10. AlBflietions are heavenly agents, and work out 
 for the Christian " a far more exceeding and eternal 
 weight of glory." When the afflictions are for right- 
 eousness' sake, for keeping a good conscience, for ad- 
 hering to the truth as it is in Jesus, and for attachment 
 to his cause, they lose their name, and become an honor 
 — a filling up of the measure of the Saviour's suffer- 
 ings, and the Christian ''glorifies in this behalf;" for he 
 knows that affliction has not merely a blessing in it, but 
 it is, in itself, a blessing. 
 
 As in a time of rain and cloud, the distant hills look 
 nearer, so do the everlasting hills of Glory appear in the 
 cloudy and dark day, nearer, brighter, more glorious. — 
 sparkling with ten thousand rills of love and covenant 
 faithfulness, unseen and unobserved before. 
 
 Lord of our souls, thou Saviour ever dear, 
 Be still our rainbow in the clouds of life ; 
 
 In thy pure sunlight meet each rising tear, — 
 Our Arc of Triumph in the scenes of strife. 
 
70 THE WARFARE. 
 
 Radiant with mercy calm the sinking heart, 
 
 And beam thro' sorrow's night, and suff'ring's gloom, 
 
 A deathless Iris that will not depart, 
 
 But shine with hues unfading o'er the tomb. 
 
 There would be no Bow in the material heavens but 
 for the cloud. Lovelier, indeed, to the eye, is the a/.ure 
 blue — the fleecy summer vapors, or the gold and Vermil- 
 lion of western sunsets. But what would become of the 
 earth if no dark clouds from time to time hung over it; 
 distilling their treasures — reviving and refreshing its 
 drooping vegetable tribes ? Is it otherwise with the 
 soul? iv'ay. The cloud of sorrow is needed; its every 
 rain-drop has an inner meaning of love. 1 Cor. x. 1-4 ; 
 Rom. xi. 25-33. Here we are often baffled at the Lord's 
 dispensations; we cannot fathom his ways; — like the 
 well of Sychar, they are deep, and we have nothing to 
 draw with. But — glory be to God — soon the mystery 
 will be finished ; the enigmatical seals, with all their 
 inner meanings, opened. When that " morning without 
 clouds" shall break, each soul will be like the angel stand- 
 ing in the sun, — there will be no shadow ; all will be 
 perfect day ! Blessed indeed shall the righteous be in 
 that day! They shall shine like stars, no longer ob- 
 scured with clouds. Isaiah xxv. 7, 8 ; Dan. xii. 2, 3 ; 
 Mai. iii. 16, 11 ; Matt. xiii. 43. They shall be beautiful 
 as the lily, no longer "choked with thorns." 
 
 That joy — that joy, is it promised to me? 
 0, had I the wings of a dove, I would flee, 
 And ne'er would I slacken or fold my wing, 
 Till I reached that joy's everlasting Spring. 
 
THE WARFARE. 71 
 
 foolish he;ivt, thy impatience awhile; 
 The work of faith with hope's visions beguile: 
 He who would enter the joy of his Lord, 
 First serves — then, through grace, expects the reward. 
 
 Yes, wait a little : scorn and contempt will soon be 
 over. Laughter and ridicule shall soon have an end. 
 Slander and misrepresentation will soon cease. Jesus 
 shall come and plead your cause, and then as Moses said 
 to Korah, " the Lord will show who are his." St. Paul 
 longed to be with Christ, and yet with quiet resignation 
 to his heavenly Father's wiU, he waited patiently until 
 his change came. His constant prayer was, that Christ 
 might be honored in him, whether it be by life or by 
 death. When he wrote to the Church at Philippi from 
 his prison at Rome, he said, " To me to live is Christ, 
 and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the 
 fruit of my labor ;" (i. e., I know that if I continue here, 
 I shall gain more souls for Christ,) " but what I shall 
 choose I know not, for I am in a strait between two, 
 having a desire to depart and to be with Christ ; which 
 is far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more 
 needful for you." Phil. i. 20-24. This language beau- 
 tifully exemplifies the character of a faithful soldier of 
 Christ. 
 
 My soul, never forget in the dark night of sorrow, 
 desertion, sickness, and pain, that all things are working 
 together for thy good, even when thou art suffering 
 most. Be not afraid of suffering, " It is enough for the 
 disciple that he be as his Master, and the servant as his 
 Lord." In the world, from the world, all true disciples 
 
72 THE WAR FAKE. 
 
 of Jesus must have tribulation. " AVe glory," says St. 
 Paul, "in tribulations also; kno^Ying that tribulation 
 worketh patience ; and patience, experience : experience, 
 hope ; and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love 
 of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost 
 which is given unto us." Says another apostle, "Be- 
 loved, think it not strange, concerning the fiery trial 
 which is to try you, as though some strange thing hap- 
 pened unto you ; but rejoice inasmuch as ye are par- 
 takers of Christ's sufferings ; that, when his glory shall 
 be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 
 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are 
 3^e ; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. 
 On their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is 
 glorified." 
 
 It is not so much by the symmetry of what the Chris- 
 tian attains in this life that he is to be made happy, as 
 by the enlivening hope of what he shall reach in the 
 world to come. While a man is stringing a harp, he 
 tries the strings, not for music, but for construction. 
 When it is finished it shall be played for melodies. God 
 is fashioning the heart of every true Soldier of the Cross 
 for future joy. He only sounds a string here and there 
 to see how far His work has progressed. "Behold, 
 happy is the man whom God correcteth : therefore des- 
 pise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: for he 
 maketh sore and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his 
 hands make whole. He shall deliver thee in six trou- 
 bles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee." Job 
 
THE WARFARE. 78 
 
 V. 17-19 ; Pt^alm xxxiv. 7-19. "Though He cause grief, 
 yet will he have compassion according to the multitude 
 of his mercies ; for he doth not afBict willingly, nor grieve 
 the children of men." Lam. iii. 32, 33; Psalm cvii. 17. 
 " Though He slay me," says Job, " yet will I trust in 
 him." 
 
 The Christian must be perfected through conflicts and 
 trials. St. Paul, speaking of his conflicts and trials, 
 warns the brethren to hold fast their faith, and not to be 
 moved by them, saying, " For j^ourselves know that we 
 are appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with 
 you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation ; 
 even as it came to pass, and ye know. For this cause 
 when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your 
 faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, 
 and our labor be in vain. But when Timotheus came 
 from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your 
 faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance 
 of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also 
 to see you : therefore, brethren, we were comforted 
 over 3'ou in all our afflictions and distress by your faith : 
 for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. For what 
 thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the 
 joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before God; night 
 and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, 
 and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith ? " 
 
 It is no triumph of faith to trust God for those good 
 things which he gives in hand — this is rather to walk by 
 sense than by faith ; but to rely on him in the greatest 
 7 
 
74 THE WAKFAKE. 
 
 destitution, " and against hope to believe in hope," this 
 is the faith of a true child of Abraham, and will be "im- 
 puted" to us — as to him—" for righteousness." Rom. iv. 
 22; Heb. xi. 8-19. " It is," says Bunyan, " as ordinary 
 as for the hght to shine, for God to make black and dis- 
 mal dispensations to usher in bright and pleasing ones ; 
 3^ea, and the more frightful that is which goes before, the 
 more comfortable is that which follows after, * Weeping 
 may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.' " 
 Those whom God adopts, he teaches and trains. He 
 leads them to Sinai, and shows them the Law, that their 
 hearts may be broken. He leads them to Calvary and 
 shows them the Cross, that their hearts may be cleansed, 
 bound up, and healed. Isaiah i, 5, 6 ; Ezek. xvi. 4-9 ; 
 Rev. iii. 18, 19. He leads them to Pisgah, and gives 
 them distant views of the promised land, that their 
 hearts may be cheered. He takes them into the wilder- 
 ness, that they may see their own emptiness. He car- 
 ries them to Tabor, and gives them glimpses of the glory 
 to come. 
 
 Oft I walk beneatli the cloud, 
 Dark as midnight's gloomy shroud ; 
 But when fear is at the height, 
 Jesus comes, and all is light: 
 Blessed Jesus, bid me show 
 Doubting saints how much I owe. 
 
 God by chastisement, lays his finger upon the con- 
 science and forthwith it starts into new life. " If they 
 be in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction, then 
 
THE WARFARE. 75 
 
 11 (; .showeth them their work, and their transgressions 
 that they have exceeded. He openeth also their ear 
 to discipline, and commandeth that they return from 
 iniquity." Job xxxvi. 8-10. The desert-trials of the 
 Israelites put them to the proof; and when proved, what 
 iniquity was found in them ! what sin came out that had 
 lain hidden and unknown before ! Then the heart's 
 deep fountains were broken up, and streariis of pollution 
 came rushing out, black as "the Pit" itself. Rebellion, 
 unbelief, fretfulness, murmurings, atheism, idolatry, self- 
 will, self-confidence, self-pleasing, — all burst out when 
 the blast of the desert met them in the face. They had 
 not yet learned the blessedness of faith in God. The 
 Psalmist, speaking of their provocations, says, " Our 
 fathers understood not Thy wonders in Egypt ; they re- 
 membered not the multitude of thy mercies ; but pro- 
 voked Him at the sea, even at the Red Sea. Neverthe- 
 less he saved them for his name's sake, that he might 
 make his mighty power to be known. He rebuked the 
 Red Sea also, and it was dried up ; so he led them 
 through the depths, as through the wilderness. And he 
 saved them from the hand of them that hated them, and 
 redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. And the 
 waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them 
 left. Then believed they His words; they sung his 
 praise. They soon forgot his works, they waited not for 
 Ills counsel : but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, 
 and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them 
 their request; but sent leanness into their soul." 
 
76 THE WAKFAUE. 
 
 There cannot be a more certain presage of future 
 misery than to counteract the afflictive dispensations of 
 God. Then he turns his rod into a scorpion, and fulfils 
 the threatenings, " If ye will not be reformed by Me, 
 then will I walk contrary unto you, and will punish you 
 yet seven times for your sins." The first blow is gentle, 
 it affects the man's property only ; if he remain unim- 
 pressed and unhumbled, God then enters his house and be- 
 reaves him of a darling child — perhaps a second — a third; 
 he next smites his wife, and she is made to waste away 
 before him by slow and consuming disease ; he then 
 visits him with some severe bodily affliction : he is laid 
 upon a bed of pain and languishing; he is made to feel 
 in solitude the extent of his bereavements, and time is 
 given him for reflection ; after this He stripes his con- 
 science, — his heart is filled with bitterness; he has a 
 wounded spirit that he cannot bear; his life becomes 
 burdensome ; he is afraid to die, and sickens at the 
 thought of existence. If in all this he turns not unto 
 God, with weeping and mourning, but sins yet more and 
 more, then he casts him into hell. Prov, xxix. 1 ; Psalm 
 ix. lY; xi. 6; Ixxiii. 5-20. "Thou hast forsaken me, 
 saith the Lord, thou art gone backward : therefore will I 
 stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I 
 am weary with repenting.'' 
 
 It is said of Jehoram, king of Israel, that the Lord 
 smote his people, his children, his wives, and his goods. 
 "And after all this the Lord smote him in his bowels 
 with an incurable disease. And it came to pass, that in 
 
THE WARFARE. 77 
 
 proccsH of time, after the end of two years, his bowels 
 fell out l)y reason of his sickness; so he died of sore dis- 
 ease." 2 Kings xxi. 14^10. And all this befell him, 
 because he had, like Ahab, Jezebel, Ahaziah, and Atha- 
 lia, "sold himself to work evil in the sight of the Lord." 
 Take the disciples of Christ for an example of suffering 
 and patience. "Giving no offence in anything," says St. 
 Paul, "that the ministry be not blamed ; but in all things 
 approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much 
 patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distress, in 
 stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watch- 
 ings, in fastings ; by pureness, by knowledge, by long- 
 suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love un- 
 feigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by 
 the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on 
 the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good 
 report: as deceivers, and yet true ; as unknown, and yet 
 well known ; as dying, and, behold, we live ; as chas- 
 tened, and not killed ; as sorrowful, yet alw^ays rejoicing; 
 as poor, yet making many rich ; as having nothing, yet 
 possessing all things." 2 Cor. vi. 3-10; Jer. ix. 23, 24; 
 Rev. xxi. 7. " Even to this hour we both hunger and 
 thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no cer- 
 tain dwelling-place ; and labor, working with our own 
 liands. Being reviled, we bless ; being persecuted, we 
 suffer it; being defamed, we entreat: we are made the 
 filth of the world, and are the off-scouring of all things 
 unto this day." 1 Cor. iv. 11-13; John xv. 11-25. "Of 
 the Jews five times I received forty stripes save one; 
 
78 THE WARFARE. 
 
 thrice was I beaten with rods ; once was I stoned ; thrice 
 I suffered shipwreck; a night and a day have I been in 
 the deep ; in journeyings often ; in perils of waters ; in 
 perils of robbers ; in perils of my own countrymen ; in 
 perils by the heathen ; in perils in the city ; in perils in 
 the wilderness ; in perils in the sea ; in perils among 
 false brethren ; in weariness and painfulness ; in watch- 
 ings often ; in hunger and thirst, in fastings often ; in 
 cold and nakedness. Besides those things that are with- 
 out, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the 
 Churches." " In Damascus the Governor, under Aretas, 
 the king, kept the city of the Damascenes with a garri- 
 son, desirous to apprehend me : and through a window, 
 in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his 
 hands." 
 
 In another place, he says, "Nay, in all these things 
 we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. 
 For I am persuaded, that neither death nor life, nor 
 angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, 
 nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
 creature, shall be able to separate us from the Love of 
 God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Speaking of 
 the sufferings of his brethren in Christ, he says, " Others 
 were tortured, not accepting deliverance ; that they 
 might obtain a better resurrection ; and others had trial 
 of cruel mockings, and scourgings ; yea, moreover of 
 bonds and imprisonment : they were sawn asunder, they 
 were stoned, were tempted, were slain with the sword ; 
 they wandered about in sheep-skins, and goat-skins; 
 
THE WARFARE. 79 
 
 being destitute, afflicted, tormented ; of whom the world 
 was not worthy; they wandered in deserts, and in 
 mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." Ileb. 
 xi. 35-38. " Let me go, for the day breaketh," was the 
 language of their hearts. They shouted the praises of 
 God on the rack, and sung Psalms and Hymns in the 
 flames. The secret kept from " the world" no longer 
 remained a secret to them. Their faith, like that of 
 Stephen, faded into sight, and the bright forms of minis- 
 tering hosts became visible. 
 
 St. Paul himself, as he approached the martyring axe, 
 exclaimed, " I am now ready to be offered, and the time 
 of my departure is at hand, I have fought a good fight. 
 I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Hence- 
 forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, 
 which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that 
 day."* 
 
 Surely if the most precious and lovely of God's child- 
 ren have suffered all this, is not that a sufficient proof 
 
 * St. Paul was beheaded by Nero, in his anger at the conver- 
 sion of his favorite cup-bearer. Peter was crucified by the same 
 tyrant. Andrew was crucified at Achia. James was beheaded 
 by Herod Agrippa. Philip suffered martyrdom in Phrygia. 
 Bartholomew suffered martyrdom in Armenia, Thomas, called 
 Didymus, was put to death by stoning, in India. Matthew suf- 
 fered martyrdom in Ethiopia. James and Simon Zelots wei-e 
 murdered in Jerusalem. Jude was put to death by the Magi, in 
 Persia. ]\Iark died of his wounds at Alexandria, in Egypt. Luke 
 was hanged on a tree, in Greece. John, after being preserved 
 unhurt, by a miracle, in a caldron of boiling oil, appears to have 
 been the only one of the disciples who died a natural death, at an 
 advanced age. 
 
80 THE WARFARE. 
 
 that this world is not a place of happincsH, iior (earthly 
 prosperity the reward of virtue. Shall we, after reading 
 these passages of Scripture, complain of our petty trials ? 
 Shall we not rather be thankful that our afflictions are so 
 light ? 
 
 Oh for that flame of living fire, 
 
 Which shone so bright in saints of old; 
 
 Which bade their souls to heaven aspire, — 
 Calm in distress, in danger bold. 
 
 Where is that Spirit, Lord, which dwelt 
 
 In Abraham's breast, and seal'd him thine ? 
 
 Which made Paul's heart with pleasure melt, 
 And glow with energy divine ? 
 
 That Spirit, which from age to age 
 
 Proclaim'd thy love, and taught thy ways ? 
 
 Brighten'd Isaiah's vivid page, 
 
 And breathed in David's hallow'd lays? 
 
 Is not thy grace as mighty now 
 
 As when Elijah felt its power ; 
 When glory beamed from Moses' brow, 
 
 Or Job endured the trying hour ? 
 
 Were the Christian's earthly course strewed with 
 flowers, and sunbeams ever played around his dwelling, 
 it would lead him to forget his wandering life, — that he 
 is but a sojourner here. The tent must at times be struck, 
 pin by pin of the movable tabernacle taken down, to 
 enable him to say and feel in the spirit of a pilgrim, "I 
 desire a better country." In that "country" the re- 
 deemed sons and daughters of God will praise him for 
 ever for their sorrows : so blessed shall they appear to 
 them, that they shall wonder how they could ever weep 
 and sigh. 
 
CHAPTER I^. 
 
 BATTLES FOUGHT AND VICTORIES WON. 
 
 The aged Soldier of the Cross— The smile upon his wasted cheek— 
 His prospects of eternal happiness clear and glorious— The wilderness 
 pjigsed— His Father's house in full view— Happy deaths— The glories of 
 Immanuel's land— Unspeakable happiness of the children of God- 
 Transporting views of the heavenly world— The ministry of Angels- 
 Delightful death-bed scenes— Happy death of a Sunday-school scholar— 
 His last words to his parents and sister— His ''farewell" to each— Sees 
 his Saviour— Angels around his bed— Hears delightful music— Longs to 
 die— Looks up to Heaven, smiles, and expires in his father's arms. 
 
 Blessed is the man whose love to Jesas hath become 
 confirmed with his years, so that his " heart is fixed," and 
 fired, and flaming. He with his grey hairs and venera- 
 ble countenance commands the attention of all men when 
 he speaks of Him whom he hath tried and proved 
 through more than half a century of tribulation mingled 
 with rejoicing. His piety renders him a most delightful 
 companion ; his familiar acquaintance with the Word of 
 God has furnished his mind with the most sublime sen- 
 timents, such as Socrates would have listened to with 
 silent admiration, and Plato have heard with rapturous 
 joy. He sees the shadows of the evening drawing on 
 with "hopes full of immortality;" and his silver locks 
 remind him to pass his remaining days as a pilgrim with 
 
 (81) 
 
82 BATTLES FOUGHT 
 
 his staff in his hand, read}- to depart. " For these many 
 years," to use his own language, " I hav^e not promised 
 myself a to-morrow." He does not fear death, because 
 he knows his Saviour has taken away its sting. 1 Cor. 
 XV. 55-57 ; 2 Cor. v. 1-9 ; Hosea xiii. 14. And oh what 
 happiness beyond! Isaiah Ixiv. 4 ; 1 Cor. ii. 9 ; x. 3, 21- 
 23 ; Rev. xxi. 4-1. 
 
 Mark but that radiance of his eye, 
 
 That smile upon his wasted cheek ; 
 They tell us of his glory nigh, 
 
 In language that no tongue can speak. 
 
 We cannot look upon such a man without feeling the 
 exceeding beauty of the expression of Solomon about 
 the hoary head found in the way of righteousness, being 
 a "crown of glory." His prospects are clear and glori- 
 ous beyond conception. The dawn of heaven is in his 
 heart. The wearisome, dull, "Enchanted Ground" of 
 the earthly pilgrimage is now passed. The darkness 
 and fear of death are left behind. " Despair and Doubt" 
 are not so much as seen from this happy region. Shining 
 ones, unseen by all except the dying saint, are hovering 
 around. He has reached the last stage of a journey 
 which tends to his "Father's house." He has passed 
 the wilderness, and now stands on Jordan's bank, ready 
 to enter the promised land when the waters of the cold 
 stream shall be divided. Through the crevices which 
 time and affliction have made in his earthly tabernacle, 
 the soul looks out upon its eternal mansions, and ex- 
 claims, 
 
AND VICTORIES WON. 8o 
 
 There is my bouse and portion fair; 
 My treasure and my heart are there. 
 
 Such a man could say with Hugh ^[ackail, when on 
 the scaffold at Edinburgh, in 1666, "Farewell, father 
 and mother, friends and relations ; farewell, sun, moon 
 and stars. Welcome, God and Father ; welcome, sweet 
 Lord Jesus ; welcome, blessed Spirit of grace and God of 
 all consolation ; welcome, glory ; welcome, eternal life ; 
 w^elcome death. Lord, into thy hands I commit my 
 spirit, for thou hast redeemed my soul, Lord, God of 
 truth." He could say with Baxter, " I bless God I have 
 a well-grounded assurance of eternal happiness, and 
 great peace within." He could say with John Janeway, 
 " 0, my dear friends, that I could let you know what 
 happiness I enjoy ! that I could express the thousandth 
 part of that sweetness that I now find in Jesus !" He 
 could say with Samuel Rutherford, "0 that my brethren 
 did know what peace I have this day! I shall sleep in 
 Christ, and when 1 awake, I shall be satisfied with his 
 likeness. Oh ! for arms to embrace Him ! Oh ! for a 
 well-tuned harp !" He could say with John Wesley, 
 " The best of all is, God is with us." 
 
 Samuel Rutherford was a Scotch divine, who suffered 
 during the religious persecution in Scotland, but main- 
 tained his strong integrity of character and deep-toned 
 piety to the last, and died full of love to God and his 
 people. His last words were, " Glory, glory dwelleth in 
 Immanuel's land." The following lines are made up 
 mostly of expressions of his own : — 
 
84. BATTLES FOUGHT 
 
 The sands of time are sinking, 
 
 The dawn of heaven breaks, 
 The summer morn I've sighed for — 
 
 The fair, sweet morn — awakes. 
 Dark, dark hath been the midnight, 
 
 But dayspring is at hand; 
 And glory, glory dwelleth 
 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 Oh ! well it is for ever — 
 
 Oh! well for evermore: 
 My nest hung in no forest 
 
 Of all this death-doomed shore ; 
 Yea, let this vain world vanish. 
 
 As from the ship the strand, 
 While glory, glory dwelleth 
 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 There the red rose of Sharon 
 
 Unfolds its heartmost bloom, 
 And fills the air of heaven 
 
 With ravishing perfume : 
 Oh ! to behold it blossom. 
 
 While by its fragrance fanned, 
 Where glory, glory dwelleth 
 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 The King there in his beauty, 
 
 Without a vail is seen ; 
 "It were a well-spent journey, 
 
 Though seven deaths lay between." 
 The lamb with his fair army 
 
 Doth on Mount Zion stand, 
 And glory, glory dwelleth 
 
 In Immanuel's land ! 
 
 Oh, Christ — he is the fountain. 
 The deep, sweet well of love ! 
 
 The streams on earth I've tasted, 
 More deep I'll drink above ; 
 
AND VICTORIES WON. 86 
 
 Thei-e to an ocean fulness 
 
 His mercy doth expand, 
 And glory, glory dwelleth 
 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 Oft in yon sea-beat prison,* 
 
 My Lord and I held tryst; 
 For Anworthf was not heaven. 
 
 And preaching was not Christ. 
 And aye ray murkiest storm-cloud 
 
 Was by a rainbow spanned, 
 Caught from the glory dwelling 
 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 But that he built a heaven 
 Of his surpassing love — 
 A little New Jerusalem, 
 Like to the one above — 
 *'Lord, take me o'er the water," 
 
 Had been my loud demand ; 
 *' Take me to love's own country, 
 Unto Immanuel's land !" 
 
 But flowers need night's cool darkness, 
 
 The moonlight and the dew ; 
 So Christ, from one who loved it, 
 
 His shining oft withdrew. 
 And then for cause of absence 
 
 My troubled soul I scanned; 
 But glory shadeless shineth 
 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 The little birds of Anworth — 
 
 I used to count them blest; 
 Now beside happier altars 
 
 I go to build my nest: 
 O'er these there broods no silence; 
 
 No graves around them stand ; 
 For glory deathless dwelleth 
 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 * At St. Andrew's. f His parisb. 
 
S^' BATTLES FOUGHT 
 
 Fair Anwortli by the Solway, 
 
 To me thou still art dear: 
 E'en from the verge of heaven 
 
 I drop for thee a tear. 
 Oh ! if one soul from An worth 
 
 Meet me at God's right hand, 
 My heaven will be two heavens, 
 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 I've wrestled on toward heaven, 
 
 'Gainst storm, and wind, and tide; 
 Now, like a weary traveller, 
 
 That leaneth on his Guide, 
 Amid the shades of evening. 
 
 While sinks life's lingering sands, 
 I hail the glory dawning 
 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 Deep waters crossed life's pathway, 
 The hedge of thorns was sharp ; 
 
 Now these lie all behind me : 
 
 "Oh! for a well-tuned harp!" 
 
 Oh! to join Hallelujah 
 
 With yon triumphant band. 
 
 Who sing where glory dwelleth, 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 With mercy and with judgment 
 
 My web of time he wove, 
 And aye the dews of sorrow 
 
 Were lustred in his love. 
 I'll bless the hand that guided, 
 
 I'll bless the heart that planned. 
 When throned where glory dwelleth, 
 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 Soon shall the cup of glory 
 
 Wash down earth's bitterest woes; 
 
 Soon shall the desert brier 
 Break into Eden's rose ; 
 
AND VICTORIES WON. 87 
 
 The curse shall cliange to blessing, 
 
 The name on earth that's banned 
 Be graven on the White stone, 
 
 In Immanuers land. 
 
 Oh! I am my Beloved's, 
 
 And my Beloved is mine! 
 He brings a poor, vile sinner 
 
 Into his house of wine.* 
 I stand upon his merit; 
 
 I know no safer stand, 
 Not even where glory dwelleth, 
 
 In Imraanuel's land. 
 
 I shall sleep sound in Jesus, 
 
 Filled with his likeness rise. 
 To love and to adore him, 
 
 To see him with these eyes ; 
 'Tween me and resurrection 
 
 But Paradise doth stand, 
 Then — then for glory, dwelling 
 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 The bride eyes not her garment, 
 
 But her dear Bridegroom's face: 
 I will not gaze at glory. 
 
 But at my King of grace; 
 Not at the crown he giveth, 
 
 But on his pierced hands; 
 The Lamb is all the glory 
 
 Of ImnianueFs land. 
 
 I have borne scorn and hatred, 
 
 I have borne wrong and shame, 
 Earth's proud ones have reproached me 
 
 For Christ's thrice blessed name. 
 Where God's seals set fairest. 
 
 They've stamped their foulest brand ; 
 But judgment shines like noon-day 
 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 * See Cant. ii. 1-4; v. 1, 2; Matt. xxvi. 26-2S ; Eph. iii. i;i-19; and Rev. iii. 20; 
 xxi. 4. 
 
88 BATTLES FOUGHT 
 
 They've summoned me before them, 
 
 But there I may not come ; 
 My Lord says, " Come up hither ;** 
 
 My Lord says, "Welcome home;*' 
 My kingly King at his white throne 
 
 My presence doth command, 
 Where glory, glory dwelleth 
 
 In Immanuel's land. 
 
 what happiness to be a child "of God I He has 
 meat and drink which the world knoweth not of. Weep 
 not for those who have departed to be with Christ. It 
 is with them "far better." They sleep in Jesus. Isaiah 
 Ivii. 1, 2 ; Rev. xiv. 13. Seek not " the living among 
 the dead." Think rather that the last sigh was scarcely 
 over on earth, when the song of triumph was begun in 
 heaven. 1 Thes. iv. 15 ; John v. 25. hear that sweet 
 voice, coming down in heaven's delightful music, saying, 
 " If ye loved Me ye would rejoice because I said, I go 
 unto the Father." 
 
 The martyrs rejoiced in their last moments. Heaven 
 seemed to be opened to them, and such was their view 
 of the heavenly world, that they even triumphed amid 
 the agonies of death. They suffered everything that 
 human malice could inflict, but they suffered patiently, 
 and died triumphantly. They shouted the praises of 
 God in their last moments ; they were happy in the 
 flames. This has encouraged and animated the saints 
 of God in every age of the world, many of whom have 
 been permitted to behold their heavenly inheritance, 
 even before the spirit had left the body. James Bain- 
 ham, when his arms and legs were half consumed, ex- 
 
AND VICTORIES WON. 89 
 
 claimed : " Ye look for miracles 1 Here now, ye may see 
 one. This fire is a bed of roses to me I " James Ilawkes, 
 another Christian martyr, was entreated by his friends 
 to give them some token that the fire was not so intole- 
 rable but that a Christian might keep his mind quiet and 
 patient — he assented ; and, if so, he promised he would 
 lift his hands above his head before he died. An eye- 
 witness states that " at the stake he mildly addressed 
 himself to the flames, and when his speech was taken 
 away, and his fingers consumed, so that all thought him 
 dead, he, in remembrance of his promise, suddenly lifted 
 up his burning hands and clapped them together three 
 times, as if in great joy!" 
 
 The venerable Samuel Walker, when near death, 
 uttered the following rapturous expressions : " I have 
 been upon the wings of the Cherubim ; heaven has, in a 
 manner, been opened to me ; I shall soon be there, and 
 am only sorry that I cannot take you with me. 0, my 
 friends, had I strength, I would tell you such new^s as 
 would rejoice your souls ; I have such views of heaven ! " 
 Augustus M. Toplady exclaimed, in his last moments, 
 " how this soul of mine longs to be gone ; like a bird 
 imprisoned in a cage, longs to take its flight ! what a 
 day of sunshine this has been to me ! 1 have not words 
 to express it ; it is unutterable ! " Dr. Doddridge, when 
 near death, said : " Such delightful and transporting 
 views of the heavenly world as my Father is now in- 
 dulging me with, no words can express." Dr. Bateman, 
 a Christian Thvsician, said a little before he died: "I 
 
90 BATTLES FOUGHT 
 
 can hardly distinguish whether this is langour or drowsi- 
 ness w^hic'h has come over me ; but it is a very agreeable 
 feeling;" and, dying, he exclaimed, "What glory! the 
 angels are waiting for me ! Lord Jesus, receive my 
 soul ! — farew^ell !" 
 
 The ministry of angels is not a dream of the imagina- 
 tion. (See Heb. i. 14 ; and 1 Cor. iv. 9.) No, it unfolds 
 itself in beautiful reality, in scenes acted, throughout the 
 Sacred Volume. Look at Elijah, faint and weary in the 
 desert. His prayer is uttered, " Take now away my life, 
 O Lord;" and he sinks heavily oppressed with grief, 
 to sleep. Saw you that touch, so light, so gentle, that 
 awoke his slumber? It was an angel. That angel's 
 visit gives him strength, and he pursues his journey. 
 Again it is night. The shepherds are in the fields, 
 watching their flocks. The angel of the Lord descends. 
 Yea, a multitude of angels proclaim, in one great shout 
 of praise, the birth of Jesus, " Fear not ; behold we bring 
 good tidings of great joy to you and to all people ; for 
 unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, 
 which is Christ the Lord." Then that mighty chorus, 
 unheard of by men since the fall in Eden, rang through 
 the arches of Heaven, and sounded abroad over the wil- 
 derness of Judea, " Glory to God in the highest, on earth 
 peace ; good-will to men ; " and ever since salvation has 
 been preached through the blood of a crucified Saviour, 
 and ever since wherever and whenever the Gospel has 
 triumphed, there has been "joy in heaven." 
 
 The pious John Holland, an old Puritan minister, 
 
AND VICTORIES WOX. 91 
 
 while listening in his dying hours to the reading of the 
 8th Chapter of Romans, cried out, " Oh, stay your read- 
 ing! What brightness is that I see ? On being told it 
 was the sunshine, he exclaimed, "Sunshine! Nay, it is 
 my Saviour's shine ! Farewell, world ! Welcome, hea- 
 ven ! The Day-star from on high hath visited my heart. 
 Oh, speak it when I am gone and preach it at my funeral, 
 — God dealeth familiarly with those who love him. I feel 
 His mercy; I see His majesty; whether in the body or 
 out of the body, I cannot tell, God knoweth; but I see 
 things that are unutterable." Well might such a man 
 exclaim, 
 
 What music ! what light ! 
 What wonders break in on my heart, on my sight! 
 I come, blessed spirits! I hear you on high. 
 0, frail, faithless nature! can this be to die? 
 So near! what, so near to my Saviour and King? 
 0, help me, ye angels, his glories to sing. 
 
 The much lamented Edward Payson, D.D., died 
 rejoicing in hope. He said, " The battle is fought ! and 
 the victory won ! I am going to bathe in an ocean of 
 purity and benevolence and happiness, to all eternity ! 
 The celestial city is full in view ! Its glories beam upon 
 me, its breezes fan me, its odors are w^afted to me, its 
 music strikes upon my ear, and its spirit breathes into 
 my heart ! Nothing separates me from it but the river 
 of death, which now appears as a narrow rill, which may 
 be crossed at a single step, whenever God shall give per- 
 mission." When racked with pain, and near death, he 
 exclaimed, " Oh, what a blessed thing it is to lose one's 
 
92 BATTLES FOUGHT 
 
 will ! Since I have lost my will I have found true hap- 
 piness. There can be no such thing as disappointment 
 to me, for I have no desire but that God's will may be 
 accomplished." Again, "When I read Banyan's descrip- 
 tion of the land of Beulah, where the sun shines and the 
 birds sing day and night, I used to doubt whether there 
 was such a place ; but now my own experience has con- 
 vinced me of it, and it infinitely transcends all my pre- 
 vious conceptions. I think the happiness I enjoy is simi- 
 lar to that enjoyed by glorified spirits before the resur- 
 rection. I can find no words to express my happiness." 
 
 John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, left the world ex- 
 claiming, '' what happiness ! what unspeakable glories 
 do I see ! how I long to die, and be with my Saviour !" 
 The Rev. William Grimshaw had glorious views of 
 heaven just before he departed. He said, " I am as 
 happy as I can be on earth, and as sure of glory as if I 
 was in it. I have nothing to do but to step out of bed 
 into heaven ; I have my foot upon the threshold already." 
 Another dying Christian exclaimed, " My soul longs, my 
 spirit pants, to see the God I love. is it possible that 
 the One I love can come so near, can restore me to him- 
 self, and bring back again the blissful days of Eden to 
 my soul ? Oh ! what glory ! — blessed Saviour, I come !" 
 
 Coxe, in his life of Fletcher, says, that a few days 
 before his dissolution, he appeared to have reached that 
 desirable point, where the last rapturous discoveries are 
 made to the souls of the dying saints. Roused, as it 
 were, with the shouts of angels, and kindled into rap- 
 
AND VICTORIES WON. 93 
 
 ture with visions of glory, he broke forth into a song of 
 holy triumph, which began and ended with praises of 
 God's unfathomable love. He labored to declare the 
 secret manifestations he enjoyed ; but his sensations 
 were too powerful for utterance ; and after looking un- 
 utterable things, he contented himself with calling upon 
 all around him to celebrate that adorable love which can 
 never be adequately expressed. Jer. xxxi. 3 ; Isaiah Ixiii. 
 9; Zeph. iii. IT ; Eph. iii. 18, 19. This triumphant state 
 of mind was not a transient feeling, but a state that he 
 continued to enjoy, with little or no discernible inter- 
 ruption, to the moment of his departure. While he 
 possessed the power of speech, he spoke as one whose 
 lips had been touched with a live coal from the altar ; 
 and, when deprived of that power, his countenance dis- 
 covered that he was secretly engaged in contemplation 
 of the joys of heaven. 
 
 The deeply pious and devoted John Jane way, when 
 near his journey's end, said: "I am, through mercy, 
 quite above the fears of death, and am going unto Him 
 whom I love above life. that I could let you know 
 what I now feel ! that I could show what I see ! O 
 the glory,* the unspeakable glory that I now behold ! My 
 heart is full, my heart is full, my heart is full ; Christ 
 smiles, and I cannot choose but smile. Can you find it 
 in your hearts to stop me, who am now going to the 
 complete and eternal enjoyment of my Redeemer ? 
 Would you keep me from my crown ? The arms of my 
 blessed Saviour are open to embrace me ; the angels 
 
94: BATTLES FOUGHT 
 
 stand ready to cany my soul into his bosom ! did you 
 but see what I see, you would all cry out with me, 
 * How long, dear Lord ? Come, Lord Jesus, come 
 quickly 1'" Remarkable also was the closing scene and 
 the last words of Mr. Halyburton. After expressing, in 
 the intensity of joyful desire, his willingness to depart, 
 he exclaimed in rapture, " This is a miracle, without 
 pain ! And this not the fancy of a man disordered in 
 his brain, but of one lying in full composure ! Oh, 
 blessed be God that ever I was born ! I have a father, 
 and a mother, and ten brothers and sisters in heaven ; 
 and I shall be the eleventh. Oh, blessed be the day 
 that ever I was born !" When he drew still nearer to 
 death, he said to those around him, "When I fall so low 
 that I am not able to speak, I will show you a sign of 
 triumph, when I am near glory, if I am able." This he 
 did, by lifting and clapping his hands in the most 
 triumphant joy, Avhen he was speechless and in the 
 agonies of death ! When John Knox, the English Re- 
 former, was asked, after he could speak no more, if he 
 remembered the promises of God, he raised his hand, 
 shouted " Glory to God !" and expired. 
 
 These feelings of earnest expectation and ardent de- 
 sire, are tempered in the believing soul by the most per- 
 fect resignation to the divine will : while in the language 
 of one inspired writer he prays that he "may go over to 
 see the good land;" in the words of another he submis- 
 sively adds, "All the days of my appointed time will I 
 wait till my change come." His "heart is fixed;" his 
 
AND VICTORIES WON. 95 
 
 sou] is kindled into rapture with love to his Saviour ; 
 and iu the fulness of his joy — "joy unspeakable and 
 full of glory," he exclaims, in the words of the Psalmist, 
 "Whom have I in heaven but Thee ? and there is none 
 upon earth that I desire beside Thee, My flesh and my 
 heart faileth : but God is the strength of my heart and 
 my portion for ever." 
 
 " How is it," says the Rev. Dr. Berg, " that the wicked 
 man in his death, has no sound of heavenly melody 
 charming his ears, and no sight of holy angels, hovering 
 around his pillow ? Why is it, that instead of these, 
 images of terror float before his glaring eyes and fill his 
 soul with horror and dismay ? Is it not because when 
 men are dying the curtain of the body is gradually lifted 
 up, and the soul hitherto not cognizant of the presence of 
 attending spirits, looks out into the eternal world, and 
 stamps an impress of its realities upon the fading senses ?" 
 (See Eccles. v. 6 ; x. 20 ; Isaiah xxv. t ; and 2 Kings 
 vi. 12.) "And when the spirit is poised upon the con- 
 fines of the two worlds, and its heaven or its hell is 
 already begun, why need we wonder that the righteous 
 man hath hope and glory in his death, whilst the wicked 
 man trembles in overwhelming terror and despair?" 
 Eph. ii. 2 ; 2 Tim. ii. 26 ; John viii. 44 ; Matt, xxv, 41-46 ; 
 Rev. xxi. 8. Ah, yes; the wicked, alas for him at that 
 awful moment ! Oh ! my soul, come not thou into the 
 Becret of bis sorrows ! 
 
 In that dread moment, how the frantic soul 
 Raves round the walls of her clay tenement; 
 Runs to each avenue, and shrieks for help ; 
 
yb BATTLES FOUGHT 
 
 But shrieks in vain! How wishfully she looks 
 On all she's leaving, now no longer hers ! 
 A little longer ; yet a little longer ; 
 ! might she stay to wash away her stains ; 
 And tit her for her passage ! Mournful sight I 
 Her very eyes weep blood ; and ev'ry groan 
 She heaves is big with horror. But the foe, 
 Like a staunch murd'rer, steady to his purpose, 
 Pursues her close, through ev'ry lane of life ; 
 Nor misses once the track ; but presses on, 
 Till forced at last to the tremendous verge, 
 At once she sinks to everlasting ruin! 
 
 We are indebted to an esteemed Christian friend for 
 the following particulars of the death of a Sunday-school 
 scholar, and member of one of the Evangelical Churches 
 of a town in a neighboring State. The youth whose 
 happy death is here referred to, was at the time of his 
 departure for his heavenly home, fourteen years, three 
 months and six days of age : 
 
 A more exemplary life or happier experience in death 
 than that of the dear youth so early called to the tomb, 
 has never been met with in one so young. Though but 
 a short time resident among us, his amiable disposition 
 had endeared him to the hearts of many who witnessed 
 the patience and resignation with which he bore his 
 affliction, and who sympathize with the bereaved family 
 whose little circle death has again entered. His disease 
 (consumption, induced by scarlet fever) was lingering, 
 and often accompanied with severe suffering, yet no 
 murmur or complaint ever escaped his lips, and he 
 seemed to be calmly awaiting his summons to the skies. 
 Christian friends who conversed with him invariably 
 
AND VICTORIES WON. 97 
 
 found him in the happiest state of mind ; but it was 
 when he neared the hour of his departure, that he more 
 particularly evinced the delightful influence of piety upon 
 the youthful heart. The evening preceding his death, a 
 most joyous feeling came over his spirit, which was 
 manifested by the dismissal of the natural timidity which 
 usually made him appear quiet and reserved, and he 
 conversed freely with a number of Christian friends; 
 and so sweetly did he speak of his present happy con- 
 dition, and the joys of that immortal state he should so 
 soon enter, that those who stood by his dying-bed felt 
 indeed that it was heaven's gate. Later in the night, he 
 called his father to his bedside, and after speaking in re- 
 gard to the removal of his remains to his favorite place 
 of burial, he said, 
 
 " My dear father, don't shed any more tears for me. 
 Mine is a case that calls for rejoicing. I am going to 
 my beloved Saviour and my dear brothers." Here his 
 father held up the photographs of his brothers, Alfred 
 and Thomas, before him, and told him he would soon be 
 with them in heaven, to part no more. He seemed 
 pleased, and said, "My dear father, put my arms around 
 your neck." ******* j^^d then added, " God 
 of love, bless my dear father, who has prayed for me, 
 and with me, and given me such good counsel all my 
 life ; forsake him not nor leave him, but stand by him in 
 all his trials, in every affliction, in every temptation." 
 Here he became exhausted, but soon rallied, and said, 
 " My dear father, when tempted, pray for more grace ; 
 9 
 
yy BATTLES FOUGHT 
 
 and when anything goes wrong, don't fret or scold, but 
 look to Jesus." Here he again kissed his father; and 
 then stretching out his emaciated hands, his countenance 
 beaming with joy, and his eyes fixed on some heavenly 
 scene, he exclaimed, " Glory !— praise Him !" He was 
 unable to say more, but after an interval of a few 
 minutes, added, "I hear heavenly music! 0, I see 
 angels! — they are waiting for me! All fear of death 
 has vanished ! Mother, did you hear that ? — my Saviour 
 called me ! — raise me up ! raise me up ! Keep thy pre- 
 sence. Lord." 
 
 Here he called upon his parents and sister, Mary 
 Elizabeth, to look at the beautiful angels around his bed, 
 and to listen to their sweet music. He then affection- 
 ately addressed his Mother, and afterward his sister, 
 counseling her to avoid the company of wicked children, 
 and always to be obedient to her parents, and asking to 
 be left alone, (there being several Christian friends in 
 the room,) he offered a most touching and eloquent 
 prayer for her preservation from evil, and that she might 
 become " a bright and shining light in the Church of 
 Christ," and that they might " meet in heaven." Upon 
 being asked if he had any fears of death, he replied, 
 "No; all is peace, — I am prepared to go." Here he 
 began to sink, but prayed for strength to enable him to 
 speak to his parents, sister, and friends, and soon rallied, 
 and said, "0 praise the Lord! — 0, my Saviour! 0, I 
 am so happy!" Here he was exceedingly happy in 
 Christ. Indeed, his heart seom(>d to be overflowing: 
 
AND VICTORIES WON. 99 
 
 with love to God, and to all around him ; and in this 
 state of mind he continued to the last moment of his 
 life. At six o'clock on Friday evening, January 6, 1860, 
 (and only a few seconds before his departure for his 
 
 heavenly home,) he said, " Mother, my dear mo ," 
 
 and then reclining in his father's arms, and fixing his 
 eyes on the ceiling of the room, his features beaming 
 with happiness, he gently breathed his last, and Clinton's 
 spirit flew to meet his Saviour's embrace, and join his 
 little brothers in the happy land. 
 
 A week before Clinton's departure, he requested to be 
 left alone with his sister — then in the twelfth year of 
 her age, when he spoke to her in these words : " My 
 dear sister, the doctor says I cannot live two days, and 
 I wish to say a few words to you before I die. My dear 
 sister, give your heart to God in your early days. Your 
 brother will soon be at home, and you won't have any 
 brother to talk to or play with any more. Now, my 
 dear sister, if you don't give your heart to God you will 
 go to hell, and never see your brothers in heaven. Now 
 mind what I have told you, or you will be sorry for it 
 when you come to die.'' 
 
 The parting scene between Clinton and his parents 
 was exceedingly affecting. To his father, he said, 
 "Kiss me, my dear father, * * * — farewell, my dear 
 father, — don't be discouraged, but be of good cheer; — 
 stand up for Jesus, — fight the good fight, and meet me in 
 heaven. Your three sous will be waiting your arrival 
 on the heavenly shore." To his mother, he said, "Kiss 
 
100 BATTLES FOUGHT 
 
 me, my dear mother. Oh, my Saviour, bless my dear mo- 
 ther ! Oh, my dear mother, I must now leave you ! * * * 
 — farewell, my dear mother : meet me in heaven," To his 
 sister he said, " Kiss me, my dear sister Mary Elizabeth, 
 * * * — Oh, my Saviour, bless my dear sister, and keep 
 her from the evil that is in the world. Forsake her not, 
 nor leave her; but grant, O my blessed Lord, that she may 
 meet me in heaven, — farewell, my dear sister, — meet me 
 in heaven." Here, turning to the wall, he thanked God 
 for having strengthened him in this last farewell scene. 
 
 Many deeply interesting articles on religious subjects 
 were found among Clinton's papers, all written in his own 
 hand. Some of them bore the following titles : — " On 
 Prayer;" " On the Family Altar;" "On Private Prayer;" 
 " On the Presence of God;" " On Obedience to Parents ;" 
 " Lines to my Mother," &c. The lines to his mother he 
 had arranged to suit his own case, from some printed verses 
 in his possession, as follows : — ■ 
 
 CLINTON TO HIS MOTHER. 
 
 My mother, my mother ! let me depart ! 
 
 Your tears and your pleadings are swords to my heart. 
 
 I hear gentle voices, that chide my delay ; 
 
 I see lovely visions, that woo me away. 
 
 My prison is broken, my trials are o'er ! 
 
 mother, my mother, detain me no more. 
 
 And will you then leave us, my brightest, my best, 
 And will you run nestling no more to my breast? 
 
AND VICTORIES WON. 101 
 
 The summer is coming to sky and to bower; 
 The tree that you planted will soon be in flower ; 
 You loved the soft season of song and of bloom ; 
 Oh, shall it return and find you in your tomb? 
 
 Yes, mother, I loved in the sunshine to play, 
 And to talk of the birds and the blossoms all day ; 
 But sweeter the songs of the spirits on high. 
 And brighter the glories that shine in the sky! 
 I see them, I hear them, they pull at my heart ; 
 My mother, my mother, 0, let me depart! 
 
 Oh, do not desert us ! Our hearts will be drear, 
 
 Our home will be lonely when you are not here. 
 
 Your little sister will sigh 'mid her playthings, and say, 
 
 I wonder dear Clinton so long can delay. 
 
 That foot like the wild wind, that glance like a star, — 
 
 Oh, what would this world be when they are afar ? 
 
 This world, dearest mother ! 0, live not for this ! 
 No, press on with me to the fulness of bliss ! 
 And, trust me, whatever bright fields I may roam. 
 My heart will not wander far from you or from home. 
 Believe me still near you on pinions of love ; 
 Expect me to hail you when soaring above. 
 
 MOTHER. 
 
 Well go, my beloved ; the conflict is o'er ; 
 My pleas are all selfish, I urge them no more. 
 Why chain yovtr bright spirit down here to the clod. 
 So thirsting for freedom, so ripe for its God ? 
 Farewell, then, farewell, till we meet at the throne : 
 There love fears no parting and tears are unknown. 
 
102 BATTLES FOUGHT AND VICTORIES WON. 
 
 glory ! glory ! what music ! what light ! 
 What wonders break in on my heart, on my sight ! 
 
 1 come, blessed spirits ! I hear you from high ! 
 O frail, faithless nature, can this be to die ? 
 
 So near ! what, so near to my Saviour and King ! 
 0, help me, ye angels, His praises to sing. 
 
 A few moments before he expired, Edmund Auger 
 said to a friend, "Do you see that assembly who await 
 my arrival ? Do you hear that sweet music with which 
 those holy men invite me ?" — " Let me go ! — I must go !" 
 "How hard it is to die !" remarked a friend to an ex- 
 piring believer. " O, no, no !" he replied ; " easy dying, 
 blessed dying, glorious dying ! 0, I never thought that 
 such a poor worm as I could come to such a glorious 
 death !" Another dying saint said, " All is well. My sky 
 is clear. I am not afraid to die. Hark ! — I hear singing! 
 how sweet ! how delightful ! — Don't you hear it ?" 
 
 Just as the dying saint had uttered these words, he ap- 
 peared to be serenaded by invisible musicians with the 
 sweetest strains that ever delighted mortal ears. The har- 
 monious echo seemed to pass from room to room, till it 
 came into his chamber, where, after a short space, it sunk 
 away in a gentle cadence. The dear Christian friends that 
 were around his dying bed felt that his obsequies were 
 now sung. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Prayer the life-breath of true religion— What God says of prayer— 
 What the saiuts of old did— The prayers of David and Daniel— "What 
 prayer did for Joshua, Elijah, Hezekiah, and other men of God — Amazing 
 power of faithful prayer — Faith: definitions of it — Wrestling with God 
 in prayer — Jacob's prayer— Praying "with strong crying and tears" — 
 A dying father's last prayer for his daughter — Tears— The Lord despises 
 all human strength in prayer — The proud praying lions flung aside to rot 
 —"When I am weak, then am I strong" — Family worship— Dutiful 
 children blessed — A dying father's last gift to his daughter — Its immense 
 falue. 
 
 Prayer is the very life-breath of true religion. It is 
 
 one of the first evidences that a man is born again. 
 
 " Behold," said the Lord to Ananias, in the day he sent 
 
 him to Saul, " Behold, he prayeth." Acts ix. 11. Prayer 
 
 was the distinguishing mark of God's people in the day 
 
 that there began to be a separation between them and 
 
 the world. " Then began men to call upon the name of 
 
 the Lord." Without prayer to God, no soul can be 
 
 spiritually united to him. Prayer is the power God has 
 
 placed in our hands to raise our souls to heaven. It is 
 
 the power we must use in every trouble. Without 
 
 prayer — fervent, heartfelt prayer, there is no salvation. 
 
 " Call upon Me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver 
 
 thee, and thou shalt glorifv me." Psalm 1. 15. " Who- 
 
 (103) 
 
104 PRAYER. 
 
 soever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be de- 
 livered." Joel ii. 32. "This poor man cried, and the 
 Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles." 
 Tsalm xxxiv. 6 ; Isaiah Ixvi. 2. And so it will be with 
 every praying soul. " Surely I know that it shall be 
 well with them that fear God, which fear before him ; 
 but it shall not be w^ell with the wicked," Eccles. viii. 
 12, 13. "He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall 
 save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces 
 the oppressor. He shall deliver the needy when he 
 crieth ; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He 
 shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls 
 of the needy ;" (that is to say, of the poor and needy 
 who pray to him in spirit and in truth, and love him 
 with the whole heart ;) "he shall redeem their soul from 
 deceit and violence : and precious shall their blood be in 
 his sight." Psalm Ixxii. 14; Prov. xxii. 23. "He that 
 toucheth them toucheth the apple of his eye." 
 
 When a true Soldier of the Cross stretches forth his 
 hands to his Father in heaven, in that moment he 
 leaves behind him all terrestrial pursuits, and traverses 
 on the beams of Jesus' love the realms of light. Eph. 
 iii. 18, 19; Psalm xxxvi. 9.. He who can pray truly, 
 though languishing in deepest poverty, is immensely 
 rich ; (2 Cor. vi. 9, 10 ; Rev. ii. 9, 10 ;) while the wretch 
 who never bowed the knee in prayer to God, though 
 proudly seated as monarch of nations, is of all men the 
 most destitute. Jer. ix. 23, 24; Rev. iii. H, 18. The 
 day is coming when such men will say to the moun- 
 
PRAYER. 105 
 
 tains and rocks, " Full on us and hide us from the face 
 of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath 
 of the Lamb." In that fearful day, " The wicked shall 
 be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." 
 Psalm ix. 17; xi. .G ; Thess. i. 7-9. In that day the 
 Lord will place an impassable barrier " between him that 
 serveth God and him that serveth him not." 
 
 Those who are saved, are saved by prayer ; and those 
 who are damned, are lost because they would not pray. 
 It is useless to say you " have no convenient place to 
 pray in." Any person can find a place private enough, 
 if he is so disposed. The Lord Jesus prayed on a moun- 
 tain ; Peter on the house-top ; Isaac in the field ; Na- 
 thaniel under the fig-tree ; Jonah in the whale's belly. 
 Daniel had all the affairs of a kingdom on his hands, and 
 yet he prayed " three times a day." His prayer on be- 
 half of himself and his oppressed and afflicted brethren, 
 the children of Israel, is comprehensive and beautiful. 
 
 David was ruler over a mighty nation, and he says, 
 " Evening, morning and at noon will I pray." Psalm Iv. 
 17 ; cxix. 62-75. " Oh that men would praise the Lord 
 for his goodness, for his wonderful works to the children 
 of men ! for he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the 
 hungry soul with goodness. Such as sit in darkness and 
 the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; 
 because they rebelled against the words of God, and con- 
 temned the counsel of the Most High : therefore he 
 brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, 
 and there was none to help. Then they cried unto the 
 
106 PRAYER. 
 
 Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their 
 distresses ; he brought them out of darkness and the 
 shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder." 
 Psalm evii. 8-14. When David himself was in trouble, 
 he prayed as follows : — 
 
 " Oh Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night be- 
 fore thee ; let my prayer come before thee ; incline thine ear unto 
 my cry ; for my soul is full of troubles : and my life draweth 
 nigh unto the grave. I am counted with them that go down into 
 the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength : free among the dead, 
 like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no 
 more : and they are cut off from thy hand. Thou hast laid me in 
 the lowest pit : in darkness: in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard 
 upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Thou 
 hast put away mine acquaintance far from me ; thou hast made 
 me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come 
 forth. Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: Lord, I have 
 called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee. 
 Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and 
 praise thee? Shall thy loving kindness be declared in the grave? 
 or thy faithfulness in destruction ? Shall thy wonders be known 
 in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness ? 
 But unto thee have I cried, Lord ; in the morning shall my 
 prayer prevent thee. Lord, why castest thou off my soul? why 
 hidest thou thy face from me ? I am afflicted and ready to die 
 from my youth up : while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted. 
 Thy fierce wrath goeth over me ; thy terrors have cut me off. 
 They came round about me daily like water ; they compassed me 
 about together. Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, 
 and mine accyiaintance into darkness." Psalm Ixxxviii ; Job xix. 
 6-19; Lam. iii. 1-21. 
 
 In another place, speaking of the prosperity of the 
 wricked, his soul is so full of the dying love of his blessed 
 Lord, that he exclaims in rapture, " Whom have I in 
 heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth that I 
 
PRAYER. 107 
 
 desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth ; but 
 God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.'' 
 Nothing seems to be too great, or too difficult for 
 prayer to accomplish. It has obtained things that 
 seemed utterly unattainable. It has won victories over 
 fire and water. It has even made the sun and moon 
 stand still until the enemies of God were destroyed. 
 Here is the record : 
 
 " And the men of Gibeon sent nnto .Joshua to the camp of Gil- 
 gal, saying. Slack not tliy hand from thy servants ; come up to 
 us quickly, and save us and help us : for all the kings of the 
 Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together 
 against us. So .Toshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the peo- 
 ple of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour. And tlie 
 Lord said unto .Joshua, Fear them not ; for I have delivered them 
 into thine hand ; there shall not a man of them stand before thee. 
 Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from 
 Gilgal all night, and the Lord discomfited them before Israel, and 
 slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them 
 along the way that goeth up to Beth-horon, and smote them 
 to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. And it came to pass as they 
 fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth- 
 horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon 
 them unto Azekah, and they died ; they were more which died 
 with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with 
 the sword. Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the 
 Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and 
 he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, 
 and thou Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, 
 and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves 
 upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? 
 So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go 
 down about a whole day." 
 
 Prayer brought fire from the sky to consume Elijah's 
 sacrifice : " And it came to pass at the time of the offer- 
 
108 PRAYER. 
 
 ing of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came 
 near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Is- 
 rael, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, 
 and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these 
 things at thy word. Hear me, Lord, hear me, that 
 this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and 
 that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the 
 fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt-sacrifice, 
 and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked 
 up the water that was in the trench ; and when all the 
 people saw it, they fell on their faces : and they said, 
 The Lord, he is the God ; the Lord, he is the God. And 
 Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal ; let not 
 one of them escape. And they took them : and Klijah 
 brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them 
 there." 
 
 " Take God into thy counsel," says Gurnall, " heaven 
 overlooketh hell. God can at any moment see what 
 plots are hatching there against thee." Psalm xli. 11; 
 • Prov. xvi. 7. Prayer turned the counsel of Ahithophel 
 into foolishness. Prayer overthrew the army of Senna- 
 cherib. Hezekiah's prayer on that occasion is brief, but 
 comprehensive : — 
 
 "And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, Lord God 
 of Israel, which dwelleth between the cherubims, thou art the 
 God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth ; thou hast 
 made heaven and earth. Lord, bow down thine ear and hear: 
 open, Lord, thine eyes, and see : and hear the words of Senna- 
 cherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. Of a 
 truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and 
 their lands, and have cast tlieir gods into the fire: for tliey 
 
PRAYER. 109 
 
 were no gods, but the work of men's liands, wood and stone: 
 therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, Lord our 
 God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the 
 kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even 
 thou only." 
 
 " Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, say- 
 ing. Thus saith the Lord of Israel, That which thou hast 
 prayed to me against Sennacherib, king of Assyria, I 
 have heard. And it came to pass that night, that the 
 angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the 
 Assyrians an hundred four score and five thousand men." 
 
 Like the leaves of the forest, when summer is green, 
 That host with their banners at sunset were seen ; 
 Like the leaves of the forest, when autumn is flown. 
 That host on the morrow lay withered and strewn. 
 
 For the angel of death spread his wings on the blast, — 
 And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed; 
 And the breath of the sleepers grew deadly and chill, 
 And their hearts but once heaved, and forever were still. 
 
 Prayer saved Asa and his little army, when Zerah, the 
 
 Ethiopian, with a million of men, and three hundred 
 
 chariots, came against them. But Asa's faith in God 
 
 was unwavering, and he put the army in array : — 
 
 *'And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said. Lord, it is 
 nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that 
 have no power: help us, Lord our God; for we rest on thee, 
 and in thy name we go against this multitude. Lord, thou art 
 our God ; let no man prevail against thee." 
 
 " So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and 
 
 before Judah ; and the Ethiopians fled, and Asa and the 
 
 people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar ; 
 
 and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not 
 
 10 
 
110 PRAYER. 
 
 recover themselves ; for they were destroyed before the 
 Lord," On another occasion, Samuel the prophet " cried 
 unto the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard him," and 
 "thundered that day upon the Philistines." 
 
 Prayer healed the sick. We have a remarkable in- 
 stance of this in the case of Hezekiah, king of Israel. 
 " In those days Hezekiah was sick unto death, and Isa- 
 iah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came unto him, and 
 said unto him. Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in 
 order : for thou shalt die and not live. Then Hezekiah 
 turned toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, and 
 said, 
 
 "Remember now, Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked 
 before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that 
 which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore." 
 
 " Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, 
 Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God 
 of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have 
 seen thy tears : behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen 
 years. And I will deliver thee and this city out of the 
 hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. 
 And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that 
 the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken ; Behold 
 I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is 
 gone down in the sun-dial of Ahaz ten degrees backward. 
 So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was 
 gone down." 
 
 Prayer raised the dead. We have most heart-cheering 
 evidence of this in the cases of the widow's son and the 
 
PRAYER. HI 
 
 Shunammitu's child. In the case of the widow's son, 
 wo read, 
 
 " Eiijjili cried unto tlie Lord, and said, Lord my God, hast thou 
 also broujilit evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by sla^'ing 
 her son ? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and 
 cried unto the Lord, and said, Lord my God. I pray thee let this 
 cliild's soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice 
 of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he 
 revived." 
 
 In the case of the Shunammite's son, it is said that 
 " when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that it went 
 out to his father to the reapers, and he said unto his 
 father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad. Carry 
 him to his mother ; and when he had taken him, and 
 brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees until 
 noon, and then died, and she went up and laid him on 
 the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, 
 and went out. And she called unto her husband, and 
 said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and 
 one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and 
 come again, and he said. Wherefore wilt thou go to him 
 to-day ? it is neither new moon nor Sabbath. And she 
 said. It shall be well." "And when Elisha was come 
 into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon 
 his bed, he w^ent in therefore, and shut the door upon 
 them twain, and prayed unto the Lord. And he went 
 up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his 
 mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon 
 liis hands : and he stretched himself upon the child ; and 
 the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he returned 
 
112 PRAYER. 
 
 and walked in the house to and fro ; and went up and 
 
 stretched himself upon him : and the child sneezed seven 
 
 times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called 
 
 Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called 
 
 her. And when she was come unto him, he said. Take 
 
 up thy son. Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and 
 
 bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and 
 
 went out." 
 
 And he was then her beautiful — her own ; 
 Living, and smiling on her, with his arms 
 Folded about her neck, and his warm breath 
 Breathing upon her lips, and in her ear, 
 The music of his gentle voice once more. 
 
 Nothing seems impossible when a man has the spirit 
 of adoption. " Let Me alone," is the remarkable saying 
 of the Lord to Moses, when Moses was about to inter- 
 cede for the children of Israel. The Chaldee version 
 has it, " Leave off praying." Ex. xxxii. 10. So long as 
 Abraham asked mercy for Sodom, the Lord went on 
 giving. He never ceased to give till Abraham ceased 
 to pray. 
 
 wondrous power of faithful prayer. 
 
 What tongue can tell th' Almighty grace? 
 
 God's hands bound or open are, 
 As Moses or Elijah prays : 
 
 Let Moses in the Spirit groan, 
 
 And God cries out — "Let me alone!" 
 
 Let me alone, that all my wrath 
 
 May rise, the wicked to consume ; 
 While justice hears thy praying faith, 
 
 It cannot seal the sinner's doom: 
 My Son is in my servant's power, 
 And Jesus forces nie to spare. 
 
PRAYER. 118 
 
 " Whosoever hIiiiH call upon the name of the Lord 
 «hall be saved." Rom. x. 13. ''Behold, I stand at the 
 door and knock : if any man hear My voice, and open 
 the door, I will come in to him, and will sup v^^ith him, 
 and he with me ;" " and I will raise him up at the last 
 day." Eev. iii. 20 ; John vi. 40. " If any man lack wis- 
 dom," says St. James, "let him ask of God, that giveth 
 to all men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it shall be 
 given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. 
 For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven 
 with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think 
 that he shall receive anything of the Lord. Elias w^as a 
 man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed 
 earnestly that it might not rain : and it rained not on 
 the earth for the space of three years and six months. 
 And he prayed again and the heavens gave rain, and the 
 earth brought forth her fruit." James i. 5-7 ; v. lY, 18; 
 1 Kings xviii. 41-46. The church at Jerusalem made 
 prayer without ceasing for Peter in prison ; but when 
 the prayer was answered they would hardly believe it. 
 Acts xii. 15 ; xvi. 25-34. 
 
 A certain good man's wife was once taken with a 
 
 fatal sickness. He was very poor, and her sickness 
 
 crushed him. He could not pay his rent. His landlord 
 
 procured a writ, and sent a sheriff to seize his goods. It 
 
 was a moment of overwhelming sorrow. His dying wife 
 
 wept bitter tears. His own heart was breaking. What 
 
 could he do ? His landlord professed reTigion ; would 
 
 he not relax his grasp and let the woman die in peace ? 
 10* 
 
11-i PRAYER. 
 
 No ; his religion was nothing but profession, for he 
 turned the pleading husband from his door with words 
 of stone. What next ? Hear the poor husband's story. 
 He says : " I went to my God. I knew he felt for me." 
 (1 Pet. V. Y; Jas. ii. 13.) " I laid the whole affair before 
 him with many a speechless tear. " What then ? God an- 
 swered that cry by sending a friend to the pleader, who told 
 
 him to tell the state of his affairs to a Mr. . He did 
 
 so, and Mr. replied : " Do not be troubled about it. 
 
 I will help you, and pay your rent too." This poor man 
 cried, and the Lord delivered him out of all his trouble. 
 Ps. xxxiv. 6; cxlvii. 3; 1 Cor. iii. 21-23; 2 Cor. v. 9, 10. 
 
 Without faith it is impossible to please God. Heb. xi. 
 6; Deut. xxxii. 20; Habak. ii. 4. "The object," says 
 Baillie, "on which faith fixes its eye, is not the heart's 
 ever-varying frames, but the never-varying Christ." 
 " The soul," says Flavel, " is the life of the bod}- . Faith 
 is the life of the soul. Christ is the life of faith." The 
 Christian's faith, like the world, should hang on nothing 
 but the word of God, and have no other support but 
 that; and he himself, like the stars, should float on the 
 ether of confidence, needing nothing to uphold him but 
 the right hand of the God of Abraham. 
 
 Those who wrestle the hardest in supplication will 
 hold the angel the longest. Jacob obtained the blessing, 
 but how ? Why, he wrestled till break of day; that is, 
 as the prophet explains it in Hosea xii. 14, " he wept and 
 made supplicsption unto Him." He was importunate in 
 his request ; could take no denial ; but offered one plea, 
 
I'KAYER. 115 
 
 and then unullier, until he had power witli God, and 
 Jesus blessed him there. Gen. xxxii. 24-30. Beautiful 
 in its simplicity and earnestness is Jacob's pr^vjer : 
 
 *'0 God of my father, Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac, 
 the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to 
 thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee : I am not worthy of 
 the least of all thy mercies and of all thy truth, which thou hast 
 showed unto thy servant: for with my staff I passed over this 
 Jordan, and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray 
 thee, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he will come and 
 smite me, and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I 
 will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the 
 sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude." 
 
 Jacob wrestled with the Angel of Jehovah's presence. 
 He agonized with none other than the incarnate God. 
 He laid hold of the strength of the Lord's Anointed, 
 that he might be at peace with him. "And He said, let 
 me go, for the day breaketh." No — this can never be — 
 to let go now is to lose all. Still, though halting and 
 weary, he clings to his " Friend" — and cries out, " 1 will 
 not let thee go except thou bless me !" That is the cry 
 of faith, importunate, fervent faith, that will take no 
 denial. This ended the conflict. " And He said unto 
 him. What is thy name ? And he said, Jacob. And He 
 said. Thy name shall no more be called Jacob, but 
 Israel ; for as a prince hast thou power with God, and 
 hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him and said. Tell me, 
 I pray thee, thy name ? And He said, Wherefore is it 
 that thou dost ask after my name ? And He blessed him 
 there. And Jacob called the name of that place Penuel, 
 for I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved. 
 
116 PRAYER. 
 
 And as he passed over Penuel, the sun rose upon him, 
 and he halted upon his thigh." Gen. xxxii. 14-24. Esau 
 is appeased. Instead of lifting his arm in anger against 
 his brother he "ran to meet him, and embraced him, and 
 fell on his neck and kissed him ; and they wept." 
 
 When a man weeps for sin, it shows that he has 
 strength of mind ; nay, more, that he has strength im- 
 parted by the Holy Spirit, which enables him to amend 
 his ways and turn to God with full purpose of heart. 
 And there are other tears of might too, the tears of 
 tender sympathy ; they are the children of strong affec- 
 tion. St. Paul, in his charge to the elders of the Church 
 of Ephesus, says, " Therefore watch, and remember, that 
 by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every 
 one night and day with tears." Acts xx. 19-31 ; 2 Cor. 
 ii. 4. Alas ! how unlike is this to many of our supplica- 
 tions I It is written of the Lord JeSus himself, that " in 
 the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and supplica- 
 tions with strong crying and tears." Heb. v. Y. Look 
 at him at the grave of Lazarus, and at the gate of Nain ! 
 
 The prayers of David, the sweet singer of Israel, 
 bear unmistakable evidence of having been "offered up 
 with strong crying and tears." Hear him : 
 
 " Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath, neither chasten me in 
 thy hot displeasure. For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy 
 hand presseth me sore. There is no soundness in my flesh be- 
 cause of thine anger; neither if; there any rest in my bones 
 because of my sins. For mine iniquities have gone over mine 
 head : as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds 
 stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. I am troubled ; 
 I am bound down greatly ; I go mourning all the day long. For 
 
PRAYER. 117 
 
 my loins are fired with loathsome disease; and there is no sound- 
 ness in my tiesh. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by 
 reason of the disquietness of my heart. Lord, all my desire is 
 before thee ; and my groaning is not hid from thee. My heart 
 panteth, my strength faileth me : as for the liglit of mine eyes, it 
 is also gone from me. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from 
 my sore ; and my kinsmen stand afar off. They also that seek 
 after my life lay i^nares for me : and they that seek my hurt speak 
 mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. But I, 
 as a deaf man, heard not ; and I was as a dumb man that openeth 
 not his mouth. Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in 
 whose mouth are no reproofs. For in thee, Lord, do I hope : 
 thou wilt hear, Lord my God. For I said. Hear me, lest other- 
 wise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth they 
 magnify themselves against me. For 1 am ready to halt, and my sor- 
 row is constantly before me. For I will declare mine iniquities : I 
 will be sorry for my sins. But mine enemies are lively, and they 
 are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. 
 They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because 
 I follow the thing that good is. Forsake me not, Lord God; 
 my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, Lord my 
 salvation." 
 
 Words, looks, actions, may bear evidence of the feel- 
 ings, but a tear comes from the heart, and speaks at once 
 the language of truth, nature, and sincerity. Be assured 
 when you see a tear on the cheek of any man that his 
 heart is touched, and do not behold it with coldness or 
 insensibility. Tears are the unequivocal language of 
 the heart ; they are the unpassioned eloquence of woe, 
 before which the pomp and gloss of speech fade as the 
 orient pearly dew-drop before the morning sun. It must 
 be a stony heart indeed in which the responsive chord 
 of sympathy does not vibrate with the tears of a fellow- 
 man in distress. 
 
 When the believer is weakest, then is he the strongest. 
 
118 PRAYER. 
 
 The child that knows most its utter feebleness, intrusts 
 itself most completely into its mother's arms. The 
 young eagle that knows, by many a fall, its own inability 
 to fly, yields itself to be carried on its mother's wings : 
 when it is weak, then it is strong. And just so the be- 
 liever, when he has found out, by repeated falls, his own 
 utter feebleness, clings with simplest faith to the Sa- 
 viour, — leans on his Beloved, coming up out of the 
 wilderness, and hears with joy the words, " My grace is 
 sufficient for thee," and he exclaims, " Thanks be unto 
 God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ." 
 2 Cor. ii. 14; 1 Cor. xv. 61. The Lord despises all 
 human strength, and will not have it. Zech. iv. 6 ; Jer. 
 xxiii. 29 ; 1 Cor. viii. 2, 3. Therefore he breaks the 
 bones of the lion and flings him aside into the field to 
 rot, and then, after a little while, meat comes forth from 
 the eater, and sweetness from the strong. Rejoice, 
 therefore, ye " weak" ones ! for the Lord says to you, 
 "Take hold of My strength." Isaiah xxvii. 5; Jer. xvi. 
 19. ''He giveth power to the faint; and to them that 
 have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths 
 shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly 
 fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their 
 strength ; they shall mount up with wiugs as eagles ; 
 they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, 
 and not faint." Isaiah xl. 29-3L "When I am weak, 
 then am I strong," says St. Paul; and if there be any- 
 thing paradoxical to reason, it is this saying. But in 
 the spiritual life of the Christian it has its root struck 
 
PRAYER. 119 
 
 through and through, and its most profound and im- 
 portant meaning-. While we are strong or self-sufficient 
 in ourselves, there is no help for us. But when the 
 lamentation, " Lord, save or we perish!" bursts out from 
 the distressed and melting heart, then the day begins to 
 dawn. 
 
 Prayer — earnest, heart-felt prayer — is the silver trum- 
 pet God commands us to sound in every necessity, and 
 it is the cry he has promised always to regard, even as a 
 loving mother the voice of her child. " Though heaven 
 be His throne, and the earth His footstool," and " though 
 the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him," (1 Kings 
 viii. 27,) he looks to. He dwells with the man who is 
 humble, who trembles at His word. " Thus saith the 
 high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name 
 is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him 
 also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the 
 spirits of the humble, and revive the heart of the contrite 
 ones." Isaiah Ivii. 15; Psalm cxlvii. 3-12; John xiv. 
 21-23; 1 Peter v. 5-10. Not one humble, praying soul 
 ever prayed in vain. No, not one, however guilty and 
 despised in this world, ever went, in the name of Jesus, 
 to the throne of grace, and departed unheard and 
 unblest. 
 
 Oh, what an honor for poor mortal men, to be admitted 
 to a direct and immediate intercourse with " the Lord of 
 glory," to open to him our hearts, to unfold to him our 
 wants, and to speak to him as a child does to his father 1 
 " Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth 
 
120 PRAYER. 
 
 them that fear him." Psahii ciii. 13; Deut. viii. 5. 
 "Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and seek 
 Him with the whole heart." Psalm cxix. 2. Ah, yes; 
 and blessed is that father who can in the day of trouble 
 call his family around him, and lifting his heart to hea- 
 ven, with humble faith and holy love, say : 
 
 "0 God, Avlio madest earth and sky, 
 
 The darkness and the day, 
 Give ear to this thy family, 
 
 And help us when we pray, — 
 For wild the waves of bitterness 
 
 Around our vessel roar. 
 And heavy grows th« pilot's heart, 
 
 To view the rocky shore. 
 The Cross our Master bore for us, 
 
 For Him we fain would bear; 
 But mortal strength to weakness turns, 
 
 And courage to despair. 
 Have mercy on our failings. Lord ; 
 
 Our sinking faith renew ; 
 And when thy sorrows visit us, 
 
 send thy patience too." 
 
 Prayer is, of all habits, the one which we recollect the 
 longest. Many a grey-headed man could tell you how 
 his father or his mother, or both, used to make him pray 
 in the days of his childhood. Other things have passed 
 from his memory and left no mark behind, but not so 
 with his first prayers. He will often be able to tell you 
 where he knelt, and what he was taught to say, and even 
 how lovingly his parents looked while he raised his 
 infant voice to heaven. It will come up as fresh before 
 his mind's eye as if it were yesterday. 
 
 Noble and beautiful indeed is the example of that 
 
PRAYER. 121 
 
 youth who truly loves his parents, and manifest that 
 love by promoting their enjoyments and lightening their 
 cares and burdens. 
 
 "My dear Mary Elizabeth," said a dying father to his 
 only child, " read to me once more our Lord's last prayer 
 for his disciples." Mary lighted a lamp, and read to him 
 the nth Chapter of St. John. "Now, raise me a little, 
 my dear child," said her father, " and bring me the 
 Bible." Mary put the precious Volume in his hands. 
 "Listen, my dear child," he said, "to the last prayer I 
 oflTer for you." With a trembling voice, and marking the 
 passage in the Bible with his finger as he spoke, he 
 prayed as follows : — 
 
 "0, my Lord and Saviour, thou art calling me to leave this 
 world, and I must leave my dear cLild alone in it. But let her 
 not be alone : be thou with her. May I go to thee, to be with 
 thee where thou art, my Saviour ! and do thou preserve my 
 child. I do not ask thee to take her out of this world till thou 
 seest it best: but, 0, I beseech thee, do thou keep her from the 
 evil that is in the world. Sanctify her, I pray thee, by thy truth — 
 thy Word is truth. Thou gavest her, Lord, to my care in this 
 world, and I have tried as far as I could to devote her to thee. 
 If we must part now, grant that we may meet — Avith those 
 * gone on before' — at thy throne, to be with thee forever and ever, 
 and to behold thy glory ; for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Amen." 
 
 With a throbbing heart and a faltering voice, Mary 
 whispered, "Amen." "Yes, my dear child," continued 
 her father, " I trust that we shall meet again where 
 there will be no more grief, no more sorrow, no more 
 painful separations. When your three brothers died, 
 I suffered very deeply. My soul seemed dried up 
 11 
 
122 PKAYER. 
 
 within me. I was broken up and furrowed, as you have 
 seen the earth in time of drought ; yet, after a time, the 
 Lord sent the abundant and refreshing dew of his con- 
 solations, and revived my thirsty soul, and I felt the 
 benefit of the aflQictions ; for, by these and other sore 
 trials, he weaned me more and more from earthly things, 
 and helped me to set my affections on things above." 
 
 The "poor" man (Rev. ii. 9 ; 2 Cor. vi, 9, 10 ; Jer. ix. 
 23, 24,) now fell back on his pillow exhausted ; he could 
 speak no more for some time, and Mary stood by his 
 side in silence. The Bible was still grasped in his hands. 
 After he had rested a few minutes, he revived a little, 
 and said, " I thank you once more, my darling child, for 
 all your care and kindness to me in my long illness. You 
 have been truly a dutiful child, and God will bless you. 
 I leave you to his care, and to the care of these Christian 
 friends around my dying bed. Trust in Him, my dear 
 child, and he will provide for you, though I have but 
 little to leave you but my blessing and this sacred Book. 
 I know that you will esteem both more than any wo^'ldly 
 thing. This Bible only cost a few shillings, and yet it 
 is a richer treasure than gold or silver. It is a better 
 legacy than gold or jewels, for it is the Word of God ; 
 and by it we learn to know that heavenly wisdom which 
 is better than rubies. (Prov. iii. 13-18; viii, 4-36; Job 
 xxviii. 12-28: Bom. i. 16, 11.) 
 
 'Thou truest Friend that man e'er knew, 
 
 Thy constancy I've tried ; 
 Where all were false I've found thee true, 
 My Counselor and Guide ! 
 
PKAYER. 123 
 
 The mines of earth no treasure give 
 
 That could this Volume buy ; 
 In teaching me the way to live, 
 
 It taught me how to die.' 
 
 Take this precious Book, my beloved child, as your 
 father's last gift. Keep it as a remembrance of me. 
 However busy you may be, do not let any morning or 
 evening pass without reading a small portion of it. Try 
 and fix a verse or two in your memory, to think of and 
 meditate on through the day and evening, when your 
 hands are busy. If you do not understand any passage, 
 pray to God to grant you his Holy Spirit to enlighten 
 you. God himself, and he only, can open your eyes and 
 make you see wonderful things in this glorious Yolume. 
 (Psalm cxix. 18-1T ; Jer. xxxiii. 3.) And if you pray to 
 him be will do this, and will give you day by day more 
 knowledge of himself. Each verse, meditated upon with 
 prayer, will become a fresh treasure of heavenly wisdom. 
 1 have learned more from these few words, ' Consider 
 the lilies of the field,' than I learned in my youth from 
 many a volume. These simple words have been the 
 origin of my purest enjoyments ; and in many an afflic- 
 tion, when 1 was ready to faint under the weight of the 
 trial, they have revived my courage, strengthened my 
 faith, and restored peace to my soul." 
 
 It is recorded as the character of the wicked, that 
 "they call not upon the Lord." 1 Peter i. 17; 1 Cor. i. 
 2; Psalm xiv. 4. "They spend their days in wealth, 
 and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they 
 say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the 
 
124 PRAYER. 
 
 knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that 
 we should serve him ? and what profit should we have, 
 if we pray unto him ? Lo, their good is not in their 
 hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me." Job. xxi. 
 13-16 ; xxvii. 8-22. It is said of the backsliding Israel- 
 ites, " Your words have been stout against me, saith the 
 Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much 
 against thee ? Ye have said. It is a vain thing to serve 
 God ; and what profit is it that we have kept his ordi- 
 nances, and that we have walked mournfully before the 
 Lord of hosts ? and now we call the proud happy ; yea, 
 they that work wickedness are set up ; yea, they that 
 tempt God are even delivered. 
 
 " Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to 
 another : and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a 
 book of remembrance was written before him for them 
 that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. 
 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that 
 day when I make up my jewels ; and I will spare them 
 as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then 
 shall ye return and discern between the righteous and 
 the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that 
 serveth him not." Malachi iii. 13-18 ; Joel ii. 32. " Then 
 shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom 
 of their Father." Matt. xiii. 43 ; Dan. xii. 3. Their Sun 
 shall no more go down ; neither shall their moon with- 
 draw itself: for the Lord shall be their everlasting light, 
 and the davs of their mourning shall be ended. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PRAYER, CONTINUED. 
 
 The Bible— Its amazing value — What David and Daniel thought of it 
 — What the veterans of the Cross say — Dr. Arnold's remarks — " Praying 
 with all prayer" hateful to the Devil — His devices — The weapons he uses 
 — What the Christian must do — How to distinguish the true disciples of 
 Christ from mere professors or " reprobates" — Sweet hour of prayer — 
 Prayer within the reach of all — Ignorance or want of education no ex- 
 cuse — What every true soldier of Christ does — What David said of 
 " filthy rags" or self-righteousness — The power of Satan — His depths — 
 His perfidious cruelty — Tries to delude, degrade, and ruin the Christian 
 — His lying and detestable character — His last resource to destroy the 
 Christian — The warnings of the fathers against his deceptions — What 
 provokes Christ most — The recording Angel ever present — Unguarded 
 moments — What the erring Christian must do — What broke Petei-*s heart 
 — The Lord's last prayer fur his disciples, and for all who come to him. 
 
 Xo man can become truly religious without a close 
 study of the Bible. A prayerful contemplation of its 
 glorious pages fills the soul with emotions of love and 
 tenderness, and lifts the heart in anthems of praise to its 
 glorious Author. Daniel was pondering over the writ- 
 ings of Jeremiah when he was stimulated to present that 
 effectual prayer, in answer to which Gabriel was sent a 
 ministering spirit, to assure him of being " greatly be- 
 loved," and to give him skill and understanding. The 
 sweet singer of Israel took great delight in the perusal 
 11* (125) 
 
126 PRAYER. 
 
 of God's word, and pronounced it to be more precious 
 " than gold, yea, than much fine gold : sweeter also than 
 honey and the honey-comb." " A man's love of the 
 Bible at the beginning of a religious course," says Dr. 
 Arnold, "is such as makes the praise which older Chris- 
 tians give in its behalf seem exaggerated ; but, after 
 thirty, forty, or fifty years of a religious life, such praise 
 always sounds inadequate : its glories seem so much 
 more full than they did at first." And this experience 
 of the inexhaustibleness of the Bible grows with the 
 perusal. The more we read it, the more we desire to 
 read, and the more we find to read. After all our delv- 
 ing there are profounder depths to be sounded ; after all 
 our soaring, there are still loftier heights to be scaled. 
 Psalm cxix. 18; Jer. xxxiii. 3; Deut. xvii. 18, 20. 
 
 Hail, glorious Gospel ! heavenly light whereby 
 We live with comfort and with comfort die ; 
 And view beyond this gloomy scene, the tomb, 
 A life of endless happiness to come. 
 
 It is said by the biographer of the Rev. Joseph Al- 
 leine, author of the " Alarm to the Unconverted," that he 
 rose at four o'clock in the morning, and employed the time 
 till eight in meditation and prayer ; and considers that 
 as the principal means of Mr. Alleine's high attainments 
 in the Divine life, and his glowing zeal for God, love to 
 souls, and extensive usefulness as a minister of the Gos- 
 pel. It is said by the biographer of the Rev. John Flet- 
 cher, that " at one period of his life, he was brought into 
 such an intricate situation, that he was whollv at a loss 
 
PRAYER. 127 
 
 to discover what God required at his hands. And such 
 was the dilliculty before him, that the opinions of his 
 most experienced Christian friends could afford him but 
 little light with respect to it. In this state, for three 
 months successively, he spread the intricacies of his case 
 before God, entreating that he would direct the course 
 of his conduct by the order of his providence and the in- 
 fluence of his Spirit. His request was continued till an 
 answer was obtained. It is written of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ himself, that he often withdrew from Company 
 and prayed alone. " In the morning, rising up a great 
 while before day, he went out and departed into a soli- 
 tary place, and there prayed." Mark i. 35. On another 
 occasion, " He went into a mountain to pray, and con- 
 tinued all night in prayer to God." He hath thus left us 
 an example that we should follow in his footsteps. 
 
 The devil will do all he can to keep us from our 
 closets, embarrass our minds, and hinder us in our ap- 
 proaches to the throne of grace. He knows that "pray- 
 ing with all prayer," is an essential part of the Chris- 
 tian's armor ; and that the feeblest soldier of the cross, 
 if he give himself unto prayer, shall more than conquer. 
 Eph. vi. 10-19; Isaiah xl. 29-31. He will, therefore, 
 exercise his craft and exert his power to draw or drive 
 us from the duty ; and will avail himself of every 
 circumstance and occurrence favorable to his diabolical 
 purposes ; and will adapt his temptations to our natural 
 disposition and temperament, and take advantage of 
 all our weaknesses. Hence the hinderances to prayer 
 
128 PRAYER. 
 
 are many and various. If we give place to the devil by 
 fostering pride, discontent, distrust of Divine Providence, 
 self-will, or any other wrong temper toward God, we 
 grieve the Holy Spirit, and become indisposed for secret 
 intercourse with Him who "is of purer eyes than to be- 
 hold iniquity." Envy, revenge, censoriousness, evil- 
 speaking, or any other temper contrary to the love of 
 " the brethren," will have the same effect. 
 
 Unkindness toward those who have a high and holy 
 claim to our sympathy and affection is painfully cruel. 
 We are all creatures of sympathy. We share each 
 other's life, and have the power to render each other 
 happy or unhappy. The wound inflicted by the sword 
 is no more painful than the wound inflicted by a cruel 
 tale-bearing and slanderous tongue. Psalm xli. 6 ; 
 Prov. xi. 9 ; Jer. ix. 3-8 ; xviii. 18 ; James iii. 6. How- 
 careful, then, should we be in all our words, looks, and 
 acts, lest we pain the heart of a fellow-being. In the 
 strength of our selfishness we too often forget the harsh- 
 ness of our words, and the coldness or bitterness of our 
 looks. We care not for the deep and bleeding incisions 
 which they have left behind them. " It was not an 
 enemy," says the Psalmist, " that reproached me; then 
 I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me 
 that did magnify himself against me ; then I would have 
 hid myself from him : but it was thou, a man mine 
 equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took 
 sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of 
 God in company." Psalm Iv. 12-14 ; Jer. ix. 4, 5. " These 
 
PKAYEli. liiy 
 
 » 
 
 are the things that ye shall do : Speak ye every man the 
 truth to his neighbor; exeeute the judgment of truth and 
 peace in your gates : and let none of you imagine evil 
 in your hearts against his neighbor ; and love no false 
 oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the 
 Lord." 
 
 Unwatchfulness and levity of spirit are also great 
 hinderances to prayer. While we shudder at the idea of 
 committing open sin, we may unawares slide into a care- 
 less and trifling spirit, and its natural attendant, trifling 
 conversation ; by which the mind is disqualified for the 
 spiritual exercises of the religion of the glorious Gospel 
 of Christ. Cheerfulness becomes a Christian ; and if 
 tempered with discretion and deep piety, makes religion 
 appear amiable to "the world," and conducive to our 
 own happiness. But trifling and levity are unbecoming 
 the Christian character, and unfit the mind for prayer. 
 St. Paul ranks " foolish talking" and "jesting" with 
 fornication, uncleanness, covetousness, and filthiness. 
 Listen : " But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covet- 
 ousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh 
 saints ; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, 
 which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. 
 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean 
 person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any 
 inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let 
 no man deceive you with vain words : for because of 
 these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children 
 of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with 
 
130 PRAYER. 
 
 them." Eph. v. 3-t ; 2 Peter ii. 8-10. " These are they 
 who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. 
 But ye beloved, building up yourselves on your most 
 holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves 
 in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ unto eternal life." 
 
 Sweet hour of prayer ! sweet hour of prayer ! 
 
 That calls me from a world of care, 
 
 And bids me at my Father's throne 
 
 Make all my wants and wishes known; 
 
 In seasons of distress and grief, 
 
 INIy soul has often found relief; 
 
 And oft escaped the tempter's snare 
 
 By thy return, sweet hour of prayer. 
 
 Sweet hour of prayer ! sweet hour of prayer ! 
 
 Thy wings shall my petition bear, 
 
 To Him whose truth and faithfulness, 
 
 Engage the waiting soul to bless; 
 
 7\nd since he bids me seek his face, 
 
 Believe his word, and trust his grace, 
 
 I'll cast on him my every care. 
 
 And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer. 
 
 Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer! 
 
 May I thy consolation share ; 
 
 Till from Mount Pisgah's lofty height, 
 
 I view my home, and take my flight: 
 
 This robe of flesh I'll drop, and rise 
 
 To seize the everlasting prize ; 
 
 And shout, while passing through the air, 
 
 Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer. 
 
 Prayer is within the reach of all, — the sick, the aged, 
 the infirm, the paralytic, the blind, the poor, the un- 
 learned, all can pray. It avails us nothing to plead want 
 of memory or want of learning, or want of books, or 
 
PRAYER. 131 
 
 want of scholarship in this matter. Acts iv. 1.3; Luke 
 xviii. 13, 14 ; Rom. viii. 2G, 27 ; Psalm xxv. 14. " Some- 
 times, perhaps," says Gurnall, "thou hearest another 
 Christian pray with much freedom and fluency, whilst 
 thou canst hardly get out a few broken words. Hence, 
 thou art ready to accuse thyself and to admire him ; as 
 if the gilding of the key made it open the door." Gifts 
 have their root in nature, but grace has its roots in 
 Christ. Lip-service amounts to nothing. God looks at 
 the heart, and knows the imaginations of the thoughts. 
 ] Chron. xxviii. 9; Job xlii. 1; Psalm cxxxix. 4-12; 
 Hosea vii. 2 ; John i. 48, 49. It was not the eloquent 
 proud-praying Pharisee that " went down to his house 
 justified," but the poor publican who " smote on his 
 breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." 
 
 Inward life does not consist in a life of morbid security, 
 arising from the recollection of having once received the 
 forgiveness of sins. Where a real spiritual life exists, 
 there will be unceasing striving against sin, repeated 
 humiliation before God, and renewed experience of his 
 favor. Were it otherwise, w^hy should the Lord put into 
 his children's lips the daily petition, "Forgive us our 
 trespasses." The true Soldier of the Cross does not 
 feel lifted up by the view of what he has already spirit- 
 ually attained, but humbled, because he is still so far 
 short of w^hat he w^ould like to be. He knows that 
 Christ is "all" in his salvation, and that he is nothing. 
 He knows that his own righteousness is but "filthy 
 rags" before God ; that he is nothing, and that he can 
 
182 PRAYEK. 
 
 do nothing meritorious to procure salvation from God ; 
 for whatever he does, and whatever he can give, are 
 ah-eady God's property. Luke xvii. 10 ; Deut viii. 10-19. 
 So that he is still led to look up to God, as David did, 
 when he thus disclaims the possibility of creature merit : 
 " All things come of Thee, and of thine own have we 
 given thee." 1 Chron. xxix. 14-16 ; Psalm 1. 12. We 
 must tear in pieces the dress of our imaginary righteous- 
 ness, power, and wisdom. Jer. ix. 23, 24 ; Prov. xxviii. 
 26. We must not conceal our nakedness, nor seek to 
 hide our shame under the cover of the forgiveness we 
 obtained years ago. We must always come before God 
 as poor sinners and poverty-stricken mendicants, if we 
 wish to recommend ourselves to him. All self-exaltation 
 is an abomination in his sight. 
 
 The frequency and earnestness with which holy men 
 of God, who spoke as they were moved by the Holy 
 Ghost, warn the Church against the wiles of Satan, prove 
 how absolutely necessary it is, on the part of the Chris- 
 tian soldier, to "watch and pray," to be continually upon 
 his guard. The devil to them was not "the principle of 
 evil," but a terrible malevolent, personal reality — "a 
 roaring lion, going about seeking whom he may devour." 
 1 Peter iv. 8; Luke xxii. 31. Or disguised as " an angel 
 of light," seeking whom he may deceive. 2 Cor. xi. 14, 
 15; Rev. ii. 24. "Hell" and the "Devil" were not 
 "figments of the imagination" with them, but horri- 
 ble, ever-present actualities, that inspired them with 
 unspeakable earnestness in warning saint and sinner not 
 
r RAVER. 133 
 
 to listen to the latter, and to hasten to Christ that they 
 might escape the former. This realization of the unseen 
 and eternal, both in their infernal and celestial aspects, 
 was one of the great elements of their power. This is 
 also true of every man who shines or has shone in the 
 pulpit department of ministerial usefulness. Had Lu- 
 ther not thrown the inkstand at the devil, or John Wes- 
 ley heard of the strange noises and the mysterious 
 movements in the parsonage of Epworth, or John Bun- 
 van been favored with such visions of the invisible 
 world in Bedford jail, or Stoner and Smith, or Payson 
 and M'Cheyne been in such intimate relations with the 
 spiritual, they never could have preached or written 
 with such marvelous, self-forgetful, incisive, penetrating 
 clearness and force as they did. 
 
 In intellect, in strength, in powers of perception, in 
 subtlety, in all the faculties which make a malignant foe 
 formidable, Satan towers above the hosts of darkness, 
 who obey and follow him as their leader and prince. 
 The titles ascribed to him in the Scriptures all illustrate 
 his malignity and power. They imply that he is desti- 
 tute of every good principle — that he falters not in view 
 of any expedient which may help him to consummate 
 his schemes of ruin. He is to be deterred by no sug- 
 gestions of pity; a stranger alike to truth and love, he 
 lies in wait to deceive, and by all the devices of infernal 
 cunning, he toils, tasking his mighty energies to the 
 utmost, in order to delude, degrade, and ruin the victims 
 of his perfidious cruelty. Gen. iii. 1-4; Isaiah lix. 19; 
 12. 
 
184 PRAYER. 
 
 2 Cor. ii. 11 ; 1 Tim. iii. 6 ; 2 Tim. ii. 24-20 ; 1 Teter v. 
 8-10 ; James iv. T. In the New Testament he is spoken 
 of as "the Devil," or "the Caluminator," because be is 
 " the accuser of the brethren ; " as " the Tempter," as " a 
 Liar and a Murderer from the beginning ; " as " the Old 
 Serpent, Avho deceived Eve," and as "the Deceiver." 
 John viii. 44 ; 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4 ; Eph. ii. 2 ; Rev. xii. 9-12. 
 He is represented in Kevelations as "the Great Dra- 
 gon," — as "the Angel of the Bottomless Pit, whose 
 name is, in Hebrew, Abaddon, and in the Greek, Apol- 
 lyon, the Destroyer." The apostle Paul styles him "the 
 Prince of the power of the air," and "the god of this 
 world." These are the principal titles ascribed to the 
 devil in the Scriptures, and sufficiently indicate his cha- 
 racter and power. 
 
 The wrath of Satan is directed to the two-fold object 
 of rendering the lives of men miserable upon earth, and 
 of blasting their hope and prospect of eternal life in hea- 
 ven. He dwells in the wicked, and leads them captive 
 at his will. Eph. ii. 2 ; 2 Tim. ii. 26. When he cannot 
 lure the Christian from the path of God's testimonies, 
 when despite of all his artifices he holds fast the truths 
 of the Gospel, he stirs up the passions of the wicked in 
 whom he rules, and who hate the oracles of God, because 
 they have pleasure in unrighteousness. In the calami- 
 ties entailed upon the house of Israel by their repeated 
 backslidiugs and apostacies from God, we behold the 
 traces of Satan's power and malice as "the Destroyer." 
 He inflames men to the utmost pitch of blasphemy 
 
PRAYER. 135 
 
 against God, in thu hope that they may Ije suddenly cut 
 oft" and driven away in their wickedness. He blinds the 
 minds of men, and hardens their hearts by strong delu- 
 sions, that they may believe a lie and be damned. 2 Cor. 
 iv. 3, 4 ; 1 Peter ii. 1-8 ; Jude lG-19. 
 
 Christ is never more wounded in the house of his 
 friends, than when they murmur; nothing seemed so 
 much to overcome his forbearance with the Israelites. 
 Murmuring is a mercy-embittering sin, a mercy-souring 
 sin. As the sweetest things put into a sour vessel sours 
 them, or put into a bitter vessel embitters them, so nmr- 
 muring puts gall and wormwood into every cup of mercy 
 that God gives into the Christian's hands. It is calcu- 
 lated that not less than one million of the children of 
 Israel died in the wilderness by God's judgments for 
 their murmurings. 
 
 Oh, if men would remember that the recording Angel 
 is always near them, how different w^ould their conversa- 
 tion and conduct be. Listen : '' Wo unto them that seek 
 to hide deep their counsel from the Lord, and their works 
 are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us ? and who 
 knowethus?" Isaiah xxix. 19. "Suffer not thy mouth 
 to cause thy flesh to sin ; neither say* thou before the 
 Angel, it was an error : wherefore should God be angry 
 at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands ?" 
 " Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought, and curse 
 not the rich in thy bed-chamber; for a bird of the air 
 shall carry the voice, and That which hath wings shall 
 tell the matter." Eccles. v. G ; x. 20 ; 2 Kings vi. 12; 
 
136 PRAYER. 
 
 1 Cor. iv. 9. " The Lord searcheth all hearts, and un- 
 derstandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts." 1 
 Chron. xxviii. 9 ; Job xlii. 1. " There is not a word in 
 my tongue, but, lo, Lord, thou knowest it altogether." 
 Psalm cxix. 4 ; Matt. xii. 36 ; 2 Cor. v. 10 ; Heb. iv. 13. 
 Unguarded moments occur, in which the Christian in- 
 cautiously thinks, speaks, or does that which is improper, 
 and is again guilty of unfaithfulness, although against his 
 will ; for only the devil and his seed sin wilfully. The 
 man's "walk" is polluted. What is now to be done? Two 
 paths present themselves, and not unfrequently one of 
 them is taken. The individual either gives himself up 
 to an excessive feeling of his guilt — openly cries out, 
 "Unclean, unclean!" like one who is excluded from the 
 fellowship of the pure, — regards himself as fallen from 
 grace, — considers the bond of union with the Lord as 
 rent asunder, and cries out with Peter, " Lord, not my 
 feet only, but also my hands and my head !" Or else 
 he takes his transgressions too easily, — persuades him- 
 self that the faults he has committed are of no import- 
 ance, — soothes his conscience with the rash and vain 
 idea that the iniquity belongs to the multitude of sins 
 which have been-atoncd for and annihilated by the blood 
 of Christ, and thus unconcernedly proceeds on his way ! 
 In each of these cases there is a deviation, the one to 
 the right, and the other to the left of the line of truth. 
 In the former, the man gives way unnecessarily to an 
 excessive idea of the fault he has committed, and as- 
 cribes it to an influence over his entire state of grace, 
 
PRAYER. 137 
 
 which according to the Scriptures it docs not exercise. 
 The child of the family of God is not suddenly turned 
 out doors, like a servant or a stranger. The seed of 
 the new birth remains in him, " He that is washed," 
 says Jesus, "is clean every whit; and ye are clean but 
 not all." Who does not understand this speech? Its 
 meaning is, he that has truly become a partaker of the 
 blood of sprinkling and of the baptism of the Holy Ghost 
 — that is, of the twofold grace of absolution from the 
 guilt of sin, and of the regeneration to newness of life, — 
 is, as regards the inmost germ of his being, a thoroughly 
 new man, who has eternally renounced sin, and whoso 
 inmost love, desire^ and intention is direct to God and 
 divine things. 
 
 When such a man, from weakness, is " overtaken by 
 a fault," as St. Paul expresses it, he has no need of an 
 entirely new transformation, but only a cleansing. He 
 must let his feet be washed. Let this be duly considered 
 by those who are in a state of grace, and let them *' re- 
 sist the devil," "the accuser of the brethren," lest he 
 gain an advantage over them by his boundless accusa- 
 tions. Hold up the blood of the Lamb as a shield against 
 him, and do not suffer your courage and confidence to be 
 shaken. Rev. xii. 9-11. But you must beware of cloak- 
 ing or underestimating your unfaithfulness. No fault is 
 too trifling or inconsiderable. You must suffer the Judge 
 in your breast to perform his office without hinderance, 
 and not refuse to listen to his convictions. You must 
 draw near to God as grieved, but not as a despairing 
 
138 PRAYEll. 
 
 child, and sincerely confess your faults. Let your lan- 
 guage be as follows: — 
 
 " Lord, my God, I have sinned against thee afresh, anxl am 
 grieved at it. I judge and condemn myself; but thy mercy is 
 great, and therein do I trust. Sprinkle my conscience with the 
 blood of atonement, and enable me by faith, to appropriate, for 
 this my fault, the suffering thy dear Son endured for me!^' 
 
 Let the humble and contrite heart pray thus, and the 
 Lord will graciously incline to it, and impart forgiveness to 
 the soul by hisHoly Spirit, and the peace of the soul with 
 the consciousness of adoption will remain undisturbed 
 in the blood of the Lamb. And 0, how do we feel our- 
 selves again united to the Lord, and strengthened anew 
 to fight against Satan, the world, and our own flesh and 
 blood; and how does the joyful confidence bloom afresh 
 in our minds, that we really possess *' a Friend that 
 sticketh closer than a brother," after such a renewed ex- 
 perience of His faithfulness ! Then we arrive again at 
 Penuel, and exultingly say with Jacob, " I have seen 
 the Lord face to face, and my life is preserved ;" and 
 join, with deep emotion, in the words of David, " Re- 
 turn unto thy rest, my soul ! for the Lord hath dealt 
 bountifully with thee!" 
 
 My God is reconciled; his pard'ning voice I hear; 
 He owns me for his child; I can no longer fear; 
 
 With confidence I now draw nigh, 
 
 And Father, Abba, Father, cry. 
 
 It is said of Peter, that the remembrance of his fall 
 never left him for a moment; and in the degree in which 
 it kept him low, it sharpened his spiritual vision for the 
 
PRAYER. 189 
 
 mystery of the cross and of salvation by grace. This is 
 abundantly evident, especially in his first epistle. He 
 there comforts believers with the cheering assurance that 
 they are " Kept by the power of God, through faith unto 
 salvation." He calls upon them to " hope to the end 
 for the grace that shall be revealed." Pie impressively 
 reminds them of the weakness and evanescent nature of 
 everything human. He speaks of " the precious blood 
 of Christ as a Lamb without spot," with a fervor which 
 immediately indicates him as one who had deeply ex- 
 perienced its healing power. It is he who addresses the 
 warning to us, " Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary 
 the devil goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he 
 may devour." 
 
 It was not simply the crowing of the cock that raised 
 Peter from his fall. Nor did the turning of the Lord 
 tow^ard him produce the desired effect. A third and 
 more powerful means was added. What was it ? A 
 word, a call, an exhortation? — No; a look which the 
 eye of "the Keeper of Israel" cast upon his now un- 
 happy disciple, who w^as staggering on the brink of des- 
 truction. This look did wonders. "The Lord turned, 
 and looked upon Peter." What a look must that have 
 been ! What divine sorrow and love must it have ex- 
 pressed ! and how accompanied by the eflfulgence of the 
 Spirit of divine grace ! It struck like destroying light- 
 ning, and at the same time expanded itself in refreshing 
 dew. The Lord's look did not fail of its effect upon 
 Peter. No sooner did the fallen disciple's eyes meet his, 
 than the magic b?nd which held him is dissolved, the 
 
UO PKAYEK. 
 
 Satanic intoxication dispelled, his ears opened, and re- 
 flection returns — nay, sin is acknowledged — his heart is 
 melted — the snare is broken and the bird has escaped 
 Luke xxii. Gl, G2 ; Psalm cxxiv. 7. " The Lord knew 
 that Peter would fall, and his chief care was lest he should 
 despair after his fall ; and that, at the proper time, he 
 should take courage to return to him. Hence, he said, 
 with the kindest forethought, "And when thou art con- 
 verted, strengthen thy brethren." Thus hath the faith 
 which the Holy Spirit produces in every true Soldier of 
 the Cross, a pledge of endurance in his Lord's interces- 
 sion. It may be assaulted, tried and shaken, but can 
 not be extinguished or annihilated. Peter was given to 
 know this, in order that he might be in possession of a 
 sufficient weapon when assailed. But in case of his 
 succumbing, this consciousness was to serve him as a 
 staff, by means of which he might successfully leap over 
 the abyss of despair. " I have prayed for thee," says 
 the Lord, "that thy faith fail not." 
 
 how the Lord loved his " little flock," when he took 
 their sins with him into judgment, and cast himself into 
 the fire which their transgressions had kindled 1 How 
 he loved them, Avhen his own blood did not seem to him 
 too dear a price to be paid for them, although it was they 
 who were the transgressors 1 He loved them to the 
 end ; and to this day he loves them that are his in similar 
 manner. Listen: "Neither pray I for these alone, but 
 (or them also which shall believe on me through their 
 word. 'J'hat they may all be one, as thou, Father, art 
 in Me, and I in Tlit'i/' 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 
 
 What God said in Abraliam's praise — The example of Christ — W:irn. 
 iugs to parents — "I won't" — Job and Solomon on Wisdom — The happy 
 child — A man shall be known in his children — The life speaks — Every 
 action has a tongue — Ahaziah and his wicked mother — Their fearful end 
 — What a properly brought up child hates — What wicked children do — 
 What the Scriptures say of th«m and their wicked parents — The drunk- 
 ard and profane swearer — Who is responsible — " Am I my brother's 
 keeper?" — God commands a disobedient drunken son to be stoned to 
 death by his parents. 
 
 Obedience to parents has all Scripture on its side. It 
 is said in Abraham's praise, not merely he will train his 
 family, but " he will command his children and his house- 
 hold after him." Gen. xviii. 9 It is said of the Lord 
 Jesus himself, that when he was young he was subject 
 to Mary and Joseph, as a child of their family, until he 
 was thirty years of age ; and forgot not when nailed to 
 the cross, and undergoing the most dreadful of deaths, 
 to provide an effectual support and protection for his 
 mother. 
 
 See how Isaiah speaks of it as an evil thing when 
 "the child shall behave himself proudly against the 
 ancient." Isaiah iii. 5; Levit. xix. 32. Mark how St. 
 Paul names disobedience to parents as one of the bad 
 signs of the latter days: "This know also, that in the 
 last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be 
 
 Oil) 
 
142 OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 
 
 lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, 
 blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 
 without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, 
 incontinent, fierce ; despisers of those that are good, 
 traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasure more 
 than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but 
 denying the power thereof: from such turn away.''' 
 " But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned 
 and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast 
 learned them ; and that from a child thou hast known 
 the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise 
 unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 
 Rom. iii. 1-5; Heb. iv. 12, 13; 2 Chron. xxxiv. 3; 1 
 Kings xiv. 13. Notice how he singles out this grace as 
 one that should adorn a Christian minister, "A bishop 
 must be one that ruleth well his own house, having his 
 children in subjection Avith all gravity. For if a man 
 know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take 
 care of the Church of God?" Again, "Let the deacons 
 rule their children and their own house well." And 
 again, "An elder must be one having faithful children, 
 not accused of riot or unruly." 
 
 lie who resorts to human means, and humnn wisdom 
 only, in the training of his family, and adopts the world's 
 cold and lifeless morality, instead of the living and 
 powerful word of the glorious Gospel of Christ, is sow- 
 ing tares instead of wheat; and the crop will be tares, 
 and nothing but tares. Ever}^ parent, every person that 
 has a child under his care, ought to feel that such child is 
 
OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 143 
 
 God's, committed to him for the express purpose of being 
 trained up for God, for the service and enjoyment of 
 God, in time and in eternity; and at his liands will that 
 child be required, if through neglect and mismanagement, 
 it should perish eternally. " Train up a child in the way 
 he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from 
 it." Prov. xxii. G ; Deut. viii. 5. Think what it is to 
 have a promise like this. Promises were the only lamp 
 of hope which cheered the hearts of the Patriarchs 
 before the Bible was written. Enoch, Noah, Al)raham, 
 Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, — all lived on a few promises, and 
 prospered in their souls. 
 
 Happy the child who finds the grace, 
 The blessing of God's chosen race, 
 The wisdom coming from above, 
 The faith that sweetly works by love. 
 
 By the time a child is two years of age, he ought to 
 be in the habit of cheerful submission to w^hatever he 
 knows to be the will of his parents. Be assured if your 
 child says to any of 3^our requirements, " I won't," or 
 sets up resistance in the way of crying and pouting, 
 there is a radical error in your management, that threat- 
 ens shipwreck to the w^hole business of education. Be- 
 sides, a ready, cheerful obedience from the early dawn of 
 reason, while it greatly facilitates every part of after- 
 education, is of essential use to counteract the self-will, 
 the obstinacy, and bad temper of a child, before they are 
 confirmed and strengthened by indulgence. The parent 
 should plant himself on this ground : " ^ly child's will 
 
144 OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 
 
 must yield to mine;' not sim})ly to gratify me, but from 
 principle, because God requires it ; and also for his own 
 sake, it being impossible oiT any other condition that he 
 can be prosperous and happy." Let the child render 
 implicit obedience to this great statute of heaven. 
 
 Every parent ought to be fully aware, that it is in the 
 early part of childhood, more especially, that a corrective 
 can be applied to those evil passions whose dominion in 
 manhood will be certain ruin. " He that spareth his rod 
 hateth his son ; but he that loveth him chasteneth him 
 betimes." Prov. xiii. 24. "Chasten thy son while there 
 is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying." Prov. 
 ix. 18. " Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child ; 
 but the rod of correction shall drive it from him." Prov. 
 xxii. 15. " Withhold not correction from the child, for 
 if thou beatest him with the rod he shall not die. Thou 
 shalt beat him with the rod and deliver his soul from 
 hell." Prov. xxiii. 13, 14. "The rod and reproof give 
 wisdom ; but a child left to himself bringeth his mother 
 to shame. Correct thy son and he shall give thee rest, 
 yea, he shall give delight to thy soul." 
 
 After the establishment of authority over the infant 
 mind, must commence the effort of storing it with know- 
 ledge. "Wisdom," says Solomon, "is the principal 
 thing; therefore, get wisdom." It is, indeed, the prin- 
 cipal thing ; as, without it, nothing valuable can be 
 acquired. Job, speaking of its value, says, " It cannot 
 be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the 
 price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of 
 
OBEDIEXCE TO PARENTS. 145 
 
 Opiiir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire. The 
 gold and crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it 
 shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be 
 made of coral, or of pearls : for the price of wisdom is 
 above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, 
 neither shall it be valued with pure gold." Job xxviii. 
 15-19; Prov. xv. 33; xxiv. 7; Coloss. ii. 3. "Happy 
 is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth 
 understanding: for the merchandise of it is better than 
 the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine 
 gold. She is more precious than rubies : and all the 
 things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto 
 her. Length of days is in her right hand ; and in her 
 left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of 
 pleasantness, and all her paths are paths of peace. She 
 is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and 
 happy is every one that retaineth her. The Lord by 
 wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath 
 he established the heavens. By his knowledge the 
 depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. 
 My son, let them not depart from thine eyes : keep sound 
 wisdom and discretion: so shall they be life unto thy 
 soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in 
 thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When 
 thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid; yea, thou shalt 
 lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet." 
 
 It is remarkable that all the promises of God to his 
 people are formally and avowedly extended to their 
 children as well as to themselves. This was a funda- 
 13 
 
146 OBEDIENCE TO PAKENTS. 
 
 mental idea in his covenant with Abraham : " I will 
 establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy 
 seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting 
 covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after 
 thee. And I will give unto thee and thy seed a/ter thee 
 the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of 
 Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their 
 God. This is my covenant between me and you, and 
 thy seed after thee : Every man-child among you shall 
 be circumcised." A foresight of Abraham's faithfulness 
 and success in training up his children religiously was 
 the ground of God's especial confidence in him : " Shall 
 I hide from Abraham the thing which I do? — For I 
 know him, that he will command his children and his 
 household after him, and they shall keep the way of the 
 Lord, to do judgment and justice." Let the impression 
 dwell upon your heart, and stimulate your every-day's 
 effort, that in proportion that you make your child wise, 
 wise in the possession of every useful kind of knowledge, 
 but especially the knowledge of " the living and true 
 God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent," you bring 
 within his reach the means of every kind of usefulness 
 and comfort, here and hereafter ; while, without it, there 
 can be nothing but degradation and wretchedness in 
 time, and, through eternity, everlasting perdition, from 
 that God who hath pronounced on the people of " no 
 understanding," " that the God who made them will not 
 have mercy on them ; he that formed them will show 
 them no favor." 
 
OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 147 
 
 The most unwearied diligence is to be used in coni- 
 niunicating this instruction, especially as it regards re- 
 ligious knowledge. As God himself has commanded, 
 *' Ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them 
 when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou w^alkesi 
 by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest 
 up ; and thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of 
 thine house, and upon thy gates." Deut. xi. 19, 20; 1 
 Sam. iii. 13. Let those who have failed in training up 
 their children to wisdom and piety, inquire whether their 
 diligence has been, from the early dawn of reason, any- 
 thing like what is here required. It is said of Eli, that 
 he honored his sons above God ; and what was the end 
 of Eli and his depraved sous ? He lived to hear of the 
 death of both his sons, and his grey hairs were brought 
 down with sorrow to the grave. 1 Sam. ii. 29; iv. 18. 
 In addition to this, the Lord pronounced the following 
 sentence against his house : — 
 
 "And the Lord called Samuel again the third time; and he 
 arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I ; for thou didst call 
 nip. And E!i perceived that the Lord had called the child. There- 
 fore, Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if He 
 call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord, for thy servant 
 heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the 
 Lord came and cnlled as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then 
 Samuel answered, Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. And the 
 Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which 
 both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that 
 (lay will I perform against Eli all things which I have spoken con- 
 cerning his house : when I begin I will also make an end. For I 
 have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity 
 which he knoweth ; because his sons made themselves vile, and 
 
148 OBEDIENCE TO PAEENTS. 
 
 he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the 
 house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged 
 with sacrifice nor offering for ever." 
 
 Virtuous youth gradually brings forward accomplished 
 and flourishing manhood ; and such manhood passes of 
 itself, without uneasiness, into respectable and tranquil 
 old age. But when nature is turned out of its regular 
 course, disorder takes place in the moral just as in the 
 vegetable world. As, in the succession of the seasons, 
 each, by the invariable laws of Nature, affects the pro- 
 ductions of what is next in course ; so, in human life, 
 every period of our age, according as it is well or ill 
 spent, influences the happiness of that which is to follow. 
 If the spring put forth no blossoms, in summer there 
 will be no beauty, and in autumn no fruit. So, if youth 
 be trifled away without improvement, manhood Avill be 
 contemptible, and old age miserable. If the beginnings 
 of life have been " vanity," its latter end can be no other 
 than "vexation of spirit." 
 
 By cool Siloam's shady rill 
 
 How sweet the lily grows ! 
 How sweet the breath, beneath the hill, 
 
 Of Sharon's dewy rose ! 
 Lo ! such the child whose early feet 
 
 The paths of peace have trod — 
 Whose secret heart, with influence sweet, 
 
 Is upward drawn to God. 
 By cool Siloam's shady rill 
 
 The lily must decay ; 
 The rose that blooms beneath the hill 
 
 Must shortly fade away. 
 
 A man shall be known in his children. Ecclesiasticus 
 
OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 149 
 
 xi. 28: Jor. xxxv. 18, 19; Ezek. xvi, 44; Hosca iv. 0. 
 Children, in the first instance, learn almost evcrythint!; 
 by imitation. It seems to be a law of their nature to 
 do what they see others do. Hence the fact so univer- 
 sally observed, that the children grow up to be like those 
 with whom they are reared. Just in proportion to the 
 depravity of the society among whom they dwell, is the 
 difficulty and danger in training up a family for God. 
 Kegard it, then, as essential to j^our success, that you 
 should be before your children, what you would have 
 them to be. Teach them to be wise, by acting wisely 
 in their presence. Teach them love, and faith, and 
 humility, and godly fear, and other Christian graces, by 
 habitually acting those graces before their eyes. Keeping 
 your children much with yourself, taking them daily to 
 the throne of grace, and exemplifying in simplicity and 
 godly sincerity, the true Christian character before them, 
 it will be marvellous indeed, if, in due time, you have 
 not the unspeakable happiness of seeing " some good 
 thing toward the Lord" in them. Example is a living 
 lesson. The life speaks. Every action has a tongue. 
 
 Happy the cliild wlio wisdom gains; 
 Thrice happy who his Guest retains 
 lie owns, and shall forever own, 
 Wisdom, and Christ, and heaven are one. 
 
 Xuthing can be more certain than that impious or pro- 
 fane thoughts, uttered by a parent, makes an impression 
 on the young heart which nothing can efface. Such a 
 parent may be a member of church, or even a preacher 
 
 18* 
 
150 OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 
 
 of the Gospel, and pra}^ and sing, night and morning, 
 but this will only add to his guilt, " For the wrath of 
 God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and 
 unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unright- 
 eousness." " If God spared not the angels that sinned, 
 but cast them down to hell," and spared not the old 
 world, and destroyed the people of Sodom and Gomorrha, 
 on account of their " filthy conversation and unlawful 
 deeds," will he spare parents whose filthy conversation 
 and unlawful deeds lead their children to hell ? No ; he 
 will not spare them, for he declares that he will tear them 
 in pieces. Psalm 1. 22 ; Rev. xxi. 2t. There is none 
 upon earth more desperately wicked than the parent who 
 neglects, or refuses, to train up his children for useful- 
 ness and heaven. Indeed he is infinitely more guilty 
 than a common murderer, inasmuch as he destroys the 
 souls of his own children ; and through their vile exam- 
 ple, the souls of other children. 
 
 It is said of Ahaziah, king of Israel, that he walked in 
 the ways of the house of Ahab, for Athaliah, " his mo- 
 ther, was his counsellor to do wickedly ; '' and that this 
 led "to his destruction." It is written of the sons of 
 this wicked woman, that they " had broken up the house 
 of God ; and also all the dedicated things of the house 
 of the Lord did they bestow upon Baalim." But a 
 dreadful doom overtook them and their wicked mother. 
 (See the 22d and 23d, and 24th Chapters of 2 Chronicles.) 
 
 The parent is the natural guardian of the in-tellect and 
 heart of his child, and God will hold him responsible 
 
OBEBIEXCK TO PARENTS. 151 
 
 who deputt's his duties to auother. The father reiire- 
 sents the divine Lawgiver, whose vicegerent he is for 
 carrying out the gracious designs of an infinite benevo- 
 lence, in the establishment of upright principles, and the 
 formation of a pure, virtuous character. Almost every- 
 thing depends on preoccupying the soul with right habits, 
 of which none is so intimately connected with favorable 
 religious developments, as the habit of obedience to legi- 
 timate authority. This is a strictly fundamental principle 
 in the Christian religion, and should be the first object 
 in family government. Every parent who fails in estab- 
 lishing this unquestioned dominion over his child, does 
 in the same degree entail upon him a curse of fearful 
 omen. It may be laid down as a Christian axiom, that 
 the rebellious spirit which refuses obedience to parents, 
 will be the last to render it to God. 
 
 Dr. Johnson gave this advice to parents : "Accustom 
 your children to a strict attention to truth, even in the 
 most minute particulars. If a thing happen at one win- 
 dow, and they when relating it say that it happened at 
 another, do not let it pass, but instantly check them ; 
 you do not know where deviation from truth will end. 
 It is more from carelessness about truth than from inten- 
 tional lying that there is so much falsehood in the 
 world." The evil and injustice of lying appear, 1. From 
 its b, ing a breach of the natural and universal right of 
 mank 'd to truth in the intercourse of speech. 2. From 
 its being a violation of God's sacred law. Phil. iv. 8 ; 
 Levit. xix. 11; Col. iii. 9. 3. The faculty of speech was 
 
152 OBEDIKXCE TO PARENTS. 
 
 bestowed as an instrument of knowledge, not of deceit ; 
 to communicate our thoughts, not to hide them. 4. It 
 is esteemed a reproach of so heinous and hateful a na- 
 ture for a man to be called a liar, that sometimes the life 
 and blood of the slanderer have paid for it, 5. It has a 
 tendency to dissolve all society, and to indispose the 
 mind to religious impressions. 6. The punishment of it 
 is, the loss of credit, the hatred of those whom we have 
 deceived, and an eternal separation from God. Rev. xxi. 
 8 ; xxii. 15 ; Psalm ci. 7 ; Jer. ix. 3 ; Amos ii. 4 ; Zech. 
 viii. Ifi, n. 
 
 A properly brought up child is always obedient to his 
 parents, and hates idleness and lying, because he knows 
 that while the one " shall clothe a man with rags," the 
 other wnll bring him to shame, and sink his soul in eter- 
 nal ruin. Prov. xxiii. 21 ; Rev. xxi. 8. He never takes 
 the name of God in vain, or utters any oath or degrading 
 expression, because he knows that all blasphemers, 
 sw^earers, liars, and filthy talkers are children of the 
 devil, and will be with him, in his " own place," when 
 they die. Levit. xxiv. 10-lG ; Zech. v. 3, 4; John viii. 
 44 ; Eph. ii. 2 ; 2 Peter ii. 4-8 ; Rev. xxi. 8 ; xxii. 11, 15. 
 He never throws stones at other children, or at animals, 
 or birds, because he knows that none but the most de- 
 praved children are ever guilty of such ungodly and un- 
 neighborly conduct. He is cleanly and neat in person, 
 and mannerly, and learns his lessons cheerfully, .because 
 he loves God, and his parents, and hopes to become a 
 useful and respected member of Christian society. He 
 
OBEDIENCE TO PxVREXTS. 153 
 
 not only reiuk'r.s cheerful obedience to his parents, but 
 makes them repositories of all his secrets. There is 
 nothing clandestine in his movx'ments. He takes no 
 step without consulting them, lie tells them all his 
 })lans and all his troubles, and seeks their advice in 
 everything. He is not smitten or carried away with the 
 attention of strangers, for he knows "not the voice of 
 strangers." He allows no human being to alienate his 
 interest from his parents ; nor does he set up a separate 
 interest under the idea of personal independence. He 
 goes with his parents to the Sanctuary, unites his re- 
 ligious sympathies with theirs, and listens to the truth 
 as it is in Jesus, — as it is in the Evangelical or New 
 Testament churches. Principle, not fashion or caprice, 
 governs his movements in these respects. His likes and 
 dislikes are all sacrificed on the altar of filial affection. 
 He knows if he is led hither and thither as fashion or 
 caprice or self-indulgence may prompt, he will find ere 
 many years are passed over his head, that his course, 
 like that of Esau, may bring upon him consequences 
 which he will have reason to deplore whilst yet there is 
 left no space for repentance. Heb. xii. IG, 17; Prov. i. 
 24-28; Levit. xix. 3; Deut. v. IG. 
 
 Thrice happy is the youth, 
 
 Who, morning, noon, and night, 
 Reads the blest page of sacred truth. 
 
 And makes it his delight; — 
 
 He loves the hour of prayer, 
 
 And takes delight in praise: 
 The Lord to bless him will be near 
 
 With sanctifying grace. 
 
15^ OBEDIEXCE TO PARENTS. 
 
 Uiidutif'ul or vile children, fill the minds of all good 
 men with loathing and horror; and they are objects of 
 still more abhorrence to God than men. Deut. xxi. 18- 
 21 ; 1 Sam. ill. 10-14 ; 2 Kings ii. 23, 24. It is written 
 of the parents of such children, as well as the children 
 tluuiiselves, that " The shew of their countenance doth 
 witness against them ; and they declare their sin as 
 Sodom, they hide it not." Isaiah iii. 9 ; Ezek. xvi. 19; 2 
 Peter ii. Y, 8. When wicked behaviour, or irreligious 
 practices, have gained such headway as to destroy the 
 beauty of the countenance, what must be the condition of 
 the soul of such a person ? But, thanks be to God, the 
 religion of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ is able to 
 change the boldness of the most repulsive face, and 
 make it shine with beams of heavenly beauty. Eccles. 
 viii. 1 : Prov. xx. 11 ; Matt. vii. 16. By these never- 
 failing indications we are able to distinguish the children 
 of Light from the children of darkness. The parents of 
 the latter " hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they 
 abhor him that speaketh uprightly." Like the children 
 of Belial in the days of Jeremiah the prophet, they say, 
 " Come, let us smite him with the tongue, and not give 
 heed to any of his words." The Psalmist, speaking of 
 this class of men, says, " Hide me from the secret coun- 
 sel of the wicked ; from the insurrection of the workers 
 of iniquity : who whet their tongue like a sword, and 
 bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: 
 that they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly 
 do they shoot at him, and fear not. They encourage 
 
Ol^EDIEXCE TO PARENTS. 165 
 
 theiuselvoy in an evil matter: they conuuune of laying 
 snares privily ; they say, Who shall see them ?" A 
 dreadful doom awaits such men. Deut. xxxii. 35 ; Job 
 xxi. 30, 31 ; Psalm xi. 6 ; Matt. xxv. 41-4G ; 2 Peter ii. 
 4-12: Jude 5-8; Rev. xxi. 8. 
 
 There is one clear and distinct ground upon which we 
 mtiy limit the application of a precept that is couched in 
 absolute language — the unlaw^fulness, in any given con- 
 jecture, of obeying it. " Submit yourselves to every 
 ordinance of man." 1 Peter ii. 13. This, literally, is an 
 unconditional command. But if we were to obey it un- 
 conditionally, we should sometimes comply with human, 
 in opposition to Divine laws. In such cases, then, the 
 obligation is clearly suspended ; and this distinction the 
 teachers of Christianity recognized in their practice. 
 When "an ordinance of man" required them to forbear 
 the promulgation of the doctrines of the New Testament, 
 thev refused obedience ; and urged the befitting expostu- 
 lation — "Whether it be right in the sight of God to 
 hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye." Acts 
 iv. 19. They accordingly "entered into the temple early 
 in the morning and taught;" and when, subsequently, 
 they were again brought before the council and interro- 
 gated, they replied, " We ought to obey God rather than 
 men;" and notwithstanding the renewed command of 
 the council, " daily in the temple and in every house, 
 they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." Acts 
 V. 29, 42. So, too, with the filial relationship : " Children, 
 obey your parents in all things." Col. iii. 20. But a pa- 
 
156 OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 
 
 rent may require his child to go to the rum-shop for 
 liquor; to lie, steal, or go with him to an infidel meeting, 
 the theatre, dance-house, or some other place of debauch- 
 ery, and therefore when a parent requires obedience in 
 such things his authority ceases, and the obligation to 
 obedience is taken away by the moral law itself The 
 precept is virtually this : Obey your parents in all things, 
 unless disobedience is required by the will of God ; and 
 that is so clearly set forth in the Bible, that " w^ayfaring 
 men, though fools, shall not err therein." All human 
 authority ceases at the point w^here obedience becomes 
 criminal. We have clear illustrations of this in the fol- 
 lowing passages of Scripture : — 
 
 " If thy Li'other, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy 
 daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as 
 thine own soul, entice thee, saying. Let us go and serve other 
 gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers ; namely, 
 of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto 
 thee, or far from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto 
 the other end of the earth ; thou shalt not consent unto him, nor 
 hearken unto him ; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt 
 thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him : but thou shalt surely 
 kill him ; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, 
 and afterward the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone 
 him with stones, that he die ; because he hath sought to thrust 
 thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the 
 land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. And all Israel shall 
 hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this 
 among you." (Deut. xiii. 0-11 ; Jer. xvii. 5.) Again, "He that 
 loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of me : and 
 he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of me. 
 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me is not 
 worthy of me." 
 
OBEDIEXCE TO PARENTS. 157 
 
 God manifests his abhorrence of wicked children in 
 these words : "If a man have a stubborn and rebellious 
 son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the 
 voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened 
 him, will not hearken unto them, then shall his father 
 and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto 
 the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place ; and 
 they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is 
 stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice ; he 
 is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his 
 city shall stone him with stones that he die : so shall 
 thou put evil away from among you ; all Israel shall 
 hear, and fear." Deut. xxi. 18-21 ; Prov. xxii. 6 ; Eccles. 
 iv. 13. 
 
 The Scriptures declare that no drunkard or profane 
 swearer shall inherit the kingdom of God. There is no 
 limitation to this edict, — it is absolutely positive. How- 
 then shall w^e estimate the nature of those vices, which 
 doom their perpetrators to hell ? The man w^ho takes 
 my little son, whom I love as I love myself, and strikes 
 into his throbbing heart an assassin's knife, and draws it 
 forth reeking with his innocent blood, and hurls in my 
 face the murdered child and the fatal weapon with which 
 the murderous blow was inflicted, commits a deed which 
 causes every impulse and sensibility of my nature to re- 
 coil in agony far too intense for language to describe. 
 The eye turns instinctively from it as something too 
 horrible to be seen, and it is enough to madden any fond 
 parent's brain. But the man who seduces this same 
 14 
 
158 OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS, 
 
 child into the haunts of vice — who leads him into the 
 path of moral obliquity from God — who puts to his lips 
 the poisoned chalice, drugged with spiritual death, and 
 constrains or induces him to drink it — that man perpe- 
 trates a deed, in the sight of God, far more hideous in its 
 natui'e than the other — far more revolting to the pious 
 parent's heart — far more ruinous in its consequences. 
 He is a murderer of deeper dye, for he is a murderer of 
 the soul. Far better that my dear child had perished by 
 the vile assassin's hand — far better that I had felt the 
 delirium of agony over his mangled, bleeding remains, 
 and enjoyed the conviction that his spirit had gone, re- 
 deemed by Christ, to his heavenly Father, than that I 
 should be compelled to witness him a moral suicide, 
 " without God and without hope in the world." 
 
 The late celebrated Benjamin Rush, M. D., of Phila- 
 delphia, speaking of the effects of ardent spirits upon the 
 human body and mind, said, " This odious disease of 
 drunkenness — for by that name it should be called — 
 appears with more or less of the following symptoms, 
 and most commonly in the order in which I shall 
 enumerate them : 
 
 1. Unusual garrulity. 
 
 2. Unusual silence. 
 
 3. Captiousness, or a disposition to find fault and 
 quarrel. 
 
 4. Uncommon good-humor, and an insipid simpering 
 or laugh. 
 
 5. Profane swearing and cursing. 
 
OBEDIENCE TO PAKEXTS. 159 
 
 6. A dirtclo.sure of their own and other people's secrets. 
 T. A rude disposition to tell those persons in company 
 whom they know, their faults. 
 
 8. Certain immodest actions. 
 
 9. Clipping of words. 
 
 10. Fighting ; a black eye, or a swelled nose. 
 
 11. Certain extravagant acts which indicate a tempo- 
 rary fit of madness. These are singing vile ballads or 
 songs, hallooing, roaring, imitating the noises of four- 
 legged brutes, jumping, tearing off clothes, dancing naked, 
 breaking glasses and china, and dashing other articles of 
 household furniture upon the ground or floor. After a 
 while the paroxysm of drunkenness is completely formed. 
 The face now becomes flushed, the eyes project, and are 
 somewhat watery, winking is less frequent than is natu- 
 ral ; the under lip is protruded or stuck out — the head 
 inclines a little to one shoulder — the jaw falls — belching 
 and hiccough take place — the limbs totter — the whole 
 body staggers, and the wretched man soon falls on his 
 seat. He now^ looks around him with a vacant counte- 
 nance, mutters inarticulate sounds to himself, and 
 attempts to rise and walk, but falls upon his side, from 
 which he gradually turns upon his back. He now closes 
 his eyes and falls into a profound sleep, frequently 
 attended with loud snoring, and profuse sweats. In 
 this condition he often lies one, two, three, four, and five 
 days, an object of pity and disgust to his injured family 
 and friends. His recovery from this fit of intoxication 
 is marked with several peculiar appearances He opens 
 
160 OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 
 
 his eyes and closes them again — he gapes and stretches 
 his limbs — he rises with difficulty, and staggers to a 
 chair — his eyes resemble balls of fire— his hands tremble 
 — he loathes the sight of food — he calls for a glass of 
 whiskey and a red herring to ' compose ' his stomach ! — 
 now and then he emits a deep-fetched sigh, or groan, 
 from a transient twinge of conscience ; but he more fre- 
 quently scolds, and curses his wife and children, and 
 everything around him. In this stage of languor and 
 stupidity he remains for two or three days, before he is 
 able to resume his work." 
 
 Thomas Sewall, M. D., Professor of Anatomy and 
 Physiology in the Columbian College, Washington City, 
 D. C, speaking of the effects of ardent spirits upon the 
 human body and mind, said, " On examining the lungs 
 of the drunkard after death, they are frequently found 
 adhering to the walls of the chest ; hepatized, or affected 
 with tubercles. The drunkard dies easily, and from 
 slight causes. A sudden cold, a pleurisy, a fever, a 
 fractured limb, or a slight wound of the skin is often 
 more than his shattered powers can endure. Even a 
 little excess of exertion, an exposure to heat or cold, a 
 hearty repast, or a glass of cold vvater, not unfrequently 
 extinguishes the small remains of the vital principle. 
 Many of those deaths which came under my notice 
 seemed almost spontaneous, and some of them took 
 place in less than one hour from the first symptoms of 
 indisposition." " But time would fail me were I to at- 
 tempt an account of half the pathology of drunkennesa 
 
OEEDIEXCE TO PARENTS. 161 
 
 And who is the responsible author of all this? 1 appeal 
 to any fellow-citizen. Are not we the authors? The 
 power emanates from us; we delegate it to the consti- 
 tuted authorities, and we say to them, ' Go on ; cast fire- 
 l)rands, arrows, and death ; and let the blood of those 
 that perish be on us and on our children.' Every mem- 
 ber of society is morally and politically constituted, by 
 the relations he sustains, his 'brother's keeper.' To 
 deny this position is to assume grounds with Cain, the 
 first murderer." 
 
 No human being suffers alone. He is a member of a 
 body politic, and as such, contributes his pains to others, 
 according to the more or less intimate relationship exist- 
 ing between them. If he has submitted himself to be 
 victimized by a ruinous appetite or passion, and falls 
 into sin, he draws others with him to participate in the 
 woes consequent upon his transgressions, though they 
 may not be involved in his personal guilt. Considering 
 the frightful crimes which the sale of intoxicating drinks 
 is the direct or incidental cause, there is not an intelli- 
 gent man who will not declare it the most immoral and 
 demoralizing business that is pursued on earth. The 
 injury it inflicts on the buyer, the seller, and society, is, 
 in fact immeasurable and incalculable. It is wide-spread, 
 overwhelming, appalling. Terms are too weak to express 
 it: the reality far exceeds any epithets wiiich can be 
 employed to describe it. The earth groans under it. 
 Man cries to man and to heaven for deliverance from it. 
 The bodies of some drunkards have been so thoroughly 
 14* 
 
162 OBEDiEXCE TO PARENTS. 
 
 Steeped in spirit as literally to take fire aud consume to 
 ashes. There is doubtless far more danger than has been 
 ^ imagined, in a drunkard's bringing his mouth or nose 
 near a lighted taper. The wonder is that instances of 
 combustion are not of daily occurrence. Medical writers 
 cite numerous cases. Ploquet mentions twenty-eight. 
 
 The family circle are most interested in the reforma- 
 tion of that individual of their number who has become 
 addicted to vice of any description, because they are most 
 directly involved in the evils which such vice produces ; 
 and next to the family circle, the community in which 
 the criminal has his residence are implicated most in the 
 consequences of his crimes, and have the greatest amount 
 of interest in his recovery from his destructive habits. 
 But this is not all. Power to reform is proportionate to 
 the interest involved. The mutual influence, either for 
 good or evil, inherent in the family constitution, is 
 almost omnipotent. If this influence be exerted aright, 
 and perseveringly exerted, for the reformation of the 
 inebriate, it can seldom fail of success. But if the mem- 
 bers of the family circle neglect, or refuse, to exercise the 
 reforming* power with which the}^ have been endowed, 
 then are they responsible for the whole amount of such 
 neglect, or refusal. The same remarks, substantially, 
 are appropriate to the community. It is their duty, as 
 well as their interest, that every member should regard 
 the public laws, and lead a virtuous life. 
 
 A fearful doom awaits the drunkard aud the profane 
 swearer. They are classed with the abomina])le, with 
 
OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 168 
 
 thieves, murderers, whoremongers, and liars. What end 
 does the profane swearer propose to himself? Does he 
 suppose his neighbor will believe him any sooner, because 
 he affirms his word by an oath ? Mistaken man ! He 
 who has so little reverence for God, as to take his name 
 in vain, will not think it dighonoraljle to lie, if he think 
 it will answer his selfish purposes. Does he think it 
 becoming a gentleman to trifle thus with the tremendous 
 name of God ? Alas ! how degraded must be the state 
 of society if profane swearing will add to the dignity of 
 a man's character ! Thank God, it is believed that the 
 generality of men have more exalted ideas of the proper 
 dignity of man, than to suppose that such conduct will 
 elevate him in the estimation of his fellow-citizens. 
 " Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in 
 vain : for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh 
 his name in vain." Exod. xx. 7. "And the Lord spake 
 unto Moses, saying, Bring forth him that cursed without 
 the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands 
 upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him." 
 Levit. xxiv. 13, 14. "Because of swearing the land 
 mourneth." Jer. xxiii. 10; Hosea iv. 23. "As I live, saith 
 the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the 
 wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live : 
 turn ye, turn from your evil ways; for why will ye die?" 
 Ezek. xxxiii. 11; Isaiah i. 18; Prov. i. 24-28; Luke xv. 10. 
 The thoughts of such goodness abused, and such amazing 
 clemency affronted, seem to the awakened sinner almost as 
 insupportable as those of God's wrath and severity ; and 
 
161 OBEDIENCE TO TAREXTS. 
 
 he exclaims, in the anguish of his soul, ''Oh, whither shall 
 I turn ? I dare not look upward: the sun and stars upbraid 
 me there. If I look downward, the fields and fountains take 
 their Creator's pait, and heaven and earth conspire to ag- 
 gravate my sins. Those common blessings tell me how 
 much I am indebted to thy bounty. Oh, in what delirium 
 has my life been passed ! what have T been doing ! 
 
 "When I look back on my former days, 
 The only comfort the review aft'ords 
 Is, that they're past. 
 
 For through their course I cannot recollect 
 One free from sorrow, guilt, or disappointment : 
 Yet heedless still through the same paths I stray, 
 And rashly venture on the dangerous road ; 
 With open eyes, like one asleep I walk, 
 And drink the cup, although I know 'tis poison'd. 
 Why am I led thus captive by my will, 
 While Reason, faithful guide, forever warns 
 My drowsy soul to shun impending danger? 
 This night may be my last; I ne'er again 
 May see the dawning of another morn : 
 Shall I forego the joys of heaven, to soothe 
 A wayward fancy or destructive passion? 
 Ah, no!" 
 
 " And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired 
 servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, 
 and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my 
 father, and will say unto him. Father, I have sinned against 
 heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be 
 called thy son : make me as one of thy hired servants." 
 (See Luke xv. 17-24.) 
 
CHAPTEil VIII. 
 
 O 15 j: U 1 E N C E TO 1' A R E N T S , C N T I i\ U E P . 
 
 Susceptibility of the young mind to evil impressions — The Christian 
 family — A dying mother's last words to her son — The remembrance of 
 her great love for him brings tears in his eyes — The boy who is " too 
 big" to obey his mother— What Christ, the King of kings and Lord of 
 lords did — The Bible knows no to-morrow — "Thinking about it" — A 
 limit to provocation. 
 
 The second generation of " badly brought up children" 
 will be invariably worse than the first, for parents who 
 were not, themselves, obedient and properly trained in 
 childhood, however much they may wish to perform 
 their duty toward .their own children, will be impotent 
 to secure obedience, for there is no law more immutable 
 than this, that persons can not govern who have not, 
 themselves, been governed. It is no exaggeration to 
 say, that the developments of right moral and -eligious 
 character is wholly the work of education and religious 
 nurture: meaning, by these terms, not the training of 
 the parent and teacher only, but also the agency of cir- 
 cumstances, — whilst the force of example and association 
 alone, independent of all direct inculcation, is sufficient 
 to impress upon the child's plastic nature, any form of 
 vice and ungodliness. Let him grow up among idolaters, 
 
 and that circumstance ensures his Ijeing a devotee to 
 
 (1G5) 
 
166 OBEUIEXCE TO PARENTS. 
 
 false gods, and the deadly foe of all true piety and virtue. 
 Life among the Fejees would infallibly convert the child 
 of Christian parents into a cannibal. Give your babe to be 
 nursed and trained in an infidel family, and he will, with- 
 out somo, strong remedial or preventing influence from 
 better sources, grow up to be an enemy and a contemner 
 of Christ. Nurtured in a den of thieves, or smugglers, 
 or robbers, he will feel neither horror nor disapprobation 
 of the atrocious crimes with which he is constantly 
 familiar; and to become the most daring and expert of 
 the gang will, in all probability, be the highest aspiration 
 ever felt by his blighted spirit. Without going beyond 
 the limits of our own neighborhood, or perhaps twenty 
 yards from the door of the church where we pay our 
 adoration to God, we may find scores of vile, hardened 
 boys and girls, with whom we could not allow our child 
 to play in the streets, without feeling a certainty that he 
 would become, like them, a reckless vagrant. 
 
 Such is the susceptibility of the young mind to evil 
 impressions : and it inculcates a Christian lesson upon 
 all parents who have hearts, to care for the immortal 
 destinies of their children, more influential than ten thou- 
 sand arguments. 
 
 A family where all the members of it live in love and 
 peace, is like a little heaven below. Love and kindness 
 are the tempers which Jesus delights to see us cultivate ; 
 and these are the tempers, too, which the Holy Spirit 
 produces in all who truly love God and keep his com- 
 mandments " Heaven, I know," said a dying Christian 
 
OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 167 
 
 mother to her only son, " will Ijless so good a son as you 
 have been to me. You will have that consolation, my 
 son, which visits but few — you will be able to look back 
 upon your past conduct to me, not without pain only, 
 but with a holy joy. * * * Do not be so afflicted, my 
 son, at the loss of me. We are not to part for ever." 
 Poor boy! In after years, speaking of his infant recol- 
 lections, he says : 
 
 " The mere thougbt, 
 Of her great love for me has often brought 
 Tears in my eyes. Though far away, 
 It seems as it were yesterday. 
 And just as when I looked on high 
 Through the blue silence of the sky, 
 Fresh stars shine out, and more and more 
 Where I could see so few before ; 
 So the more steadily I gaze 
 Upon those far-off misty days, 
 Fresh words, fresh t/ftes, fresh mem'ries start. 
 Before my eyes and in my heart." 
 
 Ah, yes, the remembrance of the scenes of his youth 
 now appear to him like far visions of happiness. His 
 dear, dear mother died whilst he was yet young. He 
 now looks upon the time, as upon a vision of devotion 
 commingled with love, when he saw her oft upon her 
 knees, in secret prayer. He heard her pray, not for her- 
 self alone, but for him, and sent up his name in earnest 
 supplication to her heavenly Father. She asked — with 
 tears streaming down her cheeks — the God of salvation 
 to bless liim, her then hope and delight, whilst he won- 
 dered to whom his mother was addressing herself, for he 
 
168 OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 
 
 saw no one in the room besides himself, and she was not 
 speaking to him, but about him. He now remembers the 
 impressive sight he witnessed, as he entered her death- 
 chamber, — her pale and haggard countenance ; her 
 sickly, failing eye, with which she looked out upon him 
 from her dying pillow, as if from the very confines of 
 the eternal world. He remembers how thin and how 
 pale the hand was w4th which she pressed his, w4ien she 
 bade him a sorrowful adieu ; and how agonizingly anxious 
 that look was with which she gazed into his face, and 
 charged him, in the name of her blessed Lord and 
 Saviour, to wrestle with God day and night for the sal- 
 vation of his soul, and to seek through the blood of Jesus 
 for the pardon of his sins. He remembers that he saw 
 his dear mother die, and go the way of all the earth, and 
 that he attended, with others, her funeral. He saw the 
 newly opened grave, and the coSin, the lid of which hid 
 from his view the changed countenance of his best 
 earthly friend, and he weeps tears of bitter anguish. 
 He remembers also seeing the grave filled up, and the 
 tears of sympathizing friends, who, with him, encircled 
 the grave, and then left his dear, dear mother there in 
 the narrow bed of death. Poor boy ! poor boy ! how 
 we feel for you in your sore bereavement. 
 
 The boy who is " too big" to obey his mother is in a 
 most dangerous state of mind. Think of Christ, the 
 " King of kings and Lord of lords." When he sat with 
 the learned doctors in the temple at Jerusalem, he was 
 not too old and too wise to obey his mother. Badly 
 
OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 169 
 
 brought up children may be known by their rude un- 
 mannerly behaviour to each other, to their neighbors, 
 and to strangers. On the other hand, Christian children 
 are not only civil and mannerly to all, but love God, and 
 their parents. All such children know that " the fear 
 oC the Lord is the beginning of wisdom ;" and that 
 wisdom is more precious than "jewels of fine gold," 
 (Job xxviii. IT, 28; Prov. iii. 13-24; Jer. ix. 23, 24; 
 Colos. ii. 3; Eph. iii. 18, 19;) because it confers happi- 
 ness that all the jewels and gold in the world could not 
 confer: a happiness "which passeth knowledge," — a 
 happiness "unspeakable and full of glory." 
 
 The mouth of the wicked " is full of cursing and 
 deceit and fraud ; under his tongue is mischief and 
 vanity. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten : 
 he hideth his face; he will never see it." Psalm x. 4, T, 
 11; Eccles. xii. 14. Ah, there is no escape from His 
 all-seeing eye. Psalm cxxxix. 4-12; Luke xii. 2, 3. 
 " Understand, ye brutish among the people ; and ye fools, 
 when will ye be wise ? He that planteth the car, shall 
 he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not 
 see?" Psalm xciv. 89; 1 Sam. ix. 15-27; x. 2-16; 1 
 Chron. xxviii. 9 ; 2 Kings vi. 12 ; Eccles. v. 6 ; x. 20. 
 " Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou 
 knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; thou under- 
 standest my thought afar off. Thou compasseth my 
 path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my 
 ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O 
 Lord, thou knowest it altogether." Psalm cxxxix. 1-4 ; 
 15 
 
170 OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 
 
 Job xlii. 1 ; 2 Chron. xvi. 9 ; John i. 48, 49 ; Hebrews 
 iv 13. 
 
 Father of Spirits, nature's God, 
 
 Our thoughts are known to thee ; 
 Thou, Lord, canst hear each idle word. 
 And every action see. 
 
 Could we on morning's swiftest wings. 
 
 Fly through the trackless air, 
 Or dive beneath deep ocean's springs. 
 
 Thy presence would he there. 
 
 In vain may guilt attempt to fly, 
 
 Conceal'd by darkest night; 
 One glance from thy all-piercing eye 
 
 Can bring it all to light. 
 
 In the concerns of the soul the Bible knows of no to- 
 morrow. God's calls are meant at once to be answered. 
 Men are ready every moment of their lives for heaven 
 or hell, and should death overtake them while they are 
 parleying, a fearful doom awaits them. There is no 
 guarantee in the Scriptures, that the invitation will ever 
 be repeated, and eternal ruin will be the just punishment 
 of a single rejection. You put off this most solemn duty, 
 and then protest against and flatter yourself that the 
 excuse is sufficient. But this will not answer. You are 
 bound to resolve this question as soon as it is presented 
 for your consideration. Everything else should be post- 
 poned until it is settled. But perhaps you reply that 
 you " have thought it over, but cannot come to any con- 
 clusion." You are deceived; you are tampering with 
 the salvation of your soul. It is not because you can- 
 not, but because you will not. " Thinking about it," 
 
OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 171 
 
 without acting, is easy, for it involves the performance 
 of no duty. Reason and conscience both tell you what 
 you ought to do — but that is unpalatable, and you fail 
 in coming to a conclusion, because you have no real 
 inclination to attain any, and hence upon a false basis 
 over your inability to reach any fixed and definite pur- 
 pose ! Rest assured that all the " thinking" in the 
 world will accomplish nothing. Nothing but the stern 
 resolve to give up all and follow Christ, can avail you. 
 Indecision only begets indecision. The more you "think 
 it over," the more irresolute you are. Serious impres- 
 sions become fainter and fainter as you thus trifle, and 
 you are at last so familiarized with them, that they lose 
 their force, and are the more easily dismissed as unwel- 
 come visitors that disturb your "peace." Isaiah Ivii. 21 ; 
 Prov. i. 24-28. 
 
 There is a limit to provocation, beyond which the 
 mercy of God does not extend. That limit, once reached, 
 the Lord declares the sinner's doom, in these words, 
 " Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched 
 out My hand, and no man regarded ; but ye have set at 
 naught all My counsel, and would none of My reproof: 
 I also will laugh at your calamity ; I will mock when 
 your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction 
 Cometh as a whirlwind ; when distress and anguish 
 cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon Me, but I 
 will not answer ; they shall seek Me early, but they shall 
 not find me : for they that hated knowledge, and did not 
 choose the fear of the Lord : they would none of My 
 
172 OBEDIENCE TO PAKENTS. 
 
 counsel: they despised all My reproof. Therefore shall 
 they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with 
 their own devices." 
 
 We see, then, that there is a Yoice pleading against sin 
 in every soul, till it is silenced by persistent disregard 
 and determined transgression. Beside the innate corrup- 
 tion of a wicked heart, there is a malignant power, a 
 seducing and deluding Devil. The existence of the devil 
 is as distinctly affirmed in the Scriptures as the existence 
 of God, and his influences in life are as evident. His 
 name, his nature, his personality, his power, are as posi- 
 tively revealed as the name and personality and power 
 of the Almighty. With an eye that never sleeps, with 
 a foot that never wearies, with a breath that never fails, 
 hungering for the souls of men, he hunts them steadily — 
 a true slow-hound that never bays, but runs silently on 
 the trail with superhuman sagacity. But the devil is not 
 the only foe. This great hunter of souls has innume- 
 rable packs of human hounds. Bad men and bad women, 
 " evil men and seducers," as St. Paul calls them. They 
 swarm everywhere in all the nations of the world ; and, 
 having given up their own souls to the Devil, they de- 
 light to help him to secure others. So completely are 
 such people blinded by their infernal master, that they 
 mistake his operations for the spontaneous movements 
 of their own will! They walk according to "the Prince 
 of the power of the air," and they are not conscious of 
 the fact, — their work is so entirely according to the de- 
 sire of their own hearts. Eph. ii. 2, 3 ; John viii. 42-44. 
 
OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 173 
 
 The people of the antediluvian world, and of Sodom and 
 Gomorrah, worshipped at Satan's shrine, until the out- 
 raged patience of heaven would no longer bear their pro- 
 vocations. Gen. vii. 21-23 ; xix. 24-28 ; Ezek. xvi. 49, 50 ; 
 2 Peter ii. 4-10. 
 
 The place where the wicked shall be punished, is re- 
 presented in the Scriptures under a variety of figures, 
 expressive of its awfulness. It is called " the bottomless 
 pit," Rev. iii. 20; " a furnace of fire," Matt. xiii. 42, 50; 
 " a lake of fire and brimstone," Rev. xxi. 8 ; " hell," 
 Matt, xxiii. 33 ; Mark ix. 41, 48 ; " outer darkness," Matt, 
 viii. 12 ; Psalm xlix. 19 ; Jer. xiii. 14-16 ; " eternal fire," 
 Jude vii. The misery of the wicked in this place, is 
 described in the strongest terms, and by the most dread- 
 ful figures. The nature of helPs torments is represented 
 not only by the worm that never dieth, but also by the 
 fire that "shall never be quenched." In another place, 
 it is declared, not only that the punishment shall be for- 
 ever, but "forever and ever." Rev. xiv. 11; xx. 10. The 
 expression "forever and ever," must certainly mean an 
 infinite duration of time ; for the Bible contains no higher 
 expression to signify the eternity of God himself, than 
 that of his being "forever and ever." Rev. iv. 9. 
 
 Oh, the anguish of the wicked when the Lord Jesus 
 
 shall pronounce the fearful sentence, " Depart from Me, 
 
 ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and 
 
 his angels!" Oh, what wailing! what fearful cries! 
 
 Lost ! lost ! forever and ever ! No more Bibles ! no 
 
 more Tracts ! no more Sabbaths ! no more Sunday- 
 15* 
 
174 OBEI)TEN"CE TO PAKENTS. 
 
 schoolvS ! no more invitations to come to Christ ! no more 
 strivings of the Spirit of God ! no more hopes of heaven! 
 Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 
 " The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are 
 not saved.-' Jer. viii. 20; Prov. i. 24-28; 2 Thess. i. 1- 
 9. In that day, the righteous Judge of all the earth 
 " shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 
 in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not 
 God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruc- 
 tion from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory; 
 of his power." 
 
 Oh, what agonies shall it not cause when parents 
 meet the children on whose souls they had no pity, the 
 children whom they never brought to the Saviour, the 
 children unpraycd for, untaught to pray for themselves ! 
 Who shall describe the meeting of such parents and 
 their children in an eternal hell, with " the devil and his 
 angels," and all the damned since the death of Cain — 
 the first murderer, to that day? Oh, how they will wish 
 they had never been born ! How they will wish to teai 
 out their memories ! They will seek death, but it will flee 
 from them. Oh, how it will pierce their souls to have 
 their children challenge them in that day, and say, to 
 them, one by one : 
 
 " Had you been as careful to teach me the knowledge 
 of the Lord as I was capable of learning : had you been 
 as forward to instruct me in my duties as I was ready to 
 have hearkened, it had not been with me as it is this day. 
 
OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 175 
 
 If you had by your own good example, and the use of 
 the rod, restrained me in my wickedness, instead of 
 encouraging me therein, by your filthy conversation, 
 profanity, and unlawful deeds, I had not now stood 
 trembling here in fearful expectation of the eternal doom 
 which is just ready to be passed upon me. It is to you 
 that I must in a great measure owe my everlasting ruin. 
 Unnatural wretch ! that has thus destroyed those whose 
 happiness by so many bonds of duty and affection you 
 were commanded by the Word of God to promote. Be- 
 hold ! the books are now open, and there is not one 
 prayer — one heartfelt prayer — upon record that you ever 
 put up for me ! There is no memorial; no, not so much 
 as one hour that ever was seriously spent to train me up 
 to a sense of God, and to a knowledge of my duty to 
 God ; but, on the contrary, it appears that you have in 
 many ways contrived my misery, and contributed io my 
 ruin, and helped forward my damnation. 
 
 " Good men often spoke to you about my vile behavior 
 and profanity, and with tears in their eyes implored you 
 to restrain me in my wicked practices, but in vain I You 
 abused and slandered them, because they told you the 
 truth, and the ruin you were bringing upon your child- 
 ren, by your unchristian conduct. You lied, jested and 
 ridiculed sacred things, and so did I. You took the 
 name of God in vain, and so did I. You profaned the 
 Sabbath, and annoyed your Christian neighbors with 
 swearing and cursing, and so did I. You spent your 
 evenings in prowling al)out the streets, and making a 
 
176 OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. 
 
 noise like a dog, and so did I. You rejected the Bible, 
 and spent your time and money in the perusal of infidel 
 books and pamphlets, and other lying and filthy publica- 
 tions, and so did I. You vilified Christ and his minis- 
 ters and people, and so did I. You patronized the 
 theatre, the rum-shop, the dance-house, and other places 
 of debauchery, and so did I. Oh, how could you be so 
 cruel, — how could you thus hate your own flesh, and 
 hate your own soul ? Oh, how much better had it been 
 for me, and how much. better for you, that we had never 
 been born! I was ignorant, and you instructed me not; 
 I made myself vile, and you restrained me not ! Why 
 did you not teach me at home, and bring me to the pub- 
 lic ordinances and worship of God, and train me up to 
 the exercise of true piety and devotion ? But you not 
 only neglected and refused to give me good instruction, 
 but y-ou gave me bad example : and lo ! I have followed 
 you to hell, to be an addition to your torments for ever 
 and ever. 
 
 "My day's forever gone, my sun is set 
 In final darkness, ne'er to rise again ^ 
 My summer's spent, eternal winter's come; 
 The season's past. 
 
 On me no ray of mercy e'er will shine, 
 No smiling hope will ever rise ; 
 Justice divine, and self-condemning guilt, 
 Consign me to eternal wo." 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 The grave — The Chri.^tian fnmily never grows less — Anxiety of the 
 blest for the safety of their relations and friends — The Indian mother — 
 The withered blossoms will bloom again — The cloud of witnesses — The 
 loved ones of my childhood's days — The true Soldier of the Cross no 
 believer in second causes — E.xtravagant desires — Conflicts and trials — 
 Impatience and murmuring — The changed Cross — The bodies of the 
 saints — Abel and his harp — Sings the song of redeeming love — The faith 
 of the saints of old — The music of Heaven — Unspeakable happiness of 
 the redeemed — "I long to be there" — The Angels: their j^ower and 
 glory — The "house" of "many mansions" in full view — Home at last — 
 The meeting of death-divided friends — The Saviour's amazing love. 
 
 The grave becomes another and a holier thing to the 
 Christian family, after it has received its first inmate. 
 There is a kind relationship instituted, which tends to 
 remove the repulsion and estrangement which existed 
 before. Heaven has a new attraction to the Christian 
 wife, when it has become the home of her husband or 
 child. Eternity seems a warmer and more cheerful ob- 
 ject of thought, when it has been made a part of home 
 by the removal of part of the family to it. The thought 
 of regaining the companionship of those whom we loved 
 on earth, attaches time to eternity, and this life becomes 
 what it really is, a beginning, and part of another. Dear 
 friends are removed from sight, but they still live and 
 love. 
 
 (177) 
 
178 FAMILY BEEEAVEMENTS. 
 
 Ill the view of faith a Christian family never grows 
 less ; nor is its golden chain, though part of it lie under 
 the shadow, ever broken. The departure of those whom 
 we loved on earth, does for us what the departure of the 
 strangers from heaven did to the disciples on the mount 
 of transfiguration, — it leaves us alone with "Jesus only." 
 It turns into deep experience that longing for home con- 
 tained in the Apostle's words, " having a desire to depart 
 and be with Christ, which is far better." Why then 
 should Christian jiarents repine that Jesus takes their 
 " little ones" from their unsafe guardianship, and folds 
 them in the " everlasting Arms" forever ? But it is hard 
 to get any father or mother to subscribe to this Bible 
 doctrine ; they will not believe that a little one of theirs 
 has aught but a bright life before him. Children are 
 often the hands by which the parents take hold of 
 heaven. By these tendrils they grasp it and climb 
 thitherward. And why do they think they are separated 
 from them ? Ah, they never half knew them. " If the 
 rich man," says an able Christian writer, " in the regions 
 of the lost, asked that a messenger might be sent to his 
 •five brethren,' to warn them not to come to that place, 
 may we not with greater reason, believe that the blest 
 in Christ are equally anxious for the safe arrival there of 
 those that they have left behind ? Yes, they plead in the 
 silent eloquence of their love and loveliness." 
 
 Mr. Kirk, in his " Mother of the Wesleys," says, "Mrs. 
 Wesley's affection for her father was intense and constant. 
 She cherished liis memory and meditated upon his saintly 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS 179 
 
 character to hej- latest hour. Sometimes she felt a peculiar 
 nearness to him, as though she held converse with his as- 
 cended spirit. Her son John heard her say that she was 
 frequently as fully persuaded that her father was with her 
 as if she had seen him with her bodily eyes. She left her 
 statement without any explanation; but her real views may 
 be elicited from her writings. "When speaking of the mys- 
 terious noises at Epworth parsonage, she observes, "I am 
 rather inclined to think there would be frequent intercourse 
 between good spirits and us, did not our deep lapse into sen- 
 suality prevent it." (See Rom. viii. 7-13; 1 Cor. ix. 24- 
 27; 1 Pet. ii. 11; and 1 John ii. 15, IG.) The following 
 remarkable passage in her beautiful and masterly exposition 
 of the Apostles' Creed still more full}- explains her mean- 
 ing: — '• What knowledge the saints in heaven have of things 
 or persons in this world we cannot determine; nor after 
 what manner we hold communion with them, it is not, at 
 present, easy to conceive. That we are all members of the 
 same mystical body, Christ, we are very sure; and do all 
 partake of the same vital influence from the same Head, 
 and so we are united together. And, though we are not 
 actually possessed of the same happiness which they enjoy, 
 yet we have the same Holy Spirit given unto us as an 
 earnest of our eternal felicity with them hereafter. And 
 though their faith is consummated by vision, and their hope 
 by present possession, yet the bond of Christian charity still 
 remains. And as we have great joy and complacency in 
 their society, so, no doubt, they desire and pray for us." 
 Though not prepared to explain the manner in which 
 
180 FAiMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 the intercourse is carried on, Mrs, Wesley clearly held the 
 doctrine of spiritual communion with departed saints 
 This theory, so enchanting and soothing to those whose 
 friends have departed hence in the Lord, has been received 
 by many devout and able divines. There are also unmis- 
 takable indications that it was regarded with favor by Mrs. 
 AYesley's gifted sons. After Charles has sung his noble 
 hymns of triumph over tl^e exodus of some of his saintly 
 friends, he is not slow to tell us that, in his public and pri- 
 vate meditations, he felt communion with them. 
 
 It was John Wesley's constant custom to preach on All 
 Saints' Day — one of his favorite Church festivals — on 
 communion with the heavenly multitude. He declares also 
 that he many times realized such a sudden and lively appre- 
 hension of deceased friends that he turned round to look 
 if they were not actually and visibly present at his side, 
 and "an uncommon affection for them" sprung up in his 
 heart. In his dreams of the night he sometimes held 
 "conversations with them," and doubted not that "they 
 were very near." There is a striking illustration of one of 
 the "conversations" in the following passage from the Life 
 of Mrs. Fletcher: — "Last night I had a powerful sense, in 
 my sleep, of the presence of my dear husband. I felt such 
 sweet communion with his spirit as gave me much peaceful 
 feeling. I had for some days thought that I was called to 
 resist more than I did that strong and lively remembrance 
 of the various scenes, both of his last sickness and many 
 other circumstances which frequently occurred, with much 
 pain. This thought being present to my mind, I looked on 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 181 
 
 him. He said, with a sweet smile, ' It is better to forget.' 
 'What,' said I, 'my dear love, to forget one another?' He 
 replied, with inexpressible sweetness, ' It is better to forget. 
 It will not be long. We shall not be parted long. We 
 shall soon meet again.' He then signified, though not in 
 words, that all weights should be laid aside." 
 
 The Apostle Paul tells us that "The natural man re- 
 ceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are 
 foolishness unto him : neither can he know them, because 
 they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual 
 judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man." 
 (1 Cor. ii. 14, 15.) In another place, alluding to the glo- 
 ries of heaven, he says, "It is not expedient for me doubt- 
 less to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the 
 Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, 
 whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the 
 body I cannot tell; God knoweth: such a one caught up 
 to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, whether in 
 the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell; God knoweth: 
 how that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeak- 
 able words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of 
 such a one will I glory; yet of myself I will not glory, but 
 in mine infirmities. For though I would desire to glory, I 
 shall not be a fool ; for I will say the truth : but now I for- 
 bear, lest any man should think of me above that which he 
 seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me." 
 
 A certain dear soldier of the cross, speaking of his con- 
 flicts with Satan and his emissaries, says, " I was once so 
 severely tempted and tried, that I determined to give up 
 
182 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 the struggle and go back to tlie world. After the first 
 emotions of my grief were over, I fell asleep, and thought I 
 heard a voice, saying, ' Be thou faithful unto death, and I 
 will give thee a crown of life.' These words seemed to 
 encourage and strengthen me. I then fancied I heard 
 sweet melodious sounds, rising by degrees, until the region 
 round was filled with transporting harmony. In the height 
 of these agreeable agitations, as the rosy morning breaks 
 from a cloud, a most lovely Being stood before me. There 
 was something in his aspect so serene and beneficent, such 
 a heavenly sweetness and affability that banished every 
 thought of fear from my heart, and filled my breast with 
 divine tranquillity, and my soul with joy unspeakable and 
 full of glory. After a short pause, he began, with a 
 voice that would have allayed the anguish of death, and 
 charmed the wildest discord into calm attejition; every 
 accent breathed celestial love and harmony, while he de- 
 scribed the joys of his 'Father's house.' But it is impos- 
 sible to paint the beautiful ideas, or imitate the emphasis 
 of his language. All the powers of eloquence sat on his 
 tongue, and commanded all the motions of my soul, which 
 at that blissful period seemed enlarged in its superior facul- 
 ties. Every word was penetrating and significant, his 
 manner perfectly graceful and transporting. In his de- 
 scriptions I saw the glories, I felt the joys, of heaven. In 
 an instant the earth was lost to my view, the sun dimi- 
 nished to a star; innumerable worlds were passed with a 
 speed swifter than a morning ray; the pearly gates of hea- 
 ven now appeared, and at my Guide's command rolled back 
 
FAMILI IJEUEAVE.MENTS- 183 
 
 on their golden hinges. Oh, what glories were disclosed! 
 No language on earth can describe them. The very foun- 
 dation-walls of the city were garnished with all manner of 
 precious stones! Even the streets were })ure gold! 
 
 ''Passing from one scene of wonder to another, ardent to 
 pay my homage to my heavenly Father, I pressed forward 
 to the sacred throne. Oh, what amazing wonders! The 
 Supreme Benignity at once beamed forth on me I Oh, what 
 joy unspeakable filled my soul ! Lost in ecstasy, I fell 
 prostrate before my Sovereign; when, with accents that 
 breathed immortal joy and harmony, lie bade me rise to 
 perfect purity and bliss !_ A starry crown w^as placed 0:1 
 my head, and a golden harp in my hand. I then mingled 
 with the grand assembly, ten thousand times ten thousand, 
 and thousands of thousands — ransomed from all nations, 
 and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues; and with them 
 joined my grateful tribute of praise to Him whose suiFer- 
 ings and death had given me acceptance, victory, and life. 
 Here, with sweet melody, the delightful scene vanished. 
 I awoke at the imaginary music, and found it had left me 
 in a most heavenly state of mind." 
 
 I would not live alway; I ask not to stay 
 Where storm after storm rises dark o'er the way. 
 The few lurid mornings that dawn on us here 
 Are enough for life's joys, full enough for its cheer. 
 
 I would not live alway, — no: welcome the tomb I 
 Since Jesus hath lain there, I dread not its gloom : 
 There sweet be my rest till he bid me arise 
 To hail him in triumph descending the skies. 
 
18-i FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 Who, who would live alway, away from his God, — 
 Away from yon heaven, that blissful abode, 
 Where rivers of pleasure flow bright o'er the plains, 
 And the noontide of glory eternally reigns ? 
 
 There saints of all ages in harmony meet, 
 Their Saviour and brethren transported to greet; 
 While anthems of rapture unceasingly roll 
 And the smile of the Lord is the feast of the soul. 
 
 Oh, what happiness, what glories, await the faithful sol- 
 dier of Christ ! Oh, how various, how boundless, how trans- 
 porting will the prospect be! (See 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10; Isaiah 
 Ixiv, 4; and Rev. xxi. 7.) He does not fear death, for his 
 blessed Lord and Master has promised to go with him 
 through the dark valley. (Psalm xxiii. 4; Isaiah xliii. 2; 
 Hosea xiii. 14; 1 Cor. xv. 55.) He knows that he shall 
 soon be with the dear Christian friends who have "gone on 
 before," and sing songs of eternal praise unto Him that 
 loved him and washed him from his sins in His own blood." 
 (Rev. i. 5, 6; vii. 14; Matt. xxvi. 26-28.) 
 
 They only are rightly affected by the sufferings and death 
 of Christ who continue to be rightly affected by it. (G-al. 
 vi. 9; Heb. x. 35-39; Rev. ii. 10.) The thought of his 
 Saviour's crucifixion recurs to the faithful soldier of the 
 cross in all the various periods of his life ; and more par- 
 ticularly in every hour of trial, in every season of tempta- 
 tion, of provocation, of hardship, and of disgrace. (Isaiah 
 1. 6; 1 Cor. ii. 2; Hcb. xii. 1-4.) Is he sorrowful and 
 forsaken of all his friends? he thinks of the sorrows of his 
 Saviour. , (Isaiah liii. 3-12; Matt. xxvi. 38, 39, 50.) Is 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS, 185 
 
 he in pain, contradicted, reviled, and despised? he beholds 
 his Saviour wear'iig a crown of thorns, dressed in an old 
 purple robe, mocked, insulted, struck in the face, spit upon, 
 and then crucified between two thieves, having Barabbas, a 
 murderer, preferred before him ! (Matt. xxvi. 67, 68 ; xxvii. 
 20, 35; Psalm xxii. 16-18.) Does he meet with shameful 
 treatment in return for all his kindness and benevolence to 
 others? does nobody thank him, though he hya out his whole 
 life in trying to serve them ? he is cheered and kept from 
 sinking when he beholds his Saviour dying for his enemies. 
 
 Yes, the Redeemer left his throne, 
 
 His radiant throne on high, — 
 Surprising mercy! love unknown! — 
 
 To suffer, bleed, and die. 
 
 He took the dying traitor's place, 
 
 And suffered in his stead ; 
 For sinful man, — oh, wondrous grace ! — 
 
 For sinful man he bled. 
 
 Oh, for this love let rocks and hills 
 
 Their lasting silence break; 
 And all harmonious human tongues 
 
 The Saviour's praises speak. 
 
 Angels assist our mighty joys ; 
 
 Strike all your harps of gold ; 
 But when you raise your highest notes, 
 
 His love can n'er be told. 
 
 The anxiety on the part of the blest for the safety of 
 their relations and friends still on earth, is beautifully 
 illustrated by the case of a dying Indian mother, who, 
 
18(5 FAMILY BEREAVEMEXTS. 
 
 when her physician sought to restore her to the hope 
 and love of life, exclaimed : " No ! no I my children 
 recall me. I see them by the side of the Great Spirit. 
 They stretch out their arms to me, and are astonished 
 that I do not join them 1 
 
 "Hark! heard ye nut a sound 
 Sweeter than wild-bird's note, or minstrel's lay ? 
 I know that music well, for night and day 
 I hear it echoing round. 
 
 "It is the tuneful chime 
 Of spirit voices! — 'tis my infant band 
 Calling the mourner from this darkened land 
 To Joy's unclouded clime. 
 
 '* My beautiful, my blest ! 
 I see them there, by the Great Spirit's throne; 
 With winning words, and fond, beseeching tone 
 They woo me to my rest." 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Chalmers writes beautifully on this sub- 
 ject ; and though the style is somewhat peculiar, the 
 Christian reader will not fail to understand it: "This 
 affords, we think, something more than a dubious glimpse 
 into the question that is often put by a distracted mother 
 when her babe is taken away from her, — when all the 
 converse it ever had^with the world amounted to the 
 gaze upon it of a few months, or a few opening smiles, 
 which marked the dawn of felt enjoyment; and ere it 
 reached, perhaps, the lips of infancy, it, all unconscious 
 of death,- had to wrestle through a period of sickness with 
 its power, and at length to be overcome by it. ! it 
 little knew what an interest it had created in that home 
 
FAMILY BEllEAVEMKXTS. 187 
 
 where it was 80 passing a visitant, — nor, when carried 
 to its early grave, what a tide of emotion it would raise 
 among the few acquaintances it had left behind it! And 
 should any parent wno hears us, feel softened by the 
 touching remembrance of a light that twinkled a few 
 short days or months under his roof, and at the end of 
 its little period expired, we cannot think that we venture 
 too far when we say, that he has only to persevere in 
 the faith and in following the Gospel, and that very 
 light will again shine upon him in heaven. The blossom 
 which withered here upon its stalk, has been trans- 
 planted there to a place of endurance ; and there it will 
 then gladden that eye Avhich now weeps out the agony 
 of an affection that has been sorely wounded ; and in the 
 name of Him who, if on earth, would have wept along 
 with them, do we bid all believing parents to ' sorrow 
 not even as others which have no hope,' " (1 Thes. iv. 
 13 ; Prov. xiv. 32,) " but take comfort in the thought of 
 that ' country' where there is no sorrow and no separa- 
 tion." 
 
 The belief that we are to recognize our friends in 
 heaven, and associate with them for ever there, with the 
 full remembrance of the past, throws the sublimity of 
 eternity over our Christian efforts to establish each other 
 in the faith and in the divine life. Every song which 
 the redeemed in glory sing, commemorating in the praises 
 of eternity the finished w^ork of Jesus and the efficacy of 
 his shed blood, shows that they have a remembrance of 
 the past, that they are in full possession of the faculty 
 
133 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 of memory. Hence tliose ascriptions of praise to Jesus 
 which they raise before the throne : " Thou wast shiin, 
 and hast redeemed us to (Jod by thy blood, out of every 
 kindred and tongue, and people and nation." '" Salvation 
 to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the 
 Lamb." Can the glorified forget what they read in 
 their Bibles about the shedding of Christ's blood upon 
 earth, as they stand with Jesus in white upon the hill of 
 the heavenly Zion ? Do those who stood with the Apos- 
 tle John upon the hill of Calvary, and who saw the 
 blood of Immanuel crimsoning the cross, now forget 
 what they beheld there ? Do all in heaven forget the 
 means which the God of their salvation used through 
 the agency of the Holy Spirit to apply to their consciences 
 and hearts the blood of atonement ? 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Berg, speaking of the recognition of our 
 Christian friends in heaven, says, " Go where we will 
 we find the sentiment, that friendship is perpetuated be- 
 yond the grave. It is enshrined in the heart of our com- 
 mon humanity. The pure unsophisticated belief of the 
 vast majority of mankind is in union with the yearnings 
 of natural affection, which follows its object through the 
 portals of the- grave into the eternal world. AVhat but 
 this causes the Christian parent, in the dying hour, to 
 charge his children to prepare for a reunion before the 
 throne of the Lamb ? He desires to meet them there, 
 and to rejoice with them in the victory over sin and 
 death. Tell me, ye Christian parents, who have seen 
 the open tomb receive into its bosom the sacred trust 
 16 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 180 
 
 fonunittc'd to its keeping, in hope of the first resurrec- 
 tion, was not that consolation the strongest which 
 assured you that the departed one, whom God has put 
 from you into darkness, will run to meet you, when you 
 cross the threshhold of immortality. We have lost them 
 for a time, but they have not lost us. As they have 
 gone higher, they have capacities and privileges which 
 we, who are still beneath them, have not; and this may 
 extend to a constant oversight and interest in us. The 
 Old Testament saints are represented as " a cloud of 
 witnesses" around us, like the crowd which bent down 
 from all sides upon the race-ground in the Olympic games. 
 According to this allasion of the Apostle, they are around 
 us, not merely as examples, but interested spectators. 
 In like manner, we have reason, and also intimations of 
 Scripture, to confirm us in the belief that our sainted 
 friends are bending an interesting eye of love over us in 
 all our earthly pilgrimage. Angels are the constant com- 
 panions of the blest in heaven ; and they are also upon 
 earth, " ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them 
 w^ho shall be heirs of salvation," 
 
 Oh, ye departed spirits of my sires, 
 
 And ye, the loved ones of my childhood's days, 
 While now I look on yonder heavenly fires, 
 Methinks I hear you tune your seraph lyres, 
 Methinks I see yon bend your pitying gaze 
 On him who still must tread alone earth's gloomy maze! 
 
 Thou angel spirit, who so oft didst sing 
 
 My infant cares to sleep upon thy breast. 
 Let me but hear the rustling of thy wing. 
 Around thy child its guardian influence fling! 
 
10) FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 Uh. come tliou from the island of the blest. 
 And bear my weai'y soul up to tliy sainted rest! 
 
 Can we forget departed friends ? x\h, no ! 
 
 Within our hearts their memoi-y buried lies; 
 
 The thought that where they are, we too shall go, 
 
 Will cast a light o'er darkest scenes of wo ; 
 For to their own blest dwellings in the skies, 
 The souls whom Christ sets free exultingly shall rise. 
 
 As God is to be regarded both as an aftectionate father 
 and righteous judge, so affliction is presented in Scrip- 
 ture in two lights, in each of which it is compatible with 
 the most perfect benevolence in the divine mind. It is 
 there represented as being partly penal, and partly cor- 
 rective ; while in both it is declared to be the effect of 
 sin. In neither case is it the spontaneous infliction of 
 One who delights in suffering for its own sake ; but the 
 result of principles from which no wise father, or judge, 
 will ever depart. A good father cannot apply the rod 
 to his children for his own pleasure, but only for their 
 profit. Can God then intend the infliction for evil ? Can 
 He who sent his beloved Son to die for us take plea- 
 sure in our misery ? Far be the thought from our minds. 
 Are you a father, and do you feel the tender yearnings 
 of paternal affection ? say, then, did you ever take the 
 rod into 3^our hand from a pleasure you felt in torment- 
 ing your children ? Did the smart it produced ever yield 
 you gratification ? Nay, did you not feel more pain than 
 you inflicted ? Yet you felt it to be imperative not to 
 spare the rod. The infliction was not the result of arbi- 
 trary power, or of a deficiency of kindness, but the evi- 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 191 
 
 donee, the expression of love. It was dictated by affec- 
 tion and a concern for the welfare of your children. You 
 discovered in them evils which required to be corrected, 
 and to have neglected the proper exercise of discipline 
 would have been as ruinous to their interests, as dishon- 
 orable to your own character. Chastisement is not less the 
 effect of God's parental love ; and the conclusion is so 
 much the more decisive, inasmuch as the fathers of our 
 flesh are sinful, whereas God is absolutely and infinitely 
 perfect. He knows the exact measure of discipline of 
 which the Christian soldier stands in need, and the pro- 
 per time of applying it. 
 
 It is shocking to a true Christian soldier, to hear those 
 who profess to love God, aggravate their trials, and 
 debase their profession, by looking back to this and that 
 and the other circumstance and dwelling upon that as 
 what gave rise to the whole train of misfortunes and 
 afflictions. And yet all the while these murmurers say 
 they believe in God's purposes and decrees, and that he 
 worketh all things after the counsel of his will ! How 
 far is this beneath the Christian ! Have a care of your 
 thoughts, of your w^ords ; insubordination slips in at the 
 door before one is aware. " It is well," is the only soul- 
 quickening response to God's voice of affliction. There 
 is wisdom seen in making contraries work together for 
 good. That which is now your burden might have been 
 your ruin. 
 
 We may puzzle ourselves about instruments and second 
 causes, but no rest can we have, till we are led to the 
 First. "He performeth the thing appointed for me." 
 
192 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 That settles the soul, but nothing else will do it. Job 
 was well convinced of this truth when he said, "Afflic- 
 tions Cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble 
 spring out of the ground." Job v. 6 ; Amos iii. 6. "Be 
 still, and know that I am God." Psalm xlvi. 10 ; Pro v. 
 XX. 24 ; Jer. x. 23, 24. There is nothing in which Chris- 
 tians show a more unchristian spirit, and yet few sins 
 beset them more easily, than an anxious concern and 
 fretful care about some outward things which have in 
 themselves no power to do good or evil, otherwise than 
 as instruments in God's hand to attain his appointed 
 end. Shall we quarrel with the sword because it suffered 
 itself to be drawn. Isaiah x. 15. There is no such 
 thing as " chance," as it regards God ; for not even a 
 sparrow falls to the ground without his will. Luke xii. 6 ; 
 Matt. X. 29. "The lot is thrown into the lap, but the 
 whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." Prov. xvi. 33. 
 Let the chain of second causes be ever so long, the first 
 link is always in God's hand. "Thus saith the Lord, 
 thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord 
 thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth 
 thee by the way that thou shouldest go." 
 
 The following lines will help young soldiers of the 
 cross to a more perfect understanding of these passages 
 of Scripture :— 
 
 THE CHANGED CROSS. 
 
 It was a time of sadness, and my heart, 
 Although it knew and loved the better part, 
 Felt wearied with the conflict and the strife, 
 And all the needed discipline of life. 
 16* 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 193 
 
 And while I thought on these, as given to me, 
 My trial tests of faith and love to be, 
 It seemed as if I never could be sure 
 That faithful to the end I should endure. 
 
 And thus, no longer trusting to his might 
 Who says, " We walk by faith and not by sight," 
 Doubting, and almost yielding to despair, 
 The thought arose — My cross I cannot bear ! 
 
 Far heavier its weight must surely be 
 Than those of others which I daily see ; 
 Oh, if I might another burden choose, 
 Methinks I should not fear my crown to lose. 
 
 A solemn silence reigned on all around, 
 E'en nature's voices uttered not a sound, 
 The evening shadows seemed of peace to tell, 
 And sleep upon my weary spirit fell. 
 
 A moment's pause — and then a heavenly light 
 Beamed full upon my wondering, raptured sight, 
 Angels on silvery wings seemed everywhere, 
 And angels' music thrill'd the balmy air. 
 
 Then One more fair than all the rest to see. 
 One to whom all the others bow'd the knee, 
 Came gently to me as I trembling lay, 
 And— "Follow Me," he said, "I am the Way." 
 
 Then speaking thus, He led me far above, 
 And there beneath a canopy of love, 
 Crosses of divers shape and size were seen, 
 Larger and smaller than mine own had been. 
 
 And one there was most beauteous to behold, 
 A little one, a little one with jewels set in gold- 
 Ah, this, methought, I can with comfort wear. 
 For it will be an easy one to bear. 
 
 And so the little cross I quickly took, 
 But all at once my frame beneath it shook; 
 The sparkling jewels, fair were they to see, 
 But far too heavy was their weight to me. 
 17 
 
194 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 This may not be, I cried — and looked again 
 To see if any there could ease my pain ; 
 But one by one I passed them slowly by, 
 Till on a lovely one I cast my eye. 
 
 Fair flowers around its sculptur'd form entwin'd, 
 And grace and beauty seemed in it combin'd ; 
 Wondering, I gazed, and still I wonder'd more 
 To think so many should have pass'd it o'er. 
 
 But oh, that form so beautiful to see. 
 Soon made its hidden sorrows known to me : — 
 Thorns lay beneath those flowers and colors fair; 
 Sorrowing I said, — This cross I may not bear. 
 
 And so it was with each and all around, 
 
 Not one to suit my need could there be found ; 
 
 Weeping, I laid each heavy burden down, 
 
 As my guide gently said, "No cross, no crown." 
 
 At length to Him I raised my saddened heart ; 
 He knew its sorrows, bid its doubts depart : 
 "Be not afraid," He said, "but trust in me, 
 My perfect love shall now be shown to thee." 
 
 And then, with lighten' d eyes and willing feet, 
 Again I turn'd my earthly cross to meet. 
 With forward footsteps turning not aside, 
 For fear some hidden evil might betide. 
 
 And there, in the prepar'd, appointed way, 
 Listening to hear and ready to obey, 
 A cross I quickly found of plainest form, 
 With only words of love inscribed thereon. 
 
 With thankfulness I raised it from the rest 
 And joyfully acknowledged it the best, 
 The only one of all the many there, 
 That I could feel was good for me to bear. 
 
 And while I thus my chosen one confess'd, 
 I saw a heavenly brightness on it rest, 
 And as I bent my burden to sustain, 
 I recognized my own old cross again ! 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 195 
 
 But oh, how different did it seem to be, 
 Now 1 had learned its preciousness to see. 
 No longer could I unbelieving say — 
 Perhaps another is a better way. 
 
 Ah, no ! henceforth my one desire shall be, 
 That He who knows me best shall choose for me; 
 And so, whate'er his love sees good to send, 
 I'll trust it's best — because he knows the end. 
 
 Alas ! how unworthily we bear the name of Christians, 
 when that which carried the forefathers of our faith 
 through their fiery trials can not support us under the 
 disappointment of any extravagant desire ! They had 
 such a "respect to the recompense of the reward" as 
 made them cheerfully expose their fame to ignominy, 
 their goods to rapine, their bodies to exquisite tortures, 
 and their lives to death. Heb. xi. 4-38 ; x. 34 ; 1 Cor. ii. 
 9, 10; Isaiah Ixiv. 4. Yet the same hope cannot work 
 us to any tolerable degree of patience, when we. suffer 
 but the smallest diminution of any of these! What 
 shall we say ? Is heaven grown less valuable, or earth 
 more than it was then? Ah, no; but we are more in- 
 fatuated in oQr estimates. Like Jonah, we sit down 
 sullenly upon the withering of a gourd, never consider- 
 ing that God has provided a better shelter, " a building 
 of God eternal in the heavens." 2 Cor. v. 1 ; John xiv. 
 2, 3. Indeed, there can be no affliction or temporal 
 destitution so great which such an expectation can not 
 make supportable. "Beloved," says the Apostle Peter, 
 " think it not strange, concerning the fiery trial which is 
 to try vou, as though some strange thing happened unto 
 
196 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 you : but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's 
 sufferings; that when his glory shall be revealed, ye 
 may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached 
 for the name of Christ, happy are ye ; for the Spirit of 
 glory and of God resteth upon you. On their i):irt he is 
 evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." Again, 
 " For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your 
 faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do 
 well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is accept- 
 able with God. For even hereunto were ye called: 
 because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, 
 that we should follow in his steps: who did no sin, 
 neither was guile found in his mouth : who, when he 
 was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he 
 threatened not; but committed himself to Him that 
 judgeth righteously : who his own self bare our sins in 
 his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, 
 should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye 
 were healed." 1 Peter ii. 20-24 ; Isaiah liii. 3-12. '' Yea, 
 and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer 
 persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax 
 worse, deceiving, and being deceived." 
 
 St. Paul, speaking of certain " visions and revelations 
 of the Lord," says: "Most gladly therefore will I rather 
 glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may 
 rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, 
 in reproaches, in necessities, in persecution, in distresses 
 for Christ's sake : for when I am weak, then am I 
 strong." 2 Cor. xii. 9, 10; 1 Cor. ix. 26, 27; Isaiah xl. 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 197 
 
 29-31. "For unto you it is given in the behalf of 
 Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for 
 his sake ; having the same conflict which ye saw in me, 
 and now hear to be in me." Phil. i. 29, 30 ; Eph. vi. 12 ; 
 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8 ; Rev. xxi. 7. 
 
 With regard to the nature of that change which the 
 bodies of the saints shall experience at the resurrection, 
 the apostle Paul informs us that they shall be raised, in- 
 corruptible, glorious, powerful, and spiritual. 1 Cor. xv. 
 42-58. They shall be raised in glory. It is sown in dis- 
 honor, it shall be raised in glory, and be fashioned like 
 unto the glorious body of the Redeemer. Phil. iii. 21. 
 The glorified body of Christ will be the model after 
 which the bodies of the saints will be fashioned ; and 
 we know that when Christ appeared to the apostles, on 
 the mount of transfiguration, in his glorified body, "his 
 face did shine as the sun, and his raiment became white 
 and glistening." The bodies of the saints, freed from 
 every deformity and decrepitude to which they were sub- 
 ject in this present sinful state, will then appear arrayed 
 in all the vigor and bloom of perpetual youth, a sweet 
 and heavenly lustre will beam from their countenances; 
 and a glory inexpressible, and suited to their high and 
 exalted condition, will surround them. 
 
 Abel was the first human being whose body found a 
 
 grave on earth, — the first whose spirit found a home in 
 
 heaven. He was there alone ; yet not lonely, for though 
 
 of men, he was not without society. Those "sons of 
 
 God," who "shouted for joy" when earth's foundations 
 17* 
 
198 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 were laid, and wheu man was created in the Divine 
 image to be its occupant, exulted with a new delight on 
 receiving amongst them the first fruits of the scheme of 
 redeeming mercy. 
 
 Alone he seems, and chants apart, 
 
 In unexpected notes, 
 A music, where the grateful heart 
 
 In strains of feeling floats : 
 A beauteous soul! whose seraph brow 
 
 Is bright with glory's hue, — 
 Lo ! angels pause to hear him now 
 
 Their harping praise outdo. 
 
 45- * * * -X- 
 
 With such a burst of whelming love 
 
 As earth's first martyr sang, — 
 When, glory to the Lord above ! 
 
 The voice of Abel rang. 
 Angelic harps their key-note found 
 
 In God as great and good. 
 But Abel's heart did beat and bound 
 
 As only sinner's could. 
 
 ** Worthy the Lamb who shall be slain ;* 
 
 Redemption crowns my song ; 
 Ye seraphim, your notes retain. 
 
 But these to me belong!" 
 
 * It was Christ who appeared to Abraham. It was Christ who 
 wrestled with Jacob. It was Christ who led Israel out of Egypt, 
 and by the hands of Moses and Aaron, conducted the people to 
 the promised land. It was Christ, who, before he came in the 
 flesh, appeared in these early ages to the Church as her guardian 
 and her God. St. Paul distinctly charges the host in the desert 
 with having tempted Christ. "Neither," says he, "let us tempt 
 Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of ser- 
 pents." The benefits of Christ's death were enjoyed before he 
 died ; the legacies of the Will were paid before the demise of the 
 Testator ; for the saints, who lived in the days that preceded his 
 advent, were received to glory, if we may so speak, upon his bond, 
 his promise to pay. 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. lUO 
 
 Thus might the primal soul who came 
 
 Forth from its bleeding clay, 
 Kindle the heavens with His bright name 
 
 Who is our Truth and Way, 
 
 And with that song of glory blent 
 
 An humbling depth of tone, 
 Which to the ransom'd harper lent 
 
 A music all its own. 
 
 Angels for bliss and being sang 
 
 Their ecstucies on high ; 
 But how the heavens with wonder rang 
 
 When man awoke the sky ! 
 
 But even as a human spirit, Abel was not long alone ; 
 millions of the redeemed sons and daughters of earth are 
 with him now ; and the company is every day in- 
 creasing. There are the patriarchs and prophets. Abra- 
 ham, Isaac, and Jacob are there ; and David, " the sweet 
 singer of Israel" is among them. O how sweet their 
 songs! how bright their crowns! Dan. xii. 3; Mai. iii. 
 17; Matt. xiii. 43. what inexpressible rapture there 
 must be in that music where the instruments are of the 
 manufacture of "the Lord of glory" himself! and where 
 every voice is a million times richer and sweeter than 
 that of the sweetest and most skilful singer of earth I 
 " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered 
 into the heart of man," the happiness and glory of that 
 company. 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10 ; Isaiah Ixiv. 4. Sickness, sor- 
 row, and death never enter there ; cares, fears, and anxieties 
 are never felt there ; poverty, privation, and disappoint- 
 ment are never known there. There no idol temples pol- 
 lute the groves and mountain-tops. There no spirit of 
 
200 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 horror broods over ancient battle-fields. There no frightful 
 Golgothas, or places of skulls, waken up remembrances of 
 associations of guilt and death. There no dark spirits rule 
 the air, or dwell amid desolations and tombs. There no 
 ground which once drank the blood of martyrs, or of God's 
 uwn Son. There no serpents hiss under the tree of life, 
 or bruise the heel of those white-robed ones that stray by 
 the fountains of living water. There no foul worms creep 
 forth from the heart of ripening fruit, and no poisonous, 
 softly stealing death revels on the cheek of beauty. Bright, 
 pure, and blessed "country." 
 
 blissful scene ! — where sever'd hearts 
 
 Renew the ties most cherish'd, — 
 Where nought tlie mourn'd and mourner parts, — 
 
 Where grief with life is perish'd. 
 Oh, nought do I desire so well 
 As here to die, and there to dwell ! 
 
 No cloud ever darkens the sky of that blessed world ; 
 no tempest disturbs the air. Here, the flowers fade with 
 a touch ; but there, beneath a brighter Sun and in a nobler 
 soil, the trees flourish in perpetual verdure, the leaves 
 never wither, the flowers never fade, and every month pro- 
 duces its perfect fruit. And, what is still better, there 
 shall be no more sin. (Rev. xxi. 27; xxii. 15.) "And 
 there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, 
 neither shall there be any more pain ; for the former things 
 are passed away." (Rev. xxi. 4.) " And there shall be no 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 201 
 
 night there ; and they need no candle, neither light of the 
 sun ; for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall 
 rei2;n forever and ever." 
 
 'S" 
 
 " happy country I where 
 
 There entereth not a sin; 
 And Death, who keeps its portals fair, 
 
 May never once come in. 
 No grief can change their day to night ; 
 The darkness of that land is light: 
 Sorrow and sighing God has sent 
 Far thence to endless banishment. 
 And never more may one dark tear 
 
 Bedim their burning skies ; 
 For every one they shed while here, 
 
 In fearful agonies, 
 Glitters a bright and dazzling gem 
 In their immortal diadem," 
 
 0, what a revelation I — The map of time disclosed, 
 and every little rill of sorrow, every river of trouble will 
 be seen to have been flowing heavenward. — every " rough 
 blast" to have been sending the bark nearer the heavenly 
 shore. (Isaiah xlviii. 17; John xiii. 7.) 0, what a 
 meeting there of Christian parents and their Christian 
 children, of Christian brothers and sisters, and death- 
 divided Christian friends I what mutual gratulations I what 
 happiness ! and, 0, what joy unspeakable to see Jesus, 
 and get their warmest welcome from the lips of Him who 
 redeemed thciu with his own blood ! and in the aironies of 
 
202 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 His cross, suffered for them more than a mother's pangs, — 
 " the travail of His soul !" 
 
 Stupendous love ! 
 Can man for this ungrateful prove, 
 Jesus, the Saviour! what rebellious knee 
 Would not a ready homage pay to Thee? 
 
 The martyrs' glorious train, 
 Thy noble votaries of old, 
 In records of immortal fame enroU'd, 
 Wore on their breasts inscribed Thy mighty name. 
 By this with sacred fortitude inspired. 
 With heavenly zeal and transport fired. 
 They ran upon the pointed spear 
 
 And leap'd into the flame ; 
 Nor death could in a shape appear 
 But what with open ai'ms they met, 
 Despising all that rage could "do, or proudest tyrant's threats. 
 Not hell itself their constancy could shake ; 
 Its deepest stratagems they brake. 
 Its wildest fury trampled down. 
 And seized with conqu'ring hands the everlasting crown. 
 "Jesus! " the signal for the fight they chose, 
 And gave a glorious onset to their foes. 
 In vain the powers of earth and hell oppose. 
 "Jesus! our conqu'ring chief!" they cried; 
 "Jesus!" aloud the surrounding skies replied. 
 
 Exalted Name I 
 From Thee the burning seraphs catch their flame. 
 Jesus the God! 'tis they alone can tell 
 What treasures in that title dwell. 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 2Uo 
 
 You happy spirits, that feel its emphasis, 
 By this you stand confirmed in bliss. 
 And know what boundless joys are stored 
 
 In this important word. 
 The glorious subject only suits 
 The high-toned notes of your immortal lutes. 
 
 Then join the choir, 
 You bright musicians of the skies, 
 And, with a well-proportion'd fire. 
 Instruct us how to rise. 
 Let your bless'd harps the imperfect lay prolong, 
 Complete the bold design, and close th' adveut'rous song. 
 
 The world has nothing to entertain the faithful soldier 
 of Christ. (1 John ii. 15, 16; Philipp. iii. 7, 8; Psalni 
 Ixxiii. 25, 26.) Death has no terrors for him. (1 Cor. xv. 
 56, 57; Rev. xiv. 13; Job xix. 25-27; Psalm xxiii. 4; 
 Isaiah ii. 10; Ivii. 1, 2.) The language of his heart is, 
 " O Thou whom unseen I love, by what powerful influence 
 dost Thou attract my soul ? Thou dwellest in the heights 
 of glory to which no human voice can soar, and yet Thou 
 art more near and dear to me than any of the objects of 
 sense." (John xiv. 21-23; 1 Cor. vi. 19; 2 Cor. vi. 16; 
 xiii. 5; Rev. iii. 20 ; Cant. v. 1, 2.) " Oh, where could I 
 be happy remote from Thee ? I love the brethren, — T love 
 my Christian friends; but T love Thee more than all. 'I 
 will arise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in 
 the broad ways I will seek Him whom my soul loveth. I 
 sought Him ; but I found Him not. The watchmen that 
 
204 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 go about the city found me : to whom I said, Saw ye Him 
 whom my soul loveth ? It was but a little that I passed 
 from them, but I found Him whom my soul loveth : I held 
 Him, and would not let Him go, until I had brought Him 
 into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that 
 conceived me.' ' I sat down under His shadow with great 
 delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste.' my Be- 
 loved ! ' sweet is Thy voice, and Thy countenance is 
 comely.' ' My Beloved is mine ! and I am His !' ^ I 
 sleep, but my heart waketh : it is the voice of my Beloved 
 that knocketh.' Adieu to all human things! Welcome 
 unutterable delight ! All hail ! ye joys unspeakable and 
 full of glory ! Compared to you, what are worldly plea- 
 sures ? what is all that men of the world call happiness ? 
 Vanish, ye terrestrial scenes ! fly away, ye vain objects of 
 sense ! break my fetters, for I must be gone V 
 
 Hold on faith : it is but a little while, and your work 
 will be at an end ; but a few more hours, days, or years, 
 and your sighs and tears shall be converted into everlast- 
 ing hallelujahs ; but a few more steps, and the journey of 
 life will be finished. In that happy " moment," the faith- 
 ful soldier of the cross shall be freed from temptation, sin, 
 and sorrow. He "shall obtain joy and gladness, and sor- 
 row and sighing shall flee away." (Isaiah xxxv. 10.) 
 His sun shall no more go down ; neither shall his moon 
 withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be his everlasting light, 
 and the days of his mourning shall be ended. (Isaiah Ix. 
 20.) In that happy day, the redeemed might well ex- 
 claim, — 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 205 
 
 "Glory to God, all our dangers are o'er; 
 We stand secure on the glorified shore; 
 Glory to God, we will shout evermore. 
 We're home at last, home at last." 
 
 The faithful soldier of the cross does not fear the grave ; 
 because his Saviour has promised He will never leave nor 
 forsake him. (Heb. xiii. 5; Psalm xxiii. 4.) He takes 
 hold of His strength. (Isaiah xxvii. 5; xl. 29-31.) The 
 breakers will perhaps run mountains high as he goes over 
 the bar; but he does not fear, because Jesus is at the helm. 
 The next wave will float him far beyond the trials and con- 
 flicts of earth. In that blessed " moment" all his labors 
 and sufferings shall close in the everlasting enjoyment of 
 the wealth, the glories, and the joys of his "Father's 
 house." He shall then ''see the King in His beauty; he 
 shall behold the land that is very far off"." (Isaiah xxxiii. 
 17.) In that day the Lord will rejoice over him with joy; 
 He will rest in his love ; He will joy over him with sing- 
 ing, and wipe away all tears from his eyes. (Zeph. iii. 17; 
 Rev. xxi. 4.) In that blessed land, '' the inhabitant shall 
 not say, I am sick" (Isaiah xxxiii. 24 ; Rev. xxi. 4) ; there 
 the eye of the patriarch shall never grow dim again ; there 
 Jacob shall no longer halt, and Lazarus retain no traces of 
 his maladies. No mortal ever conceived of a form so 
 .beautiful and glorious as shall then belong to the saint 
 whose body was the most unlovely and misshapen here ; 
 for it will "be fashioned like unto His glorious body," — 
 '• not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing." O how 
 
206 FAiMILY BEREAVExMENTS. 
 
 dazzling ! how divinely fair ! what inexpressible pleasure 
 in every smile ! 
 
 There the blood-washed millions shall join with che- 
 rubim and seraphim, angels and archangels, thrones and 
 dominions, principalities and powers, to sweep the loud- 
 strung lyre, and roll the melodious anthem along the tide 
 of everlasting ages. Whatever can give delight, whatever 
 can satisfy the soul in all the boundless capacities of joy, 
 will be there. Never did the eyelids of the morning open 
 on such perfection; never did the sun, since first it jour- 
 neyed through the skies, behold such beauty; nor can 
 human fimcy, in its most inspired flights, conceive such 
 glories. Christianity describes them by pronouncing them 
 indescribable. She declares that " Eye hath not seen, nor 
 ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the 
 things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 
 
 The biographer of Dr. Gordon, speaking of his near ap- 
 proach to death, says, " On awaking after a long sleep, he 
 took the writer's hand, and, grasping it tenderly, said, ' I 
 feel I am hastening away very ropidly to-day. that 
 blessed Saviour ! How I love Ilim ! Preach Him fre- 
 quently, Newman ! Speak of that blessed Book. I must 
 have more of it — read more chapters in John.' " To an- 
 other friend, who expressed surprise at witnessing such 
 composure, he replied, " Confidence in Christ conveys vigor 
 to my heart. Without Him I should be weak indeed. 
 Attribute nothing of it to me. The man who hopes to be 
 saved by his own works, will have no peace of mind. He 
 must think of himself as nothing." (1 Cor. viii. 2, 3; 
 
FAMILY IJEREAVEMENTS. 207 
 
 Luke xvii. 10.) To the Agent and Secretary of the Tem- 
 perance Society, who told him how deeply he would be 
 regretted in the town, he replied, " I wish to live in the 
 affectionate remembrance of my friends ; but I wish them 
 to have the same enjoyment, and they can only have it by 
 seeking Christ." In conversation with his family, he said, 
 "How can I help loving Him? I seem to see Him with 
 His heavenly countenance smiling on me now. He has 
 pardoned me, washed me, clothed me. I feel I could not 
 rebel against Him. What are men about when, with such 
 a theme, they can preach such sermons as many of them 
 deliver ! There are not only joys to come, but joys in this 
 world. Having Him so near as a companion," (John xiv. 
 21-23; 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20; 2 Cor. xiii. 5; Colos. i. 27; 1 
 John iv. 4; Rev. iii. 20; Cant. v. 1, 2,) "it takes from 
 us evil thoughts, an>bition, and avarice. He says, ' If ye 
 love iMe, keep my commandments.' And what are His 
 commandments ? Not grievous. There was He seeking me 
 out first, and not I seeking Him ! And whence came this? 
 By grace we are saved through faith; and not of ourselves: 
 it is the gift of God. (Eph. ii. 8.) Oh, think of Christ. 
 How can any one think of himself?" 
 
 Another friend remarked, " I remember once thinking 
 it folly to talk of being born again. I knew not what it 
 meant." To this remark Dr. Gordon replied, " But we 
 know now\ It is the strong conviction of the truth of 
 Christianity which gives me peace and blessedness. It 
 has changed my whole nature." The same friend con- 
 tinued, "John Newton, when entangled by skepticism. 
 
208 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 resolved to test the truth of Christianity by seeking the 
 Divine influence promised in answer to prayer, arguing 
 that, if religion were true, the result of such seeking 
 would be the evidence of it." " That is the argument/' 
 said Dr. Gordon, " which weighs with me. No mere rea- 
 son of man could have written the Bible. Reason may 
 find fault with it, but could not have made it. 0, it is 
 a Book ! Bead every word of it, and believe it just as it 
 is." By his own request, the Lord's Supper was adminis- 
 tered in his room. The beautiful hymn of Dr. Watts was 
 sung : 
 
 " There is a land of pure delight, 
 
 Where saints immortal reign ; 
 Infinite day excludes the night, 
 
 And pleasures banish pain." 
 
 " He then took a most tender farewell of his afflicted 
 wife. To his daughter, who bent over him in great dis- 
 tress, he said, with inexpressible tenderness, ' Bless thee, 
 my child !' ' You love me still, father ?' ' Yes, dearly !' 
 He then opened his hand, which had now almost lost its 
 power of motion, for the purpose of receiving hers, which 
 he tenderly pressed, together with that of the writer. This 
 was the last act. After a pause, he said suddenly, but not 
 without considerable effort, ' Bring them all in, — every- 
 body !' Increased difficulty of breathing was the only dis- 
 tressing symptom. He appeared no longer conscious of 
 what took place around him. He gazed upward, as in 
 rapt vision. No film overspread his eyes. They beamed 
 with an unwonted lustre, and the whole countenance, 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 2()0 
 
 losing the aspect of disease antl pain, with which \vc had 
 been so lon^^ familiar, glowed with an expression of inde- 
 scribable rapture. As we watched in silent wonder and 
 praise, his features, which had become motionless, suddenly 
 yielded for a few seconds to a smile i»f ecsta.sy, which no 
 pencil could ever depict, and which none who witnessed it 
 can ever forget. And when it passed away, still the whole 
 countenance continued to beam and brighten, as if reflect- 
 ing the glory upon which he was gazing." (See Exodus 
 xxxiv. 29, 30; Psahn xxxvi. 9; Isaiah 1. 10, and Acts vi. 
 15.) 
 
 " We saw," continues his biographer, " as much as mor- 
 tal eye could see of the entrance of a soul into glory. 
 Nothing more could have been given us, but the actual 
 vision of the separate spirit and its angelic convoy. This 
 glorious spectacle lasted for about a quarter of an hour, — 
 increasing in interest to the last, — during which the soul 
 seemed to be pouring itself forth from the frail tenement 
 which had imprisoned it, into the embrace of its blessed 
 Lord. The breathing now became shorter and shorter; 
 then, after a long pause, one last, gentle heaving of the 
 chest, and without a struggle the soul had fled. Was this 
 dying? All present felt that their departed friend had 
 never been more emphatically alive. * **>};* ^k 
 There was grief, but no gloom, in that chamber. The 
 glory of heaven seemed to illuminate it." 
 
 His biographer further observes, " I never saw a more 
 decided instance of a person casting away his own right- 
 eousness, and trampling it under foot. Christ was every 
 
210 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 thing to him ; while the breathings of his soul after holi- 
 ness and sanctification of the Ugly Spirit were intense and 
 fervent. To his entire dependence upon his Saviour's 
 merits may be attributed, under God, his uninterrupted 
 enjoyment of spiritual consolation all through his illness. 
 His experience stood out to view as a living elucidation of 
 that beautiful passage of Scripture — ' Thou shalt keep 
 him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because 
 he trustcth in Thee.' " 
 
 Equally happy was the death-bed scene of the Rev. Dr. 
 Payson, referred to in Chapter 4, p. 91. The following 
 additional particulars arc gleaned from his biography: — 
 To the question, '^Do you feel yourself reconciled?" he 
 replied, "0, that is too cold. I rejoice, I triumph; and 
 this happiness will endure as long as God Himself: for it 
 consists in admiring and adoring Him. I can find no words 
 to express my happiness. I seem to be swimming in a 
 river of pleasure which is carrying me on to the great 
 fountain-head!" * * * "And God is in this room. 
 I see Him ; and, oh, how unspeakably lovely and glorious 
 does He appear — worthy of ten thousand thousand hearts, 
 if we had them. He is here, and hears me pleading with 
 the creatures that He has made. And, oh, how terrible 
 does it appear to me to sin against Him; to set up our own 
 wills in opposition to His !" After a short pause, he con- 
 tinued, " It makes my blood run cold to think how inex- 
 pressibly miserable I should now be without religion." 
 * * * "I find no satisfaction in looking at any thing 
 I have done ; I want to leave all this behind — it is nothinji; 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 211 
 
 — and to fly to Christ to be clothed in His righteousness." 
 * * * ii J i^.^yg douQ nothing myself; I have not 
 fought, but Christ has fought for me ; I have not run, but 
 Christ has carried me : Christ has done all." * * * 
 "0 the loving-kindness of God — His loving-kindness. 
 This afternoon, while I was meditating on it, He seemed 
 to pass by, and proclaim Himself, ' The Lord, the Lord 
 (jod, merciful and gracious.' how gracious!" * * * 
 '' It seemed, this afternoon, as if Christ said to me, 'You 
 have often wondered and been impatient at the way by^ 
 which I have led you; but what do you think of it now?' 
 and I was cut to the heart, when I looked and saw the 
 wisdom and goodness by which I had been guided, that I 
 could ever for a moment distrust His love." (See Isaiah 
 xlviii. 17; John xiii. 7; Deut. viii. 2-5; Psalm cvi. 7-L5, 
 and Jer, xxxi. 3.) To his sister he said, '-0, my sister, 
 my sister, could you but know what awaits the Christian ; 
 could you only know so much as I know, you could not re- 
 frain from rejoicing and even leaping for joy. Labors, 
 trials, troubles, would be nothing; you would rejoice in 
 afflictions and glory in tribulations, and, like Paul and 
 Silas, sing God's praises in the darkest night and in the 
 deepest dungeon. You have known a little of my trials 
 and conflicts, and know that they have been neither few 
 nor small; and I hope this glorious termination of them 
 will serve to strengthen your faith." 
 
 His bodily suflPerings were exceedingly severe. His 
 right arm and left side lost all power of motion, and the 
 flesh became insensible to external applications, while in- 
 
212 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 ternally he experienced a sensation of burning, wlncli lie 
 compared to a stream of liquid fire pouring through his 
 bones. Speaking of his trials, he said, "God has been 
 depriving me of one blessing after another ] but, as every 
 one was removed, He has come in and filled up the place; 
 and now, when I am a cripple and not able to move, I am 
 happier than I ever was in my life before or ever expected 
 to be; and if I had believed this twenty years ago, I 
 might have been spared much anxiety." On Sunday, 
 ^October 21, 1827, his last agony commenced. Even now 
 he greeted those who approached him with a smile. A 
 little while before he died, he exclaimed, ''Peace! peace! 
 victory! victory!" 
 
 What are the laurels and trophies of conquerors, com- 
 pared to a triumph like that ? Equally cheering to all who 
 truly love God is the dying testimony of the Rev. William 
 Romaine. About an hour before his departure, a friend 
 said, " I hope, my dear brother, you now find the salvation 
 of Jesus Christ precious to your soul?" He replied, "He 
 is a precious Saviour to me now. 0, how animating is 
 the view I have of death and the hope laid up for me in 
 heaven !" The last words of the Rev. Dr. Doddridge were, 
 " My soul is vigorous and healthy, notwithstanding the 
 decay of this frail and tottering body." On another occa- 
 sion he said, "The most distressing nights to this frail 
 body have been as the beginning of heaven to my soul. 
 God hath, as it were, let heaven down upon me in those 
 nights of weakness and waking. Blessed be His name." 
 The Rev. William Hcrvey exclaimed, in his dying hour. 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS 213 
 
 ''0, welcome death! welcome death! thou mayst well be 
 reckoned among the treasures of the Cliristian ! To live 
 is Christ, but to die is gain." A little before his depart- 
 ure, a friend said to the Rev. Charles Simeon, " How gra- 
 cious it is that you should feel so little suffering!" ''Whe- 
 ther I have a little more or a little less," said the dying 
 man, '' it matters not. All is right and well, and just as it 
 should be. I am in a dear Father's hands : all is serene. 
 When I look at Ilim," (here he spoke with peculiar so- 
 lemnity.) " I see nothing but faithfulness, and immortality, 
 and truth; and I have not a doubt or a fear, but the sweet- 
 est peace. But if I look another way, — to the poor creature, 
 to self, — oh, there is nothing — nothing — nothing — (paus- 
 ing) but what is abhorred and mourned over. Yes; I say 
 that — and it is true." 
 
 A few hours before his death, the deeply pious and 
 learned Dr. Bedell said, " Hear me. I acknowledge my- 
 self to have been a most unprofitable servant, — unprofitable, 
 but not a hypocrite. I find myself to have been full of 
 sin, ignorance, weakness, unfaithfulness, and guilt; but 
 Jesus is my hope: washed in His blood, justified by His 
 righteousness, sanctified by His grace, I have peace with 
 God. Jesus is very precious to my soul, — my all in all; 
 and I expect to be saved by free grace through His atoning 
 blood." Another dying soldier of the cross said, " In body, 
 full of pain; but in mind, full of happiness and heaven. 
 O the boundless love of God ! Volumes could not ex- 
 press what I feel of His love. that precious blood ! 
 Let no one slight it. tell everybody to love Jesus ! — 
 
214 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 to love the Bible. tell everybody ,o love God and 
 keep His commandments^ and He will be with them in 
 death." 
 
 The last words uttered by Luther were, " my 
 heavenly Father, thou hast revealed to me thy Son, our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. I have preached Him, I have con- 
 fessed Him, I love Him, and I worship Him as my dearest 
 'Friend' and Redeemer. Into Thy hands I commit my 
 spirit; for Thou hast redeemed my soul, Lord God of 
 truth." Another faithful soldier of the cross exclaimed, 
 " what prospects are before me in the blessed world to 
 which I am going ! Will you not share my joy, and help 
 me to praise Him that I shall soon leave this body of sin 
 and death behind, and enter on the perfection of my spi- 
 ritual nature ? Sweet affliction ! now it worketh glory, 
 glory !" The last words uttered by Mr. Toplady were, " I 
 cannot find words to express the comforts I feel in my 
 soul: they are past expression. The consolations of God 
 are so abundant that He leaves me nothing to pray for. 
 My prayers are all converted into praise. I enjoy a heaven 
 already in my soul." Another dying saint exclaimed, 
 " Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man 
 standing on the right hand of God." (Acts xvii. 56.) 
 
 No less cheering to the Christian heart is the dying tes- 
 timony of the Rev. Mr. Hewiston. After drinking a tum- 
 bler of cold water, he said, "What a beautiful emblem of 
 the pure river of life!" "When you reach that river," 
 said a friend, " there will be an end of all your weariness 
 and languor." " And, what is fir better," rejoined Mr 
 
FAMILY BEREAVKMLNTS. 215 
 
 Ilewiston, ••an end of all possibility of sinning." On an- 
 other occasion he said, " The righteousness of Christ is 
 my stay. That sustained nie in Madeira, in the midst of 
 persecution and difficulties; it has sustained me all through 
 my ministry; and it sustains me now." " It is a great pri- 
 vilege," remarked his friend, " to be enabled to bear the 
 testimony you now do." " And an humbling thing," re- 
 plied Mr. Hewiston : " the more grace, the more self-empty- 
 ing." One night, about two o'clock, he said, " Oh, was not 
 that a most wonderful thing, the agony which Jesus suf- 
 fered in his body for our sins ! And that fearful agony 
 was only an index of what he suffered in his soul." Mr. 
 Hewiston's last words were, " Oh, my people !" 
 
 President Edwards observes, in his life of the Rev. Mr. 
 Brain erd, that his history shows the right way to success 
 in the work of the ministry. "He sought it as a resolute 
 soldier seeks a victory in a siege or battle, or as a man that 
 runs a race for a great prize." God help every soldier of 
 the cross on earth to pursue the same course. " For we 
 wrestle not against flesh and blood; but against principali- 
 ties, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of 
 this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." 
 
 " Brethren," said another dying soldier of the cross, "I 
 see, methinks, celestial Light ahead ! — the shadows are 
 flying ! 0, hallelujah ! hallelujah I 0, glory to the bleed- 
 ing Lamb ! In a few moments I shall see Him as He is." 
 After a brief pause, he added, " I am rather falling into a 
 gentle sleep than dying. I feel but little pain, and all 
 within is peaceful and calm." And then, closing his eyes. 
 
21G FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 with a heavenly smile overspreading his countenance, he 
 repeated these words, and with them resigned his breath : 
 
 " The angels call, they call me from above, 
 And bid me hasten to the realms of love. 
 My soul with transport hears the happy doom ; 
 I come, ye gentle messengers, I come : 
 Earth flies, with all the charms it has in store, 
 Its snares and gay temptations are no more ; 
 While heaven appears, and the propitious skies 
 Unveil their inmost glories to my eyes. 
 To mortals and their hopes I bid adieu, 
 And ask no more the rising sun to view; 
 For, oh, the Light himself, with rays divine, 
 Breaks in, and God's eternal day is mine." 
 
 Lady Huntingdon, when asked by Lady Anne Erskine 
 how she felt, replied, " I am well; all is well, well forever. 
 I see, wherever I turn my eyes, whether I live or die, no- 
 thing but victory." On another occasion she said, "I am 
 cradled in the arms of love and mercy. My work is done; 
 I have nothing to do but to go to my Father." (See 
 Isaiah Ixvi. 13; Jer. xxxi. 3, and John xvii. 24.) When 
 near her last struggle, she whispered, joyfully, "I shall go 
 to my Father to-night;" and she did. Hannah More bore 
 this testimony to the love of Christ to her soul: — "What 
 can I do? What can I not do, with Christ helping me? 
 I know that my Redeemer liveth. Happy, happy are 
 those that are expecting to be together in a better world. 
 The thought of that world lifts the mind above itself." 
 When one talked to her of her good deeds, she said, " Talk 
 not so vainly ; I utterly cast them from me, and fall low at 
 
FAiMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 217 
 
 the foot of the cross/' As the moment of her departure 
 drew near, she smiled, and endeavored to raise herself a 
 little from her pillow; she reached out her arms as if in 
 the act of praise to God, and, while making this effort, she 
 once called, "Patty!" (the name of her last and dearest 
 sister,) very plainly, and exclaimed, " Joy !" In this state 
 of quietness and peace she remained for an hour, and then 
 fell asleep in the arms of her Redeemer, to die no more. 
 
 '' The cross of Christ," said the dying Mrs. Sherman, 
 " is all my support and hope. that I had a tongue to 
 urge all to seek refuge there ! Is it not a comfort to feel 
 the sting of death removed?" On another occasion, when 
 she heard the voice of her youngest child, she called her, 
 and had her placed for a moment, on her knees. Looking 
 at her with inexpressible tenderness, she said, " Mamma is 
 going to heaven. Will my precious child meet me there ?" 
 The dear little creature replied, with energy, " Yes, mam- 
 ma." The answer awoke strong emotion, and prevented 
 her saying more. Recovering herself, she said, " Read to 
 me about Abraham and his seed, that I may feel encou- 
 raged about my precious children." '• Yes, there is my 
 hope. 'I will be a God to thee and to thy children after 
 thee.' Surely He has been a God to me. Who but lie 
 could have borne with me and helped me till now ?" As 
 she said this, her countenance was lighted with a sweet 
 smile. Taking her husband's hand, she said, " Forgive a 
 wife if with her dying breath she say, Preach Christ and 
 His salvation more fully, more conspicuously, more feel- 
 ni'zh, than ever. It has been your aim, I know, to exalt 
 
218 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 Him all your life ; but let your remaining efforts in the pul- 
 pit extol Him and make Him very high." * * ■■' * 
 "Do not weep; cheer up; Christ your Master will give 
 you strength and grace; we shall meet, after a few short 
 years, to part no more." 
 
 The last words of Mrs. Sarah Moore were, "Blessed 
 Jesus." The day but one before her departure, she awoke 
 suddenly out of a tranquil sleep, crying out, in rapture, 
 '' Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto the 
 Lamb, — Hallelujah !" In the evening of the same day, 
 though scarcely able to utter a word, she said to those 
 around her, " Talk of the cross — the blood-stained cross 
 — of the King of love." 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Berg, speaking of the scenes of his early 
 childhood, says, " I remember well when a child, sepa- 
 rated by the wide ocean, from my parents, among my 
 schoolmates was a little boy, whose father was engaged 
 with mine in preaching the Gospel to the poor Negroes 
 in the West Indies. My heart yearned over him ; he 
 was so modest and guileless ; so amiable and full of art- 
 less affection, and withal so small and delicate, and we 
 were both so far from home that there was to me an un- 
 usual attraction about him ; and I never shall forget how 
 he pined away like a blighted flower, and was taken to 
 ' the sick-room ?' The sickness was unto death — and as 
 he lay, propped with pillows, on his bed, his pale and 
 wasted face — his panting breath — his eyes sparkled with 
 that unearthly light, that gleams through the windows 
 of the soul, like rays from a brighter world, all told 
 
FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 219 
 
 plainly that he was * going home.' There was a sudden 
 
 flush upon his features. He raised his little hand and 
 
 whispered, * Oh, listen ! What sweet music ! ' Then 
 
 starting up, his face shining with rapture, he followed 
 
 with his hands the objects which were before his vision, 
 
 reneating, ' See ! see those beautiful angels ! Let me 
 
 go — dre^s me. Oh, let me go with them !' And he did 
 
 go with them. Is it not of such, that Jesus says, ' Their 
 
 angels do always behold the face of my Father who is 
 
 in heaven?' Among the sweetest thoughts of death, 
 
 which ever filled my heart, from childhood until now, 
 
 are those which come whispering from the grave of my 
 
 little friend." 
 
 I Lave seen 
 A curious child, that dwelt upon a tract 
 Of inland ground, applying to his ear 
 The convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell, 
 To which, in silence hushed, his very soul 
 Listened intently ; and his countenance soon 
 Brightened with joy ; for, murmuring from within 
 Were heard, sonorous cadences ! whereby 
 To his belief the Monitor expret^sed 
 Mysterious union with its native sea — 
 E'en such a shell the universe itself 
 Is to the ear of faith. 
 
 O blessed eternity! — with what cheerful splendor dost 
 thou dawn on every departed faithful soldier of Christ I 
 With thee come liberty, and peace, and love, and endless 
 felicity ! — pain and sorrow, tumult and death and darkness, 
 vanish before thee. " And I heard a voice from heaven 
 saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in 
 
220 FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS. 
 
 the Lord from henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that they 
 may rest from their labors; and their works do follow 
 them." 
 
 "0 Death, where is thy boasted conquest now? 
 Where are the frowns and terrors of thy brow ? 
 Thou hast an angel's heavenly form and air: 
 Pleasures and graces in thy train appear." 
 
 "Harp! lift up thy voice on high — shout, angels, shout! 
 And loudest, ye redeemed ! glory to God, 
 And to the Lamb, who bought us with His blood, 
 From every kindred, nation, people, tongue. 
 And washed, and sanctified, and saved our souls, 
 And gave us robes of linen pure, and crowns 
 Of life, and made us kings and priests to God. 
 Thousands of thousands — thousands infinite — 
 With voice of boundless love, answered, Amen. 
 And God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost — 
 The One Eternal! smiled superior bliss. 
 And every eye and every face in heaven. 
 Reflecting and reflected, beamed with love." 
 
 " Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who only doeth 
 wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for- 
 ever; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. 
 Amen, and Amen." 
 
 THE END. 
 
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