was, moreover, a cordial to my father's spirits, who adopted the words of the venerable Simeon, in the prospect of dissolution; Now lettest thou thy servan. depart in peace."

The Rev. D. Wilson, in his funeral sermon, of which a number of editions were published, makes the following just remarks:-"The remarkable sufferings of so eminent a saint, in his last sickness, may, perhaps, at first perplex the mind of a young Christian. But such a person should remember, that the way to Heaven is ordinarily a way of tribulation, and that the greatest honour God puts on his servants, is to call them to such circumstances of affliction as display and manifest his grace. What would have crushed a weak and unstable penitent, with immature knowledge of the promises of salvation, only illustrated the faith of the venerable subject of this discourse. God adapts the burden to the strength. As to the darkness and anguish which at times rested on his mind, they were clearly the combined effects of disease and the temptations of the adversary. The return of comfort as the fever remitted, made this quite certain, and he was himself able, at times, to make the distinction. But even in the midst of his afflictive feelings, it is manifest to every real judge of such a case, that a living and a strong faith was in vigorous activity. For consolation is one thing, faith another. This latter grace often lays hold of the promises made in Christ with the firmest grasp, at the very time when hope and comfort are interrupted by the morbid state of the bodily and mental powers. feelings and powers, thank God, are not the foundation on which we build. Never, perhaps, was stronger faith exhibited by our Saviour himself, than when he uttered those piercing words, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Our

His daughter, in giving an account of the condition. of her dying father, says, "In the time of his darkness and gloom, he prayed without ceasing, and with inexpressible fervour. He seemed unconscious of any one being near him, and gave vent to the feel

ings of his mind without restraint. And, Oh! what holy feelings were they! What spirituality; what hatred of sin; what humility; what simple faith in Christ; what zeal for God's glory; what submission! Never could I hear him without being reminded of Him, who being in an agony, prayed the more earnestly. I think nothing,' said he, 'of my bodily pains -my soul is all. I trust all will end well, but it is a dreadful conflict. I hope-I fear-I tremble-I pray. Satan tries to be avenged of me in this awful hour, for all that I have done against his kingdom through life. He longs to pluck me out of Christ's hand. Subdue the enemy, O Lord! Silence the accuser. Bruise Satar under my feet shortly.

" Hide me, O my Saviour hide,
Till the storm of life is past,
Safe into the haven guide,

O receive my soul at last.—
Other refuge have I nonc.'

O to enter eternity with one doubt on the mind-O eternity-eternity-eternity! O what a thing sin is! Who knoweth the power of his wrath? If this be the way to heaven, what must be the way to hell? If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?"

He mentioned the wonderful way in which his prayers for others had been answered, and seemed to derive some comfort from it. He rejected every attempt to comfort him by reminding him of the way in which he had served and glorified God. "Christ is all," he said, "He is my only hope." His wonderful knowledge of Scripture was a source of great comfort; and the exactness with which he repeated passage after passage, was amazing. The manner in which also he connected one with another, was admirable. His first clear consolation was after receiving the Lord's Supper, of which an account has been given. He had previously observed, "An undue stress is, by some, laid on this ordinance, as administered to the sick; and others, I think, are in danger of undervaluing it. It

is a means of grace; and may prove God's instrument of conveying to me the comfort I am seeking." After he had partaken of this divine ordinance, he said to his son-in-law, "It was beneficial to me; I received Christ and he received me. I feel a composure which I did not expect last night. I have not a triumphant assurance, but something which is more calm and satisfactory. I bless God for it." And then he repeated, in the most emphatic manner, the 12th chapter of Isaiah, "O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me," &c. O to realize the fulness of joy-0 to have done with temptation! "They shall hunger no more, nor thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat; for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”. "They are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb; therefore are they before the throne of God.”"We know not what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."-"The righteous hath hope in his death; not driven away-no, no, not driven away!"

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"There is one feeling," said he, "which I cannot have if I would. Those that oppose my doctrine have slandered me sadly, but I cannot feel any resentment. I can only love and pity them, and pray for their salvation. I never did feel any resentment against them. I only regret that I did not more ardently long and pray for the salvation of their souls. I feel most earnest in prayer for the promotion of Christ's kingdom all over the earth. There are two causes in the world, the cause of God and the cause of the devil; the cause of our Lord Jesus Christ and the cause of the devil. The cause of God will prevail all over the world, among all kindreds, and people, and tongues. It shall fill the whole earth. Hallowed be thy name,' &c." Waking, after a short sleep, in great calmness, he said, "This is heaven begun; I have done with dark

ness for ever-for ever. Satan is vanquished. Nothing now remains but salvation, with eternal gloryETERNAL GLORY." But the conflict was not yet over, for another paroxysm came on with great violence; his sufferings were extreme, and confusion and gloom prevailed. He cried earnestly to God, and said, "All my calm and comfort are gone; nothing remains of them but a faint recollection. Well, after all, God is greater than Satan. Is not Christ all sufficient? Can he not save to the uttermost? Has he not promised to save? Lord, deliver me-suffer not Satan to prevail. Pity, pity, Lord, pity me!" But during all his severe sufferings of mind and body, not a word of repining or murmuring ever escaped his lips. He said, with reference to his dying in this gloom, "I cannot help it. Thou art righteous! Father, glorify thy And then he repeated those affecting lines of Watts's paraphrase of the fifty-first psalm,

name.' ""

"And if my soul were sent to Hell,
Thy righteous law approves it well.
Yet save a trembling sinner, Lord,
Whose hope still hovering round thy word,
Would light on some sweet promise there,
Some sure support against despair."

You

To his wife, he said, "God be your father and your husband. I trust all mine will be kind to you. have been a great blessing to me. We shall, I trust, meet in heaven. I have less doubt of you, than of myself."

A message was received from the Rev. D. Wilson, his highly esteemed friend, expressing among other things the great benefit he had been to the church. "Now this," said he, "is doing me harm. God be merciful to me a sinner,' is the only ground on which I can rest. If I am saved, God shall have all the glory." Having talked too much, he was again distressed, but having obtained some rest, he awoke in the night, and said to his youngest son, who sat up with him, "What is the world and the glory of it? I would not change my hope, lean and meagre as it is, for all the

kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, were I sure of living a thousand years longer, to enjoy them."

His daughter asked him on Sunday, if she should stay from church and attend on him, "O no," he replied, "nothing gives me pleasure but what is for your good, and the thought that you pray for me."

On Monday, he said to the servant who attended him, "I thank you for all your kindness. You have been a faithful domestic, and I hope a conscientious one. If at any time I have been hasty and sharp, forgive me, and pray to God to forgive, but lay the blame upon me, not on religion." A similar address and request he made to his curate. Thus his feelings continued to alternate for several days, until death closed the scene. But whatever were his pains, his prayers were unceasing and most earnest. During the whole scene, his patience, his kindness, his submission, his humility, and his faith, were most manifest.

CHAPTER XXII.

Preparation for Death-The state of the Soul after Death.

It was intended to have added the death-bed experience of the Rev. Dr. Andrew Fuller, and of some others, but it seemed that this part of the subject had been extended far enough. Indeed, some may be ready to inquire, why so much is said respecting the thoughts and speeches of dying persons? To which we would reply, that there is no subject in the world which ought to be more interesting to all men, since all men are appointed to die. Whatever other evils we may escape, "in this war there is no discharge." It is a scene of which we can have no previous experience; and therefore, it is prudent to learn what we can from the experience of those who have gone