up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Tim. iv, 6-8.

3. RICHARD BAXTER.

"Love in his heart, persuasion on his tongue,

With words of peace he charm'd the list'ning throng;
Drew the dread veil that wrapp'd the' eternal throne,

And launch'd their souls into the bright unknown."-BARBAULD.

IN very early life devout impressions appear to have been made upon the mind of Baxter. His father said, with tears of joy, "I hope my son Richard was sanctified from the womb." When a little child, he would reprove other children if he heard them using profane words. When he grew up, he entered the ministry. He laboured in several places; but Kidderminster was the principal sphere of his exertions. Here his ministry was crowned with astonishing success. After a few active years, persecution drove him from the field of exertion; yet still he laboured, though not to the same extent, and suffered also. His own generation was deprived of much of the benefit they might have reaped from a man who may have had equals, but seldom a superior; yet their loss has been the gain of succeeding generations; and Baxter, though dead, speaks to thousands in his invaluable writings.

Like Moses, he chose affliction with the people of God; for a bishopric was offered him, which he refused. He lived, he wrote, he laboured, as with eternity in sight. He passed through a life of labours, sorrows, and persecutions.

When this great and good man drew near the conclusion of life, his last hours were spent in preparing

others and himself to appear before God. He said to his friends that visited him, "You come hither to learn to die; I can assure you that your whole life, be it ever so long, is little enough to prepare for death. Have a care of this vain, deceitful world, and the lusts of the flesh. Be sure you choose God for your portion, heaven for your home, God's glory for your end, his word for your rule, and then you need never fear but we shall meet with comfort." Never was a penitent sinner more humble in debasing himself; never was a sincere believer more calm and comfortable. He acknowledged himself to be the vilest dunghill-worm (his usual expression) that ever went to heaven. He admired the Divine condescension to us, often saying, "Lord, what is man? what am I, a vile worm, to the great God?" Many times he prayed, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" and blessed God that this was left upon record in the Gospel as an effectual prayer. He said, "God may justly condemn me for the best duty I ever did; and all my hopes are from the free mercy of God in Christ;" which he often prayed for. After a slumber, he waked and said, "I shall rest from my labour." A minister then present, added, "And your works follow you." To whom he replied, "No works; I will leave out works, if God will grant me the other." When a friend was comforting him with the remembrance of the good many had received by his preaching and writings, he said, "I was but a pen in God's hand; and what praise is due to a pen?" His resigned submission to the will of God in his sharp sickness was eminent. When extremity of pain constrained him earnestly to pray to God for his release by death, he would check himself, saying, "It is not fit for me to prescribe,-when thou wilt, what thou wilt, and how thou wilt." Being in great anguish, he said, "O how unsearchable are His ways, and His paths past finding

out! the riches of his Providence we cannot fathom!" and to his friends, "Do not think the worse of religion for what you see me suffer." Being often asked how it was with his inward man, he replied, "I bless God I have a well-grounded assurance of my eternal happiness, and great peace and comfort within;" but it was his trouble that he could not triumphantly express it, in consequence of extreme pain. He said, "Flesh must perish, and we must feel the perishing of it; and though our judgment submits, yet sense will still make us groan." He gave excellent counsel to some young ministers that visited him, and earnestly prayed for them and for the Church of Christ. He said to a friend the day before he died, "I have pain, there is no arguing against sense; but I have peace, I have peace." His friend replied, "You are now approaching your longdesired home." He answered, "I believe, I believe." As he approached near his end, when asked how he did, his usual reply was, "Almost well." And when, in his own apprehension, death was nearest, his joy was most remarkable. The long wished-for hour at length arrived, and in his own expressive language, he became "entirely well." He died December 8, 1691.

4. DR. DODDRIDGE.

"There is no death: what seems so is transition;

This life of mortal breath

Is but a suburb of the life elysian,

Whose portal we call death."-LONGFELLOW.

PHILIP DODDRIDGE was born in London in the year 1702. His parents were both pious, and descendants of those who had suffered for the sake of Christ. His mother early endeavoured to fix Divine truths in his infant mind; and the impressions then made upon his

heart were never effaced; and to them, no doubt, the world is greatly indebted for so illustrious an example of Christian virtue and experience.

At the age of twenty he entered the ministry. His first sermon was preached at Hinckley, from the text, "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha." Two persons ascribed their awakening and conversion to the Divine blessing on that sermon. His first settlement was at Kibworth, in 1723, and his final settlement, in 1729, at Northampton. He was a man of unwearied diligence, both as a pastor and a scholar. It was his rule to devote eight hours every day to study and devotion-rising at five o'clock through the whole year; and to this habit he ascribed not only his attainments as a scholar, but his writings generally.

As a minister of the everlasting Gospel, he shone with peculiar lustre, and was truly a burning and a shining light. As a writer, he left monuments of his piety, industry, and zeal, which have been a blessing to many in the present and past age, and which will, doubtless, prove a blessing to many in ages yet to come. As a Christian, few have appeared with less defect, and few have reached similar heights of glowing piety. The prime and leading feature of his soul was that of devotion. He said, "When I pray and meditate most, I work most." This was the pervading principle of his actions, whether public or private. He was diligent, anxious to do good, humble, patient, zealous, full of love to God, to his adored Redeemer, and to man.

In the fall of 1750 he contracted a severe cold by exposure, from which he obtained only temporary relief; and it soon became painfully evident that his career of usefulness was nearly completed. As he approached the hour of dissolution, there was a manifest increase of spirituality and heavenly-mindedness.

He seemed to rise above the world; his affections were more strongly than ever set upon heaven, and he was daily breathing after immortality. In some letters to his friends, about this time, he thus expressed himself: "I bless God, earth is less and less to me; and I shall be very glad to have done with it once for all, as soon as it shall please my Master to give me leave. Yet for him I would live and labour; and, I hope, if such were his will, suffer too." "I thank God, that I do indeed feel my affection to this vanishing world dying and vanishing every day. I have long since weighed it in the balances, and found it wanting; and my heart and hopes are above. Fain would I attain more lively views of glory. Fain would I feel more powerful attractions toward that world, where you and I, through grace, soon shall be; and in the mean time would be exerting myself more and more to people that blessed, but neglected region." "Go on to pray for me, that my heart may be fixed upon God; that every motion and every word may be directed by love to him and zeal for his glory, and leave me with him as cheerfully as I leave myself. He will do well with his servant, according to his word, Not a sparrow falleth to the ground without him;' and though I am indeed, I think, 'less than the least of all saints,' I am, nevertheless, of more value than many sparrows. May you increase, while I decrease; and shine many years as a bright star in the Redeemer's hand, when I am set!"

He preached his final discourse to his congregation on July 14, 1751, from Rom. xiv, 8: "For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's."

His physician judged it proper for him to make trial of the Bristol waters. He removed there, and received many marks of affection from persons with whom he had no previous acquaintance.