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a sequel to such a life is a truly blessed spectacle.

"In the month of February 1840, my dear father was suddenly seized with a violent cold and severe cough, which shook his tender frame in no small degree, and evidently accelerated that decline of strength, of which those who were constantly with him were less sensible than others. Being on a visit to him at the time, and obliged to leave under much personal suffering from an acute attack of sickness, my mind was deeply impressed with the conviction, which proved too well founded, that I should see his beloved face no more in this world.

"He so far recovered, however, that he was enabled shortly to resume his two lectures every week: but his cough was never entirely removed, and his little remaining strength was but labour and sorrow. He preached, for the last time, at St. Bartholomew's, on the 28th day of April, 1840, after which that church was doomed to destruction a church, in which rested the mortal remains of that venerable Father and Confessor of the Reformed Church of Christ in England, Bishop Coverdale, and which was also endeared by many other reminiscences. It was a singular circumstance, that he thus survived two of those consecrated buildings, in which he had, during a long period, published the glorious Gospel of the blessed God, committed to his trust.'

"The parish of St. Bartholomew being united to that of St. Margaret Lothbury, my dear father continued to deliver his Tuesday morning lecture in this church, until the first day of September, when he took his text from Jeremiah xvii. 17, but spoke with considerable difficulty, owing to his cough. Notwithstanding this, he preached again on the following Sunday afternoon, the sixth day of the same month, at St. Mary Aldermary, from Eph. ii. 19; his cough being, however, still more distressing, he was constrained to finish sooner than usual.

"Such was the close of his public ministry. He felt his exertions to be so distressing to himself, and, he feared, so painful to his hearers; that, on his return home, in the course of a long and affecting conversation with one of those most dear unto him, he, for the first time, expressed his conviction, that he should never preach again. He then proceeded in his usual affectionate manner, Let not this distress you, it does not distress me. I dare say you are surprised at hearing me say so, knowing as you do how my heart has always

been set upon my work, my beloved work. I feel it would be ingratitude in me at my age, to repine at being thrown aside. I purposely kept it from you and your dear sisters, that my work was too much for my strength, knowing that your advice always is, Spare thyself; and I feared you might prove tempters to me: but I have endeavoured so many times to consecrate all my powers of body and mind to the Lord, that while strength of body and mind were given me, I felt they were not mine, but his. I argued, what are they continued for at my age, but to be spent in my Master's service.'

"His apprehension proved true: his appointed work was done; it was the will of God that he should now rest from his labours. On the following day he felt what he described as a sudden and great prostration of strength, as if he had received a blow; which convinced him that the decision he had come to was right, that it would be quite out of his power to attempt preaching, as usual, on the following day. And from that time, his family, although they still endeavoured to hope against hope, were constrained to observe in him a gradual, but progressive decline of strength. It pleased God, however, to spare him fourteen weeks longer; and his private testimony during these days of increasing weaknesshis dying days, as they might justly be called-confirmed and sealed the witness of his public ministry. And his beloved children, who constantly waited upon him, derived the greatest consolation and encouragement, from observing his entire resignation to the will of God, whatever it might be, together with that perfect peace which he enjoyed. His mind was filled with gratitude and praise for the past, implicit trust and confidence for the present, and joyful anticipation of the future.

""What a mercy,' he remarked, 'that I have not now a refuge to seek, but one to flee unto in every time of need. Sickness and old age are very unfavourable seasons for seeking the Lord: this I know from what I have seen; few clergymen who have not been entrusted with large parochial charges, have visited more sick and and dying persons, probably, than I have. In several instances I found that the word spoken was blessed to the friends around; and this was my great encouragement to persevere in what I ever considered to be the most trying, as well as the most delicate and difficult part of my ministerial duty. And the discharge of this office was often a source of much profit to myself, and assistance in my attempts to instruct others. How greatly has my faith been strengthened, by witnessing the efficacy of the blessed truths of the Gospel, when received experimentally, in supporting under the most excruciating sufferings. How mercifully is the Lord dealing with me in preserving me from pain: by what gentle means is he bringing me down day by day.'

"He frequently observed to one or another, 'I am in the best hands; O, what an unspeakable mercy it is that my mind does not decay with my body, but it does not. "My times are in thy hands," glory be to his name! I am fixed upon the rock, a firm foundation is beneath me. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed upon thee." How many many times has that text been my comfort during the present year.'

"He was continually occupied, during this season of decline, in looking back upon his past life, and especially on his ministerial course. He remarked, that the events of his past life, from the time he was five years old, were as fresh in his recollection as the events of yesterday. It has been said,' he observed, 'that no history is so interesting as that of a man's own life; and I do find it very delightful to look back upon all the way by which the Lord has been leading me these twice forty years, I may say, through "this waste howling wilderness, to humble me and to prove me, and to shew me what was in my heart, and to do me good in my latter end."

""He has been watching over my steps from childhood, and guided me when I knew him not. I trust he was even then preparing me for the path his providence designed I should walk in, by directing me to those studies, much against my will at that time, which conduced most to fit me for it. And the discipline which I was called to pass through; how did that tend to subdue my proud heart and rebellious will. Surely, I may say, "goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life." I have had many sore troubles certainly; but then I have always found those promises fulfilled in my experience, "as thy days, so shall thy strength be." "Fear not, I will hold thee by thy right hand." Under mysterious dispensations of providence, I have often derived great consolation from that text; "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter:" but never did I expect on earth to have the "need be," for every trial so clearly revealed to me, as I have of late. I feel and know that I have not only been led by a right way to a city of habitation, but by the

only right way that could have led me there.'

"He also reviewed every part of his ministerial course. He stated that he had ever wished to consider himself as the Lord's servant; to go where he pleased, and to do that work which he might choose to set him about. 'I am quite filled with wonder and astonishment,' he observed at one time, 'when I think how I have been upheld during such a very long course, and so little interrupted by sickness. If I have been in any way made useful to the Lord's dear family, he must, I think, have selected me as the instrument, and a mere instrument I have ever felt myself to be, that it might be made clearly manifest that the power was his own.' He added, 'To me it has been a most blessed work, and I have served a blessed Master; my employment has been the joy and consolation of my life. Some of my kind friends have, at times, expressed their surprise at my being able to go on with my work, when I have been in affliction; but they knew not the secret; it was that which supported me under the affliction.' And the retrospect which he took of his ministry, now that he believed it to be finally closed, was one which filled him with holy awe, when he reflected on the responsibility of his office. He exclaimed with great earnestness, 'Oh it is a solemn thing to have to deal with persons respecting their immortal souls; and when I recollect how many thousands, in the course of my long ministry, I have had to speak to, I am quite overpowered. I trust I have led them right; one thing I am quite certain of, that in all sincerity of mind I have preached unto them what I considered to be the truth. I have been trying to recollect, and do not remember that in any one sermon during my whole life, I have ever disguised my sentiments to meet the prejudices of any one. In looking back upon my ministry, this is the only point on which I can fix with any satisfaction.'

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"He also expressed himself most feelingly after this manner - So much selfseeking, so much sin mixed with what I was going to call my most holy duties! And yet the Lord has borne with me! An "ambassador for Christ!" With such a high character, to think should have one thought but about our message.'... 'I believe mine has been an unvarying statement of doctrine; and that in this respect, my first sermon and my last are nearly the same. The doctrines I have preached are what I considered to be those of the Church of England and the Church of Scotland, founded upon the Scriptures. I felt I had no choice; "necessity was laid upon me;" I considered that " a dispensation of the Gospel was committed unto me; yea woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel." I had only to deliver my message, and leave all consequences with the Lord.'

"The Sabbath hath always been his delight; the holy day of the Lord was honourable in his esteem. No man ever more strongly enforced the necessity of consecrating its sacred hours to the service of God, than he did, both by precept and example. He knew what it was, by sweet experience, to be 'in the Spirit on the Lord's-day.' And a striking proof of this, occurred a short time before he entered upon an eternal Sabbath. On the last Sunday in October, as he did not at that time allow any one to sit up with him, one of my sisters thought it needful to take him some refreshment between three and four o'clock in the morning; when he exclaimed with heavenly animation, as soon as she entered the room, My dear love, though it is early, let us not forget the blessed Sabbath has begun; and before we proceed to anything, let us pray for a blessing on the day. But O, what a distressing thought it is, by how many thousands this day will be profaned in this ungrateful land! and I cannot point sinners to the Saviour now; my spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak. While I lie here, refreshed by sleep, as far as my mind goes, I seem quite capable; but if I arose, I should soon find, tike Samson when his locks were shaved off, all my strength gone; but the moment I drop this body, which is such a clog and hindrance to me now, I shall serve him day and night without interruption and without weariness, which I have felt so much of lately; and-O, that crowns the whole, --without sin, which here cleaves to all I do! Blessed Lord! be with all the ministers of thy word, those whom thou hast Thyself ordained, and abundantly own their labours this day: especially bless all those ministers, whom my beloved family may hear, wherever they are scattered.' The remainder of the prayer, except a few expressions, was lost.

"So great was his weakness during these his last days, that he was quite unable either to read himself, or listen to others reading to him; and on one occasion, he observed with some degree of emotion, I have been trying to read a little in my Bible, but I cannot do that now without fatigue: that blessed book, -and he cast his eyes upon it, has been my constant study for above sixty years; but it is not necessary that I should be able to read it: I can still feed upon it; it seems as fresh in my me

mory as ever; I believe I could quote any part of it as well as ever. O! the mercy and loving kindness of the Lord to me is unbounded!'

"On one occasion when my sisters were assisting him up stairs, in a state of great debility, he observed most sweetly, "God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble:" cleave closely to Jesus; cleave closely to Jesus

the truths I have been preaching all my life are my support and comfort now.'

"On another occasion, when alluding to the doctrines of his ministry, he said, 'I wish to leave this, as my dying testimony, that these alone were the doctrines which supported me, when first convinced of sin, and without which I never could have found peace; and with this experience how could I withhold them from others? They have been my support and comfort all my life: and now, in the near approach of an opening eternity, I still find them sufficient to bear me up, as a firm foundation beneath my feet.'

"It ought to be particularly observed, how entirely he repudiated the unscriptural inferences which many persons have drawn from those sublime doctrines, which he constantly exhibited and appealed to during his public ministry. On one occasion in particular, not many evenings before his death, when expressing to one of his sons his apprehension that he should not survive the night; and at the same time his simple dependence on the mercy of God in Christ, as if his mind was still dwelling on these topics, though no one present had attempted to bring them to his remembrance; he emphatically observed, There is no such thing as reprobation.' After alluding to the opinion of President Edwards upon that subject, in a manner which plainly evinced the collected state of his mind; he immediately, with much solemnity and emphasis, quoted the following words, 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.'

"He was accustomed to repeat a text of Scripture, when about to compose himself for sleep, and frequently commented upon it. One night he uttered these words with peculiar energy,

My flesh and my heart are failing, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever!" The Lord knoweth them that are his.' Another night he repeated this passage, Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light ? Let him trust in the name of the Lord,

and stay upon his God!' And then he added, Yes I will, I can, I do venture my all upon him. At another time he made this remark, - 'Safe for eternity, who can say what is expressed in that? Of what consequence is it then what happens in time?'

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Such, however, was my dear father's extreme debility of body, as he drew near to his great change; that his mind appeared to be occasionally depressed by it; and he seemed to labour under doubt and apprehension. But nevertheless, his remarks, at those times, only evinced more clearly his acquaintance with his own heart; his deep self-abasement before God, as a transgressor of his holy law; and his humble, simple dependence upon the only foundation laid in Zion: combined with ardent aspirations after conformity to the Divine image and will. When one of his dear daughters endeavoured to cheer him him by observing, -'Can you doubt, after all the experience you have had? Nothing but divine grace could ever have made you what you are.' Hereplied, 'Ah, my dear love, you are no judge of me whatever : in the first place your partiality for me blinds you; and then you can only judge by my outward conduct, you cannot see my heart, and what passes there. As a minister of Christ, it has always been my endeavour, not only to abstain from evil, but from all appearance of evil. Glory be to His name, if he has enabled me to do this, but by this, He has laid me under still greater obligations to Him than ever! I have always dreaded bringing any reproach upon His holy name, by any impropriety of conduct : but I would be jealous over my heart : I wish to be holy within. None can tell what conflicts with sin I have had; I find self-seeking and pride still cleaving to me;- the Lord looks at the heart; and we should consider the motives by which we are actuated; the great work of regeneration is clearly laid down in Scripture, -ever remember that and we have no reason to conclude, that we are of the chosen people of God, unless we have experienced that work: remember my text, (one to which he had often referred, the last from which he preached his Tuesday morning lecture,) -" The heart is deceitful above all things and desp desperately wicked; who can know it?"" And what was his grand refuge under such views of his depravity? He had other than that to which he had fled continually, during a period of almost seventy years. He could obtain no rest or peace except by looking unto Jesus, 'who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree:' except by be

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holding him as 'the Lamb of God that taketh away'-by bearing-'the sin of the world.' And on this sure foundation alone, did he build all his hope ;from this alone, did he derive comfort and peace; after a long life spent in the service of God; - even now when he was in the nearest view of the unseen and eternal world. Mark his language at this trying time, Well, my love 'he thus addressed my sister' I must do again, as I have done ten thousand times before, under such feelings;-I must cast myself entirely on the mercy of God; -God be merciful unto me a sinner, the vilest of sinners, and after all that I have received, a most ungrateful sinner; I shall never get beyond that prayer.' At another time he observed, with deep concern, 'It is a solemn thing to appear before God, even with an assured hope. I know I must shortly stand before his bar, to account for the deeds done in the body, and that before a God of infinite purity and holiness, who cannot look upon sin; and my only support is, my Judge will be Jesus ;that if he has paid the ransom for me, he must condemn himself before he can condemn me. Ten thousand times have I fled to him, for the pardon of my sins, and His word declares that He will cast out none that come unto him! Therefore upon his mercy I cast myself, I have nothing to look back upon as any ground of confidence. Those are sweet encouraging words "Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.""

"About a fortnight before his death, he was heard to say, I wish, I wish,'-and being asked for what he wished, he replied, 'I was wishing to have no wish : -I have been very wrong, but I see my error now; I really feel quite like a spoiled child, I have been so o mercifully mercifully dealt with all my life, and have had so many direct answers to prayer. Yes, I can testify to that, the providential dealings of the Lord with me have been so wonderful, that I thought I had only to pray for all I wished, and it would be granted me therefore I prayed earnestly, that I might not long survive my beloved work; and that I might die in my sleep, and never know the parting pang. I think I always did this with submission to the will of God, but I was very wrong, I ought not to have marked out the path; I should have left it all to his infinite wisdom; therefore I resign the wish, and pray to him, to do with me exactly as he sees fit.'

"And what was the result? He was peculiarly favoured indeed in his last moments; his prayer was heard, and literally answered. On the night but one

before his decease, he was overheard to say, 'Christ is worth more than ten thousand worlds.' His mind being evidently in a very peaceful and tranquil state, he observed, 'I do desire to depart, I do desire to depart.' On the following day, being very drowsy, he spoke but little, and slept many hours in the evening without intermission: but was heard to say at one time,

"O let me catch one glimpse of Thee ! Then drop into eternity !"

During the night his cough troubled him greatly; and upon the remark being made to him, "You have had a sad night,' he replied, 'It has been a blessed night to me in many respects; hope,

what could have been in his mind but that name to which he had so often borne witness, but which he had not then power to articulate; even that name, which is above every name;' 'beside which there is no other name given among men, whereby we can be saved.' A gentle slumber followed: an affectionate daughter stood watching beside him, and observed how sweetly he appeared to sleep, how freely he breathed in a few minutes she thought the breath had ceased; she listened intently, she could not be mistaken, it was even so! He was absent from the body, and present with the Lord;' even with that Saviour whom he had so ardently loved, and so faith

hope, that has been my support. After fully served. Without a pang, a sigh,

this he continued to sleep two or three hours, more or less; but life was now ebbing fast away. One word more was heard from him, he repeated three times feebly, name, name, name, and

or even the least emotion, the great, and to him most glorious change, took place about eleven o'clock on Monday, the 14th day of December, 1840."

VIEW OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

THE chief topic of public attention is Sir R. Peel's scheme of finance. He proposes to diminish various duties on articles of foreign produce, with a view to the encouragement of trade and commerce; and to impose a tax of three per cent. on all incomes exceeding £150 per annum. This tax, to say nothing of its distasteful inquisitorial character, will in many cases press heavily and unequally; and we would hope even yet that in the progress of the Bill fair consideration will be given to the broad distinction between permanent property, and temporary interests, or uncertain profits from trades or professions; but upon the whole, the House of Commons has decided by a large majority that the exigency of public credit requires some such extraordinary effort; and if so, however vexatious or burdensome the impost, every lover of his country will

doubtless be willing to submit to his share of it.

We had intended to write at some length upon Lord F. Egerton's highly objectionable proposal for legalising marriages between brothers and sisters in law; but the project having been defeated we withhold our remarks. We have not forgotten, or forgiven, his Lordship's proposal for paying the Popish priesthood in Ireland, which was one of the celebrated "wings" of the emancipation measure.

We rejoice to learn that the Bishop of London's recommendation to his clergy, to preach on behalf of the Colonial Bishops' fund, has produced a large sum in aid of the pious and excellent object proposed.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

H. R.; W. L.; R. M.; Scotus; B. S.; J.P.; J.S.; Elijah; H. T. S.; No Puseyite; and F. N.; are under consideration.

AS SURRIENSIS takes in good part our remarks last month, upon the Service for January 30, we will try to answer his "three Good-Friday queries ;" but our present Number is so over-done with ritual matters, that we must defer our observations. We wish however to add a note to what we wrote in a former page of the present Number (page 228) in reply to his remark respecting the Sealed Prayer-Books. We made him a present of the comma in the rubric for January 30; and we had an impression that we once turned to this rubric in a sealed copy; but upon recollection we thought we could only

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