THE TRIAL OF FAITH; OR, The Brickmaker's Daughter. A BRIEF MEMOIR OF JANE SMITH. BY THE REV. JAMES JERRAM, M.A., VICAR OF CHOBHAM, SURREY. Second Edition. "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction BIB LONDON: WERTHEIM AND MACINTOSH, DUBLIN: W. CURRY AND CO., UPPER SACKVILLE-STREET. BRIEF MEMOIR OF JANE SMITH. PART I. THE value and blessedness of true religion are never more strikingly displayed than when it smooths the rugged path of sorrow, and enables the afflicted Christian to "glorify God in the fires." It is then seen that there is a living power and energy in the truth, which can sustain the soul under the heaviest pressures, and fill it with peace and joy and comfort, when others would give way to despondency, or sink under the burden. To see a Christian, weak and feeble in himself, in the midst of sore distress, so upheld by Divine grace, and cheered with heavenly consolations, as to rise superior to the severest trials, and to be strengthened to endure them "with all patience and long-suffering and joyfulness," is, indeed, a spectacle which all must regard with admiration. It carries along with it an irresistible conviction, that religion is not a mere name, or empty profession; but that there is a truth and reality in it, which evidence its Divine origin, since it an effect that, which nothing else can accomplish. Nature may indeed nerve the mind to bear up under adversity with some degree of fortitude and patience; but to enable a person to "rejoice in tribulation,” and to "glory in his infirmities," this, the power of religion alone can do; and God thus stamps his own seal on that which is His own work. I am led to make these remarks with particular reference to the case and circumstances of the interesting character, who forms the subject of the following memoir-a young person, who might be eminently said to have been "chosen in the furnace of affliction ;" and who, during the protracted period of more than seventeen years, learned in this school those valuable lessons of spiritual knowledge and experience, which made her in her limited sphere "a burning and shining light;" and enabled her to bring forth abundant fruit to God's honour and glory. Her position in life was humble, and little calculated to attract the notice of the world, whilst her long affliction almost entirely confined her to the circle of her own family; but her genuine and exemplary piety, her patient resignation, and cheerful submission to the Divine will, could not fail to excite the admiration of all who were acquainted with her. Naturally of a timid and retiring disposition, she courted not observation, and would have shrunk from being made the subject of human applause. The following narrative is not, therefore, designed to exalt the individual, but to exhibit the grace of God, so conspicuously displayed in her character; and to show the power of true religion, in which all her excellences had their origin: and so to ascribe all the glory to Him, to whom alone it is due, and by whose grace she was what she was. It will be seen, in the course of this narrative, how effectually God can carry on his own work in the absence of outward religious opportunities and advantages, by more than supplying their place with the inward light and teaching of his Spirit. Though almost entirely cut off from the public means of grace, through continued ill-health, and distance of abode from the house of God; yet, by the habitual and devout study of the holy Scriptures, with earnest prayer for Divine teaching, she acquired such a clear and experimental acquaintance with the great truths and doctrines of the Gospel, as afforded convincing evidence, that she was indeed "taught of God," and that the word of God dwelt in her richly, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Jane Smith was the daughter of respectable parents, whose means enabled her father to rent a few acres of land, and to undertake the management of a brick-kiln. But though she was thus placed beyond the reach of want, she had no advantages of education beyond the elementary instruction obtained at the village-school; and this only imperfectly acquired. It may, therefore, occasion surprise in some, who are ignorant of the tendency of true religion to improve the natural understanding, and to refine and elevate the mind, that she was able to express her thoughts in the striking and appropriate manner she has done in the ensuing pages. But this only confirms what has been frequently observed in similar cases, and verifies the Psalmist's declaration, "The entrance of thy word giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple." With a view to beguile the hours of her tedious |