support your feeble steps while you are travelling through this dark and painful way, take the word of God as a staff in your hand." Let books and mortal friends now do their last office for you. Call, if you can, some experienced Christian, who has felt the power of the word of God upon his own heart; and let him bring the Scripture, and turn you to some of those precious promises which have been the food and rejoicing of his own soul. It is with this view, that I may carry the good office I am now engaged in as far as possible, I shall here give you a collection of a few such admirable scriptures, each of them infinitely more valuable than thousands of gold and silver. And, to convince you of the degree in which I esteem them, I will take the freedom to add, that I desire they may (if God give an opportunity) be read over to me, as I lie on my dying bed, with short intervals between them, that I may pause upon each, and renew something of that delightful relish, which, I bless God, I have often found in them. May your soul and mine be then composed to a secret silence (whatever be the commotion of animal nature), while the voice of God speaks to us, in language which He spake to His servants of old, or in which He instructed them how they should speak to Him, in circumstances of the greatest extremity. Can any more encouragement be wanting, when He says, "Fear not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." "And he is not a man that he should lie, or the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" "This God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death." "Therefore, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." "I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord." "Oh continue thy loving-kindness unto them that know thee, and thy righteousness to the upright in heart! For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light." "Thou wilt show me the path of life; in thy presence is fulness of joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." "As for me I shall behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." "For I know in whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him until that day." "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also shall rest in hope." "For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again; those also that sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him." "I give unto my sheep eternal life,” said Jesus, the good Shepherd, "and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand." "This is the will of him that sent me, that every one that believeth on me should have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you: I go to prepare a place for you: and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." "Go, tell my brethren, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God." "Father, I will that those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in them, and I in them." "He that testifieth these things, saith, Surely I come quickly, Amen; even so come, Lord Jesus!" "Oh death! where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Thus may that God who knows the souls of His children in all their adversities, and in whose sight the death of His saints is precious, cheer and support you and me in those last extremities of nature! May He add us to the happy number of those who have been more than conquerors in death! and may He give us those supplies of His Spirit, which may enable us to pour out our departing souls in such sentiments, as those I would now suggest; though we should be no longer able to utter words, or to understand them if they were to be read to us! Let us at least review them with all proper affections now, and lay up one prayer more for that awful moment ! Oh that this, and all we have ever offered with regard to it, may then come to remembrance before God! HYMNS. The Soul's Surrender. 10 happy day, that fixed my choice 2 O happy bond, that seals my vows 3 'Tis done; the great transaction's done : 4 Now rest, my long-divided heart, 5 High heaven that heard the solemn vow, HYMNS. Till in life's latest hour I bow, And bless in death a bond so dear. Christ's Condescending Regard to Little Children. 1 See Israel's gentle Shepherd stand, Hark! how He calls the tender lambs, 2 "Permit them to approach," He cries, 3 We bring them, Lord, in thankful hands, 4 Ye little flock, with pleasure hear; 5 If orphans they are left behind, That care shall heal our bleeding hearts, "I will Sing Praises while E have any Being." 1 God of my life, through all its days, 2 When anxious cares would break my rest, Shall check the murmur and the sigh. 419 3 When death o'er nature shall prevail, 4 But oh! when that last conflict 's o'er, 5 Soon shall I learn th' exalted strains, 6 The cheerful tribute will I give, Live while you Live. ["Dr Doddridge being mentioned, he observed 'he was author of one of the finest epigrams in the English language.' It is in Orton's life of him. The subject is his family motto, Dum vivimus vivamus, which, in its primary signification, is, to be sure, not very suitable to a Christian divine; but he paraphrased it thus:"-Boswell's Life of Johnson, Croker's ed., vol. iv., p. 303]. Live while you live, the epicure would say, |