Spirit. Thanks be to God, I have the two greatest jewels that can be obtained, and not only that, but I have all things. Pray, Sir, think not that I scorn your paper, although, I believe, I left it at Canterbury, but I have not had much to write about lately but sweet resting in the lovely Lamb of God, the Saviour of all those that believe in sincerity and in truth. Ah! what can I say to say enough? Transporting thought, that I can say as I do! "Glory be to the Father." I tried last night if I could say, "Our Father," and I could say it all; and when Christ once says, "Thou art all fair, my love," we can say the other, as they work together sweetly, there being no roughness in the way. All my paths are then peace, and Christ is my song, my everlasting song, and I then can say, "He is mine."

May the Lord give me strength to triumph in him till the day of my death. Amen.

July 14, 1839.

A PROMISE SURE.

S. T.

"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee." What a mercy for thee, poor cast-down, dejected, tried Christian, that, amidst all the changing vicissitudes which thou art called to wade through, both in a way of providence and grace, thy God is immutably and unchangeably the same; and what an unspeakable mercy that, in every intricate path thou hast to travel, and however rugged the path may be, it shall at length lead thee to thy desired haven. Perhaps, poor soul, thou art feeling thy sins as mountains rising within thee, so as to block up all communion with God. Unbelief, base ingratitude, temptations of the devil, a wicked, depraved nature, all unite to sink thee almost into despair; and thou art constrained to cry out, in the bitterness of thy soul, "I am shut up, and I cannot come forth; O bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name." Perhaps thou art looking back to those moments when thou wast delivered from under the galling yoke of the law, and thy soul could walk at large; when the candle of the Lord shone upon thee; when thou couldst, by faith, embrace a bleeding Jesus; feel his righteousness, by imputation, thine, and see all thy sins washed away in the crimson fountain that flowed from his wounded side; when thou couldst, with holy faith, exclaim, "My beloved is mine, and I am his;" when he was unto thee the chiefest amongst ten thousand, and the altogether lovely. What holy wonder, sweet communion, nearness of access to a throne of grace, filled thy happy breast, and the very desire of thy soul was towards him! And now that the sensible presence of thy God is withdrawn, and all things seem to be working against thee, dost thou think thy God will also forsake thee? Ono, my dear brother, for in six troubles he will be with thee; yea, in seven he will not forsake thee. Then may the sweet Spirit of all truth enable thee to cast thy every care upon him, for he careth for thee. Perhaps a smiling Providence has long crowned thee with success, and thou hast been carried away with the pride of thy heart and the pleasures of this vain and wicked world; but now thou hast

the painful mortification of seeing thy prosperity changed into adversity, and all thy fair purposes and intentions frustrated, and art now anticipating thy downfall, and art fearing it will soon be made manifest that thou art a cast-away. Perhaps thou hast to endure the frowns of those whom thou once thoughtest to be thy bosom friends, but who now, in the day of adversity, stand aloof from thee. Poor disconsolate Christian, art thou thus brought to conclude thy hope is perished from the Lord, and that he hath, in anger, shut up his bowels of mercy towards thee? Thou shalt, ere long, be brought to see that in infinite wisdom he has corrected thee, to wean thee from an arm of flesh, to humble and bring down thy lofty looks, to teach thee thy own nothingness, to keep thee humble at his footstool, to teach thee how to pray and what to pray for, to show thee that every good and perfect gift cometh from God, and that in him is thy strength found; so that thou shalt eventually be brought to acquiesce in the will of thy heavenly Father, and to see that all things, however painful and mortifying to proud nature, have been working together for thy good; that he is a God too wise to err, and too good to be unkind. May the sweet Spirit of all truth give thee a thankful heart, fellow-traveller in tribulation, to bless his dear name that thou art out of hell; and may the feeble worm who is writing, and thou who art reading, be helped to remember that if we are without correction whereof all are partakers, then are we bastards, and not sons; but if we endure chastening, God dealeth with us as with sons, for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? Yea, I have found it good even to have my gourd withered, for then a spirit of prayer and supplication has been poured into my soul, so that I have been enabled to cast my burden upon the Lord, who has mercifully sustained me; and I have ever found him to be a God near at hand, and not afar off; a friend in need, and a very present help in the time of trouble.

"O that our souls could love and praise him more,

His beauties trace, his majesty adore;
Live near his heart, upon his bosom lean,
Obey his voice, and all his will esteem."

May the Lord bless these feeble remarks to those who are in the path of tribulation, and his name shall have all the glory. Trowbridge, September 24, 1839.

S. M.

A GLORIOUS DISPLAY OF DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY, In the Triumphant Death of Western Eve, of West Hanningfield, in the county of Essex, occasioned by the Bite of a Mad Dog in July, 1826.

The following is a relation of the living sayings of a departing friend and brother in our common Lord, by name Western Eve, whose death, according to the All-wise disposer of all events, was occasioned by the bite of a mad dog, which took place in July, 1826, from which time he laboured under great distress of mind, from painful apprehensions of circumstances commonly attending

such a cause, and particularly as it related to his eternal state.
On the 17th of December he was taken very unwell, and believed
that death was very nigh. He broke out and said, “O, if I am taken
away this night, what will become of my poor soul? His brother
asked him if he loved the Lord Jesus Christ; to which he replied, "I
nope I do, but I feel such a hard and deceitful heart that I cannot
tell you whether I love the Lord or not, for I am very fearful I shall
be left to do as Job's wife told him to do; that is, to curse God and
die, and if he leaves me, I know I shall;" and then added, "O that
the Lord would keep me from it." His brother replied that he
believed there never was one that had that fear who was left to do it.
He then smiled and said, "I hope I shall have a little rest, and if I
do, O that I may rest where Christian did, with my window open
towards the rising of the sun; and O that the name of my chamber
may be 'Peace.'
He then sent for the doctor, for he said he felt a
desire to be spared to live a little longer with his dear wife and
children, if it were the Lord's will. When the doctor came he told
him he had been bitten by a mad dog, and that he could do him no
good. Directly a fit seized him, which continued about five minutes.
After it was over he said, "Come, Lord Jesus, and receive my poor
soul this night, if it be thy will." To one who stood by him, whom
he believed to be in a state of nature, he said, "You see that dying is
hard work; but, remember, you are on the road; I am, as it were,
but a step before; I can only point out the way to you, but I cannot
say that you shall walk in that new and living way; and O that the
Lord may support me." Then his sister repeated a few words from
one of Herbert's hymns, which the Lord made to suit his case;
and he said, "What! that dear good man?" and smiled again, and
then said, "As the fountain is pure, the streams are pure also; but
do I belong to these streams? His brother answered he believed
he did, but Western said, "I have many doubts and fears concerning it."
He was told the "Lord's people are subject to those infirmities," to which
he said, "What! doubters and fearers go to heaven ?" He was told,
Yes. He then took hold of his brother's hand, and said, “I am not
dismayed at going, or at leaving you; for I have often seen the Lord's
people, (be it understood that he was in the habit of meeting with a
few of his dear friends, who are maliciously called Antinomians at
Galley-wood Common, and other places where the everlasting gospel
is preached,) and have walked out of my way rather than meet them,
because I felt such a deceitful heart. I thought they all condemned
me for a hypocrite, which made me go with my head hanging down
like a bull rush; but there is a treasure hid in the sand for me. You
may say that is a strange place to hide it, but so it is; and, moreover,
it is for me! The waves of trouble and distress may beat against it,
but they never can wash it away. These things may seem strange,
coming from such a poor man as I; but Christ visited
poor fisher-
men, and went into the vessel with them. Then they were sure to
arrive safe on shore, and so shall I, for he sits at the helm, and
anages the whole of it. It is not left for me to do; if it were, I
should most certainly steer it wrong." "But it is finished," it was said

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to him, "and you did not do it; it was finished on the cross." And with a smile he said, "Yes, for I can as soon raise my body from this affliction as I can do anything to save my soul; yet, through Christ, I can do all things." Upon this came up several gentlemen to see him, to whom he said, Gentlemen, I hope you will keep silent; now, you see I am a dying man; let me speak, and do you stand still and see the salvation of God." But one of them said, "Eve, I hope you have made your peace with God." Then he shook his head and said, "What! me make peace with God? The Lord made peace with me, or there never would have been any made; no whited sepulchre will do for me. You may build large buildings upon the sands, with untempered mortar, but the floods will wash them all away. I do not mean Noah's flood, but I mean God's wrath; for such not coming in at the door, but climbing up some other way, the same are thieves and robbers. But we are built upon a rock, and that is the way for me. You will excuse me, gentlemen; I am a dying man, and must be faithful with you; for that which is truth is truth, and that which is a lie is a lie; and there is no mixing them together. It is very likely that some of you will go away, and say I am not sensible; and well you may, for a madman cannot be sensible; yet the things that I speak I am sensible of, for he loved me from everlasting, therefore I am compelled to love him. He is not Christ and Co., but Christ all in all; the King's gold is pure, and no mixture or counterfeit will do for me. You see my glass is almost run out, and I do not wish to turn it again; neither would I if I could, for I see the doors are open for me, and the streets are paved with gold. I shall walk, and hold my head up there; I shall not hold it down, as I have done here; I shall not want my old rusty tools there, for I shall not be in the King's palace only, and with the King's friends, but I shall be with the King himself, whom I shall see for myself, and not for another, for the Lord hath a feast of fat things for me, of wines on the lees well refined. The devil often told me that I should lay violent hands upon myself, and that he should gain his ends; but he is a liar, and was so from the beginning, for he is a conquered enemy, and I shall overcome him, for the door is open for my entrance I believe, and as the word reads, and yet there is room,' but who that room remains for, is not for me to know; but this I do know, there is room for me; and this also I know, that when the last elect vessel is brought home, there will be shouting Grace unto it; and then the door will be for ever shut, and there will be no more room." His brother then said to one present, "See how sensible he is, poor thing!" Upon which he looked at him, and with a smile said, What! call me poor? there is a jewel hid in me richer than the Indies. I am in the cold arms of death, as you see, but do not think that I am loath to die, for 1 am not. Before this my present confinement to my bed, the Lord was pleased to bless me with two sweet enjoyments in my soul. The first was in coming from Stock to my home. It was so sweet, (though but short,) that I scarcely knew whether I was in the world or not, but it very soon left me. The next was as I was coming from my

work. I had been very much cast down in my mind, the moon shone very bright, and I had a load on my back, which I laid down in order to rest, and the Lord blessed me with such a sweet promise, that the load fell from off my mind, as Christian's did, and I cannot tell you how I felt; but I felt such a love to him, that I thought I would live as holy as an angel, which I purposed, but my purposes soon failed, and I began to patch up my old building again; but according to my views, it fell before I had scarce begun, for no man can put a piece of new cloth to an old garment, but the rent is made worse.' Then, addressing himself to his wife, and his brother and his wife, “I may say the words of Mr. Saunders's text, more than thirty years ago, Time is short;' and I hope you will not leave me in my dying hour, but stand and see my heart-strings break,

"And while you see my heart-strings break,

How sweet my minutes roll.""

And patting his cheek with his hands, he said,

"A mortal paleness on my cheek,

But glory in my soul.'

Then a Mr. T-, asked him if he had taken anything, to which he replied, No; I have neither laid me down, nor have I had any sleep, no, nor have broken my fast, for nearly forty hours, and I am neither sleepy, weary, hungry, nor thirsty, only for the Lord Jesus Christ, and him do I thirst for."

Several gentlemen coming to see him, to one of them he thus addressed himself; "Come in, Sir; for your countenance takes my fancy more than any young person that I have seen to day, and I hope not to puff you up with pride, for if you belong to the Lord, you will feel plenty of that, and if the Lord has been pleased to plant a spark of grace in your soul, the devil will never let you rest long, but he will be trying to get it away, but he shall never be able to do that." Then they shook hands, and he bid him good night, saying, "This is the last time I shall bid you good night, for I am dying, and my eyes grow dim; you all appear to me of different countenances, yet I believe the Lord has bound up this poor body of mine to speak to some of my dear friends as long as I have breath remaining." Upon this, his master for whom he laboured came to see him, to whom he said, "I am very glad to see you, Sir; you have always behaved as a gentleman to me; and as I know it is in your power to befriend my poor wife and children, I hope you will so do, for you see, Sir, that I shall be here but a short time. My poor dying legs have done carrying my body to labour for you, and I hope you will use your influence to prevent my wife and children being turned out of doors;" which his inaster promised he would do, and then he thanked him, and delivered up his son to him, and added, "This is all I have to say to you, Sir." But to the doctor, who stood by, he said, "I dare say, Sir, you think my body is in great distress;" to which he replied, "Yes." "But I do declare unto you it is not in any distress whatever, for the Lord has been pleased to bless this bed of affliction to my soul, so that it is no affliction to me. I will