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ORIGINAL LETTERS FROM PIQUS heart will be led out in prayer, and CHARACTERS DECEASED, you will hold sweet converse with No LXIX.

him. He will speak to you in and

by his word (mind, this is your Copy of a Letter from the Rev. ?

one study), and will open to you the Romaine to Mrs. B i

secrets of it.' While you are read. MY DEAR MADAM,

ing it day by day, he will give you THANKS for your kind letter, to feel what that blessed man did and for your present. Your re- who said, “How sweet are thy membrance of us this Christmas words unto my taste, yea, sweeter calls for my grateful acknowledge than honey unto my mouth: the ment, which I do very sincerely law of thy mouth is dearer unto me pay you. I have long had reason than thousands of gold and silver." to bless God for his goodness to No friend can converse' more fac you. He has brought you, by sin- miliarly with another than he will gular providences, to the knows with you when you mix with his ledge of the truth, and I hope to a word, faith and prayer. This heasound experience of its power. venly fellowship will bring on, as

These are the only two things all true friendship does, a growing worth living for. God, of his infi. conformity to him. And thus, Mrs. nite. mercy, has bestowed them B. you will find; nay, why not, both upon you. He has taught you have found, heaven upon earth, you to know Jesus, whom to know Presently you will change the mana aright, is life eternal; and he was ner, but not the object of your love. brought you to another year, on 0! it is a blessed thing to love topurpose that you might learn to day what one can love, and love live more upon his fulness, and perfectly, for ever. By and by, thereby to live more to his praise, sense will take the place of faith; In these respects may it be the but it will be the same enjoyments happiest year you ever spent; and of the same Jesus, only improved, it will be if you live up to your and in its highest exaltation. You privileges. These are temporal will see him soon face to face, and spiritual, many and great, yea, as she is. You will be with him inestimable. God has blessed you where he is; and you will be like with rare gifts and precious grace. him, which is the heaven of heaYou have had fine opportunities of vens! improving them, and you now en. May he keep you, my dear joy much time and leisure to make friend, by his inighty power, til use of your improveinents. I hope that day, till you and I meet him, and pray that in this new year you and unite in adoring and worshipmay become better acquainted ing God and the Lamb for ever. with your Lord and Saviour : for Yet a very, very little while, and it the more you know of him, the shall be better with you than you better you will trust him; and be can at present either ask or think: assured, my good friend, the more for his name is Jesus; it is his ofyou trust him, you will find him sofice, it is his glory, to save such faithful to his word, so bountiful in poor creatures as you feel yourfulfilling it, that you cannot help self to be, with an eternal salvą. growing more in love with him ; tion. To his care and keeping I and by degrees your love will get heartily-commend you, and am in strength, and you will have reason him, and for his sake, to become intimate with him. In Your ever much obliged, this he delighteth, and so will you.

And obedient servant, You will find happiness in being

W. ROMAINE... much with him in private; your

THE POOR MAN'S FRIEND.

* Obituary.' "o which she was placed seemed at

all to move her. She would say . MRS. E- BK, OF O.

that she never knew what happi[ Conchided from Page 205.] ness was, till, under afiction, she Her state and character being tasted the comforts of religion, and Kated in my former communica-' would perpetually express how tion, I proceed to notice her supe great the support and comfort were port and hopes under her accumu- which she derived from her Salated suffering, and, at last, in viour. Miss T , during her death.

late stay at 0 -0, had constantly God, indeed, dealt very tenderly visited her. When asked whether with her. The support and con- she had any message to send to fort which she derived from her her, she replied that she hoped that views of religion were both great she was still enabled to rely on the and almost uninterrupted. So long promises of Christ. " Tell her that ago as April 1811, she said, that my Lord is ever present with me, whenever she awoke from sleep, that he never leaves ine, and that or, rather recovered her recollec- I find Jesus more and more pretion from a state of insensibility, cious to my soul every day." her Saviour was ever present before When asked by her kind visitor, the eye of her faith; that she was ; Miss S , whether she would pever at a loss for some tender ex- give up her hope in Christ for any pression of his to those who truly large possessions, she replied in, turned to him, which administered dignantly, “O, no, I would not unspeakable comfort to her mind; for a thousand worlds." When that she was as happy as she could asked whether she was grieved at expect to be on this side heaven; the near prospect of death, she rethat she would not exchange the plied, “No, not at all."' When happiness which she experienced the 5th verse of the 121st Psalm from her hope in Christ for all the was read to her, “ The Lord is Indies, and that she was led to thy keeper," she observed, “ He think how great the happiness has kept me; he does keep me; he of heaven must be, from the joy keeps me night and day, and he which she felt here; asking her at will keep me. Yes, and he keeps the same time, with that fearfulness my mind in perfect peace.” At one of deceiving herself in any way, time, when she was in extreme which always, since I knew her, pain, a person coming in, exclaimmarked her character, whether this ed, “What a shocking state for was a right conclusion. At a later any one to be in!" she replied, period, she said that, if her exhort- “O, no, it is not shocking, for ations to any near her to attend Christ is all my salvation and all to the concerns of their souls were , my desire, and what can I want not received so kindly as they more?” ought to have been, the unkindness As she approached her end, she thus manifested pierced her to the observed repeatedly, that not one * heart; that on such occasions, how- thing had failed of all the good ever, she used to lift up her heart things which the Lord her God to God in prayer, and was then had spoken concerning his people,

“filled with comfort," so that none Joshua, xxiii. 14. When the latter < of the distressing circumstances in part of 1 Cor. xv. was read to her,

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at the 55th verse she repeatedly in- characters, or not. If this be not terrupted the reader : at the words, the case, men may be honest, and “ O death, where is thy sting?” sober, and diligent in their busishe said, “ That's gone." At the ness, kind to their neighbours, well words, “ O grave, where is thy thought of and spoken of by them, victory ?”, she said, “ To me there and not inattentive to certain reliis nothing frightful in the grave, gious duties, and yet, after all, be since Christ was laid there." And destitute of real repentance, faith, at another time, when part of Psa: and holiness ; be still only in that xxiii. was read to her, at the state in which if she had contiwords, “ Though I walk through nued, the person we have been the valley of the shadow of death, speaking of wes sensible she should I will fear no evil;" she observed, have been lost. that there was none--no evil; and, And if this hold true of those having requested that the passage decent and respectable characters might be read again, when she who are yet merely in their natural heard the word “ shadow” she ex- state, what shall be said of those claimed, wich great animation, who are living in notorious trans*. There! the shadow ! yes, it is gression of God's laws, and cons only the shadow, of death !"-A temptuous disregard of his ordicommentary this, which, whatever nances ? There can be no doubt the critic may say of its correct- but that, while the righteous has ness, the Christian will acknow, hope in his death, these, if they ledge to be worthy of the dying continue such to the last, will as believer. Finally, when her death suredly be driven away in their was evidently close at hand, she wickedness. O that men were exclaimed, « Come, Lord Jesus, wise, that they understood this, come quickly!” and, when admo- that they would consider their latnished that she must never let go ter end ! her trust in him, she replied, with But perhaps some persons may more strength than she was thought take up this paper, who, being adto possess, “ No, never !and ex- yanced in life, may be ready to pired almost immediately; and say, that they are too old to think was, doubtless, with that gracious of going on in a different way from Lord and Saviour in Paradise, to that in which they have walked hiwhom she had cleaved with such therto ; that they are too old to full purpose of heart.

change their religion. Should such After perusing this account of cast an eye over these pages, I the last days of our departed şis- would respectfully and affectionter, who is not ready to exclaim, ately beseech them to reflect what « Let me die the death of the good their religion will do them righteous, and let my last end be while they continue destitute of like hers?” Would to God that all real repentance and faith. I would who shall read these lines had good entreat them also seriously to conground to conclude that this shall sider the case of the person the be the case with them! But let us account of whom has just been never forget, that unless we re. laid before them. She attended semble her in her state and charac- really and truly to the concerns of ter, we only deceive ourselves if her soul for the first time late in we expect to resemble her in her life, when her day was far spent, end. The question is, not whether and rapidly drawing towards its we are able to state precisely, as close. At an advanced age, and she was, the time and circumstan after a decent and respectable life, ces of her conversion to God; but, she did not think herself either too. whether we are really converted old or too good to acknowledge CHRIST. GUARD. VOL. VI.

LI

THE POOR MAN'S: FRIEND

Obituary.

which she was placed seemed at

all to move her. She would say . MRS. E- B-, OF O. .!

that she never knew what happiConcluded from Page 205.] iness was, till, under affliction, she Her state and character being tasted the comforts of religion, and Itated in my former communica- would perpetually express how tion, I proceed to notice her supe great the support and comfort were port and hopes under her accumu- which she derived from her Salated suffering, and, at last, in viour. Miss T- , during her death.

late stay at 0.-, had constantly • God, indeed, dealt very tenderly visited her. When asked whether with her. The support and com- she had any message to send to fort which she derived from her her, she replied that she hoped that views of religion were both great she was still enabled to rely on the and almost uninterrupted. So long promises of Christ. - Tell her that ago as April 1811, she said, that my Lord is ever present with me, whenever she awoke from sleep, that he never leaves me, and that or, rather recovered her recollec- I find Jesus more and more pretion from a state of insensibility, cious to my soul every day." her Saviour was ever present before When asked by her kind visitor, the eye of her faith; that she was Miss S--, whether she would never at a loss for some tender ex- give up her hope in Christ for any pression of his to those who truly large possessions, she replied inturned to him, which administered dignantly, 60, no, I would not

unspeakable comfort to her mind; for a thousand worlds.' When : that she was as happy as she could asked whether she was grieved at

expect to be on this side heaven; the near prospect of death, she rethat she would not exchange the plied, “No, not at all." When happiness which she experienced the 5th verse of the 121 st Psalm from her hope in Christ for all the was read to her, 6 The Lord is Indies, and that she was led to thy keeper," she observed, " He think how great the happiness has kept me; he does keep me; he of heaven must be, from the joy keeps me night and day, and he which she felt here; asking her at will keep me. Yes, and he keeps the same time, with that fearfulness my mind in perfect peace.” At one of deceiving herself in any way, time, when she was in extreme which always, since I knew her, pain, a person coming in, exclaimmarked her character, whether this ed, “What a shocking state for was a right conclusion. At a later any one to be in!" she replied, period, she said that, if her exhort- “O, no, it is not shocking, for ations to any near her to attend Christ is all my salvation and al to the concerns of their souls were my desire, and what can I wan not received so kindly as they more?" ought to have been, the unkindness A s she approached her end. si thus manifested pierced her to the observed reneatedly heart; that on such occasions, however, she used to lift up her her to God in prayer, and was “filled with comfort," so t of the distressing circum

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