is prepared for me, and I for the mansion; each is to be occupied, and I believe there is one for me." Once he said, "I have no particular ecstasies,* but a solid resting upon the finished work of the Saviour."

The remembrance of his early life appeared to remain extremely vivid in his memory, often did he mention his youthful vileness, and the sovereign grace

"That taught his roving feet
To tread the heavenly road."

Observing once at the same time that not one of all the string of his youthful companions had given any satisfactory proof of real regeneration, and why him? left as it were alone in the world without any restraint; but perhaps upon this point I may write a little more at some future opportunity. We read, he once said, "when John was on the isle of Patmos, that he saw Christ crowned with many crowns," emphatically uttering at the same time these words, " he shall have mine too." At another time with much feeling, he repeated the following lines: "While I draw this fleeting breath," &c., the verse through. At another time when life seemed to him but very short, he rehearsed these lines full of emotion, as nearly as I can remember they ran as follows:

"And when my feeble heart-strings break,

How sweet the moments roll;

A mortal paleness on my cheek,

And glory in my soul."

At another time these lines seemed to give him great comfort and satisfaction, “There is a land of pure delight," &c.; but the only hymn, he said, that he could sweetly follow through, was,

"There is a fountain filled with blood,"

which he particularly desired to be sung at his funeral service. On one occassion to, he solemnly and earnestly observed, "What a mercy for him that Christ came to save sinners," and he said, "I know I am a sinner, and therefore He is just such a Saviour as I need, I cannot boast of any merits of my own, nor do I see that there is any other way by which to be saved, nor would I be saved by any other means if I could."

I was very pleased to hear him refer to his life, in relation to some few months past, although at the same time it caused me great regret, for during that period, I had rather rashly accused him of apathy in connection with spiritual matters, as I never saw him reading, or even heard him engage in the service of prayer. But upon this he fully relieved my mind of all previous hard thoughts by the observations made, and unsolicited on that very point. So he said although he had not been able to read the word, the word had read in him. I had noticed as a rule how early he used to rise, but concluded that his so doing, originated from the restless nights he almost invariably spent, such were his sufferings for months before his final attack. His motive he acknowledged was partly because of his restlessness, but also said during those seasons when all alone he had spent such blessed times as he should never, never forget, such sweet visits as he had never before enjoyed, in fact, he said he was compelled to say with Jacob, "I will not let thee go except thou bless me,' "and he does bless me too, I am sure." This was not mere speculative talk I feel confident, but was all

* That was at the time I wrote this part of my memoir, but afterwards as you will discover he enjoyed great rapture.

spoken from feelings of purest sincerity, while the emotion down his pallid cheeks to ratify the truth. very feelingly recited the following lines,

The following were very comforting to his mind, and greatly enjoyed by him, and which he would repeat with considerable emotion.

Once during his conversation with me he said, "David didn't disturb himself much when he was about to die, for he said, This day I go the way of all the earth, and David had'nt a better God than I have, nor a better hiding place.' Upon another occasion he expressed himself with much emotion in the following lines:

"I shall be saved, for Christ displays superior power,
Over Satan, death, and hell-and sovereign grace."

And after all the mercies past,

Will he let me sink at last?

To which he replied, "No! no! no!" These lines I also heard him repeat, "No big words of ready talkers,

No dry doctrines will suffice,

Broken hearts and humble walkers,
These are dear in Jesus' eyes."

With much feeling be also repeated the following lines :

"I long to mount and soar away

To the bright worlds of endless day,
And sing with rapture and surprise,
His loving-kindness in the skies."

After which he rather earnestly exclaimed, "Come! come! come !" (To be continued.)

The Weapon of all Prayer.

"Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men." (Psalm xii. 1).

WHAT an inestimable privilege is real, in-wrought, grace-inspired prayer to the child of God! I do not mean saying prayers, or merely uttering words of prayer, but the sincere, spiritual, sensible, and affectionate pouring out of the heart under the eternal Spirit's influence, through the sacred medium, the only blood-opened way into the ears and bosom of the Lord of Sabaoth-that prayer that is forced out of the heart by the solemn and deep necessity felt of the blessing prayed for, and which very often vents itself from the breaking, burdened heart in sighs, desires, groans, and tears, which cannot be uttered in words-the prayer of faith. Oh, how powerful to reach Jehovah's ear, to move Jehovah's heart and arm. This has been the peculiar privilege of the Church of God in all ages. In times of special trouble, where is the heaven-born experienced traveller to Zion who cannot bear his testimony to the truth of this, and enter feelingly into the truth expressed by dear Cowper

"That were a grief I could not bear,

Did'st thou not hear and answer prayer?
But a prayer-hearing, answering God,
Supports me ander every load."

Soul troubles, bodily troubles, relative troubles, circumstantial troubles, church troubles, and national troubles, and sometimes a portion of these combined, and all meeting together and placed in the same cup for the child of God to drink. Why, sink the soul must under these weights and burdens were there not a secret, certain outlet, such an one as dear Hannah found at the mercy-seat, when she spake in the bitterness of her soul-when she spake in her heart, her lips only moved, but she poured out her soul before the Lord, and out of the abundance of her complaint. and grief she spoke and relieved her sorrowful spirit, and her countenance bespoke the experienced relief. The vessel of mercy would sink, the Pilot well knows, if overfreighted; therefore, a look by precious faith lightens the sinking heart; and in real prayer, the cares, and sins, and sorrows are as really laded out of the heart of the poor sinking soul as the goods are laded out of a sinking vessel. Our sorrows and our tears we pour into the bosom of our God; He hears us in the mournful hour, and helps us to bear the heavy load. If prayer is so important to the individual child of God, how important is united prayer! O that the Spirit, in this respect, were poured out upon us from on high, to bring the living souls of God's dear family into vital union and communion with Christ, the living head, and with one another, so that the power of vital and practical godliness might be more manifest. Oh, that our prayer-meetings were characterised with more of that simplicity, fervour, devotion, and power, that characterised the saints of old, who met with one accord, in one place, and made their solemn supplications and gracewrought appeals to Heaven's high throne. Surely, this is faith's retreat and resort still; the mighty God of Jacob still lives, whose ear is not heavy that it cannot hear, and his arm is not waxed short that He cannot save; the same Omnipotent arm that dried the sea, that cut Rahab,

that crushed the serpent's head, that wrought eternal redemption, and that hurled the mighty load of all the Church's guilt into oblivion; that arm in connection with His heart of everlasting love is still outstretched to save his Hephzibah, his beloved spouse, and therefore, how suitable, and how important the prayer before us in these troublous and portentous times, Help, Lord! Ah, vain is the help of man; but our God still rideth upon the heavens by His name Jah for the help of His people against their numerous foes; and though the clouds are gathering, and the state of professing Zion is most perplexing and distressing, though truth is still falling around us, faithful men of God removed home, and vital godliness at best at a very low ebb, here, ye highly favoured, much despised, yet honoured praying few, is our privilege. We have power with God; we have influence in the high court of Heaven, though we may possess little or no influence on earth. How sweet the assurance -Zion's welfare, and Zion's Saviour's honour and glory are inseparable. O! that our eyes, and hearts, and hands may be up, therefore, to the tranquil and steady throne of our exalted King, in whose skilful hands is entrusted all affairs of all worlds. Before our King the pomp and socalled greatness of nations sink into nothing, and all the teeming grasshoppers of earth are less than nothing, and vanity; and in His affections, in His eternal mind, even in the mind and bosom of the Highest, we have a place. The people of God are scattered and divided, the ways of Zion do mourn, our enemies are to us mighty and confederate, the beast of Rome is again caressed in England, and the mark thereof is to be seen, alas! on every hand, increasing power is being given to it; our Parliament is deaf to the warning voice, and in vain we look to that source. O! then, to realize the power of prayer by precious faith in the Lord of Hosts. While we have no might in ourselves against this great company that cometh against us, may our eyes be up unto Him whose precious promise is, "Whosoever shall gather together against Zion shall fall for her sake."

Popery is making rapid strides to its own destruction, for when she is ripe for the blow from the hand of our God, the blow will come, and an everlasting hallelujah will arise out of her destruction; rivers of blood she has shed, and blood may flow again in old England, God only knows ; but this we know, for it is revealed, that she came from the bottomless pit, and shall certainly go there again when God's permissive will is accomplished by her existence; and apostles, prophets, martyrs and saints shall shout in chorus over her destruction. "True and righteous are thy judgments, for thou hast judged the great whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged our blood at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia."

That the Lord the Spirit may arouse His sleeping saints and revive His work in all our hearts and in all His churches, especially in respect of united, solemn, and fervent prayer, is the desire of the humble writer,

GEORGE BUrrell.

GOD will never leave the believer, until he has accomplished all he has promised concerning him; and God will never leave the sinner, until he has accomplished what he has threatened concerning him.

Lights and Shadows of a Pastor's Life.

BEING A DOZEN CHAPTERS IN THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A LIVING MINISTER.

I

MIGHT recount other incidents, of a providential nature in the life of my parents, though not so remarkable perhaps as those already related, but as I do not wish to tire the reader, I omit them. Suffice it to say then in closing this chapter, that they both lived to a good old age, and peacefully and happily fell asleep in Jesus; mother in her eightieth year; father in his eighty-eighth year, having lived together nearly sixty years. Mother's last words were, "I know whom I've believed."

Just before father died, I said to him, "Have you any fear of death?" "Not the least," he said, "No more," I replied, "than if you were going to sleep?" "No," he answered, "I shall soon be with Jesus ;" and as his spirit made the exchange of worlds, an exclamation of joy escaped his quivering lips, and a smile of unspeakable delight lit up his closing eye, and then he fell asleep. And so are they for ever with the Lord! 'Tis my happy privilege to say in the language of Cowper,

My boast is not that I deduce my birth

From loins enthroned, and rulers of the earth;
But higher far my proud pretensions rise,

The son of parents passed into the skies.

Chapter II.-CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH.

I was born at W-- in Kent, being the youngest but one of ten children, four of whom died in their infancy, one went to America, and was heard of no more, two died at the age of fifty-one, two sisters and myself alone remain. Soon after my birth, my parents removed to Dwhere I was sent to the Sabbath school, attached to the Independent chapel, High street. There I continued till I was fourteen. I have still a lively and grateful recollection of my teachers, and my dear old Sunday school; nearly all the education I ever received, I received there. The only faculty of my mind which seemed to stand out above the ordinary, at this time, was memory. I remember learning in one week, fifty-one hymns, and repeating them to my teacher on the following Sunday, for which I obtained a handsome reward.

About this time I began writing little hymns; I remember well the surprise I felt when I had composed the first, as I could'nt believe it was my own, I thought I must have read it somewhere, and forgotten where. It was as follows:

Jesus, keep me from despair,

O Lord Jesus, hear my prayer;
Keep me from the dangerous foe,
Hold me, do not let me go!

Drive away my unbelief,
Let my sin be all my grief;
All my comforts from thee flow,
Hold me, do not let me go!