light of my mind, perceiving the evil of it, the checks of conscience warning me of its consequences, and a secret desire to avoid it, have borne me away into actual sin, and immediately after, Satan has become my accuser; guilt and horror have entered into my soul as though I should sink in despair." WITH GOD IS TERRIBLE MAJESTY.-Job xxxvii. 22. SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND EXPERIENCE OF THE BY THOMAS FOWLER. BEING a member of the church over which Mr. Palmer was the esteemed pastor, and having been favoured for some time, together with my dear wife, and family (the three eldest of whom we had the happiness of seeing him baptize) to sit under his ministry, I venture to furnish a few additional particulars to those given in October VESSEL. It appears that it pleased the Lord to call him by his grace when he was about seventeen years of age, previous to which time he had been what might be termed, a gay youth, although he has told me that God had mercifully preserved him from actually committing some sins both before and after his call by grace, and yet he was made to groan under the feeling sense of those very sins rankling within him, and causing him to say with Paul "When I would do good, evil is present with me," and, "I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet," I remember him telling me once in particular that he was so fearfully tried in his mind respecting a grievous sin, that he was tempted almost to conclude that it must be impossible for him to be a child of God while being the subject of such feelings, and yet it was of that nature and character that he dare not mention it to any one; but it pleased the Lord so to order it as to cause a person, whose Christianity he could not doubt, to converse with him, and in the course of the conversation he said, "William, I should be the vilest sinner in the place (referring to the particular sin) were it not for the grace of God," and it was made the means of breaking the snare that bound him, for he then felt that there was yet hope, even for him. When he first became concerned about his soul, he set about weaving a righteousness of his own in order to satisfy divine justice, and fit himself for Heaven, and tried his utmost to keep his ways, words, and thoughts pure, but to use his own homely language, he said it was like a person trying to scale a wall, and just as he had nearly scrambled to the top, the bricks would give way and let him down with a crash. Hence his great fondness for that sweet hymn, portions of which he would so frequently quote, and while quoting the last line he would beckon with his hand and endeavour to encourage sensible sinners to try the same remedy. On one occasion he was so fearfully tried about his eternal state, that he placed a stick upright in the ground, and concluded in his own mind that if it fell in one direction it would indicate his safety, but if in the other direction, that he would be lost, and it fell in the latter, which added greatly to his distress of mind. But God, who is rich in mercy, so ordered it, that that honoured servant of God, Mr. Tiptaft, preached a sermon in his neighbourhood, and it was made the means of setting his soul at happy liberty, and he would speak of him and his preaching in the most glowing terms. After which he followed his Master in the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, which exposed him to persecution, through which he had to leave his situation; but here he proved that, "while they are yet speaking I will hear," &c., for just before he left the house, he retired to lay his case before the Lord, and as he was coming down stairs a knock came to the door, which resulted in his obtaining a much better situation immediately, thus proving the truth of that declaration, "Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee," &c. Having had some painful proofs in the country that the people of God were not all perfection; he made up his mind when he came to London, that he would attend the means of grace, but would not let anyone know that he made a profession of religion; but on one occasion, after hearing a sermon at Zoar chapel, very profitably, he exclaimed to a person who sat beside him, Ain't that nice?" so, like Peter, his speech betrayed him, and he used to mention this circumstance to prove the utter impossibility of the life of God in a believer being hid long under a bushel. After going from place to place to hear the word, he eventually united with a few friends meeting for worship in White Horse lane, Stepney, where he took part in the prayer meetings, with very much acceptance. He then began to speak in the name of the Lord in connection with the infant cause at Zion chapel, the origin of which you gave in October VESSEL. One circumstance is worthy of notice, previous to the present Mount Zion being built by our late dear pastor, there was a very large open-air tea and public meeting held in his field, on which occasion Mr. Stringer was called upon to pray, and that prayer was made the means of a young man becoming settled in the truth, and who now stands a consistent member of the church. Several important matters, of a providential nature, might be named to show how wonderfully God provided him with means, to enable him to build a house for the Lord; but I forbear. It would appear that God who has said, “I will not give my glory to another," &c., saw, perhaps, that we were thinking a little too highly of his servant, and saw fit gradually to wean our affections off him, so that the shock might not be quite so severe when he was removed from us by death, for up to within the last few months the church went on in an almost uninterrupted state of prosperity; but our dear pastor having consented to preach one Lord's-day at Carlton, and proving very acceptable, he was asked to become the pastor of the church; and labouring at the time under an impression that his work was finished at Plaistow, he felt disposed to accept the invitation, much to the grief and discomfiture of our church, although he confessed it was not from want of love to us, but because he felt like having a large family to provide for, and having nothing to set upon the table; and although he abandoned the step, circumstances of a painful nature came about which he took very much to heart, and which told upon his health, and resulted in disease of his poor body;. hence the terrible termination. On the 13th of August he wrote me a note from Herts (where he had gone for change of air), wishing me to arrange with Mr. Steed to preach on the following Sunday afternoon on the occasion of the school anniversary, and he himself was to have preached morning and evening, but he became too ill to do so. In his note he stated that he was very poorly, and his medical man had advised him to keep quiet; and finished by saying, "I find it a great mercy to have a good hope founded upon the all-sufficiency of our adorable Christ." At the close of our prayer-meeting, on the 20th of August, intelligence reached us that he was dangerously ill, and we at once arranged for one of the deacons to go off early next morning to see him. The result of that visit, as also the visit of our other deacon on the 25th instant, was given in October VESSEL. On the 26th I paid him a visit. When he saw me his dear face beamed with delight, and he embraced me in a most affectionate manner, and exclaimed, "Brother Fowler, the friends do seem to love me," as though he had laboured under a temptation to the contrary. I replied, Yes, certainly they do ;" and asked him how he felt in his mind. He replied, "Middling." Middling." I said, "Do you find the promises sweet?" He .6 replied, Sometimes." As it was not prudent to remain long at a time with him I withdrew until later in the day. When I saw him again he appeared low in his mind; and I shall not easily forget the expression of his countenance when he said, in a most emphatic manner, "Brother Fowler, I feel that I know nothing yet;" which I presumed he meant comparatively, as he appeared then labouring under darkness of soul; and he followed by saying, "If I recover I hope it may be sanctified." After praying with him that those truths with which he had laboured to comfort others might be blessed to the comfort of his own soul, &c., he said, "Amen." As he was becoming exhausted I took my final leave of him as regards this life; but 1 bless God for the comfortable hope I have, that one day I shall join him in singing the song of Moses and the Lamb. He bade me an affectionate good-bye, and again embraced me, and said with emphasis, "Give my love to all," which he repeated; and said, "I don't know whether I shall come back to you again." I replied, "The Lord knows ;" he said, "Yes." I then left him. His mortal remains were interred in the quiet churchyard of Hertingfordbury, Herts, resting till the resurrection morn, when his mortal body, together with all the saints, shall put on immortality. The clergyman who performed the rites of Christian burial stated, that he should venerate the spot where lay the remains of a dear brother in the Lord. SIR-Will you be so good as to give Mrs. Sarah Ann Daggatt's name a free passage in the free-grace VESSEL, that the readers and the members of the ransomed of the Lord Jesus Christ may see that one of the chosen and ransomed of the Lord have been called over the "swellings" of Jordan, leaning upon Christ, her beloved. She was an old friend of Mr. William Gadsby. She died July 1st, 1867, in the sixty-fifth year of her age, in the full assurance of for ever being with the Lord. This memorial is ascribed to her memory by her loving husband, ROBERT DAGGATT. 15, Ann street, Hulme, Manchester. Death's called a saint away, From this vain world below, To live in endless day, And to Jesus go. up Blessed angels, angels, angels, come, To take her to her heavenly home. Elijah, he did rise, Not from the bed of death, Saints overcome by faith. In Christ they fall asleep. As holy Stephen did, For Jesus knows his sheep, There in His bosom hid. The Father gave them to His Son, To Christ the ransomed saints must come. Death's but a sleep of rest, Upon the Saviour's breast, They lean their dying head, O'er Jordan's swelling flood, From this vain world below. Her body's in the dust, But it will rise again, For all Thy saints they must: How blessed she will be then. When the Archangel's trump shall sound, The dead in Christ shall leave the ground. Oh, welcome, glorious day, And see Him face to face. And friends will meet before the Throne,. We feel her loss below, But we shall meet again, How blessed we will be then, In that eternal world of joy. JOB'S MESSENGERS. MY DEAR BROTHER RICHARD,— My letters from home of late have been to me a succession of Job's messengers; one untoward event after another has been announced, but the last (which conveyed the sad tidings of the dissolution of our dear brother Benjamin) has, like in the case of Job, proved the heaviest blow of all. My emotions were too great to allow of my writing before; and even now I can hardly realize the heart-rending fact, that he has been taken from us, that I shall see his face no more on this earth. The circumstances connected with his final illness, and so sudden a removal, are of so painful a nature, as to render the wound even deeper and more afflicting still. "It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good." How ardently have I been looking forward to the time when we might all be for once again collected together, the remnants of a family, and the nearer that time approaches, the more impatient and eager have I grown. But these removals teach us to count upon nothing here below. And even the departure of dear Samuel for Canada, helps to sunder the ties which bind me to my native land. I had hoped in my contemplated visit to dearold England the coming year, to have been the means of producing another train of thought, if not of effecting more lasting benefit in the minds of these two youngest of my family, so that my intended brief stay in London might not prove without blessing, to those who appeared to me to want counsel and direction the most. But the Lord's will be done. It must be otherwise. He can work without our instrumentality. His dispensations are at times both painful and mysterious. Still, we are assured, that although "Clouds and darkness are round about him;" nevertheless "Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." Assuredly if there were no other prospect of a better and unchangeable kingdom above, our existence here below would be burdensome and hopeless in the extreme. Nor can we envy that man who desires to persuade himself, against the voices of reason and conscience, and the unerring Word of God, that a better state of things does not exist in another and a future world. The longer I live the more confirmed do I become in the truths of divine revelation. The principles of Christianity alone can support a man in death and in the In contemplation of an hereafter. regard to our dear departed Benjamin it is cause of thankfulness, that seeing his allotted days had been numbered, he was not permitted to suffer so much nor so long, as is frequently, and I may say generally the case with the patients afflicted with that truly dreadful disease. Our medical man, informed us of a young man who lingered on for some ten or twelve days in the most excruciating condition. As far as I have heard, no case of recovery has ever been known amongst the faculty. Our chief consolation in his removal would be to know that his spirit had taken its flight to rejoin our sainted parents above. As to this we can say nothing, but must put our hands upon our mouths in humble submission. I have read somewhere of an epitaph, I think it is to be found in Camberwell churchyard, of a man who was killed by being thrown from his horse, and it runs as follows: "Between the stirrup and-the ground, I am sure we shall meet many a soul in glory, whom we had not expected to see there, and, solemn thought, others whom we had counted to see we shall fail to recognise. I have as much confidence in the prayerful wrestlings of our dear parents on our behalf, as I am warranted to possess by the Word of God; but I would not dwell on this point, lest it lead those of us who are still living in the flesh to grow presumptuous, and to neglect making their calling and election sure. The prayers and piety of godly parents will never atone for the misdoings of a faithless offspring. Just as a righteous son cannot bear the iniquity of the father, no more can a righteous father bear the iniquity of the son. Read Ezek. xviii. I write to you rather than to dear Samuel, as I should like to have done, in answer to his letter, inasmuch as I should be led to pen a longer epistle, than I can possibly now do. Within a few days, we leave our present habitation, and are already packing up our numerous effects and chattels. It is my desire to send Samuel some words of fraternal counsel and advice, on his starting to establish a home in a distant land. As I have not time before his departure, I must accomplish my wish somewhat later. At such a period in life, should a young man especially be reminded of the words of the Psalmist, "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it." If he is still with you, convey to him my most affectionate love, and sincerest wishes for the successful realization of all his hopes, as far as they are in_conformity with the will of the Lord. To desire for him more than this, would be to wish him harm rather than blessing. He shall not be forgotten in my prayers. At that distance this is pretty well the only real service I can render him. Our encouragement is, that we know that He, who is everywhere present, doth hear us, and that we have the petitions that we desire of him. I would furthermore ask you to take an early opportunity of seeing Mr. Banks, and of thanking him also in my name for his continued tokens of attachment to our family. Assure him of my increasing remembrance and warmest Christian sympathies. Only "that day" will reveal the amount of good he has been indirectly instrumental in conferring upon the blinded children of Abraham in this and other distant parts of the world. Whilst sowing the seed of life within the walls of Crosby row, and Unicorn yard, he little thought that some grains of that seed would spring up beyond the limits of his native land, on the sunny and sandy shores of Africa. Let him be encouraged therefore to persevere, for he shall reap if he faint not. You will like to see a specimen of one of my Hebrew handbills, written and printed by myself, many thousands of which (of different descriptions) are being disseminated over the length and A NEW YEAR'S EPISTLE, FROM SAMUEL FOSTER, TO HIS FRIEND, [The following has been given to us for the comfort of all who are afflicted, and need the consoling testimony of one who in the Lord favours with much faith, and with great nearness to himself.-ED. MY DEAR BROTHER IN THE LORD, Peace be with you, and mercy multiplied from the God of peace, through the Prince of peace. I am spared once more to greet you in the name His heart is made of tenderness, Last evening I was much cast said:" you!" rest. plead |