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Shirley, from the words chosen by him- | against me; I have nothing against him. self before his death- Christ is all and in all.'

[For the above interesting particulars, we are indebted to Mr. John Bunyan M'Cure, who we are happy to find has been for some time supplying at Hadlow, with very considerable acceptance.]

[The following is extracted from a letter written to Mr. John Bunyan M'Cure by Mrs. Crowhurst, the widow of the deceased.]

MY DEAR BROTHER IN THE LORD: Agreeable with your request, I will endeavour to give you a few particulars of the happy state of mind, of my late dear and afflicted husband; I feel it a great task; but, with the Lord's help, I will endeavour to do so. He was taken worse the latter end of January, 1846. He continued preaching the glad tidings of salvation, till the last Sabbath in April; but with great weakness; the last text he spoke from, was Ps. xvi. 3. From the commencement of his illness, he enjoyed almost a constant peace of mind, which, indeed, had been the case, for the last three or four years. He used to say, 'My being laid by from preaching, is no trouble to me, the Lord is able to carry on his cause without such a poor worm as me; if he has any further need of me, he will again call me forth in his vineyard. What he is about to do with me I know not; but I am enabled to commit all into his hands; often saying, 'It is sweet to be passive in his hands, and know no will but his.' As the summer advanced, his health fast declined; he appeared to be going home very fast; he often said, 'I do not contemplate death near; I wish I did. I long to be gone; to be with my dear Saviour, who died for me: all my times are in his hands; I must wait till my change comes.'

He was enabled to converse much on spiritual subjects to the edification of many; it was his delight to speak of the Lord's goodness to a worm like himself; saying, he was less than the least, yet, the Lord was kind and indulgent to him. "The Lord's goodness,' he would say, 'is so wonderful to me; 1 do not suffer any severe pain; how gently he is taking down this tabernacle! What sweet peace I enjoy ! I can say, Not a day passes but I have some sweet and sensible communion with God, although I am deprived from hearing his word, yet the dear Lord more than makes it up to me; I have a Sabbath every day: when I have company I like to be talking of my matchless Jesus; when alone, I talk to him; I feel no shyness; I approach him with holy boldness; we are perfectly agreed; he has nothing

The Father sees no spot in me; I am all fair; the truths that I preached, I now live upon; they are more precious to me than

ever. The church I am enabled to commit

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daily to the Lord by prayer; he will take me, 'To give you up, my dear, is a trial; care of them.' He would frequently say to but I feel, when the Lord takes me away, he will surely visit you; he will support you in a way that you can neither ask, nor think of. This sweet passage was much on his mind-'I will surely do thee good.' Lord is doing me good by this affliction; my sight is bad, but all is good; I am deaf, but all is good; my mouth and throat is bad, but all is good; there is not any thing I wish to be altered; there is not a christian friend I would change places with; nor a minister of Christ: there is but one character that I would change places with, that is a saint entering glory. I am ready packed up, only waiting for the Lord to come. so long to be with Jesus; I am not unhappy here: I have many comforts; I have many kind friends; I am daily receiving some little present from one and another; these are all tokens for good.' He always was much pleased with a little present; he always made a point of praying for a blessing on the giver and the gift. As the autumn advanced he appeared something better: we went from home for a month, to visit his dear aged mother.

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Soon after our return home he got worse, but as the outward man decayed, the inward man was renewed; his longing to be gone increased, frequently saying, 'I am only waiting to be sent for! With what joy should I now obey the summons! Oh, that I could see the chariot coming; I would leap into it, and say farewell to all below.' He would often say, When I leave this body, I am sure I shall go to heaven; where else can I go? My heart is there; my soul is there; my mind is there; my affections are there; and Jesus, my head, is there. He loves me with an everlasting love, and I love him. We daily hold sweet communion together: we can never be separated; no! no! indeed we cannot.' On a Saturday, evening he would frequently say, 'Oh, when will the last Saturday night come? school boy ever longed for home more than I do. Surely the time is not far distant when the Lord that has given me this desire to be with himn, will soon send his chariot for me.' In this happy state of mind he continued month after month. In February his strength and appetite fast declined, which he hailed with peculiar pleasure; saying,

"I feel this mud-wall cottage shake,
And long to see it fall;
That I my willing flight may take
To Jesus, who's my all."

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To a friend that he had not seen for some time, he said,' Do you think I look more like a dying man? Do you see much alteration in me? I long to be at home; I long to be in glory; I am more in love with heaven than ever! Oh, that wonderful place! I so long to see the land. I shall be no stranger when I get there. I shall know all the Old and New Testament saints with a perfect knowledge, and many dear friends that I have had sweet communion with here; and some of my own children too. I look at death with all that calmness and pleasure that I look at you. When I saw you come in, I thought, oh, had I not seen Jesus since I last saw you. I have seen the king in his beauty, I think, I can say, every day. I daily pray to the Lord to give me patience, to wait his time; nothing I dread like impatience.' One evening he said to me, I have had the sweetest communion with God this day, that ever I had in my life. It appears as if the vail was drawn away, and I was permitted to approach him; he was so full of glory, majesty, and beauty I cannot describe my feelings: I did long to burst the prison to be with him. His love to me was so great, I had such a sight of it, and such a view of my own vileness, and nothingness, that I was melted in the dust before him. I wept exceedingly; when I die, I hope I shall die triumphant; if I feel as I do now, I must die shouting.' Lord's day, March 14, was the last day he came down stairs; he was very weak, but very happy; generally asking me what they thought about him; telling him that it was their general opinion that he was going home very fast, he would say, 'I can say, Amen to that; I fear it is too good news to be true; I may linger some time yet; I hope you daily pray to the Lord to give me patience. While he was confined to his bed, he did not converse much, as he was much inclined to sleep; he would say, 'I should like to die triumphant; if it is for the Lord's glory, I shall; I feel perfectly happy; and I enjoy perfect peate. On the following Sabbath, when you saw him, dear sir, he was much revived; and conversed freely with the you; Lord indeed gave him his request, he was enabled to triumph in the Lord; he was very happy the whole of the day; he said to me in the morning, 'My dear, you recollect that saint of the Lord we read of, that said he could suffer his body to be cut into a thousand pieces, so that he might die to be with the Lord Jesus; I feel, I think, as he did:' I said, "The Lord will soon send for you; I think this will be your last Sabbath on earth.' I do sincerely hope it will, he said, 'but it may not; but I must not be impatient.' On the following Tuesday, about three o'clock in the afternoon, he said to me with much pleasure, 'I think my time

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is drawing very near; I feel pains about my heart, that I have not felt before; I think the long wished for time is now near.' Soon after that he vomited blood. We quite thought he was dying. He was very happy; he exclaimed-Death, where is thy sting? grave, where is thy victory?' But the time was not yet arrived; he lay another day. Early the next morning, he said to the friend that was sitting up with him, 'I hope this day, I shall enter Paradise; I hope this will be my last day.' He said to me in the morning, when alone with him, 'I hope this will be a feast day to me; not a fast day. I hope I shall be with the Lord before night; I feel perfectly happy. I have not any thing on my mind; my confidence is not the least shaken; I have thing to cause me a moment's uneasiness. I have felt enabled to give you up for some months. I feel satisfied the Lord will be with you, and support you.' I said, 'my dear, I make no doubt you have offered many prayers for me.' He said, 'I have, I can say thousands; my very breath has been prayer for you; but, my prayers are now nearly at an end. Do not neglect prayer; I have found the Lord to be a prayer-hearing, and answering God. I have generally prayed six or seven times a day; may you be enabled to live to his glory. I am sure he will be with you and bless you. 'About half past two o'clock in the afternoon, he was again taken with vomiting blood. He said, My love, it will soon be over now.' I said, 'Are you happy?' he said, "Blessed be God, I am happy. I shall be with him.' I then left the room.

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May the Lord, bless you and your's, is the prayer of your unworthy, but sincere friend in the bonds of the gospel.

MARY CROWHURST.

Pembury, April 30, 1847.

(To be continued next month.)
"He is the Rock."

FIRST.-He is the Rock on which I build all my hopes for eternity. The Holy Ghost has discovered him to my soul as the only Rock on which I dare venture my never-dying soul; here I have a solid, safe, sure, immoveable, and everlasting foundation, against which the gates of hell shall never prevail; the Hoods may beat, the tempest may gather, the enemy may roar, the mountains may depart, the hills be removed, the earth and them that dwell therein may be burnt up; but, oh, my soul, if thou art founded on this Rock of Ages, thou art safe for ever. For He is the same yesterday, to day, and for ever.' As the

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Rock of thy salvation, he sustains thee under all thy doubts, fears, and infirmities; bears thee through this wilderness of affliction, cares, crosses, and anxiety; supports thee in the valley of death, when heart and flesh gives way; and will be the Rock of thy strength to all eternity. Oh, may I never be left, as Jeshurun was, to lightly esteem, or to be unmindful of such a foundation as the Rock that begat me, and to this moment has kept me. He brought me up out of the horrible pit, and set my feet upon this Rock; and gave me to see and feel that all besides is but sand and dust,

"On Christ the solid Rock I stand,

And all beside is sinking sand;" So sung the Poet, and so saith the word of the living God, For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.' Look to it, ye professors, and free-willers, for your Rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges. Your duty-faith and dead-works will all be consumed together.

Second. He is the Rock in which his people take shelter: sin and transgression have exposed us to every danger; laid us open to the wrath of the Almighty, who is a consuming fire to the sinner without a Mediator, and when this is discovered to us in the day of his power, by his holy law, it makes us cry to him for a shelter, which is embraced by precious faith; no man will take shelter in the blood and righteousness of the God-man, until he is driven to his wit's ends in soul matters; and all lying refuges swept clean away from him; then it is he is brought sweetly to feel that the wounded side of Jesus is the blessed cleft into which he enters by faith and hope; and abides for ever. Here he beholds the Lord God merciful and gracious, and here the Lord beholds him with approbation and delight. O my dove, that art in the clefts of the Rock; in the secret places of the stairs; let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice and thy countenance is comely.' Here it is the child of God can rejoice when he finds he is sheltered from all the curses of a broken law, the malice of his enemies, the corruption of his heart, and the sting of death. How wonderful did the Lord shelter Noah in the ark; the Israelites by the blood of the lamb slain; David from Saul; Peter from the devil; and the church from the dragon!

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Third. He is the Rock that supplies his elect as they sojourn through this wilderness. He supplies them with living water from the smitten rock, which was Christ; And they did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.' Had it not been for this miraculous supply, we poor famishing sinners must have perished in this dry and thirsty land, where no water is; but it may be found in the Rock of our salvation, as it is written, 'When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none; and their tongues fail for thirst;' then the Lord will appear to open up Christ crucified and smitten, as the water of life to our parched spirits; and moreover, whosoever drinks of this water shall never die; but it shall be in him a well of living water springing up into everlasting life.

Oh, that we may be found drinking more freely, deeply, and constantly from these holy waters; for they gladden the hearts of the citizens of Zion, and cause them to rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory. All very good (saith the poor soul,) but I fear it is not for me; it is for all the thirsty and willing, as you may plainly see John vii. 37. Rev. xxii. 17.-so fear not. From this Rock he supplies them with honey, for all sweetness is to be found in a precious Christ; for as the rocks of the promised land did abound and drop with honey, so the rock Christ abounds with sweetness to the believer; his love, grace, mercy, peace, pardon, blood, righteousness, person, offices, power, and promises, are, at times, sweeter than honey, or the droppings of the honey-comb, to the soul; his mouth is most sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely; this is my Rock; oh ye daughters of Jerusalem. Again: with oil, out of the flinty rock; no unction can be truly felt in the soul or attend the word of his grace, but that which comes from the Holy One of Israel, with whom is the residue of the Spirit. Jesus of Nazareth was anointed with the Holy Ghost without measure, that his elect might be anointed in him, and receive the oil of joy for mourning, and unction from the holy one, that they may know all things. And this is the desire of a poor saved sinner in the Rock Christ. C. H. C.

Reading.

Letter from Mr. R. Aldis,

Minister of the Gospel, late of Aldringham.

once wounded heart, it is but a small matter that he should have the chief and best place in your's. I think not, dear companion in tribulation, that your dear Lord has dealt hard with you, in taking to himself your dear child; she was your Lord's right; she was only lent to you to be called for when your loving master thought best; nor, did he call for her till he had made her ready to go; you loved her, and cared for her, but your's was only a time-love, and a feeble care; but your Lord's was an eternal love, graciously shown and maintained; your Lord laboured for her, travailed for her, bled and died for her, rose and ascended for her, and has now taken her to himself, glorified for ever, where he ordained her to dwell, and where she desired to be; so, her desire is fulfilled, and his purpose accomplished; then, it must be right; she has entered into that place where the Lamb in the midst of the throne shall lead her to fountains of living water, where there is no night, no sin, no pain, no sorrow; she is there in her Lord's presence, dressed in his righteousness. What she knows, and how happy she is, we cannot guess, but this we know, her bliss is in being like her Lord; it is through the wonder works of her Lord she is there ; and there to gaze upon and admire that God who loved her, and recount the acts of grace that brought her there in safety. By adoption the Lord put her into his family; by redemption she was secured for heaven; by sanctification he gave her a meetness for it; by justification he gave her a title to it. By giving her a sight of Christ crucified, he made her long to be with him glorified; and now her longing is abundantly satisfied; he came from heaven to earth, to take her from earth to heayen; where she desired to go, and where you shall enter, to see her and be with her and her Lord, glorified. Surely then the Judge of the whole earth has done right! By what he has done, your cares are lessened, her's lost, sin is banished, the world is overcome, the devil defeated, death removed, sorrow ended, heaven possessed, Jesus crowned, her happy, ransomed spirit delighted, and her mansion filled, while she is infinitely glorious, according to her wish. Who, then, can say, but it must be right? Dry up your tears, then, mourning saint, or ask your Lord to wipe them from your weeping eyes. Think, in how many ways your dear child might have been a living sorrow, or had the Lord removed her without pardoning her sins, how great, unbearably great, must have been your grief. All he has done has been in love, mercy, and wisdom. Oh, may the thought of her eternal gain, comfort you under your loss. But there is something far more precious still, viz. the humble hope that you shall shortly meet her on those ethereal plains, where

MY DEAR FRIEND AND SISTER IN OUR LOVING HEAD :-Your daughter's kind and welcome letter came safe to hand, bearing the best of news from that part of the wilderness, that will ever be dear to me, for the sake of the many Bethels my soul has had in it. When I read the contents of the letter, my heart was indeed overwhelmed within me, and the peculiar and mingled feelings it produced, is by me indescribable; truly, it shall be said, what has God wrought? Wonders of grace to him belongs. Think not yourself forgotten by me because of the long delay in writing; multiplied engagements, a state of heavy bondage, hardness, and wretched barrenness must be the only excuse I plead; and even now I do not feel that anointing which destroyeth the yoke, as my soul longs to feel. You have been much on my heart, and many times presented by me before the throne, when it has been my happy privilege to see the King. What a mercy to know he is on his throne, ordering all things well, even after the counsels of his own will; that he is love, ever was, and ever will be, therefore, 'All his works,' however distressing and heartrending some may be, are done in love.' He is only now doing in grace and power, what he has before time done in his counsels of wisdom and purposes of love. His blessed Spirit will enable us to trust his promises when we cannot trace his footsteps, and shelter in his Son when every earthly gourd withers over our heads; the fountain is on purpose to supply us when all created streams are dried; created streams must be dried up before the fountain will flow in its appointed sweetness. Your heart must be come parched and dry before the dew of heaven will fall upon it to make it soft and fruitful. The Lord always throws down before he builds up, strips us before he clothes us with our better robe; roots us up from earthly standings before he plants us in his heavenly soil; and he must burn us out of our earthly dwelling places before we shall run into that precious name which is as an high tower, where alone the righteous find safety. We shall not prove by sweet experience the heavenly skill of our divine physician till we become broken and wounded, and full of diseases from head to foot, nor shall we call in his help till we feel we have none of our own. Has he, my dear sister, made a large opening in your heart by taking a dear child from you? You may rely on it he intends to come and fill the place himself, which is infinitely far better. If he is graciously pleased to bear your name before the eternal throne, and wear it on his

I well remember the circumstance that led my mind to the subject which was blessed to your dear child. I remember preaching from it, but do not remember the time, but will say more about this when I write to Sabina; my love to her, and Mr. Smy, and all friends. I shall be glad of a letter from you when you can write; my wife and family are well, and send their love to you all. The Lord bless you, is the prayer of Your's truly, R. ALDIS..

the smiling face of your much-loved Lord | No; he has said, "where I am, there ye shall for ever delight you, and where he shall shall be also;" but you will say who is it that for ever live through all your soul; how shall be with him? Why, the poor, the cheering the thought that you are mantled in needy, the tempted, the sorrowful, the heavythe same righteousness in which your dear laden, and the burdened. Cheer up, then ; child stands before the throne complete; the Lord has given you the land in possesthat your life is in the same living Head se- sion; the Lord bless you with that anointcure, and your sins removed by the same ing which destroyeth the yoke, for his name sacrifice, while your hopes are based on the sake. same atonement, made and anchored in the same Lord who made it; that the road to it is firm and good, though often rough and rugged; but your gospel shoes shall last through all the tedious way, and you shall say, though faint, yet pursuing; or if you are so faint and feeble that you cannot walk, then you shall be taken home in the same heavenly car, your Lord's state carriage, (the gospel,) in which your daughter rode in triumph to glory, attended by angels as the life-guards from heaven. You are only now parted by but an inch of time; and the Jordan through which you shall pass in safety, the Lord being with you, his rod and his staff comforting you, according to his word, you need not fear the passage, though it may appear to you dark and gloomy in the prospect; your Lord will not give you dying peace till you come into your dying hour. But how vain my attempt to comfort my friend, unless the Lord seal home the word with unctuous power, and give the comfort needed. If the Lord withold from his Rachels, comfort, they mourn their absence till he bury them.

I know that nothing but a religion felt will satisfy you, and what a mercy it is, it will not; it proves a tender conscience which none but the Lord can give. But are you saying your hope is cut off from your Lord? So said one of old, but it was not

so;

the Lord never cuts off what his own almighty power hath wrought; such expect the fulfilment of his word; or, are you saying you shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living; so one of the Lord's anointed ones exclaimed, and under it said, 'I am oppressed, O, Lord, undertake for me.' Has the Lord shaken you to pieces, and broken in upon you with breach upon breach ? So he dealt with his servant Job; so you see your face in the gospel glass, answering to these, and are a manifest companion with them in tribulation, who are safe landed, and your's is the language of Canaan, which none but the Spirit of God can teach, and proves you have not forgotten your Lord, and this gives proof that he has not forgotten you. Nor will he forget you world without end.

"His love in times past,

Forbids you to think,
He'll leave you at last,
In trouble to sink."

Willingham.

To an Afflicted Saint

ON THE COAST OF SUFFOLK.

MY DEAR FRIEND, and afflicted sister in the lovely and beloved Lord Jesus Christ :— I received your letter with some feelings of pleasure, and while taking my tea this evening, my wife read it to me. You are unknown to me in the flesh, but I trust well known in the Spirit. Your simple, and artless tale of the sweet love of Christ, cheered and warmed my heart as my wife read on. Oh, my dear heaven-favored girl, it does me good to hear the bubblings of a heart, in the simplicity of Christ, from the fountain of life in the soul: Yes; love divine in its risings and overflowings in the soul is sweeter than honey, and more fragrant than lillies and roses. O, yes; I have been overcome with the sweet unctions, and odours, as if my spirit had been carried out of my body into a paradise where Jesus lives and love immortal reigns.

But while we are in this tabernacle we must expect to groan more or less, at times, under some calamities to which this poor flesh is heir; and the soul that has known and experienced the love-visits of Jesus, will often moan and groan at the loss of his presence, which nothing in nature can supply. Mine is a heart disease-'plague of the heart,' which sometimes breaks out, and 'my sore runs in the night.' And I believe there is no radical cure while I am in this tabernacle, but we have many reliefs, and sweet visits of love; which, sometimes, for a season make us forget our miseries, before the great and final relief comes, when we are to put off this tiresome load of mortal flesh, and exchange our rags for robes of royalty.

The poor soul is locked up in a filthy dun

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