foon have company to join me in praifing him;" and ther The fang "And if our fellowship below With Jefus be fo fweet:" &c. On the 29th, as many perfons came to fee her, the faid to me, "I find it very difficult to keep my mind wholly flayed upon God, amidst so much converfation. I defire none to fee me, but those that fear God; but do you pray with me, and for them; who knows what the Lord may do ?" The next evening, whilft her hufband was reading that paffage, "The wicked fhall call on rocks and mountains to fall on them," Satan fuggefted, that this would be her cafe after all. She had then another fevere conflict, fuch as the had two days before, but it did not laft fo long. She fent for me feveral times; but I was not at home. When I heard of it, I haftened, and found her praifing God. She told me how Satan had tempted, but the Lord had made her more than conqueror; and she never lost a fenfe of his favour from that moment to her death. She took great delight every day after this in finging, and did not seem fatisfied unlefs I fang with her both before and after prayer. When I faid, I feared finging would hurt her head, being fo weak, fhe fid it would not, as fhe liked it well; and then broke out in praifing God, and added, "The time is almost come, when I fhall praife God without hurting my head: then all pain and sickness will have an end, and forrow and fighing will flee away: O! how I long to be there!" When I afked, could fhe willingly leave her children behind? She replied, "Yes; I love my Jefus above all; I know he will take care of them." When I exhorted her to hold faft faith and patience, the faid, “I do not find the leaft impatience. I am willing to fuffer every thing my Lord fhall lay upon me; and if my pains increafe, I will praife him the more." We then fang "For "For the joy he fets before thee, Bear a momentary pain, &c." Feb. 5, the fent for me about fix o'clock in the morning, and told me the found herfelf very low, and could not praife her Lord as the wifhed to do. When I asked if the had flept in the night, fhe replied, very little, and thought that time loft, which was not spent in praifing God, and therefore fhe would not fleep her time away. Soon after, when I visited her, I found her complaining of deadness and ftupor, and faid fhe was grieved because he could not praife God as before. I then prayed with, and left her fomewhat dejected; but when I returned in the evening, I faw a vifible change in her counte nance. When I asked, “Can you now praife God?" She replied in the affirmative, and told me her brother Dickey had been with her, who had died fix years before. Her husband whispering that he believed her to be light-headed, fhe overheard him, and replied, "I am not: I know what I faid: my brother has visited me more than once. He is a happy fpirit: he has comforted me, and told me that I fhall foon be with him." Have we not fome ground to believe this from Heb. i. 14? "Their fouls are impaffive above, And nothing of mortals they know; They vifit a mourner below." Feb. 13. I went and found her dying; but there was fo much company in the room that I could scarce get near her. After fome time fhe looked round, upon which I took her by the hand and faid, "Your pains are almoft over." She replied, I feel not the leaft pain. I asked if the found any fear of death? She replied, "None at all." On my faying, I thought it would be her last night here, fhe faid, "I hope fo, because because I want to praise my God better than I can do in this body." She continued praising God till near four o'clock in the morning, and then asked her mother if the had heard Jefus call her? On her replying in the negative, fhe faid, "He does call for me." She then defired them to call her husband, and feemed in hafte; on his coming, fhe fhook hands with him, and without fpeaking another word, and without a figh or groan, went to him who had called her, and to join the triumphant hoft, who fhall praise him for ever and ever! R. S. *** An Account of the Death of Mrs. HESTER WELLS. H ESTER WELLS was always fubject to timidity, from her youth; and declared a few weeks before her death, that he was feldom free from fome fear or trouble upon her mind fince she was a child. It was not a flavish fear, but an awful one, which kept her on her guard, and was a means (through divine affiftance) to keep her from the allurements of the world, &c. As the advanced in years this timidity increased, for fhe was often troubled with a concern for others as well as herself and when any neighbour or friend died, who had not a comfortable affurance, with respect to another life, it gave her fome uneafinefs. Her brother died about fourteen months, and her fifter about twelve before her. They bore their afflictions with patience and refignation, and died in peace. Her fifter in particular, (who died in the twenty-fifth year of her age,) left a joyful teftimony behind her, and was very defirous to be with Chrift. She often prayed for fome token, to certify whether her brother and filter were happy; which requeft, fhe faid, was granted in a wonderful manner, about four months before her death. She She was delivered of a fon on the 19th of October 1788, and on the 27th in the morning was taken with a fit, which feemed to take away her fenfes; but after the recovered a little, and was able to fpeak, fhe repeated the word fenfible many times, to convince her husband, that the retained her fenfes during her fwooning. She faid, before the fit came on, that fomething came by degrees, till it feemed to have a great weight, but she continued in mental prayer and in a fhort time it fell off; which she said was like Christian's load falling off his back, and fhe immediately felt great comfort; her tongue was fet at liberty, and all her fears were gone. She related fuch a hiftory of her life, as aftonished thofe that heard it. Her mother went to see her the morning after this happened, to whom she said, "Mother I am not dying yet, I have more work to do; my fears are gone and I am happy. I have had a fit as they call it; but it was a vifion to me, and it was so exceeding wonderful, that I am not able to express it. I do not wonder now, at my dear fifter's being fo willing to die, for I in respect to future have experienced something similar to her, glory, though far greater than she related. I am now fatisfied of my brother's and fifter's happiness; and I bless God for it. It was represented to my view, as if all nations were gathered together, and the day of judgment was come; and I thought I faw my brother and fifter, who died laft, with all my other brothers and fifters, who died in their infancy, being in all nine in number; and it appeared to me that they were in a happy ftate, and alfo that I and my parents fhould be happy too; which gave me great fatisfaction, and banished all my fears. The fight was fo very wonderful, that I am not able to exprefs it. If I was able to retain it in my memory, it would fill a volume." After this, the fever increased and affected her breast, which was not entirely healed at her death. At the end of three weeks after her delivery, fhe infifted on being carried to her father's at Breffingham; and notwithstanding all the perfuafions of of those about her to the contrary, fhe would not be prevailed on to flay at her own houfe; and when she was told it would endanger her life (the fever being very high) the faid the fhould catch no c ld, God would preferve her. When fome talked of darkening the room where fhe lay, becaufe they faid fhe was delirious; he heard them, and faid, "If you darken the room, I thall have light as the Ifraelites had when they paffed through the read fea; the light will appear on one fide to me." When they found her determined; it was agreed that the fhould be carried to her father's; where when she arrived, she was so joyful, that in fome meafure fhe forgot her affliction. She faid fhe was like the prodigal, who returned to his father's houfe, for fhe was loft and is found, was dead and is alive again, and it is meet that we should be merry; and the endeavoured to fing fome verses on that account. The next day her breaft being very ill, the doctor was obliged to lance it; and in about two months after, it was fo well that we had fome hopes of her recovery; but the feemed rather doubtful about it, and faid, "It must be as God pleases: I am refigned, welcome life, welcome death." Soon after this. a cough feized her, which continued till her death. She often mentioned the vifion, and faid fhe hoped never to forget it; and whenever he spoke of it, she said it had great effect upon her. She was confined to her bed only a few days before her death, and though her natural ftrength declined, her fpiritual strength increased; for, fhe was very chearful, and bade her parents rejoice and give God thanks, for he would foon deliver her out of all her troubles. She was very thoughtful about her mother, who, fhe knew, would be very unhappy at her death; and would often beg and entreat her not to be forry, for, faid fhe, "I fhall be freed from all my troubles; I fhall be admitted into the New Jerufalem, where there is no more forrow, but joy for evermore; and there I shall behold my dear Redeemer, with the holy angels, and my brothers and fifters. |