to pay the last duties of filial regard to her.* He lived to fee two of his fons capable of maintaining themselves in the world with decency and comfort; and treadingdiftinguished felicity of a parent!-in the fteps of their father's fobriety and virtue:† fons, to whose care he could with confidence leave his wife, as their religion had taught them, that a peculiar blessing ever attends those who delight to honour their parents, and "to rock the cradle of declining age." How pleafing, how inftructive to attend the death-bed of fuch a Christian! Oh! ye great and vain, ye children of voluptuoufnefs and pomp, how doth the death bed of fuch a Chriftian, reproach your follies, and condemn your visionary views!-on that bed I faw him!-true, no confultation of phyficians was held on his account; no damask furniture decorated his apartments; no carpets were spread over his floors; veffels of filver and gold were not found to convey the little nourishment he took: -but ah! what poor and wretched comforters are thefe, when the languishing body declares the fatal moment of eternal feparation from this prefent world, near at hand! How much more excellent the confolation arifing from the testimony of an approving confcience! The more a man leaves behind him, the more reluctantly he dies :|| to die is an eafy matter to the poor; and to a good man what matters it whether he dies on a throne or a dung *Honour thy father and mother that thy days may be long upon the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee. ExOD. XX. 12. This commandment, accompanied with a promife, plainly implied, if not fully expreffed, is no little encouragement to the practice of filial piety and obedience. Happy proof! of the good effects of a pious example and inftructions on the minds of children. EXOD. XX. 12. Covet not the riches, honours, or poffeffions of the great and noble; for the lefs you have in this world, the lefs reafon you will have to regret when you come to die, leaving what you poffefs. * hill? The only misfortune at the hour of death, is to find oneself deftitute of the fupports of true Religion!* Mentor was not deftitute of thefe: "I am arrived, Sir, (aid he) at that period for which I was born, and for which I have been long preparing: and blessed be God, I do not find any terrors in the approach of death! Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jefus Chrift! I am thankful to the good providence of my heavenly Father for all things;-but how shall I expreis my thankfulnefs for his exceeding love in the precious gift of his dear fon! Oh! what a fupport is he to finful creatures, like us, in this hour especially! Blessed, for ever blessed be God, for his ineftimable gift of redemption through the blood of the Lamb, offered up for the fins of a rebel world!" Rejoiced to fee him thus triumphant over death, I congratulated his felicity, and remarked the vanity of worldly ftations, when God diftributes his fpiritual favours thus freely to the low as well as the rich. "True, Sir, faid he, this is a fweet reflection to the poorer and meaner fort of Chriftians: it hath often refreshed my foul, and stopped every tendency of murmuring and complaints, which are too apt to arife in our haughty hearts, at the fight of the rich, and their plentiful enjoyments.+ And it was a pleafing thought often to me in the midst of my labour, that my divine and glorious Saviour ftooped to a mean and toilfome employment, and condefcended to work with his own hands; fetting us an example, and thus alleviating, to the true Chriftian, all the wearinefs of fatigue and daily pains.. * Thy force alone, Religion! death difarms, BLACKMORE'S CREATION. + God frequently makes the poor in this world, rich in faith, and heirs of his eternal kingdom, while he fends the rich empty away; not many rich, not many mighty, not many noble are called. I CORINTHIANS, i, 26, 27. The 7 The recollection of this, has frequently given me new life and fpirits when I have been almost worn out, and ready to fink down with labour. And when I have con fidered all his loving kindnef's towards me, which he has fhewn in fo many inftances, I have always with joy perfevered in my duty, and thought myself happy that I had a being to praife and adore him. And now my race is run, and I am about to appear before the Judge of all the Earth!" I doubt not, replied I, you will appear with joy, and be for ever bleffed in his kingdom;""Through Chrift, I truft I fhall, (faid he) my only hope and reliance is on the precious Redeemer! for oh, Sir, what am I, what have I, but from him?—and alas ! what I have done is fo imperfect and unworthy, that it cries for pardon only, not for reward; can it be poffible that any human being can talk of merit before God!* Lord Jefus, pardon the finfulness even of my best and moft holy fervices, and wash them in thy molt precious blood, which cleanfeth from all fin." But, (obferved I) though you depend not upon any thing you have done, nor apprehend the leaft merit or deferving in any of your own works, doth it not give your foul fome peace and comfort, when you look back and remember that you have done fuch works? or rather, that you have in any measure fincerely endeavoured to obey the laws of Chrift?" "Oh yes, (replied he), great, very great peace! without this I could have no peace at all: for without this what teft could I have of my fincerity in any respect? or how could I dare to expect any mercy from the Redeemer? No, I blefs him for enabling me, by his fovereign grace, to do any thing: would to God I had been more diligent, and had done more. Without holiness no man fhall fee him: I have laboured after it with all my might, and to the best of my knowledge;+ *A finner may plead for mercy at God's hands, but never can plead merit, without it is that of Chrift's 'Tis greatly to be feared many deceive themfelves in this particular; for where is even the beft of Chriftians, who can truly but am thoroughly fenfible of the imperfection of my best endeavours. May the gracious Saviour pity my weaknefs, and perfect what is wanting in me!" He added much more: but from this the Reader may eafily collect, how happy an end a man of such just sentiments must make. He received the bleffed facrament from my hands, and never did I adminifter that facred ordinance to a more elevated Chriftian. I remember one passage in our conversation struck me. "Sir, (faid he) though I had never any great learning, I have always been pleased with reading, and from fome book,* early in my youth, I was taught to confider myfelf as a pilgrim, appointed to travel through this world to the other, where I was to remain for ever. This notion made a great impreffion upon me; and I ever afterwards ufed to confider myfelf as a traveller, and therefore entertained no great hopes or fears refpecting any thing below; but looked continually to the end of my journey, the happiness of which, I was perfuaded, depended on my right management of myfelf during my ftay here.† And this thought was the occafion not only of much content to my foul, and of much peace and refignation under every affliction and crofs accident; but of my continued attention to duty, and of the exacteit caution in my daily walking." Such was Mentor; whofe life and death were equally amiable and exemplary. What a contrast to the wretched Egeno! What man but could wish to die the death of the former? Then let him take heed not to lead the life truly fay, in the view of death, they have acted to the best of their abilities, or done all that was in their power, to approve themfelves the children of God? Alas! every one muit acknowledge, after having done all they are able to do, we are but unprofitable fervants. LUKE, xvii. 10. *Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progrefs. + A juft conclufion, worthy to be adopted and attended to, by every fon and daughter of mortality. of of the latter.* Ye fons of men, in the humbler ftations of life, read the important leffon before you. Look at the examples, and revolve their ends! avoid the vices of Egeno, and copy the virtues of Mentor.-fo will you live in credit, and die in peace.t CHAP. XVI. Exhort fervants to be obedient unto their own mafters, and to please them well in all things; not anfwering again-Nor purloining, but fhewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. TITUS ii. 9, 10. Let thy foul love a good fervant-and defraud him not of his liberty. EccL. vii. 21. AFTER having attended the death-beds of the busy and the gay, the noble and the poor; after having furveyed the iffue of life spent in thofe purfuits, which are common to mankind in general, and contrafted every character, to make each more ftriking; I intended to have stopped here, and confidered death in the general view; to have offered arguments and confolations against the fear of it; and as a conclufion, to have contemplated the great things which follow after, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell.* But a funeral, at which I was called lately to offici ate, leads me to postpone these reflections to a following To live the life of the righteous, is a good ground to hope for dying the death of the righteous. + Ifaiah Ivii. 2. Death, Judgment, Heav'n, and Hell, think, Christians, think, You ftand upon eternity's dread brink; Faith and Repentance feek with earnest prayer; TRAPP. |