At a quarter past twelve o'clock, being the morning of the 27th of July, 1814, her spirit gently winged its flight from a mansion of clay to the realms of glory, while around the precious remnant of earth her family and friends stood weeping, yet elevated by the scene they were witnessing. After a silence of many minutes, they kneeled by her bed, adored the goodness and the grace of God towards his departed child, and implored the divine blessing on both the branches of her family, as well as on all the Israel of God.

Thus she departed in peace, not trusting in her wisdom or virtue, like the philosophers of Greece and Rome; not even like Addison, calling on the profligate to see a good man die; but like Howard, afraid that her good works might have a wrong place in the estimate of her hope, her chief glory was that of "a sinner saved by grace."*

*This was Howard's epitaph, dictated by himself.

After such examples, who will dare to charge the doctrines of the cross of Christ with licentiousness? Here are two instances of persons, to whose good works the world have cheerfully borne testimony, who lived and died in the profession of these doctrines. It was faith that first purified their hearts, and so the stream of action from these fountains became pure also. Had not Christ died and risen again, all the powers of man could never have produced such lives of benevolence, nor a death so full of contrition, yet so embalmed with hope. Hallelujah, "unto Him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father: to him be glory and dominion, for ever and ever. Amen."

At the next weekly prayer-meeting which she had usually attended, the circumstances of her death were made subjects of improvement. On the 16th of July she was a worshipper with her brethren and sisters there, and on the evening of the 30th they were called to consider her by faith as in the immediate presence of her God, among "the spirits of the just made perfect." The services of that evening were closed with the following hymn from Dobell's collection, which is beautifully descriptive of her happy change:

"'Tis finished! the conflict is past, The heaven-born spirit is fled; Her wish is accomplished at last, And now she's entombed with the dead.

The months of affliction are o'er, The days and the nights of distress, We see her in anguish no more— She's gained her happy release.

No sickness, or sorrow, or pain, Shall ever disquiet her now; For death to her spirit was gain, Since Christ was her life when below.

Her soul has now taken its flight To mansions of glory above, To mingle with angels of light, And dwell in the kingdom of love.

The victory now is obtained; She's gone her dear Saviour to see; Her wishes she fully has gained— She's now where she longed to be.

The coffin, the shroud, and the grave To her were no objects of dread; On Him who is mighty to save, Her soul was with confidence stayed.

Then let us forbear to complain, That she is now gone from our sight; We soon shall behold her again, With new and redoubled delight."

Mrs. Graham's death created a strong sensation in the public mind. Magistrates of the city were careful to express their sense of the public loss sustained, and many charitable institutions paid affectionate tributes to her memory. Several clergymen also made her death the subject of their discourses, among whom was her beloved pastor, Dr. JOHN M. MASON, who, on Sabbath evening, Aug. 14, delivered the well-known powerful sermon, "CHRISTIAN MOURNING," from 1 Thess. 4:13, 14: "I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."

Contrasting the consolations afforded to the Christian with the darkness and doubt of the pagan or infidel; dwelling on the Christian's death as "sleeping in Jesus;" his immediate entrance into bliss, and his glorious resurrection and reigning with Christ in the judgment, he thus proceeds:

"In this faith the apostles labored and the martyrs bled. Ages have elapsed and it is still the same. It is not a distant wonder; not a brilliant vision; but a solid and present reality, under the power of which at this moment, while the words are on my lips, Christians, in various parts of the world, are closing their eyes to sleep in Jesus. It has come home to our own business and bosoms. It has chosen our houses to be the scene of its miracles. But rarely does it fall to the lot of human eyes to witness so high a display of its value and virtue, as was witnessed in that blessed woman whose entrance into the joy of her Lord has occasioned our assembling this evening.

"As we are commanded to be followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises, we should have their example before us, that we may learn to imbibe their spirit, to imitate their graces, and be ready for their reward. With this view, permit me to lay before you some brief recollections of our deceased friend.

"It is not my intention to relate the history of her life. That will be a proper task for biography. I design merely to state a few leading facts, and to sketch such outlines of character as may show to those who knew her not, what manner of person she was in all holy conversation and godliness. Those who knew her best require no such remembrancer, and will be able, from their own observation, to supply its defects.

"ISABELLA MARSHALL, known to us as Mrs. GRAHAM, received from nature qualities which, in circumstances favorable to their development, do not allow their possessor to pass through life unnoticed and inefficient.

"An intellect strong, prompt, and inquisitive—a temper open, generous, cheerful, ardent—a heart replete with tenderness, and alive to every social affection and every benevolent impulse—a spirit at once enterprising and persevering—the whole crowned with that rare and inestimable endowment, good sense—were materials which required only skilful management to fit her for adorning and dignifying any female station. With that sort of cultivation which the world most admires, and those opportunities which attend upon rank and fortune, she might have shone in the circles of the great without forfeiting the esteem of the good. Or had her lot fallen among the literary unbelievers of the continent, she might have figured in the sphere of the Voltaires, the Duffauds, and the other esprits forts of Paris. She might have been as gay in public, as dismal in private, and as wretched in her end, as any of the most distinguished among them for their wit and their woe. But God had destined her for other scenes and services—scenes from which greatness turns away appalled, and services which all the cohorts of infidel wit are unable to perform. She was to be prepared by poverty, bereavement, and grief, to pity and to succor the poor, the bereaved, and the grieving. The sorrows of widowhood were to teach her the heart of the widow—her babes, deprived of their father, to open the springs of her compassion to the fatherless and orphan—and the consolations of God, her refuge and strength, her very present help in trouble, to make her a daughter of consolation to them who were walking in the valley of the shadow of death.

"To train her betimes for the future dispensations of his providence, the Lord touched the heart of this chosen vessel in her early youth. The spirit of prayer sanctified her infant lips, and taught her, as far back as her memory could go, to pour out her heart before God. She had not reached her eleventh year when she selected a bush in the retirement of the field, and there devoted herself to her God by faith in the Redeemer. The incidents of her education, thoughtless companions, the love of dress, and the dancing-school, as she has herself recorded, chilled for a while the warmth of her piety, and robbed her bosom of its peace. But her gracious Lord revisited her with his mercy, and bound her to himself in an everlasting covenant, which she sealed at his own table about the seventeenth year of her age.

"Having married, a few years after, Dr. John Graham, surgeon to the 60th British regiment, she accompanied him first to Montreal, and shortly after to Fort Niagara. Here, during four years of temporal prosperity, she had no opportunity, even for once, of entering the habitation of God's house, or hearing the sound of his gospel. Secluded from the waters of the sanctuary and all the public means of growth in grace, her religion began to languish and its leaf to droop. But the root was perennial—it was of the seed of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. The Sabbath was still to her the sign of his covenant. On that day of rest, with her Bible in her hand, she used to wander through the woods, renew her self-dedication, and pour out her prayer for the salvation of her husband and her children. He who 'dwelleth not in temples made with hands,' heard her cry from the wilds of Niagara, and strengthened her with strength in her soul.

"By one of those vicissitudes which checker military life, the regiment was ordered to the island of Antigua in the West Indies. Here she met with that exquisite enjoyment to which she had been long a stranger—the communion of kindred spirits in the love of Christ: and soon did she need all the soothing and support which it is fitted to administer; for in a very short time the husband of her youth, the object of her most devoted affection, her sole earthly stay, was taken from her by death. The stroke was, indeed, mitigated by the sweet assurance that he slept in Jesus. But a heart like hers, convulsed by a review of the past and anticipation of the future, would have burst with agony, had she not known how to pour its sorrows into the bosom of her heavenly Father. Trials which beat sense and reason to the ground, raise up the faith of the Christian, and draw her closer to her God. O, how divine to have him as the rock of our rest when every earthly reliance is a broken reed.

"Bowing to his mysterious dispensation, and committing herself to his protection as the Father of the fatherless and the Husband of the widow, she returns with her charge to her native land, to contract alliance with penury, and to live by faith for her daily bread. That same grace under whose teaching she knew how to abound, taught her also how to suffer need. With a dignity which belongs only to them who have treasure in heaven, she descended to her humble cot, employment, and fare. But her humility, according to the Scripture, was the forerunner of her advancement. The light of her virtues shone brightest in her obscurity, and pointed her way to the confidential trust of forming the minds and manners of young females of different ranks in the metropolis of Scotland. Here, respected by the great and beloved by the good; in sacred intimacy with 'devout and honorable women,' and the friendship of men who were in truth servants of the most high God, she continued in the successful discharge of her duties till Providence conducted her to our shores.

"She long had a predilection for America, as a land in which, according to her favorite opinion, the church of Christ is signally to flourish. Here she wished to end her days and leave her children. And we shall remember with gratitude, that in granting her wish, God cast her lot with ourselves. Twenty-five years ago she opened in this city a school for the education of young ladies, the benefits of which have been strongly felt, and will be long felt hereafter, in different and distant parts of our country. Evidently devoted to the welfare of her pupils—attentive to their peculiarities of character—happy in discovering the best avenue of approach to their minds—possessing in a high degree the talent of simplifying her instruction and varying its form, she succeeded in that most difficult part of a teacher's work, the inducing youth to take an interest in their own improvement, and to educate themselves by exerting their own faculties.

"In governing her little empire, she acted upon those principles which are the basis of all good government, on every scale and under every modification—to be reasonable, to be firm, and to be uniform. Her authority was both tempered and strengthened by condescension. It commanded respect while it conciliated affection. Her word was law, but it was the law of kindness. It spoke to the conscience, but it spoke to the heart; and obedience bowed with the knee of love. She did not, however, imagine her work to be perfected in fitting her eleves for duties and elegance of life. Never did she forget their immortal nature. Utterly devoid of sectarian narrowness, she labored to infuse into their minds those vital principles of evangelical piety which form the common distinction of the disciples of Christ, the peculiar glory of the female name, and the surest pledge of domestic bliss. Her voice, her example, her prayers concurred in recommending that pure and undefiled religion without which no human being shall see the Lord. Shall we wonder that her scholars should be tenderly attached to such a preceptress; that they should leave her with their tears and their blessing; that they should carry an indelible remembrance of her into the bosom of their families; that the reverence of pupils should ripen with their years into the affection of friends; and that there should be among them, at this day, many a wife who is a crown to her husband, and many a mother who is a blessing to her children, and who owes, in a great degree, the felicity of her character to the impressions, the principles, and the habits which she received while under the maternal tuition of Mrs. GRAHAM?

"Admonished at length by the infirmities of age, and importuned by her friends, this venerable matron retired to private life. But it was impossible for her to be idle. Her leisure only gave a new direction to her activity. With no less alacrity than she had displayed in the education of youth, did she now embark in the relief of misery. Her benevolence was unbounded, but it was discreet. There are charities which increase the wretchedness they are designed to diminish; which, from some fatal defect in their application, bribe to iniquity while they are relieving want, and make food and raiment and clothing to warm into life the most poisonous seeds of vice. But the charities of our departed friend were of another order. They selected the fittest objects—the widow, the fatherless, the orphan, the untaught child, and the ignorant adult. They combined intellectual and moral benefit with the communication of physical comfort.

"In her house originated the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children. Large, indeed, is this branch of the family of affliction, and largely did it share in her sympathy and succor. When at the head of this noble association, she made it her business to see with her own eyes the objects of their care; and to give, by her personal presence and efforts, the strongest impulse to their humane system. From morning till night has she gone from abode to abode of these destitute, who are too commonly unpitied by the great, despised by the proud, and forgotten by the gay. She has gone to sit beside them on their humble seat, hearing their simple and sorrowful story, sharing their homely meal—ascertaining the condition of their children—stirring them up to diligence, to economy, to neatness, to order—putting them into the way of obtaining suitable employment for themselves and suitable places for their children—distributing among them the word of God, and tracts calculated to familiarize its first principles to their understanding—cherishing them in sickness, admonishing them in health—instructing, reproving, exhorting, consoling—sanctifying the whole with fervent prayer. Many a sobbing heart and streaming eye is this evening embalming her memory in the house of the widow.

"Little if any less is the debt due to her from that invaluable charity, the Orphan Asylum. It speaks its own praise, and that praise is hers. Scores of orphans redeemed from filth, from ignorance, from wretchedness, from crime—clothed, fed, instructed—trained in cleanliness to habits of industry—early imbued with the knowledge and fear of God—gradually preparing for respectability, usefulness, and happiness, is a spectacle for angels. Their infantine gayety, their healthful sport, their cherub faces, mark the contrast between their present and former condition; and recall very tenderly the scenes in which they used to cluster round their patron-mother, hang on her gracious words, and receive her benediction.

"Brethren, I am not dealing in romance, but in sober fact. The night would be too short for a full enumeration of her worthy deeds. Suffice it to say that they ended but with her life. The Sabbath previous to her last sickness occupied her with a recent institution—a Sunday-school for ignorant adults; and the evening preceding the touch of death, found her at the side of a faithful domestic, administering consolation to his wounded spirit.

"Such active benevolence could hardly be detected in company with a niggardly temper. Wishes which cost nothing; pity which expires on the lips; be ye warmed and be ye clothed, from a cold heart and an unyielding gripe, never imprinted their disgraceful brand upon Isabella Graham. What she urged upon others she exemplified in herself. She kept a purse for God. Here, in obedience to his command, she deposited the first-fruits of all her increase; and they were sacred to his service, as in his providence he should call for them. No shuffling pretences, no pitiful evasions, when a fair demand was made upon the hallowed store; and no frigid affectation in determining the quality of the demand. A sense of duty was the prompter, candor the interpreter, and good sense the judge. Her disbursements were proportioned to the value of the object, and were ready at a moment's warning, to the very last farthing.* How pungent a reproof to those ladies of opulence and fashion who sacrifice so largely to their dissipation or their vanity, that they have nothing left for mouths without food, and limbs without raiment! How far does it throw back into the shade those men of prosperous enterprise and gilded state who, in the hope of some additional lucre, have thousands and ten thousands at their beck; but who, when asked for decent contributions to what they themselves acknowledge to be all-important, turn away with this hollow excuse, 'I cannot afford it.' Above all, how should her example redden the faces of many who profess to belong to Christ; to have received gratuitously from him what he procured for them at the expense of his own blood, 'an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away;' and yet, in the midst of abundance which he has lavished upon them, when the question is about relieving his suffering members, or promoting the glory of his kingdom, are sour, reluctant, mean. Are these the Christians? Can it be that they have committed their bodies, their souls, their eternal hope, to a Saviour whose thousand promises on this very point of honoring him with their substance, have less influence upon their hearts and their hands than the word of any honest man? Remember the deceased, and hang your heads—remember her, and tremble; remember her, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance.

*The author knew her, when in moderate circumstances, to give, unsolicited, fifty pounds at once out of that sacred purse to a single most worthy purpose.

"In that charity, also, which far surpasses mere almsgiving, however liberal, the charity of the gospel, our friend was conspicuous. The love of God shed abroad in her own heart by the Holy Ghost, drew forth her love to his people wherever she found them. Assuredly she had in herself this witness of her having 'passed from death unto life,' that she loved the brethren. The epistle, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart; yet read and known of all men: that is, the Christian temper manifested by a Christian conversation, was to her the best letter of recommendation. Unwavering in her own faith as to the peculiar doctrines of the gospel, she could nevertheless extend love without dissimulation, and the very bowels of Christian fellowship, to others who, whatever might be their mistakes, their infirmities, or their differences in smaller matters, agreed in the great Christian essential of acceptance in the Beloved. Deeply did she deplore the conceit, the bigotry, and the bitterness of sect. O that her spirit were more prevalent in the churches; that we could labor to abase our crown of pride; to offer up with one consent upon the altar of evangelical charity, those petty jealousies, animosities, and strifes which are our common reproach; and walk together as children of the same Father, brethren of the same Redeemer, and heirs of the same salvation.

"To these admirable traits of character were added great tenderness of conscience and a spirit of prayer. Her religion, not contented to justify her before men, habitually aimed at pleasing God, who looketh upon the heart. It was not enough for her to persuade herself that a thing might be right. Before venturing upon it, she studied to reduce the question of right to a clear certainty. How cautious and scrupulous and jealous of herself she was in this matter, they best can tell who saw her in the shade of retirement as well as in the sunshine of public observation. Perhaps it is not going too far to say, that her least guarded moments would, in others, have been marked for circumspection. At the same time her vigilance had nothing austere, gloomy, constrained, or censorious—nothing to repress the cheerfulness of social intercourse, or to excite in others, even the thoughtless, a dread of merciless criticism after they should retire. It was sanctified nature moving gracefully in its own element. And with respect to the character and feelings of her neighbors, she was too full of Christian kindness not to keep her tongue from evil and her lips from speaking guile.

"These virtues and graces were maintained and invigorated by her habit of prayer. With the 'new and living way into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,' she was intimately familiar. Thither the Spirit of grace and supplication daily conducted her; there taught her to pray, and in praying to believe, and in believing to have 'fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.' She knew her God as the God that heareth prayer; and could attest that 'blessed is she that believeth, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.'

"Under such influence her course could not but be correct, and her steps well ordered. The 'secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant, he will guide them in judgment.' Thus he did with his handmaid whom he hath called home. Wherever she was, and in whatever circumstances, she remembered the guide of her youth, who, according to His promise, never left her, nor forsook her; but continued His gracious presence with her when she was old and gray-headed.

"You may perhaps imagine, that with such direction and support it was impossible she should see trouble. Nay, but waters of a full cup were wrung out to her. She often ate the bread of sorrow steeped in wormwood and gall. Her heavenly Father showed her great and sore adversities; that he might try her as silver is tried, and bring her forth from the furnace purified seven times. It was during these refining processes that she found the worth of being a Christian. Though her way was planted with thorns and watered with her tears, yet the candle of the Lord shone upon her head; and from step to step she had reason to cry, Hitherto hath Jehovah helped.

"In a word, like Enoch, she walked with God; like Abraham, she staggered not at his promise through unbelief; like Jacob, she wrestled with the angel and prevailed; like Moses, endured as seeing Him who is invisible; like Paul, finished her course with joy. Blessed were the eyes of the preacher, for they saw the victory of her faith; and his ears, for they heard her song of salvation. 'You can say with the apostle, I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him?' 'O yes, but I cannot say the other, I have fought a good fight; I must say, I have fought a poor fight, I have run a poor race; but Christ fought for me. Christ ran with me, and through Christ I hope to win,' 'But you have no fear, no doubts, about your going to be with Christ?' 'O no, not a doubt; I am as sure of that as if I were already in my Saviour's arms.' It was her final conversation with children of the dust. The next day, when her flesh and her heart had so far failed that she was incapable of uttering a sentence, she still proved her God to be the strength of her heart, and knew him to be her portion for ever. I said to her, 'It is peace,' She opened her eyes, smiled, closed them again, bowed her dying head, and breathed out, 'Peace,' It was her last word on this side heaven. The attending spirits caught it from her lips, and brought to her the next day permission to sleep in Jesus.

"From this review allow me to urge the value of private exertions in promoting general good.

"In pursuing his gratifications, man is apt to look upon himself as a being of great importance; in fulfilling his duties, to account himself as nothing. Both are extravagances which it will be his wisdom and happiness to correct. He is neither supreme in worth nor useless in action. Let him not say, 'I am but one; my voice will be drowned in the universal din; my weight is lighter than a feather in the public scale. It is better for me to mind my own affairs, and leave these higher attempts to more competent hands.' This is the language, not of reason and modesty, but of sloth, of selfishness, and of pride. The amount of it is, 'I cannot do every thing, therefore I will do nothing,' But you can do much. Act well your part according to your faculties, your station, and your means. The result will be honorable to yourself, delightful to your friends, and beneficial to the world. I advise not to gigantic aims, to enormous enterprise. The world has seen but one Newton, and one Howard. Nothing is required of you but to make the most of the opportunities within your reach.

"Recall the example of Mrs. Graham. Here was a woman, a widow, a stranger in a strange land, without fortune, with no friends but such as her letters of introduction and her worth should acquire, and with a family of daughters dependent upon her for their subsistence. Surely if any one has a clear title of immunity from the obligation to carry her cares beyond the domestic circle, it is this widow, it is this stranger. Yet within a few years this stranger, this widow, with no means but her excellent sense, her benevolent heart, and her persevering will to do good, awakens the charities of a populous city, and gives to them an impulse, a direction, and an efficacy unknown before.

"What might not be done by men—by men of talent, of standing, of wealth, of leisure? How speedily, under their well-directed beneficence, might a whole country change its physical, intellectual, and moral aspect; and assume, comparatively speaking, the face of another Eden, a second garden of God. Why then do they not diffuse thus extensively the seeds of knowledge, of virtue, and of bliss? I ask not for their pretences; they are as old as the lust of lucre, and are refuted by the example which we have been contemplating: I ask for the true reason, for the inspiring principle of their conduct. It is this—let them look to it when God shall call them to account for the abuse of their time, their talents, their station, their 'unrighteous mammon'—it is this: they believe not 'the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.' They labor under no want but one, they want the heart. The bountiful God add this to the other gifts which he has bestowed upon them. I turn to the other sex.

"That venerable mother in Israel who has exchanged the service of God on earth for his service in heaven, has left a legacy to her sisters: she has left the example of her faith and patience; she has left her prayers; she has left the monument of her Christian deeds; and by these she being dead, yet speaketh. Matrons, has she left her mantle also? Are there none among you to hear her voice from the tomb, Go and do thou likewise? None whom affluence permits, endowments qualify, and piety prompts, to aim at her distinction by treading in her steps? Maidens, are there none among you who would wish to array yourselves hereafter in the honors of this virtuous woman? Your hearts have dismissed their wonted warmth and generosity, if they do not throb as the revered vision rises before you. Then prepare yourselves now, by seeking and serving the God of her youth. You cannot be too early adorned with the robes of righteousness and the garments of salvation in which she was wedded, in her morning of life, to Jesus the King of glory. That same grace which threw its radiance around her, shall make you also to shine in the beauty of holiness; and the fragrance of those virtues which it shall create, develope, and ennoble, will be 'as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed.'

"Yea, let me press upon all the transcendent excellence of Christian character, and the victorious power of Christian hope. The former bears the image of God; the latter is as imperishable as his throne. We fasten our eyes with more real respect and more heart-felt approbation upon the moral majesty displayed in walking as Christ also walked, than upon all the pomps of the monarch or decorations of the military hero. More touching to the sense and more grateful to high heaven is the soft melancholy with which we look after our departed friend, and the tear which embalms her memory, than the thundering plaudits which rend the air with the name of a conqueror. She has obtained a triumph over that foe who shall break the arm of valor, and strike off the crown of kings. 'The fashion of this world passeth away.' Old Time approaches towards his last hour. The proudest memorials of human grandeur shall be food for the conflagration to be kindled when 'the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven in flaming fire. Then shall he be glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that believe.'

"There are those perhaps, in the present assembly, who repute godliness fanaticism, and the sobriety of Christian peace the gloom of a joyless spirit; but who cannot forbear sighing out, with the prophet of mammon, 'Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.' If they proceed no further, their wish will not be granted. None shall die the death of the righteous, unless by a rare dispensation of mercy, who do not live his life. They only are fit to be with God who love God and keep his commandments. In that day of transport and of terror which we shall all witness, how many of the thoughtless fair who now 'sport themselves with their own deceivings,' would give all the treasures of the east and thrones of the west to sit with Isabella Graham on the right hand of Jesus Christ. If ye be wise betimes, ye may. Now is the accepted time; to-day is the day of salvation. The gospel of the Son of God offers you at this very moment, the forgiveness of your sins, and an inheritance among them that are sanctified. The blessing comes to you as a free gift: accept it, and live; accept it, and be safe; accept it, and put away the shudderings of guilt and the fear of death. Then shall you too, like our friend, go in due season to be with Christ. Your happy spirit shall rejoin hers in the mansions of the saved. God shall bring you in soul and body with her when he makes up his jewels. Then shall he gather his elect from the four winds of heaven, shall perfect that which concerneth them, and make them fully and for ever blessed. Be our place among them in that day.'

EXTRACT FROM MRS. GRAHAM'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT.

"My children and my grandchildren I leave to my covenant God—the God who hath fed me all my life with the bread that perisheth, and the bread that never perisheth; who has been a Father to my fatherless children, and a Husband to their widowed mother thus far. And now, receiving my Redeemer's testimony, John 3:33, I set to my seal that God is true; and believing the record in John's epistle, that God hath given to me eternal life, and this life is in his Son, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot unto God, and being consecrated a priest for ever, hath with his own blood, entered into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for me. I also believe that he will perfect what concerns me, support and carry me safely through death, and present me to his Father, complete in his own righteousness, without spot or wrinkle. Into the hands of this redeeming God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I commit my redeemed spirit."

Mrs. Graham's epitaph on a tablet in the Pearl-street church, is associated with that of her son-in-law Mr. Bethune, to whom before his connection with the family she was a spiritual mother; who prepared her memoir, wrote and printed tracts for her widows, imported Bibles for her to distribute, replenished her charity purse when exhausted; with whom she took sweet counsel and walked to the house of God in company; and for whom she was pleased to leave the written and honorable testimony: "He stands in my mind, in temper, conduct, and conversation, the nearest to the gospel standard of any man or woman I ever knew as intimately. Devoted to his God, to his church, to his family, to all to whom he may have opportunity of doing good, duty is his governing principle; cast upon his care, under God he nourishes me with kindness," etc. They have entered into rest. One sepulchre contains their sleeping dust, and one monument bears the following tribute to their memory:

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF DIVIE BETHUNE, MERCHANT OF THIS CITY, WHO DIED SEPTEMBER 18, 1824, AGED 53 YEARS;

AND OF

ISABELLA GRAHAM, HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW, WHO DIED JULY 27, 1814, AGED 72 YEARS.

THEY WERE BOTH NATIVES OF SCOTLAND.

THIS MONUMENT IS REARED BY HIS BEREAVED WIDOW AND HER ORPHAN DAUGHTER, AS A TESTIMONIAL OF TWO SERVANTS OF JESUS CHRIST: THE ONE A RULING ELDER IN HIS CHURCH, THE OTHER A MOTHER IN ISRAEL; WHO, LIKE ENOCH, WALKED WITH GOD, LIKE ABRAHAM, OBTAINED THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH, AND, LIKE PAUL, FINISHED THEIR COURSE WITH JOY. THEY WERE LOVELY AND PLEASANT IN THEIR LIVES, AND THEY REST HERE TOGETHER IN THEIR GRAVES.

"THE BLESSING OF HIM THAT WAS READY TO PERISH CAME UPON THEM; AND THEY CAUSED THE WIDOW'S HEART TO SING FOR JOY." JOB 29:13.

"OH HOW GREAT IS THY GOODNESS, WHICH THOU HAST LAID UP FOR THEM THAT FEAR THEE; WHICH THOU HAST WROUGHT FOR THEM THAT TRUST IN THEE BEFORE THE SONS OF MEN!" PSA. 31:19.



PROVISION

FOR

MY LAST JOURNEY THROUGH THE WILDERNESS

AND

PASSAGE OVER JORDAN.*

*Found in Mrs. Graham's pocket after her decease.

"'Prepare you victuals, for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it. When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests bearing it, then ye shall remove and go after it: that ye may know the way by which ye must go, for ye have not passed this way heretofore.'

"'Sanctify yourselves, for to-morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.'

"'Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan: and it shall come to pass, that as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon a heap.'

"'And it came to pass, that when the people removed from their tents to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, that as they that bare the ark were come into Jordan, and the feet of the priests were dipped in the brim of the water, that the waters that came down from above stood and rose up upon a heap; and the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground.'

"'And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood; and they are there unto this day.'

"'When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land; for the Lord your God dried up the waters from before you until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up, until we were passed over; that all people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever,' Amen. Josh. 1:11; chap. 3, 4.

"Oh, thou Jehovah; Israel's God, and by thy new covenant, my God; thus far hast thou brought me through the wilderness: bearing, chastising, forgiving, restoring. Well hast thou made out thy wilderness name to me: 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.' Great have been my provocations, but greater still thy covenant mercy. I have not perished with them that believed not; sore bitten I am, but thou hast fixed mine eyes on the lifted-up Healer, and I am in his hand for further cure. My journey has been long, and my way devious; but my blessed Joshua is still in view. I must be near to Jordan's flood; I have been preparing victuals from thine own repository of truth. And now, my blessed High-priest and Ark of the covenant, lead on my staggering steps the little further. I have not gone this way heretofore, but thou hast measured these waters while they overflowed all their banks. Thou hast passed through, and made the passage safe for thy people. At thy command the waters stand up upon a heap, and they pass through in thy presence on faith's firm ground. Keep then mine eye upon thee, and I shall fear no evil. And Oh, my, blessed Leader, if it might please thee, I would ask a boon, yet with submission, that thy sensible presence might be with me all the way through; and that thou wouldst bring from my quivering lips a testimony to the glory of thy grace, that my children may know that thou hast pardoned, restored, perfected, dried up the waters of terror, carried me triumphantly through, and put me in possession of the purchased inheritance. Amen.

"'This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.' 1 Tim. 1:15.

"I have often inquired, What is there within us, or without us, on which a sinner can rest in peace in a dying hour? If it be a holy life, there can be no peace for me—taking the law of God for my standard; backslider is my name; yet I think in this sacred volume I find a hope even for me, the chief of sinners.

"'As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.' 'He that cometh from heaven is above all, and what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth.' 'He that receiveth his testimony has set to his seal that God is true.' 'The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand; he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.' John 3:14-36. Here is a hope for me; the world is made up of sinners, I am one of them, and though the chief, am not excluded. The Son of man came to save that which was lost, Matt. 18:11; I am of that description. 'The Pharisees said, Why eateth your master with publicans and sinners? Jesus said, The whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.' Matt. 9:11. I am a sinner, and sick. 'I will have mercy, and not sacrifice; for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' I am a sinner, and need repentance. 'Him hath God exalted with his right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.' Acts 5:31. 'The Lord is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.' 2 Pet. 3:9.

"Christ said to the woman of Samaria, a notorious sinner, 'If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.' John 4:10, 14. Yes, my Redeemer, a draught of this water, received in faith from the hand of the Spirit, will give life in death. O pour it into my thirsty soul in that searching hour.

"Jesus said to a mixed multitude of sinners like me, 'Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you; for him hath God the Father sealed,' John 6:27. These sinners said unto him, 'What shall we do that we might work the works of God?' 'That ye believe on Him whom he hath sent. My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven, for the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world: I am the bread of life; he that cometh unto me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever. And the bread which I shall give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Jesus said unto them, Except ye eat the flesh, and drink the blood of the Son of man, ye have no life in you: whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.' The Father giveth this bread, the Son giveth this bread; whosoever will, may take of this bread, and the promise with it. Father, I take this bread, I take and believe that I have in thee eternal life, according to thy word. O holy and blessed Comforter, Spirit of the Father and of the Son, whose office it is to take of the things of Christ and show them unto his redeemed, when the bread and the water that perish can no longer refresh this dying body, apply this living bread and living water to my soul, that life may spring up in the midst of death; and in that trying hour, bear witness with my spirit that I dwell in Christ, and Christ in me, and that I shall never die.

"'In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This spake he of the Spirit, that they who believe on him should receive.' John 7:37. This he proclaimed to a mixed multitude of sinners like myself. Lord, I believe, and am sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Be it unto me according to thy word: 'I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die. Believest thou this?' John 11:25. I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, which should come into the world; the promised Messiah; the gift of the Father, the covenant given to the people; the anointed Prophet and King, and consecrated High-priest; who through the eternal Spirit offeredst thyself without spot unto God; who came to do that most perfect will of God, by which we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once for all. Lamb of God, which takest away the sins of the world, on thee I lay my precious never-dying soul; wash me in thy blood, clothe me in thy righteousness; sanctify me, soul, spirit, and body, to thy service. I have no other foundation of hope, nothing within me, nothing without me; my entire dependence is on thy finished work; into thy hands I commit my spirit.

"Let me hear thy consoling voice, compassionate Saviour. 'Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also,' John 14:1-3. O seal this upon my heart, and it is enough. To be where thou art, is heaven enough to me. To be where thou art, to see thee as thou art, and to be made like thee, the last sinful motion for ever past—no more opposition, no more weariness, listlessness, dryness, deadness; but conformed to my blessed Head, every way capacitated to serve him, and to enjoy him—this is heaven.

"'Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father, but by me.' Blessed Comforter, do thine office; take these things of Christ and show them unto me; lead me in this way, feed me with this truth, and animate me with this life: 'Whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye ask any thing in my name, I will do it.' Blessed Comforter, here also do thine office: I know not what to ask for as I ought; help mine infirmities as thou hast said; suggest the prayer, be in me the spirit of prayer and supplication, and especially in that hour of need, when sickness saps the clay tabernacle, discomposing the spirit, and confusing perhaps the ideas: still, still let my thoughts rise to my God. Oh, let no unhallowed subject get hold of me in that hour, but keep my Saviour's name in my heart, and on my lips. Is not this according to thy will? watch over it then, and keep the avenues of my soul from every vain idea.

"'If ye love me, keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him; and we will come and make our abode with him. The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you: let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.' In that last warfare, when nothing on earth can give peace; when the world recedes, and disappears; when friends must stand aloof and leave me to the combat alone; Oh, blessed and promised Comforter, bring to my remembrance, and impress on my weary spirit these sweet words of my Saviour. But it has often occurred to me, and may in that hour, that though Jesus received sinners, they were ignorant sinners. The Jews understood not the gospel contained in their types and sacrifices; they were unenlightened and unconverted; the Gentiles were totally blind, serving dumb idols; neither had known the gospel, neither had tasted the grace of God, neither were backsliders, like me. I have known the truth, been enlightened, tasted of the heavenly gift, been made a partaker of the Holy Ghost, tasted of the good word of God, and of the power of the world to come.

"Fifty years ago the Lord convinced me of my sin, my misery, and my total helplessness. I was also, I think, enabled to lay hold on the hope set before me.

"I have, in numerous exercises and acts, accepted of God's gift of Jesus Christ to me a condemned sinner; taking hold of the Scripture words of invitation and promise held out for my acceptance. I have pleaded his own covenant provision, in the substitution of his own Son in my stead, making him to be sin, who knew no sin, that sinners might be made the righteousness of God in him. I put in my claim as a sinner, among the ungodly for whom Christ died. I believed his testimony, and set to my seal that God is true. I rested on this foundation—I yet have no other; I know there is no other. The foundation standeth sure. But Oh, what am I to think of the fruits? I have again and again turned back into the world, grieved the Spirit, crucified the Son of God afresh, and put him to open shame. No wonder I stand alarmed at the apostle's assertion: my conscience testifies that my character is nearly, if not altogether, such as the apostle, by the Holy Spirit, says it is impossible to renew to repentance. Hebrews 6:4, 5. But thou hast renewed to repentance! Thy name is 'the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.' Thou wilt by no means clear the guilty; but thou hast provided a substitute, and laid my guilt and guilty person on thine own Son.

"By this gracious name thou wast known to thy backsliding Israel in the wilderness; whose heart, like mine, was not right with God; neither were they steadfast in his covenant; but he, 'being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not.' Many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. They forgot God their Saviour, who had done great things for them; they transgressed his commandment, and in their heart turned back again to Egypt; they brought upon themselves many afflictions, and many times did he deliver them; they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity; nevertheless, he heard their cry, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies; while the blood of bulls and of goats typified the great propitiatory sacrifice, by which 'God can be just and justify the ungodly.' By this name was the Lord God, merciful and gracious, known in the pleasant land; and by the same sacrifice, the blood of Christ, which cleanseth from all sin, was typified. Psalms 103, 51.

"The prophets prophesied in his name. 'All we, like sheep, have gone astray, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was laid on him, and by his stripes we are healed.' 'Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom.' Even backsliders, among whom I stand chief, have been recalled. 'My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and have hewn out to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Is Israel a servant; is he a home-born slave; wherefore is he spoiled? Hast thou not procured this to thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way? And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river? Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee. Know therefore, and see that it is an evil and bitter thing, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts. For of old I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot. Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. Have I been a barren wilderness, or a land of darkness unto thee? Wherefore say my people, We are lords, and will come no more to thee? Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me, days without number.' Jeremiah 2. 'They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return to her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again unto me, saith the Lord. Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me. My Father, thou art the guide of my youth?' What can I say to such grace? Thou art infinite in thy mercy to pardon, and in thy power to save. Such has been my character, and such the amazing mercy of my offended God. Often, often has he pardoned, restored, blessed, and made me happy. But Oh, just is the renewed charge against me. 'For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously with me, saith the Lord. They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he, neither shall evil come upon us.' 'Go and proclaim these words, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God; and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord. Turn, O backsliding children, for I am married unto you.' Jer. 3. What, O what can I say to such grace? Truly, thy ways are not as our ways, nor thy thoughts as our thoughts. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are thy ways higher than our ways, and thy thoughts than our thoughts. Oh, how is my guilt aggravated by all this grace; and yet thou callest, Return; and thou thyself turnest me. I do, O Lord God, merciful and gracious, I do acknowledge my iniquity; every time I turn back my eyes upon my past life my sins rise in magnitude, heightened by more enlarged views of thy goodness. It is of the Lord's mercies that I am not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

"A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplication of the children of Israel, for they have perverted their ways, and they have forgotten the Lord their God. Yes, thou hast, my gracious God, granted repentance. Thine eye has seen the tears I have shed; thou hast given me a contrite heart. I have looked upon him whom I have pierced, and been in bitterness as for a first-born. I feel it now, and must feel it while the body of sin exists. But Oh, Lord God, merciful and gracious, the cause is in thyself, that I hear thy voice, and that I answer. 'Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, I come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills and the multitude of mountains. Truly, in the Lord God is the salvation of Israel. We lie down in our shame, our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the Lord our God; we and our fathers, even from our youth; and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord God. Thus saith the Lord God, I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant. Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth; and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. That thou mayest remember and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I am pacified towards thee, saith the Lord God.' Amen, Lord God, merciful and gracious. Be it so. It is so now—it must, it will be so, until death shall open mine eyes on that mystery: The glory of God arising out of the abounding of sin, through the superabounding of grace, and grace reigning through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord!

"Till then, while sin dwelleth in me, let me enjoy the blessedness of a contrite heart; yea, even shame and confusion, since it is the sign that thou art pacified with me. Thou hast dealt with me, thou hast chastened, and in some instances taken vengeance on my inventions. But thou art pacified with me, and I dare look again to thy holy temple, to the temple not made with hands, to the minister of the sanctuary, and the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man; to the blessed High-priest, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself a sacrifice without spot unto God, and by his own blood entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us, and when he had purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; to the blessed Mediator of the new and better covenant, established on better promises; to the Surety of the new testament, and sealed with his own blood. Oh, I will look unto Jesus, the object, the author, and the finisher of that faith which interests us in himself and the whole of his purchase. He bids me look unto him, and be saved. I do look unto him, and I am saved. Who dares condemn the sinner whom Christ acquits? Who shall lay any thing to his charge? 'It is Christ that died; yea, rather, who is risen again; who is even at the right hand of God; who also maketh intercession for us.'"

ISAIAH 44:22. "RETURN UNTO ME.

A SCRIPTURE PARAPHRASE BY D. B——

"Return to thee, my God? dost thou The invitation yet renew? Return to thee! my chiefest joy, Till sin did all my peace destroy.

"And yet, to hear thy pardoning voice Must make my trembling heart rejoice; Though sin is there, thou well dost know It is my burden and my foe.

"O let me hear those gracious words: Be still, my soul, they are the Lord's; That God, who once on thee did shine, And filled thee with a hope divine.

"'Thy black transgressions, trembling soul— Thy sins so heinous and so foul, Which like a cloud obscure thy day, I've blotted out, I've washed away.

"'Return to me, thou 'rt mine; I own Thee for my servant, and my son; I have redeemed thy precious soul, And none my purchase shall control.'

"I hear, I come, my covenant God: Thy love's my life, my raiment, food; Thy favor, through my Jesus given, Is to my soul the bliss of heaven.

"I come, my Jesus; hold me fast, Till, life and Jordan's journey past, My faith to vision yield her place, And I shall see thy unveiled face.

"Then, with the loudest of the throng, Of sins forgiven I'll raise the song— Of pardon bought with Jesus' blood, Sinners made kings and priests to God."

PSALM 103. FIFTY YEARS AGO.

"Oh thou, my soul, bless God the Lord, And all that in me is Be stirred up, his holy name To magnify and bless," etc.

"'I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father. Howbeit, when the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine; therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.' John 14; 16:14. 'Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.' John 17:20, etc. 'All are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.' 1 Cor. 3:22. 'Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.' Col. 3:3. 'For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.' Col. 2:9. 'There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling: one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.' Eph. 4:4.

"'I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me,' Gal. 2: 20.

"'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world! And looking upon Jesus as he walked, John saith, Behold the Lamb of God!' John 1:29, 36.

"'Therefore let no man glory in men: for all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's,' 1 Cor. 3:21.

"'It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. He sitteth alone and keepeth silence; he putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope; he giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.' Lam. 3:27.

"'That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord.' Ezek. 16:63. Amen.

"'A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains. Therefore, also now, saith the Lord, turn ye unto me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. Rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil,' Joel 2:2, 12.

"'I will visit upon her the days of Baalim: she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord. I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.' Hosea 2:13.

"'O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thy help.' 'Return unto the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord; say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. Ashur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.' Hosea 13:14.

"'I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him. I am like a green fir-tree; from me is thy fruit found.' Hosea 14.

"'O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him.' Daniel 9.

"'He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom; and shall gently lead those that are with young. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.' Isa. 40:11, etc.

"'Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? Did not the Lord, he against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient to his law. Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart. But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour. Since thou wast precious in my sight thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee.' Isa. 42:24, etc.

"Yes, my God, I remember and am confounded; amazed at my ingratitude, amazed at thy grace. I am thy witness, just so has been thy way with me. What can I say? Thou hast wrought with me for thy name's sake. I am dumb before thee; Oh, I am vile—and yet I am thine! Thou hast redeemed me; it is thy good pleasure to save me. Glorify thy name. 'I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest and every green tree therein; for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.'

"'For if by one man's offence, death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Christ Jesus. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord.'

"'Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.' 'Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel. Even to your old age, I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.' Isa. 45:22; 46:3.

"'Thus saith the Lord; I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. And I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick.' Ezek. 34:11. He hath done it, I am his witness: I, the poor wanderer, the happy subject of this grace. 'And I will raise up for them a plant of renown,' my Jesus, 'and they shall be no 'more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God. And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.' Ezek. 34:29. 'As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth, even for ever.' Psa. 125:2.

"'When the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings. And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries; according to their ways and according to their doings I judged them. And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land. But I had pity for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God: I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities, and for your abominations. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.' Ezek. 36:17, etc."

EZEKIEL 16:63; 36:32.

A SCRIPTURE PARAPHRASE BY D. B——.

"Not for your sakes; for, born unclean, The slaves of Satan and of sin. I saw no comeliness in you, To bid my grace such wonders do.

"Not for your sakes; for when my love And grace should your affections move, The working of an evil heart Still makes you from my truth depart.

"Not for your sakes; for, bold and blind, To lust and avarice inclined, Each shadowy idol you obey, Disowning my paternal sway.

"Not for your sakes; with heaven in view, For sin you sell your souls anew; You barter, for a gilded bait, The joys of an eternal state.

"Not for your sakes; for though you eyed The cross of Christ on which he died, You scorn his love for worldly ends, And wound him in the house of friends.

"Not for your sakes; with Jesus' name, You put him to an open shame; And by your sins, consent again To have the dear Redeemer slain.

"Not for your sakes; 'tis my free grace That grants you pardon, life, and peace; And works a change on all your frame, And binds you to adore my name.

"Not for my sake!—I hail the sound; Let power of grace my pride confound: Salvation is a work divine; Confusion and the shame be mine.

"Not for my sake!—did I but trust To weakness, vanity, and dust, I ne'er could reach the heavenly prize, Nor hope a mansion in the skies.

"Not for my sake!—yet save and call; Let Jesus be my all in all: When glory comes I'll self disown, And grace, free grace shall wear the crown."

"'Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.' Psalm 106:1.

"'Remember me, O Lord, with the favor that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation, that I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.' Psalm 106:4, 5.

"'At that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world; but now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometime were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ.' Eph. 2:12, 13.

"'Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.' Psalm 10:17.

"'Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.'

"'Thou shalt also consider in thy heart, that as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.' Deut. 8:2-6.

"'Thou, God, seest me.' Gen. 16:13.

"'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us to the adoption of sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved; in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.' Eph. 1:3-12.

"'God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved,) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness towards us, through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast; for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Now therefore ye,' Gentiles, 'are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.' Eph. 2:4, etc. 'I,' Paul, 'bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.' Eph. 3:14-21.

"'I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. That we may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth'—ministers and people in the use of all appointed means—'according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body to the edifying of itself in love.' Eph. 4:1, etc.

"'I am the vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.' John 15:5, 7.

"'And Moses said, The Lord heareth your murmurings that ye murmur against him; and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord. And Moses said, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. And the children of Israel did eat manna until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.' Exodus 16.

"'I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.' John 6:51, etc.

"'For of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.' 1 Cor. 1:30.

"'Seeing then that we have a great High-priest, who is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a High-priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.' Heb. 4:14. 'For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: and they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.' Heb. 8:10-13.

"'This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God, hath not life.' 1 John 5:11, 12. Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.' 2 Cor. 9:15.

"'Truly my soul waiteth upon God; from him cometh my salvation. He is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from him: he only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God.' Psa. 62:1-7."

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REST.

"'Thus the heavens and the earth were finished: and on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made, and he rested the seventh day from all his work which he had made; and God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because that in it he had rested from all his work that he had created and made.' Genesis 2:1-3.

"'And Moses said, To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord. So the people rested on the seventh day.' Exodus 16:23, 30.

"'And the women followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.' Luke 23:55, 56.

"Christ rested in the tomb of Joseph the last Sabbath under the law; but the evening and the morning were the first day. On that morning he closed his work of humiliation, manifested his victory over death—the curse denounced—by rising from the tomb, and rested on the first day of the week from all his humiliation work; his death, burial, and rest in the grave on the seventh day being the last part of that work."

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"My God, thy service well demands The remnant of my days: Why is this feeble life preserved, But to repeat thy praise?

"Thine arms of everlasting love Do this weak frame sustain, While life is hovering o'er the grave, And nature sinks with pain.

"Thou, when the pains of death assail, Wilt chase the fears of hell, And teach my pale and quivering lips Thy matchless grace to tell.

"Calmly I'll lay my fainting head On thy dear faithful breast: Pleased to obey my Father's call To his eternal rest.

"Into thy hands, my Saviour God, Do I my soul resign, In firm dependence on that truth That made salvation mine."

THE INWARD WARFARE.

"Strange and mysterious is my life; What opposites I feel within: A stable peace, a constant strife, The rule of grace, the power of sin. Too often I am captive led, Yet daily triumph in my Head.

"I prize the privilege of prayer; But O, what backwardness to pray: Though on the Lord I cast my care, I feel its burden every day. I seek his will in all I do, Yet find my own is working too.

"I call the promises mine own, And prize them more than mines of gold; Yet, though their sweetness I have known, They leave me unimpressed and cold. One hour upon the truth I feed; The next, I know not what I read.

"I love the holy day of rest, When Jesus meets his gathered saints: Sweet day, of all the week the best, For its return my spirit pants; Yet often, through my unbelief, It proves a day of guilt and grief.

"While on my Saviour I rely, I know my foes shall lose their aim; And therefore dare their power defy, Assured of conquest through his name; But soon my confidence is slain, And all my fears return again.

"Thus different powers within me strive, And death and sin by turns prevail. I grieve, rejoice, decline, revive, And victory hangs in doubtful scale; But Jesus has his promise passed, That grace shall overcome at last."

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FLESH AND SPIRIT.

"What different powers of grace and sin Attend our mortal state: I hate the thoughts that work within, Yet do the works I hate.

"Now I complain, and groan, and die, While sin and Satan reign; Now raise my songs of triumph high, For grace prevails again.

"So darkness struggles with the light, Till perfect day arise; Water and fire maintain the fight, Until the weaker dies.

"Thus will the flesh and spirit strive, And vex and break my peace; But I shall quit this mortal life, And sin for ever cease."

___

"Join all the names of love and power That ever men or angels bore; All are too mean to speak his worth, Or set Emmanuel's glory forth.

"But O, what condescending ways He takes to teach his heavenly grace: Mine eyes, with joy and wonder, see What forms of love he bears for me.

"The Angel of the covenant stands, With his commission in his hands; Sent from his Father's milder throne, To make his great salvation known.

"Great Prophet, let me bless thy name; By thee the joyful tidings came, Of wrath appeased and sins forgiven, Of hell subdued, and peace with heaven.

"My bright Example, and my Guide, I would be walking by thy side; Oh, let me never run astray, Nor follow the forbidden way.

"I love my Shepherd, he shall keep My wandering soul among his sheep; He feeds his flock, he tells their names, And in his bosom bears the lambs.

"My Surety undertakes my cause, Answering his Father's broken laws: Behold my soul at freedom set, My Surety paid the dreadful debt.

"Jesus, my great High-priest, has died, I seek no sacrifice beside; His blood did once for all atone, And now it pleads before the throne.

"My Advocate appears on high, The Father lays his thunders by; Not all that earth or hell can say, Shall turn my Father's heart away.

"My Lord, my Conqueror, and my King, Thy sceptre and thy sword I sing; Thine is the victory, and I sit A joyful subject at thy feet.

"Aspire, my soul, to glorious deeds, The Captain of salvation leads; March on, nor fear to win the day, Though death and hell obstruct thy way.

"Though death and hell, and powers unknown, Put all their forms of mischief on, I shall be safe, for Christ displays Salvation in more sovereign ways."

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"Be this my one great business here, With holy trembling, holy fear, To make my calling sure; Thine utmost counsel to fulfil, And suffer all thy righteous will, And to the end endure.

"Then, Saviour, then my soul receive, Transported from this vale, to live, And reign with thee above: Where faith is sweetly lost in sight, And hope in full supreme delight, And everlasting love."

___

"Hush, my distrustful heart, And cease to flow, my tears; For greater, Lord, thou art Than all my doubts and fears. Did Jesus once upon me shine? Then Jesus is for ever mine.

"Unchangeable his will, Whatever be my frame: My Saviour's heart is still Eternally the same. My soul through many changes goes, His love no variation knows.

"Thou, Lord, wilt carry on, And perfectly perform, The work thou hast begun In me, vile sinful worm. Mine own self-will brings grief and woe, But Jesus will not let me go.