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mercy, grace, and faithfulness to his poor, afflicted family. My dear sister in the path of tribulation, I am sorry to hear of your ill state of body, but should be much more gratified to hear of the well state of your immortal soul. My dear friend remember that the greatest favourites of heaven have been most tried, afflicted, tempted, crossed, and brought to walk in the most hard and rugged paths. good old Jacob called by his God to leave the best of fathers, the sweetest counsels, the most precious truths, the purest of worship, and the kindest treatment from a kind father and affectionate mother, to wander in a strange land amongst idol gods, and to dwell with worshipper of the same; and must be meet with the most cruel treatment, and be kept for twenty years under one of the most hard masters and have no one to open his troubled mind to all this period of time, but called to walk in this dark, mysterious path alone, and obliged to seek his comfort under some solitary or lonely tree, or in some secret spot to pour out his troubled soul to his God, when there was no eye to pity nor hand to help; and after all this, and much more, shall he be led in his old age to say, All things are against me?" Yes, my sister, this is the path the vulture's hath not seen, nor the fierce lion trodden; but God knoweth the way thereof, and when we are fully tried we come forth as gold, and say in the joy and rejoicing of our heart,

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I have waited for thy salvation!" Again, my dear sister, shall David the man after God's own heart, whom God loved with an everlasting love, and whom our almighty Jesus redeemed and made his care and regard, be brought to wade through a sea of the greatest difficulties, trials, and persecutions; must he meet in the way the sharpest of afflictions? Yes! for a bloody Saul shall, by the wise appointment of his God, follow him as a partridge upon the mountain,

and as a thirsty blood-hound shall swear, by the infernal prince of the black tribe, that he will search him out among all his thousands of Judah. Yea, his own men shall speak of stoning him, when his heart is overwhelmed within him. And many such stones as these have we often cast at us, which wound deep indeed. Yea over and above all this, his own son shall seek his life, his bosom friend shall turn traitor, and poor David shall pass through the sea of affliction, and fire of temptation, to get to his God here, and to enjoy him to all eternity. But my dear sister, shall he be swallowed up in these great waters? No; for “in time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion; in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set my feet upon a rock."

Here, my dear sister, is our strong house of defence to save us, even Jesus, the mighty God, who will rise up for his people's help, and take vengeance upon his enemies, and deliver his children out of the hand of every cruel oppressor; for" they that fear the Lord shall come forth of them all.”

Again, my dearly beloved, must Hezekiah, a favorite of heaven, the darling of Christ's heart, go into the hottest furnace of affliction, to burn up his dross and tin, and to snap all the cords of coldness, indifference, and lifelessness? Yes, a whole army must come against him; sin press him down, his God hide his face, the devil tempt, death stare him in the face, and the wound appear mortal; no comfort in this world, in his God, nor one arm of flesh to look to. And is this man an object of God's special love and tender care? Every thing in outward appearance say, No; and unbelief within confirms the same: but this shall work for good, for out shall come a prayer from the very bottom of the heart, “O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me." This prayer God intended to answer, and

le shall sing. The living, the living; he shall praise thee, as I do this day." So that every trial make a way for God to display his power and love towards us poor, miserable sinners. Come my dear sister cheer Ip, and faint not; God is with us, and we shall not be moved. Shall be glad to hear from you. My love to all the family, God bless you all: so prays,

EDWARD PARSONS.

P. S.-I was glad to hear of the happy end of your dear daughter; bless the Lord for his goodness to my poor sisters and her through his dear son. Amen.

JEHOVAH'S STAFF AND ROD HIS SAINTS'

SUPPORT IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH.

A Consolatory Letter to a Bereaved Sister.

My Dear Sister in the path

of tribulation,

our

THE long expected, and much to be deplored event has at length arrived; your dear husband, after a protracted and wasting disorder, has been happily dismissed, with a kiss of love, from a world of sin and misery, and introduced into those cloudless regions, where sin, and sorrow and death, will be known no more for ever, but where the Lamb in the midst of the throne will lead his redeemed to fountains of living waters, and God, even own God, will wipe away all tears from all faces. The stroke which has deprived you of the desire of your eyes, and which has snapped assunder those tender and endearing bonds which have sweetened the toils of the wilderness, dried up the falling tear, which you have experienced, on many occasion, in the exercise of christian communion with the dear object you loved, and lost below, must I am sure be a source of the most heart-felt pain and sorrow.

I am aware that my sister has had for many years to contend with the cares and griefs of the wilderness; and sometimes the peculiar anxieties arising out of an increasing family, have almost borne you down to the dust; so that you have concluded that you have been oppressed above measure and in a spirit of unbelief have said, "I shall fall one day by the hand of this Saul, to rise no more for ever." The trials through which you have passed, although very severe and trying in themselves, now appear to you under your present great one, not worthy to be named as affliction, and even are almost forgotten. If then this is true in reference to the cares and of the wilderness; how much more will the blessedness, and the glories of the heavenly world, towards which by the grace of God we are tending, bury in eternal oblivion all the trials and conflicts of the desert: or if they are to be remembered, it will only be to render more precious to the saints, the rest prepared for them before the foundation of the world, and to tune our harps with the sweetest melody to sing "Unto him that hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and who hath made us kings and priests unto our God; unto him be glory, and dominion, for ever and ever. Amen."

sorrows

On this occasion I feel most anxious to drop a word of comfort to ny distressed sister; but how can I be sufficient for this exercise, who have never passed through a trial in in which my sweetest joys have been embittered, my earthly prospects blasted, and every enjoyment that constitutes the bliss of mortals, laid waste and destroyed, before my eyes? I say, how can a stranger to your peculiar distress sympathize with you, whilst drinking of this hitter cup of affliction; or speak a word in season to your burthened spirit? However, there are some

circumstances connected with the death of your once beloved husband, which: if properly viewed, may tend in some degree to alleviate a wounded mind, and, under the sweet in fluence of the ever blessed Spirit, produce that very blessed frame of mind so finally exhibited by the Saviour himself, the man of sorrows, when he said, "The cup which my Father has given me to drink, shall I not drink it ?"

I would remind my sister, that he whose loss she now deplores, was a believer in the Lord Jesus, in whose heart he was formed the hope of eternal glory. It is true his way to the kingdom was hedged with thorns and briers, fears within, fightings without; yet still his foot-steps were steady, though slow: and he hath by faith in the blood of atonement, triumphed over the dominion of sin, put to flight all his spiritual adversaries, having his eyes fixed upon the recompence of reward, even Jesus, who was of God" made unto him Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and eternal Redemption." It is this consideration that casts a light and a glory over the valley of the shadow of death, and opens to the view of the dying saint, the glorious realities of a blissful immortality. Most blessed thought! there is no room for questioning the eternal salvation of your departed husband, for as he lived, so he died, trusting the Rock of Ages, and drawing all his consolation from the assurance that " for him to live was Christ; and to die, would prove everlasting gain." In one word, all his supplies of grace and mercy were drawn from the fulness, the overflowing fulness of a Saviour's heart, in whom he hath redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of all his sins.

You, my dear sister, was familiar with his many doubts and fears, occasioned by a body of sin and death, which often led to the enquiry

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"Can the pray be taken from the
mighty or the lawful captive
delivered?" Is there no balm in
Gilead, is there no physician there?"
Yes blessed be God, those enquiries
you saw sweetly answered in his
experience during the few last days
of his suffering life. Nor will the
recollection of the steadfastness of
his faith, the humble confidence
with which he committed his soul
into the hands of the Redeemer,
believing he would keep that which
he had placed in his hands until
the last great day, be easily for-
gotten by you:
and I have no
doubt, will often prove a source
of continual consolation
to your
distressed mind.

"Hear what the voice from heaven proclaims
For all the pious dead,—
Sweet is the savour of their names
And soft their sleeping bed.

Far from this world of toil and strife
They're present with the Lord;
The labours of their mortal life
End in a large reward."

And now, my widowed sister, what can I say to ease a burthened mind? The sorrows and conflicts of the object of your happiest hours, are over and gone for ever. Satan the prince of darkness, can no more disturb his repose, or break his everlasting peace. With him the winter of mortality, with its ten thousand cares and griefs, is ended; whilst the spring of an immortal day has shed its light over all the powers of his ransomed spirit, and Christ, in all the glories of his salvation, is all and in all. I would remind you, that time is bearing you to the house appointed for all living; but as a believer in the Lord Jesus, you need not fear the sting of death nor the power of the grave: for

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Behold I show unto you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, for soon the trumpet shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise to life and immortality, to meet the

Lord in the air; and so we shall be ever with the Lord." Let us comfort one another with these words, and say with holy submission, The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord."

I fear I fail in conveying to the mind of my distressed sister, the support and the consolation she needs under this bereaving dispensation; for how can one who has never been so painfully exercised,、 become a companion with you in your griefs, and heart-distressing forebodings? No; the loss sustained by the removal of your dear husband from this vale of tears, together with the additional burdens you will have to bear, in consequence of having four helpless and fatherless children looking up to you for support, and protection, as you make your way through this unfriendly world to your Father's house above, have placed you in circumstances that very few of your companions in the divine life can truly sympathize with you in and I have no doubt, that in moments of despondency you will be ready to conclude, that " every refuge faileth you, and no man careth for you." I would remind you of one, whose name is Jesus, who has passed through every scene of affliction with which his people is painfully exercised, and is now saying, Come unto me, all ye that are weary, and heavy laden, and I will give you

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I am aware that in your bereaved situation yon will have to contend with the angry storms of mortality, and often will conclude in the conflict that you are oppressed beyond measure and like one of old under the influence of unbelief, sink into a spirit of despondency, and say, "Lord, it is enough; it is better for me, and my little ones to die and not to live:" forgetting that the "eternal God is thy refuge, and un

derneath you are placed the everlasting arms. Be assured that Satan, the accuser of the brethren, will never fail to employ his power in working upon the corrupt and unbelieving feelings of your heart; concealing from your view the glories of the man Christ Jesus: and by spreading a veil of thick darkness over all the promises of his love, lead you in a despairing spirit to say, "There is no help for me in God." I entreat you to bear in mind, that whatever may be your fears and misgivings, and however frequently creature help may fail in administering comfort and relief to your overburdened spirit, yet Jesus the friend of the friendless, the refuge for the oppressed in time of trouble, ever lives, with all the tender feelings of His sympathetic heart,

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the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." Methinks I see his eye and heart fixed intently upon you, as though you were the only object in this lower world that needed the expression of his measureless love, and the enjoyment of his almighty mercy. It is true, sometimes the dispensations of our heavenly Father's love are involved in such impenetrable mystery, that not finite intelligence can trace out the path, or conceive when and where the scene of sorrow and conflict will end; still I beseech you to remember, that although your constant Friend appears enthroned upon the storm and the tempest, and riding upon the wings of the wind, as a messenger of terror and devastation; yet he often speaks in the sweetest accents of love and mercy to his dear people, from the whirlwind, and wreck of creature comforts, saying "Come my people, enter thou into thy chamber, shut thy doors about thee, hide thyself as it were for a small moment, until the calamity is overpast: call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shall glorify me."

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ries of an eternal day, when “the ransomed of the Lord shall reture, and come to Zice, with songs al everlasting joy open their heads, and sorrow and sipting stall flee away for ever." How many mo12 days of grief remain of your pilgri mage, is cly known to Him in whom we Ire, and bare our being:" but cae thing is certain, the path, with all the circumstances econected with per ersten warefare, were al fred and serted by infinite wsie, at designed to issue in your everlasting welfare, and Jehom's etemu cimr. Et perhaps FOR CAT SET, Megroeperts in the amoridence of God are so gloomy, that there scales any hope of a way being opened to finish IT 278, 100 to rere me of the bearest part of my burden.' Tais langage, y sans de tesoring of noble bow of the character of En ve hath been 2 si tales, and who For Mike is thine busband, the Lert of Hosts is his mame; and thy Redeemer the Ho Oze of Inc: the God of the wide earth ste be calid."

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