that I could wish to hear an honest and plain discourse on the same; but now a days times are so bad that nothing but paint and artful embellishment do the world run after in every thing; vicious palates care not for wholesome food, but I need not tell you that those always are the best sermons which brings one's heart nearer to God, which render Christ dearer to us, by representing our need of him, our misery without him, and our privileges by him, and which convince us of the necessity of holiness, and of the necessity of the Spirit's influence to that end, and which also excite and assist us to mortify the dearest sin and to vanquish the strongest temptation; and which wean us from earthly enticements, which teach us to live in communion with God, and to bear up comfortably under all the disquietudes of this life, and which fit us for a comfortable passage through the pangs of death. Yours, &c.

66

THE FIRST CHAPTER OF ISAIAH.

G. JONES.

A youth about seventeen or eighteen years of age waited upon one of the secretaries of the Bethel companies, to purchase a tract. He was asked if he had attended any of the Bethel prayer meetings on board ship? He said "Yes, the last evening. Yesterday I landed from my voyage; and this afternoon I am bound to Scotland to see my friends. Although that visit to the Bethel meeting was accidental, it has been the means of great consolation to my mind.' "I am glad you have found it so," observed the secretary; were you unhappy?" "I will relate sir," said he "what took place during my last voyage. I sailed from London in a Scotch vessel, for the West Indies, second mate, the most abandoned and profligate wretch that ever sailed on salt water, particularly for profane swearing. Our captain, though a good seaman, and kind to his ship's company, cared neither for his soul, or those of his ship's crew. We had been at sea about sixteen days. It came on night. It was my watch on deck. The night was dark and lowering, and but little wind at the time. We had most of our lower sails set. I was walking up and down on the leeward side of the ship, when a sudden puff of wind caused the vessel to give a heavy lurch. Not prepared to meet it, I fell against one of the stancheons. Feeling much hurt, I gave vent to my anger by a dreadful oath, cursing the wind, ship and sea, and (awful to mention) the Being who made them. Scarce had this horrid oath escaped my lips, when it appeared to roll back on my mind with so frightful an image, that for a moment or two I thought I saw the sea parting, and the vessel going down. I took the helm from the man who was at it, and put the ship's head close to the wind. All that night my awful oath was before my eyes, and its consequences appeared

I

to be my certain damnation. For several days I was miserable. Ashamed to acknowledge the cause, I asked one of the men if he had any book to lend me to read. He offered me a French novel. I asked if he had a Bible or a Testament. He answered by asking if I were going to die; for his part, he said, he never troubled his head about Bible or Prayer book; he left all these matters to the priest, to whom he left part of his pay to pray for him; if I had done so I should not be so sqeamish. The captain I knew had a Bible, but I was unwilling to ask the lend of it. Several days passed in the greatest torment, this oath always before me. could not pray; indeed I thought it of no use. On the fifth day I was turning over some things in my chest, when I found some trifles I had purchased for sea stock, wrapped in paper, this piece of paper, (putting his hand into his jacket pocket, and from a small red case pulling out the paper, which was a leaf of the Bible, containing nearly the whole of the first chapter of Isaiah.) Oh how my heart throbbed when I found it a piece of a Bible!" At that moment tears fell from his eyes, and he pressed the leaf to his bosom. "But, Sir," continued he, "conceive what I felt wheh I read these words; Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be white as wool."" Here he paused to wipe the tears away. "O! sir." he added, "like a drowning man I clung to this life buoy: on this I laid my soul. I then prayed, and the Lord was graciously pleased to remove in some measure the great guilt from my conscience, though I continued mournful and bowed down; until last evening on board the May-flower, I stowed away with the Bethel company. I felt much comforted in the service. It deeply affected me, and I have now reason to believe the Lord has forgiven my great sin. I am now going home to my friends to tell them what great things God hath done for me.

"WEEP NOT FOR ME BUT WEEP FOR YOURSELVES."

If I griev'd that thou hadst left us,

What would such a sorrow prove?
That the Lord, who has bereft us,
Fail'd to manifest his love?
Though I deeply feel the blow,
Yet, I cannot reason so.

True affection points thy spirit,
Freed from every earthly stain:
Thine the bliss which they inherit,
Who can witness "death is gain."
Can I weep thee, gone before?
Weep that thou canst sin no more?
When I recollect the anguish

That poor flesh of thine sustain'd;

Ponder how I saw thee languish,
While the spark of life remain'd:
Oh! how selfish it would be,
If I wept that thou art free!
Hadst thou liv'd an utter stranger
To the life of God within;
Perishing, but dead to danger,
Wedded to a course of sin:
Then, indeed, foreboding fears
Might have justified my tears.

But the thought that mercy found thee
Satan's willing, firm ally;

From his iron grasp unbound thee,

Set thee free, and "brought thee nigh."
This proclaims all sorrow vain,
Conscious we shall meet again.

FRIENDLY VISITOR.

No. 252.]

SEPTEMBER, 1839.

[VOL. 21.

MEMOIR OF MR. JOSEPH WOOFE.

Mr. Joseph Woofe was a native of Keswick, where his father was gamekeeper to the Earl of Derwentwater. He was born January 12th, 1759, and came to live at Kendal in the year 1780. He married in 1785, and began the business of a bread-baker, in which he continued above eighteen years; having in that time, through great industry and attention, acquired such a competency as enabled him to retire in 1803. His wife died in 1807. How much he felt his loss, an extract from his writings at the time (which was found after his decease) will best show; and whilst it manifests the tenderness of the husband, it also unfolds the character of a real Christian :

"I must now speak of the loss of my dearest on earth; that is, my loving wife. Do but consider the stroke! Oh! it was the severest trial ever sent to me. I almost sunk under it at the time; and had it not been for grace given-I repeat it, free and sovereign grace, which is the free, unmerited gift of God to sinful man such as I am-my human nature could not have supported the shock; but now, blessed be God, I can experimentally say, that I feel it to be the greatest mercy that I ever experienced. She was my idol; no trouble came very near my heart while she was with I prayed and struggled to be weaned from this world; but still my affections for her tied me down to earth with a strong cord; and though I did try to keep my eye fixed on the eternal world, yet I viewed it at too great a distance. I had deceived myself; I fancied I bore my troubles so well, from the pure love of God; but I now find that my love for my wife had too great a share in reconciling me to every trouble which I un

me.

Arthur Foster, Printer, Kirkby Lonsdale.

derwent for her. I have lost her, and have no longer her arm to lean on in descending the hill of life. The charm is broken; the cord which tied me down to earth is cut. This world hath nothing left to engage me. Heaven has now no rival in my heart. Though my love of God had been sincere before, I found there wanted this blow to make it perfect: but though nigh all that hath made life pleasant to me be now gone, yet, by the aid and assistance of divine grace, I do not sink as one who has no hope. I pray that I may be enabled to adorn the doctrine of God my Saviour, in all things. Let every loving husband remember that he has to see the day when he shall be thus separated from his wife, or that the wife has to undergo the like separation from her husband; and it will generally happen, that in proportion as the pleasure in each other's society has been great, and the love ardent, so the parting pang will be found to be more severe. let us not sorrow as do others who have no hope; for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. And there shall be no more sickness, sorrow, nor pain, and God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes."

But

This does, indeed, appear to be a new era in his spiritual life; and there are now many living witnesses that he did adorn the doctrine of God his Saviour, through a protracted life. He had the privilege of attending the ministry of a faithful, zealous, active, and devoted minister of the Gospel, the Rev. Wm. Whitelock, who came to Kendal as curate at the parish church July 7th, 1805, and left Kendal on the 13th of September, 1822. He was one year and eleven months at the church, and the remainder at St. George's Chapel. With this laborious servant of Christ, who did not shun to declare unto us the whole counsel of God, both publicly and from house to house; whose labours were blest to the subject of this memorial, as they were to many of this town; he was united in many a work of faith and labour of love, vi