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203

THE DEATH

OF SAINTS

IMPROVED.

[SEEM. XLI.

seized

a bold

sinner,

it

is

a loud warning-word

to

all

his

companions.

When

I

see

such

terrible

examples

in the

course of providence,

let

my soul

stand

in

awe

and

'fear.

"

And

if

God has distinguished

me by

his Mercy,

if

he

has

pardoned

my guilt,

and sanctified

my

corrupt

nature,

if

he

has

made

me one

of

his own

children, and

prepared

me

for

dying,

when he summons

others

away

unpar-

doned, unsanctified,

unprepared, let

all

my

powers

be

excited

to bless

the name

of

the

Lord

for

.his

saving lové.

I

was also

a

child

of

sin

and

wrath,

but'divine

grace has

made

the difference.

It

is

grace

that

has

snatched

me

from the

very brink

of

the

pit

of

hell,

and

is

training

me

up

for,

-

heaven.

"

And.

while

I

adore thy

distinguishing

mercy, O

my

God,

to

me,

I

would pity' and

pray

for poor

heedless

and

regardless sinners,

that are'

following.

one

another

in a

dismal succession, down to

the

gates

of

death.

O

may

their

eyes

and

souls be

awakened

in

their

day

of

life

and

hope, lest death

seize

them,

and

send

them

farther

down to everlasting

darkness and despair

!

"

13ut

if

such

lessons,

as these,

'may

be

derived from

the

death

of

sinners,

how

much more benefit

may be

drawn-

from

the

dying

hours

of

a

sincere christian, especially

if

his

heart

be strong,

and

his

faith lively

!

Here,

I

see

the

gospel

of Christ

in

some

of

its power

and

glory,

when I

see

a christian

under

all

the

weak-

nesses and

languishings

of

nature,

meeting

death

with-

out

terror, and overcoming

his

last

enemy

by

the blood

of

the

Lamb. I

see

the saint

all

serene and

peaceful,

even

in

the agonies

of

dying

nature,

and amidst the sor-

rows of

lamenting

friends.

He

has

heaven

in

view,

and he

bids farewell

to

earth

with holy

joy

Shall 'I

not

imitate

the faith and holiness

of

his life, which laid

a

foundation

for

so

peaceful

and

glorious

a

-death

?

Do

I

not

feel

my

soul a

little more weaned from

the

world, since such

a

pious friend

has

left it

?

Has not death

-lost some

of

-its

frightful

appearances,

since

L

have

actually

seen

it con-

quered

?

Do

I

not

feel my

heart'

panting and breathing

toward the

society above,

-since

I

have

another

friend

gone

thither

;

Does

it

not

seem a

more

easy

thing_

to me

to

lay down

this tabernacle,

to

part

with

flesh

and blood,

and

to

venture into

those unseen regions, since

I.

have

beheld

m'y

fellow

-

christian

go

before

me

?

He

has made

vommoll111