As dear to him beyond all price,
And which alone can quite suffice-
His happy soul to lean upon,
The merit of God's only Son.
Firmly he stands upon a Rock
Which has endured the testing shock,
Of satan, sin, and death, and hell,
From whom no harm to Christ befell.
Almighty, he o'ercame them all—
Now at his feet they conquer'd fall!
Acknowledge his pre-eminence,
And yield to him obedience.
Again we hear the weaken'd voice
Of this dear object of God's choice.
"My God" he heartily declares,
Has overcome my many fears-
To me his mercy has reveal'd;
I feel that I am sweetly seal'd,
Up to redemption's day so bright-
In this my soul can now delight."

Yes, happy man! you're near the end--
To you your God will quickly send
His angels pure, your soul to take
To realms of bliss; there to partake
Of his rich bounties, (sovereign love!)
The blessings of a rest above.
With you we solemnly draw near
That God, who from each trying fear,
Your soul has by his grace set free,
Throughout a long eternity---
Ordain'd that you in glory bright,

Should with the blood-wash'd throng unite.
To praise the Lord, your heavenly King,
Your thankful tribute to him bring.
Though for a long time you have lain
Upon the bed of racking pain-
Yet underneath has been the arm
Of God, preserving you from harm;
Supporting in each trying hour,
When Satan would your hope devour;
And make you fear that at the end,
The Lord will not his comforts send;
But leave your soul in darkness black,
To mourn that you his presence lack.

Ah, aged saint, though dying fast,
And every human help is cast
Away as useless, yet you still

In sweet submission to God's will,
Shall find that he to you is near,
Your trembling heart in love to cheer.
He will to you more grace display,
To cause you, on your dying day,
In him to joy, who is your Guide,
Who'll land you safe on Canaan's side.
Sweet Ebenezers oft you raise
To your Almighty Father's praise,
Who has so gracious to you prov'd,
Your sin he has entire remov'd
From all his pure and holy eyes--
The Lord's you are by sacred ties-
Such ties as naught can ever break,
Not even sin, though it o'ertake
Your path, and cause you loud to cry
That God your soul would satisfy-
And make his pardoning mercy known
To you through Jesus Christ, his Son.

Dear aged saint, through many years
Of toil, and doubt, and gloomy fears,
Your God has in this wilderness
In safety brought you, we confess.
Long have you been upheld by him.
(Who from the work he does begin,
Will ne'er depart till it is done,)
In you his faithfulness hath shone,
Kept in the faith of God's elect,
All other ways taught to reject.
Throughout your pilgrimage below
Your God hath led you oft to know-
That all your needs he will supply,
Until beyond the spacious sky,
Your spirit in all purity,
In presence of the Deity,

Is found, among the sons of light,
Who in the dear Redeemer's right
Possess the mansions there prepar'd
For such as are to Christ endeared.

Again, dear saint, the knee we'll bend To Him, who can fresh succours send

Humbly of him we will desire,

Until he says, " Friend, come up higher,"
His love eternal to reveal,

To you who at his footstool kneel---
In adoration, love sincere,

Anxious the glorious words to hear,
That shall from every pain release,
Your soul shall bless with perfect peace.
And furthermore we'll humbly pray
That we who've yet on earth to stay,
Like precious faith we may receive,
Whereby in Christ we shall belieev,
And feel a confidence that he

In love will help our souls to see-
That as to you he has been kind,
So will he our poor persons mind;
Will keep us from the fowler's net,
Nor let us this blest truth forget:-
That all his saints to him are dear,
And that they all shall persevere;
Shall in the Christian course still run,
Till they the glorious crown have won.
Yes, dying saint, we supplicate
That it may be our happy state,
When called to tread the vale of death,
While laboring, panting for my breath,
Like you be favoured then to feel,
The ever-blessed Spirit's seal,
Assuring us of love divine,
Causing our countenance to shine
With holy and seraphic joy,
That we shall soon without alloy,
Partake of happiness on high:
In Jesu's arms thus would we die.
And now dear aged saint adieu :
May God's rich mercy ever new,
Attend your soul till you arrive
At heaven, the port for which you strive.
May we likewise with you be found
Above the lofty praise to sound,
Of our Almighty, heavenly King;
For ever Hallelujahs sing!

JOSEPH THRIF

Vol. IV.1

MAY, 1854.

66

[No. 38.

ARE THESE TIMES FOR CHEERING WORDS?"

PERHAPS they are not. The signs of the times-the convulsions of the nations-the sending forth of thousands of troops —the daily arrival of intelligence of outbreaks and irruptions in different quarters of the globe-all these things evidently call upon us to prepare for something that may make the stoutest hearts to shake for fear. In the midst of all this, however, the throne of grace stands firm-the covenant of grace cannot be broken-the promises of a covenant God made sure to a covenant people can never fail. "It shall be with the righteous well." One of our prophetic writers sounds the alarm in language like the following:

"Protestant England has been ready enough to heap the curses of the Apocalypse upon the Roman Catholics, but some part of the fiery shower will return upon herself. All the stock and stone and image worship in the world is not more flagrant idolatry than the idolatry of wealth in England; and, as surely as the Bible is the word of God, such idolatry in an enlightened Church, and England's other and heinous sins, will receive signal chastisement at his hand. "That England will sustain heavy judgments at the hand of the Almighty, appears to be the necessary consequence of his consistency and justice; that the special judgments detailed in the 18th chapter of the Revelation will be inflicted upon her, follows, as I believe, from the truthfulness of his word. And who can tell how soon? In the face of the declaration, "Behold I come as a thief," preceding the account of the destruction of the great Babylon, who can dare to fix the period, or to say that it will not be very soon, and when least expected?

Price One Half-penny, or 10 copies for 4d.

"Towards the close of the tenth century, few great buildings were commenced, and even the churches were suffered to fall into ruin, owing to the general belief that the end of the world was to be looked for, exactly in the year of our Lord 1000. Although that opinion was unfounded, those who were guided by it were not so foolish as those who, in the present day, either disregard the imminent predictions of the 18th and 19th chapters of the Revelation, or believe that their accomplishment will be postponed even to another generation; and it will be the fiend's arch mock' if men, over whom such heavy curses impend, continue, until the event, in the fatal delusion that their Protestantism is a panoply, and that the woes ready to be poured upon themselves are prepared only for the adherents of the Church of Rome.

"In the early ages of the Christian Church, no book in the Canon was more highly prized, or more diligently studied, than the Revelation. Surely it should be as much studied now, when eighteen centuries have thrown their light upon the past, and brought us to the verge of the fearful realities, which its closing pages tell us will constitute our future. If we find it mysterious, let us believe that this proceeds, in a great measure, from the blindness of national and spiritual pride. Let us read it with the aid of the collected rays emanating from the pages of the preceding Scriptures, and, above all, with heartfelt humility. When we are able fully to perceive our sinfulness, personal and national, it may be that our moral sight will be strong enough to discern the true meaning of what God, for our instruction, has seen fit to reveal; and to which, therefore, it behoves all of us reverently and diligently to attend."

A SINNER SAVED, & THE MERCY OF GOD MANIFESTED

IN THE

DYING EXPERIENCE OF LYDIA WILSHERE.

DEAR MR. EDITOR.-I have had a great desire that the experience of my late beloved sister should be placed in the hands of your numerous readers; and if the following should be of any value to any of the tried family, I shall be rewarded a hundred fold.

My beloved sister was born near to Hitchen, in Herts, in July, 1805. She, with me, was blessed with pious parents, who took no small pains