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rience: "In thoughts from the vifions of the night when deep fleep falleth upon man, fear came upon me and trembling, which made all my bones to fhake." For he dreamed a frightful dream: He thought he faw a ferpent of the hydra kind with nine heads ready to feize him: whatever way he turned, a head prefented itfelf; nor could he by all the methods he devised extricate himself from the baneful monster. He awoke in great distress and perturbation.-Though it was but a dream, it made a strong impreffion upon his mind, and he was afraid that it portended fome future evil. The next morning one of the members of our meeting, as he was going to the houfe of God, obferved him in a pensive posture and afked if he would go with him and hear a fermon upon the old ferpent. The found of the word Serpent arrested his attention, and excited his curiofity to hear what I had to fay upon fuch a fubject. But for this expreffion probably the poor man had remained unmoved. Why the perfon ufed it he could not tell, nor why he invited him to accompany him that morning, a thing which he had never done before, though they both lived under the fame roof, but he could tell, who in the days of his flesh "must needs go through Samaria," and whofe providences are always in coincidence with the purposes of his grace. As foon as pray. er was ended, I preached from Gen. iii. 13, 14, 15. "And the Lord God faid unto the woman, What is this that thou haft done? And the woman faid, The ferpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God faid unto the serpent, Because thou haft done this, thou art curfed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy feed and her feed; it shall bruife thy head, and thou fhalt bruise his heel." As I was explaining who that ferpent was, and the methods he took to beguile finners, the Lord opened the poor man's eyes, and the word had free courfe, and was glorified. From that moment he gave every demonstration of a real change of heart. About four or five months he continued in the pangs of the new birth. The an guish of his foul was great indeed; he perceived the num ber of his fins, and felt the weight of his guilt. For fome time he was tempted to defpair, I may fay, to put an end to his existence; but while he was mufing on his wretched condition, these words were applied as a fovereign remedy to his afflicted foul, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. This adminiftered all that joy and com fort he ftood in need of. Now he was enabled to believe

that Chrift was as willing to forgive, as he was mighty to redeem: The burden of his guilt dropt from his mind, as Pilgrim's did at the fight of the crofs, and immediately he rejoiced with joy unspeakable, and full of glory. I was with him a little while after, and with a heart overflowing with gratitude to God, he fhowed me the place of his Bethel vifit, where the Lord had opened to him his bleeding heart, and manifefted his forgiving love. The whole neighborhood allow him to be a converted man. The most wicked perfon in the place will atteft the truth of his converfion. He feems to be, as the Apostle expreffes it, a living epistle of Christ, seen and read of all men.

N. B. We were favoured with this account from the pastor of the church to which W. B. is now united, and who was the honoured inftrument of his conversion.

Mrs. Ann Parker, of St. John's, Newfoundland. [Extracted from a Letter to a Gentleman in England, who has been a particular Friend to the Ministers and ferious People in that Place.]

REV. SIR,

THE

HE fubject of the following lines is Ann Parker, late. wife of Nathan Parker, firft deacon of this church, and who has been to me a faithful and judicious friend, and fellow-fufferer in all my reproaches for Chrift, from the commencement of my public warfare to the prefent day.

Mrs. Parker was a native of this place. Her mother came from Scotland, where she had been piously educated; and though fhe lived many years in this country, she did not altogether lofe her early impreffions. She died when her daughter was about fix years of age, having fowed in her mind that feed, which God gracioufly defigned fhould afterward fpring up, and bear fruit to eternal life; for no fooner were the glad tidings of the Gospel founded in her ears, then her heart was opened to receive Chrift, and welcome his firft approach. Some other natives of the country I likewise found, in whofe hearts God had fecretly wrought the fame favourable difpofition, which led me to conclude he has his hidden ones, even in places the most unlikely.

In the year 1777 fhe gave herself up to the Lord, no doubt in a perpetual covenant. Being fixed on the rock of ages, the ftood firmly against all oppofition from her father, who, through grace, is now become a friend, and, from her young companions, who bitterly derided her; our Society, at that time, being held in the greatest contempt, and fubject to much perfecution.

On the 18th of January laft, she was seized with a nervous fever. During her illness I conftantly visited her, and was always well paid for my attendance. Her tender expreffions of regard to me, her deep humility, her unfhaken confidence, and her ardent defire to be abfent from the body, and prefent with the Lord, were, as fo many lively coals from off the altar to inflame my foul with love and zeal.

From the first of her ficknefs fhe feemed to be perfuaded it would terminate in her diffolution; nor did the like any intimation to the contrary. One day I was converfing with her on the free grace and unchangeable love of God: "O yes, yes," fays fhe, "it is all free and everlasting! I fee it fo now more than ever; if it had not been fo, I fhould not be what I am." She then exclaimed, "O the pleafing difappointment! Ever fince I gave myself to the Lord, I ftrove to keep my heart fincere before him, but always thought it was not as it ought to be; I rather feared the Lord would expofe my deceit, and that when death came, fearfulness and trembling would lay hold on me. Now death is come; but lo! he is a welcome meffenger! The Lord fmiles and fhines upon my foul; he affures me that I am his, and that I fhall be with him foon. O! to grace how great a debtor!" About the middle of her ficknefs, flattering fymptoms made us hope the Lord would be gracious to us by restoring her; and we prayed for her recovery. She ftrongly oppofed the idea for fome time; at length fhe faid, "Well, it may be fo. The Lord can do with me what he pleafes. I am in his hands. I with his will to be my will." The fever foon returned. "Ah!" said she, " you have led me aftray. My affections have taken the advantage. They are gone further from Chrift, and more after you than they ought. Now let me alone; I will return to my God."

"Jefu, lover of my foul," was her favourite theme. This hymn fhe frequently fung, till her husband, fearing that fuch exertion might be hurtful to her body, wished her to forbear. She complied with his request, saying, "Well, I fhall foon fing of the love of Chrift without hurt or interruption."

About three days before her departure her mind was deranged, during which the frequently fung her favourite hymn; and, amidst her greatest wanderings, not a finful expreffion dropped from her lips. But fhe had many lucid intervals and then her language was both refreshing and inftructive. At one of thefe feafons her husband and I were fitting at the bed-fide; fhe was then in a comfortable frame of mind: "My dear," faid fhe, addreffing herself to him, "I can freely refign you and the children to the Lord. You have been a good husband to me, and a tender father to them. Now I am going to Chrift, I am not afraid to trust them with you. If you marry again, I am perfuaded the Lord will direct you to a proper companion. If I am permitted, I will come, and look, and fmile upon you, and fay, "God blefs you!"

Before the expired, while fhe was perfectly found in her mind, the called her three eldest children to the bed-fide, and, in the most folemn manner, charged them to live and walk in the fear of God, defcribing to them the happy effects of a life of godlinefs, and the awful confequence of not meeting her and their father at the right hand of Christ, efpecially as his inftruction had been fo good, and his example fo proper.

Early in the morning of the 25th of March, I was called up to go and fee her once more before fhe died. When I arrived she was speechlefs, but fenfible, as her conduct indicated while I was at prayer. Very foon after we arofe from our knees, the gently drew her last breath; ending with holy triumph and joy, a life, as far as mortal eye could penetrate, of the greatest circumfpection and humility; leaving behind her a loving husband and seven fine children, whofe lofs is greater than I can defcribe.

When the coffin was about to be clofed, the scene was truly affecting. Brother Parker, furrounded by his children, faid to them, "Come, my children, and let us take the laft farewel of your dear mother." Before she was carried out to the place of interment we fung, "Jefu, lover of my foul." The Lord was with us during the finging, exhortation, and prayer; I felt much of his prefence and power myself, and fo did many others who were affembled on the folemn occafi

on.

I

A Child about Eleven Years of Age.

REV. 'SIR,

MAKE no apology for tranfmitting to you the following memoirs of the death of a darling child, who died, at Plymouth, January 30, 1797, that it may have a place in the Obituary of the Evangelical Magazine, conceiving as I do, that the relation of fo illuftrious an instance of the triumphs of grace hath an intimate correfpondence with the chief object of that work, and is eminently calculated to promote the glory of God. Indeed, whether from a personal knowledge of the event, the impreffion it hath made upon my mind is in stronger characters than otherwise it might have operated, I know not; but according to my prefent apprehenfion, I venture to believe, that a more striking proof of the gracious dealings of God with his people hath not occurred in thofe latter ages, 66 upon whom the ends of the world are come." To diffufe the knowledge of it, therefore, as extenfively as poffible, is both a duty and a delight; and it is with this view, I confefs, that I have wished to make your Magazine the medium of conveyance for fpreading it through the religious world. I am very confident, the prayers of all the faithful, as far as the information of it shall reach, will be lifted up, that the divine grace may accompany wherefoever the divine providence hall cause it to come; that in every perufal, it may awaken the tribute of praise to the great Author of fuch diftinguished mercy, and from the uttermost part of the earth may be heard songs upon this oc

cafion, even glory to the righteous.

This fweet child (who is the fubject of my letter) had only attained to her eleventh year, when he was fummoned away. And her departure from this lower world was fo fudden, and unexpected, that, like a bird of paffage, fhe had but juft time to plume herself, and lift the wing, before the took her flight into the regions of eternity. I have not been able to discover, whether any earlier manifeftations of the life of grace in the foul had appeared in her conversation prior to her laft illness. From other circumstances, I rather think not. But during this fhort period, the day dawn and the day-star, which arofe in her heart, burft forth into fuch brilliancy of luftre, and blazed with a light fo powerful, as to astonish every beholder. Nothing can afford a more decifive evidence than her hiftory, that every thing of feriousness in

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