Stories of Boys and Girls Who Loved the Saviour Part 2

5. Thus he continued seeking after the knowledge of G.o.d, till the sickness came into the house, with which he was smitten. At his first sickening the poor child was greatly amazed and afraid; and though his pains were great, and the distemper very tedious; nevertheless, the sense of his sins, and the thought of the condition that his soul was still in, made his trouble ten times greater.

6. He was in grievous agonies of spirit; his former sins stared him in the face, and made him tremble. The poison of G.o.d's arrows did even drink up his spirits; the sense of sin and of wrath were so great that he knew not what to do. The weight of G.o.d's displeasure, and the thought of lying under it to all eternity, broke him even to pieces, and he bitterly cried out, "What shall I do! I am a miserable sinner, and I fear that I shall go to h.e.l.l." His sins had been so great and so many, that there was no hope for him. He was not by far so much concerned for his life as for his soul: what would become of that for ever. Now the plague upon his body seemed nothing to that which was in his soul.

7. He not only cried out against his swearing, lying, and other outward notorious sins; but was in great horror for the sin of his nature; the vileness and original corruption of his heart. For this he was in so great anguish that the trouble of his spirit made him forget the pain of his body.

8. He very particularly confessed and bewailed his sins, and some sins so secret that none in the world could charge him with.

9. He would ask others whether they thought there were any hopes for him, and would beg of them to deal plainly with him; for he was greatly afraid of being deceived.

10. Being informed how willing and ready the Lord Jesus Christ was to accept of poor sinners, and being counselled to venture himself upon Christ for mercy and salvation, he said he would fain cast himself upon Christ, but he could not but wonder how Christ should die for such a vile wretch as he was, and he found it one of the hardest things in the world to believe.

11. But at last it pleased the Lord to give him some hope that there might be mercy for him, the chief of sinners; and he was enabled to lay hold upon that, "Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Nor was it long before he was full of praise and admiration of G.o.d; so that, to speak in the words of one that was an eye and ear witness, he was so full of joy and praise that he longed for heaven.

12. He now grew exceedingly in knowledge, experience, patience, humility, and self-abhorrence. He prayed before, but now the Lord poured out upon him the spirit of prayer in an extraordinary manner; so that now he prayed more frequently, more earnestly, more spiritually than ever. O how eagerly would he beg to be washed in the blood of Jesus! And that the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who was over heaven and earth, would pardon and forgive him all his sins, and receive his soul into his kingdom. And what he spoke was with so much life and fervour of spirit, that it filled the hearers with astonishment and joy.

13. He had no small sense of the use and excellence of Christ, and such longings and breathings of his soul after him, that when mention has been made of Christ, he hath been ready to leap out of his bed for joy.

14. The Wednesday before he died, he lay in a trance for about half an hour, in which time he thought he saw a vision of angels. When he was out of his trance, he asked his nurse why she did not let him go? "Go!

whither?" said she; "Why, along with those lovely gentlemen," said he; "but they told me they would come and fetch me away upon Friday." And he repeated these words many times, "Upon Friday next those lovely gentlemen will come for me."

15. He was very thankful to his master, and very sensible of his great kindness in taking him out of the streets when begging, and he admired the goodness of G.o.d, which put it into the mind of a stranger: said he, "I hope to see you in heaven, for I am sure you will go thither. O blessed, blessed be G.o.d, that made you to take pity upon me; for I might have died, and have gone to the devil, and been d.a.m.ned for ever, if it had not been for you."

16. The Thursday before he died, he asked a friend of mine what he thought of his condition, and whither his soul was going? for he said he could not still but fear, lest he should deceive himself with false hopes. At which my friend spoke to him thus:--"If thou art but willing to accept of Christ, thou mayest have Christ, and all that thou dost want with him. Thou sayest thou fearest that Christ will not accept of thee! I fear that thou art not heartily willing to accept of him." The child answered, "Indeed I am." "Why, then, if thou art unfeignedly willing to have Christ, I tell thee he is a thousand times more willing to have thee, and wash thee, and save thee. And now at this time, Christ offers himself to thee again; therefore, receive him humbly by faith into thy heart, and bid him welcome, for he deserveth it." Upon which words the Lord discovered his love to the child; and he gave a kind of leap in his bed, and snapped his finger and thumb together with abundance of joy. And from that time forward, in full joy and a.s.surance of G.o.d's love, he continued earnestly praising G.o.d, desiring to die, and to be with Christ. And on Friday morning he sweetly went to rest, using that expression, "Into thy hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit!" being not much above nine years old.

A BABE IN CHRIST.

JOHN SUDLOW was born of religious parents, in the county of Middles.e.x, whose care was to instill spiritual principles into him as soon as he was capable of understanding them, whose endeavours the Lord was pleased to crown with the desired success.

2. When he was scarce able to speak plain he seemed to have a very great awe and reverence of G.o.d upon his spirit, and a strange sense of the things of another world.

3. The first thing that much affected him, and made him endeavour to escape from the wrath to come, and to inquire what he should do to be saved, was the death of a little brother. When he saw him without breath, and not able to speak or stir; and when carried out of doors, and put into the ground, he was greatly concerned, and asked whether he should die too? Being answered yes it made so deep an impression on him, that from that time forward, he was exceedingly serious; and this was when he was about four years old.

4. He was now desirous to know what he might do that he might live in another world, and what to avoid, that he might not die for ever. And, being instructed by his parents, he soon laboured to avoid whatsoever might displease G.o.d. Now the apprehensions of G.o.d, death and eternity, laid such a restraint upon him, that he would not, for a world, have told a lie. He was much taken with reading the book of martyrs, and would willingly leave his dinner and go to his book.

5. He went to his father and mother with great tenderness and compa.s.sion, and entreated them to take more care of his brothers and sisters; and to take heed lest they should go to h.e.l.l, and be ruined for ever.

6. The providences of G.o.d were not pa.s.sed by without his minute observation. In the time of the plague he was exceedingly concerned about his everlasting state, and was very much by himself upon his knees. The following prayer was found written in short hand after his death.

7. O Lord G.o.d and merciful Father, take pity upon me, a miserable sinner: and strengthen me, O Lord, in thy faith, and make me one of thy saints in heaven. O Lord, keep me from this poisonous infection; however, not my will, but thy will be done. O Lord, if thou hast appointed me to die by it, fit me for death, and give me a good heart to bear up under my afflictions. O Lord G.o.d, and merciful Father, take pity on me, thy child. Teach me, O Lord, thy word; make me strong in faith. O Lord, I have sinned against thee; Lord, pardon my sins. I had been in h.e.l.l long ago if it had not been for thy mercy. But, O Lord, if thou hast appointed me to die, fit me for death, that I may die with comfort.

And, O Lord, I pray thee to help me to bear up under my afflictions for Christ's sake. Amen.

8. He was not a little concerned for the whole nation, and begged that G.o.d would pardon the sins of this land, and bring it nearer to himself.

9. About the beginning of November, this child was smote with the distemper, but he behaved with admirable patience under the hand of G.o.d.

10. These were some of his last expressions. "The Lord shall be my physician, for he will cure both soul and body. Heaven is the best hospital. It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth good in his eyes."

Again, "It is the Lord that taketh away my health; but I will say as Job did, 'Blessed be the name of the Lord.' If I should live longer, I should but sin against G.o.d." Looking upon his father, he said, "If the Lord will but lend me the least finger of his hand to lead me through the dark entry of death, I will rejoice in him."

11. When a minister came to him, among other things, he spake something of life. He answered, "This is a wicked world: it is better to live in heaven."

12. An hour and a half before his death, the same minister came again to visit him, and asked him, "John, art thou not afraid to die?" He answered, "No, if the Lord will comfort me in that hour." "But," said the minister, "how canst thou expect comfort, seeing we deserve none?"

He answered, "No, if I had my deserts, I had been in h.e.l.l long ago."

"But," replied the minister, "which way dost thou expect comfort and salvation, seeing that thou art a sinner?" He answered, "In Christ alone." In whom, about an hour and a half after, he fell asleep.

THE MINISTER'S DAUGHTER.

TABITHA ALDER was the daughter of a minister in Kent, who lived near Gravesend. She was instructed in the Holy Scriptures by her father and mother; but there appeared nothing extraordinary in her till she was between seven and eight years old:

2. About which time, when she was sick, one asked her what she thought would become of her if she should die? She answered that she was greatly afraid she should go to h.e.l.l.

3. Being asked why she was afraid she should go to h.e.l.l? She answered, because she did not love G.o.d.

4. Again, being asked how she knew that she did not love G.o.d? she replied, "What have I done for G.o.d ever since I was born? And beside this, I have been taught that he that loves G.o.d keeps his commandments; but I have kept none of them."

5. Being farther demanded if she would not fain love G.o.d? she answered, "Yes, with all my heart, if I could, but I find it a hard thing to love one I do not see."

6. She was advised to beg of G.o.d a heart to love him: she answered, "I am afraid it is too late."

7. Upon this, seeing her in such a desponding condition, a friend of hers spent the next day in fasting and prayer for her.

8. After this, that friend asked her how she did now? She answered with a great deal of joy, "Now I bless the Lord; I love the Lord Jesus dearly; I feel I do love him. O, I love him dearly."

9. "Why," said her friend, "did you not say yesterday you did not love the Lord, and that you could not?" "Sure," said she, "it was Satan hindered me. But now I love him. O blessed be G.o.d for the Lord Jesus Christ."

10. After this she had a discovery of her approaching dissolution, which was no small comfort to her: "Anon," said she, (with a holy triumph,) "I shall be with Jesus. I am married to him: he is my husband: I am his bride: I have given myself to him, and he hath given himself to me, and I shall live with him for ever."

11. This language struck the hearers with astonishment. She still continued in a kind of ecstasy of joy, admiring the excellence of Christ, rejoicing in her interest in him, and longing to be with him.

12. After a while, some of her friends, who stood near her, observed a more than ordinary earnestness and fixedness in her countenance; they said one to another, "Look how earnestly she looks, surely she sees something."

13. One asked her what it was that she fixed her eyes upon so eagerly?

"I warrant," says one, "she saw death coming."

14. "No," said she, "it is the glory that I saw, it is that on which my eyes were fixed."

15. One demanded of her, what the glory was like? She replied, "I cannot tell what, but I am going to it: will you go with me? I am going to glory. O that you were all going with me to that glory!" With these words her soul took wings, and went to the possession of that glory. She died when she was between eight and nine years of age.

LITTLE JACOB'S FAITH.

JACOB BICKS was born in Leyden, in the year 1657. He was visited with sickness upon the 6th of August, 1664. In his distemper he was very sleepy till near his death, but when he did awake he was wont still to fall a praying.

2. Once when his parents had prayed with him, they asked him if they should once more send for the physician? "No," said he, "I will have the doctor no more; the Lord will help me; I know he will take me to himself."