LETTER XXIX. CHRISTIAN F. SWARTZ to his FRIENDS. MY DEAR FRIENDS, Tanjore, July 10, 1784. I have been prevented by illness from having the pleasure of addressing you sooner. I can hardly describe to you the nature of my weakness. I felt no pain, but such a relaxation in my frame, that speaking, walking, &c. fatigued me greatly. This I felt during April and May. When we were favoured with some refreshing showers, I felt myself a little better. I could not write before, because my hand shook so that I could not use my pen. But enough of this! Age comes upon me: therefore I have no reason to wonder at weakness. If the mind be sound, all is well: the rest we shall quit when we enter into the grave. That will cure all our indispositions. On this subject I meditate frequently. And, oh! may God grant me grace to do it more effectually, that I may number my (perhaps very few) days. Eternity is an awful subject, which should be continually in our mind. I know, I feel, that I have no righteousness of my own, whereon I would dare to depend for eternal happiness. If God should enter into judgment with me, what would become of me? But blessed, for ever blessed, be the adorable mercy of God, which has provided a sure place of refuge for guilty man! The atonement of Jesus Christ is the foundation of my hope, peace, life, and happiness. Though I am covered all over with sin, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth me from all mine iniquities, and sets my heart at rest. Though I am a blind corrupted creature, the Spirit of Jesus enlighteneth, cheereth, and strengtheneth us to abominate all sin, and to renounce the lusts of the world and the flesh. Though the day of judgment is approaching, the love of God comforts us so far as to have boldness to appear before our Judge; not as if we were innocent creatures, but because we are pardoned, washed, and cleansed in the blood of Christ. Oh! my dear friends, an interest in the atonement of Christ, and a participation in the graces of the Spirit— these constitute a Christian!-these cheer and strengthen the heart!-these glorify God!-these entitle and qualify us for heaven! Let us daily, therefore, come before God through the blessed Jesus. But let us, at the same time, not neglect the second point, namely, our sanctification. Our time is short. Within some days, I have sojourned in this country thirty-four years. The end of my journey is, even according to the course of nature, near. May I not flag! May my last days be my best!-Farewell! May grace, peace, and divine mercy follow you at all times. I am, my dear friends, Your affectionate friend and servant, LETTER XXX. CHRISTIAN F. SWARTZ to his FRIENDS. How many thousand benefits have I received from a merciful God! How grateful ought I to have been! But, alas, I must say, "Forgive, forgive all my multiplied iniquities, for the sake of Jesus Christ." One Whether I shall write again is uncertain. thing only is certain, that we must die. But if we die in the Lord, united to Jesus Christ, being interested in his atonement, and renewed, at least in some degree, by his Spirit, and having a wellgrounded hope of everlasting life, all is well. Death has lost its sting, that is, its power to hurt us. O blessed eternity! there I hope to sing the praises of God and our Redeemer with you. Till then, let us "fight the good fight of faith, laying hold on eternal life," till we enjoy it. Remember me to and ; and tell them I wish to be with them in the house of my heavenly Father. I am now on the brink of eternity. Oh! when shall I see God and praise him for ever? When shall I be perfectly wise, holy, and happy? When shall I live for ever? I am, sincerely, to the last breath of my life, Dear friends, Your most obedient servant, C. F. SWARTZ. LETTER XXXI. Mr. ROBINSON of Cambridge, on the death of his daughter Julia, to Mrs. T. MADAM, Chesterton, Oct. 29, 1787. You will not be surprised when I inform you, that all our hopes and fears concerning Julia ended in her departure on the evening of the ninth instant. You, I know, foresaw it. For my part I wilfully blinded myself. I could not, I would not believe it could be; but it was and I have felt it, and ever shall feel it. Reclining her head on the pillow, she said, "Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit," and without a struggle, a sigh, a groan, or an unpleasant appearance, fell asleep. Oh! Mrs. T— the picture is in my mind. I shall never lose it! "Turn, hopeless thought, turn from her. Thought repelled, resenting, rallies and wakes all my woe." Julia was the beauty and the pride of my family. She was straight as an arrow, five feet ten inches high. A dark eye, like fire, and an oval visage full of sensibility, and sweetness; a complexion like the lily tinged with the blush of the rose. She had a fund of sterling wit, and a wise, grave reason, that directed the use of it. She had the most just and sublime notions of God, and a perpetual veneration for him. No suspicions invaded her serene bosom, during a gradual de cline of three years: on the contrary, often would she exclaim, "His tender mercies are over all his works! Shall not the Judge of the whole earth do right ?" She had felicity enough to enjoy, and to communicate; and her sisters, who always waited. on her, said, Father, Jule is an angel! My heart, my aching heart! She was an angel. Ah, too She had wings and flew away. Do, dear Mrs. T―, forgive me. It eases me to write to you; for you, I know, share my grief. true! "As on some lonely building's top The sparrow tells her moan; I am not offended with the good Father in heaven. I have no fears about the lovely spirit of the departed. But will the great Being be angry with me for perceiving, when my family assemble, that David's place is empty?” How wonderful are God's ways! My mother at ninety with a complexion and a vivacity proper to seventeen, goes into mourning for seventeen, decrepit, departed, decayed! Mrs. Robinson and the family have borne the shock better than could have been imagined. The lot has fallen upon me, and they in eagerness to comfort me, console themselves. Pardon me, madam, that I can think and write of nothing else. I deferred this till I could procure franks to send the enclosed papers to Mr. T- To him and yourself we feel the utmost |