me is desolate. I stretch out my hands unto thee; my soul thirsteth after thee, in a thirsty land. Hear me speedily, O Lord; my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto those that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning, for in thee do I trust; cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift my soul unto thee. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Thy Spirit is good: lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name's sake; for thy righteousness' sake, bring my soul out of trouble.' I wait for thy salvation This heart my Jesus bought with blood, It is his honest claim; O seize it, fix it, Saviour God, Take full possession of this heart, O dare I not to thee appeal, That on this heart, thou stamp thy seal, To fix this heart to stray no more, Would hasten on to Jordan's shore, And plough the wat'ry way. Nor fear, nor dread, my soul should move, Each passion swallow'd up in love, I'd court the friendly dart. The resurrection and the life, And whilst he closes mortal strife, Then boast not, monster, of thy sting, In th' arms of God's anointed King, July 17, 1814. Sacrament Sabbath. Mr. R―preached from 1st Peter i. 8, 9. 'Whom having not seen ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. I had requested to be brought to my Lord's banqueting house, and to be feasted with love this day. I ate the bread and drank the wine in the faith, that I ate the flesh and drank the blood of the Son of man, and dwelt in him and he in me. Took a close view of my familiar friend Death, accompanied with the presence of my Saviour, his sensible presence. I cannot look at it without this; it is my only petition concerning it. I have had desires and wishes of certain circumstances, but they are nearly gone. It is my sincere desire that God may be glorified, and he knows best how and by what circumstances. I retain my one petition, "Only to me thy count'nance show, I ask no more the Jordan through." Written from the LXXXIX. Psalm, 30, 31, 32 and 33d verses; at the request of Mrs. B. Graham. (See her Devotional Exercise on the loss of her Daughter, dated May, 1796.) Thus says our gracious Coy'nant Lord, (And he will keep his faithful word;) My statutes should my children break, We lose men's praise, but find our God, If wealth, with gay luxuriant charms, . 'Till with the poor, in Heav'n's straight road, And should all these at once assail; Then let your souls rejoice, ye Saints! New-York, 7th June, 1796. FOR MY LAST JOURNEY THROUGH THE WILDERNESS, AND PASSAGE OVER JORDAN.* JOSHUA i. 11. and chapter iii. Prepare you victuals, for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it. When ye see the ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, and the Priests bearing it, then ye shall remove, and go after it : that ye may know the way by which ye must go, for ye have not passed this way heretofore.' Sanctify yourselves, for to-morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.' 6 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth, passeth over before you into Jordan: and it shall come to pass, that as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord-the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above: and they shall stand upon an heap.' 'And it came to pass, that when the people removed from their tents to pass over Jordan, and the Priests bearing the ark of the Covenant before the people, that as they that bare the ark were come into Jordan; and the feet of the Priests were dipped in the brim of the water, that the waters that came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap; and the Priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, stood firm on 'dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground.' ' And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood, and they are there unto this day.' *Found in Mrs. Graham's pocket after her decease. When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, what mean these stones? ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land for the Lord your God dried up the waters from before you until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up until we were passed over. That all people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever. Amen. 6 Oh! Thou Jehovah! Israel's God, and by thy New Covenant, my God! Thus far hast thou brought me through the wilderness: bearing, chastising, forgiving, restoring. Well hast thou made out thy wilderness name to me, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin.' Great have been my provocations, but great. er still thy Covenant Mercy. I have not perished with them that believed not; sore bitten I am, but thou hast fixed mine eyes on the lifted-up Healer, and I am in his hand for further cure. My journey has been long, and my way devious; but my blessed Joshua is still in view. I must be near to Jordan's flood; I have been preparing victuals from thine own repository of truth. And now, my blessed High Priest, and Ark of the Covenant, lead on my staggering steps the little further. I have not gone this way heretofore, but thou hast measured these waters while they overflowed all their banks. Thou hast passed through, and made the passage safe for thy people. At thy command the waters stand up upon an heap, and they pass through in thy presence on Faith's firm ground. Keep then mine eye upon thee, and I shall fear no evil. And, oh, my blessed Leader! if it might please thee, I would ask a boon yet with submission, that thy sensible presence might be with me all the way through; and that thou wouldst bring from my quivering lips a testimony to the glory of thy grace, that my children may know that thou hast pardoned, restored, perfected, dried up the waters of terror, carried triumphantly through, and put me in possession of the purchased inheritance. Amen. |