THE CHEISTIAN’S YICTORY: 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 DELIVERED IX THE COXGREGATIOXAL ClIAl^EL, ANXAX, 
 
 Occnsioneil by the Death of John Edgar, who died at Laudheuds, 20th April, 1S4S, 
 A^'cd Twenty-Jive Years. 
 
 BY E. YOUNG. 
 
 Thanks he to God, whooii'cth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christr 
 
 Here we read of a -victory, and, what is wonderful, a -vic¬ 
 tory over Death. Of all enemies, Death is usually the most 
 hated and viewed with the greatest aversion. His very 
 name has made the stoutest hearts to quail; to him the 
 mightiest monarchs have been compelled to bow; at his 
 approach, even the most renowned warriors have laid aside 
 for ever their weapons of war. Ag.ainst him, riches are no 
 defence; and even the deepest poverty does not make him 
 an object of desire. Men will rather endure trials the most 
 severe, and hardships the most afflictive, than be relieved 
 from these trials and hardships by the hand of Death. 
 AVhoever, therefore, can give us a victory over such an 
 enemy, is doubtless a great benefactor, largely contributing 
 to the happiness of men. 
 
 This victory is given by God,—“ Thanks be to God, 
 who giveth us the victory.” Here are two parties, God 
 and sinners,—the Holy One and the guilty,—and the for¬ 
 mer giving a victory to the latter. Consider the love of 
 God in giving us this victory. He was under no obligation 
 to give it. AVlicn men became sinful. Death commenced 
 his reign; and but for infinite love, he might have reigned 
 for ever without interruption. Consider also the poicer of 
 God in gi-ving us this victory. No human arm could have 
 given it. Neither the power of the prince, nor the skill of 
 the physician, nor the affection of the friend—no one of 
 these, nor all combined, can prevent the approach of death. 
 Nor can they of themselves furnish us with an antidote to 
 its terror.. Fond relatives may try to persuade us that 
 
2 THE CHEISTIAS’S VICTORY, 
 
 tliere is no cause of alarm: tliey may labour to convince us 
 that our virtues have been many, and our vices few: the 
 dying man, if his mind is even partially enlightened, rejects 
 the poor consolation, and is ready to say, “ Miserable com¬ 
 forters are ye all.” Infidelity, too, makes its appearance, and 
 presents its claims to he heard. It tells us that “ death is 
 an eternal sleep," and therefore an object of desire rather 
 than of dread. In the time of health we may persuade our¬ 
 selves that infidelity is right, but the apjn'oacii of death dis¬ 
 pels the poor delusion, conscience resumes her place, and 
 the immortal principle, struggling within, tells us that there 
 is something there that will never he laid in the tomb. A 
 victory over death is given us only by God. 
 
 In what way then is this victory given ? or by what means 
 may the triumph he obtained ? The close of our tc.xt jdainl}'- 
 informs us, “ Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ” Two parties we have 
 noticed already, and a third is here introduced. In the ])re- 
 vious verse it is said, “ The sting of death is sin, and the 
 strength of sin is the law.” Men die because they are guilty, 
 and it is because men are sinners that death is an object of 
 terror. It is not the mere act of dying, or the mere separ¬ 
 ation of soul and body, of which men arc chiefly afraid. 
 M’’ith whatever pain that may he preceded or accompanied, 
 it is the dread of something heyond it that is the chief source 
 of alarm. The dying sinner knows that he is guilty ; sins 
 which appeared small or trifling, when death seemed at a 
 distance, now assume an appearance of awful magnitude, 
 and the sinner trembles to meet his oflended God. Turning 
 his eyes in upon himself, he sees no ground of hope; and 
 turning them onto ard upon the divine law, his terror is only 
 increased. That law has no comfort for the guilty. Its very 
 jrerfcction gives it its power to alarm. It admits of no com¬ 
 promise, it lessens none of its demands, it can be satisfied 
 only with perfect obedience. It is written in God’s own 
 Word and on the conscience of the dying sinner; it is often 
 “ -written as with a pen of iron and the point of a diamond.” 
 “ By' the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified 
 in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” 
 
 Where then shall the sinner look ? To himself or to the 
 divine law he looks in vain for comfort. To Jesus! to Jesus 
 alone let him direct his attention : there he will find what 
 e.vactly meets his case, what removes his alarm, what relieves 
 him of his burden, what gives purity to the heart and peace 
 to.the soul. The law is holy, an exact representation of the 
 holiness of its Author; but holy as it is, the Saviour in the 
 
THE CHEISTIAN’s VICTOEY. 3 
 
 sinner’s room lias met all its demands. Justice is inflexible, 
 and with a flaming sword it calls for vengeance upon the 
 guilty; but inflexible though justice be, its sword has been 
 sheathed in the spotless Lamb of God, and it is drawn forth 
 only to inscribe with its point the consolatory sentence, 
 “ There is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ 
 Jesus.” In these, and in similar Scripture words, what a 
 fund of consolation may the sinner obtain ! The same book 
 which contains a record of divine justice is also a record of 
 infinite love. In the same volume in which we read of our 
 sins, we read of the “ Lamb of God who beareth away the 
 sin of the world.” Now, mark my hearer, that this is a 
 truth of universal interest, of unlimited application. It is 
 not a truth for one and not for another ; it is a truth for all: 
 its liencfits are designed to be commensurate with the hu¬ 
 man race; and it is only when this truth is known that the 
 fear of death is removed, and the victory begins to he gained. 
 
 Along with the victory over the fear of death, there is 
 also tlie asuirance of a victory over the grave. Without 
 the latter the former is incomplete, and nothing incomplete 
 or imperfect is found in the workmanship of God. To he 
 assured of immortality—to be assured, not only of an eter¬ 
 nity of being, hut of an eternity of happiness—this indeed 
 is much, hut this is not all. There is also the resurrection 
 of the body—a doctrine which the Scriptures plainly 
 declare—a doctrine originating in the Saviours atonement, 
 and confirmed and enforced by his own resurrection from 
 the dead. Many are the forms of life and loveliness that 
 have lived and loved on earth; hut on the morning of the 
 resurrection, forms far more lovely will make their appear¬ 
 ance, and these forms will come forth from where least of 
 all they should have been exjiected; these forms of surpass¬ 
 ing beauty will then come forth from the tomb. From 
 that narrow house, now so gloomy and cheerless, there will 
 come forth, not paintings or portraits, hut living realities— 
 realities of life and beauty, more lovely than ever painter’s 
 pencil sketched, more to be admired than all that ever came 
 from the artist’s hand. Our vile body shall he changed; 
 its weakness, its diseases, its helplessness removed for ever, 
 and fashioned like unto the glorious body of our exalted 
 Lord. “ It is sown in corruption ; it is raised in incorrup¬ 
 tion : it is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is 
 sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natu¬ 
 ral body ; it is raised a spiritual body.” “ For this corrup¬ 
 tible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on 
 immortality. iSo when this corruptible shall have put on 
 
4 THE oheistian’s tictobi‘. 
 
 incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immorta¬ 
 lity, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 
 Death is swallowed up in victory.” In view of the eternal 
 happiness of the soul, and in view more especially of the 
 resurrection of the body, the Apostle breaks out in the 
 triumphant exclamation, “ 0 death, where is thy sting ? 0 
 grave, where is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin; 
 and the strength of sin is the law ; but thanks be to God 
 who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 
 
 You are aware, brethren, that I have selected my sub¬ 
 ject to-day with special reference to our departed brother, 
 whose death I am now to endeavour to improve. It is no 
 part of my design to pronounce any eulogium upon him 
 who is gone. By those favoured with his intimate friend¬ 
 ship, such eulogium is not required; to his relatives who 
 survive, it might he painful rather than agreeable; and as 
 regards himself, he is now removed alike from human cen¬ 
 sure and human applause. Let the Holy Spirit alone ])ro- 
 nounce his funeral oration, “ Blessed are the dead who die 
 in the Lord; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from 
 their labours, and their works do follow them." 
 
 But while it is not my intention to eulogise the dead, it 
 is my intention to endeavour to benefit the living; and for 
 this purpose I shall freely avail myself of the characteristic 
 features of the former, in as far as these may contribute to 
 the instruction of the latter. 
 
 I remark then in the ^rst place, that our departed friend 
 was ffi Christian. By this I do not mean that he had em¬ 
 braced certain views of truth, or had united himself to any 
 particular section of the church of Christ. It is true that 
 he did hold certain opinions of Scripture doctrines ; and few 
 persons have held their opinions more decidedly, or with a 
 larger amount of intelligence; and it is also true that ho 
 steadily supported that form of church order which he be¬ 
 lieved to be nearest to the mind of Christ. It is not, how¬ 
 ever, to this that I at present refer. I speak of him as a 
 Christian, because he had undergone a change of heart, the 
 change described in Scripture as a new birth, a new crea¬ 
 tion, a passing from death unto life. It is this change that 
 constitutes conversion; without it no man is a Christian on 
 earth; and without it none are admitted into heaven. 
 
 It was about five years ago that this change was expe¬ 
 rienced by our departed friend. Even from his childhood he 
 hid been regular and conscientious in his attention to duties. 
 His parents appear to have laboured faithfully, according to 
 
THE CHRISTIANS TICTOKY. 5 
 
 the light they possessed, to train their family in the fear of 
 the Lord; and hence, even before his heart was renewed, onr 
 brother appeared to be a Christian in the eyes of the world. 
 Even then he was attentive to stcrot prayer; the Word of 
 God was not only read but carefully studied; for some consi¬ 
 derable time, ho and several yoethfnl friends met on Lord's 
 day mornings for piayer and praise and religious conversa¬ 
 tion ; in all tliat he did he was earnest and sincere ; his dili¬ 
 gence in secret was always equal, and oven superior to bis 
 appearance in public; and yet, after all, he was not at tliat 
 time a disciple of Christ. Of this he himself became deeply 
 sensible, and his ditt'eront feelings when he became a Chris¬ 
 tian in reality, left him no room to doubt that he had not been 
 a Christian before. 
 
 We have said that his religion did not consist in holding; 
 certain views or opinions. It was not a mere matter of theory 
 or sentiment, but something e.\isting in the heart, and e.veit- 
 ing an influence upon the life. Yet when wo come to iiujuire 
 by what moans the change of heart vvas produced, onr atten¬ 
 tion is turned at once tq,those views of trutli which revelation 
 unfolds. “ This is a faithful saying, and w'orthy of all accep¬ 
 tation, that Christ Josns came into the ivorld to save sinners, 
 of whom I am chief.” “ lie is the propitiation for our sins, 
 and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole 
 world.” T hose and similar passages contain the Gospel in 
 its lovely simplicity; in them the Gosjiel is developed with¬ 
 out restriction; in them tliere is the only Gospel which meets 
 the case of the sinner; and this Gospel the Holy Spit it cin- 
 l)loyed to change the heart of our departed friend. iSc- 
 lieving it, he was able to say, “ Being justified by faith, wc 
 have peace with God, thrniigh our Lord -Josus Christ.” That 
 heavenly peace of mind ; that holy tranquillity of soul ivhich 
 all his attention to duties had never secured, was obtained at 
 once by faith in the Saviour’s cross. In himself he saw no¬ 
 thing but sin; in his most careful performance of duties, he 
 saw' nothing to meet the demands of God’s pc: feet law, but 
 in Jesus he saw' all that was required; and the whole 
 secret of bis change of heart and peace of mind—a jicace 
 which remained unbroken till his dying hour ; the whole 
 secret of this change and of this peace, will be found in this 
 one fact—he looked upon himself as only a sinner, and on 
 Jesus Christ as “ ail and in all.” 
 
 I remark, secondly^ that our brother was an Intelligent 
 Ckr 'istian. He read much, and reflected more; and his 
 intelligence was the result of reading and reflection. In this 
 respect, especially, I w ould hold him up for your constiiut. 
 
() THE ciieistian’s victory. 
 
 and careful imitation. A want qfgeneral intelligence among 
 the people of God is deeply injurious to themselves, and 
 greatly prevents their usefulness in promoting tlie cause of 
 their Lord. It is right that the Bible .should he chiefly 
 studied; it is there, and only there, that we are to obtain 
 that knowledge which maketh “ wise unto salvation but 
 that man must be far behind indeed who will gravely tell 
 us in the middle of the nineteenth century that the Bible 
 alone should receive our attention. In many other books 
 mueh valuable information is found, and it is the part of wis¬ 
 dom to receive instruction from whatever quarter it may be 
 obtained. But while reading is necessary, reflection or 
 thinking is even more needful. It was his habit of ahvavs 
 thinking for himself that constituted, in the case of our 
 brother, that independence of mind for which he was remark¬ 
 able; and it was this tliat enabled him to possess that clear¬ 
 ness of view for which he was also distinguished. But for 
 his diffidence in using the talents he possessed, he might 
 have been still more useful in the church below: it was at 
 one time in his heart to fill a higher place and to occupy a 
 more extensive sphere ; and though his de.sire was not ac¬ 
 complished on earth, it may be granted in some congenial 
 form in the mansions above. 
 
 Again, I remark that he was an active Christian. In 
 illustration of this, I refer to his laborious attention to his 
 class in the S.ibbath t^chool, his exertions in the' cause of 
 temperance, his unremitting attention to the afiah-s of the 
 church, and his general and widely-difiused efforts for the 
 salvation of souls. In estimating (he amount of any man’s 
 activity, we must always remember the sphere in which be 
 is placed. The man who lives upon his fortune, and to whom 
 labour is only a recreation, makes but small sacrifice in de¬ 
 voting a few hours every week, or even every day,to deeds of 
 benevolence or charity; and yet, whenever such a man ap¬ 
 pears, he is usually looked upon as a sort of prodigy, and held 
 up to the admiration of this wondering world. Nor are we 
 disposed to depiive such a man of the admiration he may 
 elicit. Eather would we hold him up still more prominentlf, 
 that those moving in the same circle with himself may be led 
 to imitate as well as admire. AVhat we deprecate is not the 
 besto wment of honour upon him, but the wiihholding it from 
 others who are decidedly more worthy. Those Christian bre¬ 
 thren who are engaged in business ten or twelve hours on 
 every one of six days of the week, and those Christian sisters 
 whose attention is occupied fourteen or fifteen hours daily 
 with domestic affairs—when such Christians become Sabbath 
 
Tii^ Christian’s victory. 7 
 
 School teachers, distribute religious tracts, speak to their fel¬ 
 low-sinners of the way of salvation, and are constant and 
 regular in their attendance upon the weekly meetings I'or 
 praj’er—such Christians are ten times more worthy of com¬ 
 mendation than many of those wealthy disciples whose 
 deeds of benevolence astonish the w-orld and fill the historic 
 page. It was to this humbler, but more mciitorioiis class, 
 that our departed brother belonged. Let it be ours to imi¬ 
 tate bis worthy example: then, while we share in bis 
 labours of love, we shall also share in his rich and eternal 
 reward. 
 
 In i\\s fotirtli place, I remark that he was a piilllc-spirit- 
 cd Ckrklian. It was no part of his religion to affirm tliat 
 he took no interest in politics, or that he never looked into 
 a newsiiajrer. His mind was occupied with whatever could 
 affect the glcry of God or the welfare of man: and hence 
 the affairs of his conntiy, and of the world, received alna\s 
 a share of his regard. In what way, I would here ask.—in 
 what way shall we pray with intelliocnce for our country’s 
 prospeiity, if we are altogether unacquainted with its 
 affairs ? Or how shall W'e give thanks to God for favourable 
 symptoms in any part of the world, if we cherish- the o]ii- 
 nion that its political and social aspect is no part of our 
 concern ? No such opinion was cherished by our deqrarted 
 friend. His mind was far too generous and expansive to 
 take any such limited view, or to harbour even for a mo¬ 
 ment any such ridiculous idea. 
 
 Here we must notice more especially his attachment to 
 the temperance reform. In this his interest was deep and 
 abiding. It received his attention previous to the dale of 
 his conversion, and after his conversion occurred, his attach¬ 
 ment to the cause of lempcrance was not lessened, but 
 increased. AVitli him there wuis no pitiful trifling about 
 leaving the Gospel to reform the drunkard. His rcry 
 faith in the Gospel, and in the Gospel’s power, led him 
 the more earnestly to employ such means as the spirit of 
 the Gospel requires. He knew, wdiat indeed is well knowm, 
 that only total abstinence could reclaim those who are 
 already intemperate; and he was not so foolish as to siqi- 
 pose that drunkards will begin to abstain entirely, while 
 those around them are setting the example of drinking in' 
 moderation. He also knew that moderate drinkers are the 
 very class among whom drunkards are trained; and hence 
 he felt, as every Chvistian should feel, that it was at once a 
 duty and a privilege totally to abstain. 
 
 I remark again, that he was a spiritually-ramdad Chris- 
 
8 THE CIIEISTIAN's VICTOitT. 
 
 tian, and a Christian firmly established in the faith of the 
 Gospel. He “ continued in the faith grounded and settled, 
 and was not moved away from the hope of the Gospel 
 which he had heard.” During the period of extreme weak¬ 
 ness which preceded his dissolution, his mind sometimes 
 wandered, and he was evidently unconscious of the words 
 which he uttered. And yet these words were always about 
 the Saviour, or about his hopes for eternity : even when ho 
 suffered most severely, it was easy to see on what his mind 
 was reposing, and where his affections were placed. ■ I con¬ 
 fess, brethren, that of all I have heard of our brother’s 
 feelings during his illness, this has produced on my own 
 mind the deepest impression. I cannot but ask myself, 
 and I cannot but propose the question to you. Are your 
 minds now so stored with divine truth, and are your hearts 
 now so set on heavenly things, that even were you nearly 
 insensible your lips would utter only what is in harmony 
 with your Christian profession? For myself, I must con¬ 
 fess my conviction that, tried by this test, I should bo 
 found greatly deficient. It has led me to resolve to medi- 
 .tate still more closel}' upon the saving truth of the Gospel; 
 and if you are at all afraid of a similar deficiency, I trust 
 you will also adopt the same resolution. It is one thing to 
 feel that we have enough to sujrport us while the mind is 
 unruffled by the billows of adversity or the waves of afflic¬ 
 tion ; it is quite another thing to have the soul sustained 
 in the season of sickness and in the hour of death. In his 
 last illness our brother was not only calm but cheerful, and 
 on the minds of the few who had an opportunity of seeing 
 him, his cheerfulness produced a deep impression. It was 
 very easy to see, that the man who could be so cheerful 
 with death immediately before him, was widely different 
 from the mere professor. 
 
 Yes! my hearer, he was widely different indeed; and 
 the difference was caused by the knowledge of a truth 
 Which the mere professor has never known. It was not 
 caused by a view of his blameless life, or by the recollec¬ 
 tion of his usefulness and activity since he became a fol¬ 
 lower of Christ. Of these we have said something, and 
 much more we might have said, but let it be distinctly 
 understood that, in his dying hour, these were not the 
 ground of his hopes or the source of his comfort. It has 
 been frequently said that the recollection of a well-spent 
 life will support the soul in the hour of death. Far be it 
 from me to affirm that such recollection is not better than 
 its opposite; yet I must affirm, that if there is nothing 
 
THE Christian’s victory. 9 
 
 more, the poor dying sinner will be wretched indeed. It 
 was no such recollection that supported the mind of our 
 brother. On the Gospel alone his spirit reposed; and on 
 that Gospel, not as given forth in any human composition, 
 hut as it comes pure and undiluted from God’s own Word. 
 “ I am a great sinner, but Christ is a great Saviour.” This 
 was the language of his heart, and he knew that it was 
 “ the mind of the S[)irit.” 
 
 During a considerable part of his illness he had much 
 pleasure in perusing the writings of Baxter. Tliat precious 
 volume, “ The Saint’s Rest,” was his ifequent or constant 
 companion; hut as his illness increased, even Baxter was 
 laid aside, and his soul was nourished and sustained by 
 “ the sincere milk of the word.” On one occasion, when 
 he was near the end of his course, his brother having read 
 to him a verse of Scripture, was proceeding to make a re¬ 
 mark suggested by the passage. The invalid, however, 
 immediately stopped him, saying, “ That is enough; it is 
 God’s word, I need nothing more'.' 0, my dear hearer, let 
 your mind now become deeply familiar with Scripture. 
 Bew'are of the common practice of taking your views at 
 second hand, or from the opinions of men. Study the Bible 
 for yourself, and ascertain there what the Gos]iel actually 
 is. Then, and not till then, your “ faith will stand not in 
 the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” 
 
 It only remains to remark, once more, that our departed 
 friend is mxo a glorified Christian- On the morning of the 
 20th of April, after a night of extreme sufifering, (he sjjirit 
 obtained its release, and w'as taken to dwell with its God. 
 Just as the night had passed away, and the sun appeared 
 in the cast, the liberated soul of our brother began to ascend 
 to that city of which W'e are told that “ there is no night 
 thereand of wdinse inhabitants it is affinned, that “ they 
 need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God 
 giveth them light: and they sliall reign for ever and ever.” 
 What a contrast betw'een the gloom of the night and the 
 splendour of the opening day ! between the sufferings which 
 are past and the glory which has now been revealed 1 be¬ 
 tween the sorrowful feelings of the friends below and the 
 joy of the emancipated spirit in the world above! As he 
 enters the gate of the city, his arrival is welcomed by mil¬ 
 lions who have gone before. Is there any reason to doubt 
 that among these will be some whom he knew and loved 
 on earth ? or is there any reason to question that they will 
 he the first to direct his attention to the Lamb in the midst 
 of the throne ? But we cannot, and we will not attempt 
 
f 
 
 10 THE CHKISTIAS’s TICTOKY. 
 
 to follow out the description. Of the employment of tlie 
 saints in heaven we know as yet but little, and it will serve 
 no good purpose to supply by conjecture our lack of iiifur- 
 mation. Of our brother, and of his holy companions, we 
 can only say,— 
 
 Thus much, and this is all we know, 
 
 Tliey are coiniiletely blest, 
 
 And freed from sin, and care, and woe, 
 
 They witli their Saviour rest.” 
 
 There are especially two or throe classe.s to whom Ibis 
 subject is full of warning, and fraught with important 
 instruction. 
 
 We apply it, first, to the young. Our brother was only 
 in the vigour of youth: we, in our ignorance, may regard 
 his death as premature or. untimely; hut he was meet for 
 heaven, and,— 
 
 “ That life is long which answers life’s great end." 
 
 On the young in general, and on the members of his clas.s 
 in particular, I would earnestly urge tlie importance, the 
 absolute necessity, of being ready to die. Seldom during 
 his illness did our brother feel more deeply than at one of 
 the times when his class paid him a visit, and lie was 
 unable to see them. “ I cannot,” he said, “ I cannot speak 
 to them; I can only speak to God on their behalf.” It 
 may he that his very inability to see them increased the 
 fervency of his prayers; and I trust it produced on their 
 minds a; salutary impression. Children of the Sabbath 
 School 1 see that ye receive and improve the instructions of 
 your teachers now; soon will your teachers be unable to 
 address you; and if you remain unsaved, you and they will 
 he parted for ever. 
 
 Our present subject conveys a loud warning to those who 
 are putting of the time of their conversion. During the 
 latter part of our brother’s illness, such was his extreme 
 weakness, that even two or three sentences were too much 
 for him to hear, and seldom could any one he allowed even 
 tp engage in prayer. This was owing entirely to the nature 
 of his disease; but remember, my dear hearer, that when 
 you are laid on a death-bed, ijo^ir disease, your pain, and 
 weakness may he similar to his. If, then, you have not 
 learned the Gospel before, is it probable that you will learn it 
 then ? We have great faith in the Gospel—we have unli¬ 
 mited confidence in the goodness of God—we know that 
 up till the latest moment salvation is free, hut we also 
 know that of all places the bed of death is the most inisuit- 
 
THE Christian’s victort. ll 
 
 able OH which to prepare to die. Make,preparation NOW; 
 and as 3-00 value 3'our own soul, lie satisfied with nothing 
 less than assurance of safet}^ Witli anything less than this, 
 3’ou have no reason to regard yourself as a Christian ; and 
 nothing less than assurance will sustain your spirit in the 
 hour of death. 
 
 Full and complete was the assurance which our brother 
 enjoyed. At one time being asked whether his confidence 
 continued, he quickl}' and calmly replied, Firm as a rock.” 
 It was in the near view of death that these words wore 
 uttered, proving the porver of that precious Gospel which 
 even then can sustain the soul. Our brother had often read 
 these words of the projihet, and noiv standing on the edge 
 of time and looking into eternity, he felt their significance 
 and value, “ Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lav in 
 Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a jn-ecious corner 
 stone, a sure foundation, he that belioveth shall not make 
 haste.” Looking hack to the Cross and forward to Heaven 
 —to the former as the ground of his confidence, to the 
 latter as his eternal ahedo—he said, even when his suft'erings 
 were most severe, “ One half-hour in gloiy will more than 
 make up for ail this!” Yes! my brother, your words were 
 true ; and now', in 3 our happy e.vporience, you feel their 
 truth. “ I reckon that the suilerings of this present tinio 
 are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall 
 he revealed in us.” 
 
 We hope it will not be supposed that his assurance was 
 obtained only in the time of his affliction. It was far from 
 him, and be it far from us, to give 0113' countenance to the 
 soul-ruining delusion—a delusion as ridictjlous as it is ruin¬ 
 ous—that men may he Christians and yet live till near the 
 end of their d.iys without the assurance of safety. The 
 assurance which he had on his death-bed w'as the same as¬ 
 surance which he obtained at the time of his conversion. 
 As he had no holiness from which to draw' his assurance 
 at first, so it was not from his own holiness that he drew 
 his assurance at last. Of the value and necessity of holi¬ 
 ness as a qiinUfication for heaven, he was deeply sensible; 
 solemnly and frequently did ho ponder the words, “ Holi¬ 
 ness, without which no man shall see the Lordbut in¬ 
 stead of drawing his confidence from a view of his own 
 holiness, he drew both the one and the other from the atone¬ 
 ment of Christ. The old venerable divines, now in the 
 realms above, never spoke more truly than when they said, 
 as they frequenth’ did, that the ground of our confidence is 
 not the work of the Spirit within us, hut the work of the 
 
12 THE CHEISTIAn’s VICTORY. . 
 
 Saviour without us, that work as it is plainly revealed in 
 “ the word of the truth of the Gospel.” 0, my fellow- 
 sinner, I beseech you to yield now to the striving of the 
 Spirit, and fix jour eye upon the Cross. Get a knowledge 
 of yourself as a sinner, and of the sacrifice of Christ as full 
 satisfaction for human guilt. Cast aside all human limita¬ 
 tions, and view the sacrifice of Jesus as at once perfect and 
 universal—receive as a little child what God freely gives— 
 believe as a reasonable creature wliat your Creator plainly 
 declares—and no longer will you have any difficulty about 
 the assur.ance of safety. Instead of going mourning all your 
 days, you will then “ rejoice in the Lord,” and your duties, 
 instead of being a toil and a burden, will be all performed 
 under the constraining motive of a Saviour’s love. In love 
 to God, accompanied by love to man, is found the very genn, 
 the principle, the essence of holiness; and this love will 
 dwell in j’-our heart only when all your doubts are driven 
 away regarding his love to you. “ TVe love him because 
 he first loved us.” 
 
 To his fellow-teachers in the Sabbath School, to his 
 fellow-Christians in general, and to the members of tliis 
 church in particular, our brother’s early removal conveys 
 both instruction and encouragement. Supported by that, 
 grace, of which we also are assured, he has finished his 
 course and completed his labours;—his warfare is ended, 
 his victory is won. Now he sings in triumph, “Thanks bo 
 to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ.” Now he feels, what he formerly knew, that his 
 faith, and patience, and sufferings have not been in vain ; 
 and were he perijitted again to address us, it would be in 
 some such language as this, “ Tlierefore, my beloved breth¬ 
 ren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the 
 work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour 
 is not in vain in the Lordf' 
 
 May, 1848. 
 
 Edinburgh, H. Armotjh, 5i South Bridge, and C. Ziegler, 17 Soutli 
 Bridge; London, Houlston & Sionemhn; Glasgow, G. Gallie; 
 Melrose, J. Walker; Annan, Willhh Cuthbertson; Portobello, 
 T. Drysdale. And to be had tlnough all Booksellers. 
 
 Price 4s. 6d. per 100.] to he emtinued.