NEW YORK BIBLE SOCIETY--ASSOCIATIONS FOR
PRAYER--HAPPY OLD AGE--LETTERS.
"In December, 1809, a Bible Society was organized in New York,
and about the same time twenty respectable persons united in a
society, to wait on the Lord, to know what their hands could find to
do to promote his glory, to advance his kingdom, to spread the savor
of the Redeemer's name, or in any way to benefit the souls of their
fellow-sinners.
"On Monday a meeting for prayer was instituted in Hetty-street,
and another in Mulberry-street, with which the Presbyterian ministers
have agreed to meet in rotation. It is the Lord. We have heard of
revivals all around, but feared lest the aggravated sins of New York
might provoke the Lord to pass by, leaving our fleece dry, while the
dew wet all around. Great have been our privileges; the gospel trumpet
has sounded in every corner of our city. The Lord's servants have set
before us life and death, assuring us, from God's word, that 'though
hand join in hand, the wicked shall not go unpunished;' beseeching us
to flee from the wrath to come, and lay hold on the hope set before
us. God in his providence has visited us with mercies and with
judgments: stricken us, and healed us; scattered us, and gathered us:
but alas, alas, we were 'eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage.' Many, very many, wasting their time, health, and substance,
in all manner of immorality, and our rulers caring for none of these
things; yea, many of them practising the same things; and Oh, God's
own saved people sitting still, restraining testimony before men and
prayer before God. What were we to expect but that God should say, Why
should they be stricken any more? they will revolt more and more: they
are joined to idols; let them alone. Such, O Lord, would be the case
didst thou not deliver us out of our own self-destroying snares. If
thou turn us not, we shall never turn; it is in our nature to
backslide for ever.
"But is not the time come to pass when before thy people call
thou answerest, and while they are yet speaking, thou hearest? Art
thou not calling with power, 'Return, ye backsliding children, and I
will heal your backslidings?' and hast thou not prepared their hearts
to answer, Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God?
truly, in vain is salvation looked for from the hills, and from the
multitude of mountains; truly, from the Lord our God is the salvation
of Israel. Hast thou not, O God, prepared the hearts of thy people to
pray, and thine ear to hear? Is not this Bible Society, and are not
these associations for prayer, tokens from thee for good? More and
more, Lord, may thy people give thee no rest, until thou make Zion a
praise in the earth. O the Hope of Israel, and the Saviour thereof, be
not as a wayfaring man, that turneth aside for a night. May thy people
constrain thee to abide with us for ever, to form us a people for
thyself, to show forth thy praise.
"I have just conveyed dear Mrs. A----le to the confines of the
eternal world. I trust the dear Redeemer received her spirit. I have a
good hope that she is now in possession of the mansion purchased and
prepared for her by that dear Saviour whose name she professed, and I
think, in an humble, steady, quiet way, faithfully followed. She loved
the word of God, the house of God, the people of God. She spoke
little, but said she had a good hope: asked me to read the Bible
different times, and also to pray; said the invitations of the gospel
were sweet to her: observed that the Lord had been very merciful to
her in her affliction.
"A few hours before her death she desired me to read that hymn,
"'To him that loved the souls of men,' etc,
Also,
"'Come, let us join our cheerful songs,' etc.
She asked if I thought she would continue long. I said, No, my
dear, you will very soon be with Jesus; and encouraged her as the Lord
enabled me. She repeated the question some time after, and I gave her
the same answer. She then said, 'This night?' I answered, Yes, my
love, this night. She bowed her head with a sweet smile, laid it in a
reclining posture, and set herself to wait with patience the Lord's
time. She was very much oppressed, and breathed with much difficulty.
Some time after she asked me to pray, which I did, and begged that the
Lord would increase her faith and patience, and, if according to his
will, give her a gentle passage and an abundant entrance. In a short
time her breathing became short and low; she shut her eyes and gently
breathed weaker and weaker, till her God delivered her without motion
or groan. I was on my knees praying. I then thanked God for his
goodness in this sweet dismission; prayed for the husband, the
children, the two young men present, and us all, gave glory to God,
and rose to watch to future duty.
"O my God, is not my own death at hand? It is a hard battle. My
Jesus, thou knowest the struggle. I too must drink of this cup; mix it
for me, my Redeemer. O let a full sense of free pardon, the
recollection of the great and precious promises, a bright view of the
joys at God's right hand, as the fruit of thy death, be applied to my
soul in that awful hour. Holy Spirit, pour in the oil and wine of thy
consolations in that trying hour. O let me not be straitened. Open
wide to my soul the leaves of that well-ordered covenant, of which
Christ himself is the sum and substance. Redeeming God, may I
experience proof in that solemn hour, that 'thy flesh is meat indeed,
and thy blood is drink indeed.' O feed me with this living food; may I
feel life spring up in my soul, and be assured that I shall 'never
die.' O my God, grant one more request. Open my lips, and let them, as
well as my heart, be filled with the high praises of my redeeming God.
"I know I am unworthy; the vilest of the vile; but magnify thy
grace. I have much forgiven; O let my heart burn with love and
gratitude in that hour, and my lips utter its effusions in songs of
praise. Amen.
"When the short thick breathing comes, and the slow fetches,
sealing up speech and expelling the spirit from its abode, O let me
hear or understand thee saying unto me, 'It is I, be not afraid.'"
"JANUARY, 1810.
"'Come and let us return unto the Lord, for he hath torn, and he
will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days
will he revive us, in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall
live in his sight.'
"O Lord, turn us and we shall be turned, draw us and we will run
after thee. Revive us, and we shall live in thy sight. Thou must ever
be first. It is in our nature to backslide for ever: and whenever we
see a backslider restored, or a rebel lay down the weapons of
rebellion, _there_ we may trace thy footsteps, O God of grace.
"No external providence will touch our hard, our deceitful
hearts. All that goes under the name of misfortune will but drive us
_from_ thee, never _to_ thee, till thou teach us to profit,
and lead us by the way that we should go. Thou callest, 'Return, ye
backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings;' but we have
been foolish, sottish children, without understanding, wise to do
evil, but to do good having no knowledge.
"Let the days come when the children of America--the earth is the
Lord's--shall 'come with weeping, and seek the Lord their God;' when
'they shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward;' when
they shall come, saying, 'Let us join ourselves to the Lord in a
perpetual covenant, never to be forgotten.' O the Hope of Israel and
Saviour thereof, is not that day and that time come? Hast thou not
been working on the right hand and on the left? Thou hast given us
pastors according to thine own heart, who feed us with knowledge and
understanding: and thou art here and there proving thy gospel thy
power and thy wisdom, to the salvation of sinners; casting down the
imaginations of pride, and bringing all into subjection to thy Son
Jesus.
"O pour out the spirit of grace and supplication, upon thy living
members, that they may wrestle with thee, and not let thee go until
thou bless us, until thou make this 'cloud like a man's hand' cover
our heavens with blackness, and issue in a plentiful rain. O pour
water upon him that is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; thy
Spirit upon our seed, and thy blessing upon our offspring. O Lord,
hast thou not said that thou wilt do it, and that they shall spring up
as among the grass, and as willows by the water-courses. One shall
say, I am the Lord's, another shall call himself by the name of Jacob,
and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname
himself by the name of Israel. Amen, O our God, Amen.
"Last week the Lord's young servant, Mr. R----, received to the
communion of the church seven adults, Mrs. B---- and her two
daughters, Dr. H---- and sister, Mr. C----, and a black woman, servant
to Mr. H----. It was a glorious sight, and revived the hearts of God's
people who witnessed it. O God of grace, grant that the fruits of
righteousness may prove that they are broken off from the wild
olive-tree, and grafted into thee, thou living and life-giving
olive-tree; from thee must their fruit be found. O cause them to bring
forth much fruit. Herein is the Father glorified, that they bear much
fruit; so shall they be Christ's disciples, and attain to the
assurance of that happy state. Father, glorify thy name. Amen."
In the year 1810, while bathing at Rockaway, she was carried by
the surf beyond her depth, and for some time there was scarcely a hope
of her regaining the shore. Her grandchildren were weeping on the
beach, and the company assembled there were afflicted but hopeless
spectators of her danger. At that moment of peril she prayed to the
Lord for deliverance, but acquiesced in his will, if he should see fit
to take her to himself in this manner. Able to swim a little, she kept
herself afloat for some time: she became at length very faint; and
when her friends on the beach apprehended her lost, they perceived
that the waves had impelled her somewhat nearer to them. A gentleman
present, and her female attendant, stepped into the surf and extending
their arms for mutual support, one of them was enabled to lay hold on
Mrs. Graham's bathing-gown and to pull her towards them. When they
brought her ashore she was much exhausted, and had swallowed a
considerable quantity of water. It was some hours before she revived,
when she addressed the company in a very serious and impressive manner
that affected them to tears. Her health during the following winter
was much impaired by the shock it had received.
"ROCKAWAY, June 15, 1810.
"Came here the first of the month, with the children in the
whooping-cough. No 'church-going bell' here, but the Lord is
everywhere; and I have found him here, warming my heart with gratitude
and contrition, and drawing it out in prayer for his people met to
worship in his sanctuary.
"When at a distance from my own people, it has been my practice
to join with whatever class of professing Christians might be near me.
Here it has been with the Methodists, who, I believe, enjoy communion
with God. Yesterday I went to a meeting of ----, who lay great stress
on good morals; but, O my God, what could I do, shut up with them?
Without the finished work of my Saviour, I could have no hope; without
his law-fulfilling righteousness, I must stand a law-condemned sinner.
"The preacher yesterday took no text; in the course of his sermon
he said the Scriptures were only secondary guides. He began with the
importance of thinking of death, and said it could not be possible for
a rational being to live carelessly, with thoughts of death and
eternity in view. Is it so? No; we see sinners die, under the full
conviction that they are dying, as thoughtless as they have lived.
"He said, that by constantly attending to the motions of the
Spirit and complying with them, Christians arrived at a state of
perfection even here; and brought in that text, 'He that is born of
God cannot sin,' etc. Spoke highly of watchfulness, and avoiding
connection with the world; said a real Christian could not hold any
office of power among men. Paul held one, but he gave it up when he
became an apostle. Christ's kingdom was not of this world. Laws and
officers were necessary among the men of the world, but not among
Christians. Spoke of the cross of Christ as consisting in suffering
and self-denial. His blood was the Spirit which cleansed from all sin,
by delivering all who obeyed him from its power. He named not my
blessed Saviour, except when he had occasion to mention some of his
moral sayings. He said, indeed, that he was the Light that lightened
every man that came into the world, and the condemnation was that men
would not receive it; but one word of his blessed priesthood he spoke
not, but said we were in a state of probation, and every one would be
judged according to his works, taking into view the advantages he had
enjoyed; recommended the reading of the Scriptures, especially the
inspired books, the New Testament and the prophets; for it needed no
inspiration to write the national history of the Jews more than that
of any other nation. Said the Scriptures were good secondary guides,
and contained excellent lessons and truths.
"When I was coming away he offered me his hand, saying that I was
not a resident there. I answered no, I was separated from my own
people, but wished to unite with any class of Christians who met
professedly to worship God; but confessed I could not live upon what
he had this day delivered. He asked what was wrong. I answered, he had
given some good exhortations; I agreed with him in many things
respecting conduct; but I missed the foundation. He repeated the
scriptures, 'Other foundation can no man lay,' etc. I said, Exactly:
off this foundation there is no salvation; on this foundation there
may be loss, but no condemnation. We have a great and merciful
High-priest, who can have compassion on the ignorant, and them who are
out of the way; and there may be straw, hay, stubble, which will be
burnt up, but the soul itself, being on the foundation, is safe. He
said with firmness, That will be burnt up in this world; without
holiness no man shall see the Lord. I said, True; but why avoid the
tenor of Scripture? read all the epistles; the Lord Jesus Christ, the
gift of God, the propitiatory sacrifice, the meritorious
law-fulfilling righteousness, is set forth, in every one of them, as
that which saves from wrath and entitles to eternal life. He said they
were all emblems of our being made holy in heart and life; Christians
were baptized unto the death of Christ, and rise with him to newness
of life, buried with him, etc. I granted that as one reading of these
words. He said every other view was shadow. I said, No--the blood of
bulls and goats is shadow; Christ himself, his person, his offices,
his life, his sufferings, his death, his burial, resurrection,
ascension, and intercession within the veil, are all substance--the
sole foundation of my hope, and my only plea at a throne of grace.
"Dear Name, the rock on which I build,
My shield and hiding-place,
My never-failing treasury, filled
With boundless stores of grace.
Jesus, my Husband, Shepherd, Friend,
My Prophet, Priest, and King,
My Lord, my life, my way, my end,
Accept the praise I bring."
"ROCKAWAY, August, 1810.
"Hebrews is my ordinary, when no other passage of Scripture
attracts my particular attention. This is the third morning I have
opened the New Testament on the 14th chapter of John, and have fed
delightfully on the first three verses. There is at all times a thorn
in my heart, keeping me in continual remembrance of my vile,
ungrateful backslidings, so that I eat my sweetest morsels with bitter
herbs. It was particularly painful to me this morning; nevertheless;
the Lord God, merciful and gracious, repeated on my heart, 'Let not
your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.' I was arrested at
the fourth verse, 'Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.' I have
had many comfortable exercises on the eighth verse, the Redeemer's
answer to Philip's inquiry. But this morning my mind was led to a
different view of that saying, and which I think was literally
included. The Redeemer was going to his Father, and his way lay
through death, the death of the cross. The hour was at hand when he
was to make his holy and righteous soul an offering for sin, that he
might become the author of salvation to all who obey him. All the sins
confessed and pardoned by the sacrifices under the law were laid on
this blessed Surety--they were only the shadows, he was the
substance--the real Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the
world, was now to be offered up. This was he who said, 'Sacrifice and
offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me; in
burnt-offerings and offerings for sin thou hast had no pleasure; then
said I, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God:' by which will we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all.
"He was going to the garden--Oh that garden! Peter had said he
was able to drink of that cup and to be baptized with that baptism. Ah
no, Peter; that exceeding sorrow in the garden, when no visible hand
was upon him, was a cup the least drop of which would have overwhelmed
the strongest angel. No strength short of omnipotent could have
sustained that hour and power of darkness. It was not the scourge, the
thorns, the nails, nor the last pangs of dissolution; through all
these he was as a lamb led to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her
shearers, dumb. It was a mysterious horror, of which no created being
can have any conception. It was this that wrung the great drops of
blood through every pore of his sacred body--this that extorted the
agonizing prayer, 'Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from
me;' and again, in his last moments on the cross, 'My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me?' Blessed, for ever blessed be our Jehovah
Jesus, who said, 'Not my will, but thine be done.' The will of God was
done, and he said, 'It is finished,' and gave up the ghost.
"All his people must follow him by the way of death; nearly all
his disciples followed by the death of the cross, and many others
after them, supported by his almighty grace, rejoiced that they were
counted worthy to suffer for his sake; but they drank not of that cup.
"Some of his people, for holy and wise purposes, have had a taste
in the hiding of God's face, but no curse; that he himself drank to
the last drop: He trod the wine-press alone, and of the people there
was none with him. By his own death he destroyed him that had the
power of death, and secured victory to all his followers: he changed
its aspect from that of the king of terrors to that of a welcome
messenger from their redeeming God, to conduct them to those blessed
mansions which he has purchased and prepared for them; neither will he
leave them alone with that messenger: 'And if I go, I will come again
and receive you to myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. I
will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. The world seeth me
no more, but ye see me; because I live, ye shall live also. Let not
your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.' Amen. 'Come, Lord
Jesus.'
"'Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast
thou opened: burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required.
Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of
me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is in my heart.'
Psalm 40:6. 'Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and
burnt-offerings and offering for sin thou wouldst not, neither hadst
pleasure therein--which are offered by the law--then said he, Lo, I
come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may
establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified, through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. This man, after he
had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right
hand of God. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that
are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for
after that he had said before, 'This is the covenant that I will make
with them after those days,' in consequence of Christ's doing the will
of God, fulfilling all righteousness: 'I will put my laws into their
hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and
iniquities will I remember no more. Now, where remission of these is,
there is no more offering for sin. Having, therefore, boldness to
enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way,
which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say,
his flesh; and having a High-priest over the house of God; let us draw
near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure
water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering;
for he is faithful that promised.' Hebrews 10:8-23; 8:10. Again, 'The
Lord sware, and will not repent; thou art a priest for ever after the
order of Melchizedek. By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better
testament; because he continueth ever, and hath an unchangeable
priesthood. Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for
them,' Heb. 7:21-25. 'Christ glorified not himself to be made a
high-priest, but He that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I
begotten thee; as he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest
for ever after the order of Melchizedek.' Heb. 5:5, 6. 'For the law
maketh men high-priests which have infirmity; but the word of the
oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for
evermore.' Heb. 7:28. 'The word which God sent unto the children of
Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: He is Lord of all. How God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power; who
went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the
devil; for God was with him. To him give all the prophets witness,
that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive
remission of sins.'" Acts 10:36-38, 43.
How well she was qualified to give instruction to young
disciples, will appear in the following letters to two, who died
shortly after of consumption.
To Miss Van Wyck, New York.
"ROCKAWAY, 1810.
"MY DEAR, MY BELOVED ELIZA--Mr. and Mrs. B---- are here on a
visit for one night. I did not expect to see them so soon, or I would
have had a letter ready. I expect another opportunity in the course of
a few days, when I will send you a long letter, from my heart, and, I
hope, dictated by your and my Teacher.
"I learn by my children that you continue much in the same way in
which I left you. It is your own God who mixes your cup, and it is to
you a cup of blessing; there is no curse in it. Your Jesus drank that
cup to the very dregs, that bitter as well as sweet might be to you a
cup of blessing. O then, my darling, hold fast by your Redeemer: he is
the Lord your righteousness, and the Lord your strength; he connects
your profit with his own glory. You shall in this protracted
affliction manifest it, and hold out the word of life to those around
you.* You shall witness for him that he is the Lord, and besides him
there is no Saviour--that he gathers the lambs in his arms, and
carries them in his bosom--that he is to them a hiding-place from the
wind, and a covert from the tempest--as rivers of water in a dry
place, and as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. That it is
he that teacheth them to profit, and leadeth them by the way that they
should go, and that in due time he will perfect all that concerns
them. Farewell.
*This prediction was remarkably fulfilled in the experience of
this dear young saint; an interesting account of whose illness
and death was published in the Christian's Magazine, and
afterwards as a Tract.
"Yours with affection,
"I. GRAHAM."
To the same.
"ROCKAWAY, Sabbath, 1810.
"MY DEAR, MY BELOVED ELIZA--I wrote you a few lines yesterday by
Mr. B----. I now propose to fulfil my promise. I expect an opportunity
to-morrow or next day, for I saw a great many carriages pass this way
to the tavern, as I suppose, from New York. It is a common thing with
some to come here on Saturday and return on Monday, to spend this
blessed day in pastime. You would not, I know, exchange situation's
with them; you would rather be suffering than sinning.
"It is your own observation that God does all in wisdom; in this
wisdom he is pleased to lengthen your day of affliction. Sin, my
darling, is the cause of all suffering; but is not always the
_immediate_ cause. Besides particular chastisement for particular
sins, there are afflictions to be filled up in the body of Christ--his
church--a measure of which, in kind and degree, is appointed by
unerring wisdom to each individual member. Col. 1:24. These sufferings
bear no part in atoning for sin, nor in redeeming our forfeited
inheritance. Christ trod the wine-press alone, and of the people there
was none to help him. He was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him; who when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on
high. Heb. 1:3. Again, 'And every priest,' in the Levitical law,
'standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after he had
offered _one sacrifice_ for sins for ever, sat down on the right
hand of God. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that
are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost is also a witness to us; for
after he had said before'--see from verse 5--'This is the covenant
which I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord; I will
put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now, where
remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.' Heb.
10:11-18. Paul says the Holy Ghost is a witness, because he copies
from the ancient Scriptures the prophecies of Jer. 31:31, and Ezek.
36:25, and from Psalm 60:7. Your mother will read to you also the
eighth chapter of Hebrews, containing the same things, the new
covenant, in consequence of Christ, as the surety of sinners, having
made full atonement, magnified the law, and made it honorable;
therefore there is now no condemnation to them who are in
Christ Jesus.
"It has pleased God, my darling, in the adorable plan of
reconciling sinners to himself by Jesus Christ, to perfect at once a
justifying righteousness for them, and to bestow it upon them as a
free gift. 'This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal
life; and this life is in his Son.' 1 John, 5:11. But it has not
pleased him to deliver us at once from depravity; provision is made
for final deliverance by the same covenant, and is effected by the
same power: but in this believers are called to work. It is evident
from Scripture, and the experience of Christians answers to it, that
in the hour of believing they pass from death to life, considered as a
state. This is the hour of the new birth: they then receive life for
the time, and it is their privilege, by the constitution of the new
covenant, to ask and receive, from day to day, grace to help in every
time of need. To them, and not to the unregenerate, the exhortation is
addressed, 'Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for
it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to do, of his good
pleasure,' The means are of God's appointing, in the diligent use of
which they go from strength to strength. The grand means is faith in
God's promises, of which there are very many in the Scriptures.
Believers are to put forth their own exertions, as the children of
Israel were called to go out against their enemies, in the faith that
God would give them victory and lead them to their promised rest. The
battle was the Lord's, and he fought for them; but the means were
their exertions. Believers are God's workmanship; but this work he
carries on by exercising their natural powers, which he sanctifies to
a different end from that to which they were formerly by their own
spirit directed. Still, the Scripture testifies that if any man say he
has no sin, he deceives himself, and the truth is not in him; and
while sin remains, its consequence, suffering, must. The judgments of
God, as the moral Governor of the world, are denounced against, and
executed upon the workers of iniquity. The children of God experience
personal chastisements for personal sins, as a provision of the
covenant. Psalm 89:30. And, if I mistake not, there are afflictions
experienced by individuals, as members of Christ's body, in which God
does not bring into view the personal sins of the sufferer. In this
sense I read Paul's epistle to the Colossians, 1:24: 'Who now rejoice
in my sufferings, and fill up that which is behind of the sufferings
of Christ in my flesh, for his body's sake, which is the church.' 'I
sent Timotheus to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your
faith, that no man should be moved by these afflictions; for
yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.' 1 Thes. 3:3. 'Yea,
if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy
and rejoice with you all; for the same cause do ye joy and rejoice
with me.' Phil. 2:17. 'And whether we be afflicted, it is for your
consolation and salvation; or whether we be comforted, it is for your
salvation and consolation.' 2 Cor. 1:6. There is no conscious personal
sin expressed in these sufferings; on the contrary, Paul says, 'For
our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in
simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the
grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more
abundantly to you-ward.' 2 Cor. 1:12.
"Most of the prophets and apostles suffered martyrdom. They
indeed sustained public characters, but the beggar Lazarus, who, in
addition to poverty, was full of sores, was carried by the angels from
the rich man's gate to Abraham's bosom. And thousands and tens of
thousands of redeemed highly sanctified ones have suffered lengthened
martyrdom, and perished with hunger, in holes and caves of the earth,
unknown in history, except in groups--unseen at the time, except by
the eye of the omniscient Jehovah, by whom the hairs of their head are
numbered; their tears are in his bottle; nor shall one sigh nor one
groan perish without its result.
"O my Eliza, what delightful wonders shall open to our view when
delivered from these prison-holds of earth.
"I have finished one sheet, my dear Eliza; I fear it is too much,
and may prove too fatiguing, especially as there are many references
requiring a stretch of attention. I have been reading the epistle to
the Hebrews, and you have naturally got my thoughts on part of it.
"I remember once of your complaining that you had made small
progress in knowledge, in comparison of a young person that had just
left you; but you checked yourself, and said, 'The Lord has given me
faith, let me be thankful.' I at that time considered your departure
as very near, and advised you to keep your eye fixed on Christ, as
your Redeemer and Saviour, who had performed all things for you, and
would perfect all that concerned you; and added, one hour in heaven
will make you wiser than the most enlightened saint on earth. Since
that it has pleased your Lord to add many days to your life. He has
mitigated your pain, and given you some intervals of ease and
composure, and our dear Eliza has grown in that time. Should it please
God to spare you for a yet longer season, and continue your intervals
of ease, no subject can be so profitable; and I hope your Lord will
make it pleasant as that of the contents of the New Testament, which
your Saviour bequeathed to you, sealed and ratified in his blood.
There is a vast variety of precious promises contained in the
Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, which are all yours with
Christ; for, as a member of his body, 'you are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being
the chief corner-stone.' And now I commend you to your own covenant
God, who does and will support you, through life and through death, to
that happy land where we shall all meet; and Oh then, eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the
things he hath prepared for them that love him.
"I am, with much love and affection, yours,
"I. GRAHAM."
To Mr. James Todd, New York.
"ROCKAWAY, Long Island.
"MY DEAR JAMES--This will probably be handed you by our mutual
friend Mrs. C----. The thought of her being with you, makes me part
with her with less reluctance. You have not been forgotten by either;
we have talked much of you, and have united in prayer to your and our
God, that he may manifest himself unto you as your reconciled Father
in Christ Jesus; and give you 'joy and peace in believing'--that he
may give you patience in suffering, and entire resignation to his most
holy will.
"It has, my dear young friend, been my earnest inquiry,
especially of late years, standing on the brink of eternity, 'What is
there within us, or without us, on which a sinner can rest in a dying
hour?' If it be a holy life, there is no peace for me. Taking the law
of God for my rule, backslider is my name; yet peace I have found, and
on the best Security; this blessed Bible is my charter. I have
searched it with diligence and prayer, and my mind is confirmed in the
following truths: That the whole world is become guilty before God,
and is under his wrath and curse on that account. This is our state: a
miserable state it is, and as hopeless as miserable, for any thing we
can do merely of ourselves. But I read in this Bible to the full
amount of the following conclusions--that in the counsel of the
mysterious Triune Jehovah, Jesus Christ, the second person of the
incomprehensible Trinity, was sanctified, or set apart to become the
Saviour of law-condemned sinners, to take their nature upon him,
comply with the requisitions of the eternal immutable law of God, and
become their surety. Man is a rebel, it is put to his account: a
penalty is incurred--He, as their surety, is made liable. Are they
again to be made heirs of eternal life? Perfect obedience is the
condition--and of Him, as their surety, it is demanded. All this being
fulfilled, sinners are become his property: he has paid their debt,
and merited for them eternal life, all in their own nature, as their
Head and representative; so that believers are complete in him. This
is the righteousness of God, wrought out by Jesus Christ, in his own
person, God-man, as their surety. To this nothing of the believer's is
to be added--with this nothing of his mixed; it is for ever perfect;
entirely distinct from that holiness of heart and life which is
wrought in him in consequence of this. God has declared himself well
pleased with this righteousness, and that being himself reconciled, he
is in Christ Jesus reconciling sinners to him.
"Hence all the invitations scattered thick in the Old and New
Testament, not only to the penitent, weary, and heavy laden, but to
the stout-hearted, the backslider, to them that are wearying
themselves in their own way. 'Ho, every one that thirsteth'--'Whosoever
will, let him take the water of life freely,' Hence all the promises
annexed to believing, accepting, receiving, trusting, resting: Christ
the Saviour is the object--the gift of God to sinners for all the
above purposes. The Lord has convinced me that I have nothing in
myself on which I can rest; my conscience echoes to his word in all
that it asserts of my nature and my state; but this Saviour is
provided for sinners exactly of this description. I am invited to put
in my claim, I believe the record, I rest my salvation on his word;
God giveth to me eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Jesus
calls me to look unto him, and be saved; I do look unto him, and I am
saved. He assures me that those who come unto him shall never be cast
out. I do go to him and commit my sinful soul to his keeping; I shall
not be cast out. As many as receive the gift of his Son, receive at
the same time power to become the children of God. I do receive his
gift, and lay claim to his promise. He is my reconciled Father, and I
am his adopted child, and he hath sent his Spirit into my heart, by
which I can say, Abba, Father.
"I have, my dear James, taken this method of laying before you
the grounds of my own hope, because I think it the most simple method,
and containing at the same time my counsel to you to lay hold on the
same hope. The warrant is given us in God's own word, as sinners,
without respect to fruit or any works of ours. I can, if necessary,
give you chapter and verse, to the full amount; but you have those
about you who can give it to you by little and little, as your weak
state can bear it. This gift is held out to the sinner's acceptance in
many places of the word of God, and becomes the sinner's in the moment
of believing. Provision is made by the same covenant for his
sanctification; but that makes no part of justifying righteousness.
Christ is made of God unto him wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. Try, my precious young friend, to lay hold on this
hope, and enter into the rest provided for the believer here. Stretch
forth 'the withered hand,' the Lord himself will give you strength.
Commit your precious soul into his hands, and rest assured that he
will perfect all that concerns you--work all his work in you--carry
you safely through the Jordan of death, and put you in possession of
the inheritance he has purchased for you. That all this shall be,
is the prayer and firm hope of
"Your affectionate friend,
"ISABELLA GRAHAM."
The two following extracts, addressed to Mrs. C----, near Boston,
present a very gratifying view of Mrs. Graham in her advanced years,
and may well awaken the desire not only to die the death, but to enjoy
the "fruitful old age" of "the righteous."
"I have, as you know, enjoyed much in life, enjoyed its dearest,
sweetest comforts, love and friendship, with a heart tremblingly alive
to both. Lover and friends of youth are long since gone, other
friendships I have formed, and have been happy even in these; now I am
shut up with ails and aches. The world, properly so called, is a dead
blank to me; yet I do think I never enjoyed life more. I would not
exchange my present happiness for the most transporting moments of my
life--of which I have had a large share--though thousands of years
were added to enjoy them. I do not mean barely that happiness which
consists in the anticipation of pleasure beyond the grave; that is
indeed delightful; but I enjoy life now. Books of taste are mine no
more: still less those of science and history; but my dear Bible;
precious subjects; my dear Saviour. The height, the depth, the
breadth, the length of the glorious plan of redemption open to my
delightful perception more and more, and the Spirit witnesseth with my
spirit, that I have my part in it by the gift of _faith_. I
believe the record, that God giveth to us eternal life, and I put in
my claim as a sinner. I account it a 'faithful saying, and worthy of
all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save
sinners, of whom I am the chief,' I still enjoy the ordinances of the
gospel: my memory, as you know, is much impaired: I recollect very
little of the sermons I hear; but I think I never heard with so much
attention. I am delighted, instructed, and fed at the time, and the
subjects open to me without my being able to recollect the order or
the words of the speaker. O let me recommend this dear Lord to your
heart and confidence; commit all your concerns to him; mistrust no
part of his providential dealings with you; his wisdom shall manage
for you, and you shall one day say, 'He hath done all things well.'"
"MARCH, 1811.
"I am daily on the lookout; one year and three months will
complete my threescore and ten. I do not know one individual alive
whom I know in my school-days; it has been the case for many years. I
do not long for my dismission, neither am I tired of life; but nothing
in this world, unless closely connected with another, interests me;
and Oh, I am tired of sin; still it cleaves to me; in all things I
come short, and many duties neglect altogether; for I still have a
considerable, share of health, and might do some good, had I will
equal to my opportunities; as to the power, it is not in me, but I
know I have it in my blessed Head, and for the asking. I cannot but
long to be delivered from sin, and sinful apathy in particular; for
really my heart must be wickedly fertile, to find out opportunities of
moral transgression. Food and raiment are mine without care; my
children, under God, care for me. I have my dear little room, my
Bible, and books founded on it. I have a dear pastor and Christian
friends, lively ordinances, and also much of the Lord's presence at
times; my cup runs over with blessings, but my gratitude bears no
proportion; my zeal for the glory of God and the good of my
fellow-sinners seems buried under self-indulgence and apathy. O that
the goodness of the Lord may lead me to repentance.
"And now, my dear friend, let me know how it is with you and your
dear family. The severe winter is past; how have you got along? with
what temporal comfort, and how has the Lord dealt with your soul? Has
the barrel of meal or the cruse of oil failed? Does the opening spring
cheer your spirits, and furnish a song of praise? Does it find you in
a situation to dig your garden, sow your seeds, and make provision for
future comfort? Has the Lord turned your captivity, and dried up the
bitter waters that flowed against you? How are your eyes, after all
the briny tears that have steeped them? How are your poor nerves,
after all the shocks that have agitated them? All these things have
been on my mind; but from my long silence, you cannot believe it. What
are we all, but broken reeds, which pierce the hand when laid hold of
for support? There is but one Friend to poor, fallen, miserable man,
in the universe. He is mercy; he is goodness; he is truth; he is
wisdom; he is unchangeable, and never will fail you: take him to your
heart; give it all to him; he only is worthy, no other is."
Her friend Mrs. C---- had now experienced new trials, by which
she was again plunged into the depth of despondency. In the following
we have a noble effort of Mrs. Graham's mind and heart to raise her up
to "sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."
"JUNE 27, 1811.
"I received my dear friend's letter this day week, and have been
answering it ever since. Never was I in such a strait. It contains the
effusions of disappointed hopes and anticipations of sore evils;
indicates a soul deeply wounded, and taking in Christian principles
under temptation. Where shall I begin? I have laid it before our
compassionate High-priest, I have requested direction. Assist me, O
thou blessed Comforter, whose office it is to convince of sin, as well
as to minister consolation. Do both, from the heart and by the pen of
thy handmaid.
"It appears to me salutary to call your attention first to the
sovereignty of God. The silver and the gold are his, and the cattle on
a thousand hills; he gives them to whomsoever he pleases; he setteth
up one and putteth down another, doing whatsoever pleaseth him in the
armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of this earth; none can
stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? He attributes to
himself all events; men and other creatures are but instruments. Men's
wicked hearts impel them to commit evil, but the events are of the
Lord, which he overrules for his own glory, and for the good of his
people. 'Him being delivered by the determinate counsel' of God, ye
have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified him. Joseph said, 'Ye
thought evil against me; but God meant it for good,' 'to save much
people alive.' The Lord does not often, at the time, give his people
reasons for afflicting them, though they can often read them at an
after-period.
"Job was a holy man; his afflictions from God's own hand were
very deep; the teasing unkindness and injustice of his friends made
great part of the temptation, and he spoke unadvisedly with his lips.
When God did appear, he did not answer his cavils, nor give him one
reason why he had dealt with him thus; but silenced him with views of
his majesty, power, and wisdom--of his own meanness and vileness,
though correct in his conduct beyond most others. I believe he spoke
truth when he said, 'I delivered the poor that cried, and the
fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him
that was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart
to sing for joy. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.
I was a father to the poor, and the cause which I knew not, I searched
out.' God allowed the weight of the trial to be upon his spirit, with
the conviction of his presumption, till he brought him to his feet.
'Behold, I am vile, what shall I answer thee?' 'I will lay my hand
upon my mouth.' 'I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.' These
things were written for our example and profit.
"This afflictive providence is now finished, at least so far.
What you now possess is the allotment of your God. Set all instruments
aside and listen to the Holy Ghost: 'Humble yourselves under the
mighty hand of God, and he shall exalt you in due time.' In order to
this, I would recommend to you to take a close, retrospective view of
your past life, with earnest prayer that God would search you and try
you, and show you what wicked ways have been or now are in you. Go
back to the days of your youth; take a close view of the use you made
of affluence and influence; not comparing yourself with others, but
judging yourself by the law of God, the only standard of right and
wrong, truth and error. Seek for humbling views of yourself in
yourself. If the Holy Ghost enlighten, you will find sufficient
grounds. Seek for consolation in the free promises of God, through
Jesus Christ, of which there are also abundance, even to the chief of
sinners. What I recommend to you has been my own practice, especially
in times of trial; and if health will admit of it, add fasting,
because I think it is the Lord's ordinance. 'The days shall come when
the bridegroom shall be taken from them, then shall they fast in
those days.'
"Read the third chapter of Jeremiah's lamentations; endeavor to
come under the feelings of contrition on account of your sins, and
derive consolation from faith in God's great mercy; ever keeping in
view the only channel through which mercy can flow to sinners of
Adam's race. Take also a view of God's dealings with his elect nation,
in the wilderness: they had nothing but manna, and were punished for
murmuring; while at that very time the nations in Canaan, the
Egyptians, and Assyrians, were living in all manner of luxury. What
was their whole history but backsliding, threatening upon threatening?
then chastisement, turning, repenting, pardon, reconciliation, and the
same round again, every chastisement severer than the last, while
worldlings in general have their day to the end; then 'are they
brought into desolation as in a moment.' I wish you to take a
particular view of God's dealings with them, before Nebuchadnezzar
sacked the city of Jerusalem. The decree was passed after many
warnings, and much long-suffering. How many pauses, as it were, did
the merciful Lord God make before he gave them finally up to their
enemies; and when the decree was irrevocable, and the chastisement to
take place, still he followed them with mercy. See Jeremiah 27:12; and
chapter 29, the letter which God commanded Jeremiah to write to those
who had been carried away captive with Jehoiakim, advising them to
build houses and plant vineyards, and to make the most of their
situation. Those at Jerusalem were commanded to submit to the king of
Babylon, as in that case he would not destroy the city; but no, they
stood it out, and the threatened vengeance overtook them.
"The poor were left to take care of the vineyards. Jeremiah
remained with them in preference to going with the king of Babylon to
be promoted to honor. God offered to take them under his protection
and be their God: but no, they would go to Egypt, and put themselves
under the king of Egypt's protection. Jeremiah told them from the
Lord, that Egypt itself should soon go into captivity. But to Egypt
they went and carried Jeremiah with them. See Isaiah's prophecy on
this occasion, chapter 30:1-4. Now look at chapter 42:24; there you
see God's judgment and chastening; follow him in the beginning of
chapter 43, and view his mercy; in the end of the same chapter, again,
see his charge against them, but it is followed, with mercy,
not judgment.
"Thus we learn the character of God. Thus we learn his dealings
with his people. They are not called to earthly comfort and
prosperity. They ever have been, and still are a suffering people;
they are all sinners--sin brings suffering, and God overrules
suffering, so as to make it profitable to them. Though redeemed by the
life and death of Christ, being justified by faith, they have peace
with God; yet the Lord has not pleased all at once to qualify them for
the purchased possession. They receive a new birth, new life, and are
called to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, with
this consolation, that God worketh in them both to will and to do of
his good pleasure. This is not their home, here they have no
continuing city; they are travelling through the wilderness, to the
city and mansions purchased and prepared for them by their Saviour,
and must be made holy before they can enter in. They have many
corruptions to be mortified, and many errors in their estimation of
men and things to be corrected. Their hearts require to be made
spiritual, humble, tender, resigned, and loving. 'Who fed thee in the
wilderness with manna--that he might humble thee, and that he might
prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end.'
"Besides, all suffering is not the immediate punishment of sin in
the individual sufferer, nor for his exclusive profit; it is evident
from Scripture, there is suffering for the benefit of the body of
Christ, _his church_, of which, I think, all have some share. God
has wise ends to answer by all the suffering of his creatures, and
especially of the members of his body. The apostles rejoiced in this,
and so ought we. 'If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with
him.' Paul says, 'I fill up in my flesh that which is behind of the
sufferings of Christ, for his body's sake, which is the church.'
"Now, my dear friend, look at your real situation, as a suffering
member of a suffering body. Take a view of the saints of God in
history, sacred or profane, and compare your own individual suffering
with theirs: I am apt to think that, great as it is, it will not rise
to mediocrity. I could expatiate on this subject, from what comes
every day within my own knowledge. The Lord is working in this way all
around me; but of that another time. In your own case, try for a
moment to shut out of view every thing without your own family, what
you once were, what you once possessed and enjoyed; also what your
friends possess and enjoy at this present time; detach yourself from
all. What was yours is gone; what you calculated upon is also gone;
set all aside, and consider yourself a sinner saved from destruction
by grace; in a state of purgation and preparation for happiness; on a
pilgrimage with thousands of others your fellow-saved sinners, through
the wilderness, to that inheritance which was purchased for you at
_such a price_. Your Saviour is your leader, protector, provider;
also your physician, and the physician of the whole body, perfectly
acquainted with the constitution, disposition, and temper of every
individual. He has made provision for each, all the journey through,
and given security that none shall suffer _real_ want.
"Bread and water are promised; nothing beyond these, though in
general he gives more; to each he gives a portion in hand, to some for
a day, some for a week, some for a year, which they calculate upon
with more or less probability: none with certainty. Your portion
is--for a year; take a view of those whom you know; one with another,
I am inclined to think the Lord has still given you your full share of
privilege. Look at the ordinary provision he makes for the ministers
of his gospel, most of them with large families; many of those in the
country have five hundred dollars, some four hundred, some three
hundred, generally ill paid. The Lord puts a blessing in it, he makes
it go far; they do what their hands find to do, and get along: so will
he do with you, my dear. He will put you upon methods of industry and
economy: your one chicken divided into six parts, with a little bit of
pork, with the fruit of God's blessing on your industry in the garden,
shall both taste sweet and satisfy for the time. Try to be thankful;
Moses said of the manna, 'This is the bread which the Lord your God
giveth you.' Pray and watch against dwelling on the plentiful tables
of others; and when bidden to a feast take your portion, and say, this
is from the Lord for the time. Do not let a thought of misery or
wretchedness dwell upon your mind. O no, God is good; you shall not
want. O, what sweet meals have I and my children made on hot potatoes,
nicely boiled and cracked, with salt--not merely content, but they
tasted good and savory. There are peculiar pleasures in a life of that
kind. You shall yet sing of it.
"Now, my dear friend, I have done with what I had to say on this
head. I have had great fears of wounding, lest you should reckon me
among Job's friends; but you call me mother, and it is required of a
mother to be faithful. I now leave it with the Lord. We are delighted
to find you girding up the loins of your mind and setting about active
duty. Let us meet at a throne of grace, and look to the course the
Lord marks out for us."
To Mrs. G---- Y----.
"MY DEAR MADAM--I have just parted with my dear afflicted friend
Mrs. C----; she left it in charge to me, that I should write to you in
the time of your affliction. Surely I would do any thing whatever that
I thought might alleviate either her or your distress. But there are
cases to which God alone can speak; afflictions which he alone can
console. Such are those under which the sufferer is commanded to be
'still and know that he is God.' He never leaves his people in any
case, but sometimes shuts them up from human aid. Their grief is too
great to be consoled by human tongue or pen.
"Such I have experienced. I lost my only son; I neither know when
nor where; and for any thing I know, in a state of rebellion against
God. Here at my heart it lies still; who can speak to me of it?
neither can I reason upon it. Aaron held his peace. Old Eli said, 'It
is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good.' Samuel in his turn had
his heart wrung by his ungodly son. David lamented over his beloved
Absalom; but it availed him nothing. Job's sons and daughters were all
cut off in one day; he himself lay in deep, sore bodily affliction;
his friends sat seven days and seven nights without opening their
mouths, because they saw his affliction was very great; and if they
spoke, it was to aggregate it; and when God himself spoke, he gave him
no reason for his dealings, but charged him with folly and madness.
'Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? He that
reproveth God, let him answer it.' Then he laid his hand on his mouth,
confessed himself vile, and became dumb before God; abhorring himself,
and repenting in dust and ashes, instead of the splendid catalogue of
virtues enumerated in chapter 29, and complaints in chapter 10, which
I make not the least doubt were true, as far as human virtue can
reach; but if God charge even his angels with folly, shall man,
corrupt, self-destroyed man, plead merit before God?
"But, my dear friend, I do not find in all God's Bible any thing
requiring us to acquiesce in the final destruction of any, for whom we
have prayed, pleaded, and committed to him; least of all, our
offspring whom he has commanded us to train up for him. Children are
God's heritage. I do not say he has given us any promise for the
obstinately wicked; but when cut off, he only requires us to be still,
to hold our peace. I do not think he takes hope from us. God has set
limits to our faith for others; our faith must not rest in opposition
to his threatenings. We must believe that the wicked shall be turned
into hell, and all that forget God; but he hath set no bounds to his
own mercy; in that glorious plan of redemption, by which he
substitutes his own Son in the stead of sinners, he has made provision
for the chief of sinners, and can now be just and consistent while he
justifies the ungodly who believe in Jesus. Short was the time between
the thief's petition and the promise of salvation; nay, the petition
was the earnest of it. The same was the case with the jailer; I think,
too, the publican had the earnest in his petition. Now, instead of
laboring to bring my mind to acquiesce in the condemnation of my
child, on the supposition of its being for God's glory, I try to be
still, as he has commanded: not to follow my child to the yet
invisible world; but turning my eyes to that character which God has
revealed of himself--to the plan of redemption--to the sovereignty of
God in the execution of that plan--to his names of grace, 'The Lord,
the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in
goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin,'
while he adds, 'and that will by no means clear the guilty;' I meet it
with his own declaration, 'He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.' I read
also that 'mercy rejoiceth against judgment,' and many other like
scriptures, which, although I dare not ground a belief of his
salvation on them, afford one ray of hope after another, that God may
have made him a monument of mercy to the glory of his grace.
"Thus God himself consoles his own praying people, while man
ought to be very cautious, if not silent, where the Scriptures are
silent, as it respects the final state of another, whose heart we
cannot know, nor what God may have wrought in it. God hath set bounds
to our faith, which can nowhere find solid ground to fix upon but in
his own written promise. Yet, as I said above, he has set no bounds to
his own mercy, and he has made provision for its boundless flow, as
far as he shall please to extend it, through the atonement and merits
of his own Son, 'who is able to save to the uttermost all who come
unto God by him,' Now, my dear friend, you have my ideas of our
situation; if they be correct, I pray that our compassionate Father
may comfort you by them; if otherwise, may he pardon what is amiss,
and lead you, my dear friend C----, and myself, to such consolation as
he himself will own as the work of his Spirit, and save us from the
enemy and our own spirit.
"Since writing the foregoing, I feel afraid of what I have said;
it is dangerous seeking comfort where the Scriptures are silent; yet
while we plead with God to be preserved from error, and try to be
still before him, he will save us from the subtlety of the serpent, as
well as from the rage of the lion. I am, with love,
"Your sympathizing friend,
"ISABELLA GRAHAM."
"ROCKAWAY, September 10, 1811.
"I have been here four Sabbaths. The first I spent at home, the
weather not permitting our going abroad; the second I spent at a
prayer-meeting with the Methodist brethren; the third we rode to
Hempstead, where I heard two plain gospel sermons from Mr. C----,
Presbyterian minister; and the last I attended at the Episcopal
church, same place; heard a good plain gospel sermon from Mr. H----,
and witnessed the dispensation of the Lord's supper.
"To sing the praises of our redeeming God, and to lift up my
heart in prayer with my fellow-sinners, in the comfortable hope that
there are other living souls praising and praying with me, refreshes
me: to hear the word of God read, and to be led to meditate upon it,
however simple and common the exposition, also refreshes me. I am
generally led to pray much for minister and people; to consider myself
as one with them in Christ. However weak his natural powers, however
few or small his talents, if I have reason to think that he is taught
of God that which flesh and blood cannot teach, I desire to esteem him
highly for his work's sake. I thank God for the meanest and weakest
of such: I believe they never labor in vain. 'Out of the mouths of
babes and sucklings,' in talents as well as in years, God will
perfect praise.
"In this new world, thickly settled in many places with natural
men 'eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,' while the
flood of wrath is hastening to overwhelm them, and none to warn them
of their danger, nor point out the ark of safety; shall such men be
reckoned of none account, and their labors of no value? No, the wealth
of both Indies cannot balance their work; nor all the talents ever
possessed by fallen man, with all the orthodoxy which mere talents are
capable of acquiring, without that divine teaching which many of
those, thus contemned, possess. That same small discourse, those few
plain points, these same things repeated in the same way, contain
truths by which sinners may be saved, by which sinners shall be saved.
"Suppose, for it is but a supposition, that these men have made a
mistake. They are the Lord's, and in their place by his providence. He
will be forth-coming for them, and without miracle. From him shall
their fruit be found, and his power be manifested by their weakness.
Exert your energies, ye gifted doctors of divinity; and may the Lord
prosper the means used to produce a ministry which shall render
attendance upon their ministrations the interest of both the
understanding and the heart. Persuade men who are adding field to
field, house to house, thousand to thousand, to provide a competent
maintenance for them. If these last remain obstinate, and it be idle
to hope that youths of talents without fortune, whatever be their
piety, will serve the church of God at the expense of devoting
themselves to infallible penury, and all the wretchedness which
belongs to it--is it wise to weaken the hands and discourage the
hearts of those ministers already settled pastors, or to furnish their
people with arguments in their own vindication for leaving them in
want and penury?"
In the year 1811, some gentlemen of New York established a
Magdalen Society: they elected a board of ladies, requesting their aid
to superintend the internal management of the Magdalen House. This
board chose Mrs. Graham their presiding lady, which office she held
until her decease; the duties attendant on it she discharged with
fidelity and zeal. In 1812 the trustees of the Lancasterian school
solicited the attendance of several pious ladies, to give catechetical
instruction to their scholars one afternoon in every week: and Mrs.
Graham was one of those who attended regularly to this duty.