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delightful prospects have vanished like the morning cloud 1 What a nkelancholy change from yonder elegant mansion and pleasant apartments , to the house of darkness and the chambers of silence 1 from the soul-reviving converse of a kind brother , an
affectionate wife and four lovely childrento say to corruption them art my father , and to the . worm thou art my another and my sister ! In circumstances like these , tears so far from being an unmanly weakness , exhibit one of the most amiable parts of our
nature , they are the very essence of commiseration , and when seasonably poured forth , may revive the drooping spirit of the little helpless orphan , and cause even the widow ' s heart to dance for joy . And this leads me briefly to observe , that our much esteemed and lamented
friend did not fail to leave behind him a testimony in favour of the Christian religion . He was indeed no fanatic or enthusiast , but I hope he was a iober and rational and thinking
believer in the Son of God . And indeed he assured me , that from his early days , at different periods and on many occasions , he had been accustomed to think very seriously about an eternal world and the doctrines of the
Bible , which he believed were perfectly correct , unspeakably excellent , and inviolably true . On the Hol y Scriptures he would invariably speak : with the utmost reverence and
esteem-In them he discovered such transcendant excellency and great goodness— such sublimity of sentiment and elegance of style , such godl y love , truth , and faithfulness — such
angelic purity and heavenly piety , as constrained him with seriousness and affection to join the devout Psalmist , and say , " Thy testimonies , O Lord , are wonderful ! I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right , and I hate every false way . O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes . " Yea his chief delight C for the time before mentioned )
seemed to be the law of the Lord , for in that law , especially in the psalms , t | ic gospels and the epistles , " he did meditate day and night . ' And the
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day before his death he assured me jthat not from apy composition of man , or from any one text or passage in tb £ Bible , bujtfrom devoutly meditating upon the various pprtions of God '» word , which he had read and heasd ,
were his knowledge of salvation ; and the hope of a blessed acceptance through Jesus Christ derived . Prayer he considered as the most direct , effectual , and rational means of obtaining the blessing of the Lord : ho
would often therefore in fervency of spirit utter the most devout ejaculations . He also read . prayers and prayed without a form . Piety , charity , and resignation , were strikingly visible in his close . Such was the end- of
that great , honourable , and worthyman . I have said nothing of his domestic and private virtues . As a husband , a parent , * a brother and a friend , ye all know the excellency of his example . Let us see that none o £
us come short in these things . O may we by faith and prayer foliow those who now inherit the promises . Over the tomb of Lazarus Jesus wept ; like him we also may weep ; but , my brethren , we cannot like Jesus raise
the dead , and restore our departed friend to his disconsolate family—his mourning brother—widow and fatherless children . Yet , if permitted , anil we feel so disposed , can we not shew kindness to the living , and erect a
monument of praise to the memory of him who is among us no more ? ** Blessed of the Lord Is he who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead . * ' Such was the conduct of our blessed Lord . He wept over the deceased and comforted the
surviving ; and as he is not one vvbio cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities , when on the removal of those who were most dear to our souls , our heart is overwhelmed within us , let us , with Martha an 4 Mary , tell all our grief to him who is a friend that lovcth at all times , and
sticketh closer than a brother , a husband , or a son % so shall we receive from him everlasting consolation . For he hath said , " come unto me all yc that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest " ¦ . *• .
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74 Memoir rf Ella Bent , Esq . M . A .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1817, page 74, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2461/page/10/
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