TH Evangelical Magazine, FOR OCTOBER, 1798. MEMOIRS OF MRS. CHASE, OF LUTON, BY HER SISTER, MISS NEALE. DEAR SIR, As [In a Letter to a Friend.] S you have requested an account of the Lord's dealings with my dear departed fifter, I fit down to the pleating, but mournful recital. Mrs. C. not only died the death, but lived the life of the righteous. She was bleffed with a happy difpofition of mind and penetrating judgment which being brought under the guidance of the Spirit of God at an early period of life, produced thofe fruits which fo confpicuoufly thone forth in her. She was naturally of a referved temper, but when the fpoke, it was always to the purpose. She was not only beloved by her Chriftian friends, but univerfally esteemed by her acquaintance. Since her departure we have found, in her own handwriting, fome excellent meditations, and felf-examinations, with a diary, commencing in the year 1776, and difcontinued after the year 1790; a few extracts may not be unac ceptable to you; but prior to that is another paper, in which the thus expreffes herfelf: "Having had a pious education, it taught me to reverence the fabbath; and though it could not give me a love to the day, yet it led me to read books that were fuitable to the day; which was one of the incans the Lord made ufe of to fet me a thinking about the concerns of my immortal foul. I used to enquire of myself, when it was that God would take an account of the actions of a child, and hoped that I was not old enough; but ftill I rather thought or feared I was; I read the Scriptures, not fo much becaufe I understood them, as becaufe I thought there might come a time when I fhould, and then it would be of ufe to me to be acquainted with them. VOL. VI. 3 I. When When about feventeen years of age, my fifter had an abiding fenfe that all the world could give was utterly infufficient to make her happy; under this impreffion the thus writes: Though I have at this time no outward affliction (and by a comfortable independence, am placed above the cares of the world) yet I am conftantly unfatiffied; my mind wants to reft upon fomething, and I can find nothing to reft upon; there feems to me to be a chief good, which my foul is reaching after, but cannot find. I fometimes attempt to pray; when I do, I never pray for temporal bleffings, as I cannot when in prayer fix my thoughts a minute upon them; they are but of little value, in refpect to fomething elfe I want. I pray for the Spirit of God as well as I am able, though I have very indiftin& ideas of fpiritual things." At another time the thus writes: "I have been brought to fee that the enjoyment of God was my chief happiness; and that there is fuch a thing as union between God and the foul, compared in the Scriptures to the marriage union. I thought all the troubles in the world would be nothing if I had a God to go to. I felt great pleasure in reading from the 13th to the 17th chapters of John, to fee the love the Lord Jefus bore to his people, though I did not know he bore the fame to me. I have often thought I did not see enough of the evil of fin; but at the fame time, I have defired that the Lord would give me fuch a fight of fin as would make me deteft it. One morning I had fuch a view of what this world would have been if the Lord Jefus had not died, as brought tears from my eyes; for I faw that to answer the great ends of Providence, and for the fake of thofe for whom Chrift died, the Lord gives reftraining grace to the most abandoned." In the year 1775, Mrs. C. joined the church at Northampton, under the paftoral care of the late Rev. J. Ryland, and continued with them till the year 1786, when she was united to the late Mr. Samuel Chafe, jun. furgeon, of Luton, Bedfordshire, a man beloved and efteemed by all who knew him; this brought her into connection with the church at Luton, and under the miniftry of the Rev. Tho. Pilley. It may not be improper here to disclose her moft fecret thoughts, a fhort time before her marriage, as they stand recorded in her diary. "Lord's Day, April 10, 1785. I hope I have seen fomewhat of the beauty of the Lord in his fanctuary. I do fee more and more of the excellency of the Lord Jefus Jefus Chrift, he is altogether lovely; but if the glimpfes that we have here are fo pleafing, what muft heaven be, where he difplays his power, and reigns and thines the incarnate God! I admire the beauties of his Providence. O that I may live upon Jefus continually, fo as to fee him in every thing! I fee every thing to be nothing without him; but O for ftill brighter views of him as my redeeming God !" Lord's Day, April 17. But for a wicked wandering heart, I fhould have had a very pleasant day, the word was precious and fuitable. The hynin fung in the morning, in the veftry, was applicable to prefent circumftances (76th hymn, B. 1, Dr. Watts). O that I may at all times fing it from the heart! For however amiable creatures may be, and how muchfoever it may be our duty to love them; yet if we prefer them before him, who only has a right to be our beft beloved, we may expect to find they will be made forrows to us; but I trust the Lord will keep me from all idolatrous affection. It is his Providence that has evidently brought me into this intended connection, and I truft to his grace to blefs me in it, and make me a bleffing to others." A few days after her marriage the thus writes: "April 25. The Lord feems by the difpenfations of his Providence to be faying to me, I will now try your difpofition towards me, by giving you every bleifing this earth can afford; but at the fame time, I will withdraw the fenfible influences of my Spirit, the heart-chearing rays of my countenance, to fee if you will reft fatisfied with any thing thort Is that, my deareit Lord, the kind intent of this hiding of thy face? Then permit me to declare that though, with all the gratitude I am capable of, I would receive every mercy at thy hand, yet I will not confeat to be deprived of thy prefence, for ten thousand times more than this world can afford. Return unto me, my heavenly Father, for I can fay with truth, "Not life with all its joye, "Can one bluis'd hour afford; "No, not one drop of real blifs, "Without thy prefence, Lord." When near the birth of her firft child, fhe writes as follows: "January 29, 1786. Thus far the Lord hath brought me, bleifed be his name: My fpirits are quite calm, tree from any diftreffing fears; I feel myfelf in the Lord's hands, all that I want is his prefence, if i have that, his will be done in every other refpect." When When in profpect of the birth of her feeond child, again The writes: "Lord's Day, June 3, 1787. I have a low fever lurking about me, and the Lord is pleafed at the fame time to hide from me the fenfible influence of his prefence, so that I feel myself at times much caft down; and the chief reason is, he that should comfort my foul is abfent from me. I have lately thought more of dying than living; but my diftrefs does not arife from the thoughts of leaving any thing in the world, though perhaps no one has a better reafon for defiring to live that they may fee good days, than I have. One of the tendereft husbands, a loving child, a pleasant habitation, comfortable circumftances, affectionate friends, in fhort, every thing that can render life defirable, as to the things of this world; but I know if Chrift and heaven, are mine, I may fay with the Apoftle, " to depart and be with Chrift is far better." As to thofe I fhould leave behind, the Lord has all creatures at his command, and it would be eafy for him to make up to them the lofs of fuch a poor worthiefs worm as I am; but unbelief is too apt to prevail over my mind, fo that I cannot "read my title clear to manfions in the fkies," and though the Lord does not permit any pofitively diftreffing idea to feize my mind, as that I fhall be loft, &c. ; yet the apprehenfion of paffing through the valley of the fhadow of death, fuppofing it thould be only a fhadow, is diftreffing. But I lay myfelf in the Lord's hands, for him to do with me as he pleafeth, for I know he cannot do wrong." A fhort time before the birth of her third child, the thus writes: “May 1st, 1789. If the Lord fhould make that a means of removing me, it would be to behold the King in his beauty; which thought was pleasant to me in prayer this morning. I can fee fo little of the glory of the Lord here, that I know if I have his prefence in the dark valley, I fhall be willing to depart and be with Chrift: I fhall feel for my dear husband and children, but, the Lord's will be done."" About five months after this, when in the height of worldly enjoyments, having a family meeting, death entered the abode of peace and happiness; what my dear fifter's feelings were on this occafion, you shall have in her own words. "Aug. 30, The Lord's ways are a great deep, I know that in wisdom he hath afflicted me. Yefterday he was pleafed to bring upon me the greateft affliction I ever ex perienced perienced, in taking to himself my dear partner in life; but ftill there is mercy mixed with the bittereft cup. He is gone to be forever happy with the Lord, and it is but a little while ere I fhall follow. But I hope to be patient to the coming of the Lord, and to fay with Job, "All the days of my appointed time will I wait, until my change come." O, may the Lord be pleased to blefs me with his prefence! He hath promifed to be a father to the fatherlefs, and hufband to the widow." "Sept. 6. O, how kind the Lord is! He hath carried me through the most trying scenes with a calmness surprising to those that faw me, and to myself. "What hath God wrought! never did I experience fo much the truth of thofe words as now, "For thefe light afflictions," &c. It is indeed while we "look not at the things that are seen, but at "the things which are unseen," that we can call fuch afflictions light: never did I fee the realities of the invifible world fo much as in the trying moments I have lately experienced. I felt no tremor at depofiting the dear remains of my dear departed husband, becaufe I believed that "thofe who fleep in Jefus, will God bring with him;" and in the mean time, he is infinitely happier in the presence of the ever adorable Jefus than I, or all the world befides, could have made him. And it is but a little, and then I fhall be where he is, and we fhall join in nobler worship than we have ever done here below. I know my own lofs, and deplore it; but his gain is fo infinitely greater, that I could not with him back again to life. The Lord's prefence can make up to mo the lofs of all earthly enjoyments, and as I faid before, it is but a little while that I fhall have to ftruggle with the things of time. I have been thinking of the important -charge the Lord hath committed to me in respect to the children, and these words came to my mind; "Be faithful over a few things, and I will make thee ruler over many things;" as if the Lord had faid, be faithful over a few things, and it will not be long ere I will fay unto thee, "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." "Lord's Day, Sept. 13. Yefterday and to-day my fpirits were very low indeed, this morning at meeting much worfe than at the interment. The Lord by this fhews me, that it is but for him to withdraw his fenfible prefence, and then I fall into all the weakneffes attendant on human nature; this fhould raise my gratitude for paft mercies, and excite my foul to an humble dependance on his loving kindness ; to wait on him for future fupplies of grace to fupport and ftrengthen me." VOL. VI. 3K After |