a few days after, I visited him, attended by the Rev. R. Searl, we found him resigned to the will of God, and happy in his love. When about to take our leave of him, " Come, said he, brethren, give us of your oil before you go;" the family being called together, Mr. Searl addressed the throne of grace, and we had a solemn weighty time: and blessed be God, his lamp had not gone out, nor yet grown dim. His lamp appeared to be bright burning, and well trimmed; and he had a full supply of oil in his vessel; like the wise virgins mentioned in Matt. xxv. 4. On Friday, the 12th of August, my brother went to see him, and found him very poorly; to whom he said," Brother Ffirth, I am going to die; and to-morrow you must go to Philadelphia, for brother M'Claskey, to come and preach my funeral sermon :" to which my brother replied, Father Abbott, you may continue for some time yet, as the time of your death is uncertain" No, said he, I shall die before you would get back from Philadelphia, unless you should travel in the night;" my brother replied, it will not answer to go before your decease- -Why, said he, I shall die, and I do not wish my body kept until it is offensive; you know the weather is warm, and the distance is considerable; that is true, replied my brother; but if I were to go to Philadelphia for brother M'Claskey, to preach your funeral sermon, and you not dead, the friends would laugh at me, and he would not come.. "Ah, said he, it may be so; I never thought of that; perhaps it will be best to stay until I am dead." Next day, observing a visible alteration in him, my brother concluded to tarry with him entil his exit: during the day, he continued n a rack of excruciating pain; which he bore with a christian patience and resignation. He was happy in God, and rejoiced at his approaching dissolution; and seemed much engaged in his soul with God. He appeared to possess his rational faculties to his last] moments; and for some time previous thereunto, he was delivered from that excruciating pain, to the joy of his friends: his countenance continued joyful, heavenly, and serene. His last sentence, that was intelligibly articulated, was, "Glory to God! I see heaven sweetly opened before me -After this, his speech so much failed, that he could not be distinctly understood, only now and then a word, as, See!see!-Glory!-Glory!-&c. And for my own part, I firmly believe that he saw the angels of God, visibly with his eyes, before his exit; whe were sent of God to convey his soul to the realms of bliss. That he saw something, which he wished the bye-standers to see, was evident; for looking on them, he often cried out, See! see!-pointing with his hand towards the foot of his bed; and then Glory!--glory!--glory !— clapping his hands, and in the greatest raptures or extacies of joy imaginable. Thus he continued until nature was so exhausted, that in attempting to clap his hands, he seldom hit one hand against the other through faith he was enabled to shout victory to God and the Lamb! The sting of death was plucked out; and death was as a messenger of peace to him: It was to him only like a gate, through which he had to pass to glory: thus in a triumph of faith, and filled with the Holy Ghost, he departed this life, without sigh or groan, about 10 o'clock, on Saturday the 14th of August 1796: aged about 647 years. On the Tuesday following, he was bu ried in the methodist burial-ground in Salem, New-Jersey. The funeral was attended by a large number of his christian brethren, acquaintances, and fellow citizens. The Rev. John M'Claskey delivered a pathetic and moving discourse suited to the solemnity of the occasion : at the close of which, the Rev. Nathaniel Harris, of the presbyterian church, put up a prayer, and addressed the throne of grace in behalf of the human family at large, and in particular for his church and people that had sustained so great a loss: but our loss, no doubt, is his eternal gain. i O happy exit! though the body must To realms, and thrones, and joys of endless day! Resound and echo through the worlds above! It may be worthy of notice, that it was the desire of Mr. Abbott, for several years, during his travels, that Providence might so order it, that, when he died, his body might be buried in the methodist meeting-house yard, at Salem, in New-Jersey. After a severe illness, in which he had been brought to the jaws of death, he recovered, in a measure, and returned home; and in a sermon he observed, on this subject,--" I thought when I was on my way home, if it were the will of God, that I might, on my return, end my days and lay my bones among you, my soul would leap for joy; but the will of my God be done." It appears that the Lord granted him his request: for he died at home, and was buried in the yard where he had desired. The following occurrence, which took place in the course of his life, may deserve attention. He arose early one morning, in consequence of a dream or vision of the night, and went to the house of Mr. T--, a man of repute and character, and an orderly member of the quaker church, not knowing any thing was the matter with him; but upon enquiring of Mr. T-- how he was, he answered that he found himself rather unwell. He then informed him, that he had a message from God unto him, which had been revealed unto him in a vision of the night; and that he had come in the love and fear of the Lord, to warn him to set his house in order, for that he should die and not live, and that his days were few. Mr. T-- received his message, with a christian fortitude and solemnity, as became the occasion they spent some time together, conversing on the one thing needful. Mr. T-'s complaint increased, and at his request, Mr. Abbott frequently visited him during his illness, which continued about eight or ten days: then he bade adieu to this vale of tears, and I doubt not, but his soul rests in peace. The following lines were written, on hearing Mr. Abbott preach a farewell sermon (which proved to be his last) in Penn's-neck meetinghouse, where he had been an instrument, in the hand of God, not only in laying the foundation of the temporal, but also of the spiritual church; from 2 Cor. xiii. 11. Finally, brethren, farewell, Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Be perfect; holiness pursue; And God, thro' Christ, shall comfort you; Be of one mind, give God your hearts, Which he, through grace, to you imparts: New live in peace, for Christ is near; The God of peace shall soon appear; The God of love and peace adore, So brethren all farewell. The following is a short Account given of BENJAMIN ABBOTT, by Hugh Smith, in a letter to Ezekiel Cooper. MY DEAR FRIEND, Philadelphia, October 7, 1801. WHEREAS you are now publishing the Experience and Gospel Labours of the late Rev. Benjamin Abbott; and a Narrative of his Life and Death, by John Ffirth-from a conversation which I had with you, some days ago, relative to my acquaintance with, and knowledge of Mr. Abbott, I take up my pen to communicate to you a few particulars, which are in my recollection respecting him. It is very certain that I cannot, at present, accurately call to mind the particular circumstances relative to a great variety of events which I well knew in his life; never having made a minute of them, nor expecting ever to write hem, they are so far gone from my memory, that it ould take some considerable time to recollect, and arnge them in any methodical order. |