Page:Records of the Life of the Rev. John Murray.djvu/178

168 his holy prophets ever since the world began, your disappointment will be grievous. I know, sir, you have not been accustomed to hear of Universal Love, of boundless compassion; and these sounds may make you as angry, as they have made many of our brethren in every age. Here I made a full pause, continuing for a few moments in painful suspense. I was, however, soon relieved. "No, sir, you have nothing to fear from me; for although the things, of which you speak, have never entered into my head or heart, yet, give me leave to assure you, it will never give me pain to know, that God's ways are not as my ways, nor his thoughts as my thoughts. My mind is so far from revolting at the tidings you bear, that nothing would give me more unutterable joy, than to be assured of their truth." Thus was my mind exonerated from a weight of dread apprehension. I asked him, what assurance he could either wish for, or expect? "Nothing more than a 'Thus saith the Lord. I continued, through the residue of the night, preaching the gospel, according to the scriptures; and it pleased Almighty God so to furnish my mind with testimonies, drawn from the sacred volume, that I went on, from Genesis to Revelations, until the morning dawned upon us. But a brighter morning dawned upon the long-benighted mind of my wondering hearer; he exhibited, what he said he experienced, rapture before unknown. He was, indeed, as one, brought out of darkness, into marvellous light, and from the power of satan, unto God. I never before saw so great a change, wrought in so short a time. He gave me a sketch of his life, which had been employed in seeking to accumulate riches, and righteousness. The former he had gained, but the latter he had not; and he was constrained to confess, that if the wealth, he had taken such unwearied pains to obtain, and to keep, were no better in the sight of man, than his righteousness was in his own estimation, and in the estimation of his God, he had been all his life labouring in vain, and spending his strength for naught. By commerce, and the practice of physic, the Doctor had acquired a fortune of forty thousand pounds sterling; yet from the appearance of the man, we should have concluded his resources extremely limited. His offspring were only one son, and one daughter; his wife was no more; his son a prodigal; his daughter a married woman, in eligible circumstances, and of a most amiable character. The Doctor was far advanced in life, and although he had been uniformly employed in getting and hiding money, yet he was so religious a man, as to part with four hundred pounds sterling toward building a meeting-house; and he was greatly mortified, at not being able to obtain permission for me to preach therein, though he