them; and entreated them to make good use of their time, saying, "This day will come upon you, and

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you know not how soon you will be in my con"dition." Thus she bade them farewell, with many earnest blessings and mutual embracings, and with such tenderness and tears on their part as cannot be expressed. After which, with great sweetness and meekness, she closed her farewell with these words: "Now I entreat you, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another; and be of one "mind, and live in peace, and the God of love and "peace shall be with you." After this, she said: "I have many times besought the Lord that death might be no surprise to me, and neither is it; and "I have prayed likewise that death might not be a "terror to me, and neither is it; and I have sought "that I may not be terrible to others in dying." And that the Lord did very sensibly grant, as we shall hereafter hear. And, to shew her great composure of mind, she also gave orders about several little circumstances both of her death and burial, suitable to that most exact modesty which was so eminent in all her life.

She, being now very weak, called for her fatherin-law, and putting forth her hand to him, said: "Hold my hand, for I cannot hold yours.' Then added, "You have been a very kind father unto me; I say, a very kind, affectionate father unto

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me: I cannot say any more, but the Lord requite "you." Then, turning to her other relations, she took leave of them, and said unto a friend, with whose wife her daughters were at that time: "Sir, you will tell my two girls, that I remembered them, "that they should diligently seek and serve the Lord, and make conscience of reading the Scrip"tures; and the Lord's blessing be upon them." And so she took leave of him, desiring him that he would remember her to his worthy wife. After this,

she called for the young man that waited upon the children, and said unto him: "You have a great charge upon you now, both of the souls and bodies "of the children; for my husband will be taken up "with his affairs, and I fear will not be long behind "me."

Then she said, "I have nothing now to do but "one thing;" and, turning to her husband, continued, "You have been a dear husband to me, but I am going to a dearer. I entreat you, weep not for me: "I shall be better. And now resign my soul unto "God." He being in great grief, said, "My dear, "I dare not, I cannot; the minister will do it." Whereupon she said calmly, "Let the minister pray.' After prayer, she said again to her husband," My "dear, resign my soul to God: you must do it, and quit me, for I have resigned my soul to God already. I had it from God, and I have given it "back again to him." So her husband obeyed her, and did resign her solemnly, being greatly helped of God in the action, and she holding up her weak hands all the time. Prayer being ended, she embraced him with both her arms. After which, she fell asleep again, being heard quietly to breathe out these words, "O feeling High Priest! keep that "which I have committed to thee."

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She most peaceably died in the Lord, and that so precisely at the going down of the sun, as she had foretold, that, while they were shutting her eyes, some, remembering her words, ran to the window, and told, that part of the sun was just setting and sinking out of sight. Another who was not present, nor heard her words, but hearing the cry at her death, came in, and told that it so happened at the same time.

She lived thirty-seven years. We can give no greater commendation than the brilliant testimony which her life and death render mutually to each

other in this true and just comparison: as she lived, so she died; and as she died, so she lived, and lives for evermore. This is indeed her true character; and all who knew her, and were eye-witnesses to her life and death, must revere her memory.

Mr. William Violand, who wrote this Memoir, was minister of Cambusnethan, the parish in which Coltness is, in 1684.

MRS. REBECCA COMBE.

MRS. REBECCA COMBE was the eldest daughter of the Rev. David Clarkson, the author of an excellent volume of sermons and discourses. She had the invaluable advantage of a religious education, both her parents being eminent for wisdom and grace. Under the instructions of her good mother, she had early and frequent convictions; which, however, soon wore off. But these convictions being renewed as she grew up, it was impressed on her mind, that this way of performing duties, by fits and starts, merely to quiet an accusing conscience, would not satisfy the desires of an immortal soul, capable of higher enjoyments. This put her on serious thoughtfulness what method to pursue, in order to bind herself to a more stated performance of those duties which she was convinced the Lord required of her. Accordingly, she made a most solemn resolution to address herself to God by prayer, both morning and evening, and never, on any occasion whatever, to neglect it, calling the Lord to witness against her if she broke this solemn engagement. But alas! she soon saw the vanity of such resolutions for the performance of duty only through fear, and as a task. Having once omitted it at the set time, she concluded her promise was now broken, and from that time continued in a total neglect of prayer, till it pleased the Almighty Spirit to return with his powerful operations, and set her sins in order before her. Then her unsuitable carriage under former convictions, together with breaking the most solemn engagements to the Lord, wounded her deeply. Indeed, she was tempted to conclude she had sinned the unpardonable sin, and should never be forgiven. Yet, in this distress and anguish of spirit, she could

not give up all hope, having some views of the free and sovereign grace of God, as extended to the vilest and worst of sinners, though she could not take the comfort of it to herself. Her sins appeared exceeding sinful. She even loathed and abhorred herself on account of them, and was continually begging a deeper sense and greater degrees of humiliation. She thought she could have been content, yea, desirous to be filled with the utmost horror and terror, if this might be a means of bringing her to that degree of sorrow which she apprehended the Lord expected from so vile a creature. The heinous nature of her sins, and their offensiveness to the pure eyes of his holiness, was ever before her, insomuch that she thought she could not be too deeply wounded, or feel trouble enough. This put her on a constant and restless application to God through Christ, from whom alone she saw all her help must come. Convinced that an expectation of some worthiness in herself, as the condition of her acceptance before God, was that which had kept her so long from Christ and the free promises of the gospel, she went to the Lord, and pleaded those absolute promises of his word, which are made freely to sinners in his Son, without the least qualification on their part. She was enabled to urge those encouraging words, Rev. xxii. 17, "Let him that is athirst come, "and whosoever will, let him take the water of life. freely." Also Isa. lv. 1, "Without money and "without price;" with many more of the like nature. She now desired to come to Christ, unworthy as she was, and cast her soul entirely upon him, for she now saw all her past doings of no account in the sight of a holy God. There was nothing left, therefore, for her to take the least comfort and encouragement from, but the free grace of God in Christ Jesus, which continuing to plead with much earnestness, she found her soul enlarged beyond whatever she had formerly experienced.