again, and they have never failed me yet, nor ever will." His son said to him, I hope that when I come to die, death may not trouble me more than it does you. He answered, I leave the same antidote behind me, the same grant, the same promises." Being again interrogated relative to consolation; he replied, "I do not find any transporting joys; but blessed be God I shall never lose my hope till it be lost in enjoyment. My entire expection of future happiness arises from the merits of Christ. I love his person and his work." His last words were Happy in Christ."

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The gospel of Jesus Christ, is very properly denominated a restorative scheme of grace, which is intended to heal all the moral disorders of our nature; and being framed by unerring wisdom, to suit men of every age, of every country, and of every description of character, it is no less efficacious now, than when it was first revealed. Possessing the immutability of its divine author, it is the same, amidst all the evolutions of time, and the mutations of providence, and allows us to plead the same promises, which animated the hope of our pious ancestors, and to anticipate the same rest, as that which they enjoy. And though we live at a remote distance of time, from the period, when the great propitiatory sacrifice was offered up, yet that circumstance is an advantage to our faith, because we have the accumulating evidence of their testimony in favour of its efficacy; and perceive through the medium of their living and dying experience, that it answers the moral design for which it was presented. It is through faith, in the merits of the Redeemer's death that the guilty

obtain pardon, and peace, and are enabled in their expiring moments to rise superior to the fear of Death; and if we possess like precious faith, we need not dread the approach of the last enemy, as we have the same antidote, the same grant, the same promises, as our forefathers who have preceded us, in their passage through "the dark valley."

WILLIAM STEADMAN.

In the following obituary of an amiable and intelligent youth, the pious reader may trace some resemblance to his own experience, and from the tranquillity of his death, derive a hope, notwithstanding the doubts which often agitate and perplex him, that his latter end will be peace.

WILLIAM STEADMAN was the eldest son of the Rev. William Steadman, tutor of the Baptist Academy, at Bradford, Yorkshire. From a child he was always inoffensive, and attentive to the externals of religion; but was first brought to think seriously about his state as a sinner, under a sermon, preached by Mr. Pengelly, when supplying for his fathor whilst at Dock, when eleven years of age. From that time he had very different views of sin and its deserts to what he had before, and saw more of his need of such a salvation as the gospel exhibits. When his father removed from Plymouth Dock to Bradford, which was soon after, he continued to discover

prevailing concern about divine things. A sermon which his father preached one Lord's day morning, was made of great use to him, by leading him to see more clearly the way of a sinner's acceptance with God, and to trust in Christ alone for life and salvation. He was desirous of making a public profession of religion, and though it was hoped that he was now the subject of a change of heart, yet it was thought proper to defer this for the present, on account of his youth. When nearly fourteen, he renewed his application, and gave such an account of himself as a sinner, and Christ as a Saviour, as led his father and other friends to believe that God had made him a subject of his grace, and to think that they ought to encourage him: accordingly he was baptized by his father, and added to the church, under his pastoral care, on the 10th of April, 1808: being fourteen years and three days old.

It was with great pleasure the friends of Jesus beheld one so young following his divine Master, and publicly avowing himself to be the Lord's; but none with such joyful and grateful hearts as his dear parents, towards whom he always conducted himself with filial affec-* tion and kindness. As a professor of religion he was much respected and beloved by the church to which he belonged: amiable in his disposition, and pleasing and engaging in his

manners, he acquired the esteem of all who knew him. He was regular in his attendance on the worship and ordinances of God's house; and at meetings for social prayer and intercourse, he frequently took a part both in prayer and in giving his thoughts on passages of scripture. In the evening devotions of the family he went to prayer, in turn, with the students, under the tuition of his father; and all much to the satisfaction of those who united with him. His abilities were of a very superior kind, and his learning was considerable, both in the classics and the sciences. Though comparatively a child in years, yet a man, and beyond most men, in knowledge and understanding; and with all his superior endowments, he ever appeared the humble, modest, unassuming youth.

His father, and his other friends thought him qualified by the Lord Jesus for filling some important situation in his Church; but these hopes were soon disappointed; for the Lord had otherwise determined. For a considerable time after he had known the truth as it is in Jesus, he enjoyed comfort and peace, and seemed to be making great progress in divine knowledge. He was occasionally troubled with fears about the safety of his state, and the reality of the change which he had undergone; which at length prevailed very much upon him. At times he enjoyed some comfort, but was for the most part low and fearful.