“No, ye strong-built walls, ye grated windows, ye gloomy cells, ye confine no such sinner as I. And did the Lord take vengeance on my inventions?  O no, mercy preceded, mercy accompanied judgment; yea, it was all mercy, not vengeance.  He brought me and my idol out of that barren land, placed us under the breath of prayer, among a dear little society of Methodists; he laid us upon their spirits, and when the messenger Death was sent for my beloved, the breath of prayer ascended from his bedside, from their little meeting, and I believe from their families and closets.  The God of mercy prepared their hearts to pray, and his ear to hear, and the answer did not tarry.  Behold, my husband prayeth; confesses sin; applies to the Saviour; pleads for forgiveness for his sake; receives comfort; blesses God for Jesus Christ, and dies with these words on his tongue, ‘I hold fast by the Saviour,’ Behold another wonder; the idolatress in an ecstasy of joy.  She who never could realize a separation for one single minute during his life, now resigns her heart’s treasure with praise and thanksgiving.

“O the joy of that hour; its savor remains on my heart to this moment.  For five days and nights I had been little off my knees:  it was my ordinary posture at his bedside, and in all that time I had but once requested life.  Surely the spirit of prayer and supplication was poured out.  The Spirit helped mine infirmities with groanings which could not be uttered, leading me to pray for that which God had determined to bestow; making intercession for my husband, according to the will of God.

“O sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvellous things.  His right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory.  The Lord hath made known his salvation.  His righteousness hath he openly shown in the sight of the heathen.  He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel.  All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”  Psalm 98.

“FRIDAY, December.

“Sermon from John 4:10:  ’If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water,’

“This is part of my provision laid in for my passage through Jordan.  Christ is the gift of God.  Christ is the water of life; he is this living water, and the bread of life given; given by God, received by the sinner.  Life and comfort are experienced, and fruit produced is the evidence; but first of all, this gift must be known, and the soul’s need must be known; Christ, the anointed prophet, taught this woman both, and no other could.  ’Search me, O Lord, and try me.’  Hast thou not taught my soul its miserable and ruined state by nature; its helplessness as well as misery?  Hast thou not also brought me to this living, life-giving water?  Oh, hast thou not given me faith to come, faith to drink; and have I not experienced its solacing quality?  Has it not satisfied my soul, and in some degree allayed my thirst for carnal delights?  Blessed Spirit, the gift of the Father and of the Son, pour into my soul repeated draughts of this living water; yea, be in me, according to my Redeemer’s promise, a well of water springing up to eternal life, and cause me to bring forth fruit to the glory of the Father.