"Leave thy fatherless children with me, and I will preserve them alive."
How often has this promise been offered in the prayer of faith at the mercy-seat, and proved a spring of consolation to the heart of a pious widowed mother! In the desolation caused by the death of the husband and father, who was the helper, counselor, and guardian in reference to spiritual as well as temporal interests, and in the deepened sense of parental responsibility in the charge now singly resting upon her, how often and readily does the widow cast herself upon the sure and precious promise of the covenant, "I will be a God to thee and to thy seed after thee." In the faith of this her heart imbibes comfort, her prayers become enlarged and constant, and her efforts become wisely directed, and steadily exerted, in behalf of the spiritual interests of her children. When we carefully observe such cases, we shall find proof that the blessing of the God of grace peculiarly rests upon the household of the pious and faithful widow. God, in the truth and promises of his Word, takes peculiar notice of the widow and the orphan, and his providence works in harmony with his word. The importance and efficiency of maternal influence in every sphere of its exercise cannot be too highly estimated, but nowhere does it possess such touching interest, or such high promise, as the scene of widowhood. How would faith, laying hold upon the truth of the following promise, and securing its proper influence in all appropriate labors, realize the fulfillment of the blessing: "This is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; my Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever." Isaiah 59:21.
These remarks receive a new confirmation in the case of the recent deaths of two young sons of Mrs. Jane Hunt, widow of the late Rev. Christopher Hunt, pastor of the Reformed Dutch church in Franklin street, in this city. They died within eight days of each other, the elder, De Witt, in his twentieth year, on the 19th of January, and the younger, Joseph Scudder, in his sixteenth year, on the 11th January, both of pulmonary disease. Their father, the Rev. Mr. Hunt, was a faithful and successful minister of Christ, much beloved by the people of his pastoral charge. The writer of this well remembers a sermon preached by him at the close of a series of services in the visitation of the Reformed Dutch churches of this city, which was solemn and impressive, from the text, "There is but a step between me and death." This was in January, 1839. At this time the seeds of disease (perhaps unconsciously to himself) were springing up within him, and after a few more services in his church, he was confined to his house, and lingered until the following May. His soul was firm in faith and full of peace, on his sick and dying bed. He committed them, again and again, to the care and faithfulness of their covenant God, and felt that therein he left them the best of legacies, whatever they might want of what the world could give. At the time of his decease, they had four children, the youngest of whom was three weeks old. The two oldest were the sons to whose deaths we are now adverting. The two youngest (daughters) are surviving. The elder son was seven years old at his father's death. The responsible trust of rearing these children for Christ and heaven was thus cast upon the widowed mother. Mrs. Hunt is the daughter of the late Joseph Scudder, of Monmouth, N.J., and sister of the venerable, long-tried, and devoted missionary, Rev. Dr. John Scudder, now in India. Brought up under the influences and associations of piety, she was early brought to a saving acquaintance with Christ, and a profession of faith in Him within the church. The consistency and ripeness of her piety has been evinced in the different spheres and relations of life where Providence placed her. With the infant children cast upon her care, at the death of her husband, she plied herself with toilful industry to provide for them, while her soul was ever intent upon their early conversion to Christ. She aimed to give these sons such a course of education as would, under God's sanctifying blessing, prepare them to engage in the work of the ministry, perhaps the missionary service. She had the gratification of seeing them as they grew up evincing thoughtfulness of mind, amiableness of spirit, and correctness of conduct, and by an affectionate spirit, and ready obedience, contributing to her comfort. At the time of his death, De Witt was in the Junior class, and Joseph had just entered the Freshman class, and there had gained a good distinction for study and scholarship, and drawn forth the respect and affection of their instructors and fellow-students. While pursuing his own studies, the elder brother led on the younger brother at home, and it is believed that by his close application he hastened the bringing on of his disease. In addition to this, the mother's heart was yearning for the proofs of their having given their hearts to God. Attentive as they were to divine truth in the sanctuary and Sabbath-school, in the reading of it at home, and careful in forming associations favorable to piety, she yet looked beyond these to their full embrace of, and dedication to, the Savior. How mysterious is that dispensation which, at this interesting period, when these only two sons were moulding their characters for life opening before them; and when they seemed to be preparing to realize a mother's hope, and reward a mother's prayers, and toils, and anxieties, they should, both together, within a few days of each other be removed from time to eternity. But in the circumstances and issues of their sickness and death we find an explanation of this apparent mystery by the satisfactory evidence they afforded of their being prepared by an early death to be translated to the blissful worship and service of heaven.
Previous to a brief sketch of the sick-bed and dying scene of these dear youths, a circumstance may be adverted to, beautifully and strongly illustrative of the value and efficacy of the prayer of faith. Rev. Dr. Scudder, in his appeals, has frequently and ardently pressed upon parents the importance of the duty of seeking the early conversion of their children, and their consecration to the service of the Savior. With his heart intent upon this duty in the spirit of continued believing intercession, God has signally blessed him in his own large family of children in their early conversion to Christ, and in the training of his sons for the foreign missionary service in which he is himself engaged. Two of his sons are now engaged in that service; one training for it some time since entered into the heavenly rest, and others are now in preparation for it. On the 12th of November last, 1851, Dr. S. addressed a letter from Madura, in India, to his nephew, De Witt Hunt. So remarkable is this letter, not only in the matter it contains, and spirit it breathes, but also in the fulfillment of the prayers it refers to, as the end of the two months stipulated found De Witt brought into the hope and liberty of the Gospel, on the very verge of his removal to heaven, that we make the following copious extracts from it:
"My dear Nephew,—My daughter Harriet received your letter by the last steamer. I have not the least evidence from the letter that you love the Savior, for you do not even refer to him. On this account I may perhaps be warranted in coming to the conclusion that he is not much in your thoughts. Be this, however, as it may, I have become so much alarmed about your spiritual condition as to make it a special subject of prayer, or to set you apart for this purpose; and I design, God willing, to pray for you in a special manner until about the time when this shall reach you, that is, about two months. After that I can make no promise that I shall pray for you any further than I may pray for my friends in general. I have now set apart a little season to pray for you and to write to you. Do you wonder at this? Has it never occurred to you as a very strange thing that others should be so much concerned in you, while you are unconcerned for yourself? I can explain the mystery. Your friends have seen you, and your uncle, among the rest, has seen you walking on the pit of destruction, on a rotten covering, as it were, liable at every moment to fall through it, and drop into everlasting burnings. This you have not seen, and therefore you have remained careless and indifferent. Whether this carelessness and indifference will continue I know not. All that I can say is, that I am greatly alarmed for you. It is no small thing for you to trample under foot the blood of Christ for eighteen years. Justly might the Savior say of you, as he said of his people of old, 'Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone.' Your treatment of the blessed Savior is what grieves me to the heart. What has He not done to serve you? Were you to fall into a well, and a stranger should run to your help and take you out, that stranger should forever afterwards be esteemed as your chief friend. Nothing could be too much for you to do for him. Of nothing would you be more cautious than of grieving him. And has Christ come down from heaven to save you? Has He died for you? Has He shed his very blood for you that you might be delivered from the worm that dieth not, and the fire which is never quenched? And can you be so wicked as not to love Him? My dear nephew, this will not do; it must not do. You must alter your course. But I will stop writing for a moment and kneel down and entreat God's mercy for you. I will endeavor to present the sacrifice of the Redeemer at the Throne of grace, and see if I cannot, for this sacrifice' sake, call down the blessing of the Holy Spirit upon you."
As a remarkable coincidence evidencing an answer to earnest believing prayer, this letter found both the nephews drawing near to their eternal state. Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, the end of the two stipulated months for special daily prayer in his behalf, found De Witt brought into the light and liberty of the Gospel, rejoicing in his Savior.
A few incidents occurring in the progress of the sickness, and during the death-bed scene, will now be adverted to; and as the death of Joseph took place first, I shall first allude to his case. He was in his fifteenth year, and last fall, in September, entered the Freshman class in the New York University. He had been characterized from childhood for an amiable and docile spirit, filial kindness and obedience, and correctness of deportment. His mind opened to religious instruction in the family and Sabbath-school. He loved the Bible, and it is believed was observant of the habit of prayer. It was the anxious prayer, and assiduous labor of his pious mother that all this might be crowned with the saving knowledge of Christ as his Redeemer. He took a cold soon after entering the University which at first excited no alarm, but it was soon accompanied with hectic fever, which made rapid progress, and gave indications that his death was not remote. In the early part of November, their mother, realizing these indications, and also the precarious state of De Witt's health, who had been afflicted with a cough during the whole of the preceding year, which had been slowly taking root, and now furnished sad forebodings of the issue, plied her labors with greater earnestness for their spiritual welfare. The visits and conversations of Rev. Mr. Carpenter were most acceptable and blessed after this period. I shall here make extracts from some notes and reminiscences furnished me by the mother: "The evening of Sabbath, November 16, was a solemn one to myself and sons. We spent the time alone; I entreating them to yield their hearts unto God, they in listening to the words of their mother as though they felt and understood their import. I begged them not to be wearied with my importunity, and wearied they had been had they not cared for the things belonging to their everlasting peace. I knew not how to part with them that night until they should yield themselves, body, soul and spirit, to Whom they had been invited often to go." After this, Joseph's disease rapidly advanced, and the physicians pronounced his case hopeless. He was throughout meek, quiet, patient. Mrs. Hunt again writes: "Sabbath morning, November 30, I endeavored to entreat God to make this the spiritual birthday of my children. I was with Joseph in the morning, reading and conversing with him. In the afternoon I urged him to go to Christ just as he was, feeling his own nothingness, and casting himself upon His mercy. He replied, in a low, solemn voice, 'I have tried to go many times, but I want faith to believe I shall be accepted.' After a few minutes he said, 'Sometimes I think I shall be, and sometimes that I shall not be.' Again, there was a pause and waiting, and then his gentle voice was heard saying, 'I can give my heart to the Savior.' Truly did I bless God for his loving kindness and tender mercy." It is worthy of observation, that the evening before, Saturday, a small number of pious young men of their acquaintance met for special prayer on behalf of Joseph, De Witt, and another young man very ill. I continue to quote Mrs. H.: "On Friday night, the 2d of January, I asked him in regard to his feelings. He replied, 'I pray that I may give myself away to Christ, and He may be with me when I pass through the valley of the shadow of death.' I remarked, then, Joseph, you want to enter the heavenly Canaan, to praise Him, and cast your crown at his feet. He said, 'Yes, to put on the robe of righteousness.' On Wednesday night, January 7, he was restless. After he awoke on Thursday morning, I said to him, Joseph, try now to compose yourself to prayer; to which he assented and closed his eyes. During the day he remarked to me, 'I prayed for the teachings of God's Holy Spirit that I might be made wise unto salvation; that he would lift upon me the light of his countenance, and uphold me with his free Spirit; give me more light that I may tell around what a precious Savior I have found. I say, Precious Savior, wash me in thine own blood, and make me one of thine own children. I come to thee just as I am, a poor sinner.'" On Wednesday, the day before De Witt received the letter from his uncle, Dr. Scudder, before referred to and quoted. "Joseph wished me to read it to him, which I did. After I had finished, he remarked, 'Before Uncle Scudder prays for me all his prayers will be fulfilled,' but afterwards added, 'he thought his uncle would now be praying for him, and sending a letter to him.'" After this he grew weaker and weaker, and continued peacefully and patiently to wait his coming death, giving expressions of fond attachment to his mother, in acknowledgment of her pious care. On Saturday he was visited, as he lay very low, by Rev. Mr. C., who held a plain and satisfactory conversation with him. Passages of Scripture and hymns were read to him, which gave him pleasure, and to the import of which he responded. He expressed to him the blessed hope of soon reaching heaven. He sank during the night, and died at half-past one o'clock, of the morning of the blessed day of the Lord, January 11, 1852, surrounded by weeping but comforted Christian friends. T.D.W.
TO BE CONTINUED.
John Newton one day called upon a family whose house and goods had been destroyed by fire. He found its pious mistress in tears. Said he, "Madam, I give you joy." Surprised and almost offended, she exclaimed, "What! joy that all my property is consumed?" "I give you joy," he replied, "that you have so much property that no fire can touch."
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