ran the race, the Christian race, but not as many do-to-day very swiftly and passionately, and to-morrow fainting, or falling, or relapsing,-and thus naturally losing time and ground, and having to start anew in the race. His was the race of godly principle, not of transient passion; a race constantly progressive, onwards, though perhaps not swiftly, but surely; and now, having arrived at the goal, he has won the prize, secured the crown, and has sat down at the right hand of God. His views and feelings on the prospect of death. Death had no terrors for him, he feared not the approach of the dread monster; and yet, although he feared him not, knowing that all was right and his interest in Christ secured, he clung to life with a tenacity not often witnessed in the experienced and prepared Christian. Death to most is appalling, to him it was not; but yet he wished to live, he wished his pilgrimage protracted, although attended with much sorrow and suffering. But, however this may be accounted for, of one thing we are certain, that our departed friend feared not, dreaded not death; but was prepared to meet him, to grapple with his final enemy, and to conquer. His illness and death. The first attack of illness which Mr. Ashton had, and which ultimately terminated in death, was in the year 1850. He had gone with the scholars on Whit-Thursday, and it becoming exceedingly wet, and sympathising with the children, he collected as many as he possibly could under a large cape he wore, trying to protect them from the descending rain. The labour and anxiety consequent upon the exertions of that day were too much for him. What with the teeming rain, and the profuse perspiration he experienced by being over crowded, he took a very serious cold, and the day following, when at Adlington, became much worse -so much so, that he had to hasten home. From this time till Christmas 1854, he lingered on, though partially able to attend business. When he had another attack, much more violent than the former one, which so wrought upon his constitution, that besides being confined to the house for six weeks, he never was perfectly restored. On the 29th of May, 1856, he had the third and last attack. This took place in the street, and so violent was it, that he had to lean against some buildings, or otherwise would have fallen to the ground. In this emergency a passing friend observed him, and recognizing him, went to him and found him speechless. He got him home, and for four months he was confined to the house. During this protracted sickness, he exhibited great patience, was continually happy in mind, and had constantly the witness of God's holy Spirit, that he was accepted in Christ. As we have before said, his was not the extreme of joy or the ebulition of rapture; but " a peace which passeth understanding,-"the peace of God." And who can tell what that is? A peace, the result of implicit faith, and accompanied by stedfast love, and blooming hope. A few hours before his death, he sat up in bed, and conversed cheerfully with his wife on some pecuniary matters. On the afternoon preceding the day on which he died, he stretched out his arms in triumph, and cried out 66 Glory be to God." Come, Lord Jesus, and come quickly." His wife immediately asked, "James, canst thou really say, “Come, Lord Jesus, and come quickly?" He replied, "Yes! yes! 66 About three o'clock on the morning of Monday, the 29th of September, 1856, he became suddenly and alarmingly worse, and wished to be raised in bed. For this purpose he requested that the servant should be called. When this was done he wished them to send for his son John, who, on his arrival found him speechless. His breathing was becoming weaker and more indistinct, till he calmly, without a struggle or a groan, or even a sob, "Fell asleep in Jesus." Peace to his memory! O it is sweet to contemplate the happy dead. It is sweet to be permitted to hold in kindly affection, to embalm with kindly reminiscence the memory, and to imitate with holy emulation the virtues of those who sleep in Jesus. Sacred be the memory, hallowed be the recollections of departed worth! As their virtues flit across our memories; and as we think of those eyes which once beamed with sanctified fire, and the accent of whose voices yet again seems to echo in our recollection, let us pay a tribute to their memory and offer the voice of praise to their worth. He shall rise again, and again be re-united to you whom he loved, and with whom he took sweet fellowship while on earth. "Grieve not as them without hope." On the bright morning of the resurrection, your songs shall mingle, in harmony join in the loud Hosannas to Him that washed us in His blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God; and unto the Lamb, to whom you shall ascribe glory and honour, and power, for ever and for ever. October 19, 1856. MR. GEORGE MARSHALL, OF THORNSE. X. Y. Z. THE following is a brief sketch of our dear and much-lamented late Brother George Marshall, who died at Thornse, in the New Mills Circuit, on the 15th of October, 1856, in the 69th year of his age. He was born in Sheffield in the year 1788, and no sooner was his barge launched on life's sea, than we find him subjected to its rockings. When George was very young, his father entered the army, and his mother not being able to provide for him, he was removed to Edale, where he resided with his grandfather Marshall, until he was able to take the place of a servant at a farmhouse; and while sustaining this position at a farmhouse in Chorley, which at that time formed part of the Macclesfield Circuit, the light of Gospel-grace found a way to his heart, which disclosed to him his condition as a guilty exposed sinner, and led him with purpose of heart to seek forgiveness at the hands of God. Having truly repented of his sins, and ascertained the way of salvation through faith in Christ, he believed with his heart unto righteousness, and could then with the poet say, O love, thou bottomless abyss, My sins are swallowed up in thee! Covered is my unrighteousness, While Jesu's blood through earth and skies, The person employed as the instrument in bringing about this happy change, was the Rev. John Hanwell, who was then in the Macclesfield Circuit, whose labours it pleased the Lord to crown with success. The truth delivered by him led Brother Marshall with many others to the Saviour, and the good then done, where will it terminate? We had in our lovefeast last Sabbath one of Brother Marshall's sons, bearing his happy testimony to the power of saving grace, evidently clothed with the mantle his father wore; he is now a husband and a father, and so it may drop on his seed, and thus go on. O the importance of saving a soul! Our dear brother began to bend his attention to the best of causes when about nineteen years of age. We have often been told that from sixteen to twenty-five is a vastly important period, for then it is that habits become fixed and connexions formed, the effects of which follow through life. After walking in the way to heaven about eighteen months, George began to think of taking to himself an helpmate; and having the fear of God before his eyes, he sought counsel of Him. He was wisely directed. He was taught by the word of God, that it was wrong for him to seek an helpmate amongst the spiritually dead, to assist him in doing spiritual work, which of all work is the most important. He found one who was truly alive in the best sense of the word, and as deeply devoted to the cause of truth as himself, viz., Miss Ellen Hall. We have reason to believe their union was sanctioned by the best of Beings, and sanctified by those influences in the absence of which we seek in vain for palmy days. He was one of the kindest of husbands; I think we may almost say he laboured, by every possible means, to lessen the sorrows of his wife and increase her comforts. For many years he had to labour hard to support a numerous family. He brought up nine children, two of whom have preceded him to the heaven of heavens. Ellen his daughter, who married John Molineux, was one of the excellent of the earth; she had power with God in prayer; when at the throne of grace, pleading with God, she did indeed take hold of the tree of life, and did shake it in such a way as brought down the ripe fruit in abundance. She lived boldly, died happy, and is now with the redeemed, William also left a testimony behind that he was going to join the blest. The efforts he put forth purposely to bring his children to God, have not been in vain, and the position in life now held by them bespeak a father's care. We regret that some of them are not converted to God. May the numberless prayers offered on their behalf speedily be answered. George held a situation as leading man at a colliery for upwards of twenty years, and had the entire confidence of his employer, whose kindness towards him in his last sickness goes to confirm the above statement. A leader and preacher with us, who has known Brother Marshall for thirty years, says, he cannot recollect having heard the least thing ever having been said against his moral character. The Christian principle adopted by him had taken fast hold on his heart, making pure the fountain, conse quently, the streams flowing therefrom must be pure also. He was indeed an uniform, humble, unassuming, consistent, and truly devoted Christian, honouring the God he loved, and doing honour to the Church to which he belonged. The members of the class he led have felt his loss almost as much as the members of his own family. He was as a father amongst them, caring both for their bodies and their souls, and ever ready to give suitable counsel. He was esteemed in the neighbourhood in which he lived both by saint and sinner-uprightness does command esteem. In his last affliction, although it was heavy, he found God's grace to be sufficient for him. I had an opportunity of seeing him once a fortnight, and on every occasion I found him firmly fixed on the Rock, the mellowing influence of that grace which God gives to the truly devoted shone through his countenance, and was felt to accompany the expressions escaping from his lips. The course he had pursued through life, led him to find the even ing of life's day calm and tranquil. Peace was associated with the unshaken confidence he had in God. His sun went down in a clear sky, so as to foretell a bright rising again. After being connected with the militant church nearly half a century, God called him to his home in the heavens, and now he is joined to the triumphant church above,— His race is run, his work is done, He's left a sinful world behind; May we all follow him to heaven. We endeavoured to improve his death on the 16th of November. Our chapel at New Mills on the occasion was much too small, many had to go away who could not get in. W. J. 224 PURGATORY. THE dogma of Purgatory argues the insufficiency of the Christian system. This doctrine is so vague and doubtful in its evidence, and the influence its belief has on the mind is so questionable, that it is matter of surprise to intelligent men, that it should have been received by a numerous and respectable class of the community as an article of faith. That it is an ancient doctrine, we grant, but everything is not true which is ancient. The partisans of this faith, however, pride themselves much on its antiquity, as if it must of necessity be sound, because it is old. Many principles are propagated in the world, which can boast of greater antiquity than Purgatory, and yet are founded in error. Purgatory is the child of error, and the mother must of necessity be older than her offspring. Men who advance antiquity, as evidence of the genuineness of a doctrine, should be reminded that it was erroneous doctrine, the doctrine of devils, which plunged our species from the sublime summit of primeval purity, into the depths of depravity. Error is older than man, for it was manifested in the fall of angels prior to human existence. Belief in the existence of some such place as Purgatory is said to have found a place in old heathenish religion. Heathens, Jews, Rabbins, Mahommedans, professed Christians, all have believed that after the soul had departed this life, it would be purified by fire before being admitted into the state of the blessed. Pythagoras, whose philosophy wrought such a revolution in the manners of the Crotonians and others, taught this doctrine to his pupils, five and a half centuries before Christ. And not long subsequent to this period, somewhat similar views were propagated by Plato. But these philosophers believed also in the pre-existence of the soul, that it was invested with a body, only to punish it. The soul being thus defiled through its combination with the body, rendered its purification necessary. Being well acquainted with the purifying properties of fire, and at a loss to know how the soul otherwise was to be purged, they easily arrived at the conclusion, that the soul after the death of the body, was thus cleansed from its impurities. They walked according to the light they possessed, probably, they had little or no knowledge of the Mosaic Revelation. Some of the fathers believed this doctrine. It was by the teachings of Augustine, that the foundation of it was laid in its present form. In the sixth century it was taught definitely, that the purging process commenced immediately after the decease of the body; that the suffering thus caused exceeded every other kind; and that by this suffering, the impurity which had not been cleansed from the soul by repentance, prayers, and alms, would be removed by the fire of Purgatory. On this account it is urged, numerous prayers and alms should be made for the deliverance of those souls that may still be detained in this fiery ordeal of purification. Purgatory is said to be a fire which burns in the depths of the earth, into which souls not fully delivered from sin, are cast to purify them before being admitted into the habitations of the blessed.* Whether or not such a fire exists, does not belong to our present purpose to determine, but to shew that the spirits of men departing this life, whether polluted or sanctified, are detained in no such place. Those who receive Purgatory as an article of ai h, say, that it is "A middle state of souls which depart this life in God's grace, yet with some lesser stains, or guilt of punishment, which retards them from entering heaven. But, as to the particular place *Neudecher's Religious Lexicon, Vol. ii. p. 15. where these souls suffer, or the quality of the torments they suffer, the church has decided nothing."* This article we regard as being equally opposed to the remedy the Lord has provided for the healing of the nations, and to the validity and potency of the Divine law. If it is possible for the soul to depart this life in God's grace, and at the same time to be guilty of sin, no matter to what amount, it must be because the grace of God cannot fully save it, nor yet the law fully condemn it, and hence would arise the insufficiency of the one, and the impotency of the other. It proceeds upon the assumption, that a person may enjoy the saving grace of God and be guilty of sin at the same time, which is a moral impossibility, and contrary to the plain teachings of Scripture, and the settled laws of Divine government. He who can rely on such a flexible doctrine, may soliloquize after this manner: "Why should I confine myself to a rigid morality, and a strict observance of Scriptural rules of conduct? though I should be cast into Purgatory for a few petty sins, the suffrages of the faithful would restore me! Why then should I deny myself the world's luxuries? let me enjoy life, and not rob it of its sweetness by a limitation of its pleasures!" Purgatory countenances a very liberal morality. We shall search in vain in the Word of God for anything that warrants such procrastination and laxity of morals. Such a doctrine cannot be from God. A glance into the fulness of the Gospel, will reveal the emptiness of Purgatory. If the mind can be purified, and the habits corrected by the expedient provided and proclaimed in the Word of God, there can be no necessity for other means of sanctification. The heart is to be changed by grace, that grace being imparted in virtue of faith in the atoning blood of Christ. An Apostle exclaims triumphantly: "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanseth us from all sin." Sublimely simple, yet transcendantly glorious is that scheme created by an Infinite mind, by which the wayward dying sons of men, become inspired with the vivifying influence of the Spirit, and established in virtue and holiness. The Gospel proclaims a full and free pardon to all repentant sinners, even to the "vilest and worst," and not less perfect because free. To cite all the Scriptures which support this assertion, would be to transcribe a considerable portion of the Bible. Let one definite passage suffice. Accept it as the representative of a numerous class. "If we," says the Apostle John, "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." A confession of sins, which springs from a heart contrite with sorrow, and relying on the merits of Christ, is the only requisite to full salvation. An unreserved compliance with this condition, will let into the soul the full light of the Gospel. Like a man emerging from a subterranean mine in the twilight of morning, and rambling abroad at full liberty, while the light increases more and more unto the perfect day, the soul, arising from its darksome prison, is enraptured with pleasure, in proportion to the perfection of the contrast between its former darkness and its present light. God is faithful. By numerous promises he has pledged himself to regard the man of a humble heart and broken spirit. We might sooner expect the annihilation of a thousand worlds, than that the light of Divine favour would not spring up in the soul of the penitent believer. Science declares the former to be improbable, but the Word of God declares the latter to be impossible. "Heaven and earth may pass away, but the word of the Lord endureth for ever." God is just. The death of our Lord Jesus Christ, redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. The first man sinned, and the baneful effects of the first sin cleaveth to the nature of his posterity. The * Confession of Faith, by Pope Pius IV. |