James Janeway

“ The Lord is my shepherd: although I pass through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear, for thou art with me: shall I not suffer, seeing my glorious Redeemer was pleased to suffer so much for me? O how was he mocked and crowned with thorns, that he might purchase a crown of righteousness for us! Must I not exalt and bless him while I have a being, who hath bought me even with his blood! Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world! That Lamb is Jesus Christ, who hath satisfied for my sins. ”

“ What poor worms are we! O dear father, how lame and halting do we go on in the ways of God and salvation! We know but in part, but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is imperfect shall be done away. O that I had attained to that now! But what are we ourselves? Not only weakness and nothingness, but wickedness: for the thoughts and imaginations of a man's heart are only evil, and that continually. We are by nature children of wrath, and are conceived in sin, and born in unrighteousness! O this wretched and vile thing, sin! ”

“ O Lord, if thou hast appointed me to die by it, fit me for death, and give me a good heart to bear up under my afflictions. O Lord God, and merciful Father, take pity on me, thy child. Teach me, O Lord, thy word; make me strong in faith. O Lord, I have sinned against thee; Lord, pardon my sins. I had been in hell long ago if it had not been for thy mercy. But, O Lord, if thou hast appointed me to die, fit me for death, that I may die with comfort. ”

“ When she was very weak, and death stared in her face, her parents carried her from one room to another; but in no place could she find ease. She, however, contemplated with satisfaction the day when she should eat of the tree of life that grows in the midst of the paradise of God; "There," said Elizabeth, "I shall never thirst, nor never sin, but behold the Lamb, who will lead me to fountains of living water." After lying one day in a doze, she opened her eyes and said, "Mother, I have seen an angel." ”

“ She often cried out in the words of the psalmist, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." She could never lay herself low enough under a sense of that sin which she brought with her into the world.
8. That scripture dwelt much on her tongue, "The sacrifices of God are a broken heart; a broken and contrite spirit, O God, thou wilt not despise." "O for that brokenness of heart," said she, "which flows from faith, and for that faith which is built upon Christ, who is the alone and proper sacrifice for sin." ”

“ This was her great, earnest, and constant request to all who came to her, to beg assurance for her; and she would look with so much eagerness upon them, as if she desired nothing in the world so much as that they would pity her, and help her with their prayers. Never was a poor creature more earnest for any thing than she was for assurance and the light of God's countenance. O the piteous moan that she would make! O the agony that her soul was in! ”

“ My friend, seeking the glory of God, discharged the parish of the child, and took him as his own; yet there seemed to be little hopes of doing good upon him, for he was a very monster of wickedness, and a thousand times more miserable and vile by his sin than by his poverty. He was running to hell as fast as he could go, and was old in vice when he was but young in years: we scarcely hear of one so like the devil in his infancy as was this poor child. What sin was there that his age was capable of, which he did not commit? ”

“ Then she said, "O what is the life of man! The days of man upon earth are as grass, and as the flower of the field, so he flourishes: the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and his place knows him no more."
18. She added, "My life shall not continue long. I feel much weakness: O Lord, look upon me graciously, have pity upon my weak distressed heart. I am oppressed, undertake for me, that I may stand fast and overcome."
19. She was very frequent in spiritual ejaculations, and it was no small comfort to her that the Lord Christ prayed for her, and promised to send his Spirit to comfort her. ”

“ And then she prayed, "O Lord, finish thy work upon their souls: it will be my comfort to see you in glory; but it will be your everlasting happiness."
26. On Friday, after she had had such lively discoveries of God's love, she was exceedingly desirous to die, and cried out, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly! Conduct me to thy tabernacle. I am a poor creature without thee; but, Lord Jesus, my soul longs to be with thee: O when shall it be? Why not now, blessed Jesus? Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly! But why do I thus speak? Thy time, my Lord, is the best: O, give me patience." ”

“ Faith is indeed the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
10. Her father and mother, seeing her, burst into tears; upon which she pleaded with them to be patient under the hand of God. "O," said she, "why do you weep over me, seeing you have no reason to question: but, if the Lord takes me, it shall be well with me to all eternity? You ought to be well satisfied, seeing it is said, 'God is in heaven, and doth whatever pleaseth him.' And do you not pray every day that the will of God may be done upon earth as it is in heaven? ”

“ On April the 24th, when in great pain, on viewing her hands, she said, "O father! the blood ran from the hands of Jesus Christ when he was nailed to the cross, and that was done by wicked men, but I shall go and see him in heaven." At another time, when her parents, talking of the sufferings of Christ, said that he died to save good children, and would take them to sit with him on his throne for ever, and would give them crowns of glory. ”

“ In the afternoon he was still more composed, and told his mother he would talk a little; when he again dwelt most sweetly on the goodness of the Lord to his soul, and the happiness of meeting his parents and friends in glory. In the night, being asked if he did not love the sinner's friend, he replied, "I wish to do it, and in heaven I shall do it more," adding, "No one ever loved him one part in a thousand so much as they ought to do." He frequently prayed for patience, being subject to great pain. ”

“ He answered, "This is a wicked world: it is better to live in heaven."
12. An hour and a half before his death, the same minister came again to visit him, and asked him, "John, art thou not afraid to die?" He answered, "No, if the Lord will comfort me in that hour." "But," said the minister, "how canst thou expect comfort, seeing we deserve none?" He answered, "No, if I had my deserts, I had been in hell long ago." "But," replied the minister, "which way dost thou expect comfort and salvation, seeing that thou art a sinner?" He answered, "In Christ alone." ”

“ Soon after he appeared easier, and said, "Truly the heart is willing, but the flesh is weak, and if the heart is willing, never mind the voice." Being reminded of the joy he would feel at hearing his Lord say, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord;" he exclaimed, "Amen, so be it," and spoke no more. "Great are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth out of them all," was the last text repeated to him, to which he nodded his head, and then calmly fell asleep in Jesus, aged twelve years and three months. ”

“ Being informed how willing and ready the Lord Jesus Christ was to accept of poor sinners, and being counselled to venture himself upon Christ for mercy and salvation, he said he would fain cast himself upon Christ, but he could not but wonder how Christ should die for such a vile wretch as he was, and he found it one of the hardest things in the world to believe. ”

“ I am saved, and that not of myself, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast."
25. "My dear parents, now we must part, my speech fails me: pray to the Lord for a quiet close to my combat." Her parents replied, "Ah, dear child! how sad is that to us, that we must part?" She answered, "I go to heaven, and there we shall find one another again: I go to Jesus Christ."
26. Then she comforted herself to think of her precious brother and sister. ”

“ Fourteen days, however, before his death, being much worse and unable to leave his bed, his anxious parents, desirous to know his real state, asked him if his mind was easy? At first he appeared inclined to evade the question; but the question being repeated he burst into tears and cried out, "I have been a very great sinner, I do not feel a love for my Saviour, nor see him with an eye of faith." Different texts of Scripture were mentioned which directed him to cast all his care on the Lord. These appeared to comfort him in a degree, and he then said, "What a charming place heaven is." ”

“ Garter say, 'A man may go to heaven without a penny in his purse, but not without grace in his heart.'"
10. She had an extraordinary love to the people of God: and when she saw any who she thought feared the Lord, her heart would even leap for joy.
11. When she was between eleven and twelve years old, she sickened of the plague, in which she behaved with admirable patience and sweetness, and did what she could with Scripture arguments to support and encourage her relations to part with her, who was going to glory, and to prepare themselves to meet her in a blessed eternity. ”

“ No sooner had this good man taken this creature into his house but he prayed for him, and laboured with all his might to convince him of his miserable condition by nature, and to teach him something of God, the worth of his own soul, and that eternity of glory or misery to which he was bound. ”

“ After this, having taken a little rest, she said, "Whether in death or life, a believer is Christ's, who hath redeemed us by his own precious blood from the power of the devil; then, whether I live or die, I am the Lord's. ”

“ He was now desirous to know what he might do that he might live in another world, and what to avoid, that he might not die for ever. And, being instructed by his parents, he soon laboured to avoid whatsoever might displease God. Now the apprehensions of God, death and eternity, laid such a restraint upon him, that he would not, for a world, have told a lie. ”

“ Her father had some time before carried her out for the benefit of the air, daily. And being out with her the Sabbath before her departure, she pressed him to carry her to chapel; which he did, but was soon obliged to return with her, when she exclaimed, "Farewell, chapel; farewell, Mr. J.; farewell, my beloved teachers; farewell, my dear schoolfellows;" and soon after she said, "Farewell, brother and sister; farewell, father and mother. I charge you all to meet me in heaven, that we may spend an eternity of happiness together there." ”

“ With weeping I came into the world, and with weeping I must go out again. O my dear parents, better is the day of my death than the day of my birth."
13. She then desired her father to pray with her, and to request of the Lord that she might have a quiet passage into another world.
14. Her father, observing her to grow very weak, said, "I perceive, child, thou art very weak." "It is true, sir," said she, "I feel my weakness increasing, and I see your sorrow increasing too, which is a part of my affliction. Be content, I pray you, it is the Lord who does it ”

“ She still continued in a kind of ecstasy of joy, admiring the excellence of Christ, rejoicing in her interest in him, and longing to be with him.
12. After a while, some of her friends, who stood near her, observed a more than ordinary earnestness and fixedness in her countenance; they said one to another, "Look how earnestly she looks, surely she sees something."
13. One asked her what it was that she fixed her eyes upon so eagerly? "I warrant," says one, "she saw death coming."
14. "No," said she, "it is the glory that I saw, it is that on which my eyes were fixed." ”

“ Saturday night was spent in great pain—he had but few intervals of ease. When he was told "such things were from the Lord," he replied, "The Lord is good, yes, the Lord is good to them who put their trust in him." When he expressed his gratitude to his weeping parents for their attention to him, and his mother had told him that it was the Lord who enabled them to do any thing for him, and mentioned his glorious Saviour as the blessed object of all his gratitude, he turned his thoughts to heaven and said, "Then I hope to love him now ”

“ O what a blessing to have good parents." On requesting to see his brothers, they came to him; and taking them by the hand, he asked them how they did. To his little brother Henry he said, "Be a good boy, do not run about with idle children, and tell Philip what I say, learn your catechism, also read your Bible." Perceiving that his eldest brother cried, he said, "Why is John weeping? Weep not for me, weep for yourselves." ”

“ He quickly learned to read the Scripture, and would, with great reverence, tenderness, and groans, read till tears and sobs were ready to hinder him.
7. When he was at secret prayer he would weep bitterly.
8. He was wont often to complain of the wickedness of his heart, and seemed to be more grieved for the corruption of his nature, than, for actual sin.
9. He was much troubled for the wandering of his thoughts in prayer, and that he could not always keep his heart fixed upon God, and his affections more constantly raised. ”