336 LETTER FROM REV. SPENCER H. CONE. We exceedingly regret that the following interesting letter from the Rev. Spencer H. Cone, was received at too late a period to be inserted in its proper place in the volume, and we are therefore compelled to give it at the close. "DEAR BROTHER, "New-York, July 28th, 1835. "I find, upon referring to the record, that the Rev. John Stanford united with the Oliver-street Baptist Church, June 30th, 1817, and was dismissed, as we believe, to unite with the Church triumphant, January 14th, 1834. During the last twelve years of his life, I had the pleasure of being intimately acquainted with him, and found him ever a wise counsellor and faithful friend. It is not necessary that I should detail the various points of character which distinguished him as a scholar, a Christian, and a preacher; this has been done in the memoir you are about to present to the public. But you will allow me to give a brief sketch of a single sermon, and the last I had the privilege of hearing him preach in Oliver-street. The scripture he read upon the occasion, was John xi. 1-44. His introduction consisted of a parallel drawn between the death and resurrection of Lazarus, and a sinner dead in trespasses and sins, and raised to newness of life by the power of God. The ingenuity, vivacity, brevity, and variety of comparison employed, rendered the exordium unusually interesting. The preacher then, with characteristic abruptness, paused and exclaimed, O that I had the skill of a painter! The chapter I have read, furnishes ample materials for an angel's brush! Well, I will try! And with a palette whiter than ivory, with colours purely scriptural, deeply tinged with the blood of the Lamb, and with the pencil of truth, I will paint FOUR FAMILY PICTURES. God grant that I may so paint them, that LETTER FROM REV. SPENCER H. CONE. 337 they may be hung up in the secret chamber of your hearts for ever! "My first picture shall be, "I. The happy family! Lazarus, and Martha, and Mary, the little family at Bethany, whom Jesus loved. This was the secret of their domestic felicity. The love of God was shed abroad in their hearts, by the Holy Ghost given unto them. They dwelt in love, and dwelt in God; their happiness was genuine and lasting; it commenced on earth, to be perfected and perpetuated in heaven. "But we live in a changing world! Even those whom God loves, shall have tribulation! therefore my second picture must exhibit, II. The anxious family! Lazarus is sick! Jesus is at a distance. Medicines appear to afford but little relief. The sisters tremble at the thought of being left alone in an unfriendly world, without father, mother, or brother! Mary bends over his sick bed, with all her quiet, deep-toned, persevering affection! Martha, with no less love, is busied about many things; inquiring after some new specific, or making something to allay the feverish thirst. he be taken away from us? Send a messenger to the Master, and just let him say, Lord, he whom thou lovest is sick.' But the messenger does not arrive in time to save him! No answer is received! the stroke anticipated with such fearful anxiety, falls; and my third picture, hung in black, presents, Must "III. The bereaved family! Lazarus is dead! The only brother, the stay of the family, who provides for our daily wants, led in worship, comforted, and counselled us; he is taken away! Oh! if the Lord had been here, our brother had not died! But it is all over now; the family circle is broken up, and we shall never meet again, till the resurrection at the last day. 666 Daughters of Jerusalem, wipe away your tears! 338 LETTER FROM REV. SPENCER H. CONE. Sorrow may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning! My fourth picture shall display to your believing eyes and your rejoicing hearts, "IV. The grateful family! Behold! our friend Lazarus is not dead-he sleepeth. Jesus is not far off, but nigh at hand, a present help in time of trouble. He stands at the grave, and cries with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.' He is restored to the embrace of his fond sisters; the family circle is again complete; and while they gaze with wonder, love, and joy, upon Lazarus raised from the dead, their full hearts overflow with gratitude to the author of all their mercies, and their united cry is, Let God be glorified! Thus have I given an imperfect and hasty outline of a sermon strongly marked with pulpit talent; rich in doctrinal, experimental, and practical truth; the thoughts so happily arranged, and so forcibly expressed, that the four family pictures can never be obliterated from my mind while memory holds her seat.' "The last illness of Brother Stanford, as you know, was protracted and painful in the extreme. It was my custom to visit him at least once a week, and I can bear testimony, not only to his patient suffering, but to his cheerful piety. His waking hours were uniformly employed in reading, writing, meditation, and prayer; and so strong was his sense of duty, and the habit of industry, that he would brace up his system to his accustomed work, under a complication of diseases and pains, that would have palsied the energy of ordinary minds. Two days before his death, I spent with him a most profitable hour. He was sitting up the Bible was open before him, at the 14th chapter of Job. I am soon going the way of all the earth,' said he; 'I have no ecstacies, but am calm— LETTER FROM REV. SPENCER H. CONE. 339 no fear of death-my hope is firm-I know in whom. I have believed-Christ is my all, and in all—he will never leave me nor forsake me. This 14th of Job has been a great comfort to me all day! Let me tell you my thoughts upon it. The Lord made me; he selected my parents and my country; he ordered the time when, and the place where, I should be born; I had no hand in it; and he has fixed the bounds of my habitation that I cannot pass. All this is well. Just so, he fixed the period of my second birth; redeemed by the blood of Christ, and called out of darkness into marvellous light by the power of his spirit, he has been working in me, for many years, to will and to do of his good pleasure, and I know he will have a desire to the work of his hands. He will appoint a set time, and remember me; he will call, I cannot tell how soon; that is no business of mine; but blessed be his name, he will call, and I will answer him, and in the exercise of faith, and love, and patience, and hope, I will cheerfully wait all the days of my appointed time, till my change come.' "These were among the last words of JOHN STANFORD-a man of God. Very pleasant and edifying have his words often been to me, and it is my fervent prayer, that the memoir of his life, labours, and death, may prove a lasting blessing to the cause and kingdom of our common Lord. 66 Affectionately your brother, "SPENCER H. CONE, "Pastor of Oliver-street Church, "Rev. C. G. SOMMERS, "New-York." |