Dr. M'All was for many years a distinguished dissenting minister in Manchester, England. His learning and eloquence was eminently useful in the expounding of scripture. But the hour came when the admired preacher must descend from the pulpit to the sick-chamber, and there, racked by disease, [97] test the power of that gospel he had recommended to others. Of much that he said, in his last hours, the following remarks are recorded: "I am not a fanatic; rather have I been too much of a speculatist,--but I wish to say this: I have been, and am now a great sinner, but my trust is in Jesus Christ and what He has done and suffered for sinners; upon this I can confidently rely, now that I am sinking into eternity." To a question, whether the gospel was dear to his heart, he answered, "Yes, its very core, its very core." Being asked on what he relied, "On oaths, promises, and blood." At another time, he said, "If I die this night, remember I am at perfect peace with all mankind, in the sure and certain hope of a blessed immortality." His latest expressions were those of holy triumph. The hope of the Christian takes the sting from death.

      This eminent man was a minister among the Wesleyan Methodists, and unquestionably one of the greatest men of his day. In him were displayed intellectual powers which are seldom found combined in the same person. To his understanding belonged a capacity which the greatness of a subject could not exceed, a strength and clearness which the number and complexity of its parts could not confuse, and a [98] vigor which the difficulty and length of an inquiry could not weary. To the reasoning powers and habits of a philosopher, he united the imagination of a poet; he touched everything with the hand of a master. Yet all his faculties were consecrated to the service of religion. He honored Christ in his life, and the divine Master abundantly honored His servant in his death. Perhaps the closing scene of no saint's life ever furnished lessons of richer instruction or more heavenly consolation. On the approach of death he viewed it as a foe, and felt it to be an evil; but, through the grace of his Saviour, with his characteristic strength of mind, he firmly grasped and applied his Christian principles, and they sustained his faith in his walk through "the valley of the shadow of death" [Psalms 23:4].

      Innumerable expressions fell from the lips of Mr. Watson during his last illness, indicative of an entire and exclusive trust in the atonement of Christ for salvation. It appeared as if the Holy Spirit had taken up the blessings of the atonement, so ably exhibited in his preaching and writings, and applied them in fresh and saving efficacy to his mind. To a friend, who visited him during his illness, he said: "I am very ill, but I am where we have so often placed others--in the hands of the Lord: He has imparted sweet consolation to me during my afflictions. We have not preached cunningly-devised [99] fables. O. no! There is real, solid, substantial comfort and support in religion. I have been many times heavily afflicted, and have been often brought, so to speak, into the waters, but I have always found the Rock firm beneath." Everything he uttered on the subject of his own personal state, had a remote or direct reference to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. "The atonement," he repeatedly remarked, "is the sinner's short way to God." On this rock I rest, and feel it firm beneath me.

      By a lively and believing apprehension of the heavenly and invisible state, in combination with an assurance of his interest in Christ he gained a full and complete victory over the fear of death; and he was not only willing to die but anticipated it with triumphant joy. Mr. Watson died a Christian's death, January 8, 1833.

      Few Christian ministers have been more highly respected in life, or more sincerely lamented in death, than the Rev. Edward Bickersteth, of England.--From his first profession of religion, in early life, to the moment of his "falling asleep in Jesus," he was enabled, by the power of divine grace, to maintain an humble and devoted consistency. Such a career as [100] his was eminently calculated to shed around a benign and heavenly influence; and still the fragrance of his piety and good name remains to comfort his friends, and to stimulate the Church of God.

      Incessant work, and the mental activity of more than forty years, without exhausting in other respects his strong constitution, wore out the organ of thought and brought on a fatal disease, which baffled the efforts of medical skill. In the very midst of his labors he was removed to his rest.

      Throughout his last illness, his clear, happy faith shone brightly. "What a comfort it is not to have to seek salvation now! I can enjoy a salvation found! I know in whom I have believed. The gospel is a reality: I find it to be so now." And again after an interval: "Salvation sought is with fear and trembling; salvation found is always ready."

      "That is a noble testimony of Paul, 'I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him until the day of Christ' [2 Timothy 1:12]. "We ought to bear testimony to the truth of His promises." "I am happy in God's love." To his medical attendant, he said, "My sufferings are nothing compared with my deservings. I find all my principles confirmed by my last hours. I have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He supports me now. I commend Him [101] to you, dear sir, as an only and complete Saviour. You have done all you could for my poor body, it is right I should commend Christ to you."

      None could come near him, without being struck by the calm and holy earnestness of love, in the detached sentences that fell from his lips. His last utterance was a benediction on his family. Thus died Edward Bickersteth, full of faith and hope. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace."

      Bickersteth's remark, "What a comfort, not to have to seek salvation now," is very suggestive. A dying bed is a very unpropitious place to begin a holy life. Deathbed repentances are extremely hazardous, because often deceptive. Take the following proof: "The faithful and laborious minister of a populous parish had been accustomed for a long series of years, to preserve notes of his visits to the afflicted, with remarks on the issue of their affliction--whether life or death--and of the subsequent conduct of those that recovered. He stated that, during forty years, he had visited no less than two thousand persons, apparently dying, and who discovered such signs of penitence as would have led him to indulge a good hope of their safety if they had died at that time: they were restored to health, when he expected that they would bring forth fruits meet for repentance: but [102] alas! of the two thousand, not more then two persons manifested an abiding and saving change; the rest, when the terrors of eternity ceased to be in immediate prospect, forgot their religious impressions and their solemn vows, and returned with new avidity to their former worldly-mindedness and sinful pursuits.--Truly "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" [Jeremiah 17:9].

[THW 97-103]