CHRISTIAN’s word
OF
Warming and Comfort,
AN REGARD TO THAT ALARMING SCOURGE,
&ſige (tigoleta.
Translated from the German.
Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save you!"
souls. James 1, 21.
HARRISBURG :
PRINTED BY Jacon BAAB.
1832,
Lord ' teach us so to number our days, that we may
apply our hearts unto wisdom. Ps. 90, 12,
ºlo
24 5
C5.3
DEAR READER,
The diary of a clergyman, kept by him during the rage
of the Cholera at SARAroF, accidentally came into
my hands as I was meditating upon the parable of the
unjust Steward (Luke 16.) In the parable I heard the
call: Give an account of thy stewardship, which addres-
sed itself in a voice like thunder to the impenitent and un-
just steward;—in the diary I read of multitudes of our
race, who in one hour were in the enjoyment of health and
in the next, locked in the cold embraces of death; and to
whose mortal remains the ordinary rites of sepulture and
the last kind marks of affection and of friendship could no
longer be paid, by reason of the exceeding great number
who fell victims to this disease. Alas! how many of the
thousands, thus unexpectedly called off by this frightful
disorder, may not the appalling summons: Give an at-
count of thy stewardship, have met in a state as unprepa-
red as it was unexpected; how many in fearful anticipa-
tions from the alarms of concience and the heavy guilt of
their misspent lives, may already have looked forward,
with unspeakable dread, to the judgment seat of Christ!
How many, perhaps in the anguish of their souls, are cry-
ing: Ye mountains fall upon us and ye hills cover us, ere
yet the sentence “Depart ye cursed” is pronounced upon
them by their final Judge—for, Oh! it is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God! How many a one,
amidst the everlasting and merited agonies of hell, may
have thought back on his brethren, yet on earth, with
the prayer of the rich man of old: “O that they might
repent, lest they also come into this place of torment.”
Dear Reader! Before you are aware of it, this frightful
malady may also come up into your windows, and in one
night, ay, in a single hour, summon you before the judg-
ment seat of Him, who requires a strict account of every
idle word and thought; and who will render to every mam
according to his works, viz.: “To them who by patient
continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and
4.
immortality, eternal life. But to them that are conten-
tious, and do not obey the truth, but unrighteousness, in-
dignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every
Soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, also of the
Gentile.” And how is it with you? Are you ready to ap-
pear before him with your account P or does his call find
you, as it found the unjust steward, in the midst of your
sins P Reflect, for there yet is time!—
*śIn regard to the disease itself, ponder upon the follow-
ing passages of God’s holy word:
Jer, 25, 32, 33. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold
evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirl-
wind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And
the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of
the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall
not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall
be dung upon the ground.”
Deut. 28,58–60. 66.67. If thou wilt not observe to
do all the words of this law that are written in this book,
that thou mayest fear this Glorious and fearful name,
THE LORD THY GOD; Then the Lord will make thy
plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even
great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sick-
messes, and of long continuance. Moreover he will bring
upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast
afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. And thy life
shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day
and night, and shalt have no assurance of thy life. In the
morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even and
at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning!—
Jer. 26, 4, “And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith
the Lord; If ye will not hearken to me to walk in my law,
which I have set before you, to hearken to the words of
my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both ri-
sing up early, and sending them, but ye have not heark-
ened; then will I make this house like Shiloh, &c.”
Jer. 21, 14. “But I will punish you according to the
fruit of your doings, saith the Lord; and I will kindle a
fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things
round about it.” -
5
}'s. 89, 30. If his children forsake my law, and walk
not in my judgments; If they break my statutes, and
keep not my commandments; then will I visit their trans-
gression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.
Ezk. 7, 9. “And mine eye shall not spare, neither will
I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways
and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and
ye shall know that I am the Lord that smiteth.”
Deut. 32, 39. See now that I even I, am he, and there
is no God with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound,
and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of
my hand.”
Thus you observe, dear reader, that such plagues are
not the offspring of chance, but come from Him in whose
hands are the issues of life and death! Should it howev-
er surprise you, that God deals so with his creatures
—that he thus severely visits them with his judgements,
and ask like those of Juda: “Why hast thou so smitten
us, that there is no healing for us P”—then listen to the
answer which God gives you on this subject:
“Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places
thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that execu-
teth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon
it. And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they
swear falsely. O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth?
thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou
hast consumed them, they have made their faces harder
than a rock; they have refused to return. Therefore I
said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they
know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their
God. I will get me unto the great men, and will speak
mnto them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and
the judgment of their God: but these have altogether
broken the yoke and burst the bonds. Wherefore a lion
out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the eve-
nings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their ci-
ties: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pie-
ces; because their transgressions are many, and their
6
backslidings are increased. . How shall I pardon thee for
this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them
that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they
then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by
troops in the harlots’ houses. Shall I not visit for these
things P saith the Lord : and shall not my soul be aven-
ged on such a nation as this? Ah sinful nation, a people
faden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are
corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have pro-
voked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone
away backward, Why should ye be striken any more ?
e will revolt more and more : the whole head is sick,
and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even
unto the head there is no soundness in it.”
Hence be not astonished, dear reader, that the judg-
ments of the Almighty are now abroad in the earth! Is
there a single vice, that is not perpetrated in our day 2
“is not truth between man and man the basis of mutual
confidence, and the life of society, shamefully violated P
Are not unmeaning professions and gross adulations, too
general in the circles of fashion P is not the breach of ab-
solute promise, particularly among debtors and trades-
men, become so common, that it is scarcely considered
as a fault? Is not the name of the great and terrible God
wantonly and outrageously blasphemed P Are not even
children, who it is probable, were never taught to put up
one prayer to the Author of their being, expert in the in-
fernal science of profane swearing P Do not “our streets
resound with this language of hell ?” Is it not heard
even from the lips of many who presume to call themselves
by the name of Christ —What has become of family de-
wotion ?—what, of family discipline P-And what shall we
say of that profligacy of principle and manners, which is
every where observable P−Are not intemperance, impuri-
ty and debauchery hardy enough to face even the light?
-In what manner is the Sabbath observed P-Do not ma-
my waste the day in idleness P-Do not some make it a
day of business 8 others, a day of feasting P And others a
day of visiting and amusement P−What reception is giv-
en to the eyerlasting Gospel –Who glories in the cross
º
of Christ 2–Who bends the knee to a sanctifying Savº
jour?—Is not infidelity too much the fashion PIs not the
profession of a Christian thought to degrade the dignity
of a gentleman P”
How under such circumstances can we expect to es-
cape the just judgments of God!
But, O my dear reader, strive to pluck your soul as a
brand from the eternal burnings!—Suffer not yourself to
be deceived by the false opinions of those who assert that
these things come not from God. . For even in the midst
of these judgments do men harden themselves in their
iniquity, with their eyes, they see, but do not perceive,
and with their ears they hear, but do not understand—Of
such it is, that God complains (Amos 4. 9. 10.) “I have
smitten, &c.”
Nor let the carelessness and indifference, with which
some await this disease lead you astray. . The ungodly,
as such, never have believed. Even whilst Noah was
building the Ark, and preaching repentance unto right-
eousness both by word and deed, the ungodly would not
believe ; they ate, they drank, they married and were
given in marriage, until the flood came and destroyed then
, all. If men will not learn righteousness when God’s
judgments are abroad in the earth ;-he may say in
righteous indignation ; Let them alone : LET THEM FILL
Up THE MEASURE OF THEIR INIQUITY..—He may give
them over to a hardness of heart, and a reprobate mind.
The sinner, thus abandoned, may it is possible, sport with
the judgments of the Almighty, even when his flesh is
rotting from his bones; especially when so little space for
repentance is allowed, as in the case of this disease.
. Now my dear friend! what will you do? will you rush
on to judgment as carelessly and impenitently, as the
thoughtless multitude P Behold! to day or to morrow, God
may strike into your soul the chill of death—Depend on
it, His judgments are not a farce — May the note of
alarin which He sounds (Heb. 3. 12, 13.) penetrate your
in most soul. “Take heed brethren, lest there be in an
of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the liv.
ing God. But exhort one another daily, while it is call-
ed. To day; lest any of you be hardened through the de-
&
ceitfulness of sin.” As with an Arch-angels trump does
this dispensation of divine providence proclaim, Prepare
to meet thy God. And O' listen, to the kind invitation
which your Father in Heaven gives to all his wandering
children. “Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the
Lord ; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you :
for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep an-
ger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou
fiast transgressed against the Lord thy God!”. Jesus,
the faithful shepherd, who gave his life, and shed his
blood for your redemption, stands before the door of your
heart and knocks; blessed is he that grants Him admis-
sion. He sighs at your situation, as he once sighed at
that of Jerusalem. “O that thou, even thou, in this thy
day, wouldest lay to heart the things that belong to thy
peace!” Repent and be converted ; hasten to Jesus the
Saviour; for as many as receive him, to them he gives
power to become the sons of God. Believe in the Lord Je-
sus Christ, and thou and thy house shall be saved.—Oh
come let us humble ourselves before the Lord our Maker,
for great are his mercies. ->
“{} f_ord, though our iniquities testify against us, do
thou help us for thy name’s sake—-for our backslidings are
many ; we have sinned against thee—deal not with us ac-
cording to our sins, nor reward us according to our ini-
quities, but according to thy mercy remember us, for
thy goodness’ sake. O enter not into judgment with
thy servants, for in thy sight shall no man living be justi-
fied. Turn thou us, O Lord, and we shall be turned—
Create within us clean hearts, O God, and renew within
us right spirits——We believe Lord, O help thou our un-
belief—For the sake of Jesus forgive us our sins, and
deliver us from all evil. Thy kingdom come, thy will
be done! Grant that we may seek thee whilst thou
art to be found, and obtain the end of faith even the sal-
vation of our souls! Amen.
But if any should inquire, whether they will be
preserved from this fatal disease, if they truly repent of
their sins and humble themselves before God, let them
know assuredly, that God’s hand is not shortened, that he
wannot save, and, that “He that dwelleth in the secret pla-
9
ces of the Most High. shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and
my fortress : my God; in him will I trust. Surely he
shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from
the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his
feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust : his truth
shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid
for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by
day ; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness ;
nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thou-
sand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right
hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.” “Commit then
thy ways unto the Lord : trust also in him and he shall
bring it to pass.”
But know, that the promises of God refer not so much
to the body as to the soul. Remember that this is not
our abiding city ; that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God, and that through much tribulation we
must enter into that kingdom—But what should he who
has found a better portion, who has found heaven, care
for this world P. In what estimation should he, who has
found eternal life hold things temporal P Why should he,
who like the apostle has a desire to depart and to be with
Christ, fear to die; “for though he were dead yet shall he
live and whosoever liveth and believeth in him, shall new-
er die.” Or think you, that tribulation and distress are
an evidence that God hath forsaken us P-''Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ P shall tribulation or
peril, or sword P. Neither life nor death can separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.”— Be not
then dismayed, O christian, even if this malady should at
tack you ; for here thou dwellest but in a tabernacle of
clay, which sooner or later must be dissolved—And you
know in whom you have believed, in whom also now you
trust. In afflictions the Lord kindly visits and upholds
us. Then, of anew, we seek and find him a present help
in time of trouble. Trials and afflictions are but blessings
in disguise, for, Whom the Lord loveth, he also chasten-
eth. Then can we learn to know and taste the loving
kindness and tender mercies of our God.
IO
The following passages of scripture may furthermore
administer instruction and comfort to you, in case you
should be attacked by this disease :
l,
I “For I am with thee saith the Lord, to save thee, but I
will correct thee in measure and will not leave thee alto-
gether unpunished. Jer. 30, 11.
He that hath suffered in the flesh, hath ceased from sin.
I Peter 4, 1.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with
sons, for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not P
Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous,
but grievous : nevertheless afterwards it yieldeth the
peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are ex-
ercised thereby. Heb. 12, 7. 11.
B. ºssed is the man, that endureth temptation, for when
he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the
Lord hath promised to them that love him. James 1, 12.
For which cause we faint not ; but though our outward
man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, work-
eth for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glo-
ry ; while we look not at the things which are seen, but
at the things which are not seen : for the things which
are seen are temporal ; but the things which are not seen
are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house
of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of
God, an house not made with hands eternal in the hea-
vens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clo-
thed upon with our house which is from heaven. 2 Cor. 4,
16–18. 5, 1. 2.
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and wheth-
er we die, we die unto the Lord : whether we live there-
fore, or die, we are the Lord’s. Rom. 14, 8.
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord Rev. 14,
} 3.
11
HYWIN.
God of Mercy! God of Pity:
From thy dwelling place on high;
Bend thine ear to our entreaty.
Hear, O! hearthy people's cry.
We presume not, heavenly Father,
On our own deserts to plead,
Concious these must justly gather,
Tenfold vengeance on our head.
Humbled in the dust before thee,
Thine Omnipotence we own ;
And confess ourselves unworthy
To approach thy sacred Throne.
But we know that Jesus, dying,
Once redeem'd our guilty race ;
And on his deserts relying,
Humbly seek thy saving grace.
When upon thy chosen nation,
Plague, for sin, of old was laid,
Thou did'st hear their supplication,
And the pestilence was stay’d.
Round our gates the dread avenger,
Stalks with pestilential breath,
Lord avert the threaten’d danger,
Stay, O! stay the work of death.
“Whom thou lovest, thou dost chasten;”
We have sinn'd, but we repent,
And before thy footstool hasten;
Hear us, Father, and relent:
Yet to thee, Lord, our condition,
Better than to us is known;
Therefore this our best petition,
**Not our will but thine be done?”
}{2
A DVH6CEE.
To prescribe any particular remedies for this
disease, is difficult from the fact, that the dis-
ease, agreeably to place, time, particular con-
ditions and their influences, seems every where
to vary, and to assume a character quite pe-
culiar. The proper help is, and will remain
with the Lord. We are nevertheless to use
those means which he has placed in our hands,
by which he can help us, and should therefore
take the advice of a Physician immediately
upon the first premonitory symptoms--"If the
disease,” says Annessley, whose experience in
the treatment of the Epidemic Cholera during
its prevalence in India was considerable, “be
taken at its commencement or within an hour
after the seizure, it is as manageable, as any
other acute disease, but the rapidity with
which it runs through its course, requires the
most active exertions before it can be check-
ed, and the loss of an hour may cause the loss
of a life.”