Through revival,

Visited.

soul. Many were then converted, but I was not one of them. During the ministry of Mr. M'Dowell I was often greatly anxious about my soul-I went to the conference-meeting—many were converted in the successive revivals enjoyed, but I was not one of them. And now, for years that are passed, I have not had a single feeling on the subject. I know that I am a lost sinner-I know that I can be saved only through Jesus Christ-I feel persuaded that when I die I shall go to hell forever I believe all you preach-I believe all you have said to me and my family, but I feel it no more than if I were a block of marble; and I expect to live and die just as I am; so that my advice to you. is to leave us old people to ourselves and our sins, for you can not do us much good, and devote yourself to the work of seeking the conversion of the young.'

"And all this, and more, was said with a kind and pleasant bearing, which forbade every thing like suspicion of his motives; and yet with a cool deliberateness which made me feel that the man was a mystery. After placing before him the fullness of the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, we parted.

"I remembered the incident, and watched the progress of this man. His seat was rarely vacant in the sanctuary. To hear the Word preached, he breasted many a storm which kept the professor of religion at home. I made him other visits; and while he admitted all I said, and freely confessed his lost state, I never witnessed in him the slightest ruffle of religious emotion. He was a true prophet of his own fate. He lived as he predicted, and so he died. And we laid

Dies.

No hope.

him down in a hopeless grave, after having spent his threescore years and ten without repentance toward God, or faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the midst of a congregation over which God has often made windows in heaven."

Rev. Dr. Magie.

Letter.

CHAPTER XIII.

The Faithful Pastor.-Testimony by the Rev. David Magie, D.D., Pastor of the Second Church.-The Number and Nature of Dr. Murray's Labors.-Visits to the Sick and Afflicted.-Public Usefulness.-Untiring Industry and Energy.

It occurred to me, while reviewing the pastoral life of Dr. Murray, that no one could give a more accurate and reliable view of his habits and success than the venerable and beloved man who had been pastor in the same town and by his side during the whole of his residence in Elizabeth. For more than a quarter of a century, Dr. Magie had been associated with Dr. Murray in kindred and common labors. Dr. Magie was pastor of the Second Church when Dr. Murray was called to the First. Their flocks were side by side, and mingled during the week, and often fed in the same pastures and by the same waters. It was a delicate matter to ask the testimony of one so related to Dr. Murray so long, but the record will be read with admiration of the character it portrays, and of ́ him who delights to bear such testimony to the fidelity and success of his neighbor in the ministry. Dr. Magie writes:

"You ask me for some memorial of Dr. Murray as a pastor, and I cheerfully comply with your request. "More than twenty-seven years of labor side by side in the same field, with our congregations inter

Side by side.

Dr. M'Dowell.

mingled, not in the city merely, but in every surrounding neighborhood, gave me the fullest opportunity of learning all his plans, and marking his going out and coming in from the beginning to the end of his ministry here. No one could know him better as a shepherd among his flock, and I am ready to testify that he discharged his duty well and faithfully.

"The people committed to his care were numerous, and they had been accustomed to see their minister frequently, as well at the fireside as in the pulpit. Long had it been their habit to look upon the man who taught them out of God's law on the Sabbath as a friend to whom they might have ready access, and who would be a guide and counselor in the various scenes of daily religious life. His predecessor, the Rev. Dr. John M'Dowell, still living happily and usefully at the age of upward of fourscore, was always regarded as a model pastor, familiar with the families of his charge, catechising the children, and conversing with individuals of all classes of society on the subject o. their personal relations to God and preparation for eternity; and Dr. Murray nobly carried on the same blessed work. The period of their labor here was of about the same length, and very much the same indomitable energy and perseverance characterized them both. If the two men differed in many respects, and differ they unquestionably did, no one could say that the service, taken as a whole, fell off in the hands of the latter. The Church, and congregation too, expected a great deal from their pastor, and seldom had they reason to feel disappointed.

System.

Amount of work.

"Besides a regular weekly lecture, for which he prepared as punctually as for the claims of the Sabbath, he delighted to be present in the more retired praying circle, and often was he found mingling his sympathies and tears with the afflicted. So naturally did he care for the state of his people as to rejoice with those that rejoiced, and weep with those that wept. Most readily did he enter the humblest abode, to carry the consolations of the Gospel to the bedside of the sick, and direct the thoughts of the dying to Him who is the resurrection and the life. It was not difficult for him to accommodate himself to such scenes of sadness and sorrow as frequently meet the eye of the faithful pastor; and I have no doubt that some of the sweetest moments he ever spent on earth were those in which he was occupied in speaking to departing saints of another country, which is a heavenly. No one can estimate the amount of work which he thus performed in season and out of season, while watching for more than a quarter of a century over a Church of between five and six hundred members, and a congregation of upward of three hundred families. Few men could have done so much, or done it so well. Had he not been blessed with a remarkable love for his work and a naturally robust constitution, he never could have borne the burdens so long and with such unabated exhilaration of spirits. Discouragement is a feeling to which he never seemed to give place-no, not for an hour.

"It is difficult to say whether he excelled more at home or abroad; in the routine of weekly and daily