*JANUARY 5, 1754‒5. Glory to the God of boundless mercy, who has this day, when sinking under great heaviness, both of soul and body, lifted up the light of his countenance upon me, and made me drink deep of his redeeming love.――Oh sweetest and most compassionate Jesus! How do thy tender mercies follow and support my soul! And still I am ungrateful, and still I am not as thou wouldst have me to be! Oh when wilt thou make a full end of sin, and bring in thy perfect righteousness? All things are possible to thee. And do I not know, do I not _taste_, that thou art gracious! O my sun, my shield, life of my life, look into my heart; I dare appeal to thine all-searching eye, that there is nothing so dear to it, but I would this moment part with it for thee! And why then, dearest Lord, wilt thou not form thy whole blessed image in my soul? My unworthiness I know is greater than that of any other creature in the universe; but this unworthiness will the more magnify thy mercy. I have only my unworthiness to plead; and I have no hope but in thy atoning blood: Oh let this blood, which has bought my peace, cleanse me also from every sin; and let that blessed Spirit, who has sealed and witnessed this _peace_ to my soul, be now a spirit of burning, to consume all my dross, and to purify me even as――Oh glorious prospect, heart-enlivening hope, let me sink into the dust before thee! God of glory, God of purity, I am lost in self-abasement! But hast thou not promised? And wilt thou not fulfil thine own gracious word? O give me then perfect sanctification of body, soul, and spirit; and let this heavy cross, which seems now coming upon me, be, by thy all-powerful grace, turned into a means of forwarding thy blessed work in my soul. Let every bitter cup which thou permittest to be given me, be joyfully received, as serving in some degree to conform me to thy sufferings; and let me in all things, though ever so contrary to my corrupt nature, give thanks, and say continually, Lord, not my will, but thine be done. _Amen._
LETTERS Wrote by JANE COOPER: To which is prefixt Some _Account_ of her LIFE and DEATH.
The PREFACE.
1. THE good _Armelle_ has been heard of far and wide. Her life has been written at large, containing several hundred pages, translated into various languages, and published almost in all parts of _Europe_, by persons of various persuasions. Her deep, solid, unaffected piety, has recommended her to those of all denominations, who regarded not mere opinions, but the genuine work of God; _righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost_.
2. But it is impossible to give so full an account of this good young woman, whose station in life, was the same for some years. She had no such director of her conscience, who was informed (like those in the _Roman_ church) of the minutest particulars, relating either to her internal or external walking with God. And she wrote no circumstantial account of herself. We have only some hints occasionally written, either for her own private use, or the satisfaction of her friends. And the greatest part even of her letters are lost: particularly those of which she took the most pains in writing. So that what follows are little more than fragments.
“_But though they’re little, they are golden sands._”
In several respects not inferior to any thing in the life of _Armelle Nicholas_: in others greatly superior thereto. For first, All here is _genuine_; which I fear is not the case in the account given us of _Armelle_. For words are there put into her mouth, which I think she could not possibly utter. For instance. She is made to say, “I had always such a sense of my sins, that I never felt pride in my life.” Could any one born of a woman say this? Is it not an embellishment added by her historian?
3. Secondly, All here is _strong, sterling sense_, strictly agreeable to sound reason. Here are no extravagant flights, no mystic reveries, no unscriptural enthusiasm. The sentiments are all just and noble; the result of a fine natural understanding, cultivated by conversation, thinking, reading, and true Christian experience. At the same time they shew an heart as well improved as the understanding; truly devoted to God, and filled in a very uncommon degree, with the entire _fruit_ of his Spirit.
4. Thirdly, This strong genuine sense is expressed in such a _stile_, as none would expect from a _young servant maid_: a stile simple and artless in the highest degree, but likewise clear, lively, proper: every phrase, every word being so well chosen, yea, and so well placed, that it is not easy to mend it. And such an inexpressible sweetness runs through the whole, as art would in vain strive to imitate.
So JANE COOPER wrote, and spoke, and lived! Thou that readest, _go and do likewise_!