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N. J., Mrs. Sarah Livingston, wife of Rev. Dr Livingston, in the 63d year of her age. Them which
sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.—I can now only bless you and yours, and am
"Your afflicted and faithful friend,
"J. H. LIVINGSTON."
A few days after, he thus acknowledged the receipt of a letter, expressive of condolence, from the
Rev. Dr. J. B. Romeyn, of New-York:
"New-Brunswick, Jan. 3d, 1815.
"My dear Sir,
"He who refines his people in the furnace of affliction, walks with them through the fire, that they
shall not be burned; and his presence and grace prevent the flame from kindling upon them. I
have always found his promise sure; and, to his praise, I can now humbly say, that he makes my
strength equal to my day. Although I am cast down, yet I am not destroyed."
"It is an additional source of consolation, that my worthy Christian friends sympathize in my sorrows.
They weep with him who weeps, and their affectionate condolence is a balm to the wounded
heart. I thank you most sincerely for your very kind letter. It comforted me. It was a word in
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season, and suggested sentiments which soothed and strengthened my soul.—Your tender attention
has increased my love for you, and I now know that I have found a friend upon whom I can lean
with confidence in my declining years. The Lord sanctify and comfort you and dear Mrs. Romeyn!
I bless you both, and am most respectfully,
Your faithful, afflicted, yet supported friend and brother in the Lord,
"Rev. Dr. Romeyn. "J. H. LIVINGSTON."
The following answer to a letter from his friend, Mr. Kip, of a later date, affords farther evidence
of the pious serenity of his mind, under this sore bereavement:
"New-Brunswick, Jan. 16, 1815.
"My very dear Friend,
"It is kind to sympathize in affliction, and help bear the burdens which, sometimes when supported
alone, prove very heavy. I thank you for your affectionate letter. In an hour of trial, the darkest
and most peculiar in many respects I have ever experienced, the Lord has not forsaken me.
My mind is preserved in peace, and grace has prevented a single murmuring thought. It is all right.
It is never convenient for us to suffer. But who shall say unto him, What doest thou? The sovereignty
of God first deeply impressed my mind, and I was
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