‘Poor dear Susan was called away a few hours sooner than we expected. She breathed her last a quarter before one o’clock this morning, when she exchanged a Sabbath day on earth, for an eternal Sabbath in heaven. I feel as strong a confidence that she is now in glory, as I can feel of any person I ever knew. The verse for the day in the Christian Almanack, 26th February, is, “There remaineth, therefore, a rest for the people of God,” as it were greeting me on my coming down stairs this morning, with a most welcome and appropriate assurance, and as it were in confirmation of my feelings. All I can say of her in her life, and in her death, would come short of the reality, and I can only hope and pray that I may be kept from abusing the privilege I have had in her friendship; and that her image and example may, by God’s blessing, be the means of assisting my weakness, and helping me on to an entrance into glory for ever and ever with her!’
May we seek to follow her humble and Christian course, blameless and harmless as she was, loved by all, and loving all. She was not quick to discover, or speak of the faults of others, being too humbly alive to her own. I never remember to have left her after the fullest communications with her, distressed or perplexed by histories of others, and their faults and failings; over these she drew the curtain, and fixed her eye only upon her own. She introduced the subject of other people only to speak kindly and affectionately of them: she appeared “without partiality,” nor had she that selfishness which soon takes affront: I never knew her vexed with any one for supposed unkindness or neglect: she seemed always to think she received more than she deserved. O may we all have grace to follow her in this, and in many other of her Christian virtues.
When thus suddenly seized, and with nothing but death before her, her soul was found perfectly staid. No distressing fears or conflicts overwhelmed her; but she met the summons with perfect fortitude and resignation. When Mr. S. said to her, ‘Dear Susan, do you not feel afraid?’ ‘O no, sir, I have no fear; I am leaning on the arm of Jesus, He is my support—He is holding me behind and before. God has laid his hand upon me: His will be done; He will keep me, He will support me.’ The sting of death seemed entirely withdrawn, and the glorious hope of being for ever with the Lord, swallowed up all pain in quitting this valley of tears. O the blessedness of living thus in preparation for death! May the instructive lesson sink deeply into all our hearts, leading us to a watchful circumspect devotion to our God and Saviour; that, when he shall please to call us, we may say with her, ‘ready, Lord, ready.’
As it was my painful office to inform her dear sisters of the affecting event of Susan’s seizure and probable departure at that moment, I went in after the service on Sunday morning. At the moment of my entry, Hannah was reading a paper she held in her hand. I asked them if they had heard any thing of Susan. ‘Not very lately; but we have just been reading a paper of her’s we found in her Bible.’ These were the words:—‘O my dear sisters, we have now began another year, O may we live it fit to die, should we be called away before it is past. This day I have been to hear Mr. Salmon, and we had a most excellent sermon from Zechariah i. 5. “Your fathers, where are they?” God bless you both.—Susan Jones.’
This seemed a merciful preparation for breaking to them the sorrowful tidings, which I did, as carefully as possible, endeavouring to arm them with Christian feeling of dependance upon God, and with sense of His presence and love in this event. They were not at first so overwhelmed as I expected: they were deeply attached to each other, and nothing could exceed the careful and affectionate manner in which Susan had nursed Elizabeth in a long and painful illness. Her watchful affection had bound them still more closely together.
Elizabeth Jones has since died, and has left ample testimony to her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and her meetness to appear in the presence of God, through the merit of her Saviour. We had most interesting and satisfactory testimonies of Susan Jones’s character from others. Lady H. thus writes of her in a letter to Elizabeth.
‘You cannot doubt how great were my feelings of sorrow, when I heard of the decease of my faithful friend, your dear sister Susan; indeed I hardly think any such event, out of my own family, could have grieved us all so deeply. Almost the last words I ever heard from her were, ‘if I am gone when you return to England, never sorrow for your poor old servant.’ But I do sorrow for her very deeply, and shall always think that I have lost a faithful friend, one who did me and my children good, and not evil, during all those days of her life which she spent with me, and I am very sure she has continued to do us good by the hearty prayers she addressed for us, to Him whose eyes are in every place. Her unwearied kindness to my children, I never did, and never could, repay; I allude chiefly to the good principles she taught them, of love to God, love to their parents, to one another, and to all their brethren of mankind. O happy mother shall I be, if my offspring depart not from the ways which their old nurse taught them.
‘When I was at the Lord’s table last Sunday, I thought of Susan, who had so often been there with her master and me. I was prepared to remember her when we are directed to bless the Lord ‘for all his servants departed this life in His faith and fear,’ whose good example, whatever their station in this world may have been, we pray for grace to follow.’
But I will return to some portions of E. C’s. journal. ‘March 12. Attended the Prayer Meeting as usual in the morning.’ This meeting was held on the Sabbath morning at 9 o’clock, and is composed of a few persons who meet together to ask a blessing on the coming means of grace.
‘I felt my mind,’ she says, ‘much drawn out in prayer. The meeting was lively, and I trust the Lord was with us, though some of the weakest of his creatures. In the morning, Mr. C. preached from Hebrews ix. 13, 14, the first part considering what it was to purge the conscience from dead works. He spoke not only of the dead works of the unconverted, but also of the dead works of the Christian. How often is he found hard-hearted, and cold, and lukewarm, and too often bringing forth fruit to the dishonour of God. What then but the blood of Christ can cleanse him from his dead works. Lord, give me grace and faith to apply to that blood continually.’ So did she speak of her own deficiencies. Next she speaks of her own labours on the same day. ‘Attended the school in the afternoon. O Lord, bless and own my poor labours. Enable me to teach for Thee, that thy name may be glorified.’ Passing over a portion of her journal, she comes to ‘April 16. Mr. Hoare preached from Hebrews ix. 14–16. He beautifully described how Christ was the High Priest of his people; how He atoned for their sins by shedding his own blood; and how he entered into the Holiest of Holies, where he ever liveth to make intercession for them. He also spoke of the tenderness of Christ; whereby he sympathized, and of his power, whereby He was able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by Him. He most earnestly entreated the trembling believer to come boldly to One who was both able and willing to save him.’ Her own reflections on this sermon may be gathered from the expressions she has applied to it.
‘Mr. Swanison from Jer. xxxi. 18–20. In the conduct of Ephraim teaching us the nature of true repentance. The prayer of Ephraim shews the change in his mind. He entreats God to turn him, feeling that he cannot turn himself. He feels and owns he has been a rebel, but he relies on the Lord to turn him and to pardon all his sins. Here we see the mercy and the love of God displayed. He does not receive the repentant sinner as a servant, but he calls him his dear son. Oh what encouragement to the poor returning sinner, to know that God, whom he feels that he has offended, earnestly remembers him still.’