This was his last salutation: and the spirit of the whole is so truly worthy of him, that to offer any comment would only be to weaken that impression which I am convinced it has made so powerfully, as not soon to be forgotten by many—for he, being dead, yet speaketh.
The particulars of Dr. M.'s lamented decease, were announced in the Canton Gazette, and in an excellent letter from his son,[B] who long worshipped with us here, to the Directors.
He expired at his residence in the Danish Hong, on the 1st of August, 1834. His remains were followed from thence to the river side by Lord Napier,[C] and all the Europeans, Americans, and Asiatic British subjects in Canton. The corpse was forwarded to Macao, and attended to the grave by about forty European gentlemen, on Tuesday evening, August 5th, and interred in the private Protestant burial ground in that settlement. The service of the church of England was read by the Rev. Mr. Stevens, seaman's chaplain in the port of Canton, who was present at his decease, and affectionately ministered to his comfort in that trying hour.
[B] An extract from this letter—supplying the melancholy part of this memorial—will be found in our number for March, p. 107.—Ed.
[C] How singular, that he should so soon follow him to "the house appointed for all living," and earnestly request to be buried near him!
Hear then the voice from the tomb: Be ye also ready! His work of faith and labour of love were ended. The day of Jubilee to Africa, was the day of mourning to China! Then its first Protestant Missionary—its first translator of the sacred volume—its devoted apostle—not to say, he who unlocked the treasures of its literature to the western world, was summoned to his glorious rest—his eternal reward! Then he was hailed by the voice of his Saviour: "Well done, good and faithful servant: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord:" while he joined the chorus of the redeemed; "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and thy truth's sake." Only a month before, the venerable Carey, the apostle of India, ascended to his glory; and with what rapture must they have embraced each other, in the presence of their common Lord!—But, if no talents, no zeal, no labours, no usefulness, can elude the sentence of death—should not we then "prepare to meet our God?
THE CHRISTIAN ARMOUR.
To the Editor of the Baptist Magazine.
How admirable is the candour and frankness of Christianity! In other systems and pursuits it is usual to conceal difficulties and dangers, and to exhibit nothing, openly, but prospects of advantage. Not so the Captain of our salvation, and those who had learned of him. They call for self-denial, engage in a life of conflict, and glory in having the cross to bear. Like an experienced general, the apostle, having rallied his fellow-soldiers to the onset, reminds them that they had to contend against no ordinary competitors: not against flesh and blood, (q. d.) not against them only, or chiefly, but against beings who were originally of a higher order, and even now, in their fallen state, are powerful, crafty, and malignant. Whether we consider their nature, their number, or employments, they are formidable adversaries to man.
Their nature. They are wicked spirits, who once were in the presence and in the service of God; but "they kept not their first estate;" having fallen by rebellion, and being reserved for the judgment of the great day, they, like their prince, are "going about seeking whom they may devour." Still they are angels that excel in strength, whose wisdom is corrupted into cunning and craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. Being spirits, they are invisible, and tempt without being tired. Were they seen, they might be shunned: were they flesh and blood, they might become weary in their work; but these "rulers of darkness" have continued the work of wickedness ever since they were cast down from the heavenly places.