The Day Is Done

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Day is Done":

The day is done, and the darkness

      Falls from the wings of Night,

As a feather is wafted downward

      From an eagle in his flight.

I see the lights of the village

      Gleam through the rain and the mist,

And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me

      That my soul cannot resist:

A feeling of sadness and longing,

      That is not akin to pain,

And resembles sorrow only

      As the mist resembles the rain.

Come, read to me some poem,

      Some simple and heartfelt lay,

That shall soothe this restless feeling,

      And banish the thoughts of day.

Not from the grand old masters,

      Not from the bards sublime,

Whose distant footsteps echo

      Through the corridors of Time.

For, like strains of martial music,

      Their mighty thoughts suggest

Life's endless toil and endeavor;

      And to-night I long for rest.

Read from some humbler poet,

      Whose songs gushed from his heart,

As showers from the clouds of summer,

      Or tears from the eyelids start;

Who, through long days of labor,

      And nights devoid of ease,

Still heard in his soul the music

      Of wonderful melodies.

Such songs have power to quiet

      The restless pulse of care,

And come like the benediction

      That follows after prayer.

Then read from the treasured volume

      The poem of thy choice,

And lend to the rhyme of the poet

      The beauty of thy voice.

And the night shall be filled with music,

      And the cares, that infest the day,

Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,

      And as silently steal away.

Floweret

Jeremias de Dekker, in John Bowring and Harry S. Van Dyk, eds., Batavian Anthology (1825), pp. 168-170:

The Too-Early-Opening Flower

Teer bloemeken, sie wat ghij doet.

Not yet, frail flower! thy charms unclose;
Too soon thou venturist forth again;
For April has its winter-rain,
And tempest-clouds, and nipping snows.
Too quickly thou uprear'st thy head;
The northern wind may reach thee still,
And injure -- nay, for ever kill
Thy charming white and lovely red.
And thou perchance too late wilt sigh,
That at the first approach of spring
Thou mad'st thy bud unfold its wing,
And show its blush to every eye;
For March a faithless smile discloses.
If thou wouldst bloom securely here,
Let Phoebus first o'ertake the steer:
Thou'rt like the seaman, who reposes
On one fair day -- one favouring wind,
Weighs anchor, and the future braves:
But sighs, when on the ocean waves,
For that calm port he leaves behind,
As with an anxious eye he sees
His shatter'd hull and shiver'd sail
Borne at the mercy of the gale
Wherever winds and waters please;
And deems, as he is sinking fast
The sands and brine and foam beneath,
That every wave contains a death,
That every plunge will be his last.
Thou'rt like the courtier, who, elate
When greeted first by favour's ray,
Begins to make a grand display: --
But, ah! it is a fickle state.
A court is like a garden-shade;
The courtiers and the flowers that rise
Too suddenly, 'neath changeful skies,
Oft sink into the dust and fade.
In short, we all like thy flower,
And ever, both in weal and woe,
With strange perverseness, we bestow
Our thoughts on time's swift-fleeting hour.
And 'tis the same with those who pine,
And deem that grief will never flee,
And those who, bred in luxury,
Think the gay sun will always shine.
For every joy brings sorrow too,
And even grief may herald mirth;
And God has mingled life on earth
With bitterness and honey-dew.
Thus winter follows summer's bloom,
And verdant summer winter's blight;
Thus reigns by turns the day and night; --
Change is the universal doom.
Then, floweret! when thy charms have fled,
All wither'd by a fate unkind,
Call wisdom's proverb to thy mind --
Soon green, soon gray -- soon ripe, soon dead.

The Three Books of God

Frank Livingstone Huntley, Bishop Joseph Hall and Protestant Meditation in Seventeenth-Century England, pp. 9-10:

Variety of Subject Matter in the "Three Books of God." Finally, Protestant meditation as opposed to Ignatian has a far greater variety in subject matter and procedure since it is more widely based on the "three books of God." In meditation the Protestant is not confined to the passion of Christ and the four eschatological "facts." He is free to roam through all the majesty of God's creation, through the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, and into his innermost soul's perception of God Himself. Two of the "books" have been made familiar through such confessions as this one of Dr. Thomas Browne: "Thus there are two books from whence I collect my divinity: besides that written one of God, another of his servant nature."7 As soon as the "I" is mentioned or even thought, a third "volume" is added for the Protestant, that of the ego, the conscience, the soul -- through which, even were the creatures and the Bible unavailable, one can still know God. In 1623 Owen Feltham recognized the "three books" in his Resolves: "God hath left three bookes to the World, in each of which hee may easily be found: The Booke of the Creatures, the Booke of Conscience, and his written Word."8 Thus Professor Martz summarizes "the Augustinian Quest" for Henry Vaughan by saying: "Such is the paradise within, compounded of the Bible, of Nature, and of the Self, which lies at the heart of Vaughan's Silex Scintillans, 1650...."9 For Protestant meditation in seventeenth century England, perhaps it took Joshua Sylvester's translation of the French Huguenot poet's Les Semaines to popularize the book of the creatures, King James' committees of Anglican bishops and Puritan divines for a new translation of the Bible to lend impetus to the book of Scriptures, and St. Paul, St. Augustine, and Calvin to stimulate the individual's soul-hunger for God.

Of the "three books," that of the Scriptures is central; and for meditation, if one book of the Bible were central to this, it would be the Psalms, a supposition strengthened by the incredibly fruitful custom, from Sydney to Milton, of putting psalms into English verse for singing. In the King James version of the Bible, the term "meditation" occurs more often in the Psalms than in all the other books of the Bible put together, and in the biblical mind of the Protestant the act of meditation is linked more closely to poetry and fervent ejaculatory address than to mental discipline. The Psalmist's most famous religious address (Ps. 19:14) does not mention paradigm or even intellect: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer." Joseph Hall had sung the Psalms from his boyhood, and while writing on meditation tried his hand at "metaphrasing" a few of them. "Indeed, my Poetrie was long sithence out of date," he writes in the 1607 publication of the result, "and yielded hir place to grauer studies; but whose vaine would it not revive to looke into these heauenly songs? I were not woorthy to be a Diuine, if it should repent me to be a Poet with DAVID, after I shall haue aged in the Pulpit."10 David's psalms contain all "three books of God": some praise the Lord for his "creatures" (Pss. 33, 104, 148); others cogitate His written commands (Ps. 119, no. 5); and still others seek God by looking into the poet's soul (Pss. 6, 22, 38, 42). One of the psalms that combines all three "books" is Psalm 19, which ends with the phrase "the meditations of my heart." The Psalm is divided into three parts: the first six verses meditate on "the Book of the Creatures"; the next four verses, on "the Book of Scriptures"; and the last four verses open up "the Book of the Soul," that is the individual's conscience. The Psalms of David, as well as the whole Bible from Genesis to the Revelation, provide literally for the Protestant "God's plenty" in varied subjects on which to meditate.

7. Religio Medici, pt. 1, sect. 25.
8. Owen Feltham, Resolves: A Duple Century, 4th ed. (London, 1631), 2nd cent. no. 68.
9. Louis L. Martz, The Paradise Within, p. 30.

On the Sight of a Shooting Star

On March 27, 2013, at 11:37 pm, while driving south in central Virginia, I saw a fireball in the southwestern sky. It arced from south to west and lasted several seconds, getting brighter and more colorful (white, blue, green) before disappearing. It was reported by other witnesses but it did not seem to make the news. Yet as brief as the moment lasted, its memory has stayed with me. Seeing this shooting star reminded me of a meditation by Joseph Hall, "On the Sight of a Gliding Star." I thought to post his meditation here, but it did not seem to capture what I felt. So instead I wrote my own.

Years ago in Eisenach, for an audience of one,
a clavichord concert orchestrated by Bach,
gave me a sense of wonder and awe
feeble, clapping hands could not convey.

Tonight it was as if his finger traced across the night sky
among thousands of pinpoints, in crystal clear cold,
and with a flourish sparkled a firework display
for an audience of one. It was over before
I could catch my breath, but the moment lives still. 

When one beholds beauty, one must share,
one must praise. Thank you Lord, for eyes to see,
ears to hear, a tongue to speak, feeble hands with which to write,
and a heart to love. 

The Sum is Greater Than the Parts

John Wells, The Practical Sabbatarian, pp. 97-98 (spelling edited):

Thirdly, We must converse with the Saints of God on his holy day; then God's people must gather together, and pursue a joint interest. Public assemblies adorn the Sabbath. Grapes are best in clusters. There are many strings to the Lute, which is the sweetest Instrument. Flocks are most pleasant when gathered together in one company; and Armies most puissant [powerful], when kept in a body, their dissipation is both their route and ruin. Christ's sheep must flock together on Christ's holy day: [David] Pareus gives us four solid Reasons for it, which I shall mention for their substantial worth.

First, The Congregating of God's people (especially on the Lord's day) is the soder of unity; like many stones so artificially laid, that they appear all but one stone. Every Congregation is a little body, whereof Christ is the head: Unity is the strength and beauty of the Saints; nothing so preserves it, as frequent and holy Assemblings.

Secondly, It is the preservative of love. Many sticks put together kindle a flame, and make a blaze. Frequent visits multiply friendships. In Heaven, where all the glorified Saints meet together, how ardent is their love! Absence, and seldom associations beget strangeness, as between God and us, so between one another. To meet to worship the same God, is the best way to attain to the same heart; like the Primitive Saints, who were all of one company, and all of one mind, Acts 2.46.

Thirdly, God hath made his promises to the Assemblies of his Saints, Matt. 18.20; 2 Cor. 6.16. He will not neglect a weeping Hannah, who prays and sobs alone, 1 Sam. 1.13, but will give her not only a Child, but a Samuel: But yet God will create upon the Assemblies of his people a cloud, which was the sign of his presence, Isa. 4.5. And

Fourthly, The prayers of the faithful Congregation receive strength from their union. When all Nineveh entreated the Lord, and put on sack-cloth, God repents himself of that intended and threatened evil, and puts his Sword into the scabbard, though drawn by an open denunciation of Judgment, Jon. 2.7-10. Prayer is the souls battery of Heaven; and when these petitions are the common breathings of the whole Assembly, the force must needs be the stronger, and the answer must needs be the surer. Though a file of Soldiers cannot take the City, an Army may.

Doing Good

John Tillotson, The Works of Dr. John Tillotson, Vol. 6, Sermon 142, p. 539 (1820 ed.):

To do good, is to be like God, who is good, and doeth good; and it is to be like to him in that which he esteems his greatest glory: it is to be like the Son of God, who, when he was pleased to take our nature upon him, and live here below, and to dwell amongst us, "went about doing good." And it is to be like the blessed angels, the highest rank and order of God's creatures, whose great employment is to be "ministering spirits, for the good of men." So that, for a man to be kind, and helpful, and beneficial to others, is to be a good angel, and a Saviour, and a kind of God too.

Petra

In the news:

March 23, 2013 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama marveled at the sights of Jordan's ancient city of Petra on Saturday as he wrapped up a four-day Middle East tour by setting aside weighty diplomatic matters and playing tourist for a day.
...
In full sightseeing mode, Obama flew by helicopter to Petra for a two-hour walking tour of the restored ruins of a city more than 2,000 years old some of which is carved into sandstone cliffs.

John William Burgon, Petra, A Poem: To Which a Few Short Poems are Now Added, pp. 23-24:

O passing beautiful -- in this wild spot
Temples, and tombs, and dwellings, -- all forgot!
One sea of sunlight far around them spread,
And skies of sapphire mantling overhead.
They seem no work of man's creative hand,
Where Labour wrought as wayward Fancy plann'd;
But from the rock as if by magic grown,
Eternal -- silent -- beautiful -- alone!
Not virgin white -- like that old Doric shrine
Where once Athena held her rites divine:
Not saintly grey -- like many a minster fane
That crowns the hill, or sanctifies the plain:
But rosy-red, -- as if the blush of dawn
Which first beheld them were not yet withdrawn:
The hues of youth upon a brow of woe,
Which men call'd old two thousand years ago!
Match me such marvel, save in Eastern clime, --
A rose-red city -- 'half as old as Time!'
And this is Petra -- this the lofty boast
Of Edom's once unconquerable coast!

Spring

John L. Girardeau, in George Blackburn, Life Work and Sermons of John L. Girardeau, pp. 346-347:

Spring

'Tis Spring, and Nature's form is seen
Attired in robes of fairest hue;
Her mantle green, how bright its sheen,
And gemmed with drops of pearly dew.
Her voice of love -- her voice of love,
How soft it streams from every hill!
How sweet the note that seems to float
From every murmuring, weeping rill!
There's not a flower in rosy bower
That lifts its modest, blushing head,
And steals a kiss of dewy bliss
From Morning's lip of glowing red --
There's not a lovely saffron tint
That paints the couch of dying Day --
There's not a star that beams afar,
And lights retiring Eve away --
There's not a tone by Seraphs blown
To which the ear of Fancy listens --
There's not a bead of early dew
That on the fragrant myrtle glistens --
There's not a breeze that through the trees
Low sighs the requiem of day --
But worship brings, and praises sings
To Nature's God in Nature's way.
Her voice of love is heard above
Though mortal eye may not descry
The native charms of her sweet face;
Her Maker's eye is ever nigh,
To note each beauty and each grace.

Richard Baxter's "Poorest" Library

In Richard Baxter's A Christian Directory (1673), he provides a list of recommended books that in his view ought to be found in "the poorest or smallest [pastoral] library that is tolerable." In a Word document that is nine pages long, I have reproduced the list as he wrote it, with further commentary, and annotations, footnoting each of the authors he recommends in an effort to help interested readers today learn more about the books that Baxter thought to be important for pastoral study. To take a peek and learn more, click here.

Viret's Holy Commonwealth

Robert Dean Linder, The Political Ideas of Pierre Viret, pp. 122-125:

From the foregoing facts drawn from an examination of Viret's remarks concerning politics, a relatively clear and complete picture can be constructed of what he considered the ideal state to be like. What he envisioned as the epitome of a godly state in which Biblical principles were observed was in many ways comparable to the Holy Commonwealth that the New England Puritans tried to establish in the American wilderness almost a half century after Viret's death. In fact the parallels are so striking as to be noteworthy.

Viret's Universal Church was one in which all true believers were members and which found its visible expression in the form of a local congregation called a "community of saints." The local church was to govern itself like a "free community" and a "celestial republic." In short, the form of ecclesiastical government was to be a type of congregationalism. It is true that Viret's congregational church polity was not exactly like that of the New England churches. He still accepted the ecclesiastical machinery of the Reformed Church with its colloquies and synods, and saw these gatherings as valuable assets to the work of God. However, his fundamental emphasis was always upon the local congregation which was to be governed like a democracy.

Then, too, he assigned to the minister an important and influential role of leadership in the local church. Like the Puritans, he maintained that the pastor was no better than any other believer and that his difference was one of function and office rather than rank. But also like the Puritans, Viret's thought reveals that for all practical purposes he conceived of the minister as the executive head, under Christ, of the local church. 

The Church as a whole was to occupy a position of privilege in Viret's ideal state. The preaching of the true Gospel was to have precedence over all other activities and have free reign among the people. In addition, the civil code of the secular state would be based directly upon the laws of God and conform with them in every possible way. Furthermore, although a Christian magistracy was not absolutely necessary nor for that matter possible in every instance and every country, still in his ideal state the magistrates would all be true Christians. In this manner they could work in complete and harmonious co-operation with the Church. The Christian magistrates would act like "guardians" and "foster-fathers" of the Church, protecting, helping and sustaining it in every way possible consistent with their office. This was also the idea behind the Holy Commonwealth of New England.

Also, the great influence of the clergy in secular government was apparent both in Viret's thinking and in New England Puritan practice. Viret felt that ministers should be consulted by secular officials in order to determine the will of God, especially in all matters relating in any way to religion, and that the head of state should include "true ministers of the Gospel" among his advisors. Furthermore, if the will of the secular government should ever conflict with the will of God, Viret recommended that the ministers go to the civil officials, call their attention to the point in question and admonish them to conform to God's plan rather than to their own.

Still, the provinces of the Church and the state were to be distinct and separate. The minister, though he should have a great deal to say about the practical operation of the state, should never exercise political influence either by law or threats of excommunication and interdict but only by moral suasion. Likewise, the civil magistrate should never use his powers to force acceptance of the Gospel on people or to legislate religion for the masses. Instead he should do everything in his power to protect the Church as it carried out its spiritual mission. He also should make conditions as favorable as humanly possible for the acceptance of the message of repentance and faith in Christ which the Reformers preached. But in no case should the magistrate usurp the office of minister or interfere in the internal affairs of Church, especially in matters of church discipline, and under no circumstances should the minister assume any of the civil powers of the magistracy.

Finally, there are enough democratic elements in Viret's thought to assume that in a political entity where the vast majority of the people were true Christians, he would approve of some kind of Christian Republic based upon popular participation in government. After all, if he was so willing to trust even a common laborer who was one of the elect of God with the government of the Church, why would he be unwilling to commit to this same regenerate individual the reins of power in an ideal secular state where the Gospel was proclaimed freely and regularly and in which nearly everyone was a true believer? Even in a state where true Christians were a minority, Viret's personal preference appears to have been for some sort of democratic republic.

It is true that Viret nowhere sought to restrict political rule to the elect, but he did dream of an ideal state in which all would be united by faith and knowledge in the true religion thus identifying for all practical purposes the elect with the body politic. Therefore, it seems safe to conclude that if it were possible to win nearly everyone in a certain political community to the Reformed faith, he would have endorsed popular participation in both ecclesiastical and civil government. This would have been Viret's idea of a state which conformed most closely to God's will for man on earth.

Heavenly Solitude

Richard Baxter, The Saints' Everlasting Rest, in The Practical Works of Richard Baxter, Vol. 2, p. 304:

As this [meditation] is a private and spiritual duty, so it is most convenient that thou retire to some private place: our spirits had need of every help, and to be freed from every hinderance in the work: and the quality of these circumstances, though to some they may seem small things, doth much conduce to our hinderance or our help. Christ himself thought it not vain to direct in this circumstance of private duty, Matt. vi. 4, 6, 18. If in private prayer we must shut our door upon us, that our Father may hear us in secret, so is it also requisite in this meditation. How oft doth Christ himself depart to some mountain, or wilderness, or other solitary place! For occasional meditation I give thee not this advice, but for this daily set and solemn duty I advise that thou withdraw thyself from all society, yea, though it were the society of godly men, that thou mayst awhile enjoy the society of Christ: if a student cannot study in a crowd, who exercises only his invention and memory, much less when thou must exercise all the powers of thy soul, and that upon an object so far above nature: when thy eyes are filled with the persons and actions of men, and thine ears with their discourse, it is hard then to have thy thoughts and affections free for this duty. Though I would not persuade thee to Pythagoras's cave, nor to the hermit's wilderness, nor to the monk's cell; yet I would advise thee to frequent solitariness, that thou mayst sometimes confer with Christ, and with thyself, as well as with others. We are fled so far from the solitude of superstition, that we have cast off the solitude of contemplative devotion. Friends use to converse most familiarly in private, and to open their secrets and let out their affections most freely. Public converse is but common converse. Use, therefore, as Christ himself did, (Mark i. 35,) to depart sometimes into a solitary place, that thou mayst be wholly vacant for this great employment. See Matt. xiv. 23; Mark vi. 23; Luke ix. 18, 36; John vi. 15, 16. We seldom read of God's appearing, by himself, or his angels, to any of his prophets or saints in a throng, but frequently when they were alone.

Cotton Mather's Resolutions

Cotton Mather, Diary of Cotton Mather, 1681-1724, Vol. 1, pp. 3-5:

12 d. 1 m. [March [1681].]...Butt one special Action of this Day, was to make and write the following:

RESOLUTIONS AS TO MY WALK WITH GOD.

Lord! Thou that workest in mee to will, help mee to resolve.

I. As to my Thoughts.

1. To endeavour, that I will keep God, and Christ, and Heaven, much in my Thoughts.

2. In a special manner, to watch and pray, against lascivious Thoughts, ambitious Thoughts, and wandring Thoughts in the Times of Devotion.

II. As to my Words.

1. To bee not of many Words, and when I do speak, to do it with Deliberation.

2. To remember my obligations to use my Tongue as the Lord's, and not my own: and therefore, to promote savoury Discourse, if I can, wherever I come; and to discourse with such as come fairly in my way, about the Things of their everlasting Peace.

3. Never to answer any weighty Question, without lifting up my Heart unto God, in a Request, that Hee would help me to give a right Answer.

4. To speak Ill of no Man; except, on a good Ground, and for a good End.

5. Seldome to make a Visit, without contriving, what I may do for God, in that Visit.

III. As to my daily Course of Duties.

1. To pray at least thrice, for the most part every Day.

2. To meditate once a Day; in the Meditation proceeding after some such Method as this; that there shall bee two Parts of the work, doctrinal, and applicatory. The doctrinal to bee dispatched in an Answer to a Quaestion. The Applicatory to flow from thence into Examination, Expostulation, Resolution.

3. To make a Custome of propounding to myself, these three Questions, every Night before I sleep.
What hath been the Mercy of God unto mee, in the Day past?What hath been my carriage before God, in the Day past? And,
If I dy this Night is my immortal Spirit safe? 

4. To lead a Life of heavenly Ejaculations [short prayers to God].

5. To bee diligent in observing and recording of illustrious Providences.But in all, to bee continually going unto the Lord Jesus Christ, as the only Physician, and Redeemer, of my Soul.Lord! Thou that workest in mee to do, help mee to perform.

Penned by, Cotton Mather; A feeble and worthless, yett (Lord! by this Grace!) desirous to approve himself, a sincere and faithful Servant of Jesus Christ. The Lord knowes, how miserably defective I have been, in the performing of what I have thus resolved. But my Defects, have been the matter of my continual Reflections and Abasements before Him. And, for the main, I have made in my Study, to bee abounding in these Works of the Lord. Yea, these Flights of my Soul, Essayes to glorify God, have been but the lower and lesser Flights of my Youth; which I hope, will ere long proceed unto a Mounting up with the Wings of Eagles.

Tribute to the Heidelberg Catechism

A new website containing many valuable resources pertaining to the Heidelberg Catechism has been launched by the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary on the occasion of its 450th anniversary (it was first published in 1563 and its preface by Elector Frederick III is dated January 19, 1563). (HT: Wes Bredenhof)

Also, Kevin DeYoung has written a helpful encouragement to take this anniversary opportunity to read or re-read this precious spiritual document: Five Reasons to Read the Heidelberg Catechism This Year. Be sure to check these resources out and consider, among other things, the answer to that timeless question, Christian, "What is thy only comfort in life and death?"

Prayer Opens Doors

Thomas Cobbett, Gospel Incense: Or, A Practical Treatise on Prayer, pp. 12-13:

Wisdom's out-doors, even the ordinances, are opened by prayer. Outlawed Gentiles fare the better for that prayer: "Let thy way be known among the people, thy saving health among all the nations." "Pray the Lord of the harvest, that he would thrust out laborers into his harvest." Prayer helps people to a fruitful ministry, prayer helps to open the minister's mouth, opens a door of utterance, Col. 4:3. Pray that God would open my mouth. Prayer opens a door of faith, 1 Cor. 16:8, 9. The "mystery of salvation may be made known" by it, Eph. 6:19. The word may come to have an open and effectual passage into people's hearts by it. Hence that request, "Pray that the word may have a free course and be glorified," etc. The door of liberty, the church's liberties, may be opened to the prayer of the saints, as to Paul, upon his prayer, Acts xi. Those strong and secret doors of death may be opened by prayer. Hence the prophet's raising of the dead child by prayer. So Jonah by prayer had the belly of hell, the whales belly and jaws, opened to him, to let him out. By prayer the doors of the womb are opened, as in Hannah's case, and Rebecca's, and Elizabeth's. By prayer the doors of heaven are opened: "If I shut heaven, and my people pray," etc. "I will hear," etc. By prayer the "prison doors are opened," as to Peter, upon the church's prayer, Acts 12:5, 10. Secrets which otherwise are not to be opened, yet are to be unfolded by prayer, Dan. 2:18, 19. Then was the secret revealed, upon prayer for the mercies of heaven that way. As in other knocking there is a hand, there are fingers which make a noise and help open the door; so here there is a hand of faith which knocks, and that will open that large gate and door of mercy, and any of the lesser wickets depending: "O woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt." Come into all my treasures of grace, and take even what thou desirest. Godly desires knock and make a noise in God's ears, and he opens to them: "He heareth the desire of the humble." They will come in where the Lord is: "Lord, all my desire is before thee." The saint's sighs make a noise at heaven's gates, and God comes forth to them: "For the sighing of the prisoners, I will arise, saith the Lord." "Let the sighing of the prisoners come before thee;" room for the sighing of the prisoners, Lord; yea, their very tears too make a loud noise at this door, and they have their voice also in prayer: "Thou hast heard the voice of my weeping." No wonder, then, that effectual prayer consisting of all these, be indeed a knocking, and means of opening  of the gate and door of mercy in Jesus Christ.

Book Sale

A minister's library is a valuable treasure. My good friend, Dr. Jerry Crick, a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, went to be with the Lord last year. His widow is now selling portions of his library: book sets including, among various titles, the works of John Owen and B.B. Warfield. The list of sets available may be found here. If you are interested in making a purchase, please post a comment here with your name, email address and titles of interest, which I will be glad to forward to her. Your interest is greatly appreciated. 

Our Employment Lies In Heaven

John Eliot, in Cotton Mather, Magnalia Christi Americana: Or, The Ecclesiastical History of New England, Vol. 1, p. 535:

Behold, the ancient and excellent character of a true Christian; 'tis that which Peter calls 'holiness in all manner of conversation;' you shall not find a Christian out of the way of godly conversation. For, first, a seventh part of our time is all spent in heaven, when we are duly zealous for, and zealous on the Sabbath of God. Besides, God has written on the head of the Sabbath, REMEMBER, which looks both forwards and backwards, and thus a good part of the week will be spent in sabbatizing. Well, but for the rest of our time! Why, we shall have that spent in heaven, ere we have done. For, secondly, we have many days for both fasting and thanksgiving in our pilgrimage; and here are so many Sabbaths more. Moreover, thirdly, we have our lectures every week; and pious people won't miss them, if they can help it. Furthermore, fourthly, we have our private meetings, wherein we pray, and sing, and repeat sermons, and confer together about the things of God; and being now come thus far, we are in heaven almost every day. But a little farther, fifthly, we perform family-duties every day; we have our morning and evening sacrifices, wherein having read the Scriptures to our families, we call upon the name of God, and ever now and then carefully catechise those that are under our charge. Sixthly, we shall also have our daily devotions in our closets; wherein unto supplication before the Lord, we shall add some serious meditation upon his word: a David will be at this work no less than thrice a day. Seventhly, we have likewise many scores of ejaculations in a day; and these we have, like Nehemiah, in whatever place we come into. Eighthly we have our occasional thoughts and our occasional talks upon spiritual matters; and we have our occasional acts of charity, wherein we do like the inhabitants of heaven every day. Ninthly, in our callings, in our civil callings, we keep up heavenly frames; we buy and sell, and toil; yea, we eat and drink, with some eye both to the command and honour of God in all. Behold, I have not now left an inch of time to be carnal; it is all engrossed for heaven. And yet, lest here should not be enough, lastly, we have our spiritual warfare. We are always encountring the enemies of our souls, which continually raises our hearts unto our Helper and Leader in the heavens. Let no man say, ''Tis impossible to live at this rate;' for we have known some live thus; and others that have written of such a life have but spun a web out of their own blessed experiences. New-England has example of this life: though, alas! 'tis to be lamented that the distractions of the world, in too many professors, do beecloud the beauty of an heavenly conversation. In fine, our employment lies in heaven. In the morning, if we ask, 'Where am I to be to day?' our souls must answer, 'In heaven.' In the evening, if we ask, 'Where have I been to-day?' our souls may answer, 'In heaven.' If thou art a believer, thou art no stranger to heaven while thou livest; and when thou diest, heaven will be no strange place to thee; no, thou hast been there a thousand times before.

Do All The Good You Can

Although widely ascribed to John Wesley as his "Rule for Living" or "Rule of Conduct," and sung to the composition by Fanny Crosby, the following lines do not actually appear in the writings of John Wesley:

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.

Words and wisdom to similar effect do, however, appear in Richard Baxter, A Christian Directory (1673) in The Practical Works of Richard Baxter, Vol. 1, p. 231 (also cited in William Gearing (English Puritan, c. 1625-c. 1690), The Sacred Diary; or, Select Meditations For Every Part of the Day and the Employments Thereof (1679), p. v, and ascribed to "the judgment of a reverend divine"):

And as these five things are presupposed, so these following are contained in our redeeming time. 1. To see that we cast none of it away in vain; but use every minute of it as a most precious thing, and spend it wholly in the way of duty. 2. That we be not only doing good, but doing the best good we are able and have a call to do. 3. That we do not only the best things, but do them in the best manner, and in the greatest measure, and do as much good as possibly we can. 4. That we watch for special opportunities. 5. That we presently take them when they fall, and improve them when we take them. 6. That we part with all that is to be parted with, to save our time. 7. That we forecast the preventing of impediments, the removal of our clogs, and the obtaining of all helps to expedition in duty. This is the true redeeming of our time.

Vincent Van Gogh, The Good Samaritan:

The Sweetest Rest

John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress, in Works, Vol. 3, p. 89:

As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place, where was a den; and I laid me down in that place to sleep: as I slept, I dreamed a dream.

Richard Baxter, The Saints' Everlasting Rest in Practical Works, Vol. 2, p. 330:

There remaineth a rest to the people of God.

Rest; how sweet a word is this to mine ears! Methinks the sound doth turn to substance, and having entered at the ear, doth possess my brain; and thence descendeth down to my very heart: methinks I feel it stir and work, and that through all my parts and powers, but with a various work upon my various parts. To my wearied senses and languid spirits it seems a quieting, powerful opiate; to my dulled powers it is spirit and life; to my dark eyes it is both eye-salve and a prospective; to my taste it is sweetness; to mine ears it is melody; to my hands and feet it is strength and nimbleness. Methinks I feel it digest as it proceeds, and increase my native heat and moisture; and, lying as a reviving cordial at my heart, from thence doth send forth lively spirits, which beat through all the pulses of my soul. Rest, -- not as the stone that rests on the earth, nor as these clods of flesh shall rest in the grave; so our beasts must rest as well as we: nor is it the satisfying of our fleshly lusts, nor such rest as the carnal world desireth: no, no; we have another kind of rest than these: rest we shall from all our labours, which were but the way and means to rest, but yet that is the smallest part. O blessed rest, where we shall never rest day or night, crying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of sabbaths:" when we shall rest from sin , but not from worship; from suffering and sorrow, but not from solace! O blessed day, when I shall rest with God; when I shall rest in the arms and bosom of my Lord; when I shall rest in knowing, loving, rejoicing, and praising; when my perfect soul and body together, shall in these perfect actings perfectly enjoy the most perfect God; when God also, who is love itself, shall perfectly love me; yea, and rest in his love to me, as I shall rest in my love to him, and rejoice over me with joy and singing (Zeph. iii. 17,) as I shall rejoice in him! How near is that most blessed, joyful day! It comes apace; even he that comes will come, and will not tarry. Though my Lord do seem to delay his coming, yet a little while and he will be here. What is a few hundred years when they are over! How surely will his sign appear, and how suddenly will he seize upon the careless world! Even as the lightning that shines from east to west in a moment, he who has gone hence will even so return. Methinks I even hear the voice of his foregoers; methinks I see him coming in the clouds, with the attendance of his angels, in majesty and glory.

A Huguenot Family Thanksgiving

Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. (Ps. 105.2) 

We will not hide from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. (Ps. 78.4)

It was after the October 22, 1685 Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, that the family of Jaques (James) Fontaine decided to flee France. After enduring many perils, they successfully crossed the English Channel on the night of November 30-December 1, 1685. Later, they emigrated from England to Ireland, settling at Bear Haven in County Cork in 1699, where the family built a farm, despite hostile Roman Catholic neighbors and marauding French privateers. 

Early on the morning of June 1, 1704, a French privateer ship attacked the Fontaine family with the aid of some of the Irish neighbors. It was on this occasion particularly that this farmer-fisherman-pastor-educator earned the nickname "the fighting Huguenot." Fontaine tells what happened in his own words: 

Early in the morning of the first day of June 1704, a French privateer hove in sight, she floated gently towards the house in a perfect calm, she had on board four of my Irish neighbours to act as guides, in addition to eighty men of her own. She mounted ten guns. I watched her progress, and thought the intention was to bring her to the south of my house, so that her guns would bear directly upon the front and have full scope at high water. I would prevent this if it were possible, and so I mustered all the men I could find, exactly twenty in number, I gave the Protestants muskets, and the Papists clubs on their shoulders, which made them at a distance look like armed men. I ordered them to follow me and do as I did. We went round the little cove, stooping very low as if we wished to hide ourselves, though in reality I made choice of the highest ground in order that we might certainly be seen from the privateer. I then placed all the men behind a large rock near the shore, while I stood alone on the top of it, within sight of the vessel; I ordered them all to appear on one side of the rock, as if they were peeping out of curiosity, while I was looking the other way; then I turned, and made angry gesticulations as if I were finding fault and striking some of them, and at the same time I told them all to show their heads on the other side of the rock; I turned again, and appeared to be very anxious that they should conceal themselves. The enemy, having seen (as they thought) forty men behind the rock, did not deem it expedient to effect their landing at a point so well guarded; thus my manoeuvre produced exactly the effect I intended it should, and they turned about towards the mouth of the creek upon which my house stood; and there they were opposite to one corner of the house, from which point their fire would be comparatively without effect. They dared not venture up the creek for fear of getting aground at low water.

When I saw that they had decided upon their position, I took my men back by a low path, and this time I really made them hide themselves, so that those in the vessel could not see one of us returning from the rock. I took the Protestants into the house to assist in our defence, and sent the Papists away. The privateer cast anchor about a long musket shot distant from the house, and the lieutenant landed with twenty men. I had seven men with me in addition to my wife and children; four or five of these were of very little use. I placed them all at different windows, I posted myself in one of the towers over the door, and as the Lieutenant was advancing with every appearance of confidence in his mien, I fired at him with a blunderbuss loaded with small leaden balls, one of which entered his neck above the shoulder blade, and another his side. He took aim at me before he fell, but his fire went too high. While I was gone to fetch another loaded piece from the next room, his men took him up, crossed the ditch, and carried him back to the ship.

The Captain, furious at such unexpected resistance from a minister, sent twenty more men ashore, with another commander, and two small cannon; these they placed under cover of the rocks and hedges, and cannonaded the house from the north, while the guns on board the vessel fired upon us from the south east. I must acknowledge that being unaccustomed to this sort of music, I felt some little tremors of fear when the first cannon ball struck the house, but I instantly humbled myself internally before my Maker, and having committed myself both soul and body to his keeping, my courage revived, and I suffered no more from fear. I put my head out of the window see what effect the ball had produced on our stone wall, and when I perceived it had only made a slight scratch, I cried out with joy. "Courage my dear children, their cannon balls have no more effect on our stone walls than if they were so many apples!"

An officer was then in my house, with whom I had been conversing the evening before on what would be my prospect of success, if I were to defend myself on such an occasion as the present; and he thought I should have no chance, because he said a cannon would overthrow my house with as much ease as if it were a castle of cards; and this opinion of his I verily believe occasioned me the apprehension of which I have just now spoken, but which was only perceptible to myself and my Heavenly Father, who, in answer to my petition, had dissipated my fears.

John McLiney, a brave Scotchman, who was stationed at a window which overlooked the cannon on shore, having fired repeatedly without any apparent effect, at last put a double charge of powder into his musket, and killed a man who was pointing the cannon. This obliged them to alter the position of their battery, and they moved their cannon to the foot of the wall, and sheltered themselves behind a rock about thirty paces from the north east corner of the house, where every one was protected from our fire except the men who reloaded the cannons. The new position was much more favourable for us, because being at one corner of the house they could not strike the walls or injure any thing but the slates on the roof. During the whole battle there were two or three hundred Irishmen collected on a neighbouring height watching the conflict, rejoicing in the anticipation of our defeat, and waiting impatiently for the moment when they might come down and help to plunder.

A Frenchman named Paul Roussier, a brave man, and a skilful soldier, was in the garret opposite to the enemies' battery, he constructed a sort of rampart of sheep's fleeces, then made a hole through the slates, and from thence he fired without the slightest intermission; a fresh loaded piece being handed to him from below directly after he had fired; and he killed one of them. They on their part also kept up a continual fire with the cannons against the house, and the pirates from the vessel fired with small arms upon our windows, which we had barricaded with mattresses and large books.

At the commencement of the action some of our muskets were a little out of order. The officer who was loading for Paul Roussier had put in the ball before the powder, (by which you may judge of his confusion) and seeing my wife enter the room, who was here, and there, and every where, carrying ammunition, and giving encouragement both by her words and her manner, he went up to her, and taking her by the hand, he said, "Alas! my dear lady, we are undone, it would be the height of folly to attempt to resist any longer when our arms are in bad order; here are no less than three useless muskets." (Observe we had eighteen muskets, two blunderbusses and several pistols.)

My wife replied with her usual composure, "We are in the hands of the Almighty, and nothing can befall us without his permission; I trust he will not suffer us to fall into the hands of these wicked men. We must not lose our courage, but try if we cannot repair what is defective."

She then came to me where I was on duty, and told me to go into the parlour directly to encourage the people, and do away the alarm caused by this faint-hearted gentleman. I went immediately and examined the three muskets; one wanted a flint, another had some dirt in the touch hole, and the third had two cartridges in it, one on the top of the other and a ball below both, next to the touch hole. I laughed at him a little, and from that time there was no further complaint of arms being out of order. My wife was so entirely free from fear, that when she went to fetch a needle for me to broach the muskets from a place where the balls were coming in at the window like hail, she did not think of stooping until I called out to her so to do. The children were a good deal alarmed when the balls struck the roof and made the slates fly, which she perceiving said to them "Courage my children, we are in the hands of God, and it is not fear that will insure our safety; on the contrary, God will bless our courage. If you cannot fire yourselves, you can load the muskets for your father and others who are older and stronger than you are; drive away all fear if you can, and leave the care of your persons to God."

This address of hers to the children had a great effect upon the older persons present, and seemed to inspire them with new courage and confidence. Ere long however we had serious cause for anxiety, our powder was becoming so scarce that we felt as if we ought to be sparing in the use of it. We were in great perplexity; if we did not continue the same fire we thought the enemy would perceive the difference and attack with fresh vigor, and to go on at the rate we were using it, we had not more than enough for three hours; we had only had twelve pounds at the outset. "Great God! it was then that thou discouraged our enemies and showed us their backs. "

Claude Bonnet, a French soldier, seeing one of them run away, went forward to take aim at him, and just; at that moment a ball from the enemy struck against the house, rebounded, and entered the fleshy part of of his arm without touching the bone. This showed us that if we had been spared, it was to God that we owed it, and to him we should return our thanks. My dear wife was the surgeon, she had him laid upon a bed without any noise, and applied the first dressing to the wound with her own hands. The battle lasted from eight o'clock in the morning till four in the afternoon, and during that whole time, there was never the least cessation in the firing except for a few minutes when the first man was killed. We had no one wounded but Claude Bonnet, and one of the children from a piece of slate striking against his thumb. The enemy had three men killed and seven wounded, as we learnt afterwards from the Irishmen who were on board. When the assailants had returned to the vessel, we visited the stations they had occupied, and found a quantity of blood which they had evidently tried to hide by treading earth and leaves into the ground.

The privateer remained at anchor for some time, and we were afraid they meditated a second attack, for which we were badly prepared being so near the end of our powder; but we determined if they did land again that we would only fire when we could take aim. While we were waiting the development of their plans, we took some nourishment, which was much needed after our fatigues. I had given each one a large glass of Sherry when we entered the house on our return from the rock, first thing in the morning; and after that, during the whole action, I did not permit any one to taste a drop of wine, or spirit, or strong beer.

We had the satisfaction in a short time of seeing them draw up their anchor and sail away, and we returned thanks to God for our glorious deliverance. 

After the Fontaines had successfully repelled the privateers, they built a fort to defend themselves against any future attack. A second attack occurred on October 8, 1708, which resulted in victory, albeit with hostages taken. Fontaine continues:

With a constant apprehension of attack before us we lived on the "qui vive," from the 1st. June 1704 until the 8th. October 1708, when with all our precautions we were actually taken by surprise.

A French Privateer entered the harbour during the night and anchored off Bear Haven, about five miles from our house, and entirely out of sight. At that time a company of soldiers was quartered among the Irish in the Half Barony, and the Captain who commanded them lodged and boarded at my house, but unluckily both he and the Lieutenant happened then to be absent at Bantry, and the Ensign was left in command of the company. He was an imprudent, inexperienced young man, entirely destitute of judgment.

The Privateer hoisted English colors by way of deception, and she succeeded to her wish, for the Ensign no sooner discovered her, than, concluding she was a vessel just arrived from America, he went down with two or three soldiers of his company, in great haste to be the first on board her, in order to regale himself with rum punch, a beverage of which he was unhappily much too fond. He was a prisoner from the instant he set his foot on board the vessel, but the Captain and officers behaved towards him with the greatest civility. He was a little shocked at first, but they made him so welcome, treating him to the best of wine and brandy that he soon lost the remembrance of his situation, and gave the Captain every information he wanted, and it was of a nature to encourage him exceedingly, for he told him that the soldiers were dispersed throughout the country and without any commander, the Captain and Lieutenant both being absent, and that he was sure nothing would be easier than to surprise me, for I had nobody with me but my own family. Upon the strength of this information the Captain had three boats prepared to go ashore, sent eighty men in them, commanded by his two Lieutenants, who were both Irishmen born within the Barony.

A great proportion of the crew were Irishmen, and amongst them was one Sullivan, whose life I had formerly saved, when he was proclaimed as a tory and a robber, and after he fled to France I had compassion on his unhappy wife whom he had left with seven or eight children, and I allowed her to live rent free upon my farm, and fearing the family might perish with hunger, I returned to her a milch cow and ten or twelve sheep, which I had received from Sullivan himself for rent before he went away. And this was the man who came to recompense me by acting as guide to the party; for he knew better than any one else the exact situation of my house and every thing belonging to it.

They quitted the ship at midnight, landed before it was light, and commenced their march about daybreak, in perfect silence and stooping very low, in order that they might be neither seen nor heard. An Irish servant who was fetching home the cows was the first person to discover them, marching in good order, and only, about the distance of a long musket shot from the house. He ran home as fast as he could, and cried out that we were all lost, for a number of armed men were in sight. We got up directly and I ordered every door to be shut; but there was so much bustle and confusion that they forgot to close the gates of the large court in front, and even the house door below the tower was left open; this the enemy perceived, as we afterwards learned, but dared not approach, thinking it was a feint, and that we must have a loaded cannon within, ready to fire upon them. When the men were near enough to hear me I hailed them through a speaking trumpet, and told them if they were friends to stop, and let us know who they were; and if enemies, I called upon them to come forward and we would receive them with vigor.

In the mean time my children were busily engaged loading our arms and putting them in order, and as the men still continued to advance I desired my oldest son to fire from the garret window our large gun whose barrel was six feet in length; this made them lower their heads; they then separated into different parties, and hiding themselves by means of the hedges and ditches contrived to get round to the back of the house. Their first act was to set fire to the malt house which was at the east, then to straw, and grain, and hay stacks which were at the north and east, and at last to the cow house, stable, and long fish press which were at the west of my house. These being of very combustible materials, in less than half an hour we were encompassed with flames on every side but one, and by reason of the fire and smoke between us and them, we were unable to see any of our enemies, and our lungs were dreadfully oppressed by the smoke which found its way in at every crevice.

I ordered the servants to fill all the tubs and buckets that could be found with water, which fortunately for us flowed into the kitchen, and then immerse sheep-skins with the wool upon them, and ox-skins, of which we had many in the house, and when thoroughly soaked to cover the windows with them, as being the most exposed parts of the house; the roof was slated and so there was little danger of the fire being communicated to us in that direction. My dear wife superintended this department.

Our whole garrison consisted of our children, your mother and myself, and four servants, two of the latter were mere cow boys, and the other two had never seen a battle. We fired haphazard as fast as we could load; I say so, because we could actually see nothing but fire and smoke. My great apprehension was that they might seize our cannon, and turn them against ourselves, and therefore I thought the best thing I could do was to fire my large blunderbuss every few minutes in the direction of the cannon; and once after I had fired I thought I discovered that they had been making an attempt, for there was much noise and confusion, and it was evident they were carrying away a wounded man. I could hear them very distinctly, but I saw nothing; however I continued from time to time to fire in the same direction.

After a while we perceived that the door of which I have already spoken was open, and I sent some one to shut it, and continued firing at random.

I caught a glimpse of one of the enemy setting fire to the covering of the fish press, and took deliberate aim at him with my blunderbuss loaded as usual with swan shot, and wounded him in several places but not seriously.

While the stacks of grain were burning and we were being suffocated with the smoke, our adverseries raised a little mound of turf and wood, and intrenched themselves behind it, and they set to work with long poles to detach the slates from the roof of the north-east tower. As soon as they had uncovered a portion, they attached burning straw to the end of their poles, and in that way set the roof on fire three several times, and we as often extinguished it from within.

About two o'clock in the afternoon, they succeeded in making a breach in the wall of this same north-east tower, and as we could see them at work with iron bars, my children took one of those large baskets used in the country for peat to the corner opposite the hole that was made, put a mattress on the top of the basket, and kneeling behind this rampart they fired one after the other as fast as they possibly could; they were hard at work all the time but did not dare to show their noses. The enemy did not relax at all in their efforts to fire the roof with long poles armed with fire brands, and at last, the smoke subsiding a little, I hit upon a position from which I could see to take aim at their hands as they raised them above the intrenchment to guide the poles, and I fired, apparently with some success. Seeing however that they still persevered I began to think it probable that I had not put a sufficient charge in my piece, and when I loaded it again I determined to use a double quantity of powder. I had no sooner put in the charge, than I had an opportunity of trying it, for I saw a hand raised, and I fired. The piece being overcharged, burst, and I was thrown down with great violence, three of my ribs and my right collar-bone were broken, and the flesh of my right hand was very much torn. I was so completely stunned that I had no power to move or even to breathe for some seconds. My wife saw the fall and supposed I had received a ball from the enemy, she ran to my assistance, and raised me up without making the slightest noise. As soon as I was able to speak I explained to her that I was wounded by the bursting of my own piece. I was now completely "hors de combat," but I had already done my part, for during the course of the morning I had fired five pounds of swan shot from my now disabled piece. While I was prostrated, my dearest wife had an eye to every thing, she went round to furnish ammunition and to give courage to all, as well by her exhortations as by her example.

In the mean time, the enemy had enlarged the breach until it was from four to five feet square; nevertheless, they derived no advantage from it, my sons kept up such an incessant fire from behind their mattress rampart. At last, a grenade was thrown it at the breach which ran under the basket, exploded, and overturned the whole affair, without (thanks be to God) doing any harm except giving my sons a fright which made them abandon their post for a very short time. One of them ran to me, in great dismay, to tell me that the hole was as large as any door, and that the enemy were entering by it; the other boys were still firing from the dormer windows.

I immediately rose from the bed, asked for a pistol ready loaded and cocked, which I took in my left hand, the right being useless. I called my children together, and said to them, "I see, my dear children, that we must inevitably fall a sacrifice to the number of our enemies, but do not let them kill us like dogs, rather let us sell our lives dearly and die like lions;" and while I was speaking I continued advancing towards the room into which the breach was made.

A melancholy sight it was, but at the same time a gratifying one, to behold these poor boys, as soon as I had done speaking, re-enter the room and take their old position without a word or a gesture indicative of fear; they replaced their basket and mattress exposed to the fire of more than ten muskets. Blessed be thou oh God! who preserved them untouched amid such a shower of balls.

When they began to fire, the enemy retreated from the breach, and dared not raise their heads again, or even so much as their hands, and thus their fire was all thrown away; for by not raising the butt ends of their muskets, they carried too high and went far above us every time. Seeing that we did not give way in the least, they began to tire of our obstinate resistance. It was possible they might have overheard my address to the children, added to which, they were under the impression that we had at least twenty men from the constant fire that was kept up in every direction, as well as upon the main point of attack. They called out to us to surrender and we should have good quarter.

I held a consultation with my wife and children, and we determined at any rate to listen to their proposal. We ceased firing, they did the same, and I advanced to the breach to hold a parley with them. One of the Irish Lieutenants came forward and took aim at me, my second son Peter saw him before I did and immediately caught hold of me and drew me aside, barely in time to save me from this treachery, for the ball passed within three inches of my stomach.

I was extremely indignant and cried out, "Ah ! Traitors! was it then to surprise me that you called me to parley with you? Fire upon these traitors my sons, fire ;" which the poor boys did without loss of time and with all their hearts.

I had foolishly exposed myself to imminent danger, by placing confidence in the good faith of an enemy whom I might have been sure was altogether destitute of such a virtue, but a watchful and kind providence interposed for my deliverance.

We kept up an incessant fire for another quarter of an hour, and then they called to us again, and made a second offer of good quarter. I reproached them with their recent perfidy, and told them I could not trust people who had already attempted to betray the confidence I had reposed in them. They then made a threat that if we did not surrender they would throw a barrel of powder in the breach and blow us up.

"I have three or four at your service," said I, "and I intend to scatter their contents over this door and the inner hall, and whenever you are pleased to approach, I will throw a lighted turf upon it and make you dance. You may depend upon one thing that I will not perish without you."

This desperate reply induced them to offer good quarter once more.
I said, "I do not know what you mean by good quarter, but this I know that I am resolved not to surrender unconditionally, I would rather perish with all my family than do so."

They then left off firing and called to me to order my people to do likewise, so we had a cessation of hostilities on both sides. Their proposition was that they should be allowed to plunder, to which I consented, for with our lives we must of course lose our goods. I demanded life and liberty for myself and all who were with me; but as they spoke English, I said, "I do not choose to have any thing to do with English or Irishmen in making the treaty. I look upon myself as a British subject, and as such I will only treat with the French who are at war with England, and I request the French Commander will put his head to the breach, and I assure him that he may do so with perfect safety, for we have no traitors in our ranks."

Then came forward one of those rascally Irish Lieutenants, Carty, alias La Touche, who was commender of the party and could speak French as well as I could. I told him that as an Irishman I placed no reliance upon him, and that I would treat with him only as the authorised agent of the French Captain. I repeated to him in French the terms of capitulation. Life and liberty guaranteed to all of us, and strictly honorable deportment on their part while in possession, and they were to have the plunder.

They swore to the observance of this as French. men and men of honor. After which, I said, "I am now going to open the door for your admittance, and I warn you beforehand that I will allow no one to enter by any other way, and should you attempt to come in by the breach I shall shoot you directly."

This was agreed to also, and I had the doors opened and ranged myself, my wife, my sons, and four servants in regular order to surrender our arms to the commander as he entered.

"Thou knowest, Oh God! our preserver! and none else can know, what was the state of my feelings at that moment, to see my beloved wife and dear children at the mercy of enemies, fourteen of whom we had wounded. Oh! what everlasting praises do we owe to thee for our preservation. It was thou who restrained these bloodthirsty wretches from executing the vengeance they had sworn against us. Oh God! I beseech thee to sanctify the lives which thou hast so miraculously preserved, and assist us to devote them to thy service."

When the commander and a good many of his men had entered, they looked anxiously around seeing only five youths and four cow-herds, and asked me where all my people were, evidently suspecting that I had laid an ambush.

"You need not fear any thing dishonorable from me," I said, "you see all our garrison."

"Impossible ! " said he, ''these children could not possibly have kept up all the firing."

My wife then spoke, and said "I am in hopes, Sir, that the fact of so few persons having made so gallant a defence will be an inducement to you, whom I trust we shall find a man of honor, to treat us with the more consideration. Are you," added she, "the commander of this party?"

"I am, Madam," said he. 

She then handed him her keys, and intreated him to restrain his followers within strict bounds, which he promised to do. I told him, that I had forgotten to stipulate for my books, but that as they would be altogether useless to them, I hoped he would grant me the indulgence of retaining them in my own possession. He promised that they should be spared, and for a time he kept a guard at my study door, but soon after they entered it and plundered there as elsewhere, taking all the handsomest books, and leaving behind a few that looked old and were badly bound. The house was very completely furnished, and as we had never thought of a surrender until it actually took place, we had not had time or opportunity to secrete anything. We were stripped of every article both of furniture and clothing even to our coats, for in the heat of action we had taken them off to have more freedom in the use of our arms.

They not only filled their own three boats with the booty, but they took three of mine and loaded them also. When they were ready to depart they took me and my two oldest boys and two of the servants with them as prisoners. It was all in vain for me to remind them that it was an infraction of the treaty they had made with me previous to our surrender. Their reply was, that my name had made so much noise amongst the Privateers at St. Maloes that they dared not return to the vessel without me, the Captain's order to-them was peremptory, not to come back unless they had me with them dead or alive. They promised me faithfully, however, that as soon as the Captain had seen me, I should be set at liberty. My remonstrances were of no avail, go I must, and by the time I reached the vessel I had become so entirely powerless from the effect of my wounds and fractures, that they were obliged to hoist me like a log; I could not assist myself the least in the world.

As soon as the crew saw me alongside, they all shouted "Vive le Roi," and repeated it three times in grand chorus.

This roused me from my pain and depression; and when they ceased shouting, I raised my voice to its highest pitch, and said, "Gentlemen, how long it is since victories have been so rare in France, that you are glad to avail yourselves of such an occasion as the present to sing in triumph? I am ashamed, positively ashamed, of my native country, to hear rejoicings over such a victory. A glorious achievement truly! Eighty men all accustomed to warfare have actually been so successful as to compel one poor Minister, four cow-herds, and five children to surrender upon terms. And, furthermore, Gentlemen I would have you to know, that though I do appear before you as a prisoner, it is in direct violation of the treaty made with your commanding officer, and sworn to by him previous to our surrender. He cannot deny that he has broken his faith, and committed a flagrant offence against the established Law of Nations."

I was then carried to the Captain's Cabin, and I renewed my complaint, telling him of the treaty which his authorised agent had made with me, and I added, "Sir, I assure you that if I had had the least idea of being carried off as a prisoner, so far from surrendering, I would have resisted as long as I had breath in my body. I trust, under the circumstances, you will see the justice of restoring me to liberty immediately."

He answered me with much courtesy of manner, and said, "I cannot tell you how delighted I am to have on board my vessel a man of such undaunted courage, and whose name has made so much noise."

"You may indeed, Sir," said I, "find to your cost that my name is pretty well known in England and Ireland. I have received so many marks of friendship from the Lords in Council at the Irish seat of government, that I feel certain as soon as they are aware of my situation, and especially of the fact that my being made a prisoner at all was contrary to a sworn treaty, they will send instructions to Kinsale to retaliate upon the French prisoners there, which may probably bring you into a little trouble."

"What!" said he, "do you dare to make use of threats?"

"No, no, I only give you fair warning of what will most assuredly come to pass. This unjustifiable conduct of yours will be the occasion of many an honest man suffering hardships, to which the mere circumstance of his being a captive would not subject him; probably friends of your own may be among the number; and nobody will give you any thanks for what you are doing."

"Never mind," said he, "let us drink a glass of wine together now, and discuss these matters in the morning. "

"I want no wine," said I, " but I stand in great need of repose, and of having my wounds dressed."

The surgeon was thereupon summoned, and he applied some linen dipped in brandy. Notwithstanding the number of good beds they had just brought from my house, it was with great difficulty that I could obtain a very poor one to lie down upon, and a coarse sheet and coverlid to throw over me. I was placed between decks with the bed resting upon some cordage. This was Saturday night, 8th October, 1708.

Our noble Ensign, who ought to have protected us, was still on board, as drunk as a hog; he was in excellent spirits, and on the best of terms with the Captain and crew, to whom he was infinitely grateful for indulging him in his vicious propersity. The next day being Sunday, he was sent ashore early in the morning without having received the least injury, or being deprived of any thing whatsoever. My two sons and the servants were sent away at the same time, and I alone detained. When the boat returned from landing them the Captain gave orders to raise the anchor.

My wife did not sit down quietly to bemoan and lament over her misfortunes, as many would have done in her situation, but was in action at once to endenvour to remedy them. She went early in the morning to the place where the Papists said Mass to see the Priest, and persuade him if possible to go after the vessel, and use his influence to obtain my liberty. He positively refused. She dwelt upon the many obligations that I had from time to time laid his people under, and the numbers of them I had saved from the gallows; but it was all in vain. Finding persuasion useless, she changed her tone and had recourse to threats, pointing out to him that he would inevitably expose himself to the resentment of those in power, if he persisted in refusing to assist a man who was so much and so deservedly esteemed by the Lord Lieutenant, and the Council. She succeeded no better than before, and seeing the vessel under sail, she determined to follow it by land as long as she could.

The weather was clear, calm and mild. Our Captain proceeded to the Island of Durzey and found my wife waiting upon the promontory till the vessel got opposite to it. She made a signal with her apron tied to the end of a stick, and a boat was despatched to hear what she had to say. She had taken the precaution of borrowing a speaking trumpet, and thus she was able to carry on conversation, from the cliff on which she was standing, with those who were below in the boat. After a great deal of bargaining, and many difficulties raised, they at last agreed to set me at liberty upon the payment of L100 sterling. All this time I was stretched on my pallet between decks, and was in total ignorance of what was going forward.

The privateer remained off the Island of Durzey waiting for my wife's return with the money, and she was gone to try to borrow it. She was unable to procure more than L30, and the greater part of this sum I had paid to Boyd for rent only five days before we were attacked. Unable to raise more she came back to the vessel accompanied by our second son Peter, several of our tenants, and our friend Mr. Hutchins of Bear Haven.

The Captain agreed to give me up on condition of his having the L30 she had brought with her, and retaining one of my sons as a hostage for the payment of the remaining L70. He paid her many compliments upon the courage she had displayed, and told her he looked upon her as a second Judith.

She replied, "I should have felt more honored if you had compared me to Deborah; but I am far from being surprised that you should not be well versed in books that you are prohibited from reading."

My deliverance was accomplished, but it was upon hard terms, and I felt melancholy indeed at leaving my poor dear boy in my stead.

When we came away, that traitor, Sullivan, of whom I have already spoken, took me upon his shoulders, and climbed with me up the rocks. He had waited upon me the whole time I was on board the privateer, for I was literally as helpless as an infant. I reproached him with his treachery. "How could you find in your heart, after all that I had done for you and yours, to act the part of guide to my enemies?"

He tacitly acknowledged his ingratitude, for he replied, "I have not a word to say in excuse for my conduct."

It was late on Monday night, almost Tuesday morning, when I was ransomed by the exertions of my wife and the tenderness of my sons; I say sons, because, though only one was left, they were all equally anxious to have taken my place. James could not be spared, he was old enough to look after the farm and take care of the few cattle remaining to us. Peter, being next in age, would not hear of any one but himself being selected.

On the night of Tuesday, the eleventh day of October, I slept at Bear Haven at the house of Mr. Hutchins, and the next day I went in a boat to Bantry, in order to have the requisite surgical assistance, and in going there we passed near enough to have a view of our now desolate mansion.

My wife waited to see me comfortably settled under the care of a skilful French surgeon, and she then went to Cork to endeavour to raise the L70 for the payment of which Peter was retained as a hostage. The Bishop lent her twenty guineas, and she could easily have borrowed the remainder from other friends, but the merchants of Cork, upon bearing the particulars of the affair, set their faces against any payment being made, and assured her that our son would soon be liberated without it, and their reasoning seemed to her so sound that she returned the Bishop what he had kindly lent to her, and declined borrowing any more. She also contrived to have a letter sent privately to Peter, exhorting him to keep up his courage, and have patience, and that she had no doubt he would soon be set at liberty without ransom, but advised him to appear ignorant of it.

The privateer hovered about the Island of Durzey for a long time, waiting for the money. Peter conducted himself remarkably well on board the ship, and evinced much more both of prudence and courage than might have been expected from so young a lad. The steadiness of his deportment attracted the attention of the Captain, and he placed so much confidence in him as to give into his charge the key of the liquors, and this caused the whole crew to pay court to him.

While he was in the privateer she was one day chased by a British man of war; it was proposed to him to hide himself in the hold, which he declined; a musket was then offered to him that he might assist in the defence, but he said, "No, I would rather fight for the English than against them, for I regard them as my friends and countrymen."

The English vessel was inferior in point of sailing and thus they escaped from her.

The Captain had a son with him about Peter's age, a vain, disagreeable boy, much disliked by the officers of the ship; he came to Peter one day, being intoxicated at the time, and with a drawn sword in his hand threatened to kill him. Peter seized a sword to defend himself, and succeeded in disarming the drunken boy, and lowering his importance, much to the satisfaction of the bystanders.

When they reached St. Maloes, the Governor of Brest condemned the Captain very much for his misconduct in bringing a hostage away with him, in direct contravention of the Law of Nations, and he would not suffer Peter to be landed and placed with the other prisoners.

The poor Captain was sadly perplexed, and nothing would have pleased him so much as Peter running away, and thus getting him out of his dilemma, and he had it hinted to him that he was a great fool not to make his escape; but after the letter he had received from his mother, he very properly considered that it would be an act of great folly to leave the vessel in a foreign country, when he had every reason to expect that he would be taken home again. After remaining a while at St. Maloes, the vessel went out on another cruise, Peter still in her.

Peter Fontaine was ultimately freed from captivity. In the years following, Peter, sister Mary Anne Fontaine, and brothers Francis and John all left Ireland to settle in the colony of Virginia. Many French Huguenots found refuge at Manakintowne, near Richmond, where both Peter and Francis served briefly as pastors. John accompanied Gov. Spotswood on the famous Knights of the Golden Horseshoe expedition across the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Shenandoah River, and recorded it in his journal. Francis would serve as chaplain of the Virginia House of Burgesses, Professor of Oriental Languages at William & Mary College in Williamsburg, and Rector of the York-Hampton Parish. Peter went on to become Rector of the Westover Church near Charles City, Virginia. Ann Maury records that even in Virginia the memory of remarkable deliverances in Ireland was cause for regular thanksgiving among the Fontaine family. In 1723, for example, Peter preached a sermon preceded by the following prayer. 

The next interesting item of family history, which we are able to bring to light, is the fact, that, after our ancestors emigrated to Virginia, they were in the habit of meeting annually, to hold a solemn religious thanksgiving, in commemoration of their remarkable preservation, when attacked by French privateers, in the south of Ireland.

The following; sermon was preached on one of these occasions, by the Rev. Peter Fontaine. It bears the date upon it, and also a pencil memorandum of the Psalms and Lessons which he had selected as appropriate to the services of the day.

1st June 1723

PROPER PSALMS XVIII., CIII., CXVIII.

I. LESSON. Exodus xiv.

II. LESSON. Ephesians vi., from v. 14 to the end.

C O L L E C T.

Almighty and most glorious Lord God, who dost render ineffectual the most subtle devices and best concerted measures of wicked and haughty men, and didst as at this time with a high hand and lifted up arm deliver us from our inveterate enemies; and hast sundry times before and since exerted thy power in our favor; grant that we may always bear so grateful a sense of these thy mercies in our minds, as may engage us to embrace all opportunities of worshiping; and glorifying and praising thee, with one mind and with one mouth, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us,&c.

It was a desire to bequeath a godly heritage to his children that led James Fontaine to write his autobiography, and it was Peter's aim in colonial Virginia to glorify God in the recollection of those remarkable events at Bear Haven, Ireland, which formed the basis of one Huguenot family's Thanksgiving.