Wesley Corpus

‘** Blessed be God, who desireth not the death of a sinner! It pleased him not to cut off my son in his sins. He gave him time to repent; and not only so, but a heart to repent. He showed him his lost estate by nature; and that unless he was reconciled to God by his Son, and washed in his blood from all his sins, he could never be saved. After he was condemned at York for a robbery on the highway, I attended him in the condemned room; and, blessed be God, he enabled me to preach the everlasting Gospel to him. It was on Saturday he was condemned. It was on the Saturday following the Lord touched his heart. He then began to wrestle with God in prayer, and left not off till Sunday in the afternoon, when God, who is rich in mercy, applied the blood of his Son, and convinced him, he had forgiven him all his sins. He felt his soul at peace with God, and longed to depart and to be with Christ. The following week his peace increased daily, till, on Saturday, the day he was to die, he came out of the condemned room clothed in his shroud, and went into the cart. As he went on, the cheerfulness and composure of his countenance were amazing to all the spectators. At the place of execution, after he had spent some time in prayer, he rose up, took a cheerful leave of his friends, and said, ‘ Glory be to God for free grace!’ His last words were, ‘ Lord Jesus, receive my soul.’ ” Part of the other letter, wrote by himself to his wife, was as follows: “My Dear,--Righteous is the Lord, and just are his judgments !' His hand of justice cuts my life short, but his hand of mercy saves my soul. You, for one, are a witness of the course of life I led. Were it in my ower, I would gladly make amends to you and every one else that I