Elizabeth: the Disinherited Daughter: By E. Ben Ez-er — John Shaqi
Elizabeth: the Disinherited Daughter: By E. Ben Ez-erArnold, Ebenezer
Religion
Elizabeth: the Disinherited Daughter: By E. Ben Ez-er
Arnold, Ebenezer
Arnold, Elizabeth Ward, 1778-1865; Methodist women -- United States -- Biography
Such a temptation aroused her to a sense of her real danger--no longer the
victim of ingenious devices to harbor gloomy forebodings, but a wretched
sinner, about to destroy soul and body in hell, on the verge of destruction
to character, and all good influences by an act of her own! Desperately,
in spite of her dread of prayer, she cried to God against that dreadful
temptation, and instantly she had full victory over it. The eyes, long
dried in the desert of despair, were moistened with tears of wonder and
gratitude. Astonished at such a clear answer to prayer, she prayed again
for deliverance from Satan's power and all his enchantments, and they fled
away like the shadow of a cloud. Her dungeon flamed with light, before
which the horrible decrees also vanished, falling into line, and following
their author to the land of darkness, never to trouble her more.
The light shone on, more and more; and although at dead of night, her room
seemed to her to shine above the brightness of the sun at noonday; and the
doctrines of free grace seemed to flash about her with transcendent glory,
until investing her entire being. She knew she was not a reprobate; for God
had heard her desperate cry against that greatest of sins. She saw in God's
own light the blessed assurance that Jesus died for her and for all; and in
driving away the enemy and the dense cloud of error, that had long shrouded
her dungeon in Egyptian darkness, she clearly saw glorious demonstrations
of divine clemency in store for her. She deplored her unbelief, and humbly
sought forgiveness and full restoration; and there, and then, by faith in
Jesus, she accepted Him again as her Saviour.
Instantly her raptures returned, with more than their former power and
glory, and she went off into a perfect gale of ecstasy. Such sounds had
never been heard in that mansion before, and the family hastened to learn
the cause. There lay the wasted form upon what they thought to be the bed
of death. Her thin arms were stretched upward, and her pale hands came
together with frequency and energy quite remarkable. Her countenance seemed
lighted up with an unearthly glow, and her words were ready and full of
heavenly felicity, and uttered with a strength and sweetness of voice quite
beyond her power. All these evidences, added to the fact that their tender
and anxious questions remained unanswered, and their presence and weeping
seemed entirely unnoticed, struck them as demonstrations that "the angels
had come for poor, dear Betsey," and that in her triumphant flight from her
cruel sufferings "she had already passed beyond them, and would never speak
to them again."
After some time, however, she seemed to them to have been brought back
by their lamentations and self-accusations, and, hushing them to silent
attention, she assured them that this was "not dying," but "living, and
preparing to live," by a return of her first love and a glorious victory
over temptation and error.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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