Taken with editing from The Christian Treasury for 1846. Russell was minister of Muthil in Perthshire and died in 1817. This piece was written by his son as a letter for private circulation and was printed in 1834.
On Monday night, February 17, I found my father in a most happy frame of mind. He said more than once, “I had much need of this. It is exactly suited to me and necessary to prepare me for heaven’s glory. O the wisdom of God and His power and His mercy and His faithfulness!” He referred to that expression of Peter, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you . . . but rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings”. “The sufferings of the redeemed”, he said, “are Christ’s sufferings, because they suffer in a state of vital union with Him. How precious is the least grain of that divine faith which unites the soul to the divine Saviour. O for more supplies of it!”
On another occasion he said, “I have had my trials in this life, but the Lord has carried me through them, and I hope He will still carry me through and bring me to the haven of eternal rest. I wished to have realised in [my] experience these words of Jacob, ‘God Almighty, who appeared to me at Luz, and blessed me there’. I have often had sweet Mondays at Muthil. One time, at family worship, that expression was peculiarly sweet to me, ‘That I might finish my course with joy, and . . . testify the gospel of the grace of God.’” He spoke, too, of having had some spiritual refreshment in writing a comment on that text, “I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better” (Phil 1:23): “It is as if the Apostle had expressed himself thus: If the purposes of God are served by me in this world, I am ready to weigh anchor and, quitting these mortal shores, to set sail for the haven of eternal rest”. On another occasion he remarked that “it seemed to be the design of God, in every age, to try His people, to try their faith, their hope, their self-denial and their heavenly-mindedness”.
He asked repeatedly, “Are there any appearances of the work of God among the people at Muthil?” When I expressed my regret that there was so little of vital religion among us, he said, “Well, the great Redeemer will, in the day of judgement, call together all that belong to His fold, and then we may see some blessed fruits of our poor labours”.
At another time he said, “I have had a great manifestation of God in these words, ‘Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for, when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him,’ and what pleases the Lord, ‘that He doeth’”. He prayed often in our hearing that the Lord would send a gospel minister to His poor people, and that his own death might be blessed by leaving a sweet savour of Christ among them. When his distress was very great, he used to use such expressions as these: “Make no tarrying. O my God; I am willing, by Thy grace strengthening me, to abide in this furnace, until all Thy purposes are fulfilled, and Thou art glorified in me”.
When someone spoke of the three young men in Babylon, he said, “They were noble heroes indeed; they suffered no injury while in the midst of a burning fiery furnace, because the Son of God was there”. He often repeated Isaiah 43:2: “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee”. And Isaiah 40:27-31: “Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgement is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” And he commented on the words as he used to do in the pulpit.
One time, while suffering under excruciating pain, he cried out, “If it be Thy will, dear Lord, send relief. O give grace to glorify Thee to the end.” And again, “Why should I dwell so much upon my little sufferings which I now feel? How much did my loving Lord suffer! What are my sufferings compared with His! And how soon they will be over! The heavier the redeemed groan on earth, the louder will they sing in heaven.” He appeared deeply impressed at times with a view of God’s holiness, exclaiming, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord; O to behold an unveiled three-one God!” On that passage, “In the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength” (Is 26:4), he said, “O astonishing! What a powerful support in a time of trouble! Surely He will; yes, He is engaged to preserve me from fainting.” He spoke much on that passage, “I will strengthen them . . . and they shall walk up and down in His name” (Zec 10:12), adding, “What a pleasant walk is that, whether in health or sickness!”
On the day he died, he turned toward my mother and, embracing her, said, “We have been long united together and enjoyed happiness and sweet Christian fellowship. We are now to part for a little, but shall soon meet in a better world, where there is no parting. I commit you to my faithful covenant-keeping God; He will care for you. We can take no carnal attachment to the heavenly world. O no, we must leave all and follow Christ. Sweet Jesus, entreat me not to leave Thee; for whither Thou goest I shall go; where thou dwellest I shall dwell. I am persuaded that neither things present, however pleasant; nor things to come, however painful; neither the height of prosperity, nor the depths of adversity, shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus my Lord. It was in Christ that this love began to flow forth to the redeemed from eternity, and through the same channel it will continue to flow through everlasting ages.”
A little before his departure he addressed us all, while we were standing round his bed, in the following manner: “I am hastening to my eternal rest. Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure. O that we may all meet in Christ, and be for ever with the Lord.” He then thanked the doctor for all his kind attention, also all his friends. After this he fell into a sound sleep and continued in that state for about an hour, when he fell asleep in Jesus, without a sigh or groan. Thus my dear father died as he had lived – glorifying God and committing his eternal all into the hands of his loving Saviour.