The Doctrine of Predestination Truly and Fairly Stated. By Samuel Blair [pp. 536-558]

Samuel Blair.
had been educated. To encourage such a location, the Rev.
Nathanael Irwin, then pastor of the Presbyterian church in
Neshamony, left a bequest of one thousand dollars to the
seminary, provided the General Assembly should conclude
to place the seminary on this site.
When Mr. Samuel Blair had finished his classical, and
also his preparatory theological studies, he was licensed to
preach the gospel, by the presbytery of Newcastle; soon
after which, he received a call from the Presbyterian congregation in Shrewsbury, New Jersey. Until lately, we did
not know that this excellent and able minister, had ever been
the pastor of a church in our vicinity. And we believe, that,
though'there is still a Presbyterian church in Shrewsbury,
there is not a person in that place or in that whole region
who has the least idea that the Rev. SAMUEL BLAIR was once
the pastor of a Presbyterian church in that village. Who
knows but that God has a regard for the place, for the sake
of his devoted servant, who preached and prayed there. At
any rate, the knowledge of the fact has created a deeper interest for the place, in our minds, and w'Oe believe, will have
that effect on the present pastor and his little flock who now
worship there. This brings to our recollection, the case of
a pious woman who died in that village, not many years
since. For eight years she was bed-ridden, and during a
part of that time there was no pastor; and the little flock
had so dwindled, that the hearts of the few that remained
were utterly disheartened: but this good woman never ceased
to pray for this almost desolate church, and to encourage all
around her to trust in the Lord, and to hope that he would
still return and visit the desolations of Zion. And God permitted her to live to see a decent and commodious house
of worship erected, a pastor settled, and a goodly number
gathered into the fold. Though she was never able to visit
this house of prayer, and meet with the precious little flock
who worshipped there; yet. they were accustomed, as a
church, to meet with her, in her own house, not only for
preaching, prayer, and praise, but for breaking of bread in
commemoration of the sufferings of our Lord. The writer
of this article, on one occasion, was present, when a devoted
servant of God, now-at rest, preached in her room, and another minister dispensed the sacred symbols of the Lord's
body, to this heavenly minded woman, and to the church in
her house: and he seldom ever was witness to a scene of
deeper, tenderer interest. Now, had this precious woman
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[OCTOBER