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Behold! I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; unto you is born, this day, in the
city of David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. For unto us a Son is given; and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. - The wise men of
the east, as directed by the Star, witnessed and published this glorious event. - This accomplishment of so
many prophecies and promises, through so many ages of the world - this Sun of Righteousness - this Light of the
world - this Alpha, and Omega - this bright and Morning Star - this Key of Life, and immortality beyond
the grave - this Saviour of men - this Immanuel, God with us."
Whether we view him in the character of a christian, a father of his family, or in the social relations
and intercourse with his friends, he has left ample evidence of the pre-eminent qualities of his great mind,
both by precept and by example. In him we recognize one of the fathers of the Reformed Dutch Church in North
America; and may we fervently pray that we may not forget the truths he has so often and with such heartfelt
earnestness proclaimed in faithfulness from the heights of Zion. We can with propriety say, "Well done, good
and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
Whatever causists may pretend, and however the skeptical may express their professing doubts in their
own way, and lay down their own premises and fine-spun arguments, all day long, in making their own conclusions
and deductions from their own hypothesis, yet in the humble opinion of many well-informed persons,
in which I am strongly fortified, as emanating and derived from the mind of the great and good Franklin,
pronounced within the hearing of the writer, that "one
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plain matter of fact, on any subject, rightly understood, transcends all the sophistry and subtlety of the Schools,
and all the arguments that can be raised and produced by the ingenuity of mortal man." It is a fact I believe
no one will deny, that the pious Livingston lived universally honoured and esteemed: let us inquire and examine
into the manner and plain matter of fact of his death. If any further evidence were wanting to satisfy
the incredulous, respecting the truth of revealed religion, we invite the most skeptical to review and seriously
contemplate, on the life and death of this eminent divine; we have it here manifestly exemplified in the most
conclusive manner, in the life, and in the closing scene, of the mortal existence of this pious man. For
a considerable length of time before his decease, he would, on some occasions, to confidential friends,
express his apprehensions at the approach of death, in passing from time to eternity; not that he felt
any way uneasy for his future happiness, but only for and during the pangs of death, in the transition
from earth to glory. It is a most remarkable fact, that for some time previous to his decease, those fears, he
said himself, were entirely removed from his mind. On the morning of his soul's departure, his grandson,
who slept in the same room with him, arose, and as was usual with him, looked at his grandfather, and observed
he appeared to be in a placid, sound sleep, entirely composed. He left the room and went into the parlour -
when breakfast was ready, some one of the family went to call him - But behold! the spirit had gone! and to
the utter astonishment of the whole family, they found his body was still warm, not a muscle of his face distorted
in the least, no indications of paroxysm, all in its natural state, with the remains of his mild and placid
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