Meditations and contemplations [microform]

AND

COITEMPLATIOIS

BY THE

REV. JAMES HERVEY, A. M.

M

1L.ATE RECTOR OF WESTON-FAVELL, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.

CONTAINING HIS

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS,
REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER GARDEN, &c,

TWO VOLUMES IN ONE.
VOL. I.

NEW YORK:

ROBERT CARTER, 58 CANAL STREET,
AND PITTSBURG, 58 MARKET STREET.

1845.

V\

PREFACE.

THE first of these occasional Meditations begs leave to remind
my readers of their latter end; and would invite them to set, not
their houses only, hut which is inexpressibly more needful, their
souls, in order ; that they may be able, through all the interme-
diate stages, to look forward upon their approaching exit without
any anxious apprehensions ; and, when the great change com-
mences, may bid adieu to terrestrial things, with all the calmness
of a cheerful resignation, with all the comforts of a well-grounded
faith.

The other attempts to sketch out some little traces of the all-
sufficiency of our REDEEMER for the grand and gracious purposes
of everlasting salvation : that a sense of his unutterable dignity
and infinite perfections, may incite us to regard him with senti-
ments of the most profound veneration; to long for an assured
interest in his merits with all the ardency of desire ; and to trust
in his powerful mediation, with an affiance not to be shaken by
any temptations, not to be shared with any performances of our
own.

I flatter myself, that the thoughts conceived among the Tombs
may be welcome to the serious and humane mind : because, as
there are few who have not consigned the remains of some dear
relations or honoured friends to those silent repositories, so there
are none but must be sensible, that this is the house appointed for
all living, and that they themselves are shortly to remove into the
same solemn mansions. And who would not turn aside, for a
while, from the most favorite amusements, to view -the place
where his once-loved companions lie 1 Who would not sometimes
survey those apartments where he himself is to take up an abode
till time shall be no more.

As to the other little essay, may I not humbly presume that the
very subject itself will recommend the remarks 1 For, who is
Jiot delighted with the prospect of the blooming creation, and
ever charmed with the delicate attractions of flowers'? Who
does not covet to assemble them in the garden, or wear them in
a nosegay 1 Since this is a passion so universal, who would not
be willing to render it productive of the sublimest improvement 1
This piece of holy frugality I have ventured to suggest, and en-

IV PREFACE.

deavoured to exemplify, in the second letter; that, while the
hand is cropping the transient beauties of a flower, the attentive
mind may be enriching itself with solid and lasting good. And
I cannot but entertain some pleasing hopes, that the nicest taste
may receive and relish religious impressions, when they are con-
veyed by such lovely monitors ; when the instructive lessons are
found, not on the leaves of some formidable folio, but stand legi-
ble on the fine sarcenet of a narcissus; when they savour not of
the lamp and recluse, but come breathing from the fragrant bosom
of a. jonquil

MEDITATIONS

AMONG THE TOMBS,

IN A LETTER TO A LADY.

Every stone that we look upon, in this repository of past Ages, is both an.
Entertainment and a Monitor.

PLAIN DEALER, VOL. I. NO. 42.

MADAM,

TRAVELLING lately into Cornwall, I happened to
alight at a considerable village in that county ; where,
finding myself under an unexpected necessity of stay-
ing a little, I took a walk to the church. The doors.

o / /

like the heaven to which they lead, were wide open,
and readily admitted an unworthy stranger. Pleased
with the opportunity, I resolved to spend a few minutes
under the sacred roof.

In a situation so retired and awful, I could not
avoid falling into a train of meditations, serious and
mournfully pleasing ; which, I trust, were in some
degree profitable to me, while they possessed and
warmed my thoughts ; and, if they may administer
any satisfaction to you, Madam, now they are recol-
lected, and committed to writing, I shall receive a fresh
pleasure from them.

It was an ancient pile ; reared by hands, that, ages
ago, were mouldered into dust ; situate in the centre
of a large burial-ground ; remote from all the noise

1*

O MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

and hurry of tumultuous life ; the body spacious ; the
structure lofty ; the whole magnificently plain. A row
of regular pillars extended themselves through the
midst ; supporting the roof with simplicity and with
dignity. The light that passed through the windows,
seemed to shed a kind of luminous obscurity, which
gave every object a grave and venerable air. The
deep silence added to the gloomy aspect, and both
heightened by the loneliness of the place, greatly in-
creased the solemnity of the scene. A sort of religious
dread stole insensibly on my mind, while I advanced,
all pensive and thoughtful, along the inmost aisle :
such a dread, as hushed every ruder passion, and dis-
sipated all the gay images of an alluring world.

Having adored that Eternal Majesty, who, far from,
being confined to temples made with hands, has heaven
for his throne and the earth for his footstool, I took
particular notice of a handsome altarpiece ; presented,
as I was afterwards informed, by the master-builders
of Stow ; out of gratitude, I presume, to that gracious
God, who carried them through their work, and en-
abled them to " bring forth their top-stone with joy."

Oh ! how amiable is gratitude ! especially when it
has the Supreme benefactor for its object. I have
always looked upon gratitude as the most exalted prin-
ciple that can actuate the heart of man. It has some-
thing noble, disinterested, and (if I may be allowed
the term) generously devout. Repentance indicates
our nature fallen, and prayer turns chiefly upon a re-
gard to one's self. But the exercises of gratitude sub-
sisted in Paradise, when there was no fault to deplore;
and will be perpetuated in heaven when " God shall
be all in all."

The language of this sweet temper is, " I am un-
speakably obliged : what return shall I make ?" And
surely, it is no improper expression of an unfeigned
thankfulness, to decorate our Creator's courts, and
beautify " the place where his honour dwelleth." Of

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 7

old, the habitation of his feet was glorious ; let it notj.
now, be sordid or contemptible. It must grieve art
ingenious mind, and be a reproach to any people, to
have their own houses wainscotted with cedar, and?
painted with vermilion ; while the temple of the Lord
of hosts is destitute of every decent ornament.

Here I recollected and was charmed with Solomon? s
fine address to the Almighty, at the dedication of his
famous temple. With immense charge, and exquisite
skill, he had erected the most rich and finished structure
that the sun ever saw. Yet, upon a review of his work,
and a reflection on the transcendant perfections of the
Godhead, how he exalts the one and abases the other !'
The building was too glorious for the mightiest mon-
arch to inhabit ; too sacred, for unhallowed feet even?
to enter ; yet infinitely too mean for the Deity to re-
side in. It was, and the royal worshipper acknow-
ledged it to be, a most marvellous vouchsafement inr
uncreated Excellency, to " put his name there." The
whole passage breathes such a delicacy, and is ani-
mated with such a sublimity of sentiment, that I can-
not persuade myself to pass on without repeating it.
Bu,t will God indeed dwell on earth, ? Behold! the-
heaven, and heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee ;
how much less this house that I have builded ! In-
comparable saying ; worthy the wisest of men. Who- 1
would not choose to possess such an elevated devotion,
rather than to own all the glittering materials of that 1
sumptuous edifice ?

We are apt to be struck with admiration at the
stateliness and grandeur of a masterly performance in
architecture ; and, perhaps, on a sight of the ancient
sanctuary, should have made the superficial obsepra-
tion of the disciples, " What manner of stones, and
what buildings are here ?" But what a nobler turn of
thought, and juster taste of things, does it discover, to-
join with Israel's king in celebrating the condescen-
sion of the Divine inhabitant! that the High and

8 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

sLofty One, who fills immensity with his glory, should,

in a peculiar manner, fix his abode there ! should
there manifest an extraordinary degree of his benedic-

'tive presence ; permit sinful mortals to approach his
majesty ; and promise " to make them joyful in his
house of prayer !" This should more sensibly affect

our hearts, than the most curious arrangement of stones

^can delight our eyes.

Nay, the everlasting God does not disdain to dwell
-in our souls by his Holy Spirit ; and to make even our
bodies his temple. Tell me, ye that frame critical
judgments, and balance nicely the distinction of

"things : " is this most astonishing, or most rejoicing?"
He humbleth himself, the Scripture assures us, even

to behold the things that are in heaven. 'Tis a most
condescending favour, if he pleases to take the least
approving notice of angels and archangels, when they
bow down in homage from their celestial thrones.
Will he then graciously regard, will he be united,
most intimately united, to poor, polluted, breathing
dust? Unparalleled honour ! Invaluable privilege !
Be this my portion, arid I shall not covet crowns, nor

-envy conquerors.

But let me remember, what a sanctity of disposition
and uprightness of conversation, so exalted a relation
demands : remember this, " and rejoice with trem-
bling." Durst I commit any iniquity, while I tread
these hallowed courts? Could the Jewish High Priest
allow himself in any known transgression, while he

*j '^ i

made that solemn yearly entrance into the Holy of
Holies, and stood before the immediate presence of
Jehovah ? No. truly. In such circumstances, a think-
ing,, person must shudder at the most remote solicita-
tion to any wilful offence. I should now be shocked
at the least indecency of behaviour, and am apprehen-
,sive of every appearance of evil. And why do we
not carry this holy jealousy into all our ordinary life?
Why do we not, in every place, reverence ourselves ;

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 9

as persons dedicated to the Divinity, as living temples
of the Godhead ? For, if we are real, and not merely
nominal Christians, the God of glory, according to his
own promise, divells in us, and walks in us. O ! that
this one doctrine of our religion might operate with
an abiding efficacy, upon our consciences ! It would
be instead of a thousand laws, to regulate our conduct;
instead of a thousand motives, to quicken us in holi-
ness. Under the influence of such a conviction, we-
should study to maintain a purity of intention; a dig*
nity of action ; and to walk worthy of that transcen^
dantly majestic Being, who admits us to a fellowship
with himself, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

The next thing which engaged my attention, was
the lettered floor. The pavement, somewhat like Eze~
kiel's roll, was written over from one end to the other,
I soon perceived the comparison to hold good in an-
other respect ; and the inscriptions to be matter of
mourning, lamentation, and wo. They seemed to-
court my observation ; silently inviting me to read
them. And what would these dumb monitors inform:
me of? " That, beneath their little circumferences^
were deposited such and such pieces of clay, which
once lived, and moved, and talked : that they had re-
ceived a charge to preserve their names, and were the
remaining trustees of their memory."

Ah ! said I, is such my situation ? The adorable-
Creator around me, and the bones of my fellow crea-
tures under me ! Surely, then, I have great reason to-
cry out, with the revering patriarch, How dreadful is-
this place! Seriousness and devotion become this
house for ever. May I never enter it lightly or ir-
reverently ; but with a profound awe, and godly fear.

/ that they were wise I said the inspired penman.
It was his last wish for his dear people. He breathed
it out, and gave up the ghost. But what is wisdom T
It consists not in refined speculations, accurate re-
searches into nature, or an universal acquaintance-

10 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

'.with history. The divine lawgiver settles this impor
' tant point in his next aspiration : O ! that they under
stood this ! that they had right apprehensions of their
^spiritual interests and eternal concerns ! that they had
eyes to discern and inclinations to pursue, the things
which belong to their peace ! But how shall they at-
tain this valuable knowledge ? I send them not, adds
the illustrious teacher, to turn over all the volumes of
literature : they may acquire, and much more expedi-
tiously, this science of life, by considering their latter
i end. This spark of heaven is often lost under the
I glitter of pompous erudition ; but shines clearly in the
| gloomy mansions of the tomb : drowned is this gen-
Hie whisper amidst the noise of secular affairs ; but
speaks distinctly in the retirements of serious contem-
plation. Behold ! how providentially I am brought to
the school of wisdom ! The grave is the most faith-
ful master ; and these instances of mortality the most
instructive lessons. Come then, calm attention, and
compose my thoughts ; come, thou celestial Spirit,
.and enlighten my mind ; that I may so peruse these
awful pages, as to become " wise unto salvation."

Examining the records of mortality, I found the
memorials of a promiscuous multitude. They were
huddled, at least they rested together, without any re-
gard to rank of seniority. None were ambitious of
'the uppermost rooms or chief seats, in this house of
mourning. None entertained fond and eager expec-
tations of being honourably greeted, in their darksome
cells. The rnan of years and experience, reputed as
an oracle in his generation, was content to lie down at
the feet of a babe. In this house appointed for alt
living, the servant was equally accommodated, and
lodged in the same story with his master. The poor
indigent lay as softly, and slept as soundly, as the
most opulent possessor. All the distinction that sub-
sisted was a grassy hillock, bound with osiers ; or a
.^sepulchral stone 3 ornamented with imagery.

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

Why then, said my working thoughts, O! why
should we raise such a mighty stir about superiority-
and precedence ; when the next remove will reduce us;
all to a state of equal meanness ? Why should we-
exalt ourselves, or debase others ; since we must all,...
one day, be upon a common level, and blended to-
gether in the same undistinguished dust ? O ! that
this consideration might humble my own and others'
pride, and sink our imaginations as low as our habita-
tions will shortly be !

Among these confused relics of humanity, there are r
without doubt, persons of contrary interests and con-
tradicting sentiments. But death, like some able
Daysman, has laid his hand on the contending parties,-
and brought all their differences to an amicable con-
clusion. Here enemies, sworn enemies, dwell together
in unity. They drop every imbittered thought, and
forget that they once were foes. Perhaps their crum-
bling bones mix, as they moulder ; and those who,
while they lived, stood aloof in irreconcilable vari-
ance, here fall into mutual embraces, and even incor-
porate with each in the grave. O ! that we might
learn from these friendly ashes, not to perpetuate the-
memory of injuries, not to foment the fever of resent-
ment, nor cherish the turbulence of passion ; that,
there may be as little animosity and disagreement in?
the land of the living, as there is in the congregation
of the dead ! But I suspend for a while such general 3
observations, and address myself to a more particular
inquiry.

Yonder white, stone, emblem of the innocence it
covers, informs the beholder of one who breathed out.
its tender soul almost in the instant of receiving it.
There, the peaceful infant, without so much as know-
ing what labour and vexation mean, " lies still and is*;
quiet ; it sleeps and is at rest." Staying only to wash,
away its native impurity in the laver of regeneration^
it bid a speedy adieu to time and terrestrial things..

<12 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE* TOMBS.

What did the little hasty sojourn er find so forbidding
and disgustful in our upper world, to occasion its pre-
cipitate exit? 'Tis written, indeed, of its suffering
Saviour, that when he had tasted the vinegar mingled
with gall, he would not drink. And did our new-come
stranger begin to sip the cup of life ; but, perceiving
the bitterness, turn away its head, and refuse the
draught ? Was this the cause, why the wary babe
only opened its eyes ; just looked on the light ; and
then withdrew into the more inviting regions of un-
disturbed repose?

Happy voyager ! no sooner launched, than arrived
at the haven ! But more eminently happy they, who
have passed the waves, and weathered all the storms
of a troublesome and dangCiOUS world ! who, "through
many tribulations, have entered into the kingdom of
heaven ;" and thereby brought honour to their divine
Convoy, administered con; fort to the companions of
their toil, and left an insti uccive example to succeeding
pilgrims.

Highly favoured probationer ! accepted, without be-
ing exercised ! It was thy peculiar privilge, not to feel
the slightest of those evils which oppress thy surviving
kindred ; which frequently fetch groans from the most
manly fortitude or most elevated faith. The arrows
of calamity, barbed with anguish, are often fixed deep
in our choicest comforts. The fiery darts of temptation,
-shot from the hand of hell, are always flying in show-
ers around our integrity. To thee, sweet babe, both
these distresses and dangers were alike unknown.

Consider this, ye mourning parents, and dry up
your tears. Why should you lament that your little
ones are crowned with victory, before the sword is
-drawn or the conflict begun ? Perhaps, the Supreme
Disposer of events foresaw some inevitable snare of
'temptation forming, or some dreadful storm of adversity
impending. And why should you be so dissatisfied
with that kind precaution^ which housed your pleasant

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 13

plant, and removed into shelter a tender flower, before
the thunders roared ; before the lightnings flew ; before
the tempest poured its rage ? O remember ! they are
not lost, but taken away from the evil to come.

At the same time, let survivers, doomed to bear the
heat and burden of the day, for their encouragement
reflect, that it is more honorable to have entered the
lists, and to have fought the good fight, before they
come off conquerors. They who have borne the cross,
and submitted to afflictive providences, with a cheerful
Designation ; have girded up the loins of their mind,
and performed their Master's will, with an honest and
persevering fidelity ; these, having glorified their Re-
deemer on earth, will, probably, be as stars of the first
magnitude in heaven. They will shine with brighter
beams, be replenished with stronger joys, in their
Lord's everlasting kingdom.

Here lies the grief of a fond mother, and the blasted
expectation of an indulgent father. The youth grew
tip, like a well- watered plant ; he shot deep, rose high,
and bid fair for manhood. But just as the cedar began
to tower, and promised, ere long, to be the pride of the
wood, and prince among the neighbouring trees be-
hold ! the axe is laid unto the root ; the fatal blow
struck ; and all its branching honours tumbled to the
dust. And did he fall alone ? No, the hopes of his
father that begat him, and the pleasing prospects of her
that bare him, fell and were crushed together with
him.

Doubtless, it would have pierced one's heart, to have
beheld the tender parents following the breathless
youth to his long home. Perhaps, drowned in tears,
and all overwhelmed with sorrows, they stood, like
weeping statues, on this very spot. Methinks, I see
the deeply distressed mourners attending the sad solem-
nity. How they wring their hands, and pour floods
from their eyes! Is it fancy? or do I really hear the
passionate mother, in an agony of affliction, taking her

VOL. i. 2

14 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

final leave of the darling of her soul ? Dumb she re-
mained, while the awful obsequies were performing ;
dumb with grief, and leaning upon the partner of her
woes. But now the inward anguish struggles for vent;
it grows too big to be repressed. She advances to the
brink of the grave. All her soul is in her eyes. She
fastens ope more look upon the dear doleful object, be-
fore the pit shuts its mouth upon him. And as she
looks, she cries, in broken accents, interrupted by many
a rising sob, she cries " Farewell, rny son ! my son I
my only beloved ! would to God I had died for thee I;
Farewell, my child ; and farewell all my earthly hap-
piness ! I shall never more see good, in the land of the
living. Attempt not to comfort me. I will go mourning-
all my days, till my gray hairs come down, with sor-
row, to the grave !"

From this affecting representation, let parents be
convinced, how highly it concerns them to cultivate
the morals, and secure the immortal interests of theis
children. If you really love the offspring of your
own bodies ; if your bowels yearn over those amiable
pledges of conjugal endearment; spare no pains, give
all diligence, I entreat you, to " bring them up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord ; ;} then, may you
have joy in their life, or consolation in their death. If
their span is prolonged, their unblameable and useful
conduct will be the staff of your age and a balm for
declining nature. Or, if the number of their years be
cut off in the midst, you may commit their remains to>
the dust with much the same comfortable expectations
as you send the survivers to places of genteel educa-
tion. You may commit them to the dust with cheer-
ing hopes of receiving them again to your arms inex-
pressibly improved in every noble and endearing ac-
complishment.

'Tis certainly a severe trial, and much more afflic-
tive than I am able to imagine, to resign a lovely
blooming creature, sprung from your own loins, to

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 15

the gloomy recesses of corruption. Thus to resign
him, after having been long dandled upon your knees,
united to your affections by a thousand ties of tender-
ness, and now become both the delight of your eyes
and the support of your family ! to have such a one
torn from your bosom, and thrown into darkness ;
doubtless, it must be like a dagger in your hearts.
But Oh ! how much more cutting to you, and confound-
ing to the child, to have the soul separated from God;
and, for shameful ignorance or early impiety, transmitted
to places of eternal torment ! How would it aggravate
your distress, and add a distracting emphasis to all
your sighs, if you should follow the pale corpse with
these bitter reflections ! " This dear creature, though
long ago capable of knowing good from evil, is gone
out of the world before it had learned the great design
of coming into it. A short-lived momentary existence
it received from me, but no good instructions, no holy
admonitions, nothing to further its well-being in that
everlasting state upon which it is now entered. The
poor body is consigned to the coffin, and carried out
to consume away in the cold and silent grave. And
what reason have I to suppose that the precious soul
is in a better condition? May I not justly fear, that,
sentenced by the righteous Judge, it is going, or gone
away, into the pains of endless punishment? Perhaps,
while I am bewailing its untimely departure, it may
be cursing, in outer darkness, that ever to be deplored,
that most calamitous day, when it was born of such a
careless ungodly parent as I have been."

Nothing, 1 think, but the gnawings of that worm
which never dies can equal the anguish of these self-
condemning thoughts. The tortures of a rack must
be an easy suffering, compared with the stings and
horrors of such a remorse. How earnestly do I wish,
that as many as are intrusted. with the management of
children, would take timely care to prevent these
scourges of conscience ; by endeavouring to conduct

16 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

their minds into an early knowledge of Christ, and a
cordial lone of his truth !

On. this hand is lodged one, whose sepulchral stone
tells a most pitiable tale indeed ! Well may the little
images, reclined over the sleeping ashes, hang down
their heads with that pensive air ! None can consider
so mournful a story, without feeling some touches of
sympathizing concern. His age twenty-eight; his
death sudden ; himself cut down in the prime of life r
amidst all the vivacity and vigour of manhood : while,
" his breasts were full of milk, and his bones moistened
with marrow." Probably he entertained no apprehen-
sions of the evil hour. And indeed who could have-
suspected, that so bright a sun should go down at
noon ? To human appearance, his hill stood strong.
Length of days seemed written in his sanguine coun-
tenance. He solaced himself with the prospect of a
long, long series of earthly satisfactions. When lo f
an unexpected stroke descends! descends from that
mighty arm, which " overturneth the mountains by
their roots ; and crushes the imaginary hero, before
the moth" as quickly, and more easily, than our fin-
gers press such a feeble fluttering insect to death.

Perhaps, the nuptial joys were all he thought on.
Were not such the breathings of his enamoured soul F
" Yet a very little while, and I shall possess the utmost
of my wishes. I shall call my charmer mine ; and in
her, enjoy whatever my heart can crave/' In the-
midst of such enchanting views, had some faithful
friend but softly reminded him of an opening grave,,
and the end of all things ; how unseasonable would he
have reckoned the admonition ! Yet though all
warm, with life, and rich in visionary bliss, he was-
even then tottering on the brink of both. Dreadful
vicissitude ! to have the bridal festivity turned into the-
funeral solemnity ! Deplorable misfortune ; to be-
shipwrecked in the very haven ; and to perish even
in sight of happiness ! What a memorable proof is

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 17

here of the frailty of man, in his best estate ! Look, O'f
look on this monument, ye gay and careless! Attend
to this date ; and boast no more of to-morrow!

Who can tell but the bride-maids, girded with glad-
ness, had prepared the marriage-bed ? had decked it
with the richest covers, and dressed it in pillows of
down ? When oh ! trust not in youth, or strength,
or in any thing mortal ; for there is nothing certain,
nothing to be depended on, beneath the unchangeable
God Death, relentless Death, is making him another
kind of bed in the dust of the earth. Unto this he
must be conveyed, not with a splendid procession of
joyous attendants ; but stretched in the gloomy hearse,
and followed by a train of mourners. On this he must
take up a lonely lodging, nor ever be released, " till
the heavens are no more." In vain does the consent-
ing fair-one put on her ornaments, and expect her
spouse. Did she not, like Siserds mother, look out
of the lattice : chide the delays of her beloved ; and
wonder " why his chariot was so long in coming?"
little thinking, that the intended bridegoom had forever
done with transitory things ! that now everlasting cares
employ his mind, without one single remembrance of
his lovely Lucinda; Go, disappointed virgin! go,
mourn the uncertainty of all created bliss ! Teach
thy soul to aspire after a sure and immutable fdicity ;
For the once gay and gallant Fidelia sleeps in other
embraces ; even in the icy arms of Death ! forgetful,
eternally forgetful, of the world, and thee !

Hitherto, one is tempted to exclaim against the king
of terrors, and call him capriciously cruel. He seems,
by beginning at the wrong end of the register, to have
inverted the laws of nature. Passing over the couch
of decrepit age, he has nipped infancy in its bud;
blasted youth in its bloom ; and torn up manhood in its
full maturity. Terrible indeed are these providences,
yet not unsearchable the counsels :

f For us they sicken, and for us they die."

1.8 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

Such strokes must not only grieve the relatives, but
surprise the whole neighbourhood. They sound a
powerful alarm to heedless dreaming mortals, and are
intended as a remedy for our carnal security. Such
passing-bells inculcate loudly our Lord's admonition :
" Take ye heed, watch, and pray ; for ye know not
when the time is." We nod, like intoxicated creatures
upon the very verge of a tremendous precipice. These
astonishing dispensations are the kind messengers of
Heaven, to rouse, us from our supineness, and quicken
us into timely circumspection. I need not, surely, ac-
commodate them with language, nor act as their inter-
preter. Let every one's conscience be awake, and
this will appear their awful meaning : " O ! ye sons of
men, in the midst of life you are in death. No state,.
no circumstances, can ascertain your preservation a
single moment. So strong is the tyrant's arm, that
nothing can resist its force ; so true his aim, that noth-
ing can elude the blow. Sudden as lightning, some-
times, is his arrow launched ; and wounds, and kills,,
in the twinkling of an eye. Never promise yourselves-
safety in any expedient but constant preparation. The
fatal shafts fly so promiscuously, that none can guess-
the next victim. Therefore, be ye always ready : for
in such an hour as ye think not^ the final summons-
cometh."

Be ye always ready : for in such an hour as ye think
not Important admonition ! Methinks, it reverberates
from sepulchre to sepulchre, and addresses me with,
line upon line, precept upon precept. The reiterated
warning, I acknowledge, is too needful ; may co-opera-
ting grace render it effectual ! The momentous truth,
though worthy to be engraved on the tables of a most
tenacious memory is but slightly sketched on the tran-
sient flow of passion. We see our neighbours fall;
we turn pale at the shock ; and feel, perhaps, a tremb-
ling dread. No sooner are they removed from our
sight ; but, driven in the whirl of business, or lulled in

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 19*

the languors of pleasure, we forget the providence,,
and neglect the errand. The impression made on our
unstable minds is like the trace of an arrow through'
the penetrated air, or the path of a keel in the furrowed
wave. Strange stupidity ! To cure it another monitor
bespeaks me from a neighbouring stone. It contains
the narrative of an unhappy mortal, 'snatched from his
friends and hurried to the awful bar, without leisure-
cither to take a last farewell of the one, or to put up
so much as a single prayer preparatory for the other :
killed, according to the usual expression, by a sudden,
stroke of casualty.

Was it then a random stroke ? Doubtless, the blow
came from an aiming, though invisible hand. God
presideth. over the armies of heaven ; God ruleth
amono- the inhabitants of the earth ; and God conduc-

^j /

teth what men call Chance. Nothing, nothing comes
to pass through a blind and undiscerning fatality. If
accidents happen, they happen according to the exact
foreknowledge, and conformably to the determinate-
counsels of Eternal Wisdom. The Lord, with whom
are the issues of death, signs the warrant, and gives
.the high commission. The seemingly fortuitous disas-
ter is only the agent or the instrument appointed to-
execute the supreme decree. When the king of Israel
was mortally wounded, it seemed to be a casual shot.
A certain man drew a bow at a venture. At a venture r
as he thought. But his hand was strengthened by an
omnipotent aid, and the shaft levelled by an unerring-
eye. So that, what we term casualty, is really provi-
dence; accomplishing deliberate designs, but conceal-'
ing its own interposition. How comforting this reflec-
tion ! admirably adapted to sooth the throbbing anguish,
of the mourners, and compose their spirits into quiet
submission ! excellently suited to dissipate the fears of
godly survivors, and create a cairn intrepidity event
amidst innumerable perils !

How thin is the partition between this world and

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

another ! How short the transition from time to eter-
nity I The partition, nothing more than the breath in
ur nostrils ; and the transition may be made in the
twinkling of an eye. Poor Chremylus, I remember,
arose from the diversion of a card table, and dropped
into the dwellings of darkness. One night, Corinna
was all gaiety in her spirits, all finery in her apparel,
at a magnificent ball. The next night, she lay pale
and stiff, an extended corpse, and ready to be mingled
with the mouldering dead. Young Atticus lived to
see his ample and commodious seat completed : but
not to spend one joyous hour under the stately roof.
The sashes were hung to admit the day ; but the mas-
ter's eyes are closed in endless night. The apartments
were furnished to invite society or administer repose ;
Tnit their lord rests in the lower parts of the earth, in the
solitary silent chambers of the tomb. The gardens
were planned, and a thousand elegant decorations de-
signed ; but alas ! their intended possessor is gone down
to " the place of skulls ;" is gone down to the valley of
the shadow of death.

While I am recollecting, many, I question not, are
experiencing the same tragical vicissitude. The eyes
of that sublime Being, who sits upon the circle of the
earth, and views all its inhabitants with one compre-
hensive glance, even now beholds many tents in afflic-
tion such affliction, as overwhelmed the Egyptians
in that fatal night, when the destroying angel sheathed
his arrows in all the pride of their strength : some,
sinking to the floor from their easy chair, and deaf
even amidst the piercing shrieks of their distracted re-
lations : some giving up the ghost, as they sat retired,
or lie reclined under the shady arbour, to taste the
sweets of the flowery scene : some, as they sail, asso-
ciated with a party of pleasure, along the dancing
stream and through the laughing meads. Nor is the
grim intruder mollified, though wine and music flow
around: some intercepted) as they are returning

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 21

home ; and some interrupted, as they enter upon an im-
portant negociation : some arrested with the gain of in-
justice in their hands ; and some surprised, in the very
act of lewdness, or the attempt of cruelty.

Legions, legions of disasters, such as no prudence can,
foresee, and no care prevent, lie in wait to accomplish
our doom. A starting horse may throw his rider ' r
may at once dash his hody against the stones, and fling:
his soul into the invisible world. A stack of chimneys-
may tumble into the street, and crush the unwary pas-
senger under the ruins. Even a single tile, dropping-
from the roof, may be as fatal as the fall of the whole*
structure. So frail, so very attenuated is the thread of
life, that it not only bursts before the storm, but breaks;
even at a breeze. The most common occurrences, those:
from which we suspect not the least harm, may prove
the weapons of our destruction. A grape-stone, a des-
picable fly, may be more mortal than Goliath, with all
his formidable armour. Nay, if God give command,,
our very comforts become killing. The air we breathe-
is our bane; and the food we eat the vehicle of death.
That last enemy has unnumbered avenues for his ap-
proach ; yea, lies entrenched in our very bosom, and
holds his fortress in the seat of our life. The crimson
fluid, which distributes health, is impregnated with
the seeds of death. Heat may inflame it, or toil op-
press it j and make it destroy the parts it was designed
to cherish. Some unseen impediment may obstruct
its passage, or some unknown violence may divert its
course; in either of which cases, it acts the part of a
poisonous draught or a deadly stab.

Ah ! in what perils is vain life engaged !

What slight neglects, what trivial faults destroy

The hardiest frame ! Of indolence, of toil

We die ; of want, of superfluity.

The all-surrounding heaven, the vital air,

Is big with death.

Since then we are so liable to be dispossessed of

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

this -earthly tabernacle, let us look upon ourselves only
as tenants at will; and hold ourselves in perpetual
readiness, to depart at a moments warning. Without
such an habitual readiness, we are like wretches that
*leep on the top of a mast, while a horrid gulph
yawns, or furious waves rage below. And where can
be the peace, what the satisfaction, of such a state?
Whereas, a prepared condition will inspire a cheerful-
ness of temper, not to be dismayed by any alarming
.accident; and create a firmness 'of mind, not to be
overthrown by the most threatening dangers. When
the city is fortified with walls, furnished with provision,
guarded by able and resolute troops j what have the
inhabitants to fear ? what may they not enjoy ? So,
just so, or rather by a much surer band, are connected
ihe real taste of life, and constant thought of death.

I said, Our very comforts may become killing.-
And see the truth inscribed by the hand, sealed with
the 7 signet, of fate. The marble which graces yonder
pillar, informs me, that near it are deposited the re-
.mains of Sophronia, the much lamented Sophronia,
who died in childbed. How often does this calamity
.happen ! The branch shoots ; but the stem withers.
The babe springs to light ; but she that bare him
breathes her last. She gives life, but gives it (O pitia-
ble consideration ! at the expense of her own ;) and be-
comes at once, a mother and a corpse. Or else, perhaps,
-she expires in severe pangs, and is herself a tomb for
Jier infant ; while the melancholy complaint of a mon-
a-rch's wo is the epitaph for them both ; The children
are come to the birth^ and there is not strength to bring
forth. Less to be lamented, in my opinion, this mis-
fortune, than the other. Better for the tender stranger
to be stopped in the porch ; than to enter, only to con-
verse with affliction. Better to find a grave in the
womb ; than to be exposed on a hazardous world,
without the guardian of its infantine years, without the
.farithful guide of its youth.

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 23

This monument is distinguished by its finer materi-
als and more delicate appendages. It seems to have
taken its model from an affluent hand, directed hy a
generous heart ; which thought it could never do
enough for the deceased. It seems, also, to exhibit an
emblematical picture of Sophronids person and ac-
complishments. Is her beauty, or, what is more than
beauty, her white-robed innocence, represented by the
snowy colour ? the surface smoothly polished, like her
amiable temper and engaging manners? the whole
adorned, in a well-judged medium between extrava-
gant pomp and sordid negligence, like her undissembled
goodness, remote from the least ostentation, yet in all
points exemplary ? But ah ! how vain were all these
endearing charms ! How vain the lustre of thy
sprightly eye! How vain the bloom of thy bridal
youth ! How vain the honours of thy superior birth !
how unable to secure the lovely possessor from the
savage violence of death ! How ineffectual the uni-
versal esteem of thy acquaintance, the fondness of thy
transported husband, or even the spotless integrity of"
thy character, to prolong thy span, or procure thee
a short reprieve ! The concurrence of all these cir-
cumstances reminds me of those beautiful and tender
lines ;

How loved, how valued once, avails thee not ;
.To whom related or by whom begot,
A heap of dust alone remains of thee:

,'Tis all THOU art .! and all the PROUD shall be !

POPE'S Miscell.

Yet, though unable to divert the stroke, Christianity
is sovereign to pluck out the sting of death. Is no*
this the silent language of those lamps, which burn r
and of that heart which flames ; of those palms, which
flourish, and of that crown, which glitters in the well-
imitated and gilded marble? Do they not, to the dis-
cerning eye, describe the vigilance of her faith ; the
fervency of her devotion j her victory over the world

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

and the celestial diadem which the Lord, the righteous
Judge, shall give her at that day ?

How happy the husband, in such a sharer of his
bed, and partner of his fortunes? Their inclinations
were nicely-tuned unison, and all their conversation
was harmony. How silken the yoke to such a pair,
and what blessings were twisted with such bands!
every joy was heightened, and every care alleviated.
Nothing seemed wanting to consummate their bliss,
hut a hopeful progeny rising around them ; that they
might see themselves multiplied in their little ones;
see their mingled graces transfused into their offspring ;
and feel the glow of their affection augmented, by be-
ing reflected from their children. " Grant us this gift,"
said their united prayers, " and our satisfactions are
crowned : we request no more."

Alas ! how blind are mortals to future events ! How
unable to discern what is really good ! Give me child-
ren, said Rachel, or else. I die : an ardour of impa-
tience altogether unbecoming, and as mistaken as it was
unbecoming. She dies, not by the disappointment, but
by the accomplishment, of her desire. If children are
to parents like a flowery chaplet, whose beauties blos-
som with ornament ; and whose odours breathe delight;
death, or some fell misfortune, may find means to en-
twine themselves with the lovely wreath. Whenever
our souls are poured out, with passionate importunity,
after any inferior acquisition, it may be truly said in
the words of our Divine Master, Ye know not what ye,
ask. Does Providence withhold the thing that we
long for ? It denies in mercy ; and only withholds the
occasion of our misery, perhaps the instrument of our
ruin. With a sickly appetite, we often loathe what is
wholesome, and hanker after our bane. Where ima-
gination dreams of unmingled sweets, there experience
frequently finds the bitterness of wo.

Therefore, may we covet immoderately neither this
nor that from earthly felicity ; but refer the whole of

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 25

our condition to the choice of unerring Wisdom. May/
we learn to renounce our own will and be ready toj
make a sacrifice of our warmest wishes, whenever!
they run counter to the good pleasure of God. For,|
indeed, as to obey his laws is to be perfectly free ; so,i
to resign ourselves to his disposal, is to establish ourl
own happiness, and to be secure from fear of evil.

Here, a small and plain stone is placed upon the
ground ; purchased, one would imagine, from the little
fund, and formed by the hand of frugality itself. Nothing
costly ; not one decoration added ; only a very short
inscription ; and that so effaced, -as to be scarcely intel-
ligible. Was the depository unfaithful to his trust? or
were the letters worn by the frequent resort of the sur-
viving family to mourn over the grave of a most valu-
able and beloved relative ? For I perceive upon a
closer inspection, that it covers the remains of a father ;
a. religious father, snatched from his growing offspring
before they were settled in the world, or so much as
their principles fixed by a thorough education.

This, sure, is the most complicated distress that has
hitherto come under our consideration. The solemni-
ties of such a> dying chamber, are some of the most
melting and melancholy scenes imaginable. There
lies the affectionate husband ; the indulgent parent ; the
faithful friend ; and the generous master. He lies in
the last extremities, and on the very point of dissolu-
tion. Art has done its all. The raging disease mocks
the power of medicine. It hastens, with resistless im-
petuosity, to execute its dreadful errand ; to rend asun-
der the silver cord of life, and the more delicate tie of
social attachment and conjugal affection.

A servant or two, from a revering distance, cast
many a wishful look, and condole their honoured mas-
ter in the language of sighs. The condescending
mildness of his commands was wont to produce an
alacrity of ohedience, and render their service a plea-
sure. The remembrance of both imbitters their grief,

VOL. i. 3

26 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

and makes it trickle plentifully down their honest
cheeks. His friends, who have so often shared his
joys, and gladdened his mind with their enlivening
converse, now are miserable comforters. A sympathi-
zing and mournful pity is all the relief they are able to
contribute ; unless it be augmented by their silent
prayers for the divine succour, and a word of consolation
suggested from the Scriptures. Those poor innocents,
the children, crowd around the bed ; drowned in tears,
and almost frantic with grief, they sob out their little
souls, and passionately cry, " Will he leave us ? leave
us in a helpless condition! leave us to an injurious
world 1"

These separate streams are all united in the dis-
tressed spouse, and overwhelm her breast with an im-
petuous tide of sorrows. In her, the lover weeps ; the
wife mourns : and all the mother yearns. To her the
loss is beyond measure aggravated, by months and
years of delightful society and exalted friendship.
Where, alas ! can she meet with such unsuspected
fidelity, or repose such unreserved confidence? Where
find so discreet a counsellor ; so improving an example ;
and a guardian so sedulously attentive to the interests
of herself and her children? See! how she hangs
over the languishing bed ; most tenderly solicitious to
prolong a life, important and desirable far beyond her
own. Or, if that be impracticable, no less tenderly of-
ficious to soothe the last agonies of her dearer self.
Her hands, trembling under direful apprehensions,
wipe the cold dews from the livid cheeks ; and some-
times stay the sinking head on her gentle arms, some-
times rest it on her compassionate bosom. See ! how
she gazes, with a speechless ardour on the pale coun-
tenance and meagre features. Speechless her tongue ;
but she looks unutterable things : while all her soft
passions throb with unavailing fondness, and her very
soul bleeds with exquisiteanguish.

The sufferer, all patient and adoring, submits to the

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 27

3

-divine will ; and by submission, becomes superior to
'his affliction. He is sensibly touched with the discon-
solate state of his attendants, and pierced with an
anxious concern for his wife and his children : his wife,
who will soon be a destitute, widow ; his children, who
will soon be helpless orphans. " Yet though cast
down, not in despair." He is greatly refreshed by his
trust in the everlasting covenant, and his hope of ap-
proaching glory. Religion gives a dignity to distress.
At each interval of ease, he comforts his very comfor-
ters ; and suffers with all the majesty of wo.

The soul, just going to abandon the tottering clay,
collects all her force, and exerts her last efforts. The
good man raises himself on his pillow, extends a kind
hand to his servants, which is bathed in tears ; takes an .
affecting fare well of his friends ; clasps his wife in afeeble
embrace ; kisses the dear pledges of their mutual love j
and then pours all that remains of life and of strength,
in the following words : " I die, my dear children; but
God, the everlasting God, will be with you. Though
you lose an earthly parent, you have a Father in
heaven, who lives for evermore. Nothing, nothing
but an unbelieving heart and irreligious life can ever
separate you from the regards of his providence from
the endearments of his love."

He could proceed no farther. His heart was full, but
utterance failed. After a short pause, with difficulty,
great difficulty, he added: "You, the dear partner
of my soul, you are now the only protector of our or-
phans. I leave you under a weight of cares. But
God, who defendeth the cause of the widow, God,
whose promise is faithfulness and truth God hath said,
I will never leave tkee nor forsake thee. This revives
my drooping spirits let this support the wife of my
bosom and now, O Father of Compassions, into thy
hands I commend my spirit encouraged by thy pro-
mised goodness, / leave my fatherless "

Here he fainted ; fell back upon the bed ; and lay

28 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

for some minutes bereft of his senses. As a taper,
upon the very point of extinction, is sometimes sud-
denly rekindled, and leaps into a quivering flame ; so
life, before it totally expired, gave a parting struggle,
and once more looked abroad from the opening eye
lids. He would fain have spoke ; fain have uttered
the sentence he began. More than once he essayed :
but the organs of speech were become like a broken
vessel; and nothing but the obstructing phlegm rattled
in his throat. His aspect, however, spoke affection inex-
pressible. With all the father, all the husband still living
in his looks, he takes one more view of those dear child-
ren, whom he had often beheld with a parental triumph.
He turns his dying eyes on that beloved woman, whom
he never beheld but with a glow of delight. Fixed in
this posture, amidst smiles of love, and under a gleam
of heaven, they shine out their last.

Upon this, the silent sorrow bursts into loud laments.
They weep and refuse to be comforted ; till some
length of time had given vent to the excess of passion,
and the consolations of religion had stanched their
bleeding woes. Then the afflicted family search for
the sentence, which fell unfinished from those venerable
and pious lips. They find it recorded by the prophet
Jeremiah, containing the direction of Infinite Wisdom,
and the promise of unbounded Goodness: Leave thy
fatherless children; I will preserve them alive; and let
thy widows trust inme. This, now, is the comfort of their
life, and the joy of their heart. They treasure it up in
their memories. It is the best of legacies and an inex-
haustable fund ; a fund which will supply all their
wants, by entailing the blessing of Heaven on all their
honest labours. They are rich, -they are happy in
this sacred pledge of the divine favour. They fear no
evil ; they want no good ; because God is their portion,
and their guardian God.

No sooner turned from one memento of my own,
and memorial of another's disease, but a second, a

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 29

third, a long succession of these melancholy monitors
crowd upon my sight. That which has fixed my ob-
servation, is one of a more grave and sable aspect than
the former. I suppose it preserves the relics of a more
ao-ed person. One would conjecture that he made
somewhat of a figure in his station among the living;
as his monument does among the funeral marbles. Let
me drew near, and inquire of the stone, "who or what,
is beneath its surface." I am informed, he was once
the owner of a considerable estate ; which was much
improved by his own application and management;
that he left the world in the busy period of life, advanced
a little beyond the meridian.

Probably, replied my musing mind, one of those in-
defatigable drudges, who rise early, late take rest, and
eat the bread of carefulness ; not to secure the loving
kindness of the Lord ; not to make provisions for any
reasonable necessity; but only to amass together ten
thousand times more than they can possibly use. Did
he not lay schemes for enlarging his fortune, and ag-
grandizing his family ? Did he not purpose to join
field to field, and add house to house ; till his posses-
sions were almost as vast as his desires ? That, then,
he would sit down and enjoy what he had acquired ;
breathe a while from his toilsome pursuit of things
temporal, and. perhaps, think a little of things eternal.

But see the folly of worldly wisdom ! How silly,
how childish, is the sagacity of (what is called) manly
and masterly prudence ; when it contrives more soli-
citously for TIME than it provides for ETERNITY ! How
strangely infatuated are those subtle heads, which
weary themselves in concerting measures for phantoms
of a day ; and scarce bestow a thought on everlasting
realities ! when every wheel moves on smoothly ;
when all the well disposed designs are ripening apace
for execution ; and the long expected crisis of enjoy-
ment seems to approach ; behold ! God from on high
laughs at die Babel-builder. Death touches the bub-

30 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

ble and it breaks, it drops into nothing. The cobweb,
most finely spun indeed, but more easily dislodged, is
swept away in an instant ; and all the abortive projects
are buried in the same grave with their projector. So
true is that verdict which the wisdom from above
passes on these succesful unfortunates : " They walk
in a vain shadow, and disquiet themselves in vain."

Speak, ye that attend such a one in his last minutes ;
ye that heard his expiring sentiments; did he not cry out,
in the language of disappointed sensuality, " O death !
how terrible is thy approach to a man immersed in secu-
lar cares, and void of all concern for the never-ending
hereafter ! Where, alas! is the profit, where the com-
fort of entering deep into the knowledge, and of being
dexterous in the despatch of earthly affairs ; since I
have all the while neglected the one thing needful !
Destructive mistake ! I have been attentive to every in-
ferior interest ; I have laid myself out on the trifles of a
moment ; but have disregarded heaven ; have forgot
eternal ages ! O ! that my days," here, he was going
on to breathe some fruitless wishes, or to form I know
not what ineffectual resolutions: but a sudden convul-
sion shook his nerves ; disabled his tongue ; and, in
less than an hour, dissolved his frame.

May the children of this world be warned by the
dying words of an unhappy brother, and gather ad-
vantage from his misfortune. Why should they pant,
with such impatient ardour, after white and yellow
earth ; as if the universe did not afford sufficient for
every one to take a little? Why should they lade
themselves with thick clay, when they are to " run for
an incorruptible crown, and press towards the prize of
their high calling ?" Why should they overload the
vessel, in which their everlasting ALL is embarked ; or
fill their arms with superfluities, when they are to
swim for their lives ? Yet. so preposterous is the con-
duct of those persons, who are all industry to heap up
an abundance of the wealth which perisheth, but are

MEDITATIONS AMONG- THE TOMBS. 31

scarce so much, as faintly desirous of "being rich to-
wards God.

O ! that we may walk through all these glittering 1
toys, at least with a wise indifference, if not with a su-
perior disdain ! Having enough for the conveniences
of life, let us only accommodate ourselves with things
below, and lay up our treasures in the regions above.
| Whereas, if we indulge an anxious concern, or lavish
| an inordinate care, on any transitory possessions, we
I shall rivet them to our affections, with so firm an union,
| that the utmost severity of pain must attend the separa-
1 ting stroke. By such an eager attachment to what
| will certainly be ravished from us, we shall only en-
| sure to ourselves accumulated anguish against the
4 agonizing hour. We shall plant, aforehand, our dying
1 pillow with thorns.

:' Some, I perceive, arrived at threescore years and
,/ ten before they made their exit ; nay, some few resigned
; not their breath till they had numbered fourscore re-
volving harvests. These, I would hope, " remembered
; their Creator in the days of their youth ;" before their
strength became labour and sorrow ; before that low
ebb of languishing nature, when the keepers of the
house tremble, and those that look out of the windows
are darkened : when even the lighting down of the
grasshopper is a burden on the bending shoulders ;
and desire itself fails in the listless, lethargic soul ; be-
; fore those heavy hours come, and those tiresome mo-
| ments draw nigh, in which there is too much reason,
; to say. " we have no pleasure in them ;" no improvement
; from them.

If their lamps were unfurnished with oil, how unfit
must they be, in such decrepit circumstances, to go to
the market, and buy. For besides a variety of disorders,
arising from the enfeebled constitution, their corrup-
tions must be surprisingly strengthened by such a long
course of irreligion. Evil habits must have struck the
1 deepest root ; must have twisted themselves with every

32 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

fibre of the heart ; and be as thoroughly ingrained in
the disposition, as the soot in the Ethiopians complex-
ion, or the spots in the leopard's skin. If such a one,
under such disadvantages, surmounts all the difficulties
which lie in his way to glory, it must be a great and
mighty salvation indeed. If such a one escapes de-
struction, and is saved at last ; it must, without all per-
ad venture, be so as by fire.

This is the season which stands in need of comfort,
and is very improper to enter upon the conflict. The
husbandman should now be putting in his sickle, or
eating the fruit of his labours ; not beginning to break
up the ground, or scatter the seed. Nothing, 'tis true,
is impossible with God. He said, Let there be light,
and there was light ; instantaneous light diffused, as
quick as thought, through all the dismal dominion of
primeval darkness. At his command, a leprosy of the
longest continuance, and of the utmost inveteracy, de-
parts in a moment. He can, in the greatness of his
strength, quicken the wretch who has lain dead in
trespasses and sins, not four days only, but fourscore
years. Yet trust not, O trust not, a point of such inex-
pressible importance to so dreadful an uncertainty.
God may suspend his power : may withdraw his help ;
may swear in his wrath, that such abusers of his long-
suffering shall " never enter into his rest."

Ye, therefore, that are vigorous in health, and bloom-
ing in years, improve the precious opportunity. Im-
prove your golden hours to the noblest of all purposes :
such as may render you meet for the inheritance of
saints in light ; and ascertain your title to a state of im-
mortal youth, to a crown of eternal glory. Stand not,
all the prime of your day, idle : trifle no longer with
the offers of this immense felicity : but make haste, and
delay not the time, to keep God's commandments.
While you are loitering in a gay insensibility, death
may be bending his bow, and marking you out for
speedy victims. Not long ago I happened to spy a

MEDITATIONS AMONG- THE TOMBS. 33

thoughtless jay. The poor bird was idly busied in
dressing his pretty plumes, or hopping carelessly from,
spray to spray. A sportsman coming by observes the
feathered rover ; immediately he lifts the tube, and
levels his blow. Swifter than whirlwind flies the
leaden death ; and, in a moment, lays the silly creature
breathless on the ground. Such, such may be the fate
of the man who has a fair occasion of obtaining grace
to-day, and wantonly postpones the improvement of it
till to-morrow. He may be cut off in the midst of his
folly, and ruined for ever while he is dreaming of be-
ing wise hereafter.

Some, no doubt, came to this their last retreat, full
of piety, and full of days ; " as a shock of corn, ripe
with age and laden with plenty, cometh in in his sea-
son." These were children of light, and wise in their
generation ; wise with that exalted wisdom which
cometh from above, and with tha^ enduring wisdom
which lasts to eternity. Rich also they were, more hon-
orably and permanently rich, than all the votaries of
Mammon. The wealth of the one has made itself wings,
and is irrecoverably gone ; while the wretched acquirers
are transmitted to that place of penury and pain, where
not so much as one drop of water is allowed to cool their
scorching tongues. The stores of the other still abide
with them ; will never depart from them ; but make
them glad for ever and ever, in the city of their God.
Their treasures were such as no created power could
take away ; such as none but infinite beneficence can
bestow ; and (comfortable to consider) such as I, and
every indigent longing sinner, may obtain ; treasures
of heavenly knowledge and saving faith; treasures of
atoning blood and imputed righteousness.

Here lie their bodies in " peaceable habitations, and
quiet resting places." Here, they have thrown off
every burden, and are escaped from every snare. The
head aches no more ; the eye forgets to weep ; the flesh
is no longer racked with acute, nor wasted with linger-

34 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

ing distempers. Here, they receive a final release
from pain, and an everlasting discharge from sorrow.
Here, danger never threatens them with her terrifying
alarms ; but tranquillity softens their couch, and safety
guards their repose. Rest then, ye precious relics,
within this hospitable gloom. Rest in gentle slumbers,
till the last trumpet shall give the welcome signal ; and
sound aloud, through all your silent mansions, " Arise !
shine ; for your light is come, and the glory of the
Lord is risen upon you.",

To these, how calm was the evening of life ! In
what a smiling serenity did their sun go down !
When their flesh and their heart failed, how reviving
was the remembrance of an all-sufficient Redeemer,
once dying for their si?is, now risen again for their jus-
tification ! How cheering the well-grounded hope of
pardon for their transgressions, and peace with God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord ? How did this assuage
the agonies, and sweeten the bitterness of death 1 Where
now is wealth, with all her golden mountains ? Where
is honour, with her proud trophies of renown ? Where
are all the vain pomps of a deluded world? Can they
inspire such comfort, can they administer any support,
in this last extremity ? Can they compose the affrighted
thoughts'? or buoy up the departing soul, amidst all the
pangs of dissolution ? The followers of the Lamb
seemed pleased and triumphant, even at their last gasp.
" God's everlasting arms are underneath" their faint-
ing heads. His Spirit whispers peace and consolation
to their consciences. In the strength of these heavenly
succours, they quit the field, not captives, but conquerors,
with "hopes full of immortality."

And now they are gone. The struggles of reluc-
tant nature are over. The body sleeps in death; the
soul launches into the invisible state. But who can
imagine the delightful surprise, when they find them-
selves surrounded by guarding angels instead of weep-
ing friends ? How securely do they wing their way,

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 35

and pass through unknown worlds, under the conduct
of those celestial guides ? The vale of tears is quite
lost. Farewell, for ever, the realms of wo, and range
of malignant beings ! They arrive on the frontiers of
inexpressible felicity. They " are come to the city of
the living God :" while a voice sweeter than music in
her softest strains, sweet as the harmony of hymning
seraphim, congratulates their arrival, and bespeaks
their admission : Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; and
be ye lift up ye everlasting doors, that the heirs of glory
may enter in.

Here, then, let us leave the spirits and souls of the
righteous ; escaped from an entangling wilderness, and
received into a paradise of delights ! escaped from the
territories of disquietude, and settled in regions of un-
molested security ! here they set down with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of their Father.
Here, they mingle with an innumerable company of
angels, and rejoice around the throne of the Lamb : re-
joice in the fruition of present felicity, and in the as-
sured expectation of an inconceivable addition to their
bliss : when God shall call the heavens from above, and
the earth, that he may judge his people.

Fools accounted their life madness, and their end to be
without honour : but they are numbered among the chil-
dren of God. and their lot, their distinguished and eternal
lot, is among the saints ! However, therefore, an un-
discerning world may despise, and a profane world
vilify, the truly religious ; be this the supreme, the inva-
riable desire of my heart ; " Let me live the life and
die the death of the righteous. Oh ! let my latter end
and future state be like theirs !"

What figure is that which strikes my eye from an
eminent part of the wall ? It is not only placed in a
more elevated situation than the rest, but carries a more
splendid and sumptuous air than ordinary. Swords
and spears, murdering engines and instruments of
slaughter, adorn the stone with a formidable magnifi-

36 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

cence. It proves to be the monument of a noble war-
rior.

Is such respect, thought I, paid to the memory of
this brave soldier for sacrificing his life to the public
good? Then what honours, what immortal honours
are due to the great Captain of our Salvation ? who,
though Lord of the angelic legions, and supreme Com-
mander of all the heavenly hosts, willingly offered him-
self a bleeding propitiation for sinners !

The one died, being a mortal, and only yielded up
a. life which was long before forfeited to divine justice :
which must soon have been surrendered as a debt to
nature if it had not fallen as a prey to war. But
Christ took flesh and gave up the ghost, though he
was the great I AM, the fountain of existence, who
calls happiness and immortality all his own. He who
thought it no robbery to be equal with God, he whose
outgoings were from everlasting, even he was made in
the likeness of man, and cut off out of the land of the
living. Wonder, O heavens ! be astonished, O earth !
He died the death, of whom it is witnessed, that he is
<c the true God and eternal life."

The one exposed himself to peril in the service of his
sovereign and his country, which though it was glorious
to do, yet would have been ignominious in such cir-
cumstances to have declined. Christ took the field,
though he was the blessed and only Potentate ; the King
of kings, and Lord of lords. Christ took the field,
though he was sure to drop in the engagement ; and
put on the harness, though he knew beforehand that it
must reek with his blood. That Prince of heaven re-
signed his royal person, not barely to the hazard, but
to the inevitable stroke ; to death, certain in its approach
and armed with all its horrors. And for whom ? Not
for those who were in any degree deserving, but for
his disobedient creatures, for the pardon of condemned
malefactors : for a band of rebels, a race of traitors,
the most obnoxious and inexcusable of all criminals,

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 37

whom he might have left to perish in their iniquities,
without the least impeachment of his goodness, and to
the display of his avenging justice.

The one, it is probable, died expeditiously I was sud-
denly wounded, and soon slain. A bullet lodged in
his heart, a sword sheathed in his breast, or a battle-
axe cleaving the brain, might put a speedy end to his
misery, despatch him " as in a moment ;" whereas the
divine Redeemer expired in tedious and protracted tor-
ments. His pangs were as lingering as they were ex-
quisite. Even in the prelude to his last suffering, what
a load of sorrows overwhelmed his sacred humanity!
till the intolerable pressure wrung blood, instead of
sweat, from every pore : till the crimson flood stained
all his raiment and tinged the very stones. But, when
the last scene of the tragedy commenced ; when the
executioner's hammer had nailed him to the cross ; O !
how many dismal hours did that illustrious sufferer
hang, a spectacle of wo to God, to angels, and to men !
His temples mangled with the thorny crown ! his
hands and feet cleft with the rugged irons! his whole
body covered with wounds and bruises ! and his soul,
his very soul, . pierced with pangs of unutterable dis-
tress !

So long he hung, that nature through all her domin-
ions was thrown into sympathizing commotions. The
earth could no longer sustain such barbarous indigni-
ties without trembling, nor the sun behold them with-
out horror. Nay, so long did he hang in this extrem-
ity of agony and torture, that the alarm reached even
the remote regions of the dead. Never, O my soul,
never forget the amazing truth. The Lamb of God
was seized, was bound, was slaughtered with the ut-
most inhumanity, and endured death in all its bitter-
ness for thee! His murderers, studiously cruel, so>
guided the fatal cup, that he tasted every drop of its gall,
before he drank it off to the very dregs.

Once again: ike warrior died like a hero, and fell

VOL. i. 4

38 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

gallantly in the field of battle. But died not Christ 05 a
fool dieth ? Not on the bed of honour, with scars of
glory in his breast; but like some execrable miscreant
on a. gibbet, with the lashes of the vile scourge on his
back. Yes, the blessed Jesus bowed his expiring
head on the accursed tree, suspended between heaven
and earth, as an outcast from both, and unworthy of
either.

What suitable returns of inflamed and adoring de-
votion can we make to the Holy one of God ; thus dy-
ing, that we might live ; dying in ignominy and an-
guish, that we might live for ever in the heights of joy r
and sit for ever on thrones of glory? Alas ! it is not
in us, impotent, insensible mortals, to be duly thank-
ful. He only who confers such inconceivably rich fa-
vours, can enkindle a proper warmth of grateful affec-
tions Then build thyself a monument, most gracious
Immanuel, build thyself an everlasting monument of
gratitude in our souls. Inscribe the memory of thy
matchless beneficence, not with ink and pen. but witK
that precious blood which gushed from thy wounded
veins. Engrave it, not with the hammer and chisel,
but with that sharpened spear which pierced thy
sacred side. Let it stand conspicuous and indelible,
not on outward tables of stone, but on the very inmost
tables of our hearts,

One thing more let me observe, before I bid adieu
to this entombed warrior, and his garnished sepulchre.
How mean are these ostentatious methods, of bribing
the vote of fame, and purchasing a little posthumous
renown ! What a poor substitute for a set of memor-
able actions, is polished alabaster, or the mimickry of
sculptured marble ! The real excellency of this bleed-
ing patriot is written on the minds of his countrymen
it would be remembered with applause so long as the-
nation subsists, without this artificial expedient to per-
petuate it. And such, such is the monument I would
wish for myself. Let me leave a memorial in the

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 39

breasts of my fellow creatures. Let surviving friends
bear witness, that I have not lived to myself alone, nor
been altogether unserviceable in my generation. Oh !
let an uninterrupted series of beneficent offices be the
inscription ; and the best interests of my acquaintance
the plate that exhibits it.

Let the poor, as they pass by my grave, point at the
little spot, and thankfully acknowledge, " There lies the
man, whose unwearied kindness was the constant re-
lief of my various distresses ; who tenderly visited my
languishing bed, and readily supplied my indigent cir-
cumstances. How often were his counsels a guide to
my perplexed thoughts, and a cordial to my dejected
spirits ! 'Tis owing to God's blessing, on his seasona-
ble charities, and prudent consolations, that I now live,
and live in comfort." Let a person, once ignorant
and ungodly, lift up his eyes to heaven, and say with-
in himself, as he walks over my bones, " Here are the
last remains of that sincere friend, who watched for my
soul. I can never forget with what heedless gaiety I
was posting on in the paths of perdition ; and I tremble
to think into what irretrievable ruin I might quickly
have been plunged, had not his faithful admonitions
arrested me in the wild career. I was unacquainted
with the Gospel of peace, and had no concern for its
unsearchable treasures ; but now, enlightened by his
instructive conversation, I see the all sufficiency of my
Saviour, and animated by his repeated exhortations, I
count all things but loss, that I may win Christ. Me-
thinks, his discourses, seasoned with religion, and set
home by the divine Spirit, still tingle in my ears, are
still warm upon my heart ; and, I trust, will be more
and more operative, till we meet each other in the
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."

The only infallible way of immortalizing our char-
acters, a way equally open to the meanest and most
exalted fortune, is, " To make our calling and election
sure, to gain some sweet evidence that our names are

40 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

written in heave?i. Then, however they may be disre-
garded or forgotten among men, they will not fail to
be had in everlasting remembrance before the Lord.
This is, of all distinctions, far the noblest. Ambition, be
this thy object, and every page of Scripture will sanc-
tify thy passion ; even grace itself will fan thy flame.
As to earthly memorials, yet a little while, and they
are all obliterated. The tongue of those, whose hap-
piness we have zealously promoted, must soon be silent
in the coffin. Characters cut with a pen of iron, and
committed to the solid rock, will ere long cease to be
legible. But as many as are enrolled "in the Lamb's
book of life," He himself declares, shall never be blotted
out from those annals of eternity. When a flight of
years has mouldered the triumphant column in dust j
when the brazen statue perishes under the corroding-
hand of time ; those honours still continue, still are
blooming and incorruptible in the world of glory.

Make the extended skies your tomb ;

Let stars record your worth,
Yet know, vain mortals, all must die,

As nature's sickliest birth.

Would honnteous Heaven indulge my prayer,

I frame a nobler choice ;
Nor, living, wish the pompous pile ;

Nor, dead, regret the loss.

In thy fair book of life divine,

My God, inscribe my name :
There let it fill some humble place

Beneath the slaughter'd Lamb.

Thy saints, while ages roll away,

In endless fame survive ;
Their glories, o'er the wrongs of time

Greatly triumphant, live.

Yonder entrance leads, I suppose, to the vault. Let
me turn aside, and take one view of the habitation, and
its tenants. The sullen door grates upon its hinges:
not used to receive many visitants, it admits me with
reluctance and murmurs. What meaneth this sudden

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 41

trepidation while I descend the steps, and am visiting-
the pale nations of the dead ? Be composed, my spirits ;
there is nothing to fear in these quiet chambers. "Here,
even the wicked cease from troubling."

Good Heavens ! what a solemn scene ! How dismal
the gloom ! Here is perpetual darkness, and night even
at noon-day. How doleful the solitude ! Not one trace
of cheerful society ; but sorrow and terror seem to have
made this their dreaded abode. Hark! how the hoi-
low dome resounds at every tread. The echoes that
Jong have slept, are awakened ; and lament, and sigh,
along the walls.

A beam or two finds its way through the grates, and
reflects a feeble glimmer from the nails of the coffins.
So many of those sad spectacles, half concealed in.
shades, half seen dimly by the baneful twilight, add a
deeper horror to these gloomy mansions. I pore upon
the inscriptions, and am just able to pick out, that
these are the remains of the rich and renowned. No
vulgar dead are deposited here. The most illustrious
and right honourable have claimed this for their last re-
treat: and, indeed, they retain somewhat of a shadowy
pre-eminence. They lie, ranged in mournful order,
and in a sort of silent pomp, under the arches of an
ample sepulchre ; while mean corpses, without much
ceremony, "go down to the stones of the pit."

My apprehensions recover from their surprise. I
find here are no phantoms, but such as fear raises.
However, it still amazes me to observe the wonders
of this nether world. Those who received vast reve-
nues, and called whole lordships their own, are here
reduced to half a dozen feet of earth, or confined in a.
few sheets of lead. Rooms of state and sumptuous fur-
niture are resigned, for no other ornament than the
shroud, for no other apartment than the darksome niche.
Where is the star that blazed upon the breast, or co-
ronet that glittered round the temples? The only re-
mains of departed dignity are, the weather beaten

4*

42 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

hatchment and the tattered escutcheon. I see no splen-
did retinue surrounding this solitary dwelling. The
lordly equipage hovers no longer about the lifeless
master. He has no other attendant than a dusty statue,
which, while the regardless world is as gay as ever ?
the sculptor's hand has taught to weep.

Those who gloried in high-born ancestors and noble
pedigree, here drop their lofty pretensions. They ac-
knowledge kindred with creeping things, and quarter
arms with the meanest reptiles. They say to corrup-
tion, Thou art my father ; audio the worm, Thou art
my mother and my sister. Or, should they still assume
the style of distinction, ah ! how impotent were the
claim ! how apparent the ostentation ! Is it said by their
monument, " Here lies the great ?" How easily is it
replied by the spectator !

False marble ! where?

Nothing but poor and sordid dust lies here.

Mortifying truth ! Sufficient, one would think, to
wean the most sanguine appetite from this transitory
state of things ; from its sickly satisfactions, its fading:
glories, its vanishing treasures ;

For now, ye lying vanities of life !
Ye ever-tempting, ever-cheating train !

Where are you now? And what is your amount?

What is all the world to these poor breathless be-
ings ? What are their pleasures ? A bubble broke.
What their honours? A dream that is forgotten. What
the sum total of their enjoyments below 1 Once, perhaps,,
it appeared, to inexperience and fond desire, some-
thing considerable; but now death has measured it
with his line and weighed it in his scale, what is the
upshot? Alas ! it is shorter than a span : lighter than
the dancing spark ; and driven away like the dissolv-
ing smoke.

Indulge, my soul, a serious pause. Recollect all
the gay things that were wont to dazzle thy eyes and

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 45-

inveigle thy affections. Here examine those baits of
sense ; here form an estimate of their real value. Sup-
pose thyself first among the favourites of fortune, who
revel in the lap of pleasure, who shine in the robes of
honour, and swim in tides of inexhausted riches. Yet r
how soon will the passing bell proclaim thy exit ! And
when once that iron call has summoned thee to thy fu-
ture reckoning, where would all these gratifications
be ? At that period, how will all the pageantry of ther
most affluent, splendid, or luxurious circumstances
vanish into empty air ! And is this a happiness so pas-
sionately to be coveted ?

I thank you, ye relics of sounding titles and magni-
ficent names. Ye have taught me more of the little-;
ness of the world than all the volumes of my library. !
Your nobility arrayed in a winding-sheet, your gran-
deur mouldering in an urn, are the most indisputable
proofs of the nothingness of created things. Never,,
surely, did Providence write this important point in
such legible characters, as in the ashes of my lord on
the corpse of his grace. Let others, if they please, pay
their obsequious court to your wealthy sons, and ig-
nobly fawn, or anxiously sue, for preferments: my
thoughts shall often resort, in pensive contemplation, to
the sepulchres of their sires; and learn, from their
sleeping dust to moderate my expectations from mor-
tals, to stand disengaged from every undue attachment
to the little interests of time, to get above the delusive
amusements of honour, the gaudy tinsels of wealth,,
and all the empty shadows of a perishing world.

Hark ! what sound is that? In such a situation every
noise alarms. Solemn and slow, it breaks again upon
the silent air. ' Tis the striking of the clock ; designed,,
one would imagine, to ratify all my serious medita-
tions. Methinks it says Amen, and sets a seal to every
improving hint. It tells me, that another portion of
my appointed time is elapsed. One calls it, "the knelli
of my departed hours." 'Tis the watchword to vigilance

44 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

activity. It cries in the ear of reason, " Redeem
the time. Catch the favourable gales of opportunity :
O ! catch them, while they breathe ; before they are
irrecoverably lost. The span of life shortens con-
tinually. Thy minutes are all upon the wing, and
hastening to be gone. Thou art a borderer upon
eternity, and making incessant advances to the state
ithou art contemplating." May the admonition sink
deep into an attentive and obedient mind ! May it
4each me that heavenly arithmetic, of " numbering my
4ays, and applying my heart unto wisdom !"

I have often walked beneath the impending pro-
montory's craggy cliff; I have sometimes trod the vast
-spaces of the lonely desert, and penetrated the inmost
recesses of the dreary cavern : but never, never beheld
-nature louring with so tremendous a form ; never felt
.such impressions of awe striking cold on my heart, as
under these black-browed arches, amidst these mouldy
walls, and surrounded by such rueful objects; where
melancholy, deepest melancholy, for ever spreads her
raven wings ! Let me now emerge from the damp
-and dreadful obscurity! Farewell, ye seats of deso-
lation, and shades of death ! Gladly I revisit the realms
-of day.

Having cast a superficial view upon these receptacles
-of the dead, curiosity prompts my inquiry to a more
intimate survey. Could we draw back the covering
rof the tomb ; could we discern what those are now
who once were mortals Oh ! how would it surprise
and grieve us! surprise us, to behold the prodigious
-transformation which has taken place on every indi-
.vidual ! grieve us, to observe the dishonour done to
our nature in general within these subterraneous lodge-
ments !

Here, the sweet and winning aspect, that wore- per-
petually an attractive smile, grins horribly a naked
ghastly skull. The eye that outshone the diamond's
brilliancy, and glanced its lovely lightning into the

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 45*

most guarded heart : alas ! where is it ? Where shall
we find the rolling sparkler ? How are all its sprightly
beams eclipsed, totally eclipsed ! The tongue, that once
commanded all the power of eloquence, in this strange
land has " forgot its cunning." Where are now those
strains of harmony, which ravished our ears ? Where
is that flow of persuasion, which carried captive our
judgments ? The great master of language and of
song is hecome silent as the night that surrounds him,
the pampered flesh* so lately clothed in purple and fine
linen, how is it covered rudely with clods of clay !'
There was a time, when the timorously nice creature
would scarce " adventure to set a foot upon the ground
for delicateness and tenderness," but is now enwrapped
in clammy earth, and sleeps on no softer a pillow than
the ragged gravel-stones. Here, " the strong men bow~
themselves." The nervous arm is unstrung ; the
brawny sinews are relaxed ; the limbs, not long ago*
the seats of vigour and activity, lie down motionless ;.
and the bones, which were as bars of iron, are crum-
bled into dust.

Here, the man of business forgets all his favourite-
schemes, and discontinues the pursuit of gain. Here r
is a total stand to the circulation of merchandise ancfc
the hurry of trade. In these solitary recesses, as in;,
the building of Solomons temple, is heard no sound of
the hammer and axe. The winding sheet and the-
coffin are the utmost bound of all earthly devices^
" Hitherto may they go, but no farther." Here, the-
sons of pleasure take a final farewell of their delights,.
No more is the sensualist anointed with oil, or crowned
with rose-buds. He chants no more to the melody of
the viol, nor revels any longer at the banquet of wine.
Instead of sumptuous tables and delicious treats, the:
poor voluptuary is himself a feast for fattened insects ;
the reptile riots in his flesh ; " the worm feeds sweetly
on him." Here also beauty fails ; bright beauty dropV
her lustre here. O ! how her roses fade, and her lilies;

-46 MEDITATIONS AMONG} THE TOMBS.

.languish, in this bleak soil ! how does the grand lev-
eller pour contempt upon the charmer of our hearts !
How turn to deformity what captivated the world
before !

Could the lover have a sight of his once enchanting
-fair one, what a startling astonishment would seize
him ! " Is this the object I not long ago so passionately
-admired 1 I said, she was divinely fair, and thought
.her somewhat more than mortal. Her form was sym-
metry itself ; every elegance breathed in her air ; and
all the Graces waited on her motions. 'Twas music
when she spoke ; but when she spoke encouragerrient,
"twas little less than rapture. How my heart danced
to those charming accents ! And can that which, some
weeks ago, was to admiration lovely, be now so insuf-
ferably loathsome ? Where are those blushing cheeks ?
where the coral lips ? where that ivory neck, on which
<the curling jet in such glossy ringlets flowed 1 with a
thousand other beauties of person, and ten thousand
delicacies of action ? Amazing alteration ! Delusory
bliss ! Fondly I gazed upon the glittering meteor. It
ishone brightly and I mistook it for a star ; for a per-
manent and substantial good. But how is it fallen !
.fallen from an orb, not its own ! And all that I can trace
,-on earth, is but a putrid mass."

Lie, poor Florella ! lie deep, as thou dost, in obscure
darkness. Let night, with her impenetrable shades,
always conceal thee. May no prying eye be witness
tio thy disgrace : but let thy surviving sisters think upon
thy state when they contemplate the idol in the glass.
When the pleasing image rises gracefully to view,
surrounded with a world of charms, and flushed with
joy at the consciousness of them all ; then, in those
jninutes of temptation and danger, when vanity uses
to steal into the thoughts then, let them remember
what a veil of horror is drawn over the face which was
-once beautiful and brilliant as theirs. Such a seasona-
ble reflection might regulate the labours of the toilet, and

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

create a more earnest solicitude to polish the jewel than,
to varnish the casket. It might then become their high-
est ambition to have the mind decked with divine vir-
tues, and dressed after the amiable pattern of their Re-
deemer's holiness.

And would this prejudice their person, or depreciate-
their charms 1 Gluite the reverse. It would spread a
sort of heavenly glory over the finest set of features y
and heighten the loveliness of every other engaging-
accomplishrnent. What is yet a more inviting consid-
eration, these flowers would not wither with nature r
nor be tarnished by time ; but would open continually
into richer beauties, and flourish even in the winter of
ao-e. But the most incomparable recommended of these-
noble qualities is, that from their hallowed relics, as
from the fragment ashes of the phoenix, will ere long-
arise an illustrious form, bright as the wings of angels r
lasting- as the liofht of the new Jerusalem.

CJ CJ

For my part, the remembrance of this sad revolution*
shall make me ashamed to pay my devotion to a shrine?
of perishing flesh, and afraid to expect all my happi-
ness from so brittle a joy. It shall teach me not to
think too highly of well-proportioned clay, thougk
formed in the most elegant mould, and animated with*
the sweetest soul. 'Tis Heaven's last, best, and crown-
ing gift, to be received with gratitude, and cherished
with love, as a most valuable blessing ; not worshipped
with the incense of flattery and strains of fulsome
adoration, as a goddess. It will cure, I trust, the dotage
of my eyes ; and incline me always to prefer the sub-
stantial k ' ornaments of a meek and virtuous spirit,"
before the transient decorations of 'white and red or*
the skin.

Here I called in my roving meditations from their
long excursion on this tender subject. Fancy listened
awhile to the soliloquy of a lover. Now judgment
resumes the reins, and guides my thoughts to more
near and self interesting inquiries. However, upon a.

48 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

review of the whole scene, crowded with spectacles of
mortality and trophies of death^ I could not forbear
smiting my breast, and fetching a sigh, and lamenting
over the noblest of all visible beings, laid prostrate
under the feet of " the pale horse and his rider." 1
could not forbear repeating that pathetic exclamation,
" / thou Adam, ichat hast thou done ?" What deso-
lation has thy disobedience wrought in the earth ! See
the malignity, the ruinous malignity, of sin ! Sin has
demolished so many stately structures of flesh : sin has
made such havoc among the most excellent ranks of
God's lower creation : and sin (that deadly bane of our
mature) would have plunged our better part into the
execrable horrors of the nethermost hell, had not our
merciful Mediator interposed, and given himseli' for
-our ransom. Therefore what grateful acknowledg-
ments does the whole world of penitent sinners owe ;
what ardent returns of love will a whole heaven of
glorified believers pay to such a friend, benefactor, and
deliverer I

Musing upon these melancholy objects, a faithful re-
membrancer suorsrests from within " Must this sad

o o

change succeed in me also? Am I to draw my last
gasp ; to become a breathless corpse ; and be what I
deplore ? Is there a time approaching, when this body
.-shall be carried out upon the bier, and consigned to
its clay-cold bed ? while some kind acquaintance, per-
Ihaps, may drop one parting tear, and cry, Alas, my
brother !" Is the time approaching? Nothing is more
^certain : a decree, much surer than the law of the
Medes and Persians, has irrevocably determined the
doom.

Should one of these ghastly figures burst from his
confinement, and start up in frightful deformity before
me should the haggard skeleton lift a clattering hand,
and point it full in my view should it open the stif-
fened jaws, and with a hoarse tremendous murmur
break this profound silence should it accost me as

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 49

SamueEs apparition addressed the trembling king-,
The Lord shall deliver thee also into the hands of death ;
yet a little while, and thou shalt be with me" the so-
lemn warning, delivered in so striking a manner, must
strongly impress my imagination. A message in thun-
der would scarce sink deeper. Yet, there is abun-
dantly greater reason to be alarmed by that express
declaration of the Lord God Almighty, " Thou shalt
surely die" Well then, since sentence is passed, since
I am a condemned man, and know not when the dead
warrant may arrive ; let me die to sin, and die to the
world before I die beneath the stroke of a righteous
God. Let me employ the little uncertain interval of
respite from execution, in preparing for a happier state
and better life ; that when the fatal moment comes and
I am commanded to shut my eyes upon all things here
below, I may open them again to see my Saviour in
the mansions above.

Since this body, which is so fearfully and wonder-
fully made, must fall to pieces in the grave ; since I
must soon resign all my bodily powers to darkness,
inactivity, and corruption, let it be my constant care to
use them well while I possess them ! Let my hands
be stretched forth to relieve the needy, and always be
more " ready to give than to receive." Let my knees
bend in deepest humiliation before the throne of grace,
while my eyes are cast down to the earth in penitential
confusion, or devoutly looking up to heaven for par-
doning mercy ! In every friendly interview let the
"law of 'kindness dwell on my'lips;" or rather, if
the seriousness of my acquaintance permits, let the
Gospel of peace flow from my tongue. O ! that I might
be enabled, in every public concourse, to lift up my
voice like a trumpet, and pour abroad a more joyful
sound than its most melodious accents, in proclaiming
the glad tidings of free salvation ! Be shut, my ears,
resolutely shut, against the malevolent whispers of
slander, and the contagious breath of filthy talking.

VOL. i. 5

50 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

But "be swift to hear the instructions of wisdom ; be
all attention when your Redeemer speaks ; imbibe the
precious truths ; and convey them carefully to the heart
Carry me, my feet, to the temple of the Lord, to the
beds of the sick and houses of the poor. May all my
members, devoted entirely to my divine Master, be the
willing instruments of promoting his glory !

Then, ye embalmers, ye may spare your pains.
These works of faith and labours of love, these shall be
my spices and perfumes. Enwrapped in these, I would
lay me gently down, and sleep sweetly in the blessed
Jesus ; hoping that God will " give, commandment con-
cerning my bones," and one day fetch them up from
the furnace, purified "I say not seven times, but seven-
ty times seven."

Here my contemplation took wing, and in an in-
stant alighted in the garden, adjoining to Mount Cal-
vary. Having viewed the abode of my deceased fel-
low creatures, methought I longed to see the place
where our Lord lay. And, O ! what a marvellous
spectacle was once exhibited in this memorable sepul-
chre ! He " who clothes himself with light as with a
garment, and walks upon the wings of the wind ; He
was pleased to wear the habiliments of mortality, and
dwell among the prostrate dead. Who can repeat the
wondrous truth too often? Who can dwell upon the
transporting theme too long? HE, who sits enthroned
in glory and diffuses bliss among all the heavenly
hosts ; HE, was once a pale and bloody corpse, and
pressed this little spot.

O death ! how great was thy triumph in that hour \
Never did thy gloomy realms contain such a prisoner
before. Prisoner. Did 1 say? No ; He was more than
conqueror. He arose, far more mightily than Samp-
son, from a transient slumber ; broke down the -gates
and demolished the strong-holds of those dark domin-
ions. And this, O mortals, this is your only consolation
and security. Jesus has trod the dreadful path, and

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 51

smoothed it for your passage. Jesus, sleeping in the
chambers of the tomb, has brightened the dismal man-
sion, and left an inviting odour in those beds of dust.
The dying Jesus ! (never let the comfortable truth de-
part from your minds ! the dying Jesus) is your sure
protection, your unquestionable passport, through the
territories of the grave. Believe in Him, and they
shall prove " a highway to Sion ;" shall transmit you
safe to Paradise. Believe in Him, and you shall be
no losers, but unspeakable gainers, by your dissolu-
tion. For hear what the oracle of heaven says
upon this important point : " Whoso believeth in Me,
shall never die." What sublime and emphatical lan-
guage is this ! This much, at least, it must import
The nature of that last change shalJ u be surprisingly
altered for the better: it shall no longer be inflicted
as a punishment, but rather be vouchsafed as a blessing.
To such persons it shall come attended with such a
train of benefits, as will render it a kind of happy im-
propriety to call it dying. Dying! No ; 'tis then they
truly begin to live. Their exit is the end of their frailty
and their entrance upon perfection. Their last groan
is the prelude to life and immortality."

O ye timorous souls, that are terrified at the sound
of the passing-bell, that turn pale at the sight of
an opened grave, and can scarce behold a coffin or a
skull without a shuddering horror ; ye that are in bond-
age to the grisly tyrant, and tremble at the shaking
of his iron rod ; cry mightily to the Father of your spi-
rits, for faith in his dear Son. Faith will free you
from your slavery. Faith will embolden you to tread
on (this fiercest of) serpents. Old Simeon, clasping
the child Jesus in the arms of his flesh, and the glori-
ous Mediator in the arms of his faith, departs with
tranquillity and peace. That bitter persecutor, Saul,
having won Christ, being found in Christ, longs to be
dismissed from, cumbrous clay, and kindles into rapture
at the prospect of dissolution." Methinks I see another

52 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

of Immanuel's followers, trusting in his Saviour, lean-
ing on his Beloved, go down to the silent shades with
composure and alacrity. In this powerful name an
innumerable company of sinful creatures have set up
their banners, and " overcome, through the blood of
the Lamb." Authorised by the Captain of thy salva-
tion, thou also mayest set thy feet upon the neck of the
king of terrors. Furnished with this antidote, thou
also mayest play around the hole of the asp, and put thy
undaunted hand on this cockatrice-den. Thou may-
est feel the viper fastening to thy mortal part, and fear
no evil : thou shalt one day shake it off by a joyful re-
surrection, and suffer no harm.

Resurrection ? That cheering word eases my mind
of an anxious thought, and solves a most momentous
question. I was going to ask, " wherefore do all these
corpses lie here, in this abject condition ? Is this their
final state? Has death conquered, and will the tyrant
hold captivity captive? How long wilt thou forget
them, O Lord? for ever?" No, saith the voice from
heaven, the word of divine revelation ; the. righteous are
all prisoners of hope. There is an hour (an awful se-
cret that, and known only to all-foreseeing Wisdom,)
an appointed hour there is, when an act of grace will
pass the great seal above, and give them an universal
discharge, a general delivery from the abodes of cor-
ruption. -Then shall the Lord Jesus descend from
heaven, with the shout of the archangel and the trump
of God. Destruction itself shall hear his call, and the
obedient grave give up her dead. In a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, they shake off the sleep of ten
thousand years, and spring forth, like the bounding
roe, " to meet their Lord in the air."

And O! with what cordial congratulations, what
transporting endearments, do the soul and body, those
affectionate companions, re-unite ! But with how much
greater demonstrations of kindness are they both re-
ceived by their compassionate Redeemer ! The An-

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 53

cient of days, who^comes in the clouds of heaven, is
their friend, their father, their bridegroom. He
comes with irresistible power and infinite glory, but they
have nothing to fear from his majestic appearance.
Those tremendous solemnities, which spread desolation
and astonishment through the universe, serve only to
inflame their love, and heighten their hopes. The
Judge, the awful Judge, amidst all his magnificence
and splendour, vouchsafes to confess their names,
vouchsafes to commemorate their fidelity, before all the
inhabitants of the skies, and the whole assembled
world.

Hark ! the thunders are hushed. See ! the light-
nings cease their rage. The angelic armies stand in
silent suspense. The whole race of Adam is wrapped
in pleasing or anxious expectation. And now, that
adorable Person, whose favour is better than life, whose
acceptance is a crown of glory, lifts up the light of his
countenance upon the righteous : he speaks, and what
ravishing words proceed from his gracious lips ! what
ecstacies of delight they enkindle in the breasts of the
faithful! "I accept you, O my people! Ye are they
that believe in my name. Ye are they that renounced
yourselves, and are complete in me. I see no spot or
blemish in you, for ye are washed in my blood, and
clothed with my righteousness. Renewed by my Spi-
rit, ye have glorified me on earth, and have been faith-
ful unto death. Come then, ye servants of holiness,
enter into the joy of your Lord. Come, ye children
of light, ye blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom
that shall never be removed, wear the crown which
fadeth not away, and enjoy pleasures for evermore I"

Then, it will be one of the smallest privileges of the
righteous, that they shall languish no more ; that sick-
ness will never again show her pale countenance in
their dwellings. Death itself will be " swallowed up
in victory." That fatal javelin, which has drank the
blood of monarchs and finds its way to the hearts of

5*

54 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

all the sons of Adam^ shall be utterly broken. That
enormous scythe, which has struck empires from their
root, and swept ages and generations into oblivion,
shall lie by in perpetual uselessness. Sin also, which
filled thy quiver, thou insatiate archer : sin which
strung thy arm with resistless vigour ; which pointed
all thy shafts with inevitable destruction sin will then
be done away. Whatever is frail or depraved will be
thrown off with our grave clothes. All to come is
perfect holiness, and consummate happiness, the term
of whose continuance is eternity.

O eternity! eternity! how are our boldest, our strong-
est thoughts, lost and overwhelmed in thee ! Who can
set landmarks to limit thy dimensions, or find plum-
mets to fathom thy depths ? Arithmeticians have fig-
ures to compute all the progressions of time; astronomers
have instruments to calculate the distances of the plan-
ets ; but what numbers can state, what lines can guage,
the lengths and breadths of eternity? it is higher than
heaven, what canst thou do ? deeper than hell, what
canst thou know? the measure thereof is longer than
the earth, broader than the sea.

Mysterious, mighty existence ! a sum not to be less-
ened by the largest deductions ! an extent not to be
contracted by all possible diminutions! None can
truly say, after the most prodigious waste of ages, "So
much of eternity is gone;" for, when millions of cen-
turies are elapsed, it is but just commencing; and,
when millions more have run their ample round, it
will be no nearer ending-. Yea, when ao-es numerous

o / o

as the bloom of spring, increased by the herbage of
summer, both augmented by the leaves of autumn, and
all multiplied by the drops of rain which drown the-
winter when these, and ten thousand times ten thou-
sand more more than can be represented by any simili-
tude, or imagined by any conception when all these
are revolved and finished, eternity, vast, boundless,
amazing eternity, will only be beginning !

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 55

What a pleasing, yet awful thought is this ! full of
delight, and full of dread. O ! may it alarm our fears,
quicken our hopes, and animate all our endeavours /
Since we are so soon to launch into this endless and
inconceivable state, let us give all diligence to secure
our entrance into bliss. JViwo, let us give all diligence
because there is no alteration in the scenes of futurity.
The wheel never turns : all is steadfast and immova-
ble beyond the grave. Whether we are then seated
on the throne, or stretched on the rack ; a seal will be
set to our condition by the hand of everlasting mercy
or inflexible justice. The saints always rejoice amidst
the smiles of Heaven ! their harps are perpetually
tuned ; their triumphs admit of no interruption. The
ruin of the wicked is irremediable. The fatal sentence,
once passed, is never to be repealed. No hope of ex-
changing their doleful habitations ; but all things bear
the same dismal aspect for ever and ever.

The wicked ! my mind recoils at the apprehension
of their misery. It has studiously waved the fearful
subject, and seems unwilling to pursue it, even now.
But 'tis better to reflect upon it for a few minutes, than
to endure it to eternal ages. Perhaps the considera-
tion of their aggravated misery may be profitably terri-
ble ; may teach me more highly to prize the Saviour,
who "delivers from going down into the bottomless
pit;" may drive me, like the avenger's sword, to this
only city of refuge for obnoxious sinners.

The wicked seem to lie here, like malefactors, in a
deep and strong dungeon, reserved against the day of
trial. " Their departure was without peace." Clouds
of horror sat louring upon their closing eye-lids, most
sadly foreboding the " blackness of darkness for ever."
When the last sickness seized their frame, and the inevi-
table change advanced; when they saw the fatal arrow
fitting to the strings, saw the deadly archer aiming at
their heart, and felt the envenomed shaft fastened in
their vitals good God ! what fearfulness came upon

56 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

them ! What horrible dread overwhelmed them ! How
did they stand shuddering and aghast upon the tre-
mendous precipice ! excessively afraid to plunge into
the abyss of eternity, yet utterly unable to maintain,
their standing on the verge of life.

O ! what pale reviews, what startling prospects con-
spire to augment their sorrow ! They look backward,
and behold! a most melancholy scene! sins unrepented
ef ; mercy slighted : and the day of grace ending ! They
look forward, and nothing presents itself 'but the right-
eous Judge ; the dreadful tribunal ; and a most solemn
reckoning. They roll around, their affrighted eyes on
attending friends. If accomplices in debauchery, it
sharpens their anguish to consider this farther aggrava-
tion of their guilt, that they have not sinned alone, but
drawn others into the snare. If religious acquaintance,
it strikes a fresh gash into their hearts, to think of never
seeing them any more, but only at an unapproacha-
ble distance, separated by the impassable gulf.

At last, perhaps, they begin to pray. Finding no
other possible way of relief, they are constrained to ap-
ply unto the Almighty. With trembling h'ps and a
faltering tongue they cry unto that sovereign Being,
" who kills and makes alive." But why have they de-
ferred, so long deferred, their addresses to God ? Why
have they despised all his counsels, and stood incorrigi-
ble under his incessant reproofs'? How often have
they been forewarned of these terrors, and most impor-
tunately entreated to " seek the Lord while he might
be found?" I wish they may obtain mercy at the elev-
enth, at the last hour. I wish they may be snatched
from the jaws, the opened, the gaping, the almost clo-
sing jaws of damnation. But, alas! who can tell whe-
ther affronted Majesty will lend an ear to their com-
plaint? whether the Holy One will work a miracle of
grace in behalf of such transgressors ? He may, for
aught any mortal knows, " laugh at their calamity, and
mock when their fear cometh."

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 57

Thus they lie, groaning- out the poor remains of life ;
their limbs bathed in sweat; their hearts struggling*
with convulsive throbs ; pains insupportable throbbing-
in every pulse ; and innumerable darts of agony trans-
. fixing their conscience.

lu that dread moment, how the frantic soul
Raves round the walls of her clay tenement ;
Runs to each avenue ; and shrieks for help
But shrieks in vain ! How wishfully she looks
On all she's leaving, now no longer hers !
A little longer, yet a little longer,
O ! might she stay, to wash away her crimes,
And fit her for her passage ! Mournful sight .'
Her very eyes weep blood ; and every groan
She heaves, is big with horror ; but the foe,
Like a staunch murderer, steady to his purpose,
Pursues her close through every lane of life,
Nor misses once the track ; but presses on ;
Till, forced at last to the tremendous verge,
At once she sinks.

If this be the end of the ungodly, " my soul, come not
thou into their secret ! unto their assembly, mine hon-
our, be not thou united ;" How awfully accomplished is
that prediction of inspired wisdom ! Sin, though seem-
ingly sweet in the commission, yet at the last it biteth
like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Fly, there-
fore, from the tents, O! fly from the ways, of such
wretched men.

Happy dissolution! were this the period of their
woes. But alas ! all these tribulations are only the be-
ginning of sorrows ; a small drop only from that " cup
of trembling," which is mingled for their future por-
tion. No sooner has the last pang dislodged their re-
luctant souls, but they are hurried into the presence of
an injured angry God ; not under the conducting care-
of beneficent angels, but exposed to the insults of ac-
cursed spirits, who lately tempted them, now upbraid
them, and will for ever torment them. Who can ima-
gine their confusion and distress, when they stand

58 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

guilty and inexcusable before their incensed Creator 1
They are received with frowns. The God that made
them has no " mercy on them." The Prince of Peace
rejects them with abhorrence. He consigns them over
to chains of darkness and receptacles of despair, against
the severer doom and more public infamy of the great
day. Then all the vials of wrath will be emptied upon
these wretched creatures. The law they have violated,
and the Gospel they have slighted ; the power they
have defied, and the goodness they have abused ; will
all get themselves honour in their exemplary destruc-
tion. Then God, the God to whom vengeance be-
longeth, will draw the arrow to the very head, and set
them as the mark of his inexorable displeasure.

Resurrection will be no privilege to them ; but
immortality itself their everlasting curse. Would they
not bless the grave, " that land where all things are
forgotten," and wish to lie eternally hid in its deepest
gloom ! But the dust refuses to conceal their persons,
or to draw a veil over their practices. They also must
awake ; must arise ; must appear at the bar, and meet
the Judge : a Judge, before whom " the pillars of
heaven tremble, and the earth melts away;" a Judge,
once long-suffering and very compassionate, but now
unalterably determined to teach stubborn offenders what
it is to provoke the Omnipotent Godhead ; what it is to
trample upon the blood of his Son, and offer despite to
all the gracious overtures of his spirit.

O ! the perplexity ! the distraction, that must seize
the impenitent rebels when they are summoned to the
great tribunal! What will they do in this day of
severe visitation, this day of final decision? Where?
how ? whence can they find help ? To which of the
saints will they turn? Whither betake themselves
for 'shelter or for succour ? Alas ! 'tis all in vain !
'tis all too late. Friends and acquaintance know
them no more ; men and angels abandon them to
their approaching doom ; even the Mediator, the Me-

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 59

diator himself, deserts them in this dreadful hour. To
fly, will he impracticable ; to justify themselves, still
'more impossible ; and now, to make any supplications
utterly unavailable.

Behold ! the books are opened ; the secrets of all
hearts are disclosed : the hidden things of darkness
are brought to light. How empty, how ineffectual
now, are all those refined artifices, with which hypo-
crites imposed upon their fellow-creatures, and pre-
served a character in the sight of men ! The jealous
God, who has been about their path, and about their
bed, and spied out all their ways, sets before them the
things that they have done. They cannot answer him
one in a thousand, nor stand in the awful judgment
The heavens reveal their iniquities, and the earth rises
up against them. They are speechless with guilt, and
stigmatised with infamy before all the armies of the sky
and all the nations of the redeemed. What a favour
would they esteem it, to hide their ashamed heads in
the bottom of the ocean, or even to be buried beneath
the ruins of the tottering world !

If the contempt poured upon them be thus insupport-
able, how will their hearts endure, when the sword of
infinite indignation is unsheathed, and fiercely waved
around their defenceless heads, or pointed directly at
their naked breasts 1 How must the wretches scream
with wild amazement, and rend the very heavens with
their cries, when the right-aiming thunderbolts go-
abroad! go abroad with a dreadful commission to
drive them from the kingdoms of glory, and plunge
them, not into the sorrows of a moment, or the tortures
of an hour, but into all the restless agonies of unquench-
ble fire and everlasting despair.

Misery of miseries ; too shocking for reflection to
dwell upon. But if so dismal to foresee, and that at a
distance, together with some comfortable expectation of
escaping it, O ! how bitter, inconceivably bitter, to bear,

60 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS.

without any intermission, or any mitigation, through
hopeless and eternal ages !

Who has any howels of pity ? Who has any sen-
timents of compassion ? Who has any tender concern
for his fellow-creatures 1 Who ? in God's name and
for Christ's sake, let him show it, by warning every
man, and beseeching every men, to seek the Lord while
he may be/ozmcZ, to throw down the arms of rebellion
before the act of indemnity expires, submissively to
adore the Lamb, while he holds out the golden sceptre.
Here, let us act the friendly part to mankind ; here let
the whole force of our henevolence exert itself, in ex-
horting relations, acquaintance, neighbours, whomso-
ever we may probably influence, to take the wings of
faith unfeigned, of repentance undelayed, and flee
away from this wrath to*come.

Upon the whole, what stupendous discoveries are
these ! Lay them up in a faithful remembrance, O my
soul ; recollect them with the most serious attention,
when thou liest down, and when risest up ; when thou
walkest, receive them for thy companions ; when thou
talkest, listen to them as thy prompters ; and whatever
thou doest, consult them as thy directors. Influenced
by these considerations, thy views will greaten, the af-
fections be exalted, and thou thyself raised above the
tantalizing power of perishing things. Duly mindful
of these, it will be the sum of thy desires and the scope
of thy endeavours, to gain the approbation of that So-
vereign Being who will then fill the throne and pro-
nounce the decisive sentence ; thou will see nothing
worth a wish, in comparison of having his will for thy
rule, his glory for thy aim, and his Holy Spirit for thy
ever actuating principle.

Wonder O man ; be lost in admiration at those pro-
digious events which are coming upon the universe ;
events, the greatness of which nothing finite can mea-
sure ; such as will cause whatever is considerable or
momentous in the annals of all generations to sink into

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. 61

littleness and nothing; events (Jesus prepare us for
their approach, defend us when they take place !) big
with the everlasting fates of all the living and the dead.
I must see the graves cleaving, the sea teeming and
swarms unsuspected, crowds unnumbered, yea, multi-
tudes of thronging nations, rising from both: I must
see the world in flames, must stand at the dissolution
of all terrestrial things, and be an attendant on the
burial of nature ; I must see the vast expanse of the
sky wrapt up like a scroll, and the incarnate God is-
suing forth from light inaccessible, with ten thousand
times ten thousand angels, to judge both men and devils:
I must see the curtain of time drop, see all eternity dis-
closed to view, and enter upon a state of being that will
never, never have an end.

And ought I not (let the vainest imagination deter-
mine, ought I not) to try the sincerity of my faith, and
take heed to my ways ? Is there an inquiry, is there a
care, of greater, of equal, of comparable importance?
Is not this an infinitely pressing call, to see that my
loins are girded about, my lamp trimmed, and myself
dressed for the bridegroom's appearance 1 that, washed
in the fountain opened in my Saviour's side, and clad
with the marriage-garment wove by his obedience, I
I may be found in peace, unblameable, and unrepro-
vable. Otherwise, how shall I stand with boldness
when the stars of heaven fall from their orbs ? How
shall I come forth erect and courageous, when the earth
itself reels to and fro like a drunkard ? How shall I
look up with joy, and see my salvation drawing nigh
when the hearts of millions and millions fail for'fear !

Now, madain, lest my meditations set in a cloud, and
leave any unpleasing gloom upon your mind, let me
once more turn to the brightening prospects. A view
of them and their delightful expectations may serve to
exhilarate the thoughts which have been musino- upon
melancholy subjects, and hovering about the eoVes of
internal darkness ; just as a spacious field, arrayed in

J J

VOL.

62 MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMES.

-cheerful green, relieves and reinvigorates the eye wirier*
has fatigued itself by poring upon some minute, or gaz-
ing upon some glaring object.

The righteous seem to lie by, in the bosom of the
earth, as a weary pilot in some well sheltered creek,
till all the storms which infest this lower world are
blown over : here they enjoy safe anchorage, are in no
danger of foundering amidst the waves of prevailing-
iniquity, or of being shipwrecked on the rocks of any
powerful temptation. But ere long we shall behold
them hoisting their flag of hope, riding before a sweet
gale of atoning merit and redeeming love ; till they
make, with all the sails of an assured faith, the blessed
port of eternal life.

Then, may the honoured friend to whom I am wri-
ting, rich in good works, rich in heavenly tempers, but
inexpressibly richer in her Saviour's righteousness, O f
may she enter the harbour, like a gallant stately vessel,
returned successful and victorious from some grand
expedition, with acclamations, honour, and joy! while
my little bark, attendant on the solemnity, and a parta-
ker of the triumph, glides humbly after, and both rest
together in the heaven, the wished-for, blissful heaven,
of perfect security and everlasting repose.

REFLECTIONS

ON

A FLOWER GARDEN.

IN A LETTER TO A LADY.

1 look upon the pleasure, which we take in a Garden, as one of the
most innocent delights in human life. A Garden was the habitation of
our first parents before the fall. It is naturally apt to fill the mind with
calmness and tranquillity, and to lay all its turbulent passions at rest.
It^ives us a great insight into the contrivance and wisdom of Providence
and suggests innumerable subjects for meditation.

[SPECT. VOL. VII. NO. 477.

MADAM, some time ago my meditations took a turn
among the tombs : they visited the awful and melancholy
mansions of the dead ; and you was pleased to favour
them with your attention. May I now beg the honour of
your company in a more inviting and delightful excur-
sion? in a beautiful flower-garden, where I lately
walked, and at once regaled the sense and indulged
the fancy.

It was early in a summer morning, when the air was
cool, the earth moist, the whole face of the creation,
fresh and gay. The noisy world was scarce awake:
business had not quite shook off his sound sleep, and
riot had not but just reclined his giddy head. All was
still ; every thing tended to inspire tranquillity of mind,
and invite to serious thought.

Only the wakeful lark had left her nest, and was
mounting on high to salute the opening day. Elevated
in. air, she seemed to call the laborious husbandman to

64 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER GARDEN.

his toil, and all her fellow-songsters to their notes.
Earliest of birds, said 1, companion of the dawn, may
I always rise at thy voice ! rise to offer the matin song,
and adore that beneficent Being, " who maketh the
outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice."

How charming to rove abroad at this sweet hour of
prime, to enjoy the calm of nature, to tread the dewy
lawns, and taste the unrifled freshness of the air!

Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet.
With charm of earliest birds.

What a pleasure do the sons of sloth lose ! Little, ah !
little is the sluggard sensible how delicious an enter-
tainment he foregoes, for the poorest of all animal gra-
tifications.

The grayness of the dawn decays gradually. Abun-
dance of ruddy streaks tinge the fleeces of the firma-
ment, till at length the dappled aspect of the east is lost
in one ardent and boundless blush. Is it the surmise
of imagination, or do the skies really redden with
shame, to see so many supinely stretched on their
drowsy pillows! Shall man be lost in luxurious ease?
Shall man waste these precious hours in idle slumbers,
while the vigorous sun is up, and going on his Maker's
errand ? while all the feathered choir are hymning the
Creator, and paying their homage in harmony? No ;
let him heighten the melody of the tuneful tribes by
adding the rational strains of devotion ; let him improve
the fragrant oblations of nature by mingling with the
rising odours the more refined breath of praise.

'Tis natural for man to look upwards, to throw his
first glance upon the objects that are above him.

Straight towards heaven my wondering eyes I turned,
And gazed a while the ample sky.

Prodigious theatre! where lightnings dart their fire,
and thunders utter their voice ; where tempests spend
their rage, and worlds unnumbered roll at large ! O

REFLECTIONS ON A BLOWER GARDEN. 65

the greatness of that mighty hand, which meteth out
this amazing circumference with a span ; O the immen-
sity of that wonderful Being, before whom this unmea-
surable extent is no more than a point ! And O (thou
pleasing thought!) the unsearchable riches of that mer-
cy ; which is greater than the heavens ! is more en-
larged and extensive in its gracious exercise, than these
illimitable tracts of air, and sea, and firmament ! which
pardons crimes of most enormous size and the most
horrid aggravations ; pardons them in consideration of
the Redeemer's atonement, with perfect freeness and
the utmost readiness ! more readily, if it were possible,
than this all- surrounding expanse admits within its cir-
cuit a ridge of mountains, or even a grain of sand.

Come hither, then, ye awakened^ trembling sinners ;
come, weary and heavy-laden with a sense of your ini-
quities : condemn yourselves ; renounce all reliance on
any thing of your own ; let your " trust be in the ten-
der mercy of God for ever and ever."

In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun. Behold
him coming forth from the chambers of the east ; see
the clouds, like floating curtains, are thrown back at
his approach. With what refulgent majesty does he
walk abroad ! how transcendently bright is his coun-
tenance, shedding day and inexhaustible light through
the universe ! Is there a scene, though finished by the
most elaborate and costly refinements of art, " compara-
ble to these illustrious solemnities of opening sunshine?
Before these all the studied pageantry of Ihe theatre,
the glittering economy of an assembly, or even the
heightened ornaments of a royal palace, hide their di-
minished heads and shrink into nothing." I have read
of a person so struck with the splendours of this noble
luminary, that he imagined himself made on purpose
to contemplate its glories. O ! that Christians would
adopt his persuasion, and transfer it to the Sun of
Righteousness ! Thus applied, it would cease to be a
chimerical notion, and become a most important truth.

66 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN,

For sure I am, it is the supreme happiness of the eter-
nal state, and therefore may well be the ruling concern
of this present life, to know tJie only true God. and Jesus
Christ whom he hath sent. Nor do I stand alone in
this opinion. The very best judge of whatever is va-
luable in science or perfective of our nature ; a judge
who formed his taste on the maxims of paradise, and
received the finishing of his education in the third
heavens ; this judge determines to "know nothing but
Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." He possessed, in
his own person, the finest, the most admired accom-
plishments, yet pronounces them no better than dung,
in comparison of the super-eminent excellency of this
saving knowledge.

Methinks I discern a thousand admirable properties
in the sun ; 'tis certainly the best material emblem of
the Creator. There is more of God in its lustre,
energy and usefulness, than in any other visible being.
To worship it as a deity, was the least inexcusable of
all the heathen idolatries. One scarce can wonder
that fallen reason should mistake so fair a copy for the
adorable original. No comparison in the whole book
of sacred wisdom pleases me more, than that which
resembles the blessed Jesus to yonder regent of the
day, who now advances on his azure road, to scatter
light and dispense gladness through the nations.

What were all the realms of the world, but a
dungeon of darkness, without the beams of the sun?
All their fine scenes hid from our view ; lost in obscu-
rity. In vain we roll around our eyes in the midnight
gloom. In vain we strive to behold the features of
amiable nature. Turn whither we will, no form or
comeliness appears. All seems a dreary waste, an
undistinguished chaos. Till the returning hours have
unbarred the gates of light, and let forth the morn.
Then what a prospect opens ! The heavens are paved
with azure, and strewed with roses. A variety of the
liveliest verdures array the plains. The flowers put

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 67

on a glow of the richest colours. The whole creation
stands forth, dressed in all the charms of beauty. The
ravished eye looks round and wonders.

And what had been the condition of our intellectual
nature without the great Redeemer, and his divine re-
velation ? Alas ! what absurd and unworthy apprehen-
sion did the Pagan sages form of God ! What idle
dreams, what childish conjectures, were their doctrines
of a future state ! How did the bulk even of that fa-
voured nation, the Jews, weary themselves in every
vanity to obtain peace and reconciliation with their of-
fended Jehovah ! till Jesus arose upon our benighted
minds, and brought life and immortality to light, till
he arose to enlighten the wretched Gentiles, and to be
the glory of his people Israel.

Now we no longer cry out with a restless impatience,
Where is God my Maker 1 for we are allowed to con-
template the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of his person, in the face of Jesus Christ. Now
we no longer inquire, with an unsatisfied solicitude,
"Which is the way to bliss?" because Jesus has
marked the path by his shining example, and left
us an unerring cleio in his holy word. Now, we
have no more reason to proceed with misgiving hearts
in our journey to eternity, or to ask anxiously as we
go, " Who will roll away the stone and open the ever-
lasting doors ? Who will remove the flaming sword,
and give us admission into the delights of Paradise V 1
for it is done, all done, by the Captain of our salvation.
Sin he has expiated by the unblemished sacrifice of
himself: the law he has fulfilled by his perfect obedi-
ence: the sinner he transforms by his sanctifying
Spirit : in a word, he hath both presented us with a
char discovery of good things to come, and administered
to us an abundant entrance into the final enjoyment of
them.

Whenever, therefore, we bless God for the circling
seasons and revolving day, let us adore, thankfully

68 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

adore him, for the more precious appearance of the Sun
of Righteousness, and his glorious Gospel, without
which we should have been groping, even to this hour,
in spiritual darkness and the shadow of death ; without
which we must have wandered in a maze of inextrica-
ble uncertainties, and have " stumbled upon the dark
mountains" of error, till we fell into the bottomless pit
of perdition.

Without that grand enlivening principle, what were
this earth, but a lifeless mass, a rude lump of inactive
matter ? The trees could never break forth into leaves,
nor the plant spring up into flowers : we should no
more behold the meadows mantled over with green,
nor the valleys standing thick with corn : or, to speak
in the beautiful language of a prophet, " No longer
would the fig-tree blossom, nor fruit be in the vine ;
the labour of the olive would fail ; and the fields could
yield no meat; the flocks must be cut off from the fold,
and there would be no herd in the stalls." The sun
darts its beams among all the vegetable tribes, and
paints the spring and enriches the autumn : this pierces
to the roots of the vineyard and the orchard, and sets
afloat those fomenting juices which at length bursts
into floods of wine or bend the boughs with a mellow
load. Nor are its favours confined to the upper re-
gions, but distributed into the deepest recesses of crea-
tion. It penetrates the beds of metal, and finds its
way to the place of the sapphires : it tinctures the
seeds of gold that are ripening into ore, arid throws a
brilliancy into the water of the diamond that is harden-
ing on its rock : in short, the beneficial agency of this
magnificent luminary is inexpressible ; it beautifies and
impregnates universal nature ; " there is nothing hid
from the heat thereof."

Just in the same manner were the rational world
dead in trespasses and sins, without the reviving energy
of Jesus Christ. He is the "Resurrection and the
Life;" the over-flowing fountain of the one, and the all

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 69 ,

powerful cause of the other. The second Adam is a
quickening Spirit, and all his saints live through him..
He shines upon their affections, and they shoot forth,
into heavenly graces, and abound in the fruits of
righteousness. Faith unfeigned, and love undissem-
bled, those noblest productions of the renewed nature,
are the effects of Ms operation on the mind. Not so
much as one divine disposition could spread itself, not
one Christian habit unfold and flourish, without the
kindly influences of his grace.

As there is no fruitfulness, so likewise no cheerfulness,
without the sun. When that auspicious sovereign of the
day diffuses the mildness of his morning splendour, he
creates an universal festival. Millions of glittering in-
sects awake into existence, and bask in his rays : the
birds start from their slumbers, and pour their delighted
souls in harmony: the flocks with bleating accents hail
the welcome blessing ; the valleys ring with rural mu-
sic ; the hills echo back the artless strains : all that is
vocal joins in the general choir : all that has breath ex-^
ults in the cheering influence. Whereas, was that ra-
diant orb extinguished, a tremendous gloom would
ensue, and horror insupportable. Nay, let it only be
eclipsed for a few minutes, and all nature assumes an
air of sadness : the heavens are wrapped in sables, and /
put on a kind of mourning ; the most sprightly animals
hang down their dejected heads ; the songsters of the
grove are struck dumb ; howling beasts roam abroad
for prey ; ominous birds come forth and screech ; the
heart of man fails, or a sudden pang 1 seizes the fore-,,
boding mind. So, when Christ hides away his face",
when faith loses sight of that consolation of Israel ;
how gloomy are the prospects of the soul ! Our God
seems to be a consuming fire, and our sins cry loudly
for vengeance: the thoughts bleed inwardly; the Chris-
tian walks heavily ; all without is irksome, all within
is disconsolate. Lift up then, most gracious Jesus,
thou nobler day-spring from on high ! O lift up the

70 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

light of thy countenance upon thy people ! Reveal the
fulness of thy mediatorial sufficiency ; make clear our
title to this great salvation, and thereby impart

What nothing earthly gives or can destroy,
The soul's calm sunshine, and the heart-felt joy.

In one instance more let me pursue the similitude.
The sun, I observe, pours his lustre all around, to
every distance and in every direction : profusely liberal
of his gifts, he illuminates and cheers all the ends of
the earth and the whole compass of the skies ; the east
reddens with his rising radiance, and the western hills
are gilded with his streaming splendours : the chilly
regions of the north are cherished by his genial warmth,
while the southern tracts glow with his fire. Thus
are the influences of the Sun of Righteousness diffusive
and unconfiiml ; the generations of old felt them, and
g.errerations yet unborn will rejoice in them ; the merits
of his precious death extended to the first, and will be
propagated to the last ages of mankind. May they,
ere long, visit the remotest climates and darkest corners
of the earth ! Command thy Gospel, blessed Jesus, thy
everlasting Gospel, to take the wings of the morning
and travel with yonder sun ; let it fly upon strong
pinions among every people, nation, and language ;
that where the heat scorches and the cold freezes, thou
mayest be known, confessed, and adored ! and strangers
to thy name, and enemies to thy doctrine, may be en-
lightened with the knowledge and won to the love of
thy truth ! O ! may that best of eras come, that wished
for period advance, when " all the ends of the world
shall remember themselves and be turned unto the
Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations worship be-
fore him !"

From the heavens we retire to the earth. Here the
drops of dew like so many liquid crystals, sparkle upon
the eye. How brilliant and unsullied is their lustre !
How little inferior to the proud stone which irradiates
a monarch's crown ! They want nothing but solidity

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 71

and permanency to equal them with the finest treasures
of the jeweller's casket. Here it must be confessed,
they are greatly deficient. Short-lived ornaments, pos-
sessed of little more than a momentary radiance ; the
sun that lights them up will soon melt them into air ;
or exhale them into vapours ; within another hour we
may " look for their place, and they shall he away."
O! may every good resolution of mine and of my
flock's, may our united breathings after God, not be
like these transient decorations of the morning, but like
the substantial glory of the growing day! The one
shines more and more with augmented splendours ;
while the other, having glittered gaily for a few mo-
ments, disappear and are lost.

How sensibly has this dew refreshed the vegetable
kingdom ! The fervent heat of yesterday's sun had al-
most parched the face and exhausted the sweets of na-
ture. But what a sovereign restorative are these cool-
ing distillations. of the night! How they gladden and
invigorate the languishing herbs ! Sprinkled with these
reviving drops, their verdure deepens, their bloom is
new flushed ; their fragrance, faint or intermitted, be-
comes potent and copious. Thus does the ever-blessed
Spirit revive the drooping troubled conscience of a sin-
ner. When that Almighty Comforter sheds his sweet
influence on the soul, displays the all-sufficient sacrifice
of a Divine Redeemer, and " witnesses with our spirit,"
that we are interested in the Saviour, and by this means
are children of God ; then what a pleasing change en-
sues! Former anxieties are remembered no more;
every uneasy apprehension vanishes ; soothing hopes
and delightful expectations succeed ; the countenance
drops its dejected mein ; the eyes brighten with a
lively cheerfulness; while the lips express the heart-
felt satisfaction in the language of thanksgiving and
the voice of melody. In this sense, merciful God, be
as the dew unto Israel ! " Pour upon them the continual
dew of thy blessing." And O ! let not my fleece be

72 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

dry, while heavenly benediction descends upon all
around.

Who can number these pearly drops? They hang-
on every hedge, they twinkle from every spray, and
adorn the whole herbage of the field. Not a blade of
grass, not a single leaf, but wears the watery pendants;
so vast is the profusion, that it baffles the arithmetician's
art. Here let the benevolent mind contemplate and
admire the empbatical Scripture, which from this ele-
gant similitude describes the increase of the Messiah's
kingdom. The royal prophet, speaking of Christ, and
foretelling the success of his religion, has this remark-
able expression ; " the dew of thy birth is of the womb
of the morning:" (i.e.) As the morning is the mother
of dews, produces them as it were from a prolific
womb, and scatters them with the most lavish abund-
ance over all the surface of the earth ; so shall thy seed
be, O thou everlasting Father! By the preach ing of thy
word shall such an innumerable rac of regenerate
children be born unto Thee, and prove, an ornament
and a blessing- to all ao-es. Millions, millions of will-

CJ ^1 '

ing converts from every nation under heaven shall
crowd into thy family, and replenish thy church ; till
they become like the stars of the sky or the sands of
the sea for multitude, or even as numberless as these
fine spangles which now cover the face of nature. Be-
hold then, ye obstinately wicked, though you "are not
gathered, yet will the Saviour be glorious." His de-
sign shall not miscarry nor his labour prove abortive,
though you render it of none effect with regard to
yourselves ; think not that Immanuel will want be-
lievers, or heaven inhabitants, because you continue in-
corrigible. No. the Lamb that was slain will " see of
the travail of his soul and be satisfied," in a never fail-
ing series of faithful people below, and an immense
choir of glorified saints above, who shall form his re-
tinue and surround his throne in shining and trium-
phant armies, such as no man can number.

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER GARDEN. 73

Here I was reminded of the various expedients
which Providence, unsearchably wise, uses to fructify
both the material and intellectual world. Sometimes
you shall have impetuous and heavy showers bursting
from the angry clouds : they lash the plains and make
the rivers foam ; a storm brings them, and a deluge
follows them. At other times these gentle deios are
formed in the serene evening air : they steal down by
slow degrees and with insensible stillness; so subtle,
that they deceive the nicest eye ; so silent, that they es-
cape the most delicate ear ; and when fallen, so very
light, that they neither bruise the tenderest nor oppress
the weakest flower. Very different operations ; yet
each concurs in the same beneficial end, and both im-
part fertility to the lap of nature.

So some persons have I known reclaimed from the
unfruitful works of darkness by violent and severe
means. The Almighty addressed their stubborn
hearts as he addressed the Israelites at Sinai, with
lightning in his eyes and thunder in his voice. The
conscience, smit with a sense of guilt, and apprehen-
sive of eternal vengeance, trembled through all her
powers ; just as that strong mountain tottered to its
centre : pangs of remorse and agonies of fear preceded
their new birth ; they were reduced to the last extre-
mities, almost overwhelmed with despair, before they
found rest in Jesus Christ. Others have been recov-
ered from a vain conversation by methods more mild,
and attractive. The Father of spirits applied himself
to their teachable minds in u a still and small voice :"
his grace came down as the rain into a fleece of wool,
or as these softening drops which now water the earth.
The kingdom of God took place in their souls without
noise or observation. They passed from death unto
life, from a carnal to a regenerate state by almost imper-
ceptible advances ; the transition resembled the growth,
of corn ; was very visible when effected, though scarce
sensible while accomplishing. O thou Author and

7

74 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWEU-GAE.DEN.

Finisher of our faith, recall us from our wanderings
and re-unite us to Thyself! Whether Thou alarm us
with thy terrors, or allure us with thy smiles ; whether
Thou drive us with the scourge of conviction, or draw
us with the cords of. love ; let us in any-wise return to
thee ; for Thou art our supreme good, Thou art our
only happiness.

Before I proceed farther, let me ascend the terrace
and take one .survey of the neighbouring country.
What a prospect rushes upon my sight ! How vast,
how various, how " full and plenteous with all man-
ner of store !" Nature's whole wealth ? What a rich
and inexhaustible magazine is here furnishing sub-
sistence for every creature ! Methinks I read in these
spacious volumes a most lively comment upon that
noble celebration 9f the divine beneficence ; " He open-
eth his hand and" filleth all things living with plen-
teousness."

These are thy glorious works, Parent of good,

Almighty ! Thine this universal frame,

Thus wondrous fair ! Thyself how wondrous then !

Milton.

The fields are covered deep, and stand thick with
corn : they expand the milky grain to the sun, while
the gales, now inclining now rising each flexile stem y
open all their ranks to the agency of his beams ; which
will soon impart a firm consistence to the grain, and a
glossy golden hue to the ear, that they may be qualified
to fill the barns of the husbandman with plenty and his
heart with gladness.

Yonder lie the meadows, smoothed into a perfect level,
decorated with an embroidery of the gayest flowers, and
loaded with spontaneous crops of herbage ; which, con-
verted into hay, will prove a most commodious pro-
vision for the barrenness of winter, will supply with
fodder our serviceable animals, when all the verdure
of the plain is killed by frosts or buried in snows. A
winding stream glides along the flowery margin, and

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 75

receives the image of the bending skies, and waters
the roots of many a branching willow ; 'tis stocked,
no doubt, with variety of fish, which afford a solitary
diversion to the angler, and nourish for his table a
delicious treat ; nor is it the only merit of this liquid
element to maintain the finny nations ; it also carries
cleanliness, and dispenses fruitfulness wherever it rolls
the crystal current.

The 'pastures with their verdant mounds chequer the
prospect, and prepare a standing repast for our cattle ;
there " our oxen are made strong to labour, and our
sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands;"
there the horse acquires vigour for the despatch of
our business, and speed to expedite our journeys j
from thence the kine bring home their udders dis-
tended with one of the richest and healthiest liquors in
the world.

On several spots, a grove of trees, like some grand
colonnade, erects its towering head ; every one projects
a friendly shade for the beasts, and creates an hospita-
ble lodging for the birds ; every one stands ready to
furnish timber, for a palace, masts for a navy, or with a
more condescending courtesy, fuel, for our hearths.
One of them seems skirted with a wild uncultivated
heath, which, like well disposed shades in painting,
throws an additional lustre on the more ornamented
parts of the landscape. Nor is its usefulness, like that
of a foil, relative only, but real. There several valuable
creatures are produced and accommodated, without
any expense or care of ours. There likewise spring
abundance of those herbs which assuage the smart of
our wounds, and allay the fiery tumults of the fever;
which impart floridity to our circulating fluids, add a
more vigorous tone to our active solids, and thereby
repair the decays of our enfeebled constitution.

Nearer the houses we perceive an ample spread of
branches, not so stately as the oaks, but more amiable
for their annual services ; a little while ago I beheld

76 PREELECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

them, and all was one beauteous boundless waste of blos-
soms ; the eye marvelled at the lovely sight, and the
heart- rejoiced in the prospect of autumnal plenty ; but
now the blooming maid is resigned for the useful mat-
ron ; the flower is fallen, and the fruit swells out on
every twig. Breathe soft, ye winds ! O, spare the
tender fruitage, ye surly blasts ! Let the pear-tree
suckle her juicy progeny, till they drop into our hands
and dissolve in our mouths ; let the plum hang unmo-
lested upon her boughs, till she fatten her delicious
flesh, and cloud her polished skin with blue ; and as
for the apples, that staple commodity of our orchards,
let no injurious shocks precipitate them immaturely
to the ground, till revolving suns have tinged them
with a ruddy complexion, and concocted them into an
exquisite flavour. Then, what copious hoards, what
burnished rinds, and what delightful relishes will re-
plenish the store-room ! Some to present us with an
eerly entertainment, and refresh our palates amidst the
sultry heat. Some to borrow ripeness from the falling
snows, and carry autumn into the depths of winter.
Some to adorn the salver, make a part of the desert,
and give an agreeable close to our feasts. Others to
fill our vats with a foaming flood, which, mellowed
by age, may sparkle in the glass with a liveliness and
delicacy little inferior to the blood of the grape.

I observe several small indosures, which seem to be
apprehensive of some hostile visit from the north, and
therefore are defended on that quarter by a thick wood
or a lofty wall ; at the same time they cultivate an un-
interrupted correspondence with the south, and throw-
open their whole dimensions to its friendly warmth.
One in particular lies within the reach of a distinguish-
ing view, and proves to be a kitchen-garden; it looks,
methinks, like a plain and frugal republic. Whatever
may resemble the pomp of courts or the ensigns of roy-
alityis banished from this humble community. None
of the productions of the olitory effect finery, but alt

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 77

are habited with the very perfection of decency. Here
those celebrated qualities are eminently united, the ut-
most simplicity with the exactest neatness. A skilful
hand has parcelled out the whole ground into narrow
beds and intervening alleys. The same discrete man-
agement has assigned to each verdant family a peculiar
and distinct abode ; so that there is no confusion amidst
the great multiplicity, because every individual knows
its proper home, and all the tribes are ranged with
perfect regularity. If it be pleasing to behold their
orderly situation and their modest beauties, how much
more delightful to consider the advantages they yield !
What difu.nd of choice accommodations is here ! What
a source of wholesome dainties ! And all for the enjoy-
ment of man. Why does the parsley, with her frizzled
locks, shag the border ; or why the celery^ with her
whitening arms, perforate the mould, but to render his
soups savoury? The asparagus shoots its tapering
stems to offer him the first-fruits of the season; and
the artichoke spreads its turgid top to give him a treat
of vegetable marrow. The tendrils of the cucumber
creep into the sun ; and though basking in its hottest
rays, they secrete for their master, and barrel up for
his use, the most cooling juices of the soil. The beans
stand firm, like files of embattled troops ; the peas rest
upon their props like so many companies of invalids ;
while both replenish their pods with the fatness of the
earth, on purpose to pour it on their owners table.
Not one species, among all this variety of herbs, is a
cumberer of the ground. Not a single plant but is
good for food, or some way salutary. With so benefi-
cent an economy are the several periods of their minis-
tration settled, that no portion of the year is left desti-
tute of nourishing esculents. What is still more oblig-
ing, every portion of the year affords such esculents as
are best suited to the* temperature of the air and the
state of our bodies. Why then should the possessor

of so valuable a spot envy the condition of kings ? since

7*

78 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

he may daily walk amidst TOWS of peaceable and obse-
quious, though mute subjects ; every one of which ren-
ders him some agreeable present, and pays him a will-
ing tribute, such as is most happily adapted both to-
supply his wants and to regale his taste ; to furnish
him at once with plenty and with pleasure.

At a distance one descries the mighty hills : they
heave their huge ridges among the clouds, and look
like the barriers of kingdoms, or the boundaries of na-
ture. Bare and deformed as their surface may appear,
their bowels are fraught with inward treasures ; trea-
sures lodged fast in the quarries^ or sunk deep in the
mines. From thence industry may draw her imple-
ments to plough the soil, to reap the grain, and procure
every necessary convenience. From thence art may
fetch her materials to rea-r the dome, to swell the or-
gan, and form the noblest ornaments of politer life.

On another side the great deep terminates the view,
There go the ships : there is that leviathan : and there,.
in that world of waters, an inconceivable number of
animals have their habitation. This is the capacious-
cistern of the universe ; which admits, as into a recep-
tacle, and distributes, as from a reservoir, whatever
waters the whole globe. There is not a fountain that
gushes in the unfrequented desert, nor a rivulet that
flows in the remotest continent, nor a cloud that swims
in the highest regions of the firmament, but is fed by
this all-replenishing source. The ocean is the grand
vehicle of trade, and the uniter of distant nations. To
us it is- peculiarly kind, not only as it wafts into our
ports the harvest of every climate, and renders our
island the centre of traffic, but also as it secures us
from foreign invasions by a sort of impregnable in-
trenchment.

Methinks the view of this profuse munificence in-
spires a secret delight, and kindles a disinterested good-
will While the " little hills clap their hands," and
the luxuriant " valleys laugh and sing j" who can for-

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 79

tear catching the general joy ? who is not touched
with lively sensations of pleasure ? While the ever-
lasting Father is scattering blessings through his whole
family, and crowning the year with his goodness ; who
does not feel his breast overflowing with a diffusive
"benevolence ? My heart, I must confess, beats high
with satisfaction, and breathes out congratulatory
wishes upon all the tenants of these rural abodes:
" peace be within your walls, as well as plenteousness-
around your dwellings." Live, ye highly favoured^
live sensible of your benefits, and thankful to your
Benefactor. Look round upon these prodigiously
large incomes of the fruitful soil, and call them (for
you have free leave) all your own. Only let me re-
mind you of one very important truth. Let me sug-
gest, and may you never forget, that you are obliged
to Christ Jesus for every one of these accommodations?
which spring from the teeming earth and the smiling
skies.

1. Christ made them, when they were not He-
fetched them up from utter darkness, and gave therrt
both their being and their beauty. He created the:
materials of which they are composed, and moulded
them into this endless multiplicity of amiable forms*
and useful substances. He arrayed the heavens with
a vesture of the mildest blue, and clothed the earth in.
a livery of the gayest green. His pencil streaked, and;
his breath perfumed, whatever is beautiful or fragrant
in the universe. His strength set fast the mountains ;
his goodness garnished the vales ; and the same touch
which healed the leper, wrought the whole visible sys-
tem into this complete perfection.

2. Christ recovered them when they were forfeited.
By Adam's sin we lost our right to the comforts of life
and fruits of the ground. His disobedience was the
most impious and horrid treason against the King of
kings. Consequently his whole patrimony became
confiscated: as well the portion of temporal good things

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

settled upon the human race during their minority, as
that everlasting heritage reserved for their enjoyment
when they should come to full age. But the " seed of
the woman" instantly interposing, took off the attainder,
and redeemed the alienated inheritance. The first
Adam being disinherited, the second Adam was ap-
pointed heir of all things, visible as well as invisible. And
we hold our possession of the former, we expect an in-
statement in the latter, purely by virtue of our alliance
to Him, and our union with Him.

3. Christ upholds them, which would otherwise tum-
ble into ruin. By him, says the Oracle of Inspiration,
.all things consist. His finger rolls the seasons round,
and presides over all the celestial revolutions. His
; finger winds up the wheels, and impels every spring of
vegetative nature. In a word, the whole weight of the
creation rests upon his mighty arm, and receives the
whole harmony of its motion from his unerring eye.
This habitable globe, with all its rich appendages and
fine machinery, could no more continue than they
could create themselves. Start they would into in-
stant confusion, or drop into their primitive nothing, did
not his power support, and his wisdom regulate them,
every moment. In conformity to his will, they subsist
steadfast and invariable in their orders, and wait only
for his sovereign nod, to " fall away like water that
runneth apace."

4. Christ actuates them, which would otherwise be
lifeless and insignificant. Pensioners they are, con-
stant pensioners, on his bounty ; and borrow their all
from his fulness. He only has life ; and whatever oper-
ates, operates by an emanation from his all-sufficiency.
Does the grape refresh you with its elivening juices?
It is by a warrant received, and virtue derived, from
the Redeemer. Does bread strengthen your heart,
and prove the staff of your life? Remember, that it is
by the Saviour's appointment, and through the effica-
ey of his operation. You are charmed with his melo-

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

dy, when the "time of the singing of birds is come,,
and the voice of the nightingale is heard in your land."
You taste his goodness in the luscious fig, the melting-
peach, and the musky flavour of the apricot. Yon-
smell his sweetness in the opening honeysuckle and
every odoriferous shrub.

Could these creatures speak for themselves, they
would doubtless disclaim all sufficiency of their own
and ascribe the whole honour to their Maker. " We
are servants," would they say " of Him, who died for
you. Cisterns only, dry cisterns in ourselves, we
transmit to mortals no more than the uncreated foun-
tain transfuses into us. Think not that from any abil-
ity of our own we furnish you with assistance, or ad-
minister to your comfort. 'Tis the divine energy, the-
divine energy alone, that works in us, and does yoir
good. We serve you, O ye* sons of men, that you may
love Him who placed us in these stations. O! love the
Lord, therefore, all ye who are supported by our min-
istry, or else we shall groan with indignation, and-
regret at your abuse of our services. Use us, and wel-
come ; for we are yours, if ye are Christ's. Crop our
choicest beauties ; rifle all our treasures ; accommodate-
yourselves with our most valuable qualities ; only let
us be incentives to your gratitude, and motives to your
obedience}''

Having surveyed the spacious sky, and sent a
glance round the inferior creation ; 'tis time to descend
from this eminence, and confine my attention to the-
beautiful spot below Here Nature, always pleasing,,
every where lovely, appears with peculiar attractions.
Yonder she seems dressed in her dishabille ; grand,,
but irregular ; here she calls in her handmaid Art,
and shines in all the delicate ornaments which the ni-
cest cultivation is able to convey. Those are her com-
mon apartments, where she lodges her ordinary guests ;
this is her cabinet of curiosities, where she entertains
her intimate acquaintance. My eye shall often expa-

82 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

tiate over those scenes of universal fertility : my feet
shall sometimes brush through the thicket, or traverse
the lawn, or stroll along the forest glade : "but to this
delightful retreat shall he my chief resort. Thither
will I make excursions, hut here wiJl I dwell.

If, from my low procedure, I may form an allusion
x to the most exalted practices, I would observe upon
this occasion, that the celebrated Erasmus, and our ju-
dicious Locke, having trod the circle of the sciences
and ranged through the whole extent of human litera-
ture, at length betook themselves solely to the Bible.
Leaving the sages of antiquity, they sat incessantly at
\ the feet of Jesus. Wisely they withdrew from that
'-, immense multiplicity of learning, from those endless
; tracts of amusing erudition, where noxious weeds are
mixed with wholesome herbs, where is generally a
much larger growth of prickly shrubs than of fruitful
boughs. They spent their most mature hours in those
hallowed gardens which God's own wisdom planted ;
which God's own Spirit watereth ; and in which God's
own Son is continually walking ; where he meeteth
those that seek him, and revealeth to them the glories
of his person and the riches of his goodness.

Thus would I finish the remainder of my days !
Having just tasted (what they call) the politer studies,
I would now devote my whole application to the lively
oracles. From other pursuits I might glean perhaps,
a few scattered fragments of low, of lean, of unsatisfac-
tory instruction. From this, I trust to reap a harvest
of the sublimest truths, the noblest improvements, and
the purest joys. Waft me then, O ! waft my mind
to Sion's consecrated bowers. Let my thoughts per-
petually rove through, the awfully-pleasing walks of
inspiration. Here grow those heaven-born plants, the
trees of life and knowledge, whose ambrosial fruits we
now may "take and eat, and live for ever." Here
flow those precious streams of grace and righteousness,
whose living waters " whosoever drinks shall thirst no

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 83

more." And, what can the fables of Grecian song, or
the finest pages of Roman eloquence what can they
exhibit in any degree comparable to these matchless
prerogatives of Revelation? Therefore, though I
should not dislike to pay a visit now and then to my
heathen masters, I would live with the prophets and
apostles. With those, I would carry on some occa-
sional correspondence ; but these should be my bosom
friends, my inseparable companions, " my delight and
my counsellors."

What sweets are these, which so agreeably salute
my nostrils ? They are the breath of the flowers, the
intense of the garden. How liberally does the jessa-
mine dispense her odoriferous riches ! How deliciously
has the woodbine embalmed this morning walk !
The air is all perfume. And is not this another most
engaging argument to forsake the bed of sloth? Who
would lie dissolved in senseless slumbers, while so
many breathing sweets invite him to a feast of fragran-
cy? especially considering, that the advancing day
will exhale the volatile dainties. A. fugitive treat they
are, prepared only for the wakeful and industrious :
whereas, when the sluggard lifts his heavy eyes, the
flowers will droop, their fine scents be dissipated, and
instead of this refreshing humidity, the air will become
a kind of liquid fire.

With this very motive, heightened by a representa-
tion of the most charming pieces of morning scenery,
the parent of mankind awakes his lovely consort.
There is such a delicacy in the choice, and so much
life in the description, of these rural images, that I
cannot excuse myself without repeating the whole pas-
sage Whisper it, some friendly genius, in the ear of
every one who is now sunk in sleep, and lost to all
these refined gratifications !

Awake : the morning shines, and the fresh field
Calls you : ye lose the prime, to mark how spring
The tender plants, how blows the citron grove ;

"84 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER GARDEN.

What drops the myrrh, and what the halmy reed ;
How nature paints her colours ; how the hee
Sits on the bloom extracting liquid sweets.

How delightful is this fragrance ! It is distributed
in the nicest proportioii ; neither so strong as to oppress
the organs, nor so faint as to elude them. We are
soon cloyed at a sumptuous banquet ; but this pleasure
never loses its poignancy, never palls the appetite.
Here luxury itself is innocent ; or rather, in this case,
indulgence is incapable of excess. This balmy enter-
tainment not only regales the sense, but cheers the very
soul ; and, instead of clogging, elates its powers. It
puts me in mind of that ever memorable sacrifice
which was once made in behalf of offending mortals:
I mean the sacrifice of the blessed Jesus, when he offered
up himself to God " for a sweet-smelling savour."
"Such the Holy Spirit styles that wonderful oblation ;
as if no imaofe in thb whole sensible creation was so
proper to give us &n idea of the ineffable, satisfaction
which the Father of Mercies conceived from that un-
paralleled atonement, as the pleasing sensations which
such rich perfumes are capable of raising. " Thou-
sands of rams, and ten thousands of rivers of oil," from
an apostate world ; the most submissive acknowledg-
ments, added to the most costly offerings, from men of
defiled hands and unclean lips ; what could they have
effected ? A prophet represents the " High and Lofty
One that inhabiteth eternity," turning himself away
from such filthy rags, turning himself away with adis-
dainful abhorrence, as from the noisome steams of a
dunghill; but in Christ's immaculate holiness, in
Christ's consummate obedience, in Christ's most pre-
cious ulood-shedding, with what unimaginable com-
placency does justice rest satisfied, and vengeance ac-
quiesce ! All thy works, O thou surety for ruined
sinners ! all the sufferings, O thou slaughtered Lamb
of God ! as well as all thy garments, O thou bridegroom
of thy church ! smett of myrrh, aloes, and cassia !

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER GARDEN. 85

They are infinitely more grateful to the eternal God-
head, than the choicest exhalations of the garden, than
all the odors of the spicy East, can be to the human
nostrils.

As the altar of old sanctified the gift, so this is the
great propitiation which recommends the obnoxious
persons and unprofitable services of the believing
world. In this may my soul be interested ! by this
may it be reconciled to the Father ! There is such a
leprous depravity cleaving to my nature, as pollutes
whatever I perform : my most profound adorations and
sincerest acts of religion must not presume to challenge
a reward, but humbly implore forgiveness. Renounc-
ing therefore myself in every instance of duty, dis-
claiming all shadow of confidence in any deeds of my
own, may I now and evermore be accepted through the
Beloved !

What colours, what charming colours are here!
these so nobly bold, and those so delicately languid !
What a glow is enkindled in some, what a gloss shines
upon others ! In one, methinks, I see the ruby with
her bleeding radiance; in another, the sapphire with
her sky-tinctured blue ; in all, such an exquisite rich-
ness of dyes, as no other set of paintings in the uni-
verse can boast. With what a masterly skill is every
one of the varying tints disposed! Here they seem to
be thrown on with an easy dash of security and free-
dom, there they are adjusted by the nicest touches of
art and accuracy: those which form the ground are
always so judiciously chosen, as to heighten the lustre
of the superadded figures; while the verdure of the
impalement, or the shadings of the foliage, impart new
liveliness to the whole: indeed, whether they are
blended or arranged, softened or contrasted, they are
manifestly under the conduct of a taste that never mis-
takes, a felicity that never falls short of the very per-
fection of elegance. Fine, inimitably fine, is the tex-
ture of the web oa which these shining treasures are

VOL. i. 8

86 PREELECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

displayed. What are the labours of the Persian looms-,
or the boasted commodities of Brussels, compared with
these curious manufactures of Nature? Compared
with these, the most admired chintses lose their repu-
tation ; even superfine cambrics appear coarse as can-
vass in their presence.

What a cheering argument does our Saviour deriv^
from hence, to strengthen our affiance in God ! He
directs us to learn a lesson of heaven-depending faith
from every bird that wings the air, and from every
flower that blossoms in the field. If Providence, with
unremitted care, supports those inferior creatures, and
arrays these insensible beings with so much splendour;
surely He will in no wise withhold from his elect chil-
dren "bread to eat, and raiment to put on." Ye faith-
ful followers of the Lamb, dismiss every low anxiety
relating to the needful sustenance of life. > He that feeds
the ravens from an inexhaustible magazine ; He that
paints the plants with such surpassing elegance; in-
short, He that provides so liberally both for the animal
and vegetable parts of his creation, will not, cannot,
neglect his own people. Fear not, little flock, ye pecu-
liar objects of Almighty love! it is your Father's good
pleasure to give you a kingdom. And,- if He freely
gives you an everlasting kingdom hereafter, is it possi-
ble to suppose that He will deny you any necessary
conveniences here ?

One cannot forbear reflecting in this place, on the too
prevailing humour of being fond and ostentatious of
dress. What an abject and mistaken ambition is this 1
How unworthy the dignity of immortal, and the wis-
dom of rational beings ! especially, since these little
productions of the earth have indisputably the pre-emi-
nence in such outward embellishments. Go, clothe
thyself with purple and fine linen, trick thyself up in
all the gay attire which the shuttle or the needle can
furnish ; yet know, to the mortification of thy vanity,
that the native elegance of a common daisy eclipses all

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 87

this elaborate finery. Nay wert thou decked like some
illustrious princess on her coronation day, in all the
splendour of royal apparel ; couldst thou equal even
Solomon in the height of his magnificence and glory,
yet would the meanest among the flowery populace out-
shine thee ; every discerning eye would give the pre-
ference to these beauties of the ground. Scorn, then,
to borrow thy recommendations from a neat disposition
of threads and a curious arrangement of colours : as-
sume a becoming greatness of temper : let thy endow-
ments be of the immortal kind : study to be all-glorious
within : be clothed with humility : wear the ornament
of a meek and quiet spirit, to say all in a word, put on
the Lord Jesus Christ : let his blood be sprinkled upon
thy conscience, and it shall be whiter than the virgin
snows : let his righteousness, like a spotless robe, adorn
thy inner man ; and thou shalt be amiable, even in the
most distinguishing eye of God : let his blessed Spirit
dwell in thy heart ; and, under his sanctifying opera-
tions, thou shalt be made partaker of a divine nature.

These are real excellencies ; truly noble accom-
plishments these. In this manner be arrayed, be beau-
tified ; and thou wilt not find a rival in the feathers of
a peacock, or the foliation of a tulip. These will- exalt
thee far above the low pretensions of lace and embroi-
dery. These will prepare thee to stand in the beatific
presence, and to take thy seat among the angels of
light.

What an enchanting situation is this ! One can
scarce be melancholy within the atmosphere of flowers.
Such lively hues and delicious odours, not only address
'themselves agreeably to the senses, but, touch, with a
surprising delicacy, the sweetest movements of the
mind.

To the heart inspiring

Vernal delight and joy. Milton, b. iv.

How often have I felt them dissipate the gloom of
thought, and transfuse a sudden gaiety through the de-

88 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

jected spirit ! I cannot wonder that kings descend from
their thrones to walk amidst blooming ivory and gold ;
or retire from the most sumptuous feast, to be recreated
with the more refined sweets of the garden. I cannot
wonder that queens forego for a while the compliments
of a nation, to receive the tribute of the parterre ; or
withdraw from all the glitter of a court, to be attended
with the more splendid equipage of a bed of flowers.
But if this be so pleasing, what transporting pleasure
must arise from the fruition of uncreated Excellency I
O, what unknown delight to enter into thy immediate
.presence, most blessed Lord God ! to see thee, thou-
King of Heaven, and Lord of G]ory, no longer
"through a glass darkly, but face to face!" to have all
thy goodness, all thy greatness, shine before us ; and
be made glad for ever with the brightest discovery of
thy perfections, with the ineffable joy of thy counte-
nance !

This we cannot bear in our present imperfect state.
The effulgence of unveiled Divinity would dazzle a
mortal sight. Our feeble faculties would be over-
whelmed with such a fulness of superabundant bliss,
and must lie oppressed under such an exceeding great,
eternal weight of glory. But when this corruptible
hath put on incorruption, the powers of the soul will
be greatly invigorated ; and these earthly tabernacles
will be transformed into the likeness of Christ's g-lori-

D

ous body. Then, though "the moon shall be con-
founded, and the sun ashamed," when the Lord of
Hosts is revealed from heaven, yet shall his faithful
people be enabled to see Him as He is.

Here then, my wishes, here be fixed. Be thisjoMi
determined and invariable aim. Here, my affections,
here give a loose to your whole ardour. Cry out, in
the language of inspiration ; This one thing have I de-
sired of the Lord, which with incessant earnestness I
will require, that I may dwell in the celestial house of
the Lord, all the days of my future life, to behold the fair

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 89

beauty of the Lord, and to contemplate with wonder
and adoration, with unspeakable and everlasting rap-
ture, all the attributes of the incomprehensible God-
head.

Solomon, a most penetrating" judge of human natures
knowing how highly mankind is charmed with the
fine qualities of flowers, has figured out the blessed
Jesus, that " fairest among ten thousand," by these
lovely .representatives. He styles him The rose of
Sharon, and The lily of the valleys ; like the first, full
of delight and communicable graces f like the last, ex-
alted in majesty, and complete in beauty. In that
sacred pastoral, he ranges the creation, borrows its
most finished forms, and dips his pencil in its choicest
dyes, to present us with a sketch of the amiableness of
his person: his amiableness, who is the light of the
world, the glory of his church, the only hope, the sov-
ereign consolation of sinners, and exalted, infinitely
exalted, not only above the sublimest comparison, but
even "above all blessing and praise." May I also
make the same heavenly use of all sublunary enjoy-
ments ! Whatever is pleasureable or charming be-
low, let it raise my desire to those delectable objects
which are above ; which will yield, not partial, but
perfect felicity ; not transient, but never ending satis-
faction and joy. Yes, my soul, let these beauties in
miniature always remind thee of that glorious Person,
in. whom "dwells all fulness of the Godhead bodily."
Let these little emanations teach thee to thirst after the
eternal fountain. O! may the creatures be thy con-
stant clew to the Creator ! For this is a certain truth,
and deserves thy frequent recollection, demands thy
most attentive consideration, that the whole compass
of finite perfection is only a faint ray, shot from that
immense source. is only a small drop, derived from
that inexhaustible ocean of all good.

What a surprising variety is observable among the
flowery tribes ! How has the bountiful hand ol Pro-

8*

90 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

vidence diversified these nicest pieces of his workman-
ship ; added the charms of an endless novelty to all
their other perfections! A constant uniformity would
soon render the entertainment tiresome, insipid ; there-
fore every species is formed on a separate plan, and
exhibits something entirely new. The fashion spreads
not from family to family ; but every one has a mode of
its own, which is truly original. The most cursory
glance perceives an apparent difference, as well as pecu-
liar delicacy, in the airs and habits^ the attitude and
lineaments, of every distinct class.

Some rear their heads with a majestic mien, and
overlook, like sovereigns or nobles, the whole parterre.
Others seem more moderate in their aims, and advance
only to the middle stations ; a genius turned for her-
aldry might term them the gentry of the border: while
others, free from all aspiring views, creep unambitious-
ly on the ground, and look like the commonalty of the
kind. Some are intersected with elegant stripes, or
studded with radiant spots. Some affect to be genteely
powdered, or neatly fringed: while others are plain in
their aspect, unaffected in their dress, and content to
please with a naked simplicity. Some assume the mo-
narch's purple ; some look most becoming in the vir-
gin's white; but black doleful black, has no admits into
the wardrobe of Spring. The weeds of mourning
would be a manifest indecorum, when nature holds an
universal festival. She would now inspire none but
delightful ideas ; and therefore always makes appear-
ance in some amiable suit. Here stands a warrior,
clad with crimson ; there sits a magistrate, robed in
scarlet ; and yonder struts a pretty fellow, that seems to
have dipped his plumes in the rainbow, and glitters in
all the gay colours of that resplendent arch. Some
rise into a curious cup, or fall into a set of beautiful bells.
Some spread themselves in a swelling tuft, or crowd
into a delicious cluster. In some, the predominant
stain softens by the gentlest diminutions, till it has even

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 91

%

stole away from itself: the eye is amused at the agree-
able delusion ; and we wonder to find ourselves insen-
sibly decoyed into a quite different lustre. In others,
you" would think the fine tinges were emulous of pre-
eminence. Disdaining to mingle, they confront one
another with the resolution of rivals, determined to dis-
pute the prize of beauty ; while each is improved by
the opposition into the highest vivacity of complexion.

"How manifold are thy works, O Lord !" multi-
plied even to a prodigy. Yet in wisdom, consummate"
wisdom, hast thou made them all. How I admire the
vdstness of the contrivance, and the exactness of the
execution! Man, feeble man, with difficulty accom-
plishes a single work. Hardly, and after many efforts,
does he arrive at a tolerable imitation of some one pro-
duction of nature. But the Almighty Artist spoke
millions of substances into instantaneous being, the
whole collection wonderfully various, and each indi-
vidual completely perfect. Repeated experiments gen-
erally, I might say, always, discover errors or defects
in our happiest inventions. Nay, what wins our ap-
probation at the present hour, or in this particular
place, is very probably, in some remote period, or some
distant clime, treated with contempt. Whereas, these
fine structures have pleased every state, in every coun-
try, for almost six thousand years. Nor has any fault
been detected in the original plan, nor any room left
for the least improvement upon the first model. All
our performances, the more minutely they are scanned,
the more imperfect they appear. With regard to these
delicate objects, the more we search into their proper-
ties, the more we are ravished with their graces.
They are sure to disclose fresh strokes of the most
masterly skill, in proportion to the attention with which
they are examined.

Nor is the simplicity of the operation less astonishing
than the accuracy of the workmanship or the infinitude
of the effects. Should you ask, " Where and what are the

92 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

materials which beautify the blooming world ? What
rich tints, what splendid dyes, what stores of shining-
crayons, stand by the Heavenly Limner when he
paints the robe of nature? 'Tis answered, His power-
ful pencil needs no such costly apparatus. A single
principle, under his conducting hand, branches out
into an immensity of the most varied and most finished
forms. The moisture of the earth and of the circum-
ambient air, passed through proper strainers, and dis-
posed in a range of pellucid tubes ; this performs all
the wonders, and produces all the beauties of vegeta-
tion. This creeps along the fibres of the low-spread
moss, and climbs to the very tops of the lofty-waving
cedars. This, attracted by the root, and circulating
through invisible can-als ; this bursts into gems, ex-
pands itself into leaves, and clothes the forest with all
its verdant honours. This one plain and simple cause
gives birth to all the charms which deck the youth and
maturity of the year. This blushes in the early hepa-
tica, and flames in the late advancing poppy. This
reddens into blood in the veins of the mulberry, and
attenuates itself into leafen gold, to create a covering
for the quince. This breathes in all the fragrant gales
of our garden, and weeps odorous gum in the groves
of Arabia. So wonderful is our Creator i?i counsel, and
so excellent in working !

In a grove of tulips, or a knot of pinks, one per-
ceives a difference in almost every individual. Scarce
any two are turned and tinctured exactly alike. Each
allows himself a little particularity in his dress, though
all belong to one family: so that they are various, and
yet the same. A pretty emblem this, of the smaller
differences between Protestant Christians. There are
modes in religion which admit of variation, without
prejudice to sound faith or real holiness ; just as the
drapery on these pictures of the spring may be formed
after a variety of patterns, without blemishing their
beauty or altering their nature. Be it so then, that in

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 93

some points of inconsiderable consequence several of
our brethren dissent ; yet let us all live amicably and
sociably together, for we harmonize in principals
though we vary in punctilios. Let us join in conver-
sation, and intermingle interests ; discover no estrange-
ment of behaviour, and cherish no alienation of affec-
tion. If any strife subsists, let it be to follow our divine
Master most closely in humility of heart and unblame-
ableness of life: let it be to serve one another most
readily in all the kind offices of a cordial friendship.
Thus shall we be united, though distinguished ; united
in the same grand fundamentals, though distinguished
by some small circumstantials ; united in one important
bond of brotherly love, though distinguished by some
slighter peculiarities of sentiment.

Between Christians, whose judgments disagree only
about a form of prayer or manner of worship, I appre-
hend there is no more essential difference than between
flowers which bloom from the same kind of seed, but
happen to be somewhat diversified in the mixture of
their colours. Whereas, if one denies the divinity of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and degrades the incarnate God
to the meanness of a mere creature ; if another cries
up the worthiness of human works, and depreciates the
alone meritorious righteousness of the glorious Media-
tor ; if a third addresses the incommunicable honours
to a finite being, and bows to the image, or prays to the
saints these are errors extremely derogatory to the
Redeemer's dignity, and not a little prejudicial to the
comfort of his people. Against these to remonstrate,
against these to urge every argument and use every
dissuasive, bespeaks not the censorious bigot, but the
friend of truth and the lover of mankind. Whereas,
to stand neuter and silent while such principles are
propagated, would be an instance of criminal remiss-
ness rather than of Christian moderation. For the
persons, we will not fail to maintain a tender compas-
sion ; we will not cease to put up earnest intercessions :

94 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

we will also acknowledge and love whatever is excel-
lent and amiable in their character : yet we dare not
subscribe their creed ; we cannot remit our assiduous
but kind endeavours, if by any means we may recon-
-cile them to a more Scriptural belief and a purer
worship.

Another circumstance recommending and endear-
ing the flowery creation, is their regular succession.
They make not their appearance all at once, but in an
orderly rotation. While a proper number of these
obliging retainers are in waiting, the others abscond ;
but hold themselves in a posture of service, ready to
take their turn, and fill each his respective station the
instant it becomes vacant. The snowdrop, foremost of
the lovely train, breaks her way through the frozen
soil, in order to present her early compliments to her
lord : dressed in the robe of innocency, she steps forth,
fearless of danger, long before the trees have ventured
to unfold their leaves, even while the icicles are pen-
dent on our houses. Next peeps out the crocus ; but
cautiously, and with an air of timidity. She hears the
howling blasts, and skulks close to her low situation.
Afraid she seems to make large excursions from her
root, while so many ruffian winds are abroad, and scour-
ing along the asther. Nor is the violet last in this
shining embassy of the year ; which, with all the em-
bellishments that would grace a royal garden, conde-
scends to line our hedges, and grow at the feet of
briers. Freely, and without any solicitations, she dis-
tributes the bounty of her emissive sweets ; while her-
self, with an exemplary humility, retires from sight,
seeking rather to administer pleasure than to win ad-
miration emblem, expressive emblem, of those modest
virtues, which delight to bloom in obscurity, which ex-
tend a cheering influence to multitudes who t are scarce
acquainted with the source of their comforts ! motive,
engaging motive, to that ever-active beneficence, which
stays not for the importunity of the distressed, but an-

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 95

ticipates their suit, and prevents them with the bless-
jncrs of its goodness ! The poor polyanthus, that lately
adorned the border with her sparkling 1 beauties, and,
transplanted into our windows, gave us a fresh enter-
tainment, is now no more. I saw her complexion fade,.
I perceived her breath decay, till at length she expired,,
and dropped into her grave. Scarce have we sustained
this loss, but in comes the auricula, and more than re-
trieves it. Arrayed she comes, in a splendid variety
of amiable forms ; with an eye of crystal, and garments
of the most glossy satin ; exhaling perfume, and pow-
dered with silver. A very distinguished procession
this ! the favourite care of the florists ! Scarce one
among them but is dignified with a character of re-
nown, or has the honour to represent some celebrated
toast. But these also, notwithstanding their illustrious
titles, have exhausted their whole stock of fragrance,
and are mingled with the meanest dust. Who could
forbear grieving at their departure, did not the tulips
begin to raise themselves on their fine wands or stately
stalks ? They flush the parterre with one of the gay-
est dresses that blooming nature wears. Did ever beau
or belle make so gaudy an appearance in a birth-night
suit? Here one may behold the innocent wantonness
of beauty. Here she indulges a thousand freaks, and
sports herself in the most charming diversity of colours.
Yet I should wrong her were I to call her a coquette^
because she plays her lovely changes, not to enkindle
dissolute affections, but to display her Creator's glory.
Soon arises the anemone, encircled at the bottom with a
spreading robe, and rounded at the top into a beautiful
dome. In its loosely flowing mantle, you may observe
a noble negligence : in its gently-bending tufts, the
nicest symmetry. I would term it the fine gentlemen
of the garden, because it seems to have learned the sin-
gular address of uniting simplicity with refinement, of
reconciling art and ease. The same month has the
iherit of producing the ranunculus. All bold and

96 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

graceful, it expands the riches of its foliage, and ac-
quires by degrees the loveliest enamel in the world.
As persons of intrinsic worth disdain the superficial
arts of recommendation practised by /ops, so this lordly
flower scorns to borrow any of its excellence from
powders and essences. It needs no such attractives to
render it the darling of the curious, being sufficiently
engaging from the elegance of its figure, the radiant
variety of its tinges, and a certain superior dignity of
aspect. Methinks nature improves in her operations.
Her latest strokes are most masterly. To crown the
collection, she introduces the carnation which capti-
vates every eye with a noble spread of graces, and
charms another sense with a profusion of exquisite
odours. This single flower has centered in itself the
the perfections of all the preceding. The moment it
appears, it so commands our attention that we scarce
regret the absence of the rest. The gilly-flower, like a
real friend, attends you through all the vicissitudes and
alterations of the season : while others make a transient
visit only; this is rather an inhabitant than a guest in
your gardens ; adds fidelity to complaisance.

It is in vain to attempt a catalogue of these amiable
gifts. There is an endless multiplicity in their charac-
ters, yet an invariable order in their approaches. Every
month, almost every week, has its peculiar ornaments ;
not servilely copying the works of its predecessor, but
forming, still forming, and still executing, some new
design. So lavish is the fancy, yet so exact is the pro-
cess, of nature.

Here let me stand a while to contemplate this distri-
bution of flowers through the several periods of the
year. Were they all to blossom together, there would
be at once a promiscuous throng, and at once a total
privation. We should scarce have an opportunity of
adverting to the dainty qualities of half, and must soon
lose the agreeable company of them all. But no\v,
since every species has a separate post to occupy, and

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 97

a distinct interval for appearing", we can take a leisurely
and minute survey of each succeeding set. We can
view and review their forms, enter into a more inti-
mate acquaintance with their charming accomplish-
ments, and receive all those pleasing services which
they are commissioned to yield. This remarkable
piece of economy is productive of another very valua-
ble effect ; it not only places in the most advantageous
light, every particular community, but is also a sure
provisionaiy resource against the frailty of the whole
nation : or, to speak more truly, it renders the flowery
tribes a sort of immortal corps. For though some are
continually dropping, yet by this expedient others are
continually rising, to beautify our borders, and prolong
the entertainment.

What goodness is this to provide such a series of gra-
tifications for mankind ! both to diversify, and per-
petuate, the fine collation ! to take care that our paths
should be in a manner incessantly strewed with flow-
ers ! and what wisdom, to bid every one of these insen-
sible beings know the precise juncture for their coming
forth ! insomuch that no actor on a stage can be more
exact in performing his part, can make a more regular
entry or a more punctual exit.

Who emboldens the daffodil to venture abroad in
February, and to trust her flowering gold with incle-
ment and treacherous skies? Who informs the vari-
ous tribes of fruit-bearing" blossoms, that vernal suns and
a more genial warmth are fittest for their delicate tex-
ture ? Who teaches the clove to stay till hotter beams
are prepared, to infuse a spicy richness into her odours,
and tincture her complexion with the deepest crimson?
Who disposes these beautiful troops into such orderly
bodies ; retarding some and accellerating others ? Who
has instructed them to file off with such perfect regu-
larity, as soon as the duty of their respective station is
over? And, when one detachment retires, who gives
the signal for another immediately to advance ? Who,

9

98 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

but that unerring Providence, which, from the highest
thrones of angels to the very lowest degrees of exist-
ence, orders all things in " number, weight, and mea-
sure !"

These, O my soul, are the regulations of that most
adorable and most beneficent Being, who bowed the
heavens came down to dwell on earth; and united the
frailty of thy mortal nature to all the glories of his
Godhead. All the honour of this admirable establish-
ment belongs to thy Ransom, thy Surety, thy Saviour.
To Him it belongs, who sustained the vengeance which
thou hadst deserved and was doomed to suffer ; who
fulfilled the obedience, which thou wast obliged, but un-
able to perform ; and who humbled himself (stupen-
dous, ineffable loving kindness!) humbled himself to
death, even the death of the cross. He formed this
vast machine, and adjusted its nice dependencies. The
pillars that support it, the embellishments that adorn it,
and the laws that govern it, are the result of his un-
searchable counsels. O! the heights of his majesty,
and the depths of his abasement !

Which shall we admire most, his essential greatness,
or his free grace? He created the exalted seraph that
sings in glory ; and every the minutest insect that flut-
ters in air or crawls in dust. He marks out a path for
all those globes of light which travel the circuit of the
skies, and disdains not to rear the violet from its lowly
bed, or to plait the daisy which dresses our plains. So
grand are his operations, yet so condescending his re-
gards ! If summer, like a sparkling bride, is brilliant
and glorious in her apparel, what is this but a feeble
reflection of his increased effulgence! If autumn, like
a munificent host, opens her stores, and gives us all
things richly to enjoy, what is this but a little taste of
his inexhaustible liberality 1 If thunders roar, you
hear the sound of his trumpet : If lightnings glare, you
see the launching of his glittering spear ; " if the per-
petual hills be scattered, and the everlasting mountains-

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 99

towed," you behold a display no says the prophet,
you have rather the hiding of his power. So immense
is his power, so uncontrollable and inconceivable, that
all these mighty works are but a sketch, in which more
is concealed than discovered.

Thus, I think, we should always view the visible
system, with an evangelical telescope (if I may be allow-
ed the expression,) and with an evangelical microscope,
regarding Christ Jesus as the great projector and archi-
tect who planned and executed the amazing scheme.
Whatever is magnificent or valuable, tremendous or
amiable, should ever be ascribed to the Redeemer.
This is the Christian's natural philosophy. With re-
gard to this method of considering the things that are
seen, we have an inspired apostle for our preceptor and
precedent. Speaking of Christ, he says, " Thou, Lord,
in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth;
and the heavens are the work of thy hands." Did we
carefully attend to this leading principle in all our ex-
aminations ef nature, it would doubtless be a most pow-
erful means of enkindling our love, and strengthening
our faith. When I look round upon millions of noble
substances, and carry with me this transporting reflec-
tion, " T?he Maker of them all expired on a cross for
me;" how can I remain any longer indifferent 1 Must
not the coldest heart begin to glow with gratitude**
When I survey an immensity of the finest productions
imaginable, and remember that the Author of them all
is my " righteousness and my redemption ;" how can I
choose but repose the most cheerful confidence in sucli
a Mediator 1

Let me add one more remark upon the admirable
adjustment of every particular relating to these fine
colonies planted in the parterre. With such accuracy
and correctness is their structure finished, that any the
least conceivable alteration would very much impair
their perfection. Should you see, for instance, the nice
disposition of the tulip's attire fly abroad, disorderly

100 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

and irregular, like the flaunting woodbine ; should the
jessamine rear her diminutive head on those grand
columns which support the hollihock ; should the erect
and manly aspect of the piony hang down with a pen-
sive air, like the flexible bells of the hyacinth; should
that noble plainness which distinguishes the lily be ex-
changed for the glittering fringes which edge the pink,
or the gaudy stains which bedrop the iris; should
those tapering pillars which arise in the middle of its
vase, and tipped with golden pendants give such a lustre
to the surrounding pannels of alabaster should those
sink and disappear, like the chives which cover the
heart of the anemone; in many of these cases, would
not the transposition be fantastical and awkward ? in
all, to the apparent prejudice of every individual ?

Again, with regard to the time of their appearing,
this circumstance is settled by a remarkable foresight
and precaution. What would become of the sailor, if
in very stormy weather he should raise a lofty mast,
and crowd it with all his canvass ! Such would be the
ill effect, if the most stately species of flowers should
presume to come abroad in the blustering months \
Ah! how would they rue the imprudent boldness t
Therefore those only that shoot the shortest stems, and
display the smallest spread of leaves, or (if you please)
carry the least sail, are launched amidst the blowing
seasons. How injudiciously would the perfumer act,
if he should unseal his finest essences, and expose them
to the northern winds or wintry rains ! Our blooming-
artists of the aromatic profession, at least the most deli-
cate among them, seem .-perfectly aware of the conse-
quences of such a procedure. Accordingly, they post-
pone the opening of their odoriferous treasures, till a
serener air, and more unclouded skies, grant a protec-
tion to their amiable traffic: till they are under no-
more apprehensions of having their spicy cells rifled by
rude blasts, or drowned in incessant showers.

What a striking argument is here for resignation.

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 101

unfeigned resignation, to all the disposals of Provi-
dence ! Too often are our dissatisfied thoughts apt to
find fault with divine dispensations. We tacitly ar-
raign our Maker's conduct, or question his kindness
with regard to ourselves. We fancy our lot not so
commodiously situated, or our condition not so happily
circumstanced, as if we had been placed in some other
station of life. But let us behold this exquisitely nice
regulation of the minutest plants, and be ashamed of
our repining folly. Could any fibre in their composi-
tion be altered, or one line of their features be trans-
posed, without clouding some of their beauties ? Could
any fold in their vestments be varied, or any link in
their orderly succession be broken, without injuring
some delicate property ? And does not that All-seeing
Eye, which preserves so exact a harmony among these
pretty toys, maintain as watchful a care over his ra-
tional creatures ? Does he choose the properest sea-
sons for the cowslip to arise and drink the dews, and
can he neglect the concerns, or misjudge the conve-
niences, of his sons a nd daughters ? He, who has so
completely disposed whatever pertains to the vegeta-
ble economy, that the least diminution or addition
would certainly hurt the finished scheme, does, without
all perad venture, preside with equal attention over the
interests of his own people.

Be still, then, thou uneasy mortal ; know that God
is unerringly wise ; and be assured that, amidst the
greatest multiplicity of beings, he does not overlook
thee. Thy Saviour has given me authority to assert
that thou art of far superior value, in the estimate of
Omnipotence, than all the herbage of the field. If his
sacred will ordains sickness for thy portion, never dare
to imagine that uninterrupted health would be more
advantageous. If he pleases to withhold or take away
children, never presume to conclude that thy happi-
ness is blasted, because thy hopes of an increasing
family are disappointed. He that marshals all the

9*

102 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

starry host, and so accurately arranges every the mean-
est species of herbs, he orders all the peculiarities, all
the changes of thy state, with a vigilance that nothing
can elude, with a goodness that endureth forever. Bow
thy head, therefore, in humble acquiescence. Rest
satisfied, that whatever is by the appointment of Heaven,
is right, is best.

Among all the productions of the third creating-day,
this of flowers seem to be peculiarly designed for man.
Man has the monopoly of this favour : it is conferred
on him by a sort of exclusive charter. See the im-
perial crown, splendid and beautifully grand ! See
the tuberose, delicate and languishingly fair ! See all
the pomp and glory of the parterre where paint and
perfume do wonders. Yet the inferior animals are
neither smit with their beauties, nor regaled with their
odours. The horse never stands still to gaze upon
their charms, nor does the ox turn aside to browse upon
their sweets. Senses they have to discern these curious
objects in their gross, but no taste to distinguish or re-
lish their fine accomplishments. Just so, carnal and
unenlighted men may understand the literal meaning
of Scripture, may comprehend the evidences of its di-
vine inspiration ; yet have no ardent longing for the
spiritual blessings it offers, see " no form nor comeli-
ness" in the Saviour it describes, so as to render him
the supreme desire of their souls.

The chief end of these beautiful appearances, philo-
sophers say, is to unfold and cherish the embryo seed,
or to swathe the tender body during its infant state.
But whatever is the chief end of nature, 'tis certain she
never departs from the design of administering delight
to mankind. This is inseparably connected with her
other views. Were it only to secure a reproductive
principle, what need of such elegant complications?
Why so much art employed, and so many decorations
added ? Why should vestments be prepared richer
than brocades, more delicate than lawns, and of a finer

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 103

glow than the most admired velvets? If the great mo-
ther had no other aim than barely to accommodate her
little offspring, warm flannel or homely fustain would
have served her turn; served it full as well as the
most sumptuous tissues, or all the furniture of the mer-
cer's shop.

Evident then it is, that flowers were endued with
such enchanting graces for the pleasure of men. In
pursuance of this original intention, they have always
paid their court to the human race ; they still seem,
particularly solicitous of recommending themselves to
our regard. The finest of each species crowd about
our habitations, and are rarely to be seen at a distance
from our abodes. They thrive under our cultivating
hand and observing eye, but degenerate and pine
aivay if unregarded by their lord. To win his atten-
tion, and deck his retreats, they hide their deformities
under ground, and display nothing but the most grace-
ful forms and engaging colours to his sight. To
merit a farther degree of his esteem, the generality of
them dispense a delightful perfume. What is still
more obliging, they reserve their richest exhalations to
embalm his morning and evening walks. Because he
usually chooses those cool hours to recreate himself
among their blooming ranks, therefore at those hours
they art most lavish of their fragrance, and breathe
out their choicest spirits.

O man, greatly beloved by thy Creator ! the darling
of Providence ! thou art distinguished by his goodness ;
distinguish thyself also by thy gratitude. Be it thy
one undivided aim to glorify Him who has been at so.
much expense to gratify thee; While all these in-
ferior creatures, in silent eloquence, declare the glory
of God, do thou lend them thy tongue. Be thou the
high priest of the mute creation. Let their praises be-
come vocal in thy songs. Adore the Supreme Bene-
factor for the blessings he showers down upon every
order of beings. Adore him for numberless mercies

104 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

which are appropriated to thyself. But, above all
adore him for that noble gift of a rational and immor
tal soul. This constitutes us masters of the globe, and
gives us the real enjoyment of i|s riches : this discovers
ten thousand beauties, which otherwise had been lost,
and renders them both a source of delight and a nur
sery of devotion. By virtue of this exalted principle
we are qualified to admire our Maker's works, and ca-
pable of bearing his illustrious image ; bearing his ii
lustrious image, not only when these ornaments of
the ground have resigned their honours, but when the
great origin of day is extinguished in the skies, and all
the flaming orbs on high are put out in obscure dark-
ness. Then to survive, to survive the ruins of one
world, and to enjoy God to resemble God to be
" filled with all the fulness of God," in another what
a happiness, what an inestimable happiness, is this ?
Yet this is thy privilege, (barter it not, for trifles of an
hour ! ) this thy glorious prerogative, O man !

O ! the goodness, the exuberant goodness, of our
God ! I cannot forbear celebrating it once more before
I pass to another consideration. How much should
we think ourselves obliged to a generous friend, who
should build a stately edifice purely for our abode I
But how greatly would the obligation be increased if
the hand that built should also furnish it ! and not only
furnish it with all that is commodious and comfortable,
but ornament it also with whatever is splendid and de-
lightful ! this has our most indulgent Creator done,
in a manner infinitely surpassing all we could wish or
imagine.

The earth is assigned us for a dwelling. The skies
are stretched over us like a magnificent canopy, dyed
in the purest azure ; and beautified, now with pictures
of floating silver, now with colourings of reflected
crimson. The grass is spread under us as a capacious
carpet, wove with silken threads of green, and da-
masked with flowers of every hue. The sun, like a

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 105

golden lamp, is hung- out in the ethereal vault; and
pours his effulgence all the day to enlighten our paths.
When night approaches, the moon takes up the friend-
ly office ; and the stars are kindled in twinkling myri-
ads, to cheer the darkness with their milder lustre, not.
disturb our repose hy too intense a glare. The clouds^
besides the rich paintings they hang around the
heavens, act the part of a shifting screen ; and defend
us, by their seasonable interposition, from the scorch-
ing beams of summer. May we not also regard them,
as the great watering pots of the globe? which wafted
on the wings of the wind, dispense their moisture
evenly through the universal garden ; and fructify,,
with their showers, whatever our hand plants. The
fields are our exhaustless granary. The ocean is our
vast reservoir. The animals spend their strength to
despatch our business, resign their clothing to reple-
nish our wardrobe, and surrender their lives to provide
for our tables. In short, every element is a storehouse
of conveniences, every season brings us the choicest
productions, all nature is our caterer; and, which is a
most endearing recommendation of these favours, they
are all as lovely as they are useful. You observe no-
thing mean or inelegant. All is clad in beauty's fair-
est robe, and regulated by proportion's nicest rule.
The whole scene exhibits a fund of pleasure to the
imagination, at the same time that it more than sup-
plies all our wants.

Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever
them art, that rebellest against thy Maker. He sur-
rounds thee with unnumbered benefits, and follows
thee with an effusion of the richest, noblest Gifts. He

t O

courts thy affections, he solicits thy gratitude by libe-
ralities which are never intermitted, by a bounty which
knows no limits. Most blessed Lord, let this thy gffeod-
ness, thy unwearied goodness, lead us to repentance,
Win us to thyself, thou Fountain of Felicity, by these

106 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

sweet inducements. Draw us to our duty, thou God
of our Salvation, by these "cords of love."

What a living picture is here of the beneficial effects
of industry ! By industry and cultivation, this neat spot
is an image of Eden. Here is all that can entertain
the eye, or regale the smell. Whereas, without culti-
vation, this sweet garden had been a desolate wilder-
ness. Vile thistles had made it loathsome ; and tang-
ling briers inaccessible. Without cultivation it might
have been a nest for serpents, and the horrid haunt of
venomous creatures. But the spade arid pruning knife,
in the hand of industry, have improved it into a soit of
terrestrial paradise.

How naturally does this lead our contemplation to
the advantages which flow from a virtuous education,
and the miseries which ensue from the neglect of it !
The mind, without early instruction, will in all proba-
bility become like the " vineyard of the sluggard :" if
left to the propensities of its own depraved will, what
can we expect but the most luxuriant growth of un-
ruly appetites, which in time will break forth into all
manner of scandalous irregularities ? What, but that
anger, like a prickly thorn, arm the temper with an
untractable moroseness : peevishness, like a stinging
nettle, render the conversation irksome and forbid-
ding : avarice, like some choking weed, teach the fin-
gers to gripe, and the hand to oppress*: revenge, like
some poisonous plant, replete with baneful juices,
rankle in the breast, and meditate mischief to its neigh-
bour : while unbridled lusts, like swarms of noisome in*
sects, taint each rising thought ; and render " every

' O O ) J

imagination of the heart only evil continually? 11 Such
are the usual products of savage nature ; such the fur-
niture of the uncultivated soul !

Whereas let the mind be put under the " nurture
and admonition of the Lord :" let holy discipline clear
the soil : let sacred instruction sow it with the best
seed : let skill and vigilance dress the rising shoots, di-

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 107'

rect the young ideas how to spread, the wayward pas-
sion how to move : then what a different state of the
inner man will quickly take place ! Charity will
breathe her sweets, and hope expand her blossoms ;
the personal virtues display their graces, and the social
ones their fruits ; the sentiments become generous, the
carriage endearing, the life honourable and useful.

O ! that governors of families and masters of schools
would watch with a conscientious solicitude over the
morals of their tender charge ! What pity it is, that the
advancing generation should lose these invaluable en-
dowments through any supineness in their instructors !
See ! with what assiduity the curious florist jaiteuds his
little nursery ! He visits them early and late ; furnishes
them with the properest mould : supplies them with
seasonable moisture ; guards them from the ravages of
insects ; screens them from the injuries of the weather ;
marks their springing buds ; observes them attentively
through their whole progress ; and never intermits his
anxiety till he beholds them blown into full perfection.
And shall a range of painted leaves, which nourish to-
day, and to-morrow fall to the ground shall these be
tended with more zealous application, than the exalted
faculties of an immortal soul ?

Yet trust not in cultivation alone. It is the blessing
of the Almighty Husbandman, which imparts success
to such labours of love. If God, " seal up the bottles
of heaven," and command the clouds to withhold their
fatness, the best-manured plot becomes a barren desert.
And if He restrain the dew of his heavenly benedic-
tion, all human endeavours miscarry ; the rational
plantation languishes : our most pregnant hopes, fron
youths of the most promising genius, prove abortive.
Their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom will
go up as dust. Therefore, let parents plant ; let tutors
water ; but let both look up to the Father of spirits for"
the desired increase.

On every side, I^cspy several budding flowers.

108 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

yet, they are like bales of cloth from the packer's ware-
house ; each is wrapped within a strong enclosure, and
its contents are tied together by the firmest bandages :
so that all their beauties lie concealed, and all their
sweets are locked up. Just such as the niggardly
wretch, whose aims are turned inward, and meanly
terminated upon himself ; who makes his own private
interests or personal pleasure the sole centre of his de-
signs, and the scanty circumference of his actions.

Ere long the searching beams will open these silken,
folds, and draw them into a graceful expansion. Then,
what a lovely blush will glow in their cheeks, and
what a balmy odour exhale from their bosoms ! So
when divine grace shines upon the mind, even the
churl becomes bountiful ; the heart of stone is taken
away, and a heart of flesh, a heart susceptible of the
softest, most compassionate emotions, is introduced in
its stead. O ! how sweetly do the social affections di-
late themselves under so benign an influence ! just
like these disclosing gems under the powerful eye of
day. The tender regards are no longer confined to a
single object ; but extend themselves into a generous
concern for mankind, and shed liberal refreshments on
all within their reach.

Arise then, thou Son of Righteousness ; arise with
liealing under thy wings ; and transfuse thy gentle but
penetrating ray through all our intellectual powers.
Enlarge every narrow disposition, and fill us with a
diffuse benevolence. Make room in our breast for the,
whole human race ; and teach us to love all our fellow
creatures, for their amiable Creator's sake. May we
be pleased with their excellencies, and rejoice in their
happiness ; but feel their miseries as our own, and
with a brother's sympathy hasten to relieve them !

Disposed at proper distances, I observe a range of
strong and stately stalks. They stand like towers
along the walls of a fortified city, or rise like lofty spires
amidst the group of houses, They part at the top, into

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 109

several pensile spiky pods, from each of which we
shall soon see a fine figure displaying itself, rounded
into a form \\ hich constitutes a perfect circle, spread,
wide open into the most frank and communicative air ;
and tinged with the colour which is so peculiarly cap-
tivating to the miser's eyes.

But the property 1 chiefly admire, is its passionate
fondness for the sun. When the evening shades take
place, the poor flower droops, and folds up its leaves.
It mourns all the long night, and pines amidst the
gloom, like some forlorn lover banished from the ob-
ject of his affections. No sooner does Providence
open " the eyelids of the morning." but it meets and
welcomes the returning light, courts and caresses it all
the day, nor ever loses sight of the refulgent charmer
so long as he continues above the horizon ! In the
morning, you may perceive it presenting a golden
bosom to the east ; at noon it points upward to the mid-
dle sky; in the evening follows the same attractive in-
fluence to the west.

Surely nature is a book, and every page rich with
sacred hints. To an attentive mind the garden turns
preacher, and its blooming tenants are so many lively
sermons. What an engaging pattern, and what an
excellent lesson have we here!- So let the redeemed
of the Lord look unto Jesus, and be conformed to their
Beloved. Let us all be heliotropes (if I may use the
expression) to the Sun of Righteousness ; let our pas-
sions rise and fall, take this course or that, as. his word
determines, as his holy example guides ; let us be so
accommodated both to his commanding and providen-
tial will, as the wax is turned to the imprinted seal;
or, as the aspect of this enamoured flower, to the
splendid star which creates our day.

In every enjoyment, O thbu watchful Christian, look
unto Jesus ; receive it as proceeding from his love, and
purchased by his agonies. In every tribulation look
*mto Jesus; mark his gracious hand, managing the

10

110 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

scourge, or mingling the bitter cup ; attempering it to
a proper degree of severity ; adjusting the time of its
continuance ; and ready to make these seeming dis-
asters productive of real good. In every infirmity and
failing, look unto Jesus, thy merciful high-priest,,
pleading his atoning blood, and making intercession
for transgressors. In evey prayer look unto Jesus,
thy prevailing advocate, recommending thy devotions,
and "bearing the iniquity of thy holy things." In
every temptation look unto Jesus, the author of thy
strength, and captain of thy salvation ; who alone is
able to lift up the hands which hang down, to invigo-
rate the enfeebled knees, and make thee more than
conqueror over all thy enemies.

But especially, when the hour of thy departure ap-
proaches ; when " thy flesh and thy heart fail ;" when
all the springs of life are irreparably breaking ; then
look unto Jesus with a believing eye. Like expiring
Stephen, behold him standing at the right hand of
God, on purpose to succour his people in this their
last extremity. Yes my Christian friend ; when thy
journey through life is finished, and thou art arrived
on the very verge of mortality ; when thou art just
launching out into the invisible world, and all before
thee is vast eternity ; then, O then, be sure to look
steadfastly unto Jesus! "See by faith the Lord's
Christ." View him as the only way to the everlasting-
mansions, as the only door to the abodes of bliss.

Yonder tree, which faces the south, has something-
too remarkable to pass without observation. Like the
fruitful though feeble vine, she brings forth a large
family of branches; but, unable to support them her-
self, commits them to the tuition of a sunny wall. As
yet the tender twigs have scarce gemmed their future
blossoms. However, I may anticipate the well known
productions, and picture to myself the passion-flower?
which will in due time with a long and copious suc-
cession, adorn the boughs.

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. Ill

I have read in a Latin author, of flowers inscribed
with the name of kings ; but here is one. emblazoned
with the marks of the bleeding Prince of life. I read
in the inspired writings of apostolic men, who bore
about in their bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus ; but
here is, a blooming religiose*, that carries apparent me-
morials of the same tremendous and fatal catastrophe.
Who would have expected to find such a tragedy of wo,
exhibited in a collection of the most delicate delights ?
or to see Calvary's horrid scene portrayed on the soft-
est ornaments of the garden ? Is nature then actuated
by the noble ambition of paying commemorative ho-
nours to her agonizing Sovereign ? Is she kindly offi-
cious to remind forgetful mortals of that miracle of mer-
cy, which it is their duty to contemplate, and their
happiness to believe ? Or is a sportive imagination my
interpreter, and all the supposed resemblance no more
than the precarious gloss of fancy? Be it so: yet
even fancy has her merit, when she sets forth in such
pleasing imagery the crucified Jesus ? Nor shall I re-
fuse a willing regard to imagination herself when she
employs her creative powers to revive the sense of
such unparalleled love, and prompt my gratitude to so
divine a Friend.

That spiral tendril, arising from the bottom of the
stalk, is it a representation of the scourge which lashed
the Redeemer's unspotted flesh, and inflicted those
stripes by which our souls are healed ? Or is it twist-
ed for the cord which bound his hands, in painful and ig-
nominious confinement those beneficent hands, which
were incessantly stretched out to unloose the heavy
burdens, and to impart blessings of every choice kind 1
Behold the nails which were drenched in his sacred
vein, and rivetted his feet to the accursed tree those
beautiful feet which always went about doing good,
and travelled far and near to spread the glad tidings
of everlasting salvation. See the hammer ponderous
and massy, which drove the rugged irons through the

112 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

shivering nerves, and forced a passage for those dread-
ful wedges "between the dislocated bones. View the
thorns which encircled our royal Master's brow, and
shot their keen afflictive points into his blessed head.
O the smart ! the racking smart ! when instead of the
triumphal laurel, or the oderiferous garland, that pun-
gent and ragged wreath was planted on the meek
Messiah's forehead! when violent and barbarous blows
of the strong Eastern cane struck the prickly crown,
and fixed every thorn deep in his throbbing temples ;
there stand the disciples, ranged in the green impale-
ment, and forming a circle round the instruments of
their great Commander's death. They appear like so
many faithful adherents, who breathe a gallant resolu-
tion, either of defending their Lord to the last extremity
or of dropping honourably by his side. But did they
give such proofs of zeal and fidelity in their conduct^
as their steady posture and determined aspect seem to
promise ? Alas ! what is all human firmness, when
destitute of succours from above, but an expiring va-
pour? What is every saint, if unsupported by power-
ful, grace, but an abandoned traitor? Observe the
glory, delineated in double rays, grand with imperial
purple, and rich with ethereal blue. But ah ! how in-
capable are threads, though spun by summer's finest
hand, though dyed in snows, or dipped in heaven, to
display the immaculate excellency of his human, or the
ineffable majesty of his divine nature? Compared
with these sublime perfections, the most vivid assem-
blage of colours fades into an unmeaning flatness ; the
most charming effects of light and shade are not only
mere daubings, but an absolute blank.

Among all the beauties which shine in sunny robes,
and sip the silver dews, this, I think, has the noblest im-
port, if not the finest presence. Were they all to pass
in review, and expect the award of superiority from my
decision, I should not hesitate a moment Be the prize
assigned to this amiable candidate : which has so emi-

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 113

nently distinguished and so highly dignified herself by
bearing such a remarkable resemblance to " the right-
eous Branch ; the Plant of renown." While others
appoint it a place in the parterre, I would transplant
the passion-flower, or rather transfer its sacred signifi-
cance, to. my heart. There let it bloom, both in sum-
mer and in winter ; bloom in the most impressive cha-
racters, and with an undecaying lustre: that I may
also wear wear on my very soul, the traces of Im-
manuelj pierced for my sins, and bruised for my trans-
gressions : that I also may be crucified with Christ, at
ieast in penitential remorse, and affectionate sympathy:
that I may know the fellowship of his sufferings ; and
feel all my evil affections wounded by his agonies,
mortified by his death.

There is another subject of the verdant kingdom,
which, on account of its very uncommon qualities, de-
mands my particular notice: one so extremely diffi-
dent in her disposition, and delicate in her constitution,
that she dares not venture herself abroad in the open
air, but is nursed up in the warmth of a hot-bed, and
lives cloistered in the cells of a green-house. But the
most curious peculiarity is, that of all her kindred spe-
cies, she alone partakes of perceptive life; at least ad-
vances nearest to this more exalted "State of being; and
may be looked upon as the link which connects the
animal and the vegetable world. A stranger, observ-
ing her motions, would almost be induced to suspect
that she is endued with some inferior degrees of con-
sciousness and caution. For if you offer to handle the
sensitive plant, she immediately takes an alarm ; hastily
contracts her fibres ; and, like a person under appre-
hensions of violence, withdraws from your finger in a
kind of precipitate disorder. Perhaps the beauty of her
aspect might be sullied, or the niceness of her texture
discomposed by the human touch. Therefore, like a
coy virgin, she recedes from all unbecoming familiari-

10*

114 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

ties, and will admit no such improper, if not pernicious
freedoms.

Whatever be the cause of this unusual effect, it sug-
gests an instructive admonition to the Christian. Suck,
should be our apprehensive timorous care with regard
to sin ; and all, even the most distant, approaches of
vice. So should we avoid the very appearance of evil,,
and stand aloof from every occasion of falling. If sin-

V O

ners entice ; if forbidden pleasures tempt ; or if oppor-
tunity beckon, with the gain of injustice in her hand ;
O ! turn from the gilded snare ; touch not the beauteous
bane ; but fly, fly, haste, fly, without any delay, from
the bewitching ruin. Does anger draw near with her
lighted torch, to kindle the flame of resentment in our
breasts? Does flattery ply our ears with her enchant-
ing and intoxicating whispers 1 Would discontent lay
her leaden hand upon our temper, and mould into our
minds her sour leaven, in order to make us a burden
to ourselves and unamiable to others? Instantly let us
divert our attention from the dangerous objects; and
not so much endeavour to antidote, as to shun, the
moral contagion. Let us revolve in our meditations
that wonderful meekness of our distressed Master,
which, amidst the most abusive and provoking insults,
maintained an uniform tenor of unshaken serenity.
Let us contemplate that prodigious humiliation, which
brought him, from an infinite height above all worlds,
to make his bed in the dust of death. Let us soothe
our jarring, our uneasy passions, with the remem-
brance of that cheerfulness and resignation, which
rendered him, in the deepest poverty, unfeignedly
thankful, and, under the heaviest tribulations, most,
submissively patient.

Harbour not on any consideration, the betrayer of
your virtue. Be deaf, inflexibly deaf, to every beguil-
ing solicitation. If it obtrude into the unguarded heart,,
give it entertainment, no, not for a moment. To
parley with the enemy, is to open a door for destruo

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 115

tion. Our safety consists in flight ; and, in this case r
suspicion is the truest prudence, fear the greatest bra-
very. Play not on the brink of the precipice. Flut-
ter not round the edges of the flame. Dally not with
the stings of death: but reject, with a becoming mix-
ture of solicitude and abhorrence, the very first insinu-
ations of iniquity, as cautiously as the smarting sore'
shrinks even from the softest hand ; as constantly as
this jealous plant recoils at the approaching touch.

Not long ago, these curious productions of the
spring were coarse and mis-shaped roots. Had we
opened the earth, and beheld them in their seed, how
uncouth and contemptible had their appearance been !
But now they are the boast of nature ; the delight of
the sons of men ; finished patterns for enamelling
and embroidery, outshining even the happiest strokes
of the pencil. They are taught to bloom, but with a
very inferior lustre, in the richest tapestries and most
magnificent silks. Art never attempts to equal their
incomparable elegancies, but places all her merit in
copying after these delicate originals. Even those who-
glitter in silver, or whose clothing is of wrought gold,
are desirous to borrow additional ornaments from a
spriaf of jessamine, or a little assemblage of pinks.

What a fine idea may we form from hence of the
resurrection of -the just^ and the state of their reanimated
bodies! As the roots even of our choicest flowers,,
when deposited in the ground, are rude and ungrace-
ful, but when they spring up into blooming life are
most elegant and splendid ; so the flesh of a saint, when
committed to the dust, alas! what is it? A heap of
corruption; a mass of putrefying clay. But, when it
obeys the great archangel's call and starts into a new
existence, what an astonishing change ensues ! What
a most ennobling improvement takes place! That
which is sown in weakness, was raised in all the viva-
city of power. That which was sown in deformity, is
raised in the bloom of celestial beauty. Exalted, re-

116 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

fined, and glorified, it will shine " as the brightness of
the firmament," when it darts the inimitable blue
through the fleeces the snowy fleeces of some cleav-
ing cloud.

Fear not then, thou faithful Christian ; fear not, at
the appointed time, to descend into the tomb. Thy
soul thou mayst trust with thy omnipotent Redeemer,
who is Lord of the unseen world ; " who has the keys
of hell, and of death." Most safely mayst thou trust
thy better part in those beneficent hands which were
'pierced with nails, and fastened to the ignominious
tree, for thy salvation. With regard to thy earthly ta-
bernacle, be not dismayed. It is taken down only to
be rebuilt upon a diviner plan, and in a more heavenly
form. If it retires into the shadow of death, and lies
immured in the gloom of the grave, it is only to return
from a short confinement to endless liberty. If it falls
into dissolution, it is in order to rise more illustrious
from its ruins, and wear an infinitely brighter face of
perfection and of glory.

Having now made my panegyric, let me next take
up a lame?itation for these loveliest productions of the
vegetable world. For I foresee their approaching
doom. Yet a little while, and all these pleasing scenes
vanish. Yet a little while, and all the sweets of the
blooming spring, are no more. Everyone of these
amiable forms must be shrivelled to deformity and trod-
den to the earth. Significant resemblance this, of all
created beauty. All flesh is grass ; like the green her-
bage, liable and prone to fade. Nay, all the goodliness
thereof, its finest accomplishments, and what the world
universally admires, is as thejlmuer of the field ; which
loses its gloss, decays and perishes, more speedily than
the grass itself. Behold then, ye brightest among the
daughters of Eve ; behold yourselves in this glass.
See the charms of your person eclipsed by the lustre of
these little flowers ; and the frailty of your state repre-
sented by their transient glories. A fever may scorch

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWEE.-GARDEN. 117

those polished veins ; a consumption may emaciate the-
dimpling cheeks ; and a load of unexpected sorrows
depress those lively spirits. Or should these disasters r
in pity, spare the tender frame ; yet age, inexorable
age and wrinkles, will assuredly come at last ; will
wither all the fine features, and blast every sprightly
grace.

Then, ye fair, when those sparkling eyes are dark-
ened, and sink their orbs ; when they are rolling in.;
agonies, or swimming in death, how will you sustains
the affliction ? how will you repair the loss ? Apply
your thoughts to religion. Attend to the one thing-
needful. Believe in, and imitate the blessed Jesus.
Then shall your souls mount up to the realms of
happiness, when the well proportioned clay is ming-
ling with its mean original. The light of God's coun-
tenance will irraditate, with matchless and consummate-
perfection, all their exalted faculties. Cleansed entirely
from every dreg of corruption, like some unsullied
mirror, they will reflect the complete image of their
Creator's holiness. Oh! that you would thus dress
your minds and prepare for the immortal state? Then,
from shining among your fellow creatures on earth,,
you shall be translated to shine around the throne of
God. Then, from being the sweetness of our life,,
and the delight of our eyes here below ; you shall
pass, by an easy transition, into angels of delight, and.
become " an everlasting excellency, the joy of all gene-
rations."

Yes; ye flowery nations, ye shall all decay. Yonder
lily, that looks like the queen of the gay creation ; see r
how gracefully it erects its majestic head ! What an
air of dignity and granduer ennobles its aspect! For
elevated mein, as well as for incomparable lustre, justly j j
may it be preferred to the magnificient monarch of the
East. But, all stately and charming as it is, it will-
hardly survive a few more days. That unspotted

118 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

whiteness must quickly be tarnished, and the snowy
form defiled in the dust.

As the lily pleases with the noble simplicity of its
appearance, the tulip is admired for the gaiety and
multiplicity of its colours. Never was cup either
painted or enamelled, with such a profusion of dye :
its tinges are so glowing ; its contrasts so strong ; and
the arrangement of them both, so elegant and artful !
J Twas lately the pride of the border, and the reigning
beauty of the delightful season. As exquisitely fine as
the rainbow, and almost as extremely transient, it
spread, for a little moment, its glittering plumage, but
has now laid all its variegated and superior honours
down. Those radiant stripes are blended, alas ! rudely
-blended, with common mould.

To a graceful shape and blooming complexion, the
rose adds the most agreeable perfume. Our nostrils
make it repeated visits, and are never weary of drink-
ing in its sweets. A fragrance, so peculiarly rich and
reviving, transpires from its opening tufts ; that every
one covets its acquaintance. How have I seen even
the accomplished Clarissa, for whom so many votaries
languish, fondly caressing this little flower ! That
lovely bosom, which is the seat of innocence and vir-
tue ; whose least excellency it is to rival the delicacy
-of the purest snows ; among a thousand charms of its
-own, thinks it possible to adopt another from the
damask rose bud. Yet even this universal favourite
must fail. Its native balm cannot preserve it from
putrefaction. Soon, soon, must it resign all those en-
dearing qualities, and hang neglected on its stem, or
drop despised to the ground.

One could wish, methinks, these most amiable of the
inanimate race a longer existence ; but in vain : they
fade almost as soon as they flourish ; within less than
a month their glories are extinct. Let the sun take a

o

few more journeys through the sky, then visit this
enchanting walk, and you will find nothing but a

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 119

wretched wildness of ragged or naked stalks out (my
soul exults in the thought) the garment of celestial-
glory, which shall ere long array the re-animated body,
Will never wax old. The illustrious robes of a Sa-
viour's consummate righteousness, which even now
adorn the justified spirits, are incorruptible and im-
mortal. No moth can corrode their texture ; no num-
ber of ages sully their brightness. The light of day
may be quenched, and all the stars sink in obscurity -
but the honours of " just men made perfect," are sub-
ject to no diminution. Inextinguishable and unfading"
is the lustre of their crown.

Yes ! ye flowery nations, ye must all decay. Winter r
like some enraged and irresistible conquerer, that car-
ries fire and sword wherever he advances ; that de-
molishes towns, depopulates countries, spreads slaugh-
ter and desolation on every side, so, just so, will win-
ter, with his savage and unrelenting blasts, invade this-
beautiful prospect. The storms are gathering, and the-
tempests mustering their rage, to fall upon the vegeta-
ble kingdoms. They will ravage through the domin-
ions of nature, and plunder her riches, and lay waste
her charms. Then, ye trees, must ye stand stripped
of your verdant apparel; and, ye fields, be spoiled of
your waving treasures. Then the earth, disrobed of
all her gay attire, must sit in sables, like a disconsolate-
widow. The sun too, who now rides in triumph round 5
the world, and scatters gaiety from his radiant eye,.
will then look faintly from the windows of the south ;
and, casting a short glance on our dejected world, will
leave us to the uncomfortable gloom of tedious nights.
Then these pretty choristers of the air will chant no
more to the gentle gales ; the lark, the linnet, and all
the feathered songsters, abandon their notes and in-
dulge their woes. The harmony of the woods is at an;
end ; and silence, (unless it be interrupted by howling-
winds,) a sullen silence, sits brooding upon the boughs y

120 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

which are now made vocal by a thousand warbling
throats.

But (sweet recollection ! ravishing expectation !) the
songs of saints in light never admit a pause for sad-
ness. All heaven will resound with the melody of
their gratitude and all eternity echo to their triumphant
acclamations. The hallelujahs of that world, and the
harmonious joy of its inhabitants, will be as lasting
?is the divine perfections they celebrate. Come then,
'holy love, and tune my heart ; descend, celestial
fire, and touch my tongue, that I may stand ready to
strike up and bear my part in that great hosanna, that
everlasting hymn.

Yes, yes ; yefloivery nations ye must all decay. And,
indeed, could you add the strength of an oak, or the
stability of a pyramid, to all the delicacy of your tex-
ture ; yet short, exceeding short, even then, would your
duration be. For, / see that all things come to an end.
The pillars of nature are tottering. The foundations
of the round world are falling away. " The heavens
themselves wax old like a garment." But, amidst these
views of general ruin, here is our refuge ; this is our
consolation ; we know that our redeemer liveth. Thy
years, blessed Jesus, shall not fail. From, everlasting
to everlasting, Thou art still the same ; the same most
excellent and adorable person ; the same omnipotent
and faithful friend ; the same all sufficient and inesti-
mable portion. O ! may we but partake of thy merits,
be sanctified by thy grace, and received into thy glory !
Then perish, if ye will, all inferior delights. Let all
that is splendid in the skies, expire ; and all that is ami-
able in nature, be expunged. Let the whole extent of
creation be turned again into one undistinguishable
void, one universal blank. Yet, if God be ours, we
shall have enough. If God be ours, we shall have all,
and abound ; all that our circumstances can want, or
our wishes crave, to make us inconceivably blessed and
iaappy ; blessed and happy, not only through this little

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. 121

interval of time, but through the unmeasurable revolu-
tions of eternity.

The sun is now come forth in his strength, and beats
fiercely upon my throbbing pulse. Let me retire to
yonder inviting arbour. There the woodbines retain
the lucid drop ; there the jessamines, whi :h line the
verdant alcove, are still impearled, and deliciously wet
with dews. Welcome ye refreshing shades ! I feel, I
feel, your cheering influence. My languid spirits re-
vive; the slackened sinews are new strung; and Jife
bounds brisker through all her crimson channels.

Reclined on this mossy couch, and surrounded by
this fragrant coldness, let me renew my aspirations to
the ever-present Deity. Here, let me remember and
imitate the pious Augustine and his mother Monica;
who, being engaged in discourse on the beauties of the
visible creation, rose, by these ladders, to the glories of
the invisible state ; still they were inspired with the
most affecting sense of their supereminent excellency,
and actuated with the most ardent breathing after their
full enjoyments ; insomuch, that they were almost rapt
up into the bliss they contemplated ; and scarce " knew
whether they were in the body, or out of the body."

When tempests toss the ocean ; when plaintive sig-
nals of distress are heard from the bellowing deep; and
melancholy tokens of shipwreck come floating on the
foaming surge ; then how delightful to stand safe on
the shore, and hug one's self in conscious security.
When a glut of wafers- bursts from some mighty tor-
rent, rushes headlong over all the neighbouring plains,
sweeps away the helpless cattle, and drives the affright-
ed shepherd from his hut ; then, from the top of a dis-
tant eminence, to descry the danger we need not fear ;
how pleasing ! Sure, methinks, is my present situation.
For now the sun blazes from on high ; the air glows
with his fire ; the fields are rent with chinks ; the roads
are scorched to dust ; the woods seem to contract a
sickly aspect, and a russet hue ; the traveller, broiled

11

122 REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN.

as he rides, hastens to his inn, and intermits his jour-
ney: the labourer, bathed in sweat, drops the scythe r
and desists from his work ; the cattle flee to some shady
covert, or else pant and toss under the burning noon.
Even the stubborn rock, smit with the piercing beams,
is ready to cleave. All things languish beneath the
dazzling deluge while I shall enjoy a cool and calm
reflection, amidst the gloom of this bowery recess,
which scarce admits one speck of sunshine.

Thus, may both the flock and their shepherd dwell
beneath the defence of the Most High and abide under
the shadow of the Almighty. Then though the pesti-
lence walketh in darkness, and the sickness destroyeth
at noon-day ; though thousands fall beside us, and ten
thousands at our right hand ; we need fear no eviL
Either the destroying angel shall pass over our houses :
or else he shall dispense the corrections of a friend, not
the scourges of an enemy ; which, instead of hurting"
us, shall work for our good. Then, though profane-
ness and infidelity, far more malignant evils, breathe a
deadly contagion, and taint the morals of multitudes
around us ; yet if the great Father of spirits " hide us
in the hollow of his hand," we shall hold fast our in-
tegrity, and be faithful unto death.

Let then, dearest Lord, O! let thy servant, and the
people committed to his care, be received into thy pro-
tection. Let us take sanctuary under that tree of Iife 7
erected in the ignominious cross. Let us fly for safety
to that city of refuge, opened in thy bleeding wounds.
These shall be a sacred hiding-place, not to be pierced
by the flames of divine wrath, or the fiery darts of
temptation. Thy dying merits and perfect obedience,,
shall be to our souls as rivers of water in a dry place y
or as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

But most of all, in that last tremendous day, when the

*

heavens are rent asunder, and wrapped up like a scroll j
when thy Almighty Arm shall arrest the sun in his-
career, and dash to pieces the structure of the universe j

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GAR.DEN. 123

when the dead, both small and great, shall be gathered
before the throne of thy glory; and the fates of all
mankind hang on the very point of a final irreversible
decision ; then, blessed Jesus, let us be owned by
Thee, and we shall not be ashamed; defended by
Thee, and we shall not be afraid. O! may we, at that
awful, that unutterably important juncture, be covered
with the wings of thy redeeming love ; and we, shall
behold all the horrible convulsions of expiring nature,
with composure, with comfort ! We shall even wel-
come the dissolution of all things, as the times of re-
freshing from, the presence of the Lord.

There are, I perceive, who still attend the flowers j
and, in defiance of the sun, ply their work on every
expanded blossom. The bees I mean ; that nation of
chymists, to whom nature has communicated the rare
and valuable secret of enriching themselves without im-
poverishing others ; who extract the most delicious
syrup from every fragrant herb, without wounding
its substance, or diminishing its odours. I take the
more notice of these ingenious operations, because I
would willingly make them my pattern. While the
gay butterfly flutters her painted wings, and sips a little
fantastic delight only for the present moment ; while
the gloomy spider, worse than idly busied, is preparing
his insidious nets for destruction, or sucking venom,
even from the most wholesome plants ; this frugal
community are wisely employed in providing for futu-
rity, and collecting a copious stock of the most balmy
treasures. And O! might these meditations sink into
my soul ! Would the God who suggested each hea-
venly thought, vouchsafe to convert it into an estab-
lished principle; to determine all my inclinations, and
regulate my whole conduct ! I should then gather
advantages from the same blooming objects, more pre-
cious than your golden stores, ye industrious artists.
I also should go home, laden with the richest sweets

124 "REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN,

and the noblest spoils ; though I crop not a leaf, nor
call a single flower my own.

s Here I behold, assembled in one view, almost all the
various beauties, which have been severally entertain-
ing my imagination. The vistas, struck through an
ancient wood, or formed by rows of venerable elms
conducting the spectator's observations to some remark-
able object, or leading the traveller's footsteps to this
delightful seat ; the walls enriched with fruit trees, and
faced with a covering of their leafy extensions ; I
should rather have said, hang with different pieces of
nature's noblest tapestry ; the walks neatly shorn and
lined with verdure, or finely smoothed and coated with
gravel ; the alleys arched with shades to embower our
noon-tide repose, or throw open for the free accession
of air, to invite us to our evening recreation ; the de-
cent edgings of box which enclose, like a plain sel-
vage, each beautiful compartment, and its splendid
figures ; the shapely evergreens and flowering shrubs,
which strike the eye, and appear with peculiar dignity
in this distant situation ; the basin with its crystal fount
floating in the centre, and diffusing an agreeable fresh-
ness through the whole ; trie waters, falling from a re-
mote cascade, and gently murmuring as they flow
along the pebbles ; these added to the rest, and all so
disposed, that each recommends and endears each, ren-
der the whole a most sweet ravishing scene of order
and variety, of elegance and magnificence.

From so many lovely prospects clustering upon the
sight, it is impossible not to be reminded of heaven ;
that world of bliss, those regions of light, where the
Lamb that was slain manifests his beatific presence,
and his saints live for evermore. But O ! what pencil
can sketch out a draught of that goodly land ! What
colour or what style can express the splendours of Im-
manuel's kingdom ! Would some celestial hand draw
aside the veil but for one moment, and permit us to
throw a single glance on these divine abodes \ how

REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GAUD EN. 125

would all sublunary possessions become tarnished in
our eyes, and grow flat upon our taste ! A glimpse, a
transient glimpse of those unutterable beatitudes, would
captivate our souls, and engross all their faculties.
Eden itself after such a vision, would appear a cheer-
less desert, and an earthly charms intolerable deformity.

" Very excellent things are spoken of thee, thou city
of God." Volumes have been written, and those by
inspired men, to display the wonders of thy perfections.
All that is rich and resplendant in the visible creation,
has been called in to our aid conceptions, and elevate
our ideas ; but indeed, no tongue can utter, no pen can
describe, no fancy can imagine, what God, of his un-
bounded munificence, has prepared for them that love
him. Seeing then that all terrestrial things must come
to a speedy end, and there remaineth a rest, a blissful
and everlasting rest, for the people of God ; let me
never be too fondly attached to any present satisfac-
tions. Weaned from whatever is temporal, may I
maintain a superior indifference for such transitory en-
joyments ; but long, long earnestly for the mansions
that are above, the paradise " which the Lord hath,
planted, and not man." Thither may I transmit the
chief of my conversation, and from thence expect the
whole of my happiness. Be that the sacred, powerful
magnet which ever influences my heart, ever attracts
my affections. There are such transcendant glories, as
eye has not seen ; there are such transporting pleasures,
as ear has not heard ; there is such a fulness of joys,
as the thought of man cannot conceive.

Into that consummate felicity, those eternal fruitions,
permit me Madam, to wish you, in due time, an abun-
dant entrance; and to assure you that this wish is
breathed with the same sincerity and ardour for my
honoured correspondent, as it is, Madam, for

Your most obedient, &c.
11* J. HERVEY.

DESCANT UPON .CREATION.

With joy, with grief, that healing hand I see ;
The Skies it form'd, and yet it bled for me.

[NIGHT THOUGHTS, NO. rv.

To know the love of Christ ; to have such a deep ap-
prehension of his unspeakable kindness, as may pro-
duce in our hearts an adoring gratitude and an un-
feigned faith ; this, according to St. Paul's estimate, is
the highest and happiest attainment in the sacred
science of Christianity. What follows is an attempt to
assist the attentive mind in learning a line or two of
that best and greatest lesson. It introduces the most
conspicuous parts of the visible system, as so many
prompters to our dull affection ; each suggesting a hint
adapted to the important occasion, and suited to its re-
spective character.

Can there be a more powerful incentive to devout
gratitude, than to consider the magnificent and delicate
scenes of the universe, with a particular reference to
Christ as the Creator? Every object, viewed in this
light, will surely administer incessant recruits to the
languishing lamp of divine love. Every production
in nature will strike a spark into the soul, and the
whole creation concur to raise the smoking flax into a
flame.

Can any thing impart a stronger joy to the believer,
or more effectually confirm his faith in the crucified
Jesus, than to behold the heavens declaring his glory,
and the firmament showing his handy-work ? Surely
it must be matter of inexpressible consolation to the

DESCANT UPON CREATION. 127

poor sinner, to observe the honours of his Redeemer
written with sunbeams over all the face of the world.

We delight to read an account of our incarnate Jeho-
vah, as he is revealed in the books of Moses and the
prophets, as he is displayed in the writings of the evan-
gelists and apostles. Let us also endeavour to see a
sketch of his perfections as they stand delineated in
that stately volume, where every leaf is a spacious
plain ; every line., a flowing brook ; every period, a
lofty mountain.

Should any of my readers be unexercised in such
speculation, I beg leave (in pursuance of my promise)
to present them with a specimen, or to offer a clew y
which may possibly lead their mind into this most im-
proving and delightful train of thinking.

Should any be inclined to suspect the solidity of the
following observations, or to condemn them as the voice
of rant, and the lawless flight of fancy ; I must entreat
such persons to recollect, that the grand doctrine, the
hinge on which they all turn, is warranted and estab-
lished by the unanimous testimony of the inspired pen-
men, who frequently celebrate Immanuel, or Christ
Jesus, as the great Almighty Cause of all; assuring
us, that " all tilings were created by him and for him r
and that in him all things consist."

On such a subject, what is wonderful is far from
being extravagant. To be wonderful is the inseparable
characteristic of God and his works, especially of that
most distinguished and glorious even of the divine
works, redemption : so glorious, that " all the miracles-
in Egypt, arid the marvellous acts in the field of Zoan;
all that the Jewish annals have recorded, or the human,
ear has heard : all dwindle into trivial events, are
scarce worthy to be remembered, in comparison of this
infinitely grand and infinitely gracious transaction."'
Kindled, therefore, into pleasing astonishment by such
a survey, let me give full scope to my meditations ; let
me pour out my whole soul on the boundless subject ;

128 DESCANT UPON CREATION.

not much regarding the limits which cold criticism, or
colder unbelief, might prescribe.

O ye angels, that surround the throne ; ye princes
of heaven, " that excel in strength," and are clothed
with transcendent brightness : He who placed you in
those stations of exalted honour, and dignified your na-
ture with such illustrious endowments ; He whom you
all obey and all adore ; He took not on him the angelic
form, but was made flesh, and found in fashion as a
man. Like us, wretched mortals, he was subject to
weariness, pain, and every infirmity, sin. only ex-
cepted ; that we might one day be raised to your sub-
lime abodes, be adopted into your blissful society, and
join with your transported choir in giving glory to
him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb for
ever and ever.

O ye heavens, whose azure arches rise immensely
high, and stretch unmeasurably wide ; stupendous
amphitheatre ! amidst whose vast expansive circuit,
orbs of the most dreadful grandeur are perpetually
running their amazing races ; unfathomable depths of
:sether ! where, worlds unnumbered float, and to our
limited sight, worlds unnumbered are lost ; He who
adjusted your dimensions with his span, and formed
the magnificent structure with his word ; He was once
wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger;
that the benefits accruing to his people, through his
most meritorious humiliation, have no other measure
of their value than immensity ; might run parallel, in
their duration, with eternity.

Ye stars, that beam with inextinguishable brilliancy
through the midnight sky ; oceans of flame and cen-
tres of worlds, though seemingly little points' of light:
He who shone with essential effulgence, innumerable
ages before your twinkling tapers were kindled, and
will shine with everlasting majesty and beauty when,
your places in the firmament shall be known no more ;
He was involved for many years in. the deepest ob-

DESCANT UPON CREATION.

scurity ; lay concealed in the contemptible city of Naza-
reth; lay disguised under the mean habit of a carpen-
ter's son ; that he might plant the heavens, as it were,
with new constellations, and array these clods of earth,.
these houses of clay, with a radiancy far superior to-
yours ; a radiancy which will adorn the very heaven
of heavens, when you shall vanish away like smoke,
or expire as momentary sparks from the smitten steeL

Comets, that sometimes shoot into the illimitable
tracts of tether, farther than the discernment of our
eyes is able to follow : sometimes return from the long,
long* excursion, and sweep our affrighted hemisphere
with your enormous fiery train ; that sometimes make
near approaches to the sun, and burn almost in his im-
mediate beams ; sometimes retire to the remotest dis-
tance, and freeze for ages in the excessive rigours of
winter : He, who at his sovereign pleasure withdraws
the blazing wonder, that leads forth the portentous
stranger to shake terror over guilty kingdoms ; He
was overwhelmed with the most shocking amazement,
and plunged into the deepest anxiety ; was chilled
with apprehensions of fear, and scorched by the flames
of avenging wrath ; that I, and other depraved rebel-
lious creatures, might not be eternally agitated with
the extremes of jarring passions ; opposite, yet, on
either side tormenting ; far more tormenting to the
soul, than the severest degrees of your heat and cold
to the human sense.

Ye planets, that winged with unimaginable speed
traverse the regions of the sky ; sometimes climbing-
millions and millions of miles above, sometimes de-
scending as far below the great axle of your motions ;
ye that are so minutely faithful to the vicissitudes of
day and night, so exactly punctual in bringing on the
changes of your respective seasons ; He who launched
you at first from his mighty arm ; who continually
impels you with such wonderful rapidity, and guides
you with such perfect regularity: who fixes "the

J30 DESCANT UPON CREATION.

habitation of his holiness and his glory," infinite
heights above your scanty rounds ; He once became
a helpless infant, sojourned in our inferior world, fled
from the persecutor's sword, and wandered as a vaga-
bond in a foreign land ; that he might lead our feet
into the way of peace ; that he might bring us aliens
near to God, bring us exiles home to heaven.

Thou sun inexhausted source of light, and heat, and
comfort ! who without the assistance of any other fire,
sheddest day through a thousand realms, and not con-
fining thy munificence to realms only, extendest thy
enlightening influence to surrounding worlds ; prime
cheerer of the animal, and great enlivener of the vege-
table tribes ! so beautiful in thyself, so beneficial in thy
effects, that erring heathens addressed thee with adora-
tions, and mistook thee for their Maker ! He who filled
thy orb with a profusion of lustre, before whom thy
meridian splendours are but a shade ; He divested
himself of his all-transcending distinctions, and drew a
veil over the effulgence of his divinity ; that, by speak-
ing to us face to face, as a man speaketh unto his
friend, he might dispel our intellectual darkness. His
" visage was marred," and he became the scorn of
men, the outcast of the people ; that, by this manifesta-
tion of his unutterably tender regard for our welfare,
he might diffuse many a gleam of joy through our
dejected minds ; that, in another state of things, he
might clothe even our fallen nature with the honours
of the magnificent luminary,. and give all the righteous
to shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father.

Thou moon, that walkest among the host of stars,
and in thy lucid appearance art superior to them all !
fair ruler of the night ; sometimes half restoring day
with thy waxing brightness ; sometimes waning into
dimness, and scarcely scattering the nocturnal gloom ;
.sometimes covered with sack-cloth, and alarming the
gazing nations ; He who dresses thy opaque globe in

DESCANT UPON CREATION. 131

"beaming but borrowed silver: He whose dignity is
unchangeable, underived, and all his own ; He vouch-
safed to wear a body of clay ; he was content to appear
as in a bloody eclipse, shorn of his resplendent beams,
and surrounded with a night of horror, which knew
not one reviving ray. Thus has he empowered his
church, and all believers, to tread the moon under
their feet. Hence, inspired with the hope of brighter
glory and more enduring bliss, are they enabled to
triumph over all the vain anxieties and vainer amuse-
ments of this sublunary, precarious, mutable world.

Ye thunders, that, awfully grumbling in the distant
clouds, seem to meditate indignation, and form the first
essays of a far more frightful peal ; or, suddenly burst-
ing over our heads, rend the vault above, and shake
the ground below, with the hideous, horrid crack : ye
that send your tremendous volleys from pole to pole y
startling the savage herds, and astonishing the human
race : He who permits terror to sound her trumpet in
your deep, prolonged, enlarging, aggravated roar ; He
uttered a feeble infantile cry in the stable, and strong
expiring groans on the accursed tree ; that he might,
in the gentlest accents, whisper peace to our souls, and
at length tune our voices to the melody of heaven.

O ye lightnings^ that brood, and lie couchant in the
sulphur ious vapours ; that glance, with forked fury,
from the angry gloom, swifter and fiercer than the lion
rushes from his den ; or open into vast expansive sheets
| of flame, sublimely waved over the prostrate world,
and fearfully lingering in the affrighted skies : ye, that
formerly laid in ashes the licentious abodes of lust and
violence ? that will, ere long, set on fire the elements,
and co-operate in the conflagration of the globe : He
who kindles your flash, and directs you when to sally,
and where to strike ; He who commissions your whirl-
ing bolts, whom to kill and whom to spare ; He re-
signed his sacred person to the most barbarous indig-
nities, submitted his beneficent hands to the ponderous

132 DESCANT UPON CREATION.

hammer and the piercing nail, yea, withheld not his
heart, his very heart, from the stab of the executioner's
spear ; and, instead of flashing confusion on his out-
rageous tormentors, instead of plunging them to the
depths of hell with his frown, he cried in his last
moments, and with his agonizing lips, he cried, " Fa-
ther, forgive them ; for they know not what they do!"
O ! what a pattern of patience for his saints ! what
an object of admiration for angels ! what a constella-
tion of every mild, amiable, and benign virtue ; shin-
ing, in this hour of darkness, with ineffable splendour
and beauty ! Hence, hence it is, that we are not trem-
bling under the lightnings of Mount Sinai; that we
are not blasted by the flames of divine vengeance ; or
doomed to dwell with everlasting burnings.

Ye frowning wintry clouds ; oceans pendent in the
air. and bu rdening the winds : He, in whose hand you
are an overflowing scourge, or by whose appointment
an arsenal of warlike stores : He who opens your
sluices, and a flood gushes forth, to destroy the fruits
of the earth, and drown the husbandman's hopes ; who
moulds you into frozen balls, and you are shot, linked
with death, on the troops of his enemies : He, instead
of discharging the furiousness of his wrath upon this
guilty head, poured out his prayers, poured out his
sighs, poured out his very soul, for me and my fellow-
transgressors ; that by virtue of his inestimable propi-
tiation, the overflowings of divine good-will might be
extended to sinful men ; that the skies might pour
down righteousness ; and peace, on her downy wings,
peace, with her balmy blessings, descend to dwell on
earth.

Ye vernal clouds, furls of finer air, folds of softer
moisture : He who draws you in copious exhalations
from the briny deep, bids you leave every distasteful
quality behind, and become floating fountains of sweet-
est waters; He, who dissolves you into gentle rain,
and dismisses you in fruitful showers; who kindly

DESCANT UPON CREATION. 133

commissions you to drop down fatness as you fall, and
to scatter flowers over the field ; He, in the unutterable
bitterness of his spirit, was without any comforting
sense of his Almighty Father's presence ; He, when
his bones were burnt up like a firebrand, had not one
drop of that sacred consolation which, on many of his
afflicted servants, has been distilled as the evening
dews, and has "given songs in the night" of distress;
that.- from this unallayed and inconsolable anguish of
our all-gracious Master, we, as from a well of salvation,
miofht derive large draughts of spiritual refreshment.

Thou grand ethereal bow, whose beauties flush the
firmament, and charm every spectator : He who paints
thee on the fluid skirts of the sky, who decks thee with
all the pride of colours, and bends thee into that grace-
ful and majestic figure ; at whose command thy vivid
streaks sweetly rise, or swiftly fade ; He. through all
his life, was arrayed in the humble garb of poverty,
and at his exit wore the gorgeous garment of con-
tempt ; insomuch that even his own familiar friends,
ashamed or afraid to own him, "hid as it were their
faces from him ;" to teach us a becoming disdain
for the unsubstantial and transitory glitter of all worldly
vanities ; to introduce us, in robes brighter than the
tinges of thy resplendent arch, even in the robes of his
own immaculate righteousness, to introduce us before
that august and venerable throne, which the peaceful
rainbow surrounds, surrounds as a pledge of inviolable
fidelity and infinite mercy.

Ye storms and tempests, which vex the continent, and
toss the seas ; which dash navies on the rocks, and
drive forests from their roots: He, whose breath rouses
you into such resistless fury, and whose nod controls
in you your wildest career ; He, who holds the rapid
and raging hurricane in straitened reins, and walks,
dreadfully serene, on the very wings of the wind ; He
went, all meek and gentle, like a lamb to the slaughter
for us j and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so

12

134 DESCANT UPON CREATION.

he opened not his mouth. Thus are we instructed to
hear, with decent magnanimity, the various assaults of
adversity ; and to pass, with a becoming tranquillity of
temper, through all the rude blasts of injurious trent-
ment. Thus are we delivered from the unutterably
fiercer storms of incensed and inexorable justice, from
the "fire, the brimstone, and the horrible tempest,
which will be the final portion of the ungodly."

Thou pestilence^ that scatterest ten thousand persons
from thy baneful wings, tainting the air, and infecting
the nations ; under whose malignant influence joy is
blasted, and nature sickens : mighty regions are de-
populated, and our crowded cities are left without in-
habitants ; He, who arms thee with inevitable destruc-
tion, and bids thee march before his angry counte-
nance, to spread desolation among the tents of the
wicked, and be the forerunner of far more fearful in-
dignation ; He, in his holy humanity, was arraigned
as a criminal ; and, though innocence itself, yea, the
very pattern of perfection, was condemned to die Jike
the most execrable miscreant. As a nuisance to so-
ciety and the very bane of the public happiness, he
was hurried away to execution, and hammered to the
gibbet ; that by his blood, he might prepare a sove-
reign medicine, to cure us of a more fatal distemper
than the pestilence which walketh in darkness, or the
sickness which destroyeth at noon-day ; that he might
himself say to our last enemy, " O death, I will be thy
plague ; O grave, I will be thy destruction."

Heat, whose burning influence parches the Lybian
wilds, tans into soot the Ethiopeari s complexion, and
makes every species of life pant, and droop, and lan-
guish : Cold, whose icy breath glazes yearly the Rus-
sian seas, often glues the frozen sailor to the cordage,
and stiffens the traveller into a statue of rigid flesh :
He, who sometimes blends you both, and produces the
most agreeable temperature ; sometimes suffers you to
act separately, and rage with intolerable severity ; that

DESCANT UPON CREATION. 135

King of Heaven, and Controller of universal Nature,
when dwelling in a tabernacle of clay, was exposed to
chilling damps, and smitten by sultry beams. The
stars, in their midnight watches, heard him pray ; and
the sun, in his meridian fervours, saw him toil. Hence
are our frozen hearts dissolved into a mingled flow of
wonder, love, and joy; being conscious of a deliver-
ance from those insufferable flames, which, kindled by
divine indignation, burn to the lowest hell.

Thou ocean, vast world of waters ! He, who sunk
j that capacious bed for thy reception, and poured the
i liquid element into unfathomable channels ; before
} whom all thy foaming billows and floating mountains
are as the small drop of a bucket ; who, by the least in-
timation of his will, swells thy fluid kingdoms, in wild
-confusion, to mingle with the clouds ; or reduces them
in calm composure to slumber on the shores : He, who
once gave thee a warrant to overwhelm the whole
earth, and bury all its degenerate inhabitants in a wa-
tery grave ; but has now laid an everlasting embargo
on thy boisterous waves, s and bound thee, all fierce and
madding as thou art, in chains stronger than adamant,
yet formed of despicable sand : all the waves of ven-
geance and wrath, of tribulation and anguish passed
over his crucified body, and his agonizing soul ; that
we might emerge from those depths of misery, from
that abyss of guilt, into which we were plunged by
Adam's fall, and more irretrievably sunk by our own
transgressions ; that at the last, we might be restored to
that happy world, which is represented in the vision of
God, as having "no sea;' 1 to denote its perpetual sta-
bility and undisturbed serenity.

Ye mountains, that overlook the clouds, and project
a shade into distant provinces ; everlasting pyramids
of nature, not to be shaken by conflicting elements, not
to be shattered by the bolts of thunder, nor impaired
even by the ravages of time ; He who bid your ridges
rise so high, and your foundations stand so fast ; He,

136 DESCANT UPON CREATION.

in whose scale you are lighter than dust ; in whose
eye you are less than nothing; He sunk beneath a
load of woes ; woes insupportable, but not his own ;
when he took our iniquities upon himself, and heaved
the more than mountainous burdens from a guilty
world.

Ye verdant woods, that crown our hills, and are
crowned yourselves with leafy honours ; ye humble
shrubs, adorned in spring with opening blossoms, and
fanned in summer by gentler gales ; ye, that in distant
climes, or in cultivated gardens, breathe out spicy
odours, and embalm the air with delightful perfumes :
your all-glorious and ever-blessed Creator's head was
encircled with the thorny wreath ; his face was defiled
with contumelious spitting, and his body bathed in-
bloody sweat: that we might wear the crown, the
crown of glory, which fadeth not away ; and live for
evermore, surrounded with delights, as much surpass-
ing yours, as yours exceed the rugged desolations of
winter.

Thou mantling vine; He who hangs on thy slender
shoots, the rich, transparent, weighty cluster ; who,
under thy unornamented foliage, and amidst the pores
of thy otherwise worthless bough, prepares the liquor
the refined and exalted liquor, which cheers the na-
tions, and fills the cup of joy: Trees, whose branches-
are elevated and waving in air, or diffused in easy con-
finement along a sunny wall : He, who bends you with
a lovely burden of delicious fruits, whose genial
warmth beautifies their rind and mellows their taste :
He. when voluntarily subject to our wants, instead of
being refreshed with your generous juices or regaled
with your luscious pulp, had a loathsome portion of
vinegar, mingled with gall, addressed to his lips ; that
we might sit under the shadow of his merits with great
tranquillity and the utmost complacency ; that, ere
long, being admitted into the paradise of God, we might

DESCANT UPON CREATION. 137

eat of the tree of life, and drink new wine with him in
his Father's kingdom.

Ye luxuriant meadows ; He, who, without the seeds-
man's industry, replenishes your irriguous lap with
never-failing crops of herbage, and enamels their cheer-
ful green with flowers of every hue: Ye fertile fields;
He who blesses the labours of the husbandman, en-
riches your well tilled plains with waving harvests, and
calls forth the staff of life from your furrows ; He, who
causes both meadows and fields to laugh and to sing
for the abundance of plenty ; He was no stranger to
corroding hunger and parching thirst ; He, alas! ate
the bitter bread of wo, and had " plenteousness of tears
to drink," that we might partake of richer dainties than
those which are produced by the dew of heaven, and
proceed from the fatness of the earth j that we might
feed on " the hidden manna," and eat the bread which
giveth life, eternal life, unto the world.

Ye mines, rich in yellow ore, or bright with veins
of silver ; that distribute your shining treasures as far
as winds can waft the vessel of commerce ; that bestow
your alms on monarchs, and have princes for your
pensioners : Ye beds of gems, toy-shops of nature !
which form, in dark retirement, the glittering stone ;
diamonds, that sparkle with a brilliant water ; rubies,
that glow with a crimson flame ; emeralds, dipped in
the freshest verdure of spring ; sapphires, decked with
the fairest drapery of the sky ; topaz, emblazed with
the golden gleam ; amethysts, empurpled with the
blushes of the morning: He who tinctures the metallic
dust, and consolidates the lucid drop ; He, when so-
journing on earth, had no riches but the riches of dis-
interested benevolence ; had no ornament, but the or-
nament of unspotted purity. Poor he was in his cir-
cumstances, and mean in all his accommodations ; that
we might be rich in grace, and " obtain salvation with
eternal glory ; that we might inhabit the new Jeru-
salem, that splendid city, whose streets are paved with

12*

138 DESCANT UPON CREATION.

gold ; whose gates are formed of pearl ; and the walls
garnished with all manner of precious stones."

Ye gushing fountains, that trickle potable silver
through the matted grass : Ye fine transparent streams,
that glide in crystal waves along your fringed banks :
Ye deep and stately rivers, that wind and wander in
your course, to spread your favours wider ; that glad-
den kingdoms in your progress, and augment the sea
with your tribute : He who supplies all your currents
from his own over-flowing and inexhaustible liberality
He, when his nerves were racked with exquisite pain,
and his blood inflamed with a raging fever cried, /
thirst, and was denied (unparalleled hardship!) in this
his great extremity, he was denied the poor refresh-
ment of a single drop of water ; that we, having all-
sufficiency in all things, might abound to every good
work ; might be filled with the fulness of spiritual
blessings here, and hereafter be satisfied with that ful-
ness of joy which is at God's right hand for evermore.

Ye birds, cheerful tenants of the bough ; gaily dressed
in glossy plumage ; who wake the morn, and solace
the groves with your artless lays : inimitable architects !
who, without rule of line, build your pensile structures
with all the nicety or proportion ; you have each his
commodious nest ; roofed with shades and lined with
warmth to protect and cherish the callow brood : but
He, who tuned your throats to harmony, and taught
you that curious skill: He was a man of sorrows, and
had not where to lay his head ; had not where to lay
his head, till he felt the pangs of dissolution, and was
laid in the silent grave ; that we, dwelling under the
wings of omnipotence, and resting in the bosom of in-
finite love, might spend an harmonious eternity in
" singing the song of Moses and of the Lamb."

Bees, industrious workmen ! that sweep, with busy
wing, the flowery garden ; and search the blooming
heath ; and sip the mellifluous dews : strangers to idle-
ness ! that ply, with incessant assiduity, your pleasing-

DESCANT UPON CREATION. 139

task, and suffer no opening blossom to pass unexplored,
no sunny gleam to slip away unimproved: most in-
genious artificers ! that cling to the fragrant buds, drain
them of their treasured sweets, and extract (if I may
so speak) even the odoriferous souls of herbs, and
plants, and flowers ; you, when you have completed
your work ; have collected, refined, and securely
lodged the ambroisial stores ; when you might reason-
ably expect the peaceful fruition of your acquisitions ;
you, alas ! are barbarously destroyed, and leave your
hoarded delicacies to others ; leave them to be enjoyed
by your very murderers. I cannot but pity your hard
destiny. How then should my bowels melt with sym-
pathy, and my eyes flow with tears, when I remember,
that thus, thus it fared with your and our Incarnate
Maker ! After a life of the most exemplary and exalted
piety ; a life, filled with offices of beneficence and
labours of love ; he was, by wicked hands, crucified
and slain. He left the honey of his toil, the balm of
his blood, and the riches of his obedience, to be shared
among others? to be shared even among those, who
too often crucify him afresh, and put him to open shame.
Shall I mention the animal, which spins her soft,
her shining, her exquisitely fine silken thread ; whose
matchless manufactures lend an ornament to grandeur,
and make royalty itself more magnificent ? Shall I take
notice of the cell, in which, when the gaiety and busi-
ness of life are over, the little recluse immures herself,
and spends the remainder of her days in retirement ?
Shall I rather observe the sepulchre, which, when
cloyed with pleasure and weary of the world, she pre-
pares for her own interment ? or how, when a stated
period is elapsed, she wakes from a death-like inac-
tivity, breaks the inclosure of her tomb, throws off* the
dusky shroud, assumes a new form, puts on a more
sumptuous array, and, from an insect creeping on the
ground, becomes a winged inhabitant of the air ? No i
this is a poor reptile ; and therefore unworthy to serve

140 DESCANT UPON CREATION.

as an illustration, when any character of the Son of
God comes under consideration. But let me correct
myself. Was not Christ (to use the language of his
own blessed Spirit) a worm, and a man ? in appear-
ance such, and treated as such ? Did he not bequeath
the fine linen of his own most perfect righteousness to
compose the marriage-garment for our disarrayed and
defiled souls ? Did he not, before his flesh saw corrup-
tion, emerge triumphant from the grave ; and not only
mount the lower firmament, but ascend the heaven of
heavens, take possession of those sublime abodes, in
our name, and as our forerunner.

Ye cattle, that rest in your inclosed pastures ; ye
beasts , that range the unlimited forest : ye fish that rove
through trackless paths of the sea ; sheep clad in gar-
ments, which, when left by you, are wore by kings ;
kine, who feed on verdure, which, transmuted in your
bodies, and strained from your udders, furnishes a re-
past for queens : lions, roaring after your prey ; leviathan,
taking your pastime in the great deep ; wilh all that
wing the firmament, or tread the soil, or swim the
waves : He who spreads his ever hospitable board,
who admits you all to be his continual guests, and suf-
fers you to want no manner of thing that is good ; He
was destitute, afflicted, tormented ; He endured all that
was miserable and reproachful, -in order to exalt a de-
generate race, who had debased themselves to a level
with the beasts that perish, unto seats of distinguished
and immortal honour, in order to introduce the slaves
of sin and heirs of hell into mansions of consummate
and everlasting bliss.

Surely, the contemplation of such a subject, and the
distant anticipation of such a hope, may almost turn
earth into heaven, and make even inanimate nature vo-
cal with praise. Let it then break forth from every
creature. Let the meanest feel the inspiring impulse :
let the greatest acknowledge themselves unable worthily
to express the stupendous goodness.

DESCANT UPON CREATION. 141

Praise Him, ye insects that crawl on the ground ;
who, though high ahove ail height, humbled himself
to dwell in dust. Birds of the air, waft on your
wings, and warble in your notes, his praise, who,
though Lord of the celestial abodes, while sojourning
on earth, wanted a shelter commodious as your nests.
Ye rougher world of brutes join with the gentle song-
sters of the shade, and howl to Him your hoarse ap-
plause, who breaks the jaw-bones of the infernal lion,
who softens into mildness the savage disposition, and
bids the wolf lie down, in amicable agreement, with
the lamb. Bleat out, ye hills ; let broader lows be re-
sponsive from the vales ; ye forests catch, and ye rocks
retain, the inarticulate hymn ; because Messiah the
the Prince feeds his flocks like a shepherd ; he gatJiereth
the lambs with his arm ; he carries them in his bosom^
and gently leads those that are with young. Wave, ye
stately cedars, in sign of worship, wave your branch-
ing head to Him, who meekly bowed his own on the
accursed tree. Pleasing prospects, scenes of beauty,
where nicest art conspires with lavish nature to form
a paradise below, lay forth all your charms, and in all
your charms confess yourselves a mere blank, com-
pared with his amiableness, who is " fairest among ten.
thousand, and altogether lovely." Drop down, ye showers;
and testify, as you fall ; testify of his grace, which de-
scends more copiously than the rain, distils more
sweetly than the dew. Let sighing gales breathe, and
murmuring rivulets flow ! breathe and flow in harmo-
nious consonance to Him, whose Spirit is far more re-
viving than the cooling breeze, who is himself the
Fountain of living Waters.

.Ye lightnings, blaze to his honour ; ye thunders,
sound his praise; while reverberating clouds return the
roar, and bellowing oceans propagate the tremendous
anthem. Mutest of creatures, add your silent oratory,
and display the triumphs of his meekness ; who, though
he maketh the clouds his chariot, and treadeth upon

"142 DESCANT UPON CREATION.

the waves of the sea ; thought the thunder is his voice,
and the lightning his sword of justice ; yet, amidst the
most abusive and cruel injuries, was submisive, and
lifted not his hand, was " dumb, and opened not his
"mouth." Great source of day, address thy radiant
; homage to a far sublimer sun. Write, in all thy
ample round, with every lucid beam, O! write a testi-
mony to Him, who is the brightness of his Father's
glory, who is the Sun of Righteousness to a sinful
world ; and is risen, never to go down ; is risen, to be
our everlasting light. Shine clear, ye skies ; look gay,
thou earth; let the floods clap their hands, and every
creature wear a smile: for he cometh,the Creator him-
self cometh, to be manifested in the flesh; and with
him comes pardon, peace, and joy ; every virtue and
all felicity comes in his train. Angels and archangels,
let your songs be of Jesus, and teach the very heavens
to echo with his adored and majestic name. Ye be-
held him, with greater transports and admiration, when
you attended his agony in the garden, and saw him
prostrate on the ground ; than when you beheld uni-
versal nature rising at his call, and saw the wonders
of his creating might. Tune to loftiest notes your
golden harps, and waken raptures, unknown before
even in heavenly breasts ; while all that has breath
swells the concert of harmony, and all that has being
unites in the tribute of praise.

Chiefly let man exalt his voice ; let man, with dis-
tinguished hosannas, hail the Redeemer. For man,
he was stretched on the racking cross ; for man, he
was consigned to the gloomy sepulchre : for man, he
procured grace unmeasurable, and bliss inconceivable.
However different, -therefore, in your age, or more dif-
ferent in your circumstances, be unanimous, O men, in
signifying a Saviour, who is no respecter of persons j
who gave himself a ransom for all. Bend, ye kings t
from your thrones of ivory and gold ; in your robes of
imperial purple, fall prostrate at His feet ; who forsook

DESCANT UPON CREATION. 143"

a nobler throne, and laid aside more illustrious ensigns
of majesty, that you might reign with God for ever
and ever. Children of poverty, meanest of mortals (if
any can be called poor, who are thus enriched ;) if any
can be accounted mean, who are thou ennobled ; re-
joice, greatly rejoice, in God your Saviour, who chose
to be indigent, was willing to be contemned, that you
might be entitled to the treasures, and be numbered
with the princes of heaven. Sons of affliction, though,
harassed with pain, and inured to anguish, O ! change
your groans into songs of gratitude, let no complain-
ing voice, no jarring string be heard in the universal
symphony ; but glorify the Lamb even inthe fires, who
himself bore greater torment than you feel, and has
promised you a share in the joy which he inherits !
who has made your sufferings short, and will make
your rest eternal. Men of hoary locks, bending beneath
a weight of years, and tottering on the brink of the
grave j let Christ be your support under all infirmities ;
lean upon Christ, as the rock of your salvation. Let
his name, his precious name, form the last accents
which quiver on your pale expiring lips. And let
this be the first that lisps on your tongues, ye tender
infants; remember your Redeemer in your earliest
moments ; devote the choicest of your hours to the learn-
ing of his will, and the chief of your strength to the
glorifying of his name ; who, in the perfection of
health, and the very prime of manhood, was content to
become a motionless and ghastly corpse, that you
might be girt up with the vigour, and clothed with the
bloom of eternal youth.

Ye spirits of just men made perfect, who are released
from the burden of the flesh, and freed from all the
vexatious solicitations of corruption in yourselves ; de-
livered from all the injurious effects of iniquity in oth-
ers ; who sojourn no longer in the tents of strife, or the
territories of disorder ; but are received into that pure,
harmonious, holy society, where every one acts up to

144 DESCANT UPON CREATION.

his amiable and exalted character ; where God him-
self is pleased graciously immediately to preside ; you
find, not without pleasing astonishment, your hopes
improved into actual enjoyment, and your faith su-
perseded by the beatic vision. You feel all your former
shyness of behaviour happily lost in the overflowings
of unbounded love, and all your little differences of
opinion entirely bowed down by tides of invariable
truth. Bless, therefore, with all your enlarged pow-
ers, bless his infinitely larger goodness ; who, when he
had overcome the sharpness of death, opened the gates
of paradise, opened the kingdom of heaven, to all gene-
rations, and to every denomination of the faithful.

Ye men of holy conversation and humble tempers,
think, of Him who loved you, ana washed you from your
sins in his own blood; think of him on your silent
couch; talk of him in every social interview; glory in
his excellencies ; make your boast of his obedience,
and add, still continue to add, the incense of a dutiful
life, to all the oblations of a grateful tongue. Weakest
of believers, who go mourning under a sense of guilt,
and conflicting with the ceaseless assaults of tempta-
tion; put off your sackcloth, and be girded with glad-
ness ; because Jesus is as merciful to hear, as he is
mighty to help ; because he is touched with the tender-
est sympathizing concern for your distresses ; and he
lives, ever lives to be your advocate with the Father.
Why then should uneasy doubts sadden your counte-
nances? Why should desponding fears oppress your
souls? Turn, turn those disconsolate sighs into cheer-
ful hymns, since you have his powerful intercession, and
his inestimable merits, to be your anchor in all tribula-
tions, to be your passport into eternal blessedness.

Most of all, ye ministers of the sanctuary ; heralds
commissioned from above; lift, every one, his voice
like a trumpet, and loudly proclaim the Redeemer.
Get ye up, ye ambassadors of peace, get ye up into the
high mountains] and spread far and wide the honours

DESCANT UPON CREATION. 145

of the lamb, "that was slain, but is alive for evermore.' 1
Teach every sacred roof to resound with his fame, and
every human heart to glow with his love. Declare, as
far as the force of words will go, declare the inexhausti-
ble fulness of that great atonement, whose merits are
commensurate with the glories of the Divinity. Tell
the sinful wretch that pity yearns in Immanuel's bow-
els ; what blood he has spilt, what agonies he has en-
dured, what wonders he has wrought for the salvation
of his enemies. Invite the indigent to become rich ;
entreat the guilty to accept of pardon ; because with the
crucified Jesus is plenteous redemption, and all-suffi-
ciency to save. While you, placed in conspicuous sta-
tions, pour the joyful sound ; may I, as I steal through
the vale of humble life, catch the pleasing accents ! For
me, the Author of all blessings became a curse ; for me,
his bones were dislocated, and his flesh was torn : he
hung with streaming veins, and an agonizing soul on
the cross for me. O ! may I, in my little sphere, and
amidst the scanty circle of my acquaintance, at least
whisper these glad transporting tidings ; whisper them
from my own heart ; that they may surely reach, and
sweetly penetrate theirs.

But, when men and angels raise the grand hymn ;
when all worlds, and all beings, add their collective ac-
clamations, this full, fervent, and universal chorus will
be so inferior to the riches of the Redeemer's grace, so
disproportionate to the magnificence of his glory, that
it will seem but to debase the unutterable subject it at-
tempts to exalt. The loud hallelujuh will die away in
the solemn mental eloquence of prostrate, rapturous,
silent adoration :

O goodness infinite ! goodness immense !

And love that passeth knowledge ! Words are vain !

Language is lost in wonders so divine,

" Come then, expressive silence, muse his praise."

END OF THE FIRST VOLUMJC.

13

MEDITATIONS

AND

COITEMPLATIOIS.

BY THE

REV. JAMES HERVEY, A. M

LATE HECTOR OF WESTON-FAVELL, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.

CONTAINING HIS

MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS,
REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER GARDEN, &c.

TWO VOLUMES IN ONE.
VOL. H.

NEW YORK:

ROBERT CARTER, 58 CANAL STREET,
AND PITTSBURG, 58 MARKET STREET.

1845.

PREFACE.

WE have already exercised our speculations on the Tombs
and Flowers, surveying nature covered with the deepest horrors,
and arrayed in the richest beauties. Allegory taught many of
the objects to speak the language of virtue ; while Imagination
lent her colouring, to give the lessons an engaging air ; and this
with a view of imitating that divine Instructor, who commis-
sioned the lily, in her silver suit, to remonstrate in the ear of
unbelieving reason; who sent his disciples (men ordained to
teach the universe) to learn maxims of the last importance from
the most insignificant birds, that wander through the paths of
the air, from the very meanest Herbs that are scattered over the
face of the ground.

Emboldened by the kind acceptance of the preceding sketches,
I beg leave to confide in the same benevolence of taste, for the
protection and support of the two remaining Essays, which
exhibit a prospect of a still life and grand operation; which
moralize on the most composed and most magnificent appearan-
ces of things ; in which fancy is again suffered to introduce her
imagery, but only as the handmaid of truth ; in order to dress
her person and display her charms, to engage the attention and
win the love even of the gay and of the fashionable ; which is
more likely to be effected by forming agreeable pictures of na-
ture, and deriving instructive observations, than by the laborious
method of long-deduced arguments of close-connected reason-
ings. The contemplation of the heavens and the earth, and
their admirable properties and beneficial changes, has always
afforded the most exalted gratification to the human mind. In
compliance with this prevailing taste, I have drawn my serious-
admonitions from the stupendous theatre and variegated scenery
of the universe ; that the reader may learn his duty from his
very pleasures, may gather wisdom, mingled with virtue, from
the most refined entertainments and noblest delights.

The evening drawing her sables over the world, and gently
darkening into night, is a season peculiarly proper for sedate
consideration. All circumstances concur to hush our passions,
and soothe our cares ; to tempt our steps abroad, and prompt our
thoughts to serious reflection.

13*

150 PREFACE.

-Then is the time

For those, whom wisdom and whom nature charms,
To steal themselves from the degenerate crowd,
And soar above this little scene of things ;
To tread low thoughted vice beneath their feet ;
So soothe the throbbing passions into peace ;
And woo lone quiet in her silent walks.

The favour I would solicit for the first of the following com-
positions, is, that it may be permitted to attend in such retired
and contemplative excursions ; to attend, if not under the char-
acter of a friend, at least in the humble capacity of a servant or
a page as a servant, to open the door of meditation, and remove
every impediment to those best exercises of the mind, which
blend advantage with amusement, and improve while they de-
light ; as a page, to gather up the unstable, fluctuating train of
fancy, and collect her fickle powers into a consistent, regular,
and useful habit of thinking.

. The other, conversant among the starry regions, would lead
the imagination through those beautiful tracts of unclouded azure,
and point out to the judgment some of those astonishing particu-
lars which so eminently signalize the celestial worlds : a prospect
this, to which curiosity attracts our eyes, and to which Scripture
itself often directs our study ; a prospect beyond all others, most
excellently calculated to enlarge the soul, and ennoble its con-
ceptions, to give the grandest apprehensions of the everlasting
God, and create sentiments of becoming superiority with relation,
to all transitory interests ; in a word, to furnish faith with the
surest foundation for a steady affiance and true magnanimity of
spirit, to afford piety the strongest motives, both for a lively gra-
titude and profound veneration.

While GalilfBO lifts his tube, and discovers the prodigious
magnitude of those radiant orbs ; while Newton measures their
amazing distances, and unites the whole system in harmonious-
order, by the subtle influence of attractions ; I would only, like
the herald before that illustrious Hebrew, proclaim at every turn,
" Bow the knee, and adore the Almighty Maker ; magnify his
eternal name, and make his praise, like all his works to be glo-

rious"

CONTEMPLATIONS

ON

THE NIGHT

Night is fair Virtue's immemorial friend :
The conscious Moon through ev'ry distant age,
Has held a lamp to Wisdom.

[NIGHT THOUGHTS, HO. v.

\

THE "business of the day despatched, and the sultry
heats abated, invited me to the recreation of a walk ; ai
walk in one of the finest recesses of the country, and in
one of the most pleasant evenings which the summer
season produced.

The limes and elms, uniting their "branches over
my head, formed a verdant canopy, and cast a most re-
freshing shade. Under my feet lay a carpet of nature's-
velvet, grass intermingled with moss and embroidered
with flowers. Jessamines, in conjunction with wood-
hines, twined around the trees, displaying their artless-
beauties to the eye, and diffusing their delicious sweets
through the air. On either side, the boughs, rounded 1
into a set of regular arches, opened a view into the dis-
tant fields, and presented me with a prospect of the
bending skies. The little brids, all joyous and grateful'
for the favours of the light, were paying their acknow-
ledgments in a tribute of harmony, and soothing them-
selves to rest with songs ; while a French horn, from
a neighbouring seat, sent its melodious accents, softened
by the length of their passage, to complete the con-
cert of the grove.

Roving in this agreeable manner, my thoughts

152 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

were exercised. on a subject still more agreeable than
the season or the scene ; I mean our late signal victory
over the united forces of intestine treason and foreign
invasion ; a victory which pours joy through the pre-
sent age, and will transmit its influence to generations
yet unborn. Are not all the blessings, which can
endear society, or render life itself desirable, centred
in our present happy constitution and auspicious go-
vernment ? Were they not all struck at by that im-
pious and horrid blow, meditated at Rome, levelled by
France, and seconded by factious spirits at home?
Who, then, can be sufficiently thankful for the gracious
interposition of Providence, which has not only averted
>the impending ruin, but turned it, with aggravated
confusion, on the authors of our troubles ?

Methinks, every thing valuable which I possess,
every thing charming which I behold, conspire to en-
hance this ever memorable event. To this it owing
that I can ramble unmolested along the vale of private
life, and taste all the innocent satisfactions of a contem-
plative retirement. Had rebellion succeeded in her
detestable designs, instead of walking with security and
complacence in these flowery paths, I might have met
the assassin with his dagger, or have been obliged to
abandon my habitation, and " embrace the rock for a
shelter." Farewell, then, ye fragrant shades, seats of
meditation and calm repose! I should have been
driven from your loved retreats, to make way for some
barbarous, some insulting victor. Farewell, then, ye
pleasing toils, and wholesome amusements of my rural
hours ; I should no more have reared the tender flow-
er to the sun ; no more have taught the espalier to ex-
pand her boughs; nor have fetched any longer from,
my kitchen-garden, the purest supplies of health.

Had rebellion succeeded in her detestable designs,
instead of being regaled with the music of the woods,
I might have been alarmed with the sound of the
trumpet and all the thunder of war ; instead of being

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 153

entertained with this beautiful landscape. I might have
"beheld our houses ransacked, and our villages plun-
dered ; I might have beheld our fenced cities encom-
passed with armies, and our fruitful fields "clothed
with desolation ;'' or have been shocked with more-
frightful images of "garments rolled in blood," and of
a ruffian's blade reeking from a brother's heart : in-
stead of peace, with her cheering olives, sheltering
our abodes : instead of justice, with her impartial scale r
securing our goods ; persecution had brandished her
sword, and slavery clanked her chains.

Nor are these miseries imaginary only, or the crea-
tures of a groundless panic. There are, in a neigh-
bouring kingdom, who very lately experienced them
in all their rigour. And if the malignant spirit of po-
pery had forced itself into our church ; if an abjured'
pretender had cut his way to our throne ; we could
have no reason to expect a mitigation of their severity
on our behalf. But supposing the tender mercies of a
bigotted usurper to have been somewhat less cruel,
where, alas ! would have been the encouragement to-
cultivate our little portion ; or what pleasure could
arise from an improved spot, if both the one and the
other lay every moment at the mercy of lawless power?
This embittering circumstance would spoil their rel-
ish ; and by rendering them a precarious, would ren-
der them a joyless acquisition. In vain might the
vine spread her purple clusters, in vain be lavish of
her generous juices, if tyranny, like a ravenous harpy r
should be always hovering over the bowl, and ready to
snatch it from the lip of industry, or to wrest it from
the hand of liberty.

Liberty, that dearest of names, and property, that best 1
of charters, give an additional, an inexpressible charm I
to every delightful object. See. how the declining sun
has beautified the western clouds, has arrayed them in
crimson, and skirted them with gold ; such a refine-
ment of our domestic bliss is property ; such an inv-

154 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

provement of our public privileges is liberty. When
the lamp of day shall withdraw his beams, there will
still remain the same collection of floating vapours ; but
Oh ! how changed, how gloomy ! The carnation-
streaks are faded, the golden edgings are worn away,
and all the lovely tinges are lost in a leaden-coloured
lowering sadness. Such would be the aspect of all
these scenes of beauty, and all these abodes of pleasure,
if exposed continually to the caprice of arbitrary sway,
or held in a state of abject and cringing dependence.

The sun has almost finished his daily race, and
hastens to the goal. He descends lower and lower,
till his chariot- wheels seem to hover on the utmost
verge of the sky. What is somewhat remarkable, the
orb of light, upon the point of setting, grows considera-
bly broader. The shadows of'objects, just before they
become blended in undistinguishable darkness, are ex-
ceedingly lengthened ; like blessings, little prized while
possessed^ but highly esteemed the very instant they are
preparing for their flight 5 bitterly regretted when once
they are gone, and to be seen no more.

The radiant globe is now half immersed beneath the
dusky earth ; or as the ancient poets speak, is shooting
into the ocean, and sinks in the western sea. And
could I view the sea at this juncture, it would yield a *
most amusing and curious spectacle. The rays, strik- 1
ing horizontally on the liquid element, give it the ap-
pearance of floating glass, or, reflected in many a
different direction, form a beautiful multiplicity of co-
lours. A stranger, as he walks along the sandy beach,
and, lost in pensive attention, listens to the murmurings
of the restless flood, is agreeably alarmed by the gay
decorations of the surface. With entertainment and
with wonder, he sees the curling waves, here glisten-
ing white, there glowing with purple ; in one place
wearing an azure tincture, in another glancing a cast
of undulating green ; in the whole exhibiting a piece
of fluid scenery that may vie with yonder pencil tapes-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 155

tries, though wrought in the loom, and tinged with the
dyes of heaven.

While I am transported by the fancy to the shores
of the ocean, the great luminary is sunk beneath the
horizon, and totally disappears. The whole face of the
ground is overspread with shades, or, with what one
of the finest painters of nature calls a dun obscurity.
Only a few very superior eminences are tipped with
streaming silver. The tops of groves and lofty towers
catch the last smiles of day, are still irradiated by the
departing beams : but, O ! how transient is the distinc-
tion : how momentary the gift ! Like all the blessings
which mortals enjoy below, it is gone almost as soon as
granted. See ! how languishingly it trembles on the
lofty spire, and glimmers with a dying faintness on
the mountain's brow. The little vivacity that remains^
decays every moment. It can no longer hold its sta-
tion. While I speak, it expires, and resigns the world
to the gradual approaches of night.

Now twilight gray

Has in her sober livery all things clad.

Every object, a little while ago, glared with light ;
but now all appears under a more qualified lustre. The
animals harmonize with the insensible creation ; and
what was gay in those, as well as glittering in this,
gives place to an universal gravity. In the meadows
all was jocund and sportive ; but now the gamesome
lambs are grown weary of their frolics, and the tired
shepherd has imposed silence on his pipe. In the
branches all was sprightliness and song, but now the
lively green is wrapped in the descending glooms, and
no tuneful airs are heard, only the plaintive stock-dove:
cooing mournfully through the grove. Should I now
be vain and trifling, the heavens and the earth would
rebuke my unseasonable levity! therefore be these mo-
ments devoted to thoughts sedate as the closing day,.
sokmn as the face of things. And, indeed, however

156 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

my social hours are enlivened with innocent pleasant-
ry, let every evening, in her sable habit, toll the bell to
serious consideration. Nothing can be more proper
for a person who walks on the borders of eternity, and
hasting continually to his final audit ; nothing more
proper than daily to slip away from the circle of amuse-
ments, and frequently to relinquish the hurry of busi-
ness, in order to consider and adjust "the things that
belong to his peace."

Since the sun is departed, from whence can it pro-
ce^d that t am not involved in pitchy darkness?
Whence these remainders of diminished brightness,
which, though scarcely forming a refulgence, soften
and sooth the honors of night ? I see not the shining
ruler, yet am cheered with a real though faint commu-
nication of his splendour. Does he remember us, in
his progress through other climes ? Does he send a
detachment of his rays lo escort us during his personal
absence ; Q: to cover (if I may use the military term)
our retreat from the scene of action ? Has he be-
queathed us a dividend of his beams, sufficient to ren-
der our circumstances easy, and our situation agreea-
ble, till sleep pours its soft oppression on the organs of
sense, till sleep suspends all the operations of our hands,
entirely supersedes any farther occasion for the light?

No : it is ill-judged and unreasonable to ascribe this
beneficent conduct to the sun. Not unto him, not unto
him, but unto his Almighty Maker we are obliged for
this pleasing- attendant, this valuable legacy. The
gracious autaor of our being has so disposed the col-
lection of circumambient air, as to make it productive
of this fine and wonderful effect. The sunbeams, fall-
ing on the higher parts of the aerial fluid, instead of
passing on in straight lines, are bent inwards and con-
ducted to our sight. Their natural course is over-
ruled, and they are bidden to wheel about on purpose
lo favour us with a welcome and salutary visit : by
which means, the blessing of light and the season of

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 157

"business are considerably prolonged ; and, what is a
very endearing circumstance, prolonged most consid-
erably when the vehement heats of summer incline the
student to postpone his walk till the temperate evening
prevails ; when the important labours of the harvest
call the husbandman abroad before the day is fully
risen.

After all the ardours of the sultry day, how reviving
is this coolness.! This gives new verdure to the fading
plants, new vivacity to the withering flowers, and a
more exquisite fragrance to their mingled scents : by
this, the air also receives a new force ; and is qualified
to exert itself with greater activity qualified to brace
our limbs, to heave our lungs, and to co-operate with a
brisker impulse in perpetuating the circulation of our
blood. This I might call the grand alembic of nature,
which distils her most sovereign cordial, the refreshing
dews. Incessant heat would rob us of their beneficial
agency, and oblige them to evaporate in imperceptible
exhalations. Turbulent winds, or even the gentler
motions of Aurora's fan, would dissipate the rising va-
pours and not suffer them to form a coalition. But, fa-
voured by the stillness, and condensed by the coolness
of the night, they unite in pearly drops, and create that
jmely-tempered humidity which cheers the vegetable
world, as sleep exhilarates the animal.
Not unlike to these are the advantages of solitude.
The world is a troubled ocean, and who can erect sta-
ble purposes on its fluctuating waves ? the world is a
school of wrongj and who does not feel himself warp-
ing to its pernicious influences ? On this sea of glass,
how insensibly we slide from our own steadfastness !
Some sacred truth which was struck in lively charac-
ters on our souls, is obscured, if not obliterated ; some
worthy resolution, which heaven has wrought in our
breasts is shaken, if not overthrown, some enticing
vanity, which we had solemnly renounced, again prac-
tices its wiles, and again captivates our affections.

14

158 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

How often has an unwa'ry glance kindled a fever of
irregular desire in our heart ! How often has a word
of applause dropped luscious poison into our ears ; or
some disrespectful expression raised a gust of passion
in our bosom ! Our innocence is of so tender a con-
stitution, that it suffers in the promiscuous crowd.
Our purity is of so delicate a complexion, that it scarce
touches on the world without contracting a stain. We
see, we hear, with peril.

But here safety dwells ; every meddling and intru-
sive avocation is secluded ; silence holds the door
against the strife of tongues, and all the impertinences
of idle conversation. The busy swarm of vain images
and cajoling temptations, which beset us, with a buz-
zing importunity, amidst the gaieties of life, are chased
by these thickening shades. Here I may, without
disturbance, commune with my own heart ; and learn
that best of sciences, to know myself. Here the soul
may rally her dissipated powers, and grace recover its
native energy. This is the opportunity to rectify every
evil impression ; to expel the poison and guard against
the contagion of corrupting examples. This is th&
place where I may with advantage apply myself to
subdue the rebel within ; and be master, not of a scep-
tre, but of myself Throng, then, ye ambitious, the
levees of the powerful ; I will be punctual in my as-
signations with solitude. To a mind intent upon its
own improvement, solitude has charms incomparably
more engaging than the entertainments presented in
the theatre, or the honours conferred in the drawing--
room.

I said, solitude. Am I then alone ? 'tis true, my
acquaintance are at a distance. I have stole away
from company, and am remote from all human obser-
vation. But that is an alarming thought :

Millions of Spiritual creatures walk the earth,
Unseen, both when we wake, and when we sleep.

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 159

Perhaps, there may be numhers of those znmsible
beings patrolling this same retreat, and joining with
me in contemplating the Creator's works; perhaps,
those ministering spirits, who rejoice at the conversion
of a sinner, and hold up the goings of the righteous,
1 may follow us to the lonely recess, and even in our
j most solitary moments be our constant attendants.
j What a pleasing awe is awakened by such a reflec-
I tion ! How venerable it renders my retired walks !
I am struck with reverence, as under the roof of some
/ sacred edifice, or in the presence-chamber of some mighty
monarch. O ! may I never bring any pride of imag-
ination, nor indulge the least dissolute affections where
such refined and exalted intelligences exercise their
watch !

} Tis possible that I am encompassed with such a
cloud of witnesses ; but it is certain that God, the infi-
nite eternal God is now and ever with me. The great
Jehovah, before whom all the angelic armies bow their
heads and veil their faces, surrounds me, supports
me, pervades me. " In him I live, move, and have my
being." The whole world is his august temple : and
in the most sequestered corner, I appear before his
adorable Majesty, no less than when I worship in his
house, or kneel at his altar. In everyplace, therefore,
let me pay him the homage of a heart cleansed from
idols and devoted to his service. In every circum-
stance let me feel no ambition but to please him ; nor
covet any happiness, but to enjoy him.

How sublime is the description, and how striking
the sentiment in that noble passage of the Psalms !
Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I
flee from thy presence ? "If I climb up into the heights
of heaven, thou art there enthroned in light: if I go
down to the depths of the grave, thou art there also in
thy pavilion of darkness ; if I retire to the remotest
eastern climes, where the morning first takes wing : if,
swifter than the darting ray, I pass to the opposite re-

160 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE* NIGHT.

gions of the west, and remain in the uttermost parts of
the sea : shall I, in that distant situation be beyond thy
reach ; or, by this sudden transition, escape thy no-
tice? So far from it, that could I, with one glance of
thought, transport myself beyond all the bounds of cre-
ation, I should still be encircled with the immensity of
thy essence ; or rather, still be enclosed in the hollow
of thy hand. Awful yet delightful truth ! Let it be
interwoven with every thought, and become one with
the very consciousness of my existence ! that I may
continually walk with God, and conduct myself, in
every step of my behaviour " as seeing him that is in-
visible"

They are the happy persons ; felicity, true felicity
is all their own, who live under an habitual sense of
God's omnipresence, a sweet persuasion of his special
love. If dangers threaten, their impregnable defence
is at hand. Nothing can be so near to terrify, as their
almighty Guardian to secure them. To these the
hours can never be tedious, and it is impossible for
them to be alone. Do they step aside from the occu-
pations of animal life ? A more exalted set of employ-
ments engage their attention. They address them-
selves in all the various acts of devotion to their hea-
venly Father who now sees in secret and will hereafter
reward them openly: they spread all their wants
before his indulgent eye, and disburden all their sor-
rows into his compassionate bosom. Do they with-
draw from human society ? they find themselves under
the more immediate regards of their Maker. If they
resign the satisfactions of their social intercourse, it is
to cultivate a correspondence with the condescending
Deity, and taste the pleasures of divine friendship.
What is such a state but the very suburbs of heaven ?
what is such conduct, but an antepast of eternal bles-
sedness ?

Now my soul, the day is ended. The hours are all
fled : they are fled to the supreme Judge, and have

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 161

given their evidence ; an evidence registered in hea-
ven, and to be produced at the great audit. Happy
they, whose improvement has kept place with fleeting
minutes ; who have seized the important fugitives, and
engaged them in the pursuit of wisdom, or devoted
them to the service of virtue.

Fugitives indeed they are. Our moments slip away
silently and insensibly : the thief steals not more un-
perceived from the pillaged house. And will the run-
nagates never stop ? No : wherever we are, however
employed, time pursues his incessant course. Though
we are listless and dilatory, the great measurer of our
days presses on ; still presses on in his unwearied
career, and whirls our weeks and months, and years
away. Is it not then surprisingly strange, to hear peo-
ple complain of the tediousness of their time, and how
heavy it hangs upon their hands ; to see them contrive
a variety of amusing artifices to accelerate its flights,
and get rid of its burden ? Ah! thoughtless mortals !
Why need you urge the headlong torrent? Your
days are swifter than a post, which, carrying de-
spatches of the last importance, with unremitted speed
scours the road. They pass away like the nimble
ships, which have the wind in their wings, and skim
along the watery plain. They hasten to their destined
period with the rapidity of an eagle, which leaves the
stormy blast behind her, while she cleaves the air, and
darts upon her prey.

Now the day is gone, how short it appears ! When
my fond eye beheld it in perspective, it seemed a very
considerable space. Minutes crowded upon minutes,
and hours ranged behind hours, exhibited an extensive
draught, and flattered me with a long progression of
pleasure ; but, upon a retrospective view, how wonder-
fully is the scene altered ! The landscape, large and
spacious, which a warm fancy drew, brought to the
test of cool experience, shrinks into a span : just as the
shores vanish, and mountains dwindle to a spot, when

14*

162 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

the sailor, surrounded by skies and ocean, throws his
last look on his native land. How clearly do I now
discover the cheat ! May it never impose upon my
unwary imagination again ? I find, there is nothing
abiding on this side eternity. A long duration, in a
state o finite existence, is mere illusion.

Perhaps the healthy and the gay may not readily
credit the serious truth. ; especially from a young pen,
and new to its employ. Let us, then, refer ourselves to
the decision of the ancient. Ask some venerable old
person, who is just marching off the mortal stage, How
many have been the days of the years of thy life ? It
was a monarch's question ; and therefore can want no
recommendation to the fashionable world. Observe
how he shakes his hoary locks, and from a deep-felt
conviction replies, " Four score years have finished
their rounds, to furrow those cheeks, and clothe this
head in snow. Such a term may seem long and large
to inconsiderate youth. But O! how short, how
scanty, to one that has made the experiment ! Short,.
as a gleam of transient sunshine ; scanty, as the sha-
dow that departeth. Methinks it was but yesterday,
that I exchanged my childish sports for manly exer-
cises ; and now I arn resigning them both for the sleep
of death. As soon as we are born, we begin to draw
to our end: and how small is the interval between the
cradle and the tomb 1" O ! may we believe this testi-
mony of mature age? May every evening bring it
with a clear evidence to our minds ! And may we
form such an estimate of the little pittance, while it is
upon the advancing hand, as we shall certainly make,
when the sands are all run down !

Let me add one reflection on the work to be done,
while the shuttle is flying through the loom ; a work
of no small difficulty, yet of the utmost consequence !
Hast thou not seen, hast thou not known, the excellent
of the earth ; who were living images of their maker ?
His divine likeness was transfused into their hearts, and

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 16S

beamed forth in all their conduct: beamed forth in
meekness of wisdom, and purity of affection, in all the
tender offices of love, and all the noble efforts of zeal.
To be stamped with the same beautiful signature, to
be followers of them as they were of Christ; this, this
is thy business. On the accomplishment of this, thy
eternal All depends. And will an affair of such un-
speakable weight admit of a moment's delay, or consist
with the least remissness ? especially, since much of
thy appointed time is already elapsed, and the remain-
der is all uncertainty, save only that it is in the very
act to fly. Or suppose thou hadst made a covenant
with the grave, and wast assured of reaching the age
of Methuselah; how soon would even such a lease
expire ! Extend it, if you please, still farther ; and let
it be co-existent with nature itself. How inconsidera-
ble is the addition !. for yet a very little while and the
commissioned archangel lifts up his hand to heaven
and swears by the Almighty name, that time shall be
no longer. 1 hen, abused opportunities will never re-
turn ; and new opportunities will never more be offered.
Then, should negligent mortals wish wish ever so
passionately for a few hours a few moments only
to be thrown back from the opening eternity ; thou-
sands of worlds would not be able to procure the
grant.

Shall I now be industrious to shorten what is no
longer than a span ; or to quicken the space of what
is ever on the wing? Shall I squander away what is
unutterably important, while it lasts ; and, when once
departed, is altogether irrevocable ! O! my soul, for-
bear the folly, forbear the desperate extravagance.
Wilt thou chide, as a loiterer, the arrow that boundeth
from the string ; or sweep away diamonds, as the re-
fuse of thy house ? Throw time away ? Astonishing,
ruinous, irreparable profuseness ! Throw empires
away, and be blameless. But O ! be parsimonious of
thy days ; husband thy precious hours. They go con-

164 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

nected, indissolubly connected, with heaven or hell:
improved, they are a sure pledge of everlasting glory ;
wasted^ they are a sad preface to never-ending confus-
ion and anguish.

What a profund silence has composed the world ! So
profound is the silence, that my very breath seems a
noise ; the ticking of my watch is distinctly heard ;
if I do but stir, it creates a disturbance. There is, now,
none of that confused din from the tumultuous city ; no
voice of jovial rustics from the neighbouring meadow;
nor chirping melody from the shady thicket. Every
lip is sealed ; not the least whisper invades the air, not
the least motion rustles among the boughs. Echo her-
self sleeps unmolested. The expanded ear, though all
attention, catches no sound, but the liquid lapse of a
distant murmuring stream.

All things are hush'd, as nature's self lay dead.

If in the midst of this deep and universal composure
ten thousand bellowing thunders shall burst over my
head, and rend the skies with their united volleys ;
how should I bear so unexpected a shock ? It would
stun my senses, and confound my thoughts : I should
shudder in every limb ; perhaps sink to the earth with
terror. Consider, then, O mortals ! consider the much
more prodigious and amazing call, which will, ere
long, alarm your sleeping bones. When the tenants
of the tomb have slumbered, in the most undisturbed
repose, for a multitude of ages ; what an inconceivable
consternation must the shout of the archangel, and the
trump of God, occasion ! Will it not wound the ear
of the ungodly ; and affright, even to distraction, the
impenitent sinner ? The stupendous peal will sound
through the vast heaven ; will shake the foundations
of nature ; and pierce even the deepest recesses of the
grave. And how O ! how will the prisoners of di-
vine justice be able to endure that tremendous sum-
mons to a far more tremendous tribunal ! Do thou.

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 165

my soul, listen to the still voice of the Gospel ; attend,
in this thy day, to the gracious invitations of thy Sa-
viour. Then shall that great midnight cry Jose its
horror, and be music in thy ears : it shall he welcome
to thy reviving clay, as the tidings of liberty to the
dungeon captive ; as the year of jubilee to the haras-
sed slave. This, this shall be its charming import :
Awake, and sing, ye that dwell in dust.

What a general cessation of affairs has this dusky
hour introduced ! a little while ago, all was hurry,
hurry. Life and activity exerted themselves in a thou-
sand busy forms. The city swarmed with passing
and repassing multitudes ; all the country was sweat
and dust ; the air floated in perpetual agitation, 'by the
flitting birds, and humming bees ; art sat prying with
her piercing eyes ; while industry plied her restless
hands. But see, how all this fervent and impetuous
bustle is fled with the setting sun. The beasts are
slunk to their grassy couch, and the winged people
are retired to their downy nest ; the hammer has re-
signed its sounding task, and the file ceases to repeat
its flying touches : shut is the well-frequented shop,
and its threshold no longer worn by the feet of numer-
ous customers. The village swain lies drowned in
slumbers ; and even his trusty dog, who for a consider-
able time stood sentry at the door, is extended at his
ease, and snores with his master. In every place toil
\ reclines her head, and application folds her arms. All
interests seem to be forgot ; all pursuits are suspended;
all employment is sunk away ; sunk away with those
fluttering myriads, which lately sported in the sun's
departing rays. 'Tis like the sabbath of universal na-
ture; or, as though the pulse of life stood still.

Thus will it be with our infinitely momentuous con-
cerns when once the- shadows of the evening (that long
evening, which follows the footsteps of death!) are
stretched aver us. The dead cannot seek unto God ;
the living, the living alone, are possessed of this inesti-

166 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

mable opportunity. " There is no work or device, no
repentance or amendment, in the grave, whither we
are all hasting." When once that dosing scene is
advanced, we shall have no other part to act on this
earthly theatre. Then, the sluggard, who has slum-
bered away his life in a criminal inactivity, must lie
down in hopeless distress and everlasting sorrow.
Then, that awful doom will take place, " He that is
holy, let him be holy still ; and he that is filthy, let him
be filthy for ever."

Is it so, my soul ? is this the only, only time allotted
for obtaining the great reward, and making thy salva-
tion sure ? And art thou lulled in a vain security, or
dreaming in a supine inadvertency ? Start, O ! start
from thy trance ; gird up the loins of thy mind, and
work while it is day ; improve the present seed-time
that eternity may yield a joyful harvest. We, espe-
cially, who are watchmen in Israel, and ministers of
the glorious Gospel ; may we be awakened by this con-
sideration to all assiduity in our holy office. Some or
other of our people are ever and anon departing into
the invisible state ; all our friends are making inces-
sant approaches to their long home ; and we ourselves
.shall very shortly be transmitted to the confinement of
the tomb. This is the favourable juncture, wherein
alone we can contribute to their endless welfare ; this
is the crisis, the ail-important crisis, of their final feli-
city. Instantly, therefore, let us pour in our whole-
some instructions ; instantly, let us ply them with our
earnest exhortations. A moment's delay may be an
irreparable loss j may be irretrievable ruin. While we
procrastinate, a fatal stroke may intervene, and place
us beyond the power of administering ; or place them
beyond all possibility of receiving any spiritual good.

How frequently is the face of nature changed ; and,
by changing, made more agreeable ! The long con-
tinued glitter of the day, renders the soothing shades
of the evening doubly welcome ; nor does the morn

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 167

ever purple the east with so engaging- a lustre, as after
the gloom of a dark and dismal night. At present/ a
calm of tranquillity is spread through the universe.
The weary winds have forgot to blow ; the gentle
gales have fanned themselves asleep ; not so much as
a single leaf nods; even the quivering aspin rests >
and not one breath curls der the. stream. Sometimes, on
the contrary, the tempest summons all the forces of the
air, and pours itself with resistless fury from the angry
north. The whole atmosphere is tossed into tumultu-
ous confusion, and the watery world is heaved to the
clouds. The astonished mariner, and his straining
vessel, now scale the rolling mountain, and hang
dreadfully visible on the broken surge: now shoot,,
with headlong impetuosity, into the yawning gulf; and
neither hulk nor mast is seen. The storm sweeps
over the continent, raves along the city streets, strug-
gles through the forest boughs, and terrifies the sav-
age nations with a howl more wildly horrid than their
own. The knotty oaks bend before the blast, their
iron trunks groan, and their stubborn limbs are dashed
to the ground ; the lofty dome rocks, and even the
solid tower totters on its basis.

Such variations are kindly contrived, and with an
evident condescension to the fickleness of our taste ;
because, a perpetual repetition of the same objects
would create satiety and disgust ; therefore the indul-
gent Father of our race has diversified the universal
scene, and bid every appearance bring with it the
charm of novelty. This circumstance is beneficial as
well as entertaining. Providence, ever gracious to
mortals, ever intent upon promoting our felicity, has
taken care to mingle in the constitution of things
what is pleasing to our imagination, with what is ser-
vicable to our interests. The piercing winds and rug-
ged aspect of winter, render the balmy gales and
flowery scenes of spring peculiarly delightful. At the
same tune, the keen frosts mellow the soil and prepare

168 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

it for the hand of industry; the rushing rains im-
pregnate the glebe, and fit it to become a magazine
of plenty. The earth is a great laboratory ; and Decem-
ber^ s cold collects the gross materials which are sublim-
ated by the refining warmth of May. The air is a
pure elastic fluid ; and were it always to remain in
this motionless serenity,, it would lose much of its ac-
tive spring: was it never agitated by those wholesome
concussions, it would contract a noisome, perhaps a
pestilential taint ; in which case, our respiration, instead
of purifying, would corrupt the vital juices ; instead
of supplying us with refreshment, would be a source
of diseases ; or every gasp we draw might be unavoid-
able death. How then should we admire, how should
we adore that happy union of benignity and wisdom,
which from a variety of dispensations, produces an
uniformity of good, produces a perpetual succession of
'delights, and an uninterrupted series of advantages.

The darkness is now at its height, and I cannot but
admire the obliging manner of its taking place. It
comes not with a blunt and abrupt incivility, but
makes gentle and respectful advances. A precipitate
transition from the splendours of day to all the horrors
of midnight, would be inconvenient and frightful ; it
would bewilder the traveller in his journey, it would
strike the creation with amazement, and, perhaps, be
pernicious to the organs of sight. Therefore the
gloom rushes not upon us instantaneously, but in-
creases by slow degrees ; and sending twilight before,
as its harbinger , decently advertises us of its approach.
By this means, we are neither alarmed nor incom-
moded by the change, but are able to take all suitable
and timely measures for its reception. Thus gra-
ciously has Providence regulated, not only the grand
vicissitudes of the seasons, but also the common inter-
changes of light and darkness with an apparent refer-
ence to our comfort.

Now, the fierce inhabitants of the forest forsake their

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 169

dens. A thousand grim forms, a thousand growling
monsters pace the desert Death is in their jaws,
while, stung with hunger, and athirst for blood, they
roam their nightly rounds. Unfortunate the traveller^
who is overtaken by the night, in those dismal wilds !
How must he stand aghast at the mingled yell of rav-
enous throats, and lions roaring after their prey ! De-
fend him propitious Heaven ! or else he must see his
endearing spouse, and hail his native home no more !
BOW the prowling wolf, like a murderous ruffian, dogs
the shepherd's footsteps, and besets his bleating charge.
The fox like a crafty felon, steals to the thatched cot-
tage and carries off the feathered booty.

Happy for the world, were these the only destroyers
that walk in darkness. But, alas ! there are savages
in human shape, who, muffled in shades, infest the
abodes of civilized life. The sons of violence make
choice of this season to perpetrate the most outrageous
acts of wrong and robbery. The adulterer waiteth
for the twilight ; and, baser than the villain on the
highway, betrays the honour of his bosom-friend.
Now, faction forms her close cabals, and whispers her
traitorous insinuations. Now, rebellion plans her ac-
cursed plots, and prepares the train to blow a nation
into ruin. Now crimes which hide their odious
heads in the day, haunt the seats of society and stalk
through the gloom with audacious front. Now the
vermin of the stews crawl fr6m their lurking holes, to
wallow in sin, and spread contagion through the night;
each soothing himself, with the fond notion, that all is
safe ; that no eye sees.

Are they, then, concealed? Preposterous madmen !
To draw the curtain between their infamous practices
and a little set of mortals, but lay them open to all
these chaste and wakeful eyes of heaven ! As though
the moon and stars were made to light men to their
revels, and not to God. Are they then concealed ?
No, Truly. Was every one of these vigilant lumina-

15

170 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

ries closed, an eye keener than the lightning's flash, an
eye brighter than ten thousand suns, beholds their
every motion. Their thickest shades are beaming
day to the jealous Inspector, and supreme Judge of hu-
man actions. Deluded creatures ! have ye not read,
"that clouds and darkness are his majestic residence?"
In that very gloom, to which you fly for covert, he
erects his throne. What you reckon your screen is
the bar of his tribunal. O ! remember this ! Stand in
awe, and sin not. Remember that the great and ter-
rible God is about your path, when you take your mid-
night range ; is about your bed, when you indulge the
loose desire ; and spies out all your ways, be they ever
so secretly conducted or artfully disguised.

Some minutes ago, a passenger crossed along the
road. His horse's foot struck the ground, and fetched
fire from a flint. My eye, though at a distance, caught
the view, and saw with great clearness the transient
sparkles ; of which, had I been ever so near, I should
not have discerned the least glimpse under the blaze
of day. So, when sickness has drawn a veil over the
gaiety of our hearts ; when misfortunes have eclipsed
the splendour of our outward circumstances ; how-
many important convictions present themselves with
the brightest evidence ! .Under the sunshine of pros-
perity, they lay undiscovered ; but when some inter-
vening cloud has darkened the scene, they emerge
from the obscurity, and even glitter upon our minds.
Then, the world, that delusive cheat, confesses her
emptiness ; but Jesus, the bright and morning-star,
beams forth with inimitabbe lustre. Then vice loses all
her fallacious allurements ; that painted strumpet is
horrible as the hags of hell : but virtue, despised vir-
tue, gains loveliness from a lowering Providence, and
treads the shades with more than mortal charms. May
this reconcile me, and all the sons of sorrow, to our ap-
pointed share of suffering! If tribulation tend to dis-
sipate the inward darkness, and pour heavenly day

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 1 71

upon our minds ; welcome distress ; welcome disap-
pointment; welcome whatever our fro ward flesh or
peevish passion would miscall calamities. These light
afflictions which are but for a moment, shall sit easy upon
our spirits ; since they befriend our knowledge, pro-
mote our faith, and so work out for us a far more ex-
ceeding and eternal weight of glory.

How has this darkness snatched every splendid and
graceful object from my sight! It has dashed x the
sponge over the pictures of spring, and destroyed all
the delicate distinctions of things. Where are now the
fine tinges, which so lately charmed me from the glow-
ing parterre ? The blush is struck out from the cheeks
of the rose, and the snowy hue is dropped from the
lily. I cast my eyes toward a magnificent seat, but
the aspiring columns and fair-expanded front are min-
gled 4n rude confusion. Without the sun, all the
elegance of the blooming world is a mere blank, all the
symmetry of architecture is a shapeless heap.

Is not this an expressive emblem of the loveliness
which the Sun of Righteousness transfuses into all that
is amiable ? Were it not for Jesus and his merits, I
should sigh with anguish of spirit, even while I rove
through ranks of the most beautiful flowers, or breathe
amidst a wilderness of sweets. Were it not for Jesus
and his merits,.! should roam like some disconsolate
spectre, even through the smiles of creation and the
caresses of fortune. My conversation in this world,
though dressed in the most engaging forms of external
pleasure, would be like the passage, of a condemned ma-
lefactor through enamelled meadows and bowers of
bliss, to be broken upon the wheel, or to expire on the
rack. But a daily reflection on the lamb's atoning
blood ; a comfortable trust that my soul is reconciled
through this divine expiation ; this is the ray, the gol-
den ray, which irradiates the face of t-he universe.
This is the oil of beauty, which makes all things wear
a cheerful aspect ; and the oil of gladness, which dis-

172 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

poses the spectator to behold them with delight. This,
this is the secret charm, which teacheth nature, in all
her prospects and all her productions, so exquisitely to
please.

" Man goeth forth to his work, and to his labour, till
the evening." But then his strength fails, his spirits
flag, and he stands in need, not only of some respite
from toil, but of some kindly and sovereign refresh-
ments. What an admirable provision for this purpose
is sleep ! Sleep introduces a most welcome vacation
both for the soul and body. The exercises of the brain,
and the labours of the hand, are at once discontinued ;
so that the weary limbs repair their exhausted vigour,
while the pensive thoughts drop their load of sorrows,
and the busy ones rest from the fatigues of application.
Most reviving cordial ! equally beneficial to our animal
and intellectual powers. It supplies the fleshly ma-
chine, and keeps all its nice movements in a proper
posture for easy play. It animates the thinking facul-
ties with fresh alacrity, and rekindles their ardour for
the studies of the dawn. Without these enlivening- re-
cruits, how soon would the most robust constitution be
wasted into a walking skeleton, and the most learned
sage degenerate into a hoary idiot ! Some time ago I
beheld with surprise poor Florio. His air was wild,
his countenance meagre, his thoughts roving, and
speech disconcerted. Inquiring the cause of this alter-
ation, I was informed, that for several nights he had
not closed his eyes in sleep ; for want of which noble
restorative, that sprightly youth, (who was once the life
of the discourse and the darling of the company,) is
become a spectacle of misery and horror.

How many of my fellow-creatures are, at this very
instant, confined to the bed of languishing, and com-
plaining, with that illustrious sufferer of old, Weari-
some nights are appoimted to me ! Instead of indulging
soft repose, they are counting the tedious hours, telling
every striking clock, or measuring the very moments

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 173

by their throbbing pulse. How many, harassed with
spain, most passionately long to make some little truce
with their agonies in peaceful slumbers ! How many,
sick with disquietude, and restless even on their downy
pillows, would purchase this transient oblivion of their
woes, almost at any rate ! That which wealth cannot

Erocure, which multitudes sigh for in vain, thy God
as bestowed on thee times out of number. The wel-
come visitant, punctual at the needed hour, has entered
thy chamber, and poured his poppies round thy couch j
has gently closed thy eye-lids, and shed his slumberous
dews over all thy senses.

Since sleep is so absolutely necessary, so inestimably
valuable, observe what a fine apparatus Almighty
goodness has made, to accommodate us with the balmy
blessing. With how kind a precaution he removes
whatever might obstruct its access, or impede its in-
fluence ! He draws around us the curtain of darkness,
which inclines us to a drowsy indolence, and conceals
every object that might too strongly agitate the sense.
He conveys peace into our apartments, and imposes si-
lence on the whole creation. Every animal is bidden
to tread softly, or rather to cease from its motion, when,
man is retiring to his repose. May we not discern, in
this gracious disposition of things, the tender cares of
a nursing mother, who hushes every noise, and secludes
every disturbance, when she has laid the child of her
love to rest? So, by such soothing circumstances, and
gently- working opiates, he giveth to his beloved sleep.

Another signal instance of a Providence intent upon
our welfare is, that we are preserved safe in the hours
of slumber. How are we then lost to all apprehension
of danger, even though the murderer be at our bed-
side, or his naked sword at our breast! Destitute of all
concern for ourselves, we are unable to think of, much
more to provide for, our own security. At these mo-
ments, therefore, we lie open to innumerable perils,
from the resistless rage of flames : perils, from the in-

15*

174 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

sidous artifices of thieves, or the outrageous violence
of robbers ; perils, from the irregular ivorkings of our
own thoughts, and especially from, the incursions of
our spiritual enemy.

What dreadful mischief might that restless, that im-
placable adversary of mankind work, was there not an
invisible hand to control his rage, and protect poor
mortals ! What scenes of horror might he not repre-
sent to our imaginations, and "scare us with dreams,
or terrify us with visions !" But the Keeper of Israel^
who never slumbers nor sleeps, interposes in our be-
half, at once to cherish us under his wings, and to de-
fend us as with a shield. It is said of Solomon, " that
three score valient men were about his bed, all expert
in war, every one with his sword upon his thigh, be-
cause of fear in the night." But one greater than So-
lomon, one mightier than myriads of armed hosts, even

i C2 +t /

the great Jehovah, in whom is everlasting strength, he
vouchsafes to encamp about our house, to watch over our
sleeping minutes, and to stop all the avenues of ill. O!
the unwearied and condescending goodness of our Cre-
ator, who lulls us to our rest, by bringing on the silent
shades ; and plants his own ever- watchful eye as our
sentinel^ while we enjoy the needful repose.

Reason now resigns her sedate office, and fancy, ex-
travagant fancy, leads the mind through a maze of va-
nity. The head is crowded with false images, and tan-
talized with the most ridiculous misapprehensions of
things. Some are expatiating amidst fairy fields, and
gather garlands of visionary bliss, while their bodies
are stretched on a wisp of straw, and sheltered by the
cobwebs of a barn. Others, quite insensible to their
rooms of state, are mourning in a doleful dungeon, or
struggling with the raging billows. Perhaps, with
hasty steps, they climb the craggy cliff, and with real
anxiety fly from imaginary danger. Or else, benumbed
with sudden fear, and finding themselves unable to es-
cape, they give up at once their hope and their efforts \

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 175

and, though reclined on a couch of ivory, are sinking,
all helpless and distressed, in *the furious whirlpool.
So unaccountable are the vagaries of the brain, while
sleep maintains its dominion over the limbs.

But is this the only season, when absurd and inco-
herent irregularities play their magic on our minds?
Are there not those who dream, even in their waking
moments ? Some pride themselves in a notion of supe-
rior excellency, because the royal favour has annexed
a few splendid titles to their names, or because the dy-
ing silk-worm has bequeathed her finest threads to
cover their nakedness. Others congratulate their own
signal happiness, because loads of golden lumber are
amassed together in their coffers: or promise themselves
a most superlative felicity indeed, when some thousands
more are added to the useless heap. Nor are there
wanting others, who gape after substantial satisfaction
from airy applause, arid flatter themselves with, I know
not what, immortality in the momentary buzz of re-
nown. Are any of these a whit more reasonable in.
their opinions, than the poor ragged wretch in his re-
veries ; who, while snoring under a hedge, exults in
the possession of his stately palace and sumptuous fur-
niture 1 If persons, who are very vassals to their own
domineering passions, and led captive by numberless
temptations ; if these persons pique themselves with a
conceit of their liberty, and fancy themselves the gene-
rous and gallant spirits of the age ; where is the differ-
ence between theirs and the madman's frenzy ; who,
though chained to the floor, is throned in thought, and
wielding an imaginary sceptre ? In a word, as many
as borrow their dignity from a plume of feathers, or
the gaudy trappings of fortune ; as many as send their
souls to seek for bliss in the blandishments of sense,,
or in any things short of the divine favour, and a well-
grounded hope of the incorruptible inheritance ; what
are they, but dreamers with their eyes open ; delirious?
though in health!

176 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

Would you see their picture drawn to the very life,
and the success of their schemes calculated with the
utmost exactness, cast your eyes upon that fine repre-
sentation exhibited by the prophet: It shall be even as
when a hungry man dreameth, and behold, he eateth ; but
he awaketh, and his soul is empty : or as when a thirsty
man dreameth, and behold, he drinketh ; but he awaketh,
and behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite. Such
is the race, and such the prize of all those candidates
for honour and joy, who run wide from the mark of
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. They live
in vanity, and lie in woe. Awaken us, merciful Lord,
from those noon-tide trances ! Awaken us, while con-
viction may turn to their advantage, and not serve only
to increase our torments. O ! let our " eyes be enlight-
ened, to discern the things that are excellent ;" and no
longer be imposed upon by fantastic appearances, which
however pompous they may seem, will prove more empty
than the visions of the night, more transient than the
dream that is forgotten.

Having mentioned sleep and dreams, let me once
again consider those remarkable incidents of our frame :
so very remarkable, that I may venture to call them a
kind of experimental mystery, and little less than a
standing miracle. Behold the most vigorous constitu-
tion, when stretched on the bed of ease, and totally re-
signed to the slumber of the night: its activity is op-
pressed with fetters of indolence : its strength is con-
signed over to a temporary annihilation ; the nerves
are like a bow unstrung, and the whole animal system
is like a motionless log. Behold a person of the most
delicate seasations and amiable dispositions: his eyes,
though thrown wide open, admit not the visual ray ;
at least distinguish not objects : his ears, with the or-
gans unimpaired, and articulate accents beating upon
the drum, perceive not the sound ; at least, apprehend
not the meaning : the senses, and their exquisitely fine
feelings, are overwhelmed with an unaccountable stu-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 177

pefaction. You call him a social creature ; but where
are his social affections? He knows not the father
that begat him ; and takes no notice of the friend that
is as his own soul. The wife of his bosom may ex-
pire by his side, and he lie no more concerned than a
barbarian. The children of his body may be tortured
with the severest pangs, and he, even in the same cham-
ber, remain untouched with the least commisseration.
Behold the most ingenious scholar, whose judgment
is piercing, and able to trace the most intricate difficul-
ties of science ; his taste refined, and quick to relish all
the beauties of sentiment and composition : yet at this
juncture the thinking faculties are unhinged, and the
intellectual economy quite disconcerted. Instead of
close-connected reasoning, nothing but a disjointed
huddle of absurd ideas ; instead of well digested prin-
ciples, nothing but a disorderly jumble of crude con-
ceptions. The most palpable delusions impose upon,
his imagination. The whole night passes, and he fre-
quently mistakes it for a single minute ; is not sensible
of the transition, hardly sensible of any duration.

Yet no sooner does the morning clawn, and day-
light enter the room, but this strange enchantment
vanishes. The man awakes, and finds himself pos-
*sessed of all the valuable endowments, which for seve-
ral hours were suspended or lost. His sinews are
braced, and fit for action ; his senses are alert and keen.
The romantic visionary brightens into the master of
reason. The frozen or benumbed affections melt with
tenderness, and glow with benevolence ; and, what is
beyond measure surprising, the intoxicated mind works
itself sober, not by sloio degrees, but in the twinkling of
an eye recovers from its perturbation. Why does not
the stupour which deadens all the nice operations of
the animal powers, hold fast its possession 1 When
the thoughts are once disadjusted, why are they not
always in confusion ? How is it that they are rallied
in a moment ; and, from the wildest irregularity, re-

178 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

duced to the most orderly array ? From an inactivity
resembling death, how is the body so suddenly restored
to vigour and agility 1 From extravagances bordering
upon madness, how is the understanding instantane-
ously re-established in sedateness and harmony? Surely
" this is the Lord's doing, and it should be marvellous
in our eyes ;" should awaken our gratitude, and in-
spirit our praise.

This is the time in which ghosts are supposed to
make their appearance. Now the timerous imagina-
tion teems with phantoms, and creates numberless ter-
rors to itself. Now dreary forms, in sullen state, stalk
along the gloom ; or, swifter than lightning, glide across
the shades. Now voices more than mortal are heard
from the echoing vaults, and groans issue from the hol-
low tombs. Now melancholy spectres visit the ruins
of ancient monasteries and frequent the solitary dwell-
ings of the dead. They pass and repass, in unsub-
stantial images, along the forsaken galleries ; or take
their determined stand over some lamented grave.
How often has the school-boy fetched a long circuit,
and trudged many a needless step, in order to avoid the
haunted church-yard ? Or, if necessity, sad necessity,
has obliged him to cross the spot where human skulls
are lodged below, and the baleful yeios shed supernu-
merary horrors above, a thousand hideous stories rush
into his memory. Fear adds wings to his feet ; he
scarce touches the ground, dares not once look behind
him, and blesses his good fortune, if no frightful sound
purred at his heels, if no ghastly shape bolted upon his
sight.

'Tis strange to observe the excessive timidity which
possesses many peoples' minds on this fanciful occasion;
while they are void of all concern on others of the most
tremendous import. Those who are startled in any dark
and lonely walk, at the very apprehension of a single
spectre, are nevertheless unimpressed at the sure pros-
pect of entering into a whole world of disembodied

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 179

beings ; nay, are without any emotions of awe, though
they know themselves to be hastening into the presence-
of the Great, Infinite, and Eternal Spirit. Should
some pale messenger from the regions of the dead
draw back our curtains at the hour of midnight, and,
appointing some particular place, say, as the horrid ap-
parition to Brutus, " PR meet thee there :" I believe the
boldest heart would feel something like a panic, would
seriously think upon the adventure, and be in pain for
the event. But when a voice from heaven cries, in the
awakening language of the prophet, " Prepare to meet
thy God, O Israel !" how little is the warning regarded !
How soon is it forgot! Preposterous stupidity! to
be utterly unconcerned, where it is the truest wisdom t&
take the alarm ; and to be all trepidation, where there
is nothing really terrible ; Do thou, my soul, remember
thy Saviour's admonition : " 7 will forewarn you, whom
you shall fear. Fear not these imaginary horrors of
the night ; but fear that awful Being, whose revelation
of himself, though with expressions of peculiar mercy,
made Moses, his favourite servant, tremble exceedingly j
whose manifestation, when he appears with purposes
of inexorable vengeance, will make mighty conquerors,
who were familiar with dangers, and estranged to dis-
may, call upon the mountains to fall on them, and the
rocks to cover them ; the menace of whose majestic
eye, when he comes attended with thousand thousands
of his immortal hosts, will make the very heavens
cleave asunder, and the earth flee away. O ! dread
his displeasure ; secure his favour ; and then thou
mayest commit all thy other anxieties to the wind. Thou
mayest laugh at every other fear."

This brings to my mind a memorable and amazing-
occurrence, recorded in the book of Job ; which is, I
think, no inconsiderable proof of the real existence of ap-
paritions, on gome every extraordinary emergencies;
while jt discountenances those legions of idle tales,
which superstition has raised and credulity received j

180 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

since it teaches us, that if, at any time, those visitants
from the unknown world render themselves perceiva-
ble by mortals, it is not upon any errand of frivolous
consequence ; but, to convey intelligences of the utmost}
moment, or to loork impressions of the highest advan-
tage.

'Twas in the dead of night. All nature lay shrouded
in darkness. Every creature was buried in sleep. The
most profound silence reigned through the universe.
. In these solemn moments, Eliphaz alone, all wakeful
and solitary, was musing upon sublime and heavenly
subjects. When lo ! an awful being, from the invisible
realms, burst into his apartment. A spirit passed be-
fore his face. Astonishment seized the beholder. His
bones shivered within him, his flesh trembled all over
him ; and the hair of his head stood erect with horror.
Sudden and unexpected was the appearance of the
phantom ; not such its departure. It stood still^ to pre-
sent itself more fully to his veivv. It made a solemn
pause, to prepare his mind for some momentous mes-
sage. After which, a voice was heard : a voice, for
the importance of its meaning, worthy to be had in
everlasting remembrance ; for the solemnity of its deli-
very, enough to alarm a heart of stone. It spoke ;
and this was the purport of its words ; " Shall man,
frail man, be just before the mighty God ? Shall even the
most accomplished of mortals be pure in the sight of his
maker ? Behold, and consider it attentively. He put
no such trust in his most exalted servants, as should
bespeak them incapable of defect ; and his very angels
he charged with folly ; as sinking, even in the highest
perfection of their holiness, infinitely beneath his trans-
cendent glories ; as failing, even in all the fidelity of
their obedience, inexpressibly short of the homage due
to his adorable majesty. If angelic natures must not
presume to justify, either themselves, or their services
before uncreated purity: how much more absurd is such
a notion, how much more impious such an attempt, in

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 181

them that dwell in houses of clay ; whose original is
from the dust, and whose state is all imperfection !"

I would observe from hence, the very singular ne-
cessity of that 'poverty of spirit, which entirely renounces
its own attainments ; and most thankfully submits to
the righteousness of the incarnate God. To inculcate
this lesson, the Son of the Blessed came down from
heaven ; and pressed no other principle with so re-
peated an importunity on his hearers. To instil the
same doctrine, the Holy Ghost touched the lips of the
apostles with sacred eloquence ; and made it an emin-
ent part of their commission, " to demolish every high
imagination." That no expedient might be wanting
to give it a deep and lasting efficacy on the human
mind, a phantom arises from the valley of the shadow
of death, or a teacher descends from the habitation of
spirits. Whatever, then, we neglect, let us not neglect
to cultivate this grace, which has been so variously
taught, so powerfully enforced.

Hark ! a doleful voice with sudden starts, and hide-
ous screams, it disturbs the silence of the peaceful
night. 'Tis the screech-owl, sometimes in frantic, some-
times in disconsolate accents, uttering her woes. She
flies the vocal grove, and shuns the society of all the
feathered choir. The blooming gardens and flowery
meads have no charms for her. Obscene shades,
ragged ruins, and walls overgrown with ivy, are her
favourite haunts. Above, the mouldering precipice
nods, and threatens a fall ; below, the toad crawls, or
the poisonous adder hisses. The sprightly morning,
which awakens other animals into joy, administers no
pleasure to this gloomy recluse. Even the smiling
face of day is her aversion ; and all its lovely scenes
create nothing but uneasiness.

So, just so, would it fare with the ungodly, were it
possible to suppose their admission into the chaste and
bright abodes of endless felicity. They would find
nothing but disappointment and shame, even at the

16

182 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

fountain-head of happiness and honour. For how
could the tongue habituated to profaneness, taste any
delight in the harmonious adorations of heaven? How
could the lips cankered with slander, relish the rap-
tures of everlasting praise ? Where would be the
satisfaction of the vain beauty, or the supercilious gran-
dee ; since, in the temple of the skies, no incense of
flattery would be addressed to the former, nor any ob-
sequious homage paid to the latter ? The spotless and
inconceivable purity of the blessed God would flash
confusion on the lascivious eye. The envious mind
must be on a rack of self-tormenting passions, to ob-
serve millions of happy beings, shining in all the per-
fections of glory, and solacing themselves in the ful-
ness of joy. In short, the unsanctified soul, amidst
holy and triumphant spirits, even in the refined regions
of bliss and immortality, would be, like this melan-
choly bird, dislodged from her darksome retirement,
and imprisoned under the beams of day.

The voice of this creature screaming at our win-
dows, or of the raven croaking over houses, is, they
say, a token of approaching death. There are persons
who would regard such an incident with no small
degree of solicitude. Trivial as it is, it would damp
their spirits, perhaps break their rest. One cannot
but wonder, that people should suffer themselves to be
affrighted at such fantastical, and yet be quite unaf-
fected with real, presages of their resolution. Real
presages of this awful event address us from every
quarter. What are these incumbent glooms which
overwhelm the world, but a kind of pall provided for
nature; and an image of that long night, which will
quickly cover the inhabitants of the whole earth?
What an affinity has the sleep, which will very soon,
weigh down my drowsy eye-lids, with that state of
entire cessation, in which all my senses must be laid
aside ! The silent chamber and the bed of slumber,
are a very significant representation of the land, where

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 183

\

all things are hushed, and all things are forgotten.
What meant that deep death-bell note, which, the other
evening, saddened the air? Laden with heaviest ac-
cents, it struck our ears, and seemed to knock at the
door of our hearts. Surely it brought a message to
.surviving mortals, and thus the tidings ran : " Mortals,
the destroyer of your race is on his way. The last
enemy has begun the pursuit, and is gaining ground
upon you every moment. His paths are strewed with
heaps of slain. Even now, his javelin has laid one of
your neighbours in the dust ; and will soon, very soon,
aim the inevitable blow at each of your lives."

We need not go down to the charnel house, nor
carry our search into the repositories of the dead, in
order to find memorials of our impending doom. A
multitude of these remembrancers are planted in all
our paths, and point the heedless passengers to their
long home. I can hardly enter a considerable town,
but I meet the funeral possession of the mourners go-
ing about the streets. The hatch?nent suspended on
the wall, or the crape streaming in the air, are silent
intimations, that both rich and poor have been empty-
ing their houses and replenishing their sepulchres. I
can scarce join in any conversation, but mention is
made of some that are given over by the physician,
and hovering on the confines of eternity ; of others
that have just dropped their clay amidst weeping
friends, and are gone to appear before the judge of all
the earth. There's not a neiospaper _ comes to my
hand ; but, amidst all its entertaining narrations, reads
several serious lectures of mortality. What else are the
repeated accounts of age, worn out by slow-consuming
sickness ; of youth dashed to pieces by some sudden
stroke of casualty : of patriots exchanging their seats in
the senate for a lodsrinsr in the tomb ; of misers, re-

^j ^j i t

signing their breath, and (O relentless destiny!) leav-
ing their very riches for others ? Even the vehicles
of our amusument are registers of the deceased ; and

184 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

the voice of fame seldom sounds, but in concert with a
knell.

These monitors crowd every place ; not so much as
the scenes of our diversion excepted. What are the
decorations of our public buildings, and the most ele-
gant furniture of our parlours, but the imagery of death,,
and trophies of the tomb ? That marble bust ; and
those gilded pictures ; how solemnly they recognize
the fate of others, and speakingly remind us of our
own ! I see, I hear, and O ! I feel, this great truth.
It is interwoven with my constitution. The frequent
decays of the structure foretell its final ruin. What
are all the pains that have been darted through my
limbs ; what every disease that has assaulted my
health ; but the advanced-guards of the foe ? What
are the languors and weariness that attend the labours
of each revolving day ; but the more secret practices of
the adversary, slowly undermining the earthly taber-
nacle ?

Amidst so many notices, shall we go on thoughtless
and unconcerned? Can., none of these prognostics,
which are sure oracles, awaken our attention, and en-
gage our circumspection? Noah, 'tis written, being
warned of God prepared an ark. Imitate, my soul,
imitate this excellent example. Admonished by such
a cloud of witnesses, be continually putting thyself in
a readiness for the last change. Let not that day, of
which thou hast so many infallible signs, come upon
thee unawares. Get the ivy untwined, and thy affec-
tions disentangled from this enchanting world ; that
thou mayst be able to quit it without reluctance. Get
the dreadful hand-writing cancelled^ and all thy sins
blotted out ; that thou mayest depart in peace, and
have nothing to fear at the decisive tribunal. Get, O !
get thyself interested in the Redeemer's merits, and
transformed into his sacred image; then shalt thou be
meet for the inheritance of saints in light, and mayest
even desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ.

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 185

"Sometimes, in my evening wa ; ik, I have heard

The wakeful bird

Sing darkling, and, in shadiest covert hid,
Tune her nocturnal note.

How different the airs of this charming songster from,
those harsh and boding outcries I The little creature
ran through all the variations of music, and showed
herself mistress of every grace which constitutes or
embellishes harmony. Sometimes she swells a manly
throat, and her song kindles into ardour. The tone
is so bold, and strikes with such energy, you would
imagine the sprightly serenader in the very next
thicket. Anon the strain languishes, and the mourn-
ful warbler melts into tenderness. The melancholy
notes just steal upon the shades, and faintly touch your
ear ; or, in soft and sadly pleasing accents, they seem
to die along the distant vale. Silence is pleased, and
night listens to the thriling tale.

What an invitation is this, to slip away from the
thronged city ! This coy and modest minstrel enter-
tains only the lovers of retirement : those who are car-
ousing over their bowls, or ranting at the riotous club,
Hose this feast of harmony. In like manner, the plea-
.sures of religion, and the joy of reconciliation with
God ; the satisfactions arising from an established inte-
rest in Christ, and from the prospect of a blissful im-
jnortality ; these are all lost to the mind that is ever in
the crowd, and dares not, or delights not, to retire to
into itself. Are we charmed with the nightingale's
song? Do we wish to have it nearer, and hear it
oftener ? Let us seek a renewed heart, and resigned
will ; a conscience that whispers peace, and passions
that are tuned by grace. Then shall we never want
a melody in our own breasts, far more musically pleas-
ing than sweet Philomelas sweetest strains.

As different as the voices of these birds, are the cir-
cumstances of those few persons who continue awake.
Some are squandering, pearls shall I say, or king-

16*

186 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

doms ? No ; but what is unspeakably more precious,
time ; squandering this inestimable talent with the
most senseless and wanton prodigality. Not content
with allowing a few spare minutes for the purpose of
necessary recreation, they lavish many hours, devote
whole nights, to that idle diversion of shuffling, ranging,
and detaching a set of painted paste-boards. Others,
instead of this busy trifling, act the part of their own
tormentors; they even pique themselves, and call it
amusement ; they are torn by wild horses, yet term it
a sports What else is the gamester's practice? His
mind is stretched on the tenter hooks of anxious sus-
pense, and agitated by the fiercest extremes of hope
and fear; while the dice are rattling, his heart is
throbbing ; his fortune is tottering ; and, possibly at
the very next throw, the one sinks in the gulf of ruin,
the other is hurried into the rage of distraction.

Some, snatched from the bloom of health and the
lap of plenty, are confined to the chamber of sickness ;
where they are constrained, either to plunge into the
everlasting world in an unprepared condition, or else
(sad alternative!) to think over all the follies of a
heedless life, and all the bitterness of approaching:
death. The disease rages ; it baffles the force of medi-
cine, and urges the reluctant wretch to the brink of
the precipice ; while furies rouse the conscience, and
point at the bottomless pit below. Perhaps his droop-
ing mother, deprived long ago of the husband of her
bosom, and bereft of all her other offspring, is, even
now, receiving the blow which consumates her calam-
ities. In vain she tries to assuage the sorrows of a be-
loved son ; in vain she attempts, with her tender offi-
ces, to prolong a life dearer than her own. He faints
in her arms, he bows his head, he sinks in death.
Fatal, doubly fatal that last expiring pang ! While it
dislodges the unwilling soul, it rends an only child
from the yearning embraces of a parent; arid tears

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 187-

away the support of her age from a disconsolate-
widow.

While those long for a reprieve, others invite the
stroke. Quite weary of the world, with a restless im-
patience they sigh for dissolution : some, pining away
under the tedious decays of an incurable consumption;-
or gasping for breath, and almost suffocated by an in-
undation of dropsical waters. On some, a relentless
cancer has fastened its envenomed teeth, and is gnaw-
ing them, though in the midst of bodily vigour, in the
midst of pitying friends, gradually to death. Others-
are on a rack of agonies by convulsive fits of the stone.
O ! how the pain writhes their limbs ; how the sweat,
bedews their flesh! and their eyeballs wildly roll!
Methinks, the night condoles with these her distressed
children, and sheds dewy tears over their sorrowful,
abodes. But, of all mortals, they are the most exqui-
sitely miserable who groan beneath the pressure of a
melancholy mind, or smart under the lashes of a re-
sentful conscience. Though robed in ermine, or cov-
ered with jewels, the state of a slave chained to the-
galleys, or of an exile condemned to the mines, is &-
perfect paradise compared with theirs.

! that the votaries of mirth whose life is a contin-
ued round of merriment and whim, would bestow one-
serious reflection on this variety of human woes ! It-
might teach them to be less enamoured with the few
languid sweets that are thinly scattered through this-
vale of tears, and environed with such a multitude of
ragged thorns ; it might teach them no longer to dance-
away their years with a giddy rambling impulse ; but
to aspire, with a determined aim, after those happy re-
gions, where delights, abundant and unimbittered,,
flow.

Can there be circumstances which a man of wisdom-
would more earnestly deprecate, than these several in-
stances of grievous tribulation ? There are ; and, what,
is very astonishing, they are frequently the desire ancL

188 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

the choice of those who fancy themselves the sole heirs
of happiness ; those, I mean, who are launching out
into the depths of extravagance, and running excessive
lengths of riot ; who are prostituting their reputation
and sacrificing their peace, to the gratification of their
lusts ; sapping the foundation of their health in de-
baucheries, or shipwrecking the interests of their fa mi-
dies in their bowls, and, what is worse, are forfeiting
the joys of an eternal heaven for the sordid satisfac-
tions of the heast, for the transitory sensations of an
hour. Ye slaves of appetite, how far am I from envy-
ing your gross sensualities and voluptuous revels !
.Little, ah ! little are you sensible, that while indul-
gence showers her roses, and luxury diffuses her
odours, they scatter poisons also, and shed unheeded
bane, evils, incomparably more malignant than the
wormwood and gall of the sharpest affliction. Since
death is in the drunkard's cup, and worse than poniards
in the harlot's embrace ; may it ever he the privilege
of the man whom I love, to go without his share of
these 'pestilent sweets.

Abundance of living sparks glitter in the lanes, and
twinkle under the hedges. I suppose, they are the
glow-worms, which have lighted their little lamps, and
obtained leave, through the absence of the sun, to play
a feeble beam. A faint glimmer just serves to render
them perceivable, without tending at all to dissipate the
shades or making any amends for the departed day.
Should some weather-beaten traveller, dropping with
wet, and shivering with cold, hover round this mimi-
cry of fire, in order to dry his garments, and warm his
benumbed limbs ; should some bewildered traveller,
groping for his way, in a starless night and trackless
desert, take one of these languid tapers, as a light to
his feet, and a lantern to his paths ; how certainly
would both the one and the other be frustrated of their
expectation ! And are they more likely to succeed,
who, neglecting that sovereign balm which distilled

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 189 1 '

from the cross, apply any carnal diversion to heal the
anxiety of the mind ? who, deaf to the infallible decis-
ions of revelation, resign themselves over to the erro-j
neous conjectures of reason, in order to find the way I
that leadeth unto life? or lastly, who have recourse to-i
the froth of this vain world, for a satisfactory portion,,
and a substantial happiness ? Their conduct is in no
degree wiser, their disappointment equally sure, and
their miscarriage infinitely more disastrous. To speak
in the delicate language of a sacred writer, "they sow
the wind, and will reap the whirlwind."

To speak more plainly ; the pleasures of the world r
which we are all so prone to doat upon ; and the pow- 1
ers of fallen reason, which some are so apt to idolize r l
are not only vain, but treacherous ; not only a painted I
flame, like these sparkling animals, but much like
those unctuous exhalations, which arise from the
marshy ground, and often dance before the eyes of trie-
benighted wayfaring man. Kindled into a sort of
fire, they personate a guide, and seem to offer their
service ; but, blazing with delusive light, mislead their
follower into hidden pits, headlong precipices, and un-
fathomable gulfs ; where, far, from his beloved friends r
far from all hopes of succor, the unhappy wanderer is-
swallowed up and lost.

Not long ago, we observed a very surprising ap-
pearance in the western sky ; a prodigious star took its;
flaming route through those coasts, and trailed, as it
passed, a tremendous length of fire, almost over half the
heavens. Some, I imagine, viewed the portentous
stranger with much the same anxious amazement as-
Belshazzar beheld the hand-writing upon the wall.
Some looked upon it as a bloody flag, hung out by di-
vine resentment over a guilty world. Some read in
its glaring visage, the fate of nations, and the fall of
kingdoms. To others, it shook, or seemed to shake,
pestilence and war from its horrid hair. For my part,,
I am not so superstitious as to regard what every astro-

1190 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

loger has to prognosticate upon the accession of a comet
or the projection of its huge vapoury train. Nothing
-can be more precarious and unjustifiable, than to draw
such conclusions from such events ; since they neither
are preternatural effects, nor do they throw the frame
of things into any disorder. I would rather adore that
Omnipotent Being, who rolled those stupendous orbs
from his creating hand, and leads them, by his provi-
dential eye, through unmeasurable tracts of aether;
-who bids them now approach the sun, and glow with
unsufferable ardours ; now retreat to the utmost bounds
of our planetary system, and make their entry among
other worlds.

They are harmless visitants. I acquit them from
the charge of causing, or being accessary to, desolat-
dng plagues. Would to God there were no other
-more formidable indications of approaching judgment
.or impending ruin ! But, alas ! when vice becomes
predominant, and irreligion almost epidemical ; when
-the sabbaths of a jealous God are notoriously pro-
faned ; and that " name, which is great, wonderful, and
lioly," is prostituted to the meanest, or abused to the
most execrable purposes ; when the worship of our
great Creator and Preserver is banished from many
of the most conspicuous families, and it is deemed a
piece of rude impertinence so much as to mention the
gracious Redeemer in our genteel interviews ; when it
passes for an elegant freedom of behavior to ridicule
the mysteries of Christianity, and a species of refined
conversation to taint the air with lascivious hints ;
when those who sit in the scorner' 's chair, sin with a
high hand ; and many of those, who wear the profes-
sor's garb, are destitute of the power, and content them-
selves with the mere form of godliness ; when such is
the state of a community, there is reason, too apparent
reason, to be horribly afraid. Such phenomena,
abounding in the moral world, are not fanciful but
,ieal omens. Will not an injured God " be avenged

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 191

on such a nation as this ? Will he not be provoked
to " sweep it with the bosom of destruction ?"

O ! that the inhabitants of Great Britain would lay
these alarming considerations to heart ! The Lord
of Hosts has commanded the sword of civil discord to*
return into its sheath. But have we returned, every-
one from his evil ways? Are we become a renewed
people, devoted to a dying Saviour, and zealous of
good works ? What mean those peals of sobs which-
burst from the expiring cattle? What mean those
melancholy, moans, where the lusty droves were wont
to low ? What mean those arrows of untimely death,,
discharged on our innocent and useful animals?

No wantonness or sloth has vitiated the blood of
these laborious, temperate creatures. They have con-
tracted no disease from unreasonable indulgences and
inordinate re veilings. The pure stream is their drink,,
the simple herb their repast. Neither care disturbs
their sleep, nor passion inflames their breast. Whence,,
then, are they visited with such terrible disorders, as
no prudence can prevent, nor any medicines heal?
Surely, these calamities are the weapons of divine dis-
pleasure, and manifest chastisements of an evil genera-
tion. Surely God, the " God to whom vengeance be-
longeth." has still a controversy with our sinful land.
And who can tell where the visitation will end?
What a storm may follow these prelusive drops ! O \
that we may " hear the rod, and who hath appointed
it !" Taught by these penal effects of our disobedience,,
may we remove the accursed thing from our tents, our
practices, our hearts ! May we turn from all ungod-
liness before wrath come upon us to the uttermost, be-
fore iniquity prove our ruin !

Sometimes, at this hour, another most remarkable
sight amuses the curious, and alarms the vulgar. A,
blaze of lambent meteors is kindled, or some very ex-
traordinary lights are refracted, in the quarters of the-
north. The streams of radiance, like legions rushing-

192 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

to the engagement, meet and mino-le ; insomuch that
the air seems to he all conflicting fire. Within a while
they start from one another, and, like legions in pre-
cipitate flight, sweep each a separate way through the
firmament. Now they are quiescent ; anon they are
thrown into a quivering motion ; presently the whole
horizon is illuminated with the glancing flames : some-
times, with an aspect awfully ludicrous, they represent
extravagant and antic vagaries : at other times you
would suspect that some invisible hand was playing
off the dumb artillery of the sides, and by a strange
expedient, giving us the flash without the roar.

The villagers gaze at the spectacle, first with wonder,
then with horror. A general panic seizes the country,
every heart throbs, and every face is pale. The
crowds that flock together, instead of diminishing, in-
crease the dread. They catch contagion from each
other's looks and words ; while fear is in every eye,
and every tongue speaks the language of terror. Some
see hideous shapes, armies mixing in fierce encounter,
or fields swimming with blood. Some foresee direful
events, states overthrown, or mighty monarchs tottering
on their thrones. Others, scared with still more fright-
ful apprehensions, think of nothing but the day of doom.
" Sure," says one, the " unalterable hour is struck, and
the end of all things come." " See," replies another,
" how the blasted stars look wan ! Are not these the
signs of the Son of Man, coming in the clouds of hea-
ven ?" " Jesus prepare us," cries a third, and lifts his
eyes in devotion } " for the archangel's trump, and the
great tribunal !"

If this waving brightness, which plays innocently
over our heads, be so amazing to multitudes, what in-
expressable consternation must overwhelm unthinking
mortals when the general conflagration commences !
The day, the dreadful day, is approaching " in the
which the heavens shall pass away wi f h a great noise,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 193

earth also, and all the works that are therein, shall
be burnt up." That mighty hand, which once opened
the windows from on high, and broke up the fountains
of the great deep, will then unlock all the magazines
of fire and pour a second deluge upon the earth. The
vengeful flames, kindled by the breath of the Almighty,
spread themselves from the centre to the circumfer-
ence. Nothing can withstand their impetuosity, no-
thing can escape their rage. Universal desolation at-
tends their progress. Magnificent palaces, and solemn
temples, are laid in ashes ; spacious cities, and impreg-
nable towers, are mingled in one smoking mass. Not
only the productions of human art, but the works of
Almighty power, are fuel for the devouring element.
The everlasting mountains melt, like the snows which
cover their summits. Even vast oceans serve only to
augment the inconceivable rapidity and fury of the,
blaze. O ! how shall I, or others, stand undismayed
amidst the glare of a burning world, unless the Lord
Jehovah be our defence? How shall we be upheld in
security, when the globe itself is sinking in the fiery
ruin, unless the Rock of Ages be our support ?

Behold ! a new spectacle of wonder ! The moon is
making her entry on the eastern sky. See her rising
in clouded majesty ; opening, as it were, and asserting
her original commission to rule over the night. All
grand and stately, but somewhat sullied is her
aspect. However, she brightens as she advances, and
grows clearer as she climbs higher, till at length her
silver loses all its dross ; she unveils her peerless light,
and becomes " the beauty of heaven," " the glory of the
stars :" delighting every eye, and cheering the whole
world with the brightness of her appearance and the
softness of her splendours. O ! thou queen of the
shades ! may it be my ambition to follow this thy in-
structive example ! While others are found to trans-
cribe the fashions of little courts, and to mimic person-
ages of inferior state j be it mine to imitate thy improv-

VOL. II. 17

194 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

ing purity! May my conduct become more unble-
mished, and rny temper more refined, as I proceed far-
ther and farther in my probationary course ! May
every sordid desire wear away, and every irregular
appetite be gradually lost, as I make nearer approaches
to the celestial mansions ! Will not this be a comfor-
table evidence, that I too shall shine in my adored Re-
deemer's kingdom ; shine with a richer lustre than that
which radiates from thy resplendent orb ; shine with
an unfading lustre, when every ray that beams from
thy beauteous sphere is totally extinguished ?

The day afforded us a variety of entertaining sights.
These were all withdrawn at the accession of darkness.
The stars, kindly officious, immediately lent us their
aid. This served to alleviate the frown of night, ra-
ther than to recover the objects from their obscurity.
A faint ray, scarcely reflected, and not from the entire
surface of things, gave the straining eye a very imper-
fect glimpse, such as rather mocked than satisfied vi-
sion. Now the moon is risen, and has collected all
her beams, the veil is taken off from the countenance
of nature. I see the recumbent flocks ; I seethe green
hedge rows, though without the feathered choristers
hopping from spray to spray. In short, I see once
again the world's great picture : not, indeed, in its late
lively colours, but more delicately shaded^ and arrayed
in softer charms.

What a majestic scene is here ! Incomparably grand
and exquisitely fine ! The moon, like an immense
crystal lamp, pendent in the magnificent ceiling of the
heavens ; the stars, like so many thousands of golden
tapers, fixed in their azure sockets all pouring their
lustre on spacious cities and lofty mountains, glittering"
on the ocean, beaming on the forest, and opening a
prospect, wide as the eye can glance, more various than
fancy can paint. We are forward to admire the per-
formances of human art. A landscape, elegantly de-
signed, and executed with a masterly hand ; a piece of

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 195

statuary which seems, amidst all the recommendations
of exact proportion and graceful attitude, to soften into
flesh, and almost breathe with life ; these little imita-
tions of nature we behold with a pleasing 1 surprise.
And shall we be less affected, less delighted with the
inexpressibly noble and completely finished original ?
The ample dimensions of Ranelatts dome, the gay il-
lumination of Vauxhall grove, I should scorn to men-
tion on such an occasion, were they not the objects of
general admiration. Shall we be charmed with those
puny essays of finite ingenuity, and touched with no
transport at this stupendous display of omnipotent
skill ? at the august grandeur and shining stateliness
of the firmament, which forms an alcove for ten thou-
sand worlds, and is ornamented with myriads of ever-
lasting luminaries ? Surely this must betray, not only
a total ivant of religion, but the most abject littleness of
mind and the utmost poverty of genius.

The moon is not barely an " ornament in the high
places of the Lord," but of signal service to the inhabi-
tants of the earth. How uncomfortable is deep, pitchy,
total darkness ! especially in the long absence of the
winter's sun. Welcome, therefore, thrice welcome,
this auspicious gift of Providence, to enlighten the
nocturnal gloom, and line with silver the raven-coloured
mantle of night! How desirable to have our summer
evenings illuminated ! that we may be able to tread the
dewy meads, and breathe the delicious fragrance of
our gardens ; especially when the sultry heats render
it irksome and fatiguing- to walk abroad by day !
How cheering to the shepherd the use of this universal
lantern, as he tends his fleecy charge, or late consigns
them to their hurdled cots ! How comfortable and
how advantageous to the mariner, as he ploughs the
midnight main, to adjust the tackling, to explore
his way, and, under the influence of this beaming
sconce, to avoid the fatal rock ! For these and other
beneficial purposes the hand of the Almighty has hung

196 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

the stately branch on high ; and filled it with a splen-
dour, not confined to a single edifice, or commensurate
to a particular square, but diffusive as the whole ex-
tent of the hemisphere.

The most faithful of our inferior servants are some-
times tardy in their office, sometimes negligent of their
duty ; but this celestial attendant is most exactly punc-
tual at all the stated periods of her ministration. If
we choose to prolong our journey after the sun is gone
down, the moon, during her whole increase is always
ready to act in the capacity of a guide. If we are in-
clined to set out very early in the morning, the moon,
in her decrease, prevents the dawn, on purpose to offer
her assistance ; and, because it is so pleasant a thing
for the eyes to behold the light, the moon, at her futt,
by a course of unintermitted waiting, gives us as it
were, a double day. How apparently has the Divine
Wisdom interested itself, in providing even for the
pleasurable accommodation of man ! how desirous that
he should want no piece of commodious furniture, no
kind of delightful convenience ; and, in prosecution of
these benevolent intentions, has annexed so valuable an
appendage to the terrestrial globe! Justly, therefore,
does the Psalmist celebrate that admirable constitution,
which ordained the moon and stars to govern the night
as an instance of rich goodness and of mercy which en-
durethfor ever.

The moon, it is confessed, is no luminous body. All
the brightness which beautifies her countenance is ori-
ginally in the sun, and no more than transmissively in
her. That glorious orb is the parent of day and the pa-
lace of light. From thence the morning-star gilds her
horn, fromthence the planetary circles are crowned with
lustre, and from thence the moon derives all her silver
radiance. It is pleasing to reflect, that such is the case
with the all-sufficient Redeemer, and his dependent peo-
ple. We are replenished from his fulness. What do
we possess which we have not received, and what can

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 197

we desire which we may not expect, from that never-
failing Source of ail good ; He is the author of our
faith, and the former of our graces. In his unspotted
life we see the path, in his meritorious death the price,
and in his triumphant resurrection the proof, of bliss
and immortality. If we offend, and fall seven times a
day, he is the Lord our Peace. If we are depraved,
and our best deeds very unworthy, he is the Lord our
Righteousness. If we are blind, and even brutish in
heavenly knowledge, he is the Lord our Wisdom; his
word dispels the shades, his Spirit scatters the intelle/:-
tual gloorn, his eye looks our darkness into day. In
short, we are nothing, and " Christ is all" Worse
than defective in ourselves, " we are complete in him."
So that if we shine, it is with delegated rays, and with
borrowed light. We act by a strength, and glory in
merits, not our own. O ! may we be thoroughly sen-
sible of our dependence on the Saviour ! May we con-
stantly imbibe his propitious beams, and never, by in-
dulging unbelief or backsliding into folly, withdraw
our souls from his benign influences ; lest we lose our
comfort and our holiness, as the fair ruler of the night
loses her splendour, when her urn is turned from its
fountain, and receives no more communications of so-
lar effulgence.

The moon is incessantly varying, either in her as-
pect or her stages. Sometimes she looks full upon us,
and her visage is all lustre ; somtimes she appears in
profile, and shows us only half her enlightened face ;
anon, a radiant crescent but just adorns her brow ; soon
it dwindles into a slender streak ; till at length all her
beauty vanishes, and she becomes a beamless orb.
Sometimes she rises with the descending day, and be-
gins her procession amidst admiring multitudes ; ere
long she defers her progress till the midnight watches,
and steals unobserved upon the sleeping world. Some-
times she just enters the edges of the western horizon,
and drops us a ceremonious visit ; within a while she

17*

198 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

sets out on her nightly tour, from the opposite regions
of the east, traverses the whole hemisphere, and never
offers to withdraw till the more refulgent partner of
her sway renders her presence unnecessary. In a
word, she is, while conversant among us, still waxing
or waning, and " never continueth in one stay."

Such is the moon ; and such are all sublunary things,
exposed to perpetual vicissitudes. How often and
how soon have the faint echoes of renown slept in sil-
ence, or been converted into the clamours of obloquy !
The same lips, almost with the same breath, cry Ho-
sanna, and Crucify. Have not riches confessed their
notorious treachery a thousand and a thousand times j
either melting away, like snow in our hands, by in-
sensible degrees, or escaping, like a winged prisoner
from its cage, with a precipitate flight ? Have we not
known the bride-groom's closet an antechamber to the
tomb ; and heard the voice, which so lately pronounced
the sparkling pair husband and wife, proclaim an
everlasting divorce, and seal, the decree with that
solemn asseveration," " Ashes to ashes, dust to dust ?"
Our friends, though the medicine of life: our health,
though the balm of nature ; are a most precarious pos-
session. How soon may the first become a corpse in
our arms, and how easily is the last destroyed in its
vigour ! You have seen, no doubt, a set of pretty
yainted birds perching on your trees, or sporting in
your meadows : you were pleased with the lovely vi-
sitants, that brought beauty on their wings, and me-
lody in their throats. But could you ensure the con-
tinuance of this agreeable entertainment? No, truly.
At the least disturbing noise, at the least terrifying ap-
pearance, they start from their seats, they mount the
skies, and are gone in an instant, are gone for ever.
Would you choose to have a happiness which bears
date with their arrival, and expires at their departure ?
If you could not be content with a portion, enjoyable
only through such a fortuitous term, not of years, but

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 199

of moments, O ! take up with nothing earthly, set
your affections on things above ; there, alone, " is no
variableness or shadow of turning."

Job is not a more illustrious pattern of patience, than
an eminent exemplification of this remark. View him
in his private estate : he heaps up silver as the dust, he
washes his steps in butter, and the rock pours him out
rivers of oil. View him in his public character:
princes revere his dignity, the aged listen to his wisdom,
every eye beholds him with delight, every tongue
loads him with blessings. View him in his domestic^
circumstances: on one hand he is defended by a troop
of sons, on the other adorned with a train of daughters,
and on all sides surrounded by " a very great house-
hold." Never was human felicity so consummate ;
never was disastrous revolution so sudden. The light-
ning which consumed his cattle was not more terrible,
and scarce more instantaneous. The joyful parent is
bereft of his offspring, and his " children are buried in
death ;" the man of affluence is stripped of his abun-
dance, and he who was clothed in scarlet, embraces the
dunghill. The venerable patriarch is in derision of
scoundrels ; and the late darling of an indulgent Pro-
vidence, is become a "brother to dragons, a companion
of owls." Nor need we go back to former ages for
proofs of this afflicting truth. In our times, in all times,
the wheel continues the same incessant whirl ; and fre-
quently, those who are triumphing to-day in the high-
est elevations of joy, to-morrow are bemoaning the in-
stability of mortal affairs in the very depths of misery.
Amidst so much fluctuation and uncertainty, how
wretched is the condition which has no anchor of the
soul, sure and steadfast. May thy loving kindness, O
God, be our present treasure, and thy future glory our
reversionary inheritance ! Then shall our happiness
not be like the full-orbed moon, which is " light that
decreaseth in its perfection," but like the sun when he
goeth forth in his strength, and knoweth no other

200 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

change but that of shining more and more unto the
perfect day.

Methinks, in this ever-varying sphere I see a repre-
sentation, not only of our temporal advantages, but also
of our spiritual accomplishments. Such, I am sure, is
what the kind partiality of a friend would call my
righteousness; and such I am apt to suspect, is the
righteousness of every man living. Now we exercise
it in some few instances, in some little degrees : anon sin
revives, and leads our souls into a transient, though

i / o

unwilling captivity. Now we are meek ; but soon a
ruffling accident intervenes, and turns our composure
into a fretful disquietude. Now we are humble ; soon
we reflect upon some inconsiderable or imaginary
superiority over others, and a sudden elatement swells
our minds. Now, perhaps, we possess a clean heart,
and are warm with holy love ; but O ! how. easily is
the purity of our affections sullied : how soon the
fervour of our gratitude cooled! And is there not
something amiss, even in our best moments; some-
thing to be ashamed of in all we are ; something to be
repented of in all we do ?

With what gladness, therefore, and adoring thank-
fulness, should we " submit to the righteousness of our
incarnate God ;" and receive* as a divine gift, what can-
not be acquired by human works ! A writer of the
first distinction and nicest discernment, styles the obe-
dience of our glorious Surety, and everlasting righ-
teousness ; such as was subject to no interruption, nor
obscured by the least blemish; but proceeded always in.
the same uniform tenor of the most spotless perfection.
This righteousness, in another sense, answers the pro-
phet's exalted description ; as its beneficial and sover-
eign efficacy knows no end ; but lasts through all our
life, lasts in the trying hour of death; lasts at the de-
cisive day of judgment, lasts through every generation,
and will last to all eternity.

Sometimes I have seen that resplendent globe stript

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 201

of Tier radiance ; or, according to the emphatical lan-
guage of the Scripture, "turned into blood." The
earth, interposing with its opaque body, intercepted the
solar rays, and cast its own gloomy shadow on the
moon. The malignant influence gained on her sick-
ening orb, extinguished more and more the feeble re-
mainders of light ; till at length, like one in a deep
swoon, no comeliness was left in her countenance ; she
was totally overspread with darkness. At this junc-
ture, what a multitude of eyes were gazing upon the
rueful spectacle! even of those eyes which disregard-
ed the empress of the night, or beheld her with indiffer-
ence, when robed in glory, and riding in her tri-
umphal chariot, she shed a softer day through the na-
tions. But now, under these circumstances of disgrace,
they watch her motions with the most prying attention.
In every place, her misfortune is the object of general
observation, and the prevailing topic of discourse in
every company.

Is it not thus, with regard to persons of eminence, in
their respective spheres ? Kings, at the head of their
subjects ; nobles, surrounded with their dependents j
and (after names of so much granduer, may I be
allowed to add ?) ministers labouring among their peo-
ple ; are each in a conspicuous station. Their con-
duct, in its minutest step, especially in any miscarriage^
will be narrowly surveyed, and critically scanned.
Can there be a louder call, to ponder the paths of their
feet, and to be particularly jealous over all their ways?
Those who move in inferior life, may grossly offend,
and little alarm be given, perhaps no notice taken ; but
it is ot to be expected, that the least slip in their car-
riage, the least flaw in their character, will pass undis-
covered. Malice, with her eagle eyes, will be sure to
discern them ; while censure, with her shrill trumpet,
will be as far from concealing them, as calumny with
her treacherous whispers, from extenuating them. A
planet may sink below the horizon ; or a star, for'

202 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

several months, withdraw its shining ; and scarce one
in ten thousand perceive the loss ; but if the moon suf-
fers a transient eclipse, almost half the world are
spectators of her dishonour.

Very different was the case, when at this late hour,
I have taken a solitary walk on the western cliffs. At
the foot of the steep mountain, the sea all clear and
smooth, spread itself into an immense plain, and held
a watery mirror to the skies. Infinite heights above,
the firmament stretched its azure expanse ; bespangled
with unnumbered stars, and adorned with the moon,
4 ' walking in brightness." She seemed to contemplate
herself with a peculiar pleasure, while the transparent
surface both received and returned her silver image.
Here, instead of being covered with sackcloth, she
shone with double lustre; or rather, with a lustre
multiplied in proportion to the number of beholders,
and their various situations.

Such, methinks, is the effect of an exemplary beha-
viour in persons of exalted rank. Their course, as it
is nobly distinguished, so it will be happily influential ;
others will catch the diffusive ray, and be- ambitious to
resemble a pattern so attracting, so commanding.
Their amiable qualities will not terminate in them-
selves, but we shall see them reflected from their fam-
iles, their acquaintance, their retainers ; just as we may
now behold another moon, trembling in the stream,
glittering in the canal, and displaying its lovely im-
press on every collection of waters.

The moon, philosophy says, is a sort of sovereign
over the great deep ; her orb, like a royal sceptre,
sways the ocean, and actuates the fluid realms; it
swells the tides, and perpetuates the reciprocal returns
of ebb and flow ; by which means, the liquid element
purges off its filth, and is preserved from being putre-
fied itself, and from poisoning the world. Is the moon
thus operative on the vast abyss: and shall not the
faith of eternal and infinite delights to come be equally

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 203

efficacious on this soul of mine ? Far above her ar-
gent fields are treasures of happiness, unseen by mortal
eye, by mortal ear unheard, and unconceived by any
human imagination. In that desirable world, the
most distinguished and exalted honours also are confer-
red ; in comparison with which the thrones and dia-
dems of earthly monarchs are empty pageants and
childish toys. Yonder arch of sapphire, with all its
spangles of gold, is but the floor of those divine abodes.
What, then, are the apartments'? what is the palace?
How bright with glories ! how rich with bliss !

O ! ye mansions of blessedness, ye beauties of my
Father's kingdom, which far outshine these lamps of
the visible heaven, transmit your sweet and winning-
invitations- to my heart. Attract and refine all my
affections ; withdraw them from stagnating on the
sordid shores of flesh ; never suffer them to settle upon
the impure lees of sense ; but impress them with emo-
tions of restless desires after sublime and celestial
joys ; joys, that will proceed, still proceed in a copious
and everlasting flow, when seas shall cease to roll;
joys, that will charm every faculty with unimaginable
pleasure, when the moon, with her waxing splendours,
shall cheer our sight no more.

Enough for the present evening. My thoughts
have been sufficiently exercised, and my steps begin
to be attended with weariness. Let me obey the ad-
monition of nature, and give respite to my meditations,
slumber to my eyes. But stay. Shall I retire to the
bed of sleep with as little ceremony, and with as much
inattention, as the brutes to their sordid lair? Are no
acknowledgments due to that Divine Being, who is the
support of my life, and the length of my days ? Have
I no farther need of his protecting care, no more occa-
sion for the blessings of his goodness? Lepidus, per-
haps, may laugh at the bended knee ; and have a thou-
sand darts of raillery ready to discharge on the practice
of devotion. The wits^ I know, are unmercifully se-

204 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

vere on what they call the drudgery of prayer, and the
fantastical rant of praise. These they leave to the
illiterate labourer and the mean mechanic; or treat
them with a contemptuous sneer, as the parson's igno-
ble trade.

Is it, then, an instance of superstitious blindness to
distinguish, or of whimsical zeal to celebrate, the most
supereminent excellency and merit ? Is it an ungrace-
ful business, or does it argue a grovelling disposition,
to magnify goodness transcendently rich and diffusive?
What can be so truly becoming a dependent state, as to
pay our adoring homage to the Author of all perfection,
and profess our devoted allegiance to the supreme Al-
mighty Governor of the universe ? Can any thing
more significantly bespeak an ingenious temper, or ad-
minister a more real satisfaction to its finest feelings,
than the exercises of penitential devotion ; by which
we give vent to an honest anguish, or melt into filial
sorrow for our insensibility to the best of friends, for
our disobedience to the best of parents? In a word,
can there be a more sublime pleasure, than to dwell, in
fixed contemptation, on the beauties of the Eternal
Mind ; the amiable original of all that is fair, grand,
and harmonious ; the beneficent giver of all that is
convenient, comfortable, and useful ? Can there be a
more advantageous employ, than to present our requests
to the Father of Mercies ; opening our minds to the
irraditations of his wisdom, and all the faculties of our
souls to the communications of his grace? It is
strange, unaccountably strange, that the notion of dig-
nity in sentiment, and the pursuit of refined enjoyment,
should ever be disunited from devotion ; that persons,
who make pretentions to an improved taste and exalted
genius, should neglect the most ennobling intercourse
with the wisest and best of beings, the inexhaustible
source of honour and joy.

Shall I be deterred from approaching this source of
the purest delight ? deterred from pursuing this high-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 205

est improvement of my nature ? deterred from all by a
formidable banter, or confuted by one irrefragable smile?
No ; let the moon, in her resplendent sphere, and yon-
der pole with all its starry train witness, if I be silent
even or morn ; if I refrain to kindle in my heart, and
breathe from my lips, the reasonable incense of praise ;
praise to the great and glorious God, who formed the
earth, and built the skies ; who poured from his hand
the watery world, and shed the all-surrounding air
abroad " Thou also madest the night, Maker Omni-
potent ! and Thou, the day! all which I, though less than
the least of all thy mercies, have passed in safety, tran-
quillity and comfort. When I was lost in the extra-
vagance of dreams, or lay immersed in the insensibility
of sleep ; thy hand recovered me from the temporary
lethargy ; thy hand set a new, a delicately fine edge,
on all my blunted senses, and strung my sinews with
recruited vigour. When my thoughts were benumbed
and stupified, thy quickening influence roused them
into activity ; when they were disconcerted and wild,
thy regulating influence reduced them into order ; re-
fitting me at once to relish the innocent entertainments
of an animal, and to enjoy the sublime gratifications
of a rational capacity. When darkness covered the
creation, at thy command the sun arose ; painted the
flowers, and distinguished evory object ; gave light to
my feet, and gave nature, with all her beautiful scenes,
to my eye. To Thee, O thou God of my strength, I
owe the continuance of my being, and the vivacity of
my constitution. By thy sacred order, without any
consciousness of mine, the wheels of life move, and the
crimson fountain plays. Overruled by thy exquisite
skill, it transforms itself, by the nicest operations of an
inexplicable kind of chymistry, into a variety of the
finest secretions, which glide into the muscles, and
swell them for action ; or pour themselves into the flu-
ids, and repair their incessant decays; which cause

VOL. II. 18

206 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

cheerfulness to sparkle in the eye, and health to bloom
in the cheek.

"Disastrous accidents, injurious to the peace of my mind,
or fatal to the welfare of my body, beset my paths ; but
thy faithfulness and truth, like an impenetrable shield,
guarded me all around. Under this divine protection,
I walked secure amidst legions of apparent perils ; and
passed unhurt through a far greater multiciplicity of
unseen evils. Not one of my bones was broken ; not
a single shaft grazed upon my case ; even when the
eye that watched over me, saw, in its wide survey,
thousands falling beside me in irrecoverable ruin, a r nd
ten thousands deeply wounded on my rigid hand. If sick-
ness has at any time saddened my chamber, or pain
harrowed my flesh, it was a luholesome discipline and a
gracious severity 5 the chastisement proved a sovereign
medicine to cure me of an immoderate fondness for this
imperfect troublesome state, and to quicken my desires
after the unimbittered enjoyments of my eternal home.
Has not thy munificence, unwearied and unbounded,
spread my table and furnishad it with the finest wheat,
replenished it with marrow and fatness ; while tem-
perance sweetened the bowl, appetite seasoned the dish,
contentment and gratitude crowned the repast ? Has
not thy kindness, O God of the families of Israel, pre-
served my affectionate relations, who study, by their
tender offices, to soften every care, and heighten every
joy? Has not thy kindness given me valuable friends,
whose presence is a cordial to cheer me in a dejected
hour, and whose conversation mingles improvement
with delight?

" When sin lay disguised amidst flowery scenes of
pleasure ; enlightened by thy wisdom I discerned the
latent mischief; made resolute by thy grace, I shunned
the luscious bane. If, through the impulse of sensu-
ality or the violence of passion, I have been hurried
into the snare, and stung by the serpent ; thy faithful
admonitions have recalled the foolish wanderer, while

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. 207

the blood of thy Son has healed his deadly wounds.
Some, no doubt, have been cut off in the midst of their
iniquities, and transmitted, from the thrillings of pol-
luted joy, to the agonies of eternal despair : whereas
I have been distinguished by long-suffering mercy ;
and, instead of lifting up my eyes in torments, to behold
a heaven irrecoverably lost, I may lift them up under
the pleasing views of being admitted, ere long, into
those abodes of endless felicity. In the mean time,
thou hast vouchsafed me the revelation of thy will, the
influences of thy Spirit, and abundance of the most
effectual aids for advancing in knowledge and growing
in godliness ; for becoming more conformable to thy
image, and more meet for thy presence ; for tasting
the pleasures of religion, and securing the riches of
eternity.

" How various is thy beneficence, O thou lover of
souls ! It has unsealed a thousand sources of good ;
opened a thousand avenues of delight; and heaped
blessings upon me with a ceaseless liberality. If I
should attempt to declare them, they would be more
than the starry host which glitter in this unclouded sky ;
more than the dewy gems which, will adorn the face of
the morning.

" And shall I forget the God of my salvation, the au-
thor of all my mercies ? Rather let my pulse forget to
beat ! Shall I render him no expressions of thankful-
ness ? Then might all nature reproach my ingratitude.
Shall I rest satisfied with the bare acknowledgement
of my lips ? No, let my life be vocal and speak his
praise, in that only genuine, that most emphatical lan-
guage the language of devout obedience. Let the
bill be drawn upon my very heart: let all my affec-
tions acknowledge the draught ; and let the whole tenor
of my actions, in time and through eternity, be conti-
nually paying the debt, the ever-pleasing, ever-grow-
ing-debt, of duty, veneration, and love.

" And can I, O thou Guide of my goings, and guar-

208 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT.

dian of all my interests, can I distrust such signal,
such experienced goodness? Thou hast been my helper
through all the busy scenes of day ; therefore under the
shadow of thy wings will I repose myself during the
darkness, the danger, and death-like inactivity of the
night. Whatever defilement I have contracted, wash
it thoroughly away in redeeming blood ; and let nei-
ther the sinful stain, nor the sinful inclination, accom-
pany me to my couch ! Then shall I lay me down in
peace, and take my rest ; cheerfully referring it to thy
all-wise determination, whether I shall open my eyes
in this world, or awake in the unknown regions of
another."

CONTEMPLATIONS

ON

THE STARRY HEAYENS.

There dwells a noble pathos in the skies,
Which warms our passions, proselytes our hearts,
How eloquently shines the glowing pole !
With what authority it gives its charge,
Remonstrating great truths in style sublime.

[NIGHT THOUGHTS, NO ix.

THIS evening I exchange the nice retreats of art for
the noble theatre of nature. Instead of measuring my
steps under the covert of an arbour, let me range along
the summit of this gentiy rising hill. There is no need
of the leafy shade, since the sun has quitted the hori-
zon, and withdrawn his scorching beams. But see
how advantages and inconveniences are usually linked,
and chequer our affairs below ! If the annoying heat
ceases, the landscape and its pleasing scenes are also
removed. The majestic castle and the lowly cottage
are vanished together. I have lost the aspiring moun-
tain and its russet brow : I look round, but to no pur-
pose, for the humble vale and its flowery lap. The
plains whitened with flocks, and the heath yellow with
furze, disappear. The advancing night has wrapped
in darkness the long-extended forest ; and drawn her
mantle over the windings of the silver stream. I no
longer behold that luxuriant fertility in the fields, that
wild magnificence of prospect, and endless variety of
images, which have so often touched me with delight,
and struck me with awe from this commanding emi-
nence.

210 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

The loss, however, is scarcely to be regretted, since
it is amply compensated by the opening beauties of the
sky. Here I enjoy a free view of the whole hemis-
phere without any obstacle from below, to confine the
exploring eye ; or any cloud from above, to overcast
the spacious concave. 'Tis true, the lively vermilion,
which so lately streaked the chambers of the west, is
all faded ; but the planets, one after another, light up
their lamps ; the stars advance in their glittering train ;
a thousand and a thousand luminaries shine forth in
successive splendours, and the whole firmament is kin-
dled in the most beautiful glow. The blueness of the
aether, heightened by the season of the year, and still
more enlivened by the absence of the moon, give those
gems of heaven the strongest lustre.

One pleasure more the invading gloom has not been
able to snatch from my sense : the night rather im-
proves .than destroys the fragrance which exhales from
the blooming beans ; with these the sides of this sloping
declivity are lined ; and with these the balmy zephyrs
perfume their wings. Does Arabia, from all her spicy
groves, breathe a more liberal or a more charming gale
of sweets-? And what is a peculiar recommendation
of the rural entertainments presented in our happy
land, they are alloyed by no apprehensions of danger.
No poisonous serpent lurks under the blossom ; nor
any ravenous beast lies ready to start from the thicket.
But I wander from a far more exalted subject. My
thoughts, like my affections, are too easily diverted
from the heavens, and detained by inferior objects.
Away, my attention, from these little blandishments
of the earth, since all the glories of the sky invite thy
regard.

We have taken a turn among the tombs, and viewed
the solemn memorials of the dead, in order to learn the
vanity of mortal things, and to break their soft enchant-
ment. We have surveyed the ornaments of the gar-
den; not that the heart might be planted in the parterre,

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 211

or take root among the flowery race : but that these de-
licacies of a day might teach us to aspire after a better
paradise, where beauty never fades, and delight is ever
in the bloom. A third time we lighted the candle of
meditation, and sought for wisdom, not in the crowded
city or wrangling schools, but in the silent and lonely
walks of ancient night. Let us once more indulge the
contemplative vein, and raise our speculations to those
sublimer works of the great Creator, which the regions
of the sky contain, and this dusky hour unveils.

If we have discerned the touches of his pencil,
glowing in the colours of spring; if we have seen a
sample of his beneficence, exhibited in the stores of
nature ; and a ray of his brightness, beaming in the
blaze of day ; what an infinitely richer field for the
display of his perfections are the heavens. The hea-
vens, in the most emphatical manner, declare the glory
of God. The heavens are nobly eloquent of the Deity,
and the most magnificent heralds of their Maker's

o

praise. They speak to the whole universe ; for there
is neither speech so barbarous, but their language is
understood ; nor nation so distant, but their voices are
heard among them. Let me, then, in this solemn sea-
son, formed for thought and a calm intercourse with
heaven ; let me listen to their silent lectures : perhaps
I may receive such impressive manifestations of "the
Eternal Power and Godhead," as may shed religion on
my soul, while I walk the solitary shades ; and may be
a tutelary friend to my virtue, when the call of business,
and the return of light expose me again to the inroads
of temptation.

The Israelites, instigated by frenzy rather than devo-
tion, worshipped the host of heaven ; and the preten-
ders to judicial astrology talk of, I know not what,
mysterious efficacy in the different aspect of the stars,
of the various conjunctions and opposition of the plan-
ets. Let those who are unacquainted with the sure
word of revelation, give ear to these sons of delu-

212 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

sion and dealers in deceit : for my part, it is a question
of indifference to me, whether the constellations shone
with smiles, or lowered in frowns, on the hour of my
nativity. Let Christ be my guard, and secure in such
a protection, I would laugh at their impotent menaces.
Let Christ he my guide, and I shall scorn to ask, as
well as despair of receiving any predictory information
from such senseless masses. What ! shall " the living
seek to the dead ?" Can these bodies advertise me of
future events, which are unconscious of their own ex-
istence ? Shall I have recourse to dull unintelligent
matter, when I may apply to that all wise Being, who
with one comprehensive glance, distinctly views what-
ever is lodged in the bosom of immensity, or forming
in the womb of futurity ? Never, never will I search
for any intimations of my fate, but often trace my
Creators footsteps in yonder starry plains. In the
former case, they would be teachers of lies ; in the
latter, they are oracles of truth. In this, therefore,
this sense only, I profess myself the pupil of the
stars.

The vulgar are apprehensive of nothing more than
a multitude of bright spangles, dropped over the sethe-
real blue. They have no higher notion of these fine
appearances, than that they are so many golden studs
with which the empyrean arch is decorated. But stu-
dious minds, that carry a more accurate and strict in-
quiry among the celestial bodies, bring back advices
of a most astonishing import Let me just recollect
the most material of those stupenduous discoveries,
in order to furnish out proper subjects for contem-
plation. And let the unlearned remember, that the
scene I am going to display, is the workmanship of
that incomprehensible God, who is " perfect in know-
ledge, and mighty in power;" whose name, whose
nature, and all whose operations, are " great and mar-
vellous :" who summons into being, with equal ease, a
single grain or ten thousand worlds. To this if we

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 213

continually advert, the assertions, though they will
certainly excite our admiration, need not transcend our
belief.

The earth is, in fact, a round body, however it may
seem in some parts to be sunk into vales, and raised
into hills ; in other parts, to be spread into a spa-
cious plain, extending to the confines of the heavens,
or terminated by the waters of the ocean. We may
fancy, that it has deep foundations, and rests upon
some prodigiously solid basis. But it is yendent in
the wide transpicuous aether, without any visible cause
to uphold it from above, or support it from beneath. It
may seeem to be sedentary in its attitude, and motionless
in its situation; but it is continually sailing through
the depths of the sky. and in the space of twelve
months finishes the mighty voyage: which periodi-
cal rotation produces the seasons, and completes the
year. As it proceeds in the annual circuit it spins
upon its own centre, and turns its sides alternately
to the fountain of light : by which means, the day
dawns in one hemisphere, while the night succeeds
in the other. Witho'ut this expedient, one part of
its regions would, during half the great revolution, be
scorched with excessive heat, or languish under an
imintermitted glare ; while the other, exposed to the
contrary extremes, would be frozen to ice, and buried
under along oppression of dismal and destructive dark-
ness.

I cannot forbear taking notice, that in this compound
motion of the earth, the one never interferes with the
other, but both are perfectly compatible. Is it not thus
with the precepts of religion, and the needful affairs
of the present life, not excepting even the innocent
gratifications of our appetites ? Some, I believe, are
apt to imagine, that they must renounce society if they
devote themselves to Christ; and abandon all the sat-
isfactions of this world, if they once become zealous
candidates for the felicity of another. But this is a

214 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

very mistaken notion, or else a very injurious repre-
sentation, of the doctrine which is according to godli-
ness. It was never intended to drive men into deserts,
but to lead them through the peaceful and pleasant
paths of wisdom into the blissful regions of life eter-
nal. It was never intended to strike off the wheels of
business, or cut in sunder the sinews of industry ; but
rather to make men industrious from a principle of
conscience, not from instigations of avarice; that so
they may promote their immortal happiness even while
they provide for their temporal maintenance. It has
no design to extirpate our passions, but only to restrain
their irregularities ; neither would it extinguish the
delights of sense, but prevent them from evaporating
into vanity, and subsiding into gall. A person maybe
cheerful among his friends, and yet joyful in God. He
may taste the sweets of his earthly estate, and at the
same time cherish his hopes of a nobler inheritance
in heaven. The trader may prosecute the demands
of commerce, without neglecting to negociate the af-
fairs of his salvation, The warrior may wear his sword,
may draw, in a just cause, that murderous weapon, yet
be a good soldier of Jesus Christ, and obtain the crown
that fadeth not away. The parent may lay up a com-
petant portion for his children, and not forfeit his title
to the treasures either of grace or of glory. So far is
Christianity from obstructing any valuable interest, or
withholding any real pleasure, that it improves the one
and advances the other : just as the diurnal and annual
motions are so far from clashing, that they entirely ac-
cord; and, instead of being destructive of each other,
by mutually blending their effects, they give proportion
and harmony to time, fertility and innumerable benefits
to nature.

To us who dwell on its surface, the earth is by far
the most extensive orb that our eyes can any where be-
hold. It is also clothed with' verdure, distinguished by
trees, and adorned with a variety of beautiful decora-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 215

tions. Whereas to a spectator placed on one of the
planets, it wears an uniform aspect, looks all lumin-
ous, and no larger than a spot ; to beings who dwell at
still greater distances, it entirely disappears. That
which we call, alternately, the morning and the even-
ing star ; as in one part of her orhit she rides fore-
most in the procession of night ; in the other, ushers
in and anticipates the dawn ; is a planetary world ;
which with the four others, that so wonderfully vary
their mystic dance, are in themselves dark bodies,
and shine only by reflection : have fields, and seas,
and skies of their own ; are furnished with all accom-
modations for animal subsistence, and are supposed to
be the abodes of intellectual life : all which, together
with this our earthly habitation, are dependent on that
grand dispenser of divine munificence, the sun; re-
ceive their light from the distribution of his rays, and
derive their comforts from his benign agency.

The sun, which seems to perform its daily stages
through the sky, is, in this respect, fixed and immovea-
ble. 'Tis the great axle of heaven, about which the
globe we inhabit, and other more spacious orbs, wheel
their stated courses. The sun, though seemingly smal-
ler than the dial it illuminates, is abundantly larger than
the whole earth ; on which so many lofty mountains
rise, and such vast oceans roll.

A line extending from side to side, through the cen-
tre of that resplendent orb, would measure more than
eight hundred thousand miles ; a girdle, formed to go
round its circumference, would require a length of
millions : were its solid contents to be estimated, the
account would overwhelm our understanding, and be
almost beyond the power of language to express.
Are we startled at these reports of philosophy?
Are we ready to cry out in a transport of surprise :
"How mighty is the Being who kindled such a
prodigious fire, and keeps alive, from age to age,
such an enormous mass of .flame!" Let us attend

216 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

our philosophic guides, and we shall be brought ac-
quainted with speculations more enlarged and more
amazing.

The sun, with all its attendant planets, is but a very
little part of the grand machine of the universe.
Every star, though in appearance no bigger than
the diamond that glitters upon a lady's ring, is really
a vast globe, like the sun in size and in glory : no
less spacious, no less luminous than the radiant source
of our day ; so that ever star is not barely a world, but
the centre of a magnificent system ; has a retinue of
worlds, irradiated by its beams, and revolving round
its attractive influence ; all which are lost, to our sight,
in unmeasurable wilds of aether. That the stars ap-
pear like so many diminutive and scarce distinguisha-
ble points, is owing to their immense and inconceiva-
ble distance. Immense and inconceivable indeed it
is ; since a ball shot from a loaded cannon, and fly-
ing with unabated rapidity, must travel at this impetu-
ous rate, almost seven hundred thousand years, be-
fore it could reach the nearest of those twinkling lu-
minaries.

Can any thing be more wonderful than these obser-
vations ? Yes ; there are truths far more stupend-
ous ; there are scenes far more extensive. As there
is no end of the Almighty Maker's greatness, so no im-
agination can set limits to his creating hand. Could you
soar beyond the moon, and pass through all the plane-
tary choir ; could you wing your way to the highest ap-
parent star, and take your stand on one of those lofti-
est pinnacles of heaven ; you would, there, see other skies
expanded ; another sun, distributing his inexhaustible
beams by day ; other stars, that gild the horrors of the
night ; and other, perhaps nobler systems established ;
established, in unknown profusion, through the bound-
less dimensions of space. Nor does the dominion
of the universal Sovereign terminate tfrere. Even
at the end of this vast toui ; you would find yourself ad-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 217

vanced no farther than the suburbs of creation ; ar-
rived only at the frontiers of the great Jehovah's king-
dom.

And do they tell me that the sun, the moon, and all
the planets, are but a little part of his works ? How
great, then, are his signs ! and how mighty are his won-
ders ! and if so, what is the Creator himself! how far
exalted above all praise ! who is so high, that he looks
down on the highest of these dazzfing spheres, and
sees even the summit of creation in a vale ; so great ,
that this prodigious extent of space is but a point in.
his presence ; and all this confluence of worlds as the
lightest atom that fluctuates in air, and sports in the.
meridian ray.

Thou most sublime and incomprehensibly glorious
God, how am I overwhelmed with awe ; how sunk
into the lowest prostration of mind ; when I consider
thy excellent greatness, and my own utter insignificancy!
And have I, excessively mean as I am, have I enter-
tained any conceited apprehensions of myself? Have I
felt the least elatement of thought in the presence of
so majestic and adorable a Being ? How should this
wound me with sorrow, and cover me with confusion!
O my God, was I possessed of all the high perfectio?is
which accomplish and adorn the angels of light ; amidst
all these noble endowments, I would fall down in the
deepest abasement at thy feet. Lost in the infinitely su-
perior blaze of thy uncreated glories, I would confess
myself to be nothing, to be less than nothing and va-
nity. How much more ought I to maintain the most
unfeigned humiliation before thy divine majesty, who
am not only dust and ashes, but a compound of igno-
rance, imperfection, and depravity !

While beholding this vast expanse, I learn my own
extreme meanness ; I would also discover the abject
littleness of all terrestrial things. What is the earth
with all her ostentatious scenes, compared with this
astonishingly grand furniture of the skies ? What, but

VOL. n. 19

218 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

a dim speck hardly perceivable in the map of the uni-
verse? It is observed by a very judicious writer, that
if the sun himself, which enlightens this part of the
creation was extinguished, and all the host of planetary
worlds which move about him were annihilated, they
would not be missed by an eye that can take in the
whole compass of nature, any more than a grain of
sand upon the sea shore. The bulk of which they
consist, and the space which they occupy, is so exceed-
ingly little in comparison of the whole, that their loss-
would scarce leave a blank in the immensity of God's
works. If, then, not our globe only, but this whole
system, be so very diminutive, what is a kingdom, or
a country? what are a few lordships, or the so much
admired patrimonies of those who are styled wealthy?
When I measure them wifh my own little pittance,
they swell into proud and bloated dimensions ; but
when I take the universe for my standard, how scanty
is their size, how contemptible their figure ! They
shrink into pompous nothings.

When the keen-eyed eagle soars above all the fea-
thered race, and leaves their very sight below ; when
she wings her*way with direct ascent, up the steep of
heaven, and, steadily gazing on the meridian sun, ac-
counts its beaming splendours all her own : does she
then regard, with any solicitude, the mote that is flying-
in the air, or the dust which she shook from her feet?
And shall this eternal mind, which is capable of con-
templating its Creator's glory ; which is intended to>
enjoy the visions of his countenance ; shall this eternal
mind, endued with such great capacities, and made
for such exalted ends, be so ignobly ambitious as to sigh
for the tinsels of state ; or so poorly covetous as to gasp
after ample territories on a needle's point? No ; under
the influence of such considerations I feel my senti-
ments expand, and my wishes acquire a turn of subli-
mity. My throbbing desires after worldly grandeur die-
away ; and I find myself, if not possessed of power,.

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 219

yet superior to its charms. Too long, must I own,
have my affections been pinioned by vanity, and im-
mured in this earthly clod. But these thoughts break
the shackles. These objects open the door of liberty.
My soul, fired by such noble prospects, weighs anchor
from this little nook and coasts no longer about its
contracted shores, doats no longer on its painted
shells. The immensity of things is her range, and an
infinity of things is her aim.

Behold this immense expanse, and admire the con-
descension of thy God. In this manner, an inspired
and princely astronomer improved his survey of the
nocturnal heavens. When I consider thy heavens, even
the works of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which
thou hast ordained, I am smitten with wonder at thy
glory, and cry out, in a transport of gratitude, Lord,
what is man that thou art mindful of him ; or the son
of man that thou visitest him ! " How amazing, how
charming is that divine benignity, which is pleased to
bow down its sacred regards to so foolish and worth-
less a creature ! yea, disdains not, from the height of
infinite exaltation, to extend its kind providential care
to our most minute concerns ! This is amazing ; but
that the everlasting Sovereign should give his Son, to
be made flesh, and become our Saviour ! Shall I call
it a miracle of condescending goodness? rather, what
are all miracles, what are all mysteries, to this ineffa-
ble gift?"

Had the brightest archangel been commissioned to
come down with the olive branch of peace in his hand,
signifying his Eternal Maker's readiness to be recon-
ciled ; on our bended knees with tears of joy, and a
torrent of thankfulness, we ought to have received the
transporting news ; but when, instead of such an an-
gelic envoy he sends his only-begotten Son, his son be-
yond all thought illustrious, to make us the gracious
overture ; sends him from the " habitation of his holi-
ness and glory," to put on the infirmities of mortality,

220 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STAPJR.Y HEAVENS.

and dwell in a tabernacle of clay ; sends him, not
barely to make us a transient visit, but to abide many
years in our inferior and miserable world ; sends him,
not to exercise dominion over rnonarchs, but to wear
out his life in the ignoble form of a servant ; and, at
last, to make his exit under the infamous character of
a malefactor! Was ever love like this? Did ever
grace stoop so low? Should the sun be shorn of all
his radiant honours, and degraded into a clod of the
valleys ; should all the dignitaries of heaven be depos-
ed from their thrones, and degenerate into insects of a
.day ; great, great would be the abasement ; but no-
thing to thine, most blessed Jesus ; nothing to thine,
thou Prince of Peace ; when, for us men and our sal-
vation, thou didst not abhor the coarse accommodations
of the manger ; thou didst not decline even the gloomy
horrors of the grave.

J Tis well the sacred oracles have given this doctrine
the most explicit confirmation, and evidence quite in-
eontestible; otherwise, a favour so undeserved, so un-
expected, and rich beyond all imagination, might stag--
ger our belief. Could He, who launches all these
planetary globes through the illimitable void, and
leads them on, from age to age in their extensive ca-
reer ; could he resign his hands to be confined by the
girding cord, and his back to be ploughed by the
bloody scourge? Could He, who crowns all the stars
with inextinguishable brightness, be himself defiled
with spitting, and disfigured with the thorny scar?
It is the greatest of wonders and yet the surest of
truths.

O ! ye mighty orbs, that roll along the spaces of the
sky; I wondered, a little while ago, at your vast di-
mensions, and ample circuits. But now my amaze-
ment ceases ; or rather is entirely swallowed tip by a
much more stupendous subject. Methinks, your enor-
mous bulk is shrivelled to an atom ; your prodigious
revolutions are contracted to a span; while I muse

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 221

upon the far more elevated heights and unfathomable
depths, the infinitely more extended lengths and unli-
mited breadths, of this love of God in Christ Jesus.

Contemplating this stately expanse, I see a mirror,
which represents, in the most awful colours, the hei-
nousness of human guilt. Ten thousand volumes,
wrote on purpose to display the aggravations of my
various acts of disobedience, would not so effectually
convince me of their inconceivable enormity, as the
consideration of that all-gracious Person^ who, to make
an atonement for them, spilt the last drop of his blood.
I have sinned, may every child of Adam say, and what
shall I do unto thee, O thou Observer of men? Shall I
give my first-born for my transgressions, the fruit of
my body for the sin of my soul ? Vain commutation !
and such as would be rejected by the blessed God with
the utmost abhorrence. Will all the potentates that
sway the sceptre in a thousand kingdoms, devote their
royal and honored lives to rescue an obnoxious crea-
ture from the stroke of vengeance ? Alas ! it must
cost more, incomparably more to expiate the malignity
of sin, and save a guilty wretch from hell. Will all
the principalities of heaven be content to assume my
nature, and resign themselves to death for my pardon?
Even this would be too mean a satisfaction for inexo-
rable justice ; too scanty a reparation of God's injured
'honour. So flagrant is human guilt, that nothing but
.a victim of infinite dignity could constitute an adequate
propitiation. He who said, " Let there be light, and
there was light;" Let there be a firmament, and im-
mediately the blue curtains floated in the sky ; he must
take flesh, he must feel the fierce torments of cruci-
fixion, and pour out his soul in agonies, if ever such
transgressors are pardoned.

How vast is that debt which all the wealth of both
the Indies cannot discharge ! How vitiated that habit
of body, which all the drugs produced by nature her-
self cannot rectify ! But how much more ruined was

19*

222 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

thy condition, O my soul ! how much more heinous
were thy crimes ! since nothing less than the suffer-
ings and death of Messiah, the Son of God, and radi-
ant image of his glory, could effect thy recovery, or
cancel thy iniquity. Though perhaps, thou art not
sunk so very deep in pollution as some of the most
abandoned profligates, yet remember the inestimable
ransom paid to redeem thee from everlasting destruc-
tion. Remember this, and " never open thy mouth
any more," either to murmur at the divine chastise-
ments, or to glory in thy own attainments. Remem-
ber this ; and even " loathe thyself for the multitude of
thy provocations," and thy great baseness.

Once more let me view this beautiful, this magnifi-
cent expanse, and conceive some juster apprehensions
of the unknown richness of my Saviour's atonement.
I am informed by a writer who cannot mistake, that
the High Priest of my profession, who was also the
sacrifice for my sins, is higher than the heavens ; more
exalted in dignity, more bright with glory, than all the
heavenly mansions, and all their illustrious inhabitants-.
If my heart was humbled at the consideration of its
excessive guilt, how do all my drooping powers revive
at this delightful thought? The poor criminal, that
seemed to be tottering on the very brink of the infernal
pit, is raised, by such a belief, even to the portals of pa-
radise. My self-abasement, I trust, will alv\ r ays conti-
nue ; but my fears, under the influence of such a con-
viction, are quite gone. I do not, I cannot, doubt the-
efficacy of this propitiation. While I see a glimpse of
its matchless excellency, and verily believe myself in-
terested in its merits, I know not what it is to feel any
misgiving suspicions ; but am steadfast in faith, and
joyful through hope.

Be my iniquities like debts of millions of talents-,
here is more than full payment for all that prodigious
sum. Let the enemy of mankind, and accuser of the
brethren, load me with invectives : this one plea a

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 22

divine Redeemer died most thoroughly quashes every
indictment. For, though there be much turpitude,,
and manifold transgressions, " there is no condemna-
tion to those that are in Christ Jesus." Nay, were I
chargeable with all the vilest deeds which have been,
committed in every age in the world by every nation,
of men ; even in this most deplorable case, I need not
sink into despair. Even such guilt, though grievous
beyond all expression, is not to be compared with that
abundance of grace and righteousness which dwells in
the incarnate Divinity. How great, how transcen-
dently glorious are the perfections of the adored Jeho-
vah ! so great, so superlatively precious is the expia-
tion of the dying Jesus. 'Tis impossible for the hu-
man mind to exalt this atonement too highly ; 'tis im-
possible for the humble penitent to confide in it too-
steadily. The Scriptures, the Scriptures of eternal
truth have said it, (exult my soul in the belief of it!)
that the blood on which we rely is God's own blood ;
and therefore all-sufficient to expiate, omnipotent to-
save.

David, that egregious sinner, but more exemplary
saint, seems to have been well acquainted with this-
comfortable truth. What else can be the import of
that very remarkable but most devout declaration,.
Thou shall purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean ;
thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
" I have been guilty, I must confess, of the most com-
plicated and shocking crimes ; crimes, inflamed by
every aggravating circumstance, with regard to myself^
my neighbour, and my God : myself, who have been
blessed above men, and the distinguished favourite of
Providence ; my neighbour, who in the most dear and
tender interests, has been irreparably injured ; my God,
who might justly expect the most grateful returns of
duty, instead of such enormous violations of his law.
Yet, all horrid and execrable as my offence is, it is no-
thing to the superabundant merit of that great Redee--

224 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

, who was promised from the foundation of the
world, in whom all my fathers trusted ; who is the hope
-of all the ends of the earth. Though my conscience
be more loathsome with adulterous impurity than the
dunghill; though treachery and murder have rendered
it even black as the gloom of hell ; yet washed in the
fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness,' I shall
be, I say not pxe only this were a disparagement to
the efficacy of my Saviour's death ; but I shall be fair
#s the lily, and white as the snow. Nay, let me not
derogate from the glorious object of my confidence ;
cleansed by this sovereign sanctifying stream, I shall
be fairer than the full-blown lily, whiter than the new-
fallen snows."

Power, saith the Scripture, belongeth unto God. And
in what majestic lines is this attribute of Jehovah writ-
ten throughout the whole volume of the creation ? es-
pecially through those magnificent pages unfolded in
yonder starry regions ; which are therefore styled, by
the sweet and seraphic singer of Israel, " the firma-
ment of his power ;" because the grand exploits si Om-
nipotence are there displayed with the utmost pomp,
and recorded in the most legible characters.

Who, that looks upward to the midnight sky, and,
with an eye of reason, beholds its rolling wonders ;
who can forbear inquiring, Of what were those mighty
orbs formed? Amazing to relate! they were produced
without materials ; they sprang from emptiness itself;
the stately fabric of universal nature emero-ed out of no-

"

thing I What instruments were used by the Supreme
Architect, to fashion the parts with such exquisite nice-
ness. and give so beautiful a polish to the whole ?
How was all connected into one finely-proportioned
and nobly-finished structure? A bare fiat accom-
plished all. " Let them be," said God. He added no
more ; and immediately the marvellous edifice arose,
.adorned with every beauty, displaying innumerable
perfections, and declaring, amidst enraptured seraphs,

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARHY HEAVENS. 225

its great Creator's praise, " By the word of the Lord
were the heavens made, and all the host of them by
the breath of his mouth." What forceful machinery
fixed some of those ponderous globes on an immovable
basis 1 What irresistible impulse bowled others through
the circuit of the heavens ? What coercive energy
confined their impetuous courses within limits astonish-
ingly large, yet most minutely true? Nothing but his-
sovereign will ! For all things were at first constituted,,
and all to this day abide, u according to his ordinance."

Without any toilsome assiduity, or laborious process,,
to raise, to touch, to speak such a multitude of immense-
bodies, into being ; to launch them through the spaces
of the sky, as an arrow from the hand of a giant ; to>
impress on such unwieldly masses a motion far outstrip-
ping the swiftness of the winged creation, and to continue
them in the same rapid whirl for thousands and thou-
sands of years. What an amazing instance of infinite-
might is this ! Can any thing be impossible to the
Lord, the Lord God, the Creator and Controller of all
the ends of the earth, all the regions of the universe f
Rather, is not all that we count difficult, perfect ease to
that glorious Being who only spake, and the world
was made; who only gave command, and the stupen-
dous axle was lodged fast, the lofty wheels moved
complete ? What a sure defence, O my soul, is this-
everlasting strength of thy God ! Be this thy continual
refuge in the article of danger ; this thy never-failing^
resource in every time of need.

What cannot this uncontrollable power of the great
Jehovah effect for his people ? Be their miseries ever
so galling, cannot this God relieve them ? Be their
wants ever so numerous, cannot this God supply them ?'
Be their corruptions within ever so inveterate/or their
temptations without ever so importunate, cannot this
mighty God subdue the former, and fortify them
against the latter ? Should trials, with an incessant
vehemence, sift thee as wheat ; should tribulation, with-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 226

aa weight of woes, almost grind theeto powder ; should
pleasure with her bewitching smiles, solicit thee to de-
licious ruin ; yet " hold thee fast by God," and lay thy
help upon him that is omnipotent. Thou canst not be
involved in such calamitous circumstances, or exposed
to such imminent peril ; But thy God, whom thou ser-
vest, is able to deliver thee from the one, and to sup-
port thee under the other. To support I to deliver !
Let me not dishonour the unlimited greatness of his
power. He is able to exalt thee, from the deepest distress,
to the most triumphant joy ; and to make even a compli-
cation of evils work together for thy everlasting good.
He is able^ not only to accomplish what I have been
speaking, but to do exceeding abundantly above all that
we can ask or think.

O ! the wretched condition of the wicked, who have
this Lord of all power for their enemy! O, the despe-
rate madness of the ungodly, who provoke the Al-
mighty to jealousy! Besotted creatures! are you able
4o contend with your Maker, and enter the lists against
incensed Omnipotence? Can you bear the fierceness
of his wrath, or sustain the vengeance of his lifted
arm? At his presence, though awfully serene, the
hills melt like wax, and "the mountains skip like
frighted lambs." At the least intimation of his displea-
sure, the foundations of nature rock, and the "pillars
of heaven tremble." How then can a withered leaf
endure, when "his lips are full of indignation and his
tongue as a devouring fire? Or can any thing screen
a guilty worm when the great and terrible God shall
whet his glittering sword, and his hand take hold on in-

ty *~J i

exorable judgment ? When that hand, which shoots
the planets, masses of excessive bulk, with such sur-
prising rapidity through the sky ; that hand, which
darts the comets to such unmeasurable distances, be-
yond the orbit of our remotest planet, beyond the pur-
suit of the strongest eye : when that hand is stretched

v

out to punish, can the munition of rocks, the inter ven-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 22T

tion of seas, or even interposing worlds, divert the
blow ? Consider this, Ambition, and bow thy haughty
crest. Consider this Disobedience, and bend thy iron
sinew. O ! consider this, all ye that forget or affront
the tremendous Jehovah. He can, by a single act of
his will, lay the universe in utter ruin; and can he
want power to bring you, in a moment, in the twink-
ling of an eye, to the dust of death, or to the flames-
of hell 1 He has, I say not, ten thousand lightnings
to scorch you to ashes ; ten thousand thunders to crush
you into atoms ; but, what is unspeakably more dread-
ful, he has an army of terrors, even in the look of his
angry countenance. His very frown is worse than
destruction.

I cannot dismiss this subject without admiring the-
'patience of the blessed God ; who though so strong:
and powerful, yet " is provoked every day." Surely r
as is his majesty, so is his mercy ; his pity altogether
commensurate to his power. If I vilify but the name-
of an earthly monarch, I lose my liberty, and am con-
fined to the dungeon. If I appear in arms, and draw
the sword against my national sovereign, my life is<
forfeited, and my very blood will scarce atone for the
crime. But thee I have dishonoured, O, thou King
immortal and invisible ! Against thee my breast has
fomented secret disaffection ; my behaviour has risen up
in open rebellion ; and yet I am spared, yet I am pre-
served. Instead of being banished from thy presence,.
I sit at thy table, and am fed from thy hand. Instead
of pursuing me with thunder-bolts of vengeance, thy
favours surround me on every side. That arm, that
injured arm, which might justly fall with irretrievable
ruin on a traitors' s head, is most graciously stretched
out to caress him with the tenderest endearments, to-
cherish him with every instance of parental kindness.
O! thou. mightiest, thou best of Beings, how am I
pained at my very soul for such shameful and odious
disingenuity ! Let me always abominate myself as the:

"228 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARR. Y HEAVENS.

'basest of creatures, but adoreihat unwearied long-suffer-
ing of thine, which refuses to be irradicated ; love that
unremitted goodness, which no acts of ingratitude
could stop, or so much as check, in its gracious cur-
rent. O ! let this stubborn heart, which duty could
not bind, which threatenings could not awe, be the cap-
tive, the luilling captive, of such triumphant benefience.

I have often been struck with wonder at that Al-
mighty skill, which weighed the mountains in scales,
and the hills in a balance ; which proportioned the wa-
ters in the hollow of its hand, and adjusted the dust of
the earth by a measure. But how much more mar-
vellous is that magnificent economy which poised the
stars with inexpressible nicety, and meted out the
heavens with a span ! where all is prodigiously vast,
immensely various, and yet more than mathematically
exact. Surely the loisdom of God manifests itself in
the skies, and shines in those lucid orbs ; shines on the
contemplative mind., with a lustre incomparably bright-
er than that which their united splendours transmit to
the eye.

Behold yonder countless multitude of globes ; consi-
der their amazing magnitude ; regard them as the so-
vereigns of so many systems, each accompanied with
his planetary equipage. Upon this supposition, what
a multiplicity of mighty spheres must be perpetually
running their rounds in the upper regions: yet none
mistake their way, or wander from the goal, though
they pass through trackless and unbounded fields.
None fly off from their orbits into extryagant excur-
sions ; none interfere with each other in their peren-
nial passage, or intercept the kindly communications of
another's influence ; but all their rotations proceed in
eternal harmony, keeping such time, and observing
.such laws, as are most exquisitely adapted to the per-
fection of the whole.

While I contemplate this " excellent wisdom which
made the heavens," and attunes all their motions, how

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 229

am 1 abashed at that mixture of arrogance and folly,
which has at any time inclined me to murmur at thy
dispensations, O Lord ! What is this, hut a sort of
implicit treason against thy supremacy, and a tacit de-
nial of thy infinite understanding? Hast thou so re-
gularly placed such a wonderful diversity of systems
through the spaces of the universe? Didst thou,
without any probationary essays, without any improv-
ing re-touches, speak them into the most consummate
perfection? Dost thou continually superintend all
their circumstances with a sagacity that never mistakes
the minutest tittle of propriety? And shall I be so un-
accountably stupid as to question the justness of thy dis-
cernment, in choosing my inheritance, and fixing the
bounds of my habitation? Not a single erratum in
modelling the structure, determining the distance, and

o / o /

conducting the career of unnumbered worlds ! and shall
my peevish humour presume to censure thy interposi-
tion with regard to the affairs of one inconsiderable
creature, whose stature, in such a comparative view, is
less than a span, and his present duration little more
than a moment ?

O ! thou God " in whose hand my breath is, and
whose are all my ways," let such sentiments as now
possess my thoughts be always lively on my heart !
These shall compose my mind into a cheerful acquies-
cence and a thankful submission, even when afflictions
gall the sense, or disappointments break my schemes.
Then shall I, like the grateful patriarch, in all the
changes of my condition, and even in the depths of
distress, erect an altar of adoring resignation and in-
scribe it with the apostle's motto, " To God only wise."
Then, shouldst thou give me leave to be the carver of
my own fortunes, I would humbly desire to relinquish
the grant, and recommit the disposal of myself to thy
unerring beneficence ; fully persuaded that thy coun-
sels, though contrary to my froward inclinations, or
even afflictive to my flesh, are incomparably more eli-
VOL. ii. 20

230 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

gible than the blind impulse of my own will, however
soothing to animal nature.

On a careless inspection, you perceive no accuracy
or uniformity in the position of the heavenly bodies.
They appear like an illustrious chaos, a promiscuous
heap of shining globes ; neither ranked in order, nor
moving by line. But what seems confusion is all re-
gularity; what carries a show of negligence, is really
the result of the most masterly contrivance. You
think, perhaps, they rove in their aerial flight ; but they
rove by the nicest rule and without the least error.
Their circuits, though seemingly devious ; their mazes r
though intricate to our apprehensions ; are marked out ?
not indeed with golden compasses, but by the infinitely
more exact determinations of the all-wise Spirit.

So, what wears the appearance of calamity in the?
allotments appointed for the godly, has really the nature-
of a blessing. It issues from a fatherly love, and will
terminate in the richest good. If Joseph is snatched
from the embraces of an indulgent parent, and aban-
doned to slavery in a foreign land ; it is in order to-
save the holy family from perishing by famine, and to>
preserve " the seed in whom all the nations of the earth
should be blessed." If he falls into the deepest dis-
grace it is on purpose that he may rise to the highest
honours. Even the confinement of the prison, by the-
unsearchable workings of Providence, opens his way
to the right hand of the throne itself. Let the most af-
flicted servant of Jesus wait the final upshot of things.
He will then discover the apparent expediency of all
those tribulations, which, now, perhaps, he can hardly
admit without reluctance, or suffer without some strug-
gles of dissatisfaction. Then the gushing tear and the-
heaving sigh will be turned into tides of gratitude and
hymns of holy wonder.

In the mean time, let no audacious railer presumptu-
ously impeach the divine procedure; but, adoring-
where we cannot comprehend, let us expect the evolu-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON^ THE STAE.E.Y HEAVENS. 23 1

tion, of the mysterious plan. Then shall every eye
perceive that the seeming labyrinths of Providence
were the most direct and compendious way to effect
his general purposes of grace, and to bring about each
one's particular happiness. Then, also, shall it be
clearly shown, in the presence of applauding worlds,
why- virtue pined in want, while vice rioted in afflu-
ence; why amiable innocence so often dragged the
dungeon chain, while horrid guilt trailed the robe of
state. That day of universal audit, that day of ever-
lasting retribution, will not only vindicate but magnify
the whole management of Heaven. The august ses-
sions shall close with this unanimous, this glorious ac-
knowledgment ; " Though clouds and darkness, im-
penetrable by any human scrutiny, were sometimes
round about the Supreme conductor of things ; yet
righteousness and judgment were the constant habita-
tion of his seat, the invariable standard of all his admi-
nistrations." Thus (if I may illustrate the grandest
truths by inferior occurrences) while we view the arras
on the side of least distinction, it is void of any elegant
fancy, without any nice strokes of art, nothing but a
confused jumble of incoherent threads. No sooner is
the piece beheld in its proper aspect, but the suspected
rudeness vanishes, and the most curious arrangement
takes place. We are charmed with designs of the finest
taste, and figures of the most graceful form : all is
shaped with symmetry, all is clad in beauty.

The goodness of God is most eminently displayed in
the skies. Could we take an understanding survey of
whatever is formed by the Divine Architect, throuo-h-
out the whole extent of material things, our minds
would be transported with their excellencies, and our
tongues echo back that great encomium, They are
" good, very good :" most beautiful in themselves ; con-
trived by unerring wisdom, and executed with inimi-
table skill : most useful in their functions ; exactly fit-
ting the places they fill, and completely answering the

232 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

purposes for which they were intended ! All the parts
of the inanimate creation proclaim, both by their intrin-
sic and relative excellencies, the all-diffusive benefi-
cence of their Maker.

How much more wonderful are the displays of di-
vine indulgence in the worlds of life ! because dead
matter is incapable of delight, therefore the gracious
Creator has raised innumerable ranks of perceptive ex-
istence ; such as are qualified to taste his bounty, and
enjoy each a happiness suited to its peculiar state.
With this view, he furnished the regions of inferior
nature with an order and a series of sensitive beings.
The waters teem with shoals of finny inhabitants ; the
dry land swarms with animals of every order : the
dwellings of the firmament are occupied by multitudes
of winged people : not so much as a green leaf, philo-
sophers say, but lodges and accommodates its puny
animalcule tenants. And wherefore this diversity, this
profusion of living creatures, flying the air, treading
the ground, and gliding through the paths of the sea ?
For this most glorious reason, that the eternal Sove-
reign may exercise his superabundant goodness ; that
his table may be furnished with millions and millions
of guests; that he may fill every hour every moment,
their mouths with food, or their hearts with gladness.

But what a small theatre are three or four elements
for the operations of Jehovah's bounty! His magni-
ficent liberality scorns such scanty limits. If you ask
wherefore has he created all -worlds, and replenished
them with an unknown multiciplicity of beings, rising-
one above another in an endless gradation of still richer
endowments and still nobler capacities? The answer
is, for the manifestation of his own glory, and espe-
cially for the communication of his inexhaustible bene-
ficence. The Great Creator could propose no advan-
tage to himself; his bliss is incapable of any addition.
" Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever the
earth and the world were made," he was supremely

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 233

happy in his own independent and all-sufficient self.
His grand design, therefore, in erecting so many stately
fabrics, and peopling them with so many tribes of in-
habitants, was to transfuse his exuberant kindness, and
impart felicity in all its forms. Ten thousand worlds,
stocked with ten thousand times ten thousand ranks of
sensitive and intelligent existence, are so many spacious
gardens, which, with rivers of communicated joy, this
ever-flowing fountain waters continually.

Boundless, and (which raises our idea of this divine
principle to the very highest degree of perfection) dis-
interested munificence! How inexpressibly amiable
is the blessed God, considered in this charming light !
Is it possible to conceive any excellence so adorable and
lovely, as infinite benevolence, guided by unerring
wisdom, and exerting almighty power, on purpose to
make a whole universe happy ! O my soul, what an
irresistible attractive is here ! What a most worthy
object for thy most fervent affection ! Shall now every
glittering toy become a rival to this transcendently be-
neficent Being, and rob him of thy heart ? No. Let
his all-creating arm teach thee to trust in the fulness of
his sufficiency ; let his all-superintending eye incline
thee to acquiesce in the dispensations of his providence ;
and let his bounty, so freely vouchsafed, so amply dif-
fused, induce thee to love him with all the ardour of a
grateful and admiring soul ; induce thee to serve him,
not with a joyless awe, or slavish dread, but with un-
feigned alacrity, and a delightful complacency.

If the goodness of God is so admirably seen in the
works of nature and the favours of Providence ; with
what a noble superiority does it even triumph in the
mystery of redemption ! Redemption is the brightest
mirror in which to contemplate this most lovely" attri-
bute of the Deity. Other gifts are only as mites from
the divine treasury ; but redemption opens, I had al-
most said, exhausts all the stores of indulgence and
grace. Herein, " God comme7ideth his love :" not only

20*

234 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

manifests, but sets it off, as it were, with every bright
and grand embellishment ; manifests it in so stupen-
dous a manner, that it is beyond parallel, beyond
thought " above all blessing and praise." Was he not
thy Son, everlasting God, thy only Son ; the Son of thy
bosom from eternal ages ; the highest object of thy
complacential delight? was not thy love to this adorable
Son incomparably greater than the tenderest affection
of any, or the united affections of all, mortal parents 1
was not the blessed Jesus more illustrious in excellency
than all angels ; more exalted in dignity than all hea-
vens? yet didst thou resign him for poor mortals; for
vile sinners ! Couldst thou see him descend from his
royal throne, and take up his abode in the sordid stable ?
See him forego the homage of the seraphim, and stand
exposed to the reproachful indignities of an insolent
rabble ? See him arraigned at the bar, and sentenced
to death ; numbered with malefactors, and nailed to the
gibbet ; bathed in his own innocent blood, and pouring
out his soul in agonies of sorrow? Could the Father,
the Father himself, with unknown philanthropy, say,
" It shall, it shall be so ! My pity to rebellious man
pleads, and prevails. Awake, therefore, O sioordj
edged with divine wrath. Awake, and be sheathed in
that immaculate breast ; pierce that dearly beloved heart.
I am content that my Son endure the sharpness of
death, rather than sinful mortals perish for ever." In-
comprehensible love ! May it henceforward be the fa-
vourite subject of my meditation ; more delightful to
my musing mind than applause to the ambitious ear !
may it be the darling theme of my discourse ; sweeter
to my tongue than the droppings of the honeycomb
to my taste ! May it be my choicest comfort through
all the changes of life ; and my reviving cordial, even
in the last extremities of dissolution itself!

A prophet, contemplating with a distant survey this
unexampled instance of Almighty love, is rapt into
a transport of devotion. At a loss for proper acknow-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 235

ledgments, he calls upon the whole universe to aid his
labouring breast, and supply his lack of praise. Sing
melodiously, ! ye vaulted heavens ; exult, and even leap
for gladness, thou cumbrous earth ; ye mountains, break
your |ong silence, and burst into peals of loudest accla-
mation ; for the Lord by this precious gift, and this
great salvation hath comforted his people. A sacred his-
torian hath left it upon record, that, at the first exhibi-
tion of this ravishing scene, there was with the angel,
who brought the blessed tidings, a multitude of the
heavenly host, praising God and making the concave
of the skies resound with their hallelujahs. At the
dawn of the Sun of Righteousness, when he was be-
ginning to rise with healing in his wings, the morning
stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted
for joy. And shall man, whom this gracious dispen-
sation principally respects ; shall man, who is the cen-
tre of all these gladdening rays ; shall he have no
heart to adore, no anthem to celebrate, this

Love without end, and without measure grace 1 MILTON.

How pure is the state of the sky. and how clear its
aspect ! clearer than the limpid stream ; purer than
the transparent crystal ; and more curiously fine
than the polished mirror. That stately ceiling, fretted
with gold, and stretched to an extent of many millions
of leagues, is not disfigured with a single flaw. That
azure canopy, embroidered with stars, and spacious-
enough to form a covering for unnumbered worlds,
is without the least spot or wrinkle. Yet this, even
this, will scarce yield us so much as a faint representa-
tion of the divine purity. God is a God of matchless-
and transcendent excellency; his ways are upright-
ness itself; his counsels and words are the very sancti-
ty of wisdom and of truth. The laws which he has
given to universal nature, are exquisitely contrived,
and beyond all possibility of improvement. The pre-
cepts which he has appointed for the human race, are

236 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

a complete summary of ail that is honourable in itself,
and perfective of the rational mind. Not the least
oversight, in planning a series of events for all futu-
rity ; not the least maladministration in managing the
affairs of every age since time began, and of every na-
tion under the whole heavens. Pardon these dispara-
ging expressions. A negative perfection is far, far be-
neath thy dignit}', O thou Most Highest. In all these
instances, in all thy acts, and all thy attributes, thou
art not only holy, but glorious in holiness.

So inconceivably holy is the Lord God of Hosts,
that he sees defilement even in the brightness of the fir-
mament ; the living sapphire of the heavens, before his
majesty, Joses its lustre ; yea, the stars (though the
most pure and resplendent part of the heavens) are not
pure in his sight. How much less man, who, in his fal-
len and depraved state, is but as a ivorm that crawls in
the corrupted carcass; and the son of man, who, by rea-
son of his manifold actual impurities, is too justly com-
pared to an insect, that wallows amidst stench and pu-
trefaction? Is there not then abundant cause for the
most irreproachable and eminent of mankind to re-
nounce all arrogant pretensions, to lay aside every as-
suming a.ir, to take nothing but shame and confusion to
themselves ? a holy prophet, and a holy prince, felt
such humbling impressions, from a glimpse of the un-
created purity. / abhor myself i7i dust and ashes, was
the declaration of the one: I am a man of unclean
lips, the confession of the other. Should not this teach
us all to adore the divine mercies, for that precious puri-
fying fountain, which was foretold from the foundation
of the world, but was open at that awful juncture,
when knotty whips tore the flesh, when ragged thorns
mangled the temples, when sharpened nails cut fresh
sluices for the crimson current, when the gash of the
spear completed the dreadful work, and forthwith flow-
ed there, from the wounded heart, blood and water !

Especially, since God himself saw no blemish in

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 237

his dear Son. He looketh to the moon, and it shinetk-
not; yet his all penetrating- and jealous eye discerned
nothing amiss, nothing defective in our glorious Re-
deemer. Nothing amiss? He bore this most illustri-
ous testimony concerning his holy child Jesus: "In
him lam pleased ; I am well pleased ; I acquiesce, with
entire complacencjr, and with the highest delight, in
his person, his undertaking, and the whole execution
of his office. How should this thought enliven our
hopes, while the other mortifies our pride ! Should
not our hearts spring within us, and even leap for joy,
at the repeated assurance given us by revelation, that
such a divinely excellent person is our Mediator?
What apparent reason has every believer to adopt
the blessed Virgin's exclamation ! " My soul doth mag-
nify the Lord for his transcendent mercy ; and my spi-
rit rejoices, not in wide extended harvests, waving over
my fertile globe, not in armies vanquished, and leav-
ing the peculiar treasure of nations for my spoil, but
in an infinitely richer, nobler blessing, even in God
my Saviour ; that a person so sublime and perfect has
vouchsafed to become my surety ; to give himself for
my ransom, in the world below, and act as my advo-
cate in the royal presence above ; yea, to make my re-
covery the reward of his sufferings ; my final felicity
the honour of his mediatorial kingdom !

When an innumerable multitude of bodies, many of
them more than a hundred thousand miles in diameter,
are all set in motion ; when the orbits, in which they
perform their periodical revolutions, are extended at
the rate of several hundreds of millions ; when each
has a distinct and separate sphere for finishing his vast
circuit ; when no one knows what it is to be cramped,
but each most freely expatiates in his own unbounded
career ; when every one is placed at such an immense
remove from each other, that they appear to their re-
spective inhabitants only as so many spots of light ;
how astonishing must be the expanse, which yields

238 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARE.Y HEAVENS.

room for all those mighty globes, and their widely dif-
fused operations ! To what prodigious lengths did the
Almighty Builder stretch his line, when he marked
out the stupendous platform! I wonder at such an
immeasurable extent ; my very thoughts are lost in this
abyss of space ; but be it known to mortals, be it never
forgot by sinners, that in all its most surprising ampli-
tude, it is small, it is scanty compared with the bounty
and the mercy of its Maker.

His bounty is absolutely without limits, and without
end. The most lavish generosity cannot exhaust or
even diminish his munificence. O ! all ye tribes of
men ; or rather, all ye classes of intelligent creatures ;
ye are not straitened in the liberality of your ever-
blessed Creator ; be not straitened in your own expect-
ations. " Open your mouth wide, and he shall fill it,"
with copious and continual draughts from the cup of
joy. Your God, on whom is your whole dependence,
is more than able, is more than willing, to " supply &11
your need according to his riches in glory." 1 When
the Lord Jehovah is the giver, and his grace the gift j
let your wishes be unbounded, and your cravings in-
satiable. All that created beings can possibly covet, is
but a very small pittance of that unknown happiness,
which the everlasting Benefactor is ready to bestoio.
Suppose every charitable disposition which warms the
hearts of the human race, added to those more enlarg-
ed affections which glow in heavenly bosoms : what
were they all, even in their highest exercise, compared
with the benignity of the divine nature ? Bless me,
then, thou eternal source of love ; bless all that rever-
ence thy holy name, according to thy own most pro-
fuse goodness ; whose great prerogative it is, to disdain
all measure. O bless us in proportion to that grace,
the richness of which (unutterable by the tongues of
men and of angels,) was once spoken in the groans,
and written in the wounds, of thy expiring Son !

Spacious indeed are these heavens ! Where do they

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 239

"begin ? Where do they end ? What is their extent ?
Can angels answer my question ? Have angels tra-
velled the vast circuit? Can angels measure the
bounds of space ? No ; 'tis boundless, 'tis unknown,
'tis amazing all. How charming, then, to reflect, that
the mercy of God is " greater than the heavens ;" is
more extensive than the dimensions of the sky.
Transporting reflection ! Let me indulge thee once
more. Let me think over the delightful displays of
this lovely attribute ; and, while I admire the trophies
of forgiving goodness, add one to the number. With
what amiable affecting colours is this represented in
the parable of the prodigal ! What could induce that
foolish youth to forsake his father's house? Had he
not been tenderly cherished by the good parent, and
loaded with benefits from his indulgent hand ? Were
not the restraints of parental government an easy yoke ;
or rather, a preservative from ruin ? Notwithstanding"
every endearing obligation, he revolts from his duty,
and launches into such scandalous irregularities, as
were dishonourable to his family, and destructive to
himself. When necessity, not choice, but sharp ne-
cessity, drove him to a submissive return ; does the in-
jured father stand aloof, or shut his doors? Gluite the
reverse. He espies him while he is yet a great way
off, and the momest he beholds the profligate youth, he
has compassion on him ; his bowels yearn ; " they sound
like an harp," touched with notes divinely soft. He
never once thinks of his ungracious departure and in-
famous debaucheries. Pity, parental pity, passes an
act of oblivion; and, in one instant, cancels a series of
long-continued provocations. So strong are the work-
ings of fatherly affection, that he is almost impatient to-
embrace the naked and destitute wretch. The son's
pace is slow, he arose and came ; the father's is swift,
he sprang forth (aged as he was) and ran. And is
there a single frown upon his brow, or one upbraiding-
word on his tongue? Instead of loathing the sordid

240 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

creature or reproaching him for his odious excesses,
he falls on his neck, clasps him in his arms, and
hugs him. to his bosom. Instead of disowning the
riotous spendthrift, or rejecting him for his undutiful
behaviour, he receives and welcomes him with kisses
of delight ; he rejoices at his return from extravagance
and vice, as he formerly rejoiced on the day of his na-
tivity. When this companion of harlots opens his
mouth, before he speaks the father hears. He inter-
rupts him in the midst of his intended speech ; the
overflowings of his compassionate heart can brook no
delay ; he seems to be uneasy himself till he has made
the aiHicted penitent glad with the assurance of his
acceptance, and the choicest of his favours ; while
the poor abashed offender seeks nothing more than
not to be abhorred, he is thoroughly reconciled, and
honoured before the whole family ; while he requests
no other indulgence than only to be treated as the
meanest servant, he is clothed with the best robe, he
is feasted with the fatted calf, he is caressed as the
dearest of children. Was there ever so bright and
winning a picture of the tenderest mercy, most freely
vouchsafed, even to the most unworthy of creatures ?
Yet thus, my soul ; and thus, my fellow sinners, will
the Lord God of everlasting compassions receive us ;
if, sensible of our misery, and thirsting for salvation,
we turn to him through Jesus Christ.

Where sin has abounded, says the proclamation from
the court of heaven, grace doth much more abound.
Manasseh was a monster of barbarity, for he caused
his own children to pass through the fire, and filled
Jerusalem with innocent blood. Manasseh was an
adept in iniquity ; for he not only multiplied, and to
an extravagant degree, his own sacriligious impieties,
but he poisoned the principles, and perverted the man-
ners of his subjects, making them to do worse than the
most detestable of heathen idolaters. Yet, through
this superabundant grace, he is humbled^ he is xe-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 241

formed, and becomes a child of forgiving love, and heir
of immortal glory. Behold that bitter and bloody per-
secutor Saul; when breathing out threatening, and
bent upon slaughter he worried the lambs, and put to
death the disciples of Jesus. Who upon the princi-
ples of human judgment, would not have pronounced
him a vessel of wrath, destined to unavoidable damna-
tion ; nay, would not have been ready to conclude,
that, if there were heavier chains and a deeper dun-
geon in the world of wo, they must surely be reserved
from such an inplacable enemy of true godliness ?
Yet admire and adore the inexhaustible treasures of
grace ! this Saul is admitted into the goodly fellowship
of the prophets, is numbered with the noble army of mar-
tyrs, and makes a distinguished figure among the glo-
rious company of the apostles. The Corinthians were
flagitious even to a proverb. Some of them wallowed
in such abominable vices, and habituated themselves
to such outrageous acts of injustice, as were a re-
proach to human nature. Yet even these sons of vio-
lence, and slaves of sensuality, " were washed, were
sanctified, were justified :" washed, in the precious blood
of a dying Redeemer ; sanctified, by the powerful ope-
rations of his blessed Spirit ; justified, through the infi-
nitely tender mercies of a gracious God. Those who
were once the burden of the earth, are now the joy of
heaven, and the delight of angels.

There is another instance in Scripture, which most
loudly publishes that sweetest of the divine names,
the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suf-
fering, and abundant in goodness and truth ; keeping
mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression
and sin : an instance this, which exceeds all the for-
mer ; which exceeds whatever can be imagined ;
which, if I was to forget, the very stones might cry
out, and sound it in my ears. I mean the case of
those sinners who murdered the Prince of Peace, and
Lord of Glory. These men could scarce have the

VOL. n. 21

242 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

shadow of an excuse for their crime ; hardly a cir-
cumstance to extenuate their guilt. They were well
acquainted with his exemplary conversation ; they had
often heard his heavenly doctrines ; they were almost
daily spectators of his unequalled miracles. They
therefore had all possible reason to honour him as the
most illustrious of Beings ; and to receive his Gospel,
as the most inestimable of blessings. Yet, notwith-
standing all these engaging motives to love him, even
above their own lives ; they seize his person, asperse
his ^character, drag him before a heathen tribunal,
and extort a sentence of death against innocence and
holiness itself. Never was the vilest slave so contume-
liously abused, nor the most execrable malefactor, so bar-
barously executed. The sun was confounded at the
shocking scene ; and one cannot but wonder, how the
avenging lightenings should withhold their flashes.
The earth trembled at the horrid deed ; and why, why
did it not cleave asunder, and open a passage for such
blood-thirsty miscreants into the nethermost hell?
Shall these ever hope to obtain forgiveness from the
righteous judge? Shall not these be consigned over
to inexorable wrath, and the severest torments ? the
miraculous effects of divine grace! O the triumphant
goodness of God our Saviour ! Many, even of these
impious wretches, at the descent of the Holy Ghost,
were convinced of their miserable state , were
wounded with penitential remorse ; fled to the
sanctuary of the cross ; had their pardon ratified
by the baptismal seal ; and, continuing in the apos-
tle's doctrine, were made partakers of the kingdom
of heaven ; where they now shine, as so many ever-
lasting monuments of most distinguished mercy: and
receive beatitude past utterance, from that very Re-
deemer, whom once " with wicked hands they cruci-
fied and slew."

Well might the prophet cry out, with a pleasing
amazement j who is a God like unto thee, that pardon-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 243

eth iniquity, and passeth by transgression ?" Let all flesh
know assuredly ; let all flesh rejoice greatly, that with
the Lord there is sure mercy, and with his Christ such
^plentiful redemption. And O ! for the voice of an arch-
angel, to circulate the glad tidings through the universe,
that the American savage, as well as the European sage,
may learn the exceeding riches of grace in Christ,
through whose infinitely satisfying propitiation, all man-

: ner of sin, barbarity and blasphemy, are freely forgiven

I unto men.

; What a grand and majestic dome is the sky ? Where

are the pillars which support the stately concave?
What art, most exactly true, balances the pressure?
What props, of insuperable strength, sustain the
weight ? How is that immeasurable arch upheld, un-
shaken and unimpaired, while so many generations
of busy mortals have sunk and disappeared as bubbles
upon the stream? If those stars are of such an amaz-
ing bulk, how are they also fastened in their lofty situ-
ation ? By what miracle in mechanics are so many
thousands of ponderous orbs kept from falling upon
our heads ; kept from dashing, both the world to pie-
ces, and its inhabitants to death? are they hung
in golden or adamantine chains? Rest they their
enormous load on rocks of marble, or columns of

I brass ? No ; they are pendulous in fluid aether ;
yet, are more immoveably fixed than if the ever-
lasting mountains lent their forests for an axletree.
or their ridges for a basis. The Almighty archi-
tect stretches out the north, and its whole starry train,
over the empty place. He hangs the earth, and all the
ethereal globes upon nothing ; yet are their foundations
kid so sure, that they can "never be moved at any time."
No unfit representation, to the sincere Christian, of
his final perseverance ; such as points out the cause
which affects it, arid constitutes the pledge which ascer-

:i tains it. His nature is all enfeebled. He is not able,

j of himself to think a good thought. He has no visi-

244 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STAR.RY HEAVENS.

ble safeguard, nor any sufficiency of his own; and yet
whole legions of formidable enemies are in a confede-
racy to compass his ruin. The world lays unnumbered
snares for his feet ; the devil is incessantly urging the
siege, by a multitude of fiery darts, or wily temptations ;
the flesh* like a perfidious inmate, under colour of friend-
ship, and a specious pretence of pleasure, is always-
forward to betray his integrity. But amidst all these
threatening circumstances of personal weakness and
imminent danger,an invisible aid is his defence. I will
uphold thee^ says the blessed God, ivith the right hand
of my righteousness. Comfortable truth! The arm
which fixes the stars in their order, and guides the
planets in their course, is stretched out to preserve the
heirs of salvation. My sheep, adds the great Redeemer,
are mine ; and they shall never perish^ neither shall any
pluck them out of my hand. What words are these \
And did they come from him, who hath all power in
heaven and on earth? and were they spoke to the
weakest of the flock ; to every unfeigned follower of
the great Shepherd? Then, Omnipotence itself
must be vanquished^ before they can be destroyed ei-
ther by the seductions of fraud or the assaults of vio-
lence.

If you ask, therefore, what security we have of en-
during to the end, and continuing faithful unto death?
The very same that establishes the heavens, and settles
the ordinances of the universe. Can these be thrown
into confusion ? Then may the true believer draw
back into perdition. Can the sun be dislodged from
his sphere, and rush lawlessly through the sky ? Then
and then only can the faith of God's elect be jinally
overthrown. Be of good courage, then, my soul ; rely
on those divine succours, which are so solemnly stipu-
lated, so faithfully promised. Though thy grace be
languid as the glimmering spark ; though the over-
flowings of corruption threaten it with total extinction ;
yet since the great Jehovah has undertaken to cherish

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 245

the dim principle, " many waters cannot quench it, nor
all floods drown it." Nay, though it were feeble as
the smoking flax, goodness and faithfulness stand en-
gaged to augment the heat, to raise the fire, and feed
the flame, till it beam forth a lamp of immortal glory
in the heavens,

As to the faithfulness of a covenanting God, this
may be emblematically seen in the stability of the hea-
venly bodies, and the perpetuity of their motions. Those
that are fixed or stationary continue unalterable in their
grand elevations. No injurious shocks, no violence
of conflicting elements, are able to displace those ever-
lasting hinges on which dependent worlds revolve.
Through the whole flight of time, they recede not so
much as a hair's-breadth from the precise central point
of their respective systems ; while the erratic or plane-
tary perform their prodigious stages without any inter-
mission or the least embarrassment How soon and
how easily is the most finished piece of human machi-
nery disconcerted ! But all the celestial movements
are so nicely adjusted, all their operations so critically
proportioned, and their mutual dependencies so strongly
connected, that they prolong their beneficial courses
throughout all ages; whilemightycitiesaTB overwhelmed
with ruin, and their very names lost in oblivion: while
vast empires are swept from their foundations, and
leave not so much as a shadowy trace of their ancient
magnificence ; while all terrestrial things are subject
to vicissitude and fluctuating in uncertainty, these are
permanent in their duration, these are invariable in
their functions ; "not one faileth." Who doubts the
constant succession of day and night, or the regular
returns of summer and winter ? And why, O ! why
shall we doubt the veracity of God, or distrust the
accomplishment of his holy word 1 Can the ordinan-
ces of heaven depart? then only can God forget to be
gracious, or neglect the performance of his promise.
Nay, our Lord gives us yet a firmer ground of affi-

21*

246 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

ance. He affords us a surer bottom for our faith than
the fundamental laws of the universe. Heaven and
earth he says, shall pass away ; but my words shall not,
in a single instance, or in one tittle of their import, pass
away. No ; his sacred word, whatever may obstruct
it, whoever may oppose it, shall be fulfilled to the very
uttermost.

O powerful word ! how astonishing is its efficacy f
When this word was issued forth, a thousand worlds
emerged out of nothing. Should the mighty orders
be repeated, a thousand more would spring into exist-
ence. B}r this word, the vast system of created things
is upheld in constant and immutable perfection. Should
it give command, or cease to exert its energy, the uni-
versal frame would be dissolved, and all nature revert
to her original chaos. And this very word is pledged
for the safety, the comfort, the happiness of the godly.
This inviolable, this almighty word, speaks in all the
promises of the Gospel How strangely infatuated are
our souls, that we should value it so little ! What in-
fidels are we, in fact, that we should depend upon it no
more ! Did it create whatever has a being, and shall
it not work faith in our breasts ? Do unnumbered
worlds owe their support to this word, and shall it not
be sufficient to buoy up your souls in troubles, or es-
tablish them in trials ? Is it the life of the universe,
and shall it be a dead letter to mankind ?

If I wish to be heard, when I implore heavenly
blessings, is not this privilege most clearly made over
to my enjoyment in that well known text: "Ask, and
it shall be given you?" If I long for the Eternal
Comforter to dwell in my heart, and sanctify my na-
ture, have I not an apparent title to this high prerogative
conferred in that sweet assertive interrogation, " How
much more shall your Heavenly Father give the
Holy Spirit to those that ask him ?" If I earnestly
covet the inestimable treasures that are comprised in
the great Immanuel's mediation, can I have a firmer

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 247

claim to the noble portion than is granted in that most
precious Scripture, " Him that cometh to me I will in
no wise cast out?" What assurance of being inte-
rested in these unspeakable mercies would I desire?
What form of conveyance, what deed of settlement, were
it left to my option, should I choose? Here is the
word of a King, the King immortal and invisible, all
whose declarations are truth itself. If a monarch be-
stow immunities on a body of men, and confirm them
by an authentic charter, no one controverts, no one
questions their right to the royal favours. And why
should we suspect the validity of those glorious grants,
which are made by the everlasting Sovereign of nature,
which he has also ratified by an oath, and sealed with
the blood of his Son ? Corporations may be disfran-
chised, and charters revoked. Even mountains may
be removed, and stars drop from their spheres : but a
tenure, founded on the divine promise, is unalienably
secure, is lasting as eternity itself.

We have endeavoured to spell a syllable of the eter-
nal name in the ancient manuscript of the sky. We
have catched a glimpse of the Almighty's glory from,
the lustre of innumerable stars. But would we behold
all his excellencies pourtrayed in full perfection, and
drawn to the very life, let us attentively consider the
Redeemer. I observe there are some parts of the fir-
mament in which the stars seem, as it were, to cluster ;
they are sown thicker, they lie closer than usual, and
strike the eye with redoubled splendour ; like the jew-
els on a crown, they mingle their beams, and reflect
an increase of brilliancy on each other. Is there not
such an assemblage, such a constellation of the divine
honours, most amiably effulgent in the blessed Jesus ?

Does not infinite wisdom shine with surpassing
brightness in. Christ? To the making of a world
there was no obstacle ; but to the saving of man, there
seemed to be unsurmountable bars. If the rebel is
suffered to escape, where is the inflexible justice which

248 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

denounces "death as the wages of sin?" If the
offender is thoroughly pardoned, where is the inviola-
ble veracity which has solemnly declared, " The soul
that sinneth shall die !" These awful attributes are
set in terrible array, and, like an impenetrable batta-
lion, oppose the salvation of apostate mankind. Who
can suggest a method to absolve the traitorous race, yet
vindicate the honours of Almighty Sovereignty ? This
is an intricacy, which the most exalted of finite intelli-
gences are unable to clear. But behold the unsearch-
able secret revealed ! revealed in the most wonderful
redemption, accomplished by a dying Saviour! so
plainly revealed, that " he who runs may read," and
even babes understand, what minds of the deepest pene-
tration could not contrive. The Son of God, taking
our nature, obeys the law, and undergoes death in our
stead : by this means the threatened curse is executed
in all its rigour, and free grace is exercised in all its
riches. Justice maintains her rights, and, with a
steady hand, administers impartial vengeance ; while
Mercy dispenses her pardons, and welcomes the re-
pentant criminal into the tenderest embraces. Here-
by the seemingly thwarting attributes are reconciled.
The sinner is saved, not only in full consistence with
the honour of the supreme perfections, but to the most
illustrious manifestation of them all.

Where does the divine power so signally exert itself
as in the cross of Christ, and in the conquests of grace ?
Our Lord, in his lowest state of humiliation, gained a
more glorious victory than when, through the divid-
ing sea and the waste howling wilderness, " he rode
upon his chariots and horses of salvation." When his
hands were rivetted with irons to the bloody tree, he
disarmed death of its sting, and plucked the prey from,
the jaws of hell. Then, even then, while he was cru-
cified in weakness, he vanquished the strong man, and
subdued our most formidable enemies : even then he
spoiled principalities, triumphed over the powers of

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 249

darkness, and led captivity captive. Now he is exalted
to his heavenly throne, with what a prevailing efficacy
does his grace go forth, " conquering and to conquer !"
By this, the slaves of sin are rescued from their bond-
age, and restored to the liberty of righteousness. By
this, depraved wretches, whose appetites were sensual,
and their dispositions devilish, are not only renewed,
but renewed after the image of God, and made parta-
kers of a divine nature. Millions, millions of lost
creatures are snatched, by the interposition of grace,
like biands from the burning, and, translated into ever-
lasting mansions, shine brighter than the stars, shine
bright as the sun. in the kingdom of their Father.

Would you, then, see an incomparably more bright
display of the divine excellence than the unspotted fir-
mament, the spangles of heaven, or the golden foun-
tain of day exhibit? Contemplate Jesus of Nazareth.
He is the brightness of his Father's glory, and the
express image of his person. In his immaculate na-
ture, in his heavenly tempers, in his most holy life, the
moral perfections of the Deity are represented to the
highest advantage. Hark ! how Mercy with her
charming voice, speaks in all he utters ! See, how
Benevolence pours her choicest stores in all he does !
Did ever compassion look so amiably soft as in those
pitying tears, which swelled his eye, and trickled
down his cheeks, to bedew the rancour of his inveter-
ate enemies 1 Was it possible for Patience to assume
a form so lovely as that sweetly-winning conduct,
which bore the contradiction of sinners ? which en-
treated the obstinate to be reconciled? besought the
guilty not to die? In other things we may find some
scattered rays of Jehovah's glory; but in Christ they
are all collected and united. In Christ they beam
forth with the strongest radiance, with the most .de-
lightful effulgence. Out of Zion, and in ZMs Great
Redeemer, hath God appeared in perfect beauty.

Search then, my soul, above all other pursuits,

250 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

search the records of Redeeming 1 love. Let these be
the principal objects of thy study : here employ thyself
with the most unwearied assiduity : in these are hid all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge : such wisdom as
charms and astonishes the very angels, engages their
closest attention, and fills them with the deepest adora-
tion : such knowledge, as qualifies the possessor, if not
for offices of dignity on earth, yet for the most hon-
ourable advancements in the kingdom of heaven ;
disunited from which knowledge, all application is
but an elaborate impertinence, and all science no
better than pompous ignorance. These records con-
tain the faultless model of duty, and the noblest mo-
tives to obedience. Nothing so powerful to work a
lively faith and a joyful hope, as an attentive consi-
deration of our Lord's unutterable merits : nothing so
sovereign, to antidote the pestilential influence of the
world, and deliver our affections from a slavery to ig-
noble objects, as an habitual remembrance of his ex-
treme agonies. The genuine, the ever-fruitful source
of all morality, is the unfeigned love of Christ: and
the cross, the cross is the appointed altar, from which
we may fetch a coal to kindle this sacred fire.

Behold, therefore, the man, the matchless and stupen-
dous man, whose practice was a pattern of the most
exalted virtue, and his person the mirror of every di-
vine perfection. Examine the memoirs of his hea-
venly temper and exemplary conversation : contem-
plate that choir of graces, which were associated in his
mind, and shed the highest lustre on all his actions ;
familiarize to thy thoughts his instructive discourses,
and enter into the very spirit of his refined doctrines ;
that the graces may be transfused into thy breast, and
the doctrines transcribed in thy life. Follow him to
Calvary' 's horrid eminence, to Calvary's fatal catastro-
phe ; where innocence, dignity, and merit were made
perfect through sufferings ; each shining with all pos-
sible splendour through the tragical scene, somewhat

251 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

like his own radiant bow, then glowing with the
greatest beauty, when appearing on the darkest cloud.
Be thy most constant attention fixed on that lovely and
sorrowful spectacle. Behold the spotless victim, nailed
to the tree, and stabbed to the heart : hear him pouring
out prayers for his murderers, before he poured out
his soul for transgressors : see the wounds that stream
with forgiveness, and bleed balm for a distempered
world. O ! see the justice of the Almighty, and his
goodness, his mercy, and his vengeance; every tre-
mendous and gracious attribute manifested ; manifested
with, inexpressible glory, in that most ignominious, yet
grandest of transactions.

Since God is so inconceivably great, as these his
marvellous works declare ;

Since the great Sovereign sends ten thousand worlds
To tell us, he resides above them all,
In glory's unapproachable recess,

how can we forbear hastening with Moses, bowing
ourselves to the earth, and worshipping ?

O ! what an honourable, as well as advantageous
employ, is prayer! Advantageous: By prayer, we
cultivate that improving correspondence with Jehovah,
we carrjr on that gladdening intercourse with his Spi-
rit, which must begin here, in order to be completed
in eternity. Honourable : By prayer we have access
to that mighty Potentate, whose sceptre sways univer-
sal nature, and whose rich regalia fill the skies with
lustre. Prayer places us in his presence-chamber:
while " the blood of sprinkling " procures us a graci-
ous audience.

Shall I then blush, to be found prostrate before the
throne of grace? Shall I be ashamed to have it
known, that I offer up social supplications in the fa-
mily, or am conscientious in observing my private re-
tirements? Rather let me glory in. this unspeakable
privilege: let me reckon it the noblest posture, to fall

I

252 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

low on my knees before his footstool ; and the highest
honour, to enjoy communion with his most exalted
majesty: incomparably more noble than to sit in per-
son on the triumphal chariot, or to stand in effigy
amidst the temple of worthies.

Most inestimable, in such a view, is that promise,
which so often occurs in the prophetic writings, and is
the crowning benefit of the new covenant, / will be thy
God. Will this supremely excellent and Almighty
Being vouchsafe to be my portion ? To settle upon a
poor sinner, not the heritage of a country, not the pos-
sessession of the whole earth, but his own ever-blessed
self? May I, then, through his free condescending
grace, and the unknown merits of his Son, look upon
all these infinitely noble attributes as my treasure?
May I regard the wisdom, which superintends such a
multitude of worlds, as my guide ; the power which
produced, and preserves them in existence, as my
guard; the goodness, which, by an endless commu-
nication of favours, renders them all so many habita-
tions of happiness, as my exceeding great reward ?
What a fund of felicity is included in such a bless-
ing ! How often does the Israelitish prince exult in
the assurance, that this unutterable and boundless good
is his own ! Interested in this, he bids defiance to
every evil that can be dreaded ; and rests in certain
expectation of every blessing that can be desired. The
Lord is my light, and my salvation ; whom then shall
I fear? The Lord, with an air of exultation he re-
peats both his affiance and his challenge, is the strength
of my life ; of whom then shall I be afraid ? Nothing
so effectual as this appropriating faith, to inspire a dig-
nity of mind, superior to transitory trifles, or to create
a calmness of temper, unalarmed by vulgar fears, un-
appalled by death itself. The Lord is my shepherd^
says the same truly gallant and heroic personage ;
therefore shall 1 lack nothing. How is it possible he
should suffer want, who has the all-sufficient fullness

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 253

for his supply? So long 1 as unerring wisdom is capa-
ble of contriving the means: so long as uncontrollable
power is able to execute them ; such a one cannot fail
of being safe and happy, whether he continue amidst
the vicissitudes of time, or depart into the unchangea-
ble eternity.

Here let us stand a moment, and humbly contem-
plate this great God, together with ourselves, in a re-
lative view. If we reflect on the works of material
nature, their number incomprehensible, and their ex-
tent unmeasureable ; each of them apart so admirably
framed ; the connexions of the whole so exquisitely
regulated ; and all derived from one and the same glo-
rious agent if we recollect the far more noble accom-
plishments of elegant taste and discerning judgment,
of refined affections and exalted sentiments, which are
to be found among the several orders of intelligent ex-
istence ; and all of them flowing in rich emanations,
from the one sole fountain of intellectual light if we
farther consider this author of material beauty and
moral excellency as a guardian, a governor and bene-
factor to all his creatures ; supporting the whole sys-
tem, and protecting each individual, by an ever-watch-
ful Providence ; presiding over the minutest affairs,
and causing all events to terminate in the most exten-
sive good ; heaping, with unremitted liberality, his be-
nefits upon every capable object, and making the cir-
cuit of the universe a seminary of happiness is it
possible for the human heart, under such captivating
views, to be indifferent towards this most benign, most
bountiful Original of being and of bliss ? Can any be
so immersed in stupidity, as to say unto the Almighty,
in the language of an irreligious temper and licen-
tious life, to say, " Depart from us ; we implore not
thy favour, nor desire the knowledge of thy ways ?"
Wonder, O heavens ! be amazed, O earth ! and let the
inhabitants of both express their astonishment at this

VOL. n. 22

254 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

unparalleled complication of disingenuous, ungrateful,
destructive preverseness !

If we consider our fallen and imperfect state, frail in
our bodies, enfeebled in our minds, in every part of
our constitution, and in all the occurrences of life y
"like a tottering wall, or a broken hedge" if we
survey our indigent and infirm state, without holiness,
without spiritual strength ; our possession of present
conveniences entirely dependent on God's sovereign
pleasure ; yea, forfeited, justly forfeited, with every fu-
ture hope, by a thousand aggravated iniquities if we
add the various disasters of our condition ; agitated as
we are by tumultuous passions, oppressed with dispi-
riting fears, held in suspense by a variety of perplex-
ing cares ; liable to pains, and exposed to troubles ;
troubles from every quarter ; troubles of every kind
Can we, amidst so many wants, under such deplorable
infirmities, and subject to such disastrous accidents
can we be unconcerned, whether God's omnipotent, ir-
resistible, all-conducting hand, be against us or for us?
Imagination itself shudders at the thought! Can we
rest satisfied, without a well-grounded persuasion that
we are reconciled to this supreme Lord and the ob-
jects of his unchangeable goodness? If there be an
abandoned wretch, whose apprehensions are so fatally
blinded ; who is so utterly lost to all sense of his duty r
and of his interest: let me bewail his misery, while I
abhor his impiety: bewail his misery, though popu-
larity, with her choicest laurels, adorn his brow;
though affluence, with her richest delicacies, load his
table ; though half a nation, or half a world, conspire
to call him happy.

May I, by a believing application, solace myself in
this everlasting Source of love, perfection, and joy j
Grant me this request, and I ask no more: Only,,
that I may expect, not with a reluctant anxiety, but.
with a ready cheerfulness, the arrival of that impor-
tant hour,, when this veil of flesh shall drop, and the

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARHY HEAVENS. 255

shadows of mortality flee away : when I shall no lon-
ger complain of obscure knowledge, languid affec-
tions, and imperfect fruition but shall see the uncrea-
ted and immortal majesty : see him, not in this distant
and unaffecting method of reasoning from his works,
but with the most clear and direct intuition of the mind
when I shall love him, not with a cold and contract-
ed spirit, but with the most lively and enlarged emo-
tions of gratitude when I shall incessantly enjoy the
light of his countenance ; and be united, inseparably
united, to his all-glorious God-head. Take, ye ambiti-
ous, unenvied, and unopposed, take to yourselves the
toys of state. May I be enabled to rejoice in this bless-
ed hope, and to triumph in that amiable, that adorable,
that delightful name, the Lord my God ! and I shall
scarce bestow a thought on the splendid pageantry of
the world, unless it be to despise its empty pomp, and
to pity its deluded admirers.

All these bodies, though immense in their size, and
almost infinite in their multitude, are obedient to the di-
vine command. The God of wisdom " telleth their
numbers," and is intimately acquainted with their va-
rious properties. The God of power "calleth them all
by their names," and assigns them whatsoever office
he pleases he marshals all the starry legions with in-
finitely greater ease, and nicer order, than the most ex-
pert general arranges his disciplined troops. He ap-
points their posts; he marks their route; he fixes the
time for their return. The posts which he appoints,
they occupy without fail ; in the route which he set-
tles, they persevere without the least deviation ; and to
the instant which he fixes for their return, they are
precisely punctual. He has given them a law, which,
through a long revolution of ages, shall not be broken,
unless his sovereign, will interposes for its repeal.
Then, indeed, the motion of the celestial orbs is con-
trolled ; their action remains suspended ; or their in-
fluence receives a new direction. The sun^ at his

256 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

creation, issued forth with a command to travel perpe-
tually through the heavens : since which he has never
neglected to perform the great circuit, rejoicing as
a giant to " run his race." But, when it is requi-
site to accomplish the purposes of divine love, the or-
ders are countermanded ; the flaming courier remits
his career ; stands still in Gibeon ; and for the conve-
niency of the chosen people, holds back the falling day.
The moon was despatched with a charge, never to in-
termit her revolving course till day and night come to
an end. But when the children of Providence are to
be favoured with an uncommon continuance of light,
she halts in her march ; makes a solemn pause in the
valley of Ajalon; and delays to bring on her attendant
train of shadows. " When the enemies of the Lord
are to be discomfited, the stars are levied into the ser-
vice ; the stars are armed, and take the field ; the stars,
in their courses, fought against Sisera."

So dutiful is maternal nature ! so obsequious in all
her/0ms; to her Creator's pleasure! The bello wing-
thunders listen to his voice; and the vollied lightnings
observe the direction of his eye. The flying storm
and impetuous whirlwind wear his yoke. The raging"
waves revere his nod : they shake the earth ; they dash
the skies ; yet never offer to pass the limits which he
has prescribed. Even the planetary spheres, though
vastly larger than this wide-extended earth ; are, in his
hand, as day in the hands of the potter. Though,
swifter than the northern blast, they sweep the long
tracts of aether, yet are they guided by his reins, and
execute whatever he enjoins. All those enormous-
globes of central fire which beam through the bound-
less azure, in comparison of which an army of planets
were like a swarm of summer insects ; those, even
those, are conformable to his will, as the melting wax
so the impressed seal. Since all, all is obedient
throughout the whole ascent of things shall man be
the only rebel against the Almighty Maker? Shall

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 257

these unruly appetites reject his government, and re-
fuse their allegiance? Shall these headstrong pas-
sions break loose from divine restraint, and run wild,
in exorbitant sallies, after their own imaginations ?

O my soul, be stung with remorse, and overwhelm-
ed with confusion, at the thought ! Is it not a righte-
ous thing, that the blessed God should sway the scep-
tre, with the most absolute authority, over all the crea-
tures, which his power has formed? especially over
those creatures whom his distinguishing favour has
endued with the noble principle of reason, and made
capable of a blissful immortality? Sure, if all the
ranks of inanimate existence conform to their Ma-
ker's decree by the necessity of their nature, this
more excellent race of beings should pay their equal
homage by the willing compliance of their affections.
Come then, all ye faculties of my mind ; come all ye
powers of my body ; give up yourselves, without a
moment's delay, without the least reserve, to his go-
vernance. Stand, like dutiful servants, at his footstool,
in an everlasting readiness to do whatsoever he re-
quires, to be whatsoever he appoints ; to further, with
united efforts, the purposes of his glory in this earth-
ly scene ; or else to separate, without reluctance, at his
summons : the one to sleep in the silent dust ; the other
to advance his honour in some remoter colony of his
kingdom. Thus may I join with all the works of the
Lord, in all places of his dominion, to recognize his
universal supremacy ; and proclaim him Sovereign of
Souls, as well as Ruler of worlds.

At my first coming abroad, all these luminaries were
eclipsed by the overpowering iustre of the sun : they
were all placed in the very same stations, and played
the same sprightly beams ; yet not one of them was
seen. As the day light wore away, and the sober
shades advanced, Hesperus, who leads the starry train,
disclosed his radient forehead, and catched my eye.
While I stood gazing on his bright and beautiful aspect,

22*

258 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

several of his attendants peeped through the blue cur-
tains. Scarce had I turned to observe these fresh ema-
nations of splendour, but others dropped the veil, others
stole into view. When lo ! faster and more numerous
.multitudes sprang from obscurity; they poured in shin-
ing troops, and in sweet confusion, over all the empyrian
plain, till the firmament seemed like one vast constel-
lation, and " a flood of glory burst from all the skies="

Is not such the rise, and such the progress of a true
conversion, in the prejudiced infidel, or inattentive sin-
ner? During the period of his vainer years, a thou-
sand interesting truths lay utterly undiscovered ; a
thousand momentous concerns were entirely disre-
garded ; but when divine grace dissipates the delusive
glitter which dazzled his understanding and beguiled
his affections, then he begins to discern, dimly to dis-
cern, the things which belong unto his peace. Some
admonition of Scripture darts conviction into his soul r
as the glimmering of a star pierces the gloom of night:
then perhaps, another awful or cheering text impresses
terror or diffuses comfort: a threatening alarms his.
fears, or a promise awakens his hopes. This, possibly?
is succeeded by some afflictive dispensation of Provi-
dence, and improved by some edifying and instructive
conversation ; all which is established, as to its conti-
nuance, and enlarged as to its influence, by a diligent
study of the sacred word. By this means, new truths
continually pour their evidence ; scenes of refined and
exalted, but hitherto unknown delight, addresses him
with their attractives : new desires take wing ; new
pursuits are set on foot ; a new turn of mind forms his
temper ; a new habit of conversation regulates his life.
In a word " old things are passed away, and all things
are become new :" he, who was sometimes darkness, is
now light, and life, and joy in the Lord.

The more attentively I view the crystal concave, the
more fully I discern the richness of its decorations.
Abundance of minute lights, which lay concealed fronii

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 259*

a superficial notice, are visible on a closer examination ;
especially in those tracts of the sky which are called
the Galaxy, and are distinguishable by a sort of milky
path. There the stars are crowded, rather than disse-
minated ; the region seems to be all on a blaze with
their blended rays. Besides this vast profusion, which
in my present situation the eye discovers, was I to
make my survey from any other part of the globe, ly-
ing nearer the southern pole, I should behold a new-
choir of starry bodies, which have never appeared
within our horizon. Was I (which is still more won-
derful,) either here or there, to view the firmament
with the virtuoso's glass, I should find a prodigious
multitude of flaming orbs, which immersed in depths^
of aether, .escape the keenest unassisted sight Yet in
in these various situations, even with the aid of the te-
lescopic tube, I should not be able to descry the half,
perhaps not a thousandth part, of those majestic lumi-
naries, which the vast expansive heavens contain. So,,
the more diligently I pursue my search into those ora-
cles of eternal truth, the Scriptures, I perceive a wider ?
a deeper, an ever-increasing fund of spiritual treasures.
I perceive the brighter strokes of wisdom, and the
richer displays of goodness ; more transcendent ex-
cellency in the illustrious Messiah, and a more deplo-
rable vilen ess in fallen man; a more immaculate purity
in God's law, and more precious privileges in his Gos-
pel. Yet, after a course of study ever so assiduous^
ever so prolonged, I should have reason to own myself
a mere babe in heavenly knowledge ; or, at most, but a.
puerile proficient in the school of Christ.

After all my most accurate inspection, those starry-
orbs appear but as glittering points. Even the planets,,
though so much nearer our earthly mansions, seem
only like burning bullets. If, then, we ha^e such im-
perfect apprehensions of visible and material things, how
much more scanty and inadequate must be our notions
of invisible and immortal objects! We behold

'1260 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

stars : though every one is incomparably bigger than
the whole globe we inhabit, yet they dwindle, upon our
.survey, into the most diminutive forms. Thus, we see
by faith the glories of the blessed Jesus ; the atoning
efficacy of his death ; the justifying merit of his right-
eousness; and the joys which are reserved for his fol-
lowers. But alas ! even our most exalted ideas are
vastly below the truth, as much below the truth
as the report which our eyes make of those ce-
lestial edifices, is inferior to their real grandeur.
'Should we take in all the magnifying assistan-
ces which art has contrived, those luminous bodies
would elude our skill, and appear as small as ever.
Should an inhabitant of earth travel towards the cope
-of heaven, and be carried forwards, in his serial jour-
ney, more than a hundred and sixty millions of miles ;
ven in that advanced situation, those oceans of flame,
would be no larger than radient specks. In like manner,
conceive ever so magnificently of the Redeemer's ho-
nours, and of the bliss he has purchased for his peo-
ple ; yet you will fall short. Raise your imagination
higher] stretch your invention wider; give them all
"the scope which a soaring and excursive fancy can
take ; still your conceptions will be extremely dispro-
portionate to their genuine perfections. Vast are the
bodies which roll in the expanse of heaven ; vaster
far are those fields of Esther through which they run
their endless round : but the excellency of Jesus, and
the happiness laid up for his servants, are greater than
-either ; than both ; than all. An inspired writer calls
the .former, " The unsearchable riches of Christ;" and
styles the latter " An exceeding great and eternal weight
'of glory."

If those stars are so many inexhaustible magazines
of fire, and immense reservoirs of light, there is no rea-
son to doubt but they have some very grand uses, suit-
able to the magnificence of their nature. To specify,
or explain, the particular purposes they answer, is alto-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 26 ! :

gether impossible in our present state of distance and
ignorance : this, however, we may clearly discern ^
they are disposed in that very manner which is most
pleasing and most serviceable to mankind, They are
not placed at an infinite, remove, so as to lie beyond our
sight ; neither are they brought so near our abode,,
as to annoy us with their beams. We see them shine-
on every side ; the deep azure, which serves them as a
ground, heightens their splendour ; at the same time-
their influence is gentle, and their rays are destitute
of heat: so that we are surrounded with a multitude-
of fiery globes, which beautify and illuminate the fir-
mament, without any risk either to the coolness of our
night, or the quiet of our repose. Who can suffici-
ently admire that wondrous benignity, which, on our
account, strews the earth with blessings of every kind,,
and vouchsafes to make the very heavens subservient
to our delight?

It is not solely to adorn the roof of our palace with
costly gildings, that God commands the celestial lumi-
naries to glitter through the gloom : we also reap con-
siderable benefits from their ministry. They divide-
our time, and fix its solemn periods. They settle the-
order of our works, and are, according to the destina-
tions mentioned in sacred writ, " for signs and for sea-
sons ; for days and for years." The returns of heat:
and cold alone would have been too precarious a rule.
But these radient bodies, by the variation, and also by
the regularity of their motions, afford a method of cal-
culating absolutely certain, and sufficiently obvious.
By this, the farmer is instructed when to commit his ;
grain to the furrows, and how to conduct the operations'
of husbandry. By this, the sailor knows when to-
proceed on his voyage with least peril, and how to<
carry on the business of navigation with the most success.

Why should not the Christian, the probationer for
eternity, learn from the same monitors, to number for
nobler purposes, to number his days; and duly to*

1262 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

'transact the grand, grand affairs of his everlasting sal-
vation? Since God has appointed so many bright
measurers of our time, to determine its larger periods,
and to minute down its ordinary stages ; sure, this most
-strongly inculcates its value and should powerfully
prompt us to improve it. Behold ! the supreme Lord
marks the progress of our life in that most conspicuous
calendar above. Does not such an ordination tell us,
and in the most emphatical language, that our life is
given for use, not for waste ? that no portion of it is
delivered, but under a strict account ; that all of it is
-entered, as it passes, in the divine register ; and, there-
-fore, that the stewards of such a talent are to expect a
future reckoning ? Behold ! the very heavens are bid-
den to be the accomptants of our years and months and
days. O ! may this induce us to manage them with a
vigilant frugality ; to part with them, as misers with
their hoarded treasure, warily and circumspectly ; and,
if possible, as merchants with their rich commodities,
not without an equivalent, either in personal improve-
ment or social usefulness !

How bright the starry diamonds shine ! The ambi-
tion of eastern monarchs could imagine no distinction
more noble and sublime than that of being likened to
those beaming orbs. They form night's richest dress ;
and sparkle upon her sable robe, like jewels of the
finest lustre. Like jewels ! I wrong their character :
the lucid stone has no brilliancy; quenched is the
flame even of the golden topaz, compared with those
glowing decorations of heaven. How widely are
their radiant honours diffused ! No nation so remote,
but sees their beauty and rejoices in their usefulness.
They have been admired by all preceding generations,
and every rising age will gaze on their charms with
renewed delight. How animating, then, is that pro-
mise made to the faithful ministers of the gospel!
"They that turn many to righteousness, shall shine as
:the stars for ever and ever." Is not this a most win-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 263'

ning encouragement, " to spend and be spent" in the
service of souls ? Methinks, the stars beckon, as they
twinkle. Methinks, they show me their splendours, on
purpose to inspire me with alacrity in the race set be-
fore me ; on purpose to enliven my activity in the
work that is given me to do. Yes ; ye majestic moni-
tors, I understand your meaning. If honour has any-
charms ; if true glory, the glory which cometh from
God, is any attractive; you display the most powerful
incitements to exercise all assiduity in my holy vocation.
I will henceforth observe your intimation ; and, when;
zeal becomes languid, have recourse to your heavenly
lamps, if so be I may rekindle its ardour at those inex-
tinguishable fires.

Of the Polar star it is observable, that while other
luminaries alter their situation, this seems invariably
fixed. While other luminaries now mount the battle-
ments of heaven, and^appear upon duty; now retire^
beneath the horizon, and resign to a fresh set the
watches of the night ; this never departs from its sta-
tion. This, in every season, maintains an uniform po-
sition ; and is always to be found in the same tract of
the northern sky. How often has this beamed bright
intelligence on the sailor, and conducted the keel to
its desired haven ! In early ages, those who went
down to the sea in ships, and occupied their business-
in great waters, had scarce any other sure guide for
their wandering vessel. This, therefore, they viewed-
with the most solicitous attention : by this they formed,
their observations, and regulated their voyage. When-
this was obscured by clouds, or enveloped in mists,,
the trembling mariner was bewildered on the watery
waste : His thoughts fluctuated as much as the float-
ing surge, and he knew not where he was advanced,,
or whither he should steer. But, when this auspicious-
star broke through the gloom, it dissipated the anxiety
of his mind, and cleared up his dubious passage : h&
re-assumed, with alacrity the management of the helm^

264 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

.and was able to shape his course with some tolerable
degree of satisfaction and certainty.

Such, only much clearer in its light, and much
surer in its direction, is the Holy Word of God to
those myriads of intellectual beings who are bound for
the eternal shores ; who, embarked in a vessel of feeble
flesh, are to pass the waves of this tempestuous and
perilous world. In all difficulties, those sacred pages
-shed an encouraging ray; in all uncertainties, they
suggest the right determination, and point out the pro-
per procedure. What is still a more inestimable ad-
vantage, they, like the star which conducted the Eas-
tern sages, make plain the way of access to a Redeemer ;
they display his unspeakable merits ; they discover the
method of being interested in his great atonement;
-and lead the weary soul, tossed by troubles, and shat-
tered by temptations, to that only harbour of peaceful
repose. Let us, therefore, attend to this unerring di-
rectory, with the same constancy of regard as the sea-
faring man observes his compass. Let us become as
thoroughly acquainted with this sacred chart, as the
pilot is with every trusty mark that gives notice of a
lurking rock, and with every opening road that yields
a safe passage into the port. Above all, let us commit
ourselves to this infallible guidance with the same im-
plicit resignation, let. us conform our conduct to its ex-
alted precepts with the same sedulous care as the
-children of Israel, when sojourning in the trackless
desart, followed the pillar of fire, and the motion of the
miraculous cloud. So it will introduce us, not into an
-earthly Canaan flowing with milk and honey, but
into an immortal Paradise, where is the fulness of joy,
and where are pleasures for evermore. It will intro-
duce us into those happy, happy regions, where " our
sun shall no more go down, nor our moon withdraw
ritself ; for the Lord shall be our everlasting light, and
the days of our mounting, together with the fatigues
of our pilgrimage, shall be ended."

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 265

I perceive a great variety in the size and splendour
of those gems of heaven. Some are of the first magni-
tude, others of an inferior order. Some glow with in-
tense flames, others glimmer with fainter beams. Yet
all are beautiful ; all have their peculiar lustre, and
distinct use : all tend, in their different degrees, to en-
amel the cope of heaven, and embroider the robe of
nio-ht. This circumstance is remarked by an author,
whose sentiments are a source of wisdom, and the very
standard of truth. "One star," says the apostle of
the Gentiles, " di/ereth from another star in glory ; so
also is the resurrection of the dead."

In the world above, are various degrees of happiness,
various seats of honour. Some will rise to more illus-
trious distinctions and richer joys ; some, like vessels
of ample capacity, will admit more copious accessions
of light and excellence. Yet there will be no want,
no deficiency, in any ; but a fulness both of divine sa-
tisfactions and personal perfections. Each will enjoy
all the good, and be adorned with all the glory, that
his heart can wish, or his condition receive. None
will know what it is to envy. Not the least malevol-
ence, nor the lest selfishness, but everlasting friendship
prevails, and a mutual complacency in each other's de-
light. Love, cordial love, will give every particular
saint a participation of all the fruitions which are dif-
fused through the whole assembly of the blessed. No
one eclipses, but each reflects light upon his brother.
A sweet interchange of rays subsists, all enlightened by
the great fountain, and all enlightening one another:
by which reciprocal communication of pleasure and
amity, each will be continually receiving from each, in-
cessantly adding to, the general felicity.

Happy, supremely happy they who are admitted
into the celestial mansions. Better to be door-keeper
in those " ivory palaces" than to fill the most gorgeous
throne on earth. The very lowest place at God's
right hand is distinguished honour and consummate
VOL. n. 23

266 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

bliss. O ! that we may, in some measure, anticipate
that beatific state while we remain in our banishment!
below ! May we, by rejoicing in the superior prospe-
rity of another, make it our own I and, provided the
general result is harmony, be content, be pleased, with
whatsoever part is assigned to our share, in the uni-
versal choir of affairs'.

While I am considering the heavenly bodies, I must
not entirely forget those fundamental laws of our mo-
dern astronomy, projection and attraction; one of
which is the all-combining cement, the other is the ever-
operating spring of the mighty frame. In the begin-
ning, the all-creating fiat impressed a proper de-
gree of motion on each of those whirling orbs; which
if not controlled, would have carried them on ID
straight lines and to endless lengths, till they wero
even lost in the abyss of space ; but the gravitating
property being added to the projectile force, determined
their courses to a circular form, and obliged the reluc-
tant rovers to perform their destined rounds. Were-
either of those causes to suspend their action, all the-
harmoniously moving spheres would be disconcerted,,
would degenerate into sluggish inactive masses^,
and falling into the central fire, be burnt to ashes ; or
else, would exorbitate into wild confusion, and each'
by the rapidity of its whirl, be dissipated into atoms.
But the impulse and attractive energy being most nicely
attempered to each other, and, under the immediate ope-
ration of the Almighty, exerting themselves in perpetual-
concert, the various globes run their radiant races
without the least interruption or the least deviation ; so*
as to create the alternate changes of day and nighty
and distribute the useful vicissitudes of succeeding sea*-
sons ; so as to answer all the great ends of a gracious
Providence, and procure every comfortable conveni-
ence for universal nature.

Does not this constitution of the material very na-
turally lead the thoughts to those grand principles of

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 267

the moral and devotional world, faith and love? These
are often celebrated by the inspired apostle, as a com-
prehensive summary of the Gospel. These inspirit
the breast, and regulate the progress of each private
Christian. These unite the whole congregation of the
faithful to God and one another : to God, the great
centre, in the bonds of gratitude and devotion ; to one
another, by a reciprocal intercourse 'of brotherly affec-
tions and friendly offices. If you ask, why it is im-
possible for the true believer to live at all adventurous,
to stagnate in sloth, or habitually to _ deviate from duty ;
we answer, it. is owing to " his faith working by love."
He assuredly trusts that Christ has sustained the in-
famy and endured the torment due to his sins. He
firmly relies on that divine propitiation for the pardon
of all his guilt, and humbly expects everlasting salva-
tion as the purchase of his Saviour's merits. This pro-
duces such a spirit of gratitude, as refines his inclina-
tions, and animates his whole behaviour. He cannot,
he cannot run to excess of riot, because love to his
adorable Redeemer, like a strong but silken curb,
sweetly restrains him ; he cannot, he cannot lie lulled
in a lethargic indolence, because love to the same in-
finite Benefactor, like a pungent but endearing spur,
pleasingly excites him. In a word, faith supplies the
powerful impulse, while love gives the determining
bias, and leads the willing feet through the whole cir-
cle of God's commandments. By the united efficacy
of these heavenly graces, the Christian conduct is pre-
served in the uniformity and beauty of holiness, as by the
blended power of those Newtonian principles, the solar
system revolves in a steady and magnificent regularity.
How admirable, how extensive, how diversified is
the force of this single principle, attraction! This
penetrates the very essence of all bodies, and diffuses
itself to the remotest limits of the mundane system.
By this, the worlds impressed with motion, hang self-
balanced on their centres ; and, though orbs of immense

268 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

magnitude, require nothing but this amazing property
for their support. To this we ascribe a phenomenon
of a very different kind, the pressure of the atmosphere ;
which, though a yielding and expansive fluid, yet,
constipated by an attractive energy, surrounds the
whole globe, and encloses every creature as it were
with a tight bandage ; an expedient this absolutely ne-
cessary to preserve the texture of our bodies, and in-
deed to maintain every species of animal existence.
Attraction ! Urged by this wonderful impetus the
rivers circulate, copious and unintermitted, among all
the nations of the earth ; sweeping with rapidity down,
the steeps, or softly ebbing through the plains. Im-
pelled by the same mysterious force, the nutritious
juices are detached from the soil, and. ascending the
trees, find their way through millions of the finest
meanders, in order to transfuse vegetative life into all
the branches. This confines the ocean within proper
bounds though the waves thereof roar, though they
toss themselves with all the madness of indignant rage ;
yet, checked by this potent, this inevitable curb, they
are unable to pass even the slightest barrier of sand.
To this the inountai7is owe that unshaken firmness,
which laughs at the shock of careering winds, and
bids the tempest, with all its mingled horrors, impo-
tently rave; by virtue of this invisible mechanism,
without the aid of crane or pulley, or any instrument
of human device, many thousand tons of water are
raised every moment into the regions of the firmament ;
by this they continue suspended in thin air, without
any capacious cistern to contain their substance, or any
massy pillars to sustain their weight : by this same
variously-acting power, they return to the place of
their native residence, distilled in gentle falls of dew,
or precipitated in impetuous showers of rain : they
slide into the fields in fleecy flights of snow, or are
darted upon the houses in clattering storms of hail :
this occasions the strong cohesion of solid bodies ; with-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 269

out which our large machines could exert themselves
with no vigour, and the nicer utensils of life would
elude our expectations of service ; this affords a foun-
dation for all those delicate or noble mechanic arts,
which furnish mankind with numberless conveniences
both of ornament and delight: in short, this is the pro-
digious ballast, which composes the equilibrium, and
constitutes the stability of things ; this the great chain
which forms the connexions of universal nature; and
the mighty engine which prompts, facilitates, and, in
good measure, accomplishes all her operations. What
complicated effects from a single cause ! What pro-
fusion amidst frugality ! an unknown profusion of be-
nefits with the utmost frugality of expense !

And what is this attraction ? Is it a quality, in its
existence inseparable from matter ; and, in its acting,
independent on the Deity ? Quite the reverse : it is
the very finger of God ; the constant impression of di-
vine power ; a principle neither innate in matter, nor
intelligible by mortals. Does it not, however, bear a
considerable analogy to the agency of the Holy Ghost
in the Christian economy? Are not the gracious ope-
rations of the blessed Spirit thus extensive, thus admi-
rable, thus various ? That Almighty Being transmits
his gifts through every age and communicates his
graces to every adherent on the Redeemer ; all, either
of illustrious memory, or of beneficial tendency ; in a
word " all the good that is done upon earth, he doth it
himself." Strong in his aid, and in the power of his
might, the saints of all times have trod vice under
their feet, have triumphed over this abject world, and
conversed in heaven while they dwelt on earth. " Not
I, but the grace of God which was with me," is the
unanimous acknowledgment of them all. By the same
kindly succours, the whole church is still enlightened,
quickened, and governed. Through his benign influ-
ences, the scales of ignorance fall from the understand-
ing, the leprosy of evil concupiscence is purged from,

23*

270 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

the will, and the fetters, the more than adamantine fet-
ters, of habitual iniquity, drop off from the conversation.
He breathes even upon dry bones, and they live ; they
are animated with faith, they pant with ardent and
heavenly desire, they exercise themselves in all the
duties of godliness. His real, though secret inspira-
tion, dissolves the flint in the impenitent breast, and
binds up the sorrows of the broken heart ; raises the
thoughts high in the elevations of holy hope, yet lays
them low in the humiliations of inward abasement j
steels the soul with impenetrable resolutions and per.-
severing fortitude, at the same time softens it into a
dove-like meekness, and melts it in penitential sorrow.

When I contemplate those ample and magnificent
structures, erected over all the sethereal plains ; when
I look upon them as so many splendid repositories
of light, or fruitful abodes of life ; when I remem-
ber that there may be other orbs, vastly more remote
than those which appear to our unaided sight ; orbs,
whose effulgence, though travelling ever since the cre-
ation, is not yet arrived upon our coasts ; when I
stretch my thoughts to me innumerable orders of being
which inhabit all those spacious systems, from the lofti-
est seraph to the lowest reptile: from, the armies of
angels which surround the throne of Jehovah, to the
puny nations which tinge with blue the surface of the
plum, or mantle the standing pool with green : how-
various appear the links in this immense chain ! how
vast the gradations in this universal scale of exist-
ence ! Yet all these, though ever so vast and various,
are the ivork of God's hand, and are full of his presence.

He rounded in his palm those dreadfully large
globes, which are pendulous in the vault of heaven.
He kindled those astonishingly bright fires which
fill the firmament with a flood of glory. By him they
are suspended in fluid osther, and cannot be shaken ;
by him they dispense a perpetual tide of beams, and
are never exhausted. He formed, with inexpressible

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 271

nicety, that delicately fine collection of tubes, that un-
known multiplicity of subtle springs ; which organize
and actuate the frame of the minutest insect ; he bids
the crimson current roll, the vital movements play, and
associates a world of wonders, even in an animated
point. In all these is a signal exhibition of creating
power ; to all these are extended the special regards of
preserving goodness. From hence, let me learn to
rely on the providence, and to revere the presence of
the Supreme Being.

To rely on his providence. For amidst that incon-
ceivable number and variety of beings which swarm
through the regions of creation, not one is overlooked,
not one is neglected, by the great omnipotent cause
of all. However inconsiderable in its character, or
diminutive in its size, it is still the production of the
universal Maker, and belongs to the family of the
Almighty Father. What though enthroned arch-
angels enjoy the smiles of his countenance! Yet the
low inhabitants of earth, the most despicable worms
of the ground, are not excluded from his providen-
tial care. Though the manifestations of his perfec-
tions is vouchsafed to holy and intellectual essences,
his ear is open to the cries of the young raven ; his
eye is attentive to the wants and to the welfare of the
very meanest births of nature. How much, less, then
are his own people disregarded; those for whom he
has delivered his beloved Son to death, and for whom
he has prepared habitations of eternal joy ! They disr
regarded ! No ; they are " kept as the apple of an eye ;"
the very hairs of their head are all numbered. The
fondest mother may forget the infant that is " dandled
upon her knees," and sucks at her breast, much sooner
than the Father of everlasting compassions can discon-
tinue, or remit his watcnful tenderness to his people, his
children, his heirs.

Let this teach me also a more lively sense of the
divine presence. All the rolling worlds above, all

272 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

the living atoms below, together with all the beings
that intervene betwixt these wide extremes, are vouch-
ers for an ever-present Deity. " God has not left him-
self without witness ;" the marks of his footsteps are
evident in every place,, and the touches of his ringer
distinguishable in ever creature. " Thy name is so
highj " O thou all-supporting, all-informing Lord, and
that do thy wondrous works declare. Thy goodness
warm sin the morning sun, and refreshes in the even-
ing breeze ; thy glory shines in the lamps of mid-
night^ and smiles in the blossoms of spring. We see
a trace of thy incomprehensible grandeur in the bound-
less extent of things ; and a sketch of thy exquisite skill
in those almost evanescent sparks of life, the insect
race." How stupid is this heart of mine, that amidst
.such a multitude of remembrancers, thronging on every
side, I should forget thee a single moment ! Grant
me, thou great / am, thou source and support of uni-
versal existence ! O ! grant me an enlightened eye to
discern thee in every object, and a devout heart, to
adore thee on every occasion, instead of living with-
out God in the world, may I be ever with him, and see
things full of him !

The glitt'ring stars.

By the deep ear of meditation heard,
-'Still in their midnight watches sing of him:
He nods a calm. The tempest blows his wrath.
The thunder is his voice ; and the red flash
His speedy sword of justice. At his touch
The mountains flame. He shakes the solid earth,
And rocks the nations. Nor in these alone,
In ev'ry common instance God is seen.

[THOMSON'S SPUING.

If the beautiful spangles, which a clear night pours
on the beholder's eye; if those other fires, which
beam in remoter skies, and are discoverable only by
that revelation to the sight, the telescope ; if all those
bright millions are so many fountains of day, enriched
with native and independent lustre, illuminating pla-

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 273

nets, and enlivening systems of their own ; what pomp,
how majestic and splendid, is disclosed in the midnight
scene! What riches are disseminated through all
those numberless provinces of the great Jehovah's em-
pire! Grandeur beyond expression! Yet, there is
not the meanest slave but carries greater wealth in his
own bosom, possesses superior dignity in his own per-
son. The soul, that informs his clay ; the soul, that
teaches him to think, and enables him to choose ; that
qualifies him to relish rational pleasure, and to breathe
sublime desire ; the 'soul, that is endowed with such
noble faculties ; and, above all, is distinguished with,
the dreadful the glorious capacity, of being pained or
blessed for ever; this soul surpasses in worth what-
ever the eye can see ; whatever of material the fancy
can imagine. Before one such intellectual being, all
the treasure and all the magnificence of unintelligent
creation becomes poor and contemptible. For this
soul, Omnipotence itself has waked and worked
through every age. To convince this soul, the funda-
mental laws of nature have been controlled, and the
most amazing miracles have alarmed all the ends of
the earth. To instruct this soul, the wisdom of hea-
ven has been transfused into the sacred page, and mis-
sionaries have been sent from the Great King, who
resides in light unapproachable. To sanctify this soul,
the Almighty Comforter takes the wings of a dove ;
and, with a sweet transforming influence, broods on
the human heart. AndO! to redeem this soul from
guilt ; to rescue it from hell ; the heaven of heavens
was bowed, and God himself came down to dwell in
dust.

Let me pause a while upon this important subject.
What are the schemes which engage the attention of
eminent statesmen and mighty monarchs, compared
with the grand interests of an immortal soul! The
support of commerce, and the success of armies,
though extremely weighty affairs ; yet, if laid in the

274 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

balance against the salvation of a soul, are lighter than
die downy feather poised against talents of gold. To
save a navy from shipwreck, or a kingdom from sla-
very, are deliverances of the most momentous nature
xvhich the transactions of mortality can admit. But O !
how they shrink into an inconsiderable trifle, if (their
aspect upon immortality forget) they are set in compe-
tition with the delivery of a single soul, from the an-
guish and horrors of a distressed eternity !

Is such the importance of the soul ? What vigilance
then can be too much ; or rather what holy solicitude
can be sufficient^ for the overseers of the Saviour's flock,
and the guardians of this great, this venerable, this
invaluable charge ? Since such is the importance of
the soul, wilt thou not, O man, be watchful for the pre-
servation of thy own? Shall every casual incident
awaken thy concern ; every transitory toy command
thy regard ; and shall the welfare of thy soul, a work
of continual occurrence, a work of endless conse-
quence, sue in vain for thy serious care ? Thy soul,
thy soul is thy all. If this be secured thou art greatly
rich, and wilt be unspeakably happy. If this be lost,
a whole world acquired will leave thee in poverty ;
and all its delights enjoyed, will abandon thee to
misery.

I have often been charmed, and awed at the sight of
the nocturnal heavens ; even before I knew how to
consider them in their proper circumstances of majesty
and beauty. Something like magic, has struck my
mind, on a transient and unthinking survey of the
83thereal vault, tinged throughout with the purest
azure, and decorated with innumerable starry lamps.
I have felt I know not what, powerful and aggrandiz-
ing impulse, which seemed to snatch me from the low
entanglements of vanity, and prompted an ardent sigh
for sublimer objects. Methought I heard, even from the
silent spheres, a commanding call, to spurn the abject
earth, and pant after unseen delights. Henceforward,

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 275

I hope to imbibe more copiously this moral emanation
of the skies ; when in some such manner as the pre-
ceeding, they are rationally seen, and the sight is duly
improved. The stars, I trust, will teach as well as
shine ; and help to dispel, both nature's gloom, and my
intellectual darkness. To some people, they discharge
no better a service than that of holding a flambeau
to their feet, and softening the horrors of their night.
To me and my friends, may they act as ministers of a
superior order ; as counsellors of wisdom, and guides
to happiness ? Nor will they fail to execute this
noble office, if they gently light our way into the
knowledge of their adored Maker ; if they point out y
with their silver rays, our path to his beatific pre-
sence.

I gaze, I ponder. I ponder, I gaze ; and think in-
effable things. I roll an eye of awe and admiration.
Again and again I repeat my ravished views, and can
never satiate either my curiosity or my inquiry. I
spring my thoughts into this immense field, till even
fancy tires upon her wing; I find wonders ever new;
wonders more and more amazing. Yet, after all my
present inquiries, what a mere nothing do I know ;
by all my future searches, how little shall I be able to
learn of those vastlv distant suns, and their circling

V * ^J

retinue of worlds ! Could I pry with Newtoris pierc-
ing sagacity, or launch into his extensive surveys ; even
then, my apprehensions would be little better than
those dim and scanty images, which the mole, just
emerged from her cavern, receives on her feeble op-
tic. This, sure, should repress an impatient or im-
moderate ardour to pry into the secrets of the starry
structures, and make me more particularly careful to
cultivate my heart. To fathom the depth of the Divine
Essence ; or to scan universal nature, with a critical
exactness, is an attempt, which sets the acutest philoso-
pher very nearly on a level with the idiot; since it is

276 CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

almost, if not altogether, as impracticable by the former
as by the latter.

Be it, then, my chief study, not to pursue what is
absolutely unattainable ; but rather to seek what is ob-
vious to find, easy to be acquired, and of inestimable
advantage when possessed. O ! let me seek that cha-
rity , which edifieth ; that faith, which purifieth. Love,
humble love, not conceited science, keeps the door of
heaven. Faith, a child-like faith in Jesus ; not the
haughty self-sufficient spirit, which scorns to be ignor-
ant of any thing ; presents a key to those abodes of
bliss. This present state is the scene destined to the
exercise of devotion ; the invisible world is the place
appointed for the enjoyment of knowledge. There, the
dawning of our infantile minds will be advanced to
the maturity of perfect day ; or rather, there our mid-
night shades will be brightened into all the lustre of
noon. There, the souls which come from the school
of faith, and bring with them the principles of love,
will dwell in light itself; will be obscured with no
darkness at all ; will know, even as they are known.
Such an acquaintance, therefore, do I desire to form,
and to carry on such a correspondence with the hea-
venly bodies, as may shed a benign influence on the
seeds of grace implanted in my breast. Let the exalted
tracts of the firmament sink my soul into deep humili-
ation ; let those eternal fires kindle in my heart an
adoring gratitude to their Almighty Sovereign ; let
yonder ponderous and enormous globes, which rest on
his supporting arm, teach me an unshaken affiance in
their incarnate Maker. Then shall I be if not
wise as the astronomical adept, yet wise unto salva-
tion.

Having now walked and worshipped in this univer-
sal temple, that is arched with skies, emblazed with
stars, and extended even to immensity ; having cast an
eye, like the enraptured patriarch, an eye of reason
and devotion^ through the magnificent scene ; with the

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 277

former, having discovered an infinitude of worlds;
and with the latter, having- met the Deity in every
view ; having beheld, as Moses in the flaming bush, a
glimpse of Jehovah's excellencies, reflected from the
several planets, and streaming from myriads of celes-
tial luminaries ; having read various lessons in that
stupendous Book of Wisdom, where immeasurable
sheets of azure compose the page ? and orbs of radiance
write, in everlasting characters, a comment on our
creed what remains, but that I close the midnight so-
lemnity, as our Lord concluded his grand sacramental
institution, with a song of praise? And behold a hymn,
suited to the sublime occasion, indited by inspiration
itself', transferred into our language by one of the hap-
piest efforts of human ingenuity.

The spacious firmament on high s
With all the blue sethereal sky,
And spangled heav'ns, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim :
Th' unwearied sun from day to day,
Does his Creator's pow'r display ;
And publishes to ev'ry land,
.The work of an Almighty hand.

Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale ;
And nightly, to the list'ning earth,
Repeats the story of her birth :
While all the stars, that round her burn,
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spreads the truth from pole to pole.

What though, in solemn silence, all
Move round the dark terrestrial ball ?
What though, nor real voice nor sound
Amid their radiant orbs be found?
In reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice,
For ever singing as they shine,

The hand that made us is divine.

A WINTER- PIECE.

'Tis true, in the delightful seasons, his tenderness
and his love are most eminently displayed. In the ver-
nal months, all is beauty to the eye, and music to the
ear. The clouds drop fatness: the air softens into
balm ; and flowers in rich abundance, spring wherever
we tread, bloom wherever we look. Amidst the burn-
ing heats of summer, he expands the leaves, and thick-
ens the shades. He spreads the cooling arbour to re-
ceive us, and awakes the gentle breeze to fan us ; the
moss swells into a couch for the repose of our bodies,
while the rivulet softly rolls and sweetly murmurs to
soothe our imagination. In autumn, his bounty covers
the fields with a profusion of nutrimental treasure, and
bends the boughs with loads of delicious fruit ; he fur-
nishes his hospitable board with present plenty, and pre-
pares a copious magazine for future wants. But is it
only in these smiling periods of the year, that God,
the all gracious God, is seen ? Has winter, stern win-
ter, no tokens of his presence ? Yes, all things are
eloquent of his praise. " His way is in the whirlwind."
Storms and tempests fulfil his word, and extol his power.
Even piercing frosts bear witness to his goodness,
while they bid the shivering nations tremble at his
wrath. Be winter, then, for a while, our theme. Per-
haps, those barren scenes may be fruitful of intellectual
improvement. Perhaps that rigorous cold, which
binds the earth in icy chains, may serve to enlarge our
hearts, and warm them with holy love.

See I how the day is shortened ! The sun, detained
in fairer climes, or engaged in more agreeable services,

CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. 279

rases, like an unwilling visitant, with tardy and reluc-
tant steps. He walks, with a shy indifference, along
the edges of the southern sky ; casting an oblique
glance, he just looks upon our dejected world, and
scarcely scatters light through the thick air. Dim is
his appearance, languid are his gleams while he con-
tinues. Or, if he chance to wear a brighter aspect and
a cloudless brow ; yet, like the young and gay in the
house of mourning, he seems uneasy till he is gone ; is
in haste to depart. And let him depart. Why should
we wish for his longer stay, since he can show us
nothing but the creation in distress ? The flowery fa-
milies Tie dead, and the tuneful tribes are struck dumb.
The trees, stripped of their verdure, and lashed by
storms, spread their naked arms to the enraged and re-
lentless heavens. Fragrance no longer floats in the
air ; but chilling damps hover, or cutting gales blow.
Nature, divested of all her beautiful robes, sits like a
forlorn disconsolate widow, in her weeds ; while winds
in doleful accents howl, and rains in repeated showers
iveep.

We regret not, therefore, the speedy departure of the
day. When the room is hung with funeral black, and
dismal objects are all around, who would desire to have
the glimmering taper kept alive : which can only dis-
cover spectacles of sorrow, can only make the horror
visible ? And since this mortal life is little better than
a continual conflict with sin, or an unremitted struggle
with misery ; is it not a gracious ordination which has
reduced our age to a span 1 Fourscore years of trial
for the virtuous are sufficiently long ; and more than
such a term, allowed to the wicked, would render them
beyond all measure vile. Our way to the kingdom of
heaven lies through tribulations. Shall we then ac-
cuse, shall we not rather bless, the Providence which
has made the passage short? Soon, soon we cross
the vale of tears, and then arrive on the happy hills,
where light for ever shines, where joy for ever smiles.

280 A WINTER-PIECE.

Sometimes the day is rendered shorter still, is almost
blotted out from the year. The vapours gather, they
thicken into an impenetrable gloom, and obscure the
face of the sky. At length the rains descend, the slui-
ces of the firmament are opened, and the low-hung
clouds pour the congregated stores. Copious and unin-
termitted, still they pour, and still are unexhausted.
The waters drop incessantly from the eaves, and rush
in rapid streams from the spouts. They roar along the
channelled pavements, and stand in foul shallows
amidst the village streets. Now, if the inattentive eye
or negligent hand has left the roof but scantily covered,
the insinuating element finds its way into every flaw,
and, oozing through the ceiling, at once upbraids and
chastises the careless inhabitant. The ploughman,
soaked to the skin, leaves his half-tilled acre. The
poor poultry, dripping with wet, crowd into shelter.
The tenants of the bough fold up their wings, afraid
to launch into the streaming air. The beasts, joyless
and dispirited, ruminate under their sheds. The roads
swim, and the brooks swell. The river, amidst all this
watery ferment, long contained itself within its ap-
pointed bounds : but swollen by innumerable currents,
and roused, at last, into incontrollable rage, bursts over
its banks, shoots into the plain, bears down all opposi-
tion, spreads itself far and wide, and buries the mea-
dow under a brown, sluggish, soaking deluge.

How happy for man, that this inundation comes,
when there are no flowery crops in the vale to be over-
whelmed ; no fields standing thick with corn to be laid
waste! At such a juncture, it would have been ruin
to the husbandman and his family ; but, thus timed, it
yields manure for his ground, and promises him riches
in reversion. How often, and how Ion or, has the Divine

/ o /

Majesty borne with the most injurious affronts from
sinners ! His goodness triumphed over their perverse-
ness, and graciously refused to be exasperated. But,
O presumptuous creatures, multiply no longer your

A WINTER-PIECE. 281

provocations. Urge not, by repeated iniquities, the Al-
mighty arm to strike ; lest his long-suffering cease, and
his fierce anger break forth ; break forth like a flood
of waters, and sweep you away into irrecoverable and
everlasting perdition.

How mighty ! how majestic ! and O ! how myste-
rious are thy works, thou God of heaven and Lord of
nature ! When the air is calm, where sleep the
stormy winds ? In what chambers are they reposed,
or in what dungeons confined ; till thou art pleased to
awaken their rage, and throw open their prison doors?
Then, with irresistible impetuosity they fly forth, scat-
tering dread and menacing destruction.

The atmosphere is hurled into the most tumultuous
confusion. The serial torrent bursts its way over
mountains, seas, and continents. All things feel the
dreadful shock. All things tremble before the furious
blast. The forest, vexed and torn, groans under the
scourge. Her sturdy sons are strained to the very
root, and almost sweep the soil they were wont to shade.
The stubborn oak, that disdains to bend, is dashed head-
long to the ground; and, with shattered arms, with
prostrate trunk, blocks the road ; while the flexile reed,
that springs up in the marsh, yielding to the gust, (as
the meek and pliant temper to injuries, or the resigned
and patient spirit to misfortunes,) eludes the force of
the storm, and survives amidst the wide spread havoc.

For a moment, the turbulent and outrageous sky
seems to be assuaged ; but it intermits its wrath only
to increase its strength. Soon the sounding squadrons
of the air return to the attack, and renew their ravages
with redoubled fury. The stately dome rocks amidst
the wheeling clouds. The impregnable tower totters
on its basis ; arid threatens to overwhelm whom it was
intended to protect. The ragged rock is rent in pieces;
and even the hills, the perpetual hills, on their deep
foundations, are scarcely secure. Where, now, is the
place of safety, when the city reels, and houses become

24*

282 A WINTER-PIECE.

heaps? Sleep affrighted flies. Diversion is turned
into horror* All is uproar in the elements ; all is con-
sternation among mortals ; and nothing hut one wide
scene of rueful devestation through the land. Yet,
this is only an inferior minister of divine displeasure ;
the executioner of milder indignation. How then, O I
how will the lofty looks of man be humbled, and the
haughtiness of men be bowed down ; when the Lord
God Omnipotent shall meditate terror when he shall
set all his terrors in array when he arises, to judge
the nations, and to shake terribly the earth !

The ocean swells with tremendous commotions.
The ponderous waves are heaved from their capa-
cious bed, and almost lay bare the unfathomable deep.
Flung into the most rapid agitation, they sweep over
the rocks, they lash the lofty cliffs ; and toss themselves
into the clouds. Navies are rent from their anchors ;
and, with all their enormous load, are whirled, swift as
the arrow, wild as the winds, along the vast abyss.
Now they climb the rolling mountain ; they plough
the frightful ridge, and seem to skim the skies. Anon,
they plunge into the opening gulf: they lose the sight
of day ; and are lost themselves to every eye. How
vain is the pilot's art! how impotent the mariner's
strength! They reel to 'and fro, and stagger in the
jarring hold ; or cling to the cordage, while bursting
seas foam over the deck. Despair is in every face,
and death sits threatening in every surge. But why,
O ye astonished mariners, why should you abandon
yourselves to despair ? Is the Lord's hand shortened,
because the waves of the sea rage horribly? Is his
ear deafened by the roaring thunders and the bellow-
ing tempest? Cry, cry unto him, who "holdeth the
winds in his fist, and the waters in the hollow of his
hand." He is all, gracious to hear, and almighty to
save. If he command, the storm shall be hushed to
silence ; the billows shall subside into a calm ; the
lightnings shall lay their fiery bolts aside ; and, instead

A WINTER-PIECE. 283

of sinking in a watery grave, you shall find yourselves
brought to the desired haven.

Sometimes, after a joyless day, a more dismal night
succeeds. The lazy, lowering vapours had wove so
thick a veil, as the meridian sun could scarcely pene-
trate. What gloom then must overwhelm the noctur-
nal hours ! The moon withdraws her shining. Not
a single star is able to struggle through the deep ar-
rangement of shades. All is pitchy darkness, without
one enlivening ray. How solemn ! how awful ! 'Tis
like the shroud of nature,, or the return of chaos. I
don't wonder that it is the parent of terrors, and so apt
to engender melancholy. Lately, the tempest marked
its rapid way with mischief ; now the night dresses
her silent pavilion with horror.

I have sometimes left the beaming tapers, withdrawn
from the ruddy fire, and plunged into the thickest
of these sooty shades, without regretting the change,
rather exulting in it as a welcome deliverance. The
very gloom was pleasing, was exhilarating, compared
with the conversation I quitted. The speech of my
companions (how does it grieve me, that I should even
once have occasion to call them by that name!) was
the language of darkness ; was horror to the soul,
and torture to the eari Their teeth loerc spears and ar-
rows, and their tongue a sharp sword, to stab and as-
sassinate their neighbour's character. Their throat
was an open sepulchre, gaping to devour the repu-
tation of the innocent, or tainting the air with their
virulent and polluted breath. Sometimes, their licen-
tious and ungovernable discourse shot arrows of pro-
faneness against heaven itself; and, in proud defiance,
challenged the resentment of Omnipotence. Sometimes,
as if it was the glory of human nature to cherish the
grossest appetites of the brute, or the mark of a gentle-
man to have served an apprenticeship in a brothel , the
filthiest jests of the stews (if low obscenity can be a
jest) were nauseously obtruded on the company. All

284 A WINTER-PIECE.

the modest part were offended and grieved ; while the
other besotted creatures laughed aloud, though the le-
prosy of uncleanness appeared on their lips. Are not
these persons 'prisoners of darkness; though blazing
sconces pour artificial day through their rooms?
Are not their souls immured in the most baleful
shades; though the noontide sun is brightened by
flaming on their gilded chariots ? They discern not
that great and adorable Being, who fills the universe
with his infinite and glorious presence ; who is all eye
to observe their actions, all ear to examine their words.
They know not the all-sufficient Redeemer, nor the
unspeakable blessedness of his heavenly kingdom.
They are groping for the prize of happiness, but
will certainly grasp the thorn of anxiety. They are
wantonly sporting on the brink of a precipice ; and
are every moment in danger of falling headlong into
irretrievable ruin and endless despair.

They have forced me out, and are, perhaps, derid-
ing me in my absence ; are charging my reverence for
the ever-present God, and my concern for the dignity
of our rational nature, to the account of humour and
singularity, to narrowness of thought or sourness of
temper. Be it so. I will indulge no indignation
against them. If any thing like it should arise, I
will convert it into prayer " Pity them, O thou Fa-
ther of Mercies ! Show them the madness of their
profaneness ! Show them the baseness of their vile
ribaldry! Let their dissolute rant he turned into si-
lent sorrow and confusion ; till they open their lips to
adore thine insulted majesty, and to implore thy graci-
ous pardon ; till they devote to thy service those social
hours, and those superior faculties, which they are
now abusing to the dishonour of thy name to the
contamination of their own souls and (unless timely
repentance intervene) to their everlasting infamy and
perdition."

I ride home amidst the gloomy void. All darkling

A WINTER-PIECE. 285

and solitary, I can scarce discern my horse's head ;
and only guess, out my blind road. No companion but
danger, or perhaps " destruction ready at my side." But
why do I fancy myself solitary? Is not the Father of"
Lights, the God of my life, the great and everlasting
Friend, always at my right hand? Because the day
is excluded, is his Omnipresence vacated? Though I
have no earthly acquaintance near, to assist in case of"
a misfortune ; or to beguile the time, and divert uneasy
suspicions, by entertaining conferences ; may I not lay
my help upon the Almighty, and converse with God
by humble supplication ? For this exercise, no place
is improper, no hour unseasonable, and no posture in-
commodious. This is society, the best of society, even
in solitude. This is a fund of delights, easily portable,
and quite inexhaustible ; a treasure this, of unknown
value ; liable to no hazard from wrong or robbery j
but perfectly secure to the lonely wanderer in the most
darksome paths.

And why should I distress myself with apprehen-
sions of peril ? This access to God is not only an in-
defeasible privilege, but a kind of ambulatory garrison.
Those who make known their requests unto God, and
rely upon his protecting care, he gives his angels
charge over their welfare. His angels are commis-
sioned to escort them in their travelling, and to hold up
their goings, that they dash not their foot against a
stone. Nay, he himself condescends to be their guar-
dian, and " keeps all their bones, so that not one of
them is broken." Between these persons and the most
mischievous objects, a treaty of peace is concluded.
The articles of this grand alliance are recorded in the
book of revelation ; and will, when it is for the real
benefit of believers, assuredly be made good in the ad-
ministration of providence. In that day, saith the
Lord, will I make a covenant for them with the beasts
of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with
the creeping things of the ground ; and they shall

286 A WINTER-PIECE.

be in league with the stones of the field. Though
they fall headlong on the flints ; even the flints, fit-
ted to fracture the skull, shall receive them as into
the arms of friendship, and not offer to hurt whom
the Lord is pleased to preserve.

May I then enjoy the presence of this gracious
God, and darkness and light shall be both alike. Let
him whisper peace to my conscience ; and this dread
silence shall be more charming than the voice of elo-
quence, or the strains of music. Let him reveal his
ravishing perfections in my soul ; and I shall not want
the saffron beauties of the morn, the golden glories of
noon, or the impurpled evening sky. I shall sigh only
for those most desirable and distinguished realms,
where the light of his countenance perpetually shines ;
and consequently, "there is no night there."

How surprising are the alterations of nature ! I
left her, the preceding evening, plain and unadorned.
But now a thick rime, has shed its hoary honours over
all. It has shagged the fleeces of the sheep, and
crisped the traveller's locks. The hedges are richly
fringed, and all the ground is profusely powdered.
The downward branches are tasseled with silver, and
the upright are feathered with the plumy wave.

The fine are not always the valuable. The air,
amidst all these gaudy decorations, is charged with
chilling and unwholesome damps. The raw, hazy in-
fluence spreads wide, sits deep, hangs heavy and op-
pressive on the springs of life. A listless languor clogs
the animal functions, and the purple stream glides but
faintly through its channels. In vain, the ruler of the
day exerts his beaming powers ; in vain he attempts
to disperse this insurrection of vapours. The sullen,
malignant cloud refuses to depart. It envelopes the
world, and intercepts the prospect. I look abroad
for the neighbouring village ; I send my eye in quest
of the rising turret ; but am scarce able to discern the
very next house. Where are the blue arches of hea-

A WINTER-PIECE. 287

ven ? Where is the radiant countenance of the sun 1
Where the boundless scenes of creation ? Lost, lost
are their beauties, quenched their glories. The
thronged theatre of the universe seems an empty void r
and all its elegant pictures an undistinguished blank.
Thus would it have been with our intellectual views,.,
if the Gospel had not come in to our relief. We
should have known, neither oaf true good, nor reaL
evil. We had been a riddle to ourselves ; the present,
state all confusion, and the future impenetrable dark-
ness. But the Sun of Righteousness, arising with po-
tent and triumphant beams, has dissipated the interpos-
ing cloud, has opened a prospect more beautiful than
the blossoms of spring, more cheering than the trea-
sures of autumn, and far more enlarged than the ex-
tent of the visible system : which, having led the eye
of the mind through fields of grace, over rivers of
righteousness, and hills crowned with knowledge, ter-
minates at length in the heavens, sweetly losing itself
in regions of infinite bliss and endless glory.

As I walk along the fog, it seems, at some little dis-
tance, to be almost solid gloom ; such as would shut
out every glimpse of light, and totally imprison me in
obscurity. But when I approach and enter it, I find
myself agreeably mistaken, and the mist much thinner
than it appeared. Such is the case with regard to the
sufferings of the present life ; they are not, when ex-
perienced, so dreadful as a timorous imagination sur-
mised. Such also is the case with reference to the
gratifications of sense: they prove not, when enjoy-
ed, so substantial as a sanguine expectation repre-
sented. In both instances we are graciously disap-
pointed. The keen edge of the calamity is blftnted,
that it may not wound us with incurable anguish:
the exquisite relish of the prosperity is palled, that
it may not captivate our affections, and enslave them
to inferior delights.

Sometimes, the face of things wears a more pleasing

1288 A WINTER-PIECE.

form; the very reverse of the foregoing. The sober
evening advances, to close the short lived day. The
firmament, clear and unsullied, puts on his brightest
blue. The stars, in thronging multitudes, and with a
peculiar brilliancy, glitter through the fair expanse ;
while the frost pours its subtle and penetrating influ-
ence all around. Sharp and intensely severe all the
long night the rigid aBther continues its operations.
When, late and slow, the morning opens her pale eye,
in what a curious and amusing disguise is nature
dressed ! The icicles, jagged and uneven, and pen-
dent on the houses. A whitish film incrusts the win-
dows, where mimic landscapes rise, and fancied figures
swell. The fruitful fields are hardened to iron ; the
moistened meadows are congealed to marble ; and
both resound (an effect unknown before) with the
peasant's hasty tread. The stream is arrested in its
career, and its ever-flowing surface chained to the
banks. The fluid paths become a solid road ; where
the finny shoals were wont to rove, the sportive youth
slide, or the rattling chariots roll. And, (what would
seem, to an inhabitant of the southern world, as unac-
countable as the deepest mysteries of our religion,)
that very same breath of heaven, which cements the
lakes into a crystal pavement, cleaves the oaks as it
were with invisible wedges ; " breaks in pieces the
northern iron, and the steel, even while it builds a
bridge of icy rock over the seas."

The air is all serenity. Refined by the nitrous par-
ticles, it affords the most distinct views and extensive
prospects. The seeds of infection are killed, and the
pestilence destroyed, even in embryo. So, the cold of
affliction tends to mortify our corruptions and subdue
our vicious habits. The crowding atmosphere con-
stringe's our bodies, and braces our nerves. The
spirits are buoyant, and sally briskly on the execution
of their office. In the summer months, such an un-
clouxbd sky, and so bright a sun, would have melted

A WINTER-PIECE. 289

us with heat, and softened us into supineness. We
should have been ready to throw our limbs under the
spreading beech, and to lie at ease by the murmuring
brook. But, now, none loiters in his path ; none is
seen with folded arms. All is in motion ; all is acti-
vity. Choice, prompted by the weather, supplies the
spur of necessity. Thus, the rugged school of misfor-
tune often trains up the mind to a vigorous exertion of
its faculties. The bleak climate of adversity often in-
spirits us with a manly resolution ; when a soft and
downy affluence, perhaps, would have relaxed all the
generous springs of the soul, and have left it enervated
with pleasure, or dissolved in indolence.

" Cold cometh out of the north." The winds, hav-
ing swept those deserts of snow, arm themselves with
millions of frozen particles, and make a fierce descent
upon our isle. Under black and scowling clouds,
they drive, dreadfully whizzing, through the darkened
air : they growl around our houses, assault our doors,
and, eager for entrance, fasten on our windows. Walls
can scarce restrain them, bars are unable to exclude
them ; through every cranny they force their way.
Ice is on their wings ; they scatter agues through tne
land ; and winter, all winter rages as they go. Their
breath is as a searing iron to the little verdure left in 1
the plains : vastly more pernicious to the tender plants
than the sharpest knife ; they kill their branches, and
wound the very root. Let not the corn venture to
peep too freely from the entrenchment of the furrow ;
let not the fruit-bearing blossoms dare to come abroad
from their lodgement in the bark j lest these murderous
blasts intercept and seize the unwary strangers, and
destroy the hopes of the advancing year.

O, ' tis severely cold ! Who is so hardy, as not to
shrink at this excessively pinching weather? See!
every face is pale : even the blooming cheeks contract
a gelied hue ; and the teeth hardly forbear chattering 1 .
Ye that sit easy and joyous amidst your commodious

25

290 A WINTER-PIECE.

apartments, solacing- yourselves in the diffusive warmth
-of your fire, be mindful of your brethren in the cheer-
less tenement of poverty. Their shattered panes are
open to the piercing winds ; a tattered garment scarcely
covers their shivering flesh, while a few faint and dying
embers on the squalid hearth rather mock their
wishes than warm their limbs. While the generous
juices of Oporto sparkle in your glasses; or the
streams, beautifully tinged and deliciously flavoured
with the Chinese leaf, smoke in the elegant porcelain ;
O remember, that many of your fellow creatures,
amidst all the rigour of these inclement skies, are
emaciated with sickness, benumbed with age, and
pining with hunger. Let "their loins bless you"
for comfortable clothing ; restore them with medicine ;
regale them with food ; and baffle the raging year.
So may you never know any of their distresses, but
only by the hearing of the ear, the seeing of the eye,
or the feeling of a tender commiseration ! Methinks,
the bitter blustering winds plead for the poor indigents.
May they breathe pity into your breasts, while they
blow hardships into their huts ! Observe those blue
flames and ruddy coals in your chimney : quickened
by the cold, they look more lively, and glow more
strongly: silent but seasonable admonition to the gay
circle that chat and smile around them ! Thus may
your hearts, at such a juncture of need, kindle into a
peculiar benevolence! Detain not your superfluous
piles of wood: let them hasten to the relief of the
starving family. Bid them expire in many a willing
blaze to mitigate the severity of the season, and cheer
the bleak abodes of want. So shall they ascend, min-
gled with thanksgivings to God, and ardent prayers
for your welfare ascend, more grateful to Heaven
than columns of the most costly incense.

Now the winds cease. Having brought their load,
they are dismissed from service, They have wafted
an immense cargo of clouds, which empty themselves

A WINTER-PIECE. 291

in snow. At first, a few scattered shreds come wan-
dering down the saddened sky. This slight skirmish,
is suceeded by a general onset. The flakes, large and
numerous, and thick, wavering descend. They dim
the air, and hasten the approach of night, in softest
silence, and with a continual flow, this fleecy shower
falls. In the morning, when we awake, what a sur-
prising change appears! Is this the same world?
Here is no diversity of colour ! I can hardly distin-
guish the trees from the hills on which they grow.
Which are the meadows, and which the plains ? where
are the green pastures, and where the fallow lands ?
All things lie blended in bright confusion ; so bright that
it heightens the splendour of day, and even dazzles the-
organs of sight. The lawn is not so fair as this snowy
mantle which invests the fields ; and even the lily r
was the lily to appear, would look tarnished in its pre-
sence. I can think of but one thing which excels or
equals the glittering robe of winter. Is any person
desirous to know my meaning ? He may find it ex-
plained in that admirable hymn composed by the royal
penitent. Is any desirous to possess this matchless or-
nament, he will find it offered to his acceptance in every
page of the gospel.

See ! (for the eye cannot satisfy itself without view-
ing again and again the curious, the delicate scene,)
see how the hedges are habited like spotless vestals I
The houses are roofed with uniformity and lustre ; the
meadows are covered with a carpet of the finest er-
mine ; the groves bow beneath the lovely burden ; and
all, all below, is one wide immense, shining waste
of white. By deep snows, and heavy rains, God seal-
eth the hand of every man ; and for this purpose, adds
our sacred philosopher, that all men may know his
work. He confines them within their doors, and
puts a stop their secular business, that they may
consider the things which belong to their spiritual
welfare; that, having a vacation from their ordi-

292 A WINTER-PIECE.

*

nary employ, they may observe the works of his power,
and become acquainted with the mysteries of his
grace.

And worthy, worthy of all observation, are the
works of the Great Creator. They are prodigiously
various, and perfectly amazing. How pliant and how
ductile is nature under his forming hand ! At his com-
mand, the self-same substance assumes the most differ-
ent shapes, and is transformed into an endless multipli-
city of figures. If he ordains, the water is moulded
into hail, and discharged upon the earth like a
volley of shot ; or it is consolidated into ice, and
defends the rivers, "as it were with a breast-plate."
At the bare intimation of his will, the very same ele-
ment is scattered in hoar-frost, like a sprinkling of the
most attenuated ashes ; or is spread over the surface of
the ground, in these couches of swelling and flaky
down.

The snow, however it may carry the appearance of
cold, affords a warm garment for the corn ; screens it
from nipping frosts, and cherisheth its infant growth.
It will abide for a while, to exert a protecting care,
and exercise a fostering influence ; then, touched by
the sun, or thawed by a softening gale, the furry ves-
ture melts into genial moisture, sinks deep into the soil,
and saturates its pores with the dissolving nitre ; re-
plenishing the glebe with those principles of vege-
tative life which will open into the bloom of spring,
and ripen into the fruits of autumn. Beautiful emblem
this, and comfortable representation of the divine word,
both in the successful and advantageous issue of its
operation ! " As the rain cometh down, and the snow
from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth
the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it
may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater ; so
shall my word be, that goeth forth out of my mouth ;
it shall not return unto me void, but shall accomplish

A WINTER-PIECE. 293

that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing
whereunto I sent it."

Nature at length puts off her lucid veil. She drops
it in a trickling thaw. The loosened snow rolls in
sheets from the houses ; various openings spot the hills,
which, even while we look, become larger and more
numerous. The trees rid themselves, by degrees, of
the hoary encumbrance ; shook from the springing
houghs, part falls heavy to the ground, part flies abroad
in shining atoms. Our fields and gardens, lately
buried beneath the drifted heaps, rise plain and distinct
to view. Since we see nature once again, has she no
verdent traces, no beautiful features left ? They are,,
like real friends, very rare ; and therefore the more par-
ticularly to be regarded, the more highly to be valued*
Here and there the holly hangs out her glowing ber-
ries ; the laurustinus spreads her graceful tufts ; and
both under a covert of unfading foliage. The plain
but hardy ivy clothes the decrepid, crazy wall ; nor
shrinks from the friendly office, though the skies frown,
and the storm roars. The laurel, firm, erect and bold,
expands its leaf of vivid green. In spite of the united,
the repeated attacks of wind, and rain, and frost, it
preserves an undismayed, lively look, and maintains-
its post, while withering millions fall around ; worthy,,
by vanquishing the rugged force of winter, worthy to-
adorn the triumphant conqueror's brow. Nor must I
forget the bo,y tree, which scorns to be a mean pensioner
on a few transient sunny gleams ; or, with a servile-
obsequiousness, to vary its appearance in conformity to
the changing seasons : by such indications of sterling-
worth and stanch resolution reading a lecture to the
poet's genius, while it weaves the chaplet for his temples.
These, and a few other plants, clad with native ver-
dure, retain their comely aspect in the bleakest climes
and in the coldest months.

Such, and so durable, are the accomplishments of a
refined understanding and an amiable temper. The

25*

294 A WINTER-PIECE.

tawdry ornaments of dress, which catch the unthink-
ing vulgar, soon become insipid and despicable ; the
rubied lip and the rosy cheek fade : even the spark-
ling wit, as well as the sparkling eye, please but for a
moment. But the virtuous mind has charms which
survive the decay of every inferior embellishment ;
charms which add to the fragrancy of the flower, the
'permanency of the evergreen.

Such, likewise, is the happiness of the sincerely re-
ligious ; like a tree, says the inspired moralist, " wiiose
leaf shalf not fall." He borrows not his peace from
external circumstances, but has a fund within, and is
"satisfied from himself." Even though impoverished
by calamitous accidents, he is rich in the possession of
grace, and richer in the hope of glory. His joys are
infinitely superior to, as well as nobly independent on,
the transitory glow of sensual delight, or the capri-
cious favours of what the world calls fortune.

If the snow composes the light-armed troops of the
sky, methinks the hail constitutes its heavy artillery.
When driven by a vehement wind, with what dread-
ful impetuosity does that stony shower fall ! How it
rebounds from the frozen ground, and rattles on the
resounding dome ! It attenuates the rivers into smoke,
or scourges them into foam. It crushes the infant
flowers, cuts in pieces the gardener's early plants, and
batters the feeble fortifications of his glasses into shi-
vers. It darts into the traveller's face ; he turns with
haste from the stroke, or feels on his cheek for the
gushing blood. If he would retreat into the house, it
follows him even thither ; and, like a determined enemy
that pushes the pursuit, dashes through the crack-
ling panes. But the fierce attack is quickly over : the
clouds have soon spent their shafts, soon unstrung their
bow. Happy for the inhabitants of the earth that a
sally so dreadfully furious should be so remarkably
short ! What, else, could endure the shock, or escape
destruction?

A WINTER-PIECE, 295

But, behold a bow, of no hostile intention ! a bow,
painted in variegated colours on the disburdened cloud.
How vast is the extent, how delicate the texture, of that
showery arch ! It compasseth the heavens with a glo-
rious circle, and teaches us to forget the horror of the
storm. Elegant its form, and rich its tincture, but
more delightful its sacred significancy. While the
violet and the rose blush in its beautiful aspect, the olive
branch smiles in its gracious import. It writes in ra-
diant dyes, what the angels sang in harmonious strains,
" Peace on earth, and good will towards men." It is
the stamp of ^insurance for the continuance of seed
time and harvest, for the preservation and security of
the visible world ; it is the comfortable token of a better
state, and a happier kingdom a kingdom, where
sin shall cease, and misery be abolished ; where storms
shall beat, and winter pierce no more ; but holiness,
happiness, and joy, like one unbounded spring^ for
ever ever bloom.

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ly evangelical, and the tendency quickening, elevating, comforting. It may
very profitably occupy an hour or two of any person's leisure, who reads for
the gratification of a refined taste, fur the cultivation of a religious seinibiJtty,
m lac improvement in the Christian life." Albany Daily Adverttttr.

5

THE HISTORY OF MICHAEL KEMP.
, THE HAPPY FARMER'S LAD. A Tale of Rustic Life,

f illustrative of the Spiritual Blessings and Temporal Advantage*
I of Early Piety. By Anne Woodrooffe. 2d edition. 18mo.

" A capital story is here told ; a tale of rustic life, illustrating the profit of
godliness for this life and that to come. We have been reading it with deep
interest, and commend it cordially." New-York Observer. ,

f *' Thoroughly and intently have we read this book, ' because,' as Talbot
aid of Boswell's Life of Johnson, ' we couldn't help it.' We were struck
with the ingenuous disposition and firm principles of Michael, and we wished
to see how they would bear him through trying scenes. In other words, our
feelings became so intently but agreeably absorbed, that we not only traced
Michael through a book of 250 pages, but if there had been one or two more
volumes we fear that we would have perused them. So much for the inter-
est which the story excites ; the other merits of the book are not inferior."
Baptist Advocate. _

THE pROOK IN THE LOT,- or a Display of the
Sovereignty and Wisdom of God in the Afflictions of Men,
L ' and the Christian's deportment under them. By the Rer.
$ Thomas Boston. 18mo.

" Boston is well known as one of the strongest Calvinistic writers, and til*
volume before us bears the marks of his vigorous mind, and the fruits of hi*
deep and evangelical piety. It is accompanied by a warm recommendation
from the Rev. Dr. Alexander, Princeton." New-York Observer. ,

A TRIBUTE OF PARENTAL AFFECTION

t to the Memory of my beloved and only Daughter, Hannah
w 'v Jerram, with a short account of the last illness and death of her
/ elder Brother, Charles Stranger Jerram. By the Rev. Charlea
$ Jerram, A.M., Vicar of Chatham, Surrey. From the 5th Lon.
don edition. 18mo.

" This book is a delineation of the effects of early and eminent piety, drawn
by a parent's hand, with all the tenderness of yearning solicitude. This cir-
cumstance commends it at once to our sympathies, and is also, to some extent)
a guaranty of real value." Christian Watchman.

*' We regard this little book with much favour. The dying scene is most
feelingly portrayed, and the reader, if his better sensibilities be not blunted*
will be constrained to weep with those that weep." Presbyterian. _.

D EC A PO L I S j or, the Individual Obligationsof Christian
L to Save Souls from Death. By David Everard Ford. From
i the 6th London edition.

" This book is an exhortation to Christians, and Christian ministers, to x~
ercise greater faithfulness in saving souls from eternal death. We hare read
it with much pleasure, and we hope with some profit. It is adapted to tb
age in which we live an age in which, with the bustle, excitement, aad
worldliness surrounding us, the Christian needs something to direct his *ttn>
tion to those subjects which will add to the lustre of his crown of rejoicinf in
the kingdom of glory. And what is there so well calculated to do thu aa
consciousness that we are co-operating with the Saviour of sinners in redems*
ing a world lying in wickedness ? The book is most beautifully got up ; aad
we could wish that it might be read and pondered by ertrj out who indulge*
ft Wp that to is > GbdttuAS Jim-York jfosafwt*

& 6

TR U E HAPPINESS; or, the Excellence and Power
of Early Religion. By J. G. Pike, author of " Persuasives to
if Early Piety," &c. &c. 18mo. 2d edition.
" "We shall sufficiently describe the character of this book by representing
it as a collect!** of brief memoirs of eminently pious persons, which illustrate
the power of religion in imparting true happiness. We can recommend it to
our young readers, who will find it adapted to engage their attention and
amend their hearts." Presbyterian.

CHARLIE SEYMOUR 5 or the Good Aunt and the
3. Bad Aunt. By Miss Catherine Sinclair, author of " Modern
if Accomplishments," &c. 18mo. 3d edition.
* *' A charming book for youth, in which some interesting lessons are taught,
and so taught .that they will be read with delight, and remembered after they
are read." New-York Observer.

" This is an interesting little volume, designed for the religious instruction
of children. In style it is animated, yet simple, and well adapted to their
powers of understanding ; in sentiment it is pure and elevated ; the incident*
interwoven in Charlie's early history are such as cannot fail to attract and se-
eure attention, and, at the same time, inculcate a most important lesson. The
choice he was called to make between a good and bad guardian, is the very
act which all repeat in some form in their preferences of wisdom or folly, God
or the world, every day of their lives." Christian Observer.

HORXE SOLITARI^E; or Essays upon some Re-
^ markable Names and Titles of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit

occurring in the Old and New Testament. By Ambrose
Serle, Esq. 1 vol. 8vo., muslin.

*J A volume of 710 pages, -eplete with doctrinal instruction and pious exhor-
tation. The whole constitutes a rich mine of spiritual lore, which is the bet-
ter adapted to usefulness by being accompanied with pious reflections and
well-timed remarks. The author evidently enjoyed comimnion with the Fa-
ther and the Son, by the Holy Spirit, while he maintained their attributes with
the strongest arguments drawn from their own revelation.

" We cordially recommend the work to pastors and theological students, to
many of whom the well-deserved celebrity which it has for so many years en-
joyed, has already made it favourably known." Baptist .Advocate.

Pollok's Tales of the Covenanters.

L THE PERSECUTED FAMILY. 1 v. 18mo.

, " A tale of mournful and powerful interest." New-York Observer.

" A very intesting narrative of the sufferings ef the Covenanters in the reign
of Charles 11." Congregational Observer.

It H E LE N O F T H E G LE N . 1 vol. 18mo.

" We need only say that this little volume contains a narrative of thrilling
faterest, in a style worthy of the distinguished author of the ' Course of Time? *
^Congregational Observer.

u The poetic imagination of the author shines beautifully throughout this
affecting tale." Boston Recorder.

D3. R ALPH GEMMEL; or, the Happy Reconcilisw

' tion. 18mo.

"9 u A tale of the Covenanters, and by the admired and gifted Pollok, will have
attractions for the religious reader ; and in truth it possesses great interest a*
illustrative of the scenes which can never be regarded with, indiflerenct bf
the descendants of the Church of Scotland."

9
WORKS

BY REV, J, A, CLARK, D, D,

RECTOR OF ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH,
PHILADELPHIA.

A WALK ABOUT ZION. Revised and Enlarged. Fifth edi-
tion ; I2mo. 2 steel engravings.

" The spirit of the book is above all price. It is that charity which en-
vieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. No intelligent man will be-
Disposed to deny that the arrogant principle of Puseyism has extensively
Infected the Episcopal Church in Great Britain and this country. When,
therefore, we find a writer of that communion who is not in the least Af-
fected by it, but who utters in Christian meekness and simplicity, senti-
ments becoming the liberal philosopher and the humble minded believer ii*
>esus, our heart yearns the more towards him on account of the strong ad-
Terse influence, which, we know, he is obliged constantly to resist" Bop-
list Advocate.

II.

THE PASTOR'S TESTIMONY. Fifth edition; 12mo. Revised

and corrected ; 2 steel engravings.

"We admire the spirit and sentiments of the author on all practical
points of religion " JPresbyterian.

"Mr. Clarke is an eminently evangelical writer of the Protestant Epiico*
yal Church, and his productions have been extensively read by other d*-
ominations." New "York Observer.

m,

THE YOUNG DISCIPLE; or a Memoir of AnggonettaR. Peters.

Fourth edition ; I2mo.

"Dr. Clarke has for some time been known to the religions public, as on*
of the most judicious and excellent writers of the day. His works are all
*haracterized by good thoughts expressed in a graceful and appropriate
manner, by great seriousness and unction, and an earnest desire to promote
the spiritual interests of his fellow men." Albany Daily Advertiser.

IV,

GATHERED FRAGMENTS. Fourth edition; 12mo. 2 steel

engravings.

Containmg The M'EUen Family. The Paralytic. The Withered Brandt
Revived! The Baptism. Little Ann. The Meeting of the Travellers.
Mary Maywood. A Family in Eternity. One whose Record is on High,
fcc. &c.

T,

GLEANINGS BY THE WAY; or Travels in the Country^
1 vol. ; 12mo.

10

ANECDOTES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE SHORTER CATE-
CHISM. By John Whitecross, Edinburgh. New edition j
I8mo.

" We admire the plan of this work, -which is by striking anecdotes, to il-
lustrate and enforce the answers to the questions of that invaluable com-
pend, the Shorter Catechism." Boston Recorder.

u The author of this work has been alike original in its conception and
successful in its execution. The anecdotes are generally selected with
great good taste and good judgment, and are admirably fitted to impress
the truths which they are designed to illustrate. This will relieve the cate-
chism of a difficulty which many have felt in respect to it that it is too
abstract to be comprehended by the mind of a child : here every truth is
seen in its practical relations, and becomes associated in the mind with
come interesting fact which is fitted at once to make it plain to the under-
standing, to lodge it in the memory, and to impress it upon the heart."
Jfrbany Daily Advertiser.

THE SINNER'S FRIEND. From the 87th London edition, com-
pleting upwards of half a million.

" This little volume contains a series of short, earnest, and impressive
appeals, addressed to the conscience of the sinner, to persuade him to b*
reconciled to God. It appears to us well adapted for general circulation,
especially in seasons of inquiry. There is perhaps no work of the kind
more popular, or more extensively read. It is stated that the work has
been published in sixteen different languages, and that more than five hun-
dred thousand copies have been circulated, mostly in the different countries
of Europe." Christian Observer.

" It is designed by its direct appeals to arrest the attention of the most
careless reader, and to pour into his ear some word of truth before he can
become fatigued with reading." Presbyterian.

" It is fitted to be an admirable auxiliary to ministers in the discharge of
their duty." Albany Daily Advertiser.

NEW WORK BY OLD HUMPHREY. THOUGHTS FOR THE

THOUGHTFUL. By the author of " Old Humphrey's

Observations," and "Old Humphrey's Addresses." 1 voL

I8mo. Uniform -with the former works.

'< < Old Humphrey' is known as the personification of an old man, who
has not only had his eyes open in his journey through life, but has act*
Dally seen many things that escape the observation of others, from which
he has gathered lessons of wisdom for the instruction of those who follow
them. His style and manner are well adapted to interest the reader. H
never speaks without thinking, and having something to say." Christian
Observer.

_ " We most cordially reccommend Old Humphrey as a charming domes*
tic companion ; assuring our friends that there is not a family in the Re-
public but may save in one day, by following his advice, more than the cost
of his volumes." National Intelligencer.

LUCILLA; or the Reading of the Bible. By Adolphe Monod,

1 vol. 18mo.

" This is the production of one of the most distinguished of the living
Protestant ministers of France. The style has all the sprightliness ana
vivacity of the French ; and we doubt not that the work will have an exten-
sive circulation in this country" N. E. Puritan.

" Its design is to prove that the Holy Scriptures are inspired of God, and
that it is the privilege and duty of all people to read them with a refere*c

11

to their personal salvation. The work is ably written, and impressed
throughout with the kind, earnest, and benevolent spirit of the author.'
C/iristian Observer.

" We venture to say that it contains one of the most acute, philosophical,
and conclusive arguments in favor of the inspiration of the Scriptures, and
of the importance of their universal circulation, to be found in any lan-
guage. Part of the book is in the form of dialogue, and part of it in th
form of epistolary correspondence ; and while the argument is conducted
on both sides with great ability, the skeptic is finally confounded, not be-
cause he appears as the weaker man, but because he has the weaker cause.
We would say to any who have doubts in respect to the truth of Christian-
ity, that they will do themselves great injustice, if they cherish those doubts
or allow them to settle into unbelief, without having given this book a
careful perusal. If we mistake not, they will find that the skeptic has here
been allowed to make the very best of his case, -while yet, after all, he has
been compelled to abandon it." Albany Daily Advertiser.

THE BRITISH PULPIT. Consisting of Discourses by the most
eminent living Divines in England, Scotland, and Ireland:
accompanied with Pulpit Sketches. To which are added,
Scriptural Illustrations ; and selections on the Office, Duties,
and Responsibilities of the Christian Ministry. By the Rev.
W. Suddards, Rector of Grace Church, Philadelphia. Fifth
edition. 2 vols. 8vo. 10 portraits on steel.

BICKERSTETH'S TREATISE ON THE LORD'S SUPPER.

With an Introduction, Notes, and an Essay. By G. T. Be-
dell, D. D. 5th edition ; I8mo.

MOFFATFS SOUTHERN AFRICA. Missionary Labours and
Scenes in Southern Africa. By Robert Moflfat, twenty-three
years an Agent of the London Missionary Society in that con-
tinent. 1 vol. 12mo.

" We have read the -whole of this large volume with undiminished inter-
est, and have found it replete with missionary information, given in an un-
pretending, but strong and clear style. The wretched state of the heathen
tribes, among -whom the writer so long laboured as a missionary; their
deep degradation and ignorance ; the trials of faith and patience, of th
missionary brethren; and after years of apparently useless labour, and
when the churches at home seemed ready to abandon the whole field, the
displays of the power of the Spirit of God, by his blessing upon the labour*
of his servants, are all recorded by an eye-witness, who bore the burden and
heat of the day, and who lived to rejoice in seeing the triumphs of the Gos-
pelj among the most ignorant and degraded of the human family. The nar-
rative is enriched also with descriptions of African scenery; with the em-
ployment, habits, and pursuits of the native tribes ; their dangers from,
lions and other beasts of prey, and the wars and massacres of the roving
bands of marauders, in their desolating excursions from place to place."
Foreign Missionary

INTERESTING NARRATIVES from the Sacred Volume. Illus-
trated and improved, by the Rev. Joseph Belcher.

Contents. The Solemn Inquiry. First Murder. Deluge. Servant Ex
pelled. Affectionate Father Sacrificing his Son. Affecting Funeral. ^
Patriarchal Wedding. Dutiful Son. Affectionate Brother. Faitkffcl
Steward. Pious Prisoner. Righteous Governor. Mistaken Saint _j.

12

^LECTURES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. By John

Dick, D. D. author of " Lectures on Theology," &c. one TO!.

8vo.
MEMOIR OF HENRY MARTYN. Fourth American, from the

Tenth London edition. I2mo.
LIFE OF MRS. ISABELLA GRAHAM, a new edition, enriched

by her narrative of her husband's death, and other select cor-
respondence. I2mo.
BISHOP BUTLER'S ANALOGY OF RELIGION, 8 vo, beautiful

large type.

BISHOP BUTLER'S SERMONS, 8vo.
BAXTER'S SAINTS' REST, ISmo, large type.
JAY'S LECTURES THE CHRISTIAN CONTEMPLATED, one

vol. 18mo, new edition.
A TREATISE ON PRAYER, By the Rev. Edward Bickersteth,

18mo.

THE COTTAGE FIRESIDE, By the Rev. Henry Duncan, ISmo.
THE BELIEVER, a series of Discourses, by the Rev. Hugh

White, author of " Meditations on Prayer," &c. 18mo. gilt

back.
PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS ON THE SECOND ADVENT

by the Rev. Hugh White.

THE FAMILY OF BETHANY, by L. Bonnet, with an intro-
ductory Essay by the Rev. Hugh White .I8mo.

THE LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF SCOTTISH LIFE, by
Prof. Wilson. I8mo.

THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER, by Mrs. Cameron. 18mo. gilt

|*kn rt If

JESSY ALLEN, THE LAME GIRL. By Grace Kennedy, au-
thor of" Anna Ross," " Father Clement," &c. I8mo.

THE COMMUNICANT'S COMPANION, by the Rev. Matthew

1 Henrv, ISmo.

THE CONTEST AND THE ARMOUR, by Dr. Abercrombie.
32mo, gilt. >

GIFT FOR MOURNERS, containing Flavel's Token for Mourn-
ers, and Cecil's Visit to the House of Mourning. 32mo, gilt.

GEOLOGICAL COSMOGONY, or an Examination of the Geo-
logical Theory of the Origin and Antiquity of the earth, by a
Layman, iSmo.

THE LIFE OF THE REV. JOHN NEWTON, written by him-
self, with a continuation to his death, by the Rev. Richard
Cecil. ISmo.

ELIJAH THE TISHBITE, by F. W. Krummacher. 18mo.

PERSUASIVES TO EARLY PIETY, by re Rev. J. G. Pike
Ibmo.

SEPT 98

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

II

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